44 Sports

2007-09-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

Running Commentary for Giants @ Redskins

First, a preface to all of this. The reason I run these little in-game commentaries is because oftentimes, we will watch a game, forget everything that happened in the first 55 minutes of it, and base our opinions of the team on one drive, or one play, or one crucial penalty or coaching decision, and from then on, that will be the only thing we remember about the game.

Then we turn on Sports Radio the next day, and do we get any kind of detailed analysis of the game? Do we get a fair, balanced take on the entirety of the offense, defense, special teams, and coaching staff?

Not usually. They usually focus on that last 5 minutes of the game, that one drive, one play, one penalty, one coaching decision. And opinions change dramatically depending on whether or not the team won or lost the game.

I like to try to keep an even keel about things like this, and note what I feel they did right and wrong throughout the game, before I know whether they won or lost, so as not to revise history and look at everything through rose colored glasses in a win, or conversely, through doom and gloom in a loss.

So with all that said, in case you would like to recall your own thoughts at certain points in the game or decide whether you agree or disagree with this admittedly casual sports fan’s opinions, you can read some of the notes I took during the game.

Of course, the last quarter is focused on most heavily, simply because that’s when the action heats up, but I like to take it all down and recapture the entire game, then decide what I feel the team’s strengths and weaknesses are.

So enough from me… here are my thoughts on NYG @ WAS (a few days late):
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1st Quarter:

-Ward continues to look impressive here, with a lot of the credit going to this O-Line. They don’t get enough respect, in my opinion. In all of the Giants troubles, the Offensive Line continues to shine.

-Question: Why is Ruben Droughns our kickoff return man? Is he fast enough for this spot? I realize Bradshaw messed up a lot last week, but it seems like we’d want someone a little faster for this position, like a backup WR or something.

-Eli fumbled the ball. Instead of tucking and taking the sack, he attempted to throw it away and it came out. Way too dangerous of a play to try to make, no excuses for that one.

-D amazingly holds up.
-Ward is fighting for every yard here. Stiff arms his way to a first down on 3rd and 4. I still say the pitch back to him is a counter-intuitive play on 3rd down and <5 style="font-weight: bold;">Ward on 2nd and short… Burress dropped the ball. Tough catch, but it should have been made.

-3rd and short: Ward stuffed at the line. Why not use our big man Droughns here? Seems like we’re not using him effectively.

-Lot of missed opportunities on this drive. A dropped ball here, a bad call there. Should have come away with at least 3 points, because we seemed to have the Skins number on this one. Instead, we were forced to punt it away.

-Wow. Huge pickup of our blitz. Portis looked like a fullback with that block, allowing Campbell to avoid a sack and run for the 1st down. At least we’re attempting to put some pressure in the pocket though. The fact that it took a block like that to get them the 1st down is saying something. We have to keep the pressure on, because Portis can’t block like that all game, can he?

2nd Quarter:

-Nice pressure on the QB again. Hopefully we can keep this up all game. Defense is actually looking kind of fired up today.

-Back on offense, and another dropped pass by Plax. Joe Buck claims it’s our 4th drop today. That’s just awful, I feel like Plaxico needs a rest or something. He’s got a hurt leg and a broken (?) pinky, maybe he shouldn’t be in there.

-Back on D. Kiwi makes a big tackle as a Linebacker!! Is this his first?

-(11:00 in the 2nd—occasionally I’ll throw the time up here when I think of it) 3rd and 5, Defense could use a big stop here.

-And the TE over the middle, kills us again. This is definitely our biggest weakness.
-Wow, Kiwi was lined up at Defensive Tackle on this play? Give this guy credit. As much shit as he takes, he really has been asked to do pretty much everything for this team. I heard next game they’re planning on lining him up as Defensive Coordinator, GM, and partial owner.
-Skins throw LONG to Santana Moss. Thing is, we had excellent coverage, but it was just the perfect throw, and the perfect over-the-shoulder catch--the hardest catch in football. This may be the difference between a Moss and a Burress.
-Robbins with a nice stop. The whole defense seems to be getting their shots today. That’s saying something, after last week.
-3rd and goal now, damn. Can the defense bend-but-not-break?
-Nope. They broke like fine china nosediving off a precipice. Touchdown. Cooley, the TE, kills us again. A solid TE is the curse of a team with holes in their Linebacker core.

-Eli sacked on 2nd down. Skins look to be in prevent for 3rd down, giving us a nice wide hole in the middle. Shockey time?
-Nope, not enough. 4th down again. In the 1st quarter we were missing these 1st downs by inches. This time, we’re fading back on 3rd down and missing them by a few yards. Not a good trend happening here.
-Nice punt by Feagles aka Iron Man… he’s most definitely our most consistent player.

-Sean Taylor is hobbling off the field. This could potentially help us, as he’s their best defensive weapon.
-And God laughs at me for being slightly happy about another person’s misfortune. Portis with a huge gain. I apologize.
-The bullshit new-rule offensive delay of game penalty on the Skins. If only we had jumped off-sides, we could’ve negated that penalty like the Packers did to us last week. I’m still convinced they pulled that rule out of their asses.
-Our defensive backs have been really good on the corners against the Skins WR’s. I’ve got no complaints about our secondary, surprisingly, aside from the TE play, which we have to find some kind of solution for.
-Osi jumped offsides. Every time I compliment our defense, something happens. Maybe I should keep my mouth shut.
-Nevermind… PERFECT blindside sack by Madison on the CB blitz! We finally reach the QB! Beautiful.

-Back on offense. Manning’s got all the time in the world… but ends up dumping it off. Little gain.
-Sinorice shows his brother a thing or two with the great catch and great run after the catch. 1st down.
-Plaxico, wow. He’ll drop some really easy passes, but then go on and make some amazing ones. I guess you just have to leave the guy in, even when he looks hobbled and tired. He’s a tough one to get a handle on.
-And now, it’s being reviewed.
-aaaand, it’s overturned… damn. Still, nice effort even though it hit the ground.
-3rd and 10 now (1:42 in the 2nd) - PICKED OFF… Skins ball… fuck.

END OF 1ST HALF

(Watching the Jags/Broncos on my computer screen, as the Broncos were my pick this week in the football pool I run… Just to show how little I really know about football, I’m 0-2 so far. The Broncos are currently down by 14…)

START 2ND HALF

-Hmm, may have jumped the gun on questioning Droughns as our return man. Great return by him and nice way to start the 2nd half.

-Down in the red zone now… We’re starting to convert 3rd downs. The difference between our 1st half out put and this drive is those couple inches.. Madden is right about the whole "game of inches" thing.

-TOUCHDOWN Droughns. We’re putting the man to good use today. Disregard all the crap I said earlier.

-Our blitzes continue to put pressure on, and Moss runs a bad route. Something got botched on their end there. Dropped a potential interception. Damn.

-Giants have the ball with a chance to tie the game up. Dare I say we have… momentum?
-Play action again. Pressure on Eli, thrown away. 2nd down.
-Pitch back to Ward, couple yards gained. 3rd and 6. Our momentum is slowly fading here.
-Lots of time for Eli, Shockey makes another catch and converts another 3rd down. O-Line still looks solid, even in the 3rd quarter. The drive stays alive.
-Ward with a nice break, 10 yard scamper for a 1st down. Keeps the chains moving.
-Snee with a false start. Damn, I hope this isn’t a momentum killer here.
-Play action again. Pressure on Eli, thrown DEEP, and picked off. Dammit, that was just an awful throw off of his back foot. No excuses for that one, should’ve taken the sack or thrown it out of bounds. He’s making rookie mistakes here.
-3 turnovers now. This could end up being the difference in this game.

-Madison with an excellent open field tackle for a loss.
-The rookie Ross with another great tackle. Our secondary is looking on fire here. 4th down.
-The defense turned Eli’s pick into almost a long punt for us. Amazing that our defense is actually bailing us out of tough situations today. After last week, I thought the D was pretty hopeless outside of possibly looking on the waiver wire. Now they’re giving us second chances and allowing us to recover from mistakes.

-Plax with another great catch on the sideline. Man was I wrong in thinking he needed to sit out.
-Ward stuffed for no gain. We’re really running Ward like he’s Tiki, and he’s handling the extra workload well.
-Again to Ward up the gut, for 5 yards.
-Shockey time on 3rd down! Makes the catch right at the marker. Aikman said the pass was too close for comfort, but who else would you rather have fighting for that extra yard than Jeremy Shockey?

4th Quarter:

-Ward fumbles the ball in the red zone on 1st down! This is potentially disastrous.
-Wait, on review he was definitely down. Elbow hit the ground and that’s what knocked the ball out. Whew. Overturned.
-My mom calls to tell me that they just gave the Giants a gift and that was definitely a fumble. Thanks mom, way to kill my excitement. This is not the time to get into this conversation, I quickly explain the rules to her, explain why it was not a fumble, and hang up and pray for a touchdown here.

-17-10 Redskins lead. First and goal. Chance to tie the game up now…
-False start by David Diehl. Oh what timing.
-False what? TOUCHDOWN Droughns!! He’s doing great clean-up duty here today. Tie Ball Game: 17-17

-Wow, awful special teams coverage on the kick. Redskins on the 45-yard line to start their drive.
-Madison with a great open field tackle on the end-around to Moss.
-Dropped pass, we catch a break. 4th down.

-(10:40 left in the game, Giants ball) Ward with an 8 yard run from our own 6 yard line. He’s really got a pro stiff arm. That seems to be his go-to move. Shockey’s got his bowl over momentum, Plax has his reach, Ward has his stiff arm. We’re really not missing Jacobs all that much. I think Ward may have won the starting job at this point.
-3rd and 1, in comes Droughns up the gut—I don’t think he got it.
-I stand corrected. Replay shows he’s over the marker, now we await the arbitrary spotting from the ref. FIRST DOWN!
-Ooh, Shockey drops a perfect pass from Eli. Our 6th drop today. I hope these little mistakes don’t end up costing us the game.
-Ward stuffed by the entire fucking Redskins defense. I’d say they read that one about right. 3rd and 11 now.
-Eli’s pass is batted down. Damn, we’re about to give the Skins some great field position.

-Fumble! Giants recover! What a break that was.

-Pass interference on the Skins. It’s amazing that the calls all seem to be going our way today.
-TOUCHDOWN PLAX! Amazing reach out and catch on a ball that could’ve very well been picked off, evaded a defender, shook a tackle, and raced between two defenders to eventually get plowed into the end zone.

-(5:25 left in the game) Another big return for the Skins. Looks like we have our improvement area for next week pretty much set.
-Long pass to Moss, overthrown.
-Ooh, big first down to Randle El over the middle. I was really hoping they wouldn’t notice how much we suck in the middle of the field.
-Madison with amazing coverage. He’s definitely our defensive MVP of the game to this point.
-Blitz picked up, 13 yard dump-off to Betts for an easy 1st down. Our blitz has been hit or miss all game, but I’m glad we’re sticking with it.
-3rd and 10 now, big defensive stop is needed here, I pray that they find a way to close up the enormous gaps in the middle of the field.
-Great collapse from Strahan and Osi, to set up the sack by Tuck and Kiwi. The front four did their job there.

-(2:37 to play) It’s become a time game now.
-2 runs by us for losses, but 2 timeouts burned by Washington.
-3rd and 11 now, we need to play aggressively and throw for the 1st down. Trust in the offense here.
-Play action, dump off to Ward, falls about 1 yard short of the 1st down. Good play though, I like the call. We didn’t desperately need the 1st down, but it beats stuffing it up the middle and basically admitting we’re not getting it.

-AWFUL special teams coverage again. Randle El runs it back to the Giants 35-yard line on the punt return.

-It’s on the Defense to win this game now. Last week I would’ve completely given up hope, but they actually look pretty good this week.
-Incomplete on 1st down.
-(2:13 left—damn a lot happened in 20 seconds) Campbell flushed out and sacked by Kiwianuka. Again, the DE’s put the pressure on there. This looks like a different team than last week. Amazing.
-3rd down now – huge pass to Randle El… BUT… holding… Giants catch a break. Wow, on replay he was holding both Strahan and Tuck, one on each arm. It’s blatantly against the rules, but still--kinda impressive in a way.
-3rd and 21 now. Moss with the catch, but short about 4 yards from the marker.
-Officially 4th and 3—False Start. Wow, we are catching breaks left and right here.
-(1:30 left, around the NYG 35 yard line, 4th and 8 now)—Campbell avoids the blitz and hits Moss for a first down. Damn.

-1st and 10, FUMBLED SNAP, Moss is limping, they’re forced to spike the ball—wow, just a disaster of a play for the Skins. Goes from 1st & 10 to 3rd &13 with a hurt star WR in a matter of seconds.
-Wow, 1st & Goal @ the 2, after a pass up (where else?) the middle to Randle El. Again, great coverage, but just a perfect throw. I hate to admit it, but Campbell is looking really impressive here.
-2nd and goal after a spike. Play action, picked up our blitz again, dropped by the FB at the 1 yard line. Whew, we’ve definitely got luck on our side today.
-(:47 left in the game, 3rd and goal now from the 2 yard line) – Kiwika Mitchell with a HUGE hit to stuff the run and keep them out of the end zone. Absolutely huge.
-4th & goal, they seem to be rushing to the line of scrimmage even though there’s a good 30+ seconds on the clock. Portis trips in the backfield! Game over! Awful time management by the Skins, really helped us out there.

Giants get their first W of the season, and all credit due to the defense, bailing us out after our offense gave up 3 turnovers.

MVP of the game is definitely Sam Madison—looked about 10 years younger today, making great open field tackles and sticking like glue to his assigned receivers.

Special teams coverage is one major concern after this game. We can’t allow runbacks like that and hope our defense will bail us out every game like that. We got lucky a few times with botched snaps, trips, and penalties—just enough to keep us in the game and allow us to win it.

The middle of the field continues to be a playground for opposing Tight Ends. Definitely need to collapse that area a little bit. Again, that’s likely on the admittedly weak linebacker core we have.

On the plus side though, our defensive backs looked like an entirely new unit out there. I think sitting Webster and starting Ross was the right move. He made some plays and looked like he was getting comfortable with the NFL speed.

Our offense has to work on drops. Fortunately, we were nearly penalty free, just a couple false starts, but no holding calls and no drive killing personal fouls. Huge improvement over last week.

Next week: Philly comes to town. I’ll be at the game, so most likely no running commentary coming next week.

2007-09-17T05:57:00.000-07:00

Trouble in River City

No running commentary for this week's Giants game, as I was bouncing around too many things to take any kind of notes on the game. Which is probably just as well, because by the 3rd quarter of this one, if I had any more than a passing interest in the fate of the final, I may have ended up breaking my pen in half and dumping ink all over my detailed analysis.

So here's what I likely would've written in real-time, had I been writing.

Start of the 1st Quarter: still in the car attempting to get back to my home town for my cousin's birthday, and I can't for the life of me find the game on the radio. WFAN is playing the Met game, 1050 ESPN has some inane sports commentary , 770 is airing Jets pre-game stuff at 3, but no Giants. Granted, my hometown is in the deep woods of Northwest Jersey, so maybe I just don't get reception, but still I figure I should at least be able to get a fuzzy reception of what's happening.

I get home around the start of the 2nd, still scoreless.

-Hey, Eli's playing! That's good news. Shove it up your ass, Mortensen and your imaginary "sources".

-Boy, our defense could sure use a jolt of energy.

-Wow, the D looks pretty poor.

-Well, Plax is doing his thing. Nice catch.

-Hmm, our defense kinda sucks.

-What else is on?

-*flipping back* Oh right, our defense sucks, why did I go back to this?

Basically, our Defensive Backs are a liability, and even worse, our Linebackers seem to be even worse. We have a pretty strong front four when we're healthy and active, but even Pam Oliver was mocking us from the sidelines. I can't recall a time when a sideline reporter openly mocked the defense like that, but she had every right to do that. We just looked sad, and the cut-away when she was talking just proved it. Strahan looking dejected was a nice cherry on top of that report.

We still have Osi and Pierce. They seem to have forgotten that everyone around them has already given up on the season. And I saw Ross, our savior for the D-Backs rookie (not really) got hurt, but don't know the extent to his injury.

Aside from getting some new linebackers or a sudden jolt from out of nowhere, it looks like the prognosticators of Coughlin's demise were correct, and this very much may be the first lame duck season where the Giants accept it as such from the get-go.

Next Week: @ Washington, we'll see how they look against Philly tonight.

2007-09-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

So this is what my running NFL commentary would look like were I a robot (or Ron Jaworski).

Mr. poetx99 goes incredibly in-depth on all things Falcons here. Makes my little stream-of-consciousness quips seem like child's play in comparison...

I mean, look at dude's response to a simple question about blitzes and hot routes:

It's been a long time since I played, but I our coaches wanted to throw to the blitzing side if there was a lane to the hot read on that side of the field. Reasoning was that the blitzing side of the field would have more holes & better opportunities for big plays than throwing away from the blitz, you just had to have that passing lane there. Something like a slot receiver (or the outside guy if there was only one receiver on that side) slanting into the spot vacated by the 2 blitzing LB's on this particular play. Just wondering your opinion on throwing at a blitz rather than away from it.

that's the textbook way to deal with it. but there were a couple of things in play, here.

when i played, we'd count as we came up to the line: ie, we'd count the center as 0, and then in what we termed a 60 ( but was really a 4/3 in today's terminology), the MLB was counted as half, as he could go either way. i was playing TE. we had the guard, tackle, and a back. so that meant, on a given play, we could block THREE rushing defenders to this side.

my first job, every time i came to the line on a pass play was to find #4. you had a DT, DE and an ILB and number four was usually the OLB, but sometimes it was the safety, creeping down into the box, or a corner, coming in from the outside. the rule was the same, if #4 'came', or blitzed, i had the sight adjust(ment), which meant that even if the play call in the huddle was for me to run a 12yd In or a post, as soon as #4 came i broke my route off into a 5yd out and the qb would be hitting me as soon as i made my break.

on the side w/ no TE, the X (or, if there were twins, the slot guy) would have that responsibility.

in this case of this blitz, what happened was that we had a DE lined up wide, with Gandy (check). and a DT over blalock (check). we had one LB who was on the left side (back should have had him in coverage). and the other LB was aligned over mcclure, who was uncovered, and therefore his responsibility.

in cases of overload, the line is supposed to work together and two can block three. but gandy was taken out of the play by the wide alignment of the DE, so he was one on one. blalock went inside w/ the stunting DT on the slant. we still should have been able to pick up the first backer with the back, and the second should have been gotten by mcclure sliding out (or, if they play 'handoff', by him bumping blalock back out to the right.

in any event, yes, there should have been a hot route somewhere, but its possible that due to the route which was called, or the nature of that blitz (we had enough to block the people there. just they overloaded one side) the hot route/blitz adjust wasn't applicable.

the adage of throwing to where the blitz came from mainly applies to conventional blitzes. LOLB is outside the TE. you *think* he's gonna play short zone or run w/ the TE but he blitzes. you throw behind him, right?

in THIS case, we had the numbers to deal w/ the blitz, and it was unclear where was the 'there' that they vacated -- the left side, where they broke through the line? or the right side/middle, where the second LB came from?

crump did not break off his route and he had someone covering him in man AND the ROLB took a drop into the hook zone. roddy (WR to the right) would not have seen a middle linebacker on a delayed (slightly) blitz to the backside, so he's unlikely to have caught it. so on that particular play, it doesn't seem like we accounted for things too well. but joey still had ample time to either try to complete to roddy or throw the ball away. throwing to crumpler would have been a mistake, regardless.

that was out of a regular formation, but with us running the 'spread', i feel that on EVERY passing play we need to ahve at least one 'open' route -- where the receiver is running a slant or seam or something where he is looking back at qb as he runs downfield.

this was our big weakness (ok, one of them) under knapp. he'd have the qb throwing in obvious passing situations (3rd and long) and everyone would be running patterns where they had to run 10 or 12 yds and then turn around. well, if you have no pocket and the interior pass rush gets to the qb before he can even set up, let alone before the WRs make their breaks, there is no opportunity to throw early (the infamous 'get rid of the ball quick' criticism) because you can't throw a comeback, or curl, or hitch early.

an OC needs to keep in mind a team's tendencies for bringing pressure as well as down and distance and ensure that a blitz adjust route is part of the overall pattern for every pass called, OR that the guys are in sync and a blitz will trigger a sight-adjustment.

i HOPE we see more of that in the future. this next game is gonna be interesting to me from the standpoint of seeing how these coaches adapt their gameplans andplaycalling to the team's talent and the previous weeks errors.

if they do change up, that will be a new thing around here as the previous regime used to assume that no one else watched the film of us getting our asses kicked.

thanks for the comments and question.

If you're an X's and O's head, or trying to learn the game from a strategic POV, I highly recommend following his posts over there. And apparently he's got a blog coming soon, so you won't have to scroll through a Falcons message board to read his stuff. I'll update with a link when it becomes available.

2007-09-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

Rutgers Fans and Navy

So there's been some commotion ever since the Rutgers/Navy game about our fans giving the Navy football team a hard time, heckling them, and screaming out obscenities at them. It’s gotten to the point where even Rutgers President Richard McCormick has written a letter of apology to the Vice Admiral of the Naval Academy for our actions.

Now, I agree that it’s idiotic for fans to yell out obscenities at games. There’s a lot of folks that paid a decent amount for a ticket, and are just trying to enjoy the game without some obnoxious asshole screaming in their ear and spilling drinks on them all game long. I mean, you’ve got to expect some noise at a game like this, especially in the NJ/NYC area, where we haven’t had a decent college football team in…well… pretty much ever, but you expect some modicum of respect from even the drunkest red-faced pot-bellied Neanderthal.

My thing is, though, that people are not getting up in arms about Rutgers fans because they’re being obnoxious and yelling at just any football team. They’re pissed off because Rutgers fans have the nerve to be obnoxious and yell obscenities at NAVY.

Not THE Navy, mind you. But the Navy football squad. I haven’t heard any reports of fans yelling out anything political. I don’t recall hearing any pro-Al Qaeda remarks. I’m not sure, but I don’t think they were giving the boys any shit about being forced to fight in this awful endless war. It was a simple case of “our football team is better than your football team” rhetoric. Nothing more, nothing less.

We were quoted as chanting “Fuck you, Navy”, “you got fucked up”, and (heavens no) “you suck”. The first one is obviously a little off-putting, but again, replace any other college we play with “Navy”, and it’s just a case of obnoxious assholism, not anti-Americana. As for the 2nd one there? A Rutgers player popped somebody, and the fans were there ready to jump at chance to let him know it. Typical fanfare, nothing really unusual for a football game. And as for “you suck”? Come on now, is this really the first time that one of their players have heard this one?

Now let me put up a quote from the other side:

“I felt like going up there and smacking somebody. I was mad, and it bothered me all weekend…At one point, I thought, we defend this country for people like this?" – Bill Squires, Navy’s academic recruiter

Okay, he’s understandably upset about it. I’ll give him that. The fans obviously got under his skin and that’s something that I can’t fault the guy for. But I’d really like to know if the Navy players would want special treatment at our stadium. I can’t answer for sure, but I’d wager a guess that they would want to be treated as any other football team would, and would be pissed off at Rutgers fans because they acted like idiots to their team, not because they acted like idiots to NAVY. But that last sentence, man, I won’t even touch that one with a 10-foot pole. All I can do is shake my head at that one.

Finally, I want to touch on the “WON’T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN” argument that’s bound to come up. Let me just respond by saying, your kid hears worse on television, movies, and on the playground, so stop thinking your child is some innocent vessel that has never been tainted by some naughty words before. Yes, I agree that these people need to calm down a little. Energy and noise are definitely appreciated at these games, and help to make the experience of a home football game unique, but you don’t have to be obnoxious about it. But your child isn’t going to become corrupted at the sound of another guy being a moron. No need to get indignant about it. You can complain about it, because it’s a worthwhile complaint, but don’t bring little Timmy into the conversation like this guy just stole his innocence.

All I can say is, thank the lord we’re away for the Army game, because otherwise we’d never hear the end of it after that one.

2007-09-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

Running Analysis of NY Giants @ Dallas Cowboys (9/9/2007)

-Giants defense looks a little porous to start things out. Witten vs Kiwanuka is an incredibly lopsided match-up, lets hope they fix that up, because Mathias can’t be expected to cover a WR-caliber TE.

-Osi injured already. This could be a long game.

-Jacobs is given some big holes to run through and he’s executing. The O-Line is doing their thing. We’re yet to see power vs. power with Jacobs, which I’m excited to see if he can pull off for a whole game.

-Giants choose the worst possible play on 3rd and Short… the pitch back to Ward. I’ll never understand why a team would pitch back 4 yards to attempt to get 3 yards. The pitch back should only be used on 1st or 2nd downs, no exceptions.

-Coughlin is trying to make his presence known as a coach by going for it on 4th down early. I like the gutsy call, even though they didn’t get the 1st down. Good spot on the field to try it anyway. Personally, I would’ve punted after Dallas burned a Time Out.

-Witten continues to kill us. Cover 2 type defense is NOT working for 3rd down. We have to pressure Romo and fill in the middle. I understand that we fear TO, but they do have other weapons. Our weak secondary has compromised our entire defensive scheme, it seems. Especially with Osi out and Strahan out of shape.

-Great having Toomer back in action. Eli seems much more comfortable having him back. He’s not our big money receiver, but he’s Eli’s favorite go-to guy as far as a possession guy.

-Feagles seemingly still has it. Nice punt.

-Witten continues to kill us (repeat).

-Eli threw a pick. Not his fault, Plax fell down on the post pattern after the ball was released.

-Now Jacobs is hurt with 3 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. Fantastic. Are these injuries from over-working the squad in the off-season? Can we start blaming Coughlin already?

-Witten continues to kill us over the middle. Can we do something about this guy please?

-Coughlin continues to have the glossed over, angry-at-something-but-not-sure-what-exactly look in his eyes. Not exactly what I want to see. He never seems to exude confidence from the sidelines. He always looks defeated.

-First time in the red zone. Eli has to score in order to prove himself and hush the critics a little here.
...Great look. Quick adjust to Plax from a fade route to a post pattern when the CB was playing off of him. That shows their chemistry and Eli’s quick decision making abilities.

END FIRST HALF

-Apparently Tiki is going to comment on the Giants at halftime. I’m going to watch Cartoon Network instead.

BEGIN SECOND HALF

-T.O. finally involved as he burns their DB’s for a TD. Again, the secondary is the weak link in our chain. And without significant pressure on Romo, we’re not going to stop that passing game.

-Al Michaels already jinxing the Giants, talking about “what a great win this would be for the Giants” while they’re down by 5 points and setting up for a 3rd and 5 in the 3rd quarter.

-Witten continues killing us. We apparently haven’t learned from the first 5 times they ran this play.

-We still can’t collapse on Romo, as he sprints around our battered D-line to score a rushing TD. I can’t help but wonder if things would be different if we had Osi, an in-shape Strahan, and (I can’t believe I’m saying this) Willie Joseph in there.

-Still missing Jacobs, but hell of a run by Ward. I’m actually pretty impressed with our O-Line, I really thought we’d be getting stuffed a lot more, what with the loss of Petitgout and all.

-Eli in the red zone again. Lets see if he can show and prove again.
…instead, they call 2 up-the-gut handoffs in a row to Ward, for a loss of 4 yards, giving Eli little chance to do much from here. Poor decision-making on the OC’s part.
…Steve Smith drops the ball on an out-pattern, adding to drops by Shockey and Plaxico earlier.

-More injuries! Kevin Dockery is down, and even Kicker Laurence Tynes is having a cramp massaged out.
… apparently the Giants refused a shoulder-pad cooling system to keep their guys fresh, likely because Coughlin is scared that he’ll be “coddling” them, and instead chooses to let them dehydrate and cramp up. The difference on the field? Giants look like they just ran a triathlon, and the Cowboys seem much fresher. Good call, Coughlin. Who needs fresh legs when they can tell stories of their pain & suffering to their grandkids one day?

-Defense continues to resemble Swiss cheese.

-GAME OVER. T.O. putting the nail in the coffin with a huge TD and putting the Giants out of commission.

-Ware jumps way off-sides to smash Eli, but mysteriously there’s no call on the play.

-Could Ward be the real deal? Doesn’t matter much for this game, since it’s not looking too good, but our O-Line is really impressing me tonight, and might be something to keep an eye on this season. If he can stay healthy, he might just steal that starting job.

-We finally collapse the middle on defense, and pick the ball off. Gibril Wilson played the spy on that one, and expected the pass down the middle. You can fool us 7 times, Cowboys, but not 8.

-Giants refuse to air it out. They’re sticking with Ward with 6:30 left in the game and 2 possessions to get the lead. Time is a factor right now, and to not go to Plax as much as possible is really a shame.
…that said, finally goes to Plax and scores a TD
…3 point ball game—was I too quick to call that GAME OVER before? With our D playing the way it is, I’m going to say I was not too quick, but I really hope they prove me wrong here.
…It seems as though we either force a mistake on the Cowboys end or we’re going to get burnt again. If Dallas sticks to a game plan, they will be tough to stop, or even slow down. Our defense just seems too battered and tired to dig in and force them to punt.

-Dallas with a big return on the ensuing kickoff. Now even more pressure on the defense, as Dallas is almost in Giant territory to begin their drive.

-GAME OVER. (pt. 2) – Another huge pass by Romo down the right sideline for a TD. My fears about our defense are justified. Our defense really looks to be a liability this year. Shame, because our offense is looking sharp, even with Jacobs out.

-MORE INJURIES! Eli may be out for the game (hopefully that’s all) with a messed-up shoulder. Bring on the Hefty Lefty.
…fat fuck slides before the marker on 4th down, and the game has ended.

Thoughts:

-Anyone criticizing Eli for losing this game will forever be considered as having an agenda. Any unbiased, objective viewer will realize that he was one of the main positives for this team. He is showing the poise of a veteran in the pocket, has apparently stopped throwing off of his back foot altogether (a HUGE improvement), and did not panic during their drives.

-Coughlin is really making it tough to root for him. I’m trying to be patient, but he already is pissing me off. He’s refused to make concessions to his players: refusing the shoulder pad cooling system? Also, calling for 2 up-the-gut runs by Ward on essentially 1st and Goal from the 8 yard line was bull headed.

-Some positives: the offense looks really good, even without Jacobs back there. The O-line was mistake-free, and provided great holes in the running game, Eli has been mentioned already, and the receiving corps, although a little droppy, had a solid game. Would’ve liked some more throws Plax’s way, but can’t have it all.

-The defense looked tired, uninspired, and outclassed at the corners. I had held out hope that our weak D-backs would be offset by our pressure on the QB and that strong front 4, but with Osi knocked out early, Joseph out altogether, and Strahan not in game shape, Romo had all the time in the world to pick our weak cover 2 apart. We adjusted way too late in regard to Witten burning us in the middle all game, but in all honesty, that may not even be our D-coordinator’s fault. It might just be that we don’t have the talent to stop both long passes and the short game. We chose to contain T.O. in the 1st half, and Witten burned us. We attempted to close off the middle in the 2nd half, and were partially successful in that regard, but then we got burnt over the top. Hopefully we get that essential pressure, because that’s the only way we can hope to disrupt an offense. Perhaps more blitzing is necessary.

-Our injuries may come back to haunt us in the very near future. Lets hope these are all minor and aren’t a blight on the already-battered team.

NEXT WEEK: bring on Green Bay

2006-10-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

Save Online Poker

Yeah, I know it's not a sport. In fact, I officially declared it not a sport in one of the inaugural articles on this blog. But dammit, it's a hobby for some, and not everyone who plays online poker is a degenerate who's spending their kids' college tuition, and even if they are, they'll find another way to spend it. This shit's obnoxious.

From Guiness and Poker:

Black Friday For Online Gambling
I have read many public forums over the past few days. Until now, I have not spoken out publicly on the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, and the new version of this law which was attached to the Ports Security Bill on Friday night, although my views are probably foreseeable.

I do not believe most of the members here quite understand the degree of damage this new legislation will have upon the online gambling industry -- including sports wagering, poker, and affiliated businesses such as MadJacks, et. al.

Before I comment upon this legislation and its detrimental impacts, first I should disclose that I have been involved in the poker business for more than a decade. I was and am the Media Director for the World Series of Poker. I was, until yesterday, the Director of Communications for PokerStars.com -- the second-largest online poker site in the world. I resigned my position based on legal advice. In 2004, I was the Editor of a sports betting magazine published by SportingBet USA. I also served as a guest handicapper here at MadJacks for four years. Please note that the opinions expressed here are not those of the World Series of Poker, PokerStars.com, or anyone else I have been affiliated with. They are my own.

Once this bill is signed into law (possibly as early as Wednesday, Oct. 4), it becomes effective immediately. This is why 888, PartyGaming, and others are suspending US operations, effective immediately. News has already been released that .COM (money) poker games will not be available to US residents. However, .NET (free) games will continue uninterrupted according to reports.

I expect this to have a ripple affect across the entire industry. Most of the larger poker sites, and likely offshore sportsbooks as well, will be forced to block wagers from US residents. Otherwise, all operators/employees are subject to arrest and prosecution if they enter US territory. Those here and elsewhere who have stated this new law "only applies to financial transactions" have a narrow and tragically misguided view of the legislation. It essentially makes any employee or agent of the offshore site a criminal under US law -- UNLESS they block transactions from US residents. In short, an executive from an offshore sportsbook could enter the US and not fear arrest, provided that company is not doing business inside the United States.

Hence, the impetus is on the sites themselves to shut down US operations and links to US clients. I expect that most of the larger sportsbooks and poker sites will follow this trend for a few reasons which follow:

1. First, many of the larger, more established companies will take a long-term strategic view. They will decide it is better to operate within the law, rather than break it. This is especially true for public companies subject to gaming law and regulations, such as Party, 888, etc.

2. Companies which comply with US law now will be in a better position to re-enter the US market, provided online gambling is eventually legalized.

3. While profits will decline in the short-term, these companies will be forced to expand into new markets (Asia, Latin America, and so forth) or perish. Those companies with diversified products (non-US sports on the betting menu, for example) will be in better position to make the adjustment.

4. I expect a number of rogue sites to pop up and circumvent the law. Clearly, some sites will emerge and take the risk of accepting US wagers because of great potential profit. Sadly, I expect some of these rogue sites will be poorly run and mismanaged and scandal will result, which impacts the entire industry, and this makes legalization in the US even more difficult.

5. I expect that most of the majors in the sports betting market will continue to operate through the end of football season (the most profitable time of the year) and use the 270-day enforcement discussion period as a gray area which can be exploited to their advantage. However, as arrests and prosecutions continue to make news (Caruthers, Dicks, etc.) some of the majors will be forced to confront the prospect of blocking US traffic. I also expect US officials to put pressure on some governments such as Costa Rica, Antigua, and others to regulate their own sportsbooks, in the manner that the US government is involved in drug policy in counties like Mexico, Columbia, and so forth.

6. I predict that most of the majors will conduct themselves in a professional manner, by refunding deposits and paying (winning) players upon request. More to the point, I am not withdrawing my money from any poker or sports betting account at this time. However, those sites which openly violate US law will risk eventually being targeted in international court. I admit to having less knowledge on this issue than any other. But I do not fear that well-established sportsbooks will run away with money. I can say with absolute certainty that the big poker sites will act in good faith. I think I know this industry well enough to express this confidence.

As to the impacts on poker and sportsbetting, this new law is going to be DEVASTATING. Especially for poker.

Consider that:

A. If poker sites cannot accept deposits from US players, that will kill 70-80 percent of the overall market. The question becomes -- is there enough of a remaining market and enough contributing players in smaller markets to sustain operations and expansion? Perhaps. But it will take years, if not a decade to return to what has been the golden age of poker.

B. Online poker sites and sportsbooks will no longer be able to advertise (.COM-related services) inside the US. Media outlets will simply refuse to accept the ads. This includes print, television, and radio. Consider the implications. Thousands of new players were signing up daily at various sites. All of that vanishes. Sports gambling is less-reliant on advertising. However, the loss of the US market will force unforeseen changes in how these businesses are run, especially those companies that have multiple-gambling related products, such as BoDog, Paradise, etc.

C. Online betting sites will likely not be able to post banner ads and links to gaming sites, especially those based inside the US. "Aiding and abetting" laws could result in arrest and prosecution for those who provide links to US residents. Poker magazines, online betting forums, and even MadJacks could suffer. I remain uncertain as to how severe this impact will be, especially at MadJacks. But for the hundreds of poker sites/sports sties and blogs out there that are dependent upon online poker and sportsbook advertising, many will go out of business. Once again, this might not seem a big issue to everyone, but these are the pioneers who are bringing in new poker players and sports bettors and when they dry up, the market shrinks and everyone is adversely affected.

D. Many sites use what are called affiliates. Persons who are affiliates and live inside the US will now be subject to arrest and prosecution, particularly those who do not block financial transactions from the US.

E. The celebrity poker culture around star poker players will diminish. One poker site is heavily branded to many big names. Now, these players will no longer be able to promote their sites inside the US. Hence, their value and stature diminishes.

F. Big events like the World Series of Poker, which attract meany players and great interest from online poker sites, could decline in size for the first time in history. I am most sensitive to commenting upon this event because I still have a longstanding association with the WSOP. However, anyone who looks at the situation must conclude that the WSOP and major poker tournaments will be hurt by this new law.

G. Online gaming sponsorships of various products and services will decline. For instance, Golden Palace ads in boxing arenas, NBA stadiums, and on halftime shows will diminish, if not end completely. PartyPoker ads that are seen regularly on TV, on all stations, will fade away. Millions in advertising revenue will be lost by media companies (which begs the question (why were they not fighting this legislation?)

Keep in mind that these points are off the top of my head. I do not pretend to have a legal background. They are simply personal points of view and speculation as to the impacts of this new law.

Finally, there were some here and elsewhere who said not to worry, that the law would never pass, and so forth. Now, we see what happens when we remain complacent and passive. Aside from this being an outrageous violation of personal freedoms and privacy in this country, I view this issue as largely symbolic of the decline of civil liberties in recent years, and an eerie warning of what is to come. It brings to mind a bumper sticker I saw recently, "If you aren't outraged, you aren't paying attention."

Nolan Dalla
Las Vegas, NV

2006-09-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

Get Well, Terrell

Honestly, my only problem with T.O. has been that he plays for NFC East teams that aren't the Giants.

Aside from that, he's been entertaining as hell and always seemed like his heart was in the right place, even as an instigator. I've almost always sided with players over owners, regardless what asshole tactics the players use to get one up over them. I actually kinda admire him for not giving a shit about his public image or hurting his endorsement potential and speaking his mind, even if he was at times misguided.

Plus, his dedication to the game is unmatched by anyone in the league.

Of course I hoped that he frazzled the Cowboys as much as he did the Eagles last year, but something like this goes beyond petty sports shit.

Hopefully he does what he needs to do to get his mind right.

2006-09-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

(image: the next generation of football fan)

Fantasy Football Has Ruined the NFL

Let me start off by saying, I have no problems with Fantasy Football itself. In fact, I'm in my first pay-to-play FF league this year, and I'm actually enjoying it for what it is.

Secondly, I'm not making the argument that it's ruined the NFL for league owners, merchandisers, or cable networks. Or for Yahoo!, ESPN.com, or CBSsportsline. Anyone with their hand in league profits have benefitted nicely from its recent surge in popularity.

What it has done, however, is ruined the NFL experience for the average football fan.

I've realized that outside of a few select friends and long-time football fans, I can't have one god damn conversation about the NFL anymore (with the exception of the wonderful OkaySports boards, of course) without someone bringing up Fantasy, and 9 times out of 10 the conversation devolves into a story-for-story recollection of the past Fantasy seasons, trading war stories like Brody and Quint traded scar stories in Jaws.

A common conversation could go something like this:

"Hey, did you watch the game yesterday? Tiki was tearing shit up"
"No he didn't! He only scored like 11 points for me!"
"Um... what?"
"Why didn't he score a touchdown after his 53 yard run down to the 2-yard line!"
"Because they have other weapons. Are you even a Giants fan?"
"I should've never drafted him"

Or, watching the game with some of these guys:

"Come on T.O.! Get me 6 points"
"The fuck are you doing rooting for the Cowboys?"
"I'm not! I just want T.O. to score for me. I still want the Giants to win the game"

But maybe I just need to watch the game with people who share my mentality. Okay, so there goes about half of my football fan crowd. I'd rather watch the game with my mother, who continually says shit to grate on my nerves while the game's going on, than to watch with one of these fantasy-first motherfuckers. At least she's always rooting for the Giants and against their opponent. She's grasped that concept of the game, which is more than I can say for a lot of so-called football fans my age.

But no matter how many people I cut out of my football-watching crowd, that won't change the fact that ESPN has dedicated chunks of precious SportsCenter time (time I choose to spend before work while I eat breakfast) to this beast. Instead of actual sports coverage, highlights, or analysis, I get some 20 year-old douchebag named Matthew Berry telling me the do's and dont's of fantasy drafts. Why don't we have some Magic: The Gathering analysis after that? This has nothing to do with sports coverage. Put that shit on ESPN 2, or on some isolated show, I don't want this snarky bitch making bad jokes and acting superior when I'm just trying to catch up on the sports day.

And the in-game stats have got to go, too. When looking for the real-time score of the other games going on while I'm watching the game, I used to be able to check the bottom line or the box in the corner, and simply wait 30 seconds to a minute to see it. Now, I have to wait to see that Shaun Alexander has gotten 3 carries for 9 yards with 12:01 in the 1st quarter, and other meaningless stats before they move on to the next game's score. I realize Fantasy is getting big now, but do we really have to pander to the "player fans" before the actual football fans?

We've got to put an end to this madness. Everyone in a fantasy league should also take part in some type of straight-up football pool where the only thing that matters are wins and losses and maybe how much a team wins by. Maybe that would balance shit out a little bit.

2006-08-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

I've been a shitty blogger. So lets break the silence with a Three's Company-esque misunderstanding involving molestation of an 8-year old and two former NBA players with the same name! *boi-oi-oing*

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-innocenteddiejohnson&prov=ap&type=lgns

A case of mistaken identity, and the worst day of Eddie Johnson's life

By EDDIE PELLS, AP National Writer
August 10, 2006

Eddie Johnson is still getting over what he calls the worst day of his life.

He scratched his way out of the Cabrini-Green housing project in Chicago, fashioned a long and successful NBA career, turned that into an opportunity on TV and built a reputation as an all-around good guy who loves to work with kids.

His worst scrape with the law involved a couple of traffic tickets.

Now he's dealing with a case of mistaken identity that shocked him and his friends and, he fears, may have permanently sullied his reputation.

"Devastating. Hard to explain," Johnson said Thursday.

Eddie Johnson was mistaken in some media reports for another Eddie Johnson -- a retired 10-year NBA player from Florida who was arrested Tuesday night and charged with sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl.

The Eddie Johnson who had nothing to do with that hideous accusation is a former Illinois star who went on to a 17-year career with the Kings, Suns, Rockets and other teams. But when some media reports about the alleged crime included his bio information and file photo linked on the Internet, his phone started ringing.

"The thing that disappointed me the most is some people were overzealous enough to think it was me and attack me with a ferocity I can't comprehend," Johnson said in a telephone interview from his home in Phoenix. "That's the part that didn't allow me to sleep last night. That's the part that forced me to reach out to as many people as I could and say `Shame on you, that's not me."'

Edward Arnet Johnson is 6-foot-8, does color commentary on Suns telecasts during the season, gives motivational speeches and runs basketball clinics for youngsters. He has a DVD that teaches kids how to shoot the jumper. He retired from the NBA in 1999 and is 47.

"He called me really upset about it," said Charles Barkley, a former teammate of Johnson's, who wanted to help him set the record straight. "It's a tough situation. He was on vacation in Hawaii. He gets back and the first thing he knows, he's dealing with this. And he's such a good dude. It's an unfortunate situation."

Edward "Fast Eddie" Johnson, Jr. -- the one being held in a Florida jail on sexual battery and burglary charges -- is a 6-foot-2, two-time NBA All-Star who played most of his career in Atlanta. An Auburn alum, he retired in 1987 and is 51.

"I feel bad for Eddie Johnson of Phoenix and I feel really badly for Eddie Johnson of Auburn, because he never got his life together," Barkley said.

When Eddie Johnson of Phoenix was still playing and Eddie Johnson of Auburn was retired and getting into frequent trouble with the law, there was little problem differentiating between the two.

"There'd be a news story about Eddie Johnson, but they knew it wasn't me, because I was on the court and in the box score," said Eddie Johnson of Phoenix.

Now that they're both out of the game -- and especially during the offseason, when Johnson isn't on TV -- the chances are better for a misunderstanding like the one that occurred this week.

Eddie Johnson of Phoenix said his goal Thursday and for the next several days was to get the word out about who he really is -- and isn't.

"My name is everything," he said. "I don't fault the other Eddie Johnson for having that name. I think it's a great name. He just doesn't happen to be a great guy."

2006-07-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

FORZA AZZURRI!

2006-06-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

World Cup Talk

Okay, so since my writing is something I do for entertainment (my own and hopefully yours), I actually need to work a 9-5 job to pay the bills. Due to this unfortunate circumstance that I'm trying to remedy, all my World Cup viewing has been done on weekends, through highlights, or by staring at a static scoreboard and waiting for the score to change. (but I did get to see the amazing finish of the Italy-Australia game on my lunch break)

But this happens every 4 years: I get really into soccer for this month, then I forget it ever existed aside from the occasional qualifier match, or if I happen to catch a game on Fox Sports World (does that channel even exist anymore?).

Anyways, like a true American, I don't really know much about soccer outside the World Cup, so I'll give my ignorance a pedestal to shine here and I'll run down some of the things I enjoy, some of the things I don't like, and some of the things I don't know about this sport that I watch so infrequently.

Constant Action
Some find the sport boring, maybe because there isn't a score every 5 seconds like in other sports, and clear shots on goal are often few and far between. But what other sport can you watch for 2 periods of 45 minutes straight without a single break in the action? Shit, they take corner kicks a foot away from felled players on the opposing team. Get a yellow card for stalling. Tap free kicks instantly to get a jump on the opposition. There's no time to waste in these matches, and there's no such thing as a time out.

No Commercials
Related to the constant action, you don't have to sit and watch some asshole telling you why his Hyundai is better than a Toyota, or see some crazy hijinx involving McDonald's french fries in between the shit you actually sat down to watch. You can simply enjoy the game and then choose to acknowledge or ignore the Adidas logo in the corner, or the advertisements on the billboards surrounding the pitch.

Close Matches
It's not often you see a blowout reflected on the scoreboard in soccer. A team can dominate a match, and yet the game can still go down to the final minute with one goal separating the two. Even though the tide of a match will show that the outclassed team will most likely not score, it's not often that the game is so far out of reach that there's no need to keep watching. Soccer keeps your attention from the beginning to the end, because at any time a goal can be scored.

In the interest of the short attention-span of American sports watchers, I'll cut this one short

2006-06-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

Jermain Taylor vs. Winky Wright

There's no bad blood here. There's been no trash talking, no pre-fight scuffles, no intense stare-downs, and no bitter history between these two fighters.

There hasn't been any calls for blood, no threats of violence, and no publicity stunts. These two couldn't be more different as fighters, but the one thing they have in common is an unusually laid back personality for boxers.

So why am I so damn excited for this fight?

Because this is a classic clash of styles. It's a clash of different experiences. It's a clash of training preferences. It's everything a pure boxing fan could hope for. Save the theatrics for WWE, it's the fights themselves that matter, and this one has the potential to be one of the all-time greats. And it's airing tomorrow night on HBO.

Here we have an atypical situation where the older, more experienced fighter is both lesser known and the challenger to the title (Wright, 50-3 with 25 KO's, pictured on the right) while the younger fighter with less experience is the celebrated champ (Taylor, 25-0 with 17 KO's, pictured on the left).

Wright is known for his near-impenetrable defense and amazing technical abilities, while Taylor is known for his aggressiveness and knockout ability.

Wright built up the bulk of his career overseas, becoming quite well known in Europe, but failing to get much hype in the states until recent wins over Sugar Shane Mosely and Felix Trinidad. Taylor, on the other hand, has had his career scoped out since he was an olympic bronze medalist in the Atlanta games in 2000, and has reached an unbelieveable amount of hype after two hard fought decisions over Bernard Hopkins.

Wright is looking to finally cement his legacy throughout the boxing world. Heads are up on him after his absolutely dominant wins of the past few years, but a win over Taylor and the chance to call himself Middleweight Champion could put him over the top and grant him status as one of the best ever.

Taylor is looking to add one more notch to his still-perfect 25-0 record. He's been questioned as to whether or not he really won those fights against Hopkins, but the fact remains that he is the champ, and he may be the most dangerous middleweight in the world. If he can get the victory over a man who some feel is pound-for-pound the most technically sound boxer on the planet, he may find himself at legendary status.

This is one of the most important fights in a very long time. And we don't even need PPV to watch it.

Saturday, June 17
HBO @ 9 PM

My prediction: Wright by unanimous decision

2006-05-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

C*ngratulati*ns Barry B*nds for H*me Run Number 715

I've never seen this much buzz around someone getting into 2nd place in the record books. It is a HUGE accomplishment, don't get me wrong, and it deserves all this attention and more, but I feel like there are two main reasons why it's been all over talk radio, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and the like: 1) America's love for Babe Ruth, and 2) America's hate for Barry Bonds. It's got very little to do with the actual accomplishment and very much to do with comparing two legends of two very different eras.

I'd bet that if one were to take a poll of average Americans and ask who they think holds the career home run record, more people would say Babe Ruth than Hank Aaron. Babe Ruth has now fallen to 3rd on the all-time home run list, but he keeps that aura as being bigger than the sport itself. Very rarely will you hear Aaron talked about in that respect, with a sense of awe and mystery always surrounding the stories about him. And maybe there is a logical reason for it. I mean, Ruth single-handedly changed the face of baseball, by introducing the home run as a reliable tool in the repertoire instead of a once-in-a-blue type of thing. He was the first home run hitter, as we think of them today. And for that, he should never be forgotten.

But the first to ever do it shouldn't by default be considered the best to ever do it. And all the asterisks in the world aren't going to take away the fact that Barry Bonds, juiced or not, hit SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN friggin home runs, and surpassed the man that people equate to Jesus in cleats. A lot of dudes are juicing in the Majors today, and it seems pretty obvious that Bonds is one of them, given the fact that his head about doubled in size over the past decade, but nobody in the steroid-ridden MLB has come anywhere near accomplishing what he has.

There is much more beneath the surface of this whole controversy, and as much as I'd like to see steroids wiped out from all sports, I contend that adding asterisks to the record books do much more harm than good, and add in needless complications and tarnish baseball, which as I alluded to in an earlier column, is the most statistic-obsessed sport on the planet.

There have been numerous reasons mentioned as to why this 715 has been "artificially inflated" and why it should be thrown out, ***'d, or put in a separate book along with other accomplishments of this era and set aside from the rest of baseball history.

That doesn't work, for a number of reasons.

First of all, we have no idea who is and is not on steroids, aside from Jose Can$eco's noble crusade, some court testimony, and a lot of speculation. How do we go about gutting the record books without solid evidence on every player? If steroids have been this prevalent for the past 15 or 20 years, who's to say which players stayed clean their whole careers, which players dabbled in it, which players tried it for a little while and went clean afterwards, and which players consumed it like it was a 4th meal? You can't determine these things with any sort of accuracy, and that makes it impractical to even bring this up. Also, steroids don't only necessarily affect hitting. Who knows if a juiced up pitcher can add a few MPH to his fastball, or add a little extra snap to his breaker.

Second, what constitutes an illegal substance? Andro's illegal, but becuase it was a legal substance during McGuire's run, it's retroactively okay too? So do we pencil in some asterisks, and put others in solid ink? Maybe a color-coded asterisk system?

Third, it could be argued that Babe's numbers are "artificially inflated" as well, because the world's best pitchers could very well have been playing in the Negro Leagues, and maybe Babe was playing against a watered-down talent pool. Should we then look at Babe's numbers in a different light? Should we have separate books for the eras before and after the Negro Leagues, like they have for the NFL when it combined with the AFL?

Fourth, the idea of an athlete has changed significantly since the early days. Workout regimens, nutritional knowledge, personal training, etc have turned natural athletes into modern-day super-athletes, even without the idea of steroids. Not to mention the fact that pitching rules and the ball itself have undergone changes which help the modern-day hitter, and the season has been extended. We should view each era's records within the context it was set, but should we go so far as to explain each and every nuance of these eras in the record books, and discredit each successive era's players?

Finally, who's to say Babe wouldn't have taken steroids if it meant staying competitive in the league and being able to continue earning a salary? Are we punishing these athletes because it is illegal, or because it is an advantage that earlier-era players did not have access to? I can guarantee that once someone's livelihood is based on athletics, especially in an arena like this where you're only as good as your last season, players have no qualms about keeping up with their competition, by all means. Steroids happened to not be accessible in Babe's day. Had they been, maybe he would have crushed another 200 home runs and the record would still be there today.

The point of all this is, we can't erase history, as much as we might like to. The numbers are what they are, and no amount of rearranging, rewording, or re-editing is going to change what these athletes have accomplished. We should keep in mind the factors that have gone into the numbers, and we should be able to keep an open forum about who is a better player and why, and in that conversation, by all means should we address the steroid issue, as well as every other issue that comes up when comparing the past with the future. The point is, the playing field will never be completely level between eras, and as sacred as people may hold records, and subsequently the players that set these records, we cannot go so far as to keep future athletes from breaking them with bureaucracy.

2006-05-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

What is a sport? The definitive answer.

I'm sure you've had this discussion before. Someone puts on the (baseball game/golf match/NASCAR race/etc) and someone else brings up the obligatory, "That's not even really a sport", at which point an argument ensues as to which what is and what is not a sport, complete with personal insults and hurt feelings.

This article should end all talk from here on out. I'm about to outline the definitive criteria and draw those lines nice and thick. What's in is in, and what's out is out. No arguments necessary.

Rule #1: There must be some form of competition between two or more people.

Without another human to play against, it is only a hobby or an activity to pass the time. In order for said activity to be considered a sport, there must be a minimum of two people involved. Basically, this rule states that training for a sport is not a sport itself. Until there is another human(s) to potentially lose to, it is only exercise.

Ruled out as a sport: Parkour, Bungee Jumping, casual Skateboarding/Biking, Aerobics

Still in: Competitive golf, Skateboard/Bike racing

Rule #2: There must be some physical aspect to the sport, and it must be primarily carried out by the human body.

I attempted to word this one carefully, and I will give my interpretation of it. First of all, it's not a sport without an athletic component to it, as I'm sure everyone would agree. The human body has to expend some form of energy in some capacity, otherwise you're just playing a game. Further, the human body's energy has to be the primary form of energy, meaning it can't be eclipsed by that of an animal, or a machine. Unfortunately, this rule may piss off a lot of southern and midwestern sports fans, as it rules out the number one spectator "sport" in America, NASCAR. But rules are rules, and the automobile expends the primary form of energy, and not the driver. This is to take nothing away from auto racing or its fans. It is an incredibly difficult skill to master, and I guess I can see why some people would be into watching it, but it's not a sport in this sense. Also the "Sport of Kings" (Horse Racing) needs to be renamed the "Activity of Kings", as the horse steals the thunder from the jockeys, and it loses credibility as a sport for that reason.

Ruled out as a sport: Auto Racing, Horse Racing, Poker, Chess, Madden Football

Still in: Polo (the energy is shared seems about 50/50 with the horse)

Rule #3: There must be some way to definitively win the competition, without the exclusive reliance on a judge. (AKA the "substance over style" rule)

Note that I did not say that every competition with a judge is ruled out. The key here is that the contest could conceivably be played out without such a judgment. Because cheerleading and figure skating rely exclusively on a judge to score the competition, they fail to meet this criterion. On the other hand, in the case of boxing and mixed martial arts, a judge is implemented, but the fighters can win a match at any time by knocking out or submitting their opponent. There must be some objective measure to take that power out of the judges' hands and definitively win the contest, whether it's a timeclock, a scoreboard, or something along those lines.

Ruled out as a sport: Cheerleading, Figure Skating, Floor Show, most Gymnastics, Halfpipe, Dancing, Bullfighting

Still in: Skating/Snowboarding for time, Speed Skating, Boxing/MMA

Rule #4: The amount of physical energy exerted must be enough so that some minimum form of physical training would be necessary to remain at a premier level (the "barstool sport" rule).

This is the rule that knocks out the bar games and the "old man" games, much to the displeasure of old folks, heavy drinkers, and old heavy drinkers. Because of the demographic this rule pisses off, this is likely the most heavily contested one. There must be some general incentive to keep one's body in shape for the sport. If that incentive is gone, the activity fails to be a sport.

Ruled out as a sport: Darts, Pool, Horseshoes, Bocce Ball, Shuffleboard, Foosball

Still in: Golf, Table Tennis

So that's it. With these four golden rules, we have drawn a solid line between sports and mere activities or hobbies. Feel free to argue and complain, but I've given this a lot of thought and I don't know of any other definition that has gone this throughly into the matter. So next time the argument comes up regarding an activity a friend chooses to attack or defend, keep in mind these four simple criteria and you can calmly and confidently shut them the hell up.

2006-05-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

Intro #2, or Why Casual is Good, or My Last Disclaimer Before the Blog Actually Starts

Although my first column was more of an introduction of sorts, it seems like the first few columns I'm going to write on this blog are going to come with a standard disclaimer. I feel the need to tell you a few things about myself before you can get a little context to really understand the perspective I'm taking on things, and understand why my writing is the way it is.

First of all, as I mentioned in the initial "opinions and assholes" post, I have a tendency to let projects slip by and fade away for good. The main reason for that is because I tend to hold anything I do to this unattainable standard, and when I don't reach the standard I set for myself, I scrap it and move onto something else, at which point the cycle continues. So for this reason I have about 50 things that I've started and stopped after various amounts of progress had been made on them. So, for the sake of keeping this going, I've decided to begrudgingly lower my standards for the time being and simply write from off the top of my head. For this reason, some statements may be inaccurate, some of my history may be incorrect, and some of my opinions might be the opposite of what I feel later in the day after I've thought about it for a little while. I'll have no problem accepting my flaws, because I'm not trying to capture the ideal super-intelligent blogger image that everyone likes to portray themselves as in the blogosphere. Please feel free to correct me, argue with me, and attempt to change my opinions on things. I'm sure I'll do all of the above myself at some point or another as long as I hold to this philosophy.

Secondly, I'd like to point out that I am what some would call a casual sports fan. Yes, it does seem ridiculous that a self-proclaimed casual sports fan would start a sports-only weblog and expect people to read it, but let me explain why I feel I can pull this one off.

My definition of "casual" is relative. I'm sure when compared to people whose only exposure to NFL football is the Super Bowl, or to people in NYC who root for the Yankees only after they've won 4 or 5 World Series rings in a decade, or to people who claim that "baseball is boring", but then watch a night-long marathon of reality television on Bravo-- I'm sure to these people, I'm a sports fanatic. But when compared to people who subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket, MLB Extra Innings, and NBA League Pass, or to people who join fantasy baseball, basketball and football leagues for excesses of $200 a piece each year, or to people who can say off the top of their head who the number 6 hitter was for the Boston Red Sox in 1976--I'm sure to these people, I ought to be ashamed of myself for even having an opinion, let alone devoting a website to tell it to other people.

I fall somewhere in the middle. I watch SportsCenter in the mornings before work, I occasionally check CBS Sportsline and ESPN.com during the day, I peruse sports-based messageboards and occasionally post up my thoughts, I usually watch PTI in the early evenings when I'm eating dinner, and usually turn to some sporting event above all else when I'm watching TV, save The Sopranos or an occasional episode of The Simpsons. I tend to watch different sports for different reasons, and my interest in the sport in question can ebb and flow with how I'm feeling on a day-to-day basis. For example, I'm fascinated by baseball statistics. It's a game of averages, a game of playing the odds, and strategizing accordingly. But I usually watch a baseball game as background noise or a secondary thing. I'll sit and remain interested for all 9 innings, but I don't watch a baseball game with the same edge-of-my-seat mentality that I watch a football game with. When I'm watching the NY Giants, I have to sprint off the couch to go cook up some food or hit the bathroom and sprint right back to catch each play. NBA Basketball used to be my favorite sport to watch and play as a kid, and I'm LOVING this year's playoffs, but recently, I've only been intrigued by the 2nd half, and sometimes only the 4th quarter, of regular-season games (although I'm sure this has something to do with the NY Knicks backslide of recent years).

And these are just the big three. There's still NCAA basketball and football, boxing and mixed martial arts, regional and World Cup soccer, the Olympic games, and so on. Each sport hits me in a different way.

One benefit of my quasi-casual approach to sports is that I tend to approach things from a bottom-up perspective, and I don't assume that everyone gives a shit about every little detail about every sport. I don't let the headlines in the sports world dictate what I'm interested in or what I want to write about, just as I'm sure everyone has their own niche as far as what they watch and what they read about. Approaching it this way, I'm able to see the forest for the trees, and I'd like this periodical column to reflect that.

Basically, I'd like my perspective to lean more toward an HBO Real Sports-type of feel, and less of a WFAN-type. Meaning, I'm obviously going to give my biased opinion, but I'd like to try to present it in a way that lends credence to other sides instead of discrediting everything but my own way of thinking.

Okay, so I'm two columns deep, and I've spoken more about myself than I have about a single thing in sports. I swear, the next column will actually deal with something of substance. I just feel like without a proper introduction, there's nothing that breaks this blog from the rest of them. I guess only time will tell how closely I stick to what I've said here.

2006-05-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

They say opinions are like assholes.

Everyone's got one, and they all stink.

I tend to agree with this sentiment, but I'll take it a step further. Opinions are like assholes. Everyone's got one, they all stink, and people will guard their own with all the strength they can muster.

With that said, I'm just an asshole with an opinion and internet access, and I feel like the safest topic to cover would be sports, where being an opinionated body part can be done in a way that doesn't tend to offend people as much as if discussing other topics.

I love that sports is a quasi-oasis from life. Obviously it's not completely separated from the realities of life in 2006, but it's one arena where you can have a staunch, unwavering opinion on something, and talk to someone with a completely opposite opinion, and get to the point where you're yelling at each other, and not get too far into personal judgment of each other's character. At least for the most part.

I mean, the point is, in discussing something like politics, there are going to be very fundamental differences in the types of people that take opposing sides of an issue. Current hot-button issues like President Bush, the war in Iraq, immigration, etc., tend to lead to people making personal attacks on one another and questioning their education, or their values, or their morals. In contrast, sports is relatively tame.

That's not to say I don't get fired up over certain things, or that I won't stoop so low as to personally question and/or attack certain people over certain topics related to sports. I'm sure I will do that at times. All I'm saying is that me talking shit about Eagles fans, or giving my half-baked opinion about the MLB steroid controversy is a lot less controversial than someone talking shit about immigrant workers or giving their half-baked opinions about the War on Terror. These things have a time and place to be discussed, and I definitely have my own strong opinions on the goings-on around me. Make no mistake, I don't watch sports to keep my head in the ground away from the world, I watch it because it's entertaining, and it's nice to take a break from the rest of the world every once in a while.

Blogs in general seem to be read mostly by a) other bloggers, and b) people who are bored at work and are looking to keep themselves entertained. That's why political blogs are by and large so damn boring, because they're often just a predictable self-perpetuated cycle of people who pretend they're smarter than they really are and are trying to show off how smart they are only to be contradicted by other people who pretend they're smarter than they really are and want to expose these first people as not as smart as they claim to be. So, in all that bullshit, the essence of the issues at hand are lost, and all we're left with are talking points and a whole lot of rambling.

So with that, I introduce you to 44 Sports, a periodical column of a 24 year old New Jersey sports fan's thoughts and opinions about the world of sports. I've become pretty used to starting projects and then ditching them for something else after a couple weeks or months, but I'm going to try to break that habit with this column, and hopefully it keeps my interest.

Any feedback, feel free to send to fortyfoursports@yahoo.com, or just leave comments under my various posts and I'll get back to you. I'm always up for a back-and-forth on any topic, and I'll do my best to pay attention to this column enough to respond to any comment or criticism that I receive.