this video has been around awhile, but this is is the first 'extended' play version that has a little before and after ... watch the guy in the orange in the top left. Good stuff! And a lesson to all you distance runners - stay off the infield! (oh - and make sure your stitching is right)
October 2009 Archives
It seems like an annual tradition, ripping the IHSA playoff football pairings, but 2009 proves yet again that the current system of geographic pairings is ridiculous.
Just look at Classes 6A and 7A....
The "upper" bracket of 6A is a who's who of the best in the state, with championship-caliber games happening as soon as the second round.
Same can be said for the subdivided "upper" bracket of 7A.
Back in the day the IHSA used to seed 1-32 (gasp!) but decided the travel times were too long for certain schools. But after covering volleyball in the west suburbs for years where the best teams always beat each other up just to get to a sectional final, and in football where the state title games are usually blowouts, most coaches and athletic directors would prefer to seed 1-32, travel be damned.
Said Oswego head coach Dave Keely:
"(Travel) is not all its cracked up to be. Take Edwardsville - they're coming all the way up to Minooka (in 7A). You have Richards going all the way to Rock Island. There's someone in the St. Louis area coming up this way in 7A also. I don't think it's that much of a problem.
I think most schools, if you did a straight 1-32 seed, the travel, in the long run, equals out because proximity is going to draw you back together again anyway."
Providence Catholic coach Mark Coglianese agreed:
"You need to kind of reward some of these teams that went 8-1 and even things out a little bit. I don't know all the (IHSA's) philosophies and theories, but I don't think this is real good division (of teams). I think going 1 to 32 would be better."
Whether you're a college athlete (football or basketball) ... or in newspapers ... or a fan of Major League Baseball ... a Los Angeles Clipper ... Antoine Walker ... and it goes on and on
Northern Illinois sophomore quarterback Chandler Harnish, who missed last week's 27-22 win at Miami due to a knee injury, apparently had an arthroscopic procedure done on his knee last Tuesday.
"He had surgery," said Kill at his weekly press conference in DeKalb. "It's not a major thing. He will be back (this season). Optimistically, there's a chance this weekend."
Kill said Harnish made the trip to Miami last Saturday and did some backpedaling and made some throws in the pre-game warmup but that he hadn't run full speed yet.
Fullback Conor Flahive also missed the Miami game with a knee injury and both he and Harnish will be re-evaluated on Wednesday, the coach said.
Harnish was injured two weeks ago during the Toledo game on Northern's final drive. Kill said he played the final five or six plays with the injury.
The Huskie defense is not immune to injury woes.
Senior free safety David Bryant was hurt at Miami, suffering a knee injury that will keep him out two to four weeks on an apparent chop block.
His backup, Mike Sobol, was also dinged with an injury Kill would not reveal, but is expected to play at home against Akron this week.
"At one time we had three (defensive backs) on the sidelines with me and that's not good," said Kill, who said redshirt freshmen Jody Van Laanen (S), Tony Davis (CB) and Rashaan Melvin (CB) will have to step up.
"Jody did a good job (Saturday). He hadn't had hardly any reps and we were down to no safeties at one time but credit to Jody for being ready to play."
The team's defensive line has taken some hits, too, as redshirt freshman Brian Lawson (Rich East) was sidelined with a hand injury that required surgery. It forced Kill's defensive coaches to move senior Jake Coffman back and forth between noseguard and end. He responded with 2.5 sacks.
Kill also cited nice work by redshirt sophomore Ron Newcomb (Mt. Carmel).
"We're fortunate to have guys like him step up, he came out of nowhere," said Kill, "who lost senior tackle Mike Krause before the season started to a heart ailment.
"We should be awfully deep on the defensive line a year from now," the coach said.
Thanks to loyal reader Doug C. for this!
To the tune of Kings of Leon "Use Somebody"
I've been roaming around,
I'm leading Team FaBrees
to last place in
my fantasy league
backups startin'
lineup's filled
with injuries
you know that I'll prolly lose some money
drew needs to throw six touddy's
yeah thanks so much Matthew Berry
not doing work
i'm reading blogs and
ESPN
Still didn't stop
me from draftin'
the wrong Peterson
You know what team I face this week?
You know what team I face this week?
Maurice Bones-You
MAURICE BONES YOU
Come Monday night
no need to log on
accept defeat
Out 150
plus what I pay
DIRECT TV
I hope that my wife won't notice
I hope that my wife won't notice
I traded AP
to my team
traded AP to my team
cbs sportsline
yahoo sports
espn
all in last place
can't show my face
at my work place
fantasy season ends
week 13
This is the Daily Dose version:
I've been starting Ronnie Brown
I was scrolling down
trying to see
Antonio Gates
to fill the space
My league's too deep!
You know that I could use Mc-Gahee
You know that I could use Cotchery
Someone like Rice
And Rod-dy White
And Chris Cool-ey
Countless waivers
Late night claimers
Of all I seek
You know that I could use Austin Coll-ie
Knowshon Moreno
Off my bye week
While you lit it up
I accept defeat
My D got me 4
to make me lose it
I don't have Direct TV
Schaub was hot and I didn't notice
He was dropped and I didn't notice
Michael Crabtree?
and Josh Scobee
Someone need Shockey? Somebody?
I'm ready now, I'm ready to trade
I'm ready now, who'd you waive?
I'm ready now, I've been in a cave
I'm ready now
Someone like you, Jermichael Finley
Someone tell Drew to throw to Dev-er-y
Someone like you, Donnie Avery
I've been starting Garcon, I was scrolling down for the Vikings D
Oh why won't you come, week thirteen?
Or family relation?
not sure, but I'm at Marmion Academy tonight for the Cadets' season finale against Montini Catholic, and the visiting Broncos have a junior linebacker by the name of Frank Nitti.
The name jumped off the page for me, but not because of anything he has potentially done on the field - I don't even know if he plays.
But "Frank Nitti" was a famous Chicago gangster portrayed just as famously by Billy Drago in The Untouchables in 1987.
George Stone: Where is Nitti?
Ness: He's in the car.<form mt:asset-id="1460" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;">
Tickets are available for the Northern Illinois Hall of Fame Banquet scheduled for Friday, Oct. 30th in the Duke Ellington Ballroom at the Holmes Student Center. Among those to be honored is local broadcaster Bill Baker of Montgomery.
The voice of the Huskies in football and basketball for more than 20 years, Baker will be inducted along with former NIU athlete/athletic director Cary Groth, the 1981-82 men's basketball team, former volleyball player Cathy Holmes (Galloway) and four-sport standout from the 50s, Wes Luedeking.
WGN-AM radio personality Dave Kaplan will emcee the banquet in place of Baker, who has done the honors for the past 23 years.
Tickts for the banquet ($50 apiece) are available. Call 815-753-1923.
The class will also be honored the next day at halftime of the Huskies' football game with visiting Akron.
Great video and smooth segue by the guy who just busted a huge TV with a Wii tennis racket (you'll want to skip ahead in the clip - it's at about the 5 minute mark - good stuff)
what are they?
what purpose do they serve?
who cares?
I don't know who came up with this idea and I really don't know why editors felt it was a good enough idea to waste precious newsprint or web space on.
These "power rankings" mean nothing, say nothing, are worth nothing, yet they're continually thought up and churned out and put on the front page of web sites like they're relevant.
As far as I can tell, homefield advantage in pro baseball, football or basketball isn't determined by said power ranking. Pole position at the Daytona 500 isn't determined by a power ranking. Hell - the two sports where rankings matter (NCAA football & basketball) don't use a "power ranking" to determine anything either.
I wish I could come up with a more clever word for these things, but "stupid" pretty much says it all.
Film study paid big dividends for Toledo, helping lead to two kick blocks that keyed the Rockets 20-19 upset win over Northern Illinois Saturday night.
Barry Church, a 6-foot-2 senior safety blocked a Mike Salerno extra-point kick after the Huskies' first touchdown and then blocked his 42-yard game-winning field goal attempt with 37 seconds left in the game.
Toledo coach Tim Beckman said his staff noted that Idaho had used a "middle block" to almost block a Northern kick.
"We felt we needed to put our best athlete in position to block one," said Beckman. "Church had been pulling out and covering, so I think the first one caught them off guard. The last one was just a max block where we had to bring everybody becasue (of the situation).
"(Church) made it through the A gap again and it was an outstanding play. The two interior linemen, Maurice Hill and D.J. Summers, did a great job of getting penetration to clear up those A gaps."
Northern coach Jerry Kill said the Rockets just made a good play.
"(Salerno) and I talked about it and we wish we'd have gotten the ball up a little bit more," said Kill. "We had a good snap, hold and they just made a good play. Mike's confidence is fine, though, that's just part of that position."
Northern senior defensive end Brandon Bice (Lyons Township) was named Mid-American Conference West Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the game.
Bice had eight tackles, including a sack, and forced two fumbles that the Huskies recovered for two of their three turnovers.
but the reality is Albert Pujols will probably stay in St. Louis.
think about it - the top two usual suspects for mega money deals will have their first base positions locked up for years. Mark Texiera is already in New York and I believe the Red Sox will trade some of its young pitching talent (perhaps even Aurora's Michael Bowden) to Milwaukee to get Prince Fielder before he hits free agency in 2012 and lock him up to a long term deal.
That leaves a couple of other big spenders out west...
Current Dodgers first baseman James Loney is under their control through 2012 - that's not to say they wouldn't trade him to get Pujols, but that fact (and their other needs in the lineup) may keep the Dodgers from being a serious player...
The Angels also have a youngster manning first base these days in Kendry Morales, and in his first full year as an every day player, Morales has hit 34 HR and driven in 108 runs. You would think Anaheim would want to re-sign him before he hits the free agent market after 2010 - especially since you can't guarantee that Pujols will even be available two whole years later.
So what about the Mets?
They are the the wild card here. They suck, they have an old first baseman and they will throw a ton of cash around.
But if Pujols is being honest in saying he wants to go to a team that can win the post season, he may be wary of the Mets. Sure, things can change dramatically in the next couple of years but the Mets have so much bad money already tied up, a contract the size of Pujols' may be too much to handle - especially since he may require a team like that to overpay to make it worth his while.
Could the White Sox really be players? Sure, why not? Pujols has played his entire career in the Midwest and is a star - he won't be affected by the bright lights on either coast. The Sox may win two or three more division titles by the time he reaches free agency and with an emphasis on pitching and young positional players, the Sox may be a player like Pujols away from winning another World Series come 2012.
It's worth a dream right?
It's that time of year Cubs fans - playoff time - enjoy it.
Especially when places like SI.com does things like this where they highlight goofs like Leon Durham's in 1984 and Alex Gonzalez's in 2003
At least they weren't the top 2 bloopers of all time....
And even though many fans here in Chicago still have Ortman fever, it appears as if the Broncos know better (just as the Bears did)...
From this story:
"Denver will likely do precisely what Chicago did when Orton got off to a fast start last season: sit on its checkbook and see what happens. The Broncos will allow Orton to play out the string this season and then start working on an extension..."
Then again, if Captain Neckbeard leads Denver to a division title and the playoffs..
"One league executive with negotiating experience said that if Orton maintains his current pace, the framework for his contract will likely begin in the neighborhood of the six-year, $60 million deal signed by the Kansas City Chiefs' Matt Cassel(notes) last offseason. That deal included $28 million in guaranteed money."em>
more pro golf events need to have some fan interaction - people like to talk about the party in Phoenix at the FBR, but really, I'm talking about well, trash talking.
this from one of my favorite blogs on the thing called the innernet...
But if that wasn't embarrassing enough, someone in the gallery yelled something at Ogilvy just before he missed the putt.
"He said 'Noonan,'" said Stricker, referring to the famed line in the movie, "Caddyshack".
Woods wound up apologizing to Ogilvy for the remark.
I found that very funny actually.
And why would Woods apologize? Who cares?
Maybe if the guy yelled "watch out for that sting ray!" but not "Noonan"
C'mon.
It's a team event and the U.S. is the home squad - the golf course shouldn't be the only homefield advantage (which it really isn't since most of the international contingent plays the majority of their golf in the U.S.)
Perhaps Ogilvy should have channeled his inner Webb
Got into a conversation the other day about the Chicago football fan's desire to see some Fire and Passion from their head coach/defensive coordinator/quarterback/water boy/mascot.
It's always the No. 1 complaint about any Bears coach or player - they're not fiery enough...the fans don't see the fire...where is the passion!?
They hated Rex Grossman for not being Passionately involved with looking at pictures on the sidelines...they don't like Lovie Smith because he won't snap a facemask when someone does something stupid...they didn't like Bob Babich because his defense didn't have the fire...
In fact, my favorite meat head comment of all time was when the 2007 Bears would "wake up and smell the '85 defense!"
So why do we want this as fans?
I think it's because the only Super Bowl title in Chicago was won by Fire and Passion in the form of Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan and some crazy linebackers that liked to bark like dogs. That was a great time and a great team, but that's not the ONLY way to win a Super Bowl. the problem is, it has been the only way a Chicago team has won one.
Honestly, I think if Dick Jauron had won a Super Bowl and then was followed by Lovie Smith, I don't think we'd hear as much about this Fire and Passion crap. And if the Bears had beaten the Colts a couple of years ago, we definitely wouldn't hear it.
Instead, all we hear about is how Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams have the Fire and the Passion, how Lou Pinella doesn't, and that's why the Sox won in 2005 (that and The Fire and The Passion, Aaron Freakin' Rowand who one sports talk caller said "single handedly won the World Series" because he made a couple of grindy diving catches that year).
Notice how no one ever brings up the Bulls dynasty in this Fire and Passion debate. While no one can doubt that Michael Jordan had the fire and passion, and that the team was full of grinders (John Paxson, Bobby Hansen, Cliff Levingston etc etc) those are teams widely left out of the discussion.
Perhaps its because they had the greatest player of all time, greatest coach of all time, and two other HOF players in Pippen and Rodman. Maybe they didn't need as much fire and passion as the Bears do...or Sox,...or Cubs....
In the end, while I love the Fire and Passion - it's pretty moronic. It's unnecessary. You don't need to drop your pants at halftime, assault an assistant coach, break your face on a wall, bleed all over everyone, flip a buffet table in the locker room or break a Gatorade machine.
It's not even really that fun to talk about because it is insanely stupid and has nothing to do with anything.
But, it's fun to blog about stupid people talking about it, so keep it up!
The Daily Dose is forever in your debt...
And - as a treat for all of you - here are some especially fiery video clips for your enjoyment
Not only did the White Sox help out the Central Division winning Twins by beating Detroit 2-out-3 times to end the season, but apparently they were the ones getting Miguel Cabrera ridiculously drunk as well.
This has been a hugely under-reported part of the story -
After Friday night's game, Cabrera had been partying with buddies from the Chicago White Sox at the Townsend Hotel, Birmingham Police Chief Richard Patterson said.
Obviously the alleged domestic abuse is the bigger problem here, but on the sports side, the White Sox involvement in this is pretty interesting.
Sure, the story in Detroit is how a drunk Cabrera went hitless in the Sox's victory - but that's the thing - the Sox season wasn't over yet either. And yeah - they weren't driving home - but obviously some guys had already cashed in the season at that point with a late night of rabble rousing with Miggy.
Ozzie said the same just weeks before about the team quitting, and that's unfortunate. Kenny and Ozzie really don't stand for this type of thing (see Dirty .230 and Brian Anderson0 - so when guys are moved off this roster, I have a feeling it won't be hard to connect the dots.
Then go golf and boat and eat and drink your sadness away a few miles north at Grand Geneva. I didn't have the opportunity to post these wonderful links earlier, so check them out.
I was up there this past weekend, and it's quickly become a favorite of mine (and the future wife's)in the past few years. I highly recommend it.
Also - planning on hitting up Bolingbrook Golf Club tomorrow, provided we don't get washed out. But, if we do, we're heading to TopGolf - which is just as much as fun and a lot less wet....
In case you wanted to know a little bit more about Rio, check this out...
I stayed up to watch the Chicago presentation at 2 a.m. this morning, and it nearly put me right to sleep.
The Obama speeches definitely delivered, but unfortunately the rest of the lineup was horrible. Mayor Daley looked petrified and Pat Ryan looked like he was going to keel over at any moment...
and the athletes they trotted out - my god - bad.
So were the other nameless/faceless jokers...
not good.
You know what they were missing don't you.
That's right.
The Fire. And The Passion...
I think if Da Coach or Aaron Freakin' Rowand or Dan Hampton or the ghost of Walter Payton could have gone to Copenhagen, or if Samurai Mike could've dropped his pants during the presentation, then we would be celebrating Chicago's victory right now, rather than waiting for the next machete to drop in Rio.
But, live and learn. Next time this comes around I'm sure Joe Crede and A.J. Pierzynski and The Fire and The Passion will be available to boost Chicago's chances....
So - this is just flat out hysterical.
Skip to the 1:33 mark in the video to see a high school kid prematural celebrate and lose the game for his team.
And then shortly after the replay, the kid who picked up the loose ball kind of giggles at his good fortune...good, good stuff.
and what's great about finding bone-headed premature celebrations is that it begets videos of other bone-headed premature celebrations that you've never seen...
And, for those who were thinking of it ...
This one is especially painful as an Iggles fan...Good Ol' Desean who caught the bone headed premature celebration disease back in high school...
and then he carried it over to Philly...
The Sports Beacon
Rick Armstrong The dean of the Beacon News sports staff, Armstrong covers the boys basketball and Northern Illinois University beats along with general sports coverage.
Mike Knapp
A sports writer at the Beacon News for over eight years, Knapp is the Kane County Cougars beat writer.
