arsenal vs portsmouth

despite missing el capitan cesc fabregas, the gooners shit all over portsmouth in their own stadium today. the boy rambo (is he 19 yet?) has been making a convincing case as a midfield general, showcasing ridiculous passing ability, positional sense, and most importantly the ability to score. he cleverly set up samir nasri's strike to make it 2-0, and bagged a solo goal that made me wet my pants. in addition, alex song capped off an excellent defensive performance with a beautiful header to cap off a 4-1 win.

all in all, it was an excellent evening that made me momentarily forget that my old lady is out of town and i haven't gotten any in over a week.

the goals:

AFC North Championship ≠ Respect

wtf?

Two days after the Bengals clinched the AFC North crown and were awarded their first prime-time game of the season, the Pro Bowl ballots were released.

So the Bengals were going to get a few guys in there right? I mean, Cedric Benson missed a few games but his numbers are still great, so he'll at least be the third running back, right?

Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall are the only pair of corners in the league with 6 INTs each, and both rank in the top 10 in passes defensed. So at least one of them is in right?

Cases could also be made for Dhani Jones, who leads the team with the number four overall defense in tackles, Domata Peko, interior defensive linesman for the number two run defense and Bobbie Williams, Cincinnati's best offensive lineman. Even Ochocinco should be in the conversation with a nine TD season.

But instead not a goddamn one of them made it. Every team in the AFC excepting Kansas City and Cincinnati is sending at least one player.

I have to hope this serves as inspiration for the Bengals heading into the playoffs. It actually fits coach Marvin Lewis' mantra of "Fight Back" quite well.

AFC North Championship = respect

After a terrible first half offensively, the Bengals pulled together a respectable effort, beat a bad Chiefs team, and clinched their division.

As the snow began to fall, the Bengals began celebrating their second division crown of the Marvin Lewis era. Awful looking graphics filled the stadium, the Black Eyed Peas were played (I'll bet you can guess which song), and AFC-North 2009 Championship tee-shirts flooded the Pro Shop.

Chants of Who-Dey could be heard all around Cincinnati. So much so that people outside of Cincinnati finally heard the call.

It took literally the entire season, but the Bengals finally landed a prime-time game!

In the last week of the season there is no Monday Night Football game, and the Sunday Night game isn't announced until a week before the game. This is to ensure that the best possible matchup lands the spot, as many teams are eliminated from the playoffs by then. With the Jets facing a win-and-you're-in scenario, and the Bengals chasing a higher seed than the Patriots, the powers in New York decided to put Bengals-Jets in the final prime-time spot of the regular season.

I was ready to write a post about the Bengals getting overlooked by a national audience, possibly due to some sort of conspiracy theory. After all, the Browns - who finished a half game worse than the Bengals last season - had TWO primetime games, a Thursday nighter against the Steelers and a Monday Night Football showdown with the Ravens.

The Raiders got a Monday Night game against the Chargers, and the Thanksgiving game against the Cowboys despite being only a half game ahead of the Bengals last year.

A lot of mediocre teams from last year received multiple primetime games as well. The Redskins, Broncos, and Packers each got two or more despite finishing at or below .500. Was there really no room for the Bengals?

Well there is now. We'll see Sunday night if the Bengals can finish the season with a bang. If they do, it will be the final game ever played in Giants stadium, and the first time Cincinnati has ever won there.

This rant is over.

Tony Allen throws it down on Corey Brewer

It wasn't but a week and a half ago when Corey Brewer threw it down hard on Derek Fisher, but this time around it was Brewer on the receiving end. Although I can't stand him, Eddie House makes a great steal and then saves the ball from going out of bounds with a beautiful behind the back pass. Tony Allen catches the pass and throws it down hard on Brewer.

awesome

andrei as marty mcfly dodging stevie gerrard and his liverpool teammates, and covering them in shit. makes me feel slightly better after the draw at burnley. love eboue's cameo as the shopkeeper!
z

Cheering Up

Alright.

It's been a really rough day for Bengals fans.

I think we could all use a break from death and grief.

Here's the best diversion I could come up with.

Slim wouldn't want y'all to sit around crying

It's OK to laugh a little right now.

We need it.

Peace.

RIP Slim

I'm sure everyone's heard by now, but Chris Henry died this morning at 6:36 am after a dispute with his fiancee yesterday in Charlotte, in which he fell off the back of a pick-up truck that she was driving. I don't even know what to say, man. I really had faith that he could one day be a consistent contributor for the Bengals and it seemed like this was going to be the year prior to him breaking his arm. This is truly a tragic day. Let's hope the tigers can run the table the rest of the season and win it all in Miami as a tribute to Slim.