Meltdown Tuesday: Newton’s law and awful baseball

In Meltdown Tuesday, we cover Cam Newton’s horrific Super Bowl experience and what is about to be six weeks of awful baseball.

As always, here are your meltdown experts, FanSided editors Jonathan Bass and Matt Verderame.

Verderame: So, Super Bowl 50 was a real barnburner.

Bass: Thank God for beer, pizza and seven-layer dip or else I would’ve check out waaaaaaaaay earlier. Most boring one you can remember?

Verderame: Absolutely. Denver’s defense was great, but Cam Newton was terrible all on his own. By the way, nice effort at the end. Way to dive in there.

Bass: That was baffling. Do you think he was hurt or what? In real time I thought he didn’t go b/c his shoulder was all banged up.

Verderame: I thought he was frustrated that the Broncos were all over him, and he didn’t feel like getting hit again. Frankly, it looked like he quit.

Bass: At the time it felt like the game was over. Like they were beaten like a drum. But there were still 5 minutes on the clock. It was the ultimate white flag.

Verderame: He will never live that down. Until he wins a Super Bowl, he will be forever remembered for quitting in the Super Bowl and then punking out after it.

Bass: Yeah, it’s a shame. Especially after a great season for him and the team. The sharks were waiting all season to nail the team for being too loose and dancing; it happened in the final game. All those images of him having temper tantrums and scowling after the game – those are the lasting images. Denver’s defense was great, but some of those turnovers … come on, man.

Verderame: Newton was supposed to be the second coming, but he missed open receivers, pouted and generally did nothing to make his team better. It was an embarrassing performance for a guy who can’t seem to get enough of himself.

Bass: Neither of these teams are making the playoffs next year, right?

Verderame: You know what that was? Broncos-Falcons in 1999. Both those teams went into oblivion afterwards.

Bass: Oh yeah, both teams will look totally different. And that game was trash. Glad it’s over. Pro Bowl was better. Next topic.

Verderame: How did you feel about the Hall of Fame class? No Terrell Owens…

Bass: I’m fine with the class. No T.O. is a bit of a shocker, but then again look at all the wideouts who didn’t get in on the first try  – Tim Brown, Cris Carter, Andre Reed. We’ll probably be saying the same thing about Randy Moss here soon enough. What about you – you cool with the class? Dungy okay in your book?

Verderame: I’m glad Owens didn’t make it, he was a cancer his whole career. He’ll eventually get in and then we can watch him break both arms on his own back. I love Tony Dungy as a man and he was an excellent coach, but not a Hall of Famer. Only got to one Super Bowl. Tom Flores should have gotten in before him.

Bass: So should we grade people based on their locker room presence, too? Because I know he was a cancer and all, but from what we know about Donovan McNabb, maybe T.O. wasn’t the crazy one. I mean … who’s had the better post-career run. All I’m saying is that if you don’t get along with McNabb and Hugh Douglas, maybe you’re sane

Verderame: Nobody is defending McNabb, but Owens was a lunatic. Hugh Douglas should get in the Hall of Fame because he was too legit to quit.

Bass: Weird segue, but I was watching that Buffalo Bills documentary. They should do a similar one for those Eagles teams who made all the NFC Championship Games and then the one Super Bowl.

Verderame: I feel like I could not watch that, as a Chiefs fan. It might be like looking into the future, with Andy Reid staring blankly into space as we lose time like nobody’s business.

Bass: Whoa whoa whoa, let’s make it to a conference title game first before comparing yourself to those Eagles teams.

Verderame: It’s going to happen, because that is the ultimate heartbreak. We will get there, and then lose to some nonsense in the AFC title game.

Bass: You know how Phil Jackson would always give his players books – I feel like Reid hands out a copy of the tortoise and the hare parable before every season

Verderame: Son of a bitch. It hurts so much. You know what else is going to hurt, watching six weeks of horrific baseball in Florida and Arizona.

Bass: I love spring training. Check that … I did. Then they moved half of it away from Florida and killed Dodgertown. Idiot MLB slowly killing everything worth a damn. Emphasis on “slowly.”

Verderame: Baseball does not do anything fast. That sport is all about making everything a torture for the fans. I hate spring training, mostly because the games are filled with guys who belong in double-A, and because half the pitchers will need Tommy John by March.

Bass: Saw Marcus Giles at a Braves spring training game once. He pushed my buddy and me out of the way while getting to the field. We told he couldn’t hold Brian’s jock. He told us to go to hell. Great times. Okay, let’s go cut the video for this thing – I know you gotta hop a plane back to NYC.

Verderame: That’s right, headed to a real city. Unlike Buffalo.