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?
Monday, November 13, 2017
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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