From The Sports Desk

[hellsapoppin]

on the hate side, its so regulated with rules, and those rules get transgressed with so much frequency

Too many rules, indeed. Things like back field in motion, intentional grounding ~ both rules should be eliminated. Just let them play. Endless stoppages of the clock unlike soccer or rugby, interminable commercials, mindless pre & post game interviews of players/coaches/commentators each with their own opinions spewing nonsense much of which has nothing to do with the match itself ~ all take away from the game.

In the old days we had numerous tip offs per game in basketball. People got tired of it and as these things needlessly prolong the game. The rules were changed to remove them. Today the kickoffs are not returned for TD's or for long runs like they were in the past. Why not eliminate these needless wastages of time as well?

While I always enjoy the Super Bowl, I NEVER watch the interviews, half time show, or anything not related to the actual game itself.

Don't have any faves in this particular game. All I want is that it be fun and memorable.

[bounty]

I agree that flow is an important aspect of the fan experience. im okay with kick-offs though. as a normal part of the game, without the tv time-outs associated with them, they can happen pretty quickly and add variety and excitement.

I recently watched an old episode of Hogan's heroes. the actual show time for the half-hour slot was 27 minutes. today's half-hour shows are ~21-22 minutes. ninety minute movies on the telly take 2 1/2 hours to get through. I trust there are lots of reasons for that, but one of them has to be the necessity of more commercials in order to pay the huge salaries of the actors. the same thing has to be occurring with the nfl.

all else being equal, i often find myself often rooting geographically---east over west, north over south. i don't necessarily have that for this game, but since im a bills' fan, i think you gotta root for the team that beats your team.

[hellsapoppin]

The NFL has conceded that on average, the amount of actual play time per game is only 10 minutes.

Back in the way back when, there used to be fewer passes per game and much fewer incomplete passes. Also the RBs did not go out of bound like they do today.* Because of that there were much fewer time clock stoppages and the game was often completed in about 2 hours or so. I would like to see changes in the game today that would reduce the amount of time. Sixty minutes of football should be sixty minutes. Not 3+ hours of interminable commercials and talk.


There is talk today that Bill Walsh of the SF 49ers was a cheat. There had been rumors of that years ago but nobody proved it. Now the talk has reemerged. Perhaps his actions were what inspired Bill BeliCHEAT. Hopefully, it will be a clean game. Am looking forward to it.




*Years ago I remember when Cleveland RB Jim Brown condemned Pittsburgh RB Franco Harris for running out of bound during the games. Harris would run out of bound to avoid hits and to accumulate more yardage. In doing so the time clock would stop and that would prolong the game. Try that in soccer or rugby and you'll cause a turnover!

[bounty]

everything you said poppin, and id add in lots more stoppages of play for injuries too. it could be that memory is deceiving but I barely remember players getting hurt back then compared to the extent they are today. everyone's bigger stronger and faster and that combined with less natural grass leads to lots more injuries.

seems like lots more penalties too, plus coaches challenges.

I don't remember hearing that about bill walsh---what were the allegations?

[hellsapoppin]

~ bill walsh---what were the allegations? ~


Tons of them: https://yourteamcheats.com/SF


The one that I remembered the most was the headsets "problem". Many of these came out in 2011. Thereafter, Giants Coach Bill Parcells wrote a book in 2018 in which he repeated these allegations. IIRC there may have been some allegations of spying & stealing of signals as well - that these tactics were later used by BeliCHEAT in New England.

[Sancho]

Hah, good screen shot, bounty. I see that Commander Worf (pretty sure that’s who that is anyway) and I both see the baseball as a thing of beauty, art even. And like a sword, it can be beautiful and dangerous at the same time. The first time the grown-ups let us kids play with a real baseball, we all thought we’d entered a new world. We were big kids now and entrusted with important stuff.

Anyway, is there a more vulnerable time for a player of any sport, than there is for a major league pitcher after he releases a 100mph fastball and is following through, waiting for the ball to come off the bat at 115+ right at his head? Sheesh!

[bounty]

its captain sisko, although in the baseball episode, worf was by far the most comical as the naïve straight man.

to your point---when I was a kid I was a cardinals fan and I remember how discombobulated (no pun intended) bob Gibson was after he threw a pitch.

not that im condoning it poppin, but the headset debacle actually sounds kinda funny.

and though ive never been intimately read-up on the stories, sign stealing to me always seemed to be a part of the game. unless maybe its going on in some way other than in plain view.

I always think its comical when football coaches cover their mouths with clipboards while they are talking. they've apparently never seen the nfl bad lip reading clips.

[Sancho]

Speaking of using the ball as a weapon, here’s a fun one from the gridiron. Christian is the new QB. Myron is his agent, watching from the stands. It’s a scrimmage in full gear:

On the field Christian was fading back again. For the third straight time Tommy Lawrence blitzed over left guard untouched. In fact, the left guard stood with his hands on his hips and watched.

“Christian’s own lineman is setting him up,” Myron said.

Christian side-stepped Tommy Lawrence, cocked his arms, and whipped the ball with unearthly velocity directly into his left guard’s groin. There was a short oomph sound. The left guard collapsed like a folding chair.

“Ouch,” Win said. Myron almost clapped. “The Longest Yard revisited.”

The left guard was, of course, wearing a cup. But a cup was far from full protection against a speeding missile. He rolled on the ground, back curved fetal-like, eyes wide. Every man in the general vicinity gave a collective, sympathetic “Ooo.”

Christian walked over to his left guard—a man weighing in excess of 275 pounds—and offered him a hand. The left guard took it. He limped back to the huddle.

“Christian has balls,” Myron said.

Win nodded. “But can the same be said of the left guard?”

Deal Breaker, Harlan Coben

[bounty]

ah good one---you see that or variants of it a few times in movies, but that's the first ive heard it in literature.

[bounty]

a very sports related pre-super bowl super bowl commercial:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1753080114223677873

[bounty]

...Anyway, is there a more vulnerable time for a player of any sport, than there is for a major league pitcher after he releases a 100mph fastball and is following through, waiting for the ball to come off the bat at 115+ right at his head? Sheesh!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gR3nO...?feature=share

[Sancho]

Oh man!
I don’t know but I wonder if the NCAA mandates face masks for pitchers. I mean she’s smiling, but without that mask she might have been stuck with a snaggle-toothed grin.

[Sancho]

Superbowl LVIII is history

La Señora thinks it was all about the Ben Affleck, J-Lo, Matt Daman, Tom Brady Dunkin Spot:

https://youtu.be/Ve2miT5iF2M?si=oyFsXuvGJVBzqnYN

But El Sancho thinks the Reese's Caramel Big Cup won the night:

https://youtu.be/sOH23Pup6AQ?si=7N6274QMDJaafAGR

Man! I like that hula-hoop dog.

[hellsapoppin]

As usual for me, I did not watch any commercials. But Super Bowl 58 was AWESOME! Coach Andy Reid made some great calls.

I have never missed a Super Bowl in all these years. Am already looking forward to the next one.

[bounty]

for a variety of reasons I missed all of last nights commercials, but in going in search of almost of all them today...

id say the reeses commercial overtook the former first place of Arnold being a good neighbaah, and maybe held it until I saw this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjLzH8qj0gQ