Surprise, Surprise: AFL Playoffs, ESPYs Shake Things Up

There were two big surprises in the sports world this weekend.

On Sunday afternoon, the field of Arena Bowl contenders was whittled to two—with some big upsets along the way. On Sunday night, ESPN proved there is no honor amongst thieves when it handed out the ESPY for Best Team.

Several parties got screwed at the ESPYs, none more than anyone who had to watch LeBron James imitate Bobby Brown. In any event, here's how it all went down:

 

American Conference: San Jose 61, Chicago 49

  

The Chicago Rush had a plan: They thought they could do what they did last season.

 

It was working, too...until they went to California.

 

As it stands, the San Jose SaberCats could be two weeks away from adding some hardware to the California trophy case. Led by Mark Grieb's six touchdown passes and Ben Nelson's four touchdown catches, the top-seeded Cats knocked out the defending champion Rush 61-49.

 

The victory was the 12th straight for the Cats, and earned them their third trip to the Big Dance in the last six seasons.

 

National Conference: Columbus 66, Georgia 56

 

On June 29th in New Orleans, the Columbus Destroyers will look to claim the first Arena Bowl Championship in their brief history.

 

Matt Nagy's seven touchdowns (five passes, two runs) helped the 10-9 Destroyers pull off a Georgia Jaw-Dropper against the heavily favored Force. Columbus held off a late rally to earn their spot at the top of the mountain.

 

 

ESPYs: Best Team Was Undeserving

 

More than a decade after the first ESPYs were handed out, the awards have become more about who's "hot" than who's good.

 

No question that what the Colts did was extraordinary. No question Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy made history. 

 

But look at who they were up against.

 

The St. Louis Cardinals shocked the world by beating the heavily favored Mets and Tigers to earn their first World Series trophy in 24 years. The Florida Gators capped a 13-1 football season with a 41-14 win over Ohio State in the BCS title game, then completed a 35-5 basketball season to claim their second-consecutive national championship. And the Tennessee Lady Vols continued their run of dominance by winning their seventh national basketball title.

 

The Spurs were also in the mix—but like the Colts, I don't think they were deserving. No matter what anyone says, San Antonio isn't a dynasty yet, and the most stimulating part of the Super Bowl was Prince's halftime performance.

 

My pick: Florida or Tennessee.

 

The Gators made history, and the Lady Volunteers really are a dynasty. If you've got to recognize someone  on the pro level, give the award to Eva Longoria. Everybody spent more time focused on her than the Finals anyway.  

 

 

P.S.: Mr. 10,000

 

On the lighter side, the Philadelphia Phillies weren't dejected following their loss on Sunday night. Neither were their fans.

 

Following a 10-4 St. Louis victory, the Philadelphia faithful stood and cheered...because the Phillies became the first professional sports team to reach 10,000 losses in their franchise history.

 

I don't know about anyone else, but the thought of 10,000 Philly fans applauding a loss makes me smile. Congratulations to the City of Brotherly Love. Now if we could only do something about Ron Jaworski...