A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
This past weekend featured two highly anticipated quarterback matchups – Brady v Tebow and Manning v Rodgers – and a third that unexpectedly ended up being the most thrilling of the weekend – Brees v Smith. And as quarterbacks are wont to do after competing on the field of football battle, these duos all met at midfield after the game for quick makeout sessions in front of the leering press.
Wait…what?
Update: Thanks to Twitter, this post caught the attention of Gatorade president Sarah Robb O’Hagan (@SarahRobbOh). She enjoyed our rundown of the funniest Gatorade baths ever, and she also sent me the wall mural from Gatorade’s headquarters with some of their favorite Gatorade baths of all-time. It’s very cool. You’ll see it at the end of the post.
The Gatorade bath is a tradition like few others in sports.
After most monumental wins in football – specifically Super Bowls, national championship games, especially important and/or meaningful bowl games, or season-ending victories over hated rivals – such a celebration can be expected. The tradition began with the New York Giants in the mid-1980s and continues into today with no signs of slowing down.
While the sentimental among us enjoy the Gatorade bath because it symbolizes the triumph of a team of men on the field of athletic battle and the ultimate moment of shared jubilation and respect between coach and player, I enjoy Gatorade baths for a far different reason.
There are few things in my sporting life that I enjoy more than pictures of angry coaches. I don’t know why, perhaps because my dad was a coach and I grew up around football coaches (not to mention going to IU basketball games when Coach Knight was still at the height of his powers), but images of coaches raging have always made me chuckle. (Like these, for example.)
So I’ve decided to start a new fun and easy post series here on MSF: Angry Coaches. And, quite simply, it will just be pictures of angry coaches, posted whenever I (or any of our other writers) run across one I like.
From the same guy who brought us the incredible mixtape centered around the Allen Iverson “Practice?” press conference comes yet another incredible piece of work.
What happens when you combine the talents of DJ Steve Porter with old school video of Mike Ditka, Bill Parcells, and Buddy Ryan, plus the infamous Herm Edwards, Jim Mora, and Denny Green?
Well, you get a perfectly sublime mix tape that probably will be the most entertaining 3:30 you spend all day:
It has been an interesting day in the NFL today. The wild card round of the playoffs has wrapped up with a Philadelphia win, coming on the heels of the Ravens trashing the Dolphins earlier today. Additionally, there has been a plethora of new stories that have emerged regarding the job openings in Cleveland and Kansas City, among others.
The most interesting story of the day, at least from my perspective, is one written by Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star.
Whitlock says that the person hired by Clark Hunt to be the next Chiefs GM will be getting the best job in football. As to who might get that job, Whitlock cites Kevin Colbert, Chris Polian, and Randy Lerner’s reported favorite for the Browns GM job: Scott Pioli.
What is Whitlock’s reasoning for why each of these men has “more reason to pursue Clark Hunt than Hunt has to pursue them”?
- The Hunt family employed Carl Peterson for 20 years, demonstrating a level of loyalty and patience that is pretty much nonexistent in professional sports.
- The Hunts gave Peterson a degree of autonomy that is pretty much nonexistent in professional sports.
- The Chiefs are more than $30 million below the salary cap and are in position to unload a few more unproductive, expensive veterans this offseason.
- The Chiefs are one season away from playing in a fancy, exciting, renovated Arrowhead Stadium.
- There’s no one within the football side of the organization that a new GM has to show any loyalty. He can clean out the scouting department and coaching staff.
- Expectations are low.
I have to say that Whitlock’s reasoning is rather convincing. The Chiefs GM job certainly is not the best for a GM looking to win next year, although the Dolphins and Falcons proved this year that miraculous one-year turnarounds are possible; however, from a long-term standpoint, it is hard to argue that any GM would be getting a sweet gig in K.C.
As always, don’t just take my word for it. Be sure to visit the LOTD:
Chiefs GM Job is the Best Job in Football Says Jason Whitlock – (Kansas City Star)
I would obviously love to argue with Whitlock, and say that the Browns GM job would be better than Kansas City. Considering the troubles the Browns have experienced since coming back into the NFL, however, it is very hard to posit such an argument. And considering that Randy Lerner appears to now be seriously considering a new regime that would include a former Ravens personnel guy as GM and a former Patriots assistant as coach, I have to wonder exactly what the thought process is at the top of the Browns organization.
Remember, I said a new regime. If this article in the Plain-Dealer sounds familiar with you, it’s because the Savage-Crennel combo came to the Browns with pretty much the same background as the potential Mangini-Kokinis regime that Lerner seems excited about, save for Eric Mangini’s three years of head coaching experience that Crennel never had.
I still want to see Scott Pioli become the next Browns GM, but the way the things have dragged out, as well as his impending interview with Kansas City, has tempered by excitement somewhat this Pioli-to-the-Browns can become a reality. We’ll see.
Also, to update Midnight Writer’s earlier post from today that Bill Parcells-to-the-Browns could be a realistic possibility, the Miami-Herald posted an item earlier today suggesting that Parcells has already made assurances that he will stay in Miami. Obviously, the thought of Bill Parcells taking control of the Browns is exciting, and the Miami-Herald item would seem to kill the excitement. Luckily, Mike Florio over at Pro Football Talk keeps the dream alive by questioning just how much this story should be believed. His rationale seems reasonable to me. Of course, I may not be the most rational judge of the issue, as my wishful thinking could be clouding objectivity.
That’s it for now. Have a great Sunday night.
Newest rumor coming out of South Florida: Bill Parcells, Scott Pioli’s father-in-law, has directed Pioli to interview with the Kansas City Chiefs. An interview has apparently been scheduled.
In the meantime, Bill Parcells, a kind of NFL Fix-It Man mixed with Powerful Mafia Boss, may take his option and get out of Miami and head up north.
To Cleveland.
If this is true, it would be a better deal than Cleveland landing LeBron James. Bill Parcells at the helm as Browns president and who ever the heck Parcells wants.
Another rumor floating out there is that Mike Shanahan may be the best fit for a Cleveland Browns coach.
Word is, Parcells has many friends among the Italian-Americans living in Cleveland.
Unfortunately, just for today, I will root for Baltimore to beat Miami.
Maybe there is a Football God, after all.
(Editor’s Note: I have heard from a few people that there was a radio interview on a local Cleveland station today that posited exactly what Midnight Writer explains in this post: that Bill Parcells very well may be interested in the Cleveland job, should he opt out of his position with the Dolphins. With speculation swirling that the new Dolphins owner could bring in friend Carl Peterson, despite his public pronouncements that he wants Parcells to stay, it could help motivate Bill Parcells to seek out a new turnaround job in another city.
I honestly don’t quite know what to make of this yet, but the thought of Bill Parcells in Cleveland, working his magic yet again, is certainly an intriguing possibility.)
Update: Check out today’s LOTD for a new update regarding the Parcells-to-Browns rumor that was floating early today. The update is near the bottom of the story.
