- 12:48 PM
- 03/20/10
and fathering five children by four women
Not impressed. Had it been four children by five women, then we'd be talking.
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:52 PM on March 18
I view this tournament with great respect.
My family, not so much.
posted by wfrazerjr at 05:33 PM on March 16
Video of both crashes courtesy of SI.
posted by wfrazerjr at 02:34 PM on March 09
Releasing a story with information you've had for a longgggg time on the exact day the guy you're slagging has a new show debuting goes a lot farther for me in explaining the paper's motive than Smits' credibility or sheer coincidence. It could have easily been avoided by either going sooner or waiting a bit longer, and now whether intentional or not, some readers will view the timing as douchebaggery.
As for small-time, I would offer that being the golf writer at the Jacksonville paper falls more easily into that category than being the focus of a reality show on a television network.
posted by wfrazerjr at 02:25 PM on March 03
Rogers, if you were the ME of the Jacksonville paper and sports wanted to run this story on the exact same day Daly's new show starts, you wouldn't have looked at it and thought, "I dunno ... doesn't it make us look petty and vindictive?"
Because it makes the paper look petty and vindictive.
posted by wfrazerjr at 12:49 PM on March 03
As a relatively new Canadian, bender, I can tell you the Tim Horton's mania sweeps over you suddenly and surely. Even despite my background as a newspaperman and coming from a family of coffee addicts, I drank very little until I moved here.
Now? At least one a day, and sometimes two or three of customers bring them. I don't like coffee ... but I sure do like Timmie's.
They add an addictive chemical to their coffee that makes you crave it fortnightly, smartass...
I'm not affected -- I'm on the Garth Brooks juice diet.
posted by wfrazerjr at 06:42 PM on March 02
I feel your pain, Spitz -- I opened the competition 0-1 yesterday, but damn it, I'm not going to quit trying!
A few years ago, a guy who I used to split space with in my store and his ex-wife were riding together to get the ex-wife's support from the bank. I'm much closer with the ex-wife than I am with the jerk, who turned out to be a liar, nuts and a thief all in one fell swoop.
Anyhow, the guy got to the ATM and surprise -- there's no cash for child support. Stiffed, he at least offered to buy a couple coffee with the $5 he had. They both drink the same coffee, so she picked one and shortly thereafter dropped him back at work.
She didn't roll up the rim until after she got back to her job -- and won $1,000.
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:27 AM on March 02
More evidence of why I don't miss ESPN one fucking bit.
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:19 AM on March 02
Great link on RISD, yerfatma.
posted by wfrazerjr at 03:30 PM on March 01
Those fans knew what they had just witnessed.
Unlike the majority of people in Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Phoenix and other NHL franchise cities with no hockey history.
posted by wfrazerjr at 08:39 AM on March 01
I read it and all I can think of is this.
Maybe Owl would be so kind as to write a beginner's dictionary of cricket for us yearnin' to be learnin'.
Cricket is a beach sport on Wii?
posted by wfrazerjr at 08:11 AM on February 25
It's not "Lee Corso Has A Baby Arm" epic, but not bad.
posted by wfrazerjr at 08:06 AM on February 25
Owl, someday I'm going to sit down and acquaint myself with that game. It looks interesting and the terminology is awesome, but I could not understand a word of that.
posted by wfrazerjr at 06:29 PM on February 24
I'm surprised you've never heard of her. She's been a SportsCenter anchor since 2008 and was a CBS Sports mainstay for a bunch of years before that.
I haven't seen ESPN since I moved out of the country. Amazingly, here in Canada, TSN has an hour-long sports highlights show (SportsCentre) where they talk about sports, show highlights and the anchors don't try to turn themselves into stars by dropping catch phrases or dressing like an extra from an Austin Powers movie.
It's very refreshing.
posted by wfrazerjr at 12:16 AM on February 24
It must be quite a comedown to be on the outside depending on spoon-fed quotes from a bajillionaire's marketing team and never interacting with golfers as real people.
Or maybe it's a comedown being a golf writer and not being, y'know, allowed to talk to the golfer.
posted by wfrazerjr at 07:00 PM on February 23
They oughta give Tony a raise. Up until five minutes ago, I had no idea who Hannah Storm was.
Given the name, I would have guessed she was a contract girl for Vivid.
posted by wfrazerjr at 06:56 PM on February 23
Hello? Marc-Andre Fleury?
posted by wfrazerjr at 09:35 AM on February 22
LINE OF THE DAY: I'm playing Tiger Woods Online and a guy named Namemaker just came on and said, "How do you activate the Perkins' waitress feature?"
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:13 PM on February 19
Wayne Frazer: Humanity Brings Out The Worst In Christopher Hitchens
posted by wfrazerjr at 09:43 AM on February 10
I did a little searching to see what sort of t-shirts are out there and how they compare with the current Saints logo.
So here is the logo:
And here's a link to the first page of Google images for "Who Dat t shirts":
The NFL's complaint seems to be using the Saints logo with the phrase and the colors. There may be specific t-shirts out there using the exact New Orleans logo, and those are fair game to shut down. But unless they've trademarked every fleur-de-lis ever created, the colours black and gold and the phrase, I'd say they can suck it.
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:04 AM on February 04
No seriously, you guys should check this out.
Errr, blowing up the Earth? That doesn't really make me want to root for UA.
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:50 AM on February 02
Another problem, Edwards said, is that coaches are having more and more trouble relating to their players because of the cultural gap that exists between the two groups. He said not enough is being done to bridge the gap between white coaches and black players, which often leads to conflict and rebellion because the two sides don't have enough respect for one another.
"At the end of the day," Edwards said, "you have a situation where it's Lawrence Welk and Pat Boone talking to Snoop Dogg, Ludacris and Vanilla Ice in the locker room. They don't get it. They don't understand it."
Speaking of cultural gaps ...
posted by wfrazerjr at 04:47 PM on February 01
Boy, it's awfully tough to pick between A & B there, huh?
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:33 PM on January 28
What makes Brett Favre NOT run?
Same thing I thought, and here's what I posted:
You thought the same thing we all thought, Joe your ankle's good enough to be in the game and good enough to roll out, so it's damned well good enough to go another 4-5 yards before you slide.
I'm also pretty tired of hearing how the Vikings wouldn't have been a playoff team without Favre this season. As was pointed out by Bill (#60) above, Minnesota was 10-6 last season with less talent, younger receivers and the utterly awful Jackson/Frerotte combo under center. I believe if you put Sage Rosenfels into this situation, you get almost exactly the same result not necessarily through QB play, but because the Vikes would have continued to rely on Peterson and Taylor through the second half of the season instead of succumbing to be "The Brett Favre Show" as they did.
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:40 AM on January 26
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Kelly Kulick left all the guys in the gutter.
In Vegas, aren't chances good most of them are already there?
posted by wfrazerjr at 12:27 PM on January 25
I dunno ... there have been several arses in and out of here lately.
posted by wfrazerjr at 01:49 PM on January 24
Not written about a sports team, but ... "Brass Bonanza" is the greatest piece of music ever played in any arena anywhere.
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:25 PM on January 22
Man, that's awful. Are Wendy and Lisa in the background making it sound like a funeral dirge?
posted by wfrazerjr at 02:01 PM on January 22
Wow, incredible story. I want this guy's movie rights!
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:49 PM on January 20
*jaw drops*
I ...
I hope they sign Jason "White Chocolate" Williams. He sounds like the kinda guy they're looking for.
posted by wfrazerjr at 07:32 PM on January 20
What's so obvious is that one's perspective on this is so driven my what one thinks of the Vikings/Favre or the Cowboys.
I hate both teams. This just made me hate the Vikings and Favre a little more.
posted by wfrazerjr at 04:22 PM on January 20
I'll hate myself in the morning, but:
posted by wfrazerjr at 04:16 PM on January 20
Has anyone watched the video I linked?
Anyone?
posted by wfrazerjr at 05:42 PM on January 19
It's fitting the NFL is haveing The Who play the Super Bowl halftime show.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:19 PM on January 18
You can take the hoser out of the Hoosier state, but you can't take the hoosier out of the hoser. (As a funny aside, my wife is from downstate Illinois/St. Louis and they refer to country bumpkin types as "Hoosiers." I have no idea why they use this as a denigrating term, but it's real rich to hear in pot-kettle kind of way.)
I grew up outside of St. Louis and attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to learn there). "Hoosier" seems to be a pretty common pejorative through the Midwest, but having lived last in southern Indiana, I wore it proudly.
Woody Hayes was asked once why his Ohio State Buckeyes went for two late in a 50-14 win over Michigan in the '60s when they had a 34-point lead. His answer: "Because I couldn't go for three!"
Then he sucker-punched a player and ran screaming out of the locker room.
Or at least that's how I imagine it.
posted by wfrazerjr at 07:02 PM on January 18
This just in -- Jose Offerman is still an uncontrollable moron.
And Generalissimo Franco is still dead.
posted by wfrazerjr at 04:01 PM on January 18
I'm just not sure that "unnecessary" and "classless" are synonymous.
They aren't. "Unnecessary" would be leaving Favre in the game at that point. "Classless" would be throwing the ball and jumping around like a fucking tool after you move the lead from 20 to 27 points.
Like I said earlier, if you're using the end of the game to give some work to your second string, I get throwing into the end zone. It's the same principal as my dreaded Dallas Academy defense -- you're using the time constructively, so the other team has to suck it up.
What the Vikings did, though, just makes them look like asses, but given their quarterback and head coach, it fits.
Nice gotta bring your politics into it. (how's your guy working out so far? sorry, back to the thread)
"My guy" would be Jack Layton, seeing as I'm Canadian. I left the U.S. in 2004 partially because it became obvious to me Bush was going to be re-elected.
posted by wfrazerjr at 03:36 PM on January 18
Why isn't anyone asking why Favre was still even in the game at that point? Is Childress now completely afraid to pull him out, even in a blowout when you could getting Rosenfels or Jackson a little time?
Hell, if one of those two guys had thrown the TD, I wouldn't have any issue with it -- it would have resulted from an honest attempt to knock some rust off in case Favre went down with an injury later in the postseason.
But for Favre to be jumping around and throwing the No. 1 in the air after he changed the score from 27-3 to 33-3? It doesn't surprise me in the least, but that's completely classless.
That poll is interesting, but I think majority opinion is a piss-poor guideline for deciding whether something is right or wrong.
Given that Americans re-elected Dubya in 2004, I agree.
posted by wfrazerjr at 12:13 PM on January 18
That didn't go well.
posted by wfrazerjr at 09:22 PM on January 17
Yesyesyesyesyes!
Anything Neil Peart touches is pure frickin' gold.
posted by wfrazerjr at 06:21 PM on January 16
There's another really interesting story linked off the same page about the CBC trying to silence people criticize Don Cherry.
posted by wfrazerjr at 05:30 PM on January 16
I'd say the handshake -- how long do you have to practice that with the other guy before you get it down?
posted by wfrazerjr at 02:04 PM on January 16
Oops ... I got engrossed in reading the one about the photographers and goofed. Thanks, rcade.
I'm hoping they break up the exclusive license, because now Reebok's merchandise has gone through the roof with no apparent jump in quality.
posted by wfrazerjr at 07:38 PM on January 15
According to Fanhouse, Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley will get the job.
posted by wfrazerjr at 01:36 PM on January 15
I thought athletes weren't role models?
Doesn't mean that when they do a story about how negative health effects of steroids are all conky-dink that it's true.
So when a high-profile reporter who has been covering the steroids beat says, "Man, I may have been spreading misinformation this whole time?" that doesn't mean anything? How much more mainstream do you get than Keteyian?
posted by wfrazerjr at 08:46 PM on January 14
Especially considering the timing of the operation. Given what we hear about players not wanting to attend spring training, this is a convenient way to say, "Well, I'm healing. See you when the season starts."
posted by wfrazerjr at 03:04 PM on January 14
I'm sure that doesn't mean what it looks like it means.
So you're sure you know what's in the report without watching the report. Gotcha.
And "Real Sports" is crackpot now?
posted by wfrazerjr at 12:14 PM on January 14
Yerfatma, you could watch the link and find out. Alzado's doctor is not in the segment, but he's quoted as saying there's no definitive link between steroids and Alzado's death.
Armen Keteyian reports and talks with a couple of doctors who say not only have there been no studies which actually link steroids to heart and liver damage in healthy men, one of them likens the hysteria to Dick Cheney and WMDs.
I don't link this as anything to do with my quixotic sympathy for McGwire. I link it because I'd never heard this, and when Keteyian says in the wrap with Bryant Gumbel that if someone wanted to point the finger for spreading misinformation, he'd be a good target, that's pretty powerful.
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:42 AM on January 14
Oh. My. God.
This is the best blog ever. Thanks for the link, Dusted -- I'm getting my Club Trillion shirt autographed.
posted by wfrazerjr at 12:13 AM on January 14
Because of the health risks associated with that junk, it's not a hard decision.
Really? HBO's Real Sports begs to differ. To be honest, I hadn't watched this either. Pretty eye-opening stuff, and I'd suggest if you're pushing the "steroids will kill you eventually" line, you need to watch it. Even Alzado's doctor says there's no link.
McGwire chose to go public, seeking forgiveness and support from baseball fans.
I'll have to watch the clips again -- I heard he said he was sorry for doing it. I didn't here him asking for forgiveness. Two different things, but I could be wrong.
Look, you guys want to bury him for this,and you're really being harsh on the guy. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, and I'm taking his side. I don't really understand what he did to make you all think he's the most heinous guy out there that did this, or why you're frying him for at least owning up to it, but that's your prerogative.
Or Bobby Brown's, maybe.
posted by wfrazerjr at 06:47 PM on January 13
On one hand you're saying that what McGwire did "wasn't illegal," but on the other you're saying he had good reason to fear prosecution. The informant was part of a case that netted 70 convictions.
When? When were these substances made illegal, and when were the convictions? It certainly wasn't in 1988, when McGwire is alleged to have started using them. I will say this -- the best I can find for a date when anabolic steroids were made illegal is in the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990, which doesn't jibe with what I'd read before. Can someone confirm this?
As for not taking them, good for you -- I'm glad you're sure with the pressure all around you to take them, you could have said no. Apparently, you would have been in the minority, as evidenced by this quote from the link:
"Everybody was taking steroids," the FBI informant told The News. "You could not go to gyms and not see monsters. Drugs were available. They were cheap."
Sounds like everyone back then was making the right decision.
Again, you're talking out of both sides of your mouth.
No, you just want to see it that way. I'm perfectly fine to let it sit the way it is -- McGwire said what he wanted to say, and I'm glad he did. I'd like to hear more about how everything went down, but I'd also have been fine if he never said anything.
I'm not sure how that's in the same line as:
A full accounting of everything he did, who he got it from, and what it did to him would be pretty nice.
In other words, the apology and resulting discussion should have been done to satisfy your needs, not his. That's the tenor I'm getting from just about everyone in here, and as holden asks -- why is it that way for McGwire and no one else? When are you all going to be calling for Brady Anderson's nuts in a jar?
As for unadulterated bullshit, you're right. I do think I'm one of the only people here being honest and fair in how this is being handled. I'm not reacting to McGwire's admission now -- I'm reacting to what I see as the amazing amount of acrimony toward McGwire when it hasn't been there in other cases.
posted by wfrazerjr at 03:09 PM on January 13
I don't know who you are having a conversation with, Frazer, but it isn't anyone in this thread.
It's directed at everyone in this thread who takes no pause to consider what they would have done in the same situation. Millions of dollars on the table, the tacit approval of the league, owners and fans and -- again -- it wasn't illegal. Was it wrong? In my eyes, yes, it was, and I was glad to finally hear McGwire talk a little bit about it. Do I hope it talks more? Yes, I do, but if he doesn't, it's really none of my fucking business.
This overarching need for some of you to get a "full disclosure" or pissed at the timing -- it's like you feel he owes you something. Why? Did he come shoot you up? Did he run over your dog in a steroid rage? Nothing Mark McGwire did affected you in any way, shape or form.
As for records and the Maris family, can we point out here that Babe Ruth's family never acknowledged Roger's record, and for a much better reason -- he played eight more games. Are we going back to 60?
Afraid of prosecution? And you wouldn't be? They're going to dig around in his past, make life hell for him and his family and friends -- and for what? Something he did that wasn't illegal? Yes, by all means, I'm sure everyone here would have stepped up to take that when everyone else was just denying, denying, denying.
McGwire and his ilk shamed the game.
So did everyone else who let the sham continue for as long as it did. Bperk nailed it -- blame McGwire if you like (and I do), but there's plenty more to go around, and I think to even more deserving shoulders.
It's a great thing to have the truth out there but we all believe that the only reason that McGwire is doing this is because he wants to be able to come back to the game of baseball which he's doing with the Cardinals as a hitting coach but to also get in the good graces of the very writers who can vote for him to be included in the Hall of Fame which is important to him.
It's fine that you believe that, BI. I don't, at least not in its entirety. That means you can't use the word "all" there.
I expected, nay demanded, drug use from comedians in the 70s and 80s. A bit different from how I felt about baseball players.
Good thing a lot of them were using during the same time, huh? I wonder if Rock Raines should lose a few stolen bases for being hopped up on goofballs.
On preview:
What I'm learning from this conversation is never admit to anything, it's a trap. The people asking for it will never be satisfied when they finally get it. Something will be a little off or it'll be too scripted or you didn't say enough, it's not worth it, don't say anything.
Bingo.
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:40 AM on January 13
Maybe he should tell us, but you seem to be against disclosure.
No, I'm against people being more upset about McGwire not giving full disclosure than they were about Bill Clinton lying under oath.
It's fucking baseball, for Christ's sake. In the same fashion Robin Williams owes you fuckall for making you laugh at him while he was on coke, Mark McGwire owes you nothing for his transgressions. The drugs (and not even illegal drugs, and ones the masters of the game were glad to turn a blind eye to) made a man hit a ball a little farther than he would have without them. Big fucking deal.
Do I wish he'd come out and spilled the whole sordid story? Yes, I do, and maybe in time he will. McGwire is not a very public guy, and he's pretty obviously shredded over this (publicity gurus around him or not). At least he had the sac to step up and tell some of it. Cut the guy some fucking slack.
It's nothing but entertainment, period, and all this unholy hand-wringing over the soul of baseball? It hasn't had one for a longgggg time.
Finally, can I point out skinny little no-muscles McGwire his 49 home runs in 1987? 49.
Yes, clearly, it was all the steroids.
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:04 PM on January 12
But I guess I just understand it. I have some empathy. To wit, I guess if I were to walk a mile in their shoes I may have done the same thing.
Bingo, Weedy. McGwire said it himself -- he wished he'd never taken them and he wished he hadn't even played in the era where they were available.
I'm not giving him a clap on the back for doing it, but with what appears to be a large portion of the players similar to him doing exactly the same thing, I can't fault him either. Do you think they're weren't people telling him, "Everyone does it, it's not illegal and it will make you a better player and make you money?" Is it so hard to think you might not have made the same decision in his shoes?
And it mystifies me that the world wants to roast McGwire et al, but yet no one has the feet of the owners or the commissioner's office to the fire. If you and I knew what was going on, you think they didn't, and yet there were no harsh words until the cash cows were out of the game and the lid couldn't be kept on any longer. Why aren't people calling for Bud Selig to step down after overseeing what has to be the most widespread doping scandal in sports history?
Looking back now and vilifying McGwire and the rest while you enjoyed the games yourself knowing what you knew (and those in charge turned a blind eye) is self-serving, sanctimonious bullshit.
posted by wfrazerjr at 06:18 PM on January 12
A full accounting of everything he did, who he got it from, and what it did to him would be pretty nice.
Out of curiosity, why do you feel he owes you that?
And are you starting to grasp why maybe, just maybe guys in this situation don't feel comfortable coming forward? Hell, do you think he's in a better situation today than he was yesterday morning? Who's better in the public eye -- McGwire for coming clean or Sosa for keeping his mouth shut?
posted by wfrazerjr at 05:53 PM on January 12
Amazing.
The guy gets pilloried for five years after rightfully telling Congress to go fuck themselves (okay, not in so many words, but that's what he meant), and then when he does come clean, he gets burned at the stake.
What the hell do you people want?
posted by wfrazerjr at 05:15 PM on January 12
That booth was the worst I have ever heard calling an NFL game. Ken Hammond repeatedly called players by the wrong name, Joe Gibbs is a tongue-tied mess and Joe Theismann, well, he's Joe Theismann.
I did enjoy it, though, when Theismann said, "Carson Palmer's been high all day."
Sure as hell looked like it.
Oh, and can we put to rest any lingering discussion that Chad Johnson (I'm changing his name back for him since he doesn't have the balls to stick to his word) is a top-tier receiver? Darrelle Revis or not, that was a pathetic showing, especially on the pick, where Johnson made no effort to help on the tackle.
posted by wfrazerjr at 01:07 PM on January 11
I believe in overtime all reviews come from the booth -- at least I think that's what the referee said before the coin flip.
My first thought was the tuck rule, as Rodgers had changed his mind about the initial throw and was pulling the ball back down. My understanding of the tuck rule was that it applied only if the quarterback lost the ball of his own accord, but if that's true, it couldn't have been applied in the Patriots-Raiders game a few years ago, could it? And anyhow, as Mr. B. points out, the ball never hit the ground, so it's an interception if it isn't a fumble. The rule is here.
Here's a blog with a little animation of the play showing Rodgers kicking the ball right into Dansby's hands, along with a few other foot-related turnovers from this season. The Witten is my favourite.
posted by wfrazerjr at 01:03 PM on January 11
NHL May Prohibit Attempted Decapitations
You know how hits like Cooke's will stop?
Either A) The league makes the suspension that the offender is out until the victim returns or b) somebody goes Dr. Hook and bashes Cooke on his thick-headed fucking skull and removes him from the game permanently.