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 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

NHL
It is killing us to put a member of the SenaTards in here - but we have to give it up to Tards forward Dean McAmmond. For those of you who didn't see it, McAmmond was on the receiving end of a vicious hit from Flyers' prospect Steve Downie in a pre-season game last week at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. McAmmond showed a lot of class after the incident, taking a call from Downie and publicly accepting the kid's apology when he spoke to the media about the incident. McAmmond didn't vow to get revenge on Downie, instead, taking the high road and saying he hoped the incident would serve to wake the league and its players up to the reality of how potentially devastating and dangerous headshots can be.

NFL
Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo continues to silence the doubters and put the awful memories of last year's muffed hold behind him. Romo made everyone's highlight package with a Houdini-like recovery of a snap that went over his head - turning a 20+ yard loss into a mad scramble for a first down to sustain a drive that lead to a go-ahead touchdown against the Rams. Romo completed 21 of 33 passes for 331 yards with 4 TDs - three through the air and one on a 15 yard run. We aren't saying he is going to turn into Brett Favre - but he certainly isn't going to be another Steve Pelluer.

Buffalo Bills QB Trent Edwards deserves mention for his performance against the Jets. Edwards made his first career start, leading an injured Bills team to a surprise victory over the favoured Jets. Edwards completed 22 of 28 passes for 234 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception - but more importantly, gave Bills fans some hopes that the JP Losman era is over in Buffalo. Good start for the kid - too bad it comes crashing down next Monday night when Tony Romo and the Cowboys visit Buffalo.

New York Giants DE Osi Umenyiora had six sacks in Sunday night's 16-3 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. While we generally hate to give it up for a division rival, we are making an exception in this case because the notable performance was against a division rival we hate more - in this case, that Chunky Soup lovin' mama's boy Donovan McNabb. Umenyiora set a franchise records for sacks in a game - we'd rather see his mug in the Giants record book that Lawrence Taylor or Michael Strahan.another reason we'll give it up for Osi.


MLB
Colorado Rockies LF Matt Holliday has had an MVP worthy season - .340 batting avg, 36 HR, 137 RBI, 120 R and a very respectable 11 SB. Last night against the Padres, Holliday misplayed a fly ball by Brian Giles into a double and which allowed the game-tying run to come across the plate in the top of the eighth. Holliday redeemed himself by scoring the game-winning run in the 13th. Actually, the entire Rockies roster deserves mention for their improbable run to the NL Wild Card.

The Philadelphia Phillies pulled off the impossible - they stayed in the mix while their star 2B Chase Utley was on the shelf and then made up a 7.5 game deficit on the Mets with 17 games to go. Special mention goes out to 1B Ryan Howard who hit 5 HR and drove in 11 runs in the final week of the season. These guys are going to win the NL Pennant.

Boston Red Sox DH David Ortiz (who gets plenty of mention on this page) finished the year with very good, if "unOrtiz - like", numbers - .332 batting avg, 35 HR, 117 RBI, and 116 R, while playing on a bad knee for most of the second half of the season; all that with no complaints or excuses. The guy is the champ of champs in the MLB.

YAHOO FANTASY BASEBALL
Everyone's favourite yahoo member Tina was declared the overall winner in our Hazelspeeps Fantasy Baseball pools. Tina took down one pool and finished second in the other - taking the overall honours from yours truly. Our girl Tina plays hard in every pool and is always there at the end.


THE ZEROES - THE CHUMPS

NHL
We couldn't applaud one SenaTard without denigrating another - its just not our way here on Thoughts of Hazel Mae. In the aftermath of the Downie/McAmmond incident, the first and only SenaTard to speak was fourth liner/designated healthy scratch Brian McGrattan. McGrattan was front and center discussing the hit with the media, vowing to make Downie pay for the hit the first chance he gets. We understand that this is McGrattan's role, but seriously, McGrattan checks in at 6'4" and 234 lbs while Downie checks in at 5'11' and 192. To round out how ridiculous this is - every SenaTard fan is voicing their approval of McGrattan's stance, throwing roses at him like he is some sort of hero. These are the same retards that were almost in tears calling for a lifetime ban when Darcy Tucker pounded Patrick Eaves last year. SenaTards, meh - and you wonder why we hate these clowns?


NFL
Oakland Raiders QB Daunte Culpepper had five touchdowns (2 passing and 3 rushing) on Sunday against the awful Miami Dolphins; anyone else would be at the top of this entry, rather than the bottom - except Culpepper. If you have read the page for a while, you know that we think Culpepper is the most over-rated player in the history of the NFL. He had a free pass for years while throwing TDs to Moss and Carter - people forgot how often this chump fumbled the ball away. But on Sunday, Culpepper proved to everyone why he is such a clown - after scoring a touchdown, Culpepper celebrated by pointing to his knee. To make matters worse, he tried to be humble in the post-game press conference. Congrats Daunte, you beat up on your old team who just happens to be the worst team in the NFL - we're looking forward to seeing you holding a clipboard on the sidelines as the number 3 QB by season's end.

Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb followed up his Pro Bowl-like performance against the Lions with a stinker against the Giants. McNabb looked awful for most of the night, falling down when a stiff breeze hit him, and missing open receivers with awful passes. Guess that knee is still bothering him. Thanks for coming out McNabb.

Miami Dolphins QB Trent Green had another forgettable day against the Raiders. The Dolphins are terrible and a lot of it has to do with the aging QB. Green was 14 for 25 for 158 yards with two more interceptions. Actually, the whole damn team deserves the designation of Chumps.

MLB
What can you say about the New York Mets? The biggest choke in MLB history, losing 12 of their last 16 games, DESPITE Pedro Martinez coming back and going 3-1 in September and making five good starts. Looks good on them.

San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman blows up in the last game of the season - giving up a two run lead in the bottom of the 13th against the Rockies and with it a spot in the playoffs. While some could point to starter Jake Peavy for an awful start in the biggest game of the season - Hoffman should wear the goat horns, his appearance yesterday was indicative of what kind of season he has had - 5 losses and 7 blown saves.

That's it for tonight gang - thanks for taking the time to check in. Be sure to scroll down to see our man Quikdraw's MLB Playoff predictions.

Hazel, we hope things are groovy in your world.

We're Out!