Welcome to the greatest spectacle on earth (or at least in American sports), boys and girls.
Yessirree, step right up and get your peanuts, corn dogs, and cotton candy. You thought circuses were a thing of the past? Not so. One is still very much alive and well.
That would be the Eldrick Tont Woods (sometimes known as Tiger) show.
Sound the trumpets, bring on the dancing girls, and all ye peons fall to your knees in awe. Yep, the almighty Tiger has made his triumphant return to golf. Again, for the umpteenth time.
Many have said this supposedly monumental occasion has been "long awaited".
There are others, including yours truly, that considered it "long dreaded".
Nevertheless, there was the, ahem, honorable Eldrick participating in a mini-golf tournament called the Hero Challenge. Indeed, hard as it is to believe, some actually still consider Woods some sort of hero. Crazy, I know.
And sure enough, when the first round was over, the fawning media went right back to their old tricks. An interview with Tiger. Then another one, while totally ignoring the players that had fared better on the course. My stomach was starting to get a bit queasy.
They screamed to the heavens that, OMG, Tiger was on the leader board at three under par. Nevermind that in a meager eighteen man field it's pretty hard NOT to be on the leader board, and he was in a modest eighth place.
Yet here's the thing. This particular field included eight of the top nine rated golfers in the world. You know, studs like Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Rickey Fowler, and Matt Kuchar.
So here's a question. How, pray tell, did Eldrick, who was ranked roughly #1200 in the world, belong in this tournament in the first place? 1200? Did anybody know the rankings even went down that far? They probably otherwise wouldn't, except the rankers had to find a way to keep Eldrick in the conversation.
Even if ET Woods finishes dead last -- and he might very well crash and burn like the Hindenburg over the next few days -- he'll still zoom up all the way to -- wait for it -- inside the top 1000. Well glory hallelujah and call the adoring masses to prayer to give thanks. Meanwhile, I'm reaching for the Pepto to try and quell the growing unease in my abdomen. Urp.
But that wasn't enough for the pseudo hero-worshipers (see TV folks) trying to resurrect their fallen idol.
Oh no, they had to show the public another huge dose of Eldrick "highlights", over and over and over. See Tiger drive. See Tiger putt. See Tiger strolling up the fairways. See everything Tiger, ad nauseum, and then in slo-mo a few more times.
And that did it. I had no choice but to run to the throne, get on my knees, and do a little worshiping of the porcelain receptacle myself. Barf.
Here's the last questions. What does it take for supposedly otherwise semi-intelligent people to finally understand this guy isn't any good any more? And why do they keep trying to make him a hero, when he's obviously proven he's anything but in so many ways?
Woods has about as much chance of coming back to the tour and winning anything, much less being dominant, as I have of becoming Mr. Universe next year.
True, anything's theoretically possible, save perhaps a certain president acting his age, but let's just say the odds aren't exactly good for any of these things to happen.
The moral of the story?
Stick a long overdue fork in dear Eldrick. Good grief. If his ex Elin had succeeded in rightfully taking a divot out of his head with one of his own clubs when the poor lass discovered the breadth of her husband's infidelity, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. And his legendary back problems would be the least of his worries.
Like it or not, the dude's done, and has been -- heavy on the "HAS BEEN" -- for quite some time.
Much like Humpty Dumpty, there just ain't no putting that critter back together again.
One can only wonder how long it will take before the media allows him to mercifully -- for objective sports fans -- slide into the oblivion he has so long deserved.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
More dumb things
Interesting TV ad. Call this Senator (pick one) to thank them for everything he/she has done for you during their time in office. Right.
But they don't list a phone number. How dumb is that?
UVerse is an amazing system offered by A.T.&T. Yours truly subscribes to it. Besides throwing in a free DVR, pretty handy, they've figured out a way to have thousands of TV channels, your phone(s), and computer(s) all come through the same little cable into your domicile. Did I mention amazing?
But here's the thing. They also say in the unlikely event such service is disrupted for any reason, punch up a certain number on your phone or go online to a specific site for assistance in restoring it.
Well gee, that's great, except for a couple minor details. If the service is out, your phone won't work, and your computer will be incapable of going online. Who's the genius that came up with this idiocy? Anybody home A.T. &T?
And buyer beware. Yep, you can get the first couple years at a cut-rate price. See bait. But when that offer runs out, it's hammer time in your wallet.
On to sports.
Michael Crabtree of the Oakland Raiders and Aqib Talib of the Denver Broncos evidently don't much care for each other. But as you've likely seen on replays, they went nuts during a recent game with their childish little feud. For this lunacy, they were originally suspended for two games, but that was subsequently reduced to one. These clowns should have been suspended for the rest of the season, obviously without pay, and made to take anger management classes. And a quick trip to the woodshed, with their head coaches brandishing "switches" to light their ignorant butts up wouldn't have been a bad idea either.
And how dumb do you have to be (hello Michael Crabtree) to try and throw punches at an opponent when he still has his helmet on? If I was Talib, let the fool hit me in the face mask with his fist, rather than trying to duck and run. In fact, lean into it. Who do you think would get the worse of that encounter? Can you say broken fingers and/or hand? Stupidity at its finest, both ways.
So Eli Manning of the NY Giants has been benched, and many are in an uproar about it. Hey, this guy's been stinking it up for the last couple years, and has always been grossly over rated. It remains absolutely confounding how the Giants were able to knock off the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl a few years ago. It was sort of like the "Miracle on Ice" team the USA had way back in the 1980 Olympics. They defeated the might Soviet Red Army team in the semi-finals.
Tell ya what. Let either of those games be played ten more times, and neither Eli and the Giants nor those American college kids would win a single one of them. They'd all be blow-outs. A couple of flukes if there ever was.
It's reminiscent of the late Mohammed Ali defeating George Foreman in the "rumble in the jungle" a few decades ago with the "rope-a-dope" tactic. You'll notice Ali never gave big George the opportunity of a rematch. The "grill" man wouldn't have fallen for the same ruse again, and Ali knew it, so he took the cowardly way out and didn't give the big man another chance. Even though Ali himself, after having first being defeated by Smokin' Joe Frazier quickly got a re-match. And after getting pummeled by Ken Norton Sr. in their first go-round got another chance as well. He lost that fight too, everywhere but on the (likely rigged judges) scorecards. Smart moves by Ali. Dumb for the boxing world to tolerate such obvious shenanigans. Either man up or get out.
Same thing with Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard. First time around, Duran thumped Leonard thoroughly. In the rematch, Duran has been known ever since as the "no mas" guy that quit. So who knows? Maybe he had some serious stomach problems or internal bleeding going on. But Leonard walked off into the sunset, never offering a rubber match and was somehow anointed a hero. Duran has been equally shamed over all the years since. They fought twice and each one once. It's dumb to consider one so much better than the other, especially given Leonard's silver-spoon treatment throughout his career while Duran was clawing his way to stardom from the ghettos of Panama. And while the latter was likely the greatest lightweight of all time, he had to take a big leap into the next weight class up to face Leonard in the first place.
Interesting how the NFL is trying to buy it's way -- see major donations to "worthy" causes -- out of the players kneeling during the national anthem snafu. Sure, the league can easily afford to throw a few million at one entity or another. Chump change. What will be even more interesting is if the league stipulates that by doing so, every single player must stand. If even one takes a knee, the deal's off. No free money. What do you think the chances are of THAT happening -- either way? You just know there will be at least one idiot that has to take a "stance" and foul up the whole works.
Hey, this whole thing has been overblown since the start. If players don't want to stand -- who cares? It's not like it's taking money from or otherwise hurting anybody else -- except their precious "feelings". You'll notice said players haven't demanded others take a knee. So who is anybody else to tell them how to act when their First Amendment rights of "freedom of expression" clearly grant them the right to protest in such a manner? This has been top to bottom dumb since that former San Fran QB took a knee in the first place. Did I mention -- why would any sane person care? If you don't like it, by all means feel free to boycott the NFL. That is your right as well, but shut up. Don't those howling the loudest have anything better to concern themselves with? If not, three words. Get a life.
And just when you think it can't possibly get any dumber ---
Enter the tried and true folks at the Accuweather Service.
They have fearlessly predicted the northern parts of the USA will get colder as Christmas and the New Year approach.
Well dang, bet you'd have never thought of that.
Please.
But they don't list a phone number. How dumb is that?
UVerse is an amazing system offered by A.T.&T. Yours truly subscribes to it. Besides throwing in a free DVR, pretty handy, they've figured out a way to have thousands of TV channels, your phone(s), and computer(s) all come through the same little cable into your domicile. Did I mention amazing?
But here's the thing. They also say in the unlikely event such service is disrupted for any reason, punch up a certain number on your phone or go online to a specific site for assistance in restoring it.
Well gee, that's great, except for a couple minor details. If the service is out, your phone won't work, and your computer will be incapable of going online. Who's the genius that came up with this idiocy? Anybody home A.T. &T?
And buyer beware. Yep, you can get the first couple years at a cut-rate price. See bait. But when that offer runs out, it's hammer time in your wallet.
On to sports.
Michael Crabtree of the Oakland Raiders and Aqib Talib of the Denver Broncos evidently don't much care for each other. But as you've likely seen on replays, they went nuts during a recent game with their childish little feud. For this lunacy, they were originally suspended for two games, but that was subsequently reduced to one. These clowns should have been suspended for the rest of the season, obviously without pay, and made to take anger management classes. And a quick trip to the woodshed, with their head coaches brandishing "switches" to light their ignorant butts up wouldn't have been a bad idea either.
And how dumb do you have to be (hello Michael Crabtree) to try and throw punches at an opponent when he still has his helmet on? If I was Talib, let the fool hit me in the face mask with his fist, rather than trying to duck and run. In fact, lean into it. Who do you think would get the worse of that encounter? Can you say broken fingers and/or hand? Stupidity at its finest, both ways.
So Eli Manning of the NY Giants has been benched, and many are in an uproar about it. Hey, this guy's been stinking it up for the last couple years, and has always been grossly over rated. It remains absolutely confounding how the Giants were able to knock off the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl a few years ago. It was sort of like the "Miracle on Ice" team the USA had way back in the 1980 Olympics. They defeated the might Soviet Red Army team in the semi-finals.
Tell ya what. Let either of those games be played ten more times, and neither Eli and the Giants nor those American college kids would win a single one of them. They'd all be blow-outs. A couple of flukes if there ever was.
It's reminiscent of the late Mohammed Ali defeating George Foreman in the "rumble in the jungle" a few decades ago with the "rope-a-dope" tactic. You'll notice Ali never gave big George the opportunity of a rematch. The "grill" man wouldn't have fallen for the same ruse again, and Ali knew it, so he took the cowardly way out and didn't give the big man another chance. Even though Ali himself, after having first being defeated by Smokin' Joe Frazier quickly got a re-match. And after getting pummeled by Ken Norton Sr. in their first go-round got another chance as well. He lost that fight too, everywhere but on the (likely rigged judges) scorecards. Smart moves by Ali. Dumb for the boxing world to tolerate such obvious shenanigans. Either man up or get out.
Same thing with Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard. First time around, Duran thumped Leonard thoroughly. In the rematch, Duran has been known ever since as the "no mas" guy that quit. So who knows? Maybe he had some serious stomach problems or internal bleeding going on. But Leonard walked off into the sunset, never offering a rubber match and was somehow anointed a hero. Duran has been equally shamed over all the years since. They fought twice and each one once. It's dumb to consider one so much better than the other, especially given Leonard's silver-spoon treatment throughout his career while Duran was clawing his way to stardom from the ghettos of Panama. And while the latter was likely the greatest lightweight of all time, he had to take a big leap into the next weight class up to face Leonard in the first place.
Interesting how the NFL is trying to buy it's way -- see major donations to "worthy" causes -- out of the players kneeling during the national anthem snafu. Sure, the league can easily afford to throw a few million at one entity or another. Chump change. What will be even more interesting is if the league stipulates that by doing so, every single player must stand. If even one takes a knee, the deal's off. No free money. What do you think the chances are of THAT happening -- either way? You just know there will be at least one idiot that has to take a "stance" and foul up the whole works.
Hey, this whole thing has been overblown since the start. If players don't want to stand -- who cares? It's not like it's taking money from or otherwise hurting anybody else -- except their precious "feelings". You'll notice said players haven't demanded others take a knee. So who is anybody else to tell them how to act when their First Amendment rights of "freedom of expression" clearly grant them the right to protest in such a manner? This has been top to bottom dumb since that former San Fran QB took a knee in the first place. Did I mention -- why would any sane person care? If you don't like it, by all means feel free to boycott the NFL. That is your right as well, but shut up. Don't those howling the loudest have anything better to concern themselves with? If not, three words. Get a life.
And just when you think it can't possibly get any dumber ---
Enter the tried and true folks at the Accuweather Service.
They have fearlessly predicted the northern parts of the USA will get colder as Christmas and the New Year approach.
Well dang, bet you'd have never thought of that.
Please.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
College football championship
And so far, the Final Four will be -- nobody knows. Unlike most years, there are no "locks" to date. Yet there are a couple in waiting, a few more maybes, and the perennial "long shots" hoping to get in, but probably won't.
Also one familiar name that rightfully got bounced out the Top Four by getting thoroughly defeated last week, but sits in the catbird seat with a better than average chance of getting back in -- even though they won't be playing this weekend. Hint -- it has something to do with Nick Saban and Tuscaloosa.
But let's look at some of the match-ups.
Clemson/Miami for the ACC title. With a a win, Clemson's a lock for the Final Four, despite their earlier mysterious loss at unranked Syracuse. If Miami wins, Clemson's probably out and Alabama back in.
Oklahoma/TCU. The Sooners are a lock if they win the Big 12 showdown, but TCU won't get back in if they prevail. The latter scenario would also eliminate the Sooners and let the Crimson Tide back in.
USC/Stanford for the Pac 12 title. Two words. Who cares?
Memphis/UCF for the AAC crown. Somebody had to step up and challenge Central Florida, might as well be Memphis. While this will likely be a blow-out, the still undefeated Knights of UCF won't get anywhere near the Final Four, though all the other teams (except Wisconsin -- see below) have gone down at one time or another. In some cases twice. How can a 2-loss team be considered a more worthy candidate than one that is undefeated, regardless of what conferences they play in?
Alcorn State/Grambling State. Not sure what the "SWAC" acronym stands for -- perhaps "Sealed With A Curse?", but see the comment above regarding the Pac 12. Ditto.
C-USA features North Texas and FAU, whatever that is. I didn't know any part of Texas could be considered "north", nor even relevant in this year's playoffs. Just go away.
Akron/Toledo for MAC bragging rights? Sounds like an Ohio Bowl to me and the only "Mac" that occasionally whets my appetite is served up at those joints with the golden arches out front. Get this crap outta here.
The Big Ten --actually 14 these days -- features a very good game with undefeated Wisconsin taking on Ohio State. If the Badgers win, they're a lock for the Final Four. Forget strength of schedule. They play in a "power" conference and will be the only undefeated team still left -- sorry again UCF. But let's not forget that in a similar situation just last year, the Buckeyes put an unmerciful woodshed beat down on the Cheesers to the tune of 59-0. Could there be an almost NINE touchdown swing in this year's match-up? Probably not.
And if Ohio State wins, the Badgers drop out of contention, as so many seem to want them to. It also elevates that pesky Alabama back in. Do you see a recurring theme here?
The SEC championship will be decided by powerhouses Auburn and Georgia. As mentioned above, Auburn was the team to slay Alabama just last week, knocking them down to #5, on the cusp, but not in the magical Final Four.
If the Tigers prevail, they're a lock as well. But if the Dawgs come out on top, Auburn likely falls off the radar and -- you guessed it -- that pesky Crimson Tide finds itself with an invite to the party. Again, the same theme, that while Bama sits home and twiddles their thumbs, they have a better than average chance of moving back up. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical, much less fair. But Alabama is a big money team when it comes to TV, their sponsors, and the national hype they always generate. Much more so than a Wisconsin, Clemson, or Auburn.
And let's face it. The only reason there are so many bowls these days, though many of them feature teams somewhere between ho-hum and "THAT team made it to a bowl -- REALLY?" -- is all about the money. Strike up the marching bands and collect a few million bucks, ad nauseum.
This Saturday will be a college football extravaganza for sports junkies. (Guilty, Your Honor). A whole LOT of clicking with the remotes going on from coast to coast.
And when it's all said and done, the Final Four will be set in stone, or at least the best guess the almighty "committee" of geniuses can come up with. Regardless of how it all turns out, there are sure to be howls of protest from those that think they were unfairly excluded. And some of them will definitely have legitimate beefs.
I feel your pain, Central Florida. You're the contender that KOed all comers along the way but was never given a title shot.
And somehow, that's just not right.
Also one familiar name that rightfully got bounced out the Top Four by getting thoroughly defeated last week, but sits in the catbird seat with a better than average chance of getting back in -- even though they won't be playing this weekend. Hint -- it has something to do with Nick Saban and Tuscaloosa.
But let's look at some of the match-ups.
Clemson/Miami for the ACC title. With a a win, Clemson's a lock for the Final Four, despite their earlier mysterious loss at unranked Syracuse. If Miami wins, Clemson's probably out and Alabama back in.
Oklahoma/TCU. The Sooners are a lock if they win the Big 12 showdown, but TCU won't get back in if they prevail. The latter scenario would also eliminate the Sooners and let the Crimson Tide back in.
USC/Stanford for the Pac 12 title. Two words. Who cares?
Memphis/UCF for the AAC crown. Somebody had to step up and challenge Central Florida, might as well be Memphis. While this will likely be a blow-out, the still undefeated Knights of UCF won't get anywhere near the Final Four, though all the other teams (except Wisconsin -- see below) have gone down at one time or another. In some cases twice. How can a 2-loss team be considered a more worthy candidate than one that is undefeated, regardless of what conferences they play in?
Alcorn State/Grambling State. Not sure what the "SWAC" acronym stands for -- perhaps "Sealed With A Curse?", but see the comment above regarding the Pac 12. Ditto.
C-USA features North Texas and FAU, whatever that is. I didn't know any part of Texas could be considered "north", nor even relevant in this year's playoffs. Just go away.
Akron/Toledo for MAC bragging rights? Sounds like an Ohio Bowl to me and the only "Mac" that occasionally whets my appetite is served up at those joints with the golden arches out front. Get this crap outta here.
The Big Ten --actually 14 these days -- features a very good game with undefeated Wisconsin taking on Ohio State. If the Badgers win, they're a lock for the Final Four. Forget strength of schedule. They play in a "power" conference and will be the only undefeated team still left -- sorry again UCF. But let's not forget that in a similar situation just last year, the Buckeyes put an unmerciful woodshed beat down on the Cheesers to the tune of 59-0. Could there be an almost NINE touchdown swing in this year's match-up? Probably not.
And if Ohio State wins, the Badgers drop out of contention, as so many seem to want them to. It also elevates that pesky Alabama back in. Do you see a recurring theme here?
The SEC championship will be decided by powerhouses Auburn and Georgia. As mentioned above, Auburn was the team to slay Alabama just last week, knocking them down to #5, on the cusp, but not in the magical Final Four.
If the Tigers prevail, they're a lock as well. But if the Dawgs come out on top, Auburn likely falls off the radar and -- you guessed it -- that pesky Crimson Tide finds itself with an invite to the party. Again, the same theme, that while Bama sits home and twiddles their thumbs, they have a better than average chance of moving back up. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical, much less fair. But Alabama is a big money team when it comes to TV, their sponsors, and the national hype they always generate. Much more so than a Wisconsin, Clemson, or Auburn.
And let's face it. The only reason there are so many bowls these days, though many of them feature teams somewhere between ho-hum and "THAT team made it to a bowl -- REALLY?" -- is all about the money. Strike up the marching bands and collect a few million bucks, ad nauseum.
This Saturday will be a college football extravaganza for sports junkies. (Guilty, Your Honor). A whole LOT of clicking with the remotes going on from coast to coast.
And when it's all said and done, the Final Four will be set in stone, or at least the best guess the almighty "committee" of geniuses can come up with. Regardless of how it all turns out, there are sure to be howls of protest from those that think they were unfairly excluded. And some of them will definitely have legitimate beefs.
I feel your pain, Central Florida. You're the contender that KOed all comers along the way but was never given a title shot.
And somehow, that's just not right.
Monday, November 27, 2017
The NFL and the Lions
There can be no doubt the NFL is very much alive, well, and remains the gorilla in the sports room. No other league, at least in America, even comes close regarding popularity. Careful observers on TV have seen a lot of empty seats at NASCAR races in recent times, but not so in NFL stadiums. Even perennial losing teams still pack them in at exorbitant prices.
While it is true that NFL stock has taken a minor dip of late due to the whole uproar about players refusing to stand for the national anthem, to think it does not remain a blue chip is pure folly.
The TV people are more than happy to keep throwing billions at the league for the right to televise their games, their subsequent ad rates remain astronomical, and player salaries continue to rise into the stratosphere of the absurd.
There was a time when all but a couple NFL games were played on Sundays. Then along came Monday Night Football back in the early 70s.. Howard, Dandy Don, and the Giffer were huge hits with the viewing public, as were the games. The only change MNF has seen in the interim has been ratings going up -- not down.
The "couple" mentioned above were the two games on Thanksgiving day. Detroit and Dallas had a monopoly on that.
Sensing another cha-ching opportunity, the league recently began offering Thursday night games every week. Football junkies loved it. Still do.
It's like the public can't get enough of the product.
Yet these very Thursday games and, to a lesser extent, the Monday night contests put teams at a disadvantage. Ask any NFL player, or coach, and they will tell you it's mighty hard to recover from the typical beatings they take on a Sunday to be ready to play another game 4 days later. EVERY day is important when it comes to recuperating from the bumps and bruises incurred during the last contest.
But there's a flip side. Any two teams meeting for a Thursday night clash are at the same disadvantage, unless one has to travel cross-country to get there, but that's another story.
While such teams have to suck it up and get through a short week, they also enjoy a distinct advantage the following week. As in, they get ten days off, while most other teams only get seven. Those extra three days are light years in recovery and preparation time for their next opponents.
This is where the Detroit Lions, as if they haven't already merrily waltzed along the primrose path this season, enjoying every possible break from injuries to star players on their opponents, to a patsy overall schedule, have bumbled into yet ANOTHER advantage.
As has been their long tradition, the Lions played on Thanksgiving day, where they were unceremoniously drubbed at home by the Minnesota Vikings. So they got ten days off before their next game.
Enter the Baltimore Ravens, very much in the playoff hunt. They are currently playing on MNF against the Houston Texans. Both enter the game having had an extra day's rest since their last go-round.
But the Ravens, the Lions' next opponent, will go into that game on one fewer day's rest than normal, while the Lions have had three EXTRA days. Six versus ten. A HUGE disadvantage/advantage, depending on which team one wants to look at.
That would seem to beg the question --- How can it be the "geniuses" that make out the NFL schedules could come up with such an inequity involving these two teams? This is not even remotely close to anything considered "fair". Of all the countless options they had when making the schedule they came up with THIS?
No, we won't hear the Ravens complain about it, because to do so would be considered "whining". Nor will we hear a peep from the Lions acknowledging yet another major advantage/break that has just fallen into their laps.
But it has, and the Lions and their fans once again take it for granted, oblivious to the charmed life they have stumbled through so far this season. The Vikings freshly down to their third-string quarterback when they first met? The Packers newly without Aaron Rodgers? Games against the likes of Arizona (not good), NY Giants (flat-out terrible), a couple with the Bears trying to break in a rookie QB, along with Cleveland (puhleeze), the still Marvin Lewis led Cincinnati team (how does he keep his job?), Tampa Bay (taking on water like the Titanic), and finishing up with the Pack, who is already out of playoff contention (if they have any brains they'll sit Aaron Rodgers until next year and allow him to completely recover)?
That's ten games against teams that either weren't any good to begin with, or were without key players when the Lions faced them.
Hey, the Motown puddy-tats have played a grand total of five games against decent teams. Carolina, Atlanta, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota after that third-string QB mentioned above (Case Keenum) had a few games under his belt to get comfortable. They have lost them all, four of them at home.
And guess what? They better hope the Ravens prevail against the Texans tonight. Because if they lose, the above-mentioned six versus ten disadvantage aside, methinks the Poe-birds will be fired up enough to lay a serious dose of "nevermore" on the woeful one-trick pony (Matthew Stafford) Lions when they dare to go into Baltimore next week.
For all of their oblivious Pollyanne-ish ways so far this season, as they've merrily strolled along, there can also be little doubt the hammer of Thor will eventually drop on their sorry, self-overrated heads.
Why?
Because it's the Lions.
And that's just what they've always done -- or not.
It's just another year piled on top of the colossal scrap heap of the past half century's worth of futility and foolishness.
No biggy.
While it is true that NFL stock has taken a minor dip of late due to the whole uproar about players refusing to stand for the national anthem, to think it does not remain a blue chip is pure folly.
The TV people are more than happy to keep throwing billions at the league for the right to televise their games, their subsequent ad rates remain astronomical, and player salaries continue to rise into the stratosphere of the absurd.
There was a time when all but a couple NFL games were played on Sundays. Then along came Monday Night Football back in the early 70s.. Howard, Dandy Don, and the Giffer were huge hits with the viewing public, as were the games. The only change MNF has seen in the interim has been ratings going up -- not down.
The "couple" mentioned above were the two games on Thanksgiving day. Detroit and Dallas had a monopoly on that.
Sensing another cha-ching opportunity, the league recently began offering Thursday night games every week. Football junkies loved it. Still do.
It's like the public can't get enough of the product.
Yet these very Thursday games and, to a lesser extent, the Monday night contests put teams at a disadvantage. Ask any NFL player, or coach, and they will tell you it's mighty hard to recover from the typical beatings they take on a Sunday to be ready to play another game 4 days later. EVERY day is important when it comes to recuperating from the bumps and bruises incurred during the last contest.
But there's a flip side. Any two teams meeting for a Thursday night clash are at the same disadvantage, unless one has to travel cross-country to get there, but that's another story.
While such teams have to suck it up and get through a short week, they also enjoy a distinct advantage the following week. As in, they get ten days off, while most other teams only get seven. Those extra three days are light years in recovery and preparation time for their next opponents.
This is where the Detroit Lions, as if they haven't already merrily waltzed along the primrose path this season, enjoying every possible break from injuries to star players on their opponents, to a patsy overall schedule, have bumbled into yet ANOTHER advantage.
As has been their long tradition, the Lions played on Thanksgiving day, where they were unceremoniously drubbed at home by the Minnesota Vikings. So they got ten days off before their next game.
Enter the Baltimore Ravens, very much in the playoff hunt. They are currently playing on MNF against the Houston Texans. Both enter the game having had an extra day's rest since their last go-round.
But the Ravens, the Lions' next opponent, will go into that game on one fewer day's rest than normal, while the Lions have had three EXTRA days. Six versus ten. A HUGE disadvantage/advantage, depending on which team one wants to look at.
That would seem to beg the question --- How can it be the "geniuses" that make out the NFL schedules could come up with such an inequity involving these two teams? This is not even remotely close to anything considered "fair". Of all the countless options they had when making the schedule they came up with THIS?
No, we won't hear the Ravens complain about it, because to do so would be considered "whining". Nor will we hear a peep from the Lions acknowledging yet another major advantage/break that has just fallen into their laps.
But it has, and the Lions and their fans once again take it for granted, oblivious to the charmed life they have stumbled through so far this season. The Vikings freshly down to their third-string quarterback when they first met? The Packers newly without Aaron Rodgers? Games against the likes of Arizona (not good), NY Giants (flat-out terrible), a couple with the Bears trying to break in a rookie QB, along with Cleveland (puhleeze), the still Marvin Lewis led Cincinnati team (how does he keep his job?), Tampa Bay (taking on water like the Titanic), and finishing up with the Pack, who is already out of playoff contention (if they have any brains they'll sit Aaron Rodgers until next year and allow him to completely recover)?
That's ten games against teams that either weren't any good to begin with, or were without key players when the Lions faced them.
Hey, the Motown puddy-tats have played a grand total of five games against decent teams. Carolina, Atlanta, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota after that third-string QB mentioned above (Case Keenum) had a few games under his belt to get comfortable. They have lost them all, four of them at home.
And guess what? They better hope the Ravens prevail against the Texans tonight. Because if they lose, the above-mentioned six versus ten disadvantage aside, methinks the Poe-birds will be fired up enough to lay a serious dose of "nevermore" on the woeful one-trick pony (Matthew Stafford) Lions when they dare to go into Baltimore next week.
For all of their oblivious Pollyanne-ish ways so far this season, as they've merrily strolled along, there can also be little doubt the hammer of Thor will eventually drop on their sorry, self-overrated heads.
Why?
Because it's the Lions.
And that's just what they've always done -- or not.
It's just another year piled on top of the colossal scrap heap of the past half century's worth of futility and foolishness.
No biggy.
Saturday, November 25, 2017
The college football playoff shuffle
With Alabama taking it on the chin at Auburn, by a more than convincing margin, things have changed when it comes to who gets in and who gets left out of the four team playoff for a national championship.
Teams who should be out.
The aforementioned Bama. For two reasons. If you're the #1 team in the country, you're not supposed to lose to anybody anywhere, even a cross-state rival, especially by almost two touchdowns worth. Second, while the other big boys were slugging it out in power conference games, just last week Bama scheduled lowly Mercer -- MERCER -- to pad their stats. Have they no shame? And while an early season loss may be later forgiven (see Clemson @ Syracuse), one on the cusp of the playoffs is fatal. When the pressure was on, the Tide ebbed when it should have flowed. They gotta go.
Same with Miami. They were right there, undefeated, until they got pounded by an unranked Pittsburgh team. The 'Canes quickly became no more than stains on the playoff picture. Scoot.
Ohio State. Despite a really good Oklahoma team coming into the Buckeyes house and thrashing them early in the season, we might have got by that over time. But when OSU went into unranked Iowa a couple months later and got blistered 55-24, a colossal beat down, their playoff fate should have been sealed. As in, they don't deserve one.
Teams who should be in.
Clemson. The defending champs, not that that means anything -- it doesn't -- have rebounded nicely since the above mentioned stumble @ Syracuse. They just clobbered a pretty good #24 South Carolina team on the road to finish up the regular season. They might well be the best team in the country.
Oklahoma, probably. Yes, they were defeated at home by an otherwise not-so-good Iowa State team back in October, but also have quality wins on their resume. If they can prevail over a really good TCU team in their conference championship game -- no given -- they will have punched their ticket.
Auburn has to be right there. Yes, they have two Ls on their record. The first at then #3 Clemson in a close game, and a head-scratcher at LSU. But since, they've defeated then #1 Georgia and just now #1 Alabama. Minus the couple of patsies any major college program typically plays every year, it just might be the Tigers have had the toughest schedule of them all through the season. Now they'll get another crack at the Georgia Dawgs in the SEC conference championship game. Win it, and they're definitely in. Lose it, and they're out. Seems fair enough.
No team is more deserving than Wisconsin. Not counting Central Florida (see previous post), the Badgers are the only undefeated team to date. It's hardly a secret the powers that be probably don't want to see the Cheesers in the playoff picture. Small market, lesser TV ad bucks, etc., adds up to trying to figure out a way to deny them the chance. But undefeated in a "power" conference is undefeated. Period.
They'll get their shot at glory when they face Ohio State in the Big Ten conference championship game. The Buckeyes, for reasons listed above, should already be eliminated from playoff contention. And if the Badgers fall to such a team when it matters most, shame on them, and the pollsters will gleefully write them off. But even if it's close, and they lose, Wisconsin will still only have one L on their record, no more than any other contender. Still, they can more than validate their presence in the Final Four by dispatching the Buckeyes, who just might be without the services of their starting quarterback. I, for one, would love to see Wisconsin in the mix. I mean, c'mon. What else do they have to cheer for in that state? The Packers without Aaron Rodgers are floundering. They deserve a major break. The Milwaukee Bucks are no better than average in the NBA. The Brewers remain terrible in Major League baseball. No NHL presence. Last time I looked even Harley-Davidson stock wasn't doing so well. The boom years of wannabes standing in line and paying exorbitant prices for bikes are over. On Wisconsin indeed. Sis-boom-bah. Here would seem to be the pertinent question. How can it be that a 12-0 team (Wisconsin) still finds itself at #5 (on the outside looking in), while the four teams above it have all suffered a defeat?
Maybes with an outside shot.
If the Horned Frogs of TCU put a beat down on Oklahoma, might they be considered?
Is that pesky Notre Dame (see huge ad bucks) still lurking?
Georgia? Probably the most boring state not name Ohio, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, or Nebraska to drive through. They might sneak back in, even deserve it, if they can knock off Auburn.
Add it all up and what do you have? A massive ball of confusion where nothing has been sorted out until all the above play one more game. It's been pretty much that way all year with those obsessed with the polls -- not that they mattered for the last few months.
But the upcoming games are the ones that will count the most. Win and you're in. Lose and you should be out. Time to separate the proverbial men from the boys.
And isn't that the way it always should have been?
Teams who should be out.
The aforementioned Bama. For two reasons. If you're the #1 team in the country, you're not supposed to lose to anybody anywhere, even a cross-state rival, especially by almost two touchdowns worth. Second, while the other big boys were slugging it out in power conference games, just last week Bama scheduled lowly Mercer -- MERCER -- to pad their stats. Have they no shame? And while an early season loss may be later forgiven (see Clemson @ Syracuse), one on the cusp of the playoffs is fatal. When the pressure was on, the Tide ebbed when it should have flowed. They gotta go.
Same with Miami. They were right there, undefeated, until they got pounded by an unranked Pittsburgh team. The 'Canes quickly became no more than stains on the playoff picture. Scoot.
Ohio State. Despite a really good Oklahoma team coming into the Buckeyes house and thrashing them early in the season, we might have got by that over time. But when OSU went into unranked Iowa a couple months later and got blistered 55-24, a colossal beat down, their playoff fate should have been sealed. As in, they don't deserve one.
Teams who should be in.
Clemson. The defending champs, not that that means anything -- it doesn't -- have rebounded nicely since the above mentioned stumble @ Syracuse. They just clobbered a pretty good #24 South Carolina team on the road to finish up the regular season. They might well be the best team in the country.
Oklahoma, probably. Yes, they were defeated at home by an otherwise not-so-good Iowa State team back in October, but also have quality wins on their resume. If they can prevail over a really good TCU team in their conference championship game -- no given -- they will have punched their ticket.
Auburn has to be right there. Yes, they have two Ls on their record. The first at then #3 Clemson in a close game, and a head-scratcher at LSU. But since, they've defeated then #1 Georgia and just now #1 Alabama. Minus the couple of patsies any major college program typically plays every year, it just might be the Tigers have had the toughest schedule of them all through the season. Now they'll get another crack at the Georgia Dawgs in the SEC conference championship game. Win it, and they're definitely in. Lose it, and they're out. Seems fair enough.
No team is more deserving than Wisconsin. Not counting Central Florida (see previous post), the Badgers are the only undefeated team to date. It's hardly a secret the powers that be probably don't want to see the Cheesers in the playoff picture. Small market, lesser TV ad bucks, etc., adds up to trying to figure out a way to deny them the chance. But undefeated in a "power" conference is undefeated. Period.
They'll get their shot at glory when they face Ohio State in the Big Ten conference championship game. The Buckeyes, for reasons listed above, should already be eliminated from playoff contention. And if the Badgers fall to such a team when it matters most, shame on them, and the pollsters will gleefully write them off. But even if it's close, and they lose, Wisconsin will still only have one L on their record, no more than any other contender. Still, they can more than validate their presence in the Final Four by dispatching the Buckeyes, who just might be without the services of their starting quarterback. I, for one, would love to see Wisconsin in the mix. I mean, c'mon. What else do they have to cheer for in that state? The Packers without Aaron Rodgers are floundering. They deserve a major break. The Milwaukee Bucks are no better than average in the NBA. The Brewers remain terrible in Major League baseball. No NHL presence. Last time I looked even Harley-Davidson stock wasn't doing so well. The boom years of wannabes standing in line and paying exorbitant prices for bikes are over. On Wisconsin indeed. Sis-boom-bah. Here would seem to be the pertinent question. How can it be that a 12-0 team (Wisconsin) still finds itself at #5 (on the outside looking in), while the four teams above it have all suffered a defeat?
Maybes with an outside shot.
If the Horned Frogs of TCU put a beat down on Oklahoma, might they be considered?
Is that pesky Notre Dame (see huge ad bucks) still lurking?
Georgia? Probably the most boring state not name Ohio, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, or Nebraska to drive through. They might sneak back in, even deserve it, if they can knock off Auburn.
Add it all up and what do you have? A massive ball of confusion where nothing has been sorted out until all the above play one more game. It's been pretty much that way all year with those obsessed with the polls -- not that they mattered for the last few months.
But the upcoming games are the ones that will count the most. Win and you're in. Lose and you should be out. Time to separate the proverbial men from the boys.
And isn't that the way it always should have been?
Friday, November 24, 2017
College football playoff bias
As of now, there are exactly three major college football teams in the country that are undefeated.
They are -- the undisputed #1 Alabama -- everybody knows that.
Wisconsin.
And Central Florida. Yep, the Knights, despite having to cancel and reschedule a couple games due to those pesky hurricanes a while back have nary a loss on their record.
But it appears the powers that be, see pollsters, have conspired against Wisconsin and UCF to keep them out of the championship playoffs.
Let's look at UCF first. True, they don't play in a "power" conference, so many hold their strength of schedule, or lack thereof, against them. To which I say -- horsepuckey.
Though they still can't seem to break into the Top Ten, undefeated is undefeated. Period. And who knows how good they might actually be unless they're given a chance to show it on bigger stages?
One need only look back to last year in the NCAA hoops tourney. Tiny little Gonzaga, student population roughly 7500, and a private school tucked away in the northwest -- no taxpayer money flowing in -- not only got into the hoops tourney, but went all the way to the Finals. There, they barely, BARELY succumbed to the behemoth North Carolina, student pop upwards of 30,000, and on the taxpayers' dime.
The Zags are in the little known West Coast Conference. Along with Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Santa Clara, and that bunch.
The Heels are in the mighty Atlantic Coast Conference. Does Duke ring a bell?
So don't tell me a football team like Central Florida can't play with the "big boys" unless and until they've been given a chance to.
Know why brutes like Alabama, Georgia, Miami, and other "power" schools across the country won't schedule schools like Central Florida? Because they're scared to death to play them. Even if the behemoths win the game, folks will say they should have. But if the underdog keeps it close, much less OMG pulls the upset -- it happens -- the big boys lose major face, let alone watching themselves tumble in the almighty polls. In effect, they have everything to lose and little to gain.
Given the hoops tourney starts off with a field of 66 teams, there was no keeping Gonzaga out.
But the football landscape in quite different. Currently, some mysterious committee, composed of representatives from the "power" (SURPRISE!!) conferences have to whittle the field down to the Final Four before the playoffs even begin. UCF has no shot, because the deck has long been stacked against them.
Consider the Wisconsin Badgers. They're most definitely from a "power" conference, the Big Ten (actually 14 -- evidently not schools a math major would likely be interested in). Yet despite being undefeated, they so far remain outside the Final Four. How can this be?
Hey, Miami was right there until they got smacked down by unranked Pittsburgh. The 'Canes should fall off the radar. Last year's champ Clemson got smoked at Syracuse earlier in the year, also an unranked team. The common perception is an early loss can be overcome, while one late in the season can be fatal to a school's chances.
This is balderdash as well. What difference does it make when a team loses a game it wasn't supposed to -- to a much "lesser" opponent? A loss is a loss. Period.
Georgia was once #1 in some polls. Then they got hammered by Auburn, over three touchdowns worth. See ya Dawgs.
Oklahoma had an early impressive win at Ohio State. But wait, they eventually got smoked at home by Iowa State. Cardinal Rule #1 for any championship wannabe. Thou shalt NOT come up on the short end in thy own house -- to ANYBODY -- let alone a team not even in the Top 25. The Sooners should have become Laters for that colossal miscue.
Of course the only way to make it fair would be to expand the playoff system to at least eight, and maybe even sixteen. What else do these guys have to do during the month of December? Study for finals? Please. Your average big-time football jock likely has the mental acumen (IQ) of a potted plant. Big, fast, strong, but dumber than a red twig dogwood. So let them play a couple extra games leading up to the bowls and playoffs. What could it hurt? Their GPA's? LOL
If Wisconsin runs the table and wins the Big 10-14 whatever conference championship game, remaining undefeated, even the anti-cheeser people will be hard pressed to keep them out of the Final Four.
And if mighty Bama just happens to fall at Auburn in the Iron Bowl, the Tide are only a slight favorite over the Tigers, the whole apple cart will get turned upside down. Good luck sorting that out.
But I still think Central Florida is worthy of a shot.
Pity they won't get one.
And that's just wrong.
They are -- the undisputed #1 Alabama -- everybody knows that.
Wisconsin.
And Central Florida. Yep, the Knights, despite having to cancel and reschedule a couple games due to those pesky hurricanes a while back have nary a loss on their record.
But it appears the powers that be, see pollsters, have conspired against Wisconsin and UCF to keep them out of the championship playoffs.
Let's look at UCF first. True, they don't play in a "power" conference, so many hold their strength of schedule, or lack thereof, against them. To which I say -- horsepuckey.
Though they still can't seem to break into the Top Ten, undefeated is undefeated. Period. And who knows how good they might actually be unless they're given a chance to show it on bigger stages?
One need only look back to last year in the NCAA hoops tourney. Tiny little Gonzaga, student population roughly 7500, and a private school tucked away in the northwest -- no taxpayer money flowing in -- not only got into the hoops tourney, but went all the way to the Finals. There, they barely, BARELY succumbed to the behemoth North Carolina, student pop upwards of 30,000, and on the taxpayers' dime.
The Zags are in the little known West Coast Conference. Along with Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Santa Clara, and that bunch.
The Heels are in the mighty Atlantic Coast Conference. Does Duke ring a bell?
So don't tell me a football team like Central Florida can't play with the "big boys" unless and until they've been given a chance to.
Know why brutes like Alabama, Georgia, Miami, and other "power" schools across the country won't schedule schools like Central Florida? Because they're scared to death to play them. Even if the behemoths win the game, folks will say they should have. But if the underdog keeps it close, much less OMG pulls the upset -- it happens -- the big boys lose major face, let alone watching themselves tumble in the almighty polls. In effect, they have everything to lose and little to gain.
Given the hoops tourney starts off with a field of 66 teams, there was no keeping Gonzaga out.
But the football landscape in quite different. Currently, some mysterious committee, composed of representatives from the "power" (SURPRISE!!) conferences have to whittle the field down to the Final Four before the playoffs even begin. UCF has no shot, because the deck has long been stacked against them.
Consider the Wisconsin Badgers. They're most definitely from a "power" conference, the Big Ten (actually 14 -- evidently not schools a math major would likely be interested in). Yet despite being undefeated, they so far remain outside the Final Four. How can this be?
Hey, Miami was right there until they got smacked down by unranked Pittsburgh. The 'Canes should fall off the radar. Last year's champ Clemson got smoked at Syracuse earlier in the year, also an unranked team. The common perception is an early loss can be overcome, while one late in the season can be fatal to a school's chances.
This is balderdash as well. What difference does it make when a team loses a game it wasn't supposed to -- to a much "lesser" opponent? A loss is a loss. Period.
Georgia was once #1 in some polls. Then they got hammered by Auburn, over three touchdowns worth. See ya Dawgs.
Oklahoma had an early impressive win at Ohio State. But wait, they eventually got smoked at home by Iowa State. Cardinal Rule #1 for any championship wannabe. Thou shalt NOT come up on the short end in thy own house -- to ANYBODY -- let alone a team not even in the Top 25. The Sooners should have become Laters for that colossal miscue.
Of course the only way to make it fair would be to expand the playoff system to at least eight, and maybe even sixteen. What else do these guys have to do during the month of December? Study for finals? Please. Your average big-time football jock likely has the mental acumen (IQ) of a potted plant. Big, fast, strong, but dumber than a red twig dogwood. So let them play a couple extra games leading up to the bowls and playoffs. What could it hurt? Their GPA's? LOL
If Wisconsin runs the table and wins the Big 10-14 whatever conference championship game, remaining undefeated, even the anti-cheeser people will be hard pressed to keep them out of the Final Four.
And if mighty Bama just happens to fall at Auburn in the Iron Bowl, the Tide are only a slight favorite over the Tigers, the whole apple cart will get turned upside down. Good luck sorting that out.
But I still think Central Florida is worthy of a shot.
Pity they won't get one.
And that's just wrong.
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Case Keenum and Teddy Bridgewater
Idle thought --- why is it that Americans typically stampede and trample each other getting into stores to buy even more stuff on Black Friday, when just the day before, over a typical gluttonous Thanksgiving day feast, they gave thanks for what they already had?
The quarterback situation for the Minnesota Vikings has certainly taken some weird twists and turns in recent times.
A few years back, they thought Teddy Bridgewater was the answer to their long term problem. So they drafted him in the first round with the 32nd and last pick. Bridgewater had enjoyed much success while playing college ball at Lousville, including big bowl game wins over the likes of Florida and Miami, both of which he was named MVP of. A projected NFL star waiting to happen indeed. Plus, typical of rookie contracts, the Vikes had him under wraps for four years at less than $2 million a year. A bargain by any account. Currently, Bridgewater is still only the relatively young age of 25.
Conversely, the career path of one Case Keenum traveled a much different route. While he played at Houston in college, certainly a Division 1 program, but not with the footprint of a Louisville, Keenum set all-time NCAA records for most passing yards, touchdowns, and completions. Very impressive stuff. Yet he went completely undrafted by the NFL when his time came. Seven full rounds and his phone never rang.
Finally he got a shot with the Houston Texans, but it didn't work out well. Then off to the then St. Louis Rams, where he failed to impress either. Many thought Keenum was headed for the scrap heap of NFL wannabes. So good in college, but a bust in the NFL. It happens a lot at a variety of positions, but especially QB.
Then again, the high position in the draft, or lack thereof, doesn't necessarily equate to success or failure. That Brady guy in New England was a mere 6th round pick, almost an afterthought, and he seems to have worked out rather well over the years.
In late August of 2016, on the cusp of the regular season beginning, Teddy Bridgewater suffered a severe non-contact knee injury. So the Vikings sacrificed a couple high future round picks and went out and got one Sam Bradford to step in as their QB. The problem was like it's always been. While immensely talented, one can seemingly measure how long Bradford will stay healthy with an hour glass before something breaks -- with plenty of sand left over. Sure enough, out he went again with yet another injury.
Along the line, Case Keenum had quietly became the Vikings third string quarterback. Backup to a backup. Pretty much a clipboard holder that never saw any reps in practice. And yes, he's 29, a few years Bridgewater's senior, but still in his "prime" years.
But with both Bridgewater and Bradford on the injured reserve list, Keenum found himself called into active duty as the starter. Surely this was destined to be a disaster, right? All the pundits said so. The Vikings were desperate and about to flounder.
But it didn't work out that way. Instead, Keenum has blossomed into quite the force under head coach Mike Zimmer's (and his staff's) tutelage. After the Thanksgiving day win in Detroit, the Vikings have reeled off seven Ws in a row and now sit comfortably atop the NFC Northern Division, by a whopping three games. True, the broken collar bone suffered by Green Bay stud QB Aaron Rodgers pretty much snuffed out the Cheeser chances this year, but sometimes that's just the way it goes in the NFL.
Thing is, the Vikings made a major mistake earlier (in May) this year. They had a (cheap) fifth year option on Bridgewater, but turned it down, even before Keenum emerged as a star, and when Bradford was still healthy, thinking Bridgewater might forever remain damaged goods. And he just might at that -- time will tell.
That in effect makes Bridgewater a free agent after this season is over. Had the Vikings spent a couple more million bucks to keep him around, even as a back-up to Keenum next year, they would have been far further ahead down the road.
Look at it this way. Even if Bridgewater was 100% fully healthy and good to go -- you can't bench a guy that's led your team to seven straight wins, regardless of how he became the starter in the first place. To do so would send a couple messages, both very bad. Keenum would think no matter what he did, it was never going to be good enough. Demoralizing stuff. And if Bridgewater were to return as the starter and promptly lose a couple games -- what do you think the rest of the players on the roster would think about it? And Bridgewater's confidence would take a serious hit as well. A lose-lose scenario. Boneheaded moves like that are a recipe for a head coach to "lose" his team in a hurry. Mike Zimmer is a very smart guy and knows better. If it's running just fine, don't try to fix it.
But there's the rub. If they still had Bridgewater under contract for a fifth year, even as a back-up, and also assuming he returns to full health by the time the 2018 campaign gets under way -- he should -- dear Teddy would have represented some serious trade bait.
Hey, he was pretty good as an NFL starter before the freak knee injury. No doubt there would be several other teams around the league interested in his services.
No, Teddy probably wouldn't have fetched a first round pick, but maybe a second and a lower one or two to compliment it in future drafts.
Instead, by writing him off while the dude's still only 25, and saving a couple million chump change bucks, the Vikings get nothing back in return.
The Minnesota Vikings reeling off seven wins in a row with once "bum" Case Keenum as quarterback is an unlikely scenario indeed. But like the aforementioned Tom Brady, you never know how these things might work out. Best not to give up on them too soon, like the Vikes did Bridgewater.
It might just come back to bite them in their keesters down the road. A couple extra draft picks in the future, regardless of the round, surely couldn't have hurt.
But for now, all hail Case Keenum. The dude is most definitely getting the job done -- and then some.
Yet guess who also becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season?
Yep, Case Keenum. He was signed for a measly couple million this year just like Teddy was being paid.
Methinks the way the one-time Houston record-setting hot shot, then undrafted by the NFL quarterback has lit it up in recent times for the Vikes, will be in line for a super-duper hefty raise come the off season. The team doesn't appear to have much choice. And somewhere his agent smiles.
At long last -- cha-ching.
The quarterback situation for the Minnesota Vikings has certainly taken some weird twists and turns in recent times.
A few years back, they thought Teddy Bridgewater was the answer to their long term problem. So they drafted him in the first round with the 32nd and last pick. Bridgewater had enjoyed much success while playing college ball at Lousville, including big bowl game wins over the likes of Florida and Miami, both of which he was named MVP of. A projected NFL star waiting to happen indeed. Plus, typical of rookie contracts, the Vikes had him under wraps for four years at less than $2 million a year. A bargain by any account. Currently, Bridgewater is still only the relatively young age of 25.
Conversely, the career path of one Case Keenum traveled a much different route. While he played at Houston in college, certainly a Division 1 program, but not with the footprint of a Louisville, Keenum set all-time NCAA records for most passing yards, touchdowns, and completions. Very impressive stuff. Yet he went completely undrafted by the NFL when his time came. Seven full rounds and his phone never rang.
Finally he got a shot with the Houston Texans, but it didn't work out well. Then off to the then St. Louis Rams, where he failed to impress either. Many thought Keenum was headed for the scrap heap of NFL wannabes. So good in college, but a bust in the NFL. It happens a lot at a variety of positions, but especially QB.
Then again, the high position in the draft, or lack thereof, doesn't necessarily equate to success or failure. That Brady guy in New England was a mere 6th round pick, almost an afterthought, and he seems to have worked out rather well over the years.
In late August of 2016, on the cusp of the regular season beginning, Teddy Bridgewater suffered a severe non-contact knee injury. So the Vikings sacrificed a couple high future round picks and went out and got one Sam Bradford to step in as their QB. The problem was like it's always been. While immensely talented, one can seemingly measure how long Bradford will stay healthy with an hour glass before something breaks -- with plenty of sand left over. Sure enough, out he went again with yet another injury.
Along the line, Case Keenum had quietly became the Vikings third string quarterback. Backup to a backup. Pretty much a clipboard holder that never saw any reps in practice. And yes, he's 29, a few years Bridgewater's senior, but still in his "prime" years.
But with both Bridgewater and Bradford on the injured reserve list, Keenum found himself called into active duty as the starter. Surely this was destined to be a disaster, right? All the pundits said so. The Vikings were desperate and about to flounder.
But it didn't work out that way. Instead, Keenum has blossomed into quite the force under head coach Mike Zimmer's (and his staff's) tutelage. After the Thanksgiving day win in Detroit, the Vikings have reeled off seven Ws in a row and now sit comfortably atop the NFC Northern Division, by a whopping three games. True, the broken collar bone suffered by Green Bay stud QB Aaron Rodgers pretty much snuffed out the Cheeser chances this year, but sometimes that's just the way it goes in the NFL.
Thing is, the Vikings made a major mistake earlier (in May) this year. They had a (cheap) fifth year option on Bridgewater, but turned it down, even before Keenum emerged as a star, and when Bradford was still healthy, thinking Bridgewater might forever remain damaged goods. And he just might at that -- time will tell.
That in effect makes Bridgewater a free agent after this season is over. Had the Vikings spent a couple more million bucks to keep him around, even as a back-up to Keenum next year, they would have been far further ahead down the road.
Look at it this way. Even if Bridgewater was 100% fully healthy and good to go -- you can't bench a guy that's led your team to seven straight wins, regardless of how he became the starter in the first place. To do so would send a couple messages, both very bad. Keenum would think no matter what he did, it was never going to be good enough. Demoralizing stuff. And if Bridgewater were to return as the starter and promptly lose a couple games -- what do you think the rest of the players on the roster would think about it? And Bridgewater's confidence would take a serious hit as well. A lose-lose scenario. Boneheaded moves like that are a recipe for a head coach to "lose" his team in a hurry. Mike Zimmer is a very smart guy and knows better. If it's running just fine, don't try to fix it.
But there's the rub. If they still had Bridgewater under contract for a fifth year, even as a back-up, and also assuming he returns to full health by the time the 2018 campaign gets under way -- he should -- dear Teddy would have represented some serious trade bait.
Hey, he was pretty good as an NFL starter before the freak knee injury. No doubt there would be several other teams around the league interested in his services.
No, Teddy probably wouldn't have fetched a first round pick, but maybe a second and a lower one or two to compliment it in future drafts.
Instead, by writing him off while the dude's still only 25, and saving a couple million chump change bucks, the Vikings get nothing back in return.
The Minnesota Vikings reeling off seven wins in a row with once "bum" Case Keenum as quarterback is an unlikely scenario indeed. But like the aforementioned Tom Brady, you never know how these things might work out. Best not to give up on them too soon, like the Vikes did Bridgewater.
It might just come back to bite them in their keesters down the road. A couple extra draft picks in the future, regardless of the round, surely couldn't have hurt.
But for now, all hail Case Keenum. The dude is most definitely getting the job done -- and then some.
Yet guess who also becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season?
Yep, Case Keenum. He was signed for a measly couple million this year just like Teddy was being paid.
Methinks the way the one-time Houston record-setting hot shot, then undrafted by the NFL quarterback has lit it up in recent times for the Vikes, will be in line for a super-duper hefty raise come the off season. The team doesn't appear to have much choice. And somewhere his agent smiles.
At long last -- cha-ching.
Detroit Lions. Stick a fork.....
Well maybe not yet. Officially, anyway. But after their Thanksgiving day loss to the Minnesota Vikings, giving them a ho-hum 6-5 record, it sure appears to be shaping up into "just another year" for the Motown squad.
Lead em on, lead em on, lead em on (the ever-gullible fans), then WHAM, let em down. Again. Of course the team is aided and abetted in this historically cruel hoax by the snake-oil peddling local media.
Now a full three games behind the Vikes with only 5 to go, it's highly unlikely the Lions will capture their division this year. So what else is new? However, it could change yet again. Minnesota's next two games are brutal, against Atlanta and Carolina -- both on the road. And not counting next week's game in Baltimore, the Lions have a cupcake schedule the rest of the way out. One more dagger in the fans' collective hearts may yet come into play.
But let's look at the Lions' schedule, both past and upcoming. It strongly suggests they are not as good as they and their fans think they are. Smoke, mirrors, and every conceivable break has gone their way so far.
The Lions have played exactly four teams (five if you count the up to date Vikings -- more on that below and in a follow-up post). And lost them all, four of them in the friendly confines of Ford Field. Ouch.
They were the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Now consider the teams the Lions have defeated.
First up the Arizona Cardinals. After a few years of being semi-competitive, the Cards have taken a serious nose-dive this year. Not a good team.
Then the stink-it-up, gawd awful 2017 version of the NY Giants.
One against the Vikings, who were then freshly down to their third string quarterback and without the services of their star running back.
Another against the Green Bay Packers, with All-World QB Aaron Rodgers having recently broken his collar bone.
Two more, one past and one to go, against Da Bears of Chicago. They haven't been any good since the heady days of Walter Payton, Jim McMahon, and the fearsome 46 defense -- back in the 80s. Now they've got a rookie quarterback to boot.
One against the perennial dregs of the NFL, sometimes known as the Cleveland Browns.
Another upcoming date with the Cincinnati Bengals. Hint -- if Marvin Lewis is still the head coach there -- this team still isn't any good. He is, and they aren't.
Another against the Tampa Bay Bucs, which totally came apart at the seams weeks ago.
One more against the Pack. Even if Rodgers is back, iffy at best, no way will be up to full speed, plus at that point, the Cheesers likely won't have much to play for. Since #12 went down, they've gone into a horrible tailspin.
In the aforementioned recently concluded Turkey day game against the Vikes, it turns out that third-stringer, one Case Keenum, has come into his own, and then some. They've rattled off seven wins in a row.
So add it all up and what do you have? The Lions can't beat anybody good, even at home, but have benefited from a ridiculously soft schedule with every possible circumstance and break falling their way.
This is a worthy play-off team, even in the unlikely scenario they get there?
I don't think so. They're ripe for another post-season beat down, again, what else is new?
Meanwhile quarterback Matthew Stafford, recently made the (cough/choke/gag/snort/LOL) highest paid player in the entire NFL, is playing out the string in his ninth season.
And no matter how the Lions finish, even if they win them all -- right -- dear Matthew will still have a sub -.500 record for his career.
Nine years (a long career for a lot of guys), not a single playoff win, let alone getting anywhere near sniffing a Super Bowl, and this guy is top dog on the money list?
Does anybody see something seriously wrong with this picture?
All the above would seem to be the magical world the Detroit Lions continue to live in.
And when they officially finally crash and burn this season -- you know it's coming, tick, tick, tick -- adding just one more to their already over half a century scrap pile, here's the scary part......
The same fans will be back next year, with the same media goading them on, convinced as always that THIS will be the one.
Perhaps it's not scary after all.
Just sad.
Lead em on, lead em on, lead em on (the ever-gullible fans), then WHAM, let em down. Again. Of course the team is aided and abetted in this historically cruel hoax by the snake-oil peddling local media.
Now a full three games behind the Vikes with only 5 to go, it's highly unlikely the Lions will capture their division this year. So what else is new? However, it could change yet again. Minnesota's next two games are brutal, against Atlanta and Carolina -- both on the road. And not counting next week's game in Baltimore, the Lions have a cupcake schedule the rest of the way out. One more dagger in the fans' collective hearts may yet come into play.
But let's look at the Lions' schedule, both past and upcoming. It strongly suggests they are not as good as they and their fans think they are. Smoke, mirrors, and every conceivable break has gone their way so far.
The Lions have played exactly four teams (five if you count the up to date Vikings -- more on that below and in a follow-up post). And lost them all, four of them in the friendly confines of Ford Field. Ouch.
They were the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Now consider the teams the Lions have defeated.
First up the Arizona Cardinals. After a few years of being semi-competitive, the Cards have taken a serious nose-dive this year. Not a good team.
Then the stink-it-up, gawd awful 2017 version of the NY Giants.
One against the Vikings, who were then freshly down to their third string quarterback and without the services of their star running back.
Another against the Green Bay Packers, with All-World QB Aaron Rodgers having recently broken his collar bone.
Two more, one past and one to go, against Da Bears of Chicago. They haven't been any good since the heady days of Walter Payton, Jim McMahon, and the fearsome 46 defense -- back in the 80s. Now they've got a rookie quarterback to boot.
One against the perennial dregs of the NFL, sometimes known as the Cleveland Browns.
Another upcoming date with the Cincinnati Bengals. Hint -- if Marvin Lewis is still the head coach there -- this team still isn't any good. He is, and they aren't.
Another against the Tampa Bay Bucs, which totally came apart at the seams weeks ago.
One more against the Pack. Even if Rodgers is back, iffy at best, no way will be up to full speed, plus at that point, the Cheesers likely won't have much to play for. Since #12 went down, they've gone into a horrible tailspin.
In the aforementioned recently concluded Turkey day game against the Vikes, it turns out that third-stringer, one Case Keenum, has come into his own, and then some. They've rattled off seven wins in a row.
So add it all up and what do you have? The Lions can't beat anybody good, even at home, but have benefited from a ridiculously soft schedule with every possible circumstance and break falling their way.
This is a worthy play-off team, even in the unlikely scenario they get there?
I don't think so. They're ripe for another post-season beat down, again, what else is new?
Meanwhile quarterback Matthew Stafford, recently made the (cough/choke/gag/snort/LOL) highest paid player in the entire NFL, is playing out the string in his ninth season.
And no matter how the Lions finish, even if they win them all -- right -- dear Matthew will still have a sub -.500 record for his career.
Nine years (a long career for a lot of guys), not a single playoff win, let alone getting anywhere near sniffing a Super Bowl, and this guy is top dog on the money list?
Does anybody see something seriously wrong with this picture?
All the above would seem to be the magical world the Detroit Lions continue to live in.
And when they officially finally crash and burn this season -- you know it's coming, tick, tick, tick -- adding just one more to their already over half a century scrap pile, here's the scary part......
The same fans will be back next year, with the same media goading them on, convinced as always that THIS will be the one.
Perhaps it's not scary after all.
Just sad.
Monday, November 20, 2017
The folly of Rosenberg and Stafford
Most times, Michael Rosenberg, a scribe for Sports Illustrated, pens semi-interesting pieces. He can be humorous, occasionally insightful, offer up some of the usual SI version of irony here and there, and even objective. Imagine that.
His latest piece on Matthew Stafford, quarterback of the Detroit Lions, was not one of those times.
In their "best" issue, SI, hence Rosenberg, got positively warm, cuddly, even soppy gooshy over the Motown QB.
Incredibly, as though it's some sort of given, Rosenberg claimed Stafford has earned the NFL's biggest contract ever. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Newton's third law of motion dictates that for every force there must be an equal and opposing force. Nobody seriously disputes that. For every up, there has to be a down. Not counting politics, for every good there must be an evil. The world of sumo wrestling and weight watchers aside -- for every fat there must be a skinny. And like that.
Hence, if a quarterback is going to be praised when his team succeeds (wins), he has to take the hit when they lose. Unfortunately, in today's politically correct and Pollyannish world, there are those such as Rosenberg that continue to praise the proverbial half full glass while ignoring that it's also half empty as well.
Rosenberg continues down the primrose path by suggesting Stafford has put up gaudy passing stats over his career in spite of the Lions never having a decent running game to complement it. This is folly. The truth of the matter is -- Stafford puts up those numbers because the organization has been so deficient in that regard. In other words, he has no choice but to throw the ball so much. Pass enough, especially with a former receiver like Calvin "Megatron" Johnson at his disposal for so many years, and the yardage will add up. Matthew and the Lions' default play always seemed to be, when in doubt, heave it in the general direction of Calvin. And a lot of times it worked. Pity poor Johnson took such a predictable beating along the way. It's little wonder he walked out during the "prime" of his career, ala Barry Sanders a couple decades before, with enough money to be comfortable forever after and his mind and body still intact. They both realized the Lions weren't going anywhere any year soon, so why stick around and take more punishment?
Yes, we get it. Stafford has a strong throwing arm, his wife Kelly loves and stands by him, and according to Rosenberg, he was the most likely kid to be able to break windows heaving balls from across the street while running on wet leaves. Please Michael, you're killing us with the gooshy stuff.
But let's get real and look at hard stats.
Over his career, now in its ninth year, Matthew Stafford has compiled a 57-62 regular season record. In his previous eight seasons, he's led the Lions to exactly three playoff games, all on the road -- and lost them all. So he has an overall record of 57-65, and hasn't even found a way to get the Lions a single home date in the playoffs, let alone win a playoff game. After eight years, he's eight games under .500 and yet to win a playoff game.
So tell me one more time how dear Matthew has EARNED the right to be the NFL's highest paid player. Good grief, there's likely a dozen teams around the league he couldn't even START for.
People like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, and even Eli Manning have been there, done that when it comes to Super Bowls. They've earned it over the years.
Stafford's still floundering about in Detroit, putting up big passing stats, while the team is mediocre at best. Is that all his fault? No. But should he take the hit for being an overall losing QB after almost nine seasons? Of course.
One of the dumbest things yours truly ever saw or heard of was Stafford, a free agent waiting to happen, re-upping with the Lions. In effect, he got enough guaranteed money so the next few generations of Staffords -- if he and dear Kelly ever decide to have kids -- a matter of contention according to Rosenberg -- will be financially secure, and then some. She wanted to breed, while he still feels a loyalty to deliver to the Ford clan -- go figure. What's that? Dear K popped out twins? SURPRISE pops. You be a daddy these days whether you like it or not.
Had Stafford opted for the open market, no doubt several, but not all teams would have been interested in his services. He would have gotten a bazillion bucks one way or the other. The way Dak Prescott is tanking in his sophomore year in Dallas, the Georgia Peach might have even attracted serious attention -- and bucks -- from Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. BTW, his home town.
But no, he decided to sign his football life away to the people that have owned a franchise since the Kennedy presidential administration, screwed it up every which way since with a parade of clown coaches and equally incompetent front office personnel, draft choices galore that have gone bust, and now have a 90+ year old widow and her merry (elderly) daughters in charge. Good luck winning with THAT.
Ain't gonna happen.
No doubt Michael Rosenberg will trot off to his next article, on his next jock, where he can mix a few more metaphors, offer up a tad of feeble humor, and no matter what -- praise somebody to the heavens. Such is the agenda of most scribes and talking heads these days.
But they always forget about Newton and his laws.
For every hero there has to be a bum.
Congrats to Matthew Stafford getting uber-bucks from the Lions and continuing to pass for so many yards. A hero.
But when it comes to results, his whole body of work over the years suggests he's little more than an over-hyped bum.
The stats don't lie......
His latest piece on Matthew Stafford, quarterback of the Detroit Lions, was not one of those times.
In their "best" issue, SI, hence Rosenberg, got positively warm, cuddly, even soppy gooshy over the Motown QB.
Incredibly, as though it's some sort of given, Rosenberg claimed Stafford has earned the NFL's biggest contract ever. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Newton's third law of motion dictates that for every force there must be an equal and opposing force. Nobody seriously disputes that. For every up, there has to be a down. Not counting politics, for every good there must be an evil. The world of sumo wrestling and weight watchers aside -- for every fat there must be a skinny. And like that.
Hence, if a quarterback is going to be praised when his team succeeds (wins), he has to take the hit when they lose. Unfortunately, in today's politically correct and Pollyannish world, there are those such as Rosenberg that continue to praise the proverbial half full glass while ignoring that it's also half empty as well.
Rosenberg continues down the primrose path by suggesting Stafford has put up gaudy passing stats over his career in spite of the Lions never having a decent running game to complement it. This is folly. The truth of the matter is -- Stafford puts up those numbers because the organization has been so deficient in that regard. In other words, he has no choice but to throw the ball so much. Pass enough, especially with a former receiver like Calvin "Megatron" Johnson at his disposal for so many years, and the yardage will add up. Matthew and the Lions' default play always seemed to be, when in doubt, heave it in the general direction of Calvin. And a lot of times it worked. Pity poor Johnson took such a predictable beating along the way. It's little wonder he walked out during the "prime" of his career, ala Barry Sanders a couple decades before, with enough money to be comfortable forever after and his mind and body still intact. They both realized the Lions weren't going anywhere any year soon, so why stick around and take more punishment?
Yes, we get it. Stafford has a strong throwing arm, his wife Kelly loves and stands by him, and according to Rosenberg, he was the most likely kid to be able to break windows heaving balls from across the street while running on wet leaves. Please Michael, you're killing us with the gooshy stuff.
But let's get real and look at hard stats.
Over his career, now in its ninth year, Matthew Stafford has compiled a 57-62 regular season record. In his previous eight seasons, he's led the Lions to exactly three playoff games, all on the road -- and lost them all. So he has an overall record of 57-65, and hasn't even found a way to get the Lions a single home date in the playoffs, let alone win a playoff game. After eight years, he's eight games under .500 and yet to win a playoff game.
So tell me one more time how dear Matthew has EARNED the right to be the NFL's highest paid player. Good grief, there's likely a dozen teams around the league he couldn't even START for.
People like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, and even Eli Manning have been there, done that when it comes to Super Bowls. They've earned it over the years.
Stafford's still floundering about in Detroit, putting up big passing stats, while the team is mediocre at best. Is that all his fault? No. But should he take the hit for being an overall losing QB after almost nine seasons? Of course.
One of the dumbest things yours truly ever saw or heard of was Stafford, a free agent waiting to happen, re-upping with the Lions. In effect, he got enough guaranteed money so the next few generations of Staffords -- if he and dear Kelly ever decide to have kids -- a matter of contention according to Rosenberg -- will be financially secure, and then some. She wanted to breed, while he still feels a loyalty to deliver to the Ford clan -- go figure. What's that? Dear K popped out twins? SURPRISE pops. You be a daddy these days whether you like it or not.
Had Stafford opted for the open market, no doubt several, but not all teams would have been interested in his services. He would have gotten a bazillion bucks one way or the other. The way Dak Prescott is tanking in his sophomore year in Dallas, the Georgia Peach might have even attracted serious attention -- and bucks -- from Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. BTW, his home town.
But no, he decided to sign his football life away to the people that have owned a franchise since the Kennedy presidential administration, screwed it up every which way since with a parade of clown coaches and equally incompetent front office personnel, draft choices galore that have gone bust, and now have a 90+ year old widow and her merry (elderly) daughters in charge. Good luck winning with THAT.
Ain't gonna happen.
No doubt Michael Rosenberg will trot off to his next article, on his next jock, where he can mix a few more metaphors, offer up a tad of feeble humor, and no matter what -- praise somebody to the heavens. Such is the agenda of most scribes and talking heads these days.
But they always forget about Newton and his laws.
For every hero there has to be a bum.
Congrats to Matthew Stafford getting uber-bucks from the Lions and continuing to pass for so many yards. A hero.
But when it comes to results, his whole body of work over the years suggests he's little more than an over-hyped bum.
The stats don't lie......
Sunday, November 19, 2017
NFL quickies
The Patriots went across the country and smoked the Raiders? Yawn. Something about that pesky standard of excellence still being alive and well.
Whoa. The Packers got shut out at home by a mediocre team like the Ravens? Things are not good in Cheeserland these days.
Somewhere in his NYC penthouse, Roger Goodell likely chuckles. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had threatened to come after the Commish with "everything he had". Pity JJ just saw his team get demolished -- four touchdowns worth -- in his very own palace -- by the surprising Eagles. It would seem the Jones boys have more urgent concerns than pursuing some sort of vendetta against the head of the league offices. As in -- Da Boys are soft all over the field, with no help in sight. Wanna come after me JJ, quoth the Roger as he giggles? Try getting your own house in order first.
Don't look now, but Jacksonville -- JACKSONVILLE -- is pretty good these days, and definitely in the playoff hunt.
Many don't want to acknowledge it, but Case Keenum, yes, THAT Case Keenum, is rolling along nicely these days for the Vikings. Once an afterthought, he's got the Vikes on a roll. As usual, Sam Bradford is hurt, and former starter Teddy Bridgewater is still on the mend, though active and supposedly good to go. Would head coach Mike Zimmer dare yank Keenum to plug Teddy back in? If so, he better hope Bridgewater turns into a Montana, Brady, or Bradshaw. Because if not, he'd look mighty foolish putting Keenum back on the bench. Hey, when it's working -- don't mess with it.
Ah yes, those pesky Detroit Lions won another game. Thing is, they have lived the most charmed life possible so far this season to currently sport a 6-4 record.
The Vikings aside for now -- I'll get back to that -- they've played four teams with winning records. Carolina, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh. And lost them all -- three of them at home.
On the flip side they got a win against Minnesota when they were down to their third string quarterback, another against Green Bay without the services of Aaron Rodgers, and had their hands full with the ever-woeful and winless Cleveland Browns. Earlier today, they barely -- BARELY edged the Chicago Bears. And the only reason they won that game was because Bears rookie QB Mitchell Trubisky fumbled a snap and a Lion defender scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown. A fluke play. Throw in a pretty bad Arizona team, and a downright pitiful NY Giant squad. None of these can exactly be termed "quality" wins.
But by thunder, the Honolulu blue and silver crowd is back on the bandwagon. Poor misguided souls. Don't they realize another spectacular crash is in their future? They can whoop it up if their puddy-tats prevail against the above-mentioned mediocre Ravens, a Tampa Bay team that has come apart at the seams, another go-round with the lowly Bears, a tussle with Marvin Lewis's always terrible Cincinnati Bengals (how does this guy keep his job after a decade of obvious incompetence?), and finishing up with Green Bay, likely to have shut down Rodgers for the season if they're smart, because the Pack is already out of it. Let him fully heal and have at it again next year.
So not only looking behind, but ahead, the Lions have caught every break possible this season.
They might well stumble into the playoffs again, regardless of how things turn out at Ford Field on Thanksgiving day against the Vikes.
But that is where it will stop, abruptly, again. Once into the post season, this patsy rose garden stuff all goes away.
Whoever they meet, if they get there, will be the real deal. And as mentioned above, when the Lions have faced a good team this year -- they lose.
Hey, it's just another year.
Does any sane person really expect any more out of the Lions after over a half century of futility, with a parade of clown coaches, and even more hilarious front office personnel along the way?
And if the late William Clay Ford (RIP) wasn't clueless enough, enter his 90+ year old widow Martha with her long ago AARP daughters to now run the show. Collectively, these women likely don't know the difference between a draw play and a Broadway play. A blitz or a Blatz. A "Cover 2" defense probably means an extra loophole while an accountant somewhere fills out their taxes. Throw in the fact they hired an "estate planner", who's admitted he knew nothing about football as president of the team, and there you go. The Ford legacy lives on.
And people still ask me why I bailed on this sorry franchise 20 years ago?
Hello?
Whoa. The Packers got shut out at home by a mediocre team like the Ravens? Things are not good in Cheeserland these days.
Somewhere in his NYC penthouse, Roger Goodell likely chuckles. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had threatened to come after the Commish with "everything he had". Pity JJ just saw his team get demolished -- four touchdowns worth -- in his very own palace -- by the surprising Eagles. It would seem the Jones boys have more urgent concerns than pursuing some sort of vendetta against the head of the league offices. As in -- Da Boys are soft all over the field, with no help in sight. Wanna come after me JJ, quoth the Roger as he giggles? Try getting your own house in order first.
Don't look now, but Jacksonville -- JACKSONVILLE -- is pretty good these days, and definitely in the playoff hunt.
Many don't want to acknowledge it, but Case Keenum, yes, THAT Case Keenum, is rolling along nicely these days for the Vikings. Once an afterthought, he's got the Vikes on a roll. As usual, Sam Bradford is hurt, and former starter Teddy Bridgewater is still on the mend, though active and supposedly good to go. Would head coach Mike Zimmer dare yank Keenum to plug Teddy back in? If so, he better hope Bridgewater turns into a Montana, Brady, or Bradshaw. Because if not, he'd look mighty foolish putting Keenum back on the bench. Hey, when it's working -- don't mess with it.
Ah yes, those pesky Detroit Lions won another game. Thing is, they have lived the most charmed life possible so far this season to currently sport a 6-4 record.
The Vikings aside for now -- I'll get back to that -- they've played four teams with winning records. Carolina, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh. And lost them all -- three of them at home.
On the flip side they got a win against Minnesota when they were down to their third string quarterback, another against Green Bay without the services of Aaron Rodgers, and had their hands full with the ever-woeful and winless Cleveland Browns. Earlier today, they barely -- BARELY edged the Chicago Bears. And the only reason they won that game was because Bears rookie QB Mitchell Trubisky fumbled a snap and a Lion defender scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown. A fluke play. Throw in a pretty bad Arizona team, and a downright pitiful NY Giant squad. None of these can exactly be termed "quality" wins.
But by thunder, the Honolulu blue and silver crowd is back on the bandwagon. Poor misguided souls. Don't they realize another spectacular crash is in their future? They can whoop it up if their puddy-tats prevail against the above-mentioned mediocre Ravens, a Tampa Bay team that has come apart at the seams, another go-round with the lowly Bears, a tussle with Marvin Lewis's always terrible Cincinnati Bengals (how does this guy keep his job after a decade of obvious incompetence?), and finishing up with Green Bay, likely to have shut down Rodgers for the season if they're smart, because the Pack is already out of it. Let him fully heal and have at it again next year.
So not only looking behind, but ahead, the Lions have caught every break possible this season.
They might well stumble into the playoffs again, regardless of how things turn out at Ford Field on Thanksgiving day against the Vikes.
But that is where it will stop, abruptly, again. Once into the post season, this patsy rose garden stuff all goes away.
Whoever they meet, if they get there, will be the real deal. And as mentioned above, when the Lions have faced a good team this year -- they lose.
Hey, it's just another year.
Does any sane person really expect any more out of the Lions after over a half century of futility, with a parade of clown coaches, and even more hilarious front office personnel along the way?
And if the late William Clay Ford (RIP) wasn't clueless enough, enter his 90+ year old widow Martha with her long ago AARP daughters to now run the show. Collectively, these women likely don't know the difference between a draw play and a Broadway play. A blitz or a Blatz. A "Cover 2" defense probably means an extra loophole while an accountant somewhere fills out their taxes. Throw in the fact they hired an "estate planner", who's admitted he knew nothing about football as president of the team, and there you go. The Ford legacy lives on.
And people still ask me why I bailed on this sorry franchise 20 years ago?
Hello?
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Sports Illustrated laugh
I admit it. I've been a long time subscriber to Sports Illustrated. Still am, and take them up on their "super-duper" bonus offer of a free windbreaker with the NFL team logo of my choice every year when it comes time to renew. Think I've got about half of them now. Don't know why, exactly. Then again, I never figured out why I kept buying Harley Davidson knives until I got the full set. But they look good in the case on the wall -- I guess. Never mind I'll never use any of them, because by trusty little Stanley pocket knife has been with me forever. Handy little sucker at times for a variety of things.
At any rate, it's probably a fair statement to say SI has some really good writers. Also some that aren't so good. Also some are just hacks. But throw in the pix and a few other features and it's a pretty decent throne read every week.
Yet of late they've made me chuckle.
Now that the Houston Astros finally won the World Series -- and congrats to them on a job well done and being worthy champions -- SI is crowing about how they predicted this four -- count em -- FOUR years ago.
Indeed.
They ignore the fact that they've gotten most every other prediction from their so-called "experts" dead wrong in between.
Let's also not forget their legendary "cover jinx". When they put a jock on the cover and trumpet he/she to the heavens -- chances are that very same athlete is going to crash and burn.
For example, they could never seem to get enough of one Eldrick Tont Woods, sometimes known as Tiger. They featured him a whopping 24 times on the cover. How has that worked out? Dude wound up having multiple back surgeries, upon learning of his serial infidelity his ex was apparently trying to take a divot out of his head, kids are now living in Sweden, was busted for driving under the influence, and he hasn't done squat on the PGA tour for several years. Dear Eldrick isn't even ranked in the top 700 in the world anymore. Who knew rankings went that far down? There's probably a couple people at your local public golf course that could roast him in a game of skins. As Dubya might have once said -- "Heckuva job, SI".
And now they're repeatedly thumping their chests about how they got one right four years ago.
Well, I guess it's something, but excuse me if I find it comical.
I'd say it ranks right up there with Making America Great Again, another hoot, but that would be straying from the world of sports, which my boss -- sometimes known as an editor -- might frown on.
And far be it from this humble sports journalist -- OK blogger -- to risk his wrath if he happens to read this post. Like the almighty, ya never know when he's checking you out.
No thanks. Been there, done that, and had enough butt chewings for one lifetime of this, thank you very much.
At least I like to think I've learned something along the way.
As for SI, they probably never will. Full speed ahead with their fearless predictions.
Pity they so seldom get one right.
At any rate, it's probably a fair statement to say SI has some really good writers. Also some that aren't so good. Also some are just hacks. But throw in the pix and a few other features and it's a pretty decent throne read every week.
Yet of late they've made me chuckle.
Now that the Houston Astros finally won the World Series -- and congrats to them on a job well done and being worthy champions -- SI is crowing about how they predicted this four -- count em -- FOUR years ago.
Indeed.
They ignore the fact that they've gotten most every other prediction from their so-called "experts" dead wrong in between.
Let's also not forget their legendary "cover jinx". When they put a jock on the cover and trumpet he/she to the heavens -- chances are that very same athlete is going to crash and burn.
For example, they could never seem to get enough of one Eldrick Tont Woods, sometimes known as Tiger. They featured him a whopping 24 times on the cover. How has that worked out? Dude wound up having multiple back surgeries, upon learning of his serial infidelity his ex was apparently trying to take a divot out of his head, kids are now living in Sweden, was busted for driving under the influence, and he hasn't done squat on the PGA tour for several years. Dear Eldrick isn't even ranked in the top 700 in the world anymore. Who knew rankings went that far down? There's probably a couple people at your local public golf course that could roast him in a game of skins. As Dubya might have once said -- "Heckuva job, SI".
And now they're repeatedly thumping their chests about how they got one right four years ago.
Well, I guess it's something, but excuse me if I find it comical.
I'd say it ranks right up there with Making America Great Again, another hoot, but that would be straying from the world of sports, which my boss -- sometimes known as an editor -- might frown on.
And far be it from this humble sports journalist -- OK blogger -- to risk his wrath if he happens to read this post. Like the almighty, ya never know when he's checking you out.
No thanks. Been there, done that, and had enough butt chewings for one lifetime of this, thank you very much.
At least I like to think I've learned something along the way.
As for SI, they probably never will. Full speed ahead with their fearless predictions.
Pity they so seldom get one right.
Friday, November 17, 2017
Roger Goodell and Jerry Jones
To the untrained eye, it appears as if Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, is throwing a Texas size hissy fit. For once in his life, poor JJ can't seem to get his way, hence the temper tantrum.
In the wake of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell taking his prized running back away for six games, Jones has said, "I'm a gonna get ya". Further, he referred to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft as a pu$$y.
This comes at a time when the aforementioned Commish is engaged in contract renewal talks with the league owners, though he still has this season and next (2018) left on his current contract.
As we all know, the Commish is high lord and master over everything NFL, though he technically works for the owners. After all, they're the ones that hired him in the place and pay his salary. If push comes to shove and enough of the 32 owners agree, dear Roger could find himself out the door.
Apparently this is exactly what Jones wants. But given how the current system is set up, JJ might be fighting a futile battle.
Though there are indeed 32 team owners in the NFL, an NFL source has already confirmed they've collectively agreed to let a committee of only six of them decide Goodell's fate. They are.....
Arthur Blank -- Atlanta Falcons
Clark Hunt -- KC Chiefs
Bob Kraft -- Patriots
John Mara -- NY Giants
Bob McNair -- Houston Texans
Art Rooney -- Steelers
Though it's unclear whether they have to reach a unanimous verdict or only a simple majority, they will ultimately retain Goodell -- or not. In other words, Jones has no direct say-so in the matter.
Consider the above committee and how each of them may very well feel towards Jerry Jones.
In a recent game between the Falcons and Cowboys, a lopsided win by Atlanta, Blank and Jones didn't even exchange greetings, which is customary for owners before a game. A mutual cold shoulder.
Mara owns a divisional rival of the Cowboys.
McNair's team plays in the same state as Jones's Cowboys.
Throw in the pu$$y comment referring to Kraft.
Even assuming Hunt and Rooney are neutral, that's four out of six that likely don't feel all warm and cuddly towards Jones and whatever he may suggest. That's mighty tough sledding for the Big D man.
True, it's easy to recall some of Goodell's more, ahem, "controversial" moments in recent times. Spygate, Deflategate, Bountygate, and the Ray Rice and Adrian Petersen affairs, among others. Many would say the Commish botched them all in one fashion or another.
But looking at the bigger picture of his body of work suggests a far different scenario.
Though they've taken a minor dip lately, the NFL's revenues have soared since Goodell was put in charge. Everybody's coughing up bigger bucks for the product and the owners are swimming in the profits.
He navigated through a tricky minefield, and highly contentious atmosphere by hammering out a new long term labor agreement with the Players Union, which still has a few years to run.
Once the severity of brain injuries was brought to light on his watch, he and the league lawyers reached a settlement with the players, both current and past. Whether it's enough money in the pot to satisfy all is questionable, but it's a done deal.
He and his minions have dropped the hammer hard on any that would stray into the never-never land of "substance abuse", or other "conduct unbecoming" of the NFL.
These are all good things from the owners' perspective.
But Jones wants him gone anyway. Further, he's even threatened to sue the league if they dare re-up Roger for another term as Commish.
Well gee, that's probably going over really well with the other 31, let alone the gang of 6 that will make the call. Oh yeah, there's no better way to make friends than threatening to sue them if they won't let you have your way.
And put yourself in Goodell's shoes.
He's been the Commish since 2006, is in his 12th year, and still has one more to go. While exact figures are unknown over all those years, most assume Goodell has knocked down somewhere between $30-40 million a year on average. Do the math. That's approaching half a BILLION dollars.
It's likely a safe assumption that, besides his base salary, Goodell has always had an expense account as well. In other words, the tab for everything he and his family needs/wants has been picked up to boot. So somewhere, dear Roger probably has at least $300 million in banks, or otherwise invested. That's a pretty tidy sum. Most could get by on that.
Right now, Goodell is 58 years old. He'll be 60 when his current contract expires. That's prime retirement age if one has serious bucks socked away, which he obviously does.
So what's the worst that can happen to Goodell? Jones somehow gets his way and the Commish is eased out in another year and a half, with another $50-60 million added to his already huge pile of money?
Yeah, I get it. Roger loves his job and would like nothing better than to stay on as the emperor of the most successful sports enterprise in the world. That power thing can go to one's head.
But if I'm Goodell, here's what I say in response to Jones's childish "I'm-a gonna get ya" threat.
"I'd love to stay on, but if y'all are hell-bent on forcing me out -- go ahead. Make my day. I've got plenty of dough. And BTW, Jonesy, don't look now, but it's YOU that's currently being portrayed as the fool in the media".
Prediction. Goodell gets re-upped by the Committee and the other owners overwhelmingly support it. This, for two reasons. First, all in all he's done a good job as Commish.
And second, the more Jones flaps his gums and stomps his feet, the less the billionaire club of owners are likely to listen to him, much less take his side.
Man doesn't know when to shut up.
One final point. In the unlikely event Goodell is "terminated" after the 2918 season, here's a question ---
Who would they bring in the replace him? Let's hope the committee thinks that far ahead as well. This is not exactly an easy job to jump into, especially when the Collective Bargaining Agreement will expire shortly after a new Commish takes over. A new guy having to face those shark infested waters, when the union would smell blood?
Good luck with that.
In the wake of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell taking his prized running back away for six games, Jones has said, "I'm a gonna get ya". Further, he referred to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft as a pu$$y.
This comes at a time when the aforementioned Commish is engaged in contract renewal talks with the league owners, though he still has this season and next (2018) left on his current contract.
As we all know, the Commish is high lord and master over everything NFL, though he technically works for the owners. After all, they're the ones that hired him in the place and pay his salary. If push comes to shove and enough of the 32 owners agree, dear Roger could find himself out the door.
Apparently this is exactly what Jones wants. But given how the current system is set up, JJ might be fighting a futile battle.
Though there are indeed 32 team owners in the NFL, an NFL source has already confirmed they've collectively agreed to let a committee of only six of them decide Goodell's fate. They are.....
Arthur Blank -- Atlanta Falcons
Clark Hunt -- KC Chiefs
Bob Kraft -- Patriots
John Mara -- NY Giants
Bob McNair -- Houston Texans
Art Rooney -- Steelers
Though it's unclear whether they have to reach a unanimous verdict or only a simple majority, they will ultimately retain Goodell -- or not. In other words, Jones has no direct say-so in the matter.
Consider the above committee and how each of them may very well feel towards Jerry Jones.
In a recent game between the Falcons and Cowboys, a lopsided win by Atlanta, Blank and Jones didn't even exchange greetings, which is customary for owners before a game. A mutual cold shoulder.
Mara owns a divisional rival of the Cowboys.
McNair's team plays in the same state as Jones's Cowboys.
Throw in the pu$$y comment referring to Kraft.
Even assuming Hunt and Rooney are neutral, that's four out of six that likely don't feel all warm and cuddly towards Jones and whatever he may suggest. That's mighty tough sledding for the Big D man.
True, it's easy to recall some of Goodell's more, ahem, "controversial" moments in recent times. Spygate, Deflategate, Bountygate, and the Ray Rice and Adrian Petersen affairs, among others. Many would say the Commish botched them all in one fashion or another.
But looking at the bigger picture of his body of work suggests a far different scenario.
Though they've taken a minor dip lately, the NFL's revenues have soared since Goodell was put in charge. Everybody's coughing up bigger bucks for the product and the owners are swimming in the profits.
He navigated through a tricky minefield, and highly contentious atmosphere by hammering out a new long term labor agreement with the Players Union, which still has a few years to run.
Once the severity of brain injuries was brought to light on his watch, he and the league lawyers reached a settlement with the players, both current and past. Whether it's enough money in the pot to satisfy all is questionable, but it's a done deal.
He and his minions have dropped the hammer hard on any that would stray into the never-never land of "substance abuse", or other "conduct unbecoming" of the NFL.
These are all good things from the owners' perspective.
But Jones wants him gone anyway. Further, he's even threatened to sue the league if they dare re-up Roger for another term as Commish.
Well gee, that's probably going over really well with the other 31, let alone the gang of 6 that will make the call. Oh yeah, there's no better way to make friends than threatening to sue them if they won't let you have your way.
And put yourself in Goodell's shoes.
He's been the Commish since 2006, is in his 12th year, and still has one more to go. While exact figures are unknown over all those years, most assume Goodell has knocked down somewhere between $30-40 million a year on average. Do the math. That's approaching half a BILLION dollars.
It's likely a safe assumption that, besides his base salary, Goodell has always had an expense account as well. In other words, the tab for everything he and his family needs/wants has been picked up to boot. So somewhere, dear Roger probably has at least $300 million in banks, or otherwise invested. That's a pretty tidy sum. Most could get by on that.
Right now, Goodell is 58 years old. He'll be 60 when his current contract expires. That's prime retirement age if one has serious bucks socked away, which he obviously does.
So what's the worst that can happen to Goodell? Jones somehow gets his way and the Commish is eased out in another year and a half, with another $50-60 million added to his already huge pile of money?
Yeah, I get it. Roger loves his job and would like nothing better than to stay on as the emperor of the most successful sports enterprise in the world. That power thing can go to one's head.
But if I'm Goodell, here's what I say in response to Jones's childish "I'm-a gonna get ya" threat.
"I'd love to stay on, but if y'all are hell-bent on forcing me out -- go ahead. Make my day. I've got plenty of dough. And BTW, Jonesy, don't look now, but it's YOU that's currently being portrayed as the fool in the media".
Prediction. Goodell gets re-upped by the Committee and the other owners overwhelmingly support it. This, for two reasons. First, all in all he's done a good job as Commish.
And second, the more Jones flaps his gums and stomps his feet, the less the billionaire club of owners are likely to listen to him, much less take his side.
Man doesn't know when to shut up.
One final point. In the unlikely event Goodell is "terminated" after the 2918 season, here's a question ---
Who would they bring in the replace him? Let's hope the committee thinks that far ahead as well. This is not exactly an easy job to jump into, especially when the Collective Bargaining Agreement will expire shortly after a new Commish takes over. A new guy having to face those shark infested waters, when the union would smell blood?
Good luck with that.
Thursday, November 16, 2017
On the Jeopardy! warpath
I like to think I'm not a geek or a nerd, but perhaps I am in a certain way. For a very long time I've been a huge fan, junkie even, of the TV quiz show Jeopardy! Very seldom do I miss it.
This started a long time ago when I was only a little boy. My late mom got me hooked on it. Back then the show was on at noon, rather than it's current 7:30 PM time slot, and was hosted by a guy named Art Fleming, not the Alex Trebek we have come to know in recent decades.
The fact I would sit by mom while we both hollered out questions at noon must have meant I was on summer vacation from school, though my memory is foggy on that. Yes, I had my chores to do (and running around the neighborhood with all the other kids) and mom had her Leave It To Beaver house to clean and her soaps to watch, but we'd always find time to hook up and watch Jeopardy! Fond memories of those times indeed.
That addiction has never gone away. So yes, call me a nerd if you will. I don't care.
Then tonight, 11/16/17, something happened to put me on the proverbial warpath. Outrage! Sacrilege! Blasphemy! Off with their heads!!
The geniuses at NBC pre-empted my beloved Jeopardy! So what had happened? Surely it must be a very newsworthy event. But no.
It should be noted that Jeopardy! was winding up another Tournament of Champions. Fifteen previous (at least 5-time) champions had squared off in a two week series of shows to determine the best of the best.
After a week and a half, the original 15 had been whittled down to the Final Three. They would compete in a two day cumulative competition. Whoever won the most money over Thursday and Friday would be given $250,000 and a trophy they could be proud of for life.
And yes, I get it. These shows were taped taped a while back, but the public wouldn't know who came out on top until they aired, which was supposed to start tonight.
So what did NBC have on in its place? A football program, sort of. No, not a game, but merely a pre-game show. You know, talking heads throwing out all sorts of statistics and their own feeble opinions on what would happen when the Tennessee Titans met the Pittsburgh Steelers later on tonight.
Had it been the actual NFL game, maybe I would have understood. Heavy on the maybe.
To make matters even worse (see salt in the wound insulting), the very same yap-a-thon was airing on the NFL cable channel. Near as I know, this is a freebie channel on cable packages.
So while it's always a dumb idea to air the same show on two different channels simultaneously, it became doubly offensive when one of them zapped my Jeopardy!
During the Finals of the Tournament of Champions?
Are they nuts?
Don't they realize there are millions of us geeks out there that are screaming at their flat screens in righteous indignation/fury?
Though I'll resist the temptation, I'm beginning to understand the mind set of some people that go off the deep end and commit acts of atrocity. You can only push even a nerd so far.
The utter NERVE of these people. Who the hell do they think they are depriving the hordes of trivia buffs their fix and feeding them sports tripe instead?
Tell ya what. It's a good thing my mom isn't still around. Mess with her Jeopardy! and look out mister. I don't know what she might have done, but it wouldn't have been pretty. Somebody would have paid dearly for such an affront, dammit.
Miss ya, mom, and the old days of sitting next to you watching our black and white TV trying to get a few questions/answers right.
Say hi to Mr. Fleming for me.
This started a long time ago when I was only a little boy. My late mom got me hooked on it. Back then the show was on at noon, rather than it's current 7:30 PM time slot, and was hosted by a guy named Art Fleming, not the Alex Trebek we have come to know in recent decades.
The fact I would sit by mom while we both hollered out questions at noon must have meant I was on summer vacation from school, though my memory is foggy on that. Yes, I had my chores to do (and running around the neighborhood with all the other kids) and mom had her Leave It To Beaver house to clean and her soaps to watch, but we'd always find time to hook up and watch Jeopardy! Fond memories of those times indeed.
That addiction has never gone away. So yes, call me a nerd if you will. I don't care.
Then tonight, 11/16/17, something happened to put me on the proverbial warpath. Outrage! Sacrilege! Blasphemy! Off with their heads!!
The geniuses at NBC pre-empted my beloved Jeopardy! So what had happened? Surely it must be a very newsworthy event. But no.
It should be noted that Jeopardy! was winding up another Tournament of Champions. Fifteen previous (at least 5-time) champions had squared off in a two week series of shows to determine the best of the best.
After a week and a half, the original 15 had been whittled down to the Final Three. They would compete in a two day cumulative competition. Whoever won the most money over Thursday and Friday would be given $250,000 and a trophy they could be proud of for life.
And yes, I get it. These shows were taped taped a while back, but the public wouldn't know who came out on top until they aired, which was supposed to start tonight.
So what did NBC have on in its place? A football program, sort of. No, not a game, but merely a pre-game show. You know, talking heads throwing out all sorts of statistics and their own feeble opinions on what would happen when the Tennessee Titans met the Pittsburgh Steelers later on tonight.
Had it been the actual NFL game, maybe I would have understood. Heavy on the maybe.
To make matters even worse (see salt in the wound insulting), the very same yap-a-thon was airing on the NFL cable channel. Near as I know, this is a freebie channel on cable packages.
So while it's always a dumb idea to air the same show on two different channels simultaneously, it became doubly offensive when one of them zapped my Jeopardy!
During the Finals of the Tournament of Champions?
Are they nuts?
Don't they realize there are millions of us geeks out there that are screaming at their flat screens in righteous indignation/fury?
Though I'll resist the temptation, I'm beginning to understand the mind set of some people that go off the deep end and commit acts of atrocity. You can only push even a nerd so far.
The utter NERVE of these people. Who the hell do they think they are depriving the hordes of trivia buffs their fix and feeding them sports tripe instead?
Tell ya what. It's a good thing my mom isn't still around. Mess with her Jeopardy! and look out mister. I don't know what she might have done, but it wouldn't have been pretty. Somebody would have paid dearly for such an affront, dammit.
Miss ya, mom, and the old days of sitting next to you watching our black and white TV trying to get a few questions/answers right.
Say hi to Mr. Fleming for me.
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
UCLA's thieving three
So Riley, Hill and Ball (there's that name again -- his daddy has already made a colossal fool out of himself, big brother is a bust for the Lakers, and another one's still in the pipeline somewhere -- good luck with that), got popped for stealing in China.
This ranks them right up there with the likes of Larry, Moe, and Curly on the bonehead scale. The difference being Misters Fine, Howard, and Howard did it for the amusement of others, not real, while the UCLA trio of tramps evidently thought they were either entitled to it, or could get away with it because they play for a high profile school in the good old U S of A. Wrong on both counts.
In a predictable, if comical sideline to the story, President Trump couldn't wait to tweet out (look at me) how he had come to their rescue. Then he all but demanded thanks. The ever-illustrious, if often severely misguided Donald went on to add yon Bruins would have been facing 10 years in prison had he not intervened.
Um, probably not. A reporter on the ground in China said his sources claimed the hoopsters were more likely facing a couple weeks max in jail for what amounted to a minor theft. Plus the ususal-- cha-ching -- fine, of course. It's always about the money.
Back stateside the ever-lovable talking heads were in a frenzy demanding the stooges get tarred and feathered, or at least suspended for a long period of time, perhaps the rest of the year. Given this turned into an "international incident", such punishment (the suspension -- sans the tar and feathers) seemed reasonable enough.
So UCLA had to do something. In a move politicians would be proud of, always giving themselves an out, they have indeed suspended Hill, Riley and Ball "indefinitely". But that last word is the catch. "Indefinite" can mean anything. A game or two, a couple weeks, months, the season, nobody knows.
It might just be that when the furor dies down and those pesky reporters turn to another big deal story, the brass at UCLA could ease them back on to the team, hoping it doesn't draw too much attention. Time will tell.
But another theory has been floated as well. In the interim, the movers and shakers inside UCLA are reportedly in disagreement among themselves as to how long -- harsh -- "indefinite" should be. Again, a few games, half the season, all of it, and should they be bounced out of the school entirely? They continue to deliberate.
Yet the theory goes that if the players are out for the entire season, or longer, they might look to transfer elsewhere to get back on a basketball team/court somewhere.
And if THAT is allowed to happen, then the whole theory of holding them responsible goes up in smoke. Becomes a joke, as it were.
Though yours truly is seldom a proponent of Big Brother and his nefarious oppressive ways, this would be a case where the all-powerful NCAA should step in and take charge. The honchos there could hand down a mandate whereby these petty crooks won't be allowed to play for any of their membership institutions until at least the start of the 2018 season. If UCLA won't hand out sufficient punishment to their own, then THEY will.
That would take care of any possible transfer nonsense to escape the justice they have coming.
Yeah, I get it. Boys will be boys and sometimes they do dumb things. This shouldn't ruin them for life. But if nobody at UCLA had the common sense to warn them and their teammates to stay squeaky clean while visiting a country such as China, then they just might get banged accordingly if they did something stupid -- which they did.
[Idle thought. How quick do you think the Donald would have been to step in if the three perpetrators had been registered Democrats, or horrors, the sons of a Dem congressperson?. Good grief, might he have encouraged the Chinese to throw them into a dungeon for years?. Hmmm.]
At any rate, it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the next few months.
Stay tuned.....
This ranks them right up there with the likes of Larry, Moe, and Curly on the bonehead scale. The difference being Misters Fine, Howard, and Howard did it for the amusement of others, not real, while the UCLA trio of tramps evidently thought they were either entitled to it, or could get away with it because they play for a high profile school in the good old U S of A. Wrong on both counts.
In a predictable, if comical sideline to the story, President Trump couldn't wait to tweet out (look at me) how he had come to their rescue. Then he all but demanded thanks. The ever-illustrious, if often severely misguided Donald went on to add yon Bruins would have been facing 10 years in prison had he not intervened.
Um, probably not. A reporter on the ground in China said his sources claimed the hoopsters were more likely facing a couple weeks max in jail for what amounted to a minor theft. Plus the ususal-- cha-ching -- fine, of course. It's always about the money.
Back stateside the ever-lovable talking heads were in a frenzy demanding the stooges get tarred and feathered, or at least suspended for a long period of time, perhaps the rest of the year. Given this turned into an "international incident", such punishment (the suspension -- sans the tar and feathers) seemed reasonable enough.
So UCLA had to do something. In a move politicians would be proud of, always giving themselves an out, they have indeed suspended Hill, Riley and Ball "indefinitely". But that last word is the catch. "Indefinite" can mean anything. A game or two, a couple weeks, months, the season, nobody knows.
It might just be that when the furor dies down and those pesky reporters turn to another big deal story, the brass at UCLA could ease them back on to the team, hoping it doesn't draw too much attention. Time will tell.
But another theory has been floated as well. In the interim, the movers and shakers inside UCLA are reportedly in disagreement among themselves as to how long -- harsh -- "indefinite" should be. Again, a few games, half the season, all of it, and should they be bounced out of the school entirely? They continue to deliberate.
Yet the theory goes that if the players are out for the entire season, or longer, they might look to transfer elsewhere to get back on a basketball team/court somewhere.
And if THAT is allowed to happen, then the whole theory of holding them responsible goes up in smoke. Becomes a joke, as it were.
Though yours truly is seldom a proponent of Big Brother and his nefarious oppressive ways, this would be a case where the all-powerful NCAA should step in and take charge. The honchos there could hand down a mandate whereby these petty crooks won't be allowed to play for any of their membership institutions until at least the start of the 2018 season. If UCLA won't hand out sufficient punishment to their own, then THEY will.
That would take care of any possible transfer nonsense to escape the justice they have coming.
Yeah, I get it. Boys will be boys and sometimes they do dumb things. This shouldn't ruin them for life. But if nobody at UCLA had the common sense to warn them and their teammates to stay squeaky clean while visiting a country such as China, then they just might get banged accordingly if they did something stupid -- which they did.
[Idle thought. How quick do you think the Donald would have been to step in if the three perpetrators had been registered Democrats, or horrors, the sons of a Dem congressperson?. Good grief, might he have encouraged the Chinese to throw them into a dungeon for years?. Hmmm.]
At any rate, it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the next few months.
Stay tuned.....
Monday, November 13, 2017
More idle rants
Now that was a stupid commercial. Can't remember what the product was -- who cares? -- but they claimed that drinking a lot of fluids just might help a person stay hydrated.
Well, no kidding. I mean, what pearls of wisdom might these geniuses come up with next to insult our intelligence? That jumping out of an airplane without a parachute just might shorten one's life span? That wearing clothes in public just might decrease the odds of being arrested? That pounding a fifth of tequila and then driving an automobile just might be a pretty bad idea? Please.
So Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers easily dispatched the Miami Dolphins. Yawn. At least dear Cam could act like an adult at the post-game press conference. This is in contrast to how we might have expected him to act after a loss. You know, the petulant child with an attitude. Pout, pout, pout, because something didn't go his way.
Has there ever been a dumber play in the history of the NFL than that the Cleveland Browns ran against the Detroit Lions late in the first half? Second and goal from the two yard line, no time-outs remaining, and only 10 seconds on the game clock? And they ran a quarterback sneak against an obviously super-stacked D line? Of course the play was stuffed. Then time ran out before they could either spike the ball or get off another play. No touchdown, not even a gimme field goal. No nothing, except embarrassment.
If I was the GM or, better yet, owner of the Browns, I'm storming into the locker room at halftime. I want to know who called that play. Whoever it was is fired on the spot. Get out -- now. This team is bad enough without monumental stupidity being added to the equation.
What's that? The Detroit Pistons are leading their division, while Lebron and the Cavs are struggling?
Two things. It's a long season and give them both time. The Pistons will crash and burn because they flat-out aren't good enough to sustain excellence. Maybe they sneak into the playoffs as a lower seed -- only to get blasted in the first round -- and who would doubt any Lebron led team won't come roaring back, quite likely making another Finals appearance next spring?
One more thing. The Pistons gave Andre Drummond a "max" contract -- on a par with the likes of Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Hardin, and those guys? The same Drummond that shoots free-throws like Stevie Wonder, has no outside shot, and is pretty much useless any place further than 6-8 feet from the rim? THAT big galoot gets top dog money? Only in Detroit could they come up with such a colossal waste of dough. And you wonder why the prices to get a seat for a game are so high? Duh.
The same goes for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. Does any sane person really believe he deserves to be the highest paid player in the entire NFL? But he is. The same guy that hasn't won a single playoff game since he started almost a decade ago. And probably won't this year either.
You know who this is REALLY good news to? The real top guys in the league that are coming up on a new contract. All they and their agents need to do is point at Stafford. If THAT guy, with a career losing record and nary a playoff win can get such big bucks, then obviously I'm worth a lot more. Good luck to the other GMs around the league refuting that argument. Prices just went up there too, or will soon.
And the final fan insult of the night goes to one Scott Van Pelt and his minions that keep hyping him.
They want to know"where in the world ISN'T SVP?", and keep showing pix of semi-look-alikes from wherever they can get them.
Tell ya what. There's a reason he's on the air after the late-late shows in the wee hours of the morning -- see drunks stumbling home after closing bars -- rather than prime time.
The really scary part is there's so many people out there that WANT to pass themselves off as this peanut-head.
Yikes. If you thought the situation in Washington DC with the politicians has devolved into ludicrous tripe, get a load of the four-letter network and their talking heads around 2 or 3 in the morning.
Where do they get these clowns?
Well, no kidding. I mean, what pearls of wisdom might these geniuses come up with next to insult our intelligence? That jumping out of an airplane without a parachute just might shorten one's life span? That wearing clothes in public just might decrease the odds of being arrested? That pounding a fifth of tequila and then driving an automobile just might be a pretty bad idea? Please.
So Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers easily dispatched the Miami Dolphins. Yawn. At least dear Cam could act like an adult at the post-game press conference. This is in contrast to how we might have expected him to act after a loss. You know, the petulant child with an attitude. Pout, pout, pout, because something didn't go his way.
Has there ever been a dumber play in the history of the NFL than that the Cleveland Browns ran against the Detroit Lions late in the first half? Second and goal from the two yard line, no time-outs remaining, and only 10 seconds on the game clock? And they ran a quarterback sneak against an obviously super-stacked D line? Of course the play was stuffed. Then time ran out before they could either spike the ball or get off another play. No touchdown, not even a gimme field goal. No nothing, except embarrassment.
If I was the GM or, better yet, owner of the Browns, I'm storming into the locker room at halftime. I want to know who called that play. Whoever it was is fired on the spot. Get out -- now. This team is bad enough without monumental stupidity being added to the equation.
What's that? The Detroit Pistons are leading their division, while Lebron and the Cavs are struggling?
Two things. It's a long season and give them both time. The Pistons will crash and burn because they flat-out aren't good enough to sustain excellence. Maybe they sneak into the playoffs as a lower seed -- only to get blasted in the first round -- and who would doubt any Lebron led team won't come roaring back, quite likely making another Finals appearance next spring?
One more thing. The Pistons gave Andre Drummond a "max" contract -- on a par with the likes of Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Hardin, and those guys? The same Drummond that shoots free-throws like Stevie Wonder, has no outside shot, and is pretty much useless any place further than 6-8 feet from the rim? THAT big galoot gets top dog money? Only in Detroit could they come up with such a colossal waste of dough. And you wonder why the prices to get a seat for a game are so high? Duh.
The same goes for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. Does any sane person really believe he deserves to be the highest paid player in the entire NFL? But he is. The same guy that hasn't won a single playoff game since he started almost a decade ago. And probably won't this year either.
You know who this is REALLY good news to? The real top guys in the league that are coming up on a new contract. All they and their agents need to do is point at Stafford. If THAT guy, with a career losing record and nary a playoff win can get such big bucks, then obviously I'm worth a lot more. Good luck to the other GMs around the league refuting that argument. Prices just went up there too, or will soon.
And the final fan insult of the night goes to one Scott Van Pelt and his minions that keep hyping him.
They want to know"where in the world ISN'T SVP?", and keep showing pix of semi-look-alikes from wherever they can get them.
Tell ya what. There's a reason he's on the air after the late-late shows in the wee hours of the morning -- see drunks stumbling home after closing bars -- rather than prime time.
The really scary part is there's so many people out there that WANT to pass themselves off as this peanut-head.
Yikes. If you thought the situation in Washington DC with the politicians has devolved into ludicrous tripe, get a load of the four-letter network and their talking heads around 2 or 3 in the morning.
Where do they get these clowns?
Sunday, November 12, 2017
College football rankings
Well now, that was quite an interesting day. #1, or #2 Alabama, depending on which poll one believes in, came back from a late deficit to barely eke out Mississippi State. But at least they won.
Meanwhile, #2, or #1 Georgia, along the same line of poll logic, was getting smoked at Auburn. See ya Dawgs. Yer going down.
Notre Dame, generally regarded as the #3 team in the country, got trashed in Miami. Any team that names itself the Fighting Irish when the real Notre Dame has always been a cathedral in Paris -- see France -- should never be taken too seriously.
Penn State fell out of national contention with recent losses.
Not long ago, Clemson, defending national champs, somehow manage to roll over and play dead at a game at Syracuse. Syracuse? REALLY? How the heck did that happen?
Ohio State has two losses, including a severe recent whipping at unranked Iowa. The Buckeyes don't appear worthy, though the trashing they put on Michigan State today was rather impressive.
So OK. Nick the (fill in the blank) -rick of Alabama and his team will be #1 by default.
After that, good luck sorting them out. The TV talking heads, and their supporting cast of "experts" and stat geeks will no doubt be hyperventilating over which team belongs where in the next go-around of the sacred "rankings".
What's comical is the even more so sacrosanct, and mysterious "committee" will be tasked with picking only four teams to participate in a national championship playoff.
If ever there was a valid argument to expand such a field to at least eight, if not sixteen, this is the time.
After all, college teams are done playing their regular seasons in late November, early December at latest. Then they spend a few weeks waiting around to play in a bowl game somewhere.
Tell me these "student athletes" are busy studying for final exams at the time, and I'll laugh in your face. That was mailed in when they got full ride jock scholarships in the first place. Who's kidding who?
So why not let sixteen of them compete in a playoff throughout the month of December, instead of the always questionable "final four" -- never more so than this year? Every other sport does it -- at every level. And two more games to whittle the field down to four would keep them game sharp as well. What else do they have to do?
For now, the Crimson Tide of Tuscaloosa is the undisputed #1 team in the land. No doubt a slam dunk for making the above-mentioned "final four". But they'e hardly an unbeatable juggernaut, hence vulnerable.
Beyond Nick's boys, the rankings have officially become a crap shoot. Wisconsin's still unbeaten. Defending champ Clemson is clawing their way back into contention. The Canes in Miami are coming on strong. The Huskies of Washington aren't out of the question. Neither are the Okie Sooners and the TCU Horned Frogs.
With still a month to go, who knows which teams will go up -- or down -- before the regular season ends?
Even Bama could get knocked off.
How interesting -- or confusing -- would THAT make things?
Meanwhile, #2, or #1 Georgia, along the same line of poll logic, was getting smoked at Auburn. See ya Dawgs. Yer going down.
Notre Dame, generally regarded as the #3 team in the country, got trashed in Miami. Any team that names itself the Fighting Irish when the real Notre Dame has always been a cathedral in Paris -- see France -- should never be taken too seriously.
Penn State fell out of national contention with recent losses.
Not long ago, Clemson, defending national champs, somehow manage to roll over and play dead at a game at Syracuse. Syracuse? REALLY? How the heck did that happen?
Ohio State has two losses, including a severe recent whipping at unranked Iowa. The Buckeyes don't appear worthy, though the trashing they put on Michigan State today was rather impressive.
So OK. Nick the (fill in the blank) -rick of Alabama and his team will be #1 by default.
After that, good luck sorting them out. The TV talking heads, and their supporting cast of "experts" and stat geeks will no doubt be hyperventilating over which team belongs where in the next go-around of the sacred "rankings".
What's comical is the even more so sacrosanct, and mysterious "committee" will be tasked with picking only four teams to participate in a national championship playoff.
If ever there was a valid argument to expand such a field to at least eight, if not sixteen, this is the time.
After all, college teams are done playing their regular seasons in late November, early December at latest. Then they spend a few weeks waiting around to play in a bowl game somewhere.
Tell me these "student athletes" are busy studying for final exams at the time, and I'll laugh in your face. That was mailed in when they got full ride jock scholarships in the first place. Who's kidding who?
So why not let sixteen of them compete in a playoff throughout the month of December, instead of the always questionable "final four" -- never more so than this year? Every other sport does it -- at every level. And two more games to whittle the field down to four would keep them game sharp as well. What else do they have to do?
For now, the Crimson Tide of Tuscaloosa is the undisputed #1 team in the land. No doubt a slam dunk for making the above-mentioned "final four". But they'e hardly an unbeatable juggernaut, hence vulnerable.
Beyond Nick's boys, the rankings have officially become a crap shoot. Wisconsin's still unbeaten. Defending champ Clemson is clawing their way back into contention. The Canes in Miami are coming on strong. The Huskies of Washington aren't out of the question. Neither are the Okie Sooners and the TCU Horned Frogs.
With still a month to go, who knows which teams will go up -- or down -- before the regular season ends?
Even Bama could get knocked off.
How interesting -- or confusing -- would THAT make things?
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Michigan State exposed
It was predictable. The train wreck waiting to happen -- Michigan State football -- finally did.
The Spartans were absolutely humbled at Ohio State. Over a six touchdown differential of eating some serious crow. Yet this should have come as no surprise to football fans paying attention to what led up to it.
Like most other major conference teams, MSU started off the season with a couple patsies.
But then Notre Dame came to East Lansing and thrashed the Spartans by 20 points. An anomaly? Perhaps, but also maybe an omen of what was to come. The Fighting Irish are pretty good this year.
After that debacle, MSU won close games over the likes of unranked Iowa and the always over-ranked and over-hyped Michigan. (The Wolverines had again been thoroughly exposed as pretenders rather than contenders. Nothing new there).
Then a couple other rather narrow victories over Minnesota and Indiana. Wins, but hardly impressive over typical Big 10 -- or is that 14? -- can't they count? --doormats.
The loss in overtime to Northwestern should have raised a few skeptical eyebrows, but any such thoughts among the Sparty faithful were quickly put to rest with their narrow victory over a then highly regarded team like Penn State. The green and white bandwagon was back in full swing.
Meanwhile, Ohio State, a perennial power, and even more so since Urban Meyer came aboard as head coach, was getting throttled at Iowa. That wasn't supposed to happen.
So do the math. The young Spartans were getting a bit full of themselves. And the Buckeyes were flat-out pi$$ed, wanting to come out and make a statement in their next game.
Which just happened to be MSU visiting the horseshoe in Columbus.
Bang. Try a 48-3 beatdown. Against MSU's supposedly stout defense, OSU ran for over 330 yards alone. The Buckeyes were having the proverbial field day marching up and down the field against the hapless Spartans. If not for a couple of dropped should have been interceptions by OSU's defensive backs, OSU might have hung SIXTY points on them. And the Spartans could only manage a meager THREE?
To be sure, Michigan State, like their cross-state rival Michigan, will wind up going to a bowl somewhere around the first of the year. But it will be of the second tier variety. Because neither is anywhere near worthy of being considered as any sort of national contender. This is what happens when the college football world has diluted the bowls to the point of a team only needing six wins to qualify and play in one. It's all about TV, advertisement bucks, more talking heads -- see money grab.
And given MSU's last couple regular season games against bottom feeders such as Maryland and Rutgers, they'll probably rack up a couple more wins. Sparty nation will be thumping their chests once again.
But it's been smoke, mirrors and hype all along.
Scroll back up and re-read the opening sentence of this post.
And it has come to pass indeed.
Exposed.
The Spartans were absolutely humbled at Ohio State. Over a six touchdown differential of eating some serious crow. Yet this should have come as no surprise to football fans paying attention to what led up to it.
Like most other major conference teams, MSU started off the season with a couple patsies.
But then Notre Dame came to East Lansing and thrashed the Spartans by 20 points. An anomaly? Perhaps, but also maybe an omen of what was to come. The Fighting Irish are pretty good this year.
After that debacle, MSU won close games over the likes of unranked Iowa and the always over-ranked and over-hyped Michigan. (The Wolverines had again been thoroughly exposed as pretenders rather than contenders. Nothing new there).
Then a couple other rather narrow victories over Minnesota and Indiana. Wins, but hardly impressive over typical Big 10 -- or is that 14? -- can't they count? --doormats.
The loss in overtime to Northwestern should have raised a few skeptical eyebrows, but any such thoughts among the Sparty faithful were quickly put to rest with their narrow victory over a then highly regarded team like Penn State. The green and white bandwagon was back in full swing.
Meanwhile, Ohio State, a perennial power, and even more so since Urban Meyer came aboard as head coach, was getting throttled at Iowa. That wasn't supposed to happen.
So do the math. The young Spartans were getting a bit full of themselves. And the Buckeyes were flat-out pi$$ed, wanting to come out and make a statement in their next game.
Which just happened to be MSU visiting the horseshoe in Columbus.
Bang. Try a 48-3 beatdown. Against MSU's supposedly stout defense, OSU ran for over 330 yards alone. The Buckeyes were having the proverbial field day marching up and down the field against the hapless Spartans. If not for a couple of dropped should have been interceptions by OSU's defensive backs, OSU might have hung SIXTY points on them. And the Spartans could only manage a meager THREE?
To be sure, Michigan State, like their cross-state rival Michigan, will wind up going to a bowl somewhere around the first of the year. But it will be of the second tier variety. Because neither is anywhere near worthy of being considered as any sort of national contender. This is what happens when the college football world has diluted the bowls to the point of a team only needing six wins to qualify and play in one. It's all about TV, advertisement bucks, more talking heads -- see money grab.
And given MSU's last couple regular season games against bottom feeders such as Maryland and Rutgers, they'll probably rack up a couple more wins. Sparty nation will be thumping their chests once again.
But it's been smoke, mirrors and hype all along.
Scroll back up and re-read the opening sentence of this post.
And it has come to pass indeed.
Exposed.
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Ezekiel Elliott. C'mon, man
So now the suspension is back on. I lost count after a while, but think this is maybe the tenth or eleventh time Dallas Cowboy running back Ezekiel Elliott's six game suspension has been upheld, reversed, re-upheld, etc.
It all seems to depend on which side can court and judge shop in a favorable venue to get the ruling they want.
What has been lost in the on-going whack-a-mole court mania is the reason it came about in the first place.
Dear Mr. Elliott was alleged by some to have physically abused a fair damsel, sometimes known as a significant other -- or old lady -- whatever.
But he was never even charged with such a crime, much less convicted of same. Therefore, as the always perfect -- right -- American jurisprudence system goes, EE remains innocent until proven guilty. In other words, pure as the driven snow, or perhaps of the same high character and quality of the best white lightning in all of Tennessee. Forget steroids and human growth hormones, just a few snorts of that stuff can make any animal, two-legged or four, run wild as well, but I digress. But I never saw it in the black variety. Go figure.
Nevertheless, enter one Roger Goodell, grand exalted supreme ruler of all things pro football, and sometimes referred to in his lesser capacity as Commissioner of the NFL.
High lord Roger and his minions determined, in their infinite wisdom, that mere commoner Elliot had run afoul of the player conduct code. Off with his head, or at least a six game suspension.
And so it came to pass.
But then it was reversed by one of those pesky courts.
[They tend to get in the way of, ahem, righteous authority at times in those countries dumb enough to keep relying on democratic systems with checks and balances. Unfortunately, the US happens to be one of those backwards countries.]
Then re-instated by another.
Then off again.
On again.
Off, on, off, on, off, until most of us lost count.
Any sort of moral justice went out the window a long time ago. It became, and remains all about winning -- by both sides -- the NFL and the Players Union -- which both have an army of lawyers to keep pressing on.
Do I think EE originally smacked that girl around? Probably. But because no charges were filed, then it becomes like the proverbial tree in the woods falling and trying to determine whether it made any noise while nobody officially witnessed it.
Did Goodell and his merry band of discipline hander-outers have a right to punish such a tree, excuse, Elliott, without any proof of same either? Probably so as well.
It's called a clause in the Collective Bargaining Agreement whereby any player that casts the league in a negative light can be zapped for doing so.
EE was guilty of this. Or was he?
After all, none of this ongoing court craziness would have happened if Goodell hadn't handed down the suspension -- for a crime that legally never happened -- in the first place.
So who indeed has cast the league in a negative light over all this time?
Maybe Goodell should be given a suspension. And it appears more than a few owners -- his bosses with hiring/firing power -- have become dissatisfied with his performance as their exalted leader.
Dude's making over $40 million a year, which they have to pay for, and he continues to bring them aggravation and bad press?
I dunno who's right and wrong here. I just wish somebody somewhere could make a decision which is binding, and this whole cluster -- you know what -- was decided. Period.
I mean, so what if EE misses a few games? He'll still be raking in millions. And if his absence costs the Cowboys a playoff spot -- so what again? There's no way they were Super Bowl caliber even with him.
And if the league ultimately loses this legal wrangling? Who cares? Maybe their heavy-handed tactics need to be taken down a serious peg. Translation -- you can't zap somebody until proof has been shown they actually committed a crime/violation. In this case, they don't have it. Never did.
Regardless, somebody with the authority to do so, please make a final call and stick to it.
While I'm all for instant replay and the democratic system, this "upon further review" stuff is getting ridiculous.
It all seems to depend on which side can court and judge shop in a favorable venue to get the ruling they want.
What has been lost in the on-going whack-a-mole court mania is the reason it came about in the first place.
Dear Mr. Elliott was alleged by some to have physically abused a fair damsel, sometimes known as a significant other -- or old lady -- whatever.
But he was never even charged with such a crime, much less convicted of same. Therefore, as the always perfect -- right -- American jurisprudence system goes, EE remains innocent until proven guilty. In other words, pure as the driven snow, or perhaps of the same high character and quality of the best white lightning in all of Tennessee. Forget steroids and human growth hormones, just a few snorts of that stuff can make any animal, two-legged or four, run wild as well, but I digress. But I never saw it in the black variety. Go figure.
Nevertheless, enter one Roger Goodell, grand exalted supreme ruler of all things pro football, and sometimes referred to in his lesser capacity as Commissioner of the NFL.
High lord Roger and his minions determined, in their infinite wisdom, that mere commoner Elliot had run afoul of the player conduct code. Off with his head, or at least a six game suspension.
And so it came to pass.
But then it was reversed by one of those pesky courts.
[They tend to get in the way of, ahem, righteous authority at times in those countries dumb enough to keep relying on democratic systems with checks and balances. Unfortunately, the US happens to be one of those backwards countries.]
Then re-instated by another.
Then off again.
On again.
Off, on, off, on, off, until most of us lost count.
Any sort of moral justice went out the window a long time ago. It became, and remains all about winning -- by both sides -- the NFL and the Players Union -- which both have an army of lawyers to keep pressing on.
Do I think EE originally smacked that girl around? Probably. But because no charges were filed, then it becomes like the proverbial tree in the woods falling and trying to determine whether it made any noise while nobody officially witnessed it.
Did Goodell and his merry band of discipline hander-outers have a right to punish such a tree, excuse, Elliott, without any proof of same either? Probably so as well.
It's called a clause in the Collective Bargaining Agreement whereby any player that casts the league in a negative light can be zapped for doing so.
EE was guilty of this. Or was he?
After all, none of this ongoing court craziness would have happened if Goodell hadn't handed down the suspension -- for a crime that legally never happened -- in the first place.
So who indeed has cast the league in a negative light over all this time?
Maybe Goodell should be given a suspension. And it appears more than a few owners -- his bosses with hiring/firing power -- have become dissatisfied with his performance as their exalted leader.
Dude's making over $40 million a year, which they have to pay for, and he continues to bring them aggravation and bad press?
I dunno who's right and wrong here. I just wish somebody somewhere could make a decision which is binding, and this whole cluster -- you know what -- was decided. Period.
I mean, so what if EE misses a few games? He'll still be raking in millions. And if his absence costs the Cowboys a playoff spot -- so what again? There's no way they were Super Bowl caliber even with him.
And if the league ultimately loses this legal wrangling? Who cares? Maybe their heavy-handed tactics need to be taken down a serious peg. Translation -- you can't zap somebody until proof has been shown they actually committed a crime/violation. In this case, they don't have it. Never did.
Regardless, somebody with the authority to do so, please make a final call and stick to it.
While I'm all for instant replay and the democratic system, this "upon further review" stuff is getting ridiculous.
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Detroit Lions reality check.
Over the years it's never ceased to amaze yours truly how gullible fans -- and the local media that continues to lead them down the proverbial primrose path -- are for the Detroit Lions. They willingly drink the same toxic Honolulu blue and silver kool-aid every year. This one is certainly no exception.
Once again, there is talk in Motown about their beloved Lions making the playoffs. Given the puddy-tats have so far been the beneficiaries of every break imaginable through the first half of the 2016 season, it's not beyond the realm of possibility they might -- MIGHT -- indeed qualify for the post-season. More on that to follow. But let's look at how they got where they currently stand, which is at 4-4 halfway through the season.
First up they played the Arizona Cardinals. The Cards have turned out to be a pretty bad team, having given up over 60 more points than they've scored. This does not qualify as a quality win.
Then off to the NY Giants. They're flat-out terrible. Another win, but everybody clobbers the Giants this year.
The Lions caught the Minnesota Vikings, on the road, when the latter was down to their third-string quarterback. Granted, a win, but nothing to crow about.
Same with the recent game in Green Bay. Without Aaron Rodgers -- out with a broken collarbone -- and BTW his replacement Brett Hundley is almost embarrassing -- the Pack are basically floundering.
That's the Lions four wins to date.
On the flip side, the Lions have played the Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, and New Orleans Saints. All of those games have resulted in losses, three of them at home for the Lions.
Pitt, Carolina, and Nawlins have decent records, though the Falcons appear to have developed a Super Bowl loss hangover.
Nonetheless, to date, the record is clear. The Lions beat up on bad teams, or those with their starting QBs out of action, but lose to halfway decent teams.
The second half of the season finds the Lions landing in yet another rose garden.
They have a game with the always woeful Cleveland Browns, perhaps the only NFL franchise more historically inept than that in Detroit.
Two games with division rival Chicago, which has a predictably struggling rookie quarterback learning the hard way under fire.
One with the Baltimore Ravens. They haven't been any good in recent times, nor are they this year.
Another with the Cincinnati Bengals. As long as Marvin Lewis is still the head coach, those equally bumbling puddy-tats aren't going anywhere either.
[Idle thought. How does this guy, after having proven himself so incompetent for over a decade, keep hanging on to his job?]
A contest with the Tampa Bay Bucs, which are rapidly coming apart at the seams.
Another with the Vikings on Thanksgiving Day, at home in Motown. The Lions should give thanks indeed. Always a step away from the injured reserve list, pretty good QB Sam Bradford is back on it. Former starting QB Teddy Bridgewater, out over a year rehabbing a horrific knee injury, may or may not be totally physically ready to go. And even if so, no way will he be fully back up to game day speed by the time this game happens.
Then another home game with the Packers. By then, Green Bay, if they continue to struggle in Rodgers's absence, which would be no surprise, might well have decided to officially shut him down for the season.
This particular broken collarbone, a result of a cheap shot by a Minnesota linebacker, was on his throwing arm side. Even when the doctors clear him to play, how long until #12 feels totally comfortable and back in rhythm throwing his usual passes all over the field? It might be in the Packers favor to let him heal completely and hope for the best in 2018.
So in a nutshell, the Lions have had and will have a ridiculously easy schedule this year. The only four pretty good teams they've faced, or will, defeated them.
They should easily win the vast majority of their remaining games, because they'll be playing the patsies of the league. Only the Vikings even have a winning record, and their QB situation remains very much in flux. Notice they somehow escaped contests with the likes of surprising Philly, New England, the resurgent LA Rams, KC, Seattle, Da Boys in Dallas, even Jacksonville and Buffalo, which have turned out to be pretty good.
They've lived a charmed season indeed, with every possible break going their way so far.
So yes, they might actually make it to the playoffs.
But that is where the kool-aid fueled magic carpet ride in Detroit will likely crash and burn again.
Because if and when THAT happens -- guess what?
No more patsies and rose gardens.
Whoever they face will be a "for real" team.
And so far, to no objective viewer's great surprise, when the Lions have faced true adversity -- they've been drubbed.
Hey, it's just another year of Detroit Lions football. Another campaign of hype -- see the usual suckers jumping on the bandwagon -- with a spectacular crash waiting at the end of it.
One would think they'd learn, but they never do.
Alas.
Once again, there is talk in Motown about their beloved Lions making the playoffs. Given the puddy-tats have so far been the beneficiaries of every break imaginable through the first half of the 2016 season, it's not beyond the realm of possibility they might -- MIGHT -- indeed qualify for the post-season. More on that to follow. But let's look at how they got where they currently stand, which is at 4-4 halfway through the season.
First up they played the Arizona Cardinals. The Cards have turned out to be a pretty bad team, having given up over 60 more points than they've scored. This does not qualify as a quality win.
Then off to the NY Giants. They're flat-out terrible. Another win, but everybody clobbers the Giants this year.
The Lions caught the Minnesota Vikings, on the road, when the latter was down to their third-string quarterback. Granted, a win, but nothing to crow about.
Same with the recent game in Green Bay. Without Aaron Rodgers -- out with a broken collarbone -- and BTW his replacement Brett Hundley is almost embarrassing -- the Pack are basically floundering.
That's the Lions four wins to date.
On the flip side, the Lions have played the Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, and New Orleans Saints. All of those games have resulted in losses, three of them at home for the Lions.
Pitt, Carolina, and Nawlins have decent records, though the Falcons appear to have developed a Super Bowl loss hangover.
Nonetheless, to date, the record is clear. The Lions beat up on bad teams, or those with their starting QBs out of action, but lose to halfway decent teams.
The second half of the season finds the Lions landing in yet another rose garden.
They have a game with the always woeful Cleveland Browns, perhaps the only NFL franchise more historically inept than that in Detroit.
Two games with division rival Chicago, which has a predictably struggling rookie quarterback learning the hard way under fire.
One with the Baltimore Ravens. They haven't been any good in recent times, nor are they this year.
Another with the Cincinnati Bengals. As long as Marvin Lewis is still the head coach, those equally bumbling puddy-tats aren't going anywhere either.
[Idle thought. How does this guy, after having proven himself so incompetent for over a decade, keep hanging on to his job?]
A contest with the Tampa Bay Bucs, which are rapidly coming apart at the seams.
Another with the Vikings on Thanksgiving Day, at home in Motown. The Lions should give thanks indeed. Always a step away from the injured reserve list, pretty good QB Sam Bradford is back on it. Former starting QB Teddy Bridgewater, out over a year rehabbing a horrific knee injury, may or may not be totally physically ready to go. And even if so, no way will he be fully back up to game day speed by the time this game happens.
Then another home game with the Packers. By then, Green Bay, if they continue to struggle in Rodgers's absence, which would be no surprise, might well have decided to officially shut him down for the season.
This particular broken collarbone, a result of a cheap shot by a Minnesota linebacker, was on his throwing arm side. Even when the doctors clear him to play, how long until #12 feels totally comfortable and back in rhythm throwing his usual passes all over the field? It might be in the Packers favor to let him heal completely and hope for the best in 2018.
So in a nutshell, the Lions have had and will have a ridiculously easy schedule this year. The only four pretty good teams they've faced, or will, defeated them.
They should easily win the vast majority of their remaining games, because they'll be playing the patsies of the league. Only the Vikings even have a winning record, and their QB situation remains very much in flux. Notice they somehow escaped contests with the likes of surprising Philly, New England, the resurgent LA Rams, KC, Seattle, Da Boys in Dallas, even Jacksonville and Buffalo, which have turned out to be pretty good.
They've lived a charmed season indeed, with every possible break going their way so far.
So yes, they might actually make it to the playoffs.
But that is where the kool-aid fueled magic carpet ride in Detroit will likely crash and burn again.
Because if and when THAT happens -- guess what?
No more patsies and rose gardens.
Whoever they face will be a "for real" team.
And so far, to no objective viewer's great surprise, when the Lions have faced true adversity -- they've been drubbed.
Hey, it's just another year of Detroit Lions football. Another campaign of hype -- see the usual suckers jumping on the bandwagon -- with a spectacular crash waiting at the end of it.
One would think they'd learn, but they never do.
Alas.
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
The tragedy of Roy Halladay
It seems like just yesterday Roy Halladay was mowing down major league hitters. Both during his long tenure with the Toronto Blue Jays and then on to the Philadelphia Phillies, Halladay was among the best in the game.
Two Cy Young awards. An eight time All-Star. And that's just the baseball side.
Nary a whisper of any steroid activity, stepping out on his wife, or any other shenanigans which we hear so much about regarding other professional athletes.
In short, he was all-around good guy. A loving husband and father of two young boys.
And now -- poof -- he's gone -- just like that.
Something obviously went horribly wrong while he was flying his small airplane and it crashed not far off the western coast of Florida. No doubt the authorities will get to the bottom of it in time. But all that doesn't much matter now.
The forty year old is still dead and they're isn't any do-overs. His wife and kids are left to pick up the pieces and hopefully move on.
Yes, I get it. Lots of people die in America (and elsewhere around the world) every day from various causes. Massive violence rears its ugly head way too often. And no, this is not to say Roy Halladay was any more special than the thousands of others that continue to perish every day, again, for various reasons. Every life is precious.
But it seems so awfully sad that a guy like Halladay, who probably still had some "gas in the tank", retired a few years back (2013) so he could spend more time with his family, which he and they will now never have. In another year he'll be eligible for baseball's Hall of Fame, and will likely be a first ballot shoo-in.
To be sure, yours truly never had the pleasure of meeting the man, but I watched his career from afar and definitely appreciated the manner in which he went about it.
A pro's pro on the field and a model citizen off it.
Sometimes, tragically and mysteriously, the good die young indeed.
May he rest in piece and godspeed to his widow, children, other family and friends he left behind.
Two Cy Young awards. An eight time All-Star. And that's just the baseball side.
Nary a whisper of any steroid activity, stepping out on his wife, or any other shenanigans which we hear so much about regarding other professional athletes.
In short, he was all-around good guy. A loving husband and father of two young boys.
And now -- poof -- he's gone -- just like that.
Something obviously went horribly wrong while he was flying his small airplane and it crashed not far off the western coast of Florida. No doubt the authorities will get to the bottom of it in time. But all that doesn't much matter now.
The forty year old is still dead and they're isn't any do-overs. His wife and kids are left to pick up the pieces and hopefully move on.
Yes, I get it. Lots of people die in America (and elsewhere around the world) every day from various causes. Massive violence rears its ugly head way too often. And no, this is not to say Roy Halladay was any more special than the thousands of others that continue to perish every day, again, for various reasons. Every life is precious.
But it seems so awfully sad that a guy like Halladay, who probably still had some "gas in the tank", retired a few years back (2013) so he could spend more time with his family, which he and they will now never have. In another year he'll be eligible for baseball's Hall of Fame, and will likely be a first ballot shoo-in.
To be sure, yours truly never had the pleasure of meeting the man, but I watched his career from afar and definitely appreciated the manner in which he went about it.
A pro's pro on the field and a model citizen off it.
Sometimes, tragically and mysteriously, the good die young indeed.
May he rest in piece and godspeed to his widow, children, other family and friends he left behind.
Sunday, November 5, 2017
NFL rules changes
Yours truly would be the first to admit he's a hard-core NFL fan. Have been since I was a kid. From September through the Super Bowl in February, I can't get enough of the stuff.
And yes, I get it. The game itself is predicated on violence. It features the biggest, strongest, fastest gridders in the world that have honed their skills since middle school crashing into each other at high speeds. The nature of the game, as it were.
I further understand that injuries, lots of them, are inevitable. From broken bones, to various torn ligaments, tendons, and muscles, to long term brain damage are part of the package. Everybody knows that.
And it's not like these guys are forced to do it. Quite the contrary. The competition is ferocious for any NFL roster spot. Yes, they get paid well, fly first class and stay in high class quarters while on the road.
So all that said, it's tough to feel much sympathy for guys not only willing, but eager to jump into the arenas of combat.
Yet there are ways to cut down on some of the unnecessary violence if the league would use a common sense approach.
Want to get rid of a lot of the head injuries? Cut the tops off the helmets. Their only function is as battering rams, both offensively and defensively. Leave the sides, facemasks, etc. If they started playing with their heads up, much of the cranial carnage could be avoided. Nobody (hopefully) would be dumb enough to ram their exposed skull into the helmet, body, or pads of an opposing player.
OK, perhaps that will never happen. But let's look at some of the REALLY dumb penalties that are handed out.
1). Any foul that brings a 15 yard penalty with it should result in the immediate disqualification of the perpetrator. Unnecessary roughness, other "personal" fouls, and certainly unsportsmanlike conduct are willful acts. Done on purpose. There has never been a need for any of it. If players start getting bounced for these infractions, the coaches will see to it they don't happen again.
2) Some of these penalties wind up being jokes. I mean, what's the point of assessing a penalty to a defense when the opposing offense has the ball at their "one foot" line? Half the distance go the goal? A few inches? Do you really think that will hold anybody back from delivering a cheap shot? Same thing on extra points. How much sense does it make for the kickoff team to get a 15 yard advantage when any NFL kicker can already boot the ball well into the end zone, if not out of it completely?
Ah, but there's a solution if the league could bring itself to think outside the proverbial box.
When a player/team is zapped for a 15 yard penalty of any variety, let the opposing team have the option of taking it now, or putting it in a "bank" to be withdrawn later at their discretion. With a gridiron version of the "sword of Damocles" hanging over their heads, potential offenders would think long and hard before committing such an infraction.
Let's say Team A had such a penalty in the bank. Team B just made a crucial play, anything from a first down to a touchdown. But wait a minute, Team A pulls out and plays the penalty card. Oops, Team B's prior play is negated and they get marched back 15 yards to try it again. Tell me that wouldn't make these guys straighten up a bunch, and I'll tell you I don't believe it. Sure, let them continue to play the same game like they have since middle school. But this would be a great way to eliminate much of the unnecessary mayhem.
Lastly, what gives with a team committing multiple infractions on the same play only being penalized for one of them? We see it all the time. If a defense got called for a personal foul (and by the new rules the offender is gone), and another infraction for unnecessary roughness (player also gone), that's two 15 yard penalties. So why aren't both assessed for a total of 30 yards?
Better yet, let the offense have the option of taking one of them and putting the other in the bank.
The same would apply for multiple fouls on any offensive team. Let the defense have the same options. If holding and a chop block were called on the same play, march them back 25 yards or let the defense weigh their choices as well.
If just a little common sense, which seems to be in short supply these days (see our fearless leaders in Washington D.C.) were applied to the NFL and, by extension, colleges and high schools, Roger Goodell and Co. could clean up a great deal of the seamy side of football which has not only plagued it for years, but at times made it laughable.
And why, pray tell, would the players and their union object to such rules changes when their long stated cause of making the game safer is so easily attainable?
Half the distance to the goal when the penalty is maybe an inch and ought to be 15 yards?
Get outta here.
And yes, I get it. The game itself is predicated on violence. It features the biggest, strongest, fastest gridders in the world that have honed their skills since middle school crashing into each other at high speeds. The nature of the game, as it were.
I further understand that injuries, lots of them, are inevitable. From broken bones, to various torn ligaments, tendons, and muscles, to long term brain damage are part of the package. Everybody knows that.
And it's not like these guys are forced to do it. Quite the contrary. The competition is ferocious for any NFL roster spot. Yes, they get paid well, fly first class and stay in high class quarters while on the road.
So all that said, it's tough to feel much sympathy for guys not only willing, but eager to jump into the arenas of combat.
Yet there are ways to cut down on some of the unnecessary violence if the league would use a common sense approach.
Want to get rid of a lot of the head injuries? Cut the tops off the helmets. Their only function is as battering rams, both offensively and defensively. Leave the sides, facemasks, etc. If they started playing with their heads up, much of the cranial carnage could be avoided. Nobody (hopefully) would be dumb enough to ram their exposed skull into the helmet, body, or pads of an opposing player.
OK, perhaps that will never happen. But let's look at some of the REALLY dumb penalties that are handed out.
1). Any foul that brings a 15 yard penalty with it should result in the immediate disqualification of the perpetrator. Unnecessary roughness, other "personal" fouls, and certainly unsportsmanlike conduct are willful acts. Done on purpose. There has never been a need for any of it. If players start getting bounced for these infractions, the coaches will see to it they don't happen again.
2) Some of these penalties wind up being jokes. I mean, what's the point of assessing a penalty to a defense when the opposing offense has the ball at their "one foot" line? Half the distance go the goal? A few inches? Do you really think that will hold anybody back from delivering a cheap shot? Same thing on extra points. How much sense does it make for the kickoff team to get a 15 yard advantage when any NFL kicker can already boot the ball well into the end zone, if not out of it completely?
Ah, but there's a solution if the league could bring itself to think outside the proverbial box.
When a player/team is zapped for a 15 yard penalty of any variety, let the opposing team have the option of taking it now, or putting it in a "bank" to be withdrawn later at their discretion. With a gridiron version of the "sword of Damocles" hanging over their heads, potential offenders would think long and hard before committing such an infraction.
Let's say Team A had such a penalty in the bank. Team B just made a crucial play, anything from a first down to a touchdown. But wait a minute, Team A pulls out and plays the penalty card. Oops, Team B's prior play is negated and they get marched back 15 yards to try it again. Tell me that wouldn't make these guys straighten up a bunch, and I'll tell you I don't believe it. Sure, let them continue to play the same game like they have since middle school. But this would be a great way to eliminate much of the unnecessary mayhem.
Lastly, what gives with a team committing multiple infractions on the same play only being penalized for one of them? We see it all the time. If a defense got called for a personal foul (and by the new rules the offender is gone), and another infraction for unnecessary roughness (player also gone), that's two 15 yard penalties. So why aren't both assessed for a total of 30 yards?
Better yet, let the offense have the option of taking one of them and putting the other in the bank.
The same would apply for multiple fouls on any offensive team. Let the defense have the same options. If holding and a chop block were called on the same play, march them back 25 yards or let the defense weigh their choices as well.
If just a little common sense, which seems to be in short supply these days (see our fearless leaders in Washington D.C.) were applied to the NFL and, by extension, colleges and high schools, Roger Goodell and Co. could clean up a great deal of the seamy side of football which has not only plagued it for years, but at times made it laughable.
And why, pray tell, would the players and their union object to such rules changes when their long stated cause of making the game safer is so easily attainable?
Half the distance to the goal when the penalty is maybe an inch and ought to be 15 yards?
Get outta here.
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