Let's see if this will work this week. Fox has the doubleheader, although they're showing some real woofers in their late slot.
Thursday November 11 - Veterans Day
Baltimore Ravens @ Atlanta Falcons (NFLN, 8:20PM) - Bob Papa, Matt Millen, Joe Theisman - Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
Fox Early:
Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears (FOX, 1PM) - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa - Soldiers Field, Chicago, IL
Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (FOX, 1PM) - Dick Stockton, Charles Davis, Jim Mora Jr. - Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Detroit Lions @ Buffalo Bills (FOX, 1PM) - Ron Pitts, John Lynch - Ralph Wilson Stadium, Buffalo, NY
CBS Early:
New York Jets @ Cleveland Browns (CBS, 1PM) - Jim Nantz, Phil Simms [National] - Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, OH
Cincinnati Bengals @ Indianapolis Colts (CBS, 1PM) - Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf - Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, INTennessee Titans @ Miami Dolphins (CBS, 1PM) - Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts - Sun Life Stadium, Miami, FL
Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars (CBS, 1PM) - Gus Johnson, Steve Tasker - Everbank Field, Jacksonville, FL
Fox Late:
Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants (FOX, 4:15PM) - Joe Buck, Troy Aikman [National] - Meadowlands Stadium, E. Rutherford, NJ
Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals (FOX, 4:15PM) - Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick - University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
St. Louis Rams @ San Francisco 49ers (FOX, 4:15PM) - Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan - Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
CBS Late:
Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos (CBS, 4PM) - Kevin Harlan, Solomon Wilcots - Invesco Field, Denver, CO
New England Patriots @ Pittsburgh Steelers (NBC, 8:20 PM) – Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth - Heinz Field, Pittsburgh PA
Monday November 15
Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Redskins (ESPN, 8:30) - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, Jon Gruden - FedEx Field, Washington DC
The Packers, Saints, Raiders, and Chargers have byes.
The Columbus, Ohio market is showing all of the network's #1 games at all times. Once again we see the the loser Cowboys on a nationally televised game. Oh, well. Despite being the #1 game, most of the country is seeing Broncos-Chiefs at 4:05 Eastern. Only small pockets of the midwest and northeast are seeing Jets-Browns. Most of the mid-atlantic, midwest, and west are seeing CBS's #2 game, Indy-Cincinnati.
The Kansas City markets has not been showing Rams game, which is upsetting many fans there, and rightly so. Watching the Cowboys stinking up the national TV scene has got to end, although I'm not sure seeing Seattle-Arizona is going to be any better. Their last game wasn't.
09 November 2010
08 November 2010
Week 9: Brett Favre Promoted To Saint, Chidress Still A Bum, ESPN Says
We are now halfway through the NFL season, and thankfully some more storylines are emerging other than the infighting within the Vikings organization and the hapless Cowboys. I'm going to sound a bit like Colin Cowherd hear (pimping my own ego and how right I was when I made a prediction) but what did I say last week? The AFC West could be the most exciting division?! I still think I'm right. The Chargers, Raiders, and Giants are all on streaks where they look like they could dominate the latter part of the season. I'll say this again too. Teams that do well in the postseason are ones that have hot streaks in the middle of the season, allowing room to drop a few games at the beginning and the end. The Chargers have a peachpuff schedule from here on out and could easily be 6-5 going into their bout with the Raiders on December 5. Speaking of the Raiders, they have won three straight, and three of their five wins this year have come against AFC West opponents. Don't give up on the Chiefs yet though, they still lead the AFC West. Then we have the New York Giants, holders of the best record and best team in the NFC. They have won five straight and will get a sixth next week (they play the Cowboys at the Meadowlands). The Falcons too are 6-2, however they have the Ravens in the Georgia Dome next week.
My ESPN Rant of the Week: Let me make this clear. I am an ESPN hater by any means. Some of my favorite sports personalities work for the network (Chris Berman, Tom Jackson, Mike Tirico, Mike & Mike, Ron Jaworski). Jon Gruden is pretty good too, but I think his time would be better spent if he were to get back into coaching. I just don't like some of the people there (Trent Dilfer, Mark Schlereth, Colin Cowherd, Tony Kornheiser). Every Monday Trent Dilfer comes onto Colin Cowherd's show and basically they talk about how great Brett Favre is and how much of an asshole Brad Childress is. They do talk about other stuff but it usually boils down to Favre or other stuff Cowherd is comfortable talking about (I'm sorry, but he is just not a very good analyst). Well on Monday, Dilfer said that Favre's comeback on Sunday against the Cardinals was perhaps the second-best comeback in NFL history, behind "that Vinny Testaverde thing like 15 years ago". Tell if I'm wrong. Did he not say something to that effect? What about Peyton Manning against the Buccaneers in 2003? And besides, it was two freaking touchdowns! I think that happens fairly often, but not that common, but still, how short-sighted is that statement made by Dilfer? (Note: "the Vinny Testaverde thing" was in 2000, which last I checked was only 10 years ago)
Wade Phillips was fired on Monday. Who didn't see that one coming? Jason Garrett was promoted to interim head coach. Will it save the Cowboys' season? Doubtful. The Cowboys will still have to retool their entire coaching staff for next season whether there is football or not.
Stat of the Week: The Raiders are 3-0 against AFC West opponents. Divisional wins are paramount to getting to the playoffs.
Stat of the Week 2: The Browns have won their last two games by a score of 64-31.
Stat of the Week 3: Antwaan Randle El's career passer rating is 157.5, the highest for someone who has thrown more than 20 passes. A perfect passer rating is 158.3
Sweet Play of the Week: 1st and 10 at the Pats 11-yard line. Browns line up in a trick formation with Josh Cribbs and quarterback, receiver Chansi Stuckey literally right behind him, Peyton Hillis the deep back, and Colt McCoy split out wide. Quick snap, quick handoff to Stuckey, touchdown.
Amusement of the Week: Lions kicker Jason Hanson was injured, so 307-pound rookie defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh came in and made a PAT attempt. Unfortunately the try doinked off the crossbar, no good.
College Football Score From Schools You've Never Heard Of (D-I Edition): Michigan 67, Illinois 65 (3OT) in the highest-scoring game in Big Ten history.
College Football Score From Schools You've Never Heard Of: Mount Ida 69, Anna Maria 18.
College Football Score From Schools You've Never Heard Of With Pregame Meal Of Ambien And Warm Milk Score: College of New Jersey 7, Kean 0. Sole touchdown was scored in the fourth quarter.
Next Week: Sources say Brett Favre plans on shaving before the Vikings game at Chicago. ESPN will have up-to-the-minute coverage with breakdown on SportsCenter, First Take, NFL Live, and The Herd With Colin Cowherd afterwards.
My ESPN Rant of the Week: Let me make this clear. I am an ESPN hater by any means. Some of my favorite sports personalities work for the network (Chris Berman, Tom Jackson, Mike Tirico, Mike & Mike, Ron Jaworski). Jon Gruden is pretty good too, but I think his time would be better spent if he were to get back into coaching. I just don't like some of the people there (Trent Dilfer, Mark Schlereth, Colin Cowherd, Tony Kornheiser). Every Monday Trent Dilfer comes onto Colin Cowherd's show and basically they talk about how great Brett Favre is and how much of an asshole Brad Childress is. They do talk about other stuff but it usually boils down to Favre or other stuff Cowherd is comfortable talking about (I'm sorry, but he is just not a very good analyst). Well on Monday, Dilfer said that Favre's comeback on Sunday against the Cardinals was perhaps the second-best comeback in NFL history, behind "that Vinny Testaverde thing like 15 years ago". Tell if I'm wrong. Did he not say something to that effect? What about Peyton Manning against the Buccaneers in 2003? And besides, it was two freaking touchdowns! I think that happens fairly often, but not that common, but still, how short-sighted is that statement made by Dilfer? (Note: "the Vinny Testaverde thing" was in 2000, which last I checked was only 10 years ago)
Wade Phillips was fired on Monday. Who didn't see that one coming? Jason Garrett was promoted to interim head coach. Will it save the Cowboys' season? Doubtful. The Cowboys will still have to retool their entire coaching staff for next season whether there is football or not.
Stat of the Week: The Raiders are 3-0 against AFC West opponents. Divisional wins are paramount to getting to the playoffs.
Stat of the Week 2: The Browns have won their last two games by a score of 64-31.
Stat of the Week 3: Antwaan Randle El's career passer rating is 157.5, the highest for someone who has thrown more than 20 passes. A perfect passer rating is 158.3
Sweet Play of the Week: 1st and 10 at the Pats 11-yard line. Browns line up in a trick formation with Josh Cribbs and quarterback, receiver Chansi Stuckey literally right behind him, Peyton Hillis the deep back, and Colt McCoy split out wide. Quick snap, quick handoff to Stuckey, touchdown.
Amusement of the Week: Lions kicker Jason Hanson was injured, so 307-pound rookie defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh came in and made a PAT attempt. Unfortunately the try doinked off the crossbar, no good.
College Football Score From Schools You've Never Heard Of (D-I Edition): Michigan 67, Illinois 65 (3OT) in the highest-scoring game in Big Ten history.
College Football Score From Schools You've Never Heard Of: Mount Ida 69, Anna Maria 18.
College Football Score From Schools You've Never Heard Of With Pregame Meal Of Ambien And Warm Milk Score: College of New Jersey 7, Kean 0. Sole touchdown was scored in the fourth quarter.
Next Week: Sources say Brett Favre plans on shaving before the Vikings game at Chicago. ESPN will have up-to-the-minute coverage with breakdown on SportsCenter, First Take, NFL Live, and The Herd With Colin Cowherd afterwards.
04 November 2010
Week 9 Broadcasting Assingments
Blogger decided to take a shit on me, so basically I have nothing. Check out this weekend's broadcasting assignments on Awful Announcing.
31 October 2010
Week 8; Vikings, Cowboys, Fix Your Teams in One Easy Step!
I'm watching Fox NFL Sunday for once and they're talking about Brett Favre. I never thought I'd here Terry Bradshaw say something smart, but he just has. He remarked that every time a quarterback throws, he puts most of his weight on his left foot, which Favre has two broken bones in (as well as an injury in his elbow). Yes! Jimmy Johnson agrees! He also says that's it's okay to sit a game, and that Favre's good throws have been outweighed by his bad ones. Yes! Micheal Strahan says no coach has the balls (he said cajones, or however you spell it) to bench Favre. Yes! However Troy Aikman did his share of Favre-loving, especially after Favre took a big hit in the second half.
It is so refreshing to hear some media criticism of Favre, and not everybody apologizing for his bad plays and calling Brad Childress a lame-duck coach. Lately, I have gotten so tired of ESPN's love-affair of Favre that I have all but boycotted ESPN, other than Mike and Mike and the 11:00 SportsCenter ("The Blitz" segments only. The rest of the show I fast-forward through.)
How To Fix The Cowboys: Sorry to sound like a broken record, but Wade Phillips needs to go, and so does Jerry Jones. I've never like owners like Jerry Jones or Al Davis, who consider themselves "player's coaches". Players can't coach themselves, and when they're payed millions of dollars, they develop egos. To keep their egos in check, they need a powerful coach to keep them in line (Bill Parcells). The problem, according to owners like Jones, is that they want too much power, they want in on personnel decisions and the draft, which is how Parcells was ousted from New England after the Super Bowl loss to the Packers. It's not the players. The Cowboys are way too talented of a team to be 1-6. When Bill Parcells was the coach, he had inferior talent to what the Cowboys have now, but they were disciplined. They were not penalized a lot and players were not "larger" than the team. Also, JerryWorld is not exactly a stadium where home field advantage is much of a factor. See, it's so big that the crowd noise largely unaffects the opposing team. And even worse, every Cowboys game so far this season has been nationally televised.
Cowboys TV Schedule:
Week 1: Sunday Night
Week 2: #1 game of regional weekend on Fox (if an affiliate did not have local obligations, it is recommended they show this game, unless you're WTTE)
Week 3: #1 game of regional weekend on Fox
Week 4: Bye
Week 5: second game of doubleheader on CBS, shown to majority of country
Week 6: second game of doubleheader on Fox, shown to majority of country
Week 7: Monday Night
Week 8: #1 game of regional weekend on CBS
Week 9: Sunday Night
Week 10: second game of doubleheader on Fox
Week 11: play Lions. Likely not #1 game but stranger things have happened
Week 12: Thanksgiving Game on Fox
Week 13: second game of doubleheader on Fox
Week 14: scheduled for Sunday Night, could change because of Flex Scheduling
Week 15: play at 1:00 against the Redskins, might actually not be on national TV
Week 16: play Cardinals on NFL Network, Christmas
Week 17: play Eagles at 1:00
How To Fix The Vikings (Note: this was written before Moss was cut): ESPN's golden boy quarterback is the 30th-ranked quarterback in the NFL (there are 32 teams). He didn't play horribly last night and the Vikings were largely in the game for most of it but he did get hurt and had to be carried of the field. I'll say this again, there is no way the Vikings with Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, Randy Moss and their defense should be 2-5. No way. Favre has thrown costly interceptions in every game this season. Honestly how bad would Tarvaris Jackson be? Maybe they should reinstate the 5/8th clause? Where of every eight passes thrown, at least five should go to Randy Moss. And if you make him feel like an important part of the offense, he will catch all five passes that come his way. Favre will never want to not play unless he basically can't move, somebody (Childress) needs to take the initiative and do something. With their players, how bad would Jackson be?
So where should Moss go? How about Dallas? I haven't heard that discussed anywhere yet. That means it's either genius or stupid.
Chiefs (5-2), Raiders (4-4), Chargers (3-5), too much to say that the AFC West could actually be the most exciting division in football this season? The Chargers are making their late-season run and they have a relatively easy schedule from here on out. The Raiders have won their past two games by a combined score of 92-17, and are getting hot at the right time of the season, but so are the Chiefs, who happen to play the Raiders in Oakland next week and then the Broncos after that.
Thankfully the game in London was actually a game, which it has the perpetuity to not be. Hopefully the crowd did not know they were watching two of the worst NFL teams playing before their eyes. There was a Tim Tebow sighting, as I'm sure you know. And I'm sure you know too that he scored a touchdown. And how bad is the Broncos defense if they gave up 24 points and allowed Troy Smith (Troy Smith!) to complete 12 of 19 passes. Either that or Troy Smith is really good. Frank Gore also had 118 yards rushing.
Just for some amusment, here is a column from a local meatball, calling for the benching of Orton in favor of Tebow "to save the season" all the whille using the Tebow-as-a-Christian theme to fall the writers' cliches back on.
Then we have this lovely post from pro-football-reference. To sum it up: the Patriots are 6-1 for the fourth time in Belichick's career, but they're basically terrible; opportunistic on defense while giving up a lot of yards and who-dat talent (will they be Gregg Easterbrook's team he will gush about every week for having a few select undrafted or lowly drafted players that make plays once in awhile?)
I'll just say this as an argument against Easterbrook. Deion Branch, Patrick Chung, Brandon Spikes and Rob Gronkowski are second round picks. Jerod Mayo, Brandon Meriweather, and Devin McCourty are first round picks. Most of the defense is made up of highly drafted players, although running back Danny Woodhead, the Patriots MVP up to this point, went undrafted out of Chadron State (of Chadron, Nebraska).
College Football Scores From Teams You've Never Heard Of:
Score #1: Washington & Lee 49, Catholic U 14. Two guys beating a whole team? Impressive!
Score #2: Stonehill 41, St. Anelm 27
Next Week: The Broncos, Titans, Jaguars, Redskins, Rams, and 49ers have byes next week. A Bills upset against the Bears to get off the schnide possible? Lots of good divisional games next week (Bucs-Falcons, Chiefs-Raiders). And once again we get to see the loser Cowboys on national TV. Don't worry, there are only two weeks until flex scheduling beings, so hopefully we won't be seeing much of the Cowboys and Vikings on national TV.
It is so refreshing to hear some media criticism of Favre, and not everybody apologizing for his bad plays and calling Brad Childress a lame-duck coach. Lately, I have gotten so tired of ESPN's love-affair of Favre that I have all but boycotted ESPN, other than Mike and Mike and the 11:00 SportsCenter ("The Blitz" segments only. The rest of the show I fast-forward through.)
How To Fix The Cowboys: Sorry to sound like a broken record, but Wade Phillips needs to go, and so does Jerry Jones. I've never like owners like Jerry Jones or Al Davis, who consider themselves "player's coaches". Players can't coach themselves, and when they're payed millions of dollars, they develop egos. To keep their egos in check, they need a powerful coach to keep them in line (Bill Parcells). The problem, according to owners like Jones, is that they want too much power, they want in on personnel decisions and the draft, which is how Parcells was ousted from New England after the Super Bowl loss to the Packers. It's not the players. The Cowboys are way too talented of a team to be 1-6. When Bill Parcells was the coach, he had inferior talent to what the Cowboys have now, but they were disciplined. They were not penalized a lot and players were not "larger" than the team. Also, JerryWorld is not exactly a stadium where home field advantage is much of a factor. See, it's so big that the crowd noise largely unaffects the opposing team. And even worse, every Cowboys game so far this season has been nationally televised.
Cowboys TV Schedule:
Week 1: Sunday Night
Week 2: #1 game of regional weekend on Fox (if an affiliate did not have local obligations, it is recommended they show this game, unless you're WTTE)
Week 3: #1 game of regional weekend on Fox
Week 4: Bye
Week 5: second game of doubleheader on CBS, shown to majority of country
Week 6: second game of doubleheader on Fox, shown to majority of country
Week 7: Monday Night
Week 8: #1 game of regional weekend on CBS
Week 9: Sunday Night
Week 10: second game of doubleheader on Fox
Week 11: play Lions. Likely not #1 game but stranger things have happened
Week 12: Thanksgiving Game on Fox
Week 13: second game of doubleheader on Fox
Week 14: scheduled for Sunday Night, could change because of Flex Scheduling
Week 15: play at 1:00 against the Redskins, might actually not be on national TV
Week 16: play Cardinals on NFL Network, Christmas
Week 17: play Eagles at 1:00
How To Fix The Vikings (Note: this was written before Moss was cut): ESPN's golden boy quarterback is the 30th-ranked quarterback in the NFL (there are 32 teams). He didn't play horribly last night and the Vikings were largely in the game for most of it but he did get hurt and had to be carried of the field. I'll say this again, there is no way the Vikings with Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, Randy Moss and their defense should be 2-5. No way. Favre has thrown costly interceptions in every game this season. Honestly how bad would Tarvaris Jackson be? Maybe they should reinstate the 5/8th clause? Where of every eight passes thrown, at least five should go to Randy Moss. And if you make him feel like an important part of the offense, he will catch all five passes that come his way. Favre will never want to not play unless he basically can't move, somebody (Childress) needs to take the initiative and do something. With their players, how bad would Jackson be?
So where should Moss go? How about Dallas? I haven't heard that discussed anywhere yet. That means it's either genius or stupid.
Chiefs (5-2), Raiders (4-4), Chargers (3-5), too much to say that the AFC West could actually be the most exciting division in football this season? The Chargers are making their late-season run and they have a relatively easy schedule from here on out. The Raiders have won their past two games by a combined score of 92-17, and are getting hot at the right time of the season, but so are the Chiefs, who happen to play the Raiders in Oakland next week and then the Broncos after that.
Thankfully the game in London was actually a game, which it has the perpetuity to not be. Hopefully the crowd did not know they were watching two of the worst NFL teams playing before their eyes. There was a Tim Tebow sighting, as I'm sure you know. And I'm sure you know too that he scored a touchdown. And how bad is the Broncos defense if they gave up 24 points and allowed Troy Smith (Troy Smith!) to complete 12 of 19 passes. Either that or Troy Smith is really good. Frank Gore also had 118 yards rushing.
Just for some amusment, here is a column from a local meatball, calling for the benching of Orton in favor of Tebow "to save the season" all the whille using the Tebow-as-a-Christian theme to fall the writers' cliches back on.
Then we have this lovely post from pro-football-reference. To sum it up: the Patriots are 6-1 for the fourth time in Belichick's career, but they're basically terrible; opportunistic on defense while giving up a lot of yards and who-dat talent (will they be Gregg Easterbrook's team he will gush about every week for having a few select undrafted or lowly drafted players that make plays once in awhile?)
I'll just say this as an argument against Easterbrook. Deion Branch, Patrick Chung, Brandon Spikes and Rob Gronkowski are second round picks. Jerod Mayo, Brandon Meriweather, and Devin McCourty are first round picks. Most of the defense is made up of highly drafted players, although running back Danny Woodhead, the Patriots MVP up to this point, went undrafted out of Chadron State (of Chadron, Nebraska).
College Football Scores From Teams You've Never Heard Of:
Score #1: Washington & Lee 49, Catholic U 14. Two guys beating a whole team? Impressive!
Score #2: Stonehill 41, St. Anelm 27
Next Week: The Broncos, Titans, Jaguars, Redskins, Rams, and 49ers have byes next week. A Bills upset against the Bears to get off the schnide possible? Lots of good divisional games next week (Bucs-Falcons, Chiefs-Raiders). And once again we get to see the loser Cowboys on national TV. Don't worry, there are only two weeks until flex scheduling beings, so hopefully we won't be seeing much of the Cowboys and Vikings on national TV.
29 October 2010
NFL Week 8 Announcing Schedule & Coverage Maps
Meant to do this earlier in the week. Anyway, here they are.
Fox early:
Green Bay Packers @ New York Jets (FOX, 1PM) - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa - Meadowlands Stadium, E. Rutherford, NJ
Carolina Panthers @ St. Louis Rams (FOX, 1PM) - Dick Stockton, Charles Davis, Jim Mora Jr. - Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, MO
Washington Redskins @ Detroit Lions (FOX, 1PM) - Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan - Ford Field, Detroit, MI
Fox has the doubleheader this week, and most of the country is seeing Packers-Jets, except for the local markets of the other teams and the Dallas, Cincinnati, Kansas City, San Francisco, and San Diego markets who do not have early games due to NFL rules. For once Columbus is going with what everybody else is seeing early. I thought for sure they'd dump Detroit-Washington on us.
CBS Early:
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Dallas Cowboys (CBS, 1PM) - Jim Nantz, Phil Simms [National] - Cowboys Stadium, Dallas TX
Denver Broncos @ San Francisco 49ers (CBS, 1PM) - Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf - Wembley Stadium, London, England
Miami Dolphins @ Cincinnati Bengals (CBS, 1PM) - Kevin Harlan, Solomon Wilcots - Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs (CBS, 1PM) - Gus Johnson, Steve Tasker - Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Sadly, nowhere east of the Lafayette, Indiana market are anyone seeing the London game for free. A good amount of the south is seeing Jax-North Texas. Why most of the northeast is seeing Cincy-South Florida is beyond me. As is Wisconsin having Tennessee-San Diego (the only late game on CBS). Why is Mississippi seeing Chiefs-Bills?
Fox late:
Minnesota Vikings @ New England Patriots (FOX, 4:15PM) - Thom Brennaman, Troy Aikman [National] - Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Arizona Cardinals (FOX, 4:15PM) - Chris Myers, Brian Billick - University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
Seattle Seahawks @ Oakland Raiders (FOX, 4:15PM) - Ron Pitts, John Lynch - Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA
Most of the country is seeing Vikings-Pats, and for good reason, since there's a chance Favre won't play. Most of California isn't even seeing the Raiders game.
CBS late:
Tennessee Titans @ San Diego Chargers (CBS, 4PM) - Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts - Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA
Only are the local markets of these teams, Wisconsin, and Central Michigan are seeing this game. The New York market is seeing this as well.
Fox early:
Green Bay Packers @ New York Jets (FOX, 1PM) - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa - Meadowlands Stadium, E. Rutherford, NJ
Carolina Panthers @ St. Louis Rams (FOX, 1PM) - Dick Stockton, Charles Davis, Jim Mora Jr. - Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, MO
Washington Redskins @ Detroit Lions (FOX, 1PM) - Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan - Ford Field, Detroit, MI
Fox has the doubleheader this week, and most of the country is seeing Packers-Jets, except for the local markets of the other teams and the Dallas, Cincinnati, Kansas City, San Francisco, and San Diego markets who do not have early games due to NFL rules. For once Columbus is going with what everybody else is seeing early. I thought for sure they'd dump Detroit-Washington on us.
CBS Early:
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Dallas Cowboys (CBS, 1PM) - Jim Nantz, Phil Simms [National] - Cowboys Stadium, Dallas TX
Denver Broncos @ San Francisco 49ers (CBS, 1PM) - Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf - Wembley Stadium, London, England
Miami Dolphins @ Cincinnati Bengals (CBS, 1PM) - Kevin Harlan, Solomon Wilcots - Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs (CBS, 1PM) - Gus Johnson, Steve Tasker - Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Sadly, nowhere east of the Lafayette, Indiana market are anyone seeing the London game for free. A good amount of the south is seeing Jax-North Texas. Why most of the northeast is seeing Cincy-South Florida is beyond me. As is Wisconsin having Tennessee-San Diego (the only late game on CBS). Why is Mississippi seeing Chiefs-Bills?
Fox late:
Minnesota Vikings @ New England Patriots (FOX, 4:15PM) - Thom Brennaman, Troy Aikman [National] - Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Arizona Cardinals (FOX, 4:15PM) - Chris Myers, Brian Billick - University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
Seattle Seahawks @ Oakland Raiders (FOX, 4:15PM) - Ron Pitts, John Lynch - Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA
Most of the country is seeing Vikings-Pats, and for good reason, since there's a chance Favre won't play. Most of California isn't even seeing the Raiders game.
CBS late:
Tennessee Titans @ San Diego Chargers (CBS, 4PM) - Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts - Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA
Only are the local markets of these teams, Wisconsin, and Central Michigan are seeing this game. The New York market is seeing this as well.
25 October 2010
Week 7, One Big Brett Favre Rant
After Sunday night's loss to the Packers, Vikings coach Brad Childress basically threw Brett Favre under the bus in the postgame conference, blaming Favre for the loss, as he should (with a little help from the officiating crew). In case you didn't see it, a Vikings touchdown was overturned, even though Visanthe Shancoe clearly had possession as he hit the ground. There was also a pass interference call on Randy Moss that smelled of b.s. (see, I'm not a total Vikings hater).
Childress blamed Favre for the loss, and rightly so. I see a coach that is frustrated with losing and being 2-4. He knows his team is more talented than 2-4, and they are. There is no way a team with Randy Moss, Adrian Peterson, their defense and even Brett Favre should be 2-4.
Granted, Adrian Peterson is quietly on his way to an 1,800 yard season, but this simply cannot go on any longer. I know Favre will never be bench, but I would seriously consider it. Favre has already thrown 10 interceptions (he threw seven all of last season).
And of course ESPN, the network of Brett Favre apologists, basically ripped Childress for ripping Favre on the basis on "Oh, that's just ol' Brett. He always throws it to the other guys but to our guys more." ESPN has never taken Brad Childress seriously; poking fun at his headset and his orthodontist dimenor. Remember they won 10 games in 2008 with Gus Frerotte as their starting quarterback, and without Randy Moss.
Meanwhile, five of top ten passers on Sunday lost their games; Carson Palmer had a 400-yard effort in a loss, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four touchdowns in a loss, Drew Brees tossed nearly 60 passes in a shocking loss.
Most Super Bowl teams hit their groove in the middle of season, meaning, it's not the end of the world if a team drops a game or two at the beginning or end of the season. The Giants, possibly the best team in the NFC, are on a four-game winning streak. The Jets, a five-game streak. The Patriots, a four-game streak. The Titans, a three-game streak.
Close Calls: Two contests on Sunday were decided by a point, four by three points and one by four. Conversely, there were contests decided by 45, 22, and 18 points.
Location Political Correctness?: Last year, the p.a. announcer at Sun Life Stadium (previously Land Shark Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, Pro Player Stadium, Pro Player Park, Joe Robbie Stadium) addressed the crowd at the Super Bowl, "Welcome to South Florida!" I believe I heard that this year's Super Bowl will not be in Dallas, but in North Texas. I guess Coral Gables felt discriminated against, as will Fort Worth and Irving this year? Oy vey!
Super Bowl Spoilers: The Browns have beaten the defending Super Bowl champions in each of the past three seasons (Giants in 2008, Steelers last year, and the Saints this year).
Speaking of the Saints, as hard as it is to believe, Drew Bress leads the league in interceptions with 10 (Brett Favre does too, but that's no surprise).
College Football Scores From Schools You've Never Heard Of: Mercyhurst 31, California of Pennsylvania 21
Score #2. Maritime Bowl: Maine Maritime 28, Massachusetts Maritime 27
Bonus Score. Sominex Bowl: Indianapolis 6, Northern Michigan 5. All points scored in fourth quarter.
Patch Stat of the Week: The Raiders put up 59 points against the Broncos. Most ever for the franchise, ever, in history, even through the AFL days. They put up 52 three times; once in 2002, 2000, and then in 1963 (a 52-49 shootout against the Oilers).
Why Am I Watching This Game?: In the Columbus, Ohio market, the Seahawks-Cardinals snorefest was shown. Why? It was a regional matchup weekend on Fox. How regional are teams that are located 1,900 and 2,400 miles away? What's worse, this game was shown to countless other markets that I bet did not give two shits about this game. Buffalo? Kansas City? West Palm Beach? It was shown to 19% of Fox's affiliates! Even their so-called #1 game, Chicago-Washington was only (in the scheme of things) shown to 34% of Fox affiliates. Eagles-Titans, their #2 game, was shown to 33% of Fox's affiliates. WGRT in Dayton was the only Ohio Fox affiliate to host Redskins-Bears. None had Eagles-Titans. Am I the only one who does not understand the logic behind this?
Next Week: Luckily, Fox has the double-header next week (since Fox does not release what their broadcasting assignments are until the morning of an NFL Sunday, I can't share them). Pats-Vikings is the main 4:15 game. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms of CBS will be at Jax/North Texas, although 49ers-Broncos in London is slotted ahead of that with Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf in the booth. I'm pretty sure I have yet to see a game in London since the NFL has started that again due to local obligations (sometimes it sucks having four AFC teams that have fans in the area).
Childress blamed Favre for the loss, and rightly so. I see a coach that is frustrated with losing and being 2-4. He knows his team is more talented than 2-4, and they are. There is no way a team with Randy Moss, Adrian Peterson, their defense and even Brett Favre should be 2-4.
Granted, Adrian Peterson is quietly on his way to an 1,800 yard season, but this simply cannot go on any longer. I know Favre will never be bench, but I would seriously consider it. Favre has already thrown 10 interceptions (he threw seven all of last season).
And of course ESPN, the network of Brett Favre apologists, basically ripped Childress for ripping Favre on the basis on "Oh, that's just ol' Brett. He always throws it to the other guys but to our guys more." ESPN has never taken Brad Childress seriously; poking fun at his headset and his orthodontist dimenor. Remember they won 10 games in 2008 with Gus Frerotte as their starting quarterback, and without Randy Moss.
Meanwhile, five of top ten passers on Sunday lost their games; Carson Palmer had a 400-yard effort in a loss, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four touchdowns in a loss, Drew Brees tossed nearly 60 passes in a shocking loss.
Most Super Bowl teams hit their groove in the middle of season, meaning, it's not the end of the world if a team drops a game or two at the beginning or end of the season. The Giants, possibly the best team in the NFC, are on a four-game winning streak. The Jets, a five-game streak. The Patriots, a four-game streak. The Titans, a three-game streak.
Close Calls: Two contests on Sunday were decided by a point, four by three points and one by four. Conversely, there were contests decided by 45, 22, and 18 points.
Location Political Correctness?: Last year, the p.a. announcer at Sun Life Stadium (previously Land Shark Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, Pro Player Stadium, Pro Player Park, Joe Robbie Stadium) addressed the crowd at the Super Bowl, "Welcome to South Florida!" I believe I heard that this year's Super Bowl will not be in Dallas, but in North Texas. I guess Coral Gables felt discriminated against, as will Fort Worth and Irving this year? Oy vey!
Super Bowl Spoilers: The Browns have beaten the defending Super Bowl champions in each of the past three seasons (Giants in 2008, Steelers last year, and the Saints this year).
Speaking of the Saints, as hard as it is to believe, Drew Bress leads the league in interceptions with 10 (Brett Favre does too, but that's no surprise).
College Football Scores From Schools You've Never Heard Of: Mercyhurst 31, California of Pennsylvania 21
Score #2. Maritime Bowl: Maine Maritime 28, Massachusetts Maritime 27
Bonus Score. Sominex Bowl: Indianapolis 6, Northern Michigan 5. All points scored in fourth quarter.
Patch Stat of the Week: The Raiders put up 59 points against the Broncos. Most ever for the franchise, ever, in history, even through the AFL days. They put up 52 three times; once in 2002, 2000, and then in 1963 (a 52-49 shootout against the Oilers).
Why Am I Watching This Game?: In the Columbus, Ohio market, the Seahawks-Cardinals snorefest was shown. Why? It was a regional matchup weekend on Fox. How regional are teams that are located 1,900 and 2,400 miles away? What's worse, this game was shown to countless other markets that I bet did not give two shits about this game. Buffalo? Kansas City? West Palm Beach? It was shown to 19% of Fox's affiliates! Even their so-called #1 game, Chicago-Washington was only (in the scheme of things) shown to 34% of Fox affiliates. Eagles-Titans, their #2 game, was shown to 33% of Fox's affiliates. WGRT in Dayton was the only Ohio Fox affiliate to host Redskins-Bears. None had Eagles-Titans. Am I the only one who does not understand the logic behind this?
Next Week: Luckily, Fox has the double-header next week (since Fox does not release what their broadcasting assignments are until the morning of an NFL Sunday, I can't share them). Pats-Vikings is the main 4:15 game. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms of CBS will be at Jax/North Texas, although 49ers-Broncos in London is slotted ahead of that with Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf in the booth. I'm pretty sure I have yet to see a game in London since the NFL has started that again due to local obligations (sometimes it sucks having four AFC teams that have fans in the area).
18 October 2010
No Blog This Week
I've been away this weekend and only got a chance to see Titans-Jags and Colts-Redskins, and even then I didn't watch them all that closely. With that said, my regular weekly blog will not be written this week.
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