04/25/24
November 23, 2010
SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
Not that it's any justification for Seymour's actions ...
It's clear Ben did provoke Seymour ... and yes, Ben also loses some cred being a serial rapist. Brady and both Mannings have too much class to belittle an opponent after a score so it's an unlikely comparison.
As for the Steelers being targeted, I did not watch the whole game but they do have a hard hitting reputation and stand up for each other more than most teams - perhaps the ref crew figured they needed to gain some control?
posted by cixelsyd at 12:09 PM on November 23, 2010
It's clear Ben did provoke Seymour
So it is ok to hit the guy then if he is trash talking??
posted by Debo270 at 12:22 PM on November 23, 2010
So it is ok to hit the guy then if he is trash talking??
No, but it also has to be considered a mitigating factor when handing out punishment, even if it is a small one.
posted by grum@work at 12:34 PM on November 23, 2010
Not that it's any justification for Seymour's actions ...
Never - my opinion is both acts are classless, I would hope both parties would admit so now the game is over. I just think the talking and reputations had some bearing on the fine and lack of suspension (what grum said).
posted by cixelsyd at 12:37 PM on November 23, 2010
Calls going against the Steelers? Hahahahahahah, phew, hahahahahHAHAHAHA. Whoo. The Steelers have been the beneficiary of bad calls SO MANY times in the last few years.
Manning and Brady wouldnt trash talk anyone, theyd be too busy running downfield to high five their receivers.
That said...Ben is an AWESOME quarterback. All he fucking does is win. But I don't mind seeing him take a cheap shot to the jaw every once in awhile. I think my favorite thing about it was Tomlin's post game reaction: "I got big-time respect for Richard Seymour as a football player. That guy's got an 11-year resume thays pretty impressive as a professional. I'm not going to let that play cloud my opinion on Richard Seymour. I think he's an awesome football player and a professional. It just got away from us, all parties involved today."
posted by vito90 at 12:40 PM on November 23, 2010
It's clear Ben did provoke Seymour ...
It also seems clear that he dove afterwards when he wasn't actually hurt. The guy's a chump.
posted by rcade at 12:45 PM on November 23, 2010
Calls going against the Steelers?
I am not going to say the Steelers have not caught calls in the past, but that is a non factor here. I would bet vito didnt watch the game(and is still bitter from XL). If you did you would see alot that would offend ever the biggest Steeler hater.
posted by Debo270 at 12:47 PM on November 23, 2010
I am amazed that the Steelers even managed to pull it out despite such horrible officiating. Hell, if it had been any worse perhaps the Raiders would have pulled within 30 points!
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 01:11 PM on November 23, 2010
The steelers had almost as many penalty yards (163 ) as the Raiders had total yards (182)
posted by Debo270 at 01:16 PM on November 23, 2010
So it is ok to hit the guy then if he is trash talking??
Only if mothers and/or cancer is involved in the trash talk.
posted by tron7 at 01:25 PM on November 23, 2010
I did see the game start to finish...and not bitter at all, the Hawks deserved to lose that game. I actually count myself a fan of MANY Steelers (LOVE LOVE LOVE Hines Ward and Polomalu). It's just that, you know, a Steeler fan complaining about calls going against them seems a tad disingenuous.
posted by vito90 at 01:40 PM on November 23, 2010
T.O. guides Artest's NFL dream
Saw that headline pop up on my work RSS feed and thought it must have been an Onion story where they picked two flashpoint athletes and put them in a headline together to get people's attention. The RSS link lead to an SI.com morning jolt about and included the above link.
Best line in the story: Artest said Owens will help determine whether "I'm crazy or I have a legitimate shot."
posted by Demophon at 01:41 PM on November 23, 2010
We won and I am not worried about bad calls, I am worried how that game looked to any fan with any knowledge of the game.
-Clark hit a guy in the middle of the back and got 15 for helmet to helmet
-Harrison tackles the QB, helmet in the chest and got 15 for hitting him to hard
- At one point, there were 5-6 flagged plays in a row.
Again, I never blame the refs, BUT that was a very very poorly called game. They looked like they had an ax to grind with Pittsburgh and some of the calls were just unreal.
posted by Debo270 at 02:09 PM on November 23, 2010
So it is ok to hit the guy then if he is trash talking??
Who said he was trash talking? Big LunkheadBen claims that he said something like, "Let's go and get the extra point", and AFAIK no one has disputed it. Hardly trash talking.
(as for the fine, I bet a lot of people are mailing checks to Seymour today)
posted by lil_brown_bat at 02:49 PM on November 23, 2010
Two things on completely different subjects:
First, Joe Paterno will be back. This is the link to the ESPN/AP story. You can't stop a man from doing what he loves to do.
Second, Victor Martinez will play for Detroit next season. The rumor is that Boston would offer 4 years, but only at a reduced price ($42M), and the Tigers stepped up with $50M.
posted by Howard_T at 03:35 PM on November 23, 2010
Smart move by the Sox- in 4 years Martinez will be a glorified DH/1B in the catcher's spot, and they have talent coming up. I hope the money they saved keeps Beltre around. The Boston strategy of letting people go rather than get tied into longer contracts is smart: there's always newer, younger talent around the corner and you don't want salary tied up in aging albatrosses all at the same time.
I gotta say, I don't get this move from Martinez; the fact the Sox didn't make the playoffs this year was a total fluke: but for injuries, this team would have exceeded 100 wins, even with the holes they had. Hell, with some of those giveaway losses against NY and TB, one more good bullpen arm and this team *makes* the playoffs in 2010! Boston is a brilliantly staffed and run team with essentially a penciled in spot to the playoffs every year. Their SP will be a monster staff for years to come, and while they have some adjustments to make on offense as Papi fades out overall they will be similarly strong at the plate. This is a team nearly every FA should WANT to be on, so I'm surprised VM wouldn't stick around a perennial contender for essentially $2M/yr difference.
posted by hincandenza at 03:48 PM on November 23, 2010
Yep, Steelers got some bad calls. Guess what? They have so much history now that they will get bad calls the rest of the season.
The refs have now seen in their weekly post-mortems so much video of incidents from earlier in the year - helmet hits, late hits, etc - that it is inevitable that they will pay far more attention to some Steelers players. More scrutiny, more calls both good and bad. For a similar scenario in another sport see the Colin Campbell emails or the Burrows incident in the NHL - players get a rep for certain things.
If you want to live close to the edge, have a rep, eventually the officials catch on to your act. Deal with it. Maybe in another half season of toeing the official's line the Steelers can go back to league-average penalties. Doubt it, that isn't how they play.
posted by deflated at 03:51 PM on November 23, 2010
Saw this video of Danny MacAskill, doing bike stunts (there is probably a better/proper name for his craft/sport) linked at the Guardian. Amazing stuff.
posted by holden at 04:12 PM on November 23, 2010
The steelers had almost as many penalty yards (163 ) as the Raiders had total yards (182)
Isn't it tough to be a Steelers fan? I'm glad the Lions don't have those problems.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 06:31 PM on November 23, 2010
Hal, I believe the only conclusion we can draw is this -- Detroit is a much more attractive city than Boston.
posted by wfrazerjr at 08:24 PM on November 23, 2010
The latest take on VMart is that he will be a DH/back-up catcher for the Tigers. While he is one of the premier hitters as a catcher, his offensive numbers are merely ordinary for a DH. $12.5M is high for any DH, let alone an ordinary one. I have also read somewhere (I looked for a reference, but couldn't find one) that VMart does not hit well in Detroit. This might come under the heading of "What were the Tigers thinking?"
posted by Howard_T at 12:55 PM on November 24, 2010
I have also read somewhere (I looked for a reference, but couldn't find one) that VMart does not hit well in Detroit.
*poof*
You are correct.
.225/.321/.349 in 196 PA in games played in Detroit.
*poof*
posted by grum@work at 04:08 PM on November 24, 2010
Now I know I am a Steelrs fan, but as a coach and former player, I always think I call or see penalties as they are. That being said, if you watched the Steeler/Raiders game, you saw one of the worst displays by an ref crew ever. Many of the calls were wrong and the Steelers were being targeted. Several 15 yard calls that should have never been made.
Also, Dick Seymour was only fined 25k for his punch of Big Ben. If he Had done that to Manning or Brady, I think we would be looking at at least one game suspension. The off season stuff has made Ben a very non sympatheric target. Your thoughts?