In honor of yesterday marking the 15th anniversary of this extraordinary game. It was so long ago, it was the last game at Foxboro Stadium and it was broadcast in standard definition.
PS – Adam Vinatieri is a hall of famer. But that’s another discussion for another day.
USA Today – The NFL has moved the Steelers-Chiefs divisional playoff game from Sunday afternoon to Sunday night as an ice storm approaches Kansas City, Mo.
“Due to public safety concerns in light of the forecasted storm this weekend in the Kansas City area, Sunday’s Steelers-Chiefs Divisional Playoff game on NBC has been moved to 8:20 p.m. ET,” read a statement sent by the league Friday afternoon.
I’m 100% in favor of public safety. If you can take 80,000 people off the road during an ice storm, you gotta do it. But the NFL didn’t rake in $13 billion in revenue last season solely out of concern for public safety. Call me cynical, but this move works out pretty well for all parties involved.
The NFL looks like the good guy, keeping people off the roads during an ice storm. Moving this game back and out of the inclement weather also lowers the likelihood of another clunker of a game. No game this postseason has been closer than two scores, and the league could really use a couple of good games today. Two really good games today would help steer the discussion away from why the playoffs have been disappointing thus far.
The game the NFL is moving also just happens to be scheduled on NBC, its Sunday night rights holder. Could this be a trial balloon for Sunday Night Playoff Football? Two extra editions of the highest rated show on television each year would surely mean a nice bump for the NFL in the next television contract, and a nice January ratings bump for NBC.
Meanwhile, NBC can save its Dateline special for another night. [Tough call, I know.] This game would have drawn fine ratings at 1 PM, but there’s no doubt it will draw even better ratings at 8:20 PM on the Sunday night of a holiday weekend.
It also works out pretty well for the Patriots. Their opponent in the AFC Championship game won’t be finalized until about midnight. That gives the Patriots 24 hours more than their opponent to rest and prepare. Tom Brady teams are 5-2 in the AFC Championship game after a Saturday night win in the Divisional Round, but those two losses both came in Denver. It’s hard not to like their chances again next Sunday at home with an extra day of rest.
Watching Conan visit Taco Bell headquarters yesterday got me in the mood for some Classic Conan. Some good stuff here in this Late Night with Conan O’Brien Fifth Anniversary Special.
USA Today – Taco Bell, the fast food radical which has boasted healthy changes to its menu, has unveiled its Naked Chicken Chalupa, a taco in which the shell is made completely of fried chicken.
No other fast food restaurant knows itself, or its customers, better than Taco Bell. Taco Bell is not fine dining. Taco Bell is not fast casual. Taco Bell probably isn’t even your first choice most nights (no one eats Taco Bell during daylight hours). And Taco Bell is fine with all of that.
Taco Bell is cheap food quick. Taco Bell is food for when you’re in a rush, down to your last $18 before your next paycheck, or on your way home from the bars. Taco Bell knows they have to keep things interesting to keep you coming back, and I don’t think they get enough credit for that. Taco Bell is an innovator in the field of fast food the way Steve Jobs was an innovator in the world of computers and electronics.
Taco Bell is fearless. They’re not afraid to throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. You can’t have the Crunchwrap Supreme without the Bell Beefer. You can’t have Doritos Locos Tacos without the Black Jack Taco. Not every new product launch is going to be a success, but that doesn’t mean it was a failure.
I was at Taco Bell the day they launched their breakfast menu in 2014, and you can believe I will be there on January 26 to try their interpretation of a Double Down. Will it be a success like the Doritos Locos Tacos, or a flop like the Chicken Caesar Grilled Stuft Burrito? Who knows, but I’m not worried about that. I’m just happy to go along for the ride.
PS – If this Conan trip to Taco Bell doesn’t make you wish you worked at Taco Bell, you’re not being honest with yourself.
Saturday night’s playoff game at Gillette Stadium will be the fourth straight Saturday night playoff opener for the Patriots. Since 2001, the Patriots have always opened the playoffs at home and are 8-0 when opening the playoffs on a Saturday.
Prior to this season, the Patriots received first-round byes in 10 of their 13 playoff appearances since 2001. They have opened the playoffs at home after the bye week on a Saturday in seven out those 10 playoff runs. The Patriots won all seven of those Saturday night games. With an extra day of rest, they also went on to win the AFC Championship in five of those seven seasons. The Patriots are just 1-2 in Brady Era AFC Championship games coming after a Sunday victory in the divisional round.
The only Saturday night playoff loss for the Patriots in the Brady Era came after the 2005 season, a divisional round game in Denver. The only one-and-dones of the Brady Era – 2009 and 2010 – came when the Patriots opened the playoffs on a Sunday.
Bill Belichick would tell you the team plays when the league tells them to. A lot of fans liked the Patriots chances even before kickoff time was announced for their first playoff game. But it’s hard to look at these numbers and not want to start looking at airfare to Houston for early February. After all, the last time the Super Bowl was played in Houston the Patriots were there after opening up the playoffs on a Saturday.
It’s Wild Card Weekend and, as usual, the Patriots have the weekend off. The Patriots have reached the playoffs 14 times in the Brady Era, and have received a first-round bye 11 times in the Brady Era. Peyton Manning wasn’t able to take this weekend off nearly as often, though.
Peyton Manning reached the playoffs 15 times in the 17 seasons he played, including each of his last 13 seasons. His teams received a first-round byes in eight of those seasons, meaning he made semi-regular appearances on Wild Car Weekend, unlike Brady.
Manning’s teams were 3-4 on Wild Card Weekend, and 3-5 after a first round bye. That adds up to nine one-and-dones, by far the most of any NFL quarterback. That means Manning’s teams only won a game in the playoffs 6 out of the 15 times he took them to the playoffs. His career playoff record stood at 11-13 before last year’s magical run gave him his second Super Bowl ring and a just-barely-over-.500 career postseason record of 14-13.
I must give Manning his due. He did knock down the Patriots more times than I care to remember in the playoffs. The Colts win in the 2006 AFC title game is still in my top five worst Boston sports moments. But I can give Manning his due, and still look back at some of his more memorable playoff losses.
[I’ve omitted the Foxborough Follies from this list for the sake of brevity, and because those are obviously well-remembered by Patriots fans.]
2002 Jets 41 – Colts 0. Not much else needs to be said about this playoff disaster. Manning had a dreadful night in Giants Stadium as the Colts lost to Chad Effing Penington. This loss put Peyton at 0-3 in the playoffs, and really started the “Peyton sucks in the playoffs” conversations in earnest.
2005 Down 3 to the Steelers with 1:20 to go, Peyton Manning took a sack on fourth down at his own 2-yard line. Looking to put the Colts away, Jerome Bettis coughed it up and gave Peyton and the Colts one last shot. Peyton got the Colts into field-goal range, but Mike Vanderjagt couldn’t connect on a 46-yard attempt, and Pittsburgh held on to win this wild one. [As a side note, this was Vanderjagt’s last game as a Colt. That offseason, the Colts went out and got Adam Vinatieri. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.]
2007 Looking to defend their Super Bowl title, the Colts received a first-round bye and hosted the San Diego Chargers in the divisional round. The Colts led 24-21 in the fourth, but the Chargers took the lead late and Peyton Manning had to orchestrate another last-minute comeback. He led the Colts inside the 10, but couldn’t put it in the end zone thanks to pressure from Shawne Merriman (remember him?). The Colts would actually get the ball back one more time, but that drive also stalled out. This was also the last game to be played at the RCA Dome.
2012 New team, same result. Peyton’s first trip to the playoffs with the Broncos ended the same way so many of his previous trips did. Much of this loss can be pinned on the Broncos defense, but this Peyton Manning Playoff Meltdown receives special mention because of how excruciating this loss was. The Ravens trailed the Broncos 35-28 in the final minute. That’s when Joe Flacco connected with Jacoby Jones for a 70-yard touchdown with 31 seconds remaining. The Ravens would go on to win the game in overtime, and defeat the Patriots the next week en route to winning Super Bowl XLVII.
With Andy Dalton and the Bengals sitting the playoffs out this year, no other quarterback playing in the playoffs this year immediately comes to mind when thinking of another quarterback to carry on the legacy of Peyton Manning Playoff Meltdowns. With backup quarterbacks all over the place in the AFC, though, this should still be a fun (and sloppy) Wild Card Weekend to watch.
It’s not unusual to be loved by anyone.
It’s not unusual to have fun with anyone.
But when I see an old British dude singing Purple Rain, things get weird. Makes me a little sad to realize I was too young to enjoy the halcyon days of random-ass programming on MTV and VH1 at 3 AM.
Cook County Record – A Des Plaines man has brought a consumer fraud class action against a suburban Chicago McDonald’s franchisee, alleging the restaurant group should be made to pay for allegedly false advertising on its menu, as the group’s pricing of its two cheeseburger “Extra Value Meal” causes customers to pay 41 cents more than they would if they just ordered their two burgers, fries and drink separately.
I like to consider myself a fast-food connoisseur. I make In-N-Out my first stop every time I travel to the West Coast. I wait in line for my free taco (and nothing else) during every Taco Bell “Steal a Taco” promotion. I savor every McRib like it’s my last. Five Guys and Qdoba are a little too rich for my blood. So I blog today to commend this Des Plaines man for doing God’s work.
We’ve all been squeezed by the cumbersome regulations associated with the McDonald’s “value” menus. Who among us hasn’t wandered into a McDonald’s after dark only to find the once-familiar Dollar Menu replaced with the infamous late-night menu? At the McDonald’s on my college campus, McNuggets could only be purchased in multiples of 10 after 11 PM. No wonder the freshman 15 also comes in packages of 25. They must have to put away the four-piece McNugget boxes after dinner.
Occasionally, these regulations could be avoided. I was known to order three four-piece McNuggets off the Dollar Menu to get 12 McNuggets for $3 instead of the standard 10-piece McNugget for $3.69. But the Dollar Menu could be wildly inconsistent. Years ago, you could find the Big N’ Tasty on the Dollar Menu in Weymouth, but only ketchup packets on the Dollar Menu at North Station.
Enough is enough. McDonald’s has long been lauded for its consistency. A Big Mac in Boston tastes the same as a Big Mac in Bismarck. Isn’t it time the menu replicate that same consistency? Isn’t it time the consumer be rewarded for simplifying the ordering process by ordering one meal? Rather than five individual items in one transaction that would almost certainly be fouled up?
I hate to say it, but it’s not about the money. It’s a moral issue at this point. Do better, Ronald and friends. Do better.
NESN – Clay Buchholz’s 10-year career with the Boston Red Sox reportedly has come to an end. The Red Sox traded the right-handed pitcher to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, according to multiple reports. Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer was the first to report the news, with FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman and FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal confirming. According to Gelb, Boston will acquire minor leaguer Josh Tobias in the deal.
Just like that, the Clay Buchholz Era in Boston has ended. Fittingly, it ended with a whimper and not with a bang. The dude threw a no-hitter in his second career start in 2007, but could never live up to his potential.
Buchholz showed flashes at times, no doubt. An All-Star in 2010, he finished 6th in Cy Young Award voting that season. He was named to the All-Star team again in 2013 after starting the season 9-0 with a 1.71 ERA. But injuries put him on the shelf from June 8 – to September 10 in 2013, and he ultimately did not make much of mark the rest of that season or during the World Series title run.
Ultimately, those flashes were just flashes and only served to extend his time in Boston. His reasonable salaries didn’t hurt his case either. Why not take a flier on your own guy instead of bringing in someone else? (See Miley, Wade.)
While his 81-61 record puts his winning percentage at .570 and his 3.96 ERA puts his ERA+ at 109, it’s hard not to characterize the Buchholz Era as a disappointment in the end. The ups and downs, the injuries, disappointments (see 2008) and frustrations ultimately became too much for the Red Sox. Buchholz has now been swapped for a 24 year-old infielder with no professional experience higher than A-ball.
If the Phillies take on all of the $13.5 million due to Buchholz, that’s a win for Trader Dave. But even if not, this is is addition by subtraction for the Red Sox. I know that you can never have too much pitching (see Arroyo, Bronson), but Buchholz was never an innings eater. It’s just one less moving part John Farrell needs to be concerned with. With David Price, Rick Porcello and now Chris Sale headlining next year’s staff, hopefully the Red Sox can move away from the revolving door that has been (at least the back of) their rotation for the last few years.
Big Z here. It’s my first post at The 300s, so let me introduce myself by discussing the oldest topic known to sports radio: the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The 2017 ballot, released last month, featured 34 players including 19 newcomers. Voters can select up to ten players from the ballot of 34. I’m not a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, nor am I Hall of Fame voter. But if I were, here is what my ballot would look like.
MY VOTES
Barry Bonds – “An alien god who destroyed space-time to bring us joy.”
Roger Clemens – Only two players to play since 1931 have more wins than Clemens (Warren Spahn, Greg Maddux). No one has more Cy Young Awards.
Vladimir Guerrero – Vladdy made nine all-star games in 12 seasons 1999-2010. He was a great offensive player and one hell of an outfielder, one of the best players of the 2000s.
Trevor Hoffman – One of the best relievers of his era, Hoffman retired as the all-time saves leader. Hoffman shouldn’t lose votes because the greatest reliever of all-time is on the ballot in just a few years.
Jorge Posada – Maybe as a Red Sox fan I’m overstating his value, but the dude won five rings. A five-time all-star who played in at least 137 games every year between 2000 and 2007, Posada was a big part of the Yankees “Core Four.”
Ivan Rodriguez – One of the best catchers of all time, Rodriguez was arguably the best of his era. He appeared in 2,427 games as a catcher, the most in Major League History, and finished with 2,844 hits. It is too bad he stole Pedro’s MVP award in 1999, though.
Curt Schilling – The best big-game pitcher of his era, Schilling holds an 11-2 record with a 2.23 ERA in 19 postseason appearances. Won a ring in Arizona before winning two with the Sox. Sad to see him self destruct in recent years, but a worthy Hall of Famer nonetheless.
Sammy Sosa – If I’m going to vote for Bonds and Clemens, no reason not to vote for the only man in history with three 60+ home run seasons.
Jason Varitek – Again, as a Red Sox fan, I’m probably overstating his value. But Varitek caught four no-hitters and often worked wonders with a pitching staff. I never believed in the true effect a catcher could have on a pitching staff until the 2006 Red Sox season went up in smoke while Javy Lopez filled in for an injured Varitek.
HARD PASSES
Jeff Bagwell – Bagwell hit a lot of home runs in an era with a lot of home runs. A shame that the strike shortened his 1994 MVP campaign. Through 115 team games that year, Bagwell hit 39 home runs and drove in 116 runs with a .368 average. A truly special season could have put him over the top for me, but Bagwell was just one of the many guys who had the rug pulled out from under them that year.
Manny Ramirez – Tough decision here. I’m not opposed to voting for players alleged to have used performance enhancing drugs during their careers, but it’s tough to vote for a guy who was actually busted twice. Ramirez’s history of quitting on his teammates doesn’t help his case either.
HALL OF VERY GOOD
Jeff Kent – Kent had some really good seasons 1998-2005, including an MVP campaign in 2000. Ultimately, though, he was not dominant enough for a long enough period of time to get my vote.
Edgar Martinez – A seven-time All-Star, Martinez was a very good player for a long period of time. However, he wasn’t even the best player on his own team for most of his career (Griffey, A-Rod, Ichiro). Not enough offensive production to separate him from the pack for me, but it has nothing to do with him being a DH.
Mike Mussina – The Moose pitched very well in an era of inflated offense. However, he was never the most feared pitcher in the game, and never won a Cy Young award.
Tim Raines – Admittedly, Raines’s heyday was before my time. But looking at his numbers, there’s not enough there for me. Raines posted average numbers the second half of his career.
Gary Sheffield – Sheff posted very good offensive numbers for a long period of time, but it’s hard to think he would’ve bounced around as much as he did if he were truly one of the all-time greats.
Larry Walker – Very good offensive numbers are offset by playing in Colorado in the 1990s. To give you an idea of what was going on in that era, he hit .379 with 37 HRs and 115 RBI in 127 games in 1999 and finished 10th in the MVP voting that season. He was a very good player in his era, but not head and shoulders above everybody else.
JUST A BIT OUTSIDE
Fred McGriff
Lee Smith
Billy Wagner
RESPECT THE HUSTLE
Orlando Cabrera
Mike Cameron
Derrek Lee
Magglio Ordonez
Edgar Renteria
Tim Wakefield
THANKS FOR PLAYING
Casey Blake
Pat Burrell
JD Drew
Carlos Guillen
Melvin Mora
Arthur Rhodes
Freddy Sanchez
Matt Stairs
The 300s 