Archive for November, 2010
In his tenth season as a member of the Detroit Lions, it’s safe to say that tackle Jeff Backus has experienced far more downs than ups during his NFL career. Add that to the fact that Backus plays one of least glamorous positions in the NFL, I imagine it must have come as a pleasant surprise when he opened up to the comics section of the Detroit Free Press on Monday morning only to see his likeness featured in the comic strip, “Speed Bump.”
When the Free Press inquired as to why the strip’s creator and artist, Dave Coverly, selected a seemingly nondescript player like Backus, here’s what he had to say:
“I’m a huge Lions fan, and I live in Ann Arbor,” said Coverly, a Plainwell native and Eastern Michigan alumnus. “So I just try to think of something a little personal to put in there sometimes.
“To me, Jeff Backus kind of epitomizes the Lions; he’s a good football player, but it just doesn’t always work out for him. Plus, linemen never seem to get the glory.”
I see. While I am sure Backus is flattered by the gesture, to be called the player who “epitomizes the Lions” just might be the most backhanded compliment ever. But hey, at least he wasn’t lampooned in a Ziggy strip. Once you get slammed in a Ziggy, it’s essentially the kiss of death as far as comic strip infamy is concerned.
Lions’ Jeff Backus stars in comic strip [Detroit Free Press]
“…Birdman is a punk rocker now.”
It sure is nice to have the heavily-tatted, now-Mohawked Chris “Birdman” Andersen back playing meaningful minutes for the Denver Nuggets after sitting out the beginning of the season while he recuperated from offseason knee surgery. While his badass “Free Bird” neck tattoo had already been documented on this here site, it appears that Birdman has added some brand new art to his overly-inked skin: some star tattoos can now be seen on his earlobes, and I have to say, they look fantastic.
Words fail to describe the awesomeness that is the Birdman, but as Trey Kirby attempts to articulate it over at the always excellent The Basketball Jones, “He looks like some terrifying mix between a Spartan soldier, a late-70s punk kid and a No Pattern picture book. Incredible.”
Keep on keepin’ on, Birdman, and don’t ever be afraid to let your freak flag fly.
Chris Andersen looks awesome [The Basketball Jones]
The Ohio State University will be honoring the Buckeyes’ 1942 national championship team this coming Saturday when they play their fiercest rival, Michigan at the Horseshoe in Columbus by wearing specially-designed Nike Pro Combat uniforms. And if you ask me, there is no better way for OSU to pay homage to the successes of the past and to honor longstanding tradition than by wearing uniforms that look like they are from fifty years in the future, let alone resemble anything the 1942 team wore. The genius is in its lack of making any sense whatsoever.
Via Cleveland.com:
The uniforms are intended to honor the 1942 national champion Ohio State team, with “1942″ written on the gloves and a bronze star on the back of the helmet to honor the service of team captain Charles Csuri, who was recognized for his heroism in the Battle of the Bulge, and other Buckeyes from that team who went off to World War II.
Several members of the 1942 team will be at Saturday’s game and help form the tunnel when players run onto the field.
“The 1942 team was just an unbelievable group of guys to be able to go and win a national title and then say ‘I’m going to defend our country,’” senior defensive tackle Dexter Larimore said. “To be able to represent them is almost a higher task than what’s been put ahead of us in football. That group of guys were just unbelievable human beings.”
Indeed they were. And thankfully, Ohio State will pay tribute to them by wearing these atrocious uniforms. Tradition and sense of history be damned, I say.
Another new uniform look catches Buckeyes’ eye for Michigan week: Ohio State Insider [Cleveland.com]
Hoo boy. As the old saying by Abe Lincoln goes, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Apparently, Wade Phillips is not a Civil War buff, because he appeared yesterday on the Bruce Smith radio program on WXTG 102.1 The Game in Virginia Beach and decided it was high time to pat himself on the back for the fantastic job he has done as a head coach in the NFL, even comparing himself to the great Tom Landry in the process.
Would you take a defensive coordinator or another head coaching position if it became available?
Well, I would. I just think the perception is, once you’re fired that you’re not a very good coach and that’s…it happened to me at Buffalo; we were 29-19 in Buffalo. Once I was fired there, I couldn’t get a head coaching job because they thought I wasn’t a good enough coach. They didn’t look at my record; they just said, “Oh gosh, he’s fired so we got to get somebody else.”
It took me a long time to get another head coaching job and we went 34-22, which is pretty good. I went out with the same winning percentage as Tom Landry, so I don’t feel bad about my head coaching career but I think they’re going to look at me more as a coordinator and that’s fine with me. I just want to coach.
Oh man. First off, Phillips finished his lackluster head coaching stint with the Cowboys with a 36-22 regular season record – not a 34-22 (don’t sell yourself short, Wade!) – for a .621 winning percentage, while Landry finished his Hall of Fame coaching career with a 250-162-6 regular season record, good for a .607 winning percentage, so Phillips can hang his hat on actually finishing with a better regular season record than the great Tom Landry, despite a smaller sample size. However, that would be where the comparisons between the two should abruptly stop. Landry was 20-16 in the playoffs and Phillips was a measly 1-2 in four seasons. Landry also has two Super Bowl victories and won the NFC Championship five times, accomplishments which Phillips has never even sniffed during his head coaching career.
So, Wade Phillips can keep talking about how much he was like Tom Landry until he’s blue in the face, but it won’t make one lick of difference. Phillips fails the smell test at nearly every step in the process. Maybe if he had worn an iconic hat like Landry or something, that might have helped, but I doubt it.
Wade Phillips: ‘I went out with the same winning percentage as Tom Landry’ [The Dallas Morning News]
Wake N’ Blog is the Sportress of Blogitude’s morning link dump. Send tips, link submissions, comments and complaints to weedagainstspeed@gmail.com.
• Celebrity chef Chris Cosentino has invented “Gluttony Pants,” which feature three buttons so a person can expand the waistline of their slacks as they overeat. Said Cosentino: “There have been some misconceptions about the Gluttony Pants — I’m not trying to promote obesity or overeating, it’s more about fun. It’s not always a bad thing to overindulge — I’m not saying sit down and eat a 100-ounce T-bone, but it’s OK to overdo it once in a while.” Wait. Is he saying there is something wrong with eating a 100-ounce T-bone? This guy…this guy doesn’t get it. [MSNBC]
• Shocking: Steve Young ripped Vince Young. When is this guy not hammering on someone? Bitter man, this Steve Young fella. [Larry Brown Sports]
• Uh-oh: Ron Artest, who aspires to play professional football one day, to receive advice on how to be a malcontent in the NFL from Terrell Owens. [Sharapova's Thigh]
• The Dallas Mavericks are selling a cookbook. TBJ comes up with some hilarious recipes which should have been included in it. [The Basketball Jones]
• Is the impending divorce of Tony Parker and Eva Longoria one of the reasons Derek Jeter has wisely chosen to remain single? [Outside the Boxscore]
• The fact that Rajon Rondo is averaging over 14 assists per game is simply mind-blowing. [The Legend of Cecilio Guante]
• Who knew Don King was a Miami Heat fan? Further, who knew he was among the walking dead? [Ball Don't Lie]
• Opponents are accusing an African female soccer player of not being a female. [Out of Bounds]
• A “Ray Lewis Dance-Off” proved what we all knew all along: white folks can’t dance (like Ray Lewis). [The Last Angry Fan]
• Last night marked the transition of Phillip Rivers from Marmalard to Fun-Loving Marmalard. [Kissing Suzy Kolber]
• The Onion Headline of the Day: Man Gives Up Trying To Get Coat Back From Former Girlfriend
And what a thrilling race to wrap up a thrilling season. They call it a season in NASCAR, right?
Sadly, I assume this means that Jimmy Joe will be going on hiatus for a spell, what with no races in the foreseeable future. Or are there? All this NASCAR stuff corn-fuses me. That’s why the blogosphere needs Jimmy Joe – to make sense of this stupefying racing nonsense and whatnot.
So don’t go burning your face off in moonshine still accident, Jimmy Joe!
It’s 4:19, You Gotta Minute?
Posted by:
• Here’s what the call of some of the greatest moments in March Madness history would have sounded like if Charles Barkley had broadcasted the games. [TAUNTR]
• Boy, trash talking during bowling really has changed since I was in a league. [Busted Coverage]
• Tracy Porter got a Family Guy-inspired haircut. [Larry Brown Sports]
• Islanders announcer would prefer to not be watching Islanders games. [Awful Announcing]
• Who knew Bill Murray was a George Mason fan? [D.C. Sports Bog]
• Paul Bisonnette, a/k/a @BizNasty2point0, would like his cell phone back. [Puck Daddy]
• Rudy Gay will shoot game-winning jumpers over the heads of the walking dead if he has to. [The Basketball Jones]
• More Peter King retardery. [Kissing Suzy Kolber]
• Big Papi tests out his comedy chops in this VitaminWater ad. [Hugging Harold Reynolds]
• Congratulations to the Colorado Rapids for winning their first MLS Championship. [Smart Ass Sports]
• In honor of the ESPN The Magazine movie issue, here are some pretty funny professional athletes in movies photoshops. [Daddy's Sugar Ball]
• The Onion Headline of the Day, Part II: 4 Dead, 12 Injured As Bull Wins Rodeo
Send tips, link submissions, etc. to weedagainstspeed@gmail.com.
Yep. Not a bad gig if you can get it. Newlyweds Mike Comrie, center for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Hilary Duff, um, actress, are apparently still in the honeymoon period of their marriage. Wed on August 14th, Duff and Comrie are still clearly head over heels for each other, much as they were the weekend Comrie presented Duff with a $1 million engagement ring in Hawaii, which Duff was clearly “blown away” by, as evidenced by the above photo of her expressing her appreciation for her then-fiance’s jewelry-buying acumen.
Now comes news that Hilary likes to keep things fresh and exciting while her husband is on the road by “sexting” him. Yep, Hilary Duff sends sexually provocative photos of herself to her husband. Life is so unfair. Duff admitted to engaging in this risque act during an appearance on “The Billy Bush Show.”
From aceshowbiz (via Puck Daddy):
“Oh my God, you’re going to get me in trouble,” blushing Hilary said as the show’s host asked whether or not she ever sent racy pictures of herself to Mike. The “Beauty & the Briefcase” actress, however, has a way not to get caught, stating “Never with my face in it!”
Quizzed further on why she did those risque acts, Hilary explained, “We got to be fun. We got to keep (our marriage) interesting, you know?” On possibility that her hubby Mike might forward them to other people, the “What Goes Up” star quickly responded, “No, no, no, no. He better know better!”
Hummina hummina. Video of Duff’s appearance follows.
Or should that instead read “Vampirism Is Undead And Well In Professional Soccer”? It’s all so confusing.
In any event, it has become abundantly clear that this entire True Blood/Twilight/vampire craze has gotten completely out of hand now that soccer players are getting all bitey and stuff. Well, at least one soccer player is getting bitey: Luis Suarez. Suarez, who plays for Amsterdam’s Ajax club, decided to let his teeth do the talking during a match this weekend, when he attempted to sink his teeth into opponent Otman Bakkal’s neck.
Come on, man. That’s some bizarre antics right there. Even Mike Tyson is stupefied and troubled by this incident.
Man bites man: Meet soccer’s ‘Cannibal of Ajax’ [Toronto Star]
His moves are…mesmerizing, but not in a good way. It’s like a full bodied dry heave set to music.
No, no. That ain’t dancing, Ovie. You stink.
[H/T Russian Machine Never Breaks (via @dcsportsblog via The Big Lead]
According to the appropriately named vlogger RampageJackson4Real, this is Rampage Jackson and um, so other guys, engaging in some post-UFC 123 hijinks at a baggage claim inside some unnamed airport.
Those MMA guys: so silly.
It’s funny because people rarely misspell words on Twitter. Or, in another realm, the name of a five-time Pro Bowler on his jersey:
WILLAIMS? That’s good stuff. Jesus, at this point I’d almost rather see Willie Ames lining up at defensive tackle. Cripes.
Ultimately, Shiancoe recognized the error and amended this tweet, so it’s all good now. Well, not necessarily good – his team still sucks balls (UPDATE: but hey, Childress was finally fired. YAY!) – but at least he corrected his mistake. That’s nice.
Make your Tailgate legendary with Captain and Cola. Join the party on Facebook.
Friends, Sportressphiles and assorted internet troglodytes: this weekend, yours truly was commissioned with an interesting assignment. Yes, believe it or not, someone thought it would be a good idea to dispatch me to Mall of America Field to take in the pregame festivities in the streets of Minneapolis. Even better, this was Packers-Vikings week in the Twin Cities, and despite the Vikings woeful record, the matchup generally brings out the best of the best as it pertains to tailgating and outdoors shenanigans. Even more so, this happened to be the 100th game in the Packers-Vikings rivalry, and while there certainly wasn’t as much at stake as there have been in previous meetings (at least for the Purple), the fact that it was a numerically significant game certainly made up for the lack of overall buzz and anticipation.
When your humble Yardbarker correspondent awoke Sunday morning, I walked out to get my Sunday paper only to notice that some precipitation had fallen overnight. And when it is late November in Minnesota and it rains as opposed to snows, well, it’s not a very good thing. My driveway was a slick sheet of glazed ice, as were the roads throughout the Twin Cities metro area. So bad, in fact, that a travel advisory had been issued for Sunday morning and there were reports of automobiles slipping, sliding and crashing all over the place as a result of the wintry mix.
As a lifelong resident of Minnesota who has become accustomed to situations such as the one which presented itself this dreary Sunday morning, I would not be deterred. I got in the car and made my way to the City of Lakes (and Iced-Over Sidewalks).
Wake N’ Blog is the Sportress of Blogitude’s morning link dump. Send tips, link submissions, comments and complaints to weedagainstspeed@gmail.com.
• For 1,650 Euros ($2,300), you can get yourself a coffin aimed geared to appeal to homosexuals. The coffins, created by two undertakers in Germany who are attempting to “tap into the gay market” feature images of male nudes or rainbows. Said one of the undertakers, Thomas Brandl: “We believe you should be able to have a coffin that lets you embark on your last journey in a way that reflects how you lived your life.” Fair enough. [MSNBC/Reuters]
• Here’s some photos of that guy who ran out onto the field during the Jets game. [Bob's Blitz]
• One person who wasn’t a fan of that guy: Dan Dierdorf. [Awful Announcing]
• Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers scored a goal with his penis. [Sharapova's Thigh]
• Holy Blake Griffin levitation dunk, Batman! [Out of Bounds]
• This just in: white football pants will show skid marks. Gross. [Joe Sports Fan]
• Tony Dungy thinks Jeff Fisher should cut ties with Vince Young. [Larry Brown Sports]
• Here’s some nice photos from Wrigley Field at this weekend’s Illinois-Northwestern game. [Foul Balls]
• Now this is a great photo of Elimanningface. [Kissing Suzy Kolber]
• Ben Roethlisberger got punched (kind of) by the Raiders’ Richard Seymour yesterday. [Ted Williams Head]
• In the 25th edition of The Sports Snob, Will R. addresses Michael Vick. [You Been Blinded]
• Hilarious: Jason Kidd has channeled his inner-Talking Heads. [That NBA Lottery Pick]
• The Onion Headline of the Day: New Evidence Proves First Flag Made By Betsy Ross Actually Shirt For Gay Friend
…It’s quite an irregular place to be, but never fear you’re safe with me…
Well, with Jimmy Joe.
Chase finale, kiddies. Give heed to Jimmy Joe. He’ll take care of ya. Meanwhile, have a mighty fine weekend. See you on Monday.
[H/T for post inspiration to Primus]
