From Deadspin- The Real Villains of the NFL Lockout: a Gentle Reminder
-Goes a little far in the end, but overall really drives home its central message about the owners.
This is amazing- The Cranky Redskins Fan's A to Z Guide to Dan Snyder
-At least read the labour section, if nothing else.
>>Goes a little far in the end, but overall really drives home its central message about the owners.<<
I think it went exactly far enough. What the owners are doing is pretty reprehensible, especially in the current economy. It's not enough to be a multi-millionaire and a member of one of the coolest, most exclusive clubs in the world? They really need more on top of that?
If the teams or the league as a whole were actually losing money, I could see their argument. But they won't even open their books to prove it. This whole thing is just a blatant money grab using the reasoning that A) They can outlast the players in a lockout, and B) Fans are more likely to blame greedy players than greedy owners. It's just a terrible way for management to treat labor, even if in this case, labor consists of obscenely rich athletes.
>>This is amazing- The Cranky Redskins Fan's A to Z Guide to Dan Snyder<<
The really sad thing is that before the lawsuit, Snyder was slowly but surely starting to build up some goodwill among Redskins fans. He'll never be loved in DC, but at least he was making an effort to be tolerable. All that out the window for a lawsuit that he probably won't win and that drew nationwide attention to the article that he was trying to bury in the first place.
James
Look past ESPN SportsNation's awful UI for this online poll to see the picture of the Seattle Seahawks' representative in this poll to determine the player who will grace the cover of Madden 12.
There's a lot of weird choices in there. When I think of the Patriots, naturally the first player who springs to mind is Danny Woodhead.
Now watch all the God-botherers make Tim Tebow the winner...
I don't think the "God-Botherers" give as much a shit about Tim Tebow as you think. Where I live (Tennessee), he's pretty universally hated.
I dunno. Tebow's jersey has been the highest-selling in the NFL for months. Since Broncos fans and Florida fans probably couldn't accomplish this on their own, it does seem likely that there's a huge fan base of Christians out there--who may not even be big football fans--eager to support one of their own.
If I were conspiracy-minded, I'd almost suspect that EA really wants him on the cover of Madden 12, but knew something like this contest was the only way they could justify it. Especially since the only real competition he has on his side of the bracket is Aaron Rodgers, while the other side has stars like Brees, Peppers, Peterson, Vick, Ward and Sanchez.
James
Tennessee and a lot of other fans of SEC schools have plenty of reason to hate Tebow though. Bible thumbers in the middle of Kansas on the other hand...
That's a shock to me, really. Maybe it does have something to do with it, but like Jesse said, it would be in the midwest. No SEC state is buying this many Tim Tebow jerseys.
I honestly didn't hate him and really feel he's the best college football player of all time (by any standard of measurement). Now, the NFL is a whole other animal.
Your two finalists for the Madden 12 cover: Peyton Hillis vs. Michael Vick.
If the NFL owners ruin the season through September-October I know what I'll be enjoying at Qwest Field instead: football.
ole.
Communist.
We even have uniform cheering! Its like those old newsreels!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9WxHJLqZc0
I don't even know who you people are anymore. That's a crazy big crowd for a sport played in most parts of the world with an inflated pig stomach dodging cow turds on a dust field.
Have you migrated your NFL fandom to the Seahawks yet?
Nope, still a Giants guy. For the 1-2 times per year I maybe get to see them...
But we're (at least this year, in favor of any vacation) Sounders season ticket holders. Weird how that happens.
Has Andi talked you into Mariners fandom? I get to see their Double-A team (Jackson Generals, formerly the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx) quite a bit when they play the Tennessee Smokies.
Are you kidding? Liking the Mariners was a condition of marriage, a fandom dowry. I'm OK with being a Mariners fan because they are AL and I'm a NL and Mets guy. It's hard though to NOT be a Mariners fan here anyway since as an orginization they're so just genuinely nice and constantly doing a lot more things for the community that most teams I've heard of doing. However, when it's interleague, I talk massive amounts of shit and root for the Mets. I was at 2 of 3 games last time they came in and got jeered for cheering the Mets.
Which is funny, because going the other way I'd get lots of NYC-style jeering. Here it's all polite and good natured, and less "fuck you and your mother and your father and fuck your Mariners!!"
It also fits because I'm as a Mets fan used to being disappointed.
Oh and you want to see something funny?
Look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_attendances_of_European_football_clubs
The Sounders average 2010 MLS attendance was 36,000, and should be 37,000~ this year. Our team's average attendance is higher than the overall average attendance of the entire English Premier Leage.
EPL fans usually go bug eyed when I tell them this, with lots of "IN THE STATES??"
To be fair, Seattle has the advantage of playing in Qwest. I'm sure a decent chunk of European footbal clubs could easily do larger attendance if they had larger stadiums.
And the winner is Peyton Hillis! I love it, and I look forward to his hamstrings exploding Triple H style in the first preseason game as the Football Gods remind us of the power of the Madden Curse.
Yahoo Fantasy Football went live either today or very recently. I'm guessing that the following must be the scoring system:
Owners:
Legal victories
Money Withheld from non-players
Money Received from the state or city government
Times claimed to care about player safety while advocating an 18 game season
Players:
Legal victories
Money left in bank account
Non-muscle pounds gained
Days without a contract