The Hazies - The Champs & The Chumps

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae if she is checking in.

For those of you who are new to the page - we like to start each week (we're a little late this week) by taking a look back at some of the more notable newmakers from the week that was in the world of sports. To those who have risen above the rest, we salute them by honouring them as one of Hazel's Heroes and awarding The Champs a "Hazie". On the flip side, we look at those who have distinguished themselves for less than stellar performances - The Chumps.

While Hazel hasn't officially approved this week's list of winners and "runners-up", we'd like to think she would give her trademark smile and thumbs up.


HAZEL'S HEROES - THE CHAMPS

FOOTBALL
The New England Patriots answered the critics Sunday night with a 38-14 pasting of the San Diego Chargers. From coach Bill Belichick who kept the focus on the game - refusing to answer questions about the fine imposed by Commissioner Roger Goodell; to Tom Brady who led the offense down the field on their first drive to make a statement; to Randy Moss who has managed to silence those who questioned the wisdom of trading for him (he's been a model citizen - making plays adn scoring touchdowns); to Rosie Colvin who set the tone for his team on defense with an early interception and a couple of big sacks (one causing a fumble). There are so many more you could name - these guys are champs.

Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre led the Packers to a win over the Giants at the Meadowlands on Sunday - no big deal, its just the Giants. But the win was Favre's 149th, putting him atop the career wins list for QBs.


HOCKEY
We've been known to give Pittsburgh Penguins wonderkid Sidney Crosby some grief from time to time - but never let it be said that we aren't fair. Crosby, who carries the weight of the NHL's future on his shoulders, took time out from his commitments to personally deliver season tickets to some lucky Penguins fans. You have to give the kid credit for being committed to the success of the Penguins - and by extension the NHL.


BASEBALL
Chicago White Sox DH Jim Thome hit his 500th career home run last week - you can bet each and everyone of those bombs were hit without the help of performance enhancing substances. Thome is a throwback and a champ in every sense of the word.


EUROPEAN FOOTBALL
FC Porto tied Liverpool 1-1 in the opening game of the Group Stage of UEFA's Champions League. The result didn't reflect how badly the little team from God's country (the home of Port wine) outplayed the English giants. FC Porto winger Ricardo Quaresma was without a doubt the star of the game - creating four good scoring chances and beating Liverpool's defenders like rented mules.


THE CHUMPS

FOOTBALL
In terms of NFL teams - the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles, the New Orleans Saints and the St. Louis Rams have been nothing short of a complete and utter embarrassment. Four teams that came into the season with decent to great expectations have managed to kill their respective seasons in the opening two weeks. Gamblers and poolies across North America have to be hating this collection of clowns.

Karma's a bitch sometimes - just ask Eric Mangini and the New York Jets. A week after pointing the finger at Bill Belichick and the Patriots; Mangini's chumps have been accused of cheating. The charge came from Ravens head coach Brian Billick who accused the Jets defense of breaking NFL rules by calling out snap counts at the line of scrimmage cause the Ravens OL to be called for illegal procedure three times in Sunday's game.

Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb made headlines for all the wrong reasons on Tuesday. McNabb has gone public with his belief that black QBs face unfair criticism and are held to a higher standard then their white counterparts. We won't get into everything he said - maybe someone should tell McNabb that when your legacy is failing to show up in the biggest games of the season - either due to injury or just plain sucking, people are going to criticize your ass. Just ask Peyton Manning who took more abuse than McNabb ever has. McNabb is a chump - the Eagles will never win a Super Bowl with this jerk. McNabb did a great job of blaming the Eagles failures a couple of years back on Terrell Owens - but we think Owens was dead on when he said McNabb was afraid to play in the big game.


HOCKEY
We're still hating Gary Bettman for the decision on Leafs LW Mark Bell. Bad decision for a guy who has been trying to put his life back together. We can't help but notice Bettman has been strangely silent about suspending Panthers D Jay Boumeister and the Staal brothers - all of whom have had brushes with the law related to alcohol consumption. We know Bell committed a felony - but in the case of Boumeister, what could have happened had he not been stopped?

That's about it for tonight - its an abbreviated list, but we're good with it.

Have a great one gang - thanks for taking the time to check in.

Hazel, we hope things are groovy in your world.

We're Out