November, 2009

Basketball — Comments Off
20
Nov 09

Lakers Beat Bulls

The Bulls have been doing a great job so far this year. The Lakers are trying to defend their title for the next few years. It’s a tough year for them so far because Pau Gasol hasn’t been in the lineup for a long time. But now he’s there and it’s going well. He started out by scoring 24 points in his debut. This gave his team a 15 point win last night, stopping the Bulls in their great record at the moment. They have won several of the last games and are almost in the lead of their division. The Lakers are clearly in the lead and are on a good trajectory again. It’s still early, but hopefully this sets the tone for both teams this season.

NFL American Football — Comments Off
20
Nov 09

Bethel College QB Holds On To His Gonads and Strife

O MY GOD ONE TIME I TOOK A SNAP TURNED AROUND AND THREW THE BALL OVER MY HEAD AND SAID WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Seriously, it’s more fun if you’re listening to this while watching that video.

(Spotted on The Sporting Blog.)

NFL American Football — Comments Off
20
Nov 09

Worst Way Not to Score Ever?

You’ve got it all figured out. You’ve broken through the backline. You’ve got an angle on the goalkeeper. All you have to do is slot the ball home and celebrate your goal.

Then, this happens…

That’s Daniel Nardiello, a Blackpool striker on loan at Bury, watching his certain goal roll to a halt a few inches from glory. What’s even worse about this is that they were playing at Gigg Lane, Bury’s home ground. So much for home field advantage.

You know where that would have been a goal? On any pitch in Major League Soccer. Yes. Perhaps Mr. Nardiello should ply his trade in America. We could use the strikers.

(Spotted on 101 Great Goals.)

NFL American Football — Comments Off
19
Nov 09

Carolina Panthers Could Benefit From NFC Suckitude

DeAngelo Williams & Jonathan Stewart

After watching Jake Delhomme shit the bed against the Eagles in Week 1 this year, I fully expected the Carolina Panthers to have a very long and very ugly season. So I tuned out and focused on my Steelers, who then proceeded to shit the bed twice against the Bengals — which was no fun to watch, but didn’t make me think Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes were anywhere close to being dashed like the Panthers’ playoff dreams. Hey, the Steelers won a Super Bowl as a six-seed. Just get ‘em in the door, right?

Regarding the Panthers, however, there was one thing that I didn’t count on — the NFC’s extraordinary ability to suck.

Yes, even at 4-5, the Carolina Panthers are only one game behind all the Wild Card contenders in the NFC, and they fought their way into that position by running the ball, playing good defense, and generally ignoring Steve Smith’s incessant bitching that he’s not getting the ball enough.

What, exactly, does Smith expect? When your biggest liability is your overpaid quarterback and your top two running backs are gaining 4.98 yards a carry, you run the damn ball. Is Smith volunteering to line up in the backfield? The man has proven incapable of enjoying success when his numbers are down — although really, that just makes him a typical wide receiver, doesn’t it?

Either way, the Panthers have inexplicably found their way into the playoff race, and they can pull one step closer to being a contender — at least, as much as any mediocre team can be a contender in a conference that the Saints and Vikings are utterly dominating — with a win tonight over the Miami Dolphins. (8:00 PM, NFL Network) I’m not sure even the most ardent Panthers fans could have predicted that this scenario, especially with Thomas Davis and Jordan Gross out of the lineup with major injuries.

Meanwhile, the great irony of this game is that Dan Henning, who was fired by the Panthers for being the most boring play caller ever, is now being hailed as a creative genius for building the Wildcat formation in Miami. Where was that creativity when you were in Charlotte, Dan? Oh, right, you didn’t have Ronnie Brown… wait, you won’t have Ronnie Brown tonight, either. I guess you’ll have to put something together with Ricky Williams and Pat White. How many fascinating and innovative ways can run the ball off-tackle tonight, Dan? Show us that sparkling offensive creativity now, Dan.

Of course, all this mockery of Dan Henning — which, to be honest, is fun — becomes worthless if Jake starts tossing pick sixes again like they’re going out of style. Let’s just hope this Panthers team builds off that win against Atlanta last Sunday and does all the right things tonight. I suspect the NFL Network is thinking the same thing. The last thing they want to be known for is showing spectacular quarterback implosions every week.

NFL American Football — Comments Off
19
Nov 09

There Is No Justice In Football

This is how France got into the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

There was nothing legitimate about this goal. Thierry Henry clearly used his hand to direct the ball and set up William Gallas for the game-winning score. However, none of the officials saw it. The goal stood. France goes to South Africa. Ireland goes home.

There is plenty of blame to go around. Henry will be labeled as a cheat for all eternity. Referee Martin Hansson has been labeled an incompetent, even by the press in his homeland. Some will use this incident to call for video technology. Others will argue that the Europa League-style backline officials would have caught this chicanery, disallowed the goal and booked Henry for cheating.

It changes nothing, however, and it puts the lie to the notion that football is somehow supposed to be fair and just. There is nothing fair about the games we call football. How fair was it to England that Diego Maradona’s goal was allowed to stand in 1986? How fair was it to Missouri that Colorado won a national championship after scoring on 5th down? You can find plenty of incidents over the last century where someone took advantage of the ref and got an undeserved win out of it. Humans are fallible. These things will happen, and people will tell you that if you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying. If you can’t overcome the treachery with your own play, you’ll just have to live with the result.

I know that’s the last thing anyone in Ireland wants to hear today. They’ll tweet bloody murder. They’ll agree with every word Robbie Keane said. They’ll point to the Frenchman in charge of UEFA and claim he somehow planned this. In the end, it doesn’t matter. The goal counts. France goes to South Africa. Ireland goes home.

Perhaps if karma counts for anything, France’s World Cup adventure will be as short as its EURO 2008 adventure. Hey, Raymond Domenech is still in charge. It wouldn’t be all that odd.

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