The Mirl - Blog Archive #3

Blog Archive #3 - January 10-January 16

January 16 - Ugh
That just about covers my feeling on the Jet game yesterday. I've been avoiding writing about it - and this will be a
short one because of that.

How painful was it to be a Jet fan during that game? It is beyond words. Where do you begin? With the offense, that
scored a total of three points? With the kicker, who missed two game winners in the last 2:02? With the coaches, who
couldn't figure out how to get points on the board when it mattered most? Check out my Loser of the Week to find out
my feelings on who I'm pointing the finger at.

Beyond the Loser of the Week, here is what truly befuddled me. Were Herman Edwards and Paul Hackett watching
their game last week? They did exactly the same thing that Marty Schottenheimer did when setting up for the
potential game-winning field goal.....NOTHING. Actually, they did less, as they actually had Chad Pennington take a
knee, which moved the second field goal attempt back a yard. Why? For a little extra pressure? I don't get it. Shouldn't
they have been trying to get closer? Didn't they see the "let's run the ball into the middle of the line and don't fumble"
strategy fail against them last week? Did they think "Hey, we survived it, so it has to work in our favor all the time"? I
just don't get it.

Is it possible they ran out of gas? Absolutely. They were the first team in NFL history to play overtime games three
weeks in a row. And they played them all on the road. The heart was there, no question. But at the end of the day,
they turned out to be what ever Jet fan is used to. The same old Jets (whether Herm wants to admit it or not).

One other note - How great was it to see Randy Moss ineffective today? It meant we could actually watch the football
game, which is where all the attention should be in the first place.

January 15 - The Quote Book
Its time to take a look at a few people that seem to have talked out of their ass lately. Its the first installment of "The
Quote Book":

"The way you handle relationships, for me, is going to change the way that I approach the game, more businesslike
than anything." - Steve Francis, Orlando Magic guard, on the trade of long-time teammate and close friend Cuttino
Mobley.
--Does Francis need to be reminded of how he treated the Vancouver Grizzlies organization after they drafted him? His
not reporting and forcing a trade set the growth of that team back to square one and turned out to be one of the
mitigating circumstances that eventually led to their move to Memphis. And NOW he wants to treat it like a
business? This should be interesting.
"I think they're ripe for the picking." - Mike Vanderjagt, Indianapolis Colts kicker, on his team's chances of beating the
New England Patriots this weekend.
--Are you kidding me? Giving the defending Super Bowl champs bulletin board fodder? Of course, given Vanderjagt's
history of stupid comments (ripping Peyton Manning, ripping coach Tony Dungy) makes this no surprise.
"He's not a football player. He has as much effect on the football game as cheerleaders on the sideline." - Mark
Schlereth, ESPN football analyst and former Washington Redskin and Denver Bronco lineman, on Mike Vanderjagt.
--For a guy who won three Super Bowls, this is about a dumb a comment as can be made. Its a good thing none of the
Super Bowls he won was determined by a last second field goal.
"That's my retirement fund." - Doug Mientkiewicz, Boston Red Sox first basemen, who is in possession of the ball
from the last out of the Sox' World Series victory.
--Forget about the debate about who actually should own the ball (Mientkiewicz, the Red Sox, the Cardinals). Let's pay
a little more attention to those four words, which the next day he retracted, calling it a joke. Don't professional
athletes make enough these days to not have to worry about additional income for retirement funds and the like? I
know its tough to get on $2.8 million (his 2004 salary) without worrying about putting some money aside for the
future, but this is getting ridiculous. Of course, if he is feeling the financial strain, maybe he should talk to.......
"No, cause it ain't [expletive]. Ain't nothing but 10 grand. What's 10 grand to me? Ain't [expletive]. Next time I might
shake my [expletive]." - Randy Moss, Minnesota Viking wide receiver, in response to the question of whether he was
upset about the fine levied for fake mooning the Green Bay crowd last weekend.
--There must be something in the water in Minnesota that is making some athletes a bit delirious when it comes to
money. First Latrell Sprewell makes his "I need to feed my family comments", then its former Twin Mientkiewicz, now
this. Ten grand is a lot of money to most people. Moss needs to revisit reality. I had no problem with the fake moon
(which, as I discussed earlier in the week, was met with way too much attention and overreaction), but I do have a
problem with this one. Hey, I need ten grand to put towards a house down payment. Maybe Randy wouldn't mind
chipping in. In other words, get a clue and come back to reality, Randy. We know you love the attention, but this is
taking it a bit too far, no?

January 13 - Catching Up
I've been a bit slow the last couple days with the blogs, but I've been busy between work and doing some other stuff
on the site. So, as I get ready to head to the airport for my flight to Denver tonight, let me catch up on a couple
things......

--A couple things have been added to the site and I hope everyone has a chance to check them out. There is a new
section in The Picture of miscellaneous pictures that I had on our computer. For those Jerry and Fox fans, you can
now see a picture of them by clicking on their names on the main page (Fox is on the left).
--More important than the pictures are the Athens blogs, which can be accessed via the box to the right. I have posted
all of the e-mails I sent from Athens, which details my three and a half weeks at the Olympics. There are lots
in-depth stories, lots of details and some funny experiences. And, for those who read them the first time around, I
have added links to pictures that pertain to the stories, which will hopefully add even more depth to them.
--Like I said earlier, I'm off to Denver tonight for ESPN (T'wolves vs. Nuggets tomorrow night). When I get home
Saturday, it will be just in time for Jets-Steelers at 4:30. I'm not wearing the jersey on the plane ride home, although
the temptation was certainly there.
--Thanks to everyone who has been passing games along to me. Over the last few weeks, I've been very busy working
lots of hoops (on top of the work at CollegeSports.com). I really appreciate all of the work, so thanks again.

Not much else to report from here today. I'll be back over the weekend, hopefully with a happy Jets recap.

January 10 - Moon Over the Media
We all know the media likes to have its cake and eat it, too. And here is another case.

So, Randy Moss fake moons the fans in Green Bay and the media makes it out to be the end of the world. The story of
the game is no longer Vikings over Packers, it is the behavior of Randy Moss. Of course, what gets neglected in the
whole thing is that if it weren't for the very same media giving things like this so much attention, this would be a
non-story. The media encourages exactly the antics and behavior it is disdaining.

Go check out ESPN.com. Or USAToday.com. Or SI.com. Or any other sports news site. Randy Moss' picture is
plastered on their home pages. Hell, ESPN.com has an entire box on their home page with five stories dedicated to
this "story". And in every story, there is at least one comment by the writer saying how wrong this whole thing is. And
they expect all this high and mighty talk to garner enough attention so that things like this must stop. Well guess
what. There is only one way to get things like this to come to an end..............

Ignore it.

Randy Moss is an attention seeker. Just like Terrell Owens. And Dennis Rodman. And dozens of others who use the
world of sports to further their own agendas and who put themselves ahead of the team. And with the short attention
spans of Americans these days, these are the perfect stories. They get everyone to hit websites and SportsCenter and
Best Damn Sports Show to see these incidents, then after a couple days, its time for the next one.

But let's be realistic here for a minute. Was it really that offensive? Did he bare his ass? No and no. Just like the
overblown reaction to the Desperate Housewives open to Monday Night Football earlier in the season, which
overshadowed the actual game (I'll bet you can't remember who won that game, can you?), this whole thing is so
unimportant it boggles my mind. Instead of talking about the game, we are all talking about Randy Moss - myself
included, unfortunately.

Just like he wants us to.