The Winter Olympics were always a European event. People like Ingmar, Katarina, and Hermann dominated. Billy, Tommy and Picabo had their moments but always in an upset in a distant time zone. US athletes always seemed to finish 8th with effort and valor. Figure skating was not our passion but it was always our best hope for a medal.
The European competitors had been dealing with the winter since before people walked upright and playing in it for a millennium. The US was still getting past the Donner party while Norwegians were already skiing. Running faster, jumping farther, and swimming faster are native to our spirit. Winter sports are an acquired taste and weather is always a factor. Last night our athletes nailed their efforts and our loyalty while we consumed a 19.8 share from our sofas.
Lindsay Vonn is a great story but she seemed to be selling that story from the moment she arrived in Vancouver. She is the best women’s downhiller in US history and the Gold medal favorite. She did not disappoint. In a compelling night of women skiers crashing at 80 mph while flying 190 feet in the air, she won against the odds she described and ultimately overcame.
Vonn injured herself before the 2006 Torino Games and was a non-factor. She injured herself again this year in a tune up run and shared the depth and gravity of that injury in every interview prior to her downhill efforts. We are sure it was severe but Vonn already had the bread crumbs on the course of why she came up short of the gold if she did. She did not and her story is now legend. We would rather meet Silver medalist Julia Mancuso for bevies. She looks like way more fun and she is totally doing Patron shots with her tiara and her game on. She won another medal today while Lindsay DQ’ed.
The Yard has put out an interview request to Shaun White to meet us for a beer. Apparently, the Today show beat us to the exclusive after his amazing performance last night. In a quick Yard poll that also included Victor our parking lot attendant, White was voted the coolest Gold Medal winner in a record setting day in US Winter Olympic history.
Shaun White is a not just a snow boarder, he is an enterprise. He nailed his first run on the half-pipe while lapping the field. He nonchalantly raised his score and nailed his signature trick when he already had his gold medal and America. He is a genuine slacker with the focus of an aerospace engineer. The Shaunster might not reach the height limit on the Autopia or the Gary Coleman under basketball league but he goes lights out with his lights on. His post game interviews were the most genuine and interesting of any performer.
BTW: Katarina Witt is still a haunting Yard favorite. She is our girl of the month on the blog site.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Saints and Sinners.
Mardi Gras came early to the Yard this year. With our chosen Saints, smashing another future Hall of Fame QB into untimely interceptions, we put on our beads, got liquored up and flashed our boobs. It is still a blur in the afterglow of betting the money line rather than taking the points with our recently beloved team. There is no better sports story this century than the Saints carrying this nearly 300 year old city into a much needed winner’s circle. Drew Brees is a relentless warrior encased in genuine. Dat who!
It was a great game with Saints Coach Sean Payton making some gutsy calls that could have cost his team the game. Going for it on 4th and goal from the 2 yard line right before half was gutsy and it failed. Coach Payton saving his timeouts while Peyton Manning tried to run out the clock was brilliant. He got that field goal back as the half ended. The on sides kick with the second half kick off could have been disastrous but it worked out.
The play that changed the game was made by Indy WR Pierre Garcon in the first quarter. It did not seem like anything could slow the Colts after their 11 play 96 yard drive to take a 10-0 lead. With Peyton Manning affirming his brilliance on every play, the Colts faced a rather pedestrian 3rd and 7 from their own 35 yard line. Manning dropped back and hit Garcon right in stride 20 yards down the field with no other player shown on my television. Garcon had another 30 yards of wet Miami turf open ahead of him and the legacy of Peyton Manning within him. A 17-0 lead would have been insurmountable and changed the Saints game plan, their fortunes and the spirit of this blog. With the ensuing touchdown, Manning might have been inducted into Canton right there in Miami at halftime.
Pierre Garcon would catch five passes on Super Bowl Sunday but not this one. The Colts were forced to punt. The Saints ham and egged a 46 yard field goal on the ensuing drive while the French Quarter ordered another round. Manning was never in control of this game again after that moment. The French Quarter has not been in control either but that goes back 300 years and a day.
We are on the fence if Tim Tebow can take his game to the NFL. He certainly did not do himself any locker room favors with his Focus on the Family ad that ran during the Super Bowl pre-game. The media deemed it controversial but it really did not convey any controversial message. We watched it and it seemed sort of like a hair salon commercial with Tebow playing the role of Alphonse. We are glad to see Tim and his mommy have so much fun together but it was a bit creepy.
The real irritating commercial during the Super Bowl was President Obama and CBS News Anchor Katie Couric sitting down at the White House in effort to save both of their careers. It was another unpaid advertisement for Barry to get his message out. Couric was there to remind the majority of the massive television audience that she is still on television. Barack, interrupting the Super Bowl pre-game show is definitely not going to help your approval rating. We prefer the Clydesdales and Carrie Underwood during the pre-game on our day. Have your people call my people next time.
Which washed up band is going to play the next Super Bowl halftime Rod Stewart? The Who’s lead singer Roger Daltrey looked like a Vegas lounge act with the curls and pink tinted Aviator sunglasses. Daltrey can not goose out those high notes even with that outfit. Pete Townsend still does his signature windmill strum that produces the same meager chords he has been playing since before CSI: Miami. Who were the other guys that were on the stage representing the Who? The lighting show was nice especially when it drown out the band. Next year let’s hope the NFL hires the Black Eyed Peas and Fergie has a clothing malfunction.
USC football will finally get their day before NCAA tribunal council next week. It has been a long time coming and Prince Peter knew better than to stick around for the punitive phase of his reign. The civil suit with Reggie Bush’s former agent’s claim that Mr. Kardashian needs to repay the $300,000 salary he was paid during his Heisman year still beckons before, after and during the NCAA investigation.
USC President Steve Sample can not be too thrilled to have his grumpy AD Mike Garrett representing the University’s most valuable asset-the football program. Garrett has raised record monies, built the Galen Center, and has made few friends in the process. Mike is quick to point out that he has a law degree. The Yard is quick to point out, he never passed the bar. Garrett might need to hit one on the way home from this hearing. We are seeing a “You can’t handle the truth” moment coming with Garrett impersonating Jack Nicholson when questioned.
Trojan faithful, it is not going to end well. UCLA had their best recruiting class this century while benefitting from the uncertainty. Hiring Lane Kiffin slowed the bleeding but the wolves are getting closer to the fire. The big lineman from MN is already talking to Ohio State and will not be coming if the axe falls. When the NCAA cuts scholarships for ten of your Parade All-Americans with no bowl games for two years, and restricted recruiting, etc, Lane will be what we all know he is already-not much. At some point in the next four years, if Garrett is still there, he will be forced to ask Kiffin to leave. The Yard takes no solace in the misfortune of Troy…yeah, right…
Sports do not build character. They reveal it. John Wooden.
It was a great game with Saints Coach Sean Payton making some gutsy calls that could have cost his team the game. Going for it on 4th and goal from the 2 yard line right before half was gutsy and it failed. Coach Payton saving his timeouts while Peyton Manning tried to run out the clock was brilliant. He got that field goal back as the half ended. The on sides kick with the second half kick off could have been disastrous but it worked out.
The play that changed the game was made by Indy WR Pierre Garcon in the first quarter. It did not seem like anything could slow the Colts after their 11 play 96 yard drive to take a 10-0 lead. With Peyton Manning affirming his brilliance on every play, the Colts faced a rather pedestrian 3rd and 7 from their own 35 yard line. Manning dropped back and hit Garcon right in stride 20 yards down the field with no other player shown on my television. Garcon had another 30 yards of wet Miami turf open ahead of him and the legacy of Peyton Manning within him. A 17-0 lead would have been insurmountable and changed the Saints game plan, their fortunes and the spirit of this blog. With the ensuing touchdown, Manning might have been inducted into Canton right there in Miami at halftime.
Pierre Garcon would catch five passes on Super Bowl Sunday but not this one. The Colts were forced to punt. The Saints ham and egged a 46 yard field goal on the ensuing drive while the French Quarter ordered another round. Manning was never in control of this game again after that moment. The French Quarter has not been in control either but that goes back 300 years and a day.
We are on the fence if Tim Tebow can take his game to the NFL. He certainly did not do himself any locker room favors with his Focus on the Family ad that ran during the Super Bowl pre-game. The media deemed it controversial but it really did not convey any controversial message. We watched it and it seemed sort of like a hair salon commercial with Tebow playing the role of Alphonse. We are glad to see Tim and his mommy have so much fun together but it was a bit creepy.
The real irritating commercial during the Super Bowl was President Obama and CBS News Anchor Katie Couric sitting down at the White House in effort to save both of their careers. It was another unpaid advertisement for Barry to get his message out. Couric was there to remind the majority of the massive television audience that she is still on television. Barack, interrupting the Super Bowl pre-game show is definitely not going to help your approval rating. We prefer the Clydesdales and Carrie Underwood during the pre-game on our day. Have your people call my people next time.
Which washed up band is going to play the next Super Bowl halftime Rod Stewart? The Who’s lead singer Roger Daltrey looked like a Vegas lounge act with the curls and pink tinted Aviator sunglasses. Daltrey can not goose out those high notes even with that outfit. Pete Townsend still does his signature windmill strum that produces the same meager chords he has been playing since before CSI: Miami. Who were the other guys that were on the stage representing the Who? The lighting show was nice especially when it drown out the band. Next year let’s hope the NFL hires the Black Eyed Peas and Fergie has a clothing malfunction.
USC football will finally get their day before NCAA tribunal council next week. It has been a long time coming and Prince Peter knew better than to stick around for the punitive phase of his reign. The civil suit with Reggie Bush’s former agent’s claim that Mr. Kardashian needs to repay the $300,000 salary he was paid during his Heisman year still beckons before, after and during the NCAA investigation.
USC President Steve Sample can not be too thrilled to have his grumpy AD Mike Garrett representing the University’s most valuable asset-the football program. Garrett has raised record monies, built the Galen Center, and has made few friends in the process. Mike is quick to point out that he has a law degree. The Yard is quick to point out, he never passed the bar. Garrett might need to hit one on the way home from this hearing. We are seeing a “You can’t handle the truth” moment coming with Garrett impersonating Jack Nicholson when questioned.
Trojan faithful, it is not going to end well. UCLA had their best recruiting class this century while benefitting from the uncertainty. Hiring Lane Kiffin slowed the bleeding but the wolves are getting closer to the fire. The big lineman from MN is already talking to Ohio State and will not be coming if the axe falls. When the NCAA cuts scholarships for ten of your Parade All-Americans with no bowl games for two years, and restricted recruiting, etc, Lane will be what we all know he is already-not much. At some point in the next four years, if Garrett is still there, he will be forced to ask Kiffin to leave. The Yard takes no solace in the misfortune of Troy…yeah, right…
Sports do not build character. They reveal it. John Wooden.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Super used to be enough!
In January of 1983, the Yard attended our first and only Super Bowl. The only Shack that was a relevant sports icon to us was our good friend and former NAU Lumberjack John Shack who was on the Redskins injured reserve. Joe Theismann was eighteen months away from Lawrence Taylor ending his career during the making of the “Blind Side”. Super Bowl MVP John Riggins was the Huckleberry who rushed for 166 yards and the game changing touchdown. It was still a football game back then.
My first employer, Lanier Business Products was advertising dictation equipment during that Super Bowl. Lanier missed out on Edison’s electricity but they were all over his wax cylinders and dictation invention. Industry Icon, Temple Alumni and father of Victor, Bob got us Lanier hall passes into that game. The Yard is forever in his debt on many levels but we will probably never attend another Super Bowl. In 1983, the tickets were free with a face value of $40. In 2010, the face value is $850 and nothing is free.
At the Rose Bowl that day, the sponsoring of sports in America was still about the game not about being at the game. When the arrogance of being at the game subjugated the value of the game, the Super Bowl became courtside seats at Staples. Celebrities will be “surprised” that there is an interviewer in their face who wants to discuss their CBS TV series. Taco Bell, Budweiser, and Go Daddy will buy the soul of our Super Bowl thirty seconds at a time. The Yard will watch the game from home with the youthful fervor of 1983 and the waistline of 2010 on the sofa from 2006.
There is no better sports story than Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. The “Who Dat” nation has descended on South Beach and they do not need no stinking tickets. They will cheer in proximity with an alcohol fervor that the Yard could barely muster in 1983. Drew Brees signed with the Saints when the smart money was playing for the Dolphins. Bill Parcells wanted him desperately and appeared to have him locked up when the Chargers released Brees. The Chargers desperately needed Phillip Rivers to lead San Diego to greatness and apparently felt Brees would never lead a team to the Super Bowl.
Drew Brees is the guy you want coming to the front door to pick up your daughter. He says the right things because he means them. He works as hard as Peyton Manning with less public ball washings. He makes as many right decisions and he has more weapons. He had a better season than Sir Peyton and he will have full Yard support. The Saint defense is under rated and opportunistic. They pummeled Kurt Warner into retirement. Brett Favre got a similar message while throwing a game changing play off interception with a different team for the third straight post season. Brees decided on New Orleans because he did not just want to rebuild the Saints, he wanted to rebuild the city. In four years, he has taken the Saints to their first Super Bowl and has helped rebuild the city he now owns.
The Yard expressed concern that the impending divorce of Jamie the Load and Frank the Weak was going to hamper the Dodger’s ability to fill the gaps in their lineup. The Dodgers filled in the gaps in their roster with Reed Johnson and Jeff Weaver this past week. Reed Johnson to replace Juan Pierre? The Dodgers are paying 60% of Pierre’s salary so he can start for the White Sox. Jeff Weaver? Is this the 8th coming of Jeff Weaver? The Dodgers keep picking the wrong brother.
UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland is conducting his greatest coaching clinic this season. He is working harder with this young 11-12 team than he had to with any of his Final Four Teams. Howland always works hard and pounds fundamentals. Today’s one and done elite players are not easy converts. This Twittering, entitled youth does not always want to learn the bricks and mortar. They feel they were born with the bricks and already laid the mortar. They want the gloss and the Benjamin’s not necessarily Benjamin Howland.
The players that buy into his system are now playing significant minutes in the NBA. Drew Gordon did not get that and his last games will be played as a New Mexico Lobo. NBA coaches know that Ben’s kids are alright. If they can play for Howland, they can play anywhere. Freshman Tyler Honeycutt will play at the next level. He can run the point while leading the team in rebounding.
Extra Minutes: Is it just the Yard or is the whole sex addiction illness just a married guy who got caught epidemic? Derek Jeter banged half the Maxim Hot 100 between 2007 to present. He had more quantity than Tiger and exponentially better quality. But Tiger is a cheat who needs to cure his addiction. Derek is a player who is getting major trim. Jeter was smart enough to save the “I do’s” for the end of career not the prime. We hope it all works out for the Woods because lord knows the PGA needs him.
Penalty Kicks: Is Horatio Caine of CSI Miami going to introduce the Who for their signature tune while lowering his sunglasses?
My first employer, Lanier Business Products was advertising dictation equipment during that Super Bowl. Lanier missed out on Edison’s electricity but they were all over his wax cylinders and dictation invention. Industry Icon, Temple Alumni and father of Victor, Bob got us Lanier hall passes into that game. The Yard is forever in his debt on many levels but we will probably never attend another Super Bowl. In 1983, the tickets were free with a face value of $40. In 2010, the face value is $850 and nothing is free.
At the Rose Bowl that day, the sponsoring of sports in America was still about the game not about being at the game. When the arrogance of being at the game subjugated the value of the game, the Super Bowl became courtside seats at Staples. Celebrities will be “surprised” that there is an interviewer in their face who wants to discuss their CBS TV series. Taco Bell, Budweiser, and Go Daddy will buy the soul of our Super Bowl thirty seconds at a time. The Yard will watch the game from home with the youthful fervor of 1983 and the waistline of 2010 on the sofa from 2006.
There is no better sports story than Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. The “Who Dat” nation has descended on South Beach and they do not need no stinking tickets. They will cheer in proximity with an alcohol fervor that the Yard could barely muster in 1983. Drew Brees signed with the Saints when the smart money was playing for the Dolphins. Bill Parcells wanted him desperately and appeared to have him locked up when the Chargers released Brees. The Chargers desperately needed Phillip Rivers to lead San Diego to greatness and apparently felt Brees would never lead a team to the Super Bowl.
Drew Brees is the guy you want coming to the front door to pick up your daughter. He says the right things because he means them. He works as hard as Peyton Manning with less public ball washings. He makes as many right decisions and he has more weapons. He had a better season than Sir Peyton and he will have full Yard support. The Saint defense is under rated and opportunistic. They pummeled Kurt Warner into retirement. Brett Favre got a similar message while throwing a game changing play off interception with a different team for the third straight post season. Brees decided on New Orleans because he did not just want to rebuild the Saints, he wanted to rebuild the city. In four years, he has taken the Saints to their first Super Bowl and has helped rebuild the city he now owns.
The Yard expressed concern that the impending divorce of Jamie the Load and Frank the Weak was going to hamper the Dodger’s ability to fill the gaps in their lineup. The Dodgers filled in the gaps in their roster with Reed Johnson and Jeff Weaver this past week. Reed Johnson to replace Juan Pierre? The Dodgers are paying 60% of Pierre’s salary so he can start for the White Sox. Jeff Weaver? Is this the 8th coming of Jeff Weaver? The Dodgers keep picking the wrong brother.
UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland is conducting his greatest coaching clinic this season. He is working harder with this young 11-12 team than he had to with any of his Final Four Teams. Howland always works hard and pounds fundamentals. Today’s one and done elite players are not easy converts. This Twittering, entitled youth does not always want to learn the bricks and mortar. They feel they were born with the bricks and already laid the mortar. They want the gloss and the Benjamin’s not necessarily Benjamin Howland.
The players that buy into his system are now playing significant minutes in the NBA. Drew Gordon did not get that and his last games will be played as a New Mexico Lobo. NBA coaches know that Ben’s kids are alright. If they can play for Howland, they can play anywhere. Freshman Tyler Honeycutt will play at the next level. He can run the point while leading the team in rebounding.
Extra Minutes: Is it just the Yard or is the whole sex addiction illness just a married guy who got caught epidemic? Derek Jeter banged half the Maxim Hot 100 between 2007 to present. He had more quantity than Tiger and exponentially better quality. But Tiger is a cheat who needs to cure his addiction. Derek is a player who is getting major trim. Jeter was smart enough to save the “I do’s” for the end of career not the prime. We hope it all works out for the Woods because lord knows the PGA needs him.
Penalty Kicks: Is Horatio Caine of CSI Miami going to introduce the Who for their signature tune while lowering his sunglasses?
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