Week-in-Review: Doin' Work, Earlier Series Games, T.O., Vick, and more
I saw all but about 40 minutes of Spike Lee’s so-called documentary, Doin’ Work, about Kobe Bryant on a game day during the season. Forty minutes may sound like a lot to miss until you see this ridiculous waste of film. It’s essentially Bryant doing a voice over of a Lakers game against San Antonio in which he also wore a mic or had a mic aimed at him to pick up his in-game chatter.
I’ve never really had the opportunity to play team sports, but I have to believe that anyone that talked non-stop during a game as if he knows absolutely everything would be annoying to play with. I don’t care how much you are a fan of the guy, he talked more than the coach, Phil Jackson, even during halftime. I understand that having a microphone and a camera specifically aimed at an individual automatically makes the person act differently than they normally would, but the suggestion was that this was typical Bryant.
His ego only increased with the commentary. Bryant’s ability to kiss his own ass was mind boggling. He even managed to mention how he scored 50+ points against “Spike Lee’s” Knicks shortly after that game.
I still can’t figure out who had to be more desperate for this to actually be broadcast: ESPN in it’s unending campaign to massage superstar players or Spike Lee in an effort to remain relevant.
Week-in-Review:
World Series games starting earlier. Baseball finally realized that starting World Series games at 8:37 PM on the east coast was utterly ridiculous, and will be starting them “before 8 PM” at 7:57 PM. I saw one report that Saturday games may start earlier. I’ll give baseball some credit on this one, but why make the earliest games on the one day a week most kids can actually stay up (and adults can stay awake)?
T.O.’s arrival in Buffalo. How bored are people in Buffalo? A large crowd, including the Bills’ cheerleaders, showed up to greet Terrell Owens at the airport as he arrived to join team workouts. I guess Laverne & Shirley reruns were over for the night.
Favre surgery. ESPN is apparently more in love with Brett Favre than, well, Brett Favre. They’ve decided to keep talking about him whether he decides to have surgery to return to football or not, even if they must resort to completely erroneous reports about him. The reports do serve a purpose though, helping them discuss Favre the following day when they retract everything they made up. Gonzo of the Inquirer does a great job of poking fun at the cable giant’s “reporting” on Favre.
Vick. I’ll just say it – Michael Vick has to be allowed to have a chance to play in the NFL again. The “debate” about whether or not he should is based on nothing more than emotion and PETA’s (People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals) grab for attention. What Vick did was horrible, but Ray Lewis is not only in the NFL, he’s one of the guys constantly praised by the networks that work hand-in-hand with the league. Lewis was part of a murder investigation that just sort of went away, and there’s no complaints that he’s still playing.
I’m not supporting Vick. Again, what he did makes it abundantly clear he has serious problems. But he went to jail and served his time. If that really means anything in this society, I don’t see how the NFL can possibly not allow him to play.
That said, I don’t think anybody needs to worry about Vick returning to NFL glory. He’s been out of the game and society in general for two years, and his main skill was that he could run. Besides Al Davis, nobody should even want the guy. He’s done.
Harrison’s a dope. I’m tempted to start a “dope of the week” segment, but I don’t want to seek out negativity. But if I ever do, I may have to name it after James Harrison. The Steelers linebacker skipped the traditional trip to the White House by the Super Bowl champions. If that was the whole story, I wouldn’t understand his decision but I wouldn’t really care. But no, he didn’t let it end there, and made sure people were clear that he’s a moron, quoted as telling Pittsburgh's WTAE-TV , “If you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don’t win the Super Bowl. . . . So as far as I’m concerned he would have invited Arizona if they had won.”
Uhmmmm, what?
Gruden enters the MNF Booth. Jon Gruden will replace Tony Kornheiser on Monday Night Football broadcasts. I thought it was a good move, and still do, but after I saw Gruden on a couple ESPN appearances after the announcement I’m a little nervous. He just seemed like a deer in headlights. Now maybe he settles in, and we get Jon “Chucky” Gruden not holding back with his opinions, which would be great. I didn’t dislike Kornheiser, but if the Gruden we’ve seen as a coach shows up I think he’ll be an upgrade.
I’ve never really had the opportunity to play team sports, but I have to believe that anyone that talked non-stop during a game as if he knows absolutely everything would be annoying to play with. I don’t care how much you are a fan of the guy, he talked more than the coach, Phil Jackson, even during halftime. I understand that having a microphone and a camera specifically aimed at an individual automatically makes the person act differently than they normally would, but the suggestion was that this was typical Bryant.
His ego only increased with the commentary. Bryant’s ability to kiss his own ass was mind boggling. He even managed to mention how he scored 50+ points against “Spike Lee’s” Knicks shortly after that game.
I still can’t figure out who had to be more desperate for this to actually be broadcast: ESPN in it’s unending campaign to massage superstar players or Spike Lee in an effort to remain relevant.
Week-in-Review:
World Series games starting earlier. Baseball finally realized that starting World Series games at 8:37 PM on the east coast was utterly ridiculous, and will be starting them “before 8 PM” at 7:57 PM. I saw one report that Saturday games may start earlier. I’ll give baseball some credit on this one, but why make the earliest games on the one day a week most kids can actually stay up (and adults can stay awake)?
T.O.’s arrival in Buffalo. How bored are people in Buffalo? A large crowd, including the Bills’ cheerleaders, showed up to greet Terrell Owens at the airport as he arrived to join team workouts. I guess Laverne & Shirley reruns were over for the night.
Favre surgery. ESPN is apparently more in love with Brett Favre than, well, Brett Favre. They’ve decided to keep talking about him whether he decides to have surgery to return to football or not, even if they must resort to completely erroneous reports about him. The reports do serve a purpose though, helping them discuss Favre the following day when they retract everything they made up. Gonzo of the Inquirer does a great job of poking fun at the cable giant’s “reporting” on Favre.
Vick. I’ll just say it – Michael Vick has to be allowed to have a chance to play in the NFL again. The “debate” about whether or not he should is based on nothing more than emotion and PETA’s (People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals) grab for attention. What Vick did was horrible, but Ray Lewis is not only in the NFL, he’s one of the guys constantly praised by the networks that work hand-in-hand with the league. Lewis was part of a murder investigation that just sort of went away, and there’s no complaints that he’s still playing.
I’m not supporting Vick. Again, what he did makes it abundantly clear he has serious problems. But he went to jail and served his time. If that really means anything in this society, I don’t see how the NFL can possibly not allow him to play.
That said, I don’t think anybody needs to worry about Vick returning to NFL glory. He’s been out of the game and society in general for two years, and his main skill was that he could run. Besides Al Davis, nobody should even want the guy. He’s done.
Harrison’s a dope. I’m tempted to start a “dope of the week” segment, but I don’t want to seek out negativity. But if I ever do, I may have to name it after James Harrison. The Steelers linebacker skipped the traditional trip to the White House by the Super Bowl champions. If that was the whole story, I wouldn’t understand his decision but I wouldn’t really care. But no, he didn’t let it end there, and made sure people were clear that he’s a moron, quoted as telling Pittsburgh's WTAE-TV , “If you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don’t win the Super Bowl. . . . So as far as I’m concerned he would have invited Arizona if they had won.”
Uhmmmm, what?
Gruden enters the MNF Booth. Jon Gruden will replace Tony Kornheiser on Monday Night Football broadcasts. I thought it was a good move, and still do, but after I saw Gruden on a couple ESPN appearances after the announcement I’m a little nervous. He just seemed like a deer in headlights. Now maybe he settles in, and we get Jon “Chucky” Gruden not holding back with his opinions, which would be great. I didn’t dislike Kornheiser, but if the Gruden we’ve seen as a coach shows up I think he’ll be an upgrade.
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