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NEW YORK - Weather. Cheap Jerseys . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. And although the initial reports predict a temperature of plus-1 or 2 celsius, until they kick the ball off you just never know. The coldest Super Bowl ever played was in 1972 in New Orleans before the Mercedes-Benz Superdome existed between Dallas and Miami. It was 39 degrees fahrenheit which is about plus-4 celsius, so come Sunday that record could be re-written. When you consider the history of Wild Card, divisional and Conference Championship games, many have been played in brutal conditions. Most recently, San Francisco played at Green Bay in the Wild Card round on Jan. 5 and that one was well played and the best team on that day won. When it was first announced that New York as a city and New Jersey as a specific location would hold a Super Bowl many did cringe, myself included. But when it comes to the many amenities needed such as hotel rooms, meeting facilities, football fields, transportation networks then the area involved will provide anything needed. When the game was played in Jacksonville and Indianapolis I thought the magnitude of the event stretched the ability of the city to hold the event. I will say this though. The 2013 Grey Cup held in Regina, Saskatchewan did have a couple of days where the weather personally made me hesitate to be involved, but those were days of minus-16 and evenings of minus-26 celsius. Yes, if it gets that cold it will take away from the game as many are not conditioned for that type of challenge. Once the week starts on Monday it is mildly amazing how well and efficiently the Super Bowl is run. Everything is on time and I mean everything. If a player or coach is to appear, they are there. And for those in demand it is demanding. If a normal day is between eight and nine hours including preparation meetings and practice, you can add another three hours for media and their desires. That is especially true for the stars. The players on the back end of the roster by Thursday are not in demand and its time to read the paper or relax if you can. The people at the front end of the roster are always in demand. Monday it is for a select few, Tuesday is for everybody as traditional "Media Day" is the priority and Wednesday and Thursday the location switches to each teams hotels. By Thursday every question has been asked and you do sense that its time to move on. On Friday and Saturday it all tapers down in a dramatic way with only single players and head coaches available. The actual best meeting of the week is Friday at 11:30am. That is the "State of the League" address with the commissioner Roger Goodell and you do get a sense of what is working, what needs improvement and the timeline of future events for 2014. It also marks the presentation for NFL Player of the Year which recognizes the standard of excellence both on and off the field. So from Monday to Friday it is an odd week, a promotional week for anything and everything related to the NFL and the Super Bowl itself. It is true that many go to be seen and heard but come Saturday it changes to football. Outside of game day, Saturday is an explosion of anticipation. Everything that could be said has been said and just about everybody is over-saturated with predictions, thoughts and evaluations. It is time to play the game, not so much because it is close to February 2, just because enough is enough it terms of talk. Its time to play. Game day is special. We as a group always go early and take it all in and just watch people from everywhere interact. Well depending on weather, maybe we wont go too early this year. As much as I like the game I am fascinated by the halftime show. From our high altitude vantage point it is impressive how they get thousands of people on the field in a disciplined and short period of time. When the game is over it is controlled chaos as everyone either wants to leave the stadium, stay in the stadium or get on the field. And basically thats the week. A lot of hurry up and wait, then done, mess it up, followed by get ready to do it again tomorrow. It is part event, part celebration, part celebrity status recognition and in the end a championship football game. With the No. 1 seed in the AFC playing the No. 1 seed in the NFC it is difficult to argue that we will find the best team in the end. But there is a lot to be experienced before that conclusive moment. Including some guaranteed cold weather. Wholesale Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. Cheap Jerseys from china . Lee doubled and scored in his debut, Buerhle struck out a season-best eight over 7 2-3 innings and Miami beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-0 Thursday to split the four-game series.TORONTO - The Raptors and Nets dont like each other, even after one playoff game that has been made abundantly clear. If youre looking to trace back that animosity, start with Torontos one-point victory at Barclays Center in late January. There was a playoff-type buzz in the building that night. DeMar DeRozan sat out with an ankle injury, Kyle Lowry and Paul Pierce both turned in playoff-type performances. There were 18 lead changes, nine ties and three technical fouls - on Lowry, Piece and Kevin Garnett - later, the Raptors stole the game, literally, as Patrick Patterson picked off a Deron Williams pass and hit the winner. "This is a team we could see in the playoffs," uttered multiple voices in both locker rooms and at that point we knew, somehow, some way it was bound to become a reality. Terrence Ross continued to foreshadow a couple days later, listing the Nets as a preferred playoff opponent. Andray Blatche was not amused. Meanwhile, the Nets also had Toronto on their wish list as they rested players and lost games to maximize the odds of this matchup coming to fruition. The Raptors were not amused, at least they shouldnt have been. Then the war of words started. "[Expletive] Brooklyn," yelled Raptors president, general manager and hype man Masai Ujiri as he addressed thousands of fans outside the Air Canada Centre prior to Saturdays Game 1. Reluctantly, he delivered a halftime apology, more for the choice of phrasing than the message itself. Hes not alone in that sentiment. "That should represent how we all feel," Dwane Casey said after his team fell victim to the veteran savvy of Brooklyn in the series opener. "I feel the same way and Ive got his back," added Greivis Vasquez. "We dont like any of them either. Thats how we all feel. All of us." Nets coach Jason Kidd said he didnt know who the Raptors GM was and on Sunday the barbs continued to fly. "Im shocked that Bryan Colangelo would say that," Pierce said to the New York Post, informed of what the opposing GM had to say the day before. Reminded that Ujiri replaced Colangelo in the Raptors front office last summer, as if he were somehow unaware, Pierce responded, "I dont know what youre talking about." Theres genuine hostility here. Its not manufactured, though the media has helped fan the flames. "Raptors vs. Dinosaurs," read the Toronto Sun cover on game day, poking fun at the age of Pierce and Garnett. "Dont F*** With Bklyn," the New York Daily News shot back 24 hours later. This has the makings of a competitive, heated series, but rivalry? "I dont think its a rivalry at all," Kyle Lowry said following a Sunday afternoon practice session outside of the Raptors gym on the third level of the ACC. Hes right. Neither team will call this a rivalry and neitheer should. Cheap NFL Jerseys. Territorially, the Nets and the Knicks are natural adversaries, while the Nets - especially with former Celtics Pierce and Garnett on board - have their sites set on throwing down with the Heat, who they defeated four times this season. The Raptors? They dont have a rival. Thats the unfortunate reality of qualifying for the playoffs six times in 19 seasons. For the bulk of their existence, and especially during a recent five-year postseason layoff, theyve been their own worst enemy. "I dont know," said Casey, "rivalry?" "I think the whole Atlantic Divisions a rivalry, the Eastern Conference. We havent got to the spot yet where we can say, Hey, theyre a rival. New Jerseys been to the Finals before, we havent. A lot of teams in our division have been there, where were trying to get to. Weve got to earn that." Thats their focus right now, as it should be. Earning it. The Raptors lost Game 1, not because of Ujiri, not because of anything that was said or done off the floor. They lost because they were outplayed by a team that was not fazed by the moment, by their surroundings. The ACC was electric on Saturday and the sellout crowd did their part, and then some. The building looked and sounded like the "living hell" that Ujiri has called for over and over again. Chants of "Nets suck" and "KG sucks" rang down from the stands throughout the afternoon. Is Toronto a basketball town? It sure seemed like it for three hours but one thing is for certain, its a sports city and as such, it craves that rivalry. It still boos Vince Carter, it still shows up to jeer the Knicks, a former playoff foe from the Raptors "glory days". It would like nothing more than to believe that Brooklyn is the enemy, and for at least three more games they will be. Then what? It depends on what happens here. Rivalries are made in the playoffs and a long, emotional, drawn-out series, almost regardless of the result, would go a long way in prolonging the underlying hatred between these two clubs. For now its being put to the side, at least in the Raptors locker room, where bouncing back and evening the series is now a top priority. Aside from a brief quip to lead off his media scrum - "I promise you I wont have any profanity" - Casey wanted no part in discussing Ujiris controversial speech from the day before. Neither did his players. A war of words may not lose them this series, but it wont win it either. On Sunday the message was clear; a little less conversation, a little more action, please. "This is about basketball," said the Raptors coach. "All that stuff has happened." "All the other stuff, what was said, its about basketball. Its about screening. Its about finishing plays. Its about executing defensively. I dont want to get off on another tangent." cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
