Top 10: Father - Son Combinations

First of all, Happy Father's Day to all of the Pop's out there. As you know, Myself and others love to put together lists in sports and I figured I would put together a quick list of the top 10 father - son combinations in sports through out history.

10. Dale Earnhardt & Dale Earnhardt Jr. - NASCAR
Dale: Multiple Time Sprint Cup Series Winner, Daytona 500 Winner, Hall of Famer
Jr.: Daytona 500 Winner, 5-Time NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award

09. Bob Boone & Bret Boone & Aaron Boone - BASEBALL
Bob: 4 Time All-Star, 7 Time Gold Glove Winner
Bret: 3 Time All-Star, 2 Time Silver Slugger, 4 Time Gold Glove Winner
Aaron: claim to fame is his 11th inning home run during Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS

08. Prince Fielder & Cecil Fielder - BASEBALL
Prince: 50 Home Runs in a season
Cecil: '96 World Series Champion, 3 Time All-Star, 319 Career Home Runs

07. Jack Buck and Joe Buck - BROADCASTING
Jack: Won the Ford C. Frick Award for significant contributions to baseball as an announcer
Joe: Broadcaster for FOX for baseball and football

06. Calvin Hill & Grant Hill - FOOTBALL & BASKETBALL
Calvin: NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, 4 time Pro Bowler
Grant: 7 Time All-Star, Rookie of the Year, Olympic Gold Medal

05. Felipe Alou & Moises Alou - BASEBALL
Felipe: 3 time All Star, Manager of the Year
Moises: 6 Time All Star, 2 Time Silver Slugger

04. Bobby Bonds & Barry Bonds - BASEBALL
Bobby: All Star Game MVP, 3 Time Gold Glove and All-Star
Barry: 7 Time NL MVP, 14 Time All-Star, 762 Career Home Runs, 73 Home Runs in a Season

03. Bobby Hull & Brett Hull - HOCKEY
Bobby: Hockey Hall of Famer, 12th leading goal scorer in NHL history
Brett: 3rd all time in career goals, won 2 Stanley Cups, Hart Trophey (MVP) Winner

02. Ken Griffey Sr. & Ken Griffey Jr. - BASEBALL
SR.: All Star Game MVP, 3 Time All Star, 2 World Series Rings
JR.: 600 Career Home Runs, MVP, 13 Time All Star

01. Archie Manning & Peyton Manning & Eli Manning - FOOTBALL
Archie: All-Pro, 2 time Pro-Bowler
Peyton: 8 Time Pro Browler, Super Bowl MVP, 2 Time Regular Season MVP
Eli: Super Bowl MVP, Maxwell Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award


There you have it in my opinion the top 10 Father-Son combinations in sports. Who are your favorite combo's in history? Do Comment Below.

2 Weeks of Hype!

Well here it is, the two weeks of hype leading up to Super Bowl 42 on February 3 in Arizona between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. The Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers in an overtime game in the -4 degree weather in which Brett Favre can be held accountable for the loss. Favre threw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted by Webster and gave the Giants favorable field possession to win the game. I had almost certainly been convinced the Packers were the team of destiny here and were going to win the game. With all the magic Brett Favre had all season long and with the two missed field goals by Tynes (not to mention GB winning the overtime coin toss) it seemed to be Green Bay's Year. Eli Manning definitely stepped up and has been playing some good football lately to bring the Giants back to life. Plaxico Burress single-handily ripped apart Al Harris all game and Ahmad Bradshaw came out of nowhere to play a big role for the G-men. Winning 10 road games in a row, it seems as though the Giants have earned their position in Super Bowl and are not exactly unfamiliar with the Patriots. I should also point out in a previous post I did not give the Giants a chance to win the NFC, I'm just saying...


As for the opponent for the Giants, it is some team that has not lost a game yet but recently has come back down to Earth with the Eagles, Ravens, Giants, Jags, and Chargers all giving them pretty good games, the Patriots. MVP Tom Brady has especially looked human-like in the game against the Chargers where he threw for 3 interceptions (side note: Cromartie is good). Laurence Maroney had one hell of a game rushing for over 120 yards and helping the Pats salvage a shakey passing game. Where has Randy Moss been lately? Wes Welker is looking like the number one option on most plays. I do give props to Philip Rivers for having surgery prior to the game and still giving all he had for San Diego in a gutsy performance. (A second side note: I hope the Dolphins noticed that Wes Welker and Chris Chambers had some pretty decent performances in this game). The whole LT thing really baffled me for the fact that he was able to start the game and was not on the injured list but was pulled after a series. It was reported that it was Norv Turner's decision and if this is indeed true, this just exemplifies another reason why he should not be a head coach.

Personally, Two week is WAY to much time between the conference championships and the Super Bowl. Now I know it all has to do with money, commercialization, and the media, but seriously if your team is not in the Super Bowl by Wednesday of the first week you can't even turn on Sportscenter for more than 3 minutes without hearing some back lifestory of the 3rd string Offensive lineman who walked on at some small college.

It did not even take a day before the first ridiculous storyline came out for this year's Super Bowl. I'm sure you all know that I am referring to the continuing coverage of Tom Brady and "BOOTGATE". (Incase you are living under a rock and haven't heard about this then peep this, http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid285859616/bclid294430730/bctid1386375873). It's really a shame when ESPN and all the media is stooping to this level and to treat Tom Brady like he is Britney Spears being carried away on a stretcher. Maybe I should just sit back and get a good laugh at all the ridiculous stories that come out during this two week period? By the way did you that Jerome Bettis is from Detroit?!

Also in response to the comment from the post on the NFC Conference Championship preview --
I did enjoy the matchup of Plax vs. AL-HA throughout the game with Burress doing some serious work. As a former Eagle, and not a very good one, I never understood the hype that Harris received for being so good because he got torched all game and it did end up being one of the key matchups of the game, although an uneven one in the end. Eli definitely had some really good performances these playoffs and once again it's a showdown between Brady and Manning (Eli). I am not to sure if the doubters will be silenced just yet for two reasons. (1) He plays in New York, just ask Randy Johnson, Jason Giambi, A-Rod, Tiki, Stephon Marbury, etc. etc. about the mental fatigue the city puts on you. No matter what he does it will most likely not be enough. (2) He is the younger brother of Peyton who has already won a super bowl now and been successful for years. Both Mannings will always be compared with each other especially in how they fare against Brady. If Eli pulls off the upset he will definitely have earned some of the doubters to be silenced, but who knows with New York. I guess you could say it's better that Eli is always under the microscope in NY because he could be Chad Pennington on the lowly Jets where no one really gives two hoots about them anymore. Appreciate the feedback (Don't forget to peep Certain Songs: a music blog <-- )

...til next time

-E

-don't forget to vote in the new poll

NFC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP

NFC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP:
NEW YORK GIANTS (12-6) V. GREEN BAY PACKERS (14-3)

INITIAL THOUGHT: With the temperature at gametime projecting to be about 0 degrees with a wind chill of -25 degrees, it could be an interesting game to watch and it is the way playoff football should be played.

SECOND THOUGHT: With how cold it is going to be, the game should be focused on the running games of Brandon Jacobs and Ryan Grant, but it would not surprise me if Brett Favre has another magical game and throws for a couple of touchdowns.

X-FACTOR: As mentioned earlier, the x-factors for each team will be the running backs, Jacobs and Grant. Whichever team can run the ball more effectively should be in a pretty good position to win this game. With Grant's performance last week and the size of Jacobs, I think both running backs should have strong games.

KEY MATCHUP: Eli Manning versus the secondary of the Packers. Which persona of Eli will show up for the game? Al Harris has elevated his game to be one of the best corners in the league and the matchup of Al-Ha and Plaxico Burress should also be something to watch.

PREDICTION: Packers - 31 Giants - 24

FINAL THOUGHT: I am still not a true believer in Tom Coughlin, but he has certainly earned himself a contract extention because of his improvements coaching and with the team. The Giants have just as good a chance to win this game, (even though I have countlessly written them off...my bad), but something about Favre getting another shot at the Super Bowl seems fitting.

...til next time

-E