First of all I'd like to thank the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers for doing exactly what they should be doing - making me money.
If you enjoy:
GUYS BEING TAKEN OFF THE ICE ON STRETCHERS...
...then the NHL is for you. I kid you not - in this weekend's Canucks/Oilers game, Oiler Matthieu Roy was taken off the ice on a stretcher after being hit from behind by Rick Rypien. And this was only days after Steve Downie tried to end Dean McAmmond's career and McAmmond was taken off the ice on a stretcher. Wow - this is sure giving the fans their money's worth isn't it? People are starting to turn their backs on the NHL because of hits like these - and it's not like the league has a lot of fans to spare.
OWNERSHIP GROUPS SUING THE LEAGUE THEY BELONG TO...
...then the NHL might be for you too. I swear this is just too easy - MSG, the company that owns the New York Rangers has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the NHL. Here is a link to an article that explains the situation much better than I can - from TSN.ca. The basics of it seem to be that MSG thinks the NHL does such a terrible job marketing itself that the team wants to retain the ability to market itself. For a league that has had ownership solidarity lately (and needed it) this might be the first crack in the armour. More than hits to the head, this might be the evolving story of the year.
OFFICIALS WHO CLEARLY HAVE NO GRASP ON WHAT THEY'RE DOING...
...then the CFL might be for you. As someone who was at the Saskatchewan/Montreal game on Saturday I can tell you without any exaggeration that on 4 separate occasions the referees threw penalty flags only to have them picked up with the explanation that, "there was no foul on the play." Now it's good that the refs got together and got the calls right - but my question is why were those flags thrown in the first place? And not once, not twice, not three times - but four times? Wow. And to top it all off, the challenge/review system in the CFL should be scrapped if the officials cannot get calls right even after review. On one play Andy Fantuz clearly caught the ball and then lost it when he hit the ground - but of course after review it was ruled incomplete. Then there was an almost review of a tipped ball/pass interference play that was so ridiculous I won't even waste your time explaining it. Suffice it to say the officiating is a problem that desperately needs to be fixed.
OVERRATED FOOTBALL TEAMS...
...then College Football might be for you. Eight of the top 25 teams in U.S College Football lost on the weekend, including Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Clemson, Alabama and Penn State. Ugly. You can imagine how this affected Cooper's College Football column. Ugly.
EXCITING SPORTS...
...then Major League Baseball might be for you. Don't laugh - I'm serious. After 161 games the playoff race in the National League came down to yesterday, the season's final day - and even that wasn't enough. San Diego and Colorado will play a one-game playoff today to determine who gets the National League Wild Card. And because of the NY Mets choke job yesterday and the Philadelphia Phillies win, Philly is in and the Mets go home. Hard to believe that after 161 games 4 teams could still be fighting for 2 playoff spots.
CHANGE FOR THE SAKE OF CHANGE...
...then the new Sports As Life might be for you. Tell us what you think. Also check out my guest column on David Letterman on Music, Movies and TV.
If you enjoy:
GUYS BEING TAKEN OFF THE ICE ON STRETCHERS...
...then the NHL is for you. I kid you not - in this weekend's Canucks/Oilers game, Oiler Matthieu Roy was taken off the ice on a stretcher after being hit from behind by Rick Rypien. And this was only days after Steve Downie tried to end Dean McAmmond's career and McAmmond was taken off the ice on a stretcher. Wow - this is sure giving the fans their money's worth isn't it? People are starting to turn their backs on the NHL because of hits like these - and it's not like the league has a lot of fans to spare.
OWNERSHIP GROUPS SUING THE LEAGUE THEY BELONG TO...
...then the NHL might be for you too. I swear this is just too easy - MSG, the company that owns the New York Rangers has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the NHL. Here is a link to an article that explains the situation much better than I can - from TSN.ca. The basics of it seem to be that MSG thinks the NHL does such a terrible job marketing itself that the team wants to retain the ability to market itself. For a league that has had ownership solidarity lately (and needed it) this might be the first crack in the armour. More than hits to the head, this might be the evolving story of the year.
OFFICIALS WHO CLEARLY HAVE NO GRASP ON WHAT THEY'RE DOING...
...then the CFL might be for you. As someone who was at the Saskatchewan/Montreal game on Saturday I can tell you without any exaggeration that on 4 separate occasions the referees threw penalty flags only to have them picked up with the explanation that, "there was no foul on the play." Now it's good that the refs got together and got the calls right - but my question is why were those flags thrown in the first place? And not once, not twice, not three times - but four times? Wow. And to top it all off, the challenge/review system in the CFL should be scrapped if the officials cannot get calls right even after review. On one play Andy Fantuz clearly caught the ball and then lost it when he hit the ground - but of course after review it was ruled incomplete. Then there was an almost review of a tipped ball/pass interference play that was so ridiculous I won't even waste your time explaining it. Suffice it to say the officiating is a problem that desperately needs to be fixed.
OVERRATED FOOTBALL TEAMS...
...then College Football might be for you. Eight of the top 25 teams in U.S College Football lost on the weekend, including Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Clemson, Alabama and Penn State. Ugly. You can imagine how this affected Cooper's College Football column. Ugly.
EXCITING SPORTS...
...then Major League Baseball might be for you. Don't laugh - I'm serious. After 161 games the playoff race in the National League came down to yesterday, the season's final day - and even that wasn't enough. San Diego and Colorado will play a one-game playoff today to determine who gets the National League Wild Card. And because of the NY Mets choke job yesterday and the Philadelphia Phillies win, Philly is in and the Mets go home. Hard to believe that after 161 games 4 teams could still be fighting for 2 playoff spots.
CHANGE FOR THE SAKE OF CHANGE...
...then the new Sports As Life might be for you. Tell us what you think. Also check out my guest column on David Letterman on Music, Movies and TV.
3 comments:
On the new sports as life page...not sure I kinda liked the look of the orginal, also liked having the links on the left though not sure why. As far as content ... top-notch
Then a comment on the CFL thing. The Fantuz catch they got right. The tipped ball... yeah that was gong showyish. With the catch in either league CFL/NFL that would be ruled an incomplete pass because they've changed so that you have to be in control on that first impact. Obviously if you've caught it and made a 'football move' then it's a fumble but if it's a catch-hit type thing you have to maintian control.
how about if you enjoy the feeling of knowing nothing about football....then fantasy football might be for you.
I like the new page. The rounder look is more modern if you ask me. So you can put me in the pro column for the new page colum.
Second. Anyone who thinks the UFC is stupid because it is just people trying to kill each other should get thier head examined. You are bang on about the hits getting out of hand in the NHL. At least in UFC the other guy knows you are trying to take his head off. That Downie hit was embarassing. I understand that finishing your checks is imporant...but what was Downie thinking? There was no benifit to that hit. Everything you do should be for a hockey related reason, not because you are a kill seeking moron.
Also, Baseball is the worst sport on earth, with maybe the exceptions of the WNBA, but I do love the playoffs. Honestly, all the MLB would have to do to make me a bigger fan and maybe go out and by that Red Sox hat would be to cut the season in half. Go Sox.
Also, you didn't mention the golf over the weekend, probably because there wasn't much to mention except for this HILARIOUS moment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpVto7vvrZ8&mode=related&search=
I bet you were one of those New Coke fans, weren't ya. I like the sportsaslife classic page much better. Felt more natural, and less...like...oh, every other blog out there.
But seriously, good job, keep up the hard work and all that stuff.
TH
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