COMMENTS FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY - MIKE IN DA - DECEMBER 13, 2010

COMMENTS FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY

Written by: Mike in DA
Date posted: 12/13/2010


ELI MANNING ENJOYING HIS SNOW DAY!

PEANUT GALLERY “CALLER OF THE MONTH”

For the month of November, the Peanut Gallery’s “Caller of the Month” is "Titan Rick" for his continuous calling into Matt Thomas, John and Lance, Mighty Gwinn, many of the SR610 shows, etc., by making a big nuisance of himself to many of the listeners who are Texan fans and even non-Texan fans. His air time alone gives him the honor, as the talk hosts are so hard-up for caller-driven shows that they’ll tolerate Rick’s repetitive-like calls. November was a very good month for both Rick and his Titans.


NOW I KNOW WHY "AUBURN CHARLIE" ROOTS FOR AUBURN!

THIS IS WHAT CAM NEWTON WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO WEAR TO THE HEISMAN TROPHY PRESENTATION IN NEW YORK CITY!

HEY CAM, IS THIS A SCAM?

2010 Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton’s eligibility at Auburn has been a big sports talk topic the last month or so and will continue to be so through the bowl season and possibly longer as the Lt. Columbo, Mike Hammer, Bulldog Drummond, Dick Tracy, Nancy Drew, Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade, Phillip Marlowe, Ellery Queen, Miss Marple, Theo Kojak, Charlie Chan, Inspector Clouseau, and Sherlock Holmes wannabes of the NCAA do some more investigative work on this case. Hey, where's NBC Dateline's Chris Hansen when you need him.

I am not the least bit shocked to learn that a talented football recruit might have been involved in activities that skirt around the edges of the NCAA rules on amateurism and violate those rules.

Let me review the situation for those who were on another planet and did not follow what happened over the last few weeks. On December 1, the NCAA declared Cam Newton ineligible to play for Auburn because it claimed there was evidence that Newton’s father, Cecil, in conjunction with some sort of “scouting service” offered to have Cam enroll at Mississippi State for $180,000 on a deferred payment plan.

Auburn appealed that ruling right away on the basis that Auburn is not Mississippi State. And the NCAA granted that appeal saying that it currently had no evidence to show that either Cam Newton or Auburn knew anything about this.


It took NCAA investigators about four years to figure out that Reggie Bush’s folks got some questionable benefits resulting from their son choosing to play at USC and being a potential high NFL draft pick, but that same NCAA felt comfortable enough about this situation to declare Cam eligible in a matter of hours.

The new NCAA president, Mark "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil" Emmert, commented on this matter: “We recognize that many people are outraged at the notion that a parent or anyone else could ’shop around’ a student-athlete and there would possibly not be repercussions on the student-athlete’s eligibility.”


There is plenty of skepticism here on my part. The NCAA is convinced that Cam was “shopped around” in a manner that would render him ineligible to participate in NCAA football for a price tag of $180,000; but that when the deal never materialized with Mississippi State, Newton was then able to enroll at Auburn with no price tag attached.


Hey President Emmert, I am outraged that the NCAA believes that. I’m also outraged that you expect people to believe that.


It appears that the NCAA rules permit shopping an athlete around to NCAA schools just as long as there is no evidence that the kid knows anything about it. Parents and scouting services can do what they want as long as they hide the money and don’t tell the athlete  about it.


President Emmert had more to say on this matter offering a potential solution to situations like this: “We will work aggressively with our members to amend our bylaws so that this type of behavior is not a part of intercollegiate athletics.”

Yeah, right, this type of behavior won't happen again, and I'm the Queen of England!  The bottom line here is that a nice precedent has been established by the NCAA in the Cam Newton case: a recruit’s relative can solicit money or even hold a highest bidder auction to send the kid to play for a school, and if the plan is exposed, no problem, the kid plays on.








THIS IS HOW THEY GANG TACKLE IN WEST VIRGINIA!

THIS IS HOW THEY GANG TACKLE IN CINCINNATI!

HMW CONGRATULATES 2010 SWAC FOOTBALL CHAMP TEXAS SOUTHERN!

Congratulations to Coach Johnnie Cole and his TSU (Texas Southern University for the acronym-impaired) football team on winning the SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference for the acronym-impaired) championship on Saturday (12/11). It was the first outright SWAC championship for the school since joining the conference in 1956. They had tied for the conference title in 1956, 1966, and 1968.


The Tigers (9-3) went to Birmingham, AL, and took care of business by defeating the Alabama State Hornets (7-5) in an outstanding defensive effort, with the final score of 11-6 sounding more like a SWAC baseball score than football score.


The Tigers held the Hornets to 44 yards rushing and 38 yards passing and controlled the ball for over 41 minutes.

Kudos to the Houston Chronicle for its fine coverage of the Texas Southern football team this past week by Jerome Solomon and to a couple of the local news stations, such as Channels 13 and 26, for their more than usual coverage of the team.


As usual, our four local sports talk stations seemed to be nowhere to be found. On their meter of importance, coverage of HBCU (historically black college and universities) sports is one level above HBU (Houston Baptist University) and local high school sports.








FLUB OF THE DAY!

On his Friday (12/10) show on Sports Talk 790 (10 AM – Noon), Dylan Gwinn was talking about baseball being dominated by the East Coast teams, such as the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies over the last fifteen years. He said that the AL East has six teams. In MLB, only the NL Central has six teams. At last count, the AL East has five teams.

Dylan also flubbed when talking about the signing of Jayson Werth by the Washington Nationals. Dylan referred to one of Werth’s new teammates as Adam Zimmerman (???), which is a combination of Adam Dunn’s and Ryan Zimmerman’s names. Adam Dunn was recently signed by the White Sox as a free agent and is no longer a National.

Last Monday (12/6), on his afternoon show on Sports Talk 790, Matt Thomas when speaking of the passing of Don Meredith, was talking about his personal Monday Night Football memories that Don was a part of for about a dozen seasons. Though Matt wasn’t living at the time in 1970, he said that “Dandy Don”, Frank Gifford, and Howard Cosell comprised the original MNF announcing team. Wrong! It was Keith Jackson and not "The Giffer" who did the play-by-play on MNF in 1970 when it began on ABC.

Jordan Godwin of the Houston Chronicle has to realize that HMW checks out the Chronicle and chron.com for flubs also, which are notorious for flubs though they blame many of them on typos, poor proofreading, or the "paper went to press before it could be corrected." In his write-up on chron.com of Yates’ win over Madison on Saturday night, Jordan said Yates was 7-0. He shortchanged them by a win (8-0) and also said that Yates plays #1 Findlay Prep this coming Thursday night. Findlay lost last week and dropped in all of the major polls and was even passed by Yates in at least one of them. But calling Findlay Prep #1 makes for good advertising of the game.

WTF - ROCKY BALBOA: A HALL OF FAMER?

On SR610’s Afternoon Show last week, the guys mentioned some crap about Sylvester Stallone being selected among a dozen for induction into The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), which is located in Canastota, NY, about 50 miles away from the baseball one in Cooperstown. I wonder how many sports talkers even knew such a place existed. You can check the IBHOF out at http://www.ibhof.com.

On a side note, the Baseball Hall of Fame again made a joke of itself recently by failing to induct Marvin Miller, the most important figure in professional baseball in the 20th century not named Babe Ruth or Jackie Robinson.


Then the IBHOF comes along and announces that it is going to induct Stallone as part of its Class of 2011. Among the twelve included in the Class of 2011 besides Stallone and “Iron” Mike Tyson, are such household names as Julio César Chávez (Mexico), Kostya Tszyu (Russia/Australia), Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain (Mexico), Joe Cortez (Puerto Rico), Memphis Pal Moore (USA), Jack Root (USA), Dave Shade (USA), Harry Carpenter (USA), John Gully (UK) and A.F. Bettinson (USA).



In fairness, Stallone’s inclusion might make more sense than it might sound. Stallone is actually going into the hall’s “Observers” section, which includes writers, broadcasters, and such. So, there may be logic behind putting Stallone (aka Rocky Balboa) in the IBHOF except for the fact that he’s the only movie person in there and that’s dumb.

Of course, you might argue that there are actually two with movie connections, if you want to also include Tyson, but he had a fairly notable boxing career before “The Hangover’’ (2009) came along for him.

Do you know how many boxing movie there have been? “The Fighter’’, which opens nationwide this Friday (12/17) is the latest in a very long line. And comparing the “Rocky’’ schlock series to a lot of those pictures is like comparing the comedy of the Three Stooges to that of the Marx Brothers.

 

How about “Raging Bull,’’ “Champion,’’ “The Set-Up,’’ “Body and Soul,’’ “Requiem for a Heavyweight,’’ “Fat City,’’ “The Harder They Fall’’, “Gentleman Jim.’’ Even Elvis made a boxing picture, “Kid Galahad.’’

So, OK, there’s nothing wrong with Stallone being in the boxing hall. Fine. But how come Martin Scorsese isn’t in there for “Raging Bull’’? It’s quantity over quality. Call it the roman-numeral factor. If there’d been "Raging Bull I-VI. . . .", maybe Marty would be there also. But I guess the IBHOF voters prefer 12 rounds of rope-a-dope to a first-round knockout.


I wonder if Stallone got in by unanimous decision or TKO. Did the guys doing the voting there realize that Rocky Balboa’s fights were choreographed the same way pro-wrestling exhibitions are choreographed?  I hope this trend doesn't catch on in other sports.

If I go to Cooperstown again, I do not expect to see Robert Redford enshrined there and I certainly do not need to see any Roy Hobbs’ game-worn memorabilia there. If  I go to Canton, I do not want to see any references to Jamie Foxx and his quarterbacking prowess.

 

FROM THE HMW MAILBAG!

On Friday (12/10), Craig Shelton posted an article, "IS THE ROONEY RULE NEEDED IN SPORTS TALK RADIO IN HOUSTON” (http://sheltonmedia.blogspot.com/2010/12/is-rooney-rule-needed-in-sports-talk.html).

Before we get to the mailbag, please note that at the top of the article was a picture of Mickey Rooney, which I had put in. In the article, Craig had talked about the partnering of Josh Innes with Rich Lord in the afternoon on SR610 commencing this Tuesday (12/14) and the Rooney he was referring to in the title was actually Dan Rooney, owner of the Steelers and the chairman of the league's diversity committee who had the “rule” named after him when it was established in 2003, requiring NFL teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operations opportunities.

You may ask yourself, “Why the reference to Mickey Rooney then?” Mickey (born Joseph Yule, Jr.) who coincidentally is December’s Turner Classic Movies “Star of the Month” has had eight marriage partners, with one marriage lasting as little as only 100 days and one lasting as long as the current one, which is 30 years and counting.


Speaking of partners, in the thirteen years that I have lived here, Rich Lord is catching up to Mickey in terms of full-time partners. Among Rich’s partners since I came to Houston in 1997, we have Kenny Hand, Tony Ortiz, Charlie Pallilo, Marc Vandermeer, Matt Jackson, and Robert Henslee. That’s six and Josh makes seven. Hopefully, I didn’t miss any.


Meanwhile 1560 KGOW’s John Granato and Lance Zierlein have been together for 13 years with a half-year or so separation in 2007 when they moved from SR610 to 1560 at different times during the year. The Over/Under on the Lord-Innes Afternoon Show “marriage” is whatever time Rich Lord has left on his current contract with SR 610 less one day.

FYI – Of all the celebrities I know of, Zsa Zsa Gabor has the most marriage partners with nine, surpassing the eight of Mickey, actress Lana Turner, and old-time bandleader, Artie Shaw. Rich Lord may not be as famous as these people, but he is moving in on them in sports talk “marriages”. Prior to 1997, he may have had other partners, but I am unaware of them. Let me know, if you know of any pre-1997 "partners" for Rich.


Getting to the mailbag, some of the responses to Craig’s article follow:


Anonymous wrote:


“610 is an irrelevant station whose soul saving grace is the fact that they broadcast the Texans and the Rockets. The on-air personalities basically have no personalities. Why Rich Lord is still deemed to have any sort of knowledge or insight beyond his manlove for Bruce Springsteen and the New York Yankees is beyond me (he actually comes across as the male equivalent of Suzyn Waldmann)? The CPOD ("Corporate Pile of Dung" for non-1560 listeners) has nothing to offer any solid sports fan.” END.


MANChild Swagga wrote:


“Escaping NYC for Houston 4 years ago, I thought that I would never see, read or hear the words Suzyn Waldman. She is the worst homer ever. That morning show sounds very archaic, which is not so much of a surprise considering the CBS radio bloodline, but this guy Rich Lord is horrible.” END.


Robnemar wrote:


“I have to say I like the move for Josh for the advancement of his career, but Rich Lord seems to be poison for his co-hosts. Charlie (Pallilo) left for something different during their time together. Matt (Jackson) left for something different during their time together. Now Robert (Henslee) takes a step back? I know Robert might be pretty vanilla and generic, but as far as I am concerned, Rich is three for three in sucking the sanity out of his co-hosts. When you get the same results by way of three different personalities that involve the same nucleus in Rich, someone is either just out of touch with the pulse of the landscape or is just not doing their job well enough.....It is sad to read what was said in comparing Sports Radio 610 to the Boxx. The more things change the more they stay the same it seems..... Good luck to Josh still. I think he is a decent enough guy. It is not his fault that it is what is. You can't hate the players anyway, you just have to hate the game.” END.


Lastly, Earlis threw in his usual two cents:


“These dumazz arrogant corporate "crackers" don't want a black audience and that attitude is what killed contemporary jazz radio nationwide. They tried to make the market all white because they think advertisers will pay more for a white audience. See Craig "you" don't know that "colored folk" and "Mexicans" don't have no money. "We" don't buy fine wine, we don't eat at fine places, or drive Cadillac cars or BMW's or twin cabs on twenties or use cell phones or netbooks.


I am serious, these fools still think that if you are not white you cannot be a serious consumer that cannot purchase products that are middle-of-the-road to upscale in nature. Corporate radio decision makers believe in stereotypes that are pre 1960's. Gavin Spittle is just a mid-level chump. He is the messenger and carries the orders from men higher up. He is a spear carrier, a glorified waterboy, or a space-age Gunga Din. He is a "yes" man. He has no power.


Partly because he thinks he has no power, but if he thought outside the box and with that process made money for 610 he could be special. He is not that guy, not a trailblazer. As small as the total market share of the four sportstalk radio stations is, somebody needs to step up and be smart and do something different as in on-air format and style in Houston Texas. One example is they do a far better job in reporting high school sports. Radio guys will tell you there is no interest in high school sports...huh? I did not go to Dartmouth or sleep on a yacht last night, but I do know that this Houston sportsradio concept about high school sports is straight stupid." END. 

ODDS AND ENDS:

1.The Cincy Bengals have lost ten games in a row. The franchise record for consecutive losses is eleven in a row, but that record stretched over two seasons. This year’s Bengals team can eclipse that record in just one season. Every team needs a goal to shoot for.


2. If you look at Week #14’s NFL schedule, please note that there were nine divisional games scheduled out of 16. That is how it should be over the last month of the season.


3. The Tennessee Titans loss last Thursday night to the Colts puts them at 5-8 for the year and all but eliminated them from the playoffs this year. A big difference for the Titans this year as compared to last year is the production of RB, Chris Johnson. Last year he gained 2000+ yards; in the off-season, he proclaimed that he would gain 2500 yards this year. Through 13 games, Johnson has rushed for 1137 yards; extrapolated to a full season that would be 1400 yards. Add that decline in output to the turmoil and injuries at the QB position for the Titans and their 5-8 record is not a big surprise. The good news for the Titans in Thursday’s game was that they scored an offensive TD. Until they did that late in the first half, the Titans’ offense had not put the ball in the end zone since Nov 14 against the Dolphins.


4. The Falcons win in Carolina this week was the second game in a three-game road trip for the Falcons. Barring the unforeseeable event of a team’s stadium being damaged by a tornado or hurricane, I think the NFL should never schedule a team to play three consecutive games on the road.

5. The Indy Colts put their 15th player on injured reserve for the season last week. Safety Bob Sanders is the latest player declared a reserve player for the season. Sanders tore a muscle in his arm in the first half of Game One this season and it is now clear that he will not be able to get back on the field this year even for the playoffs. The Colts won their game Thursday over the Titans moving their record up to 7-6. Last season, the debate about the Colts revolved around whether or not they should rest their regulars for the last few games of the year because they had their division championship in the bag. This year, they are fighting to catch the Jaguars just to make it to the playoffs. Injuries are the great equalizer in the NFL.

6. Do you realize that after 13 games, there is not a single team in the NFC West that has outscored its opponents for the year? No other division comes close to that mark.

7. The Carolina Panthers carry a 1-12 record now after yesterday’s loss to Atlanta. They still have to play the Falcons (Atlanta’s record at the moment is 11-2) and they get a “prime time game” against the Steelers (Pittsburgh’s record at the moment is 10-3). I know the NFL likes to market on the slogan, “On any given Sunday …” Nevertheless, those two games do not look like victory for Carolina. So, if they are going to win a second game this season, it looks as if it will have to come at the expense of their third remaining opponent - the Cardinals (Arizona’s record at the moment is 4-9). That game with the Cardinals is in Carolina on the Sunday before Christmas. It will be interesting to see how many fans show up for that game and how many finish up their Christmas shopping on that day.

8. When the Saints stumbled early in the 2010 season, people attributed it to Super Bowl Hangover and focused attention elsewhere. Well, for those who have not been paying attention, the Saints have won six games in a row and have a record of 10-3. If they had a Super Bowl Hangover, it seems as if they’ve recuperated from it.

9. If Brett Favre’s playing streak comes to an end this season and not by his retirement, it would not shock me to see him on Oprah telling her audience about how he dealt with all of that emotionally.








MIKE IN DA


HMW


Email: houstonmediawatch@yahoo.com
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