Super Bowl XLIII: Who Will Prevail?

Can the Arizona Cardinals pull off the upset and complete another unlikely Super Bowl title run, like the New York Giants did last season? Or will the Pittsburgh Steelers' top-ranked defense lead them to an unprecedented sixth Super Bowl crown?

It's kind of funny, when thinking about the match up you automatically consider the Steel Curtain to take the game against the Cardinals, after all the Men of Steel have had the toughest schedule in the NFL and pulled off a 12 and 4 season. After all, defenses win championships.
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I have a natural liking to the underdog in match ups...so I tend to lean towards the Cardinals.
But, the more I read and the more I talk to people, the more I hear people are going for the Cardinals. A recent article on ESPN.com says the nation is backing the Cardinals.

So, does that now make the Cardinals the favorite? Or do people as a whole like the underdog, David and Goliath theory?

Let the little man succeed. So I am going on a limb here, and say Cardinals 24-21 over the Steelers.

Roots Remembered

On January 12th, Indianapolis Colts Head Coach, Tony Dungy announced his retirement.


I spoke with former Cooper Cougar, Indianapolis Colts Running Back about the retirement of his head coach and asked him if he was sad...Rhodes replied, "Not sad, just grateful
that he was my coach and for how much he taught us."
-DOMINIC RHODES, COLTS RB

In an article, Dick Vitale wrote, "Tony Dungy is class personified. He is a special person. Dungy never forgot where he came from, remembering his roots."

I admire this. Wherever your career takes you, how ever much money you make, success life brings...just don't forget where you came from.

A couple of weeks ago, my co-worker, Sam Nichols told me, "Dapper, don't ever lose yourself."
Meaning I should keep on smiling.

Simply, words to live by.

Dominic learned something and so did I.

Ode to Good Baseball

Well Rickey Henderson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today and I have to say I am really excited. It really makes me think back...

If you are not familiar with the former left fielder Mister Henderson here's some stats:
Henderson has widely been regarded as the sport's greatest leadoff hitter and baserunner
He holds major league records for career stolen bases, runs scored and leadoff homeruns.

Rickey Henderson, the 1990 AL MVP, was a 10-time All-Star who swiped 1,406 bases, one shy of 50 percent more than Lou Brock, who is in second place with 938. Henderson batted .279 with 297 homers, 1,115 RBIs, 2,190 walks and 2,295 runs. He owns the modern-day season record with 130 steals in 1982 and the career mark with 81 leadoff homers. He played for Oakland, the Yankees, Toronto, San Diego, Anaheim, the Mets, Seattle, Boston and the Dodgers.

Quite a career to say the least. It's funny, growing up in the Bay Area I did not realize how much good baseball I was fortunate to see! It was all in my back yard.(After all, I am a die-hard LA Dodgers fan)
Wow, I saw Rickey Henderson steal countless bases. I grew up with the "Bash Brothers" aka Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire (pre-steroids, haha). Great pitching from Dennis Eckersley, there was Dave Stewart, Dave Parker and even Carney Lansford. (Just to name a few).
Then across the bay the infamous SF Giant, Barry Bonds...

It's funny... you truly take things for granted when they are right in front of you. I grew up hating the A's and the Giants, but I loved to watch them play. Strange. But I look back now...such good baseball at that time. So now I can say that I was blessed.

Rickey Henderson, it was an amazing experience to watch you play. To see you sprint around the bases like no one else could. But my favorite thing about Rickey Henderson...Rickey Bleeds Blue and played for the best franchise in the MLB... The Los Angeles Dodgers!!!

Where I am at today...

So I am fresh back from vacation and getting
back into the swing of things around here.

Two weeks back in California couldn't have gone any better.

After a long 5 months of covering high school football, working endless hours, a well-deserved vaca is just what I needed.

It's kind of funny, I recall way back when I first started my gig here in Abilene... Sports Director, David Robinett said to me, "Dapper, Football Season is a whole lot of hard work."
Me being me, I thought, yeah, but it can't be that hard??

Boy was I wrong. During my school days I worked 3 jobs (as a grocery manager, a personal trainer, and an AP for the Sports Dept. at KTVU) and took about 17 units a semester and got it all done and still managed to have a life. So I figured it couldn't be that bad. Football season here in the Big Country is more hard dedicated work than I could have ever imagined.

Ha ha. Difference now, my job is fun! So the long hours, well they do take a toll on you, but are WELL worth the time you put in. Most of All, the work is fun. Who wouldn't want to cover sports on a daily basis?

So in December my time off finally came. I headed home to SF for some quality time with the family and friends.

My goal of the trip... to enjoy every minute and take it all in.

Things I missed the most? (not in any specific order) Fantastic Sushi, World's Best Seafood, the ocean, bars/clubs that are open past 1am, the hustle and bustle of the city life, traffic(I know, weird), public transportation, my favorite dance radio station 92.7, sitting around with family and friends and doing absolutely nothing! That is just to name a few...

Although, I would love to spill all the juicy details of my 2 wonderful weeks in California - lets just say I am keeping that private :)

But, I will tell you I had a LOT of fun.

It was hard to come back, but my life is here for now and my goal is to make the best of it in the work that I produce.

So Beware Big Country... Dapper's back!