This story is as old as the ticket from the last Bengals win in the playoffs, but Friday clarified something you should probably know about Adam "Pacman" Jones.
He's an idiot. Jones has made an ass of himself on television and radio this week by claiming that Antonio Brown has been faking a concussion after taking a cheap shot from Vontaze Burfict in last Saturday's AFC Wild Card Game, where Burfict and Jones each received personal fouls after the same play, essentially losing the game for the Bengals, as Pittsburgh kicked a field goal to go ahead and win 18-16. It was just announced earlier Friday that Antonio Brown was ruled out of Sunday's AFC Divisional round game against the Denver Broncos, after being in concussion protocol all week. Let's recap the week in Pacman Jones making an ass of himself. It started right after Saturday's loss. Jones took to Instagram to curse out the refs and he was furious that "Jerry" Porter was on the field when he got flagged for putting hands on an official. He deleted the video, but this is the internet. Nothing ever goes away completely.
A good primer for what was to come during the week.
On The Dan Patrick Show Monday, Jones accused Antonio Brown of faking his concussion, setting off a media firestorm, especially in Pittsburgh.
Before we move on, let me bring this up. Jones calls Joey Porter "Jerry" Porter, and he said Antonio Brown deserved a Grammy, which anyone would half a brain knows is given out for music. Goes to show you that Jones' IQ is far lower than his jersey number. Maybe even his shoe size. Two minutes into this interview, he made my IQ drop a few points.
Moving on. Jones appeared on Showtime's Inside the NFL Wednesday night, he said he would apologize to Brown if he was ruled out.
Well Pacman. Do you have something to say to Antonio Brown?
Oh, and Pacman, the Steelers play Sunday, not Saturday. Three things he has gotten wrong to cap of the idiot trifecta, which most people don't accomplish in less than a week. Let's see if Jones gets on a phone or in front of the camera to apologize. Knowing his track record, he probably won't. But if he does, I will be sure to post it here. UPDATE (4pm): Via Instagram, Pacman Jones apologized to Antonio Brown.
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2016 is off and running. It begins with the NFL playoffs and will end with a newly elected President of the United States.
So in the spirit of election season and playoff time, let's see which presidential candidate matches with the playoff teams. Heads Up: I am not a political expert. This is for fun. Don't take it too seriously, because I think you will enjoy them. Denver Broncos: Ben Carson -Like Dr. Carson's campaign, nobody really knows what the Broncos will do in the playoffs. Will they go far? Will they fall out in the Divisional round? New England Patriots: Donald Trump -It only seemed fitting the Patriots get the honor of being compared to Trump. Loud, annoying and like the Donald, many of us look at New England currently and feel like they won't get far, they might just win this whole thing! Cincinnati Bengals: John Kasich -Both hail from Ohio, and while they seem to have potential, they might be making an early exit. Houston Texans: Rand Paul -Both are here to stir things up, but they just get shouted down by a team like the Patriots (remember who the Patriots are?). Kansas City Chiefs: Marco Rubio -The Chiefs will either build on their momentum or fall flat and be out in the wild card round. Pittsburgh Steelers: Ted Cruz -Love them or hate them, they might be there near the end. Carolina Panthers: Hillary Clinton -Just on paper, they appear most likely to win going in. They can be beat, with most of the teams having their own weaknesses, it makes them look better. Arizona Cardinals: Chris Christie -Will they? Won't They? At times it can feel like a bridge to nowhere with both. Minnesota Vikings: Mike Huckabee -They're in it, but you have a gut feeling that it's not gonna work out. Washington Redskins: Bernie Sanders -Both attract attention in interesting ways, and we might be wondering why they are still in their respected campaigns. Green Bay Packers: Jeb Bush -They both have the name. They both have the reputation, but they are in trouble right now. Seattle Seahawks: Marco Rubio -I know, I know. I used Rubio twice because I ran out of other candidates that compared to Seattle. Don't count them out.
This shouldn't be a surprise, but it's something to point out.
The 2016 NHL Winter Classic, which matched the Canadiens and Bruins at Foxborough's Gillette Stadium, drew its lowest television rating in the game's eight years.
Think about it this way. The Winter Classic is another regular season game played outside at a baseball or football stadium. Much pomp and circumstances goes into the event, and it does do better in ratings than the early round games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But, it continues to see a decline in viewership that we saw last year, when the 2015 Winter Classic between the Blackhawks and Capitals in Washington D.C. posted the lowest rating ever.
For the first time in the game's history, ratings fell below a 2.0 this season, which never looks good.
Several things can be factors in the Winter Classic's declining ratings these past two years. First, college football bowl games. This will always be a hurdle for the NHL, but the league doesn't seem to be bothered by the early bowl games happening at 1pm ET. The Fiesta, Citrus and Outback Bowls, which all had one-sided results, aired at the same time the Winter Classic did this year. The Fiesta Bowl, which matched up Notre Dame and Ohio State at 1pm to kick off the second half of the "New Year's Six" Bowls, received a 6.2 overnight rating. Second, the NHL's regional reach. If you did not know by now, hockey is a regional sports. In certain markets, teams receive huge television ratings. In others, it's the opposite. Like they don't exist. Montreal and Boston is a great, Original Six rivalry that hockey fans in the U.S. know very well, but it's not enough to make those outside of the Boston/New England market tune in. People don't watch the NHL like they do the NFL. You will watch the late game on CBS or FOX regardless of who plays in it, but you're not watching the Sunday evening NHL game on NBCSN in February. And third, the over-saturation of outdoor games I had to scratch my head and wonder why the NHL scheduled six outdoor games during the 2013-2014 season. The league was coming off a shortened lockout year where the Winter Classic never happened, so maybe there was an urgency to makes sure the outdoor game concept remained popular. The annual Winter Classic took place at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor and matched the Red Wings up against the Maple Leafs in front of over 105,000 fans. Much like the inaugural 2008 Winter Classic, it was a snowy atmosphere, and it finished in a shootout win for the Leafs, much like the finish in '08 when Crosby netted the game-winner at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The NHL could have made the Classic the only game that season and rode that momentum into next year, but they wanted to make it bigger. A game at Dodger Stadium, two games at Yankee Stadium, another game at Soldier Field, and the Heritage Classic in Vancouver expanded outdoor games into March. Sure, it was amazing to see outdoor hockey in Southern California and in the Bronx, but too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. It may be the reason why last season's Winter Classic in Washington D.C. fell to deliver the same numbers the game in Ann Arbor brought in 2014. Last season, the NHL cut back on the number of games, and had just one at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara between the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings. This year, The Minnesota Wild will host the Chicago Blackhawks outside at TCF Bank Stadium and the Red Wings will play the Colorado Avalanche at Coors Field. Also, throw in the fact that the same teams are playing in these game on a constant basis. Here are the teams who have played in the Winter Classic and the number of times they have: Blackhawks: 2 Flyers: 2 Penguins: 2 Red Wings: 2 Bruins: 2 Rangers: 1 Sabres: 1 Maple Leafs: 1 Canadiens: 1 Now let's look at the other outdoor games in the United States: Blackhawks: 2 Kings: 2 Rangers: 2 Islanders: 1 Devils: 1 Penguins: 1 Sharks: 1 Ducks: 1 Wild: 1 Avalanche: 1 Just looking at the numbers, the Chicago Blackhawks, who have won three Stanley Cup title since the 2009-10 season, have made the most appearances. Other appealing television markets like New York, Boston, Detroit and Pittsburgh get picked to play and or host these games. You have to give the league credit for expanding games out to the west coast, but locations like Los Angeles and San Francisco won't host the annual New Year's Days game. The Rose Bowl is usually a 4pm/5pm ET kickoff, and the NHL is smart enough to avoid going up against that game. Also, there are not enough markets that could keep that rating above 2.0, and the lack of colder climates that can provide you that "snow globe" effect that was seen in Orchard Park and Ann Arbor are not large in number for the U.S. market. The NHL should keep the Winter Classic on New Year's Day, but put the Stadium Series on hiatus for a few seasons and focus on getting the ratings for the Classic back to where they were two years ago. A few weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers were said to the team that nobody in the AFC would want to match up against in the playoffs. Since then, that mentality has probably changed. The Steelers got in with a win over Cleveland and got help from the Bills beating the Jets, but they are not the most dangerous AFC team in the playoffs.
It's the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs, who began the season 1-5, posted ten-straight wins to finish 11-5 and clinch the first wild card. Not only that, if the Broncos didn't come back and beat the Chargers, they would have been AFC West champions. The other five teams that qualified for the AFC playoffs have their problems. The Patriots and Broncos are having offensive line issues. Tom Brady is dealing with an injury and Peyton Manning made his triumphed return to the Broncos lineup, and many do not know how far he can take Denver in the playoffs. The Bengals have A.J. McCarron at quarterback while searching for their first playoff win since the 1990 season. The Texans won the weak AFC South with a 9-7 record and have had fourth different quarterbacks this year, and the Steelers, who have the best offense in the AFC playoffs, have seen Ben Roethlisberger struggle the past two weeks and the defense has shown some holes as of late. The Chiefs appear to be the most stable team coming into the playoffs. Kansas City had its own problems, but that was during the first quarter of the year. The other five AFC teams are dealing with issues as the final quarter of the season ends and the second season begins. In fairness, with these teams dealing with their own problems, the AFC is wide open. The Patriots don't look invincible, the Broncos might be the top seed, but they don't scare anyone. The Bengals have the burden of two decades of playoff failure hanging over them and the Texans will get to host the Chiefs, but you have to like Kansas City as a 3-point favorite. With a wide open field, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Steelers and Chiefs met in the playoffs, but of those two teams, Kansas City is the team the other teams should have one eye on. College Football Playoff, New Year's Six Bowls Lacked Viewers and Drama to End 2015, Begin 20161/1/2016
Happy New Year!
If you are a college football fan, you probably did one of three things on New Year's Eve this year. You either stayed in and watched the College Football Playoff semifinals, went out but convinced your significant other or friends to find a place with a television on ESPN, or just missed it all together because that black tie party you attended did not have a television nearby. The second year of the College Football Playoff era saw the games being played on New Year's Eve. Yes. New Year's Eve. In the past, you would go out on the final night of the year, hang out with friends, drink too much (it's a drinking holiday) and count down at 11:59:50pm to the new year. Followed by a kiss with your loved one or the random girl or guy you've met while out. The amount of booze you both drank could drown a small village. On January 1, you wake up hungover, swear off alcohol as your New Year's resolution, and turn on ESPN and watch bowl games all day. But now it's different. With the rotation of the New Year's Six bowls, the Rose Bowl's unwillingness to move out of it's traditional January 1 slot (January 2 if New Year's Day is on a Sunday), it requires two of the three years of the bowl rotation to play the semifinals on December 31. Now, some of you weren't impacted because you feel that the pressure to go out and do something on New Year's Eve is overrated. But for others, they have friends, family, wives and girlfriends who want to go out and celebrate, because much like a family trip to Disney World, there's an obligation to have fun. If it makes those of you who missed out on the Orange and Cotton Bowls Thursday night feel better, you really didn't miss much. When the rout was on in the Alabama-Michigan State game, I almost flipped to New Year's Rockin' Eve. Both Clemson and Alabama dominated in the second half of their games. The Tigers beat Oklahoma 37-17, and the Crimson Tide shut out Michigan State 38-0. The bigger laugher being the latter. If you're ESPN, who will pay $5.64 Billion to air the playoff games over the next 12 years, you knew your ratings were going to take a hit compared to last year's inaugural playoff that took place on New Year's Day. The numbers came out, and despite all the commercials and cross-promotions within Disney, they weren't good.
Almost a 40 percent drop! The ratings for the Rose and Sugar Bowls were phenomenal last season, and with this news, ESPN has to be furious about this decision by college football to put the games on during New Year's Eve.
Colin Cowherd had Clay Travis on his radio show Thursday, and they discussed why the ratings suffered.
In a rational world, ESPN and the NCAA would recognize that this will not work going forward. People will not adjust their schedule to watch these games on New Year's Eve, especially when most people (including me) work on December 31. For them to think people will adjust their work schedule and holiday plans to watch these games is arrogant. Cowherd and Travis brought up something you and I who live on the east coast don't think about. The Orange Bowl began at 1pm on the west coast! That flies on New Year's Day, but not New Year's Eve.
The elephant in the room is the Rose Bowl. I love the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day as much as I love watching the Lions and Cowboys play on Thanksgiving Day. But it appears that nobody is willing to stand up and move the game to 8pm or 8:30pm ET instead of it's traditional 5pm ET kickoff. Nobody cares when the Sugar Bowl is played during the off years of their rotation. They just get to piggyback on the Rose Bowl and get New Year's Day priority every year. If the Rose Bowl would move to a later start, playoff games could start at 1pm and 4:30pm ET and the Rose Bowl would get the primetime slot. I love turning on the Rose Bowl Game and seeing the sunshine and blue skies, but you have to give and take in this situation if you are on the Rose Bowl committee. Speaking of Rose Bowl, the non-playoff New Year's Six bowl games provided no drama and lopsided results. The Citrus and Outback Bowls were also duds. First off, why did the Fiesta Bowl kick off at 11am local time in Glendale? Ohio State and Notre Dame looked like a great matchup on paper with all the NFL Draft prospects playing. Unfortunately, two of the top prospects were out of the game before the first quarter ended. Ohio State's Joey Bosa was ejected for targeting and Notre Dame's Jaylon Smith suffered a significant knee injury. Also, the Irish have dealt with more injuries than any team should have to endure in one season. The defense was depleted, and the Buckeyes had a field day, winning 44-28. They could've hit 50 if Urban Meyer didn't call of the dogs. Then there was the Rose Bowl! The reason why we were forced to watch the playoff the night before. Many, including myself, have criticized Iowa for playing a weak schedule. Those points were validated as Christian McCaffrey made the Hawkeyes stout defense look horrendous in a 45-16 rout. McCaffrey set the tone with an opening kickoff return for a touchdown, and finished the day with three touchdowns, 172 yards rushing, 105 receiving yards, becoming the first player in a Rose Bowl Game to post 100 yards plus rushing and passing, and broke the all-purpose yards record, too. Other than McCaffrey's amazing day, the other entertaining part of the Rose Bowl was the pandering to Iowa voters that soon-to-be former Republican presidential candidates Carly Fiornia (a Stanford grad) and Mike Huckabee did before the game kicked off. Fiorina's decision to root against her alma mater is the beginning of the inevitable end of her campaign.
Maybe Iowa voters like bass guitar, Mike?
And last, but not least, the Sugar Bowl. It's the Rose Bowl's little brother who feels like it deserves top billing over every other bowl game. Ole Miss did what Stanford did, and buried the Oklahoma State Cowboys into a 34-3 hole in the first half. It's 41-13 Rebels as I go to post this, so I think it is safe to say Ole Miss won. This game should have been a 1pm kick off, and the Fiesta Bowl deserved the 8:30pm start.
"But it's tradition to play this game on New Year's Day, Sean!" Yeah, and it was tradition that important games were not played on New Year's Eve, but they changed that two years ago. Perhaps we should give a pass for this year's format. You might say that it was a test to see if people would watch on New Year's Eve like they would on New Year's Day. The reality is this. The ratings for the College Football playoff games were bad, the games were bad, and we can only hope that Clemson and Alabama put on a show in the National Championship Game on January 11 in Glendale. College Football Sunday Reaction: Pac 12's Playoff Chances Are Dead. "Bedlam" May Decide the Big 1211/15/2015 If there is an initial takeaway from Saturday's football action, it's this.
Stanford and Utah both losing eliminate the entire Pac 12 from the playoff picture, and Bedlam will most likely determine the Big 12 champion this season. The game of the week was No. 6 Baylor and No. 12 Oklahoma. The Bears, who had played a soft schedule coming into this key Big 12 battle against the Sooners, were looking to begin the first of three games against top 20 opponents in the conference with a victory. Oklahoma matched Baylor's speed with their own and were able to extend a three-point lead to ten, after a horse-collar tackle called on the Bears turned a 3rd and 15 into a 1st and 10, giving the Sooners new life and led to a touchdown drive, extending their lead to 44-34, which would be the final score. While Baylor isn't out of the playoff picture yet, they are at a disadvantage as long as Oklahoma keeps winning and No. 8 Oklahoma State is undefeated, and if the Cowboys are 11-0 when they meet Oklahoma in Bedlam, the Bears are done. The Big 12 title and a potential spot in the playoff will go to either the Pokes or the Sooners. No. 7 Stanford fell to Oregon 38-36 Saturday night, and the other one-loss team in the Pac 12, No. 10 Utah, lost to Arizona 37-30. The hope for the Pac 12 was that the Cardinal and Utes would be one-loss teams coming into the conference title game and based on where the chips fell everywhere else, the winner would have a shot at the playoff. Any chance of a team from this conference getting in are gone. Another side note: I wouldn't expect any of the top four to be moved out in this week's poll. All four won, but No. 2 Alabama stood out and looked impressive, beating No. 17 Mississippi State 31-6. It would not be surprising if the Crimson Tide move into the No, 1 spot after Clemson's close game at Syracuse. Ohio State and Notre Dame had wins by multiple scores. The wins were against sub .500 teams. While they weren't sexy, they should stay where they are.
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury had a scare on Wednesday night, as a teammates stick caught him through his mask and just below his left eye.
While he's fine and wasn't hurt badly, it was a moment that hit close to home.
The released photos of Greg Hardy's bruised ex-girlfriend should not have surprised you. Sometimes you don't need visuals to convince you that he did attack her.
Thoughts on Missouri football's influence on President Timothy Wolfe's decision to resign after not acting swiftly after several race-driven incidents on campus.
There were a couple storylines to come out of the Penguins-Sabres game Thursday night in Pittsburgh. Former Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma, who now coaches Buffalo, returned to Pittsburgh for the first time since his not-so-smooth firing back in June of last year, Pittsburgh won 4-3, but it wasn't an impressive performance against an inferior Sabres team, and this happened, too. You've probably seen this already. I showed my dad this video when I saw met him for lunch Friday. He thought it was awful, and he's almost as old as the guy in the video. Yes. The classic case of an adult snagging a puck (or in most cases, a baseball) from a kid. He's that guy. A balding, probably in his 60s, adult. What's even worse, the man turns and sees the kid after snagging it out of the air, and instead of going "I'm sorry son, here you go," he puts it in his pocket. Probably next to a couple salt packages he took at the condiment table on the concourse. Now, the Penguins saw this and gave the kid a puck and a Sidney Crosby jersey. Bylsma also gave him another puck. If you didn't know, the team has a good public relations team. I could imagine that the old man received some grief from the fans sitting around him and he had to be humiliated when the organization had the mascot Iceburg bring a puck and a $150 hockey jersey down to the kid, so that 18,000 plus people could shame him even more. If you have seen the South Park episode "Safe Space," and the scene where Randy is shamed into donating a dollar to hungry children at a Whole Foods, you may know how the old man might have felt after that moment. Or maybe he doesn't give a damn. Also, the woman right behind the Sabres bench who reached out for it too was probably really happy she didn't catch it. When it comes to getting items like balls, bats and pucks at games that come into the stands, why do some adults have to be, how do I put this nicely? Jerks. Why do theses jerks fight a kid for something like a foul ball or one that is lobbed to them by the ball boy or a player in the stands? Every so often, stories like the one in Pittsburgh Thursday night appear. A selfish adult intercepts a baseball intended for a kid and won't give it to them. For example, this adult woman who took a ball intended for a three year-old, wouldn't give it to him as he cried, and then had her friend take a picture of her with it. She should've just looked at the kid and said "f*** you, crybaby". It's just as bad as what she originally did. How about this one? This woman is worse than the one in Texas. Takes it right out of her hands and shows no remorse. Here's another one from Miami. A grown man taking a ball from a girl. Is there something in the water in South Beach? Wanna feel even worse, adults? Here's a young fan, giving a ball to a younger fan. Now, these moments of adults being horrible human beings are shown on television and make it onto television, and I would suspect that there are moments when adults do give kids a ball or puck that goes into the seats. Unfortunately, those don't become viral or get the media's attention.
Either way, don't be the guy at the Penguin game and don't grab baseballs and other items out of a child's hands. You are only a kid once in your life, and they will have more than enough time to be a miserable adult like some of you out there. Also, why not teach kids how not to be jerks? In a world full of them already, why not make an effort to limit those numbers from increasing in the future? Drink your overpriced beer, eat your $15 sandwich and give the damn ball (or puck) to the kids. |
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