Random Observations on the Wonderful World of Sports

In the words of the great San Francisco Chronicle sports columnist Scott Ostler, here are my deep thoughts, cheap shots, and bon mots:

---The NFL Playoffs are set, and wild card action begins on Saturday. Best matchup? Colts-Chargers.

---What a game that will be, a clash between two streaking teams with loads of momentum. Indy and San Diego were once left for dead, but with outstanding play from quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers, both squads appear to be unstoppable.

---The second best game is Ravens-Dolphins. Miami is the feel-good story of the year in the NFL, catapulting from one win in 2007 to eleven in 2008. Bill Parcells did an unbelievable job building a winning team. Say what you want about the Tuna, but you can't deny his success. And Tony Sporano, no disrespect to Mike Smith or John Harbaugh, should be the unanimous pick for Coach of the year honors.

---However, Baltimore is a serious threat to send the Fish home early, with that suffocating defense, led by Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, and a solid offense, led by rookie quarterback Joe Flacco. The Dolphins have little room for error if they plan on advancing to the next round of the playoffs.

---Speaking of the Dolphins, kudos to Chad Pennington for a fantastic season. It had to be sweet for Pennington to clinch the AFC East title on his old stomping grounds, seeking revenge against a Jets organization that passed on him in favor of Brett Favre.

---The collapses of the Broncos and Bucs were more embarrassing, but Favre and the Jets still turned in one hell of a choke job, leading to today's dismissal of coach Eric Mangini. Now it is time for Brett Favre to hang it up after a remarkable career. Please, Brett, please, do not put us through another summer guessing game.

---The Cowboys were the trendy Super Bowl pick back in August and September, as they are every year, for some inexplicable reason. I don't like to brag, but indulge me for a moment, as I was one of the few who never thought Dallas would make the playoffs. Now, I didn't expect them to fold like a pop warner team on ice skates against the Eagles, but I am not the slightest bit surprised by their absence in January.

---Jerry Jones has said repeatedly that Wade Philips will not be fired. Sure, Jerry, that's about as believable as Pete Rose saying he didn't bet on baseball. Something tells me that Mr. Philips will receive the pink slip.

---A quick thought: It looks like Ben Roethlisberger will be ready for the playoffs, but what in the world was Mike Tomlin thinking playing Big Ben in a meaningless game against the Browns.

--You can't help but feel for Rod Marinelli. After Detroit finished their historically awful year at 0-16, the Lions fired Marinelli this morning. I am not going to say that the firing was unwarranted, because it was obviously warranted, but I will say that Marinelli is a classy guy who should get another shot in the NFL in some coaching capacity.

---Falcons-Cardinals, Eagles-Vikings round out wild card weekend. I'll post a full preview of every game later this week.

---Congratulations Mike Singletary! You are absolutely deserving of the head coach position. Also, keep up the good work on Letterman!

---Okay, okay, Laker fans, I'll begrudgingly admit that I was impressed by your victory over the Celtics on Christmas Day, followed by a rout against my Warriors last night. But let's get one thing straight: Phil Jackson's team has no shot at beating Boston in a seven game series, if the two teams should meet in the Finals again. Let the angry emails flow!

---Poor Sacramento. You couldn't ask for a more unfortunate piece of scheduling than last night's game against the Celtics. Boston destroyed the Kings, 108-63. After losing back to back games at Los Angeles and at Golden State (yeah!), there was no way the Green Machine was going to drop three straight.


---I was skeptical about the Houston Rockets at season's start, but I am beginning to see why so many experts, including Jeff Van Gundy, are picking the Rockets to win the West. I won't go that far, not yet at least, but with the dynamic trio of Yao Ming, Ron Artest, and Tracy McGrady, one thing I'm fairly certain about: Houston will make it out of the first round of the playoffs, taking that huge monkey off T-Mac's back.

---Watching Roger Mason nail a three-pointer at the buzzer in a wildly entertaining Christmas Day showdown at Phoenix, I began to wonder: Can the Suns ever beat the Spurs?

---My pick for the final slot in the Slam Dunk Contest: Rudy Fernandez. The first year sensation from Spain is having an excellent year with Portland, and I want to see what he can do above the rim.

---So far, the contest is scheduled to feature Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, and Nate Robinson. I'd say the favorite remains Dwight Howard, who wowed us with his Superman dunk last year in New Orleans. But I'm pulling for former champion Nate Robinson. He's only five-foot-nine, but I was at Madison Square Garden a couple of years ago when Robinson rejected a Yao Ming dunk attempt. This guy can jump with the likes of Dikembe Mutombo.

---This past weekend saw some great bowl action. It was great to see Pat White shine in his final game with West Virginia, and Cal running back Jahvid Best put on a magnificent show in Cal's victory at the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco. But overall, it is hard to get excited about these meaningless, non-BCS bowl games. Wait a second, aren't all bowl games meaningless? Rimshot, please.

---In all seriousness, the BCS games this year are worthy of all sports fans' attention, beginning with Thursday's Rose Bowl with Penn State and USC. I think Mark Sanchez and the Trojans will roll in what is essentially a home game in Pasadena, but I would love to see the Nittany Lions pull off the shocker. You can't help but love Joe Paterno's youthful enthusiasm and love for the game of college football. What a story it would be if Joe Pa wins the Rose Bowl over the mighty USC Trojans.

---I wouldn't want to be the Rutgers college basketball team right now. Yesterday, they lost to top-ranked North Carolina. This week, they play the second and third ranked teams in the nation, Pittsburgh and UConn. Unless Tim Donaghy is officiating, the Scarlet Knights are doomed.

---I'll leave you with my thoughts on Randy Johnson signing with my beloved San Francisco Giants. For only eight million dollars over one year, it is a relatively low-risk move. Hopefully, Johnson still has some juice left in that fastball. If he does, the Big Unit will be a key asset in a strong rotation alongside Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez, and the Giants will win the NL West.