Tag: sports

Russia? That makes a degree of sense given the way in which Russian commodity wealth is making itself felt throughout the sports world. And Vladimir Putin is nothing if not a sports enthusiast. But Qatar? It’s not as if I was planning on attending the World Cup no matter where it is, but an Arab country seems like a rather unusual choice of venue given the present difficulties from Afghanistan to Iran.

102 Blackmouth Banksters (7-4-0)
101 Moundsview Meerkats (2-8-1)

86 Valders Quixotes (8-3-0)
79 MS Swamp Spartans (5-5-1)

86 Bane Sidhe (7-4-0)
52 RR Redbeards (4-6-1)

97 Greenfield Grizzlies (5-5-1)
71 Meigs Marauders (5-6-0)

88 Judean Rhyneauxs (6-5-0)
74 Winston Reverends (4-7-0)

This is getting too absurd for words. I just scored more points than anyone else had previously scored all season… and still lost by one thanks to a kicker who scored nothing. But the Grizz are on a tear with a three-game winning streak just in time for a playoff run.

Childress is gone:

Jay Glazer of FOX Sports is first reported, and the Vikings have confirmed, that Childress has been fired…. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has been named the interim head coach for the rest of the 2010 season.

I never thought I’d say this, but thank you Green Bay! I have no confidence in Frazier, but I actively disliked Childress from the moment his hiring was announced. I don’t even think Andy Reid is a good head coach – he’s a great quarterbacks coach, to be sure – so hiring someone who worked under Reid and didn’t even call the plays as his offensive coordinator seemed totally inexplicable. The success the Vikings have had was the result of Rick Spielman’s work in bringing in good players; literally anyone could have achieved decent results with the talent he brought in.

One wonders how Wilf made his money, since handing Childress an extension last year when absolutely no one was offering him a job was one of the dumbest business decisions I’ve ever seen. Now he’ll be paying for it. I doubt any of the marquis coaches will have a lot of interest in the job, but I’d take a serious look at Brian Billick. Anyone who can win a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer at quarterback has something going on and I always liked his pre-game speech before the AFC Championship game against the favored Titans.

“When you go in the lion’s den, you don’t tippy toe in — you carry a spear, you go in screaming like a banshee, you kick whatever doors in, and say, ‘Where’s the son of a bitch?'”

89 RR Redbeards (4-5-1)
61 Moundsview Meerkats (2-7-1)

80 MS Swamp Spartans (5-4-1)
58 Blackmouth Banksters (6-4-0)

81 Greenfield Grizzlies (4-5-1)
69 Valders Quixotes (7-3-0)

71 Bane Sidhe (6-4-0)
57 Judean Rhyneauxs (5-5-0)

69 Meigs Marauders (5-5-0)
66 Winston Reverends (4-6-0)

I honestly thought I had a good chance at that game despite Aaron Rodgers being on the bye. And then Michael Vick scored 46 points! Going into week 11, my kicker has already been outscored by the Blackmouth kicker 13-0. My only goal left is to finish in the top three in points scored while remaining on the bottom of the league standings. In other news, watch out for a raging bear market; the Grizzlies appear to be making their move.

98 Moundsview Meerkats (3-6-1)
54 Bane Sidhe (5-4-0)

89 Judean Rhyneauxs (5-4-0)
76 Meigs Marauders (4-5-0)

84 Greenfield Grizzlies (3-5-1)
44 Blackmouth Banksters (6-3-0)

68 Valders Quixotes (7-2-0)
52 Winston Reverends (4-5-0)

53 MS Swamp Spartans (3-5-1)
42 RR Redbeards (4-4-1)

Sometimes you have a bad season because you just don’t have the horses or you make poor decisions about whom to start. Well, I didn’t have the horses – had only one player worth keeping after some desperate roster shuffling in a futile attempt to win the first-round playoff game last year – and I drafted not one, but two worthless top ten-rated running backs with my second and third pick. Then I left Arian Foster on the bench when he had his huge 29-point day against the Colts. And yet, this has actually been one of my best roster-shuffling jobs I’ve ever done; after that awful draft, I made what have turned out to be some really good pickups and have put up only three less points than the VPFL leaders. And yet somehow, I’m still FOUR AND ONE-HALF GAMES BEHIND with the worst record in the league.

83 Blackmouth Banksters (6-2-0)
49 Winston Reverends (4-4-0)

54 Valders Quixotes (6-2-0)
43 Judean Rhyneauxs (4-4-0)

82 Meigs Marauders (4-4-0)
61 Bane Sidhe (5-3-0)

63 MS Swamp Spartans (3-4-1)
63 Moundsview Meerkats (1-6-1)

51 RR Redbeards (3-4-1)
51 Greenfield Grizzlies (2-5-1)

It was kiss your sister week in the VPFL. I’m frankly shocked that I managed to avoid losing with Aaron Rogers only contributing 3 points, although as it turns out I could have even won if I hadn’t neglected to start Jacob Tamme for the injured Zach Miller at TE; I picked Tamme up with precisely that intention but somehow managed to forget to actually plug him into the lineup. And it’s good to be a Bankster, as Blackmouth is starting to show signs of separating itself from the pack.

Medea had nothing on the Minnesota Vikings. After that ludicrous collapse yesterday, they went and waived Randy Moss! Right, because he was the problem. Interestingly enough, Favre wasn’t the problem last night, the one underthrown ball to Percy Harvin that led to a fantastic interception by the Patriot rookie cornerback notwithstanding.

1. Childress blew another challenge. A week late doesn’t count, Chilly.
2. Going for it on fourth-and-goal was a reasonable call. Trying to run behind Loadholt instead of Hutchinson wasn’t.
3. Apparently we have never heard of “play-action” passes. Especially not when everyone in the stadium knows the ball is going to AD.
4. Asher Allen.
5. And again, Asher Allen. Is there any way Antoine Winfield doesn’t make that tackle on Wes Welker?
6. The Tarvaris Jackson Experiment still cannot play quarterback in the National Football League. I remember that signature, “lift up the ball high as the pocket collapses around you, then somehow manage to hold onto it as you get sacked” play. Nice to see he’s still got it.

Naturally, the solution to all of this was getting rid of the Hall of Fame wide receiver who commanded double and triple-teams all game. Childress has to go and he has to go now. He’s the only coach in the league capable of being outcoached by Mike Singletary. There’s no need for an interim coach, just let Brett Favre do it. It’s not like he could do any worse.

I kind of hope New England signs Moss. It would be a fitting conclusion to the madness.

94 Greenfield Grizzlies(2-5)
74 Moundsview Meerkats (1-6)

84 RR Redbeards (3-4)
66 Winston Reverends (4-3)

92 Blackmouth Banksters (5-2)
78 Judean Rhyneauxs (4-3)

48 Valders Quixotes
44 Meigs Marauders

46 Bane Sidhe
39 MS Swamp Spartans

The Piranha of the Serengeti are looking simply woeful this year. Even when I finally managed to score some points, I got lit up by the nearly-as-woeful Grizzlies; who would have thought the worst two teams in the league would shoot it out. But while I can blame myself for trusting those who said Shonn Greene and Ryan Mathews were going to have big years – my first two draft picks in lieu of keepers – it’s just bad luck that has seen opposing teams score 520 points against me, 170 more than the Bane Sidhe so far. But these things should balance out over the course of the season, so even if I’m already out of the playoff hunt, I can still achieve respectability.

On the NFL front, why does Chilly insist on trying to talk smack with Belichick? Does he not have enough problems on his hands?

This is an interesting little clip of four clueless guys attempting to take on a guy who appears to possess a moderate amount of boxing experience. Notice how he keeps moving sideways and backward into open space, only occasionally stepping forward when the opportunity, or in one case, the need, presents itself. The most important thing is that he limits himself to short, quick jabs and crosses; by doing so he avoids committing completely to a strike and thereby leaving himself open. He stays focused on defense throughout and does an excellent job of throwing his opponents down to the ground in order to buy himself more time and clear space whenever he can.

Now, imagine if the guy’s training had incorporated some jujitsu and he’d been throwing some elbows and the occasional low kick of his own instead of only punches… more than the one guy in the white would have been down. Of course, the four guys should have surrounded him from the start, but they had no way of knowing he was a boxer and in the heat of the moment, it’s almost impossible for more than two people to coordinate their actions anyway.

For me, the best moment is when he steps into the white-shirted guy’s second attempt to kick him, catches him off balance on one leg, and puts him down. It reminded me of how one fights a Tae Kwan Do kicker; the minute they plant and start to move their rear leg, step in hard. It’s harder to do than it sounds, because the instinctive reaction is to step back. And Mr. White Shirt is a perfect example of how not to fight. He’s aggressive, but hapless, consistently leading with his face and telegraphing his moves so badly that not a single one of his five attacks even lands, let alone does any harm.

Compare that guy with this man defending his girlfriend. He also shows obvious signs of training, but demonstrates less situational awareness and fighting experience as well as inferior technique. Part of this is because he is taking a more aggressive approach, but he makes the mistake of repeatedly extending himself and twice leaves himself open to an attack by the unengaged opponent, at one point even turning his back on the first guy he attacked. He also leads with his rear hand twice; although he gets away with it here thanks to his opponents’ lack of training, trying that against the first guy would have almost surely met with the rude interruption of a jab to the face.

I was also surprised at his lack of finishing, as I was completely expecting him to kick the first guy in the face when he turned around at the end. But then, the guy had gestured at him, so perhaps he was taught to go to submission rather than incapacitation.

67 Winston Reverends (4-2)
44 Moundsview Meerkats (1-5)

63 Judean Rhyneauxs (4-2)
52 RR Redbeards (2-4)

65 Blackmouth Banksters (4-2)
50 Meigs Marauders (3-3)

69 Valders Quixotes (4-2)
68 Bane Sidhe (4-2)

77 MS Swamp Spartans (3-3)
61 Greenfield Grizzlies (1-5)

This is your weekly NFL discussion thread. I picked up Lance Moore, so naturally Hakeem Nicks is Questionable on the same week that Arian Foster sits. It appears unlikely to be my year… but at least I should be able to beat the woeful Grizzlies, LdT notwithstanding.