You’re Giving More Money To Bud Selig Than Ever Before
Continue Reading October 9th, 2007
Fascinating figures in the Chicago Tribune the other day: It turns out that MLB About To Catch NFL In Total Revenue [Sports By Brooks]
Archive for October 9th, 2007
Farewell, Sweet Sideline Reporter
Continue Reading October 9th, 2007
With TBS moving on to the NLCS, and our pals Joe Buck and Tim McCarver kicking back up in the ALCS, we salute a man we’re not likely to see again until next season: The incomparable Jose Mota, sideline reporter from the gods.
We’re not sure why we enjoyed Mota so much. (But we were hardly the only ones.) Maybe it’s because the job of sideline reporter is such a silly one that we appreciated Mota’s … well, the man just strikes us as suave. He’s a smooth operator, with a difficult-to-place accent, dropping dimes of empty knowledge on us, asking silly questions to people who don’t want to answer them in just sincere enough of a way that we find ourselves mesmerized. We hope he’s back on TBS next year.
He’s also Manny Mota’s son and was in For The Love Of The Game. Swoon!
Farewell, Jose Mota [ Because I Didn’t Want To Go To Grad School..]
It’s Brett Favre’s 420th Touchdown, Man
Continue Reading October 9th, 2007
The planet is in the midst of Brett Favre Mania — no, really, it is — and one man has discovered the only appropriate way to commemorate his achievements. We do not think that’s John Madden, though it might be Frank Caliendo.
This Week In The SSW
Continue Reading October 9th, 2007
For years — OK, a couple of days — Slate writer Robert Weintraub has been tinkering with a concept called The SSW, short for “The Sean Salisbury Wisdom,” which tracks the consensus of the football punditocracy to ensure those triumphant declarations from Friday aren’t flushed down the memory hole on Monday. Here’s this week’s SSW.
PREVIOUS SSW
Kitna and his band of disciples have Jesus on their side, and thus a chance at ending Detroit’s endless futility in the nation’s capital.
NEW SSW
The least-heralded part of Auburn’s Salary Cap Backfield of 2004, Jason Campbell, looks like he’ll be the keeper at the pro level.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S LESS
Detroit’s a good team to play when down a top wideout (as the Skins were without Moss)–according to Football Outsiders, the Lions excel at stopping the opponent’s #1 receiver (6th in the NFL), but can’t stop the dude on the other side (30th in the NFL). In this case, everyone was #2, as Campbell hit 8 different receivers.
PREVIOUS SSW
New York should shift easily from baseball drama to basketball soap opera without stopping to pay attention to football.
NEW SSW
If NFL truly was all-powerful, it would have scheduled Jets-Giants game after annual Yankees collapse.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S LESS
Whither the Mangenius? Last season, the Jets came up with enough trick defenses and big plays to sneak into playoffs. Sunday, Jets D-line was simply manhandled. As a great New Yorker, Oscar Madison, put it, “Brains, without brute force, in football leaves a lot of cleat marks on the back of your head.”
PREVIOUS SSW
Cardinals playing well even though presumed franchise quarterback can’t outplay presumed dead backup last effective pre-9/11.
NEW SSW
Cards receiving corps (not dissimilar to Greatest Show On Turf in skill) seen paying off reward to Rams lineman responsible for snapping Curly’s collarbone.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S LESS
Easy to make fun of the Rams, but they almost won with Slappy Frerotte (presumed even deader than Warner) and no Stephen Jax. The refs handed the Cards this one with Donaghy-like efficiency.
PREVIOUS SSW
Don’t look now, but Joey Joe Joe Harrington isn’t half-bad.
NEW SSW
He’s all bad. But Leftwich should be cut again. He’s as awful as Tony Gwynn is fat.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S LESS
Crumpler is only half right when he says “when we get inside the 50, we’re the worst team in the NFL.” Uh, lose that qualifier, Algernon.
PREVIOUS SSW
Vince Young, outdoing Reggie Bush again. Damn, that Heisman vote just keeps on giving.
NEW SSW
Vinnie, you’re engaging, but let’s get another take on that tattoo commercial. And while you’re at it, another time through the playbook–that was a lucky win and a half-assed performance.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S LESS
Titans unfurled some nifty pirouette plays to take advantage of Young’s mobility, including a fake handoff, spin out to a bootleg, then spin back toward the original thrust of play, then look downfield. Not particularly effective, but it sure was purty.
PREVIOUS SSW
Canning Marty Schottenheimer worst decision since Papa Dolan told his wife to leave the diaphragm in her purse.
NEW SSW
Norvelous!
BUT WAIT, THERE’S LESS
41-3 looks grand, but it’s more a statement of how woeful Denver has become. What’s more arrogant–assuming crappy coaches can take over the Chargers with no slippage, or the “I know better” approach of Shanahan? Who else would draft Clarett, sign a bunch of Browns d-linemen, pop in a rookie at QB with the playoffs in view, and pick up a deadbeat dad with a penchant for the sticky stuff? Then scoff at those who question the moves? Suddenly, the Raiders are the model franchise of the AFC West.
PREVIOUS SSW
Cue the hype for the Cowboys-Patriots showdown midway through the second quarter.
NEW SSW
OK, you can cue it now. And note to NFL suits: Let’s not wait another 13 years before returning to Buffalo for Monday Night Football.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S LESS
Game eerily reminiscent of return of MNF to Cincy after a decade-plus of ignoring the town–led by former Bronco Deltha O’Neal, the Bengals swiped a bunch of Denver passes and shocked Shanny’s boys. Until it was eerily reminiscent of Bears-Cardinals Monday night game last year.
To The Buzzsaw Rescue … Vinny!
Continue Reading October 9th, 2007
The locker room of The Buzzsaw That Is The Arizona Cardinals is looking like it might be turning a little bit more funky: The jam master that is Vinny might be back in town.
The Cardinals are giving Vinny Testaverde a tryout today to serve as the backup for Kurt Warner. Awesome.
The Cardinals would have a 1-2 quarterback combination with a combined age approaching 80. Warner is 36, and Testaverde turns 44 on Nov. 13.
Cardinals starting center Al Johnson, who played with Testaverde with the Dallas Cowboys during the 2004 season, says he’s be a valuable addition. “Vinny’s a real pro, he’s as strong as an ox, and he’s probably one of my favorite guys I’ve ever been around, just because of the way he handles himself, whether things were going good or things were going bad,” Johnson said.
Testaverde is competing with Tim Rattay for the backup job, and we’re gonna think if Rattay can’t beat out Vinny, he’ll probably just make it official and retire. But seriously, folks: Vinny Testaverde backing up Kurt Warner! Leinart, no offense, man … but we’re not gonna miss you at all.
Cardinals To Look At Two Veteran Quarterbacks [Arizona Republic]
A Perpetual Danger Of Sitting On Bleachers
Continue Reading October 9th, 2007
We’re not sure what the circumstances behind this photo are — Did she have to pee? Was it unusually hot in Colorado that night? Was she just waiting for the right moment, when everyone was distracted, to finally pull down those pants? — but we suppose there are worse ways to celebrate the Rockies’ exceptional postseason run. Though we doubt those Christian Rockies will approve. Larger version of the picture, NSFW, after the jump.
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The Bills Get The Monday Night Football Buzzsaw Treatment
Continue Reading October 9th, 2007
Perhaps this is now going to become a yearly ritual on “Monday Night Football:” Franchise that rarely plays on Monday night shocks undefeated, heavily favorite road team and seemingly secures the win four or five times, thanks to the poor play of the young opposing quarterback. And then they lose in the most heartbreaking way possible. The Cowboys are what we thought they were, indeed.
Yes, if you were distracted by the Indians’ win last night, you missed an epic Monday Nighter, a game in which Tony Romo turned the ball over six times, missed a two-point conversion with 20 seconds left and still somehow won for the Cowboys. Life has been rough enough for Bills fans in recent years; frankly, they shouldn’t have had to go through this.
And, now: A note about the whole pre-field-goal snap timeout business. This is becoming frustrating, and not just for fans of the team who now has to kick field goals twice. It is getting to the point that we are watching game-winning field-goal attempts — one of the most exciting plays in the game — with skepticism, waiting for the kick to be replayed. This can’t be good for the league. But we’re not sure what can be done about it; it seems within the rules, in the same way that calling a timeout while you’re falling out of bounds in basketball is withing the rules. And all it’s gonna take is a coach calling a time out to “ice” a kicker in this fashion, and then watching his face fall as the kicker misses the game-winner. The opposing coach will have bailed out the kicker, who then kicks the next field goal through as the losing coach realizes he, quite literally, cost his team the game by trying to be cute. We suspect this time out business will slow down, once that happens.
Bills Lose It In A Heartbreaker [Circling The Wagons]
Nice Of The Indians To Show Up
Continue Reading October 9th, 2007
It might have taken a while to discover it, but it turns out, the Yankees didn’t just lose last night; the Indians — the other team, the ones in the darker jerseys — actually won. They weren’t just there; they weren’t just reacting to the Yankees. All told, they had a lot to do with the series win.
For all the talk about Joe Torre and Alex Rodriguez and Chien-Ming Wang, the reason the Yankees lost this series is because the Indians were amazing with runners in scoring position and had three outstanding starting pitchers. In retrospect, it seems odd that everyone assumed Paul Byrd was going to get hammered last night; we know wins are a counting stat, but you still don’t win 15 games by being totally incompetent. Cleveland had as good a series as you could hope a team to have; the surprise, perhaps, is not to that the Yankees lost, but that the Yankees pushed it to four games.
So the Indians move on, and we are all saved the Drama To End All Dramas that is a Red Sox-Yankees ALCS. For that, Cleveland, we suppose we must thank you.
Torre’s Run [Fair And Foul]
