The Double-Double: Isles and Giants Win!

The people that are so-called Giants fans have been whooping Eli for years on the radio and in print need to jump on the bandwagon now. Um, sometimes you need to wait until the lights come on before you cam walk on inside, people. Yes, I am talking to you, Mike and the Mad Dog. I've not bailed on Manning before--much to the chagrin of some friends, family, and co-workers. I think being an Islander fan has made me much more patient with sports because with them I was always waiting, wishing, hoping, etc. Eli looks like he gets it now and don't forget: he now has 2 more playoff wins in his career than Tony Romo does!

Speaking of, Fox spent three hours with the cameras on Terrell Owens and talking about Tony Romo. I swear that they just decide to screw objectivity and just let Troy Aikman openly root for the Cowboys in the booth. I mean, it cannot be coincidence that the Fox broadcast booth just happens to be above Aikman's name in the Cowboys Ring of Honor at the stadium. It's just a little too convenient.

Anyhoo, getcha popcorn ready, Terrell. The Giants are going to Green Bay! You have to wait until next year to make a fool out of yourself by wearing big R. Kelly shades while you're crying at a post-game press conference. (See how I tied this all into the picture with this posting. I a genius! G-N-U-S!)

What a game. I can honestly admit that I did not breathe very much in the fourth quarter. And yet, I felt strangely confident. So there you go, America: the Giants finally got me to make a full-out emotional investment!

All of the Fox guys and all of the ESPN guys picked Dallas to win. I think they are all in love with the whole idea of a Celebrity Quarterback. Whatever, dudes! No one cares or thinks you're too smart, Sean Salisbury. Your Grey Cup ring doesn't make you an expert. Besides, we all know you're gonna pick Green Bay to win next week!

Now for the Isles. Wasn't it nice to hear that the Isles were actually getting some zebra love for a change? Ottawa coach John Paddock was complaining about the "soft" calls in the Ottawa papers this morning. Boo-freaking-hoo. The Isles had nine power plays last night--that's an average week for them most of the time. Marc-Andre "The Enigma" Bergeron scored a pair of power-play goals and former short-time Senator Mike Comrie added some unassisted insurance late on a great end-to-end rush.

The Isles played Ottawa again without Radek Martinek and Brendan Witt. Is it me or does it seem like Radek has been out forever? Ted Nolan had some very interesting pairings for the Senators, in my mind. Andy Sutton paired up with Bryan Berard to start the game. Campoli and Bruno were split up; Chris playing with Bergeron and Gervais teamed with Freddy Meyer. Ricky almost had an empty-netter at the end of the game as well. That would have been cool for him.

Good news for the Islanders means bad news for the Senators. Jason Spezza got disconnected by Freddy Meyer last night and had to leave the game after the first period. He was caught at the Ottawa blue line with his head down. It's a familiar story. A separated shoulder will also keep Dany Heatley on the shelf for six weeks. Heatley was fixing to be in some select company as he was on pace to score 50 goals this season for the third year in a row. Being out 4-6 weeks is going to hamper that. Mike Bossy did it nine times in a row, Dany. I am just saying.

The Islanders come home to face Montreal on Versus Tuesday night knowing that they won in Ottawa for the first time since the 2002-03 season. Please, Versus people, if you read this, please please please no Bruins announcers for the game on Tuesday. Andy Brickley annoys the heck out of me and Jack Edwards' own family tunes him out at the dinner table. Hear my call!