One of the best onside kicks you'll ever see (almost)

Just a short while ago Penn St. attempted this near-flawless onside kick against Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium:



I've always wondered why you don't see this style of onside kick more often.  However, I think it should be taken to even more of an extreme--just kick the football as high and short as you can (almost like a bad punt) and create a jump-ball scenario.  I know that's got to be very difficult to do off a tee, but I feel like placekickers could figure it out with a little practice.

Also, the strange thing about this attempt by Penn St. was that they were up 7-0 halfway through the first quarter when they tried it. That's the kind gimmick you go for when you're a huge underdog looking to pull off a big upset, not when you already have an early lead in basically a pick 'em game.

Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions the "receiver" stepped out of bounds as he caught the ball, BC got possession at the 48-yard line, and the Eagles scored the game-tying touchdown two plays later.

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The Patriots need a win Sunday to avoid a below average Brady/Belichick regular season

With one game remaining in the NFL's regular season the 12-3 Patriots appear to be the cream of the crop.  They're the first team to clinch home field advantage and the only club so far to secure a playoff bye.

It's the fifth consecutive year New England has finished with one of the top two records in the conference and avoided playing in the first round of the postseason (something no team had ever done before).

One other stat I love--the Pats defense hasn't given up a second-half touchdown in five games (since they played the Colts on November 16).

But despite all of this, if the Patriot's don't win an otherwise meaningless game vs. the Bills on Sunday New England will finish with a below average record for the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era.  Going back to 2001 (Brady's first year as a starter), the Patriots have averaged 12.15 victories per regular season.

To put in perspective just how ridiculous that is, consider this: In the now 14-year stretch that the Pats have averaged slightly more than 12 wins per season, there are nine NFL franchises that haven't won 12 games in any season (Miami, NY Jets, Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Oakland, Washington, Arizona, and Detroit, although both the Cardinals and Lions could this year).

I'm not advocating for the Patriots to try their best against Buffalo though.  If it were up to me I'd play Brady for just the first series, and I wouldn't even let Rob Gronkowski put on his uniform.  My preseason prediction was 12 wins anyway...

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Merry Christmas from Skeletor

A month ago I discussed how much I loved Honda's Christmas-themed Skeletor commercial.  Well it turns out there are more of them, and they are awesome:






Honda also apparently made the genius move of letting Skeletor take over their Twitter account back on December 1.  Here are some of the highlights:

Twittersphere: It is I, Skeletor! Now that I have control of Honda’s account, no one is safe! Muaha! #Skeletakeover pic.twitter.com/7DCH2aw9lh
— Honda (@Honda) December 1, 2014

I wonder what He-Man is getting for #CyberMonday. Probably a bedazzled loincloth. #SMH #Skeletakeover pic.twitter.com/XTtWirIInp
— Honda (@Honda) December 1, 2014

.@PetSmart @PetCo Got any deals on treats for Panthor? P.S. he’s paleo. #eatclean #Skeletakeover pic.twitter.com/f86ldP9wui
— Honda (@Honda) December 1, 2014

.@Starbucks Skullator? Not bad, Starbucks. Not bad at all. #CallMeSkullator #GingerBreadLatte4Life #Skeletakeover pic.twitter.com/JOYOaDzY2K
— Honda (@Honda) December 1, 2014

.@SamsungMobileUS So this new Samsung phone can control the Galaxy? I’ll take them all, please. #TeamGalaxy #Skeletakeover
— Honda (@Honda) December 1, 2014

.@Sephora Got any deals on anti-aging creams for faceless mutants? Asking for a friend. #CyberMonday #Skeletakeover
— Honda (@Honda) December 1, 2014

.@olivegarden It’s hard to not look famished with this bone structure. #bringonthebreadsticks #Skeletakeover 💀🍝 pic.twitter.com/G1mvgRCgvc
— Honda (@Honda) December 2, 2014

.@Macys Can you get He-Man a good deal on a new outfit? His skirt is SO 80s. #AmIRight? #YesIAm #Skeletakeover
— Honda (@Honda) December 2, 2014

.@ExtraTV Spotted: He-Man getting his roots done at LA's top salon. #Gasp #FakeBlonde #Skeletakeover pic.twitter.com/1eQ8c30uYB
— Honda (@Honda) December 2, 2014

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The "Entourage" movie trailer is out, what are your thoughts?

What do you think?



My snap analysis: That line from Drama about liking the weather is dumb, couldn't they have thought of about a million other funnier things for him to say there?  The 6th Sense kid all grown up is pretty weird looking (at the 1:40 mark).  But most of all I really want to know what's about to happen to the character Vince is playing in the trailer within the trailer...

Is he an evil Jedi from Star Wars?

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My top 5 memories of Rajon Rondo with the Boston Celtics

Since the day Rajon Rondo was traded I've been working on a five-part series of articles for CelticsLife on my favorite memories of Rondo's time in Boston.  I've just completed it today, so in case you missed it, here they are:

No. 5: "The greatest triple-double in 44 years"

No. 4: "The night his elbow bent the wrong way"

No. 3: "The diving hustle-play unlike any other"

No. 2: "One of the most outstanding playoff performances in NBA history"

No. 1: "The dunk heard 'round the world"


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The craziest NFL playoff race I can remember

Take a look at the NFC standings today.  They're nuts.  Five teams are tied for the best record in the conference at 11-4.  With just one week remaining in the season, any one of those five could end up being the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.  And with the exception of the Cowboys (who've clinched the NFC East), four of the other five clubs could fall all the way to the No. 6 and last seed.

The fact that four of of conference's six postseason teams might all still be No. 1, or No. 6 heading in the final game of the year is just silly.  The other weird part about it is that the Wild Card spots are both already clinched.  Everybody else on the outside looking in has been eliminated.

The only playoff spot that's still up for grabs in the NFC is the pathetic South Division champion, which will be selected by default next week when the 6-8-1 Panthers visit the 6-9 Falcons.

The North Division will also be decided by a head-to-head Week 17 matchup, when the Lions take on the Packers in Green Bay.  The NFL has got to be pretty pumped to be handed multiple de facto division title games on the last day of the regular season.

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Awesome Old (Christmas) Song of the Week: "Winter Wonderland" by the Eurythmics

Winter Wonderland was first written in 1934.  According to Wikipedia, over 200 artists have recorded it in the last 80 years.  The Eurythmics version was released on the 1987 album "A Very Special Christmas," a record I consider the gold-standard for pop Christmas music.

Also, I always thought the Eurythmics were an 80s girl band led by Annie Lennox.  I just discovered that it was actually a duo consisting of her and a guy named David. A. Stewart (pictured).  That just seems weird to me.  "Eurythmics" is a pretty feminine sounding word.



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