Archive for December, 2010
Adam Schefter, along with Chris Mortensen, are ESPN’s much ballyhooed “NFL Insider” tandem. While accurate and responsible for the most part, there have been plenty of occasions where it appears these guys are simply picking up a big pile of crap, forming it into a ball and chucking it at a wall and hoping it sticks. Apparently, Schefter has grown tired of the rigmarole of the daily grind of being an NFL Insider. On an apparent lark, Schefter took a stab at working outside his comfort zone by testing his “insiding” skills in the arena of college football.
Schefter, a Michigan alum, speculated during a recent podcast that while the 49ers would love to get their hands on Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh for their vacant head coaching position, Schefter offers up the outlandish assertion that Harbaugh might be instead heading to Ann Arbor to replace the yet-to-be-but-probably-will-be- fired Rich Rodriguez.
Via the Detroit Free Press:
They’d love Jim Harbaugh from Stanford. My understanding is that it’s going to be very difficult for them to get him, and I don’t think he’ll wind up there. The sense is that Jim Harbaugh will wind up at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, coaching the Maize and Blue.
“Again, this is the buzz around the league. This is what people, smart people think is going to happen. That’s the sense of people that I know and trust and respect, that Harbaugh will not go to the Niners, that he will go to Michigan, and it’ll be up to another NFL job to see if it could entice him and prevent him from going to a place like Michigan.
“But the one thing I feel certain about, Jim Harbaugh is going to leave Stanford.”
Is it possible that Harbaugh will end up at Michigan? Sure. Anything is possible. Harbaugh did play QB for the Wolverines and this hasn’t been the first time his name has been mentioned in respect to the Michigan head coaching job. But I’m not buying it. Not yet. Further, as a Michigan alum himself, is it possible that Schefter might be using his considerable public persona in a self-serving manner to further advance the rumor and rampant speculation, thereby giving it more legs than it might deserve?
What’s that? Schefter said the people who are feeding him this line are “smart people”? Well then, that’s a different story altogether. Run with it, Adam. Run with it like the wind!
ESPN’s Adam Schefter expects Jim Harbaugh to go to Michigan [Detroit Free Press]
It’s 4:19, You Gotta Minute?
Posted by:
• There seems to be a plethora of quarterbacks with a passer rating over 100.0 in the NFL right now. To quote Cliff Clavin, what’s up with that? [Larry Brown Sports.0]
• Take a trip down memory lane and celebrate they year that was in Philadelphia Sports Fan Douchebaggery. [Off the Bench]
• The Trentonian had some harsh words for Tucker Carlson regarding his comments about Michael Vick. Well, not actually harsh, but potentially harsh. [Hugging Harold Reynolds]
• Happy Birthday, Tiger Woods. Start winning again. [Pro Golf Talk]
• Brandon Lloyd had some nice words for his former teams. As long as “nice” implies containing expletives. [With Leather]
• Ha ha: Sidney Crosby’s voice cracking while trying to act tough by dropping F-bombs. [Bob's Blitz]
• Speaking of Sid the Kid, here are some of his lesser-known streaks. [TAUNTR]
• Sticking with the NHL, here are PD’s Top 10 Goals of 2010. [Puck Daddy]
• Lamar Odom has some jazzy-jazz moves. [The Basketball Jones]
• Is it possible that Katy Perry’s “Firework” is about Brett Favre. Click through and read about Samer’s theory. [Second-String Fullback]
• Should the Vikings line up in the victory formation on the first play against Detroit this weekend and allow Brett Favre to take a knee one last time? [The Legend of Cecilio Guante]
• Fantasy football season may be over, but sex season never ends… [Kissing Suzy Kolber]
• The 15 funniest tweets by athletes in 2010. [Sports Pickle]
• The Onion Headline of the Day, Part II: Voice-Activated GPS System Takes ‘Top Gun’ Soundtrack Fan Into The Danger Zone
Send tips, link submissions, etc. to weedagainstspeed@gmail.com.
Off the court, Steve Nash may be one of the coolest, funniest, laid-back dudes on the planet – his hilarious Vitaminwater videos, along with whatever the hell this Balls Talk vid is all about clearly illustrate that supposition as an irrevocable fact. On the court, meanwhile, Nash is one fiery competitor. And that hyper-competitiveness might have gotten the best of him last night, if what separate sources are alleging about something Nash said to his coach Alvin Gentry during the Suns’ 123-110 loss to the 76ers in Phoenix is any indication.
Upset about some calls that weren’t going the Suns’ way, Nash apparently had this to say to Coach Gentry after being assessed a technical foul in the 4th quarter, apparently in reference to the referees (from Fanhouse, via The Basketball Jones):
“I’m going to f*****g punch one of these motherf*****s in the face.”
Yeesh. That seems way out of character for him. What in the holy hell has gotten into the Nashter? Oh yeah, the Phoenix Suns suck major balls this season. Almost forgot about that.
Marcin Gortat Rips Suns Defense After Disappointing Loss to Sixers [Fanhouse (via The Basketball Jones)]
F**k me running.
Us Weekly is reporting that newly designated bench player Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian have apparently been rewarded for whatever it is they do by being given their own reality series. An insider (publicist) told the rag that the series will begin shooting in the spring, which means that there will be, according to my count, three – yes, three – reality shows polluting cable television featuring the mutant offspring from the Kardashian brood.
Apparently, the new Kardashian-Odom series on E! will be in the same vein as the Jessica Simpson-Nick Lachey trainwreck, Newlyweds, the only difference being the latter featured an attractive gal – at least back then she was – and the former, um, does not so much.
Via FOX Sports:
“They’re so cute, playing off one another,” another source said of the pair, who married in September 2009.
(violently dry heaves)
I am in no way resorting to hyperbole when I argue that this will be the worst spinoff since Three’s A Crowd, and that’s saying something.
Report: Odom, Khloe to star in spinoff [FOX Sports]
[H/T Ned's Atomic Dustbin]
In attempt to justify – or at least explain – his recent Twitter-based offensive on former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, Oney Guillen appeared on Chicago radio station WSCR with Bernstein and Rozner. Head-scratching commentary ensued.
On why he used Twitter to unlaunch on Bobby Jenks:
“Somebody else, one of my cousins that was online, just made it aware to me that I guess Bobby had said a couple things about the Sox … and I saw that he took a couple personal attacks at the manager and the team, for that matter. … Players have done that before … but I just thought that was very disrespectful and very unloyal of him to do that to a team that really, really, really stood behind this guy, more than any of you guys will know.”
On revealing Jenks’ problems such as drinking issues and marital problems via Twitter:
“Obviously maybe I should’ve stepped away from the laptop. … I guess I was a little heated and I wish I could take [it back], because I do know his wife and his kids and that’s a pretty good family. I wish I wouldn’t have said that, but I did. I stand behind what I said.”
…
On what possible damage could’ve been done to his father’s name because of Jenks’ comments:
“Well, I guess maybe you and I don’t know. You don’t know if any damage was done to my dad or the team or any of that. We can just assume.”
Alrighty then. To be honest – and be sure to check out the entirety of the interview – I believe I now know less about what in the hell Oney Guillen could have possibly been thinking launching his Twitter tirade then I did beforehand. This guy is like an impulsive mystery wrapped inside an enraged enigma stuffed into a poorly proselytizing puzzle.
Oney Guillen Should Practice What He Preaches [Sports Radio Interviews]
Yeah, the life of the Unfrozen Caveman Hockey Player is always interesting, never boring and frequently slathered in Russian dressing. Which, especially when it involves sexy Eastern European gals and not Russian Dolls in some oddly-envisioned shooting accuracy demonstration, can certainly be a pretty good deal when you think about it. No reason for Ovie to complain, that’s for sure.
[H/T Puck Daddy]
I cannot be the only person who gleefully remembers “Who’s Now”, one the biggest epic fails ever inflicted upon the SportsCenter-watching masses by The Worldwide Leader In Sports. Not only was it mocked and ridiculed mercilessly on the interwebs back in 2007, it was summarily dismissed and indiscriminately lambasted by the then ESPN Ombudsman, Le Anne Schreiber – remember when the ESPN Ombudsman actually did some, um, ombudsing?
In the end, no one cared about the results and we somehow managed to move on with our lives after the moronic bit. Well, ESPN has been thinking about some stuff lately – they are what we like to refer to in the business as a forward-thinking organization – no time to look back, no time to stay mired in the present. In their eyes, it’s all about the future, or as ESPN has chosen to put it: NEXT. And you better pay attention to what “NEXT” is – or is going to be, I guess – lest you fall behind and look like an idiot…next month, next year, next decade…whenever. Just give heed, peasants.
The upcoming issue of ESPN The Magazine is where “NEXT” has been determined and according to this release, the issue is going to be a page-turner.
Via ESPN Media Zone:
After much deliberation, ESPN The Magazine has found the athlete destined to make the biggest impact on sports in the coming year…and for years to come. Hitting .305 and blasting 18 homers—as well as handling baseball’s best pitching staff—San Francisco Giants catcher and NL Rookie of the Year Buster Posey is The Mag’s NEXT athlete. Along with Posey, Thrashers wing Evander Kane, Clippers forward Blake Griffin and LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson were all chosen as NEXT in their respective sport.
NEXT, baby. NEXT. These are the folks we’ll be talking about…at some point. Perhaps we already are, in a way. But remember, these folks are most certainly not NOW. That would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it?
ESPN The Magazine Declares SF Giants’ Buster Posey as its NEXT Athlete [ESPN Media Zone]
Joe Paterno, that ornery old coot, was back at it recently with his talk of the good old days and all the newfangled things like technology that screw everything up and make the world a beepy-boppy, confusing as hell place to live.
Philadelphia Daily News‘ columnist Bill Conlin has a nice little write-up about Joe Paterno and the eventual, inevitable and unavoidable changing of the guard when one day, college football’s “Last Emperor” will either be forced into retirement or perhaps more fittingly shuffle off this mortal coil while still coaching his beloved Nittany Lions.
Conlin, after listening to JoePa talk about times long past, when Father Frederick Engel, a stern Jesuit priest at Brooklyn Prep, would smack students upside the head when they got out of line, asks Paterno how he feels about modern technology and how the coach’s “storied career and its end game has been laid bare by the social-networking phenomenon sweeping the world.”
Here’s JoePa’s response (via Philly.com):
“It drives me nuts. I get in a bus and I gotta tell a bunch of kids, ‘Take that thing sticking in your ears and shove it.’ I don’t particularly like the idea of people having that much access to anything.”
I’m guessing Coach Paterno is referring to the fact that every player seems to be sporting iPods these days, but if he wants to believe that the earbuds connected to a portable media player are transmitting the internets to his players, I suppose we can all allow him that suspicion.
On the other hand, maybe Paterno is more tech-savvy then we are led to believe and he suspects that the players are listening to downloaded podcasts loaded with intellectually stimulating information and not just terrible music. I suppose that’s a possibility.
On the other hand, perhaps JoePa just hates Q-Tips, what with the “sticking in your ears” comment. “Take that cotton swab out of your dang ear and shove it, daggummit!” Yeah, I could see that.
It is often said that “karma’s a bitch” and perhaps we saw evidence of that philosophy last night when Kevin Garnett grimaced after dunking late in the first quarter with what Celtics coach Doc Rivers refers to as a “muscle injury, not a knee” injury to his right leg during Boston’s 104-92 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Given that this was the first meeting between the teams since Charlie Villanueva took to the Tweets to accuse KG of referring to the Celtics forward as a “cancer patient” during a November 2nd game. Of course, Garnett emphatically denied saying such a thing, hilariously claiming he instead said “You are cancerous to your team and our league.”
As a stifle my chuckling once again due to the way KG pathetically backpedaled, one could argue that karmic payback was in play and that is the reason Garnett crumpled to the floor in the rematch.
Be that as it may (or may not, depending on your views regarding unseen, mystical forces affecting our daily lives due to our previous actions – or inactions, as the case may be), Villanueva was pretty primed for the game due to the bad blood between the two players, getting called for a foul on KG just 10 seconds into the game.
Via the Detroit Free Press:
“I just went out there and tried to be physical, tried to be felt right away,” said Villanueva, who did not acknowledge Garnett before the game. “I think I got he message across.”
Villanueva was slapped with his second foul at 9:12. He went to the bench at 9:03 and missed the rest of the first quarter.
“It was very frustrating, but sometimes I let my emotions get the best of me and whatnot,” Villanueva said of his foul trouble. “But the second half I refocused and the game started coming my way.”
Even better, his trash-talking nemesis was out of the game and back in the locker room by the time he returned. Payback – and karma – can be quite the bitch, man.
Charlie Villanueva-Kevin Garnett stare down a dud [Detroit Free Press]
Whaaaaaaa? Who woulda thunk it, right?
Duh.
Hall of Fame: ‘Steroid Era’ could influence voting [USA Today]
Wake N’ Blog is the Sportress of Blogitude’s morning link dump. Send tips, link submissions, etc. to weedagainstspeed@gmail.com.
• The Granny Purps marijuana dispensary in Soquel, California came up with a unique idea to drum up donations to food shelves: give away free pot for every contribution. For every four cans of food a patient brought in, they were rewarded with one joint, although there was a three-joint maximum per day. Shockingly, it worked: “The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that the dispensary took in 11,000 pounds of food and handed out 2,000 marijuana cigarettes between November and Christmas Eve, when the promotion ended.” Here’s my question: Is it a good idea to trust a pothead with food of any kind? What with the munchies factor and everything? I bet some of the food never made it to the food shelves, man. [Yahoo!/AP]
• Tyreke Evan’s drained a 50-foot buzzer beater for a dramatic Kings’ victory. [Ball Don't Lie]
• Here’s an interesting thought: have the Spurs, Tony Parker improved since his split with Eva Longoria? I can see that. There’s something about that broad that is profoundly annoying. [Larry Brown Sports]
• Soccer game called on account of a rapscallion in the stands armed with a laser pen. [Off the Bench]
• Here’s a nice rundown of some of the biggest sports media stories from the past year. [Awful Announcing]
• The top 12 reasons Tucker Carlson believes Michael Vick “should’ve been executed.” [Five Tool Tool]
• My pals at TAUNTR have some fun with the Tucker Carlson audio. [TAUNTR]
• Straight pimpin’: here’s Nate Robinson modeling the “Cat Mink Fur” coat Shaq bought for him. [The Last Angry Fan]
• Oh dear: Brett Favre Gingerbread Cockies, everyone. [Ted Williams Head]
• Dirk Nowitzki’s color commentary rules. [That NBA Lottery Pick]
•
• The Onion Headline of the Day: Half Of 26-Year-Old’s Memories Nintendo-Related
It’s funny because it’s probably true. The internets have a lot of worthwhile information on them and LeBron – evidently – would be very wise to consult the treasure trove of knowledge nuggets more often.
[H/T TAUNTR]
It’s 4:19, You Gotta Minute?
Posted by:• Please help these guys out and go sign their petition to save Buffalo QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s beard. [Read and React]
• LOLNFL for Week 16 is, as usual, quite amusing. [Kissing Suzy Kolber]
• The Eagles mascot got some sweet action from a comely female fan in the stands last night. [Bob's Blitz]
• Paul Pierce is a goddamn water thief. [With Leather]
• Here’s a fun game: “Fill In The Blanks With Rajon Rondo.” It’s kinda like Mad Libs, with expletives. [The Basketball Jones]
• Humorous Headline: Michigan QB accepts free iPad in desperate plea for attention. [TAUNTR]
• Confusing Headline: In Utah, the Jazz are like ‘M*A*S*H’ times ‘Cheers’ plus ‘Seinfeld’ [Ball Don't Lie]
• Ladies and gentlemen, beer bonging via vuvuzela at minor league hockey game. [Busted Coverage]
• Chinese soccer is weird, man. [Off the Bench]
• David Lee busted out the rarely used NBA defensive maneuver, The Purple Nurple, recently. [The Sports Hernia Blog]
• The Onion Headline of the Day: [video] Insidious Worm Makes Unauthorized Purchases When Computer User Is Drunk
Send tips, link submissions, etc. to weedagainstspeed@gmail.com.
Through the work of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), working in concert with the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) – that’s a lot of initials – agents have seized and confiscated 792 counterfeit items headed for Pittsburgh worth an estimated $100,000. The seized items included National Hockey League jerseys, apparel and memorabilia, as well as some NFL jerseys and other assorted merchandise. The agencies stepped up their efforts to halt importing of counterfeit merchandise in advance of the NHL Winter Classic between the Penguins and Capitals on New Year’s Day.
Via WKBW-TV:
The jerseys, hats, T-shirts and other souvenirs were confiscated by agents in the last month as they came into Pittsburgh through various international mail facilities. Although most of the seized items were purporting to be NHL merchandise, agents also seized counterfeit NFL jerseys and fake Ugg boots and counterfeits of brand name shoes, purses and apparel. The seizures are part of a crackdown on intellectual property rights (IPR) violations in the Pittsburgh area as it prepares for the New Year’s Day hockey game.
No! For all that is holy and in the name of Tom Brady! Not fake Uggs! These counterfeiters are freaking animals! Unscrupulous entrepreneurs, even!
“Around every major sports event in this country, these unscrupulous entrepreneurs take advantage of fan fever to sell the whole range of products bearing the trademark and names of the teams involved,” said John P. Kelleghan, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Philadelphia. “They use inferior materials to pump out look-alikes that do not benefit the teams, the players or the associations that have trademarked these goods. Counterfeiting hurts the consumer, it hurts business and it costs American jobs.”
Inferior materials to pump out fake look-alikes? Now I can be snarky as they come, but is that any way to refer to the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Be that as it may, it is unbelievable that someone would attempt to personally profit off such a wonderful event like the Winter Classic by schilling counterfeit merchandise. I will tell you this: if my Sidney Crosby Lip Balm turns out to be fake merchandise proffered up by maniacal, money-grubbing, counterfeiting charlatans, I won’t know what to believe in anymore.
Fake Winter Classic Gear Busted! [WKBW-TV]
