Now that we are into a new year, time for the wish list. Some of the things that I'd like to see happen during the next 12 months but first a final few shots at what happened late in 2007.

First of all, the Browns deserved to be in the playoffs, no question in my mind. Nothing can be done about the fact that the Titans had to beat a Colts team in what amounted to be "a pre-season" type game. (Play your starters for a few series and put in the backups) Unfair since the Browns had to play against the opponents best for 16-games, the Titans for only 15. What can you do about it ???? Nothing, it's just the way it turned out. In my mind, the Browns, at the end of the season, were playing better than both the Titans and the Steelers.

Please, please get a college football playoff system. Some of the so-called "big bowl games" were awful. Teams like Illinois, Hawaii, etc. didn't derserve a BCS Bowl Game while a team like Missouri was left out. Asking for a playoff system to happen is nearly impossible.

I'm wondering what season two under Mike Tomlin will be like in Pittsburgh. Toward the end of this season, in which the Steelers lost four of their last five games, some of the players complained about being beat up mentally and physically. Will Tomlin take the same approach in camp next summer ???? Few questioned the fact that this was Tomlin's first playoff experience as a head coach and I think it showed. His decision to go for two from the 12 yard line with still 10-and a half minutes left in the game against Jacksonville was just plain stupid.

What an honor for Bob Sanders to get Defensive Player of the Year honors in the NFL, the first Colts player to ever receive it !!! What I love about Bob, having covered him and talked with him while a star at Cathedral Prep, is his continued "down to earth" humble attitude. The first thing he said when interviewed about the award is that his family was happy. He still credits his agressive play to how he was raised on East 24th Street in Erie from his days of pee-wee football. On top of all of that, Sanders is simply a great human being. In this day of baseball steroids and high priced "holier than thou" athletes, Sanders sticks out and finally is getting the recognition he derserves. I'm rooting for the Colts to win a second Super Bowl.

Have a great 2008 and as always, feel free to e-mail me with comments or suggestions.

Most Steelers fans were pretty happy with the 2007 season under first year head coach Mike Tomlin. Afterall, ten wins, an AFC North Division Title, Ben Roethlisberger set the single season TD Pass record and the defense was rated number one in the entire NFL. Seems like the makings of a good start for Tomlin as the Steelers head coach. Think again. What happened to this team late in the season showed some serious cracks in the Steelers future, including Tomlin's.
Not much was made about the fact that the Steelers had a "rookie coach" in their playoff loss to the Jaguars. His decision to go for two from the 12-yard line with still 10-minutes left in the game was awful and the decision to run Roethlisberger on a key third down play late in the game in which a first down could have sealed it was stupid too. It seems that most people let Tomlin get away with those calls. Plus, losses on the road to such NFL lightweights like the Cardinals and Jets told me this team was not prepared properly on th road. The defense wore down late in the season too, perhaps overworked from training camp on. Yes, there were key injuries but one glaring weakness, the Steelers had no depth at certain positions. All NFL teams have injuries, the best ones overcome them with depth and other players stepping up. You have to hold Tomlin responsible for the most part for the road losses and late season breakdown.
Bottom line, this was not a great football team at the end of the season and with age creeping into certain positions, Tomlin's talent will be tested starting next season. It may get worse before it gets better. The Steelers have done a great job of hiring coaches that last a long time (Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher) but I would not put Tomlin in this line just yet. Maybe, this choice won't work out.

Let's be honest, there has not been a lot to cheer about when it comes to the Erie Otters season in '07-'08. The chances are slim to none that they will make the playoffs. Perhaps this very young team, with no overage players on the roster, was a bit overrated to start the season with high expectations, and next year, the core of this team returns with some good and experienced talent. So, is next season the season they turn it around ???? I like their chances next season IF...and it's a big IF...they can learn how to win in the last two months of this season.
If you follow sports, you know the key for any great team, was when they learned how to win games, learned how to overcome adversity, learned how to find a way to come out on top. This group of Otters have yet to find that niche and if they don't to some degree before the end of this season, they could be in the same position next season. Talent can only take you so far in sports, you have to learn how to win as a group, whether it comes from the coach, the captains or whoever, there is a point where it has to start to click. It has clicked a few times this season, like when they beat Kitchener at home in early January, but they promptly turned around and lost the next three games. The true test of any team that is "over the hump" is when you learn to win road games and the Otters haven't come close to accomplishing that.
I think in one of these remaining games, before this season is over, the Otters will win a significant game with a great comeback or total domination, and we'll look back next season and say...Yes, that was the game that turned things around. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Sunday afternoon, January 27, 2008 at 3:30 pm. It hit me. Golf was back on CBS and all was right in the world. Tiger Woods was destroying the rest of the field in the final round of the Buick Classic and for the first time since probably late October-early November, I had the urge to get out the clubs and hit some golf balls. Of course, I couldn't at that exact moment but the reality that we are nearly past the grind-it-out part of winter with spring just around the corner was nice to consider, if only for a moment.
Speaking of Tiger, the way he played at the end of last year and how he started out this year, well, we could see his best year ever. Nick Faldo, 5-time Majors winner and current CBS golf analyst, even stated that Tiger has a "good chance" of winning the Grand Slam in 2008, quite a statement. He based his opinion on two things....how Tiger is playing (very well) and the courses hosting the four majors. (perfectly suited for Tiger's game)
Leave it up to Tiger to give us a little light at the end of winter's long tunnel. We still have six or seven weeks of a miserable Otters season to endure, but the local basketball playoffs, March Madness and the start of spring training should help us get through February and March. No matter how much more cold and snow we have to put up with.
Sunday afternoon, February 3rd at 3pm. I think I'll skip most of the pre-Super Bowl hype and watch more golf.