I feel like the word “epic” is thrown around a little too cavalierly these days. Getting black out in Faneuil Hall and then getting drunk pizza is not epic, Jimmy. BUT, ringing up a tab that tops SIX FIGURES definitely qualifies for that. Hell Gronk almost equaled what the entire Bruins team spent drinking at Foxwoods after winning the goddamn Stanley Cup in 2011. To rack up $102K at the bar, I’m gonna assume there wasn’t a lot of Miller Lites floating around.
A post shared by Erik Lorch || ⒻⒾⓃⓀ (@finkshotit) on Jun 19, 2017 at 9:42am PDT
Kylie Jenner makes like $300K for a promoted Instagram post for christ’s sake. So, when you think about it, its criminal to even let Gronk open his wallet for this one. Sure, take a few grand to fix the holes in the dry wall and steam clean the carpets and couches. But other than that you just thank Gronk for coming to fucking Connecticut to party and call it even.
Yahoo – Vince Young deserved credit for doing whatever it took to get back into football. In his case, it was a trip to the Canadian Football League. However, Young’s body betrayed him. According to the Houston Chronicle, Young’s agent Leigh Steinberg said Young tore his hamstring during training camp and was cut by the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He was due to be out four-to-six weeks.
Well this is probably curtains on Vince Young’s football playing career and its a sad day for me. Was always a huge Vinsanity guy, mainly because he was unstoppable in Madden 08 running the shotgun.
But the guy was also insanely fun to watch at Texas and for a short time in Tennessee before that train went off the rails. Looking back, Jeff Fisher coupled with VY was a disaster waiting to happen. The king of 8-8 probably wanted nothing to do with Vince scrambling around making shit happen. He wanted to run it out of the I-formation and just miss the playoffs as he’s done his whole career.
I can’t help but get my antenna up though with Vince’s agent announcing the injury at the same time he’s getting cut. Maybe, its to spare Vince the embarrassment of getting cut by a team in Canada or maybe he actually did destroy his hamstring, but either way its the end of an era.
I know he had a role with the University of Texas in the past so hopefully he gets a gig with the football team there if he’s truly done playing. Because if anyone watched that NFL Films doc with him and Matt Leinart “The 2006 Rose Bowl: A Football Life” he did not look great. Especially compared to Leinart who benefits from truly not giving a shit that he also bombed in the NFL. You were a college football legend in motherfucking TEXAS. Own that shit, Vince.
ESPN – A 10-hour fan vote by an indoor football team in Utah asking whether the team should sign former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy ended in a “no” Thursday morning. Results on the team’s app, which fans use to vote to call plays during games for the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles, of the Indoor Football League, was a virtual 50-50 tie, but the team announced Thursday that 50.1 percent of voters were against Hardy being offered a contract.
This is phenomenal. The very people that scumbag Greg Hardy has never cared about, ya know besides women, in the fans just told him to go shit in a hat. Oh you were a Pro Bowler in the NFL? You had 15 sacks in the most competitive football league in the world? Yea not up in here, not in the Indoor Football League. We don’t take kindly to that kinda shit.
Greg Hardy is a scumbag without any sliver of remorse so I think its time to put that guy in the Disney Vault. But how about the Screaming Eagles? Legit running their team like Twitch Plays Pokemon. Letting the fans vote on everything from who the team signs all the way down to what plays to run.
Its brilliant yet moronic at the same time. Its like a real life Madden Franchise Mode. Its the one thing fans crave, the ability to somehow effect the outcome of the game on the field. Yet there will always be assholes like me who will vote for the team to sign guys like JaMarcus Russell because with my play calling I can make it work. Put him in the shotgun and throw howitzers down field or scramble for 60 yard touchdowns. I am the architect of asshole quarterbacks. I’m like the Bill Walsh of mobile QBs who have no business being under center in the NFL. I’ll make it work.
Anyways, kudos to the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles fans for telling Hardy to piss up a rope. I’m glad someone finally did.
ESPN – Sean Payton says his Super Bowl-week meeting with Johnny Manziel was just a get-to-know-you session with the embattled quarterback, who is eyeing an NFL comeback. Payton told the New Orleans Saints’ website Tuesday that it was the first time he met Manziel.
I need Money Manziel back in the NFL like I need air. This guy was one of the most electrifying college players ever then had a really brief up and down career with the Browns before getting hurt and then going on a bender to rival all benders. If the guy can just take a page out of the Gronk playbook and keep it dry during the season then he’s got a shot.
But you know what doesn’t help that? Living in fucking New Orleans.
I’m sure that would go over great when Johnny goes missing for a few days in late February before resurfacing with a shattered iPhone and a bottle of Pepto on Fat Tuesday. But hey at least Mardi Gras is after the Super Bowl so what better way to celebrate than bringing the Saints back to the promise land once Drew Brees calls it a career.
Theres probably no one better for Johnny Manziel to learn under actually than Drew Brees. Sure Tom Brady is the GOAT, Aaron Rodgers is a stud etc. but Brees like Manziel is a fellow short guy. Brees could show Manziel how to take advantage of his height and how to avoid the pitfalls (like getting smoked by linebackers on a scramble).
Sean Payton can say he was “just having breakfast” with Manziel all he wants, but this guy is on the hunt for his next QB. Brees won’t be around forever and he needs to find the next guy because Garret Grayson ain’t that guy and he knows it. Why not kick the tires on a 24 year old former Heisman winner? Comeback SZN indeed.
Make Johnny Manziel Great Again.
Shoutout to @ProFootballRumors for the money photoshop of Johnny Manziel as a Saint
USA Today – Special teams players trying to block a kick might have to resort to a new set of tricks next season. On Tuesday, NFL owners voted to outlaw players from leaping over offensive linemen on field goal or extra point attempts. The competition committee’s measure was endorsed by the NFL Players Association, with union president Eric Winston saying at the scouting combine that the tactic put players at risk. Players previously were permitted to vault over the line of scrimmage so long as they did not land directly on another person or use their hands or arms to gain leverage.
Just when Belichick is starting to get the hang of something the NFL goes and bans it. Yesterday the league voted to prohibit players from jumping over the offensive line to block a kick.
Why you ask? Because apparently playing a game of leap frog is a tactic that “puts players at risk.” Bullshit. You know what is a tactic that puts players at risk? Slant routes across the middle of the field.
This isn’t rugby where you have to lock arms with other players with no way of protecting yourself if you fall forward. This is a bunch of 300 pound guys in armor that would rival the Kingsguard.
I’m sure they can handle someone trying to Air Bud over them. I mean maybe the NFL worries about the guy jumping over the line getting speared to the moon, but hey thats the risk you take when you play the most violent sport in America.
I still picture Bill Polian at these meetings openly petitioning against this play like he’s lobbying against Big Tobacco because its something that Belichick and the Patriots have gotten good at. Like the time Polian openly bitched and moaned (while on the NFL Competition Committee) after 2003 when the Patriots absolutely mauled Peyton Manning and the Colts in the playoffs. So much so that the league created the new rule Illegal Contact, which helped spawn the flag football league that we know today.
All in all pretty uneventful rule changes, but the league is getting rid of the replay monitor on the sideline. Starting next year referees will have a handheld device and won’t have to run over and get under the hood for 20 minutes to determine a replay. So thats a welcome change. One rule change that didn’t pass that sounded excellent:
A proposal that would have placed the ball at the 20-yard line (rather than the 25) if a kickoff went through the uprights did not pass.
That would be awesome. Sebastian Janikowski just BOOTING the ball to try and save his teams 5 yards of field possession. I feel like theres going to be a change made to touchbacks sooner than later though since Belichick and other coaches have figured out they just can kick the ball to the 1, force the return man to come out and still bring them down before the 25. So that kind of negates the intentions of that initial rule change.
But hey, you mess around with the rules and smart coaches are gonna figure out the best way to manipulate them.
ESPN – The only owner to vote against the Raiders moving to Las Vegas, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told reporters here on Monday that he believes Raiders owner Mark Davis did not use all of his options to get a stadium deal done in Oakland.
So yesterday the NFL owners made official, almost unanimously, the relocation of the Raiders to Las Vegas. Almost unanimous because the vote was 31-1 with the Miami Dolphins being the only team to vote against the Las Vegas Raiders. So naturally I shit on Dolphins owner Stephen Ross for being the turd in the pool.
But then something happened. Stephen Ross made a really good point that threw me off. Mainly because I’ve never heard an owner be that transparent and blunt about why so many teams up and move their teams; stadium funding.
“There’s very little public money available for teams today. And if you own a team, you should have the deep pockets to deliver.”
Stephen Ross throwing SHADE at Mark Davis for moving his team because he couldn’t afford a new stadium in Oakland himself. Had to go slumming in Vegas for a $750 million handout. Super, super waspy quotes like a shoving match at the country club, but hilarious nonetheless. FOH with yo broke ass, Mark Davis.
Ross is also probably just sour grapes because he just ate $500 out of his own pocket to upgrade the Dolphins stadium. I got a feeling that Mark Davis, the guy who sports a bowl cut, has meetings at Hooters and drives a rape van, doesn’t really care what Stephen Ross has to say. In fact I bet he’s pretty happy to have swindled a $750 million check to move his operation down to the desert. Davis’ response? Fuck yo couch, Stephen Ross.
As much as I would hate to see the Patriots trade a young stud cornerback in his prime, this would be the ultimate wink-wink trade between Bill Belichick and good friend Sean Payton.
I mean, the Patriots trade their only 1st round pick to the Saints for Brandin Cooks, who was originally rumored to be demanding a much higher price tag. Then not long after that trade becomes official, the rumors start to fly about the Patriots trading Malcolm Butler to the Saints for a 1st round pick. The 32nd overall pick. The same exact pick the Patriots just traded to the Saints.
Basically, if this trade were to go through, the Pats essentially traded Malcolm Butler and a 3rd round pick to the Saints for Brandin Cooks and a 4th rounder, with the 32nd overall pick coming back to New England. With all the subtle shit the Pats try and pull to get around the rules, I cannot believe that I don’t hear people screaming from the rooftops about collusion.
Remember when the NBA just straight up nixed the Hornets’ Chris Paul trade to the Lakers just because? Legit just said, nope fuck that you’re not getting Chris Paul. Or even the more directly relevant situation, when the Celtics basically tried to trade Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett to the Clippers for DeAndre Jordan and the NBA shut that down too. The NBA didn’t like the fact that the C’s were combining a player and a coach in a deal so they nixed the deal. The C’s later dealt Doc to the Clippers for a 1st round pick (with both KG and DeAndre being removed), but if Doc to the Clippers and KG to the clippers were two separate deals from the start no one would have said shit, but because they were combined into one deal initially the NBA didn’t like it and basically screwed the Celtics out of any shot of landing DeAndre for KG later because the league viewed it as collusion; a quid pro quo deal based around the Doc deal. Total horse shit.
Maybe thats what Belichick learned. The guy is an elephant. Separate the deals. Leave no room for opposition and then execute ruthlessly. Dude is like a Lannister really. I guess no one is bitching because Butler getting traded actually makes the Patriots worse, not better. But keep your ears open. The Patriots are “always cheating” so its only a matter of time until that narrative comes up again.
Joe Thomas is the beacon of truth in the NFL. He is beyond refreshing as a currently active and actually elite player speaking out on all kinds of issues. Obviously him roasting Roger Goodell on the absurdity of Deflategate created a whole new region of fans championing him. All that aside, I encourage every player to speak out, there’s nothing I hate more in sports than the bullshit canned responses from players that answer absolutely nothing. Regardess of how you feel about Colin Kaepernick kneeling for the national anthem doesn’t matter here. Joe Thomas hits the nail on the head as to why the former 49ers QB is unemployed.
Oh right, because he was on TV every single day. Not for highlight reel plays. Not for winning games. For personal reasons. And again whether you’re with Kaep or not isn’t the point here. NFL teams do not want to deal with media scrutiny, questions, protests, backlash etc. ESPECIALLY if you suck. If Tom Brady were drumming up all kinds of shit for, oh I don’t know, say an alleged cheating scandal, the team backs their guy or at the very least deals with it because he’s the GOAT.
Colin Kaepernick wasn’t even the best QB on his team while surrounded by bums like Blaine Gabbert.
So yea, NFL teams don’t want to hear any shit from a borderline starter in the league. But then Joe Thomas brings it home with the one thing that is true of all good teams, none better at it than the New England Patriots.
I think the whole “Patriot Way” thing gets blown out of proportion because of the Patriots level of success and their perceived arrogance. So when they go out and sign a questionable guy, everyone rails against them because apparently the Patriot Way means you only sign choir boys, when in reality it means you Do. Your. Job. The Patriots are a goddamn machine. We had assholes like Corey Dillon. We had bad dudes like Albert Haynesworth. We had media storms like TIM TEBOW. We had an (alleged) MASS MURDERER in Aaron Hernandez. Bill deals with it and moves on. No distractions. Just Do. Your. Job.
Being all over TV for a cause you believe in is admirable, but when you don’t have the leverage (being a good quarterback), then you aren’t going to have the same platform. Thats why Colin Kaepernick doesn’t have a job.
CBS Sports – “The Oakland Raiders are going to move to Las Vegas. I am finally convinced of it. After being a skeptic throughout this process and especially in the aftermath of owner Mark Davis’ deal with casino magnate Sheldon Adelson falling apart around the Super Bowl, there are too many people I trust telling me this has become basically a fait accompli for me to deny it any longer. By Monday night, Davis will be cracking open the bubbly and toasting to his future on the Strip, because with the NFL including a formal vote on Vegas on its official agenda for the annual spring meeting, there is almost no time for this to fall apart now.”
First there was the NHL, which sacked up with the Golden Knights who will be making their Las Vegas debut in the 2017-18 season. Now after all the rumors and speculation it seems like the Las Vegas Raiders might finally become a reality. We all know that the Raiders have basically been trying to get out of Oakland because their stadium is a shit hole. They play on a baseball field for christ’s sake.
And it seems like Oakland is all set on footing the $750 million bill for a brand new stadium. So lifelong fans and tradition be damned, Mark Davis is taking his ball and moving to Las Vegas.
Obviously this could go off the rails for any number of reasons, as it almost did recently when Goldman Sachs dropped out of the funding. But it seems like this is about as close to a done deal as you can get.
“This is going to happen,” said one well-connected league source who has been in close contact with many influential owners on this matter. “Enough people will hold their noses and pray for the best and vote this through. Oakland — and by Oakland I mean the government officials there — hasn’t stepped up nearly enough, and the league is ready to put this to a vote. And while there is some trepidation about this market, it is going to pass.”
So Vegas is obviously already the most debaucherous city in the world but now add in TWO professional sports teams? My god, the stars are aligning for this to be the greatest sports town in America. Picture this, flying in for a weekend gambling your balls off, then heading over to watch the Golden Knights, maybe place a (legal) bet 90 seconds before walking into the rink, then getting bombed at a hockey game in the desert and hitting the “casino” til 4 am afterwards. Sleep, wake up, grab some bloody Mary’s, head down the strip to see DA RAIDERRRRSS and day drink until you can’t feel feelings anymore. All after placing a few (legal) prop bets of course.
I heard someone mention this on 98.5 this morning and its 100% true. The Raiders are going to have the greatest home field advantage in the league. Just think about it, half of these guys can’t control themselves in shit holes like Atlanta and Jacksonville. Now you’re going to drop them in downtown Las Vegas? The ones who don’t get arrested for prostitution and cocaine are going to be hungover as balls on Sunday.
I demand a hockey/football/casino weekend the likes of a degenerate has never seen before.
ESPN – Forty-six years ago today, the Boston Patriots officially became the New England Patriots. Not a bad day for a history lesson of sorts. Initially, the Bay State Patriots was the choice of some involved in the process. But according to McDonough, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle didn’t like that name, and felt if there was going to be a change, the name should be reflective of the entire New England region.“It was mixed. Some people thought it was a good deal, and then others thought we were the Boston Patriots and that should be it,” recalled Gino Cappelletti, who played for the franchise from 1960-70 and is in the team’s Hall of Fame.
With yesterday marking 46 years since the Boston Patriots were renamed the New England Patriots, it only made sense to discuss what could have been. Apparently the Bay State Patriots was a favorite, according to Mike Reiss’ article. I’m pretty sure the only organizations that refer to themselves as the Bay State anything are high school sports leagues so its probably for the best the Pats went in another direction.
But man that would be some choice throwback/irrelevant swag. Makes me miss the good old days of AJ Wright, may she rest in peace. If you aren’t familiar with AJ Wright, its basically Marshalls and TJ Maxx on steroids. Along with that came some of the most outrageous purchases of my life. Some Starbury’s for $10 bucks, an $8 Randy Moss jersey and of course the greatest one of them all…Larry Legend with the stache:
The 300s 