Five Drinks Into Sports: Why Are We Playing Again? (I)

Sean's Take: After a week of no games, my beloved Sharks are about to get back on the ice. I'm pumped, except that I'm not. Yes, I'm happy to have something to do at 7:30 PM once again, but it's all pretty meaningless, isn't it? Yes, yes, it's the winter doldrums, a period in which even the most dedicated hockey (and normally) basketball fans struggle to care about their team's games. For a team like the Sharks, who are all but assured of making the playoffs, there's no point in these games. The team has produced regular seasons in which they tore apart the league, yet had nothing to show for it. They've also had regular seasons in which they stunk it up and still managed to make the playoffs. And it's not as though the Sharks are alone in this, Puck Daddy had an interesting piece about this a few days ago showing that even at this early point in the season, there's only really one playoff spot up for grabs. And 5 teams have a realistic chance at that. So...there are two and a half months left in the season, and there's nothing left to do for 2/3rds of the teams in the West.

Five Drinks Into Sports: Breaking Down Super Bowl XLVI (IV)

Editors Note: As the Super Bowl is an extra important topic, we'll be devoting extra coverage to this post. Stay tuned for 3rd, 4th and 5th opinions.

Tom's Take:

Sean's Take: Where'd you get that video of me?

Ugh. For all my talk of being higher and mightier than other sports fans since I watch everything, I really, really do not want to watch the Super Bowl. Eli's face is ugly, Brady's a woman, blah blah. I can't even be funny or creative when it comes to hating this matchup.

So instead, I'll take the high road and go for some cold, hard facts. Hopefully this virtual ink won't be smudged from my actual tears.

Fact: Rob Gronkowski's ankle won't be fully healed in time for the Super Bowl. Gronk put up the most impressive season ever for a tight end, with 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns. At 6-6, 265lbs with the determination of Liam Neeson in any Liam Neeson movie (outside of Love Actually) Gronk would give the Pats offense a major advantage over a very average Giants linebacking core, who gave up the 5th most fantasy points in the league to Tight Ends (according to ESPN.com). That of course includes the 101 points and a score for Gronkowski in the Week 9 matchup between the teams.

Five Drinks Into Sports: The Perilous Position of the All-Star Game (III)

Sean's Take:
The sports junkie in me demands to watch any sporting event of any significance. And not just in American sports, but there's no reason for me to miss out on Cricket, Rugby, Curling, Hurling or Buzkashi if I get the chance to view it.

But something about the Pro Bowl makes me sick. Perhaps the purpose is to showcase all of the top players in the game at one time, but when ESPN saunters on religiously about each one of them throughout the year, the event transforms from a nice get-together into a circle jerk. It certainly doesn't help that nobody playing or watching cares either. It's not as though other all-star games have traditionally been much better either, but the Pro Bowl feels the most like it spits on the intensity and passion that make sports into spectacles.