Monthly Archives: February 2009

podcast

The Winning Hand Sporstcast with Matt and Mike Hubert 2/3/09

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On the heels of an electrifying Super Bowl, Matt and Mike recap the big game. Plus, they talk about the injury to Andrew Bynum, Division II PSAC basketball, and turn over three key face cards from the Super Bowl.

All that and more in the latest episode of The Winning Hand Sportscast.

There are several options to listen:

For more information, visit MattHubert.com.

NFL

Lamar Woodley is That Guy

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Lamar Woodley’s strip-sack of Kurt Warner sealed the victory in Super Bowl XLIII for the Steelers. It also cemented Woodley’s status as That Guy this year. In addition to late-game heroics, Woodley had another sack, two quarterback hurries, one pass defensed and four tackles. But it was that final pass rush of the season gave him the nod.

In a fourth quarter where Kurt Warner caught fire and Larry Fitzgerald caught everything, no one wearing black and gold wanted to take the chance on a last second Hail Mary lofted toward Arizona’s sure-handed superstar. Woodley made sure that the Cardinals would not get the chance to see if a final Warner Hail Mary would be an answered prayer. Instead, he took matters into his own hands, and did what the Steelers failed to do for most of the fourth quarter—pressure Warner.

Woodley, in his second-year out of Michigan, spent most of the season in the shadows of fellow linebackers Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison and veteran tackle machine James Farrior. He racked up 11.5 sacks on the season, but none was bigger than the one on Warner last night.

Woodley is the third linebacker to receive my That Guy award, joining Mike Jones of the Rams and Mike Vraebel of the Patriots. My pre-game pick for the award, Steve Breaston, was a college teammate of Woodley. The Cardinals wideout/returner didn’t disappoint, amassing 144 all-purpose yards, including a 34-yard punt return.

In the end, however, it was Woodley—not Breaston—that emerged victorious. Playing linebacker for the Steelers, he won’t be just That Guy very long. But for his role in the Steelers record sixth Super Bowl title, he earned the title of That Guy for stepping out of the shadows on the biggest stage in football.

For more information, visit MattHubert.com.

NBA

Very Unfortunate News for Laker Fans

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In a déjà vu headline, Andrew Bynum is injured and may miss the rest of the regular season for the Lakers. Reports say it’s a torn MCL. He’s expected to miss 8-12 weeks. The Lakers have approximately 10 weeks left in the season.

This is eerily similar to last year when Bynum went down with a subluxation of his left kneecap and bone bruise in January. Then, as now, he was originally expected to miss eight weeks. Those who follow the Lakers know that those eight weeks turned into the rest of the season last year.

I’m among the Laker fans who believed Bynum would be the difference between last year’s runner-up finish and a championship. And just recently, a healthy Bynum seemed to be coming into his own, scoring a career-high 42 against the Clippers last month. He was also giving them the added toughness inside that they clearly lacked against the Celtics in the Finals.

The Lakers currently possess the best record in the West, and showed last year that they can hang with anyone in the conference playing Gasol at center and Odom at power forward. However, the odds of them keeping pace with the beasts of the East (Boston, Cleveland and Orlando) now seem slim. They’ll likely not have home court advantage in the Finals, assuming they can get back there.

Who knows, maybe Bynum does make it back in eight or 10 weeks this time, in time for a playoff run. I don’t want to be too doom-and-gloomy here. But this is a tough pill to swallow.

First and foremost, you have to feel for Bynum. Mentally bouncing back from another injury may be more of a hurdle than the physical rehab.

As for the rest of the team, they’ll immediately be put to the test. The rest of the teams in the West certainly now see a much more open conference. Will the Lakers fade? They’re in the midst of a six-game road trip that finishes with games at Boston on Thursday and at Cleveland on Sunday. Both of those games were going to be tough at full strength. The Lakers will now be tested even more.

Mike and I will surely talk more about this on tomorrow’s Winning Hand Sportscast. Right now, I’m just struggling to get past my initial reaction: it sucks big time.

For more information, visit MattHubert.com.