Greg Jennings Just Keeps on Yapping

Apparently Minnesota Vikings' wide receiver Greg Jennings can't hear. However, his mouth works just fine. The newly acquired receiver from Green Bay must not have heard his head coach's request to stop making comments about his former team because he was at it again today. Today Jennings claimed that the Packers "brainwashed" him into thinking that the Green Bay franchise is "tiers better than anyone else in the division."

The most bitter man in the world must be Jennings because why else would he embark on this relentless attack on his old team? It started with Jennings comments that Aaron Rodgers had created the spotlight for himself and wasn't about the team anymore and then, as apologies go in the sports world, Jennings only made it worse. He later said he was just joking and everyone should have known that. Whatever Greg.

Here's the point: Greg Jennings is going to miss Aaron Rodgers regardless of anything he says. He can say whatever he wants, but the fact of the matter is that he has Christian Ponder throwing him the ball this season rather than arguably the NFL's best quarterback. So keep it up Greg because reality is going to hit one of these fall Sundays.

Today's comments are bizarre from multiple angles. For one, aren't teams supposed to have confidence and hold themselves up -- especially a team with as rich of a history as Green Bay? Also, what's the problem with that mindset if it's true? The numbers don't lie and the numbers say that the Packers have owned the NFC North since Jennings entered the league in 2006.

Since that point the Pack has won three division titles while Minnesota and Chicago have two. In 2010, a year the Packers were the Wild Card, they won the Super Bowl which is the only time a NFC North team has won since '06. Green Bay also leads in wins (74) and playoff appearances (5) in that time span as well, so yes, they are better than everyone else in the division and that's just the facts.

What we have here is a player who is bitter that he is no longer a member of the team. Jennings spent seven seasons in Green Bay and won a title with them. Now, he's no longer a member of that team and instead is trying to play it off that the grass is greener across the state line. No doubt, the Vikings will be good this season and they may even win the division, but Jennings can't change the past and, rather than enjoying the time he spent there, he is sullying his relationship with his former employer.

But when all is said and done, his comments truly mean nothing. What does mean something is October 27th. That's the night Greg Jennings will come face-to-face with Green Bay on Sunday Night Football and then, we will see if all the talk is backed up. Something tells me he will be a marked man.

Ranking the NFL Uniforms

The NFL season is just around the corner, with the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints kicking it all off this coming Thursday. This season promises to be a good one and I decided to start the football season off I would do a fun exercise by ranking the teams in terms of best uniforms. This debate, as I found out during a lunchroom argument, can get heated but it's all in fun. Here is how I broke down the teams: I looked at every uniform the team currently wears and every outfit factored into the ranking. Some are tied because it's pretty hard to rank 32 different teams and not like any the same amount. Hope you enjoy!

1. San Francisco 49ers

There is not a better combo than the red tops with the gold bottoms. It's just a clean, classic look and the colors look phenomenal together. The white uniforms also look sharp and the helmets are just as cool. Many Hall of Famers have put on the red and gold.

2-6 (tie). Bears, Packers, Steelers, Cowboys, Chiefs
These four teams, like the 49ers, all have one thing in common and that is the classic feel. The jerseys don't change and neither does the franchise. With the exception of a few years, we can expect these four teams to be in playoff contention and they churn out the wins year after year. There is nothing better than a Bears-Packers game. The jerseys just look great.

7. Oakland Raiders
The black and silver just has that bad boy feel to it and the Raiders usually give off that same bad boy feel. The colors look great together and the shiny, silver helmets are awesome. However, the colors were maybe too appealing while the Raiders played in Los Angeles as they became the symbol for many LA gangs. Nevertheless, I love these unis! (sidenote: if you haven't seen the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "Straight Outta LA" I strongly reccommend it.)

8. Indianapolis Colts

Sharp. That's the one word that comes to mind here. The Colts look sharp when they wear the blue tops with white bottoms. Top it off with those beautiful white helmets that have the blue horseshoe on them and you have a great outfit head to toe. Indy is also one of two teams in the NFL that looks just as good in all white.

9-10 (tie). Bills, Chargers
These are two teams that figured it out. They had great uniforms back in the day and felt the need to change them. Neither change was for the better and now they have both reverted back to their old colors and spinoffs of past outfits. The Chargers look great in their light blue jerseys with the white helmets and the Bills look 10x better since the switch.

11. New York Jets
Personally, I hate the color green but the J-E-T-S! Jets, Jets, Jets! wear it well. I love the green jerseys that have the white shoulders and, if you haven't noticed by now, I am a fan of white helmets. They, along with the Colts, look superb in all white as well. The Jets are another team that has kept the same look for forever and that has to be respected.

12. Washington Redskins
It doesn't matter what the Redskins wear they just look good. They have the most combinations that look good from their normal home and away uniforms to the throwbacks with the yellow helmets to the retro ones with the spear on the helmet. It doesn't matter what they put on, they just look great. Not a whole lot of teams can say that.

13. Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins have some odd colors but they pull them off real well. Those teal jerseys somehow look good on them and I would love to put Miami higher up on the list but they lost points whenever they decided wearing those orange jerseys was a good idea.

14-15 (tie). Saints, Falcons

Two teams in the same division that are well-dressed. The Falcons are one of the few teams who updated their jerseys and came out looking better. They threw in more red and the red jerseys are the best looking ones they have now. The Saints are one of the select few that can wear all black and look good, but my favorite combo is the black tops, gold bottoms.

16. Houston Texans
The Texans entered the league when many teams were changing their uniforms and I was worried they would end up looking like the Bills or the Patriots but they have some nice uniforms. They have added the red ones but I would recommend not wearing red on red. Not a good look.

17. Cincinnati Bengals
Okay forget the Halloween jokes for a minute and just look at how awesome the Bengals look. Are their jerseys a little busy? Sure, but they look pretty cool and their helmets have to be near the top for the league. The tiger stripes on the shoulders look great and my personal favorite is the black jersey.

18-19 (tie). Broncos, Buccaneers
I would say the Broncos are lucky to be up this high. The navy and orange is always a great combination and I do like the helmet logo but I love the old uniforms. However, they still look good and I'm a fan of the navy tops with the white bottoms. The Bucs actually made a great change when they got rid of the creamsicle jerseys but that old logo is one of the best.

20-22 (tie). Lions, Vikings, Cardinals
These are three teams that had it just right with their jerseys back in the day but changed slightly and now they aren't as good looking. All three look the same for the most part but I'm just all about classic uniforms and I wish they would all go back, especially Detroit.

23-24 (tie). Giants, Ravens

This is probably too low for the Giants. I do love the red, white and blue but the thing that ruins it for me is the gray pants. Not a good look. The Ravens have those fierce black jerseys that look great and to be honest they really belong higher up.

25. Carolina Panthers
The Panthers uniforms are growing on me but they still aren't in the top half of the league. They also have a super ugly logo which loses points with me.

26. St. Louis Rams
This is way too low for a team that looks really good on the field and has some of the best helmets in the NFL but they are this low as a protest. Go back to the royal blue and gold! That was awesome! They still look great but I'm not a fan of dark colors and the Rams looked better in their old uniforms.

27-30 (tie). Patriots, Seahawks, Eagles, Titans

These are four teams that used to have awesome uniforms and/or colors. Yet, they have switched for the worse. They all have picked worse color combos and their jerseys are just flat out ugly. I want all of these teams to go back to their old uniforms. Then life would be better.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars

No. These uniforms are bad. Somehow the Dolphins can pull off the teal color but not the Jaguars. They just don't look good and I still can't figure out why there is a NFL franchise in Jacksonville and not in LA.

32. Cleveland Browns

For as long as the world turns, orange and brown will never look good. Nuff said.

So, that's my list. Obviously this is all opinion and I would love to get comments on who is your top five, what the best retro jersey is or what you think about new jersey designs.

The Super Bowl is Super for a Reason

Football has taken over as "America's Game" which is sad to me, and other baseball fans, but it is true. The hype around the NFL is enormous and nothing is bigger and better than the Super Bowl. After the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers treated us to a great game at the biggest venue down in Big D, it is obvious football has never been more popular. The NFL is the most lucrative league in the world yet there may not be a season next year. What would a Sunday be like without football and only NBA games to watch at noon? Kind of like Los Angeles without the Lakers-you still have something to watch but it's just not as good because it's the Clippers. As the league now shifts their full attention to the collective bargaining agreement let's look at why the Super Bowl is the greatest sports championship we have today.

March Madness is definitely the best playoff system in sports but the Super Bowl is the best championship game. 103,219 turned out to watch this year's big game and it could have been more had 1,000+ seats not been ruled unsafe because of weather damages. According to the Nielsen ratings 111 million people tuned in to FOX to watch the game and that includes men, women and children of all ages. People who don't watch football at least watch a little bit or attend a party where the game is on. Super Bowl parties are tradition in America and that's why non-NFL fans will tune in for this game. The chance to eat big, hang out with friends and watch football just seems American.

The Super Bowl also has an electric halftime show that brings in more viewers because people may not be huge football fans but they could be a devoted fan of the Black Eyed Peas or Tom Petty or even...Justin Timberlake. This year the Black Eyed Peas put on an outstanding performance that wowed the crowd with light shows, dancing and surprise appearances. Sure, the singing may not have been the best but the point is, people got excited for it and it entertained them. It almost looked like the NFL wouldn't put on a halftime show after the "wardrobe malfunction" of Janet Jackson but, instead of cancelling it, they went a new direction and signed acts that were respectable. This year the fans got a nice surprise when Slash, guitarist from Guns N' Roses, came out to play "Sweet Child O' Mine" and Usher dropped down to help will.i.am with the song "OMG." How's that for a side show to the game?

Earlier I mentioned that the Super Bowl is the best championship game and here's why: consider that of the six major sports fans watch only two have a playoff that results in a one game, winner-take-all matchup. College football has the flawed BCS system which never allows the fans to see who truly is the champion and the NBA, MLB and NHL all have lengthy playoff series that last over a month. By the time those three leagues reach the actual championship the general fans are almost burned out. They know that there could still be seven games left before a champion is crowned. This also discourages throwing parties for the game and non-fans to tune in because in a series who knows what game will be the deciding game. Ticket buyers may have a seat at Game 5 but the champion may not be crowned that night. With the Super Bowl we know that when the Steelers and Packers run out of the tunnel one of them will leave a champion. There is something to be said for a winner-take-all game. There are no mess ups or do-overs the next night and a team can't say, "well we're only down one game." With the Super Bowl it's one chance, bring your best effort and you will get the trophy at the end. 

That's why the Super Bowl is super.

Quitter or Not, Get Rid of Cutler

Sports is a place where heroes are born and legends are made and where men lay it all on the line just to win a game. Football in particular is a sport that requires maximum toughness both mental and physical. Sunday afternoon the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 21-14 to earn a trip to Dallas where they will meet the Pittsburgh Steelers for Super Bowl XLV. The Bears were so close yet, to me, seemed like they were so far away from winning the NFC Championship. Maybe I felt like that because the Packers are a great team with the top quarterback in the league right now. Maybe I felt like that because the Bears were always playing from behind. Or maybe I felt like that because quarterback Jay Cutler was sitting on the sidelines for the second half while Todd Collins looked like the Bad News Bears behind center and Caleb Hanie nearly became the hero that Cutler never will become. Yeah, the third reason is definitely why.

In one of the final series of the first half Cutler injured his knee and there talks within the Bears organization that he would not even take the field for the second half. However, he tried it and after one unsuccessful series retreated to the bench, which is where he would stay for the rest of the game. Todd Collins entered and left in the blink of an eye and then it was third-stringer, Caleb Hanie's turn. You know Hanie woke up that morning just excited to have a great seat for the game and wasn't expecting to even step on the field. Yet, there he was leading the comeback for the Bears and, had it not been for Sam Shields second interception of the day, perhaps could have tied the game up with under a minute to play. We can't fault Hanie's effort because he is a third string quarterback who was thrown into the biggest game of the Bears-Packers rivalry and told to lead the comeback, a Super Bowl birth on the line.

When it comes to Cutler though, questions are raised about his effort. He hurt his knee, and his teammates and coaches have defended him 100% so far, but how bad was it? Was it bad enough that he had to sit out of the biggest game of his career? Because it wasn't bad enough that he couldn't stand on it or even ride the bike. He wasn't receiving any treatment and there was no brace or anything on it. He was just standing there with that look he always wears, one of disinterest and unhappiness. I'm not going to sit here and say that Jay Cutler quit because I don't really know how bad that sprained MCL was. The training staff wouldn't let him go but in my mind it didn't seem to affect him much.

Ronnie Lott had his finger cut off so that he could keep playing and Willis Reed took the floor with a broken leg. Phillip Rivers has played with a torn ACL and many players have knee injuries but they still play. I just think that if Cutler really wanted to play he would have done everything he could to get on that field. Good players compete in Playing Time but the great ones show up in Winning Time. The second half of that game was Winning Time and Caleb Hanie was under center. Keep in mind this wasn't just any game, this was the NFC Championship against the Bears biggest rival and this was only the second time the two teams had met in the playoffs. Cutler was coming off his first playoff game since high school, a win against the Seahawks and a win in this game would have elevated his status as a great quarterback in Chicago and in the league.

Sad thing is, he never gave himself a chance and that's why people will question him for the rest of his life. What if the Bears never get back to that point with him? In my opinion he won't be in Chicago too much longer and that means fans lasting memory will not be Cutler throwing the ball on the field; it will be Jay Cutler standing on the sideline, jacket and stocking cap on, watching as his team lose a chance to go to Dallas. Some franchise quarterback...

Packers vs. Bears and Other Great Games

On Saturday night the Green Bay Packers easily disposed of the #1 seeded Atlanta Falcons from the NFL Playoffs and on Sunday the Chicago Bears man-handled the sub-.500 Seattle Seahawks for three quarters and came away with an 11 point win. This coming Sunday is now an NFL fan's dream as the Packers will travel to Soldier Field for an NFC Championship matchup against their division rival. As a Bears fan I am very excited for the game as it is the only the second time that the two teams have met in playoff history. The Pack is hot right now with Aaron Rodgers looking like the best QB in the game but the Bears D has also looked good lately minus the 4th quarter against Seattle. As soon as the Bears won the Divisional Round game I got on StubHub.com and checked the tickets and the fact of the matter is, fans will be paying at least 500 bucks for a seat. I would love to be at the game even though the temperature will be below 10 degrees. This game got me thinking about what games I would have loved to be at in person so I compiled a list of five games in my lifetime that I wish I could have been at.

2004 ALCS Game 6 (Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees)- To see this game would be seeing history. The Red Sox tying up the series after being down 3-0. Led by Curt Schilling and David Ortiz's heroics, the BoSox went to the World Series to break the Curse of the Bambino. Schilling pitched seven innings with a torn tendon in his right ankle that was held in place by three sutres that connected the skin to the tendon and connective tissue. NYPD members had to take the field in riot gear after Yanks fans threw balls and debris on the field because they were unhappy with Alex Rodriguez being called out for interference. A-Rod slapped Bronson Arroyo's arm as he tried to tag him out and the umpires called him out. This game had it all and would have been an amazing game to be at.

1997 NBA Finals Game 5 (Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz)- "The Flu Game" is one of the most legendary stories of Michael Jordan's career. He woke up with a stomach virus on Tuesday and team trainers said there was no way he could play in Game 5 on Wednesday night. With the series tied at two games apiece and the Bulls playing on the road, Jordan took the floor and got off to a slow start but dropped 17 in the second quarter. MJ did little in the third as fatigue set in but in the fourth he had 15 points including a big three at the end. He played 44 minutes and collapsed into Scottie Pippen's arms at the end of the game, which the Bulls won 90-88.

2009 NBA Playoffs Round 1, Game 6 (Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls)- Without a doubt the most epic game for the Bulls in the post-Jordan era, Chicago defeated the Boston Celtics 128-127 in three overtimes to force a Game 7. John Salmons led the Bulls with 35 points and Ray Allen's 51 was not enough for the C's. The Bulls took the lead when Joakim Noah stole the ball from Paul Pierce, dribbled length of the floor, dunked the ball while being fouled by Pierce and then made the free throw for a three point play. Derrick Rose, who finished with 28 points, blocked Rajon Rondo's potential game winner with 8 seconds left in the third OT.

2009 Big East Tournament (Syracuse Orange vs. UConn Huskies)- After 3 hours and 46 minutes of back and forth basketball the Orange defeated UConn at Madison Square Garden 127-117. The Orange's Eric Devendorf made a three at the buzzer of the regulation to win the game but the refs ruled that Devendorf didn't get it off in time. Jonny Flynn had a monster game for Cuse with 34 points, 3 rebounds, 11 assists, 6 steals, and 1 block. To be at this game where numerous future NBA players were playing in a primetime game in the Big East tournament would be incredible to see.

2010 NCAA Championship (Butler Bulldogs vs. Duke)- Funny thing about this game is that my grandpa had tickets but sold them. It would have been the ultimate Cinderella story had Gordan Hayward's last second heave gone in. Instead the ball bounced off and Duke came away with a two point win in the one of the most thrilling national championship games ever. 70,000 fans were in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis where the hometown Bulldogs nearly upset the number 1 seed Blue Devils.

Sports produce some of the best drama in the world and there certainly will be some when the Packers and Bears clash with a chance for the Super Bowl. These are just five games that I wish I could have seen but there are countless others. So now its your turn, let me know what games you wish you were at in your lifetime.