By Sam Gerb

The first game of one of the most anticipated NBA championship series did not match the hype. Yes, it was a big win for the Celtics to start off the series at home, but I wanted to see more metaphorical blood, sweat, and tears in the final minutes. The Lakers were completely shut down by the Boston defense, and it seemed that Phil Jackson was almost too stubborn to change his offensive game plan down the stretch. About midway through the fourth quarter when the game was in reach for the Lakers, they missed seven straight shots because the Boston defense was everywhere.

Jackson needed to call a timeout to reorganize and strengthen his team’s spirit, but he just sat like a dud on the bench. Now normally, I don’t put much blame on the head coach, but I was annoyed by his lack of enthusiasm. You might say that Jackson usually doesn’t sow much emotion anyway, but I say that I don’t care, and he should try to match the emotion of his players on the court that are giving it their all.

If one thing was positive about this opening game it was that the big three for Boston actually showed up. Garnett, Allen and Pierce combined for 65 of Boston’s 98 points. When you watch the Celtics, you can feel the intensity of Garnett and Pierce through your television sets. Pierce sprained his knee in the third quarter, and came back with the passion of Willis Reed. He hopped out of the tunnel and was ready to light up the Lakers. Garnett had an insane put-back slam in the final minutes off of a missed three point attempt by James Posey. That was the final nail in the coffin and the necessary momentum builder for game two.

The Lakers offense just never picked up in the second half. Sure they had the lead at half, but no single player really stepped up and took over the game. And whose job is that? Cleary, it’s Kobe Bryant’s job. He had 24 points, but to be honest, I thought Kobe would put a 40-spot up on the Celtics to send a message in the first game. But like I said before, Jackson just never set a game plan to get the ball in Bryant’s hands on key positions down the stretch.

If the Lakers are going to win this series, they are going to have to improve on their 3-point shooting from Game 1. They shot 3-of-14 and Bryant didn’t even sink one. Fisher needs to step up and be a leader and the bench players like Radmanovic and Vujacic need to knock down shots with Kobe on the bench. Also, the Laker defense disappeared. They allowed Pierce to score 19 points in the second half and he didn’t miss a shot down the stretch. And even when Pierce was out with his injury, the Celtics went on a 10-2 run. The Lakers can turn the momentum into their favor if they play like they have done in the series’ before this.

By Sam Gerb

All you could hear after the Boston Celtics finished of the Detroit Pistons in the locker room were the chants of “Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.!” This championship series is far bigger than any finals in recent history. The Lakers and Celtics have combined for 30 of the 61 NBA championships. Clearly these teams have some serious resumes. This rivalry stems all the way back to the late 50s and is stronger than ever today. There were the epic battles between Russell and Chamberlain, Bird and Johnson, and now the torch has passed to Bryant and Garnett.

The Celtics have traveled an interesting path during their playoff run to get where they are now. Who would have ever thought they would start the first round going all the way to a seventh game with the Atlanta Hawks? Yes the 37-45 regular season Atlanta Hawks. Regardless of how poorly Boston played early they pulled off the win, and in sports a win is all that matters. And yes, they also went to a seventh game with the Cavaliers, but still were the stronger team in the end. There hardest series was supposed to be versus the Pistons, but it proved to be an easily accomplished feat. Boston took only six games to beat the Pistons and are going to try to ride their moment all the way to a finals win.

The Lakers have had to face more difficult competition to get to the finals. They knocked off Denver, and a hard-fought series in Utah, and made the Spurs look like a bunch of amateurs in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers simply put look like a perfect team. Every player on the court plays confidently and feeds off one another’s energy. Kobe Bryant, was the MVP of the regular season, and has shown why he deserved that recognition. Kobe is average 32 ppg in the playoffs and almost 6 assists per game. He gains so much attention from the opposing team’s defense that role players like
Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom have been able to shine. And don’t forget about Derek Fisher. Fisher brings irreplaceable leadership and experience to this Laker team. Fisher won three rings earlier in his career also with the Lakers.

This series will receive tons of media attention and rightfully so. Both teams were exciting during the regular season and both teams play with an insanely high amount of intensity. During the regular season Boston won both games they played against L.A., by an average of 16 points, but that was with the Lakers short Pau Gasol. I believe that the Lakers will win this series in 6 games. Kobe Bryant should dominate the Celtic defense for one reason, no one can guard him. He will light the Celtics up and eventually be the MVP of the series. The big three of the Celtics, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen are a formidable strength, but have proved to play inconsistently as a trio throughout these playoffs. This finals series will be an exciting one and surely one to remember for years to come.

By Sam Gerb

Winning on the road in game seven seemed like an improbability for the San Antonio Spurs, but experience rose up against the odds. Every game between the Spurs and Hornets was decided by more than 10 points in each game, and whenever San Antonio played in New Orleans they were blown out of the building. But the only people feeling that painful sting after the last buzzer sounded were the heartbroken Hornets.

From the beginning of the series, the Spurs looked old and unable to play at the same pace as Chris Paul. Paul was second in MVP votes during the regular season and showed why he deserved to be in such high regard in every game. In the series he averaged almost 24 points, 11 assists and about 2.5 steals each game. With Paul’s exceptional guard play, new stars were born for the Hornets. David West was dominant not only in the paint against the Spurs defense, but also showed off his newly developed outside stroke. Unfortunately, when the Hornets needed West the most, he was invisible on the court. West started off the game with 14 quick points in the first half, but only six in the second half.

The Spurs played their style the entire game and seemed unfazed by the “Woooos” of the crowd. Even the running Peja heads in the stands could not stop the Spurs from draining 3 pointer after 3 pointer down the stretch. It is easy to see how the Spurs won when they shot 43 percent ( 12-of-28 ) from the three-point line. Veterans such as Michael Finely and Robert Horry got limited playing time, but knocked down key three-pointers whenever the Hornets looked to make a comeback. The Hornets shot a dismal 24 percent (4-of-17) from downtown and really never got the outside game going.

Many Spurs skeptics said that they could not win this series without Tim Duncan putting up big numbers. But Duncan played an even larger role by taking on the barrage of double teams every time he touched the ball, which in turn created wide open shots for shooters like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

The Spurs will be facing the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. The Lakers breezed through their last series with the Utah Jazz and have been waiting to play their next game for quite some time. Kobe Bryant is playing better than ever and has really gotten his team more active throughout the game. This was shown when he did not take one shot in the fourth quarter of their win in game five over the Jazz. Even though the Lakers had the best record in the Western Conference, I still believe that the Spurs will beat them. The Spurs are the reigning NBA champions and know how to win the big games against the elite players. On paper, the Lakers team looks better, but the Spurs have the deep bench, which gives them that extra edge. Look for the Spurs to not only defeat the Lakers, but win the NBA finals against any Eastern Conference opponent they face.

Read the original article on The Minaret, with photos.

Two weeks before graduation, teammates dressed five out of the six University of Tampa women’s soccer freshmen in bright, colorful clothes and covered them in make-up, fingernail polish and marker.

Pictures from the party in an off-campus apartment showed the five freshmen women in Halloween-style makeup with fingernail polish around their eyes. At least two had hair painted on their chests and arms, and Haley LeMond wore a shirt that read “Property of Stack,” an older teammate.

The women remained in their new attire when the team went to The Hut, a local 18-and-up nightclub that is popular with UT students.

The event, known as “Freshmen Fun Night,” reportedly has been going on for years. As the pictures depict the senior members of the team dressed normally, questions about hazing arose.

UT’s regulations state, “Hazing includes, but is not limited to … forced consumption of any food, liquor, drug, or other substance, or other forced physical activity that could adversely affect the physical health or safety of the student and also includes any activity that would subject the student to extreme mental stress, such as sleep deprivation, forced exclusion from social contact, forced conduct that could result in extreme embarrassment, or other forced activity that could adversely affect the mental health or dignity of the student.”

The NCAA has a slightly more detailed definition, including, “any activity expected of someone joining a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate. This does not include activities such as rookies carrying the balls, team parties with community games, or going out with your teammates, unless an atmosphere of humiliation, degradation, abuse or danger arises.”

Taking the players out to The Hut while still dressed up in such a fashion could appear to violate NCAA policy, but one freshman denied that the behavior was insulting or derogatory.

“I don’t see that [the activities of Freshmen Fun Night] as demeaning to my character at all,” she said, wishing to remain anonymous. “I would do it again, and I want to do it again.”

Athletic Director Larry Marfise said the department investigated the event.

“We looked into it, and found nothing wrong,” he said. “It was not an initiation. It was only freshmen because only the freshmen chose to participate.”

Marfise went on to say that the athletic department follows their own set of hazing regulations, which are different that UT’s general campus policy. He was unwilling to give The Minaret a copy of these rules, however, claiming that only those inside the athletic department, including student-athletes, have access to them.

Team captain Alicia Wyman thought the event was harmless.

“No one is any higher or lower than anyone else,” said Wyman, one of the veterans participating in the event. “Everyone was in there together, and everyone was watching out for each other.”

Freshman Amy Triano recalled a story last semester when she and a teammate had dressed up similarly to Saturday’s outfit for fun.

“I do it all the time, but no one is there to do it with me,” Triano said.

However, even if the activities were not fully forced, according to Tampa’s Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, “Apathy or acquiescence in the presence of hazing is not a neutral act; it is a violation of this article.”

Even if all the girls consented to the events of freshmen fun night, the act could still be considered hazing at UT.

The Rights and Responsibilities also state, “Any activity . . . upon which the initiation or admission into or affiliation with a university organization is directly or indirectly conditioned shall be presumed to be ‘forced’ activity, the willingness of an individual to participate in such activity notwithstanding.”

Head coach Gerry Lucey said he heard about some of the night.

“It was not a team event,” he said. “There is nothing to suggest that anything wrong took place.”

His players agreed.

“It was definitely not a team event,” said one of the players. “Our entire team was not there. Anyone who wanted to go went. It was not mandatory.”

Facebook pictures showed empty beer bottles on tables along with what appeared to be a bottle of Malibu Coconut Rum. All of the players vehemently denied that any alcohol was consumed at the event, however.

While at least a dozen women’s soccer players were involved, pictures show that some of those involved Saturday were women athletes from other sports. Some were not affiliated with any Tampa sports at all. Thus, the night was not affiliated specifically with women’s soccer, players said.

Though freshmen Megan Tobin was sick with food poisoning, all of the other freshmen were dressed up for the event. It also appears that only freshmen wore the outfits, but team members say the event wasn’t a hazing ritual.

“There’s no initiation if you’re already in the group,” Wyman said.

Admission to the team follows the same standard. Christy O’Connor was on the team as a freshman and left the squad at the start of spring semester.

“I knew that there was a night we all got together and dressed up silly,” O’Connor said. “It wasn’t a scare tactic at all.”

She said the idea of such a night had no influence in her decision to leave the team. If O’Connor were to rejoin in the fall, she would need only to meet the physical requirements and not undergo any tasks performed on Freshmen Fun Night, she said.

The Facebook pictures have been taken down since they were first posted.

Mike Rabelo, a 2001 draft pick out of the University of Tampa, has picked up significant playing time this season with the Florida Marlins.

Rabelo, who is fourth on UT’s all-time list for being hit by pitches, is hitting .238 through 19 games this season.

The 2001 season ended in the College World Series, as Tampa lost twice and finished seventh nationally.

Rabelo was never an All-American, but did twice place on the second-team All-South Region team. In 2000, he was named to the first-team All-Sunshine State Conference squad. It was his second time on the list, as he was also on the 1999 team.

Rabelo was taken in the 14th round of the 2001 draft by the Detroit Tigers, where he made his first major league appearance. He went to Florida as part of the trade that sent Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to Detroit.

– Peter Arrabal

This university needs to schoolhouse bully Division I schools. Challenge Miami to a baseball game, or extend open arms to the Gators basketball program. The Tampa teams aren’t drawing any crowds, and it is not for lack of our talent.

Let us challenge schools that will bring the fans and then prove that we can beat them. Like the welterweight challenging the heavyweight, nobody holds the underdog responsible for losing while at the same time cheering for the upset.

This spirit is exactly what Tampa is missing and if it requires incessantly emailing, calling or carrier pigeon messaging large D-I schools that are the real allure then so be it.

The logical opposition to this would be not to hope a higher Division school condescends to our tier but rather to raise our level to theirs. While not a bad idea from the competition aspect, financially this decision is irrational.

Right now our athletic department is already under- funded in scholarships. Men’s soccer head coach Adrian Bush commented during his season that Lynn University budgets around three times as much as Tampa in his sport. Yet even with this discrepancy, UT won the Sunshine State Conference tournament and handed Lynn their only three losses of the season.

Tampa held the Fighting Knights, who averaged 3.2 goals a game, to two or fewer in every contest. Unbelievable play that surpasses what the statistics show is not uncommon at Tampa, made largely possible by the school’s location and small size.

Moving into the Division I realm would make us more appealing to incoming freshmen and transfers, causing undergraduate numbers to soar past the small school attraction of athletes. To compensate for the loss of one subtle recruiting tool, the athletic department would be forced to charge admission into games to boost the scholarship fund to keep us competitive.

The last event UT charged entry was the men’s and women’s basketball postseason in March. Five dollars was enough for admission to a full day of basketball and access to the Fan Fest presented by the athletic marketing  program and Wendy’s seeking another  advertising edge.

Unfortunately for Tampa, five dollars is also the cover amount The Hut charges on Saturdays for nickel beer night and I would be willing to bet a beer (or a nickel) that there were more UT kids at The Hut than supporting their home team.

 Ruling out the D-I promotion, I noted the Bumstead article suggests that we lose participation to the local sports teams. It also accuses Tampa’s lack in the football department. The latter I have no doubt hurts us but of the first claim I am still skeptical.

After soccer season next year, when the field is no longer spitting sulfur water on kids walking to Straz, Tampa should make more of an effort to draw that outside action here. Bringing the WNBA teams to play in Martinez is a step in the right direction but the improper execution of this plan is self-evident: it’s the WNBA.

The once successful (now has-been) Tampa Bay Storm hosting practices on the intramural field is close, but if the squad played a real inter-team skirmish in the spring when the soccer field isn’t being used, then the Spartan stands may be filled for the first time in a while. A show such as this may even allow the school to charge a five dollar entry fee, making these tickets exactly five dollars more than those currently provided by the university.

Higher ambitions such as that may be further down the road if it lies in the distance at all. Instead UT should not move to Division I sports, but rather test the waters.

 Pestering bigger name schools to challenge our 12 national championships will either arouse suspicion that they are afraid of us or bring them to our campus with free admission to the games.

Fan participation, even for the wrong reason, still fills the stands. Since the natural skill of our athletes and the success of our teams as a whole clearly isn’t enough, this may be one of the few remaining options.

Worst that happens is students learn how talented our teams are.

While the ending of school may disconnect a student from the Tampa mentality, the same vacation is the beginning of crunch time for baseball and softball. I realize that this site hasn’t been posted on in four weeks, but that’s nothing compared to the four years it has taken the softball team to get back to the NCAA South Regional Tournament.

Head coach Leslie Kanter would be likely to say that the 31-11 record is due highly to team effort, which is what she has told every Minaret reporter who has conducted an interview. As true as this may be, there have been some superstars on this team.

Many game’s fate has been decided by the pitching staff. A sophomore and a freshman. Heather VanLandin and Deanna Henriott had a combine 324 strikeouts on the season. Henriott played over 190 innings maintaining a 1.65 ERA. VanLandingham controlled the mound just under 100 innings and pitched a solid 2.31 ERA in the regular season.

Of course there are other contributing factors, but look for Tampa’s pitching to give them the edge in the postseason starting May 7 at Miami’s Barry University.

But now we shift to the male version of America’s favorite pastime. The third ranked Spartans closed out the regular season topping the Sunshine State Conference, good news that could only be shattered by the announcement of the NCAA South Regional Tournament host being anything but, “The University of Tampa.” The players and head coach Joe Urso have expressed the importance of the homefield edge.

If homefield advantage is granted, the Spartans should have no trouble. Urso showed awareness of Tusculum College seeking revenge after last season’s defeat in the same tournament. The No. two seed in the region sits second only to Tampa, and has numerous players from last year’s squad returning for another shot at our defending national champs.

But the Spartans have something the Pioneers didn’t see all season - a competitive conference. The SSC has overall taken every school to a finer tier of play. Tampa snuck through nearly untouched last season with a 20-4 record, but this year has struggled slightly with a 17-7 showing.

This is not for lack of talent. The Tampa Spartans are peaking, and played like a national championship team in the second half of the season. If this continues into the postseason, then a program already well-versed in tradition will write new pages of history.

By Jason Kelly 

      The month of March is slowly coming to an end and so is spring training. Soon, the regular season will begin along with fantasy baseball. Every major sport has adopted this concept of creating a fantasy league online in which fans can draft their favorite players to be on their team. These fans are then awarded points every time their players perform well in real life games. The process of drafting players in any fantasy game involves a lot of planning and research. Fans must look at how a player performed in the previous season, how they have performed over the past three seasons, and what that player’s projected statistics are. Needless to say, the fantasy draft can be very stressful. However, let’s say that you, as a fan, were creating your own fantasy team but you also had no one drafting against you. In other words, if you could hand-pick all the athletes you wanted to be on your team with no competition, which players would they be? If I was given this option, my team would look something like this:

Catcher: Jorge Posada – New York Yankees

      I must admit that I cannot help but shudder at the idea of drafting a Yankee onto my fantasy team as a diehard Red Sox fan. However, I also cannot deny that Posada is perhaps the most productive catcher in the league today. He brings a very steady bat to the line-up that consists of both power and clutch hitting. Over the past four seasons Posada has hit over the .250 mark with his best season being 2007 when he finished with a batting average of .338. Not only is Posada a great player on the field, but he is also known as being a good leader in the locker room and adds a good veteran presence to any team. Although he is starting to get older at the age of 36, Posada continues to play a healthy and consistent game every season.

First Base: Albert Pujols – St. Louis Cardinals

      Yes, Pujols is an obvious choice for a first baseman. However, I challenge anyone to find a better all-around player. Pujols is able to combine his power and average better than any other player in the league. He has never hit less than .300 for an average in the seven seasons that he has played in the major leagues. Pujols has also never hit less than thirty homeruns each year. His offensive production is unquestionable but how good is he defensively? Although Pujols is not a Gold Glove winner, he is solid defensively. Pujols made only eight errors last season as he finished with a fielding percentage of .995. However, there is currently a concern for his overall health in spring training which could lead to him missing quite a few games at the start of the season. If Pujols can stay healthy, he may once again be the most productive first baseman in the league this year.

Second Base: Brandon Phillips – Cincinnati Reds

      I know that some of you must be thinking “Brandon who?” Yes, I would choose Brandon Phillips to play second base for my fantasy baseball team. Phillips is a young kid who was playing for the Cleveland Indians organization for most of his career and was never given much playing time. That all changed when he was traded to Cincinnati and became their starting second baseman. Phillips had a break-out year last season as he finished with thirty homeruns and ninety-four runs batted in. Phillips showed off his speed with thirty-two stolen bases in forty attempts. He also finished with a very decent batting average of .288. The best part about Phillips is that he is just twenty-seven years old, meaning that he has many years left in him and he will continue to improve with every passing year.

Shortstop: Jose Reyes – New York Mets

      Looking for a leadoff man? If so, Jose Reyes is the player for you. Reyes has quickly built a reputation for having incredible speed and base-running ability. Last season, he stole seventy-eight bases in ninety-nine attempts; bottom line, Jose Reyes loves to run. His offensive production is also commendable as he finished last season with a batting average of .280 and fifty-seven runs batted in. Reyes is also one of the better defensive shortstops in the league with a career fielding percentage of .975. Reyes is the perfect leadoff man for any team looking to steal a base or two, or seventy…

Third Base: Alex Rodriguez – New York Yankees

      I know, once again an obvious choice. Let’s face it: it’s hard to choose against the reigning American League MVP. Rodriguez was by far the most productive player in all of baseball last season with his fifty-four homeruns and one hundred and fifty six runs batted in. As far as his defense is concerned, Rodriguez made a significant improvement from his 2006 season in which he made an astounding twenty-four errors. In 2007 he only made thirteen errors which brought his fielding percentage to .965. Love him or hate him (like I do) you cannot deny his excellence on the field.

Outfielders: Aaron Rowand (SF), Matt Holiday (COL), Torri Hunter (LAA)

      When thinking about what outfielders I wanted I looked for a good batting average and exceptional defense. Aaron Rowand had without a doubt the best season of his career with the Phillies in 2007 both offensively and defensively. Rowand hit for a .309 average with twenty-seven homeruns and eighty-nine runs batted in. He also had eleven assists in the outfield, meaning that he threw out eleven base-runners from the outfield. Matt Holiday is not known for astounding defense, but he is known for his great hitting. Holliday hit for a .340 average last year and drove in over one hundred runs. Defensively, he had seven assists and only three errors. Finally, Torri Hunter was added to the mix. Hunter plays for a new team but he still plays like he did in Minnesota. Hunter is known for having great speed in the outfield to track down long fly balls as well as a strong arm to throw out any base-runner who dares to challenge him. Together, these three players make up a great defensive outfield while bringing strong hitting into the line-up.

Pitching Rotation: Boston Red Sox

      No, I did not choose them just because I am a Red Sox fan… Well maybe a little bit but who can blame me? When I think about the Red Sox pitching staff one word comes to mind: depth. The Red Sox have an ample supply of great pitchers both young and old. Their main rotation consists of Cy Young nominee Josh Beckett at the top, followed by Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Curt Schilling, and Jon Lester. However, with Curt Schilling injuring himself during spring training the Red Sox have to find someone to take his place. This is where the depth of the team’s pitching staff comes to the rescue. The Red Sox have several options when it comes to replacing the injured Curt Schilling. These options include Clay Buchholz, Julian Tavarez, Devern Hansack, and Bartolo Colon. Any one of these four great pitchers could become the fifth starter for the Red Sox. The Red Sox bullpen is also very strong with Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon closing out the games. Overall, you won’t find a more developed pitching staff anywhere in the major league.

      As fans begin drafting in their fantasy leagues they must think about what players they want at every position and why. The problem is there will be other fans drafting against them so they must choose quickly and carefully in order to create the team that they want. The fantasy drafting period ends soon, so ask yourselves, who do you want on your fantasy team?

by Jason Kelly

            The New England Patriots were one win away from having a perfect, undefeated season. There was only one obstacle left for the Patriots to overcome: the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. Instead of running over another football team like they had done eighteen times during the season, the Patriots ran right into an unstoppable Giants defense. The Giants’ defense was the key to their success against the Patriots, as they held a team that scored an average of thirty-six points per game in the regular season to just fourteen in the Super Bowl. Eli Manning was also on his game as he threw two touchdown passes and threw for over 200 yards. The Giants came to the Super Bowl with an unquestionable desire to win, and they did just that.           

The Giants wasted no time putting points on the scoreboard during their first drive of the game. Eli Manning was able to spread the ball out to his receivers with several short passes up the field. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw also came to the front and plowed up the field and brought the giants within striking range. Although they couldn’t find a way into the end-zone, the Giants did end up with three points after a 32- yard field goal. The drive lasted 9:59 which is now the longest drive in Super Bowl history… Now the New York Giants are the ones breaking records.           

The Patriots quickly answered, however. New England’s running back, Laurence Maroney, gave the Patriots great starting field position as he returned the kickoff for 43 yards. From there, Tom Brady and his core of talented receivers carried the ball up the field. With some effective screen passes to Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth and Kevin Faulk, the Patriots began to storm closer to the end-zone. However, the biggest play of the drive resulted from a pass interference penalty against the Giants which put New England right on the goal line. From there it was academic as Maroney practically walked in for the touchdown and the Patriots took a 7-3 lead over the Giants to begin the second quarter.           

The second and third quarters of the game were uneventful to say the least as both teams were unable to find a way to score. The fourth quarter was when all the action really heated up. The Giants were on offense to begin the fourth quarter and Eli Manning wasted no time getting his team back into the game. Manning’s first play was a forty-five yard pass to his tight end, Kevin Boss. Once again, Ahmad Bradshaw managed to plow his way up the field and put the Giants in a scoring position. The Giants would eventually score when Manning found wide receiver David Tyree in the end-zone for a touchdown pass. This score put the Giants up 10-7 to start the fourth quarter.           

The Patriots wanted to answer quickly but the Giants defense would not allow it. It was not until the last three minutes of the game that the Patriots would retaliate. On a drive that consisted of just one rushing play, Tom Brady led his team down the field and eventually completed a touchdown pass to his favorite, all-star receiver, Randy Moss. With just under three minutes left in the game, the Patriots held a 14-10 lead. Unfortunately for the Patriots that lead would not last.  The Giants got the ball back and had one last chance to make a comeback. The Patriots’ defense put loads of pressure on Eli Manning, but they could not bring him down as he continued move the ball down the field. With one minute and fifteen seconds left in the game, Manning completed a thirty-two yard pass to David Tyree in what many fans are referring to as the play of the game. (Editor’s note: This will go down in history as “The Scramble”) This is certainly hard to argue as it led to a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress. With just thirty-nine seconds left in the game, the Giants suddenly had a 17-14 lead. That would be all they would need as the Patriots could not find a way to score on their final drive. With one second left, Eli Manning took a knee on the field and thus ended Super Bowl XLII.           

Personally, I am a New England Patriots fan, so as you can expect I am currently in mourning. However, I must give credit where credit is due; the New York Giants played a great football game against the league’s best team. Congratulations to the New York Giants for pulling off perhaps the greatest upset in NFL Super Bowl history.

I can’t stop smiling.

This is awesome. I simply am laughing and smiling without stopping. The Patriots will forever be known as the team that won 18 games and NO CHAMPIONSHIP.

What goes around comes around. Mr. Belichick, you cheated, you filled your roster with cheaters and scumbags, and you lost your championship.

I coin this term the “permasmile.” I simply cannot stop smiling. It’s like permafrost in the frozen tundra of Green Bay and north. There is no cure for it. But I can’t stop smiling.

Every second since that last Tom Brady pass fell incomplete has been a smile. This is so awesome. I don’t care that the Giants won. I care that the cheating, low grade, scumbag New England Patriots lost the game.

Oh, and of course:

This game proves that, yes, there is a God.

And to quote Tom Brady:

“You mean we’re only gonna score 17 points. Haha, OK”

Riiiiight. Good call, Tom.