From an article on San Diego Charger RB LaDainian Tomlinson:
This is the guy you picked #1 in the draft. He starts every week, no matter what (unless he's on bye or is out).I dunno, he is a heck of a football player, he may rise to the occasion.
As I often say, God Bless Football! Not only do we get football but we get fantasy football, videogame football and the endlessly fascinating NFL TV Distribution Maps website. This year they've upgraded to Google Maps which are a bit poky right now but are still endlessly fascinating. Why is San Diego getting Kansas City at New England while the rest of the west is getting Jets at Miami? Is Los Angeles getting the Saints game because of Reggie Bush? And when did Brian Billick start announcing games. Who knows? It's all about the question not the answer.
You also get a forum with post comments like "On another note, the last time Cincinnati got the Bills on FOX was Week #3 of 2003 vs Philadelphia." and "What game did Cincinnati get in Week 7 of 2003 at 4:15, CHI-SEA or TB-SF, since it wasn't WSH-BUF?"
This movie started a little slow but had a fantastic ending. I liked all the good guys like the quarterback in need of redemption, the coach who must changes his ways to succeed and the aging veteran back for one last go around. The villains were even colorful than the heroes. I loved to hate the cold, calculating Patriots coach and got a good laugh out of the hapless Dallas quarterback. I was even sort of rooting for the Green Bay Packers quarterback playing what would turn out to be his final game. Highly recommended, they don't make them like this any more.
I wore a pair of swimming trunks instead of underwear last night. They were the pair I wore two weeks ago when the Giants beat the Packers so I had to wear them again. I know the things I do have no effect on something happening thousands of miles away but I do them anyway. For awhile I muted the game because the Giants defense was doing so well with the sound off. In the first half I kept leaning forward during third downs and later I grabbed the remote control during big plays with and only with my right hand. This looks crazy as I read it but you probably do the same thing or know people who do them and feel no need to lock them up. Why? Do we really believe there's some mystical bond? Is it a desire to be involved in a contest we have so much invsted in but can't affect? Even if I knew I'd probably still do it.
Will Leitch expressed better than I can how great last night's game was as a game. As a Giants fan it was greater than great, perhaps Guuuhhhhhhhrrrr-eat-t-t. The game was like a movie football game with dramatic swings and impossible plays and I was the fan at home they cut away to, cheering in the first half and slumped on the couch during the Patriots' final drive, certan that there was no way the Giants could come back and win the Super Bowl. After Manning's amazing pass and Tyree's catch I turned to The Wife with a slack-jawed look I swear I have never made before and doubt I will ever make again. When Burress caught the touchdown dizziness set in. It's hard to say what happened after that.
I'm beat. I'll be taking a vacation from sports until April. Oh, unless I get the NHL Center Ice preview again, that was awesome.
I hate to kick people when they're down (even though It's far more efficient because they're closer to your foot) but this made me laugh.
Paul Zimmerman, one of three people I consider America's Greatest Living Writer, has picked the Giants to win the big game.
The New York Giants are not just playing with house money but staying in a comped suite, driving the casino bosses' Caddy and sleeping with his wife. These Giants are going to the Super Bowl? This quirky band of underachievers? The Giants without Tiki Barber and Jeremy Shockey? With Plaxico Burress playing on a bum ankle so he can't make the pass interference inducing jump catch I hate so much? Their quarterback is the other Manning, you know that, right? The Mets miss the playoffs and the Giants go to the Super Bowl? Really, I don't get it. A month and a half ago I was talking to some Giants fans about how unexcited I was for the playoffs and how the Giants could never beat Dallas and how this would just delay the inevitable Tom Coughlin firing and Eli Manning trade. So, obviously, I just don't get it.
Sunday started out like any other weekend day with everyone waking up too early and getting on each other's nerves. However, this day we had a plan. Team Sonnenschein was hitting the road and going to the world-famous Brooklyn Museum. Gwen was excited to see Egyptian art and particularly the exhibit on queens and princesses. Just as we left Gwen remembered we'd left the diaper bag. This was quite sharp of Gwen and some excellent foreshadowing.
As we killed time waiting for the museum to open (11:00 on a Sunday, c'mon!) Gwen brought up how great it was that she remembered the diaper bag. The Wife said, "Hey, where is the diaper bag?" We'd left it, including The Wife's engraved video iPod on the bus. We made some quick phone calls and found out that the MTA lost and found wasn't even open until Monday. There was nothing we could do we went to the Museum.
Despite Gwen's insistence on seeing the Egyptian princesses immediately I was determined to have her go to the Arty Facts kids program. When I was a kid and I didn't want to do something my parents always gave in and I don't want to be that kind of a parent even if I have to be a bit of dick sometimes. Arty Facts was great and I highly recommend it. The instructors did a great job talking about Chinese printing and Japanese screens and getting the kids involved in the discussions. Gwen was pretty shy as she often is when trying something new but she liked the Chinese and Japanese art and making Chinese characters. At the end we made a little Japanese screen and Gwen really got into painting and using the ink. If I said so myself I did some great parenting by guiding her and helping out but not overwhelming her. I know Gwen will thank me at some point in her twenties.
Afterwards, we got out of the studio and The Wife and Owen were right there taking a break. The Wife had gone to the Feminisms exhibit and luckily Owen was sleeping and didn't get traumatized by the freaky images. We all went to the Egyptian floor (after not finding the Queens and Princesses exhibit) and had a great time looking at the statues, papyruses and even mummies of cats and birds. It was a great day…except for losing the diaper bag. But The Wife did not give up. She talked to the bus driver on the way home and he said if we had lost the bag on the 10:00 bus the driver would be on the one coming in half and hour. We went home but were still dubious. So a half hour later The Wife went out to meet the next bus. It was the same driver as this morning! She asked him if he had seen her bag and he said, "Wait for me at Union Street and I'll make it happen." The Wife walked a block to catch the bus going the other way and the driver had the bag and the iPod! I couldn't believe it when she walked in. We're still a little stunned.
Oh, yeah, there was a football game that afternoon. Is there anything better than winning games your team has no business winning in playoffs your team has no business being in? I just wish my Dad was still around to make fun of me for not thinking the Giants would win. Anyway, that was Sunday in the world of the Sonnenscheins.
I love this website. It tells what NFL games are being telecast all over the country. I like it not just to find out what games are being shown in New York (Washington at Jets at 1 PM and the big Patriot-Colt game at 4. Since the Jets are at home there's no Fox game at 1 even though the Giants are off. The NFL won't show a game against a home game which sucks if you live in New York where we have two teams. This rule is particularly annoying since a)The home teams always sell out and b)I never go to football games. I should mention I will be at a christening on Sunday and couldn't watch the game anyway.) but these maps are highly entertaining in their own right.
This week there's no non-HD game but it's always fun to see what will be the one none-HD CBS game. Sadly, it's The Wife's beloved Cleveland Browns almost every week. Is there any excuse for not having every game in HD? I bought my HDTV for sports and I can't even watch non-HD sports at this point. Spend the money for the equipment, CBS!
I like finding oddball scheduling to show hometown heroes. Austin will get the Carolina/Tennessee game to see Vince Young even though most of the rest of Texas sees Green Bay vs. Kansas City and southern Mississippi gets to see local boy Brett Favre.
Why is Miami seeing Green Bay/Kansas City instead of the Tampa Bay game? Kansas City isn't even a divisional rival of the Dolphins. Are they that alienated from northern Florida?
Next week's Patriot/Colt game will be shown nationally except in Houston (playing at Oakland) and Cleveland which is hosting Seattle on Fox. Sorry, guys. Thanks to the handy chart at the bottom we can see northern California came to their senses and will get the big game instead of the Raiders game which is expected to be blacked out. You could really piss some people off in the Bay Area by buying the remaining tickets and forcing them to show the local game!
Great post on Fire Jay Mariotti making fun of a ridiculous Gregg Easterbrook column from a few days ago.
It used to be you'd go into any supermarket or large drugstore and there would be a vending machines selling small football helmets for a quarter. Usually the sticker containing the logo and the face mask were separate. It was almost impossible to get your local team which explains the day I ran through the Green Acres Mall yelling, "I got the Jets! I got the Jets!" scaring the crap out of my mother.
These machines have disappeared.
What the hell happened, America?
I hadn't seen one in years until I was in a Wal-Mart in Mansfield, Ohio this weekend (I know. I know.) and they had a machine selling helmets for a dollar! Back in the day you could get a whole division for a dollar!
Anyway, I blew three bucks and got a Panthers, Buccaneers and the buzzsaw known as the Cardinals.
It was cool but what the hell happened, America?
