NBC Super Bowl Pregame Pathetic

by | Feb 1, 2009 | Super Bowl

We turned on the NBC Pregame show about half an hour ago.  So far, we’ve seen:

 – Interview with Bruce Springsteen
 – Rainn Wilson pimping the Office with Al Roker
 – Four stars from Fast & Furious pimping their movie (if you want to call it that–the girls just stood there while Vin Deisel and Paul Walker attempted to make sense)
 – Andrea Kremer actually interviewed a football player–Troy Polamalu–but it was about his hair
 – Conan O’Brien making a fool of himself with some dumb kicking gags
 – CNBC stock updates (along with gratuitous pimping of NBC selling ads for the Super Bowl at $100,000 per second)
 – And finally, one actual football clip, where Cris Collinsworth was working on the field with a player (didn’t see who).

This is what the Super Bowl pregame show has become–all about the entertainment, nothing about football.  It’s sad, and frankly pathetic–and I can’t believe Bob Costas is as willing as he appears to be to participate.

Add to that the Today Show, which broadcast from the stadium this morning (and had more relevant information, in some ways–at least they covered the Taste of the NFL party), and the non-stop pimping of their interview with Obama–which also makes little sense to me, other than our new president seems to like to be on TV whenever possible, and I’m not sure I’m going to stomach another two and a half hours of this drivel…

**UPDATE** Costas actually did an interesting interview with Roger Goodell–wow, actual talk about football!  Of course, it was only a portion of the interview–the whole interview is on their Web site, along with a bunch of other football related content…

Pro Football Hall of Fame – Class of 2010 Senior List

by | Jan 30, 2009 | Hall of Fame

Alright, to take a cue from Tony P. on the 2009 Hall of Fame thread, we’re posting a potential list of senior candidates for the Class of 2010 Hall of Fame induction.  Feel free to leave your comments below.

Also, we’ll likely be posting our thoughts on the Class of 2009 on Saturday after the announcement, and we’ll probably have a 2010 prediction thread going shortly after the annoucement as well.

Tony P.’s full 2010 Senior Candidate list is after the jump–thanks for taking the time to pull that together…

(more…)

NFL Goes American Idol

by | Jan 22, 2009 | Business of Football, NFL ... something

The NFL has danced around reality television for the past few years, with former players in need of money appearing on shows like “Pros vs. Joes,” wannabe stars showing up on “The Bachelor,” and current and former stars who wanted to break into the entertainment world appearing on “Dancing with D-List Celebrities.”

Closer to the league, there have been series around making NFL Cheerleading teams (always dramatic),and of course, HBO’s Hard Knocks series, which followed a few teams through training camp over the years.

But now, thanks to Michael Irvin and the Dallas Cowboys, reality TV may be making it’s biggest foray into making the NFL a laughing stock–the Hall of Fame Wide Receiver announced on Thursday that he is launching an American Idol style show, in which one of 12 “football neophytes” will win a roster spot for the Cowboys 2009 training camp.

That’s right–one of the 80 spots at the Cowboys training camp will be the winner of a reality show contest.  Apparently Jerry Jones is so hard up for cash and/or drama that he is willing to sacrifice a roster spot in an attempt to draw more attention to his club.

I can only assume that the 12 contestants will have some football experience beyond starting 12 career high school games at 4 different offensive line positions–if not, feel free to drop me a line Michael–but still, for the Cowboys to latch on to this idea, and the league to allow it, seems to have the potential to do more damage to the league’s reputation than good.

Then again, given how many people tune in to watch crappy reality stars, I suppose it might actually take off.

Bradford Staying is the Right Call

by | Jan 15, 2009 | College Football, NFL Draft

Heisman winner Sam Bradford announced yesterday that he is going back to school for his Junior season.  It will be his fourth season in Norman, given his red-shirt season.

This morning on my way in to work, the morning crew on the local sports radio station all pretty much agreed that he was making a mistake, since some experts (like Todd McShay) have Bradford pegged as the likely #1 overall pick.

But Bradford made the right call, if he wants to be a successful NFL quarterback, by going back to school.

Although I believe it would be a mistake, it’s possible that the Lions would have taken Bradford #1 overall, and he would have (eventually) signed a nice, fat contract, and likely been set for life.

Many people, including my die-hard Sooner alum/fan neighbor, insist that it is his mental makeup that will make him a success at the next level.  But even against Florida in the national championship game, Bradford just looked average.  Add to that what looks to me to be a strange throwing motion, and only two years of experience–and that coming in a shotgun heavy version of the spread offense, based somewhat on the offense Mike Leach installed in 2000 (which has produced gaudy numbers at the NCAA level, and several QBs who have gone on to do nothing in the NFL), and the likelihood of Bradford succeeding out of the gate in the NFL drop.

Add to that that he would likely be joining one of the worst teams in the NFL, and he would be sure to fail.

2008 NFL success stories Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco might have some teams (and their fans) thinking that throwing rookie QBs to the fire is the way to go.  But they would be sadly mistaken in the case of Bradford.  Both Ryan and Flacco played four years of college, had success in offenses better suited to the pro game, and had that success surrounded by talent that was not as forgiving of mistakes as the OU talent pool.

So Bradford made the right call–at least one more year of college experience, a chance for a second Heisman, another chance at a national title, and hopefully some offensive scheme tweaks (if Bob Stoops wants to improve his reputation as someone who gets players ready for the next level–I count four Sooners from the Stoops era who are NFL stars, and only a handful more that have made any impact), and he could go on to NFL stardom.