The Sports Guy

Look, i'll admit it: I used to love ESPN's Sports Guy, Bill Simmons. When i was in college i ate his shit up. Then the Patriots got good, then the Red Sox got good, then the Celtics got good, and he became practically insufferable. To the point where i can barely read him. 

This week's NFL Picks column is the coup de tat, where pretty much everything he says i want to fucking punch him in the face for. Not to mention his picks suck fucking ass. Fuck he pissed me off. Fuck!

Below is his picks, followed by own, better picks. Trust me, i'll let you know how this shakes out. Simmon's picks first, mine in parentheses.

(And these are not my picks, I'll throw those up later.)

Titans +1 over Bengals. (Bengals -1 Tenn)

Vikings +2 over Colts (Colts -2 Vikings)

Bears +3 over Panthers (Panthers -3 Bears)

Falcons +7 over Bucs (Bucs -7 Panthers)

Saints pick 'em Redskins (I pick Saints as well)

Bills +5 over Jags (Jags -5 Bills)

Packers -3 over Lions (I agree)

Giants -8.5 over Rams (I agree)

49ers +7 over Seahawks (Seahawks -7 49ers)

Dolphins +6.5 over Cards (Cards -6.5 Seahawks)

Jets -1 over Patriots (Pats +1 NYJ)

Ravens +4.5 over Texans (I agree)

Chiefs -3.2 over Raiders (I agree)

Broncos +1.5 over Chargers (Chargers -1.5 Broncos)

Steelers -6 over Browns (I agree)

Eagles +7 over Cowboys (I agree)

Ok, so i disagreed with 9 of Simmon's picks. Let's see how the week turns out...

ESPN 3?

There seems to be a lot of internet chatter about a change over at ESPN. Rumor has it that they are toying with the idea of turning ESPN Classic into ESPN 3 and making it a soccer-centered channel, with the English Premier League it's primary goal to obtain broadcasting rights to.

Wow. Very interesting, and one i am in full support of. I try to watch one or two EPL games each weekend on Fox Sports Channel, and an MLS game or two each week. Plus, with all the National Team appearances coming up in the next two years, it would be a great idea to have one place to watch all these games. It will be interesting to see how/if this develops...

(h/t to AOL Fanhouse)
(h/t to SBI)

ESPN is smart...

I'm not here to bag on the Worldwide Leader (I'm generally a fan because i'm lazy and they make it easy), nor am i here to question the ability of other 'bloggers', as i make plenty of mistakes on this here blog (notice my refusal to capitalize the letter 'i'). But when i see something like this, i have to point it out (homerism alert):

This morning, at 8:00am Eastern Time, Matt Mosley of ESPN's Hashmark's football blog, posted his weekly power poll. One problem: He left the Vikings off the list. The Saint's come in at #17 and #21, an impressive feat really. As one commenter on the page pointed out, it gives them double the ability to move up.

Now, small oversights can happen, and it's hard to blame Mosley for this. But when you consider that a) This has to be edited before it's posted, and b) It's now 1:30 Eastern time, and despite nearly every single comment about the post pointing out this fact, it still hasn't been corrected, it doesn't exactly lend credibility to the Hashmarks blog...

(UPDATE: The power poll has been fixed. According to timestamps on the posts, it only took Mosley and ESPN 7 hours, 49 minutes. Ridiculous...)

That's It

You got me started. I can't FUCKING STAND listening to John Kruk. He is a fucking moron. Tonight on Baseball Tonight, as he (predictably) picked the Rockies to beat the Dbacks, this is the verbal diarrhea that came out of his month while talking about why the Dbacks would struggle: 'Chris Young strikes out too much.' Hey Kruky, CY may strikeout at times, but HE HIT THE TWO BIGGEST HOME RUNS OF THE NLCS AGAINST THE CUBS. Go fuck yourself.

One of the very few baseball reporters left on ESPN that i still respect, Tim Kurkjian, picked the Dbacks. For what's it worth...

Fuck It

That's right, I said fuck it. The Dbacks are winning Game 1. It's not a prediction, it's a guaran-fucking-tee. The assholes on Baseball Tonight (don't even get me started on John Kruk. He can go fuck himself) are sucking the Rockie's cock. You know what? THEY'RE LOSING GAME 1. Hate to break it to you. Maybe you forgot that Brandon Webb won the Cy Young last year...

Seriously, what the fuck are these assholes problems? Have they not watched the Dbacks at all? They are paid to watch games and pay attention, so PAY FUCKING ATTENTION. The Dbacks are winning Game 1. And the series. You heard it here first. Just keep doubting us assholes, see where it gets you.

FUCK.

NLCS

Poll on ESPN tonight: Who will win the World Series?

After 90,000+ voted, the Dbacks chance stood at a whopping 5.9%.

Oh, and for the record, after 8 of 10 ESPN 'experts' picked the Cubs to beat the Dbacks in the NLDS, now 9 of 10 ESPN 'experts' are picking the Rockies to beat the Dbacks in the NLCS.

Fantastic. Oh, and also by the way, the Rockies have won 18 of 19. Their only loss? The Dbacks, against Brandon Webb. So, umm, wait, who are the Rockies playing against Thursday, and who's on the mound for that team? Oh, that would be the Dbacks, and Brandon Webb is pitching for them. Weird...

The Irresponsibility Of ESPN

The Worldwide leader had an article today on the front page talking about the US-Sweden match today (I of course can't find it now, hopefully they took it down or revised it greatly). The crux of the article was not about the US MNT's 1-0 loss to Sweden, or really anything about how they looked or played. In fact, if i had not seen the game (which i had not when i read the article), i would have no clue about the Americans stacked up against the Swedes. Instead, the article was about the fact that the US MNT had now lost four games in a row. And while this is technically correct, it is leaving out a large part of the story.

The previous three losses by the US MNT were last month in Copa America. It was not, by any means, a good showing by the Americans. But it was largely (almost exclusively actually) made up of 'second tier players'. I don't mean they were bad players, they were just really young and inexperienced. Consider this: Of the team that played in Copa America, only five players were on todays roster against Sweden, which was made up of our 'top' players. Out of 19, that's not too many. Consider also that going into the start of Copa America, the Americans had only 5 players with more than 10 international appearances. It was a young, inexperienced team that took its lumps, which is what coach Bob Bradley. Well, not to take the lumps, but to get the kids some experience.

So while technically correct that the US has lost four in a row, true fans of soccer and the US MNT will know that it is not the whole story. I just wish ESPN would be a little more representative of that...

Oh for god sake's...

Just when i thought it couldn't get any worse...

ESPN Brings Who's Now in for a tuneup.

The Worldwide Leader is going to make my head explode...

Who's Now? Not ESPN.

I know it's a slow sports month and all, and really a slow sports season, but for the love of all that is holy... Are you kidding me with this 'Who's Now' crap? Are you serious? Is the World Wide Leader really pretending this is something important? This is a joke. A JOKE. I can't capitalize that last statement enough. IT IS A JOKE!!!!!!!

And the tragedy of it all is that it is ruining the credibility of two of my favorite personalities on ESPN: Kirk Herbstreit and Michael Wilbon. I have always enjoyed Herbie's take on College Football, unbiased and very informed. (And it doesn't hurt that he always shows respect to my Hawkeye's). And Wilbon has always been the voice of reason to Tony Kornheiser's sensationalism on PTI.

The sad thing is that you know they were roped into it. Nobody in their right mind would jump at the chance to marginalize themselves on something so completely contrived, overdone, and reeking of self-importance. ESPN has taken a lot of flack in some outlets for being too self-indulgent and pompous. I have always enjoyed their take on sports, and have been a defender in the past.

No more. I can't for one second defend the tragedy that is 'Who's Now'. It is a TRAINWRECK. It is everything that is wrong with sports and ESPN, all wrapped up in one conveniently digested 5 minute blurb on Sportscenter every night. And therein lies the problem ESPN, and sports highlighting/reporting in general, have come to represent. They are insulting our intelligence as sports fans.

I love sports. I watch almost nothing but sports on tv. I listen to sports talk radio, and sports websites are the first places i visit each day. But i am not a moron. I want the highlights. I want the stats. I want the story of the game. What i don't want is pop culture infused with my sports. What i don't want is someone being trumpeted because they are sexy, or popular off the field (Leinart and Beckham, i'm looking in your direction...). What i don't want is the cheapening of sports.

Sports is about the competition, the athleticism, and the fun. The almost political-type importance placed on sports these days is ridiculous. It is A GAME. It is entertainment. It is fun. It is not meant to be a barometer of the world in general, nor of democracy or world peace.

It is not important. It is not seminal to the world, or capitalism, or democracy, or anything else you can think of that doesn't involve your fantasy team. And that is where ESPN, and honestly most other sports reporting agencies, have gone wrong. They are placing far too much importance on sports. And it has culminated with the travesty that is 'Who's Now'.

Memo to ESPN: We as sports fans are not retarded. The sooner you figure this out, the better. Until then, don't expect me to be watching any time soon...

John Kruk is a MORON.

My obligatory daily post, even though i was busy all day and wasn't going to post at all. This, however, requires a post...

Watching Baseball Tonight on ESPN, (which, by the way, has Sucked Ass since Harold Reynolds got 'fired'), John Kruk came up with this beauty, parentheses are my own thoughts: 'Even though i picked the Dodgers to win the NL West (currently 1.5 games behind the Dbacks, even though they killed them 8-1 today), with all their injuries i'm now picking the Padres (Also 1.5 games back, and lost today to the Giants, last in the NL West) to win the NL West.

So, Kruky, let me get this straight. The team you originally picked to win the division just kicked the crap out of the division leaders, yet you decide to declare a team that just lost to the division cellar dwellers your new pick to win the division. In the immortal words of the Guinness cartoon characters, Brilliant!

Kruk is another in a long line of ESPN reporters who pick a stance to be controversial, even if that stance has absolutely no basis in truth or fact. Hey ESPN, i can make outlandish claims too, even though i don't believe them. Wanna pay me a half a million bucks?