From Pine View Farm

The Sporting Life category archive

A Bridge Too Favre 0

The Los Angeles Times’s LZ Granderson, who has ties to Mississippi, digs into Brett Farve’s role in–er–misappropriating public funds intended to help the less-well-off to serve his own private ends. A snippet:

Just remember this: Two years after Favre made the, ahem, alleged mistake of pushing for welfare dollars to be used for a new volleyball arena, he reached back out to Bryant for an indoor football practice facility.

Once is a mistake.*

He came back for seconds.

______________________

*Yeah. Right.

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Illegal Procedure 0

At AL.com, Roy S. Johnson takes takes a long look at Brett Farve’s role in misappropriating public funds intended to help the needy. Johnson points out that

The pocket is collapsing around Brett Favre.

Follow the link for the play-by-play.

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The Maddening Maddened Crowd 0

Yet another (particularly vile) example that “social” media isn’t.

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The Shills 0

SFGate’s Drew Magary marvels as ESPN’s relentless promoting of sports betting.

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Danny Dodges the Man 0

Joe Patrice says, “Bon voyage, Dan Snyder.

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True Believers 0

Football coach surrounded by kneeling players days,

Via Juanita Jean.

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Uncivil Society 0

Game day.

We are a failing state.

Read more »

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Time Shift 0

Bob Molinaro, sportswriter extraordinaire:

Lagging farther behind basketball in scheduling, the Stanley Cup conference finals have just begun, with the NHL title round potentially dragging into the final hours of June. Doesn’t that make hockey players the Boys of Summer?

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“Fake Left, Run Right” 0

I used to enjoy watching football, both pro and college.

What turned me off was the corruption.

I get so much more useful stuff done on weekends any more.

Aside:

I never had enjoyed basketball or hockey on the television, though I used to enjoy them in person when I lived conveniently close to an arena. I find them too fast-moving to fit inside the screen. I still enjoy baseball, but the games are getting so looooooooonnnnnnggggg.

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Vaccine Nation, Prima Donna Dept. 0

Bob Molinaro, sportswriter extraordinaire:

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving finally admitted that his anti-vax stance has nothing to do with science, medicine or his “research.” “I don’t want anyone telling me what to do with my life,” he said,” and that’s just the way I am.” Some teammate.

We are a society of selfish.

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It’s All about the Benjamins 0

Bob Molinaro, sportswriter extraordinaire:

A 17-game NFL regular season is too much. With increased player attrition through injury and now COVID, many depleted teams are staggering to the finish line.

Who asked for 17, anyway? Not the fans. They were content with 16, but for owners and TV, increased revenue comes before the interests of players and fans. Soon, there will be an 18-game schedule, because why not if it means more money?

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Shills 0

It would seem I’m not the only one bugged by all those sports (and other) betting ads that are now flooding my telly vision.

Bob Molinaro, sportswriter extraordinaire, has a wonder:

What’s with the Mannings’ appearance in a TV commercial for a gambling operation? Even dad Archie plays a role in the holiday-themed promotion that includes Peyton, Eli and Cooper. A terrible optic. Some of us will never understand why former athletes of wealth and fame do ads for these outfits. Do the Mannings use the betting service? My guess is no and never.

Aside:

Personally, I spell gamble “l-o-s-e” (except for that one time I hit an exacta at Delaware Park; my then-father-in-law like the play the ponies–and he was pretty good at it, too–so we’d go to the track when he visited during racing season).

I will confess that he tutored me on how to read the racing form, but I picked those two horses myself.

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Faking a Passing a Fake 0

Wall Street’s got nothing on the Green Bay Packers.

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Game Day 0

I was in the ABC store yesterday and a couple of the customers and one of the staff were joshing with each other about Sunday’s football games.

I realized that I had no clue as to what they were joking about.

When I got to the checkout, the young lady at the register said, “This concludes the entertainment portion of your visit.”

I said, “I lost interest in football . . . because of the corruption. In the NFL, it’s the owners. In college, it’s the NCAA. It’s amazing how much more fun I have on Saturdays and Sundays now.”

I realized that I don’t miss football.

Not at all.

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The Lies of the Land, True Believers Dept. 0

Psychology professor Cortney Warren parses Aaron Rodgers the Dodger’s vaccination doublespeak (as you will recall, he said he was “immunized,” but avoided the word “vaccinated”) and probes the question of whether or not he believed his verbal dance would be seen as the lie that many others see it as. Here’s a bit (emphasis added):

Although you can lie with or without intending to deceive your listener, your relationship’s psychological experience and consequences are very different. If you actually believe a lie and spread it, you’re not aware that you’re doing anything wrong! You don’t see yourself harming others or ethically crossing any boundaries that would damage people who hear your lies.

Aside:

Methinks the sentence I emphasized sheds a spotlight on lots of what goes on in “social” media.

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Stray Thought 0

Athletic skill and intelligence are independent variables.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Fan friction.

Thus passeth another life in the NRA’s Garden of Bleedin’.

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Vaccine Nation 0

Sportswriter extraordinaire Bob Molinaro (emphasis in the original):

Mixed message: As a result of municipal mandates, members of the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets cannot play home games unless they are vaccinated against COVID-19 … and yet, unvaccinated NBA players on teams visiting those cities will be allowed to play. This sort of pretzel logic demonstrates once again that common sense isn’t common enough.

We are a society of stupid.

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Vaccine Nation 0

The coach of the Washington Football Team is fed up with vaccine disinformation and the anti-vaxx crowd. Here’s a bit from the report:

“Gen Z is relying on [phones]. And you got some, quite frankly, f—— a——-, that are putting a bunch of misinformation out there, leading people to die,” Rivera, 59, told SI’s Albert Breer in a column published Monday. “That’s frustrating to me, that these people are allowed to have a platform.

“And then one specific news agency, every time they have someone on, ‘I’m not a doctor, but vaccines don’t work,’ Or ‘I’m not an epidemiologist, but vaccines are going to give you a third nipple and make you sterile,’” Rivera continued. “Come on. That, to me? That should not be allowed.”

Hmmmmm. One wonders what “specific news agency” he has in mind. No, one doesn’t.

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The Olympic Wrestler 0

Janet Jones, who holds a doctorate and works with horses and riders, explains why the statue of the sumo wrestler at the Olympic steeplechase competition spooked some of the horses. A nugget:

The sumo statue sat next to the tenth jump on course, with horses approaching it from behind. They rounded a corner to see a very unusual crouching predator with arms outstretched. Worse, the predator was hunkering below the height of the jump, as if ready to bite the horse’s belly as he soared over the rails. Riders claim the statue was visually realistic, and when horses are galloping toward a big jump, their excellent senses of smell are impaired by wind. They wouldn’t have accurate information as to whether this odd being smelled like a person, but it sure looked like one. All the horses could detect was an enormous crouching human predator, set to spring forward or upward at any moment.

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