Well, due to time constraints, this one is not going to be elaborate as the Philly won, but regardless, here are my top 5 games of the decade.
5). Syracuse and UConn go 6 OTs - There are many marathon games, one of them even made my Philly list, but I don't think anything was quite like this game. Actually I take that back, nothing was like this game nor do I ever expect to see anything like it again. Besides Sean McDonough and Bill Raftery are 2 of my favorite announcers.
4). The Cards take the Steelers to the limit - The Cards were expected to get blown out in the Super Bowl. Hell, most people feel that they did not deserve to be in the playoffs. But Larry Fitzgerald is a beast and they came within seconds and a conteroversial call of actually pulling the upset. It may have had its slow parts in it, but the drama at the end of that game was as high as you will ever get in a sports game. And this is coming from someone who did not have much of a rooting interest.
3). Appalachian State stuns the college football world - Definitely one of, if not the biggest sports upset of the decade, and on top of that, it was one heck of a football game. Oh yeah, LOLMichigan!
2). Eli Manning is unstoppable in the Super Bowl - While I personally have a hilarious personal story about this game, I'll save that and focus on the game. I am not a Giants fan but they definitely earned a lot of respect from me with their performance in that game. It was incredible, it was inspiring, and it took down a team that I have no respect for, the New England Patriots. And as time goes on, it appears more and more as if that game ended the Patriots Super Bowl dynasty. Call me nuts, but I do not think that we will see Belichick and Brady together in a Super Bowl again.
1). Boise State's Miraculous Fiesta Bowl - I know what you are thinking, no 2003 Fiesta Bowl? No 2006 Rose Bowl? No Nadal-Federer? All great games/matches, but I limited myself to 5 and this is without a doubt in my mind the #1 game of the decade because of the impact it had. For instance, did you know that Utah defeated Pitt in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl? True fact. Heck, they blew them out. But do you remember it? Better yet, do you remember that Urban Meyer coached that Utah team that beat? Here is another one, the 2009 Sugar Bowl. How often is that game talked about now? We can only say we remember it because of it's recency and it's the latest Sugar Bowl. Just like whenever a QB scrambles out of a seemingly impossible jam we call it an "Eli Manning" well whether we realize it or not, we throw the term "Boise miracles" around more often then we realize whenever a team needs a last second touchdown to tie or win the game and they are backed up with the clock not on theri side. People have forgotten the other upsets. No one has forgotten the 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. That Fiesta Bowl has had a greater impact on the game of football in general, then any game has done for any sport this decade. I say that without a doubt in my mind and no close runner-up. The 03 Fiesta and the 06 Rose were both great games and have given us many memorable images, Appalachian State's upset of Michigan was simply shocking and more improbable than this, but none of them were like that miraculous New Year's night in Glendale, when one team from Boise did the impossible and slayed Oklahoma in the most dramatic and exciting of ways. When a college playoff is eventually adopted and years after that people talk about at what point the talks became serious, I can all but assure you that they will point you to this Boise State-Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl.
Well, that's it. Feel free to debate them all you want as I am sure you will have some gripes. But that is my list and unless you blow me away with something I have completely forgotten, it is going to stay that way.
10 years ago I was a 4th grader in elementary school who never left the country and could barely describe the internet, and was embarrassed and completely ashamed of himself for reading the word "carp" as "crap" in front of the entire class. Now I am a sophomore in college, have traveled the world, and is a master at utilizing and finding things on the World Wide Web and even has a sports blog of his own. Okay, maybe master is exaggerating a bit, but I've certainly come a long way and I do have my tricks of finding information online. Oh, and in case you have not realized, I say whatever the fuck I damn well please.
Happy new year and happy new decade to everyone. May you and your families have a safe and wonderful time celebrating tonight and a safe and wonderful year and a safe and wonderful decade.
All the best,
JFein
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Idaho Vandals Pull A Boise State In Boise And Causes Eric Collins To Have A Heart Attack
If you were like me and you did not give a crap about a bowl game between Idaho and Bowling Green, then I, er, you, missed one heck of a game with a helluva finish. Tied at 35, Bowling Green hit a long pass down the sideline that went all the way giving Bowling Green a 42-35 lead with 32 seconds left. Game over, right? Wrong! The Idaho Vandals came back and came back with a vengeance with a 3 play, 66-yard game winning drive that is recapped in the video below. Watch with awe and listen as you hear what will become soon known as laryngitis for Eric Collins, the ESPNU announcer that got assigned to this game.
I personally love screaming announcers, but when it is as forced and contrived as that sounded, it's just bad.
Congrats though to the Idaho Vandals on an amazing win and a great football game.
And all the best to the Collins family as Eric is now St. Luke's Boise Medical Center in shockingly good condition. His larynx may be permanently bruised and he may have had a heart attack in the booth, but he appears to be all right and will be out of the hospital soon.
I personally love screaming announcers, but when it is as forced and contrived as that sounded, it's just bad.
Congrats though to the Idaho Vandals on an amazing win and a great football game.
And all the best to the Collins family as Eric is now St. Luke's Boise Medical Center in shockingly good condition. His larynx may be permanently bruised and he may have had a heart attack in the booth, but he appears to be all right and will be out of the hospital soon.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
The Games Of The Decade: Philly Edition
Practically everyone else is doing something for the decade, so I figured that I would join the party. That and I am bored out of my mind, it's a slow news day (and no, I am not doing a post on Mike Leach and my random out of nowhere not factually based hunch that Craig and Adam James are full of shit) so I need something to stimulate myself (besides watching porn).
So here is what I am doing. Here is an obviously debatable list of what I feel are the top 5 Philly games of the decade and in a later post, I will have the top 5 national games of the decade. Feel free to debate these, disagree with these, dispute these, whatever you want, however, I have thought these out and I am sticking with my guns.
First your Top 5 Philly games of the decade in order from #5 to the game I consider #1 (and really, if you have not figured out what #1 is going to be, then I really do pity you).
5). The Answer Stuns The Lakers - Sticking with the theme of championships, how about the 2000-2001 Philadelphia 76erts? Another game that I remember watching was Game 1 of that series and Iverson's heroics. Do I remember it as vividly as the Flyers games above? No, but gosh darn it, that was one heck of a performance by Iverson and I was truly believing that the Sixers had a chance to win the whole series after that game. Of course, the Lakers ended up winning the next 4 games and the series, but the thrill experienced by stunning the Lakers in LA is something worth remembering. Since then though, it was all downhill for the franchise and right now they are in the dumps and while I am excited that Iverson is back with the team and they have shown a bit of potential, they are by no means an NBA Finals team. After that NBA Finals, I really was never able to fully get back into the Sixers and the NBA in general. If there was one of the major four professional team sports that I could do without, it would without a doubt be the Sixers and NBA basketball in general. College basketball on the other hand, that is something completely different. I think that the college game is 1,000 times better than the professional game, much more exciting and dramatic than the professional game, and more importantly in my view, there is more of a stress on the team aspect where as the NBA nowadays to me is really nothing more than a bunch of guys with talent strutting their stuff and showing off. The focus is all on individual accomplishments and failures and how great Kobe and LeBron are, and after awhile, believe it or not, that gets boring.
4). Penguins and Flyers go 5 overtimes: Mr. Overtime Steve Levy struck again in Pittsburgh. He was there. And 5 overtimes later, Keith Primeau finally scored the game-winning goal sending the Flyers the crucial Game 4 victory that would at the time tie the series after trailing 2-0. My memory of that game: Waking up for school the next morning and having my mom tell me that the Flyers won in 5 OTs. Lucky for me, I taped the game and watched the whole sha-bang from start to finish immediately after I got home. Since then, I have purchased the 10 Greatest Flyers Games DVD which they released 10 of their best games in their entirety on DVD to commemorate their 40th anniversary a few years ago. I have seen the game again and it is just incredible to watch. The Flyers would not look back from that epic win and would win the next 2 defeating the Pens in 6. However, the season would not end well for the Flyers as after leading the Devils 3 games to 1 in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Flyers choked, losing 3 games in a row, the last of which being a game that I experienced first hand. I've told the story numerous times, but I was at that Game 7, perhaps the most infamous Flyers game of the decade. Eric Lindros skated off the ice early in the first period after taking a shoulder from Scott Stevens. That may have been over 9 years ago now but the image I have of seeing Eric Lindros laying there on the ice and the heartbreak that I felt as I watched in person Patrik Elias score the game-winning goal with under 3-minutes to go. After that, I never wanted to touch that game again. I never saw it again until just last week when ESPN Classic showed it as part of their Best of the Decade marathon. And while the ending was not as I would have pleased and while I still felt the heartbreak when that Elias goal went in at the end, I must say that too, was a heck of a hockey game.
3). San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies April 27, 2003 - Wait, what, you ask? My oh my, how soon we forget the only no-hitter thrown by a Phillie this decade. Kevin Millwood has never really amounted to a whole lot in the majors, but that does not take away from the importance and the great individual accomplishment of any no-no, especially when your team has only one in the decade. Sure they were fairly bad, finishing 15 games out of the division, but you never forget the no-hitters, am I right?
2). 2005 NFC Championship Game - It was the day after a foot of snow was just dumped on the city and the 4th year in a row that the Eagles were in an NFC Championship game. They failed the first 3 times. This time they did not. 67,717 braved 17 degree temperatures and a sub-zero windchill to witness a truly great game for the city of Philadelphia. Was it the most dramatic game ever? No. But did it mean a lot for a franchise that just lost 3 straight conference championships? Fuck yeah it did, and it felt damn good in the process. There is nothing like watching a game being played in sub-zero weather than by watching it with your family with the fireplace turned on and cheering as the Eagles stamped a ticket to Jacksonville.
1.5) Stairs rips one into the night - The moment that The Curse of William Penn was broken. The moment that everyone in the city knew that the Phillies were going to win the World Series. The moment that got people to dream and really started believing in this team more than they believed in any Philly team that made a championship this decade. The moment that set up my choice for the #1 Philly Game of the decade.....
1). The Philadelphia Phillies are World Champions of baseball - Duh. Did you really think this was going to be something else. Game 5 of the 2008 World Series. A game that ended over 48 hours after it started. And unlike the Eagles and the Falcons, this game was dramatic, from watching the conditions and the field deteriorate before our very eyes in Part 1 that ended with a back-breaking Tampa RBI to tie the game right before it was called, to the showdown of dramatic plays in part 2 from Utley's great defensive play to Pat Burrell getting what wound up as the game-winning run on base in what would ultimately end up being his last at-bat as a Phillie (Eric Bruntlett ended up pinch-running for Burrell who is no faster than a snail and it was Bruntlett who ultimately scored the winning run). I remember before the game everyone saying that the Rays had all the momentum going into that because of the ending of Game 5 Version 1.0, but heading into Game 5 Version 2.0, I knew one thing that would make a difference and one thing that made me believe that everyone on Around the Horn was more full of shit than normal. The Phillies had 12 outs to play with on offense as opposed to 9 for the Rays. Of course, the Phillies did not need those extra outs in order to win it all, but that was the ultimate advantage in that game, not the fact that Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria got their first hits of the series in that rain soaked Part 1 of the game. And while some people do not like the suspension of the game midway through the game, personally, I do like that it happened that way for one reason and one reason only: you remember it. It was a memorable finish and that second part of the game was some of the most dramatic and exciting baseball that you will ever see, and while my hopes and rooting interests are deeply entwined with a certain winning team of the game, I have to feel that casual baseball fans and sports fans in general enjoyed watching that Game 5. Many people will remember the day the day the Phillies won the 2008 World Series for quite some time.
So here is what I am doing. Here is an obviously debatable list of what I feel are the top 5 Philly games of the decade and in a later post, I will have the top 5 national games of the decade. Feel free to debate these, disagree with these, dispute these, whatever you want, however, I have thought these out and I am sticking with my guns.
First your Top 5 Philly games of the decade in order from #5 to the game I consider #1 (and really, if you have not figured out what #1 is going to be, then I really do pity you).
5). The Answer Stuns The Lakers - Sticking with the theme of championships, how about the 2000-2001 Philadelphia 76erts? Another game that I remember watching was Game 1 of that series and Iverson's heroics. Do I remember it as vividly as the Flyers games above? No, but gosh darn it, that was one heck of a performance by Iverson and I was truly believing that the Sixers had a chance to win the whole series after that game. Of course, the Lakers ended up winning the next 4 games and the series, but the thrill experienced by stunning the Lakers in LA is something worth remembering. Since then though, it was all downhill for the franchise and right now they are in the dumps and while I am excited that Iverson is back with the team and they have shown a bit of potential, they are by no means an NBA Finals team. After that NBA Finals, I really was never able to fully get back into the Sixers and the NBA in general. If there was one of the major four professional team sports that I could do without, it would without a doubt be the Sixers and NBA basketball in general. College basketball on the other hand, that is something completely different. I think that the college game is 1,000 times better than the professional game, much more exciting and dramatic than the professional game, and more importantly in my view, there is more of a stress on the team aspect where as the NBA nowadays to me is really nothing more than a bunch of guys with talent strutting their stuff and showing off. The focus is all on individual accomplishments and failures and how great Kobe and LeBron are, and after awhile, believe it or not, that gets boring.
4). Penguins and Flyers go 5 overtimes: Mr. Overtime Steve Levy struck again in Pittsburgh. He was there. And 5 overtimes later, Keith Primeau finally scored the game-winning goal sending the Flyers the crucial Game 4 victory that would at the time tie the series after trailing 2-0. My memory of that game: Waking up for school the next morning and having my mom tell me that the Flyers won in 5 OTs. Lucky for me, I taped the game and watched the whole sha-bang from start to finish immediately after I got home. Since then, I have purchased the 10 Greatest Flyers Games DVD which they released 10 of their best games in their entirety on DVD to commemorate their 40th anniversary a few years ago. I have seen the game again and it is just incredible to watch. The Flyers would not look back from that epic win and would win the next 2 defeating the Pens in 6. However, the season would not end well for the Flyers as after leading the Devils 3 games to 1 in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Flyers choked, losing 3 games in a row, the last of which being a game that I experienced first hand. I've told the story numerous times, but I was at that Game 7, perhaps the most infamous Flyers game of the decade. Eric Lindros skated off the ice early in the first period after taking a shoulder from Scott Stevens. That may have been over 9 years ago now but the image I have of seeing Eric Lindros laying there on the ice and the heartbreak that I felt as I watched in person Patrik Elias score the game-winning goal with under 3-minutes to go. After that, I never wanted to touch that game again. I never saw it again until just last week when ESPN Classic showed it as part of their Best of the Decade marathon. And while the ending was not as I would have pleased and while I still felt the heartbreak when that Elias goal went in at the end, I must say that too, was a heck of a hockey game.
3). San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies April 27, 2003 - Wait, what, you ask? My oh my, how soon we forget the only no-hitter thrown by a Phillie this decade. Kevin Millwood has never really amounted to a whole lot in the majors, but that does not take away from the importance and the great individual accomplishment of any no-no, especially when your team has only one in the decade. Sure they were fairly bad, finishing 15 games out of the division, but you never forget the no-hitters, am I right?
2). 2005 NFC Championship Game - It was the day after a foot of snow was just dumped on the city and the 4th year in a row that the Eagles were in an NFC Championship game. They failed the first 3 times. This time they did not. 67,717 braved 17 degree temperatures and a sub-zero windchill to witness a truly great game for the city of Philadelphia. Was it the most dramatic game ever? No. But did it mean a lot for a franchise that just lost 3 straight conference championships? Fuck yeah it did, and it felt damn good in the process. There is nothing like watching a game being played in sub-zero weather than by watching it with your family with the fireplace turned on and cheering as the Eagles stamped a ticket to Jacksonville.
1.5) Stairs rips one into the night - The moment that The Curse of William Penn was broken. The moment that everyone in the city knew that the Phillies were going to win the World Series. The moment that got people to dream and really started believing in this team more than they believed in any Philly team that made a championship this decade. The moment that set up my choice for the #1 Philly Game of the decade.....
1). The Philadelphia Phillies are World Champions of baseball - Duh. Did you really think this was going to be something else. Game 5 of the 2008 World Series. A game that ended over 48 hours after it started. And unlike the Eagles and the Falcons, this game was dramatic, from watching the conditions and the field deteriorate before our very eyes in Part 1 that ended with a back-breaking Tampa RBI to tie the game right before it was called, to the showdown of dramatic plays in part 2 from Utley's great defensive play to Pat Burrell getting what wound up as the game-winning run on base in what would ultimately end up being his last at-bat as a Phillie (Eric Bruntlett ended up pinch-running for Burrell who is no faster than a snail and it was Bruntlett who ultimately scored the winning run). I remember before the game everyone saying that the Rays had all the momentum going into that because of the ending of Game 5 Version 1.0, but heading into Game 5 Version 2.0, I knew one thing that would make a difference and one thing that made me believe that everyone on Around the Horn was more full of shit than normal. The Phillies had 12 outs to play with on offense as opposed to 9 for the Rays. Of course, the Phillies did not need those extra outs in order to win it all, but that was the ultimate advantage in that game, not the fact that Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria got their first hits of the series in that rain soaked Part 1 of the game. And while some people do not like the suspension of the game midway through the game, personally, I do like that it happened that way for one reason and one reason only: you remember it. It was a memorable finish and that second part of the game was some of the most dramatic and exciting baseball that you will ever see, and while my hopes and rooting interests are deeply entwined with a certain winning team of the game, I have to feel that casual baseball fans and sports fans in general enjoyed watching that Game 5. Many people will remember the day the day the Phillies won the 2008 World Series for quite some time.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Your Week 17 NFL Schedule
Here it is! It seems like just yesterday that we were counting down the days to the start of the season and here we are at it's climax. Week 17 with significant seeding on the line in the NFC and a clusterfuck of teams trying to get into the playoffs in the AFC. It is a double double header this week, meaning that most of you will be seeing 4 regional games this week unless you are in a city where a blackout applies. So here are your maps, your schedule of games along with the announcers of each game. Week 17 is upon us. Are you ready?
Map of who gets what CBS early game
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Miami Dolphins 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
New England Patriots @ Houston Texans 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Cleveland Browns 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Indianapolis Colts @ Buffalo Bills 1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein)
Map of who gets what Fox early game
New York Giants @ Minnesota Vikings 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Charles Davis)
San Francisco 49ers @ St. Louis Rams 1:00 (Fox - Matt Vasgersian and Ross Tucker)
Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions 1:00 (Fox - Chris Rose and Trent Green)
Map of who gets what CBS late game
Baltimore Ravens @ Oakland Raiders 4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos 4:15 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Tennessee Titans @ Seattle Seahawks 4:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)
Map of who gets what Fox late game
Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys 4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Green Bay Packers @ Arizona Cardinals 4:15 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
Washington Redskins @ San Diego Chargers 4:15 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)
Sunday Night Football
Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Jets 8:25 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)
It is a week like this that I am certainly thankful that I am home during this time of year and that I get NFL Sunday Ticket and their edition of the popular RedZone Channel. Nothing is more thrilling or more dramatic than Week 17 of the NFL especially when there is so much on the line once all of the seeing is cleared up in the NFC, there will be one team and one fanbase watching at NBC at 8:25 PM ET cheering and screaming at the tops of their lungs saying "LET'S GO BENGALS! LET'S GO BENGALS!". And I'm not talking about the Bengals themselves or their fans.
Map of who gets what CBS early game
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Miami Dolphins 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
New England Patriots @ Houston Texans 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Cleveland Browns 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Indianapolis Colts @ Buffalo Bills 1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein)
Map of who gets what Fox early game
New York Giants @ Minnesota Vikings 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Charles Davis)
San Francisco 49ers @ St. Louis Rams 1:00 (Fox - Matt Vasgersian and Ross Tucker)
Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions 1:00 (Fox - Chris Rose and Trent Green)
Map of who gets what CBS late game
Baltimore Ravens @ Oakland Raiders 4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos 4:15 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Tennessee Titans @ Seattle Seahawks 4:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)
Map of who gets what Fox late game
Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys 4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Green Bay Packers @ Arizona Cardinals 4:15 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
Washington Redskins @ San Diego Chargers 4:15 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)
Sunday Night Football
Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Jets 8:25 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)
It is a week like this that I am certainly thankful that I am home during this time of year and that I get NFL Sunday Ticket and their edition of the popular RedZone Channel. Nothing is more thrilling or more dramatic than Week 17 of the NFL especially when there is so much on the line once all of the seeing is cleared up in the NFC, there will be one team and one fanbase watching at NBC at 8:25 PM ET cheering and screaming at the tops of their lungs saying "LET'S GO BENGALS! LET'S GO BENGALS!". And I'm not talking about the Bengals themselves or their fans.
Your Week 17 Playoff Scenarios
Get ready for a migrane.
I do not recall a year when there was so much that can determined from one week of football in the playoffs. Sure Week 17 is always big and crazy and unpredictable, but never do I recall so much seeding up in the air in one conference and so many teams alive in the other conference. Get the Ibprofen ready because from NFL.com, here are your Week 17 NFL playoff and seeding scenarios!
All I'll say is that some of these teams have greater chances of winning the Powerball than actually making these playoffs. And the funny part was, here was the Eagles playoff scenario from last year before Chicago's Week 16 Monday Nighter against Green Bay.
"Philadelphia Eagles- Need to beat Dallas, have Tampa Bay lose to Oakland, and have Chicago lose on of their next two. Can also clinch if Chicago wins both games and they beat Dallas."
It can happen, Jacksonville and Miami, the seemingly improbable is always possible in the NFL. After all, who gave Oakland any chance at all to beat Tampa Bay last year?
Now if you'll excuse me, an overdose of Motrin is exactly what my doctor is ordering me to do right now.....
I do not recall a year when there was so much that can determined from one week of football in the playoffs. Sure Week 17 is always big and crazy and unpredictable, but never do I recall so much seeding up in the air in one conference and so many teams alive in the other conference. Get the Ibprofen ready because from NFL.com, here are your Week 17 NFL playoff and seeding scenarios!
NFCHomina homina homina my head hurts.
CLINCHED:
New Orleans — South division and home-field advantage.
Minnesota — North division.
Arizona — West division.
Philadelphia — playoff spot.
Green Bay — playoff spot.
Dallas — playoff spot.
ELIMINATED:
Detroit, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Washington, Chicago, Seattle, Carolina, Atlanta, San Francisco, NY Giants.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Minnesota clinches a first-round bye:
1) MIN win + PHI loss or tie
2) MIN tie + PHI loss
ARIZONA CARDINALS
Arizona clinches a first-round bye:
1) ARI win + MIN loss + PHI loss
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Philadelphia clinches East division:
1) PHI win or tie
Philadelphia clinches a first-round bye:
1) PHI win
2) PHI tie + MIN loss or tie
DALLAS COWBOYS
Dallas clinches East divison:
1) DAL win
Dallas clinches a first-round bye:
1) DAL win + MIN loss + ARI loss or tie
AFC
CLINCHED:
Indianapolis — South division and home-field advantage.
San Diego — West division and first-round bye.
Cincinnati — North division.
New England — East division.
ELIMINATED:
Cleveland, Kansas City, Oakland, Buffalo, Tennessee.
Baltimore, the Jets, Denver, Pittsburgh and Houston can also make the playoffs if they tie this week with various other things happening. Jacksonville and Miami cannot make the playoffs with a tie.
BALTIMORE RAVENS
Baltimore clinches a playoff spot:
1) BAL win
NEW YORK JETS
NY Jets clinch a playoff spot:
1) NYJ win
DENVER BRONCOS
Denver clinches a playoff spot:
1) DEN win + NYJ loss or tie + BAL loss or tie
2) DEN win + NYJ loss or tie + PIT loss or tie
3) DEN win + NYJ loss or tie + HOU win
4) DEN win + BAL loss or tie + PIT loss or tie
5) DEN win + BAL loss or tie + HOU win
6) PIT loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + JAC loss
7) PIT loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + NYJ loss
8.) PIT loss + BAL loss + JAC loss + NYJ loss
9) PIT loss + HOU loss + JAC loss + NYJ loss
10) MIA loss or tie + NYJ loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + JAC loss or tie
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Pittsburgh clinches a playoff spot:
1) PIT win + HOU loss or tie + NYJ loss or tie
2) PIT win + HOU loss or tie + BAL loss or tie
3) PIT win + NYJ loss or tie + BAL loss or tie + DEN loss or tie
HOUSTON TEXANS
Houston clinches a playoff spot:
1) HOU win + NYJ loss or tie + BAL loss or tie
2) HOU win + NYJ loss or tie + DEN loss or tie
3) HOU win + BAL loss or tie + DEN loss or tie
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Jacksonville clinches a playoff spot:
1) JAC win + PIT loss + BAL loss + DEN loss + HOU loss
2) JAC win + PIT loss + BAL loss + DEN loss + NYJ loss
3) JAC win + PIT loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + NYJ loss
4) JAC win + PIT loss + DEN loss + HOU loss + NYJ loss
5) JAC win + NYJ loss + DEN loss + HOU loss + BAL loss
MIAMI DOLPHINS
Miami clinches a playoff spot:
1) MIA win + NYJ loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + JAC loss or tie
All I'll say is that some of these teams have greater chances of winning the Powerball than actually making these playoffs. And the funny part was, here was the Eagles playoff scenario from last year before Chicago's Week 16 Monday Nighter against Green Bay.
"Philadelphia Eagles- Need to beat Dallas, have Tampa Bay lose to Oakland, and have Chicago lose on of their next two. Can also clinch if Chicago wins both games and they beat Dallas."
It can happen, Jacksonville and Miami, the seemingly improbable is always possible in the NFL. After all, who gave Oakland any chance at all to beat Tampa Bay last year?
Now if you'll excuse me, an overdose of Motrin is exactly what my doctor is ordering me to do right now.....
Jay Cutler Is My Hero Tonight!
Last year, the Eagles needed to help to achieve something they wanted. Last year they wanted a playoff spot. They needed outside help. Michael Bush provided that help as he was instrumental in the Raiders beating the Buccaneers which helped to allow the Cowboys-Eagles game later that day to be a game to advance to the playoffs. This year, the Eagles are in the playoffs, but could really use a 1st round bye as their bye week this season was Week 4. Enter Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears. If the Bears win, then all the Eagles need to do is beat the Cowboys on Sunday in order to secure a first round bye (more on this tomorrow).
The Bears jumped out to a 17-point lead but Brett Favre did his Brett Favre thing and clawed the Vikings back in the game and tied it at 23. Immediately following that, Danieal Manning returned the kick to the Viking 20. Cutler followed that up with a TD pass to give the Bears a 30-23 lead with over 4 minutes left in regulation. Brett Favre once again did his Brett Favre thing and methodically drove down the field throwing a game-tying TD pass to Sidney Rice with 11 seconds left.
The Bears elect to take a knee following the kickoff and we go to overtime. Bears win the toss and receive. They drive down the field and set up Robbie Gould for a 48-yard field goal only to see him just miss it wide right. The Bears defense would step up afterwards and force a three and out. Bears get the ball back again but they go three and out themselves. Next Vikings possession, Favre throws a pass to Peterson who makes the catch out of the backfield and runs down the sidelines but he has the ball punched out of his hands by Hunter Hillenmeyer and it's recovered by the Bears. The first play after that, this happened. Take it away, Jay Cutler!
PHILLY LOVES YOU JAY CUTLER!!!!!!!!!!
Now all the Eagles have to do is beat Dallas and they will be the #2 seed in the NFC. Thank you Jay Cutler. Regardless of what happens in the near and not-so-near future, you can be sure that I won't soon forget this.
The Bears jumped out to a 17-point lead but Brett Favre did his Brett Favre thing and clawed the Vikings back in the game and tied it at 23. Immediately following that, Danieal Manning returned the kick to the Viking 20. Cutler followed that up with a TD pass to give the Bears a 30-23 lead with over 4 minutes left in regulation. Brett Favre once again did his Brett Favre thing and methodically drove down the field throwing a game-tying TD pass to Sidney Rice with 11 seconds left.
The Bears elect to take a knee following the kickoff and we go to overtime. Bears win the toss and receive. They drive down the field and set up Robbie Gould for a 48-yard field goal only to see him just miss it wide right. The Bears defense would step up afterwards and force a three and out. Bears get the ball back again but they go three and out themselves. Next Vikings possession, Favre throws a pass to Peterson who makes the catch out of the backfield and runs down the sidelines but he has the ball punched out of his hands by Hunter Hillenmeyer and it's recovered by the Bears. The first play after that, this happened. Take it away, Jay Cutler!
PHILLY LOVES YOU JAY CUTLER!!!!!!!!!!
Now all the Eagles have to do is beat Dallas and they will be the #2 seed in the NFC. Thank you Jay Cutler. Regardless of what happens in the near and not-so-near future, you can be sure that I won't soon forget this.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Pam Ward Is Not A Fan Of Injured Football Players
You can chalk this one up in the category of audio glitches causing America to hear something that was not supposed to be heard. In this case, Pam Ward tossed it to the studio and while she thought that Dari Nowkhah and Trevor Matich were giving the people an update, an audio glitch prevented us from hearing Dari and Trevor. Instead, Pam's microphone was never cut off and you can hear her mumble some rather distasteful things to the injured Marshall player on the ground (and even check to make sure that Dari and Trevor are the ones in the studio!)
It's disrespectful, yes, but a part of me can't help but laugh at it. Sure it's rude, mean, and obnoxious what she said, but given who it is and her reputation, you can't help but laugh. I am curious though how on earth Ray Bentley handles this. I mean, what on earth is he and everyone within ear shot of Pam thinking then, not even knowing that it is being heard by all of America?
Stay classy, Pammy!
Video of the day: Pam Ward disrespects an injured football player (Keith's Sports Journal)
Pam Ward is frustrated with this damn injured Marshall player (Deadspin)
It's disrespectful, yes, but a part of me can't help but laugh at it. Sure it's rude, mean, and obnoxious what she said, but given who it is and her reputation, you can't help but laugh. I am curious though how on earth Ray Bentley handles this. I mean, what on earth is he and everyone within ear shot of Pam thinking then, not even knowing that it is being heard by all of America?
Stay classy, Pammy!
Video of the day: Pam Ward disrespects an injured football player (Keith's Sports Journal)
Pam Ward is frustrated with this damn injured Marshall player (Deadspin)
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Yahoo! Loves The Cowboys So Much They Mess Up The Facts
Thanks to The 700 Level for this screen shot.
We know everyone loves Dallas, but they have just clinched a playoff spot and eliminated the Giants by beating Washington, they are not NFC East Champions. They have to beat the Eagles to earn that right.
We know everyone loves Dallas, but they have just clinched a playoff spot and eliminated the Giants by beating Washington, they are not NFC East Champions. They have to beat the Eagles to earn that right.
Week 16 NFL Live Blog
I'll be around today more than I was last week. Actually, outside of the Eagles game, I'll probably be around for most of the day/night. So enjoy the game, and remember, go Eagles!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
The Latest Act Of Fan Hooliganism Not From Philadelphia
Seeing as this is the Christmas season, I shall ask, which is the more grinchier of actions? Booing a really bad, poorly costumed, ill-prepared Santa Claus when your team sucks or throwing foam fingers and water bottles on the court because you are not happy with the officiating in the game? We all know about the former incident, but check out LA fans engaging in the latter last night.
And that my friends, is a microcosm of the Los Angeles fan base. One person thinks a team is cool, and suddenly the entire city jumps on the bandwagon., One drunken idiot thinks it is a good idea to throw foam fingers on the court, and the entire arena follows suit. Simply pathetic.
And that my friends, is a microcosm of the Los Angeles fan base. One person thinks a team is cool, and suddenly the entire city jumps on the bandwagon., One drunken idiot thinks it is a good idea to throw foam fingers on the court, and the entire arena follows suit. Simply pathetic.
ESPN Classic: The Worldwide Leader In Awesome Decade Celebrations
First of all, Happy Boxing Day!
To the point of the post, I know I am a little late on getting this up, but as it was early Boxing Day morning and I was surfing my television trying to find something appetizing to watch. Well, I turned on ESPN Classic, Game 6 of the 2000 Subway Series was on, bleh, but sometimes you take what you can get. Anyway, I look at the top of the screen and it says "Best of the Decade". I look at the guide through my DVR, and I am amazed at what I see. Non-stop classics in every sport from every network running from 2000 all the way to 2009! The only thing that is missing is the NFL, and yet for me, that is not that big of a deal as NFL Network runs classic games on a fairly regular basis that I watch with some occasional regularity. Sure ESPN Classic runs Classic games, but it always seems to be disjointed with no real schedule. This marathon has a schedule and I have it listed below. Now I am the farthest thing from an ESPN shill, but I must admit, that when I saw all of this and the games they have managed to air, it moved.
Some of the games include the 2000 Eastern Conference finals game between the Flyers and the Devils which was I game went to and it also was the last time Eric Lindros was seen in a Flyers uniform, Raymond Bourque finally winning a Stanley Cup, Ohio State-Miami controversial Fiesta Bowl, Penn State-Florida State Orange Bowl, Boise State-Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl (a.k.a. my personal choice for The Game Of The Decade), Tiger vs. Rocco, Federer vs. Nadal, the 6 OT game between UConn and Syracuse, George Mason's Elite 8 upset over UConn, Gonzaga's collapse against UCLA, the Phillies breaking Philly's 100-season and 25-year championship drought with a World Series championship by winning a game that ended 49 hours after it began, and so much more. How much more, you ask? Well, here is the full schedule courtesy of ESPN.com.
To the point of the post, I know I am a little late on getting this up, but as it was early Boxing Day morning and I was surfing my television trying to find something appetizing to watch. Well, I turned on ESPN Classic, Game 6 of the 2000 Subway Series was on, bleh, but sometimes you take what you can get. Anyway, I look at the top of the screen and it says "Best of the Decade". I look at the guide through my DVR, and I am amazed at what I see. Non-stop classics in every sport from every network running from 2000 all the way to 2009! The only thing that is missing is the NFL, and yet for me, that is not that big of a deal as NFL Network runs classic games on a fairly regular basis that I watch with some occasional regularity. Sure ESPN Classic runs Classic games, but it always seems to be disjointed with no real schedule. This marathon has a schedule and I have it listed below. Now I am the farthest thing from an ESPN shill, but I must admit, that when I saw all of this and the games they have managed to air, it moved.
Some of the games include the 2000 Eastern Conference finals game between the Flyers and the Devils which was I game went to and it also was the last time Eric Lindros was seen in a Flyers uniform, Raymond Bourque finally winning a Stanley Cup, Ohio State-Miami controversial Fiesta Bowl, Penn State-Florida State Orange Bowl, Boise State-Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl (a.k.a. my personal choice for The Game Of The Decade), Tiger vs. Rocco, Federer vs. Nadal, the 6 OT game between UConn and Syracuse, George Mason's Elite 8 upset over UConn, Gonzaga's collapse against UCLA, the Phillies breaking Philly's 100-season and 25-year championship drought with a World Series championship by winning a game that ended 49 hours after it began, and so much more. How much more, you ask? Well, here is the full schedule courtesy of ESPN.com.
Saturday, Dec. 26Yeah, it's official, I found my programming for the next week. Sure I'll tune in to the Winter Classic, some bowl games (keyword: some), and obviously all of Week 16 of the NFL, but aside from that, it's time to indulge myself in some nostalgia, relive games that I forget, and see games that I never got a chance to see, but look like they were something special and I want to see them anyway.
Midnight-2 a.m.: 2000 World Series, Game 5, Yankees versus Mets. Yankees win their third straight World Series title.
2 a.m.-4 a.m.: 2000 NHL regular season, Maple Leafs versus Penguins. After a 3½-year absence from hockey, Mario Lemieux returns to the ice for Pittsburgh with one goal and two assists in 5-0 win.
4 a.m.-6 a.m.: 2000 Eastern Conference finals, Game 7, Devils versus Flyers. Devils come back from a 3-1 series deficit to win Game 7, 2-1.
6 a.m.-8 a.m.: 2001 NBA regular season, Wizards versus Knicks. Michael Jordan returns to NBA with the Wizards in front of a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden. He finishes with 19 points but the Wizards lose 93-91.
8 a.m.-11 a.m.: 2001 GMAC Bowl, Marshall versus East Carolina. Byron Leftwich throws for 576 yards and leads Marshall to a tremendous comeback and a 64-61 double-overtime victory.
11 a.m.-1 p.m.: 2001 NHL Stanley Cup finals, Game 7, Devils versus Avalanche. Colorado wins the Stanley Cup and Ray Bourque finally lifts the Cup.
1 p.m.-3 p.m.: 2001, Duke versus Maryland. Duke makes up 10-point deficit with under a minute left to tie the game and force overtime, where Shane Battier scores the last six points for a 98-96 win.
3 p.m.-5 p.m.: 2001 Wimbledon final, Goran Ivanisevic versus Patrick Rafter. Ivanisevic finally prevails at Wimbledon, beating Rafter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7.
5 p.m.-7 p.m.: 2002 NBA Finals, Game 4, Lakers versus Nets. Lakers complete three-peat with sweep of the Nets.
7 p.m.-7:30 p.m.: 2001, Lennox Lewis versus Hasim Rahman. Rahman pulls off Ring Magazine's Upset of the Year and Knockout of the Year as he knocks out Lennox Lewis in the fifth round.
7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.: 2001 World Series, Game 7, Diamondbacks versus Yankees. Luis Gonzalez's broken-bat single off Mariano Rivera wins the series for Arizona.
9:30 p.m.-midnight: 2001 U.S. Open quarterfinal, Andre Agassi versus Pete Sampras. Sampras outlasts Agassi 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-5) in this epic battle between the two rivals.
Sunday, Dec. 27
12:30 a.m.-2:30 a.m.: 2001, Dodgers versus Giants. Barry Bonds hits home run No. 73 to finish the season with a new single-season record.
2:30 a.m.-3 a.m.: 2001, Lennox Lewis versus Hasim Rahman. Rahman pulls off Ring Magazine's Upset of the Year and Knockout of the Year as he knocks out Lennox Lewis in the fifth round.
3 a.m.-4 a.m.: 2001, Micky Ward versus Emanuel Burton. Ward wins a 10-round decision in the 2001 Ring Magazine Fight of Year.
4 a.m.-6 a.m.: 2002 Big East Tournament championship, Connecticut versus Pittsburgh. The Huskies win a classic Big East title game in double overtime, 74-65.
6 a.m.-8 a.m.: 2002 NBA Eastern Conference finals, Game 3, Nets versus Celtics. The Celtics overcome a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 94-90 in one of largest comebacks in playoff history.
8 a.m.-10 a.m.: 2002 Australian Open final, Jennifer Capriati versus Martina Hingis. Capriati saves four match points in the second set and defeats Hingis.
10 a.m.-1 p.m.: 2002 Little League World Series semifinal. Louisville defeats Fort Worth 2-1 in a game that features nine innings of no-hit ball and a record 49 strikeouts by five different pitchers.
1 p.m.-6 p.m.: 2003 Australian Open quarterfinal, Andy Roddick versus Younes El Aynaoui. Roddick prevails 4-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4, 21-19 in this classic marathon match that lasts four hours, 59 minutes.
6 p.m.-9 p.m.: 2003 Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State versus Miami. In one of the greatest bowl games of all time, Ohio State upsets Miami 31-24 in two overtimes to become national champ.
9 p.m.-11 p.m.: 2003 ALCS, Game 7, Red Sox versus Yankees. Aaron Boone becomes an instant hero in New York as his 11th-inning home run off of Tim Wakefield sends the Yankees to the World Series.
11 p.m.-1 a.m.: 2003 Heritage Classic, Canadiens versus Oilers. The first regular-season outdoor NHL game is played in Edmonton, with the Canadiens winning 4-3 thanks to two goals by Richard Zednik.
Monday, Dec. 28
1 a.m.-2 a.m.: 2003 Rocky Juarez versus Antonio Diaz. Juarez beats Diaz in the 10th round in Ring Magazine's Knockout of the Year for 2003.
2 a.m.-4 a.m.: 2003 NCAA championship, Syracuse versus Kansas. Hakim Warrick and freshman Carmelo Anthony lead Syracuse to an 81-78 win over Kansas.
4 a.m.-5 a.m.: 2003 World Series of Poker final table. Chris Moneymaker wins the $2.5 million first prize.
5 a.m.-6 a.m.: 2003 PBA Earl Anthony Classic. Norm Duke bowls a 300 game in the semifinals, the 15th televised perfect game in PBA history.
6 a.m.-7 a.m.: 2003 PBA Cambridge Credit Classic. Mika Koivuniemi tosses the 16th televised 300 game in PBA history.
7 a.m.-9 a.m.: 2004, Diamondbacks versus Braves. Randy Johnson tosses a perfect game at age 40.
9 a.m.-11 a.m.: 2004 women's NCAA championship, Connecticut versus Tennessee. The UConn women win 70-61 over rival Tennessee, giving the Huskies' men and women national titles in the same year.
11 a.m.-1 p.m.: 2004 NCAA semifinal, Connecticut versus Duke. Emeka Okafor helps the Huskies beat Duke 79-78 to advance to the national championship.
1 p.m.-3 p.m.: 2005 NCAA regional final, Arizona versus Illinois. Illinois trails by 15 with four minutes to play, but Deron Williams leads the comeback and 90-89 overtime victory.
3 p.m.-5 p.m.: 2006 NCAA regional final, George Mason versus Connecticut. No. 11 seed George Mason upsets Connecticut 86-84.
5 p.m.-7 p.m.: 2004 ALCS, Game 4, Yankees versus Red Sox. Down 3-0 in the ALCS, the Red Sox avoid the sweep after Dave Roberts steals second and Bill Mueller singles off Mariano Rivera to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. In the 12th inning, David Ortiz cracks a two-run home run to allow the Sox to live another day.
7 p.m.-8 p.m.: 2005 PBA Banquet Open. Liz Johnson becomes first woman to reach final of PBA event by beating Wes Malott 235-228.
8 p.m.-9 p.m.: 2005, Jose Luis Castillo versus Diego Corrales. Named the 2005 ESPN.com and Ring Magazine Fight of Year; Corrales rallies in the 10th round to score the TKO win and retain the WBO lightweight title.
9 p.m.-midnight: 2006 Rose Bowl, Texas versus USC. Vince Young and Texas pull off the memorable 41-38 upset over USC to win the national title.
Tuesday, Dec. 29
Midnight-3 a.m.: 2005 EA Sports Maui Invitational semifinal, Gonzaga versus Michigan State. This three-overtime thriller features Gonzaga taking down Michigan State 109-107 as Adam Morrison pours in 43 points.
3 a.m.-5 a.m.: 2005 NLDS, Game 4, Braves versus Astros. Rookie Chris Burke hits a walk-off home run in the 18th inning to beat the Braves while 43-year-old Roger Clemens pitches three innings in relief to get the win.
5 a.m.-10 a.m.: 2005 Australian Open semifinal, Roger Federer versus Marat Safin. After 4½ hours, Safin emerges victorious over the seemingly invincible Federer, 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 9-7.
10 a.m.-1 p.m.: 2005, USC versus Fresno State. Reggie Bush runs for 294 yards and scores twice while leading the Trojans to a wild 50-42 win.
1 p.m.-3 p.m.: 2006 Orange Bowl, Penn State versus Florida State. Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden face off in a three-overtime thriller that Penn State wins 26-23.
3 p.m.-5 p.m.: 2006, Ohio State versus Michigan. No. 1 versus No. 2 for the first time in the history of this rivalry. Troy Smith leads Ohio State to a 42-39 win.
5 p.m.-8 p.m.: 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Boise State versus Oklahoma. Boise State wins 43-42 in overtime, helped by an earlier 50-yard hook-and-ladder touchdown.
8 p.m.-9 p.m.: 2006 NCAA regional semifinal, Gonzaga versus UCLA. Gonzaga blows a 17-point lead as UCLA wins 73-71.
9 p.m.-9:30 p.m.: 2007, Vic Darchinyan versus Nonito Donaire. Donaire rocks Darchinyan with a big left hook that Ring Magazine named the Knockout of Year.
9:30 p.m.-10 p.m.: 2008, Edison Miranda versus David Banks. The 2008 ESPN.com and Ring Magazine Knockout of the Year comes from the right hand of Miranda.
10 p.m.-11 p.m.: 2007, Rafael Marquez versus Israel Vazquez I & II. The first bout in this trilogy sees Marquez breaking Vazquez's nose and capturing the WBC super bantamweight belt. The second bout is the 2007 ESPN.com and Ring Magazine Fight of the Year, with Vazquez reclaiming the belt with a bloody sixth-round TKO.
11 p.m.-midnight: 2008, Rafael Marquez versus Israel Vazquez III. In the 2008 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year, Vazquez wins the brutal third match of the trilogy with a split decision.
Wednesday, Dec. 30
Midnight-1 a.m.: 2006 PBA Dydo Japan Cup. Walter Ray Williams tops Pete Weber to pass Earl Anthony for most PBA titles of all time.
1 a.m.-2 a.m.: 2006 PBA Motor City Classic. Tony Reyes rolls a 300.
2 a.m.-4 a.m.: 2007 National League wild-card playoff, Padres versus Rockies. The Rockies won 14 of their final 15 games, including this come-from-behind, 13-inning, 9-8 win over the Padres.
4 a.m.-6 a.m.: 2006, Oregon versus Oklahoma. Oregon scores 14 points in the final five minutes and then blocks a field goal on the final play of the game to seal the improbable 34-33 win.
6 a.m.-8 a.m.: 2007, Appalachian State versus Michigan. Appalachian State stuns No. 5 Michigan 34-32 in one of biggest upsets in college football history.
8 a.m.-9 a.m.: 2007 PBA Pepsi Championship. Ryan Shafer bowls a 300.
9 a.m.-11 a.m.: 2008, Texas Tech versus Texas. Graham Harrell finds Michael Crabtree in double coverage with the final seconds ticking down as Tech stuns No. 1 Texas 39-33.
11 a.m.-1 p.m.: 2006, Raptors versus Lakers. Kobe Bryant scores 81 points in a 122-104 rout.
1 p.m.-4 p.m.: 2007 Eastern Conference finals, Game 5, Cavaliers versus Pistons. LeBron James scores 48 points in this double-overtime thriller that Cleveland wins 109-107.
4 p.m.-6 p.m.: 2008 NBA Finals, Game 4, Celtics versus Lakers. The Celtics overcome a 24-point deficit to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
6 p.m.-9 p.m.: 2009 Eastern Conference first round, Game 4, Celtics versus Bulls. Ben Gordon scores 22 points, including a game-tying 3-pointer late in the first overtime, as the Bulls beat the Celtics 121-118 in double OT.
9 p.m.-11 p.m.: 2008 Winter Classic, Penguins versus Sabres. Before the largest crowd in NHL history, the Penguins beat the Sabres 2-1 in a shootout at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
11 p.m.-1 a.m.: 2008 Firestone Indy Car 300 at Japan. Danica Patrick becomes the first woman to win a major open-wheel race as she passes Helio Castroneves with three laps remaining.
Thursday, Dec. 31
1 a.m.-3 a.m.: 2008 women's NCAA championship, Stanford versus Tennessee. Pat Summitt wins her eighth national championship as the Lady Vols take down Stanford 64-48.
3 a.m.-5 a.m.: 2008, Texas A&M versus Texas Tech. Bob Knight reaches 900 career victories with Texas Tech's 68-53 rout.
5 a.m.-7 a.m.: 2008, Tennessee versus Memphis. No. 2 Tennessee knocks off No. 1 Memphis 66-62, ending the Tigers' 47-game home winning streak.
7 a.m.-9 a.m.: 2008, Texas versus Oklahoma. Colt McCoy leads Texas over Sam Bradford and Oklahoma in this 45-35 Red River Rivalry shootout.
9 a.m.-11 a.m.: 2008 NCAA championship, Kansas versus Memphis. Kansas overcomes a nine-point deficit in the final 2:12 to force overtime and win the national title.
11 a.m.-4 p.m.: 2008 Wimbledon final, Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal. In the match of the decade, Rafael Nadal ends Roger Federer's five-year run at Wimbledon with an epic 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 win.
4 p.m.-6 p.m.: 2008 U.S. Open playoff, Rocco Mediate versus Tiger Woods, Part 1. The first nine holes of the 18-hole playoff.
6 p.m.-8 p.m.: 2008 U.S. Open playoff, Part 2. It goes 19 holes as Tiger wins despite obvious pain from an ailing knee.
8 p.m.-10 p.m.: 2009 NHL Eastern Conference semifinals, Game 2, Penguins versus Capitals. Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby trade hat tricks, but Ovechkin's goals in the third period give the Caps the 4-3 win.
10 p.m.-midnight: 2009 NHL Stanley Cup final, Game 7, Penguins versus Red Wings.The Penguins upend the Red Wings on the road in a memorable 2-1 victory.
Friday, Jan. 1
Midnight-3 a.m.: 2009 Frozen Four championship, Boston University versus Miami (Ohio). BU scores twice in the final minute to tie the game, then wins in overtime on fluke bounce.
3 a.m.-5 a.m.: 2009 women's NCAA championship, Connecticut versus Louisville. Led by Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles, the Huskies complete a 39-0 season by beating Louisville 76-54.
5 a.m.-7 a.m.: 2009 World Series of Poker final table. At 21, Joe Cada becomes the youngest world champion.
7 a.m.-10 a.m.: 2008, Baylor versus Texas A&M. This five-overtime contest ends with Baylor's 116-110 victory.
10 a.m.-3 p.m.: 2009 Wimbledon final, Roger Federer versus Andy Roddick. Roddick battles Federer to the bitter end, but Federer prevails in the epic match, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14.
3 p.m.-5 p.m.: 2008 NCAA tournament second round, Georgetown versus Davidson. Stephen Curry scores 25 of his 30 points in the second half as the Wildcats upset No. 2-seeded Georgetown 74-70.
5 p.m.-9 p.m.: 2009 Big East tournament, Syracuse versus Connecticut. Six overtimes later, Syracuse wins 127-117.
9 p.m.-midnight: 2009 Ford 400 at Homestead Miami. Denny Hamlin wins the race but Jimmie Johnson enters the NASCAR history books with his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Championship.
Saturday, Jan. 2
Midnight-2:30 a.m.: 2001, Indians versus Mariners. The Indians mount the greatest comeback in 76 years, winning 15-14 in 11 innings after trailing by 12 runs.
2:30 a.m.-4:30 a.m.: 2001 World Series, Game 4, Diamondbacks versus Yankees. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Tino Martinez launches a two-run homer off Byung-Hyun Kim to tie the game and then Derek Jeter homers in the 10th to win it.
4:30 a.m.-6:30 a.m.: 2003 World Series, Game 6, Marlins versus Yankees. 23-year-old Josh Beckett, pitching on three days' rest, throws a shutout to give the Marlins the title.
6:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m.: 2003 NLCS, Game 6, Marlins versus Cubs. With five outs to go for a trip to the World Series, the Cubs fall apart.
8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.: 2004 ALCS, Game 6, Red Sox versus Yankees. With Boston on the verge of elimination, Curt Schilling pitches with a torn tendon sheath in his right ankle in the "bloody sock" game.
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: 2004 ALCS, Game 7, Red Sox versus Yankees. Johnny Damon cracks a grand slam and a two-run homer to help Boston complete the historic comeback.
12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.: 2004 World Series, Game 4, Red Sox versus Cardinals. The Red Sox complete sweep of Cardinals with a 3-0 win for their first World Series title in 86 years.
2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: 2005 World Series, Game 4, White Sox versus Astros. After 88 agonizing years, the White Sox sweep the Astros with a 1-0 victory.
4:30 p.m.-7 p.m.: 2006, Padres versus Dodgers. The Dodgers hit four consecutive home runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and then Nomar Garciaparra hits a two-run homer in the 10th to give the Dodgers an improbable victory.
7 p.m.-9 p.m.: 2007, Nationals versus Giants. Barry Bonds hits home run No. 756 to pass Hank Aaron as the all-time home run king. The historic blast comes off Nationals hurler Mike Bacsik.
9 p.m.-midnight: 2008 World Series, Game 5, Rays versus Phillies. The teams play the final three innings after the game was postponed two days earlier, and the Phillies pull out a 3-2 win for the city of Philadelphia's first major title in 25 years.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
So This Is Christmas
Modern times has not made this time of year the easiest time of year because let's face it, if I come on here and just say "Merry Christmas", I'm a religiously insensitive douche bag, but if I just say "Happy Holidays", then I am a politically correct douche bag. Either way, some will perceive me as a douche bag.
That being said, even though I am for all intents and purposes atheist/agnostic, every December 25, my family, mostly Catholic, get together and exchange gifts and feast on lasagna made by my grandmother. It's not really much of a religious gathering other than some of my family saying grace before the meal. As an unknowing kid, they always made me say it, so now, whenever they turn to me to reprise my role, I try to pass it off that I forget or that one of my younger cousins who are Catholic should do it. This year if put in the situation I should might try my great Aunt, also Catholic. Besides, all of the above would get a greater thrill out of it then I would if I was religious.
For some slightly different music, try Shinedown's take on "Happy X-Mas (War is Over)" and Taylor Swift's version of the popular Wham Christmas tune, "Last Christmas". You're not gonna find too many original Christmas songs these days, so you take what you can get and these are certainly good ones.
So in order to cover all of my bases possible,
Merry Christmas
A belated Happy Hanukkah
Happy Kwanza
Happy Boxing Day
Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah (the original mash-up of the big 3)
Happy Chrismahanuboxingdaykwanzakah (sadly the original forgot everyone's favorite non-American Bank Holiday)
What I'm trying to say is, all the best to everyone and your families!
War is over if you want it.
That being said, even though I am for all intents and purposes atheist/agnostic, every December 25, my family, mostly Catholic, get together and exchange gifts and feast on lasagna made by my grandmother. It's not really much of a religious gathering other than some of my family saying grace before the meal. As an unknowing kid, they always made me say it, so now, whenever they turn to me to reprise my role, I try to pass it off that I forget or that one of my younger cousins who are Catholic should do it. This year if put in the situation I should might try my great Aunt, also Catholic. Besides, all of the above would get a greater thrill out of it then I would if I was religious.
For some slightly different music, try Shinedown's take on "Happy X-Mas (War is Over)" and Taylor Swift's version of the popular Wham Christmas tune, "Last Christmas". You're not gonna find too many original Christmas songs these days, so you take what you can get and these are certainly good ones.
So in order to cover all of my bases possible,
Merry Christmas
A belated Happy Hanukkah
Happy Kwanza
Happy Boxing Day
Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah (the original mash-up of the big 3)
Happy Chrismahanuboxingdaykwanzakah (sadly the original forgot everyone's favorite non-American Bank Holiday)
What I'm trying to say is, all the best to everyone and your families!
War is over if you want it.
The Debunking Of A Rumor That Jeff Carter Put His Non-Hockey Stick In Scott Hartnell's Wife
There are plenty of good things about blogs and the fact that these days just about anybody can have their own website. But the downside of that is the one simple fact that pretty much every idiot can have their own website these days. And that's what happened to Jeff Carter and Scott Hartnell.
If you've been reading around by now, you know the story of the "rumor" spread by a web site (not actually a blog as the Philadelphia Inquirer will have you believe; it may be no good, but let's call a website that can be described as a poor ripoff of a website like CSN Philly here a website and let's not mis-categorize it just to fulfill our stereotypes of bloggers), called the thephillyfour.com a week ago where it's author Jerry Brennan, got a "story" from someone he claims to be a "reliable source" that told him that Jeff Carter had an affair with Scott Hartnell's wife. In not so nice terms, Carter banged his teammate's wife.
Now every person outside of Mr. Brennan has all agreed on one basic principle here. This is a false story. Now I'm not going to go on a long-winded explanation further shoving this story down the throat of Mr. Brennan, that would be useless.
Instead I will direct you to other sources such as Deadspin, and Puck Daddy, who interestingly enough, may have discovered Jerry Brennan's reliable source that, well, is quite laughable, for how interesting is it that Jerry Brennan was not the first person to break this story? Read the Puck Daddy article for more on that as I am too lazy to copy and paste all his screenshots on the ordeal.
The Flyers are in a tailspin now and there are some legitimate reports that there is some locker room friction within the team, however, this story is not the cause of it. Whenever a team is in an unwanted and unexpected tailspin, this stuff pops up all the time, but it brings up an interesting point that as people with our own websites and blogs, we must be careful of what we put out there for the entire world to access it if need be. Jerry Brennan was a lot like us, he's not a big-named guy in the Philly sports media world, not many people go to him for their Philly sports updates, but if you put out something like that that's controversial and the right person by some twist of chance lands on your page and picks it up and publishes it, then you are responsible for that piece even if you legitimately thought that there was no one alive that read your site. What started out as a class project has upset Hartnell and Carter so much that that they have stated that they are upset that someone would report such a thing.
My point is this: even if you are not a big name and even if you believe only 3 people read your blog regularly, be careful of what you put out there as you never know who else is reading. Everything I put on here I try to get from credible sources and if the story is questionnable, I search around for proof of it.
Now Jerry Brennan was a different situation, he received some "insider information" (although his insider information has come from a bogus gossip site as Puck Daddy points out). But even if it was actual information like the tip that I got earlier this year from someone my dad knows who knows Eagles President Joe Banner in the off-season that the Eagles were going to make a "big move", I keep it to myself and if I trust you enough to not say anything, I will tell you don't say anything but here is what I heard and move on with it. Knowing that it is insider information that may not be true is enough to get me to not start something and put me in the middle of something that I do not want to be in the middle of like poor Jerry Brennan is now.
Now what was that big move and did it happen? I don't know. It could have been the plan of drafting Maclin, it could have been the plan of trading for Jason Peters, it could have been that there was already a plan in place to pick up Michael Vick. But if I had reported that on this blog, and someone would have picked it up, there would have been a firestorm against me, and even with these things happening, I don't know, if I would have been vindicated as sure, I could say, look I was right, the big move was Mike Vick, surely, it had to have been. But then again, you could say, no, how could everyone have thought that out that early in advance. In other words, perception is not reality, reality is reality and the reality is I could have posted something with no hard evidence that would have never been fully proven right either inside of our little community or outside of it if a big name picked it up.
Like I said, every person in this day and age can have a website and a blog, just don't be an idiot with it or else dangerous things can happen. Jerry Brennan now knows that all too well.
If you've been reading around by now, you know the story of the "rumor" spread by a web site (not actually a blog as the Philadelphia Inquirer will have you believe; it may be no good, but let's call a website that can be described as a poor ripoff of a website like CSN Philly here a website and let's not mis-categorize it just to fulfill our stereotypes of bloggers), called the thephillyfour.com a week ago where it's author Jerry Brennan, got a "story" from someone he claims to be a "reliable source" that told him that Jeff Carter had an affair with Scott Hartnell's wife. In not so nice terms, Carter banged his teammate's wife.
Now every person outside of Mr. Brennan has all agreed on one basic principle here. This is a false story. Now I'm not going to go on a long-winded explanation further shoving this story down the throat of Mr. Brennan, that would be useless.
Instead I will direct you to other sources such as Deadspin, and Puck Daddy, who interestingly enough, may have discovered Jerry Brennan's reliable source that, well, is quite laughable, for how interesting is it that Jerry Brennan was not the first person to break this story? Read the Puck Daddy article for more on that as I am too lazy to copy and paste all his screenshots on the ordeal.
The Flyers are in a tailspin now and there are some legitimate reports that there is some locker room friction within the team, however, this story is not the cause of it. Whenever a team is in an unwanted and unexpected tailspin, this stuff pops up all the time, but it brings up an interesting point that as people with our own websites and blogs, we must be careful of what we put out there for the entire world to access it if need be. Jerry Brennan was a lot like us, he's not a big-named guy in the Philly sports media world, not many people go to him for their Philly sports updates, but if you put out something like that that's controversial and the right person by some twist of chance lands on your page and picks it up and publishes it, then you are responsible for that piece even if you legitimately thought that there was no one alive that read your site. What started out as a class project has upset Hartnell and Carter so much that that they have stated that they are upset that someone would report such a thing.
My point is this: even if you are not a big name and even if you believe only 3 people read your blog regularly, be careful of what you put out there as you never know who else is reading. Everything I put on here I try to get from credible sources and if the story is questionnable, I search around for proof of it.
Now Jerry Brennan was a different situation, he received some "insider information" (although his insider information has come from a bogus gossip site as Puck Daddy points out). But even if it was actual information like the tip that I got earlier this year from someone my dad knows who knows Eagles President Joe Banner in the off-season that the Eagles were going to make a "big move", I keep it to myself and if I trust you enough to not say anything, I will tell you don't say anything but here is what I heard and move on with it. Knowing that it is insider information that may not be true is enough to get me to not start something and put me in the middle of something that I do not want to be in the middle of like poor Jerry Brennan is now.
Now what was that big move and did it happen? I don't know. It could have been the plan of drafting Maclin, it could have been the plan of trading for Jason Peters, it could have been that there was already a plan in place to pick up Michael Vick. But if I had reported that on this blog, and someone would have picked it up, there would have been a firestorm against me, and even with these things happening, I don't know, if I would have been vindicated as sure, I could say, look I was right, the big move was Mike Vick, surely, it had to have been. But then again, you could say, no, how could everyone have thought that out that early in advance. In other words, perception is not reality, reality is reality and the reality is I could have posted something with no hard evidence that would have never been fully proven right either inside of our little community or outside of it if a big name picked it up.
Like I said, every person in this day and age can have a website and a blog, just don't be an idiot with it or else dangerous things can happen. Jerry Brennan now knows that all too well.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Michael Vick Receives Vindication From His Teammates
The Ed Block Courage Award is an award given by each team to one of its players as voted on by the team. Well, the Eagles themselves have voted and their winner for the 2009 Ed Block Courage Award is none other than Michael Vick. According to the it's website, "The Ed Block Courage Award recipient symbolizes professionalism, great strength and dedication. He is also a community role model." From the Inquirer's Eagles Blog
"I've had to overcome a lot, more than probably one single individual can bear," Vick said. "Take a look at what I've been through. You ask certain people to walk in my shoes, they probably couldn't do it -- probably 95 percent of the people in this world. Because nobody had to endure what I've been through -- situations I've been put in, situations I've placed myself in, decisions that I've made -- whether they were good or bad. There are always consequences behind certain things and there are repercussions behind them, too. Then you have to wake up every day and face the world, whether they perceive you in the right perspective or it's a totally different outlook on you."While PETA is certainly not a fan of this award, you cannot doubt that no one has displayed courage quite like Mike Vick has, coming into a very liberal city filled with animal lovers, Mike Vick has triumphed overall and has without a doubt silenced all of his naysayers who criticized that he would not be able to make it off the field. While Andy Reid's usage of him certainly has been questionable, I see this award as something that should be given for actions off the field, and off the field, no one has triumphed over more adversity than Michael Vick has. Congrats to him and congrats on the Eagles for unanimously recognizing the strides that Mike Vick has made in the city of Philadelphia over the past 4 months.
Eagles coach Andy Reid said the vote was a unanimous one. Actually, it wasn't. Vick said he had a vote and that he didn't cast his for himself.
"I won't say who I voted for," Vick said.
Reid was asked if he was worried about how the award would be interpreted in light of Vick's past. In case you just awoke from a 3-year coma, Vick served 18 months in a federal prison for his role in running a dogfighting ring, was released in the summer and signed not long after by the Eagles amid a storm of controversy.
"I'm not sure you can explain it, unless you've kind of gone through it here with him," Reid said. "Everybody is going to have their opinion on it I'm sure. Until you've been with him for the hours that his teammates have been with him and seen him through all these different things that he's had to go through, that time-tested part of it, you can't appreciate it.
"I don't expect everybody to understand it. I think it's a tribute when it's a slam dunk by his teammates voting him that. It was an unanimous vote. It's not something that we as coaches ... or anybody else promotes. We don't sit there and promote a player to win the award. It's picked by the players and only by the players."
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Sean McDermott Gets His Thom Brennaman On When Discussing B-Dawk
There are certain words, phrases, and expressions that hold true in life, but at the same time, should never be uttered in a public forum. These are the types of things that you tell your friends or family when discussing a person, yet should not be said in public situations. The phrase, I am talking about is "You're a better person for spending time with such-and-such a person".
When discussing Brian Dawkins, Sean McDermott decided to follow that route, channel his inner Thom Brennaman and said "You're a better person for being around Brian Dawkins". From Philly Inquirer Staffwriter Bob Brookover
And maybe McDermott is right about Brian Dawkins and maybe what Thom Brennaman says about Brennaman is true and that you really are a better person by spending 15-20 minutes with Tebow, I can't tell you for sure, I can't give my opinion of Tebow or Dawkins like that, I've never met them, but my problem is that there are other people out there like that. You know, everydays joes and janes who go above and beyond anything ever asked of them in helping people out and improving their lives and inspiring people that never get the public credit that they ever deserve. Of course, we are talking about athletes and everything they do gets more attention than everyday people, that's not news.
I guess my beef all comes down to the fact that I can honestly say I have met someone that changed and positively affected my life in a short time, and it bothers me that the glorifying of these athletes almost takes away from all she does and all that everyone like her does.
When discussing Brian Dawkins, Sean McDermott decided to follow that route, channel his inner Thom Brennaman and said "You're a better person for being around Brian Dawkins". From Philly Inquirer Staffwriter Bob Brookover
"I thought he had a heck of a year last year," he said yesterday. "I think he was the first or second most productive player on defense for us last year and, as Brian Dawkins has done over the course of his career here, when we were making our stretch run last year, he was in the zone as they say. He was putting together back-to-back games that were as good as any safety in the league at that time.Okay, maybe that is true and maybe that's not, but I do have a basic problem with such a statement that goes well beyond the obvious and the laughable.
"It was sick. There were times I was just hands off with him. Just like any guy who is in a groove, you just give him what he needs and let him go."
When Dawkins left as a free agent, McDermott was saddened by the news.
"We had a special relationship," McDermott said. "How often do you coach a guy that is older than you are? He embraced me when I was one of the youngest position coaches in the NFL. We grew together and we developed a lot of trust in one another, at least from my perspective.
"With the impact that Brian has had on this city and this organization, you hate to see the business side of it be the reason for the separation. Because of the way this organization has embraced Brian and the way Brian has embraced this organization and this city, you hated to see that relationship come to an end."
McDermott, who is five months and eight days younger than Dawkins, said he called the safety shortly after he signed with Denver, but it was only to say thank you.
"I told him I appreciated everything that he'd done for me," McDermott said. "He's been a positive influence on my life. You're a better person for being around Brian Dawkins."
And maybe McDermott is right about Brian Dawkins and maybe what Thom Brennaman says about Brennaman is true and that you really are a better person by spending 15-20 minutes with Tebow, I can't tell you for sure, I can't give my opinion of Tebow or Dawkins like that, I've never met them, but my problem is that there are other people out there like that. You know, everydays joes and janes who go above and beyond anything ever asked of them in helping people out and improving their lives and inspiring people that never get the public credit that they ever deserve. Of course, we are talking about athletes and everything they do gets more attention than everyday people, that's not news.
I guess my beef all comes down to the fact that I can honestly say I have met someone that changed and positively affected my life in a short time, and it bothers me that the glorifying of these athletes almost takes away from all she does and all that everyone like her does.
Kids Learn Very Young These Days
I'll admit to being a bit of a rebel kid myself when I was young, flashing the Stone Cold Steve Austin middle finger when I could. However, I made sure to do it in private when no one was looking, not even my family. This young Villanova fan, however, decides to do it on camera for all of America to see!
Haha! Now that's what I call funny! And then the dad pretty much slaps the kid but remembers that he is on TV as well. Good times!
Haha! Now that's what I call funny! And then the dad pretty much slaps the kid but remembers that he is on TV as well. Good times!
Paul Steigerwald Likes Joking About Fatal Plane Crashes!
Pittsburgh Penguins play by play announcer Paul Steigerwald has quite the sick sense of humor.
For those that don't know (which before I got into the research behind this, included myself "The Hobey Baker Award is given annually to the top male NCAA hockey player. Its namesake, Hobey Baker, was a star athlete between 1911-1914 before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force, where he was a pilot during World War I. Tragically, he died in a postwar plane crash in Toul, France in 1918, at age 26." (thanks to Puck Daddy for summing up something I would have spent 3 paragraphs on). What makes that so important? Well, a former Hobey Baker award winner, Mike Mottau, got checked and checked hard in the Pens-Devils game last night, so much so that it was FSN Pitt's "Subway Sandwich of the Game". Well, as going through those highlights, Paul Steigerwald made a very unfortunate joke that I'm sure he will soon be apologizing for.
Pens Analyst Bob Errey: "The Hobey Baker winner went down, real hard. Our Subway sandwich of the game."
Pens PbP Paul Steigerwald: ""Not as hard as Hobey Baker went down, though. He went down in a plane crash."
Not funny. And to top it all off there was muttering and giggling and really a sense of uncomfortableness afterwards. And despite the comment of how "it's nothing to laugh about how [Hobey Baker] left us", they carried on for quite some time, maybe if for no other reason, out of uneasiness.
And as if this story needed another kicker, coincidentally, it was 91 years to the day yesterday that Hobey Baker did die in that plane crash. In other words, Steigerwald made that joke on the 91st anniversary of Hobey Baker's death. Oy ve.
While unlike some people around these parts, I am not in the business of calling for someone's job over one ill-timed, bad, unfortunate, joke (see: Griese, Bob), nor do I think he deserves to be fired over this, however, I do think we should expect and have a right to hear an upcoming on-air apology from Paul Steigerwald for this unfortunate incident.
You Stay Classy, Paul Steigerwald (Puck The Media)
For those that don't know (which before I got into the research behind this, included myself "The Hobey Baker Award is given annually to the top male NCAA hockey player. Its namesake, Hobey Baker, was a star athlete between 1911-1914 before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force, where he was a pilot during World War I. Tragically, he died in a postwar plane crash in Toul, France in 1918, at age 26." (thanks to Puck Daddy for summing up something I would have spent 3 paragraphs on). What makes that so important? Well, a former Hobey Baker award winner, Mike Mottau, got checked and checked hard in the Pens-Devils game last night, so much so that it was FSN Pitt's "Subway Sandwich of the Game". Well, as going through those highlights, Paul Steigerwald made a very unfortunate joke that I'm sure he will soon be apologizing for.
Pens Analyst Bob Errey: "The Hobey Baker winner went down, real hard. Our Subway sandwich of the game."
Pens PbP Paul Steigerwald: ""Not as hard as Hobey Baker went down, though. He went down in a plane crash."
Not funny. And to top it all off there was muttering and giggling and really a sense of uncomfortableness afterwards. And despite the comment of how "it's nothing to laugh about how [Hobey Baker] left us", they carried on for quite some time, maybe if for no other reason, out of uneasiness.
And as if this story needed another kicker, coincidentally, it was 91 years to the day yesterday that Hobey Baker did die in that plane crash. In other words, Steigerwald made that joke on the 91st anniversary of Hobey Baker's death. Oy ve.
While unlike some people around these parts, I am not in the business of calling for someone's job over one ill-timed, bad, unfortunate, joke (see: Griese, Bob), nor do I think he deserves to be fired over this, however, I do think we should expect and have a right to hear an upcoming on-air apology from Paul Steigerwald for this unfortunate incident.
You Stay Classy, Paul Steigerwald (Puck The Media)
The Washington Redskins, Monday Night Football, And Football In General Hit Rock Bottom Last Night
....When this play happened. Not only did Zorn line-up in this formation, but after a Giants timeout, he went right back to the same odd formation, and this happened. If you get red-faced, embarrassed, or feel awkward easily, I suggest you turn away from this video.
As if that was not cringe-worthy enough, there was moment that the WAshington Redskins actually did decide to show up more than in just and physical sense and show some emotion this game. Of course, that only happened when Brandon Jacobs and DeAngelo Hall got in a scrum and a huge fight broke out.
Simply pathetic. And that's just referring to the fact that I still have not figured what the heck play was run in that first video. I'll tell you this much, that play, along with the fight and the entire game in general, whether intentional or inadvertent, that game was nothing but a huge middle finger to Dan Snyder. And come to think of it, I can't say that he does not deserve it.
As if that was not cringe-worthy enough, there was moment that the WAshington Redskins actually did decide to show up more than in just and physical sense and show some emotion this game. Of course, that only happened when Brandon Jacobs and DeAngelo Hall got in a scrum and a huge fight broke out.
Simply pathetic. And that's just referring to the fact that I still have not figured what the heck play was run in that first video. I'll tell you this much, that play, along with the fight and the entire game in general, whether intentional or inadvertent, that game was nothing but a huge middle finger to Dan Snyder. And come to think of it, I can't say that he does not deserve it.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Your Week 16 NFL Schedule
Well that was one ugly MNF blowout. In fact, I must say, that it was the ugliest Monday Night Football game since the 2009 Redskins last played on Monday Night Football.
Moving on, only 2 more weeks of football to go! There is a mass jumble in the AFC of 7-7 teams chasing 2 8-6 teams that is sure to come down to the wire, meanwhile, in the NFC, the Eagles have clinched and the battle for positioning has begun. For the longest time, it looked impossible that anyone would catch the Saints as the #1 seed and the Vikings as the #2 seed, and while the Vikings have little to no chance of catching the Saints, the Eagles are 1-game behind the Vikings and because of mathematic formulas and algorithms beyond my comprehension, the Eagles own the tie-breaker over Minnesota. Therefore 2 Eagles wins plus 1 Vikings loss (or 2 Vikings losses plus 1 or 2 Eagles wins) would result in the Philadelphia Eagles getting a first round bye. And that, my friends, would be huge for this Eagles team. (all times eastern)
Christmas Night Football
San Diego Chargers @ Tennessee Titans 8:20 (NFL Network - Bob Papa and Matt Millen)
Map of who gets what Fox game.
Carolina Panthers @ New York Giants 1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay Packers 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
St. Louis Rams @ Arizona Cardinals 4:05 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers 4:05 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Charles Davis)
Map of who gets what CBS early game.
Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers 1:00 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Jacksonville Jaguars @ New England Patriots 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Kansas City Chiefs @ Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Houston Texans @ Miami Dolphins 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)
Buffalo Bills @ Atlanta Falcons 1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein)
Oakland Raiders @ Cleveland Browns 1:00 (CBS - Don Criqui and Randy Cross)
Map of who gets what CBS late game
Denver Broncos @ Philadelphia Eagles 4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts 4:15 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Sunday Night Football
Dallas Cowboys @ Washington Redskins 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)
Monday Night Football
Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)
As hard as it is to believe, the Colts are 14-0 and have not once gotten Jim Nantz and Phil Simms on one of their games. And on their 2 appearances on Fox, they got Brennaman/Billick and Rosen/Ryan, respectively. The only time they got any lead team was when they were on Sunday Night Football 3 times and Monday Night Football once. Simply incredible that CBS continues to worship New England and Pittsburgh when one of the teams they cover regularly not named New England or Pittsburgh is currently going unbeaten. The counter to that argument, though, is who on earth have the Colts played? Their biggest match-ups, including the battle with New England have all been their primetime games, so I almost can't blame them, but at the same time, they went out of their way a lot in 2007 to make sure Nantz and Simms got Pats games and you know that Fox would go out of their way to send Buck and Aikman to any Fox game the Cowboys played if the Cowboys were unbeaten. I must say, though, that despite the playoff race, if the Colts have a chance to go for 16-0 next week, I don't see how Nantz and Simms don't get the job, even if it is a game against the Buffalo Bills.
Moving on, only 2 more weeks of football to go! There is a mass jumble in the AFC of 7-7 teams chasing 2 8-6 teams that is sure to come down to the wire, meanwhile, in the NFC, the Eagles have clinched and the battle for positioning has begun. For the longest time, it looked impossible that anyone would catch the Saints as the #1 seed and the Vikings as the #2 seed, and while the Vikings have little to no chance of catching the Saints, the Eagles are 1-game behind the Vikings and because of mathematic formulas and algorithms beyond my comprehension, the Eagles own the tie-breaker over Minnesota. Therefore 2 Eagles wins plus 1 Vikings loss (or 2 Vikings losses plus 1 or 2 Eagles wins) would result in the Philadelphia Eagles getting a first round bye. And that, my friends, would be huge for this Eagles team. (all times eastern)
Christmas Night Football
San Diego Chargers @ Tennessee Titans 8:20 (NFL Network - Bob Papa and Matt Millen)
Map of who gets what Fox game.
Carolina Panthers @ New York Giants 1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay Packers 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
St. Louis Rams @ Arizona Cardinals 4:05 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers 4:05 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Charles Davis)
Map of who gets what CBS early game.
Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers 1:00 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Jacksonville Jaguars @ New England Patriots 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Kansas City Chiefs @ Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Houston Texans @ Miami Dolphins 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)
Buffalo Bills @ Atlanta Falcons 1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein)
Oakland Raiders @ Cleveland Browns 1:00 (CBS - Don Criqui and Randy Cross)
Map of who gets what CBS late game
Denver Broncos @ Philadelphia Eagles 4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts 4:15 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Sunday Night Football
Dallas Cowboys @ Washington Redskins 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)
Monday Night Football
Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)
As hard as it is to believe, the Colts are 14-0 and have not once gotten Jim Nantz and Phil Simms on one of their games. And on their 2 appearances on Fox, they got Brennaman/Billick and Rosen/Ryan, respectively. The only time they got any lead team was when they were on Sunday Night Football 3 times and Monday Night Football once. Simply incredible that CBS continues to worship New England and Pittsburgh when one of the teams they cover regularly not named New England or Pittsburgh is currently going unbeaten. The counter to that argument, though, is who on earth have the Colts played? Their biggest match-ups, including the battle with New England have all been their primetime games, so I almost can't blame them, but at the same time, they went out of their way a lot in 2007 to make sure Nantz and Simms got Pats games and you know that Fox would go out of their way to send Buck and Aikman to any Fox game the Cowboys played if the Cowboys were unbeaten. I must say, though, that despite the playoff race, if the Colts have a chance to go for 16-0 next week, I don't see how Nantz and Simms don't get the job, even if it is a game against the Buffalo Bills.
Dallas Cowboys Cut Nick Folk; Sign Kicker Cut For Familiar Reason
If ever there was a hilarious irony of ironies, it is this one. Honestly when I first found out about this threw a tweet of Mort's, I thought he was kidding, joking, and/or being sarcastic. But apparently not. The Dallas have cut Nick Folk, after missing what would have been a definite game-clinching kick against the New Orleans Saints. To replace him, the Dallas Cowboys have signed Shaun Suisham, the Redskins kikcer who was cut after missing a definite game-clinching kick against the New Orleans Saints. From Dallas News
This is a joke, right? Please tell me it is. And if it's not, well, it certainly has me on the ground laughing my fat ass off. The Plastic Fucker cuts a horrible kicker who misses clutch field goals and in return signs a horrible kicker who misses clutch field goals. Incredible idiocy. And to think that another kicker they worked out, Hauschka, was also cut for the same reason, although he just did not have the opportunity to shank one against the New Orleans Saints. Damn the fact the Ravens never played them.
I think at this rate, the Cowboys would be better off just giving the job to David Buehler. He may be as bad or even worse than Folk and Suisham, but hey, he has the best name ever for a kicker, and when you are as bad as most Dallas Cowboys kickers have been this decade, that is honestly the most redeeming quality the Cowboys have had in a kicker in quite some time.
The club signed Shaun Suisham, who kicked in six games with the Cowboys from 2005-06, according to a source, on Monday not long after he finished an audition at Valley Ranch with four other kickers.Oh. My. Gosh.
To make room for Suisham on the 53-man roster, the Cowboys cut Nick Folk.
Folk had made just 18 of 28 field goal attempts this year and had a miss in his last six games, including a 24-yarder Saturday at New Orleans.
Suisham's time in Washington came to a close two weeks ago after a missed 23-yard attempt against the Saints. He made 18-of-21 kicks on the season, however is three misses cost the Redskins' two wins.
And now he gets to return to FedEx Field Sunday with the Cowboys able to inch closer to a playoff spot with a victory against the Redskins.
The Cowboys worked out five kickers Monday, including Suisham and Steven Hauschka, at Valley Ranch, but Folk and David Buehler did not take part in the competition.
This is a joke, right? Please tell me it is. And if it's not, well, it certainly has me on the ground laughing my fat ass off. The Plastic Fucker cuts a horrible kicker who misses clutch field goals and in return signs a horrible kicker who misses clutch field goals. Incredible idiocy. And to think that another kicker they worked out, Hauschka, was also cut for the same reason, although he just did not have the opportunity to shank one against the New Orleans Saints. Damn the fact the Ravens never played them.
I think at this rate, the Cowboys would be better off just giving the job to David Buehler. He may be as bad or even worse than Folk and Suisham, but hey, he has the best name ever for a kicker, and when you are as bad as most Dallas Cowboys kickers have been this decade, that is honestly the most redeeming quality the Cowboys have had in a kicker in quite some time.
VIDEO OF EPICNESS: Eagles Fans Create Second Blizzard At Expense Of Niners Fans
I am aware that what I am about to say may not be the most popular thing I have ever written and I am aware that you may blast me for this, but whether you like it or not, whether you love it or you hate it, I'm about to tell it like it is, so before you criticize, think hard and long about what I am saying as you'll find that I speak the truth.
Look, everyone who threw a snow is an idiot. At the same time, when you go to a football game where your team is the road team and you are going to the game the day after the 2nd largest snowstorm in city history and you blatantly and purposefully where paraphernalia of the visiting team, you're an even bigger idiot and this is going to happen.
I honestly cannot watch that with a straight face. That is too funny!
Oh, wait, JFein, I thought you said everyone who threw a snowball was an idiot? Yes. I did. And they are. At the same time, though, idiocy can be fun and harmless, can't it? No one was hurt or injured from or suffered a phantom water concussion so what is really the big deal here? I don't need to tell you the whole Bloomsburg snowball fight story again, but I took several well-aimed, hard thrown snowballs to the head that night, as did other people. And if it was not for my complete lack of a throwing arm and an aim, I would have damn sure dished them out as well with a laughing smile and a grin on my face. Yet, despite those numerous snowballs to the head, I'm still here aren't I? No phantom concussion for flying water for me. I'm a man!
So what's the big deal? From all reports, no one was at all hurt or harmed from snowballs so whatever it is, a bunch of pussy Niners fans sure as hell are angry over a bunch of nothing.
From the forums I have scrolled today, we are "classless", "scum", "douche bags", "dirtbags", "only good for sucking some penis", and we are "to football what Al Queda is to Islam!"
My apologies for this little dose of reality, but if you do say that then you are saying that you and your fanbase would not have done the same thing and that's about as false as 2 plus 2 equals fish. Seriously, people. This is fucking human nature we are dealing with. Stick this snow storm in any of the 31 NFL venues with any of the 32 fan bases a day before a game. Heck, make it end 14 hours before the start of the game as it did here, and we'll see what happens. You can't expect every flake of snow away from the fans, that's borderline an insane expectation for hard-working men and women who did their damn best just to make this game playable and over 60,000 seats usable. Guess what, there is going to be snow there. Unguarded and unprotected snow. And guess what 20-year old college kids do when they see a shitload of snow lying around? They throw it at any and all people outside of their perceived box or group. And guess what, those helpless folks wearing blatant Niners jersies, are outside of that box. This is not a Philadelphia thing, this is not a New York thing, this is not a New England thing, this is not a Northeast thing, this is a human nature thing. Are you people, especially you whiny Niners fans and everyone else chastising Philly fans for this, really that sanctimonious as to believe that this does not happen anywhere else? If you are, then not only are you sanctimonious, but you are a fucking liar and a hypocrite.
A lot of what I say is sarcasm, but not one damn bit of this is sarcasm. Are you telling me that in the face of all that snow, that Panthers fans would hold fire? Are you saying that nothing like this would ever happen in Houston if the opportunity there? Are you San Franciscans above all forms of douche baggery? Are you really that holier than thou that your entire fan base?
But, you counter, show us an instance where us good-natured hearty Niners fans did this? Well I can't. You only don't do it because you live in San Francisco where not once during the year does the temperature ever rise or fall below 50 degrees. You never have the chance to go to a snow game. It's not that your not idiots like Eagles fans, it's just you never get the chance to be those kind of idiots. There's a difference. Because I dare you to look me in the virtual eyes and say with a straight face that if you were going to your team's home game after that much snow was dumped on your city and your stadium and I dare you to tell me that not only you, but your entire fanbase would be perfect angels and that what happened in Philadelphia and what happened in the Meadowlands would not happen at your perfect stadium with your perfect fans. And then I dare you to actually put yourself in that situation. The results will be eye-opening.
But, wait a minute, JFein? You would have the same kind of reaction if 58,000 people decided to throw snowballs at you. Well first of all, I would not be dumb enough to go to an Eagles game as a fan of the visiting team AND I would not be dumb enough to go to an Eagles game as a fan of the visiting team the day after a snow storm AND I would not be dumb enough not to go to an Eagles game as a fan of the visiting team the day after a snow storm wearing the jersies of the visiting team AND I would not be dumb enough to not just stand there for a minute as snowballs were flying at me.
Like it or hate it, that's the way it is. Deal with it.
Tommy Kelly Becomes The Latest Player To Show His Skin To An Unwilling Public
There was a bunch of controversy during the Raiders-Broncos game when one (presumably Raider) fan decided to literally scorch the retina of Brandon Marshall with a laser pointer. The game was halted as they tried to find the douche bag responsible but to no avail. But then, the play immediately following that bizarre incident, something even stranger happened. Immediately following a nice play by Tommy Kelly to force Knowshon Moreno into losing a yard, the world got a glimpse of Tommy Kelly that might be figuratively, if not literally, scorched into their retinas forever. What happened, you ask? Well, let's just say that Tommy is trying to challenge Visanthe Shiancoe to become the 2nd NFL football player this decade to be offered a spot in a porn flick.
GuJo: "Oh!"
Steve Tasker: "Whoops."
GuJo: "Whoa."
As disturbing as those images are, the reactions by GuJo and Tasker were beyond priceless. Then again, unlike Al and Cris who said nothing upon seeing the bottom of Devin Hester, there actually was a reaction here, so maybe that's what made it funny, but regardless, this is hilarious once you get past the fact that we just saw way too much skin of a huge man. Good times today up in Denver........goooooooooood times.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Swoop's Epic Wipeout
First of all, congrats to the Eagles on clinching a playoff spot! My theory is all that matters is that you get into the postseason and anything can happen from there. The Eagles are in and have saved me from having another Week 17 heart attack, plus they have guaranteed themselves a 1 and 12 shot at winning Vince Lombardi's Trophy.
Secondly, during the Niners-Eagles game today, the Fox cameras caught a very curious incident involving the Eagles mascot (named Swoop) and the snow. Check it out.
DOWN GOES SWOOP! DOWN GOES SWOOP! DOWN GOES SNOOP!
At first you wonder what happened but when the snow bounces up, you know that the only thing that happened was Swoop taking an unplanned dive into some white stuff.
Too funny.
The Mysterious Swoop Incident (The 700 Level)
Secondly, during the Niners-Eagles game today, the Fox cameras caught a very curious incident involving the Eagles mascot (named Swoop) and the snow. Check it out.
DOWN GOES SWOOP! DOWN GOES SWOOP! DOWN GOES SNOOP!
At first you wonder what happened but when the snow bounces up, you know that the only thing that happened was Swoop taking an unplanned dive into some white stuff.
Too funny.
The Mysterious Swoop Incident (The 700 Level)
Week 15 Open Thread/Live Blog
If anyone here wants a live blog today, I will be more than happy to make one and put one up. They don't take a lot of time at all.
With my enhanced coverage of being home (i.e. Sunday Ticket/RedZone), that means that at 4:00, I'll willingly subject myself to tears and watch the start of Cincy-SD before switching to the Eagles game at 4:15. I'll work on putting up the start of that game as soon as the Eagles game is over, even if it's nothing special besides a standing ovation from the Chargers crowd to the Bengals.
Let me know what y'all want to do here and I will act accordingly.
It looks like we'll try a live blog. Let's hope it's not too disasterous.
With my enhanced coverage of being home (i.e. Sunday Ticket/RedZone), that means that at 4:00, I'll willingly subject myself to tears and watch the start of Cincy-SD before switching to the Eagles game at 4:15. I'll work on putting up the start of that game as soon as the Eagles game is over, even if it's nothing special besides a standing ovation from the Chargers crowd to the Bengals.
Let me know what y'all want to do here and I will act accordingly.
It looks like we'll try a live blog. Let's hope it's not too disasterous.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
One Of The Most Controversial Endings To A College Basketball Game You Will Ever See
I don't know how many of you got a chance to the Xavier-Butler game that was on this morning, but if you did, then you witnessed one of the most controversial endings that you may ever see in your life. Butler had an inbounds pass with 36.9 seconds left. Eventually they lose the ball into the backcourt but it is touched by an Xavier player negating a backcourt violation. Not realizing this right away, the clock operator stops the clock for a brief split second before restarting it again. That minor detail would prove very critical in the outcome of the game as Butler made a game-winning basket with 1.2 seconds left. They reviewed the play. The result of that review created a situation that looked eerily similar to that ill-fated November night in 1997 in Montreal when Vince McMahon screwed Bret Hart.
Wow. While they certainly have every right to be upset about how that went down, I can't help but to feel like there should have been at least .2 left on that clock for them to attempt some sort of miracle play or something. Butler got the win, but as you saw in that video, Xavier was not happy.
By the way, that was a review that lasted 10 minutes. If you want to see the whole thing, click here to watch it in an albeit poorer quality video.
Wow. While they certainly have every right to be upset about how that went down, I can't help but to feel like there should have been at least .2 left on that clock for them to attempt some sort of miracle play or something. Butler got the win, but as you saw in that video, Xavier was not happy.
By the way, that was a review that lasted 10 minutes. If you want to see the whole thing, click here to watch it in an albeit poorer quality video.
Your Week 15 NFL Schedule (UPDATING THE DECEMBER BLIZZARD #1)
(Authors note: This is officially the craziest weekend of scheduling changes since the weekend immediately following 9/11. As more changes are announced, I will be sure to update them here)
I am just a few days away from my winter break, so the next time I will be at the live blogs in full will be conference championship Sunday. That being said, I do hope to find a slot or 2 of non-Eagles game where I can come on and chat with you guys about the games and what not.
And seeing as I have NFL-Network, Sunday Ticket and their accompanying RedZone Channel there is no need to bold any games, as frankly, I can watch them all if I want to. ;-)
So here ya go, here is your Week 15 NFL announcing schedule complete with another rousing rendition ofDick Stockton Tony Siragusa doing an Eagles game and a Fox doubleheader.
Thursday Night Football
Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars 8:20 (NFL Network - Bob Papa and Matt Millen)
Saturday Night Primetime Special
Dallas Cowboys @ New Orleans Saints 8:20 (NFL Network - Bob Papa and Matt Millen)
Map of who gets what CBS games
New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Miami Dolphins @ Tennessee Titans 1:00 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Houston Texans @ St. Louis Rams 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Cleveland Browns @ Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)
Cincinnati Bengals @ San Diego Chargers 4:05 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Oakland Raiders @ Denver Broncos 4:05 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Map of who gets what Fox early game
Atlanta Falcons @ New York Jets 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Trent Green)
Arizona Cardinals @ Detroit Lions 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
Map of who gets what Fox late game
Green Bay Packers @ Pittsburgh Steelers 4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Seattle Seahawks 4:15 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)
Chicago Bears @ Baltimore Ravens 4:15 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
San Francisco 49ers @ Philadelphia Eagles 4:15 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
Sunday Night Football
Minnesota Vikings @ Carolina Panthers 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)
Monday Night Football
New York Giants @ Washington Redskins 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, Jon Gruden, and Jon Gruden's Penis)
We only have 3 weeks left of the regular season and what are the odds that in Week 15, the NFL Network is televising 2 games featuring unbeatens? It should be a fun week of football and if I have a chance I will stop by and say hello and yap with y'all, if not, then I'll be sure to post my thoughts on the Eagles games here, because after all, you guys can't live unless you read my opinion on Eagles games, right?
I am just a few days away from my winter break, so the next time I will be at the live blogs in full will be conference championship Sunday. That being said, I do hope to find a slot or 2 of non-Eagles game where I can come on and chat with you guys about the games and what not.
And seeing as I have NFL-Network, Sunday Ticket and their accompanying RedZone Channel there is no need to bold any games, as frankly, I can watch them all if I want to. ;-)
So here ya go, here is your Week 15 NFL announcing schedule complete with another rousing rendition of
Thursday Night Football
Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars 8:20 (NFL Network - Bob Papa and Matt Millen)
Saturday Night Primetime Special
Dallas Cowboys @ New Orleans Saints 8:20 (NFL Network - Bob Papa and Matt Millen)
Map of who gets what CBS games
New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Miami Dolphins @ Tennessee Titans 1:00 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Houston Texans @ St. Louis Rams 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Cleveland Browns @ Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)
Cincinnati Bengals @ San Diego Chargers 4:05 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Oakland Raiders @ Denver Broncos 4:05 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Map of who gets what Fox early game
Atlanta Falcons @ New York Jets 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Trent Green)
Arizona Cardinals @ Detroit Lions 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
Map of who gets what Fox late game
Green Bay Packers @ Pittsburgh Steelers 4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Seattle Seahawks 4:15 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)
Chicago Bears @ Baltimore Ravens 4:15 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
San Francisco 49ers @ Philadelphia Eagles 4:15 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
Sunday Night Football
Minnesota Vikings @ Carolina Panthers 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)
Monday Night Football
New York Giants @ Washington Redskins 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, Jon Gruden, and Jon Gruden's Penis)
We only have 3 weeks left of the regular season and what are the odds that in Week 15, the NFL Network is televising 2 games featuring unbeatens? It should be a fun week of football and if I have a chance I will stop by and say hello and yap with y'all, if not, then I'll be sure to post my thoughts on the Eagles games here, because after all, you guys can't live unless you read my opinion on Eagles games, right?
Presenting A True Division I College Football National Champion, The Villanova Wildcats!
Andy Talley's bunch did it! They went down to rainy Chattanooga and put up over 350 yards on the ground to win a hard-fought, hard-nosed championship game, the 3rd championship game won by a Philadelphia team in the past year and a half.
The final score of the game was 23-21 Nova and while there were no real dramatics at the end (Montana got in the last 2 minutes to make the score a bit more respectible but failed to recover the onside kick eventually ending it with 1 more Nova 1st down), here are the final seconds of the game as called by Eric Collins and Brock Huard.
If you thought that call was bad, you should have heard Eric Collins' "V is for Victory and V is for Villanova" call that he did before that when he thought the game was over but there was a random stoppage holding up the final 30 seconds.
The Villanova Wildcats now join the Philadelphia Soul and the Philadelphia Phillies as Philly teams winning a championship this past year and a half. And now, it's up to the Eagles and then Jay Wright's Villanova basketball team (no longer unbeaten after losing to Big Five rival Temple) to bring home some more hardware to the City of Brotherly Love.
GO NOVA!!!
The final score of the game was 23-21 Nova and while there were no real dramatics at the end (Montana got in the last 2 minutes to make the score a bit more respectible but failed to recover the onside kick eventually ending it with 1 more Nova 1st down), here are the final seconds of the game as called by Eric Collins and Brock Huard.
If you thought that call was bad, you should have heard Eric Collins' "V is for Victory and V is for Villanova" call that he did before that when he thought the game was over but there was a random stoppage holding up the final 30 seconds.
The Villanova Wildcats now join the Philadelphia Soul and the Philadelphia Phillies as Philly teams winning a championship this past year and a half. And now, it's up to the Eagles and then Jay Wright's Villanova basketball team (no longer unbeaten after losing to Big Five rival Temple) to bring home some more hardware to the City of Brotherly Love.
GO NOVA!!!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Cliff Lee Chats With Mike Missanelli
I really do feel bad for Cliff Lee. And he is saying all of the right things and all, but as you will hear in his voice in this radio interview he did today with 975TheFanatic's Mike Missanelli (10,000 times better than Howard Eskin, by the way), you can hear the sadness in his voice.
It's a long interview so I don't blame you if you don't want to listen to the whole hting, but just listen to parts and all as you really can tell that Lee was shaken by the move and even though he does not (and will never) say it, you can tell he is less than thrilled about being a Mariner.
Click here to listen to the interview
What a shame as he is a good guy, but sometimes you just gotta move on with life. A business decision was made, the Phils have chosen Halladay over Lee, I am excited to see Doc Halladay, who like Lee, is a complete stand up guy and a class act all the way around, pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies.
It's a long interview so I don't blame you if you don't want to listen to the whole hting, but just listen to parts and all as you really can tell that Lee was shaken by the move and even though he does not (and will never) say it, you can tell he is less than thrilled about being a Mariner.
Click here to listen to the interview
What a shame as he is a good guy, but sometimes you just gotta move on with life. A business decision was made, the Phils have chosen Halladay over Lee, I am excited to see Doc Halladay, who like Lee, is a complete stand up guy and a class act all the way around, pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies.
A Preliminary Legal Hearing, The World Series, Susan Finkelstein, And Double Penetration
I'm pretty sure this may top the decade as one of the most absurd stories. We all remember Susan Finkelstein, right? You know, the Phillies fan that wanted World Series tickets who instead of finding good deals on StubHub went to CraigsList and offered sex in exchange for World Series tickets? Yeah, that Susan Finkelstein.
Well, at the case preliminary hearing yesterday, quite a bit of stuff came out regarding the case. From the Philly Inquirer
Then again, maybe Freud was right and women are nothing but a bunch of pleasure seeking whores. Okay, so he did not use those words, but you Freudians out there know what I am talking about.
Well, at the case preliminary hearing yesterday, quite a bit of stuff came out regarding the case. From the Philly Inquirer
Susan Finkelstein sat down with undercover Officer Michael Brady at a Bucks County bar and allegedly gave him a bold confession for a first meeting, according to his testimony yesterday at her preliminary hearing.The real sad part of all of this? Finkelstein actually got into games 2 and 3 of the World Series. Sadly, though, she lost her job and is now labeled the city whore, so for Ms. Finkelstein, one has to wonder if the sex ad really was worth all of her troubles now.
"I admit it. I'm a prostitute. I love sex. I'm a whore," the Bensalem police officer testified that Finkelstein had told him as he posed as "Bob" at Manny Brown's in Bensalem.
She talked about "how much she loved anal sex," he said, alleging later that she pulled up her denim skirt to expose her genital area and asked, "You wanna touch it?"
The Southwest Philadelphia woman believed Brady had three tickets to a Phillies-Yankees World Series game and, Bensalem police say, was willing to exchange sex for at least one.
In reality, it was a sting operation by Bensalem cops, who had found the "desperate blonde," as Finkelstein reportedly called herself, while trolling Craigslist for illegal activities.
Finkelstein, 43, was also told in an e-mail written by Sgt. Robert Bugsch that "Bob" had a brother, Bugsch said on the stand. That apparently upped the possibilities for Finkelstein.
For two tickets, she promised more, Brady testified. "I'll have sex with both of you. I'll let you DP me."
Magisterial District Judge Joe Falcone and Finkelstein's lawyer, William J. Brennan, asked Brady to clarify what the term "DP" meant and the officer answered, "Double penetration."
Then again, maybe Freud was right and women are nothing but a bunch of pleasure seeking whores. Okay, so he did not use those words, but you Freudians out there know what I am talking about.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
CSN Philly Has Difficulties Differentiating Between Ryan Howard's Twin Brother And Leonard Weaver
For those late to the party, on the same day that Roy Halladay officially joined the Phillies, a little thing known as the Sixers hosting LeBron, Shaq and the Cavs was occuring. And if you're the Doc, then what better way to spend your official night at the Phillie watching the Sixers completely collapse at the end when leading one of the best teams in the NBA.
However, Halladay was not the only Philly sports player at the game. There was a whole pantheon of players there including Ryan Howard (with his twin brother Corey) of the Phillies, DeSean Jackson and Leonard Weaver of the Eagles, and Mike Richards and Ray Emery of the Flyers along with semi-useless Flyers Dan Carcillo and Riley Cote.
During the game, the camera crews decided to pan to Ryan Howard and his brother, and while they correctly identified the Phillies slugger, they had a problem with or 2 with his brother.
Fail.
And before someone says something, I never said that Ryan and Corey were identical twins, they are fraternal and while there is a tad of a resemblance with Church Van, that is definitely Corey Howard. Besides, why one earth would Ryan Howard be sitting next to a recently acquainted Eagles fullback from Seattle in Leonard Weaver who he's probably never met before this year when he could be with his brother who was also at the game?
So so random.
However, Halladay was not the only Philly sports player at the game. There was a whole pantheon of players there including Ryan Howard (with his twin brother Corey) of the Phillies, DeSean Jackson and Leonard Weaver of the Eagles, and Mike Richards and Ray Emery of the Flyers along with semi-useless Flyers Dan Carcillo and Riley Cote.
During the game, the camera crews decided to pan to Ryan Howard and his brother, and while they correctly identified the Phillies slugger, they had a problem with or 2 with his brother.
Fail. And before someone says something, I never said that Ryan and Corey were identical twins, they are fraternal and while there is a tad of a resemblance with Church Van, that is definitely Corey Howard. Besides, why one earth would Ryan Howard be sitting next to a recently acquainted Eagles fullback from Seattle in Leonard Weaver who he's probably never met before this year when he could be with his brother who was also at the game?
So so random.
Welcome To The Philadelphia Phillies, Harry Leroy Halladay III
Roy Fucking Halladay is a Fucking Philadelphia Phillie. Fuck yeah.
Fuck yeah.
And fuck the Mets, while you're at it. If they thought Cliff Lee was a bitch, wait until they go face to face with Doc.
Fuck yeah.
And fuck the Mets, while you're at it. If they thought Cliff Lee was a bitch, wait until they go face to face with Doc.
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