Peyton & Eli: Rapping Redux

NFL quarterback brothers Peyton and Eli Manning are at it again: shilling for DirecTV with another fun rap performance, this one called “Fantasy Football Fantasy” and promoting a new all-fantasy football channel. The Super Bowl-winning bros are hilarious together:

In case you thought you recognized a few other faces — aside from Hall of Famer Joe Namath, that is — the Mannings are joined by current Giants players Justin Pugh and Will Beatty as well as recent retiree Chris Snee, and current N.Y. Jets running back Chris Johnson. And, of course, there’s a cameo by the legend himself, Archie Manning.

As a reminder, here’s another look at last year’s promo, “F.O.Y.P.” (or “Football On Your Phone”):

The One Super Bowl Commercial I Want to See

Welcome to Super Bowl Sunday, one of the most sacred days of the year in America! The big game will pit the Denver Broncos against the Seattle Seahawks — the No. 1 offense against the No. 1 defense; the irresistible force vs. the immovable object. Who will win? I hope it’s the Broncos, but I won’t be too broken up if it’s the Seahawks, because, without my New York Football Giants playing… who really cares? (Even if it is in the Jints’ home stadium.)

What I do care about is Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Marvel Studios has promised a bombastic ad during the game this evening — I hope the video can deliver. Here is a 16-second teaser… a commercial for the commercial, if you will. Enjoy!

Cap, Widow, Falcon, Nick and the Winter Soldier will all be there when C:TWS opens on April 4.

 

The Kings Are Dead, Long Live the Kings

©JOE DILIBERTO

My beloved New York Football Giants won their last game of the season today, but were eliminated from playoff contention when Chicago defeated Detroit. (Also, Minnesota beat Green Bay, but that was just overkill.) My brother and I were at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., this afternoon, cheering with our applause muffled by gloves as Big Blue plucked the hated Philadelphia Eagles, 42-7.

Of course the Giants were the defending Super Bowl champions, and now will not get a chance to repeat last year’s exciting run to the Lombardi Trophy. They just did not play well enough.

Farewell, Mario and Brandon…

Manningham on the run...

So, it has begun again: The New York Football Giants are releasing players and letting a talented receiver sign with another team. Can this be a harbinger of another title next season? After all, it worked last year…

After delivering his second Super Bowl title in five years, General Manager Jerry Reese has earned my trust. He had a secret plan that he shared with no one during the last offseason, so I will not question his moves this years. The man has an uncanny knack for identifying talent, so he deserves our indulgence. As long as the master plan ends with Eli Manning hoisting his third Lombardi trophy, I’m all in!

Pressing Issues at Sports Press Conferences

Rex Ryan

I want to take a look at a couple of interesting announcements that came out of the world of sports yesterday, both involving guys named Ryan: Rex Ryan of the New York Jets, and Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Calling last year’s guarantee of a Super Bowl victory a “huge mistake,” New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan refused to make a similar boast to reporters yesterday at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine. The fact that the combine is traditionally held in Indianapolis – the city in which Ryan’s cross-stadium rivals, the New York Football Giants, won Super Bowl XLVI over the Jets’ divisional rival, the New England Patriots – surely had nothing to do with Ryan’s newfound humility.

The Agony and the (Ultimate) Ecstasy of a Giants Fan

The New York Football Giants won Super Bowl XLVI in their trademark fashion: stretching it out and snatching away the last breaths of their fans en route to a heart-stopping win. And we Big Blue loyalists wouldn’t have it any other way. Let fans from other cities enjoy their romps and laughers; we’ll take the cardiac cases. And we’ll take Eli Manning, the king of elite NFL quarterbacks.

I have mentioned before what hard work it is being a Giants fan, and that remains true. Even when the Jints win, they make the fans work as hard for it as the team does. I know there wasn’t a Big Blue fan who wasn’t on the edge of his/her seat right until the second that football fell harmlessly to the ground in the end on the last play of the game. I don’t think I had taken a breath since the beginning of the fourth quarter. I think it brings the fans closer to the team, because we voyeurs get to feel like we fought for the win almost as hard as the athlete did.

It was a thriller, and it was worth every second.

It’s Super Bowl Sunday for the New York Giants (again)!!

Today, my beloved New York Football Giants take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, a rematch of Super Bowl XVII, in which the Giants destroyed the Pats’ dreams of an undefeated season with a stunning 17-14 victory in what many NFL fans – including myself – deem to be the best Super Bowl ever.

The Giants are underdogs once again, but this time the spread is much tighter, and a lot of the so-called experts and pundits are actually picking the Jints to triumph. I believe Big Blue will stampede to a convincing victory, cementing Eli Manning as the elite quarterback in the NFL – statistics be damned. (Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees piled up a bunch of ultimately meaningless personal numbers this season, and will be taking a break from playing golf to watch the Super Bowl from the stands with all the other losers also-rans, before crying themselves to sleep, wrapped in their record books.) All Eli does is win.

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Being a Giants Fan…

It went deep into overtime, but the New York Football Giants defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 20-17, to qualify for their fifth Super Bowl appearance – a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, in which the Giants crushed the New England Patriots’ fantasy of a perfect season with a 17-14 victory.

While I felt good going into halftime of this championship struggle in wet weather with a 10-7 lead, I was on the edge of my couch for the entire second half.  I was bemoaning the fact that New York settled for a field goal just before the half ended, but I knew having the lead was important. Besides, it wouldn’t be a Giants game if we fans weren’t in hell the whole time. Who wants a blowout when we can spend 30 minutes on tenterhooks? I love my Giants, but they really test my devotion while I’m watching.

NY Giants Defeat Packers and Officiating Crew

Congratulations to the New York Football Giants for defeating the Green Bay Packers to advance to the NFC Championship Game in San Francisco next week. It was a fantastic win, and New York QB Eli Manning once again proved that he must assuredly is an “elite quarterback.” (He is 2-0 vs. Aaron Rodgers in the postseason) But what I really want to talk about here is my rage over the horrendous, embarrassing officiating during today’s game at Lambeau Field, in Green Bay, Wisc. It was so bad that I thought I was watching an NBA game. This was a really tough win for Big Blue.

It could not have been more obvious that the officiating crew was trying to protect the defending Super Bowl champions and the league’s golden boy, Aaron Rodgers – even at the cost of tarnishing the perception of NFL officiating and the credibility of the league itself. We all know that so-called “good teams” get all the breaks when it comes to close calls, and that’s to be expected. However, there’s a world of difference between giving a team a few extra inches on a spot and completely making stuff up out of whole cloth. This isn’t just letting a cornerback get away with some hand jive; it’s calling stuff that isn’t there, and pretending stuff that is, isn’t.

Tim Tebow: Falling Toward Apotheosis

As the NFL season winds down, folks are going downright crazy over Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, anointing him the new Chosen One, the new god of QBs. The problem is, I honestly cannot see what all the fuss is about. Sure, he’s pulled off some wins, but Tebow is actually the Twilight of quarterbacks — he inspires a delirious, inexplicable adoration that is completely out of proportion to the intrinsic quality of his play.

The refrain for Tebow’s vocal chorus of supporters goes something like this: “He has 5 comeback wins this season.” “All he does is win.” I will stipulate the 5 wins part, but take strong issue with the “all he does is win” bit. I would amend that to “All he does is play (sorta) for a team that wins.” And to say that Tebow “does just enough to win” is probably being generous. The man has skills — there’s no denying that — but he’s no supernatural phenomenon.