- 10:22 PM
- 07/06/08
Are you ready for some football?....Sit Down! The Kansas City Chiefs have a "Fan Code of Conduct," which is essentially a list of rules that fans have to follow when they're attending a game at Arrowhead.
posted to Football at 7:50 PM CDT
Crooked ref claims NBA fixes games Tim Donaghy, ex-ref convicted of betting on games, claims referees pressured to call fouls by league and sometimes do so on their own. NBA denies it.
posted to Basketball at 1:08 PM CDT
In that Kings game, Scot Pollard fouled out. His comments on this
"My first thought [upon hearing Donaghy's allegation] was: I knew it," Pollard said Tuesday night. "I'm not going to say there was a conspiracy. I just think something wasn't right. It was unfair. We didn't have a chance to win that game."
On Wednesday, Pollard dismissed the idea of a conspiracy among referees because it's too big a secret to keep for this long. And he portrayed Donaghy as a criminal willing to say anything to save himself.
Can someone explain to me how he can say "I knew it" and "It was unfair" and "we didn't have a chance to win that game", yet still dismiss that it was a conspiracy? Did he think they cheated them not out of conspiracy, but just for sh*ts and giggles?
posted at 8:19 AM CDT on June 12
No. 3 overall pick Ryan to get $34.75M guaranteed from Falcons Matt Ryan officially became the face of the Atlanta Falcons when he was selected as the third pick in the NFL draft. On Tuesday, the Falcons rewarded him with plenty of green.
posted to Football at 4:40 PM CDT
The owners don't like it
Call me crazy, but aren't the owners the ones paying it?
This should really be a simple fix. All the owners have to do is get together and agree what sort of structure to pay these rookies (1st pick down to 32nd) and then simply stick to it. A 1st overall pick would know coming in he's looking at $X. He can take it and play or refuse it and not. He would know he's not getting another offer from anybody else for more because nobody else would pay more.
You don't need collective bargaining or anything else to be able to do something like that.
posted at 10:11 PM CDT on May 21
I'll take collusion for $1000, Alex.
collusion is so hard to prove. Just ask Barry Bonds :-)
posted at 9:07 AM CDT on May 22
Boston Herald Apologizes for False SpyGate Story "On Feb. 2, 2008, the Boston Herald reported that a member of the New England Patriots' video staff taped the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI," the paper announces in today's edition. "... we now know that this report was false, and that no tape of the walkthrough ever existed." One fan's reaction to the Pats' hometown newspaper running a false story about the team the day before the Super Bowl: "now and forever the Herald is dead to me."
posted to Football at 7:45 AM CDT
But yet apparently they didn't actually break any rules, and now apparently they're getting off without any punishment.
Are you just tuning in on this? They certainly were punished; don't be absurd.
Not only that but they DID actually break the rules (which is why they were punished).
posted at 11:16 AM CDT on May 14
The fact that the Herald reported this without first finding further proof of the tape's existence is still inexcusable.
Depends on the source. If their one unnamed source "close to the team during the 2001 season," was actually the janitor's brother...then yes, that would be inexcusable to publish this without following it up. However, if that source was say, an assistant coach or someone in the video department, then I think it's ok for them to publish that info with no other confirmation.
posted at 11:18 AM CDT on May 14
Clemens reportedly had affair with country star Roger Clemens has another potential scandal he's already denying. He reportedly had a affair with country singer Mindy McCready in a decade-long relationship that began when she was 15 and Clemens was a 28-year old with the Red Sox. This could be especially damaging as Clemens' defamation suit against Brian McNamee proceeds.
posted to Baseball at 9:54 AM CDT
Does the term "I cannot refute anything in the story" constitute an admission that the story is true, or does it mean that MS McCready cannot disprove anything in the story? There's a huge difference between those 2 interpretations.
If she didn't have sex with him, she could certainly come out and say "I did not have sex with him". The fact that she says (through tears according to the article) "I cannot refute anything in the story" pretty much gives you your answer.
Apparently she wasn't 15 when the "affair" happened though as it didn't happen until later (not when they first met). So at least we get statuatory rapist out of his profile if that's true (but bad husband and liar remains).
The fact that he filed the suit anyway, knowing that he had stuff like this affair in his past, suggests to me that Clemens is (a) an enormous risk taker, and (b) egotistical enough to believe he can win any fight he undertakes.
These traits lend credence to the idea that he took the equally stupid risk of lying to Congress.
amen to that. And if he knows this Mindy thing is true, he KNOWS they will subpoena her to testify. Does he think she is dumb enough to lie to a federal jury too? For him? His egotism knows no bounds, apparently.
posted at 9:11 AM CDT on April 29
Just to keep tabs on this
- McNamee claims Petite did steroids. Petite confirms. Turns out to be true
- McNamee claims Clemen's wife did HGH (for a photoshoot). Clemens denies. Turns out to be true
- Newspaper claims Clemens had affair with McCreedy. Clemens denies. McCreedy confirms it to be true.
- McNamee claims Clemen's did HGH. Clemens denies.
Who has the credibility here? Any reason we should be believing Roger here?
posted at 9:18 AM CDT on April 29
I don't think this will be relevant to his defamation suit.
Well defamation is the communication of a statement that makes a false claim that may harm the reputation of an individual.
This whole McCreedy thing is relevant because
1) it helps show a lack of credibility. He says the steroids claim is a lie. He also says this thing with McCreedy is a lie. If they were to put her on stand and she says it's true, that destroys his credibility (he lied about one to save face, why wouldn't he lie about the other to save face)
2) It would be harder to argue that the steroid claim harms his reputation if you can show his reputation isn't as shiny as he claims.
posted at 1:42 PM CDT on April 29
It is true that depositions are more free form, but you can't ask questions just to embarrass the person being deposed
No, but the simplest defense in a defamation suit is to prove that you were telling the truth. To do this, I would assume you would be allowed to show how the plaintiff is UN-truthful, so this line of questioning could be allowed if the right argument is made.
Clemens' lawyers would just instruct him not to answer.
But they can't stop McCreedy from answering when she is called (which they have already indicated that they will likely subpeona her).
posted at 4:03 PM CDT on April 29
WHAT GIVES, GUYS? Nelson says there's no problem, Davis says very little For Warriors coach Don Nelson, the mind-boggling question everyone wants answered is really a no-brainer. Why didn't he play Baron Davis in the second half of Monday's playoff-elimination game in Phoenix?
posted to Basketball at 8:05 AM CDT
I'm no basketball expert, but from what I know
1) He was 2-13 from the floor when they benched him
2) They went on a 38-19 run once he was benched
And they're questioning why he wasn't on the floor in the 2nd half? Doesn't the above answer that question?
posted at 9:23 AM CDT on April 16
Not at all because you only provided information to make it seem as if it was in fact a wise move to make.
No I provided information that was available to me.
"Putting Baron back in the game would spark his team with some life" is not a fact.
"Going from 2-13 to come back and go 6-9" is not a fact.
All of that is a guess at best, and worse they are guesses contrary to what we had seen thus far. What did he do in the 1st half to imply either of the above would happen?
Isn't it more likely that instead of going 6-9 when he came back in, he went 1-9? Isn't it also possible to say that instead of "sparking" his team with some life, that he would drag them down further by his poor play? Isn't both of those "guesses" more likely to occur given his play in the first half?
posted at 12:02 PM CDT on April 17
"Greg Maddux? I bet you could catch him with your eyes closed." What you are about to read is a story about grown men who should know better. It is included here as a means of illustrating the legend of one man and his unique place in baseball history. It should not be construed as an endorsement of the activity described, although we must admit it makes for a pretty cool story.
posted to Baseball at 4:48 PM CDT
I have GOT to know what planet you live on where Greg Maddux is considered "underrated" in baseball.
I have to agree with this.
On "America's Team" he was the ace of one of the best staffs in history, had constant TV exposure on TBS (not to mention playoff TV exposure), and he has been featured in National ads ("chicks dig the long ball"). Hard to find anyone that has watched a game that doesn't know who he is, and and I've never heard of ANYONE saying he isn't at least the SECOND best pitcher of his ERA, if not the BEST.
That isn't exactly underrated to me.
I'm a huge Maddux fan (named my son after him...and people accuse me of stealing the name from Angelina Jolie...bah!). I even did a speech on him in college making his case for the best right hander in history (and that was 10 years ago! I think my argument is more solid now :-)
For some reason, my favorite part of the story is
You know," Maddux said, "I really should retire." Bell, unsure if he was entering into a conversation of historical importance, stayed quiet.
I can just completely picture that guy thinking to himself "Oh crap, don't say the wrong thing! You could alter the course of baseball as we know it if you say the wrong thing!" :-)
posted at 7:12 AM CDT on April 15
Ultimate Fighting Robs The Cradle Want to watch 6-year-olds in the Octagon? Welcome to Missouri, apparently the only state in the union that allows "youth fighting." Says one parent, "We're not training them for dog fighting...I'd rather have my kids here than out on the streets."
posted to Culture at 5:46 AM CDT
While I agree that these people that you used as an example are in fact "fucking morons", what does that have to do with the parents that have their children involved in MMA?
because your original post said "let the parent do the parenting and mind your own business". She was saying that that isn't always the RIGHT decision.
We can disagree whether it is/isn't in this one instance, but your post certainly came across as "it's my kid, I can do what I want to them" which absolutely isn't the case. There are plenty of examples where we should not let parents do what they want to the kids while we mind our own business. Whether this is one such an example, is up for debate I guess...as for me, my initial thought was "this is horrible", but after the comments about protective padding, just learning the moves, etc...it doesn't sound any more horrible then learning Jui-Jitsu, which I did at a young age.
posted at 9:31 AM CDT on March 28
I would think you would have to travel a couple days on a 737 to find "The Streets" if you lived in Carthage, Missouri.
Yea, cause kids don't get in any trouble in rural America (says the guy who was at the wrong end of a drive-by shooting in po-dunk, Texas when he was in highschool).
posted at 9:32 AM CDT on March 28
Jose Canseco Has 'Stuff' on A-Rod Throughout this whole somewhat tainted steroids era, Alex Rodriguez's name has never really been slung through the mud. He obviously has a lot of home runs for his age, but he's never hit an exorbitant amount of them in one season. The general perception is A-Rod is just really, really good at what he does.
posted to Baseball at 10:40 AM CDT
Generally speaking, steroids bulk your body way out of proportion from what it was before you started taking. Bonds got big way too quick, so did Mark McGuire.
That's wrong. What you take, how much you take, your personal body makeup, all contribute to what exactly will happen to your body.
There are plenty of pitchers that have already been busted and their bodies never shot out of proportion. A friend of mine used in college and you couldn't tell at all (I didn't know until he failed the drug test). I used to joke that he must have taken the kind that made you fat, because he was very large in the middle (though strong and fast).
posted at 11:49 AM CDT on March 26
What Part Of "Spring Training" Don't You Guys Get? Spikes go high and benches clear between the Yanks and Rays. To paraphrase, Man, we talkin' practice here! With nifty spikes-to-crotch photo action!
posted to Baseball at 4:00 PM CDT
Looks to me like Gomes tripped over his feet before he got there.
that's what I thought as well...he sprinted, was slowing down to avoid killing himself before he shoved him, but stumbled so that the shove appeared "weak".
posted at 9:47 AM CDT on March 14
The actions of a couple of jackasses does not make the entire team jackasses.
No, but those 2 actions (throwing at the 1st batter, spiking at 2B) seem to imply
1) The coach gave the order for retaliation
or
2) the players knew that the coach would be OK with them retaliating
So while the entire team may not be jackasses, it seems their coach is.
posted at 1:00 PM CDT on March 14
Brett Favre Retires Brett Favre has told the Packers and coach Mike McCarthy Tuesday morning he's planning on retiring after 17 seasons.
posted to Football at 9:07 AM CDT
Wow. Brett Favre, one of the greatest pro athletes many of us have been fortunate enough to see announces his retirement, and some here take this opportunity to cap on him. Classy. He owe you money or something?
What I want to know is why someone can't say anything negative about the man without it being considered "classless".
I agree with the comments about his INTs. The man threw a lot of them. He personally cost his team some games (and titles) due to REALLY BAD decisions. He also won his team a lot of games (and title) because of that mentality, and that washes out for a lot of people, but that doesn't mean he's immune to criticism for the first part. In a thread talking about his career, that sort of discussion should be open game without it being taken as "classless".
As for the interceptions -- that number is fairly meaningless for most quarterbacks. How many were random bounces or tips? How many were the fault of the receivers? How many came in situations where the score was heavily in the opponent's favour with time running out?
I can't answer that. But I can say I saw him make decisions in important games (throwing a ball straight up in the air because he was under pressure, throwing into triple coverage in the redzone) that 1st year QB's don't make...and he was doing that in his 16th and 17th year.
And to come out the day after your father dies and have the best game of your career.
That's a game I will always remember. And that falls right in line with my other point in that at least 3 of his TD's that game were thrown up for grabs where his guys made a play at the other end. I will remember that game not only for his heroic effort, but the way his teammates all had herculean efforts to give him that game of his life. That says a lot for the man, in and of itself.
He was a good QB, a terrific leader, and an amazing personality. He did make a LOT of bad decisions, however.
posted at 1:13 PM CDT on March 4
No QB either played bad games in playoff games or made more critical bad throws in a big game to cost his team than Favre.
yes, but I wouldn't say it was specific to playoffs. He did the same in regular season too, though just threw a lot of WINS around it.
I guess what I'm getting at is his "consistency". His style of play was fun to watch and he literally pulled out games single-handedly during his career. Sometimes he even made bad teams pretty good with that style of play and ability he had (well deserved of the MVP those years he won it).
But the lack of consistency in that style of play makes it very difficult to win championships. In most cases you have to win 3 or 4 games in a row to get to the SB. And that's hard to do with a guy who just "wings it". As you mention that last play of his career is very indicative of Favre's WHOLE career. An absolutely atrocious decision on a ball that should have never been thrown, and a mistake that you wouldn't expect a ROOKIE to make, all causing a loss on a game they could have won had he played smarter.
Again, it's hard to compare against the fact that they may not even be in that position in the playoffs without that gunslinger mentality to begin with, but it's worthy of looking at/criticizing never-the-less.
posted at 1:27 PM CDT on March 4
Once again, a classy dude
Well continuing on my "classless" path of not felating the man on the day of his retirement, I'll bring up another criticism I have. Why is Favre always considered the ultimate class act? This is the same guy who refuses to teach Aaron Rodgers because he says he doesn't owe him anything. A year or 2 back, he kept his team in utter dark about whether he was retiring and said he didn't owe them anything as far as letting them know his retirement plans (leaving them wondering what to do with their QB situation). He criticized his own teammate (Walker) for not getting to camp (and Walker then blows his ACL in his contract year illustrating the fact of WHY HE SHOULD HAVE held out). He openly criticized his FO for not making a play for Moss.
It just seems to me if a guy like T.O. would do something like that, the media would be all over him....but when Favre does it guys like Wilborn on ESPN say "He's EARNED that right".
I mean, I don't hate the guy, but I'm not ready to put him on a pedestal either. He was a good football player, but let's not sling a cape on him, stamp his chest with an S, and make him the epitome of class and honor.
posted at 3:40 PM CDT on March 4
Randy Moss Re-Signs with the Patriots Moss and the Patriots agree to a three year, $27 million deal. Meanwhile the Falcons release Warrick Dunn one day after signing Michael Turner to a six year deal. However, the week's biggest winner is Ben Roethlisberger who agreed to a $102 million deal with the Steelers.
posted to Football at 8:07 PM CDT
Memo to whitedog: when the fridge starts to stink, it's time to clean out the sour grapes.
Sour grapes for what? I thought i remembered them losing the championship.
You know, it may be a shock to some people in NE, but there are people who can flat-out dislike the team. They have an ass of a coach, an arrogant QB, mouthy LB's, and dirty players. There are a lot of reasons for the non-fan to wish them to get their comeuppance without it being "sour grapes". The fact they're WINNING with all of the above, simply makes it worse, but doesn't make it the only reason.
posted at 8:44 AM CDT on March 4
bdaddy: how are sour grapes defined in your universe?
As "Denial of the desirability of something after one has found out that it cannot be reached or acquired"...or in laymen terms "pretending to despise something because they know they can’t have it"
I don't see how his comment automatically is tied to that (or mine for that matter). Like I said, there are plenty of reasons to dislike the Pats or Moss that have nothing to do with "sour grapes". There are also plenty of people who wouldn't want Moss on their team despite his ability, so there is no "pretending to dislike" for those people.
the two of you both felt the need to come into a thread about a player being re-signed
Actually, despite the title, the thread included several topics including Warrick Dunn and Ben Roethlisburger.
Why didn't you just stay out of the thread?
Why don't you let me decide which threads I post to
posted at 11:07 AM CDT on March 4
But would anyone care if they weren't winning?
Some would. For instance I despise the Ravens for a lot of the same reasons I despise the Pats (mouthy LB's, dirty players, ass of a coach), and they weren't exactly a threat to anyone last year.
But my only point was LBB implying that the only reason the other poster (and me as well) were saying those things was because of "sour grapes"...That's an arrogant stance in that "if you have an issue it must be because your jealous". I find that stance similar to the girls on the Southwestern flight who complained that they were treated badly because they were beautiful. In actuality, they may have been treated badly because they were horse's asses.
That's all I was arguing (that there are PLENTY of reasons people may not like Moss/Pats that aren't necessarily because they secretly wish they had the same on their team)
posted at 12:43 PM CDT on March 4
Venicemenace, bend over and try to kiss your own ass. Read (and try to understand) the comments from myself and bdaddy.
woah...don't lump me into a discussion started with that sentence :-)
posted at 1:29 PM CDT on March 4
Back on topic, the Pats desperately needed to make this signing.
Agree they needed to make that signing (I don't know about 'desperately'). Without Moss, Welker becomes an afterthought as he needs to operate in the slot with focus on someone else.
They are OLD on defense, especially up the middle. Their DB's are certainly weaker now, though the team has managed to do OK with a receiver playing DB, so probably not as big a worry to them.
Their biggest problems are
- Teams "figured them out" at the end of last season. Though they still WON all those games, they had to fight hard to win those last few.
- Let's face it, they were amazingly healthy last year and had a lot of balls bounce their way (Faulk making an amazing catch keeping a drive alive, Stallworth coming up with a big play in the playoffs on an incredible catch, bonehead plays at end of games by opposing QB's, etc.) You can't EXPECT things to go that way again.
posted at 2:23 PM CDT on March 4
It would be great if you could offer some legitimate commentary on the signing, or otherwise hush up.
well that's great considering your first post into the thread involved no such legitimate commentary (and in fact ended with you sticking out your tongue and calling him names).
You only brought "legitimate commentary" into the discussion on your 3rd post, so it's a bit hypocritical to criticize him for it.
posted at 2:26 PM CDT on March 4
No doubt there was some element of jest to this statement.
Brady isn't going anywhere. Doesn't he have like 3 years left on his contract? And they'd franchise him the second he indicated he wasn't signing with them. Doesn't really matter what he thinks about the Moss situation. They didn't seem to consult him with the Branch decision.
Meh. I'd guess EVERY winning team caught some breaks during the year.
Exactly. And without catching those breaks they wouldn't be AS WINNING, which was kind of my point.
And you can't expect to stay as healthy as they did and get those same ball bounces each year.
The Pats had their share of injuries - Sammy Morris was the leading rusher until he went down with an injury
Sammy Morris? Really? You're using him as an example of why they weren't healthy? Healthy to me is losing someone like Willie Parker, not Sammy Morris. Especially when you have "that other guy" at running back.
posted at 3:26 PM CDT on March 4
Keyshawn working out, mulls NFL return Keyshawn Johnson has the desire to strap on the pads, but does he have the moves?
posted to Football at 11:24 AM CDT
This, of course, is coming from one of the all-time greats of the game who left far too early in some people's minds, yet without regret.
Without regret? Wasn't he throwing people out of windows after that?
posted at 4:44 PM CDT on February 21
Belichick has been taping since 2000, Goodell tells Specter
posted to Football at 3:42 PM CDT
The fact that the commissioner has not taken a more serious, public stance on this suggests to me that the NFL doesn't consider it to be that big a deal. Or that they're trying to bury it.
The fact that he DESTROYED the tapes tells me it's the latter.
The other thing I am really confused with is the fact that they wanted to talk to the video assistant and then it went to giving him immunity "if he turns over any materials he has to the NFL for protection". I would rather it be turned over to the Judiciary Committee
Amen to that. Because the second he hands over anything to the NFL it will end up in a burning trash can with a prompt response "we saw all we needed to see".
As well, this assumes that none of the other teams were doing the same thing. You know, this sort of rings a bell with some other recent major sports "scandal". Hmm... I just can't seem to put my finger on it.
Except in that "other sports scandal" it wasn't against the rules for the supposed infringer's at the time they were doing it. In this one it certainly was.
To me the bigger issue was video taping of the walkthru prior to the Rams SB. Man, if that info comes out as proven, it really hits the fan at that point. On the Saturday before the game, the Rams walk through all their formations and their first 15 plays of the game. They also practice all their goaline plays. The following day the Rams, who couldn't be contained all year long, suddenly struggle all first half, and struggle in redzone opportunities all game, and lose by 3. To me, that is HUGE. Again, if proven, that plainly shows a SB win by cheating and could never be undone in my mind. Think the Rams might have scored 3 more points if the opposing team wouldn't have known the first 15 plays they were running? Or what plays they would run out there on 3rd and Goal?
I read somewhere that if more info is actually presented, Bill could be suspended for a year due to the visibility of this and the questions of a double standard by Goodall between players/coaches. Can you imagine the 08 Pats, a year after the SB, being run by a different coach?
posted at 9:25 PM CDT on February 14
That's what I'd like to know: what are the possible reasons for a Goodell coverup?
Is it really that hard to guess?
Instead of a bunch of people saying "It was only 1 half of the very first game of the year!" (which is an argument I've heard believe it or not) you could be looking at YEARS of games where outcomes were affected by this, including 3 SUPER BOWLS! Three freakin' superbowls which could have been won as a direct result of cheating.
That is a HUGE black eye for the sport, right up there with the Sox scandal, like it or not. The integrity of the game would be in question.
The modern-day dynasty (the Steelers of the 70s, the 49ers of the eighties, the Cowboys of the 90s, and the Pats of the NOW) may very well owe 3 of it's championships that qualify them as that dynasty to cheating. As someone mentioned earlier...if they lost 1 or 2 of those..would we be looking at them more like the Bills?
So no way Goodall wants or needs this info to come out. He'll burn every scrap presented to him if he knows he can get away with hit.
posted at 2:24 PM CDT on February 15
His rationale for believing that the Patriots taped the Rams in 2001 is that an underdog beat a heavily favored team. Did he watch the same game I did on February 3 of this year?
Sorry, but his rationale for believing the Patriots taped the Rams in 2001 is that the man who actually did the taping at the time has privately told people he did and publicly hinted to everyone that he did.
This becomes all the more believable given the coach himself has admitted to doing similar this year.
posted at 2:26 PM CDT on February 15
No idea, but that's kind of an unfair standard to hold other commenters to. It's not as though we're going to be able to produce anything.
which makes it a WEAK argument. It's that users perception of which he has know real knowledge one way or the other that can confirm/deny it.
It's like telling your mom "but everybody else does it!" because you know your mom has no clue what Johnny's mom lets him do.
posted at 2:37 PM CDT on February 15
I don't see any reason why Goodell would not throw NE under the bus...if it was an isolated thing.
An isolated thing that would nullify roughly 7 years of NFL history?
Think the NFL wants to hear people saying "asterisks!" everytime the Pats are mentioned? Or when Tom Brady is being introduced into the HOF people asking "would you be in here if you went 0-4 in your Superbowls?".
Like I said, it really questions the integrity of the last 6 or 7 years given as the team in question won 3 championships during that span.
If Belichick broke the rules to get these tapes and they weren't even useful, then shame on him for being stupid.
That to me is the clear answer to anyone who question whether there was any real competitive advantage. The fact that the man was doing it and risking getting caught, pretty much implies he was getting some benefit out of it. And it certainly wasn't to "catalog" a team like the Packers who he wasn't even going to play again the following year and who would probably have a different coaching staff and personel by the time he did.
posted at 2:45 PM CDT on February 15
Fast and the Furious In a sport historically slow to adapt to any but the slightest change, basketball programs at every level from high school to the NBA are embracing a whole new way of playing the game. Stranger yet, the architect of this change has never coached above Division ll.
posted to Basketball at 5:20 PM CDT
And so, using a pepper shaker as the basket, white sugar packets as offensive players and pink Sweet'n Low packets as defenders...
wouldn't the white sugar packets be on the bench?
I kid..I kid...
posted at 9:32 PM CDT on February 14
posted to Football at 9:07 PM CDT
I thought the G-Men had lost it when they utterly abandoned the blitz on the 2nd Half NE touchdown drive. Then Manning made his move, and the G-Men held out.
They didn't abandon the blitz that drive...Brady just got rid of the ball early that drive because the Giants forgot to cover the quick underneath stuff. The blitzes were coming, they just never got there
Tiki Barber is now the poster child for addition by subtraction.
This team went to the SB with Tiki. If last years Giants would have got the QB play of THIS years Giants, they could have won the SB too.
The difference in the Giants this year isn't "addition by subtraction" by losing Tiki....It's the performance of their QB down the stretch (which they didn't have the past few years)
Yes, he fought through the crowd to congratulate Coughlan.
Hugged him actually, which was nice. Seems to respect him.
10 points after 3 quarters of play? That isn't very entertaining.
It is for people who appreciate defensive struggles (just like some people prefer 1-0 pitchers duals to 10-8 slugfests). I happen to prefer them like this actually.
The call may have been technically correct when corrected, and the Patriots may have won that, but challenging such a minute thing regarding a player who had no impact in the play was so bush league that it killed their karma.
Crazy. He wants to WIN the game and it was an ILLEGAL play (thus the flag). I didn't realize you could challenge it, but given you can there isn't a coach in the NFL, had they recognized it, wouldn't have made the same call.
posted at 9:11 AM CDT on February 4
I am one of the biggest Belichick haters there is and I still think he is getting a bad rap here for leaving early. He had thought the clock was going to tick off, he'd already congratulated Coughlin. He went to the locker room and let the Giants celebrate.
Same here. He even said some words to the official during all this that I though was more or less saying "they win, just wind the clock". That is against the rules for some reason so they needed that last snap.
posted at 9:13 AM CDT on February 4
He was a divisive force who didn't believe in the Coach and let the rest of the team know it.
He told the owner when he left that they should keep Coughlin. He must have believed in him somewhat.
Fact is, Tiki has been 100% spot on with all his comments regarding the Giants. He's only issue is he's honest.
My play or lack of a play was the dropped interception by Samuel during that last two minutes
He wasn't coming down inbounds anyways (both his feet hit out even though he didn't have the ball)
The refs would have to blow the whistle first and call the play dead (invoke "in the grasp") in order for an unnecessary roughness penalty to occur.
The sad part is, that is probably one of the greatest plays in SB history and it very well could not have happened if the refs had called in the grasp with the strictness they do 90% of the time. I've seen that whistle blown a lot quicker for guys a lot less "wrapped up".
posted at 3:03 PM CDT on February 4
First he put a tremendous bomb right on Randy Moss' hands but the Giants defensive backs played amazing defense to break it up. Moss barely had to break stride, the ball was right there.
I disagree. The ball was under thrown and Moss had to slow down to try to catch it as he was already past the defenders. Aikman mentioned this as well (not that I'm criticizing Brady on that throw as I don't think there are many QB's who could have thrown it further...he just ran out of arm strength, it wasn't an accuracy issue).
The sad part on that play was everybody knew he was going to throw it up for grabs for Moss, 2 guys were on Moss knowing he was going to go deep and going to get the ball, and all that said Moss STILL ran right past both of them and had at least 2 steps on them (and had Brady been able to throw it 80 yards could have had 4 or 5 steps on them and the winning TD).
posted at 8:39 AM CDT on February 5
Patriots to Honor Booed Teenager Patriots owner Robert Kraft extended an invitation to Anna Grant and her parents to be on the field during the coin flip at this weekend's playoff game against the San Diego Chargers. The 14-year-old girl was booed after being introduced as her age-group champion of the Punt-Pass-Kick competition before the 4th quarter of the Colts-Chargers game because she was wearing a Patriots jersey.
posted to Football at 9:32 AM CDT
Not quite sure what people expect a crowd of fans to do when a person seemingly invited by the team walks onto the field at a Colts playoff game wearing a Pats jersey. I'd have booed her too. All in good fun, of course, which she seems to have a handle on. It's not in poor taste. It's entirely predictable. One would think that the fault lies with her.
couldn't agree more. "Classless" doesn't have anything to do with it. It is the natural reaction that she would get at ANY stadium wearing the jersey of their chief rivals. The fact that she said she was aware she would get booed PRIOR to even walking on the field shows she knew exactly what she was in for and how natural the reaction was.
Have a 14 year old show up at a similar introduction in Fenway wearing a Yankees jersey and see the response she gets.
posted at 1:22 PM CDT on January 16
Home sweet home: LSU tops OSU in BCS Championship LSU rolled to a 38-24 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes to claim its second national title in five seasons.
posted to Football at 8:25 AM CDT
As good as LSU is, I don't think a two-loss team can make a solid claim to the national championship in college football.
All the other teams had 2 losses too (except for Kansas and Hawaii and most feel that if either of them played the games LSU/USC/Georgia played they'd have 4 or 5 losses). So if you have this 2 loss rule, it should automatically go to Kansas or Hawaii? Even though everyone knows they aren't the best teams?
I know it's pointless to say this, but it's a crying shame we can't get a playoff.
Count me as one who disagrees. I think the current system is designed to put the 2 best teams against each other and it usually does that. People always clamoring about Boise and Hawaii just aren't realistic. At the end of the season, if you looked objectionably as to who should be playing for the title, LSU and OSU seemed the 2 most qualified for that right.
As for a playoff, why did we need one? The last 7 or 8 weeks were like the playoffs! #2 teams losing like 5 or 6 weeks in a row, teams jumping up, going down, jumping up, going down. Every week was exciting this year and it culminated in the 2 best teams playing for the title. This year, more than any other year, it seems to be an argument as to how well the current system is working!
posted at 9:27 PM CDT on January 8
How Do You Get to 16 - 0? In a recent thread, some questioned how the New England Patriots were able to achieve an undefeated regular season record. This article from SI.com gives an insider's view.
posted to Football at 11:16 AM CDT
If Ben Roethlisberger making plays on the run is his biggest fear, he will devise a disciplined pass rush scheme that forces Roethlisberger to throw from the pocket. They will go out of their way to ensure that their opponent doesn't beat them with their strengths.
As a Steeler fan I blame Bill for figuring this out a couple of years ago. He realized Ben isn't a very good progression QB and he does his best improvising...so he just had his defense "mush-rush" as Jawarski would call it, and FORCE him to throw from the pocket. Several teams have since mimicked this and the Steelers struggle when they do.
As much as I HAAATTTEEEE the Pats, their coaching is impeccable. To be able to get his team UP for a game 16 times in a row is simply remarkable. Teams simply have games where they play flat, but Bill has not allowed that all year. And his halftime adjustments are second to none.
I still say they can be beat (Jags and Colts are both capable of beating them), but both of those teams will have to bring their A+ game to do it.
posted at 2:18 PM CDT on January 3
posted to Extreme at 4:07 PM CDT
He is no Evel that is for sure. Yea he made the jump and made it look easy, but he did it on state of the art equipment
Didn't Evel use a ROCKET to jump the grand canyon?
posted at 9:44 AM CDT on January 2
Mitchell report is Out 50 to 80 names to be released. Clemens, Pettitte, Tejada to name a few.
posted to Baseball at 12:36 PM CDT
Notable names not on these "leaked" lists: Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Ken Griffey Jr., Arod, Vladimir Guerrero to name but a few.
Heck, we knew Griffey wouldn't be on the list...otherwise he might stay healthy for 10 games out of the year.
Is there anything positive (other than the knowledge that one's favorite player[s] is not on the report) that can come from this?
Yes, the fact that I can mock my Astros fan friends for Clemens/Petite/Tejada being on the list. If only Biggio were on it, I would have enough ammo to last a lifetime.
There was a pool going on in one of the newsgroups to name 5 guys that you thought would be on the list (not counting the guys that were already penalized)....I had Clemens and Tejada nailed at least.
It will be interesting to see how MLB deals with this
what can they do? You have to PROVE usage (with apparently no positive drug test) for something that wasn't against the rules when most of them were accused of doing it.
posted at 2:32 PM CDT on December 13
To me, the most damning part of the report was not the naming of names, but the letter from the player's union telling players not to cooperate with the report. That tells me the player's union is still deeply broken with regards to this issue.
It's not "broken". It's job is to protect the players. That is it's whole reason for being. It has no loyalties to baseball, the owners, the fans, or Selig. It's only loyalty is to the players themselves.
It's akin to a defense attorney telling you not to speak without him being present. It's in your best interest, if you wish him to defend you, to not speak until he tells you what to say. Same with the players union.
posted at 8:27 AM CDT on December 14
but I think something that's front-page news for every paper in the US is a story that matters
Or its something the media thinks should be a story "that matters"
posted at 2:05 PM CDT on December 14
US goalkeeper Hope Solo talks about World Cup fiasco Read story
posted to Soccer at 9:41 PM CDT
but that is no excuse to slag your coach and teammates
There certainly was an excuse to "slag" her coach. He made a coaching blunder so bad that even non-soccer fans were talking about how stupid a decision it was. At the point he made that asinine decision, he introduced himself to criticism by fans and teammates alike.
Where she stepped over the line was criticizing her teammate who had no part in the bad decision.
posted at 8:28 AM CDT on December 7
Here we go with the mythologising again. We had a couple of discussions post WC about the result in the USA - Brazil match. Whatever the controversy over the selection of one player, the US got outplayed all over the park by a better team.
There was also several discussions in those threads pointing to the fact that the new goalkeeper could in fact have contributed to the poorer play of the US in that game: making improper defensives calls, missing stops that Solo would have made, and otherwise getting them in a hole in which they had to play a different game (of which they then got outplayed all over the park).
Your opinion isn't necessarily the correct one, so you can spare me with the condescending "mythologizing" comment.
posted at 3:59 PM CDT on December 7
Last minute rally moves Patriots to 12-0 but how much longer can the defense let teams run the ball down their throats?
posted to Football at 10:25 AM CDT
The offense gets a "free" play when a defensive player jumps offside, it would be fair if the league change rules so that defenses can chose to take an illegal procedure play against the offense or take the result of the play
They can't (and won't) change that rule. The play never happened since it was a false start before the play occurred. They also blow the whistle when this happens so how do we know the reason the defense stopped them the 2nd time wasn't because 2 or 3 players stopped playing when they heard the whistle instead of otherwise blocking people?
posted at 9:10 AM CDT on December 5
Oklahoma crushes Missouri, Pittsburgh upsets West Virginia, LSU edges Tennessee, Ohio State celebrates, and the folks at the BCS prepare to get in the fetal position and crawl under their desks.
posted to Football at 6:21 AM CDT
The "National Championship" is decided by ridiculous polls that in no way, shape, or form can determine what team is truly the "best." And even if the two most-deserving teams make it to the final game, and one comes out and doesn't play its best, does that mean the most-deserving team is actually the champion?
Then I don't understand what your suggestion would be? Because your second sentence is true even in playoff football, so it seems in fact your saying both solutions don't work?
As for my take, this year is a prime example of why we should NOT go to a playoff format. We've had nothing but playoffs for the the past several months, what with all the 1's and 2's dropping like flies...which has been much more entertaining then a 3 or 4 week "playoff" stretch.
posted at 9:17 AM CDT on December 3
What I was saying is there will be arguments and disagreements whether the current system remains in place or a playoff system is developed. I believe a true playoff system only works if it's run like in other sports, where you play either the best-of-five or best-of-seven series. A playoff format in football would cause problems and debates with the early pairings, and who ultimately got a raw deal. As long as the Big 10 plays most of their games against the Big 10, and the SEC plays most of their games against the SEC, etc., there will be now true way to determine the actual "best" team. Even if Ohio State should happen to beat LSU, that doesn't mean Ohio State is better. They would have just happened to win that day.
oh..then I agree with you 100% :-)
posted at 2:59 PM CDT on December 3
The Curious Case of Willis' Baltimore-time
What made it strange was that the Ravens, of any team, should have seen how fungible running back performance was. After drafting Lewis in the first round of the 2000 NFL draft, the Ravens allowed him to start while benching their previous starter, Priest Holmes. Holmes served as Lewis’ backup before departing for Kansas City, where he put up several historic seasons as part of the offensive juggernaut there. Holmes’ replacement as Lewis’ backup was Chester Taylor, who then departed for Minnesota after his rookie contract expired and proceeded to put up a 1216-yard season.
posted to Football at 6:52 AM CDT
I like the idea of sabrematricians going nuts on football.
I did too and even bought the pro football prospectus a few years back. The reality though is it doesn't translate as well to football as it does to baseball because it's just to subjective and not as "individual" (in fact the whole first chapter of the book was trying to convince you HOW it could translate to football..it was just a weak argument).
For example, how do you compare the value of a CB against another CB? Is a ball caught in zone in an open space the Safeties fault or the Corner? Or did the LB not drop deep enough? Or how do you even know if it was man or zone? Or if the guy thought it was zone but it was really man? etc. As a former CB, I see enough fans sit at these bars complaining about how a CB got "burned" and "sucks" when the play was obvious to me that he was expecting safety help and the safety got sucked up...or the opposite where the CB is supposed to funnel the WR in to help the safety but because he doesn't the safety is too stretched to get to the ball and it looks like the safety is at fault.
Offense isn't any more concrete...too many variables like o-line play, QB versatility,etc. It's not as simple as pitcher versus batter and field variances.
posted at 3:41 PM CDT on November 29
Who would be No. 1 now? A look back at the 2006 NFL Draft.
posted to Football at 2:01 AM CDT
well reading the comments in that article, people can knock Young's bad stats all they want. What I see is
2004 5-11 (no VY)
2005 4-12 (no VY)
2006 0-3 (no VY)
2006 8-5 (VY)
2007 6-3 (VY)
He's taken basically the same team that was 9-26 and since he's been starting they are 14-8.
I just don't understand the arguments of "they win because of their defense, not because of VY"...well why weren't they winning with that defense in 2004 or 2005? Why did they start 0-3 with that defense in 2006?
I still say he's my #1 overall pick. He's a winner. He was one in high school..he was one in college...and he'll be one in the Pros.
posted at 3:53 PM CDT on November 16
Martina Hingis reveals she tested positive for cocaine at Wimbledon, announces retirement immediately thereafter. Is there any possible reason why she'd retire immediately after this announcement hit the news? I'm just trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, I guess... whether or not it's warranted at this point.
posted to Other at 1:27 PM CDT
which makes you ask: why are cocaine and drugs like it (euphorics that do not enhance performance) on the list at all?
Has there been any studies that show it doesn't enhance performance? It reportedly gives you more energy and makes you more mentally alert, so would that be a unfair advantage over someone who hasn't had that boost? For that matter, couldn't coffee be considered a performance enhancer?
Heck there's even conflicting argument about how much steroids aids performance in something like baseball. It's much easier argument to make for them to say "if it's illegal, it is banned", otherwise you have people arguing whether HGH would actually help a tennis player for example.
posted at 4:57 PM CDT on November 1
The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves Wisconsin youth football coach threatens to kill one of his own players, then administers a helicopter slam, just to drive the message home. You know, maybe we should sign the kids up for the Debate Club instead.
posted to Football at 8:29 AM CDT
you see on the Internet where people talk about how they'd kick this person's ass if they did [fill in the blank]?
you mean like this? (LOL)
if I'm this kid's Dad, this story would become a whole lot more interesting. (or violent)
Note: I'm in no means disagreeing with kcfan4life as they would still be trying to separate me from that guy. I think it's instinctive to want to protect your children (hence mine and kcfan4life's comment), but that said, *in his mind* that's all the coach was doing (protecting his son)...his mind is just apparently a little warped as to where that line is and how to go about it.
posted at 10:27 AM CDT on October 31
Exactly. Otherwise you're the same as coach whack job
I disagree. There is a difference between an adult watching his son get injured in a sporting event and assaulting the 12 year old responsible, and a 30+ year old watching his son get assaulted by another 30+ year old, and in turn assaulting the one responsible.
I see them as 2 different things and I have zero doubt that a court (at least here in Texas) would see them as 2 different things as well.
Charges against me as the 2nd father would be dismissed quicker than the DA could say "Oh, hell no...I'm not getting involved in that!" Heck, I'd venture to say if you beat him to death you would still get off on a "temporary insanity/crime of passion" defense (except for California of course) :-)
posted at 2:37 PM CDT on October 31
Funny, but where I'm from you're not allowed to kill someone for punching your kid.
People get off for a lot worse around here. For example:'Repo man' killer not charged
But at the end of the day, you're still assaulting someone
by the letter of the law, absolutely. But the point is, there are plenty of assaults that are never even charged, much less brought to trial and have a jury convict you. From all the comments on this forum of "if it would have been my boy...", is it really hard to believe that a DA (or even if it goes to trial 1 of 12 jurors) wouldn't side with the father in this case and say it was a reasonable reaction given the circustances?
Are you willing to bet your freedom and a lot of money on that?
Well I can personally say I wouldn't be considering any of that if I saw some adult slam my child to the ground. My reaction wouldn't be "I wonder what happens if I do this?"....my reaction would be "son of a bitch!" and then assholes and elbows. That instant reaction would be fairly common to a lot of fathers and is why I personally feel that the reaction would likely not even be charged.
posted at 11:14 AM CDT on November 1
See here for the story of what happened to a sports parent who let his temper get away from him
two different situations. Most people didn't side with the hockey dad in that case...in fact most people were appalled by his behavior as he was the aggressor (it was more in line with what the coach did in this case than what a retaliating father would do).
I think you've got some fanciful notions about how the criminal justice system works. A DA looks at your kid with a sore neck, then looks at your hospitalized or dead victim, and isn't gonna bring charges?
Assaults happen every day in which nobody is ever charged. Go to your local biker bar at 2am and you'll see it first hand.
posted at 2:34 PM CDT on November 1
Chargers May Play Texans in Dallas The use of San Diego's Qualcomm stadium to house refugees of the wildfires may move Sunday's NFL game to either Houston, the home of the visiting Texans, or Texas Stadium in Dallas, where the Cowboys have a bye week. Four years ago, fires chased the Chargers to a home game against the Dolphins at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.
posted to Football at 2:16 PM CDT
well I think it would be wrong to host the game in or near Houston (Dallas is far to close) as it gives them an unfair "home" game.
But for the chargers would hosting a game in Tempe, or San Francisco or anywhere else outside of Texas really be any worse than Miami having to host a "home" game in London this week?
posted at 3:38 PM CDT on October 24
Greg Ryan Fired as U.S. Women's Soccer Coach Ryan, who was 45-1-9 since taking over in 2005, led the U.S. team to a third-place finish in the World Cup, a tournament it was favored to win. Hope Solo did not comment on the move.
posted to Soccer at 8:03 AM CDT
The impression I got at the time is that Ryan felt that he owed Scurry a start.
I believe he actually SAID this, weeks (or months?) before the incident (that he would give Scurry another start as more or less a parting gift.)
but getting fired over this apparent switch and subsequent loss seems to me to put the women's futbol team on a slippery slope. Looks like a "Steinbrennerish" move.
well like the others stated, this wasn't a minor mistake. This was a globally criticized decision that left the entire soccer world going "huh?". I would think it's OK to let the NEW coach know that "hey, if you make a truly ignorant decision that even those who don't follow the sport recognize as asinine, then yes, you're job will be in jeopardy too."
This is more like benching Tom Brady right now for Drew Bledsoe
I wouldn't say its THAT drastic. More like if Curt Shilling was retiring and to honor him they chose to start him in game 7 as opposed to a rested Josh Beckett.
posted at 12:32 PM CDT on October 23
Chief Wahoo: A Modest Proposal.
posted to Baseball at 4:59 PM CDT
We've had people come into previous discussions saying, "Aah, what's the harm in the names?" and leave with an understanding of what the harm is
and we've had people like me who come into previous discussions saying, "Aah, what's the harm in the names?" and leave with saying "Aah, what's the harm in the names?"
posted at 9:05 AM CDT on October 20
Torre Leaving New York After Turning Down Incentive-Linked Contract New York Yankees manager Joe Torre rejected a contract that would cut his base salary from $7.5 million to $5 million and add $1 million for reaching the playoffs, $1 million for reaching the ALCS and $1 million for a World Series berth. "It's now time for the New York Yankees to move forward," said team president Randy Levine.
posted to Baseball at 4:11 PM CDT
I think this is a very good perspective on the whole thing and I agree with much of it.
the article basically says that 5 mill/year + incentives wasn't a serious offer? Even with the "30%" reduction he would still be THE HIGHEST PAID manager in MLB. Sorry, I don't see how that is a "publicity stunt" as the article presumes. I see it as "we still think your the best manager in the league, so we're willing to pay you that, but we're not willing to pay you over 2X what the next highest paid guy is paid since you haven't won us a title recently".
I think it was a perfectly legitimate offer by the Yanks. I also think it was perfectly reasonable for Torre to reject it since in his mind the extra $3 mill was to compensate for working for a meddlesome ass. Suddenly without that extra money the headaches weren't as worth it to him I'm sure.
posted at 8:39 PM CDT on October 18
I guess you can say this is results-based, but suggesting that not winning the World Series is a result over which Torre has a lot of control is to get it all wrong.
well I'm not suggesting it, but the Yankees brain-trust obviously believe it.
No one, leastwise someone of Torre's stature, could be expected to want to do more work (and, as you point out, rely on huge amounts of luck) only to make less or (with even more luck) slightly more than he used to make.
It's done all the time. Players signing 1 year incentive laden contracts after sub-par years in the hopes of having a big year and getting a better long-term deal. Now that's different here as holden pointed out it's rarer for coaches, but the Yankee's thinking is certainly the same (i.e. you haven't produced for us lately, here's a 1 year/incentive laden contract...if you produce this year we'll consider longer options).
Publicity stunt? More like elaborate insult.
I doubt anyone will ever convince me that a contract that guarantees him over $2 million MORE than the SECOND HIGHEST paid coach is an "insult". Especially when it also has very reachable incentives that could drive it up to $4-5 million more than the second highest paid coach. How insulting.
posted at 8:59 AM CDT on October 19
Josh Beckett's Ex Sings Tonight's National Anthem in Cleveland Jose Can You Believe It? Country singer Danielle Peck will sing the national anthem at tonight's Red Sox/Indians playoff game. She's the ex-girlfriend of Red Sox starter Josh Beckett. "It's an incredible coincidence," said Tribe spokesman Bob DiBiasio. "How are we supposed to know who Josh Beckett dates?"
posted to Baseball at 3:26 PM CDT
He's the red sox version of Jeter.
[quote from the article]
Jeter is notorious for his off-field plays - he's been linked to the likes of Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jordana Brewster, Mariah Carey, Scarlett Johansson, Vanessa Minnillo and Gabrielle Union.
Justin Timberlake has also been liked to Alba, Biel, and Johannsen.
Do these girls just rotate boyfriends?
posted at 8:54 PM CDT on October 18
Jimmy Kimmel Banned From Monday Night Football Asked for his opinion on safe Monday Night guests, Kimmel suggested Carrot Top.
posted to Football at 2:44 AM CDT
man, this story is too funny. I only watched about 2 minutes of the game monday night and it happened to be that 2 minutes where he made the joe thiesman comment. I thought it was funny but when nobody in the booth laughed my immediate thought was "wow, that must be taboo or something". I would say that was definitely the comment that got him banned as the rest of the comments had no bite (Kornheiser makes jokes about Brady and his 2 women all the time, so it definitely wasn't that).
posted at 8:50 AM CDT on October 18
but I would think that someone who is supposed to be a sportswriter by trade would have a little more knowledge about, you know, sports and stuff
actually it's been my experience that sportswriters have less knowledge about sports than your average male.
The only people who I trust in regards to analysis of players, teams, coaching staffs, etc...are guys that have actually PLAYED the game. I don't automatically agree with all of them, but at least they have the foundational background to give the input.
90% of the sportswriters that are so critical of these players have never strapped on a set of pads, and it's why they can be so critical (they have no history to "ground" them). For example, Korheiser went on a rant criticizing that 59 year old man who played in a game about "all he does is go out on FG attempts! And for Div III school!" I'd love to see Kornhieser as a 18 year old man make it through 1 day of practice at a DIII school, much less as a 50+ year old.
posted at 9:50 AM CDT on October 18
Two words: Joe Morgan.
Two more words: Tim McCarver.
Three words: Read my post.
I don't automatically agree with all of them, but at least they have the foundational background to give the input.
posted at 3:56 PM CDT on October 18
Kimmel's a huge football fan.
Same can be said about Dennis Miller.
Tony Kornheiser made another off-hand comment last week on PTI that he doesn't even like watching football
posted at 3:58 PM CDT on October 18
I did read your post, and i still think it's hogwash. I can come up with 5 other baseball announcers with playing careers that are absolutely terrible announcers. You've come up with no one to back up your claim.
well who we like as announcers is a personal preference thing, so how am I supposed to put up someone that would back up my claim? Sorry, as much as I don't like Joe Morgan if he's describing to me why it's a bad idea to pull a 2 hit pitcher out in the 9th to send in the reliever, I think I'd trust his analysis better than if Joe Buck was saying the same thing (although I happen to like Joe Buck personally)
Anyway, to restate: "The only people who *I* trust in regards to analysis"
I didn't say you had to agree with it.
posted at 8:46 PM CDT on October 18
They're lining up on his side The body that made open-field tackles on legendary running back Jim Brown now struggles to get out of bed. The sure hands that snared 48 interceptions during a 12-year career fumble a Styrofoam cup. The sharp mind that got him into the NFL Hall of Fame now tricks him into believing that he is back in training camp for another season with Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers. Willie Wood, 70, is paying the steep price for being a football hero.
posted to Football at 12:35 AM CDT
how many of these stories do we have to hear before the NFL will do something to support those disabled for what they gave to the game?
also, how many of these stories do we have to hear before people start realizing that maybe the extraordinary money the athletes make may actually be commiserate pay considering their short career (average 3 1/2 years), shortened life expectancy (20 years less than average), and debilitating lifestyle brought on by the abuse their body took in high school/college/pro to reach that stage.
posted at 10:16 AM CDT on October 17
Video Surfaces of Joey Porter-Levi Jones Fight Fox Sports has obtained video of the brawl between the Dolphins linebacker and Bengals tackle that took place at the The Palms casino in Las Vegas last March. The video shows, as Jones said at the time, that it was a group attack. Jones' agent tells the network, "Levi has retained a Las Vegas attorney right after the fight but we just recently obtained the tape. He is now weighing his legal options." See the video.
posted to Football at 2:15 PM CDT
I'm with you wfrazer on the banning. While it may be an odd comparison, I can't help but think of Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan.
Not even close to the same thing. You mean to compare a premeditated club to the knee of someone you're directly competing with in the Olympics is the same as an off season spontaneous fight that occurred between 2 guys who aren't even going to face each other this year?
It's not like Joey was targeting him because he wanted to get a competitive advantage in a game.
posted at 7:05 PM CDT on October 14
Which is kinda the point I was making. This wasn't just some random brawl. Pre-meditation seems to be going on, which opens up a whole other kettle of hamsters.
so Joey and the guys decided to take a trip to Vegas to take out a member of the Browns to gain a competitive advantage against a guy Joey may only see once more and for a team against which he had something like a 14-3 record? I just don't see it.
Seems obvious to me it's an instance of thug behavior where Joey and Levi met in a public place, started mouthing at each other about old hostilities, it came to blows, and Joey's friends just acted on their thug behavior by jumping in to help their boy who was getting beat down.
posted at 8:57 AM CDT on October 15
Nick of Time: Folk's 53-Yard Field Goal Caps Dramatic Comeback While there seems to be different versions of the story, there is a theory that Wade Phillips was eventually fired in Buffalo because of the Music City Miracle some seven years ago. So it was only fitting that is in his first trip back to Buffalo as a head coach, Phillips and the Cowboys pulled out a miracle of their own
posted to Football at 8:22 AM CDT
Couple of comments on the kick-timeout thing
- While "Jaws" can say it's strategy, I think it's cowardly and the rule will be changed in the offseason
- Tomlin for the Steelers had a situation like this before half time and he stood by the ref like he was going to call timeout but never did. Good thing too as the kicker missed the kick and if he would have done it, the kicker would have gotten a second attempt. I think he chose not to do it because he doesn't like it either.
- The simple answer is don't allow timeouts on a FG attempt if the clock is already stopped
posted at 10:12 AM CDT on October 9
As to the game itself, best game I've seen since VY in the Rose bowl. Though I'm no cowboy fan, they got hosed on 2 calls (blatant faceguarding on Owens on the 2 pt conversion and the fact that no whistle blew before the snap on the spike play after the Owens catch...that play should have stood since they spiked the ball before a review was called).
And what luck on the onsides...if they would have recovered it at the 10 yard spot they probably would have never gotten in FG range with that time left and no timeouts...but it bounces off someone and goes 20 yards downfield setting them up for a couple of short plays to get in range.
And why on earth were those 2 five yard out routes so open on the last drive to setup the FG (especially the last one)? You knew that was the only place they could go with the ball and still get a kick off. Buffalo deserved to lose for that alone.
posted at 10:17 AM CDT on October 9
I was disappointed the announcing team said nothing about faceguarding on the missed two-point conversion. Wade Phillips even put his hand on his face to tell the refs the call should have been made, but all they could talk about was how great the defender's play was.
Absolutely, and I was thinking the same thing. "Why aren't the announcers talking about faceguarding?", then when I saw Wade Phillips wave his hand in his face I said "At least Jaws will recognize what that means and mention the facegaurding", but he was too busy "joking" with Kornheiser. Heaven forbid they actually pay attention to the game.
Now I do like Kornheiser, but he doesn't add much of anything to the game itself. He's simply there for the comedic value, which is fine, but it distracts the real analyst (Jaws) from his input.
posted at 1:03 PM CDT on October 9
I'm still trying to figure out how this is a "miracle." It's not like the Cowboys were down 35 points with a minute left to play and scored seven straight touchdowns in 55 seconds. Now that would be a miracle. The Cal - Stanford kickoff return was a miracle. The Music City Miracle was, well, that would be a redundant miracle, but you get the point.
I don't see the difference between say the Music City Miracle and this game. Dallas scored 9 points in 20 seconds to win the game. To even do that they got an onside kick that took an incredible bounce to get them closer to FG range. They then completed 2 passes with under 18 seconds and no timeouts to give a rookie kicker, whose career long was 47 yards, a shot to win the game, which he did TWICE.
That's way more miraculous than a kick return gadget play in my book.
posted at 1:09 PM CDT on October 9
I enjoyed the "Dennis Miller Show" when it was on HBO but he just had no business being involved in the greatest football shows on TV. At the very least, Tony Kornheiser is a sports personality.
Regardless of how good/bad an announcer he was, Dennis Miller LOVES football. Tony Korheiser casually jokes how he'll sleep through game of the year matchups if they are on the west coast. I'd rather the former in that case, as at least Dennis would have caught the whole face gaurding thing.
Kornheiser is a sports columnist and as such means he automatically knows LESS about football than even you or I but then has to pretend his knowledge is unsurpassed (it's a requirement for the job). He really has no business in the booth, though I personally think he's funny as hell (that joke about Dijourno(sp?) pizza was funny :-)
posted at 9:42 AM CDT on October 10
Stanford Knocks Off No. 2 USC Coming back from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the 41-point underdog Stanford Cardinal went into Los Angeles and ended a 35-game home winning streak at USC, ranked No. 1 in the USA Today coaches poll and No. 2 by AP. Quarterback Tavita Pritchard, making his first collegiate start, threw a 10-yard touchdown pass on fourth and goal with 49 seconds remaining.
posted to Football at 8:30 AM CDT
but given all the defeats and near misses in the Top 10 this season this is far too soon to rule out a climb back into the BCS title game.
It would be a mountain climb to get back into the BCS Title game. There are going to be a lot of 1 loss teams, true...but not one of those 1 loss teams will have that loss to a team in which they were favored by FORTY-ONE points! That will not be lost on the voters when it comes to decide whether a 1 loss USC team gets a shot versus say a 1 shot LSU, Cal, etc (assuming they don't win out)
posted at 9:45 AM CDT on October 8
Had Enough Steroids Yet? Marion Jones, You're Next! Multiple Olympic medalist Marion Jones has admitted using the steroid known as "the clear" for two years beginning in 1999. Jones, once considered the best female athlete in the world, says her former coach Trevor Graham gave her the steroid, telling her it was flaxseed oil.
posted to Olympics at 5:41 PM CDT
Please spare me the "Bonds was never caught" garbage. Baseball knows fully well what they are dealing with. They have just chosen to ignore the facts as Barry is one nice money train that they aren't about to get off of.
If you want us to quit saying it, quit bringing it up.
And "baseball" isn't the one that would bring charges, it's the courts and they have been unable to pin anything on him despite 2 grand jury inquisitions.
Nevermind your argument doesn't make sense because "baseball" would love nothing more than to pin this on Bonds so they can throw him under the bus (ask Bud Selig his opinion on Bonds). Now San Francisco may have been riding that money train, but baseball hates Bonds.
posted at 9:00 AM CDT on October 5
And now come the lawyers ... Two New York lawyers have filed a class-action suit against Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in the wake of CameraGate. Claiming consumer fraud, the suit seeks more than $184M in damages.
posted to Football at 11:28 AM CDT
They are a medical doctor because that's what you become when you graduate med school. They aren't a physician anymore. They are a teacher. How is that sophistry? Lots of people go to law school and never even take the bar. It is illegal for these people to practice law. They aren't lawyers, they are just legally-trained.
Sorry, I'm with the others in not seeing the distinction.
A person who graduates medical school is a DOCTOR regardless of what profession he chooses later.
A person who graduates law school and passes the bar is a LAWYER regardless of what profession he chooses later.
I don't see what is the difference between those 2 statements (and you agreed on the first, and disagreed on the second).
posted at 10:48 AM CDT on October 2
sophist - a person who reasons adroitly and speciously rather than soundly
adroitly - cleverly skillful, resourceful, or ingenious
specious - having deceptive attraction or allure
had to go the dictionary 2 times to understand the first dictionary definition :-)
posted at 10:51 AM CDT on October 2
Hope Solo Kicked Off Team for Consolation Game In response to Hope Solo's comments after the Brazil loss, Coach Greg Ryan said the benched goalkeeper won't play in Sunday's third-place World Cup game and won't even be on the bench, in spite of her apologies to the public and her teammates. "We have moved forward with 20 players who have stood by each other, who have battled for each other," said Ryan. "And when the hard times came -- and the Brazil game was a hard time -- they stood strong. Now it's the 20 who have stuck together who will be ready to go out and compete against Norway."
posted to Soccer at 8:02 AM CDT
What I don't understand is, in regards to the comments about Scurry, what was so BAD about them to be considered "throwing her under the bus" or "taking direct shots at her teammate"?
"It's not 2004 anymore" How is that a slam? Its not saying "Scurry hasn't been good since 2004", it's saying "you can't make a decision based on how someone played in 2004". That's not a SLAM on Scurry.
"you can't live by big names. you have to live in the present". Again, simply stating you can't make a decision based on what someone has done in the past. It doesn't scream out that she is slamming Scurry.
There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. While this is the most direct putdown on her teammate (basically saying that she is a better goalie than scurry), what athelete wouldn't say this? I can't imagine someone like TO being benched and his replacement dropping balls and TO not saying "I would have made those catches". That's just what they believe. Remember Kordell clapping when Tomzack replaced him and threw an INT? There's been far worse displays of "team" than this.
Now she definitely threw the coach "under the bus", but I didn't see where her comments about Scurry were so far out of line. She probably didn't word them as well as she should, but athletes should have a thick enough skin to take comments like that in stride.
posted at 3:34 PM CDT on October 1
Heartbreak for women's US soccer team. As Brazil head to the World Cup final with Germany.
posted to Soccer at 10:04 AM CDT
Hope Solo is very hot
The only part of this discussion that I feel qualified to fully agree with :-)
The video clips of her with that pouty/pissed look on the bench made her look more hot, too. :-)
posted at 6:10 PM CDT on September 28
Oklahoma State Coach Mike Gundy: Leave My Quarterback Alone! At a press conference after his team defeated Texas Tech Saturday, Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy launched into a three-minute tirade against a Daily Oklahoman columnist over an article that called benched quarterback Bobby Reid a momma's boy who plays scared. "That article had to have been written by a person who doesn't have a child," Gundy said. "Here's all that kid did: He goes to class; he's respectful to the media; he's respectful to the public; and he's a good kid. He's not a professional athlete, and he doesn't deserve to be kicked when he's down."
posted to Football at 12:45 PM CDT
College athletes at big-time schools are, for better or worse, public figures and should therefore have moderately thick skin.
where do you draw the line? Couldn't someone also argue that some kids playing in the little league world series are, for better or worse, public figures and therefore should be able to be subjected to articles attacking their play? What if Jenni's next article is about how some 12 year old shortstop choked and wilted under the pressure of the big game? OK/Not OK? And if not, what is the arbitrary age limit or circumstance when it is OK?
posted at 4:05 PM CDT on September 24
Belichick's cheating could lead to dark days for NFL. Gregg Easterbrook: "It would not surprise me in the slightest if, before the season ends, Belichick resigns, or is suspended, or is fired by Kraft, or even is permanently barred from the league."
posted to Football at 1:12 PM CDT
What really happened here is that the commisioner drew his own personal line in the sand of what he felt was 'going too far' and Belicheck crossed it.
No
The edge gained by the Pats or anyone else doing this (and there are others) is minimal if anything.
0 fer 2.
posted at 10:59 PM CDT on September 18
I believe that EVERYONE is missing the point here. Does anyone really believe that the Patriots were the only team cheating?
Sorry, what does that have to do with anything? The Pats were caught red handed and their only excuse is "other guys are probably doing it too?"
Wouldn't it be nice to leverage that defense in everything else?
Husband: "Honey, I know I slept with my secretary, but do you really think I'm the only boss that's done that?"
Wife: "You know, you're right. I KNOW you can't be the only one doing it, so I won't give you too much grief about it"
posted at 9:32 AM CDT on September 19
In this case, I think that other teams probably are guilty of this, but I doubt that there was selective enforcement -- rather a matter of bringing a complaint vs. not bringing a complaint, which is different.
I think it was more of "having evidence" versus "not having evidence". Mangini knew who was filming so he could point him out. If the other teams are doing it they're not doing it as blatantly as this
posted at 10:48 AM CDT on September 19
I do think the league needs to address this. Sort of like MLB needed to address the steroids issue
Absolutely. And we know Bonds alleged steroid use was never "pooh-poohed" away by saying "but everybody else is doing it!", so I don't understand why the Pats get to use that argument.
posted at 12:20 PM CDT on September 19
the Pats were caught red handed and their only excuse is "other guys are probably doing it too?"
When did BB or Mr. Kraft say this as a defense?
Never. I was actually directing that comment at the poster who seemed to be using that excuse, but I used the word "their" instead of "your" to not seem so accusatory :-)
posted at 2:08 PM CDT on September 19
For The Love of Sport: Battle of NFL Elite On Sunday the 16th the Patriots host the Chargers in a contest that hopefully features very little dancing and video equipment. A weekly column by Sportsfilter member kyrilmitch_76.
posted to Football at 7:18 AM CDT
As my son e-mailed me last night, "Brady to Moss is criminal."
Yea, and to think SOMEONE in here was acting as if the Moss pickup wasn't that great and that Moss would have a decent, but not great year and the team would be no better than they were when Branch was there.
Oh wait...that was ME.
posted at 8:55 AM CDT on September 17
The Juice is back Simpson was arrested yesterday in Las Vegas .The district attorney said he expected Simpson to ultimately be charged with seven felonies and one gross misdemeanor.
posted to Culture at 6:49 AM CDT
Big difference in OJ's life this time around is he can't afford the high-priced lawyers for this one. It'll be interesting to see how he does in a case based strictly on the evidence, as opposed to high-priced smoke and mirrors.
posted at 8:53 AM CDT on September 17
This story made me laugh for at least four minutes on Saturday. Fucking OJ - what a complete Elmer Fudd.
Did you see the video of him coming out of the police station? It was so funny, hands in his front pockets, waddle walk, look on his face like "Oh, golly, what's all this about". Like you said, complete Elmer Fudd.
posted at 2:15 PM CDT on September 17
Match wits against Peyton Manning and try out this addictive NFL trivia game. Caution: according to the "rulebook", side effects may include shattered ego, mind-numbing syndrome, the destruction of computer keyboard and/or loss of appetite.
posted to Football at 4:43 PM CDT
I was winning 33-12 and then it "suspiciously" started getting glitches and eventually froze. Must be created by Billicheck :-)
After it froze, I started clicking around the stadium to try to get back control and when you'd click the crowds would do different chants, cat-calls, etc (like "Let's go, Man-ning"). I clicked on one and a woman said "we can see you. Gross." :-)
posted at 10:08 AM CDT on September 15
yym, I really wasn't trying to be touchy about the spelling of Belichick's name, I personally don't care for him much...it just drives me crazy when people are so lazy on their posts...why don't they just use BB and be done with it?
It's not that surprising it's misspelled a lot.
First, there is a Billick and a Belichick and some of us that don't follow either te
Sure. I'll grant you that. However I've never witnessed a drunk person throwing open mustard packets and shitting his pants and screaming at a level that hurts even my damaged ears.
I've witnessed all 3 by a drunk person (actually PISSING his pants, but same difference).
In fact the last football game I attended had some drunk guy in front of me thinking it was funny to throw peanuts down 10 or so rows and pegging people in the head and laughing when they would turn around trying to figure out who the idiot was. This was a 30-something year old man doing this. At the same game a guy on my row past out cold and each time we had to get up for concessions/bathroom, we had to crawl over him as he was un-movable.
Drunks are way more unmanageable than kids as they are basically kids + 200 pounds.