COMMENTS FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY!
Written by: Mike in DA
Date posted: 10/1/2010
FLUB OF THE DAY!
Earlier this week, a person named Lamont called in to 1560 KGOW on the John and Lance Morning Show. During Lamont's call, one of the 1560 hired guns thought that Lamont sounded just like actor, Samuel L. Jackson, and asked him to repeat some phrases that Samuel L. uttered in one of his most popular movies, "Pulp Fiction".
There was a definite resemblance to Samuel Leroy's voice when Lamont spoke the lines and everyone got a laugh out of it. One of the lines mentioned the Big Kahuna Burger, which is a fictional chain of Hawaiian-themed fast food restaurants that appears in the movies of Quentin Tarantino including "Pulp Fiction", "Death Proof", "Four Rooms", and "From Dusk Till Dawn". Two days later HMW's Lamont Mann gets an e-mail from 1560 as follows:
"Any interest in coming into the station and cutting some promos as Samuel Jackson? I understand you called in the during J&L and my pd asked you to do some lines? Is that true? If you are interested, let me know."
The bottom line is that Lamont Mann didn't call the show that day. I guess that means there is more than one Lamont who calls sports talk shows and all Lamonts sound alike.
You'd figure with all the calls that Lamont Mann makes to talk shows, the hosts would know his voice by now.
ESPN TRICKERY?
With the passing of George Blanda on Monday, ESPN showed clips of him with the Raiders on SportsCenter. And there’s film of #16 rolling out and throwing a pass to No. 33, Kenny King. But King joined Oakland in 1980 after a season with the Oilers and Blanda retired after the 1975 season. As a result, ESPN paid tribute to the memory of Blanda by showing film of #16, Jim Plunkett. Most viewers probably didn't even notice it.
I SHALL RETURN!
There has been much sports talk focus this week on Donovan McNabb’s return to Philly as the QB for the Washington Redskins. There has been a lot of talk on whether or not he will be cheered or booed and what McNabb really feels about Philly fans and the way he was treated there. I will not add to that because enough has been said already this week.
Nonetheless, I do want to observe that the NFL schedule makers missed an opportunity that would have allowed fans in another NFL city to see how they might measure up against Philly’s notorious boo-birds. The Eagles play the Falcons this year; they meet on October 17th. However, the schedule maker put the game in Philly and not in Atlanta. I wonder how Michael Vick would be welcomed there as the Philly starting QB, but we will never find out.
IT’S ABOUT TIME WE LEFT MICHAEL VICK ALONE BECAUSE OF HIS PAST!
Speaking of Michael Vick, let me remind you that I always thought that his dog fighting escapades were despicable acts and that he deserved at least the punishment he received for those actions, if not more. Over the past few years, I continually said that his lying about his knowledge of the activities and his involvement in the activities made them all the worse. I am not now nor have I ever been a Michael Vick apologist.
Nevertheless, it is time to tell the activists who continue to use Michael Vick simply to get their name in the papers or to draw attention to their causes to finally shut up. Here is a quote from a member of the Pennsylvania Dog Law Advisory Board and the founder of something called DogPAC:
“This is just another disappointing move of many that the Eagles have done since they signed him. The same hands that just three years ago were torturing and killing animals in the most brutal possible ways are now going to be given a starting job because he can throw a football.”
This guy needs to think back to his American History classes. The fundamental concept of American law is that a person is innocent until proven guilty; and once proven guilty that person is subject to a variety of penalties prescribed by the law. Then, when the person has undergone all of the penalties assigned to him by the court, that person is once again free to live his life.
He is eligible to own property, to drive a car, to go where he wants, to associate with whomever he wants, and he can seek to hold gainful employment in a legal enterprise at the mutual choosing of his employer and himself.
Therefore, Michael Vick’s current employment status by the Philadelphia Eagles is part of the fundamental fabric of American justice. I might suggest to the guy who made the statement above that the same system of justice and the same set of rights that allows him to make whatever statements he wishes to make is the one that allows Michael Vick to hold the job that he now holds.
That guy has every right to say what he wants on the matter. I have the same right to tell him to get over himself and shove it. Michael Vick has the same right to compete for a job as an NFL quarterback and to hold that job if he is considered to be the best option for the team that signed him.
BRING THEM A WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP AND THEY MAY COME, BUT UNTIL THEN… GOOD LUCK TO THE RAYS!
Local sportstalk earlier this week talked about David Price (left) and Evan Longoria (right) expressing their feelings that an insufficient number of hometown fans in the Tampa area come to see their games. The reaction to those comments has largely been negative.
The players have been characterized as “out of touch” with the economic realities of fans and “unskilled” in the art of communications between players/franchises and their potential customers. As usual, I would prefer to see this situation differently, but I think the players are spot on with their comments and more people should be taking note here.
The Rays enter the final weekend of the baseball season tied with the best record in the AL. The Rays play an exciting brand of baseball using highly aggressive base running. They are beaucoup fun to watch.
Here is some attendance data, which I got from the Internet. Let's look at average attendance for the teams in the playoffs as of this morning (10/1):
NY Yankees: 46,449 - up 573 from 2009
Minnesota: 39,783 - up 11,397 from 2009
Texas: 30,357 - up 4,079 from 2009
Philly: 44,968 - up 515 from 2009
Cincy: 25,304 - up 3,560 from 2009
San Francisco: 37,303 - up 1,753 from 2009
Atlanta: 30,155 - up 976 from 2009
Tampa: 23,025 - down 123 from 2009.
The Rays have the lowest attendance of all the playoff teams as of this morning. Moreover, the Rays are the only team on that list whose attendance has declined this year compared to last year.
Granted the Tampa/St. Petersburg area is a small market; it simply cannot turn out fans at the same rate that New York or Philly turn out fans. At the same time, Cincinnati and Minneapolis are hardly megalopolises. Even Atlanta, notoriously blase about pro sports, plays to 31% bigger crowds than the ones that show up in Tampa.
The Rays rank 22nd in average attendance in MLB. Of the eight teams that play to smaller home crowds than the Rays, five of those teams have less than 70 wins on this final weekend of the season while the Rays have 94 wins.
The conclusion here is that MLB made a significant error in judgment when it put an expansion franchise in Tampa/St. Pete starting in 1998. If fans will not support a team when it is on the cusp of having the best record in its league or winning a World Series, there is a fundamental question that needs an answer: Why is that team still in that location?
BELLIGERENT REFS TALK BACK TO THE FANS!
LET'S ADD A COUPLE OF MORE BOWL GAMES NEXT SEASON!
There will be 35 bowl games at the end of this college football season. That means that 70 of the 120 Division 1-A teams will play in a bowl game. It is conceivable that there will not be 70 teams with a 6-6 record or better come December meaning that the NCAA will have to allow teams with 5-7 records into bowl games if they are invited. Imagine a match up of two teams with 5-7 records in a bowl game where the winner cannot go home with a .500 record for the year. The only reason to watch that game on TV is if you are in a body cast and cannot reach the remote to turn the set off.
LOSING IS CONTAGIOUS IN NEW MEXICO: THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO IS NOW 0-7!
Last week, I mentioned how bad the two Div. 1-A football teams from New Mexico were. Well, the losing continued last Saturday as both the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State lost again. This is what they have done so far this year:
University of New Mexico: The Lobos’ record is 0-4. The offense has scored 41 points in 4 games; the defense has allowed 205 points in four games. The lowest scoring opponent was UNLV last week who entered the game at 0-3 when the defense allowed “only” 45 points. New Mexico is a 15-point home dog to UTEP this week
New Mexico State University: The Aggies’ record is 0-3. Their offense has scored 47 points in those three games; their defense has allowed 125 points in those same three games. Oh, and Boise State is coming to visit this weekend as 43-point favorites.
Circle October 9 on your calendar. That is next week when New Mexico State will host New Mexico in Las Cruces in what will have to be one of the most horrible games of the season.
DUNGY TO MINNESOTA?
Minnesota is a really bad football team, although it is not bad enough to exist in New Mexico. The Gophers are 1-3 this year, including two embarrassing home losses against South Dakota State and Northern Illinois. Back in 2007, Minnesota dumped Coach Glen Mason and hired Tim Brewster. Mason’s record at Minnesota was 64-57; that is hardly a great record considering the cupcakes normally on the Minnesota schedule, but it is above .500.
Since taking over at Minnesota, Brewster’s teams are 17-33 overall. That is bad but here is what is worse. Outside the Big Ten where the cupcakes are, his teams have only managed a 9-9 record. Last week against mighty Northern Illinois, Minnesota’s defense allowed 34 points and 297 yards rushing.
Internet rumors are circulating that Minnesota alumnus, Tony Dungy, will come out of retirement to save the day for his alma mater. Dungy has denied he wants to coach again, but that will certainly not stop the rumors. If Dungy does leave for Minnesota, who will replace Dungy as the moralist of the NFL if/when he focuses his attention on improving the lives of collegiate athletes?
COLLEGE FOOTBALL ODDS AND ENDS:
1. Indiana University is 3-0 this year. If that looks odd, consider the opposition. The three wins came over Towson, Western Kentucky, and Akron. If you want to find teams that Towson, Western Kentucky, and Akron have beaten, be sure to pack a lunch; that will take a while. Three weeks from now, Arkansas State will be in Bloomington for Homecoming.
2. Purdue lost to Toledo last week by 2 TDs. Purdue is the only team that Notre Dame has beaten this season. What does that tell you about the Fighting Irish?
3. Miami did not merely beat Pitt last week (score 31-3); Miami dominated the game completely. Pitt remains in consideration as the potential Big East champion this year. So, how does that make the Big East worthy of its status as a BCS Conference? Just asking. Oh, by the way, Pitt is now 1-2 on the year (the win coming against Division 1-AA New Hampshire) with the always powerful Florida International Golden Panthers coming to town this week.
4. Michigan is 4-0 this season as the Big Ten conference games roll around. Isn’t it interesting; now that Michigan is practicing less to comply with NCAA rules, that the team is winning football games? I thought practice made perfect. Guess that is not the case in Ann Arbor.
5. There are reports out there that the Big East Conference would like to have TCU join that conference. If true, that should prove conclusively that geography majors have nothing to do with the administration of college athletics or collegiate conferences. TCU is in Fort Worth, Texas. Check a map and you will see that all of Texas is west of the Mississippi River and that one would have to be cross-eyed to consider TCU as being in the “east”. TCU is a team that has been known for winning with its defense for the past several seasons. Well, last week the Horned Frogs scored 40+ points for the second week in a row.
6. UCLA went into Austin, TX, and dominated Texas to the tune of 34-12. In the process, the Bruins ran the ball for 264 yards and held the Longhorns to only 85 yards rushing. In their last two visits to Austin, UCLA has won both games by a cumulative score of 100 – 15. Texas travels to play UCLA next year in the Rose Bowl.
7. In other Big 12 related news, Nebraska hosted South Dakota State last week and won by a score of only 17-3. Prior to this game, South Dakota State had lost to Delaware by 23 points and to Illinois State by 10.
8. With Texas losing and that meager Nebraska win, should someone be asking about the strength of the Big 12 this year? Texas and Nebraska were supposed to be two of the heavyweights. Oh, and Oklahoma only beat Cincinnati by two points last week.
MIKE IN DA
HMW
Email: houstonmediawatch@yahoo.com
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