Tagged: Indianapolis Colts
If nicknames were real…
There’s something about a team nickname that defines who they are. The Chicago Bears have always had a rough, tough, and coincidentally, a bear-like defense. The Tampa Bay Rays provided some “rays of hope” (cheesy, I know) within the AL East, proving that the Yankees and Red Sox may not be the only two teams that can compete in the division. Granted, not all teams encompass what their name is, and in some instances, a name is just a name.
But when it comes to team nicknames, there are some inter-sport matchups between names that just seem to fit. Matchups that, if those team names came to life, would be some of the most monumental pairings ever to occur on a sports field.
7. Pirates (Pittsburgh, MLB) vs. Patriots (New England, NFL): A real-life battle between the two ship-based armies depicted in the trilogy of Pirates of the Caribbean. The only question is would the game take place on land…or at sea?
6. Reds (Cincinnati, MLB) vs. Blues (St. Louis, NHL): Made bigger by the Halo series, the battle between these primary colors has been on-going since, well, the discovery of the color spectrum.
5. Thunder (Oklahoma City, NBA) vs. Lightning (Tampa Bay, NHL): Weather’s two most coupled and recognizable features would go at it to determine which is the best…thing is, one can’t exist without the other, which would create another fold in the drama.
4. Lions (Detroit, NFL) vs. Tigers (Detroit, MLB): Forget bears. This isn’t Oz. The battle between the big cats would finally determine who the real king of the jungle, and Detroit, is.
3. Angels (Los Angeles, MLB) vs. Demons (Northwestern State, NCAA): The oldest ongoing battle ever would finally come to a win, and we’d have a clear-cut winner in the struggle between good and evil.
2. Yankees (New York, MLB) vs. Rebels (Ole Miss, NCAA): A recreation of this nation’s biggest and most important war ever that actually took place on a sports field would stir up some North/South pride, but may divide the nation once again, creating another Civil War.
1. Cowboys (Dallas, NFL) vs. Indians (Cleveland, MLB): There are likely not many American kids who never played “Cowboys and Indians” at least once, and seeing the big battle on the field would bring back memories for everyone, and allow us to see who really is the better of the two.
How about you? Are there any other cool “nickname matchups” that cross over sport boundaries that you’d like to see? Feel free to share!
NFL Wildcard Playoff Picks:
(3) Dolphins def. (6) Ravens
(5) Colts def. (4) Chargers
(6) Eagles def. (3) Vikings
(5) Falcons def. (4) Cardinals
NFL Playoff Predictions and Newslines
Week 17 in the NFL is upon us, and that means the playoffs are just around the river bend (credit: Pocahontas). That said, here are my pre-Week 17 playoff picks and Super Bowl prediction. I’ll start off by saying that those two big AFC and NFC 1-seed games from Week 16 (Steelers at Titans, Panthers at Giants) were way over-hyped. Sure, they were two big games because of the teams’ records being so good, but the games were mis-marketed. For those not familiar with the NFL picture this season, both of those games last week were to essentially determine which team gets the No. 1 seed, and therefore home-field advantage, throughout the playoffs for each conference.
However, what all of the big networks (including the NFL itself) forgot is that receiving the No. 1 seed will be a curse instead of a blessing for one of those two teams that won (either the Titans or Giants), and maybe even both of them. Being at home in the playoffs doesn’t mean as much as being hot entering the playoffs, be it on the road or at home. Just last season, the New York Giants won 12 consecutive road games, including all three of their playoff victories, en route to their upset Super Bowl XLII victory over the dominant New England Patriots, who had just become the first team in history to go 16-0 on the regular season, and in turn, clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Wildcard teams always seem to sneak into the championship run. That’s not only in the NFL, either. Remember the ’07 Rockies? This was a team who surprised everyone in the baseball world by making it into the World Series, not by gaining the 1-seed, or even a division championship, but by getting hot late in the season and riding that momentum to sweeps of the Phillies and Diamondbacks before hitting the Boston brick wall in the championship.
All that said, the Colts are my hot team this year. Indianapolis started poorly this season, but Tony Dungy (possibly the greatest coach on any current sideline) and Peyton Manning (THE BEST quarterback on any current team) have guided the Ponies to clinch the 5-seed in the playoffs, and in my opinion, a ticket to Super Bowl XLIII. The playoffs will go as follows, in my head:
(3) Dolphins def. (6) Ravens: Chad Pennington outplays rookie Joe Flacco in this playoff situation
(5) Colts def. (4) Chargers: Chargers squeak by in the sub-par AFC West, but not by Colts
(6) Cowboys def. (3) Vikings: Dallas starpower finally comes into play against one-man show Adrian Peterson and Vikes
(5) Panthers def. (4) Cardinals: Cardinals are absolute opposite of a hot team right now
(5) Colts def. (1) Titans: Tennessee can only beat Indianapolis so many times in one season
(2) Steelers def. (3) Dolphins: after physical bout with Ravens, Dolphins offense too weakened against Steeler defense
(1) Giants def. (6) Cowboys: Giants sqeak by Cowboys here because of rest in the first round
(2) Falcons def. (5) Panthers: only because of home-field advantage, and this is the NFC South, where home teams dominate
(5) Colts def. (2) Steelers: lack of offense leads to Steelers getting dominated
(1) Giants def. (2) Falcons: Falcons dream season comes to end in New York (errr..New Jersey)
Colts def. Giants: elder Manning able to score opportunistic touchdowns off key Eli turnovers
The Southeast is going to go crazy if there’s a Manning-vs.-Manning Super Bowl. I can’t imagine. If this does happen, I don’t see big brother Peyton allowing a loss to little Eli to happen.
The Consumption Of 
