Some things to consider about the parody of parity that is the NFL. Any team can beat any team any given week eh? Until the playoffs anyway. Seven teams have 29 Super Bowl wins among them; if you add in the Colts , Dolphins , and Broncos it means ten teams have won 35 of the 45 Super Bowls. The twenty have-nots share ten wins. Whats my point? Something smells in football, whether its the BS of college or the NFL needing marketable QBs with a Lombardi on their resume.
A quick political aside: If Julian Assange was really about all high minded ideals like complete openness he'd have already hacked into his own legal issues and shown us the evidence or lack of concerning the rape allegations against him. Hypocrite.
Where are all the good Amish professional athletes?
The NFL doesn't see fit to save a tape of the first Super Bowl but when footage of the entire game is found in an attic in Pennsylvania league officials immediately jump in and claim ownership for purely righteous and unselfish reasons. Considering a thirty second ad during the Super Bowl is running a cool $3 million that would seem a fair finders fee to the folks who have held on to the tapes the last FORTY FIVE YEARS . If nothing else lets call it an idiots tax for the NFL to wake up and focus on the legacy of the game instead of marketing marketing marketing.
Funny to hear Mario Lemieux crying about another team employing dirty play. Pot, meet kettle. If Matt Cooke isn't enough of an everyday reminder that the Pens aren't above employing chippy, remember the name Ulf Samuelsson ? For that matter, you weren't exactly the paragon of Mike Bossy-type play either Mary. Oops, Mario.
Its difficult to support either side in a battle of billionaires vs. millionaires, but considering that we rarely hear of former professional sports team owners suffering from post-concussion disorders or needing multiple replacement surgeries etc. siding with the players becomes much easier.
Really like how Blake Griffin plays, really don't care for or watch the NBA hardly at all, had no idea they still did the dunk contest. Haven't all the good dunks been done before?
Gotta love the marketing geniuses at NFL.COM. Offering a playoff fantasy game is great right up to the final big game.....and there is no longer a link on the website to find how your team is doing. With the money they're saving on a low-rent commissioner there should be plenty of cash left to support more than a half-assed attempt at a decent fan friendly site.
Speaking of, the esteemed commissioners Goodell and Stern will work cheap if their leagues sustain a work stoppage. Gee guys, thats big of you. It doesn't sound like a cheap PR stunt either. Credit where its due, the two of you almost deserve congratulations for making Gary Bettman and Bud Selig look borderline competent. Almost.
Condolences to the family and friends of Dave Duerson
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Probert
Bob Probert, dead at 45. The headline was a shock. Tough guys aren't supposed to die, let alone one considered the toughest of the tough of his era. He played hard and he fought even harder. Let's remember him for the intensity he brought to the ice, and if we must rehash his problems away from the rink lets use them as an opportunity to learn from his mistakes.
Bob Probert had his demons, as we all do. As intense as my dislike is for the Red Wings, he always had my respect. He's a hockey player, he's human, and a damned tough man. That's how I'll remember him.
RIP #24. You're always a true tough guy. Condolences to your family, friends, and the Wings organization (Yes, I know he played elsewhere, but he'll always be a Red Wing in my eyes).
Bob Probert had his demons, as we all do. As intense as my dislike is for the Red Wings, he always had my respect. He's a hockey player, he's human, and a damned tough man. That's how I'll remember him.
RIP #24. You're always a true tough guy. Condolences to your family, friends, and the Wings organization (Yes, I know he played elsewhere, but he'll always be a Red Wing in my eyes).
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Dirty Ovechkins
What is it about people and society that makes us reflexively think more rules and regulations and laws are an improvement? Hockey has an opportunity to break from the other major sports by NOT legislating more crap rules. The NFL is a shining example of over-legislation. Its ham-handed attempts at 'protecting' the players have piled rule upon rule upon rule to the point of creating confusion and subsequently frustration over what is and isn't dirty. To paraphrase a Supreme Court justice from years ago 'dirty might be hard to define, but we know it when we see it'. So what's the problem with identifying and weeding out dirty players?
The biggest problem with defining what is a dirty play and, to a larger extent a dirty player, is the incredible amount of excuses that come into play after the fact. A player who commits a dirty play, whether an isolated incident or in the case of Alexander Ovechkin on a continued and consistent basis, isn't identified by geography or uniform color. The team he played for last season may not be the team he's on this time around, but the dirty player underneath is the same. Its the excusing of dirty play that needs to stop.
Over and over its said that today's athletes are 'bigger, stronger, faster' than ever before and yet somehow today's athletes have less bodily control than ever before too. How can this be? Maybe it comes down to some misplaced priorities and lack of respect for the game. As the games are played today more emphasis is put into making a crippling hit and maybe, just maybe, get a quick mention on Sportscenter. Good fundamentals and actually helping the team win be damned. Egos have inflated bigger than the sport that made the ego possible in the first place. Today's games are all about 'Look at me'.
Deflating player egos has to start in the commissioners offices. The marketing gurus and toothless disciplinarians in the league hierarchies honestly don't seem to realize that they're killing the golden goose by turning off the fans who only want to see good clean honest games. So, how does hockey turn itself away from the selfish and egotistical type of athlete that has ruined the other Big Four sports and is slowly infecting the NHL? It won't be easy.
Teaching kids how to play solid fundamental hockey while still having fun wouldn't seem to be terribly complicated, but outside forces continually corrupt the process. Whether its overbearing parents with delusions of grandeur or the cesspool of sports coverage known as ESPiN instilling a sense of sportsmanship and fair play is an upstream swim against a tidal wave. Overcoming a generation of 'me first' athletes, thirty years of mind-numbing Bermanites, and a healthy dose of Baylessness is a heavy challenge but if we truly care about the future of hockey its a challenge worth accepting.
Teaching love and respect for the game and a sense of sportsmanship and fair play will correct many of the problems in the NHL-years down the road. Of course, dropping the instigator rule would be a simple and effective short term fix in the meantime.
The biggest problem with defining what is a dirty play and, to a larger extent a dirty player, is the incredible amount of excuses that come into play after the fact. A player who commits a dirty play, whether an isolated incident or in the case of Alexander Ovechkin on a continued and consistent basis, isn't identified by geography or uniform color. The team he played for last season may not be the team he's on this time around, but the dirty player underneath is the same. Its the excusing of dirty play that needs to stop.
Over and over its said that today's athletes are 'bigger, stronger, faster' than ever before and yet somehow today's athletes have less bodily control than ever before too. How can this be? Maybe it comes down to some misplaced priorities and lack of respect for the game. As the games are played today more emphasis is put into making a crippling hit and maybe, just maybe, get a quick mention on Sportscenter. Good fundamentals and actually helping the team win be damned. Egos have inflated bigger than the sport that made the ego possible in the first place. Today's games are all about 'Look at me'.
Deflating player egos has to start in the commissioners offices. The marketing gurus and toothless disciplinarians in the league hierarchies honestly don't seem to realize that they're killing the golden goose by turning off the fans who only want to see good clean honest games. So, how does hockey turn itself away from the selfish and egotistical type of athlete that has ruined the other Big Four sports and is slowly infecting the NHL? It won't be easy.
Teaching kids how to play solid fundamental hockey while still having fun wouldn't seem to be terribly complicated, but outside forces continually corrupt the process. Whether its overbearing parents with delusions of grandeur or the cesspool of sports coverage known as ESPiN instilling a sense of sportsmanship and fair play is an upstream swim against a tidal wave. Overcoming a generation of 'me first' athletes, thirty years of mind-numbing Bermanites, and a healthy dose of Baylessness is a heavy challenge but if we truly care about the future of hockey its a challenge worth accepting.
Teaching love and respect for the game and a sense of sportsmanship and fair play will correct many of the problems in the NHL-years down the road. Of course, dropping the instigator rule would be a simple and effective short term fix in the meantime.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Surprises?
The party of no needs to hold to that role since the party of yes created this mess.
What's with the hysteria about the voting of Scott Brown? He said he wasn't going to be a rubber stamp Republican.
Seeing the Ovechkin hit on Jagr suddenly a lot makes sense about the rise in concussions. It used to be we lowered our shoulders and left them low through the hit. Now its lower the shoulder and finish while raising it through the hit. Elbows and shoulders are at face level when the force of the impact is at its peak.
The IOC distributes 100,000 condoms to the athletes in the Olympic Village but people get all congested about an inappropriate kiss of a strategically placed medal?
Republicans are puffing up about likely November wins, and ignoring the fact that they're already ignoring and/or foresaking the very folks who're going to make those victories happen.
Barack Obama said he'd rather be a one-termer who got things done than be thought ineffective for two. His health care debacle won't go away until his politburo cronies do.
Tony Kornheiser gave a less-than-flattering critique of the wardrobe choices of Hannah Storm and ESPN suspended him for it. Sports mirrors society: Only opinions approved by the appropriate network and sanctioning league/association/governing body will be deemed acceptable from now on.
The lukewarm ways of the current crop of DC Republicans highlights why the radicals who're ruining the country are so afraid of Richard Cheney. He reacts strongly to their unworkable programs and unreasonable theories, but also acts with a preemptive strength.
What's with the hysteria about the voting of Scott Brown? He said he wasn't going to be a rubber stamp Republican.
Seeing the Ovechkin hit on Jagr suddenly a lot makes sense about the rise in concussions. It used to be we lowered our shoulders and left them low through the hit. Now its lower the shoulder and finish while raising it through the hit. Elbows and shoulders are at face level when the force of the impact is at its peak.
The IOC distributes 100,000 condoms to the athletes in the Olympic Village but people get all congested about an inappropriate kiss of a strategically placed medal?
Republicans are puffing up about likely November wins, and ignoring the fact that they're already ignoring and/or foresaking the very folks who're going to make those victories happen.
Barack Obama said he'd rather be a one-termer who got things done than be thought ineffective for two. His health care debacle won't go away until his politburo cronies do.
Tony Kornheiser gave a less-than-flattering critique of the wardrobe choices of Hannah Storm and ESPN suspended him for it. Sports mirrors society: Only opinions approved by the appropriate network and sanctioning league/association/governing body will be deemed acceptable from now on.
The lukewarm ways of the current crop of DC Republicans highlights why the radicals who're ruining the country are so afraid of Richard Cheney. He reacts strongly to their unworkable programs and unreasonable theories, but also acts with a preemptive strength.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
The Weight
Democrats have the numbers, the power, all of it. Yet they don't have the confidence to stand behind their policies and decisions. They see the Republicans budget overruns during the Bush years and instinctively one-, two-, and three-up them. It makes no sense. Unless figuring in the self-loathing, insecurity, and personal feelings of inadequacy in the average everyday run-of-the-mill DC Democrat. How else to explain getting so little done with a 60-40 Senate advantage and a 257-178 House advantage? Not having a Republican or McCain on board to shoulder the eventual blame sure changes the game.
Has the concept of the executive order been cheapened by the sheer volume of them over the last year? I guess in a monarchy it is the privilege of the king to issue edicts at his whim. Eventually even the most disinterested serfs notice though.
Darned shame to see Captain America being used for propaganda purposes from either direction. Oh well, at least Thor still holds to an ideal. As long as we're on the subject, every time I hear yet another Obama speech a scene from the third X-Men movie flashes through my mind. You know the one, Magneto wrapped in a blanket after losing his powers saying 'Good Lord, what have I done?'. Picturing John McCain or any of the so-called Blue Dogs playing the part seems appropriate.
North Korea and now Iran have nuke capabilities. Guess 'the axis of evil' wasn't quite so farfetched. Considering how cozily the Clinton and Obama administrations have treated these two countries I sincerely hope Albright and Hillary didn't fall for the old 'pull my finger' joke too.
I met Byron Dorgan very briefly years back, around the time he'd have been reelected to a second Senate term. After the events of the last few days I have to admit that my previous perceptions of Dorgan were completely wrong. None of us can ever know what happened between then and now but years back I'd not have considered describing him as just another gutless hack politician. That he finally showed his lack of integrity by choosing party over state shouldn't have been a surprise I suppose. Every prostitute comes with a price tag. Like any good member of the Politburo Dorgan just proved to have a decimal point further to the right. Pathetic.
Its becoming painfully obvious that Albert Gore is full of methane.
Dennis Miller and Bruce Jacobs are the funniest guys there are on talk radio.
Phrases that need to retire: 'the fact of the matter...', 'saved and created', 'partisanship', 'bipartisanship', 'demonize', 'stimulus', 'porkulus', or anything else ending in '-ulus'.
Since the average American is finally figuring out something is badly wrong in the DC welfare state known as Congress, how about some fresh guidelines for a new brand of candidate? A bachelors degree from a state college, never held office higher than city board of supervisors-and no longer than five years, isn't a lawyer and has never worked in the legal field in any way, owns and manages his own business, and finally doesn't talk a lot...so when he does people listen. Sound like a nice change of pace?
Has the concept of the executive order been cheapened by the sheer volume of them over the last year? I guess in a monarchy it is the privilege of the king to issue edicts at his whim. Eventually even the most disinterested serfs notice though.
Darned shame to see Captain America being used for propaganda purposes from either direction. Oh well, at least Thor still holds to an ideal. As long as we're on the subject, every time I hear yet another Obama speech a scene from the third X-Men movie flashes through my mind. You know the one, Magneto wrapped in a blanket after losing his powers saying 'Good Lord, what have I done?'. Picturing John McCain or any of the so-called Blue Dogs playing the part seems appropriate.
North Korea and now Iran have nuke capabilities. Guess 'the axis of evil' wasn't quite so farfetched. Considering how cozily the Clinton and Obama administrations have treated these two countries I sincerely hope Albright and Hillary didn't fall for the old 'pull my finger' joke too.
I met Byron Dorgan very briefly years back, around the time he'd have been reelected to a second Senate term. After the events of the last few days I have to admit that my previous perceptions of Dorgan were completely wrong. None of us can ever know what happened between then and now but years back I'd not have considered describing him as just another gutless hack politician. That he finally showed his lack of integrity by choosing party over state shouldn't have been a surprise I suppose. Every prostitute comes with a price tag. Like any good member of the Politburo Dorgan just proved to have a decimal point further to the right. Pathetic.
Its becoming painfully obvious that Albert Gore is full of methane.
Dennis Miller and Bruce Jacobs are the funniest guys there are on talk radio.
Phrases that need to retire: 'the fact of the matter...', 'saved and created', 'partisanship', 'bipartisanship', 'demonize', 'stimulus', 'porkulus', or anything else ending in '-ulus'.
Since the average American is finally figuring out something is badly wrong in the DC welfare state known as Congress, how about some fresh guidelines for a new brand of candidate? A bachelors degree from a state college, never held office higher than city board of supervisors-and no longer than five years, isn't a lawyer and has never worked in the legal field in any way, owns and manages his own business, and finally doesn't talk a lot...so when he does people listen. Sound like a nice change of pace?
Friday, January 29, 2010
Patrice Cormier
The elbows of Gordie Howe are part of his legend. A player doesn't get the nickname 'Mr. Elbows' for no reason. Elbows have been part of the game forever, and so have elbowing penalties. These things aside there is no excuse for the couple of elbows thrown by Patrice Cormier over the last month.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzhF2viguGs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hzeOhL8_9g&feature=related
Preaching about respect for the opponent and the game has all been said before here. Simply put, the lax leadership of the various commissioners, presidents, and rule enforcement officials has created any anything-goes atmosphere catering to the lowest common denominator of fan-all in the name of the almighty dollar. Couple that with a toothless sanction/suspension system and you get a defenceman from the Quebec Remparts convulsing face down at center ice. 'Suspended indefinitely' sounds pretty on paper.
If the leagues were serious about stopping crap hits like the ones in the video clips above, there'd be a blanket suspension across all leagues: If you want to play this way, be prepared to be suspended for as long as the injured player is out plus one season. No exceptions, no appeals. Of course, dropping the instigator rule is such a logical option to help along the process of discouraging this type of play as not to be given even remote consideration.
Excuses abound, but no matter how good a kid Cormier is said to be, or how popular he is with his teammates, its all simply a poor attempt to excuse and justify bad behavior, so go ahead and make all the allowances that have been tried before. None of it is going to get the Tam kid out of a hospital bed any faster, or for that matter make it clear whether he'll ever pay again.
Patrice Cormier has received a preliminary suspension and may even be disciplined further. Its a shame that the hockey establishment can't be sanctioned for the soft discipline program in place that has allowed cheapshot hockey to flourish.
Thanks for reading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzhF2viguGs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hzeOhL8_9g&feature=related
Preaching about respect for the opponent and the game has all been said before here. Simply put, the lax leadership of the various commissioners, presidents, and rule enforcement officials has created any anything-goes atmosphere catering to the lowest common denominator of fan-all in the name of the almighty dollar. Couple that with a toothless sanction/suspension system and you get a defenceman from the Quebec Remparts convulsing face down at center ice. 'Suspended indefinitely' sounds pretty on paper.
If the leagues were serious about stopping crap hits like the ones in the video clips above, there'd be a blanket suspension across all leagues: If you want to play this way, be prepared to be suspended for as long as the injured player is out plus one season. No exceptions, no appeals. Of course, dropping the instigator rule is such a logical option to help along the process of discouraging this type of play as not to be given even remote consideration.
Excuses abound, but no matter how good a kid Cormier is said to be, or how popular he is with his teammates, its all simply a poor attempt to excuse and justify bad behavior, so go ahead and make all the allowances that have been tried before. None of it is going to get the Tam kid out of a hospital bed any faster, or for that matter make it clear whether he'll ever pay again.
Patrice Cormier has received a preliminary suspension and may even be disciplined further. Its a shame that the hockey establishment can't be sanctioned for the soft discipline program in place that has allowed cheapshot hockey to flourish.
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
DC Unemployment Rate (Last update 1/22/11)
Now that the government has inserted itself into the regulation of salaries of the upper managements of private businesses, is it time for a citizens group to be formed to regulate the salaries of government workers and, especially, members of congress?
In the same vein, now that the country is waking up to the high hack content in the US Politburo, hopefully the next election will bring to our 'leadership' the same ten percent unemployment that the government has inflicted on the country.
Think about that for a few minutes. In your opinion which fifty-three in congress should find themselves in the unemployment line? Here are mine (in no particular order):
1. John McCain (AZ) 2. Nancy Pelosi (CA)
3. Barney Frank (MA) 4. Lindsey Graham (SC)
5. Harry Reid (NV) 6. Joe Manchin (WV)
7. Dick Durbin (IL) 8. Lisa Murkowski (AK)
9. Maurice Hinchey (NY) 10. Diane Feinstein (CA)
11. Barbara Boxer (CA) 12. Richard Blumenthal (CN)
13. John Conyers Jr. (MI) 14. Charles Rangel (NY)
15. Jim McDermott (WA) 16. Mary Landrieu (LA)
17. Rob Andrews (NJ) 18. Charles Schumer (NY)
19. Patrick 'The Leak' Leahy (VT) 20. Ben Nelson (NE)
21. Steny Hoyer (MD) 22. Alcee Hastings (FL)
23. Henry Waxman (CA) 24. John Lewis (GA)
25. Ed Markey (MA) 26. John Dingell (MI)
27. Steve Cohen (TN) 28. Max Baucus (MT)
29. John Sarbanes (MD) 30. Patty Murray (WA)
31. Tom Harkin (IA) 32. Jerrold Nadler (NY)
33. Maxine Waters (CA) 34. Carl Levin (MI)
35. Jane Harman (CA) 36. Dan Boren (OK)
37. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL) 38. Bill Nelson (FL)
39. Bob Menendez (NJ) 40. Tim Johnson (SD)
41. Fortnoy 'Pete' Stark (CA) 42. Sherrod Brown (OH)
43. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX) 44. Chris Van Hollen (MD)
45. Stephen Lynch (MA) 46. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
47. Debbie Stabenow (MI) 48. Sander Levin (MI)
49. Nikki Tsongas (MA) 50. Al Franken (MN)
51. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) 52. Ron Wyden (OR)
53.
It is truly a shame that there's never a shortage of morons for this list. It'd be nice to see the rate drop to about 4-5% like it was most of the start of this century. Anyway, here is the short bus list of turds who've been shown the door and dropped from the list (in a very not-soon-enough fashion):
Kent Conrad (ND)
Alan Greyson (FL)
Russ Feingold (WI)
Earl Pomeroy (ND)
Arlen Specter (PA)
Bart Stupak (MI)
Christopher Dodd (CT)
Byron Dorgan (ND)
John Murtha (PA)
Patrick Kennedy (RI)
Anthony Weiner (NY)
.....And the latest Politburo spending extravaganza contains a two percent pay increase for government employees. Guess the belt tightening only applies to the serfs. Increased hope for the bureaucrats, not even pocket change for the rest of us. There's your hope and change folks.
Thanks for reading.
In the same vein, now that the country is waking up to the high hack content in the US Politburo, hopefully the next election will bring to our 'leadership' the same ten percent unemployment that the government has inflicted on the country.
Think about that for a few minutes. In your opinion which fifty-three in congress should find themselves in the unemployment line? Here are mine (in no particular order):
1. John McCain (AZ) 2. Nancy Pelosi (CA)
3. Barney Frank (MA) 4. Lindsey Graham (SC)
5. Harry Reid (NV) 6. Joe Manchin (WV)
7. Dick Durbin (IL) 8. Lisa Murkowski (AK)
9. Maurice Hinchey (NY) 10. Diane Feinstein (CA)
11. Barbara Boxer (CA) 12. Richard Blumenthal (CN)
13. John Conyers Jr. (MI) 14. Charles Rangel (NY)
15. Jim McDermott (WA) 16. Mary Landrieu (LA)
17. Rob Andrews (NJ) 18. Charles Schumer (NY)
19. Patrick 'The Leak' Leahy (VT) 20. Ben Nelson (NE)
21. Steny Hoyer (MD) 22. Alcee Hastings (FL)
23. Henry Waxman (CA) 24. John Lewis (GA)
25. Ed Markey (MA) 26. John Dingell (MI)
27. Steve Cohen (TN) 28. Max Baucus (MT)
29. John Sarbanes (MD) 30. Patty Murray (WA)
31. Tom Harkin (IA) 32. Jerrold Nadler (NY)
33. Maxine Waters (CA) 34. Carl Levin (MI)
35. Jane Harman (CA) 36. Dan Boren (OK)
37. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL) 38. Bill Nelson (FL)
39. Bob Menendez (NJ) 40. Tim Johnson (SD)
41. Fortnoy 'Pete' Stark (CA) 42. Sherrod Brown (OH)
43. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX) 44. Chris Van Hollen (MD)
45. Stephen Lynch (MA) 46. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
47. Debbie Stabenow (MI) 48. Sander Levin (MI)
49. Nikki Tsongas (MA) 50. Al Franken (MN)
51. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) 52. Ron Wyden (OR)
53.
It is truly a shame that there's never a shortage of morons for this list. It'd be nice to see the rate drop to about 4-5% like it was most of the start of this century. Anyway, here is the short bus list of turds who've been shown the door and dropped from the list (in a very not-soon-enough fashion):
Kent Conrad (ND)
Alan Greyson (FL)
Russ Feingold (WI)
Earl Pomeroy (ND)
Arlen Specter (PA)
Bart Stupak (MI)
Christopher Dodd (CT)
Byron Dorgan (ND)
John Murtha (PA)
Patrick Kennedy (RI)
Anthony Weiner (NY)
.....And the latest Politburo spending extravaganza contains a two percent pay increase for government employees. Guess the belt tightening only applies to the serfs. Increased hope for the bureaucrats, not even pocket change for the rest of us. There's your hope and change folks.
Thanks for reading.
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