1.) I know that I am probably going to get destroyed for saying this, but I’m getting a little sick of Liam Neeson’s attempt at being an action star.  You know why?  Cause the guy looks out of shape!  In fact, I bet Liam Neeson couldn’t even finish a 5K. After that movie, Taken, I’ve heard people say things like, “Liam Neeson is BADASS!”  To that I say, “No…no he isn’t.”

In this new movie, The Grey, Neeson has to take out a pack of angry wolves.  I’m sure that Neeson will win in the movie, but do you know who would win in real life?  THE WOLVES!  Here’s how it would play out.  Old, slow Liam Neeson would take one swing at the quick and hungry wolves, he would miss, he’d be out of breath and the wolves would tear his throat out.

End of movie.  Liam Neeson, go back to starring in chick flicks like Love Actually.  You’re not an action star and it’s starting to get on my nerves.

2.) For those of you that are in Delaware, I implore you: Go check out the University of Delaware’s Women’s Basketball team.  Holy crap they are incredible!  Elena Delle Donne is ridiculous to watch in person, it’s like seeing the women’s basketball version of Magic Johnson.  She makes sweet no-look passes, blocks shots, hits three, has a great inside game, it’s remarkable. Last night she had 41 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists.  Not too shabby.

And let’s not take away from the rest of the team, either.  They are STACKED!  In fact, as of this post, they are ranked #15 IN THE COUNTRY.  Delle Donne is the leading scorer IN THE COUNTRY!  How many times is this going to happen at UD?  If you haven’t seen a game yet, go and watch.  You will not be disappointed.

3.) To piggy back off the last point, I once had male a friend in high school who said that he could play in the WNBA.  He shall remain nameless (though, you neighborhood friends are sure to remember this claim) but let me just let him no this: There is no chance in hell that he could hang in the WNBA. After watching the women’s basketball game last night, not only was I thoroughly impressed but I was also re-assured that if I or any of my male friends tried to step on that floor we would’ve gotten DESTROYED by any player out there.  Forget the WNBA, women’s college athletics is no joke.

4.) How in the blue hell did Jonah Hill get nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in Money Ball?  Also, how did the Melissa McCarthy get nominated for Bridesmaids?  Have movies really gotten THAT bad? Don’t get me wrong, McCarthy was kinda funny in the movie, but she wasn’t THAT funny. And Hill, well, he didn’t really have to do much.

5.) The Raiders hired the Broncos DC for their head coach, and you know what?  I LOVE IT!  Of course, I also loved the hiring of Art Shell (it was college, don’t ask), Lane Kiffin (college again, and as has been documented here many times, my senior thesis was dedicated to Lane Kiffin and JaMarcus Russell who would return the Raiders to the glory days…which is probably the most hilarious and short-sighted thing I’ve ever done), loved Tom Cable being hired and loved the hiring of Hue Jackson.  So I mean, yeah, I’m probably not the best judge of Raiders head coaching candidates.

6.) You know, Lee Evans really should’ve held onto that touchdown, but if you go back and watch the tape (The word TAPE! That must mean it’s almost NFL Draft time!) it almost looks as if he didn’t get two but THREE feet down in the endzone before he loses the ball.  Just go back and watch it.  Here’s what COULD have happened (for the record, I am playing devil’s advocate cause I don’t think it was a catch): As soon as he catches the ball–and I mean for a SPLIT second–it looks like he has the ball AND his left foot is down, then his right foot gets down no questions asked, and then he MAYBE (but probably not) still has the ball as his right foot hits the ground again.  I’m not saying he caught it, but it definitely should’ve been reviewed.  Oh and also: I hate the Patriots.

7.) My pick for this year’s Royal Rumble winner?  Cody Rhodes!  At least, that is what I’m hoping for.  If Rhodes wins, it gives some new blood a chance and is better than a re-tread like Randy Orton winning (though, he probably will).

By the way, while we are talking about the WWE, can we talk about Brodus Clay?  The man may be the best thing the WWE has going for it.  For those of you who don’t know, Brodus Clay is this big fat ugly dude who they call “The Funkasaurus” who comes out in old red Run DMC Addidas suits, dances with two girls, rips them off and wrestles in a singlet. It sounds TERRIBLE, I know, but somehow, SOMEHOW it works. He also announces all his moves as he is doing them, so when he is about to suplex someone across the ring, he grabs them and yells “SUPLEX!” Which I think is really funny. He also yells “MY BAD!” Whenever he crushes someone with a move, which is also pretty funny.  Brodus Clay is a character that shouldn’t work, one that should be incredibly stupid, and yet somehow, he is awesome.  I predict that he will hold a title (not the world but maybe a U.S. or Intercontinental) before the year is out, after they do away with the “Funkasaurus” gimmick and make him into a scary, intimidating heel.

That’s all for me!  Until next time….

I know I picked the Niners/Pats Superbowl, but who could honestly account for Kyle Williams giving the New York Giants 10 points? Poor kid. Same thing with Billy Cundiff. I remember seeing the Ravens line up to go for it on 4th and 6 instead of attempting a ~55 yard field goal for the tie, not knowing if they’d get possession again or not, and being very puzzled by this. Then, CBS ran a stat that said something like, “Billy Cundiff, since 2006, in 50+ yard field goals, 1/10.”

Yep. That makes sense. But then to watch him hook a 32 yarder, you go back and think about perhaps that decision of going for it on 4th and 6 got into his head somehow. I read his post-game interviews. He seemed pretty content with the outcome and said his Ravens teammates offered a lot of support.

There’s also some story running around about the Patriots putting the wrong down on the scoreboard before Cundiff’s kick, causing some of the Ravens sideline to rush him onto the field for his kick, disrupting his routine. Kickers are weird guys. I could see that. I could totally see the Patriots doing some dirtiness like that as well. Meh, I don’t know how I feel anymore.

All I know is, the Conference Championships weren’t really about one team overcoming adversity or performing well, it was all about the losing team’s collapse falling on the shoulders of one particular player. I’m not really looking forward to a Pats/Giants rematch, although I imagine Roger Goodell is. Revenue streams, playa.

Did you know that the Fox Sports robot that runs during commercials is named Cleatus? What a weird name. He even has his own Twitter account so you can Tweet to him during the game and… do what? What the hell could you possibly have to say to a fake hill-billy named robot that tells you what the game was sponsored by? Well, I looked it up, here were some gems:

beewits beewits
@cleatus you don’t dance the way you used to.

ThisBenFlanagan Ben Flanagan
Was @Cleatus in REAL STEEL? Bet he auditioned…

seaniscreative Sean Thompson
So apparently the fox football robot has a twitter. I hate that thing more now. Apparently it’s @cleatus

ian_judd I.K.J.
I wish @cleatus the fox robot would respond to my tweets. Get at me dog! Go niners

The last guy had SEVERAL Tweets directed @Cleatus, and I suppose he was getting all worked up at the idea of Cleatus not responding. The fuck’d you expect guy?

Baseball interest is probably the lowest it can be during this time of year, which is why I’d like to touch on a subject. Cleveland Indians’ pitcher Fausto Carmona was arrested (and I’m assuming deported?) for falsifying his identity when scouts checked up on him in the Dominican Republic before he was signed. He gave a false name and a false age. He’s also not the first player to do it. Marlins’ pitcher Leo Nunez was arrested for the same thing about 4 months ago when the team discovered he was using a false name and false age as well to play baseball.

Neither of these pitchers are huge in the game of baseball right now so it’s not a mind-blowing media event, and that probably doesn’t bode well for these two. The age thing is pretty messed up. Carmona said he was 3 years younger than he actually is. That’s a pretty big deal when your body is your job. The name thing, though… who cares? Let em’ play. In an era where probably hundreds of baseball players used drugs to make themselves more than what they are, I don’t see why this needs to be dragged out. Get them a new visa, give em a physical, and then let them play again.

Word is the Raiders are hiring Denver Broncos’s defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. I wonder how Adam feels about this. I wasn’t able to confirm, though, as I didn’t make it through the Tostitos commercials…

Barcelona and Real Madrid play again today. This is, what, like the 100th time this season? These guys haven’t played that much in 20 years.

Alright… I’m falling apart here…. I’m done.

1.) I put that song “Home” by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on a mixtape that I made recently and I have to say, I do not regret the decision one bit.  Holy cow, what an underrated song.  It has an abundance of unintentional comedy. I mean, it’s a Bone Thugs-N-Harmony song with freakin’ Phil Collins for crying out loud. According to Wikipedia, the group got so much positive feedback from the song (in the U.K., not the U.S.) that they decided to name Phil Collins an honorary member of the group with the moniker “Chrome Bone.” Gangsta.

Now, with all that being said, taking into account all of the elements that are at work against the song, you want to know the secret truth?  It’s a GOOD song.  There, I said it. It has an catchy beat and the chorus is AWESOME!  Throw in a reference to Uncle Charles (really, has Bone Thugs ever made a song without mentioning Uncle Charlie?) and you have what amounts to one of the most underrated songs ever. Just get past the image of Phil “Chrome Bone” Collins and Krayzie Bone watching Disney’s Tarzan through a thick fog of smoke and enjoy it.

2.) While were on the topic of the tape, I also put songs from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (“Whatever happened….TO MY ROCK AND ROLL!”) and Incubus on it. Remember Incubus?  I don’t know what they’re up to these days, but I’m sure that it involves herbal tea.

3.) Can we all agree that How I Met your Mother would be 100 times better if it killed off Ted Mosby?  That guy is so whiney and annoying. JUST MEET THE MOTHER ALREADY!

4.) Speaking of CBS sitcoms, I tried to watch an episode of The Big Bang Theory cause a lot of people like it.  I made it to the opening credits and had to change the channel.  Holy cow that show is TERRIBLE.  Here’s basically what happened in the 3 minutes I watched: Leonard was on the phone, the group saw that he was cringing and didn’t like whoever he was talking to, Sheldon surmised that he was probably talking to a doctor about getting a colonoscopy (naturally), Leonard hangs up the phone, “the gang” asks ‘what was that phone call about?’ Leonard says, ‘That was my mother, she’s coming to visit.’ Howard says, ‘so it was about a colonoscopy!’ AND SCENE! Wow. Comic GOLD!

5.) Top Chef should just stop now and have Ed and Paul fight it out in the finals.

ON TO THE PICKS! (My actual winners will be in bold and whoever I list first will be who I think is going to cover).

New England -7 over the Ravens. Joe Flacco is not very good.  It’s time to admit that.  If it hadn’t been for Jacoby Jones, the Texans would be playing the Patriots this weekend. I know it’s sacriledge to talk trash on Joey as a fellow Delawarean, but man, he is baaaad. Also there was a report out there that he was skateboarding in his driveway, and his neighbor called the Ravens and tattled on him.  His response?  Something like, “I had never skateboarded before so I wanted to try it.” Um, Joe, the most important game of your life is coming up. The last thing you need to do is break your wrist trying an ollie kickflip mctwist.

If the Ravens have any chance in this game, they need to hand the ball off to Ray Rice and Ricky Williams 60 times. Each.

NY Giants +2.5 at San Francisco.  I wanted to pick the 49ers, but Randy picked them and so, I wanted to be different.  That’s how decisions get made here at theheadrush.  Also: Cruz, Manning, Nicks, Jacobs, Bradshaw, and the Giants D-Line.  This game is going to be awesome to watch.  I can’t wait!