Play to win or don't bother

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

Week 17 of the NFL promises to be interesting – especially if you are a poolie. The talk of the week is who is going to play and for how long? The Cowboys and Colts are being asked these questions as they go into games with playoff implications for their opponents. The Titans and Redskins both get in if they win – in the case of Tennessee, a loss means they are out – so what do the Colts and Cowboys do? Do you rest your stars and do what’s best for your team? Or, do you respect the integrity of the game and play to win the game, and risk injury to one of your key guys?

If you have been with us for a while – you know where we stand on this issue (refer back to last April, when the New Jersey Devils “rested” Martin Brodeur in the final game of the season against the New York Islanders – which had a direct impact on the playoff hopes of the Maple Leafs); you play to win the damn game. The circumstances around the decision by the Devils is a little different than this week’s NFL games – the Cowboys and Colts both know they have next week off, so the “resting” players doesn’t hold water here.

Everyone should heed the words of Kansas City Chiefs’ coach Herm Edwards “YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME” (repeat six times then make a face). The Titans and Redskins shouldn’t get free passes into the post-season and we’re hoping that Wade Phillips and Tony Dungy feel the same way – at minimum, Romo and Manning should play a full half (if not three quarters) with the first team. Will they do it? Probably not – but karma has a way of coming back to bite you in the ass. If they decide to let up on these two post-season hopefuls – what happens if the unthinkable comes to pass and you end up losing to one of them down the road? For that reason, amongst others (read: our hatred of the Redskins), we’d be coaching our team to pound these chumps who left it until week 17 to make it to the post-season.

A much more interesting story line is the game between the Giants and the Patriots – with the prevailing thought being that Giants coach Tom Coughlin is going to rest a number of first team players, with Eli Manning’s name being on that list, as they face an unbeaten New England Patriots team looking to make history by going 16-0.

The Giants can’t possibly think they have a legitimate chance of doing jack-squat in the playoffs – they are without a doubt one of the worst 10-5 teams in the history of the NFL. The Giants should be looking at Week 17 as their Super Bowl – a chance to avoid going down in infamy as the team the Patriots beat to complete their perfect regular season. The Giants should be looking at the game against the Patriots as a good tune up for the playoffs – there won’t be any cream puff games for them from here on in – so why downplay the importance of a game with historical implications?

The Giants will pass this game off as just another game and will likely rest their players – we’re not buying the crap about “resting” banged up players. We know the Giants better than that – Coughlin is going to try to protect his team’s false sense of confidence as they go into the playoffs. The Giants will sit Manning (we think it is more a case of “benching” him) and a few others and say the game means nothing to them – pointing to the Bucs as the only game that matters. This only proves how dumb this organization really is – they could salvage what will invariably end up being a season they view as “disappointing” by upsetting the NFL’s best team and maybe use it as motivation as they go into Tampa – but no, these are the Tom Coughlin-led Giants…you can always count on them to be donkeys. They’ll get pounded by New England, they’ll lose to the Bucs and then they’ll wonder where it all went wrong. If you don’t believe that, ask yourself this – why else would Jon Gruden throw a game against the 49ers if he DIDN’T want to play the Giants? Chuckie knows what we know.

Our predictions for this weekend? New England pounds the Giants, the Colts lose to the Titans (but cover the ridiculous number) and the Cowboys will beat the stinking Redskins. Take the points with the Cowboys and Colts – give the points and go with the Patriots.

We don’t want to talk about hockey today – nothing good to say. On a good note, Manchester United won in Premiership action yesterday with, you guessed it, Cristiano Ronaldo scoring one of the Red Devils’ four goals – in case you are counting (we know you’re not but…) that’s 16 goals in 16 games.

THURSDAY THREE PLAY
We finished off last week on a positive note - the total for the year is still ugly, but we’ll continue to whittle away at it. Tonight’s suggestions:

Ottawa over NY Islanders – the Isles are likely to be without Rick DiPietro tonight (he left last night’s game against Toronto after the 1st period) not good news when they are coming in to play the Tards – we hate to do it, but… Lay $100 on the Tards - $250.

Pittsburgh over Washington – the league’s marquee names face off tonight. Crosby’s Penguins have dominated Ovechkin’s Caps, going 8-1 over their last nine – it doesn’t look good for Washington, who played the Lightning last night. Lay $100 on the Penguins – $180.

Minnesota over Phoenix – the Wild had it handed to them last night in Dallas, so expect them to come out with a better effort against Gretzky’s boys who have been playing way over their head recently – clock strikes twelve in Phoenix tonight. Lay $100 on the Wild even.

Toronto over Philadelphia – upset special. Raycroft was front and center in last night’s abysmal performance against the Islanders, but his career numbers against the stinking Flyers are good. Also, the Flyers have been poor at home, so expect the unexpected with the Leafs tonight. Lay $100 on Hazel’s favourite hockey team + $135.

That’s it for today gang – thanks for taking the time to check in. Have a great one peeps.

Hazel, we hope things are groovy in your world and that you enjoyed your holiday.

We’re Out!