Saturday, February 05, 2011

02/05 Saturday (Very) Quickie

For all my obsession about the Volkswagen "Darth Vader" ad this week, this tweet last night from Parks & Recreation's Michael Schur (aka Fire Joe Morgan's Ken Tremendous) was validating:

"That Passat ad with the kid dressed like Darth Vader is the best ad of the Super Bowl, regardless of what other ads are in the Super Bowl."

He is 100% correct. I can't believe how obsessed I am with this ad -- and I can't wait for the moment when the 100 million people who haven't seen it yet (6 million have) finally watch. (Haven't seen it? Watch it here.)

Oh, there's a game, too? Not that an injured, half-speed Maurkice Pouncey was going to make a huge difference, but that Pouncey is out makes me even more comfortable picking the Pack.

(There is this other, entirely qualitative rationale, too: Aaron Rodgers' career appears to be headed as being defined as entirely relative -- and eventually eclipsing -- Brett Favre. Winning the Super Bowl -- and playing at an insanely high level -- would be a big step.)

The NFL Commish Speaks: He says all the right things, but he's not fooling around. I think the union ultimately will have to bend to the league, because the league -- to Goodell's point -- is looking at this from a 10-year horizon, while the union is looking at it from a shorter-term perspective.

That said, it's heartening to see Pats owner Bob Kraft so vocal about wanting to get a deal done -- "it's criminal if we don't get a deal done" -- he seems to be the most reasonable person in all of this, and he probably has the clout to help make something happen.

NBA Last Night: I will never buy the Mavs in the playoffs, but they sure looked good beating the Celtics.

Meanwhile, the Cavs lost their 23rd straight -- epic losing is as dramatic as epic winning, and I encourage Cleveland to keep losing, because at least it makes them interesting. And interesting is better than mediocre.

Kevin Love an All-Star: This was the right move by the NBA, although it would be terrific if they could find a way to make room for Steve Nash, who -- turning 37 on Monday (37!) -- is having one of his best years ever. He is one of the most remarkable players in NBA history. (If I had to rank my Top 3 favorite NBA players, Nash is on the list.)

College hoops today: A bit of a low-key day, except that Northwestern makes an exceedingly rare appearance on CBS nationally (except in New York City...grr) at 1 ET, then Jimmer on Versus at 4, then Florida hosting Kentucky at 9. So my day is accounted for, at least.

MLB Hot Stove: Vlad to the O's. Another player who is typically high on the "interesting" scale but doesn't necessarily translate into many more wins for the O's. (Last year, despite finishing 11th in MVP voting, only had a 2.1 WAR.) Still: Exciting-ish?

The Mets -- or, more specifically, their owners -- are so screwed. That is all.

Andy Pettitte retires: Mark it down -- he is pitching for the Yankees in 2012. If his body is willing but he simply doesn't have the "hunger" anymore, he'll get the hunger back -- especially if the Yankees miss the playoffs next season (and, without him, they very well might).

NFL Rookies of the Year: Bradford on offense and Suh on defense, and it was obvious from a few games into the season. (You could make a pretty good case for Pouncey on offense, but even if he was anchoring the O-line for the AFC champs, that's not as impressive as stepping in as a rookie QB on a terrible team and actually helping them become respectable.)

Enjoy the day. Please give Quickish a look throughout the day, if you want to keep up with the big things that are happening.

-- D.S.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I have always enjoyed your blog even going back to daily quickie days... I just have to point out the irony of you naming Bradford as the offensive rookie of the year. I'm pretty sure you were the one talking about how Tebow would be 10X better and that Bradford would fold the first time he got hit in a game... granted Tebow didn't get much playing time but I have to chuckle when I see you calling Bradford the rookie of the year on offense after badmouthing him for months... just saying.