real women watch football

A Wrigley Abomination

2010-11-17T17:48:00.004-05:00

I love football. I really do. But sometimes those football folks overstep their bounds. And this is one of those times.

The fact they painted the Wrigleyville marquee purple makes me sick to my stomach. As a born and bred Chicagoian who lost her first teeth in the shadow of that very marquee, that purple is just... perverse. I don't understand why they felt the need to paint it, you don't see Yankee Stadium decking itself out in camo paint for Army/Notre Dame game this weekend. According to the Cubs' president, they "want the building to reflect a Northwestern feeling" so that "Northwestern didn't lose a home game" -- I'm pretty sure the boys aren't going to be thinking about how home-y the marquee is when they're running into the giant brick wall six inches behind their end zone.

The president went on to prattle about how they've 'changed the colors on the marquee before' and how it 'wasn't a big deal'; I call BS. I can't find one example on my cursory search of the Googles that supports that claim. The closest I came was when I discovered that back in the 60's the sign was blue. As a matter of fact, what I did find was that when Valspar became a sponser of Wrigley Field in 2009, they freshened the paint on that sign and revealed it to much hoopla and ado. This suggests to me that maybe painting the giant stadium-side sign is more than a little effort.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it really is "every Chicago kid's dream to see Wrigley Field not only for baseball, but football and the history it had with football." I don't know. All I do know is, come April, that sign better have no hint of 'Wildcat purple'.

NFL Fit 5k

2010-11-16T09:49:00.010-05:00

I'll start off by apologizing for falling off the face of the planet for the past couple weeks -- blame the mail (no, really). I had big plans to post something last week; I had a funny, insightful, gripping (I wish) piece written about the Cowboys' coaching staff but then forgot to post it in a timely manner (again... mail), and now I feel like I've missed my window of opportunity. Perhaps I'll rework it and post it later this week. For now, I'd like to talk about something closer to my heart: fashion.

Glad I didn't lose you with that one. Let me explain: this past weekend I participated in Washington, DC's NFL Fit For You 5k run through the lovely National Harbor. I first heard about it from some friends of mine -- there's some sort of bug going around that makes people I know decide they want to start running. Seeing how if there are two things in this world I'm all for they would be: general healthiness without expending too much energy and opportunities to do things in my Bears jersey and Soffe shorts, I agreed to participate. Since there isn't a 5k race in existence that isn't linked to some sort of charity, I assumed this one was benefiting some sort of NFL health program -- someone alluded to a loose affiliation with the 'make kids play for 60 minutes a day' thing the NFL is promoting and come on, the race has 'fit' in the title, am I right?

No. No I am not right. Turns out this event was a 2 hour commercial promoting the NFL's new line of women's apparel. 'Fit For You' didn't have anything to do with being healthy -- they were talking about the 'fit' of the clothes (in most cases, tight, bedazzled, and either low-riding, low-cut, or with those cap sleeves every designer ever thinks make tee-shirts more 'girly') being more feminine.

The hostess of the event was some women they found god only knows where; she's some sort of trainer to the stars or something equally nauseating. They shoved her in a rhinestone-affixed Redskins tracksuit ('Redskins' across the ass, naturally) and she attempted to lead us in a group warmup before the 5k began. Let me tell you - this warm up was a joke. For some unknown reason this woman decided to lead the crowd while facing away from us. I guess the thinking was that it was better to guide the dozen or so cheerleaders at the back of the stage than the hundreds of people in front of the stage. The end result was that she spent 15 minutes blatently shaking her ass at the better part of a thousand people while flailing her arms about in what I can only guess is an homage to the time she was attacked by a swarm of bees. Or was an extra in 'The Birds'. Or something. I swear the woman came thisclose to dislocating her own shoulder. If that's what her workouts are like, I'll be over there with the meatheads grunting at their too-heavy free weights, thanks.

Truthfully, I could have forgiven the ridiculous woman. I could have forgiven the blatent NFL gear propaganda. I was just there to run a bit, enjoy the beautiful autumn day, get a workout in, see what kind of time I can pull, and hopefully run SG into the ground (success!). But the race itself was disappointing. We were given racing bibs, but neither timing chips nor someone marking official times at the finish line. Half the course was run on a trail cut through some native grasslands -- it was 4 feet wide and made of unpacked sand strewn with boulders and hidden rocks. The 5k was open to runners and walkers, which I'm fine with, and they let the runners go first, which is standard. However the way the course was designed you had to eventually turn around and share the 'scenic' trail with the moms pushing the double-wide strollers going the opposite direction. And the children! Someone decided to allow children into the running group. No one thought about their tendencies to sprint 50 feet then stop dead in front of whatever unlucky soul happened to be behind them at the time. I nearly killed about half a dozen of the little ones and definitely yelled at the pre-teens who were strolling 4 across.

I realize this post wasn't actually about football, and I apologize. It wasn't really about fashion either, which some of you are probably thankful for. Mostly what I wanted to do was express my disappointment in the NFL for such a poorly thought out event. It seemed to me that they planned all the commercial bits first, then realized they had no real reason to get five hundred people in one place at the same time, so they slapped on a 5k. The NFL is associated with how many charities and good causes -- I'm baffled by the fact they centered this event around "Lov[ing] your team without looking like you're on it". I guess it's my own fault for not actually looking at the website before showing up, but still. Keep the advertising to the commercials I can fast-forward my way through, and if you're going to collect a registration fee from me I'd prefer it to support something worthwhile. Even if that 'something' is tearing children away from their game systems for 60 minutes and sending them outdoors with a stick.

Anniversary of 1st College Football Game

2010-11-06T19:30:00.000-04:00

Today is the 141st anniversary of the first intercollegiate football game between Rutgers and Princeton University.

The two schools, both of which I know well growing up in Princeton and partying at Rutgers, had always been rivals since they are about 20 miles apart. Two things really led up to Rutgers challenging Princeton to the game. First there was the fight for possession of a Revolutionary cannon - abandoned after the Battle of Princeton, Princeton had it until it was sent to New Brunswick to help defend the city in 1812. In the late 1830s, 100 Princeton students stole it and put it in front of Nassau Hall at Princeton and then in 1840, to make sure Rutgers couldn't steal it back, they cemented it into the ground muzzle-down. Second, Princeton had beat Rutgers in baseball 40-2.

So, Rutgers challenged Princeton to a series of three football games, the first being on November 6th, 1869, at College Field in New Brunswick, NJ (only the second game game was played because both school's protested that the games were interfering with the students' studies). The game was played under Rutgers' rules and was a sort of mix between rugby and soccer. With 25 players on each side, the teams had to score by kicking the ball into a goal, not by throwing or carrying it. The teams played 10 "games", each "game" ending when a team scored; teams got 1 point for every score.

Rutgers scored 1st with the help of what would become known later as the "flying wedge." Princeton then scored in the 2nd, but Rutgers went up 4-2 after the 6th game. Princeton won the 7th thanks to an unnamed Rutgers player who kicked the ball toward his own goal posts - despite the kick being blocked, Princeton capitalized on the opportunity and made the goal. Rutgers was all disorganized after this and Princeton won the 8th game a few minutes into play, tying it up at 4 all.

Rutgers captain John W. Leggett then introduced a new strategy after noticing that Princeton's players were taller than Rutgers' - keep the ball closer to the ground. Following the new strategy, Rutgers scored in the 9th and 10th game to win 6-4.

There are two different stories of what happened after the game. William Preston Lane, a player for Princeton, says that the Rutgers players ran the Princeton team out of town, while Rutgers' undergrad newspaper, The Targum, says that a meal was prepared for both teams after the game.

As a Rutgers fan, I'd like to hope that they run the preppy Princeton kids out of town.

Vikings Waive Moss

2010-11-02T18:13:00.000-04:00

So less than a month after the Patriots traded Moss back to the Vikings, the Vikings have waived Moss following a very odd press conference:

Just saying, if you miss the Pats so much, perhaps you shouldn't have run your mouth earlier this season about how the Patriots don't want you to succeed.

I'm torn on whether or not the Pats should sign him again. On one hand, it would be the greatest deal ever. Trade him for a 3rd round pick only to pick him back up a month later for nothing. BRILLIANT. But all that aside, there was a reason he was traded, so why bother bringing him in again. There is obviously a problem with him.

So who will take him? Most likely the Rams, but I would really love for no one to pick him up for two reasons: 1. He will REALLY feel stupid for running his damn mouth and blowing a good thing with the Pats and 2. the Vikings have to pay the rest of his 3 million dollar salary.

All About Efficiency

2010-11-01T16:58:00.007-04:00

So it was kind of a light football weekend for this RW -- due to my desire to restore sanity and/or fear I missed all the collegiate action on Saturday, and since my Bears had a bye week (along with what felt like half the league -- condolences to all those fantasy football players out there...) I didn't feel so bad about whiling away Halloween ignoring trick or treaters and watching crappy horror movies.

However, sometime between feardotcom (dot com) and Zombie Strippers (rent it, trust me) SG started having visible football withdrawl and lack-of-Tennessee anxiety, so we took a break from bad 1990s CGI to watch the Titans take on the Chargers. During the game, I learned some interesting things: the Titans have a player named Kenny Britt and he doesn't suck which means I don't have to customize my own Titans jersey, this year's Victoria's Secret Fantasy Bra has 142 carets, costs 2 million dollars, and will be worn by Adriana Lima, and the Chargers have the #1 ranked offense as well as the #1 ranked defense, yet somehow have the somewhat abysmal record of 2-5 [Editor's note: at time of publication, their record is the marginally less dismal 3-5].

This last fun fact confuses me. What kind of ass-backward ranking system results in a mediocre team having the best offense and the best defense? SG tried to explain it to me: 'they have great stats.' Ok, so I get that football people are super into stats. They built an entire new game (activity? thought experiment? what do you call fantasy football?) around assigning points based on players' stats. But the prize for 'best offense' shouldn't go to the team that does nothing else but move the ball from point A to point B using a specified method of transportation (to clarify: the Chargers are the #1 passing offense). A team could move the ball a million yards a game, but there's no reason to care if they don't score.

With this in mind, I propose we track a new stat: Offensive Efficiency. I'm decreeing the team that moves the ball the fewest number of yards for the most number of points is the most offensively efficient team, and therefore better than the team that moves the ball 500 yards a game but doesn't score. Last I checked, the team with the most number of points wins, not the team with the highest number of yards gained in a typical play, yes? No? Maybe I'm crazy. But I am curious, so I'm going to take an extended chunk of time and play with some numbers. In a spreadsheet. Because I'm geeky like that.

...

Well folks we have a winner. According to Britt's Super Professional, Informed, and Scientific Method of Dividing Yards by Points [BSPIASMODYBP], I have decided that the most offensively efficient team in the NFL is: the Titans! This season the Titans are averaging 11.09 yards for every point scored. Coming in a close second are the Patriots, with 11.28 yds/pt. Since the entirely of the spreadsheet I made would bore everyone (who cares where the Bills fall, really?) (in the middle, surprisingly), here are some highlights:

- Team #s 3, 4, and 5 most efficient are the Lions, the Cardinals, and the Raiders, in that order. None of whom are good. My formula might need some tweaking...

- The Cardinals, at #4, had the biggest jump up in rankings (from NFL's to mine), as well as the biggest change overall. I don't really know what happened there -- maybe NFL doesn't give them enough credit? Or maybe they just don't get the ball that often. Or only play teams that give them turnovers on the 1 yard line. Who knows.

- The biggest fall went to the Cowboys, who fell from #4 to #26. This makes me happy, because the Cowboys are 1-6 and I like the correlation between my rank (low) and their win percentage (also low).

- The Pats have the highest win percentage and they come in #2 on my list, so that's cool. Correlation in both directions!

- As compared with the NFL offensive rankings, BSPIASMODYBP is 26% more likely to correctly order teams in a way that corresponds to their win percentage. Win!

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with myself. BSPIASMODYBP is oversimplified, to be sure, and I've conveniently ignored two huge parts of the game in running and defense, but so is 'they who pass most are best,' so I don't feel too bad about it. Maybe at some point I'll work in some refinement. Or not. We'll see.

Oh, and worth the risk of being too long: I completely missed the Pats/Vikings game, but I did see a highlight involving Brett Farve being carted away with an ice pack to his face. It's not a fire, but it'll do for now...

Also..Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T22:54:00.000-04:00

In my angry ramblings, I completely forgot to say Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful day full of candy and football!

The NFL season so far...

2010-10-31T22:51:00.000-04:00

Since I am coming back mid-way through the season, I have missed a bunch of things that happened earlier..and don't think for a second that I don't have opinions about them. But for the sake of saving time, which I don't have a whole lot of now-a-days, I am just going to briefly go over it.

Don't care that Moss left the Pats to go back to the Vikings. He was a cry baby about things and so whatever, obviously the Pats didn't need him. Yes, Brady should cut his hair but he has enough money to tell everyone to shut the hell up.

Speaking of the Vikings, FUCK BRETT FAVRE! He had the nerve to come back, which I totally knew was going to happen, and has since shown that he is a worse human being than I originally thought he was. He is truly a self-absorbed piece of shit. He is far more interested in himself and his dumb consecutive start record than ANYONE else. And I don't want to hear anyone say anything him "toughing out the pain" because he has broken bones in his foot. 1. no one MADE him play and 2. he acted like he got shot when he got a god damn cut on his chin. yea, I'm sure it hurt but it's a cut..walk it off and get a band-aid.

And while we're on the subject of douche bags..I hate Mike Vick and that he is doing well. I'm surprised Kolb hasn't gone postal yet and killed Andy Reid's fat ass. I also hate Roethlisberger and I don't believe for a second that he's changed.

Moving on..the Dallas Cowboys..Ha. HAHAHAHAHA.

Also, poor Buffalo. Before it was comical, now it's just sad. They're like the Lions...but sadder.

I know I've missed a lot but I'm not tired and have to take out my new doggie for a walk before bed.

ESPN ScoreCenter FAIL

2010-10-31T17:13:00.000-04:00

This is what came up last week during the Pats-Chargers game on the ESPN ScoreCenter iPhone app and I just HAD to take a picture. Apparently, the Pats were able to get 2 extra downs and on the 6th down, they would have to go BACK two yards to get the 1st down.

FAIL!

Real Women Watch Football -- Now With Real WomEn!

2010-10-27T15:09:00.004-04:00

Good news: RWWF has officially doubled its number of real women!

Let me introduce myself -- I'm Britt, of previously mentioned "look I found your blog on the interwebs!" fame. Apparently correctly sleuthing out the actual person behind a blog results in an invitation to also contribute to said blog (it was the anti-pink Pats jerseys rant that gave you away). So, you're welcome for bringing Sarah back, but apologize for the fact you have to deal with me now too.

Full disclosure: I am not a die-hard football fan. I've known Sarah since back in the day (it was a Wednesday, by the way), and there's no way I'll ever live up to that level of devotion. There's only so much space in my brain for sports-related activity and SOME if it has to be devoted to hockey. That said, I do like football, I genuinely enjoy watching the game, and I do harbor the required irrational love for a team (Da Bears). But for anyone that's seen that new commercial, on a scale of "I don't even like baseball" to "Why are they staying in a Cover 2 defense?! They're getting killed with the dump pass to the HB!!!" ... I would say I'm about a "QB sneaks are stupid. They should go AROUND the giant wall of impenetrable man-flesh".

When I agreed to this gig, it came with the caveat that most of my posts would be about how much Jay Cutler sucks and various iterations of 'Brett Farve should die in a fire'. Since I imagine that could get pretty old, pretty fast (except for Brett Farve dying in a fire. That'll never get old), I've decided to use my recent alignment with a self-proclaimed Sports Guy for personal gain and shamelessly pick his brain for post content (SG: this is your warning. I'm totally using that conversation we just had about the stupidity of the NCAA tournament, among other things). SG will most likely also be evaluating my general opinions and informing me when I'm being an idiot. I have big plans to still post said opinions, but know I've already been set straight (Ok, so apparently QB sneaks aren't the problem. The QB's the problem. Fucking Cutler...).

So that's me -- I'll do my best to post things in a timely manner and keep an eye out for my eventual take-over of the RWWF Twitters!

Like Brett Favre..

2010-10-23T21:15:00.000-04:00

IIIIIII'''mmmmm BACK!

Yes...I know, I missed pre-season and the first few weeks..but thanks to my friend, I have decided to start writing again (or as much as my job will allow me).

This is the text I received from my friend that kick-started me to write again: "Googled raider to show him a picture of our favorite undead lumber pirate. first image hit? A blog that I'm 99% certain belongs to you..."

Thanks Britt!

Draft Bingo

2010-04-22T17:22:00.000-04:00

Say, for some reason, you are a responsible human being who has decided not to go crazy tonight since they have work tomorrow, but you still want to have a little fun with the draft...

Thank you sportspickle.com!

The NFL Draft

2010-04-22T09:53:00.003-04:00

Today at 7:30, the 75th NFL draft will begin. This is the first year that it will take place over the course of 3 days. Like it needed to be drawn out more. The first round is tonight, the second and third, on Friday starting at 6:30 PM, and the final four rounds will be on Saturday starting at 10 AM.

You may have noticed that I didn't do any mock drafts or even really discuss the draft. Why? Because it doesn't matter who I think teams will pick!

While I find the draft fun, it does drag on and if I wasn't going through football withdrawal, I wouldn't be nearly as excited for it.

So how can you make it more exciting? TURN IT INTO A DRINKING GAME!

I implore you to come up with some of your own rules but here are some I've stumbled across/come up with:

Take a drink if/when:
A players name is butchered, take a drink (drink twice when Goodell does it)
A Brady being the 199th draft pick is mentioned
Jets fans boo their team's draft pick
You hear the phrases “on the clock,” “war room,” "motor," "need pick," "combine" "Senior Bowl" or “character issues”
You see a commercial with a Manning in it (drink once for every Manning)
A draftee cries after being drafted
An Ivy Leaguer is drafted

If a kicker/punter is drafted (at any point in the draft), finish your drink (Note: if this happens, it will be the Raiders)
If the Jets fans don't boo, finish your drink

If those don't do it for you, how about...try the Tim Tebow Drinking Game

Take a drink every time (take multiple if more than one of these happen at once)
1. They reference his ability to help the Jaguars sell tickets
2. His struggles at the Senior Bowl and/or his “new” throwing motion at Pro Day are mentioned
3. Someone brings up the Sugar Bowl as if it writes off everything else he did in college
4. Says “He wins” or “He’ll never give up”
5. A highlight reel of him is show (excluding “The Promise” see below)
6. Someone compares him to another scrambling QB as if it matters
7. Every live shot of him

Every time they show a picture of him with eye black on, drink the first number. Example:

You would drink 23 times if they show this.

Finish your drink every time
They show video of “The Promise”
Todd McShay and Mel Kiper debate about him
Tebow mentions (including in clips) Jesus Christ, his lord and savior, or God
There is a clip of Tebow crying

If Tebow is drafted in the first round, throw your drink at the wall.
And if it's your team drafts Tebow...well..I don't really know what there is to do at that point except start crying, which is most definitely what he'll be doing.

I'll add more when I think of them. Please add a comment if you have any clever ones to add!

Big Ben Suspended 6 Games

2010-04-21T23:44:00.000-04:00

Ben Roethlisberger has finally received some backlash for his behavior! Even though he will not face charges for "allegedly" sexually assaulting a woman, the NFL is atleast holding him responsible. Today Roger Goodell suspended for Big Ben for the first 6 games of the season without pay for conduct detrimental to the NFL, which is a violation of the league's Personal Conduct Policy. He also has to undergo a "comprehensive behavioral evaluation."

But wait, it gets better...

Apparently the Steelers have had quite enough of his off the field antics (remember that there was a similar accusation last year), and there are now rumors of him being traded! Art Rooney, the Steelers president, who said that the team would have suspended him if the league didn't, wouldn't say specifics, but didn't deny that they were shopping Roethlisberger around.

So who's interested?

Apparently the Raiders (no surprise there) and the 49ers, were two of the six teams that the Steelers talked to today.

2010 NFL schedules

2010-04-20T20:21:00.000-04:00

NFL schedules came out today!

Go check it out: http://www.nfl.com/schedules/release

In terms of strength of schedule: the Texans have the hardest schedule while the Cardinals have the easiest.

Women's Football Apparel

2010-04-08T13:08:00.001-04:00

This is one of those posts that I started months ago and completely forgot about but have now decided to finish.

Let me explain one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to women and sports, especially football: the apparel available for female fans. There are whole lot of women out there who love football, not just pretend to like football so that guys think they are cool, but like seriously LOVE football (sort of the way I do), and while there may be some women who happen to love football and be extremely stereotypically "girly," that is not as common as the people who design the apparel think.

Let me get one thing straight before I go any further, I am not a fem-nazi, so don't even try to come at me with that one. I don't try to find sexism in everything (though I'm sure I could if I tried), but this just pisses me off beyond belief. I think the biggest reason it bothers me so much is because it makes shopping for Patriots stuff so hard. I do not like pink. My favorite colors are black and blue. Not powder blue, but blue (especially the Patriots navy blue). I also don't like things that have been attacked by a bedazzler on crack.

Now, some of my friends may read this and go, "but you have pink Patriots slippers and a pink Bruschi shirt." Yes, I do..but before you call me a hypocrite, let me explain: I own these items because they do not sell Patriots slippers for women in any color other than pink and because, when I decided I wanted a Bruschi jersey (about 8 years ago), the only Bruschi apparel available for women (and believe me, I checked far and wide) was a light pink t-shirt with a patriots logo on the front and his name and number on a back. I am such a big fan of him that I settled for this. It became good luck and so I have dutifully worn it for every game; please remember that, as a Boston fan, I am painfully and insanely superstitious. Due to my superstition, I have not replaced it with a replica jersey, even though I could have. Those are the ONLY two PINK Patriots things I own. And I own a LOT of Patriots gear (blankets, tshirts, jersey, beanie baby, scarf, sweatshirt..etc).

So back in November I was looking through the Patriots site and came across things that actually insulted me. As a result, I decided to do a little research of my own on the difference between the apparel available for male and female fans. I looked at the apparel sold on NFLShop.com and each NFL team's official website. I recorded the number of jerseys, variety of jerseys, items and color of the items for both men and women across all teams. Here is what I found:

Let's start with NFLShop. There are a total of 544 jerseys for women compared to the 1,743 jerseys for men. That means there are 1,199 more jerseys available for men. Out of those 544 jerseys for women, 195 (35.85%) of them are "non-traditional" (i.e. they are a different color than the teams colors, have been bedazzled, or are sparkly and/or shiny), 87 (16%) of them are pink. There are only 132 different players (this includes retired players as well as current) for women to chose from, while there are 469 for men. Want a throwback or alternate jersey? There are only 40 available for women but men have 564. When it comes to just overall merchandise (jerseys included) like watches, t-shirts, etc, there are a total number of 9,688 items for men while women have 6,962.

Instead of giving you ALL the numbers for how all the individual teams fared on NFLShop.com, I'll just give you the highs and the lows for both men and women.

Number of jerseys for women: it ranges from the Buccaneers having 6 to the 49ers having 36 (average is 17).

Number of jerseys for men: Texans have 29 while the Cowboys have 100 (average is 55).

Percent of pink jerseys: 33.33% of the Bears women's jerseys are pink while the Jags, Lions, and Texans all don't have a single pink jersey (or a single appearance in playoffs recently--or ever for the Texans).

Number of non-traditional jerseys: 49ers and Cowboys have 16 while the Jags have 1 (about the same number of home games the people of Jacksonville saw on TV last season)

Percent of non-traditional jerseys: 64.64% of Bengals women's jerseys while only 8.33% of women's Jags jerseys are not normal.

Number of players for women: Cowboys have 10 while the Jags have 2 (same number of fans the Jags have).
Number of players for men: Texans, Rams, Lions, and Bengals have 9 while the 49ers have 25.
Number of items for women: Raiders offer 317 (why anyone would want ANY Raider gear is beyond me), Cardinals have 140.
Number of items for men: Patriots have 408, Texans have 238 (not surprising)

Now for the teams' official websites:
Total # of jerseys:
Women: 299 (48 pink(15.91%)/116 non traditional(3.63%)) Men: 1526
Total # of throwback/alternate jerseys:
Women: 15 Men: 402

Total # players:
Women: 140 Men: 546

I'm not even going to bother with the individual teams. Let me just say that almost ALL the sites have a severely limited variety of things for women (especially the Cardinals and the Saints..though I'm sure there a whole lot more things available now that the Saints won the Super Bowl).

So what was the point of this? I have no idea. It was more of just a rant more than anything else. I just truly hate the lack of team gear that is available to true female fans. In addition, I have spent a great deal of effort and time trying to be taken seriously as a legitimate female football fan and women wearing god damn stupid pink (or any other non-team color) jerseys that are "cute" aren't helping.
Case and point:

Happy St Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T00:00:00.001-04:00

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Everyone is Irish on St Patty's Day so go drink some green beer, Irish car bombs and get drunk!

Ochocinco is looking for love

2010-03-16T14:55:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I found out that Chad Ochocinco, wide receiver of the Cincinnati Bengals, is going to be doing a reality dating show on VH1 called "Ochocino's Tournament." The best part? They are currently casting!

Perhaps you are saying to yourself, "sounds great, but I don't know enough about him." Have no fear, that is what I am here for.

Chad was born Chad Javon Johnson on January 9, 1978 (that means he's 32 for everyone who doesn't want to do the math) in Miami. He attended Langston University and Santa Monica College before transferring to Oregon State University. He was drafted by the Bengals during the second round of the 2001 draft (pick #36). Currently, he hold 6 Bengals franchise records: most receiving yards in a season (1,440), most receiving yards all time (9,952), most receptions (684), most receiving yards in a game (260), most seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards (7), and most touchdown receptions in a game (3, and he's done it 3 times). He is also a 6 time Pro Bowler.

He has been fined countless times by the NFL for his playful antics during games, like pretending to "bribe" a referee with a dollar, river dancing after scoring a touchdown, pretending to perform CPR on a football, and using an end zone pylon to as a golf club. Here's a video of his highlights and celebrations:

On October 25, 2006, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, he asked people to call him Ocho Cinco, which is Spanish for "eight five." On August 29, 2008, he legally changed his name to Chad Javon Ochocinco, though due to contractual obligations, he was not allowed to have Ochocino on his jersey during the 2008 season. Last season was the first season he was allowed wear Ochocino on his jersey.

In December of last year, he announced on his USTREAM that he would be legally changing his name to "Hachi Go" (Japanese for "eight five") this year. He also said, prior to playing the Jets in the last game of the regular season, that if Darrelle Revis (cornerback for the Jets) shut him down that he would change his name back to Johnson. Ochocinco injured himself during warm-ups and didn't play most of the game. But the next week, when the Bengals played the Jets again in the wild card game, Revis definitely shut him down.

Ochocinco has 4 children, Jicyra, Chad Johnson II, Chade, and Cha'iel by 3 different women. He has also written a book, Ocho Cinco: What Football and Life Have Thrown My Way. I haven't read it but perhaps I should go out and get it. He is also going to be on Dancing with the Stars, that will premiere next Monday (March 22nd). In addition, he is an avid user of twitter and tweets numerous times during the day.

To sum it up:
Athlete = in shape (and famous if that matters to you)
Spent his entire career with the Bengals, even though they aren't great = loyalty
Holds franchise records = talented
Pro Bowler (x6) = fans love him
Written a book = not just a dumb jock (though, as I said, I haven't read it)
On field antics = has a GREAT sense of humor
4 children = LOVES children
On dancing with the stars = multi-talented (I guess we'll see next week)
Is doing the show to find love = is ready to settle down
Uses twitter = knows how to express himself
While he is 32, he obviously still has a youthful side

So ladies, if you are single and over 21 and this sounds like the man for you, go to ochocincocasting.com and apply.

While I never watch those ridiculous love shows like "Rock of Love" or "Flavor of Love," (or any of the spin offs that came from them) I actually see myself watching this simply because I love Ochocinco and I want to see what kind of hysterical stuff he's going to do.

2010 Wonderlic Scores Leaked

2010-03-11T13:39:00.000-05:00

I'm not going to lie, my favorite part of the NFL Combine is discovering what players scored on the Wonderlic Test. For those of you who don't know, the Wonderlic Test is a 12 minute, 50 question intelligence test given to players to assess their learning and problem solving abilities. While the NFL is supposed to keep the scores confidential, every year some get leaked..like yesterday when an NFL source leaked the scores of the high profile QBs.

Sam Bradford, Oklahoma: 36
Colt McCoy, Texas: 35
Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame: 23
Tim Tebow, Florida: 22

The average Wonderlic score for players in the NFL is 21. While the average score for a QB is a 24, the average score for the QBs slated to start in 2010 (minus Matt Cassel and Matt Moore since no one can seem to find their scores) is 28.5. Not so good for Florida's golden boy's measly score of 22.

Just for reference, here are the scores of the NFL QBs I could find:
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bills: 48 (he went to Harvard)
Alex Smith, 49ers: 40
Eli Manning, Giants: 39
Matt Stafford, Lions: 38
Tony Romo, Cowboys: 37
Aaron Rodgers, Packers: 35
Matt Leinart, Cardinals: 35
Tom Brady, Patriots: 33
Matt Ryan, Falcons: 32
Matt Schaub, Texans: 31
Philip Rivers, Chargers: 30
Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks: 29
Marc Bulger, Rams: 29
Brady Quinn, Browns: 29
Mark Sanchez, Jets 28
~~The Devil~~ Peyton Manning, Colts: 28
Drew Brees, Saints: 28
Josh Freeman, Buccaneers: 27
Joe Flacco, Ravens: 27
Carson Palmer, Bengals: 26
Jay Cutler, Bears: 26
Kyle Orton, Broncos: 26
Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers: 25
Chad Pennington, Dolphins: 25
JaMarcus Russell, Raiders: 24
Jason Campbell, Redskins 23
Brett Favre, Vikings (for now): 22
Chad Henne, Dolphins 22
Mike Vick, Eagles: 20
Bruce Gradkowski, Raiders 19
Vince Young, Titans 15 (6 on the first try)
Donovan McNabb, Eagles (for now): 14
David Garrard, Jaguars: 14

Bengals' former punter/wide receiver (1976-1985) Pat McInally (also a Harvard grad) has the only verified perfect score of 50. Mike Mamula, the Eagles' former defensive/linebacker ('95-'00), scored a 49. Currently, 3 players are tied for the highest score (48) of active players in the NFL: Fitzpatrick, Ben Watson of the Pats, and Kevin Curtis of the Eagles.

On the other end of the spectrum:
Kordell Stewart: 13
Marcus Vick (the dog killer's younger brother): 11
Jeff George: 10
Chris Leak: 8 (he decided to only answer 12/50 questions)

Obviously, as you can see, one's Wonderlic score is not always indicative of how someone will do in the NFL. Fitzpatrick got a 48 and he sucks while Dan Marino and Terry Bradshaw got a 15. On the other hand, if you look at Jeff George and Marcus Vick, they were pretty accurate.

Want to know how you'd do? Here is an example test.

Iowa Jury find Mark Becker guilty of murdering Ed Thomas

2010-03-02T23:59:00.001-05:00

Today, after deliberating more than 24 hours over 4 days, an Iowa jury rejected Mark Becker's plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and found him guilty of murdering, Ed Thomas, on June 24th of last year. The guilty verdict of first degree murder comes with a mandatory life sentence.

For those of you who didn't hear about this or simply forgot, last summer, Mark Becker walked into the Aplington-Parkersburg High School weight room around 8 AM and, in front of students who were participating in a summer weightlifting session, shot his former coach, Ed Thomas, atleast five times, before kicking Thomas' body and walking away.

Four days prior, on June 20th, Becker took a baseball bat to a former classmate's house in Cedar Falls. He slammed his car into the house's garage and then lead the police on a high-speed chase across 3 counties; it ended in Parkersburg when he hit a deer at 90 mph. Police took him to Covenant Medical Center (the same hospital that Thomas was flown to 3 days later) psychiatric ward and requested that Cedar Falls police be notified when he could be released so that they could charge him. Becker was released Tuesday, June 23rd, but police were never notified. The next morning, he killed Thomas.

The defense argued that Becker, a paranoid schizophrenic, killed Thomas because he believed that Thomas was the devil, that he had control over the minds of the children in the town, could turn people into animals and that Thomas was trying to make Becker into a "sex slave." A psychiatrist testifying for the prosecutors said that, while Becker does suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, he still knew wrong from right and was sane enough to plan out the murder. He stole the .22 caliber pistol from his parents, practiced firing it, hid the gun while he was driving, told people that he was looking for Thomas so that he could volunteer to help out with tornado relief for the town, and made sure to avoid the students in the weight room.

It should be noted that prior to June, Becker already had a record. He was convicted of drunk driving in 2005, plead guilty to misdemeanor serious assault and fourth-degree criminal mischief in two separate incidents in late 2008, and was arrested in January of 2009 for possession of drug paraphernalia, where he admitted to police, while in custody, that he was a methamphetamine user.

Despite the jury's verdict, the Thomas family and the community are still grieving over the loss.

Fifty-eight year old Thomas had a overall record of 292-84 and 2 state titles during his 37 years as a head coach; 34 of them at Aplington-Parkersburg. In 2005, he was named NFL High School Coach of the Year. He has had 4 of his players go on to play in the NFL, Aaron Kampman, Brad Meester, Jared DeVries, and Casey Weigmann (Landon Schrage was signed by the Ravens in 2006 but never played), which is the most per capita of any high school in the country; Aplington-Parkerburg High School has around 240 students and Parkersburg, IA has a population of roughly 1,900.

Thomas was also deeply involved with the town as well. He oversaw Sunday school and was an elder at the First Congregational Church. When the town was devastated by an EF5 tornado that killed 6 people and wiped out 1/3 of the town in 2008, Thomas was a driving force in the town's recovery. There were more than 2,000 mourners at his funeral on June 29th, including players and coaches from other teams.

The Thomas family is currently lobbying for a bill, which would be named after Thomas, that would require hospitals to communicate with law enforcement when a suspect, that is supposed to be in custody, is scheduled to be released.

RIP Mosi Tatupu

2010-02-24T14:45:00.000-05:00

On February 23rd, former Patriot and Ram, Mosi Tatupu died at the age of 54 in Attleboro, MA. The cause of his death has still not been disclosed, but it known that he suffered from high-blood pressure.

Mosi was a native American Samoa born in Pago Pago. He graduated from Punahou School in Hawaii in 1974, after setting the state career rushing record (3,367 yards), which stood for 17 years. He is a member of the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.

Mosi, whose son, Lofa, plays middle linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks, went to USC and made 4 post-season bowl appearances with the Trojans. He had 1,424 combined yards (1,277 rushing and 147 receiving) and 19 touchdowns. He also played in the Hula Bowl in 1978. From 1997-2006, the Hula Bowl and Maui Quarterback Club gave the Mosi Tatupu Award to the College Football Special Teams Player of the Year.

Mosi played 13 seasons with the Patriots (1978-1990) as a running back and special teams player, making the Pro Bowl in 1986. He was a fan favorite, having his own cheering section in Foxboro called "Mosi's Mooses." As a Patriot, he played in 194 games and combined, had 3,258 yards and 20 touchdowns. During the season opener last year, he was named to the Patriots 50th Anniversary Team.

He also played 5 games with the LA Rams (1991) before he retired. He recorded no stats while he was there.

More recently, he was an assistant coach at Curry College from 2002-2007. He joined the staff as a running backs coach under former teammate and hall of famer, Steve Nelson. In 2004, he took on special teams as well. Even though Nelson left after the 2005 season, Mosi stayed on for another 2 seasons. Curry's program won 5 NEFC championships (2003-2007) and made 5 NCAA DIII Tournament appearances. While he was gave up his official title as coach after the 2007 season in order to spend time with his family in Seattle, he remained closely involved with the team and still went to the practices and games when time allowed.

I attended Curry for two years from 2004-2006 and as an athlete there, I saw him all the time and I cannot tell you what I wonderful person he was and what an absolute tragedy this is. He was not only a great person, he was also a great coach. I was friends with lots of guys on the football team and they all loved him. No matter who you talk to, students, athletes, coaches, no one will have a bad word to say about him. To quote Skip Bandini, the current head coach at Curry, "Mosi was just the best guy you would ever want to be around."

RIP Coach, you will truly be missed.

The Saints Must Be Proud..Part II

2010-02-12T22:48:00.002-05:00

Remember the Saints fans who shot up a television that I posted about back in December? If not, look here.
Well...they are back..

The Off-season

2010-02-09T18:05:00.000-05:00

People may be wondering, "Now that football season is officially over, what are you going to write about?" No worries, I will continue posting even though it is the off-season.

I've actually decided to use the off-season to educate everyone (including myself) on the history of the NFL and it's teams.

I'll still post about the big news when it comes out but I think it's good to know the history behind the team you root for. Plus, I find all of that incredibly interesting. Hope everyone else does too.

Saints Win!

2010-02-08T19:34:00.000-05:00

THE SAINTS WON!

I'm not going to bother with a recap of the game. If you didn't watch the game, you don't care about football so why would you want a recap?

I'm so happy for the Saints. They wanted it the most and they earned it! Plus, they took down part of the evil Manning family empire.

I am so incredibly jealous of my brother right now. He goes to school at Tulane so he watched the game in a bar in New Orleans and got to celebrate all night. My dad was talking to him on the phone when the 2 point conversion call was overturned and I can't explain how loud it was. Directly after the game I called him and all I heard was a bunch of cheering and "WHO DAT." I got a text from him a bit later, "This is honestly incredible. I'm walking downtown right now and every car that goes by screams and honks."

As I said, I couldn't be happier for the Saints, their fans, and their city. With Mardi Gras technically being February 16th (next Tuesday), I'm sure this celebration will just carry over to then. Good thing New Orleans knows how to party!

Happy Super Bowl Sunday

2010-02-07T15:00:00.000-05:00

For football fans, Super Bowl Sunday is the holiest of days and so I hope that everyone is preparing themselves for tonight. Some people don't like to watch it if their team isn't playing, but I feel as if those people are just being bad sports. Obviously, I would LOVE for the Pats to be playing, but just because they decided that they would rather watch the Super Bowl than play in it, does not mean that I cannot and will not enjoy the Super Bowl, especially this year. In my opinion, the two best teams in the NFL this season are actually playing in the Super Bowl so how could I not enjoy it?

So even if you're team isn't playing, grab a beer and some pulled pork and enjoy the game!

Kiffin Gets Verbal Commitment From 7th Grader

2010-02-05T18:35:00.004-05:00

So I know I said I wouldn't blog about this idiot, but this topic has has stirred up a lot of discussion today and so I really wanted to get my two cents in.

It's been less than a month since Kiffin left Tennessee and to take the job of head coach at USC and he's already thinking about the incoming Class of 2015.

Like he won't have bolted for another job in 5 years.

Sorry, he is not the point of the post but I needed to get that in there. Anyway, last night, Mr. One-and-Done received a verbal commitment from 13 year old 7th grader, David Sills. Sills, who plays QB and lives in Bear, Delaware, is already 6'0" and is expected to get to around 6'5"..you know, when he finally reaches puberty.

I think I should mention that Kiffin only became aware of this kid yesterday. He was on the phone with Sills' personal coach, Steve Clarkson, discussing another recruit when Clarkson told him to check out a video of the kid:

Kiffin watched it, called Clarkson back, and a few hours later, the Sills family called Kiffin. Apparently USC was Sills' dream school and they couldn't pass up the offer so little David verbally committed.

According to his coach Steve Clarkson, "his skill set is off the chart" and "he's breaking down NFL footage" and blah blah blah. That's great and all but what about in 5 years? That's a rather long time and lots of things can happen between now and then. Luckily, verbal commitments aren't binding and so when this poor kid decides he hates football and USC is no longer his "dream school," he isn't bound to some decision he (and his parents) made before he was old enough to drive.

Also, what happens if it he peaks at the age of 13. What if he breaks his arm or tears ligaments in his knee? What about academics? What if he decides not to work during high school and gets awful grades?

While the schools don't have to uphold what was offered originally, which would allow USC (most likely sans Kiffin) to renege, I feel that revoking a scholarship you offered a naïve 13 year old is really messed up. The kid won't fully grasp that this is not a guaranteed thing and that he still has to work (both as an athlete and student), no matter how much you try and explain it. Why? BECAUSE HE'S A KID! Kids, especially teenagers have extremely selective hearing.

Dangling a scholarship in front of someone at the age of 13 is reprehensible. I'm actually surprised that the NCAA stepped in yet. Well...maybe not surprised, but I really feel as if they really ought to do something to restrict college coaches from approaching a player until they are a certain age (or grade).
13 year old boys are barely capable of deciding what kind of cereal they want, let alone what school they want to go to 5 years from now.

In my opinion, it doesn't really matter how talented a kid may be, middle school athletes should be focusing on the same thing that other boys their age are, like how to take a girl's bra off, not where they are going to play in college.

The Manning Family and the Saints

2010-02-03T13:06:00.014-05:00

I wrote this post as a guest blogger for Sports Opinionated but felt like I should also share it with all of you. Even though I am posting it here, everyone should check out their blog as well.

As everyone knows, the Indianapolis Colts are playing the New Orleans in the Super Bowl on Sunday. So what has been the focus of this game since day one? How the Saints have finally gotten to their first Super Bowl or how New Orleans has rallied around the Saints this season, giving it a new life after the city was all but demolished by Hurricane Katrina a little over 4 years ago? No, of course not. The focus is the Manning family.

For anyone who hasn’t turned on a television for two weeks, let me briefly explain why. The Mannings are to New Orleans as the Kennedys are to Massachusetts (minus all the tragedies).

Archie, Peyton and Eli’s father, was drafted by the Saints (2^nd overall) in 1971 and played for 10 years there. While the team never had a winning season, good old Archie played his heart out while he was there, despite having an awful team. In 1972, he led the NFL in passing yard, he was the UPI’s NFC Player of the Year in 1978, and he was in the Pro Bowl in ’78 and ’79. Even though he didn’t end his career as a Saint (he went to the Oilers from 82-83 and the Vikings from 83-84) he made his home in New Orleans. All three of his sons, Cooper, Peyton, and Eli grew up in New Orleans, graduated high school there, and I can only assume, were/are huge Saints fans.

As I said, the Mannings are royalty in New Orleans. Saints fans actually love the Manning family so much that they root for the Colts (I don't know about the Giants--see my side note). There are a lot of #18 Colts jerseys and apparently during the 2006 Super Bowl, when the Colts played the Bears, many people in New Orleans decked out their houses in blue and white. I can guarantee you that those blue jerseys have been put away and there will be no houses in blue and white come Sunday.

Side note: When Archie and his wife returned to their house in New Orleans after Katrina hit, they found that someone had broken into it. Archie had a bunch of signed jerseys from Peyton and Eli and the looters took all of Peyton's..none of Eli's. When I read this, it brought me more joy than I can express in words.

So when the Saints won in overtime against the Vikings to go to the Super Bowl, who was the first person interviewed? Archie. Everyone wanted to know what team he would be rooting for February 7^th, his favorite team or his ~~favorite~~ son. Of course he chose blood and will be cheering for the Colts. As will Cooper Manning, the oldest Manning kid whose football career was cut short due to a narrowing of his spinal canal. At least Cooper is being honest about the whole thing, saying, “it’s going to be a little awkward.” He is friends with Drew Brees and his kids are huge Saints fans. I can just see it now, the Saints will score and Archie and Cooper will jump up in excitement and then remember that they have to cheer for the Colts. They will slowly sit down and say, “you’ll get that back,” will doing a victory dance in their heads.

As a die-hard Patriots fan, when I set out to write a post about the Manning family, I had the intention of going off about how they are the bane of my existence and have brought me great pain and suffering and how I enjoy seeing one of their own play their favorite team. Instead, I have sat here and written about their love for the Saints, the Saints love for them, and how this game is bittersweet for them. God damn it. I have no idea how this happened. This makes me hate them even more.

The Manning family has won this round but let me just say that when it comes to Sunday, I will be whole-heartedly cheering for the Saints, for many reasons.

1. The Saints do truly need it! They’ve never been to a Super Bowl, let alone won one.

2. Peyton and the Colts have already won a Super Bowl (reminder: Brady has won 3, which, as of now, is more than the entire Manning family combined). Stop being selfish Peyton! In order to maintain his royal status in New Orleans, Peyton should throw the game in a non-obvious way. That would perhaps make me like him more. Ehh..probably not.

3. It would be a great way to start Mardi Gras. Technically Mardi Gras doesn’t start until the week after, but I think they would make an exception and just start it Sunday if the Saints won.

4. My brother goes to school at Tulane (for all you people who don’t know where it is, it’s in NOLA) and he says the city has gone Saints CRAZY. After the Vikings game, even the police officers were setting off fireworks. The Saints have become his second favorite team and well, I love my brother and it would be awesome for him to be there when the Saints won the Super Bowl. I was at school in Boston when the Red Sox won broke the curse in 2004, so I feel that the Saints winning would be only fair.

Most importantly, 5. I HATE THE MANNING FAMILY AND WANT PEYTON TO LOSE!

2010 Pro Bowl

2010-01-29T15:43:00.003-05:00

I can honestly say that I have never watched a Pro Bowl game in it's entirety. Ever.

Why? Because the Pro Bowl is stupid and absolutely useless. There really is no other way to put it. This year is even worse and has reached a point where it is almost comical.

Not only will it be played in Miami (as opposed to Hawaii) this weekend, the weekend BEFORE the Super Bowl, but 31 players who were originally voted in, won't be playing, either due to "injury" or because they are playing in the Super Bowl. In addition, those players who aren't participating in the Pro Bowl due to being in the Super Bowl are still required to fly down to Miami to make an appearance.

Before I go any further, here are the 17 players who have pulled out due to injury.
Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, Wes Welker,
Jake Long, Brian Cushing, Jairus Byrd, Nate Kaeding (he's not injured, he's still in hiding), Brett Favre, Steven Jackson, Larry Fitzgerald, Sidney Rice, Andre Gurode, Kevin Williams, Lance Briggs, Charles Woodson, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
The 14 players on the Saints and Colts who were voted in but cannot play: Colts: Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Jeff Saturday, Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, and Antoine Bethea.
From the Saints: Drew Brees, Jonathan Stinchcomb, Jahri Evans, Jonathan Goodwin, Jonathan Vilma, Darren Sharper, and Roman Harper.

Here are their replacements:
AFC: Matt Schuab (starting), Vince Young, David Garrard, Chad Johnson (Ochocinco), Dan Carpenter, Yeremiah Bell, Brandon Meriweather, Shaun Ellis, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Heath Miller, LaMarr Woodley, Vincent Jackson, Kevin Mawae, and Kyle Vanden Bosch.
NFC: Donovan McNabb, Tony Romo, Antrel Rolle, Roddy White, Ryan Kalil, Johnny Knox, Mike Jenkins, Terence Newman, Clay Matthews, Steve Smith, David Diehl, Chris Snee, Quintin Mikell, Frank Gore, Justin Smith, and London Fletcher.

The final roster can be found here.

In all honesty, I really don't think that the NFL likes the Pro Bowl either. That is why it tries really hard to make everyone involved so miserable. They have completely pissed off Sean Payton and Jim Caldwell since they have to send some of their most valuable players down to Miami simply to make an appearance. Due to this, both teams have to reschedule practices.

If I were a player and this was the first year I'd been voted into the Pro Bowl, I'd be super pissed. Instead of being able to go to Hawaii, I go to Miami. Great. Even if it wasn't my first year, I'd still be pissed. Most players have visited Miami at some point, especially since Miami has a team. Hawaii, at least in my opinion, is a bit more exciting.

While the Pro Bowl doesn't really piss off fans as much as is bores them, the NFL still tries. If there are not enough Pro Bowl tickets (going for around $200 per ticket this year) sold, the NFL actually blacks out the game locally. The last time the game was actually blacked out was 1982 but last year there was talk of it. I sort of wish that people wouldn't buy tickets and that the game would get blacked out, perhaps the NFL would get the picture that fans don't really care...especially when it's not the last game of the season.

Everyone's a Winner!

2010-01-28T17:12:00.000-05:00

My boyfriend, who sort of gave up on his own blog, finally wrote one and I really liked it so I decided to put it on the site. Enjoy!

Now we all enjoy supporting our favorite NFL teams, and somehow find ways to talk ourselves in how the team we root for each and every Sunday can pull off a victory on that hallowed first day of the week, regardless of the opponent. Hell, even I convinced myself that the 3-10 Jets could beat the then 13-0 juggernaut New England Patriots in 2007 (it didn't happen, although the Jets covered the 22-point spread). Anyway, for fans of the Rams, Lions, and Buccaneers, do not fear that the draft is the only thing you have to look forward to. In fact, had a few bounces gone your way earlier this year, you might still have a game left to play this year!

Let us all think back to our pre-algebra days when we learned about a little something called the transitive property, which so nicely states that if A=B, and B=C, then A=C. We also learned that this applies to inequalities as well, so if A>B, and B>C, then A>C. This is key to remember as we move forward, because I am going to tell you why your teams were but a few bounces away from being participants in Super Bowl XLIV (I cannot tell you how excited I am for Super Bowl L, because it will look paltry in comparison to the previous thirty-nine Super Bowls due to a single roman numeral representing its number). Without further ado, let me tell you why the Rams are better than the Colts (some of the time):

The Rams beat the Lions, who beat the Redskins, who beat the Buccaneers, who beat the Seahawks, who beat the Jaguars, who beat the Chiefs, who beat the Raiders, who beat the Broncos, who beat the Chargers, who beat the Titans, who beat the Texans, who beat the Bills, who beat the Panthers, who beat the Cardinals, who beat the Giants, who beat the Cowboys, who beat the Saints, who beat the Eagles, who beat the Falcons, who beat the 49ers, who beat the Bears, who beat the Vikings, who beat the Bengals, who beat the Packers, who beat the Ravens, who beat the Browns, who beat the Steelers, who beat the Dolphins, who beat the Patriots, who beat the Jets, who beat the Colts, who beat the Rams.

So see, it really is true that any team can win it all. You can start this metric with any team you'd like and end it, meaning that your team would go 31-0 if it played every other team. So everyone's team is best, and everyone is a winner.

Tim Tebow to do pro-life ad for Super Bowl

2010-01-28T14:23:00.001-05:00

So it's been all over the news that Tim Tebow is going to do a 30 second ad with the theme, "Celebrate family, Celebrate Life," sponsored by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family. While no one knows exactly what will be in the pro-life ad, many believe that it will feature Tebow and his mother.

For everyone who doesn't know, Pam [his mother] got sick with amoebic dysentery in the Philippines while pregnant with Tim and the medicines she needed to recover can damage or kill a fetus. Even though doctors advised her to have an abortion, Pam decided to go against their advice and instead gave birth to Tim.

I have serious problems with this for many reasons:
Let's start with the insanely hypocritical network who are going to be airing this. CBS has a "non-controversial ad" policy. They have rejected ads from the United Church of Christ (a church that welcomes everyone, including gays), PETA, and moveon.org (a democratic organization) because they were "too controversial." Apparently CBS doesn't consider abortion a "controversial" topic. Silly me, what was I thinking. With 30 second ads selling for somewhere between $2.5 to $2.8 million, it's blatantly obvious that when it comes to CBS, money talks. By airing this ad, ~~Fox~~ CBS will be politically aligning itself, alienating many viewers.

This is a dumb move for Tebow. After news of the ad, Tebow said,

"I know some people won't agree with it, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe and that I'm never shy about it. I've always been very convicted of it because that's the reason I'm here, because my mom was a very courageous woman. So any way that I could help, I would do. I don't feel like I'm very preachy about it, but I do stand up for what I believe. "

Look, we all get it Tim, you are religious. We all understood that a long time ago (the bible verses on your face every game gave it away). Most people who follow football also know his story. From those two things alone, it's pretty obvious what his stance on particular issues, especially abortion, would be. There is no problem with that, the problem here is that by doing this ad, Tebow is going one step further and essentially making himself the poster boy for pro-life; atleast that's what people are going to see him as. He already wasn't going to go super early in the draft, but this most definitely will not help. While it's great and all that he stands up for what he believes in, teams aren't going to want to have a player that is going to bring religion and politics into the locker room and create "a schism." (Jared Allen, it's still not an STD) Teams and their owners don't want to alienate fans by having a player who is so open about his particular beliefs. By doing a commercial that airs during the Super Bowl, it shows teams that you are quite happy to mix politics/religion and football. It also attracts negative attention to the team from groups who oppose what he stands for (example: PETA and Mike Vick).

Most importantly, the Super Bowl is NOT the correct place for such an ad. For a football fan, this is the most sacred day of the year. The day is for food, beer, friends, and FOOTBALL..not for religion or politics. On Super Bowl Sunday, no one cares about religion or politics. The only thing that divides people is what team they are rooting for. The commercials that should air during the Super Bowl are for advertisers, not for religious and political views. They are meant for Pepsi (who I am angry with for including a certain Super Bowl catch against a certain New England team in their latest ad), Bud Light, Budweiser, car companies, McDonalds, etc. They should be witty and entertaining and make people laugh, not incite a political/religious argument among everyone in the room. That's a great way to ruin the game for everyone!

I'm not going to say that religion is completely separate from football because it's obviously not, but there is a HUGE difference between praying before the game, thanking God after the game, and what Tebow is doing.

I respect Tebow's right to have the views he does and express them in his own way if he so chooses. However, the podium for such things should not be football's holiest of days. In the end, Tebow will do what he believes is right, I just hope he's ready for the repercussions that come with his decision.

Old Man River..."unlikely to return"

2010-01-26T14:35:00.002-05:00

You all know how I feel about Brett Favre. If not, see my earlier post. Well, his season ended on Sunday when the Saints beat the Vikings in over time in the NFC Championship.

Let me just say, THANK GOD! I could not have taken a Manning-Favre Super Bowl (not that I can take the continuous talk about the Manning family since the Colts are playing the Saints).

OMR threw 310 yards, 1 TD, and 2 interceptions, one with 2 seconds left in regulation time. He also hurt his ankle in the 3rd quarter..the same play that he threw one of his interceptions. Directly, after the game Old Man River told Ed Werder that his return is "highly unlikely." Yea, we've heard that before.

Before making a final decision, he has gone home to Mississippi to discuss it with his family. With all the mental and physical hits he took, not just against the Saints, but all season, I suspect that it will take him a while to make a "decision." I also doubt that his family will have anything to do with his decision. He doesn't seem to take anything or anyone into consideration except for himself when he makes any decision.

Technically speaking, he has a year left on the contract with the Vikings that he signed in August..not that, that matters.

What really matters are these questions:
1. When will he retire?
2. When will he then unretire [AGAIN!]?
I'm guessing this time around he will pull a Junior Seau and come out of retirement mid season.
3. What team will he go to next?
I'm thinking he tries out a new color. He's already done red (remember-his first season was as a Falcon), black, green (two different shades), yellow, and purple.

That rules out: the Ravens, Eagles, 49ers, Cardinals, Buccaneers, Redskins, Raiders, and Chiefs. I guess if he really wants to rule out those colors completely, add the Patriots [THANK GOD!], Titans, Giants, Giants, Bills, Texans, Chargers, Bengals, Saints, Panthers, Jags, and Steelers to the list.
That leaves: the Browns, Lions, Dolphins, Rams, Seahawks, Bears, Broncos, Colts, and Cowboys. Wow, look at all of his options. Some of those teams I could actually see wanting him.

Football Food Part II

2010-01-24T12:01:00.001-05:00

It was obviously an oversight on my part to not mention the most obvious part of a football party menu:

BEER!

Also good to have, just in case your team, and the team everyone else where you are is rooting for, starts playing like the Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV (they lost to the 49ers 55-10):

HARD LIQUOR. It will help ease the pain, I promise.

Football Food

2010-01-23T13:29:00.002-05:00

Here is one thing to know about me, I love cooking almost as much as football. Yes, that much. So, when the big games, which truly deem cooking for, come along, I go all cooking/football crazy. My boyfriend loves this.

I was going to do this right before the Super Bowl, but that doesn't give you much time to try things out and get creative. Plus, it's always nice to have a dress rehearsal. I suggest you use this weekend, or even the Pro Bowl (that might be the only thing that would get me excited about the Pro Bowl), to try out the food and see how long it takes.

Without further ado:
Wings. This is a no brainer and nothing really special since you can easily get these for every game. Doesn't matter. While I am a complete snob about food and do not believe in buying things or using a mix when you can make things from scratch (got it from my mother): order them (be warned: everyone else will be doing this), buy them from your grocery store, or make them, either way..YOU MUST HAVE THEM!

Chips and Dip. Again, very obvious, but don't you dare overlook these! Tostistos, pretzels, and regular chips are always good to have. For the dip: salsa, guacamole, cheese dip, 7 layer dip {my personal favorite}, all will go over pretty well. Yes, you can buy a 7 layer dip, but it's pretty easy to find a recipe online. Also, depending on the company, you may want to have some veggies and dip as well. I never have that kind of rabbit food because why would you eat veggies while watching football [exception is the celery that comes with the wings] but I've heard some people eat that shit.

Pigs in a Blanket. There really is nothing better than these wonderful little morsels. I made them last year and they went SO quickly. Making them is sort of tedious but they really are easy and taste much better, plus you can make them how you want them. Buy some mini wieners and some croissant rolls and go to town. I also add bacon and cheese to them. Yes, I said bacon and cheese. Just wrap the bacon and cheese around the wiener before you roll the croissant around it. I promise, it makes them even better.

Chili. This stuff is amazing to have. It's truly the epitome of guy food. There are so many easy recipes to make this, especially if you have a crock pot. If you don't have one, get one. You don't need a really expensive crazy one, you just need a good size one. I bought one for $20 and I love it. I added bacon and sausage to my chili last year. Needless to say, it went over well. My one suggestion for chili is to make it the day before. It tastes better after having sat for a while and if you keep it in the crock pot, you can just put it in the fridge and heat it up when you need it. Plus, since it takes like 4+ hours in a crock pot, doing it the day before will save you time.

Pulled Pork. I got my recipe from my mother, who got it from her grandmother. Pulled pork and football just go together. It's that simple. Either as a sandwich or by itself, it doesn't matter. Everyone will be happy this was made.

Like the chili, make this a day before. It does take all day to cook it. I plead with you, DO NOT BUY THIS! It actually doesn't take a lot of your time to cook since it has to simmer for hours until the meat falls off the bone so all you have to do is prepare it and then leave it.

Deviled Eggs. Only make these for the right company. I wouldn't make this for my usual crowd of people but my mother would make them if she were to host a Super Bowl party. More importantly, most definitely make them football themed, like the picture!

Subs/hoagies/grinders/heroes/italians (or whatever you may call them). If you really don't know your way around a kitchen, this is a really easy way to feed everyone. You could order them (cop out) or easily make them by getting deli meat, cheese, tomatoes..etc. and a few big baguettes (depending on how many people there will be). Make a few different kinds (so that people have options), cut them up into finger food size and VIOLA you're done.

Nachos. Nachos are always good and they are easy to throw together at the last minute. Pile them high with cheese, peppers, bacon, beans, olives, and anything else you think would go well on them. I would leave the salsa and such off since not everyone likes it. Also, like the subs, I would make a few different kinds since not everyone loves the same thing.

Pizza. I never bother with pizza since it's a bit of a cop out. I mean, you can have pizza for every game. But, if you are really desperate, pizza will always go over well. If you must, make it yourself and be creative with it. Shape it like a pizza, make it look like a football field, just do something that makes it better and more special than pizza you can easily have every day.

Mini Hamburgers. Hamburgers are awesome. Mini hamburgers are even better. And the best part, you can use Billy Mays' (RIP) Big City Sliders to make this wonderful finger food. Throw bacon, onions, cheese, etc, on some.

Onto my favorite part: DESSERT. This is where you can get really creative!

Cupcakes. Even people who don't like cake, love cupcakes. Plus you can make them look oh so fun. You can decorate them simply with frosting (super easy) or you can buy little sugar decorations for them. Find them locally or order them (Amazon has a bunch of options). If you aren't very good with decorating, just ice the cupcakes using the colors of the teams playing (unless you are rooting for a specific team, in which case, just use their color(s). You can also just write "GO ___" (fill in the team) across a bunch of cupcakes, with the "G" on one, an "O"on the another..and so on. You could also put them all together and make them look like a field.

Cookies. Everyone loves cookies so there are fail-safe. You can buy football cookie cutters (I know Wilton has good ones), which makes life a bit easier or you can just make regular round ones and decorate them with the teams colors. Pretty much, you can decorate them how you decorate cupcakes. Be creative.

Cake. My absolute favorite! The possibilities are ENDLESS here. I have a football shaped pan (also by Wilton), but Nordic also sells a stadium pan. If you see no need to have these specialty pans, you can always just decorate a normal sheet cake, which is what I did last year at school (the football pan didn't come in time). I actually used sour patch kids as players (red for the Cardinals and yellow for the Steelers), two chocolate chips put together with frosting as the football, and pretzels covered in yellow frosting for the uprights.

Here are some ideas:

Chan Gailey goes to Buffalo

2010-01-20T15:49:00.006-05:00

Buffalo has finally hired a head coach yesterday: Chan Gailey. This will be his first NFL head coaching job since the Cowboys', where he coached from 1998-1999. Despite taking the Cowboys to playoffs both seasons, Jerry Jones fired him after the 1999 season. He went 18-16 while there.

Starting as a graduate assistant at Florida from 1974-75, he has bounced around a lot, not staying in any place for an extended amount of time: Troy State ('76-'78, defensive backfield coach), Air Force ('79-'80, defensive backfield coach and '81-'82, defensive coordinator), Troy State again ('83-'84, head coach-won the DII National Championship in 84), Denver Broncos ('85-'86, special teams/tight ends; '87, tight ends/receivers; '88, QB coach; '89-'90, offensive coordinator), Birmingham Fire ('91-'92, head coach), Samford ('93, head coach), Steelers (1994-95, wide receivers coach; 1996-97, offensive coordinator), Cowboys ('98-'99, head coach), Dolphins ('00-'01, offensive coordinator), Georgia Tech ('02-'07, head coach), Chiefs ('08-'09, offensive coordinator), and now to the Bills. With his track record, I don't really see him staying there very long..but what do I know.

My absolute favorite part of this whole thing was the press conference (go about 12 seconds in to when Gailey finishes and they cut to Buddy Nix):

1. I love how Nix took a stab at the Raiders. To be honest, I love it when anyone takes a stab at the Raiders.
2. "Who wouldn't want to come here?" Oh really Chan? How about this, anyone who didn't want to be the Bills head coach, raise your hand.

I rest my case.

Four Down Territory podcast

2010-01-18T17:52:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday, I was a guest on Four Down Territory, a podcast for NFLDraftBlitz.com run by Chris Horwedel. You can find the podcast here or on ITunes (my podcast's date is 1/16/10).

Now if you listen to it or plan to, let me explain a few things:
I was incredibly nervous (I am a nervous person, I can't help it!) so my nervous ticks kicked in and my mind went blank on a lot of things.
Chris caught me off-guard with a question about Hasselbeck. Not his fault, but I most definitely did not see a single Seahawks game this season (remember, I live in Jersey) and since I could not really care less about the Seahawks, I did not care to look up their stats, especially Hasselbeck's. The Seahawks, while awful this season, were not as bad as the Rams or Lions and so they just sort of coasted through the season under my radar. My bad.
I did not correctly convey my complete and utter hate for the Manning family. Yes, I mentioned I hate them, but let me get this straight: I truly and very deeply, despise them with a burning fire that consumes my soul. Instead of going on a rant on how I really hope Eli and Peyton are sterile because I don't want future generations of Manning children ruining Patriots' seasons, I will just promise to write a post (or two) on it at a later date.
I sound like a very angry (and sort of unnecessarily so) person when discussing Kiffin. I'm a passionate person and I get sort of wound up easily with these sort of things and, as I said, I was extremely nervous, so half of my reasons for despising him completely escaped my mind so all I could say was "I just really hate him." Luckily, my ability to put together a coherent sentence about him has returned: He, Lane Monte Kiffin, is a self-concerned, pompous little weasel who is on his way (if he isn't there already) to becoming as hated in the NCAA as Nick Saban is by LSU and the Miami Dolphins. His ability to incite anger and hatred amongst such a large range of people is unmatched and most definitely surpasses his ability as a coach. While I understand that true loyalty in sports is a very rare thing to find, his blatant disregard for the people (like the players, families, and fans) he made promises to and his lack of loyalty to anyone but himself is utterly disgusting. And now that I have gotten that off my chest, I will no longer speak of him..until he pulls his next stunt.

Anyway, if listen to it and think I sound sort of clueless, it is just nerves and if Chris decides to have me back on, I promise to redeem myself and unlike the man I am no longer mentioning, I don't break promises.

Brett Favre..pants on the ground

2010-01-18T01:12:00.004-05:00

Oh Brett Favre, came across this and thought people might get as big a kick out of it as I did:

Ok so has come to my attention that perhaps not everyone watches American Idol and therefore, some people do not understand the context of this video. So, in order to allow everyone to fully enjoy this, here is the American Idol clip:

RIP Gaines Adams

2010-01-17T23:20:00.001-05:00

Gaines Adams, a defensive end for the Chicago Bears, died this morning of cardiac arrest at only 26 years old. An autopsy showed that Adam had an enlarged heart, a condition that no one, including his family, was aware of.

Adams was born in Greenwood, South Carolina and went to Clemson University. After a stand out senior year in 2006, where he tied the school record for number of career sacks (28), he became one of seven unanimous All-Americans.

He was picked fourth overall in the 2007 draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He signed a 6 year contact with them worth $46 million ($18.6 million guaranteed). He ended his rookie season with 35 tackles, 6 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles, which earned him a spot on the NFL All-Rookie team. His success continued into the 2008 season as well.

On October 19, 2009, Adams was traded to the Bears. He played 10 games for them this season.

While toxicology tests are being run, there is no foul play or drugs suspected.

Mr. One-and-Done

2010-01-13T23:39:00.004-05:00

Until I come up with a better nickname, Lane Kiffin will now be referred to as Mr. One and Done (sort of how I only refer to a certain old indecisive QB as Old Man River). So, as I posted yesterday, Mr. One and Done has left Tennessee after 1 season and is now USC's head coach.

Well..it appears that students at Tennessee were not too pleased with his decision. Not very surprising seeing how his disloyalty has screwed Tennessee.

According to sources, Ed Orgeron, the defensive coordinator that One and Done is taking with him to USC, secretly contacted the recruits who were supposed to enroll early and told them not to attend class and to go to USC instead. Additionally, Tennessee has lost around 5 of it's verbal commitments, while others say that are now considering other options. With National Signing Day being February 3rd, Tennessee has only a few weeks to sign a head coach and get some players on campus for official visits.

So what did the Tennessee students do last night? What all other college students do when they want to show their frustration: Get drunk, yell obscenities, and burn shit. I.e. riot!
It was estimated that around 1,000 fans gathered to show how they really felt.

The famous campus rock was painted:

A Kiffin T-shirt and a mattress were burned:

Tennessee students also verbally expressed themselves:

Students also blocked the exits of the sports complex, which prevented Mr. One and Done and his father, Monte Kiffin, from leaving the building.

The current players are, understandably, pissed off too. When One and Done announced to the Tennessee players that he was leaving, it enraged the players so much that the interim head coach, Kippy Brown, had to calm down the players. If I were a current player, I would have thrown a punch. He comes in, runs his gaping mouth, violates NCAA rules, 3 of his players attempt armed robbery (with a pellet gun..while wearing UT clothing), and then he abandons his team.

While I understand the school and his team feeling like he is a traitor, it's probably for the best since he has proven that the only thing he cares about is HIM. I don't really know how he expects to have the loyalty of the players at USC after he's shown he has NO loyalty.

the big fat idiot goes to USC

2010-01-12T21:31:00.002-05:00

If you read my blog, you know my feelings on Lane Kiffin. If not, here's what I think. Anyway, it has just been announced that he is the new head coach of USC (replacing Carroll).

WHAT IS USC THINKING?!

I know he worked there from 2001-2006 as a wide receiver coach/offensive coordinator and did a good job, but since then he's been AWFUL. And he won't shut his god damn mouth.

As Oakland's head coach, he went 4-12 his first year and 1-3 the next season before Al Davis fired him in later September 2008. Tennessee then hired him and as we know, he stirred up some problems, all of which were due to his big fat mouth. He went a slightly above mediocre 7-6 this season with the Volunteers. And now he's jumping ship.

What an awesome guy.

So why is USC taking him? The only reason I can think of is that because he is taking his father, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and his assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron, with him.

Feely's punting contest

2010-01-12T20:52:00.004-05:00

So I came across this today and thought I would share.
Anyone who watched the (second) Jets-Bengals game knows that Jay Feely, the Jets kicker, had to step in for their punter, Steve Weatherford, who had an irregular heartbeat before the game. Prior to that game, Feely had punted once in college and once in high school. For a guy who was told he would have to fill in right before the game, he didn't do half bad: 7 punts, 220 yards, 31.4 yard average, with his longest punt being 37 yards.

So it appears that Feely has a very clever sense of humor. He tweeted today, "Send me a twitpic on Twitter of you punting while doing your normal job. Be creative. Best photo wins 2 tickets. Airfare and hotel on you." He has extended his contest through the night and will announce the winner tomorrow morning. If interested, here's his twitter page: http://twitter.com/jayfeely.

Tis the season..for firing coaches

2010-01-12T19:47:00.004-05:00

When football season winds down, the season of firing coaches begins.
Let's start with college coaches:
It guess the talk of replaces head coaches began half way through the season at Florida State with long time coach Bobby Bowden. After a rough start this season, rumors began to surface that FSU should get rid of Bobby after 33 years with the team. At the beginning of December, Bowden announced that he had "decided" to retire after being given an ultimatum by FSU. He could return to FSU in 2010 as an ambassador or retire after their bowl game. So as I said, he "decided" to retire.

Anyway, right around the same time, Mark Mangino, the now former head coach of Kansas, "resigned" after allegations from former players came out that the fat man verbally and physically abused his players. So what really happened was that Mangino and Kansas came to an agreement where Mangino attempts to save face (though he does come off as guilty by just "resigning") and Kansas gets to save money and the hassle of a potential lawsuit.

Next was Mike Leach, who was all of a sudden suspended indefinitely on December 28th pending investigation of a complaint made by player, Adam James andhis ESPN analyst dad, Craig James, that Leach had mistreated Adam when he suffered from a concussion earlier that month. Apparently the suspension came as a result of Leach not giving James a written apology, which Texas Tech ordered him to do. Leach, having a law degree and all, sought an immediate injunction that would allow him to coach the team in their bowl game. So what did Texas Tech do? Fire him directing before the hearing citing that his refusal to apologize to Adam James "a defiant act of insubordination." As of January 8th, Leach has filed suit against Texas Tech for wrongful termination.

Also on the 8th, South Florida fired their coach Jim Leavitt after a school investigation concluded that he had grabbed a player by his throat, hit him, and then proceeded to lie about the whole thing and interfere with the school's investigation (the school cited the last part as one of the major reasons they fired him). Leavitt had been with the team since it's first season in 1997. The whole situation seems pretty hinky to me but what's done is done.

Onto the NFL..
The first to go: Jim Zorn. Surprise Surprise. I mean really, who saw that coming? Oh yea, everyone. Let's not forget that back in October, after a loss to Kansas City, Zorn was "strongly suggested" to yield his offensive play calling duties to Sherman Lewis (who had been spending his time calling Bingo games). And then there was the fail-tastic "trick" play Zorn called (TWICE) when they were playing Giants on Monday Night Football.

Zorn was with the Redskins for 2 years and had a record of 12-20, going 4-12 this year. He was replaced by Mike Shanahan.

Seahawk's head coach Jim Mora Jr. also got canned after going 5-11 his first season as head coach. And who do they bring in? Pete Carroll...a post to come on this.

Besides just head coaches, there were other parts of coaching staffs let go:
Steelers offensive line coach Larry Zierlein was fired after his O-line allowed Roethlisberger to be sacked 50 times.
Paul Pasqualoni, defensive coordinator of Miami, was let go after the Dolphins finished 25th in points allowed this season
The Giants fired defensive line coach, Mike Waufle and rooking defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan after the defense gave up 427 points and essentially didn't show up for the last two games.
Da Bears fired offensive coordinator Ron Turner, offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, QB coach Pep Hamilton, tight end coach Rob Boras, offensive assistant/assistant offensive line coach Luke Butkus, and offensive assistant/assistant wide receivers coach Charles London.
The Chiefs fired longtime defensive line coach Tim Krumrie.
Oh yes, and the ENTIRE coaching staff of the Buffalo Bills, including interim head coach Perry Fewell.

I may have missed some people, if so, let me know.

some football updates

2010-01-11T18:31:00.004-05:00

NCAA
So 'Bama won the BCS National Championship, 37-21. Texas QB, Colt McCoy suffered a shoulder injury during the second drive of the game, meaning that the game was now in the hands of their true freshman, Garrett Gilbert. I felt awful for this poor kid. He got absolutely slaughtered during the first half, throwing something like -4 yards and 2 interceptions, one of which was brought back by Marcell Dareus for a touchdown with 3 seconds left in the half. If I were Gilbert and I heard that McCoy was going to be out the rest of the game, I would have snuck out the back door and never looked back. But apparently this little 18 year old has more balls than I do. He came out and made it a game. He threw 2 touchdown passes and a 2-point conversion, closing 'Bama's lead to 24-21 with about 6 minutes to go in the 4th. Yes, Texas came back with 2 more touchdowns before the end of the game but Gilbert played one hell of a second half, especially for someone who had only thrown 26 passes in college prior to the game.
The other person who needs attention is Alabama's Mark Ingram. He had a great game with 116 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also gets placed on the very short list of people who have won the Heisman and the National Championship the same year. My biggest problem with the game was how announcer Brent Musberger insisted on bringing up Ingram's "incarcerated father" and showing his mother (pointing her out each time as if we had forgotten) everytime Ingram touched the ball. Not only did he bring Ingram Sr. up, he felt it necessary to glorify the situation as if it was a heart warming story--the guy is in prison for fraud and money laundering. I really wish I had counted how many times Brent brought it up.

Onto the NFL
So the regular season is over and we are now one week into the playoffs.
50% of the Wild-Card Round games were decided the week before. The Jets beat the Bengals again 24-14 (this time in Cincy) and the Cowboys blew out the Eagles again in Dallas (34-14). The Cardinals-Packers game was another repeat of last week but atleast the outcome was different; the game even went into overtime.

The game I paid the most attention to (besides the game I will get into in a bit) was the Jets game. Brian and I were on vacation in the Poconos and since he is a HUGE Jets fan, we obviously had to watch the game. Despite starting out on top, the Bengals reverted to their former selves, the Bungels. Leading this movement was Shayne Graham, the soon-to-be former kicker for the Bengals. Aren't they glad they franchised him before the season? Looks like they should have signed that kicker from Wake Forest, Sam Swank, who was kicking for them during preseason.
Does everyone remember how Ochocinco said he would change his name if Revis shut him down during the last game of the regular season? Even though Ochocinco was shut down, he was injured and didn't really play, so I let it slide..but, I most definitely carried over his promise to the Wild-Card game. As a result, I will only refer to him as Chad Johnson now since Revis did indeed, shut him down the whole game.
Before I move on I need to mention how absolutely awful Joe Gibbs and Joe Theismann were as announcers. Just appalling. They botched names, Gibbs would just trail off on tangents, and Theismann wouldn't shut the hell up. Please, NBC, I'm begging you, never have them on again!

Oh yes, about the other game. As you can see from my previous post (and you could probably have guessed), I was not happy...to say the least.

Going into the game, I still wasn't over Wes Welker (my favorite player) tearing his ACL and MCL during the last week of the regular season. After seeing Lil' Welker (Edelman) play against Houston, it gave me some hope. Obviously, it wasn't Edelman that I should have been nervous about. IT WAS THE REST OF THE GOD DAMN TEAM! I have never cursed so much in my life. Seriously. By half time, I had given up hope and had become a profanity spewing, negative ball of anger. Not even my doggie could make me feel better (yes, she's older now but she's just as cute so you can see how she could make almost everyone feel better). There is always next year right?

As a result of the massacre that happened at 1, I could not pay a whole lot of attention to the Green Bay-Arizona game. I've seen the highlights and I do believe that there were a whole lot of personal fouls that should have been called, and perhaps that would have changed the game..who knows.

In regards to the Eagles..that's what you get for signing a dog killer.

Regarding the Patriots game..

2010-01-10T19:31:00.000-05:00

oh 'Bama fans..

2010-01-07T19:12:00.001-05:00

One of my best friends goes to law school in Birmingham, Alabama and was nice enough to call me today and tell me that the 'Bama fans that haven't traveled to game have sent death threats to the weatherman if he interrupts tonight's game with a weather update (they are expecting snow). This makes me laugh almost as much as <-- that picture makes me cringe.
In addition, Kristin also told me that everyone has rolled their trailers onto their lawns with "'BAMA" or "A" written on them. Something like that -->

Gotta love 'Bama fans!

college football comes to a close

2010-01-07T17:20:00.000-05:00

Well after weeks of bowl games that no one but the teams involved care about..the BCS Championship game is here. Yes, there some of the games have been good, but I still think the bowl game system was designed by drunk monkeys. I seriously forgot about the last two games, and last night's game was apparently awesome. If there were a playoff system, I would have been able to tell you the date and time of each game. Anyway, tonight--No. 1 Alabama vs No. 2 Texas (at 8 on ABC for all of you who don't know).

I hope 'Bama blows out Texas for a couple reasons: 1) Texas shouldn't be there-Nebraska should have won that game. 2). It will help prove how dumb this current system is.

With the end of college football, I get to turn all my attention (not that it hasn't been there for a while) to the NFL...right in time for playoffs.

Enjoy the game tonight!

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T12:17:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful New Years Eve!
The best part about New Years day? I get to watch bowl games all day while eating pulled pork (my mother's secret family recipe) and jambalaya. Every black eyed pea you eat (in the jambalaya) is good luck for the new year!

Here's a list of the bowl games today:

11:00 AM on ESPN- Outback Bowl: Northwestern vs Auburn

1:00 PM on ABC - Capital One Bowl: #13 Penn State vs # 12 LSU

1:00 PM on CBS - Konica Minolta Gator Bowl: #16 West Virginia vs Floria State

4:30 PM on CBS - Rose Bowl: #8 Ohio State vs #7 Oregon

8:30 PM on FOX - Allstate Sugar Bowl: #3 Cincinnati vs #5 Florida

Happy Anniversary of "The Greatest Game Ever Played"

2009-12-28T23:48:00.003-05:00

51 years ago, on December 28, 1958, in [the old] Yankee Stadium, the 26th annual NFL Championship Game was played between the Baltimore Colts and the NY Giants. This game has become commonly known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played." It was first NFL game to ever go into sudden death overtime and is still the only championship game to have done so.

This sparked the NFL's popularity and helped it become what it is today. It was seen by an estimated 45 million people (thanks to NBC for airing it across the country). Due to the growing popularity of the game, the American Football League (AFL) was founded a year after this game by Lamar Hunt.

This game was stocked with future Hall of Fame players and coaches. From the Giants: tackle Roosevelt "Rosey" Brown (inducted 1975), halfback Frank Gifford (1977), linebacker Sam Huff (1982), wide receiver Don Maynard (1987), defensive end Andy Robustelli (1971), safety Emlen Tunnell (1967), offensive coordinator Vince Lombardi (1971), defensive coordinator Tom Landry (1990), VP/ Secretary Wellington Mara (1997), and owner Tim Mara (1963). From the Colts: end Raymond Berry (1973), defensive tackle Art Donovan (1968), tight end John Mackey (1992), defensive end Gino Marchetti (1972), flanker-running back Lenny Moore (1975), guard-tackle Jim Parker (1973), quarterback Johnny Unitas (1979), and coach Weeb Ewbank.

During the first quarter, Pat Summerall kicked a 36-yard field goal, putting the Giants ahead 3-0. In the second quarter, Frank Gifford fumbled and set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Alan Ameche. A second fumble by Gifford allowed the Colts to score with a 15-yard pass from Unitas to Berry. Colts went into halftime leading 14-3.

In the third, after the Colts turned it over on downs on the Giants 5-yard line. The Giants went 95-yards and scored a 1-yard touchdown run by Mel Triplett. With two minutes left in the fourth, Giants QB Charlie Conerly threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Gifford, putting the Giants up 17-14.

The Colts took over on their own 14-yard line with 1:56 remaining. In what would become the first "2 minute drill," Unitas, with 3 consecutive throws to Berry for 62 yards, helped march the Colts down the field to the Giants 13-yard line. Steve Myhra kicked a 20-yard field goal with 7 seconds left in the game, sending it into overtime. See picture to the right.

The Giants won the coin toss and ~~received~~ fumbled (but recovered) the opening kickoff in OT, but were forced to punt. The Colts drove 80 yards in 13 plays. Ameche then scored on a 1-yard run. Colts win 23-17.

This picture to the left is of Ameche scoring the game-winning touch down.

The game ball, which Colts' center Buzz Nutter (great name) had to chase down a security guard for, went to Gino Marchetti (the picture to the left is of Marchetti receiving the ball from Coach Ewbank, while shaking hands with Ameche). Marchetti broke his leg during the 4th quarter while stopping the Giants from getting a first down. Even though he was injured, he was still a team captain and refused to get immediate medical attention. He watched the rest of the game from a stretcher on the side of the field (see picture to the right.)

Here's a little fact for you: What did each player of the Colts get for winning (besides the title)? $4,718.77. Each losing player got $3,111.33.

All the pictures on here are from the Baltimore Sun. Click there to see more pictures that I didn't add.

Scratch what I said earlier about Urban Meyer...

2009-12-28T10:27:00.001-05:00

You see two posts ago when I said Urban Meyer was going to step down due to his health? Yea..now he's only taking a leave of absence and is reportedly going to be on the Gator's sidelines next season. This change of heart came after a "spirited practice" on Sunday morning.

I'm sure this makes his family feel great considering that when he was "stepping down," he cited he wanted to focus on his health, faith and family. So nice to see that a practice can make you say "screw my health, faith, and family." Apparently experiencing severe chest pain, weight loss, and oh..passing out and having to be rushed to the hospital is less painful than spending extensive time with his family.

Let's see what happens after Florida's game on New Years Day...

Sundays don't get much better

2009-12-27T23:04:00.003-05:00

Christmas came 2 days late this year for me, but I got everything I wanted...and more!

As you can see, the Pats thrashed the Jags (Fred Taylor even got in, which is just poetic!), the Giants got MASSACRED by the Panthers (my dad was there, making it so much better because I got to send him multiple texts that just read "hahaha"), and the Colts lost to the Jets.

Since the Manning family is the cause of so much of my pain and agony (and both Eli and Peyton have rings that rightfully belong to the Pats), there is nothing that makes me happier than seeing them fail...especially when the Pats play so well!

The fact that this was the Giants' last game in Giants Stadium AND killed their chances at the playoffs was just more than I could have asked for. Oh yes, and SAY GOODBYE TO THE COLTS PERFECT SEASON! Manning could have pulled a Brett Favre and refuse to come out seeing how he is "such a fierce competitor," but instead he sat on the sidelines and watched as Curtis Painter ruined the Colts perfect season. And get booed by the fans.

Thank you Santa, from the bottom of my heart!

Urban Meyer steps down as head coach

2009-12-26T19:07:00.002-05:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4772952

I just saw this on ESPN..more to come later.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T00:03:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas.

Hope everyone has been enjoying the BLOW OUT bowl games..hope tonight's NFL game is better!

Never underestimate girls...

2009-12-20T12:29:00.000-05:00

I know I've only been posting videos lately but I'll be posting things soon.

Yesterday marked the beginning of the NCAA bowl games with ridiculous names. My absolute favorite being the "San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl." Does no one else think that this has gotten completely out of control?

Anyway, the New Mexico Bowl (Fresno St vs. Wyoming) and the St. Petersburg Bowl by Beef 'O' Brady's (Rutgers vs UCF) were played last night. In addition, due to the NFL Network wanting to show how much it hates that the NCAA doesn't have a playoff system (and how pointless the early bowl games are), the Cowboys played the Saints during the St. Petersburg Bowl.

It was definitely a night for Cowboys since Wyoming won in double OT and Dallas were able to stop New Orleans from coming back (even after Dallas' kicker missed a 24 yard field goal). Also, Rutgers won, which is awesome!

Since the Pats play at 1, it is time to get into game day attire!

this 6 year old can hit!

2009-12-18T11:40:00.000-05:00

My boyfriend showed me this clip and it's awesome. Please just watch this 6 year old hit!

RIP Chris Henry

2009-12-17T21:05:00.000-05:00

As I'm sure almost everyone already knows, especially if you watch ESPN, Chris Henry, receiver for the Bengals, died early this morning due to injuries he sustained falling out of a pick up truck.

For someone who was finally turning his life around after a very rocky start in the NFL, this is truly a tragedy.

If you're having girl problems I feel bad for you son..

2009-12-16T19:36:00.000-05:00

This week is super busy for me. I have all my Christmas crafts to finish, jobs to look for, and on top of everything, my cousin Amanda (who is coming with 3 friends to see NYC for the weekend) is getting in on Thursday night so I've been running around the house cleaning everything.

Anyway, I saw this on the blog, How to Beat a Guy in 10 Plays, and it made me laugh. I know it has nothing to do with football but, since this is my blog, I don't care.

the weekend of kickers

2009-12-10T22:29:00.006-05:00

On a football team, kickers are like red-headed step-children. Look at the sideline of any football game-the kicker is always at the end, away from the rest of the team. While they are essentially shunned by the rest of the players, they are quite essential (or detrimental) to a team. They can either be heroes or scapegoats. Case and point? This weekend.

Let us examine what happened this weekend (in both college and professional football)

Saturday:

Nebraska-Texas:
We have a 3 kickers (Nebraska has two) to look at here:
Alex Henery, who with 1:44 left on the clock, kicked a 42 yard field goal to put Nebraska two points ahead of Texas (12-10). He was a hero. At the point, Henery was (finally) going to get laid (look at the picture and you will understand).
Just as the idea of no longer being a virgin was sinking in to Henery's head, Adi Kunalic (the junior who ~~does~~ did kickoffs for Nebraska), stepped up and ruined everything. He kicked the ball out of bounds, giving Texas the ball at their own 40. What a douche bag. I mean look at the guy, he even looks like a douche bag. He's from Fort Worth, Texas too. I bet you he did it on purpose. He had been kicking them into the back of the endzone all game and suddenly does this? As I said, douche bag.
After McCoy miraculously throws the ball away and leaves exactly one second on the clock, Hunter Lawrence trots on and kicks a 46 yard field goal. Texas wins. Lawrence definitely got laid.

Cincinnati-Pittsburgh:
This game was beyond infuriating. I really wanted Cincinnati to lose. Like really really bad. And Pittsburgh HAD them. It was Pitt was beating them by 21 points during the second quarter. So what happened? Go to 1:38.

Now, I know this is not the kicker's fault. It's Andrew Janocko's. But it has to do with kicking the ball so I HAD to include it. You cannot do that.

You can guess what happened next...Cincy marched down the field, scored, and THEIR holder did his job and allowed Jake Rogers kicked the extra point. Cincy wins.

Note: My boyfriend called the outcome of both of these games after the botched kicks.

South Florida-Connecticut:

Didn't watch it but UConn kicker, Dave Teggart, kicked a 42 yard field goal as time expired, giving UConn the win.

Onto Sunday:

Patriots-Dolphins:

You all know how I feel about this game. I'm still angry and I still hate the Dolphins. So..I'll make this short. God damn Dan Carpenter made a 41 yard field goal with 1:02 on the clock, giving the Dolphins the only lead they had all game..and the (undeserved) win. God damn it.

Saints-Redskins:

I still cannot believe the Redskins screwed this up. Actually, what am I saying..of course I can.

Even though the Redskins, as a team, did nothing to stop the Saints come back, who gets blamed? Kicker Shaun Suisham. Why? Because he MISSED a 23 yard field goal that could have given the Skins the win. Instead, the Saints came back, the game went into OT and Saint's kicker Garrett Hartley, made an 18 yarder and the Saints won. See the post directly prior to this one.

Oh yea, the Redskins released Suisham on Tuesday.

49ers-Seakhawks:

The kickers were the only ones that scored in the 4th quarter of this game. With 5:30 left in the 4th, Olindo Mare made a 25 yard field goal to put the Seahawks up 17-14. 49ers kicker, Joe Nedney, tied it up again with 2:57 left. Then, as time expired, Mare made a 30 yarder to win the game for the Seahawks.

Atleast I got this done before the first game of Week 14 ends. Right, so now I'm off to devote my full attention to the Browns-Steelers game, which all of you should be doing right now.

The Saints Must Be Proud..

2009-12-10T20:04:00.002-05:00

Please just watch this.

I think my favorite part, besides how fabulously redneck these people are, is how they are getting out of their cars with their guns and OPEN BEERS.
I'm surprised no one was killed, besides the BIG ASS TV.

How I Feel About the Pats-Dolphins Game

2009-12-06T16:50:00.001-05:00

Fake Football Fans

2009-12-05T23:39:00.006-05:00

There is NOTHING that pisses me off more when it comes to sports than FAKE FANS! While every team has them, they definitely pop up more often when a team is doing well. The worst part about this is that the majority of these fake fans are women. This is just unacceptable and embarrassing. It makes people second guess my dedication to my teams and often times I end up having to prove that I am not a poser. This makes me hate these people even more.

While I started this post a while ago, a certain, blatantly obvious FAKE fan, at the Pats game against the Jets (my wonderful boyfriend bought us tickets to the Pats-Jets game in New England for my birthday) reminded me about my post and so I have been inspired to finish it...so here it is:

You know you someone is a fake fan when he/she...

Can not name current players on the team besides the famous players. I.e. a Cowboys "fan" only knowing Tony Romo. If this person is a woman, she probably only knows who Romo is because he dated Jessica Simpson.
Doesn't know the history of "his/her" team. If someone claims to be a Colts fan and does not know that they are cheering for a team that was stolen from Baltimore in the middle of the night in 1984, they are not a true fan.
Has to ask what the rules are. I don't mean the random ass rules, I mean the, "you have to have two feet in, with possession of the ball, for it to be ruled a completion in the NFL" kind of rules.
Has to ask who "his/her" team is playing. This is especially true on game day. Week 1 I can't tell you off the top of my head who the Pats are playing in Week 12, but I definitely know who they play for the next 3-4 weeks.
Doesn't know major injuries on "his/her" team. So say it's last year and a Pats "fan" doesn't know that Brady is out. They not only live in a hole, but they definitely aren't a football fan, let alone a Pats fan.
Doesn't know the outcome of the game. With the amount of technology around today, there really isn't a reason not to know how your team did. Have to work or be away from a tv? Follow the game on your phone or the internet, or if you don't have a phone that can do that and can't be near a computer, have a friend text you updates. There really is NO excuse.
Doesn't know when "his/her" team plays. This becomes harder later in the season when the times get changed but since your Sunday should revolve around watching your team, you should stay up to date with this.
Doesn't know when "his/her" team has a bye. When your team has a bye, it is the one week a fan gets to relax and not worry about how their team does (unless they are playing the Rams or Lions). It is also the one week you cannot watch your team play. How would you NOT know that?
Can't name the head coach. If you love your team so much, you should be able to name the guy in charge.
Cheers improperly.

Don't be that USC cheerleader..the one with the poms poms in the air cheering for the TEXAS touchdown. The majority of people who do this don't know the rules. These people are usually the ones who make the most noise for no good reason. It's their way of over compensating for not being a true fan. If someone does this in your presence, stare at them and make him/her feel bad about themselves.

Suddenly becomes a fan when "his/her" team has a good season. Bandwagon "fans" are the absolute WORST. These people anger me more than anything. Where the hell were you when "your team" was the laughing stock of the NFL? If you can't stand by your team at their worst, you aren't allowed to cheer for them when they are on their way to the Super Bowl.

Doesn't own any apparel of "his/her" team. How else are you supposed to express your devotion to your team if you don't own anything that has to do with the team? I own a Pats t-shirt, a Bruschi t-shirt, 2 pairs of Pats slippers, a Welker jersey (thanks to my wonderful boyfriend's wonderful mother), a Bruschi jersey that I commandeered from my brother, a pair of sweatpants, a koozie, hand painted glasses (painted by yours truly--if you want one, just ask), 2 blankets, and a sweatshirt. Obsessed? To put it bluntly, HELL YES. But no one can say that I don't love the Pats! Now, this is not to say that owning a particular team's gear makes you a fan. IT DOESN'T!

..which leads me to my last one..and this one is directed at the ladies:

The only team apparel owned is pink or any other non-team color (see picture).

I can't explain how much this pisses me off. When the hell did the Patriots become powder blue and the Bengals become "guava"? Oh that's right, NEVER! The Manning and Palmer jerseys actually have rhinestones on them and are called, "glitter jerseys." If you are wearing a jersey (sweatshirt, t-shirt, etc.) that isn't a team's true colors and/or has been attacked by a bedazzler, you aren't a true fan, you just wear it because you think it "looks cute."

If you happen to see this kind of behavior, I beg of you to call them out. Humble them. Put them in their place. Do something to stop this ridiculous behavior. Especially you ladies, if you are a true football fan and you see another woman acting a damn fool and disgracing other female fans with her lack of true fan-ship, declare shenanigans on her ass and expose her for what she is.

If I have failed to list something and you believe it should be on here, please leave a comment!

The Holidays Fill My Time

2009-12-04T11:58:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's been a while. Yes I'm incredibly lazy. I also got a new computer for my birthday (a very SEXY titanium MacBook Pro) and it's finally December, which means I have gone all Christmas crazy.

I was beginning to think that I was just going to forget about my blog and just stop doing it but then I got an email about some site featuring it and someone else has become a follower, so I figured I shouldn't just give up on it. The thing about most of my posts is that they take me a while to write. Since I am not OK with posting crap that isn't correct, I double check a lot of my information.

With that being said, I will begin posting again shortly. Here are few things you should do to keep yourself occupied:

Go see The Blindside. I saw it the day it came out and LOVED it. I also recommend you read the book since it has more factual information and goes into more detail than the movie could.
Finish your Christmas shopping. I pretty much have.
Bake. Remember, I'm a woman.
Find me a real job. That would be AWESOME and greatly appreciated. I have a bachelors in Psych and would LOVE to do research (preferably on sports) and I have experience doing it.
With the NFL having games on Thursdays (and soon on Friday and Saturday), there is football on almost EVERY day.

That should keep you occupied until I write (it really shouldn't be too long)

RIP Uga VII

2009-11-20T23:43:00.001-05:00

On Thursday, Georgia's beloved mascot, Uga VII (nicknamed Loran's Best) died of heart-related causes. At only 4 years old, this was only his second season with the team. His overall record was 16-7 (.696 pct).

With his death being so sudden, there is no time to find a replacement before tomorrow's game against Kentucky, and UGA will play without a mascot. A wreath will be laid on his doghouse that is on the field's sideline.

Like the Ugas before him, he will be buried in a mausoleum near the entrance of Georgia's stadium.
RIP Uga.

nfl week 10 recap

2009-11-18T15:13:00.001-05:00

You know what happened.

I'm still trying to recover from the incident on Sunday night. Since I refuse to watch any of the ESPNs or the NFL network until there is something else for everyone to talk about, I don't know what's going on this week with football. Nor do I care.

I'm not mad at Belichick, he made the right call. I'm mad at Maroney. On the list of "Things You Just Do Not Do," fumbling the ball in the endzone is in the top 3. While I'm mad at Maroney, I will not turn on the team or individual players..like the fickle Jets fans do. I'm directing the rage that is boiled up inside me at all the god damn Belichick and Patriots haters who have had a god damn field day with this. I'm also directing it at ALL the people who believe that Peyton Manning is the second coming of christ. I'm not saying he isn't an amazing future hall of famer. He definitely is. I'm just so sick of everyone acting like he is god's gift to football. With all of those people with their heads up Manning's ass, including Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, I'm surprised they even saw the game. I wonder if Michaels and Collinsworth have back problems.

Now, onto the person I am going to direct the majority of my rage towards: Jay Mariotti. You may ask, why,he had nothing to do with the game. Correct, he didn't. But...he had the audacity to make a comparison to BILL BUCKNER! How DARE you slander Belichick's name by placing it in the same sentence as that man! You son a bitch. Losing a REGULAR season game is NOTHING compared to losing game 6 in the World Series. Jay, are you outside your retarded ass mind? Furthermore, Belichick is still a genius when it comes to coaching football and the true Pats fans still have the "In Belichick We Trust" mentality. According to statistics, the Pats had a better chance of winning the game by going for it than by punting.

Mariotti's article is called "Spygate to Stupidgate: Belichick's Blunders." Spygate? Really? Mariotti and Joey Porter should really figure out a way to get over that (and themselves), especially since it was 2 years ago. Don't they have better things to worry about? If I can try and get over what happened in the Superbowl that year (I really, truly, hate the Manning family), they should be able to get over "Spygate." Also, "Stupidgate." Are you 5? Your creativity astounds me.

I've got a few suggestions for you, Jay:
1. Instead of making asinine comparisons, check the stats before you go and spew bullshit.
2. Focus on your 4-5 Bears and the 5 interceptions Cutler threw against the 49ers.
3. Die a very painful death in a deep dark hole.

Bitter? Yes, I'm god damn bitter. I hope the Pats run up the score on the Jets on Sunday and make Rex Ryan cry some more.

NFL Week 9 Recap

2009-11-11T13:19:00.002-05:00

Delayed..I know..I've been busy conducting a little research of my own about women's sports apparel (can you tell I need a real job?!).

Anyway..

I actually picked this week in pigskin pick 'em but completely forgot to post them. I would have posted them Sunday morning like last week, but my boyfriend and I decided to go to ESPNZone in NYC and watch the games there. If you have the opportunity to go to an ESPNZone to watch football, I highly recommend it. I would definitely say get there early (we got there at 12) and sit at the bar. If you sit at a table, there is a $10 per person per hour minimum. I.e. every person at the table has to spend $10 for every hour you are there. There is no minimum at the bar and you can still see all the games and order food. The cool things about the tables are that most of them have little tvs that you can tune to whatever game you want. Also, they have lazy boys in the front, facing the tvs (they have the same rules as the tables).

While they play all the games, they have 2 HUGE screens. Luckily, the Pats games was played on one of the big screens (with sound!). Due to that, I definitely did not pay a whole lot of attention to the other games at 1 (except the Indy-Houston game, which was being played on the other big screen).

Right so here are the results (my pick is in bold, the winner is in italics):

Washington at Atlanta, 31-17
Washington still sucks. A lot.

Arizona at Chicago,41-21
Warner went from throwing 5 interceptions last week against the Panthers to 5 touchdowns this week.

Baltimore at Cincinnati, 17-7
What the hell Baltimore? You just beat Denver. Anyway, here is my favorite part of the game:

Houston at Indianapolis, 20-17
I really wanted Houston to win. Not only because I picked them or because the Pats play them on Sunday, but because there was the most obnoxious woman at the bar cheering for the Colts. She screamed over every single little thing and by the end I, and most everyone else within earshot, aka the tri-state area, wanted to cut out her voice box. Girls like her give other female football fans a bad name.

Miami at New England, 27-17
For someone who couldn't shut the hell up during the week, Joey Porter was awfully quiet during the game.

Yes, that is a whole bunch of zeros. He did a whole lot of NOTHING. I'll quote the Boston Herald, "The best move Joey Porter made [Sunday] was out a side door." Oh yes, and Brady had his third straight game (27th overall) throwing for more than 300 yards. I just hope Porter runs his mouth again before the next game.

Green Bay at Tampa Bay, 38-28
Wow. I know Tampa Bay HATES the creamsicle uniforms and swore that this is the only game they would wear them because they despise them so much but hey, they seemed to help. If I were TB, I'd totally bring them back for the rest of the season.

Kansas City at Jacksonville, 24-21
Seriously, who cares about this game? I know no one in Jacksonville does.

Detroit at Seattle, 32-20
The Lions need to learn how to close. End of story.

Carolina at New Orleans, 30-20
They can start out in front or come back from behind..New Orleans is just damn good.

San Diego at New York Giants, 21-20
Hooray. This just makes me so happy. It continues to prove that the Giants were overrated. I didn't really get a chance to see the game and I left ESPNZone before the game ended and in retrospect, I really wish I hadn't. There were SO many Giants fans there (obviously since we were in NYC) and I would have loved to see their reaction when Phillip Rivers went all PHILLIP RIVERS.

Tennessee at San Francisco, 34-27
The 49ers restored order in the world by proving to us again that they are..the 49ers. They confused people, including myself, at the beginning of the season by going 3-1 in the first four games but now that they have lost 4 in a row, including this loss to the now 2-6 Titans, they appear to be back to their old selves.

Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia, 20-16
I really don't care about this game. I was exhausted on Sunday and went to bed before the game was over.

Pittsburgh at Denver, 28-10
The Steelers' fans are ridiculously dedicated. I'm also glad that Ryan Clark didn't play..I don't even know why people even acted like he would. Roethlisberger is really good. Really good. Also, let's welcome back former Patriot, Jet, and Chief, Ty Law, who was just signed to the Broncos two days before the game.

So yea, I suck at picking. I'll post my picks for Week 10 later in the week so everyone can pick the opposite of what I pick.

Girls are violent too!

2009-11-06T10:33:00.004-05:00

Yes, I know, it's soccer, but since I'm both an American and English citizen, this could technically be considered as football. Anyway, as a former "football" player, I couldn't not post this. Just watch.

How the hell did the ref or linesmen not catch this? Seriously, Helen Keller could have seen it. I really hope everyone, especially the New Mexico coach and Elizabeth Lambert's family, saw this on Sports Center last night. This is just ridiculous. While punching someone in the back isn't uncommon in soccer, yanking someone down by his/her hair, like what Lambert did to #21 Kassidy Shumway's, is. I've had girls grab my feet and yank me down as I ran by, but no girl has ever given me whiplash. I'm surprised there wasn't a fight. If I were Shumway, I would have tackled Lambert and beaten the shit out of her...or I would have pulled what a girl on my club team did once: when we were shaking hands at the end of the game, a girl on my team punched a girl in the face instead of shaking her hand.

Who says girls aren't violent?

NFL Week 8 Recap

2009-11-05T13:26:00.003-05:00

I started this post on Monday morning and have been busy. Oops.

Anyway, what we learned this week is that you should NEVER listen to my picks. I really shouldn't have started up again with pigskin pick 'em. So here is how I did. My picks are in bold, the winners are in italics:
I'm not going to say a whole lot about some games because I didn't care much about them.

Houston at Buffalo, 31-10
I don't give a damn about either team. So, I don't give a damn about this game.

Cleveland at Chicago, 30-6
Anderson is AWFUL. I'm not sure how else to put it. He completed 6/17 passes for 76 yards and 2 interceptions. How is he even allowed on the sidelines? More importantly, why is he playing? Mangini must have a HUGE man-crush on Derek Anderson. If I was Brady Quinn, I would take Anderson out. Push him down the stairs, give him a concussion, poison him, run him over, hire a hit man, something like that. That may sound extreme but the other option is to perform sexual acts on Mangini. ::Shudder::

Seattle at Dallas, 38-17Let's hear it for the Cowboys' Jersey boy, Miles Austin. Romo has found a new toy. Austin scored a touchdown for the third game in a row and led the team in receiving with 61 yards. Other than that, both Hasselbeck and Romo had good games. I would write more but I don't really care about this game.

St. Louis at Detroit, 17-10

After a pathetic loss to the Rams, Lions fans are back to this:

San Francisco at Indianapolis, 18-14The Colts really do hate playing at home.

Miami at New York Jets, 30-25
Wow. I think it's fair to say Jets fans no longer believe that Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez are no longer going to lead them to the promise land.

Denver at Baltimore, 30-7
Definitely didn't see this one coming.

New York Giants at Philadelphia, 40-17
Ha. Hahahaha. I seriously couldn't contain myself on Sunday. By the time I switched to the game (I was mainly watching the Jets game) the Eagles had already scored a touchdown. Everytime I checked, the Eagles either had the ball or had just scored. Eli had 2 interceptions. What does this prove? The Giants were painfully overrated. Once they started playing real teams, their true colors showed.

Jacksonville at Tennessee, 30-13
With Tennessee and St. Louis finally getting a win this week, it leaves Tampa Bay as the only winless team left. Tennessee really owes Chris Johnson. Like really really owes him. He had more yards than Vince Young did (Johnson had 228 and Young had 125).

Oakland at San Diego, 24-16
Oh Oakland, just give up. Your coach not only beats up his assistant coach (allegedly) but has a history of abusing ex wives and girlfriends. Oh yea and on top of that, he's a complete idiot. Hey Cable, remember how you benched JaMarcus Russell last week? What could Bruce Gradkowski possibly have done that made you decide to play Russell? Even after Russell showed his ineptitude on Sunday, throwing 109 yards and 1 interception, Cable still said, "He seemed very much to be in control." Well now, this just helps to prove that there is no hope in sight for the Raiders.

Minnesota at Green Bay, 38-26
The only highlight I really care about:

Yes, Favre won. Duh. Poor Aaron Rodgers. Sacked for 6 times. Can Green Bay do something about that. That poor guy spends more time on the ground than on his feet.

Carolina at Arizona, 34-21
The Cardinals cannot figure out if they are good or not. The Panthers wanted revenge for last year's divisional playoffs and they got it. Warner threw 5 interceptions and fumbled the ball away, which is exactly what Delhomme during the game last year. I think that's karma.

Atlanta at New Orleans, 35-27
I wasn't actually able to watch most of this game because my friend's bf was being a dick and she wanted to watch the Yankees-Phillies game. Yes, I'm an amazing friend. I know. I'm glad the Saints won. I really like them and couldn't be happier to see them finally succeed. New Orleans could use something positive. This also helped to further prove that the Saints are a force.

NFL Week 8 Picks

2009-11-01T13:00:00.005-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween. I went out on Friday night and apparently going out without a coat (it didn't go with my costume), being in a bar with a bunch of people (who were probably sick), and weakening my immune system by having a few drinks, was not a good idea and I have gotten sick. I spent yesterday in bed, drinking tea and watching college football. Originally, I had planned to write a post about my NFL picks this morning. I assumed that with the extra hour of sleep I would get from turning the clocks back, I would be able to get up in time and do it. I was wrong. I still feel like crap and woke up feeling like there is a vice clamped on my head.

Since kickoff starts in less than 15 minutes, I'm just going to list my picks without really giving reasons behind them. To be honest, they aren't exactly interesting picks anyway. Picks in bold.

(4-3) Houston at (3-4) Buffalo

(1-6) Cleveland at (3-3) Chicago

(2-4) Seattle at (4-2) Dallas

(0-7) St. Louis at (1-5) Detroit:GO LIONS!!

(3-3) San Francisco at (6-0) Indianapolis

(2-4) Miami at (4-3) New York Jets: This game was actually hard to pick. I know the wildcat offence is hard to stop, especially for the Jets, but I feel that the Jets are still mad about losing to Miami and they are at home and coming off a huge win last week. More importantly, what will Sanchez get delivered to the sidelines today?

(6-0) Denver at (3-3) Baltimore: Yup, going against the home team here. I think Denver definitely has this game.

(5-2) New York Giants at (4-2) Philadelphia: I seriously don't know who to pick here. I despise both teams but I guess I have to pick someone. The Giants are coming off a huge loss last week where Manning had an awful game and the Eagles are at home. That's how I made my decision. Also, god help Philadelphia if the Eagles and the Phillies lose tonight.

(3-3) Jacksonville at (0-6) Tennessee: Yes, the Titans are coming off a bye week and the Jags are inconsistent but I don't think that will matter much.

(2-5) Oakland at (3-3) San Diego

(4-36-1) Minnesota at (4-2) Green Bay: You have no idea how much I want Green Bay to win this game. I, sadly, don't think they will.

(2-4) Carolina at (4-2) Arizona

(4-2) Atlanta at (6-0) New Orleans

Ok, off to watch the games!

Rutgers' Tim Brown's game winning catch is bittersweet

2009-11-01T00:22:00.000-04:00

Today's game between Rutgers and UConn was definitely an emotional one. Yes, both teams are in the Big East and those games are always a big deal, especially with Rutgers looking for it's first conference win. What really made it emotional was that it was UConn's first home game since the death of their junior cornerback, Jasper Howard.

I think almost everyone has heard about what happened but incase you live under a rock: 20 year old, father-to-be, Jasper Howard was stabbed on October 18th outside of a school dance. There was fight and in an attempt to help break it up, was stabbed in the abdomen. A team mate held him while another one tried to apply pressure to the wound but by the time he was rushed to the hospital, he was pronounced dead.

After falling just short of being #23 West Virginia on the road last week, today's game became even more important. Adding to the emotion behind this game is that Howard's best friend from childhood is Rutgers' wide receiver, #2, Tim Brown.

Before the game started, there were multiple tributes to Howard. As you can see in the picture to the left, fans wore t-shirts and held up cards, both with Howard's number 6 on them. Additionally, while signs are usually banned from the stadium, fans were permitted to have signs to honor Howard. The marching band, like the fans, wore the #6. The Huskies donned stickers with Howard's initials on their helmets, while the Scarlet Knights wore "6" on theirs. Andre Dixon and Kashif Moore held Howard's jersey and helmet as they led the to the field. Howard's jersey and helmet will be on the sidelines of every game for the rest of this season. There was also a moment of silence in honor of Howard.

The game was pretty even, with Rutgers leading for pretty much the whole game after returning the opening kick off for a touch down. When UConn scored at the beginning of the 4th quarter, they went for the two point conversion. While they got it, the refs ruled (I think, incorrectly) that lineman, Mike Ryan, was ineligible and so UConn settled for an extra point. Then, with 38 seconds left, UConn scored a touchdown to take the lead. At this point, I assumed the game was over and actually walked away from the television. Dumb move. With 22 seconds left, Tim Brown scored on an 81 yard pass to win the game for Rutgers; the final score was 28-24.

This had to be bittersweet. After the game, Brown talked about his emotions surrounding the game, his friend, and his game winning catch. "First of all, he would be mad for scoring a touchdown on him. He was a competitor and like I said, we talked about this game all summer. It would have been a great win for me to just get bragging rights back home."

“I played for him. I dedicate this win to him."

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T18:04:00.000-04:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN
I hope everyone is enjoying their Halloween watching college football.

I'm busy watching the Florida-Georgia game right now but I will write about the today's games later.

The Blindside.

2009-10-30T19:01:00.005-04:00

With the movie coming out in about a month, I've decided to read the book prior to seeing the movie. For all of you who don't know, The Blind Side by Michael Lewis includes the story of Michael Oher, the current right tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. His story is absolutely heart breaking. The book opens with the Redskins-Giants game on November 18, 1985. If you know football, you know what happened in this game. Need a refresher? Play the video below. After watching the first few seconds, move forward to around 54 seconds to see it in slow motion. That would be Lawrence Taylor giving Joe Theismann a comminuted compound fracture and ending Theismann's career.

Nice way to begin a book, right? Besides just being about Michael Oher, it gives some nice insight into the inner workings and history of football.

I highly suggest everyone go and read the book if you haven't already!

NFL week 7 recap: The Good, the Bad, and the Inconsistent

2009-10-28T01:04:00.002-04:00

As promised, I'm writing. I have sadly abandoned doing spreads (Brian and I just sort of stopped-he got really busy). I also, after having an appalling week 5 on pigskin pick 'em, sort of forgot to pick week 6 and 7 (I'll pick it up this week). Since I can't brag about go into how I did, I'll just give a recap.

The Good: Colts, Saints, Patriots, Bengals (never thought I would write that)
The Bad: Browns, Bucs, Carolina, Redskins, Rams, Titans (I know they had a bye, but I'm 100% sure that if they had played, they would have lost)
Inconsistent: Bears, 49ers, Chargers, Houston

Green Bay @ Cleveland, 31-3, Green Bay:
How do you not sack Aaron Rodgers? Even the Lions and the Rams sacked Rodgers. Nope instead of sacking him, the Browns allowed Rodgers to get 246 yards and 3 touchdowns with only 20 attempts. I'll let Captain Obvious (aka Derek Anderson) explain the Browns,“We aren’t good right now. That’s it. Period.”
With 12 completions for 99 yards and a pick during the game (since Anderson took Brady Quinn's spot, he has had 60 completions for 605 yards and 7 picks) it definitely looks like Mangini made the right choice by benching Quinn. Why Mangini was even hired at all still confuses me.

San Francisco @ Houston, 24-21, Houston:
Look here San Francisco, you are either good or you aren't. Instead of being either, they live in the grey area between the two-sometimes we're good and sometimes we forget how to play. Must be frustrating to be a 49ers fan. Hey Mangini, please study Mike Singletary. He actually knows when to replace a QB. After a horrendous first half by Shaun Hill (6/11 for 45 yards) and being down 21-0, Singletary remembered Alex Smith and he did damn good for playing only 2 quarters. He threw 15/22 for 206 yards and 3 touchdowns (all to Vernon Davis). Smith might have led the 49ers to a victory if Eugene Wilson hadn't intercepted the ball on 4th down. Even so, we'll see if Hill starts next week.

San Diego @ Kansas City, 37-7, San Diego:
Like the 49ers, the Chargers can't decide if they are good or not. For this game, Phillip Rivers went all PEYTON MANNING (say that in LL Cool J's voice) while Matt Cassel went all (list your favorite BAD QB here, also in LL's voice) and threw 3 picks. Cassel was right when he said, "It's going to be a hard film to watch."

Indianapolis @ St. Louis, 42-6, Indy:
The Rams suck. So incredibly bad. To quote Rams running back Steven Jackson, "We don't know how to win a game right now." You got that right. It doesn't help that Peyton Manning and the Colts are very good.

New England vs Tampa Bay, 35-7, New England:
I'm sure this amazing game will inspire the Brits to watch more of our "strange version of football." I seriously don't know why the NFL continues to do this. Our football won't catch on there and their football (soccer) won't catch on here. Just stop. Anyway, with 5 interceptions during the game (Brady had 2, Johnson had 3), they must think interceptions are a common occurrence, which I guess they were this weekend. The Pats didn't look amazing (I'll chalk it up to jet-lag and too many scones) and the Bucs were awful as usual. I guess my expectations were a little high coming off last week's massacre of the Titans but I thought the Pats would demoralize the Bucs. I think the Pats just didn't care about the game, which I can't blame them for since no one else did. When it comes to the Bucs, Sammie Stroughter has it right, "We need to work on fundamentals — tackling, catching, blocking. Everything.”

Minnesota @ Pittsburgh, 27-17, Pittsburgh:
This game made me very happy. While I could have watched it, I was busy watching NE play across the pond (side note: did anyone count how many times "across the pond" was used during the game? I'm guessing somewhere near 15.) All I can say is, finally. Finally, the Vikings lost and finally, Favre showed his age. The Vikings had no business being undefeated. Absolutely none. Viking fans, welcome to the world of the real Brett Favre. I guess it's better that you were yanked out of your fantasy world now instead of in the playoffs. You know you should be 4-3 anyway.

Buffalo @ Carolina, 20-9, Buffalo:
Here are some stats from the game for you:
Carolina: 20 first downs and 425 total yards. Time of possession: 34:40.
Buffalo: 9 first downs and 167 total yards. Time of possession: 25:20.
From looking at that, you would have guessed that the Bills won. So what happened? Delhomme threw 3 interceptions. Nice job there Jakey boy. You're lucky that there were other awful quarterbacks playing on Sunday.

NY Jets @ Oakland, 38-0, NY Jets:
The result of this game makes last week's scores retroactively funnier. While blowing out the Raiders this week may take the bad taste out of the mouths of Jets' fans, it does not remove their pathetic performance in week 5 and 6. I didn't watch a lot of the game, but from what I saw, Sanchez must feel a whole lot better after this week. He definitely needed a game like this. As for the Raiders, I think Richard Seymour pretty much sums up the game, “I don’t think we could have beaten an Oakland high school team today.” Bet you he wishes he was still back in New England. Oh yea, and JaMarcus Russell is not only bad but stupid. Apparently he didn't see his benching coming since he was quoted as saying, "It was kind of shocking to me at first." Look on the bright side JaMarcus, now that you know hotdogs can be delivered to the sidelines (see video below), I guess the bench doesn't seem so bad. See, there is a silver lining to everything.

Chicago @ Cincinnati, 45-10, Cincy:
What we learned on Sunday is NOT to make Cedric Benson angry. You will not like him when he's angry. Just ask the Bears. Benson had 189 yards rushing, which was 5.4 times more rushing yards than the Bears had all game. That, mixed with Palmer's 233 yards, 5 touch downs, and no interceptions, lead to this blow out that no one saw coming. This win, along with the win against the Steelers, the Bengals have made a very large statement that they are no longer the "Bungels."

Atlanta @ Dallas, 37-21, Dallas:
Not going to lie, I don't give a damn about this game. I didn't watch it (not that I could have) and I don't really give much of a damn about Dallas winning. I would have liked it the Falcons won simply because I don't like the Cowboys but oh well. Romo had a decent game and Ryan didn't. The Cowboys won and the Falcons didn't. The End.

New Orleans @ Miami, 46-34, New Orleans:
This game truly proved that the Saints are a force to be reckoned with. Being down 14 at half, they came to not only win, but cover the spread as well. I couldn't watch the game but I'm sure it was absolutely amazing to see, especially if you are a Saints fan. You know what also makes the Saints a force? The fact that everyone the Saints have played (beaten), excluding the Eagles, have lost their next game. Good news for the Jets and hopefully the Pats.

Arizona @ NY Giants, 24-17, Arizona:
This game made me happy. So very happy. What made it better was that my dad was at the game and he is a Giants fan (FOR NO GOOD REASON!). Also, I don't think I could have dealt with my friends if the Giants and the Yankees won. They would have been unbearable. Anyway, Manning threw 3 interceptions (it really was the weekend for interceptions) and 1 touchdown. That should ruin his confidence for a while.

Philadelphia @ Washington, 27-17, Philadelphia:
Jesus tap dancing christ the Redskins' offense is completely inept.

RWWF Update

2009-10-27T01:08:00.001-04:00

First and foremost, you may have noticed my lack of posting lately. I know I've apologized before, but I'm going to do it again. Sorry :(

Between working part-time, trying to find a real job, and sleeping (I love my sleep), I haven't really put enough time towards my blog. I promise this will change, even if that means I lose a little sleep. Also, I don't want to give off the impression that I am a HUGE slacker and so I want you to know that I actually have been working on posts but they are all in draft form as of now. Currently I am working on two large posts: How to Spot a Fake Football Fan and the Worst NFL Jerseys

I'm totally open to contributions, so if you can think of a truly awful NFL jersey (past or current) or blatant tell-tail signs (or subtle ones) that someone is a fake sports fans (things that do/wear/say) please e-mail me (or just leave a comment here). I'll totally give you credit/shout out in the post as well. Also, if you have ideas for fun lists or posts like that, let me know.

You also may have noticed that I changed around the layout and design. Do you like it? Hate it? Don't give a damn? If you have any ideas, I'm open to them.

There is a nice little widget on the side for my site on Bloggers Choice Awards. I have 11 votes. If you like the site, please vote. It takes a second to sign up and they don't send you any annoying emails after you do. If you have a blog up there, let me know and I'll vote for it.

The last thing, as I said, I will write more. I will totally become a writing machine but knowing that people actually read this helps push me to write. If you read my blog, please become a follower (click the little "Follow" button on the side). If you like the blog, tell your friends. Tell your rents. If your granny has a computer, tell her too. That is, if they like football and would appreciate a woman giving her little witty opinions about it.

If you have a blog of your own and you read mine, comment on a post and I'll probably end up linking yours on my site.

I think that is it for updates!

Bulls**t Championship Series

2009-10-22T21:26:00.006-04:00

I meant to write this a while ago and it has been sitting as a draft for over 2 weeks so I finally decided to finish writing it. I need to step it up on my blogging and I promise I will. Right, so enough with my apologizing...

I HATE THE BCS!

Why? Because the BCS is GARBAGE.

You may notice that I took down the NCAA rankings widget a while ago and replaced it with the NCAA scoreboard. I should have done that from the beginning.

The rankings are so skewed that it pains me to look at them. Since many people don't understand how the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) works, I'll give a crash course.

The current (if you want a detailed history, by all means, look it up on your own) BCS formula is made up of three components: two human polls and a computer ranking.

With the human polls, the voting members construct their own top 25 list. Each team receives 1-25 points in reverse order of the way they are ranked (25th place team gets 1 point, the 1st place team gets 25 points). The human polls are the Harris Interactive Poll and the Coaches Poll.

The Harris Poll, which replaces the AP Poll (Associated Press decided it didn't want to have a part of this asinine formula any longer). A team's score is divided by 2,850, which is the maximum number of points any team can receive if all 114 voting members rank the same team as Number 1. In the Coaches Poll, (aka the USA Today Poll) a team's score is divided by 1,475, which is the maximum number of points any team can receive if all 59 voting members rank the same team as Number 1.

The computer rankings uses six ranking systems (Anderson & Hester, Richard Billingsley, Colley Matrix, Kenneth Massey, Jeff Sagarin and Peter Wolfe). Each ranking provider is calculated by dropping the highest and lowest ranking for each team and then dividing the remaining total by 100, the maximum possible points. Also, since certain teams have easier schedules than other teams, ::cough cough Penn State:: the computers take into account schedule strength.

So now that you "understand" the BCS, let me explain the biggest reason I hate the BCS (the real reason for writing this rant). It is biased. Currently, Florida is ranked #1. They have been #1 since the pre-season polls. Last Saturday, Florida BARELY beat unranked Arkansas. Tebow made a 69-yard drive in the final minutes of the game, setting up the 27-yard field goal that kicker, Caleb Sturgis, made with 9 seconds left; Florida won 23-20. Now, later that day, #2 Alabama beat #22 South Carolina 20-6. So I ask you (and by you, I mean the people who vote for this thing), what exactly makes Florida so much better? 49 coaches ranked Florida #1! 49! Were these 49 people too busy to look at what happened Saturday before voting? On Saturday night I told my boyfriend that Florida would still be ranked #1 even though they shouldn't and I was right. Yes, I love being right, but this time, it pissed me off.

While I am discussing how biased this whole thing is, let me mention Ohio State. THEY AREN'T THAT GOOD! They just lost to Purdue and they are ranked #19. This is ri-god-damn-diculous. They haven't impressed me since they barely beat Navy the first week. But they will stay ranked. Why? Because they are almost always ranked and people just vote for them simply out of habit.

I could go on and on and on about how I hate the BCS and reasons it should be removed (even Obama thinks it should go!) but if you read this far, you know how it works and therefore, YOU could go on and on about how stupid it is.

Instead of feeling better, this has just made me more irritated and I no longer want to continue writing about it. The only thing I have let to say is, I WANT COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS (post on this will come soon)!!!

What a nice way to spend my Sunday

2009-10-18T22:56:00.007-04:00

Today could not have gotten any better. The Patriots ruined the Titans (I don't want to hear anything about the Titans being 0-4; Pittsburgh, Houston, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and the NY Jets didn't even come close to what the Pats did today), Brady threw 6 TDs (5 in the second quarter), Brady and Moss actually appear to have gotten past their differences, and Brady is rust free. All he needed was some snow.

Oh yea, and just to make my day better, the Jets lost to the Bills, the Giants got blown out by the Saints (I hold grudges and so therefore, I hate the Giants), and the Eagles lost to the Raiders (I can't stand the Eagles because I live in New Jersey and am surrounded by so many of their fans and they signed a convicted dog killer--oh yea, and they throw snowballs at Santa).

UFL

2009-10-16T21:52:00.003-04:00

First and foremost, I've come to terms to with what happened last weekend (with ALL my teams) and realized that the reason I can get hurt by weekends like that is because they are so uncommon. I mean hey, I could be a Detroit fan. The Jets loss also helped.

Moving along to the reason for this blog: the UFL.

...and Former Stars Come to Die

I had meant to write a post about the UFL (United Football League) when it kicked off on October 8th, but it slipped my mind. On Wednesday night, my boyfriend and I stumbled across a UFL game on Versus and after watching some of it, I realized it was a sign that I really had to write something about it.

Let me start by saying, I don't think the UFL will last very long. I would say that there won't be a second season but the Commissioner confirmed that LA will get a team for the 2010 season, so perhaps a second season has already been decided. As of now, there are four teams: the California Redwoods, Florida Tuskers, Las Vegas Locomotives, and New York Sentinals. I know I rip on mascots a lot, but I can't help myself here. Who the hell came up with these mascots? A redwood? Taking a page out of Stanford's book I see. I must be a California thing. The Tuskers doesn't bother me as much since their logo is a menacing warthog looking thing. Even so, I still could have come up with better. The Locomotives-you think a choo choo train is scary? It's not. Last, the sentinels. For those of you who are wondering, a sentinel is pretty much a guy who keeps guard. None of these things, except maybe the pissed off warthog, is badass or strikes fear in me.

Wednesday's game was between the Florida Tuskers and the Las Vegas Locomotives; the Tuskers beat the Locos 29-15, incase you care. This game was the first kicked off week 2 of a 7 week season. Yes, that's right, 4 teams and 7 weeks, 8 weeks when you include the championship game, which will be Friday, November 27. These guys even get a bye week.

More entertaining than the schedule are the players who make up the rosters for these teams, coaches included. It's actually what inspired me to write something about this. It's sort of like the NFL's version of "Where Are They Now?"

I'll go through it team by team:
Tuskers:
The starting QB is Brooks Bollinger. If you are a Jets, Vikings, or Cowboys fan, you may recognize his name. He started as a Jet (drafted in 2003 in round 6), was traded to the Vikings in 2006, signed by the Cowboys two years later, and then signed a pre-season contract with the Lions at the beginning of this season but was released after their last pre-season game.
The leading rushers are former Broncos, Tatum Bell and Michael Pittman. Bell's reign to fame is as a Bronco during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Pittman started as a Cardinal but after 4 seasons, he went to the Buccaneers, who he helped beat the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. He spent last season as a Bronco after being signed as a free agent following the 2007 season, but was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury after 8 games.
The kicker is Matt Bryant, who is known for his time as a Buccaneer. He kicked a 62 yard field goal (the record for longest field goal in regular is 63 yards-so this is quite a feat) as time expired, giving the Bucs the victory over the Eagles. The next day was declard "Matt Bryant Day" in Tampa.
Jim Haslett is the head coach. He was the Saints' coach from 2000-2005 and won NFL Coach of the Year in 2000. Last season, after Scott Linehan was fired, Haslett was the interim head coach of the Rams. After
he went 2-10, the Rams decided to go in a "new direction."

Redwoods:
The backup QB for the Redwoods is Mike McMahon, who played for the Lions from 2001-2004 and the Eagles in 2005. I would say he spent 2007 playing in the CFL (Canadian Football League) but that would be lying. He was a starter for 2 games (after the starter was injured) and then spent the rest riding the pine and getting cut. He is actually so bad now that he backs up Shane Boyd, the starting QB. There is no reason why you would know his name unless you watch the CFL or NFL Europe (I don't actually know if he actually got playing time in those leagues and I'm not going to bother looking it up either).
Yea, that's about all the players on the Redwoods you may have heard of.
Dennis Green is the Redwoods' head coach. He has bounced around a whole bunch of teams (Dayton, Iowa, Stanford, 49ers, Northwestern, Minnesota, and the Cardinals) but is best known for his post game speech rant in on October 16, 2006, as head coach of the Cardinals:

Las Vegas Locomotives:
The Locos just LOVE former star QBs:
J.P. Losman. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I don't think I need to go into who he is, especially if you are a Bills fan. When I saw him Wednesday night, I could not stop laughing. That's what you get for throwing more interceptions than touchdowns (33-34). Former 49er, Buc, Titan, and Cardinal, Tim Rattay backs up Losman. Remember him? He was the one responsible for the biggest comeback in Bucs' history and he's the only QB in NFL history to throw 3 consecutive passes for touchdowns.
Running back DeDe Dorsey, formally of the Colts and Bengals, is now a Locomotive. This is the second guy with a Super Bowl ring. You will also remember him from this season of HBO's "Hard Knocks." He had made the team but after being inactive the first game, was released. Also on the Loco's roster is Josh Scobey, former Cardinal, Seahawk, and Bill kick returner/running back. In 2003, he was the NFL leader in kick-off return yards. He also served as a team captain for Seattle in Super Bowl XL (they lost to the Steelers).
The majority of their wide receivers have spent some time in the NFL, but you probably haven't heard of them.
Jim Fassel is the head coach. He has mainly served as a Offensive/QB Coordinator (Ravens, Broncos, Raiders, and Giants) and was the Giants head coach from 1997-2003; he was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1997. Even though he resurrected Kerry Collins' career, he is probably known by Giants' fan for the 2002 playoff loss to the 49ers, despite being up 38-14 with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

New York Sentinels:
While there are a bunch of guys who have had stints in the NFL, there aren't any stand out players that most people would recognize. The only guy that caught my eye was T.J. Cottrell and that is because he is the coach's son. It's nice to see that the UFL isn't above nepotism. Speaking of Ted Cottrell, this is his first head coaching job. Up until now he has been either a defensive line or linebackers coach. It was almost a year ago (October 28th, 2008) that San Diego fired him.

The last thing I want to discuss are the differences between the NFL and UFL (I'll make it brief).

Rules:
There is NO tuck rule. Touchdown celebrations (individual or group) are permitted, both in the end zone and around the bench area. If a ball is fumbled into or out of the end zone, it will be placed at the spot of the fumble, as long as it is not recovered in the end zone. Intentional grounding is allowed. There is some ridiculous blitz rule that is going to be eliminated after this season so I'm not even going to try and explain it. All reviews are done upstairs by a replay official. Overtime is now a mixture of college and the NFL; both teams get to have possession of the ball but if the score is still tied after that, sudden-death rules apply.

Other Differences:
Instead of looking like zebras, UFL officials wear red polo shirts with black lettering and black pants. Instead of the chain crews' equipment being bright orange, they electric green. Let's me just say, they are really really ugly.

I wish I had some witty thing to end this post but I really don't. I just spent way too much time and energy writing about something I will probably never watch again.

Inconsolable.

2009-10-11T20:55:00.005-04:00

The Pats lost in overtime. The Red Sox's season is over after getting swept.

I hate the world.

Update 10/12: the Bruins lost to the Avalanche 4-3 (the only silver lining here is that they didn't give up the win, they were losing the whole game).

My hatred toward the world is directed at the entire state of Colorado and the city of LA.

God Cannot Fix Brain Damage

2009-10-10T20:38:00.001-04:00

Everyone has seen the clip of Tim Tebow smacking the back of his head on Marcus Gilbert's knee when he fell to the ground after being sacked by Taylor Wyndham during the game against Kentucky on September 26th. Since being diagnosed with a concussion, the question has been, "Will he play against LSU?" He was cleared to practice this week and the doctor said that he would check Tebow on Saturday and see how he reacted to the flight to Baton Rouge and it would be a game time decision.

Well, it has been reported that Tebow has been cleared to play in big tonight's game against LSU.

I cannot explain how stupid this decision is. Actually, the one thing dumber than clearing him is for Urban Meyer to play him, which he will; he told ESPN, "If he's ready to play, cleared to play, we're going to play him."

What the hell. Does not one person have a god damn brain down there? The doctor should be stripped of his license to practice medicine and Meyer should be fired.

This may sound a bit harsh but this kind of blatant disregard for an athlete's health makes me so incredibly angry. The trading of a player's well-being for their presence (even if it isn't 100%) in a big game is so common, not just in football. The saddest part is that this often ends up further injuring the player, leaving them out for longer. I can't help but think this happens to players with concussions significantly frequently more than other injuries.

A concussion is a serious thing. It's not a sprained ankle or a broken toe, it's a major injury. Your brain has been injured and you sort of need your brain. Like many other injuries, it takes time and rest to heal. Unlike most injuries, it's very hard to gauge when someone is fully better since there aren't a lot of visible symptoms, especially a week or so later. It's not like a sprained ankle where you can see the swelling has gone down and that the player has full mobility. Just because the person doesn't have constant headaches and they no longer look/feel like they are in the clouds, it does not mean that they are good to go.

Getting a concussion makes you more susceptible to getting another one and makes the effects of another concussion more intense and the healing time longer.

Want evidence? My college roommate was a starter on Colgate's soccer team. She got 3 concussions in less than a month because of the useless trainers and doctors at Colgate who kept clearing her because there was a playoff game coming up. Over a year later, she still had excruciating headaches and got dizzy when walking up a small flight of stairs. As I said, concussions are serious, and if not allowed to heal, become a whole lot more serious.

With all the information doctor's have today regarding concussions, it is completely inexcusable that Tebow would be cleared to play by anyone, especially someone with a medical degree. I don't care if Tebow is pleading to take snaps while doing head stands, concussions are something you don't want to take a chance with. How you feel walking around, or lightly participating in practice, is not the same as being on the field against a HUGE rival in a HUGE game. Tebow is also a tough competitor who knows how important this game is. If he had a choice, he would still play if he had a concussion, the flu, and a broken foot. For that reason alone, you can't believe everything he says if he claims he feels fine. His doctor and coach should know that.

The game has started and Tebow is indeed playing. I usually root for Tebow but this time, due to Florida caring more about this game than the health of a player, let alone their Heisman trophy winning QB, I am rooting for LSU. To be more specific, I hope LSU's defense is so good that their offense spends the majority of the game on the field.

ESPNU gave everyone the night off

2009-10-08T20:56:00.004-04:00

I'm a Colgate University alum and I also happen to live in Princeton, NJ. The logical assumption would be that when Colgate's football team came to Princeton, I would jump on the opportunity to see my alma mater play Princeton (who beat Colgate the last two times they have played). Yea, I'm not logical. I have a huge grudge against Colgate and more importantly, all my friends were busy and I had no one to go with. Plus it's cold.

Luckily, since it's a Thursday night and there are no other football games being played, it is being broadcast on ESPNU. The game is currently underway with a little less than 2 minutes left in the 1st quarter and I want to puncture my ear drums with a hot rod and gouge my eyes out with a spoon.

I'm going to write this as I watch to keep my hands busy so they don't actually carry out the violence that 2 of my senses are so desperately begging for. Princeton is 2-1 (Princeton thinks it is special and start way later than everyone else) and Colgate is 5-0 and is currently ranked #23 in the FCS D-1AA rankings. (I don't give a damn what it's now called, it's D-1AA not FCS. It's like the special-ed schools who feel they should be D-1 (everyone in the Ivy and Patriot League feel entitled to it) but don't want to tango with the big boys who play D-1A. Anyway, the announcers, Jay Walker and another annoying man, whose name I keep missing, might be the worst I have heard. Ever.

Did everyone else have the day off? I mean I know it's Colgate at Princeton but still. Next time give the interns a shot. Let me just share some of the gems that these nitwits have said up to this point:

After a Princeton player jumped offsides, "Study the play book boy, you can't jump offsides" - oh really? I didn't realize they put that in play books? I always assumed it was a rule, not a play. Silly me.

"Princeton is one of the prettiest campus, top 5" Hey, check out the Princeton Review, Colgate is ranked #1, Princeton is #7. Isn't that what interns are for. Oh that's right, they all have the night off.

So there is WR on Princeton named Andrew Kerr. The field that Colgate plays on is called "Andy Kerr Stadium." I wouldn't necessarily mention this but since Andrew Kerr made a bunch of catches and they kept saying his name, wouldn't you just offhandedly mention this? I think so. This isn't even something you need an intern for.

Oh yes, perhaps my favorite thing so far: they showed a school profile for Princeton including stuff about the football team but failed to mention the biggest thing. Princeton played in the first college football game ever. On November 6, 1869, Princeton (then the College of New Jersey) lost to Rutgers University (then Rutgers College) 6-4 in New Brunswick, NJ (where Rutgers is located). I didn't have to look that up.

Also, if I hear, "they did good" or "he did good" one more time, I will scream. Shouldn't it be a prerequisite that if you are going to be a commentator, especially for a game that has schools like Princeton and Colgate playing, that you have good grammar? Personally, I don't think that any commentator or analyst or anyone really, should be allowed to utter a word on television if their grammar isn't correct. I don't care if that makes me a snob.

On top of the amazing announcing, people at ESPN have given up on indicating who has the ball. This began pretty much right off the bat. First it always said it was Princeton's ball and now apparently no one has it. I'm surprised they are even keeping track of the time.

Update: Colgate has scored with 5 minutes to go in the 1st half. Colgate: 7 Princeton: 0
Oh christ, they just went over why Colgate's favorite number is 13. You have no idea how many times I've heard that stupid story.
Update: 36 second left in the second half and Princeton has missed their SECOND field goal. This time from like 28 yards.

Final Update: The second half just started and I've had enough. I hate Jay Walker, he is an annoying, pretentious man. I am so tempted to go over to Princeton's field (about a 5 minute drive), find him, and kick him straight in the shins. Twice. I am sick of the turnovers, the 3 and outs, the missed field goals, and the overall shitty football. These stupid ass commentators have nothing to talk about but how expensive both schools are. The Office is coming on at 9 and the Red Sox's first playoff game starts at 9:37. I am turning this crap off.

End of Game Update: The Office was amazing. It's the bottom of the 3rd and no one has scored.

Oh the game..Princeton scored at some point and tied up the game at 7 all. They had to go into 2 over times and Colgate ended up winning 21-14. Brief? Yea, like you wanted any more detail than that.

Say It Ain't So Fred!

2009-10-08T14:44:00.001-04:00

As I'm getting ready to leave for work, ESPN tells me that Fred Taylor is injured and will not play. What an awful note to go to work on.

He injuried his right ankle during his final carry against the Ravens last Sunday and needs surgery. So far this season, Taylor has had 45 carries for 201 yards and 2 touchdowns. Reports say that it is not a season ending surgery, as long as there are no complications.

I was already nervous about the game on Sunday! God damn injuries. That's it. He's the last person who can get hurt on the Patriots. I'm being serious here, no one is allowed to get injured from here on out!

Luckily, the Patriots have 6 other running backs, including Laurence Marony, Kevin Faulk, Sammy Morris, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis (I just love saying his name). Hopefully they can pick up the slack.

My brother will be crushed. He is a HUGE Fred Taylor fan. Has been since 1998 as a Jaguar. I cannot explain how excited he was when he went to the Pats. Don't worry John, he'll be back!

NFL News Update: WR edition

2009-10-08T14:14:00.002-04:00

Michael Crabtree signs with the 49ers...FINALLY
I loved Crabtree when he was at Texas Tech, I really did. But I really hate when people hold out, especially for this long over their ego. Stop being a complete drama queen. I bet he would still be holding out if the 49ers were 1-3 instead of the other way around. Then again, if they were 1-3, the 49ers might have made him an offer sooner. Who knows. Anyway, the reason that Crabtree held out to begin with was that he didn't like the five-year, $20 million ($16 guaranteed) deal the 49ers originally offered him. Many may ask, "Why the hell didn't he like this deal?" He thought he was worth more. He wanted money comparable to those drafted higher than him.

You can't see it, but I'm doing an over dramatic eye roll right now, directly at Crabtree. Yes, you ended your college career with 231 receptions for 3,127 yards and 41 touchdowns, but that was why you were picked 10th overall. Wish you had gone higher? Should have put up the numbers you did in 2007 (134 receptions for 1962 yards and 22 TDs). Hey Michael, don't forget you left early to join the draft, you could still be in college, be 3-2, unranked, and NOT MAKING A DIME! Oh yes, he also threatened that he would enter himself back into the 2010 draft instead of sign for less money. Yea, that would have totally have worked. After seeing the antics you pulled this season, teams would just be lining up to draft you..and you would be drafted higher and receive more money. Apparently, you should have stayed in college. I hope the 49ers laughed when they heard this.

So what did the drama queen finally agree to? A six-year, $32 million ($17 million guaranteed) deal with the possibility of making it a five-year, $28 million contract if he has two Pro Bowl seasons in the first 4 years. So, just to sum up what he got out of holding out, he is making roughly $1.3 million dollars more a year and is only guaranteed $1 million more. Was it worth it?

I'm sorry, and this is to play the game you love? Just shut the hell up.

Everyone is wondering if he will play on Sunday against the Falcons. It's been10 months since Crabtree has played and he is not in football shape. I can totally see Singletary, 49ers head coach, not letting Crabtree see a second of playing time on Sunday, and I wouldn't blame him.

Singletary doesn't suffer fools lightly. It was almost a year ago, during his head coaching debut, that Singletary sent Vernon Davis to the locker room with 10 minutes remaining in the game against Seattle when Davis slapped Seahawks safety, Brian Russell after a reception. Listen to what Singletary said during the post-game conference in the clip below. He got my respect after this. Because of this, I don't think Crabtree will see playing time until the 25th against Houston (the 49ers have a bye next week).

Braylon Edwards beat Lebron to NY!

Mangini has dumped his problem child onto his old team. Bitter much? Rexy doesn't see it that way. The Jets traded WR Chansi Stuckey, LB Jason Trusnik, and 2 draft choices for troubled WR Braylon Edwards. Apparently Rex Ryan is trying to put together his own Brady-Moss duo. haha.

While Jets fans are all out buying their Edwards jerseys, I'll take the time to explain why this makes me, a Pats fan, feel all warm and tingly inside. You take a huge chance with this kind of player. Yes, you have the chance of getting the next Randy Moss, but the chances of that are pretty slim. Yes, Edwards was amazing in 2007 with 80 catches for 1289 yards and 16 TDs (he was second only to Moss), but last year he didn't put up numbers close to that. He had 55 receptions with only 3 TDs; it could have been 19 TDs had he not dropped 16 balls in the end zone. Let's not forget that he held out of training camp for 13 days for more money his rookie season; we all know how I feel about that.

Now onto his behavior OFF the field.

In 2006, Edwards rented a helicopter to attend the Ohio State-Michigan game (Edwards went to Michigan) even after Romeo Crennel, then head coach, told him not to. After the game, which he was not supposed to go to to begin with, he showed up late to a team meeting. He was fined and benched for part of the next game. In August of 2008, Edward misses 3 weeks of practice due to a gash on the ankle due to "a case of horseplaying going wrong." Later that month, he was ticketed for driving his Bentley 120 mph with a passenger vomiting. In March of this year, Edwards and Donté Stallworth ran up a bill of over $3,000 at a Miami nightclub the night that Stallworth killed a pedestrian while driving drunk. Edwards said he didn't think Stallworth was drunk when he left. And of course, there is the latest incident where, on October 5, the morning after the Browns lost in OT to the Bengals, Edwards is reported to have assaulted a friend of LeBron James outside of nightclub.

What the Jets now have is an immature, egotistical, and selfish child who cares more about himself than his team. He runs the wrong pass patterns, which makes his QB look bad because they throw to the wrong spot. He wants the ball more than he wants his team to win. Funny that he wants the ball when all he seems to be able to do recently is drop it. Also, due to alleged physical altercation with LeBron's friend, he may be suspended by the NFL for a few games this season.

Rexy may think that he can keep Edwards in line and help him strive as a Jet but I think that he'll end up giving Ryan, GM Mike Tannenbaum, and Jets fans migraines. I'm all for giving someone a second chance but he seems to go looking for drama and create his own problems and I doubt being traded will humble him in the least. It may just make it worse. Let's just hope Sanchez doesn't befriend Lebron.

Sporcle

2009-10-08T00:13:00.000-04:00

For those who do not know what Sporcle is, let me introduce you to the newest way to waste time and procrastinate.

Sporcle is a site that thas all types of timed quizzes in categories that range from entertainment to religion and literature to SPORTS! Under the sports category, there are a bunch of really fun football ones.

Here are a few of my favorite:
The BCS Standings History one tests you on the top 15 of the final BSC standings since 1998. I got 158/165.
Schools with the Most Heisman Trophy Winners. I got 13/16.
Super Bowl Droughts. NFL teams with the longest Super Bowl droughts. 15/15.
Super Bowl Winners. Name all the Super Bowl winners starting from Super Bowl I. I got 43/43 but I couldn't do it in order. I need to work on that. In my defense, I'm only 23.

My personal favorite:
NFL Draft Busts. While I would have a slightly different list, I think this is simply hysterical.

There are a whole lot more. Just look around the site.

Leave a comment with what quiz you took and how you did! Just don't cheat!

NFL week 4 recap

2009-10-07T00:49:00.001-04:00

Detroit at Chicago: 48-24, Chicago
I could barely believe that this game was actually tied at half time. Too bad the Bears went into the locker room and realized they were playing the Lions and scored 17 points in the 3rd quarter. The Lions are back to their losing ways. Also, Matt Stafford got hurt in the 4th. Uh oh.

Cincinnati at Cleveland: 23-20 (OT), Cincinnati
The Bungels from the first half of week 3's game were back in action Sunday. How do you go into OT against Cleveland? Seriously. Yes, they won, but I think they should still be embarrassed. I thought Cincinnati was on their way to having a good season. I was wrong.

Oakland at Houston: 39-6, Houston
Oakland sucks. I think they will until Al Davis goes away. Sad thing is that he says that he won't retire until he wins two more Super Bowls or dies. Sucks for Oakland. He's far too mean to die.

Seattle at Indianapolis: 34-17, Indy
Seattle just isn't good. The Colts are.

Tennessee at Jacksonville: 37-17, Jacksonville
Who the hell would have guessed that the Titans would start the season 0-4? Not me, that's for sure. I guess the Jaguars really really want to stay in Jacksonville and they finally realized that the only way to get people to come to the games is the win. Personal Note: blacking out games might be one of the dumbest ideas.

NY Giants at Kansas City: 27-16, KC
Eli is hurt! While I hate to celebrate someone's injury, I hate Eli Manning, and the entire Giants team, way more.
The Giants have had a cupcake schedule so far this season, minus Dallas, though that wasn't too hard. They play Oakland in the Meadowlands this Sunday. Wouldn't want to make them work or anything. Atleast the 18th they have to go to New Orleans. I hope the Saints ruin the Giants.

Baltimore at New England: 27-21, NE
Once again, I was forced to watch this game online using atdhe.net. That's what I get for being a Pats fan in New Jersey where the Giants, Jets, and Eagles take precedent over everything. While atdhe.net is usually not too bad (there are some times when it pauses or stops for a bit), for some reason it decided to change to the Jets game with 7 minutes left in the Pats game. As I scrambled in a furious panic to find another site that streams live games, I had to watch, via NFL game center, as the Ravens marched down the field. WTF. Atleast it ended well. Brady looked pretty good, Welker was back (HOORAY!), and Brady and Moss seem to have made up.
In the 2007 season, Brady and Moss had this beautiful love affair that allowed for magical things to happen on the field. Last year, Brady got hurt and Moss felt abandoned. He looked to Cassel, but Cassel already had a huge man crush on Welker. Brady saw this and felt betrayed by Moss. Even though they have been seeing a couples therapist, there were obviously still problems. With Moss finally getting a touchdown on Sunday, I have faith that they have worked things out.
Also, while I agree that the rule about QBs is pathetic, Baltimore, stop bitching and moaning. You aren't as great as you, and lots of other people, thought you were. Get over it.

Tampa Bay at Washington, 16-13, Washington
Well one of them had to win. Washington was at home so I guess they had the advantage. Doesn't help that TB missed two field goals.

Buffalo at Miami, 38-10, Miami
So Miami definitely isn't missing Pennington. Who knew the Dolphins had this in them. Good for Chad Henne. Regardless of their record, the Dolphins aren't half bad. Don't get me wrong, the Jets will beat the hell out of the Dolphins this Monday. The Bills though, they suck. I will laugh so hard if they lose to the Browns this week.

NY Jets at New Orleans, 24-10, NO
I watched this game at Brian's (my boyfriend) house with him and his younger brother. Both huge Jets fans. My brother, a Pats fan who goes to school in New Orleans, and I were texting eachother back and forth in utter delight throughout the game. While my brother was able to cackle out loud, I could only do fist pumps in my head, especially when the commentators were taking shots at Sanchez with comments like, "Can you have a negative QB rating? Cause if so, that's where his might show up now."

Dallas at Denver, 17-10, Denver
The Broncos have arrived. God Damn, God Damn! Just as no one saw the Titans being 0-4, no one saw the Broncos being 4-0. I'm not going to lie, I'm nervous about the Pats going to Denver this week. Really nervous.

St. Louis at San Francisco, 35-0, SF
I put forth that the Rams are the Lions of last year.

San Diego at Pittsburgh, 38-28, Pitt
The Steelers really needed this win. When I turned from NBC to HBO to watch Entourage's season finale, the Steelers were winning by 21 or 28. I don't exactly remember, but I know that I felt safe that I wasn't going to miss anything. When I turned it back, it was 35-28. Apparently, I missed some things. But did you see the finale? It was totally worth it!

Green Bay at Minnesota, 30-23, Minnesota
God damn it, I hate complimenting Brett Favre, but as I said, I give credit where credit is due. On Monday night, Favre became the first quarterback to defeat all 32 teams in the NFL. While that is extremely impressive, I can't compliment him too much because, in my opinion, he should not have gone to the Vikings in the first place. Perhaps, just perhaps, that was his goal and he will go away next year. Sorry Brett, but I hold loyalty pretty high on my priorities list.

it's déjà vu all over again

2009-10-05T14:30:00.005-04:00

Before I actually get to what I want to write about, I just have to say that yesterday was great. The Patriots beat the Ravens and the Jets LOST to the Saints. Yes, it's childish but HAHA. That's it though, that's all I'm going to say.

Before you ask, yes, I do know that the Pats have to play the Saints in NOLA on MNF in November.

Moving along...

Reports have confirmed that 12-time Pro Bowler linebacker Junior Seau will, once again, come out of retirement and return to the Patriots to help them out with some veteran presence. I say once again because this would be the THIRD time he has returned. In 2006, he retired as a Charger, right after he had been traded back to them from the Dolphins. Four days later he unretired as a Patriot. He went on to have 2 great seasons with Pats but decided not to return for the 2008 season.

Well...that was, as people may remember, until the Pats became riddled with injuries, including, in particular, linebacker Adalius Thomas, and he decided to come out of retirement and help the Pats out. In early December 2008, the Pats signed Seau to replace Thomas, who had an arm injury. Seau played the last four games of the season and did a hell of a job. The Pats won all of the games Seau played in and he led the team in tackles in the game against the Cardinals. Once the season ended, Seau retired again and got a deal with Versus for a tv show called "Sports Jobs with Junior Seau" (airing on December 2).

After seeing the Pats struggle without Jerod Mayo, (who was hurt in the first game and is out for 6-8 weeks) he decided the Pats could use him and that it was time to come out of retirement, again, at the age of 40. Can't be worse then getting run over by bull, right? (see YouTube clip below). He is quoted in the Boston Herald saying, "I'd take a hit from Brandon Jacobs every day, all day, over a bull."

Late last week, Seau was asked by the Pats to get a physical. He must have passed since reports say the Pats are going re-sign him (even if Belichick won't discuss it). He won't be active to play until November. In the off season he stated that he could only give around 6 NFL games. Both of these mean he could play the November 30th game in New Orleans!

I know you are sitting there calling me a hypocrite for completely tearing apart Brett Favre for unretiring in an earlier post but there are some very significant differences between these two.

1. Seau is not coming back to play for another team (except the first time, but who can really call 4 days a retirement). He will ONLY come back in a Patriots uniform. Hey Brett Favre, that is what people call loyalty, something you know NOTHING about.

2. He is coming back to help his team out (just like last year). Not because he is sitting at home bored and has the desire to fulfill horribly selfish needs.

3. He is not toying with the media and the Pats about whether or not he will come back.

4. He is not confused and in denial about his age and what he can do. He knows he can only give the Pats about 6 good games. That is fine with me. You know your limits. Old Man River, you appear to believe that you are still full of youth, which you AREN'T, and try to play full seasons.

I'm excited that Seau is coming back. It can't hurt. Belichick won't put him in if he isn't up to snuff and if he doesn't play well in games, oh well, the Pats are where they were before. I know I'm bias because I'm a Patriots fan, but deal with it. He's not driven to come back by his ego like Favre, he is coming back to help. He doesn't seem to have a problem stepping aside when he is no longer needed, unlike Favre, who HATES not being the center of attention. People can bitch and moan about Seau coming back, I even heard someone on ESPN call him "Senior Seau," which is actually pretty funny, but I think it's great!

Blount to be reinstated?

2009-10-03T13:09:00.000-04:00

So remember LeGarrette Blount? He's the guy who flipped out on Boise St.'s Byron Hout after Oregon lost in the huge season opener. If you don't, here's the article I wrote about the whole thing (complete with video) right after it happened. Do you also remember how Blount was suspended for the remainder of the season?

Apparently you can forget the last part.

On Thursday, the campus newspaper published an apology letter from Blount asking for forgiveness. This, and Blount recently becoming a father, tugged at the heart strings enough for Oregon coach, Chip Kelly, to give Blount the opportunity to be reinstated.

When Blount was suspended, he still remained on the team and had to attend all practices and abide by team rules. As of now, he complied with those guidelines and has been attending his classes. In addition, he has been speaking with mentors like Tony Dungy.

I don't feel well, college football is on, and I wanted to post this yesterday, so instead of going on about what I feel about this, I'm just going to sum it up:
Yes, being reinstated would definitely help him in the draft next year and I think a season suspension is a little harsh for what he did. On the other hand, the decision was made and by rescinding it, I'm not sure what kind of message it sends to players. I think it would be worse if they weren't doing well and Kelly decided to bring him back. All in all, I don't really think it's that bad of an idea.

Off to lay in bed and watch football with my dog.

Miracles can happen--NFL football week 3 recap

2009-09-30T13:38:00.003-04:00

I know I should have written this Monday night but oh well, I'm writing it now. I apologize for being lazy lately. Not really sure why, but I have been, so there we go.

There were 4 miracles during week 3 of the NFL

Miracle #1: THE DETROIT LIONS F***ING WON!

has become once again!

The last time the Lions won was at home against Kansas City on Dec 23, 2007. No, the Lions didn't take down some powerhouse team (the Redskins are pitiful, especially now), but a win is win! I am happy for the Lions and their fans, lord knows they needed this win. The lions and their fans should live it up right now since they go to Chicago this week, play Pittsburgh next week, and go to Green Bay the week after. No worries though, there is hope for at least 2 wins this season since they play St Louis (who appear to want to be the 2008 Lions) at home week 8; the Lions even have a bye week before the game.

Miracle #2: Brett Favre still has talent!

Like everyone hasn't seen this clip, even if you didn't see it live. Incase you live under a rock, just watch the first 20 seconds. If you have read my earlier post about Old Man River Brett Favre, you know that I don't think very highly of him. Even so, I have to give credit where credit is due. The old man still has some talent in those old bones of his. Don't get me wrong, as good as this was, I still think he should have stayed retired and still believe he will crash and burn by the end of the season. CANNOT wait until Monday!

Miracle #3: The Steelers LOSE to the Bengals!

I know, I can't believe it either! Seriously, how did they pull this off? The Bungals everyone knows showed up and went into the 4th quarter losing 20-9. Then, in the 4th, the Bengals found a way to score 14 points! Now, the Steelers are 1-2 and the Bengals are 2-1. NO ONE could have foreseen this.

Miracle #4: No one went blind during the Seahawks game!

Here is what the Seahawks decided to wear during their game against the Bears:

Why? Who the hell saw this and went "Yes! Beautiful!" This is apparently their alternative jersey. That much neon/electric green is just plain sickening. On top of it, they wore their normal helmets, which just make the whole outfit look ugly and stupid. What, couldn't splurge for the matching helmets? Not that I want to see more of that green.

I hope anyone who watched this didn't watch it in HD. Better yet, I hope they watched it in black and white. It's seriously trying to beat Boise State's blue turf for the most heinous looking thing in football. Luckily, I could only watch this game for a few minutes. Let's hope Seattle decides to lock those up.

I've drunk the Kool-aid

2009-09-25T17:39:00.002-04:00

Bill Simmons' latest article on the 2009 Patriots, with the below picture (it's a lot bigger on ESPN), is a top story on ESPN and therefore front and center on the main page of ESPN.com with the caption, "Undeniable Truth" in big ass letters.

Ouch.

While I have the natural reflex to scream, "SCREW YOU ESPN!" at the computer screen (and yes, I did scream that--not as uncommon as one might hope), I do not live in a dream world where the Patriots are still the team they were during the 2003-2004 seasons. I may not live there, but I sure as hell visit a whole lot.

Read Simmons' article: Simmons: '09 Pats still seeking identity and you will understand how I feel.

If I have to put myself into one of the "camps" Simmons' describes, I am in Camp A. I drank the Kool-aid (mmm...tasty) and have faith in Belichick and his Patriots. Keep in mind, I can have faith and still be unsure about how they will play each week....that is, until Brady shakes off his rust (I sure do love that Kool-aid). While I would love to see them come back with vengeance at the end of the season, I am actually ok with them not being the Patriots of yore (just for a little bit). Everyone needs their rebuilding years and it would be nice to shake off all the fair-weather-fans that have jumped on the Pats bandwagon over the last few years.

That being said, I still stand behind the motto I've had for many years: "In Belichick We Trust!" New England should have that printed on money.

"a little tendinitis"

2009-09-25T11:17:00.002-04:00

As everyone now knows, Mark Sanchez has "a little tendinitis" in his right knee. He still participated in practice on Thursday, though in the 40-minutes the media is allowed to watch, he appeared to reach at his knee and flex it a few times. "It's not that big a deal," Ryan said. "He has something. I don't know how to describe it than just to say it's a little tendinitis. But, he's fine. I mean, he fully participated and moved around great, I thought."

Even though it is "not a big deal," Sanchez was added to the injury report; the Jets have appeared learned after the Favre fiasco.

There is so such thing as a "little" injury to a quarterback. Also, I am a former athlete and tendinitis (though it was in my ankles) was one of the two reasons I had to stop playing soccer competitively (I also have Patella Femoral pain due to a misaligned patella in both of my knees). Tendinitis is evil. It hurts more than you can imagine. It's a horrible nagging pain but it's a nagging pain that often times, becomes too much to deal with. It's really hard to concentrate on other things (like trying to avoid getting sacked, find a receiver, block out the crowd, etc) when you have the kind of pain it can cause.

If it is not addressed with treatment and rest, it only gets WAY worse; I ended up on crutches twice (once for each ankle) in one season. If I were a Jets fan, I would hope that the Jets tend to Sanchez with treatment and rest. Since I am the complete opposite, I hope that their tubby coach keeps thinking "it's not a big deal" and that Sanchez tries to suck up the pain and be a hero (all the Jets fan are counting on him to lead them to the promise land, being injured would really ruin that). What will this lead to: Sanchez will get distracted by the pain and his game will suffer. The fans will get frustrated and lose faith in their beloved savoir. By the time they get around to playing the Pats again on November 22, the team will be in shambles, just the way I like it.

To quote my brother when telling him that Mark Sanchez has tendinitis in his knee: "God has listened to me, he finally listened." ..not that my brother nor I would ever wish bad things upon any of our enemies rivals.

nfl spread competition week 3

2009-09-23T22:28:00.002-04:00

Time to step up my game, here are my picks. Spreads are, again, taken from here.

Tennessee (+2.5) at NY Jets
I hate the Jets and want nothing more than for them to lose at home and get kicked off their god damn high horse. So no one has scored a touchdown on you yet? That better end Sunday. I hope Chris Johnson gets 4 touchdowns and 400 yards. I hope Sanchez learns what the field tastes like. I hope the tubby bastard known as Rex Ryan chokes on all the words he has uttered about his new team. Most importantly, I hope the Jets go back to being the mediocre team we've all grown accustomed to.
Bitter? YES, I'M GOD DAMN BITTER!

Jacksonville at Houston (-4)
Houston, while letting Chris Johnson get 284 combined rush and receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, still found a way to win the game. They are feeling pretty damn good about themselves as a result of that win and are now at home against a garbage Jacksonville team.

Kansas City (+9.5) at Philadelphia
McNabb is still out. Vick might play...if animal activists don't slaughter him before the game. Even if they don't, I doubt he'll be able to play well. Yes, KC has sucked the last 2 weeks, but Cassel is back and after a week to get rid of the rust, he should be back to playing the way that landed him the starting gig in Kansas City. Even if they don't win, Philly won't blow them out as predicted.

Cleveland at Baltimore (-13.5)
If the spread was larger, I would still take it. Cleveland sucks and just does not enjoy winning. Baltimore, on the other hand, loves winning.

NY Giants (-6.5) at Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay, why can't you be better? I hate the Giants. I wish they would lose. The Bucs have been unimpressive and don't have a chance against the Giants.

Washington at Detroit (+6.5)
While Detroit continues to break the hearts of their fans,Washington barely beat St. Louis last week. If Washington continues to play down to lesser opponents (they played well against the Giants), the Lions might have a chance to ::GASP:: win. Don't hold me to this though, the Lions appear to love losing like I love chocolate.

Green Bay (-6.5) at St. Louis
St. Louis sucks. Even if Green Bay is still confused about what happened last week, it's St. Louis so it won't matter.

San Francisco (+7) at Minnesota
I think it's time that I stop thinking the 49ers are pathetic. I've picked against them twice and they've proved me wrong both times. Minnesota have yet to play a decent team and since the 49ers can stop the run, the Vikings will actually have to rely on Old Man River..ut uh. That never ends well.

Atlanta at New England (-4)
Hopefully Brady feels more comfortable at home and can get back in the swing of things (god, I really hope so). Even though NE lost to the GOD FORSAKEN JETS, I have faith in my team. Fred Taylor looks good and the rookie from Kent State, Julian Edelman, (who was a quarterback until this year), wasn't half bad--though Welker he was not. Speaking of which, Welker sat out of practice today (Wednesday), but it's the day practice is open to the media so I'm hoping Belichick is just trying to have it appear that Welker is playing. Either way, I think New England can get this done at home.

Chicago (-2.5) at Seattle
If Hasselbeck was healthy, perhaps I would have apprehension picking, but he's not. The whiny crybaby bitch known as Jay Cutler is still riding high after his big win last week. Those two things put together = Chicago will win.

New Orleans (-6) at Buffalo
I can't help but love the Saints this year. I have an inkling that Buffalo will give them a good fight but my inklings don't usually amount to much so screw my inkling.

Miami (+6.5) at San Diego
If I had to pick this last week or at the beginning of the season, I would have picked San Diego without thinking but after their performance against the Colts, I have a little more respect for them.

Pittsburgh (-4) at Cincinnati
What happened last week? The Bungels pressured the QB and only allowed 89 rushing yard...making them look like a good team. They also pissed the hell out of most people who believed the Packers had that game. Even so, there really isn't anyway that I can, in my right mind, believe that the Bengals will take down last year's Super Bowl champions.

Denver (-1.5) at Oakland
Someone has to win (unless they tie, which is a possibility McNabb). What's shocking is that either Oakland will be 2-1 or Denver will 3-0 by the end of the game. No one could have guessed that. I think Denver will win but Oakland has a good defense (I STILL hate that Seymour is a Raider) so it will be close.

Indianapolis (+2.5) at Arizona
Seriously, the Colts are the underdog? Yes, Arizona remembered how to play football last week against Jacksonville but I don't see them doing very much this year. Indy is NOT Jacksonville. Indy had the ball less than 15 minutes the whole game against Miami and they still won.

Carolina (+9) at Dallas
It will be close. Neither Romo or Delhomme are doing very well. Romo enjoys making mistakes but I think Dallas will win. It won't be a blow out though.

nfl spread competition week 2 scoring

2009-09-23T13:46:00.000-04:00

Again, I want a mulligan with NFL week 2. I sucked royally in everything this week, especially with spreads.

For those of you who don't know: my boyfriend Brian (his blog is here) and I have a spread competition going throughout the season.

Here are our two spreads from week 2 (correct picks are in bold):

Mine:

Oakland (+3) at Kansas City
Houston at Tennessee (-6.5).
New England (-3.5) at New York Jets
Cincinnati at Green Bay (-9)
Minnesota (-9.5) at Detroit
New Orleans (+1.5) at Philadelphia
Carolina at Atlanta (-6)
St. Louis at Washington (-9.5)
Arizona at Jacksonville (-3)
Seattle (+1.5) at San Francisco
Tampa Bay (+4.5) at Buffalo
Cleveland at Denver (-3)
Baltimore (+3) at San Diego
Pittsburgh (-3) at Chicago
New York Giants at Dallas (-3)
Indianapolis (-3) at Miami

Brian's:

Oakland (+3) at Kansas City
Houston at Tennessee (-6.5)
New England at New York Jets (+3.5)
Cincinnati at Green Bay (-9)
Minnesota (-9.5) at Detroit
New Orleans (+1.5) at Philadelphia
Carolina at Atlanta (-6)
St. Louis at Washington (-9.5)
Arizona (+3) at Jacksonville
Seattle at San Francisco (-1.5)
Tampa Bay (+4.5) at Buffalo
Cleveland (+3) at Denver
Baltimore (+3) at San Diego
Pittsburgh (-3) at Chicago
New York Giants at Dallas (-3)
Indianapolis (-3) at Miami

The first week we both went 9-7. This week, Brian went 9-7 and I went 7-9.
God damn underdogs.
This makes the overall score:
Brian: 18-14
Me: 16-16
It's early, things can get turned around.
I'll be posting my week 3 picks soon...

NFL week 2

2009-09-23T00:14:00.001-04:00

I want a mulligan for week 2.
I'm still hurting from the Pats loss (my Jets fan friends are still giving me hell).
My picks for espn's pigskin pick 'em were awful. I went 8-8.
Seriously, what the hell is going on?
Here are the results of the games (my dreadful picks are italicized and the winners are bolded):

Oakland at Kansas City

Houston at Tennessee

New England at New York Jets

Cincinnati at Green Bay

Minnesota at Detroit

New Orleans at Philadelphia

Carolina at Atlanta

St. Louis at Washington

Arizona at Jacksonville

Seattle at San Francisco

Tampa Bay at Buffalo

Cleveland at Denver

Baltimore at San Diego

Pittsburgh at Chicago

New York Giants at Dallas

Indianapolis at Miami

My final notes on the games:
Tom Brady, get your shit together and go back to being the Tom Brady of yore. xoxo, New England
Dallas, did you enjoy seeing that game winning field goal on your monstrous scoreboard? With the number of Giants' fans I have as friends, I sure as hell didn't.
Arizona remembered how to play football-good for them.
Lions still never fail at failing.
I hate the Jets with a fiery passion that consumes my soul.

I really don't have much to say on week 2 except WTF!

it's only one game right?

2009-09-20T19:01:00.000-04:00

I am a very passionate person. Especially about football. I try not to be a sore loser but sometimes, I really can't help it. As everyone knows, my the Patriots lost to my boyfriend's the god damn NY Jets 16-9. Ouch.

For all of you who couldn't see the game, let me sum it up for everyone:

ncaa week 3

2009-09-20T16:39:00.002-04:00

So before I say what I got in college pick 'em, I need to mention that I changed 2 of my picks (I changed my picks to Oregon State and Oregon). I actually don't remember changing the picks at all, so imagine my surprise when I went to check them today. One of the changes got me a win and the other didn't. I guess it evened itself out. Here are the results:
Texas Tech at #2 Texas, 34-24
East Carolina at #24 North Carolina, 31-17
#23 Georgia Bulldogs at Arkansas, 52-41

West Virginia at Auburn, 41-30

#8 California at Minnesota, 35-21

#19 Nebraska at #13 VTech, 16-15
#18 Utah at Oregon, 31-24
Arizona at Iowa, 27-17
Boston College at Clemson, 25-7

#17 Cincinnati at Oregon State, 28-18

Anyway, I ended up 9-1 this week with 54 points, which brings my total points to 140. I am at 94.6% and ranked 13,034 (last week I was at 79.8% and ranked 45,423). I keep movin' on up.

I guess I need to address the Tennessee Florida game. You may notice my previous post where I went off about Lane Kiffin and how Florida was going to give him a well deserved beating. Instead of Florida demolishing Tennessee, Kiffin's daddy, Monte Kiffin (Tennessee's defensive coordinator), saved his ass by holding Florida to 323 yards. Tebow was 14/19 for 115 yards and ZERO touch downs; Tebow also lead his team in rushing with 76 yards. In Florida's defense, they were missing receiver Deonte Thompson with an injured hamstring. In addition, both tight end Aaron Hernandez and running back Jeff Demps played while sick.
Yes, it was a win for Florida, but I don't think it was as satisfying as they wanted.
The only thing I can hope for is that 'Bama and/or South Carolina will give Kiffin what he deserves.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I can discuss the other disappointing revenge game: Texas Tech at Texas. I was expecting a lot more from Texas at home after last year's loss, something around the score of the Texas State at TCU game (56-21). Ugh. Depressing.

I'm glad Miami won! After they beat FSU, I said they looked good and I'm glad they are proving it to everyone. Speaking of FSU. DAMN! Upsetting #7 BYU 54-28. It makes me so so happy, for many reasons. I didn't think BYU should be that high to begin with. I also didn't think FSU should have been dropped from the rankings when they lost to Miami and am glad they have redeemed themselves. Plus, I have 'noles fans in my family.
Ugh. Cincinnati won again.
Oregon finally proved they don't suck as badly as everyone saw in week 1.

Now--U.S.C. Pete Carroll, what happened?? I couldn't watch most of the games yesterday and was driving for most of this game. I was checking my phone intermittently (yea, it's illegal, but how else was I supposed to check the scores?) but it didn't even dawn on me to look at the USC game. I had thought this would be an easy game for them, even with the QB change. When I got to my destination and finally had a chance to look at all the scores, I actually refreshed the page thinking there was a mistake. How do you let Washington, a team that did not win a single game last season, beat you?! This is worse than when Stanford beat you in 2007.

Rankings are coming out as I write this so it should be interesting to see how things look this week.

Lane Kiffin is a big fat idiot

2009-09-19T14:58:00.006-04:00

Today (at 3:30 on CBS) is the day where the things Lane Kiffin's gaping mouth has said over the last few months about Florida comes back to bite him in the ass. As I was waiting for football to start last night, I had on ESPN and they were replaying the interview with Kiffin on Outside the Lines, and I was reminded, not that I needed to be, what a big fat idiot he is.

Now, in case you forgot what the big fat idiot said back in February during his first press conference as head coach: "I'm really looking forward to embracing some of the great traditions at the University of Tennessee, for instance the Vol Walk, running through the T, singing Rocky Top all night long after we beat Florida next year, it will be a blast."
Florida printed what he said and posted it around their locker room as motivation (see picture). Yea, as if they needed more motivation to beat Tennessee.

To make it worse, he then accused Urban Meyer of violating recruiting rules and even went as far as to say, "I love the fact that Urban had to cheat and still didn't get him." The best part? He was wrong. Meyer didn't violate anything at all...but Kiffin did.
In the Southeastern Conference Code of Ethics, it clearly states (perhaps Kiffin can't read), in Bylaw 10.5.1, that coaches (that means you, Lane) cannot directly criticize staff (that would be Meyer) or players of other institution publicly (Lane, that means when there are a lot of people, especially those with cameras and microphones are around). To further make Kiffin feel like a complete ass, SEC commissioner, Mike Slive, after explaining how Kiffin had violated rules, ended with, "We expect our coaches to have an understanding and knowledge of conference and NCAA rules."

To further rub salt in the wound, the Florida athletic director essentially demanded an apology from Kiffin..so Kiffin gave one:
"I've been made aware by the Southeastern Conference that my comments this morning at a breakfast with our donors violated a conference policy. In my enthusiasm for our recruiting class, I made some statements that were meant solely to excite those at the breakfast. I apologize to Commissioner Mike Slive and the SEC, including Florida AD Jeremy Foley and coach Urban Meyer. My comments were not intended to offend anyone at the University of Florida."

Liar. You meant exactly what you said. You totally meant to offend and guess what, you succeeded.

You would assume that after this little incident that Kiffin would learn to think before speaking. The major problem in that assumption is you assume Lane Kiffin thinks. A month later Kiffin was running his mouth again. According to Alshon Jeffery, Kiffin told him, "that if he chose the Gamecocks, he would end up pumping gas for the rest of his life like all the other players from that state who had gone to South Carolina."

Must you piss EVERYONE off?! Apparently, yes. He has also pissed off Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Georgia head coach Mark Richt. Why'd you stop there? I'm sure if you tried you could totally offend the rest of the SEC. You still have time!

The reason I actually decided to write this post was mainly due to what I heard on OTL last night. Please go click play on the YouTube clip below and go to around 5:05. This is where Kiffin addresses his alleged statement to Jeffery. Just listen to what comes out of his god damn mouth.

"First of all, I dont think anybody pumps gas because everything is self serve now a day. There are no full serve stations, so I'm smart enough to not have said it because of that."

Hey moron,
First: come visit Jersey or Oregon--there are ONLY full service stations since pumping your own gas is ILLEGAL in both states. Second: In EVERY state I have been in, I have seen a full station pump at gas stations. Sometimes it costs more, but it's sure as hell there.
You stupid smug bastard.
When I heard that I actually sat there dumbfounded, I guess I hadn't heard that part when it was originally aired.

After Tennessee's loss to UCLA last Saturday, Kiffin must have had a light bulb go off. He realized, "SHIT! We have to go to The Swamp on Saturday and we don't have a chance in hell. Urban Meyer is going to run up the score to numbers I can't count to." So, in an attempt to ease the beat down, in a news conference he complimented Florida, "Florida is obviously a great program. We've lost by a combined 64 points the last two years. They are the No.1 team in the country, the most talented team in the country, maybe the most talented team ever to play, so it's a big challenge for us. It's our first year, and our first SEC game together, so we understand that there is a long-term plan here." Too late, Lane. The moment you opened your dumb mouth in the beginning of the year, you sealed your fate.

Meyer does NOT take being insulted lightly. Case and point: In 2007, Georgia beat Florida 42-30 in The Swamp and the entire Georgia team stormed the end zone after Georgia's first touchdown in the first quarter. Meyer felt that Georgia disrespected Florida "a little bit" and so in 2008, Florida beat Georgia, in Georgia, 49-10. Meyer also went as far as to call two timeouts in the final 44 seconds because he said he felt Emmanuel Moody deserved a few more carries (translation: to torture Georgia as much as possible). Oh yea, and Florida stormed the end zone singing their alma mater at the end of the game.

And Meyer only felt "a little bit" disrespected.

So everyone, grab some popcorn and get ready to watch the massacre that will ensue in less than an hour. I wouldn't be surprised if Florida fans decide to make an example of Kiffin and sacrifice him on the field after the game, just to drive home the fact that NO ONE can insult Florida and get away with it.

Luckily, if Kiffin survives tonight, he still has to play Georgia and 'Bama (back to back) in October.
Enjoy Karma Mr. Kiffin.

week 3 - college pick 'em week/rankings

2009-09-17T12:20:00.002-04:00

I'm going to combine my college pick 'em picks and overview of the rankings into one post because well..I can. I'm exhausted because I started Dan Brown's new book before I went to bed last night and didn't put it down until 6:30 AM. Sadly, this post won't be as entertaining and witty as my usual ones. Please deal--I'll make it up to you.

Time for rankings (see my nice little widget or go here):
HOORAY NOTRE DAME FELL FROM THE RANKINGS! (I did a little happy dance when I saw that)
What is Michigan doing on there? One great game against an overrated team should not get you into the rankings. Ugh.
UNC dropped--not far enough. They barely beat UConn. UNC please go away.
Houston? Really? This is ridiculous. Beating a ranked team, even a top 5 team, should not automatically earn you a spot in the rankings. You pulled off a miracle, well done. Mike Gundy can't be too happy to see this..or that OKU dropped to 16.
Cincinnati has NO and I mean NO business here. You blow out piss poor teams (sorry Rutgers but the first week you looked awful week 1). That does not give you the right to be ranked--or to continue to move up the rankings. Someone please come and beat the crap out of them. They need to humbled and unranked. Hey Oregon State--that could be you!
Other that those things--everything else looks pretty normal and correct.

Onto my picks
The picks this week, for the most part, are way harder than I want them to be. I haven't been able to see a lot of these teams play so I am just going to pick them without really any explanation:
picks are italicized:
Texas Tech at #2 Texas - Texas wants revenge for last year's upset (which I called) and is totally going to get it.
East Carolina at #24 North Carolina - I still think UNC is overrated and I would actually love to see East Carolina win but UNC is at home and probably likes being ranked so I think they'll come away with it.
Boston College at Clemson - BC hasn't had any hard games yet (beat Northeastern 54-0 and Kent State 34-7) while Clemson barely lost to Georgia Tech. They'll want this win, especially at home.
#8 California at Minnesota - yea, I went for the easy pick and picked the ranked team.
#19 Nebraska at #13 VTech
#18 Utah at Oregon - Oregon will want to redeem themselves in this game but I don't think they'll be able to. They almost lost to Purdue last week and are probably still down on themselves after the Boise State beat down, I know I still would be.
Arizona at Iowa - Atleast Iowa isn't playing another god damn Iowa team. Are they afraid to leave the state or something? I might end up changing this pick--I have a feeling that Arizona might upset them at home but then again, as I found out, my gut knows nothing about college football.
#23 Georgia Bulldogs at Arkansas - Georgia will win--if they want to stay ranked.
West Virginia at Auburn - Auburn is at home.
#17 Cincinnati at Oregon State - I just wrote a whole long thing about how, even though I picked Cincinnati, I was rooting for Oregon and while writing that, I convinced myself that I think Oregon State will win. Now I am second guessing myself. Ugh. Ok--Cincinnati will win..I think (I hope not). Screw this game.

Atleast Wake isn't on here!

So I wrote more than I thought I would--and some of it is entertaining, atleast to me in my tired state.

Just a reminder, #14 Georgia Tech is playing at #20 Miami (I would have put this on the college pick 'em) tonight at 7:30 on ESPN.
ENJOY!

there will be another little Brady

2009-09-16T15:39:00.002-04:00

There have been rumors that Gisele is pregnant since this summer but finally, on September 11, Tom confirmed that they are expecting.

Dearest Tom and Gisele,
Let me begin by extending my sincerest congratulations to both Tom and Gisele. I am very happy for the both of you. The baby will, no doubt, be beautiful.

Now, like any true Patriots fan, I have some concerns since this pregnancy will be overlapping most of the season.

Tom, Tom, Tom, as you and every single Patriots fan knows, this is a huge season for you since you are coming back from being away all last season. So I ask you, how did this happen? As a football player, you understand that timing is everything so why would you plan to have a child in December? December is a pivotal time in the season. You need to be focused and well rested, without any distractions in your life, such as a pregnant wife and a crying baby.

I read somewhere that the baby is due on December 13. This is a Monday. Luckily, the Patriots are playing in Foxboro December 12 against Carolina. ~~That baby better not come early.~~ What if the baby comes early? The week before you are in Miami. I am a quite troubled by this. Perhaps you could talk to the baby and explain to the him/her the importance of arriving in the middle of the week. Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday should be fine.

Something else I am nervous about is how stressful the season must be for Gisele. Stress is bad for the baby in general and it can induce labor. The stress of the Patriots Monday night game against the Bills was hard enough on me and I'm not pregnant with the QB's baby. I have an idea to solve this problem. The Patriots just need to blow out every team they play from here on out. This way, there is no stress on Gisele and the baby, not to the mention me...and all the other Pats fans.

For next time, plan to CONCEIVE, not HAVE, the child during the football season (I think September or October is the best time).

all my love (especially you, Tom),
Sarah

pigskin pick 'em week 2

2009-09-16T02:05:00.000-04:00

I love this game.
While I didn't have a perfect first week, it was damn near close. God damn 49ers. I despise Arizona for that.
My score at the end of week 1:
points: 15
percent: 99.9%
rank: 273

Sadly, this week's picks aren't as easy as I found the first weeks. Here are my picks for week 2, see my reasoning for them in my week 2 spread post (it's also the one right before this one):
my picks are italicized
Oakland at Kansas City
Houston at Tennessee
New England at New York Jets
Cincinnati at Green Bay
Minnesota at Detroit
New Orleans at Philadelphia
Carolina at Atlanta
St. Louis at Washington
Arizona at Jacksonville
Seattle at San Francisco
Tampa Bay at Buffalo
Cleveland at Denver
Baltimore at San Diego
Pittsburgh at Chicago
New York Giants at Dallas
Indianapolis at Miami

I'm not 100% certain of these picks. Some don't sit right with me and I will mull them over before Sunday and make changes if needed.

nfl spread competition week 2

2009-09-16T01:22:00.004-04:00

If you have been reading my blog (thank you!), you know that I have a spread competition going with my boyfriend, Brian (Big Red's Musings). Last week Brian and I both were 9-7, though we had very different picks. The Monday night games killed me. I mistakenly thought that the Lions wouldn't suck so god damn badly, thought the Pats would blow out the Bills, the Chargers would blow out the Raiders, Indy would easily beat the Jaguars..etc. You can see what I picked in my week 1 spread post.

Enough of my blabbering, here are my picks(again lines are taken from here and my picks are italicized):

Oakland (+3) at Kansas City
While Oakland played like shit, they weren't as bad as they used to be (not saying much). KC is awful and Cassel is still out.

Houston at Tennessee (-6.5)
Houston just got owned by the Jets and Tennessee is coming off their tough loss on the road. They won't disappoint at home.

New England (-3.5) at New York Jets
Brian is a Jets fan. There is no way I am picking against the Pats here. Yes, Sanchez looked great and New England needs work but that is what this week is for. Brady was looking like the Brady we all know and love (or love to hate) towards the end of the game. Sadly, it might be a good game; I'd rather the Pats ruin the Jets, my poor heart can't take a close game like Monday's.

Cincinnati at Green Bay (-9)
Bengals can't help how bad they are. Being on the road won't help.

Minnesota (-9.5) at Detroit
There is one thing Detroit is good at. Sucking. Home or away, it makes no difference.

New Orleans (+1.5) at Philadelphia
As I wrote in my prior post, karma has come to the Eagles. Shouldn't have signed a dog killer. McNabb might not play and the jackass dog killer can't play. I doubt Garcia will be able to get it done. For some reason, I have mixed feelings about this pick and it may be that I'm tired but I wanted to note this so that if the Eagles blow out the Saints, I have it written down that I had mixed feelings about it.

Carolina at Atlanta (-6)
I hate to copy what Brian wrote but I feel it is the best way to put it:
"Jake Delhomme has 11 turnovers in his last two non-preseason games. Jake Delhomme plays for the Panthers. The Panthers play in Carolina."

St. Louis at Washington (-9.5)
Perhaps the Rams feel bad for the Lions and want to make them feel better by sucking so badly. Atleast the Lions scored last week.

Arizona at Jacksonville (-3)
Arizona is god damned disgrace. Hey Arizona, you were in the Superbowl last year, remember? Jacksonville gave Indy a hard time and so unless Arizona has rapidly turned things around, Jacksonville will easily win.

Seattle (+1.5) at San Francisco
Read above for my opinion about Arizona-SF didn't beat a great team, but then again, neither did Seattle. For some reason I feel this is the right pick to make.

Tampa Bay (+4.5) at Buffalo
Buffalo's spirit is broken. The Bills fans are pissed off. If the Pats didn't look so awful at the beginning, Buffalo would be the underdog.

Cleveland at Denver (-3)
Eh. I have no real opinion about this game. Denver is at home and the favorite, so I went with them.

Baltimore (+3) at San Diego
The Chargers almost lost to Oakland. Baltimore looked good.

Pittsburgh (-3) at Chicago
So Polamalu and Urlacher (both with amazing commercials--see Brian's blog for them). Polamalu left the Thursday's game early and Pittsburgh showed they can make up for it.

New York Giants at Dallas (-3)
Had a problem picking this game. I don't like either team but I hate the Giants more and Dallas is at home.

Indianapolis (-3) at Miami
Indy, like New England, had some cobwebs to dust off. I expect them to be gone by the time Monday's game rolls around.

So there are my picks. Check out Brian's picks here.

Here is the current score:
Brian: last week: 9-7 overall: 9-7
Me: last week: 9-7 overall: 9-7

Hopefully, that score will be different next week...with me in the lead, of course!

finally recovered from last night--NFL week 1 recap

2009-09-15T21:24:00.002-04:00

I apologize for my lack of posting lately. I got caught up in watching football and last night, being a huge Pats fan, was losing my mind. Oh yea, I've sort of been lazy too.
Anyway, so this weekend gave us some great football and, more importantly, let us see what the teams really look like.
Here are some of my observations from week 1:
I absolutely hate saying this but Mark Sanchez looked really good. He had a few jitters at first (can't blame him) but he got it together and played really well. Damn it.
The Rams suck but there is no surprise there.
The Lion suck. Still.
Arizona is a disgrace.
Karma hit Philadelphia for signing Vick. McNabb is hurt and Vick can't play yet. Ha
Oakland just loves to lose. Personal note: I hate seeing Richard Seymour in a Raiders jersey.
Bills still aren't very good.
Pats needs a lot of work but Brady looked like his old self by the end of the game. I'm still shaking from the game.

I really hope everyone caught the games since there were so many amazing endings!

I would spend more time on the games but I have a whole lot more to catch up on. If week one's games are any indication of what the rest of the season will look like, it's going to be one hell of a season. Can't wait for week 2!

pigskin pick 'em week 1

2009-09-13T16:32:00.002-04:00

I've mentioned in prior posts that I love the games that ESPN has on their website. In addition to college pick 'em and streak for the cash, I play eliminator challenge and pigskin pick 'em. The rules of pigskin pick 'em are essentially the same as college pick 'em, except now you can decide whether or not to pick the games on a spread.
I meant to put my picks up but I slept in and then got caught up watching the games so I will do it now since the only game I can watch is the Redskins/Giants game and I am not a fan of either team (don't worry, it's playing in the background).

Here are my picks (my picks are italicized):
Tennessee at Pittsburgh
Miami at Atlanta
Denver at Cincinnati
Minnesota at Cleveland
Jacksonville at Indianapolis
Detroit at New Orleans
Dallas at Tampa Bay
Philadelphia at Carolina
Kansas City at Baltimore
NY Jets at Houston
Washington at NY Giants
San Francisco at Arizona
Chicago at Green Bay
Buffalo at New England
San Diego at Oakland

Tiebreaker: San Diego 28 Raiders 10

If you are following the games, you might have noticed that I have picked all the games, as of now, correctly. This means I am currently ranked #1 (along with lots of other people, but who cares about them).
Since this is a very, very rare moment, I am going to bask in my glory and hope my luck continues.

Enjoy the rest of the games today!