A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
As today goes along, I will post a number of “Super Bowl 46 QuickNotes” as information is disseminated from the reporters in Indianapolis.
On ESPN, Ed Werder just reported that Chad Ochocino, who has done very little in two playoff games this year – even being inactive for one of them, will be active for Super Bowl 46 and is expected to have opportunities to make plays.
The NHL kicked off its second half this Monday, though you would probably never have noticed because of all the Super Bowl coverage and the non-surprising (but still appalling) lack of NHL coverage on Sportscenter.
Amidst the greatness of the MLB playoffs, the ending of the NBA lockout, the NFL season, college basketball and now the Super Bowl, the NHL has been wrongly overlooked this season, a season that is, arguably, one of the best since the lockout year in 2004. [Read more...]
As you know if you’re been following me on Twitter, one of MSF’s contributors since the very beginning – Nicholas Gerlach – is having quite the Super Bowl experience.
His band The Twin Cats was chosen as the house band for ESPN’s show SportsNation, hosted by Colin Cowherd and the wonderful Michelle Beadle. One of the band members just posted this video from yesterday’s taping. It features Herman Edwards losing himself in the midst of The Twin Cats’ face-melting funk, and then pulling Beadle onto the dance floor with him.
Whether you are a fan of Jim Rome or not, his influence on the American sports world is undeniable. He has a daily 3-hour national sports talk radio show and had a half-hour TV show on ESPN, Rome is Burning (He is leaving ESPN and taking his show with him to CBS).
His style is different than other personalities in that he references his followers as ‘clones’ and what they have to say as ‘takes.’ He antagonizes his listeners and encourages them to compete against each other, personality vs. personality or fan vs. fan.
His radio show is heard on more than 200 stations, including Armed Forces Radio. He dominates the airwaves of the U.S. and Canada and is streamed to all corners of the world via the internet.
Oh, by the way, Jim Rome hates Soccer. And he is not bashful about giving his opinions on the matter.
Yesterday, Patrick Willis played in the first playoff game of his sterling 5-year NFL career. He also won the first playoff game of his career, helping to lead a mostly great defensive effort in the 49ers’ 36-32 victory, in what I think was the perfect football game in today’s day and age.
When I woke this morning, still beaming from last night’s win, I flipped on the TV and immediately saw Willis’ face as he described to Jeffry Chadiha on a segment of ESPN’s great show E:60 the harrowing details of growing up with his brothers and sisters in an abusive house with his drug-addicted father.
I’d never seen the entire segment, so I sat and watched it and. I definitely teared up a bit at certain points hearing what Willis went through, and the incredible character and maturity it took to overcome it.
You can’t not root for Willis. Watch if you haven’t see this and you’ll see why.
After an off-season full of suits, ties, and confusion, the NBA season has finally arrived and will show itself off in full force this Christmas!
Not only will we get to see the many stars the league has to feature, but it’s going to be the first time in a long while. You can bet that the players are just as excited as the fans, and it’s time to get back to the sport we all know and love.
Earlier this year, I chronicled the story of Fanball Inc., which shut down its fantasy sports franchises (CDM, NFFC/NFBC, and Fantasy Cup among them) that they had bought out previously. Since then, the original owners of CDM and NFFC/NFBC have re-acquired their franchises and now exist under the original umbrella.
This Sunday, ESPN’s Outside the Lines did a piece on another long-time fantasy sports franchise that ran into trouble in 2011 and ultimately shut down.
Bless your heart Reddit. This is why I visit you daily.
Upon taking an innocent stroll down the Reddit front page tonight I happened upon a headline that read “Look who I found in my mom’s old high school yearbook.” Naturally curious, though not noting at the time that the post was from r/sports, I clicked on the link, which was posted by user SuperJezus (who I have yet to confirm nor deny is Tim Tebow).
And who do I find at said link but everyone’s favorite sports curmudgeon Anthony “Tony” Kornheiser.
I think a number of websites made a mistake today posting a video claiming it to be ESPN anchor Stan Verrett saying the N-word on air.
While the college basketball season began in earnest over the weekend, there weren’t too many marquee games on the schedule, and the sport was forced to compete with college and pro football. That won’t be the case when ESPN’s fourth tip-off marathon begins. The event features 19 men’s games spanning roughly 25 hours, starting at 12:00 Tuesday morning.
I’m too old to stay up for the whole thing, but for those of you wishing to check it out, I can offer you two things: 1) a link to the complete schedule of the games and commentators and 2) my thoughts and predictions for each contest.
In episode #9 of The Bottoms Line College Hoops Talk Podcast, host Andy Bottoms is joined once again by Rob Dauster and Troy Machir of Ballin’ Is a Habit to discuss all the latest news and events in college basketball.
This week, they discuss several recent news items and early impressions of St. John’s, Mississippi State, and Arizona. They also look ahead to the next few days of games, including ESPN’s 24-hour marathon.
After contributing what I think is an important question to the national dialogue about the Penn State scandal, and then relaying what I think is essential perspective from a close friend, I was all ready to go to bed.
Then I saw the front page of ESPN.com, and the spectacular juxtaposition of images jarred me to the point of one more post.
I’ll just let the screenshot below speak for itself before I comment:
December 1, 2011.
Bill Gates, an extremely under-the-radar die-hard basketball fan, approaches you with an idea.
The NBA lockout will not be resolved this year. Mr. Gates has decided to fund a rogue basketball league for the next six months. Here are the rules:
As you have probably heard by now, ESPN has canned Hank Williams Jr. and his classic song “Are You Ready For Some Football” from its Monday Night Football broadcasts.
Despite the fact that no one really cares (or should care) what a musician thinks about anything other than the songs he is playing, ESPN decided that Williams’ controversial comments about Barack Obama and Hitler (I still don’t exactly what they were) were just too much for a Worldwide Leader to bear.
Whatever.
The truth of the matter is that ever since Monday Night Football went to ESPN, big Hank and his song have lost almost all of their relevancy.
Look, we all know that CC Sabathia is man of heft, specifically around his waistline. And as someone who has acquired his own waistline heft over the last few years, I applaud Sabathia for proving that even the chubby and rotund can achieve athletic greatness.
So I found ESPN.com’s treatment of Sabathia tonight to be particularly unnecessary.
