Monthly Archive for August, 2007

NFL at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on August 30, 2007
in NFL and Puja
. 0 Comments

ESPN’s John Clayton recently wrote an article where he compared the Chiefs’ Brodie Croyle and the Bills’ QB J.P. Losman:

Unless Croyle blows it, he appears to be the starter. To me, the situation looks no different than the J.P. Losman situation last year in Buffalo. Losman struggled with mistakes through camp while the coaching staff initially debated whether to start Kelly Holcomb or Craig Nall. But they ended up giving the job to Losman. By midseason, he grew as a leader, and now the offense is well ahead of the defense in Buffalo. By the way, Croyle looks a little like Losman, for what it’s worth.

You be the judge:


Soon after this, Croyle was demoted to 2nd string QB, being replaced by Damon Huard. But back to if they look-a-like or not, Sports at Random’s Puja thinks Clayton is crazy:

John Brodie Croyle AKA “JB Croyle” was born in shitsville Alabama (sorry Rainbow City) & has a little “inbred hick” to him with a Ringo Starr-sized schnoz to boot. Meanwhile, JP Losman is from Venice Beach, & has some Mexican & Cherokee ethnicity in his family. In the realm of vicious stereotypes, I’ll go with… push.

Style: For his NFL portrait, Croyle is sporting the Losman ‘04 shag-cut, but that’s at least a step up from JP’s “fag mustache” (not my words), which was seen around Buffalo last winter. Hopefully for Chief fans, Croyles’ 1st season under center is better than that of Jonathan Paul Losman.

JP’s portrait (mugshot) brings back memories of Nick Nolte’s endless night. All he needs is that oddly out of place Hawaiian shirt & a DWI charge. Is it me or Losman’s face swelling along with his build? Better than his ego I guess. It looks like he just got off a 22 hour flight to Tokyo… during which he pounded down 3 salt shakers.

Conclusion: they look about as alike as John Clayton & Sean Salisbury

And I think they both subtly resemble Jon Heder.

But like John Clayton said, this is all just “for what it’s worth”.

Which, in this case, is absolutely nothing.

Sorry I wasted your time.

Jewish Softball at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on August 30, 2007
in MLB
. 2 Comments

Jeffrey Herrmann is a simple man. He’s just like you or me. He loves the Yankees, video games, and American History.

But for one day, last Sunday, he became immortal.

Over two decades ago, Jeffrey Herrmann started the Fair Lawn B’nai B’rith Softball League. He was the Pete Rozelle of the FLBBSL- Pete Rozelle combined with Casey Stengel, that is.

You see, for over 20 years, as the manager of the Yamakazi, Jeffrey Herrmann went 0 for forever in Championships. He watched each and every year as another manager reaped the rewards of a B’nai B’rith title- a title he created.

But 2007 was going to be different.

Not that it started out that way.

The Yamakazi were fighting for a playoff spot all year in the Greenberg League (not the “B” League, I didn’t say the “B” League- there is just a lot of teams- there needed to be two Leagues- the Koufax and the Greenberg Leagues- just different names, no other significance). They pulled out a big win the last game of the season to get up to .500, barely squeaking into the Playoffs as the last seed.

In the first round of the Playoffs… it started.

The Yamakazi, lead by the great manager Jeffrey Herrmann (he didn’t even finish in the top 3 in Manager of the Year voting, though- mainly because that is just a regular season award, so the votes were cast before the Playoffs), took down the Goniffs, who were dominate in the regular season, with an unreal winning percentage of over .900.

After the miraculous upset, the Yamakazi were faced with a tough challenge in the Championship game, but quickly got out to a 3-run lead. That type of lead rarely holds in a League where the rule book says that “It would be nice that all teams wear uniforms.”

The Yamakazi were somehow holding onto the lead, though. In the last inning, with the Yamakazi up just 3-2, FLBBSL 3-time Gold Glove Award winner Neil Herrmann, son of the great manager Herrmann, charged a slow roller down the 3rd base line. It would have put the tying run on and surely would have caused some major damage to the fragile Yamakazi- a team that never had many leads, especially in the Championship game. But because of 25 years of baseball coaching from manager Herrmann, Neil charged the ball and threw a dart across the diamond to the 1st Baseman to make the out, clearly preserving the 1-run lead.


And the rest, they say, is history. And we know how much Mr. Herrmann loves history.

It may have taken the Yamakazi and Jeffrey Herrmann over 20 years to win a Championship- but all that did was make this victory all the sweeter.

The Yamakazi are 2007 Fair Lawn B’nai B’rith Softball League Champions. And no one can take that away from them.

(No word yet on who brought the Champagne bottles and how the Yamakazi weren’t jinxed by this clear act of overconfidence).

Hair at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on August 26, 2007
in Thoughts and countdown
. 19 Comments

Sports at Random’s COUNTDOWN:

Worst Hair in Sports Reporting:


10. Dan Shaughnessy

Some say he’s one of the top sports writers of the last 20 years, Shaughnessy comes in at number 10 only because we give him a break because he’s Irish- he can’t help that his hair looks like a shower lufa.

9. Matthew Berry

I can’t tell if I really like this guy or really hate him. The Talented Mr. Roto is very open with his thoughts on women, masturbation, and, basically, whatever you want to know. He seems approachable, which is good, there’s just something about him that is a bit off-putting. Maybe it’s his weird, balding hair.

8. Norman Chad

The quintessential nerd hair-cut. Very sad, Norman- you actually seem cool, but not when on-camera.

7. Will Leitch

This isn’t 1997.

6. Bryant Gumbel

He’s lucky he’s got such a good show, because it is so hard to respect someone who looks this much like a tool.

5. Jay Bilas

Your hairline isn’t supposed to get closer to your eyebrows. Maybe it’s just his hairline receding on the sides and not the middle- or maybe he’s Dracula.

4. Tony Kornheiser

The classic comb-over. Come on, Tony. Stop it.

3. Jackie MacMullan

The female mullet. She is a woman covering sports, but still- it’s the freakin’ female mullet. No excuses.

2. Ken Burns

Great documentaries… awful hair. I’m not sure if he’s going for mid-1960’s British Invasion… or a mop.

1. Mitch Albom

Mitch- you are ridiculously rich, you are a great sports writer, a best-selling author, Oprah is on your side- you just also happen to have weird, freakishly pointy ears. It’s ok, Mitch. We don’t care. You shouldn’t either. Stop cutting your hair so it covers them. You aren’t a shy teenager. You’re 49-years-old. This is getting ridiculous.

NBA at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on August 24, 2007
in NBA
. 1 Comment

John Lopez, a writer for the Houston Chronicle, wrote a very interesting piece (he basically just wrote down quotes) about the late Eddie Griffin- all from an interview with Griffin’s former coach, ex-NBA Player/Current NBA Coach/former Drug Addict, John Lucas.

I remember Eddie Griffin’s great playing days well. We entered college the same year and I saw him dominate as a Freshman at Seton Hall while I was a Freshman at Syracuse. He looked like Kevin Garnett to me, but was a better shot blocker. I knew he had some problems, but was still surprised when 3 High Schoolers and some foreign Dude named Pau Gasol were taken ahead of him. But he never lived up to my or anyone else’s high expectations.

The Medical Examiner for Griffin still hasn’t determined his cause of death- but John Lucas thinks he knows why he ignored all the warning signs and drove into a moving train. “In my mind, it was a suicide attempt.” Lucas said that Griffin suffered from Alcoholism and never could fully resist the temptation of the bottle.

Then Lucas goes on to say something that truly is crazy- he even prefaces it with “This is a crazy statement…”- so I can only assume he’s crazy. “…but when I was an addict, I didn’t want to be an average drug addict. I wanted to be the very best drug addict and alcoholic I could be. That’s the way we as athletes were raised.”

That is a troubling statement and one that, the more I think about it, the more I can find examples where it’s true. Jason Giambi once stated he tries to “play like an All-Star, party like a rock star, hammer like a porn star.” He wants to be the best Athlete, party the hardest, and be great at sex. Mediocre is not in his vocabulary (well, nowadays it is). Michael Jordan was rumored to say that he wasn’t the best golfer, but when $100,000 is on the line, he can make that 10 foot putt while you can’t. His competitiveness was legendary in everything he did.

Maybe there is something obsessive about great athletes- or potentially great ones- that make them that great. And many of these people fight to bridge that line between great athlete and great alcoholic or great drug addict or great gambler.

I still think John Lucas is crazy, though- crazy like a fox.

Maybe I’m crazy now for thinking he makes sense.

Thoughts at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on August 22, 2007
in Buffalo Sabres, Thoughts and sports guy
. 0 Comments

-
The most interesting billboard placement I have ever seen.

-
Take a look at ESPN.com’s front page. No Sports Boy anywhere. Bill Simmons is apparently on vacation/writing a book, but that doesn’t seem like a reason to completely remove him from the front page. They run his old articles all the time- but removing him takes effort. Interesting- maybe it’s permanent. Well, one can only hope (come on, he jumped the shark when the Red Sox won the World Series and he wrote a book about it).

- From The Stencil, a Buffalo News article about “The Earl of Bud”- a man who every Buffalo sports fan knows about. It was truly a treat to see him at The Aud during Sabres games- doing the Pee Wee Herman dance to “Tequila”. Just trust me. It was amazing.

I was at this game- the last at the Aud.


I wish I was at this bar.

I Have Black Friends at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on August 20, 2007
in My Roommate and Sports Talk Radio
. 2 Comments


My Roommate brought this audio clip to my attention- It’s of Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton - a “veteran” of Southern California radio - pulling out the worst cliche in the book last weekend on his sports talk show.

I hate when people pull this one out- and if you hear someone say this, then you know that they are DEFINITELY a racist. That’s a fact.

What the caller is referring to, according to his Wikipedia page- which has been edited since- was during a media roundtable on his show on XTRA Sports (an old LA radio station), Hacksaw was asked why XTRA had no black hosts. He replied that blacks knew football and basketball, but not much else. He was blasted in the press for this statement, but Hacksaw blamed the media writers for a betrayal of trust.

My Roommate found that and the following “Controversies” - again, on the old Wikipedia page- that Hacksaw, 59, has been involved in:

* In 1993, he apologized after calling Fritz Quindt, a sportswriter with the San Diego Union Tribune, a “faggot” and “less than a man” for revealing Hamilton’s real name (the name Lee Hacksaw Hamilton is a pseudonym). Members of the community, including former Charger Ron Mix, GLAAD, and others asked Hamilton to apologize to Quindt. However, the apology came with other vitriol directed against Quindt, and XTRA management refused to take further action against Hamilton.

* During the Rae Carruth incident, he asked a caller if ‘…blacks are more likely to abuse their spouses than other races.?’

* He called Hideki Irabu, a Japanese pitcher, a ‘fat Jap’.

* Hamilton was also very harsh towards Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf for his on-the-field and off-the-field behavior, calling Leaf a bum.

* He ripped Vince McMahon for his handling the death of pro wrestler Owen Hart in 1999, calling the WWF The World Wide Fraud.

* In 2002, he resigned as play-by-play announcer for the Minnesota Vikings after just one preseason game. It came after a reporter for a weekly African-American newspaper in Minneapolis–who is also the father of current Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald–exposed racist and sexist comments that Hamilton sometimes used on his talk shows. Hamilton was to replace longtime Vikings announcer Dan Rowe, 2003 and 2004 seasons).

* Perhaps his most infamous soundbite as XTRA host, Hamilton urged a fan of the then-Los Angeles Raiders to “Put a gun in your mouth and pull the trigger”, after the caller accused Hamilton of grandstanding for the Chargers. (Ironically, he could also be very critical of the team, which could have caused the Chargers’ relationship with XTRA to end after the 1997 season. The team has since broadcast on music stations where the hosts are thought to be more supportive.)

Oh yeah, and he’s completely unbearable to listen to. It’s awful. Half his show seems like he’s reading from the AP Wire and the other half is him telling people to “REACT” to topical stories. It was no surprise to me the first time I saw his picture. I mean look at that awful toupee- and those double-rimmed glasses. How could anyone hire this man?

NFL at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on August 15, 2007
in NFL and Puja
. 2 Comments

Puja does a study of Butkus Award Winners. Doesn’t look good for two promising Rookies, Patrick Willis and Paul Posluszny:

Both Posluszny & Willis have received a lot hype. either may have a good shot @ ROY, but as the last 2 Butkus award winners… history says a long illustrious career is probably not in the cards:

1985 Brian Bosworth - “the Boz” nuff said.
1986 Brian Bosworth
1987 Paul McGowan - never made it to the NFL
1988 Derrick Thomas - HOF-caliber career was cut short, possibly by his failure to wear a seatbelt. The one guy on this list who might make the Hall w/ his resume to date.
1989 Percy Snow - “Snow was more of a natural bust, when you consider the hype he generated at Michigan State as the country’s best linebacker. Snow crashed a moped in training camp in 1991 and was never the same player. His career flamed out after only three active seasons with just one start in his final two.”
1990 Alfred Williams - good career: 9 seasons, 60 sacks, 1 time Pro Bowler
1991 Erick Anderson - his biography from his current job at AndersonBrothersFootball says he ” was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1992 where he played for three years before signing on with the Washington Redskins in 1995,” but the NFL says he played played 10 games over 2 seasons.
1992 Marvin Jones - solid 10 year career
1993 Trev Alberts - injuries sidelined him after fewer than 30 games. Later ’sacked’ by ESPN for playing hooky
1994 Dana Howard - played 2 years then off to the Amsterdam Admirals
1995 Kevin Hardy - ^Howard’s Illini teammate played 9 solid seasons before chronic injuries got the better of him
1996 Matt Russell - career consisted of 1 NFL game
1997 Andy Katzenmoyer - played less than 2 years before neck injuries ended his career
1998 Chris Claiborne - missed a year & a half w/ severe knee injuries that forced him into permanent free agent status at age 27
1999 LaVar Arrington - knee injuries, coach’s DNP, torn achilles tendon, motorcycle accident…
2000 Dan Morgan - concussion machine. unfortunately he has been on the receiving end
2001 Rocky Calmus - nerve injury in his back affected his legs. has played 5 games since 2004, none since wk 1 2005.
2002 EJ Henderson - first 3 years were slow, but seems to be rolling now
2003 Teddy Lehman - has played 9 games in the past 2 seasons w/ ankle & foot injuries putting him on IR & PUP
2004 Derrick Johnson - so far so good, but tweaked his ankle last year…
2005 Paul Posluszny - ?
2006 Patrick Willis - ?

MLB at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on August 15, 2007
in MLB
. 0 Comments

From the summer of 1987 to the summer of 1990, I listened to almost every Yankee game on 770AM with my transistor radio as I was going to sleep. But once or twice a week, the game was broadcast on WPIX- a local television station- and I was allowed to turn on my black and white, 4″ Fisher-Price TV, and watch and listen to Phil Rizzuto call the game.

I always looked forward to those WPIX nights and the Scooter. It was like Christmas morning every time I found out they were carrying the game. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the call of Jay Johnstone and John Sterling on the radio, but there was just something about Phil Rizzuto that made a 67-win season, not only bearable, but enjoyable.

Here’s a quick video of Phil talking about how he got off a slump to open the season in 1950, the year he won the MVP - from New York Yankees (The Movie).

NFL at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on August 13, 2007
in NFL and Puja
. 1 Comment

Puja sent me this gem of a video:

“Lou… was very sick. He was very sick.” Fantastic.

Like a true Bills Fan, this video was very good throughout, but didn’t really come together in the end.

Movies at Random

Published
by
Daniel-San
on August 13, 2007
in Movies and NBA
. 0 Comments

Ric Bucher once described Sonny Vaccaro as “the bloodhound eyes beneath a balding pate, the wide shoulders above a round belly, the thin lips framing a wide mouth and a cackle straight out of “The Sopranos”.”


Well, James Gandolfini is making that quote come true. He is set to star as Sonny Vaccaro, the “marketing” guru for Nike and Adidas, who many say ruined Basketball in America, in a new drama on HBO called “ABCD Camp”.

It will be interesting to see how deep this fictional drama goes. Many speculate that Vaccaro’s attacks against the NCAA in the past and special treatment of amateur athletes have strayed far from “legal” and “ethical”. The series will follow his prestigious High School All-Star Camp that has often been accused of giving illegal gifts to the campers, amongst other things.

It is going to be weird enough to see “Tony Soprano” as the wanna-be (some people think actual) mobster with the strong Las Vegas ties, but it also seems strange that Verso Entertainment is Executive Producing the project. Verso is headed by Baron Davis and Cash Warren, the recent ex-boyfriend of Baron’s good friend, Jessica Alba.

Bro’s before Ho’s is right, Baron.

Bro’s befo’ Ho’s.