Tackling Super Bowl 50

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When I made my Super Bowl prediction last week, I was beyond confident that Carolina was going to unload on Denver. I was sure that Cam Newton and that powerful rushing attack were going to pound the pass rush of Denver into the ground.  I, in a word, was wrong. The Broncos defeated the Panthers 24 – 10. I thought the combination of the Panthers tough and explosive offense would grind their way to scores and their defense would shut down the Bronco Offense. Well, at least I was right about one thing.

The Panther defense did not allow Peyton Manning and the Denver offense to do much of anything. In fact, Denver’s offense only gained 194 yards during Super Bowl 50. They are the only team in Super Bowl history to have won the game despite less than 200 yards of offense according to Adam Shefter of ESPN.

Photo: Getty

This game, really, was decided between the Carolina Offense and the Denver Defense.  The Denver defensive front seven clogged every rushing lane and pressured Newton from the first snap. The Broncos’ secondary locked down the Panther passing attack with a fantastic mixture of man and zone defense. Carolina’s best receiver Tight End Greg Olson was held to only 41 yards on 4 catches.

So called experts, myself included, believed there was “no way” that the Denver pass rush could do to Cam Newton what they did to Tom Brady two weeks previously. There again, the experts and I were dead wrong.

Photo: FOX Sports / Kevin C. Cox

According to ESPN, Cam Newton was pressured on 42.9% of his throws! Think about that number for a second: that means that out of 10 pass plays, Newton was running for his life on over 4 of them. The 6 other attempts in this scenario, no one was open. ESPN would go on to report that when Denver pass rushers Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware were on the field at the same time, Newton was 1/12 passing, was sacked 4 times, and fumbled twice. That, ladies and gentleman, is domination.

Those numbers alone though are not why the Broncos won. Carolina’s high-powered rushing attack was held to just 118 yards, 45 of those yards belonging to Newton. The Broncos’ defensive line won on 1st and 2nd down consistently all night. Consequently, Carolina faced 3rd and long a majority of the game and thus allowing Denver to dial up the pressure and bring the heat.  Denver brought the blitz and connected routinely.

Photo: Getty

Let’s go into the numbers shall we? Von Miller: 2 ½ sacks and two forced fumbles, named Super Bowl MVP. DeMarcus Ware: 2 sacks. Darian Stewart: 1 sack. Chris Harris Jr: 1 sack. Derrick Wolfe: ½ sack. For those of you keeping score at home, that is 7 sacks. Pair that number of sacks with 3 forced fumbles and an interception and you have, like I said before, domination.

SPOILER ALERT! We Know the Winner of Superbowl 50

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Superbowl 50 is this Sunday, and everyone is wondering “Who will take home the Lombardi?”

Luckily, EA Sports have taken the wondering out of it for us. You see for years they’ve simulated the match up in the latest version of Madden, and, to much surprise, they’ve been right 9 out of the last 12 years.

So, who will win when the Panthers take on the Broncos? Give it a watch and find out.

WWE Hall Of Famer Announces Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

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This is just terrible news.

WWE Hall Of Famer, Bret Hart, announced on his Facebook today that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“ I now face my toughest battle. With hesitation and fear, I openly declare myself in my fight against prostate cancer. In the next few days, I will undergo surgery with the hope of defeating this nemesis once and for all.“

We here at A Freak Accident wish nothing but a speedy recovery for the Excellence of Execution

Read the full Facebook post

The New Thing is the “Duct Tape Challenge,” and People Are Getting Hurt

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Idiot kids are always coming up with some new, stupid thing to do to be trendy. I guess going outside or even playing video games is too boring anymore, so they need to come up with “challenging” ways to harm themselves. Enter the new trend, the “Duct Tape Challenge.”

The goal of the “challenge” is to tie someone up with duct tape, and then record their efforts to free themselves on video.

Well, this is the latest result…

Photo: Siemny Kim / Facebook

That’s 14-year-old Skylar Fish, who is recovering in the hospital after suffering  severe head injuries, a brain aneurysm and damage to his eye socket after his attempt at the challenge went not-as-planned. It’s now unlikely he’ll ever see out of his eye again either.

I sincerely hope the kid gets better, but at this point, idiot children doing idiot things is becoming a regular occurrence. That said, if someone can come up with a “challenge” that will cull the herd a bit, I’m all for it.

 

Full Story: Failed ‘Duct tape challenge’ leaves 14-year-old in hospital with serious head injuries

The Answer to Whether Abe Vigota is Dead or Not Has Changed

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Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage

Per the ultimate authority on Abe Vigota’s continued heartbeat, IsAbeVigotaDead.com, we can report that the legendary actor has passed away.

The beloved icon, best know as Phil Fish on Barney Miller and the two-timing capo Sal Tessio in The Godfather, passed away on Tuesday, January 26th, 2016 at his daughter’s home. The cause of death has been ruled as simply, “old age.”

It’s been a running gag for years that people didn’t know whether or not the man was dead. Of course, now we all know the answer, unfortunately.

Rest in peace, you schmuck.

Full Story: Abe Vigoda, of Barney Miller and The Godfather, dies at 94

Royal Rumble By the Grade

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royalrumble-BYTHEGRADE

Hey Wrestling Freaks!

The Royal Rumble has come and gone, and obviously you really want to know my opinion on the whole shindig (Just humor me).

That’s why I present to you: Royal Rumble By the Grade

It’s simple, I run down the matches and give a grade to each one. If you don’t agree with me, get a blog and do your own.

PRE SHOW: The Dudley Boyz vs. Mark Henry and Jack Swagger vs. The Ascension vs. Damien Sandow and Darren Young

This gave the opportunity for one of these tag teams to make it into the Royal Rumble, and what a mismatch of characters we had here. Sure, the established tag teams are a good fit, but Mark Henry and Jack Swagger, and Damien Sandow and Darren Young? What the heck was someone smoking?

This was just filler, but I thought surely they would give the Dudleys a chance to make the main card…I was wrong

WINNERS: MARK HENRY AND JACK SWAGGER

MATCH GRADE: D+

 

LAST MAN STANDING MATCH FOR THE IC TITLE: KEVIN OWENS VS. DEAN F’N AMBROSE

After the bazaar choice of winners in the pre show,  that could only be equated to someone taking a triple dog dare to make that decision, it was nice to see the WWE cleanse our palette with this little ditty.

If you want to define brutality as beautifully done, you need to look to further than this match. These guys are the perfect example of “Just because you start the card, doesn’t mean you can’t make it feel like a main event. And while some were angry with the finish, I think keeping the title on Ambrose is the perfect fit to keep this feud alive.

Question though, in these matches, why hasn’t someone just brought a gun to the ring and told the guy to “STAY DOWN!” Life’s little mysteries…

WINNER AND STILL YOUR IC CHAMP: DEAN AMBROSE

MATCH GRADE: B+

 

TAG TITLE MATCH: THE USOS VS. THE NEW DAY

Quick aside; why do all tag teams have to start with “The”. Just some food for thought.

Anyways, what can you really say. These teams just have “It” when it comes to tag team wrestling, and the trombone coming back was just an added bonus (Except for the people who bought the R.I.P. Francesca t-shirts).

Also, thank god they kept the titles on The New Day. The Usos, while good, have kind of grown tiresome to me. Eventually I hope a NXT team, such as Enzo & Cassady, benefit from this lengthy title run with a huge win at Wrestlemania 32.

WINNERS: THE NEW DAY

MATCH GRADE: A

 

US TITLE MATCH: KALISTO VS. ALBERTO DEL RIO

This match would have served better if the two hadn’t fought each other a couple times already in the past week, but the elevation of Kalisto still has me intrigued, while the lack of push for Alberto has me confused.

Fast paced, high flying action from Kalisto, matched with the sound technical skill of Alberto. That’s what we got here (And on Raw, and on Smackdown) and it’s what makes you love wrestling. It’s also very refreshing to see guys legitimately WANT the U.S. title. Something that’s been missing ever since the John Cena U.S. Title Open.

WINNER AND NEW US CHAMP: KALISTO

MATCH GRADE: B

 

DIVAS TITLE: BECKY LYNCH VS. CHARLOTTE

FINALLY, we get a Diva’s match that doesn’t include the Bellas in some fashion, and the crowd response to both competitors showed their joy as well.

This is what we were looking for in the #DivasRevolution . Good wrestling, good story telling, just overall good. We even got a little tease of Charlotte’s heel turn going to the next level with some dissention with her father, Ric Flair.

Then at the end, we got the next piece to the puzzle with Sasha Banks making her return, without the sandbags that are Team B.A.D., possibly setting up a Sasha vs. Bayley in the future.

WINNER AND STILL DIVA’S CHAMP: CHARLOTTE

MATCH GRADE: B+

 

30 MAN ROYAL RUMBLE FOR THE WWE WORLD TITLE

This year’s Rumble had a lot to be excited about. The World Title was on the line, with the champ actually being in the match, the ideas for possible winners were endless, and, as always, the chance for some surprise entrants.

Let’s start with what everyone is talking about, Jack Swaggers performance…kidding. AJ Styles made his WWE debut at number 3. While the camera work was a little less than great, focusing on Roman Reigns reaction, rather than the Titan Tron that everyone was freaking out about, the debut was simply PHENOMENAL! Also, did anyone else notice him putting the Bullet Club sign during the beginning of his entrance?

And how about Sami Zayn coming out? That was completely out of left field.

Sure, we’re all disappointed that the Wyatt Family, for a reason I don’t understand, left the ring after helping Bray once. Sure, it wasn’t the perfect winner. But, talk about a complete 180 degree improvement from last year’s edition.

WINNER AND NEW WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: TRIPLE H

MATCH GRADE: A+

 

This year’s Royal Rumble was a great time, and left us a lot of questions for the future. How will Triple H handle the title reign? Will the crowd get more behind the ever so hated Roman Reigns? Do the Wyatt’s get a better push than they have in the past? Will Sami Zayn stay on the main roster? And most importantly, what’s the future like for AJ Styles and the potential debut of the Bullet (Balor) Club?

Either way, you can feel it in the air, it’s definitely Wrestlemania season.

OVERALL GRADE: B+

Loving regards,
Lazy E

(Photo credit: WWE.com)