Deep thoughts from the Speakerboxxx

Image credit: www.drunkathlete.com

Sorry I had to go off the grid for a week or so. I had a big meeting with the Treasury Secretary, and to be honest, my taxes aren’t exactly in order. But the sports world has been blowing up like a balloon with a grenade in it lately, so I feel the need to briefly weigh in on some things. After all, when a man’s lights are going out, the fat lady can’t sing if it’s not over. Whoo.

Ben Judah adds another quarter inch to his resume: I’m willing to cede the point that its probably not the best idea in the world for extremely famous football players to run around pressing the flesh with common girls in college dive bars. I mean, Tiger had about the most elaborate chick screening process imaginable and that broke down. But I’m going to draw the line at people calling him out for being “classless.” You know, wine and cheese parties aren’t for everyone, and having attended a few, I’d argue they aren’t for anyone. And college bars are usually fun if nothing else, so get off your high horse. In the interest of full disclosure, I have a big soft spot for Ben because he has the Face Least Likely to be Attached to a World Class Athlete. I think it’s hilarious.

Also, props to Deadspin for pointing out that Peter King said that if Big Ben is guilty of sexual assault, he should “grow up.” Peter King is an idiot, exhibit 40345. And on Ben’s choice to hire the lawyer that got Uncle Ray Ray off, the only way he could get himself found not guiltier is if he resurrected Johnny Cochran and Robert Kardashian. On a side note, I’d love to see the look on Bob’s face if he came back to life and saw his family right now. I digress.

Allen Iverson’s “life-threatening” gambling and alcohol problems: With the disclaimer that this was reported by Stephen A. Smith, and is therefore likely to be as free from dramatic embellishment as an MTV reality show, I’ll defer to Vato’s take on this one. This story is unsurprising. It is pretty well known that MJ had the same career threatening gambling problems, and some people still argue that his “break” when he played baseball was a quiet year long suspension from David Stern. Iverson may be the next most pathologically competitive person since Jordan, that kind of personality failing probably goes hand in hand.

The NASCAR controversy: These two words don’t even go together. It’s like saying “black unity.” Something this irrelevant can’t be controversial. I think the gist of this is that NASCAR told its drivers to “have at it” in an effort to make the sport more exciting. So somebody named Edwards intentionally wrecked somebody name Keselowski and now there’s a huge backlash. Edwards got probation, which seems to be evidence NASCAR is cool with stuff like that. Dear NASCAR, that was a pretty spectacular wreck, and I still don’t care about your sport. Please don’t get anybody killed trying to get me to watch you. I was more shocked to hear Edwards referred to on ESPN as a “face of the sport.” Come again? Isn’t that Richard Petty or some sort of Allison or something?

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Redemption is spelled S-o-r-g-i

Sorgi the Redeemer

And lo, the clouds have parted!   Karmic order has been restored, Jim Sorgi has signed with the Giants to backup another Manning.  Presumably, this signing is a result of my previous post. 

Another thing: If I was Jim Sorgi, I would definately refer to myself as “The Sorgasm” when talking to the ladies.  In fact, let’s start a grass roots movement here to rebrand him in the blogosphere thusly.

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Dark Days for an American Hero

In yet another crippling blow to career backup quarterbacks, Jim Sorgi was released by the Colts this weekend.

As longtime readers know, Jim Sorgi is something of a hero around these parts.  He has managed to pull down over $1.0M a year in salary to basically hand Peyton Manning gatorade and pretend to listen to a headset.  How is any job going to ever compare to that?  Can you imagine Sorgi trying to fit into corporate america now?

Boss: Sorgi!  Where are those reports on the McGarnagle file?

Sorgi: (inexplicably wearing a headset at his cubicle) Hey man… your harshin’ my mellow.  You see, the Sorgster doesn’t (finger quotes) do the (finger quotes) work around here.  He backs up the guy who does, ya dig?  I would also like a raise to $1.1M per year.

Boss: You’re fired.

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Free Agency: Man that must be sweet

Antrel Rolle Practicing his Money Diving

Free Agency started at midnight last night.  I have a couple of thoughts, and I will be updating as the day goes on:

  • Does it get any better than this for Adam Shefter?  This is what he lives for.  Nay, this is what an 800 year eugenics program to create the Kwisatz Haderach of NFL insiders culminates in annually.  I like to imagine him sitting inside a circular desk with 12 computers and 14 cell phones, spinning around and dealing with 10 anonymous NFL executives at once while firing off twitters with his feet.  I love that dude.
  • One of the great parts about free agency is that every year 4 or 5 guys fall ass backwards into contracts that are three standard deviations larger than they deserve.  For example, Gary Brackett just signed a 5 – year $33m deal that is going to skyrocket Karlos Dansby’s value.  Dansby has never made a pro bowl.   But as a Dolphins fan, I am still sitting around hoping we deliver $43M dollar to his house in some kind of money airlift because I can’t take another season of our inside linebackers getting torched by 5.2 speed tight ends and the guys from Murderball.
  • I am calling it right now:  The Redskins are talking alot of junk about how they aren’t going to make unfathomably terrible signings anymore, but it is absolutely guaranteed that they pay Joey Porter $37 million dollars and then draft Jimmy Clausen in the first round, paving the way to 9 wins over the next 5 seasons.

UPDATE #1: Well they didn’t waste any time. Rumors of TYSOTB favorite Rex “Sex Cannon” Grossman to Washington.  This could be HIGH comedy.  I mostly feel for Sexy Rexy here, it is going to be difficult to satiate his carnal needs with DC heifers.

UPDATE #2: PFT reports that the Cardinals aren’t giving up on resigning Dansby, even though it seems extremely unlikely at this point.  The Cardinal’s GM can be reached for comment HERE

UPDATE #3: John Fox sheds tears when discussing Delhomme’s release from Carolina.  If you are shedding tears about Jake Delhomme, you are either as good at feigning human emotions as Urban Meyer, or you seriously need to re-evaluate your life.  When reached for comment about being unemployed, Delhomme stated:

and promptly threw 6 interceptions.

UPDATE #4: The Bears, assuming the mantle of the New York Met’s of football, are committing $12.5M to Chester Taylor and between $78-$84M to Julius Peppers.  Peppers, who has a reputation of taking plays off and being disinterested, is almost certain to over perform a gigantic, guaranteed contract for the next 6 years  (/sarcasm font).  Seriously, Peppers would have to also play QB on offense and do ticket sales in the offseason to come close to deserving that market value, and that is if he plays up to his abilities on defense (which he won’t).

UPDATE #5: Per Adam Shefter, St. Louis has signed A.J. Feeley to a 2 year, $6 Mill4z8dfuz09fa#faffajkjkeaqqad. 

(10 minutes later)

Sorry about that, I tend to black out with rage when I see AJ Feely’s name.  And typing about him inexplicably being paid $6M doesn’t help.  Come on Rams, Koy Detmer is out there still and I guarantee he would sign for way less.  Say, 2 cases of Busch Light a week and a plastic badge that says “Official Rams Squirrel Hunter”.

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Bass to the Future

 

From AL.com, comes some story about bass stocking and something something.  To be honest, I only really read the totally awesome headline, which I had to unapologetically steal.   However the headline and an imagining of what I assume the body of the text to be led me to one incontravertible conclusion: The pervasive Largemouth Bass Lobby has succeeded in convincing Alabama to be the testing grounds for their latest attempt to leap frog humans on the evolutionary ladder.

Is it time to be alarmed?  I say yes.  For too long Largemouth Bass have been shaping events in the shadows.  And now it is too late, their latest prototypes are prowling the Alabama rivers.  It is only a matter of time, really,  until their missile launching wings allow them to become hybrid flying bass.  At that point, we can only try to reach some sort of diplomatic solution, and hope we can quell their massive bloodthirst by forming a coalition to conduct a pre emptive strike on Canada.

In the longrun, however, our only chance of maintaining man kind’s superiority is to balance the scales of power in this arms race.  That means we must upgrade our races greatest Bass-Slayer: The American Redneck.  My cybernetics division is already working on The Redneck of Tomorrow project.

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Not exactly the Ryan Miller of Soccer

How do the kids say it… PWNED I believe.

And where precisely do the German Semi-Pro soccer leagues play? The surface of Saturn?  Even taking into account that it was kicked by a gaping vagina, how does a ball get blown that far back?.  Oliver Kahn is going to make a lampshade out of this guy for disgracing his position.

(video found on www.withleather.com)

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NFL to Debut Revised Combine in 2011

(AP) The 2010 NFL Combine is in full swing in Indianapolis this week.  However this may be the last “Traditional” NFL Combine for sometime.

The NFL Competition Committee, in conjunction with the Player’s Association and TYSOTB Editor Vato Loco are examing a revised, “Realistic” format for the combine going forward. 

“Sure, stuff like the 40 yard dash and the Bench Press are interesting to teams.  But most real football analysis can be done from a players game tape.”, Vato Loco explained, “ Problems arise when teams have ineffectively evaluated a players abilities in situations that are not tested for in the combine.  The complex environment a modern athlete is forced to navigate requires a more… progressive testing.”

Some of the events that are being proposed for inclusion in 2011:

  • Temptation Endurance Challenge:  The recruit is placed in a room with an exotic dancer for 10 minutes.  During the first 5 minutes, the athlete is charged with not sexually assaulting the dancer, who will resist his overtures.  If the athlete gets past the 5 minute mark, the dancer then explains that she is both Herpes positive and in a particularly fertile time of the month.  She then attempts to convince the athlete to have unprotected sex with her, with the athlete instructed to resist her advances.
  • Entourage DUI Fire Drill: The athlete is positioned at the wheel of a standard sedan, with a partner in the passenger seat.  When the clock starts, the athlete must change positions with the passenger as fast as possible without exiting the vehicle.  The goal is to test an athletes ability to avoid DUI’s and Vehicular Manslaughters by pinning the charges on members of their entourage.
  • Lineman Temptation Endurance Challenge: The lineman is placed in a room with 25 Cheeseburgers (extra delicious) for 20 minutes.  He must attempt to not violate his diet by eating any of them.  This event was tested on Terrence Cody on Sunday.  He ate all 25 cheeseburgers in the first 30 seconds, and then ate the Combine official who came to check on his process.
  • PED Wonderlic- The athlete is administered a test of his ability to avoid positive PED test results.  It increases in difficulty progressively, with early questions covering avoiding basic off season testing, to more advanced Whizzinator and Urine Substitution tactics near the end.
  • Groupie Abortion Scenario – This test involves an actress informing the athlete that she has been impregnated by him.  The athlete must then attemp to convince her to get an abortion.  Both cajoling and threats of phyisical violence are within the rules, and scouts from different organizations prefer varying methods.
  • Making it Rain – Players are judged on their rain making abilities based both on time and the ability to cover great distances with said rain.  More advanced players have been known to Make it Thunderstorm, with Bryant Mckinnie setting the combine record with a Making it Tsunami performance several years ago.
  • All Recruits MMA Tournament- The new capstone event to the week will now be a 350+ person bracketed single elimination MMA tournament.  It will be conducted with UFC rules, with no weight classes and initial matches and bracketing decided by random drawing.  The winner of the tournament is given to whichever NFL team finished in last place in the previous season.  The recruit is awarded a mid-first round level salary which is partly subsidized by the Players Union.

More news as this develops.

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Fuck a Canada

And FUCK a Sidney Crosbey.

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RHMWAFFIPW: GOD BLESS AMERICA

The Rodney Harrison Memorial Weekly Award For Feats in Pantwearing is awarded to that individual who in the prior week has acted most in accordance to the highest standards of not being Tom Brady. This can be described as excellence in badassery, not skirt wearing and by extension successful pants-wearingship. The winner will receive the prestigious Dockers Trophy. Find a list of previous winners here.

2nd Runner Up: Manu Ginobli

America is a melting pot, so I can without reservation honor Manu Ginobli for this fine example of pwnage.

Wow, this Kevin Durant guy must suck.

1st Runner Up: Jason Heyward

Homerism alert! This is what happens when I have to write the RHM.   Baseballs #1 prospect, and my #1 cause of non-Tebow related sportsgasms, Jason Heyward reported to Spring Training this week.   He promptly redefined what the Atlanta Braves thought human beings could do to a baseball.   Heyward blasted a ball so far past the outfield wall that it nailed the assistant GM’s car.  This led to the Braves having to go to the extraordinary measure of installing nets over the parking lot that was supposedly too far away for a human to hit a baseball too.   Note that the Braves have been practicing here for years, with power hitters like Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones and Brian Mccann not having similar problems.

Some quotes from Heyward’s batting practice:

“But this … this is something different. The 245-pound Heyward hits them with such ferocity that the ball not only makes a different sound coming off the bat – as Bobby Cox, Tim Hudson and others have noted – but it also whistles past with a different sound when you’re standing between the dugout and first-base line. Seriously, it does. I noticed that yesterday when I was standing over there with my back turned, talking to someone. — Dave O’ Brien, Atlanta Journal Constituion

“His line drive is like the old Hank Aaron sound” —Bobby Cox

OMG I need a cold shower.

RHMWAFFIPW WINNER:  Ryan Miller

This one was wasn’t even close.  Somebody would have had to dunk on a 13 foot rim over a roid raging hippo, and then punched Skip Bayless in the face on live TV to even enter the conversation.

Ryan Miller defended your freedom to the tune of 43 MF’ing saves to lead the US of A in a shocking 5-3 upset of the evil empire of Canada.  That is 43 Commie Bullets that Canada aimed directly at our non socialized medicine and right to bear arms.

For too long America’s Hat has been bullying our hockey players and hoarding all of the Moose(s?).   And let’s not forget the cultural horrors of Celine Dion and Molson Ice we have had inflicted upon us.   Ryan Miller stood tall against the soft spoken and disarmingly polite giant and exacted vengeance. 

God bless America, and God Bless you Ryan Miller.  Even the RHMWAFFIPW, sportings most prestigious award, is not enough for this valiant defense of our great nation.   I propose some sort of congressionally funded hot chick blow job system, where each state donates 200 or 300 hundred really hot girls to a national pool whose job is to blow Ryan Miller whenever he wants for the next 10 years.  Not that he will have any shortage of volunteers after this, anyways.

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Rick Reilly is incredibly sexist

Image Credit: www.mouthpiecesports.com

Recently, Kelly Kulick became the first woman to win a Professional Bowlers Association Tour title. Congratulations to her. Unfortunately, Rick Reilly, in a typically feckless and self-serving attempt to position himself as the arbiter of all that is true, just, and righteous in the world of sports, has declared this accomplishment to be “The greatest moment in women’s sports.” His sole criterion for making this ridiculous assertion seems to be that Kulick beat men to do it. And he apparently has no idea how condescending, patronizing, and downright sexist that logic is. Fortunately, I do.

Let me start with a premise that I don’t think any serious feminist or physiologist would disagree with: On the scales of potential physical strength and speed, the distribution of men is centered around a higher mean than that of women. Put another way, ceteris paribus, men are likely to be faster and stronger on the whole than women. Put a third way, elite male athletes trained to achieve their highest potential physical attributes, are faster and stronger than elite female athletes trained the same way. That difference in potential physical capacity, is, I think, one of the only non-debatable differences between the sexes.

Now, bowling is a sport in which that difference does not figure strongly, if at all. The ability to roll a 17 pound ball at bowling speed is a feat well within the physical potential of probably the upper 80th or 90th percentile of all women. I’m no bowling expert, but it seems to me that pure physical strength and speed take a back seat to technique, repetition, timing, muscle memory, and some endurance. I think most serious people would agree that men and women are fairly equal in terms of their potential when it comes to those attributes. So why is it shocking at all that a woman could beat a bunch of men in a bowling tournament? Well, it’s not, unless you’re a twit sports writer that wants to hawk magazines by giving women a pat on the head, while simultaneously reinforcing the dominance of patriarchy by making women’s achievements meaningful only in reference to men.

The history of sports is replete with examples of accomplishments of women that are great for their own sake, and not because they were compared to men. Steffi Graf’s 1988 grand slam, Kerri Strug’s injured olympic vault, Mary Lou Retton before her, Mia Hamm leading the US to a World Cup, FloJo and Jackie Joyner Kersee on the track are all examples that come to mind of women achieving greatness through years of dedicated training, and in the face of unimaginable pressure. Kulick’s achievement should be viewed through that lens, and her accomplishment not minimized by giving it meaning only because she competes with men. Come on Rick Reilly.

Editors Note: I hope our regular readers will forgive this brief foray into feminist theory. I’m certainly no feminist, but I’ll do whatever is necessary to end Rick Reilly. Please feel free to insert your own driving or neuroses jokes at your leisure. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go make sure the girl I brought home from the bar last night is doing my laundry correctly. It’s so hard to find good help these days.

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