Archive for the ‘NFL’ Category

The Slipper Still Fits

Posted: March 20, 2013 in NFL
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I can still remember exactly where I was when I heard Gus Johnson shout that out at the end of the Gonzaga-Florida Sweet 16 matchup in 1999. Gonzaga’s forward, Calvary, had just tipped in a shot to put the Zags up by 1, and Florida missed the ensuing possession to send Gonzaga to the Elite Eight. The Zags have not been back since, but fourteen years later they are a one seed, and at least by ranking are expected to make the Final Four.

I don’t bring this up because I am some huge Gonzaga fan. However, that moment, among others is why we love the tournament. You may remember exactly how you felt and where you were at the moment Laettner hit the Shot, Tyus Edney went coast to coast (ugh!), or Hampton’s Coach got bear hugged at the end of the game by one of his players. In a sense, this tournament has become more than about basketball. It has become a time to bond with buddies, pull for the underdog, and feel happy, sad, angry, embarassed, and relieved all in one final possession.

sato

Although my alma mater, Xavier, is not in the tournament this year, I will still think back to the 2004 tournament as the CBS music comes on to signal the start of Thursday’s games. That was my Senior year at Xavier, and it was the year Xavier finally hit the big stage. After beating Louisville, Mississippi State and Texas, Xavier faced Duke, one of the ultimate blue bloods in college basketball for the right to go to the Final Four. All of my buddies and I drove down to Atlanta and went to the game. Though Xavier ended up losing that game (we got CBSed), I still fondly remember being with my friends for life on that trip, and it is something I will never forget. That is College Basketball and that is the NCAA tournament, and that is what makes the next two or so weeks so great.

Top Five Reasons Why ESPN is THE EVIL EMPIRE

Posted: May 9, 2012 in MLB, NBA, NCAA, NFL
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It is about that time. If you are even a casual reader of this blog, you can tell that my affinity for ESPN is quite low. So without further ado, here are my top five reasons for why ESPN sucks.

1.) ESPN is the cause for conference realignment. Yep that’s right. It is all ESPN’s fault that the rivalries and traditions of college sports have deteriorated. Why? Well, why have schools gone from the Big 12 to the SEC, the Big East to the Big 12 etc?….money. Where does the money come from? TV Contracts! And on what tv stations do 90 percent of the college games play? Well, the “ESPN Family of Networks” of course. Those ESPN Family of Networks just keep paying a ridiculous amount of money to air college football games, that schools are thus taking advantage. And Why not…it isn’t the school’s fault that ESPN employs a bunch of morons. Then, what really bugs me is that the same ESPN idiots who have been the cause of conference realignment, start pointing fingers at the schools and their Presidents. ” Well, it’s Missouri’s fault that the Big 12 almost imploded because they wanted to get to the SEC. Well it’s Syracuse’s fault that they are moving to the ACC.” No you morons. It is your fault because you are paying conferences a ridiculous amount of money to air a game where you don’t really have a lot of competition.

2.) Their Groundbreaking News is Usually Wrong. As far as groundbreaking news goes, ESPN is barely a step above the National Enquirer. Let’s take the Albert Pujols signing this past winter as an example. When was the first time you ever heard that the Angels were even in the mix? Oh yeah basiclaly when Pujols signed on the dotted line. Great investigative journalism ESPN. I thought you were the WorldWide Leader Sports.

3.) The Decision. Enough said. Yes Lebron is evil and a complete idiot. However, you would think grown men would know better. Then, of course, these are the same people who then chastised Lebron for months on end about what an awful thing he did.

4.) Their Experts aren’t Experts. I love when ESPN asks the Experts about their predictions for the upcoming champion of the four major sports. For example, take a look at who 33 out of the 45 “experts” picked to win the World Series last year. The Red Sox…hmmm interesting since ESPN is based in Bristol, CT and the closest baseball team are the Red Sox. Also, these guys aren’t experts. They are either reporters, anchors, or washed up has been or never was professional sports players who would rather come up with some new schtick than actually do any reasearch. They just have an opinion like everyone else. You know what ESPN should do? Ask someone out in Iowa sitting on their couch with a sausage hanging out of their mouth who they think the 2012 MLB Champion will be. That would at least be entertaining, and make more sense than the junk these experts pull out of their butts.

5.) Mel Kiper, Chris Berman et al. They suck period. They aren’t funny, they aren’t original, they think they know everything, problem  is they don’t and they’re not.

6.) ESPN Insider: You are so special that you make people pay extra for your great opinion…errr (ahem!) investigative reporting. Wow you really do suck.

R.I.P MCA

Posted: May 7, 2012 in NFL
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I hope that you all will accept this break in my regularly scheduled programming to pay tribute to one of the pioneers of hip hop music that we lost this past week. Adam Yauch (MCA), one of the founding members of the Beastie Boys, died on Friday to that bitch of a disease called cancer.

Although this is a sports blog, I feel compelled to write about this tragic loss in music. For one, my career is in the radio world, and two, Beastie Boys were one of the pioneers of hip hop. Just think for a second how freaking crazy this is…three Jewish White kids from New York City made it to be one of the biggest hip hop groups (debatedly the biggest) ever.

Many people don’t know this but the Beastie Boys actually started out as a punk rock group. However, after a experimental record that actually gained some traction in the city, Beastie Boys went a different direction and tried their hands at hip hop in ’84. From there came one of the biggest albums ever in hip hop, Licensed to Ill, which included hits such as Fight for your Right and No Sleep Til Brooklyn. You are singing both of those songs in your head right now aren’t ya? It’s ok, I will wait until you are done…………………..ok cool?

Waking up before I get to sleep, because I’ll be rockin this party eight days a week.

From there, the albums just got better and better, that by the time The Hello Nasty Tour came to Saint Louis in 1999, there was no way I was going to miss them perform. In what became known as probably the best concert I have ever attended,  MCA, Ad Rock, Mike D and turntablist Mix Master Mike,  rocked the house. For two plus straight hours, the Beastie Boys rhymed and flowed and even played instruments (gasp), which is something most pop and rock groups don’t even do anymore.

MCA’s passing is sad on so many levels. Selfishly, one of the biggest reasons, is because instead of groups like Beastie Boys in hip hop, we now have people like Wiz Khalifa, Drake and Nicki Minaj topping the charts. Let’s be honest, hip hop has gotten so bad, that the best thing that has happened to it lately, is a freaking hologram from a guy who died over 15 years ago.

Rest in Peace MCA, please bring us someone with some real hip hop talent soon.

Are You Kidding Me Tedy Bruschi?

Posted: May 2, 2012 in NFL
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Reason #5,672 why I dislike ESPN, it gives people like Tedy Bruschi a chance to voice his opinion. Look, I really don’t have any ill will toward Tedy as a person, or as a football player. Heck, the guy was an undersized linebacker who played his freaking heart out.  However, when ESPN gives someone a forum to defend the indefensible it really is a complete joke.

For those of you who don’t know the story yet, Jim Harbaugh, coach of the Baltimore Ravens, was asked on a Baltimore radio station mainly about the Saints Bounty system. Harbaugh’s reply was that he would never cheat because now the Saints and the Patriots championships are stained and have asteriks. He said it just isn’t worth it to cheat and that is why he would never do it. What is wrong with that Tedy? Well apparently to Tedy, quite a bit. First, let me back up and remind you all of what the Patriots did, which has become to be known as spygate. In 2007, the Patriots personnel were caught videotaping the Jets defensive coach’s during a walk thru practice. This enabled the Pats to pick up hand signals and defensive strategy. This was during a regular season game, what do you think the Patriots did during playoff games, or the Super Bowl? Hmmm…I’m sure they did nothing of the sort, I mean regular season games are way more important than the Super Bowl.

 

So, anyways back to Tedy’s response…which was hilarious because he never said they didn’t cheat. I mean it was proven that they did, so how could he? Instead, he attacks Harbaugh and says that Jim needs to learn loyalty when it comes to Belichick, because apparently Belichick helped get Harbaugh his job. Wow! Really? Maybe Tedy you need to learn that cheating is not ok, and to be loyal to someone who is cheating is wrong.

Tedy went on to say that when he looks down and sees his three championship rings, he is secure because he knows how much work was put in to win them. That’s great Tedy, but your team had a clear advantage in winning those championships whether you like it or not. The difference between an 8-8 team and a 10-6 team in the NFL is so slim that coaches and players will do anything to gain an edge. That is what the Patriots did here…gain an edge. In their three Super Bowl victories before Spygate came out, they won each one by a field goal. You mean to tell me that you would have won those without cheating? Maybe, maybe not but that is where the stain and the asterik come in…we will never really know. So, nothing Harbaugh said was out of line. Sorry Tedy, but in this situation, you are the one completely out of line. The Patriots have won zero super bowls since Spygate came out. Just sayin’

Upside v.s Proven

Posted: April 26, 2012 in NFL
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Well we have arrived. Yes Ladies and Gentleman, the night of the NFL Draft is upon us. The tv ratings for this thing are completely ridiculous. Now I’m not hating, I am going to watch it. However, to think that that one draft pick suddenly makes your team a Super Bowl Contender in itself is pretty silly. Yet, we watch, pray and hope that Our Team makes Our Choice, and doesn’t do anything stupid like taking that nose tackle out of Central Missouri State Tech Institute of Geology. 

So, why do so many people watch this thing? Upside. That is the name of the game right there. Hope could be another name for it. I hope that my St. Louis Rams will actually surround Bradford with a receiver that can actually run, catch the ball, and chew gum all at the same time tonight. Cleveland Browns fans hope that they will draft a team that will finally get them a winning record. However, it has been proven many times over that the likelihood that both of these franchises turn it around this year are extremely slim. It is proven that they don’t have a clue how to draft. If they did, they wouldn’t be terrible every year. Yet, as fans we sit there and hope for the upside.  

Let’s take this a step further. Many times tonight, we will hear that a guy has great upside. For example Dontari Poe, the Defensive Tackle out of Memphis. He has been noted by experts as having great upside. Why? Because he can bench a lot, he is big, and he can run pretty fast for a tackle. He doesn’t have upside because he can actually tackle anyone, or dominated in college (he played in conference usa and couldn’t even dominate there). Yet, fans and experts alike salivate at his upside.

that is a big boy

Also tonight we will hear a lot of guys that are proven, but may have reached their ceiling. As fans, a lot of us think..eh, he is who he is (even if the guy is Kellen Moore who threw 142 td in college). I mean nevermind that he destroyed a top ten defense in Georgia, or led a game winning drive against Va Tech a couple of years ago. He is proven, yet because he is 6’0 and has done everything that he could do in college, he is not even being talked about. While Ryan Tannenhill, a QB from Texas A&M is being dissected like a frog in 4th grade. He may be a top ten pick tonight, based on nothing but upside. He is tall, and has a great arm and he beat errrr….um….no one in his college career. However, yeah he deserves that Top Ten Pick.

So why does this happen? Maybe because a lot of us in the world are always looking for the next best thing, or what we have isn’t good enough. We just bought a brand new car, but the neighbors bought a better one and we want that one. We just bought a house, but we always want one bigger and our basement isn’t finished. We have a great job, but always have ears open to hear about one that may be better.

I want this one

It’s kinda sad in a way, but I don’t think there is one person who hasn’t felt like they wanted something better at one point in their life, even though what they have is pretty great. That drive to always look toward the upside is sometimes a good thing (heck it is what this country was founded upon), but sometimes we just have to look in and see all of what we have proven already, and enjoy the journey and life we have already made.

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