- 06:11 PM
- 11/07/09
| Name: | Wayne Frazer |
|---|---|
| Homepage URL: | http://fromhoosiertohoser.blogspot.com/ |
| Location: | Barrie, ONT Canada baby! |
| Gender: | male |
| Member since: | December 28, 2002 |
| Last visit: | November 07, 2009 |
wfrazerjr has posted 283 links and 3292 comments to SportsFilter and 13 links and 584 comments to the Locker Room and 78 columns.
The Hoser's NFL Picks 2009, Week Nine -- Haiku Edition: NFL picks that are later than the Octomom after a bender at a fertility clinic.
posted by wfrazerjr to football at 03:17 PM on November 06 - 4 comments
The Hoser's NFL Picks 2009, Week Eight -- Halloween Edition: NFL picks that would scare the pants off John Madden -- not that anyone really wants that.
posted by wfrazerjr to football at 07:51 AM on October 30 - 8 comments
The Hoser's NFL Picks 2009, Week Seven: NFL picks that wish they'd bring out the full run of Jabberjaw on DVD.
posted by wfrazerjr to football at 09:47 AM on October 23 - 1 comment
The Hoser's NFL Pick 2009, Week Six: NFL picks that are still looking for a Dr. Zoidberg costume for Halloween.
posted by wfrazerjr to football at 01:40 PM on October 16 - 6 comments
The Hoser's NFL Pick 2009, Week Five: NFL picks that hope they cast Samuel L. Jackson as Michael Vick in that eight-part miniseries.
posted by wfrazerjr to football at 01:37 PM on October 09 - 4 comments
There are no bad words, only bad intentions.
posted by wfrazerjr at 12:04 PM on November 05
And fraze, I humbly submit that if you frequently get middle fingers, then you are in fact causing cyclists to feel threatened.
They should feel threatened -- not by me, but by the two-ton missile I'm driving legally and safely.
And I'd humbly submit that you have no idea what you're talking about. As I described, I'm talking about cyclists riding in a pack on a four-lane road with an extra turn lane in the middle, and they are spread out into the passing lane and sometimes riding up the middle in the turn lane.
As Weedy said, it seems as if the cyclists have a hard-on for anyone driving a car, recklessly or not, and are courting confrontation. It's much worse in the GTA than here because it's much more open in my area, but it's still noticeable.
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:22 AM on November 05
BikeNut, that was extremely well said.
I'm certainly not advocating the injury of cyclists. I even used to take my big butt on the occasional ride, and I saw my fair share of morons behind the wheel.
But the cyclists I see on the news in Toronto talking about bike/car incidents don't seem to want to shoulder the blame for the number of riders who ignore traffic signals, weave in and out of traffic and generally ignore the laws which they seem to want to protect them from vehicles.
It reminds me of the lawyer joke -- the crooked lawyers are ruining the good names of the 1% who are honest. Until cyclist-rights advocacy groups do more to police the idiots in their own houses, I don't see the issue gaining much traction with those of us behind the wheel.
posted by wfrazerjr at 01:59 PM on November 03
Okay, so here's the part where I make people hate me.
Thompson deserves to be punished for this. Given that he told a traffic investigator that he "wanted to them a lesson," there's not much question of intent.
But if you read more of the testimony, you also find that Thompson says bicyclists taking up much of the road he lives on was a frequent occurrence. He also says the three riders in this instance were riding three-wide and when he honked and told them to ride single-file, they flipped him off and said, "Fuck you, asshole."
Of course, you also find Thompson has apparently been involved in other incidents, which leads me to believe this was intentional and deserves punishment.
The four-lane road I drive to get to my store in the morning is a popular one for cyclists, sometimes singles, sometimes large packs of 20 or more. At least half the time they are riding out across the slow lane and into the passing lane, or sometimes even in the turn lane up the middle of the road.
I couldn't count the number of times cyclists have veered into my path, cut in front of me to make a turn or flipped me off as I passed. I've never honked, never swerved my car toward them, never done anything threatening -- and yet I'm the bad guy.
I feel badly for the cyclists hurt in this incident. But I also recognize that they are experienced riders who should know that the law seems to generally be two abreast is the widest you can go. Given that they decided a nice middle finger and insults were the best way to handle someone pointing out that they needed to share the road, it doesn't surprise me in the least this happened.
In fact, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:11 AM on November 03
If there was any purpose to it other than hotdogging, then they would have tried it during a drive and not on an essentially meaningless two-point conversion.
Really? So the other team, if a defensive back had gotten lucky, he could pick it off and run it back for a touchdown? Because high-school rules declare the ball dead on an intercepted conversion attempt, which to me makes it the perfect time to try out a new wrinkle.
posted by wfrazerjr at 02:45 PM on October 31
Given that defensive backs are taught to read the quarterback's eyes and adjust, I think this is a brilliant play. If you watch the video, the entire defense is shifting toward the near side of the field, watching Briscoe obviously telegraphing the play.
That allows the backside receiver to slip out completely uncovered and rather than give the defense to adjust by turning to throw in a conventional motion, you get the "WTF?!?" factor of the behind-the-back pass.
There's an added bonus to this. I'm going to assume by the whupping administered by Baton Rouge Central they are a relatively good team, one that could make the playoffs. Don't you think every team they play from here on out is going to have to gameplan for this? Any time BRCHS is in close to the goalline, the opposing coaches will be yelling, "Watch the behind-the-back pass to the weak side!"
That means not only will they possibly be sending coverage to the area where Briscoe is least likely to throw, but the remainder of the defense will have in the back of its mind, "Got to be ready to go back the other direction, just in case!"
Brilliant, brilliant play.
posted by wfrazerjr at 01:52 PM on October 31
I tried it keeping them once, but it was so depressing I was forced to watch old John Madden broadcasts and pretend I was Brett Favre.
posted by wfrazerjr at 04:39 PM on October 30
Awww, you found the trick.
Actually the trick was I didn't want to have to pick that game. It's now fixed.
posted by wfrazerjr at 09:21 AM on October 30
Would you give up a World Series ticket for sex with this woman?
Hugh Grant would.
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:09 AM on October 28
Hugh Grant's career as a romantic leading man in movies easily could have been over if he didn't handle his skeevy hooker incident well.
My point was that Grant had to come out and say something or his career might have been over. His livelihood is directly dependent on his acceptance by the public. Of course, as I pointed out, Hollywood avoided him like Grant avoided attractive prostitutes for three or four years after that.
McGwire had no such pressing need. His career was done, and he is apparently a private man. I think it unfair to club him over the head with this because he wasn't willing to be the sacrificial lamb.
You also seem to think McGwire is hated. He's not, at least not among the people I know who were fans of his before. They seem to see the whole Congressional fiasco as unfortunate but understandable, and think, as I do, that maybe we would have treated it the same way.
I think there is a group of people who now have an intense dislike for McGwire which thinks he should have thrown himself on the steroids hand grenade for the good of baseball, no matter his own inclination or well-being. It's nice to assign that sort of bravery and selflessness to someone else, but I also think it's a little unfair to expect it -- unless you're absolutely certain you would have taken the bullet when everyone else around you (including a guy who outright lied to Congress) was ducking and dodging like crazy.
Again, do I believe he took steroids? Yes, I do. Do I think he was under institutional pressure to do so? Yes, I do. Do I think baseball knew exactly what was going on and gave its tacit approval until it became clear the public was unhappy about it? Yes, I do.
Do I fault the guy for not bowing to the pressure of a ridiculous Congressional circus and fearing being the only guy out there (aside from our grandstanding friend Jose Canseco) making himself available to be the punching bag for the press and public?
Not one bit.
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:52 AM on October 28
Sorry for my absence -- I'm trying to help set up the flow of NASCAR products into Canada for next year.
David Letterman played his audience like a fiddle when revealing his affairs. It became a blackmail story, not a smarmy boss story. The ones who seem to be hiding something are like chum for sharks.
If McGwire was smart, he could've put on a whole show before the Congressional hearing, complete with a sympathetic 60 Minutes interview and the like.
You've used David Letterman and Hugh Grant as models for what McGwire should have done. However, both of them -- as would be true for all "celebrity" examples -- were:
a) In the middle of lucrative careers, not done with them; b) Dependent on the public and media to provide them with fame and attention to continue those careers.
McGwire was finished in baseball and didn't need the publicity or the money. In face, as has been pointed out, he is a very private man who didn't seek the spotlight when he was playing the game.
If he was smart, he would have laid his soul bare to the American public? I don't see that as necessarily smart given how stupid and vindictive much of that public is, and (perhaps the bigger issue) perhaps he just doesn't give a fuck what everyone else thinks.
I don't know why you would make that connection, which falsely assumes that I don't think he was worth the money. I can't recall ever expressing such a thought on SportsFilter over an athlete's compensation.
I mentioned his salary because he profited handsomely in a career that put him in the spotlight. Turning the spotlight off now -- the "none of your business" notion -- is a little late in the game. He made it our business by becoming a multimillionaire pro athlete.
I wasn't saying I thought that. I was saying that I could see someone thinking that if this was his or her first time reading your thoughts, and that you were giving a very specific number to say, "Look exactly how much money this ungrateful jerk made!"
As for making it our business, you make it sound as if you didn't know at the time. Did you ignore baseball during this stretch? Did you shut off games where McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, et al, were playing? If you didn't, why do you need McGwire to put himself on the cross? It sounds like you need someone to die for our baseball sins.
posted by wfrazerjr at 08:31 PM on October 27
Hello, Monster Week.
2009 Week Seven Hoser Results
Straight Up: 10-3
2009 Season Hoser Picks
2009 Week Seven Money Spent: $20
Against The Spread: 9-3-1
Lock of the Week: 1-0
Trifecta: 1-0
Money: $1,670
Straight Up: 75-28
Against The Spread: 56-46-1
Lock of the Week: 3-4
Trifecta: 2-5
Money: $490
2009 Week Seven Money Made: $50
2009 Season Money Spent: $135
2009 Season Money Made: $150
2009 Total: $15
posted by wfrazerjr at 07:47 AM on October 27
I still say the Stefan thing was because the puck hit some ice shavings in front of the net. If he'd tried to flip it in from farther out and missed, he would have been an even bigger goat.
posted by wfrazerjr at 06:37 PM on October 26
Hugh Grant cheats on one of the most beautiful actresses in the world to get a $60 blowjob from a scary street hooker. One act of honest contrition on Jay Leno later, and he's still got a career as a leading man in romantic films.
You are aware Hugh Grant didn't make a movie for three or four years after that came out?
Look, I'm not arguing about the "manning up" part. I wish he'd blasted the pants off baseball also. But I agree more with what the good Doc just said -- I don't think, given the climate and all the faux outrage at the time, that I would have wanted to have been the one to jump out and take the bullet for baseball.
And to say this ...
If McGwire had manned up and said exactly what drugs he took and why, he'd be an adored public figure and media darling.
You have no proof of that whatsoever. You think that -- and I think he would have been plastered on every front page from here to Scranton under the headline, "HE CHEATED!" How's that better than people thinking what they do now?
Maybe he will come out and say something now -- now that he's had timet o reflect, now that he can drive the message (and not a bunch of asshat politicians trying to divert attention from their own failings), now that the country seems less likely to pick up their pitchforks.
But if he doesn't, I'm still fine with him.
This "none of your business" stuff is silly. He was the single-season home run king, the holder of one of the most revered records in American sports. He was paid $74 million dollars in his career. His conduct in the game is hardly a private matter.
The guy didn't break any rules, he didn't break any laws and was generally well-liked by his teammates (this from a teammate of his I know). Maybe you can make a case for knowing because of the sanctity of the game, but what he was paid? That sounds like you'd wish the hate on him out of jealousy.
posted by wfrazerjr at 06:17 PM on October 26
Women's Soccer Playoff Turns Ugly
It is a little strange ESPN was so hot and heavy on this. Maybe it was all staged and the network got the tipoff beforehand -- "Hey, bring out the good cameras and we'll put on a show!"
Also ... it was kinda hot.
Rashomon ... they make those little boilable noodle packs, right?