BY CAILIN BURKE
Halloween is right around the corner but the World Series is already here! I decided to combine the two when pumpkin painting this year. For some reason I had the overwhelming want to recreate the Mets home run apple, but didn’t realize how difficult it would be. After many hours, I love how it turned out and wanted to show you the steps to creating a more difficult pumpkin masterpiece!
BY CAILIN BURKE
It’s GIANTS game day! Tara and I decided to each choose a different take on game day apparel in honor of tonight’s matchup. Since it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and you can see every team incorporating pink into their uniforms, I went that route too. I threw on one of my favorite Giants hats, which is the actual Breast Cancer Awareness hat worn by the team a few years ago! Since my other red, white, and blue team apparel didn’t match well with the hat, I just kept the rest of the look sporty with a black shirt, pink and blue flannel, and an infinity scarf to add a bit more pink into my look. I also wore a Giants bracelet that’s made with actual materials from a football!
Tara wore the classic Giants colors and sported her favorite raglan tee. She also wore her Polo Ralph Lauren sneaks that happened to match perfectly. Now that we’ve got our Giants apparel on, we can’t wait for tonight’s game!
BY TARA BURKE
We love our baseball and there is nothing quite like sitting in the stands watching a baseball game on a summer night. We’re Mets fans so before the season starts we always scour the events calendar to check out all the game day promotions. When we found out they’d be giving out a Jacob deGrom garden gnome on May 2nd, we immediately bought tickets. DeGrom is Cailin’s favorite pitcher on the Mets, plus everyone loves his signature locks. In turn, we just had to get a deGnome!
BY CAILIN BURKE
As most experts (and my family and I) predicted, the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will be competing in Super Bowl XLIX. To get here, we had to go through one game which had viewers on the edge of their seats and one that was much less thrilling.
The NFC Championship between the Seahawks and Green Bay Packers was a closer game than anticipated, as it came down to overtime. Even though the odds were highly in the Seahawks favor, it was their mistakes on offense and multitude of penalties that gave Green Bay a chance. With Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson throwing four interceptions, Green Bay failed to make the most out of these uncharacteristic mistakes. Between the five Seattle turnovers in the game (one first quarter fumble on a Doug Baldwin return), Green Bay was only able to score 6 points on the possession changes, and 22 points total. Although it was one of Wilson’s worst career games, it was Green Bay’s lack of capitalization on Seattle’s many errors that resulted in their loss.
If you want the short version of this game, Green Bay had a 16-point lead at halftime mainly due to Seattle mistakes. Seattle came back in the second half, getting within 5 points of the Packers with a score of 19-14 and a little more than 2 minutes left in the game. The Seahawks then successfully attempted an onside kick which allowed repossession of the ball. With this possession, they scored and made the game 22-19 in their favor. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers responded, making it quickly down the field and gaining enough yardage to allow Mason Crosby to make the game-tieing field goal. On to overtime, the Seahawks won the coin toss, and in their first overtime possession (and in only a little over 3 minutes), Wilson threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse to win the game. Final score: 28-22.
In typical Seahawk fashion, they ended their game with some shouting. It came from Doug Baldwin this time who had a lot to say about the team’s “doubters.” Starting the season at 3-3, Baldwin yelled, “Everyone counted us out.” Baldwin’s post-game rant definitely followed in the footsteps of Richard Sherman. I mean, hey, the 12th man sure likes to shout too. Although they may have been doubted in the beginning, the Seahawks were the heavy favorites in this game. Just look at the NFL expert picks.
As for the Patriots vs. the Indianapolis Colts, this game went quite the opposite and wasn’t determined in a dramatic, anxiety-inducing way. The final score was 45-7, Patriots. A game recap would probably bore you, so basically all there is to know is Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount had a great game with 3 rushing touchdowns, while Brady threw 3 touchdowns, and Julian Edelman had 98 receiving yards. Maybe the most noteworthy fact of this game is that Brady is now onto his sixth Super Bowl as starting quarterback, a NFL record. This game also allowed him to surpass Peyton Manning’s record for most post-season passing yards.
With two weeks until the Super Bowl, the Seahawks are going to make sure they fix their issues and won’t be making those mistakes again. I think they’ve got this, but truth be told, I wish a different team would win. Just not the Patriots, sorry I’m a Giants fan.
BY CAILIN BURKE
Now that March Madness is fully underway and we have our Sweet 16 teams, I’ve been laughing at the many tweets I’ve seen about brackets that have been destroyed. A lot of people are referring to the NCAA Basketball Tournament as March Sadness, which I do find pretty witty.
Although my bracket is also ruined and I’m a little sad I didn’t win a billion dollars, I’m pretty happy with the quality of the games so far and just the fact that every weekend is filled with basketball! Here are my bracket busts so far:
Round 2: Ohio State vs. Dayton– I think it’s pretty safe to say that a lot of us messed up this one. For those who don’t know, Dayton has been playing really well and not only beat Ohio State but also upset Syracuse in Round 3.
Duke vs. Mercer– I, like Matthew Berry, had Duke in the Elite Eight so that definitely was a big mistake from the start.
Saint Louis vs. N.C. State– Not going to lie, I actually wanted Saint Louis to win, but put N.C. State as the winner of that game instead.
New Mexico State vs. San Diego State– Opposite to my pick for the Saint Louis vs. N.C. State game, I picked New. Mex. St. because they were the team I wanted to win. Backfired again because they lost. It was a close one though and was decided in overtime.
Harvard vs. Cincinnati– Another game that surprised viewers and ruined brackets everywhere.
Kansas, Wichita State, and Duke were my biggest busts so far, because I had all of those teams going pretty far in the tournament. Instead Duke lost round two and Kansas and Wichita both surprisingly lost round three. However, I’ve still got 10 schools in the Sweet Sixteen, four teams in the Elite Eight, three out of the Final Four, both teams in the National Final, and my National Champion is still in it! I wanted to not stick to the typical Florida, Arizona, or Louisville choice for the tournament winner, so I went with Iowa State. Even though some games didn’t pan out the way that I wanted, there have been a ton of really close and exciting games that were fun to watch. Saint Louis and N.C. State was one of my favorites since they came back from a 16 point deficit at the half. Another great game was Manhattan vs. Louisville, and even though Manhattan lost, they really gave Louisville a run for their money, or for the title in this case.
Who do you guys have winning the tournament and what teams were your biggest bracket busts?
BY CAILIN BURKE
Bode Miller being brought to tears when questioned about his brother and Noelle Pikus-Pace abruptly questioned about her miscarriage are just two of the Olympic interviews that many have said went too far. After winning the silver in women’s skeleton, Pikus-Pace was interviewed by Meredith Vieira and instead of solely talking about her achievement, Vieira began to ask questions about the miscarriage Pikus-Pace had several years ago. Many viewers saw this as completely intrusive, and you could clearly tell Pikus-Pace was becoming upset by talking about it. When talking about why she continued in skeleton, after planning to retire after the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, she said, “Life happened,” to which Vieira responded, “You had a miscarriage.” After responding to that statement, Pikus-Pace said, “My voice started shaking even thinking about it.”
It seemed as if Pikus-Pace wasn’t prepared in that moment to talk about it, because Vieira brought up the topic so quickly and continued to ask questions about it. Although it did connect to her reasoning for continuing with the sport, as she said it was her husband’s idea to help her cope with the miscarriage, there is still questioning as to if this interview was too personal.
The full interview can be viewed here: http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/noelle-pikus-pace-we-did-it
After winning the bronze medal in the men’s super-G on Sunday, Bode Miller similarly shared a personal post-competition interview. This time, however, it was not in the studio and occurred minutes after he found out he had won the bronze. NBC’s Christin Cooper asked him a few questions about his win, and when she asked what made this medal different from others, Miller brought up his brother, Chilly, who had passed away last year. This interview was different from Pikus-Pace’s, in that he brought up the personal topic himself, but it was the way that Cooper continued with the interview that bothered viewers. She then continued to ask him why he was showing so much emotion, which shows that she did notice Miller quickly becoming upset when talking about his brother.
However she didn’t move onto another question to dilute the situation or to help Miller regain his composure, she instead went on to ask if the performance was for his brother. As Miller started to answer the question, tears began to well up in his eyes, to the point that he was wiping them away, and before finishing his answer, Cooper asked, “When you’re looking up at the sky at the start, and we see you there, it just looks like you’re talking to somebody. What’s going on there?” To this Miller completely broke down, didn’t answer the question, put his head down, walked away, and knelt down on the floor away from Cooper.
After the interview, many Twitter users expressed their anger toward Cooper while many articles came out on the subject as well. For the most part, these articles have all said that NBC Sports is wrong in making the Olympics coverage too emotional. However on Monday, articles have come out saying that NBC asked Bode Miller to talk about the subject and defend Cooper. Following this rumored request his Twitter account read:
Although he did defend Cooper, his most recent retweet jabs at NBC Olympic’s producers which shows that he did actually find some fault in the interview. To see exactly what happened, the interview is posted below.
These interviews have been bringing forth a lot of attention and anger towards NBC producers, especially in Bode Miller’s case, and cause the public to question the true intentions of Olympic coverage. Are they trying to trying to show Olympic achievement or be more of an entertainment production by provoking athlete’s emotions?
BY CAILIN BURKE
Since the Super Bowl is coming up, I thought what better time than to share some of my favorite sport parody Twitter accounts. They all will most likely be tweeting throughout the duration of the game, so if you want a few laughs while you watch, you should definitely follow some of them.
1) @PeytonsHead- My personal favorite! Essentially the Twitter is from the viewpoint of Peyton Manning’s head and since the Broncos are in the Super Bowl, his tweets during the big game should be even better! He always has a lot to say about other sports and current events, so this account is a great follow no matter what time of year. My favorite part about this Twitter is the profile picture of Peyton’s face with his forehead all red. If you see Peyton ever take his helmet off during a game, his forehead is always red, so the Twitter’s accuracy is pretty hilarious. I also love when he tweets #TextsFromEli where the tweet shows a “conversation” between the two of them. Basically, if you like Peyton Manning this Twitter is a must-follow.
2) @NFL_Memes– They post several memes a day that are funnier than most I’ve seen on other pages. If a team loses, they’ll be sure to make a meme mocking them, and if a team wins, they come up with great memes for that too. I expect a lot of funny Peyton Manning and Richard Sherman memes during and after the Super Bowl. This meme of Peyton and Eli is one of my favorites right now:
3) @EvilMikeTomlin– Based off of the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, this Twitter is mostly all-things football, but pokes fun at some other sports and current events as well. He tweets frequently each day, so during the Super Bowl I’m sure there will be a tweet for every minute of it! As for the username, he is pretty evil if you’re a Patriots or an NBA fan since he hates both, but I think his tweets are pretty hilarious.
4) @TheFakeESPN– They cover almost every popular sport and aside from funny tweets, they are known for writing humorous headlines too. They’ll frequently post headlines that were created by themselves or submitted by other Twitter users and attach a link with a photo or video. What’s cool about this page is that they’re pretending to be a real sports news source but their tweets and “news stories” are all just a mockery.
5) @ShermanRants– Since Richard Sherman is still one of the top two athletes being talked about up until the Super Bowl, what better Twitter to follow? This account just started after his well-known NFC Championship post-game interview, and although I don’t know if there will be any tweets after the Super Bowl, I’ll definitely read some of Sherman’s “rants” up until the game. Every tweet posted is in all caps to emphasize his yelling, so that fact is pretty funny in itself.
If you want to check out other well-known sport parody accounts there’s also: @TomBradysEgo, @FakeSportsCentr, @CaptTouchback, @NotBillWalton, @OnionSports, @FauxJohnMadden, @FunSkipBayless, and tons of others for specific athletes/coaches/reporters. Definitely check out some of these Twitters especially on Super Bowl day, since there will be a lot of funny comments worth retweeting.
BY CAILIN BURKE
If you watched the NFC Championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, you probably aren’t really thinking about what happened during the game, but instead what happened after it. If you haven’t heard from the massive outpouring of comments on social media, during a post-game interview, Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman yelled, “I’m the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that is the result you are going to get. Don’t you ever talk about me.” After reporter Erin Andrews asked, “Who was talking about you?,” he continued to shout, “Crabtree. Don’t you open your mouth about the best, or I’m going to shut it for you real quick.” If you want to see the interview in all it’s craziness, it’s below!
Obviously people reacted to what he said in a variety of ways. In my opinion, he should have remained professional and let his final game clinching play do the talking for him. Also, in his interview he could’ve said something to make the Seahawks franchise look good, by thanking the fans for their support or commenting on the team’s efforts as a whole. Here’s how current and former NFL athletes reacted to the interview:
Some tweets showed support for Sherman in what he said, with most of the tweets mentioning that he was passionate, football should involve trash talk, or he was just pumped up and his great play is what ultimately mattered. Others called him “classless” and “dumb,” said they lost respect for him, or pledged to root for the Broncos in spite of him.
After all of this, here was Michael Crabtree’s response:
This was what Richard Sherman had to say:
Now the more important question at hand is what Will Blackmon brought up, “What provoked this?”
Well, Crabtree was recently asked by reporters if he thought Sherman was the best corner in the game, and he responded saying, “No, I don’t think so.” Okay… so that was what Sherman was referring to amidst his shouting! However here’s what I find funny. Sherman’s tweet says, “A lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinions of a sheep.” If Sherman wasn’t personally offended by what Crabtree said in his interview, than he wouldn’t have defended himself in that manner. He’s going to the Super Bowl after all, so ultimately he got the better end of the deal anyway. Clearly his reaction tonight showed he was in fact concerned with Crabtree’s opinion.
As for the other tweets I’ve read tonight, I have to say that the whole “Sherman being dumb thing” has no merit. He graduated second in his high school class with a 4.2 GPA and had a 3.9 GPA while at Stanford. He also scored a 1400 on his SATs. Not so “dumb” after all. So yes, maybe his comment was unsportsmanlike, disrespectful, and frankly a little terrifiying/hilarious, but I would criticize his judgment in making that comment rather than his lack of intellect. As a final thought, although Sherman is talented at his position, we should look at some stats to back up his statement. (See the stats here: http://wp.advancednflstats.com/defenderstats.php?pos=CB, and here: https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/01/31/signature-stats-ypcs-cornerbacks/)
And here’s the final verdict:
No, Richard Sherman, you’re not the number one corner in the game. You’re number six. Now please don’t be offended by this and come screaming at me too.
BY CAILIN BURKE
Unfortunately for myself and the other fantasy players out there, Sundays are no longer the same. Yes, we still have football for a little while longer, but you’re without your fantasy team! Here are ten signs that you’re suffering from fantasy football withdrawal:
1) You try to find a new fantasy sport to play… and it doesn’t feel the same. If you like watching baseball or basketball you would think you’d like fantasy baseball or fantasy basketball too. Yeah, not always the case. I love baseball just as much as football and I tried playing fantasy baseball last year. Nope, not as fun.
2) You watch or re-watch episodes of FX’s The League. If you haven’t watched The League you need to watch all four seasons immediately. It’s basically a show about the league we all secretly wish we were in. With NFL guest stars, tons of trash talk, very inappropriate jokes, and relatable fantasy ups-and-downs, watching it will get you through the off-season just fine.
3) You’re already thinking about team names for next year. Of course once the season’s over you think of all of these great names. Where were the good puns when you needed them?
4) You’re also prematurely thinking of who you want in next year’s draft. Or if you’re in a keeper league you’re currently psychoanalyzing who you should keep. Instead of just watching the playoffs to see who wins, you’re also simultaneously looking for next year’s fantasy prospects. Keenan Allen, anyone?
5) You’re already trying to decide who gets kicked out of the league, who stays, and if you want anyone new. You need a lot of time to figure out who gets the boot, so you’ve taken it upon yourself to start thinking now. Do you really still want those random people in your league that don’t really care?
6) You are still shouting at the TV for your fantasy players in the playoffs. Out of habit I caught myself screaming for Demaryius Thomas the other day and then shortly thereafter remembered fantasy is over and his touchdowns no longer give me any points. Ugh.
7) You can’t get yourself to delete your fantasy football app. I can’t do it and I don’t know why. I probably should though since it’s useless for another 7 months. Wait… SEVEN WHOLE MONTHS!?!? Yeah, that’s a long time. How will we all survive?
8) You look back at your previous week scores and reflect on some of the bad last minute tweaks you made. Yes, a lot of us have Kevin MacArthur syndrome where we keep changing our lineup and over-think everything. Sometimes you look back and just want to cry when you see that crucial week you lost. Especially when someone on your bench had a monster game and could’ve given you the W.
9) The trash talk isn’t over. If you won your league, you’re still gloating. If not, you keep saying “just wait and see next year,” “watch out for me next year,” or some form of that sentence. Gotta love those high hopes.
10) You still talk about fantasy to anyone who will listen. You find ways to bring up fantasy whether it’s on your Twitter or to your family who are SO annoyed you’re continuing to talk about it.
No matter if you won or miserably lost your league this year, you know you’ll always love it. It’s just the off-season all of us hate.
GIFs courtesy of: http://missjnicole.tumblr.com, http://sheriffmac.tumblr.com, http://jamandstuff.tumblr.com/, somethinginexpressible.tumblr.com
BY CAILIN BURKE
With the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos both being the top seeds in their respected conferences, saying Super Bowl XLVIII would be a Wilson vs. Manning game, may not be the greatest surprise, or the classic underdog story we all love. As predictable as this is, these two teams face to face would make a more memorable Super Bowl in the end. The non-football watcher, would probably say, “The 49ers were just in the Super Bowl last year, let’s see someone different.” Same goes for the Patriots. Tom Brady already has multiple Super Bowl victories so it’d be a little more exciting to see someone else hoisting up the Lombardi trophy. Personal bias aside, I do actually have some facts to back up my prediction. It’s not my inner Giants fan rooting for Eli’s big bro and not wanting the Patriots, a Giant’s rival to be in it. The season’s stats so far show the Broncos and Seahawks have the better teams and should therefore make it to the Super Bowl.
Let’s look at the Broncos vs. Patriots first.
Rushing Game: The Patriots mainly give touches to LeGarrette Blount and Steven Ridley who both finished the season with 7 touchdowns, with 772 yards for Blount and 773 yards for Ridley on the ground. With Blount’s 166 yard game and 4 touchdowns (the Patriot record for rushing touchdowns in one game) against the Colts in their 43-22 win this weekend, he’ll get the majority of the ground work for Sunday’s game.
As for the Broncos, with running back Knowshon Moreno getting the brunt of the work with occasional touches by Wisconsin rookie Montee Ball, both have the power to make significant plays. With 1,120 yards for Moreno in the regular and post seasons, his consistency this season will add to the big plays Manning is sure to make.
The consensus?: The Patriots will take the edge on rushing yards with Blount and Ridley’s combined efforts.
Passing Game: Tom Brady has two major targets in Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola, while Peyton Manning has Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Eric Decker, and Julius Thomas. Manning’s options all land within the top 44 NFL players for total receiving yards on the season. The Patriots no longer have Gronkowski due to his ACL and MCL injury in Week 14, and with two less dependable receivers than the Broncos, that may be the game changer.
Basically, the less viable targets, the less passing yards. Plus, it’s Peyton Manning we’re talking about. With the most passing yards in the NFL this season and his 115.1 QB rating, it’d be a safe bet to say he’s going to have yet another huge game on the passing front.
Consensus: Broncos take the passing game with Manning and his many targets.
Defense: The Patriots defense essentially sealed the win in their divisional game against the Colts. With three sacks on quarterback Andrew Luck and four interceptions (two of them by Pats cornerback Alfonzo Dennard), the Patriots defense led by Jamie Collins will have even more confidence going into this weekend’s game.
However with Bronco’s cornerback Chris Harris Jr. out with a torn ACL after last weekend’s win against the Chargers, they’ll need to find a replacement to fill his large shoes. Head coach John Fox hasn’t made a decision yet, but I’ll bet that Champ Bailey will be in the cornerback position for the majority of the game. He won’t be at his 100% best because of his left foot injury that has been continuously giving him trouble, but will be a decent replacement.
Consensus: The Patriots defense will be strong, forcing at least one turnover and breaking through the Bronco’s offensive line to get to Manning. The Broncos offense, however, will keep them in check and ultimately diminish the Patriots defensive efforts. Broncos have this one.
Special Teams: I’ll keep this one short. The Bronco’s Trindon Holliday is likely to give Peyton Manning and company consistently good field position. Ideally for the Broncos, he may even return a punt for a touchdown as well.
Consensus: The Broncos special teams will help ensure a Denver win.
Aside from these predictions, what is sure is that it will be a very close game. Yes, the Patriots defense has been playing better than usual as seen by their recent win, and the Broncos have some injuries plaguing their defense, but Peyton has all four of his receivers healthy. Manning and these four will make all the difference.
Now for the Seahawks vs. 49ers.
Rushing Game: Marshawn Lynch will dominate the field as usual. With 1,403 yards in the regular and post season combined, he’ll probably add more than a hundred yards to that number this Sunday.
Although Frank Gore will most likely give the 49ers a touchdown or two, he won’t be able to keep up with the 100+ yard game Lynch is going to have. I predict he won’t break over the 100 yard mark at all.
Consensus: The rushing game with the help of Lynch will help ensure another victory for Seattle.
Passing Game: Although Russell Wilson had a disappointing divisional round and beat the New Orleans Saints thanks to the Seahawk’s rushing game, we should see a better week from him. Golden Tate will get the majority of Wilson’s completions, but Doug Baldwin will also be there making several key catches. I don’t expect an amazing, extraordinary game from Wilson, but just enough to win the game.
The 49ers have Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis, both who are bound to make several big catches and get into the end zone. Crabtree will be there to make a few solid catches as well in crucial 3rd down situations. Kaepernick, on the other hand, has had less than stellar games versus the Seahawks this season with 15 completions on his 29 attempts in their Week 14 meeting. However this time around, we should see him make some big plays in the air and on the ground, possibly getting into the end zone himself.
Consensus: The 49ers win this category as I see Boldin and Davis collecting more receiving yards than Tate and Baldwin of the Seahawks.
Defense: This category gets a bit more difficult to predict since we’ll be seeing two of the NFL’s best defenses going face to face. I’ll keep it simple and give the edge to the Seahawks as their regular season defensive stats speak loudly enough. (Number 1 in the NFL for: Average of points allowed per game, average yards allowed, average passing yards allowed, turnovers, and interceptions)
Consensus: The Seahawks will force several turnovers with their defense consisting of cornerback Richard Sherman and star safety Earl Thomas.
Special Teams: The Seahawks have had a consistently excellent special teams unit. With kicker Steven Hauscka’s 94.3% field goal completion rate, their special teams should positively impact the outcome of the game.
In the Seahawks and 49ers last meeting, San Francisco’s Phil Dawson kicked a field goal to win the game, and he will again prove useful in tacking on 3 extra points here and there to keep the 49ers in it.
Consensus: Special teams will both make beneficial contributions but the Seahawks should make a few more field goals to keep the win safely in their grasp.
With the almost deafening noise volume at the Seahawk’s CenturyLink field, the 49ers will have to try their best to keep their sanity, but ultimately will fall short if only by a few points.
Okay yes, I personally want a Seahawks vs. Broncos Super Bowl, but with the Bronco’s offense under the helm of Peyton Manning, and the Seahawk’s having the number one defense in the NFL, it is more than likely to end up that way.
Castle Foundations 