Is anybody but me getting sick of the whole A-Rod/steroid "scandal?" At this point, the most you're going to get out of me over hearing that a modern-era baseball player has used performance-enhancing drugs is a big, fat YAWN! I am honestly more surprised to hear that a modern baseballer has NOT used steroids or HGH in his career!
And, oh, the SANCTIMONY I am hearing!! It was bad enough that MLB commish Bud Selig stated that A-Rod had "shamed" the game - this from a man who STOOD BY and reaped the financial whirlwind of the long ball battles that the steroid era brought us, all the while refusing to stand up to the players' union and institute SOME type of random drug testing until a very short time ago. But the talk radio pundits, bloggers and columnists are just making me physically ill with all the self-righteous nonsense they keep hurling at A-Rod. Case in point: one day, syndicated talk show host Jim Rome calls on Rodriguez to come clean, admit it and move on. After A-Rod did so, the very next day, Rome questioned his sincerity, and said he thought it sounded more like "A-Rod's not sorry; he's just sorry he got caught!" WHAT?! Jim Rome, while extremely entertaining and generally really good at what he does is a WEASEL and a HYPOCRITE (anyone remember the "Chris Everett" incident)? Since when did sports talk hosts and columnists become the moral friggin' yardstick of our society?? Give me a break!
Look, A-Rod cheated. I get it. He lied about it, right to Katie Couric's face. I get that, too. But it's pretty apparent that an entire era of baseball is deserving of having a giant asterisk placed beside it, and A-Rod is part of that era. So we move on. Put it behind us, stop the sanctimony and preaching, and get back to having FUN with our sports. I am sick of this steroid nonsense, and even sicker of a sports media with an ever-increasing God complex!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
"America's Team"
If you've listened to any sports-talk radio the past couple of days, it seems the hip thing to do now is declare the Pittsburgh Steelers the New America's Team. First of all, let's get some things straight: despite the fact that I am a Dallas Cowboys fan and believe - nay, am convinced - that the NFL as we know it today would not exist without the Cowboys, I have always hated that nickname, and wish that NFL Films and Tex Schramm had never made it up. To be honest, when it comes to NFL football, I actually think there are multiple "America's Teams": the Cowboys, Raiders, (ugh) Redskins, Packers, and yes, the Steelers. The Steelers just happen to be the hot commodity right now.
Now I'm not in any way diminishing what the Steelers have done; right now, today, as of this moment, they are the elite gold standard in pro sports. Uncle. I give. BUT - to call them - as some are suggesting - the greatest pro sports franchise of all time is completely asinine. First of all, it's a dumb subject that is base purely on the opinions of talking heads. Second, all of the gushing about them is making it sound like the rest of the league has been basically trying to catch up with them since the early 70's. Baloney! Do you realize that other than Super Bowl XIV in January of 1980 - which was actually the Super Bowl for the 1979 season - the Steelers did not make a single Super Bowl appearance in the 80's? They only made one in the 90's, Super Bowl XXX following the 1995 season when the AFC was clearly the weaker conference, and they couldn't even get over on the Cowboys in that game with Dallas playing probably their overall worst Super Bowl ever. I remember well that many wondered why Bill Cowher never seemed to be on the hot seat despite his lack of postseason success (not to mention the failed Kordell Stewart experiment). And I never hear any Steeler fans fondly reminisce on the good old days of Cliff Stoudt, Bubby Brister or Neil O'Donnell. The fact is, the Steelers have had their ups and downs just like everyone else, and I'm quite honestly getting nauseated at the way supposedly objective media members are suddenly drooling over them.
Now I'm not in any way diminishing what the Steelers have done; right now, today, as of this moment, they are the elite gold standard in pro sports. Uncle. I give. BUT - to call them - as some are suggesting - the greatest pro sports franchise of all time is completely asinine. First of all, it's a dumb subject that is base purely on the opinions of talking heads. Second, all of the gushing about them is making it sound like the rest of the league has been basically trying to catch up with them since the early 70's. Baloney! Do you realize that other than Super Bowl XIV in January of 1980 - which was actually the Super Bowl for the 1979 season - the Steelers did not make a single Super Bowl appearance in the 80's? They only made one in the 90's, Super Bowl XXX following the 1995 season when the AFC was clearly the weaker conference, and they couldn't even get over on the Cowboys in that game with Dallas playing probably their overall worst Super Bowl ever. I remember well that many wondered why Bill Cowher never seemed to be on the hot seat despite his lack of postseason success (not to mention the failed Kordell Stewart experiment). And I never hear any Steeler fans fondly reminisce on the good old days of Cliff Stoudt, Bubby Brister or Neil O'Donnell. The fact is, the Steelers have had their ups and downs just like everyone else, and I'm quite honestly getting nauseated at the way supposedly objective media members are suddenly drooling over them.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Greatest All-Time Coach Rants
5.San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary - I Want Winners!
4. Herman Edwards - You Play To Win The Games! Hello?!?
3. Dennis Green - They Are Who We Thought They Were!
2. Jim Mora - Playoffs?! PLAYOFFS?!?
And the winner is...
1. Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy - I'm A Man! I'm 40!
(This one is king of long, stick with it, it's worth it!!)
4. Herman Edwards - You Play To Win The Games! Hello?!?
3. Dennis Green - They Are Who We Thought They Were!
2. Jim Mora - Playoffs?! PLAYOFFS?!?
And the winner is...
1. Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy - I'm A Man! I'm 40!
(This one is king of long, stick with it, it's worth it!!)
Monday, November 24, 2008
Just a quick note to the NFL pundits...
The New York Jets BEAT the Tennessee Titans yesterday. On THAT DAY, the Jets were the better team and brought more to the field and won the game. Now, to all the douchebag pundits that have suddenly anointed the Jets the best team in the AFC, do I need to remind you that this is NOT COLLEGE FOOTBALL, there is NO POLL, and NO COMPUTER that the Tennessee Titans are relying on to give them a better chance of going to the Super Bowl than the New York Jets. The national media gave the Tennessee Titans virtually NO COVERAGE during their impressive 10-0 start, yet the 8-3 Jets are suddenly the best thing since last years' Patriots?? BULLSHIT! As much as it must PAIN you northeastern elitist PRICKS to think this, I promise you, you will be spending some time with us HILLBILLIES in January. One game doesn't matter a goddam bit. The road to the Super Bowl in the AFC STILL runs through Nashville FUCKING Tennessee!!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
But on the other hand....
...the Cowboys, from what I saw of it, looked like their old selves. Terrell Owens with over 200 yards receiving is a HAPPY Terrell Owens, so now maybe he'll just shut up and start CATCHING the damn ball! I was ready to write this team off a few weeks ago, and though I'm by no means ready to proclaim them a Super Bowl contender once again, today was DEFINITELY a step in the right direction.
Yikes
Well, the Titans fans' dream of an undefeated season ended to day in rather convincing fashion with a loss to the New York Jets, 34-13. Brett Favre, the past two or three weeks, looks like a quarterback reborn, and save for one interception to Titans' CB Courtland Finnegan, played a near-perfect game, as did the Jets' defense. The Titans were just physically dominated, and I applaud the Jets for the big win.
But this stuff does happen. Very rarely - twice in the modern era, actually - does a team get through the entire regular season without at least one really ugly loss. The Giants had theirs against Cleveland several weeks ago, now the Titans have theirs. This game says more to me about the Jets than it does the Titans. The Jets are a good team, and now that Favre and those talented WR's and TE's are starting to jell, I think the sky's the limit for this team. They're good. REAL good.
I still think the Titans are among the best teams in the AFC, probably the entire NFL. They will regroup and get back to their winning ways, I guarantee it. Jeff Fisher is too good of a coach to let this team stay down for long.
But this stuff does happen. Very rarely - twice in the modern era, actually - does a team get through the entire regular season without at least one really ugly loss. The Giants had theirs against Cleveland several weeks ago, now the Titans have theirs. This game says more to me about the Jets than it does the Titans. The Jets are a good team, and now that Favre and those talented WR's and TE's are starting to jell, I think the sky's the limit for this team. They're good. REAL good.
I still think the Titans are among the best teams in the AFC, probably the entire NFL. They will regroup and get back to their winning ways, I guarantee it. Jeff Fisher is too good of a coach to let this team stay down for long.
So now what happens?
So now that Oklahoma beat Texas Tech in pretty impressive fashion last night, it looks like there is going to be a 3-way tie at the top of the Big 12 conference, with Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma all finishing at 11-1, provided they all win their games next week.
So who, if anyone, out of this conference is going to be eligible for the BCS Championship when all the dust settles? The knee-jerkers, I'm sure, will say Oklahoma, due to the style points they will get from just dominating the Red Raiders last night. But don't forget, Texas beat Oklahoma on a neutral field. Problem is, that happened way back in the middle of the season, so I'm not sure if the voters or the BCS computer will take that into account as much as they should. Too much of this nonsensical bowl system rests on the "what have you done for me lately" mentality. Just further evidence that, as pointed out numerous times by the fans, nearly every commentator in America and even our new president-elect that WE NEED A PLAYOFF SYSTEM IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL!! This system is horribly flawed, and especially in years like this one, you're really never going to know who the best team in the nation REALLY is.
In my humble opinion, Florida should be number one, even though I'm a GATOR HATOR from way back! But the way they have been dominating their opponents just tells me that they are on a whole different level than everyone else, despite a very sloppy and unexpected loss to Ole Miss earlier in the season.
But the fact is, we are never going to know who the best team TRULY is, because we don't have a playoff system. And what's worse, the old white guys in charge of the BCS and the schools involved in it are making too much MONEY the way it currently stands to change it. Any time the question is of a playoff system is put forth to any of these assholes, they just deflect it and basically say that nothing is changing, no matter what the fans or players may want.
Truth is, folks, as long as we keep spending money going to games, buying GamePlan and purchasing the merchandise, nothing is going to change. If we really want this to change, we have to hit these pricks where it hurts the most - in the wallet. Everyone complains about it, but we keep filling up 100,000-seat stadiums and rocking all the gear, so it doesn't look to me like we're all that unhappy about the current system. If you really want change, you've got to STOP going to the games, STOP buying GamePlan, STOP buying merchandise, and STOP supporting the companies that sponsor the BCS bowl games, period.
So who, if anyone, out of this conference is going to be eligible for the BCS Championship when all the dust settles? The knee-jerkers, I'm sure, will say Oklahoma, due to the style points they will get from just dominating the Red Raiders last night. But don't forget, Texas beat Oklahoma on a neutral field. Problem is, that happened way back in the middle of the season, so I'm not sure if the voters or the BCS computer will take that into account as much as they should. Too much of this nonsensical bowl system rests on the "what have you done for me lately" mentality. Just further evidence that, as pointed out numerous times by the fans, nearly every commentator in America and even our new president-elect that WE NEED A PLAYOFF SYSTEM IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL!! This system is horribly flawed, and especially in years like this one, you're really never going to know who the best team in the nation REALLY is.
In my humble opinion, Florida should be number one, even though I'm a GATOR HATOR from way back! But the way they have been dominating their opponents just tells me that they are on a whole different level than everyone else, despite a very sloppy and unexpected loss to Ole Miss earlier in the season.
But the fact is, we are never going to know who the best team TRULY is, because we don't have a playoff system. And what's worse, the old white guys in charge of the BCS and the schools involved in it are making too much MONEY the way it currently stands to change it. Any time the question is of a playoff system is put forth to any of these assholes, they just deflect it and basically say that nothing is changing, no matter what the fans or players may want.
Truth is, folks, as long as we keep spending money going to games, buying GamePlan and purchasing the merchandise, nothing is going to change. If we really want this to change, we have to hit these pricks where it hurts the most - in the wallet. Everyone complains about it, but we keep filling up 100,000-seat stadiums and rocking all the gear, so it doesn't look to me like we're all that unhappy about the current system. If you really want change, you've got to STOP going to the games, STOP buying GamePlan, STOP buying merchandise, and STOP supporting the companies that sponsor the BCS bowl games, period.
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