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ReadAndReact’s Super Bowl XLVI Media Week Photo Essay (16 Photos)

ArtieFufkin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:08:38 +0000

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

Patriots RB Danny Woodhead (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

Cruuuuuuuuuz (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

Gerard "Big Money" Warren (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul will be a factor on Sunday (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

ESPN's Chris Berman doing what he does (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

Chad Ochocinco didn't even get his own podium this year (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

Giants RB Brandon Jacobs (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

Media day has somehow become all about Deion (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

Mexican reporter Inez Sainz, who caught quite a stir last year with her choice of fashion (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

Patriots madman Ross Ventrone (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

The NFL.com staff hard at work (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

Giants-Cowboys New Year’s Day Photo Essay (20 PICS)

ArtieFufkin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:24:29 +0000

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

And the Giants take the field! (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Minutes later, Victor Cruz (left) would sprint toward us down this sideline into the endzone for a 74-yard 1st quarter score (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Cruz, Rolle and Bradshaw would all have big nights for NY (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

The Giants' front four came to play tonight (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Led by JPP and Tuck, who got the crowd involved early (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Romo would get taken down 6 times by the Giants D (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Eli leads the Giants on a scoring drive toward the end of the 1st quarter (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

The Giants offense came out firing on all cylinders (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Eli rolls to his right in the 2nd quarter (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Aaaaand halftime (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Romo finds himself backed up against his own endzone (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Eli surveys the Dallas coverage (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

In the 4th, Eli looks left to Hakeem Nicks ... (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

... who can't reel in the low pass (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Unfortunately for Jerry Jones and Romo, Dallas' rally attempt fell short (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

And the Giants are NFC East Champions! (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

And here's the towel the fans received, and waved tirelessly throughout the game (Photo: ArtieFufkin)

Raiders-Browns Week Six (Pre-Game) Photo Essay

ArtieFufkin — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 01:38:46 +0000

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)

The Browns prepare for slaughter in a sea of black (Photo: TDH)

Aaah, the Raiderettes ... (Photo: TDH)

Hats off to you, AL! (Photo: TDH)

Shortly after this photo was taken, TDH was harassed by a gang of elementary school Raider Nation toughs for daring to wear an Eric Metcalf jersey into Oakland Coliseum.** During the incident, his cell phone/camera was dunked in a big gulp of Dr. Pepper***, thereby ending his photographic endeavors for the afternoon.

** – Dramatization. May not have actually happened.
*** – This either.

Broncos vs Giants Thanksgiving Game – Photo Essay

ArtieFufkin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:58:28 +0000

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

The Broncos front 7 gets ready ... you could sense an intensity from this bunch even before the game.

This defense would have their way with the Giants O-line all night

The Giants were apparently talking about pie recipes pre-game

The Broncos DBs - including newest addition Ty Law - warmed up right in front of us

Champ Bailey getting ready to shut down Eli Manning and the Giants offense

Brian Dawkins seems to be reborn in Denver. I still hate him, though

Mixing it up in DB tackling drills

Undeniably, one of the best in the game

Miles Bronco (and mini-Bronco) take on a Steve Smith fan

Brandon Marshall talks smack for the cameras. His one-handed grab later in the game was simply incredible.

Kyle Orton to Eddie Royal

Orton to Brandon Stokley. These two hooked up for a TD later in the game.

Stokley & Royal prepare to run free in the Giants secondary

The Broncos run a few plays to get loose

... and it's game time!

From here, things start to get fuzzy ... must have been all the tryptophan

I'm pretty sure this one fell incomplete (side note: that IN-COM-PLETE chant they do at Mile High is probably the worst in sports. Just sayin')

Denver-Cutler Love Fest: Photo Essay

ArtieFufkin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 05:13:17 +0000

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:

(Photos: ArtieFufkin / ReadAndReact)