24
Feb
2012
ReadAndReact at the 2012 NFL Combine (PHOTOS)
TheDarkHorse is back in Indy this week for the 2012 NFL Combine – the league’s annual meat market/job interview session with this year’s crop of top prospects looking to make the jump to the next level.
Football’s top brass have all re-convened at Lucas Oil Stadium for the proceedings to assess more than 300 young men’s physical and mental preparedness for the rigors of the pro game. Each prospect will endure a battery of tests with everyone’s thoughts toward April’s draft, and each team’s front office looking to outsmart the other 31 franchises and improve their fortunes for the future. The Combine itself is a bit of a snoozer for the casual fan, but it’s become more and more of a spectacle, with fans attending the event for the first time ever this year, and reports that Roger Goodell is considering adding “Superstars”-style competitions at the event in the future to increase spectator interest (ie., revenue).
You can follow all the riveting action on NFL Network or NFL.com’s blog, and fortunately for us, TDH is on the front lines and has been able to snap a few pictures with his Blackberry along the way. We’ll continue to update this post with more images throughout the weekend as his schedule allows, when he’s not too busy hanging out with Bernie Kosar or preparing to smoke Rich Eisen in the 40 yard dash.
This year's "can't miss" prospect, Stanford's Andrew Luck (Photo: TheDarkHorse)
2011 Heisman Trophy Winner, Baylor's Robert Griffin III (Photo: TheDarkHorse)
Jets head coach Rex Ryan looking svelte and somehow more modest (Photo: TheDarkHorse)
Broncos VP of Football Operations John Elway patiently answers questions about Tim Tebow (Photo: TheDarkHorse)
2
Feb
2012
ReadAndReact’s Super Bowl XLVI Media Week Photo Essay (16 Photos)
ReadAndReact’s very own TheDarkHorse is in Indianapolis this week for the Super Bowl XLVI festivities as part of his side-gig for NFL.com, and has been right in the thick of it on Radio Row for all the Media Week action. Fortunately for us, he managed to grab a few quick snapshots along the way:
Rich Eisen prepares to join Heath Evans and Warren Sapp on the NFL Network set (Photo: TheDarkHorse)
Giants WR Hakeem Nicks has big hands (Photo: TheDarkHorse)
Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski's ankle is the talk of Super Bowl week (Photo: TheDarkHorse)
When egos collide: Primetime and Ochocinco (Photo: TheDarkHorse)
Giants DE Osi Umenyiora made it for this media session, after missing one earlier in the week (Photo: TheDarkHorse)
MORE PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP
4
Jan
2012
Giants-Cowboys New Year’s Day Photo Essay (20 PICS)
This past Sunday, on New Year’s Day 2012, we were fortunate enough to attend the much-hyped Giants-Cowboys game at MetLife Stadium.
This was for all the marbles in the NFC East, with the winner taking the division and the loser going home to face a long off-season, watching the playoffs from the outside looking in. A play-in game, if you will, between bitter division rivals. As regular season match-ups go, it doesn’t get much bigger than this. So we battled our hangovers and made the trip to East Rutherford, where we took a lot of pictures along the way to share with you, our loyal readers.
Despite our sterling reputation as an emerging force in new sports media, we didn’t have any press passes or fancy cameras for this one, so these photos are all from the fan’s perpective … and all of them were taken on an iPhone 4s. We hope you enjoy!
(CLICK ANY PHOTO TO EMBIGGEN):
The new MetLife stadium is quite impressive from the outside (Photo: ArtieFufkin)
(Photo: ArtieFufkin)
The rain couldn't dampen the spirits of Giants fans, who were fired up for this one (Photo: ArtieFufkin)
Romo and Co. are greeted warmly by the New York fans (Photo: ArtieFufkin)
Oooh ... fireworks! (Photo: ArtieFufkin)
CONTINUE AFTER THE JUMP FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THE GIANTS/COWBOYS GAME
19
Oct
2011
Raiders-Browns Week Six (Pre-Game) Photo Essay
ReadAndReact’s intrepid reporter, TheDarkHorse, ventured into the Black Hole on Sunday to take in the Week 6 Raiders-Browns contest. A devoted Browns fan, we’re just glad he made it out of Oakland alive to share these pictures with us:
The Autumn wind is a Raider (Photo: TDH)
The gameday program honors the Raiders fallen owner (Photo: TDH)
The afternoon served as a tribute to Davis, with many former Raider greats - Like Rich Gannon and Bo Jackson here - returning to pay tribute (Photo: TDH)
28
Nov
2009
Broncos vs Giants Thanksgiving Game – Photo Essay
When the 2009 NFL schedule was announced, I was thrilled to see that my favorite team, the New York Football Giants, were coming to my adopted home state of Colorado to play the Denver Broncos this season. Not only would it be the first time I would get to watch my Giants play at Mile High – the site of some classic match-ups from the ’80s-’90s (remember the Gary Reasons goal line hit on Bobby Humphrey in the snow?) – but it would be on Thanksgiving Night!
I immediately put out feelers for game tickets, and invited my parents to spend Thanksgiving at my new home in Colorado. It seemed like a perfect holiday plan. And up until Thursday night at about 6:20pm MT, it was. It was at that point that my beloved Giants decided to crap all over our Thanksgiving celebration, by not even showing up for the game and putting on one of the more miserable displays I’ve ever had the misfortune of seeing in person. If you watched the game, you already know, and I’m not going to get into a breakdown of what went wrong (hint: everything. lowlights here). For me, it was just brutal, while for the Broncos fans in the house, it was a full-on party.
But the holiday wasn’t a total loss, and I still have much to be thankful for. We were blessed with box seats and pre-game field passes by the Denver Post – clearly a signal of our growing influence in the sports blogosphere. Or maybe my girlfriend got them for us. Whatever. In addition to free food and booze throughout the game, we were able to snap some decent photos from field level during warm-ups. Here are the best of those shots, with some commentary as to what you’re seeing. I hope you enjoy it more than I enjoyed the game.
All photos by ArtieFufkin.
Pre-game field passes = extra special surprise. Much thanks to the Denver Post team for taking such good care of us!
Aaron Ross fielding punts. Moments after this pic was taken, an errant punt bounced out of bounds and into my hands. As I handed it back to Aaron, I looked him square in the eye and said "Go get 'em Aaron!" He said nothing ... there was a general sense of lethargy from the Giants the entire night
Plenty of Giants fans in attendance for this game ... a short time later, they would all be miserable
And the Broncos take the field ... for warm-ups
CONTINUE AFTER THE JUMP FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THE BRONCOS/GIANTS
30
Aug
2009
Denver-Cutler Love Fest: Photo Essay
Jay Cutler tries to block out the boos of his former fans (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
I have just returned home from Mile High Stadium (I still refuse to call it by its new corporate name), the site of the much-anticipated Bears vs Broncos pre-season match-up, featuring the return of QB Jay Cutler to his old stomping grounds … much to the dismay of the Denver faithful.
It’s clear that the Broncos’ fan base is harboring some bad feelings about the way Cutler ended his career there, but I can’t help but wonder if their anger is slightly misplaced. Sure, Cutler came off as whiny and immature throughout the whole off-season soap opera with Josh McDaniels that led to his departure. But it was the young maverick head coach who has come into town and essentially run out his best players, determined to put his stamp on the franchise.
Regardless, Broncos fans used this game as an opportunity to unleash their furor on Cutler … showering him with boos at every chance, and turning their once-prized #6 jerseys into tools of derision for their new enemy. The game itself actually proved to be a relatively mediocre affair, with Cutler leading the Bears to a victory, and new Broncos’ QB Kyle Orton leaving the game with a cut finger.
But the real highlight of the evening was checking out the creativity of Broncos fans in their abuse of Cutler. Everywhere you looked, people were decked out in their most clever anti-Cutler outfits, channeling their frustration into an arts & crafts extravaganza for the eyes.
After the jump, check out the ReadAndReact photo essay of the Denver-Cutler love fest:
