04/18/24
Recent Posts by owillis
April 08, 2003
NFL Arbitrator who ruled for Redskins...: is a 'Skins season ticket holder. The Redskins were surprisingly awarded KR Chad Morton, the fourth Jets player to be picked up by the Redskins this offseason. The Jets are not happy. The first game of the season is Washington vs. NYJ.
posted by owillis to football at 08:44 PM - 8 comments
March 14, 2003
Junior Seau Out In San Diego?: "While refusing to say if the team was unhappy with the 34-year-old Seau, coach Marty Schottenheimer said Friday that letting the player and his agent pursue a trade was best for both sides." I know that the Chargers defense wasn't hot, but when they went 1-15 one of the only bright spots was Say-Ow and it doesn't even look like salary cap was the issue at hand here.
posted by owillis to football at 06:27 PM - 4 comments
March 09, 2003
NASCAR's Rise: "Consider, 4 out of 5 NBA players are African American, 67 percent of NFL players are minorities, and last season, 23 percent of major league baseball players were born in Spanish-speaking countries (an increase of 40 percent from 1989). All of those sports, except football, are experiencing a dip in popularity. Meanwhile, the conspicuously white NASCAR is on an unprecedented run up the profit chart."
posted by owillis to other at 11:32 AM - 4 comments
March 04, 2003
NFL flirts with L.A. again.: Seems like the Chargers exercised their escape clause with Qualcomm Stadium, and the same old folks in L.A. are trying to woo them north. Never mind that people in Los Angeles could either care less about NFL football or root for an out-of-town team.
posted by owillis to football at 11:56 PM - 6 comments
December 12, 2002
Is LeBron James doomed to fail?: I think it's kind of ridiculous for a high school basketball player to be featured on national television, with the sort of hype he's generating. What next - televised one on one from the playground of St. Francis Pre-School?
posted by owillis to basketball at 11:10 PM - 9 comments
December 09, 2002
NFL WEEK 14
It's playoff crunch time, and you either "win or go home".
Can the Patriots repeat last year's success? Michael Vick ain't Superman. Yet (proving once again that players need to shut the hell up the week before a big one). Philly's D gets prep to feast on the woeful Wuerffel-led Redskins. The Raiders flip the bird to the young'ns. The Titans surge back, while the Chiefs put the nail in the Rams hype coffin.
NEW POWERHOUSE: Houston Texans?
The rest of us sigh in pain as our teams once again play for draft picks.
December 05, 2002
Area Man Thinking Up Funny Things To Say For Next Football Game: "Kordell Stewart may end up starting at quarterback, and I've pretty much run through every Kordell joke in the book over the years," said Patek, poring over the USA Today sports page. "Do I joke about how he could get yanked in favor of a guy with a concussion and spinal-cord injury? I could, but I'd have to be careful."
posted by owillis to football at 10:10 AM - 3 comments
December 01, 2002
Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders: "Right now I’m injured. I’ve got a sprained big toe—you know, turf toe—and some kind of a stress fracture or heel spur. It’s all in the same foot, too, so that’s pretty bad. I try not to talk about it because I don’t want to be sidelined. That’s one of the big differences between the players and us. If I were a player, I’d have 10 doctors looking at it right now"
posted by owillis to football at 12:49 PM - 7 comments
November 26, 2002
"They don't like us with a passion and we feel the same way about them": Redskins vs. Cowboys (Thanksgiving Day) rates among the longest running blood feuds in the NFL (Packers/Bears beats it in longevity). But you have to wonder how much free agency and rapid roster changes has tinkered with that. It doesn't help when coaches flip teams as well, unlike George Allen who had a maniacal obsession with "America's Team" - you don't exactly see that sort of intensity from Steve Spurrier and Dave Campo. Some highlights from Skins-Boys contests (for Skins fans *ahem*, it's been more low than high the past ten years).
posted by owillis to football at 09:57 PM - 3 comments
November 24, 2002
NFL Week 12 RoundUp (aka That's Why They Play The Game Week)
Welcome to the alternate universe. Up is down and down is up. The madness just never stops - thank you parity.
Danny Freaking Wuerffel over Kurt (I'm Not Marc Bulger) Warner (even weirder: Mike Martz admits mortality, what next, Brian Billick? Nah.)
Ricky "Remember Me?" Williams piles 30 on the slipping Chargers
Here's a note for Mike Sherman: I understand you're unhappy about losing to the Bucs. But if you're going to pick a fight... why would you pick one of the scariest men in football? Next time, pick a kicker (not Todd Sauerbrun, though). I thought Sapp's shot was perfectly legal, by the way.
The Fire Morhinweg movement got ample fodder today, with the Lions braintrust choosing to kick the ball in overtime. Never mind that the receiving team almost always wins. These are the Lions, and they don't make much sense.
The Texans get another notch on their belt against the G-Men (Anybody ready to join the Shut The Hell Up, Jeremy Shockey club?)
Do you remember when the Panthers were 3-0? That was a long time ago.
Uh-oh, the Jets aren't dead yet. Please, don't allow that silly cheer into the postseason. ("I can spell! S-P-E-L-L! SPELL SPELL SPELL!")
There's this team named the Browns. I never see them on tv, but word is they beat the Saints. Good for them.
When you go 15-1 and miss the Superbowl, there is hell to pay. Welcome to purgatory, Vikings fans.
No guarantee from the Bungles Bengals?
Dallas won, Emmett carried the ball. Jerry Jones logic: Bench Him!
Cardinals vs. Raiders: New division, same Cardinals.
The Seahawks will be just fine as long as Jeff George keeps his hands tightly gripped onto that clipboard.
Baseball score 13-12 as Titans drop to the Ravens. Brian Billick polishes "offensive genius" award every night before bed.
Currently: Broncos are up vs. Colts (on the frozen tundra of Mile High Stadium)
Monday: Donovan "Franchise" McNabb to Koy "Mountain Man" Detmer? NFC East may be wide open...
Inside: A Turkey Day Letter from Owillis to Steve Spurrier
posted by owillis to football at 10:02 PM - 18 comments
November 23, 2002
Quarterback Drought?: Mike Celzic says the superstar list is short: Favre, Warner, McNabb, Gannon. It's all downhill from there. Are you okay with a "manager" QB for your team - winning by using defense and minimizing offensive mistakes, or would you prefer a gunslinger who straps the team to his back and wins the big one?
posted by owillis to football at 12:55 PM - 5 comments
November 21, 2002
First Sign of the Apocalypse: Kicker Feud! Todd Sauerbrun takes on the Gramatica Brothers: "If he would have said the wrong thing to me there's no telling what I might have done ... that kid is as big of an idiot as his brother, and I'm sure his other brother is, too. It goes right down the line.'' Two kickers enter, one kicker leaves: SUNDAY!
posted by owillis to football at 09:46 PM - 8 comments
November 18, 2002
NFL Week 11 Wrap Up
Did the Raiders shed the demons of last year's "tuck"?
There seems to be a Campbell's Soup curse - Terrell Davis, Kurt Warner, and now Mr. McNabb. Maybe the victorious Strahan & Co. should put out insurance before their playoff run.
Maddox went down, ditto Griese. Peter King thinks the backup QBs aren't looking so bad. (witness Marc Bulger auditioning for a big time contract tonight) -- but weren't we lamenting the decline of QB talent just a year ago and the rise of the "QB as manager"?
Can someone tell me what happened to the Packers?
In the "no shock" category: Dolphins swoon in fall, Christie kicks a winner (that guy covering T.O. got torched though!), Bucs win with defense (AND Crybaby Keyshawn got the ball), Colts stomp "America's (Bad) Team".
Vick may start something special, is Bledsoe still an MVP candidate?
In the "-tons" category: Pennington edges out Harrington
Someone tell the Bungles to stop guaranteeing wins and learn some football.
posted by owillis to football at 10:26 AM - 13 comments
November 03, 2002
An NBA makeover, bless you, ESPN: "The network that already carries pro baseball, football and hockey thinks it can lure even more viewers to the pro basketball audience. After all, this is a marketing team that made Lee Corso hip." I laughed my butt off when I saw the commercial with David Stern waiting for some bathroom time.
posted by owillis to culture at 11:52 AM - 0 comments
October 29, 2002
Dear Seahawks Fans: Your team is in trouble. You signed Jeff George. That Jeff George. Yeah, him. That guy. There he goes again. I like to call him "cancer man". Is the Walrus experiment over with? Continued proof that coaches shouldn't be GMs?
posted by owillis to football at 05:11 PM - 8 comments
October 19, 2002
How bad are the Bengals?: "Hamilton County's three commissioners want to know if the Bengals' failure to field a competitive team violates the lease. The commissioners unanimously voted Wednesday to ask county prosecutor Michael Allen for a legal opinion on the subject." The Ickey Shuffle. So long ago.
posted by owillis to football at 01:34 PM - 3 comments
October 18, 2002
How much are they making?: "USA TODAY's baseball salaries database contains year-by-year listings of salaries for Major League Baseball players on opening day rosters, 1988 through the current season." Man, thats a lot of money to be outta the playoffs so quick... hehe
October 16, 2002
CriminalSports: Like a police blotter for the athletic set
posted by owillis to general at 03:30 PM - 6 comments
October 10, 2002
Wide Receivers: Jerks.: "Moss is an NFL wide receiver, and NFL wide receivers, by and large, are jerks. Not dirty players, mind you, or murderous off-field thugs—just your basic, run-of-the-mill jerks. At no other position will you find such a Rolodex of malcontents." I hear Jeff George and Ryan Leaf are starting a movement to get equal time for quarterbacks.
posted by owillis to football at 03:34 PM - 3 comments
October 03, 2002
"I.. love: Playing two hand touch, eating way too much, and watching my team win... with The Twins"
posted by owillis to culture at 01:28 AM - 13 comments
September 28, 2002
Stop the holy showboating: "It is impossible to watch a sporting event these days without some spiritual revival meeting breaking out. There are prayers before the game, prayers of thanksgiving for mighty athletic feats, kneeling in a circle after the game. We have prayers after touchdowns, heaven-pointing after home runs, signs of the cross before free throws. It seems most post-game interviews begin with the 'thank the Lord' preamble."
posted by owillis to general at 12:09 AM - 6 comments
September 26, 2002
Randy Moss' mug shot and booking slip.: Also, Tice is letting him play this week. I guess he would have to "do an OJ" to get benched.
posted by owillis to football at 12:19 PM - 6 comments
September 19, 2002
Bill Lyon, of the Philadelphia Inquirer,: attempts to salvage the reputations of Eagles fans after Monday night's pepper spray debacle. The Washington Post's article cited a Redskins fan saying "It just gave the Eagles fans six hours to get rowdy. We showed up at 5:30, and by the time we got there, there was a sea of green taking over a section of the parking, and they were horrible.". Lyon says "Eagles fans are an easy target".
September 17, 2002
Thinking About Week 2: Oliver Willis dissects NFL Week 2
posted by owillis to commentary at 05:32 PM - 0 comments
September 15, 2002
The World According To Daniel Snyder: Love him, or (more likely) hate him - this story on the young billionaire NFL owner is interesting stuff: "Snyder goes through five newspapers a day and has three television monitors in his office, but says he's finished paying attention to media criticism. He believes he remains quite popular with the one constituency that he says really matters to him, the one he says shows him an overwhelming approval rating by faithfully renewing season tickets: "I represent the [expletive] fans, and the fans are good! The fans are right!"
posted by owillis to football at 02:32 AM - 3 comments