(Big Mahalo to Brew Hoop and, y'know, PTI)
October 30, 2009
Bucks Have Last Opening Night
(Big Mahalo to Brew Hoop and, y'know, PTI)
Michelle Beadle's Dance Party
Last week, ESPN SportsNation's Michelle Beadle had a birthday and celebrated it on the show.
This clip from behind-the-scenes is her dancing with substitute co-host, former NFL defensive end, Marcellus Wiley.
Beadle can get down but I think Marcellus won this round.
Send in the Links: (10/30/09)
It's that time again as OTB takes a look around the interweb for the links that you need to see and some that we were bribed to show.
Send us your tips at outsidetheboxscore@gmail.com
Kim Kardashian, Wonder Woman, Away!
-> What are athletes wearing for Halloween? (Style Points)
-> Suggested Halloween Costumes for the NBA (That NBA Lottery Pick)
-> Mike Leach hates your fat, little girlfriend (With Leather)
-> Derek Jeter did something wrong, shocking news to say the least (No Guts, No Glory)
-> Why being a Broncos Fan is being a Ravens Fan, Aren't the crime rates equal? (Predominantely Orange)
-> NASCAR is not a sport, book it (Bootlegger Sports)
Today's Moment of Zen: Where the Dirty Hipsters Are
Stan Van Gundy, Bored NBA Head Coach
The one thing that I always find funny about the NBA is the pageantry of the introductions and the techno light mix that they bring.
The Orlando Magic raised their Eastern Conference championship banner and well, Stan Van Gundy was a little on the bored side.
I don't blame him, the economy sucks and that NBA Finals winner cut could have bought him a beach house.
(Courtesy of Sharapova's Thigh)
October 29, 2009
OTB's NFL Week 8 Picks
As we continue the OTB vs. GSNHOF NFL picks contest, I keep falling further behind.
Here are the current records:
75-28 - Great Sports Name Hall Of Fame
67-36 - Outside The Boxscore (8 Games Back)
Yep, I'm only 8 games back and I'm picking at a rate of 65%. So that's really nothing to hang my head about; if I was below 50%, then I would take a serious look at my NFL picking habits.
GSNHOF's latest trash talk came regarding my Raiders pick over New York Jets:
Well the Raiders were themselves this week and got slaughtered 38-0 (how bad did that hurt Ben?) and the Eagles, though they still looked sloppy, easily took care of a horrible Redskins team on Monday night
I think GSNHOF might need some vicodin to calm themselves down. Besides, the Raiders will probably win this week just prove the point and screw me over again in regards to my pick.
Anyway, here are the picks.
SUN, NOV 1 TIME (ET) TV
Houston at Buffalo 1:00 PM CBS
Cleveland at Chicago 1:00 PM CBS
Seattle at Dallas 1:00 PM FOX
St. Louis at Detroit 1:00 PM FOX
Denver at Baltimore 1:00 PM CBS
San Francisco at Indianapolis 1:00 PM FOX
Miami at NY Jets 1:00 PM CBS
NY Giants at Philadelphia 1:00 PM FOX
Jacksonville at Tennessee 4:05 PM CBS
Oakland at San Diego 4:05 PM CBS
Carolina at Arizona 4:15 PM FOX
Minnesota at Green Bay 4:15 PM FOX
MON, NOV 2 TIME (ET) TV
Atlanta at New Orleans 8:30 PM
Send in the Links: (10/29/09)
It's that time again as OTB takes a look around the interweb for the links that you need to see or the people who have bribed us for links.
You can send us your link at outsidetheboxscore@gmail.com
Carmen Electra, That's my favorite Greek goddess
-> Hello Minka Kelly, Goodbye Game 1 of World Series (Detroit4Lyfe)
-> Style Points endorses the Phillies, I endorse Ginnifer Goodwin (Style Points)
-> The Big Shaqkle, Get it? (Not Qualified to Comment)
-> Hey, Vince Young will start this Sunday. Hide the Pills! (With Leather)
-> Carmelo Anthony "smushes" Paul Millsap (That NBA Lottery Pick)
-> Michelle Obama and Yogi Berra, This is Revenge, Barack! (Hugging Harold Reynolds)
-> Whose that screamin'? Maxine Waters at the NFL(Bootlegger Sports)
Today's Moment of Zen: Tony Parker can rap in French
You Can't Leave Phil Jackson Hangin', Right?
During a pre-season game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets, Lakers Phil Jackson was chilling in his zen-like state.
Then Lakers guard Derek Fisher decided to ask for a fist-bump which Phil gave him. A few seconds later, Kobe Bryant passed by Phil and Phil outstretched his hand for the fist bump.
Well, Kobe did not oblige and Phil tried to cover it up. The only problem was that TNT camera caught the entire incident.
(Courtesy of The Slanch Report)
South Park just killed the Miami Dolphins....
On last night's episode of South Park, the main theme of this episode was regarding the TLC show "Whale Wars."
The running gag was a group of Japanese people killing dolphins which provided us with this classic South Park scene where they take out the Miami Dolphins.
"Dude, they speared Joey Porter!"
(Clip is NSFW, well it really depends where you work)
UPDATE-YouTube removed the video but here is the clip from South ParkStudios.com
October 28, 2009
When Sage Steele forgets her microphone....
ESPN's Sports Center's "Blog Buzz" is one of the few things that I pay attention to when I watch Sports Center Live in the morning.
This segment is usually delivered by Sage Steele with pinpoint precision. Except for this day, when she forgets her microphone and Josh Eliot has to come to the rescue.
A little late Mr Elliot, but how did no one on the set notice?
Send in the Links: (10/28/09)
It's that time again as OTB takes a look around the interweb and blogosphere for the links that you need to see.
Reese Witherspoon, "Cruel Intentions", Huh?
-> Female Phillies fans will "sex" you for World Series tickets (No Guts, No Glory)
-> Cristiano Ronalado can sing (The Big Lead)
-> Uh Oh, More Favres (Style Points)
-> The Haunted World Series: 10 things that would make the World Series a Fraking Nightmare (Detroit4lyfe)
-> Michael Jordan's First NBA Game (That NBA Lottery Pick)
-> An interesting take on the Steve Phillips Affiar (The Slanch Report)
Today's Moment of Zen: Homer's Favorite Movie
Who to root for in the World Series? How about, No One!
Since this is a general sports blog, I have to take note that tonight is game one of Major League Baseball's World Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Rick Morris of FDH has a nice comprehensive preview to peruse at your own leisure but let's be honest, how many of you feel like that you are having difficulty deciding on who to root for in this World Series?
You're not alone. Many fans are having difficulty trying to root for either of these teams. The Phillies won last year's World Series and the Yankees hold a record 26 World Championships. To use an analogy, it's like your girlfriend cheating on you with your best friend. Who are you more mad at, your girlfriend or your best friend?
I feel bad for Mets fans who have a love of the game of baseball and forced to watch their cross-town rivals celebrate or their NL East foes celebrate. You might as well take a cheese grinder to their skull.
To be honest, the biggest question is who has a more obnoxious fan-base? I'm not throwing every Yankees and Phillies fan under the bus but it's tough to get past the fact that the Philadelphia and New York have the history of having " over-the-top fanatical" fans.
One thing that also hurts the World Series is the timing with the other sports. Day Two of the NBA season is about to tip-off, College/NFL football is still currently on the brain, and it's nearing Halloween. The World Series will still pull ratings but does MLB think it could pull the causal fans interest at this point? I think many who are not baseball fans or who are baseball fans that live on the west coast would rather watch a regular season NBA game or AMC's showing of "The House on Haunted Hill" than game one of the World Series.
However, this is the Fall Classic for a reason. The biggest moments happen in the World Series and will probably provide some indelliable images to remember from this one.
In the end, enjoy the fall classic for what is and not for who you root for.
FDH Lounge: 2009 World Series Preview
While the rest of the country is not very much engaged in a championship tilt or series between any two of the three Northeastern cities of New York, Boston or Philadelphia, it is undeniably compelling anytime that it happens because it is so very rare (indeed, it cannot even happen in the modern NBA or NHL because of the geographic alignment of the conferences). Historic sports cities, fanatical fans ... it's a great atmosphere.
Now, I had forecast an all-SoCal World Series before the LCS began and my overall playoff prediction record is only 2-4 right now, so I'm not going to say that I saw this one coming. For what it is worth, though, I did forecast these two teams to win their LDS series.
Here are a few interesting tidbits before we break it down in earnest:
^ This is the 19th time since the divisional playoffs began in 1969 that a manager with a World Series title (Philly Cholly) has faced a manager who hasn't won one yet. Previous winners are 10-8 in that span, although they are only 1-3 this decade. The good news for Joe Girardi? The last time before this year that a manager was the only one in the Final Four without a World Series title, he captured it that autumn (Ohio University's Bob Brenly in 2001).
^ Both teams can make a real argument for "Team of the Decade" with a win here, especially the Yankees, who would have two World Series titles (bracketing the decade) with two additional pennants.
^ The Phillies are trying to become the first NL team to repeat since the Reds of 1975-76 and the first MLB team since ... well ... the Yankees! Back in 1998-2000, to be exact.
^ With the Knicks-Sixers and Giants-Eagles games this weekend (and those NBA and NHL teams being the ones with the highest percentages of Yankee fans among their fanbase among Gotham franchises), the NY-Philly hatred will be on overdrive.
Now some notes on the matchup itself:
^ At least in recent history, has there ever been a better infield vs. infield matchup in the World Series? Granted, the Phillies' approach to putting together an infield is to find three All-World players and put the equivalent of yours truly at third base, but these are easily the two best such units at the game and both would rate high in the history of the game. Within these infields are great individual matchups, such as Elite Power Hitter (ARod) vs. Elite Power Hitter (Ryan "The Temp" Howard) and two of the best all-around players in the game in ARod and Chase Utley. Neither team has a world-class outfield, but they are either slightly above-average (the Yankees) or above-average (the Phillies, paced by career years from Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth). Overall, both teams are very powerful and with the bandbox parks hosting the games, we are probably in for several slugfests.
^ The AL almost always has a significant World Series advantage in terms of being built for the games where a DH will come into play, but the disparity is magnified this year. While New York can get by without Hideki Matsui in Philly, the Phils will be very wounded by having to insert the slaptastic Ben Francisco in the lineup in the Big Apple.
^ The matchup of Two Aces vs. Two Aces tilts away from Philly, Cole Hamels' big success last October notwithstanding, because he hasn't quite been the same pitcher this year. Cliff Lee has been awesome since the Phillies stole him from the hapless Mark Shapiro, but the Yanks have the edge on paper with the CC/AJ combo. Surprisingly, Sabathia has put his lifelong "big game choke" tendencies behind him this fall and by pitching up to the level of his abilities, he has been the pitcher the team so desperately needed. The Yanks have better depth also. Pedro Martinez in Game Two? Uh, somebody might want to tell that old-timer that this won't be a September game against the Padres!
^ The Philadelphia bullpen has been excellent so far this postseason and it will have to continue to vastly outperform the regular season tallies in order for the team to win. Brad Lidge in particular may well be the key player in the series. New York, meanwhile, has won despite surprisingly mediocre setup pitching in this postseason. They cannot win the series with more of the same.
^ This is ARod's first World Series appearance. It's notable that some of the most dominant hitters of this generation haven't been on this stage that much (i.e. Barry Bonds in 2002 and Albert Pujols in 2004 and 2006).
^ The Yankees still have some pieces remaining from their championship core of 1996-2003 that won four World Series titles and two additional pennants: Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte. It's unusual, but not unprecedented, in the recent history of the game for such a core to return and win a world title over half a decade after the last appearance. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia nucleus of Hamels/Howard/Utley/Jimmy Rollins can make an outstanding case for being regarded as big-time winners on a par with the aforementioned Yankees or the Big Red Machine with a successful title defense.
How will this one end up? Well, it's one of the rare times when we can be sure that the two best teams are meeting for all the marbles, especially with what they surmounted thus far. The Yankees tore up the American League as the season moved along. As Tim Foust and I discussed during a late-season baseball roundtable on THE FDH LOUNGE program, the Yankees spent money last offseason that will surely be very inefficient in a few years (just as it was from 2005-08, repeating the cycle) but is supremely efficient in the short term. Right now, and likely for the next two years or so barring injuries, they are getting their monstrous money's worth. Meanwhile, the Phillies have been a machine over the past two offseasons and arguably could be going for a three-peat had they not run into the Colorado buzzsaw in that lethal October of '07. Philadelphia just keeps coming at the other team, finding ways to beat them and being led by their awesome stars. In this matchup, though, with a bench that is inferior to New York's, a bullpen that cannot yet be assumed to be solid once again and a rotation that seems marginally less effective on paper, the champs have their toughest battle yet. I have loathed the pinstripes my entire life, so this one hurts and I dearly hope I am wrong. Yankees in 6.
Now, I had forecast an all-SoCal World Series before the LCS began and my overall playoff prediction record is only 2-4 right now, so I'm not going to say that I saw this one coming. For what it is worth, though, I did forecast these two teams to win their LDS series.
Here are a few interesting tidbits before we break it down in earnest:
^ This is the 19th time since the divisional playoffs began in 1969 that a manager with a World Series title (Philly Cholly) has faced a manager who hasn't won one yet. Previous winners are 10-8 in that span, although they are only 1-3 this decade. The good news for Joe Girardi? The last time before this year that a manager was the only one in the Final Four without a World Series title, he captured it that autumn (Ohio University's Bob Brenly in 2001).
^ Both teams can make a real argument for "Team of the Decade" with a win here, especially the Yankees, who would have two World Series titles (bracketing the decade) with two additional pennants.
^ The Phillies are trying to become the first NL team to repeat since the Reds of 1975-76 and the first MLB team since ... well ... the Yankees! Back in 1998-2000, to be exact.
^ With the Knicks-Sixers and Giants-Eagles games this weekend (and those NBA and NHL teams being the ones with the highest percentages of Yankee fans among their fanbase among Gotham franchises), the NY-Philly hatred will be on overdrive.
Now some notes on the matchup itself:
^ At least in recent history, has there ever been a better infield vs. infield matchup in the World Series? Granted, the Phillies' approach to putting together an infield is to find three All-World players and put the equivalent of yours truly at third base, but these are easily the two best such units at the game and both would rate high in the history of the game. Within these infields are great individual matchups, such as Elite Power Hitter (ARod) vs. Elite Power Hitter (Ryan "The Temp" Howard) and two of the best all-around players in the game in ARod and Chase Utley. Neither team has a world-class outfield, but they are either slightly above-average (the Yankees) or above-average (the Phillies, paced by career years from Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth). Overall, both teams are very powerful and with the bandbox parks hosting the games, we are probably in for several slugfests.
^ The AL almost always has a significant World Series advantage in terms of being built for the games where a DH will come into play, but the disparity is magnified this year. While New York can get by without Hideki Matsui in Philly, the Phils will be very wounded by having to insert the slaptastic Ben Francisco in the lineup in the Big Apple.
^ The matchup of Two Aces vs. Two Aces tilts away from Philly, Cole Hamels' big success last October notwithstanding, because he hasn't quite been the same pitcher this year. Cliff Lee has been awesome since the Phillies stole him from the hapless Mark Shapiro, but the Yanks have the edge on paper with the CC/AJ combo. Surprisingly, Sabathia has put his lifelong "big game choke" tendencies behind him this fall and by pitching up to the level of his abilities, he has been the pitcher the team so desperately needed. The Yanks have better depth also. Pedro Martinez in Game Two? Uh, somebody might want to tell that old-timer that this won't be a September game against the Padres!
^ The Philadelphia bullpen has been excellent so far this postseason and it will have to continue to vastly outperform the regular season tallies in order for the team to win. Brad Lidge in particular may well be the key player in the series. New York, meanwhile, has won despite surprisingly mediocre setup pitching in this postseason. They cannot win the series with more of the same.
^ This is ARod's first World Series appearance. It's notable that some of the most dominant hitters of this generation haven't been on this stage that much (i.e. Barry Bonds in 2002 and Albert Pujols in 2004 and 2006).
^ The Yankees still have some pieces remaining from their championship core of 1996-2003 that won four World Series titles and two additional pennants: Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte. It's unusual, but not unprecedented, in the recent history of the game for such a core to return and win a world title over half a decade after the last appearance. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia nucleus of Hamels/Howard/Utley/Jimmy Rollins can make an outstanding case for being regarded as big-time winners on a par with the aforementioned Yankees or the Big Red Machine with a successful title defense.
How will this one end up? Well, it's one of the rare times when we can be sure that the two best teams are meeting for all the marbles, especially with what they surmounted thus far. The Yankees tore up the American League as the season moved along. As Tim Foust and I discussed during a late-season baseball roundtable on THE FDH LOUNGE program, the Yankees spent money last offseason that will surely be very inefficient in a few years (just as it was from 2005-08, repeating the cycle) but is supremely efficient in the short term. Right now, and likely for the next two years or so barring injuries, they are getting their monstrous money's worth. Meanwhile, the Phillies have been a machine over the past two offseasons and arguably could be going for a three-peat had they not run into the Colorado buzzsaw in that lethal October of '07. Philadelphia just keeps coming at the other team, finding ways to beat them and being led by their awesome stars. In this matchup, though, with a bench that is inferior to New York's, a bullpen that cannot yet be assumed to be solid once again and a rotation that seems marginally less effective on paper, the champs have their toughest battle yet. I have loathed the pinstripes my entire life, so this one hurts and I dearly hope I am wrong. Yankees in 6.
Sleeping with the Sleepers: Baron Davis
Anyone can read a boxscore and anyone can live blog a game, but not everyone can combine the two (or weave one of the two, or neither) into something vaguely or falsely or, I don't know, prophetically resembling a narrative. The NBA season kicked off today, and OtB just looked at the top 50 NBA players in the NBA. Many of them populate the contenders and perennial playoff participants. This doesn't mean the NBA's basement doesn't contain personalities and perspectives worth covering. Far from it. Towards the point, OtB will be taking the opportunity this season to look at some of the sleepers in the league. We'll be looking at teams that look like they might be on the outside of the playoffs looking in. This will come in the form of the good and bad, the pros and cons, the Nocturnal Daydreams (as most NBA games are played at night) and the Nightmares. With that said, our first edition gives the sleep study to the LA Clippers' Baron Davis during the first game of the season. We pick up the frequency from Boom Dizzle as the third quarter gets under way...
Nocturnal Daydreams:
- The Beard is back! (It itches like hell.)
- I wonder if I can grow birds.
- Opening night! And we're on national TV!
- Chris Kaman is a beast! No, really. I saw him eat half a baby once at a Pizza Hut.
- I wonder why Sheamus was wrestling last night and tonight?
- Maybe they'll let me host Raw. Y'know, like Shaq.
- Unfortunately, you can see me tonight, which is like likening me to DeShawn Stevenson. Shudder.
- Eric Gordon looks great. But because of him, I have to guard Kobe. Y'know, cuz Gordy's the same height as me, and I'm "stocky."
Baron Von Davis, originally uploaded by casbah42.
- I have to guard Kobe?!?!?!
- Pau Gasol's out? I thought I wouldn't be the most grungy looking guy on the court tonight.
- My foot hurts...
- Is Craig Sager making fun of my bow tie?
- I can't believe I have to wait a whole month to see New Moon. OMG! I can't believe Bella and Edward aren't like bf/gf forevs!
- Marcus Camby LMFAO! Opportunist is not generally a good thing to be. I know you liked it when they called you that in New York, but that was 12 years ago!
- Oh no he didn't! Reggie called me Kimbo Slice!?! Actually, I"m okay with that...
- Hmm...am I more like my new, unfortunately sidelined because Stern made us play too many preseason games team mate Blake Griffin or beard buddy Pau Gasol? Maybe I should reconsider this beard thing.
- Oh noes! Bassy's making me look bad, and he's making Camby look good!
- I don't care if he can make those, Tsar, Marcus shouldn't be taking threes! He did it in Denver. Why do you think we got him so cheap? Fire Mike Dunleavy dot come, anyone?
- I gotta get tickets to see that Michael Jackson movie tomorrow. Maybe J-Alba will go with me. I could be a third wheel! I'll get a Snickers...
- Maybe I'll sit out the 4th. Yeah. Oooh, look at Shannon Brown go!
- I look better than Kobe. And I'm bigger on Youtube than him, amn't I?
- Eric Gordon kind of reminds me of Monta Ellis. Maybe it's time to force a trade. Maybe Stephen Jackson will switch with me.
- I missed another three! It's okay, though. I put money on us to lose. The whole season! Just kidding.
- Artest hasn't made a three tonight either. Well, he's missed more than me anyway.
- Oh look! Machine! I have more hits on Youtube than him too, right? Wanna play the staring...wait. He cut his hair! I thought this was going to be a shaggy year. Someone forget to send me the memo? Hey, Sasha! We can see your face and it needs an oil change!
- I can't believe I'm a Clipper. In another city, this roster could've stolen this game.
- Lamar Odom. He gets Khloe and he makes a three.
- I'm going to dream about Ron Artest's hair tonight. So sad when a basketball soldier is lost.
- Argh! The lead's back up to 15. This low calorie diet is really making me grumpy.
- Oh my goodness! Replay? We forfeit already. We forfeit!
- The Lakers are 20-1?!? On opening night!?! Oh, wait, that's just your daily Reggie Miller nonsense.
- Inside the NBA! It's about time!
- Look! It's me! Highlights of the game we just lost!
- Haha! Charles missed the reason for the Cavs stagnancy and I caught it! It's because they lost they're offensive genius from last season John Kuester. They haven't been terrible on offense for years. They had been 'til last year, and it looks like they're going to be again.
- Chuck wants the Cavs to run. He's brought up both bets from previous seasons, the one where he raced Dick Bevetta and the one where he had to kiss a donkey. Think he wants to race LeBron? Or how 'bout Shaq? Shaq vs. Charles. Yeah.
- Rockets-Blazers highlights! Portland gets revenge. You can bet this won't be a bad match-up for the Blazers this year like it was last year. Outlaw for 6th man of the year?
- Gil is back! If he looks that good, I must be looking real pretty.
- I should move to Portland. They're kinda like the Bay Area up there, hippies and all. Hey, Dunleavy, trade me for Andre Miller! Nah, not now, when he gets tired of not being needed up there.
- Charles says the Rockets will have the worst record in the West! Not us! Yay!
Who's Jacked Up Was Better: AP or Jonathan Dwyer?
Over the weekend, there were two nasty football hits delivered by running backs in the professional and the collegiate ranks.
Minnesota Vikings running-back Adrian Peterson lit up Steeelers cornerback Randall Gay and Georgia Tech running-back Jonathan Dwyer lit up a Virginia defender.
Essentially, here's the question. Whose was better?
Adrian Peterson
Jonathan Dwyer
Minnesota Vikings running-back Adrian Peterson lit up Steeelers cornerback Randall Gay and Georgia Tech running-back Jonathan Dwyer lit up a Virginia defender.
Essentially, here's the question. Whose was better?
Adrian Peterson
Jonathan Dwyer
October 27, 2009
NBA Top 50: The Super Beings (No. 1-4)
So we've been counting down the days 'til the NBA season tips off, and that day is today! With that said, I've been a bit behind in my count-downing-ing. Thus, you get the top 4 in one gi-normous post. Okay, it's not that gi-normous. But what do you want? New accolades for the already universally acclaimed? These guys are the best, and you'd be hard put to find reasonable arguments against it. At this point in his career, you might argue Kobe isn't as valuable as some of the other players. I'd argue he still has a slew of years left in him, mostly because he's the most dogmatic player when it comes to conditioning. Anyway, here's the top 4, in descending order, because really why feign anticipation when the future is already upon us? (Last year's rankings in parentheses...sorry no pics, I wanted to get this up before tip off actually went down, so I'm posting from work. Shhh! Don't tell anyone!)
1. Lebron James (1)…The King really does make the competition look weak by comparison. I’m not hating on Kobe as #2, but I feel qualified enough to confidently say that the whole 1 and 1A discussion that went on during last season’s playoffs was sheer bogosity. Lebron James is hands down the number one player in the NBA. Making this list, I actually wondered who could deservedly be placed at the number 2 slot, as ALMOST as good as James. No one seemed even in the ballpark. Last season, no one else was in the conversation for MVP, and Lebron earned that. He is the most talented player in the league and he consistently performs up to his abilities, making him the scariest thing since the Black Death (how is that not an incredible and controversial nickname for some athlete yet?).
Now, LBJ doesn’t come into this season without a bit of controversy. He’s been dubbed any number of belittling names for his actions as the ’09 season came to a close (and for Lebron Gate this summer). Still, it almost gives him more of an edge this year. If you were to compare these top 4 guys to super heroes, Lebron would be Captain America. He's obviously created in a lab somewhere, and he's got that superhuman quality without seeming next-to-godly. He's the guy you want leading your team (of super heroes OR regular Joes, Jamarios, and Delontes), but at the same time you wonder if that pristine front can really be all there is to him. I hope these faux pas aren't simply blips on his path to world edification but rather a sign of the edge needed for utter domination.
2. Kobe Bryant (2). After several seasons of controversy and much heated debate, this seems to be the slot Kobe Bryant now fills comfortably. At this point, Mamba is a known quantity. So known, in fact, I don’t think I have much to say about him. The only statement I need to make is that there are three aspects of greatness in my mind, and Kobe excels in all three. They are talent, effort, and skill. Kobe is arguably the best ever in two of the three.
First let’s start with the aspect I wouldn’t rank him tops in historically: talent. Kobe may not be the most talented basketball player on the planet, but he is close. Talent is the potential that is talked about as upside, and it is the quiet inner nexus that allows players to grow. Obviously, you need to have this if you’re going to be one of the elite. (Quick aside: top 5 most talented players ever have to be MJ, Lebron, Chamberlain, Dr. J, and Magic) The other aspect that goes hand in hand with talent is effort. Effort is often thought of as the refuge of role players and glue guys. I look it as the maximization of potential. Think of talent as a bubble and maximization as the extent to which a player fills this space with actual ability and accomplishments. Kobe may not have been blessed with the largest potential bubble in history, but no one can dispute that he’s filled his cup the brimming, and maybe even snuck back to the well for refills. (If you talk about the biggest bubbles filled most maximally, I would go with Kobe, MJ, Mailman, and Bill Russell as the archetypes.)
The last aspect speaks to those abilities filled out through maximization. Here, again, Kobe could potentially be at the top of the list historically. Kobe Bryant, in my humble estimation, is the most skilled player in the NBA. Tops ever would include Bryant, Duncan, Bird, MJ, and Chamberlain? The difference between talent and skill is that skill exists outside of realms solely inhabited by athleticism. Thus, we can see that Lebron is more talented than Kobe, though he may not ever be as skilled. Mamba is a technician of the highest order. Oh, and to continue the super hero conceit, Kobe is totally Spider-man. I'll let you play with that on your own time. Okay, more listing…
3. Dwight Howard (8)…I honestly think this is a big drop from the two spot, but last season was a recession of sorts when speaking of high profile players on display. Several major talents underperformed when compared to 07-08. Thus, though Dwight has several very obvious needs to elevate his game to where we all want to see it, he gets the nod at 3. Besides, he didn't exactly get worse over the last year or so. Despite the not hard to see flaws, Superman's become the barometer for dominant when it comes to defense and rebounding. Some Ewing Theory questions arose in this year's playoffs, and there was a steep drop-off when he was pitted against a team with size enough to keep Andrew Bynum off the court in the finals, but expect Howard to come back just as dominant. Last offseason, I didn't see much improvement, and I attribute that to the Olympics. That's what I hear, anyway. This offseason, with a finals lost stewing in his craw for 5 months, expect him to come back with at least one new post move. Here's hoping.
4. Dwyane Wade (11)…Wade may be getting dropped out of the 3 spot simply for his team’s underwhelming performance this year. Also, when taking into consideration the ability of the top 3 guys to take over games, Wade just comes out a little short. All that aside, he had a great season. For much of it, he was said to be in the MVP race. It was a statistical tour de force by Wade, and much hurrah-ed reinvention of the Iverson plus two show of recklessly abandoning self preservation we saw early in Wade's already championship-filigreed resume. I don't know. Words kind of fail me. The Dark Knight brings it all, and he wants to make the all-defense team this year. Watch out. The question now is simply what will his team bring?
What will any team bring? For all my hullaballooing over the top talent (and talent maximization) in the league, the season is made up of teams. These top 50 players will head the storylines throughout the season, that much we can be fairly certain of. Everything else? To be determined. And it all starts...in two hours!
1. Lebron James (1)…The King really does make the competition look weak by comparison. I’m not hating on Kobe as #2, but I feel qualified enough to confidently say that the whole 1 and 1A discussion that went on during last season’s playoffs was sheer bogosity. Lebron James is hands down the number one player in the NBA. Making this list, I actually wondered who could deservedly be placed at the number 2 slot, as ALMOST as good as James. No one seemed even in the ballpark. Last season, no one else was in the conversation for MVP, and Lebron earned that. He is the most talented player in the league and he consistently performs up to his abilities, making him the scariest thing since the Black Death (how is that not an incredible and controversial nickname for some athlete yet?).
Now, LBJ doesn’t come into this season without a bit of controversy. He’s been dubbed any number of belittling names for his actions as the ’09 season came to a close (and for Lebron Gate this summer). Still, it almost gives him more of an edge this year. If you were to compare these top 4 guys to super heroes, Lebron would be Captain America. He's obviously created in a lab somewhere, and he's got that superhuman quality without seeming next-to-godly. He's the guy you want leading your team (of super heroes OR regular Joes, Jamarios, and Delontes), but at the same time you wonder if that pristine front can really be all there is to him. I hope these faux pas aren't simply blips on his path to world edification but rather a sign of the edge needed for utter domination.
2. Kobe Bryant (2). After several seasons of controversy and much heated debate, this seems to be the slot Kobe Bryant now fills comfortably. At this point, Mamba is a known quantity. So known, in fact, I don’t think I have much to say about him. The only statement I need to make is that there are three aspects of greatness in my mind, and Kobe excels in all three. They are talent, effort, and skill. Kobe is arguably the best ever in two of the three.
First let’s start with the aspect I wouldn’t rank him tops in historically: talent. Kobe may not be the most talented basketball player on the planet, but he is close. Talent is the potential that is talked about as upside, and it is the quiet inner nexus that allows players to grow. Obviously, you need to have this if you’re going to be one of the elite. (Quick aside: top 5 most talented players ever have to be MJ, Lebron, Chamberlain, Dr. J, and Magic) The other aspect that goes hand in hand with talent is effort. Effort is often thought of as the refuge of role players and glue guys. I look it as the maximization of potential. Think of talent as a bubble and maximization as the extent to which a player fills this space with actual ability and accomplishments. Kobe may not have been blessed with the largest potential bubble in history, but no one can dispute that he’s filled his cup the brimming, and maybe even snuck back to the well for refills. (If you talk about the biggest bubbles filled most maximally, I would go with Kobe, MJ, Mailman, and Bill Russell as the archetypes.)
The last aspect speaks to those abilities filled out through maximization. Here, again, Kobe could potentially be at the top of the list historically. Kobe Bryant, in my humble estimation, is the most skilled player in the NBA. Tops ever would include Bryant, Duncan, Bird, MJ, and Chamberlain? The difference between talent and skill is that skill exists outside of realms solely inhabited by athleticism. Thus, we can see that Lebron is more talented than Kobe, though he may not ever be as skilled. Mamba is a technician of the highest order. Oh, and to continue the super hero conceit, Kobe is totally Spider-man. I'll let you play with that on your own time. Okay, more listing…
3. Dwight Howard (8)…I honestly think this is a big drop from the two spot, but last season was a recession of sorts when speaking of high profile players on display. Several major talents underperformed when compared to 07-08. Thus, though Dwight has several very obvious needs to elevate his game to where we all want to see it, he gets the nod at 3. Besides, he didn't exactly get worse over the last year or so. Despite the not hard to see flaws, Superman's become the barometer for dominant when it comes to defense and rebounding. Some Ewing Theory questions arose in this year's playoffs, and there was a steep drop-off when he was pitted against a team with size enough to keep Andrew Bynum off the court in the finals, but expect Howard to come back just as dominant. Last offseason, I didn't see much improvement, and I attribute that to the Olympics. That's what I hear, anyway. This offseason, with a finals lost stewing in his craw for 5 months, expect him to come back with at least one new post move. Here's hoping.
4. Dwyane Wade (11)…Wade may be getting dropped out of the 3 spot simply for his team’s underwhelming performance this year. Also, when taking into consideration the ability of the top 3 guys to take over games, Wade just comes out a little short. All that aside, he had a great season. For much of it, he was said to be in the MVP race. It was a statistical tour de force by Wade, and much hurrah-ed reinvention of the Iverson plus two show of recklessly abandoning self preservation we saw early in Wade's already championship-filigreed resume. I don't know. Words kind of fail me. The Dark Knight brings it all, and he wants to make the all-defense team this year. Watch out. The question now is simply what will his team bring?
What will any team bring? For all my hullaballooing over the top talent (and talent maximization) in the league, the season is made up of teams. These top 50 players will head the storylines throughout the season, that much we can be fairly certain of. Everything else? To be determined. And it all starts...in two hours!
Week 7 NFL Prediction Battle Recap
First of all - Woohoo, post #1,001! Way to go Outside the Boxscore, nicely done. I'm glad to be a part of it.As for the Prediction Battle, this week was a close one. Both Outside the Boxscore and the Great Sports Name Hall of Fame were 8-4 heading into Monday Night. OTB had incorrectly picked Minnesota, Atlanta, Oakland, and Miami. GSNHOF had incorrectly picked Minnesota, Atlanta, Carolina, and the Giants. So it all came down to the Philly-Redskins game.
GSNHOF picked Philly, OTB picked Redskins, and so GSNHOF won out, and gained another game lead over OTB. Standings after Week 7 are as follows:
75-28 - Great Sports Name Hall Of Fame
67-36 - Outside The Boxscore (8 Games Back)
67-36 - Outside The Boxscore (8 Games Back)
OTB can definitely still come back. But Ben will have to put a little less faith in the outcomes of Raider games. Hint: JaMarcus Russell is awful.
The BCS Committee gets a "New Girl"
The peeps over at Global Sports Fraternity have a series of videos called "BCS Committee" where the BCS is being run by a bunch of monkeys.
This is one of the more entertaining videos where the chimps get distracted by the new addition to the BCS Committee.
I think we finally have figured out how the Mountain West conference gets no love in the BCS.
October 26, 2009
OTB Celebrates it's 1,000th post
Yep, we finally reached the 1,000th post milestone. When I originally started this blog, I had no idea that we would even touch this level of posts.
We've had alot of fun at the expense of many athletes, ESPN personalities and teams from Charles Barkley to the Detroit Lions to Digger Phelps to Michelle Beadle. We never meant any ill will but sometimes it ends up like that.
We have prided ourselves on our variety and different take on the world of sports and we hope to continue this well into the future.
Here are some quick notes about celebrating our 1,000th post
-> The first ever post (not including the intro) was about the NFL 2008 season of week 14
-> The most mentioned individual on the site is still Charles Barkley at 26 posts.
-> The most mentioned type of post is still the now-defunct "Today's Moment of Zen" at 68 posts.
-> The most mentioned female on OTB, ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews at 11 posts.
In the end, we thank you for your continued support and celebrate this 1,000th post with our two favorite videos at OTB.
Classic "poofy-hair" Carrie Underwood and Endless CSI Miami One-Liners, enjoy.
Bob Griese's Questionable Taco Comment
During the Ohio State-Minnesota tussle over the weekend, ESPN analyst Bob Griese made a rather questionable comment regarding NASCAR's Juan Pablo Montoya.
The joke regarding Montoya not being listed in the top 5 for NASCAR's Chase for the Cup. Then Griese decided to say that "he was out for a taco."
After the game, Griese gave a psuedo-apology to quell any backlash from NASCAR or from Spanish Armada.
I think we need to remember that jokes are harmless and this was not meant in any ill-will. For some reason, I have a strange urge to get Taco Bell now.
(Courtesy of Buckeye Battlecry)
NBA Top 50: You Can't Teach Height (No. 5-7)
Number 7: If healthy, all retina attached and what not, then this should be a big season for Ama're Stoudemire. He wanted to be in the MVP talk last season and most certainly wasn’t. With Alvin Gentry at the helm for the entirety of this year, and the Big Cactus taking his scrabble skills to Cleveland, perhaps this is Ama're’s year. The team didn’t make a lot of changes, so expect for them to struggle to make the playoffs again while being at least a little more exciting this year. Sure, you can’t really rely on STAT, but you also can’t rely on him not ripping you to shreds as he comes thundering down the lane. In the past, he's come back strong from missing a ton of games, so I'm betting on him a bit this season. The leadership is in place in Phoenix (Nash, Grant Hill, Louis Amundson) for him to really succeed. Past years have seen him play a little distractedly, and I think this year he'll able to get over that. Ama're was sixth last year, maybe I should stop betting on him. Then again, six meant more last year than it does this year, when I feel a lot of the top guys are coming in a little low energy.
Number 6: 2008-2009 wasn't a bad season for the Big Fundamental. Not an outstanding one either, in terms of Duncan outstandingness. His ranking was half this last offseason. The team seemed to be more Tony Parker’s team this season. Tim Duncan’s still one of the greatest playing today, but this team has had questions since Parker won the MVP in the ’07 playoffs. This team desperately needs an infusion, and Richard Jefferson is not it. One might argue a double standard here with Duncan and one or two of the guys above him. Shouldn’t the age factor in my rankings put him lower? In stating such an argument, you’d be correct and justified. In talking about the best of the best, I feel it’s important to consider their general irreplaceability. Over the next five to ten years, Kevin Durant has to be considered more valuable than Duncan to a team.
Number 5: Dirk Nowitzki is the one guy on this list who hasn't changed spots at all. The German has perhaps gotten lost in the shuffle since the unfortunate 05-06 and 06-07 seasons when he and the Mavericks were on top of the league. Just for the record, by the way, the MVP has been becoming a retrospective award since he won it in 06-07, as he actually had a more huge-angous season in 05-06. As Kobe should’ve won it in 04-05, thus allowing Lebron to win it in 07-08, but that's how the dominoes fall. Anyway, I know we try tend away from stats here at OtB, but Dirk’s are irresistible for last season. Not only did he score more points per game last season than he has since 05-06 (25.9, good for 4th in the league, which he also hit for in 05-06), but he did it at a higher clip (24.7 points per 36 minutes) and while making up more of his team’s offense than he ever has in his career (30.3% usage rate).
October 25, 2009
NBA Top 50: Leaders of the New (No. 10-8)
Art225 - Appropriation Poster - Andy Warhol of Brandon Roy, originally uploaded by RyanFlem.
CP3 for MVP, originally uploaded by Appleita.
Kind of like devoting only one paragraph to each of these guys. Oh well, someone has to do the insane, whether it's the impressive kind or the other, monotonous kind. Here comes Monday, folks! And a work week you can look forward to filling in with NBA basketball!
Mark Sanchez "Hot Dogs" The Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are probably the most confusing team in the NFL. One week, they beat the possible Super Bowl bound Philadelphia Eagles and appear to have turned the corner.
This week, they got blown out by the Jets, 38-0. The game got so bad that Jets QB Mark Sanchez decided to eat a hot dog on the sideline.
Yep, a hot dog. I will say this, he did a decent job hiding it. However, not good enough from CBS cameras.
NBA Top 50: Kevin Durant (No. 11)
Where anticipation happens! Come Monday, there's only one day left 'til the NBA season tips off. I haven't been counting the days down because, well, the world intervened, my car broke down, and I've been crazed trying to figure it all out. It feels good to be over fifty thousand dollars in debt. The other reason the countdown got broke? I know it's ancient in blog time, but number eleven on the countdown is Kevin Durant, and just before the eleventh day 'til the season, that advanced stats "war" over Durantula started. I know I addressed it, but it still kinda broke me. Don't get me wrong, I'm psyched about the season starting, but I haven't even been able to keep up with the chatter since I've fallen behind on the countdown. That has to stop, so over the next 36 hours I'll be getting a handful of posts up to finally get us to the season. I may have to bunch a few players together, but these top guys? You know them already. So in what order are they coming into the season?
As I said, Kevin Durant is NUMERO ELEVENO. I haven't been keeping tabs on all the advanced stats arguments, but skills wise you know he's there. Last season, I had Durant as #40. He made leaps and bounds in the realm of efficiency. That's right, I just linked to Basketball Reference to prove my point. You should know what to do with it by now. If not, deal with it. Attribute most of this to the move from an ill-advised turn as shooting guard, and just the effect of time. Trust that same effect to keep Durant on the straight and narrow to the top. The whole debate is whether the Thunder are better off with Durant not on the court. I gotta believe he'll figure it out and that'll change. Either way, the Thunder have been pegged for collective 3 feet high [but] rising, and Durant will either lead them out of the floodlands of the Western Conference basement or leave them stranded like the crows left the ark.
Let's do these themed. Durant gets his own. I'd say he reminds a bit of Bosh in terms of length or an early Nowitzki. But, y'know, those are just parallels, not paradigms. Look for those rebound rates to keep climbing, and I'd wager his assists will be up too this season, after the concern he's shown for the whole debate about his efficacy. Next up, the handlers of the next generation. Who loves this game? Everybody comin' back eee-o!
Fantasy Drafthelp: Week 7 NFL Fantasy Advice
Here’s a few standard preface notes:
^ Notwithstanding the claims of any website to be your “home for Sunday morning injury report news,” nothing beats Google News – nothing. Entering a player name into this search engine trumps any other means of gathering information because it culls the data from an unbelievably wide variety of sources.
^ Especially earlier in the season, it’s always good to refer to a strong baseline of where players should have been drafted – and nothing beats FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2009.
^ Unless there are any injury questions, we never discuss “gimme” players. Such core players should be started week in and week out unless there is any question surrounding their playing status. Winning teams only need to worry about “playing the matchups” with one, two or (at the most, during bye weeks) three spots in the lineup. Some websites promise you a crystal ball for how to manage high-risk, high-reward juggling during the season. We don’t. We play the percentages. That approach may be boring, but it’s highly effective and much more intellectually honest in what we promise you.
^ By the way, here are your core players who should not be benched if healthy
QB: Brady, Brees, P Manning, McNabb, Rivers, Rodgers, Romo, Warner
RB: M Barber, R Brown, Forte, Gore, Grant, S Jackson, Jacobs, C Johnson, Jones-Drew, Peterson, Portis, Slaton, Tomlinson, Turner, Westbrook, D Williams
WR: Boldin, Bowe, Colston, Fitzgerald, Jennings, A Johnson, C Johnson, Houshmandzadeh, V Jackson, Marshall, Moss, Ochocinco, S Smith (Carolina), Wayne, R White
TE: Clark, Gates, Gonzalez, Witten
^ Here are the players added to that list since the start of the year:
RB: Benson
WR: Burleson, Driver, S Smith (NY Giants)
TE: Daniels, H Miller
^ And here are the players who were on our list, but have been removed from it:
RB: Lynch
WR: Owens, R Williams
^ Links for each game take you to the CBS Sports home page for each game, with stats, analyis and even video previews.
^ All times listed are EDT.
^ Of the non-gimme players we like this week, the stronger plays are the ones in all caps.
Sunday, Oct. 25
(Byes: Baltimore, Denver, Detroit, Jacksonville, Seattle, Tennessee)
Chicago at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. QB Cutler, TE Olsen, QB Palmer
Green Bay at Cleveland, 1 p.m. TE FINLEY, Browns marginal players all-out
San Francisco at Houston, 1 p.m. TE Davis, QB SCHAUB, WR Walter
San Diego at Kansas City, 1 p.m. Chargers marginal players all-out, RB L Johnson
Minnesota at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. QB FAVRE, WR Rice, QB ROETHLISBERGER, WR Holmes, WR Ward, TE Miller
Indianapolis at St. Louis, 1 p.m. RB Addai, RB Brown, WR Garcon, Rams marginal players all-out
New England vs. Tampa Bay at London, 1 p.m. RB Maroney, WR WELKER, TE Winslow
Buffalo at Carolina, 4:05 p.m. RB Lynch, RB Jackson, WR Muhammad
N.Y. Jets at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. RB JONES (WR Cotchery is out), TE Zach Miller
Atlanta at Dallas, 4:15 p.m. QB Ryan, RB Choice
New Orleans at Miami, 4:15 p.m. (RB Bush and RB Thomas are fairly weak recommendations against this run defense), WR Henderson, WR Moore, TE Shockey, Dolphins marginal players all-out
Arizona at N.Y. Giants, 8:20 p.m. (WR Boldin is a fairly weak recommendation due to health), WR Breaston, QB Manning, WR Manningham
Monday, Oct. 26
Philadelphia at Washington, 8:30 p.m. WR Jackson, TE Celek, TE Cooley
NFL Week 7 Best Waiver Wire Pickups
NOTE: We only recommend plausible pickups; our threshold is 40% or less ownership in CBSSports.com leagues. As such, players may show up on our list multiple weeks if they fall below that percentage and if we still believe in their upside potential.
1 Matt Stover
2 Mike Wallace
3 Kevin Boss
4 Chad Henne
5 Benjarvis Green-Ellis
^ Notwithstanding the claims of any website to be your “home for Sunday morning injury report news,” nothing beats Google News – nothing. Entering a player name into this search engine trumps any other means of gathering information because it culls the data from an unbelievably wide variety of sources.
^ Especially earlier in the season, it’s always good to refer to a strong baseline of where players should have been drafted – and nothing beats FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2009.
^ Unless there are any injury questions, we never discuss “gimme” players. Such core players should be started week in and week out unless there is any question surrounding their playing status. Winning teams only need to worry about “playing the matchups” with one, two or (at the most, during bye weeks) three spots in the lineup. Some websites promise you a crystal ball for how to manage high-risk, high-reward juggling during the season. We don’t. We play the percentages. That approach may be boring, but it’s highly effective and much more intellectually honest in what we promise you.
^ By the way, here are your core players who should not be benched if healthy
QB: Brady, Brees, P Manning, McNabb, Rivers, Rodgers, Romo, Warner
RB: M Barber, R Brown, Forte, Gore, Grant, S Jackson, Jacobs, C Johnson, Jones-Drew, Peterson, Portis, Slaton, Tomlinson, Turner, Westbrook, D Williams
WR: Boldin, Bowe, Colston, Fitzgerald, Jennings, A Johnson, C Johnson, Houshmandzadeh, V Jackson, Marshall, Moss, Ochocinco, S Smith (Carolina), Wayne, R White
TE: Clark, Gates, Gonzalez, Witten
^ Here are the players added to that list since the start of the year:
RB: Benson
WR: Burleson, Driver, S Smith (NY Giants)
TE: Daniels, H Miller
^ And here are the players who were on our list, but have been removed from it:
RB: Lynch
WR: Owens, R Williams
^ Links for each game take you to the CBS Sports home page for each game, with stats, analyis and even video previews.
^ All times listed are EDT.
^ Of the non-gimme players we like this week, the stronger plays are the ones in all caps.
Sunday, Oct. 25
(Byes: Baltimore, Denver, Detroit, Jacksonville, Seattle, Tennessee)
Chicago at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. QB Cutler, TE Olsen, QB Palmer
Green Bay at Cleveland, 1 p.m. TE FINLEY, Browns marginal players all-out
San Francisco at Houston, 1 p.m. TE Davis, QB SCHAUB, WR Walter
San Diego at Kansas City, 1 p.m. Chargers marginal players all-out, RB L Johnson
Minnesota at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. QB FAVRE, WR Rice, QB ROETHLISBERGER, WR Holmes, WR Ward, TE Miller
Indianapolis at St. Louis, 1 p.m. RB Addai, RB Brown, WR Garcon, Rams marginal players all-out
New England vs. Tampa Bay at London, 1 p.m. RB Maroney, WR WELKER, TE Winslow
Buffalo at Carolina, 4:05 p.m. RB Lynch, RB Jackson, WR Muhammad
N.Y. Jets at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. RB JONES (WR Cotchery is out), TE Zach Miller
Atlanta at Dallas, 4:15 p.m. QB Ryan, RB Choice
New Orleans at Miami, 4:15 p.m. (RB Bush and RB Thomas are fairly weak recommendations against this run defense), WR Henderson, WR Moore, TE Shockey, Dolphins marginal players all-out
Arizona at N.Y. Giants, 8:20 p.m. (WR Boldin is a fairly weak recommendation due to health), WR Breaston, QB Manning, WR Manningham
Monday, Oct. 26
Philadelphia at Washington, 8:30 p.m. WR Jackson, TE Celek, TE Cooley
NFL Week 7 Best Waiver Wire Pickups
NOTE: We only recommend plausible pickups; our threshold is 40% or less ownership in CBSSports.com leagues. As such, players may show up on our list multiple weeks if they fall below that percentage and if we still believe in their upside potential.
1 Matt Stover
2 Mike Wallace
3 Kevin Boss
4 Chad Henne
5 Benjarvis Green-Ellis
October 24, 2009
Terry Bradshaw on Jimmy Kimmel Live
For those of you that do not know, my birthday is today and I figured the best way to celebrate it is to show you these clips of Fox NFL analyst Terry Bradshaw on Jimmy Kimmel Live yesterday.
Alright, maybe it was the only thing that I could find but Terry talks about "Pigs for Jesus."
That's enough to view the videos, isn't it?
October 23, 2009
Send in the Links: (10/23/09)
It's that time again as OTB takes a look around the interweb and the blogosphere for the links that you need to see.
Jessica Biel, She is "7th Heaven"
-> Richard Seymour guarantees playoffs for Raiders, JaMarcus Russell promises more INT's (Just Blog Baby)
-> Where is the King when you need him? (With Leather)
-> Where Anticipation Happens (NESW Sports)
-> Michael Vick buys dog food....really, I'm telling the truth (Style Points)
-> Cleveland Browns make Cleveland puke (Bootlegger Sports)
-> Ron Artest wants a Georgetown Girl (That NBA Lottery Pick)
-> The "D" in Detroit Basketball...Except for the Shock (Detroit4Lyfe)
YouTube Clip of the Day: You Need To Get Out More
October 22, 2009
OTB's NFL Week 7 Picks
Well, OTB has done a decent job at picking NFL games on a week to week basis, but let's be honest, we need to pick up the pace here.
This is one of those "Big Boy" weeks where there appears to be a limited numbers of easy picks. We could gain some ground or take a cliff-dive.
Here are the picks for Week 7.
NFL Week 7
SUN, OCT 25 TIME (ET) TV
Green Bay at Cleveland 1:00 PM FOX
San Diego at Kansas City 1:00 PM CBS
Indianapolis at St. Louis 1:00 PM CBS
Minnesota at Pittsburgh 1:00 PM FOX
New England at Tampa Bay 1:00 PM CBS
San Francisco at Houston 1:00 PM FOX
Buffalo at Carolina 4:05 PM CBS
NY Jets at Oakland 4:05 PM CBS
Atlanta at Dallas 4:15 PM FOX
Chicago at Cincinnati 4:15 PM FOX
New Orleans at Miami 4:15 PM FOX
Arizona at NY Giants 8:20 PM NBC
MON, OCT 26 TIME (ET) TV R
Philadelphia at Washington 8:30 PM
(Picture Courtesy of LOL Jocks)
Send in the Links: Michelle Beadle Edition (10/22/09)
It's that time again as OTB takes a look around the blogopshere and interweb for the things you need to see or read.
As you can tell by the title, it's a special Michelle Beadle edition of Send in the Links. Michelle's birthay is upcoming and I figure as a nice tribute, here are some her best moments and interviews. Mainly because she has become a hit-maker for this site and well, she is pretty awesome.
Happy Birthday, Michelle
Michelle Beadle rocks out on SportsNation (Outside the Boxscore)
Awful Announcing's Interview with Michelle Beadle (Awful Announcing)
Real Clear Sports, 8 Questions with Michelle Beadle (Real Clear Sports)
Michelle Beadle mentions Busted Coverage on SportsNation (Busted Coverage)
Michelle Beadle's Gunslinger Jeans Commercial (With Leather)
A Blow-Up Doll Stands in for Michelle Beadle (The Slanch Report)
Michelle Beadle of the 90's: Rodeo Sideline Reporter (Outside the Boxscore)
YouTube Clip of the Day: Michelle Beadle celebrates her first win on Walk the Plank
The Oakland Raiders "Pigeon" in Madden 2010
Remember the Oakland Raiders "Special Teams" pigeon from last week? If not, here is the clip.
Well, it appears that Oakland Raiders owner Al David took my advice after all.
(Courtesy of TwitPic)
Well, it appears that Oakland Raiders owner Al David took my advice after all.
(Courtesy of TwitPic)
When did ESPN become XXXSPN?
With the recent news that ESPN MLB analyst Steve Phillips admitting to having an affair with a 22-year old staffer named Brooke Hundley, it is just another example of an ESPN staffer who has their image tarnished by doing a sexual act with someone related to the company.
The real question is, "When did ESPN get to the point where we followed these types of stories?" Bob Biscigliano of Detroit4Lyfe has posted his timeline of ESPN staffers and personalities who were caught up in some inappropriate behaviour.
However, if we are to take notes, most of these stories have come up in the recent 3-5 years history. Why you may ask? Well, that's around the same time that the blogopshere started to blow-up and Deadspin started to take notes.
The major factor with the creation of new media is that these stories cannot be kept "hush-hush" anymore.
For those people saying that these workers at ESPN are completely out of line, to play's Devil's advocate, what happens if blogs started to cover your workplace? I have a feeling that they would be digging stuff up as well. I'm not condoning what some ESPN staffers have done but there is always an issue when working for a high-profile location.
In a way, I really do not care for these types of stories and at some level feel badly for the individuals involved. Everything in today's society becomes public-domain and at some point, we can know anything about anyone at anytime. The loss of privacy has been ever present and in the end, the question is when does it stop?
October 21, 2009
Michelle Beadle's Stunt-Double is Well.....a Blow-Up Doll
Remember that Gunslinger Jeans commercial with ESPN SportsNation's Michelle Beadle? Well, ESPN SportsNation posted the "Behind the Scenes" clip and showed that ESPN clearly spared no expense when filming that commercial.
The stunt double that stood in for Michelle was well, "A Blow-Up Doll." For those of you that don't know what those are used for, I'm not going to corrupt your kids by telling you.
The real Michelle Beadle's comment at the end of the video is pretty funny which on some level makes her more awesome.
Rock On, Michelle.
October 20, 2009
Mariano Rivera's "SpitBall", Sounds like a bad movie
During game three of the ALCS, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera in the 10th inning appears to spit on the baseball that he is holding. The Angels went onto win but the question that everyone started ask is, "Did Riviera spit on the baseball?"
Fox's coverage cuts away to a shot of Angels manager Mike Scioscia but it does appear that Riviera did spit on the ball. Then the blogosphere and YouTube got their hands of the video and many fans tried to proclaim that Rivera should be suspended for throwing a spit-ball.
At this point, I could care less about whether Rivera threw a spit-ball or not. Did it give him an unfair advantage? Maybe, the Angels won anyway so I figure that everything is right with the world in the sense of karma. I am just so surprised that the entire blogosphere blew up over such a minor incident.
If you ask me, why baseball fans freaked out over such a little thing? I will just tell you that baseball and it's fans have alot of other things to worry about.
(Courtesy of A Hell, Alot, Of, Blogs)
October 19, 2009
NFL Prediction Battle: Week 6 Results
The Giants-Saints game: Yeah...it was kind of like that all day long. The Giants, as a team, were only slightly better than this guy (worst gansta rapper ever).The battle between the Great Sports Name Hall of Fame and Outside the Boxscore this week in NFL picks was much closer however, mainly because EVERY SINGLE PICK WE MADE WAS THE SAME. Except one game. I guess the games were just that "easy."
Not too easy though, as we each got at least three games wrong. The three incorrect picks we had in common included the Bengals, Eagles, and Jets to win. In our defense, I don't think anyone really expected the Raiders or Bills to win a game.
The only game in which OTB and GSNHOF opinion differed was the Tampa Bay-Carolina game. GSNHOF picked Carolina to win and they did, which puts the weekly win loss at 11-3 (GSNHOF) and 10-4 (OTB). Great Sports Name Hall of Fame gains a game, and the season standings as of now are:
66-24 - Great Sports Name Hall Of Fame
59-31 - Outside The Boxscore (7 Games Back)
Next week could be a 14-0 week for some people, as a lot of the games are pretty one sided. Predicting upsets will be the name of the game, so let's see which blog does it better!
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders are scared of haunted houses
Both of the below videos almost seem like the beginning to a really bad scary movie but it is actually the Tampa Bay Buccaneer cheerleaders visiting Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens in Orlando.
Essentially, the cheerleaders go from location to location and scream. That's pretty much it.
However, it's still entertaining to watch. Here are both videos from 2008 and 2009:
Al Davis just signed that Pigeon
I'm going to venture that most of you were surprised to see the Oakland Raiders beat the Philadelphia Eagles over the weekend. However, you will probably be even more surprised that Raiders got a little help from a pigeon.
During the 4th quarter, the Raiders were kicking off after a Sebastian Janikowski field goal and a pigeon had wandered onto the field.
The even more surprising thing is that he helped the Raiders on that kickoff coverage by flying down the field with the kick-off team. Fox broadcasters Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan were in stitches in the booth after seeing the replay.
The pigeon was not available for comment after the game but I have feeling Al Davis was signing him to a three-year deal with a birdseed option for the fourth.
(Courtesy of Sports By Brooks)
October 17, 2009
Fantasy Drafthelp: Week 6 NFL Fantasy Advice
Here’s a few standard preface notes:
^ Notwithstanding the claims of any website to be your “home for Sunday morning injury report news,” nothing beats Google News – nothing. Entering a player name into this search engine trumps any other means of gathering information because it culls the data from an unbelievably wide variety of sources.
^ Especially earlier in the season, it’s always good to refer to a strong baseline of where players should have been drafted – and nothing beats FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2009.
^ Unless there are any injury questions, we never discuss “gimme” players. Such core players should be started week in and week out unless there is any question surrounding their playing status. Winning teams only need to worry about “playing the matchups” with one, two or (at the most, during bye weeks) three spots in the lineup. Some websites promise you a crystal ball for how to manage high-risk, high-reward juggling during the season. We don’t. We play the percentages. That approach may be boring, but it’s highly effective and much more intellectually honest in what we promise you.
^ By the way, here are your core players who should not be benched if healthy
QB: Brady, Brees, P Manning, McNabb, Rivers, Rodgers, Romo, Warner
RB: M Barber, R Brown, Forte, Gore, Grant, S Jackson, Jacobs, C Johnson, Jones-Drew, Lynch, Peterson, Portis, Slaton, Tomlinson, Turner, Westbrook, D Williams
WR: Boldin, Bowe, Colston, Fitzgerald, Jennings, A Johnson, C Johnson, Houshmandzadeh, V Jackson, Marshall, Moss, Ochocinco, Owens, S Smith, Wayne, R White, R Williams
TE: Clark, Gates, Gonzalez, Witten
^ Links for each game take you to the CBS Sports home page for each game, with stats, analysis and even video previews.
^ Of the non-gimme players we like this week, the stronger plays are the ones in all caps.
Houston at Cincinnati: WR Walter, TE Daniels, RB BENSON, WR Caldwell
Detroit at Green Bay: RB Smith, WR DRIVER, TE Finley
St. Louis at Jacksonville: Rams all-out, WR Sims-Walker
Baltimore at Minnesota: QB Flacco, TE Heap, QB Favre, TE Shiancoe
New York Giants at New Orleans: QB E Manning, WR Smith, Saints all-out
Cleveland at Pittsburgh: Browns all-out, Steelers all-in (with Mendenhall at RB)
Carolina at Tampa Bay: RB Stewart, TE Winslow
Kansas City at Washington: RB Johnson, WR MOSS, TE Cooley
Philadelphia at Oakland: RB McCoy (in addition to RB Westbrook), TE Celek, Raiders all-out
Arizona at Seattle: RB Hightower, Seahawks all-in
Tennessee at New England: WR Britt, WR Welker
Buffalo at New York Jets: Bills all-out, WR Cotchery, WR EDWARDS, TE Keller
Chicago at Atlanta: QB Cutler, QB Ryan
Denver at San Diego: RB Moreno, Chargers all-out
NFL Week 6 Best Waiver Wire Pickups
NOTE: We only recommend plausible pickups; our threshold is 40% or less ownership in CBSSports.com leagues. As such, players may show up on our list multiple weeks if they fall below that percentage and if we still believe in their upside potential.
1 Chad Henne
2 Kelley Washington
3 Chansi Stuckey
4 Kenny Britt
5 Mike Wallace
^ Notwithstanding the claims of any website to be your “home for Sunday morning injury report news,” nothing beats Google News – nothing. Entering a player name into this search engine trumps any other means of gathering information because it culls the data from an unbelievably wide variety of sources.
^ Especially earlier in the season, it’s always good to refer to a strong baseline of where players should have been drafted – and nothing beats FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2009.
^ Unless there are any injury questions, we never discuss “gimme” players. Such core players should be started week in and week out unless there is any question surrounding their playing status. Winning teams only need to worry about “playing the matchups” with one, two or (at the most, during bye weeks) three spots in the lineup. Some websites promise you a crystal ball for how to manage high-risk, high-reward juggling during the season. We don’t. We play the percentages. That approach may be boring, but it’s highly effective and much more intellectually honest in what we promise you.
^ By the way, here are your core players who should not be benched if healthy
QB: Brady, Brees, P Manning, McNabb, Rivers, Rodgers, Romo, Warner
RB: M Barber, R Brown, Forte, Gore, Grant, S Jackson, Jacobs, C Johnson, Jones-Drew, Lynch, Peterson, Portis, Slaton, Tomlinson, Turner, Westbrook, D Williams
WR: Boldin, Bowe, Colston, Fitzgerald, Jennings, A Johnson, C Johnson, Houshmandzadeh, V Jackson, Marshall, Moss, Ochocinco, Owens, S Smith, Wayne, R White, R Williams
TE: Clark, Gates, Gonzalez, Witten
^ Links for each game take you to the CBS Sports home page for each game, with stats, analysis and even video previews.
^ Of the non-gimme players we like this week, the stronger plays are the ones in all caps.
Houston at Cincinnati: WR Walter, TE Daniels, RB BENSON, WR Caldwell
Detroit at Green Bay: RB Smith, WR DRIVER, TE Finley
St. Louis at Jacksonville: Rams all-out, WR Sims-Walker
Baltimore at Minnesota: QB Flacco, TE Heap, QB Favre, TE Shiancoe
New York Giants at New Orleans: QB E Manning, WR Smith, Saints all-out
Cleveland at Pittsburgh: Browns all-out, Steelers all-in (with Mendenhall at RB)
Carolina at Tampa Bay: RB Stewart, TE Winslow
Kansas City at Washington: RB Johnson, WR MOSS, TE Cooley
Philadelphia at Oakland: RB McCoy (in addition to RB Westbrook), TE Celek, Raiders all-out
Arizona at Seattle: RB Hightower, Seahawks all-in
Tennessee at New England: WR Britt, WR Welker
Buffalo at New York Jets: Bills all-out, WR Cotchery, WR EDWARDS, TE Keller
Chicago at Atlanta: QB Cutler, QB Ryan
Denver at San Diego: RB Moreno, Chargers all-out
NFL Week 6 Best Waiver Wire Pickups
NOTE: We only recommend plausible pickups; our threshold is 40% or less ownership in CBSSports.com leagues. As such, players may show up on our list multiple weeks if they fall below that percentage and if we still believe in their upside potential.
1 Chad Henne
2 Kelley Washington
3 Chansi Stuckey
4 Kenny Britt
5 Mike Wallace
October 16, 2009
Send in the Links: (10/16/09)
It's that time again as OTB takes a look around the blogosphere and the interweb for the best that it has to offer or at least the stuff that magically falls into our inbox.
Kirsten Dunst, She's my Mary Jane.
-> Blogs with Balls 2.0 opening, I learn that I owe a debt to AJ Daulerio (With Leather)
-> Sean Witherspoon's Snuggie is pimp, nuff said (Dr. Saturday)
-> Kareem's Epic Jeopardy Fail (That NBA Lottery Pick)
-> Will the Internet Take-Down Dick Jauron? (Rumors and Rants)
-> Dennis Rodman continues to support breast cancer in his own weird way (No Guts, No Glory)
-> So That's Where Amy Winehouse has been, She's dating one of George Foreman's Sons (Style Points)
YouTube Clip of the Day: Balloon Boy slips up in interview
