COMMENTS FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY - MIKE IN DA - FEBRUARY 6, 2011



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HEY LADY, LEAVE THE STEROIDS TO THE PLAYERS!

NFL OWNERS ARE IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT!

Let’s face it, the NFL's network TV partners (Fox, CBS, NBC, and ESPN) are in cahoots with Roger Goodell and the 32 NFL team owners.


FYI - the networks’ contracts with the NFL say they must pay the league billions of dollars in television rights fees even if the games are not played due to a lockout by the owners. This gives the owners a nice war chest compared to the union and the players. The TV money gives NFL owners, who will get their regular cut of the TV money, the ability to sustain an extended work stoppage and put big-time pressure on the players to settle.


Several ex-players will be on air today during the Super Bowl coverage. Troy Aikman will be doing the game for Fox; Tom “The Bomb” Jackson will be in studio for ESPN; and Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long will be on Fox throughout the day, including the pre-game show that will seem to go on forever.


Do you think any of these guys will comment on their networks taking sides against the players, because that's just what Fox, CBS, ESPN, and NBC are really doing? Probably not.


The TV executives can say they are contractually bound to pay the TV money upfront even if there is a work stoppage and no games are played. The networks will eventually get their money back at some point, but they did have a choice to make when they negotiated their TV contracts.


The TV networks could have said if there were no games, then we don't pay any money. But that would have pissed off the owners who would say that they would look for a new TV partner(s), if a network didn’t go along with them.


The players are just actors in a TV show and no matter how good they are and how much money they are paid, just like the rest of us, they all are eventually expendable and can be replaced by lesser players at cheaper prices. The players' best interests are nowhere near as important to the networks as keeping their relationship with the NFL. That's why the network bosses will do anything to advance the owners' agenda and the hell with the players.


Messrs. Aikman, Jackson, Bradshaw, and Long all have the status and stature that allows them to discuss the TV angle with regard to a work stoppage, but since they are more TV “yes men” employees of the various networks than ex-players, I don’t think they’ll have the players backs here. The players don't sign Bradshaw's, Long's, Aikman's, or Jackson's lucrative paychecks for throwing out some bullshit and cheap talk to us each week during the season. The networks do.


But as far as the players are concerned when a deal is finally done sometime down the road, these same guys will be mugging for the cameras and helping the very same networks who were willing to cooperate with the NFL owners to take down their union in the upcoming negotiations.


And fuck the NFL and the NFL Players’ Association for treating us like a bunch of schmucks. Both sides could have waited for a couple of days after the Super Bowl, but “Oh no!” they used the high visibility of the Super Bowl Week festivities to pat themselves on the back for agreeing to return to the bargaining table.


Big shit! In a situation like this when management and labor really want to get a deal done, they do it quietly in a smoke-filled room. Instead, these assholes go to the media to announce they are getting together. Stop the media shit and tweeting and get a fuckin’ deal done without all the drama.

Of course, management will win out at the end, but the players will get their jobs back, at least, and the fans will be happy again and go back to being the sheep that they've been accustomed to.

COOLEST SPORTS NICKNAMES: “SLEEPY”


Today’s sports nicknames are terrible, such as A-Rod, L.T., and Bags. They are nothing more than a combination of a player’s first and last name. But nicknames haven’t always been so bad.


Here is another cool one from the past: “Sleepy”




Daydreaming?

Wikipedia says that Eric “Sleepy” Floyd who was a journeyman point guard received his nickname because his hooded eyelids made him look sleepy. Floyd was also known for occasionally dozing off during particularly boring games. Some might criticize Floyd for taking a drowsy approach to his work on the court. Others would point out that Floyd actually spent two separate stints as a member of my New Jersey Nets during his NBA career, so it’s only natural that he wanted to make it seem like his career was all just a bad dream.


FLUB OF THE DAY



How would you have liked to get the early edition of Friday’s (2/4) Houston Chronicle and then check out Texas Lotto’s Cash 5 and see that you had the five winning numbers for a prize of over 20 grand, but then find out after further investigation that the Chronicle flubbed and that the numbers should have been 7-24-27-29-31.

On Saturday’s (2/5) afternoon show on SR610, Brien Straw was discussing former NFL placekicker, Morten Andersen, who played in the NFL from 1982-2007. Brien thought Morton was from Sweden or Norway. But just like many Chinese and Negroes who look alike, I guess many Scandinavian names sound alike. However,  Morten’s nickname was “The Great Dane”, which I assume means he's from Denmark.


On SR610 on Friday night (2/4), at 7:14 PM, there was a promo about the next day’s Morning Show with Marc Vandermeer and John Lopez with guests from Radio Row, such as Michael Irvin, etc. Once again, we hear a promo aired after the event happened. All of the stations are guilty of this at least a couple of times per month.

ODDS AND ENDS:



1. Some things we’re bound to see or hear today during the Super Bowl Game:

a) After Christina Aguilera sings the "National Anthem" , Joe Buck will call it her “rendition” of the song.
b) NASCAR is coming back to Fox starting on February 20 with the Daytona 500.
c) Before the start of the third quarter, Fox's sideline reporter, Pam Oliver will give us some inside information that the coaches told her after finally chasing her down on the field.
d) One of the cameras will come across someone from the cast of one or more of Fox's weeknight shows in the crowd who will be sitting in a great seat and Fox will somehow have a graphic available to identify that person(s) and maybe even have a microphone available to talk to that person(s).

2. On Tuesday's local sports talk,  don't be surprised if the hosts make fun of some goober from Alabama or other nearby state that killed or severly injured a relative, friend, or neighbor after a fight related to the Super Bowl.


3. Though the population of Green Bay is around 100,000 or so, it seems that I personally heard at least 200,000 Packer fans call in on local sports talk shows during the past two weeks.


4. During the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl and with two minutes left in the game, somebody will check out their office box pool and say that all they need is a field goal and a safety to win the "final score" pool.

IS THIS THE REAL OR WAX TONY SIRAGUSA?

 5. In conjunction with the Super Bowl, the local Madame Tussauds in the Dallas area unveiled a wax replica of Fox's Tony Siragusa during the NFL Experience. They must have used a lot of wax for a guy his size.

CRIER'S CORNER

"BET THE RENT, THE MORTGAGE, THE KIDS' COLLEGE TUITION, THE IRA, THE PENSION, YOUR MOTHER'S GRAVE, AND YOUR LIFE ON THE PACKERS! IT'S LIKE THE GAME HAS ALREADY BEEN PLAYED" FROM A SCAMIDICAPPER

BASKETBALL ACTION

Yesterday’s Record ATS: 12-2
Cumulative Season Record ATS (excludes “pushes”): 325-210


Today’s Action (for reading purposes only):

NBA

NEW JERSEY* (+1) over INDIANA
The Pacers had a day to rest after hosting Portland, and have a look ahead to South Beach in 48 hours. The Nets have hovered around .500 at home so far. They had a rough Western trip last month, but did take the Suns to OT despite getting beat on the boards and in the turnover game. Brook Lopez is becoming the cornerstone of the Nets' franchise. NEW JERSEY, 102-93


MIAMI* (-11.5) over LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Bad body clock game for the Clips, as they’ll tip off at noon and they still have a long string of road games looking them in the face. Los Angeles also took a huge hit when guard Eric Gordon sprained his right wrist. Miami also will be in a revenge mode as Clips upset them at Staples Center when Blake Griffin continued his double/double mission and they held the South Beachers to 8 for 27 from long range. MIAMI, 107-91


COLLEGE HOOPS


RUTGERS (+11.5) over NOTRE DAME*
As evidenced by their superlative effort against Pitt, Rutgers and HC Mike Rice’s kids are rising to the challenge the Big East trial-by-fire provides. The Irish are markedly-better at home, but this is not a gimme at projected market levels. NOTRE DAME, 74-69




MIKE IN DA


HMW

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