Patriots-Jets Drinking Game

Here's a drinking game to play during Sunday evening's festivities. Every time certain words, phrases, or images are shown you have to drink a certain amount.

Anytime a commentator says...
"high-octane" or "no huddle" - 1 drink from a beer
"Oregon" or "Oklahoma" = 1 drink for the first mention, then 2 for the second, 3 for the third, and so on.
"Alfonzo Dennard" the wrong way (it's Duh-nard) = half a beer
Any press clipping about Mark Sanchez = 1 drink
Any press clipping about Tim Tebow = 3 drinks
"Tebow" = 1 drink
Talking about Tebow as a great human being = 1 drink
Anything to do with the number 666 = half a beer and a shot

Anytime this is on the screen...
Fall foliage = 1 shot and half a beer
Foliage from Vermont = the same as above plus a shot of maple syrup
Someone Tebowing = drink a beer for 6.66 seconds
Bob Kraft = 1 drink
Bob Kraft talking to someone = drink as long as he's talking
Bill Belichick pulling something from his sock = 1 drink
Bible verse = a shot for the number of the chapter, and drink from a beer for the number of seconds of the verse, so John 3:16 would be 3 shots and 16 seconds of beer
Any graphic or reference to Belichick as head coach of the Jets = a beer
Any clips from Hard Knocks = 1 drink

Anytime this happens...
Tom Brady yells "alpha milk" = 1 drink
Patriots get a rushing first down = 1 drink
Patriots allow a passing first down = 1 drink
Devin McCourty gets beat on a pass = 1 drink (even if it's incomplete)
Devin McCourty interception = 1 shot
Vince Wilfork tipped pass = 1 drink
Vince Wilfork recovers turnover = 1 shot
Vince Wilfork returns turnover for TD = 1 shot, 1 beer, 1 turkey wing
Rex Ryan is bleeped out or says something that'd be bleeped out = 1 drink
Wes Welker mentioning feet (even in a past video) = 1 drink
Gronk spikes the ball = 1 drink
Gronk doesn't spike after TD = 1 whole beer
Kickoff touchback = 1 drink
Kickoff return = drink until the return is over
Whenever Stevan Ridley or Aaron Hernandez carry the ball without properly securing it = 1 drink

How BC Football Can Turn Itself Around

It's a rough time for Boston College football. The Eagles are 1-5 and that one win came against Maine. They're 113th in the country in rushing, 86th in scoring offense, and 99th in scoring defense.

Both on the field and off it, the team needs new direction. People like to focus their blame on head coach Frank Spaziani, but the problems with the program go beyond coaching. They're philosophical and fundamental.

BC, as an institution, needs to step down from that Hill of Superiority they so imperiously sit upon, and ingratiate themselves to Greater Boston. Be a full part of the community instead of presenting yourselves as the exceptional part of the community.

Specifically, the athletic program needs to realize that the football team is a step-program, a place for coaches to prove themselves before moving on to bigger things. And that's fine. It's okay to be a place where coaches come and go because they got a job offer from an NFL or an SEC team. Most college football teams are like that.

On the field, the traditional offense needs to go. College is a place for experimentation, and not just in science labs and not just by students on a Friday night. Get gimmicky. Try the option. Or a no-huddle style like Oklahoma's or Oregon's. Get creative, be entertaining, be deceptive, be clever, be tricky, be unpredictable. If D-III and high school teams can run the option, so can you.

Schedule more interesting non-conference games. Notre Dame becoming an ACC partner in football is great news for BC. So is Syracuse joining the ACC. And USC will be in Boston in 2014. But Maine? Stony Brook in 2013?

BC is starting a series with UMass soon, and that's smart because the Minutemen are now in the FBS. It would be even smarter to play them at Gillette Stadium, where fans could tailgate in the lots as opposed to riding the schoolbus to games at Alumni Stadium.

BC should play UConn as well. There's a potential for a regional rivalry there.

Speaking of UConn, BC should play a home game at Fenway Park. UConn and Notre Dame are considering it for 2014, but it would be a great spectacle for BC to play NC State or Maryland or Virginia at Fenway. It's 4 miles down the road, the ACC would love it, and it would give the program tremendous local publicity.

I'm a BC fan. And as a sports fan in Boston, it'd be really cool if the Eagles were relevant in college football again. As well as being relevant in Boston. These steps, along with some good recruiting, would go a long way to make that happen.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

The Difference Between Girls' Soccer and Men's Soccer

Had this occurred in a men's soccer game, the guy who got kicked would act as if his chest had been caved in, his lungs had collapsed, and he was on the verge of death. He would have flailed and twitched around until the ref awarded a foul.

But in girls' soccer you adjust your sports bra and get on with the game.

Curt Schilling Blocked Me on Twitter

Yesterday I wrote an angry rant about hating Curt Schilling. I sent a Tweet to Mr. Schilling's account (@Gehrig38).

@gehrig38 I Still Hate You, Curt bloodsox.blogspot.com/2012/10/i-stil…
— BostonBloodSox (@BostonBloodSox) October 17, 2012

And shortly thereafter, Mr. Schilling's account had blocked mine.

Granted, I could have been more clever with that headline. Maybe make him think I'd written something defending him. Maybe I could have been vague and said "A blog post about 38Studios." That might have been a sounder strategy because I don't think he even read what I sent him.

Then again, I didn't want to be deceptive or evasive. That would have been Schillingesque of me.

Regardless, it's just another example of Curt "Bob and Weave" Schilling avoiding tough questions. He made a career of having a big mouth and calling other athletes out. Then he screws up and can't address what he did, or why he did it. Except to WEEI's Dennis and Callahan who each had to ice their jaws after so much ball-washing.

I know this is old news, but that's what pisses me off. We obsessively rage at something for 72 hours, then move on to something else. And in this case, the rage should have lasted until Schilling showed genuine contrition instead of blaming the Rhode Island Governor.

We forgot about how much of a hypocritical jerk Schilling was. He hid, we moved on, and he's escaped the humiliation and humbling that his actions deserved. Curt Schilling is a coward.

What Will the NHL Players Do?

The NHL owners made an offer to the NHLPA that included a 50/50 share in hockey related revenues. The offer also included stipulations that player contracts not exceed 5 years, as well as changes to free agency and arbitration eligibility.

It's a lot of legal mumbo jumbo after that. The players have concerns about deferred payments, points of contention about the time until arbitration eligible, stipulations about revenue sharing. And so on.

Basically, it's stuff for lawyers.

I've been considering Law School for awhile now and all these sports lockouts and CBA negotiations are pushing me closer and closer to taking the LSATs. It seems like the best path to make serious money in pro sports isn't playing basketball at Kentucky or football at Alabama, it's to take Law classes at Suffolk.

Anyway, the fact that the NHLPA needs time is a good thing. They aren't instantly rejecting the offer. They need to digest it, hammer out some details, negotiate a few things. They're giving up a lot, which is always tough. But if both sides bend a bit more, this can get done.

This is a Kama Sutra moment in these negotiations as both parties will need to be flexible. The good news is, they seem to want to get in bed together. Figuratively speaking.

I Still Hate You, Curt Schilling

Hearing Curt Schilling's voice on ESPN sent me into a cataclysmic rage. This fraud, this failure, still gets paid to watch baseball games and then talk about it. And in this society, which rages at something for 72 hours then forgets about it, we're fine with that.

Remember #Kony? How big was that on social media? Who cares about that now?

Of course, Curt Schilling is not a murderous dictator in Africa. But he's still an asshole. He still ran a business with government money from the state of Rhode Island, and it failed. He was a fake Conservative who enjoyed speaking the rhetoric but didn't want to practice it. He makes actual Conservatives like me look bad with his stupidity.

I don't want to talk politics, I want to talk Schilling.

Here's another thing that pisses me off about Curt. The only media he opened up to were Dennis & Callahan. I wonder what Schilling would say if a hitter only faced softball pitchers, and never faced anyone who would give them a tough pitch. Schilling didn't have the balls to face someone from the Globe, or (God forbid) a Rhode Island news outlet.

He was able to take money from Rhode Island, just not able to take questions from them.

I loved Curt Schilling as a baseball player, but as a man, I have no respect for him whatsoever. He's a fake, a hypocrite, a remorseless vulture who doesn't feel bad for the money that Rhode Island citizens have to pay to fund his stupid video game company.

Is the NHL Suicidal?

Every day there's no hockey, I shake my head at the stupidity of the NHL and its owners for this Lockout. Until yesterday when I realized that the NHL is actually experiencing deep psychological trouble. I think it's trying to kill itself. How else do you explain its odd, self-destructive behavior?

The NHL has grown total revenues by 50% since the last Lockout, and it's wasting an opportunity to grow even more. Here's what the NHL is missing out on...

1. Cable companies are craving content

Especially sports. There are new channels every day and they all want sports. Because people watch sports live, not on DVR or onDemand. They watch the sports (and the commercials) as they happen. Which advertisers love, so therefore cable channels loves. NBC Sports just bought the rights to broadcast off-road truck racing, and rumor has it they bought the rights to Formula 1. How many college football games were on TV Saturday? Harvard/Bucknell was broadcast nationally. There's an insatiable hunger for sports and the NHL has taken itself off the menu.

The NHL has been with NBC Sports, and it could've been the flagship partner of a growing sports network. But because it's suicidal, it's decided to jeopardize its popularity (and therefore its ratings) by not existing for a few months. And each game cancelled is a game not televised.

2. Big markets are in love with their teams

We call them pink hats, but their money and their TV viewership is just as valuable to teams as loyal fans. And in Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles (a town comprised almost entirely of pink hats), hockey was becoming popular. These big market teams were carrying the league. And now the fickle pink hats, who don't even notice that the season hasn't started, will find other forms of entertainment.

The recent growth of hockey in Boston, Chicago, and LA is under threat because the Phoenix Coyotes and Florida Panthers can't pay their bills.

3. Canada on equal footing

The exchange rate between US and Canadian money is essentially 1 to 1. That was not always the case. A few years ago, Canadian teams struggled because their fans paid in Canadian dollars and they paid their players in US dollars. With the exchange rate even, that financial handicap is gone.

Canada also wants more teams. They're hungry for the game. And they can provide homes for the Southern NHL teams that aren't making money.

These three things clearly demonstrate that the NHL is trying to destroy itself. It's on the verge of making significant strides forward, as a brand, as a money-maker, and as a game. This is a great environment for the NHL to grow in, so how else can you explain the owners forcing this Lockout?

They must want the League and the Game to die.

Red Sox Won't Raise Ticket Prices in 2013

Typically, the Red Sox announce next season's ticket prices in a subdued, secretive manner. They often release the news the day after Thanksgiving, when everyone is too busy shopping or doped on tryptophan to notice or care about a price increase.

This year, on a Monday afternoon, with minimal surrounding distractions, the Red Sox triumphantly announced that they would not raise ticket prices in 2013. In effect, prices would be "frozen."

Well gosh, gee, and golly. What stupendous news!

Chairman Lucchino issued a typical Fenway Sports Group statement:

"Over the past few years, we have fallen short of our goals to play postseason baseball. Through it all, fans have shown their deep loyalty and support, for which we are all grateful. Our commitment to winning is as strong as it has ever been, and we look forward to the challenge of bringing our fans the winning and entertaining baseball team they richly deserve."

My first thought: don't act like this is some sort of positive gesture or gift to the fans. Asking us to pay the same bloated prices as last year is a non-action, not a positive action. No need for any statement whatsoever. This is no gift.

In the release on RedSox.com, it is twice mentioned that the Sox have only raised ticket prices two times in the last five years.

Do you want us to thank you for that, Mr. Lucchino? I wouldn't brag about it either since the Sox have made the playoffs only twice in the last five years.

Do you know what would've been nice, and possibly smart? Lowering ticket prices. Not all of them. Maybe making a few more rows of bleacher seats cost only $12. And $28 for regular bleachers is a bit much. How about $20? Even $22?

Is that not reasonable? Will that not help maintain the Most Sacred Sellout Streak? What kind of moron is pleased that after finishing in 5th the Red Sox have decided to keep the same prices on tickets?

Make some sort of gesture that says to the fans "We're sorry, we want you back." Don't brag about doing nothing.

Since the Sox had their worst season since 1965, maybe we should have ticket and concession prices from 1965. Now that would make me happy, and that would be worth bragging about, Lucchino.