Archive for the ‘General’ Category
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16
Dec
2009
Sex Sting Got Your Tail?
News of Tiger Woods’ troubles have overshadowed another sexcapade: Pat the Patriot (which would be the Patriots’ mascot) was arrested in a prostitution sting in Rhode Island.
Now we know why Pat is smiling (photo: creativecameraconcepts.com)
Pat, aka Robert Sormenti, has been suspended by the team. The most fascinating angle to the story is that if “Pat” had gotten off just a month earlier he would have gotten off: prostitution was legal in Rhode Island until November 2009.
25
Nov
2009
VIDEO: 6-Year-Old Lays the Lumber
We’ve all seen football games where one person stands out as being clearly more physically gifted than the rest of the players on the field. In high school and college, you can generally spot the guys who are going to advance to the next level right away … and it’s generally fun to watch.
But at the Pop Warner level, that sort of difference in skill can be downright scary. Meet Nyrel Sevilla: the hardest hitting 6-year-old the world may have ever seen:
17
Nov
2009
Pats Paste Patsies (and the parents engage in a Smerlas campaign)
And here we thought that Bill Belichick was having problems. Over the weekend, former Patriots’ players played in a charity basketball game with some high schoolers. This feel good story quickly turned bad, though, when the Pats’ squad started roughing up their counterparts from Nashoba Regional High School. Now, the parents of the teens are fighting back, the police are involved, and one former Patriot, Garin “Gameday” Veris, may even lose his job over it is on the defensive over it. If you want to see video on the story, you’ll have to go here.
At the center of the bru-ha-ha is this man and his charity, All Pro Productions, who arranged the game:
Fred Smerlas
Smerlas, who as evidenced by the above photo was either a wrestler or a super hero in high school, apparently knows how to fight when he wants to:
Smerlas fought in high school. Smerlas’ charity team fights high schoolers now. Coincidence? Or culture of violence? You decide!
You may only recognize Smerlas when you see him wearing his 'stache.
Photos from www.coachpass33.com and http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/bc/genrel/auto_action/FredSmerlas.jpg
11
Nov
2009
ReadAndReact Mid-Season NFL Awards
Yep, it’s that time of year again! Time for bloggers and sportswriters across the land to create meaningless mid-season NFL awards lists!
And who are we to buck the system? If nothing else, this exercise allows us to take a step back to examine the first 9 weeks of action, and heap accolades on those whose performances have set them apart from the pack thus far (in either a good or not-so-good way).
So without further adieu, here they are, the inaugural ReadAndReact Mid-Season NFL Awards:
Why yes, the crow does taste fine. Thanks for asking (Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
MVP: Brett Favre, MIN - As much as we hate to admit it, the old man has been the difference maker in Minnesota, and is the main reason they’re sitting atop the NFC central. So far. It’s mainly about the attitude he brings, and the belief the rest of his teammates now have in their chances. But so far, Favre has put up excellent numbers (16TDs vs 3 INTs), and shows no signs of slowing down. But then, we were saying the same thing about Favre and the Jets at this point last year. We’ll see how the arm holds up come week 16.
Coach of the Year: Josh McDaniels/Mike Nolan, DEN – in a total shocker to everyone in the league, McDaniels has come into Denver and changed the team culture in record time, leading the team out to a fast 6-0 start. And Nolan’s defense – currently 3rd in the NFL in Total Yds/Gm, and 1st in defensive touchdowns (8 so far) – has been the main reason for their success.
Still pointing at us (Photo: C. Schneider/AP)
Offensive Player of the Year: Drew Brees, NO – I’m taking Brees over Peyton Manning here, mainly because we’ve come to expect this sort of ruthless efficiency from Peyton, but Brees seems to have entered a new stratosphere in 2009. He’s playing about as well as you can at the position (106 QB Rating), and has the Saints leading the NFL in total offense.
Defensive Player of the Year: Darren Sharper, NO – With a league-leading 7 interceptions (3 of them returned for TDs!), Sharper has changed the attitude of the Saints defense, and helped turn them into a force. Is it scary that a Saint is getting the award for both offense and defense? Yes, and it’s why I like the Saints to go all the way this year.
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Percy Harvin, MIN – One of the most exciting offensive playmakers to come along in a while, Harvin is a threat to score every time he touches the ball. With 5 TDs in 8 games – 3 via reception and 2 via KO return – Harvin has challenged the Vikings coaching staff to develop more ways to get the ball into his hands.
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Jairus Byrd, BUF - The first-year DB has been a ball-hawking machine, with multiple interceptions in 3 consecutive games! With 7 interceptions so far, Byrd is tied for the NFL lead, and is on pace for 14 this season, which would tie an NFL record.
Continue reading after the jump for more RnR Mid-Season Awards
10
Nov
2009
A Browns Fan Dreaming: Holmgren Aloft
Marching Towards Cleveland: for Frodo!
Mike Holmgren floats above the sky. He sees taco carts, cans of Tecate, young men in Browns jerseys. He sees the ghost of Otto Graham and they shake hands in the borderlands. They make a promise to get gin and tonics, sidecars and gin fizzy’s, and they stare into the distance. They imagine a different future for the Browns. They are in an old bar in North Beach and the bartender is talking about a suicide pool. The radio clicks on to a college station and a girl with a thin voice is talking about the time she read “Big Sur” in high school and that’s when she decided to go to Berkeley. She now plays “California Zephyr.” A pretty waitress listens and doodles pictures of cats wearing capes on her notepad. Holmgren hears the song and smiles. He remembers the summer he spent working at a YMCA camp in Ely, Minnesota and suddenly he knows that the only place he will be taking the Browns is to the Super Bowl. He finishes his drink, heads out into the fog and diagrams new plays in his mind as he hails a cab to SFO.
Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard \”California Zephyr\”
31
Oct
2009
How do we prove these are fake?
Somebody sent this video along to me. These have to be fake tricks, don’t they?
28
Oct
2009
AP: WHILE NFL DEFENDS ITSELF OVER HEAD INJURIES, MERRIL HOGE TESTIFIES BEFORE CONGRESS REGARDING CONCUSSIONS
As reported by Frederic Frommer and Howard Frendrich of the Associated Press:
“NFL commissioner Roger Goodell did not acknowledge a connection between head injuries on the football field and later brain diseases while defending the league’s policies on concussions before Congress on Wednesday.
Former NFL fullback Merril Hoge, currently one of the league's best broadcasters, and a defender of current players, testifies before Congress about the injuries he suffered during his career. (Source: Associated Press)
That frustrated several members of the House Judiciary Committee, including the committee chairman, Michigan Democrat John Conyers, when Goodell told him the NFL isn’t waiting for that debate to play out and is taking steps to make the game safer.
“I just asked you a simple question. What is the answer?” persisted Conyers.
Goodell replied by saying a medical expert could give a better answer than he could. But some House members complained later that Dr. Ira Casson, chairman of the NFL’s committee on concussions, had not testified.
Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., gave Casson some exposure anyway, playing a clip of a TV interview in which he denied evidence of a link between multiple head injuries in NFL players with brain disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.
In the video above, how badass is John Conyers?: “I just asked you a simple question. What’s the answer?”
Sanchez said that reminded her of tobacco companies denying a link between smoking and health damage in the 1990s.
Goodell testified alongside new NFL Players Association leader DeMaurice Smith, who said the union “has not done its best in this area. We will do better.” Both men did agree to turn over players’ medical records to the committee.
In addition, Conyers wants information on head injuries from the NCAA, high schools and medical researchers to better understand football’s health risks.
Still, several Republicans questioned the point of the hearing. Rep. Ted Poe of Texas said Congress’ involvement in football would mean the end of the sport.
“We’d all be playing touch football,” he said.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., whose husband played in the NFL, asked Goodell how the league was addressing the welfare of retired players during current collective bargaining negotiations.
Goodell said it’s a “priority for the owners and players to take better care of our retired players,” but Waters cut him off, demanding specifics.
“We’ve heard from the NFL time and time again — you’re always ’studying,’ you’re always ‘trying,’ you’re ‘hopeful,’” Waters said, pointing a finger in Goodell’s direction. “I want to know what are you doing … to deal with this problems and other problems related to injuries?”
Several retired players testified at the hearing, including former fullback Merril Hoge, who said a series of concussions cost him his career. After his first concussion, he said he never saw a neurological doctor and was cleared to play five days later.
“What happened to me would not happen in the National Football League today,” Hoge said. “That does not mean we are all the way there. We are on the way.”
11
Oct
2009
NFL WEEK FIVE LIVE GAME BLOG: BRADY VS. ORTON EDITION!
Week Five of the NFL season is upon us. One of day’s most-anticipated matchups features legendary Tom Brady and the New England Patriots against good ol’ boy Kyle Orton and the Denver Broncos. David vs. Goliath!
You may recall the Friday phone call we recorded between Brady and Orton back in mid-September. Who knew, back then, that Denver would be undefeated? WE DID. (OK… no… we didn’t, but we’ve always liked Orton’s devil-may-care style and grace… and we like their chances at home today.)
If anybody has doubts about Orton and his mountain boys, this game is an opportunity for Denver to silence the critics. We’ll be keeping an eye on this game–and every game–all day long.
Check out the “Comments” section for live game commentary.
8
Oct
2009
TUESDAYS WITH C-O-U-R-T-N-E-Y! (Brought to you on Thursday.)
Never has there been a bigger disconnect between the national media and fans of the NFL. Brett Favre is a blight on the American landscape, the human incarnation of the potato famine. How come we, Americans, see it so clearly and they, the media, don’t?
Brett Favre
Yesterday, a guy I know e-mailed me out of the blue to say “I hate the fact that Favre is actually doing well.” Indeed, now everyone does.
Favre’s success is demoralizing. Gruden’s waxing Favre’s tip on Monday Night Football demeaning. Far from vindicating him vis-a-vis his former employer, Favre’s victory cast a noxious, toxic plume into the Monday night sky. It lingers into Thursday. For the mouth-breathers in the media, the scent is lost in the afterglow. For the rest of us, Americans, we lie at night wondering when the airborne toxic event that is Favre’s return will pass.
PHOTO: www.howbigismypotato.com
4
Oct
2009
WEEK FOUR LIVE GAME BLOG!!!
Welcome to Week Four of the National Football League. Lots of big games today. We’ll be following (and commenting on) all the action RIGHT HERE.
Eli Manning has the Giants rolling.
...but Mark Sanchez is aiming to steal the city's heart.
