Saturday, January 15, 2011

1/15 (Divisional) Quickie

Sorry for the delay -- Quickish tech issues this a.m. But all good now!

The phrase that pays today is "trash-talk." The Pats and Jets went at it all week, capped last night by Bart Scott basically threatening Wes Welker with bodily harm (um, it IS football) and Nick Mangold not-so-slyly dropping "Spy" and "Gate" in a tweet. The Jets make things much more interesting than if they were sullen and quiet and lost by 30 anyway.

Meanwhile, it's kind of ludicrous that we're all talking about Pats-Jets, when there are two games today -- great games -- that will determine half of the NFL's final four. Steelers-Ravens might be the best game of the playoffs, with all of the bitter enmity but half the yakking.

By the way, Blake Griffin nearly put down a 60-foot alley-oop last night. He is turning into a one-person commercial for NBA League Pass.

NFL Draft: Nick Fairley going pro. It really doesn't matter whether he goes No. 1 overall or not. He's not going much later than Top 3, and he's going to wreak havoc wherever he ends up.

Hot Stove: Glad to see Jim Thome re-signing with the Twins. Count him among the players I'd like to see in person before he retires. (I really need to make a more formal list about that.)

Enjoy the games today -- and please drop by Quickish if you're watching the NFL games today with a laptop or iPad or phone next to you. If the BCS title game was any indication, Quickish will have the best "live" accompanying experience of anywhere online.

-- D.S.

Friday, January 14, 2011

01/14 Quickie: NFL Divisional, More

The NFL Divisional round might stack up just behind the first two days of the NCAA Tournament as the best pair of days on the sports calendar.

Depending on how you feel about the Pats and Jets -- and most of you probably loathe them both -- they are the marquee game of the weekend.

In hype, yes. But the Pats are going to throttle them. So that's kind of the end of that story.

The Ravens should give the Steelers a game in Pittsburgh -- it's the best game of the weekend. Give the Packers a puncher's chance in Atlanta. And let's just root for the Seahawks to keep it going with what would be a shocking upset in Chicago.

Check out Quickish for links to two ends of the tabloid spectrum on this Pats-Jets rivalry: The NYPost's Star Wars-themed cover -- and Boston Metro's let's-just-get-to-the-feet mockery.

Cam Newton entering the NFL Draft: Of course he is. Two points to make here:

*Newton had the single-best (and single-most intriguing) season of any player in college football history. Part of the myth is its "one-and-done" essence. Veni, vidi, vici. Part is just the ass-kicking dominance.

*Where will Newton go in the NFL Draft? Sounds like the draftniks have learned their lesson from the shellacking they took with Tebow last year. Kiper has Cam at No. 14 overall -- which has nothing to do with where he'll ultimately be drafted (which is all that matters -- my problem with the draftniks is that I don't care how they rank the players; I care where they think the players will go. I suppose ranking is a proxy for general draft status, but it's not the same). I think he goes in the Top 15, probably the 3rd QB taken after Gabbert and Mallett. I'm long on Newton as a pro QB. Then again, I was/am long on Tebow as a pro QB.

NFL Coaching Hires: Really like John Fox in Denver (despite the 2010 season in Carolina), and am willing to give Pat Shurmur a chance in Cleveland. That's a rough situation for any coach.

Hot Stove: Yankees get Rafael Soriano, and now they have the best bullpen in baseball -- all they need to have is the best bullpen in the AL East.

Heat lose 2nd straight on the road: They were playing without LeBron -- what were you expecting? Without LeBron, the Heat are barely better than last year's Wade-only team.

The best thing ever yesterday? Shawn Kemp as a trending topic, because of the halo effect from comparisons to phenomenon Blake Griffin.

Quickish is going to be HOPPING this weekend during the NFL Playoff games. Presuming you're watching, fire up the laptop, iPad or phone and check in at Quickish during the game for the best real-time commentary from Twitter, live-blogs and everywhere else.

Thanks for an awesome launch week for Quickish. So much more to come next week and beyond.

-- D.S.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

1/13 Quickie: Clips, Duke, Pats-Jets

Today's Names to Know: Duke (FSU!), Antonio Cromartie vs. Tom Brady, LeBron, Blake Griffin and the Clippers, Brady Hoke, Pat Shurmur, Brandi Favre and Don Shula. Plus so much more... all on Quickish today!

We can argue about a lot of things in sports, but here is one truth for today:

Contrary to Twitter rumor, Don Shula is NOT dead.

All clear? Great. Because there's a lot to discuss.

*Duke loses: Oh, yes, Duke loses. At Florida State -- and here it comes -- as usual. Here's the thing: Duke will be fine. They're still the team to beat in late March.

*Cromartie vs. Brady: There's a strong argument to be made that the Jets have nothing to lose by Cro's trash-talk. What, like Brady was going to play less well without the taunt?

And then there's the idea that no one seems to argue with Cromartie on the merits of his claim that Brady is an asshole. They just don't like that he said it out loud.

*LeBron vs. Blake Griffin: Clippers beat the Heat! LA scored 44 in the 1st quarter (44!) and -- of course -- let the Heat back into the game. But they held on, in the franchise's most defining regular-season win in its history.

*LeBron's "karma" tweet: As usual, there's a backtrack from LeBron. "It wasn't even a comment from me, it was someone who sent it to me and I sent it out." Right.

(Meanwhile, LeBron tweaked his ankle and is day-to-day. Smartly -- and I mean that sincerely -- LeBron said he recognizes it's only the regular season and he's best to ensure he doesn't do anything to risk further injury that might impact him for the playoffs.)

*"This is Michigan, for God's sakes": I am inclined to believe Brady Hoke is going to do a great job at Michigan, but I absolutely LOVE that quote.

*CFB 2011 Top 25 lists are trickling out: Oklahoma as No. 1? Really? Do people think that Oklahoma could beat the SEC champ (say, Alabama) in the national title game? No chance.

*CFB WRs are going to be sick next year: Justin Blackmon will be back at OK St., and Michael Floyd is going back to Notre Dame. Good times.

*Browns hiring Pat Shurmur, who is the QB guru who tutored Sam Bradford -- and Donovan McNabb before that. If only the Browns actually had a QB. (No, Colt McCoy doesn't count.)

*Mike Vick wins NFL Comeback Player of the Year (via his own Tweet) and it is arguably the most improbable award victory in NFL history. (Unless you presumed that if/when he came back, if he played well at all, he would be a lock for this award. Really, it's the fact that he will be runner-up for MVP that is the most staggering award result in NFL history.)

*Qatar plied World Cup officials with lots of money: I'm shocked, shocked.

*Brandi Favre busted in a meth raid: She shouldn't have come back.

Thanks for checking out Quickish today -- and for passing it along to all your friends.

-- D.S.

1/12 Quickie: LeBron, Hoke, More

Let's try this again, friends. I'm going to post the Quickie column here (and first), then "re-publish" it on Quickish a little later. That way, it's easy to find (including RSS) but it's still on Quickish. Cool? Legggooo...

Antonio Cromartie calls Tom Brady an "asshole": Sigh. And there's your meme for the day -- or rest of the week. Yes, he shouldn't have said it. Yes, he's kind of an idiot. Yes, the "kids" thing. But, yes, Brady IS kind of an asshole, and we all can agree on that.

LeBron's "karma" tweet: ICYMI, LeBron tweeted this out late last night, as the Lakers were absolutely trouncing the Cavs:

Crazy. Karma is a b****.. Gets you every time. Its not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!

It's what everyone will be talking about today, even if it's totally superficial, because (a) it's LeBron, (b) and he's dissing the Cavs, (c) kicking them while they were getting humiliated.

I don't mind LeBron speaking his mind -- the less filtered the better, frankly -- but it came off as classless and fuels the argument that LeBron is a sore winner.

Meanwhile, yes: The Lakers did stomp the Cavs by 100. No, really: 55. But it felt like 100. Wow.

Michigan hires Brady Hoke: Polarizing, but I... like it? Hoke has (re-)built two programs -- and Michigan is a rebuilding job, perhaps the biggest in the country. And he loves the program; he's wanted this job forever. He won't win big, but he will win more. Is that enough for UM fans?

Carmelo Watch: He obviously doesn't want to play for the Nets. Otherwise he would have publicly said (or leaked) he would sign an extension. So why would the Nets continue to pursue him? They'll have a guy who will be on a countdown clock from day 1. We have seen this before; that's how we were talking about LeBron the SECOND he signed his last deal with the Cavs. This is a mistake for the Nets.

Panthers hire Ron Rivera: Haven't read any analysis that doesn't like this hire. (Have you heard the rumor that Norv Turner might hire Dave Wannstedt to replace him? Ha!)

Browns hiring Pat Shurmur? That's the presumption. Fans will go "Who?" And his defenders will say "Mike Smith." (That's the Falcons coach that no one had heard of.)

Trevor Hoffman retiring: Future Hall of Famer. I can't begrudge him hanging on a bit past his sell-by date. At least he did it modestly. (Actually, Neyer says that the HOF is hardly a sure thing. OK: I'm inclined to trust his instincts.)

CFB: How soon before Cam Newton declares he's going pro? Has to happen in the next few days, and you KNOW it's going to happen. I predict he ends up going in the 1st round, like Tebow.

"Everyone loses games. Few changed them.": That's a Nike ad for Oregon. That's what having the best brand managers on the planet on your side can do -- make you look awesome, even when you lose the championship game.

CBB: Jimmer Fredette: 47 points, including this.

Plus: Big win for Michigan State in OT over Wisconsin. MSU -- my preseason pick to win the NCAA title (yeesh) -- really needed this one, if only to show they CAN win these kinds of games.

Media: Yahoo! Sports has a new online magazine launching today -- ThePostGame. Check it out. (Wow: Big week for sports media launches -- Quickish Monday, Onion's SportsDome yesterday, Yahoo's new thing today.)

BTW: SportsDome was not very good. I know the Onion folks are really smart, but it's really hard to pull off. I liked the anchor on the left; his mock-serious delivery was spot-on. The rest of it? Ehh...I didn't laugh once and cringed a few times.

More later. Please check out Quickish! (And please tell your friends, co-workers, etc. We need all the grassroots support we can get. It's going to be one new reader at a time, with friends telling friends.)

-- D.S.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

01/11 Quickie: Tostitos for All!

Apologies: I'm still trying to work out the programming schedule on Quickish and how that relates back to here, plus updating the site, plus writing back to all the people who email, plus try to promote the site on Twitter and Facebook, plus start fixing tech bugs.

But I am not complaining. Not for a second. Yesterday was awesome. Amazing. And today is even better. So here's today's Quickie -- heavy on the Tostitos -- and I'll get everything ironed out soon... um: Soon-ish.

Thanks for your patience here and your support over there. I appreciate it more than I can express. Back to posting....

Monday, January 10, 2011

Announcing Quickish.com

I am thrilled to announce the launch of Quickish.com.

Quickish offers real-time news recommendations -- "tips" -- to help you keep up with the biggest things that are happening.

Initially, Quickish will be focused on sports (I'm sure you're shocked).

All I can ask is that you try it out.

Wait: That's not true. I can also ask you to "like" the Facebook page (facebook.com/quickish) and I can also ask you to tell everyone about it -- friends, co-workers, randoms on the street. That would really mean a lot to me. This isn't launching a column on a huge platform with millions of built-in readers; this is building something people love, one fan at a time.

I wouldn't have launched the company if I didn't think that there was a huge value in quick-hit real-time editor-vetted analysis and context about the big topics we're all talking about, updated constantly and around the clock.

As I said a few months ago, if you liked the Daily Quickie, I think you're going to love Quickish.

I also want and need your help. The site has editors, but is powered by tips from readers -- if you find a piece of awesome analysis (and it could come from anywhere from sports news sites to Twitter to Facebook to message boards to TV to talk-radio to use-your-imagination), send it to tips[at]quickish[dot]com, and if you're the first to send it to us and we use it, you get the credit, right next to the content. I know folks here can deliver on that.

If you're looking for the usual morning "Quickie" post, you can now find it at Quickish. I'll post the link as soon as it's ready, and I will have a permanent URL you can bookmark to get the latest.

One last request: Please feel encouraged to send me your feedback about the site. What you like, what you don't, what you want or need but don't see. Just shoot me a note to dan[at]quickish. The feedback is the best part, and I especially want it from readers here.

Thanks again. It's a big swing -- and going to be even more fun.

Quickish.com. Keep up.

-- D.S.

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Sunday (Very Quickish) Quickie

Launching a new company tomorrow?
Launching a new company tomorrow.

This'll be quick -- how relevant! -- but typically superlative: That was the single-best day of Wild Card games in NFL history.

The first-ever sub-.500 NFL playoff team beat the defending Super Bowl champs -- favored by a ton -- in front of a frenzied crowd and featuring the beastmode-iest run in the history of the NFL Playoffs.

Then the mouthiest team in the NFL improbably knocked out the defending conference champ -- and a nemesis its coach had been trash-talking all week -- on a last-second field goal that totally (not to mention metaphorically) tied in to the coach's presumptive foot fetish.

What more can you ask for? (Well, aside from a week of lead-up to Pats-Jets 3.)

Yesterday was an incredible day of NFL football. Here's hoping today's even remotely comes close. (Honestly, I can't see how it can.)

OK, time to head back to Quickish prep. Where has the time gone? (That would qualify for today, the last week, the last six months...)

The site should be live and accessible by 6 a.m. -- but don't hold me to that if tech issues or whatever delay it.

I cannot wait for you to check it out. And I will keep saying this, so forgive me, but I really want your feedback. It matters a lot -- to the product and to me. (At the same time, I'm going to be asking you to help spread the word. Again, please give me a little leeway on that before you get too sick of me asking -- this is only the biggest swing of my professional life.)

Back to programming!

-- D.S.