- 09:09 AM
- 05/19/13
News outlets are reporting Pat Summerall has passed.
posted by phaedon at 05:19 PM on April 16
This tragedy will be procesed and people will move on. Another movie theatre will be shot up. More school children will be massacred. More buildings where people are working will be blown up or destroyed. It's almost like people are trying to out-do each other when it comes to these acts.
We wait until another sporting event, probably in a over-filled stadium next time, shocks us. And we know it will happen. It's just a question of when and where.
I just want to say I don't own a television. The type of world you are describing is largely the by-product of a system of information distribution that is designed to grab your attention as strongly and for as long as possible and make all the money it can doing so.
It is horror porn. One in which you are completely passive, everything is indeed hopeless, and you are waiting for the next stimulant.
So until cameras start following all the good things that are happening in this world, I don't think what you're watching in the news is an accurate reflection of anything. You are suffering from burn-out, you are overly sensitive to people that are talking about this with a sense of humor, and you are speaking about "we" and "us" with far too broad strokes, like the commentators on television. Speak for yourself.
posted by phaedon at 10:19 PM on April 15
I think it's probably ok to let a little dark humor slide, unless typing furiously at someone you don't know after such a brutal incident is your idea of rising to the occasion.
Please don't take any offense. If we can't do anything about what happened today, the least we can do is make sure to pour ourselves into our loved ones and each other in the kindest and most life-affirming way possible.
posted by phaedon at 08:23 PM on April 15
Nothing more satisfying than watching Michigan lose. Nothing.
There were a few moments there where it looked like Louisville couldn't put anything up in the paint, and Michigan was playing above the rim. But you knew after Louisville fell behind but managed to lay a smackdown before the second-half even started that it was all over.
posted by phaedon at 07:09 PM on April 09
I'm not even going to pretend like I can watch Michigan play. I could only watch the last 30 seconds and even that was a huge disappointment. What a shitty offensive foul call. The announcers wouldn't even entertain how shitty it was.
Louisville, my life is in your hands.
posted by phaedon at 11:54 PM on April 06
Now link to a highlight reel of Louisville in the second half and include the same warning.
posted by phaedon at 07:50 PM on March 31
Skip Bayliss is a fucking joke. It's a shame Sherman didn't have it in him to do a better takedown than that. Pretty shocking not only that ESPN would censor one of its best writers, but give something for all the other sports outlets to talk about.
posted by phaedon at 03:36 AM on March 16
Pepsi MAX & Jeff Gordon Present: "Test Drive"
posted by phaedon at 02:58 PM on March 14
Somebody please add a coffin to this video.
posted by phaedon at 07:10 PM on March 11
Wizards broadcaster mistakes airball for game-winner
posted by phaedon at 03:47 PM on February 28
As much as I want to hate NASCAR, there is something about the last ten laps, and the winner doing donuts on the Daytona logo, that gets me fired up like nothing else in sports.
posted by phaedon at 04:43 PM on February 24
Folkways, duly noted. However, I'm sure that you would appreciate that if a public person like Tebow were to speak at that church, it would in effect act as an endorsement of that church pastor's views. If the people at that church want to hear what he has to say, let them travel to a place less bigoted to do so. No reason for that asswipe of a pastor to reap any collateral rewards from Tebow's presence.
And yes, to speak to jmd82's point, a person like him is in an impossible situation. Therefore, it is completely within his "rights" as a religious speaker to choose where and when he speaks. And to think I would believe Jeffress's take on the situation.
posted by phaedon at 02:09 AM on February 22
Oh yay, is there we get to inject religious vitriol into the thread, if only to show how stupid everyone else is, and how smart we are?
posted by phaedon at 07:37 PM on February 21
I think Dwight was a good pick-up. There's no way he's leaving Los Angeles, I think it's just a question of will they let him sign somewhere else or build a new dynasty around him. The type of "full of potential" player Dwight is makes it a gamble either way.
posted by phaedon at 04:21 PM on February 19
Last I heard, Mitch Kupchak is still alive. Although your other point stands, the current roster is pretty deplorable.
posted by phaedon at 06:40 PM on February 18
10 championships in just over 30 years. That's a championship rate of 33%. God only knows how many more if Jordan wasn't around. The Lakers' poor performance this year is sort of irrelevant and will fade away. Buss has come off as kind of quirky in his old age, but he has helped establish a truly remarkable franchise.
posted by phaedon at 02:46 PM on February 18
Made me almost like Notre Dame.
posted by phaedon at 12:52 AM on February 10
I'm still watching. An hour and change later.
posted by phaedon at 12:19 AM on February 10
I orgasm every time Michigan loses.
posted by phaedon at 03:09 PM on February 09
Everytime I see Ray Lewis celebrate, a little DMX voice in my head blurts out "MURRRDA" and I pretend he is holding the trophy and making a stabbing motion with it.
posted by phaedon at 01:16 AM on February 04
5 bucks says PSY makes a cameo at the Super Bowl halftime show.
posted by phaedon at 10:32 PM on January 31
Really sad. At least, he chose to do something with his life that was totally crazy and he seemed to love doing it. I mean that with all due respect, and I applaud him for it.
posted by phaedon at 10:09 PM on January 31
I'm no Lance Armstrong fan, but...
posted by phaedon at 02:59 AM on January 30
Well I'm originally from Chicago and my personal opinion is that Derrick Rose is toast. It really sucks, considering how talented he is. I just can't see how such a small guy - with the physical way he plays basketball - can play for an entire season without risk of further injury. Amazing to me that Iverson never tore his ACL.
posted by phaedon at 07:08 PM on January 27
Couldn't have happened to a nicer punk. Just kidding. Are there any basketball players who have fully recovered from an ACL tear? I've just assumed its a death sentence.
posted by phaedon at 05:05 PM on January 27
That woman's tongue-smacking side glance is priceless.
posted by phaedon at 12:42 PM on January 25
Rack up another DUI for the Cowboys.
posted by phaedon at 09:28 PM on January 22
I need a "guns don't kill people, ray lewis kills people" shirt stat.
posted by phaedon at 01:13 AM on January 22
I don't know much about Ray Lewis, but I'll tell you this much. There's actually being a Christian, and then there's sitting on the sideline talking about what a nebulous concept redemption is.
The truth is it's not really that nebulous, but it is often the result of intensely personal interpretation. To me, the paradox - and I'm saying this from experience - is that if you actually think about it, members of the community that have a deep understanding and preach the concept of redemption are more likely to have sinned. Do I go around making this point in public? No. But I would half-jokingly share with you in private that you could almost map this relationship on a chart. I, anecdotally, can testify to the fact that some of the most moving speakers and advocates of religion, are literally the most fucked up people one on one. One very pious person I know - if you heard this person speak about God on a Sunday, your jaw would drop - has personally threatened to kill me because he thought I was sleeping with his wife. Turns out, despite his stirring speeches, he may in fact suffer from mental illness.
Now, the rub is, I can't judge this person, at least publicly. And by "can't" I mean that, in a personal situation, as a member of a flock, it probably best serves me to look for the commonalities with my brother rather than the differences. And maybe in my heart of hearts, I do accept him. But does this mean I have to be his friend, hang out with him, and as a good Christian, turn the other cheek and pretend like nothing happened? Fuck that.
And of course, the bigger picture is, I don't fucking know Ray Lewis personally. So I don't know what the fuck he did. But it is not unusual for the media to construct story lines about people I don't know, giving me bits of information, and telling me who I should root for and who I should not. But it is wise to treat this as pure entertainment. Real redemption is a matter between Ray Lewis and God, and probably not something I have a say in.
So let's stop quoting the Bible, because honestly it's a little insulting to treat practicing Christians as a bunch of retards who exist only to be victimized by your lifted passages of scripture.
To me, the real issue at hand is that in the NFL - especially if you're black - if you are a "team player" on the field, you are given a pass for all of your off-the-field antics. However, if you are an on-field "diva," you are more readily crucified. I can't fully explain this phenomenon, but I believe it to be true. Race card aside, quarterbacks like Roethlisberger and Favre get a pass for sexual deviancy because they are consummate team players. Meanwhile, Vick, Owens, Moss, Bryant, Burress, Ochocinco, not to mention countless NBA players - these guys are typically high-wattage stars in their positions, but are treated like unsignable charlatans when the sports journalists pick up on their off-the-field transgressions. I mean, Moss yelling at a food caterer led to his ousting in Minnesota. For fuck's sake, yelling at a food caterer? I still can't get over that.
So you better watch out when the media - or anyone for that matter - is telling you how great this sports player is and how bad this other sports player is. History has shown some people really know how to cash in on this phenomenon. Manti Te'o, you better get your act together.
But God also gave us brains to use, and I don't think it's fair to say that a Christian cannot actively analyze the sexually deviant or murderous intentions of a person simply because said person is peddling the redemptive Word of God, in order to at least make a personal decision to protect him or herself from the influence or ongoing false idolatry of such perpetrators. And I'm not saying Ray Lewis is any of that. But you had to go there with all that redemption is nebulous shit.
posted by phaedon at 06:18 PM on January 21
How exactly did the referees dictate the game?
Look, maybe you didn't read my comment upthread. I'm not going to beat a dead horse.
posted by phaedon at 11:21 AM on January 21
Either protect the quarterback position, or don't. I'm sick of refs dictating the game.
posted by phaedon at 09:31 PM on January 20
Let me guess, you like the Falcons?
I hate Jim Harbaugh.
posted by phaedon at 06:53 PM on January 20
Hats off to the Falcons for taking an excellent game and managing to completely fuck it up, but honestly, the fact that you can slap a quarterback's helmet and reboot a completely dead drive, meanwhile Matt Ryan is taken to the ground, hurts his arm and no penalty is called - I don't really give a shit what the big picture is, but I loathe this kind of football. I find it literally upsetting.
posted by phaedon at 06:20 PM on January 20
If you look closely, you'll notice he knocks the pacifier right out of Smith's mouth.
posted by phaedon at 05:17 PM on January 02
I'm just glad the kid picked up the football and not Smith's head that was rolling around in the backfield. And Michigan still sucks!!!
posted by phaedon at 11:29 AM on January 02
I think the Cowboys are in a very similar situation as the Bears. They have been replaced with a far more cohesive and competitive team in their division. And the NFL just doesn't allow room for that much error.
It's just impossible to come down on Romo because he means well and plays hard. But he doesn't have the talents of Rodgers or the Mannings. You see the way Rodgers places his passes? The ball's half-way to Jennings when he turns blind to his right and it lands right in his hands. Romo doesn't have that relationship with his receivers. Who chucks the ball up in the air like that with the season on the line?
That to me is an indication of poor game-planning or team awareness. These are things you work on in the off-season. Instead, the big story at Cowboys camp is them worried about restraining Dez, and look, why is one of their players driving drunk during the season, much less killing a teammate. There's just too much talent in the NFL today to put up with Michael Irvin type shit like that.
Hats off to the Redskins for rising in the NFC East. What an incredible game and latter part of the season. Still, I hate Snyder/Shanahan with the power of a thousand suns and hope to see Seattle make a deep run into the playoffs.
posted by phaedon at 07:09 PM on December 31
time to revive a classic...
posted by phaedon at 06:54 PM on December 31
That was the national championship game folks. One slip of the foot. Amazing television.
posted by phaedon at 02:06 AM on December 02
I'm in.. I'm not in Miami, beeeeyitch.
posted by phaedon at 02:37 AM on November 14
You mean after this loss, if they win all their games? Probably. Oregon for sure. (God I hope I didn't just jinx them.)
posted by phaedon at 07:58 PM on November 10
Bring out the body bags.
posted by phaedon at 06:53 PM on November 10
Having said that, using this season to rebuild a new offense is kind of ridiculous.
posted by phaedon at 12:21 AM on November 10
Just for the record, unless I'm wrong - Steve Nash only played two games.
posted by phaedon at 12:15 AM on November 10
Whoops my bad. I get Buss and Bryant confused all the time.
posted by phaedon at 04:09 PM on November 09
Mike who?
Kobe Bryant: "I'm a hundred percent behind Mike Brown. Mitch is. My dad is. We as a collective soul are behind him 100 percent."
posted by phaedon at 01:42 PM on November 09
Sports Announcer R.J. Lewis Looks Into His Crystal Ball
posted by phaedon at 12:42 PM on November 01
That's great news.
I don't follow the SEC religiously so this is my first time hearing of Lattimore. Looking at the video again I have to say he is extremely skinny for a running back. Maybe I'm wrong. NFL RB's have huge frames and bulky legs. Part of what made the video so incredible was how thin and floppy that hyperextended leg looked.
posted by phaedon at 02:24 AM on October 29
That is quite literally the most insane chop block I've ever seen. I've seen fingers break like that. Not entire kneecaps. I can't understand how he's not screaming like a little baby.
posted by phaedon at 10:10 PM on October 27
I'm offended you would imply Matt Leinart had a flash of brilliance after college.
posted by phaedon at 12:58 PM on October 08
Sometimes humans can be really ugly. Especially when it comes to sports.
Especially this guy. White base coat, people. It really shines.
posted by phaedon at 11:49 AM on October 08
Somebody want to start by telling me what a Cascadia Cup is?
posted by phaedon at 11:47 AM on October 08
Turn it around the other way. Given that Uggla got to third pretty quickly after the ball dropped, there's a chance had the shortstop not ducked out of the way, he could have doubled Uggla off, and then Braves fans would be screaming there was no infield fly call made.
Or, think about it the other way. The Cards were given a free out because there was no play to be made on the ball and it was an error.
I'm not a HUGE baseball person but it seems to me that it's a lot more reasonable to call the hitter out if a ball is intentionally allowed to drop, and a runner already on base is successfully thrown out all in the same play. Protect the lead runner(s) and call the hitter out.
Otherwise, you are punishing the offense for what should have been called an error.
posted by phaedon at 03:13 PM on October 06
I'm sorry too. *hugs* My name-calling is sadly entrenched in the early 90's.
posted by phaedon at 04:46 PM on September 25
on edit: Did the comment I was responding to disappear or have I finally gone mad?
The replacement comments... :)
posted by phaedon at 04:43 PM on September 25
The story behind Jason Collins' story: How it happened
Yeah it's strange. I think the younger me wouldn't have thought this was a big deal, but the older, more experienced version of me understands the difference between what is right and self-evident, versus what is. And how hard you have to fight for the basics sometimes.
Having said that, I'm curious to see how the bigger story evolves. Sports culture is a firm step behind the popular landscape in terms of the enlightened treatment of homosexuals as fellow human beings, and frankly the fact that Jason Collins is a nobody at the end of his career speaks volumes as to how much more work might need to be done.