By this time next Saturday, the college football season will have started. (With 18 games coming Thursday, headlined by Pitt-Utah.)
I'm sorry, I don't think I offered enough emphasis: By this time next Saturday, the college football season will have started!
*Stephen Strasburg to have Tommy John surgery, cont'd: Not sure how much I can add to yesterday's insta-analysis: This is not just bad for the Nats (and Nats fans), but bad for baseball.
*More MLB: The Reds are rolling (Jay Bruce gets Fantasy Stud: 3 HR)... Braves still stumbling; Phillies finally capitalize... Tim Lincecum has now lost 5 straight starts (his drop-off is almost as dramatic as the Strasburg news)... Was that Red Sox win against the nouveau-rival Rays too-little-too-late or the spark to a September run? Boston is only 4.5 GB and it's not even September 1 yet. Consider that Boston would be leading the other 2 divisions.
*Tony LaRussa, Albert Pujols and the Beck Rally: I have no idea what LaRussa and Pujols are thinking -- I presume they do not want to get in the middle of a polarizing political hurricane -- and I presume that they will drop out of the rally before it starts, making this (almost) a moot issue.
*NFL Preseason: Drew Brees looks ready to defend his championship. (Kevin Kolb ready to replace Donovan McNabb? Not so much. But how about that Mike Kafka!) Oh, and I can't wait to hear what Rex Ryan has to say about the Jets' latest flat offensive performance.
*Fantasy Watch: Keep an eye on that potential shoulder injury for Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles.
*US Soccer shake-up? How do US soccer fans feel about this leak that US Soccer is talking with Juergen Klinsmann about the coaching job... um, while Bob Bradley is still the coach? (I think it's clear that it is Klinsmann's job if he wants it, and that Bradley is on his way out -- perhaps to coach Aston Villa in the Premiership?)
*A phrase about Tiger Woods you didn't start hearing until this year: Regressing to the mean.
*So because I live such an exciting life, last night I found myself watching a high school football game on ESPN between two of the Top 25 teams in the country: No. 2 Tampa Plant vs. No. 19 Manatee (which happens to be the name of one of the classes in my kids' day-care, so I'm partial). Manatee rolled them. Watch RB Mike Blakely. (Amusingly, the game was "preseason" so it won't be on their records. But you can guarantee it will impact their national rankings.) OK: That's WAY too much about high school football.
*Today's biggest sports story will be... how the LaRussa-Pujols-Beck thing shakes out.
-- D.S.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
08/27 Quickie: Tiger, UNC, Melo, 400
Today's Names to Know: Stephen Strasburg, Tiger Woods, Butch Davis, Carmelo Anthony, Albert Pujols, Cliff Lee, Gordon Gee, Sam Bradford, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Michael Hoomanawanui, Derek Anderson, Bryce Harper, Don Fehr and More.
Late-a.m. update: Stephen Strasburg needs Tommy John surgery. If you're a Strasburg fan or a Nats fan or a baseball fan, that news is a punch in the stomach.
Well we're one-day-down/three-to-go for the "Tiger post-divorce redemption" storyline to overwhelm us all.
UNC football scandal: Yikes. Of course, it's easy to get fixated on the single detail that that tutor in question was Butch Davis' nanny. But he had NO idea. None. Nope. Noooo idea.
That was a nice little run UNC had where it looked like the football team was a future Top 20 staple -- although probably not a national power. Now? Thunk.
Let's be clear: This pales in comparison to the academic fraud perpetrated at Florida State a couple years ago. And FSU is better now than it had been in Bowden's final half-dozen years.
If Carmelo doesn't want to play for the Nuggets and is demanding a trade, the Nuggets are smart to get rid of him now before he bolts as a free agent and leaves them with nothing.
(If Melo leaves, it's time to tear down the entire roster, get young and rebuild: Trade Billups. Trade JR Smith. Trade K-Mart. I'm sticking with Melo for Derrick Favors and Terrence Williams.)
Albert Pujols reaches 400 HRs: By 2013 (age 33), he's at 500. By 2016 (age 36), he's at 600. By 2020, when he turns 40, there's no reason to believe he can't reach 700.
More trouble for Cliff Lee: He got pounded by the Twins and is now 2-5 in 10 starts since he was traded from Seattle; Texas is 3-7 in those games. (That said: The Rangers are in no danger of missing the playoffs, and if last year is any indication -- small sample size, yes -- he will do fine once there.)
Phillies thunked with 4-game sweep by Astros: What a blown chance to either make up some ground on the stalling Braves (3 straight losses) or skip over the Giants for the Wild Card lead (the Phillies are still only .5 GB for that). That said, it's not even September yet; the Phillies will be in it until the season's final week.
Ohio State-Michigan, cont'd: Had a great conversation with an OSU fan -- a friend, no less! -- that gave me new perspective on how much the timing of the rivalry means to fans of both teams.
That's why I'm curious how OSU fans and alums feel about OSU president Gordon Gee coming out on the side of moving the game date, which almost certainly ensures that it will happen.
(Don't seem to see any resistance from OSU or Michigan fans about being in separate divisions; it's all about the game date. They should prepare themselves for it to be moved.)
Not bad, Sam Bradford. Not bad. (And if you know where I've been on him, you know that's a compliment.)
Michael Hoomanawanui: Enough said.
(Injury Watch: Donnie Avery, knee. You might not be a Rams fan, but file away for your fantasy football drafts next week.)
I'm feeling pretty good about drafting Tom Brady as my QB in my two fantasy leagues so far. And if you have Aaron Rodgers, you should be feeling even better.
Matt Leinart has been displaced by Derek Anderson: Just in case you had thought Leinart had hit rock-bottom as a pro before, nope: He's there right now. Biggest bust ever? He's up there. (Let's put it this way: There is little -- if anything -- that can happen to Tim Tebow in his career that could qualify him as a bigger NFL bust than Leinart.)
Bryce Harper took BP before the Nats-Cards game last night and crushed the ball: I'm ready for him to be in the big leagues right now. Do we really have to wait 3 years?
Given the way certain NHL teams have decided to treat the bloggers who have been so good for their league, I hope new union honcho Don Fehr makes their lives miserable. (h/t: Wyshynski)
-- D.S.
Late-a.m. update: Stephen Strasburg needs Tommy John surgery. If you're a Strasburg fan or a Nats fan or a baseball fan, that news is a punch in the stomach.
Well we're one-day-down/three-to-go for the "Tiger post-divorce redemption" storyline to overwhelm us all.
UNC football scandal: Yikes. Of course, it's easy to get fixated on the single detail that that tutor in question was Butch Davis' nanny. But he had NO idea. None. Nope. Noooo idea.
That was a nice little run UNC had where it looked like the football team was a future Top 20 staple -- although probably not a national power. Now? Thunk.
Let's be clear: This pales in comparison to the academic fraud perpetrated at Florida State a couple years ago. And FSU is better now than it had been in Bowden's final half-dozen years.
If Carmelo doesn't want to play for the Nuggets and is demanding a trade, the Nuggets are smart to get rid of him now before he bolts as a free agent and leaves them with nothing.
(If Melo leaves, it's time to tear down the entire roster, get young and rebuild: Trade Billups. Trade JR Smith. Trade K-Mart. I'm sticking with Melo for Derrick Favors and Terrence Williams.)
Albert Pujols reaches 400 HRs: By 2013 (age 33), he's at 500. By 2016 (age 36), he's at 600. By 2020, when he turns 40, there's no reason to believe he can't reach 700.
More trouble for Cliff Lee: He got pounded by the Twins and is now 2-5 in 10 starts since he was traded from Seattle; Texas is 3-7 in those games. (That said: The Rangers are in no danger of missing the playoffs, and if last year is any indication -- small sample size, yes -- he will do fine once there.)
Phillies thunked with 4-game sweep by Astros: What a blown chance to either make up some ground on the stalling Braves (3 straight losses) or skip over the Giants for the Wild Card lead (the Phillies are still only .5 GB for that). That said, it's not even September yet; the Phillies will be in it until the season's final week.
Ohio State-Michigan, cont'd: Had a great conversation with an OSU fan -- a friend, no less! -- that gave me new perspective on how much the timing of the rivalry means to fans of both teams.
That's why I'm curious how OSU fans and alums feel about OSU president Gordon Gee coming out on the side of moving the game date, which almost certainly ensures that it will happen.
(Don't seem to see any resistance from OSU or Michigan fans about being in separate divisions; it's all about the game date. They should prepare themselves for it to be moved.)
Not bad, Sam Bradford. Not bad. (And if you know where I've been on him, you know that's a compliment.)
Michael Hoomanawanui: Enough said.
(Injury Watch: Donnie Avery, knee. You might not be a Rams fan, but file away for your fantasy football drafts next week.)
I'm feeling pretty good about drafting Tom Brady as my QB in my two fantasy leagues so far. And if you have Aaron Rodgers, you should be feeling even better.
Matt Leinart has been displaced by Derek Anderson: Just in case you had thought Leinart had hit rock-bottom as a pro before, nope: He's there right now. Biggest bust ever? He's up there. (Let's put it this way: There is little -- if anything -- that can happen to Tim Tebow in his career that could qualify him as a bigger NFL bust than Leinart.)
Bryce Harper took BP before the Nats-Cards game last night and crushed the ball: I'm ready for him to be in the big leagues right now. Do we really have to wait 3 years?
Given the way certain NHL teams have decided to treat the bloggers who have been so good for their league, I hope new union honcho Don Fehr makes their lives miserable. (h/t: Wyshynski)
-- D.S.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Update on Sunday Ticket To-Go: Meh
Update on that Sunday Ticket To-Go post from earlier this week:
So apparently you will only be able to get Sunday Ticket To-Go for your laptop, iPhone and iPad if you cannot get DirecTV in your location. Not "choose not to" -- literally, if you are one of the few places that DirecTV won't slap on a satellite dish.
They clarified this, despite initial marketing that made the "To-Go" package seem universally accessible -- which was the reason it was brilliant. With DirecTV's new caveats, the proposition is no less attractive; it is merely infinitely less available.
How short-sighted of DirecTV: What better advertisement for their dish product than to let non-dish subscribers see the value of Sunday Ticket and Red Zone, with the potential for DirecTV to upsell them with "Like it on your laptop? You'll love it on your HDTV."
Instead of trying to create as many qualified leads as possible, DirecTV is going for the nickel(-and-dime) defense. They have a week or so to figure out what an error it is to limit their customer base on this product.
So apparently you will only be able to get Sunday Ticket To-Go for your laptop, iPhone and iPad if you cannot get DirecTV in your location. Not "choose not to" -- literally, if you are one of the few places that DirecTV won't slap on a satellite dish.
They clarified this, despite initial marketing that made the "To-Go" package seem universally accessible -- which was the reason it was brilliant. With DirecTV's new caveats, the proposition is no less attractive; it is merely infinitely less available.
How short-sighted of DirecTV: What better advertisement for their dish product than to let non-dish subscribers see the value of Sunday Ticket and Red Zone, with the potential for DirecTV to upsell them with "Like it on your laptop? You'll love it on your HDTV."
Instead of trying to create as many qualified leads as possible, DirecTV is going for the nickel(-and-dime) defense. They have a week or so to figure out what an error it is to limit their customer base on this product.
BlogPoll Follow-Up: Full List Is Out
The complete BlogPoll Top 25 preseason ballot -- from me and the other 100+ participants, with help from their readers -- is out. Alabama is No. 1, predictably. Two other voters joined me in picking Boise State as No. 1. Check it out here, complete with analysis from BlogPoll administrator Brian Cook.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
08/26 Quickie: Furyk, Revis, Braves
Today's Names to Know: Jim Furyk, 18-game NFL season, Darrelle Revis, Tim Cowlishaw, Braves, Joey Votto, Manny Ramirez, BYU, Ronald Powell, USA Hoops, Josh Kroenke, Elin Nordegren, Tiger Woods, Rex Ryan and More.
Jim Furyk oversleeps for pro-am and gets DQ'ed from Barclays tournament with implications on the FedEx Cup standings (and, ultimately, money): I appreciate that the PGA wants to give its pros an incentive not to blow off the sponsor-critical pro-am events, but it is ludicrous that the rules will keep Furyk from this tournament -- to Phil's point, not when half the FedEx Cup field isn't even participating in the tournament. The lesson in all this is, of course, check your cell phone battery twice before relying on it for your wake-up call. Oh, and use the hotel wake-up call system as a redundancy.
About the 18-game NFL season, here's what I don't get: Peter King had a tweet where he said that the 16-game season is brutal enough on the players' bodies; by implication, 18 would just be too much.
Of course, that begs a question going the other direction: If it's so brutal, maybe they should play 14? Or 12? Or, per Gladwell, none at all?
Super Bowl champs play 19 games in a season, presumably with their biggest effort coming in games 17, 18 and 19.
Hard to understand how 20 teams playing 18 games, with the playoff teams playing a few more, will wreck the players any more than 16. And, by the way, fans are all for expanding the schedule.
I'm not suggesting I understand the toll a longer season takes on players' bodies -- although if the owners would pony up a bigger share of league revenue, I suspect that players would be entirely on board.
It's going to happen, whether or not owners vote on it yesterday (they didn't).
More:
*So no Darrelle Revis signing yesterday. If a blogger or online outlet like PFT went on Twitter and claimed something would happen and it didn't, people would scoff and use it as an example of low credibility.
Rather than mock Tim Cowlishaw, I would rather say that: Sources can be wrong; it's a dangerous game to claim locked knowledge on anything; and scoops are overrated anyway. Still: Cowlishaw sure didn't mind the attention he got for making the call; he should be ready to take the backlash -- and that's without defensively saying, "Um, did I mention it could be Wednesday OR Sunday?"
All that said: Hell, I could have tweeted "Darrelle Revis is going to sign! (Eventually.)"
*So the Football Writers Association of America formally stripped USC of its 2004 national title. But they won't do the right thing and elevate Auburn to No. 1. (Why not? And why wouldn't FWAA members insist their leadership do the right thing?)
*You know what's soul-sucking if you're a fan? Being up 10-1, then losing. Ouch, Braves fans.
*Reverse jinx: I open my mailbox and see Joey Votto on the cover of this week's SI -- and last night he had 2 HR in that wild 12-11 Reds win over the Giants, where the Giants came back from being down 10-1 in the 5th to take an 11-10 lead in the 8th, only to lose on a Votto RBI single in the 12th.
*So who's going to get Manny? The White Sox?
*So after all that, BYU is going back to the Mountain West? How disappointing for the rest of us.
(Update: Got an email from reader Brandon, who is all over this stuff and says everyone in BYU country is assuming they will NOT go back to the MWC -- regardless of those earlier reports -- and will go indie, with the potential they end up in the Big 12 eventually.)
*Yes, I heard about the stuff involving Florida's vaunted freshmen defensive ends skipping practice Tuesday. (a) It's overblown. (b) It's a typical blip. (c) This team is going to be better than people think -- and I'd say that a preseason average ranking at No. 4 means most folks aren't sleeping on them to begin with.
*USA Hoops: Greece was no match. The US will roll to gold.
*Nuggets fans, welcome your new main owner: Kroenke scion Josh, who isn't all that much older than the average player on the team.
*"There was never any violence inside or outside our home." -- Elin Nordegren, to People magazine.
*My expectations for Tiger at the Barclay's is about the same as it is for Tiger at any tournament right now: He's not winning, and how bad will he miss?
*I'm not a particularly big Pat Haden fan, but the new USC AD wins some points for trying to guilt Reggie Bush into returning his Heisman.
*"Hard Knocks" Watch: Last night's ep did nothing to dissuade me that if I was an NFL football player, I would really enjoy playing for Rex Ryan (as long as I was, y'know, good).
(Special teams coach Mike Westoff wins the night with his insta-classic curse: "Triple F%$%ing Asian Flu.")
*Love this post from Yahoo about the all-time fantasy football lineup, but to exclude Marques Colston from the TE spot -- even the "honorable mention" group -- is a gross oversight.
(I'm talking about the year when Colston was inadvertently listed -- by Yahoo itself! -- as a TE rather than a WR, and it influenced the league like nothing else in fantasy football history. Wow: Not even as a one-hit wonder?)
*Another must-read: WSJ's Darren Everson on my preseason No. 1 college football team, Boise State.
*I'm late on this, but the "My Wife Knows Everything"/"My Wife Doesn't Know" horse-race ending from Sunday really IS awesome. (h/t Rachel Sklar)
*Don't forget to check out my bonus post from yesterday about how we're living in the golden age of sportswriting.
-- D.S.
Jim Furyk oversleeps for pro-am and gets DQ'ed from Barclays tournament with implications on the FedEx Cup standings (and, ultimately, money): I appreciate that the PGA wants to give its pros an incentive not to blow off the sponsor-critical pro-am events, but it is ludicrous that the rules will keep Furyk from this tournament -- to Phil's point, not when half the FedEx Cup field isn't even participating in the tournament. The lesson in all this is, of course, check your cell phone battery twice before relying on it for your wake-up call. Oh, and use the hotel wake-up call system as a redundancy.
About the 18-game NFL season, here's what I don't get: Peter King had a tweet where he said that the 16-game season is brutal enough on the players' bodies; by implication, 18 would just be too much.
Of course, that begs a question going the other direction: If it's so brutal, maybe they should play 14? Or 12? Or, per Gladwell, none at all?
Super Bowl champs play 19 games in a season, presumably with their biggest effort coming in games 17, 18 and 19.
Hard to understand how 20 teams playing 18 games, with the playoff teams playing a few more, will wreck the players any more than 16. And, by the way, fans are all for expanding the schedule.
I'm not suggesting I understand the toll a longer season takes on players' bodies -- although if the owners would pony up a bigger share of league revenue, I suspect that players would be entirely on board.
It's going to happen, whether or not owners vote on it yesterday (they didn't).
More:
*So no Darrelle Revis signing yesterday. If a blogger or online outlet like PFT went on Twitter and claimed something would happen and it didn't, people would scoff and use it as an example of low credibility.
Rather than mock Tim Cowlishaw, I would rather say that: Sources can be wrong; it's a dangerous game to claim locked knowledge on anything; and scoops are overrated anyway. Still: Cowlishaw sure didn't mind the attention he got for making the call; he should be ready to take the backlash -- and that's without defensively saying, "Um, did I mention it could be Wednesday OR Sunday?"
All that said: Hell, I could have tweeted "Darrelle Revis is going to sign! (Eventually.)"
*So the Football Writers Association of America formally stripped USC of its 2004 national title. But they won't do the right thing and elevate Auburn to No. 1. (Why not? And why wouldn't FWAA members insist their leadership do the right thing?)
*You know what's soul-sucking if you're a fan? Being up 10-1, then losing. Ouch, Braves fans.
*Reverse jinx: I open my mailbox and see Joey Votto on the cover of this week's SI -- and last night he had 2 HR in that wild 12-11 Reds win over the Giants, where the Giants came back from being down 10-1 in the 5th to take an 11-10 lead in the 8th, only to lose on a Votto RBI single in the 12th.
*So who's going to get Manny? The White Sox?
*So after all that, BYU is going back to the Mountain West? How disappointing for the rest of us.
(Update: Got an email from reader Brandon, who is all over this stuff and says everyone in BYU country is assuming they will NOT go back to the MWC -- regardless of those earlier reports -- and will go indie, with the potential they end up in the Big 12 eventually.)
*Yes, I heard about the stuff involving Florida's vaunted freshmen defensive ends skipping practice Tuesday. (a) It's overblown. (b) It's a typical blip. (c) This team is going to be better than people think -- and I'd say that a preseason average ranking at No. 4 means most folks aren't sleeping on them to begin with.
*USA Hoops: Greece was no match. The US will roll to gold.
*Nuggets fans, welcome your new main owner: Kroenke scion Josh, who isn't all that much older than the average player on the team.
*"There was never any violence inside or outside our home." -- Elin Nordegren, to People magazine.
*My expectations for Tiger at the Barclay's is about the same as it is for Tiger at any tournament right now: He's not winning, and how bad will he miss?
*I'm not a particularly big Pat Haden fan, but the new USC AD wins some points for trying to guilt Reggie Bush into returning his Heisman.
*"Hard Knocks" Watch: Last night's ep did nothing to dissuade me that if I was an NFL football player, I would really enjoy playing for Rex Ryan (as long as I was, y'know, good).
(Special teams coach Mike Westoff wins the night with his insta-classic curse: "Triple F%$%ing Asian Flu.")
*Love this post from Yahoo about the all-time fantasy football lineup, but to exclude Marques Colston from the TE spot -- even the "honorable mention" group -- is a gross oversight.
(I'm talking about the year when Colston was inadvertently listed -- by Yahoo itself! -- as a TE rather than a WR, and it influenced the league like nothing else in fantasy football history. Wow: Not even as a one-hit wonder?)
*Another must-read: WSJ's Darren Everson on my preseason No. 1 college football team, Boise State.
*I'm late on this, but the "My Wife Knows Everything"/"My Wife Doesn't Know" horse-race ending from Sunday really IS awesome. (h/t Rachel Sklar)
*Don't forget to check out my bonus post from yesterday about how we're living in the golden age of sportswriting.
-- D.S.
Best. Sports Media Era. Ever.
Had some nice isolated time on the subway to read Joe Posnanski's latest post, about Tiger Woods (via Hal Sutton) and sports media today. It's a typically great post and a fertile topic.
The crux of the post is that Joe's editor asked him if the Tiger scandal was merely -- or "entirely" -- a product of the "TMZ Era?"
(First of all, I wouldn't label it the "TMZ Era" as much as the "internet era." Or, if you thing 24/7 sports coverage created this, the "ESPN Era." But I think that gives too much credit to cable-only ESPN -- say, through 1995 -- and way too much credit to TMZ, which is only the past 5 years.)
The Tiger story was really the culmination of the increasing celebrity culture and the increasing velocity, transparency and democratization of news and information.
I think there are a couple of interesting riffs off Joe's piece.
The first is most direct: Joe's editor appears to lament our current era. My spin-off question would be: How many sports careers would the media by-products of the "TMZ Era" have helped?
Could the "TMZ Era" have gotten Mickey Mantle off the sauce? As good as Mantle was, how much better could he have been? Not to get too maudlin (but!), but how many more years might he have lived?
Joe's editor oversimplifies -- and diminishes -- the current golden era of media (sports and otherwise) by labeling it the "TMZ Era."
What if I framed it as the "sunlight era" -- where transparency ruled?
(You don't understand media today if you don't see leaked Tiger sexts and leaked MLB financial documents in the same ballpark.)
What if I framed it as the "accountability era" -- where fisking ruled?
(Joe had a nice piece of fisking of his own, politely if comprehensively taking a stiletto to his own teammate's opinion.)
What if I framed it as the "democratization era" -- where the openness of expression and platforms ruled?
(We are better off if hundreds of fans analyze MLB financial documents on Deadspin -- or a government data dump on TalkingPointsMemo than we are if a tiny cabal of magazine reporters do it.)
This is where I part ways -- radically -- from Dan LeBatard, who recently tried to make an argument lamenting the state of sports media. He got some support and some backlash, at least within the sports-media industry.
He called things "more reckless and less credible than anything we've ever seen."
Predictably, I feel the opposite about it. Not only do I think we are, as fans and as consumers, better off now than before -- I think we are better off now than ever.
Variance will happen as you add voices to the system. Variance will happen as you apply new pressures -- like generating online page views -- to the system. Variance is not a bad thing.
There will always be a "bottom 50 percent" that is lousy -- whether you are talking about newspaper sportswriting or blogs or college professors or restaurants or whatever.
But at the top? Things are really really good. Better than they ever have been.
As for the bottom? Well, one argument is not to consume it; of course, your readers -- gee: remember them? -- are consuming it, want to talk about it, want to hear about it.
The other argument is to accept that there are topics that some people want to talk about and make a choice whether you want to engage it or not, accepting the consequences whether you do or you don't. I will say this: Ignore fan interests at your peril. My argument would be to do your part to elevate the discussion.
That's not to say that there isn't room for media to surprise and delight us with interesting analysis or the non-obvious argument or story; I think fans have been pretty supportive of that kind of sportswriting -- with a wider and better audience than ever, thanks to new publishing platforms. While some lament Tiger coverage, the rest of us are reading and passing around that awesome column written by someone online who doesn't have a radio show or TV guest-hosting gig.
I'm digressing. The point is that when you focus on the top -- and the astonishing volume of terrific sports writing, opinion, analysis and creative expression you find there, provided you have the paths to find it -- things in sports media have never been better. Ever.
There is a wonderful, era-defining essay from Roger Ebert from last year about how this is the "golden age" of movie criticism, but his argument could just as easily apply to sports.
Ebert's closing advice: "Find out all you can, and see what you can do with it." It is a paean to openness, to open-mindedness, to discovery, to all the things that make media consumption so great -- if at times overwhelming -- right now.
The alternative is to lament the state of things, to close off, to close ranks. To each their own, but having been working in online media since 1995, I have been a first-hand witness to the seismic media evolution of the online era -- the... ha ha... "TMZ Era." The nay-sayers and doubters and closed-minded folks have always been there, and the world simply passes them by.
I trust emerging platforms. I trust creative people who have the enthusiasm to join in the ecosystem, in whatever form that might take. I trust consumers -- I trust fans.
Trust me: It has never been better. And it is only going to get better.
-- D.S.
Please join lots of other great folks and follow me on Twitter.
Update: I probably could have written 10,000 words on this and still not touched on everything. There are a lot of holes in here to be filled and a lot of broad strokes that would benefit from detailing that won't happen in this post. As always, I look forward to those discussions.
The crux of the post is that Joe's editor asked him if the Tiger scandal was merely -- or "entirely" -- a product of the "TMZ Era?"
(First of all, I wouldn't label it the "TMZ Era" as much as the "internet era." Or, if you thing 24/7 sports coverage created this, the "ESPN Era." But I think that gives too much credit to cable-only ESPN -- say, through 1995 -- and way too much credit to TMZ, which is only the past 5 years.)
The Tiger story was really the culmination of the increasing celebrity culture and the increasing velocity, transparency and democratization of news and information.
I think there are a couple of interesting riffs off Joe's piece.
The first is most direct: Joe's editor appears to lament our current era. My spin-off question would be: How many sports careers would the media by-products of the "TMZ Era" have helped?
Could the "TMZ Era" have gotten Mickey Mantle off the sauce? As good as Mantle was, how much better could he have been? Not to get too maudlin (but!), but how many more years might he have lived?
Joe's editor oversimplifies -- and diminishes -- the current golden era of media (sports and otherwise) by labeling it the "TMZ Era."
What if I framed it as the "sunlight era" -- where transparency ruled?
(You don't understand media today if you don't see leaked Tiger sexts and leaked MLB financial documents in the same ballpark.)
What if I framed it as the "accountability era" -- where fisking ruled?
(Joe had a nice piece of fisking of his own, politely if comprehensively taking a stiletto to his own teammate's opinion.)
What if I framed it as the "democratization era" -- where the openness of expression and platforms ruled?
(We are better off if hundreds of fans analyze MLB financial documents on Deadspin -- or a government data dump on TalkingPointsMemo than we are if a tiny cabal of magazine reporters do it.)
This is where I part ways -- radically -- from Dan LeBatard, who recently tried to make an argument lamenting the state of sports media. He got some support and some backlash, at least within the sports-media industry.
He called things "more reckless and less credible than anything we've ever seen."
Predictably, I feel the opposite about it. Not only do I think we are, as fans and as consumers, better off now than before -- I think we are better off now than ever.
Variance will happen as you add voices to the system. Variance will happen as you apply new pressures -- like generating online page views -- to the system. Variance is not a bad thing.
There will always be a "bottom 50 percent" that is lousy -- whether you are talking about newspaper sportswriting or blogs or college professors or restaurants or whatever.
But at the top? Things are really really good. Better than they ever have been.
As for the bottom? Well, one argument is not to consume it; of course, your readers -- gee: remember them? -- are consuming it, want to talk about it, want to hear about it.
The other argument is to accept that there are topics that some people want to talk about and make a choice whether you want to engage it or not, accepting the consequences whether you do or you don't. I will say this: Ignore fan interests at your peril. My argument would be to do your part to elevate the discussion.
That's not to say that there isn't room for media to surprise and delight us with interesting analysis or the non-obvious argument or story; I think fans have been pretty supportive of that kind of sportswriting -- with a wider and better audience than ever, thanks to new publishing platforms. While some lament Tiger coverage, the rest of us are reading and passing around that awesome column written by someone online who doesn't have a radio show or TV guest-hosting gig.
I'm digressing. The point is that when you focus on the top -- and the astonishing volume of terrific sports writing, opinion, analysis and creative expression you find there, provided you have the paths to find it -- things in sports media have never been better. Ever.
There is a wonderful, era-defining essay from Roger Ebert from last year about how this is the "golden age" of movie criticism, but his argument could just as easily apply to sports.
Ebert's closing advice: "Find out all you can, and see what you can do with it." It is a paean to openness, to open-mindedness, to discovery, to all the things that make media consumption so great -- if at times overwhelming -- right now.
The alternative is to lament the state of things, to close off, to close ranks. To each their own, but having been working in online media since 1995, I have been a first-hand witness to the seismic media evolution of the online era -- the... ha ha... "TMZ Era." The nay-sayers and doubters and closed-minded folks have always been there, and the world simply passes them by.
I trust emerging platforms. I trust creative people who have the enthusiasm to join in the ecosystem, in whatever form that might take. I trust consumers -- I trust fans.
Trust me: It has never been better. And it is only going to get better.
-- D.S.
Please join lots of other great folks and follow me on Twitter.
Update: I probably could have written 10,000 words on this and still not touched on everything. There are a lot of holes in here to be filled and a lot of broad strokes that would benefit from detailing that won't happen in this post. As always, I look forward to those discussions.
08/25 Quickie: Ohio State-Michigan, More
Today's Names to Know: Ohio State vs. Michigan, 18-game NFL season, Bobby Bowden, Johnny Damon, Stephen Strasburg, Rajon Rondo, Chad Ochocinco, Yahoo's "Prep Rally," Brian Kelly, Jenn Brown, DirecTV's Sunday Ticket To-Go and More.
What would happen if the Big Ten moved the Michigan-Ohio State game from each team's season finale to the middle of the season?
Well... nothing, really.
Fans would adapt. Certainly non-Michigan and non-Ohio State fans would adapt. Let's face it: Michigan-Ohio State has lost serious luster, nationally, since the 2006 de facto national semifinal game. It might be the biggest rivalry game, but it isn't the best rivalry game -- and, more importantly, it certainly isn't the only big game.
That's not to say that this has to do with Michigan being bad recently. This has to do with the rest of the sport growing exponentially.
There are plenty of amazing games that happen before the end of the season. This season's Game of the Year is the first week of October: Florida at Alabama. And you could make a serious case that its 2nd-best Game of the Year comes in its very first week, Boise State vs. Virginia Tech. (Michigan-Ohio State? Probably doesn't crack the list of Top 25 or 30 best games of the year. And the only reason it would make the list is because of nostalgia.)
College football has gotten so much bigger -- even bigger, I should say -- in recent years that it simply doesn't impact the national landscape to change the date on the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. Michigan-OSU isn't smaller; the pie is bigger, way bigger.
Sidebar point: If anything, the Michigan-Ohio State season-ender has become emblematic of the Big Ten's tone-deafness to the rhythm of the college football season, where the season's biggest weekend of games happens a week -- even two -- after that rivalry game. Back when the entire nation ended that week? OK. Now? It's archaic.
Again, it speaks to the point that the main griping about changing the date stems from some kind of out-dated ideal about this game. No one but Michigan and Ohio State fans will care if the game's date is moved, and even they will quickly get used to it.
After all: What would it say about the strength and vitality of the country's supposed "best" college football rivalry (supposedly) if it can't handle being played a couple weeks earlier?
(I don't care if this is really about money -- we have all agreed to suspend our disbelief about virtually everything in sports, because it could all be said to be "really about the money" if you really dug into it. And what kind of fun is that?
Then again, you could also say the same about changes to sports: On 95 percent of them, fans would adapt, so why bother complaining? It's a fair corollary. Hell, most of us agree that the BCS is a terrible system and yet college football has never been more popular. I suspect that specific cognitive disconnect drives much of the rage and frustration from the leading anti-BCS pundits.)
I love tradition in sports -- many traditions, specifically. But I also recognize that this is a regional issue -- maybe the rest of us should defer to Michigan and Ohio State fans about whether it's a bad or it's a neutral thing that the game date is moved.
Then again, if Michigan-Ohio State fancies itself one of our greatest national college football rivalries, then the rest of us can have a say.
And that say is: It's just not that big of a deal to move the game.
More:
NFL owners meet today in Atlanta, and an 18-game regular season will be a big topic. The players are a wee bit concerned -- greater chance of injury, more games for same pay -- but this is one of those topics where fans will undoubtedly be on the side of owners. More games? Why not?
Bobby Bowden's new book: Why is Bowden only now claiming he was forced out? Was he lying to everyone back when he "retired?" And let's get one thing straight: It was time for him to go; he had become ineffective, at least as it relates to maintaining FSU as an elite program. Did you see what happened virtually the moment Jimbo Fisher took over? Recruiting spiked. If he didn't want to go, FSU did the right thing -- if not an easy thing -- pushing him out the door.
In pounding the Reds for a second straight game, the Giants sure seem worthy of that NL Wild Card spot...
FACEPALM...Then again, so do the Phillies, after their dramatic 16th-inning win over the Astros. It's going to be a fun end to the Wild Card race.FACEPALM. You may now stop commenting and emailing. I am leaving this up -- rather than deleting -- to offer self-humiliation.
Damon to Detroit: Any sort of temporary swoon from Red Sox Nation about the prospects of re-embracing Johnny Damon is gone, now that Damon has rejected the Sox for the Tigers.
Strasburg to the DL: Knew this was coming. Still: Yikes.
USA Hoops cuts Rajon Rondo: Sorry, he "withdrew." Sure. He may be the most important cog for the reigning Eastern Conference champs, but his style of play didn't fit internationally.
No way the Chargers trade Vincent Jackson to the Vikings -- can the Vikings even afford to pay Jackson, if they could work out a deal? (No.)
Colorado's Big 12 season was already going to be lame-duck this year. Apparently, now the Buffs are going to have to stay through 2012, which will make 2011 even more awkward.
Chad Ochocinco fined $25K for tweeting during a game he was playing in: I think he would say it was worth it. Not sure other players will want to pony up that much money, but it is totally the kind of thing 85 would do.
I think that in a few years, not only will players be expressing themselves during games, but the league will be facilitating it -- not unlike the way that a decade ago, the league wouldn't recognize fantasy football but now has its own fantasy game platform.
(Obligatory disclosure: The sponsored fantasy league I am participating in this season is using the NFL.com platform, specifically.)
I love that Brian Kelly is forcing NBC Sports to tweak its broadcast pace (including ads) in order to keep up with Notre Dame's new style of football on the field. (See that? We're talking about Notre Dame. And not in a mocking way! This is the power of Kelly.)
Jenn Brown won't be part of Icehouse's college sports marketing plans this season, leading to a lot of easy moralizing by critics. I see both sides. Brown will have plenty of endorsement opportunities, and there are plenty of innovative programs that marketers can create.
Really excited for Yahoo Sports' new blog dedicated to high school sports, Prep Rally: It's a great, unfilled niche -- full of terrific stories that are going largely uncovered but will benefit from Yahoo's huge platform.
In case you missed it yesterday: DirecTV is selling access to NFL Sunday Ticket and the Red Zone channel through your laptop/iPhone/iPad for $350. If you don't have a dish but love the NFL, what do you think of that price? Would you be willing to pay $20 a week for all-access NFL that comes with the caveat it isn't on your TV?
-- D.S.
What would happen if the Big Ten moved the Michigan-Ohio State game from each team's season finale to the middle of the season?
Well... nothing, really.
Fans would adapt. Certainly non-Michigan and non-Ohio State fans would adapt. Let's face it: Michigan-Ohio State has lost serious luster, nationally, since the 2006 de facto national semifinal game. It might be the biggest rivalry game, but it isn't the best rivalry game -- and, more importantly, it certainly isn't the only big game.
That's not to say that this has to do with Michigan being bad recently. This has to do with the rest of the sport growing exponentially.
There are plenty of amazing games that happen before the end of the season. This season's Game of the Year is the first week of October: Florida at Alabama. And you could make a serious case that its 2nd-best Game of the Year comes in its very first week, Boise State vs. Virginia Tech. (Michigan-Ohio State? Probably doesn't crack the list of Top 25 or 30 best games of the year. And the only reason it would make the list is because of nostalgia.)
College football has gotten so much bigger -- even bigger, I should say -- in recent years that it simply doesn't impact the national landscape to change the date on the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. Michigan-OSU isn't smaller; the pie is bigger, way bigger.
Sidebar point: If anything, the Michigan-Ohio State season-ender has become emblematic of the Big Ten's tone-deafness to the rhythm of the college football season, where the season's biggest weekend of games happens a week -- even two -- after that rivalry game. Back when the entire nation ended that week? OK. Now? It's archaic.
Again, it speaks to the point that the main griping about changing the date stems from some kind of out-dated ideal about this game. No one but Michigan and Ohio State fans will care if the game's date is moved, and even they will quickly get used to it.
After all: What would it say about the strength and vitality of the country's supposed "best" college football rivalry (supposedly) if it can't handle being played a couple weeks earlier?
(I don't care if this is really about money -- we have all agreed to suspend our disbelief about virtually everything in sports, because it could all be said to be "really about the money" if you really dug into it. And what kind of fun is that?
Then again, you could also say the same about changes to sports: On 95 percent of them, fans would adapt, so why bother complaining? It's a fair corollary. Hell, most of us agree that the BCS is a terrible system and yet college football has never been more popular. I suspect that specific cognitive disconnect drives much of the rage and frustration from the leading anti-BCS pundits.)
I love tradition in sports -- many traditions, specifically. But I also recognize that this is a regional issue -- maybe the rest of us should defer to Michigan and Ohio State fans about whether it's a bad or it's a neutral thing that the game date is moved.
Then again, if Michigan-Ohio State fancies itself one of our greatest national college football rivalries, then the rest of us can have a say.
And that say is: It's just not that big of a deal to move the game.
More:
NFL owners meet today in Atlanta, and an 18-game regular season will be a big topic. The players are a wee bit concerned -- greater chance of injury, more games for same pay -- but this is one of those topics where fans will undoubtedly be on the side of owners. More games? Why not?
Bobby Bowden's new book: Why is Bowden only now claiming he was forced out? Was he lying to everyone back when he "retired?" And let's get one thing straight: It was time for him to go; he had become ineffective, at least as it relates to maintaining FSU as an elite program. Did you see what happened virtually the moment Jimbo Fisher took over? Recruiting spiked. If he didn't want to go, FSU did the right thing -- if not an easy thing -- pushing him out the door.
In pounding the Reds for a second straight game, the Giants sure seem worthy of that NL Wild Card spot...
FACEPALM
Damon to Detroit: Any sort of temporary swoon from Red Sox Nation about the prospects of re-embracing Johnny Damon is gone, now that Damon has rejected the Sox for the Tigers.
Strasburg to the DL: Knew this was coming. Still: Yikes.
USA Hoops cuts Rajon Rondo: Sorry, he "withdrew." Sure. He may be the most important cog for the reigning Eastern Conference champs, but his style of play didn't fit internationally.
No way the Chargers trade Vincent Jackson to the Vikings -- can the Vikings even afford to pay Jackson, if they could work out a deal? (No.)
Colorado's Big 12 season was already going to be lame-duck this year. Apparently, now the Buffs are going to have to stay through 2012, which will make 2011 even more awkward.
Chad Ochocinco fined $25K for tweeting during a game he was playing in: I think he would say it was worth it. Not sure other players will want to pony up that much money, but it is totally the kind of thing 85 would do.
I think that in a few years, not only will players be expressing themselves during games, but the league will be facilitating it -- not unlike the way that a decade ago, the league wouldn't recognize fantasy football but now has its own fantasy game platform.
(Obligatory disclosure: The sponsored fantasy league I am participating in this season is using the NFL.com platform, specifically.)
I love that Brian Kelly is forcing NBC Sports to tweak its broadcast pace (including ads) in order to keep up with Notre Dame's new style of football on the field. (See that? We're talking about Notre Dame. And not in a mocking way! This is the power of Kelly.)
Jenn Brown won't be part of Icehouse's college sports marketing plans this season, leading to a lot of easy moralizing by critics. I see both sides. Brown will have plenty of endorsement opportunities, and there are plenty of innovative programs that marketers can create.
Really excited for Yahoo Sports' new blog dedicated to high school sports, Prep Rally: It's a great, unfilled niche -- full of terrific stories that are going largely uncovered but will benefit from Yahoo's huge platform.
In case you missed it yesterday: DirecTV is selling access to NFL Sunday Ticket and the Red Zone channel through your laptop/iPhone/iPad for $350. If you don't have a dish but love the NFL, what do you think of that price? Would you be willing to pay $20 a week for all-access NFL that comes with the caveat it isn't on your TV?
-- D.S.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
NFL Sunday Ticket: Open to All?
There were inklings about this back in the spring, but here is what I think is some pretty big news:
NFL Sunday Ticket is available to anyone -- not just DirecTV subscribers.
The caveats:
*Only on your laptop, iPhone, Android phone or iPad.
*It costs $350.
Now, to respond to the caveats:
Only non-TV platforms: Who cares? I'd love to be able to watch any game I want -- or the Red Zone Channel -- on the go on my iPhone or with my iPad.
Cost: Is that more than the NBA's package or the college football package? Absolutely. Does the NFL command a premium? Yes.
Put it this way: If someone asked you how much you would pay for Sunday Ticket and Red Zone Channel -- even if it was "limited" to your laptop, phone and iPad -- would you be willing to pay $20 a week? Because that's what it basically costs.
And while the $350 may feel like a lot -- it IS a lot -- I think that of the things you would be willing to pay $20 a week for, every NFL game (plus Red Zone) is worth it.
This is a big deal for NFL fans.
NFL Sunday Ticket is available to anyone -- not just DirecTV subscribers.
The caveats:
*Only on your laptop, iPhone, Android phone or iPad.
*It costs $350.
Now, to respond to the caveats:
Only non-TV platforms: Who cares? I'd love to be able to watch any game I want -- or the Red Zone Channel -- on the go on my iPhone or with my iPad.
Cost: Is that more than the NBA's package or the college football package? Absolutely. Does the NFL command a premium? Yes.
Put it this way: If someone asked you how much you would pay for Sunday Ticket and Red Zone Channel -- even if it was "limited" to your laptop, phone and iPad -- would you be willing to pay $20 a week? Because that's what it basically costs.
And while the $350 may feel like a lot -- it IS a lot -- I think that of the things you would be willing to pay $20 a week for, every NFL game (plus Red Zone) is worth it.
This is a big deal for NFL fans.
08/24 Quickie: Brady, Damon, Elin
Today's Names to Know: Tom Brady, Elin Woods Nordegrin, Johnny Damon, Stephen Strasburg, Jose Bautista, Tyler Patrick Thomas, Sidney Rice, Matt Leinart, Sammy Sosa, Maurice Clarett, Michael Heisley and More.
This whole Tom-Brady-says-he-hates-the-Jets thing is the biggest non-story of the week.
Tiger and Elin's divorce is final: Next up, a correlation-causation confusion when he either plays better or plays worse. (She could use a reality-TV show, but I presume she is too classy for ANY interest in that. To her credit.)
Johnny Damon to the Red Sox? Do I detect the faintest whiff of love-him-when-he's-ours triumphalism from Red Sox fans over a player they loathed for leaving just a few years ago? (Is Manny next? Now THAT would be awesome.) BTW: Sounds like Damon would prefer to go to Detroit.
Rangers lose no-no in 9th: Gotta love the no-hitter brought to you by 4 pitchers.
Stephen Strasburg back to DL (again): Nothing wrong with being overly cautious. The foreshadowing is bad enough as it is.
Jose Bautista!
This Oregon State lineman story -- Tyler Patrick Thomas allegedly being found naked and drunk in a stranger's home, then stunned into submission by cops after he got into a 3-point stance and charged at them -- is simultaneously hilarious yet sad. It would be nice that, instead of dismissing him from the team, Oregon State suspended him and got him some counseling.
NFL: Sidney Rice headed for hip surgery that could keep him out for half the season? If so, we'll get to see whether Favre made Rice look good... or the other way around.
Yikes, the Cardinals QBs are terrible: And Matt Leinart sucking heading into his 5th NFL season is a good reminder not to put too much stock in the NFL draftniks, all of whom projected Leinart as a can't-miss NFL QB prospect.
Hard to see Tim Tebow having a worse career than Leinart, and given the pro expectations -- for Tebow, few; for Leinart, quite a few -- that makes Leinart a bigger bust than Tebow could ever be.
Retired Number Watch: I don't disagree with Sammy Sosa that the Cubs should retire No. 21.
The UFL should absolutely try to get Maurice Clarett, but the only reason they would be doing it is for the publicity. And if all they care about is publicity, there is a much much bigger and better way they can get it:
By undercutting the NFL age limit by 2 years and recruiting star college freshmen and sophomores to its league with the promise of cash and a 100 percent focus on getting them ready for the NFL Draft.
Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley knows less about basketball than you do. Unclear why he would agree to do this radio interview -- maybe team p.r. handlers sabotaged him.
Why on Earth would Kwame Brown want to play for Michael Jordan again? And why would MJ want him? All that can result is jokes. Lots and lots of jokes.
If you liked yesterday's profits-for-Pirates story, Deadspin apparently has more coming today -- from the Rangers?
-- D.S.
This whole Tom-Brady-says-he-hates-the-Jets thing is the biggest non-story of the week.
Tiger and Elin's divorce is final: Next up, a correlation-causation confusion when he either plays better or plays worse. (She could use a reality-TV show, but I presume she is too classy for ANY interest in that. To her credit.)
Johnny Damon to the Red Sox? Do I detect the faintest whiff of love-him-when-he's-ours triumphalism from Red Sox fans over a player they loathed for leaving just a few years ago? (Is Manny next? Now THAT would be awesome.) BTW: Sounds like Damon would prefer to go to Detroit.
Rangers lose no-no in 9th: Gotta love the no-hitter brought to you by 4 pitchers.
Stephen Strasburg back to DL (again): Nothing wrong with being overly cautious. The foreshadowing is bad enough as it is.
Jose Bautista!
This Oregon State lineman story -- Tyler Patrick Thomas allegedly being found naked and drunk in a stranger's home, then stunned into submission by cops after he got into a 3-point stance and charged at them -- is simultaneously hilarious yet sad. It would be nice that, instead of dismissing him from the team, Oregon State suspended him and got him some counseling.
NFL: Sidney Rice headed for hip surgery that could keep him out for half the season? If so, we'll get to see whether Favre made Rice look good... or the other way around.
Yikes, the Cardinals QBs are terrible: And Matt Leinart sucking heading into his 5th NFL season is a good reminder not to put too much stock in the NFL draftniks, all of whom projected Leinart as a can't-miss NFL QB prospect.
Hard to see Tim Tebow having a worse career than Leinart, and given the pro expectations -- for Tebow, few; for Leinart, quite a few -- that makes Leinart a bigger bust than Tebow could ever be.
Retired Number Watch: I don't disagree with Sammy Sosa that the Cubs should retire No. 21.
The UFL should absolutely try to get Maurice Clarett, but the only reason they would be doing it is for the publicity. And if all they care about is publicity, there is a much much bigger and better way they can get it:
By undercutting the NFL age limit by 2 years and recruiting star college freshmen and sophomores to its league with the promise of cash and a 100 percent focus on getting them ready for the NFL Draft.
Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley knows less about basketball than you do. Unclear why he would agree to do this radio interview -- maybe team p.r. handlers sabotaged him.
Why on Earth would Kwame Brown want to play for Michael Jordan again? And why would MJ want him? All that can result is jokes. Lots and lots of jokes.
If you liked yesterday's profits-for-Pirates story, Deadspin apparently has more coming today -- from the Rangers?
-- D.S.
Monday, August 23, 2010
BlogPoll Mondays: Preseason Ugh
Although I will usually submit the first iteration of my weekly BlogPoll Top 25 ballot on Sundays, I will have a post on Monday highlighting the ballot and encouraging your feedback.
Let's dig into my preseason ballot. A few notes:
*Based on your comments, I have already made some changes:
(1) I have vaulted Ohio State ahead of Oregon (great points made, obviously) AND VA Tech, but still outside the Top 5.
(2) I have bumped out Arizona in favor of Washington. After being tipped by a commenter, I went back and revisited 'Zona -- yes, overheated. I'm inclined to wish for a UW revival anyway.
*The preseason ballot sucks, on lots of levels. For starters, there's no standard (as if the weekly ballot has one, among the AP or Coaches or even BlogPollsters). Are you picking the best team? The team that will win the title?
How about No. 2: Is that really the 2nd-best team... or are pollsters picking Ohio State at No. 2 because they figure OSU will go unbeaten, not because OSU would actually beat Florida if they played head-to-head.
Here's how I net out: For this week -- this week -- I am picking what I think is the best team: Boise State. I think if Boise played Texas in the national title game, Boise would win. Same if they played Alabama/Florida or Ohio State. This is NOT a "protest" vote against the BCS; you can go back to January and see that I've been high on Boise State for this season.
Once we have some actual game data, I mostly -- mostly -- use a "resume" system: What have you done this season? Not what you did last season or what you might do the rest of this season. Obviously, this involves a bit of nuance, primarily early in the season. But I felt very good putting BYU at No. 1 after they beat Oklahoma last year in early September. I felt very good putting Houston high after they won at Oklahoma State. And I will feel great keeping Boise State at No. 1 after they beat VA Tech at FedEx Field in a few weeks.
What else about this year's preseason ballot?
Well, I'm big on TCU -- just like I was last year. (This is a stretch, but one of the reasons I like Boise over Texas is because Boise has learned a lot of defensive scheming from TCU, which I think is the best-coached defense in the country... even better than Will Muschamp's coaching at Texas. And I think TCU's D would have smothered Texas a year ago; I think Boise's D could do enough to stop Texas this year.)
I'm also big on Cincinnati -- I believe in the new coach, Butch Jones, coming off a great career at Central Michigan, and new QB Zac Collaros, who was arguably better than Tony Pike when Pike was injured last season.
And as always, I'm big on Utah, which -- as I said earlier this summer -- could enter the Pac-10 next season as the best non-probationary team in the league.
Check out the complete ballot here, and please continue to leave your feedback. I believe the updated version is due to BlogPoll HQ by Wednesday morning, but I'm going to try to lock in any changes by Tuesday afternoon.
As always, thanks for the help and input -- and keeping me honest!
-- D.S.
Let's dig into my preseason ballot. A few notes:
*Based on your comments, I have already made some changes:
(1) I have vaulted Ohio State ahead of Oregon (great points made, obviously) AND VA Tech, but still outside the Top 5.
(2) I have bumped out Arizona in favor of Washington. After being tipped by a commenter, I went back and revisited 'Zona -- yes, overheated. I'm inclined to wish for a UW revival anyway.
*The preseason ballot sucks, on lots of levels. For starters, there's no standard (as if the weekly ballot has one, among the AP or Coaches or even BlogPollsters). Are you picking the best team? The team that will win the title?
How about No. 2: Is that really the 2nd-best team... or are pollsters picking Ohio State at No. 2 because they figure OSU will go unbeaten, not because OSU would actually beat Florida if they played head-to-head.
Here's how I net out: For this week -- this week -- I am picking what I think is the best team: Boise State. I think if Boise played Texas in the national title game, Boise would win. Same if they played Alabama/Florida or Ohio State. This is NOT a "protest" vote against the BCS; you can go back to January and see that I've been high on Boise State for this season.
Once we have some actual game data, I mostly -- mostly -- use a "resume" system: What have you done this season? Not what you did last season or what you might do the rest of this season. Obviously, this involves a bit of nuance, primarily early in the season. But I felt very good putting BYU at No. 1 after they beat Oklahoma last year in early September. I felt very good putting Houston high after they won at Oklahoma State. And I will feel great keeping Boise State at No. 1 after they beat VA Tech at FedEx Field in a few weeks.
What else about this year's preseason ballot?
Well, I'm big on TCU -- just like I was last year. (This is a stretch, but one of the reasons I like Boise over Texas is because Boise has learned a lot of defensive scheming from TCU, which I think is the best-coached defense in the country... even better than Will Muschamp's coaching at Texas. And I think TCU's D would have smothered Texas a year ago; I think Boise's D could do enough to stop Texas this year.)
I'm also big on Cincinnati -- I believe in the new coach, Butch Jones, coming off a great career at Central Michigan, and new QB Zac Collaros, who was arguably better than Tony Pike when Pike was injured last season.
And as always, I'm big on Utah, which -- as I said earlier this summer -- could enter the Pac-10 next season as the best non-probationary team in the league.
Check out the complete ballot here, and please continue to leave your feedback. I believe the updated version is due to BlogPoll HQ by Wednesday morning, but I'm going to try to lock in any changes by Tuesday afternoon.
As always, thanks for the help and input -- and keeping me honest!
-- D.S.
DanShanoff.com Ballot - Week 1
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boise St. Broncos | -- |
| 2 | Texas Longhorns | -- |
| 3 | Florida Gators | -- |
| 4 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
| 5 | TCU Horned Frogs | -- |
| 6 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | -- |
| 7 | Virginia Tech Hokies | -- |
| 8 | Oregon Ducks | -- |
| 9 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | -- |
| 10 | Wisconsin Badgers | -- |
| 11 | USC Trojans | -- |
| 12 | Miami Hurricanes | -- |
| 13 | Houston Cougars | -- |
| 14 | Oklahoma Sooners | -- |
| 15 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | -- |
| 16 | Iowa Hawkeyes | -- |
| 17 | Auburn Tigers | -- |
| 18 | Utah Utes | -- |
| 19 | Florida St. Seminoles | -- |
| 20 | Cincinnati Bearcats | -- |
| 21 | Arkansas Razorbacks | -- |
| 22 | Pittsburgh Panthers | -- |
| 23 | West Virginia Mountaineers | -- |
| 24 | Navy Midshipmen | -- |
| 25 | Washington Huskies | -- |
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »
08/23 Quickie: Favre, Mariotti, Top 25
I tuned in to Sunday Night Football long enough to see Brett Favre get knocked on his keister by the 49ers' 1st-team D. I had seen enough -- and so had Favre.
Lou Piniella retires, immediately: I see him as a Hall of Famer. I would love to see the Cubs promote Ryne Sandberg for the rest of the season, but I recognize that puts the owners in a bind if they never intended to give him the job next season.
Should the Nats shut down Stephen Strasburg's season now, even if his forearm is OK enough for him to pitch, say, in a few weeks? Short answer: Yes.
Mariotti Watch: Neither ESPN nor Fanhouse has made any determinations about Jay Marriotti's future with them, but it's pretty simple: If he's guilty of a crime, he's done; if the charges are dropped, he'll remain employed. But as with every other talent in sports media, he could get tossed overboard and neither outlet would miss a beat, audience-wise.
My preseason BlogPoll ballot is out, and I ended up going with my original conviction: Boise State is the best team in the country this season. I rank Texas No. 2, not because they are necessarily better than Florida or Alabama, but because UT will go unbeaten, and Florida and Alabama will give each other losses, Bama beating Florida at home in October, then Florida beating Bama in the rematch in the SEC title game in December. TCU is the new Boise -- simply not respected enough to crack the Top 2. Would love your reaction to the entire 25.
USA Hoops: That 1-point win in Madrid against Spain will be the US's closest game of this trip -- but it should remind fans that it is no gimme that the US will always put the winning team on the court, despite obvious talent advantages. (Love the switch to the Syracuse-style zone for the final play.)
Phelps Watch: The best thing to happen to Michael Phelps is to have had Ryan Lochte whip him all over the place at the Pan-Pacs; Phelps needed to have his competitiveness activated, and it feels like that did it.
Business: On the other hand, at least the Pirates are doing something right. (That said, that ownership has a serious optics problem; I don't begrudge them wanting to run the business to avoid a loss, but if they're making $26.5M in profit and not re-investing back in the business, that undercuts the entire premise of revenue-sharing.)
Yesterday, I took my 4-year-old to his first-ever in-the-movie-theater movie -- Toy Story 3. The movie was incredible. The experience for me as a parent was unforgettable. (He pronounces it "thee-ay-ter," and I'm not going to correct him.)
-- D.S.
Lou Piniella retires, immediately: I see him as a Hall of Famer. I would love to see the Cubs promote Ryne Sandberg for the rest of the season, but I recognize that puts the owners in a bind if they never intended to give him the job next season.
Should the Nats shut down Stephen Strasburg's season now, even if his forearm is OK enough for him to pitch, say, in a few weeks? Short answer: Yes.
Mariotti Watch: Neither ESPN nor Fanhouse has made any determinations about Jay Marriotti's future with them, but it's pretty simple: If he's guilty of a crime, he's done; if the charges are dropped, he'll remain employed. But as with every other talent in sports media, he could get tossed overboard and neither outlet would miss a beat, audience-wise.
My preseason BlogPoll ballot is out, and I ended up going with my original conviction: Boise State is the best team in the country this season. I rank Texas No. 2, not because they are necessarily better than Florida or Alabama, but because UT will go unbeaten, and Florida and Alabama will give each other losses, Bama beating Florida at home in October, then Florida beating Bama in the rematch in the SEC title game in December. TCU is the new Boise -- simply not respected enough to crack the Top 2. Would love your reaction to the entire 25.
USA Hoops: That 1-point win in Madrid against Spain will be the US's closest game of this trip -- but it should remind fans that it is no gimme that the US will always put the winning team on the court, despite obvious talent advantages. (Love the switch to the Syracuse-style zone for the final play.)
Phelps Watch: The best thing to happen to Michael Phelps is to have had Ryan Lochte whip him all over the place at the Pan-Pacs; Phelps needed to have his competitiveness activated, and it feels like that did it.
Business: On the other hand, at least the Pirates are doing something right. (That said, that ownership has a serious optics problem; I don't begrudge them wanting to run the business to avoid a loss, but if they're making $26.5M in profit and not re-investing back in the business, that undercuts the entire premise of revenue-sharing.)
Yesterday, I took my 4-year-old to his first-ever in-the-movie-theater movie -- Toy Story 3. The movie was incredible. The experience for me as a parent was unforgettable. (He pronounces it "thee-ay-ter," and I'm not going to correct him.)
-- D.S.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Preseason BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot v.1
So the SB Nation embed code for my BlogPoll ballot (v.1) doesn't seem to be working. Here is the list, hand-entered. Keep in mind that I picked my No. 1 team - for now, in the preseason - as the best team in the country... NOT necessarily the most likely to win the title.
1. Boise St
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. Alabama
5. TCU
6. VA Tech
7. Oregon
8. Ohio St
9. Georgia Tech
10. Wisconsin
11. USC
12. Miami (FL)
13. Houston
14. Oklahoma
15. Nebraska
16. Iowa
17. Auburn
18. Utah
19. Florida St
20. Cincinnati
21. Arkansas
22. Pitt
23. West Virginia
24. Navy
25. Arizona
Would love your comments. As you can see, I flipped my opinion since this morning -- I'm sticking with my earliest feeling about the season: Boise State is the best team in the country. Again: It's an entirely other matter if they get to prove it in January.
1. Boise St
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. Alabama
5. TCU
6. VA Tech
7. Oregon
8. Ohio St
9. Georgia Tech
10. Wisconsin
11. USC
12. Miami (FL)
13. Houston
14. Oklahoma
15. Nebraska
16. Iowa
17. Auburn
18. Utah
19. Florida St
20. Cincinnati
21. Arkansas
22. Pitt
23. West Virginia
24. Navy
25. Arizona
Would love your comments. As you can see, I flipped my opinion since this morning -- I'm sticking with my earliest feeling about the season: Boise State is the best team in the country. Again: It's an entirely other matter if they get to prove it in January.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
08/22 Quickie: Mariotti, Stras, Poll, NFL
Today's Names to Know: Jay Mariotti, Stephen Strasburg, A-Rod, Alabama, Ben Roethlisberger, Chris Carpenter, Josh Bell, Lithuania and More.
So: About Jay Mariotti. Yikes, that's a lot of schadenfreude. It's like the guy has zero allies in sports media -- granted, it would have been a rough moment to come to his defense.
I guess the rationalization comes down to: "What would Jay say about an athlete who did what he did?" He'd kill him, fairly or not... unnecessarily or not. So that's the treatment he is getting.
(For what it's worth, Jay was pretty nice to me when I went on Around the Horn -- another panelist was a pretty big asshole to me, so I appreciated Jay's reception. But I also recognize that he hasn't treated plenty of media folks nicely, starting with his former Sun-Times colleagues. I'm sure it's not an easy night for the ATH team -- or Mariotti's bosses at AOL.)
Well, Stephen Strasburg is totally effed. I wouldn't be surprised if they shut him down for the rest of the season -- even if his forearm isn't as bad as last night's exit suggested it was.
(Between Stras and A-Rod going to the DL -- plus Youk and Carlos Santana's previous season-ending injuries, plus Prado and Soto's ongoing injuries -- a first-division finish in my fantasy league will be a huge overachievement. I feel like the Red Sox this year.)
CFB AP Preseason Top 25: Alabama is No. 1, for the first time in the preseason since 1978. Basically, if you're under 45, you basically have no recollection of Alabama being preseason No. 1, until now.
For what it's worth, I can't pick Bama No. 1, because my preseason Top 25 is a reflection of how I think the season will end, and I think that Alabama doesn't even win the SEC title, let alone the national title.
Ballot going up soon, but I'm ranking Texas-Boise at 1-2. (Yes, I'm backing off my Boise-as-national-champ theory, but I figure putting them in the national-title game will still put me ahead of 99 percent of people out there.)
NFL Preseason: Big Ben is back, and perfectly capable... Albert Haynesworth obviously doesn't care what Mike Shanahan thinks of him... Well, Sam Bradford isn't particularly good, but at least he got through another game without crumpling.
More MLB:
*More trouble for Lincecum (but a huge get-back-on-track win for the Cards)...
*Nothing symbolizes the O's resurgence under Buck Showalter like the throttling they gave Cliff Lee and the Rangers. (Josh Bell!)
*The winning secret for the Mets: Rain-shortened 6-inning games.
USA Hoops: Wow, Kevin Durant did NOT look good yesterday. World title or bust, fellas.
-- D.S.
So: About Jay Mariotti. Yikes, that's a lot of schadenfreude. It's like the guy has zero allies in sports media -- granted, it would have been a rough moment to come to his defense.
I guess the rationalization comes down to: "What would Jay say about an athlete who did what he did?" He'd kill him, fairly or not... unnecessarily or not. So that's the treatment he is getting.
(For what it's worth, Jay was pretty nice to me when I went on Around the Horn -- another panelist was a pretty big asshole to me, so I appreciated Jay's reception. But I also recognize that he hasn't treated plenty of media folks nicely, starting with his former Sun-Times colleagues. I'm sure it's not an easy night for the ATH team -- or Mariotti's bosses at AOL.)
Well, Stephen Strasburg is totally effed. I wouldn't be surprised if they shut him down for the rest of the season -- even if his forearm isn't as bad as last night's exit suggested it was.
(Between Stras and A-Rod going to the DL -- plus Youk and Carlos Santana's previous season-ending injuries, plus Prado and Soto's ongoing injuries -- a first-division finish in my fantasy league will be a huge overachievement. I feel like the Red Sox this year.)
CFB AP Preseason Top 25: Alabama is No. 1, for the first time in the preseason since 1978. Basically, if you're under 45, you basically have no recollection of Alabama being preseason No. 1, until now.
For what it's worth, I can't pick Bama No. 1, because my preseason Top 25 is a reflection of how I think the season will end, and I think that Alabama doesn't even win the SEC title, let alone the national title.
Ballot going up soon, but I'm ranking Texas-Boise at 1-2. (Yes, I'm backing off my Boise-as-national-champ theory, but I figure putting them in the national-title game will still put me ahead of 99 percent of people out there.)
NFL Preseason: Big Ben is back, and perfectly capable... Albert Haynesworth obviously doesn't care what Mike Shanahan thinks of him... Well, Sam Bradford isn't particularly good, but at least he got through another game without crumpling.
More MLB:
*More trouble for Lincecum (but a huge get-back-on-track win for the Cards)...
*Nothing symbolizes the O's resurgence under Buck Showalter like the throttling they gave Cliff Lee and the Rangers. (Josh Bell!)
*The winning secret for the Mets: Rain-shortened 6-inning games.
USA Hoops: Wow, Kevin Durant did NOT look good yesterday. World title or bust, fellas.
-- D.S.
Saturday (Very) Quickie
Still mulling over my initial BlogPoll Top 25, with my biggest issue being... No. 1, if you can believe that.
I can't get behind Alabama, because I think they'll lose in the SEC title game to Florida. I obviously can't pick Ohio State. My early choice, Boise State, is unrealistic -- but I might just go with them. The only other obvious choice would be Texas. Winning a national title the year after Colt McCoy leaves would be compelling. (Hmm: Texas over Florida in the national-title game as a repudiation of the Tebow-McCoy Era?) Anyway, still working on it.
*Hmm: Maybe T.O. is in for a big year after all...
*I guess Roger Clemens is going all-in with the denial. (Please note that indicting Clemens was the most bipartisan political effort of the last few years.)
*Mountain West + C-USA? I love that they think if they played a post-title game between the two league champs, that winner would get an automatic BCS-bowl invite. How quaint. (That said, I have long argued that the non-BCS teams should create their own playoff; this would cover most of the good ones. Eh: It was a stronger argument when Utah and BYU were included.)
*It is amazing for golf that golfers have so little regard for Tiger that they are willing to talk trash about him (cc: Rory McIlroy)
*No Serena at the US Open? She's only the biggest draw.
*Did you know the Arena League held its ArenaBowl? And that Spokane beat Tampa for the title? And that the score was 69-57? Who knew? (And there's the problem.)
-- D.S.
I can't get behind Alabama, because I think they'll lose in the SEC title game to Florida. I obviously can't pick Ohio State. My early choice, Boise State, is unrealistic -- but I might just go with them. The only other obvious choice would be Texas. Winning a national title the year after Colt McCoy leaves would be compelling. (Hmm: Texas over Florida in the national-title game as a repudiation of the Tebow-McCoy Era?) Anyway, still working on it.
*Hmm: Maybe T.O. is in for a big year after all...
*I guess Roger Clemens is going all-in with the denial. (Please note that indicting Clemens was the most bipartisan political effort of the last few years.)
*Mountain West + C-USA? I love that they think if they played a post-title game between the two league champs, that winner would get an automatic BCS-bowl invite. How quaint. (That said, I have long argued that the non-BCS teams should create their own playoff; this would cover most of the good ones. Eh: It was a stronger argument when Utah and BYU were included.)
*It is amazing for golf that golfers have so little regard for Tiger that they are willing to talk trash about him (cc: Rory McIlroy)
*No Serena at the US Open? She's only the biggest draw.
*Did you know the Arena League held its ArenaBowl? And that Spokane beat Tampa for the title? And that the score was 69-57? Who knew? (And there's the problem.)
-- D.S.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Read: Books Coming This Fall
This is the final entry of this year's edition of the DanShanoff.com Summer Reading Series. Earlier this week: Zirin's "Bad Sports"; Weinreb's "Bigger Than The Game"; and Layden's "Blood, Sweat and Chalk."
Today: Books coming later this fall that I'm looking forward to.
Let me start with a book that isn't coming: It is -- and will probably always will be -- a massive regret that part of this list is not "Untitled Tim Tebow Book" by Dan Shanoff.
It's not like I didn't have my chances. I have/had an extensive outline written. I had 500 pages of notes organized from my experience with TimTeblog.com -- more than enough source material for a book I didn't want to run much longer than 200 pages. I knew I wanted to write it back in January, and this spring I had plenty of time.
Even without a "real" publisher (the lead times are way too long for a book I wanted to be out by September or October 2010), my intention was to self-publish an e-book. Maybe I still will, but the window is quickly going to close. Maybe I can find the time to have it done by the 2011 NFL Draft or the start of the 2011 NFL season, but I really wanted to have it done... well, by now.
Enough self-flagellation. Nevertheless, on to some talented folks who DID write their books, and these are the ones that I am most excited about reading this fall:
September 21: "How Lucky You Can Be" (Buster Olney)
October 14: "Death to the BCS" (Dan Wetzel et al)
October 26: "The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History" (FreeDarko)
Know any others? Let me know, and I'll add it to my list. No oversights or slights intended.
-- D.S.
Today: Books coming later this fall that I'm looking forward to.
Let me start with a book that isn't coming: It is -- and will probably always will be -- a massive regret that part of this list is not "Untitled Tim Tebow Book" by Dan Shanoff.
It's not like I didn't have my chances. I have/had an extensive outline written. I had 500 pages of notes organized from my experience with TimTeblog.com -- more than enough source material for a book I didn't want to run much longer than 200 pages. I knew I wanted to write it back in January, and this spring I had plenty of time.
Even without a "real" publisher (the lead times are way too long for a book I wanted to be out by September or October 2010), my intention was to self-publish an e-book. Maybe I still will, but the window is quickly going to close. Maybe I can find the time to have it done by the 2011 NFL Draft or the start of the 2011 NFL season, but I really wanted to have it done... well, by now.
Enough self-flagellation. Nevertheless, on to some talented folks who DID write their books, and these are the ones that I am most excited about reading this fall:
September 21: "How Lucky You Can Be" (Buster Olney)
October 14: "Death to the BCS" (Dan Wetzel et al)
October 26: "The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History" (FreeDarko)
Know any others? Let me know, and I'll add it to my list. No oversights or slights intended.
-- D.S.
08/20 Quickie: Tillman, Spiller, Lilly
Names to Know: Pat Tillman, Roger Clemens, Ted Lilly, CJ Spiller, Wes Welker, Percy Harvin, Kyle Orton, Brian Cushing, Rudy Fernandez, Ryan Lochte, BlogPoll and More.
"The Tillman Story" releases today: I have said this before -- the Pat Tillman story is one of the most defining of this era. Everything about this movie screams "must-see." But don't expect it to be anything but painful, frustrating, maddening.
The cover-up -- at so many levels, it is excruciating -- and disinformation campaign is staggering. Everyone involved in abusing and distorting and shaming Tillman's intentions, actions and legacy should live their lives with an ongoing sense of shame.
A few years ago, I called Pat Tillman's story -- and, really, the story of his parents' search for the truth -- one of the Top 5 most powerful and important sports stories of the last century. I stand by that.
Roger Clemens indicted: Far more interesting was the debut of his Twitter feed, which was greeted with general mockery. Why don't the handlers of these rich athletes hire a decent ghostwriter?
Ted Lilly, post-trade to Dodgers, is quickly becoming one of my favorite stories in baseball. Last night was arguably Lilly's best start ever: A 2-hit complete-game shut-out, with 11Ks.
NFL Preseason: CJ Spiller... CJ Spiller... CJ Spiller. (I was shut out of getting Spiller in my morning draft yesterday -- yoinked 3 picks ahead of where I was going to snag him -- but I got him in my evening draft. (BTW: What happened to enthusiasm in Toronto for the NFL? Crowd was 15,000 less than capacity.)
Wes "Welkah" makes 2 catches: Speaking of fantasy drafts, I went long on Tom Brady, taking him in the 2nd round of both of yesterday's drafts. Typically, I wait on drafting QBs until later; then again, typically I stink in fantasy leagues. Trying a new tactic this year.
Percy Harvin hospitalized: Let's hope he's OK. When healthy, one of the most dynamic talents in the league. But rarely healthy. To be competitive, the Vikings need him.
Full weekend of NFL preseason games: As always, the focus is on watching if any key starters get injured, how bad the injury is and what the impact on the fantasy season might be. Plus: Will Big Ben play? Oh, and seeing if Sam Bradford can take a hit. (Yes, I recognize the irony that Tim Tebow was injured on his first big hit in the pros. He will miss this weekend's game; I take solace knowing that Sam Bradford can't even attempt that kind of play, because he would crumple.)
Obligatory Tebow item: The Broncos extended Kyle Orton's deal into 2011. Does that mean that they expect Orton to continue to be the starter next season (implicitly, that Tebow will NOT be the starter next season?) Interesting -- I think most Broncos fans did not see that coming.
(I did NOT draft Tebow in my P&G fantasy league -- certainly not with the No. 1 overall pick, although I joked about it. I was planning to take him in the final, 15th round but KSK's Josh Zerkle took him in the 12th round, apparently to spite me. In my other draft yesterday, I did take Tebow with my final pick, in the 16th round.)
Brian Cushing 4-game suspension upheld by NFL: Didn't expect otherwise.
NBA fines Rudy Fernandez for dissing the NBA: That isn't likely to inspire Rudy to want to stay in the NBA. (Why can't the Blazers trade him to a team that will give him more of a role? I'd love to have him on the Wiz, pairing in the backcourt with Wall. Fernandez is like a less-idiotic version of Nick Young.)
Michael Phelps Watch: Has Ryan Lochte passed him?
BlogPoll Top 25: Last chance for comments and input. I will try to have my first pass at a ballot by the end of the day (tomorrow at the latest -- know it's the weekend, sorry.)
In addition to a BlogPoll post, later today is the final day of my Summer Reading Series, including a confession. Should be posted around noon/1.
Enjoy your weekend, everyone. I'll be posting the usual "Very" Quickies on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
-- D.S.
"The Tillman Story" releases today: I have said this before -- the Pat Tillman story is one of the most defining of this era. Everything about this movie screams "must-see." But don't expect it to be anything but painful, frustrating, maddening.
The cover-up -- at so many levels, it is excruciating -- and disinformation campaign is staggering. Everyone involved in abusing and distorting and shaming Tillman's intentions, actions and legacy should live their lives with an ongoing sense of shame.
A few years ago, I called Pat Tillman's story -- and, really, the story of his parents' search for the truth -- one of the Top 5 most powerful and important sports stories of the last century. I stand by that.
Roger Clemens indicted: Far more interesting was the debut of his Twitter feed, which was greeted with general mockery. Why don't the handlers of these rich athletes hire a decent ghostwriter?
Ted Lilly, post-trade to Dodgers, is quickly becoming one of my favorite stories in baseball. Last night was arguably Lilly's best start ever: A 2-hit complete-game shut-out, with 11Ks.
NFL Preseason: CJ Spiller... CJ Spiller... CJ Spiller. (I was shut out of getting Spiller in my morning draft yesterday -- yoinked 3 picks ahead of where I was going to snag him -- but I got him in my evening draft. (BTW: What happened to enthusiasm in Toronto for the NFL? Crowd was 15,000 less than capacity.)
Wes "Welkah" makes 2 catches: Speaking of fantasy drafts, I went long on Tom Brady, taking him in the 2nd round of both of yesterday's drafts. Typically, I wait on drafting QBs until later; then again, typically I stink in fantasy leagues. Trying a new tactic this year.
Percy Harvin hospitalized: Let's hope he's OK. When healthy, one of the most dynamic talents in the league. But rarely healthy. To be competitive, the Vikings need him.
Full weekend of NFL preseason games: As always, the focus is on watching if any key starters get injured, how bad the injury is and what the impact on the fantasy season might be. Plus: Will Big Ben play? Oh, and seeing if Sam Bradford can take a hit. (Yes, I recognize the irony that Tim Tebow was injured on his first big hit in the pros. He will miss this weekend's game; I take solace knowing that Sam Bradford can't even attempt that kind of play, because he would crumple.)
Obligatory Tebow item: The Broncos extended Kyle Orton's deal into 2011. Does that mean that they expect Orton to continue to be the starter next season (implicitly, that Tebow will NOT be the starter next season?) Interesting -- I think most Broncos fans did not see that coming.
(I did NOT draft Tebow in my P&G fantasy league -- certainly not with the No. 1 overall pick, although I joked about it. I was planning to take him in the final, 15th round but KSK's Josh Zerkle took him in the 12th round, apparently to spite me. In my other draft yesterday, I did take Tebow with my final pick, in the 16th round.)
Brian Cushing 4-game suspension upheld by NFL: Didn't expect otherwise.
NBA fines Rudy Fernandez for dissing the NBA: That isn't likely to inspire Rudy to want to stay in the NBA. (Why can't the Blazers trade him to a team that will give him more of a role? I'd love to have him on the Wiz, pairing in the backcourt with Wall. Fernandez is like a less-idiotic version of Nick Young.)
Michael Phelps Watch: Has Ryan Lochte passed him?
BlogPoll Top 25: Last chance for comments and input. I will try to have my first pass at a ballot by the end of the day (tomorrow at the latest -- know it's the weekend, sorry.)
In addition to a BlogPoll post, later today is the final day of my Summer Reading Series, including a confession. Should be posted around noon/1.
Enjoy your weekend, everyone. I'll be posting the usual "Very" Quickies on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
-- D.S.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Read: Layden's "Blood, Sweat and Chalk"
Day 3 of the annual DanShanoff.com Summer Reading Series, featuring the best books of the summer for your vacation/beach/commuter/seasonal reading interests...
Today: "Blood, Sweat and Chalk" by Tim Layden
Sometimes, I will read a book and, very quickly, recognize its essential value to fans. Sometimes, I label this "If You Read Just One Book About This, Read This One." That's how I felt about Jeff MacGregor's "Sunday Money."
With some sports, like football or baseball or basketball, there are simply too many great books to say that a single book is definitive. But a book can certainly join the select group of must-reads.
That's how I felt about Tim Layden's "Blood, Sweat and Chalk," the first book I have seen that goes deep into the core Xs-and-Os strategies of football, the fundamental formations and innovations that have defined the game's evolution.
Chapters are relatively short: Each play is described in detail, but equally interesting put into context -- its strategic etymology, its backstory. Layden traces innovation to its roots or, alternatively, profiles the coaches who popularized it. The short chapters are to the book's credit -- it means Layden could work more plays in to the book.
Here is why I put the book among my essential football books: I learned a ton about a subject any good fan SHOULD know but is rarely educated on, whether from the TV broadcast, from books or from magazine articles -- key formations, what they are and where they came from. For whatever reason, TV analysts don't dive nearly enough into the Xs and Os. Layden helps fill the gap.
I feel smarter as a football fan -- more knowledgeable -- for having read the book. This isn't dissimilar from the feeling I got first reading Chris Brown's ground-breaking "Smart Football" blog, which took the sports blogosphere by storm last fall. (Brown remains a must-follow Twitter account, particularly on Saturdays while football games are on.)
Fans are better off when we understand the games more thoroughly -- columnist platitudes are fine, but "I never played the game" only goes so far. Shoring up your understanding of the single-wing or the spread or the wishbone or the zone blitz or the Air Raid will make watching football more enjoyable.
"Blood, Sweat and Chalk" -- part-history, part-chalktalk -- is as accessible as it is entertaining. It is a book I had been looking forward to since I first heard about it a year ago, and it is a worthwhile read to get you prepared for football season.
Coming tomorrow: Looking Ahead to This Fall's Book Releases
-- D.S.
Today: "Blood, Sweat and Chalk" by Tim Layden
Sometimes, I will read a book and, very quickly, recognize its essential value to fans. Sometimes, I label this "If You Read Just One Book About This, Read This One." That's how I felt about Jeff MacGregor's "Sunday Money."
With some sports, like football or baseball or basketball, there are simply too many great books to say that a single book is definitive. But a book can certainly join the select group of must-reads.
That's how I felt about Tim Layden's "Blood, Sweat and Chalk," the first book I have seen that goes deep into the core Xs-and-Os strategies of football, the fundamental formations and innovations that have defined the game's evolution.
Chapters are relatively short: Each play is described in detail, but equally interesting put into context -- its strategic etymology, its backstory. Layden traces innovation to its roots or, alternatively, profiles the coaches who popularized it. The short chapters are to the book's credit -- it means Layden could work more plays in to the book.
Here is why I put the book among my essential football books: I learned a ton about a subject any good fan SHOULD know but is rarely educated on, whether from the TV broadcast, from books or from magazine articles -- key formations, what they are and where they came from. For whatever reason, TV analysts don't dive nearly enough into the Xs and Os. Layden helps fill the gap.
I feel smarter as a football fan -- more knowledgeable -- for having read the book. This isn't dissimilar from the feeling I got first reading Chris Brown's ground-breaking "Smart Football" blog, which took the sports blogosphere by storm last fall. (Brown remains a must-follow Twitter account, particularly on Saturdays while football games are on.)
Fans are better off when we understand the games more thoroughly -- columnist platitudes are fine, but "I never played the game" only goes so far. Shoring up your understanding of the single-wing or the spread or the wishbone or the zone blitz or the Air Raid will make watching football more enjoyable.
"Blood, Sweat and Chalk" -- part-history, part-chalktalk -- is as accessible as it is entertaining. It is a book I had been looking forward to since I first heard about it a year ago, and it is a worthwhile read to get you prepared for football season.
Coming tomorrow: Looking Ahead to This Fall's Book Releases
-- D.S.
Sponsored Post: Introducing the BFL
I am trying something new here: I was invited to participate in a celebrity-blogger fantasy football league (the "Blogger Football League" or "BFL"), sponsored by Procter & Gamble.
Throughout the fall, I am going to write posts with updates about how things are going in the league. These posts will clearly be labeled "Sponsored"; I am also aiming to make them as interesting as any "regular" post you would find here. (So that depends on how "interesting" you usually find them.)
P&G isn't paying me to participate, although the company and its PR team took me and the other league participants out to dinner last night, and the draft is being held at NFL league offices today -- that certainly wouldn't happen without the participation of P&G, a big NFL sponsor. You might have remembered the Jerry Rice thing a few weeks ago; that was part of it.
(Sidebar: For those that have followed the stories from my long-and-winding career, you might remember that I spent a little less than a year as an employee of the NFL -- from the fall of 1997 through the spring of 1998 -- working in the interactive group on NFL.com; I spent the majority of my effort on Superbowl.com. Working for the league, however briefly, afforded me one of the great memories of my life: Getting to take my dad and brother to the Super Bowl in San Diego -- John Elway's first title. Today's trip to the league office will be my first trip back since I left. I believe I have an old NFL business card lying in a file box somewhere...)
I was enthusiastic to participate in the league for a few reasons, not the least of which because I have been and remain excited about how marketers and editorially focused companies can work together innovatively; I liked the commitment P&G was making to experimenting -- I felt like it was a good moment to engage in some experimentation of my own.
Again, I will always be entirely clear with you about what posts are part of a sponsorship, rather than the regularly scheduled editorial -- but I will also try my best, regardless of whether the post is "regular" or sponsored, to keep the content quality at a level you have come to expect here. It doesn't do anyone -- me, you, P&G -- any good if I offer weak efforts.
OK, so apologies if this post came across as "heavy" -- let me end by lightening it up:
The league draft is today. Last night I was given the No. 1 overall pick (and the dreaded back-to-back in a snake involving 12 teams, which means my next pick after No. 1 is No's 24 and 25. Yikes.
But when I "won" the 1st pick, I immediately joked that I was going to take Tim Tebow No. 1 overall. After the jokes subsided, I actually considered it, for real -- after all, what would earn the league more media coverage than having a guy who took Tim Tebow as the No. 1 overall pick?
Then I realized that the vast majority of the coverage would be mockery -- most of it unpleasant. For you or readers at TimTeblog or around the blogosphere, me picking Tebow would be an amusing inside joke; for everyone else, it is "idiot picks Tim Tebow first overall in fantasy draft."
It's a fine line between hilarity and humiliation. I'm going to take Chris Johnson first and presume there will be plenty of opportunities to reach for Tebow late. Some might say that drafting him at all is a "reach" -- perhaps even a humiliation of its own kind.
By the way, everyone in the league is affiliated with a P&G brand. I was assigned Old Spice, in part because I was blown away by the amazing series of near-real-time web videos the brand did a few weeks ago -- not to mention the innovative way they created the "Swagger" rating on Madden '11. In fact, that -- plus this post from Kotaku about it -- inspired my team name: "99-Rated Swagger." (Read the Kotaku post to understand the joke.)
Speaking of the videos, I will certainly make it my goal to have the Old Spice guy (Isaiah Mustafa) do a homemade video for me. Hopefully it will start with something like, "Hello, ladies... look at your man... now back to me... now back at your man... now back to me..."
Anyway, thanks for sticking with this "kickoff" post. Going forward, the posts might link back to this one for background, but otherwise, as Aqua Teen Hunger Force might say, I'm not going to explain the plot.
I really should draft Tim Tebow No. 1 overall.... No no... must... resist: Chris Johnson it is.
Throughout the fall, I am going to write posts with updates about how things are going in the league. These posts will clearly be labeled "Sponsored"; I am also aiming to make them as interesting as any "regular" post you would find here. (So that depends on how "interesting" you usually find them.)
P&G isn't paying me to participate, although the company and its PR team took me and the other league participants out to dinner last night, and the draft is being held at NFL league offices today -- that certainly wouldn't happen without the participation of P&G, a big NFL sponsor. You might have remembered the Jerry Rice thing a few weeks ago; that was part of it.
(Sidebar: For those that have followed the stories from my long-and-winding career, you might remember that I spent a little less than a year as an employee of the NFL -- from the fall of 1997 through the spring of 1998 -- working in the interactive group on NFL.com; I spent the majority of my effort on Superbowl.com. Working for the league, however briefly, afforded me one of the great memories of my life: Getting to take my dad and brother to the Super Bowl in San Diego -- John Elway's first title. Today's trip to the league office will be my first trip back since I left. I believe I have an old NFL business card lying in a file box somewhere...)
I was enthusiastic to participate in the league for a few reasons, not the least of which because I have been and remain excited about how marketers and editorially focused companies can work together innovatively; I liked the commitment P&G was making to experimenting -- I felt like it was a good moment to engage in some experimentation of my own.
Again, I will always be entirely clear with you about what posts are part of a sponsorship, rather than the regularly scheduled editorial -- but I will also try my best, regardless of whether the post is "regular" or sponsored, to keep the content quality at a level you have come to expect here. It doesn't do anyone -- me, you, P&G -- any good if I offer weak efforts.
OK, so apologies if this post came across as "heavy" -- let me end by lightening it up:
The league draft is today. Last night I was given the No. 1 overall pick (and the dreaded back-to-back in a snake involving 12 teams, which means my next pick after No. 1 is No's 24 and 25. Yikes.
But when I "won" the 1st pick, I immediately joked that I was going to take Tim Tebow No. 1 overall. After the jokes subsided, I actually considered it, for real -- after all, what would earn the league more media coverage than having a guy who took Tim Tebow as the No. 1 overall pick?
Then I realized that the vast majority of the coverage would be mockery -- most of it unpleasant. For you or readers at TimTeblog or around the blogosphere, me picking Tebow would be an amusing inside joke; for everyone else, it is "idiot picks Tim Tebow first overall in fantasy draft."
It's a fine line between hilarity and humiliation. I'm going to take Chris Johnson first and presume there will be plenty of opportunities to reach for Tebow late. Some might say that drafting him at all is a "reach" -- perhaps even a humiliation of its own kind.
By the way, everyone in the league is affiliated with a P&G brand. I was assigned Old Spice, in part because I was blown away by the amazing series of near-real-time web videos the brand did a few weeks ago -- not to mention the innovative way they created the "Swagger" rating on Madden '11. In fact, that -- plus this post from Kotaku about it -- inspired my team name: "99-Rated Swagger." (Read the Kotaku post to understand the joke.)
Speaking of the videos, I will certainly make it my goal to have the Old Spice guy (Isaiah Mustafa) do a homemade video for me. Hopefully it will start with something like, "Hello, ladies... look at your man... now back to me... now back at your man... now back to me..."
Anyway, thanks for sticking with this "kickoff" post. Going forward, the posts might link back to this one for background, but otherwise, as Aqua Teen Hunger Force might say, I'm not going to explain the plot.
I really should draft Tim Tebow No. 1 overall.... No no... must... resist: Chris Johnson it is.
08/19 Quickie: Lee, WAC, Knocks, Melo
Names to Know: CJ Spiller, Rex Ryan, Antonio Cromartie, Derrek Lee, Evan Longoria, Joe Mauer, Jason Heyward, WAC, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Tebow, Tim Layden, BlogPoll and More.
NFL Tonight: Colts/Bills (let's see how CJ Spiller does as The Guy) and Patriots/Falcons. (Nope, no Favre updates here...)a
"Hard Knocks" Watch: A lot less F-bombing from Rex Ryan -- I'm quite sure he didn't curse less; the show's editors chose to take them out after last week's reactions -- but that's not the point. If cursing is who he is, then I'm with Ryan: Who is anyone else (Tony Dungy) to $%^&-ing judge?
(UPDATE: I'm sorry -- this Antonio Cromatrie thing is blowing up.)
MLB Notes: Huge sweep for the Rays over the Rangers in a preview of what will happen if they meet in the playoffs... Back in April, would you have believed that it would take until August 18 for Joe Mauer to hit a HR at Target Field?... J-Hey: Walk-off....
Derrek Lee traded: Seems a bit awkward that Lee's first game with the Braves will be at Wrigley Field against the Cubs, but at least Cubs fans will be able to give him a proper cheer for his career.
BYU/WAC/MWC Madness: It's like a poor man's Big 12 situation from earlier this summer. The latest: The MWC is raiding the WAC for Fresno St and Nevada -- and potentially keeping BYU in the fold? I'd still like to see BYU go indie in football, if only for the novelty. (It's a tough blow to the WAC if the MWC takes two of its best football teams.)
Carmelo likes Houston, Brooklyn: Could either the Rockets or the Nets come up with a trade package to satisfy the Nuggets? Might be a stretch for the Rockets; that's the downside of Daryl Morey's system of finding undervalued players.
As for the Nets, this is huge: They were shut out of the Summer of 2010 free-agent frenzy and are desperate for a Face of the franchise as the team looks to move to Brooklyn in 2 years. I'd simply offer Derrick Favors -- and if the Nuggets were smart, they would jump on that.
(Carmelo might be fumbling this a bit -- although you'd think Nuggets fans would rather get something for him now than see him leave them empty-handed, LeBron-style -- but I love that he recognizes the upside of the Nets. Pair him with Brook Lopez, Devin Harris and a Top 5 Lottery pick next year and the Nets have a solid core.)
Obligatory Tebow item: Injured?! Remember that TD he scored as time expired on Sunday night. Yeah, that might have injured him a bit in the ribs. He probably won't play in Denver's 2nd preseason game, but it's not so bad that if it was a regular-season game, he wouldn't play.
Media: ESPN.com re-designed their top nav bar and I really like it.
BTW: I enjoy Mark Schlabach's annual "What's Hot (and Not)" list for college football each August, but let's take a trip in the way-back machine to ESPN.com's (ahem) original "What's Hot/What's Not" list for college football... from 2002. Check it out if you want to feel old.
More CFB: Don't forget to weigh in on my initial BlogPoll Top 25 ballot.
Coming later this morning: A small announcement about a new sponsorship relationship I'm experimenting with here.
(Nominally related, I have not one but two fantasy drafts today: One related to the sponsorship and one for the league I've been in for years. Will I draft Tebow? In either? Both? At all?)
Coming at 1-ish: Day 3 of my Summer Reading Series, Tim Layden's "Blood, Sweat and Chalk." (See yesterday's: Weinreb's Bigger Than the Game)
-- D.S.
NFL Tonight: Colts/Bills (let's see how CJ Spiller does as The Guy) and Patriots/Falcons. (Nope, no Favre updates here...)a
"Hard Knocks" Watch: A lot less F-bombing from Rex Ryan -- I'm quite sure he didn't curse less; the show's editors chose to take them out after last week's reactions -- but that's not the point. If cursing is who he is, then I'm with Ryan: Who is anyone else (Tony Dungy) to $%^&-ing judge?
(UPDATE: I'm sorry -- this Antonio Cromatrie thing is blowing up.)
MLB Notes: Huge sweep for the Rays over the Rangers in a preview of what will happen if they meet in the playoffs... Back in April, would you have believed that it would take until August 18 for Joe Mauer to hit a HR at Target Field?... J-Hey: Walk-off....
Derrek Lee traded: Seems a bit awkward that Lee's first game with the Braves will be at Wrigley Field against the Cubs, but at least Cubs fans will be able to give him a proper cheer for his career.
BYU/WAC/MWC Madness: It's like a poor man's Big 12 situation from earlier this summer. The latest: The MWC is raiding the WAC for Fresno St and Nevada -- and potentially keeping BYU in the fold? I'd still like to see BYU go indie in football, if only for the novelty. (It's a tough blow to the WAC if the MWC takes two of its best football teams.)
Carmelo likes Houston, Brooklyn: Could either the Rockets or the Nets come up with a trade package to satisfy the Nuggets? Might be a stretch for the Rockets; that's the downside of Daryl Morey's system of finding undervalued players.
As for the Nets, this is huge: They were shut out of the Summer of 2010 free-agent frenzy and are desperate for a Face of the franchise as the team looks to move to Brooklyn in 2 years. I'd simply offer Derrick Favors -- and if the Nuggets were smart, they would jump on that.
(Carmelo might be fumbling this a bit -- although you'd think Nuggets fans would rather get something for him now than see him leave them empty-handed, LeBron-style -- but I love that he recognizes the upside of the Nets. Pair him with Brook Lopez, Devin Harris and a Top 5 Lottery pick next year and the Nets have a solid core.)
Obligatory Tebow item: Injured?! Remember that TD he scored as time expired on Sunday night. Yeah, that might have injured him a bit in the ribs. He probably won't play in Denver's 2nd preseason game, but it's not so bad that if it was a regular-season game, he wouldn't play.
Media: ESPN.com re-designed their top nav bar and I really like it.
BTW: I enjoy Mark Schlabach's annual "What's Hot (and Not)" list for college football each August, but let's take a trip in the way-back machine to ESPN.com's (ahem) original "What's Hot/What's Not" list for college football... from 2002. Check it out if you want to feel old.
More CFB: Don't forget to weigh in on my initial BlogPoll Top 25 ballot.
Coming later this morning: A small announcement about a new sponsorship relationship I'm experimenting with here.
(Nominally related, I have not one but two fantasy drafts today: One related to the sponsorship and one for the league I've been in for years. Will I draft Tebow? In either? Both? At all?)
Coming at 1-ish: Day 3 of my Summer Reading Series, Tim Layden's "Blood, Sweat and Chalk." (See yesterday's: Weinreb's Bigger Than the Game)
-- D.S.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot: Help!
It's that time of year: My first BlogPoll Top 25 ballot is due on Monday. Would love your input in the comments. Let's say we use the traditional rankings as a starting point, at least for the purposes of arguing who is overrated, who is underrated and who isn't rated (but should be).
Keep in mind my criteria for the first week: How the season will end. After the first week, I mostly vote based on how teams have played so far this season, not their potential.
I will try to update the comments as frequently as I can, so we can have a real discussion going. And I will try to take the comments and build out my first draft by Friday, for discussion on Friday and all weekend, before submitting the final version of the ballot on Sunday night.
Keep in mind my criteria for the first week: How the season will end. After the first week, I mostly vote based on how teams have played so far this season, not their potential.
I will try to update the comments as frequently as I can, so we can have a real discussion going. And I will try to take the comments and build out my first draft by Friday, for discussion on Friday and all weekend, before submitting the final version of the ballot on Sunday night.
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