By JIMMY D / All-Star Game brings NHL fantasy to fore | Jimmy's archive

The truth shall set you free.

And when you help create the truth with a last-minute touchdown catch in the Super Bowl, freedom feels pretty damn great.

This was the scenario facing Giants wideout Plaxico Burress Sunday. After enduring a week’s worth of humour-less questioning by humour-less sports writers, Plax had the last laugh in proving he had it right all along.

“23-17 Giants,” he said last week, when asked to give his prediction on Super Bowl XLII. And everyone grilled him on it, comparing him with Joe Namath (whose prediction was far more of a boastful guarantee than the playful commentary offered by Burress).

OK, so the Giants upset the formerly perfect Patriots 17-14 Sunday. Let’s not quibble too much with the guy, who predicted a generation’s biggest upset would be by a single score and that the Giants defense would shut down Handsome Tom’s offense.

He didn’t have it exactly right, but he’s a better prognosticator than Jimmy D!
“We’re only going to score 17 points?” a bemused Brady responded last week. “OK. Is Plax playing defense? I wish he had said 45-42 and gave us a little credit for scoring more points.”

Turns out, he was giving the Patriots more credit than they deserved.

After the Pats rallied for a late score by Randy Moss, unlikely hero Eli Manning marched the G-Men into scoring position (thanks to an incredible catch by David Tyree). Then, the strike to the end zone where guess who was waiting – Plaxico Burress.

Next time, Jimmy will take Plax’s words as facts.

Jimmy wrote seven fantasy columns last week (some of Jimmy’s other gigs) stating why the Giants could win the game and lending credence to the Burress prediction. Why in the name of Larry Csonka would he go and bet on the Patriots to cover? An expensive loss for Jimmy, who should learn to follow his own advice.

For those keeping score at home, that makes three straight double-digit Super Bowl underdogs who have won the game straight-up (Pats +14 vs. Rams and Broncos +11.5 vs. Packers were the others in the past decade).

Pau-Wow

If you are in an NBA fantasy league or, if you simply hate the Lakers, last week’s trade of Pau Gasol to the Lakers made you either a) scramble to figure out the fantasy implications of a twin-tower offense in Inglewood or b) risk vomiting over the one-sided deal with the Grizzlies.

Gasol is a 20-10 guy who can run and pass and should thrive in the triangle offense. Short-term, he stacks up as the center of attention. Medium-term, he has helped put the fear of God (whichever God, pagan or otherwise you happen to believe in) into the Spurs, Mavericks and Suns in the West.

When emerging stud Andrew Bynum returns from injury, you have potentially the league’s most dangerous team.

Kwame Brown went the other way and is a borderline fantasy contributor, although he should get minutes in Memphis and Jarvis Crittenton is a talented prospect. This was a salary dump for the former Vancouver Grizzlies, who might be on the move again shortly.

What it meant for Jimmy was frustration that Ronny Turiaf, the Gonzaga alum scooped off fantasy waivers last week, just got some of his hard-earned minutes taken away again. Turiaf is a decent performer who chips in with blocks and steals in limited minutes. He helped Jimmy stay close in those categories this week in his head-to-head hoops league.

It also means that former No. 2 overall pick Darko Milicic gets more chance to shine in Tennessee.

For Shane

Reality break from Jimmy’s fantasy thoughts today as he marks the sad, second anniversary of brother-in-law Shane Samson’s death. He only made it through 33 adventure-filled years before dying after complications from brain surgery.

He was gregarious, impulsive, more than a bit crazy and someone who would give you the shirt off his back (or, in the case of the homeless guy in Edmonton, the shoes off his feet). And because of that giving spirit, five organ recipients in Western Canada live healthier and happier lives today.

Reality is, you should live for today because, unlike Namath and Burress, there are no guarantees on how long you get to stick around enjoying life. Go live it.

And all the while, stay busy and stay lucky.