Write On Sports

Things have been EXTREMELY quiet on this site for a LONG, LONG TIME. Nevertheless, it is time for the playoffs in the National Football League.

If I had to choose one team that I think was the favorite to win the Super Bowl this year . . . . It would be the Indianapolis Colts. They seem to look the strongest and the most consistent of all the teams.

And who, pray tell, is the underdog. . . the one team that could possibly sneak into the Conference Championship and maybe even the Super Bowl IF, and boy do I mean IF, they can get one playoff win under their belt? . . . . . It would be the Dallas Cowboys.

With the stingy defense that they have exhibited over the last two weeks (NO POINTS ALLOWED!). . . you MUST give them a fighting chance.  If they continue playing excellent defense, they may shock the football world. But FIRST, they must get past the Philadelphia Eagles and playoff win #1 for the first time since Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith.  Good Lord, it’s been too many years.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES at DALLAS COWBOYS.

Let’s see what happens Saturday night.

M. Dean
muhammadali-life.com

With quarterback Tony Romo, running back Felix Jones, and cornerback Terence Newman not set to play in this game, and then proceeding to lose Anthony Henry and Jason Witten during this game, the Cowboys were a team without a healthy roster. And without a healthy offense, the Cowboys’ defense needed to step up and play a strong game. And they did just that.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers scored NO TOUCHDOWNS as the Dallas Cowboys eeked out a narrow 13-9 victory. The Buccaneers did not, however, go down without a fight as they moved all the way to the Cowboys’ 20 yard line with less than 30 seconds remaining. But the Cowboys’ defense was not to be scored on today for a touchdown, so they held Tampa Bay at bay until the Buccaneers threw a 4th down incomplete pass.

It was not a strong game for the struggling Cowboys offense who, without Romo, is not the same team. But the 13 points were enough give them the win and to keep them close to 1st place as their record now stands at 5-3. Next week, however, is their biggest game of the year as they take on the World Champion New York Giants and will still be without their star quarterback, Tony Romo.

Brad Johnson most certainly has his work cut out for him and the Cowboys’ defense must REALLY step up against a fiery, well-coached Giants’ team, quite possibly the strongest team in football at the moment.

We’ll hope the best for the Dallas Cowboys in next week’s battle.

M. Dean
Write On Sports/Muhammad Ali Life

The Dallas Cowboys were blasted tonight, 34-14, by one of the worst teams in all of the NFL, the St. Louis Rams. The Rams were 1-4 coming into the game, while Dallas was 4-2. Now the Cowboys are 4-3, and are 2 games behind the first place World Champion Giants, who defeated the S.F. 49ers while the Cowboys failed to show up.

When Bradie James, Cowboys’ linebacker, was told last week of Tony Romo’s injury to his throwing hand, James said, “Wow!”, and then proceeded to talk about how the Cowboys had to now step up and play harder. Well, it wasn’t a surprise that the Cowboys’ offense sputtered without Romo. But what happened to the Cowboys’ defense? Were their little pinkies also injured?

The Cowboys now have to decide whether or not to try and play Romo next week, although Romo’s hand will probably not be ready for NFL football by that time. His replacement, 40-year-old Brad Johnson, was extremely ineffective and could never get the Cowboys rolling in this one.

The now 4-3 Dallas Cowboys must get it together and play the kind of football that such a talented team is capable of. There are still 9 games to go, and a good run of successive wins here would have them no worse off than last year, at 13-3. But it must begin next week. Otherwise, next year could begin very soon.

What’s your opinion?  We’d like to know.

M. Dean
Write On Sports/Muhammad Ali Life

In what would be a major loss for the National Football League, Brett Favre, quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, is going to retire after 17 years as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.

Favre had one of his best seasons last year, leading the Packers to a 13-3 record before being upset in the NFC Championship game by the now-champion New York Giants.

More information will be forthcoming in the next days throughout the sports world as the official announcement is expected quite soon.

M. Dean

Eli Manning drove the Giants 83 yards in a last minute comeback drive to upset the heavily favored, previously unbeaten New England Patriots 17-14 to complete a sweep of the other best teams in football.

The Giants beat the Buccaneers, then upset the Cowboys in Dallas and the Packers in Green Bay to make it to the Super Bowl, where they upset the Patriots.

It was a stingy Giants defense which upset the premier teams in the NFL to shock the football world and win the Super Bowl. This will go down as one of the greatest upsets in all of football history, if not the greatest. Its only rival was the other New York team, the Jets, who upset the heavily favored Baltimore Colts way back in Super Bowl III.

Write On Sports extends its congratulations to the World Champion New York Giants.

By the way, I lost my prediction…..but I DID say the Giants would score 17.

OK…it’s clutching at straws…

M. Dean
Write On Sports/Muhammad Ali Life

Once again, it is time for the Super Bowl. And as I have done the last two years, I like to make a prediction to see how close I can come, or how badly I shall miss.

Most sports people would say this one is a no-brainer. The surprising New York Giants vs. the undefeated New England Patriots.

“Brady and company can’t be beaten.” “Patriots are too powerful.” “Giants haven’t got a chance.” . . . . etc, etc.

But I tend to not agree. I think the Giants DO have a chance. They have the ability to do it. They shocked the other two best teams in football - The Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers (in Green Bay, nonetheless). On any given Sunday, one championship-caliber team can always beat another championship-caliber team.

The Giants stand a chance. They can do it. I just don’t predict that they will.

My feeling is that Brady & his band of undefeated men will complete the sweep and finish up at 19-0. Anything less than that would be a monumental letdown for the Patriots.

The Giants are a good team, granted. But the Patriots are overwhelming favorites. . . . although this sounds frighteningly similar to the time that the powerful Baltimore Colts were overwhelming, 17-point favorites to defeat the surprising New York Jets.

But Eli Manning is no Joe Willie Namath.

MY PREDICTION:

N.E. PATRIOTS: 31     N.Y. GIANTS: 17

Any counter-predictions???

Any comments???

Tell us. We’d like to know.

M. Dean
Write On Sports/Muhammad Ali Life

Max McGee, former Green Bay Packers receiver who had the distinction of catching the first touchdown in Super Bowl history, has died at the age of 75. Max McGee was at home, blowing leavings off of his roof, when he accidentally fell off the house. Medical personnel were unable to resuscitate McGee.

In the first Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers vs. the Kansas City Chiefs - played in January, 1967 - Max McGee entered the game after an injury to Boyd Dowler. McGee was not even expected to play in the game. Yet he made a spectacular, one-handed catch of a Bart Starr pass and scored the first touchdown of the game. The Packers went on to win that first Super Bowl game, 37-10.

McGee is survived by his wife, four children and several grandchildren.

M. Dean
Write On Sports/Muhammad Ali Life

The New England Patriots defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 48-27, in the battle of two undefeated NFL teams. The Cowboys were whistled for MANY penalties in the game, and their defense was unable for most of the game to contain Tom Brady, who threw for 388 yards and 5 touchdowns. So often in the game, when Dallas put Brady in a 3rd down situation, he came through with a first down.

New England is now 6-0, while Dallas falls to 5-1.

There are still ten games to go in the season, so we will see what happens over the next few weeks with these two excellent football teams.

M. Dean
Write On Sports/Muhammad Ali Life

The Dallas Cowboys are showing the NFL that they may be back as a powerhouse team. With sportswriters expecting Dallas to run into a roadblock against the Chicago Bears’ stingy defense, the Cowboys and Tony Romo continued their offensive explosiveness with a convincing 34-10 victory over the defending NFC Champion Bears.

Tony Romo was 22-of-35 for 329 yards and 2 touchdowns for the now 3-0 Dallas Cowboys. And although he did not score a touchdown in the game, the explosive and ever-controversial Terrell Owens caught 8 passes for 145 yards, several of them coming at a point where the game was tied at 3-3 and Dallas needed some offensive life.

Not only was the Cowboys’ offensive superb, but they held the Bears to only one touchdown on their home field and Anthony Henry broke the Bears’ backs with a 28-yard interception for a touchdown, giving Dallas a commanding 27-10 lead and basically putting the game away for the Cowboys.

This is best start for a Dallas Cowboys team in quite some time, and I am sure that many around the NFL will now be looking closely to see if “America’s Team” is going to make a run again towards the Super Bowl, which they’ve won 5 times already, more than any other team in NFL History.

We’ll see how the season continues to progress.

M. Dean
Write On Sports/Muhammad Ali Life

The Dallas Cowboys opened their NFL Season in superb fashion. With a little more than 11 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, Dallas led the NY Giants 38-22. The Giants’ Eli Manning promptly marched the team downfield and scored a touchdown, but missed the 2-point conversion. Dallas led 38-28. But the Giants got the ball back, and suddenly it appeared the Cowboys were in for a meltdown.

What Cowboy fans feared happened. The Giants scored again, on a 10 yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress, his third touchdown of the game. It was now 38-35, just a three-point game. Crunch time for Dallas.

When the Cowboys got the ball, they were put into jeopardy again by a 5-yard false start penalty against Flozell Adams, making it 2nd and 12 on the Giants’ 46. A five yard run by Julius Jones made it 3rd and 7, and the Cowboys looked to be in big trouble.

Suddenly, the Cowboys’ QB hero and goat of last year, Tony Romo, came up with a 51-yard TD pass to Sam Hurd, and the Cowboys’ victory was pretty much secured from that point. Dallas won the game, 45-35.

Hopefully, this is the start of a good season for the Dallas Cowboys. Let’s see how the rest of the season unfolds.

M. Dean
Write On Sports/Muhammad Ali Life