Sometimes things just beg to be ridiculed. Here in the Cheap Seats, we are more than happy to oblige.
With this new found proliferation of hideous-looking uniforms in college football on a weekly basis, this kind of thing cannot be ignored. We intend to provide you with a recap of the worst faux pas each week right here in the Cheap Seats.
We were really hoping this wouldn't be necessary. But, alas, no one knows when to leave well enough alone.
We will start this week with the Missouri Tigers. Fox Sports columnist Jen Floyd Engel, (twitter @engeljen), a Mizzou alum said it best when she tweeted "Dear Football Watching Peeps, Missourians do not as habit dress this abysmally. Also Mizzou is black-gold not dirt-mustard."
Nothing really hideous about the Stanford look. Just that it's not.........Stanford. Stanford has always been scarlet and white. The all black is actually a good look, it's just not Stanford. And we really don't care for the flat look on helmets.
Usually looking good and on the cutting edge of stylish unis are the Oregon Ducks. Today, not so much. The silver and highlighter look just doesn't do it for us.
Texas A&M did not look bad, but what was with the wide striped on the unis? And the grey facemasks? In comparison, those are minor infractions, but we have grown up with A&M and white facemasks. And none of those silly wide stripes. Just makes no sense.
On the positive side, Virginia looked quite snazzy in the orange headgear. And we go back a week to give huge props to Georgia Tech and that sweet honeycomb look they broke out against Virginia Tech (who, by the way, need to ditch the orange jerseys).
Granted, we didn't get to see all of the good, bad and ugly this weekend, but we'll try to do better in the future. We now hereby proclaim #CFBUniWatch as the official twitter hashtag for college football uniforms, both good and bad.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Bad Week for the UTSA and US Open
Bad, no awful, few days for the USTA. First, in an indefensible move, they suspend the number one junior player in world, Taylor Townsend. Tom Perrotta does a fantastic job of explaining it here and has a great piece with Lindsay Davenport and Martina Navratilova here. Therefore, we won't discuss it any further in the Cheap Seats.
But we will expound on the USTA's second boneheaded move this week, well third if you count stretching the first round of the US Open over three days, but that is not pertinent to this discussion.
The men's final will again be played on Monday in 2012. This has happened way too often recently. This year it could have been avoided. Here we pause to give credit to the USTA for getting one thing rioght - suspending play during a severe weather alert. That, my friends, was a no-brainer.
However, before play was suspended, both men's semis should have been in the books. When you have a weather window, you get in as many matches as possible. Simultaneous semis on Ashe and Armstrong was the play here. You're probably not going to get in the women's final, but that's not a huge deal. Really, who among tennis fans would not like to see a men's and women's double header final on the last day of the tournament?
I realize there are ticket issues and TV issues at stake when you start monkeying with the schedule, but now there are even bigger issues because they weren't dealt with initially. I know of at least one market where the men's Monday final was not shown because the local affiliate, either by contract or a local decision.
There needs to be some changes made before the 2013 US Open.
But we will expound on the USTA's second boneheaded move this week, well third if you count stretching the first round of the US Open over three days, but that is not pertinent to this discussion.
The men's final will again be played on Monday in 2012. This has happened way too often recently. This year it could have been avoided. Here we pause to give credit to the USTA for getting one thing rioght - suspending play during a severe weather alert. That, my friends, was a no-brainer.
However, before play was suspended, both men's semis should have been in the books. When you have a weather window, you get in as many matches as possible. Simultaneous semis on Ashe and Armstrong was the play here. You're probably not going to get in the women's final, but that's not a huge deal. Really, who among tennis fans would not like to see a men's and women's double header final on the last day of the tournament?
I realize there are ticket issues and TV issues at stake when you start monkeying with the schedule, but now there are even bigger issues because they weren't dealt with initially. I know of at least one market where the men's Monday final was not shown because the local affiliate, either by contract or a local decision.
There needs to be some changes made before the 2013 US Open.
Does MTV Even Play Videos Anymore?
That's the first thing that came to our minds after accidentally stumbling upon a replay of the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. That seems odd programming for a channel that hasn't shown an actual music video in years.
Yeah, we're older and grumpier, more nostalgic and delusional about the past, so you can take all this with a grain of salt.
Seriously, we had no clue that this particular awards show was still in existence. We suppose, were we in the 15-24 demographic (is that even a real demographic?), we might actually be aware of and maybe even be able to feign some semblance of caring about the VMAs. However, alas, we are not. The three minutes that we did see was, well, just asinine. Alcohol and drugs kill brain cells. In those three minutes of viewing, our brain cells were attempting suicide.
When MTV plays another video, will someone please alert us. But if they play them late at night, don't bother. We are already in bed. Have to be up early to yell at that the kids to get off our damned lawn. In the meantime we'll be watching That Metal Show and MetalMania on VH1 Classic.
Yeah, we're older and grumpier, more nostalgic and delusional about the past, so you can take all this with a grain of salt.
Seriously, we had no clue that this particular awards show was still in existence. We suppose, were we in the 15-24 demographic (is that even a real demographic?), we might actually be aware of and maybe even be able to feign some semblance of caring about the VMAs. However, alas, we are not. The three minutes that we did see was, well, just asinine. Alcohol and drugs kill brain cells. In those three minutes of viewing, our brain cells were attempting suicide.
When MTV plays another video, will someone please alert us. But if they play them late at night, don't bother. We are already in bed. Have to be up early to yell at that the kids to get off our damned lawn. In the meantime we'll be watching That Metal Show and MetalMania on VH1 Classic.
Friday, September 7, 2012
NFL Survivor Pool Pick: 2012 Week One
Want our week one pick for our NFL Survivor Pool? Well, you're going to have to read through some highly informative and mildly entertaining analysis to get to it (or just scroll to the bottom, whichever you prefer). And it might not even be highly informative.
We hate week one. The preseason is useless for predicting what will happen in the regular season. Well, the preseason is actually useless for more reasons than but that's another post. Nobody knows who will surprise by being better than expected or which team with high expectations will lay an egg.
If at all possible, our strategy is not to pick road teams or games involving teams in the same division. That is not always possible, but it is a good place to start.
Not Touching with a Ten Foot Pole:
Atlanta (-3) @ Kansas City - Road game for the Falcons. This one is just doesn't make sense in a survivor setting. Much better choices.
Jacksonville (+3) @ Minnesota - Both of these have so many issues. The Viking's Adrian Peterson (off-season surgery) and the Jaguar's Maurice Jones-Drew (holdout), each team's start running back, will not be at full strength.
Pittsburgh (+1.5) @ Denver - The Peyton Manning era begins in Denver. Who knows what to expect. Out of either team actually.
Buffalo (+3) @ NY Jets - What a hot mess the NYJ QB situation is. The Bills spent the offseason getting better (at least on paper). No thank you.
Seattle (-3) @ Arizona - Rookie QB for the Seahawks. Never know what to expect in that situation. Plus the favorite is on the road.
Carolina (-3) @ Tampa Bay - Division game with the favorite on the road. Nuff said.
San Diego (+1.5) @ Oakland - We don't even know what to say about this game. Therefore, we will stay far, far away.
Kinda Looks Good on Paper:
San Francisco (+5) @ Green Bay - The Pack at Lambeau is usually a pretty good choice. But the 'Niners play tough defense and there are safer picks out there.
New England (-5.5) @ Tennessee - The Tom Brady led Patriots are, well, the Patriots. They're good. But they're also on the road. Tennessee is not horrible. But still, no need to risk that much in week one.
Cincinnati (+6.5) @ Baltimore - Division game. Plus, we don't thing the Ravens are as good as last year's record indicated.
More Than a Touchdown Favorites:
Philadelphia (-9.5) @ Cleveland - This should not be close, but..........we don't trust Michael Vick to stay healthy at any point in the season. Who's to say what could happen if he goes down? Plus, this a road game for the favorite. It's probably safe enough, but this is week one.
Indianapolis (+9.5) @ Chicago - The Colts without Manning last year were awful. Now Indy puts their trust in the hands of rookie Andrew Luck. How good is Luck? Pretty darn good. But this is the NFL. We don't like venturing into the unknown when we can help it.
St. Louis (+8) @ Detroit - This is the first of two games that we really like. The Rams are better, probably good enough to cover the spread, but we still like Detroit to win. The only caveat is, these are the Lions. But they are not your father's Lions.
Miami (+11.5) @ Houston - The only double digit spread of the week. The Texans' are many people's Super Bowl pick. The Dolphins seem to be in a state of disarray. This may be as close to a sure thing as there is this week.
Washington (+8) @ New Orleans - We could have easily put this in another section, but the spread precludes us from doing so. But do not touch this game. Don't even think about it. The Saints are without their head coach and defensive coordinator from last season. There is the whole bounty situation hanging over their heads. RGIII will be the starting QB for the Redskins, and who knows what he'll do. See Cam Newton from last year. This game just has too many variables for week one.
The Pick:
The name of the of game is Survivor, so the goal is to survive. For us, it comes down to Houston or Detroit. Houston seems like the surest thing (as least as much as there can be in the NFL), but we hate using such a good team in week one. On the other hand, Detroit is still Detroit and that scares us. So, from the Cheap Seats, we will go with Houston in week one.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Del Potro Handles a Tough Situation With Class
It had to be tough. Knowing you were about to end someone's career. Not only that, but on your opponents home turf.
Such was the task for Juan Martin Del Potro defeating Andy Roddick in his last match.
There are going to be many, many recaps of Roddick's fine career littering the web in the next 24 hours. Here in the Cheap Seats, we will mostly concur with everything written. While Andy has not been our favorite, we have always been a fan. He carried the American men's tennis torch by himself for many years.
Here we want to give some love to Del Potro. After he ended Roddick's career, what ensued was one of the classiest demonstrations I have seen in sport. DelPo did not fist pump, he did not celebrate. He slowly walked to the net and embraced Roddick, had a brief exchange and took a seat.
By this time, Del Potro had won over most of the crowd with his demeanor. With his on court interview, we think he won many new fans.
Del Potro could easily have been the villain, just by being the guy who ended Roddick's career. The way he handled himself at the end of the match quashed any of that. We have always liked Del Potro. Now he may have become one of our favorites.
Such was the task for Juan Martin Del Potro defeating Andy Roddick in his last match.
There are going to be many, many recaps of Roddick's fine career littering the web in the next 24 hours. Here in the Cheap Seats, we will mostly concur with everything written. While Andy has not been our favorite, we have always been a fan. He carried the American men's tennis torch by himself for many years.
Here we want to give some love to Del Potro. After he ended Roddick's career, what ensued was one of the classiest demonstrations I have seen in sport. DelPo did not fist pump, he did not celebrate. He slowly walked to the net and embraced Roddick, had a brief exchange and took a seat.
By this time, Del Potro had won over most of the crowd with his demeanor. With his on court interview, we think he won many new fans.
Del Potro could easily have been the villain, just by being the guy who ended Roddick's career. The way he handled himself at the end of the match quashed any of that. We have always liked Del Potro. Now he may have become one of our favorites.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
US Open 2012: Roddick survives for another day
Andy Roddick's farewell US Open lives one more day. With play suspended due to rain with Roddick and Juan Martin Del Potro just starting a first set tie-breaker, the rains came. Roddick won the first point of the tie-break, so Del Potro will be serving down 0-1 when play resumes.
Who does this favor? We think both players, to a certain degree. Roddick alrealy leading the tie-break, has the first set advantage in our opinion. However, with the urgency with which Del Potro left the grounds at Flushing Meadows, maybe the delay will give him a chance to get himself together.
This match leaves us here in the Cheap Seats somewhat conflicted. While we are on record as predicting a surprise Del Potro US Open championship, how can we really root against Roddick? Wouldn't another major title in his final tournament be the ultimate farewell?
Match of the Tournament
Victoria Azarenka's three set victory over defending champion Samantha Stosur in a thrid set tie-break (7-5) was the match of the tournament thus far. Men or women. After so many lop-sided matches (especially in prime time) this was a great match.
Rain, rain go away
Where we live, rain and more rain would be a welcome site. At the US Open, not so much. And while they can't control the atmosphere, the UTSA deserves some blame here if the men's final ends up being on a Monday once again.
First and foremost, the idiotic three day first round. Weather permitting, let's get everyone into the second round by end of play on the first Tuesday. Give yourselves some leeway for when the almost inevitable weather comes. I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express at some point in my life. That makes an expert on pretty much everything.
Who does this favor? We think both players, to a certain degree. Roddick alrealy leading the tie-break, has the first set advantage in our opinion. However, with the urgency with which Del Potro left the grounds at Flushing Meadows, maybe the delay will give him a chance to get himself together.
This match leaves us here in the Cheap Seats somewhat conflicted. While we are on record as predicting a surprise Del Potro US Open championship, how can we really root against Roddick? Wouldn't another major title in his final tournament be the ultimate farewell?
Match of the Tournament
Victoria Azarenka's three set victory over defending champion Samantha Stosur in a thrid set tie-break (7-5) was the match of the tournament thus far. Men or women. After so many lop-sided matches (especially in prime time) this was a great match.
Rain, rain go away
Where we live, rain and more rain would be a welcome site. At the US Open, not so much. And while they can't control the atmosphere, the UTSA deserves some blame here if the men's final ends up being on a Monday once again.
First and foremost, the idiotic three day first round. Weather permitting, let's get everyone into the second round by end of play on the first Tuesday. Give yourselves some leeway for when the almost inevitable weather comes. I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express at some point in my life. That makes an expert on pretty much everything.
Monday, September 3, 2012
2012 US Open: A strange first week
The first week (and a little more) of the 2012 US Open is behind us, and, quite frankly, it's been just a little strange.
Not so much the actual tennis, for the most part the usual suspects are still around, but just the whole feel of it. With this being the last hurrahs of Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters, the entire event has been a kind of nostalgic, feel-good tournament. The on-court interviews after every match have turned into a tribute to the two retirees.
Not that it has been a bad thing. Roddick and Clijsters deserve all the good things being said about them. It has just brought about a different kind of aura to the event.
Serena is Scary Good
Since Serena Williams surprise dismissal in the second round of the French Open, she has been playing frighteningly well. I don't know that I have ever seen a player that looks like so outclassed the competition before. Serena was quoted as saying her opponent on Monday played well. Her opponent failed to win a game. Imagine if she had not played well.
It would require a complete meltdown by Serena for her to lose a match right now. But we have seen that happen before. However, I would not count on that happening at this point in time.
Isner is what he is
John Isner has a huge serve and huge forehand. Not much defense. If a set doesn't go to a tiebreak, one break either way usually decides it. That is Isner. A top 15 player. With that huge serve, probably for long time. We don't see him ever getting to the point where he can win a major.
Isner will play a ton of matches that go the distance (whether that be three or five sets) against good players. He will lose as many as he wins. Because it all revolves around one service break or the tie breaker.
Not so much the actual tennis, for the most part the usual suspects are still around, but just the whole feel of it. With this being the last hurrahs of Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters, the entire event has been a kind of nostalgic, feel-good tournament. The on-court interviews after every match have turned into a tribute to the two retirees.
Not that it has been a bad thing. Roddick and Clijsters deserve all the good things being said about them. It has just brought about a different kind of aura to the event.
Serena is Scary Good
Since Serena Williams surprise dismissal in the second round of the French Open, she has been playing frighteningly well. I don't know that I have ever seen a player that looks like so outclassed the competition before. Serena was quoted as saying her opponent on Monday played well. Her opponent failed to win a game. Imagine if she had not played well.
It would require a complete meltdown by Serena for her to lose a match right now. But we have seen that happen before. However, I would not count on that happening at this point in time.
Isner is what he is
John Isner has a huge serve and huge forehand. Not much defense. If a set doesn't go to a tiebreak, one break either way usually decides it. That is Isner. A top 15 player. With that huge serve, probably for long time. We don't see him ever getting to the point where he can win a major.
Isner will play a ton of matches that go the distance (whether that be three or five sets) against good players. He will lose as many as he wins. Because it all revolves around one service break or the tie breaker.
Georgia Tech wins the Uniform Battle over Virginia Tech
Just before halftime of the Georgia Tech/Virginia Tech game, I have come to this indisputable conclusion: Georgia Tech has one win already whatever the outcome of the actual game.
Those honeycomb inspired unis are sweet. Virginia Tech's orange and maroon mashup, not so much.
This is sweet:
Those honeycomb inspired unis are sweet. Virginia Tech's orange and maroon mashup, not so much.
This is sweet:
Sunday, September 2, 2012
2012 NFL Survivor Pool
Here in the Cheap Seats, we have entered an NFL Survivor Pool for the third year (first time since the blog started) and will be keeping everyone abreast of our picks, reasoning and results. Let it be know right up front, we have not done well the two previous years, although it wasn't entirely our fault. Yeah, right.
For those unfamiliar with Survivor games, it's really quite simple. Everyone in the game puts up an entry fee. Last person still alive wins the whole thing.
How the game works:
Everyone entered person picks one team to win their game that week. The team you pick wins, you survive. Your team loses, you're out. But the catch is that you can only pick a team one time per season. Sure it would have been real nice to pick New England every week during their 16-0 regular season. But once you pick a team to win, you can not pick that team again. Ever. Until next season.
The first week always scares us. We don't really know what to expect. There are always the surprise teams that come out of nowhere and the disappointing teams that fall on their face. The pre-season is of no help whatsoever.
We are definitely not touching Wednesday night's opener between Dallas and NYG. We try to stay away from divisional games as much as possible anyway, but this being the season opener on national television in the middle of the week with no precedence to go on? Staying far, far away.
We have not done well in past seasons, so don't take these posts as advice. Just another information source to glean a sliver of knowledge from. We will try to have our picks in by Friday, with how we reached the conclusion.
For those unfamiliar with Survivor games, it's really quite simple. Everyone in the game puts up an entry fee. Last person still alive wins the whole thing.
How the game works:
Everyone entered person picks one team to win their game that week. The team you pick wins, you survive. Your team loses, you're out. But the catch is that you can only pick a team one time per season. Sure it would have been real nice to pick New England every week during their 16-0 regular season. But once you pick a team to win, you can not pick that team again. Ever. Until next season.
The first week always scares us. We don't really know what to expect. There are always the surprise teams that come out of nowhere and the disappointing teams that fall on their face. The pre-season is of no help whatsoever.
We are definitely not touching Wednesday night's opener between Dallas and NYG. We try to stay away from divisional games as much as possible anyway, but this being the season opener on national television in the middle of the week with no precedence to go on? Staying far, far away.
We have not done well in past seasons, so don't take these posts as advice. Just another information source to glean a sliver of knowledge from. We will try to have our picks in by Friday, with how we reached the conclusion.
Alabama and Michigan Thoughts
The Crimson Tide totally dominated the Wolverines on Saturday. The much anticipated matchup between two top ten teams from different conferences was a big disappointment, right?
Well, not so much. Yes, it was nice to see a matchup of two highly rated teams, but this game was highly over-hyped. Michigan was over-rated, without it's top RB, and over-rated. Sure the Wolverines are coming off of a 10-2 season and an impressive bowl win, but they are nowhere near a top echelon team.
Alabama is coming off of a BCS bowl trophy season and is rebuilding or reloading on defense (whichever term you prefer). Also their offense is much more experienced in all facets except RB. And have we mentioned that Michigan was over-rated?
There is way too much football yet to be played to anoint the Tide as the favorites to repeat. So in the words of ESPN's Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend".
Well, not so much. Yes, it was nice to see a matchup of two highly rated teams, but this game was highly over-hyped. Michigan was over-rated, without it's top RB, and over-rated. Sure the Wolverines are coming off of a 10-2 season and an impressive bowl win, but they are nowhere near a top echelon team.
Alabama is coming off of a BCS bowl trophy season and is rebuilding or reloading on defense (whichever term you prefer). Also their offense is much more experienced in all facets except RB. And have we mentioned that Michigan was over-rated?
There is way too much football yet to be played to anoint the Tide as the favorites to repeat. So in the words of ESPN's Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)