YardBarker- “It’s a sad state of affairs,” Swinney said. “It comes with the territory. It’s not like it used to be, where you evaluate the totality of a season. It just isn’t that way any more. Social media gets people hired, fired and retired quick. Just like that. It’s just an overwhelming swell of emotion, good, bad or whatever. Unless you’ve got people with thick skin in those decision-making roles, it happens all the time." “When did you ever see this many coaches without jobs in the middle of the season? It’s like the trend now, and it’s sad. With the amount of money that’s involved, win right now, the expectations, shoot first, ask questions later mentality that we’ve got, it’s just the way it is. I hate it. These are people.” You guys got any spare change? Apparently coaching is an extremely volatile and unpredictable career. Pass the collection plate, millionaires are more likely to lose their jobs because fans and analysts alike can more easily express their opinions on a widely viewed platform. Is anyone looking out for the coaches!?! It's just not fair I tell ya. What happened to the good old days when college coaches overstayed their welcome because University officials were blissfully blind to the negativity surrounding their programs? What happened to the days when people that made seven figure salaries could fly under the radar as they continued to do their job inadequately? Goddamn it social media, these men are people too! How could we expect them to perform in their field, which they are handsomely rewarded for, to the best of their abilities at all times? Hey Dabo, I realize that not every nameless, faceless asshole on the internet has a valid opinion. I know that more often then not it's some drunk idiot (such as myself) overreacting to one play or one game, but isn't that kind of an occupational hazard of being a college football coach? Think about it, these guys coach 12, maybe 13, games a year. If they do a shitty job of coaching 6 of them then they have failed to competently complete half a year's worth of work. If that happened in any other business then the person that didn't suitably complete the requirements of their occupation would be canned as well. Obviously college coaches spend a lot of time recruiting too, but their main responsibility is to win on gameday. If they don't do that then I don't think it's unjust to send them packing, with a fully paid off contract might I add, whether or not the criticism originally stemmed from a bunch of outspoken halfwits on Twitter. Like you said Dabo, for every coach that gets fired because of social media there are an equal amount of coaches hired because of social media. Sports are a results based business. Win and the internet becomes self promotion. Lose and the internet will do it's best to crush the entirety of your spirit. Maybe it's time to accept that social media has it's positives and negatives, although I wouldn't count holding a coach accountable for his team's performance on a game by game basis a negative. Fans may have irrational complaints but they generally only have them when their team is losing. College athletics is big business, and big business can be a fickle bitch. The best way to avoid her wrath is to win, so ride that wave while you still can Dabo...
0 Comments
LBS- “I think there was forced tension from the things we all heard about each other that wasn’t true at all,” Jordan said before the season.“It was just the outside (perception). We never asked each other about it.”
Dan Woike of The Orange County Register notes that there were plenty of people on and around the team who noticed tension between Jordan and CP3. What is unclear is if the awkwardness — is that a good word for it? — led to Jordan’s infamous offseason flip-flop between the Mavericks and Clippers. “If I didn’t like Chris, I wouldn’t have signed here,” Jordan said. Is anyone surprised by this? I mean, of course the media was responsible for fabricating this controversy. That isn't news. Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan never even talked about their problems. That's how you know that they were never there in the first place. Conflict can't exist between two people unless those two people confront it face to face. Why do you think every relationship lasts like one year longer than it probably should? No one can truly be sure about the presence of an issue unless it is discussed in it's entirety. DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul may have had a disagreement or two, but something can't be considered a problem until it's identified as a problem. Way to go sports media, you just had to go out of your way to play relationship counselor. Just had to complicate things with your incessant need for full disclosure. Couldn't you just let Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan grow to resent each other behind closed doors just like every other couple in this world that pretends to be happy? You almost cost the Clippers a chance at a championship by bringing up missed high fives and in-game arguments. Those unfortunate memories are supposed to be suppressed way deep down until they end up boiling over in fits of rage. However, the person responsible for turning the heat up and stirring that pot shouldn't be the person writing a daily sports column. If DJ didn't like CP3 he wouldn't be here, duh. I guess you could say their marital woes were the reason for him almost leaving in the first place, but you don't know what you have until it's gone. Every couple fights. Just because one party decided to go out for a night or two of flirtation doesn't mean there are irreconcilable differences. Just means that DJ needed to see what life was like without Chris Paul, and wouldn't you know it, he came crawling right back. The Devil you know is better than the Devil you don't, and I really wish the media would stop their Satanic ways so these two angels could coexist in perceived harmony.
Eric Gelinas- Come on Gelly. Show me confidence one time dude. You're a 6'4 215 pound NHL defenseman with a booming slap shot. A person of your build wearing a fake muscle suit is like Jenna Jameson stuffing her bra. Less Jane, more Tarzan. You're the Ultimate Warrior. Go tits out for the boys, throw on some body paint, and do the costume some justice. You know what someone that came half naked to a Halloween party wouldn't do? They wouldn't nervously make risky cross ice passes. They wouldn't lose puck battles in the corners. They wouldn't get beat to the outside constantly. You're a physical speciman Eric, the sooner you act like it on and off the rink the better.
Stefan Matteau- Don't worry Devils fans, it's not that Stefan Matteau hasn't progressed since being drafted into the NHL. It's not that he's a defensive liability and an offensive blackhole. He's just a quick strike player. Just wait. When you least expect it he'll come popping out of the shadows and actual contribute something. He's a ninja. Apparently a very shy ninja, but a ninja nonetheless. One day he'll make his presence felt. Until then we play the waiting game.
Cory Schneider- First of all, let's get this out of the way, he absolutely NAILED that Forrest Gump pose. Squint a little bit and you'd swear you were watching the 90's cult classic. Anyway, Schneids is a picture of consistency. Remember when Forrest ran across the nation for like months (or years, can't recall) on end? I feel like you could stick Cory Schneider in net everyday for a year and get a very similar, and dominant, performance every time. Life might be like a box of choclates, but when it comes to the Devils goaltending, you always know what you are going to get.
Adam Larsson- A couple of reasons why Adam Larsson is a nun. For one, priests touch little boys, and that's obviously not the greatest look, but also because he is far too humble to go as his real life equivalent, Jesus Christ. He's the savior. A person of the faith. We believe Adam, we believe! He is now the foundation of this Devils team. All things will be created in his image, and they damn well better be, because young, smart hockey players with a ton potential are a hell, no pun intended, of a thing to build your franchise with. I hope that cross doesn't weigh him down, because while I am not a religious man, I won't hesitate to get on bended knee for the church of Adam Larsson.
Okay fine, so it's little misleading to say that Cory Schneider is practicing with the glove of a team he just beat, but I got to be honest, that's the greatest unintentional mind game I could possibly conjure up. Matching be damned, Cory Schneider rocking the colors of the last team he defeated would just continue to remind said team how badly they were dominated. Just dedicating his glove hand to whatever unlucky group fell victim to it last. It's like wearing a one game patch for someone that passed away, except in this instance it's for the demise of the opposition's pride. May it Rest In Peace. That's how you show a fraudulent sign of respect to your opponent while simultaneously emasculating them.
"2-4-6-8...who do we appreciate?! The idiots that kept ripping them glove side on our All-Star caliber ginger!" Seriously though (not really at all), this team needs attitude. It needs something that differentiates it from the rest of the league. Under Lou Lamoriello it was all the players having low numbers and no one wearing #13. Well, I think under Ray Shero we should have the best player on the team give recognition to our fallen competition after every win. You want relentless? There's nothing as relentless as constantly reminding a team that you are in their head. The ultimate sign of respect is complete and utter disrespect, or something like that. After all, it's the losers that don't get acknowledged who truly aren't relevant. I need Cory Schneider to work tireless to break in 30 different catching gloves. There's no telling who we beat next (who am I kidding? It's the Blue Jackets tonight) and I need them to remember the experience. I need them to know how inferior they are. So inferior, in fact, that Cory Schneider has to represent them with his left hand, because they can't even do a good enough job of representing themselves. Schneider wearing multi-colored mitts is the best way the Devils can show their appreciation. Thanks for coming Columbus, hope you brought an extra glove with you...
BSO- If this was one of Steve Smith’s final games on Monday Night Football, he’ll carry a lasting impression of officiating from the ballgame.
Smith won’t be recommending that officiating crew from Monday night’s game against the Arizona Cardinals to anybody. In fact, when asked about the referees after the tightly contested loss, the Baltimore Ravens wide receiversaid he’d give the group “two stars” on his Yelp account. The same reason I love Steve Smith Sr. the football player is the very same reason I hate Steve Smith Sr. the 'Yelp!' reviewer. He's emotional. He's overly aggressive. He's got a proclivity for taking things too far. Those are great attributes if you are trying to catch touchdowns, talk shit, and captivate fans, but they are far less admirable when you could potentially affect someone's choice in entertainment establishment. Boohoo, Steve Smith gave the refs two stars because he didn't have the world's greatest experience with them. Well, I didn't watch the game closely enough to rate their performance on a 5-star scale, but the lack of controversy surrounding it today leads me to believe that they did much better than a below average job. That's why I am inclined to think that Steve Smith Sr. is compromising the validity of the ratings system with his biased opinion of the refs on Monday Night Football. You know the 'Yelp!' equivalent of Steve Smith Sr. He's the person that skews the whole rating by giving a restaurant 1-star when they forget to include extra sauce in his to-go bag. He's the type of person that writes two paragraphs slandering a Mexican joint for not refilling his tortilla chips in a timely fashion. He's the person that rates the whole place based on the one experience he had with one slow server. Guess what? People don't care that your appetizer came out the same time as your entree. They want to know if the food is good. They want to know if the atmosphere is welcoming. Chances are by the time they try the place out the under-qualified teenager that mangled your order will have been fired already. Steve Smith complaining about refs that didn't specifically give him calls is the same as the girl that claims a place is the "worst restaurant ever" because there wasn't enough salt on her margarita. Maybe you don't need to be so salty Steve, because it's people like you that are jeopardizing the integrity of the ratings system. It's people like you that are the reason why it has become impossible to put faith in the frivolous opinions of strangers. Set a better example for one time in your life Steve Smith. I don't care about referees, but the satisfaction of my taste buds depends on it.
Whew. Thank God Rutgers avoided this guy. Okay fine, he choose to go to Michigan instead, but still, Rutgers is better off without him. Well, maybe their secondary isn't better off without him, but there STD rate apparently is. There is a lot of things Rutgers can withstand. Coaching scandals. A bunch of players getting arrested for breaking and entering/assault. Losing their star player, for a period of time, due to false allegations of domestic abuse. However, the spreading of STD's is where I draw the line. Compromise Rutgers reputation if you want, but don't compromise the reproductive health of their fairer sex. Michigan can have this guy and his sickly junk. That's not what being a "Rutgers man" is all about. Can't have Jabrill Peppers whipping out his diseased hog whenever he feels like it and potentially starting another swine flu epidemic.
Could this note be filled with lies? I suppose so, but I feel pretty confident in saying that a high profile recruit such as Jabrill Peppers has been slanging his filthy cock all around campus. Why you ask? Well, because college students aren't doing any writing that isn't required. If it wasn't an assignment for class, the most writing I was doing was the house Chinese food order. This girl wrote a whole dirty dick manifesto. You don't do that unless you think you absolutely have to. If she simply wanted to spread lies and ruin his reputation then she would have done what all scorned, non-infected women do and told everyone he has a small dick. If this note is a fabrication then it is one intricate, conceivable fabrication. No one uses a middle name unless they mean business. She's got percentages, dates, and timelines. Once you put numbers in there then I automatically become inclined to believe you, even if it is just simple addition. I spotted a reference to the law. You don't do that kind of research in an effort to unjustly shame somebody. She even outted him for his completely unreasonable, yet totally believable "how am I going to fuck this girl raw?" strategy. This letter has way too much backstory to be completely made up. No one is that good of a story teller. We obviously can't know the validity of it until we take a trip to the clinic with Jabrill, but i think I'll take the smoke's word for it instead of getting a first hand look at the fire. Better keep this guy at punt returner because he's certainly got no issues with catching shit.
P.S. Not letting this girl totally off the hook either. Can't let the same guy give you an STD twice. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice and I better stop being a whore who's careless with my pussy. You cant fall for the "I forgot my special condoms" excuse AGAIN and then act surprised at the outcome. Doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity, and that seems about right because the amount of work this girl put into destroying Pepper's character is nothing short of crazy. Potentially necessary, but crazy.
Mark Ingram Did The 'Hotline Bling' Dance To Celebrate His Touchdown Because Drake Runs The World10/27/2015
Fucking Drake man. Say what you want about the guy, but he's the master of building his brand. He may be corny sometimes. Scratch that. He is corny sometimes, but he produces bangers and he knows how to promote himself. Take this video for example. Drake is dressed like a white dude and dancing like the whitest of dudes, and still has black athletes from Alabama imitating his moves. Who else could get black people to willingly choose to dance like they are dorky caucasians with two left feet? It's like he transcends race. Maybe that's because no one actually knows what race a Canadian Jew is, but he transcends it regardless. Fucking 'Wheelchair Jimmy' had made his way on to the football field. A goddamn Jew named Aubrey that wears turtleneck sweaters has infiltrated end zone dances. It's like he has succeeded in making the act of being uncool, cool. If he can do that then what can't he do? There's been a lot of talk about celebrities running for president, and with the amount of recent racial tension, the most obvious candidate has been dancing like a drunk Irishmen under our nose the entire time.
Hey, maybe if Sean Payton wasn't so hardheaded then Mark Ingram could have gotten into the end zone enough to reenact the whole fucking video. I mean, he was averaging 10 yards a rush and the Colts seemingly had no answers for him. Obviously that's when you want to start incessantly throwing the ball. Can't think of a better time to give the backup running back more reps than directly after the starter has run roughshod all over your opponent. Maybe Sean Payton just isn't a big Drake fan. Shhh, don't tell anyone. In 2015 that's basically grounds for termination, and the Saints are finally starting to hit their stride. I think this just seems so perfect because Ryan Mallet is the the grown up personification of the kid that can't get out of his own way in grade school. The kid that genuinely wants good things for himself, but always finds a way to screw it up. Ryan Mallet is the teenager that you continually find yourself saying "Ryan is such a good kid". If only he would just do his homework, or show up to class on time, or be nicer to his classmates. I don't even think he's a shithead on purpose. I think every time Ryan Mallet has apologized it was sincere. I really think he meant it when he said "it will never happen again". I truly believe that he wanted to be better. You know, until he left his authority figure's office and had already forgotten about all the promises he made to him just five minutes earlier.
Let's be honest, Ryan Mallet should have been cut a long time ago. He's been bitching, moaning, and acting up ever since training camp and he doesn't have anywhere near enough talent to make up the distractions he causes. The only reason he was still on the team up until this point is because, well because Brian Hoyer sucks, but also because the Texans have willingly given him the benefit of the doubt. Just kept telling themselves "this will definitely be the wakeup call he needs to change his ways". Newsflash Houston, in case you didn't notice, the thing that Ryan Mallet is best at is ignoring wakeup calls. It's about goddamn time you stopped playing the role of the overly sympathetic teacher. Life's not a movie, and this ain't 'Dangerous Minds'. No matter how badly he wants to change, he is just a kid that is never going to, and I don't care if his grandmother thinks differently or not. At some point your actions speak louder than words, and Mallet's actions have been screaming "IDGAF" all season.
I love you Kurt, I really do. It's always fun to root for the underdog, even if the underdog plays for a crappy franchise with a racist team name. I just don't know if I am supposed to be more impressed that Kurt Cousins is achieving a relative amount of success as a starting quarterback in the NFL, or more impressed at how difficult he makes relatively simple things look. First, it was his abomination of a pregame speech, then it was needing a 25 point miracle comeback to beat one of the worst teams in the league, and now it's his spiteful outburst to a random camera. I don't even mind the aggression. Personally, I love his passion. However, it just doesn't come off as very genuine.
He just doesn't seem comfortable displaying that type of emotion. You know in movies when they are teaching the overly appropriate, super nice guy how to talk shit and he comes back with "well, you're just a big old jerk". That's what this reminds me of. It seemed planned, calculated, and much like everything else in or around a football field, outside of Kurt Cousin's skill set. I love the concept, but the execution was mediocre at best. My first instinct when witnessing an act of vengeance shouldn't be to laugh, and that's exactly what "YOU LIKE THAT!" made me do. Not everyone can be the 'rah-rah', boisterous type, and it appears to me that Kurt Cousins is a prime example of that. Whether it's pump-up speeches, throws that dig you into a 24 point hole against an awful Buccaneers team, or public animosity towards media members, Kurt Cousins makes everything look so forced. Be more Eli, and less Tom Brady. Trust me Kurt, it fits you better.
How do you define leadership? Would you define it like this....
Or like this...
Or like this...
Or like this...
Chances are you probably wouldn't. That's why you more than likely had the same look on your face, when Jerry Jones was talking, as the media member standing directly behind him. However, it would be disingenuous not to mention how subjective "leadership" can be. Sure, Greg Hardy has more public relations nightmares on his resume as a Cowboy than games played, but leadership is an intangible. It's not something you can quantify. So if you want to say that Jerry Jones is delusional then you would probably be right, but don't say he's not making the English language work for him. You can't prove that whatever the fuck Greg Hardy is doing on a weekly basis isn't leadership, because clearly the Cowboys view leadership differently than you. Hell, that's why they consider the very same guy he's arguing with, Dez Bryant, a leader. Do I think the player that's getting in pushing matches with position coaches and going MIA just weeks after being reinstated for domestic violence is leading by example? No, of course not, but there's no one in the world that can definitively tell Jerry Jones otherwise. You should have that same confused, "what the fuck is he talking about" look on your face when you hear Jerry Jones answer that question, but you shouldn't be surprised that's how he answered it. After all, we are talking about the same guy that signed Greg Hardy in the first place. That man can justify anything as long as what he gets in return is on-field production. Instead of criticizing that let's just sit back and watch, because it's going to be quite the show when the Dallas Cowboys completely implode.
October 25th, 2015. The day the Colts, as we know them, met their demise. I actually feel bad for Indianapolis. I am pretty sure the only franchise whose ever died at the hands of the Saints defense was their own. Not a good reason to be in the record books, I'll tell ya that much. If Andrew Luck has any class he'll shave for the funeral. After all, he was complicit in their death. The least he could do is be presentable for the celebration of their life. Someone want to give me an update on where the general public stands on Andrew Luck now? Is he still the next great NFL quarterback? Just got to get a good read on that before I start judging the performance of the Saints defense. If we still think of Luck as more Peyton (in his prime) than Eli then the '15 Saints are basically the '85 Bears. I mean, they were a slip or two (literally) away from holding the Colts to single digits. Fuck what the scoreboard ended up saying, the Saints defense blew out the Colts offense and the Saints offense. Literally had to beat two pathetic offensive performances (outside of Mark Ingram) to get New Orleans a W. That's not only impressive, for a Sean Payton coached team that just might be fucking historic.
Was the game perfectly coached? Far from it. Did the Saints look handicapped offensively for a majority of the afternoon? Damn right they did. So no, not every take away from that game was a positive one, but the ability to put a mother check mark in the win column masks a lot of deficiencies. I, for one, am willing to look past the fact that the Saints, almost inexplicably, blew that game. Mostly because all seemed lost just two weeks ago, and now, with a soft schedule coming up, the Saints actually have a chance of making a run. They will probably use that chance to lose to an inferior team and take a couple more years off my life, but hey, they still have that chance. That's a lot more than I could have said at 1-4. P.S. It was great to see Luke McCown, who played spendidly in defeat with Drew Brees out, contribute with a perfect pass on the fake field goal. P.P.S. It was even better to see Marques Colston, who has had an AWFUL year in what may be his last season, turn back the clock with the game on the line. Just gave us all a little reminder of what made him and Drew Brees one of the best connections in NFL history when it mattered the most.
I want to laugh, I really do. If it wasn't the Rutgers cannon crew sitting there miserably waiting to fire the fucking cannon for the first time more than 59 and a half minutes into the game I would find it hysterical. Alas, it was Rutgers, and it's a lot less funny knowing that I was only a colonial suit and a funny hat away from looking just like those guys by the end of the game Saturday night. That game was humbling. That game was demoralizing. Shit, that game was aging. It legit felt like that 3 and a half hours lasted 2 decades. I bet when that game started those grumpy old men were strapping young lads. I bet when Rutgers drove down and missed that field goal to start the game these guys were young, battle ready recruits, and by the time the second half started they were already grizzled old war veterans.
I don't care how silly these guys looked, because all Rutgers fans that watched the entirety of that game looked nearly as silly. Just sitting there watching their (our) team get completely out-coached and outclassed in front of a national audience. Just sitting there miserable waiting for one single thing to get excited about. That's what that touchdown, with just seconds left on the clock, was to all Rutgers fans. Not only was it a reason for a couple reenactors to do their favorite thing in the world and fire that cannon, but it was a reason for fans to say "okay at least we saw something positive". It was just a meaningless touchdown in the waning seconds of a game that was all but over nearly two hours prior, but it was a way to semi-justify wasting a Saturday night. That little bit of energy that these guys showed when Rutgers finally put some points on the board? The same amount of energy I put into chugging my beer simultaneously. It wasn't out of happiness, it was more just out of relief, because by the end of the 4th quarter I don't think any of us really thought it was going to happen.
Could I talk about how Kyle Flood should be fired for not being able to get his team up to play against against the #1 ranked team in the nation (and for about 1,000 other reasons)? I suppose I could. Could I talk about how the flashes shown by Hayden Rettig in the second half lend credence to the idea that Chris Laviano is drastically limiting this offense's potential? I suppose I could. However, I won't do either of those things, because at the end of the day it's not going to change anything. Kyle Flood is still going to be the Head Coach. Chris Laviano is still going to be the starting quarterback. Rutgers football is still going to be better than awful yet way worse than good. It's still going to be a middling program that's stuck in the mud, and I'm just not sure if I trust the people responsible for changing that to actual do anything to change it. A failure to progress is essentially the same thing as regressing, and if that's the case then this team has been regressing since Kyle Flood took over.
P.S. I legitimately hope the stupid nut mascot went deaf, and I'm not totally convinced the outcome of that game wasn't rigged because Urban Meyer has a book coming out. That timing is just too convenient. Just something to think about.
Kenny Vaccaro Thinks Andrew Luck Only Gets The Label Of Having "Deceptive Speed" Because He's White10/23/2015
PFT- When Vaccaro was asked if Luck’s “deceptive speed” makes it tough to prepare to play against the Colts on Sunday, Vaccaro pushed back against that label.
“Not deceptive. Just because he’s white doesn’t mean he’s deceptive. He’s actually a great athlete. He has all the tools that you ask for as a quarterback,” Vaccaro said, via Mike Triplett of ESPN. “Smart, big arm talent, can go through all his reads and he can run. So not deceptive, he’s actually athletic.” Needed a little lesson in how to discuss racial stereotypes without coming off as insensitive? Well, Kenny Vaccaro just gave you a free one, but if you want any more than you are going to have to pay for the full semester. Remember, extra credit for candor. Bravo Kenny, bravo. Way to address the racial component of the question while still giving credit to your opponent. Far too often a situation like this would turn into an athlete putting his foot in his mouth. I appreciate Vaccaro's sincerity in honestly answering a fairy silly question. Say what you want the differences between white quarterbacks and black quarterbacks, but Kenny Vaccaro is absolutely right. How many "deceptively fast" black quarterbacks have played in the NFL? Zero? There have been a ton of fast ones though. White quarterbacks are only deceptively fast because we have been programmed to think that they are supposed to stand in the pocket like statuses. They aren't deceptively fast because of how they look playing the game, they are deceptively fast because of how they look standing on the sidelines with their helmet off. Doesn't do Andrew Luck, or Aaron Rodgers for that matter, any good being goofy looking assholes, but at the end of the day, there is nothing deceptive about their athletic ability. When black people talk white they are surprisingly well spoken and when white people run well they are deceptively black, I mean, fast. That's the tradeoff. Thank god Vaccaro was here to point out the blatantly obvious, or the Saints probably would have just let Andrew Luck scamper right down the middle of field like they were playing against some ordinary bearded white schmuck. The good thing about fielding a blind defense is that they are colorblind as well. Sometimes it's the little things.
Yardbarker- “I finally feel like myself,” Murray said, via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Everyone is starting to settle down and get their legs underneath them.”
Murray has now rushed for 195 yards and two scores over the last two weeks, both Eagles wins. He started the 2015 season with 29 carries for just 45 yards (1.6 yards per carry) over the first three games. “Collectively, we’re playing well right now,” Murray said. “But it has a lot to do with how we prepare during the week… Everyone has looked in the mirror and we got better as a group.” Hey, I understand that DeMarco Murray is a very talented running back. The numbers from leading the league in rushing by like 500 yards last year don't lie, even if they are a bit inflated because of the greatness of the Cowboys offensive line. I understand that his embarrassing low statistics to start this year were just as much a product of his performance as they were the product of getting used to a brand new running scheme. Although, I do believe that it does bear noting that players only feel like themselves when they are performing well. DeMarco Murray was a good player that was playing badly, but there have been plenty of bad players that have had spurts of playing well. You never see those players regress back to their actual mean and talk about how they feel like themselves again. How funny would it be if Brandon Weedon was being interviewed about losing his starting job to Matt Cassell and he was just like "I'm comfortable with it, I'm finally back to being myself here on this bench"? You never see the backup running have a 100 yard game out of nowhere then look relieved on the sidelines when he's back to getting 4 carries a game the next week. Some teams have to be bad. Some players on those teams have to underperform. Not everyone can be the best player in the league. Some players do have to feel like themselves when they are putting up subpar statistics. That's just a fact. There are a bunch of borderline NFL players that could be out of the league as soon as tomorrow, and it's not because they simply had a day where they didn't feel like themselves. Maybe sometimes yourself just isn't good enough. It's just kind of ironic that DeMarco Murray didn't feel like himself until he was good enough. What a coincidence...
Okay, well I would probably stop short of calling it "magic". It's not like a 3 game winning streak, with all the wins coming in overtime, should require forces beyond human nature. Although, if you have spent any of the last two seasons watching Devils hockey you would certainly think that were the case. So while it may not be sorcery, there is definitely something different, something better, about this year's Devils team and I, for one, feel comfortable embracing it.
No one thinks this team is worth a damn and you know what, when push comes to shove, they might not be. However, it's not an accident that after a rough start they have been able to play close games against good competition. It's not an accident that this team has won their last three games and has points in their last four. It's not an accident that they were able to mount a 2-goal comeback and actually turn it into a victory. Cory is right. Last year's team may have possessed a similar amount of talent, but there is no way they would have pulled off what this Devils team did last night. In fact, that team would have been far more likely to give away a two goal lead than to overcome one. That's just a fact. Playoffs probably aren't in the cards this year, and there are still a lot of important pieces missing from this lineup, but that doesn't mean there aren't reasons to be encouraged. If Cory is excited, why should Devils fans be any different? This team has no expectations to live up to and everything they accomplish will be considered a bonus. So far those accomplishments have already exceeded what we thought they would be at this point, and I certainly don't think that a team that's still getting used to a brand new system is going to get any worse at running it. If that doesn't energize you as a fan then I would stop watching, because there are no Stanley Cups in this roster's future, but there just might be some surprises that we didn't see coming. Last night was a perfect example of that. If you want to spend the entire rebuilding process being negative about this team then be my guest, but I am with Cory on this one, and right now that doesn't seem like too bad of a side to be on. The Trainer That Got Obliterated By An Errant Colin Kaepernick Pass NEEDS TO Pay More Attention10/23/2015
Do I think a trainer standing on the sidelines, that surely has a bunch of responsibilities, should always be aware of every single thing that's going on during an NFL game? In most situations, probably not. However, this isn't most situations because Colin Kaepernick isn't most quarterbacks. If you are employed by the San Francisco 49er's you have to know what you have gotten yourself into. I can't blame Kaepernick. He has know idea where his throws are going. I'm sure, if he had it his way, he would be able to refrain from throwing the ball 100 feet over his receiver's head. Alas, that's just not within his skill set right now.
You know when they say that those people that keep guns in their house are more likely to have a gun related incident? Turning your back while Kaepernick is in the pocket is like tossing a 9 millimeter in your toddler's crib and then turning your back to fold laundry. You can't be mad if you catch an errant bullet to the face. That's exactly what that throw was. A fucking bullet. If that guy's jaw isn't broken he should throw on a cape and start fighting crime because he's missing his calling as Superman. There are only a few things that Colin Kapernick is capable of. Throwing a football very very hard, throwing a football very very fast, and throwing a football wildly inaccurate. When you're the guy roaming the sidelines you better keep that scouting report in mind, or you might end up drinking through a straw. P.S. He potentially stopped that ball from nailing Antoine Bethea, and we all missed out, because I would love to see that confrontation after the fact. Yahoo- "Jimmer thinks everybody is stupid," said an NBA assistant who worked with Fredette. "He thinks everybody needs to come and just turn over their offense and let him shoot it anytime he wants. That's not how the league works."
Growing up I was an upper middle class, entitled little brat. Growing up I was also pretty good at hockey. Let's just say I was good enough to dominate all the rec leagues I played in. For that reason, I thought all my coaches were stupid. I thought all the people I played with were stupid. I was the best and you couldn't tell me any differently. Pass? Why pass? The kids I was playing with weren't worth a damn and I was better off doing it all myself. Then a funny thing happened. I started to grow up. I started to play in more competitive leagues. The people around me became comparable in skill level. I didn't know everything. I needed my teammates. I started to respect the game more. I say all this because Jimmer Fredette never had to do that. That's probably because he choose not to do that, but he never had to do it regardless. He grew up in upstate New York. Probably dominated the most predominantly white basketball league in the United States. Most likely played in some half assed high school league where he was the best player. Then he decided to go to college where he would continue to be the most self righteous, entitled white kid amongst a University full of them. Up until the NBA, Jimmer Fredette never had to worry about his teammates. He's still that 10 year old that thinks he's better than everybody because he never had that humbling experience of playing with people that showed him otherwise. Of course he thinks his coaches now are stupid. That's because he thinks all his old coaches, that had no choice but to give him the ball every possession, are smart. I'm not giving him a free pass. I think he would be wise to adjust his game to fit in at the NBA level too, but the fact that he thinks he's untouchable is a learned characteristic. He's had people telling him how good he is his whole life. He's had coaches and teammates catering an entire offense to him his whole life. He's like a house cat that's gotten tossed directly into the middle of the forest. Of course he's confused and frustrated. He's been sheltered and he's finally seeing what exists outside of his bubble. It shouldn't be shocking that team basketball, on the highest level, isn't dependent on one athletically deficient white dude that likes to shoot a lot, but for someone that has played the game that way since he was 8 years old, it absolutely is. The Age- Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger is suing a Chinese company for producing a Nazi figurine that bears an uncanny resemblance to him.
Schweinsteiger's management confirmed their client was taking legal action to SID, the sports subsidiary of Agence France-Presse, following a report in German tabloid Bild on Thursday. The figure, marketed by Hong Kong based firm, DiD, is named "Bastian" and described as "WWII Army Supply Duty". The doll is dressed in a grey Wermacht uniform, complete with eagle and swastika insignia above the chest pocket. The face of the doll bears a clear resemblance to that of Schweinsteiger, who joined Manchester United from Bayern Munich earlier this year. However, a spokesman told Bild that any resemblance with the footballer was a "complete coincidence". "We don't sell any figures which resemble footballers. It is a complete coincidence that the figure 'Bastian' looks like Schweinsteiger," spokesman Patrick Chan was quoted as saying. "We think that all Germans look like that. Bastian is also a very common name in Germany." Media lawyer Ulrich Amelung told Bild: "This is a clear violation of the rights of Schweinsteiger. The portrayal of him wearing a swastika uniform is a clear case of defamation and insult." Well, It's about damn time Hong Kong. I am glad you finally see it our way. People of certain ethnicities and nationalities CAN all look alike, and it's refreshing to see you finally admit that. All Germans DO look the same, just like a lot of Asians look the same. Those are just facts. So yes, I think saying that German soccer player looks just like every other run-of-the-mill depiction of a German is a hell of an excuse, and I am sure Bastian is a commonly used German man. With that said, there is no fucking way in hell this is purely a coincidence. Schweinsteiger clearly doesn't have too many friends in Hong Kong. Either that or someone from Bayern Munich has some serious connections in the toy manufacturing industry. Life is just simply not this cruel. You have a better chance of winning the lottery then of accidentally producing an offensive Nazi doll and giving it the same name as a person of notoriety for which it bears an EXACT resemblance. All Germans look alike, but not all Germans have the exact same facial features. Eyes, ears, jawline, mouth, hair? This doll is his plastic, Jew killing identical twin. Give the real life Bastian a silly swatstika hat and a loaf of bread and you could wrap him in packaging and play him off as the life size version of the doll without anyone knowing the difference. Here's the thing though. If you are Bastian Schweinsteiger I think you just have to tip your cap and move on. I don't think you can start taking people to court over the best prank of all time. Sometimes you just get got, and Bastain Schweinsteiger got got. You start making a big deal of it, and it just brings more attention to it. I highly doubt a bunch of German soccer fans are into Nazi memorabilia anyway. Well, maybe they are, but I am trying to give Germany a little benefit of the doubt here. Most of them probably wouldn't even have put it together until you lent the resemblance credence by tossing around law suits. Not saying I would want it being implied that someone of my likeness was partially responsible for the Holocaust, but I think it's just got to be one of the circumstances where you ignore the blatantly obvious. You ever had a friend try to point out someone that looks like you, and you tell them they are crazy, regardless if they are right or not? I don't care if it looks like you were a product of the same loins, plead ignorance. Especially if the doll version of you is a prejudice asshole that was partially responsible for mass genocide. Yardbarker- “I think he’s a stud,” Brees said of Luck, via ESPN. “He’s got obviously all of the physical tools and mental tools, intangibles that you need to play this position and play at a high level and play for a long time. He can make every throw. He’s a great athlete for his size and strength. He’s very poised no matter what the situation. And he’s won a lot of big games in the last few years. He’s got a really bright future ahead of him.”
Look, on the surface I don't want my future Hall of Fame quarterback waxing poetic about the competition he's facing this upcoming weekend. I don't need Drew Brees giving a talented, young quarterback even more confidence against a secondary that has proven to be leaky at times. With that said, this is no ordinary great quarterback we are talking about. This is Andrew Luck. This is the guy that beats up on the AFC South, gets a bunch of accolades, and then gets walloped in the playoffs. This is the guy that gets nothing but praise for annually being towards the top of the league in interceptions. Andrew Luck has been consistently good since he came into the league, but has he gotten much better since coming into the league? I think there is a debate to be had there. If anything you could say that he's lucky that he hasn't faced more criticism. For that reason, I don't even mind Drew Brees telling him how great he is, because clearly Andrew Luck has let some of those things go to his head. Keep it up Drew. Keep rubbing Luck's shoulders and telling him he's pretty. Keep telling him he can do no wrong. Lure him right into a false sense of security with your nurturing ways. "You're so amazing Andrew, everything you do is perfect Andrew. , nothing is ever your fault Andrew". Hopefully those kind words will sooth him after he's done playing pitch and catch with Delvin Breaux and Kenny Vaccaro. You can only be so great when you aren't trying to prove people wrong. Luck doesn't have to prove Drew wrong and he doesn't have to prove 90% of analysts wrong, because more often than not he's given the benefit of the doubt. That lack of self doubt in his own questionable decision making doesn't bode well for his chances come Sunday...or at least that's how I justify it in my own head. A High School Band Is Facing Criticism For Presenting their Rivals With A Racist Gift Basket10/22/2015 Chron- Members of the Atascocita High School band are facing allegations of "racial insensitivity" for a gift basket full of candy and fruit they presented to a rival band on Friday during a varsity football game. The gift exchange is a tradition between Atascocita and Summer Creek High School, both in Humble ISD, according to a statement issued by the district. The Halloween-decorated gift basket contained candy, a watermelon, a coconut, a pineapple and watermelon gum. "Today, school administrators conducted an investigation and after considering the totality of the circumstances, determined that the gift was inappropriate and lacked good sportsman ship," the district said. "Atascocita High School will not tolerate racial insensitivity." The district did not respond when asked what in the gift basket raised alarms of racism. Upset city baby. The fucking BAND were the ones that handed over a racist gift basket?! I would have thought the players, maybe the fans, hell, even the coaches or the teachers would be more likely to pull a prejudice stunt before the band. It's good to see they are finally getting into the competitive spirit. Putting down their trumpets and picking up some steroptypical black foods for the predominantly African American competition. That's how real, school-wide rivalries are formed. Quick question, what was the opposing band's instant reaction to this gift basket? I am going to go out on a limb and say that before anyone starting crying about racism there was one tuba player that was like "yo, watermelon gum!". That's all you need to know about this story. Were the contents of the gift basket a little off color (no pun intended)? Yes, they were. Were the contents of the gift basket well suited for the recipient? Yes, they absolutely were. If you are unquestionably going to offend a group black people then you might as well give them something they enjoy in the process, no? Nothing worse than getting a shitty gift you have no use for. That's why you got to play the odds. If you were doing a gift exchange at work and you got the bitchy old white lady in the corner cube you would probably buy her a coffee mug. You don't have to know if she drinks coffee or not. She probably does, and she probably wouldn't mind a new mug. Maybe this particular black band doesn't like candy and coconuts, but they probably fucking do. I'll bet you if the Atascocita band asked for their gift basket back that shit would be empty as fuck. Don't tell me you can't present black people with watermelon when that watermelon was probably gone before the end of the first half. Can't we let their generosity balance out their discrimination? Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, even if that horse is a racist piece shit.... |
Categories
All
Archives
January 2020
|