NO!
Looks like we'll be taking a vacation from Marv for some time now. NBC gave
him the boot and he "resigned" from his other gigs. I didn't think that he
was in trouble, even with the second witness and reaction from a jurist
bore that out (She said that the woman lost a lot of credibility when a tape
revealing her promising $50,000 to another person was played. She said that
she was surprised that Albert took a plea because she still felt that there
was enough reasonable doubt, even with the second witness). Ok, so Marv had
some kinky ideas -- it's a free country.
                                   ****
I still laugh at the people who were talking about how the Packers were NOW
America's team and how they'd pass the Cowboys in merchandise sales or, if
they didn't, they'd close the gap enough to make it inevitable next year.
Well, Dallas is still numero uno and GB chipped away more at the people in
front of them than they did the Cowboys. It will take at least another year
for them catch up, let alone pass them.
Oh and if you think that their Super Bowl victory makes them the darling of
the TV viewers - guess again. GB's MNF appearance was the lowest rated MNF
opener in a LONG TIME. Dallas' game vs Philly was a 17.4, the highest so far
on MNF. The Packers haven't played on TNT while Dallas' 9.8 was second only
to last week's TB-Mia matchup (10.9). Dallas' appearance on FOX during the
first weekend allowed them to draw a 12.4, up considerably from last year
when Dallas played on MNF. Dallas hasn't made another appearance on FOX (An
appearance on TNT, another on MNF and then a bye) while GB has held the fort
since then. In all that time, FOX has seen its numbers DIP and now, they're
behind last year's numbers (when Dallas made more appearances). GB, the REAL
America's team -- I don't think so.
                                   ****
Every year when the NFL playoffs start, someone invariably talks about how
the Oakland Raiders are the only wildcard team to win the Super Bowl. I get
so tired of this because not only were they NOT the only, they're not even
the first - that honor belongs to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Wildcard teams are teams that don't win their division. Guess which team that
won the Super Bowl in 1970 DIDN'T win their division? Hey, if you think that
I'm splitting hairs, consider this fact: the Green Bay Packers NEVER won a
Super Bowl until THIS YEAR and YET, they are listed as winning Super Bowl I
and II. The game was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game for the
first two games and it wasn't until the Jets beat Baltimore that the game
was called the Super Bowl. IF the NFL is going to retroactively call the
Packers the winner of two "Super Bowls", they should recognize the Chiefs
for what they really were.
                                   ****
Now that Maddux has been shut down until the postseason, it looks like he
will finish 19-4. He lost his chance for 20 in his last start when the
offense couldn't come through again. He's all but clinched the worst run
support for the Braves AGAIN. This will mean that he has been the worst
supported pitcher for the Braves EVERY year that he's been with them. That
lost win might lose him some votes for Cy Young to those with Ken Hill
disease. One of the sportscasters for the Cardinals says that he'd give the
award to Neagle based on that one win. Never mind that Maddux has it across
the board on Neagle and that he's got nearly a run less in run support AND
for most of the year, that gap was between 1.5 and 2.0 runs. I think that
it should come down to Martinez and Maddux with Neagle coming in third.
                                   ****
It's too bad that McGwire is going to end up short because he had a real
chance. The trade talk, the trade and getting acquainted to the NL cost
him in July but he really cranked it up in August and September. To be
4 short of tying the record with as crappy a July as he had is pretty damn
good.
                                   ****
You know what really gets me is the morons in Boston booing Mo Vaughn. What
he's moaning about is being given the proper respect and more importantly,
how the front office has cheaped the team to where it is. The fans are morons
to boo him when all he cares about is winning, which is far different from
Jefferson, who whined about getting at bats so he can win the batting title
(I'm so glad that he faded out of the picture). The fans need to focus on
their GM, who has rid the team of a couple of players that could have made
them better.
                                   ****
Well, the Dodgers were finally eliminated and the playoffs are now set. It's
nice to see the Giants win it and not back into it. This should be a very
interesting postseason. There aren't as many "sure" things as in the past
couple of years and there's a lot of question marks with every team.
                                   ****
Watching ND fall out of the Top 25 wasn't unexpected but seeing Texas drop
was. UCLA took advantage of a team without their starting QB and there IS
a definite difference between Brown and his understudy. They're probably a
couple of weeks away from getting back in.
                                   ****
A lot was made about the Big-12 being down (and several jabs have been taken
at the WAC) and yet, it's laughable. A couple of weeks back, they were going
after the WAC and their schedule and yet, these same people mute themselves
about the weenies that the Big 10 is playing out of conference. There is
quality there but there are weenies there as well. The schedules are pretty
close to the same but who they pick on is different (Hell, it's not like the
WAC can get the Big 10 to play it. They do get the Pac 10 for some of their
teams but they can't get other conferences to do a home-and-home with them).
                                   ****
You know what gets me - Payton Manning has a bad game and has HAD nothing but
bad games against Florida and the press just overlooks it. If this were ANY
other player, you can bet your paycheck that he'd be 5th on the list and he'd
have a long haul to make it to the top.
                                   ****
Can you believe that USC's 123 yards yesterday was more than double its
SEASON rushing yardage? They had 59 yards before yesterday -- can you
believe that?
--- TrekEd 1.00
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