Bringing the Blog Back, Again

We couldn't go a week without updating the blog, so here's an entry. Like was said in a recent post, we know nothing. Given all of the travel this week, that's particularly true. I was surprised to learn yesterday that the Broncos are 4-0. I nearly missed all of last weekend's NFL slate.

The Canes host FAMU on Saturday. The Rattlers are Miami's first unranked opponent. Hopefully the Canes come out strong and win big.

The Cardinals host the Texans and Larry Fitzgerald is hoping for a pinkout (at the stadium some thought would be named the Pink Taco). Hopefully the Cards come out strong and take advantage of what should be a weak Texans secondary.

Other than that, we don't know much here. So that's all for this week's weak entry.

Random Friday Thoughts

It's been a busy week and I have a bunch of thoughts. Since none of them are coherent or linked to each other, I'll make a bulleted list (which will be numbered, since I haven't fixed the bulleting issue yet):

1. The host of the 2016 Summer Olympics will be announced today. As you could surely guess, we here at The Book of Mike are hoping Chicago gets the games. Whether they do or not, Chicago has surely pulled out all of the big guns for their bid. A host of American Olympic champions are in Copenhagen to help demonstrate Chicago and the US's sincere interest in the bid. But more than that, Chicago / the US sent the most recognizable and influential African-American (and possibly the most well known American in the world currently) to help push for the bid. How will this work out? Will it be the final push that puts Chicago over the top? If it is, will Rio and Tokyo feel that the US simply outmuscled the rest of the world to get these games? If Chicago doesn't get the games, what will we make of the late push by our national icon? No, I'm not talking about President Obama. I'm talking about Oprah Winfrey. I hope we didn't overplay our Oprah card here.
2. The Hurricanes take on the Oklahoma Sooners this weekend. It's a home game for the Canes, which is good news. There should be a big crowd too (70-75k), which is great too. A night game at the Orange Bowl with a big crowd like this was usually good news for the Canes. Will it be Saturday night? No idea. The Canes get two defensive linemen back and one top wide receiver (all of whom missed the Virginia Tech debacle last week), but they'll be without a starting safety. Hopefully the Canes at least represent themselves well, even if they're not able to win the game.
3. The Cardinals have a bye week this week. Yes, it's unfortunately early. As seems to be the case for the Cardinals. It's probably a conspiracy by the powers that be from within the league to annually give the Cards a way-too-early bye week so that they can struggle through the middle and latter parts of the season. I'd look into it to confirm it, but I'm too lazy.
4. Despite the bye week and the crushing loss the Cards suffered heading into it, the Cardinals are talking big today. It's amazing, isn't it? The Cardinals are trash talking about a franchise weakness during their 1-2 start.
5. Reports came out this week that the University of Florida is prepared for a flesh-eating zombie attack. While this may sound like non-sense, or -- as the university is now saying -- an attempt at leviy on their part, I can assure you it's serious. I have been to Gainesville and I can definitely see how a zombie attack is a possibility. All those freaks can't be mouth breathing hillbillies. The odds are that at least some of them are actually zombies.
6. In other news from the University of Florida this week, it was reported that due to concussion symptoms, Tim Tebow was not able to watch television or read. Actually, it was reported that Tebow "can't watch television or read." What this left unclear was whether Tim Tebow can read when he is not suffering from symptoms of a concussion or not. Maybe he can't read. And maybe the inspiration for his locker room speeches really is Varsity Blues.
7. Staying in bizzaro world, David Letterman admitted to affairs and an extortion attempt on his show last night. If talk radio and Twitter are indicative of public opinion on the matter, Letterman is being lauded for the situation. Frankly, this amazes us. While we've always been fans of Letterman, talk of affairs is hardly praise or applause worthy.

That's all we've got for today. Pathetic, we know, but we're still getting back into this regular blogging thing.

The Curse of the Cardinals

Talk of curses is fairly commonplace in sports. One curser, however, doesn't get much publicity and that's because it is rarely invoked. But as an Arizona Cardinals fan, I feel obliged to discuss The Curse of the Cardinals and to apologize to fans of the Carolina Panthers fans.

First of all, what exactly is this curse?

Well, history has proven to us that any team that loses to the Chicago / St. Louis / Phoenix / Arizona Cardinals on its home turf is set to suffer a trying future.

Do you doubt it? You shouldn't. The facts are inarguable.

In 1998 the "wild card" (how appropriate!) Arizona Cardinals travelled to Irving, Texas and defeated the Dallas Cowboys at (old) Texas Stadium. What have the Cowboys accomplished since then? In a word, nothing. The Cowboys haven't won a single playoff game. Immediately prior to that, the Cowboys had been dominant. Arguably, they were the team of the 90s - winning three Super Bowls under two different coaches. While the Cowboys did manage to reach the playoffs in 1999, they were eliminated in the first round and did not return to the playoffs until 2003. To date, the Cowboys have still not won a playoff game since their loss to the Cardinals in the 1998 playoffs. The Cowboys current playoff drought is longer than any other in the team's history. Who's to blame? The Cardinals.

Now it seems that the Carolina Panthers may be suffering a worse fate. Last season the Panthers were dominant. At least in the regular season. When the playoffs came around, they were nearly the opposite. The Panthers were soundly beaten by the Cardinals, and it all happened on the Panthers home turf. Since then the Panthers have imploded (to some degree). They are winless on the current campaign, despite returning nearly all of last year's team. It's worth noting that one significant change for the Panthers this season was the addition of Chuck Cecil as defensive coordinator; Cecil, of course, spent part of his career with the Cardinals.

Will the Panthers suffer the same maladies as the Cowboys? How strong is The Curse of the Cardinals?

Only time will tell.

N.B. There are only two known examples of the curse of the Cardinals. Despite the teams long history, it is decidely not storied. The Cardinals have only two road playoff victories in their near century of existence.