We got a glimpse of what this offense can do. Just imagine when Dick Rod has some athletes.
9/28/08
Fire Dick Rod for president!
What a comeback. 21 yards of offense in the first half, 27 points in the second. The defense kept Big Blue in the game through 30, and held them close enough for the offense to find its way for over 270 yards of offense in the second half. Let's not get ahead of ourselves- Michigan will still struggle to make it to a bowl game this year, and they will look bad at times. Lots of times. But they can look to this game when they're down 14 against Michigan State or Northwestern, and actually believe that they can come back.
We got a glimpse of what this offense can do. Just imagine when Dick Rod has some athletes.
We got a glimpse of what this offense can do. Just imagine when Dick Rod has some athletes.
9/26/08
Last Night
Huge games last night: Minnesota beat the Chi Sux to take over first in the Central Division.
And, in case you havent heard, there was an upset in the Pac-10. Here are the headlines, courtesy of EDSBS:
And, in case you havent heard, there was an upset in the Pac-10. Here are the headlines, courtesy of EDSBS:
Jacquizz, where’s your protection?
Trojans Can’t Pull It Out
Hungry Beavers Suffocate Trojans
Trojans Can’t Get It Up For Big Night With Beavers
Sanchez Dirtied By Beaver Attack
Trojans Can’t Come From Behind, Fall Short
22 Trojans, No Protection
USC to Sleep in Wet Spot
Faced With Angry Beavers, Trojans Flaccid
Trojans Penetrate into Soft Waiting Flesh of Beavers, Fall Asleep Inside
Beavers Poke Surreptitious Hole In Trojans, Snatch Victory
Ejaculate Football Sodomy Metaphor Cockslap Lagos Hookerface
Something’s Fishy In Corvallis
Mark Sanchez is a Vag
We’re sure you can take it from there, unlike USC’s receivers. Sleep tight!
9/24/08
Last Place
Dead last. This team was the favorite to win the division at the beginning of the season, and they have been swept at home by the Royals (sound familiar?), outscored 21-6, and overtaken for fourth place.
This is the biggest mail-it-in job since April 14th of every year. Poor managment to start the year, and poor management the rest of the year. The prospects for next year are horrible. They are hemorrhaging salary, and need to dump as much as $25M. Because Dave Dombrowski took a top 5 offense, and sacrificed pitching to get more, we are left with the 1993 Tigers.
Way to go Dombrowski. Thus beginneth the next stage of Tiger crap-iocrity.
It's Over! Part II
Jay Glazer at Fox Sports is reporting that Millen is out as GM of the Detroit Lions.
Why is this not big news? Because it's about 115 games too late (31-84 record under Millen's tenure).
Now if we could only get the Ford's to sell the team...
9/23/08
It's over!
While New York prepares to have a Yankee - less playoff season, the rest of baseball rejoices.
The only question left is, will ESPN cover the MLB playoffs without them?
They missed the playoffs because...
...the Sawx punched their ticket tonight. Now they need to catch the Rays, who finish the season- oh crap forget it. They get the Tigers to finish the season. Boston will be the wild card and head to Los Angeles/Anaheim.
Fall from Grace
The rise in stock Matt Cassell has been grossly overstated. Or it has for one week anyway. The best team over the last two years falls to 22nd, with their rivals from Indianapolis even behind them at 25th. But this weeks rankings do NOT have the Lions in 32nd, so how much can we really put into them at this point?
How in the world have my two least favorite teams ever been #1 last week and this week? F the Giants, and F the Cowboys.
How in the world have my two least favorite teams ever been #1 last week and this week? F the Giants, and F the Cowboys.
| Team | Rating | Last Week | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas | 93.0 | 5 |
| 2 | Denver | 92.8 | 2 |
| 3 | Buffalo | 92.1 | 7 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 87.5 | 8 |
| 5 | Arizona | 86.0 | 4 |
| 6 | Philadelphia | 85.6 | 12 |
| 7 | NY_Giants | 85.3 | 1 |
| 8 | Washington | 79.3 | 14 |
| 9 | Tampa_Bay | 75.4 | 13 |
| 10 | Green_Bay | 71.7 | 11 |
| 11 | Baltimore | 65.8 | 16 |
| 12 | San_Francisco | 64.8 | 17 |
| 13 | Pittsburgh | 64.8 | 10 |
| 14 | Carolina | 60.7 | 3 |
| 15 | San_Diego | 59.0 | 19 |
| 16 | Atlanta | 55.0 | 20 |
| 17 | New_Orleans | 54.4 | 15 |
| 18 | Chicago | 51.9 | 9 |
| 19 | Minnesota | 44.0 | 24 |
| 20 | Jacksonville | 43.2 | 23 |
| 21 | Miami | 41.0 | 28 |
| 22 | New_England | 37.3 | 6 |
| 23 | Seattle | 37.0 | 26 |
| 24 | Oakland | 36.7 | 21 |
| 25 | Indianapolis | 27.8 | 22 |
| 26 | NY_Jets | 25.0 | 18 |
| 27 | Cincinnati | 10.4 | 31 |
| 28 | Houston | 6.8 | 25 |
| 29 | Detroit | 5.8 | 27 |
| 30 | Cleveland | 4.2 | 29 |
| 31 | Kansas_City | 3.1 | 30 |
| 32 | St_Louis | 2.4 | 32 |
9/22/08
Ugh
Football Outsiders is reporting that Bill Ford Jr would fire Millen if he had the authority.
YIPPEE!
That and $13.86 will get ou a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
YIPPEE!
That and $13.86 will get ou a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
They're saying Boo-urns...
Congrats to the 2008 US Ryder Cup Champion team, led by 35 year old rookie Boo Weekley.
It was a great tournament, start to finish, with the outcome in doubt until Furyk halved 16 with Miguel Angel Cabrera to win 3 and 2, giving the US the 14 1/2 points they needed to win. But the star was Boo Weekley with his Happy Gilmore type antics walking down the fairway charging up the crowd both while partnered with J.B. "Don't call me John" Holmes, and in the singles match on Sunday.
Good job guys! Way to get it back!
It was a great tournament, start to finish, with the outcome in doubt until Furyk halved 16 with Miguel Angel Cabrera to win 3 and 2, giving the US the 14 1/2 points they needed to win. But the star was Boo Weekley with his Happy Gilmore type antics walking down the fairway charging up the crowd both while partnered with J.B. "Don't call me John" Holmes, and in the singles match on Sunday.
Good job guys! Way to get it back!
Roll Tide
This is the first week that the ratings are completely from this season only. A couple surprises- Alabama #1, Air Force at 8, Ball State at 10, and the old ball coach with South Carolina hanging around the top 25 despite a 2-2 record.
Big games this week:
26 Minnesota at 23 Ohio State: OSU has looked bad their last two games, can they turn it around at home against the upstart Gophers? Will TPryor get the start again? I think Boeckman has seen his last snap as a Buck. OSU 30, UM 13
32 Va Tech at 9 Nebraska: Va Tech has turned around a bad start against ECU, while Nebraska has seemingly turned around their Calahan hangover, beating up on mediocre talent, but beating them soundly. A Nebraska win will solidify that start, while a VT win could jumpstart them into the ACC schedule. VT 27, Nebraska 10
4 Wisconsin at 79 Michigan: It's Michigan. Go Blue. Watching the NHL Network, they are showing the '93 Adams division finals with Montreal-Buffalo. Guy Carbonneau in an interview had a Michigan hat on. That's enough for me to pick Big Blue. Michigan 348, Wisconsin -17.
12 Michigan State at 40 Indiana: This is the game where MSU usually lays their green and white egg. Will Dantonio have them ready? Yup. MSU 30, Indiana 3
1 Alabama at 7 Georgia: Georgia is the only team in history to start #1, go 3-0, and drop in the polls every week. Alabama rode their neutral site win over Clemson in week 1 through their next three games winning convincingly in each, although the Tulane game was closer than expected (20-6). Georgia is coming off a game where they laid the smack down in Tempe against a fired up ASU team. This is the "Game of the Century" for this week. Georgia can probably survive a loss here and still make the SEC championship game, but Alabama cannot. Georgia has the two undefeated East teams Florida and Vanderbilt at home, but Alabama has to go to LSU. Prediction: Georgia 24, Alabama 17.
Big games this week:
26 Minnesota at 23 Ohio State: OSU has looked bad their last two games, can they turn it around at home against the upstart Gophers? Will TPryor get the start again? I think Boeckman has seen his last snap as a Buck. OSU 30, UM 13
32 Va Tech at 9 Nebraska: Va Tech has turned around a bad start against ECU, while Nebraska has seemingly turned around their Calahan hangover, beating up on mediocre talent, but beating them soundly. A Nebraska win will solidify that start, while a VT win could jumpstart them into the ACC schedule. VT 27, Nebraska 10
4 Wisconsin at 79 Michigan: It's Michigan. Go Blue. Watching the NHL Network, they are showing the '93 Adams division finals with Montreal-Buffalo. Guy Carbonneau in an interview had a Michigan hat on. That's enough for me to pick Big Blue. Michigan 348, Wisconsin -17.
12 Michigan State at 40 Indiana: This is the game where MSU usually lays their green and white egg. Will Dantonio have them ready? Yup. MSU 30, Indiana 3
1 Alabama at 7 Georgia: Georgia is the only team in history to start #1, go 3-0, and drop in the polls every week. Alabama rode their neutral site win over Clemson in week 1 through their next three games winning convincingly in each, although the Tulane game was closer than expected (20-6). Georgia is coming off a game where they laid the smack down in Tempe against a fired up ASU team. This is the "Game of the Century" for this week. Georgia can probably survive a loss here and still make the SEC championship game, but Alabama cannot. Georgia has the two undefeated East teams Florida and Vanderbilt at home, but Alabama has to go to LSU. Prediction: Georgia 24, Alabama 17.
| Team | W-L | Rating | Conf | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | 4-0 | 82.8 | SEC |
| 2 | Utah | 4-0 | 80.6 | MW |
| 3 | Wake Forest | 3-0 | 79.7 | ACC |
| 4 | Wisconsin | 3-0 | 78.9 | B10 |
| 5 | Vanderbilt | 4-0 | 77.5 | SEC |
| 6 | Florida | 3-0 | 74.7 | SEC |
| 7 | Georgia | 4-0 | 74.7 | SEC |
| 8 | Air Force | 3-1 | 73.6 | MW |
| 9 | Nebraska | 3-0 | 73.1 | B12 |
| 10 | Ball St | 4-0 | 70.9 | MAC |
| 11 | Auburn | 3-1 | 70.8 | SEC |
| 12 | Michigan St | 3-1 | 70.6 | B10 |
| 13 | Southern Cal | 2-0 | 70.1 | P10 |
| 14 | California | 2-1 | 67.7 | P10 |
| 15 | Georgia Tech | 3-1 | 67.0 | ACC |
| 16 | Missouri | 4-0 | 66.2 | B12 |
| 17 | Boston College | 2-1 | 66.1 | ACC |
| 18 | Oregon | 3-1 | 65.5 | P10 |
| 19 | Connecticut | 4-0 | 64.5 | BigE |
| 20 | Boise St | 3-0 | 64.2 | WAC |
| 21 | Kentucky | 3-0 | 62.9 | SEC |
| 22 | Texas | 3-0 | 62.9 | B12 |
| 23 | Ohio State | 3-1 | 62.8 | B10 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 2-2 | 62.3 | SEC |
| 25 | Iowa | 3-1 | 62.1 | B10 |
Baseball Ratings
The Cubs take back 1st, and take the NL Central. And they party like they won it all. So does Tampa Bay, just for getting into the playoffs. I love baseball, but these celebrations after every time you win anything have got to stop. Take a note from hockey- when the conference is won, and you are on your way to the Cup Finals, you take a picture with the Campbell Bowl or the Prince of Wales Trophy, and get your ass back in the locker room to prepare.
| Team | Rating | Last Week | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chi_Cubs | 96.4 | 2 |
| 2 | Boston | 93.8 | 1 |
| 3 | Tampa_Bay | 91.5 | 3 |
| 4 | LA_Angels | 89.6 | 5 |
| 5 | Philadelphia | 86.2 | 6 |
| 6 | Toronto | 80.9 | 4 |
| 7 | Chi_White_Sox | 80.6 | 12 |
| 8 | NY_Mets | 78.9 | 11 |
| 9 | Milwaukee | 73.3 | 7 |
| 10 | Minnesota | 73.2 | 13 |
| 11 | NY_Yankees | 72.7 | 8 |
| 12 | St_Louis | 62.4 | 10 |
| 13 | LA_Dodgers | 62.4 | 16 |
| 14 | Cleveland | 55.1 | 19 |
| 15 | Houston | 54.2 | 9 |
| 16 | Florida | 53.3 | 14 |
| 17 | Arizona | 50.5 | 24 |
| 18 | Oakland | 35.8 | 20 |
| 19 | Detroit | 34.0 | 23 |
| 20 | Texas | 32.2 | 18 |
| 21 | Atlanta | 29.1 | 22 |
| 22 | Cincinnati | 25.3 | 17 |
| 23 | Baltimore | 23.7 | 15 |
| 24 | Colorado | 19.4 | 26 |
| 25 | Kansas_City | 15.9 | 25 |
| 26 | San_Francisco | 14.8 | 27 |
| 27 | Pittsburgh | 9.3 | 21 |
| 28 | San_Diego | 7.2 | 30 |
| 29 | Seattle | 3.6 | 28 |
| 30 | Washington | 3.1 | 29 |
9/20/08
The only thing worse than this Tennessee-Florida football game...
...is Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson. Hey! Gary! When a word has the prefix "un," it rhymes with bun or fun, not Ron. Better yet, just STFU.
UPDATE: Nope. I found something worse. Watching football on ESPN/ABC. Between the two of them, I saw no less than 5 promotions including Brett Far-ve or Yankee Stadium. One is getting torn down because it's old and ugly, and the other is Yankee Stadium. I hate them both. QUIT SHOVING THEM DOWN MY THROAT- I JUST WANNA WATCH SOME FOOTBALL.
UPDATE: Nope. I found something worse. Watching football on ESPN/ABC. Between the two of them, I saw no less than 5 promotions including Brett Far-ve or Yankee Stadium. One is getting torn down because it's old and ugly, and the other is Yankee Stadium. I hate them both. QUIT SHOVING THEM DOWN MY THROAT- I JUST WANNA WATCH SOME FOOTBALL.
The Ghost of Herb Brooks in Valhalla
"If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this [tournament.] Not [this weekend.]"
The
U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
UPDATE: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO- Boo Weekley drains a 25 footer from off the fringe to take a 2 up lead. The Americans lead 2, the Europeans lead one, and 1 is all square.
Update: McDowell nails one on 14 on the second tier where nobody has been able to hold. Furyk bends one around and stops it a foot inside McDowell. Then Perry says to hell with yous guys, I'm gonna land one within a foot of the cup. They need it down 2 with five to go. Minor update: They won the hole, down 1 with four to go.
Update: Stricker with a windy 25 footer to halve the 18th and halve the match. HUGE putt to save a point. Only two hole wins out of 18, one for each team. Unbelievable match.
Sunday Update: Furyk closes out Cabrera, and the Cup is back in the Good Ol USA!
9/18/08
A pitch every ten minutes
The Tigers can't do anything right. I tune in last night to see Freddie Garcia make his first start as a Tiger, and get home from school in the top of the fifth. It is 2-1 Detroit, so I figure Garcia is doing OK, and want to see what kind of stuff he has. 35 minutes, 11 hits and 9 runs later, he takes the field with an 11-1 lead. He pitches a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth, using about 8 pitches, and then the Tigers go off for another 4 runs in the sixth, only to send Nate Robertson out for the bottom half.
So, after over an hour of baseball, I got to see 8 pitches from Garcia.
9/16/08
College Football Rankings
Still not settled down yet, as shown by 1-2 South Carolina at #24. Michigan is #69 with a 42.8 rating, while Western Michigan by virtue of a decent showing in Lincoln, followed by a couple wins, is ranked #39, with a 55.0 rating.
| Team | W-L | Rating | Conf | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn | 3-0 | 86.6 | SEC |
| 2 | Wisconsin | 3-0 | 80.9 | B10 |
| 3 | Vanderbilt | 3-0 | 80.3 | SEC |
| 4 | Air Force | 3-0 | 79.4 | MW |
| 5 | Alabama | 3-0 | 77.9 | SEC |
| 6 | Nebraska | 3-0 | 77.1 | B12 |
| 7 | Southern Cal | 2-0 | 74.0 | P10 |
| 8 | Utah | 3-0 | 72.8 | MW |
| 9 | East Carolina | 3-0 | 72.0 | CUSA |
| 10 | Wake Forest | 2-0 | 71.8 | ACC |
| 11 | Georgia | 3-0 | 71.0 | SEC |
| 12 | Florida | 2-0 | 70.3 | SEC |
| 13 | Kentucky | 3-0 | 69.4 | SEC |
| 14 | South Florida | 3-0 | 69.0 | BigE |
| 15 | Arizona | 2-1 | 68.0 | P10 |
| 16 | Southern Miss | 2-1 | 67.9 | CUSA |
| 17 | Michigan St | 2-1 | 67.7 | B10 |
| 18 | Kansas | 2-1 | 67.2 | B12 |
| 19 | California | 2-1 | 66.6 | P10 |
| 20 | TCU | 3-0 | 66.4 | MW |
| 21 | Arkansas St | 2-1 | 66.2 | SBC |
| 22 | Connecticut | 3-0 | 65.8 | BigE |
| 23 | Iowa | 3-0 | 63.9 | B10 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 1-2 | 63.3 | SEC |
| 25 | Missouri | 3-0 | 62.5 | B12 |
Week 2 NFL Rankings
Now that there are for the most part two games down, I can post these for the first time. How the F are the F'n Giants #1? F!
| Team | Rating | Last Week | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NY_Giants | 92.1 | n/a |
| 2 | Denver | 91.7 | n/a |
| 3 | Carolina | 91.4 | n/a |
| 4 | Arizona | 89.6 | n/a |
| 5 | Dallas | 86.1 | n/a |
| 6 | New_England | 85.2 | n/a |
| 7 | Buffalo | 83.3 | n/a |
| 8 | Tennessee | 81.7 | n/a |
| 9 | Chicago | 80.2 | n/a |
| 10 | Pittsburgh | 76.1 | n/a |
| 11 | Green_Bay | 74.2 | n/a |
| 12 | Philadelphia | 71.4 | n/a |
| 13 | Tampa_Bay | 69.9 | n/a |
| 14 | Washington | 65.1 | n/a |
| 15 | New_Orleans | 62.2 | n/a |
| 16 | Baltimore | 52.9 | n/a |
| 17 | San_Francisco | 48.6 | n/a |
| 18 | NY_Jets | 47.8 | n/a |
| 19 | San_Diego | 45.3 | n/a |
| 20 | Atlanta | 44.1 | n/a |
| 21 | Oakland | 42.2 | n/a |
| 22 | Indianapolis | 40.4 | n/a |
| 23 | Jacksonville | 21.7 | n/a |
| 24 | Minnesota | 20.5 | n/a |
| 25 | Houston | 14.3 | n/a |
| 26 | Seattle | 12.1 | n/a |
| 27 | Detroit | 9.7 | n/a |
| 28 | Miami | 8.4 | n/a |
| 29 | Cleveland | 7.8 | n/a |
| 30 | Kansas_City | 7.1 | n/a |
| 31 | Cincinnati | 6.4 | n/a |
| 32 | St_Louis | 3.9 | n/a |
Latest MLB rankings
Boston regains the top spot in the latest rankings. Actually, had I posted this last week, they would have regained the top spot last week. Meanwhile, Philly's making a charge, Milwaukee fired their manager, and both the White Sox and Twins are in free fall. Neither one wants the division I guess.
| Team | Rating | Last Week | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 96.0 | 1 |
| 2 | Chi_Cubs | 96.0 | 2 |
| 3 | Tampa_Bay | 95.2 | 3 |
| 4 | Toronto | 87.8 | 4 |
| 5 | LA_Angels | 81.9 | 6 |
| 6 | Philadelphia | 81.0 | 10 |
| 7 | Milwaukee | 79.3 | 5 |
| 8 | NY_Yankees | 76.7 | 8 |
| 9 | Houston | 75.7 | 9 |
| 10 | St_Louis | 72.8 | 7 |
| 11 | NY_Mets | 71.1 | 12 |
| 12 | Chi_White_Sox | 71.0 | 11 |
| 13 | Minnesota | 57.5 | 13 |
| 14 | Florida | 44.3 | 17 |
| 15 | Baltimore | 42.9 | 14 |
| 16 | LA_Dodgers | 41.5 | 15 |
| 17 | Cincinnati | 38.1 | 18 |
| 18 | Texas | 33.5 | 19 |
| 19 | Cleveland | 31.9 | 16 |
| 20 | Oakland | 30.6 | 21 |
| 21 | Pittsburgh | 30.1 | 22 |
| 22 | Atlanta | 28.7 | 24 |
| 23 | Detroit | 28.0 | 20 |
| 24 | Arizona | 24.3 | 23 |
| 25 | Kansas_City | 13.6 | 26 |
| 26 | Colorado | 12.6 | 25 |
| 27 | San_Francisco | 8.5 | 28 |
| 28 | Seattle | 7.4 | 27 |
| 29 | Washington | 6.4 | 29 |
| 30 | San_Diego | 3.2 | 30 |
9/14/08
Projection
It is official. My hatred for everything Far-ve has been projected onto Aaron Rodgers. What a cheap ass, good for nothing, Manning wanna-be, piece of shit that guy is.
Reason #643 to hate the NFL
Before I get into this, this is not causing the Lions to be embarrassed. The Lions are doing that all by themselves.
But the refereeing in this game is absolutely awful. Roy Williams for offensive pass interference swatting the DB's hands off him as he makes a cut? Jon Kitna getting a forearm shiver across his nose after delivering the ball, and no call? Aaron Rodgers steps out TWICE before running for a first down, and they review, and STILL GET IT WRONG?!?!? Charles Rogers trying to make up for his broken toe, tackles Calvin Johnson a full second before the ball gets there, and no pass interference? Rodgers has had 5 minutes to throw the ball, because his line has bear hugs around the d-lineman on EVERY PLAY! These guys are supposed to get it right most of the time, but this game has been pathetic. The Lions might be in the game with decent calls, but they still wouldnt be winning. It just would be nice to watch a game where a 432 year old ref isnt more worried about his next Viagra shipment than calling a good game.
UPDATE: Lions DT jumps. Doesnt get within a yard of the Packers LT and gets back. LT jumps. Offsides, Lions. WTF! The defense can move, fuckers!
But the refereeing in this game is absolutely awful. Roy Williams for offensive pass interference swatting the DB's hands off him as he makes a cut? Jon Kitna getting a forearm shiver across his nose after delivering the ball, and no call? Aaron Rodgers steps out TWICE before running for a first down, and they review, and STILL GET IT WRONG?!?!? Charles Rogers trying to make up for his broken toe, tackles Calvin Johnson a full second before the ball gets there, and no pass interference? Rodgers has had 5 minutes to throw the ball, because his line has bear hugs around the d-lineman on EVERY PLAY! These guys are supposed to get it right most of the time, but this game has been pathetic. The Lions might be in the game with decent calls, but they still wouldnt be winning. It just would be nice to watch a game where a 432 year old ref isnt more worried about his next Viagra shipment than calling a good game.
UPDATE: Lions DT jumps. Doesnt get within a yard of the Packers LT and gets back. LT jumps. Offsides, Lions. WTF! The defense can move, fuckers!
9/11/08
Duke thinks Duke football sucks
Duke and Louisville agreed to play four football games- one in 2002, and one last year, this year and next year. Duke pulled out, and Louisville is suing for breach of contract. Louisville's argument is that they have contacted every Div 1-A team in the country and can't find any team to fill in the schedule dates.
This is Duke's argument:
While true, it doesn't make for a compelling argument, does it?
This is Duke's argument:
While true, it doesn't make for a compelling argument, does it?
9/7/08
What are the idiots in the NFL thinking?
I know this is the NFLPA, not the NFL, but how many different ways can you try to screw your fanbase over?
From the Sporting Blog,
From the Sporting Blog,
As a nervous nation awaits its first full day of desperately searching the ticker for Marc Bulger's yardage and Sebastian Janikowski's field goal total, there's movement on the fight between sports league and fantasy sports providers. As Eric Fisher of the SportsBusiness Journal reports, CBS and the NFL Players Association are going to court in a battle over pressure to pay big licensing fees.
The Supreme Court of the United States rejected hearing MLB's appeal last spring in which baseball argued statistics were not fair use under intellectual property law. Basically, the highest court in the land has said sports leagues can't block fantasy sports. The NFLPA's Andy Feffer disagrees.
"We feel very strongly we retain intellectual property rights in this area even after what happened at the Supreme Court. I'm certain that anyone really looking at the category doesn't believe or think that [CDM] is the law of the land or that this is completely closed."
Really, no one thinks that, except MLB (now), CBS, just about every journalist who wrote about the decision, most legal experts which get quoted in stories on the legality of fantasy sports. Yes, the SCOTUS refusing to hear baseball's case that stats constitute fair use and thus are not subject to licensing fees clearly means that with regard to the NFL, stats are not fair use and fantasy sports providers are subject to licensing fees.
For the most popular sport in America, the NFL sure does like to insult its fans an awful lot.
Yup. Preseason pretty much means nothing.
Pathetic display this afternoon. The Lions couldn't run, couldn't stop the run(!), and made my BC boy Matt Ryan look like Tom Brady with a good pair of ACL's.
Speaking of which, what is the NFL landscape going to look like minus TB? Does Far-ve take over the AFC-E? Does Matt Cassell step in and lead the Pats to the promised land? Is the AFC completely up for grabs? Or does Indy throw the autopilot on all the way to Tampa?
Speaking of which, what is the NFL landscape going to look like minus TB? Does Far-ve take over the AFC-E? Does Matt Cassell step in and lead the Pats to the promised land? Is the AFC completely up for grabs? Or does Indy throw the autopilot on all the way to Tampa?
9/4/08
NFL Preview
As my fantasy record mirrors that of Matt Millen's real-life record, you all know that I am no NFL expert. But DP has done a nice job of that over at Michigan Against the World.
Oh yeah- he kinda likes the Pats.
Oh yeah- he kinda likes the Pats.
Daunte Culpepper Retires, Finds Bowl of Sour Grapes
Dude. He emailed Adam Schefter. I hope he had a box of Kleenex nearby to catch those tears. Wait- of course he had a box of Kleenex near the computer- he's been off work!
From The Sporting News:
From The Sporting News:
This is just kind of depressing. Daunte Culpepper, who four short years ago was throwing for 4,000+ yards and 39 touchdowns, has retired. That’s sad, and expected, but it’s not the depressing part. This is: He announced his retirement via an email to NFL Network’s Adam Schefter.
Adam,
Since I do not have a team where I can do a press conference, I chose to write what I would have said. You are the first to get this.
– Daunte
I’m picturing Daunte attempting to type those two sentences with highlights of his Minnesota glory days playing on the TV in the background and tears dripping onto the keyboard. But hey, at least he’s not bitter or anything, as these excerpts from the rest of his e-mail show:
When free agency began this year, I had a new sense of excitement about continuing to rebuild my career in the same way that I had rebuilt my knee after my catastrophic injury in 2005. Unfortunately, what I found out was that the league did not share any of the optimism about me as an Unrestricted Free Agent that I expected. … No matter what I did or said, there seemed to be a unified message from teams that I was not welcome to compete for one of the many jobs that were available at the quarterback position.
I would rather shut the door to such “opportunity” than continue to wait for one of my fellow quarterback’s to suffer a serious injury. Since I was not given a fair chance to come in and compete for a job, I would rather move on and win in other arenas of life.
So ends Daunte’s spectacularly hard fall from one of the game's elite -- if not best -- quarterbacks, to early retirement. And I mean, seriously early: He is only 31 years-old. But who knows; every QB in the league is always one play away from that “serious injury.” If a team’s one-through-third string QBs all go down ... and their emergency QB -- probably the punter or some fourth-string wide receiver -- gets hurt ... and Jeff George can’t be reached, then Duante’s phone will totally be blowin’ up.
Michigan Football, week 1
I wanted to post my thoughts on the Utah game, but like I said, I have spent more time putting together resumes and reading about Business Organizations and Wills, Estates and Trusts.
First impressions of the spread: Kinda gimmicky at first. Two things popped out right away: you can, in fact, line up under center from time to time; and it was WAY too much right out of the gate for these two QB's. It is a very difficult offense to nail down, and with zero experience for either QB, they needed it watered down. Or at least a running game, which was non existent. When they did line up under center, and got the traditional running game going, Utah couldn't stop it. But they only ran one or two in the first half, and by then, Utah realized that neither quarterback can run this offense, and had eight or nine guys around the line of scrimmage, putting only one safety back for the rest of the game. The receivers were getting open. There was at least one guy open on almost every play, but the QB's had a lot of trouble picking them up in time.
The defense: Started horribly. Made adjustments. Stopped Utah dead. Pretty much it.
As losses go, this is one that we can live with. Dick Rod will make some adjustments, simplify the offense a bit, and we'll see where they are this week against Miami. They should win, but don't expect the traditional 68-0 beat down. Offensively I would be happy with 24, because this defense isn't giving up more than 6. I asked the question after the game- who was the last Michigan head coach to start his tenor with a loss? Actually it happens more than I thought, with three of the last five doing it. The last was a Gary Moeller loss at Notre Dame.
Other than pouring $4 bottles of water on your head to keep cool, it was still a very good day. This is a team that will get better as the season goes on and they get more experience under fire.
First impressions of the spread: Kinda gimmicky at first. Two things popped out right away: you can, in fact, line up under center from time to time; and it was WAY too much right out of the gate for these two QB's. It is a very difficult offense to nail down, and with zero experience for either QB, they needed it watered down. Or at least a running game, which was non existent. When they did line up under center, and got the traditional running game going, Utah couldn't stop it. But they only ran one or two in the first half, and by then, Utah realized that neither quarterback can run this offense, and had eight or nine guys around the line of scrimmage, putting only one safety back for the rest of the game. The receivers were getting open. There was at least one guy open on almost every play, but the QB's had a lot of trouble picking them up in time.
The defense: Started horribly. Made adjustments. Stopped Utah dead. Pretty much it.
As losses go, this is one that we can live with. Dick Rod will make some adjustments, simplify the offense a bit, and we'll see where they are this week against Miami. They should win, but don't expect the traditional 68-0 beat down. Offensively I would be happy with 24, because this defense isn't giving up more than 6. I asked the question after the game- who was the last Michigan head coach to start his tenor with a loss? Actually it happens more than I thought, with three of the last five doing it. The last was a Gary Moeller loss at Notre Dame.
Other than pouring $4 bottles of water on your head to keep cool, it was still a very good day. This is a team that will get better as the season goes on and they get more experience under fire.
Week 1 College Football Rankings
All right, so I figured out a way to post some college football rankings by using last years final rankings to a limited extent. By week 4, they will be completely out, but they make up 50% of the rankings through this week. These still don't mean a whole lot, but I can't wait until October to post something. Michigan sits at #60 with a score of 49.7.
| Team | W-L | Rating | Conf | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSU | 1-0 | 79.9 | SEC |
| 2 | Florida | 1-0 | 79.3 | SEC |
| 3 | Southern Cal | 1-0 | 78.4 | P10 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 1-0 | 77.2 | B12 |
| 5 | Auburn | 1-0 | 77.0 | SEC |
| 6 | Ohio State | 1-0 | 76.4 | B10 |
| 7 | Oregon | 1-0 | 76.3 | P10 |
| 8 | Georgia | 1-0 | 75.5 | SEC |
| 9 | West Virginia | 1-0 | 74.6 | BigE |
| 10 | Kentucky | 1-0 | 74.0 | SEC |
| 11 | South Florida | 1-0 | 73.3 | BigE |
| 12 | Kansas | 1-0 | 73.0 | B12 |
| 13 | Arizona St | 1-0 | 72.3 | P10 |
| 14 | Texas | 1-0 | 72.2 | B12 |
| 15 | Boston College | 1-0 | 71.8 | ACC |
| 16 | Cincinnati | 1-0 | 71.7 | BigE |
| 17 | South Carolina | 1-0 | 70.6 | SEC |
| 18 | Penn State | 1-0 | 70.3 | B10 |
| 19 | Alabama | 1-0 | 69.0 | SEC |
| 20 | Missouri | 1-0 | 67.6 | B12 |
| 21 | Connecticut | 1-0 | 67.6 | BigE |
| 22 | Wake Forest | 1-0 | 66.3 | ACC |
| 23 | Brigham Young | 1-0 | 66.1 | MW |
| 24 | Oklahoma St | 1-0 | 65.2 | B12 |
| 25 | Central Florida | 1-0 | 64.8 | CUSA |
Kwame Cooked
Lying under oath? Brilliant!
From the Freep:
Updated at 11:02 a.m.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who will lose his job because he lied while under oath at a police whistle-blower trial, has just pledged to tell the truth as he prepares to admit his guilt as part of a plea deal he just struck with the Wayne County Prosecutor.
The deal calls for Kilpatrick to plead guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice by committing perjury, agreeing to serve four months in jail, pay up to $1 million in restitution, and serve five years' probation. He also agreed not to run for office during that five-year span.
The mayor will turn over his state pension to the City of Detroit, which paid $8.4 million to settle two whistle-blower lawsuits three former cops filed against the city. The mayor was charged with eight felony counts ranging from conspiracy to perjury to misconduct in office to obstruction of justice after the Free Press revealed that the mayor lied on the witness stand during a police whistle-blower trial and gave misleading testimony about whether he intended to fire a deputy police chief investigating allegations of wrongdoing by members of his inner circle.
In a rushed monotone, Kilpatrick told the court: "I lied under oath in the case of Gary Brown and Harold Nelthrope versus the city of Detroit ... I did so with the intent to mislead the court and jury, to impede and obstruct the disposition of justice."
Groner asked Kilpatrick: "Are you satisfied with your lawyers in this case?"
The mayor replied: "Uh, what do you mean?"
After Groner explained, Kilpatrick said he was satisfied with the performance of his legal team.
Groner: "The court's satisfied and will accept the plea to two counts of obstruction of justice."
Sentencing will be Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. in his courtroom. He did not explain why so much time will pass between the mayor's plea and sentencing.
Moments after Groner praised the lawyers for their work reaching a deal, Kilpatrick summoned his wife, kissed her, and went back into a side room.
Just before huddling with his attorney, a smiling Kilpatrick jousted with reporters sitting in the first row of the courtroom. He, apparently good-naturedly, told them their reports were wrong and they needed to check their sources. He did not elaborate.
He also shook hands with Christine Beatty, his former chief of staff and ex-lover. Beatty has left the courtroom with her attorneys, Mayer and Jeff Morganroth, and a man believed to be her pastor.
9/3/08
MLB rankings
Because school started a week earlier than I thought, and I got laid off for the second time in three years, I have been extremely busy lately. But here are the latest MLB rankings. College football rankings will come out after about 4 weeks. They don't work so good at the beginning of the season.
| Team | Rating | Last Week | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chi_Cubs | 96.7 | 1 |
| 2 | Tampa_Bay | 94.7 | 2 |
| 3 | Boston | 92.8 | 3 |
| 4 | Milwaukee | 88.2 | 6 |
| 5 | LA_Angels | 86.7 | 5 |
| 6 | Chi_White_Sox | 84.8 | 4 |
| 7 | Philadelphia | 79.2 | 9 |
| 8 | Minnesota | 77.4 | 7 |
| 9 | Toronto | 75.6 | 10 |
| 10 | NY_Mets | 73.1 | 12 |
| 11 | St_Louis | 72.6 | 8 |
| 12 | NY_Yankees | 69.5 | 11 |
| 13 | Houston | 55.9 | 15 |
| 14 | Arizona | 48.9 | 13 |
| 15 | Cleveland | 46.2 | 17 |
| 16 | LA_Dodgers | 45.8 | 14 |
| 17 | Detroit | 41.3 | 16 |
| 18 | Florida | 41.1 | 19 |
| 19 | Baltimore | 40.9 | 18 |
| 20 | Texas | 33.8 | 21 |
| 21 | Oakland | 30.0 | 20 |
| 22 | Colorado | 23.8 | 23 |
| 23 | Atlanta | 23.5 | 22 |
| 24 | Cincinnati | 20.5 | 25 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh | 15.0 | 24 |
| 26 | Kansas_City | 10.8 | 26 |
| 27 | San_Francisco | 9.7 | 27 |
| 28 | Seattle | 6.7 | 28 |
| 29 | San_Diego | 5.7 | 29 |
| 30 | Washington | 4.0 | 30 |
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