Seattle Mariners Go Revolutionary & Abandon The Use Of Weights
Will It Work?
The Seattle Mariners are completely overhauling their approach to fitness and training this spring training. The Mariners have abandoned the use of weights in the teams facilty in Arizona and back in Seattle for the next three years. They are applying muscle science to particular movements instead of workout programs designed decades ago.
The Mariners have signed a three-year contract with Dr. Marcus Elliott of Santa Barbara, Calif., founder of the Peak Performance Project (P3). Elliott has been working with Mariners trainers the past couple of months to overhaul the team’s entire approach to fitness. The idea is to focus on reducing injuries and making the Mariners players more athletic through a series of workouts that have little to do with traditional weightlifting.
“If you’re going to build athletes, you have to do athletic things with them,” said Elliott, 44, who has trained many elite athletes on an individual basis, as well as worked with the U.S. Olympic Training Center and the Australian Institute of Sport and the Sports Science Institute of South Africa. Elliott has also worked with the New England Patriots and Utah Jazz.
The team will focus on strengthening the movements used in baseball like the ability to generate force through a player’s hip rotation. They also have players doing specific workouts designed to increase lower body strength and make that translate into an ability to hit a baseball and react more explosively to balls hit in their direction.
Workouts like 30-minute cardiovascular “flush run” that pitchers do after a start which have long been a part of baseball tradition already been scaled back dramatically. Elliott feels such runs are a waste of time. He says it’s like training a marathon runner when pitchers and ballplayers have to be worked like sprinters.
Each player has received an extensive physical evaluation upon arriving at camp. There are computer printouts of each player’s strengths and weaknesses in the areas that are going to be targetted by the new training regimen.
The team isn’t forcing the big league players to completely abandon their prior fitness regimens if they really don’t want to. They instead are working the new system in slowly at a base level to introduce players to it and the players have been receptive.
The farm system of the Mariners won’t have a choice as the team is making this system mandatory at every minor league level of the organization. Trainers are being taught the system and weight rooms adapted at the various minor league sites.
No team in baseball is doing this but I have no idea what sort of conditioning really works the best since I don’t do any myself.
Randy Moss Predicts This Will Be His Last Season With The Patriots
Simply The Best
At a charity softball game Saturday, New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss spoke about his future with the Pats. His belief is that 2010 is his last year with the organization.
“I don’t think they going to extend my contract,” said Moss. “I understand the beast, the nature of it. I think that just with what I think and what I know I don’t think they’re going to re-sign me back. So, after this season if there is not a lockout I’ll be looking for a new team.”
“It’s the business of it, man. You’ve got to understand the business of football. There is not bad blood. There is no animosity on my side or their side. I think it’s just the nature of the business of the NFL. You know the Patriots don’t really pay, so when I got my second contract from them that was a blessing in disguise. I understand the business. I don’t think they’re going to re-sign me back. I’m not mad. I’m not bitter. It’s just the way things are in this NFL, so like I said after this year I’ll be looking for a new team.”
Odd as it maybe with the timing of his statement, I think we have seen how the Kraft family has dealt with its players in last couple of years to think Moss is in right field with this believe. That’s one thing people forget when they discuss Moss, is his honesty.
Super Bowl XLIV Most Watched TV Event EVER With 106.5 Milli
Surpasses "Goodbye & Amen" Episode
For 27 years M*A*S*H finale was the most watched TV event until last nights Super Bowl XLVI dethroned it. The previous record was of 106.0 million for the finale in 1983.
The Saints 31-17 win over the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV drew a 45.0 national rating and 106.5 million viewers on CBS Sunday night, up 7% in ratings and 8% in viewership from Pittsburgh Steelers/Arizona Cardinals on NBC last year (42.0, 98.7 mil), and up 4% and 9%, respectively, from New York Giants/New England Patriots on FOX in ‘08 (43.1, 97.4 mil).
Additionally, the 45.0 rating is the highest for any television program since Dallas Cowboys/Pittsburgh Steelers drew a 46.0 in 1996.
To put the numbers in perspective, the Super Bowl drew over 70 million more viewers than the top non-NFL sporting event of the past 12 months — the Texas/Alabama BCS National Championship Game (30.8 mil).
This is the third-straight year the Super Bowl has drawn record viewership, and the fifth-straight year that viewership for the game has increased. Just five years ago, Super Bowl XXXIX drew only 86.1 million viewers on FOX. From 1999-05, the Super Bowl drew less than 90 million viewers each year.
The record for the Super Bowl is the capper to a highly successful season for the NFL. The regular season was the most-viewed since 1990 (16.6 mil), the Wild Card round was the most-viewed since ‘95 (29.9 mil), the Divisional Round was the most-viewed since ‘94 (33.0 mil), and the Conference Championship games were the most-viewed since ‘82 (52.9 mil).
Kurt Warner Retires From National Football League
Never Giving Up
Kurt Warner has called an end to one of the great storybook careers in NFL history. The 38-year-old quarterback announced his retirement from the game after a dozen years in a league that at first rejected him, then revered him as he came from nowhere to lead the lowly St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls, winning the first of them. Written off as a has-been, he rose again to lead the long-suffering Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl a year ago.
Warner walked away with a year left on a two-year, $23 million contract, knowing he still had the skills to play at the highest level.He had one of the greatest postseason performances ever in Arizona’s 51-45 overtime wild card victory over Green Bay Packers on Jan. 10, but sustained a brutal hit in the Cardinals 45-14 divisional round loss to the New Orleans Saints six days later.
Warner leaves the game with a legacy that could land him in the Hall of Fame even though he didn’t start his first game until he was 28. In a comparison with the 14 quarterbacks to make the Hall of Fame in the last 25 years, Warner has a better career completion percentage, yards per pass attempt and yards per game. Only Dan Marino had more career 300-yard passing games.
In 124 regular-season games, Warner completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 32,344 yards and 208 touchdowns. He and Fran Tarkenton are the only NFL quarterbacks to throw for 100 touchdowns and 14,000 yards for two teams.
He was also the fastest player in NFL history to 10,000 yards passing and tied Dan Marino as fastest to reach 30,000. He has the top three passing performances in Super Bowl history. His 1,156 yards passing in the 2008 playoffs broke the NFL record of 1,063 he set with St. Louis in 1999.
He played three seasons in the Arena Football League and one in NFL Europe, mixed in with a sting stocking grocery shelves back in Iowa. Warner made the Rams as a backup in 1998, then was thrust into the starting role in 1999 when Trent Green was injured.
What followed was a masterful and wholly unexpected season, when he led the Rams to a 13-3 regular-season record, then a Super Bowl triumph over Tennessee Titans. He was named the league and Super Bowl MVP. St. Louis was upset in the first round of the playoffs the following season, but Warner had them back in the big game in 2001, where “The Greatest Show on Turf” lost a squeaker to New England Patriots. The season earned him a second NFL MVP award.
But after an injury-plagued 2002 season, he was sacked six times and suffered a concussion in a 2003 season-opening loss to the New York Giants. He never started for St. Louis again. He signed a free agent contract with the Giants for 2004, but was replaced by rookie Eli Manning after nine games. Warner came to the Cardinals in 2005 and was an off-and-on starter before replacing the injured Matt Leinart part way through the 2007 season.
Warner had to beat out Leinart the following spring, then led the Cardinals to the NFC West crown and playoff victories over Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia before the narrow loss to Pittsburgh Steelers in last year’s Super Bowl, where he threw for 377 yards.
Warner’s departure leaves Leinart the presumed replacement. The former Heisman Trophy winner has started 17 games for Arizona but only one in the last two years.
HUGE TV Numbers For AFC & NFC Championship Games
Est. 1920
The NFC Championship game on FOX was of blockbuster magnitude as the New Orleans Saints thrilling overtime victory over the Minnesota Vikings drew a 33.3 overnight and approximately 57.9 million viewers, which would be the second best NFC Championship average viewership of all time, behind only 1982’s Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers (“The Catch”) matchup that produced a 68.7 million viewers.
The NFC Championship game on FOX Sunday night was well above last years Arizona Cardinals/Philadelphia Eagles game which only produced 38.4 million viewers and it 33 o.3 overnight is up 5% from New York Giants/Green Bay Packers on FOX in 2008 (31.7) and . Ratings peaked at a 39.4 from 10:00-10:30 PM.
The Vikings/Saints is the most-viewed television program of any kind, excluding Super Bowls, since the series finale of Seinfeld in 1998 which saw 76.3 million.
The game did not dominate in all markets though, in Buffalo the NFC Championship game was actually outdrawn head-to-head by Extreme Makeover Home Edition on ABC, with Extreme Makeover drawing a 35.8 and the game drawing a 32.1.
CBS on the other hand did not post as great as number compared to FOX however did draw the highest overnight rating for the AFC Championship game in 16 years and saw 46.9 million actual viewers.
The Indianapolis Colts come from behind win over the New York Jets drew a stellar 28.4 overnight rating on Sunday afternoon, up 4% from San Diego Chargers/New England Patriots on CBS in 2008 (27.4).
The 28.4 overnight is the highest for the AFC Championship Game since Buffalo Bills/Kansas City Chiefs in 1994 (29.5) on NBC. Additionally, the 28.4 is the highest overnight for any NFL telecast on CBS, excluding Super Bowls, since the network resumed airing NFL telecasts in 1998. Ratings peaked at a 32.0 from 5:30-6 PM.
NFL Will Only Play 1 Game In London Due To “Current Uncertainty”
Est. 1920
The NFL has scrapped plans to play a second regular-season game in Britain next season.
After the league announced that the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos would play at Wembley Stadium on October 31, marking the fourth straight season to have played a regular season game in the British capital.
NFL commissioner Roger “Godfather” Goodell has said that the league was considering adding a second game but has said that uncertainty related to collective bargaining talks was of reason for the scrap on not to play a second game in the United Kingdom.
“Our ambition to bring a second game to the UK is as strong as ever. Once the current uncertainty is resolved, we will be in a strong position to bring multiple games to our UK fan base.”
In October, before the New England Patriots-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, Goodell said the idea of eventually putting an expansion team in London was of “tremendous interest” to the NFL.
San Francisco 49ers To Play Denver Broncos In London In 2010
Est. 1920
The San Francisco 49ers will play the Denver Broncos next season at Wembley Stadium, the fourth straight year the NFL will stage a regular-season game in the British capital. The 49ers will be listed as the home team for the Oct. 31 game and giving up a home date. The Broncos have played seven international exhibition games in the past.
The game between the five-time Super Bowl champion 49ers and two-time winner Broncos may not be the only one in Britain next season. The NFL will continue to explore the possibility of playing a second game in the UK in 2010.
The 49ers and Broncos struggled to 8-8 records this season and missed the playoffs.
The NFL has played games at Wembley for the last three seasons, the first game featured the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants beating the Miami Dolphins 13-10. In 2008, the New Orleans Saints beat the San Diego Chargers 37-32. And this season, the New England Patriots defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-7 in October.
Junior Seau Escapes Into The Night With Another Retirement
Where's Was Tiaina Baul Seau Blacklash?
Much is made of Brett Favre is he retiring or is he coming back saga pretty much every NFL off-season the last three years, however, linebacker Junior Seau started it all first and has quietly gone on to do the same thing three times. I’ve grown equally tied of both but nationally it’s only Favre that takes the heat.
San Diego Chargers witnessed back in 2006 local boy Tiaina Baul Seau Jr come home and sign his retirement papers after being released by the Miami Dolphins, you forgot he probably played there, only to get a call from the New England Patriots and give the NFL one more shot. Wonderful.
Then after last season Seau pulled the teary eyed the game has given me so much speach and said he looked forward to going into television. Sure that sounded great only nobody outside of the sports blogging world care about Tiaina Baul Seau doing regular jobs on Versus. So naturally he and the Patriots once again had a “deep throat” conversation about returning. Low and behold a day later he was back with New England but this time on his terms of how much practice and how many plays he would participate in.
Now it seems that 41 year old is saying the same thing that he intends to retire for good after completing his 20th season.
Are we for real this time Tiaina?
Ravens Fan Owns Up To Patriots Win Prediction
Hey not everyone is got the cash to throw around on predictions or statements and for the majority of the time those ego bets with no cash involved are the ones that will live longer in infamy as is the case here.
Ten years from now everyone in that household that witnessed Ted make claim that their beloved Baltimore Ravens would lose to the New England Patriots only to witness the Ravens demolish the Pats 33-14 will always remember him living up to it by wearing an electric dog collar and shocking the hell out of his neck and head area.
Way to go Ted.
Houston Texans Brian Cushing Wins NFL Defensive Rookie Of The Year
Elephant
Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing was named the 2009 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year becoming the second Texans linebacker in four seasons to win the award as DeMeco Ryans took the award in 2006.
The tackling machine from USC, drafted 15th overall last April in the NFL Draft, is a runaway winner in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the league. Cushing received 39 votes, easily beating Buffalo safety Jairus Byrd, who had six.
Cushing was all over the field this year, racking up 134 tackles, four interceptions, two forced fumbles and five sacks. He made an impact the moment he got to Houston and he seemingly has a very bright future ahead of him. Cushing’s best game might have been his nine solo tackles, one sack and an interception in a victory over Miami on Dec. 27 or maybe his nine tackles, interception and two forced fumbles in a win over Cincinnati on Oct. 18.
Cushing is the seventh straight linebacker voted top defensive rookie and the ninth in 10 years. Last year’s winner was New England’s Jerod Mayo.
Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews, who also went to USC and was a first-round draft pick, earned three votes. Washington linebacker Brian Orakpo got the other two.
Mark Cuban Speaks The Truth In Describing The NFL
O No You Didn't
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is upset that the NFL and its television partners has scheduled the Cowboys home playoff game for Saturday night.
The timing conflicts with the Mavericks home game that night. The ‘Boys take on Philadelphia Eagles at 7 p.m. (CST) in Jerry’s World while his Mavericks play at home against the Utah Jazz at 7:30 p.m. and he anticipates a high number of no-shows. The Mavericks play Friday night at San Antonio, which eliminates the possibility of moving Saturday’s game up earlier in the day.
“I know we’re just little pissants compared to the NFL, but seriously, the NFL is turning into the ugly American when it comes to sports leagues,” Cuban said before Tuesday’s home game against Detroit. “They don’t give a crap about anybody but themselves.”
Word! Speak the truth Cuban!
Cuban continued to make his point on Twitter, pointing out that the Boston Celtics host the Toronto Raptors at 12 p.m. (CST) on Sunday, while the New England Patriots open their playoffs at home against the Baltimore Ravens… at the same time!
Cuban also made it clear that it’s not a shot at owner Jerry Jones but the league itself, a league that has never shown any interest in developing a scheduling cooperative with the NBA so each league can try to avoid overlapping.
“It’s not a Jerry Jones issue – Jerry’s great,” Cuban said. “But at some point in time, that will catch up to [the NFL] and hurt them in a big way.”
I love the NFL too but some of the NFL’s actions disgust me at times and I’ll gladly repeat myself in saying speak the truth Cuban!
Randy Moss Answers His Critics
A lot of people through the week questioned about whether Randy Moss shut it down last week, except for sportsgrindent.com, it was garbage talk. No mistake about it always been and always will be a huge Moss stan. Through the years he’s taken a bad rap, I know he dogged his time in Oakland and I wasn’t fond of that either, but the majority of the time people try to speak of his image in a negative light which has been undeserving. Well I’m here to basically say what Randy didn’t necessary say to his critics after his 70 yards and 1 touchdown to help the Patriots beat the Bills 17-10 yesterday….Screw You!
NFL To Play 2 Regular Season Games In London In 2010
Super Bowl XLIX In London?
NFL UK managing director Alistair Kirkwood has confirmed that the NFL plans to play two regular-season games in London during 2010. The league has held a game in Wembley Stadium for each of the past three years.
“We’ve got two teams that have agreed conceptually to be home teams. We’re currently trying to get the opposition confirmed,” Kirkwood said.
New England scored a 35-7 win over Tampa Bay in the NFL’s annual trip across the pond, which took place in Week 7 this season. The Saints beat the Chargers in the 2008 visit to Wembley, and the Giants edged out the Dolphins in 2007, the NFL’s inaugural England game. More than 84,000 fans took in the Patriots-Buccaneers game in October, and the NFL’s reception in England has been almost universally positive, so much so that talk of eventually moving a team overseas has gained some support.
According to the BBC, London is “likely to host both games” next season, but other venues could be sought if the NFL continues to schedule multiple games in the United Kingdom.
“We’re keen to play outside of London, but the teams themselves feel more comfortable being in London,” Kirkwood said. “I’ve got an ambition to take the game to Scotland and Wales but it’s probably not likely to happen in 2010.”
Roger “Godfather” Goodell is just trying to step on the toes of David “The Goon” Stern and his strangle hold of the international dollar.
Can’t wait for a Super Bowl XLIX to be played in London.
New England Patriots Mascot Arrested In Prostitution Sting
Naughty Patty
The New England Patriots mascot Pat the Patriot was arrested in Rhode Island this weekend in a prostitution sting, where a one of the prostitutes arrested was a 17-year-old girl.
Robert Somanti, 47, the man behind Pat the Patriot, the American flag-decorated mascot for the Super Bowl-winning football team, was arrested along with 13 others after he tried to cash in on sex with a prostitute after a new went into effect banning indoor prostitution. He’s been suspended from his duties as Patty and could be facing up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
Tiger Woods is not impressed.
Cowboys vs Giants Is Highest Rated FOX Game Of The Year
Est. 1920
The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys combined to draw massive numbers for the second time this season.
The Cowboys/Giants game drew an 18.9/35 overnight rating on FOX. The 18.9 overnight is the highest of the season for an NFL telecast on any network, topping the previous high of 18.3 for the Week 8 Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers game on NBC for the Sunday Night Football.
The Cowboys have been involved in four of the top games of the season, including their earlier meeting with the Giants, which aired on NBC.
Sunday’s telecast drew the highest overnight for a regular season NFL telecast on a single network since New England Patriots/Indianapolis Colts in 2007 (22.5), and the highest for an NFL telecast on FOX since Giants/Cowboys in 2006 (19.1).
FOX, CBS & NFL Network Give Thanks For The NFL
Est. 1920
I don’t know why the ratings for Thanksgiving to forever to get in but they finally are here and once again the Dallas Cowboys draw in the large numbers.
Overnight ratings were up double-digits for both Thanksgiving Day NFL games.
Thursday’s Green Bay Packers/Detroit Lions game on FOX drew a 12.1 overnight rating, up 11% from Tennessee Titans/Detroit Lions on CBS last year (10.9). They are however down 13% from the Green Bay Packers/Detroit Lions in 2007 (13.9).
The 12.1 overnight is tied as the second-lowest for the early Thanksgiving Day game since ‘01.
Later in the day, Oakland Raiders/Dallas Cowboys drew a 12.6 overnight on CBS, up 11% from Seattle Seahawks/Dallas Cowboys on FOX last year (11.4), and up 2% from New York Jets/Dallas Cowboys in 2007 (12.4).
The 12.6 is the third-highest overnight for the late Thanksgiving Day game since ‘01.
The NFL Network saw it’s second-most viewed game in it’s history with the New York Giants/Denver Broncos.
The New York Giants/Denver Broncos drew 6.1 million viewers on NFL Network Thursday night, up 61% from 3.8 million for Arizona Cardinals/Philadelphia Eagles last year.
Thursday’s game ranks as the second-most viewed NFL telecast ever on NFL Network, behind only Green Bay Packers/Dallas Cowboys in 2007 (10.1 mil).
In related ratings news the SportsBusiness Journal shows the Cowboys have been the NFL’s biggest draw in primetime over the past four seasons.
Since 2006, primetime regular season Cowboys games have averaged 19.2 million viewers putting the team comfortably ahead of the second-place Colts (16.7 mil) and the Giants (16.6 mil). The Bears (16.3 mil), Patriots (16.0 mil) and Eagles (16.0 mil) round out the top 6.
The 49ers averaged the fewest viewers of any NFL team with more than 1 primetime appearance, with just 9.9 million.
NFL Network’s Dolphins/Panthers Game Loses To Project Runway
Est. 1920
NFL Network’s second game of the season saw a steep decline in viewership.
Thursday’s Miami Dolphins versus the Carolina Panthers game drew a 1.9 U.S. rating and 2.9 million viewers on NFL Network, down 30% in ratings and 32% in viewership from last year’s comparable New York Jets/New England Patriots matchup 2.7, 4.4 mil.
Additionally, the game was off 21% and 24%, respectively, from last week’s Chicago Bears/San Francisco 49ers game 2.4, 3.9 mil.
The game outdrew both NBA games on TNT and college football on ESPN Thursday night, but was no match for Project Runway on Lifetime 2.9, 4.3 mil.
4th & 2 Do It Again, Bill Belichick
I Live In A Trash Can
There’s been a lot of worthy NFL news to break today and between chasing down these stories and scouring through Internet I’ve found one common theme, it’s that Bill Belichick made the wrong decision to go for it on 4th and 2 in Sunday night game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Yesterday I saw several people shooting him down like it was the worst decision ever made in pro football history and I just shook it off as a lot Monday quarterbacking going on. But it’s Tuesday and I still continue to see people ripping into him. Are these same people forgetting that this man has used his gut in making the same kind of calls like that on his way to winning three Super Bowls?
Is the man a dick, yes, does he dress like Oscar the Grouch, hell yeah, but it just amazes me that his track record for winning was instantly thrown out the window after the attempt came up unsuccessful. If the Patriots would have been successful there defiantly would be a different tune of how gutsy and brilliant Belichick is instead of all the bashing?
He’s taken his team to four Super Bowls, named the coach of the year twice, has a postseason record of 15-4 and an overall 159-93, so I would say he has good credit. Along the way to winning three Super Bowls and posting the record he has there has has to be times in an NFL season where you throw the book out and to trust your gut and roll the dice. You’ll win some and lose some and I think he has proven that. I stand by his decision to go for it against the Colts and his statement that he would do it again. This is coming from someone who picked the Patriots to lose that game and isn’t a card carrying fan club member of the grouch.
Miami Dolphins Bench Joey Porter
The Man Coined The Phrase 'Paper Champions'
A year after Joey Porter produce a career-high 17 1/2 sack the Miami Dolphins have decided to pin the fall of the Miami Dolphins from last years success onto Porter and his 12 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks by benching him against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Porter has been know to be lose with the lip and last week was no different when he called the Patriots cheaters and said that Tom Brady received preferential treatment from referees, which neither of his statements could be consider anything but fact. The Dolphins then lost to New England, 27-17, with Porter recording no tackles.
Despite that, head coach Tony Sparano had only good things to say about Porter’s approach following Friday’s practice.
“I see no frustration,” Sparano said. “What I do see is a guy that’s played in enough football games to know, ‘There are some things I need to do better out there.’ There are a lot of things that people say about Joey that are not always favorable, but one of the good things about Joey is the guy’s a pretty good pro. He takes it personally. The guy cares.”
So why the benching? Is it because of the hamstring and knee injury that kept him out of the October 4th game against Buffalo is still lingering? Is it really Porter’s production, when compared to fellow teammates Jason Taylor or Channing Crowder is not all that bad, or is it Sparano wants to use Porter as an example, for a team unlikely to make the playoffs this season, that lip running and trying to stand out from the pact won’t be in Miami?
I’ll take the latter and I don’t see Porter being the reason for the 2009-10 Dolphins lack of success.
Chris Chambers Is Looking For A Job
I'll Take Him
San Diego Chargers they no longer need the services of wide receiver Chris Chambers. His receiving total for the season was only 122 yards and one touchdown, recently lost his spot to the emergence of Malcom Floyd.
Any team that lands Chambers on waivers will have to pick up the balance of his $4.55 million salary, and if he clears waivers, he’ll be entitled to collect the remaining $2.4 million as termination pay.
Chamber’s has never been a speedy wide receiver but one that could steal a catch out of the air with his great hands and ability to not be out muscled on the field. Those are perfect qualities for a few teams in need of a wide receiver like the Patriots, since they recently cut Joey Galloway and lost Julian Edelman to a broken arm or reuniting with the Dolphins.
Chambers was obtained at the trading deadline in 2007 for a second-round draft pick and played a big role in the Chargers’ march to the AFC championship game that year. However I’ll never forget his 3 touchdowns against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving day in 2003, hated the outcome but enjoy the performance.
Favre’s Homecoming Draws In High Numbers, But Not Huge
Take That Ted
Brett Favre’s homecoming drew big ratings on Sunday, but perhaps not quite as high as expected.
NFL coverage featuring the Vikings’ win over the Packers drew an 18.3 overnight rating on FOX, it doesn’t set any ratings records for the heavily hyped game. In 2007 alone, three regular season games drew an 18.4 overnight or higher and that does not include the Patriots/Giants game in Week 17 of that season, which aired on three separate networks. In 2006, a Giants/Cowboys game on FOX drew a 19.1 overnight rating.
In Minneapolis/St. Paul, the Vikings’ win drew a 47.0/76 rating. Meaning 76% of local households with televisions in use were tuned to the game, while (45.0/70) 70% in Milwaukee.
UPDATE: Where’s The Junior Seau Backlash?
Looks Like They Did Forget About You
Originally posted September 9th: Junior Seau the 40-year old 12-time Pro Bowl NFL linebacker told The Associated Press he would sign only with New England Patriots because of his familiarity with the team. He’s willing to play up to six games and any more would cut too much into his time with his children.
He retired in 2006 for four days, then signed with the Patriots. Seau retired again before the 2008 season, but again came back out of retirement for the second time last December to play four games for the injury-depleted Patriots. As of right now, he’s retired, but has publicly stated that he would be willing to rejoin the Pats. The only thing missing is about 1000 hours of media coverage and we have ourselves a full-blown Favre alert.
If your trying to limit your play in the NFL to six games do you really want to play? Or is Seau trying to grab media attention so we are aware of his upcoming reality show ‘Sports Jobs with Junior Seau’ on Versus set to air December 2?
Why are we talking about Junior Seau all of a sudden? Who asked him if he’d be willing to play ball again? Why not ask Freddie Mitchell or Ickey Woods what their plans are for the upcoming football season?
***UPDATE***
The ESPN 1000 hour coverage never came, major print publications like Sports Illustrated didn’t give him a cover, but yet this past Wednesday October 14, Junior Seau was back in the NFL with the New England Patriots. I still ask where is the backlash on Seau like 5-0 Brett Favre received?
60 MINUTES SHINES ON BRAIN INJURIES
Sports Grind Entertainment is a fan of HBO’s Real Sports but is 60 Minutes a fan of Sports Grind Entertainment? Anyone that’s a fan of high school, NCAA, or NFL football can obviously see the number of concussion been on the raise over the years. Whether it’s due to the athletes being bigger, faster or stronger, little is still known of the long term effects on concussions. Since seeing a piece aired on Real Sports this topic has been a hot one within the S.G.E. family as well as trying to make others conscious of the subject matter.
Former New England Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson told 60 Minutes that his concussions were so severe that he often couldn’t see straight and he’d keep playing, because that’s expected in the NFL.
“Lot of times, if I didn’t get my vision back before the next snap, I’d have to have another linebacker call the plays. I couldn’t see on the sideline. I couldn’t see my defensive coordinator signaling in ’cause my vision was still blurred,” Johnson said on 60 Minutes.
So it’s good to see 60 Minutes follow S.G.E. lead as we did so following the lead of HBO’s Real Sports. 60 Minutes might have more access but the issue and awareness can never have enough voices.
RODNEY HARRISON TELLS BRADY TAKE OFF THE SKIRT
At times it becomes chic to say things along the lines “thought this was football” or “it’s a contact sport” and leave it at that. This incident obviously will be no different. But come on NFL, it’s time for you to take the skirt off.
