irishwarriors's Blog

Wonder who's going to be his successor.

Avery Johnson, Jeff van Gundy, Bill Laimbeer etc are all touted as candidates.

Super Bowl XXVI MVP Gary Clark

After a heartbreaking loss in Super Bowl 25 the Bills had a second consecutive Super Bowl appearance and were more then determined to shake off the memeories of the Scott Norwood horror that every member of the Bills vividly remembered. As they prepared to face the Redskins it seemed most of the pressure was on Buffalo. A shaky performance against the Broncos in the AFC Championship game gave gave an opportunity for Gibbs and the Redskins' coaches to devise a strong game plan to exploit their Super Bowl opponent's weaknesses. Further jitters were further exposed when Thurman Thomas had his helmet moved in order for the stage to be set up for Harry Connick, Jr. to perform the national anthem. This caused Thomas to worry on where his helmet was, causing him to miss Buffalo's first two offensive plays.

As the game began it did indeed look as if Buffalo folded. The Redskins started taking over the game using a dominant offense which led the League in scoring. Glary Clark along with Art monk was one of the deep threats Rypien could throw to. After a sloppy first quarter Clark made an immediate impact catching a 30 yard pass Buffalo to reach their 15-yard line which set up a Gerald Riggs run to put Washington up 17-0 at the half. The Bills became the 8th team to go scoreless in the 1st half.

Like many other alternative MVP's Clark made his play at a time where Buffalo finally got some momentum cutting the score down to 24-10 with 1.30 left in the third period. The Run and Gun offense still had someways to go but for the neutrals watching it was still a game. However after a 11 play 79 yard drive (most of it Running plays) Clark caught a 30 yard pass from the soon to be MVP Rypien to make it 31-10. Despite the attempts of the Bills to make the game more interesting by scoring two more times they were resigned to losing a second consecutive Super bowl.

As for Gary Clark having already capped off a successful season it is not a stretch to say that his career has Canton written on it. 549 catches for 8,742 yards, both third-best in team history, plus 58 scoring catches. Despite being only 5'9" and being 175lbs, he was regarded as one of the toughest players in the league. He consistently battled against hamstring injuries that meant he was barely able to practice at times but he would always be ready to go on game days, only missing six games in his eleven year NFL career. John Madden named him to his All-Madden team eight times and Clark was a player who would get down and block for a run play or fellow receiver down field with the same intensity that he would go after a tough catch. The tough grab was something Clark could always do well, it could be frustrating at times as he would occasionally drop a ball thrown right at his numbers but when it mattered, he always got the job down.

Art monk is heading to the Hall of Fame. Gary Clark was robbed from this MVP award. Seemingly none of them matter because for the average NFL fan over here he was a player worth remembering.

It wasnt about wins/losses per say , he took over a team that just came off of back to back NBA Finals appearances, and after 3 years could not get them back. From Dumars's perspective that's underachieving, not getting it done so he made the change.

Don't neccessarily think it was a good decision myself but can see why Dumars fired him

I think if the Hornets had beat the Spurs, the Lakers would still be playing and would have a really good possibility of not making it to the Finals.

The Spurs lacked a true quality player that can take over at any time and hit the big shots. And the fact that they dont run also killed them. They can hold off most teams when they get a decent lead but most teams dont have Kobe. No matter how well you run your game plan, a guy with Kobe's athleticism and skill set can always manage to find a way to score by either stretching out just a tad further on a well defended layup, or hitting that fade-away or making a last second pass to a wide open player after the defense committed to him. Once the Lakers clamped down on D, the Spurs just couldnt counter their runs.

The Hornets can run, they have a player that can take over any time, they have a lights out shooter, they can trade basket for basket. All they lacked was experience, it showed in that game 7.

Anyway, this is going to be a fun Final. I know the Celtics struggled but they have the players to give the Lake-show trouble. They have a sharp-shooter and they have two guys that can take over.

I honestly cant pick a winner. I wanna pick the Lakers but the Celtics match up better than any of the teams the Lakers faced so far.

There's a very real possibility that every series that Boston's in ends up going 7 games. That's freakin' crazy. I wonder if that's ever happened before.

The Lakers outplayed the Spurs last night. They outrebounded the Spurs, they outhustled the Spurs had a nice little comeback, but they should never have been in that position when playing at home in a crucial game 4.

Having said that, the Fisher no-call was BS. A lot of calls went the Spurs' way throughout the game, and they even got some charity near the end. But I just don't understand how the refs can watch a blatant foul at such an important moment and swallow their whistles. Forget what Pop and Barry said after the game--if you know anything about the Spurs, you'd know that they do all their complaining on the court during the game, and then shut their mouths off the court after the game.

Anyway, no healthy Manu, no championship. It's as simple as that.

Lakers one win from the NBA Finals

I guess so. Each to their own

The gameplay, the controls,the details, the graphics are smoother, its more realistic, the atomosphere etc is all different then Madden.

Ok so from everyones barr Matt17's perspective it's a great game.

. If it's better then San Andreas then it really is a must buy for me I guess

You've got to be kidding. Those games are 10x better than Madden in all aspects. I just cant believe the same company puts out two different types of football game. If Madden was produce the same way as NCAA it would be a whole lot better game and less complaining from the consumers.

best Sports sim on the PSP by far although NCAA Football 09 looks amazing on that console

Super Bowl XXV MVP Thurman Thomas

Along with Superbowl XXXVI this will go down as one of the more patriotic games because of the Gufl war at the time. Extra security measures were put in place at Tampa Stadium, including the positioning of FBI sharpshooters at the upper levels of the stadium, Whitney Houston sang the Star Spangled Banner anthem with greeat endeavour and for the first time each player wore Super Bowl logos on their jerseys.

For the Giants though patriotism was the last thing on their minds as then Defensive Co-Ordinator Bill Belicheck was the one responsible with coming with a big gameplan to stop the Bills no Huddle offense and Jim Kelly the Quarterback who was the highest rated AFC passer throwing for 2,829 yards, 24 touchdowns, and only 9 interceptions. The Bills had a realtively smooth route to the super bowl defeating the Dolphins and walloping the Raiders 51-3 in the AFC Championship game whilst the Giants had to rely on Roger craigs fumble in the NFC Championship game as Matt bahr kicked his 5th FG as time expired to end the 49ers dream of a 3 peat.

As the game approached Thurman Thomas knew this was the biggest game of his career. With an illustrious season ,297 rushing yards, caught 49 passes for 532 yards, and scored 13 touchdowns aside from Jim Kelly he excelled in the no huddle. However in Super bowl 25 like the millions watching he was shocked to find Parcells had a strategy to combat Levy a power running game utilizing O.J. Anderson, aided by quarterback rollouts, bootlegs, and play-action fakes.

Yet despite the innovation the Giants trailed narrowly at the half 12-10 but on the first drive of the second half they played Parcells smash mouth Football consuming a Super Bowl record nine minutes and 29 seconds, and included four successful third down conversions. With the Giants turning the ball over on downs on the next poccession Thurman Thomas did what he had done conistently throughout his Hall Of Fame career. Using his speed, Vision and Agility he burst through the Giants defense and cut back through the holes for a 31 yard TD run. Thomas's immacualte run looked like it would be the winning score of Super Bowl 25 but the giants used a 14 play 74 yard drive with Matt Bahr kicking another FG. 20-19 Giants an upset was on the cards.

Kelly then led them down the field with a mix of scrambles, short passes, and Thomas runs. Buffalo drove to the Giants' 29-yard line, setting up Norwood for a 47-yard field goal attempt with eight seconds left. However, his kick barely sailed wide right, and the Giants ran out the clock for a famous victory. What was often neglected as Norowood got the usual media heat was the wind conditions were not favourable for Kickers during the game. Norwood that season was in fact just 1-for-5 from over 40 yards on grass.

Having said all that out of all the super bowl MVP's in this thread and beyonf Thomas was robbed. He had far more yards and catches than New York Giants running back Ottis Anderson, who won the MVP, finishing the game with 102 rushing yards, 1 reception for 7 yards, and a touchdown rushing for 135 yards and a touchdown, while also catching 5 passes for 55 yards.

For Giants fans it was their last triumph until 17 years later. For bills fans it was the start of agony and more big game losses.

Thats pretty cooll. There is an enthuiasm for the game here we get all the NFL Network coverage literally, Monday Night Football and sunday Night Football games along with a doubleheader so there is definitely a market for it (in fact we do get more coverage then the English Premiership here). All spectacular for a minority sport here really!.

And you're right the UK/Ireland is really into Rugby but there is just a slight divide between both supporters as to which sport is tougher which usually means all the stereotypes comes out e.g. "NFL players are pussies because of the padding". Very irksome and tiring.

I have beeen to a game stateside ironically Alex Smiths debut for the 49ers against the Colts on my birthday which was an incredible experience. San Francisco is an awesome city.

Cool you're into Rugby. Not a big fan of it myself but it is quite spectacular to watch!

Since 5:54 left in the 3rd quarter of Game 1, the Lakers are on a 145-91 run. Quite incredibe!

Gave the code to someone on the NFLUK site Figured no one else on here could make it.

Not too bothered went to last years between the Dolphins and Giants but it doesn't compare to going stateside and catching a game there which is why I could be heading to Miami to see the Dolphins and Niners game as one of my best friends is a Dolphins diehard . Would be a fun thing to do once the exams are over plus I heard Miami is a decent place to visit

Super Bowl XXIV MVP Jerry Rice

Rice a workaholic. Never resting on his laurels satisfied that he had broken all Receving records and was arguably the best Receiver to play the game Rice still mantained a legendary work ethic and dedication to the sport playing 20+ years in the National Football League and still mantaining his level of performance. To get an idea of how massive his 22,895 receiving yards are, if Rice had not gained any other yards on rush attempts or kick returns, his 22,895 receiving yards would still rank him second place on the NFL's list all-purpose yard leaders (category based on combination of rushing, receiving, kick/punt return yards, and interception/fumble return yards).

Less known though is hid path to the NFL and what College he went too. In 1984 Bill Walsh using his eye for talent spotted Rice during his College Days for Mississippi Valley State where by concidence Rice had his best season catching 17 passes for 199 yards against Southern, 17 for 294 against Kentucky State and 15 for 285 against Jackson State, the first time MVSU beat them since 1954. Those stats combined with his work ethic displayed at the combine meant Walsh traded its first two picks for New England's first-round choice, the 16th selection overall (the teams also swapped third-round picks as part of the deal), and selected Rice. As they say the rest was history.

After another oustanding season where Rice caught 82 passes for 1,483 yards and 17 touchdowns the Niners prepared to face a Broncos team that were severe underdogs. Even with George seifert replacing Bill Walsh the Niners didn't miss a beat particluary the Defense which ranked third in the NFL in fewest points allowed (253. Add to the fact Elway had lost two Super Bowls and Montana had won 3 and the experts believed it would be a 49ers rout. They were correct.

On their opening drive Montana and company looked like they had read the script and it took 10 plays 66 yards for Jerry Rice to grab a 20 yard pass from Montana. Even when Denver forced the Niners to go 3 & out and get the ball at their 49 yard line the compellingness for the neutral fans was quickly lost when Denver Running Back Humphreys fumbled and a aggressive determined Chret books recovered the loose ball.

From then on the Niners showed off their dominance and quickly TV Sets around America were switched off as the 39.1 million rating (lowest since Super Bowl 111) showed. Brent Jones, Tom Rathman and then Jerry rice all got TD's as it became a 27-3 rout at the half. Rice was punnishing a mediocre Denver secondary.

Indeed on the very next drive for the 49ers Rice for the upteenth time ran a post route against Defensive Back Dennis smith and caught a 28 yard pass from Montana. It was 34-3 and those who switched on in the hope of Elway heroics as seen in Cleveland during the Drive were left in awe at a Niners offense that executed flawlessy and had little room for era as seen by the 55-10 scoreline.

Rice finished the game with 7 receptions for 148 yards and a Super Bowl record 3 receiving touchdowns. But throughout his illustrious career and a reputation as the G.O.A.T. Aside from an overall talent and will that put him in a class by himself, Rice will always be remembered for his supreme work ethic and dedication to the game. In his 20 NFL seasons, Rice missed only 17 regular season games, with 14 of them occurring in a single year (the 1997 season when he tore his knee ligaments), and the other 3 occurring in the strike shortened season of 1987. His 303 games are by far the most ever played by an NFL wide receiver, and are only 72 games behind the NFL record for games played by a player at any position.

Thoroughly enjoyable game, well done to both teams for putting on one of the best finals in recent memory. What made it so great was the fact there really was nothing between either side and at the end of 120 minutes, both teams had played as well as each other.

Everything evened out - United dominated most of the first half, Chelsea most of the second. United created several excellent chances they really should have scored, Chelsea hit the woodwork twice. Well done to Chelsea for almost taking Ronaldo out of the game entirely for most of the second half as well.

This match did illustrate one key point for me though regarding Chelsea - the sooner Drogba leaves, the better. Last night he clearly showed what he has been suggesting for months now, that he is not a team player. He's been looking out for number one only, and no moment portrayed this better than his completely selfish act of getting himself probably the most easily avoidable red card of all time.

I can't speak for ESPN but the Sky team didn't appear to talk about this much - but had Drogba not been sent off, Chelsea could quite easily be Champions of Europe right now. Also a great coinsidence how it was Anelka who effectively lost it for Chelsea. His game pretty much summed up his what he's done for Chelsea so far - absolutely nothing.

Oh and the Penalties for those who missed the game.