Mario Bib-o-telli

No words can describe how funny this is.

Browns Make Cyber Signing

As a fan of American football, I’ve always had a lot of respect for Mike Holmgren.  He seems intelligent, and a nice man, but most of all he’s also a football brain.

Since leaving the Seattle Seahawks, Holmgren has become the President of the Cleveland Browns and while this story may have nothing to do with him directly, it is his organisation that has made a move which, to say the least.

Despite playing only 8 organised games, the Browns have signed Joel Reinders as an offensive lineman.  Will he make the roster for the season?  Probably not.  So why is his signing notable? Well, the Browns made the offer after seeing clips of him on Youtube, and nothing else.

It’s a brave move, but it’s a cheap one so I hope for Reinders’ sake that it’s more than a headline grabbing one.  Savo Milosevic (or Miss-a-lot-evic as he was dubbed) was reportedly signed after Aston Villa manager Brian Little saw a video of him in the mid-nineties, but this is a significantly cheaper move.  Nonetheless it will be worth keeping an eye on what happens Reinder in the coming weeks and months.

The Blind Side

Happy New Year to all!!

This morning I did something I genuinely thought I would never do, I watched an American Football based film adn really enjoyed it. So I thought I'd share it! In case the title of this post hasn't given it away the film was The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw. The film is basic really, its the story of Michael Oher, played very well by Quinton Aaron. If like me you live in a American Football free bubble (with Gavin in my life I realise that will never ever happen) and have no idea who this Michael Oher guy is let me explain....

Michael Oher is a 23 year old American Football Offensive Tackle for the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. He was drafted in for the Ravens in the first round in 2009 from University Of Mississippi college team Ole Miss Rebels. His childhood was anything but perfect, he was one of 12 siblings who didn't get a fantastic education having been to 11 schools in less than 9 years. He was enrolled in a Christian school and soon after Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy took in him.

I won't go into too much more detail, although if you're in any way into NFL you know the whole story and will enjoy the film for its portrayal of the characters and the sweet realistic way in which the tale is told. I have to admit that I was more than a tad worried about watching it but it was something that Gav wanted to see and so I settled in to watch it and maybe even learn a thing or two. I did. It's a great movie and well worth a night in with a bucket of popcorn and a drink. Just make sure you watch it with a NFL fan who can fill you in on all the film extras, Like I did!! I'll leave you with a wee clip from the film (if I can work out how that is!!)

Enjoy!!

Bonehead Of The Week

My buddy Walshie won't like me posting this. It comes from Sunday's game between the Atlanta Falcons and his beloved San Francisco 49ers. It was a bad day for the ‘Niners fans – not only were they hammered by Matt Ryan and co. but they also had to watch cornerback Dre Bly make this idiotic mistake. Watch below as Bly intercepts a pass from Ryan, only to celebrate too soon and lose the ball when tackled by Roddy White. Stoopid.

2-27

Depending on the time of the year, my all-out favourite team varies but from September – December, NFL season, it’s generally the Kansas City Chiefs. Even this year.

The Chiefs, it’s fair to say, are a pretty poor team. We’ve lost 27 of our last 29 games, dating back to the middle of the 2007 season. Last night, we blew a 10 point lead against the Dallas Cowboys, then fought back to force overtime, and then lost regardless. It made for tough viewing, but I’m hardened to it by now. Unsurprisingly.

The worst part about it all is how management of your team screws things up, and one such instance was pointed out to all Chiefs fans by Peter King today in his excellent Monday Morning Quarterback column. It involves our former Defensive End Jared Allen, who is now with the Minnesota Vikings and is probably one of the best defensive players in the NFL this season. The Chiefs traded him at the end of the 2007 season. It was a deal I agreed with at the time – he wanted to go – but boy have the Vikings had the best part of the deal.

I’ll leave King to explain the latest bit of Chiefs related information that has me in despair.

***

I think if you're a Chiefs' fan, you might want to skip this section. Kansas City refused to give Jared Allen a top-tier defensive end contract 18 months ago, instead shipping him to Minnesota for what appeared to be fair compensation three days before the 2008 draft. Here's how the deal looks today:


What the Chiefs got:


1st round (15th overall) Branden Albert, OT -- Starting LT has a chance to be good. In-and-out work ethic.


3rd round (73) Jamaal Charles, RB -- Change-of-pace back averaging five carries a game in 21 pro games.


3rd round (82) DaJuan Morgan, S -- Sub safety who still has to prove self to new coaching staff.


6th round (182) Kevin Robinson, WR -- Cut by Chiefs in '08. Never played for them.


What the Vikings got:


Jared Allen, DE -- The league's best all-around defensive end has 21 sacks and three safeties in 22 Viking games.


6th round (187) John Sullivan, C -- First-year starting center on one of NFL's best lines.


It's not certain, but it's possible that history will show that the Vikings got a more productive player at 187 (Sullivan) than the Chiefs got at 15 (Albert). Ouch.

***

Ouch indeed.

Rush Not Wanted

I see that Rush Limbaugh is part of a group that is currently in talks to buy the NFL's St. Louis Rams.

For those of you unaware of Rush...I envy you.  At best he's a conservative talk radio host who is viewed by some as the voice of the Republican Party while to some he's an eveil right-wing rascist who uses said radio show to spout ills and evils to a worryingly large audience.  I'll let you decide which is most correct.

One thing that Rush has been accused of is being a rascist, particularly after one incident during his short but unforgettable tenure as an analyst on ESPN's NFL Countdown show in 2003.  I can't find a video of the incident but here is what he said of Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback, Donovan McNabb.

"Sorry to say this, I don't think he's been that good from the get-go. I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team."

He promptly resigned three days later, and rightly so.  McNabb isn't one of the game's greats but at that point he had led the Eagles to an NFC Championship Game and was one of the gane's better signal callers.


I don't know for sure whether the NFL has a fit-and-proper test for perspective owners but it wouldn't surprise me if they do.  I know, for example, that the Premier League does.  If they do, then I hope that these comments are levied at him and used to keep him out of the League.  American football is a fine sport and the NFL is the best spors league on the planet.  Neither needs Limbaugh or his ilk.

Quick NFL Hit

Up until this Sunday, the Detroit Lions endured a really, really long losing streak.  They last won in December 2007, and last season they became the first team in the NFL's history to lose all of their games in a 16 game season.

That ended this weekend with a 19-14 win over the hapless Washington Redskins.  It merited the floowing headline, recently tweeted by Adam Schefter (I belive it initially came from the Washington Post).

Washington Bails out Detroit Again

NFL, Oh How We Missed Thee

Apologies for the recent silence. I’ve been on holidays. It was lovely.

So, the NFL is back. How we missed it. It’s been a summer where the world of American football has rarely been a quiet one. Between the comebacks of Brady, Vick and Favre and the indiscretions of Stallworth and Burress, the League has flexed it’s muscles as America’s premier sport – it’s creating headlines when it really shouldn’t.

However, now, on Week 1, all of that hardly matters as we’re now back in front of televisions, computers and mobile phones, watching one of the finest sports in the world.

For the record, I think this could be a vintage year in the NFL. Favre is spearheading a Vikings team that could be tough to beat – his games against the Packers will be a treat to watch. Tom Brady is making his return from the best part of a year out. He picked up a serious knee injury against my own Chiefs, meaning that he’s only played about one half of football since his New England Patriots lost in Super Bowl 42, and lost a potential perfect season.

We also have other interesting teams to watch. Can the Steelers repeat after their battling win over Tennessee in the season opener on Thursday? What about LaDainian Tomlinson and the Chargers? Is he still a force to be reckoned with in the backfield? Is Jay Cutler the answer at Quarterback in Chicago? Can Joe Flacco (Ravens) and Matt Ryan (Falcons) build on their impressive debut seasons or will they suffer from the sophomore slump? Who among this year’s Draft class will follow them as first-year sensations? There are so many questions and they’ll all be answered in the coming weeks.

For the record, I think it will be New England’s year. Over in the NFC, there’s no clear winner right now but Green Bay will be hard to beat, though I wonder about their schedule. Don’t underestimate San Diego, or the Jets or Seattle. It’s set to be an intriguing year, no doubt about it.

Yet all is not rosy in the NFL world. Labour strife beckons. The NFL must negotiate a new deal with the Players’ Union, and in a time where both sides are looking for bigger slices of a shrinking pie, this set of negotiations looks set to be long and difficult. Next year is all but certain to be the first uncapped year since 1993, while 2011 may be impacted by a strike. Such a stoppage is seen as more likely than not by many, far more informed people than I. While Favre, Vick and co. made headlines this summer, that’ll be nothing like what will happen should there be no football on the second weekend of September in 2011.

Enjoy this season football fans.  While you can.

Brett = Barney

Watching the first half here of the Chiefs - Vikings game. It's turgid stuff but I am a K.C. fan. Tonight also marks the comeback of Brett Favre and it was interesting to see him get a standing ovation from the Minnesota crowd.

His stats line's pretty poor (so far: typing at the end of the first half). Brett is 1 of 4 for 4 yards. Hey, at least he's got no interceptions or fumbles.

God he's old. If he wanted to see a purple dinosaur I'd have checked out this guy:

Brett's Back

Brett Favre is coming back to the NFL, and to the Minnesota Vikings. 21 days into his second retirement.

I couldn't be more annoyed at the man if I tried. For a man who's decisive in the pocket, even if he's not always made the right decisions, these off-the-field antics ruin everything. I blogged about Favre three weeks ago, when he retired, so this is a topic of which I've already spoken. Brett's second comeback makes him cringeworthy, laughable and pathetic.

"I didn't feel like physically I could play at a level that was acceptable" said Favre three weeks ago, speaking about his own decision to quit the sport. And now this. I'm glad that the only Vikings I support are of the University of Limerick variety.

***

Nabbed from our contributor Danny, here's a July 30th tweet from Stephen Colbert.

brett favre has announced he will finally retire from the nfl for good. can't wait to see him on the field this season

Brett Says Bye

The annual ‘will-he-or-won’t-he’ Brett Favre soap opera is no more. Allah Be Praised.

There’s been little more annoying for fans of American Football to see the sport’s headlines dominated by the retirement saga of Number Four. We want to read about off-season trades, the repercussions of the NFL Draft, the all-too-regular misdeeds of the players. We don’t want to read speculation and conjecture about the future of a man who unfortunately out-stayed his welcome.



In an alternative universe, Brett Favre hung up his helmet in the wake of the NFC Championship Game loss against the New York Giants. It would have been an ignominious retirement, but one that would have came with honour. Brett would have led the Packers to their finest season in many years, and would have walked away as the battle-hardened hero he always was. Most of all, despite his final play interception, we’d have all had respect for the gunslinger.

However, in this universe, Brett is a figure of mockery. He’s more annoying than amazing, and the respect held for him by American football fans, and possibly even more importantly, the love held for him by the Packers’ fans, has all but evaporated. The man who led the Packers to their first Lombardi Trophies since Vince himself is no longer beloved by the Cheeseheads. Yesterday’s decision to retire before an unpleasant return to Lambeau in a Vikings’ uniform perhaps saves the semblance of respect they have for him, but his intention to move down the road to Minnesota in the first place has most definitely left a sour taste in the mouths of some.

The ironic thing, for Favre, is that after all of his previous humming-and-hawing, there are a lot of people who don’t believe his announcement that he has given up the sport forever. Today, on NFL Total Access, pundits openly speculated that they almost expect him to line-out again while over on Sports Illustrated Peter King is of a similar opinion. I, for one, do believe that this is indeed it for Favre, but like The Boy Who Called Wolf, we’ll have to wait-and-see if this, indeed, is it.

***

Favre’s announcement overshadowed another bit of NFL-related news that emerged last night. A true football hero, Eagles’ assistant Jim Johnson lost his valiant battle against cancer. One of the best defensive minds of all-time, Johnson’s long-term influence within the Eagles’ organisation led to the increased influence of co-ordinators across the League. I hope that, within the League, Favre’s announcement does not stop people from remembering Johnson as the great he was.

Funny Sports Injuries, Warts And All

I won’t pretend that I’m a cricket expert. Or, for that matter, a big fan. I enjoyed Ireland’s odyssey in the 2007 World Cup, watched a little bit of the 2005 Ashes and I’m looking forward to Ireland’s entry in next month’s Twenty20 World Cup. That’s the sum of my cricket interest. But because of SKY News and BBC and the such, you do hear the headlines. I can tell you that Flintoff’s real name isn’t Freddie and even I know to steer clear of Kevin Pieterson. I’ve also heard of Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar.

For the uninitiated among you, Akhtar was at one stage the world’s most feared fast bowler and can still hurl the ball pretty well. He’s also a controversial fellow. In his time, he’s been convicted of ball tampering, been accused of drugs offences, been banned for abusing an opponent, been kicked off the Pakistan national side after rowing with his captain, hit a teammate with a bat, reportedly punched his coach, has been deported from England for visa problems and accused the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) of corruption. Yes, I use Wikipedia.

So I suppose it’s normal to presume that there are cricketing people who have an issue with Akhtar. That may have something to do with the unnecessary statement released this week by the PCB. They announced that Akhtar is out of the aforementioned Twenty20 World Cup because he ‘was suffering from Genital Viral Warts and Electrofulgration.’ Surely announcing that Akhtar had a skin ailment would have sufficed? Revenge, I guess.

It got me thinking about other embarrassing sports injuries that I’ve come across throughout my years following sport.

• Adam Eaton, Texas Rangers pitcher, once stabbed himself in the stomach while trying to remove that annoying security tape on a DVD with a paring knife.
• Sammy Sosa sneezed twice before Cubs' game, sending his back into spasms and putting himself out of the lineup.
• Danny Ainge (basketball) was once hurt after he was bitten during a game. He required two stitches after he was hurt while playing for the Celtics in a fight against an Atlanta Hawks player. Pretty unremarkable, until you realise the player in question was Tree Rollins, alowing the headline 'Tree Bites Man.'
• Baseball player Glenallen Hill once had a bad dream about spiders, so vivid that he woke up, crashed through a glass table and fell down a flight of stairs
• While with the Cardinals, Bill Grammatica once tore his ACL while celebrating a successful field goal.
• Former Braves pitcher John Smoltz once burned his chest while ironing a shirt. He was wearing it at the time.
• Arsenal's Perry Groves was on the bench. When his side scored, he jumped up to celebrate only to hit his head on the roof of the dugout. He knocked himself out cold.
• Robbie Keane once ruptured his knee cartilage after stretching to pick up his TV remote control.

Got any more funny/weird injuries? Feel free to add them in the comments section below.

Thinkin' Of Z

I'm a little slow on this one - it's a busy week in college, and in my own personal life too. On Monday, Peter King announced in his Monday Morning QB article on si.com that the much-loved Dr. Z is recovering from two strokes he suffered on November 20th and 21st. The title was aptly Dr. Z is best football writer of our time. Simple, truthful.

I'd just like to pass on my very best to Paul Zimmerman and Linda, The Flaming Redhead. Z is a great writer, though that's almost irrelevant at a time when his health is at stake, something obviously far more important. Describing Z to a non-football fan just now, I described his impact like this.

There's just so many run of the mill writers today that don't contribute anything to an articles and then there's grumpy farts like Z who's pieces tread that delicate line between being factual and insightful while retaining an input from the writer's actual personality.

I'm a grumpy fart too. That's a compliment toZ in a rant from me. What I would love is to have his deft choice of language, his humour and most importantly his knowledge and passion for the sport. Z picked the Giants to win XLII you know, and he in a style which encapsulates the man.

As an Irish American Football fan who has learned so much about the sport and its history from Z, and someone who would love one day to be paid to write about sport, I genuinely hope that we'll get to read his views on XLIII as well.

Get better Z.

Pollard Didn't Go Gillooly

I'm a Kansas City Chiefs fan. For my sins. Don't get me wrong, I love the red and gold. Love. There's a long story behind that, but feel free to ask some time.

We're set for a bad year. In fact, our high point may have been on Sunday when we lost to the New England Patriots. We will not get the same level of coverage again me thinks.

For those of you who don't know, Tom Brady is out for the season after a hit from our safety Brandon Pollard. It wasn't malicious. It just happened. It's a contact sport. I'm being neutral here. Honest. Check the hit out on nfl.com for proof. It did remind me of something though. The song below was written last year when the Patriots were invincible. It's very apt.



Explanation of title is here