Thank -- GOD.
Get it out of here, throw it out with the trash, and take Roger Goodell, Sepp Blatter, the referee attackers, Floyd Mayweather, etc. and so forth and so on with you.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Almost the perfect capper for the year of absurdity that was the NFL...
The jokes keep writing themselves.
Yardbarker has this one. (hat-tip to my external bullshit detector)
The NFL was forced to refile it's appeal of the Deflategate situation...
because their original filing had the wrong color of it's cover.
In a league which fines players more for wrong colored shoes, cleats, and other indications that the players are not slaves to Roger Goodell and the 32slavemasters owners, it's another joke for the NFL, which racked up a record of non-funny jokes over the course of the year just completing.
Yardbarker has this one. (hat-tip to my external bullshit detector)
The NFL was forced to refile it's appeal of the Deflategate situation...
because their original filing had the wrong color of it's cover.
In a league which fines players more for wrong colored shoes, cleats, and other indications that the players are not slaves to Roger Goodell and the 32
And if you need another indication of how sick people are getting of football...
Tonight's Deadspin Targetting Ejection of the Night...
Deadspin has the video of James Burgess getting tossed from the Music City Bowl in Nashville for targeting Damion Ratley of Texas A&M...
ON THE FIRST PLAY FROM SCRIMMAGE!!!
Burgess nails Ratley while another player is trying to tackle Ratley. As a result of this cheap shot, Burgess injures BOTH PLAYERS (including his own teammate), earning the distinction of being ejected just eleven seconds into his final college game. The teammate, Shaq Wiggins, returned to the game. Ratley was out as of the time of the Deadspin report.
AND IF THAT'S NOT ENOUGH...
Here's another Deadspin gem from today:
Memphis' Reggis Ball, after Memphis lost the Birmingham Bowl to Auburn, got into an altercation with Auburn managers when Ball went to the Auburn sideline and stole a game ball from them, flipping them off, and fleeing the field.
You can't make this shit up, people!
Deadspin has the video of James Burgess getting tossed from the Music City Bowl in Nashville for targeting Damion Ratley of Texas A&M...
ON THE FIRST PLAY FROM SCRIMMAGE!!!
Burgess nails Ratley while another player is trying to tackle Ratley. As a result of this cheap shot, Burgess injures BOTH PLAYERS (including his own teammate), earning the distinction of being ejected just eleven seconds into his final college game. The teammate, Shaq Wiggins, returned to the game. Ratley was out as of the time of the Deadspin report.
AND IF THAT'S NOT ENOUGH...
Here's another Deadspin gem from today:
Memphis' Reggis Ball, after Memphis lost the Birmingham Bowl to Auburn, got into an altercation with Auburn managers when Ball went to the Auburn sideline and stole a game ball from them, flipping them off, and fleeing the field.
You can't make this shit up, people!
Week 16 Score Report
- Week 16 average: 43.3125 PPG
- 16 week average: 45.804 PPG
- Home teams were 11-5 this week, 130-107 (.5485) for the year.
- Over was 7-9 or 6-9-1 for the week, 3 to 8 games below .500 for the year.
- Favorites were 6-10 against the number, 10 to 12 games below .500 for the year, effectively ensuring a losing record against the spread for favorites in Vegas.
- 211 penalties this week, same as last week. Oakland was high with 16 in their victory.
- Three Cliffhangers, including the Thursday nighter and the Monday nighter. Jets over the Patriots was the third.
- Six other games ending within one score, two others within a score at some point in the 4th quarter.
- Cliffhangers for the 16 weeks: 55/240 (22.91%)
- Games ending within one score: 131/240 (54.58%)
- Games within one score at some point in the fourth quarter: 161/240 (67.08%)
Every team? At least three matches in 2015???
Good grief. This story out of Canada, brought to us by the Twitter account of Christ Celestino from the website Securing the Game, from Vice Sports.
The Canadian Soccer League needs to be shut down.
It's that simple. There is no other solution.
A report from the international match-fixing watchdog International Centre for Sports Security reported that the Canadian Soccer League, a semi-pro league headquartered in Toronto, had every team in the league involved in at least three suspicious matches in 2015 -- with the watchdog noting that two matches out of every five contested in the league were suspiciously bet.
How bad did this get? Read the Vice article linked for the full situation, but here's the Cliff's Notes:
The Vice article chronicles closely an October 4, 2015 match between Niagara Falls and Sporting Club Waterloo.
A Niagara Falls player was immediately suspicious, as SC Waterloo was locked into the #4 playoff seed in the 12-team league, and his team was already eliminated from contention.
Noting that one could get 10-1 odds on a drawn match, a second player immediately noticed that Waterloo, with a superior lineup, was not going forward.
A Niagara goal was waved off, then Waterloo scored. After this, the two players who have spoken up in public in this article both were sent off for continued dissent! With nine opponents, you think Waterloo would make mincemeat out of this, right?
No. They stopped attacking immediately, and were actually inviting Niagara Falls to score.
The game was soon tied, but it was now clear to everyone on the Niagara Falls bench that Waterloo was fixing the match, so they arranged for a late-half penalty to attempt to thwart an attempt at spot-fixing the halftime score to be tied.
Waterloo was allowed to score again, as a result, before the penalty could be consummated, and a third Niagara Falls player was sent off -- this one intentionally!
The Niagara free kick was intentionally let in, 2-2 at the half.
The second half, or what was played of it, was abject farce. Waterloo wanted nothing to do with getting a ball in EITHER NET. Niagara made several attempts to score an own goal just to screw the fix, but it was thwarted every time - the referee seeing enough at 65 minutes and calling the match.
The Niagara players demanded the referee put the indications of a fix into his report -- he did not.
SC Waterloo ended up hosting the finals, but lost. Niagara Falls is leaving the league as a result of the situation.
It's basically clear, by what's being reported in this report that, not unlike a number of the Southeast Asian leagues, the Canadian Soccer League, up to it's very organization, has been infiltrated by match-fixers -- whether they are the Southeast Asians or not is unknown at this time.
However, it's clear why there is the frustration of nothing being done: It's clear that even organizations like Interpol are being infiltrated by these organized crime outfits.
The Canadian Soccer League needs to be shut down.
It's that simple. There is no other solution.
A report from the international match-fixing watchdog International Centre for Sports Security reported that the Canadian Soccer League, a semi-pro league headquartered in Toronto, had every team in the league involved in at least three suspicious matches in 2015 -- with the watchdog noting that two matches out of every five contested in the league were suspiciously bet.
How bad did this get? Read the Vice article linked for the full situation, but here's the Cliff's Notes:
The Vice article chronicles closely an October 4, 2015 match between Niagara Falls and Sporting Club Waterloo.
A Niagara Falls player was immediately suspicious, as SC Waterloo was locked into the #4 playoff seed in the 12-team league, and his team was already eliminated from contention.
Noting that one could get 10-1 odds on a drawn match, a second player immediately noticed that Waterloo, with a superior lineup, was not going forward.
A Niagara goal was waved off, then Waterloo scored. After this, the two players who have spoken up in public in this article both were sent off for continued dissent! With nine opponents, you think Waterloo would make mincemeat out of this, right?
No. They stopped attacking immediately, and were actually inviting Niagara Falls to score.
The game was soon tied, but it was now clear to everyone on the Niagara Falls bench that Waterloo was fixing the match, so they arranged for a late-half penalty to attempt to thwart an attempt at spot-fixing the halftime score to be tied.
Waterloo was allowed to score again, as a result, before the penalty could be consummated, and a third Niagara Falls player was sent off -- this one intentionally!
The Niagara free kick was intentionally let in, 2-2 at the half.
The second half, or what was played of it, was abject farce. Waterloo wanted nothing to do with getting a ball in EITHER NET. Niagara made several attempts to score an own goal just to screw the fix, but it was thwarted every time - the referee seeing enough at 65 minutes and calling the match.
The Niagara players demanded the referee put the indications of a fix into his report -- he did not.
SC Waterloo ended up hosting the finals, but lost. Niagara Falls is leaving the league as a result of the situation.
It's basically clear, by what's being reported in this report that, not unlike a number of the Southeast Asian leagues, the Canadian Soccer League, up to it's very organization, has been infiltrated by match-fixers -- whether they are the Southeast Asians or not is unknown at this time.
However, it's clear why there is the frustration of nothing being done: It's clear that even organizations like Interpol are being infiltrated by these organized crime outfits.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
And while I do the Kirk Cousins story, Deadspin has an Al Jazeera bombshell...
Take this with however much salt you need to, but The Huntington Post has picked it up...
Deadspin, sourcing them, claims Al Jazeera will report that Peyton Manning has been receiving HGH and other drugs from an Indianapolis anti-aging clinic, as part of a one-hour documentary about a number of famous athletes in the United States..
The report also implicates Green Bay Packers star Clay Matthews, in taking Percocet and claiming to want to find Toradol, two ultra-powerful painkillers.
The report goes on to name (in various lists) Ryan Howard and a number of other players.
You can see the report here on Deadspin.
It should be of note that the main doctor seen on "hidden camera" is trying to refute everything, but take that with salt too, because the NFL has done a lot to push the likes of Manning and Matthews, so they might be trying to nip this in the bud now. Manning has already been making the rounds, and at least Howard is considering suing the living Hell out of people for all this.
Stay tuned. This should get MESSY.
Deadspin, sourcing them, claims Al Jazeera will report that Peyton Manning has been receiving HGH and other drugs from an Indianapolis anti-aging clinic, as part of a one-hour documentary about a number of famous athletes in the United States..
The report also implicates Green Bay Packers star Clay Matthews, in taking Percocet and claiming to want to find Toradol, two ultra-powerful painkillers.
The report goes on to name (in various lists) Ryan Howard and a number of other players.
You can see the report here on Deadspin.
It should be of note that the main doctor seen on "hidden camera" is trying to refute everything, but take that with salt too, because the NFL has done a lot to push the likes of Manning and Matthews, so they might be trying to nip this in the bud now. Manning has already been making the rounds, and at least Howard is considering suing the living Hell out of people for all this.
Stay tuned. This should get MESSY.
Saturday, December 26, 2015
So the NFL follows suit?
Kirk Cousins has the ball on the Philadelphia 6. No time outs, up six points, six seconds to go in the half.
And then...
HE TAKES A KNEE!!!
The Net has predictably blown up on this, knowing that, if Washington wins tonight's game, they win the woeful NFC East and host a playoff game, probably against Seattle or Minnesota.
That said... It also means two fewer relevant Week 17 games for the National Religion. Kirk Cousins was doing his job, but not for the Washington Redskins.
And then...
Ian Eagle describes perfectly the moment that Kirk Cousins lost his mind pic.twitter.com/F2ONyKsewX
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) December 27, 2015
HE TAKES A KNEE!!!
The Net has predictably blown up on this, knowing that, if Washington wins tonight's game, they win the woeful NFC East and host a playoff game, probably against Seattle or Minnesota.
That said... It also means two fewer relevant Week 17 games for the National Religion. Kirk Cousins was doing his job, but not for the Washington Redskins.
(Bowl Season) And here we go...
The "You're Welcome" to the earlier Miami rig-job over Duke?
Duke was playing Indiana in the Pinstripe Bowl in New York today.
44-41 Duke in overtime, and Indiana needs a field goal to tie.
Griffin Oakes attempts a field goal...
And the referees state that, because the kick was too high over the upright, it COULD NOT BE REVIEWED! Kick no good, Duke wins...
The rule is that the uprights are infinite. It's clearly in line with the upright, but the official said no good -- and it didn't even look like he was looking up there...
Keep believing these games aren't rigged, people.
Duke was playing Indiana in the Pinstripe Bowl in New York today.
44-41 Duke in overtime, and Indiana needs a field goal to tie.
Griffin Oakes attempts a field goal...
And the referees state that, because the kick was too high over the upright, it COULD NOT BE REVIEWED! Kick no good, Duke wins...
The rule is that the uprights are infinite. It's clearly in line with the upright, but the official said no good -- and it didn't even look like he was looking up there...
Keep believing these games aren't rigged, people.
Friday, December 25, 2015
Lost in the Shuffle: Another reason you need to go see "Concussion"...
Deadspin caught this, or neither I or my External Bullshit Detector might've seen this one...
You really have to see this (s)hit yourself, but if this is not an encouragement to see "Concussion" and understand why the NFL hates the truth, watch this human missile cheap-shot somebody with his fucking head...
Other 31 teams do it too, like your Broncos. That said, this is one of the worst ones we've seen in a while.
Makes you wonder if one of the selling points of this year's playoffs is: WHAT WILL YOUR TEAM DO TO TRY TO WIN THE GOLDEN SUPER BOWL?
You really have to see this (s)hit yourself, but if this is not an encouragement to see "Concussion" and understand why the NFL hates the truth, watch this human missile cheap-shot somebody with his fucking head...
Other 31 teams do it too, like your Broncos. That said, this is one of the worst ones we've seen in a while.
Makes you wonder if one of the selling points of this year's playoffs is: WHAT WILL YOUR TEAM DO TO TRY TO WIN THE GOLDEN SUPER BOWL?
(Daily Fantasy) Add Illinois to the list...
Illinois' Attorney General made Daily Fantasy illegal in the state earlier this week.
I just have to wonder this, and this is why I kinda stalled in getting this up (well, that and being way too tired this week -- and cursing Sony for a wonderful present I just got requiring me to buy something for myself): Why does someone not put one and one (and one and one and one...) together to get that these Daily Fantasy games are nothing more than a modern version of rigged Three Card Monte?
The players you see in the commercial are probably the inside rakes to get the money off the table before the fuzz come in to break the game up, just like in the street-side card game.
What shocks me is that, with so much advertising money and the like coming from the sports leagues to things like Scam Duel and Grift Kings (hattip Deadspin!), why it's even been allowed to get this far in making it illegal...
I just have to wonder this, and this is why I kinda stalled in getting this up (well, that and being way too tired this week -- and cursing Sony for a wonderful present I just got requiring me to buy something for myself): Why does someone not put one and one (and one and one and one...) together to get that these Daily Fantasy games are nothing more than a modern version of rigged Three Card Monte?
The players you see in the commercial are probably the inside rakes to get the money off the table before the fuzz come in to break the game up, just like in the street-side card game.
What shocks me is that, with so much advertising money and the like coming from the sports leagues to things like Scam Duel and Grift Kings (hattip Deadspin!), why it's even been allowed to get this far in making it illegal...
Thursday, December 24, 2015
NFL Out of Control, OBJ Edition, Part Two: Homophobia Alleged
There's another angle, separate from the officiating, that is indicating the wheels are further coming off the NFL, and it also has to do with Odell Beckham Jr.
He can have wild hair, with hair dye, and his touchdown celebrations can be considered a bit over the top.
This, according to Michael Irvin of the NFL Network, has him stating that Odell Beckham Jr. has been the target of homophobic slurs every week for the entire season, according to multiple reports that he told the New York Daily News. This one is from Sports Illustrated.
This is important for three reasons.
1) It is complete hypocrisy by a league which says that it was going to penalize -- on and off the field! -- such homophobic taunts. In reality, it has full place in the No F_____s League, and, in fact, could be used to blackball a player like Odell Beckham, even if he is not actually gay! One has to believe, especially in driving a credible pro-level player like Michael Sam from the sport, that it's only getting worse, and Beckham's nature and hairstyle have made him a (completely undeserving!!!) target.
2) Michael Irvin, by outing this behavior, has endangered his job with the NFL, because it is the... You get the idea.
3) Michael Irvin has a reason to do this. He is one of the few NFL players who is pro-LGBT, because his brother is somewhere within the LGBT community.
So, once again, the No F_____s League rears it's ugly head again for no fucking good reason. And one has to wonder why Beckham would continue to put up with it. Well, they got him suspended for the Minnesota game...
... a game where it would be quite convenient for the Vikings to win!
He can have wild hair, with hair dye, and his touchdown celebrations can be considered a bit over the top.
This, according to Michael Irvin of the NFL Network, has him stating that Odell Beckham Jr. has been the target of homophobic slurs every week for the entire season, according to multiple reports that he told the New York Daily News. This one is from Sports Illustrated.
This is important for three reasons.
1) It is complete hypocrisy by a league which says that it was going to penalize -- on and off the field! -- such homophobic taunts. In reality, it has full place in the No F_____s League, and, in fact, could be used to blackball a player like Odell Beckham, even if he is not actually gay! One has to believe, especially in driving a credible pro-level player like Michael Sam from the sport, that it's only getting worse, and Beckham's nature and hairstyle have made him a (completely undeserving!!!) target.
2) Michael Irvin, by outing this behavior, has endangered his job with the NFL, because it is the... You get the idea.
3) Michael Irvin has a reason to do this. He is one of the few NFL players who is pro-LGBT, because his brother is somewhere within the LGBT community.
So, once again, the No F_____s League rears it's ugly head again for no fucking good reason. And one has to wonder why Beckham would continue to put up with it. Well, they got him suspended for the Minnesota game...
... a game where it would be quite convenient for the Vikings to win!
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
The officiating in the NFL has gone to criminal conspiracy levels now -- even BEYOND simple game-fixing.
Can't get away from the Odell Beckham stuff even if you tried this week.
Shockingly, the NFL has chosen to uphold the one-game suspension Odell Beckham Jr. received for probably some of the cheapest shots ever done on a football field. I'll get to where I would've started the bidding later, but there is FAR FAR more to this story -- and the one on the officiating in this farce of a rigged league -- than meets the eye.
For example: Everybody's been ragging on Beckham -- and yes, he should be! -- for what he did on the field. But how many people have even remotely attempted to report this gem Deadspin picked up on: That at least two members of the Carolina Panthers defense came to Beckham in warmups, swinging a baseball bat given to him by a Panthers team official!!!
The player, according to Ian Rapoport, was Marcus Ball, on the Panthers practice squad. And, no, it does not excuse Beckham's actions during the game at all! In fact, I'd have started the suspension bidding at the two games remaining in the regular season, any games the Giants play in the playoffs, and the first four regular season games of next year.
In asking a question as to what "team official" may have given Ball the bat, another player was revealed to have threatened Beckham with the bat: Art Stapleton, a Giants beat writer, said Josh Norman had one too!
According to Jay Glazer and one injured Panther, the bat is actually used as a symbol of "bringing the wood"...
Yeah and fucking right. Where the FUCK are the seven officials in this game and NFL Security to stop this bullshit before someone (as my External Bullshit Detector put it) brings a knife or even uses a weapon in a pileup or something like that?
This Deadspin article notes the mindset Beckham had: At least THREE separate ejection-level cheapshots that might rival anything on an NFL field over the last fifteen or so years. Albert Haynesworth got five games for a singular incident, Beckham should be lucky he's sitting just the one.
That said, any Panther player or employee involved in this needs to be in the league no longer, and the seven officials for the game need to be straight-up fired. It got so bad, according to Deadspin, that even the mafioso Dean Blandino basically had enough and told one of the officials effectively: "You know, you can throw somebody out of this game!"
And that kinda gets down to it: There are really only two choices...
Either the referees are about as competent as a professional wrestling referee in the work...
OR
The referees in the NFL are engaging in criminal conspiracy with one or more parties for the benefit of one or more criminal acts.
And note that I'm not just talking about game-fixing. (Though that would be relevant, especially given the announcement that, during the playoffs, referee crews will be allowed to talk with the New York bosses on many more things than just instant replay. This is so bad that Brian Tuohy reports (Week 15 portion) that even former ref head Mike Pereira says this bombshell:
"Basically, what it looks like is that the league office is making decisions on who possibly wins or loses the game,"
To get Pereira to say this, as Tuohy asserts, is huge. As one of Tuohy's five contests on Facebook for a copy of his new book (all completed before this writing), Tuohy asked what would convince people that the games were rigged. (The winner said "The apocalypse.")
But it's more than that. It's more than even becoming part of what is injuring and killing these players. By their active ignorance or even active wanting these acts to happen in the name of the most HARDCORE GOLDEN SUPER BOWL EVAH..., these referees are endangering everyone in the building.
How many more teams are now going to see it OK to threaten the star receiver/quarterback/sack supplier/etc. with baseball bats, knives, etc. and so forth...
Somebody is going to get a weapon to them, especially if it's clear that it appears OK for the Carolina team to do what they did...
... or are you trying to tell me that Carolina IS the chosen NFC team, NFL?
Shockingly, the NFL has chosen to uphold the one-game suspension Odell Beckham Jr. received for probably some of the cheapest shots ever done on a football field. I'll get to where I would've started the bidding later, but there is FAR FAR more to this story -- and the one on the officiating in this farce of a rigged league -- than meets the eye.
For example: Everybody's been ragging on Beckham -- and yes, he should be! -- for what he did on the field. But how many people have even remotely attempted to report this gem Deadspin picked up on: That at least two members of the Carolina Panthers defense came to Beckham in warmups, swinging a baseball bat given to him by a Panthers team official!!!
The player, according to Ian Rapoport, was Marcus Ball, on the Panthers practice squad. And, no, it does not excuse Beckham's actions during the game at all! In fact, I'd have started the suspension bidding at the two games remaining in the regular season, any games the Giants play in the playoffs, and the first four regular season games of next year.
In asking a question as to what "team official" may have given Ball the bat, another player was revealed to have threatened Beckham with the bat: Art Stapleton, a Giants beat writer, said Josh Norman had one too!
According to Jay Glazer and one injured Panther, the bat is actually used as a symbol of "bringing the wood"...
Yeah and fucking right. Where the FUCK are the seven officials in this game and NFL Security to stop this bullshit before someone (as my External Bullshit Detector put it) brings a knife or even uses a weapon in a pileup or something like that?
This Deadspin article notes the mindset Beckham had: At least THREE separate ejection-level cheapshots that might rival anything on an NFL field over the last fifteen or so years. Albert Haynesworth got five games for a singular incident, Beckham should be lucky he's sitting just the one.
That said, any Panther player or employee involved in this needs to be in the league no longer, and the seven officials for the game need to be straight-up fired. It got so bad, according to Deadspin, that even the mafioso Dean Blandino basically had enough and told one of the officials effectively: "You know, you can throw somebody out of this game!"
And that kinda gets down to it: There are really only two choices...
Either the referees are about as competent as a professional wrestling referee in the work...
OR
The referees in the NFL are engaging in criminal conspiracy with one or more parties for the benefit of one or more criminal acts.
And note that I'm not just talking about game-fixing. (Though that would be relevant, especially given the announcement that, during the playoffs, referee crews will be allowed to talk with the New York bosses on many more things than just instant replay. This is so bad that Brian Tuohy reports (Week 15 portion) that even former ref head Mike Pereira says this bombshell:
"Basically, what it looks like is that the league office is making decisions on who possibly wins or loses the game,"
To get Pereira to say this, as Tuohy asserts, is huge. As one of Tuohy's five contests on Facebook for a copy of his new book (all completed before this writing), Tuohy asked what would convince people that the games were rigged. (The winner said "The apocalypse.")
But it's more than that. It's more than even becoming part of what is injuring and killing these players. By their active ignorance or even active wanting these acts to happen in the name of the most HARDCORE GOLDEN SUPER BOWL EVAH..., these referees are endangering everyone in the building.
How many more teams are now going to see it OK to threaten the star receiver/quarterback/sack supplier/etc. with baseball bats, knives, etc. and so forth...
Somebody is going to get a weapon to them, especially if it's clear that it appears OK for the Carolina team to do what they did...
... or are you trying to tell me that Carolina IS the chosen NFC team, NFL?
Score Update for Week 15
I'll get to the 600 pound elephant in the room in a minute.
- Week 15 average: 49.6875 PPG. Only one game in the 20's and two in the 30's. (Last year: Only 36.4375.)
- For the 15 weeks now played: 45.98 PPG (Last year: 45.406.)
- Home teams were 7-9 last week, 119-102 for the year (.538). (Last year: 9-7 and 130-89-1 (.593))
- Did seem to be a few extra Christmas gifts for the public this week. Over was actually 10-6 this week. 107-108-9 to 107-113-4 for the year. (Last year: 3-13 and 105-116-1.)
- Favorites were 9-5-2 to 9-7 this week, depending on where you shopped. (Jets and Pittsburgh pushed in some places, didn't cover in others.) 100-108-18 to 100-110-16 for the year.
- 211 penalties this week.
- First two games on my list on Sunday went Cliffhanger (Jets and Carolina), no others did.
- Six games decided within one score, only one other game was within one score at the fourth quarter -- SEVEN non-competitive contests.
- Cliffhangers: 52/224 (23.21% -- going down) (Last year: 16.07% -- only 36. None in Week 15 last year.)
- Decided by one score: 122/224 (54.46%) (Last year: 41.51% after another week of 8.)
- Within one score at some point in the 4th quarter: 150/224 (66.96%) (Last year: 62.05%)
Friday, December 18, 2015
Mike Florio calling a shot here?
Hat-tip to Brian Tuohy and his NFL season page, and he got this from "Dennis", a Minnesota Viking fan, on Twitter. (The link below is a one-minute clip posted to Soundcloud.)
Mike Florio asserts (as a purported joke) that the league is going to ensure the Vikings lose this weekend.
The initial thought process is that a Vikings win will damage a number of teams in the NFC.
Minnesota is playing Chicago. The Vikings are 8-5. One game behind Green Bay, tied with Seattle for the two wild-card spots. Next non-division winner in the NFC? 6-7.
A Vikings win basically seals them into the playoffs. (Same goes for Seattle.)
So Florio's assertion that the Vikings winning would damage a number of teams is quite correct. That and a Seattle win eliminates St. Louis, who basically eliminated Tampa Bay last night.
The Vikings going to 9-7 basically takes out that entire 6-7 mess of the NFC East and Atlanta. It probably takes quite a number of Week 17 games off the table, even though it might well add Minnesota at Green Bay, especially because Green Bay has to play at Oakland and Arizona the next two weeks.
Then, the discussion turns to this little ditty that a lot of people might want to take a look at in light of this season's far-too-convenient number of close games and Cliffhangers:
Roger Goodell has ADMITTED that he roots for the team which is behind, and this comment is almost two years old now -- leading Pro Football Talk to raise the probability that the blackout at the Ravens-49ers Super Bowl was intentional!
So extrapolate that to Pete Rozelle's vision that every team would have a shot at the playoffs in the last week.
Not going to happen this year, but here's a little look at something:
Week 15, Thursday nighter in.
Every team in the NFC East is in it (yes, even Dallas -- they've basically figured out a singular scenario that can get Dallas to 7-9 and win the division through tiebreakers).
Detroit is eliminated, not sure about Chicago (but Chicago or Tampa Bay WILL be eliminated next week, if they aren't already).
The other three teams in the NFC South probably need Minnesota, Seattle, or both to lose out, because only Atlanta can do better than 8-8. I do not believe, at this point, until Minnesota and Seattle win, that the other three teams are out, save tiebreakers.
49ers out, St. Louis hanging on.
By my count, barring mega-tiebreaker looks, only two NFC teams enter Sunday of Week 15 out of the playoffs.
AFC: San Diego, Tennessee, Baltimore, and Cleveland out.
AFC South winner has to get to at least 7, but Jacksonville still in it.
Buffalo dangling, Miami dangling even more.
Oakland dangling as well.
So, Week 15, Sunday, only six teams out of the 32 are out of it. More may follow, but it does raise the concept of how many of the last games might be relevant.
For the record, here's the Week 17 schedule:
Jets-Bills (Buffalo will probably be out, but the Jets are 8-5 and in the mix, so this one probably is important for the Jets.)
Patriots-Dolphins (Probably home field for the Patriots.)
Tampa-Carolina (16-0 for Carolina? Outside flier at the Wildcard for Tampa??)
Saints-Falcons (Last gasp at a wildcard for either, if Minnesota and/or Seattle slump?)
Baltimore-Cincinnati (Bengals #2 seed entering this week, so bye week implications.)
Pittsburgh-Cleveland (See the Jets for Pittsburgh. Same scenario.)
Jacksonville-Houston and Tennessee-Indianapolis in that mess of an AFC South. Pretty much about the only way these games lose importance is if the Tennessee-Houston winner this week wins next week and the loser loses again next week.
Oakland-Kansas City (KC is the third team 8-5, and Oakland is still on the outside door of it.)
Washington-Dallas and Philly-Giants in that mess of an NFC East.
Detroit-Chicago -- might be the first game on this list I can slam the door on.
Minnesota-Green Bay is probably for the division and most playoff scenarios have the winner hosting the loser in the wildcard round.
San Diego-Denver (Denver's positioning, see Cleveland.)
Seattle-Arizona (only might not mean anything if Seattle clinches in and Arizona can go no further)
Rams-49ers (outside shot for the Rams)
So I've got ONE Week 17 game (two weeks in advance) meaning nothing, and a couple or three which might take a convoluted bunch of scenarios.
This is what Florio is "joking" about. Maximize the number of relevant games, and the fans will glue to their seats.
One interesting thing Florio tries to use as cover (in speaking facetiously) is "someone would've leaked it by now" if this were the case.
Oh really? Care to ask the family of Dan Moldea how that might work out, especially after he found FBI evidence as to the rigging of a significant number of MNF games in a 1970's season?
But Florio does say the final bullet point right: A Vikings win takes most of the wildcard picture in the NFC and clears it.
Mike Florio asserts (as a purported joke) that the league is going to ensure the Vikings lose this weekend.
The initial thought process is that a Vikings win will damage a number of teams in the NFC.
Minnesota is playing Chicago. The Vikings are 8-5. One game behind Green Bay, tied with Seattle for the two wild-card spots. Next non-division winner in the NFC? 6-7.
A Vikings win basically seals them into the playoffs. (Same goes for Seattle.)
So Florio's assertion that the Vikings winning would damage a number of teams is quite correct. That and a Seattle win eliminates St. Louis, who basically eliminated Tampa Bay last night.
The Vikings going to 9-7 basically takes out that entire 6-7 mess of the NFC East and Atlanta. It probably takes quite a number of Week 17 games off the table, even though it might well add Minnesota at Green Bay, especially because Green Bay has to play at Oakland and Arizona the next two weeks.
Then, the discussion turns to this little ditty that a lot of people might want to take a look at in light of this season's far-too-convenient number of close games and Cliffhangers:
Roger Goodell has ADMITTED that he roots for the team which is behind, and this comment is almost two years old now -- leading Pro Football Talk to raise the probability that the blackout at the Ravens-49ers Super Bowl was intentional!
So extrapolate that to Pete Rozelle's vision that every team would have a shot at the playoffs in the last week.
Not going to happen this year, but here's a little look at something:
Week 15, Thursday nighter in.
Every team in the NFC East is in it (yes, even Dallas -- they've basically figured out a singular scenario that can get Dallas to 7-9 and win the division through tiebreakers).
Detroit is eliminated, not sure about Chicago (but Chicago or Tampa Bay WILL be eliminated next week, if they aren't already).
The other three teams in the NFC South probably need Minnesota, Seattle, or both to lose out, because only Atlanta can do better than 8-8. I do not believe, at this point, until Minnesota and Seattle win, that the other three teams are out, save tiebreakers.
49ers out, St. Louis hanging on.
By my count, barring mega-tiebreaker looks, only two NFC teams enter Sunday of Week 15 out of the playoffs.
AFC: San Diego, Tennessee, Baltimore, and Cleveland out.
AFC South winner has to get to at least 7, but Jacksonville still in it.
Buffalo dangling, Miami dangling even more.
Oakland dangling as well.
So, Week 15, Sunday, only six teams out of the 32 are out of it. More may follow, but it does raise the concept of how many of the last games might be relevant.
For the record, here's the Week 17 schedule:
Jets-Bills (Buffalo will probably be out, but the Jets are 8-5 and in the mix, so this one probably is important for the Jets.)
Patriots-Dolphins (Probably home field for the Patriots.)
Tampa-Carolina (16-0 for Carolina? Outside flier at the Wildcard for Tampa??)
Saints-Falcons (Last gasp at a wildcard for either, if Minnesota and/or Seattle slump?)
Baltimore-Cincinnati (Bengals #2 seed entering this week, so bye week implications.)
Pittsburgh-Cleveland (See the Jets for Pittsburgh. Same scenario.)
Jacksonville-Houston and Tennessee-Indianapolis in that mess of an AFC South. Pretty much about the only way these games lose importance is if the Tennessee-Houston winner this week wins next week and the loser loses again next week.
Oakland-Kansas City (KC is the third team 8-5, and Oakland is still on the outside door of it.)
Washington-Dallas and Philly-Giants in that mess of an NFC East.
Detroit-Chicago -- might be the first game on this list I can slam the door on.
Minnesota-Green Bay is probably for the division and most playoff scenarios have the winner hosting the loser in the wildcard round.
San Diego-Denver (Denver's positioning, see Cleveland.)
Seattle-Arizona (only might not mean anything if Seattle clinches in and Arizona can go no further)
Rams-49ers (outside shot for the Rams)
So I've got ONE Week 17 game (two weeks in advance) meaning nothing, and a couple or three which might take a convoluted bunch of scenarios.
This is what Florio is "joking" about. Maximize the number of relevant games, and the fans will glue to their seats.
One interesting thing Florio tries to use as cover (in speaking facetiously) is "someone would've leaked it by now" if this were the case.
Oh really? Care to ask the family of Dan Moldea how that might work out, especially after he found FBI evidence as to the rigging of a significant number of MNF games in a 1970's season?
But Florio does say the final bullet point right: A Vikings win takes most of the wildcard picture in the NFC and clears it.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Week 14 Score Update
- Pretty low scoring week this week. Average barely broke 40 at 40.0625 PPG. (Last year: 46.8125.)
- 14-week average down to 45.697. (Last year: 46.096, two years ago was about 46.7.)
- Home teams 9-7 last week. Started out well, ended badly. Season: 112-93 (.546) (Last year: 6-10 and 121-82-1 (.596))
- Not surprisingly with the score average just touching 40 PPG this week, the over was 4-12! Season is now 5-10 games below .500 for the over, depending on where you shop. (Last year: 6-10 and about one game below .500.)
- Pretty good week for favorites against the spread by this year's standards: 9-7. Favorites still 10 games below .500 for the year against the spread, so Vegas the only winner here.
- 211 penalties in the 16 games, about consistent with recent weeks at about 13 penalties a game. Second time this year Buffalo has had 17 penalties in a game, they lost both games. (Year high is 18 by Dallas in a win over Philadelphia.)
- Only ONE Cliffhanger this week, and it was the Thursday nighter on top of it!
- Seven further games ended within one score, only one further game was within one score at some point in the 4th quarter, seven non-competitive games this week in a very non-characteristic week in the NFL. Fewest competitive games since Week 8 (8 of 14).
- Cliffhangers: 50/208 (24.03%) (Last year: 17.3% -- there have been 14 more Cliffhangers this year than last through 14 weeks.)
- Decided by one score: 114/208 (54.81%) (Last year: 40.87% -- there have been 29 more games in 14 weeks this year than last decided by 8 points or less, an average of more than TWO PER WEEK.)
- Within one score at some point in the fourth quarter: 141/208 (67.79%) (Last year: 61.54%)
Monday, December 14, 2015
Pete Rose is a goddamned motherfucking liar.
Good to have the external bullshit detector baseball historian in my life, who points out that not only did Pete Rose sign an agreement that one of the conditions of reinstatement was not betting on baseball, but he admitted to Rob Manfred that he had bet on baseball even THIS YEAR!!
So Manfred: You fucked up. Pete Rose should never inhabit another baseball stadium again. I'm not sure how far I could go that would not have me afoul of basic American principles, either...
But the fact is that Pete Rose should never be reinstated, and will never be in the Hall.
So Manfred: You fucked up. Pete Rose should never inhabit another baseball stadium again. I'm not sure how far I could go that would not have me afoul of basic American principles, either...
But the fact is that Pete Rose should never be reinstated, and will never be in the Hall.
SI Gives Lifetime Achievement Award to Serena Williams: Admits No Human Deserved Sportsman of the Year
And NO...
I am not saying that in any form to denigrate Williams, her looks, or her achievements.
American Pharaoh should've won Sports-Horse of the Year (except for one caveat I will apply in a second, as my friend I've talked to on the subject will give). The winner of the 2015 Sportswoman of the Year was the only relevant American tennis star, Serena Williams.
That said, it's clear that, at least for the second time, Sports Illustrated has admitted that no one (or at least no human being) deserved the award. So, SI had to default to a second standard it has done at least once before: A Lifetime Achievement Award which would be workable within the context of the 2015 sports year -- and Serena Williams most certainly qualified under that criteria. (Brett Favre in 2007 would be the other.)
(Otherwise, would the NBA title and 24-0 or so have been enough for Steph Curry to snag the award? The cover story actually notes Curry and Pharaoh, but I would have to think Williams' story not the only athlete's of trying to make such a difference as she has -- hence, I have to think the "deepest field of contenders" is more "Hall of Very Good" than Sportsman of the Year level, if we disqualify Pharaoh out of hand.)
American Pharaoh is the first horse to win horse racing's Grand Slam: The Triple Crown plus The Breeder's Cup Classic.
But my friend points out one very particular point: Horse racing selects it's "athletes", not the other way around like in human sports. It is one of the most abusive sports to it's "athletes", and many decry it's very existence as a result. One has to think that played a factor here, and I have no objection to that if, like my friend, people are honest enough to voice that objection! Secretariat didn't win the year that horse won the Triple Crown either: Jackie Stewart of Formula One was that year's Sportsman of the Year.
But I think SI has been DISingenuous in doing so, though, and that's why I think this was basically saying there were a lot of very good candidates, but no one transcended to that obvious level, if we leave it to human contenders.
I am not saying that in any form to denigrate Williams, her looks, or her achievements.
American Pharaoh should've won Sports-Horse of the Year (except for one caveat I will apply in a second, as my friend I've talked to on the subject will give). The winner of the 2015 Sportswoman of the Year was the only relevant American tennis star, Serena Williams.
That said, it's clear that, at least for the second time, Sports Illustrated has admitted that no one (or at least no human being) deserved the award. So, SI had to default to a second standard it has done at least once before: A Lifetime Achievement Award which would be workable within the context of the 2015 sports year -- and Serena Williams most certainly qualified under that criteria. (Brett Favre in 2007 would be the other.)
(Otherwise, would the NBA title and 24-0 or so have been enough for Steph Curry to snag the award? The cover story actually notes Curry and Pharaoh, but I would have to think Williams' story not the only athlete's of trying to make such a difference as she has -- hence, I have to think the "deepest field of contenders" is more "Hall of Very Good" than Sportsman of the Year level, if we disqualify Pharaoh out of hand.)
American Pharaoh is the first horse to win horse racing's Grand Slam: The Triple Crown plus The Breeder's Cup Classic.
But my friend points out one very particular point: Horse racing selects it's "athletes", not the other way around like in human sports. It is one of the most abusive sports to it's "athletes", and many decry it's very existence as a result. One has to think that played a factor here, and I have no objection to that if, like my friend, people are honest enough to voice that objection! Secretariat didn't win the year that horse won the Triple Crown either: Jackie Stewart of Formula One was that year's Sportsman of the Year.
But I think SI has been DISingenuous in doing so, though, and that's why I think this was basically saying there were a lot of very good candidates, but no one transcended to that obvious level, if we leave it to human contenders.
And somebody needs to be banned from basketball for a long time...
Rajon Rondo, take a fucking hike.
Yahoo! Sports reveals in an exclusive piece this morning two very salient facts why:
For the record, Rondo denies the comments.
Yahoo! Sports reveals in an exclusive piece this morning two very salient facts why:
- Rajon Rondo unleashed several gay slurs on NBA referee Bill Kennedy after an ejection in a game almost two weeks ago in Mexico City.
- Kennedy, an 18 year veteran of the referee ranks in the NBA, came out as gay to Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday.
For the record, Rondo denies the comments.
And this should be the final word on it: Rose Denied.
Whether or not you agree with it is another matter, but Pete Rose has been denied reinstatement again, and that should basically be the final word on the matter for a while.
I think it's clear to anybody that Pete Rose is certainly not a contrite man -- he wasn't on the baseball diamond either.
According to ESPN's account, Rob Manfred said:
I mean, there are legal things I've done on many levels that I would never acceptably, while I'm alive, "understand the damage" in that regard. There are certain things which a person does that there is no way the person could ever satisfy those conditions.
However, Rob Manfred DID leave one crack open on another discussion on the one important thing which is probably the only reason Pete Rose would be reinstated in the first place:
Whether you agree with the decision is one thing. I think it's clear this needs to be the final word on reinstatement, at least as long as Rose is alive.
I think it's clear to anybody that Pete Rose is certainly not a contrite man -- he wasn't on the baseball diamond either.
According to ESPN's account, Rob Manfred said:
"Mr. Rose's public and private comments, including his initial admission in 2004, provide me with little confidence that he has a mature understanding of his wrongful conduct, that he has accepted full responsibility for it, or that he understands the damage he has caused," Manfred said in his decision.And those comments mean that should be the last word of it, because, much like many people who waste the state's time in parole hearings which we know will never result in the person's release under any circumstances, he's never going to get reinstated.
I mean, there are legal things I've done on many levels that I would never acceptably, while I'm alive, "understand the damage" in that regard. There are certain things which a person does that there is no way the person could ever satisfy those conditions.
However, Rob Manfred DID leave one crack open on another discussion on the one important thing which is probably the only reason Pete Rose would be reinstated in the first place:
"In my view, the considerations that should drive a decision on whether an individual should be allowed to work in Baseball are not the same as those that should drive a decision on Hall of Fame eligibility," Manfred wrote. "... Any debate over Mr. Rose's eligibility for the Hall of Fame is one that must take place in a different forum."However, this decision probably slams that door too.
Whether you agree with the decision is one thing. I think it's clear this needs to be the final word on reinstatement, at least as long as Rose is alive.
Friday, December 11, 2015
The End of ESPN and Unintended Consequences
Bumped into this article on Karl Denninger's blog -- a political and economic blog I rarely agree with, but at least interests me as reconnaissance of the enemy or somesuch.
This Dave Maney post from Sunday morning at The Daily Beast basically says the whole she-bang of sports is about to implode, and TV and cable are where it starts.
It begins with everything we know going on at ESPN: The talent reduction, Grantland going poof, and Disney's stock price taking a hit from a seven-million subscriber dip over the last two years -- which was in a required filing by ESPN and Disney to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Then it basically goes into ESPN's history and what it has been able to do as the centerpiece of American sports for the last 30-40 years...
... so much so that Leo Hindery of Intermedia Partners told Bloomberg that every cable subscriber (sports fan or not) pays $35 to $40 A MONTH on sports channels: ESPN, Comcast, FOX, all the regionals, etc.
Think of that: $400-500 a year just to the sports networks, and you're paying for that even if you don't watch the sports...
When that goes down, it could take the entire non-NFL fabric of sports right down with it: It is already being estimated in some circles that television money will be the highest source of sports revenue for sports franchises within three years.
It's almost certainly true in Major League Baseball already, where a great television contract can cause teams to spend through the nose, should their owner elect to do so.
So what happens when this all blows up:
But one thing is for sure: If Maney is correct, you're going to see the end of a lot of teams when this all blows up, and maybe even a league or two.
This Dave Maney post from Sunday morning at The Daily Beast basically says the whole she-bang of sports is about to implode, and TV and cable are where it starts.
It begins with everything we know going on at ESPN: The talent reduction, Grantland going poof, and Disney's stock price taking a hit from a seven-million subscriber dip over the last two years -- which was in a required filing by ESPN and Disney to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Then it basically goes into ESPN's history and what it has been able to do as the centerpiece of American sports for the last 30-40 years...
... so much so that Leo Hindery of Intermedia Partners told Bloomberg that every cable subscriber (sports fan or not) pays $35 to $40 A MONTH on sports channels: ESPN, Comcast, FOX, all the regionals, etc.
Think of that: $400-500 a year just to the sports networks, and you're paying for that even if you don't watch the sports...
When that goes down, it could take the entire non-NFL fabric of sports right down with it: It is already being estimated in some circles that television money will be the highest source of sports revenue for sports franchises within three years.
It's almost certainly true in Major League Baseball already, where a great television contract can cause teams to spend through the nose, should their owner elect to do so.
So what happens when this all blows up:
- MLB probably heads into the serious contraction the 1994 strike should've forced in the first place.
- NHL, the same after the lockouts.
- NBA? Well, the Clippers won't be worth $2 billion...
- The NFL has Religion Status anyway.
But one thing is for sure: If Maney is correct, you're going to see the end of a lot of teams when this all blows up, and maybe even a league or two.
(Daily Fantasy) Dead in New York, Ruled Gambling (UPDATE: Not so fast!)
Grift Kings and Scam Duel (hattip to Deadspin) are out of business in New York, ruled gambling by a New York judge on the injunction order.
DUH!!!
And here's the thing: When is someone going to finally blow the whole she-bang up and expose it as a RIGGED gambling situation? This is why you won't see the groups made legal -- because doing so would remove any incentive for them to do business in the first place.
Any layman individual who has put money into these "games" has just been asking for it (and more!) to get taken from them. Anyone who has paid an ounce of attention to all this can only come to one conclusion: Draft Kings and Fan Duel were created to scam the sports fan of America out of money and funnel it into it's employees as clandestine players within the system. Period-fucking-end.
If this were not the case, then relevant levels of safeguards would've been put into the processes to ensure fair play. Since they aren't there, it's pretty clear they never were meant to be.
UPDATE 2:25 PST: Stay has been granted by the Appeals Court in New York. Daily Fantasy continues in New York for now. Word is this will give until at least the end of the year, which means they probably get the football season...
DUH!!!
And here's the thing: When is someone going to finally blow the whole she-bang up and expose it as a RIGGED gambling situation? This is why you won't see the groups made legal -- because doing so would remove any incentive for them to do business in the first place.
Any layman individual who has put money into these "games" has just been asking for it (and more!) to get taken from them. Anyone who has paid an ounce of attention to all this can only come to one conclusion: Draft Kings and Fan Duel were created to scam the sports fan of America out of money and funnel it into it's employees as clandestine players within the system. Period-fucking-end.
If this were not the case, then relevant levels of safeguards would've been put into the processes to ensure fair play. Since they aren't there, it's pretty clear they never were meant to be.
UPDATE 2:25 PST: Stay has been granted by the Appeals Court in New York. Daily Fantasy continues in New York for now. Word is this will give until at least the end of the year, which means they probably get the football season...
Score Update after Week 13
Had another crazy week, just like Week 13-14 interim last year.
Anyhow:
Anyhow:
- Week 13 average: 47.625 PPG (Last year: 48 even.)
- For the 13 weeks (192 games): 46 1/6 PPG (Last year: 46.036)
- Another crappy week for the home sides: 5-11 this week for 103-86 for the year. (.545) (Last year: 115-72-1 (.614) after 9-7)
- Decent week for the over at 9-7. Couple of games either side of .500 for the year, meaning Vegas wins on the 9.09% juice. (Last year, basically the same)
- Favorites were 9-5-2 for the week and 82-94-16 for the year.
- 214 penalties in the 16 games. 13.5 a game.
- Biggest news: SEVEN CLIFFHANGERS. Thursday nighter, Monday nighter (3 times over on that one), Carolina's 12th win, Jets over the Giants with two Cliffhanger scores, more putting over Jameis Winston, San Francisco winning over Chicago, and a first since I started covering this 2-3 years ago: A Cliffhanger that actually ended outside one score! Buffalo got ahead of Houston with 1:53 to go in the game, so it was a Cliffhanger. They scored again, though, to win 30-21 to win by nine.
- Three games other than the six other Cliffhangers ended within one score (9 total) and one other game other than any mentioned was within one score in the 4th quarter (11 total).
- 49 Cliffhangers out of 192 games. (25.52%) (Last year: 17.71%) Meaning that the number of games decided with at least one score in the final 2 minutes or overtime is up by a factor of 50%!
- 106 games out of 192 decided by one score (8 points or less). (55.21%) (Last year: 41.67%) Meaning that the number of games decided by one score is up by about a factor of a third.
- 132 out of 192 games within one score at some point in the fourth quarter. (68.75%) (Last year: 61.46%) But this is about the only number somewhat normalized -- the total percentage of this for two years ago was 68%.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Something which would never happen today, and fuck Football Nation America for it...
35 years ago tonight...
The Patriots are playing the Dolphins in a close game on Monday Night Football. But something going on in the booth is even more urgent, at least to a close friend of a victim of an unfolding tragedy.
(That piece was done for Outside the Lines five years ago today.)
Starting at about 8:00 of the clip, it shows the decision-making process in the booth. There are 40 seconds left and the game is tied. It is going to be an NFL Cliffhanger, and Cosell does not know whether the game situation will allow him to get the news in, knowing that he has just lost a friend he idolized (and had on Monday Night Football a number of years earlier).
As Cosell said, he would let the next play be called by his partner Frank Gifford, and then get the news in.
Imagine, in the Cliffhanger-driven NFL, this unfolding on your television sets in the closing seconds of our National Religion:
As the Dolphins are lined up after that play in the hurry-up offense, Cosell attempts to get it in and cannot...
Cosell: "But it's suddenly been placed in total perspective for us... I'll finish this -- they're in the hurry-up offense."
Gifford: "Third down -- four [yards to go]."
[The play is then run, an off-tackle run to center the ball for the upcoming field goal.]
Gifford: "[Chuck] Foreman [the former Viking]... It'll be fourth down."
Gifford then sets the play situation, as New England calls a timeout with few seconds left to allow a last-second field-goal attempt to be the game-winner, or so New England hopes.
The timeout allows Gifford to throw it to Cosell for the tragic news...
Gifford: "Three seconds remaining. John Smith is on the line, and I don't care what's on the line [emphasis mine], Howard, you have got to say what we know in the booth."
Cosell: "Yes, we have to say it. Remember, THIS IS JUST A FOOTBALL GAME. [emphases mine], no matter who wins or loses. An unspeakable tragedy, confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City. John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City -- the most famous, perhaps, of all of the Beatles... shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital...
Dead -- on -- arrival.
Hard to go to the game after that news flash."
Can you imagine any death subsuming that kind of a situation on the field in today's NFL?
No?
Then fuck Football Nation America for that truth! Howard Cosell had a goddamned conscience and knew the world needed to know.
The Patriots are playing the Dolphins in a close game on Monday Night Football. But something going on in the booth is even more urgent, at least to a close friend of a victim of an unfolding tragedy.
(That piece was done for Outside the Lines five years ago today.)
Starting at about 8:00 of the clip, it shows the decision-making process in the booth. There are 40 seconds left and the game is tied. It is going to be an NFL Cliffhanger, and Cosell does not know whether the game situation will allow him to get the news in, knowing that he has just lost a friend he idolized (and had on Monday Night Football a number of years earlier).
As Cosell said, he would let the next play be called by his partner Frank Gifford, and then get the news in.
Imagine, in the Cliffhanger-driven NFL, this unfolding on your television sets in the closing seconds of our National Religion:
As the Dolphins are lined up after that play in the hurry-up offense, Cosell attempts to get it in and cannot...
Cosell: "But it's suddenly been placed in total perspective for us... I'll finish this -- they're in the hurry-up offense."
Gifford: "Third down -- four [yards to go]."
[The play is then run, an off-tackle run to center the ball for the upcoming field goal.]
Gifford: "[Chuck] Foreman [the former Viking]... It'll be fourth down."
Gifford then sets the play situation, as New England calls a timeout with few seconds left to allow a last-second field-goal attempt to be the game-winner, or so New England hopes.
The timeout allows Gifford to throw it to Cosell for the tragic news...
Gifford: "Three seconds remaining. John Smith is on the line, and I don't care what's on the line [emphasis mine], Howard, you have got to say what we know in the booth."
Cosell: "Yes, we have to say it. Remember, THIS IS JUST A FOOTBALL GAME. [emphases mine], no matter who wins or loses. An unspeakable tragedy, confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City. John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City -- the most famous, perhaps, of all of the Beatles... shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital...
Dead -- on -- arrival.
Hard to go to the game after that news flash."
Can you imagine any death subsuming that kind of a situation on the field in today's NFL?
No?
Then fuck Football Nation America for that truth! Howard Cosell had a goddamned conscience and knew the world needed to know.
Friday, December 4, 2015
And the mob boss decides to try to defend the officiating...
Dean Blandino, the mafioso overseer of NFL officiating, actually tried to the defend the NFL officials by saying that they only made mistakes on an average of 4.3 plays out of an average game of 160 plays.
That's almost 3%.
So, let's consider:
In a sport that this country swears absolute fealty to:
That's almost 3%.
So, let's consider:
In a sport that this country swears absolute fealty to:
- On average, 3% of all scores are erroneous.
- 3% of all penalties, on average, same.
- And, on an average, this would mean that, out of a 256 game NFL season, 7-8 games a year would be an acceptable number of games fucked up by the refereeing so badly that the result of the game is changed.
You know it's bad when Brian Tuohy starts early...
He's already about five paragraphs into the Week 13 NFL season page post after last night's rig-job/scripted production.
Several points:
(Oh, by the way: Green Bay was a 2.5 - 3 point favorite, so the TD has them cover.)
Several points:
- Tuohy points out that, even if the face-mask was the wrong call, putting your hand up toward the head to aid in a tackle will probably get you 15 anyway.
- Two Lion defenders were defending the flat -- at about MIDFIELD!!!
- And here's another smoking gun: (Aaron) Rodgers and (Richard) Rodgers were actually practicing THAT EXACT THROW before the game -- "for fun".
(Oh, by the way: Green Bay was a 2.5 - 3 point favorite, so the TD has them cover.)
ONCE AGAIN: The NFL buries the real situation under a sexy lead.
Third Cliffhanger in a row. All three prime-time games this calendar week ended in Cliffhangers.
Everyone is talking about the face-mask penalty which extended Packers-Lions by the one play and the 15 yards to Rodgers-to-Rodgers the chance to win the game.
Sorry, that one is actually a good call. (.GIF from Deadspin)
That's a face-mask, people. Unlucky on Taylor? Sure. No problem, but he does get the thumb in there.
That's not the one you need to be looking at.
With thanks to a Deadspin article on how ridiculously high Rodgers' Hail Mary was (it damn near hit a beam in the stadium!), this is what I believe you should...
(Source: Twitter of Joe Robinson, who works in the Brewers front office. Quick Fact: He's a Seahawks fan!)
And yet you still want to tell me there were no shenanigans? But the whole talk of it is going to be a face-mask call that was actually CORRECT!
Keep believing these games are legit. You're being laughed at, America.
And Brian Tuohy found this gem about the game last night too. Vegas won handily, even though the Packers are one of the better public teams in the NFL: (Source: David Pane Purdum of ESPN Chalk.)
Everyone is talking about the face-mask penalty which extended Packers-Lions by the one play and the 15 yards to Rodgers-to-Rodgers the chance to win the game.
Sorry, that one is actually a good call. (.GIF from Deadspin)
That's a face-mask, people. Unlucky on Taylor? Sure. No problem, but he does get the thumb in there.
That's not the one you need to be looking at.
With thanks to a Deadspin article on how ridiculously high Rodgers' Hail Mary was (it damn near hit a beam in the stadium!), this is what I believe you should...
(Source: Twitter of Joe Robinson, who works in the Brewers front office. Quick Fact: He's a Seahawks fan!)
PHOTO OF THE NIGHT: Richard Rodgers moments before catching the game winning TD pass from Aaron Rodgers. pic.twitter.com/FsQhRATsgp
— Joe Robinson (@JoeDRobinson4) December 4, 2015
And here's two of the responses to explain the whole thing:
@JoeDRobinson4 Six defenders vs four receivers and the catch is still made. Well done.
— Jesse (@anacanapana) December 4, 2015
@JoeDRobinson4 @JayScottSmith no lions player within 5 yards of Rodgers. Ridiculous
— Harold Shelton III (@TOWN1212) December 4, 2015
And yet you still want to tell me there were no shenanigans? But the whole talk of it is going to be a face-mask call that was actually CORRECT!
Keep believing these games are legit. You're being laughed at, America.
And Brian Tuohy found this gem about the game last night too. Vegas won handily, even though the Packers are one of the better public teams in the NFL: (Source: David Pane Purdum of ESPN Chalk.)
Ticket count is 2-1 in favor of Packers @LVSuperBook, but 3 times more $ has been bet on Lions, per @sportsbookrandy.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) December 4, 2015
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Several Updates
- More arrests in Switzerland as more top FIFA officials are arrested for the growing number of bribes endemic in the organization. Two of the arrested are the heads of CONCACAF and CONMEBOL, meaning now that Western Hemisphere soccer has no official head at this point. It is becoming more and more clear with each passing day that FIFA itself will not survive this, that FIFA and the match-fixers are in bed with each other and run world soccer together. The only way anything close to the present situation would hold court is like what chess had a couple decades ago -- two rival world sanctioning bodies, the match-fixers holding on to the remnants of FIFA, the rest of the world going with somebody else.
- Under South African law, the prosecution can appeal a conviction if it feels errors were made that would gain a greater conviction. Oscar Pistorius is probably heading back to jail, the appeals courts in South African now ruling he was guilty of full-scale murder, rather than what we would probably equivocate to manslaughter.
- Continuing problems at BYU, as the dirty play doesn't appear to be just in football. The Mormon university had a player ejected last night for a cheap shot to the head. BYU had it's rivalry game with Utah, and BYU's Nick Emery decked Utah's Brandon Taylor with a shot to the head and was looking for more when he was tossed! It really is beginning to make me wonder -- it has been said that BYU's sporting events double as Mormon religious events. One has to think that the hate endemic in Mormon culture is rubbing off on the athletes of BYU.
- Brian Tuohy with an interesting theory on his NFL page, as people like Skip Bayless believe the first New England loss of the year -- to Denver Sunday night -- was a rig-job.
"What if Peyton Manning isn't really injured? Sure, his foot is in a walking boot, but as mentioned above, I never saw the man limp despite a torn tendon/ligament in his foot. What if the Broncos - and by extension, the league - is protecting him for the time being? The Broncos are already playoff bound, so why not put old man Manning on ice for a while and save him for when the games really count again? Osweiler appears to be the odd backup QB that can actually play NFL football...at least enough to keep the media asking questions about who should start, is Manning going to be traded, or retire, blah, blah, blah. But what if it's all a ruse intended to build suspense and interest until Manning's return for that final Super Bowl push?"
NFL Week 12 Score Update
Thanksgiving brought the first full slate of games since about Week 3, and here's what happened:
- Per game average for Week 12: 45.69 points per game. (45.533 last year)
- 12 week average: 46.03 points per game. (45.858 last year)
- Home teams went 9-7 last week, 98-75 for the year (.566) (Last year: 9-5. 106-65-1 (.619))
- Six of the last seven games on the table went over after six of the first eight went under. The over went 8-7-1 this week, anywhere from 84-83-9 to 84-88-4 for the year. (Last year: 7-8 and 87-86-2.)
- Favorites against the number actually had a good week: 10-6. You'd have to go back to WEEK THREE to find the last week Vegas players has a winning week against the number in the NFL. Last week was the best week of the year against the number for the public, breaking Week 1's 9-6-1. (73-89-14 for the year)
- 216 penalties in the 16 games, 13.5 a game, going down, as it does later in the year.
- Three Cliffhangers, and two of them were in the national games Sunday night and Monday. Denver's besting of the Patriots, which is increasingly believed to be rigged, was in overtime, and Double Cliffhangers on Monday, a tying touchdown for Cleveland, only to have a game-winning field goal blocked at the gun and returned for a game-winner for Baltimore. Also, Oakland's victory came with a TD at 1:21.
- 5 more decided by one score, 3 more than that at one score at some point in the fourth quarter, 5 non-competitive games.
- Cliffhangers This Year: 42/176 (23.86%) (Last year: 17.61%)
- Games Decided By One Score: 97/176 (55.11%) (Last year: 46.11%)
- Games Within One Score At Some Point in the 4th Quarter: 122/176 (69.32%) (Last year: 64.77%)
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
As usual with the NFL, it's not the lead...
Pete Morelli has been thrown out of Sunday night's Indianapolis-Pittsburgh game, as has his entire team.
The officials for the game have been reassigned orscrewing up rigging the Arizona victory over San Francisco.
And when you see the Carson Palmer sack that was called roughing the passer on Quentin Dial, which you see the NFL's own video on the Yahoo! blog article here. (The NFL does not allow direct embeds.)
I was even willing, on first look, to possibly see head-to-facemask contact, but the last replay shows that sack was clean as a whistle!
15 yards, first down, and the Cardinals held the ball 4 1/2 more minutes and scored the game-winning touchdown on the drive.
There was also a missed delay-of-game penalty and some down confusion, at least the former benefitting the Cards as well.
But it's not just the lead that Morelli and crew have been barred from the heavily-bet (and the blog article makes this point too!!!) Sunday-night game.
But it's where they landed: Philadelphia-New England!!!
The jokes write themselves.
The officials for the game have been reassigned or
And when you see the Carson Palmer sack that was called roughing the passer on Quentin Dial, which you see the NFL's own video on the Yahoo! blog article here. (The NFL does not allow direct embeds.)
I was even willing, on first look, to possibly see head-to-facemask contact, but the last replay shows that sack was clean as a whistle!
15 yards, first down, and the Cardinals held the ball 4 1/2 more minutes and scored the game-winning touchdown on the drive.
There was also a missed delay-of-game penalty and some down confusion, at least the former benefitting the Cards as well.
But it's not just the lead that Morelli and crew have been barred from the heavily-bet (and the blog article makes this point too!!!) Sunday-night game.
But it's where they landed: Philadelphia-New England!!!
The jokes write themselves.
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