Tag: Super Bowl

Atlanta Falcons to Sell Beers for $5. What Are You Up to Arthur Blank?

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Yahoo – In a world of constant inflation and outrageous stadium food prices, the Atlanta Falcons could emerge as one of the most fan-friendly teams in all of sports. Atlanta’s new home turf, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, is set to open its doors on August 26, and once it does, Falcons fans will be able to buy concessions at prices most fans can only dream of.

$5 beers? $2 refillable cokes? $2 hot dogs? In this day and age of greedy asshole billionaire owners pinching every penny out of their franchises though I have to ask….what are you up to Arthur Blank? What’s the catch? Do I have to wear my 1994 Starter jacket to redeem these throwback prices?

I’m suspicious. Its like when the Red Sox did $5 beer night a couple of years ago. It was for April games only and the beers were the size of cough syrup cups.

Absurdly low prices? I feel like that guy from the Burger King commercial.

Then again if your team just blew the biggest lead in Super Bowl history and lost in absolutely agonizing fashion to give Tom Brady his 5th ring you’d probably wanna do something to make sure the fans actually showed up the following season. Smart. Arthur Blank didn’t build all those Home Depots by accident.

The Stars Are Aligning to Make Las Vegas the Greatest Sports Town in America

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CBS Sports – “The Oakland Raiders are going to move to Las Vegas. I am finally convinced of it. After being a skeptic throughout this process and especially in the aftermath of owner Mark Davis’ deal with casino magnate Sheldon Adelson falling apart around the Super Bowl, there are too many people I trust telling me this has become basically a fait accompli for me to deny it any longer. By Monday night, Davis will be cracking open the bubbly and toasting to his future on the Strip, because with the NFL including a formal vote on Vegas on its official agenda for the annual spring meeting, there is almost no time for this to fall apart now.”

First there was the NHL, which sacked up with the Golden Knights who will be making their Las Vegas debut in the 2017-18 season. Now after all the rumors and speculation it seems like the Las Vegas Raiders might finally become a reality. We all know that the Raiders have basically been trying to get out of Oakland because their stadium is a shit hole. They play on a baseball field for christ’s sake.

And it seems like Oakland is all set on footing the $750 million bill for a brand new stadium. So lifelong fans and tradition be damned, Mark Davis is taking his ball and moving to Las Vegas.

Obviously this could go off the rails for any number of reasons, as it almost did recently when Goldman Sachs dropped out of the funding. But it seems like this is about as close to a done deal as you can get.

“This is going to happen,” said one well-connected league source who has been in close contact with many influential owners on this matter. “Enough people will hold their noses and pray for the best and vote this through. Oakland — and by Oakland I mean the government officials there — hasn’t stepped up nearly enough, and the league is ready to put this to a vote. And while there is some trepidation about this market, it is going to pass.”

So Vegas is obviously already the most debaucherous city in the world but now add in TWO professional sports teams? My god, the stars are aligning for this to be the greatest sports town in America. Picture this, flying in for a weekend gambling your balls off, then heading over to watch the Golden Knights, maybe place a (legal) bet 90 seconds before walking into the rink, then getting bombed at a hockey game in the desert and hitting the “casino” til 4 am afterwards. Sleep, wake up, grab some bloody Mary’s, head down the strip to see DA RAIDERRRRSS and day drink until you can’t feel feelings anymore. All after placing a few (legal) prop bets of course.

I heard someone mention this on 98.5 this morning and its 100% true. The Raiders are going to have the greatest home field advantage in the league. Just think about it, half of these guys can’t control themselves in shit holes like Atlanta and Jacksonville. Now you’re going to drop them in downtown Las Vegas? The ones who don’t get arrested for prostitution and cocaine are going to be hungover as balls on Sunday.

I demand a hockey/football/casino weekend the likes of a degenerate has never seen before.

Make it happen, NFL.

Patriots Win 5th Ring with the Biggest Comeback in Super Bowl History

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“Its only fitting the greatest player in the history of the sport and the greatest team in the history of the sport had maybe the greatest victory in the history of the sport.”

Leave it to Michael Felger to start his show today with a statement that sounds like something your buddy says after a bakers dozen Bud Lights. But its not hyperbole. That was Tom Brady and Bill Belichick cementing themselves as the greatest QB and coach of all time in perhaps the greatest Super Bowl every played.

Down 25 points and on the brink of death the Pats just keep coming back. 28-3, 28-9, 28-12, 28-20, 28-28 and finally 34-28.

The Patriots are Jason Voorhees. No matter what you do, no matter how bad it is, the Patriots are never out of it. You cannot kill them. Down 20+ points, I was taking solace in the fact that the Falcons were burning timeouts like they were firewood, as my friends did their best to ignore my delusional rants.

But I keep coming back to how much this game reminded me of one from 2012 against the 49ers. It was a game the Pats ultimately lost 41-34, but similar to last night, after getting down 31-3 the Pats ripped off 24 points in the fourth quarter. So while I realized they were all but done, evidenced by the numerous Ari Gold gifs I tweeted out,

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it was hard to forget that Niners game. The Pats are better than anyone in the league at getting hot and turning a game on its head. And thats exactly what they did last night.

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In a game full of spectacular plays I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about one of the biggest of the night; Edelman’s circus catch in the 4th quarter. It may not have been a 4th down do or die play, but it was a huge gain that kept the Pats momentum going (and burned the Falcons final TO via challenge). Watching that last night I found myself thinking we *deserved* that play. After getting hosed by so many ridiculous circus catches over the years at the absolute worst time, David Tyree, Mario Manningham, Jermaine Kearse, we *deserved* this catch.

And holy shit was it close. Kept the drive going, Pats bang it in for the score, get the 2, OT, game over.

Now the Patriots are in rarified air; truly in a class of their own. We’ll enjoy the t-shirts, the hats, the parade, the Super Bowl DVD but then we’re on to Minneapolis and Super Bowl 52. On Feb 6th the Patriots are 6-1 favorites to win their 6th ring in Minneapolis. Drive for 5 and One for the Thumb were perfect for this year. But next season? Minneaposix

Drive for 5 is Complete. ROGER THAT

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What a game. What a comeback. What a night. First OT game in Super Bowl history. Biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. Most Super Bowl wins by a QB ever. Most Super Bowl MVPs ever. The Drive for Five. Fire Goodell. One for the thumb. And to cap it all off the absolutely nuclear commercial from Tom Brady. #ROGERTHAT.

Would This Be Tom Brady’s Most Impressive Super Bowl Win Ever?

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So we talked about this on this week’s episode of The 300s Podcast, but would winning Super Bowl 51 be Tom Brady’s most impressive Super Bowl win ever? When you look around at his supporting cast on offense you have:

  • Julian Edelman (7th round pick)
  • Chris Hogan (undrafted lacrosse player)
  • Danny Amendola (undrafted)
  • Martellus Bennett (4th team in 8 years and acquired for a 4th round pick)
  • Dion Lewis (traded and cut by multiple teams)
  • LaGarrette Blount (originally acquired via trade for JEFF DEMPS and then resigned after he was cut by Pittsburgh)
  • James White (4th round pick)

If you want to go by what Keyshawn Johnson said this week, not one of these Patriots receivers would even make the 53-man roster of another NFL team. Bennett was an unwanted malcontent on a last place Bears team. Lewis and Blount were castoffs and White is Brady’s latest shotgun running back that he’s molded to his whims. It’s like he builds these guys in a lab somewhere with Ernie Adams.

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Oh and he also missed four games, which could have easily derailed the season or at the very least caused Brady to not be at the top of his game. But nope, he went out and played at an MVP level.

And did we mention that he doesn’t have his best weapon, one of the most most dominant players in the NFL in Rob Gronkowski? Name one other team that could stand losing a player of Gronk’s caliber, I’ll wait. Instead the Pats haven’t missed a beat and finished with a top 3 offense in the league.

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Brady’s done this his whole career with guys like Troy Brown, Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Shane Vereen, Danny Woodhead etc. The one time he had a Hall of Fame talent was with Randy Moss in 2007 and he threw 50 fucking touchdowns.

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So would winning a Super Bowl title without his best weapon, a stable of late round picks, undrafted players and castoffs from other teams all while missing a quarter of the season be Brady’s best ever? Without a doubt. Now hit the music.

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No Experience Required?

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super-bowl-li-patriots-patch-590x590On The 300s Podcast this week, we discussed whether or not previous Super Bowl experience would be a benefit for the Patriots heading into their Super Bowl LI matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. At first thought, I assumed previous Super Bowl experience would be a huge advantage for the Patriots.

The week leading up the Super Bowl is a gongshow. Media Day Opening Night is a just the beginning of a week full of distractions, and who blocks out distractions better than the Patriots? But Michael Salfino had an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal on Friday, basically picking my assumption apart, piece by piece.

New England has 17 more players with Super Bowl experience (21) than the Falcons. In the last 40 Super Bowls, a team has held this advantage over its opponent 38 times. These teams are 16-22 in those games…

An edge at the game’s most important position didn’t matter either. Teams have had a QB with prior Super Bowl experience 19 times versus a team like the Falcons and Matt Ryan with none and are 9-10.

I stand corrected. Upon further reflection, this holds up pretty well over the last 15 years. Just off the top of my head, experience didn’t help the 2001 Rams, the 2007 Patriots, the 2009 Colts, the 2010 Steelers or the 2013 Broncos in the big game. It seems like Super Bowl veterans are just as liable to put up clunkers (Peyton Manning 2013) as Super Bowl first-timers (Cam Newton 2015).

The Super Bowl is such a colossal event that maybe no matter how many times you’ve been, each trip is its own adventure. We’ll see what events unfold this week, but I’m no longer under the impression that Brady’s six previous Super Bowl appearances give him the edge over Matt Ryan. I’d still take Brady over Ryan if I had my pick at QB but maybe Ryan and Atlanta’s blissful Super Bowl ignorance isn’t a shortcoming after all. Looking at the history of this game, maybe having no baggage is an advantage.

Episode 003 of The 300s Podcast: Countdown to Super Bowl 51, the First Annual NBA Jam Tournament and the Hunt for Big Mac Sauce

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In episode 003 of The 300s Podcast we touch on our Super Bowl 51 Preview, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick going for GOAT status, Introducing the First Annual 300’s NBA Jam Tournament and the Hunt for McDonald’s Big Mac Sauce:

No. 1 Offense vs No. 1 Defense? “I’ll take the No. 1 defense every time.”…”Is Atlanta a crappy sports city? They’ve lost two hockey teams.”…”How about Bartolo Colon? He started the same year as Turner Field. Dude outlasted a ballpark.”…”You know how many Super Bowls Bill Parcells won after Belichick left? Zero.” …”To get the fifth ring with this supporting cast of castoffs is even more impressive”….”NBA Jam – If we have 8 guys and 7 games, maybe 6 of them end in a buzzer beater. Down by 12? Don’t worry you’re gonna hit 6 shots in a row”…”There is no reason to have any kind of post game in NBA Jam. LeBron you are nothing more than a decoy”….”These are mouth breathers. Go to McDonalds and just ask for Big Mac Sauce, it’s free.”

Patriots Dismantle the Steelers On The Way to Their 9th Super Bowl Appearance

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The Patriots are going to their 9th Super Bowl. The most in NFL history. Bill Belichick is going to his 7th Super Bowl as a head coach. The most in NFL history. And Tom Brady is going to his 7th Super Bowl as player. The most in NFL history.

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The Patriots played their best game of the year in all 3 phases of the game and Pittsburgh just had no answer. Tom Brady went 32 for 42 for 384 yards and 3 TD’s in the 36-17 dismantling of Pittsburgh. A handful of those incompletions were drops or intentional throwaways too. And Brady now has 22 TD’s and 0 INTs in his last 7 games against Mike Tomlin and the Steelers.

Sure, LeVeon Bell getting hurt did not help the Steelers (who appeared very LaDanian Tomlinson-esque on the sidelines), but the Pats shut down Deangelo Williams (34 yards and a TD), who in the past has roasted New England. But they also held All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown in check to just 7 catches for 77 yards. Kudos to Malcolm Butler and also to Mark Zuckerberg for setting up shop in Brown’s head with the whole Facebook Live debacle.

Patriots corner Eric Rowe does scare the shit out of me though. The stats say he had a pick and no huge plays given up, but in reality he was getting burned all night and if it wasn’t for 2 or 3 drops by Pittsburgh receivers this could have been a much tighter game. So he should be a blast to watch against the No. 1 offense in the NFL during the Super Bowl.

The Pats running game wasn’t great, save for that pile-carrying run Blount had down to the 1. But it didn’t need to be as Chris Hogan and Julian Edelman lit up the Steelers questionable secondary all night. The two combined for 17 catches, 298 yards and 3 TD’s. Hogan in fact broke the Patriots record for receiving yards in a playoff game with his 9 for 180, which is all you need to know about last night’s game. The Steelers either didn’t respect him or just forgot to cover him because he found holes all night long for big plays and 2 TD’s. He should have had another huge play too, but Brady underthrew him on a deep crossing route.

Tom Brady was brilliant once again. Completing passes to 9 different receivers. I’m sure the entire week of talk radio and ESPN saying how poorly Brady played against the Texans the previous week and how vulnerable they looked was a good boost of extra motivation.

The Patriots have now won 17 of 20 home playoff games with Belichick and Brady. That is bananas.

And, my goodness this ESPN the Magazine cover. Just look at it. You’ve done a lot of terrible, unforgivable things ESPN, but goddamnit will I be purchasing this beauty.

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We’re on to the Super Bowl.

Rating Yahoo’s Rankings of the Best Possible Patriots Super Bowl Matchups

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So I’ll save you the pain of imagining a Texans-Cowboys Super Bowl matchup, which Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner had ranked as the worst possible game. Four of the top 5 and 5 of the top 7 potential matchups are all Patriots games too. Who says people don’t wanna see another Pats SB? To the ratings!

7. Patriots – Giants: “Third time’s gotta be a charm, right Pats fans?”

Rating: A+ // This game would be the granddaddy of them all. I would be living off adrenaline and anxiety for two weeks straight leading up to this game. I need to beat the Giants in a Super Bowl more than I need oxygen. It’s like acid in my mouth. Buuuttt, Playoffs Eli scares the shit out of me for obvious reasons and I don’t think I can emotionally handle a 3rd straight SB loss to the Giants. But there coach has a mustache and looks like he’s on a list somewhere so maybe things are different this time. Tread carefully.

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5. Patriots – Seahawks: “Seattle isn’t what it’s been in the past, but it beat New England in Foxborough this season and Super Bowl 49 was an absolute classic. We’ll gladly roll the dice on another round.”

Rating: B+ // This would be another great matchup, the rematch of arguably the best Super Bowl ever with (not arguable) the greatest ending ever. Part of me worries the Seahawks get their revenge, but the last 5 times the Pats have played Seattle have gone: Loss (2016 reg season), Win (SB XLIX), Loss (2012 reg season), Win (2008 reg season). Soo science says the Patriots win this one.

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4. Patriots – Falcons: “This matchup might not be at the front of everyone’s mind, but it has just as much potential for a great game with the league’s top scoring defense (New England) trying to harness the league’s top scoring offense (Atlanta).”

Rating: C+ // I want to rank this higher, but every angle that the media will play to hype this game seem forced. Thomas Dmitroff left NE, built this Atlanta team and is now going against his former boss Bill Belichick, Former Boston College stud Matt Ryan going up against the Boston pro team etc. However it would be pretty interesting to see the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense (ATL) vs the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense (NE) and see who takes the title.

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3. Patriots – Packers: “Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers. What more do you need?”

Rating: B- // Yahoo somehow did not mention a SB XXXI rematch?? (Still the best SB logo ever BTW) Belichick was just a young pup in 1996, the assistant coach under Bill Parcells. Think Belichick would love to beat the same franchise his mentor and boss couldn’t? Plus Brady vs Rodgers would indeed be a matchup made in Madden exhibition mode.

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1. Patriots – Cowboys: “Yes, Super Bowl media week would be insane and there’s no way anyone is running out of storylines with Jerry Jones around. But take away the hoopla that would cause TV ratings records to be smashed and we’re still left with a game between two teams that were the best in the NFL from wire to wire this year. If this matchup happens, it’ll be the fourth straight Super Bowl that the No. 1 seeds meet in the Super Bowl.”

Rating: B+ // The two biggest franchises in the NFL. America’s Team vs the Team That Invented America. The parallels are crazy too. A young QB stepping in for the injured veteran, playing so well he keeps the job and leads his team to a Super Bowl title. Shit, no I don’t like the way this is setting up. Luckily the Pats run defense is their strength because Ezekiel Elliot could dominate this game single handedly. In the end though I think Brady and co. make it a track meet and I don’t think Dak Prescott, as well as he’s played, is ready to win that kind of game yet.