Super Bowl XLVI Thru Half Open Eyes

Well the Super Bowl has came and gone and I figured I would do a little write up of how a Steelers fan spent his day and viewed the game at his house party.

It started off a little like most Sundays at the house with a slight hangover and the excitement of getting to watch football. I was a little more excited though because I was hosting the Super Bowl party again and knew all my friends would be coming over and there would be a lot of food. So after cleaning the house and getting the food prepped, the pre gaming began.

I cracked my first beer at 11:42 am. Miller Lite bottle. Had some people stop in and out during the morning dropping off food and getting it heated up in their crock pots. Most of the guests arrived between 2-4.

We kicked off the festivities with some Mario Kart. Good game to kick start the drinking. I mean who doesn't love Mario Kart? When people started to get angry because they sucked at Mario Kart we then turned up the surround sound and cranked some old school rap. It sure feels good to be a gangster. We also watched Duke lose to Miami which was a great thing for this Carolina fan.

We then began talking about the game and how there would be so many Giant fans at my house and one lonely Patriot fan. When all of a sudden an idea hit me. We should fire up the web cam and do some interviews and watch the reaction of the lonely Patriot fan during the game. The idea then turned into let's broadcast the whole party.

So we fired up the web cam and broadcasted the party to the world. Matt Tynon did his advertising via Facebook and Twitter and the viewers came in. Mainly we only had a couple of friends that lived in Buffalo checking us out but I think at one point we had almost 100 viewers. (Could be wrong I was really intoxicated) Not sure if they thought we were showing the game or just happened to stumble upon a bunch of drunk Irish guys just slugging beer but either way we had ALOT more viewers then expected.

We deep fried a turkey, cooked 16 pounds of Just Pizza wings, and made 10 pounds of fries. All this on top of a table full of just about any other food and dips you can eat while watching football. I don't think I have ever had that much food in my house at one time, it was great. Although to be honest I don't really remember eating much, I think I was afraid it would ruin my buzz. So if anyone can let me know how it was that would be great. Half time we made some Just Pizza three cheese steak pizza. I do recall eating that chased by a broadcasted shot of us doing shots of Jameson.

I do recall the first touchdown by the Giants and the safety by the Patriots. I remember just about all the scores and it being 17-15 for awhile. I had a square pool going around at my house and won both the first and second quarters. That was also nice.

I am going to say the party had give or take 25-30 guests. We filled two bags of empties and did some damage on a bottle of wine or two and a bottle of Jameson. Almost all the food was gone and the house was not dirty at all which was weird. The only mess was the kitchen and all the dishes. If any of you helped clean after the game when I was really blacked out I thank you.

As the night went on I don't remember a single commercial other than the fact the first one was a Bud Light Platinum one, I think. I had to look up how long the national anthem was though. Apparently Kelly Clarkson did well by not forgetting any words and went over on the prop. We had some side bets on Gatorade colors the winning coach would wear I thought Orange, it was water. We were all wrong. I remember the coin toss being heads as well. I also remember the reaction of Luke Powers watching his team be crowned world champs. Priceless. Also the lonely Patriot fan accepted defeat like a true gentlemen, a lot better than I would have.

All in all it was a great night and hopefully anyone that watched us online got a good laugh. As great as it is to have your team in the Super Bowl I have to admit it's a lot less stressful not having them in there. You can relax enjoy the party and not have to worry about seeing the team you lose to be allover TV saying "i'm going to Disney World". Plus being a Steelers fan you know that your chances of getting back to the Super Bowl are pretty good. That next year you could be back to being stressed out dealing with everyone rooting against you, because everyone hates your team when they are in the big game especially if it's the Steelers.

Congratulations to the NY Giants and all their fans it's a great feeling being a fan of a world champion. The only thing that can't happen now is to have the Rangers be Stanley Cup champs. Go Pens. If you are looking for this wild crew to stream our next party, stay tuned for St Patty's Day. If we stream that the viewers should go through the roof.

Would love to hear some wild Super Bowl parties so share yours here or email me at 30mclear44@gmail.com also if you were at mine comment on all the things I can't remember.

NCAA Basketball Betting Tips

Here is the Tuesday edition of beernutsworld free NCAA college basketball bets. Not a lot of action tonight but there is 4 games I think you could take and make money.

A hunch tell's me Iowa St. could win this game so I like them +2.
Maryland is getting 8 points and I like them to either win this game or lose a close one. So take Maryland +8.
Alabama -5 I think is going to hit as well.

My NCAA Basketball lock of the night is Creighton -5.5.

Short and sweet. Good luck hope this helps.

Peyton Manning Cleared To Play

By Matt McLear February 3rd 2012




If you haven't turned on any sports channel today or looked at any website pertaining sports and somehow made your way here first Peyton Manning has been cleared to play football again.

This news kind of shocked me today. I honestly expected Peyton to never be able to play football again or at least have some kind of announcement if he could or could not play a couple months down the road. The announcement came today just days before Super Bowl XLVI that his current team Indianapolis is hosting. Is this some kind of media play to try and get an already excited Indianapolis city more excited knowing now their QB has been cleared? Much like a Buffalo Bills fan my gut feeling says the Colts will be let down.

They have the number 1 pick in the NFL draft this year and have pretty much told the world they plan to draft Andrew Luck. Colts owner Jim Irsay tweeted after hearing that Manning was cleared "Peyton has not passed our physical nor has he been cleared to play for The Indianapolis Colts." Isray and Manning have been battling through the media as of late giving a feeling that it could be time for Manning and the Colts to part ways. Is this the best choice for the franchise?

Personally I think the best situation for their franchise is if Manning can play you let him play. Luck could become a great NFL QB gaining valuable knowledge sitting behind and practicing with Peyton. Granted Luck could come in a starter this year and do great things but with the hype and pressure having to instantly have success he doesn't have a lot of room for failure. He would also have to come in and win over the locker room, Peyton's locker room.

I think a real issue besides if Manning can get to where he was before the injury, is the money. Manning if remains a Colt will receive a $28 million option bonus that will trigger the final four years of a five-year, $90 million contract he signed before the 2011 season. The quarterback already received $26 million as part of that deal. There is no way to tell exactly what contract Luck will sign but if it's anything like Sam Bradford's 6 year $78 million dollar contract, Luck would be making around that if not more so let's say $15 million his first year. Can the Colts afford to pay 2 players $43 million? 2 players would receive more than a third of the $120 million salary cap. The Colt's 2011 salary was $97 million.

If the Colts release Manning he would become a free agent and with the NFL's signing period to start March 13th, Manning could be a free agent as early as next week. Reports say that the Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, and possibly the New York Jets are front runners to sign Peyton.

It appears that even after Super Bowl XLVI is over with we will still have something to look forward to in the NFL. Even though my team has no chance of getting Peyton it's still exciting as a fan of the game to see where one of the all time greats is going to play in 2012. My gut feeling says Peyton will find a new home in 2012. I would love to hear where you guys think he will go. So comment back or email me at 30mclear44@gmail.com with your predictions.

NCAA College Basketball Free Picks

Well it's Thirsty Thursday so might as well get a couple of free picks right? There is a lot of college basketball on tonight some games are top 25, several are not. Doesn't mean you can't make some money off it. Here are some games that could help you put a little bit of money in your wallet.

Jacksonville St -4.5
Valparaiso -2.5
Youngstown St -2.5
San Diego + 19
Nevada -7.5
Pacific +4
College of Charleston -4.5
Jacksonville St -4.5
SE Missouri St -7.5
Morehead St -7.5
Weber St -11
CS Sacremento +7.5
Duke -5.5
Eastern Washington -6
South Dakota St -2.5
Manhattan -15
Canisius +23.5
UC Irvine -11
Middle Tenn St -5

If you have to just pick one my lock of the night is Jacksonville St -4.5.


Good luck.

Rick Carlisle NBA Champion, Not a Soccer Player

I wrote an article the other day about one home town guy that made it big, so I figured why not write a little piece on another guy that did. Rick Carlisle from Lisbon, NY.

Rick Carlisle is the head coach of the defending NBA Champions the Dallas Mavericks. He has also coached the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers. Carlisle was raised in Lisbon, NY. He gradueted from Worcester Academy and went on to play college basketball at the University of Maine for two years and then transferred to the University of Virginia.

He was drafted by the Boston Celtics with the 23rd pick in the third round. He had the chance to win a NBA Championship with Larry Bird in 1986. He also had short stints with the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.

In 1989 he accepted an assistant coaching position with the New Jersey Nets where he spent 5 seasons. In 1994 he then joined the Portland Trail Blazers as an assistant coach. He spent three season in Portland until he accepted an assistant coaching job in 1997 with former teammate Larry Bird in Indiana. When Larry Bird decided to step down as head coach he pushed for Carlisle to be promoted to the head coaching position but the team president decided to give the job to Isiah Thomas.

In 2001 the Detroit Pistons named Carlisle their new head coach. Carlisle lead the team to consecutive 50-32 records with central divions titles and playoff apperances. He was also named coach of the year in 2002. Even with all of the success after the 2002-2003 season they fired Carlisle and hired Larry Brown.

Once the 2003-2004 season rolled around Carlisle was re-hired be the Indiana Pacers but this time he was named head coach. In his first season as Pacers head coach he lead them to the Eastern Conference championship losing to the Detroit Pistons. He was nominated to coach the All-Star game that year.

In 2005 Carlisle was put into a situation no coach or player can ever plan for and would never want to be a part of. The infamous Pacers Pistons brawl. I'm sure everyone knows what that is and most likely remember it. If not here is the details of what happened. Despite all the injuries he had that year, and the suspensions from the brawl he was able to to get the Pacers into the Playoffs.

He then resigned from being the head coach of the pacers and executive vice president of the Pacers. After he left Indiana he worked as a studio analyst for ESPN before he signed with his current team the Dallas Mavericks.

As a head coach he is 443-295 and since 2001 as a coach has only missed the playoffs once. He is one of the only 11 people to win a NBA Championship as a coach and as a player.

He has had an impressive career so far any hopefully will continue to prosper. He get's a lot of credit from players, coaches, and anyone associated with the NBA on how great of a coach and person he really is. He is a reflection of his upbringing in Lisbon, NY. A hard working, polite, generous man who would do anything for his family , friends, and community. He continues to attend local camps when he has time which is a great way to help give back to the community in which he started his basketball career.

So in reading the headlines today on how Carlisle kicked a ball into the fans just remember that he is just like any of us and lost his temper. We all do that from time to time. Also remember that he learned how to kick that ball on the same field and same school as the one myself and my friends played on and graduated from.

NCAA College Basketball Free Picks

Looking to place a bet on some college basketball tonight? Well here is a couple of games that I feel have the best chance of hitting tonight.

Geoirga State -5
Xaiver -5.5
George Mason -5.5
Easter Michigan +8
Ohio -15
Southern Miss -3
Wyoming -3.5
St Lous -10
Houston +8.5
Creighton -10.5
Umass -3.5

Remember take my advice at your own risk. I have done a little research and I am posting this information for free to help you if you are unsure and looking for a little advice.

Good Luck

Aaron Rodgers Bummed By NFC's Effort

Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay packers was bummed by the NFC pro bowl's effort. The NFC a 5 point favorite lost 59-41 to the AFC. Rodgers was also quoted as saying "I was a little bit disappointed. I felt like some of the guys on the NFC side embarrassed themselves."

The pro bowl to me is a useless game and a waste of money. Don't get me wrong it is a great honor to be voted as a pro bowler and get the chance to go to Hawaii and play with the Pro Bowlers. Do these guys who make millions really need an all expense paid vacation to Hawaii? Do they really need to be out there playing in a game that means nothing but revenue to someone?

In MLB the All Star game mean's something. They are playing for home field advantage in the World Series. In NBA and NHL there might not be as much meaning in the game but they are different games. I mean in hockey you could still get hurt with an arrant slap shot or an accidental high stick but the game isn't played like it normally is with the big hits. In NBA it's more of a pick up game style of game just with a group of very rich athletic guys. In the NFL and the game of football every single play someone gets hit. The risk of getting hurt is a lot higher. So why risk getting hurt over a game that means nothing? Why risk getting hurt when it could effect next years season, the season that gets you your pay check?

The NFL this year is having an award ceremony show to award all the player their awards. For what reason? To make more money. So why not come up with a different solution for the All Star/Pro Bowl week in the NFL. Why not still have the award ceremony like they plan on doing this week but also have a skills competition like they used to?

As a fan I admit I did not watch the Pro Bowl and will probably not watch the award ceremony. Having the depressing week of no football was too much to have to settle for a game (the Pro Bowl) that is being played half speed. If they had the skills competition back, I would watch every single second of that. It would be similar to the love I had for the NFL Quarterback video game.

In 2007 they had the last skills competition and had the following events:

40 yard dash
Throwing Accuracy
Distance Kicking
Catching
Bench Press


You could throw in several more events to not only make it last a little longer but to make it so more players in the pro bowl can participate, and to have it be more view able for fans. Have a contest to see what QB can throw it the farthest, or race the big OL in the 40 yard dash to see which of the slowest guys in football are the fastest. Have an obstacle course the players can race through. Have a touchdown celebration contest free of fines and flags. I could go on and on thinking of fun events. I honestly think you could have a day of skills challenges and a night of NFL awards to help fill the void instead of having a meaningless game that bums Aaron Rodgers out.

So NFL if you are listening please do something to help make the fan experience better. Even if players get upset they don't get a free trip to Hawaii do something great for the people that help pay those players payroll.