While watching the Discover Orange Bowl, yours truly also discovered a few things.
I discovered #23 West Virginia was a hell of a lot better than #15 Clemson.
Unlike so many of the other bowl games, I discovered even a blow-out was more fun to watch than waiting 3 or 4 hours for field goal kickers to decide it in the end.
But I also discovered something I'd never seen before. Clemson was signalling in offensive plays by holding up a picture of somebody? No wonder they lost.
I saw First Lady Michelle Obama's pic held up. What was that supposed to mean? Eat healthier? When you're behind by 43 points in the 3rd quarter, it would seem a little late for that strategy.
Not sure, but I thought I saw Michelle Bachmann's pic held up once as well. Could that have meant just give it up, because you're too far behind already? Beats me.
It leaves one to wonder, though, about what other pix could have been used to signal in other plays....
Kim Kardashian's might have meant be careful because we're due for a turnover.
Tim Tebow? Take a knee.
No doubt a mail carrier in uniform would have signalled in a post route.
Jerry Sandusky? The blitz is coming.
The late ex-Prez Gerald Ford might have meant something about not fumbling.
The late Norman Rockwell? A draw play, of course.
A traffic light? Stop and go pattern.
James Carville? Power sweep left.
Mary Matalin, his wife? Power sweep right. (If you ever figure out THAT team chemistry, let me know, because I don't have a clue.)
A reverse? Pick a politician, ANY politician, when their approval rating is falling, and hold their pic up. Double reverse? If they just got re-elected.
A picture of the Pope would probably mean a Hail Mary.
Betsy Ross would only be displayed against a zone defense. A seam route.
"Uncle Sam" would likely tell the quarterback to stay in the pocket.
If they want him to scramble to avoid being pancaked, maybe a pic of an IHOP would be in order.
A pic of a butcher might tell the offensive linemen it's OK to chop block on the next play.
Tilt any of those pictures slightly to one side, and you have -- a slant pattern.
The possibilities are endless. Lay a few on me if you have better ones.
From what I saw, West Virginia was beating the orange right out of Clemson. Somehow that reminded me of Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner, but I'm not exactly sure why......
At any rate, I finally discovered something else.
I discovered this was probably a dumb idea to write about in the first place.
So now I'm going to bed, where I will discover my two yorkies already sleeping underneath the covers somewhere.
I'll just slowly ease in there and try to find a place, while not disturbing them, or else I'll discover once again who's really in charge around here.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
New Orleans. High times, big bucks, and a bad job.
Given all the major football games that recently have been, or shortly will be, played in the Big Easy, that town's rocking and rolling indeed -- and good for them.
There's also big bucks involved. Michigan and Virginia Tech just got done with the Sugar Bowl as I write this. In a few days, the New Orleans Saints will host the Detroit Lions in an NFL playoff game. A couple days after that, Louisiana State and Alabama come to town for the so-called college football national championship game.
In the course of little over a week's time, consider what will happen there. Motels, hotels, car rental outlets, taxi drivers, bars, restaurants, night clubs, souvenir shops, stadium concessionaires, parking lots, and probably other businesses that aren't occurring to this feeble mind right now, stand to make a fortune with the constant turnover, not to mention jacked up prices to begin with. One would think everybody in New Orleans would be tickled pink over their good fortune, right?
Maybe not. There's one job that has to be done, and the people that do it probably aren't happy at all.
That would be the folks that chalk the field inside the Superdome. It's something most fans never even notice, and take for granted, but consider their take on all this. Here's what one of them might have to say:
First, I have to get rid of all the NFL stuff from a few days ago. Then I have to put the "All State Sugar Bowl" logo in the middle of the field. In one end zone Michigan, and the other Virginia Tech, with BCS logos in both, to boot. You think all this color stuff is easy with the micro-specs those bowl guys insist on? It's like they expect me to create a Rembrandt for the TV cameras. What those geniuses don't seem to understand is....
When those damned kids clear out of here, I have to erase all that nonsense anyway, and go back to the NFL thing. That one I pretty well have down pat, but here's hoping some suit in New York doesn't get the not so bright idea of making me chalk a Detroit Lions thing in one end zone, just because it's the playoffs. I never know about those guys. Sometimes they come up with good ideas, and other times I think maybe
THEY should be the ones that are drug tested.
Regardless, when THAT game is over, another thundering herd of college crazies will head this way. Time to "disappear" the NFL stuff again. I'll be given a new set of colorized specs to put something about LSU in one end zone, and Alabama in the other, along with some more BCS junk, or something about the national championship.
I hear All State is sponsoring that game as well. Maybe they have a monopoly around here since Katrina. Beats me, but I'll have to create yet another "masterpiece", while sticking to brain surgery parameters. The next day, I'll erase that one too. You'd think a "masterpiece" would last longer than that, but what do I know?
As much trouble as all that is, there's something a lot worse.
Most people don't notice those little one yard stripes, known as "hash" marks. Two sets of them run down the entire field, and I put there there. The problem is -- they're set wider apart for college games than pro games. There's 160 of the damn things. When they go from pro game to college game, back to pro game, back to college game, and maybe back to another pro game, that's a whole lot of little marks I have to erase and redo, over and over again.
While everybody else in this town is getting rich, I'm putting down little chalk marks on a field that will be played on by millionaires, or a lot of college brats that soon will be. I am not a happy camper.
Perhaps All State is the right sponsor. If this keeps up, it might not be long before I turn into the real life version of that guy they're featuring on their commercials right now, that's running amok everywhere tearing up things. It seems like a weird ad campaign for an insurance company to run, but hey, that dude's getting rich too.
And I'm getting really, really sick and tired of this chalk thing. Do this. Do that. Hurry up. Make it perfect. Erase it. Do it again, and make it even more perfect. Forget about overtime pay because it isn't happening. Those hash marks are a centimeter off. Redo those. And speed it up.
Nope, not everybody in New Orleans is happy.
There's also big bucks involved. Michigan and Virginia Tech just got done with the Sugar Bowl as I write this. In a few days, the New Orleans Saints will host the Detroit Lions in an NFL playoff game. A couple days after that, Louisiana State and Alabama come to town for the so-called college football national championship game.
In the course of little over a week's time, consider what will happen there. Motels, hotels, car rental outlets, taxi drivers, bars, restaurants, night clubs, souvenir shops, stadium concessionaires, parking lots, and probably other businesses that aren't occurring to this feeble mind right now, stand to make a fortune with the constant turnover, not to mention jacked up prices to begin with. One would think everybody in New Orleans would be tickled pink over their good fortune, right?
Maybe not. There's one job that has to be done, and the people that do it probably aren't happy at all.
That would be the folks that chalk the field inside the Superdome. It's something most fans never even notice, and take for granted, but consider their take on all this. Here's what one of them might have to say:
First, I have to get rid of all the NFL stuff from a few days ago. Then I have to put the "All State Sugar Bowl" logo in the middle of the field. In one end zone Michigan, and the other Virginia Tech, with BCS logos in both, to boot. You think all this color stuff is easy with the micro-specs those bowl guys insist on? It's like they expect me to create a Rembrandt for the TV cameras. What those geniuses don't seem to understand is....
When those damned kids clear out of here, I have to erase all that nonsense anyway, and go back to the NFL thing. That one I pretty well have down pat, but here's hoping some suit in New York doesn't get the not so bright idea of making me chalk a Detroit Lions thing in one end zone, just because it's the playoffs. I never know about those guys. Sometimes they come up with good ideas, and other times I think maybe
THEY should be the ones that are drug tested.
Regardless, when THAT game is over, another thundering herd of college crazies will head this way. Time to "disappear" the NFL stuff again. I'll be given a new set of colorized specs to put something about LSU in one end zone, and Alabama in the other, along with some more BCS junk, or something about the national championship.
I hear All State is sponsoring that game as well. Maybe they have a monopoly around here since Katrina. Beats me, but I'll have to create yet another "masterpiece", while sticking to brain surgery parameters. The next day, I'll erase that one too. You'd think a "masterpiece" would last longer than that, but what do I know?
As much trouble as all that is, there's something a lot worse.
Most people don't notice those little one yard stripes, known as "hash" marks. Two sets of them run down the entire field, and I put there there. The problem is -- they're set wider apart for college games than pro games. There's 160 of the damn things. When they go from pro game to college game, back to pro game, back to college game, and maybe back to another pro game, that's a whole lot of little marks I have to erase and redo, over and over again.
While everybody else in this town is getting rich, I'm putting down little chalk marks on a field that will be played on by millionaires, or a lot of college brats that soon will be. I am not a happy camper.
Perhaps All State is the right sponsor. If this keeps up, it might not be long before I turn into the real life version of that guy they're featuring on their commercials right now, that's running amok everywhere tearing up things. It seems like a weird ad campaign for an insurance company to run, but hey, that dude's getting rich too.
And I'm getting really, really sick and tired of this chalk thing. Do this. Do that. Hurry up. Make it perfect. Erase it. Do it again, and make it even more perfect. Forget about overtime pay because it isn't happening. Those hash marks are a centimeter off. Redo those. And speed it up.
Nope, not everybody in New Orleans is happy.
Ndahmukong Suh and a bad joke.
Picking up an opposing quarterback and depositing him on his head was bad enough. Trying to wring somebody's neck like a chicken was worse. Jumping on the back of an opponent while he's down, slamming his head into the ground a few times, and cowardly stomping on him while he's helpless finally got all but the hardest-core Detroit Lions fans to see what kind of individual this, and I use the term loosely, "man" is.
Yours truly doesn't know what sort of "up-bringing" Suh had in Portland, Oregon, nor how he was treated at the University of Nebraska but, in my opinion, nobody ever taught him anything about being a man.
People make mistakes. A MAN will step up and admit it, suffer the consequences, hopefully learn from it, and move on. Not Suh.
Suh was granted an audience with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to clarify a few rules about his behavior. This is not something that happens just every day. A player having a chat with the Commish would be like a worker getting in to see the CEO of the company, or a citizen sitting down with the governor of their state to hash out a few concerns. A MAN would respect that authority and listen up to what came back. Not Suh. His response? I'm not going to change.
Evidently he hasn't. He's gone from being perceived as dirty, to disrespectful, and now seems intent on proving himself to be a chump.
Yes, he gets paid millions of dollars to be a disruptive force against opposing offenses on the football field, and he's very good at it. Yet if the Detroit franchise suited up a REAL lion, tucked it's mane and tail in, and put a helmet on it, I dare say if it could comprehend snap counts, it would wreak havoc as well. Can you imagine being an All-Pro guard or tackle and having that thing lining up against you in a 4-point stance? That would take "false starts" to a whole new level. Like running off the field.
But that lion could be excused, because it's merely the nature of the beast. Whether you believe in Divine creation or evolution, that creature has been around for thousands, if not millions, of years, and it's not supposed to act like a man. Suh is.
He hasn't. In his latest bit of showing no class, after sacking the back-up QB at Green Bay, Matt Flynn, who was in the process of shredding the Lions' defense, Suh decided to mock Packers' starting QB Aaron Rodgers over a TV commercial Rodgers had filmed weeks before about holding the "title belt". Evidently, Suh never realized that Rodgers wasn't even suited up for the game, along with several other of Green Bay's top players. Why risk injury when you have home field already locked up? That also raises another possibility. I would certainly hope Suh could tell the difference between the names and numbers on the backs of opposing QB's uniforms. If not, it would leave one to wonder --- just exactly what sort of classes was he taking in high school and college anyway? Let's give him the benefit of the doubt on that one.
But leave it to Ndamukong to make a fool of himself. Again.
It started out as a novelty, then turned to concern. Over a short time, it became outrage in many quarters, including scribes from coast to coast and beyond, and certainly the internet.
Now it's just a joke.
It seems there's only one guy that doesn't get it.
Maybe that's because he's the punch line.
Yours truly doesn't know what sort of "up-bringing" Suh had in Portland, Oregon, nor how he was treated at the University of Nebraska but, in my opinion, nobody ever taught him anything about being a man.
People make mistakes. A MAN will step up and admit it, suffer the consequences, hopefully learn from it, and move on. Not Suh.
Suh was granted an audience with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to clarify a few rules about his behavior. This is not something that happens just every day. A player having a chat with the Commish would be like a worker getting in to see the CEO of the company, or a citizen sitting down with the governor of their state to hash out a few concerns. A MAN would respect that authority and listen up to what came back. Not Suh. His response? I'm not going to change.
Evidently he hasn't. He's gone from being perceived as dirty, to disrespectful, and now seems intent on proving himself to be a chump.
Yes, he gets paid millions of dollars to be a disruptive force against opposing offenses on the football field, and he's very good at it. Yet if the Detroit franchise suited up a REAL lion, tucked it's mane and tail in, and put a helmet on it, I dare say if it could comprehend snap counts, it would wreak havoc as well. Can you imagine being an All-Pro guard or tackle and having that thing lining up against you in a 4-point stance? That would take "false starts" to a whole new level. Like running off the field.
But that lion could be excused, because it's merely the nature of the beast. Whether you believe in Divine creation or evolution, that creature has been around for thousands, if not millions, of years, and it's not supposed to act like a man. Suh is.
He hasn't. In his latest bit of showing no class, after sacking the back-up QB at Green Bay, Matt Flynn, who was in the process of shredding the Lions' defense, Suh decided to mock Packers' starting QB Aaron Rodgers over a TV commercial Rodgers had filmed weeks before about holding the "title belt". Evidently, Suh never realized that Rodgers wasn't even suited up for the game, along with several other of Green Bay's top players. Why risk injury when you have home field already locked up? That also raises another possibility. I would certainly hope Suh could tell the difference between the names and numbers on the backs of opposing QB's uniforms. If not, it would leave one to wonder --- just exactly what sort of classes was he taking in high school and college anyway? Let's give him the benefit of the doubt on that one.
But leave it to Ndamukong to make a fool of himself. Again.
It started out as a novelty, then turned to concern. Over a short time, it became outrage in many quarters, including scribes from coast to coast and beyond, and certainly the internet.
Now it's just a joke.
It seems there's only one guy that doesn't get it.
Maybe that's because he's the punch line.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Michigan State/Georgia and a poor devil
It could have been Kirk Cousins. It probably SHOULD have been Kirk Cousins. Towards the end of the Outback Bowl, when the pressure was on, the Spartans' quarterback made some horrible throws. At times, it seemed like he forgot which color jersey he was supposed to aim at.
Had the Georgia Bulldogs even slightly taken advantage of those mistakes, Michigan State would have lost the game, and Cousins would have had a very long plane ride back to East Lansing. Once there, he likely would have hung his head in shame, holed-up for a while, contemplated how he never won a bowl game in his career, and wondered how far his NFL draft status just dropped. Poor devil.
But it wasn't Cousins. He lucked out. Michigan State won the game. He'll be partying on the plane with his coaches and teammates, get a hero's welcome in East Lansing, finish out his senior year as a BMOC, and likely see his future NFL stock go up a couple points.
MSU head coach Mark Dantonio can hoist the trophy, smile for the cameras, and blather on all he wants about a stout defense, trick plays, the will to win, and anything else he can think of, but even though he'll never admit it, he knows what it all came down to in the end.
Georgia's field goal kicker. That guy had a chance to win it with a 30-some yard field goal. Kids in high school routinely kick them longer than that. The Bulldogs even wasted a down to get the ball smack-dab dead center in the field. Good snap. Good hold. The game should have been over. Nope. Wide right. More overtime.
A while later he had yet another chance to tie it with a medium range field goal to force even more overtime. Good snap. Good hold. Low kick. Blocked. NOW the game is over. He and his teammates hang their heads, and slowly trudge back to the locker room.
The actual flight time from Tampa back to Athens, Georgia probably isn't much more than an hour, but I've got a hunch that will be the longest plane ride of that kid's life. He has to go back on campus himself, and suffer through all the whispers and sideways glances that will inevitably come. BMOC will likely take on another meaning. Botched Most (of) Our Chances. Poor devil.
By a couple quirks of fate, one guy winds up a hero and the other a goat. Maybe it's destiny, or perhaps just luck.
Speaking of Luck, Andrew's ran out in the Fiesta Bowl later on. More specifically, Stanford's kicker's. He missed two of them also in the late stages of the game. Stanford probably should have won. Instead, Oklahoma St. celebrates.
Not sure about poor devils, but I'm thinking that's a Cardinal sin.
Had the Georgia Bulldogs even slightly taken advantage of those mistakes, Michigan State would have lost the game, and Cousins would have had a very long plane ride back to East Lansing. Once there, he likely would have hung his head in shame, holed-up for a while, contemplated how he never won a bowl game in his career, and wondered how far his NFL draft status just dropped. Poor devil.
But it wasn't Cousins. He lucked out. Michigan State won the game. He'll be partying on the plane with his coaches and teammates, get a hero's welcome in East Lansing, finish out his senior year as a BMOC, and likely see his future NFL stock go up a couple points.
MSU head coach Mark Dantonio can hoist the trophy, smile for the cameras, and blather on all he wants about a stout defense, trick plays, the will to win, and anything else he can think of, but even though he'll never admit it, he knows what it all came down to in the end.
Georgia's field goal kicker. That guy had a chance to win it with a 30-some yard field goal. Kids in high school routinely kick them longer than that. The Bulldogs even wasted a down to get the ball smack-dab dead center in the field. Good snap. Good hold. The game should have been over. Nope. Wide right. More overtime.
A while later he had yet another chance to tie it with a medium range field goal to force even more overtime. Good snap. Good hold. Low kick. Blocked. NOW the game is over. He and his teammates hang their heads, and slowly trudge back to the locker room.
The actual flight time from Tampa back to Athens, Georgia probably isn't much more than an hour, but I've got a hunch that will be the longest plane ride of that kid's life. He has to go back on campus himself, and suffer through all the whispers and sideways glances that will inevitably come. BMOC will likely take on another meaning. Botched Most (of) Our Chances. Poor devil.
By a couple quirks of fate, one guy winds up a hero and the other a goat. Maybe it's destiny, or perhaps just luck.
Speaking of Luck, Andrew's ran out in the Fiesta Bowl later on. More specifically, Stanford's kicker's. He missed two of them also in the late stages of the game. Stanford probably should have won. Instead, Oklahoma St. celebrates.
Not sure about poor devils, but I'm thinking that's a Cardinal sin.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Signs of the Detroit Lions. Good, bad, ugly, and who knows?
The 2011 (and on-going) version of the Lions seems to be all about signs. No, not the ones on billboards, storefronts, or even the ones the networks may or may not give to certain fans to hold up in the stadium for the cameras. (Though I've been to a whole lot of games, and never saw a fan bring one through the turnstiles yet). Signs. Like in omens. Good, bad, and who knows?
Preseason pundits picked them to finish anywhere from 4-12, a bad sign, to 12-4, a good sign. Yours truly figured around 8-8, and they wound up 10-6. Could they have won a couple more games? Given a break here or there -- maybe. When things seem to be falling your way, that's a good sign.
Could they have lost a couple more? Definitely. While the Lions faithful might look back at a "bad call" here or there, they tend to forget about some of those "prayers" QB Matthew Stafford heaved up to Calvin Johnson, most times in double, and sometimes even triple coverage, only to have those prayers answered. Hail Marys are not exactly a high-percentage play, especially when the other team knows they're coming. Take those away and the Lions probably aren't in the playoffs. That would be a bad sign.
Along those lines, the Lions came back from double-digit deficits 4 times, an NFL record, to win games. Were they lucky or good? Hard to say. Probably some of both, but a good sign. Now that the Lions are no longer considered a joke by other teams in the league, counting on that trend to continue for future success would be a bad sign.
The Lions got their first Monday Night Football exposure in a very long time. This is a good sign. Was it merely a return favor from the NFL for hosting a Vikings game the year before when the dome in Minnesota collapsed? Who knows?
The NFL, in conjunction with the TV networks, moved the Lions-Saints game from its formerly scheduled afternoon time slot, to prime-time on Sunday night. The Lions were hot and the Saints, Drew Brees and all, were, well, the Saints. That was a good sign.
No sooner had the schedule been changed, and the Lions went into a mid-season slump in the weeks leading up to the game. When it finally WAS played, the Saints took them to the proverbial woodshed while countless millions of people tuned in. That was a bad sign.
In the season finale, the Lions lost yet again to the Packers at Lambeau Field. Even though the Packers were resting some of their starters, notably QB Aaron Rodgers, the Lions couldn't quite get over that hump. That was a bad sign.
Yet the back-up QB for Green Bay, Matt Flynn, threw for almost 500 yards and 6 touchdowns. That's an all-world day for ANY QB. It's doubtful even Aaron Rodgers, as great as he is, could have improved much on THOSE stats.
Despite that onslaught, the Lions were still in the game, and actually had a decent chance of winning it in the closing seconds, until their luck ran out. That might be a good sign, but in a bad way. Matthew Stafford through for over 500 yards and 5 TDs himself. That's good. The Lions still lost. That's bad. So who knows? See what I mean?
As schedules go, the Lions had a soft one in 2011. Look what happened within their own division, where they have to play home and away against Green Bay, Minnesota and Chicago. Few would doubt Green Bay was the class of the field, but Donovan McNabb didn't work out in Minnesota and the Vikings went into free-fall. The Bears were in the hunt until Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, their star running back, both went down with injuries. Meanwhile, Lions QB Matthew Stafford, not that long ago referred to as the "china doll" because he seemed to be so fragile, stayed healthy all year. That was good for Detroit, but bad for Chicago. So who knows?
The rest of schedule? Kansas City and Tampa Bay? They're awful. Winning at Oakland and Dallas on miracle comebacks? See above. Atlanta's pretty good, but not considered elite. They waltzed into Ford Field and dispatched the Lions. Detroit beat the Broncos in Denver when Tim Tebow was just getting his feet wet as a starter. What to make out of Tebowmania and the rest of that team is a total mystery to me, but I dare say that was considered a "soft" game when the NFL put it on the Lions' schedule. San Francisco? Be honest. Who amongst you would have ever guessed that first year coach Jim Harbaugh would turn them around so fast, and go so far? Certainly not me. That looked to be a soft game too. I mean, c'mon. The "worst" team in the NFL is pretty good, and the schedule makers can only accommodate them so far in the name of parity. Any given Sunday, and all that. The league bent over backwards to help the Lions out this year. A good sign.
They've finally got some respect. An even better sign.
Now they have to go back to the Big Easy for another go-round with Drew Brees and the Saints. Unless Matthew Stafford and company can figure out a way to put up about 50 points, and make the Hail Mary play routine, on a New Orleans defense that's statistically far superior to what they just saw in Green Bay, that might not fall into the category of either good or bad.
That might get flat-out ugly. Again.
"Signs, signs, everywhere are signs." Lyrics from the classic oldie performed by the Five Man Electrical Band, circa 1971. "And the sign said long-haired freaky people need not apply".
It's probably a good sign that rule isn't still enforced, or else a whole lot of athletes, in several sports, wouldn't have ever played, or be playing right now.
And I'm thinking that would be a bad sign, but perhaps that's a topic for another day.
For right now, there's only one thing to do.
Sign off.
Preseason pundits picked them to finish anywhere from 4-12, a bad sign, to 12-4, a good sign. Yours truly figured around 8-8, and they wound up 10-6. Could they have won a couple more games? Given a break here or there -- maybe. When things seem to be falling your way, that's a good sign.
Could they have lost a couple more? Definitely. While the Lions faithful might look back at a "bad call" here or there, they tend to forget about some of those "prayers" QB Matthew Stafford heaved up to Calvin Johnson, most times in double, and sometimes even triple coverage, only to have those prayers answered. Hail Marys are not exactly a high-percentage play, especially when the other team knows they're coming. Take those away and the Lions probably aren't in the playoffs. That would be a bad sign.
Along those lines, the Lions came back from double-digit deficits 4 times, an NFL record, to win games. Were they lucky or good? Hard to say. Probably some of both, but a good sign. Now that the Lions are no longer considered a joke by other teams in the league, counting on that trend to continue for future success would be a bad sign.
The Lions got their first Monday Night Football exposure in a very long time. This is a good sign. Was it merely a return favor from the NFL for hosting a Vikings game the year before when the dome in Minnesota collapsed? Who knows?
The NFL, in conjunction with the TV networks, moved the Lions-Saints game from its formerly scheduled afternoon time slot, to prime-time on Sunday night. The Lions were hot and the Saints, Drew Brees and all, were, well, the Saints. That was a good sign.
No sooner had the schedule been changed, and the Lions went into a mid-season slump in the weeks leading up to the game. When it finally WAS played, the Saints took them to the proverbial woodshed while countless millions of people tuned in. That was a bad sign.
In the season finale, the Lions lost yet again to the Packers at Lambeau Field. Even though the Packers were resting some of their starters, notably QB Aaron Rodgers, the Lions couldn't quite get over that hump. That was a bad sign.
Yet the back-up QB for Green Bay, Matt Flynn, threw for almost 500 yards and 6 touchdowns. That's an all-world day for ANY QB. It's doubtful even Aaron Rodgers, as great as he is, could have improved much on THOSE stats.
Despite that onslaught, the Lions were still in the game, and actually had a decent chance of winning it in the closing seconds, until their luck ran out. That might be a good sign, but in a bad way. Matthew Stafford through for over 500 yards and 5 TDs himself. That's good. The Lions still lost. That's bad. So who knows? See what I mean?
As schedules go, the Lions had a soft one in 2011. Look what happened within their own division, where they have to play home and away against Green Bay, Minnesota and Chicago. Few would doubt Green Bay was the class of the field, but Donovan McNabb didn't work out in Minnesota and the Vikings went into free-fall. The Bears were in the hunt until Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, their star running back, both went down with injuries. Meanwhile, Lions QB Matthew Stafford, not that long ago referred to as the "china doll" because he seemed to be so fragile, stayed healthy all year. That was good for Detroit, but bad for Chicago. So who knows?
The rest of schedule? Kansas City and Tampa Bay? They're awful. Winning at Oakland and Dallas on miracle comebacks? See above. Atlanta's pretty good, but not considered elite. They waltzed into Ford Field and dispatched the Lions. Detroit beat the Broncos in Denver when Tim Tebow was just getting his feet wet as a starter. What to make out of Tebowmania and the rest of that team is a total mystery to me, but I dare say that was considered a "soft" game when the NFL put it on the Lions' schedule. San Francisco? Be honest. Who amongst you would have ever guessed that first year coach Jim Harbaugh would turn them around so fast, and go so far? Certainly not me. That looked to be a soft game too. I mean, c'mon. The "worst" team in the NFL is pretty good, and the schedule makers can only accommodate them so far in the name of parity. Any given Sunday, and all that. The league bent over backwards to help the Lions out this year. A good sign.
They've finally got some respect. An even better sign.
Now they have to go back to the Big Easy for another go-round with Drew Brees and the Saints. Unless Matthew Stafford and company can figure out a way to put up about 50 points, and make the Hail Mary play routine, on a New Orleans defense that's statistically far superior to what they just saw in Green Bay, that might not fall into the category of either good or bad.
That might get flat-out ugly. Again.
"Signs, signs, everywhere are signs." Lyrics from the classic oldie performed by the Five Man Electrical Band, circa 1971. "And the sign said long-haired freaky people need not apply".
It's probably a good sign that rule isn't still enforced, or else a whole lot of athletes, in several sports, wouldn't have ever played, or be playing right now.
And I'm thinking that would be a bad sign, but perhaps that's a topic for another day.
For right now, there's only one thing to do.
Sign off.
Friday, December 30, 2011
NHL Winter Classic. The King of scams?
In the world of sports, there's times for praise. There's other times to poke fun and/or lampoon, both at myself and others. There's still other times to question. And there are also times for criticism, constructive or otherwise.
Yet, every once in a while something so outrageous, at least on the surface, happens, which calls for a full-scale, all-out rant, collateral damage be damned. This would be one of those times. Forget throwing the baby out with the bath water. I'm fixing to tear out the whole tub, chuck it to the curb and set the house on fire. So don't say I didn't warn you if you read on.
I'm talking about the NHL Winter Classic, the annual game that's played outdoors with rotating teams and rotating venues. This year, it will be played on Jan 2, 2012, inside Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. There are SO many things wrong with this.
First, how much did it cost to build that rink? A couple million? 3, 4, 5? For one measly NHL game?
Knowledgeable hockey fans might say, "Wait a minute, Leach. There's more to it than that. There's going to be an 'old-timers' game, a couple college games, a minor league hockey game, a high school game, and even little kids will have their chance to skate on that ice".
That's all true, but I would counter with -- given a choice, I'm thinking "old-timers" would rather skate inside any day. The college games? Penn State plays Neumann. The only thing I know about Neumann is Alfred E appears on the cover of Mad magazine every issue. Villanova plays Drexel? Can't quite place Drexel. I think I might have had a prescription for that once, but I don't remember what my ailment was. Or maybe it was from the vet when one of my dogs got sick. Beats me. The minor league game? The Adirondack Phantoms versus the Hershey Bears. Phantoms is a good name for such a team, because other than some mountains that were there long before Pennsylvania was, and making little-league baseball bats, they go totally unseen. Hershey? Stick to what you do best. Chocolate. They've yet to name the high school teams, and that might be because they're having a hard time finding a couple. All the preps are still down south or out west on winter break. Ah, but it would priceless for the little children to have the honor of skating on such hallowed ice, right? Not exactly. Try $60 bucks an hour. Each. Bundle them up, watch the little darlings skate around all afternoon, and welcome to the world of ramen noodles. Hell, for a few hours of that, you could buy them a genuine replica knock-off jersey with their favorite player's name on the back. The rink will be gone in a few days, but the jersey will last a while. I recommend two things regarding that. Buy it a size too large, because it will last longer. And get rid of that Made in China tag. They may be little, but they're smarter than you think -- and when they notice, you don't want to have to answer that question.
A ticket to the game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers? You can have one at the bargain-basement price of $5000. Act now. Operators are standing by. What kind of moron would shell out five grand to go watch a regular season NHL game, in the elements, which might include rain, sleet, snow, or frigid temperatures? At that, they have to bring binoculars to even watch the game, because the closest seats will be -- well -- think of being on "the hill" at Pine Knob.
For five grand, you can get a Super Bowl ticket, no problem. Maybe even a pair of them. Or a trip to the Final Four. Throw in some extra change and you might get a Kardashian to sit on your lap for a second. Make sure you're seated in a sturdy chair and brace yourself accordingly. That would be some serious stuff coming at you -- in more ways than one. But I digress.
Now, I must admit I don't know a whole lot about what's going on in Philly these days, but if people will stand in line to pay 5K for just one "run of the mill" regular season hockey game, then evidently that city is doing a whole lot better than we are around here. Not sure, but 5K just might get one a season ticket at Joe Louis Arena for the Red Wings. 40 games. Inside. I know which deal sounds better to me.
This Winter Classic in a hot ticket. I could understand it when it took place in Buffalo, and the game quickly sold out. They don't have major league baseball, nor pro basketball, and the Bills haven't been any good since Jim Kelly was the QB. Throw in getting bombarded with snow every winter and yeah, I get that. But Philly? They've got stuff going on.
This game is in Citizens Bank Park. Who do they think they're kidding? Citizens don't run that bank. Corporate people in 3-piece suits and power dresses or pantsuits do. It's like the People's Republic of China. The people have no say-so through elected representatives, so it's not a republic either. It's propaganda. As far as our own banks go -- ask yourself a couple questions. Do you even know who the executives are that play with your money? You certainly didn't get to vote on them. And do you really believe you have any say-so in what they do with it? The answer is no to both.
And somebody please tell me why it is that so many banks and credit card companies will fork out millions of dollars every year to have their names on stadiums and arenas, countless millions more to advertise on TV, but one never seems to have any money to pay interest on the funds we entrust them with, and the other seems to have some sort of roulette wheel from hell when it comes to interest rates.
Let the chumps in Philly with too many dollars and not enough sense go to some meaningless hockey game.
There will be some very good football bowl games to watch on Jan 2. I can stay warm, buy a couple pizzas and a few "rounds" if I wish, watch them all on a big screen, no binoculars required, not have to fight traffic, and have about $4800 dollars more in my pocket at the end of the day.
Liked the first Rambo movie. Even the first 3 Rocky flicks until it got ridiculous with the sequels. Still like a Philly steak sub once in a while too. But sometimes enough is too much. Sylvester Stallone made a fortune off that town and they even built a statue of him. C'mon Philly. He's from Hell's Kitchen, in Manhattan, and proud of it. You didn't know that? For that matter, Bernie Madoff came from Queens, and played some fairly serious games with a few high rollers in your city himself. Is a statue of him next?
Enjoy your hockey game, but yours truly thinks the only thing more cracked than that Liberty Bell you're so proud of is your logic.
And as long as I'm ranting, who in the hell are Katy Brand and Russell Perry anyway -- or maybe it's the other way around -- who cares --and why would I give a rat's ass if they're getting divorced? It happens. Been there. Done that. Deal with it. In the end, nobody else cares anyway.
OK. End of rant. I feel better now. But I still think that hockey game is for suckers.
Yet, every once in a while something so outrageous, at least on the surface, happens, which calls for a full-scale, all-out rant, collateral damage be damned. This would be one of those times. Forget throwing the baby out with the bath water. I'm fixing to tear out the whole tub, chuck it to the curb and set the house on fire. So don't say I didn't warn you if you read on.
I'm talking about the NHL Winter Classic, the annual game that's played outdoors with rotating teams and rotating venues. This year, it will be played on Jan 2, 2012, inside Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. There are SO many things wrong with this.
First, how much did it cost to build that rink? A couple million? 3, 4, 5? For one measly NHL game?
Knowledgeable hockey fans might say, "Wait a minute, Leach. There's more to it than that. There's going to be an 'old-timers' game, a couple college games, a minor league hockey game, a high school game, and even little kids will have their chance to skate on that ice".
That's all true, but I would counter with -- given a choice, I'm thinking "old-timers" would rather skate inside any day. The college games? Penn State plays Neumann. The only thing I know about Neumann is Alfred E appears on the cover of Mad magazine every issue. Villanova plays Drexel? Can't quite place Drexel. I think I might have had a prescription for that once, but I don't remember what my ailment was. Or maybe it was from the vet when one of my dogs got sick. Beats me. The minor league game? The Adirondack Phantoms versus the Hershey Bears. Phantoms is a good name for such a team, because other than some mountains that were there long before Pennsylvania was, and making little-league baseball bats, they go totally unseen. Hershey? Stick to what you do best. Chocolate. They've yet to name the high school teams, and that might be because they're having a hard time finding a couple. All the preps are still down south or out west on winter break. Ah, but it would priceless for the little children to have the honor of skating on such hallowed ice, right? Not exactly. Try $60 bucks an hour. Each. Bundle them up, watch the little darlings skate around all afternoon, and welcome to the world of ramen noodles. Hell, for a few hours of that, you could buy them a genuine replica knock-off jersey with their favorite player's name on the back. The rink will be gone in a few days, but the jersey will last a while. I recommend two things regarding that. Buy it a size too large, because it will last longer. And get rid of that Made in China tag. They may be little, but they're smarter than you think -- and when they notice, you don't want to have to answer that question.
A ticket to the game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers? You can have one at the bargain-basement price of $5000. Act now. Operators are standing by. What kind of moron would shell out five grand to go watch a regular season NHL game, in the elements, which might include rain, sleet, snow, or frigid temperatures? At that, they have to bring binoculars to even watch the game, because the closest seats will be -- well -- think of being on "the hill" at Pine Knob.
For five grand, you can get a Super Bowl ticket, no problem. Maybe even a pair of them. Or a trip to the Final Four. Throw in some extra change and you might get a Kardashian to sit on your lap for a second. Make sure you're seated in a sturdy chair and brace yourself accordingly. That would be some serious stuff coming at you -- in more ways than one. But I digress.
Now, I must admit I don't know a whole lot about what's going on in Philly these days, but if people will stand in line to pay 5K for just one "run of the mill" regular season hockey game, then evidently that city is doing a whole lot better than we are around here. Not sure, but 5K just might get one a season ticket at Joe Louis Arena for the Red Wings. 40 games. Inside. I know which deal sounds better to me.
This Winter Classic in a hot ticket. I could understand it when it took place in Buffalo, and the game quickly sold out. They don't have major league baseball, nor pro basketball, and the Bills haven't been any good since Jim Kelly was the QB. Throw in getting bombarded with snow every winter and yeah, I get that. But Philly? They've got stuff going on.
This game is in Citizens Bank Park. Who do they think they're kidding? Citizens don't run that bank. Corporate people in 3-piece suits and power dresses or pantsuits do. It's like the People's Republic of China. The people have no say-so through elected representatives, so it's not a republic either. It's propaganda. As far as our own banks go -- ask yourself a couple questions. Do you even know who the executives are that play with your money? You certainly didn't get to vote on them. And do you really believe you have any say-so in what they do with it? The answer is no to both.
And somebody please tell me why it is that so many banks and credit card companies will fork out millions of dollars every year to have their names on stadiums and arenas, countless millions more to advertise on TV, but one never seems to have any money to pay interest on the funds we entrust them with, and the other seems to have some sort of roulette wheel from hell when it comes to interest rates.
Let the chumps in Philly with too many dollars and not enough sense go to some meaningless hockey game.
There will be some very good football bowl games to watch on Jan 2. I can stay warm, buy a couple pizzas and a few "rounds" if I wish, watch them all on a big screen, no binoculars required, not have to fight traffic, and have about $4800 dollars more in my pocket at the end of the day.
Liked the first Rambo movie. Even the first 3 Rocky flicks until it got ridiculous with the sequels. Still like a Philly steak sub once in a while too. But sometimes enough is too much. Sylvester Stallone made a fortune off that town and they even built a statue of him. C'mon Philly. He's from Hell's Kitchen, in Manhattan, and proud of it. You didn't know that? For that matter, Bernie Madoff came from Queens, and played some fairly serious games with a few high rollers in your city himself. Is a statue of him next?
Enjoy your hockey game, but yours truly thinks the only thing more cracked than that Liberty Bell you're so proud of is your logic.
And as long as I'm ranting, who in the hell are Katy Brand and Russell Perry anyway -- or maybe it's the other way around -- who cares --and why would I give a rat's ass if they're getting divorced? It happens. Been there. Done that. Deal with it. In the end, nobody else cares anyway.
OK. End of rant. I feel better now. But I still think that hockey game is for suckers.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Braylon Edwards. Let him eat cake.
Back in the day, yours truly watched Braylon Edwards in action several times while sitting in the cramped, not so comfortable seating accommodations at the "Big House" in Ann Arbor. And I never did get it.
Why was this guy so highly touted as a wide receiver? Other guys seemed faster, ran crisper routes, and blocked better for their fellow players to help them out, but it was always about Braylon. Yes, occasionally he would make a spectacular catch. Evidently, one great catch cancelled out a lot of dropped balls, and even more lack of hustle. The University of Michigan hype machine was in overdrive promoting him, and obviously it worked, because he was not only named the top college receiver in the nation, amongst other awards, but was taken as the third overall draft pick in 2005 by the Cleveland Browns. Call it a silver spoon, a sense of entitlement, or whatever you want, but it was like this guy was anointed to be the next "great one". The boy that would be king. And I still didn't get it.
A couple years later, he even made the Pro Bowl, which amazes me to this day. Then again, SOMEBODY from Cleveland had to go.
He wasn't satisfied there -- after all, Cleveland is no place for royalty, much less publicity. Too big a fish in too small a pond, but I was still thinking carp -- Edwards went to the Big Apple to play for the New York Jets. It took him all of two years to wear out his welcome there, and those pesky scrapes with the law along the way probably didn't help out his cause either.
Off to San Francisco, where Edwards somehow got a $3.5 million one year deal from the 49ers. Since shortly after the start of the season, Edwards blamed his lack of production on nagging injuries. New head coach Jim Harbaugh attributed it to not only his performance in games, but how he practiced. Believe who you will.
The 49ers receiving corps has been decimated. One guy's nursing a bum ankle, another has an unknown head injury, one recently had his jaw broken, and still another had surgery on a broken leg suffered in October, that put him out for the year. It appears they're desperate for receivers. ANY receivers. Maybe undrafted free agents. Maybe guys off the street. SOMEBODY.
But evidently not desperate enough to keep Braylon Edwards around. Harbaugh, a former Michigan Wolverine himself, of all things, unceremoniously dumped him.
That should tell you something.
I dunno. Maybe I'm reading this all wrong. Then again, maybe I had it right in the first place, all those years ago in Ann Arbor.
On a related note -- you've heard about how they keep increasing seating capacity at Michigan Stadium to maintain their status as being able to accommodate the most fans? I don't believe that either. My theory is they repainted the same metal pews, and merely moved the seat numbers closer together. Presto, larger capacity. If you don't believe that -- go there, and good luck if you have a large person on both sides of you. Though you will be counted as being in attendance, poof, your seat just disappeared. Using a laptop can be a good thing. BEING a laptop isn't so much fun.
Why was this guy so highly touted as a wide receiver? Other guys seemed faster, ran crisper routes, and blocked better for their fellow players to help them out, but it was always about Braylon. Yes, occasionally he would make a spectacular catch. Evidently, one great catch cancelled out a lot of dropped balls, and even more lack of hustle. The University of Michigan hype machine was in overdrive promoting him, and obviously it worked, because he was not only named the top college receiver in the nation, amongst other awards, but was taken as the third overall draft pick in 2005 by the Cleveland Browns. Call it a silver spoon, a sense of entitlement, or whatever you want, but it was like this guy was anointed to be the next "great one". The boy that would be king. And I still didn't get it.
A couple years later, he even made the Pro Bowl, which amazes me to this day. Then again, SOMEBODY from Cleveland had to go.
He wasn't satisfied there -- after all, Cleveland is no place for royalty, much less publicity. Too big a fish in too small a pond, but I was still thinking carp -- Edwards went to the Big Apple to play for the New York Jets. It took him all of two years to wear out his welcome there, and those pesky scrapes with the law along the way probably didn't help out his cause either.
Off to San Francisco, where Edwards somehow got a $3.5 million one year deal from the 49ers. Since shortly after the start of the season, Edwards blamed his lack of production on nagging injuries. New head coach Jim Harbaugh attributed it to not only his performance in games, but how he practiced. Believe who you will.
The 49ers receiving corps has been decimated. One guy's nursing a bum ankle, another has an unknown head injury, one recently had his jaw broken, and still another had surgery on a broken leg suffered in October, that put him out for the year. It appears they're desperate for receivers. ANY receivers. Maybe undrafted free agents. Maybe guys off the street. SOMEBODY.
But evidently not desperate enough to keep Braylon Edwards around. Harbaugh, a former Michigan Wolverine himself, of all things, unceremoniously dumped him.
That should tell you something.
I dunno. Maybe I'm reading this all wrong. Then again, maybe I had it right in the first place, all those years ago in Ann Arbor.
On a related note -- you've heard about how they keep increasing seating capacity at Michigan Stadium to maintain their status as being able to accommodate the most fans? I don't believe that either. My theory is they repainted the same metal pews, and merely moved the seat numbers closer together. Presto, larger capacity. If you don't believe that -- go there, and good luck if you have a large person on both sides of you. Though you will be counted as being in attendance, poof, your seat just disappeared. Using a laptop can be a good thing. BEING a laptop isn't so much fun.
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