A daddy blog.

15 October 2007

FanHouse: Mon AM 'Lupica Calls the Shots' Edition

Dane Cook notwithstanding, October means the return of our NCAA basketball coverage. Which works for me, since the Bengals are done.

Media Notes:
Peter King: 'You Are Going to Have to Decide Who You Trust -- Wade Phillips or Me': "I reported what he said about the "black mark'' on HBO's Inside the NFL show, and Phillips denied saying it in press conferences over the next two days. All I said afterwards was that I stand behind what I said, and that's all I will continue to say, because really, what else is there to say?"

Mike Lupica Makes It Clear That He Controls 'The Sports Reporters': The exchange began when Mike Lupica, the show's regular panelist, had one of his ongoing arguments with John Saunders, who hosts the show. When another panelist made a point in agreement with Saunders, Lupica said to him, "Are you under the impression that he's the one who's going to invite you back here? That's not the way it works."

Fox Airs Levi Jones-Joey Porter Fight Tape: The tape shows, basically, what Jones has always claimed: It was not a fair fight but a case of Porter and three of his buddies all jumping on Jones. Given the severity of what happened in the incident, it's a little surprising that Porter got off by paying a small fine to the legal system and a somewhat larger fine to the NFL.

NASCAR and ABC Blow Pre-Race Coverage: So ... NASCAR hypes the fans up about a special pre-race ceremony where drivers will line up for the national anthem on the frontstretch with their cars, teams and local friends and family members. Then they don't show it?

NFL:
The Debriefing: The Seven Deadly Sins of Sunday ... Week 6: You could sit down and rack your brain for a while, and not be able to envision a day where someone would look like more of a jackass than Joey Porter looked like yesterday. It started just before the 1:00 games yesterday, when Fox Sports' Jay Glazer aired the casino surveillance videotape of Joey and his friends beating up Levi Jones in the Palms in Vegas (you can see it here).

Panthers QB Vinny Testaverde: 21 Seasons With a Touchdown Pass: It gave Testaverde a touchdown pass in 21 different NFL seasons, an NFL record. When Testaverde threw a touchdown last year, to make the record 20 seasons, it was in garbage time in a game with the Patriots, in relief of Tom Brady. But this was a crucial play that gave the Panthers a lead late in the fourth quarter. Testaverde can still play.

MLB:
Steinbrenner Cedes Day-to-Day Operations to His Sons: The New York Post is reporting that though Steinbrenner will still stay on with the Yankees and aid in decisions, his sons Hank and Hal will be taking over his daily work.

Selig Will Allow GMs to Discuss Instant Replay: If instant replay is limited to home run calls and perhaps fair-foul calls, I don't see it taking away much from the game or taking up too much time. Think about it: how often does a manager argue a home run call a season? A handful of times? It's not that much. I'd rather see the call made right with instant replay than wrong without it. And I don't see how it slows the game down at all.

There's Only One Dane Cook: You hate Dane Cook. Even if you don't know it yet, even if it's still lodged in your subconscious, or even if you enjoyed Cook's early stand up, if you're a baseball fan, it's true. You can't stand this man.

Olympics:
Ben Johnson on Marion Jones: 'Everyone on the International Level Is Using PEDs': Of course, Johnson desperately wants the public to think that everyone uses performance-enhancing drugs because if that's the case, then he wasn't doing anything different from anyone else when he got busted, and that legitimizes his accomplishments.

UFC:
UFC: The Case for Dana White Being Right in Randy Couture Retirement: FanHouse commenter Dominic made a good point on a previous post: "Look, both sides are in the wrong here. Couture pulled a T.O. because he decide he was worth more while still under contract."

NCAA Football:
How Bad Are Things in Nebraska?
In a word – awful. Not because the Huskers are losing and not because they don't look the slightest bit competitive. Things are stinkin' in Lincoln because no one has answers. Not the fans who sarcastically cheered and released celebratory balloons late in the opening quarter on Saturday when the team finally produced a first down.

BC Fans Don't Storm The Field: Why should they? The Boston College Eagles have now won five straight games against the Irish and six of the last seven. Obviously they've been there before.

NCAA Basketball:
Signs Of the Season: Big East Coaches Complaining About the Conference Schedule: One such tradition in the Big East since expansion is complaints, grumbling and off-the-record complaints from Big East coaches about how unfair, brutal, and/or just plain wrong the conference schedule is.

Jerry Rice 'Crank That (Soulja Boy)' Video: It was part of Midnight Madness at Georgetown, with John Thompson III and Pat Ewing Jr. teaching Rice the moves.

NBA:
And Down Goes Shaq: (Emeka Okafor's knee jabbed into an exposed section of Shaq's loins.) But Riley's feeling frustrated with his lack of manpower -- only Udonis Haslem, Alonzo Mourning and Alexander Johnson are available in the front court. Even if Shaq just misses the balance of preseason, the Heat gets to spend the first month of the regular season to try to give everyone on the same page... without their best player.

Can the Bulls Win a Title With Kobe Bryant? Yes, Bryant is a transcendent talent, and Ben Wallace is still arguably the best low-post defender in the Association, and sure, Scott Skiles can coach. That Bulls team, however, will not topple the NBA's giants: Phoenix, Dallas (be nice!), and San Antonio.