Ovie @ the ESPYs

Last week former Ravens FB Ovie Mughelli and I spent the day on the red carpet at the ESPYs, along with 8,054 of ESPN's closest media friends. Ovie is a good dude and a great fullback. Le'Ron McLain just ain't the same. Below is my recap interview with Ovie (aka Black Knight pt. 2 aka Chocolate Thunder pt. 2 aka Nigerian Nightmare pt. 3).

Visit the Yard to watch Ovie's interviews with Matt Leinart, Braylon Edwards, Bob Sanders, Kellen Winslow, Vernon Davis, P.J. Brown from the Boston Celtics, and the USA women's Olympic volleyball players.

Ravens, Cardinals, etc.

I haven't been posting much in the past 10 days because I've been on vacation, which is where I'll be this week, too. I'll return to daily posts after next weekend's games. Until then, enjoy my lazy analysis of yesterday's game.

I turned to my brother in the fourth quarter of yesterday's Ravens/Cardinals game and said, "Somehow the Ravens will find a way to keep this game closer than it needs to be." What I didn't know is that they would find a way to nearly lose the game.

After the Cardinals, led by backup QB Kurt Warner, rattled off 17 straight points, the refs saved the day by calling a personal foul that pushed the Ravens into field goal range late in the fourth. Matt Stover lined it up and knocked it down: 46 yards as the clock expired.

Baltimore 26, Arizona 23

Bad defense in Baltimore
Unlike last week's game against the Jets, yesterday's close call had less to do with Billick's questionable clock management and play calling, and more to do with sloppy defense and poor tackling.

The good news
Kyle Boller played well in relief of Steve McNair, who also played well. Willis McGahee looked great. The Bengals lost.

Angry Eagles fans (plus Ravens/Cardinals prediction)

I'm a Villanova alum. One of the things I miss most about Philadelphia is sports-talk radio. I can listen to it for hours. The fans are loud, angry, often ignorant and subsequently nearly always hilarious.

And that's when they win.

After last night's Eagles/Redskins game, which the Eagles lost at home by more than a touchdown, Philly fans will be going berserk, even more so considering that Donovan McNabb missed a wide-open receiver on the second-to-last play of the game.

It could have been, should have been, an easy touchdown. McNabb read the blitz perfectly but the pass sailed wide right. If he connects on that pass and the Eagles get a two-point conversion, the game goes into overtime. If that happens...

What sports fan doesn't love a great what-if conversation?

Today I'll be driving up to Newport, Pennsylvania (population: 1,500) to spend some time with a friend who works at a farm. Even though I suspect it is Steelers country, I'm hoping en route I'll be able to catch some Philly sports talk.

I want to hear what the City of Brotherly Blood has to say about McNabb. My guess is that after losing nine of 12 starts since starting the Super Bowl, including six of his past seven, Eagles fans will be screaming for backup Kevin Kolb.

Personally, I think it's way too early to put McNabb out to pasture.

Back to the Ravens: I'm not sure when I'll be posting again so I'll give you my Ravens/Cardinals prediction now, just in case: Ravens 23, Cardinals 17.

Hopefully at some point later this week I'll have a chance to offer more detailed thoughts on the game. At the very least, I'll be offering my week 3 picks against the spread. With a little luck, I'll be able to have a losing record for the third straight week. That would be great.

Watching sports on TV: east vs. west?

The good folks over at East Coast Bias, one of my favorite sports blogs, had a guest post the other day from a west-coast blogger, who argued that watching sports on the west coast is better than watching sports on the east coast. I didn't actually read the entire post because a) it was about 8,000 words long (not really but it looked that way), and b) I don't need to be convinced.

I lived on the east coast for 22 years and have lived on the west coast since 2000: Watching sports on the west coast is much better. Earlier starts, earlier finishes.

If you live on the east coast and don't agree, ask yourself, "Did I catch the end of the 49ers/Cardinals game last night?" If you were asleep, then I rest my case. If you're excuse is, "Who cares about the Niners and Cards?" then that may be a fair point. But keep in mind that it very easily could have been two heavyweights, and you still probably would have been asleep drooling on the pillow.

Great comeback last night for Alex Smith and the 49ers.

Game-winning TD by Arnaz Battle with less than 30 seconds to play

2007 NFL Draft: Arizona Cardinals (3.69)

The Cardinals select Florida State LB Buster Davis, who might've been an attractive choice for the Ravens had he remained on the board for a few more picks. But it's probably good for Ravens fans that he's off the board now. There are two types of players I don't want playing in Baltimore: lazy guys and crazy guys. The Ravens have had enough legal trouble in the past, and I'm content with the criminal crown remaining in Cincinnati. That's not to say Davis is a bad character, but he has been accused of being lazy. And that desert heat doesn't exactly motivate you to work any harder.

2007 NFL Draft: Arizona Cardinals (1.5)

The fifth pick in the draft is too high to draft Penn State T Levi Brown. The Cardinals should have picked Oklahoma RB Adrian Peterson, who despite health concerns is a better choice than Brown. Peterson is a big improvement over current running back than Edgerrin James, who has never really come back fully from his busted knee.

James is old, and poor offensive-line play is not solely to blame for James' drop-off in production. The offensive line is bad but it's time to think about replacing James, the same way the Ravens should've thought about replacing Jamal Lewis after his monster 2003 season. The Cardinals would've been able to get a good offensive lineman at the top of the second round. Bad pick.