And Then There Were Four....
We've reached that time of the year where I'm watching the NFL purely as entertainment, no more FFB. Maybe that's why I really haven't watched too much of the playoffs. I mean come on, like the Browns make the playoffs. Did anyone really expect Cleveland to make a run to the Super Bowl....I think not. Here's a headline that will never happen....."Tim Couch -- MVP of the Super Bowl"
One thing the Browns are good for is having stupid fans. As I stood at a Las Vegas craps table last week I was next to a Browns fan with a Boston accent that was getting ripped on by the pit boss. This fan knew the Browns choked, but must not realize just how pathetic their loss to the Steelers was. I was surprised she wasn't wearing one of those dog masks like they wear in the "Dog Pound" -- or maybe she was, she wasn't the most attractive person.
Then you have the "controversy" of the playoffs. Giants/49ers and Steelers/Titans. I hate this.
The Giants don't deserve a second chance at that field goal just cause they blew a 24 point lead. How in the world do you play that badly when you supposedly have a pretty good defense. Maybe Sehorn was looking up at his wife too much, maybe Strahan was looking for his mom and some Campbell's Chunky soup and maybe the other 9 defenders were caught looking at the gap in Strahan's teeth.....(anyone else think the guy could afford some braces or something?)
Then when a team like the Giants lose cause their long snapper can't get his job done, all of NYC cries that there must be a hanging of the back judge. This is one situation where American football can take a page from the game of Futbol (Soccer). When players screw up big time such as scoring a goal in their own net, the fans usually go out and in mob style hurt that player. It keeps everyone honest. The players want to perform well for their own and their families safety and the fans get a full effort. (I'm not condoning physically harming players, this is all in good fun...we could at least stand and mock them in a bad French accent as they leave the stadium) And once the player is sufficiently mocked, then the Soccer fans will hang the ref....so I guess this isn't the best solution.
Then we have the spectacle that is Bill Cowher. I used to like the guy, but now I do not at all. In his first playoff game this year against the Browns, he managed to spot them a huge lead. The only reason the Steelers got to the second round was cause the Browns have been cursed by God himself to never win a Super Bowl since the whole moving to Baltimore thing happened. So then the Steelers come up against the Titans and lose cause Dwayne Washington (it's nice to see ex-Vikings in the playoffs) runs into the kicker. Had the refs called roughing the kicker I might be apt to side with Cowher, but the call was good. If I didn't see the game and you were just describing to me that play, wouldn't you say that Nedney kicked the ball and then Washington ran into him? I'd say that's a pretty strong case for running into the kicker. Cowher then shows how professional he is by 1) running up to the referee and verbally berating him, 2) ripping the officiating at the post-game conference and 3) not giving the Titans any credit for beating his football team. Nice job Bill.
So anyway, we have the Bucs, Eagles, Titans and Raiders. I am going with Eagles/Raiders. I really do not want to see Warren Sapp running around at the Super Bowl. I'm concerned for him that if they make it his head will get so big it will explode. And is anyone else sick of the announcers talking up McNair? Yea, I agree the guy is a great QB and plays through pain, but he's a football player and he's getting the job done.....isn't that what he's paid to do? Why is it such a shock to everyone then?
Wong is back with some more thoughts....and some of my responses
I hope everybody had a Happy New Year. I never understood why everyone
makes a big deal out of midnight for one particular day. I just think it
is an excuse for bars and liquor stores to boost their sales worldwide.
Capitalism is truly the best system every created.--I'd have to disagree with
this viewpoint. Even though I was sick and sleeping by 10:00 on Dec 31,
New Year's Eve is a great way for people to get together and celebrate.
You want to talk marketing and Capitalism....talk about the relationship between
Hallmark and Valentine's Day.
I just saw St. Vincent's high school basketball team, featuring soon to be NBA
millionaire LeBron James, broadcast on ESPN last weekend at UCLA. Through
some quick research, I found that St. Vincent's is charging $50,000
to each city to host one of their games. Add that to all the media fees they are
probably receiving from these broadcasts and St. Vincent's high school is making
substantial revenue. It is a shame that a high school, especially
a Catholic high school, would exploit this situation in this way, but I guess
that is just the way it is.--Well Wong look in the mirror cause if you're
watching the game on ESPN, you're helping boost ratings which tells the network
that people will watch which tells St. Vincent's that they can charge that kind
of money. All of us have to do our part if we don't like it and although
it's a small part watching the game on TV makes a differance too. (* note
that I also watched one of his games, so don't call me a hippocrit)
I never understood why coaches don't tell the holder on third down field goals
to spike the ball if they can't put the snap down cleanly. It boggles my
mind.--Here's why....you can only spike the ball to stop the clock if you
take the snap from under center....not shotgun, not punt and not a field goal
snap. He should have stood up and threw the ball at the feet of one of his
TE's. Then they would have had a second chance at it.
Is it just me or are most of us two degrees of separation from the 2002 Division
I-A football National Title?--True. And on that subject, did anyone
outside the city of Miami want to see those cocky Hurricanes win? I think
not.
Now that the New Year has passed, I thought it would be interesting to do a
George Carlin and examine frequently misused phrases, especially over the
past year. Here is a couple that I came up with...--ok, we're ready...
Material breach -- Sounds like contract lawyer-speak rather than the
world-worn parlance of war planners and diplomats. At one time, UN resolutions
were violated. Violators were held in contempt. How long until treaties are
ripped up in the presence of attorneys?--It actually is
"lawyer-speak". I have an excellent Contract Law text if any of
you readers would like to brush up on that subject.
Untimely death - Has anyone had a timely death?--Yes, Kenny from Southpark
has one every episode.
On the ground - You usually hear this when a group of people are going someplace
to do something. But don't humans live on the ground already? Last
time I checked humans aren't suspended 100 feet in the air or 100 fathoms
beneath the ocean.--Fathoms? What is this 1825 in jolly old
England? And actually I was suspended about 35,000 feet in the air for
over 3 hours last week. Amazing isn't it.
Weapons of Mass Destruction - Used very often recently in reference to
biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. But the last time I checked a
few thousand AK-47s in an African Army can cause some "mass
destruction."--So shouldn't we call boxcutters weapons of mass
destruction also?
There is no score - This is a lie, the score is 0-0.--How about we quit
talking about soccer now.
Undisclosed, secret location - This is overly repetitive in my view. If it's
undisclosed, it's a secret. If it's a secret, it's undisclosed.--Excellent
point....same theory as "frozen tundra". Tundra is by definition
already frozen. It would be like saying I'll have a grilled grilled cheese
sandwich. Just doesn't make sense.
Till next time...
Wong....and JC
Dr. JC's fantasy tip #19,234: Start all your <enter MN opponent here> in week <current wk #>. (this will probably still apply next year)
Here are two stories that I couldn't have made up if I'd tried....
I saw a guy from one of those goofy lobby groups on The O'Reilly Factor last night that was arguing about gas efficiency standards in SUV's. He said that if the car makers were mandated to have SUV's get at least 22 miles per gallon....pollution would go UP. He said people would drive more since they'd get better milage and due to that pollution would increase. Where exactly would these people be going? Just cause they can drive more, why would they? "Let's go drive around the block 100 times cause I get good mileage in my big huge truck"...yea right.
I'll leave you with one final thought given to me by my Environmental Engineering professor. Los Angeles is known for its smog, but do you know what organic causes most of that pollution? It's not car exhaust....it's the emissions from fast food type deep fryers. Yea that's right, not only is America's population getting fatter from McDonalds, it's getting more polluted from the animal fat frying in the hot oil.
Need I say more?
BIGFFBL senior writer Jeremy Carlson sounds off whenever he feels like it on geocities.com/bigffbl