This Just In: Chase Daniel's Mother Is Rooting For Him

Tonight's matchup of Missouri and Northwestern in the Valero Alamo Bowl was a very good game--a 30-23 overtime win by Mizzou. However, a few things in the ESPN telecast marred what should have been a purely entertaining contest:

First off, play-by-play man Ron Franklin was dreadful during most of the broadcast. He had countless errors identifying players, was way behind in calling the game, and said things like "it's a turnover and it'll be 4th down." Of course, you can't have a turnover AND 4th down. Franklin is normally better than this, but tonight was definitely a bad night for him.

The bigger problem was the constant fixation the director had for showing the family of Missouri QB Chase Daniel. During the final two minutes of regulation and the overtime, ESPN showed Daniel's family no fewer than a dozen times...including when Daniel wasn't on the field at all.

Not only is showing a player or coach's family repeatedly during a game become a broadcasting cliche, but it's also completely unnewsworthy. Is it remotely interesting that Daniel's family was rooting for him? Do we need to see that? Do we need to see it more than 10 times?

Here is what the audience was treated to, almost between every play in the final 2 minutes of regulation and the overtime:

When Northwestern had the ball, trying to get in position to win the game in regulation: Daniel's family cheering when the Missouri defense forced a punt.

When Missouri got the ball back and drove down the field for a potential game-winning field goal at the end of regulation: Daniel's family nervous and excited.

When Missouri's field goal kicker missed the field goal at the end of regulation: Daniel's family shocked and in anguish (what was funny is that other people near them were cheering initially, thinking the field goal was good).

When Missouri scored the go-ahead touchdown in OT on a pass from Daniel: Daniel's family celebrating (another funny thing was his mother yelling "Shit!" when Daniels got hit as he threw).

Is this getting old yet? I'm sure it did for anyone not related to Chase Daniel who happened to be watching the game.

Also, what about the other players' families? Are they not rooting for their kids? In this case, was there no one from Northwestern's team worth showing? In my opinion, it's in very poor taste for a telecast to focus on one player's family and ignore all of the others--especially in a college game. It's as if the director is saying, "fuck the other players and their families--we only care about Chase Daniel."

Perhaps it's too much to ask, but could television sports producers and directors focus more on the game on the field, and less on the stuff off of it? Please?

I won't hold my breath.

Streaking to the Record

OK, people! And by people, I mean sports writers and broadcasters. Let me explain something to you. With their 23-0 win over the Tennessee Flaming Thumbtack yesterday, the Indianapolis Colts became the first team to win 12 or more games for six consecutive years. I have seen at least twice (once here) and heard at least twice (Bob Lamey and on WFBQ) that the Colts "broke" their record of five consecutive 12-plus win seasons. The Colts did not break the record, you fucktards, they extended their record! The five season streak was the current streak. If this was their second five season streak, then they would have broken the record. Since it is the current streak, they EXTENDED their record streak.

The Boston Celtics just set a team record with 19 consecutive victories. If they has beaten the Lakers last week and extended their streak to 20 consecutive victories, you would not have said that they "broke" their record, would you? No, they extended it! Got it!

If the Colts "extend" their streak next season and you write/say they "broke" their record again, we will "break" your legs.

Perhaps It's an Elf Shortage

Santa must have recalled all elves to the North Pole in preparation for his big ride. Unfortunately, he must have needed the proofreading elves that ESPN.com uses (note the red circle):





Sad, sad times. Not enough elves.

Merry Christmas.

0-for-???

Congratulations to the Detroit Lions for setting the record for futility by becoming the first NFL team to go 0-15 during a season and locking up the first pick for the 2009 NFL Draft. Let's keep up the good work and go for the Buccaneers record of 26 loses in a row! I'm sure Barry Sanders is thrilled to be a part of your storied history.

In the immortal words of the groundskeeper in Major League,

"They're still shitty!"

When will the insanity stop?!?

Math Is Not Our Friend - Redux

OK, I've already pointed out previously that Mike Tirico has difficulty with simple math. Well, Mike was back at it yesterday during the Monday Night Football game between Green Bay and Chicago at Soldier Field.

Right before halftime Mike made a comment that the Packers had outscored the Bears 60-6 so far this year. Now, the score at this point is 14-3, obviously in favor of the Packers. Green Bay defeated the Bears in Green Bay on November 16th. The score of that game was 37-3.

Now, let's go back to simple addition we learned in elementary school, shall we?

Do you think that 37 plus 14 equals 60? Most third graders should be able to tell you that 37 plus 14 equals 51!

So, Mike Tirico is not smarter than a third grader, let alone a fifth grader.

I think we need to send Mike back to remedial math so he can work on his addition and subtraction skills. I think we also need to send Tony Kornheiser to the moon. Now that would be a nice Christmas present

It's Gone

Goodbye, Hoosier Dome. Thanks for helping bring an NFL team and several Final Fours here.

It the End of the World As We Know It

The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Prepare for plagues of locusts and the four horsemen of the apocalypse! Prepare for the Detroit Lions to actually win a game!

OK, so it is not the end of the world, but the world is just not right when this happens.

HSPA announces annual contest winners

Indianapolis - The Hoosier State Press Association on Saturday named The Noblesville Ledger the state's top daily newspaper in its annual journalism contest. The Dearborn County Register of Lawrenceburg was the top nondaily newspaper.

The newspapers joined other winners of the HSPA's annual contest honored at a luncheon in Indianapolis.

Under the Best Sports Columnists division for daily papers with circulation of 40,000+ your winner was:

Bob Kravitz, The Indianapolis Newspaper Monopoly

See what a sad state our sports writing in Indiana is. How the hell does Bob Kravitz win this award let alone any award other than Fucktard of the Year?!? (FYI - Voting for said award to be held later this month.) I feel for the two guys from the Post-Tribune in Merrillville who lost to Bob. I guess the Hoosier State Press Association must really hate you guys to put Bob ahead of you.

I am curious as to which column(s) that the Indianapolis Newspaper Monopoly sent in for this contest. I know that not every Kravitz article is usable only as the lining of a bird cage. Yet, I am perplexed as to what he could have written that actually won an award. The man is a hack journalist that half-asses his articles and somehow co-hosts a sports talk radio show, which also explains why most sports talk radio shows suck nationally and locally. We do not bash every Kravitz article but we have pointed out way, way, way too many issues with many of his articles, if you can call them that.

I'm not saying that we should run right out and start building shelters and stocking up on supplies, but this cannot be a good sign of things to come!

BTW - No, it not Bash Bob Kravitz Week or Month or even Year. We are hear to point out bad writing and Mr. Kravitz is the local epitome of bad writing. He just seems to get most of the focus because we see more of his "work"...unfortunately.

Bob Kravitz's Report Card: F-Minus-Minus-Minus

Bob Kravitz does a report card grading the Indianapolis Colts after every game. Normally the grades are pretty obvious--if Manning throws for 400+ yards the passing offense gets an "A," etc. From this morning's report card in The Indianapolis Star:

SPECIAL TEAMS: F
Just when you thought it was safe to feel good about the special teams. That said, I'm hesitant to drop the first fumble on Keiwan Ratliff when it looked like the ball hit a Lions defender first. (And yes, replay stinks.)...

First off, I'm not so sure the ball hit a Lions defender first. I was at the game and didn't get a good look at the replay showed in the stadium. The one I did see looked inconclusive. Whatever. If someone watching on TV saw something definitive, I'd be mildly interested in knowing.

However, that's not why I've highlighted this part of the article. "And yes, replay stinks." Why? I know Kravitz has whined rhapsodic about instant replay before, but what is the issue? Does Kravitz have a problem with officials actually getting calls right? Or is he just bitching about replay in this column because he didn't like the outcome?

Instant Replay is not perfect by any means. But I still don't get why people complain about it being used in the NFL when an overwhelming majority of the times replay is used result in the correct call being made. Yes, there are times when replay evidence is inconclusive or mistakes are still made, but I think most fans would agree that replay has helped the NFL.

Evidently Kravitz wants to go back to the time when men played "real football"--no helmets, no pads, no passing, and definitely no instant replay. Back when men just ran the ball on every play because they were men, dammit! Passing was for sissies. In fact, players wouldn't bother tackling each other--they'd just hit each other with two-by-fours. Before, during, and after every play. If there was a bad call on the field, you just lived with it. So what if it screwed your team out of a win? Be a man! Go smack someone upside the head! That's football! There was no room for thinking back then, back when football was football.

Just like there's no room for thinking in a Bob Kravitz report card.

You Probably Know More Than An ESPN Analyst

The adoption and use of replay in the NFL was supposed to help end controversies by giving officials a tool by which they could correct errors. Presumably, the types of errors that instant replay was designed to correct were the ones that came on big calls that potentially change the outcome of a game.

Such a play occurred in the Steelers/Ravens game. Late in the game (final minute) and with the Steelers trailing 9-6, QB Ben Roethlisberger hit Santonio Holmes with a pass at the goal line. Holmes was falling out of the end zone as he caught the ball. The ruling on the field was that the ball did not cross the plane of the goal line, which would have made it 4th down and Goal from a couple of inches. Of course, the play was reviewed, and subsequently overturned and the Steelers were given a touchdown on the play. Pittsburgh went on to win 13-9. (You can see the play here).

Did the official make the right call in overturning the call on the field? This was an excruciatingly close play, so people will have reasonable opinions on both sides of the issue. However, you would not have found those on ESPN right after the game--you would have found people who are paid to cover and comment on NFL games who seem to be ignorant of the rules!

ESPN calls its NFL segment on SportsCenter "The Blitz," and our cast of characters includes Chris Berman, Tom Jackson, Trent Dilfer, and John Saunders. Here is a transcript of what happened on SportsCenter at approximately 7:50pm with my comments included.

Chris Berman (to Tom Jackson): The ref said "two feet were in the end zone but the ball..."

Tom Jackson: I could tell his feet were in bounds; I saw why the referee (sic) ruled that the ball might have been a couple of inches outside the end zone, because you can see right there the possibility that it never crossed the plane of the end zone, which stretches--as we all know--to infinity.

I love when analysts pull out the "plane of the end zone stretches to infinity" line without knowing what the hell they're talking about. Even if the plane of the end zone goes to "infinity and beyond," that doesn't apply here. What applies is simply this: did any part of the ball cross the goal line?

CB: The ball just has to break the plane...how close it is...

TJ: Since they called it outside the end zone initially, there is some change of call that took place. They either ruled that they made a mistake and the ball is in the end zone, or the rule is all that has to be down are your feet in the end zone. I would like to know which is the case.

I can say, with 100% certainty, that the rule does not state that all you have to do is have two feet down in the end zone. The rule for a touchdown is that a player must have possession of the ball with any part of the ball crossing the goal line. I would bet my last nine Grease Trading Cards on it. Thankfully, one person on the NFL set has a clue:

Trent Dilfer: My understanding is there has to be possession of the football and the ball has to cross the goal line. I talked to Mike Pereira, the head of officials, and that's why the ruling was overturned.

TJ: But then it's a change from what was stated on the field. (laughs)

Isn't every reversal a change from what was "stated on the field?" If Brandon Marshall makes what appears to be a diving catch and it is called that way on the field, and the play is challenged and overturned, wouldn't that be a "change from what was stated on the field?" And a correct one?

It's sad that people who are paid to watch and make meaningful comment on NFL games seem to know very little about the rules. Tom Jackson was a player for the Denver Broncos. He's been on ESPN for like 100 years. He should know better. I don't know if Jackson criticized Donovan McNabb about McNabb's famous lack of knowledge concerning ties and overtime, but if he did, Jackson should call Donovan and apologize.

Now the really dumb part:

John Saunders: Don't you feel the NFL in many ways complicates their (sic) own rules? Quite simply put, if I'm on the sidelines and my two feet are in bounds and I catch the ball, it's a catch. So if my two feet are in the end zone and I catch the ball, that should be a touchdown. It should be that simple.

TJ: It certainly would simplify things.

Simple? It already is simple! Saunders seems to have absolutely no understanding of football. Seriously. To use Saunders's shitty example, of course if you get two feet down on the sidelines it's a catch. But that's not what's in question here--it's the placement of the ball. If you make a catch on the sidelines, the ball is spotted not where your feet are, but where the ball is when either a)your knee hits, or b)you go out of bounds. The significance of having two feet down is merely to determine possession--the spot of the ball has nothing to do with your feet.

The same is true for the end zone. The receiver's feet have nothing to do with the spot. If the receiver has the ball and any part of the ball crosses the goal line--touchdown. Going back to the original play in question (do you remember that?), after consulting instant replay, the referee apparently ruled that Holmes obtained possession of the ball (i.e. controlling the ball with two feet down) with some part of the ball over the goal line. Pretty simple. Was it a good call? Based on the above, I think so.

Perhaps ESPN should make knowledge of the NFL Rulebook mandatory for pretending to be an expert.

Bob Kravitz Is a Lazy SOB

I wrote an entry a couple of days ago on Bob Kravitz's usual half-assed attempt at an opinion article on the IHSAA and the cost to hold the Indiana state high school football finals at Lucas Oil Stadium. What I didn't realize until a short time ago is that he essentially plagiarized another article from his own newspaper to pull his "facts" from and then just added his opinion.

The shit-hack did not do one fucking bit of work to follow up on what was written in the other article. As Kravitz did was pull the information he needed out of the article by Michael Pointer and add his own opinion/spin.

I am just so totally flabbergasted and pissed off at this moment. For the love of God, man! Can't you do just a minuscule bit of journalism here? I know we enjoy picking on Bob Kravitz and his articles, but typically they are written so poorly that we just can't help it. But in the previous articles I've lambasted, it has been because he backed up his opinions so poorly or half-assed the article. This is the epitome of why Bob needs to go.

Was there no way that Bob could call Blake Ress, the commissioner of the IHSAA, to get some additional information to help back his point? We know that the IHSAA had to spend over $261K on the finals, but did they actually make money or lose money? We don't know. Bob didn't bother to ask that question. Bob ignored the paragraph in Pointer's article stating that if the finals drew over 50,000 fans (2008 attendance was a record 56,050), the finals would most likely stay at the stadium. Bob also ignored the paragraph where Patrick Early, vice-chairman of the Capital Improvements Board in charge of Lucas Oil Stadium, who stated that he would be willing to talk to the IHSAA about making it more affordable but had not seen a proposal yet. Funny, but those two paragraphs take some of the wind out of Bob's sails and he just conveniently ignores them.

Sadly, I've seen the comments on the article on the Indianapolis Newspaper Monopoly's website and while many people tend to feel the way we do about Bob, there were too many people that agreed with him for all the wrong reasons. Kravitz articles unfortunately are good at stimulating the conversation on the topic. Therefore, his editors and bosses think he is good.

I hesitate to go out and start an official FireBobKravitz.com website or petition, but more of us need to speak up and let it be known that we need a better sports opinion writer for this great town of ours.

I feel better now that I've ranted. I think I'll go to bed now.

Butler Fight Song - Alternative Lyrics

Having attended several Butler Bulldog basketball games over the past few years, you get to hear the Butler Fight Song many times. I also know several Butler alums and pretty much none of them know or never even knew the song lyrics when they attended.

So Slut, Zinglebert and I got together and have made up our own set of lyrics which we find much more enjoyable. Click here to listen to the song and you too can sing along!

This is the Butler Fight Song, I don't know the words
This is the Butler Fight Song, I still don't know the words
This is the Butler Fight Song, I really don't know the words
This is the Butler Fight Song, what the fuck are the words
What the fuck are the words!

Yes, a quick Internet search could find us the correct Butler War Song lyrics, but what's the fun in that? We like our version much, much better.

Bob Strikes Again

And the Lom Henn Empire strikes back!

Our resident douchebag has written another one of his classic articles that drive Slut and I batty. I have nothing against the topic of the IHSAA and the cost to hold the state football finals at Lucas Oil Stadium. It is actually a worthwhile topic. However, in grand ol' Bob style, he half-asses the facts of the story and only gives you a partial view of the story, i.e. his side.

We really do not pick on Bob Kravitz just to spite him. Its just that his articles are crap and we feel it is our duty to point out they are crap and why.

State finals have to stay at stadium

So I'm reading how Lucas Oil Stadium might be too expensive for future Indiana High School Athletic Association football championships, and this nagging question keeps popping into my head:

Who paid for our little Taj Mahal?

Wasn't it the taxpayers, for the most part?

Well, technically the State of Indiana and the Colts PAID for it. The 1% restaurant tax for Marion County and the doughnut counties (except Morgan County) are paying the state back for the bonds they sold.

Weren't a lot of the donors the mothers and fathers of the kids who either hope to play at Lucas Oil Stadium or support their school's teams once a year if they are fortunate enough to reach the state finals?

Only for those teams from Marion and surrounding counties, which were five of then ten teams in the finals (Sheridan, Heritage Christian, Ritter, Cathedral, Center Grove and Carmel).

This is like buying a beautiful new house on Geist and being told we can only use it once every three months. As long as we pay for the privilege, that is. What a deal, right?

No, it is like building a state-of-the-art stadium that charges a fee to use its services.

This is a community project, except the community can't afford to use it.

No, no, no, no, no. This is a commercial business venture. Lucas Oil Stadium is not a not-for-profit entity. They have a right to charge ANYONE a fee that wants to use the stadium.

The IHSAA said it paid $261,000 for a high school football weekend. That's more than $100,000 more than the cost to use the RCA Dome. This isn't about the IHSAA trying to make money. It uses whatever profit it makes on football to help support its non-revenue sports championships. Every additional dollar it spends on football is one fewer available for girls soccer.

This is the first valid paragraph that Kravitz has made in the article, mostly. The IHSAA paid a lot more for the new stadium than for the old RCA Dome and that they use the profit from football (and basketball) to help support the other boys and girls sports. I would argue that the IHSAA isn't about trying to make money and we'll discuss that a little later.

Unless the Capital Improvement Board and the Indianapolis Colts want a major public relations catastrophe, they will find a way to cut the prohibitive cost they charge to use the stadium for the IHSAA finals weekend and ensure all future IHSAA finals are at The Luke and no place else.

The Capital Improvement Board is charging 12 percent of the gate receipts for rent (and the IHSAA increased prices from $10 to $15 a ticket) and an additional fee for extra security.

Question, Bob. What did the CIB charge the IHSAA in previous years?

Did you think to ask or provide that information? Or whether they had to pay for extra security in previous years?

Somebody needs to step up here, and yes, Jim Irsay, I'm looking long and hard at you to do the right thing, as usual. Understand, half the money goes to the board and the other half goes to the Colts, who keep non-football-related revenue up to $3.5 million a year. The board needs to cut the IHSAA a break. Or the Colts have to cut a check. Or both. Something.

If the board cuts a break to the IHSAA for football, how can they say no to lower the costs for the State Marching Band Finals or other high school events that could be held there? You might be able to get something from the Colts since it is football-related.

Because if future IHSAA state finals are held anywhere other than The Luke, it will be a regrettable shame and the tone of this column, which would be an annual offering, would become more mean-spirited than ever before.

I know you've been told this before, Bob, but it is called Lucas Oil Stadium, not "The Luke", you 'tard! Mr. Lucas did not pay $121 million for you to call it The Luke.

It was interesting to listen to Bob Grand, the head of the Capital Improvement Board, recently tell a TV reporter how much he enjoyed watching the faces of the kids as they ran onto the stadium field and created tunnels through which their football-playing mates could run.

Very moving.

Until the bill comes due.

Bob has to help pay the bills of the CIB. As far as he sees it, everyone pays. If you can show me how the CIB reduced the fees for another group/event and not for the IHSAA, then you have something. Otherwise, I see it as fair treatment for everyone, albeit a costly treatment.

Think the kids will get all excited next year when they're doing that at Bloomington's Memorial Stadium? Or up at Purdue? What kind of crowds you think you'll see if it's typical late November weather in Central Indiana? Think we'll break records like the one that was just broken at The Luke, when 56,050 attended the games?

Sadly, I have to agree with Bob on this one. Owww, I think my head is going to explode.

Moving the finals to an outdoor stadium would take a toll on the attendance and even though IU, Purdue and Ball State are all within roughly an hour of Indy, that would affect how many people might go to the games.

For kids and for fans who might not otherwise get to this stadium, playing at The Luke is a special thing. It's where the Colts play. It's the center of the football universe. It's like going to Conseco Fieldhouse for the state high school basketball championship. It's Mecca, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

So is Hinkle Fieldhouse and I think many would call Hinkle the "Mecca" of Hoosier basketball-dom.

And we're going to deny these young people because the cost can't be negotiated down to a more manageable level?

Mike Fox, the Lucas Oil Stadium director, told The Star the IHSAA was charged the same amount any nonprofit is charged for using the stadium.

Fine. Charge that fee to the religious conventions that come in or any other nonprofit. This, though, is different. This is local. These are our kids.

This is not local, this is statewide. Only the tax is mainly local. Why is it that people did not have a problem when the fee was lower? I'm assuming that the IHSAA was charged the same as other non-profits at the RCA dome, correct?

And never forget, we paid for the vast majority of that stadium, which comes with a lease that is extraordinarily friendly to the Colts. And we're paying for part of its upkeep. Don't our kids get a break when it comes to getting a chance to play on the floor of Indy's prized pleasure palace?

Yes, the lease is friendly to the Colts, but you can thank Bart Peterson and friends for negotiating that "friendly" lease. They also paid a decent chunk of the construction costs ($100 million) for the stadium.

I'm not saying they're required to open the place to my next Christmas party, but this is grass-roots high school sports, our kids, and, again, we paid for the darned thing. If we can't give our kids a break on the price, if we can't get past our budgets and our it's-just-business posturing, what are we saying about ourselves and our priorities?

It says that Lucas Oil Stadium and the CIB are in the business to make money and they are charging what they would charge anyone else.

It doesn't help that the CIB needs to tap into a contingency fund in order to help cover the operating costs.

Somehow, I can't imagine a vote on a stadium would have passed if we were told, "Yeah, it'll be nice, but it will be too expensive for the high school state football tournament."

If it had been put up to a voted, it very likely may not have passed because of the overall cost. Football fan-wise, most people would have voted for it because of the Colts and would not have cared about high school football.

Of course, in this part of the world, we don't get to vote on these kinds of things.

Movers and shakers simply make things happen and then stick the rest of us with the bill.

Welcome to real life, Bob-o! Of course, without these "movers and shakers" we may not of gotten the Hoosier Dome back '84.

The city gives conventions all kinds of breaks to lure them, and while the sum isn't extraordinary, the IHSAA finals produce money for the city, roughly $36 million worth, according to one study.

The city is not Lucas Oil Stadium or the CIB!

Somebody needs to step up and do the right thing.

The high school state football finals belong at The Luke.

Now and forever.

Yes, I would agree that the high school state football finals need to stay at LUCAS OIL STADIUM.

Now, Bob, why don't we go over some of the topics you failed to address.

Yes, the IHSAA had to pay more this year than last year, according to you. I have not been able to get a second verification on that yet. Even so, let's do a little bit of math. I like math.

In 2007, the state football finals two-day attendance was 51,217. Tickets cost $10 a piece. And we will go with the assumption that everyone who attended the games had to pay for their tickets.

51,217 tickets x $10 per ticket = $512,170.

$512,170 less costs of $161,000 = $351,170 gross profit (assuming 2007 cost was $100K less than 2008)

In 2008, we had a record attendance of 56,050. Tickets prices increased to $15 each.

56,050 tickets x $15 per ticket = $840,750.

$840,750 less costs of $261,000 = $579,750 gross profit.

So even though the IHSAA had to pay an additional $100K this year, not including other costs, they took home over $228K more this year! I know that there are other costs the IHSAA has to pay and some of the tickets may have been given away or comped to schools/students.

It is also interesting that this is just coming out now. The IHSAA should have know for a while that the CIB would charge them the 12% rent fee on ticket sales and the other costs that they would incur, so the total amount should not have been a true shock. Why did the IHSAA not publicly ask for a lower fee or start drumming up public support to lower the cost earlier in the year?

I'm pretty sure that the IHSAA is not going to go anywhere else for the state football finals. If they try to move it to Memorial Stadium, Rose Ade Stadium or even the Butler Bowl, they would not have the attendance they do now and would lose a lot more revenue than the costs they would save. I am curious to know how much IU or Purdue would charge the IHSAA to host the finals?

I did not hear any griping about the ticket increase from $10 to $15 per day? I think that $15 is still quite reasonable to see two or three games at the new stadium. The concession prices may kill your wallet, but the ticket price is quite acceptable to me.

Once again Bob has presented us with a valid article topic, but does his usual half-assed job and presents only some of the facts to back up his point. I'll try and let our resident Jedi, Slut, return for the next Bob-o article.