I'll be in Chicago this weekend, digesting the sports scene -- Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Northwestern and otherwise -- in my old stomping grounds, maybe the city where I feel most at home.
(Unfortunately, the Cubs are on the road, as is Northwestern, which isn't even on TV. Sheesh. Ah well, I'm watching the Gators on ESPN with my family anyway.)
I'm flying out before my SN column is posted, but here's the main bookmark link, and the column should be there after 9 a.m.
Coming at 10:30 a.m.: CFB Top 25 Picks
Coming at Noon: NFL Picks
I'm just setting myself up for more NFL Picks punishment this season, after last season's worst-ever debacle.
I'll be posting all weekend from the road. Probably some Twitter, too.
-- D.S.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Believe in Now: Believe in Hunh?
I'm still trying to figure out what "Believe in Now" means, and why it makes for a good slogan to start the new NFL season. ("Is It Monday Yet?" remains the gold standard of NFL slogans of the past decade or so.)
-- D.S.
-- D.S.
Varsity Letters Tonight: Dave Zirin Matters
Fantastic Varsity Letters event tonight, if you live in NYC:
Dave Zirin, one of my favorite writers and favorite people in sports media. He's got a fantastic new book out: "A People's History of Sports in the United States." (h/t: H. Zinn)
I did a Varsity Letters event with Zirin earlier this year -- he puts on an amazing show. He did his entire thing extemporaneously, and it was fascinating with high energy.
Zirin manages to do phenomenally well what few -- if any -- in sports do at all: Write about topics of gravitas. But he does it without being dour or preachy -- in the least.
In fact, part of his admirable ability is that he tackles extremely weighty subjects but makes them entirely accessible through powerful, clear-eyed analysis. I envy that tremendously.
It's a hell of a challenge to distill the past 250 years of sports into 300 pages and focus mainly on the intersection of American sports and its socio-political context. And Zirin nails it.
He plays a unique and critical role in the sports media ecosystem -- a fearless and independent critic and thinker. I would rank him on the short list of the best sportswriters in America.
If you're around the area, I highly recommend checking him out tonight -- more than that, I recommend the book highly. It made my "Put on my 'display' shelf to keep for good" list.
(Also reading tonight will be my former ESPN colleague Buster Olney -- who has better insights into the Yankees than anyone and who should have an interesting take, given the Yankees are likely to miss the playoffs for the first time in a long time this fall. Olney is one of the best guys at ESPN, and he has worked hard to turn himself into a very very good radio and TV news analyst. Also appearing tonight will be Harvey Frommer, who published an oral history of Yankee Stadium. So if you're a Yankees fan, tonight's event is even more must-see.)
Here are the details and the always-amazing interviews with the participants.
It's at 8 tonight. Happy Ending. 302 Broome on the Lower East Side. And it's FREE.
-- D.S.
Dave Zirin, one of my favorite writers and favorite people in sports media. He's got a fantastic new book out: "A People's History of Sports in the United States." (h/t: H. Zinn)
I did a Varsity Letters event with Zirin earlier this year -- he puts on an amazing show. He did his entire thing extemporaneously, and it was fascinating with high energy.
Zirin manages to do phenomenally well what few -- if any -- in sports do at all: Write about topics of gravitas. But he does it without being dour or preachy -- in the least.
In fact, part of his admirable ability is that he tackles extremely weighty subjects but makes them entirely accessible through powerful, clear-eyed analysis. I envy that tremendously.
It's a hell of a challenge to distill the past 250 years of sports into 300 pages and focus mainly on the intersection of American sports and its socio-political context. And Zirin nails it.
He plays a unique and critical role in the sports media ecosystem -- a fearless and independent critic and thinker. I would rank him on the short list of the best sportswriters in America.
If you're around the area, I highly recommend checking him out tonight -- more than that, I recommend the book highly. It made my "Put on my 'display' shelf to keep for good" list.
(Also reading tonight will be my former ESPN colleague Buster Olney -- who has better insights into the Yankees than anyone and who should have an interesting take, given the Yankees are likely to miss the playoffs for the first time in a long time this fall. Olney is one of the best guys at ESPN, and he has worked hard to turn himself into a very very good radio and TV news analyst. Also appearing tonight will be Harvey Frommer, who published an oral history of Yankee Stadium. So if you're a Yankees fan, tonight's event is even more must-see.)
Here are the details and the always-amazing interviews with the participants.
It's at 8 tonight. Happy Ending. 302 Broome on the Lower East Side. And it's FREE.
-- D.S.
Thursday 09/04 A.M. Quickie:
NFL SB Pick, Brady, Beanie, Replay, More
Don't forget to sign up for the NFL Pick 'Em. See post below.
Speaking of picks, in my SN column today, I feel like I copped out by picking the Pats over the Cowboys for the Super Bowl. The whole exercise seemed rote: I feel like 5 of 6 AFC playoff teams are locks (NE, IND, PIT, SD, JAX), with the 6th -- Giants 07 notwithstanding -- being fairly irrelevant. The NFC -- again Giants '07 notwithstanding -- is uninspiring, beyond the Cowboys, the defending champs and perhaps the designated "sexy" pick, Minnesota. Pats over Cowboys? I grade myself with a "Meh."
Meanwhile, instant replay in baseball didn't have to result in overturning an ump's call in order to be deemed a huge success. The mere fact that they checked makes it worthwhile -- I'd be thrilled if there wasn't a single ump's call that was overturned between now and the end of the season.
So: Are Cubs fans freaked out yet? 5 losses in a row, Zambrano with an MRI today and Rich Harden on what feels like a month's rest between starts, which makes the likelihood of his effectiveness in a 5- or 7-game series in October...iffy, enough that it should worry Cubs fans.
CFB: I will be equal opportunity here -- Ohio State shouldn't even THINK about playing Beanie Wells this weekend, one week ahead of the make-or-break game at USC. I suspect they won't chance it. In the same way, Florida shouldn't even think about playing Percy Harvin this weekend against Miami, two weeks ahead of the SEC opener at Tennessee. They don't need him; if anything, last Saturday proved that the team has "Harvin-Lite" game-breakers in Rainey and Demps and James. Save him for when they DO need him.
Picks: Complete weekend CFB and NFL picks coming tomorrow, but there are two picks to make for tonight, and I'm sure it'll get me off to my usual banner start with the NFL:
Giants over Redskins.
Vanderbilt over South Carolina.
More later. Complete SN column here.
-- D.S.
Speaking of picks, in my SN column today, I feel like I copped out by picking the Pats over the Cowboys for the Super Bowl. The whole exercise seemed rote: I feel like 5 of 6 AFC playoff teams are locks (NE, IND, PIT, SD, JAX), with the 6th -- Giants 07 notwithstanding -- being fairly irrelevant. The NFC -- again Giants '07 notwithstanding -- is uninspiring, beyond the Cowboys, the defending champs and perhaps the designated "sexy" pick, Minnesota. Pats over Cowboys? I grade myself with a "Meh."
Meanwhile, instant replay in baseball didn't have to result in overturning an ump's call in order to be deemed a huge success. The mere fact that they checked makes it worthwhile -- I'd be thrilled if there wasn't a single ump's call that was overturned between now and the end of the season.
So: Are Cubs fans freaked out yet? 5 losses in a row, Zambrano with an MRI today and Rich Harden on what feels like a month's rest between starts, which makes the likelihood of his effectiveness in a 5- or 7-game series in October...iffy, enough that it should worry Cubs fans.
CFB: I will be equal opportunity here -- Ohio State shouldn't even THINK about playing Beanie Wells this weekend, one week ahead of the make-or-break game at USC. I suspect they won't chance it. In the same way, Florida shouldn't even think about playing Percy Harvin this weekend against Miami, two weeks ahead of the SEC opener at Tennessee. They don't need him; if anything, last Saturday proved that the team has "Harvin-Lite" game-breakers in Rainey and Demps and James. Save him for when they DO need him.
Picks: Complete weekend CFB and NFL picks coming tomorrow, but there are two picks to make for tonight, and I'm sure it'll get me off to my usual banner start with the NFL:
Giants over Redskins.
Vanderbilt over South Carolina.
More later. Complete SN column here.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
NFL Weekly Pick 'Em: Last Chance!
Sign up now. Group name: Daily Quickie Readers. No password necessary. Show up and prove that you know more than the rest of us -- certainly me.
NBA Blogger Table of Elements
This is quite an impressive effort. Kudos to Matt and the Hardwood Paroxysm crew. (And I'm not even listed -- not that I deserve to be in any way. I'm just saying: I don't just link to these things when they include me, dammit.)
Wednesday 09/03 A.M. Quickie:
NFL 08, CFB Top 25, Rudi, Dustin, More
The Giants' win in Super Bowl XLII is arguably the most important result in the NFL in the last three decades. Why? Because it shattered the smog of inevitability that had descended on the league in the wake of the Pats' "perfect season." It reminded fans that anything can happen.
That is the lead of today's SN column, Part 1 of a two-day preview of the NFL season (continuing tomorrow with my playoff picks, which I'll try to preview here today but will certainly discuss tomorrow).
Meanwhile, I can't get worked up over USC jumping Georgia for No. 1 in the CFB polls for two reasons: (1) I did the same thing in my BlogPoll ballot (below), and (2) Georgia, no matter how it did these first 3 weeks, was going to get jumped by the USC-Ohio State winner anyway.
Tatum Bell stealing Rudi Johnson's bags when Johnson got to Detroit is one of the funniest stories I have heard all year.
Dustin Pedroia for AL MVP? Let's start with AL Player of the Week, how about that? If the White Sox fall short of the playoffs and voters hold that against Carlos Quentin, I could actually see Pedroia gathering some momentum -- but only if he maintains his ludicrous pace of the last week.
Speaking of momentum, should Cubs fans get worried? That's 4 Ls in a row and arm trouble for Carlos Zambrano. (I'm going to Chicago this weekend for the first time this year, and I'm looking forward to taking the temperature of fans out there -- even if the Cubs aren't in town...d'oh.)
It's Oklahoma City Thunder. Consider yourself spoiled.
Congrats to Tiger and Elin on her latest pregnancy. What I would like to see is a double-date featuring Tiger, Elin, Bristol and Levi.
Complete SN column here.
-- D.S.
That is the lead of today's SN column, Part 1 of a two-day preview of the NFL season (continuing tomorrow with my playoff picks, which I'll try to preview here today but will certainly discuss tomorrow).
Meanwhile, I can't get worked up over USC jumping Georgia for No. 1 in the CFB polls for two reasons: (1) I did the same thing in my BlogPoll ballot (below), and (2) Georgia, no matter how it did these first 3 weeks, was going to get jumped by the USC-Ohio State winner anyway.
Tatum Bell stealing Rudi Johnson's bags when Johnson got to Detroit is one of the funniest stories I have heard all year.
Dustin Pedroia for AL MVP? Let's start with AL Player of the Week, how about that? If the White Sox fall short of the playoffs and voters hold that against Carlos Quentin, I could actually see Pedroia gathering some momentum -- but only if he maintains his ludicrous pace of the last week.
Speaking of momentum, should Cubs fans get worried? That's 4 Ls in a row and arm trouble for Carlos Zambrano. (I'm going to Chicago this weekend for the first time this year, and I'm looking forward to taking the temperature of fans out there -- even if the Cubs aren't in town...d'oh.)
It's Oklahoma City Thunder. Consider yourself spoiled.
Congrats to Tiger and Elin on her latest pregnancy. What I would like to see is a double-date featuring Tiger, Elin, Bristol and Levi.
Complete SN column here.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Week 1 CFB BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot, Take 2
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern Cal |  2 |
| 2 | Ohio State | -- |
| 3 | Georgia | 1 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 1 |
| 5 | Florida |  4 |
| 6 | LSU | 7 |
| 7 | Missouri | 1 |
| 8 | West Virginia | 1 |
| 9 | Auburn | 1 |
| 10 | Texas | 1 |
| 11 | Texas Tech | 1 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | 2 |
| 13 | Brigham Young | 3 |
| 14 | Alabama | 12 |
| 15 | Wake Forest | 7 |
| 16 | Kansas | 3 |
| 17 | South Florida | 2 |
| 18 | Utah | 6 |
| 19 | Penn State | 1 |
| 20 | Arizona State | 1 |
| 21 | Oregon | 5 |
| 22 | Oklahoma State | 4 |
| 23 | UCLA | 3 |
| 24 | Connecticut | 2 |
| 25 | Northwestern | -- |
Dropped Out: Clemson (#9), Tennessee (#17), Virginia Tech (#18), Illinois (#23).
Tuesday 09/02 A.M. Quickie:
UCLA, Cliff Lee, Tom Brady, NFL, More
Summer's over. The new sports year is on. Just in time, UCLA provided the most intriguing and surprising result of the college football weekend -- saving the best for last, I guess.
UCLA, Cliff Lee and Tom Brady are the biggest storylines from today's SN column.
I'm definitely shocked by the Bruins' win over Tennessee -- probably not as shocked as Vols fans (or perhaps USC fans).
I'm less shocked by Fresno State's win at Rutgers -- I picked it Friday (then again, I picked LSU to lose to App State, so there's that). That makes 3 clear BCS-busters among non-BCS teams: BYU, Utah and Fresno State. BYU and Utah end the season playing each other, so that sorts that out; Fresno's "big" game is in two weeks, when they host Wisconsin. After that, beyond a season-killing endgame vs. Boise State, they could be the ones. (Hey, how about Fresno State vs. the Utah-BYU survivor in a Cinderella BCS Bowl? Watched by no one, of course.)
Anyway, it's nice to see Cliff Lee salvaging the Indians' otherwise lost season. He's going to run away with the AL Cy -- he's having a truly sick season.
Hey, Brewers GM Doug Melvin agrees with me that hometown "official scorers" shouldn't be the final arbiter of rulings on the field.
(Although reader Chase O. points out that if CC had been given the error, rather than the hit, who knows how his psyche would have held up as the pressure mounted. Fair enough, but given the season he is having so far, I would have liked to have at least seen him get the chance.)
Tom Brady thinks internet rumors about his health are ridiculous: I'm considering the source of those rumors (who? nfljuice.com? who?), but it's not like he or Belichick would let on anyway.
(I'm sticking with my original prediction: That Brady wouldn't necessarily be hurt now, but assuredly later in the season. He's so due. Does that count as a rumor, too?)
A few other names to know: Joe Flacco! Rudi Johnson! Robinho! Koby Clemens!
Catch you later today. If you haven't weighed in on my Top 25 ballot this week (take 1), put it in the comments in the post below -- don't worry: Tennessee is dropping out; Fresno is in.
Full SN column here.
-- D.S.
UCLA, Cliff Lee and Tom Brady are the biggest storylines from today's SN column.
I'm definitely shocked by the Bruins' win over Tennessee -- probably not as shocked as Vols fans (or perhaps USC fans).
I'm less shocked by Fresno State's win at Rutgers -- I picked it Friday (then again, I picked LSU to lose to App State, so there's that). That makes 3 clear BCS-busters among non-BCS teams: BYU, Utah and Fresno State. BYU and Utah end the season playing each other, so that sorts that out; Fresno's "big" game is in two weeks, when they host Wisconsin. After that, beyond a season-killing endgame vs. Boise State, they could be the ones. (Hey, how about Fresno State vs. the Utah-BYU survivor in a Cinderella BCS Bowl? Watched by no one, of course.)
Anyway, it's nice to see Cliff Lee salvaging the Indians' otherwise lost season. He's going to run away with the AL Cy -- he's having a truly sick season.
Hey, Brewers GM Doug Melvin agrees with me that hometown "official scorers" shouldn't be the final arbiter of rulings on the field.
(Although reader Chase O. points out that if CC had been given the error, rather than the hit, who knows how his psyche would have held up as the pressure mounted. Fair enough, but given the season he is having so far, I would have liked to have at least seen him get the chance.)
Tom Brady thinks internet rumors about his health are ridiculous: I'm considering the source of those rumors (who? nfljuice.com? who?), but it's not like he or Belichick would let on anyway.
(I'm sticking with my original prediction: That Brady wouldn't necessarily be hurt now, but assuredly later in the season. He's so due. Does that count as a rumor, too?)
A few other names to know: Joe Flacco! Rudi Johnson! Robinho! Koby Clemens!
Catch you later today. If you haven't weighed in on my Top 25 ballot this week (take 1), put it in the comments in the post below -- don't worry: Tennessee is dropping out; Fresno is in.
Full SN column here.
-- D.S.
Monday, September 01, 2008
BlogPoll Week 1: First Pass
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern Cal | 2 |
| 2 | Ohio State | -- |
| 3 | Georgia | 1 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 1 |
| 5 | LSU | 8 |
| 6 | Missouri | -- |
| 7 | West Virginia | -- |
| 8 | Florida | 7 |
| 9 | Auburn | 1 |
| 10 | Texas | 1 |
| 11 | Texas Tech | 1 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | 2 |
| 13 | Brigham Young | 3 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 3 |
| 15 | Wake Forest | 7 |
| 16 | Alabama | 10 |
| 17 | Kansas | 2 |
| 18 | South Florida | 3 |
| 19 | Utah | 5 |
| 20 | Penn State | -- |
| 21 | Arizona State | -- |
| 22 | Oregon | 6 |
| 23 | Oklahoma State | 3 |
| 24 | Bowling Green | 2 |
| 25 | Northwestern | -- |
Dropped Out: Clemson (#9), Virginia Tech (#18), Illinois (#23).
Chime in to the Comments with your reactions, suggestions, corrections, etc. I'm almost certainly going to add the Fresno State-Rutgers winner and move Tennessee up or down, depending on how things go tonight at UCLA.
Monday 09/01 A.M. Quickie:
Sabathia, CFB Wrap, Clemson, Beanie, More
Yep, I'm working on Labor Day: How about you? (Let's hope not, if you can help it.)
That said: I'm all over this CC Sabathia "no-no-or-no?" thing from yesterday. The inanity of allowing local "official scorer" rulings to go unchecked by MLB is the lead of the SN column.
But the meat of the column is a rundown of the biggest takeaways from the weekend in college football: Clemson proving the awesomeness of the CFB regular season; Beanie Wells as existential crisis; Michigan as the least surprising result of the season; and the futility of trying to rank teams after this past weekend (less futile than a preseason rank, however) -- although I will still try.
Here is the complete SN column. I'm almost ready to put up this week's BlogPoll Top 25 ballot for your review and suggestions. Check back a little later. And go enjoy the day off, for god's sake. And think good thoughts for the Gulf Coast right now.
-- D.S.
That said: I'm all over this CC Sabathia "no-no-or-no?" thing from yesterday. The inanity of allowing local "official scorer" rulings to go unchecked by MLB is the lead of the SN column.
But the meat of the column is a rundown of the biggest takeaways from the weekend in college football: Clemson proving the awesomeness of the CFB regular season; Beanie Wells as existential crisis; Michigan as the least surprising result of the season; and the futility of trying to rank teams after this past weekend (less futile than a preseason rank, however) -- although I will still try.
Here is the complete SN column. I'm almost ready to put up this week's BlogPoll Top 25 ballot for your review and suggestions. Check back a little later. And go enjoy the day off, for god's sake. And think good thoughts for the Gulf Coast right now.
-- D.S.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday 08/31 (Very) Quickie
The biggest story from Saturday is: Beanie Wells' foot.
Clemson totally illustrates the glorious win-or-fail existentialism of the CFB regular season.
(And it's hard to read whether Alabama is actually good or Clemson is that bad or whether it's just that the SEC is better than the ACC or what...)
I thought Mizzou's secret strength was its defense? (But with that offense, how much D do they need?)
What should trouble Michigan fans most is that the loss to Utah wasn't a surprise at all.
Bobby Petrino is VERY lucky.
Frank Beamer is not.
The No. 1 Heisman contender after Week 1 is: Pat White.
(The nation's most dominant RB is: PJ Hill.)
The No. 1 team in the country is: USC.
MLB: 2 HR for MVP Manny (*-MVP only if the Dodgers win the West)
NFL: Remember when Rudi Johnson was good?
NASCAR: Kyle Busch wins...AGAIN?
NBA: So Monta Ellis was lying about his injury? Fascinating...
I'm going to try to have my BlogPoll Top 25 ballot up here by early tomorrow morning for your feedback and review, before I submit my final version on Tuesday. A sneak peek of where my head is at:
1. USC
2. Ohio St (implied huge "if")
3. Georgia
4. Oklahoma
5. Missouri
6. LSU
7. West Virginia
8. Florida
9. Auburn
10. Texas
If Wells isn't healthy, I'm not sure where to rank Ohio State. If he can't play in the USC game, I don't think they'll win there. But if I think USC is the best team in the country, presumably I don't think ANY team can beat them right now.
Feel free to weigh in with your own observations from Saturday in the Comments.
-- D.S.
Clemson totally illustrates the glorious win-or-fail existentialism of the CFB regular season.
(And it's hard to read whether Alabama is actually good or Clemson is that bad or whether it's just that the SEC is better than the ACC or what...)
I thought Mizzou's secret strength was its defense? (But with that offense, how much D do they need?)
What should trouble Michigan fans most is that the loss to Utah wasn't a surprise at all.
Bobby Petrino is VERY lucky.
Frank Beamer is not.
The No. 1 Heisman contender after Week 1 is: Pat White.
(The nation's most dominant RB is: PJ Hill.)
The No. 1 team in the country is: USC.
MLB: 2 HR for MVP Manny (*-MVP only if the Dodgers win the West)
NFL: Remember when Rudi Johnson was good?
NASCAR: Kyle Busch wins...AGAIN?
NBA: So Monta Ellis was lying about his injury? Fascinating...
I'm going to try to have my BlogPoll Top 25 ballot up here by early tomorrow morning for your feedback and review, before I submit my final version on Tuesday. A sneak peek of where my head is at:
1. USC
2. Ohio St (implied huge "if")
3. Georgia
4. Oklahoma
5. Missouri
6. LSU
7. West Virginia
8. Florida
9. Auburn
10. Texas
If Wells isn't healthy, I'm not sure where to rank Ohio State. If he can't play in the USC game, I don't think they'll win there. But if I think USC is the best team in the country, presumably I don't think ANY team can beat them right now.
Feel free to weigh in with your own observations from Saturday in the Comments.
-- D.S.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
CFB Saturday: Afternoon Thoughts
USC will likely get my vote for No. 1 in next week's Top 25...
...But Georgia and Ohio State are not far behind...
Affirmed: Tim Tebow is not going to win the Heisman...
But Pat White might...
All of a sudden, Beanie Wells' foot is the most intriguing body part in college football...
I was so so so so wrong about App State beating LSU. There, I said it...
(It's not enough: So so so so so so so wrong. Let's not speak of this again. It's a long season, and poor predictions will happen - probably every week. Do I earn ANY counter-balancing credit if Utah holds on to win at Michigan? Or was that so obvious that it doesn't count as an upset?)
Aha, THERE's the Dave Wannstedt we all know...
What a big win for East Carolina; what a bad loss for VA Tech and the ACC...
Florida has plenty of "big-play" guys, but few "regular-play" guys...
God damn, was it hot and humid at The Swamp in the first half...
More later...
-- D.S.
...But Georgia and Ohio State are not far behind...
Affirmed: Tim Tebow is not going to win the Heisman...
But Pat White might...
All of a sudden, Beanie Wells' foot is the most intriguing body part in college football...
I was so so so so wrong about App State beating LSU. There, I said it...
(It's not enough: So so so so so so so wrong. Let's not speak of this again. It's a long season, and poor predictions will happen - probably every week. Do I earn ANY counter-balancing credit if Utah holds on to win at Michigan? Or was that so obvious that it doesn't count as an upset?)
Aha, THERE's the Dave Wannstedt we all know...
What a big win for East Carolina; what a bad loss for VA Tech and the ACC...
Florida has plenty of "big-play" guys, but few "regular-play" guys...
God damn, was it hot and humid at The Swamp in the first half...
More later...
-- D.S.
Saturday 08/30 (Very) Quickie:
My Own Personal College GameDay
Gainesville, FL -- It is not unique to Gainesville, but there is something so awesome about Game Day in a major college football town. It's my one visit here this season and I'm soaking it up.
Local newspaper special section. Waffle House. RV lot. Campus bookstore (for yet another T-shirt). Tailgate scene. Stadium entry. 90+ degrees with stifling humidity. 90K mayhem.
I suspect that with that newly changed 11 a.m. kickoff and regional interest, the LSU-App State game will draw some attention this morning during the tailgate walk-through and stadium out-of-town-score updates. It was my "Upset Special," but maybe I should have hedged and simply said that App State would cover the 25-point spread.
After the noon schedule of games, most people seem to have an interest in Utah-Michigan -- which everyone seems to be picking as a Ute "upset," but begs the question that if everyone is calling the upset, how much of an upset could it be?
Heading into the evening, Bama-Clemson is the game that everyone around here will be tuning into; I will attempt to convince folks that Mizzou-Illinois is worth having on the 2nd TV or P-I-P.
Anyway, it's a great day to be a college football fan, no matter who you root for.
Meanwhile, this simple concept might be the awesomest thing of the year:
Chad Ocho Cinco.
That's a legal name. I said this when the rumors started a few weeks ago: It tops "World B. Free" as the greatest athlete legal-name-change ever.
Meanwhile, speaking of names, the Knicks traded for Patrick Ewing Jr.? Wow, give the kid a chance, why don't you?
In MLB, it's interesting to be down in north-central Florida, where folks actually talk about the Rays -- they're the closest MLB team and viewed with... curiosity? enthusiasm? Whatever it is, it is fairweather enough that I feel very comfortable, having jumped on the bandwagon back in May. (Really: Who isn't on the Rays bandwagon? How can you begrudge them their success?)
And the Cubs won their 7th straight: I'll be in Chicago next weekend, getting my first in-person taste of Cubs Mania. I believe I am going to start openly rooting for a Rays-Cubs World Series. (Speaking of Chicago baseball, Dice-K shut down the White Sox, in a nice bounce-back game for the Red Sox, in a playoff-quality weekend matchup.)
Michael Phelps is THE "get" for TV folks this fall: First SNL, now Oprah. Not that he doesn't deserve it. (Somewhere along the way, based on emails I have gotten, did I come across as disliking Phelps? Cripes: I labeled the guy the greatest athlete of all time. He transfixed me for an entire week. Couldn't be further from the truth -- I'm a huge huge fan.)
Politics: Reviews are predictably mixed about GOP VP pick Sarah Palin, but the sports connections are undeniable -- she calls herself a "hockey mom"; she is a former championship high school point guard; she wanted to be a sportscaster for ESPN; her husband is a pro snowmobile racer. (Snowmobile racing is the new NASCAR!)
Enjoy the day of games. I'm going to try to update the Twitter feed from The Swamp.
-- D.S.
Local newspaper special section. Waffle House. RV lot. Campus bookstore (for yet another T-shirt). Tailgate scene. Stadium entry. 90+ degrees with stifling humidity. 90K mayhem.
I suspect that with that newly changed 11 a.m. kickoff and regional interest, the LSU-App State game will draw some attention this morning during the tailgate walk-through and stadium out-of-town-score updates. It was my "Upset Special," but maybe I should have hedged and simply said that App State would cover the 25-point spread.
After the noon schedule of games, most people seem to have an interest in Utah-Michigan -- which everyone seems to be picking as a Ute "upset," but begs the question that if everyone is calling the upset, how much of an upset could it be?
Heading into the evening, Bama-Clemson is the game that everyone around here will be tuning into; I will attempt to convince folks that Mizzou-Illinois is worth having on the 2nd TV or P-I-P.
Anyway, it's a great day to be a college football fan, no matter who you root for.
Meanwhile, this simple concept might be the awesomest thing of the year:
Chad Ocho Cinco.
That's a legal name. I said this when the rumors started a few weeks ago: It tops "World B. Free" as the greatest athlete legal-name-change ever.
Meanwhile, speaking of names, the Knicks traded for Patrick Ewing Jr.? Wow, give the kid a chance, why don't you?
In MLB, it's interesting to be down in north-central Florida, where folks actually talk about the Rays -- they're the closest MLB team and viewed with... curiosity? enthusiasm? Whatever it is, it is fairweather enough that I feel very comfortable, having jumped on the bandwagon back in May. (Really: Who isn't on the Rays bandwagon? How can you begrudge them their success?)
And the Cubs won their 7th straight: I'll be in Chicago next weekend, getting my first in-person taste of Cubs Mania. I believe I am going to start openly rooting for a Rays-Cubs World Series. (Speaking of Chicago baseball, Dice-K shut down the White Sox, in a nice bounce-back game for the Red Sox, in a playoff-quality weekend matchup.)
Michael Phelps is THE "get" for TV folks this fall: First SNL, now Oprah. Not that he doesn't deserve it. (Somewhere along the way, based on emails I have gotten, did I come across as disliking Phelps? Cripes: I labeled the guy the greatest athlete of all time. He transfixed me for an entire week. Couldn't be further from the truth -- I'm a huge huge fan.)
Politics: Reviews are predictably mixed about GOP VP pick Sarah Palin, but the sports connections are undeniable -- she calls herself a "hockey mom"; she is a former championship high school point guard; she wanted to be a sportscaster for ESPN; her husband is a pro snowmobile racer. (Snowmobile racing is the new NASCAR!)
Enjoy the day of games. I'm going to try to update the Twitter feed from The Swamp.
-- D.S.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Friday 08/29 A.M. Quickie:
CFB, Sports New Year, NFL, Rays, More
I'm too mellowed into my vacation (or "vacation") to truly reflect on where things have gone since the last Friday of August, two years ago. But suffice to say, it's not going unacknowledged.
Today's SN column can be found here -- a celebration of sports' version of "Happy New Year" that comes when the first full weekend of college football meets the first week before the NFL season begins meets the start of baseball's September surge meets the last real weekend of the summer.
I'm en route to Gainesville later today and trying to squeeze out every last minute of quasi-relaxing beach time this morning, so I'm not sure I'll post again before tomorrow -- but I will definitely be posting all (long-) weekend long.
Two years. Wow. Already?
-- D.S.
Today's SN column can be found here -- a celebration of sports' version of "Happy New Year" that comes when the first full weekend of college football meets the first week before the NFL season begins meets the start of baseball's September surge meets the last real weekend of the summer.
I'm en route to Gainesville later today and trying to squeeze out every last minute of quasi-relaxing beach time this morning, so I'm not sure I'll post again before tomorrow -- but I will definitely be posting all (long-) weekend long.
Two years. Wow. Already?
-- D.S.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
CFB Top 25 Weekend Preview and Picks
God, I missed this weekly ritual.
Most games are your typical Week 1 mismatch to get a team's feet wet. Mizzou-Illinois is a rare exception... If they even play the game with the bad weather, I think defending 1-AA champ App State pulls a "don't-call-it-an-upset-this-time" over defending 1-A champ LSU in Baton Rouge. (Yes, really...) I'll watch Alabama-Clemson just because it's a great barometer game for both teams (Clemson, a BCS title-game contender, especially)... I am totally intrigued by Utah at Michigan; it's RichRod's debut with a new offense and Utah is a tough non-BCS draw, even at the Big House (which is why I'm picking the Utes)... And, yes, I will be at The Swamp for Florida-Hawaii... Complete picks follow... Use the Comments to add in your own picks for Game of the Weekend, Upset Special and Storylines to Watch.
(1) Georgia over Georgia Southern
(2) Ohio St over Youngstown St
(3) USC over at Virginia
(4) Oklahoma over Chattanooga
(5) Florida over Hawaii - ATTENDING IN PERSON
(6) Missouri over (20) Illinois – GAME OF THE DAY 1A
Appalachian St over (7) LSU – UPSET SPECIAL!
(8) West Virginia over Villanova
(9) Clemson over (24) Alabama - GAME OF THE DAY 1B
(10) Auburn over LA-Monroe
(11) Texas over Florida Atlantic
(12) Texas Tech over E. Washington
(13) Wisconsin over Akron
(14) Kansas over Florida Int’l
(15) Arizona St over N. Arizona
(16) BYU over Northern Iowa
(17) VA Tech over East Carolina
(18) Tennessee over at UCLA - MONDAY
(19) S. Florida over TN-Martin
(21) Oregon over Washington
(22) Penn St over Coastal Carolina
(25) Pitt over Bowling Green
Best of Non-Top 25:
Utah over at Michigan (!)
Cal over Michigan St
Fresno St over at Rutgers
-- D.S.
Most games are your typical Week 1 mismatch to get a team's feet wet. Mizzou-Illinois is a rare exception... If they even play the game with the bad weather, I think defending 1-AA champ App State pulls a "don't-call-it-an-upset-this-time" over defending 1-A champ LSU in Baton Rouge. (Yes, really...) I'll watch Alabama-Clemson just because it's a great barometer game for both teams (Clemson, a BCS title-game contender, especially)... I am totally intrigued by Utah at Michigan; it's RichRod's debut with a new offense and Utah is a tough non-BCS draw, even at the Big House (which is why I'm picking the Utes)... And, yes, I will be at The Swamp for Florida-Hawaii... Complete picks follow... Use the Comments to add in your own picks for Game of the Weekend, Upset Special and Storylines to Watch.
(1) Georgia over Georgia Southern
(2) Ohio St over Youngstown St
(3) USC over at Virginia
(4) Oklahoma over Chattanooga
(5) Florida over Hawaii - ATTENDING IN PERSON
(6) Missouri over (20) Illinois – GAME OF THE DAY 1A
Appalachian St over (7) LSU – UPSET SPECIAL!
(8) West Virginia over Villanova
(9) Clemson over (24) Alabama - GAME OF THE DAY 1B
(10) Auburn over LA-Monroe
(11) Texas over Florida Atlantic
(12) Texas Tech over E. Washington
(13) Wisconsin over Akron
(14) Kansas over Florida Int’l
(15) Arizona St over N. Arizona
(16) BYU over Northern Iowa
(17) VA Tech over East Carolina
(18) Tennessee over at UCLA - MONDAY
(19) S. Florida over TN-Martin
(21) Oregon over Washington
(22) Penn St over Coastal Carolina
(25) Pitt over Bowling Green
Best of Non-Top 25:
Utah over at Michigan (!)
Cal over Michigan St
Fresno St over at Rutgers
-- D.S.
Thursday 08/28 A.M. Quickie:
CFB 08, MLB Replay, NFL Preseason, More
Vacation continues, and I'm warily eyeing Hurricane Gustav... meanwhile, not even the threat of another hurricane can stop my enthusiasm for college football kicking off tonight.
My SN column today leads with a summary of my "BCS Mess" theory for this year, along with my annual argument that college football's regular season is unmatched in sports.
Meanwhile, I think the Yankees are finished -- you might say that's premature to say before we even get to September; if we learned anything last September, it's that 7-game playoff leads aren't safe. But this ain't the Mets or the NL West -- it's the Red Sox and they're 7 games up on the Yankees...and that's just for the Wild Card.
NFL: Happy to see Derrick Harvey sign with the Jags (finally), but here is a scenario where both sides came out as huge losers -- Harvey for holding out (only to finally get some contract bonus clauses) and the Jaguars for trading up only to not want to pay for it.
Wait: Shawne Merriman is going to play? I appreciate his tough-guy mentality, but his leg is going to snap off, right there on live TV.
Percy Harvin out for Florida's season opener: I kind of saw this coming, but as I'll be sweltering in 100 degree swamp-ass on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, I would have liked to see him -- but not at the expense of aggravating his problem heel. He can save it for the SEC season, as far as I'm concerned. It does basically spike his Heisman hopes, though.
(Tonight's CFB openers: Spurrier is always fun to watch, but I'll be tracking the performance of Central Michigan QB Dan LeFevour, who should be a "20/20" player this season. Oh, and I'll be doing my weekly Top 25 picks, and I'm taking Wake to win tonight, with complete Top 25 picks coming tomorrow. Don't forget to sign up for the CFB and NFL Pick 'Em groups -- group name: Daily Quickie Readers.)
Does anyone care about Oscar De La Hoya anymore? I suppose he drives PPV sales, but boxing feels so...anachronistic.
Michael Phelps to host SNL: Do they know that the guy, while incredibly nice-seeming, isn't exactly a dynamic personality?
Jay Mariotti, Cont'd: Per Deadspin, it looks like he left in a huff over a column snafu, which makes his "newspaper is dead anyway" seem even more petty.
(God, there was a time in my life back in college when all I wanted to be was a lead sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times -- no joke. And that was before it came with TV benefits.)
Full SN column here with a ton more in it. (I'm posting to the main archive link; the column isn't up as of 8 a.m., but I'm offline for a bit. Will update with a direct link later.)
-- D.S.
My SN column today leads with a summary of my "BCS Mess" theory for this year, along with my annual argument that college football's regular season is unmatched in sports.
Meanwhile, I think the Yankees are finished -- you might say that's premature to say before we even get to September; if we learned anything last September, it's that 7-game playoff leads aren't safe. But this ain't the Mets or the NL West -- it's the Red Sox and they're 7 games up on the Yankees...and that's just for the Wild Card.
NFL: Happy to see Derrick Harvey sign with the Jags (finally), but here is a scenario where both sides came out as huge losers -- Harvey for holding out (only to finally get some contract bonus clauses) and the Jaguars for trading up only to not want to pay for it.
Wait: Shawne Merriman is going to play? I appreciate his tough-guy mentality, but his leg is going to snap off, right there on live TV.
Percy Harvin out for Florida's season opener: I kind of saw this coming, but as I'll be sweltering in 100 degree swamp-ass on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, I would have liked to see him -- but not at the expense of aggravating his problem heel. He can save it for the SEC season, as far as I'm concerned. It does basically spike his Heisman hopes, though.
(Tonight's CFB openers: Spurrier is always fun to watch, but I'll be tracking the performance of Central Michigan QB Dan LeFevour, who should be a "20/20" player this season. Oh, and I'll be doing my weekly Top 25 picks, and I'm taking Wake to win tonight, with complete Top 25 picks coming tomorrow. Don't forget to sign up for the CFB and NFL Pick 'Em groups -- group name: Daily Quickie Readers.)
Does anyone care about Oscar De La Hoya anymore? I suppose he drives PPV sales, but boxing feels so...anachronistic.
Michael Phelps to host SNL: Do they know that the guy, while incredibly nice-seeming, isn't exactly a dynamic personality?
Jay Mariotti, Cont'd: Per Deadspin, it looks like he left in a huff over a column snafu, which makes his "newspaper is dead anyway" seem even more petty.
(God, there was a time in my life back in college when all I wanted to be was a lead sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times -- no joke. And that was before it came with TV benefits.)
Full SN column here with a ton more in it. (I'm posting to the main archive link; the column isn't up as of 8 a.m., but I'm offline for a bit. Will update with a direct link later.)
-- D.S.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Jay Mariotti Out At the Sun-Times
The ultimate irony is that Mariotti got on TV in an everyday way (Around the Horn) because of his newspaper "cred," and now he is bailing on newspapers but will continue to cash in on TV (and whatever Web site will be suckered into paying for his name.) He flashes the worst kind of cynicism and hypocrisy. -- D.S.
CFB 08: Tim Tebow For Heisman? Nope
As promised, the shocking opinion, straight from my Sporting News column this morning:
I do NOT pick Tim Tebow to win the Heisman this season.
In the column, I lay out the reasons (briefly: Tebow Fatigue, Stat Drop-Off, Increased Comp). All together, I just don't see it happening.
HeismanPundit.com (now in partnership with the Orlando Sentinel, in a great move for both) did its preseason straw poll of influential voters -- Tebow won by a slim margin.
Again, I disagree. (I'm sure if we went back, Matt Leinart won the preseason straw poll the season after he won the Heisman. It's even more meaningless than a preseason Top 25.)
That's not to say that I don't think Tebow isn't the best player in college football. Absolutely, I do. But there's a huge difference between that and winning the Heisman.
So, who WILL win the Heisman? I think it will be Ohio State RB Chris "Beanie" Wells. He will be a candidate for 2,000 yards, two dozen TDs and the anchor of an OSU team that will likely end up in the national title game.
(Hmm: What's more shocking -- that I pick against Tebow to win the Heisman in '08? Or that I pick an Ohio State player to win the award?)
The other players I think will end up as finalists in New York will also see their teams spend time up near the top of the polls: Tebow; Chase Daniel, Pat White, Knowshon Moreno -- in that order of finish.
(If Percy Harvin stays healthy, I think he could be Reggie Bush to Tebow's Matt Leinart. But that's a huge "if.")
Regardless, I think Tebow won't repeat. It's fun to consider. He is a one-of-a-kind player -- probably my favorite college football player of all time (not that THAT is a consideration for Heisman-worthiness). He will be in the Heisman mix all season long -- if he can win the Heisman with the Gators going 9-3 in the regular season, what will happen if they go 11-1 or 12-0?
If Tebow didn't win last year, he would be the heavy favorite this year. But he DID win last year -- and that's a big reason why he won't win this year.
"Beanie for Heisman" -- that's a pretty catchy marketing slogan.
-- D.S.
I do NOT pick Tim Tebow to win the Heisman this season.
In the column, I lay out the reasons (briefly: Tebow Fatigue, Stat Drop-Off, Increased Comp). All together, I just don't see it happening.
HeismanPundit.com (now in partnership with the Orlando Sentinel, in a great move for both) did its preseason straw poll of influential voters -- Tebow won by a slim margin.
Again, I disagree. (I'm sure if we went back, Matt Leinart won the preseason straw poll the season after he won the Heisman. It's even more meaningless than a preseason Top 25.)
That's not to say that I don't think Tebow isn't the best player in college football. Absolutely, I do. But there's a huge difference between that and winning the Heisman.
So, who WILL win the Heisman? I think it will be Ohio State RB Chris "Beanie" Wells. He will be a candidate for 2,000 yards, two dozen TDs and the anchor of an OSU team that will likely end up in the national title game.
(Hmm: What's more shocking -- that I pick against Tebow to win the Heisman in '08? Or that I pick an Ohio State player to win the award?)
The other players I think will end up as finalists in New York will also see their teams spend time up near the top of the polls: Tebow; Chase Daniel, Pat White, Knowshon Moreno -- in that order of finish.
(If Percy Harvin stays healthy, I think he could be Reggie Bush to Tebow's Matt Leinart. But that's a huge "if.")
Regardless, I think Tebow won't repeat. It's fun to consider. He is a one-of-a-kind player -- probably my favorite college football player of all time (not that THAT is a consideration for Heisman-worthiness). He will be in the Heisman mix all season long -- if he can win the Heisman with the Gators going 9-3 in the regular season, what will happen if they go 11-1 or 12-0?
If Tebow didn't win last year, he would be the heavy favorite this year. But he DID win last year -- and that's a big reason why he won't win this year.
"Beanie for Heisman" -- that's a pretty catchy marketing slogan.
-- D.S.
Wednesday 08/27 A.M. Quickie:
Replay, Phils, A-Rod, CFB 08, More
Today's SN column leads with: I don't know how any reasonable fan can be against instant replay in baseball. (I won't get into the idea that it should be expanded to calls at home plate; for now, I'm satisfied with HR/Foul-Ball calls as a good place to start.)
Can't wait for replay to start tomorrow, and I can't wait for its first use -- it can't be worse than "ump's naked eye."
Meanwhile, it was a loaded night in MLB, led by a couple of New York chokes -- the Mets choked away a 7-0 lead (and the lead in the NL East) to the Phillies (who else?), and A-Rod choked away a couple of excellent RISP opportunities and the Yankees fell even further behind the Red Sox for the AL Wild Card. The Yankees are 2 straight losses away from basically being done for the season.
In the NFL, I'm already over the Strahan story and on to this story in today's Denver Post about the NFL going to an 18-game season (2 preseason/18 regular season), which I think everyone can agree would be a phenomenal advancement for the league. Too bad it'll take a few years to implement. But given the laughable final preseason games, it's the right direction.
Hey, Jay Mariotti is out at the Chicago Sun-Times. But will they continue to let him use the TV studio in the newsroom to tape "Around the Horn?" If he isn't bringing readers to the paper -- the ludicrous rationale for sports editors allowing their top columnist talent to dilute their effort for the newspaper by doing TV -- then why should they let him?
Finally, today's CFB 08 preview in my SN column contains something likely so staggering to you that I have to put it in its own post, coming at 10:45 a.m.
-- D.S.
Can't wait for replay to start tomorrow, and I can't wait for its first use -- it can't be worse than "ump's naked eye."
Meanwhile, it was a loaded night in MLB, led by a couple of New York chokes -- the Mets choked away a 7-0 lead (and the lead in the NL East) to the Phillies (who else?), and A-Rod choked away a couple of excellent RISP opportunities and the Yankees fell even further behind the Red Sox for the AL Wild Card. The Yankees are 2 straight losses away from basically being done for the season.
In the NFL, I'm already over the Strahan story and on to this story in today's Denver Post about the NFL going to an 18-game season (2 preseason/18 regular season), which I think everyone can agree would be a phenomenal advancement for the league. Too bad it'll take a few years to implement. But given the laughable final preseason games, it's the right direction.
Hey, Jay Mariotti is out at the Chicago Sun-Times. But will they continue to let him use the TV studio in the newsroom to tape "Around the Horn?" If he isn't bringing readers to the paper -- the ludicrous rationale for sports editors allowing their top columnist talent to dilute their effort for the newspaper by doing TV -- then why should they let him?
Finally, today's CFB 08 preview in my SN column contains something likely so staggering to you that I have to put it in its own post, coming at 10:45 a.m.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
ESPNRise.com Launches
Even more than what ESPNU meant to coverage of college sports, the launch of ESPNRise.com is a pivotal event in the brief history of high school sports as spectator sport.
It'll be interesting to track. The site is heavy on the "social media" content and glitzy design -- but light on the meaty state-by-state news (with appropriate implications for colleges in recruiting battles) that I think fans of high school sports want to see: News, rumors, rankings.
Also, I believe it's only a matter of time before Yahoo takes Rivals free, as a counter-move. The subscription revenue Yahoo earns can't possibly top the page-view revenue they would see.
-- D.S.
It'll be interesting to track. The site is heavy on the "social media" content and glitzy design -- but light on the meaty state-by-state news (with appropriate implications for colleges in recruiting battles) that I think fans of high school sports want to see: News, rumors, rankings.
Also, I believe it's only a matter of time before Yahoo takes Rivals free, as a counter-move. The subscription revenue Yahoo earns can't possibly top the page-view revenue they would see.
-- D.S.
CFB/NFL Pick 'Em Challenge: DQ Readers!
Just a reminder: Sign up for the College Football Pick 'Em. As usual, the group name is Daily Quickie Readers and it's open to anyone. Sign up now! (And there's an NFL Pick 'Em group, too: Same name -- Daily Quickie Readers. No password needed, open to all. Oh, and this year NFL picks WITH the spread.)
Barack Obama: No Fairweather Fan
Barack Obama would take my donation, I'm sure. But would he approve of my Florida fandom? Here's Obama on his rooting interest in the event of a White Sox-Cubs World Series:
I do give Obama credit for sticking with his team -- there's no room for pandering when sports and politics collide. Empathetically connecting with locals? Sure. But not pandering.
-- D.S.
"Oh, that's easy. White Sox. I'm not one of these fairweather fans. You go to Wrigley Field, you have a beer, beautiful people up there. People aren't watching the game. It's not serious. White Sox, that's baseball. Southside."He leans on an old stereotype of Wrigley fans. As someone who used to live in Wrigleyville, I dispute that -- to a point. Wrigley Field DOES attract a lot of fans there for the stadium experience alone.
I do give Obama credit for sticking with his team -- there's no room for pandering when sports and politics collide. Empathetically connecting with locals? Sure. But not pandering.
-- D.S.
Tuesday 08/26 A.M. Quickie:
Politics, AL Central, NFL QBs, CFB 08
I lead today's SN column with an item about sports and politics, having watched Oregon State hoops coach Craig Robinson in prime time last night, introducing his sister Michelle Obama. (Blissfully, I did not see the Stuart Scott interview with Barack Obama.)
Don't worry: I don't inflict my own views on you in the column. In fact, I reflect the common wisdom that pops up every time I dip a toe into politics over here:
Keep politics separate from sports. We can agree to disagree on all sorts of stuff related to politics (as we do about sports), but we can agree that politics mixed with sports causes massive problems.
I'll continue to write about their intersection, when it happens. But I recognize that most fans don't want to commingle the two.
Meanwhile, the college football season starts Thursday night, and I couldn't be more excited. For me, it eclipses baseball (although that is plenty exciting right now) and preseason NFL (although fantasy drafting makes August much more fun). In the column today, I cover the must-see games of the season. I limited myself to 10, on different weeks. While the Biggies are obvious (USC-OSU, FLA-UGA, OK-TX), there are a ton of others. Hell, for this very opening weekend, I spurned the Bama-Clemson season-opener in favor of App State-LSU. (Got any must-see games this season beyond the obvious ones? Drop them in the Comments, and I'll post them as soon as I'm back online.)
That said: There's a ton of MLB and NFL news to cover, including that 9-year-old banned from his youth baseball league. Love that story. It's all in today's SN column here.
I'm heading back out to the beach. More later.
-- D.S.
Don't worry: I don't inflict my own views on you in the column. In fact, I reflect the common wisdom that pops up every time I dip a toe into politics over here:
Keep politics separate from sports. We can agree to disagree on all sorts of stuff related to politics (as we do about sports), but we can agree that politics mixed with sports causes massive problems.
I'll continue to write about their intersection, when it happens. But I recognize that most fans don't want to commingle the two.
Meanwhile, the college football season starts Thursday night, and I couldn't be more excited. For me, it eclipses baseball (although that is plenty exciting right now) and preseason NFL (although fantasy drafting makes August much more fun). In the column today, I cover the must-see games of the season. I limited myself to 10, on different weeks. While the Biggies are obvious (USC-OSU, FLA-UGA, OK-TX), there are a ton of others. Hell, for this very opening weekend, I spurned the Bama-Clemson season-opener in favor of App State-LSU. (Got any must-see games this season beyond the obvious ones? Drop them in the Comments, and I'll post them as soon as I'm back online.)
That said: There's a ton of MLB and NFL news to cover, including that 9-year-old banned from his youth baseball league. Love that story. It's all in today's SN column here.
I'm heading back out to the beach. More later.
-- D.S.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Monday 08/25 A.M. Quickie:
USA Hoops, Giants, Phils, Olympics, More
Congrats to USA Hoops, but I don't think that USA Basketball has created anything especially sustainable. That's the lead of today's SN column. And here's today's DS.com director's cut:
Kobe likely won't be back in 2012. Neither will LeBron or D-Wade. Same with Coach K. They're all taking their success of "redemption" and leaving behind a legacy of... what, exactly?
The 3-year "commitment?" Anyone who watched the gold-medal game knows that the 3-year commitment isn't as important as finding the right on-court tactics and right personnel.
In 2008, USA Hoops got by with sheer talent -- particularly at the top (as predicted, Kobe was the ultimate difference between gold and failure). But that isn't replicable.
But Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade and Coach K can all walk away proclaiming they did their job and reclaimed basketball gold for the USA. I think the job has only just begun.
Meanwhile, who else thinks the Giants will call Michael Strahan about a comeback, now that the D-line is down one Pro Bowl player before the season even starts...
And in MLB, how about Rich Harden as co-Cy with CC Sabathia? Because Harden is just as impressive...
I'm starting my week-long college football preview in the SN column (continued here, of course). Today's topic: Top storylines for the season, and it won't surprise you that No. 1 is "BCS Mess...again?" But it also includes "This season's Hawaii," "This season's Kansas" and "This season's Tebow." (And, no, it's not Tebow.)
Complete SN column here, with more coming later.
-- D.S.
UPDATE: This post on Gawker about the Nike-China-Blogger-Liu situation is a fascinating breakdown of a pretty fascinating side story.
Kobe likely won't be back in 2012. Neither will LeBron or D-Wade. Same with Coach K. They're all taking their success of "redemption" and leaving behind a legacy of... what, exactly?
The 3-year "commitment?" Anyone who watched the gold-medal game knows that the 3-year commitment isn't as important as finding the right on-court tactics and right personnel.
In 2008, USA Hoops got by with sheer talent -- particularly at the top (as predicted, Kobe was the ultimate difference between gold and failure). But that isn't replicable.
But Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade and Coach K can all walk away proclaiming they did their job and reclaimed basketball gold for the USA. I think the job has only just begun.
Meanwhile, who else thinks the Giants will call Michael Strahan about a comeback, now that the D-line is down one Pro Bowl player before the season even starts...
And in MLB, how about Rich Harden as co-Cy with CC Sabathia? Because Harden is just as impressive...
I'm starting my week-long college football preview in the SN column (continued here, of course). Today's topic: Top storylines for the season, and it won't surprise you that No. 1 is "BCS Mess...again?" But it also includes "This season's Hawaii," "This season's Kansas" and "This season's Tebow." (And, no, it's not Tebow.)
Complete SN column here, with more coming later.
-- D.S.
UPDATE: This post on Gawker about the Nike-China-Blogger-Liu situation is a fascinating breakdown of a pretty fascinating side story.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Sunday 08/24 (Very) Quickie
USA Basketball exorcises the "USA Oops" label and "redeems" itself as "USA Hoops" again.
Give credit to Spain for giving the US a game -- as predicted 3 years ago when USA Basketball was re-formed in Jerry Colangelo's image, it took the presence of Kobe Bryant to be the difference between gold and failure.
(Meanwhile, can we all agree that Coach K is a terrible game coach, as he pretty much always has been? This team might not have won gold despite Coach K's coaching, but they certainly didn't win it because of him.)
MLB: The Angels weren't quite ready to roll over for the Twins again (thanks to Teixeira)... Carl Pavano!... Wow, the Rays can't be stopped (and gain a critical game of cushion on the blanked Red Sox)... Aramis Ramirez!... What was that about Ryan Bruan's back?... Big win for the D'backs...
NFL Preseason: 47-3?...Terrible: Brady Quinn, Bengals offense, Matt Leinart, Jeff Garcia, Jason Taylor (injured), Giants offense... hey, how about that Chad Pennington?... Is that the end of the season for Shawne Merriman?... With Joe Biden in the news, Delaware Blue Hen QB Joe Flacco didn't exactly set the house on fire vs. the Rams (18/37 for 152 yds and a TD, playing the entire game)...
Olympics: Angel Malodio Vatos, the Cuban taekwando guy who kicked the ref on the face, becomes one of the most memorable names from the Games...
Fay-induced rain and high winds are gone in north Florida -- all we got now is sunny and hot-hot-hot. I'll take it.
-- D.S.
Give credit to Spain for giving the US a game -- as predicted 3 years ago when USA Basketball was re-formed in Jerry Colangelo's image, it took the presence of Kobe Bryant to be the difference between gold and failure.
(Meanwhile, can we all agree that Coach K is a terrible game coach, as he pretty much always has been? This team might not have won gold despite Coach K's coaching, but they certainly didn't win it because of him.)
MLB: The Angels weren't quite ready to roll over for the Twins again (thanks to Teixeira)... Carl Pavano!... Wow, the Rays can't be stopped (and gain a critical game of cushion on the blanked Red Sox)... Aramis Ramirez!... What was that about Ryan Bruan's back?... Big win for the D'backs...
NFL Preseason: 47-3?...Terrible: Brady Quinn, Bengals offense, Matt Leinart, Jeff Garcia, Jason Taylor (injured), Giants offense... hey, how about that Chad Pennington?... Is that the end of the season for Shawne Merriman?... With Joe Biden in the news, Delaware Blue Hen QB Joe Flacco didn't exactly set the house on fire vs. the Rams (18/37 for 152 yds and a TD, playing the entire game)...
Olympics: Angel Malodio Vatos, the Cuban taekwando guy who kicked the ref on the face, becomes one of the most memorable names from the Games...
Fay-induced rain and high winds are gone in north Florida -- all we got now is sunny and hot-hot-hot. I'll take it.
-- D.S.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Saturday 08/23 (Very) Quickie
Here's some travel advice: Don't fly into a hurricane. But I'm down in Florida for my annual summer pilgrimage, rain (plane-shuddering winds) or shine.
Meanwhile, somehow I think that "Delaware Blue Hens" will become a new bandwagon, with the selection of Delaware senator Joe Biden as Barack Obama's running mate.
USA Oops dispatches Argentina, will play Spain for gold overnight later tonight: I don't think Spain can or will keep it close.
And there is an argument to be made that the way this team has gone through the field is more impressive than the Dream Team in '92; back then, the world hoops community was immature -- at best. Now, teams like Argentina, Spain, Greece and Lithuania are legitimately very good. And the US is obliterating them.
(Beyond the gold, I'm sure the team is thrilled that with a gold medal, I will drop the "USA Oops" label, as they will have earned being called "USA Hoops" again.)
Rays beat White Sox in possible AL playoff preview: Wow, if Rocco Baldelli can sustain the pop he showed last night (1st HR since May '07), that's a huge boost for Tampa, above and beyond a mere single win... In the other possible AL playoff preview, the Twins beat the Angels in Anaheim behind August sensation Denard Span (3/5, HR, 4 RBI)... Tim Lincecum (14th W, crosses 200-K mark for season) may be the best pitcher in baseball, but I'm still not sure he earns the NL Cy ahead of CC Sabathia if the season ends today... (Johan, another winner Friday, probably still has a claim to "best pitcher in baseball)... Speaking of a former Best Pitcher in Baseball, Greg Maddux got shelled by the Phillies in his first start with LAD...
NFL Preseason: QB Watch. Aaron Rodgers: 18/22 for 193 yards and a TD (with a rushing TD thrown in) -- not bad for a 3rd preseason game... Matt Ryan: 15/21 for 102 yds and a TD...and a win. I think Ryan-as-starter has been (and is now fully) inevitable... JT O'Sullivan: Wins SF starting QB job.
More later. Maybe the sun will even come out later...
-- D.S.
Meanwhile, somehow I think that "Delaware Blue Hens" will become a new bandwagon, with the selection of Delaware senator Joe Biden as Barack Obama's running mate.
USA Oops dispatches Argentina, will play Spain for gold overnight later tonight: I don't think Spain can or will keep it close.
And there is an argument to be made that the way this team has gone through the field is more impressive than the Dream Team in '92; back then, the world hoops community was immature -- at best. Now, teams like Argentina, Spain, Greece and Lithuania are legitimately very good. And the US is obliterating them.
(Beyond the gold, I'm sure the team is thrilled that with a gold medal, I will drop the "USA Oops" label, as they will have earned being called "USA Hoops" again.)
Rays beat White Sox in possible AL playoff preview: Wow, if Rocco Baldelli can sustain the pop he showed last night (1st HR since May '07), that's a huge boost for Tampa, above and beyond a mere single win... In the other possible AL playoff preview, the Twins beat the Angels in Anaheim behind August sensation Denard Span (3/5, HR, 4 RBI)... Tim Lincecum (14th W, crosses 200-K mark for season) may be the best pitcher in baseball, but I'm still not sure he earns the NL Cy ahead of CC Sabathia if the season ends today... (Johan, another winner Friday, probably still has a claim to "best pitcher in baseball)... Speaking of a former Best Pitcher in Baseball, Greg Maddux got shelled by the Phillies in his first start with LAD...
NFL Preseason: QB Watch. Aaron Rodgers: 18/22 for 193 yards and a TD (with a rushing TD thrown in) -- not bad for a 3rd preseason game... Matt Ryan: 15/21 for 102 yds and a TD...and a win. I think Ryan-as-starter has been (and is now fully) inevitable... JT O'Sullivan: Wins SF starting QB job.
More later. Maybe the sun will even come out later...
-- D.S.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Friday 08/22 (Very) Quickie
On a flight down to Florida - great timing, right? Can't add a link to the column from where I am, but if you go to yesterday's link below and click on my byline, you'll get to the latest one - in which I get closure on the Olympics. Isn't that something we could all use? More later. - D.S.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Weight Watchers: Fantasy Football For Diets
Clive Thompson is a smart writer. Here, he compares Weight Watchers' online tracking system to role-playing games.
When I first used it, I thought it was like "Fantasy Football for dieting" -- you get a screen of stats and options and you manage them, hoping for a daily or weekly "win." (Of course, I wasn't smart enough to write it up and present it as thoughtfully as Thompson.)
As Weight Watchers continues to try to market the system to guys, they should consider that.
-- D.S.
When I first used it, I thought it was like "Fantasy Football for dieting" -- you get a screen of stats and options and you manage them, hoping for a daily or weekly "win." (Of course, I wasn't smart enough to write it up and present it as thoughtfully as Thompson.)
As Weight Watchers continues to try to market the system to guys, they should consider that.
-- D.S.
Henry Abbott on Starting Your Blog Career
Like Henry, I get a lot of emails from young/new bloggers asking for advice. I will now point them to this wonderfully succinct summary on TrueHoop, which covers the big points, but I'll sum it up:
Find something that you care about and put in a ton of effort covering it in a way that no one else does, serving the community that would care the most.
That's a pretty malleable statement: It could mean you're the only one covering a specific niche (good); it could mean you're the best at covering a more competitive niche (great for you, but very very difficult); it definitely means that effort counts, regardless; it definitely means that more focus is better; it definitely means that you should worry less about getting that "big" page-view hit from Deadspin and more about your core audience; it means that the next "big" things in sports blogging will assuredly involve some form of innovation.
This is one of my favorite topics in the world, and I could go on about it for a while, but I'll spare you and leave it there for now.
-- D.S.
Find something that you care about and put in a ton of effort covering it in a way that no one else does, serving the community that would care the most.
That's a pretty malleable statement: It could mean you're the only one covering a specific niche (good); it could mean you're the best at covering a more competitive niche (great for you, but very very difficult); it definitely means that effort counts, regardless; it definitely means that more focus is better; it definitely means that you should worry less about getting that "big" page-view hit from Deadspin and more about your core audience; it means that the next "big" things in sports blogging will assuredly involve some form of innovation.
This is one of my favorite topics in the world, and I could go on about it for a while, but I'll spare you and leave it there for now.
-- D.S.
Thursday 08/21 A.M. Quickie:
Bolt, Jackson, Upshaw, NL West, More
I referenced this yesterday on the blog, but his jaw-dropping WR performance in the 200 is a good bookend with Tuesday's SN column lead defending his performance in the 100: Usain Bolt is the most electrifying track talent that most of the world has ever seen.
Today's SN column lead about Bolt isn't nearly as good as Tuesday's, I don't think, but it's an important closure to the point -- not only can he joyously win gold (100), but he can focus and break WRs previously thought untouchable.
I would say Bolt has surpassed Carl Lewis -- Bolt isn't in Jesse Owens territory; then again, no one under the age of 80 would have even the vaguest first-hand recollection of Owens.
So, for all intents and purposes, Bolt's the gold standard. Check that: Golds standard. (I desperately want him to just line up on the track during a down moment and run the 400, just to see what kind of time he'd put up.)
Meanwhile, NFL union honcho Gene Upshaw is dead, and it's a big deal. A bigger deal than Steven Jackson's return from his holdout, I should say, which will still generate headlines and fantasy questions.
In MLB, there is the state of the NL West, the state of the top of the AL and the state of the Top 5 All-Time Home Run List.
Full SN column here. More later. (And if you've been tracking the blog over the past few weeks, you know I'm not kidding.)
-- D.S.
Today's SN column lead about Bolt isn't nearly as good as Tuesday's, I don't think, but it's an important closure to the point -- not only can he joyously win gold (100), but he can focus and break WRs previously thought untouchable.
I would say Bolt has surpassed Carl Lewis -- Bolt isn't in Jesse Owens territory; then again, no one under the age of 80 would have even the vaguest first-hand recollection of Owens.
So, for all intents and purposes, Bolt's the gold standard. Check that: Golds standard. (I desperately want him to just line up on the track during a down moment and run the 400, just to see what kind of time he'd put up.)
Meanwhile, NFL union honcho Gene Upshaw is dead, and it's a big deal. A bigger deal than Steven Jackson's return from his holdout, I should say, which will still generate headlines and fantasy questions.
In MLB, there is the state of the NL West, the state of the top of the AL and the state of the Top 5 All-Time Home Run List.
Full SN column here. More later. (And if you've been tracking the blog over the past few weeks, you know I'm not kidding.)
-- D.S.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Usain Bolt: Best Since Jesse Owens in 1936
In case you missed it Tuesday, this is what I wrote about Usain Bolt's win in the 100. I think it foreshadowed his performance -- and epic accomplishment -- today:
Between the two, it was the most impressive display on the track -- Olympic or otherwise -- since Jesse Owens in Berlin in 1936.
Let me defend Usain Bolt from prudes like Bob Costas, who apparently felt that someone whose week-long display of flamboyant sycophancy of Michael Phelps qualifies him as a journalistic paragon who might preach unchallenged from the anchor's pulpit:His 200 was focused, like a laser. No preening, just "I'll-take-that-world-record."
Rather than defiling the spirit of the Olympics, Bolt embodied them. He cared so little for the pedestrian concept of a world record -- only for the thrill of Olympic gold -- that he put that world record at risk to celebrate the only success that mattered to him and his country.
Don't blame him for being so far ahead at 85 meters that he could celebrate early; surely, if anyone in the rest of the field was closer to him, he would have dug in -- again, not for any world record, but for this Olympic ideal Costas claim he disrespects.
Bolt did just enough to accomplish what he came to Beijing to do: Win gold in the 100. Any effort beyond that -- punish your enemies! -- would have been the very opposite of the spirit of the Games. And so everything after that was limited to his celebration of his joy.
What could be more Olympian than that?
Between the two, it was the most impressive display on the track -- Olympic or otherwise -- since Jesse Owens in Berlin in 1936.
Usain Bolt's World Record 200 Meter Run
It's only a spoiler if you buy into NBC's ridiculous and draconian and consumer-unfriendly policies of waiting on a 12-hour story before showing it on video.
Here is a video (via Daily Motion), but it will likely only be up for minutes more, if that. I don't speak French, but these French announcers' ravings are 10x better than Ato Boldin.
Oh, and after the controversial finish in the 100, it looks like Bolt had his sights set on breaking that Michael Johnson record -- all. the. way.
(It's not 8 medals, but the WAY that Bolt has run -- not just two golds, not just 2 new world records, not just in two marquee events like the 100 and 200...but the dominance.)
-- D.S.
Here is a video (via Daily Motion), but it will likely only be up for minutes more, if that. I don't speak French, but these French announcers' ravings are 10x better than Ato Boldin.
Oh, and after the controversial finish in the 100, it looks like Bolt had his sights set on breaking that Michael Johnson record -- all. the. way.
(It's not 8 medals, but the WAY that Bolt has run -- not just two golds, not just 2 new world records, not just in two marquee events like the 100 and 200...but the dominance.)
-- D.S.
Best. Obama T-Shirt. Ever.
You've got to have the high school hoops throwback. (From Wizznutzz, of course. Through their Mothering Hut T-shirt store.)
Dork that I am, I made my own homemade version about 4 months ago with the number 25 -- Obama has been seen wearing both No. 25 and No. 23. This 23 version looks way cooler.
Dork that I am, I made my own homemade version about 4 months ago with the number 25 -- Obama has been seen wearing both No. 25 and No. 23. This 23 version looks way cooler.
BlogPoll Top 25 Results: Preseason
Georgia Is No. 1 Among Bloggers
Only the most credible and authentic "formal" college football poll in the country! (And I say that not just because I am a voting member.)
The composite group is listed here. Individual ballots can be found here. Georgia is the No. 1, but like the AP and Coaches, it is a mere plurality.
Without standard Shanoff hyperbole, the BlogPoll might be my favorite thing ever. I am so happy it's back.
The composite group is listed here. Individual ballots can be found here. Georgia is the No. 1, but like the AP and Coaches, it is a mere plurality.
Without standard Shanoff hyperbole, the BlogPoll might be my favorite thing ever. I am so happy it's back.
BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot: Preseason
My preseason BlogPoll ballot. Please consider that I have ranked teams in order of how I think they will finish the season, not their relative strength today. My s.o.p. is to change the ranking based on actual on-field results immediately after Week 1, impacted weekly thereafter.
A few things, given the emphasis I have made over the past few weeks:
Yes, by putting Ohio State over USC, I think that OSU will win at USC a month from now. Yes, that represents a change in my thinking since last month. Yes, that should quash at least some of the notion out there that I am wholly and irrationally anti-OSU.
Yes, by putting Florida over Georgia, I think that Florida will beat Georgia in the Cocktail Party. (UF has the revenge factor; UGA shouldn't have used their chit a year ago, when they really needed to lull the Gators last year and surprise them this year.) And, yes, I pick Florida to win the national title, mostly because I think Florida will win the SEC title and I think the SEC champ earn win the national title again. You can holler at me for bias, which would be fair, but please note that, among others, Sunday Morning QB's Matt Hinton and CFB OCD-case Phil Steele both picked Florida to be No. 1. So it's not totally crazy.
1. Florida
2. Ohio State
3. USC
4. Georgia
5. Oklahoma
6. Missouri
7. West Virginia
8. Auburn
9. Clemson
10. BYU
11. Texas
12. Texas Tech
13. LSU
14. Wisconsin
15. South Florida
16. Oregon
17. Tennessee
18. VA Tech
19. Kansas
20. Penn State
21. Arizona State
22. Wake Forest
23. Illinois
24. Utah
25. Northwestern
2. Ohio State
3. USC
4. Georgia
5. Oklahoma
6. Missouri
7. West Virginia
8. Auburn
9. Clemson
10. BYU
11. Texas
12. Texas Tech
13. LSU
14. Wisconsin
15. South Florida
16. Oregon
17. Tennessee
18. VA Tech
19. Kansas
20. Penn State
21. Arizona State
22. Wake Forest
23. Illinois
24. Utah
25. Northwestern
A few things, given the emphasis I have made over the past few weeks:
Yes, by putting Ohio State over USC, I think that OSU will win at USC a month from now. Yes, that represents a change in my thinking since last month. Yes, that should quash at least some of the notion out there that I am wholly and irrationally anti-OSU.
Yes, by putting Florida over Georgia, I think that Florida will beat Georgia in the Cocktail Party. (UF has the revenge factor; UGA shouldn't have used their chit a year ago, when they really needed to lull the Gators last year and surprise them this year.) And, yes, I pick Florida to win the national title, mostly because I think Florida will win the SEC title and I think the SEC champ earn win the national title again. You can holler at me for bias, which would be fair, but please note that, among others, Sunday Morning QB's Matt Hinton and CFB OCD-case Phil Steele both picked Florida to be No. 1. So it's not totally crazy.
Wednesday 08/20 A.M. Quickie:
Rays, Lola, Bolt, Boldin, More
I think if you haven't put him in this category before, Usain Bolt qualifies as must-see for the way he is absolutely dominating the field in the 200 in the same way he did in the 100 (last night I was left wondering if Bolt decided to try to challenge Jeremy Wariner in the 400, how that might go -- understanding that 100/200 specialization is far different than 400 specialization, but Bolt seems that transcendent.)
That said, I led today's SN column with the Rays, for a couple reasons: (1) The milestone that they took over the best record in the AL. (2) Their 2nd straight win over the Angels in their mid-week series, which makes it 6 of 8 on the season over LAA, purported to be the best team in the league. Even without Longoria and Crawford, the Rays -- having won 9 of their last 11 -- are the best team in baseball. (Their record is the same as the Cubs, but the Rays have their win total in the AL.)
Meanwhile, I had my first fantasy draft last night -- people fall into two categories: Love to hear about other people's fantasy drafts or don't-tell-me-about-your-fantasy-draft types. I'll spare you the details, but note that through the first 6 rounds (and I was picking 13/14 so I had 2 picks virtually in a row, then a 24-pick wait in-between), I felt more in control of my drafting than ever. No panic, which is a first. Of course, from Round 8 through Round 12, I was a mess.
Anyway, I'll put my draft results in the comments, so you won't have to suffer through it here.
Here is the complete SN column from today. More later.
-- D.S.
That said, I led today's SN column with the Rays, for a couple reasons: (1) The milestone that they took over the best record in the AL. (2) Their 2nd straight win over the Angels in their mid-week series, which makes it 6 of 8 on the season over LAA, purported to be the best team in the league. Even without Longoria and Crawford, the Rays -- having won 9 of their last 11 -- are the best team in baseball. (Their record is the same as the Cubs, but the Rays have their win total in the AL.)
Meanwhile, I had my first fantasy draft last night -- people fall into two categories: Love to hear about other people's fantasy drafts or don't-tell-me-about-your-fantasy-draft types. I'll spare you the details, but note that through the first 6 rounds (and I was picking 13/14 so I had 2 picks virtually in a row, then a 24-pick wait in-between), I felt more in control of my drafting than ever. No panic, which is a first. Of course, from Round 8 through Round 12, I was a mess.
Anyway, I'll put my draft results in the comments, so you won't have to suffer through it here.
Here is the complete SN column from today. More later.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Joe Posnanski and His Deal With SI.com
Joe probably likes the thrill of writing for his boyhood idol, but the intrigue is that SI.com wanted to publish Joe's blog posts. Not exclusively -- just re-published at the same time on SI.com, too (where they will presumably get way more page views than they do on his blog). And they didn't seem to want to roll up his blog under the SI Digital umbrella, either (which would give SI.com his blog's traffic, too). Interesting.
Much like your fantasy league's third-round run on receivers, I'm calling a mini-run on sites doing similar "syndication-ish" deals with other bloggers. Who cares if it lives in two places? Following up yesterday's post about SportsFanLive.com, content portability is a pre-eminent strategy right now. That could mean getting ESPN.com on your phone; it could mean getting elements of your CBSSports.com fantasy interface on your Facebook page; and it could mean JoePosnanski.com content living -- in its exact form -- on SI.com.
Cannibalization is a myth in online sports.
UPDATE: By the way, much like the well-spring of good athlete blogs shook up mainstream sports media's assumptions about the way the world works, Posnanski's news could have similar impact. It's very simple: Start your own indie blog -- if your newspaper will let you (Posnanski obviously had leverage in his negotiation) -- then cultivate it (and to Joe's credit, he did, embracing rather than mocking the medium's powers) and then find yourself cutting a distribution deal with a national outlet for the blog's content.
-- D.S.
Much like your fantasy league's third-round run on receivers, I'm calling a mini-run on sites doing similar "syndication-ish" deals with other bloggers. Who cares if it lives in two places? Following up yesterday's post about SportsFanLive.com, content portability is a pre-eminent strategy right now. That could mean getting ESPN.com on your phone; it could mean getting elements of your CBSSports.com fantasy interface on your Facebook page; and it could mean JoePosnanski.com content living -- in its exact form -- on SI.com.
Cannibalization is a myth in online sports.
UPDATE: By the way, much like the well-spring of good athlete blogs shook up mainstream sports media's assumptions about the way the world works, Posnanski's news could have similar impact. It's very simple: Start your own indie blog -- if your newspaper will let you (Posnanski obviously had leverage in his negotiation) -- then cultivate it (and to Joe's credit, he did, embracing rather than mocking the medium's powers) and then find yourself cutting a distribution deal with a national outlet for the blog's content.
-- D.S.
Phelps Reprises Spitz: What a Great Cover
It had to be done this way. Although I will say that the old-school chain that they used for the '72 Olympic medals is way cooler than the lame ribbon on the '08 models.
Is Michael Phelps The Tiger of Swimming?
Can Michael Phelps turn swimming into a bigger sport with more traction than just the past week at the Olympics? Here are five tactics he and his team might consider, not to impact the number of people joining swim clubs, but to impact the number of casual fans consuming:
Set modest goals: Few sports attract "year-round" attention. Swimming would upgrade simply by going from quadrennial to creating a one-week-a-year buzz around its World Championships. It's possible they could add a second week with an annual U.S. championships -- but only if they featured Phelps. The bottom line: Try to own a single day out of every year with sports fans; ironically, that's more than enough.
Market himself: For better or worse, Phelps is his own best marketing tool. TV networks can't get enough. Marketers can't get enough. Fans, apparently, can't get enough. He will have to boost interest by keeping himself at the center of the swimming universe - that means racing. Or, at the very least, sitting in the announcing booth next to Dan Hicks and Rowdy Gaines.
(Take a lesson from Tiger: Without Woods present, golf has dropped off the radar.)
Market others: Phelps should take a lesson from the rappers he enjoys listening to before races. They develop proteges, but incubate them by attaching their own names to them (Dre > Eminem > 50 Cent > Etc.). Think the swimmers at "Phelps Swim Academy" won't get extra notice?
Deploy gimmicks: Phelps should create his own, privately owned swimming series that brings together the biggest names for exhibition showdowns, including 1-on-1 matches. How about a men's 4x100 freestyle relay rematch? Or a rematch with Cavic? Hell, you could put Phelps in a pool by himself -- against the clock -- and it would be interesting. Wouldn't you be curious to see how Phelps could do if he just tried out a random event, like the 1500?
Use his leverage: Based on NBC's lapping devotion to all things Phelps -- and presuming Phelps is going to compete in 2012 -- Phelps should "ask" NBC Universal to help fund not only his swimming series, but also to give it primetime time slots and promotion.
-- D.S.
Next post scheduled for 2 p.m.: Another new sports online social network?
Set modest goals: Few sports attract "year-round" attention. Swimming would upgrade simply by going from quadrennial to creating a one-week-a-year buzz around its World Championships. It's possible they could add a second week with an annual U.S. championships -- but only if they featured Phelps. The bottom line: Try to own a single day out of every year with sports fans; ironically, that's more than enough.
Market himself: For better or worse, Phelps is his own best marketing tool. TV networks can't get enough. Marketers can't get enough. Fans, apparently, can't get enough. He will have to boost interest by keeping himself at the center of the swimming universe - that means racing. Or, at the very least, sitting in the announcing booth next to Dan Hicks and Rowdy Gaines.
(Take a lesson from Tiger: Without Woods present, golf has dropped off the radar.)
Market others: Phelps should take a lesson from the rappers he enjoys listening to before races. They develop proteges, but incubate them by attaching their own names to them (Dre > Eminem > 50 Cent > Etc.). Think the swimmers at "Phelps Swim Academy" won't get extra notice?
Deploy gimmicks: Phelps should create his own, privately owned swimming series that brings together the biggest names for exhibition showdowns, including 1-on-1 matches. How about a men's 4x100 freestyle relay rematch? Or a rematch with Cavic? Hell, you could put Phelps in a pool by himself -- against the clock -- and it would be interesting. Wouldn't you be curious to see how Phelps could do if he just tried out a random event, like the 1500?
Use his leverage: Based on NBC's lapping devotion to all things Phelps -- and presuming Phelps is going to compete in 2012 -- Phelps should "ask" NBC Universal to help fund not only his swimming series, but also to give it primetime time slots and promotion.
-- D.S.
Next post scheduled for 2 p.m.: Another new sports online social network?
Tuesday 08/19 A.M. Quickie:
Bolt, Sabathia, Giants, More
During a hectic a.m., just a link to today's SN column, which leads with a defense of Usain Bolt as not only NOT a crass showboater, but -- quite the opposite -- the embodiment of the Olympic ideal.
More later. -- D.S.
More later. -- D.S.
Monday, August 18, 2008
SportsFanLive.com: Does David Katz Have The Next Big Thing Or The Next Quokka?
Last week, I talked about Jeff Ma's Citizen Sports -- they are taking fan-engagement activities (like fantasy sports) where the fans are already, specifically Facebook.
David Katz, formerly the head of Yahoo Sports and once a heavy hitter in the online sports world, is going entirely the opposite direction with SportsFanLive.com, profiled in today's NY Times.
The premise is that fans will join a new social network (or should I say yet another social network) -- one entirely geared toward sports fans (or should I say yet another one entirely geared toward sports fans).
Katz's site will have personalized news feeds (commodity), community-building features (cliche) and a twist on fantasy sports where friends challenge friends in weird bets (hmm).
That last one is intriguing, but it begs the question, as does the rest of the business plan: In an era where "open" is the key to basically everything, why would you launch a closed system?
Social networks live and die on what business types call "network effects" -- the more people who use, the more valuable a product becomes (think of the telephone or IM).
Katz starts out behind in the game simply by insisting that SportsFanLive.com is its own closed community (in-bound personalized newsfeeds of your favorite teams don't count -- and are entirely commoditized, anyway).
Unless tons of fans sign on to the system and make it as robust as Facebook, why wouldn't you simply expand your Facebook experience to incorporate your sports needs?
(Or, frankly, why wouldn't you continue to service your sports needs as you have for a decade online? As one analyst quoted points out: Fans haven't really expressed a lot of dissatisfaction with online sports.)
Adoption -- at scale -- is going to be a challenge. There wasn't any indication in the piece of how Katz plans to migrate massive numbers of fans to his platform. Is he planning to get fans already comfortable with social networks (like on Facebook) to pick up another one or spend less time at their existing ones for his? Is he planning to get fans who aren't into social networks to dip their toe in through something as familiar as sports?
It's unclear, although Katz insists the product is cool enough that it alone will win fans over -- comparing it to the DVR is setting a high bar.
I haven't spent a ton of time on the site itself, but my first interaction doesn't look promising. A pop-up asks me what team I love (that's fine). Then it asks me what team I hate -- stop right there. I have been analyzing the "rivalry" strategy arguably longer than anyone else in online sports media -- at least since 1995. And here's the thing: It doesn't work. I digress...
The main page is hubbed by the FanFeed, which has a "TM" so presumably they think it's their killer app. I guess it's like your Facebook NewsFeed, but again, the perils of the closed system: Unless ALL of your friends are on SFL, aren't you better off getting your friends' sports takes on your existing Facebook page? Or on a special sports-only app from Facebook?
There is eye candy called FanFinder which uses a graphic interface to show you where fans are watching the game; again, will this be an open and useful utility that shows me all sports bars in my area dedicated to my team? Or will it be predicated on existing SFL members telling me where they are watching the game? (Less useful.)
The third signature product is "BuxBets," fake prop bets proposed by fellow SFL members that you can take, with winning bets earning you, um "Bux" that you can redeem for I-have-no-idea.
One big positive: Katz has convinced Samsung to sign on as an initial sponsor. It actually adds to the site's credibility that it already has sponsor money coming in.
Katz earned the splash of a feature in the New York Times Monday Business section (if bracketed by skeptical quotes procured by NYT sports-media columnist Richard Sandomir, who usually swims in the safer waters of old-media coverage).
The question is whether the site fits in today's sports-consumption world. Fan engagement might be the right concept (if flooded with newly funded competitors and powerfully backed installed powers right now), but it begs the tritest of all analyses as to its potential: If he built it, they won't come.
(Here is a challenge to SFL: Put a running total of your signed-up members on the front page of the site, updated daily or hourly. Again: Nothing will get fans to sign up for this like seeing other fans signed up for this. The kill-or-be-killed question is: How do you get that first surge to sign up? I'm waiting on the marketing plan beyond "Land placement in the Times and DanShanoff.com.")
-- D.S.
UPDATE: Erick Schonfeld of TechCrunch (far more widely read and influential than this little old blog, certainly in the tech space) beat me to the punch and weighs in with his mixed endorsement, but -- like me -- he hedges on the site's apparent lack of openness. Schonfeld likens it to NetVibes for sports, but NetVibes is affinity-agnostic; it is a platform for anyone. SFL is only for sports fans; I think the comparison highlights SFL's short-comings even more.
David Katz, formerly the head of Yahoo Sports and once a heavy hitter in the online sports world, is going entirely the opposite direction with SportsFanLive.com, profiled in today's NY Times.
The premise is that fans will join a new social network (or should I say yet another social network) -- one entirely geared toward sports fans (or should I say yet another one entirely geared toward sports fans).
Katz's site will have personalized news feeds (commodity), community-building features (cliche) and a twist on fantasy sports where friends challenge friends in weird bets (hmm).
That last one is intriguing, but it begs the question, as does the rest of the business plan: In an era where "open" is the key to basically everything, why would you launch a closed system?
Social networks live and die on what business types call "network effects" -- the more people who use, the more valuable a product becomes (think of the telephone or IM).
Katz starts out behind in the game simply by insisting that SportsFanLive.com is its own closed community (in-bound personalized newsfeeds of your favorite teams don't count -- and are entirely commoditized, anyway).
Unless tons of fans sign on to the system and make it as robust as Facebook, why wouldn't you simply expand your Facebook experience to incorporate your sports needs?
(Or, frankly, why wouldn't you continue to service your sports needs as you have for a decade online? As one analyst quoted points out: Fans haven't really expressed a lot of dissatisfaction with online sports.)
Adoption -- at scale -- is going to be a challenge. There wasn't any indication in the piece of how Katz plans to migrate massive numbers of fans to his platform. Is he planning to get fans already comfortable with social networks (like on Facebook) to pick up another one or spend less time at their existing ones for his? Is he planning to get fans who aren't into social networks to dip their toe in through something as familiar as sports?
It's unclear, although Katz insists the product is cool enough that it alone will win fans over -- comparing it to the DVR is setting a high bar.
I haven't spent a ton of time on the site itself, but my first interaction doesn't look promising. A pop-up asks me what team I love (that's fine). Then it asks me what team I hate -- stop right there. I have been analyzing the "rivalry" strategy arguably longer than anyone else in online sports media -- at least since 1995. And here's the thing: It doesn't work. I digress...
The main page is hubbed by the FanFeed, which has a "TM" so presumably they think it's their killer app. I guess it's like your Facebook NewsFeed, but again, the perils of the closed system: Unless ALL of your friends are on SFL, aren't you better off getting your friends' sports takes on your existing Facebook page? Or on a special sports-only app from Facebook?
There is eye candy called FanFinder which uses a graphic interface to show you where fans are watching the game; again, will this be an open and useful utility that shows me all sports bars in my area dedicated to my team? Or will it be predicated on existing SFL members telling me where they are watching the game? (Less useful.)
The third signature product is "BuxBets," fake prop bets proposed by fellow SFL members that you can take, with winning bets earning you, um "Bux" that you can redeem for I-have-no-idea.
One big positive: Katz has convinced Samsung to sign on as an initial sponsor. It actually adds to the site's credibility that it already has sponsor money coming in.
Katz earned the splash of a feature in the New York Times Monday Business section (if bracketed by skeptical quotes procured by NYT sports-media columnist Richard Sandomir, who usually swims in the safer waters of old-media coverage).
The question is whether the site fits in today's sports-consumption world. Fan engagement might be the right concept (if flooded with newly funded competitors and powerfully backed installed powers right now), but it begs the tritest of all analyses as to its potential: If he built it, they won't come.
(Here is a challenge to SFL: Put a running total of your signed-up members on the front page of the site, updated daily or hourly. Again: Nothing will get fans to sign up for this like seeing other fans signed up for this. The kill-or-be-killed question is: How do you get that first surge to sign up? I'm waiting on the marketing plan beyond "Land placement in the Times and DanShanoff.com.")
-- D.S.
UPDATE: Erick Schonfeld of TechCrunch (far more widely read and influential than this little old blog, certainly in the tech space) beat me to the punch and weighs in with his mixed endorsement, but -- like me -- he hedges on the site's apparent lack of openness. Schonfeld likens it to NetVibes for sports, but NetVibes is affinity-agnostic; it is a platform for anyone. SFL is only for sports fans; I think the comparison highlights SFL's short-comings even more.
Monday 08/18 A.M. Quickie:
Phelps, Liu, Bolt, Johan, More
Whether or not you agree with me that Michael Phelps isn't just the greatest Olympian of all time but also the greatest athlete ever (or is that Greatest. Athlete. Ever.), you have to agree that the fact that he's even in the conversation is impressive enough. Today is closure on Phelps, though I'm not quite sure what Olympic storyline could fill the void left from the previous week's drama...
...Oh, wait: The hero to more than 1 billion fans in China pulled out of the Games in the preliminary heats with a leg injury? Liu Xiang's attempt to repeat as Olympic champ in the 100m hurdles was certainly the biggest story of the Games -- if you consider that the attention of 1 billion Chinese fans trumps the attention to Phelps by 250 million American fans.
Maybe we should all be paying even more attention to Usain Bolt, who didn't just win Olympic gold and didn't just set a new world record in the 100 meter dash, but redefined the art of showboating -- in a race lasting 100 meters and less than 10 seconds, he managed to gloat through the final 20 percent of it and STILL set the world record. Amazing. Awe-inspiring.
(Oh, and let me just say: NBC's tape-delay entered the ludicrous stage with that race. The result happened 12 hours earlier, but NBC is acting like it's 1992 -- pre-Internet age. So many fans knew what happened, it was an insult to our intelligence. It's a Saturday -- fans are home. Why not show the race live in the morning, then -- in primetime -- bring Bolt to the studio to give us his "Director's Cut" of his performance, breaking it down from every angle? Cripes: Is this so hard?)
OK, back in the real world of, um, real sports: No, I don't really care that Brett Favre had a decent debut for the Jets... yes, I am kind of intrigued that Matt Ryan struggled in his 2nd NFL preseason game (with a shaky O-line, perhaps the Falcons should have skipped Ryan in favor of the more nimble -- and draft-bargain -- Dennis Dixon).
In MLB, I'm really more about the weird storylines around the league than the competitiveness in the AL Central: Like this non-story that Derek Jeter could end his career like Brett Favre? Like Jeff Kent scraping a new low by ripping Vin Scully? Like RA Dickey tying an MLB record with 4 wild pitches in a single inning? Now that's some dog-days fun.
Full SN column here. Next post scheduled for noon: Another sports social network?
-- D.S.
...Oh, wait: The hero to more than 1 billion fans in China pulled out of the Games in the preliminary heats with a leg injury? Liu Xiang's attempt to repeat as Olympic champ in the 100m hurdles was certainly the biggest story of the Games -- if you consider that the attention of 1 billion Chinese fans trumps the attention to Phelps by 250 million American fans.
Maybe we should all be paying even more attention to Usain Bolt, who didn't just win Olympic gold and didn't just set a new world record in the 100 meter dash, but redefined the art of showboating -- in a race lasting 100 meters and less than 10 seconds, he managed to gloat through the final 20 percent of it and STILL set the world record. Amazing. Awe-inspiring.
(Oh, and let me just say: NBC's tape-delay entered the ludicrous stage with that race. The result happened 12 hours earlier, but NBC is acting like it's 1992 -- pre-Internet age. So many fans knew what happened, it was an insult to our intelligence. It's a Saturday -- fans are home. Why not show the race live in the morning, then -- in primetime -- bring Bolt to the studio to give us his "Director's Cut" of his performance, breaking it down from every angle? Cripes: Is this so hard?)
OK, back in the real world of, um, real sports: No, I don't really care that Brett Favre had a decent debut for the Jets... yes, I am kind of intrigued that Matt Ryan struggled in his 2nd NFL preseason game (with a shaky O-line, perhaps the Falcons should have skipped Ryan in favor of the more nimble -- and draft-bargain -- Dennis Dixon).
In MLB, I'm really more about the weird storylines around the league than the competitiveness in the AL Central: Like this non-story that Derek Jeter could end his career like Brett Favre? Like Jeff Kent scraping a new low by ripping Vin Scully? Like RA Dickey tying an MLB record with 4 wild pitches in a single inning? Now that's some dog-days fun.
Full SN column here. Next post scheduled for noon: Another sports social network?
-- D.S.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Sunday 08/17 (Very) Quickie: Phelps, Bolt
So Michael Phelps goes 8-for-8 on golds, and -- despite NBC's apparent interest in portraying him as a megalomaniac (projection much?) -- Phelps insisted on remaining admirably humbled and team-oriented, which just makes me like him better.
Meanwhile, Usain Bolt is ridiculous -- how can you not love a guy who not only kills the world record in the 100, but basically strolls in over the last 15-20 meters while doing it. I have never seen anything like that before in my life.
I don't begrudge him the mid-race preening: All the guy wanted to do is win Olympic gold; the world record was a bonus -- something he could have done at any old race. How healthy! The fact that he broke the 9.70 barrier (and not the quantum leap of breaking the 9.6 barrier, too) is only a bonus. But as far as sprinting goes, I'm not sure anyone has ever done it quite the way he has. (I mean, I had to re-DVR to make sure: He eased up to preen over the last 15 steps, a good 20 percent of the race.) That guy redefines fast. And it's not even his best event.
Dara Torres falls JUST short: You have to feel for her. She obviously was pretty devastated; you were never going to see Rowdy Gaines point out that Torres was out-touched after holding a commanding lead late, much as Phelps out-touched for his win in the 100 fly. So, Dara: Any chance you want to come back at 45?
Wow, USA Oops appears to be on a mission, based on the way they just dismantled Spain -- wasn't Spain supposed to be a competitor?
NFL: Brett Favre's debut was a solid one -- 5/6 for 48 yards and a TD (not much more you can ask for)... For those doing the comparison thing, Aaron Rodgers was 9/16 for 58 yards and 0 TDs -- that won't sit well with Packers fans... Chad Pennington: Pretty good solution for the Dolphins... Brandon Marshall owns Pac-Man Jones...
MLB: In battle of playoff hopefuls, Brewers edge Dodgers in 10... Marlins show a little signs of playoff worthiness, snapping the Cubs' 9-game road W streak... Classic Roy Halladay: Complete game win, over the Red Sox no less... Fantasy Stud: Albert Pujols (2 HR)...
Shawn Kemp joins parade of NBA stars going to play in Europe: Except for one thing -- this is awesomeness at its best.
-- D.S.
Meanwhile, Usain Bolt is ridiculous -- how can you not love a guy who not only kills the world record in the 100, but basically strolls in over the last 15-20 meters while doing it. I have never seen anything like that before in my life.
I don't begrudge him the mid-race preening: All the guy wanted to do is win Olympic gold; the world record was a bonus -- something he could have done at any old race. How healthy! The fact that he broke the 9.70 barrier (and not the quantum leap of breaking the 9.6 barrier, too) is only a bonus. But as far as sprinting goes, I'm not sure anyone has ever done it quite the way he has. (I mean, I had to re-DVR to make sure: He eased up to preen over the last 15 steps, a good 20 percent of the race.) That guy redefines fast. And it's not even his best event.
Dara Torres falls JUST short: You have to feel for her. She obviously was pretty devastated; you were never going to see Rowdy Gaines point out that Torres was out-touched after holding a commanding lead late, much as Phelps out-touched for his win in the 100 fly. So, Dara: Any chance you want to come back at 45?
Wow, USA Oops appears to be on a mission, based on the way they just dismantled Spain -- wasn't Spain supposed to be a competitor?
NFL: Brett Favre's debut was a solid one -- 5/6 for 48 yards and a TD (not much more you can ask for)... For those doing the comparison thing, Aaron Rodgers was 9/16 for 58 yards and 0 TDs -- that won't sit well with Packers fans... Chad Pennington: Pretty good solution for the Dolphins... Brandon Marshall owns Pac-Man Jones...
MLB: In battle of playoff hopefuls, Brewers edge Dodgers in 10... Marlins show a little signs of playoff worthiness, snapping the Cubs' 9-game road W streak... Classic Roy Halladay: Complete game win, over the Red Sox no less... Fantasy Stud: Albert Pujols (2 HR)...
Shawn Kemp joins parade of NBA stars going to play in Europe: Except for one thing -- this is awesomeness at its best.
-- D.S.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Saturday 08/16 (Very) Quickie: Phelps!
Just when you think Michael Phelps can't do anything more incredible than he already has, he makes his final individual effort the most exciting, gritty finish of any race I have ever seen.
That it earned him a record-tying 7th gold added to the excitement, of course; it wouldn't have meant as much if 95 meters into his 100-meter effort, he didn't look like he was going to lose out not just on the event, but history.
Tonight: The relay medly, which should be his unprecedented 8th gold and a coronation of sorts.
Meanwhile, while Phelps exhibits dominance across an entire sport, Dara Torres remains the most intriguing individual-event storyline.
How about the way she told the other racers to back off the blocks while one of them was having swimsuit issues. Then she merely put up the best time in the semis.
And now she's going to swim the anchor leg of the 4x100 women's medley relay. The issue -- it's a half-hour after her individual final in the 50; will her body be recovered?
Switching gears: If the 100 meter sprint is the headliner of the track events, it remains to be seen who will emerge from the Jamaican pair of Bolt and Powell to take gold. Should be fun either way. (Didn't want to spoil, but it's out there enough: Tyson Gay didn't make the finals.)
MLB: So much for the Astros' win streak; they couldn't handle Brandon Webb (and his MLB-leading 18th W)... the Cubs win their 9th straight on the road... 17 wins for Cliff Lee... Matt Garza!... Francisco Liriano!... Moyer vs. Maddux was kind of awesome, for the combined age alone...
NFL: The Titans may have beaten the Raiders, but all I care about is "6 carries for 44 yards" -- Darren McFadden's stat line. Oh, and Favre plays tonight. If you care.
NBA to Europe: Jannero Pargo goes to Moscow. It ain't Dwyane Wade going to Moscow.
More later.
-- D.S.
That it earned him a record-tying 7th gold added to the excitement, of course; it wouldn't have meant as much if 95 meters into his 100-meter effort, he didn't look like he was going to lose out not just on the event, but history.
Tonight: The relay medly, which should be his unprecedented 8th gold and a coronation of sorts.
Meanwhile, while Phelps exhibits dominance across an entire sport, Dara Torres remains the most intriguing individual-event storyline.
How about the way she told the other racers to back off the blocks while one of them was having swimsuit issues. Then she merely put up the best time in the semis.
And now she's going to swim the anchor leg of the 4x100 women's medley relay. The issue -- it's a half-hour after her individual final in the 50; will her body be recovered?
Switching gears: If the 100 meter sprint is the headliner of the track events, it remains to be seen who will emerge from the Jamaican pair of Bolt and Powell to take gold. Should be fun either way. (Didn't want to spoil, but it's out there enough: Tyson Gay didn't make the finals.)
MLB: So much for the Astros' win streak; they couldn't handle Brandon Webb (and his MLB-leading 18th W)... the Cubs win their 9th straight on the road... 17 wins for Cliff Lee... Matt Garza!... Francisco Liriano!... Moyer vs. Maddux was kind of awesome, for the combined age alone...
NFL: The Titans may have beaten the Raiders, but all I care about is "6 carries for 44 yards" -- Darren McFadden's stat line. Oh, and Favre plays tonight. If you care.
NBA to Europe: Jannero Pargo goes to Moscow. It ain't Dwyane Wade going to Moscow.
More later.
-- D.S.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Friday 08/15 A.M. Quickie:
Phelps, Nastia, Lochte, Ziegler, More
As someone who traffics in both instant history and superlatives, I'm struggling with what to do with Michael Phelps, if/when he finishes off his 8-for-8 performance this weekend.
Greatest Olympian ever? More than arguably.
Greatest athlete ever? Hmm...yikes. I'd say so, but I'm particularly shallow.
What is the appropriate superlative for Phelps: Better at his sport than any other athlete has ever been in their particular sport? It's a mouthful, but probably more accurate than G.A.E.
It's just too much apples-to-oranges: Phelps vs. Thorpe. Phelps vs. Owens. Phelps vs. Jordan. Phelps vs. Woods.
That particular argument might not even hold up: OK, so Phelps had 8 gold medals -- Spitz had 7. Is it THAT much better? (Given the competitiveness of today's landscape, most likely yes.)
Anyway, this is what we'll be considering after tomorrow, when Phelps goes 8-for-8 in golds (and probably 8-for-8 in world records) -- and that doesn't even count that he'll compete in 2012.
Here are the upshots, as I noted in the column: Isn't it incredible that we're even having this discussion? And don't you kind of want to know you're watching the greatest ever?
There's tons more in the SN column today: More Olympics, MLB (Ziegler finally gives up a run!), NFL Preseason (Toronto Bills are unbeatable!), the Mike/Mad Dog divorce and more.
More later. Don't forget to sign up for the football Pick 'Em challenges. (See post below.)
-- D.S.
Greatest Olympian ever? More than arguably.
Greatest athlete ever? Hmm...yikes. I'd say so, but I'm particularly shallow.
What is the appropriate superlative for Phelps: Better at his sport than any other athlete has ever been in their particular sport? It's a mouthful, but probably more accurate than G.A.E.
It's just too much apples-to-oranges: Phelps vs. Thorpe. Phelps vs. Owens. Phelps vs. Jordan. Phelps vs. Woods.
That particular argument might not even hold up: OK, so Phelps had 8 gold medals -- Spitz had 7. Is it THAT much better? (Given the competitiveness of today's landscape, most likely yes.)
Anyway, this is what we'll be considering after tomorrow, when Phelps goes 8-for-8 in golds (and probably 8-for-8 in world records) -- and that doesn't even count that he'll compete in 2012.
Here are the upshots, as I noted in the column: Isn't it incredible that we're even having this discussion? And don't you kind of want to know you're watching the greatest ever?
There's tons more in the SN column today: More Olympics, MLB (Ziegler finally gives up a run!), NFL Preseason (Toronto Bills are unbeatable!), the Mike/Mad Dog divorce and more.
More later. Don't forget to sign up for the football Pick 'Em challenges. (See post below.)
-- D.S.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
CFB/NFL Pick 'Em Challenge: DQ Readers!
It's that time of year: Sign up for the College Football Pick 'Em. As usual, the group name is Daily Quickie Readers and it's open to anyone. Sign up now! (And here's an NFL Pick 'Em group, too: Same name -- Daily Quickie Readers. No password needed, open to all. Oh, and this year WITH the spread.)
So The Chinese Gymnast Was Only 14?
My reaction remains: So what? OK, so it breaks the "rules." But if they'll let that David Archuleta-like British diver compete at 14, it seems ludicrous to restrict gymnasts.
Again, it's very simple: IF you're good enough to compete at the highest level, there shouldn't be any age restriction. That goes for basketball, football and baseball, too, by the way.
Again, it's very simple: IF you're good enough to compete at the highest level, there shouldn't be any age restriction. That goes for basketball, football and baseball, too, by the way.
Facebook Fantasy Football Via Jeff Ma
Jeff Ma is one of the smartest guys in online sports (and personally a great guy, too). I thought ProTrade was really cool, but when it didn't get the traction it was expected to, Ma pivoted the company as Citizen Sports -- focusing on the intersection of sports and social media. Sure, I could declare myself a fan of my favorite team via Facebook (one of their offerings), but the real potential is in interactive apps...like fantasy sports. Ma partnered up with SI.com (which desperately needed a fantasy footprint -- and the cachet of Facebook is a strategically valuable bonus). Good pick-up in USA Today about it. Definitely tracking... -- D.S.
UPDATE: Interesting celebrity-league opportunity here for one fan, too.
UPDATE: Interesting celebrity-league opportunity here for one fan, too.
Thursday 08/14 A.M. Quickie:
Phelps, Lochte, Toronto, LeBron, More
I think I am more into these Olympic swimming events than I was into the past, oh, decade of individual NFL or MLB or NBA seasons.
First of all, the broadcast last night was so Phelps-heavy -- despite the fact that he wasn't swimming in a final -- that I actually felt "Phelps fatigue" (Hmm: "Phelps Phatigue?"), perhaps even a backlash. That's the lead of today's SN column.
I love Phelps, but NBC is a little out-of-control. Everything was framed in terms of Phelps. Chris Collinsworth actually asked Jason Lezak if he primarily felt good about the 4x100 anchor leg because it helped Phelps earn another gold.
Cripes: As dominant as Phelps has been, Lezak's performance was more dramatic than any of Phelps'. To his credit, Lezak shut that down, politely-ish. I wouldn't have blamed him if he had said:
"Oh, go eff yourself, Collinsworth. Why are you even here? Football isn't an Olympic sport. Why don't you keep creepily snuggling up to Michael Phelps' mom -- 'a real man wouldn't shoplift the pootie from a single mom' -- and leave the swimming analysis to someone else."
Um, too harsh?
Yes, Phelps is THE story of the Olympics. He is shattering records and doing what no Olympian has ever done. We get it: He's the greatest Olympian of all time (and he's not even finished -- slated to compete in London in 2012). He might even be the greatest athlete of all time.
The worst is the way that Bob Costas and others continue to pimp the theory that Phelps cared more about his medal count than his team's win in the 4x100 freestyle relay.
On the contrary, what made it even more dramatic was precisely because Phelps didn't seem to care AT ALL about his own medal total -- he cared entirely about the team. Compare his reaction to the relay result to any of his individual events.
To present the signature image of the games Phelps' arms-out primal scream/muscular pose as a proxy for his individual success is to hijack the incredibly sincere, team-oriented (and country-oriented) moment that really defined these Games.
I'm rooting for Phelps. I want to see him win 8 golds, breaking WRs every time along the way. I want nothing more than to argue he's the greatest athlete of all time. I understand that it's easy for NBC to put a single face on the Games this year. But Phelps is not bigger than the Games.
Meanwhile, Ryan Lochte has the most monstrous challenge that any athlete has to face in the Games: Facing down Aaron Peirsol (arguably the greatest men's backstroke swimmer ever) in the 200 back, then 30 minutes later, facing down Phelps (the greatest all-around swimmer ever) in the 200 IM.
Lochte actually has a good shot at beating Phelps -- perhaps even beating Peirsol. But if he swims in the first race, there is no way that he beats Phelps in the second.
Phelps losing to Lochte would be the most startling moment of these Games. I'm not even sure that people won't be rooting against Lochte, who has the bad timing to be peaking in his career at the same moment as the greatest swimmer ever. Without Phelps, Lochte could be unreal.
Yes, I am suggesting that if Lochte wants to truly embody the Olympic spirit, he'll drop out of the 200 back and concentrate on upending Phelps in the 200 IM. (If Lochte swims in the 200 back yet beats Phelps in the 200 IM anyway, I take this all back and Lochte will rise to near-Phelpsian levels of awe.)
Again: Yes, I am really into the swimming events.
What: Like you want me to comment on Favre's arm fatigue instead? Phelps fatigue is so much more interesting, wouldn't you say?
I want to know if any Bills fans out there are very very very nervous about tonight's game in Toronto, and it has nothing to do with the Steelers. Don't think that they won't move the team.
Is Mo Williams really the missing piece for the Cavs? Shoals makes an interesting point: He could be the missing piece that keeps LeBron in Cleveland -- but that meme was bound to pop up after these past 6 weeks of "LeBron is as good as gone." Not sure about that, but I'm sure it gives some comfort to Cavs fans.
Finally, I just have to say that it no longer looks crazy that one game into the NL careers of both CC Sabathia and Manny Ramirez, I was touting them as potential Cy and MVP candidates in their leagues. If both keep playing like they did last night -- and their teams both make the playoffs -- I think it's a no-brainer. The only thing keeping it from happening is the delicate sensibilities of the NL beat writers who vote on the awards.
More later. Full SN column here. No, it is not the same as what I have just written.
UPDATE: Yes, I intentionally left out any reference to that weightlifter injury, which is -- correctly and in a way that I totally approve of -- being labeled the Worst. Sports Injury. Ever.
UPDATE: Much like Coach K during the Olympics, I totally and needlessly neglected Michael Redd in the SN column when talking about the Bucks' core group after the trade: Redd, Bogut, Jefferson -- with Joe Alexander a potential star and, frankly, Ramon Sessions as one of the NBA's most under-the-radar potential break-out stars.
-- D.S.
First of all, the broadcast last night was so Phelps-heavy -- despite the fact that he wasn't swimming in a final -- that I actually felt "Phelps fatigue" (Hmm: "Phelps Phatigue?"), perhaps even a backlash. That's the lead of today's SN column.
I love Phelps, but NBC is a little out-of-control. Everything was framed in terms of Phelps. Chris Collinsworth actually asked Jason Lezak if he primarily felt good about the 4x100 anchor leg because it helped Phelps earn another gold.
Cripes: As dominant as Phelps has been, Lezak's performance was more dramatic than any of Phelps'. To his credit, Lezak shut that down, politely-ish. I wouldn't have blamed him if he had said:
"Oh, go eff yourself, Collinsworth. Why are you even here? Football isn't an Olympic sport. Why don't you keep creepily snuggling up to Michael Phelps' mom -- 'a real man wouldn't shoplift the pootie from a single mom' -- and leave the swimming analysis to someone else."
Um, too harsh?
Yes, Phelps is THE story of the Olympics. He is shattering records and doing what no Olympian has ever done. We get it: He's the greatest Olympian of all time (and he's not even finished -- slated to compete in London in 2012). He might even be the greatest athlete of all time.
The worst is the way that Bob Costas and others continue to pimp the theory that Phelps cared more about his medal count than his team's win in the 4x100 freestyle relay.
On the contrary, what made it even more dramatic was precisely because Phelps didn't seem to care AT ALL about his own medal total -- he cared entirely about the team. Compare his reaction to the relay result to any of his individual events.
To present the signature image of the games Phelps' arms-out primal scream/muscular pose as a proxy for his individual success is to hijack the incredibly sincere, team-oriented (and country-oriented) moment that really defined these Games.
I'm rooting for Phelps. I want to see him win 8 golds, breaking WRs every time along the way. I want nothing more than to argue he's the greatest athlete of all time. I understand that it's easy for NBC to put a single face on the Games this year. But Phelps is not bigger than the Games.
Meanwhile, Ryan Lochte has the most monstrous challenge that any athlete has to face in the Games: Facing down Aaron Peirsol (arguably the greatest men's backstroke swimmer ever) in the 200 back, then 30 minutes later, facing down Phelps (the greatest all-around swimmer ever) in the 200 IM.
Lochte actually has a good shot at beating Phelps -- perhaps even beating Peirsol. But if he swims in the first race, there is no way that he beats Phelps in the second.
Phelps losing to Lochte would be the most startling moment of these Games. I'm not even sure that people won't be rooting against Lochte, who has the bad timing to be peaking in his career at the same moment as the greatest swimmer ever. Without Phelps, Lochte could be unreal.
Yes, I am suggesting that if Lochte wants to truly embody the Olympic spirit, he'll drop out of the 200 back and concentrate on upending Phelps in the 200 IM. (If Lochte swims in the 200 back yet beats Phelps in the 200 IM anyway, I take this all back and Lochte will rise to near-Phelpsian levels of awe.)
Again: Yes, I am really into the swimming events.
What: Like you want me to comment on Favre's arm fatigue instead? Phelps fatigue is so much more interesting, wouldn't you say?
I want to know if any Bills fans out there are very very very nervous about tonight's game in Toronto, and it has nothing to do with the Steelers. Don't think that they won't move the team.
Is Mo Williams really the missing piece for the Cavs? Shoals makes an interesting point: He could be the missing piece that keeps LeBron in Cleveland -- but that meme was bound to pop up after these past 6 weeks of "LeBron is as good as gone." Not sure about that, but I'm sure it gives some comfort to Cavs fans.
Finally, I just have to say that it no longer looks crazy that one game into the NL careers of both CC Sabathia and Manny Ramirez, I was touting them as potential Cy and MVP candidates in their leagues. If both keep playing like they did last night -- and their teams both make the playoffs -- I think it's a no-brainer. The only thing keeping it from happening is the delicate sensibilities of the NL beat writers who vote on the awards.
More later. Full SN column here. No, it is not the same as what I have just written.
UPDATE: Yes, I intentionally left out any reference to that weightlifter injury, which is -- correctly and in a way that I totally approve of -- being labeled the Worst. Sports Injury. Ever.
UPDATE: Much like Coach K during the Olympics, I totally and needlessly neglected Michael Redd in the SN column when talking about the Bucks' core group after the trade: Redd, Bogut, Jefferson -- with Joe Alexander a potential star and, frankly, Ramon Sessions as one of the NBA's most under-the-radar potential break-out stars.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Revisiting My Ohio State Conspiracy Theory
Remember that post two weeks ago suggesting that Ohio State could lose at USC and still find themselves in the national championship game after voters (cough! Herbstreit!) lobby for a rematch?
BCS guru Brad Edwards has at least a little anecdotal evidence to suggest we all have something to fear -- but other evidence that there is Buckeyes fatigue. Extra points for manufacturing a BCS debate in early August. Even I have to tip my cap to that one. -- D.S.
BCS guru Brad Edwards has at least a little anecdotal evidence to suggest we all have something to fear -- but other evidence that there is Buckeyes fatigue. Extra points for manufacturing a BCS debate in early August. Even I have to tip my cap to that one. -- D.S.
CFB Previews: Trip In Way-Back Machine
I filled out my first preseason BlogPoll Top 25 (more on that tomorrow). In reading that Chris Low piece on ESPN.com about Tim Tebow, I happened to come across this Mark Schlabach Hot/Hot list for College Football in 2008. It reminded me of this -- I was a handsome man...once.
USA Hoops Still Could Be USA Oops
Must-read from TrueHoop's Henry Abbott on the '92 Dream Team vs. the '08 Redeem Team.
It hits on something that has been plaguing USA Hoops at least since 2004 and seems to even today: They continue to run USA Basketball as a marketing initiative first, an a winning product second (even with the 3-year commitment and other various modifications).
If they truly put together the team most likely to win in international competition, it would have a much different make-up -- fewer superstars, more guys whose games translate. For god's sake: Jump-shooters. And the fact that their best jumpshooter -- Redd -- sits on the bench most of the game speaks volumes.
They should win gold, regardless. Unfortunately, a gold won't help fix the institutional issues. All it will do is enable the existing philosophy to thrive -- right up until the next iteration of USA Basketball loses in 2012. The rest of the world is only getting better.
-- D.S.
It hits on something that has been plaguing USA Hoops at least since 2004 and seems to even today: They continue to run USA Basketball as a marketing initiative first, an a winning product second (even with the 3-year commitment and other various modifications).
If they truly put together the team most likely to win in international competition, it would have a much different make-up -- fewer superstars, more guys whose games translate. For god's sake: Jump-shooters. And the fact that their best jumpshooter -- Redd -- sits on the bench most of the game speaks volumes.
They should win gold, regardless. Unfortunately, a gold won't help fix the institutional issues. All it will do is enable the existing philosophy to thrive -- right up until the next iteration of USA Basketball loses in 2012. The rest of the world is only getting better.
-- D.S.
Wednesday 08/13 A.M. Quickie:
Phelps, Hoff, AL East, Iguodala, More
OK, so at this point, the question isn't whether Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian of all time, but if Phelps will finish these Olympic Games as considered the greatest athlete of all time, period.
That's the lead of today's SN column, and I don't think the superlative is misplaced.
Meanwhile, Katie Hoff continues a string of disappointing finishes. Given that she finished 4th, waited an hour, then finished 4th again, is she too over-scheduled to compete at this level?
Speaking of this level, I can't get worked up over the underlying allegations that China is using underaged gymnasts -- underfed, yes. But underaged? Well, consider that plenty of folks questioned how old LeBron James and Greg Oden were when they were in high school. (Hmm: Nobody questioned Chris Drury's age. You connect the dots.)
Actually, if anything, I don't understand why it's OK for that 14-year-old British diver to compete, but it's not OK for a 14- or 15-year-old gymnast to compete. I say: If you're good enough to make the Olympics, it doesn't matter what age you are. (It's like the NBA: If you're good enough to play in the NBA at 18, you shouldn't be kept out by an age limit.) If nowhere else, shouldn't the Olympics be the ultimate meritocracy?
Meanwhile, you can see it coming: The Rays are on the precipice of folding (Longoria out with the broken wrist; Crawford out for the rest of the season), while the Red Sox are surging, winning games that can be labeled the wildest of the year in MLB. David Ortiz produces more points than Matt Cassel. I think we'll look back at yesterday as the Day the Rays Began Their Collapse. I hope I'm wrong.
Oh, and today is Madden 09 release day. I usually don't get too excited: I have a Wii and, historically, I'm atrocious at Madden. (I prefer the CFB '09 anyway, and the streamlined gameplay of Wii version is just my speed and highly recommended if you're a casual Wii gamer, like me.)
But I absolutely recognize that today has become, for many, a virtual sports national holiday -- in the Quickie two years ago (oh, in those glorious final-month throes before it ended), I argued that "Madden Day" was the biggest single sports weekday of the year, behind only the first two days of the NCAA Tournament. (New Year's Day, if it falls on a weekday, doesn't count.)
For those of you who care about Madden, enjoy the holiday.
Complete SN column here.
-- D.S.
That's the lead of today's SN column, and I don't think the superlative is misplaced.
Meanwhile, Katie Hoff continues a string of disappointing finishes. Given that she finished 4th, waited an hour, then finished 4th again, is she too over-scheduled to compete at this level?
Speaking of this level, I can't get worked up over the underlying allegations that China is using underaged gymnasts -- underfed, yes. But underaged? Well, consider that plenty of folks questioned how old LeBron James and Greg Oden were when they were in high school. (Hmm: Nobody questioned Chris Drury's age. You connect the dots.)
Actually, if anything, I don't understand why it's OK for that 14-year-old British diver to compete, but it's not OK for a 14- or 15-year-old gymnast to compete. I say: If you're good enough to make the Olympics, it doesn't matter what age you are. (It's like the NBA: If you're good enough to play in the NBA at 18, you shouldn't be kept out by an age limit.) If nowhere else, shouldn't the Olympics be the ultimate meritocracy?
Meanwhile, you can see it coming: The Rays are on the precipice of folding (Longoria out with the broken wrist; Crawford out for the rest of the season), while the Red Sox are surging, winning games that can be labeled the wildest of the year in MLB. David Ortiz produces more points than Matt Cassel. I think we'll look back at yesterday as the Day the Rays Began Their Collapse. I hope I'm wrong.
Oh, and today is Madden 09 release day. I usually don't get too excited: I have a Wii and, historically, I'm atrocious at Madden. (I prefer the CFB '09 anyway, and the streamlined gameplay of Wii version is just my speed and highly recommended if you're a casual Wii gamer, like me.)
But I absolutely recognize that today has become, for many, a virtual sports national holiday -- in the Quickie two years ago (oh, in those glorious final-month throes before it ended), I argued that "Madden Day" was the biggest single sports weekday of the year, behind only the first two days of the NCAA Tournament. (New Year's Day, if it falls on a weekday, doesn't count.)
For those of you who care about Madden, enjoy the holiday.
Complete SN column here.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Do August Injuries Affect Preseason Top 25?
So given the injuries in the past week to USC QB Mark Sanchez and Georgia LT Trinton Sturdivant, it begs an interesting question:
If you create your Top 25 rankings based on who the best team is right now -- not who will be No. 1 at the end of the season -- do the coaches and media have to adjust their rankings to account for these injuries, even before a game is played?
Is USC really a Top 3 team without Sanchez? Probably not. Is Georgia the No. 1 team without a key O-lineman? Arguably not. How about Florida without an NFL-caliber TE? Potentially.
The fact is: Georgia is not the same team without Sturdivant; USC is not the same team without Sanchez. Even without knowing the severity of their injuries (but presuming they miss at least the first week of the season, as is presumed with Sanchez), you have to change your preseason poll.
It certainly highlights how ludicrous the preseason poll is. (I personally make my preseason poll based on how I think they'll end the season, then adjust it after the first week based on on-field performance.)
But it is intellectually bankrupt (a not-uncommon quality among the AP, Coaches and Harris pollsters) not to re-do their preseason poll. We don't know how the teams will perform on the field, but we know how important the injured players are.
If we're ranking based on what we know -- rather than what we project for the end of the season -- I think that Ohio State vaults both Georgia and USC as the No. 1 team in the country. Until we actually start seeing some games on the field -- or they suffer their own major preseason injury.
-- D.S.
If you create your Top 25 rankings based on who the best team is right now -- not who will be No. 1 at the end of the season -- do the coaches and media have to adjust their rankings to account for these injuries, even before a game is played?
Is USC really a Top 3 team without Sanchez? Probably not. Is Georgia the No. 1 team without a key O-lineman? Arguably not. How about Florida without an NFL-caliber TE? Potentially.
The fact is: Georgia is not the same team without Sturdivant; USC is not the same team without Sanchez. Even without knowing the severity of their injuries (but presuming they miss at least the first week of the season, as is presumed with Sanchez), you have to change your preseason poll.
It certainly highlights how ludicrous the preseason poll is. (I personally make my preseason poll based on how I think they'll end the season, then adjust it after the first week based on on-field performance.)
But it is intellectually bankrupt (a not-uncommon quality among the AP, Coaches and Harris pollsters) not to re-do their preseason poll. We don't know how the teams will perform on the field, but we know how important the injured players are.
If we're ranking based on what we know -- rather than what we project for the end of the season -- I think that Ohio State vaults both Georgia and USC as the No. 1 team in the country. Until we actually start seeing some games on the field -- or they suffer their own major preseason injury.
-- D.S.
Tuesday 08/12 A.M. Quickie:
Rodgers, Phelps, Coughlin, Piersol, More
Names you'll want to know today: Aaron Rodgers, Michael Phelps, Adam Dunn, Angola.
Aaron Rodgers preseason debut as "QB1" for the Packers was a nice change-of-pace from Favre Mania. And you know what? Rodgers wasn't bad. It's hard to account for preseason performances, but he didn't embarrass himself out there, which is the first step toward acceptance. The expectations were likely so low that anything better than "sucking" would be a good start.
Rodgers' debut actually bumped the Olympics and the Phelps Watch -- which is like the Favre Watch, only enjoyable -- in the lead of today's SN column.
But Phelps is no less captivating: His WR performance in the 200 free was astonishing, given his (and USA Swimming's) recent history in the event. He just crushed it.
More interesting was Natalie Coughlin's 100 back. I'm no expert, but I could still tell she was off to an amazing start -- she JUST held on, and her face showed it. It's like a Costanzan leave-em-on-a-high-note strategy: "Thanks for the gold, folks. I'm outta here!" (She'll compete more, but this one was the biggie, going against Coventry.)
Aaron Piersol was simply awesome: He's not enormous like Grevers or the Ultimate Swimming Machine like Phelps. He seems relatively normal. He's just the world's best backstroke swimmer.
All that pushes the Adam Dunn trade down, but it is no less interesting than if it had been made a few weeks ago. (It's interesting to see a trade involving a productive player like Dunn happening after the deadline. Where were the strategic waiver blocks? Someone explain that to me.)
Last thing to mention this morning: It remains to be seen how bad this injury is to Georgia's LT, Trinton Sturdivant, but given the strength of that O-line -- for Moreno and for Stafford -- it could be a BCS-breaker. Between that and the Sanchez injury, Ohio State is looking very very strong right now.
Hmm: More on that later today. Full SN column here.
-- D.S.
Aaron Rodgers preseason debut as "QB1" for the Packers was a nice change-of-pace from Favre Mania. And you know what? Rodgers wasn't bad. It's hard to account for preseason performances, but he didn't embarrass himself out there, which is the first step toward acceptance. The expectations were likely so low that anything better than "sucking" would be a good start.
Rodgers' debut actually bumped the Olympics and the Phelps Watch -- which is like the Favre Watch, only enjoyable -- in the lead of today's SN column.
But Phelps is no less captivating: His WR performance in the 200 free was astonishing, given his (and USA Swimming's) recent history in the event. He just crushed it.
More interesting was Natalie Coughlin's 100 back. I'm no expert, but I could still tell she was off to an amazing start -- she JUST held on, and her face showed it. It's like a Costanzan leave-em-on-a-high-note strategy: "Thanks for the gold, folks. I'm outta here!" (She'll compete more, but this one was the biggie, going against Coventry.)
Aaron Piersol was simply awesome: He's not enormous like Grevers or the Ultimate Swimming Machine like Phelps. He seems relatively normal. He's just the world's best backstroke swimmer.
All that pushes the Adam Dunn trade down, but it is no less interesting than if it had been made a few weeks ago. (It's interesting to see a trade involving a productive player like Dunn happening after the deadline. Where were the strategic waiver blocks? Someone explain that to me.)
Last thing to mention this morning: It remains to be seen how bad this injury is to Georgia's LT, Trinton Sturdivant, but given the strength of that O-line -- for Moreno and for Stafford -- it could be a BCS-breaker. Between that and the Sanchez injury, Ohio State is looking very very strong right now.
Hmm: More on that later today. Full SN column here.
-- D.S.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Mike Vick to Play in United Football League?
This Vick-to-UFL rumor has a lot of intrigue -- and it's an obvious fit for the UFL, if they want a single-star marketing hook to launch the league.
But let me reiterate that any "minor" pro football league that strives to be successful needs to have a single simple policy, doubling as a marketing hook: No age restrictions.
-- D.S.
But let me reiterate that any "minor" pro football league that strives to be successful needs to have a single simple policy, doubling as a marketing hook: No age restrictions.
-- D.S.
Monday 08/11 A.M. Quickie:
Phelps, 4x100, Rays, Ryan, More
Wow, that 4x100 freestyle final last night was just about the most exciting sports event I have ever experienced. You don't have to care about swimming to have appreciated it; you don't have to respect Michael Phelps to know his celebration was THE moment of the Olympics. (Today's SN column leads with that.)
Here are the various qualities that were in play, any one of which alone would have made this race notable: Rivalry, star power, uncertainty (even underdog status) going into it (along with trash-talk from the rival), dramatic comeback, insanely close finish, over-the-top emotional celebration, records smashed and history made.
Combined? Wow.
Everything else, by comparison, comes across as kind of ordinary: Katie Hoff's loss in the 400 free should have been huger (same with Brendan Hansen's humiliation in the 100 breast). USA Oops' romp over China was barely a blip. I cannot for the life of me understand gymnastics' scoring system. What makes swimming (and track) so universally appealing is that you've got competitors, a finite goal and a clock. It may not be enough to get folks to watch any more frequently than quadrennially, but when it comes up, it sure is fun.
Meanwhile, let's not overlook that the Rays set a franchise record for wins, and it's only August 11. (God, it's going to be deflating if they don't make the playoffs.) Brandon Webb moved to 17 wins; Cliff Lee advanced to 16.
In the NFL, let's talk less about Brett Favre's penalty lap and more about whether Matt Ryan is ready to take over as a starting QB for the Falcons right now.
And in college football, UCLA QB Ben Olson's injury (foot, two months) might be more drastic than USC QB Mark Sanchez (at least the 1st game, but I wouldn't put it past USC to keep his status VERY close to the vest, particularly with the OSU game coming in September).
More later; complete SN column here. My biggest question about the Olympics is: How do you top what happened in the 4x100 last night? For sheer value in the moment, I'm not sure it can be topped. Obviously, Phelps' quest for 8 golds will build over the next 6 days -- this race last night was the one most in question on that. But for jump-off-the-couch value, this was as good as it gets.
-- D.S.
Here are the various qualities that were in play, any one of which alone would have made this race notable: Rivalry, star power, uncertainty (even underdog status) going into it (along with trash-talk from the rival), dramatic comeback, insanely close finish, over-the-top emotional celebration, records smashed and history made.
Combined? Wow.
Everything else, by comparison, comes across as kind of ordinary: Katie Hoff's loss in the 400 free should have been huger (same with Brendan Hansen's humiliation in the 100 breast). USA Oops' romp over China was barely a blip. I cannot for the life of me understand gymnastics' scoring system. What makes swimming (and track) so universally appealing is that you've got competitors, a finite goal and a clock. It may not be enough to get folks to watch any more frequently than quadrennially, but when it comes up, it sure is fun.
Meanwhile, let's not overlook that the Rays set a franchise record for wins, and it's only August 11. (God, it's going to be deflating if they don't make the playoffs.) Brandon Webb moved to 17 wins; Cliff Lee advanced to 16.
In the NFL, let's talk less about Brett Favre's penalty lap and more about whether Matt Ryan is ready to take over as a starting QB for the Falcons right now.
And in college football, UCLA QB Ben Olson's injury (foot, two months) might be more drastic than USC QB Mark Sanchez (at least the 1st game, but I wouldn't put it past USC to keep his status VERY close to the vest, particularly with the OSU game coming in September).
More later; complete SN column here. My biggest question about the Olympics is: How do you top what happened in the 4x100 last night? For sheer value in the moment, I'm not sure it can be topped. Obviously, Phelps' quest for 8 golds will build over the next 6 days -- this race last night was the one most in question on that. But for jump-off-the-couch value, this was as good as it gets.
-- D.S.
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