View My Seats

At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

Photo Credit for Header: Alex Foucre-Stimes

Weekend Leftovers

by

Almost as good as the day it was made.

i. Are the Patriots really the best team in the NFL? Sure, their offense is like something out of Pleasantville, but the defense has more flaws than Floyd Mayweather’s tax returns. Let’s wait and see how the New England secondary fairs against the undefeated Buffalo Bills/Ryan Fitzpatrick juggernaut before handing Bill Belichick his 4th Lombardi Trophy. Also, those faint whispers you hear off in the distance are all that remains of the Tedy Bruschi/Chad Ochocinco tweet off. I swear, WEEI was more than partially responsible for overblowing this non story. Anything to take the focus off the epic Red Sox collapse.

ii. At the start of the season, I set the over/under at 4 games before Mike Vick went down with an injury. Needless to say, I wasn’t surprised when the Eagles star QB went down with a minor concussion in the 3rd quarter of last night’s game vs Atlanta. And I know what you’re all going to say, there is no such thing as a “minor” concussion. For those scoring at home, minor concussion ranks just behind “forward lateral” and “student athlete” as the best football oxymoron.

iii. Betting against the Steelers to cover the -14.5 was almost as stupid as my decision not to wear an undershirt at my sister’s summer wedding. When the heat didn’t end up breaking by 5:30 I was left looking and smelling like a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

iv. Congratulations to the Chiefs for officially becoming the team in 2011 that everyone picks against in their suicide pools and fantasy leagues. Although, to be fair, KC has been completely decimated by season ending ACL’s. So if you’re not a fan of head coach Todd Haley, this is your lucky year. Somewhere in Gainesville, Charlie Weis is grinning.

v. I’m happy for Cowboys WR Jesse Holley. His rags to riches story is why we love watching sports. But, the celebration after the catch has got to go. He looked like some sort of preverse cross between Sexual Chocolate and Sergeant Elias gafter he was shot down by Tom Berenger.

view from Met Life stadium courtesy of @ItsMarisaRoss 

 

Monday Musings: Why I Don’t Gamble Edition

by

I spent my early Sunday afternoon not watching football at the Brooklyn Flea Market. Why you ask would I subject myself to such obvious distraction? Well, as it turns out, the flea market isn’t just peddling second hand wares, it was also a gathering for some of the boroughs finest food carts. I will look back on this day and remember the pastries from Dough and fish tacos from El Diablo Taco Truck. Both were much more satisfying than the first half of New York Jets vs Jacksonville Jaguars.

A Quick Trip Around the Bases

1B – To say Joe Mauer had a disappointing season would be a gross understatement. Mauer, who the Twins deactivated for the remainder of the season after coming down with a case of the midwestern pneumonia, ends his season with a .287 average adding 3 HR and 30 RBI over 82 games. I don’t think this is what Twins fans had in mind when Minnesota signed the home grown catcher to a unprecedented 8 year $184 million contract in 2010. With EJ Manuel hobbled, maybe it’s not too late for Mauer to quarterback the Florida State Seminoles after all.

2B – Why would Prince Fielder decide that now is the time to share with us that he is “probably” in his last year with the Milwaukee Brewers? The Brew Crew are inches away from capturing the NL Central title so now is obviously not the best time for their star first baseman to weigh in on eventual free agency. Also, why make this announcement on TBS? I thought the superstation only ran reruns of NCIS and King of Queens.

3B – Ozzie Guillen for Logan Morrison? Sure, why can’t you try and trade a manager for a player? Makes sense for all parties involved. Marlins get the manager of their dreams just in time to “fill” their new stadium while the White Sox get a young outfielder who will bring along his twitter followers. What could possibly go wrong with this scenario?

HR – Oh, and just in case you thought I forgot, the Red Sox are now only two games in front of the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL Wild Card. But who’s keeping track anyway?

Extra Bases – Sunday was a perfect example of why I don’t gamble on individual football games. I’m part of a weekly pool where we pick winners for every game based on the spread. It’s a fairly low stakes pool, with not much more on the line than some bragging rights with my dad and his coworkers. Yesterday was one of those days where I picked a lot of winners, but those teams managed to cover the spread on only a handful of occasions. The dagger for my day had to be when Dallas, favored by 3.5, completed a pass to rarely used Jesse Holley who carried the ball all the way down to the San Fran 1 yard line before being caught from behind by a 49ers defensive back. Another yard and the Cowboys win and cover. However, rather than run the risk of fumbling on the goal line, Dallas decides to kick the game winning field goal on first down and I, along with thousands of others, lose out. This is why I don’t bet on football on individual football games.

view from Fenway Park courtesy of @MichaelDola

 

 

 

 

 

A Weekend of Watching: A Football Life Edition

by

Last night I accidentally stumbled upon the Bill Belichick documentary airing on the NFL Network and came away from the Part I experience totally impressed by the candor and callousness of the famously tight lipped football general who, with this special, has given viewers unprecedented access to the behind the scenes life of an NFL legend. With this special, Belichick has the opportunity to emerge as a likable perhaps even sympathetic figure, a feat which before last night would have been next to impossible.

Here are just a few of my favorite moments:

– Who knew that the underbelly of Giants Stadium included a large raquetball court? At least I think it was a raquetball court. Either that or a fallout shelter. In any case, I could totally picture Parcells ripping 3/4 cigarettes after 10 minutes of modestly paced squash.

– It won’t be long before “eff you Mason” officially enters our everyday vernacular. I also appreciated the “why don’t we talk after the game” which I could see myself using in all too many social situations.

– Tom Brady thinks Lawrence Maroney has bad hands and you know what, Patriots fans would have to agree. Also, it’s clear that Brady’s hair today is the product of some sort Wayne Rooney like enhancement.

What I’m Watching this Weekend

College Football: While most eyes tune in to either Ohio State/Miami or Oklahoma/Florida St., I’m most excited to catch a quick glimpse of Andrew Luck against Arizona. But, to be clear, a 10:45pm start from the desert doesn’t really fit in well with my normal sleep pattern so I may have to wait for the Sunday morning highlights on this one.

Golf: I might as well check in to watch some of the BMW Championship, especially since I’ve spent more than my fair share of time on the couch this summer watching lower stakes tournaments like the St. Jude Classic and Scandinavian Masters.

NFL: Have to pick your battles. Week 2 is not the time to haggle with your wife over a day trip to a flea market in Brooklyn. The hope here is that by not complaining I can build up enough good will to make it home in time for the second half of Pats/Chargers. Different story if this were week 15.

MLB: Will the Boston Red Sox allow the Tampa Bay Rays to overtake them in the race for the AL Wild Card? Not if my Baltimore Orioles have anything to say about it. The Sox play 7 of their last 13 regular season games against the Birds which should make most of New England happy seeing as how Baltimore is currently mired in their 14th straight losing season. Hey, look at the bright side, at least Matt Wieters has 20 homeruns.

view from MSU/LSU courtesy of @kirtissbrown

 

View My Picks: NFL Week 2

by

Week 2 (home team in CAPS)

NEW ORLEANS (-6.5) over Chicago: The Big Easy tops the list of cities I wish I visited before I got married. Next is Last Vegas, last is Paducah, Kentucky.

DETROIT (-8.5) over Kansas City: How did Kansas City, a quaint midwestern hamlet, get to be known for its BBQ? Seems like a fairly random pairing sort of like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes or Rex Ryan and a salad.

Jacksonville (+9.5) over NY JETS: I’ll be in Brooklyn for most of Sunday afternoon and to mark the occasion I expect all you hipsters to don your favorite NBA throwback, replete with a slashed pair of baggy cargo shorts and low top cons. Don’t let me down Williamsburg!

BUFFALO (-3.5) over Oakland: I’m riding these Bills and their new uniforms all the way to the AFC Wild Card!

WASHINGTON (-4) over Arizona: The beltway has jumped all over the Skins as the surprise team in the NFC. Many now believe that Washington will contend for a spot in the playoffs which is remarkable considering that their top 3 wide receivers are Santana Moss, Anthony Armstong, and Jabar Gaffney.

TENNESSEE (+6) over Baltimore: What happened to Chris Johnson last week? 9 rushes for only 24 yards? That’s a horrible performance by even Reggie Bush standards. I guess football players need the preseason after all.

Seattle (+14) over PITTSBURGH: 14 points seems like a lot of points in only the second week of the season. Having said that, I would not be surprised if the Steelers won this game by three touchdowns.

Green Bay (-9.5) over CAROLINA: Ironic that the same week Cam Newton goes off for 400+ passing yards in his NFL debut, The Atlantic publishes a story about the corruption in college sports. It’s a great read and as a historian I really appreciated the comparison of college athletics to colonialism. The whole time I was reading the article I couldn’t help but picture Steve Spurrier aboard the HMS Victory.

MINNESOTA (-3) over Tampa Bay: Don’t like hearing about the large forest fire running along the Minnesota/Canada border and hope it’s under control before destroying too much of the pristine/peaceful northwoods.

INDIANAPOLIS (+2.5) over Cleveland: Is it too late for NBC/ESPN/NFLNET to pull all Colts games out of primetime? If week 1 was any indication, Al and Chris are going to have a tough time filling the air during the second half of Steelers/Colts on Sept 25. I hope Faith Hill is available for a live drop in.

Dallas (-3) over SAN FRANCISCO: Strange that SF Giants CEO Bill Neukom has been asked to step down by the other members of the ownership group. Was it a simple case of “what have you done for me lately” or perhaps a question of financial transparency? Either way, I’ll miss the bow tie.

Houston (-3) over MIAMI: You don’t have to spend nights in the basement of NFL Films to see that this Dolphins secondary is absolutely, positively overmatched. There were a few moments during Monday night’s game against the Patriots where I wanted to physically reach through the television screen and give Nolan Carroll a big hug and tell him that it’s not his fault.

San Diego (+7) over NEW ENGLAND: This Tedy Bruschi/Ochocinco kerfuffle is one of the most overblown kerfuffle’s in the history of kerfuffle’s. Mike and Mike weighed in on the subject this morning and I could have sworn that they were simultaneously agreeing and disagreeing with one another. It was like a bad version of Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s On First”.

DENVER (-4) over Cincinnati: There’s a 60% chance that the entire country doesn’t even know this game is being played. Wait, that doesn’t even make sense.

ATLANTA (+2.5) over Philadelphia: I’m giving Atlanta one more chance before completely bailing on them this season. In retrospect, this is exactly what I should have done with season 1 of the The Killing.

NY GIANTS (-5.5) over St. Louis: Monday Night Football ain’t what it used to be. I can remember being a kid and just hoping to convince my parents to let me watch the first quarter before heading up to bed. Now, I can’t imagine many young football fans clamoring to stay up so they can see Cadillac Williams averaging 3 yards a carry or Eli Manning throwing another red zone interception.

Last Week: 8-8

view from 49ers/Seahawks courtesy of @FaleshaAnkton

Between the Hedges at the US Open Final

by

I was all set to talk about how my friend Chip went down to Athens, Georgia for some good old fashioned SEC football between the Bulldogs and the South Carolina Gamecocks, and then the US Open men’s final between #1 seed Novak Djokovic and #2 seed Rafael Nadal happened. Not to take anything away from Chip’s experience “between the hedges” – by all accounts it was a once in a lifetime experience highlighted by a unannounced trip to a sorority and plenty of hearty tailgating in “the grove” – but the effort and skill on display in Ashe Stadium Monday afternoon into night was impossible to overlook.

In the end, last night was one of the few sporting events where it really didn’t matter who won the match, both were equally deserving of the honor. By far the most compelling aspect of this US Open final was the physical and emotional exertion put forth by these two world class athletes. I was tired out just watching the match from the edge of my couch, tipping and tilting my body with every long rally. How these two players didn’t strain every single muscle in their bodies is beyond me. If it were me on the court last night, I would have needed a week in a hyperbolic chamber to recover from that 4.5 hour marathon.

So Chip, thanks for the view from Sanford Stadium. I still want to know what brought you to Athens in the first place and how in the world you ended up on the 50 yard line. I guess you’ve spent enough time now south of the Mason-Dixon line to warrant inclusion into the world’s largest cocktail party.