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This summer, it will be 20 years ago that the FOX Network landed television right for the NHL. John Vanbiesbrouck/Florida Panthers: Leave it To Beezer John Vanbiesbrouck was one the top goalies in the 90s. The Panthers made an amazing run in the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs before being swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the Final. Again, we see a reach for nostalgia. There's nothing wrong with that. Compared to some car commercials that feature athletes these days, the acting was fine. Bowling Would Be Better if it Were Hockey We've all seen PBA action on ESPN when the worldwide leader needs to fill time on the weekends. If there was checking in bowling, you might see viewership go up slightly. Mike Ricci (Colorado Avalanche): Dinner Party START THE VIDEO AT 40 SECONDS This is the type of commercial you would expect from FOX back in the 90s. Mike Ricci of the Colorado Avalanche is at a dinner party, and a pastry is up for grabs between him and another guest at the table. Looking for any advantage to grab the dessert, Ricci says "Oh Look! Midgets on horses, flying kites!" It worked, but in a more politically correct world in 2015, that commercial would have interest groups demanding it be pulled. Steve Thomas (New York Islanders): Skates This had to be filler for the pregame show. It's as cheesy as cheesy could be. Give Thomas credit for going along with it. The NHL's time with FOX ended after the 1998-1999 season. The network doesn't carry NHL games anymore, but we have the memory of these commercials.
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Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones, who once tweeted that he wasn't at the Ohio State to "play school," and more recently won the National Championship in January, visited a kid in the hospital, played NCAA Football (year unknown) with him and destroyed him 91-35 according to a story. Jones wanted to make it perfectly clear that it was not the right score. He made sure that we all knew it wasn't 91 points. It was more than that. Kind of reminds you of the sketch from Chappelle's Show where Dave visits a sick child in the hospital and dominates him in Streethoops. Get More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows -Comedy Central
 If you didn't see it already, the Washington Redskins are surveying their fans to see what they would like in a new stadium. Their lease on their current home, FedEx Field, is not up until 2027, but Snyder and the team are already planning for a new one. Here are the questions asked on the survey:
OK. Some good, general questions about a stadium that probably won't be built for another decade. But, with this being the Washington Redskins, a team owned by Dan Snyder, let's include some honest questions you didn't find in this survey: -Based on where we build this stadium (Virginia, Maryland, D.C.), are you willing to pay for a majority of it? -How would you prefer to contribute to the building of this stadium? Cash? Check? Major Tax Increase? -Would you be in favor of an increase price on season tickets and your PSL? -Based on the questions we've asked you in the survey, do you realize this stadium may cost over $1 Billion? -Did you know that the Redskins have only played at FedEx Field for 18 years? -Have you been to RFK Stadium lately for a D.C. United game? -Did a piece of plaster or concrete fall on you? -Did you encounter any live animals at RFK Stadium? -Would you like that experience at a new stadium? -Do you like the Redskins nickname? -If no, would you be interested in facts that support the nickname? -Have you heard about @RedskinsFacts on Twitter? -Did it pop up as a sponsored tweet? -Have you ever tweeting a negative response to @RedskinsFacts? -If so, why? -Did you know Redskins owner, Dan Snyder, is friends with the former head of the Navajo Nation? -If yes, do you care that Ben Shelley is seen as a sellout? -If yes, why? -Overall, do you like Dan Snyder? -If no, why do you hate me...I mean, Why do you hate Mr. Snyder? -Is it because of the way Robert Griffin III has turned out? -Could we have done more with the picks we traded to the Rams to get RG3? -If yes, what? The list of questions could go on forever. But you get the point.
Washington fans (or better known as the "tax payers") will foot a good part of the bill, and Dan Snyder will still own the team and not change the name.  Love him (which most of us do) or hate him, Rob Gronkowski, out of everyone on the Patriots, had the best week following their Super Bowl XLIX victory over the Seahawks last Sunday. Let's take a look back at the "Week of Gronk." SUNDAY He partied after the Patriots Super Bowl XLVI loss to the Giants, so you know Gronk would go harder at the after party following their win over Seattle. He did not disappoint. Robert Kraft got involved, too. -TMZ Sports MONDAY We all know Gronk partied into the early morning hours Monday. Later that day, he was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel had Gronkowski read a passage from the erotic novel A Gronking to Remember. MONDAY (CONTINUED) After Kimmel, it was back to partying. Gronk will spike not only footballs, but will also spike anything you hand him. A bouquet of roses became the first of many things to be spiked. WEDNESDAY We all love a parade. Gronkowski loves it ten times more than you do! Thanks to smartphones, Instagram and YouTube, we have accounts of Gronk's booze cruise on the Duck Boat taking him on the parade route through Boston.
Here's some more accounts of Gronk living it up at the Super Bowl parade. Also, this more recent video. FRIDAY This appearance on Live! with Kelly and Michael. SATURDAY Footballs, roses, beers. Rob Gronkowski will spike anything. Even vulcanized rubber, or as most normal people call it, a hockey puck. The Bruins honored the Patriots Saturday night before their game against the Islanders. It wasn't enough to just be a part of the ceremonial puck drop. The people of Boston wanted more, and Gronk delivered. Islanders captain John Tavares knew what was coming, and got out of the way. It's unknown how much sleep Gronkowski has gotten since Super Bowl Sunday, and most of us are probably envious of his stamina to keep partying like that.
Then again, if you won a Super Bowl, you would probably want to attend all the parties, talk shows, parades and ceremonies the week after. Congratulations Rob Gronkowski, you are having a better week than all of us. "You can't start a fire without a spark." That's what Bruce Springsteen says in his song "Dancing in the Dark." Johnny Manziel and Skip Bayless provided the spark for Colin Cowherd to light a fire and refuel an old feud. On Monday morning, it was reported thatJohnny Manziel had entered rehab. On top of discussing Pete Carroll's questionable play-calling and Brady and Belichick's legacies after the Super Bowl, Manziel's entrance into treatment gave talk show hosts material to work with. Colin Cowherd of The Herd on ESPN Radio gave his thoughts about the Manziel news on Monday, and made sure to include fellow ESPN colleague, Skip Bayless, in his commentary. Bayless called Manziel an alcoholic on an episode of First Take. With alcoholic being a clinical term, Skip took a lot of criticism from many (including myself). In the end, Bayless used the wrong words, but, believe or not, he was right that Manziel probably had a problem. There is a part of me that sympathizes with Cowherd and Bayless. Skip's parents were alcoholics and Colin had his bouts with alcohol and he says his father had a drinking problem as well. But while there is sympathy, Cowherd loses most of us later in his monologue. While giving Skip Bayless credit, Cowherd decided to tell his listeners about the sports personalities he respected (Bayless, Jim Rome) and gave himself credit for his hard work. With that, he had an opening to take a jab at Dan Patrick and his staff, saying that the talk show host and former ESPN Radio host had "marginal talent" and needed 35 producers to fill a segment. Cowherd saw his chance to rip Patrick, and he took it. On Tuesday's Dan Patrick Show, Dan decided to address it after friends and colleagues brought it up during the show. Rich Eisen of the NFL Network and a friend and former co-worker of Patrick's at ESPN, came to his defense. Patrick was not afraid to let Cowherd know how he felt about the comments. A lot to take away from Patrick's comments. He did not hold back for one. He and Cowherd have been feuding for some time.
It goes back to 2012. Patrick called Cowherd out for ripping off questions about football and concussions that he had asked Kurt Warner during an interview. Some say their feuding goes back to when Dan was with ESPN. I'll just leave it to speculation at this point. The person at fault for this feud being refueled is Cowherd. Cowherd has taken jabs at Dan Patrick and his radio show without referring to him by name. This time, Colin decided to give his adversary an unflattering shout-out on his show Monday. As Patrick stated, all of the things he does outside of his radio show could make all of us disregard Cowherd's comments. NBC had coverage of Super Bowl XLIX this year. Patrick works with the Sunday Night Football crew and hosts Football Night in America. He presented the Lombardi Trophy to the Patriots that evening in Glendale, Arizona. After doing his postgame duties, he took a red eye flight across the country to New York and was on the air at 9am Monday for his radio show. Yeah, he's really lazy, Colin. In sports talk radio, all hosts like to present their shows differently. After leaving ESPN and started his own radio show, which he did from the attic of his house in Milford, Connecticut for some time, Patrick landed a deal with DirecTV and their flagship channel, Audience Network, to televise the show from a "man cave" built above a bar in the town. The show has also been televised on regional Fox Sports Networks around the country, and now on the NBC Sports Network. Dan makes his staff, which consists of Producers, Paul Pabst and Todd Fritz, Director of Operations, Seton O'Connor and show blogger, Andrew "McLovin" Perloff, a part of the show. Can anyone who listens to Cowherd name his producers and board operator without looking it up? Unlike other radio shows, televised or not, producers and board operators are kept behind the scenes (I am currently that guy). Patrick, who credits The Howard Stern Show for the inspiration to include the "Danettes" in his show, gives them a voice and a chance to contribute to the show, and like Stern, will make fun of them in a lighthearted manner, and will even make fun of himself. Cowherd once did SportsNation with Michelle Beadle and for a short time, Charissa Thompson, and does his football show simply named Colin's Football Show during the season. A little extra on top of his 10am-1pm weekday radio show, but still a lighter schedule than Patrick's, which also includes hosting Sports Jeopardy and contributing as a columnist for Sports Illustrated on top of his radio show and NBC hosting duties. In a way, The Dan Patrick Show has changed the way we see radio shows that are syndicated on television. Let's face it, most of the radio shows we see are just filler for the schedules of sports cable channels. Cowherd's show is mainly a single shot of him doing his show. Same goes for Mike Francesa on Fox Sports 1 and Boomer and Carton on CBS Sports Network to name some others. The Dan Patrick Show pads NBC Sports Network's morning schedule. But with Patrick, who is an acclaimed interviewer, listener interaction, and segments like "Against the Grain," "Five Good Soccer Seconds," "Mock Headlines" and "Stat of the Day," courtesy of the Danettes, all give the show an extra boost over its competition, which is mainly Cowherd at that time. Also, if you've been around long enough to listen to several different sports shows, egos are also at play with most hosts around the country. It's the factor that gives most of the industry a bad name and the title of the lowest form of sports commentary in the media. Ego took over for Cowherd. He exploited the Johnny Manziel story and Skip Bayless being right about something, for once, and used it to attack Dan Patrick out of the blue. This feud will blow over quickly, but it does show the ridiculous pettiness of the business at times. |
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