MSN TV Blog: Sports

The Tears of the Patriots Taste Just Like Candy

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:07:47 GMT

Sorry to rub it in, Patriots fans, but I have to say that I likes me an underdog winning. The Super Bowl, not surprisingly, was strictly good times.

There was a minimum of dumb commentary, except either Joe Buck or Troy Aikman was saying something about how the Giants couldn't have hoped for a better first half. I'm like, "Um, I think they could have hoped for one where they were ahead. Unless they had really low self-esteem."

I wonder what happened to the Patriots' offensive line. Did it always suck and somehow hide that fact up till now, or were the Giants really just that fired up?

I also wonder how many times we'll see clips of that crazy third-down completion where Manning escaped approximately 50 gazillion attempts to sack him and got the ball to Tyree. One for the history books.

I realize how disappointed Bill Bellichick must be that he wasn't able to go undefeated for the season, but he gave one of the most classless post-game interviews I think I've ever seen. And that's especially considering that he should shoulder the blame for the loss. If he had gone for a 49-yard field goal instead of a first down on 4th and 13, the game would have probably played differently. Instead, he helped give the Giants defense extra confidence that they could hold the Patriots down.

The commercials this year were as usual a mixed crop.

On the plus side, the talking baby ones for E-Trade, the Macy floats fighting over a Coke bottle, Charles Barkley bugging Dwayne Wade and the Budweiser commercial with the dalmatian training the horse to make the grade were all pretty amusing.

I was confused by the commercial with the stain. And the Justin Timberlake getting sucked into a backyard by a woman drinking Pepsi was just weird.

The worst of the bunch were the two Sales Genie ads. Crappy animation mixed with semi-stereotypical plots about an Indian sales agent and his many kids and a pair of Chinese pandas using Sales Genie to get free leads made them pretty awful.

- posted by Raoul

Why Can't Sportscasters Stop Themselves from Saying Racially Insensitive Things?

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 03:51:09 GMT

You may or may not have come across the latest mini-controversy: a commentator jokingly said that all the other PGA golfers should "lynch Tiger Woods" if they want to have a chance to win.

The guy apologized, and Tiger took the remark in stride.

But it just makes me wonder why there's a lengthy history of sportscasters saying dumb stuff in a similar vein. From the infamous Jimmy the Greek comment years and years ago to Michael Irvin saying that Tony Romo must have some black genes in him because he's so athletically gifted, there's plenty one could choose from.

Is it just that jocks can't be bothered to be PC? Does the need to fill tons of air time result in the inadvertent bloopers? Are people more quick to pick up on sports stuff for some reason than other broadcasters' gaffes?

Anyone have any ideas?

- posted by Raoul

Are You Ready for Some Patriots Football?

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:53:28 GMT

As you may know, the New England Patriots are going for a perfect regular-season record on Saturday.

But you may be less aware of the news that the NFL has decided to let both NBC and CBS do a first-time simulcast of the game. Previously, it was scheduled to just be on the NFL Network.

I'd almost say the move was gracious, if I weren't sure the NFL will be well-compensated for its decision.

It seems like seeing the Patriots smash the Giants and downing a couple of cold ones will be cause for much TV viewing. I'm guessing that the audience will be upwards of 30 million.

- posted by Raoul

Incredible 'X-Games' Footage of a 40+ Foot Drop

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 22:49:55 GMT

I was hanging out at a bar last night when I first saw this accident happen. Now that I'm 100 percent sober, I still can't believe the guy just got up and walked away.

Knowing he's as close to alright as he is, I don't feel bad that the moment when he's in the air with his legs wriggling makes me think of Wile E. Coyote.

- posted by Raoul

A Second Super Bowl Take

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 18:20:17 GMT

I had a different feeling on the Big Game than my partner in crime, in part because I'm from Chicago and so was more invested in it. It was a tight contest and anybody's game until the fourth quarter, when Bad Rex threw another pick. It's unfortunate that the Bears lost Cedric Benson so early, because clearly the game plan was to punish the so-so run defense of the Colts and without Benson, Lovie didn't seem to have an offensive Plan B.

Plus, it took till the fourth quarter for the Bears defense to sew up the middle of the field. It was ridiculous how many times he could dump it to someone there. But if the Bears had to get beaten, it's better that it was the Colts than the Patriots.

On the commercial front: As usual, only a few could possibly have been worth the $2.5 mil. I personally liked the beer commercials with the fist pound being replaced by the bitch slap and the down-on-his-luck dog getting to fake being a Dalmatian, the Coke Grand Theft Auto rip-off where the protagonist becomes a nice guy after having some coke and the Career Builder survival-of-the-fittest deals. (Although the consensus among viewers was that we wanted to see them revisit the guy who was working with monkeys). The one about beating heart risks was pretty good too, and the Oprah-Letterman one that Kim referenced earlier.

There were a couple headscratchers: the robot who dreams about being laid off and committing suicide, the guys kissing and then ripping off chest hair to prove they were heterosexual and the people dancing to "It's Hot in Herre." And even though the overall female audience is huge, it seemed silly to me to advertise women's hair coloring during the Super Bowl.

And maybe it was because there were two black head coaches, but it seemed like advertisers went out of their way to kiss up to black folks this time around.

- posted by Raoul

Puppy Bowl III!

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 21:48:03 GMT

Forget the Bears and Colts … Super Bowl Sunday's all about the puppies! Animal Planet's alternative to all the boring pre-game programming is "Puppy Bowl III" (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET), where the most adorable collection of pups play on a mock football field, compete with timeouts, player changes, "penalties" (that's when a puppy potties on the field) and a TAILgate party. So freakin cute! For cat lovers, there's even a "Kitty Half Time Show."

You can also vote on the Puppy Bowl MVP (Most Valuable Puppy, of course) at the Animal Planet Website, find out more about pet adoptions, and, in case you missed "Puppy Bowls I and II," they're also available on DVD at the Animal Planet site. Tip to you 'rents: Kids LOVE these DVDs. My niece sits totally glued to the tube when you pop one in.

Here's a YouTube clip of the "Puppy Bowl II" opening:

- posted by Kim

Federline's Super Bowl Ad

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:45:24 GMT

Kevin Federline says: "Would you like fries with that?" Actually, he's not a fast food worker (yet) in real life ... he just plays one on TV, in this Nationwide Insurance ad that will air during the Super Bowl. Doesn't really make me want to patronize Nationwide. Or fast food. Or ever listen to rap music, ever again. You?

- posted by Kim

Bryant Gumbel, Race and the Winter Olympics

Thu, 16 Feb 2006 18:39:39 GMT

A little controversy has started about Bryant Gumbel's commentary about the Winter Olympics.

A television blogger transcribed a monologue from Gumbel's "Real Sports" program explaining his non-fanhood. According to the transcript, Gumbel in part said: "So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the winter games look like a GOP convention."

This has led to accusations of racism, both in the right-wing blogosphere and on the show's message boards.

I'm on the fence on this one.

If anything, Gumbel should take flak for not recognizing that the Republican conventions are putting an increasing number of blacks in them.

I think if anyone were to gather the world's greatest athletes, they would have far more blacks than are present at the Winter Games. But in 2006, shouldn't we be past caring about the races of athletes? Shouldn't we all just unite in the understanding that the Winter Games are really, really boring?

What do you all think?

- posted by Raoul

On the Superbowl

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 16:56:21 GMT

Superbowl XL? More like XS.

I think that was the least attention I've paid to a Superbowl in like 10 years. Maybe I would have been more entertained if I had actually put money on this game. But I don't think I knew anyone who would take the Seahawks.

Hey, hot tip for you. Did you know Jerome Bettis is from Detroit?

Even the commercials were pretty weak. Mostly a bunch of spots where I was like, "They paid a couple mil for this?" I only noticed the FedEx commercial, which I thought was a little over the top.

Thanks to Janet Jackson, we didn't get to hear Mick Jagger sing that a woman's so hot that she can make a dead man come, even though fans have been hearing that for 30, 40 years. Shouldn't he have just omitted that lyric if he knew he wasn't going to get to sing it?

Here's wishing Superbowl XLI is worth watching.

- posted by Raoul

TV Poker Takes Its Next Step

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 09:19:53 GMT

FOX Sports Network is planning to introduce the next wave in TV poker: a stately Pokerdome that will host events starting in May. The tourneys there will include "speed poker," in which players have only 15 seconds to act.

It will aim to make poker more of a spectator sport, with an audience that can hear what the players are saying and doing, while insulating players from what audience members are saying and doing. The series will use cards with special computer chips in them, so even when players fold hands, the audience will know what they have.

There will also be what FOX is calling the largest single day payout in sports history through this series when six players put up $10 million apiece and the winner takes all.

I am a TV poker junkie, much to my wife's chagrin. If it involves chips and felt, I'll give it a whirl. And if this new series can get high-quality players like Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen and others, it'll be a sure thing in my book.

- posted by Raoul

WWE Will Start Random Drug Testing

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 18:50:56 GMT

After the death of one of its stars, World Wrestling Entertainment is instituting what it says will be frequent screenings for steroids and illegal drugs.

Will it be enough to change people's behavior? Will fans turn off a league where 'roids aren't around?

- posted by Raoul

Jon Stewart on Terrible Terrell

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 20:07:16 GMT

Sometimes, the best perspective on the more ridiculous situations in sports come from the non-sports commentators. Take this one on the Terrell Owens drama from Jon Stewart on last night's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart":

"The other big news, of course … a wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles was suspended from the team for last night's game in which the Eagles lost to the Washington Redskins and will no longer play for the Eagles for the rest of the year, because he is a dick. That's the reason. Very talented player. They decided to suspend him.

"Apparently he made crass remarks about the Eagles organization, about quarterback Donovan McNabb and got in a fist fight with one of his teammates. So they had a meeting and said, 'Gee, should we suspend this guy?' When is the last time you could go to work, call your boss a dick, say he's not doing a good job, punch out another employee and then sit back and go, 'I think I'll play tonight, yeah! That would be good.' The talented idiot."

- posted by Kim

'MNF' Pre-game Shenanigans

Tue, 13 Sep 2005 00:46:10 GMT

If you're near a TV right now and are a sports fan, check out the "Monday Night Football" pre-game on ESPN. Trash-talking by Jeremiah Trotter led to a fight between the Eagles and Falcons resulted in Jeremiah Trotter and Kevin Mathis getting kicked out. Then a whole bunch of Eagles and a whole bunch of Falcons were jumping up next to each other trying to establish dominance. Bi-zarre.

If you're not, you'll probably see this video for the next two weeks again and again.

My take is that the fight didn't seem to involve actual punching, so I don't know if it's right to kick them both out.

I'm sure it's something folks will be discussing over at Sports Filter. So feel free to head over there.

- posted by Raoul

The Couch Potato Workout

Sun, 11 Sep 2005 03:11:10 GMT

Just in time for the first official week of armchair quarterbackin' the new NFL season: WebMD's workout that lets you get fit while watching the tube.

Now if only I could figure out a way to make a living while watching TV. Oh wait …

- posted by Kim

'Knight School's' In Session

Sat, 06 Aug 2005 20:02:47 GMT

Legendary basketball coach Bobby Knight becomes a reality TV star next season when he offers Texas Tech students the chance to survive his intense training sessions and win a walk-on role on the Red Raiders' hoops team.

The six-episode series, which begins filming in September, airs next February on ESPN, but as any sports fan will tell you, the strategically brilliant, but volatile, to say the least, Knight has the potential to stir up some reality TV excitement that belongs on one of the major networks. In primetime.

- posted by Kim