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Jon Gruden: Hilariously awful or awesome?

The Monday Night Football booth teamRon Jaworsky, Mike Tirico, and Jon Gruden. That’s one HECK of a football announcing lineup! (ESPN)

Since I’ve got nothing else right now, let’s talk a little bit about the Monday Night Football announcing team, shall we?

I generally like the Monday Night Football booth lineup. Mike Tirico is a knowledgeable and excitable play-by-play guy. Ron Jaworski brings his quarterback credentials to the mix and is capable of being critical, especially of offenses (as is typical of former QBs turned color commentators). And Jon Gruden brings in the coach’s perspective. The three work well together and they have good voices that sound solid and football-y.

(Yes, football-y is officially an adjective for describing football voices. Bryant Gumbel doing play-by-play on NFL Network a couple years ago, on the other hand: not football-y at all. Terrible, in fact.) (Read more…)

MLB: Just add instant replay already

So, last night, Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers threw a perfect game. Except it wasn’t a perfect game, because with two outs in the bottom of the ninth — you couldn’t write fiction this implausible — first-base umpire Jim Joyce blew the call. And Joyce admitted after the game that he blew the call. So what should have been the 21st perfect game in the history of Major League Baseball is instead the most infamous one-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball.

Wow. Just, wow.

Today, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said he wouldn’t reverse the blown call because, apparently, that would open up a can of worms that would bring the sport of Major League Baseball to a grinding halt. Or something. (Read more…)

Jon Gruden: Praise-meister

Is it just me, or does former Tampa Bay head coach and current Monday Night Football color commentator Jon Gruden think everyone is the most awesome player ever?

I think we need to institute:

The Jon Gruden Scale

**** – Words cannot describe this football player
*** – Spectacular football player
** – Outstanding football player
* – One heckuva football player

No one is going undefeated in the NFL, so just drop it

After Monday night’s victory of the New Orleans Saints over the Atlanta Falcons, which put the Saints at 7-0 along with Indianapolis as the last two undefeateds in the NFL, we then had the obligatory news conference where the press asked head coach Sean Payton if it seemed more likely now that the Saints could go undefeated.

More likely than when they were 6-0? Well, sure, I suppose — in the same way that 4th and 30 is more likely to be converted by the Cleveland Browns offense than 4th and 32.

Then, during his ESPN analysis, Steve Young went on to go down the Saints schedule to point to the only two teams remaining to play them that have a chance of beating them (Dallas and New England). The Saints are better, he said.

So are the Saints going to run the table?

Please. (Read more…)

Favre: So I was wrong

I’m big enough to admit when I’m wrong. And clearly I was wrong when I suggested that Brett Favre should’ve remain retired.

I mean, did you see that Monday night game with Favre versus the Packers? (Read more…)

Brett Favre: Just retire already

So, for how many more years will we have to go through the Brett Favre retirement/unretirement drama? It’s become something of a running (and tiresome) annual joke. Even as a Bears fan, I have nothing against the highly respectable Favre, who is a guaranteed Hall-of-Famer and seems like a classy guy. But, really, isn’t enough enough? (Read more…)

World Series or bust; place bets on ‘bust’

So. I just watched the Cubs lose the third of three straight losses to be swept out of the playoffs in 2008, a season that from my vantage point most of the way seemed like it had the makings of something special. This team seemed like it had the best chances of a Cub team in a long time. But they got swept out of the postseason in the first round, for the second year in a row. (Read more…)

The hopes of ending the 100-year drought

Contrary to what it may seem at this point, I’m not talking about my lack of reviewing or blogging when I refer to a drought of 100 years. To those who know what I’m talking about when I say “100-year drought” … well, you already know what I’m talking about. I don’t have to say anything more. “100-year drought” says it all, and you already know what the conversation is going to be. (Read more…)

Race to the White House: The sports event of 2008

John King and the Delegate MapCheck this shit out (Fig. 1). CNN’s John King proves that election coverage is not only sports coverage, but a video game you can play yourself.

As I’ve mentioned before, when it comes to watching sports, there’s only one season that really matters to me: NFL season. From September until the Super Bowl, I watch football like an addict. Two games on Sunday — maybe even three — and then ESPN analysis. SportsCenter. NFL Primetime. Basically, any knowledgeable analysis of football becomes raw nourishment for my need to understand in detail what has happened and will happen on Any Given Sunday.

And when these football professionals talk, it sure sounds convincing. They can predict the future, give their reasons, and make it plausible. And it’s fascinating. They may end up being wrong (and who among them wasn’t wrong about the Patriots versus the Giants?), but that goes with the territory. (Read more…)

They aren’t who we didn’t think they weren’t

That Super Bowl was an exciting game, with a final two drives by both teams that displayed the sort of classic drama and heroics that get repeated as sports cliches. I wasn’t expecting to be so much on the edge of my seat, but by the end of that game I was high-fiving and cheering like I was a Giants fan (which I’m not). (Read more…)