Monday, September 10, 2007

Monday 09/10 A.M. Quickie:
Week 1 NFL, Week 2 CFB, A-Rod, 9.74, More!

I can't possibly do justice to analyzing yesterday's NFL action. I leave that to places like PFT, KSK, Deadspin or Fanhouse. But I CAN offer some shallow observations.


As usual, the first Sunday of the 2007 NFL season left more questions than answers. Ten of them, in fact:

(1) Will most of the games be this ugly or is it a Week 1 thing?

(2) Are the Pats already as unstoppable as they seem to be?

(3) What the hell happened to Steven Jackson and Larry Johnson?

(4) Will it always look that easy the Steelers offense?

(5) Should they just give Adrian Peterson his Rookie of the Year trophy now?

(6) Can the Packers really bootstrap their way to the playoffs?

(7) Will everyone please lay off Matt Schaub now?

(8) Will the rest of the Broncos catch up to Jay Cutler?

(9) Is the Lions offense really that good?

(10) Isn't it typical that the night of Eli Manning's best game in a long time, he also gets hurt?

NFL Week 1 Stud, Player: Randy Moss, whose 9-catch, 183-yard, 1-TD game put him back on the map among the NFL's top superstars. (Runner-up: Chris Brown -- wow, where did THAT come from?)

NFL Week 1 Stud, Team: Minnesota. All of a sudden, my pick of the Vikings as an NFC Wild Card suddenly doesn't look so crack-smoking, does it? (Yes, it was against the Falcons, but still...)

NFL Week 1 Dud: Rex Grossman. I know the Chargers D is really good, but this game's result can't possibly help his cause. (Runner-up: Charlie Frye. Brady Quinn might not be ready, but he can't possibly earn a 10.0 QB game-rating.)

Oh, and one more Stud: The Kickers – Jason Elam, Mason Crosby and Scott Suisham, all of whom nailed game-winning field goals in their games' final seconds. Elam, especially, was clutch: 42 yards, on the road, without a time out to set up the kick.

Here's wishing for a full recovery for Bills reserve tight end Kevin Everett, who suffered a spinal injury on a kickoff yesterday.

Monday Night Football doubleheader:
Ravens-Bengals: Which playoff contender gets the fast start?
49ers-Cards: Who is this year's breakout team?

CFB: LSU is the No. 1 team in the country, and I can't believe any voters would leave USC there after the Trojans spent the weekend battling that incredibly tough opponent, "Idle." (And, yet, 2/3 of them did.)

Here's my BlogPoll ballot for the week, and here's a link to the rest of my shallow commentary from Saturday's action.

Lloyd Carr Firing Watch: Michigan AD Bill Martin supports Carr. It's not that I think Martin should fire Carr; it's that I think Carr should resign on his own. Meanwhile, Martin can go with him; it's like the GM getting fired when the Coach quits. Aren't the two intertwined?

US Open: Federer wins... again. It's his 12th Grand Slam title. I think I said this nearly half-a-dozen Slam titles ago: We're watching the greatest tennis player of all time.

MLB Stud: A-Rod (What? Again?!), who had a HR for the 5th straight game. He has 52 HR, 140 RBI and the Yankees have a 4-game lead for the AL Wild Card, the clinching of which would all but assure A-Rod his AL MVP trophy, if he hasn't secured it already.

MLB PED Scandal: Jay Gibbons is the latest name to come out. If this outing is going to happen in dribs and drabs, it's going to be an ugly offseason for baseball. They really ought to consider leaking the entire list and diffusing the impact with volume.

Golf: Tiger shoots a 63 to win the BMW Championship. (Amazingly, even with that score, he only one by two shots over Aaron Baddeley, who shot a final-round 66.)

Soccer: Women's World Cup starting. I think this is an underrated event that will generate a little bit of buzz once the U.S. team starts playing (and winning). There are some strang game times to watch live, which is always good for attracting a cult following. They will be hard-pressed to top Brandi Chastain's sportsbra moment.

World's Fastest Man: Asafa Powell sets a new world record in the 100m at 9.74.

-- D.S.

88 comments:

Matt T said...

The rookie of the year race is going to be a good one. Marshawn Lynch and Calvin Johnson scored as well.

Tiger only won by 2 strokes. So? A win is a win. Haven't you always said that the winning score is all relative. The course was easy for a lot of guys, Tiger just happened to be 2 shots better.

pv845 said...

I agree on the opening day ugliness. Some of those games were just pitiful and painful to watch.

What happened to LJ? Nothing. The Chiefs suck and there isn't anything LJ or LT could do about it.

Lay off Matt Schaub? 1 TD and 225 yards passing against a horrible defense? That is not that great a day.

RT said...

I can't wait for the inevitable Asafa Powell PED scandal.

Big D said...

For once, I can openly support A-Rod's legitimacy for MVP. This year, he actually earned it on a winning team.

Still gloating about my nice run in the pick'em and eliminator games...

Justin Kadis said...

Dan-

How does it feel to be ranking Ohio St. worst amongst your peers for the second week in a row?

ToddTheJackass said...

MLB Studs and Duds from yesterday:

Studs:
1. Johan Santana - W, 7.0IP, ER, 5H, 10K, 2BB
2. Curtis Granderson - 4/4, HR, 2R, SB
3. Josh Beckett - W, 7.0IP, 2ER, 7H, 8K
4. Ryan Braun - 2/4, 2HR, 3RBI
5. Pedro Martinez - W, 5.0IP, 0ER, 6H, 4K, BB

Duds:
1. Phil Dumatrait - L, 0.0IP (start), 4ER, 5H, 3HR
2. Jeremy Bonderman - L, 1.1IP, 6ER, 7H, K, 2BB
3. Steve Trachsel - L, 2.0IP, 6ER, 6H, 0K, BB
4. Lenny DiNardo - L, 1.2IP, 3ER, 7R, 4H, K, 2BB
5. Dontrelle Willis - L, 3.0IP, 7ER, 7H, 3K, 2BB

philipjsnell said...

So Dan, yesterday you said Nebraska is not LEGIT, but today you move them up 5 spots in your Top 25 ballot??

I guess beating the reigning ACC champs on the road (even if it was ugly) is sorta legit.

Also, moving USC up 5 spots to #2 during a BYE week? What did they do to deserve that? I guess every other team sucked so bad that it was inevitable. Based on games actually played I'd have to put LSU at the top with OU 2nd.

CMFost said...

Is the Jets pass rush really that bad? It looked like to me that Brady had all day to throw it was pretty sick what the Pats O-Line did.

Unknown said...

I think at one point yesterday Tom Brady set up a lemonade stand in the pocket and was actually making a good profit before he had to get rid of the ball.

Unknown said...

While it does look like Adrian Peterson will be getting the bulk of the carries now that Chester Taylor is semi-hurt, I wouldn't count out Marshawn Lynch or Calvin Johnson. If Sunday was any indication, the Lions will be airing it out a lot this year under thethreat of Tatum Bell's legs and the Bills lack of a decent #2 reciever outside of Lee Evans will lead to a lot of groundwork for Lynch.

Geoff said...

I know people want Carr fired or want him to resign immediately, but it just isn't going to happen. He will step down gracefully at the end of the season but leaving right now would be a disaster. They don't have a single assistant ready to take over as head coach, they have the current recruits to worry about (say what you will about Lloyd but the guy knows how to recruit), and if you think the situation is bad now with the 2 losses imagine how the players would feel if the coach just suddenly bailed on them.

In other news, that was the most fun Lions game I have watched in ages. Was kinda cool to see a real offense.

Matt said...

i hate charlie frye and romeo crennel.

Unknown said...

I think the Vikes pick could come to reality, as long as Jackson can protect the ball and defense keeps playing like it does, they definitely could win the wild card, if not the division (Chicago cannot run or pass the ball right now).

The Nike commercial with Shawn Merriman and Stephen Jackson was pretty good (with the Last of the Mohicans theme).

Tim said...

Federer is an amazing player. However, who is his competition right now? Name more than 4-5 USTA men's players. It seems like a down period in the level of tennis talent for men.

David Kippe said...

i think jason witten just caught another pass over the middle

Jen said...

matt~I'm with you! Boy, did they ruin my Sunday. I am going to start harrassing Bill Cowher to please come out of retirement next year. Anyone have his e-mail address??

I love that fact that Michigan is 0-2 but as a Buckeyes fan, I realize how it hurts us in a way.

David Kippe said...

I think Jerry Reese the Giants GM is already contacting Cowher

CMFost said...

any chance Michigan and ND tie this saturday that way neither team will have a win

Michael said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Matt said...

jen

i love the fact that UM lost again. im not one of those fans who hopes that every other b10 team wins unless they are playing tOSU. I hope UM loses every single game. There should be no relation between UM losing and making Ohio State look better/worse. Seeing UM getting humiliated again at home was like Christmas in september.

verbal97 said...

how do you move BC down after a comprehensive win against a coach who knows the team inside and out? And your SEC bias is equal if not worse than those who keep USC at #1!

Michael said...

Re: Vince Young

Last night Tom Jackson uttered the phrase "I don't care what his stats look like, Vince Young just wins football games" Can we officially kill that comment which was uttered last year numerous times after sloppy play from opposing teams won VY football games. Yesterday the winner of that game was the Titans D and Chris Brown. Not a QB who threw for 78 yards and an interception.
"VInce Young just wins football games" might be the worst. phrase. ever!!!!!

Unknown said...

No mention of the Rugby World Cup? I bet 99% of Americans have no idea that the 3rd largest spectator event started. The US lost to defending champs England. Wouldn't it be interesting to see some of our top football players in there?

I only got to watch host country France lose to Argentina. The French pack dominated in set pieces but their backs were totally outmatched from a speed and athleticism point of view.

What the US is hoping for is to just win a game. I can't see rugby becoming too popular here due to its competition with American football but what a great game it is. Warning - it does take a little effort for newbies to understand what is going on.

Unknown said...

Jets were awful. They were totally dominated by the Pats D and O lines. From the preseason, I knew they had issues filling in Kendall's LG spot but the whole line was awful. They couldn't run at all. Like people said, Brady had all day to throw. Now Pennington is hurt ouch.

I have a friend who is a Cowboy fan. I know. We tried to intervene but it seems the condition is permanent. Even worse, the Cowboys won last night, TO had a great game (yup, I admit it). Giants lost their Starting QB, RB and DE. What a disaster.

Colts and Pats again battling it out for the SB? Seems like it. I don't even know who I would consider the class of the NFC.

Yup, if Adrian Peterson doesn't get hurt, he is the rookie of the year.

muletrain said...

Rex Grossman was NOT the reason the Bears lost. Their offensive line was terrible, only their Running Backs were even worse. Benson and Peterson both lost crucial fumbles. Their D was awesome and will lead them to the division win and a playoff home game.

Beetle said...

As a huge Pats fan, I would say that it is still a bit early for everyone to be fawning over them. I watched the whole game and saw Chad Pennington having no trouble finding open receivers, and his solid stats reflect this.
If Chad can do this to our secondary, what is Peyton and crew going to do?
I think once Asante gets back to full speed the secondary will tighten up.

ToddTheJackass said...

Verbal, were you at the BC game on Saturday? The letdown had to be that they never introduced O'Brien over the loudspeaker. Oh well, I guess the beatdown was good enough. Also, as per Dan, he had BC ranked better than anyone else entering the year, so I'll cut him a little slack... for now.

I agree CM, it's really disappointing that when Notre Dame and Michigan play, someone will have to win. I hate Notre Dame more than Michigan, so I'll be pushing for Michigan, but it'd be fun if there'd be a way for them both to lose. Also, Dan, care to lead the Jimmy Clausen is a douchebag campaign? Or is it too soon?

Unknown said...

How about a little baseball? AL seems close to being wrapped up with 3 weeks to go. Closest race is the WC and Yanks up by 4 games now.

Mets have the East locked down but great races in the Central and West. With Pedro back, you have to like the Mets chances of winning the Pennant. Dbacks and Padres are close behind though. Central winner is by default.

A-Rod 7HRs in 5 days. Just sick numbers right now. Can he break Maris's record? Wouldn't you like to be his agent this year? Interesting to see who will pay for him. Yanks will pony up a lot of cash. Will the Red Sox continue to outbid the Yanks. Mets will probably not chase because of Wright at 3rd. Maybe the Dodgers? Cubs?

pv845 said...

Even as good as A-Rod is playing, who is going to pay him what he is asking? The Yankees won't I don't believe. The Red Sox would be losing a great 3rd Baseman at a cheaper price in Lowell. I can't think of a another team that will throw that much money at one player?

Big D said...

@ guyinthecorner:

Late response from yesterday, as I spent the afternoon and evening in bed with a head cold...

If the NFL streaming site works as well as you say, I owe you a beer.

I won't be trying it until Week 3, since the Pats are on nationally next week, so let's hope the NFL hasn't found it and shut it down by then.

Big D said...

@ cycledan & pv845:

A-Rod is wearing one of 4 uniforms next year: Yankees, Red Sox, Angels or Dodgers. The Cubs (Ramirez) & Mets (Wright) already have solid options @ third. The other 4 teams are the only ones that can afford him.

Personally, I think a lot depends on how the Yankees finish the playoffs. If they win a title, I think he stays. If they make it to the Series but lose, it'll be a tough call. If they miss the Series, he's gone (or at least opts out).

The heroin sheik said...

The france argentina game was really entertaining. I think it was better than most of the football games yesterday. I got to agree with Dan on how sloppy the games were yesterday. I think my favorite game was the raiders/ lions one. You got to see the Lions blow a big lead and the Raiders looked good as they were coming back. It was a lot better than the Bucs game. That game was shittastic.

kway34 said...

You're ballot is absolutely indefensible after "2 Southern Cal" Rutgers beats Navy and gets a 6 spot jump? Louisville gives up 550 yards and 42 points to MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE AT HOME and is still ahead of Oklahoma?

Steve said...

While I can't argue with A-Rod's performance, I gotta say that I think Granderson should be today's stud...

The Quad-20

One of only 3 in MLB history - that's mighty impressive.

Unknown said...

I wonder if this is the year where I'm going to be proud to be a Lions' season ticket holder. I figured that yesterday's game was going to end up like so many last year: take a lead into the 4th quarter, and run out of gas. It does make me nervous that the Oakland offense was able to put up so many points against the Lions' defense.

LaziestMovieCriticofAllTime said...

As mike992z noted, the loss is not on Grossman's shoulders. They generated no running game. When they did, someone fumbled. His one interception came when Berrian quit on a route where he had one on one with a safety.

The worst thing is Mike Brown probably lost for the season after getting pulled down to the ground by the neck and spraining his knee. Neal wasn't even called for a holding penalty on the play.

Chaddogg said...

Mark my words: the Sex Cannon will be fine. The Bears ran into arguably the NFL's best pressure defense, and while the offense sputtered, it was MUCH MORE due to the inability to run the ball (that Thomas Jones trade doesn't look good now) than Rex, who threw some really pretty passes (and yes, one interception when it appeared the WR did not run the right route), stood in the pocket well, and consistently made smart plays.

The SD-Chicago game had a lot more to do with the dominance of the two defenses than trouble for Rex. I think Rex turned a corner...

CG in DC said...

Dear Dave Shanoff:

The dude's name is Shaun Suisham, not Scott.

TBender said...

"Vince Young just wins football games"

How dare you blaspheme St. Vincent!

His sweat cures cancer. His footsteps massage Mother Earth's skin. He can do no wrong.

Mega said...

My biggest concern right now isn't the Bears, its the health of Kevin Everett. I hope he can walk again. He is only like 25 I think.

Reasons the Bears lost:
#1)Turnovers
#2)No holes for the running game
#3)Rex Grossman maddeningly average once again (Rex did not take the Bears to the Superbowl last season, more like the team took him). I am still clamoring for the Kyle Orton era to begin.
#4)Did I mention turnovers?

Like the Superbowl they had all the opportunity in the world to open it up, but failed to do so.

ToddTheJackass said...

Vince Young made it through week one uninjured. Isn't that victory enough considering the Madden Curse?

Is there an official betting line anywhere on Vegas to what week Vince Young WILL get injured and/or arrested for something egregious? I'd probably put the odds at week five. That sounds about right, doesn't it?

TBender said...

And about laying off Schaub?

Who was laying on him?

The key to his success is the O-Line. It's still not a good unit.

verbal97 said...

todd, I was at the game...the only one i'll have a chance to go to this season unfortunately. There was no need for them to announce O'Brien's name, plenty of people in our section knew it, including the guys wearing t-shirts with his name in a crossed out circle. Ass-clown! He had a better chance of going farther with NC State, my ass! I bet he regrets saying that now.

TBender said...

Weekend Baseball Dud: St. Louis
Had a chance to win all three games in Arizona, and found three different ways to lose.

Mikepcfl said...

Sign #325 that your season really sucks: The best thing to happen to the Orioles in a month is one of their worst players is on the steroid list. This means they might be able to void the last part of that putrid contract which has Gibbons signed through 2009. For once being a national embaressment might help the team.

ToddTheJackass said...

Verbal, I was more pointing out that it was a shame that the entire stadium never got the opportunity to boo O'Brien. And yes, total mistake to leave BC last year for NC State. What the hell was he thinking not at least staying for Matt Ryan's senior year? Serves the bastard right though getting his ass kicked.

Unknown said...

mikepcfl
I feel for Orioles fans. I had a friend growing up who moved to Balitmore and was an Orioles fan. Just season after season of watching the Sox and the Yanks win the division has to be tough. At least when I was a kid during the Earl Weaver years, they were among the better teams.

When they built the new stadium and sold out every game, I thought they would have the money to compete in the free agent market but none of their moves ever panned out. Now it seems fans are disgusted. Too bad, their fans deserve more.

Jen said...

matt~ Thanks so much for helping me see the light! I let my husband bamboozle my thoughts since he likes to see OSU and Michigan at even keel when they play so that it's so much more fun to be those Wolverines.

Ok, so who else watched the Stillers/Fudgies? Is Cleveland that bad or is Pittsburgh's D-Line just fine without Porter? I need to e-mail my friend who is an Akron alum and thinks Charlie Frye walks on water (yeah, he's on meds for his heart, so I think they affect his thought process!) and ask him if he still thinks Frye should be a starter.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Big D about A-Rod he could end up with 5 teams. The four you mentioned (Yanks, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Angels) but don't count out the Cubs. Yes they have Ramirez at 3B but wouldn't ARod just go back to SS if he went to the Cubs?

I liked seeing Eli step up and play well with all of the shit that has been flung his way by Tiki. That INT was not his fault and he seemed to be very accurate with his passes.

I will be praying for Kevin Everett and his family and hope that he recovers from his injury. Right now they say he has sparse movement.

Federer is sick he just makes the game of tennis look way, way to easy. My wife's favorite player ever is Sampras and when I told her that Federer will destroy his record of 14 Grand Slams she said that Pete had tougher competition. I do believe that is true there is no way that Federer is at 12 Grand Slams going against Edberg, Becker, Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Chang, Rafter, Safin. This was Sampras's competition during most of his career.

Unknown said...

What's really weird is that the O's have been shutout less than any other team in baseball.... once. By Clay Bucholz. When he threw a no hitter.

Just shows you how important pitching is. If the O's had anybody other than Bedard they would be a real contender. Their hitting is pretty solid. Guthrie looks like he could be great in a couple years but that's it.

A waste of a great stadium and fan base.
I hate Peter Angelos.

Unknown said...

Do I have to give the A-Rod lecture again?

Common guys. We did this already. He's staying put.

Jason Walker said...

Week 3 CFB Preview:

Michigan v. Notre Dame

Who wins? Nobody.

Call it "Clash of the Titanics"

Whoever wins will get credit for beating a "major" program despite that, so far, both teams are quite stinky.

Worse, this game will get more attention than it deserves...from people just like me....

Jen said...

Forgot to mention this earlier: Rex Grossman is the FURTHEST thing from a Sex Cannon. I know it's his nickname, but it makes me nauseous. It's like calling Charlie Frye a hottie or something. {heave}

I don't think A-Rod will stay in NY. I thought he'd stay in Seattle. Then when Texas gave him all of that dough, I thought that would keep him there, but nooooo...

CMFost said...

guy the orioles have been shutout twice in the last week once the no-hitter and then last friday.

Unknown said...

cmfost-

My bad. It's still the lowest though.

Unknown said...

jen-

Are you saying that I do have to explain why A-Rod won't leave the Yanks?

Allen Wedge said...

Even if you don't care for racing you NEED to see this picture from the Indy Pro Series race yesterday (Indy's minor league).

Closest race finish ever: .0005 of a second

http://www.indycar.com/pro/news/story.php?story_id=9904


p.s. college note. USC visibly struggled with Idaho while LSU beat both its opponents (neither a warm up Idaho) by a combined 93-7 and LSU is 2nd in AP?

Erik Huntoon said...

No mentioning of the final race in the IRL season and the absolutely amazing finish with Scott Dixon running out of fuel 1/3 of a lap from the finish line to come in second to Dario Franchitti for the race AND the championship? I know IRL isn't on the same level as NASCAR, but I think it at least deserves a mention when a champion is crowned.
Also, an NFLer is potentially facing paralysis and that is almost just a subnote.. kind of weak Dan.

Anyway, who still thinks the Bears are going back to the Superbowl this year? Not I. Tony Romo looked good last night.. and surprisingly Eli looked like he could actually deserve some of the hype. Honestly yesterday's games were pretty dismal to watch and I found myself much more enthralled with the IRL Race at Chicagoland then the Bears/Chargers game. In fact I basically cleared up a backlog of DVR'd shows yesterday instead of watching many of the games..

TBender said...

Final Score Prediction:

Michigan 0
Notre Dame 0
FINAL / 7 OT

Game called due to boredom.

Matt said...

i watched the game but i had to stop because charlie frye's play made me punch too many babies

did i mention i hate charlie frye and romeo crenell

Allen Wedge said...

The end of the Indy Chicagoland race was great, lets see if NASCAR can actually ever have its series come down to the final lap of the final race...

In the same way I'm almost wishing Dixon had enough to finish the last 1/3 of the lap cause Dario was going to come up on his side for a photo finish but we'll never know.

chitown italian said...

Actually it is Sexy Rexy...so I've heard. He blows no matter if the O-Line failed him. The Bears have zero running game thanks to Thomas Jones leaving. Plus Mike Brown could be done for the season (I heard someone put an end zone line in front of the Dragon's condo. He's still trying to get home after Sunday's game but he just keeps circling the block).

The Cubs are back in second with 20 games left. This is the reason I am going to die early.

USC didn't destroy Idaho because: 1) Carroll doesn't feel the need to run up the score on a lesser team (unlike UF playing two HS games so far this year), 2) Carroll used that game as a warm up for O plays and D schemes that might/might not work later in the year, 3) The number one WR didn't play. I have no doubt they will be fine going forward as long as Turner and Cushing play.

I hope LSU keeps winning as well as USC so we can have the championship game that should have happened three years ago. LSU is looking very good this year but I would argue Miss. State and Idaho are similar teams (both creme puffs).

Best of luck to the injured Bills player.

Melbye said...

Hey, don't know if you know, but there is a new National Treasure coming out in December (21st). Looks freakin awesome!

nationaltreasure.com

Andrew Poole said...

Yeah, what about Curtis Granderson as MLB Stud of the day for his 20-20-20-20 (even though his numbers are better than that, but he hit 20 steals yesterday.) mark on the season, putting him in company with Willie Mays and Frank Schulte.

ToddTheJackass said...

Actually Guy, Guthrie is 28, so he's by no means a kid. Even though he's a rookie, he's actually older than Daisuke. So I'm not sure that 'in a few years' he'll be better than this. Typically hard-throwers like Guthrie don't get better, but this is the HGH era, so why not, right?

I think the O's just need to finally cut ties with Daniel Cabrera once and for all. Doesn't everyone know by now he just won't ever fully harness his potential, and what you see is what you get?

Also, the O's need to spend some more money developing talent, or getting some international players. Fortunately Andy MacPhail seems to think this as well, so that's a good thing. Spending as much as they did to sign Matt Wieters was a good sign that they will now at least negotiate with Boras amateur clients.

kway34 said...

Final Score Prediction:

Michigan 0
Notre Dame 0
FINAL / 7 OT

Game called due to boredom.



Should be great, it's the resistable force of Notre Dame vs. the moveable object of Michigan...first one to semi-competent wins!

David Kippe said...

anything yet on Eli, or should i sell my season tickets?

chitown italian said...

@Todd - Don't get your hopes up. McFail was the Pres of the Cubs and you see where that got the team.

ToddTheJackass said...

Chi, I'm a Red Sox fan, so I should be able to contain my enthusiasm about the Orioles. But under MacPhail's watch the Cubs did spend quite a bit on developing pitching, though I have no idea how much his oversight led to getting guys like Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Rich Hill, Carlos Marmol, good Matt Clement, etc. But at the very least for O's fans, it's encouraging that he supposedly will be another voice in the room, as versus Angelos calling ALL of the shots.

The Cubs were fucked by overusing Prior and Wood, and Alex Gonzalez making that error.

verbal97 said...

I think ARod stays in NY too...But there is NO! chance he goes to Boston. If he did, no Red Sox fan would have ANY credibility left in any argument.

Unknown said...

Question to the group, the only three players I know of to get paralyzed in the NFL are Utley, Stingley and Byrd. Byrd made an amazing recovery and is able to walk a bit from the last I heard.

I know quite a few more kids in HS get seriously hurt each that doesn't get as much press as the NFL injuries.

My son decided to run cross country instead of going out for the football team. The coach had him go to a 5 day camp this summer and tried to get him to play. His friends are running so he decided not to play football. In a way, I would have liked him to play however as a father I did kind of worry about the injuries. Funny that as a player I never was worried.

David Kippe said...

Red Sox and their fans lost all credibility when they dropped 50 mil on Dice K.

ToddTheJackass said...

Sparty is correct, that was the final "we've become them" moment for the Red Sox I think. If we were to sign A-Rod and then boo him while having a pretty good year, then it'd completely seal the deal.

With Lowell ($9 million), Clement ($9 million), and presumably Schilling ($13 million) coming off the books next year, the Red Sox will have some money. I really hope they don't get A-Rod (not because he's not an amazing player), but just so I can still get to sleep at night knowing I root for the Red Sox.

David Kippe said...

@todd.

just embrace the fact that you are a rich team that will do anything to win. there is nothing wrong with it. it is sports, you take any advantage you can within the legality of it. enjoy it until the next labor dispute.

Kurt said...

Anybody see this:

Sources: Pats suspected of stealing Jets' signals

ToddTheJackass said...

I hear ya Sparty, but Red Sox fans like me have been bitching for so long about how unfair the Yankees have been with their huge payrolls in the past, it's hard to embrace the Red Sox having theirs so gigantic as well.

Nice find Kurt. That's pretty funny. I don't think it would surprise any Pats fan to know that Belichick would try and take any kind of edge (read: cheating). My guess is the NFL will bury this, and we'll barely hear about it ever again.

The heroin sheik said...

Nascar has had its championship come down to the last lap of the last race back when Alan Kulwicki won it in 92. It is a shame I didn't get to see a fellow Scot win the title.

Unknown said...

Being an engineer, it would amaze me with the literally billions of dollars at stake that teams were not cheating conssistently. Minature mics and cameras that were only obtainable by the CIA 20 years ago, can be purchased for several hundred dollars on the Internet. Just placing a mic in the opposing teams pressbox is simple to do and would practically win you any game. Also mics can be buried in a field so that QB's signals can be heard and the correct defense can be chosen.

It has to be a real simple issue to figure out a teams signs in baseball unless they make them so confusing that even the players can't figure them out.

Cheating has been going on as long as there has been sports. The only difference is that now it is easier because of technology and more profitable because more money is at stake.

chitown italian said...

It's too bad that the Cubs put players like A-Gone and Brant Brown in the positions they did.

Dusty still had the lead in both games 6 & 7.

I've said it before, I only started pounding drinks after Wood hit the HR that put the Cubs up in game 7. Intuition told me the Cubs were going to lose and I was right. I think my condo was trashed that evening after the game because the downstairs neighbor came up and asked me to quiet down. I stuck my Cubs hat in the door and he just turned and walked away.

I think I invested in dry wall and putty the next day.

Thanks Dusty for ruining my liver and my home. Jackass!

Travis said...

Along with the $13 million from Schilling $9 million from Lowell and 9 milliopn from Clement, Boston would also likely trade Manny clearing another $25 million or so if they signed Rodriguez.

Thats $56 million minus say $35 million and they end up cutting about 20 million in payroll as they can slot Ellsbury into LF at rookie minimum and have Buchholz to take Schillings spot also at minimum thus your clearing 4 salaries and only adding on one significant salary.

Unknown said...

New basketball writer Jordan Brett just started his own blog www.fromcourtside.com

Independent research, with stories from a true fan paints a picture of the game that you can only see From Courtside

Unknown said...

New basketball writer Jordan Brett just started his own blog www.fromcourtside.com, covering stories you cannot find anywhere else.

Independent research, with stories from a true fan paints a picture of the game that you can only see From Courtside.

Give it a shot

Big D said...

The end of this Baltimore / Cincy game is just absolutely ridiculous. If it weren't for the roughly 27,493 turnovers in teh game, this would be an instant-classic

Mikepcfl said...

I will be the first to say the Ravens didnt deserve to win with 5 turnovers. But what the fuck was that ref looking at when he called offensive interference on Heap? Heap had his jersey grabbed and still caught the tying TD. The ref must be buddies with Donaghy and had money on the Bengals!

Big D said...

And if anyone was wondering what the answer to the question "Who comprise the worst MNF Announcing Team in History?", the official answer is "Mike & Mike".

Guess it could be worse - they could have gone for broke and put Joe Theisman in the booth and Eric Dickerson on the sidelines...

Big D said...

Wait a second... if this officially "Mike & Mike & Mike?"

I'm speechless. I'm going to bed -someone tell me who wins this insult to the NFL...

Unknown said...

Couldn't agree more big d, these guys are horrible.

John Paul Manahan said...

well... i did manage to watch the 1st game of the MNF double header.

i think the Mike x3 will happen only once due to the doubleheader.