Today's Names to Know: Tiger Woods, Erin Barry, Brent Barry, Eva Longoria, Tony Parker, Derek Jeter, Chris Bosh, Cam Newton, Felix Hernandez, Ron Gardenhire and Bud Black, Greg Oden, Reggie Bush, Bill Curry and More.
Tiger Woods vs. the Public: His PR campaign launched in a big way yesterday, with Tiger taking to Twitter (not quite "hello, world") and Tiger "writing" a Newsweek essay (which read like a well-edited college admissions essay). This morning, he is on Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio -- simulcast on ESPN2.
It's a big swing at rehabbing his image. I'll maintain that this isn't Lebron: People WANT to like Tiger... they will simply never be able to get it out of their heads the jaw-dropping extent of his philandering. It wasn't the cheating; it was the excess, the lack of self-control that he had built his brand on.
(But just like LeBron -- even moreso, actually -- Tiger more than anything needs to just WIN. That he had such a terrible 2010 season compounded his problems by taking the fallibility of his personal life and making it professional.)
Tony Parker vs. Eva Longoria: TP is getting divorced by Eva. Who didn't see this coming when they first got together? (He had a Spurs-leading 21 points last night in a win over D-Rose and the Bulls.)
The "other woman" whose texts Eva found on Tony's phone were apparently Erin Barry, wife of Brent Barry. Erin Barry is currently the No. 1-trending topic on the Web and about to enter the celebuclysm gossip-grinder. Erin has NO chance against Eva; the "other" woman never does.
Guess that means Jon Barry won't be calling any Spurs games for ESPN. I would pay at least $100 for a live interview between Brent Barry and Tony Parker.
Chris Bosh vs. the World: Apparently Bosh wanted to make a statement that he was, in fact, not a bust, as previously reported: 35 points in a Heat rout of PHX. Then again, it's the Suns -- hardly the Celtics.
(That's the best part about this: If you love Bosh, you can use this game to bolster him; if you dislike him, you can say "Eh, talk to me when he plays big in a big game against a good team.")
Derek Jeter vs. the Yankees: He wants a 4+ year deal (or more!); they want to give him 3. Absurdly, we are still talking about an annual salary of $20 million -- which might seem reasonable in 2011... but in 2013? (Or 2014 or 2015, when Jeter wants the contract to run through?)
I'm with the anonymous source in this story: Tell him to take-it-or-leave-it. The Yankees need to be more aggressive and stop worrying about alienating fans. In the same way they can say "Like Jeter is going to want to play elsewhere?" they can say "Like Yankees fans are going to dump the team for not bending to Jeter's demands?"
(Actually, that someone within the Yankees is using ESPNNewYork.com as a platform shows that the team is moving in the direction of backing Jeter into a corner.)
Cam Newton vs. the NCAA: So another booster says a guy saying he represented Cam Newton's dad presented him with a payment demand -- via text, no less. Virtual paper trail! (Of course, the text message is lost in an old cell phone that was "damaged.") Feels like a lot of the same as two weeks ago. (Now: This FBI interest in Auburn? Much more intriguing.)
Felix Hernandez vs. CC Sabathia: Mystifyingly, I keep getting the date of the AL Cy announcement wrong. It's TODAY. One thing remains consistent: Let's hope it is King Felix who wins.
MLB Managers of the Year: Ron Gardenhire of the Twins and Bud Black of the Padres (in a close one over the Reds' Dusty Baker).
Greg Oden's season is over: Again. (Or, should I say: Again again again.) I hope he can rehab the rest of the year, get signed by a new team and have a mildly productive career.
More NBA: Yet another huge, validating win for the Hornets: This time over the Mavs.
CBB Last Night: Highly touted Tennessee frosh Tobias Harris had 15 in the Vols' near-miss against Missouri State.
NFL Midweek: Reggie Bush will apparently play this weekend. Meh: How's Mike Vick looking??? (Because, of course, Vick is -- by far -- the most must-see player in the NFL right now.)
MLB Quarterly Meetings of GMs and Owners: The expanded playoff field seems to be fairly contentious, but balancing the schedule so the Orioles, Rays and Jays don't have to play the Red Sox and Yankees so many more times in a season than the rest of the AL seems to have some traction; the key is that GMs on those teams seem ready to forego revenue in exchange for a better chance to have a playoff-contending record. (We'll see what their owners have to say.)
CFB Tonight: Alabama in prime time -- but it's not quite the season they thought they would be having, not just out of the national-title picture, but out of the SEC West picture, too. Their lone remaining challenge is ruining Auburn's season next weekend. Tonight, they get to give 1-AA expansion franchise Georgia State a huge level of national promotion. GSU has aspirations of joining 1-A (and the potential to do it).
-- D.S.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Must-See: "Like a Bosh"
I rarely embed videos, but this one totally earned it. Via the brilliant folks at The Basketball Jones, the new hit hip-hop single, "Like a Bosh":
TBJ exclusive: Like A Bosh from The Basketball Jones on Vimeo.
11/17 Quickie: Zags, Roy, Felix, Rose
Wow, that ESPN college hoops marathon was something awesome, wasn't it? The most interesting things that happened:
*Gonzaga lost at home (!) to San Diego State. As is my method/problem, I have already filed this away and will undoubtedly give SDSU an extra bracket win in March because of this.
*Butler '10-'11 ain't Butler '09-'10: To be fair, Louisville is pretty good, but what got the Bulldogs into the title game was D, and they didn't show much last night.
*Florida '10-'11 is kinda the same as Florida '09-'10: Improved, but just not good enough to hang with the elites. OSU's Jared Sullinger (26 and 10) > UNC's Harrison Barnes.
*Good, Tournament-quality win for Kansas State over Virginia Tech (discounted slightly because K-State was playing at home, but it was decisive).
*Duke and Michigan State roll: And they are clearly the country's Top 2 teams. I love the Delvon Roe storyline, where he acted in a performance of "As You Like It" 2 hours before tip-off.
80: No. 1 UConn women slip past No. 2 Baylor -- what an awesome early-season match-up -- to win their 80th straight. The UCLA dynasty is going down, with 100 in sight.
MLB Awards: Roy Halladay wins the NL Cy, most notably because it was unanimous -- not even a single contrarian dissent for, say, Adam Wainwright? (Fine by me.)
Today: King Felix for AL Cy? It would follow up last year's Greinke's FIP-driven Cy to represent the greatest breakthrough in individual-award voting in the history of MLB awards.
MLB Hot Stove: Braves trade for Dan Uggla. The Braves' limp lineup needs the pop, and the Marlins avoid paying Uggla more than the $48 million (over 4 years) they reportedly offered.
McNabb Update: After all that hysteria on Monday afternoon, if the Redskins cut Donovan McNabb after this season, they only owe him $3.75M. Welcome, Ryan Mallett.
NBA Last Night: Derrick Rose continues to assert himself as a new addition to the NBA's A-list of stars, dropping 33 on the Rockets in a Bulls win. (More: Lakers get off the schneid!)
Carmelo vs. the Knicks: Let's say this much -- if Carmelo wasn't on the Nuggets and was on the Knicks, chances are Denver wouldn't have beaten New York by 2 last night. Whatever.
Must-Listen: Tiger on Mike & Mike tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. ET. Will be interesting to see how tough (but fair) the questions are. Don't think Tiger would do it if it would be a grilling.
-- D.S.
*Gonzaga lost at home (!) to San Diego State. As is my method/problem, I have already filed this away and will undoubtedly give SDSU an extra bracket win in March because of this.
*Butler '10-'11 ain't Butler '09-'10: To be fair, Louisville is pretty good, but what got the Bulldogs into the title game was D, and they didn't show much last night.
*Florida '10-'11 is kinda the same as Florida '09-'10: Improved, but just not good enough to hang with the elites. OSU's Jared Sullinger (26 and 10) > UNC's Harrison Barnes.
*Good, Tournament-quality win for Kansas State over Virginia Tech (discounted slightly because K-State was playing at home, but it was decisive).
*Duke and Michigan State roll: And they are clearly the country's Top 2 teams. I love the Delvon Roe storyline, where he acted in a performance of "As You Like It" 2 hours before tip-off.
80: No. 1 UConn women slip past No. 2 Baylor -- what an awesome early-season match-up -- to win their 80th straight. The UCLA dynasty is going down, with 100 in sight.
MLB Awards: Roy Halladay wins the NL Cy, most notably because it was unanimous -- not even a single contrarian dissent for, say, Adam Wainwright? (Fine by me.)
Today: King Felix for AL Cy? It would follow up last year's Greinke's FIP-driven Cy to represent the greatest breakthrough in individual-award voting in the history of MLB awards.
MLB Hot Stove: Braves trade for Dan Uggla. The Braves' limp lineup needs the pop, and the Marlins avoid paying Uggla more than the $48 million (over 4 years) they reportedly offered.
McNabb Update: After all that hysteria on Monday afternoon, if the Redskins cut Donovan McNabb after this season, they only owe him $3.75M. Welcome, Ryan Mallett.
NBA Last Night: Derrick Rose continues to assert himself as a new addition to the NBA's A-list of stars, dropping 33 on the Rockets in a Bulls win. (More: Lakers get off the schneid!)
Carmelo vs. the Knicks: Let's say this much -- if Carmelo wasn't on the Nuggets and was on the Knicks, chances are Denver wouldn't have beaten New York by 2 last night. Whatever.
Must-Listen: Tiger on Mike & Mike tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. ET. Will be interesting to see how tough (but fair) the questions are. Don't think Tiger would do it if it would be a grilling.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Sports Media Conf: On the Scene
Twelve years ago, as a relatively young online-sports-media person (although I was on my 3rd or 4th company by then), I snuck into the very first Sports Media and Technology conference. Today, I'm at the conference, legitimately credentialed to cover it for Darren Rovell's CNBC blog (but obviously with plenty of other things to talk about with people). I just filed a post about the future of the NCAA Tournament that I hope you might like. Two words: March Barkley.
11/16 Quickie: It's Mike Vick's World
Today's Names to Know: Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, Buster Posey, Felix Hernandez, Roy Halladay, Jason Terry, Kevin Durant, Deron Williams, Steve Lavin, Jacob Pullen, Billy Donovan, Brad Stevens, College Hoops Marathon and More.
Just an aside: I love ESPN's 24-hour hoops marathon. I don't even care who is on -- just that I can get up at 5 a.m. (or anytime today), flick on the TV and see live college basketball.
Mike Vick wins Monday: That 1st quarter (and 1st play of the 2nd) was unreal. And here's a first: Vick became the first player EVER to throw for 300+ yards, rush for 50+, throw for 4 TDs and rush for 2 TDs in a single game. It was the most dominating performance by a single player of the NFL season -- and a pretty good snapshot of why Vick should be a legit MVP candidate.
Did Vick put up the best individual performance in Monday Night Football history? That's quite a claim, covering 30+ years. That one Bo Jackson game comes to mind -- and yet Vick's game felt more spectacular (certainly given how much was compressed into the opening quarter).
It is hard to find the superlative to assign to what he did last night, but there is no longer any question that Vick's resurgence this season is the No. 1 player storyline of the season. If it's not too late to finalize a vote for midseason MVP (it is), I'm going with Vick.
You might even say Vick "refudiated" his critics. (a: Can't believe that was the Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Year. b: Yes, I can. c: Speaking of the Palins, Bristol is totally advancing tonight on DWTS. Not that I voted. Or watch. But still.)
...versus Donovan McNabb: Vick's game was all the more entertaining because it came on the same day McNabb secured his own jaw-dropping number, a new 5-year contract with $40 million guaranteed (escalating much higher if he meets all the incentives). It prompted a flurry of "WTF?" and, given the Redskins' season so far, rightfully so. Was the team under pressure to sign him immediately? Do they really think McNabb is the answer for the long-term? (And I say that as someone who likes McNabb.)
MLB Awards: Buster Posey wins NL ROY (as mostly expected) and Neftali Feliz won AL ROY (as entirely expected).
Today: Cy Young, and most of the award-season drama, to see if voters recognize that Felix Hernandez was the best pitcher in the AL this season, regardless of his record. (The NL seems much more settled, with Roy Halladay as the clear favorite -- as he has been since the moment he joined the league.)
NBA Last Night: The Hornets finally lose, taking their first defeat in Dallas (big win for the Mavs, who are setting themselves up for another in their annual big-regular-season-only-to-lose-in-the-playoffs run)... Great shoot-out between Kevin Durant (30) and Deron Williams (31) in a Thunder win over the (previously) hot Jazz, who had won 5 in a row.
More CBB: Tough start for the Steve Lavin Era at St. John's, which took a loss at fiesty St. Mary's -- a rough game to debut an "era" with.
CBB Marathon: Things really pick up at 4, with VA Tech-Kansas State, followed by Ohio State-Florida at 6, followed by Butler-Louisville at 8. (Duke is on ESPNU at 7:30 if you're curious to watch them.)
TV Ratings: Cowboys-Giants are new NFL standard-setter. In a season where the NFL just keeps putting up crazy numbers of viewers, we had the biggest game yet -- the Cowboys' blowout win over the Giants was the most-watched game of the season.
(It makes sense: Dallas is the league's most popular team; the Giants drive a ton of audience in the league's biggest market. What is interesting is that it wasn't a primetime game, but "only" the late-afternoon game. And not even competitive.)
Seriously, though: Michael Vick....
-- D.S.
Just an aside: I love ESPN's 24-hour hoops marathon. I don't even care who is on -- just that I can get up at 5 a.m. (or anytime today), flick on the TV and see live college basketball.
Mike Vick wins Monday: That 1st quarter (and 1st play of the 2nd) was unreal. And here's a first: Vick became the first player EVER to throw for 300+ yards, rush for 50+, throw for 4 TDs and rush for 2 TDs in a single game. It was the most dominating performance by a single player of the NFL season -- and a pretty good snapshot of why Vick should be a legit MVP candidate.
Did Vick put up the best individual performance in Monday Night Football history? That's quite a claim, covering 30+ years. That one Bo Jackson game comes to mind -- and yet Vick's game felt more spectacular (certainly given how much was compressed into the opening quarter).
It is hard to find the superlative to assign to what he did last night, but there is no longer any question that Vick's resurgence this season is the No. 1 player storyline of the season. If it's not too late to finalize a vote for midseason MVP (it is), I'm going with Vick.
You might even say Vick "refudiated" his critics. (a: Can't believe that was the Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Year. b: Yes, I can. c: Speaking of the Palins, Bristol is totally advancing tonight on DWTS. Not that I voted. Or watch. But still.)
...versus Donovan McNabb: Vick's game was all the more entertaining because it came on the same day McNabb secured his own jaw-dropping number, a new 5-year contract with $40 million guaranteed (escalating much higher if he meets all the incentives). It prompted a flurry of "WTF?" and, given the Redskins' season so far, rightfully so. Was the team under pressure to sign him immediately? Do they really think McNabb is the answer for the long-term? (And I say that as someone who likes McNabb.)
MLB Awards: Buster Posey wins NL ROY (as mostly expected) and Neftali Feliz won AL ROY (as entirely expected).
Today: Cy Young, and most of the award-season drama, to see if voters recognize that Felix Hernandez was the best pitcher in the AL this season, regardless of his record. (The NL seems much more settled, with Roy Halladay as the clear favorite -- as he has been since the moment he joined the league.)
NBA Last Night: The Hornets finally lose, taking their first defeat in Dallas (big win for the Mavs, who are setting themselves up for another in their annual big-regular-season-only-to-lose-in-the-playoffs run)... Great shoot-out between Kevin Durant (30) and Deron Williams (31) in a Thunder win over the (previously) hot Jazz, who had won 5 in a row.
More CBB: Tough start for the Steve Lavin Era at St. John's, which took a loss at fiesty St. Mary's -- a rough game to debut an "era" with.
CBB Marathon: Things really pick up at 4, with VA Tech-Kansas State, followed by Ohio State-Florida at 6, followed by Butler-Louisville at 8. (Duke is on ESPNU at 7:30 if you're curious to watch them.)
TV Ratings: Cowboys-Giants are new NFL standard-setter. In a season where the NFL just keeps putting up crazy numbers of viewers, we had the biggest game yet -- the Cowboys' blowout win over the Giants was the most-watched game of the season.
(It makes sense: Dallas is the league's most popular team; the Giants drive a ton of audience in the league's biggest market. What is interesting is that it wasn't a primetime game, but "only" the late-afternoon game. And not even competitive.)
Seriously, though: Michael Vick....
-- D.S.
Monday, November 15, 2010
11/15 Quickie: Cowboys, Pats, BCS
Today's Names to Know: Jason Garrett and Jerry Jones, Brett Favre and Tarvaris Jackson, Randy Moss and Chris Bosh, Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady, Mike Thomas and Santonio Holmes, Tim Tebow and LeGarrette Blount, Boise State and TCU, Kevin Love and Moses Malone, Jason Heyward and Buster Posey, Mike Vick and Donovan McNabb, Eric Johnson and Jessica Simpson, Wrigley Field and College GameDay and More.
NFL Week 10 Thoughts:
*If the season ended today, Jason Garrett would be my Coach of the Year. If the only difference between the Cowboys of Weeks 1-9 and the Cowboys of Week 10 was the coaching -- and it's fair to say that is the case (particularly given that the previous Cowboys' regime had Tony Romo to work with, rather than Jon Kitna) -- then Garrett is a revelation that won't necessarily save the Cowboys' 2010 season, but will certainly set things right for next year. They made the Giants (playing at home, no less), look like chumps, rather than the team leading the NFC East.
*The Vikings should not bench Brett Favre starting now for the rest of the season, just because -- thanks in part to Favre being Favre and throwing 3 2nd-half picks -- they have no hope of making the playoffs and Favre has already claimed he won't be playing next season. Better to let Brett go out guns blazing -- and losing -- then snatch up a franchise QB in the 2011 draft, rather than sit Favre now (as hilarious as that would be) to give Tarvaris Jackson a couple of starts to give him a running start on next year. What next year?
*Randy Moss is the Chris Bosh of NFL stars: Lots of sizzle, zero steak. Moss's Titans debut was a dud. He didn't play well -- which wouldn't have mattered so much if the Titans hadn't also lost. (Perhaps even more remarkable is that the Titans KO'ed both the QB1 -- Chad Pennington -- and QB2 -- Chad Henne -- for the Dolphins, both for the season. It's Tyler Thigpen time.)
*Play of the Day: The Jags' Hail Mary to beat the Texans. Mike Thomas! (Runner-up: Santonio Holmes' game-winning TD in OT for the Jets? Otherwise, nominate your own.)
*Fantasy Stud: Rob Gronkowski, the Pats TE who was on the receiving end of 3 TD passes from Tom Brady, while the Pats offense rolled over the Steelers D and re-established New England as the team to beat in the AFC. (Yes, yes: Jets > Browns > Pats. Still....)
*Concussion of the Week: Hines Ward. (This is not meant to glorify concussions -- hardly -- but rather point out that we've gotten to the point that noting the biggest players who received concussions is part of the week's game coverage. Ward is as big of a name as it gets.)
*Tim Tebow: His 1st NFL pass was, obviously, a TD. He also ran for a TD, giving him 3 rushing TDs on the season (more than, say, Ray Rice) and 4 total TDs (more than, say, Andre Johnson). My preseason prediction that he would account for at least 7 TDs suddenly looks reasonable.
(But my vote for Rookie of the Year -- if given out today -- would go to Bucs RB LeGarrette Blount. Sam Bradford, the top overall draft pick, was SUPPOSED to be good. Blount was undrafted, yet in the past few weeks has turned into one of the most reliable RBs in the league.)
*You've got to kind of love the Browns. I appreciate that there aren't moral victories in the NFL, but the Browns taking the Jets to OT before losing -- this after beating the Saints and Pats in back-to-back games -- sort of feels like one. The Browns were never making the playoffs this year; that they are competitive with the league's elite should feel great for Cleveland fans.
*Hey, the Bills won! This should make the Lions feel like all the progress made this season has evaporated. (And they set the NFL record for most consecutive road losses.)
BCS: As I wrote yesterday, this weekend's performances by Oregon, Auburn and TCU were iffy enough that I restored Boise State to No. 1, with Auburn at No. 2.
That, of course, can change -- less from Boise stumbling (although they have two tough games in a row coming up) than from Oregon's limp performance at Cal catching up with them in Corvallis or Auburn's mojo running out against Alabama.
TCU -- dropping from No. 1 to No. 4 on my ballot -- was hit with a double-whammy: Its typically stout D gave up 35 to San Diego State and its win over Utah was neutered by Utah getting destroyed at Notre Dame.
TCU's new image problem has restored the original meme: The prospect of Oregon and Auburn winning out, with Boise shut out of what seems like a rightful shot at the title.
Watch Boise pass TCU over the next two weeks as the Broncos beat Fresno State, then Nevada -- the only part of Boise's schedule that even remotely resembles the kind they would face in a tougher conference.
Check out my BlogPoll Top 25 ballot: Boise and Auburn in the Top 2 slots.
NBA Weekend: It's kind of a shame that Kevin Love's "30/30" happened on a Friday night, because if it was mid-week, it would have gotten a motherlode of attention. For now, it will merely have to be the single-best individual performance of the season by any player.
Yesterday: Well, it turns out that the Lakers are plenty beatable -- all you have to do is hit 22 3s, like the Suns did.
(Speaking of the Suns, what a weekend for Steve Nash: One day, he is announcing the birth of his son, Matteo. Literally the next day, it comes out that he and his wife are divorcing. That can't be easy for either of them.)
Heat Watch: Well, it turns out Chris Bosh kind of sucks, doesn't he? Kind of makes you wonder whether LeBron and Wade talk to each other in secret saying, "Oh, crap. We kind of blew it with that guy." I'm not saying Carlos Boozer or David Lee would have been the answer, but they might have been better.
MLB Awards Season: Rookies of the Year. The contentious one is in the NL, between Jason Heyward and Buster Posey. I'd give it to Posey because of the difficulty of his position and the way he handled that pitching staff down the stretch. In the AL, it feels like it is Neftali Feliz.
Pacquiao destroys Margarito: Cripes, that dude's face!
College GameDay will be at Wrigley Field next weekend for Northwestern-Illinois, but it's less about who is playing than where they are playing, obviously. Wrigley is to college football what the various stadiums have been to the NHL's Winter Classic -- the novelty of the venue alone makes it a must-see, even if you couldn't care less about the teams playing in it. Glad to see College GameDay gets that. Now, if they'd only move the game to ABC nationally.
CBB: Duke rolls in its opener. Yes, it was just Princeton, but it was foreshadowing of the style Duke will deploy all season -- fast-breaking offense and high-pressure defense. Kyrie Irving had 17 in his college hoops debut, the first frosh to start at guard for Duke since Jason Williams.
Tonight: MNF is Eagles-Redskins, and should be a great moment to compare and contrast the state of things for Mike Vick (up) and Donovan McNabb (down).
And at midnight, ESPN's brilliant 24-hour college hoops marathon tips off -- I'll wake up at 3:30 a.m. just to watch live college hoops, let alone the idea of eating breakfast or having mid-morning coffee while watching. Things get really interesting when Ohio State plays Florida, when Butler plays Louisville and when UConn women play Baylor.
(Oh, and UConn won its 79th straight game yesterday. They beat Holy Cross by 80. 80! UConn women are totally underrated for Sports(wo)man of the Year. If they duplicate last season's unbeaten streak, blowing past 100 wins in a row, I would hope they would get consideration for Sportspeople of the Year in 2011.)
Pop Culture: I honestly don't know who Eric Johnson is, but apparently he is dating -- and now engaged -- to Jessica Simpson. Remember when people cared about her? (Hard to believe, isn't it?)
Finally: CBS picked up Colin Cowherd's "life rights" for making a TV sitcom? Really? Let's not even talk about the woeful fate of "Listen Up" (based on the life of Tony Kornheiser) and let's just stick with the fact that the show sounds like a re-hash of "Becker" -- misanthropic guy goes through life -- which was not very good. Misanthropes as leading sit-com characters never work. It's like the working title should be "Everyone Hates Raymond."
-- D.S.
NFL Week 10 Thoughts:
*If the season ended today, Jason Garrett would be my Coach of the Year. If the only difference between the Cowboys of Weeks 1-9 and the Cowboys of Week 10 was the coaching -- and it's fair to say that is the case (particularly given that the previous Cowboys' regime had Tony Romo to work with, rather than Jon Kitna) -- then Garrett is a revelation that won't necessarily save the Cowboys' 2010 season, but will certainly set things right for next year. They made the Giants (playing at home, no less), look like chumps, rather than the team leading the NFC East.
*The Vikings should not bench Brett Favre starting now for the rest of the season, just because -- thanks in part to Favre being Favre and throwing 3 2nd-half picks -- they have no hope of making the playoffs and Favre has already claimed he won't be playing next season. Better to let Brett go out guns blazing -- and losing -- then snatch up a franchise QB in the 2011 draft, rather than sit Favre now (as hilarious as that would be) to give Tarvaris Jackson a couple of starts to give him a running start on next year. What next year?
*Randy Moss is the Chris Bosh of NFL stars: Lots of sizzle, zero steak. Moss's Titans debut was a dud. He didn't play well -- which wouldn't have mattered so much if the Titans hadn't also lost. (Perhaps even more remarkable is that the Titans KO'ed both the QB1 -- Chad Pennington -- and QB2 -- Chad Henne -- for the Dolphins, both for the season. It's Tyler Thigpen time.)
*Play of the Day: The Jags' Hail Mary to beat the Texans. Mike Thomas! (Runner-up: Santonio Holmes' game-winning TD in OT for the Jets? Otherwise, nominate your own.)
*Fantasy Stud: Rob Gronkowski, the Pats TE who was on the receiving end of 3 TD passes from Tom Brady, while the Pats offense rolled over the Steelers D and re-established New England as the team to beat in the AFC. (Yes, yes: Jets > Browns > Pats. Still....)
*Concussion of the Week: Hines Ward. (This is not meant to glorify concussions -- hardly -- but rather point out that we've gotten to the point that noting the biggest players who received concussions is part of the week's game coverage. Ward is as big of a name as it gets.)
*Tim Tebow: His 1st NFL pass was, obviously, a TD. He also ran for a TD, giving him 3 rushing TDs on the season (more than, say, Ray Rice) and 4 total TDs (more than, say, Andre Johnson). My preseason prediction that he would account for at least 7 TDs suddenly looks reasonable.
(But my vote for Rookie of the Year -- if given out today -- would go to Bucs RB LeGarrette Blount. Sam Bradford, the top overall draft pick, was SUPPOSED to be good. Blount was undrafted, yet in the past few weeks has turned into one of the most reliable RBs in the league.)
*You've got to kind of love the Browns. I appreciate that there aren't moral victories in the NFL, but the Browns taking the Jets to OT before losing -- this after beating the Saints and Pats in back-to-back games -- sort of feels like one. The Browns were never making the playoffs this year; that they are competitive with the league's elite should feel great for Cleveland fans.
*Hey, the Bills won! This should make the Lions feel like all the progress made this season has evaporated. (And they set the NFL record for most consecutive road losses.)
BCS: As I wrote yesterday, this weekend's performances by Oregon, Auburn and TCU were iffy enough that I restored Boise State to No. 1, with Auburn at No. 2.
That, of course, can change -- less from Boise stumbling (although they have two tough games in a row coming up) than from Oregon's limp performance at Cal catching up with them in Corvallis or Auburn's mojo running out against Alabama.
TCU -- dropping from No. 1 to No. 4 on my ballot -- was hit with a double-whammy: Its typically stout D gave up 35 to San Diego State and its win over Utah was neutered by Utah getting destroyed at Notre Dame.
TCU's new image problem has restored the original meme: The prospect of Oregon and Auburn winning out, with Boise shut out of what seems like a rightful shot at the title.
Watch Boise pass TCU over the next two weeks as the Broncos beat Fresno State, then Nevada -- the only part of Boise's schedule that even remotely resembles the kind they would face in a tougher conference.
Check out my BlogPoll Top 25 ballot: Boise and Auburn in the Top 2 slots.
NBA Weekend: It's kind of a shame that Kevin Love's "30/30" happened on a Friday night, because if it was mid-week, it would have gotten a motherlode of attention. For now, it will merely have to be the single-best individual performance of the season by any player.
Yesterday: Well, it turns out that the Lakers are plenty beatable -- all you have to do is hit 22 3s, like the Suns did.
(Speaking of the Suns, what a weekend for Steve Nash: One day, he is announcing the birth of his son, Matteo. Literally the next day, it comes out that he and his wife are divorcing. That can't be easy for either of them.)
Heat Watch: Well, it turns out Chris Bosh kind of sucks, doesn't he? Kind of makes you wonder whether LeBron and Wade talk to each other in secret saying, "Oh, crap. We kind of blew it with that guy." I'm not saying Carlos Boozer or David Lee would have been the answer, but they might have been better.
MLB Awards Season: Rookies of the Year. The contentious one is in the NL, between Jason Heyward and Buster Posey. I'd give it to Posey because of the difficulty of his position and the way he handled that pitching staff down the stretch. In the AL, it feels like it is Neftali Feliz.
Pacquiao destroys Margarito: Cripes, that dude's face!
College GameDay will be at Wrigley Field next weekend for Northwestern-Illinois, but it's less about who is playing than where they are playing, obviously. Wrigley is to college football what the various stadiums have been to the NHL's Winter Classic -- the novelty of the venue alone makes it a must-see, even if you couldn't care less about the teams playing in it. Glad to see College GameDay gets that. Now, if they'd only move the game to ABC nationally.
CBB: Duke rolls in its opener. Yes, it was just Princeton, but it was foreshadowing of the style Duke will deploy all season -- fast-breaking offense and high-pressure defense. Kyrie Irving had 17 in his college hoops debut, the first frosh to start at guard for Duke since Jason Williams.
Tonight: MNF is Eagles-Redskins, and should be a great moment to compare and contrast the state of things for Mike Vick (up) and Donovan McNabb (down).
And at midnight, ESPN's brilliant 24-hour college hoops marathon tips off -- I'll wake up at 3:30 a.m. just to watch live college hoops, let alone the idea of eating breakfast or having mid-morning coffee while watching. Things get really interesting when Ohio State plays Florida, when Butler plays Louisville and when UConn women play Baylor.
(Oh, and UConn won its 79th straight game yesterday. They beat Holy Cross by 80. 80! UConn women are totally underrated for Sports(wo)man of the Year. If they duplicate last season's unbeaten streak, blowing past 100 wins in a row, I would hope they would get consideration for Sportspeople of the Year in 2011.)
Pop Culture: I honestly don't know who Eric Johnson is, but apparently he is dating -- and now engaged -- to Jessica Simpson. Remember when people cared about her? (Hard to believe, isn't it?)
Finally: CBS picked up Colin Cowherd's "life rights" for making a TV sitcom? Really? Let's not even talk about the woeful fate of "Listen Up" (based on the life of Tony Kornheiser) and let's just stick with the fact that the show sounds like a re-hash of "Becker" -- misanthropic guy goes through life -- which was not very good. Misanthropes as leading sit-com characters never work. It's like the working title should be "Everyone Hates Raymond."
-- D.S.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
CFB Hangover: Where I Turn on TCU
BCS Contender Watch: T-C-Ugh. The combination of TCU's shouldn't-have-been-so-close win over San Diego State and Utah's blistering loss at sorry Notre Dame means that I'm off the TCU-as-No.-1 bandwagon, probably for good. I'm overly harsh. That's just how it goes.
And while I'm impressed by Auburn's offense, their defense let Georgia shred them for most of the game. Imagine what Oregon or Boise State's offenses would do to them.
Then again, Oregon's offense was stifled -- by unranked Cal, no less. And so we can ask a similar question: Can you imagine what would happen if Oregon played an elite defense, like TCU's? Or a better offense, like Auburn or Boise?
We can complain about "style points" all we want, but the fact is that among unbeaten teams and among factors to weigh, how a team looks (and why they look that way) matter.
It is harder than ever to stack the Top 4. Every time I try to rank Auburn, Oregon and TCU, I find myself re-jiggering into every configuration. But I find myself ranking Boise State at No. 1.
That is unfair, mostly because Boise State plays an unfairly easy schedule. I find it hard to think about Boise playing a schedule like Auburn's or Oregon's and not having weeks where they don't dominate -- they would likely not make it through without losing. I do think that Boise has a tough two-game gauntlet coming up, against Fresno State, then at Nevada.
Honestly, I'm a bit stymied. I'm inclined to rank them
(1) Boise
(2) Auburn
(3) Oregon
(4) TCU.
For now.
*****
Congratulations to South Carolina on its first-ever SEC East title (not to mention its first-ever win at the Swamp). Spurrier's crew dominated -- that's probably an understatement. In a season of disappointments, Florida looked worse than ever. It was hard to watch.
Meanwhile, speaking of watching, it's hard to watch South Carolina freshman RB Marcus Lattimore -- who shredded Florida's defense for 200 yards and 3 TDs on a Herculean 40 carries -- and not at least nod to the notion that Lattimore is the best player in the country.
*****
Great win by Northwestern. I'm really bummed about the season-ending injury to Dan Persa -- he has been the most valuable player in the Big Ten this season (and definitely the best QB).
-- D.S.
And while I'm impressed by Auburn's offense, their defense let Georgia shred them for most of the game. Imagine what Oregon or Boise State's offenses would do to them.
Then again, Oregon's offense was stifled -- by unranked Cal, no less. And so we can ask a similar question: Can you imagine what would happen if Oregon played an elite defense, like TCU's? Or a better offense, like Auburn or Boise?
We can complain about "style points" all we want, but the fact is that among unbeaten teams and among factors to weigh, how a team looks (and why they look that way) matter.
It is harder than ever to stack the Top 4. Every time I try to rank Auburn, Oregon and TCU, I find myself re-jiggering into every configuration. But I find myself ranking Boise State at No. 1.
That is unfair, mostly because Boise State plays an unfairly easy schedule. I find it hard to think about Boise playing a schedule like Auburn's or Oregon's and not having weeks where they don't dominate -- they would likely not make it through without losing. I do think that Boise has a tough two-game gauntlet coming up, against Fresno State, then at Nevada.
Honestly, I'm a bit stymied. I'm inclined to rank them
(1) Boise
(2) Auburn
(3) Oregon
(4) TCU.
For now.
*****
Congratulations to South Carolina on its first-ever SEC East title (not to mention its first-ever win at the Swamp). Spurrier's crew dominated -- that's probably an understatement. In a season of disappointments, Florida looked worse than ever. It was hard to watch.
Meanwhile, speaking of watching, it's hard to watch South Carolina freshman RB Marcus Lattimore -- who shredded Florida's defense for 200 yards and 3 TDs on a Herculean 40 carries -- and not at least nod to the notion that Lattimore is the best player in the country.
*****
Great win by Northwestern. I'm really bummed about the season-ending injury to Dan Persa -- he has been the most valuable player in the Big Ten this season (and definitely the best QB).
-- D.S.
Friday, November 12, 2010
2010-2011 College Hoops Preview
I knew something would fall through the cracks this week -- and it was my sincere (if shallow!) attempt to preview the upcoming college basketball season.
You wouldn't think that I was the former college basketball editor at ESPN.com. Or that college hoops remains -- along with college football -- my favorite sport.
So let's get to the big question: Will Northwestern finally -- FINALLY -- make the NCAA Tournament?
(Wait: That's what everyone wants to know, right? Oh. Well, if you care, my prediction is like Lunardi's: They are the last at-large team in...earning them one of the new at-large play-in spots...and they are eliminated even before the Tournament "really" starts. Seems obvious.)
No, the big question is: Will Duke repeat? Start with this: This year's team is better than last year's team, although they will miss Brian Zoubek. A lot. When it matters.
Last year's team enjoyed a fairly friction-less run through the NCAA Tournament -- then ruined everything by not losing to Butler.
(Hayward's heart-stopping shot at the end remains one of the Top 5 indelible images of 2010, along with the Saints' onside kick, LeBron's awkward moment of Decision, the first goal by South Africa of the World Cup and... well, I'll figure that out next month.)
This year, Duke is good enough to get back to the Final Four -- although there's always the chance they'll choke on their own expectations, as they had a habit of doing for a while before this past March -- but they won't be so lucky as to avoid Michigan State this time.
Your champ: Michigan State. The rest of your Final Four: Duke, Syracuse and -- hmm -- Illinois.
Would love to hear the teams you think are going to make noise in March -- and your pick of champ. Duke or the Field? (And if you're taking the field, declare your champ.)
-- D.S.
You wouldn't think that I was the former college basketball editor at ESPN.com. Or that college hoops remains -- along with college football -- my favorite sport.
So let's get to the big question: Will Northwestern finally -- FINALLY -- make the NCAA Tournament?
(Wait: That's what everyone wants to know, right? Oh. Well, if you care, my prediction is like Lunardi's: They are the last at-large team in...earning them one of the new at-large play-in spots...and they are eliminated even before the Tournament "really" starts. Seems obvious.)
No, the big question is: Will Duke repeat? Start with this: This year's team is better than last year's team, although they will miss Brian Zoubek. A lot. When it matters.
Last year's team enjoyed a fairly friction-less run through the NCAA Tournament -- then ruined everything by not losing to Butler.
(Hayward's heart-stopping shot at the end remains one of the Top 5 indelible images of 2010, along with the Saints' onside kick, LeBron's awkward moment of Decision, the first goal by South Africa of the World Cup and... well, I'll figure that out next month.)
This year, Duke is good enough to get back to the Final Four -- although there's always the chance they'll choke on their own expectations, as they had a habit of doing for a while before this past March -- but they won't be so lucky as to avoid Michigan State this time.
Your champ: Michigan State. The rest of your Final Four: Duke, Syracuse and -- hmm -- Illinois.
Would love to hear the teams you think are going to make noise in March -- and your pick of champ. Duke or the Field? (And if you're taking the field, declare your champ.)
-- D.S.
Start-Up Watch: NumberFire, StatSheet
Intersecting my enthusiasm for sports, sports media and start-ups, let me briefly point you to two things from today:
*NUMBERFIRE: In the New York Times' Fifth Down blog today, they had a post about accuracy by leading fantasy football prediction systems (Yahoo, ESPN, CBS). I really recommend you check out the phenomenal little product numberFire (developed by a really smart guy named Nik Bonaddio), which has been out-performing the big boys all season long. And yet, numberFire was mentioned nowhere in the NYT blog post -- a gross oversight on the one hand, but to your benefit on the other, because if you know about numberFire, that means your league competitors do not.
*STATSHEET: Expert reporters and columnists? Fan-generated content? StatSheet -- out of NC and backed by $1.7M in investor funding -- is going another direction, building on massive volumes of data to construct -- automatically -- web sites, daily content and even game recaps for every team in every sport. (Start with their offerings on 345+ college basketball teams, an effort launched today.) The content reads a little stilted, but that strikes me as a solvable technology problem.
The product obviously scales -- and with all those pages (not to mention Twitter feeds), they will be readily available in Google searches. The question is whether fans of each team would turn to an automated system when there is so much content for each team produced qualitatively, by editors and writers. So as destinations unto themselves? Unclear. As a white-label supplement to larger publishers? Interesting. The point is that the company is being extremely creative in their approach, and nimble application of data is a huge deal. Companies playing in "Big Data" has huge potential in sports media.
*Unrelated to sports, a happy 10th anniversary to Josh Marshall and Talking Points Memo, which launched 10 years ago today. TPM remains one of my favorite companies of all time -- and a gold standard by which all media should be judged, both for its editorial quality and the fact that TPM was built from scratch for the online age and has, since, remained fiercely independent (and very successful). It's a hell of a milestone.
*Also unrelated to sports, there is a profile in the New York Times of Andrew Krucoff and Young Manhattanite. Old-school readers might remember this long-ago interview I did with Krucoff in his Young Manhattanite interview series. (It was back in 2004 -- a good two years before the blog launched. And check out the photo, which actually comes up regularly when folks do Google Image searches looking for a photo of me to use alongside coverage. I just read back the interview -- cripes, I used to be a lot more amusing.)
*Next week is the annual Sports Media and Technology conference in NYC. I can remember sneaking into the very first one; 12 years later, I'll be blogging a bit for Darren Rovell's CNBC blog -- media and tech a bit more in my wheelhouse than my last CNBC guest-blogging, about the sponsorship landscape -- not to mention talking with folks about the company I'm building. Should be fun. Time to dive back into development....
-- D.S.
*NUMBERFIRE: In the New York Times' Fifth Down blog today, they had a post about accuracy by leading fantasy football prediction systems (Yahoo, ESPN, CBS). I really recommend you check out the phenomenal little product numberFire (developed by a really smart guy named Nik Bonaddio), which has been out-performing the big boys all season long. And yet, numberFire was mentioned nowhere in the NYT blog post -- a gross oversight on the one hand, but to your benefit on the other, because if you know about numberFire, that means your league competitors do not.
*STATSHEET: Expert reporters and columnists? Fan-generated content? StatSheet -- out of NC and backed by $1.7M in investor funding -- is going another direction, building on massive volumes of data to construct -- automatically -- web sites, daily content and even game recaps for every team in every sport. (Start with their offerings on 345+ college basketball teams, an effort launched today.) The content reads a little stilted, but that strikes me as a solvable technology problem.
The product obviously scales -- and with all those pages (not to mention Twitter feeds), they will be readily available in Google searches. The question is whether fans of each team would turn to an automated system when there is so much content for each team produced qualitatively, by editors and writers. So as destinations unto themselves? Unclear. As a white-label supplement to larger publishers? Interesting. The point is that the company is being extremely creative in their approach, and nimble application of data is a huge deal. Companies playing in "Big Data" has huge potential in sports media.
*Unrelated to sports, a happy 10th anniversary to Josh Marshall and Talking Points Memo, which launched 10 years ago today. TPM remains one of my favorite companies of all time -- and a gold standard by which all media should be judged, both for its editorial quality and the fact that TPM was built from scratch for the online age and has, since, remained fiercely independent (and very successful). It's a hell of a milestone.
*Also unrelated to sports, there is a profile in the New York Times of Andrew Krucoff and Young Manhattanite. Old-school readers might remember this long-ago interview I did with Krucoff in his Young Manhattanite interview series. (It was back in 2004 -- a good two years before the blog launched. And check out the photo, which actually comes up regularly when folks do Google Image searches looking for a photo of me to use alongside coverage. I just read back the interview -- cripes, I used to be a lot more amusing.)
*Next week is the annual Sports Media and Technology conference in NYC. I can remember sneaking into the very first one; 12 years later, I'll be blogging a bit for Darren Rovell's CNBC blog -- media and tech a bit more in my wheelhouse than my last CNBC guest-blogging, about the sponsorship landscape -- not to mention talking with folks about the company I'm building. Should be fun. Time to dive back into development....
-- D.S.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
11/12 Quickie: Ryan, Randy, Ray, More
Today's Names to Know: Matt Ryan, Randy Moss, Ray Allen, Lakers, Kenny Rogers, Steve Spurrier, Travis Pastrana, Jenn Sterger, Brett Favre, Enes Kanter, Manny Pacquiao and More.
NFL: What a win for the Falcons, blowing a 13-point lead (including a would-be game-deciding TD with a minute to go), then coming back with a 65-second, 80-yard drive capped by a Ryan-to-Roddy TD pass to take back the W and stake a claim as the NFC's best.
NFL Week 10 Storylines to Watch: Randy Moss making his Titans debut... Do-or-die for the Vikings on the road (winless) in Chicago... Can the Browns (playing the Jets) make it 3 straight jaw-dropping upsets?... It can't possibly get worse for the Cowboys (can it?)... Game of the Week: Pats-Steelers on Sunday Night, for temporary supremacy of the AFC.
Celtics stymie Heat...again: There are two things to talk about here. The first is that the Celtics are pretty awesome -- Ray Allen (35 pts, including hitting his first 7 3-point attempts, plus lock-down D on Dwyane Wade) is a joy to watch -- and obviously have the Heat's number. It's only been two games this season head-to-head, but it seems hard to believe Miami could beat Boston in a 7-game playoff series.
Meanwhile, the Heat drop to 5-4, including two straight losses at home. Now, in those 4 losses, Miami has lost to the Celtics twice --hardly a sloudch -- plus the Jazz (obviously good) and Hornets (surprisingly good). It's not like they are losing games they shouldn't. That said: Are these games that Miami shouldn't have been losing? Their defensive effort is not in line with a would-be championship contender.
(By the way, as if this wasn't ludicrous to begin with, for the Heat to finish with 72 wins, they would have to go 67-6 the rest of the season. 6 losses the rest of the way? Yeah, sure.)
More NBA: Lakers lose their 1st of the season. Such a typical Nuggets win, beating the seemingly unbeatable best in the league and making fans say, "Why can't they play like this EVERY night?" (But say this for Denver: Even in the midst of the whole Carmelo mess, they can find the focus to beat the best team in the league. So much for maintaining modest expectations.)
Obviously, the whole "can the Lakers win 72?" meme is overblown. Who cares? The only number of wins that count is "16" -- the number of playoff wins it takes to win a championship.
Cam Newton, Cont'd: "It's not gonna be free this time." Yikes. Do you believe Kenny Rogers? Because now it's gone from John Bond's "I say one guy said another guy said" claims to Kenny Rogers' "he said, to me directly" claims. That's one less (alleged) degree of separation for Cecil Newton from "pay to play" -- and one more problem for Cam.
CFB Weekend: A slow weekend for the Big Four. Boise plays on national TV tonight, but featuring yet another WAC tomato can. (Frankly, the biggest part of Boise's weekend is rooting for Nevada to beat Fresno State.) Oregon is on the road at Cal; it's hardly a trap game. Embattled Auburn hosts Georgia. TCU hosts fiesty San Diego State.
The CFB Game of the Week is the only one with real consequences, a de facto BCS quarterfinal: South Carolina at Florida for the SEC East championship. The winner will play... well, let's presume it's Auburn (which may look very different in three weeks), for the SEC's automatic BCS-bowl bid (presumably the Sugar).
Travis Pastrana joining NASCAR? Forget IRL-to-NASCAR. This is the first X-Games-to-NASCAR jump, and it will be huge. For my money, Pastrana is the single-greatest X-style athlete ever. Prediction: He will be the most popular driver by 2015 -- if not a few years sooner.
Jenn Sterger talks to NFL: If she turned over all the text and cell-phone pics -- and the Deadspin leaks are any indication -- Brett Favre SHOULD be in some trouble. The only question is whether the NFL decides to bury it under "Nothing to see here"... and Sterger decides to release all the texts and cell-phone pics publicly.
Speaking of Favre, he continues to say this will be his last season. We should all be so lucky. (Although I think in a sick way, we'll all miss having Favre to talk about.)
CBB: Enes Kanter, Kentucky's stud incoming Turkish big man, has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA. It's a blow for Kentucky, which could have used him in its frontcourt. Presumably, he would have been a starter, and talented -- like NBA-1st-round-pick talented -- bigs are more of a rarity in college hoops than the star guard, which UK still has loads of.
(Here's a question: Can Kanter go to the D League? The draft was last week; how would he be assigned to a team? Could an NBA team that owns its own team -- like the Rockets or Nets -- claim him, then route around the draft process by calling him up to the NBA? Or is he entirely ineligible from going up to the NBA because he is not yet draft-eligible?)
Boxing pick: Pacquiao over Margarito in 3.
-- D.S.
NFL: What a win for the Falcons, blowing a 13-point lead (including a would-be game-deciding TD with a minute to go), then coming back with a 65-second, 80-yard drive capped by a Ryan-to-Roddy TD pass to take back the W and stake a claim as the NFC's best.
NFL Week 10 Storylines to Watch: Randy Moss making his Titans debut... Do-or-die for the Vikings on the road (winless) in Chicago... Can the Browns (playing the Jets) make it 3 straight jaw-dropping upsets?... It can't possibly get worse for the Cowboys (can it?)... Game of the Week: Pats-Steelers on Sunday Night, for temporary supremacy of the AFC.
Celtics stymie Heat...again: There are two things to talk about here. The first is that the Celtics are pretty awesome -- Ray Allen (35 pts, including hitting his first 7 3-point attempts, plus lock-down D on Dwyane Wade) is a joy to watch -- and obviously have the Heat's number. It's only been two games this season head-to-head, but it seems hard to believe Miami could beat Boston in a 7-game playoff series.
Meanwhile, the Heat drop to 5-4, including two straight losses at home. Now, in those 4 losses, Miami has lost to the Celtics twice --hardly a sloudch -- plus the Jazz (obviously good) and Hornets (surprisingly good). It's not like they are losing games they shouldn't. That said: Are these games that Miami shouldn't have been losing? Their defensive effort is not in line with a would-be championship contender.
(By the way, as if this wasn't ludicrous to begin with, for the Heat to finish with 72 wins, they would have to go 67-6 the rest of the season. 6 losses the rest of the way? Yeah, sure.)
More NBA: Lakers lose their 1st of the season. Such a typical Nuggets win, beating the seemingly unbeatable best in the league and making fans say, "Why can't they play like this EVERY night?" (But say this for Denver: Even in the midst of the whole Carmelo mess, they can find the focus to beat the best team in the league. So much for maintaining modest expectations.)
Obviously, the whole "can the Lakers win 72?" meme is overblown. Who cares? The only number of wins that count is "16" -- the number of playoff wins it takes to win a championship.
Cam Newton, Cont'd: "It's not gonna be free this time." Yikes. Do you believe Kenny Rogers? Because now it's gone from John Bond's "I say one guy said another guy said" claims to Kenny Rogers' "he said, to me directly" claims. That's one less (alleged) degree of separation for Cecil Newton from "pay to play" -- and one more problem for Cam.
CFB Weekend: A slow weekend for the Big Four. Boise plays on national TV tonight, but featuring yet another WAC tomato can. (Frankly, the biggest part of Boise's weekend is rooting for Nevada to beat Fresno State.) Oregon is on the road at Cal; it's hardly a trap game. Embattled Auburn hosts Georgia. TCU hosts fiesty San Diego State.
The CFB Game of the Week is the only one with real consequences, a de facto BCS quarterfinal: South Carolina at Florida for the SEC East championship. The winner will play... well, let's presume it's Auburn (which may look very different in three weeks), for the SEC's automatic BCS-bowl bid (presumably the Sugar).
Travis Pastrana joining NASCAR? Forget IRL-to-NASCAR. This is the first X-Games-to-NASCAR jump, and it will be huge. For my money, Pastrana is the single-greatest X-style athlete ever. Prediction: He will be the most popular driver by 2015 -- if not a few years sooner.
Jenn Sterger talks to NFL: If she turned over all the text and cell-phone pics -- and the Deadspin leaks are any indication -- Brett Favre SHOULD be in some trouble. The only question is whether the NFL decides to bury it under "Nothing to see here"... and Sterger decides to release all the texts and cell-phone pics publicly.
Speaking of Favre, he continues to say this will be his last season. We should all be so lucky. (Although I think in a sick way, we'll all miss having Favre to talk about.)
CBB: Enes Kanter, Kentucky's stud incoming Turkish big man, has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA. It's a blow for Kentucky, which could have used him in its frontcourt. Presumably, he would have been a starter, and talented -- like NBA-1st-round-pick talented -- bigs are more of a rarity in college hoops than the star guard, which UK still has loads of.
(Here's a question: Can Kanter go to the D League? The draft was last week; how would he be assigned to a team? Could an NBA team that owns its own team -- like the Rockets or Nets -- claim him, then route around the draft process by calling him up to the NBA? Or is he entirely ineligible from going up to the NBA because he is not yet draft-eligible?)
Boxing pick: Pacquiao over Margarito in 3.
-- D.S.
Sponsored Post: Going The Wrong Way
Your weekly update on my travails in the Blogger Football League, sponsored by Procter & Gamble. For background, see this intro post.
Didn't think things could get worse.
They got worse.
My opponent had the 4th-lowest point total of the league for Week 9. Unfortunately, I had the 2nd-lowest point total of the league for Week 9. Failure at every position.
Simply because my opponent gave me an opening, this was the worst week yet, and what started as a promising season as a contender has turned into an implosion.
It's not quite as bad as the Cowboys -- after all, I did start ragingly hot. It's more like the Vikings: High expectations, partially justified on the field, that just haven't worked out.
Ugh. Thursday night games start today, so don't forget to set your lineups, if you have any Ravens or Falcons players on your roster.
Check out P&G's Take It To The House page on Facebook. Be sure to look for the new contest where you predict the players who will have the top 5 rushing or receiving plays from scrimmage, and if you get them all, you win some insanely good prizes.
The P&G Blogger Fantasy League (BFL) is a group of 12 online sports folks competing on the NFL.com fantasy platform for the chance to win a donation for a local charity, furnished by P&G. The NFL Entities have not offered or sponsored the sweepstakes in anyway.
Didn't think things could get worse.
They got worse.
My opponent had the 4th-lowest point total of the league for Week 9. Unfortunately, I had the 2nd-lowest point total of the league for Week 9. Failure at every position.
Simply because my opponent gave me an opening, this was the worst week yet, and what started as a promising season as a contender has turned into an implosion.
It's not quite as bad as the Cowboys -- after all, I did start ragingly hot. It's more like the Vikings: High expectations, partially justified on the field, that just haven't worked out.
Ugh. Thursday night games start today, so don't forget to set your lineups, if you have any Ravens or Falcons players on your roster.
Check out P&G's Take It To The House page on Facebook. Be sure to look for the new contest where you predict the players who will have the top 5 rushing or receiving plays from scrimmage, and if you get them all, you win some insanely good prizes.
The P&G Blogger Fantasy League (BFL) is a group of 12 online sports folks competing on the NFL.com fantasy platform for the chance to win a donation for a local charity, furnished by P&G. The NFL Entities have not offered or sponsored the sweepstakes in anyway.
11/11 Quickie: Sportsman, Cam, Vets
Today's Names to Know: Sportsman of the Year, Cam Newton, Jazz, John Wall, Michael Beasley, Chad Pennington, NHL All-Star captains, Brian Cashman, Scott Rolen, WAC football, Dave Niehaus, military veterans (thank you!) and more.
In keeping with yesterday's not-necessarily-directly-off-the-news NFL midseason theme...
Sportsman of the Year nominees? SI has been running arguments from its contributors about who they would pick for Sportsman of the Year. It's an interesting choice this year.
I'm partial to Drew Brees, as a proxy for the entire Saints team. (On the other hand, how about Sean Payton, for calling the single greatest play in NFL history?)
I also would accept something related to the World Cup, given that it dominated this summer. Kobe is a pretty good choice, as is Butler basketball. How about Galarraga and Joyce? (Hmm: What about Zenyatta -- sportswoman of the year?)
However, if the criteria is the athlete that impacted the sports landscape most in 2010, I think there is only one who deserves it (and it would be an inspired -- if perhaps cynical -- choice by SI):
LeBron.
I cringe myself while typing it, but no one ever said that "sportsman" had to be positive. Who would you nominate and/or pick?
Thursday Night NFL begins: Ravens at Falcons. Another game many (most) of you won't see. That's too bad, because it is a match-up between two teams that seem headed for the playoffs. Baltimore is a top contender to win the AFC; Atlanta could very well win the NFL (anyone else look like they have a lock on it?). SET. YOUR. FANTASY. ROSTERS.
How about Cam Newton! Kidding, although you'd be forgiven for thinking the sports universe revolves around him, given the way he has dominated the news over the past week. The latest: Mississippi State reported the iffy conversations back in January (didn't we know this already?). The fact that nothing came of that either means (a) there's nothing there, or (b) the NCAA isn't looking very hard.
BlogPoll Top 25: The group vaults TCU over Boise into the No. 3 spot.
NBA Last Night: Jazz roll on. As impressive as Utah's win over the Heat was two nights ago, it is arguably even more impressive that last night, in a back-to-backer, they beat the Magic in Orlando.
John Wall Watch: His first career triple-double (19 pts, 13 assists, 10 reb + 6 steals) in a Wiz W. He's the 2nd player ever to have a triple-double plus 6 steals within the first 6 games of his career. (The only other one? Magic Johnson.)
Don't give up on the Beaz! Michael Beasley had 42 last night in a T'wolves win.
NFL Midweek: Chad Pennington > Chad Henne. Looks like the Dolphins will be in the market for a new franchise QB next spring.
NHL All-Star Format: Captains pick teams. If the Winter Classic -- the New Year's Day game held outdoors in a classic stadium not necessarily known for hockey -- is the best idea hockey has had in a generation for reaching casual fans, this might be second-best. The selection show is actually more interesting than the game itself, which is a pretty neat trick by the league.
MLB Hot Stove: Did anyone think that Yankees GM Brian Cashman wouldn't head to Arkansas ASAP to woo Cliff Lee? Feels more like confirmation of a presumption than news.
MLB Award Season: Scott Rolen -- an 8-time winner -- headlines the NL Gold Glove list. Not nearly as contentious as the AL version (or, more specifically, Derek Jeter).
Uniforms: Totally approve of the Nats' new uniforms. The focus on the "curly W" is exactly right.
CBB Signing Day: As expected, Kentucky cleaned up. Duke got a great class, too (headlined by Austin Rivers). Most notable: St. John's is considered to have a Top 10 class (Steve Lavin Effect), and Arkansas broke through, too.
CFB Tonight: I suspect that schedulers probably figured that Pitt-UConn would be a little bit more meaningful than it will turn out to be. Anyone outside of Pitt and UConn fans going to watch this?
CFB Expansion: The WAC -- losing Boise State -- will add Denver, UT-San Antonio and Texas State. I think Denver is an inspired choice (does the WAC get credit for UD's lacrosse awesomeness?), and you can rarely go wrong picking up football teams from Texas, even if they are lower-tier.
RIP Dave Niehaus, the Seattle Mariners broadcaster. Condolences to his family, friends and fans.
On Veterans' Day, a moment of sincere thanks to everyone who serves or served the country's military -- I know that there are a bunch of readers in the military now (and plenty who served in the past). Your effort and sacrifice are so appreciated.
-- D.S.
In keeping with yesterday's not-necessarily-directly-off-the-news NFL midseason theme...
Sportsman of the Year nominees? SI has been running arguments from its contributors about who they would pick for Sportsman of the Year. It's an interesting choice this year.
I'm partial to Drew Brees, as a proxy for the entire Saints team. (On the other hand, how about Sean Payton, for calling the single greatest play in NFL history?)
I also would accept something related to the World Cup, given that it dominated this summer. Kobe is a pretty good choice, as is Butler basketball. How about Galarraga and Joyce? (Hmm: What about Zenyatta -- sportswoman of the year?)
However, if the criteria is the athlete that impacted the sports landscape most in 2010, I think there is only one who deserves it (and it would be an inspired -- if perhaps cynical -- choice by SI):
LeBron.
I cringe myself while typing it, but no one ever said that "sportsman" had to be positive. Who would you nominate and/or pick?
Thursday Night NFL begins: Ravens at Falcons. Another game many (most) of you won't see. That's too bad, because it is a match-up between two teams that seem headed for the playoffs. Baltimore is a top contender to win the AFC; Atlanta could very well win the NFL (anyone else look like they have a lock on it?). SET. YOUR. FANTASY. ROSTERS.
How about Cam Newton! Kidding, although you'd be forgiven for thinking the sports universe revolves around him, given the way he has dominated the news over the past week. The latest: Mississippi State reported the iffy conversations back in January (didn't we know this already?). The fact that nothing came of that either means (a) there's nothing there, or (b) the NCAA isn't looking very hard.
BlogPoll Top 25: The group vaults TCU over Boise into the No. 3 spot.
NBA Last Night: Jazz roll on. As impressive as Utah's win over the Heat was two nights ago, it is arguably even more impressive that last night, in a back-to-backer, they beat the Magic in Orlando.
John Wall Watch: His first career triple-double (19 pts, 13 assists, 10 reb + 6 steals) in a Wiz W. He's the 2nd player ever to have a triple-double plus 6 steals within the first 6 games of his career. (The only other one? Magic Johnson.)
Don't give up on the Beaz! Michael Beasley had 42 last night in a T'wolves win.
NFL Midweek: Chad Pennington > Chad Henne. Looks like the Dolphins will be in the market for a new franchise QB next spring.
NHL All-Star Format: Captains pick teams. If the Winter Classic -- the New Year's Day game held outdoors in a classic stadium not necessarily known for hockey -- is the best idea hockey has had in a generation for reaching casual fans, this might be second-best. The selection show is actually more interesting than the game itself, which is a pretty neat trick by the league.
MLB Hot Stove: Did anyone think that Yankees GM Brian Cashman wouldn't head to Arkansas ASAP to woo Cliff Lee? Feels more like confirmation of a presumption than news.
MLB Award Season: Scott Rolen -- an 8-time winner -- headlines the NL Gold Glove list. Not nearly as contentious as the AL version (or, more specifically, Derek Jeter).
Uniforms: Totally approve of the Nats' new uniforms. The focus on the "curly W" is exactly right.
CBB Signing Day: As expected, Kentucky cleaned up. Duke got a great class, too (headlined by Austin Rivers). Most notable: St. John's is considered to have a Top 10 class (Steve Lavin Effect), and Arkansas broke through, too.
CFB Tonight: I suspect that schedulers probably figured that Pitt-UConn would be a little bit more meaningful than it will turn out to be. Anyone outside of Pitt and UConn fans going to watch this?
CFB Expansion: The WAC -- losing Boise State -- will add Denver, UT-San Antonio and Texas State. I think Denver is an inspired choice (does the WAC get credit for UD's lacrosse awesomeness?), and you can rarely go wrong picking up football teams from Texas, even if they are lower-tier.
RIP Dave Niehaus, the Seattle Mariners broadcaster. Condolences to his family, friends and fans.
On Veterans' Day, a moment of sincere thanks to everyone who serves or served the country's military -- I know that there are a bunch of readers in the military now (and plenty who served in the past). Your effort and sacrifice are so appreciated.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
PTI: 9 Years, 2000 Shows
A few weeks ago, PTI celebrated its 9th anniversary. Yesterday, it celebrated its 2000th show. (Well, sort of celebrated.)
That link is a good reminder that, like the best shows, PTI doesn't take itself too seriously -- even if it is, for my money, the single best sports TV show of all time.
(Actually, go further: I think it is the single-best NEWS show of all time, and -- without hyperbole -- one of the greatest shows in the history of TV.)
Let's credit a few things, all complementary: Leadership (that's creator and EP Erik Rydholm and the team of producers), talent (Tony K. and Wilbon), format (ground-breaking) and the mastery that comes with continuity (the group has stuck together the entire time, with no weird defections).
To have any one of those things probably leads to a good result. To have all of them is what has produced such a special product.
As I think about my own thing -- from the earliest thoughts about the Daily Quickie to my immersion in starting a new company now -- PTI and its team remain a model to try to emulate.
Congrats to them (and PTI fans everywhere) on the milestone(s), and here's to another 9 years/2000 shows.
-- D.S.
That link is a good reminder that, like the best shows, PTI doesn't take itself too seriously -- even if it is, for my money, the single best sports TV show of all time.
(Actually, go further: I think it is the single-best NEWS show of all time, and -- without hyperbole -- one of the greatest shows in the history of TV.)
Let's credit a few things, all complementary: Leadership (that's creator and EP Erik Rydholm and the team of producers), talent (Tony K. and Wilbon), format (ground-breaking) and the mastery that comes with continuity (the group has stuck together the entire time, with no weird defections).
To have any one of those things probably leads to a good result. To have all of them is what has produced such a special product.
As I think about my own thing -- from the earliest thoughts about the Daily Quickie to my immersion in starting a new company now -- PTI and its team remain a model to try to emulate.
Congrats to them (and PTI fans everywhere) on the milestone(s), and here's to another 9 years/2000 shows.
-- D.S.
11/10 Quickie: NFL Mid, Newton, Millsap
Today's Names to Know: Sam Bradford, Cam Newton, Paul Millsap, Derek Jeter, Keri Potts and More.
NFL at Midseason: The Midseason MVP candidates being thrown around are the usual suspects -- Brady, Peyton... Aaron Rodgers has broken through to the short list -- but in my dream world, we put unlikely players like Mike Vick on the list. Or LaDainian Tomlinson. Or Peyton Hillis.
There are two main storylines in the NFL each season: Teams contending for a championship and teams (or players) that unexpectedly overachieve (or underachieve). There is plenty of time in the 2nd half of the season to focus in on the playoff contenders.
For now, let's take a second to appreciate the renaissance for Vick and Tomlinson. The way Hillis has carried the Browns to the two of the most impressive wins of the season. The way the Chiefs are on top -- and the Raiders aren't sucking. The way the Cowboys have bottomed out. The whole Moss craziness. I don't know about you, but I love my NFL unexpected.
Added to that quasi-MVP list: Sam Bradford. Let's talk about that last one for a sec...
Before the draft -- and after the draft -- I gave Bradford a lot of grief, mainly skeptical that his flimsy shoulder could stand up to a week-in/week-out NFL beating, particularly on a bad team with sketchy WRs and an iffy line. Let me be clear: 8 games in, I WAS SO WRONG.
Bradford has played great for a rookie. More importantly, he has been able to start every game without getting injured (though I'll still contend it's a long way from Week 9 to Week 17). And his team is winning in ways they didn't a year ago. All with sketchy WRs and an iffy line. Sam Bradford: Midseason Rookie of the Year. And a big ol' mea culpa from me.
Who are your unconventional midseason NFL award-winners: MVP? Best storylines? Leave them in the comments.
Cam Newton, Cont'd: Well, the latest is that Cam Newton's dad and Cam himself actually talked openly to Mississippi State people about getting money to play. (It's unclear why these conversations didn't come up last week, or have dribbled out now.) It's interesting that MSU reported the conversations in January, but it didn't trigger any action. Circumstantial evidence continues to swirl in a tighter circle. Cecil Newton could use a good p.r. advisor.
NBA Heat Watch: One of the things about the Heat being THE story of the season is that teams or players who come up big against the Heat -- ideally, beating them -- get added cachet. It happened for the Hornets last Friday, and it happened for Paul Millsap last night, after Millsap clobbered the Heat for 46 points in a Utah win. (Wonder if LeBron and Wade would trade Bosh for Millsap straight up?) As impressively, Utah was down 19 at the half before rallying.
MLB Awards: Derek Jeter wins another Gold Glove. Really? (I'll go with the Fielding Bible Awards.)
College Hoops: Signing Day. Expect another big haul for Calipari and Kentucky.
Must-Read: ESPN PR exec Keri Potts, who heroically escaped a sexual assault, tells her story.
-- D.S.
NFL at Midseason: The Midseason MVP candidates being thrown around are the usual suspects -- Brady, Peyton... Aaron Rodgers has broken through to the short list -- but in my dream world, we put unlikely players like Mike Vick on the list. Or LaDainian Tomlinson. Or Peyton Hillis.
There are two main storylines in the NFL each season: Teams contending for a championship and teams (or players) that unexpectedly overachieve (or underachieve). There is plenty of time in the 2nd half of the season to focus in on the playoff contenders.
For now, let's take a second to appreciate the renaissance for Vick and Tomlinson. The way Hillis has carried the Browns to the two of the most impressive wins of the season. The way the Chiefs are on top -- and the Raiders aren't sucking. The way the Cowboys have bottomed out. The whole Moss craziness. I don't know about you, but I love my NFL unexpected.
Added to that quasi-MVP list: Sam Bradford. Let's talk about that last one for a sec...
Before the draft -- and after the draft -- I gave Bradford a lot of grief, mainly skeptical that his flimsy shoulder could stand up to a week-in/week-out NFL beating, particularly on a bad team with sketchy WRs and an iffy line. Let me be clear: 8 games in, I WAS SO WRONG.
Bradford has played great for a rookie. More importantly, he has been able to start every game without getting injured (though I'll still contend it's a long way from Week 9 to Week 17). And his team is winning in ways they didn't a year ago. All with sketchy WRs and an iffy line. Sam Bradford: Midseason Rookie of the Year. And a big ol' mea culpa from me.
Who are your unconventional midseason NFL award-winners: MVP? Best storylines? Leave them in the comments.
Cam Newton, Cont'd: Well, the latest is that Cam Newton's dad and Cam himself actually talked openly to Mississippi State people about getting money to play. (It's unclear why these conversations didn't come up last week, or have dribbled out now.) It's interesting that MSU reported the conversations in January, but it didn't trigger any action. Circumstantial evidence continues to swirl in a tighter circle. Cecil Newton could use a good p.r. advisor.
NBA Heat Watch: One of the things about the Heat being THE story of the season is that teams or players who come up big against the Heat -- ideally, beating them -- get added cachet. It happened for the Hornets last Friday, and it happened for Paul Millsap last night, after Millsap clobbered the Heat for 46 points in a Utah win. (Wonder if LeBron and Wade would trade Bosh for Millsap straight up?) As impressively, Utah was down 19 at the half before rallying.
MLB Awards: Derek Jeter wins another Gold Glove. Really? (I'll go with the Fielding Bible Awards.)
College Hoops: Signing Day. Expect another big haul for Calipari and Kentucky.
Must-Read: ESPN PR exec Keri Potts, who heroically escaped a sexual assault, tells her story.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
11/09 Quickie: Wade, Steelers, Hawk, Cam
Today's Names to Know: Wade Phillips, Jason Garrett, James Harrison, Dan Hawkins, Cam Newton, Tim Tebow, Stephen Curry, Dirk Nowitzki, Brad Wanamaker, Jordan Hamilton, Marcus Dupree, Joe Morgan and More.
Wade Phillips axed: This was an inevitability as soon as the Cowboys hit 2 or 3 losses this season... not to mention the Super Bowl-sized preseason expectations... not to mention last season's typical fizzle.
Jason Garrett won't be Jerry Jones' long-term solution -- and the speculation over who he might hire (Gruden doesn't seem interested; how about Cowher?) will make the rest of the season more interesting for the Cowboys than "another loss? ha!"
MNF: Steelers hang on. Two interpretations here: Either the Steelers went on the road and beat a motivated division rival, and it doesn't matter how they did it -- or the Steelers lack a championship instinct, having let the Bengals back into the game and one late 4th-down conversion from potentially stealing the game back. I'll begrudgingly stick with the former.
Matt Stafford out for year: Again? Ouch. You know, of all the problems I had with Stafford before the 2009 Draft, durability wasn't one of them. (That was supposed to be Bradford's problem; who would have guessed that Sam Bradford would be more NFL-durable than Stafford?)
Cam Newton Scandal, Cont'd: With the agent-asked-for-money-to-sign-him story fizzling, now the story is that he left Florida because he was academically cheating? There may be more substance there -- "athlete has tutor write paper for him" is hardly "man bites dog" -- but it lacks sizzle to make fans care. Possible cheating two years ago? Eh. (And the sourcing on the story is VERY iffy. Anonymous guy makes a claim with no evidence? Cripes, that's like a message board post. Hell: Rivals message board posts have MORE credibility than that.)
CFB: Colorado fires Dan Hawkins. Remember when Hawkins was at Boise State and was the eccentric dream coach of the media and fans? Turns out a larger program was a little bit too much for him to handle. He's out, after years of muddling through at CU. But he will surely land on his feet back at a non-BCS school and turn them into an unbeaten power within two years. (Either that, or Hawkins' success was all Chris Petersen, his successor at Boise who has had even more success than Hawkins.)
Media: Joe Morgan out at ESPN. I seriously wonder if he would have been kept around had it not been for years of high-profile erosion by the hilarious guys at "Fire Joe Morgan," whose site was never really about Joe Morgan as much as it was bad sportswriting. It is unrealistic, I guess, to hope that all sports-news organizations jettison their iffy analysts.
(Jon Miller is leaving the Sunday night baseball broadcast, too -- I grew up with Miller calling Orioles games, and I can't view him with any sort of objectivity. I hope he will stick around ESPN Radio to call the national game in that medium. Meanwhile, presumptive replacement Dan Shulman is the most talented play-by-play announcer at ESPN -- or in sports. Welcome!)
Tebow Watch: His memoir is coming out in April, which will have me kicking myself I didn't write my own Tebook last spring. Here's a guarantee: No. 1 New York Times best-seller and the top-selling sports book of the year -- same as Tony Dungy's book. (They share a co-writer.) As for the mocking about how much a 23-year-old could have done to earn a memoir, I think we can all agree that his last five years have had more than enough material.
NBA Last Night: The Hawks could never keep up the unbeaten pace, obviously; following their first loss, playing a back-to-backer at Orlando was way too much to ask... Big win for Dirk and the Mavs over the Celtics -- one of those wins that screws up the expectations for Mavs fans... Monta Ellis goes down, Stephen Curry (34 points) picks it up... Derrick Rose really has become unstoppable this season.
CBB Openers: Have to put together a shallow college hoops preview for sometime this week, but last night's openers had that competitive Pitt-Rhodey game that the Panthers won (Brad Wanamaker: 24 pts). I don't think it was an indictment of Pitt being overrated as much as it was a function of URI being a pretty good squad that would be tough for any Top 25 team to open their season with.
It's a lot easier to be Texas starting with, say, Navy. The only conclusion to draw about Texas after a single game is that UT's hoops offense is MUCH better than their football offense. (Jordan Hamilton: 26 pts, 10 reb for the likely NBA 1st-round pick.)
TV Tonight: Marcus Dupree. Apparently, the "30 for 30" doc tonight about Marcus Dupree is amazing -- one of the best in what has been an incredible series. Will definitely be watching.
-- D.S.
Wade Phillips axed: This was an inevitability as soon as the Cowboys hit 2 or 3 losses this season... not to mention the Super Bowl-sized preseason expectations... not to mention last season's typical fizzle.
Jason Garrett won't be Jerry Jones' long-term solution -- and the speculation over who he might hire (Gruden doesn't seem interested; how about Cowher?) will make the rest of the season more interesting for the Cowboys than "another loss? ha!"
MNF: Steelers hang on. Two interpretations here: Either the Steelers went on the road and beat a motivated division rival, and it doesn't matter how they did it -- or the Steelers lack a championship instinct, having let the Bengals back into the game and one late 4th-down conversion from potentially stealing the game back. I'll begrudgingly stick with the former.
Matt Stafford out for year: Again? Ouch. You know, of all the problems I had with Stafford before the 2009 Draft, durability wasn't one of them. (That was supposed to be Bradford's problem; who would have guessed that Sam Bradford would be more NFL-durable than Stafford?)
Cam Newton Scandal, Cont'd: With the agent-asked-for-money-to-sign-him story fizzling, now the story is that he left Florida because he was academically cheating? There may be more substance there -- "athlete has tutor write paper for him" is hardly "man bites dog" -- but it lacks sizzle to make fans care. Possible cheating two years ago? Eh. (And the sourcing on the story is VERY iffy. Anonymous guy makes a claim with no evidence? Cripes, that's like a message board post. Hell: Rivals message board posts have MORE credibility than that.)
CFB: Colorado fires Dan Hawkins. Remember when Hawkins was at Boise State and was the eccentric dream coach of the media and fans? Turns out a larger program was a little bit too much for him to handle. He's out, after years of muddling through at CU. But he will surely land on his feet back at a non-BCS school and turn them into an unbeaten power within two years. (Either that, or Hawkins' success was all Chris Petersen, his successor at Boise who has had even more success than Hawkins.)
Media: Joe Morgan out at ESPN. I seriously wonder if he would have been kept around had it not been for years of high-profile erosion by the hilarious guys at "Fire Joe Morgan," whose site was never really about Joe Morgan as much as it was bad sportswriting. It is unrealistic, I guess, to hope that all sports-news organizations jettison their iffy analysts.
(Jon Miller is leaving the Sunday night baseball broadcast, too -- I grew up with Miller calling Orioles games, and I can't view him with any sort of objectivity. I hope he will stick around ESPN Radio to call the national game in that medium. Meanwhile, presumptive replacement Dan Shulman is the most talented play-by-play announcer at ESPN -- or in sports. Welcome!)
Tebow Watch: His memoir is coming out in April, which will have me kicking myself I didn't write my own Tebook last spring. Here's a guarantee: No. 1 New York Times best-seller and the top-selling sports book of the year -- same as Tony Dungy's book. (They share a co-writer.) As for the mocking about how much a 23-year-old could have done to earn a memoir, I think we can all agree that his last five years have had more than enough material.
NBA Last Night: The Hawks could never keep up the unbeaten pace, obviously; following their first loss, playing a back-to-backer at Orlando was way too much to ask... Big win for Dirk and the Mavs over the Celtics -- one of those wins that screws up the expectations for Mavs fans... Monta Ellis goes down, Stephen Curry (34 points) picks it up... Derrick Rose really has become unstoppable this season.
CBB Openers: Have to put together a shallow college hoops preview for sometime this week, but last night's openers had that competitive Pitt-Rhodey game that the Panthers won (Brad Wanamaker: 24 pts). I don't think it was an indictment of Pitt being overrated as much as it was a function of URI being a pretty good squad that would be tough for any Top 25 team to open their season with.
It's a lot easier to be Texas starting with, say, Navy. The only conclusion to draw about Texas after a single game is that UT's hoops offense is MUCH better than their football offense. (Jordan Hamilton: 26 pts, 10 reb for the likely NBA 1st-round pick.)
TV Tonight: Marcus Dupree. Apparently, the "30 for 30" doc tonight about Marcus Dupree is amazing -- one of the best in what has been an incredible series. Will definitely be watching.
-- D.S.
Monday, November 08, 2010
Be Like Khosla: SBNation's New Funding
Regular readers know that I am a fan of sports-media start-up SBNation, featuring 200+ high-quality team blogs, regional hubs and a national portal, and led by Jim Bankoff and featuring some absolutely terrific talent in every department.
I'm not sure if "start-up" is the right word -- although I appreciate that the company still acts like one (in all the right ways). Financially, they are well beyond that: From the early days of Daily Kos' Markos Moulitsas and Ted Leonsis' seed investment to Accel Partners (which backed Facebook) to Bankoff's investment fund to Allen & Co (which has investments in a lot of top-tier media start-ups -- and often brokers their M&A) to Comcast (which has a vested interest in local sports media).
Yesterday, the company got another funding boost: $10.5 million, led by Silicon Valley A-list VC Khosla Partners (whose website's lead page features a quote from Michael Jordan) but also showcasing a positive signal from re-investment by Comcast and Accel.
This is a big deal, on a couple of levels:
*Resources: That is a large stake to push the pedal down in a couple areas SBN had already started accelerating: Ad sales (see the recent Samsung takeover on the site), distribution partnerships (Yahoo was a big one in the past year), technology (which is a widely underestimated core asset), editorial talent (like the regional editors), acquisition (like Spencer Hall's EDSBS). And ad sales. And, um, more ad sales.
The fact is: You have to spend to make. The company has had to (and still has to) spend on technology and distribution and talent to increase traffic, but also spend on more sales talent to tell the company's story to marketers -- both nationally and regionally.
*Valuation: Between the incumbent sports-media companies backed by massive corporations (ESPN, FoxSports.com, CBSSports.com, Fanhouse, Yahoo! Sports, Comcast regional online sports sites -- even Deadspin) and early-stage start-ups (present!), name a current independently owned sports-media company valued between, say, $5 million and $100 million.
Waiting... waiting...
That's right: SB Nation. And that's about the extent of the list. (Citizen Sports was acquired earlier this year by Yahoo for $50 million. Yardbarker was acquired a few weeks ago by Fox Sports for an undisclosed amount. Unsure about Big Lead Sports' valuation.)
With its new investment round, SBN is valued somewhere between $60M and $90M. That is a lot -- certainly a lot more than their valuation a week ago. But it remains an entirely reasonable size for a potential acquirer like Yahoo or AOL or Comcast, a current investor.
More important, SBN has staked out a position that is complementary to most of the rest of the sports-media ecosystem, big or small. Particularly clever is the way SBN has built up their back-end tech platform to keep pace with social media -- and the way they have combined existing editorial content into hubs that have the potential for more distribution and more revenue.
(To the point about acquisition, I think that it's fun for the rest of us to say "Well OBVIOUSLY this fits!", but ultimately a distraction. Whether Comcast buys SBN outright or merely remains an investor and distribution partner, I cannot imagine that Comcast doesn't want SBN to play a role -- perhaps a large one -- in their pending sports-media uber-strategy when Comcast eventually acquires NBC-Universal, a slightly bigger acquisition priority right now.)
The latest funding round is an affirmation of the company's strategy -- forget the valuation; it is particularly eye-opening that someone like celebrated VC Vinod Khosla wanted in. Look at his firm's portfolio -- nothing close to a media company (or certainly a sports-media company) in view. That says something about SBN's position in the market, its tech platform, its growth rate (and future plans) and -- frankly (and self-servingly!) -- the larger opportunities in online sports media. (Happy to push the meme: "Be Like Vinod.")
SBN has cultivated and relished its position outside the sports-media "mainstream," even as it has created the traction with fans and with marketers to accelerate closer to it.
Now it has a boost of resources to keep growing in its own unique way.
-- D.S.
I'm not sure if "start-up" is the right word -- although I appreciate that the company still acts like one (in all the right ways). Financially, they are well beyond that: From the early days of Daily Kos' Markos Moulitsas and Ted Leonsis' seed investment to Accel Partners (which backed Facebook) to Bankoff's investment fund to Allen & Co (which has investments in a lot of top-tier media start-ups -- and often brokers their M&A) to Comcast (which has a vested interest in local sports media).
Yesterday, the company got another funding boost: $10.5 million, led by Silicon Valley A-list VC Khosla Partners (whose website's lead page features a quote from Michael Jordan) but also showcasing a positive signal from re-investment by Comcast and Accel.
This is a big deal, on a couple of levels:
*Resources: That is a large stake to push the pedal down in a couple areas SBN had already started accelerating: Ad sales (see the recent Samsung takeover on the site), distribution partnerships (Yahoo was a big one in the past year), technology (which is a widely underestimated core asset), editorial talent (like the regional editors), acquisition (like Spencer Hall's EDSBS). And ad sales. And, um, more ad sales.
The fact is: You have to spend to make. The company has had to (and still has to) spend on technology and distribution and talent to increase traffic, but also spend on more sales talent to tell the company's story to marketers -- both nationally and regionally.
*Valuation: Between the incumbent sports-media companies backed by massive corporations (ESPN, FoxSports.com, CBSSports.com, Fanhouse, Yahoo! Sports, Comcast regional online sports sites -- even Deadspin) and early-stage start-ups (present!), name a current independently owned sports-media company valued between, say, $5 million and $100 million.
Waiting... waiting...
That's right: SB Nation. And that's about the extent of the list. (Citizen Sports was acquired earlier this year by Yahoo for $50 million. Yardbarker was acquired a few weeks ago by Fox Sports for an undisclosed amount. Unsure about Big Lead Sports' valuation.)
With its new investment round, SBN is valued somewhere between $60M and $90M. That is a lot -- certainly a lot more than their valuation a week ago. But it remains an entirely reasonable size for a potential acquirer like Yahoo or AOL or Comcast, a current investor.
More important, SBN has staked out a position that is complementary to most of the rest of the sports-media ecosystem, big or small. Particularly clever is the way SBN has built up their back-end tech platform to keep pace with social media -- and the way they have combined existing editorial content into hubs that have the potential for more distribution and more revenue.
(To the point about acquisition, I think that it's fun for the rest of us to say "Well OBVIOUSLY this fits!", but ultimately a distraction. Whether Comcast buys SBN outright or merely remains an investor and distribution partner, I cannot imagine that Comcast doesn't want SBN to play a role -- perhaps a large one -- in their pending sports-media uber-strategy when Comcast eventually acquires NBC-Universal, a slightly bigger acquisition priority right now.)
The latest funding round is an affirmation of the company's strategy -- forget the valuation; it is particularly eye-opening that someone like celebrated VC Vinod Khosla wanted in. Look at his firm's portfolio -- nothing close to a media company (or certainly a sports-media company) in view. That says something about SBN's position in the market, its tech platform, its growth rate (and future plans) and -- frankly (and self-servingly!) -- the larger opportunities in online sports media. (Happy to push the meme: "Be Like Vinod.")
SBN has cultivated and relished its position outside the sports-media "mainstream," even as it has created the traction with fans and with marketers to accelerate closer to it.
Now it has a boost of resources to keep growing in its own unique way.
-- D.S.
11/08 Quickie: Favre, Browns, Vick, TCU
Today's Names to Know: Brett Favre, Brad Childress, Peyton Hillis, Jerry Jones, James Jones, Mike Vick, Jason Campbell to Jacoby Ford, Seyi Ajirotutu, Ndamukong Suh, TCU, Kevin Durant, Cliff Lee, Zenyatta, Kobe and More.
Just when you think you're done with Brett Favre, he goes and throws for a career-high in passing yards and leads an improbable 2-touchdown comeback in the final 5 minutes of a 4th quarter. Really? If Brad "Fire Childress!" Childress wasn't on the wrong side of history before, he certainly is now.
(Yesterday's Favre game was a flashback to last season, when he actually became... likable? This season, he had reverted to his insufferable, schadenfreude-dripping form. But yesterday? Look: You have to be willing to say it: Favre was pretty awesome.)
Win of the Week: The Browns. Over the Pats. In a rout. The Browns may own the Top 2 Most Improbable Wins of the first half of the season -- two weeks ago at New Orleans and then now at home vs. the Pats. (That bye week in between might be the secret ingredient to Cleveland's iwn yesterday. Still: Not one many -- or anyone -- saw coming. Good for Colt McCoy, who is 2-1 as a starter with a couple of signature, if personally unspectacular, wins. He just wins.)
Debate on the table: Peyton Hillis deserves to be 1st half of the season 1st-team All-Pro. (And it looks like Bill Belichick still has trouble preparing for unconventional offenses -- see Stuckey's TD run from a Josh Cribbs hand-off.)
Loss of the Week: The Cowboys. Just when you think it can't get any more humiliating for the Cowboys this season, they go lower. I think it's safe to say that last night represented rock bottom -- on the wrong end of a 45-7 thrashing on primetime national TV. (Wow, did I pick the wrong week to drop the previously ineffective fantasy WR James Jones.)
Mike Vick returns: And leads the Eagles over the Colts(!) The biggest redemption story of 2010 continues.
How 'bout them Raiders?! The entire nation got flipped over from Eagles-Colts to the ending of Raiders-Chiefs, when Jacoby Ford made that miracle catch to set up the game-tying FG, then Jason Campbell hit Ford again in OT to set up the game-winning FG. What a turnaround story in Oakland. (Does anyone begrudge their fans what they are getting this season?)
(Unexpected) Fantasy Stud of the Week: Chargers WR Seyi Ajirotutu (111 yards and 2 TDs), and I guarantee the fantasy GM you were playing this weekend didn't start him. (But if you know anyone who did? That would be the genius fantasy move of the year.)
Double-take of the Week: Ndamukong Suh kicking the XP for the Lions. He missed, but it was kind of awesome.
BCS: That would be TCU -- not Boise -- suddenly in position to take advantage if/when Oregon or Auburn stumbles over the next few weeks. (Oregon: Unlikely; Auburn: Losing to Bama?) The football season -- at least the national title picture -- is down to 4 teams, with a month of football left to play. By the way, TCU's jump over Boise is entirely justified, based on their respective strength of schedules -- best symbolized by TCU throttling a Top 5 team (now merely Top 14) on the road.
CFB Rankings: Enough AP voters had the good sense to rank TCU ahead of Boise that TCU is 3rd and Boise 4th. It remains to be seen whether -- if Oregon and Auburn run the table -- if the AP is finally willing to perform "jury nullifcation" on the national title and give their share of the national title to TCU or Boise.
(It is kind of a joke that 7 "experts" in the AP Top 25 would give Boise State a No. 1 vote ahead of TCU. If they're just trying to prove a point about how much they hate the BCS, at least pick the more worthy non-BCS team to give your No. 1 vote.)
BlogPoll Monday! My new BlogPoll ballot is here. As previewed yesterday: (1) TCU, (2) Oregon, (3) Auburn, (4) Boise, (5) LSU.
Looking ahead to next week: Not much trouble expected among the Big Four (Boise gets Friday night all to itself at Idaho, Oregon is at Cal, Auburn is hosting Georgia and TCU is hosting underrated San Diego State).
Some intriguing match-ups with zero national-title ramifications: South Carolina at Florida for the SEC East title; Oklahoma State goes to Austin to extend the Worst Season Ever for Texas; another chance to watch Notre Dame get crushed (they play Utah, which was no match for TCU but will overwhelm ND).
Cam Newton Watch: Nothing changes the subject like a big game -- not to mention the release of the new BCS rankings, which keeps the focus on Auburn as a national-title contender, not NCAA investigation subject.
NBA: Someone else made this comment this weekend, but is it possible that the kryptonite to the Heat is a team with a world-class PG and a really good C (precisely the positions that Miami doesn't have All-NBA talent at). Hell of a validating win for the still-unbeaten Hornets.
More Kevin Durant myth-making: This summer, he had a secret hoops-shooting session with President Obama. Durant brought his grandma.
MLB Hot Stove: As expected, basically the minute Cliff Lee was eligible for free agency, the Yankees contacted him. It would be a shocker if they didn't consummate the relationship, making the Yankees the team to beat in 2011. Then again, they were the team to beat in 2010.
Zenyatta: 19-1. That was probably the most exciting horse race I have ever seen, if only because Zenyatta went from DFL -- and seemingly no hope -- to being a nose from winning. It is almost more epic that she came so close to perfection, but fell short in the way she did.
Pop Culture: Did you catch Kobe in a cameo in that "Call of Duty: Black Ops" TV ad? Pretty awesome ad -- and pretty good cachet for Kobe for appearing in it.
In Case You Missed It, from Friday afternoon: My post about the 10th anniversary of the launch of ESPN's Page 2.
Business: Congrats to SB Nation!
-- D.S.
Just when you think you're done with Brett Favre, he goes and throws for a career-high in passing yards and leads an improbable 2-touchdown comeback in the final 5 minutes of a 4th quarter. Really? If Brad "Fire Childress!" Childress wasn't on the wrong side of history before, he certainly is now.
(Yesterday's Favre game was a flashback to last season, when he actually became... likable? This season, he had reverted to his insufferable, schadenfreude-dripping form. But yesterday? Look: You have to be willing to say it: Favre was pretty awesome.)
Win of the Week: The Browns. Over the Pats. In a rout. The Browns may own the Top 2 Most Improbable Wins of the first half of the season -- two weeks ago at New Orleans and then now at home vs. the Pats. (That bye week in between might be the secret ingredient to Cleveland's iwn yesterday. Still: Not one many -- or anyone -- saw coming. Good for Colt McCoy, who is 2-1 as a starter with a couple of signature, if personally unspectacular, wins. He just wins.)
Debate on the table: Peyton Hillis deserves to be 1st half of the season 1st-team All-Pro. (And it looks like Bill Belichick still has trouble preparing for unconventional offenses -- see Stuckey's TD run from a Josh Cribbs hand-off.)
Loss of the Week: The Cowboys. Just when you think it can't get any more humiliating for the Cowboys this season, they go lower. I think it's safe to say that last night represented rock bottom -- on the wrong end of a 45-7 thrashing on primetime national TV. (Wow, did I pick the wrong week to drop the previously ineffective fantasy WR James Jones.)
Mike Vick returns: And leads the Eagles over the Colts(!) The biggest redemption story of 2010 continues.
How 'bout them Raiders?! The entire nation got flipped over from Eagles-Colts to the ending of Raiders-Chiefs, when Jacoby Ford made that miracle catch to set up the game-tying FG, then Jason Campbell hit Ford again in OT to set up the game-winning FG. What a turnaround story in Oakland. (Does anyone begrudge their fans what they are getting this season?)
(Unexpected) Fantasy Stud of the Week: Chargers WR Seyi Ajirotutu (111 yards and 2 TDs), and I guarantee the fantasy GM you were playing this weekend didn't start him. (But if you know anyone who did? That would be the genius fantasy move of the year.)
Double-take of the Week: Ndamukong Suh kicking the XP for the Lions. He missed, but it was kind of awesome.
BCS: That would be TCU -- not Boise -- suddenly in position to take advantage if/when Oregon or Auburn stumbles over the next few weeks. (Oregon: Unlikely; Auburn: Losing to Bama?) The football season -- at least the national title picture -- is down to 4 teams, with a month of football left to play. By the way, TCU's jump over Boise is entirely justified, based on their respective strength of schedules -- best symbolized by TCU throttling a Top 5 team (now merely Top 14) on the road.
CFB Rankings: Enough AP voters had the good sense to rank TCU ahead of Boise that TCU is 3rd and Boise 4th. It remains to be seen whether -- if Oregon and Auburn run the table -- if the AP is finally willing to perform "jury nullifcation" on the national title and give their share of the national title to TCU or Boise.
(It is kind of a joke that 7 "experts" in the AP Top 25 would give Boise State a No. 1 vote ahead of TCU. If they're just trying to prove a point about how much they hate the BCS, at least pick the more worthy non-BCS team to give your No. 1 vote.)
BlogPoll Monday! My new BlogPoll ballot is here. As previewed yesterday: (1) TCU, (2) Oregon, (3) Auburn, (4) Boise, (5) LSU.
Looking ahead to next week: Not much trouble expected among the Big Four (Boise gets Friday night all to itself at Idaho, Oregon is at Cal, Auburn is hosting Georgia and TCU is hosting underrated San Diego State).
Some intriguing match-ups with zero national-title ramifications: South Carolina at Florida for the SEC East title; Oklahoma State goes to Austin to extend the Worst Season Ever for Texas; another chance to watch Notre Dame get crushed (they play Utah, which was no match for TCU but will overwhelm ND).
Cam Newton Watch: Nothing changes the subject like a big game -- not to mention the release of the new BCS rankings, which keeps the focus on Auburn as a national-title contender, not NCAA investigation subject.
NBA: Someone else made this comment this weekend, but is it possible that the kryptonite to the Heat is a team with a world-class PG and a really good C (precisely the positions that Miami doesn't have All-NBA talent at). Hell of a validating win for the still-unbeaten Hornets.
More Kevin Durant myth-making: This summer, he had a secret hoops-shooting session with President Obama. Durant brought his grandma.
MLB Hot Stove: As expected, basically the minute Cliff Lee was eligible for free agency, the Yankees contacted him. It would be a shocker if they didn't consummate the relationship, making the Yankees the team to beat in 2011. Then again, they were the team to beat in 2010.
Zenyatta: 19-1. That was probably the most exciting horse race I have ever seen, if only because Zenyatta went from DFL -- and seemingly no hope -- to being a nose from winning. It is almost more epic that she came so close to perfection, but fell short in the way she did.
Pop Culture: Did you catch Kobe in a cameo in that "Call of Duty: Black Ops" TV ad? Pretty awesome ad -- and pretty good cachet for Kobe for appearing in it.
In Case You Missed It, from Friday afternoon: My post about the 10th anniversary of the launch of ESPN's Page 2.
Business: Congrats to SB Nation!
-- D.S.
Saturday, November 06, 2010
CFB Hangover: TCU Loves LSU
This is what I just tweeted:
"Bama losing = best-case BCS scenario for TCU/Boise. If/when Auburn loses to Bama, AUB limps into SECCG w/ no BCS mandate"
Let's unpack that:
There was a fairly solid conventional wisdom that a 1-loss defending national champ Alabama -- beating Top 10 LSU and unbeaten Auburn, then winning the SEC Championship -- would get into the BCS title game ahead of TCU or Boise.
Now that conventional wisdom has been obliterated, because there won't BE a 1-loss Alabama.
Consider this: Because it beat LSU head-to-head, Auburn clinches its spot in the SEC title game by beating Georgia next weekend.
What happens when Auburn then LOSES to non-factor Alabama to finish the regular season? They limp into an SEC title game that suddenly has zero juice.
1-loss Auburn -- directly coming off a loss to 2-loss Alabama, no less -- doesn't have nearly the presumptive mandate that 1-loss Alabama would. In fact, I would argue they have no mandate.
Instead, presuming Oregon wins out -- and TCU and Boise both win out -- I think you can put Oregon and TCU into the national-title game, with 1-loss SEC champ Auburn on the outside.
(Let's pause to appreciate that TCU went on the road and annihilated Utah -- a team ranked in the Top 5. Boise's throttling in Boise of unranked Hawaii pales in comparison. TCU is awesome.)
I, for one, would love to see Oregon's offense against TCU's defense. That feels like a championship-worthy event.
Meanwhile, the biggest LSU fans in the world should be TCU and Boise State fans. Because barring Auburn running the table*, LSU just cost the SEC its spot in the national-title game...
(* - If Auburn runs the table, they would meet Oregon for the national title, and TCU and Boise would get shut out.)
My first-pass BlogPoll ballot Top 5 for this week: (1) TCU, (2) Oregon, (3) Boise, (4) Auburn, (5) LSU.
-- D.S.
"Bama losing = best-case BCS scenario for TCU/Boise. If/when Auburn loses to Bama, AUB limps into SECCG w/ no BCS mandate"
Let's unpack that:
There was a fairly solid conventional wisdom that a 1-loss defending national champ Alabama -- beating Top 10 LSU and unbeaten Auburn, then winning the SEC Championship -- would get into the BCS title game ahead of TCU or Boise.
Now that conventional wisdom has been obliterated, because there won't BE a 1-loss Alabama.
Consider this: Because it beat LSU head-to-head, Auburn clinches its spot in the SEC title game by beating Georgia next weekend.
What happens when Auburn then LOSES to non-factor Alabama to finish the regular season? They limp into an SEC title game that suddenly has zero juice.
1-loss Auburn -- directly coming off a loss to 2-loss Alabama, no less -- doesn't have nearly the presumptive mandate that 1-loss Alabama would. In fact, I would argue they have no mandate.
Instead, presuming Oregon wins out -- and TCU and Boise both win out -- I think you can put Oregon and TCU into the national-title game, with 1-loss SEC champ Auburn on the outside.
(Let's pause to appreciate that TCU went on the road and annihilated Utah -- a team ranked in the Top 5. Boise's throttling in Boise of unranked Hawaii pales in comparison. TCU is awesome.)
I, for one, would love to see Oregon's offense against TCU's defense. That feels like a championship-worthy event.
Meanwhile, the biggest LSU fans in the world should be TCU and Boise State fans. Because barring Auburn running the table*, LSU just cost the SEC its spot in the national-title game...
(* - If Auburn runs the table, they would meet Oregon for the national title, and TCU and Boise would get shut out.)
My first-pass BlogPoll ballot Top 5 for this week: (1) TCU, (2) Oregon, (3) Boise, (4) Auburn, (5) LSU.
-- D.S.
Saturday (Very) Quickie: TCU, Page 2
First: If you missed it yesterday, here is my tribute to ESPN's Page 2 (today is the 10th anniversary of its launch).
CFB Today: TCU-Utah is the headliner. GameDay is in SLC. TCU's national-title hopes (temporarily) are on the line. A BCS bid may hang in the balance.
NBA: Heat lose in NOLA. So how quickly before a "D-Wade passing up the game-winning shot as symbolic -- or quite literal -- interpretation of his loss of alpha-dog power from LeBron's arrival" meme emerges? The question: Does Wade pass up that shot last season? (I think not.)
Loved that Cleveland response ad to LeBron's Nike ad. What do you want me to be? "We want you to be who you said you would be." A killer line.
Jason Richardson FTW.
Gilbert Arenas is going to be just fine. (Even if the Wiz aren't going to be very good.)
Cam Newton Watch: "I didn't do anything wrong." What if Cam's dad was involved in some shady stuff but Cam had no idea? This feels particularly plausible given that detail in the SI story that Cam's dad flatly dictated to his son where he was going.
Declan Sullivan Update: Notre Dame's president said that the school shoulders full responsibility for Sullivan's death. That is responsible -- and accurate -- but doesn't go far enough in assigning more direct culpability to Brian Kelly, whose decision it ultimately was to put Sullivan in the hydraulic lift. As much as anything, this feels like the school's attempt to shield the football coach, who -- as far as I know -- has yet to face any criminal or civil consequences.
Go, Zenyatta, go!
-- D.S.
CFB Today: TCU-Utah is the headliner. GameDay is in SLC. TCU's national-title hopes (temporarily) are on the line. A BCS bid may hang in the balance.
NBA: Heat lose in NOLA. So how quickly before a "D-Wade passing up the game-winning shot as symbolic -- or quite literal -- interpretation of his loss of alpha-dog power from LeBron's arrival" meme emerges? The question: Does Wade pass up that shot last season? (I think not.)
Loved that Cleveland response ad to LeBron's Nike ad. What do you want me to be? "We want you to be who you said you would be." A killer line.
Jason Richardson FTW.
Gilbert Arenas is going to be just fine. (Even if the Wiz aren't going to be very good.)
Cam Newton Watch: "I didn't do anything wrong." What if Cam's dad was involved in some shady stuff but Cam had no idea? This feels particularly plausible given that detail in the SI story that Cam's dad flatly dictated to his son where he was going.
Declan Sullivan Update: Notre Dame's president said that the school shoulders full responsibility for Sullivan's death. That is responsible -- and accurate -- but doesn't go far enough in assigning more direct culpability to Brian Kelly, whose decision it ultimately was to put Sullivan in the hydraulic lift. As much as anything, this feels like the school's attempt to shield the football coach, who -- as far as I know -- has yet to face any criminal or civil consequences.
Go, Zenyatta, go!
-- D.S.
Friday, November 05, 2010
Happy 10th Anniversary, ESPN Page 2
Tomorrow is the 10-year anniversary of the launch of Page 2 on ESPN.com.
It goes without saying that the day is meaningful for me -- for the opportunities that I had from Page 2, for the colleagues I was honored to write alongside and work with and, mostly, for the readers who did me the sincere privilege of wanting to hear what I had to say.
I remember when I heard the section was launching -- and when it launched. I remember being maybe a month into business school, totally swamped with classwork, but so excited that my old friend and ESPN.com colleague Kevin Jackson was running the section... and that he was open to me contributing.
Things started two months later, when I did my very first "What's Hot, What's Not" list for the new year: 2001. Over the next two years, the "Hot/Not" list would become something around the start of every sports season, then a weekly franchise. I would also pitch ideas off of breaking news (too many to list). I remember the competitive metabolism I had to pitch something quickly, then the satisfied feeling of seeing it published. (Of course, that's nothing compared to the competitiveness of today's news cycle.)
One of my favorite Page 2 assignments ever was being part of Jay Lovinger's "Writers' Bloc," an incredible group of writers Jay put together (dunno what I was doing in there) that would basically email each other throughout the day on a topic Jay would throw out there. Then we'd publish an edited version of the email chain. In hindsight, it could have been "Huffington Post." Ultimately, it was probably too expensive and too unwieldy -- but, boy, was it fun.
Of course, my Page 2 experience was near-completely defined by The Daily Quickie, an idea I brought to Jackson and Lovinger in the summer of 2002 after plotting through it during my second year of business school. They were amazingly supportive, and helped me shepherd it through the approval process up the chain of ESPN command. I still look back on those earliest Quickie drafts from, like, August 2002. They were awesome. I knew this was going to resonate with fans.
On January 6, 2003, the first edition of the Daily Quickie was right up top on the front page of ESPN.com -- it got a huge audience. Some of them even came back the next day. And the next. And the next. And so I got to keep writing it the next day, and the days and weeks and months and years after that. From the day the column launched, I wrote it every non-holiday weekday for something like 420 consecutive days -- basically until I had to pry myself away from my laptop to get married in October 2004. It is an "ironman" streak I am very proud of.
*****
The column ran for nearly 4 years. There was the "Morning Quickie" spin-off live-chat on SportsNation -- which still has to hold the site record for most comments published in an hour -- and I even found my way onto "Around the Horn" a few times in the summer of 2004. (I had the chance to visit the new PTI/ATH offices last week when I was in DC, and even though they are in a new space, it brought back a ton of memories, mostly of me treading water on national TV. Someday I'll digitize the DVDs I have of the appearances and edit them into a hilarious YouTube compendium of my pronouncements.)
But more than anything, the column allowed me to reach an incredible audience -- a large number of people, yes, but such amazing people, many of whom took the time to email (this was back before comments) or just simply took the time to read what I had to say.
To that point, one of the big foundations for the column was that I wanted to fundamentally respect the reader first and foremost -- not just to be fan-friendly but to put fans first:
*What are the topics I care about? Who cares! What are the topics YOU will want (or need) to know or care about today.
*How long do I want to write? Who cares! How quickly can I make a point, then move on... which would allow YOU to move on, feeling satisfied, to another column or another site or the rest of your day.
*When do I want to publish? Who cares! From my analysis, the glaring fan need was for something in the morning, when you were getting to the office or rolling out of bed in the dorm room.
I knew the combination was unique and potentially powerful. Still: It felt intuitive and natural to me. It still does. Is it really that hard to say, "But is it good for the fans?"
*****
I wrote for Page 2 for five-and-a-half years, more than half of the decade that the section has been around. The four years I spent developing and writing the Quickie were utterly amazing; there wasn't a day -- not a single morning -- where I didn't get up at the crack of dawn both thrilled at the prospect of writing for you and so appreciative of the opportunity to do it.
I look back on my years at Page 2 with so much joy -- a testament to the unique role I carved out for myself, to the fondness I had (and still have) for folks like Jackson and Lovinger and my Quickie editor David Schoenfield and Mike Philbrick and Michael Knisley, to the admiration I had for my talented colleagues like Bill Simmons and Eric Neel and Hunter and the late, beloved Ralph Wiley (whose note to me after the Quickie launched remains in my wallet, seven years later). What a thrill to see my name alongside those other guys.
But the biggest joy -- the biggest thrill -- was connecting with you and the other readers. Maybe most haven't read me since then; maybe some only started reading me after I started blogging -- they have no idea about the Quickie days beyond my blog headlines. The column certainly gave me credibility when I entered the incredible sports-blog ecosystem. And I still get a thrill when I hear from readers, and I still get a kick when I mention what I used to do at Page 2 to someone and they recognize the column name or my name or Page 2.
*****
Next week, I'm going to fill you in on what I'm up to -- what I have been working on, what I'm doing next. It's big. Really big: The biggest thing I've ever done. And it has been a whole lot of fun working on it so far -- with a lot more fun to come. Hopefully as much fun for you as for me.
Hopefully as much fun for you as for me.
That feels like the perfect way to sum up how I felt about my years at Page 2, too.
-- D.S.
It goes without saying that the day is meaningful for me -- for the opportunities that I had from Page 2, for the colleagues I was honored to write alongside and work with and, mostly, for the readers who did me the sincere privilege of wanting to hear what I had to say.
I remember when I heard the section was launching -- and when it launched. I remember being maybe a month into business school, totally swamped with classwork, but so excited that my old friend and ESPN.com colleague Kevin Jackson was running the section... and that he was open to me contributing.
Things started two months later, when I did my very first "What's Hot, What's Not" list for the new year: 2001. Over the next two years, the "Hot/Not" list would become something around the start of every sports season, then a weekly franchise. I would also pitch ideas off of breaking news (too many to list). I remember the competitive metabolism I had to pitch something quickly, then the satisfied feeling of seeing it published. (Of course, that's nothing compared to the competitiveness of today's news cycle.)
One of my favorite Page 2 assignments ever was being part of Jay Lovinger's "Writers' Bloc," an incredible group of writers Jay put together (dunno what I was doing in there) that would basically email each other throughout the day on a topic Jay would throw out there. Then we'd publish an edited version of the email chain. In hindsight, it could have been "Huffington Post." Ultimately, it was probably too expensive and too unwieldy -- but, boy, was it fun.
Of course, my Page 2 experience was near-completely defined by The Daily Quickie, an idea I brought to Jackson and Lovinger in the summer of 2002 after plotting through it during my second year of business school. They were amazingly supportive, and helped me shepherd it through the approval process up the chain of ESPN command. I still look back on those earliest Quickie drafts from, like, August 2002. They were awesome. I knew this was going to resonate with fans.
On January 6, 2003, the first edition of the Daily Quickie was right up top on the front page of ESPN.com -- it got a huge audience. Some of them even came back the next day. And the next. And the next. And so I got to keep writing it the next day, and the days and weeks and months and years after that. From the day the column launched, I wrote it every non-holiday weekday for something like 420 consecutive days -- basically until I had to pry myself away from my laptop to get married in October 2004. It is an "ironman" streak I am very proud of.
*****
The column ran for nearly 4 years. There was the "Morning Quickie" spin-off live-chat on SportsNation -- which still has to hold the site record for most comments published in an hour -- and I even found my way onto "Around the Horn" a few times in the summer of 2004. (I had the chance to visit the new PTI/ATH offices last week when I was in DC, and even though they are in a new space, it brought back a ton of memories, mostly of me treading water on national TV. Someday I'll digitize the DVDs I have of the appearances and edit them into a hilarious YouTube compendium of my pronouncements.)
But more than anything, the column allowed me to reach an incredible audience -- a large number of people, yes, but such amazing people, many of whom took the time to email (this was back before comments) or just simply took the time to read what I had to say.
To that point, one of the big foundations for the column was that I wanted to fundamentally respect the reader first and foremost -- not just to be fan-friendly but to put fans first:
*What are the topics I care about? Who cares! What are the topics YOU will want (or need) to know or care about today.
*How long do I want to write? Who cares! How quickly can I make a point, then move on... which would allow YOU to move on, feeling satisfied, to another column or another site or the rest of your day.
*When do I want to publish? Who cares! From my analysis, the glaring fan need was for something in the morning, when you were getting to the office or rolling out of bed in the dorm room.
I knew the combination was unique and potentially powerful. Still: It felt intuitive and natural to me. It still does. Is it really that hard to say, "But is it good for the fans?"
*****
I wrote for Page 2 for five-and-a-half years, more than half of the decade that the section has been around. The four years I spent developing and writing the Quickie were utterly amazing; there wasn't a day -- not a single morning -- where I didn't get up at the crack of dawn both thrilled at the prospect of writing for you and so appreciative of the opportunity to do it.
I look back on my years at Page 2 with so much joy -- a testament to the unique role I carved out for myself, to the fondness I had (and still have) for folks like Jackson and Lovinger and my Quickie editor David Schoenfield and Mike Philbrick and Michael Knisley, to the admiration I had for my talented colleagues like Bill Simmons and Eric Neel and Hunter and the late, beloved Ralph Wiley (whose note to me after the Quickie launched remains in my wallet, seven years later). What a thrill to see my name alongside those other guys.
But the biggest joy -- the biggest thrill -- was connecting with you and the other readers. Maybe most haven't read me since then; maybe some only started reading me after I started blogging -- they have no idea about the Quickie days beyond my blog headlines. The column certainly gave me credibility when I entered the incredible sports-blog ecosystem. And I still get a thrill when I hear from readers, and I still get a kick when I mention what I used to do at Page 2 to someone and they recognize the column name or my name or Page 2.
*****
Next week, I'm going to fill you in on what I'm up to -- what I have been working on, what I'm doing next. It's big. Really big: The biggest thing I've ever done. And it has been a whole lot of fun working on it so far -- with a lot more fun to come. Hopefully as much fun for you as for me.
Hopefully as much fun for you as for me.
That feels like the perfect way to sum up how I felt about my years at Page 2, too.
-- D.S.
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