Tag: Football

Patriots Triumphant Return to the Playoffs Marred by Glorious Flameout

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Most of the goodwill Bill Belichick earned by bringing the Patriots back to the playoffs with a rookie QB evaporated last night after getting throttled by the Bills 47-17. The Pats were the gang that couldn’t shoot straight in a 30 point blowout with the Bills becoming the first team EVER in the Super Bowl era to score touchdowns on their first 5 drives of a playoff game. It also marked the second worst playoff loss in franchise history, second only to the 36 point drubbing at the hands of the ‘85 Bears in Super Bowl XX. At least that beatdown was to an all-time team though.

Not like this is anything new, but goddamnit did that game make me miss Tom Brady. Obviously no longer having the greatest player of all time hurts our chances, but you never felt out of a playoff game with TB12 (insert 28-3 joke here).

It was a disaster of a night that just snowballed with bad penalties, dropped passes, a defense that couldn’t stop Josh Allen through the air or on the ground, and routinely failed to set the edge. Any spark the Patriots had seemed to be snuffed out on Mac Jones’ endzone INT, which took an incredible effort from Micah Hyde to even make.

So where do we go from here? I’ll let the true football guys break down the All-22, but what seemed like a quote unquote successful year 24 hours ago now limps into the long, cold offseason after getting completely embarrassed on national TV. The Pats will get better, Mac Jones will get better, but last night showed that they’re a lot further away than we all wanted to admit from returning to true title contender status.

Tom From Toonami Should File a Cease and Desist Against the NFL for These COVID Helmet Designs

By on • ( Leave a comment )

My first thought after seeing these helmet designs is that Tom from Toonami is currently filing a cease and desist against the NFL.

And if you’re too young to get that reference or never watched Toonami on Cartoon Network, then I pity you. Tom used to get me jacked up for all my nerdy anime as a kid. Pretty sure Toonami is singlehandedly responsible for every asshole with an internet connection and iMovie creating their own anime emo rock compilations and uploading them to Napster.

Now back to these space helmets that may or may not be a real thing. Obviously these are designed with player safety in mind as it relates to COVID because players can’t be wearing cotton masks made my Melissa from Etsy. I would however love to hear from the crowd that wanted to ban helmets entirely in an effort to stop defenders from launching into receivers with their heads. How about this astronaut helmet to discourage players from pretending they’re a land to air missile? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t I suppose.

Well, if this helps get players back on the field and brings the NFL back to this sports-less post-apocalyptic world then I am all for it. It’ll be nearly impossible to top the greatest helmet in league history though.

PS – I also just learned that apparently Cartoon Network legitimately killed Tom off? Like straight up gatted him. Wow. RIP brother.

The XFL is Recruiting a Massive Free Agent: Guy Fieri

By on • ( 1 Comment )

Everybody knows that Guy Fieri is a taste maker plain and simple. The man has gone through the black hole of pop culture and come out on the other side only more popular. A guy that became famous for his wacky personality and bleach blonde hair on a Food Network TV show was ripe to be mocked in the age of twitter. Except he sort of owned it and because of that has endeared himself to the entire internet. Seriously, he’s even getting his own Funko POP figure!

And now the entire XFL is out hunting to secure Guy Fieri as the celebrity face of their franchise.

It’s part social media marketing, part legitimate business growth strategy; the guy has incredible visibility. I’ve seen him on TV at the NBA All-Star game and the Super Bowl in the last month alone. He’s even best buds with one Julian Edelman.

Plus who doesn’t love crushing a few eps of Triple D on a lazy Sunday afternoon?

By sharing and retweeting basically any meme out there about him, Guy Fieri has gone meta and come out more popular than ever. If marketing is about branding then Guy Fieri a marketing master because people know him and they know exactly what he’s about.

It’s actually a strategy Mike Bloomberg is now throwing his money behind in an attempt to become the next viral presidential candidate.

Who knew the key to the XFL’s success may have been hiding in Flavortown all along?

Miss Football Already? Well the XFL Kicks Off This Weekend!

By on • ( 1 Comment )

Two long years since its announcement, Vince McMahon is finally set to unveil yet another football league to compete with complement the NFL. Unlike the AAF, which flamed out in spectacular fashion, the XFL at least has the benefit of not competing directly with the NFL by kicking off after the Super Bowl.

The first XFL commercial I’ve seen has been *extremely* generous in it’s description of the talent playing in the league. With a roster led by the likes of former Ohio State QB Cardale “We didn’t come here to play school” Jones

and Connor Cook, who’s best known for unceremoniously snatching the Big Ten Championship game MVP trophy.

Not exactly the stuff of fantasy football dreams so expectations need to be tempered.

I will say however, I am pretty excited for some of the rule tweaks the XFL will utilize. Most of the rulebook is the same just with a focus on speeding up the game. There are a few minor tweaks like moving back the kickoffs and eliminating extra point attempts, but the biggest rule tweak I’m most excited for is the double forward pass.

Yup, something that is not legal in any level of football and would even get you flagged in a pickup football game is about to, hopefully, become a staple in XFL playbooks. Just think of the possibilities if you’re a team running the RPO with the ability to then throw a double forward pass. My mouth is watering just thinking of the ridiculous plays we’ll see on SportsCenter Twitter.

I think the biggest selling point for the league is actually this: what the hell else are you doing on Saturday afternoon? The XFL schedule will play two games each on Saturday and Sunday for the next 10 weeks until the playoffs start, assuming the league has not gone out of business by that point. If nothing else this makes for great day drinking background noise at worst and an entertaining 90 minutes at best.

I’ll give it a shot.

The 300s Reviews the Redskins FedEx Field: A Stadium Worthy of Its Team

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Week 5 has come and gone along with Redskins HC Jay Gruden. To be honest, I’m surprised it took this long. The Redskins have been trash for a while now. After winning the division with a 9-7 record back in 2015, they sit at 22-30-1 over the last 3+ seasons and haven’t finished better than 3rd in the NFC East since 2015. Gruden’s firing was even less shocking following the release of this video:

https://twitter.com/PlayoffTrae/status/1180243547418705923?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1180243547418705923&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.complex.com%2Fsports%2F2019%2F10%2Fjay-gruden-weed-young-women

Ha. The ol’ “I’m about to get fired, guess I’ll rip joints and cheat on my wife in public now.” Classic. Way to go, Jay.

Gruden garbage aside, I had the (dis)pleasure of attending this weeks Patriots-Redskins game at FedEx Field. From the moment I first hopped on the metro in Arlington, Virginia, this felt like a home game. Patriots fans were everywhere, and it only felt more packed with nautical blue the closer I got to the stadium. The walk up felt pretty similar to walking to Gillette, considering all the Brady jerseys walking down one long road.

I typically tailgate with my buddies at the Seasonal about a mile from Gillette, so I don’t really know what the actual stadium tailgates are like. That having been said, I was not impressed with the Redskins parking lot scene. There were plenty of Skins fans grilling, but there was a ton of empty space in the lots and barely any sense of the pregame atmosphere that makes tailgating fun. However, there was this guy:

The stadium itself felt like a relic; an ancient gridiron from the days of the leatherheads. Turns out, the place was built in… 1997! I couldn’t believe it. For only 22 years old, I couldn’t believe how worn the place felt. The entrance was also confusing, and didn’t make clear where you were supposed to go until you had already gone in the wrong direction. There were huge beams obstructing views all throughout the 200s, completely blocking off any view of the sky as well as entire 15 yard chunks of field.

That kind of thing is permissible at Fenway because it was built over 100 years ago, before stadium planning and design was a thing. But to build something at the end of the 90’s when your team itself is 60+ years old is downright embarrassing. Although I suppose that’s what happens when you’re owned by Dan Snyder and your team name is the R-words.

If you do decide to go to a Redskins game at FedEx Field, wait until the absolute last minute to buy your tickets. My buddy and I literally bought our tickets as we were walking into the stadium from the tailgate, and paid $120 for seats at the 35 yard line.

Granted, our original seats were obstructed, but there were enough empty seats that we could move around and find a few empty seats here and there. We could’ve bought tickets in the 100’s at the corner of each end-zone for a similar price, or in the 300’s for $70-80. If you buy more than a week out, you’re looking at $180 minimum for seats way up in the 400s. At the end of the day, I would probably go back, but I wouldn’t spend more than $100 and I’d avoid the 200’s unless it’s in the first 10 rows.

LFG

Lippa’s Leftovers

By on • ( Leave a comment )


After an absolutely enormous news weekend in the world of Boston sports, what better time to take a few steps back and try to collect some thoughts now that the dust has settled a little bit.

  • I could not love the Antonio Brown signing more. Is he an unhinged lunatic? Absolutely. Is there a chance that he could go off the reservation and be kicked off the team by tomorrow? Yep. But, we are at the point now, where if Bill Belichick thinks it’s a good idea. I think it’s a good idea. Bring him on.
  • But my absolute favorite part of the signing was the collective groan by fans of 31 other franchises. The Big Bad Wolf strikes again. When the news broke, I was at a party with Vikings fans, Redskins fans, Giants fans, Jets fans, Cowboys fans, etc, and it was like they had seen a ghost. I love being the villain of the league. I love being the team that everyone hates. Hate us cuz they ain’t us.
  • I’ll say it. It’s starting to feel a little like 2007 again. But maybe even better? And that’s because of the defense. This is the best defense the Patriots have had in years. They have the best secondary in the league, led by the best cornerback in the league (Stephon Gilmore). There’s a ton of no-names in the front seven aside from Hightower, but they looked fast and powerful while completely dummying a pretty good Steelers offensive line.
  • The potential undoing of this team? The offensive line. Marcus Cannon’s already banged up. Shaq Mason got bullied around a little bit on Sunday, and some of those floaty snaps from Ted Karras were frightening. Man, this really does feel like 2007. 
  • It was interesting to see Belichick get a little defensive in his conference call on Wednesday morning in this exchange with NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran.

 

I can’t remember a time when Belichick brought up a media criticism from years ago out of the blue. So much for “Ignore the Noise.”

  • Is 16-0 a possibility, well yes. Of course it is. They are loaded. Obviously it is VERY EARLY to be talking about this (but I mean come on look at the first half of their schedule). However, were some interesting comments from Belichick in the preview of that HBO documentary with Nick Saban.



    “In retrospect, maybe it would have been better if we had lost one along the way.”I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard him say that publicly. It will be fascinating to see how Belichick handles this team down the stretch if this starts to become a real conversation.
  • In more depressing news, we have the local baseball team with an absolute NEWS DUMP in firing President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski at midnight immediately after the Patriots season opener.  I get the move, Dombrowski was not the guy to lead the Red Sox in the future. He was great at signing and trading for big stars, but not so much at restocking the farm system. I have no problem with them moving on. 
  • And to the surprise of absolutely no one, there was zero accountability taken by John Henry and Tom Werner. No press conference, no explanation. Nothing. Just unacceptable from an ownership that my distaste for grows more and more by the day. 
  • This was hidden in a Peter Abraham column, but I perked up when I saw this potential nugget.

Come home Theo, come home.

The 300s 2019 NFL Bracket Challenge

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Back before the MLB season started, I introduced a new way of gambling on professional sports: the bracket challenge. Modeled after March Madness, each entry requires that you pick each playoff team and their seed, as well as the winners of each playoff game every step of the way. I asked The 300s team to submit their picks before Week 1 started. Let’s check out how the guys think this season will shake down:

Mattes:

(AFC): Yeah, I know; I look like a real homer by picking the Pats as the No. 1 seed (and eventual Super Bowl-winner). But that defense looks LOADED, and we still got that Tom Brady guy. And yes, the Chiefs seem like an easy pick for the No. 2 seed after last year’s epic run. I’d like to have chosen someone else, but again, let’s call a spade a spade. The Jags coming in as the three seed might surprise some, but I think the vast majority of the NFL world is sleeping hard on them this year. Their defense is still elite (and only got better this offseason), and they finally have a good quarterback for the first time since Nam. The AFC North is going to be a battle all season long, and honestly the toughest decision I made was keeping Baltimore out! Though the Texans may look like they loaded up in recent weeks, I think Houston fans are in for quite the disappointment this year.

(NFC): This year will be Aaron Rodgers’s redemption. After a string of injury-plagued seasons and questions surrounding his psyche and character, the 35-year-old future H.O.F. will be determined to shut all the doubters up. He’s got some great weapons on offense, and the Packers should also feature the best defense they’ve had in years. I will be shocked if the Packers are not, at the very least, a top-two seed in the conference this year. The Saints will continue to roll as the No. 2 seed, although they’ll feel a lot of pressure from a solid Carolina squad, which comes in as my first wild-card team. The Eagles will give New Orleans a run for their money for a bye behind an MVP season from Carson Wentz.

In the end, we finally get the dream Super Bowl matchup that we as NFL fans have been deprived of for FAR too long: Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers. And ultimately, Brady and the boys will win No. 7 after the best cherry on top the NFL has ever given us. 

Big Z:

The Patriots will make the playoffs and get a first-round bye again because they always do, but their unprecedented run of success has to take a year off at some point (not come to an end). I’ve got the Patriots bowing out in the Divisional Round. I’m not buying the Browns, so I’ve got the Steelers and the Chiefs in the AFC CG with Mahomes getting to the Big Game in his second year as a starter. In the NFC I’m going with the Boys. With Zeke on board they should be locked and loaded. In the Super Bowl, I’ve got Mahomes and Reid hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

Joey Ballgame:

(NFC): My first impression as I filled this out is that The NFC is muchhhh tougher, at least internally. The South in particular where you have the Saints, Falcons and Panthers and the North where all four teams will compete. That’s just a motherfucker. At the same time, those teams will have a tougher time building solid records when the teams they play twice a year are that much better than the teams in other divisions, so they’ll kind of cannibalize themselves in terms of the playoffs. 

(AFC): As for the AFC, I see the Pats, Browns, and Chiefs sleepwalking their way to the Division crown. The Jags might get some fight out of the Texans, and honestly who even knows what Nick Foles is so they could shit the bed entirely. After that I kind of rolled the dice. I like the Bengals offense and the Texans, despite Bill O’Brien’s best efforts, still have a good team. Add that to the fact that the Titans and Capt Luck’s former team are looking rough and I wouldn’t be shocked to see the South have two playoff teams. 

I had all division champs in the divisional round save the Vikings, who I think could cause some trouble. After that though I think Baker runs out of magic against the Pats and Drew Brees and Co. are a little too much for the Birds. We know what happens next.

Dom:

(AFC): I’m in agreement with the rest of the boys in that I think the Pats should roll through the conference this year. This is as excited as I’ve been for a Pats team in a long time, and that’s saying something. The Chiefs took a step backward this year, the Jaguars are marginally better and their competition in the South got worse, and I will never be afraid of Philip Rivers. I think this is the year the Browns finally make the playoffs, but that run can only last so long.

(NFC): This conference is a total crap shoot. I don’t think there is a clear winner in any division save the West, which the Rams should win easily. Beyond that, I don’t believe Cam Newton has what it takes to win the South, which allows Brees another division title, Wentz and Co. should handle the Cowboys to take the East, and both Aaron Rodgers and the Vikings bounce back this year to come out of the North.

I see the Championship round games being basically the same as last year. I do think Goff will disappoint and Gurley will wear down again, allowing the Vikings to ride a balanced team performance into the NFC final. Brees and co. will get their revenge for last years PI call while Brady tops Mahomes again. In the end I see Brady prevailing over Brees in a QB matchup for the ages.

Red:

(AFC): I think the Patriots are still the cream of the crop in the AFC. Is that blind fanaticism for my favorite team? ….no. They’re just still the best team in the conference. The Chiefs are still electric, but are without their dynamite running back (unless everyone’s sleeper Damien Williams takes off). I think the Texans take a step forward this year after beefing up their OL with Laremy Tunsil and Deshaun Watson another year removed from his knee injury, althrough trading Jadaveon Clowney won’t necessarily help. The Steelers are going to be good again, but are now without their two best players from the last few years. The Chargers and the Ravens do just well enough to make the playoffs, but don’t make it very far. Despite what Skynet/ESPN tells you, the Patriots will not lose to the Texans, especially not because of Brady’s age. In fact they will topple ole Billy O’Brien once again and make the Super Bowl. Again.

(NFC): The Saints have some unfinished business and arguably the most electric player in the league in Alvin Kamara for Drew Brees to feed so I’m picking them to also advance to the SB as a No. 1 seed. The Rams don’t get the benefit of shitty refs this time and I honestly think that team takes a step back with the suddenly breaking down Todd Gurley. This is why you don’t give running backs record setting contracts. The Vikings rebound from a down year, the Cowboys clinch a Wild Card spot as do the Seahawks who pull an upset in the opening round, as the Eagles make it to the NFC Championship with a finally healthy Carson Wentz but can’t get over the hump. 

Super Bowl LIV: Pats 21 – Saints 17

Super Bowls are never as high scoring as people think they will be. You don’t even have to look back all that far (February) for a prime example of this. So I’m taking the Pats to grind out their 7th Super Bowl. 

This may be a Boston blog, but you gotta be crazy to bet against the Patriots this year. Pats are the odds on favorite to win it all here at The 300s, and most of us agree it’ll be the Saints out of the NFC. Big Z is the only one with a mind of his own…good for him. Go Pats, hello Antonio.

Steve Smith Has No Shame In Getting Fantasy Tips

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Just an absolutely hysterical clip taken from a Carolina Panthers practice last year. Former Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith, Sr., always known for being uhh… outspoken, has apparently developed a passion for fantasy football. And just like the rest of us, he’s looking for an inside edge wherever he can get it.

We’ve all been in the position of trying to figure out who to start in your last flex spot (which means you can start a player at any offensive skill position, Cam). But we don’t get the opportunity to go directly to the source while making the decision. And clearly, Panthers rookie WR DJ Moore knew that his performance wasn’t cutting it as of late.

Unfortunately for DJ, Steve might have been right to bench him based on how he ended the season. Including two games (in the fantasy playoffs no less!), where Moore ended up with… two points.

A little pro tip for Steve for this year when it comes to Panthers receivers, just draft Curtis Samuel instead. You’ll get the same production a few rounds later. Just don’t tell DJ that.

The Patriots Back Door Their Way Into the No. 2 Seed and a First Round Bye!

By on • ( 1 Comment )

This is why you play the game people! Are the Bills and the Jets a mere formality for the Patriots to close out the season? I hope. Of course. But the Patriots needed some outside help for the first time in a long time and old friend Nick Foles did just that as the Eagles knocked off the Texans behind his 400+ yard day. This was not a regular back door cover though as the Texans were doing everything they could to steal a W. Seriously, just look at this play from Deshaun Watson that set up the Texans TD to take the lead with less than 2 minutes to go.

Naturally I was shouting at my TV cussing out the Eagles like it was February all over again, but the enigma that is Nick Foles wasn’t ready to go home yet. Despite nearly getting his sternum broken in half by Jadeveon Clowney, he missed 1 play, came back and led the Eagles to a game winning FG.

The Patriots win coupled with the Texans loss moves New England back into the No. 2 seed and back into the driver seat as they, somehow, once again control their own destiny. LETS. GO.

Now just don’t implode against Sam Darnold and the Jets next Sunday and we’ll all be resting our ailing MCLs on Wild Card Weekend.

Lets get to a few rapid reactions from this Patriots Bills game that, despite a slow start and a less than ideal game from Tom Brady, ended up being a 24-12 blowout.

-Tom Brady did not look great. He finished the day 13/24 for 126 yards 1 TD and 2 INT, which gives him 11 on the year, his most since 2013. One of those picks came on a deflection off Gronk’s banana hands that should have been an easy catch and the other came on a miscommunication with Rex Burkhead zigging when Brady thought he was going to zag. But, he still had a lot of missed throws and generally seemed out of sync all day aside from the Edelman TD.

-Two reasons for concern moving forward though.

-I take little joy in this win in of itself because Josh Allen is AWFUL. Yes, the guy can scramble and has an absolute cannon for an arm, but the guy has worse accuracy than Tebow.

-Rob Gronkowski looked straight up old in this game. He was on the sidelines in favor of Dwayne Allen on a lot of early downs as the Pats ran the ball almost exclusively to open the game. Gronk used to be one of, if not the, best blocking tight ends in the NFL though so this is concerning. He couldn’t really get open and even when he did he was dropping bunnies.

-Josh McDaniels continues to mystify me with his shitty play calling in big spots. It obviously didn’t seriously jeopardize the Patriots’ chances of winning the game, but some of McDaniel’s play calls were real head scratchers.

A win is a win is a win though and the Patriots improve to 10-5 on the season with one game to go. Mattes will break down this game a little bit further later this week and preview next Sunday’s regular season finale against the Jets!

The Alliance of American Football is Apparently Coming This Spring, and I Couldn’t Care Less

By on • ( 6 Comments )

Image result for american alliance of football

Raise your hand if you’ve heard of the Alliance of American Football league, which is set to kick off its inaugural season this spring…

Don’t worry; I will fully admit I had ZERO idea what the hell it was either.

Apparently, it will be an eight-team, ten-week spring league, which will begin play just one week after the Super Bowl in February. The league will feature a mix of former collegiate players AND still-able-bodied ex-NFL castoffs, which promises “high-quality professional football” for hungry fans during the offseason.

Each team will have a roster of 50 players, with each player getting a three-year, non-guaranteed, $250,000 contract loaded with incentives. As of right now, the championship game will be aired on CBS, with CBS Sports Network airing at least one game per week during the season. At least for now, it will consist of eight teams in the following cities: Atlanta, (GA); Birmingham (AL); Memphis (TN); Orlando (FL); Salt Lake City (UT); San Antonio (TX); San Diego (CA); and Tempe (AZ).

The league was founded by producer Charlie Ebersol – son of the legendary Dick Ebersol, who is also involved – and former Colts GM Bill Polian. OH, and former Steelers legends like Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward will also be involved, as well as former Giant Justin Tuck.

Image result for troy polamalu

As much as I absolutely despised his team growing up, I absolutely loved watching this man play. Good to know he’s still trying to do big things.

No seriously, guys. This is a REAL thing that’s coming.

But wait, Mattes, didn’t the XFL announce that it’s coming back in 2020? So we’re going to have two brand-new alleged “professional” football leagues competing against each other at the very same time out of freakin’ nowhere?

Yes, they did. And yes, we certainly are.

Why? I have absolutely no idea. And anyone who thinks either, or both, has even a remote chance of being successful is absolutely delusional.

First, there’s the fact that the players being selected are – sorry to say it – ones that people simply don’t want to watch; otherwise, they would have been drafted or stuck around on their NFL teams! Seriously, though, here’s a full look at the first round of guys who were drafted on Tuesday night in the league’s “Protect or Pick” QB draft:

  • San Diego Fleet: Josh Johnson (protected)
  • Atlanta Legends: Aaron Murray (protected)
  • Memphis Express: Troy Cook (protected)
  • San Antonio Commanders: Dustin Vaughan (protected)
  • Birmingham Iron: Luis Perez
  • Arizona Hotshots: Trevor Knight
  • Orlando Apollos: Garrett Gilbert
  • Salt Lake Stallions: Josh Woodrum

Besides the first two on the list, I could not even begin to tell you where any of the other six came from or what business they have playing in a “professional” football league. Perhaps even more insane is the fact that guys like Christian Hackenburg (former Jets second-round bust), Zach Mettenberger (started 10 games for the Titans from 2014-2015), and Scott Tolzien (former backup to Aaron Rodgers and 10-game-NFL starter) SOMEHOW went after the nobodies listed above.

Image result for scott tolzien

Scott Tolzien DID once pass for 339 yards in an NFL game five years ago. So watch out for Birmingham, folks!

I hate being Skeptical Stan, and I guess I applaud anyone for trying to bring more football to the table, but do we really need it? We already get professional football for pretty much 50 percent of the year anyway. Yes, it’s true: four preseason weeks, 17 regular-season weeks, and then another four weeks in the playoffs. That’s 25-out-of-52 weeks of the year. If you include offseason, draft, and training camp coverage, the NFL pretty much dominates the airwaves all year long. There’s simply no need for even one more pro football league, let alone two.

At least the XFL promises a different brand of football with more intense, fast-paced action and less focus on player safety (e.g. opening scrums instead of kickoffs; no touchbacks; bump-and-run coverage after five yards; no fair catch; etc.). I’m not saying that’s a good thing; I’m just saying that at least it offers something unique. It’s the same reason why the BIG3 basketball league – which ya boy wrote about months ago – has a chance to be successful as well; unlike the NBA, it offers fans a chance to watch a 3-on-3, backyard style of play that gives them a break from the hardwood action we’re used to seeing throughout the rest of the year.

Image result for vince mcmahon xfl

Vince McMahon may be a loud-mouthed buffoon, but he sure does know how to entertain.

The AAF will get rid of kickoffs entirely, and they will also be eliminating PATs, forcing teams to go for two every time. But, other than that, it seems as though it will just be a bunch of bad to mediocre guys playing a quicker game of football. The ONLY thing that may get me to watch is the fact that Starter – yes, THAT Starter – has agreed to a multi-year deal to be the league’s official jersey sponsor. (Any 90s kid who was anybody remembers those incredible, magical jackets, and it’s so awesome to know they might have a chance to make a comeback.)

Image result for patriots starter jacket

So effing fresh.

So please forgive me for being so negative – and I’ll eat a giant piece of crow pie if I’m wrong – but until I see something better than Aaron freakin’ Murray and Christian Couldn’t-Hack-It-Burg, I think I’m out on this one.