- 01:18 PM
- 04/19/24
The Brooklyn Nets: I Call Technical Foul
posted by kirkaracha at 09:42 PM on May 02, 2012
Need some cheese?
Fuck that. Favre threw an interception after getting hit illegally high-low by a team that was getting paid to hurt him. No penalty was called; a huge no-call in a close game that went to overtime. The Saints should've been called for a personal foul: the league admitted as much a couple days after the game and fined Bobby McCray $20,000. The Vikings would've had a first down on the Saints 24 with 1:59 left in the third quarter. The game was tied and they would've had a very high probability of at least a field goal. TMQ noted "found four, not two, instances in which unnecessary roughness should have been called against the Saints but was not." We now know that they were getting paid to break the rules, and they got away with it. The Saints cheated, and they would not have beaten the Vikings if they hadn't.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:01 PM on March 21, 2012
It's not harsh enough. Gregg Williams should get a lifetime ban. This is too little, too late. The Saints cheated the Vikings out of a trip to the Super Bowl.
posted by kirkaracha at 07:59 PM on March 21, 2012
If you're going to give Tebow credit for winning games the Broncos won due to the dominance of the Broncos' D or to opponents' fuckups (i.e., Marion Barber), then you have to give him the blame when they lose. Two-way street. Tebow "lost" this game just as much as he "won" the game against the Steelers.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:43 AM on January 15, 2012
Tebow also had a three-game losing streak and lost a playoff game. Where are the headlines saying Tebow blows it again?
posted by kirkaracha at 09:56 AM on January 15, 2012
I don't think the Broncos can score enough to go far in the playoffs. Under Tebow the Broncos went 7-5 in the regular season, and are 1-0 in the playoffs. In that time they've scored over 30 points twice (38-24 over the Raiders and 35-32 over the Vikings). They've scored over 20 points three times (they lost 29-24 to the Chargers, lost 41-23 to the Patriots, and beat the Steelers 29-23 in OT). In their other seven games they've scored 18 (OT), 10, 17, 17, 16 (OT), 13 (OT), 14, and 3 points. They can't keep pace with the high-scoring teams in the playoffs.
The Patriot's offense is better than the Steelers', and much better than the Broncos'. The Bronco's defense is better than the Patriots' D, but I don't think it's better enough to overcome the Patriots' offense.
posted by kirkaracha at 01:53 PM on January 10, 2012
Funny how Tebow got all the credit during the win streak but isn't getting much blame for the loss.
posted by kirkaracha at 02:19 PM on December 21, 2011
I knew if the Broncos beat the Vikings the headlines would say Tebow Does it Again, but really, he didn't do shit. The Vikings gave this game away with turnovers, poor kick return coverage, bad rushing defense, and nonexistent pass defense. Ponder's interceptions led to 10 points for the Broncos, including the winning field goal The Vikings allowed an average of 33 yards per kick return and started half of their possessions inside their own 20 yard line. McGahee rushed for 111 yards against the Vikings' #6 rush defense. Tebow threw for 202 yards, and at least half of those were to receivers that were uncovered because the cornerbacks passed them off to safeties that weren't there. I give credit to Tebow for scrambling to keep plays alive, but other than that, he didn't do much.
I watched the end of the Denver/Minnesota game
I didn't get to watch the end because the local San Francisco TV station switched away during a tie game with less than two minutes left to broadcast the 49ers warming up.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:48 AM on December 06, 2011
Kneeling in private is a sign of humility; kneeling on the sidelines in front of a stadium with 75,000 people and a TV audience of millions of people is not. "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men."
posted by kirkaracha at 05:22 PM on November 28, 2011
The NFL's Anatomy of a Play is pretty great.
posted by kirkaracha at 04:48 PM on November 08, 2011
Getting to the World Series, winning three games, and coming within a strike of winning the whole thing (twice!) seems like a pretty good job for such a shitty manager.
I've been entertaining myself by trying to come up with a name for a blog that captures the Rangers' greatest moment of woe.
"Hell Freeses Over."
posted by kirkaracha at 04:49 PM on October 29, 2011
What if the NFL evolved into rugby (or something like it) due to the concerns about head injuries? Some people worry about the long-term future of football as parents are increasingly likely to not let their kids play.
posted by kirkaracha at 09:38 PM on September 09, 2011
Howie Long thinks it might be a career ender.
I'm sorry, did you say "Howie Long thinks"? Because I'm pretty sure that didn't happen.
posted by kirkaracha at 09:34 PM on September 09, 2011
Some of his NFL records:
Most touchdown receptions in a season 23 (2007) Most touchdown receptions by a rookie in a season 17 (1998) Most seasons with 17 or more touchdown receptions 3 (1998, 2003, 2007) Most seasons with 16 or more touchdown receptions 3 (1998, 2003, 2007) Most seasons with 11 or more touchdown receptions 8 tied with Jerry Rice Most seasons with 10 or more touchdown receptions 9 tied with Jerry Rice Most games in a season with at least 2 touchdown receptions 8 (2007) Only player to have 1,600 receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns in a season (2003)
posted by kirkaracha at 04:52 PM on August 01, 2011
Meh, you mean I missed out on 3 months of Brett Favre speculation
Eagles Interested in Brett Favre as a Backup? Commence Freakouts
posted by kirkaracha at 11:33 AM on July 27, 2011
Mainly about the mythical asterisk. No big surprises, but I learned that even though Maris played more games, he hit 60 home runs in fewer plate appearances. Maris hit his 60th home run in his 684th plate appearance, while Babe Ruth hit his in his 689th plate appearance.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:12 AM on July 27, 2011
Ty Cobb played in 3,035 games.
posted by kirkaracha at 01:07 AM on July 13, 2011
Stevenson said that LeBron 'checked out' of a game the Heat lost in the Finals.
Was it the game he scored 8 points?
He also said that Wade and LeBron were good actors.
Well, they are excellent floppers, especially Wade.
posted by kirkaracha at 06:04 PM on June 13, 2011
NBA Finals Recap, as Told by LeBron James's Facial Expressions
posted by kirkaracha at 11:47 AM on June 13, 2011
The Heat were surprisingly flat throughout the fouth quarter, with four stretches of 1-2 minutes without scoring any points. The last couple of minutes were weird.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:42 AM on June 13, 2011
Prince Geoffrey: My you chivalric fool... as if the way one fell down mattered.The Lakers got their asses kicked and lost like the classless assholes they are.
Prince Richard: When the fall is all there is, it matters.
posted by kirkaracha at 06:28 PM on May 08, 2011
Yes, Bengie Molina was getting a ring either way.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:14 PM on January 26, 2011
I'm 8% drunk right now.
posted by kirkaracha at 02:28 PM on January 20, 2011
There's no reason to change the rules. It may seem arbitrary and unfair to lose without getting the ball in overtime, but there already was an everybody-gets-a-chance situation: the regular game. Losing in overtime is your punishment for not winning in regulation (and for not playing good special teams and defense in overtime).
Thanks to Debo270's stats, we see that the team that wins the toss wins the game 53.9% of the time and both teams get the ball 70% of the time. That's fair enough.
I'm a Vikings fan, and I hated losing the NFC Championship the way the Vikes did last year, but those are the rules. (And the Vikings voted against this rule change.)
If it's still tied after that, let the kickers decide it by starting at the 30 and moving back 5 yards until someone misses.
That will never, ever, ever happen, and it shouldn't.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:26 AM on January 07, 2011
Syracuse's #1 took a shot at at Hilburn in the end zone before he saluted, which could've been an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, too.
Was Stanford's #5 flagged for celebrating after this touchdown? He gestured towards the crowd after scoring, too.
posted by kirkaracha at 07:39 PM on December 31, 2010
I thought I couldn't dislike Brady more. I was wrong.
posted by kirkaracha at 08:25 PM on December 17, 2010
I've never been excited by Childress, but I appreciate what he's done for the Vikings. Up until this season he increased their record by 2 wins a season, and he's brought some great players to the team (Peterson and Harvin).
However, the offense about as conventional and predictable as you can imagine. There's no excuse for such a vanilla offense with the array of offensive weapons the Vikings have, and I blame Childress for that.
Childress failed this season. The Vikings had some injuries, but nothing compared to the Packers, who are doing great this season thanks to good coaching that makes the best use of the available players. The Vikings were in must-win territory for at least three games, and Childress failed to get the team prepared. They almost lost to the Cardinals, and only won because they played the last four minutes like they played most of last season. Then they came out flat against the Bears and gave up 150 return yards to Devin Hester, again due to terrible coaching.
The second loss to the Packers was the last straw. They were more evenly matched when they played a couple of weeks ago, and the Vikings would've won except for shady calls that gave the Packers a touchdown (which Childress didn't challenge) and took a touchdown away from the Vikings (Shaincoe's). To get blown out at home was pathetic.
posted by kirkaracha at 05:17 PM on November 23, 2010
Before we get too carried away kicking Childress' ass over the Favre signing, if he had run on that last play against the Saints, he gets enough yardage to give Ryan Longwell a chance to kick a 47-yarder with around 15 seconds left to put the Vikings in the Super Bowl.
But he wouldn't have needed the yardage if Childress hadn't had twelve men on the field coming out of a timeout.
posted by kirkaracha at 05:04 PM on November 23, 2010
Again, we're talking the same coach who had them a few points from the Super Bowl just last year.
And 12 men in the huddle after a timeout in the NFC Championship.
posted by kirkaracha at 08:14 PM on November 12, 2010
Why the fuck did they trade for him in the first place? Tell my one thing--anything--they didn't know about him when they traded for him. He takes plays off. He shoots his mouth off. He sometimes has a bad attitude. He's a great wide receiver. If Favre can be a prima donna at press conferences, why can't Moss? Who's going to replace him? Sidney Rice isn't ready to come back. This doesn't make any goddamn sense.
It's vaguely reminiscent of the Herschel Walker trade, where the Vikings mortgaged their future for Herschel Walker, then tried to make him fit their system instead of building a system around him. How many times, total, in the games that Moss played did the Vikings even throw to him, maybe 12? Last week Favre threw as many complete passes to the Packers as he did to Moss.
posted by kirkaracha at 05:23 PM on November 01, 2010
Here's what I saw on the replay: The football's on the ground in the end zone and a Dolphins player falls on it. He's lying down. The instant a Steelers player touches him, he's down and it's Dolphins ball.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:29 AM on October 25, 2010
Great regular-season manager, bad postseason manager. Following the Braves in the '90s--arguably the best pitching rotation in the history of baseball--is how I learned about what happens when you leave pitchers in too long.
posted by kirkaracha at 01:35 AM on October 14, 2010
The Vikings used to run that play during Moss' first stint, and here's how it's supposed to work (Sidney Rice to Shiancoe).
posted by kirkaracha at 01:32 AM on October 14, 2010
I think it has been written somewhere that in the imagination of some folks in the South, the continuum of history stops abruptly and is suspended at the beginning of Pickett's Charge
For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two o'clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods and the furled flags are already loosened to break out and Pickett himself with his long oiled ringlets and his hat in one hand probably and his sword in the other looking up the hill waiting for Longstreet to give the word and it's all in the balance, it hasn't happened yet, it hasn't even begun yet, it not only hasn't begun yet but there is still time for it not to begin against that position and those circumstances which made more men than Garnett and Kemper and Armistead and Wilcox look grave yet it's going to begin, we all know that, we have come too far with too much at stake and that moment doesn't need even a fourteen-year-old boy to think This time. Maybe this time with all this much to lose than all this much to gain: Pennsylvania, Maryland, the world, the golden dome of Washington itself to crown with desperate and unbelievable victory the desperate gamble, the cast made two years ago.William Faulkner
I've been struggling to find the quote I read once by Marv Levy. While he was famous for using historic battles as inspirational stories before the Bills took the field, he was also clear to state that, "Football is not war."
I checked back in history and interviewed a bunch of guys who landed on the beaches of Iwo Jima and Normandy. And when they went in, they were all yelling, 'This is football!'Marv Levy
posted by kirkaracha at 10:02 AM on October 07, 2010
Favre could potentially have both Randy Moss and Sidney Rice as options in the second half of the season, with Percy Harvin underneath and All Day on the ground.
posted by kirkaracha at 07:56 PM on October 06, 2010
Daunte Culpepper was a badass when he was healthy. He was bigger and faster than the linebackers that were trying to tackle him, and he gave the Vikings a mobile QB threat they hadn't had in a long time and haven't really had since. I was a big fan until 2005.
Culpepper started the season 0-2, the suffered a season-ending knee injury. Backup Brad Johnson stepped in, won six straight games, and took the team to 9-7.
Then came The Love Boat. Along with several other players, Culpepper was "charged with indecent conduct, disorderly conduct and lewd or lascivious conduct."
After all that, he demanded a bigger salary. Let's see...you're injured, you didn't do that great before the injury, your replacement (who, by the way, had won the Super Bowl) salvaged a decent season, you embarrassed yourself and the team, and you want a raise? Nuh-uh. Buh-bye.
posted by kirkaracha at 09:00 PM on September 17, 2010
If he was shoved out of bounds, it would be called a TD.
Nope. The NFL eliminated the force-out rule in 2008.
posted by kirkaracha at 07:21 PM on September 14, 2010
If the Saints' two-point conversion is a catch, this is a catch. (But then the Saints got all the reviews in last season's playoffs: this one in the Super Bowl, and three out of three in overtime in the NFC Championship all went the Saints' way.)
posted by kirkaracha at 07:12 PM on September 14, 2010
Tyree's catch is the greatest play in Super Bowl history because it's the ultimate David Beats Goliath moment. It took great efforts on both ends of the play. Eli Manning scrambled out of an almost-sure sack, reminiscent of another guy who used to wear #10 for the Giants. Tyree's catch was all determination, catching a ball with his freaking helmet that most guys wouldn't have caught.
Yahoo blogger Chris Chase's objections are factually correct, but miss why it's the greatest play. There are moments in sports where a team is so close to winning they think they know they're going to win, everybody thinks they're going to win, and if that moment gets away from them it's psychologically devastating and practically impossible to recover from.*
On this play, the Patriots had Eli Manning cornered and were going to sack him, making it 4th-and-15+ and having to score a touchdown on a Hail Mary. "We're going to win the Super Bowl." The Giants scored the winning touchdown later, but they beat the Patriots on that play.
Jay's comment on the Fifth Down post sums it up pretty well:
"1. manning's escape was pretty amazing itself. he was wrapped up at around the 35-40 yard line, and if he's sacked it's now 4th and 15 or 4th and 20.
2. he caught it against his HELMET.
3. with ONE HAND.
4. in the super bowl.
5. against the (formerly) undefeated patriots, who it was widely believed could not be beaten.
6. david tyree isn't dwight clark, franco harris or bart starr. he's david tyree - a great all-around athlete with amazing hands, a guy that wasn't fast enough to be any more than a utility guy - a jack of all trades whose value to the team lay primarily in the fact that his special teams play and devotion to the game were unparalleled. david tyree wasn't even really supposed to be playing a receiving role for that giants team - if jeremy shockey hadn't been injured, it's doubtful tyree even gets a shot."
* Other examples:
- The Vikings missing a a 38-yard field goal in the 1998 NFC Championship.
- The San Francisco Giants blowing a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh in Game 6 of the 2002 World Series, with a 3-2 series lead.
- The Boston Red Sox blowing s 5-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.
Fun fact: I was rooting for the eventual losers in all examples. I love sports, yay.
posted by kirkaracha at 02:15 PM on August 04, 2010
I always got the impression that Kobe was most concerned about his stats and about his greatness/legacy -- which often leads to winning but not always. Jordan was just focused on winning.
I read an article several years ago--I think on ESPN's web site--that said both Bryant and Jordan used feuds to motivate themselves, but Bryant would ensure that his individual stats were better than whoever he was feuding with even if his team lost, and Jordan would ensure that his team won regardless of his individual stats.
Jordan was 6-0 in the NBA Finals (won 24 games, lost 11) and the Bulls never lost more than 2 games in any Finals. Bryant is 5-2 (won 23 games, lost 15).
Who does Kobe have?
Phil Jackson. 11 NBA titles as a coach.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:12 PM on June 18, 2010
Instead of paying this guy $10+ million and wondering if he's any good, they can hire me and they can wonder if I'd be any good. Shoot, I'd be happy to provide uncertainty about my potential for $5 million, which would save them millions of dollars!
posted by kirkaracha at 06:13 PM on June 10, 2010
If you find yourself in a hole, keep digging! This would've all been forgotten over soon enough if he hadn't decided to be a crybaby about it. Now it's the #1 search result for "Bengie Molina." I'm sorry his feelings are hurt, but he can dry his tears with million-dollar bills.
He's 35 years old, a veteran catcher with a veteran catcher's knees, is built for comfort not for speed, and describes himself as the slowest guy in baseball. He didn't have any business going for home in that situation. The ball didn't roll far enough away and he was slowing down as he came into third.
If I'm an opposing team, I make sure the organist or music operator plays "Chariots of Fire" every time he comes up to bat.
Every away game at-bat until he retires.
posted by kirkaracha at 06:07 PM on May 13, 2010
I was at the A's-Rays game! On Saturday. D'oh.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:30 PM on May 10, 2010
At least the mullet is greased back. Maybe he's a Dapper Dan man.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:18 PM on April 28, 2010
1) If straight players are allowed, and it's a gay league, how can bisexuals not be allowed?
2) The Gay Softball World Series web site is the least gay gay-themed web site ever.
posted by kirkaracha at 02:51 PM on April 22, 2010
I really like Chester Taylor and wish the Vikings had kept him, but he wanted more money and more playing time than they were willing to give him. I don't think the Vikings wanted to pay him what the Bears did, and it was too much for being Adrian Peterson's backup. It'd probably be better long-term for them to get someone younger, instead of past-their-prime guys like Tomlinson or Brian Westbrook. (Although Westbrook might be great for a one-year run.)
posted by kirkaracha at 05:14 PM on March 16, 2010
Sympathy for Tony Kornheiser: "He may be a rotten bastard, but his ESPN bosses are idiots for suspending him."
posted by kirkaracha at 04:35 PM on February 24, 2010
The other word that comes to mind when I think about Westbrook is 'overworked'.
Westbrook was 31.4% of the Eagles' offense in 2006 and 36.7% in 2007, then slacked off to 23.9% in 2008. He's their career leader in yards from scrimmage, #2 in yards rushing, #3 in receptions and TDs, and owns the franchise single-season record for most yards from scrimmage in a season and and most receptions in a season.
He's 30 and coming off a low-impact year due to injury. I think he's got some gas left in the tank and I wouldn't mind the Vikings picking him up if they let Chester Taylor go. But then if they're stupid enough to let Taylor go they aren't smart enough to pick up Westbrook.
posted by kirkaracha at 02:25 PM on February 24, 2010
Congratulations to the Saints for a solid win in the Super Bowl. As a Vikings fan I well never feel that the Saints deserved to be there, but they outplayed the Colts and deserved to win. They showed a lot of strength coming back after being down 10-0, and the onside kick to open the second half was one of the ballsiest plays I've ever seen in the Super Bowl.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:41 AM on February 08, 2010
Cris Carter was in the final 10 last year, but not this year.
Carter finished No. 2 behind Jerry Rice in career receptions (1,101) and touchdowns (130) by a receiver. On December 28, 2008 Marvin Harrison of the Indianapolis Colts passed Carter to take the second place position in career receptions. He is one of only six players in NFL History with 1,000 or more receptions (1,101). He is one of only two players to record 120+ receptions in a season twice, along with Wes Welker...Carter owns the record for most 12+ reception games in a single season(4) in 1995.
posted by kirkaracha at 06:12 PM on February 07, 2010
When did commercials aired durng the Super Bowl become SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS?
posted by kirkaracha at 05:10 PM on February 04, 2010
Peyton Manning has been the quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts since 1998 and has started every game each season.
Vikings starting quarterbacks since 1998: Brad Johnson, Randall Cunningham, Jeff George, Daunte Culpepper, Todd Bouman, Spergon Wynn, Gus Frerotte, Brad Johnson, Tarvaris Jackson, Kelly Holcomb, Brooks Bollinger, Gus Frerotte, and Brett Favre. (Johnson and Frerotte left the team and came back; Johnson won the Super Bowl in the interim.)
This year was the first season since 2004 (and only the fourth since 1995) that a Vikings quarterback started all 16 games.
posted by kirkaracha at 06:56 PM on February 02, 2010
That's the thing about Howard_T; he's not afraid to make a dumb comment. That's one of the things I most admire about him. Whaddaya know, it works!
Here's the replay of Favre's late-game interception. The line of scrimmage is the Saints 38. Favre was on the 40 when he threw the ball. It looks like Percy Harvin was open along the sideline around the 35 when Favre threw the ball, but Harvin had his back to Favre.
I don't think Favre could gained that many yards by running. One of the Saints linebackers (#65?) is spying him and moving laterally along the 32 yard line. If Favre had run, I think the linebacker would've tackled him or run him out of bounds around the 36 for maybe a 3-yard gain.
posted by kirkaracha at 06:12 PM on January 25, 2010
A key play was late in the second quarter when the Vikings fumbled on the New Orleans 4 yard line two plays after recovering Reggie Bush's muffed punt at the 10. A Vikings touchdown there would've demoralized the Saints.
Also, letting the Saints run the opening kickoff in overtime all the way to the 40 was frustrating, since kick coverage was a weakness in 2008 that the Vikings had improved on this season.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:09 PM on January 25, 2010
Yeah, he signed a two-year deal. I thought Favre would've definitely retired if the Vikings had won the Super Bowl, and probably would've come back otherwise, but after seeing him getting the shit knocked out of him tonight, I'm not so sure.
posted by kirkaracha at 01:28 AM on January 25, 2010
As unhappy as I am with the "pass interference" call in overtime, the Vikings shouldn't have allowed the opening kickoff in OT to get to the 40 in the first place. That was a weakness last season that they'd done a really good job with this season. Until tonight.
The Vikings turned the ball over twice in the red zone: that's a minimum of six points off the scoreboard in a game they lost by three.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:16 PM on January 24, 2010
The Saints defensive line did a great job at pressuring Favre, and their offensive line had good run blocking. I thought the Vikings would've done better than the Saints on both counts, and I was mistaken. The Vikings defensive line couldn't put much pressure on Brees, and the offensive line let Favre get beat up too much after doing a great job against the Cowboys last week.
If last week's 'Pants on the Ground' had not become 'Balls on the Ground,' Favre would be leading the Vikes to the bowl.
I don't want to be a sore loser, but it seemed to me like the Vikings turnovers were almost all unforced errors rather than the Saints knocking the ball loose.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:54 PM on January 24, 2010
Not sure if that's his last pass as a Viking, but it looked eerily similar to his last pass as a Packer.
You don't get to overtime in a conference championship game if your quarterback is bad. The Vikings wouldn't have made it this far this season without Favre, and the Packers wouldn't have made is this far in 2008.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:48 PM on January 24, 2010
Matt Cain pitches first-ever perfect game for the Giants
I think the Astros and Rays are among the teams more frequently victimized by no-hits and perfectos.
That was the first-ever perfect game against the Astros and only the fifth no-hitter against them.