Archive for October, 2009
• MLB Playoffs. Game 4, ALCS: New York Yankees at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. With the Yankees up 2 games to 1, Alex Rodriguez says tonight’s game is going to be an ass-grabber. [Fox, 7:30 ET]
• NHL Hockey. St. Louis Blues at Pittsburgh Penguins. I’m not sure which one, but one of these teams won the Stanley Cup recently. [Versus, 7:00 ET]
• College Hockey. Notre Dame at Boston University. The Douchemeter will be off the charts in that arena. [ESPNU, 7:00 ET]
• Basic Cable Movie of the Night. The Italian Job. Hey, Charlize Theron is in it. That’s something. [FX, 7:30 ET]
It’s 4:19, You Gotta Minute? (October 20th)
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• Here’s this week’s edition of LOLNFL. Excellent, as always. [Kissing Suzy Kolber]
• Punte’s first of many posts regarding Blogs With Balls. [With Leather]
• Hey, Washington Redskins: Mike Shanahan would like to keep his legacy intact, thank you very much. [Bootlegger Sports]
• Jeff Reed, world’s greatest teammate or world’s gnarliest teammate? [Last Angry Fan]
• Here’s one blogger’s apology for all the fun he has made of Kyle Orton. [The Legend of Cecilio Guante]
• “Tatas 4 T-Bow” is still going strong. [Busted Coverage]
For Eric Mangini, you know things are going from bad to worse when magazines that don’t routinely cover the business you are employed in are taking potshots at you.
In its latest issue, Rolling Stone gleefully mocks the embattled head coach of the Cleveland Browns, likening him to the gluttonous Augustus Gloop from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and referring to his brief time in Cleveland as “a sort of Hurricane Andrew of football mismanagement.”
To be fair, they have a point. Sitting at 1-5, Mangini has completely screwed up the quarterback situation, had players considering filing a grievance against him for fining a player $1,701 for not paying for a $3 bottle of water on a hotel bill and most importantly, carries himself with a smamry, self-satisfied demeanor that belies the horrible start he has had in Cleveland.
But Rolling Stone? Shouldn’t they be spending more time covering Jack Black’s latest side project, pretending like Megan Fox is actually a compelling and talented actress to justify placing her on the cover, or desperately trying to prove that it is still a relevant and hip music publication?
All I know is I cannot wait until Spin takes the time to knock Tony LaRussa down a peg or two. He’s got it coming, that’s for sure, and who better to do it than Spin?
Wait, is Blender still putting out issues? If so, definitely Blender.
Rolling Stone slams Browns’ Mangini [Sporting News/AP]
Quinn is out and Anderson is in; Browns change starting quarterbacks for fourth time in five years [Cleveland Plain-Dealer]
Eric Mangini Fines Players Thousands for Minor Hotel Incidental Charges [Larry Brown Sports]
Source: Browns players protesting fines [ESPN]
Wow, That Sounds Like A Terrible Prognosis
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This guy must have went to the Al Michaels School of Headline Writing.
Sidenote: for those of you who do not understand that reference, allow me to explain: Al Michaels, whenever he is describing an injury, will say “Player X is out of the game with a knee” instead of “Player X is out of the game with a knee injury.”
I wonder what happened to his other knee, though. Not Smith’s knee. Player X’s.
NC State corner Smith out for season with knee [SI.com/AP]
• Jim Zorn got a “Do and Don’t List” from his boss. [Style Points]
• OMG! Did Mariano Rivera throw a spitball? All signs point to “no.” [Big League Stew]
• Epic Fail headline by MLB. com regarding last night’s Dodgers-Phillies game. [Walkoff Walk]
• General Tao on who he believes should die in a fire. [Food Court Lunch]
• Marathon in Des Moines delayed by train. [Sports Rubbish]
• Wysh makes some observations on what transpired at Blogs With Balls in Las Vegas. [Puck Daddy]
Yet again proving that the obscenely-rich have little to no concept of reality, Tony Kornheiser relayed that guests of Redskins owner Dan Snyder taking in Washington’s epic fail 14-6 loss to the previously winless Chiefs were “stunned” to hear fans (I’m using that term loosley) in attendance voicing their displeasure at the current plight of the Redskins with chants of “Sell the team.”
Although Snyder was not present in the box at the time, Kornheiser said on his radio program that “everybody in the box” heard the chant.
How can these people be “stunned” at this development? The team is in absolute shambles, and much of the blame can be placed squarely on Dan Snyder’s massive ego, from his bizarre choices for the head coaching job (Steve Spurrier? Hello?) to his belief that throwing incredible amounts of money at free agents will magically transform the team into a winner.
If there was one thing the internet needed today was for someone to take the time to do this wonderful thing.
Awesome. Just awesome. Take the rest of the day off, Tirico Suave. You’ve earned it.
POSITIVELY A-ROTIC! [Tirico Suave]
Hey, everybody relax and take a chill pill – Jeff Reed did not do what the police said he did. He like, totally didn’t do it, man. There’s no way Jeff Reed got into some sort of altercation with police officers after they tried to bust in on his teammate Matt Spaeth’s impromptu pee party in the parking lot of McFadden’s. You want to know how I’m so sure about this? Because Reed’s agent, Donal Henderson, said so.
That’s right, the guy who is paid in part to get Reed out of any trouble Reed may find himself in went out on a limb, putting his sterling reputation as a professional sports agent at risk, to say that no, Jeff Reed had not “squared up with (an officer) by bringing his fists up and going into a fighter’s stance,” as the police report alleges he did, to defend the honor of is bladder-control challenged brother from another mother.
“You think he’d put his hands up to fight a police officer? You’ve got to be kidding me,” Henderson said. “That’s ridiculous. Jeff Reed wouldn’t fight anybody, so we disagree with the police and what happened. We’ll try to take care of it as cleanly as we can.”
Walt Daniels, a member of the San Diego Chargers game-day staff, ended up in the hospital due to sustaining a head injury after falling approximately 25-30 feet when he took a tumble out of the press box used by the Denver Broncos coaching staff. The incident occurred about three hours prior to the kickoff of the Chargers-Broncos game last night and delayed the opening of the gates by 40 minutes. Workers were later seen cleaning up a pool of blood where Daniels met pavement.
Best wishes go out to Daniels and his family. By all accounts, it appears to have been a total accident, although I suspect foul play may have been involved. You have to remember that Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels once worked with Bill Belichick. If McDaniels suspected for any reason that Daniels was involved in some conspiracy on behalf of the Chargers organization to perform some sort of espionage, there is no telling what depths of depravity McDaniels would have been willing to sink to send a message.
Qualcomm Stadium worker falls out of press box [Yahoo!/AP]
• MLB Playoffs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 5, New York Yankees 4 (11 inn.). Angels backup catcher Jeff Mathis’ two-out double in the bottom of the 11th scored Howie Kendrick and gave the Angels their first win of the series – they now trail 2 games to 1. Philadelphia Phillies 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 4. Jimmy Rollins hit a two-run double in the bottom of the 9th off closer Jonathan Broxton to lead the Phillies to a thrilling come from behind victory and gave the Phillies a commanding 3-1 series lead. [MLB.com]
• National Football League. Denver Broncos 34, San Diego Chargers 23. Eddie Royal had a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown as the Broncos improved to 6-0 and the Chargers fell to 2-3. [Yahoo!]
• WNBA. The Detroit Shock will be moving and setting up shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I know, shocking. I guess this is what happens when Bill Lambieer dumps you. But in a way, this is the best thing to happen to Detroit in years. [Detroit Free Press]
• But what if they’re doing it for a Kids In The Hall act in the talent show? Morehouse College, an all-male school inAtlanta, has banned cross-dressing as part of their “Appropriate Attire Policy.” Said Dr. William Bynum, vice president for student services: “We are talking about five students who are living a gay lifestyle that is leading them to dress a way we do not expect in Morehouse men.” Morehouse? More like Moreblouse, amirite? [AOL News]
• Monday Night Football. Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers. Can Denver go 6-0? Can Phillip Rivers be any more annoying? [ESPN, 8:30 ET]
• MLB Playoffs. Los Angeles Dodgers at Philadelphia Phillies. If the Dodgers want to beat the Phillies and even up the series, they are going to have to score more runs than Philadelphia. [TBS, 8:00 ET]
• NHL Hockey. San Jose Sharks at New York Rangers. If you like promos for Sports Soup, this is the programming for you. [Versus, 7:00 ET]
• Basic cable movie of the night if you hate yourself. Ghost Rider. Nicholas Cage is the worst. There’s really nothing else that needs to be said. [FX, 8:00 ET]
It’s 4:19, You Gotta Minute? (October 19th)
Posted by:• Video of Packers fans watching Brett Favre stage yesterday’s comeback against the Ravens. [With Leather]
• Video of a vendor selling beer in a bathroom at FedEx Field. [The Sporting Blog]
• Business_Socks was allowed to tag along to Ron Artest’s appointment with his therapist. [Style Points]
• The fellas at MYFO recap the weekend that was in the NHL. [Melt Your Face Off]
• The Bengals cheerleaders did Maxim. [Epic Carnival]
Baltimore Ravens rookie tackle Michael Oher wasn’t very impressed with Jared Allen after he faced him (along with help from a chipping running back or tight end on almost every play) yesterday in the Ravens 33-31 loss to the Vikings. Via Access Vikings:
In the Ravens locker room, Oher was not being quite as kind to Allen despite the fact the veteran got the best of the battle early on and Oher had a pair of false-start penalties . “In the second half, I feel like I shut him out,” Oher said. “There is nothing really special about him. I think if we played them [in Baltimore], it would make a big difference. The false starts were just mistiming the snap.”
Here’s Allen’s response on “After Party With Jay Glazer”:
“Well that’s just some idiot trying to talk himself up,” Allen said. “I beat that dude like a red-headed step child, let’s be honest. If he was so good why did they have to chip me all day? Ask him that. That’s just a rookie trying to build his self confidence up. Besides, you lost and your quarterback spent his whole day on the back of his head until the fourth quarter. That guy [Oher] will watch film today and realize. Everybody else in the world saw me abuse him.”
Anytime you can incorporate “beaten like a red-headed stepchild” into a comeback, you’re doing some serious smack-talking. Hey Oher, you obviously are a little pouty after losing a heartbreaking game your team perhaps should have won, but just because a book has been written about you and a movie has been made about your life doesn’t necessarily make you a star – at least in the NFL.
Also, you don’t want Jared Allen firing up his Twitter account and going on the offensive. That would not be pretty, I suspect.
(Thanks, Shakey)
Allen responds to rookie’s comments [Access Vikings]
Well, if it doesn’t involve an assassination attempt or burning Deanna Favre at the stake for being the heretic bitch that she is (residents of Green Bay probably now believe she beat breast cancer through the use of witchcraft), I can’t see how any idea will be up to snuff for the folks in Green Bay. They want blood and they want it now, dammit.
Jim Schmitt (lower right), the mayor of Green Bay, has asked the citizens of the small hamlet to give him suggestions on how to “tastefully” welcome back Brett Favre when the Vikings head to Green Bay to take on the Packers on November 1st.
According to the city’s Web site, Mayor Jim Schmitt is asking fans to send in ideas and he’ll select his four favorite ideas.
The site says one suggestion calls for making the world’s largest waffle in the shape of No. 4, Favre’s jersey number. It’s a playful jab at Favre’s indecisive approach to retirement.
Commenting on the complete clusterfuck he has created and finds himself in after his Illinois team lost 27-14 to Indiana, head coach Ron Zook assessed how it feels to be coaching a bad team (1-5, 0-4 in the Big Ten):
“This is a bad, sick feeling. I told them, this is going to end when we decide it’s going to end.”
Indeed. The demands for his termination have risen from murmurs to shouts among the Illinois faithful and considering the Illini have lost six consecutive Big Ten games and eight of nine overall, chances are good that Zook is headed to his fourth losing season out of five as coach of Illinois.
Man, coaching is nothing compared to getting up behind a boat on a pair of skis and letting the wind and water hit your face while you contemplate your God-given awesomeness. I can imagine Zook closing the door to his office and listening to “Boys of Summer” by Don Henley over and over and wishing that the warm rays of the summer sun would arrive soon.
But that is not to be. Zook will have to suck it up and sleepwalk his way through this season before some other sap of an athletic director comes along and hires him to screw up their football program.
Yeah, I really had nothing here. But I refuse to pass up a chance to post the Ron Zook waterskiing photo. In fact, I believe as a blogger, I am ethically bound to do so – I think it’s called the Leitch Rule.
Illini’s Ron Zook: ‘This is a bad, sick feeling’ [Chicago Tribune]
