The Vig

Blazers: Did I mention I picked up a ticket package a few weeks back? I gave a few of the seats away for Christmas and will no doubt be giving a few more out as things come up down the line. 20 games for $100 is a helluva deal. Yesterday’s game against the Sixers was my second game of the season. Like a lot of folks, I thought the team was probably done for at the half. The fourth quarter Philly implosion was something to behold. Portland didn’t win the game as much as Philly just folded the tents. There was an added bonus to the game as the referee I most love to hate, Steve Javie, was in the building. He did his level best in the first half to break the streak, but he ended up jobbing the Sixers down the stretch. The NBA is the last professional league to have a cadre of celebrity referees. Baseball has killed them off. The NFL has Ed Hochuli, who did the Seahawks game today. And the NHL has Mick McGeough. But that’s about it. The NBA still has Dick Bavetta, Joe Crawford, and Bennett Salvatore. And they’ve got a fantastic new villain in Violet Palmer. For me, it’s almost as exciting to see any of those four as it is to see the home team.

Arizona Cardinals: I pegged them for 7-9. They ended up steamrolling the hapless Rams 48-19 to finish the season 8-8. Now Cards fans are caught in a no man’s land of pondering what might have been while cursing the fact they’ll be drafting somewhere in the teens come April. Meanwhile Kurt Warner pocketed a cool $1.5 million for finishing as one of the top-ten quarterbacks in the league. You’d think the Bidwills would have ordered him benched. The old man must be losing his touch.

Winter Hawks: I ended up choosing UFC over hockey on Saturday. I followed the game as best I could on my cellie. After giving up nearly 60 shots to Moose Jaw on Friday night, they kept the high flying Ams to only 38 on Saturday. And that allowed Mucha to do his thing. Once Ryan Kerr gets back, the shots against should start going down. In the meantime, what do the Hawks do at the deadline? If they decide to keep Mucha, it will be a sign to me that they believe they can win next year. I don’t see it. But then I’m an idiot.

Last but not least..

Yeah, Bro!