Recent Comments by LostInDaJungle

Gay Athlete Michael Sam Drafted by St. Louis

Kony Ealy was his teammate, and was from the get-go considered better than Sam. Early mocks had him going #8 overall. Instead he lasted until #60.

Sam notched his sacks through effort and teammates funneling guys to him. And what showed on tape was a slow first step, limited chase ability, and no refined pass rush moves.

Even his draft profile on NFL.com mentions it:

Sack production results from effort and production flushed to him and is not creatively produced with savvy pass-rush moves, speed, power or bend.

He was projected to be a 5th round pick before he announced he was gay OR had a lousy combine. I think the second part of that had more to do with his slide in the draft.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 06:10 PM on May 13, 2014

Lakers to Get Howard, Lose Bynum in Four-Team Trade

Which of the Lakers can guard Westbrook? Durant? Harden?

Meh, I'm a magic fan and not happy with Howard, but he makes up for a lot of mistakes on Defense. He can guard the rim.

That said, OKC has DH's Kryptonite... Kendrick Perkins, for some reason, has Dwight's number. Ever since his Celtics beat down the Magic in '09-'10, Perk has been able to push, bully, and frustrate Howard.

Howard has a high shooting percentage, but you would too if you never took a shot more than 3 feet out. IMHO, I thought Roy Hibbert outplayed him on the offensive end this year. Dwight has benefitted from being a big fish in a small pond... I'll be curious to see how he handles being a part of a real team.

Dwight is soft for a big man. I'll be curious how he handles it when Kobe gets in his face and starts dropping F-bombs. Nash to Howard could be devastating, but how will Kobe feel about that cutting into his touches? Dwight's star struck and a bit immature, how will he handle Hollywood? The Big market media? Being a 3rd or 4th scoring option? Can Mike Brown keep these guys playing together? Remember Shaq and Kobe needed the Zen Master to make it all work, and it barely did. Kobe's older, more established, and more of an a-hole. (See his comments from the Olympics!) Dwight, unlike Shaq, is very thin skinned. Stan Van Gundy's criticism was too much for him to take.

I'd be stupid to say anything other than the Lakers look scary but this is hardly a slam dunk. In addition, they have a small window to make things happen before age kicks in.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 11:28 AM on August 14, 2012

Slave Genes Myth Must Die

How would you even study such a thing?

First and foremost, you have the social factors. You can be born with great genetics, but you still need to develop skill from an early age.

So, to get a control, you'd have to take a young black child and raise him in a middle to upper class family. Give him access to video games, a mall, and a billion other distractions and see if he's still great at sports. Give him a life where playing in the NBA isn't the only way out of the ghetto and see what his motivation is.

Are white hockey players genetically better, is that why the sport is so pale? Or is it a matter of poor kids can't afford to go ice skating? Are white people genetically better at tennis? Yachting?

If you know anything about genetics, then yes, it is amazing how quickly we evolve to match our environment. It's also amazing how much of that happens in our first ten years. It doesn't happen in the womb as much as people like to think. Whatever benefits someone might have received from genetics inherited 3-4 generations back is a drop of water in the ocean of the ways our body adapts to the environment in our developmental years.

2 siblings will only be 6.25% genetically compatible with a single grandparent. A generation beyond that, genetic compatibility is trivial. Within 4 generations, you have a completely new and somewhat random set of genetics based on breeding. My grandfather was 6'8" and built like a brick wall... I'm 5'9" and 155 pounds soaking wet.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 11:12 AM on July 27, 2012

Steve Williams explains why Adam Scott's victory at Bridgestone Invitational was best of his career

Maybe he was just describing the work he had to do as Tiger's caddy?

"I was so happy with the win that I became aroused and wished I could have sex with Tiger again"

Nope. Even in that context it's racist... And creepy.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 12:17 PM on November 07, 2011

The Footage the NFL Won't Show You

What's interesting is that as a coach, your playcalling isn't much different than what you do in Madden. You have a handful of "Bread and Butter" plays with a few plays mixed in to take advantage of the defensive adjustments to those plays.

Although those plays change week to week to take advantage of certain matchups, the average NFL offense is run in the space of 30-40 plays. You may call the same run play 7-8 times in a game. Defense is simpler than that.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 12:04 PM on November 07, 2011

Dan Pastorini: 'F--- Drew Brees'

So do lottery winners owe previous lottery winners money for coming before them?

Pastorini spent his money racing dragsters, marrying playboy playmates, and even NOW has multiple businesses. http://www.dpqualityfoods.com/

We should all be so unlucky.

We should help him pay for his mistakes, like drunk driving. Without a license. In his Mercedes.

Upon his release he went directly to a golf tournament. http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/04-27-10-dan-pastorini-plays-through-dwi-cant-keep-oiler-from-charity-golf-tournament/

In 1977, he had to pay out 1.5 Million for killing two people in a speedboat crash. How much would that be worth today? I'm sure those relatives would rather have their loved ones back.

Pastorini was also involved in sports handicapping aka. bookmaking.

According to the second information, the gambling charges stem from Wire Wagering Act violations dealing with sports bets placed by undercover IRS-CID agents over the phone and Internet in Wisconsin with Gold Medal Sports in Curacao. The money laundering charges stem from twenty-one identified wire transfers or check disbursements, made in excess of $10,000, with Gold Medal betting funds. The identified money laundering transactions total in excess of $3,200,000 over a three-year time span.

The final set of charges in the second information relate to mail fraud counts. According to the information, Pede and D'Ambrosia's company, Sports Spectrum, solicited customers through false advertising to call one of four sports handicapper services (Jeff Allen Sports, Mike Wynn Sports, Razor Sharp Sports, and Dan Pastorini Sports) for the purpose of receiving "guaranteed" winning picks on upcoming sporting events. Once a customer called one of the four handicapper services, phone salesmen or "touters" would make and use false pretenses, statements and representations in an attempt to sell weekly or monthly "winning" pick packages to the customer.

2009: http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2009/03/16/453392.html

Pastorini is entering his Lambo in Sebring.

F--k Dan Pastorini. Christ, what an a-hole. He still has a better life than most of us. He's looking for a handout. If I'm lucky, I might earn $1.5 Million in my lifetime... He has literally pi$$ed away more money than I'll ever see. And what has he done with that money? Helped people? Made anyone's life better other than his own?

Dan Pastorini has been a black eye on the face of the sport... The only mitigating factor is that he wasn't good enough to get mentioned often.

The funniest thing about this is that Brees didn't mention anyone by name... Pastorini is just upset that the generic description fit him to a tee. Dude is an embarrassment. Pete Rose has a cleaner image.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 12:16 PM on September 01, 2011

Man City Pulls Striker When Backheel Backfires

What about the teammate that served him up the assist? I'm looking at the second striker and can hear "Dude, if you don't want to score, I do!"

It was poor sportsmanship all around, and I for one am glad that the Soccer fans of the world can respect that.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 04:24 PM on July 26, 2011

Former NFL Player Accused of Molesting Coach's Daughter

@yerfatma The point being that the person on the other end of this allegation has something to lose. It's something you don't want to make public even if it is true... Therefore, there is a higher probability that these charges have substance.

For better or for worse, the character of the accuser is a part of every allegation. I guess if you want to get technical, Webster is innocent until proven guilty as well. You can be sure that the character of the accuser will be brought up repeatedly in court.

Sorry if I'm being non-PC, but when stuff like this comes up it matters to me if the allegations are being made by someone respectable or by a hood rat fishing for fame. Why "shoudn't" it matter?

And not to beat this point into the ground, but NFL assistants work 100 hours a week, and live and die by their players. I'm guessing that Dad wasn't easy to talk to... And in most cases of sexual abuse, the children believe that their parents won't believe them over the abusing adult. I can't even begin to fathom what this must be like for the dad in question.

"Another study found that in most cases when children did disclose abuse, the person they talked to did not respond effectively, blamed or rejected the child, and took little or no action to stop the abuse."

So, even when the kids DO speak up, parents are generally ineffective. Studies also estimate that %40 of abused children NEVER report their abuse.

"Estimates suggest that only 3% of all cases of child sexual abuse (Finkelhor & Dziuba-Leatherman, 1994; Timnick, 1985) and only 12% of rapes involving children are ever reported to police (Hanson et al., 1999). A nationally representative survey of over 3,000 women revealed that of those raped during childhood, 47% did not disclose to anyone for over 5 years post-rape."

"In everyday life, most people assign victims too much blame for their assaults and offenders too little. In truth, it is hard for most people to imagine how any person could sexually abuse a child. Because they can't imagine a "normal" person doing such a heinous act, they assume that child molesters must be monsters. If the accused does not fit this stereotype (in other words if he appears to be a normal person), then many people will disbelieve the allegation, believing the accused to be incapable of such act."

I hope that answers the question. For more: http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/csa_myths.html

posted by LostInDaJungle at 04:09 PM on July 26, 2011

Former NFL Player Accused of Molesting Coach's Daughter

Dude, this girl was raped repeatedly over two years at gun point. What part of that is so hard for you to understand? She was the daughter of an assistant coach, not some skank.

Realize that while this was going on, Webster and her "Dad" were friends. Nate for two years looked that man in the eye while he was raping his daughter. Does that not clue you into the kind of sick monster we're dealing with here?

@hincandenza You're basing this "blame the victim" mentality on what? You can go read the allegations and know that he is not being accused of consensual sex with a minor, which is still illegal.

Also, with this girl being the daughter of a Bengals assistant... It's not hard to figure out who the victim is. (Hmmm, ex Bengals assistant that just got a new job this year and has a 17 year old daughter....) So, you have the fact that if these were specious allegations, it would be very damaging to the accuser.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 01:59 PM on July 25, 2011

Hawks Take 2-1 Lead Over Magic

I've seen the Hawks hit too many "lucky" shots for it to be luck anymore. At some point you just have to say "That's skill son."

posted by LostInDaJungle at 12:45 PM on April 24, 2011

Bill James: Develop Writers Like Ballplayers

It would certainly be a shame if young writers got personal coaches to teach them their craft in grade school as Carson Palmer did.

Maybe that writer's career will be as disappointing as Carson's.

In Shakespeare's time, men of letters were very famous. It was not a "solitaire, quiet, with no guarantee of riches or recognition" profession. But there weren't movie stars, or rock stars either. One might as well pine for the death of theater.

The printing press did to the story teller what the recording industry did to the musician. The Beatles were not just a talent, they were a time and a place. If they started today, the record company would have found a new act to promote after their second album. If they had come along 20 years earlier, the recording tech wouldn't have been there to immortalize them.

Shakespeare was the first man to get credit for telling centuries old stories. He appears to be this great talent because he is the first recorded culmination of 5,000 years of story telling. Imagine if they invented recorded music tomorrow... How many hit songs could you cobble together? Elvis and the Beatles covered "Black" tunes that were already hits.

The Beatles and Shakespeare were the "best" of their special era or at least captured their zeitgeist... Don't get me wrong... But it's not as simple as the author purports. The assumption here is that talent alone accounts for the fame of Shakespeare. That could not be more erroneous.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 03:10 PM on April 05, 2011

New York Times to begin charging for online access

The end result will be that the Times gets linked to less often eventually eroding their readership and authority.

As someone who works for one of those dinosaurs, it is also disheartening to see that the greatest assets online are those like the Huff-Po which aggregates our content. We cook the meal, give it away, and then she serves it in her restaurant.

What will the aggregators aggregate when they have finally killed off all of the dinosaurs that fueled their sites? I like to think of it as "Peak Content". Say what you want about Dowd, Krugman, etc... But without these voices, a good bit of the discourse on the internet would not happen. Agreeing or criticizing, they are prominent voices who spark the debate.

Internet advertising simply does not pay for the cost of producing content. When companies like the Times go down, aggregators like the Huff-Po are going to find it's not so easy to make money while actually paying people to make content.

Print operations also had virtual monopolies and obscene profit margins for a century... Don't feel too bad for them.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 11:28 AM on March 22, 2011

Grant Hill, Jalen Rose and 'Uncle Toms'

I thought the doc was very clear that this was how he felt then. Aside from that, it's the same old story of poor vs. rich. To even bring race into this really obscures the story line.

Jalen Rose didn't hate Duke because they were white, he didn't hate Grant Hill because he was black. he resented them having everything handed to them while his family had to struggle. That's the most normal thing in the world.

Uncle Tom was a poor choice of words... But how does one say "house negro" these days? That's the "feeling" Jalen Rose was trying to convey, and to many people 40 and younger, that's what they think an "Uncle Tom" is. The term "uncle tom" got misapplied to progressive blacks at the turn of the 20th century. W.E.B. DuBois misused the term when speaking about enterpreneur Marcus Garvey.

So Jalen Rose is just about as stupid as W.E.B. DuBois.

Oddly enough, Uncle Tom, the Book, is not about a subservient man: Stowe's melodramatic story humanized the suffering of slavery for white audiences by portraying Tom as a Christlike figure who is ultimately martyred, beaten to death by a cruel master because Tom refuses to betray the whereabouts of two women who escape from slavery.

I too think Grant Hill missed Jalen Rose's point purposely. I think it hit close to home for Hill who has probably put up with that a lot throughout his life. But I also think Jalen Rose would let you call him "Uncle Tom" non-stop for a decade if he could go back and have the childhood Grant Hill had.

If Grant Hill had taken the seconds needed to pause and consider what the world looked like to an 18 year old Jalen Rose... I'm not asking Hill to apologize for his upbringing, but we shouldn't ask Rose to apologize for his either.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 12:35 PM on March 18, 2011

If Stan Van Gundy Goes Missing ...

The Magic are what, 3-4 games off last year's pace?? Yeah, really fraying.

Pointing out that Howard hasn't been "flagrantly" fouled in some 600 fouls, really does just reinforce the notion that they're not getting called.

The Stern era has been the end of the dominant center. Kareem, Walton, Wilt?? How would they have fared under Stern? Stern has empowered the perimeter players. Really, MJ's Bulls should have won 1 or 2 rings, and Ewing/Olijawon should each have 1-2 more.

Stern molded the league around MJ, changed the rules to enable his success, and in the process devalued size in the middle. You need more than just size now, you need that perimeter scorer. The Magic have little after Howard. Jameer Nelson is probably the #2 guy, and he's not a top 20 player.

SVG just needs to understand that David Stern's NBA is a guard's game.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 03:42 PM on March 11, 2011

Team Apologizes for Fan Lap Dance Contest

I hear a lot of comments about the team and the mascot, but what the heck is up with these women? They were like "Lapdance in public, sounds good!" "Hey, kid, hold my bra."

posted by LostInDaJungle at 12:27 PM on January 19, 2011

Deadspin Links Rex Ryan, Wife to Foot Fetish Videos

They're facing public ridicule for being swinging exhibitionists who advertise on alt.com so Rex can watch his wife get done by three guys.

I have ridiculed people for far less.

Your private pecadillo's are none of my business... But this wasn't private. This was posted on Youtube.

I'm in to way kinkier things than feet, but I don't publish pictures/video of it, and I don't advertise for threesomes. If I do, please ridicule me.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 04:47 PM on December 22, 2010

Barkley: 'You Can't Send Small Junk'

I think his point is: If you're going to advertise, have a good product.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 03:42 PM on December 21, 2010

Clippers Owner Taunts Baron Davis During Games

Sorry, Mike Brown is the worst owner in all of sports.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:19 PM on December 15, 2010

Wheelchair-Bound Player Scores Touchdown

As a parent of a kid with a disability, I don't really care about the why of it... It was a wonderful thing for the coach, kids, and schools to have done, and I'm sure a special moment for him and his family.

Also, if you read the story, the kid had always been around the football team as a waterboy, etc... It's not like they just picked someone at random.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:36 PM on October 14, 2010

Brent Musburger: Steroids Might Be OK

But hey, it's all a big beat-up by the evil WADA, right?

So we should prohibit boxers from using steroids because that might be bad for them... while they're repeatedly being bashed in the face.

Steroids, like all drugs, wind up being defined by their extremes. You point to 1 guy or 100 guys who have taken 'roids to an extreme and act like this explains the experience of the millions and millions of people who have taken them.

Sport is not safe. Concussions rack the brain and/or joint and ligament damage takes the body in most sports.

Applying you logic, why shouldn't we outlaw cars? They're not safe, and "Dying to be Arnie" sounds a lot more appealing than "Dying to get eggs and milk". Do I need to link to horrific traffic accidents to make that case? I'm sure I could find plenty of heart-wrenching stories and then wag my finger at the rest of you from my moral high ground if I chose.

The current stance against steroids means that they are taken clandestinely without a doctor's supervision and bought on the black market. The real crime of the Munzer situation is that despite all of the obvious signs of abuse, no one stepped up and said anything until he was dead.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:37 PM on October 13, 2010

Brent Musburger: Steroids Might Be OK

Anabolic steroids do have undesirable side effects: acne, baldness, voice changes ... infertility. But sport itself is far more dangerous, and we don't prohibit it. The number of deaths from playing professional football and college football are 50 to 100 times higher than even the wild exaggerations about steroids. More people have died playing baseball than have died of steroid use.

However, the bigger question is what would steroids do to the sport itself? Steroids fill you with rage, and get guys bigger and bigger. Maybe the "steroids" don't end up killing someone, but the increased speed and violence of Football leads to more incidents on the field? Football is dangerous enough, do we really need roid raging 250 pound receivers and 260 pound safeties?

However, anyone who thinks that 'roids aren't already prevalent in all sports needs to get their head examined. I would guess the number of "juiced" players in football is over 50%. So maybe we've already seen what the consequences are of having 'roids in football.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 01:40 PM on October 08, 2010

Sainz: Scandal Set Back Women's Rights '50 Years'

Well, good. The scandal and her wardrobe are now even.

Seriously, we need someone from BootyTV to tell us about Women's rights? When Al Michaels broadcasts his first game in tight jeans designed to show off his butt, I'll have more sympathy for the Ines Sainz's of this world.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 12:28 PM on September 20, 2010

Christopher Hitchens: Sports Bring Out the Worst in Humanity

Wait.... Hitchens LOVES war. Hitch never met a cluster bomb he didn't like.

Sports, after a fashion, is simulated war. Sports is basically combat with rules.

Sports, like war, has the ability to bring out the best and worst in people. You have your heroes who selflessly kill 27 people to help their side breach the line or rescue a fellow soldier, and you have your villains who ruthlessly kill 27 people to help the other side or free a prisoner who deserved to be shot.

Hitchens is an ass. Even when I do agree with what he's saying, I can't support the way he's saying it. As an atheist myself, I found his anti-god screed to be riddled with errors and logical fallacies and more than that: It was just plain poor taste. Somehow, this does not interfere with his ardent support for Israel as a de facto theocracy. He denounces religion as tribalism, but yet, has no problem with tribalism in Greece, so long as they're not invoking God to do it.

He's little more than a bomb thrower, and people moronically say "Yes, but the bomb was made extremely well! Look at the craftsmanship!" He's all for personal freedom so long as you don't decide to use that freedom to do something he doesn't like. He's also a Trotskyite... How does socialism/communism equate to personal freedom? How does he reconcile saying he's for personal freedom and then in the same breath declare we should ban the Burqua? You're free so long as you don't wear an outfit I don't like? You're free to do anything but be a Muslim?

If Hitchens is as intelligent as his supporters claim, then he should be intelligent enough to see the contradictions in his own thinking and be somewhat consistent in his views. Frankly, I think he's an idiot with a large vocabulary who relies on intellectual intimidation. Go behind the curtain and the great Oz is just a small man with a big megaphone.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 12:07 PM on February 10, 2010

Michael Vick Wins Courage Award

The worst thing is... Vick talks like he's the victim here. "Yeah, I had to come back from alot...." Sure you did Mike. But if you were a fighting dog, Goodell would have "put you down" the second you misbehaved. You got a second chance that the dogs who "failed" you never got.

I'm not a card carrying PETA member or anything like that, but this makes me sick. Lesse, the guy has been implicated in illegal drugs, gambling, animal cruelty, giving women herpes... He plea bargained his way to serving a year of a five year sentence. Sure, let's honor the jack-tard for not getting caught for a year. The Eagles were stupid to sign him in the first place, now they're going to honor his courage???? F--- me.

This is an insult to anyone else who has ever won this award.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 04:15 PM on December 28, 2009

Bengals Receiver Chris Henry Dies After Car Accident

Atheist, it's not like he shot himself in the leg at a strip club. We've heard nothing about drinking, drugs, etc... Would he have been a better person to you if he had turned his back on his kids and fiancee?

Have some class for a change dude.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:22 PM on December 17, 2009

NFL Athlete Takes Up Curling

Now that he's tried snowboarding and curling, he might give playing football a try? Please?

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:11 PM on November 30, 2009

Sources: Shanahan turned down Redskins coaching job

tyrannical midget

Amazingly, that's my name for my reproductive apparatus.

Funny, I call mine "Dan Snyder".

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:21 PM on October 20, 2009

Celtics Hang Blank Championship Banner

Born, no disrespect was intended. I think KG and Sheed takes away Orlando's ability to play 'Shard at the 4, and Bass and Anderson aren't going to handle Wallace or KG. That's why I'll be curious to see if we play both Centers in a "Twin Tower" arrangement against you guys.

As far as Turk, it would be like me saying that the Celts will really miss Big Baby based on him playing well over a few games at the end of the year.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 04:57 PM on October 07, 2009

Arrest Made in Erin Andrews Stalking Case

I saw the videos (saw them posted online before the story broke and thought they were just a hoax) and... Meh. They look like grainy pics shot with a cheap cell phone camera through a makeshift peephole. Aside from that, it's just a woman getting dressed. She's not dancing coquettishly to Cyndi Lauper, not admiring herself in a mirror. She's just getting dressed.

To be honest, I thought they were fake until the news broke. You can't really make out a face, which should clue you to the fact that you can't make out much else either. You get a general idea of how her butt is shaped and a slight intuition as to the shape/size of her boobs. You could get the same thrill pulling up pictures of her in tight pants/shirt.

Now that I find out all the effort that this boob went through to get these videos and I think, "Moron! Get a better camera next time!" Seriously, all the planning that went into this and you couldn't get a decent camera with a tripod? What a tool.

Creepy and gross? You bet. But if you're going to go there, rent a good camcorder.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 09:53 AM on October 05, 2009

Celtics Hang Blank Championship Banner

Born, people who don't watch a lot of Magic BBall seem to think we'll miss Turk a lot. We won't. He hurt us as much as he helped us most nights. I've been a fan of his since he was with the Kings, and I still wasn't upset to see him go. He had a VERY up and down offensive game, and as a defender lacked energy and effort.

As for Carter... Nothing in his history tells me he has trouble staying healthy, and frankly, I like the guy behind him on the bench in Pietrus.

I'm more excited to have Anderson and Bass in the fold which means 'Shard can move over and man the three. Add Matt Barnes for more depth at SF, and I think we gained much more than we lost. I'm looking forward to seeing if we play Gortat and Howard against Sheed and KG. Fun stuff man.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 09:39 AM on October 05, 2009

Celtics Hang Blank Championship Banner

They call it a blank banner, I call it a large green Kleenex they'll use to dry their pitiful tears when the Magic beat them again on their way to the finals.

Sorry guys, hubris is never attractive.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 11:22 AM on October 02, 2009

NFL folds Europe league, to focus on regular-season games abroad

When the World Series first started, they wouldn't let "common" or workingman teams in, and most teams south or west of Ohio in the US. It wasn't until the expansion in the 40's that the "World" series was even nationwide in the US. Abner Doubleday didn't invent the sport either. Extreme Fighting isn't really that extreme. It's all marketing BS, and if you think it makes some greater point about America as a whole, you need a proctologist to find your head.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 09:47 AM on July 02, 2007

Magic Hire Billy Donovan's Successor

Urinal, you obviously didn't see his two news conferences where he enthusiastically told us how much he was looking forward to it. The hype around this was huge, and then the Bride ran from the altar and locked herself in her room for 3-4 days while everyone wondered what the ____ was going on. "One, I think that the easy decision for me personally could have really been to stay at Florida and just try to continue to move on, or the next step could be to try to do something that would really challenge me as a person, as a coach and help me grow and help me get better." But, ummm, den, on second thought, how much personal growdt does a guy need, unowhaddimsayin? Heck, that easy ting sounz pretty good right now. Yo, Adrian... Also, the perception is that he chickened out, not had a change of heart.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 04:19 PM on June 08, 2007

Let's All Give Money to the Rich Man!

It also leads to some hard feelings between the city and the team down the road. Cincy wasn't too happy about having a sucky team after paying for a $450 Million stadium.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 04:10 PM on June 08, 2007

Cavaliers 0

The Magic can still come back. Goooooo Magic!

posted by LostInDaJungle at 09:45 AM on June 05, 2007

Do over!

"Why leave a championship program in college to go to a losing program in the NBA?" Seriously, we have to dignify this with a response? Umm, why leave AA ball for the Majors? If not Donovan, does it have to be a VanGundy... Stan even. Aww, crap.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 09:36 AM on June 04, 2007

Deja vu all over again for the Bengals

Thank god he wasn't addicted to painkillers like some of the other "troublesome" NFL players from bad backgrounds. Noone who was busily defending Mike Vick in a previous thread need wag a finger. People of all walks of life get in these situations, and in the NFL it's less than the general population. Any social theorizing is just you complaining about the splinter in one man's eye while ignoring the log in your own. Dude turned himself in on a 4th degree misdemeanor... The words "Rape Stands" were never mentioned. It's not like he molested his babysitter. Can we all just overreact because the word "Bengals" is in the headlines already? The guy was scrub who saw two games on Special Teams, arrested for a minor offense. Whomever mentions modern athletes and their "sense of entitlement" gets a free item from the Blowfish catalog on me.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 10:01 PM on May 20, 2007

Neal Pollock and Paul Shirley Discuss the NBA Playoffs

Great series of articles. Thanks for the link yerfatma. Oh, and watching the Spurs win game 5 was like watching Star Wars only to have Darth Vader win the big Light-Saber battle. Rooting for the pesky alliance all the way until finally Bruce Vader vanquishes Steve Skywalker, the Death Star is complete, and the poor lil' Ewoks (Eastern Conf. Champs) get vaporized by the planet destroying laser that is Tim Duncan. They're right, David Stern IS evil. The game has flat out sucked since the new zone rules and the restricted area came in. If Jordan's Bull's were playing today, the game would rest on the shoulders of Bill Winnington to hit 15 ft. jumpers while Mike got doubled. Much like I had to sit and watch Kurt Thomas shoot 20 foot Jumpers all night. So, the NBA tries to market players instead of teams, then changes the rules to favor "team" play over individual talent? Why ISN'T Kobe the next Jordan? Because you can double him all night and make Smush Parker have to be the team's leading scorer. If there is a Hell, I hope David Stern spends an eternity watching that game 5 over and over again. With Bruce Bowen kneeing him in the crotch.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:23 PM on May 18, 2007

Bulls 0

The Magic still have a chance to come back. Goooo Magic!

posted by LostInDaJungle at 11:22 AM on May 14, 2007

Bulls 0

The Magic can still come back.... Gooooo Magic!

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:47 PM on May 07, 2007

Ron Mexico had better watch his back a little better.

Suprised noone bothered to follow this story up... VICK'S DOG DENIAL IS FISHY Michael Vick claims that the apparent dog-fighting activities at his property in Virginia occurred without his knowledge. But evidence available on the Intergoogle suggests that Vick was actively involved in the breeding of dogs that could be used for fighting. Our own Taco Bill found the web site for Vick's K-9 Kennels. The Vick in question is clearly Mike Vick. The site shows an address of Moonlight Road in Suffolk, Virginia. Coincidentally, Wednesday's raid occurred at an address on Moonlight Road in Smithfield, Virginia. Also, the site identifies the company as "Vick's K-9 Kennels c/o MV7, Inc." The owner of the property that was searched is Mike Vick and MV7, LLC. And consider these two pictures, put together for us by Taco Bill. The image on top is from the property that was searched. The image on the bottom is from Vick's web site. The concrete pad, the cages, and the "landscaping" look very similar. Of course, Vick's web site doesn't say anything about dog fighting. On one page, the site declares: "We do not promote, support, or raise dogs for fighting and will not knowingly sell, give, or trade any dog that may be used for fighting." But the dogs that Vick's operation is selling are naturally aggressive breeds like pit bull terriers, Rottweilers, and the Presa Canario. (We have a cousin by that name.) At a minimum, Mike Vick has been involved in breeding and selling dogs that could be used for fighting. He admitted six years ago that it is one of his interests. And at the property owned by him in Virginia many scarred dogs were found, along with evidence of dog-fighting paraphernalia. So if Vick is telling the truth, his family members have -- without his knowledge -- converted Vick's pride-and-joy breeding operation into an exercise in cruelty. And despite the fact that Vick had enough of an interest in breeding pit bulls to set up these facilities, he has paid no attention whatsoever to the abomination that his cousin and/or other family members have created from Mike's avocation. Please. The "I don't know nothing" defense won't fly here, in our view. Even if there is no direct evidence of Vick's knowledge or involvement in dog fighting, plenty of men and women have been convicted of crimes via the introduction of circumstantial evidence and the application of basic common sense. As Jackie Chiles might say, "You get me one dog lover on that jury, and Mike is going away for a long, long time." Meanwhile, the Humane Society will be all over this one. John Goodwin, who handles dog-fighting issues for the organization, told the AP that the Humane Society "has heard for several years that Vick was personally involved in the brutal, clandestine activity, which is banned nationwide and a felony in 48 states, including Virginia and Georgia." Regarding Vick's claim that he knows nothing about the evidence of fighting, Goodwin said that it would cost $100 per day to feed the 66 animals found on the property. "Who's paying to feed all those dogs?" Goodwin said. "Who has the money to feed 66 pit bulls that's in some way, shape or form related to that property?" Those are good questions. And Goodwin isn't the only person who'll be asking them. http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm Those who are trying to play the "Because he's Black" card are way off base here... I personally find this type of behavior to be unconscionable, and as mentioned, who the F is paying $40,000 a year to (kinda) feed these dogs? BTW, the "Vick's Kennels" still has dogs for sale listed on their website... Anyone want to pay $1000 for one? Dude was running these Kennels as a business, and as such is directly responsible.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 04:22 PM on April 30, 2007

Pistons 4

The Magic can still come back.... Gooooo Magic.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 04:14 PM on April 30, 2007

Magic 0

The magic will win tonight.... Gooooo Orlando Magggic!

posted by LostInDaJungle at 04:09 PM on April 23, 2007

'Pacman' looks to regain fans' trust

No, I was making fun of his comments to Rich Eisen on NFL total access. And no, it doesn't sound like anything at all has sunk in with him. If only the lil' turdball realized I was a Bengals fan in spite of him... I cheered for 2-14 teams I liked alot better than this one.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 04:36 PM on April 20, 2007

'Pacman' looks to regain fans' trust

"lack of pac-penis" Wakka-wakka-wakka.... Beuwwp! But to get all geeky and "engineer" about this, aren't spheres non-mating surfaces? So, how is this explained?

posted by LostInDaJungle at 01:41 PM on April 20, 2007

Sorry tubby, you're just too good.

"At the beginning of the year, they said we should play in the B because we're not strong. They were not honest at the beginning of the season," Mr. Lemery said. "I asked them to go A and they said no." They ended up third in their "B" division, and were one and done in their own playoffs... The opposite question arises, why penalize a bunch of B level players because they just happen to have one A level player? Mr. Leprosy thinks it's no fun if they're beating other teams, but doesn't seem to address what this teams realistic chances in "A" hockey would have been. If you came in third at your cubs tennis tourney this year, would you want to try to get a gold at the same level next year, or would you want to move up so you could come in last in the higher division? I'm not really sure why a team would volunteer to go out and be a punching bag in a higher division. Also, while the number of 51 goals in 17 games seems huge, remember Gretsky scored 310 goals in novice hockey and noone tried to ban him. I sure hope Mr. Lemery feels a whole lot better now that he has taken a big ol' dump over a bunch of 8 year olds. That'll teach 'em. It's always nice when adults take their petty squabbles and f-up little kids lives because of them. Same goes for the Shawville people who threw out the baby with the bath water by holding all of their teams back. I also think it's somewhat Ironic that the same group who is so hostile to anyone who doesn't put English and French on a sign thinks it's perfectly OK to conduct their meetings in French only. "You must accommodate us, we don't have to accommodate you." Foutre le camp, Msr. Lemery. Cretin.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 12:31 PM on April 20, 2007

'Pacman' looks to regain fans' trust

Chris Henry also took out an ad, it was just a small classified that said "The Real fans know what I'm about, and If you ain't behind me when I can't play, you ain't a real fan. Peace, CH15"

posted by LostInDaJungle at 12:02 PM on April 20, 2007

Imus, the Irrelevant and Whitlock, the Wise

Sorry, I don't buy it. Eminem sells plenty of albums to disenfranchised white kids. In fact that's where alot of hip-hop gets sold. Didn't the Beatles glamorize drugs? Didn't the Stones glamorize casual sex? Certainly country music celebrates it own share of gun violence and "thug culture". Who did "I fought the law", "I shot the sherrif", "Cocaine Blues".... Johnny F'ing Cash recorded two albums using in prison concerts. "Early one morning while making the rounds I took a shot of Cocaine and I shot my woman down When right home and I went to bed And I stuck that lovin' .44 beneath my head." Railing against "Hip-Hop" culture and making it a problem for "Black Culture" ignores the fact that alot of music is violent, anti-authoritarian, etc... In ALL cultures. Is the prevalence of Grunge necessarily an indictment of white culture? Black people remember Tupac, white folks remember Kurt Cobain. Just because some Black person somewhere is listening to 50 cent doesn't apologize for anyone being racist. Indeed, Whitlock falls right into that trap by assuming that because these girls are young and black, they listen to "Gansta Rap"... Who's making the racial stereotypes again? I have to guess if this had been a group of blond girls he would just assume they've never listened to Eminem? White America, I could be one of your kids - Check out "White America" by Eminem. (And FYI, I generally can't stand Eminem.) I'm sorry, but saying Hip-Hop is a "black people problem" is at the very least ignorant, and at it's worst, racism. Frankly I find Whitlock's comments alot more offensive than Imus'. At least Imus wasn't trying to be serious. Gee, I listen to Hip Hop, is it OK to call all white people "Whore"? Stereotyping people by race is racism, and that's all I'm seeing here from Mr. Whitlock. The man has the intellectual depth of an Eggplant.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:34 PM on April 11, 2007

Bears beat the Lions and they're the worst team in the past five years.

Actually, wouldn't it be ironic/sad if they ended up moving the team to Mexico? I can just see it now, the "Mexico City Lions"....

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:32 PM on December 27, 2006

2007 NFL Draft.

With Historical perspective included, this list is freaking useless. The 2006 list was particularly comical.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 10:24 AM on December 26, 2006

Uniforms that light up your life:

"came up with the idea while playing computer sports games" This of course is scaled down from his original "Flaming Basketball" concept for letting you know when players were "En Fuego".

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:11 PM on November 22, 2006

NBA Doesn't Monkey Around with Racial Heckler

Seems odd to me that players and fans throw the F word around like candy, but the first ever ban goes out for "monkey". For the record. I called my 4 year old a monkey just last night. Actually, I called her a "Monkey Butt"... is that worse or better?

posted by LostInDaJungle at 05:04 PM on November 03, 2006

Dallas Cowboys Coach Smells a Rat

From PFT: The suit claims that the two women have undergone medical treatment to determine whether they have contracted any infectious diseases from the rodent, and that they have undergone counseling. And as we surmised on Thursday, Mr. Haley's claim is for loss of marital consortium. In other words, his marriage has been harmed via the injuries suffered by his wife. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Scuse while I weep big tears of grief for their trauma. Let's just hope the counseling helps.... And let me get this straight.... The have an "au pair" (effete speak for "nanny") and still have to eat salads from McDonalds? Her husband works with highly trained athletes and they still think the crap McD's serves is food? While I wouldn't be happy about a rodent in my salad, I doubt I'd even think to sue... And certainly I wouldn't think that I'm entitled to Millions because the McDonalds manager was rude when he drove out to my mansion... That manager was probably thinking what I was... "Why the H*** are these people eating McDonalds? Oh, did your domestic get ill... How shocking." Thank goodness that they don't like to feed the illegal immigrant maid, or who would have called the lawyer? http://www.tommypennington.com/mls/southlake6.htm It's getting to the point where a man doesn't even feel safe in his $5 Million dollar home.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 03:42 PM on October 27, 2006

Fox fires Steve Lyons for racially insensitive comment

As a native american I just have one question... The Indians weren't playing the Braves were they?? We couldn't have anything racially insensitive going on while the fans do the Tomohawk Chop and the big nosed cartoony Injun dances around, can we? It does appear that there are double standards at play and that the real truth of it is when you do color commentary for a sport that is most popular among hispanics, don't make fun of hispanics. Of course, one would hope that their outrage at FOX and their insane race baiting would cause them to look elsewhere for entertainment... Oh, so long as it's not part of the Baseball Game, I don't mind that Sean Hannity will be giving oral to Pat Buchannan's book on the other channel, sponsored by the same advertisers. Viva Baseball! (Oops, was that racist?) I have no idea the context of the comments, and I have to assume they're worse than they read... But anyone who can rail about this and still support a league that welcomes "Chief Wahoo" shown on a channel that pimps the "Reconquista" lunacy as fact may need to sit down for a long think.... Good to know America is normal again.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:26 PM on October 17, 2006

NBA changes ball despite player gripes

Seriously, a good leather ball is $50, and an official indoor/outdoor synthetic is $35. Money can't be an issue here. I think it's more about the fact that we're trying to adopt international standardsd so we fare better in the World Champs.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:10 PM on October 09, 2006

Raingate?

Wow, baseball playoffs are on? The Tigers made the Playoffs?? My hope for a Bengals/Saints super bowl is still alive then.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 04:51 PM on October 05, 2006

Bengals' Thurman suspended for season

"depending on how you count Askew" I count Askew as a victim of DWB. If you scratch the surface of his case, it just another story of cops getting frisky with the Tasers. Askew has a nice lawsuit pending against the Cincy PD.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 10:15 AM on September 29, 2006

Ben Roethlisberger Action Figure

For the football fans that still play with dolls....

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:01 PM on September 25, 2006

Bengals + Browns + Beer

Cut the Bengals fans some slack. Actually going to the stadium and watching the team is a new thing for them.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 11:24 AM on September 22, 2006

The Curse of the Orlando Magic

As a Magic fan who was rooting for them back when Scott Skyles was our "star", I have never harbored any ill will to Hill or felt he was "stealing". Hill has consistently worked hard to be on the court, it just hasn't been in the cards. Frankly, T-Mac was alot worse when he was wearing the stripes. He had a tendency to pout on-court in playoff games or games that could get us there. The only real killer to the Hill deal is the guys we traded to get him... Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups... Just salary cap throw-ins at the time.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 11:21 AM on September 22, 2006