4
Feb
2012
ReadAndReact’s Super Bowl XLVI picks
(Photo: BleacherReport)
Yes, that’s right. Since there is clearly a lack of opinions on the subject available on the internet, we’re here with our own prognostications for Super Bowl 46!
It’s the Giants versus the Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl 42 – widely considered one of the greatest championship games of all time – and everyone at R&R HQ has pretty strong feelings about this one. Artie is a diehard Giants fan, while steverodgers is a Patriots backer, so they’ve both been riding their team’s bandwagon to the promised land since the beginning, and are on the verge of an emotional breakdown in anticipation for tomorrow’s contest.
So without any further adieu, here are our picks for the big game (CLICK TO EMBIGGEN):
As you can see, our “experts” our split down the middle, with Artie and COURTNEY (a loyal Cowboys fan) picking the Giants, and going with Victor Cruz as the MVP over the odds-on favorite Eli Manning. Meanwhile, TDH and steverodgers picked the Pats and Tom Brady to bring home the most valuable player trophy.
Most of our gambling will come in the form of inane prop bets that have nothing to do with the actual football game, like how many times they show Gisele on TV, or how long it takes Kelly Clarkson to sing the National Anthem, or whether Madonna will be wearing a hat during the halftime show … all real available bets, by the way.
Enjoy the national holiday that is Super Sunday, and let’s just hope it’s a competitive game that’s worth watching.
23
Jan
2012
Watch this Ravens fan lose it after Cundiff’s missed FG (VIDEO)
(Image via Sportsgrid.com)
We feel badly for Ravens fans today. Honestly, we do. The Baltimore defense played tremendous football in yesterday’s AFC Championship, holding Tom Brady in check, only to have their Super Bowl hopes dashed by a missed chip shot FG by K Billy Cundiff.
Imagine how it must feel to have been a Ravens fan watching it all unfold yesterday. Brutal, right? Now imagine watching your favorite team lose while surrounded by “friends” who came over to your house for the big game, and decided to have some fun by cheering for the Pats all day. Well, thanks to this video, we get to experience the loss through just that perspective.
From the Youtube description: ”Our good friend has a passion for Maryland sports. Maybe an obsession.” And as you’ll see, their good friend’s passion reached its breaking point after Cundiff’s shank, and he decided that everyone needed to leave his house. Immediately.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
15
Nov
2011
Ochocinco’s new Twitter avatar is the best thing he’s done all year (PIC)
(Image via PatsPropoganda.com)
This hilarious Lethal Weapon 3 poster spoof – with Chad Ochocinco, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick playing the roles of Danny Glover, Mel Gibson and Joe Pesci, respectively - is apparently the new avatar for Ochocinco’s Twitter account.
Good stuff, but this new partnership hasn’t exactly proved to be “lethal” so far. Unfortunately for Chad, it seems as though he’s spending way more time on Twitter than he is studying the Patriots playbook, netting just 11 catches for 201 yards and 0 touchdowns this year. And while it’s definitely cool, let’s not pretend that Chad actually tried his hand at photoshop and created this masterpiece himself … I’m guessing it’s a piece of fan art from one of his nearly 3 million (!!!) followers.
[H/T Pats Propaganda]
29
Sep
2011
Epic Bills Comeback vs Patriots – Sound FX (VIDEO)
(Photo: SI.com)
Last Sunday’s Bills-Patriots contest proved to be the NFL’s game of the week, as the upstart Bills fought back from an early 21-0 deficit to defeat their AFC East nemesis and improve to 3-0 on the season.
Fortunately for us, the NFL Films crew was on hand, and had a whole array of players and coaches mic’d up for the game to bring us the sights & sounds of the most exciting thing to happen in Buffalo in years. The resulting Sound FX highlights are definitely worth the watch, to see how the Bills were able to keep their heads in the game after falling behind, and snap their 15-game slide to the Pats.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
28
Sep
2011
Stop the Presses: Tom Brady Got a Haircut! (PIC)
It’s true folks. This photo comes to us from ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg, who tweeted the image from a Patriots press conference today, where Tom Brady was showing off his spanking new haircut:
(Photo: Chris Forsberg)
This will surely be hearbreaking news not only to Gisele Bundchen – who put a stop to trimming the Brady locks back in September of 2009 – but to those who have enjoyed watching Brady’s hair evolve from Bieber-esque, to ponytailed, to full-on androgynous territory. But now that he’s returned to the close crop, we can get back to focusing on the important things, like Brady’s choice of footwear (Uggs).
Boston.com went so far as to print an obituary for Brady’s long flowing hair, which is worth the read.
25
Sep
2011
Bills Come Back to Shock Patriots 34-31, Start Season 3-0 (VIDEO)
Nothing wrong with a little man-love to celebrate a score in Buffalo (Image: 30fps.com)
The city of Buffalo is delirious tonight as their Bills beat the mighty New England Patriots 34-31 in Orchard Park this afternoon, snapping a 15-game losing streak to their division rival. After jumping out to a 21-0 lead, Patriots QB Tom Brady threw 4 interceptions (matching a career low), which allowed the Bills to claw their way back into the game, with the Bills eventually winning it with a last-second 28-yard field goal by Rian Lindell. To put things into perspective for you, the last time Buffalo beat a Patriots team it was 2003, and the SARS scare was gripping the world.
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 369 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Bills improved to 3-0 on the strength of their second consecutive comeback conference win. Perhaps the most exciting moment of the game came with just over 10 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, moments after Buffalo had tied the game on a Fred Jackson touchdown run. On the Patriots ensuing drive, CB Drayton Florence picked off a deflected Brady pass and brought it 27 yards all the way to the house, putting Buffalo ahead 31-24 and sending the Bills fans in attendence into a full-on frenzy (see banner pic):
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
23
Sep
2011
Bill Belichick as a Roller Skating Pirate … no, really (VIDEO)
(Photo: INSNTRPLY.com)
Part 2 of A Football Life aired on NFL Network last night (read our review of Part 1 HERE), and while there was plenty more insight provided into the world of Bill Belichick, the runaway highlight from the show came during the Patriot’s 2009 week 8 bye. Former pats WR Randy Moss organized a Halloween party for the players & coaches, and sat down with the Hoodie to see if the coaches would be interested in joining. Belichick slowly warms to the idea, eventually saying “it’s a great holiday! Candy and costumes … how can you beat that?!?”
That scene is followed by footage of Belichick arriving at the roller rink dressed as a pirate, with his girlfriend playing the part of wench, where he’s greeted by Moss as Spongebob Squarepants and other players who are just thrilled to see Bill let his hair down a bit. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, Belichick laces up the skates and takes to the rink to get his pirate roller boogie on … yaaaarrrrr:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
15
Sep
2011
Tom Brady encourages Pats fans to “get lubed up” before Sunday’s game
(photo: NYDailyNews)
From the “we couldn’t make this up if we tried” department, Mr. Perfect Tom Brady is getting a lot of flack today after encouraging Patriots fans to get drunk and loud for this Sunday’s Patriots-Chargers game. Brady was asked on Wednesday if he had a message for fans attending what some are calling an early preview of the AFC Championship game:
“Yeah, start drinking early,” Brady said with a snicker. “Get nice and rowdy. It’s a 4:15 game, a lot of time to get lubed up. Come out here, and cheer for the home team.”
The Patriots PR team almost immediately attempted to clarify Brady’s statement, claiming that “He meant ‘stay hydrated, drink a lot of water’”, which approximately zero people believe.
Clearly, alcohol is the fuel that NFL fans run on, and the majority of people planning to tailgate in Foxborough on Sunday weren’t going to do so in a sober fashion. But with the recent trend in fan-on-fan violence, this probably isn’t the best message to be sending to fans who haven’t exactly displayed a penchant for drinking responsibly, and enjoy starting fights with opposing fans.
So when a Chargers fan ends up getting shivved in the bathroom at Gillette Stadium by some hammered Pats fan because he’s wearing the wrong jersey, get ready for people to point the finger at Brady.
28
Aug
2011
League fines won’t slow Suh down
Detroit isn't about to temper its Superman. (Associated Press)
Ndamukong Suh, who says he wants the Detroit Lions to be feared by opponents — especially quarterbacks — is making significant headway on that front.
The 307-pound defensive tackle threw a punch at Logan Mankins in Saturday’s 34-10 manhandling of the Patriots, and while he missed his target, Suh’s reputation as a dirty player continues to balloon.
Suh’s $20,000 league fine for a hit on Andy Dalton earlier this month is the third docking of his young career. He lost $22,500 last season for hits on Cleveland’s Jake Delhomme and Chicago’s Jay Cutler.
“It’s about having quarterbacks fear us, offensive linemen fear us, every single game we step into,” Suh told CBS Sports on Saturday.
After what he did to Tom Brady‘s offense, don’t expect the Lions to come down on Suh for his aggressive play. It’s been eons since Detroit scared a mouse and they’re not about to mess with Suh’s head.
“No one has ever played like this at defensive tackle,” Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham told NFL.com earlier this month. Sound like someone about to ask the behemoth to tone it down?
Suh plans to appeal the Dalton fine, but it’s more about principle than the money, which amounts to a moving violation for a guy making $40 million guaranteed.
Suh has barely gotten started. Quarterbacks have taken notice. And it’s looking like Detroit’s seemingly thousand-year streak as NFC North pushovers has reached its end.
13
Apr
2011
Remember Giovanni Carmazzi? Yeah … he’s a yoga-practicing goat farmer these days
Carmazzi was the 3rd round selection of the 49ers in the 2000 NFL draft (Photo: NYTimes.com)
One of the big stories this week has been ESPN’s documentary “The Brady 6″, which looks at Tom Brady’s selection in the 2000 NFL draft, and the 6 quarterbacks who were taken ahead of him. After believing he would be taken somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd, Brady and his family had to watch as he plummeted to #199 overall. Based on the teasers, the most newsworthy item from the film seemed to be the fact that Brady choked up when recalling his draft day experience. The blogosphere went wild over this footage of a teary-eyed Brady, but when the program aired last night, we found another nugget of information to be the most enlightening.
Among the marquis names chosen before the 3-time Super Bowl Champion were Chad Pennington (No. 18, Jets), Giovanni Carmazzi (65, 49ers), Chris Redman (75, Ravens), Tee Martin (163, Steelers), Marc Bulger (168, Saints) and Spergon Wynn (183, Browns). As lifelong 49ers fans, the Bradys were particularly upset that their home team had passed on their son, but the San Francisco brain trust – which included Bill Walsh and Steve Mariucci - were more enamored with Carmazzi, a physically gifted QB from Hofstra who had wowed scouts at the combine and workouts.
As we know, Carmazzi struggled with the leap from 1-AA Hofstra to the big time, and retired from the NFL in 2001 without ever playing a regular season down for the 49ers. He had five operations on his shoulder and played two years of football in Canada before retiring from the sport in 2005. And apparently Carmazzi values his privacy these days, because he declined to be interviewed by ESPN for this documentary … which pretty much made him fair game for the producers to paint him however they like. So they decided to depict Carmazzi like this:
“(He) does not own a television and declined to be interviewed. He lives two hours north of San Francisco, and describes himself as a yoga-exercising farmer … He has five goats.”
Ouch. From top NFL prospect to hermit yogi goat farmer in just over a decade. Quite a precipitous fall. Not as bad as Marinovich or Leaf or anything, but still …
