CBS Sports: NFL 1978 Week 12- Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Giants: Miracle At The Meadowlands

Source:CBS Sports– the Eagles and Giants already had a great rivalry, but this might be the most signature play in it.

Source:The New Democrat

“The title speaks for itself. This is without question the biggest choke job in the history of the NFL. Fortunately for the Giants their fortunes took a turn for the better following this game.”

From Derek Ruff

There are games that can send mediocre teams to the playoffs and end seasons for teams that may think they are good and are in the playoff race. And 1978 Miracle at The Meadowlands is that game, because both teams were still in the NFC Playoff race at this point, but basically had to win this game. The Giants at 5-6, had to win out and probably get help from other teams to get the fifth and last playoff spot in the NFC.

The Eagles-Giants rivalry is one of the oldest and best in the NFL, top 3-5 and has had a lot of staple games. But when you lose or win a game where the team that is leading late in the game, only has to run out the clock with victory formation and they blow that and fumble the ball instead, that becomes the staple game of this great rivalry.

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CBS Sports: NFL 1985- NFC Wildcard- San Francisco 49ers @ New York Giants: Pat Summerall Intro

Source:CBS Sports– San Francisco 49ers QB Joe Cool Montana, perhaps celebrating another TD against the Dallas Cowboys.

Source:The New Democrat

“NYG 1985 Wild Card Intro Vs 49ers”

From NY Giants

The NFL on CBS was a great show for many reasons and Pat Summerall might of been the number one reason. But their timing and intros were classic and so well done and knew exactly how to put things and show things to people.

Pat Summerall: “First New York Giants home playoff game since the 1962 NFL Championship that was at Yankee Stadium”, the day this wildcard game was played. Giants Stadium opened up in East Rutherford, New Jersey in 1976 and this was the first Giants home playoff game there.

How does CBS Sports introduce this game, with Bruce Spingsteen singing Glory Days. The Glory Days of the New York Giants from the 1950s and early 60s. With Pat Summerall a former New York Giant of course doing the intro. A simple two-minute video or so and this is one of best NFL videos and intros of all-time. Just for those reasons.

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Movie Clips: Rounders (1998) ‘KGB: I Stick it in You!’

Source:Movie Clips– KGB, played by John Malkovich.

“After losing a heads-up game of poker, Teddy KGB (John Malkovich) tries to goad Mike (Matt Damon) into playing a re-match.”

Source:Movie Clips

One of the best scenes from Rounders, with Mike McDermott (played by Matt Damon) just beating his long time nemesis KGB. (Played by John Malkovich) And KGB obviously not feeling satisfied by that and trying to goad Mike into playing another around to get that money back. With Mike having two options: walk away and leave up from where he started and able to pay back his debts. Or get all of his money back and risk losing even more. Safe play obviously is to walk way, but like Mike said you can’t win what you don’t put in.

I’m not an expert on poker and gambling in general, but it obviously is gambling. And yes there’s skill involved and you need good skills at it to be successful and perhaps a little luck involved as well. But there’s gambling and there’s gambling and there are risks in doing anything really, especially professionally. And the good gamblers make calculated and educated risks. They just don’t walk away with money, leave owing money, because they had all the good hands at the game, or most of them. Or had almost none of the good hands.

Successful gamblers play their good hands and leave their bad ones without giving their opponents much if any idea when they have good hands and when they’re short. Which I think is the point that the Mike McDermott character played by Matt Damon was making, that gambling is not pure luck or about pure luck. But that you need good skills in it in order to be successful at it.

You can also see this post on Blogger.

You can also see this post at FRS FreeState, on Blogger.

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Movie Clips: Rounders (1998) Atlantic City Suckers

Source:Movie Clips– Hollywood Goddess Famke Janssen.

“The rounders including Mike (Matt Damon), Petra (Famke Janssen), and Knish (John Turturro) dominate the card table against some unsuspecting tourists.

In this film, law-student Mike McDermott gives up gambling after losing his entire savings to Russian club owner Teddy KGB. His girlfriend Jo is concerned when Mike’s former gambling buddy Worm is released from prison. She has good reason to worry, since Worm draws Mike back into poker action.”

From Movie Clips

Pros vs suckers in poker: the suckers having no idea what they were up against and get taken for a ride as a result.

What I really like about Rounders is that it gives you a really good look at the world of professional poker. At least from the perspective of people who perhaps aren’t as good to play the tournaments for a living and make hundreds of thousands of dollars winning championships, or at least doing very well on those tournaments. But people who can literally earn their living from card games at clubs and people’s homes and going to Atlantic City and so-forth.

What you see in this scene, is literally people who do that who are full-time poker players and perhaps are good enough to play on the big stage, going up against players who do this for fun. Who go to Atlantic City on the weekend and see how good they are and if they can make some money. Who can afford to lose money and perhaps knows that ahead of time.

The pros are straight-faced the whole time never giving away anything. With the amateurs giving away all of their hands. Excited when they have a good hand and freaking out over bad hands and looking nervous. Setting themselves up for huge losses against the pros.

You can also see this post on Blogger.

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Film is Now Movie Trailers: AC News- One For The Money (2011) Starring Katherine Heigl

Source:Film is Now– Katherine Heigl as a bounty hunter.

“One for the Money – Movie Trailer: Unemployed and newly-divorced Stephanie Plum lands a job at her cousin’s bail-bond business, where her first assignment puts her on the trail of a wanted local cop from her romantic past.”

From Film is Now

” A proud, born-and-bred Jersey girl, Stephanie Plum’s got plenty of attitude, even if she’s been out of work for the last six months and just lost her car to a debt collector. Desperate for some fast cash, Stephanie turns to her last resort: convincing her sleazy cousin to give her a job at his bail bonding company…as a recovery agent. True, she doesn’t even own a pair of handcuffs and her weapon of choice is pepper spray, but that doesn’t stop Stephanie from taking on Vinny’s biggest bail-jumper: former vice cop and murder suspect Joe Morelli – yup, the same sexy, irresistible Joe Morelli who seduced and dumped her back in high school. — (C) Lionsgate”

Source:Digital Movies Now– check out Katherine Heigl.

From Digital Movies Now

When I first heard about and watched One For The Money, I thought Katherine Heigl was way too cute to play a bounty hunter. I don’t care how tall she is and how great of a body she and she’s tall and very sexy physically, but she comes off as a big kid. Like a baby-face teenage girl many times and didn’t look much older in this movie than she did in that 1998 Chuckey movie she did. So in that way she was sort of perfect for this part, because the people she was trying to catch wouldn’t take her seriously and she would perhaps be underestimated.

But then you watch the movie and see the scenes where Katherine Heigl is actually involved in bounty hunting and catching suspects and she handles herself very well and even tackles a guy running away from his home suspected I believe on drug dealing. So her persona and appearance of: “aw, you’re so cute and sweet, I have nothing to worry about with you.” Worked very well for her and her character because she did know what she was doing once she learned the ropes and handled herself very well as a bounty hunter.

What I was expecting from One For The Money when I finally saw it on demand this summer, was perhaps somewhat cheesy bad written movie that was mostly about a sexy, gorgeous baby-face goddess kicking ass in tight skinny jeans in boots. With some explosive action scenes and car chases and perhaps some humor in it. This movie has all of that, except the writing is much better and it is actually a very good action/comedy and fairly well-written and Katherine Heigl and Jason O’Mara the two main bounty hunters do a very good job in it.

You can also see this post on Blogger.

You can also see this post at The Action Blog, on WordPress.

You can also see this post at The Action Blog, on Blogger.

You can also see this post at FRS FreeState, on Blogger.

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ABC Sports: NASL 1977- Dallas Tornado at New York Cosmos: Shootout

Source:ABC Sports– major league pro soccer in New Jersey.

“The Dallas Tornado defeated the New York Cosmos 2-1 in a shootout in a North American Soccer League match on April 24, 1977 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.”

From The Celebrated Misterk

NASL soccer being played on astroturf.

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CBS Sports: NFL 1978- Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Giants: Miracle At The Meadowlands

Source:Sports Illustrated– perhaps the most memorable game in the great Eagles-Giants rivalry in the NFC East.

Source:The Daily Press

“Forty years ago this week, as the Giants tried to kill off a game against the division-rival Eagles in the waning moments, Joe Pisarcik flubbed a handoff to Larry Csonka, and Herman Edwards scooped the ball up for a stunning Philly win. It’s one of the most notorious bloopers in NFL history—and also one of its most transformative plays, changing the fates of both franchises for the better and ultimately turning the Giants into a Super Bowl powerhouse.”

From Sports Illustrated

“1978 NFL Philadelphia at NY Giants 11-19-1978”

Source:Virgil Moody– a look at the 1978 Philadelphia Eagles.

From Virgil Moody

“Check out where the Miracle at the Meadowlands lands on NFL Top 10 worst plays.”

Source:NFL Films– Eagles DB Herman Edwards running away with the Giants season

From NFL Films

“Miracle at the Meadowlands (New York Giants – Philadelphia Eagles 1978)”

Source:Amerikai Football– Eagles DB Herman Edwards, running in the fumble recovery for the Eagles winning TD.

From Amerikai Football

One of the interesting things about this game is that both the Eagles and Giants were still in the NFC Playoff race at this point. This was week 12 in the NF, but Giants only won one more game in 1978 finishing 6-10. The Eagles made the NFC Playoffs in 1978 for the first time since 1960, but they were a 9-7 wildcard team that won some games that they shouldn’t of, like this one being an obvious example of that. And perhaps lost some games they shouldn’t have. And without this victory, the Eagles miss the playoffs again in 1978.

The obvious facts here are the Giants shouldn’t have ran the ball at all. They already had a kneel down play with QB Joe Pisarcik falling down on the ball on first down and then for some reason they ran the ball for an eleven yard gain on second down. But Pisarcik falls down on the ball two more times and the ball game is over, because the Eagles didn’t have any timeouts left. This is a game that makes or breaks a team’s season, especially if they are a borderline playoff team or even a borderline winning team. Like the Eagles and Giants were in 1978.

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