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.
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.
I know its not a popular opinion these days with his new garbage Netflix assassin spoof movie and shows like Toucher and Rich skewering his predictably terrible new sitcom Kevin Can Wait…but I still love Kevin James.
It’s just too bad he went to the Adam Sandler School of Mailing It In. Just like Sandler, not to the same extent obviously, James was a funny ass guy with a stand up special that you can still quote in “Sweat the Small Stuff.” Add a hit sitcom that killed for years and is still highly watchable to this day in King of Queens. That show was hilarious with solid writing, George Costanza’s dad and of course the sneaky foxy Leah Remini. That my friends are the ingredients for an enjoyable 22 minutes.
Chuck and Larry – pretty solid. Hitch? Classic. Unfortunately, the money is always too good to turn down and these famous comics, particularly guys who rely on physical comedy, fall back on their shtick (for James it’s the shlubby suburban guy) and collect paychecks for making stuff they 100% know is garbage. I actually watched the new Netflix movie he put out, True Memoirs of an International Assassin, over Thanksgiving, and while it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever seen, I did not laugh.
Paul Blart? Pretty bad. Paul Blart TWO? Slap in the face. Pixels? Woof. And now the new sitcom is the definition of mailing it in.
But don’t forget the good times people. Some of the top Kevin James moment below that I still quote to this day.
Alarm Clock “Can you wake me up in 7 minutes?”
Water Skiing “He’s down again”
“You got a Butterfinger first you fat ass?”
The Hitch Dance Scene
Playing football with 10 year olds
The 300s 