Big Lead Sports Bar

7/18/2007

The News

A recap of your favorite links, named in honor of Mike Tomlin
"I'm not telling a story. I'm reporting the news."


Got news? Email it to
mondesishouse@gmail.com
--Training camp is near, so you know what that means...time for Alan Faneca to give us a new round of his "I'm unhappy" speeches.

--The Pirates get swept by the Rockies with a 5-3 loss today. And I didn't even get to write about last night's loss yet! Actually, there wasn't much to write about last night. I just had to mention the way the game ended: Jason Bay stared at a called strike three and casually mosied off the field. Again. Can we get this guy some Vitamin Water or something? Or should we be apathetic to his apathy?
--A reader sends along this article written last week entitled, "Michael Vick Will Not Be Indicted: Shhhhhhhh!", where the author called out a number of people as racist and made some pretty bold accusations. Yep, he looks kinda silly after the 18-page document unleashed yesterday.
--It looks like 2007 will be an exciting year for the Big East, with four Heisman contenders in the conference. And that's not counting Shady McCoy.
--SI's Stewart Mandel takes in Big East Media Day at the Eisenhower House in Rhode Island, and he had this to say:
As the sun set along the coastline, I turned to a writer friend and said, "Under ordinary circumstances, this has to be one of the top 10 places you'd least likely expect to run into Dave Wannstedt."

--Don't like the jewelry? How about a Big Ben Christmas ornament for your lady?

--Bugs and Cranks put together a video of all the events that have gone down since the Pirates last had a winning season. But hey, the Pirates are committed to putting a competitive ballclub on the field, so we shouldn't be upset.



--Remember Adam the Penn State fan? How could you forget him? Well, he's already counting down the days to PSU-Notre Dame (about 2 months away), so he sends over two links:

First, a pro-ND, anti-PSU article:

I Hate So Much About The Things That You Choose To Be: A Look at the Delusions of Penn State Fans

Then, the pro-PSU, anti-ND response (written by Adam).

--New blog! Check out Blue-Collar Baseball by a tortured soul who follows the Pirates and the Reds.

--From ESPN.com's "AM Jump":

Odds on what outrageous pranks Adam LaRoche is planning next, after the former Brave cut the crotch out of every Atlanta player's underpants.

8 to 1 Hot foot on 10 of Antonio Alfonseca's 12 toes
4 to 1 Plant black-and-white cookie in Gary Sheffield's locker, with note signed, "Thinking of you, DJ #2"
2 to 1 Fool Pittsburgh residents into believing they have a major league team
OFF Trick Cubs into trading for Jason Kendall

--Michael Wilbon fights back against Peter King and anyone else taking shots at him for Who's Now?

--The always-entertaining (and always off-color) Maddox tells us why the Nokia E70 is better than the iPhone.

--More from Big Ben's Excellent ESPY Adventures:

Will "The Rock" suplex Big Ben?

Handlers are spreading the word to press members that Dwayne Johnson should not be referred to as "The Rock." Not getting the memo: Ben Roethlisberger, who greeted the former pro wrestler backstage.

"I never wanted to say, from this day forward, I will be 'Dwayne Johnson, The Actor,'" Johnson said earlier. "If there's some action movie with guns and ass-kicking, and they want to call me 'The Rock,' that's cool."

"Whatever doesn't get me beat up," Roethlisberger said later.

11 comments:

Free Pacman said...

I can't wait to hear what Louis Lipp is My Homeboy has to say about Adam's man crush for JoePa this time.

Adam said...

C'mon guys. You can't honestly expect me to let the Domers take shots like that and get away with it.

It was an unprovoked atack out of fear. They know we're gonna kick their ass, so they started trash talking. Yea, real classy.

Louis Lipps is my homeboy said...

Actually, I'm going to talk about the guy that wrote the Vick article.

You know, it doesn't help the cause of any black person when anytime a black guy is in trouble for something another black guy starts playing the race card.

Free Pacman said...

I probobly hate Notre Dames fans just as much as you do, Adam, but I tend just to ignore their comments and move on with my life. This picture pretty much sums up how about Notre Damers: http://www.bceaglesfootball.com/images/nd1.gif

The thing is, I'm starting to think of Penn Staters the same way. They start getting offended every time somebody says something negative about the team. They can never let things go.

Then there's the whole fake rivalry thing. Penn Staters still treat Pitt as a rival even though they haven't played each other for atleast five years, and it's not becuase Pitt's afraid like most Penn Staters think they are. Notre Dame's not a rival either and Notre Damers don't think of Penn State as a rival. Penn Staters need to realize that they've never had a rival and never will and get over it.

Anonymous said...

Have you ever actually been to State College, PA?

It is a miserable, terrible place.

Former Clinton White House press secretary and current ABC News political analyst George Stephanopoulos once described the state of Pennsylvania like this:

"You have Pittsburgh and Philadelphia...and between them lies the state of Arkansas."

If that's true, and I believe it is, then State College is the proverbial "Little Rock" to PA's Arkansas.

State College is hundreds of miles, literally HUNDREDS, from civilization.

In fact, it even comes complete with cow chips and a crochety old man.

Adam said...

Wow, pot shots galore.

"The thing is, I'm starting to think of Penn Staters the same way. They start getting offended every time somebody says something negative about the team. They can never let things go."

No one in the arguement said ANYTHING about the teams involved, because frankly, they know we're gonna kick their ass. So they started chirpping and calling us delusionel and classless. What do we look like, West Virginia? Pitt fans, you may hate Penn State, but cmon, we aren't classless. Somewhere between the hilarious hypocrisy of it, and the irrationality of it lay the jealousy that the Domers have of us.

Now, I'm sure that sentence perfectly proves your above point, but allow me to explain.

In the time that Both programs have "Returned" to the national stage, Penn State has played fantastic football games (FSU and OSU in '05, and Tennessee in '06) and came up on the winning end each time. Notre Dame has gone to 2 BCS bowls and been run out of the building and exploited for the frauds they are, not to mention their losses to Southern Cal in '05 and '06.

Add to that the National Championships we effectively stole from them in 1982, 1987 and 1990 (look it up), and you have a recipe for anger. The Notre Dame fans are the classless ones here.

"Then there's the whole fake rivalry thing. Penn Staters still treat Pitt as a rival even though they haven't played each other for atleast five years..."

No, only the ones west of Johnstown who have to endure KDKA making love to Pitt nightly.

"and it's not becuase Pitt's afraid like most Penn Staters think they are."

Bull. If you wern't you'd grow a pair, swallow your pride, button the chin straps and get your asses to Happy Valley. In the series, Pitt still holds a 2-1 homefield advantage, so enough's enough.


"Notre Dame's not a rival either and Notre Damers don't think of Penn State as a rival. Penn Staters need to realize that they've never had a rival and never will and get over it."

Well, I'm fairly sure Notre Dame is EVERYONES rival considering they thumb their nose at College Football and think they're too good to join a confrence, not to mention the money they rake in from NBC. It is a college football fan's DUTY to hate Notre Dame.

As for rivalries, I think we're doing ok without one.

As for you Cecil, I'm sorry the charm of a REAL college town got you down so much. You're right, it does suck to have sprawling expanses on which to have massive tailgate parties. It blows when you have to deal with the homey, personel diners in town where the waitresses know your name and your usual. And theres nothing worse then stepping out at night and not having the sound of Oakland's gunfire to rock you off to dreamland...

Sean said...

Cecil - Are you suggesting that Punxsutawney is not civilization? :)

Adam - The Penn State-Notre Dame game is still two months away. You have nothing better to do than obsess about this game until then? ND isn't even PSU's first game.

Free Pacman said...

Adam,

Notre Dame's going to be rebuilding this year, so the game shouldn't even be that competitive. Notre Dame fans aren't real fans. Just let their comments go.

And about the whole people know your name thing, I thought you were still in high school. How could the waitresses remember your name when you don't even go there?

Unknown said...

"Bull. If you wern't you'd grow a pair, swallow your pride, button the chin straps and get your asses to Happy Valley. In the series, Pitt still holds a 2-1 homefield advantage, so enough's enough."

If Tom Bradley takes over, you'll see plenty of Pitt. We'll probably get a home and home deal too.

Adam said...

"How could the waitresses remember your name when you don't even go there?"

Thats the point. We go there for football and basektball, and they remember us like we're part of the community.

"If Tom Bradley takes over, you'll see plenty of Pitt. We'll probably get a home and home deal too."

Right. So will South Florida, and Cincinatti, the teams that finished ahead of you last year.

Louis Lipps is my homeboy said...

I HATE when people bitch about fans of other teams not being "classy".

It drives me up a fucking wall.

Who cares if you're a classy sports fan? If I rip mercilessly on your team, does that mean that I burp aloud at the dinner table and don't hold the door open for old ladies, thus I lack class?

NO!!

It's retarded.

Class and sports fandom should be mutually exclusive terms from here on out.