Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Managers Corner VERY NSFW

PLEASE listen to this in a place where sensitive ears will not hear it. It is actually from a radio program, and this guy added some silly animations to it.

Except for the "brought to you by stuff", this is 100% real. Weaver did this kind of crap all the time.

The Master of the Toss - NSFW

I grew up watching this guy, but as a kid I never understood why my parents always got seats in the upper deck or the bleachers. Now I know, it was to stay out of earshot.

I have to admire the umpire's ability to play it off, even as he is egging him on. Listen to the "Hall of Fame" rant.

Also, I am pretty sure that once he got rung up, Earl was just playing to the crowd by going back and forth like that.

Monday, December 18, 2006

A few random things...

1. T.O., or, Here We Go Again...

I hate to even mention the guy, because to me it just validates his B.S., but this needs to be commented on. By now I am sure that you have heard what happened (I am not the source for breaking news). But just to recap...

On the opening series of the Cowboys' 38-28 victory, while Owens and Hall jawed at each other as they left the field following a sack of Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, the controversial wide receiver spit at Hall, he confirmed during a postgame interview on the NFL Network.

The incident was not detected by game officials and there was no penalty. Hall said that, as he ran to the sideline, he told the officials Owens had spit on him, but was apprised that no one had seen it.

On his postgame television appearance, Owens said the incident was precipitated because Hall "kept bugging me and getting in my face." He also claimed he apologized to Hall following the game.

Hall was adamant on Sunday that Owens offered no apology. And he noted that the incident occurred on just the sixth play of the game.

"I mean, how much could I have gotten under his skin in just six plays?" Hall said. "Were we talking to each other? Yeah, that's part of my game, and everybody knows that. But after a couple plays, I slapped him on the butt, and just said something like, 'I'm going to be on you all night. This is how it's going to be.' And that was it.

"People make me out to be the bad guy all the time. Look, I play the game hard, but I play the game fair, all right? I'm not the guy out there doing cheap stuff. Like I said [Saturday] night, after what [Owens] did, I lost all respect for the guy."


That is from an article by Len Pasquerelli at ESPN. And as I type this, I get breaking news from the TV (yup, SportsCenter) that Owens has been fined $35,000 but NOT fined (sometimes I am an exception to my own rules).

Now that we are all on the same page, let us get to my problem with this. Owens was bothered because Hall kept bugging him and getting in his face? You will have to forgive me if I take a moment to try and shake my brain back out of the stare of incredulity that it is now mired in. OWENS WAS PISSED OFF BECAUSE OF TRASH TALKING?!?!? One of the kings of showboating and trashtalking got so worked up by someone else that it took all of 6 plays for him to do one of the most base acts an athlete can do? The man who all but called Jeff Garcia gay and then called out Donovan McNabb's toughness? The man who made a spectacle of himself by posing on the star at midfield of Texas Stadium while playing for the 49'ers? TWICE IN THE SAME GAME? The man who made the NFL void a valid trade to Baltimore, then scored a touchdown against the Ravens in a game and mocked Ray Lewis' pregame dance? THAT Terrell Owens couldn't handle a little trash talking? Excuse me T.O., but the kettle is on line 1 for you. Hey jackass, if you can't walk the walk, don't talk the talk. As far as I am concerned he is no longer an entity to be dealt with, and after any and all commentary on this topic is exhausted in the comments section, he will not be talked about again. He just isn't worth it.

I have said before that I am not a fan of trash talking. I never have been. I have always subscribed to the "old school" philosophy that you let your play on the field do the talking. But be that as it may, the practice of trash talking has become the norm instead of the exception for the NFL. I am a big enough fan of the sport that I look past it and try to enjoy the play itself, and to focus on the players who are above that crap. That is why I am such a big fan of LaDanian Tomlinson and Drew Brees and Todd Heap. Just shut up and play.

One final thing about T.O. There is a quote of his that I think is rather apropos..."If it walks like a rat and talks like a rat..."

2. Carmelo Anthony is an Idiot...

Not 3 days ago Carmelo was here in Baltimore celebrating the opening of a brand new youth center that he donated 1.5 million dollars of his own money to build. And now he has been given a 15 game suspension for his part in the melee (I don't think it qualifies as a brawl. Only scenes from Road House qualify as brawls) at Madison Square Garden the other night. He finally gets everyone to forget about his appearance in the "Stop Snitching" video, and then he pulls THIS bone headed move.

I really want to think that he is just making bad choices. He definitely seems like an honest, caring young man. But when he does crap like this it just pisses me off. If you haven't seen the video, look at THIS. At around 40-45 seconds you will see Anthony throw a punch right about in the middle of the screen. Carmelo, PLEASE, for your sake, and for the sake of the NBA (which needs you to be the star that you can be), get your head on right before you end up ruining what you have the ability to create, and that is a positive role model for all of us. I am not talking about black and white, I am not talking about the youth of Denver or Baltimore, I am talking about the community, of sports fans who want to take their children to watch amazing people with God given gifts display their talents. You are better than this and it is time to start acting like it.

3. Why I Love and Hate the NFL Sometimes...

Tonight the Cincinnati Bengals and the Indianapolis Colts are playing. Now anyone who knows me knows that I have no love for either franchise. I respect players on both teams, but the franchises themselves, well, one plays in the division of my home team and I always want those teams to lose and the other one broke my heart over 20 years ago and I have (and will) never forgive them for it. However, this game has serious playoff implications for my team, and that makes me have to look at that and actually root for one of the teams. Because I want my team to have at least a 1st round bye even if they can't have home field advantage throughout the playoffs, I have to root for Cincinnati to win. Of course, I can root like hell for them to lose the next two weeks, but it hurts me to have to root for them tonight. This is the pain that the NFL causes me.

But it pales compared to what the NFL has done to my memories and my history. And that is the video that they have released about the Indianapolis Colts. It includes players like Unitas, Berry, Marchetti, Mackey, Donovan, and Moore just to name a few. The last time I checked those players didn't play in Indianapolis. If the DVD was the history of the Colts, I would be okay with it. But how dare they put out anything about the history of the Indianapolis Colts and include the players from the Baltimore era? It gives me another reason (like I needed one) to root for my team to win it all this year, just to rub it in the face of the family that owned the team when they left and still own it today. Irsay is still a cussword to my family.

Even with that, I still am addicted to their product. DAMITALL!

I am going to wrap this up for now, but be ready for my playoff predictions once the teams are finally set. Time to put my typed words where my mouth is.

BSR