By David Hauser
Economists question the wisdom of paying $2 Billions for the L.A. Dodgers
Is there something in the Dodger Dogs we do not know about….perhaps uncut diamonds?
It would only be appropriate of Frank McCourt to bring Stan Kasten and Magic Johnson’s ownership group to the Dodgers’ team store after they’re done at the concessions and comp them all a a few Dodger jackets….preferably the one’s made of fleece.
By David Hauser
Jobs. Ask any politician a question this political season and he or she will inevitably find a way to bring the conversation back to jobs. Politicians may be underhanded and smarmy, but they still remain a better metric than even twitter for assessing the most salient issue of the day (as of course, they must be on the cutting edge of what best to pander to). Since the worldwide economic collapse in the Autumn of 2008, we have seen American state governors wage war against unions, politicians get tagged with the vaunted “socialist” label, endless political arguments about whether cutting taxes or increasing government spending is a sounder methodology for creating jobs, the rise of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements, and I can only guess the term “job creation” will be plastered and super-glued to our nation’s collective forehead over the next eight months as Barack Obama and (seemingly) Mitt Romney vie for the White House this November. The operative word in this endless political theater is: labor.
As writer and pop-philosopher king Chuck Klosterman pointed out last year, every major sports and cultural story of 2011 revolved around labor. Two of the three most popular American sports leagues had labor disputes over the same three to fourth month period. Charlie Sheen fought his highly publicized dispute with CBS all because of labor. Hell, even the lowly Detroit Pistons tried to organize a strike against their own coach last year by not attending practice as their unfortunate season wound to a close. In what must be perceived as some kind of socio-cultural clash of class and wealth, this country is in the midst of a major financial distribution transition and without coincidence the sports world mirrors the broader American culture in coming to grips with this issue.
For the third year in a row, the NBA’s on court brilliance has been hijacked by the labor narrative. Dwight Howard’s “Indecision 2012” significantly overshadowed the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. NFL fans, who were not afforded the fast-paced rush of a traditional free agent signing period last year due to the NFL’s aforementioned labor dispute, are treating this year’s free agency period as some kind of sacrosanct religious experience (with the likes of Mario Williams, Peyton Manning, and Tim Tebow on the move).
More than ever, sports fans are wholeheartedly consumed by free agency player movement. Through some form of fragmented sublimation of our country’s unemployment crisis, it remains easier to analyze and critique the labor relations of our athletes and celebrities than internalize and personalize our own fears about the rapidly shifting wealth and labor landscape in America. Read the rest of this entry »
By David Berlin
There’s a scene in the HBO comedy The Life and Times of Tim where someone turns on the lights in a strip club, and all of a sudden the beautiful sexy girls are revealed to be overweight, with C-section scars, cigarette burns, and loads of bad makeup.
That’s kind of how I feel about this year’s NCAA Tournament. Last year, Penn State miraculously won the Big Ten Tournament, went on to the NCAA Tournament, and I was drunk with enthusiasm. This year, I’ve got nobody to root for and the tournament just seems nasty. All I’m seeing are scandals, one year rent-a-players, and porous 2 seeds.
But that’s the thing about attending a school like Penn State – it’s perennially good at football but only good at basketball once in a while. I was just talking to my friend who went to Syracuse for undergrad and he was saying how great it is to see his team in the Sweet 16 again. If ‘Cuse gets to the Final Four, he’s got an excuse to meet up with all his college buddies. I’m jealous. There are only so many times a man can yell “WE ARE PENN STATE” in the mirror with no other fellow Nittany Lion fans around to join in. Read the rest of this entry »
By David Hauser
For the past half decade the Vikings defense has been a nightmare matchup for Offensive Coordiantors to scheme for because of the impenetrable defensive line Minnesota assembled. The Vikings’ Pat Williams and Kevin Williams formed what NFL diehards coined “The Williams Wall.” This pair led a defense that did not allow a 100 yard rusher for virtually three straight seasons (allowing opponents only 68.5 rushing yards per game over this stretch). However, Pat Williams aged and left the team in 2010. Kevin Williams remains with the Vikings, but the Williams Wall has come down.
There is a new “Williams Wall” in the NFL these days. With the signing of “Super Mario” Williams, the Buffalo Bills are paring arguably the most complete defensive end in football with their already stout interior defensive lineman. Most notably, All-Pro defensive tackle Kyle Williams will line up next to Mario Williams on the d-line for the 2012 Buffalo Bills this fall. This new Williams Wall, along with standout Alabama second year defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, form the most fearsome defensive wall seen in the NFL in some time. This new “Williams Wall” gives the hungry fans of Western New York something of a proud foundation to once again stand upon.
By David Hauser
Big day for Headie Sports! Mario Willaims (@bbwolf90) is now using a Headie Sports created twitter avatar! It appears late yesterday afternoon a Bills fan tweeted the new Bills Defensive End the “Super Mario Bros: Buffalo Bills Free Agency Edition” artwork from this website. Mario Williams is now sporting only the headiest of twitter avatars that I’ve seen throughout the twittersphere.
Per the request of Bills fans over at Buffalo Rumblings, here is a similar version of the Super Mario Bros. pic with Kyle Williams to represent the tremendous defensive line advantage the Bills will have moving forward (let’s also not forget #3 overall pick from the 2011 NFL Draft, Marcell Dareus either). It would now appear the Bills are no longer pursuing Manningham, after locking up the real Super Mario for $100 million over 6 years.
According to Buddy Nix in an appearance on Pro Football now with Mike Florio this past Friday, it appears the Bills will be seeking a WR with a bigger frame and 4.4-4.5 speed in the NFL draft, perhaps as early as the 2nd round.
As the weekend following the signing carries on, the #SuperMarioParty continues on in Western New York! Reports from Buffalonians suggest there was not much work productivity this past Thursday, as fans followed along with the huge signing at work. Additionally, fans started up a spirited and random car horn honking campaign all the way home throughout 5 o’clock traffic on I-90 thru Buffalo to celebrate the monumental Super Mario signing.
Luke Russert continues to operate in his late father’s stead as defacto leader of the #BillsMafia. Using his national communication platform, Russert tweeted back and forth with ESPN Chris Mortenson as Bills fans waited for the word as to whether or not Mario was indeed signing with the Bills. In the moments following the successful Super Mario signing, Mortenson responded to Russert who tweeted “Yeah baby!!! Mario in #Buffalo!!” with “I can see your Dad smiling and pumping his fist right now.”
By David Hauser
Mario Williams is on the cusp of making the Buffalo Bills relevant for the first time in this millennium. Doug Flute just blushed at the thought. Buffalo is also trying to chase down veteran WR and Super Bowl XLVI hero, Mario Manningham. 2012 Free Agency is shaping into a Nintendo video game fantasy for the hungry fans of Western New York.
As Adrian Wojnarowski outlines here, Dwight Howard has been throwing a red herring at Magic management all along and has been working to make his “real team,” the New Jersey Nets stronger for next year.
“Why would Howard push for a trade now? So the Nets have to give up Brook Lopez and draft picks? For Howard, he can finish the season with the Magic, make the playoffs and leave on July 1 for a contract with the Nets, who can offer him a four-year, $81 million deal – about $28 million less than what the Magic can give him in a fifth year. Adidas wants him in a major market – New York or Los Angeles – and this scenario promises him the highest possible value on his upcoming renegotiation on his shoe deal.”
Jeremy Lin may not be a rookie, but in his first substantial playing time in the league he has lit up the NBA. He’s not the only young Point Guard shredding the league these days. Ricky Rubio has emerged in Minnesota as a Messi-like magician, turning the parquee into his own personal midfield. Kemba Walker is trying to rejuvenate the always floundering Charlotte Bobcats franchise with the brand of energy and enthusiasm that brought UConn a National Championship last year. And Kyrie Irving made everyone else on this Mt. Rushmore of young PGs look foolish and overmatched in this past weekend’s Rising Stars game (not to mention dismissing all the naysayers who insisted Derrick Williams should have been the #1 pick in the NBA draft last year).
And we have not even mentioned John Wall, Jrue Holliday, Norris Cole, Kyle Lowry, or even Glen Falls, NY’s Jimmer Fredette (still emerging). The NBA is overflowing with young Point Guard talent beyond the likes of established (but, still young!) vets like Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, and Deron Williams.
If you’re a GM and can pick one Under-25 PG to build around, who you taking??
Yet again, sports fans are relegated to throwing on their lab coats to try to figure out if one of baseball's stars is telling the truth or not
By David Berlin
As a life-long Phillies fan I thought about what I would do if I found out Ryan Howard or Chase Utley were taking steroids. My first thought was that my world would be shattered. But then after some reflection, I realized that realistically, I would probably refuse to accept it and pretend it never happened. That’s what I did with the ‘93 Phillies and it’s worked out pretty well for me for 20 years.
Try talking to any Phillies fan about that ‘93 team and they’ll say something like – “Sure, 10 players had ‘career’ years. And sure, Dykstra was hitting .400 through June. But let’s not play the blame game.”
I consider myself a fairly educated person and I still have no idea what I’m reading when it comes to steroid articles. 1. because I can’t understand the science, and 2., because the player always puts out an extremely loaded statement, with unquantifiable terms of art (probably written by his lawyer). Soon I just have a headache and want to get back to watching baseball. Read the rest of this entry »
