Sunday Rundown

I've been MIA for a while, but not without good reason. My dad told me I should get to the point on here and no one wants to hear about how tired I am. Ha. Well, I don't tell you because you care, I tell you because I want you to know why I've slacked off! Work, work, and more work . . . but I'm not complaining at all because I'm thankful that I even have a job, much less one that I enjoy doing. But I digress.

Nice, full day of good football games. The Dallas Cowboys just barely held on for the win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but a win's a win, I guess. Just ask the Detroit Lions, who got close (again) but couldn't seal the deal against the Washington Redskins. Nice to see that they're still putting in an effort. Nicer to see Roy Williams doing what he should be doing and wasn't doing in Detroit - scoring. He couldn't do that for the Lions but he got that chance on Sunday in the Cowboys game. Hopefully, as long as the Cowboys keep winning, he won't fuss too much, but let's see how many more TD's Williams can catch before T.O. raises a ruckus.

The Philadelphia Eagles, and more specifically, Brian Westbrook, looked pretty good against the surprising Atlanta Falcons. Coming off an injury and rushing for nearly 175 yards is deserving of the top performer of the week award, I'd say.

The NFL crossed the pond again for the New Orleans Saints vs. San Diego Chargers game in London on Sunday. Last year, I noted that it was a mucky mess, so this year had nowhere to go but up. This year, the fans actually got to see some offense. Even LaDainian Tomlinson broke out of his season and almost-a-half long funk to step up his game. Perhaps I'm just a cynic, but I can't help but think that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell put in a call to the Saints and Chargers and asked them to go easy on the defense? If you're a fantasy football player (which, thankfully, this year I am not), you might want to take that into account for the Europe game every year. I also thought it was kind of cute (yes, I am a female) how one team (the Saints) was designated the "home team," and the fans waved Saints pennants and cheered loudly. A small touch but maybe just enough to make these guys not sulk so much about "having to" be the ones to make the ocean-jump mid-season.

More and more, it's looking like the "Terrible Three" (aka, the Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Rams) might just be the Terrible Two. For the past few weeks, the Rams have looked like they really are interested in winning some games. Even the Lions are still making an effort. The Bengals, however, appear to have just given up. They don't get as much press for their terrible performance (they're now a perfect 0-8), perhaps because they don't have the legacy of losing of the Lions nor have they fallen from the ranks like the Rams, or maybe just because it's Cincinnati. And now that it looks like Carson Palmer is done for the rest of the season, the Bengals (who have been done for a long time aready) just never be mentioned again . . . unless, maybe, Ocho Cinco gets an 85 tattooed across his forehead.

Speaking of not-achieving (a step worse than underachieving, which implies that you are actually capable of achieving in the first place), the San Francisco 49ers, on the heels of firing their coach Mike Nolan last week, still looked a mess. Only everyone's not just going to roll over and die. New coach Mike Singletary has only been on the sidelines one game but already he's fed up and is not going to take it anymore. He sent underachieving (yes, he's capable) tight end Vernon Davis to the showers early, and benched his other major (in more than one way) underachiever, quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan. You have to watch the video of Singletary getting in Davis' face. Singletary's post-game interview definitely teetered on the edge of "rant" status - which makes him worthy of MYSM-status. Thanks, Mike.

You gotta love a man who's not afraid to go in and shake things up right from the start. I'm a firm believer that good things happen when you make a clean break from the status quo rather than gradually trying to turn things around. I'm definitely interested in seeing how this one shakes out . . . loving even more that we're not counting up black NFL coaches.

Monday Night Football should also be a good one, with Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts meeting the undefeated Tennessee Titans. Although, the Colts even record of wins and losses accurately reflects the likelihood that this game will be as good as it should be.

Tuesday Football Rundown

Time is money, so we're jumping right in:

1. This is hilarious. For people to suggest that he did this because he's betting on the games is even funnier. It seems there are better ways to alter the outcome than taking out the QB. I've watched it a few times and I just don't see how what the ref did can be seen as anything other than a ref losing his mind momentarily. Where's the fine??



2. Kellen Winslow may be coming out of his pocket for his mouth. Winslow is not happy about how the Cleveland Brown treated him following his three day hospitalization with a staph infection, a problem the Browns have been trying to sweep under the locker room floor. They should have known they were going to have an issue if this guy got it. He's a "freakin'" soldier, after all. Maybe now they'll try to figure out why it's happening instead of trying to hide it. Staph infections? Seriously, that's just gross . . . and Winslow's entirely too pretty for all that.

3. Let's call this one "more like 'sucking' Broncos." Monday Night Football featured a blowout courtesy of the New England Patriots, who whooped up on the Denver Broncos 41-7. Were the Pats looking to prove on the premier stage that they still got it even without their golden boy? I think so.

4. Adam "Pacman" Jones has entered alcohol rehab. I believe that means one of two things: a) he (or his people) reads the blog, and/or b) he's coming back to the NFL. "Both a) and b)" is also an acceptable answer.

5. Looks like we're going all football, all the time today. The morning-after death knell tolled again, and this time its victim is San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan. Apparently, he wasn't going to be fired:

Earlier Monday, [49ers VP Jed York] had said Nolan's job was safe for the time being."What changed," he said later, "was there were numerous reports (that Nolan would be fired) that were a distraction."

That may be one of the weakest excuses I've ever heard for firing someone. So Nolan's job was safe until people started saying his job wasn't safe, at which point his job became not safe and was in fact in extreme danger. Nice.

6. Try to catch the ESPN commercial with Dwight Howard and Tracy McGrady (and some others you probably wouldn't know) featuring new additions to the team RV. If I can find it online, I will post it. Good stuff.

From Crappy to Happy . . . and Other NFL Fables

What a difference a game makes. It's funny how one big win on Monday Night Football can take a team from sucking underachiever to "contender in a matter of, oh, 60 playing minutes to be exact.

Before an hour ago, the Cleveland Browns were mush and their current starting QB, Derek Anderson, was looking at the door. Eager (and popular) beaver Brady Quinn has been breathing down his neck for about a year now, and he keeps looking cute and smiley (in a kid brother kind of way) on the sidelines, all the while knowing he's more popular than the guy who starts over him. As the MNF gang pointed out, Quinn is the only back up QB to have his own commercial . . . making Derek Anderson the only starting QB whose backup has one when he doesn't.

Now, Anderson looks like Tom Brady with his "precision" and "accurate" throws, and the Browns, who could have been 1-4 after tonight, now have to be taken seriously.

No, the Browns didn't win the Super Bowl, but they did beat the Super Bowl champs, who have been looking pretty good in their champions tour. I should say looked good because they looked pretty awful Monday night. Eli Manning throwing three times as many interceptions as he has had in four previous games? That'll do it. And that tackle . . . come on Eli, that was pitiful, at least make it look like you care. (I couldn't find a picture of it, but I'm still looking!) I guess that's better than that jump away from the pile that Tony Romo did.

Speaking of Romo, his little pinkie's crying wee wee wee all the way home. (Sidenote: Romo really is an unfortunate last name for a really good high school QB) He will be out for at least a month with a broken pinkie on his throwing hand sustained in the Dallas Cowboys' loss to the Arizona Cardinals. I guess this is the one position in the one sport where such an injury would really cause the player to take time off. Broken fingers, especially pinkies, look really gross if they aren't set properly. So for the sake of all of us who will be forced to watch that reality show he and Jessica Simpson will have, I hope it sets properly so we don't have to hear her calling it "yucky." We'll see if any similar Brady-type effects are felt with this loss. The Cowboys have looked shaky (and always manage to get shaken and stirred in the post-season) so I wouldn't call them anywhere near a lock for a Super Bowl, but this certainly changes things. Once again, I'm ecstatic that I was too late for fantasy football this year.

Richard Collier is reportedly out of the hospital. That's good news.

Adam Jones may have cost himself a whole lot more than pissed off hired help. Bad news. Very bad.

One last thing: Braylon Edwards is definitely a star, but why is he the only one they let speak? He's certainly nice to look at and "articulate," so I'm not complaining but I find it interesting they never really talk to anyone else on the team, not even the QB. And the media loves QBs. Does Derek Anderson have a bad stutter?

Ain't Nobody Jumpin' Around . . . Ok. So I am.

Besides losing to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football, the man sometimes known as Kim Kardasshian's better half had an excellent night. New Orleans' Saints running back Reggie Bush scored on two punt returns, becoming just the 12th man to ever do so.

After watching this game, I have a better appreciation for the fine line between a nice hit and a terrible one. The helmet-to-helmet rule is kind of tough to decipher because slo-mo doesn't always tell the real story. I think the only real difference is whether the "hittee" walks off the field.

The Vikings' own Speedy Gonzalez, Adrian "A.P." Peterson, was pretty quiet tonight, and somewhere, some grown man lost the weekly pool because of it. But the Vikings pulled it out, and that's all that matters. Is it just me or did it look like Reggie Bush was about to cry? They did show a vignette in which Bush said he was trying to focus on football only (read: the real reason Kim decided to do Dancing with the Stars) and stay out of the limelight. I felt for him when he said that he had expected to be one of the top running backs in the league, and decided to get serious. So I'm sure it was particularly frustrating to lose despite his good game. But it was a close one, and the Vikings needed this one to avoid "basement" synonyms. If Bush continues to stay focused (read: makes Kim do another reality show) then I think he has a good shot of achieving his goals.

I only posted the above pic because I want to remind him of pictures we should never, ever see again. Ever. I would, however, like to see him attain those other goals of his. . .

In other news:

How bad do you have to act up to get arrested at a wedding as a member of the wedding party? It would seem to me that if you're in the wedding, you might make an extra effort not to ruin the wedding of your good friend or family member. I'm going to assume alcohol was intimately involved, but there is drinking at a lot of weddings, and these people aren't in their early-20's.

That's the situation facing Houston Astros' pitcher Brandon Backe, who is 30 years old. Cops say they punched him in the face twice before they were able to arrest him after he allegedly refused to back away from a fight. Now, I'm not one to blindly side with the po-po, but I have to assume Backe was out of line. My favorite part of this story is the description of the other people who were involved in the fracas: the bride's father, 19-year old brother, and a FEMA director. I am cracking myself wondering what the FEMA connection could possibly be . . . being inept has never gotten George Bush jumped, so I don't get it . . .


More athletes with legal troubles: Lawrence Phillips once had a job in the NFL as a running back, but now he's looking at ten years behind bars for deliberately running down a group of teenagers after they beat him in a game of pickup football. He also alleged they stole some of his belongings. This wasn't Phillips first sign of trouble. He had previously picked up a domestic abuse charge for striking a woman he was dating at a hotel. During his brief stints in the NFL, he was dismissed once by each of the St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers for insubordination and missing a practice, respectively. . . and then they just turned him loose without any guidance. He played at the University of Nebraska, football country, so he likely had some of his previous indiscretions overlooked for the sake of his talent at a big program. How many more times do we have to watch guys go down like this before we start nipping this stuff early? Sad.



Dancing with the Stars contestant and gold medal volleyball player Misty May-Treanor's dancing days are officially over after the tore her Achilles during dance rehearsals last Friday. I don't even know how you tear an Achilles while you're dancing, especially when you spring out of the sand barefoot all day. I guess that's the epitome of dancing too aggressively, for which the Dancing with the Stars judges had often criticized her. What a terrible feeling to be a professional athlete and ruining your career on a dalliance like dancing. Hopefully, this won't permanently sidetrack her career. I'd also consider sticking to barefoot dancing from here on out if I were her.

This is just such a random "sport."



Kimbo Slice lost his first mixed martial arts (MMA) fight. Now, I swear just a few days ago, they were saying this guy doesn't know anything about MMA, but you couldn't tell by these commentators, calling the fight "the most incredible victory in the history of mixed martial arts."

Another gem: "If you have a dream . . . if you're willing to step into a cage and fight for your life, you . . . can be anything you want!" I may have to start using this as my personal quote.

I don't know much about MMA, but this looks about as real as "rasslin'." (That's "wrestling" for all you northern types). Kimbo lost to a last second replacement - really. The guy he was supposed to fight had to pull out with a cut over his eye just hours before it was scheduled to go down. So Kimbo ended up fighting a guy who probably knows him well but about whom Kimbo knew nothing, not even his name. Still, no excuse for losing in 14 seconds. Although, I wonder if he decided to just throw it instead of getting seriously injured by someone he didn't know. He probably still got paid the same amount, it just wasn't worth the risk. And it wasn't really a competition, so he can do a re-match, kill this guy (not literally, MMA fans, geez), and then re-gain his status. Smart man. (And if this was not the plan, I expect some kind of remuneration for my strategy.)

Show Me Some Skin

Some things I've been musing over the past few days:

1. Chris Cooley, tight end for the Washington Redskins, has his own blog which is apparently pretty decent. Cooley had a game this Sunday but wanted to do a post before his game, so he hurriedly posted a picture of what he thought was just his play book. Unfortunately, in his haste, he included a little too much "fore red skin" (why did I just see that PTI stole my joke??). So not only did Cooley catch flak from his coach for posting a page from the play book, but now we all know . . . a little too much about him. Hopefully he has learned that a 2" x 2" digital camera screen is short on detail (no pun intended). You can click here to see the picture, but I'd wait until you get home because it's definitely NSFW (not safe for work). I would have put this up for MYSM next week, but most of you wouldn't be smiling . . . Cooley apologized for the exposure, but I feel like we deserve some kind of an explanation for the conduct itself. (Update: And here it is). Hilarious.
   
   
2. The NFL referee who botched the call that let the Denver Broncos back in (and eventually win) their game against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday has received a downgrade from the NFL for his mistake. They say this means he could receive less pay or even be terminated when he comes up for review. Gee whiz. Ed Hochuli is a veteran ref who made a really bad call - accidentally, not purposely. Bad calls happen, but it's not like he wasn't working within the rules nor was he trying to ruin the game. I'm happy to see his brethren rallying around him in his hour of need. Had his call come at a less pivotal point in the game, then obviously his mistake wouldn't have mattered as much. So, yeah, he blew it, and yeah, it sucks for the San Diego Chargers, but as Norv Turner said, the score will always be 39-38. Let's move on.
   
   
3. Baltimore Ravens QB Troy Smith has been cleared to work out following a severe case of tonsilitis that cause him to lose 20 pounds. The Ravens doctor added, however, that he was never critically ill and his health was never in danger. He's still on antibiotics and will likely need his tonsils removed, but probably won't have the procedure until the end of the season. Wow, all that from tonsilitis? I had tonsilitis when I was a babe (as in young, not "hot"), but I can't imagine it being that bad. I'd say losing 20 pounds when you're sick is sufficiently serious even if he wasn't "critically ill." Poor guy. To go from Heisman Trophy winner to having to compete for a starting QB spot has to be a tough transition over a two-year span. Although there are a lot of great things about being a professional athlete, the fact that it can all be over in an instant is definitely not one of them. Here's hoping he surpasses the expectations of this latest batch of naysayers.

4. Speaking of competing for a starting spot, the Tennessee Titans have decided to stick with the veteran Kerry Collins as their QB, potentially even after Vince Young is able to return. Coach Jeff Fisher says he'll stick with Collins as long as the Titans keep winning. I can't say that I blame him, and maybe this will be actually be good for Young, giving him more time to collect his thoughts. (With every day that goes by, I am increasingly happy that I don't have a fantasy football team this year . . .)

5. You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned O.J. Simspon's Las Vegas trial at all. That's because I'm just really not interested anymore (although I expressly reserve the right to blog about this if something interesting happens). As I've said in previous posts on Mr. Simpson, it's probably about time the Juice got squeezed, but with folks like this testifying for the prosecution, (and check out this other great court performance) one can't be too sure. For some reason, I have a feeling he'll be cleared again, but whether he does time or doesn't, he has already been punished. Living on the outside knowing that everyone believes you've killed your wife and won't have anything to do with you because of it is prison - only you never get to leave. I know lawyers aren't taught to believe this, but the courtroom is not the only place where justice is served.
   

6. Monday Night Football scored a ratings coup for cable TV with its Cowboys vs. Eagles showing taking the crown as the top-watched cable program of all time. Of course, they could have had bigger ratings if they were on network TV so those who can't afford cable could have watched it, but that's of no import to the Not Free League. A story for another day . . .
   

Hype Can Be Good . . . Premature Celebration, Bad

It's not too often that events live up to their hype. But two did, in almost as many days. First, Tina Fey's spot-on impression of Sarah Palin. She really ought to get an Emmy for that.

Second, but only because it occurred later, was Monday Night Football. The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles definitely earned their spot as one of the premier games of the week.

(Sorry to interrupt but as I'm typing this, I'm watching the post-game show and is it just me or is something fishy with Steve Young's hair? )

It had all the things you want to see in a football game: lots of offense, defense (when it really counted), long bombs, and some added perks for Eagles/Cowboys fans: Donovan McNabb playing and moving well, T.O. doing what T.O. does best - scoring, and Brian Westbrook having a good game. Before you ask, yes, I can and do like both teams. It was a shootout in the first half with both teams racking up almost 60 points - I've definitely seen basketball games with less scoring - which slowed down considerably in the second half, to the Cowboys advantage. Ended up a squeaker with the Cowboys eventually winning by four. I don't know what that was McNabb and the Eagles tried to do in their last two plays of the game, so I'll just chalk that up to good defense by the Cowboys. Overall, it was quite the entertaining outing. So entertaining that they only mentioned Jessica Simpson once, and that was to remark that they hadn't talked about her.

I'll let you check out ESPN.com for the rest of the game round-up because I want to focus here on two events from this game: 1) Tony Romo's fumble and 2) Desean Jackson's "letdown" (aka "do that again and you WILL be gently reminded what city you play in").

First, Romo. Is someone putting baby oil on the footballs these days? (Don't answer that) What's with all the QB fumbles? The hurricanes don't usually make their way to the Irving/Dallas area so I don't think it was the rain. This particular Romo fumble happened near a very bad place - the Cowboys' end zone - which resulted in a touchdown for the Eagles. And just like the Eagles last few plays of the game, I can't really tell what Romo thought he was going to do here.


I can tell you what he was NOT trying to do, and that was go for the ball. I couldn't see it that well in real-time, but if you have DVR, please watch the replay (again) of this one. Not only did he not try to recover the ball, he actually leapt in the total opposite direction (this picture is a second too early to get the effect), no doubt trying not to end up like many other quarterbacks this season ... not playing. Romo made the right decision in not sacrificing himself for one touchdown...even if he made a terrible one in trying to make a play out of no play just seconds before. I just found myself amused watching the slo mo of him leaping clear out of the screen. Had the Cowboys not scored near the end again, no doubt this play would have gotten him a lot of flak. But they won, so it didn't. And once again, winning covers up a multitude of sins.

On to #2. While this game was filled with things you like to see, it also had one glaring thing we all hate to see.

DeSean ("Michael") Jackson, there ought to be some type of award for what you did. For those who didn't catch it, Mr. Jackson, the Eagles rookie wide receiver, caught one of those long bombs from Donovan McNabb. He then proceeded to fool us - and himself - into thinking he was going to score, but just as he was setting foot into hallowed land, he threw the ball away. No, really. He tossed it behind him, into the field, as he crossed into the end zone. Believing he had scored, he spontaneously broke into dance (quite a confident dance for a rookie, I might add).

Well, all that changed in a matter of seconds when it became increasingly clear (after a replay or two) that Jackson had celebrated too early. After a challenge by the Cowboys, sure enough, the refs decided he had indeed not scored. Since there was no camera to catch the side view because of the long throw, it was hard to tell exactly where he broke the plane of the end zone. But he deserved to have the TD taken away for that mess. Thank goodness he only lightly discarded it so that the Eagles ended up with the ball on the ene yard line.

I was incredulous that someone in the NFL would actually put more thought into their post-score dance than they did into actually scoring. I still am. I'd rather refer to someone's actions than call them names (notice the MNF folks called it a "bonehead play" rather than calling Jackson a bonehead) so I'll just stick with that may be one of the most ridiculous plays I've ever seen in my life. I actually can't think of a worse careless error. Only the timing could have been worse, worsened still had the Eagles not eventually scored. Even attempting and missing a 360 dunk on a fast break comes in a distant second.

I was already shaking my head when those ESPN researchers tracked down the video of Jackson doing a forward flip just short of the end zone in an All-American high school football game. That actually made me laugh out loud when I saw it, and again just now while typing this. So he behaved ridiculously once, and now he has done it twice. For Jackson's own good, I'm hoping that the third time is not a charm. Eagles fans have ZERO tolerance for antics like that, and anyone seen in or around the stadium/arena is fair game. I was at that All-Star game when they booed Destiny's Child's entire performance because one of them had on a Lakers jersey. (And if any of those fans also have Jackson on their fantasy teams. . . )

So if you're at Wawa, Jackson, and suddenly get struck in the back of the head with a hoagie, don't say I didn't warn you.

Not The Game It Was Billed To Be

Tonight's Monday Night Football game between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints was supposed to feature two of the biggest stars in the game: Michael Vick and Reggie Bush.

Only it didn't quite turn out as planned.

Bush is injured and is out for the rest of the regular season and perhaps the playoffs, too, if the Saints make it that far. With a win over the Falcons Monday night, they put themselves in a better position to do just that.

Vick, as you all know by now, did not play this year and will not play for at least the next two seasons after being sentenced to 23 months in prison and 3 years probation for pleading guilty to federal charges related to dogfighting.

Several of the players and fans made tributes to Vick, wearing his number. One Falcons player, Rodney White, donned a hand-written "Free Mike Vick" shirt under his jersey. Interestingly, most of the fans, and all of the players supporting Vick appeared to be African-American.

Vick received his sentence of almost 2 years in prison because the federal court judge said that he had lied. Lying to the government - and then getting caught - is an offense worse than death when it comes to the feds. Guaranteed to get you on the higher end of the sentencing guidelines.

Here, the prosecutors asked for a 12-18 months sentence, and the federal guidelines said the judge should sentence Vick to 18 months to two years. The judge pretty much threw the book at him, with 23 months. The feds don't really do that whole "early release" thing but he could about a month reduction, added to the month he has already served, and the earliest he could expect to get out would be the summer of 2009.

He's also looking at state court charges, but hopefully he can serve that concurrently with his federal sentence so that he would still get the same summer 2009 release date.

Well, I won't repeat everything I said before about the Vick situation (click here for my previous posts on the matter), but it is sad to see him become another statistic. Sports pundits on ESPN are saying he'll never play another game for the Falcons, but that's not what Falcons owner Arthur Blank said during Monday night's telecast. He, like NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, said that he would weigh the situation when it came time to do so. Prior to the game, he said that Vick was out of the picture. For now, Vick's contract will likely be tolled until he is able to return to the team. Blank's in this business to make money as much as he is anything else. I'm sure having Michael Vick, hopefully a new Michael Vick who's trying to keep his head above water, will be a money-making venture for which most teams that need a boost would pay a lot of money. Basically, if the Falcons are still struggling, I

Leave it to a federal judge to mess up my prediction that he would be back next year. Tolling that time for his prison sentence, Vick will be back as soon as he is free to do so. He will be sent to a "Club Fed" somewhere presumably not too far away from home, where he'll be able to stay in pretty good shape, but more importantly, he'll be able to put some distance between himself and this situation. Club Fed is nothing like being free, but it's the best he could get while still being held behind bars.

The one thing that the judge who sentenced him (not coincidentally, a George W. Bush appointee) said that I agree with is that he let a lot of kids down who looked up to him. But beyond that, he also has a chance to be a role model for those who have hit their lowest points to turn it all around. Now that he has almost two years to think about things, I sincerely hope that his story ends as one of redemption and not one of lost potential.

I'm pulling for you, Mike Vick, and in time, so will your previous fans.

Pats Perspire . . . Just A Little Bit

The Baltimore Ravens came the closest that any team has come this season to beating the New England Patriots. You can read all about the game here. Forget Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, with this great escape, this team's leader must be Houdini.

In the end, although the Ravens led much of the game, the small things did them in. An errant time out called here, a penalty there, another penalty there. And another penalty there.

You get the point. They actually had one more try for the win on a serious hail mary by Ravens QB Kyle Boller. It was actually caught

I wanted them to win, the Ravens that is. I wanted Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Willis McGahee, all University of Miami football alums along with Sean Taylor (and Reed and McGahee, Taylor's former teammates) to win it for Taylor, as Lewis said during their pre-game prayer/pep talk. And Lewis and company definitely came to play Monday night.

But I must admit that I also wanted to see the Patriots win the game and maintain their perfect record. (Did I say that out loud?) I like seeing history be made. Sue me.

Alas, the Patriots pulled it off by making a few key plays, including scoring a touchdown with less than a minute to go . . . and by the Ravens making a series of errors resulting in 4th downs magically turning into 1st downs and a mistimed (from the Ravens' defense's perspective) timeout.

But as Tony Kornheiser said, all these gaffes resulted in the best team winning - again, like they always do. True statement. Teams have had enough of that running the score up, 50+ point games. They are coming to play now. The Eagles gunned for them, the Ravens gunned for them even harder. But they withheld the pressure and came up with the win. This team is GOOD.

Since my team is tanking, I have to have someone to watch come January. So without further ado . . . Go Pats.

MNF Quickie: Young Shines, Receivers Look Tarnished

I didn't catch all of the Tennessee Titans v. Denver Broncos Monday Night Football game, but I saw on Sports Center that Titans receivers dropped four easy passes that could have helped them win the game. I did see their QB Vince Young's two interceptions, but he ended up with 305 yards passing, which was a career high for him.

With a good offensive line, better defensive line, and better receivers (yeah, pretty much another team), I think he'd get more credit as a good QB than he does right now. He gets some credit, but I think folks are sleeping on him. He even has a great QB name.

After the game when reporters questioned him about the dropped passes by receivers, he said that he wasn't going to stop throwing it to them just because they dropped them, and that he has confidence that they'll catch them.

Displaying confidence in teammates who obviously went a long way to help him lose this game? I like that.

The Best of Kornheiser's Monday Night Football Gush

I've decided that I'm going to start keeping track of Tony Kornheiser's choicest comments about Tom Brady during Monday Night Football games when Brady is not playing.

Tonight's winning quote came during the third quarter when Kornheiser was discussing Big Ben Roethlisberger's numbers during the game, which has a lot to do with the reason why the Pittsburgh Steelers are up 35-7 right now on the Baltimore Ravens. Kornheiser gushed:

Anytime your name is mentioned in the same sentence as Tom Brady, you're having a good day

I assume he means if you're a quarterback, right?

Spoke Too Soon!

Tonight's Monday Night Football game started off, and almost ended, pretty ho-hum.

But never underestimate Brett Favre on Monday night football. With Denver inside the 10 yard line with under 30 seconds to go and down 10-13, the Broncos just needed to push their way to the touchdown. But alas, they couldn't score so they brought out veteran kicker Jason Elam for the field goal to tie the game.

Being a kicker has to be pretty nerve-wracking. You don't get much credit, but if you miss, you get all of the blame. I guess I can see why they take a lot of heat - they pay them to do one thing and one thing only. They're not out there getting hit, or at least they shouldn't be. I can't recall having ever seen a kicker just kick without actually setting up (he only had a second, literally). But he made it so that's all that matters.

Back to Favre. I guess after his wife, Deanna, got to sit in the booth (this is not what I meant, but she did promote her book which discusses her bout with breast cancer) with the rest of the Monday Night Football guys, Favre was not content just winning the game.

Nope, he went and threw an 82 yard touchdown to win the game on the very first play in overtime. Way to overachieve, Brett. AND kudos to Greg Jennings for escaping Dre Bly to make that catch.


I've never considered myself a huge Packers fan but Favre makes it pretty hard not to like him.

When Will She Be In the Booth?

I've been watching Monday Night Football (up tonight, Favre and the Green Bay Packers vs. the Denver Broncos. Nothing too exciting.Update: Great ending!). As I watch Michelle Tafoya pop up periodically to give us the scoop from the sidelines, I think to myself, "Well that's good. But how come there's never a woman in the booth?"

While more women are getting opportunities (Tafoya, Suzy Kolber, Pam Oliver, Lisa Salters, or Bonnie Bernstein, to name a few, and Jemele Hill sort of counts, but she's not on TV as often as the others), no women are getting the big jobs of analyst or play-by-play. Gayle Sierens once did an NFL broadcast in a local market (or was it national?), but it must not have gone too well because they never asked her to do it again, and no woman has ever been in the booth for an NBA, NHL, or MLB game. Ok, so it turns out the MLB is a little bit more advanced, or at least its teams have been in their local markets. As Cecilio's Scribe pointed out in the comments, Suzyn Waldman (now infamous for crying following the Yankees loss in the playoffs), did a play-by-play stint on local TV for the Yankees in the mid-90's, and another woman, Gayle Gardner, was the first woman to do play-by-play -- with the now-World Series runner-ups, the Colorado Rockies.

So it's not only possible, but it has happened before. Yet today, you can't find a woman doing the play-by-play or the analyzing on TV.

I'm sure much of this has to do with the fact that women don't see other female sportscasters, and we certainly aren't encouraged to pursue the field. Heck, I wasn't even encouraged to do the blog, but seeing Jemele Hill do it gave me the extra "oomph" I needed to say that I could do it, too. Those women who have made it even onto the sidelines are putting in a whole lot of work to be where they are. The one thing about sports is that no matter how good you look, if you don't know what you're talking about, you are going to be the first one on the chopping block.

Not to mention that many of the sports fans, who are overwhelmingly male, have nothing better to do than compare which female sportscaster they'd rather sleep with, concocting entire "tournaments" devoted to the debate. I will not be linking to any of them on here, so you will just have to check that out for yourself.

Despite the women as sexual beings issue, I don't think men can't get used to hearing a woman do the analysis or the play-by-play for a major men's sport. We heard this all before when we entered the work place. This is nothing new. Someone (or some network) just has to let it happen once, be willing to take all the criticism, and then open the door for the rest. Like I said before about the NFL in London, change is always painful. But it's about time that the networks felt the pain of breaking that glass ceiling and put a woman in the broadcasting booth.

If you're a female sports fan, and you're reading this, I challenge you to be the first.

MNF or SNL?

Tony Kornheiser is quite the, um, interesting commentator. If anyone watched Monday Night Football (I know, the game wasn't much to watch, sorry Atlanta Falcons fans), then you heard these gems from Tony, which I have paraphrased for your enjoyment:

1. "Eli Manning, QB for the New York Giants, makes the salary he does because his last name is Manning."

You mean he benefits because Eli has like, famous relatives or something? This idea was resoundingly ballyhooed by his co-commentators, and was quickly followed by ESPN going to commercial. I think that's a little harsh. It must be hard enough being the brother of Peyton Manning without Kornheiser ruining Eli's Monday night season debut by saying he's only making what he is because of his family is considered NFL royalty (dad Archie Manning was also quite the talented QB in his day).

2. "Why do the Falcons need their money back from Vick to clear space under the salary cap? Isn't it enough that he was just ordered to give it back?"

So then they'll just use Monopoly money to pay any players who benefit from the cleared cap space? ESPN also went to commercial when he said this, not sure if that was just coincidental. His co-commentators answered his question after the break, without rubbing in that he should have known this. I hope he was just thinking out loud and hadn't really thought about this before. Otherwise . . . well, I'll be kind, because I can imagine it must be hard to commentate a game, and again, I truly hope that he just hadn't thought it out.

I know there is at least one other tidbit I am missing, but I'll post it when/if it comes to me. Sometimes the other commentators are cracking up laughing at something Kornheiser says, but other times they seem annoyed, so I wonder how they really feel about Tony. One thing's for certain: I have to write this stuff down immediately.

But guest commentator Jimmy Kimmel did provide some "legitimate" comic relief:

"[Joey] Harrington's not a great quarterback but he's very nice to his pets."

Kick 'em all while they're down! That's the American way.

Kornheiser's Other "Pumpkin"

I know I'm not the only one who watched Monday Night Football and was heartbroken by Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati Bengals' performance. While we got to see Carson get scolded for arguing with his, uh, interesting wide receiver, Chad Johnson, all we heard about Tom Brady is that he's the second coming of Jesus Christ Himself.

Seriously, Tom Brady has a lot of great assets (who wouldn't be jealous of three Super Bowl rings before the age of 30? Hate on this man!) but we don't need to hear how great he is for an entire football game. I'll take one quarter, maybe two, but an entire game of butt-kissing is just outrageous.

Tony Kornheiser, who co-commentated last night's game and delivered the vast majority of the besos to Brady's behind, is responsible for the brown-nosing. Even more than Brady's on field accomplishments, Tony gushed over Brady's movie star looks, dating supermodels (Giselle), and his new baby daddy status, and his penchant for being gossip column fodder as a result of all of the above. It got worse when he started talking about the New England Patriots going 16-0. Not so far-fetched if we're at, say, game 10 or higher in a season of 16 games. But this is game 4. That means there are 12 more games to go, and that is beyond way too early for anyone to be talking about an undefeated season.

Not only that, Tony went on and on about the genius of Bill Belichick, completely ignoring that just a few short weeks ago, his beloved Belichick was coughing up $250 G's for cheating. But never mind the cheating, this guy is amazing!

Even his fellow commentators took him to task for going too far. I'm not sure how long he's going to last on Monday Night Football after this. It's OK to do on Pardon the Interruption, but an entire game is entirely too long to hear about your crush on a football player and his team - from a man or woman. But while Tony is certainly responsible for the unending gushing, I think the men or women who cued up his ridiculous comparisons and scenarios by adding graphics and doing fact-checking should also be taking the heat. I blame you all, too.

But I don't know if I can totally blame you for being a fan.