Wrestling with shadows: Rumble trip beautifully illustrates passage of time

You think you know me

I know it’s fake. I know I’m 30.

But standing with my friends in section 110 at Phillips Arena in Atlanta last Sunday, when his music hit and Edge made his surprise return at the Royal Rumble, I couldn’t help myself; I cheered my head off, flossed in my Edge shirt and gave high-fives to little kids.

And that’s the thing I still marvel at. It makes no sense that after all these years, through all the changes in my life, professional wrestling is still something I enjoy. And yet there I was.

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The afternoon after: Heel the world – Giants deep everywhere but QB

Here are my usual post-Sunday thoughts. More a “late-night after” than afternoon today. I’ll reiterate that football isn’t my thing, but I’ll give it a shot as usual.

Eli gets it off (for a touchdown); Carr in his usual position

  • The Giants have a deep and talented team, particularly on defense. Steve Smith is open every time you look up. They gave the Chiefs fits on Sunday. I do believe they’re the best team in football, but their huge weakness was exposed when Eli Manning somehow hurt his foot. The “bruised heel” diagnosis was shady at best, as I simply view such an injury as impossible under those circumstances. I get injured all the time, so I’m sort of a self-proclaimed expert; the first thing I thought was that he messed up his Achilles’. Now I’m hearing that it may be plantar fasciitis, which would be far from a best-case scenario, but at least it wouldn’t be his Achilles’. Regardless, I believe Eli – who’s far tougher than he looks – won’t miss a whole lot of time with this. I’ve had plantar fasciitis, and though it’s no picnic, it’s at least manageable. With the horrible Raiders coming to town, they may choose to sit him until the following week in a huge showdown in New Orleans. But David Carr isn’t suitable to play quarterback in this, or any, league. And as deep as the Giants are at most positions – including running back, where Ahmad Bradshaw has been at least the equal of Brandon Jacobs thus far – David Carr simply is not an NFL quarterback, having been permanently ruined by years of playing behind a sieve-like offensive line in Houston. I believe the Giants are very good, and potentially dominant, but until Eli plays a whole game and shows no ill effects, you have to temper your enthusiasm.

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