NFLPA Thanks Fans

While the US is on the brink of financial cripple, at least there is a beacon of hope as the NFL billionaires and NFL millionaires have come to terms so that we ten-thousandaires can get ready to enjoy some football.

At least, throughout the process, the millionaires have maintained consideration and acknowledgement of the fans.



Now if only the billionaires would do their part and make it so that fans could afford to go to games...

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Craig James is a Texan for a Better America

Yes, that Craig James. And he's formed a political action committee, "Texans for a Better America."

When we prodded our friends in DC about the below video (straight outta the conservative Texan playbook: "American exceptionalism" / "Texas should lead the way in restoring our shared American values"), we were told that rumor has it http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifJames is going to run for TX Lt. Governor if current LG David Dewhurst gets nominated for Senate.



"Texans for a Better America is about reconnecting people with the values, ideas, and founding principles that have not only made Texas the envy of our nation, but would transform our country. We hope you'll join in this essential conversation to engage, learn and share the values that guide and ideas that transform."

EDSBS: Craig James for Sensitive

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The Cynic's Guide to College Football: An Open Letter to Rupert Murdoch

Dear Rupert,

So I've been catching up on the news, and it looks like you've had a pretty rough week. What, with you being forced to testify before Parliament and to shut down your long-running News of the World tabloid after it was discovered your people had illegally hacked the cell phone of a missing woman. Never mind the fact that the FBI is now investigating you for doing the same thing to 9/11 victims. And that Michelle Bachmann keeps doing stupid things faster than your boys at Fox News can make excuses for her. And that your top long-time assistant and confidante just skipped out on you. Yep, it's been a tough one. I feel for you, I really do.

Rupert in happier times.

So that's why I am writing today with a proposal to help restore some of your media glory and make you a hero to millions of Americans. You can not only redeem your image, but do a huge service to us sports fans on this side of the pond. And here's all you have to do--take down ESPN.

I know, I know, that sounds like a big task. Them being the worldwide leader and all. But hear me out.

If we've learned nothing else from the reaction to the Casey Anthony verdict, it's that Americans don't take too kindly to a perceived injustice. And ESPN just committed a doozie. They suspended Bruce Feldman, one of the finest journalists in sports, for having the audacity to work with former Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach on his new book, Swing Your Sword, which details Leach's final days as coach and the behind-the-scenes work by ESPN analyst Craig James to have him fired.

ESPN has reportedly scheduled a book-burning party in the corporate parking lot for this afternoon. Bring your own marshmallows.

The saga of Adam James/Mike Leach/Craig James has been well-documented, so I won't go into it here. Suffice it to say, most football fans felt that Leach was given a raw deal by Texas Tech, with the complicity of Craig James and, directly or indirectly, ESPN.

Well, guess what? Thanks to the power of the Freedom of Information Act, Feldman uncovered emails which prove that, not only was Texas Tech looking for an excuse to fire Leach, but that Craig James and his PR firm were only too happy to do their dirty work and provide the ammunition to make that happen. And for outing one of their golden boys, ESPN was quick to commit yet another injustice by indefinitely suspending Feldman from his duties. And why did they do this? Because they can. Because there is no one out there who can both hold them accountable and is big enough to offer a legitimate alternative.

And that's where you come in, Rupert. There was a time when ESPN programming was actually good. It's been a long time, but it happened. Back before Craig Kilborn went Hollywood and Keith Olbermann started wearing Birkenstocks and Che Guevara shirts. Back before "The Decision" and all-Chris-Berman-all-the-time programming. And there was one simple reason: competition.

Back then CNN ran a nightly segment called Sports Tonight that went head-to-head with SportsCenter. In the early days, CNN actually had the superior product, which forced ESPN to raise it's game. As a result, SportsCenter improved as a show, its anchors (notably the team of Olbermann and Dan Patrick) became national phenomena and the rest is history. CNN pre-empted Sports Tonightduring the disputed 2000 presidential election and it never came back in its same form, leaving ESPN as the only game in town when it came to national sports coverage.

Fred Hickman and the late Nick Charles doing sports the way it should be done.

Rupert, America needs you to rescue us. Save us from ourselves. We mindlessly turn on SportsCenter and repeat meaningless sports catchphrases (Booyah!) simply because that's all we know to do. An entire generation of young Americans has grown up thinking that sports would not exist if it were not for ESPN. We need you to help us show them it's the other way around.. And you can do that by providing us with an alternative.

Sure, the public is doing what it can. Writers across the country have jumped to Feldman's defense. And Twitter users actually had #freeBruce trending higher than Harry Potter the day before the new movie opened. But we can't do it alone, Rupert. We are asking for your help.

Fox is the only entity in America who is ready to compete with the Disney/ABC/ESPN conglomerate. Your over-the-air Fox affiliates and the cable components of Fox Sports Net are in virtually every household in America. You already have the groundwork in place to go toe-to-toe with ESPN. All it needs is a little more initiative from you and we can finally offer American sports fans a real alternative, diminish the virtually unlimited power of ESPN and help right the injustice done to Bruce Feldman.

Here's what I am asking you to do:

1. Go national. While I enjoy the regional coverage of my favorite local teams on my Fox Sports Net affiliate, America is ready for another big fish in the pond. With the combined broadcasting power of all your various Fox sports stations, you could get your signal into almost as many households as ABC/ESPN. Yes, it'll take some money. But money is one thing you've got. Besides, you can take all the money you had planned on using to print News of the World and use it to boost your cable programming.
2. Be bold. Don't tiptoe around the subject. Let the world know that your objective is to take on Disney and ESPN. Hire a good graphic designer to come up with a new logo or mascot to reflect your mission. Maybe a cartoon fox with a sly smile and sharp teeth. And a mouse's tail dangling out of his mouth.
3. Don't skimp on the reporters. ESPN has gotten lazy. While there are certainly exceptions, ESPN does very little original reporting. And when they do, they usually get it wrong (see also Schad, Joe). They just steal from other sources and repackage the information with "ESPN sources report . . ." without giving proper credit. Don't make that mistake. Hire good writers for your website, ones who actually do real reporting. Guys like Bruce Feldman. It might cost you a little money in the short run to steal some guys away from ESPN and Sports Illustrated, but it will pay huge dividends in the long run.
4. Don't be afraid to make ESPN the bad guy. Have you watched your own Fox News lately? It's very little news. It's basically 20+ hours a day of people yelling about how Barack Obama/MSNBC/Harry Reid are to blame for all of society's woes. Not trying to be political here, but you need to follow a similar model, at least to a point. You can't be afraid to pick a fight with the Mouse. Remind viewers constantly how ESPN is to blame for "The Decision". How ESPN has a huge conflict of interest in owning most of the bowl games they carry. How they suspend good journalists like Bruce Feldman for exposing one of their pretty boys, but look the other way when on-air personality Woody Paige gets caught plagiarizing stories. How ESPN is completely biased in favor of covering Texas sports and the Big 12, since they are now in bed with the Longhorns to to the tune of 20 years/$300 million. How ESPN convinced large numbers of people that poker is a sport. How ESPN is to blame for today's housing market. (OK, that last one might not be true. But then again, factual accuracy has never been one of your strongest suits, so people will expect it.)
5. But don't forget the sports. Some commentary and well-placed jabs at the expense of your competition will be fine. But the success of Fox Sports will ride on the quality of your programming. Look, no one's expecting you to to take down the worldwide leader overnight. Certainly, you won't have anything to compete with Monday Night Football. And their SEC and Big Ten football broadcasts will probably trump your Pac-12 and secondary Big 12 games. But you can go toe-to-toe with them in baseball. And, provided you don't hire Dick Vitale, it shouldn't be hard to best their college basketball coverage. Down the line, you'll have to pony up some money to win some bidding wars for better broadcast rights. But in the short term, the real key is going to be your sports highlight shows. Think about ESPN--they basically record SportsCenter twice a day, and then just keep replaying it over and over throughout the day until it's time for "Around the Horn". If you can keep your content fresh and provide a show that is entertaining and informative to the educated fan, I think you can go head-to-head with SportsCenter.
   

This has all been a long-time coming. I've thought for some time that the world needed some legitimate competition for ESPN. This latest saga with Bruce Feldman just showed me how badly we need it.

This is all a big task, I know. But I also know that you have never been one to back down from a challenge. You're the only one right now with the resources to help us right a wrong and end the Disney/ABC/ESPN monopoly on American sports coverage. This won't rehabilitate your public image overnight, but it will certainly make you a hero to millions of American sports fans.

So do it for yourself. Do it for Bruce Feldman. And, even though you're not one of us, do it for America

Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
American Sports Fans
P.S. Fire Joe Buck.

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NYG Steve Smith on Lockout, USC, Steve Smiths & Tofu

It's not everyday you have the opportunity to share tofu culinary creations with a Super Bowl-winning Pro-Bowl wide receiver in the backyard of the greatest city on earth. Actually, we'd venture to say this sort of thing only comes about once in a lifetime.

So when we saw that New York Giant Steve Smith was serving as brand ambassador for House Foods Super Firm Tofu, we sent our North Jersey correspondents Eddie and Mike to mingle with Smith and sample various dishes featuring the stuff at (of all places) an esteemed steakhouse, River Palm Terrace Restaurant in Edgewater, NJ.

Who knows. These two manly 30 nothings may have just found themselves a new healthy summer barbecue alternative.

Thanks to our friends at Garden State on a Plate for the hookup.

--------------

House Foods put together a dinner to introduce their new line of "super firm tofu" endorsed by Steve Smith of the New York football Giants. Having never eaten anything with tofu before, I was a little hesitant at first but was assured by those around me that there was nothing to be afraid of. I mean, who even knew that tofu came in different levels of firmness? Maybe I'm just not all that worldly. In any event, we gathered in a private room at the River Palm Terrace in Edgewater, NJ. Smith said a few words and the meal was served. Everything except the main course included tofu in some form.

• Appetizers: Tomato and tofu skewers, Maryland crab and tofu cakes, chopped salad featuring tofu cubes
• Main Course: Choice between Jumbo Shrimp, King salmon, Grilled rib-eye, Filet mignon
• Desert: Tofu Cheesecake
  

As I said, I am NOT a tofu eater, but there wasn't anything on the menu that I would not order again. Everything was excellent, which I think is as much a testament to the people at the River Palm as to House Foods' great product.

Expanding my food options aside, the biggest things I learned tonight were: A. Smith is a very laid back guy, very approachable. He even seem a little nervous in talking to me (I think I intimidated him); B. He absolutely loves tofu. It sounds a little odd, but this is not a product he blindly endorses. In fact, as he notes in the video below, he approached them for the endorsement.

Thanks to Eddie Z. for the write up and video and to Mike McLaughlin for the images.

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Blogs With Balls Radio, Episode 33

Justin Upton at just 23 and with 2 MLB All-Star Game selections under his belt is known throughout baseball as a five-tool player. Add a sixth tool to the Arizona Diamondback's repertoire. The kid is media savvy.

While I through in the obligatory softballs, Upton maneuvered his way smoothly around any opportunity to take shots at Brewers slugger Prince Fielder and nicely avoided the landmine question about political protests in the host state:

The game of baseball can do wonders for communities...Obviously, the protesters feel like this is there time to shine, but it hasn't dampened anything for me. The fans are still out. The fans are still having a great time. It's a great experience for our fans here in Arizona to have this type of energy in your city and to do things for the game of baseball like helping the community. It hasn't dampened anything for me because you see the smiles on the faces of people.

Upton goes on to talk about his goals as a player and a team, and also what it would take for him as a player to stick with the DBacks throughout his career:

If we can get a nice fanbase here and have people jump on and be DBacks fans, I'd love to play here the rest of my career.

Listen to the full interview below. And check out Pepsi Max's Field of Dream promotion here.

Blogs With Balls Radio Episode 33 by Blogs with Balls

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Sir Charles and His World's Ugliest Golf Swing on Feherty Tonight

If you haven't check out Feherty on the Golf Channel yet, tonight might be your night to tune in as Chuck brings his candor.

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Life Without Football #2: Sports Talk Radio

Sure, it doesn't have a former child star making fun of Rex Ryan, but still a great effort from our friends at Grey Pop with their second installment of "Life Without Football."

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5 Minutes with NFL Star-Turned-Expedition Impossible Contestant AGB

Akbar Gbaja-Biamila epitomizes the new age athlete-turned-entrepreneur and social crusader. The 32 year old Southern California native, known as AGB by friends, parlayed a five year stint in the National Football League (his brother is former NFL player Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila) into a career where he can use his broadcasting and athletic skills to draw attention to cause-related platforms that will make a difference in the lives of others.

AGB is currently a competitor on the ABC show Expedition Impossible. He sat down with us to talk long names, big families and his recent reality show experience.

Click here for the full interview.

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Rusty Reckons: Kentucky Gets an F

This weekend's race at Kentucky was a complete dud! Tens of thousands of fans were mired in traffic for hours upon hours just trying to get to the track. Here's one sad story of some fans who left almost 6 hours before the green flag to travel just over 30 miles to the track, and they didn't even make it. Not that I would say the on-track action was worth much anyway. The Shrub won the race in absolutely dominating fashion. At one point, he had an 8 second lead and there were less than 20 cars on the lead lap. BORING!!!!

The thousands of poor fans who tried in vain to reach the track were left sorely disappointed. This was supposed to be one of the highlights of NASCAR's summer. A new track with an energized fan base. An entire state was fired up about this event. I was fired up too. I had been looking forward to watching this Saturday night event on TV all week. I had announced to my wife more than once that I would be retiring to the man-cave for hours of interrupted left turns under the lights of the blue grass state. Little did I know that would be all I got. Yeah, there was a small bit of excitement when the track reached up and bit fan favorite Dale Jr with less than ten laps to go (further adding to my displeasure). This brought out the caution and gave us a lap or two of excitement before the Shrub pulled back out in front.

Now, Rusty is well aware that NASCAR can only do so much in regards to the action on the track. In fact, when it comes to monking with the racing, I maintain a hands-off approach. However, they should take a good hard look at traffic issues before adding a new track again or coming back to Kentucky. The fans deserve better, especially if that track is going to produce a snoozer.

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Joba Talks Jeter, Cano, Surgery and #PricelessNY

We sent high school baseball coach, Yankee fanatic and first-time correspondent Eddie Z. to Yankee Stadium last night to hang out with pitcher Joba Chamberlain and celebrity chef Aaron Sanchez at the Mastercard Batter's Eye Cafe at Yankee Stadium to learn about MC's PricelessNY campaign and in hopes of catching Derek Jeter's 3000th hit. Jeter fell 2 short of the milestone, but that didn't damper the experience.

----------

We were ushered into a small conference room for the Mastercard presentation, "Priceless New York." There were about 30 people there, sports bloggers and food bloggers, few friends, PR people and Mastercard people. This is their new promotion for cardholders offering unique experiences in different cities around the world.

We were treated to one of the experiences for New York: Batting practice entry to the stadium, The Batter's Eye Café, some schwag, endless buffet (beer included), seats above the batter's eye, some time with a random Yankee (Joba in this case) and food prepared by Aaron Sanchez. If you know the Stadium at all, these seats are located above the tinted windows in dead center field. The windows are the Mohegan Sun Lounge, the view is sick.


The entire place stood for all of Jeter's at bats and I really got the feeling that half the crowd was there just for that. He lined a double on the 1st pitch of the game, I think everyone in the place thought he had it locked up tonight. This game can be best described as a throw away game in the middle of July, neither team really looked like they gave a crap, the Rays were up 5-0 in the 5th and I think if not for the 3,000 everyone would have left then. As it was, he got an AB in the 9th, so people stuck around. Otherwise, this was truly one of the most boring games I have ever been too...ever.

Joba was a very cool dude. Just before I got to him, he was yelling down from where we were to a few of the guys shagging flys during BP complaining about the heat. I think they were making fun of him sweating a lot, couldn't get the camera out quick enough to record.

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Jeter 3K Prop Odds

Opening up a series tonight with the Rays, New York captain Derek Jeter is three hits shy of becoming the 28th player in Major League history to reach the 3,000-hit mark, and remarkably the first Yankee to do so.

Obviously, it's not a matter of if, but when.

So to make things a little more fun, below are prop bet odds from Bodog as of yesterday.

Derek Jeter Odds and Ends

What will his 3000th base hit be?

Single -400 (1/4)

Double +400 (4/1)

Triple +1500 (15/1)

Home Run +1000 (10/1)

What will the count be when he records his 3000th base hit?

0 Balls 0 Strikes 7/2

0 Balls 1 Strike 13/2

0 Balls 2 Strikes 10/1

1 Ball 0 Strikes 13/2

1 Ball 1 Strike 5/1

1 Ball 2 Strikes 13/2

2 Balls 0 Strikes 6/1

2 Balls 1 Strike 13/2

2 Balls 2 Strikes 6/1

3 Balls 0 Strikes 12/1

3 Balls 1 Strike 13/2

3 Balls 2 Strikes 5/1

Who will congratulate (Shake Hands or Hug) Derek Jeter first after he records his 3000th hit?

Base Coach 4/5

Umpire 5/1

Teammate 7/1

Opposing player 3/2

Will the Yankees whole team come onto the field from the dugout to congratulate Derek Jeter after his 3000th hit?

Yes -500 (1/5)

No +300 (3/1)

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The Cynic’s Guide to Cheating: You’re Doing it Wrong

Remember back in your college days when you’d head to the bookstore to pay obscene amounts of money for books you’d crack open the night before the final and then never touch again? Remember how there was always that one professor who would have three required textbooks and four or five more “recommended” books? How many of those recommendations found their way on to your bookshelf? Yeah, same here.

So I find it amusing to read that the Nebraska athletics department self-reported a violation to the NCAA yesterday. Their crime? Violating an arcane NCAA rule that allows universities to provide student athletes with the books required for their classes, but not the recommended ones. Yep, extra textbooks. While you were out partying it up, Husker student athletes were home getting ahead of you by reading all those books their professors recommended, but didn’t require. (Well, at least I assume they were. It’s not like they’re normal college kids or anything.) And NU Athletics Director Tom Osborne says the athletes in question weren’t even allowed to sell their books back and pocket the cash!


An unnamed Nebraska athlete is seen openly flaunting her violation of NCAA rules.

No offense, Nebraska, but you’re doing this all wrong. Everyone knows extra benefits are supposed to involve cash under the table, free cars, hot co-eds, tattoos and jewelry. Not extra political science and kinesiology textbooks. You’ll never beat Texas [insert name of new Big Ten rival here] that way. Sure, you might extend your NCAA record of academic all-Americans. But how can Jim Tressel and Chip Kelly even take you seriously? Besides, it’s not like you actually want your scholarship students to get an education or anything. I mean, next thing you know you’ll be calling yourself an educational institution and your students will just be learning and developing the ability to think freely all over the place. Anarchy!

So come on, Cornhuskers. There’s gotta be a “recruiting service” or a friendly booster-owned car dealership around you can call.

Hey, Warren Buffett’s a fan. And he’s totally into tattoos.

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Becky from Rosanne Stars in Cleat Fetish Vid

Oh I love when Rex Ryan gets his chops busted, but even more so when it comes from a former child sitcom star.



More great acting from the artist formerly known as Becky Conner here.

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Rusty Reckon: Shop Talk with Martin Truex Jr.

Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #56 Napa Auto Parts Toyota Camry took some time out while in Daytona to chat with HHR's own NASCAR fanatic, Rusty. In just a few short minutes, Rusty and Truex covered it all, from his recently launched campaign as a spokesman for the new Schick Xtreme3 FitStyle Refresh to being part of the storied NASCAR family tradition. Truex is pretty psyched about his chances this coming weekend. The #56 team has unloaded a good car and thinks he and teammate David Reuitmann should be able to work well together in the draft. The new surface at Daytona has got a lot of grip, and under the guidance of team owner, Michael Waltrip, who's found victory lane here twice, ole Rusty thinks the #56 might find itself towards the front Saturday night. Oh yeah, and white tail dear of New Jersey? Watch out! Listen to the full interview, below.

Blogs with Balls Show - Episode 32 by Blogs with Balls

Schick Xtreme3 will join Truex’s No. 56 Napa Auto Parts Toyota as an associate sponsor beginning with this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway, where Schick Xtreme3 Refresh kicks off the first of 10 in-field activations that will provide refreshing experiences to NASCAR fans.

The new Schick Xtreme3 FitStyle Refresh is the first scented men’s razor in the US, and is designed to help invigorate guys’ shaves and fully refresh them for the day ahead. Truex will serve as the brand spokesperson throughout the launch campaign.

-posted by Rusty

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Outlaw Wiener Gobbler to be Honored Despite Ban

It wasn't too long ago that the Kobayashi-Chestnut rivalry seemed poised to reach legendary status along the like of Ali-Frasier, Yankees-Red Sox, Celtics-Lakers.

But like any sport, competitive eating is a business, and when Japan's most decorated athlete refused to sign an exclusive contract, he was banned from competitive eating's marquee annual event, the 4th of July Coney Island hot dog eating contest.

Like a true champion, Kobayashi refuses to be deterred and will compete remotely vs the televised event at a New York City bar.

It's here that Jose Cuervo stepped up to the plate. From a release:

If the six-time champion can eat more hot dogs than the crowned winner at the Coney Island event this Fourth of July, thus making him the “would be” champion for his seventh title, Jose Cuervo has offered him an all expenses paid trip to its historic Tequila distillery, La Rojeña, located in the heart of Mexico’s Tequila region. In addition, Cuervo will immortalize him with a customized bottle of Especial Gold that dons his image on the label.

“Jose Cuervo is a legendary brand so we respect the legendary feats of others,” said Ami-Lynn Bakshi, Vice President Marketing, Jose Cuervo. “Put the red tape aside: if Kobayashi proves he is the world’s best hot dog eater, he deserves to be recognized as such. And who better to celebrate the achievements of the world’s best competitive eater than the world’s best-selling and oldest tequila?”

“While we wish Kobayashi well in his effort, we hope that he shares our commitment to responsible drinking and realizes adult beverages are meant to be enjoyed in moderation, unlike his eating spectacles ,” Bakshi continued. “To that end, win or lose we’ll want to buy him a celebratory shot of Jose Cuervo and we’ll pick up the taxi fare to ensure he gets home safely and responsibly.”

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