Your NFL Hall of Famers for 2009 are....

Bruce Smith, DE Buffalo Bills

Rod Woodson, CB/S San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, and Baltimore Ravens

Bob Hayes, WR Dallas Cowboys

Randall McDaniel, OG Minnesota Vikings

Derrick Thomas, LB Kansas City Chiefs

Ralph Wilson, Owner Buffalo Bills

Congratulations to all of you, the Hall of Fame game will be between the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans on August the 9th.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Super Bowl 43 preview

By Rick Morris

One of the most low-key media weeks of the modern Super Bowl era is behind us now as the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for the ultimate football struggle this Sunday night in Tampa. These two teams took a characteristically low-key approach to the game's grandest stage, leaving us thankfully short of tabloid headlines and trash-talking nonsense to digest.

One storyline that has been beaten into the ground is Pittsburgh's success in the Super Bowl era and the complete futility of the Cardinals team going back to the 1940s. There are many great angles to this game on and off the field, but let's start by examining some of the more offbeat ones:

^ Pittsburgh's only loss in a Super Bowl came IN Arizona 13 years ago in Super Bowl 30 at the hands of Dallas. To this day, Neil O'Donnell's face is on the dartboard of every meth lab in the greater Pittsburgh area ...

^ Al Michaels and John Madden are calling the first Super Bowl on NBC since they regained NFL broadcast rights in 2006. When was their last Super Bowl together? Super Bowl 40, the last NFL game on ABC in February 2006 -- a game that also featured Pittsburgh. In that game, the Steelers beat (or perhaps "beat" is a more appropriate term, what with the big part the refs played in that travesty) the Seahawks -- who were coached by Mike Holmgren. "The Walrus" also lost Super Bowl 32, which was the last Super Bowl on NBC, giving him the unique distinction of losing the last game on two different broadcast networks.

^ This game follows in the footsteps of some true classics. 40 years ago in Super Bowl 3, the Jets and Joe Namath shocked the world. 30 years ago in Super Bowl 13, the Steelers and Cowboys played the second of their 1970s epic battles. 20 years ago in Super Bowl 23, Joe Montana led one of the greatest drives of all time to lead the Niners past the Bengals in the final minute. 10 years ago in Super Bowl 33, the Broncos and Falcons ... well, every rule has its exception, I guess.

^ This is only the fourth time in Super Bowl history that two QBs who have won Super Bowls will go head-to-head, albeit this is the first time that one of them won his ring with another franchise (Kurt Warner with the Rams in Super Bowl 34). The AFC won all three previous games (Pittsburgh over Dallas in Super Bowl 10, Pittsburgh over Dallas in Super Bowl 13 and the Los Angeles Raiders over Washington in Super Bowl 18 -- the first Super Bowl in Tampa). Now, there are many battles between QBs who would ultimately go on to win the big one, but very few that took place when both of them already had. And how about this note? Warner won his previous Super Bowl in St. Louis -- the former home of the Cardinals.

Before the hardcore analysis begins, I want to direct you to some other fine coverage on the Internet:

^ Our own FDH New York Bureau designed some fun prop bets for your Super Bowl party.

^ The great Football Outsiders site checks out some of the Xs and Os.

^ Greg Cosell, one of the best in the biz at dissecting film (along with our good pal The Scout Ken Becks of Gridiron Evaluations!), tells in his Sporting News column about how the two QBs in the game differ -- one is much better before the snap and one is much better after.

^ ESPN's analysts make their picks.

^ Here's NFL.com's Super Bowl home page.

The obvious media hook to this game centers around the fact that the Steelers passed over Ken Whisenhunt for their head coaching job two years ago when Bill Cowher retired. Whisenhunt was the longtime offensive coordinator for Pittsburgh and he was designing the plays (including the sweet flea-flicker) when the Steelers won the Super Bowl three years ago. Many columnists have drawn comparisons this week to the Tampa Bay-Oakland Super Bowl of six years ago when Jon Gruden used his inside knowledge of the Raiders to help his Bucs disembowel them. Given that Gruden's protege Bill Callahan was leading Oakland on that day and Whisenhunt will be facing Mike Tomlin (who was unconnected to the Pittsburgh organization prior to being hired as head coach and who has made some changes, especially on the offensive side of the ball), it's very easy to overstate the advantage that Arizona gets from familiarity. Coach Whiz may be privy to some individual player tendencies and some lingering organizational philosophies that may be of some use, however.

One area of relative continuity is the defensive side of the ball for Pittsburgh, where longtime genius Dick LeBeau continues to design the "Blitzburgh" schemes. When Tomlin (a Tony Dungy protege) took over, he initially made noises about moving the Steelers more towards the Cover 2 scheme, and while Pittsburgh doesn't operate exactly as they did when Bill Cowher was supervising LeBeau, Tomlin was smart enough to back off and allow the necessary continuity. LeBeau's tenure has been so great that Mike Ditka grumbled this week about "idiots" voting for the Hall of Fame who don't give assistant coaches the credence in their voting that they should (incidentally, a stand that I have long held). Again, some of the wrinkles are different, as are some key personnel, but Whisenhunt's familiarity with his former defensive counterpart's philosophies will prove useful.

Now, these Steelers aren't the same as they were in the Super Bowl three years ago in some key regards. They're even better defensively, the top unit in the league this year with NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison having come into his own. But offensively? That's a different story. The experience that Ben Roethlisberger continues to gather has not offset a weakening offensive line (which has lost talent over the past few years -- not least of which the dominating Alan Faneca -- and the great O line coach Russ Grimm, who joined Whisenhunt in Arizona) and a running game that lost super rookie Rashard Mendenhall for the season and stud Willie Parker for parts of it with an injury. With a hobbled Parker and a better-than-expected-but-still-not-great Mewelde Moore manning the position for Pittsburgh, they finished a disappointing 23rd in the league in terms of rushing the ball. The receiving corps has been solid, but Hines Ward's good comeback season has a cloud over it at the moment after suffering a knee injury in the AFC Championship Game.

The Steelers come into this game undeniably battle-tested, having competed against the league's toughest schedule (with out-of-division games against the brutal AFC South and NFC East). Conversely, the Cardinals played many cupcakes en route to winning the pathetic NFC West, another reason that their 9-7 record impressed so few coming into the playoffs. The team was particularly outmatched when they played on the road in the cold, so balmy Tampa will be quite to their liking.

It would be easy for Arizona to take heart in the fact that their worst-in-the-NFL rushing attack wasn't much lower statistically than Pittsburgh's. It would also be grossly misleading, since injuries accounted for most of Pittsburgh's falloff and Parker seems fairly healthy now. Alas, Arizona came by their putrid numbers honestly as Edgerrin James finally showed the effects of the countless "city miles" he racked up during his decade in the league and Tim Hightower proved adequate as a TD vulture back at best. The Cards mysteriously improved their ground attack during the playoffs, and against some really good defenses to boot, but none on a par with Pittsburgh's.

The alpha and omega of Arizona's offense is the passing attack with The Recycled Miracle Kurt Warner at the helm. In displacing Matt Leinart and returning to Pro Bowl status, Warner became the best QB in the league this season statistically against the blitz (bringing back memories of his Greatest Show on Turf days when TV announcers every week would make the point about how his days in the Arena Football League honed his quick passing skills) -- which makes the matchup against LeBeau's attacking unit that much more intriguing. And while Steve Breaston became arguably the league's best #3 WR and Anquan Boldin was another elite option (when he was healthy and not crying about his contract), Larry Fitzgerald was on his way to becoming a bona fide legend at age 25. Rarely have we seen in the recent history of any sport a postseason that yanks a player up from the ranks of All-Star to arguably one of the very best regardless of position (with Henrik Zetterberg's almost unparalleled two-way play in last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs perhaps coming closest to mind), but the humble Fitzgerald has provided just such a historic burst of greatness. The beauty of LeBeau's defense is that it camoflagues a lack of shutdown corners, but the Pittsburgh secondary will find it very hard indeed to double-team Fitzgerald as needed with the threat of Boldin (if sufficiently healthy) and Breaston also evident. And as much as the Steelers have suffered for Grimm's loss, that's how much the Cards' offensive linemen have benefitted.

On the defensive side of the ball, analysts everywhere have been lining up to shake the hand of coordinator Clancy Pendergast for his team's great playoff performances -- when in fact they should be shaking him by the lapels and screaming in his face about how his team could have underachieved so horribly in the regular season (19th in the league in defense). Arizona's run has been especially mysterious because the running game and the defense have both improved so unexpectedly in the postseason. The Cardinals don't have a lot of big names on defense, but they have more than a few players like Adrian Wilson who should be more famous than they are. This is a good unit if they play up to their potential, as they have recently.

But one troubling note for Arizona fans is the fact that the team has been so reliant on causing turnovers in this postseason run. Two weeks ago, I correctly noted that Baltimore could be vulnerable against Pittsburgh because of a similar overreliance defensively on causing turnovers.

Speaking of Baltimore, the Steelers are very fortunate to have had the Super Bowl bye week after that game. The Steelers, Titans and Ravens were arguably the most physical teams in the league this year and Baltimore felt the effects of having to play the other two aforementioned teams in consecutive weeks in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Steelers have had a chance to heal up a bit this postseason with two playoff bye weeks and an initial playoff game that might as well have been flag football against an exceedingly soft Charger team that melted in the snow.

So what will decide this game? If you love the Xs and Os of football as I do, the battle of Arizona's offense against Pittsburgh's defense will be truly epic. I always note that the winner of a game is determined by who forces their style of play on the other team and this will certainly be the case here. If Arizona can turn this game into a track meet, they will win and it may not even be close. Warner is a legitimate big-game QB (leaving aside the donut hole of his career between the great runs in St. Louis and Arizona) and Roethlisberger turned in one of the absolute worst performances of a winning QB in Super Bowl history three years ago. That scenario is fairly doubtful, however, unless the unlikely resurgence of the Arizona running game can endure against the toughest challenge they have faced yet. But if that can happen, if James and Hightower and the dangerous-in-space J.J. Arrington can keep the Steelers on their heels, then Pittsburgh is in big trouble. Conversely, if Harrison and fellow OLB LaMarr Woodley can apply a lot of pressure without LeBeau having to commit to full-out blitzes, then Arizona's offense will be unable to function effectively.

When Pittsburgh has the ball, Roethlisberger has to be careful to not continue to pad Arizona's impressive recent interception tally. But the Cardinals have to be wary of his ability to make throws when flushed out of the pocket and the difficulty in bringing him to the ground. He is reputed to be at less than 100% physically and if either he or Ward is at subpar capacity, the Steelers will really struggle. The guess here is that both will be functional for what they need to do -- and remember that Ward is more of a possession receiver anyway. Pittsburgh would probably be feeling much more desperate if speedy Santonio Holmes was the one with a gimpy knee. Parker needs to outperform the other RBs Arizona has played against in the playoffs in order to give the passing game an honest chance. I would not be surprised if the Steelers threw in a few gadget plays in order to give the Mad Genius Whisenhunt something to think about -- since he'll surely put in a few for the Arizona offense.

In the end, the unlikelihood of Arizona being able to establish a truly balanced offensive attack looks to be their undoing. Pittsburgh does not have the offensive explosiveness that would indicate that they could win in a blowout (minus big turnovers to be generated by safety Troy Polamalu and company), so this one figures to be close. Can Arizona win? Most definitely, as we have established -- under the right circumstances. Those don't seem exceedingly likely to materialize in my book. The pick here is for a moderately exciting 24-16 win for Pittsburgh with Willie Parker taking home the MVP for chewing up yards and clock time -- helping the defense to mess with the rhythm of Warner's offense. Having said that, my playoff predictions are an uncharacteristically weak 3-5, so take the prediction with more than a few grains of salt. For that matter, three of my five losing predictions have come at the hands of Arizona, as I have been part of the army of skeptics who picked them to lose every week. Now that I have made my unbiased prediction, I will note on an extremely biased personal level that, as a lifelong resident of Cleveland, I sincerely hope that I am as accurate in picking the outcome of this Arizona game as I have been the entire postseason. Go Cardinals! And America, do yourself a favor and stick around for the special episode of "The Office" after the game as it should be outstanding as well.

By Rick Morris with No comments

Outside the Boxscore's Favorite Super Bowl Commercials: NFL Network's "Tomorrow"

For this one, we flashback to Super Bowl 37 and the NFL Network's commercial entitled "Tomorrow."

Also, I didn't know that Jerry Jones was so flexible.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Outside the Boxscore's Favorite Super Bowl Commercials: "Welcome aboard, Hank"

This one comes from the year of 2008, when a Clydesdale doesn't make the sqaud until one intrepid dog decides to help.

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Outside's the Boxscore favorite Super Bowl Commercials: "Replay"

Budweiser has usually presented some of the better commercials and this one is among one of my favorites.

This is what happens when the referee needs instant replay help....

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Outside the Boxscore's Favorite Super Bowl Commercials: Go Daddy Girl

Before the days of Danica Patrick and Amanda Beard, Go Daddy was a simple internet website with a simple goal.

Get a hot girl and then make her dance.

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Outside the Boxscore's favorite Super Bowl Commercials: Fed-Ex Castaway

This one from Fed Ex shows what happens when maybe you should open the package....

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Outside the Boxscore's favorite Super Bowl Commercials: "Caveman Fed Ex"

This classic commercial from Super Bowl XL shows what happens when you don't use Fed Ex.

Even in the prehistoric stage....

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Outside the Boxscore's Favorite Super Bowl Commercials: Bud Bowl 3

Now we can flashback to 1990, the other big game that was happening during the Super Bowl was Bud Bowl.

Every year since 1988, Budweiser faced off against Bud Light for Beer supremacy.

This is Bud Bowl 3 in its entirety.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Super Bowl XLIII: Ben's Prediction

Well, it is time everyone for the biggest game of the year, Super Bowl XLIII. I would like to first point out the fact that I went 6-4 during this playoff run. If we are to compare this to NFL analysts from ESPN, only Mike Golic had a better record.

Plain and simple, this game is going to be a battle between the Cardinals offense versus the Pittsburgh defense. Larry Fitzgerald will need to have a big game and expose the Pittsburgh seconday. The Steelers have to step and cover one of the toughest wide receiver in the game.

We have to keep in mind, the Cardinals will have to keep the Steelers running attack of Willie Parker and the passing of Ben Roethlisberger in check. These are essentially the two matchups that will make and break Super Bowl XLIII.

If we are to look back at the closest match-up to this, Super Bowl XXVII between the Oakland Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is very similiar. The best offense of the Raiders vs. the best defense of the Buccaneers and the Buccaneers won 48-21.

Conventional logic would tell us that the team with the best defense would probably end up on top.

At this point, I would tend to agree. However though, I am rooting for the Cardinals which have become the darlings of the NFL.

The best anecdote for this was by Adam Carolla, "Your in a bar and it's last call. There is one woman left and there two guys, Charlie Sheen and a 42 year old virgin. Rooting for the Steelers is like rooting for Charlie Sheen."

However it's tough to say that the Steelers will not win this game due to the dismantling of the teams that they have played in the playoffs. I like the Steelers to become the winningest team in Super Bowl history.

Steelers 24 Cardinals 10

By Ben Chew with No comments

Tim Couch and the United Way

I forgot about all of the old United Way Commercials and just found them again today. I have to say, as a Browns fan, this is hilarious.

By SpastikMooss with 2 comments

Rod Tidwell = Anquan Boldin?

Just remembered, in Jerry MaGuire, Cuba Gooding Jr. plays a Diva WR for the Cardinals. Well...now Anquan fills a similar role on the same team. This scene is particularly eerie...it's where Gooding gets knocked out in a game and feels like the Jets game earlier this year for Boldin.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

That referee doesn't like Owls does he...

Well, it's already a new year and well, this might take the cake as the most interesting story of the year.

Last night, a college basketball game between the Rice Owls and the Tulane Green Wave turned into the Sammy the Owl show.

The only problem was that the referee wasn't laughing, Sammy gave him a playful love-tap that got him ejected.

After Sammy got tossed, The Owls ran out of steam as Tulane pulled off the win by feather, 61-59.

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Outside the Boxscore's Favorite Super Bowl Commercials: Bud Light "Caveman invents wheel"

We now flash back to the year of 2008, Bud Light aired this ad during the third quarter of Super Bowl XLII.

A caveman invents the wheel to get Bud Light to party.....only problem is "wheel....sucks"

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Outside the Boxscore's Favorite Super Bowl Commercials: Terry Tate, Office Linebacker

If we are to go way back to the year of 2003, the most popular Super Bowl commercials was a Reebok production of Terry Tate, Office Linebacker.

As they say, the rest is history.

Also, "You need a cover sheet on the TPS report"

By Ben Chew with No comments

Outside the Boxscore's Favorite Super Bowl Commercials: GM's suicidal robot

This one is from Super Bowl XLI and General Motors received some criticism for the depiction of a robot who commits suicide.

However, this is one of the more intriguing ads from Super Bowl XLI.

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Outside the Boxscore's Favorite Super Bowl Commercials: Bud Light, "He's got an Axe"

In honor of Super Bowl XLIII, Outside the Boxscore is going post some of our favorite Super Bowl commercials until the big game.

This one is from 2007, Bud Light "He's got an Axe"

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SoBe 2009 Super Bowl Commercial: Ray Lewis turns into a Lizard

We are only a couple of days away from the big game and we have found one of the Super Bowl commercials on youtube.

It's from SoBe company and it stars NFL's players Ray Lewis, Jared Allen, and Justin Tuck.

The ad speaks for itself as they do a ballet routine and turns into a lizard dance party.....what?

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Wake Forest upsets #1 ranked Duke

While you probably chilling with your homies at the crib, you missed one of the better college basketball game when #1 ranked Duke faced off against #4 ranked Wake Forest.

Although Wake held a lead late, Duke came back and a last-second shot was the difference.

Wake Forest forward James Johnson hit a lay-up on an inbounds play to get the victory 70-68.

That's three teams that went to #1 that have been upset in the past month. College basketball is back, isn't it.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Darnell Dockett nickname is well...odd

Although the video above is.... well, we still can't explain the celebration.

Cardinals defensive lineman Darnell Dockett has new nicknames and it's "fart box".

Yep, fart box. Here is the quote:

"He takes these protein shakes where he's trying to keep himself healthy, but when it comes out we all suffer," [nose tackle Bryan] Robinson said. "It's nasty."

Next Question.....

(Courtesy of the Deuce of Davenport)

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Billy Gillispie has no time for your "dumb question"

For all of you college basketball fans, there was a nice SEC tussle between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Kentucky Wildcats.

ESPN reporter Jeanine Edwards asked Gillispie regarding the play of Jodie Meeks who had been shut down during the first half of the game.

Well, here is his response.

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Mario Chalmers forgets he's on candid camera

One of the pleasant surprises this year is the play of Miami Heat rookie Mario Chalmers.

However, this gaffe from NBA TV's gamenight is probably going to be remembered for awhile.

I guess he forgot that they can do television interviews now.

(Courtesy of NESW Sports)

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"I'm the real Miss Brady, marry me"

With Super Bowl media day underway, I figured we'd look back at one of my favorite moments from last year.

Mexican reporter Ines Gomez Mont dressed up in a wedding dress and proposed to Tom Brady.

Brady's classic line of "I have alot of Miss Brady's in my life" was pretty much up there.

Very sadly, no one has proposed to Ben Roethlisberger....yet

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Kermit the Frog loves the NBA

Recently, I've been noticing alot of the sports blogs that I frequent have decided to post old sports commercials or spots to promote the game.

Here is the 90's version of the NBA's "I love this game" commercial with a special guest of the puppet variety.

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Charles Barkley and Nirvana?

And...it's awkward. But kinda funny.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Super Bowl 43 Predicitions

So here we are finally, less than a week away from the Super Bowl. It's the Cardinals who, who very few people expected, and the Steelers, who very many people expected. And Ben hasn't posted his views yet, so I'll put in my two cents.

First of all, it's weirding me out that the Cardinals look a lot like the 1999 Super Bowl Winning Rams. For one...the Cardinals used to be from St. Louis...so that's weird. Offense versus Defense? Alright, that could work. Kurt Warner starting the season as a possible backup and ending in the super bowl? Got it. Two amazing WRs? Sure (Holt and Bruce then, Fitzgerald and Boldin now). And even weirder, the Cardinals current starting RB? He was the guy who took over for Marshall Faulk when Faulk moved to the Rams (eeeerie). So Edge James now is no Faulk in his prime. But Warner is Warner...and the WRs match up well too (Bruce was great but Fitzgerald is a beast...Boldin and Holt is close). And that offense won a Super Bowl.

So could this one? Well, Pittsburgh's Defense is spectacular. Larry Fitzgerald can probably beat Ike Taylor 1 on 1. But throw Troy Polmalu in on the deeper stuff and James Harrison in on the shorter stuff and it's a little harder for the guy. And if you make it Boldin/Steve "I love my mom and comic books" Breaston/Edge vs. Ward/Holmes/Parker...the game gets a little trickier. A few weeks ago I would've called this an easy win for the Steelers because the Cardinals Defense was nowhere to be found. But as I mentioned in my last prediction post, they've finally come to play. And I think it continues Sunday, doing just enough for the win.
Final score: Cardinals 24, Steelers 21

Ooo. Apparently Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are playing halftime. That's pretty sweet. Hard to top Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from last year in this man's opinion, but if anyone could do it, it's the Boss.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

The NHL All-Star game ends in a shoot-out

There was alot of things to watch on television last night but probably the thing that you didn't watch was the NHL All-Star game.

Although there was no Sidney Crosby, the game was pretty good and ended in a shoot-out.

(If you don't want to know what happened, don't read further.)

The East pulled out the victory by the score of 11 to 10.

Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin hit the game winning goal in the shoot-out.

(Courtesy of Awful Announcing)

By Ben Chew with No comments

Matt Leinart even loses at Go Karts

In the tradition of random videos staring Cardinals and Steelers, here's one of Cardinals backup QB Matt Leinart being interviewed after losing a Go Kart race. To a girl.

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Arizona gets stepped on literally...

When watching college basketball, you expect to see a couple of players who have good foot-work.

Well, Houston's Aubrey Coleman took that to heart when he stepped on the face of Arizona's Chase Budinger.

Coleman was called for a flagrant and was ejected, Arizona came back to win 96-90. Now that's just a feet by itself.

By Ben Chew with No comments

The NBA tour feels Richard Hamilton's pressure

In my personal opinion, no one does better ad campaigns for sports that the NBA.

Their recent series of "Where amazing happens" has a minature tour-bus follow around NBA players in game situations and other scenarios.

Here is my favorite about Richard Hamilton and pressure of making a free-throw.

By Ben Chew with 1 comment

Chair Fight!!!!!!!!!!

Something strange happened at the Australian Open, a couple days ago and well I guess there are tennis holigans.

After a watch between Novak Djokovic versus Amer Delik, a fight broke out between fans who through chairs.

Honestly, who throws a chair.

A young woman was injured but it was only a minor injury.

But honestly, who throw a chair....

By Ben Chew with No comments

The Fog Bowl

When I think of some of the weirdest games ever played in NFL history, the first game that comes to mind is the 1988 divisional playoff game between the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles.

That game is known as the fog bowl.

The fog got so bad on the field that players were unable to see the ball or honestly anything else. The Bears won this game 20-12 and well the pictures speak for themselves.

(Also big ups to BEERZGOOD5 for his Chicago Bears video)

By Ben Chew with No comments

Persistence, Thy Name is Damon Hollins

So I'm on mlbtraderumors.com today, and I notice that this guy Damon Hollins just got signed by the Phillies.

So no big deal, small move. But I thought he was retired. Sure enough, he wasn't in the MLB in 2007, playing in Japan instead. Although I guess last year he was in the minors for the Royals.

But that's not all. Apparently Hollins was a true rookie (after 3-4 years of seasoning in the minors) for the Braves in 1998. He was then in the minors in 99. And 2000. All the way until 2004. Wow, I know there are some guys who spend forever in the minors and wait forever to get big league at bats. But to get a taste of the big leagues and then spend 6 more seasons waiting for a second look? That's just awful. It wasn't all bad, as his 2004 time with the Braves was noticed by the (Devil) Rays, who then signed him to compete for CF playing time. But his average dipped and he never really showed good speed in his 2 full seasons of major league service (plus he was battling for spots with some guys named Baldelli and Crawford) and so after the 2006 the Rays let him leave.

But this guy keeps plugging away trying to get back, so my hats off to Hollins...congrats on having a chance at a big league club again. He doesn't walk enough and he hits for low average, and he's not a plus defender (In his last full season he had an awful -7.1 VORP and a terrible -.181 MLVr). But Hollins does have some pop and is certainly persistent...maybe that'll work out for him this time around.

I leave you with a pretty sweet Hollins quote:
"It's like whoa, this is what you want to be doing. This is why you put in all the hard work. Why am I doing this? Why am I eating so healthy? Why am I running so much? This is why. All this hard work pays off. It really pays off."

Let's hope it does.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Smash and Dash Origins, Panthers vs. Titans.

What happens when your team gets ousted from the playoff hunt?

Well, you go on the Best Damn Sports Show and arguing about it. The video above is Carolina runningbacks Johnathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams arguing with Titans running-back Lendale White about who is the "real" smash and dash.

I don't know to describe this as sad or just another Best Damn Sports Show episode without Tom Arnold.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Larry Fitzgerald: The Ballboy?

Apparently this amazingly gifted WR was once a Ballboy for the Minnesota Vikings, which I never knew. Pretty cool video of Cris Carter and Larry Fitzgerald talking about the past and both being amazing WRs.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Who Dey? Who Cares!

Hines Ward does the Weather for a local Pittsburgh News Station. The results are actually pretty funny.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Ray Lewis Not a Raven? Not if Steve Biscotti's Wife has anything to say about it

I was looking at NFL.com's Around the Web today and found this little gem about Ray Lewis. Apparently New York and Dallas papers are writing about the future Hall of Fame linebacker, pondering how great their defenses would be with this beast of a man in the middle. But Steve Biscotti, Ravens Owner, recently responded to these claims:

"I’ve been hopeful forever that we’re going to work [out] a deal,” Bisciotti said. “Last year, I said I don’t think that other people are going to value Ray Lewis higher than we do. He’s showing at 33 that he’s capable of playing like a 28-year-old. I’ve got my wife on budget already to try to save some money so we can sign him.”

Looks like it'll be Ramen and Mac and Cheese for a while in the Biscotti household. Here's to hoping Ray stays in Baltimore, especially in an offseason where we may see LT switch teams.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Would you like a double alley-oop with that?

Yesterday, I posted a video of a dunk in college basketball where a player stepped on a another one on the way for a slam.

Today's might top that. This is a double alley-oop by players Jacob Bradewie and Ike Nwamu of Wescheser Country Day School.

I do feel bad for the kid that got dunked on but it's high school, he'll forget about it when he gets to college.

(Courtesy of With Leather and Hot Clicks)

By Ben Chew with No comments

Michael Irvin gets his own reality show....about the Cowboys

While most of us are probably pretty much geeked for Super Bowl XLIII, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin got some good news in that he will get his own reality show.

However very sadly it will not be about a day in the life of Michael Irvin.

The untitled project will be about twelve players trying to earn a roster spot onto the Dallas Cowboys practice sqaud.

Michael Irvin will be the host and the show will most likely be shown on Spike TV.

If it is anything like his hall of fame speech, I will be watching.

By Ben Chew with No comments

NBA All Star Voting Videos

What do Joe Alexander, Rudy Fernandez, Devin Harris and Amare Stoudemire all have in common? They all made hilarious videos to try to win votes for the dunk contest and/or all star game this year. Joe's are pretty funny, but Amare's are hilarious, like this one right here.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Jarret Johnson knows levitation...

This is one of the most incredible dunks that I have seen performed in a live game.

Anderson University sophomore Jarret Johnson slams one down versus Coker College.

One thing to say about this video is "Watch Out."

(Courtesy of The Sporting Blog and Brahsome)

By Ben Chew with 1 comment

Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes have some "Me Time"

I'm trying to find interesting videos of Steelers and Cardinals. It doesn't get much more interesting than manicures and pedicures.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Remembering September 30, 2007

Most of you are probably asking why the above date is significant.

Well, if you go back a couple NFL season that was a last time the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals met to a play a game of football.

The above video is Cardinals punt returner Steve Breaston returning a punt 73 yards for a touchdown.

The next game they will meet in Super Bowl XLIII.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Draft Results Out - There's Hope for the Lions

So NFL.com just released the order for the 2009 Draft. Everyone knew the Lions were going to get the first overall pick, but I completely forgot that they also have the Cowboys pick (number 20) as a result of the Roy Williams trade. Plus they got a new Defensive Coordinator in Gunther Cunningham...so that's pretty nice.

Also to be noted is that the Eagles have 2 1st round picks as well (21st and the Panthers' 28th). Lower in the round but still kind of cool to have 2 1st rounders.

Rounding out the top 5 after the Lions, by the way, are the Rams, Chiefs (who could suprise next year in that weak AFC West), Seahawks, and Browns.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Jeff Kent Retires after 17 years

Jeff Kent, the best offensive 2B of all time, made the call to hang up his cleats today.

So the question is, is he a Hall of Famer?

Now a 377 HRs, 1,518 RBI, a .290 BA and a .500 Slg are pretty good. Damn good for a 2B in a time when those numbers just didn't happen for 2B. And 5 All Star appearances and one MVP award (that probably should have gone to Bonds, but oh well) look damn good. So I guess so. I don't think he was Rogers Hornsby good, but he was definitely Ryne Sandberg "change what people think of a second baseman" good. So congratulations on a wonderful career Mr. Kent, and best of luck to you when the voting comes.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Amazing Madden 2007 Interception

I know it's not real sports, but I came across this amazing Madden play and thought I had to post the video. Sadly that is illegal in the NFL.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

And this one has over 1,000,000 views?

Tony Romo mimicking the ref. It sucks you can't do excessive endzone celebrations, but at least you can mess with the ref and not have to pay for it.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Terrell Owens doing the Soulja Boy

It is what it says. It's also really weird that a video like this has over 800,000 views.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Anquan Boldin

I was looking for more footage of Anquan Boldin's hissy fit on the sidelines during this weekend's game, and I came across this. Boldin scores a touchdown and throws the ball at the endzone wall in celebration. Only he misses the wall. It's only 6 seconds, but it's hilarious.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

In search of someone who is Tebow-esque....

Just when you thought that Tim Tebow love couldn't be taken to another level, it is on this post on craigslist.

(Courtesy of The Sporting Blog)

By Ben Chew with No comments

The Ravens-Steelers hit that will keep you talking

Nearing the end of the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, Ravens running back Willis McGahee went to catch a pass and was rudely met by Steelers defensive back Ryan Clark.

McGahee was carted off the field with a neck injury and his status is still uncertain.

Was it a legal hit or not, you decide.

By Ben Chew with 2 comments

Super Bowl XXLIII: Steelers vs. Cardinals

When I think of the most surrealistic images from the NFL Championship games of this weekend, this one came to mind. Arizona Cardinals owner Bill Bidwell holding the NFC Championship trophy, it feel weird doesn't it. Most fans said that this notorious cheap-skate was going to run the franchise into the ground and move it to somewhere else. Now the Cardinals are NFC Champions.

You have to give them a ton of credit for blowing a 18 point lead in the second half only to come back and win it on a last second touchdown drive. Tim Hightower's second effort touchdown run will live in Cardinals lore forever. Now they are off to Tampa to play the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers who were dominate defensively when they intercepted wunderkind Joe Flacco three times which one of them was returned for a touchdown by Troy Palomalu. The Steelers offense was not spectular but they have the play-making potential from wide-receiver Santonio Holmes who hauled in sixty-five yard touchdown pass.

All in All, it was great weekend of football and now we have two weeks to banter and talk about Super Bowl XXLIII. (wait...that might be a negative.)

By Ben Chew with No comments

Great Name Hall of Fame Nominee - Wonderful Terrific Monds III

You just can't make this stuff up.

Wonderful Terrific Monds the Third was a career minor league who player in the Atlanta, Colorado, and Cincinatti farm systems. His father, Wonder Monds, played football for the San Francisco 49ers. Wonderful actually had a decent run in the minors, batting .281 and stealing quite a few bases and hitting 55 homeruns over 7 years. But he never made it to the bigs, which is very sad given his stellar name.

The reason for the name? Wonderful's Grandfather was the first boy born in his family after 11 girls, which his father (Monds the Third's Great Grandfather) found Wonderful and Terrific. The name stuck.

The Great Sports Name Hall of Fame has moved to its own website, and this is Wonderful Terrific Monds the Third's Nomination for it. Want to see if Wonderful makes the Hall? Take a look at the link above!

By SpastikMooss with 4 comments

Excuse me Mr. referee, I disagree with you call.

In one of the most interesting things that I've ever seen in college basketball, a fan storms the court after a non-foul call on Providence player Jeff Xavier.

This happened during yesterday's game between the Marquette Golden Eagles and the Providence Friars.

The fan is actually the brother of Jeff Xavier whose name is Johnathan. He was eventually led off and arrested do to coming onto the court.

(Courtesy of Rush the Court from Deadspin)

By Ben Chew with No comments

That's alot of popcorn.....

Most people know that I love a good prank but the Sacramento Kings did one that was pretty good.

This one is a classic when Kings rookie Jason Thompson doesn't fulfill his rookie for his team-mates and well his popcorn is ready...

By Ben Chew with 1 comment

Championship Sunday preview

By Rick Morris

For a true football fan, Championship Sunday is one of the greatest days of the year. Super Bowl Sunday is a day for the casual fan to rule, with MTV-approved pregame and halftime entertainment and a host of dumbed-down content meant to appeal to folks who really don’t enjoy watching that much football. Championship Sunday is a day for the purists to gather to watch the greatest doubleheader in sports (with all due respect to the NCAA hoops national semifinals). I know this because I’ve been having a Championship Sunday party for years and I will do so again today as my friends and I chow down, enjoy one another’s sublime company and take in the gridiron goodness.

Let’s start with a little Championship Sunday trivia to mark these AFC and NFC Title Games:

^ It’s the first time since 2002-2003 there is no coach in the final four with a Super Bowl ring as head coach (although Andy Reid has been to a Super Bowl and in 2002-2003, Jeff Fisher had been as a head coach also).

^ It’s the first time since 1997-1998 that two of the final four teams (Pittsburgh and Baltimore) have won a Super Bowl in the last decade – and Philadelphia has also been to a Super Bowl in that span. In ’97-98, Green Bay and San Francisco were each bearing Super Bowl rings from the past few years and Denver was poised on the other side with the most recent of the Elway 1980s failures in the Super Bowl having come within the past decade. In 2004-2005, 3 of the teams had made Super Bowls in the last decade (New England, Pittsburgh, Atlanta), but only the Pats had won. In 2001-2002, New England, Pittsburgh and St. Louis had made it within the last decade but only the Rams had won.

^ Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh (a rookie) have a combined three years of head coaching between them. It’s the first time since the AFL-NFL merger that two such inexperienced coaches have met on Championship Sunday.

^ There have been eight different AFC teams playing on Championship Sunday in the ’00 decade: New England (five times), Pittsburgh (four times, counting today), Baltimore (twice, counting today), Oakland (twice – seems like another lifetime ago!), Indianapolis (twice) and Tennessee, Denver and San Diego once. But in the NFC, there have been 12 different teams! They are: Philadelphia (five times, counting today), New York Giants (twice), Carolina (twice) and Minnesota, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans, Green Bay and Arizona (counting today) once. When you scan that list, you see that the only “parity” in recent years has come from the NFC – not coincidentally, the weaker conference this decade with only two Super Bowl wins since 2000-01.

These playoffs have shown my crystal ball to be quite clouded, indeed, with a 1-3 record a week ago and a mediocre 2-2 the previous week. Arizona is a common denominator here, as I had them losing both weeks thus far.

On to the games:

Philadelphia at Arizona: Much has been made of the improbable nature of this championship game clash. As previously mentioned, I predicted Arizona to lose both of their first two playoff games (although in all fairness, I noted that the Arizona-Atlanta game to be the toughest to figure of the wild card round). A team that staggered into the playoffs with a poor road record – a defense that never resembled the sum of its parts – a team that won the weakest division this side of the AFC West – this team inspired very little confidence coming into the playoffs, but they have addressed all three of those concerns en route to traveling the rare path of playing a home playoff game, then one on the road, then one at home again.

But with a #4 seed playing a #6 seed for the NFC Title, you know that two hot, late-blooming squads are squaring off, because they’ve had to win tough games against teams with better regular seasons to get to this point. However, it’s a bit misleading merely to label the Eagles the lowest seed, because they competed in football’s toughest division and they would have easily bettered their 9-6-1 record against lesser competition. Interestingly, Philly mirrored Arizona as a bad road team during the regular season, but wins at Minnesota and the Meadowlands in the playoffs have rendered sour autumn memories away from home very distant to say the least.

The edge that the Eagles have carried into this game – aside from the aforementioned chance to get sharp against much better competition – is the fact that their defense is not a Johnny-come-lately like Arizona’s. Year in and year out, Jim Johnson has the Philly unit performing at a high level and his genius play-calling befuddles many a great team. Kurt Warner and Company haven’t seen anything like what’s coming their way today.

Having said that, it’s worth noting that Larry Fitzgerald has had a huge breakout in these playoffs, going from legitimate franchise player to one of the very best big-time performers today. He terrorized a good Panther D without benefit of Anquan Boldin last week and Leapin’ Larry is about to get his partner in crime back. But a greater surprise has been the resurrection of the Cardinal rushing game thus far in the playoffs. Coming into the postseason, one would have pegged Philly as much better at both running the ball and stopping the run, but the Cards’ recent play negates this notion as an automatic reality.

The health of Brian Westbrook will be of paramount importance for the Eagles, as he has held the mantle for a few years as the key weapon of the offense. He can play hurt with decent effectiveness, which will be critical, because Philadelphia has little or no chance of keeping up with Arizona without him.

The sub-plots of this game from a media perspective (the Eagles going up against the team who they pummeled on Thanksgiving night to start the process of salvaging their season, two proud and experienced veteran survivors at quarterback in Warner and Donovan McNabb) don’t tell us much about what to expect. This would surely be the case for either of these teams going forward also (an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl, which would have broad popular appeal all the way from Scranton to State College, would not justify the media attention it would get, nor would a Ken Whisenhunt/Russ Grimm vs. the Steelers Super Bowl, nor would the Eagles facing the team that put them at rock bottom late in the year in the Ravens). But media storylines aside, this game will come down to which offense is able to operate most effectively – and given the choice between siding with a hot defense or a hot and proven defense, I’ll take the hot and proven one. In a game that feels like a coin flip in many ways, I see the team with fewer offensive weapons finding a way to get it done on the road. Philadelphia 23, Arizona 16.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh: I will note in passing that as a lifelong Clevelander I view this matchup on this stage with complete and total revulsion. However, notwithstanding my personal lack of a rooting interest, it’s quite apparent that this is a compelling mirror-image showdown between two teams predominantly noted for their bruising defenses.

Both teams persevered through tough schedules to make it to this point. But like the Eagles, both are very battle-tested by this point in time. Neither team was especially likely to make it this far – Baltimore because they are in their first year under a new head coach with a rookie QB and a stout, though aging defense and Pittsburgh because their offensive line isn’t what it used to be, QB Ben Roethlisberger took quite a pounding and the run game was up-and-down with Willie Parker at less than 100% most of the year (and the preseason loss of rookie stud Rashard Mendenhall). However, both ended up making it to this point through physical and opportunistic defense and with multi-headed running attacks that took the pressure off of the vertical game.

For the Steelers, Mewelde Moore came off of the scrap heap and provided the boost that Pittsburgh needed when Parker was down. For the Ravens, big Le’Ron McClain augmented incumbent Willis McGahee and rookie scatback Ray Rice to produce an all-around ground approach that few in the league could match.

Health among those in the trenches will figure big into this outcome. McClain is really feeling the effects of his straight-up rushing style right now, while Parker finally appears to be in decent shape. Plus, Troy Polamalu has a hurt calf, so the Pittsburgh run defense could suffer from that – although that reality is obscured by the larger problem for Baltimore of Terrell Suggs’ injured shoulder.

In the end, most of the key indicators in this game to point to the Steel City:

^ Home AFC Championship Games were kryptonite for Bill Cowher, but he’s not the coach anymore.

^ An away game of this magnitude is a lot to ask of any rookie quarterback, even one as poised as Joe Flacco.

^ Pittsburgh’s receiving corps is deeper – although ballhawking safety Ed Reed is one heck of an equalizer.

^ Due to the hurricane-postponed game that the Ravens had with Houston back in September, they have played the overwhelming majority of their season without a bye week in between. Plus, they had the “car crash” effect of a physical battle with Tennessee last week while Pittsburgh overwhelmed a very soft San Diego team. Additionally, factor in the fact that the Steelers had a bye week during the first round of the playoffs.

^ Baltimore’s defense is older and has been reliant, perhaps disproportionately, on turnovers to keep their run going.

Field position will dictate this battle in brutal cold and snow conditions. The challenging Heinz Field kicking circumstances could well come into play, as every point should be at a premium. Pittsburgh 20, Baltimore 13.

Bonus early Super Bowl pick: Pittsburgh 16, Philadelphia 13.

By Rick Morris with No comments

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Jon Gruden fired

The major news from last night if you were unable to hear it was that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have fired head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen.

There are replacements are still not have been officially named yet. (Expected to be defensive coordinator Raheem Morris as head coach and Mark Dominik as the general manager)

This is probably been one of odd firings of the year since Gruden lead the team to almost to a playoff birth in the tough NFC south. (However they did collapse from a 9-3 record)

Gruden was the coach of the Oakland Raiders before the Buccaneers and lead the Bucs to a Super Bowl title in 2003 to become the youngest coach in NFL history to a win a Super Bowl.

Here he is wired for sound.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Lebron James to the NFL, State Farm is there

While most of you have probably seen the photos of Lebron James in a Cleveland Browns jersey.

The reason why was for this ad campaign by State Farm Insurance for Lebron to become a Cleveland Brown.

He lead the Browns to a Super Bowl title in the commercial, Browns fans can dream can't they.

By Ben Chew with No comments

NFL Conference Championships-Ben's Take

What a year it's been in the NFL, however it's coming to a close with the conference championship games this weekend. Since I was a stellar, 3-1 last week it makes me 5-3 for the playoffs which actually better than most of the so-called experts for major networks.

NFC Championship, Cardinals vs. Eagles: Here is a gold star for all of you that thought this would be the NFC Championship game at the beginning of the year. The Cardinals and Eagles faced off this year in prime-time Thanksgiving day in which the Eagles won 48 to 20. However, the Cardinals have a home game and Anquan Boldin will be back in action. This game is a total toss-up, the Eagles dominated in the regular season and their defense recently has been lights out. The real difference is how the Cardinals can move the ball offensively, I favor them here.

Cardinals 24 Eagles 14

AFC Championship, Steelers vs. Ravens: As it only seems to be drawn up to rub it in the face of Ohio, two AFC North teams will play for the right to go to the Super Bowl. The Steelers and Ravens faced twice during the year and the Steelers stole two victories. Most people would appear to pick the Steel City back to Super Bowl. However, the Ravens dominated for both of the games but couldn't close the deal in the end. The Pittsburgh secondary has been questionable of late and specifically that's the game plan of Joe Flacco to throw the ball deep. The Ravens defense of 2008 might arguably be one of the best ever but the Steelers hold the number #1 defense in the NFL. The defensive struggle will be on in this game and watch the Ravens to beat the Steel City to the punch.

Ravens 13 Steelers 10

By Ben Chew with No comments

The one where Bill Walton compares Boris Diaw to Beethoven

To make a somewhat long story short, a good friend of mine sent me this link for another blog that I was working on and I never got to use it.

Until now, Bill Walton uses that UCLA education to work as he talks about how great Boris Diaw is.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Conference Championship Predictions

2 games, 4 teams. Only 2 will advance. Who will they be?

Ravens at Steelers - Flacco keeps doing just enough to win. But the Dolphins and the Titans are not the Steelers, who actually have an offense to go with their league leading defense. This one, like all Ravens/Steelers games, will get ugly. But the Steelers will come out on top...their defense is just too good.
Steelers 17, Ravens 10

Eagles at Cardinals
McNabb has been quite the story as of late, but how about that Cardinals defense? They've had something like 7 picks in 2 playoff games and are simply on fire. Is McNabb at the level of Jake Delhomme or Matt Ryan? No...he's definitely better. But the Cardinals are looking great and it's hard to go against a team that has already surprised so much.
Cardinals 31, Eagles 28

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Someone on the Jeopardy staff is a New York Giants fan...

This video has been recently making the rounds on the internet and I figured you readers would like it.

Who is......

By Ben Chew with No comments

Jodie Meeks Song by Ryan Parker

We had a story earlier in the week about Kentucky Wildcat star Jodie Meeks who scored 54 points against the Tennessee Volunteers.

Well, he has been immortalized by Ryan Parker in the "Ode to Jodie Meeks" and well we hear can't wait till he peaks.

(Courtesy of ryanparkersongs.com)

By Ben Chew with No comments

Donovan McNabb’s Wild Ride

In a wild year in the NFL, Donovan McNabb appeared to be out of Philadelphia and into a Minnesota Vikings jersey in the off-season. However coming back from a 5-6-1 record where he forget there was something called a tie in the NFL, McNabb has rescued a team from life support and has them one win away from their second Super Bowl in this Millennium.

McNabb who appears to be on the fast-track to the Hall of Fame seems to be an enigma rather than the elite-caliber quarterback that he should be recognized for. McNabb has taken the Eagles to five conference championship games and a Super Bowl and it feels that most fans crucify him as an average quarterback.

From the draft day when he was booed by Philadelphia fans, McNabb never really seemed to fit in the city of brotherly love. He was the low-key quarterback who had a pension of doing Chunky soup commercials. Philadelphia fans love to a see guy who epitomizes the working man in Philadelphia like former Philadelphia Eagle quarterback Ron Jaworski.

Although, most Philadelphians have forgiven McNabb there still seems to be the undertone of disrespect. This wouldn’t surprise me that McNabb takes this personally and has used this as advantage on this spectacular run through the playoffs.

What if McNabb wins the Super Bowl, I would assume that the entire city of Philadelphia would crown him a winner and enter the lore of Philadelphia sports. Sometimes irony is sweet, isn’t it?

By Ben Chew with No comments

Kobe Bryant Sells Ankle Insurance

While most sneakers have a NBA star at the forefront to peddle their advertisement, that really doesn't say much for a shoe that will never make you play like Dwayne Wade or Lebron James.

However Nike has taken it another step with this new viral video by saying that the new Nike Zoom Kobe IV will prevent you from broken ankles.

If you wanted to see Kobe Bryant on a white horse, you got your wish.

(Courtesy of NESW Sports)

By Ben Chew with 1 comment

Karl Malone says stay out of the no zones

So since Ben's finding a lot of old youtube videos I thought I'd look for Karl Malone's PSA on staying out of truck's blind spots (I saw it when I took Driver's Ed). Here's the best copy I could find on the web.

Stay out of the No Zones!

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Mike Bartrum has skills.....

Out of most of the positions in American Football that is usually ignored is the long-snapper.

Well no longer, here is a clip of former Philadelphia Eagles long snapper Mike Bartrum.

It shows him going around the city of Philadelphia and show how good he is at long snapping....

By Ben Chew with 1 comment

Conan doesn't like the Fox NFL Robot

Most of you out there have to probably survive the NFL on FOX robot during the beginning and end of games.

Well, the person who hates it most is late night host Conan O' Brien.

Here is the skit...

(Courtesy of Awful Announcing)

By Ben Chew with No comments

Jodie Meeks drops 54 on Tennessee

In the night that was college basketball, a SEC match-up between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers turned into a one man show.

"The Jodie Meeks Show" had it's grand debut as he scored 54 points in the game with Kentucky winning 90 to 72.

The most impressive part is the stat-line of Meeks from the game:

15-22 FGA
10-15 3FGA
14-14 FTL

He broke Dan Issel scoring mark set in 1969 with 53 points. This is the largest scoring day since Chris Jackson of LSU with 55 points in 1989.

Congrats to you Mr. Meeks

By Ben Chew with No comments

Giants fans aren't taking the loss well are they......

With their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round, you would think that New York Giants fans would be mad.

However, not this mad. The video above shows Giants fans vandalizing a car after the NFC Divisional play-off game.

In another video, they are seen demolishing a Porsche which is seen next to the car that the guy tries to kick the window out.

Also note, never try to karate kick a window that more than three feet off the ground.

Stay classy, New York Giants fans.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Bradley Basketball Shuffle....wait this seems familiar

While looking through many websites that I frequent, I came across a link that directed me to the "Bradley Basketball Shuffle"

In true rip-off fashion, The Braves dance and rap their way on this youtube clip.

This might be the best thing to come from Bradley since Patrick O' Bryant. (oh wait...nevermind)

The Braves are currently 10-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference. However if they rap as well as they play, maybe this is getting ahead of themselves.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Outside the Boxscore Video Zone: Stephen A Smith loses his damn mind

Here is a classic Stephen A Smith video from the Outside the Boxscore Video Zone.

This is from his ESPN radio show where a caller calls him regarding the New York Yankees Derek Jeter.

Stephen A Smith fires back regarding the argument that Mets shortstop Jose Reyes is the better player now.

Then all hell breaks loose...

By Ben Chew with No comments

Outside the Boxscore's Video Zone: Benny the Bull gets even on Jerry Springer

I bet for a few of you out there, it's rough day in the world of sports. If your not an NBA fan or NHL fan, you've hit the dead zone of sports.

However, I figured that I lighten your spirits by looking back into some classic YouTube sports related-videos.

There are only a few things more American than Jerry Springer and the Chicago Bulls took notice of this.

This is a skit done for the team with Benny the Bull and it includes a surprise ending.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Baseball Hall of Fame Voting - Far From Foolproof

I already wrote a few thoughts in the comments for Ben's take on Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice's election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. But I wanted to add a few more here, especially after reading the actual voting statistics here.

1. Rickey Henderson deserved 100% of the vote. He has the records for most runs scored, most stolen bases, and most leadoff homeruns all time, as well as the most stolen bases in a season, and he once had the most walks of all time (and Rickey was not intentionally walked 688 times like Bonds was, only a "measly" 61 times). So how does he not get 100% of the vote? Maybe some guys trying to prove that the stolen base is an overrated statistic. Maybe people trying to elect Rice, Bert Blyleven, and Andre Dawson to the Hall all at once (Blyeleven certainly deserves it, Dawson is more arguable). Maybe they don't like that Rickey talks about Rickey in the third person. Whatever the case, he should have been unanimous, and that he wasn't says that something is wrong with the system.

2. The system is flawed. Mostly I just don't like the "experts" they pick I guess. Jim Rice in general is questionable...I like the guy but his statistics are very similar to my favorite player of all time (and Hall of Fame eligible next year) Fred "Crime Dog" McGriff. And McGriff doesn't belong in the Hall. So sorry.
But it gets worse. One of the 27 voters who didn't vote for Rickey? He "goofed" in not electing Rickey into the Hall. He somehow just left him off the ballot, electing Matt Williams as his 8th choice and no one at all as his 9th and 10th choices (you're allowed 10 picks, he only chose 8). That's just...wow...I would never make an oversight like that if given such an awesome responsibility.
But what bothered me more? 23 players were on the ballot. Henderson sure...Tim Raines sure. But Ron Gant, Jay Bell, Greg and Mo Vaughn, and Dan Plesac were on the ballot. Granted they combined for 8 votes...but that's the best 23 guys they could come up with? After you subtract the also rans (guys who are already off the list for getting less than 5% of the vote, you have 14 players. If all the voters voted for 10 guys each then we could've seen like 7-8 guys elected. So why not allow only like 5 votes each and add only the truly deserving guys to each ballot. It's a lesser field...but it'll be truly deserving players battling other truly deserving players for these spots. And Ron Gant and Hall of Fame will never be mentioned in the same breath ever again. As it should be (Troy O'Leary was freakin' Hall of Fame eligible for crying out loud!).

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy retires....

Today is somewhat of a sad day for Colts fans as head coach Tony Dungy has decided to retire.

Dungy was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach from 1996-2001 and became the Indianapolis Colts head coach in 2002.

Dungy led the team to its second Super Bowl win in 2006 at Super Bowl XLI.

There is a press conference today at 5pm est to announce this news.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice are into the MLB Hall of Fame

The breaking news from the baseball hall of fame is that Rickey Henderson was elected to the Hall of Fame along with feared Boston Red Sox hitter Jim Rice.

Henderson received almost 95% of the vote which is over 500 votes. This was Jim Rice's final year to get in and he received almost 76.4% of the vote, enough to get him in.

Henderson is currently major league baseball's all-time leader in career runs scored and stolen bases.

Rice was one of the most feared hitters in the 1970's for the Boston Red Sox where he had eight all-star appearances and won the 1978 AL MVP award.

By Ben Chew with 1 comment

Donovan McNabb is Hilarious

So I'm a huge fan of excessive celebration. When me and my brothers would play football in the yard we'd always celebrate the hell out of many TDs we scored, especially at tense moments. Of course this led to many tempers flaring and fights, and maybe that's why it's banned in the NFL (other than the delay of game factor). But I love a good celebration, and back when TO and Ocho Cinco ruled endzones with celebrations they also ruled my heart.



Well now add Donovan McNabb to the list of awesome. In this Sunday's shellacking of the title defending NY Giants, McNabb ran out of bounds after an 8 yard gain late in the 4th quarter. He then sauntered over to a small table with a phone on it, picked up the phone, and acted as if he was making a call from the sidelines. Which is just hilarious. Would I hate him if I was a NY Giant? Probably. But I hate the NY Giants. So call away Donovan. Maybe he just wants to make sure Mom's got that chicken soup on tap.

Best part? After the game he was asked about the stunt. McNabb admitted he shouldn't do such things. But didn't apologize. Good man.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Arizona advances...Guess they just held the right...Cards (ooo bad joke)

Wow. Anquan Boldin was sitting. DeAngelo Williams is a beast. The Panthers beat the Cards earlier this year. The Cardinals suck away from home and outside the NFC West. Clearly the Panthers would dominate.

And they did score the first 7 points. And the last 6.

But in between the Cardinals scored 33 unanswered points, with 5 interceptions on defense and a fumble recovery as well. Jake Delhomme looked downright terrible. One pass (supposedly) to Steve Smith just appeared to be heaved towards the endzone where Ralph Brown easily picked it off. Others were lobs that came down in Cardinal hands. The only real bad luck play was one pick that went off a Cardinal and off Smith before landing in the hands of Antrel Rolle. But 5 picks in a playoff game? That's Kerry Collins 2000 Super Bowl bad (where he had 4 picks). Just wow.

My series of the game though? Comes from a fantasy perspective. The Cardinals took the ball at the 50 with 10:47 to play nursing their sizeable 30-7 lead. They need to run some clock. So they go to the rookie Tim Hightower. And they do it again. And again. 12 carries later they have a field goal. Granted there were 3 time outs mixed in there, but here's Hightower's stats for the drive:

12 carries, 48 yards, 3 1sts downs and 7:33 off the clock

They were up by a ton, and 4.0 ypc isn't world changing. But impressive he could keep going and getting yards for 12 straight carries and telling that the Cardinals would keep giving him the rock with Edge on the bench. I don't think a 4.0 ypc would translate well against the stifling Ravens or Steelers Run Defense. But hey...nice showing for the rook and I was a big fan of that drive. Game ball would go to Larry Fitzgerald though...anyone who saw his circus catch over 2 Panthers knows that.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Holy Flacco: Ravens move onto the AFC Championship

While it doesn't come as a true surprise to us at Outside the Boxscore, the Baltimore Ravens are moving onto AFC Championship.

The final was 13 to 10, the real story that everyone is talking about is the emergance of rookie quarterback Joe Flacco who is the first NFL rookie QB to win his first two playoff games.

The Ravens defense was stifling as always and caused four turnovers.

The Titans played well but when you turn the ball over four times you really don't deserve to win this game.

The video above in the hit that Ray Lewis put on Ahmad Hall.

By Ben Chew with No comments

NFL Playoffs Round 2-Ben's Take

With Tim giving his playoff analysis already, I figured that I will post my thoughts on the upcoming divisional round games.

Ravens V Titans: Although many of you might think that this might be a walk for the Titans, the Ravens actually lead for most of their matchup against the Titans in week four. Joe Flacco as a quarterback has made leaps and bounds from that game. I'm calling an upset for the Ravens

Ravens 24 Titans 14

Panthers V Cardinals: Another match-up that was already played in the regular season in week eight. The Cardinals looked to be in control until the second half where they couldn't put away a strong Carolina Panthers running-game. However when game that might see rain in the forecast and no Anquan Boldin for the Cardinals, Panthers win in a walk.

Panthers 34 Cardinals 21

Eagles V Giants: You left the Eagles for dead didn't you? You forgot they had a quarterback by the name of Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook is the integral part to the Philadelphia offense. Although the Giants are the team that I suspect will be the answer to this riddle, what team will win the Super Bowl and be one and done for playoffs the next year? The loss of Plaxico Burress is still a big factor and the Eagles beat them convincing in their last game on their turf. I go for one and done.

Eagles 24 Giants 21

Chargers V Steelers: This might be the most difficult game to pick over the weekend due to the questionable status of Ben Roethlisberger. However I don't suspect Darren Sproles will run for 300 all purpose-yards against the number one defense in the NFL. This game will be close at the end but I suspect Pittsburgh to pull through on a Jeff Reed field goal.

Steelers 13 Chargers 10

By Ben Chew with No comments

Charles Barkley to take leave of absense from Inside the NBA

Although this doesn't come as a complete suprise but Charles Barkley has decided to take a leave of absense from Inside the NBA.

Barkley was pulled in Scottsdale, Arizona on New Year's Ever with a BAC of .149 which over the legal limit.

There has been no current date when Barkley will be set to return from Inside the NBA. However we all wish Charles well and honestly this is not a laughing matter.

However TMZ.com has found the booking audio from his arrest. This might be funny.

By Ben Chew with No comments

What could you do in 0.9 seconds?

While most of you were probably asleep, The Indiana Pacers beat the Phoenix Suns by the final of 113 to 110.

What's impressive about that? Pacers forward Danny Granger hit the game winner with only 0.9 seconds left on the clock.

Sometimes the best things happen in less than a second....

By Ben Chew with No comments

Tim Brando freaks out on the Paul Finebaum Show

To be honest, the BCS Championship game has been a rather bore even though it is still a close game.

One of the videos that have flown through my inbox is this appearance of Tim Brando on the Paul Finebaum show.

Tim is questioned by an Auburn football fan and well Tim doesn't like his football knowledge being questioned....

By Ben Chew with No comments

The NHL where biting happens

When most people think of the NHL, I don't think of biting being involved.

However Ottawa Senators left-winger Jarkko Ruutu puts the bite into the NHL.

During last night's game of the Buffalo Sabres versus the Ottawa Senators, Jarkko Ruutu allegedly bit Buffalo Sabre player Andrew Peters.

Ruutu was suspended for two games and will receive no pay for those games missed.

That's the biting truth....

By Ben Chew with No comments

NFL Playoffs Round 2 - Tim's Take

So I figure Ben might give his 2 cents on this round of the playoffs as well, but I wanted my say to be heard too. So here's my analysis of this weekend's upcoming contests:

Ravens versus Titans: A very tough one. Two teams with suffocating defense and often hit or miss offense, which relies mostly on their run game. I actually think QB play might be a major factor, and I want to give the edge to Kerry Collins there, as he's been here before and Flacco had a bad game last week against the Dolphins defense. This game really hinges on the health of Albert Haynesworth though. And right now, since he's banged up, I'm picking Ravens in a squeaker.
Ravens 16, Titans 13

Cardinals versus Panthers: The Cardinals actually woke up last week against the Falcons. But the Cardinals are on the road and the Panthers were the league's number 2 seed for a reason. DeAngelo will run wild and the Panthers will win this one, though the Cards may put up some points.
Panthers 35, Cardinals 17

Eagles versus Giants: To be honest, I was born a Pats fan, and so I'm not big on the Giants. And I used to love Duce Staley. So I'm rooting Eagles all the way. But the Giants run game is too good to lose to Philly again. Even though the Eagles team has been scorching lately, they still lost 10-7 to the Redskins a few weeks ago. It'll be a good game, but the Giants will advance.
Giants 20, Eagles 17

Chargers versus Steelers: If LT doesn't play, the Steelers win this one. But if LT does play...the Steelers still win this one. San Diego made the playoffs at 8-8. And they looked good last week...but I don't think they can keep it up against the Steelers suffocating Steel Curtain. Harrison, Polamalu, and Company will send the Chargers packing this week.
Steelers 24, Chargers 13

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Skip Bayless "The Next Weezy?"

Most of you have probably have seen the clip of Lil Wayne appear on 1st and 10 from ESPN's First Take.

I bet most of you could care less about Wayne's opinions on sports. However, at the end of the segment, Skip Bayless premiered a new music video.

The creative minds at ESPN specifically the two guys who did, "Mike Greenberg is a metrosexual" created for Skip where sadly he doesn't rap.

There is only one word to describe this video: Amazing.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Mad Props to James Harrison, AP Defensive Player of the Year

James Harrison was officially named AP Defensive Player of the Year yesterday. After reading his article on NFL.com, all I can say is many congratulations. The man ascended from small school (Kent State) undrafted obscurity to NFL stardom. He had his bumps in the road (cut 4 times!) but he just kept plugging away and doing his thing. And here he now is, the leader of the Steelers Defense. Now that's a beautiful story.

A few interesting facts I found about Harrison with some more research:
1. Kent State is also where another great Steelers 'backer, Jack Lambert went to school.
2. Harrison sacked Ben Roethlisberger 5 times in his final college game.
3. He once played for the Ravens for a little bit (weird).
4. Had Clark Haggans injury in 2005 not given Harrison a permanent spot on the team, Harrison was set to retire and become a vet. At age 26.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

NFL Snipits

First of all, the Patriots apparently plan to franchise Matt Cassel.

Not a fan of this at all. Cassel is a good guy and Quaterbacks are important, but unless one of them goes, it's no good tying that much money to two players. It's not as bad as signing them both to huge long term contracts (see Browns, Cleveland) but it's not much better. It's awkward having a guy on your bench making $10 million (see Jones, Andruw). But I guess you kind of have to as the Patriots since the hot rumor is that Brady either won't be healed or won't ever be the same again or both. Either way, lots of money down the tubes.

Second, Jamal Williams channeled Matt Hasslebeck in the Chargers OT win over the Colts. Only unlike Hasslebeck, the Chargers actually pulled it off. I'm a huge fan of athletes calling their team's shots. They either look awesome when they win big or hilariously dumb when they don't. It's only bad when they overdo it like Joey Porter. Everyone's allowed a few predictions, especially if they're right sometimes. But guys like Porter or Jon Kitna (who predicted 10 wins this year from the 0-16 Lions) really lose their right to speak sometimes. Even if it is entertaining.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Antoine Walker arrested for a DUI

Only a couple days after Charles Barkley was arrested for a DUI, another former NBA player was arrested.

Former Miami Heat and Boston Celtics player Antoine Walker was arrested in Miami beach.

Walker was driving his black Mercedes without his lights on early Monday morning. Officers at the scene said they smelled alcohol on his breath and he refused a breathalyzer test.

Walker won a title with the Miami Heat in 2006. However he is mostly remembered for his time with the Boston Celtics.

Posted above is a retrospective of his time in Boston.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Bobby Bonilla is a Genius

So a few websites, mlbtraderumors among them, have covered the recent contract restructuring of Andruw "What a waste of 36.2 million dollars" Jones. Essentially, Jones was owed one year of $15 million dollars. To save cap space/make Jones easier to trade, they instead spread the $15 over the next 6 years. Kinda weird...but kinda nice, right?

Well the Dodgers are lucky, because Jones agreed to no interest. But in 2000, the Mets were not so lucky with Bobby Bonilla. He was all set to collect a nice $5.9 million in 2000 after an awful 1999, but the Mets needed the money. So the Mets decided to defer his pay...for 11 years...with interest. Bobby Bonilla is now set to earn 25 equal payments of $1,193,248.20 each July 1 from 2011 to 2035. For a total of $29,831,205.

All so that the Mets could save $5.9 million. And Bonilla retired, after collecting additional paychecks from the Braves and Cardinals, in 2001.

Is that genius or what?

By SpastikMooss with No comments