Tag: NFL

Categories
New York Giants

Michael Strahan hates the NFL



Oh the sexual tension!

We know that the life of a professional football player isn’t all money and hos. For most players, it’s a very short ride — the average length of an NFL career is around 3.5 years. But even if you last a long time in the league, chances are all that wear and tear on your body will leave you a shell of your former self once you hit 40. Still, being beat up after making a few million a year is better than, say, getting beat up every day working in a coal mine and not having the money to show for it. So even though we kinda understand where Strahan is coming from in this except from his upcoming book, we don’t exactly feel sorry for him.


You want to be an NFL star? You want to stand in my shoes? Let’s say one day I came to you and offered you a million dollars to let me take a huge hunting knife and wear down the blade until it was rusty and really dull. Then, when it’s really dull and nasty, I would stick it into a pit of burning coals until the blade was white-hot. Finally, I would pull that sucker out of the flames and stab you over and over and over again. Take that blade and stab you in the ankles, your feet and your wrists. Not just stick it in but turn that rusty old knife and twist it when it’s sunk deep into your knees or shoulders.

That is the reality of my NFL. Every single year I have somebody sink this awful, dreadful blade into a few parts of my body.

Geez, Mike, whatever happened to ‘for the love of the game’? Could this be another stab at Tom Coughlin, who Tiki has said is too hard on players during practices?

If he feels this angry about the NFL, we can’t wait to read what he has to say about his ex-wife Jean who took his mansion and $15M of his hard earned money, and implied that he was gay.

Links:
[NY Post]: STRAHAN: THE NFL IS HELL

Categories
NHL General

The NHL and Amazon Unbox get it


It’s not often that we give the NHL’s promotion and marketing department props around here. After all, they are a league stuck on a network we can’t seem to find. But Eric over at Offwingopinion mentioned he downloaded four classic NHL games via Amazon Unbox today. Brilliantly, you can download it directly to your tivo.

This has me very excited. Not because I want to download a game where the Red Wings complete a sweep of the Flyers to win the Stanley Cup. (I think that’s the game, Amazon does a poor job of episode descriptions — it just says Air Date: 6/8/1997. I assume that the clincher is the classic game. Or maybe not.) In any case, I am excited because eventually the NFL will get their heads out of their asses and let us download classic NFL games too.

Imagine instead of getting grainy 3rd generation VHS copy of your favorite games, you could actually download a fairly decent version for $3. I’d do it in a heartbeat. I can guarantee that the moment they offer it up, I will buy three Eagles games from the past: 1980 NFC Game vs the Cowboys, the 2004 NFCCG vs the Falcons, and the 1995 Eagles vs Lions playoff game.

The NFL hates the idea that people might figure out a way copy and distribute the videos freely. But if you make it cheap enough, say, $2.99, there’s no need for most fans to spend hours finding the stuff online. I’d rather pay $3 for a game than have to worry about whether I’m going to get a virus from some shady site. Plus, most potential customers of classic games have jobs (except perhaps Raiders fans) and won’t think twice about spending $3. Maybe now that Roger Goodell has everyone scared to death of the new personal conduct policy, he can find some time to assign someone to figure this out.

Links:

[Amazon Unbox]: Classic NHL games

Categories
NFL General

Now you can own something that Bill Cowher considered to be junk

Sorry guys, but this is coming
with me.

Bill Cowher had been in Pittsburgh for a long time, and when in you stay in one place for that many years there’s a good chance that you’ll accumulate a butt load of crap. So, when The Chin left the Steelers organization for the hills of North Cackalacky, he decided to leave a few of his personal belongings behind and clear out some clutter. And as the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure; so here’s the perfect opportunity for Pittsburgh fans to go high class dumpster hopping in hopes of grabbing a spittle covered memoir.

Dargate Auction Galleries will now be in charge of auctioning off over 130 individual pieces from the Cowher home on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. Some of the pieces up for grabs include a foosball table, pinball game, patio furniture, a desk and chair, some china, a pool table and several pieces of designer furniture.

And if you’re feeling a bit frisky you could even bid on the coach’s bed or a shag rug that would make Austin Powers cringe. But if it’s strictly Steelers stuff you desire, then you’ll be forced to take a long look at an ice bucket with the logo imprinted on it or a Pittsburgh Steelers desk clock.

Most people with bank accounts as big as Cowher’s would have simply paid the movers to pack up the left over junk and haul it to the vacation home in Maine or at least rent (or buy) a storage unit (or complex). But hey, it’s classier than taking out an ad in the local paper and throwing your ex’s stuff on the lawn for a garage sale millionaire style.

Links:

[KDKA.com]: Items from Bill Cowher’s Home on Auction Block

Categories
Tennessee Titans

Pacman takes out ad to apologize for slamming a stripper’s head into the stage, and the drugs, and..


We’re not sure exactly what NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell said to Pacman Jones, other than “see ya next year,” but whatever it was, it is having a serious effect on the Pacman. First Jones came out and conducted a fairly honest interview with Primetime, then he announced that he’s going back to school during his suspension and now he’s taking out full page ads to publicly apologize. Damn, we use to think Pacman was so hard.

In the April 20 edition of The Tennessean of Nashville, Jones said that his life is all jacked up and then told his family and friends that he’ll do whatever it takes to regain their trust.

In the past few weeks, I have learned a lifetime of lessons. First and foremost, I need to reorganize my priorities. As a grown man and a new father, my first priority is my daughter and family. Second, I have to not only meet the expectations of my coaches, teammates and fans, but exceed them in every respect, on and off the field. The first step in meeting these goals is for me to stop making the poor choices that have put me in this position.

So, does this mean there will be no more strip clubs? No more shootings? No more drugs? No more car chases? And most importantly no more biting police officers?

Hopefully for Pacman he’s getting his life on track, but we’re pretty bummed that the one man police blotter won’t be entertaining us weekly with his circus side show act. But we still have Chris Henry and Tank Johnson to keep things interesting during the off season, and while they are no Pacman, that’s not too shabby at all.

The complete Pacman ad after the jump.

Links:

[Tennessean.com]: Pacman’s ad promises he’ll win back trust

Continue reading “Pacman takes out ad to apologize for slamming a stripper’s head into the stage, and the drugs, and..”

Categories
Tennessee Titans

Vince Young ain’t afraid of no curse

Vince Young is one of the hottest young commodities in the NFL and on Wednesday he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel’s show and discussed several important topics.

1. The Madden Jinx

2. The Rose Bowl

3. Getting shafted by Houston

4. Money, money, money

5. Rapping (don’t worry Ron Artest, your side job is safe)

Oddly enough, Pee Wee Herman somehow ended up on the same couch with the Longhorn legend which means that little perv got top billing. Now we see why Kimmel is stuck coming on at 1:00 in the morning.

Categories
NFL General

Eddie George returns to stardom, kinda

There has been a ton o’ talk about the Madden curse with Vince Young grabbing the cover. Well, here’s a story that shows there can be life after Madden.

Former NFL running back Eddie George had his pro career virtually ended when he became the first victim of the Madden jinx, but he’s now prepared to take on a new role as a reality show douche on TV One’s newest program called “I Married a Baller.” If you can’t tell from the title of the show, George isn’t the star in the show; that distinction goes to his wife Tamara A. Johnson-George, aka “Taj” from the R&B group SWV, aka “Sisters With Voices.” But don’t expect to see the alcohol fueled tirades that accompany most crappy reality shows because the Georges appear to actually be a normal, adjusted, happy couple. Well, there go the ratings.

Unfortunately, everyone isn’t going to have the pleasure of watching the couple as they “get on each other’s nerves occasionally, rely on family and friends, and come across as loving parents to their children” because the alternative to BET, TV One, is only available in central Ohio on Time Warner. So, don’t delay, contact your local cable operator today and tell them that you want your TV One. George seems to enjoy watching himself on the tube and you will too.

You just see how precious and blessed you are to have your kids and your wife and the things you do have,” George said. “Watching on television, you’re like ‘You know what, man? I’m an all right guy.’

Links:

[The Columbus Dispatch]: New show stars wife of gridder, by George

Categories
NFL General

2007 NFL Draft: 3 out of the top 10 prospects admit marijuana use


Calvin Johnson, Gaines Adams, and Amobi Okoye admitted to having used marijuana in standard interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine. Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson is arguably the best player in the draft (though he might not go first because of team needs), Clemson DE Gaines Adams is expected to go #2, and Louisville DT Amobi Okoye is the 19-year-old phenom that just graced the cover of the latest ESPN magazine.

Now, we suspect that most of the players in the first round entire draft have smoked marijuana (isn’t that what college is for?) but only these three have the honesty (stupidity?) to admit it to the NFL scouts.

Whether admitting to using marijuana is going to be a liability depends on the team that’s looking to draft the players. Some will see the admission as a sign of maturity, while some will steer clear because the new emphasis on personal conduct by the commish. If you’re the Cincinnati Bengals, for example, you can’t risk drafting a player with any black marks on his record, not just because Goodell is going to start fining teams but because of the bad PR.

If your team is drafting later in the first round, you are hoping this issue spins out of control so that one of these three will fall to you. There are no sure things in the NFL draft but having one of the top 10 teams pass on any of these players because of marijuana use would be a gift.

Links:
[NFL Fanhouse]: NFL Draft: Johnson, Adams, Okoye Admit Smoking Pot
[Pro Football Weekly]: Three potential top-10 draft prospects admit to marijuana use

Categories
San Diego Chargers

LT smart for turning down Madden cover? Nope, just greedy


EA Sports: LT, we want you to have the honor of being on the Madden 08 cover!
LaDanian Tomlinson: Awesome. How much does it pay?
EA: Well, $200,000 and you get to go to a bunch of personal appearances to promote the game!
LT: $200,000? What’s $200,000 to me? Ain’t s%#$. Next time I might shake my… Forget it.
EA: Vince Young was our guy all along!
Vince Young: I heard you guys sell millions of copies. Isn’t that gonna take a long time for me to pose for each cover?

According to CNBC, Tomlinson turned down the cover not because of the curse but because it didn’t pay his market value. Most athletes are willing to go below their market price because of the prestige of the Madden cover but not LT. He wanted his money. Of course LT didn’t turn it down because of the curse. Professional athletes think they’re invinceable so they’ll be the one who avoids the curse. However, when Vince Young goes down this year, Saints fans will pay Reggie Bush so he doesn’t sign when the EA folks approach him for Madden 09.

Links:
[CNBC]: Tomlinson Turns Down Madden, Rutgers Coach Cashes In, No Texting & Another MJ

Categories
Washington Redskins

Top 10 Most Gruesome sports injuries: #2 Joe Theismann (plus BONUS injury!)

[Sportscolumn is running down the ten most gruesome sports injuries. Here’s #2]

If you haven’t seen the Joe Theismann injury by now, then you must have been living under a rock for the past 22 years. After all, it is the granddaddy of all of sports injuries and gets referenced after almost every major leg injury in sports to this day.

Who can forget seeing Lawrence Taylor snap Theismann’s leg during the Redskins/Giants Monday Night Football game back in 1985? It was a flea-flicker that went horribly wrong and ended with Taylor rolling up on Theismann and bending his leg backwards, not to mention his body, which resulted in a broken tibia and fibula. Theismann’s career was over before LT even got up and started frantically signaling for the paramedics.

The play doesn’t look all that devastating from the original angle, but once the reverse angle was feed to the national audience it became obvious that this was single handedly the worst professional sports injury ever witnessed. And no matter how many times you’ve seen the clip over the past two decades, it never gets any easier to stomach. Ironically, many people experience the same nauseating feelings when they think of his color commentary on ESPN.

Now, if Theismann grabbed our No. 2 spot on the list of gruesome injuries, then this guy has to be considered No. 2a. We don’t know who this guy is or when or where this happened, but the second we saw it, we knew it deserved some lofty recognition. So, here’s to you Mr. Mixed Martial Arts guy; this injury is truly one of the nastiest bone snappings we’ve ever been sickened by.

If you want to find some humor in the situation, just check out the guy’s opponent when he snaps his leg. The guy starts jumping up and down like he just delivered a knockout punch. Dude, you won because his leg cracked; you didn’t do jack!

Back to #3 | Forward to #1

Categories
NHL General

Odds and Ends: The NHL gets its very own Heidi game


If you’re a struggling network who is probably the NHL’s sole hope of getting popular again, you can’t afford to screw up the way Versus did. The finish of the instant classic 4 OT game between the Canucks and the Stars wasn’t seen in some markets because some affiliates inexplicably switched to an infomercial.


Versus has received reports that last night’s Dallas/Vancouver game was switched to an infomercial in the fourth overtime,” the network said in a statement. “We are obviously very disappointed to hear that some fans in a few select markets have reported that they did not see the end of this great game.

The game did run in its entirety on the Versus network feed, but based on the information we have received we are currently working with our affiliates in the affected markets to find out what caused the problem.

Sadly, we don’t even get Versus so we couldn’t even see the infomercial.

In other news…

[Mainichi Daily News]: Japanese fans tune in for Matsuzaka-Suzuki showdown

[Scatter O’ Light]: Reebok might want to fire some copyeditors

[Our Book of Scrap]: Has Major League Baseball Watered Down Jackie’s Honor?

[Sports By Brooks]: SHEFFIELD’S WIFE SEXED UP R. KELLY; FEDS SEIZED VIDEO

[Sports Review Magazine]: Larry David, New York Jets Consigliere?

[Steroid Nation]: The most famous player in NFL Europe