This Pretty Much Says it All
Doug Buffone, former Bears player and current co-host of “Chicago NFL Live” on “The Score,” tells us how he really feels following the loss to the Cardinals (clip courtesy of WGN). I wonder what he had to say after Cutler threw 5 picks last week?
What the Heck is Going on with the NFL?!?
Well, baseball season is officially over (go Yankees, Cubs I’m still hoping for next year). I’m hoping to get back to a semblance of a normal life, which hopefully equals more posts! So with baseball put to rest for a bit, let’s talk football shall we?
What the heck is going on with the NFL right now? 13 teams are below 500. Thirteen! It is only a little past half way in the regular season, but still! In 2008, 11 teams finished below 500 for the entire regular season. In 2007, things were worse, but this is still astounding. Cleveland, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Detroit (still a better year for them than 2008) and Kansas City have failed to win more than a single game. Oakland, Washington and Tennessee have just two W’s under their belt.
It would take a long time to break down exactly why each team has failed to rack up more wins (cough Jamarcus Russell, Oakland). One thing is for certain, this isn’t making for very exciting football. Aside from an occasional surprise like Tampa Bay’s win over Green Bay, the NFL has been nearly predictable. The sports books in Las Vegas are probably ready to throw in the towel at this point. Unless you’re playing fantasy football, where, depending on you league it could be anyone’s game, this is just ridiculous.
Saints/Vikings v. Colts, see you in the Super Bowl (yes, that’s my mid-season projection, sort of anyways). The rest of the league, get your shit together. In the mean time I am going to be watching college football. Hello Northwestern/Iowa upset!
Favre’s Homecoming
The Green Bay/Minnesota game was touted by FOX as the biggest game of the season. While I’m fairly certain that the Super Bowl is the biggest game of the season, but yes FOX, it was an important one. The Vikings had their perfect season on the line, two NFC powerhouses were going to meet and Favre was returning to Lambeau Field for the first time to play against his former team of 16 years. So yes, a big game.
In the beginning it looked like the Vikings, with Favre at the helm, were going to march all over the Packers. As the game progressed into the third Green Bay woke up and demonstrated that they weren’t about let Brett and his boys come into their house and run up the score unanswered. Fans showed their support and others expressed their disdain for their former qb. I will admit that I’m closer to column B, but one thing is for sure: Favre has proven to the world that he’s still got it.
His ability to walk into such charged environment and play one of the better teams in the league right now is impressive. Favre finished the day 17 for 28 complete and managed to rack up 244 years, four TDs and allowed no interceptions. Peterson was a big contributor as well (no surprises there), but this was Favre’s show. In the past I have seriously doubted Favre’s abilities following his weak performance with the Jets and his constant is he/isn’t he retirement issues.
With performances like his today, getting in first licks and leading his team through to the end when the Packers attempted to rally, Brett’s made a believer out of me. It’s clear he’s still got the stuff. Sports Media: Now that he’s proven it can we please talk about anything else? Conversation starter idea: Aaron Rodgers, new king of Green Bay? 26 for 41, 287 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, against the Vikings. I’m a believer.
Although They Say There’s No Crying in Baseball…
There definitely are stories that will choke you up. ESPN E:60 often tells stories of overcoming great adversary that are truly touching. Tonight’s story is the most inspiring and moving that I have ever seen.
This evening E:60 followed the story of Pat Chawki, a member of the championship Grant High School Baseball team. Chawki suffers from Locked-In Syndrome. This terrifying and debilitating condition has left him severely disabled, but perfectly cognitive. The segment chronicled his struggle. Many of his former high school friends and baseball teammates had no idea that he was still alive, much less battling this terrible condition, until a fellow Grant High Schooler, Laurie Green, stepped it in and made it her mission to help him out.
It is just incredible how his teammates and friends have rallied around him. There is no way I can do justice to this story, it is just too powerful for me to describe in my own words. Please watch and hopefully you too will be in awe of this incredibly strong and brave man and his terrific friends and family. Pat is already making incredible strides surrounded by the love and support of loved ones. Watch the video above and visit the facebook page dedicated to him to find out how you can help and show your support.
Clowney Benched by Twitter
Ok, well not by twitter, but certainly because of it. New York Jets WR David Clowney found himself riding the bench during this Sunday’s game against Houston for some comments he made via his Twitter account following Week 2’s game against New England. Twitter and its relation to sports is usually fodder for my work blog (I work in PR and have a special interest in social media), but it is certainly the topic du jour (actually of the past year or so), so indulge me.
As reported by Fanhouse, disappointed by his playing time, Clowney tweeted that although he was happy about the win, he was a bit unhappy about his time on the turf. He followed with two tweets on his intentions to work harder the next week. Coach Rex Ryan, being the cuddly, sensitive, pat your players on the back kind of guy that he is, benched Clowney for week 3. Ryan cited that the tweets were against team rules. The NFL also has rules in place, but those pertain to tweets during games.
The consequences were minor here; the Jets enjoyed a fairly decisive win over the Texans. The offense didn’t seem to struggle too much without Clowney on the field; but then again this offense has looked surprisingly solid all season. What is remarkable is the actual effect Twitter is beginning to have on the game in areas that it shouldn’t affect at all. Last week Redskins linebacker Robert Henson was blasted for lashing out at fans on Twitter. Chad Ochocinco has also managed to ruffle a few feathers (although he primarily just posts hilariously outlandish things).
While I may enjoy seeing how some of these situations unfold (specifically any Ochocinco updates), as a part of the PR community it makes me wonder where these people’s “people” are. When used correctly Twitter can be a great tool to elevate the popularity of a player or organization. It gives fans a unique chance for a two-way conversation with the sports stars and teams they are passionate about. Clowney’s offense was not that severe, although Ryan certainly went to work at nipping any potential for players sullying the team name in the bud, but some of these other guys really could use some help before they give the sport a digital black eye.
So professional athletes: Got a Twitter problem? I work in PR, love sports and will work tickets. Hell, let’s be real, I’d work for free.
Last Licks
I apologize in advance for the lack of high quality video documentation of the epic brawl between the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays last week. Unfortunately this is all I had to go off of as I was in L.A. for work (damn the time difference and shout out to Brian for keeping me in the loop). A full recap of the bench-clearing brawl and its implications for both teams can be found on ESPN. This particular fight is only an example of a larger issue that I am choosing to address today.
The issue of the day is sportsmanship. Anyone who has played any sport, even if only in gym class, knows how the practices of sportsmanlike behavior are extolled in sports from a very young age. There are various practices involved in conducting oneself in a sportsmanlike manner; not fighting being paramount. There are rules against it in varying degrees at all levels of sporting and across various activities. We have rules in college football for over celebration, to fines for brawling Bombers and Blue Jays (although a few thousand is likely a drop in the bucket to the likes of Posada), to even even a mild tolerance for spats in hockey.
I believe in the virtues of sportsmanship, especially in youth sports, however I can’t deny the pleasure of the occasional brawl on the professional level. I know I probably shouldn’t say this, but I can’t help it. Just listen to the fans in the background of the video. They were loving it too. The raw physicality of sports brings this out in us. The rules are there to keep games from running amok, athletes safe and performing as the role models they ought to be, however we can’t seem to turn down a good fight. Heck, some of our sporting events are fighting (MMA, I’m talking to you). Where is the line drawn? Sporting events are entertainment and many of us are entertained by a bit of aggression and violence, however sports are also provide lessons to us all on the value of hard work and honorable behavior.
I’m not condoning it, or trying to provide some sort of moral compass regarding the issue, but I do think it is an interesting issue for discussion in the sporting world. On paper do I encourage unsportsmanlike, aggressive behavior? No! But I can’t deny I that I do enjoy watching it.
In My Happy Place
It is rare that my real-life gig in beauty pr interacts with my fantasy gig of sports commentator, but this week oh how the stars aligned! Through my work on Vaseline I was able to go to the set where we were filming the one and only Michael Strahan. Talk about making this girl’s day!
Michael was as nice, personable and funny as he is on TV, a job that aside from football, he was probably made to do. Only regret: Not asking whether I should start Romo or Eli this week in fantasy. He probably would have said Manning!
This post is a little off the beaten path of my normal commentary, but I wanted to spread the love.
Last week I was lucky enough to be able to participate in a trapeze class. See the embedded video for a sampling of what I did. Although trapeze and other circus arts aren’t sports in a traditional sense, good lord are they physical! Props to my friend Julia who does these sort of acrobatics on a much more regular basis!
For All You Haters Out There
What fun is football if you you can’t talk a little smack? None, that’s what!
Allstate created a great micro-site surrounding college football which includes these amazing e-cards. Nicely done Allstate! You’ve made heckling my friends just a little bit easier!
I know I’ve been talking about Michigan football a lot lately (I do promise to mix it up a bit), but there is no one in the football world that isn’t talking about Michigan football this Sunday following their epic late game win over ranked Notre Dame. Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com sums up the game so well, I’ll leave all the hard work to him. I’m just going to sit here and gloat for a bit.
Back in the top 25 baby!
