My heart is broken, and once again thoughts of next year run through my mind as the Giants got clipped by the Niners 39-38. And it would have to be the kicking game that caused the fatal wound in the Superbowl dreams of Big Blue. From the pre-season, on the kicking game (both place and punt) was the shakiest part of the team, leaving many poitns on the field. Good teams make the spectacular look easy, but greeat teams do that AND and take care of business on the easy stuff.

I do have high hopes for next year, considering how many key players were injured and I think losing here will help them in the long run much more than wining this game would have (thought it still sucks) just so long as the team stays hungry and remembers the bitter taste this game gave them. The only way to wash that taste away completely is a Superbowl title….

Seven fumbles; three lost. An interception in the end zone. A missed field goal. Two touchdowns called back on questionable holding calls. The overtime coin toss lost. By all accounts, the comedy of errors should have ended the Giants season countless times over. But a funny thing happened on the way to the playoffs….

The won in spite of themselves.

The Giants defense held the Eagles in check while their offense did everything but score, marching almost at will. But dramatically timed turnovers and miscues kept the scoreboard in the Eagles favor for most of the game. Philly was simply playing russian roulette with luck, and twice got shot: once with the Jeremy Shockey touchdown catch in the 4th quarter and once on the David Akers miss, only his forth of the season and second from inside 35 yards.

Someone or something was watching out for the Giants today, and intent on giving the Big Blue faithful multiple cardiac arrests before ultimately delivering them into the playoffs. Now the only questions left are where will they fly off to for next week’s playoff game, and will they be that hot team that manages to suprise, surpass and keep defying the odds by playing way above their means. One thing for certain; I’ll have the fingers on both hands crossed, along with my legs. Hey, it seemed to do pretty well today. ^_^

Sunday night the Halo’s didn’t need to rely on the rally monkey to take both game seven and the 2002 World Series from San Fransico. Congrats to the team for a great season and a well deserved title.

Of course, Disney CEO Michael Eisner had to ruin the moment for me by calling the Angels players “cast members” when asked what he was thinking durring the 7th inning strech of the 6th game in an ESPN interview. That’s a term they use for Disney’s theme part employees. Gee, do you think Troy Percival is pulling double duty on the weekends dressed as Mickey Mouse over in Disneyland? What about Tim Salmon? No, they’re Major League Baseball players. Give them the respect they’ve earned by getting to the big show and call them that, you f’n tool!

OK, rant over.

Nice little piece over at Salon on how the Twins, Angels, Cardinals and Giants have combined to leave Bud Selig and the owners with egg on their faces with their “competitive balance” arguments.

Even with my beloved Yankees out of the mix, I am still very interested in the outcome of this post-season. I’m hoping for a Twins-Giants match-up myself, but I’ll be happy to see any the four remaining teams crowned as champ. If baseball ever had a chance to recapture America’s imagination, it’s with this post season.

Baseball’s strike threat is only a scant 3 hours away from becoming a reality. I’ve still got my fingers crossed because I’ve been cursed with eternal optimisim and I always try to make the best of a shitty situation. That and it looks like they may actually be clsoe to a deal after an all-night negotiation session.

Update: I still find it hard to believe, but the owners and the players have reached a tentative agreement and the games will continue. Will wonders never cease….