5 Minutes for Blogging, Jan. 4
I trust that everyone is having a nice weekend…
1. KURT WARNER STRENGTHENS HIS HALL OF FAME CREDENTIALS: In Arizona’s 30-24 victory over Atlanta Saturday in an NFC Wildcard game, Warner passed for 271 yards and two touchdowns and took another step closer to Canton. It was fun to watch Warner perform on the postseason stage for the first time in nearly seven years — specifically this was his first game in the NFL tournament since Feb. 3, 2002, when the Rams lost to New England in the 36th Super Bowl. It was the eighth postseason game of Warner’s career, and he boosted his Hall of Fame case.
Some numbers:
* Warner is 6-2 as a postseason starter.
* Among the QBs who have started a minimum eight postseason games, Warner’s average of 311.5 yards passing per games ranks No. 1. Those postseason numbers, provided by STATS LLC, only go back to 1970.
* Among QBs who have started a minimum of eight postseason games, Warner’s passer rating of 92.5 ranks second only to Joe Montana (95.6) since 1970.
* Among those with at least eight starts, Warner ranks fourth in yards per attempt (8.31), fifth in completion percentage (62.7) and sixth in the percentage of passes that go for touchdowns (5.7).
* Warner still holds the record for most yards passing in a Super Bowl (414) and was the MVP of Super Bowl 34. The bottom line: Warner has been one of the best postseason performers of his era. Or any era, actually.
2. UTAH SHOULD BE NO. 1: It won’t happen, of course, because voters go for the brand names, the BCS conference kingpins, and they’re just waiting to crown the winner of Florida vs. Oklahoma. The Utes are from the Mountain West, which might as well be Siberia. And I’m just as bad as anybody; I assumed Utah would lose to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, so there was no put the Utes into the debate for No. 1. Wrong, wrong, wrong. And shouldn’t all objective-minded voters hit the reset button on their brain and reevaluate this instead of automatically tapping Florida or OU as No. 1? Shouldn’t there at least be some thoughtful deliberation? After playing a virtual road game and taking Alabama apart 31-17 in the SEC-friendly Sugar Bowl, why wouldn’t Utah have a legit claim to No. 1? This is the only D-1 team that will finish the season with an undefeated record. Utah has beaten three teams currently ranked in the top 16, and another victim, Oregon State, will likely finish in the Top 25. (Oregon State is the only team to topple USC this season.) The Utes have handled every challenge. They defeated five bowl teams, and won on the road at Michigan and at Air Force. Skeptics will say, OK, put Utah in the SEC or the Big 12 South or the Pac 10 and none of this happens. They’d never survive the schedule. Look, I don’t deal in hypotheticals. All I know is this: only one team stands alone, unbeaten. And that team, Utah, hasn’t exactly played a cupcake schedule.
3. LA RUSSA AND DE WITT HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS OF CHRIS CARPENTER: Can the Cardinals count on their ace to return from pitching-arm nerve difficulties and make 30, 35 starts? Or should they find another starting pitcher, just in case? The manager and the owner don’t see it the same way. Penciling in Carpenter for 30+ starts and assuming it will happen is “not how you go about it,” La Russa said. “That’s not the attitude that I have, or (pitching coach) Dave Duncan has.” The manager and pitching coach want to be sure about Carpenter’s health and won’t assume anything.
DeWitt, however, seems to be counting on Carpenter for now. “All of the reports are good on Carpenter,” DeWitt said on our Team 1380 radio show. “It’s pretty hard to say ‘Well, I’m going to sign someone in case he can’t start.’ I don’t think a lot of clubs would want to be in a position of having six starting pitchers, counting on six being starting pitchers. If Carpenter can’t go, sure, we’ll need to get out into the market to bolster our pitching. And we were going to do that, anyway. But at this point in time, to go out and find someone to replace Carpenter when we think the odds are good that he’ll be a starting pitcher for us…let’s face it, you can’t really replace a Chris Carpenter. And to replace him now, well, we think there’s a good chance he’ll start.”
4. WILL MATT RYAN AND JOE FLACCO CHANGE THE WAY NFL COACHES OPERATE?: Usually, it takes a while to break in a rookie QB, and they often struggle through the usual growing pains. NFL head coaches are reluctant to throw them into the fire. But Atlanta drafted Ryan third overall last April, plugged him into the lineup, and won 11 games for a dramatic turnabout. Flacco, Baltimore’s first-round pick, played with great poise in giving the Ravens a good passing attack to go with the defense and running game. The kids were fearless. With so many attractive QB prospects likely to be available in the 2009 draft — Georgia’s Matthew Stafford, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Ball State’s Nate Davis among them — will more NFL teams take the plunge with rookie QBs? How about the Rams? (I don’t think so).
5. PERSONAL NOTE: I COULD USE A HOME REMEDY: I have a lousy cold, with lots of congestion. I can’t stop coughing; I can’t get a good night’s sleep. Any suggestions? Are you holding any secret cures that were passed down from your great grandmother? Give it up! LOL. Thanks.
-Bernie
Dear Bernie,
Happy New Year!
here goes my Mom’s secret concoction to knock out that cold ….
first you get some Lard and melt it and grill some onions in that ….you throw in some whiskey to that and after the onions are grilled in and the whiskey and lard have been on the fire for a while you get some cotton rags and take the rags and soak it in the mixture….you then wrap the cotton rags over your chest and if the smell doesn’t kill you you will get better…my Mom did this to me during my youth and even though at the beginning of this mess I hated it it worked.
Thanks for your great show and get better soon,
by the way I heard Bill DeWitt’s interview and was astounded to hear that the reason he let Aaron Miles go was that Miles wanted to start just like Adam Kennedy….what?…..he would have stayed if he would have gotten the raise and if they can’t afford the raise for him then I just don’t get it and he was a terrific asset to the Cardinals he will be missed….we are weaker without him
Bernie…At night put Vicks Salve on the bottoms of your feet, then put socks on and go to bed.
Bern, if your congestion is nasal, mix some salt and warm water in a teapot (smaller the better). Blow your nose best you can and then, over a sink, and try to run as much water in the other. If you’re real congested, keep trying this on both sides and blowing till you can get the water to run in one nostril, through the sinuses and out the other. If is therapeutic and effective. I’ve been able to self treat sinus infections, allergies and bad colds this way. Sounds a tad gross, but it brings good relief. I will also try to exercise (though more lightly) through illness. Not sure why - maybe because it helps me sleep a bit more soundly. Go Warner!
123Man - You wrote: “God did not contribute anything to their on field abilities. If it did, then why the hell doesn’t a player BLAME god after a loss? Why do they only thank god for a win? Also, if god really did have something to do with a football game, why would god want Kurt Warner to win more than Matt Ryan yesterday?” If you would read what I wrote and what Kurt says, he’s not saying God likes him more, so he wins. I wrote, “Why can’t Kurt thank Jesus Christ who has impacted his life and helped get him where he is today? It’s the same after a game. Players recognize their linemen, defense, or the game plan set up by the coaches. Why can’t players thank God who created their bodies, abilities, and brains to play?” Christian players thank God for the opportunity to play whether they win or lose, knowing that God created their bodies, abilities, and brains. Just like he did for you.
Eutychus… Warner doesn’t know that God — or a god — helped him get where he is. It’s all conjecture. If he `really’ does know, that would be revelation, and I’ve never heard him once claim this happened to him. But, for the sake of argument, let’s assume it has. As it would be `revelation,’ it could only be known to him — that’s what revelation is, as that firebrand Thomas Paine so astutely noted. To me, you and the hall in Canton, Ohio, it’s just a story. But I’m probably pulling a Dennis Miller here, trying to wed culture and sports, which usually gets people ostracized from discussions about sports, as Miller found out.
Kurt Warner is a classy guy and it is great to see him have another shot at winning. But let us remember, with both this year in Arizona and the Greatest Show on Turf, Warner had an excellent supporting cast. If woeful Big Red can win in NY in January, then go on to the Super Bowl, it should be a lock for Warner. I have a feeling, being that the Big Red can’t beat a decent team on the road, that Kurt’s comeback is coming to an end next week.
A warm mist humidifer in the bedroom along with all these other suggestions should give you some rest.
Utah # 1…B c S!
Texas should be in the C game!
123Man… Good point. A loss should be viewed by a Christian athlete as a learning experience of some type from God, shouldn’t it? But I’ve never once heard a Christain athlete say after a loss that he wants to thank God for this learning experience.
Follow up point since this is about Warner’s faith, which should be obviously separated from his football stats. I am not a big fan of claiming the Jesus mantel either; I am waiting for someone to thank Allah, or Buhda, or Zeus or Odin when they win a championshop; let’s see what kind of endorsements would follow that.
My problem with Warner was his injection into the whole stem cell debate back in ‘06. If he is against it due to his faith - fine. But don’t say “15 years and no cures” like he did when people have been trying to find cures for cancer, MS, MD, for decades. As someone with a special needs child, he should have known better.
Yo Bernie,
Try some Black Strap Molasses for your cough. You can buy at any health store. Warm it up and sip. It coats your throat and reduces the hacking etc. Best wishes.