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[jhocking]

Well, I have a preferance for the arts coming out of Japan, so, Karate, JuiJitsui and Aikido. not much elbow smashing there.

Ironically, the original purpose of ju jitsu was to break the other guy's arms and legs. The moves are not about punching or kicking, it's literally a set of moves designed to break bones. Obviously that doesn't make it unsafe for modern competition (rather than breaking each other's bones, modern competitors are wrestling) but in the context of this discussion the history of this martial art is still ironic.

Incidentally, I'm assuming you are talking about the Japanese martial art ju jitsu; when I googled that exact spelling ("juijitsui") the results were about a Brazilian martial art. Derived from Japanese arts, yes, but apparently more like judo than the closer sounding ju jitsu.

[BeoPuppy]

I still don't know how to spell it. And if people tell me I forget.

It's just one of those words.

[Alex C]

I hate fantasy football sometimes. I'm probably going to slowly lose the league due to attrition and bye weeks, mostly because the team I drafted was too good. My team rolled off 6 straight wins; I have the top scoring running back, the top scoring QB, 3 of the top 20 wide outs, the number 3 tight end. I even have the number 1 kicker and the number 5 defense despite the fact that I didn't even draft either position; I knew damn well that nobody would get those positions right so I simply waited 'till I could them up on the cheap. Unfortunately, all this early success means that I couldn't get anyone off the waiver wire while everyone else happily gutted their disappointing rosters and nabbed all the surprise breakout players while some of my backup players have stumbled. Even worse, I've lost a couple of matchups now, which has hurt my standings but not enough to let me get any relief in the waiver order. It's really annoying because I'm now tied with a guy whose team that has scored 100 less total points than mine but has had abysmally sad opponents whereas 5 out of 8 of my opponents would have led the league in scoring that week if I hadn't of beaten them. And now the lucky bastard faces my team just as my best player (who also plays my thinnest position!) goes on a bye week. Oh, and my starting quarterback has injured both feet. FML.

[Bastardous Bassist]

Despite being sick, I went to the bar to watch the game, making sure to keep away from everyone.  My Redskins were mocking the way football was supposed to be played.  It was truly horrific.  So, I go home and try to get better.  Now they've completely come alive scoring 14 unanswered points.  Maybe I should avoid watching these guys every week.

edit:  Okay.  I was worried that we had actually become a good team.  All better now that they broke a damned run for 58 yards and a touchdown.

[Thomas Edison]

Tampa Bay are winning 31-28, have possession, are on 4th and 1 at Green Bay's 31 yard line and the clock is at 01:48.... So close to winning their first game, but so far...


EDIT: Greenbay were 4th and 12 on their 11, they went to throw it, Tampa Bay intercepts and gets the TD! Games in the bag, Tampa Bay break their losing streak!

[Alex C]

The idea that the Lions have a chance to be the only team in the division to win a game this week is delicious. Any week where the Vikings can get ahead in the standings by not playing is a good week.

[Reed]

I'm secretly hoping that the Lions win so that I can give my friend a hard time about liking such a shitty team.

Of course this all depends on whether or not the Niners can avoid sucking enough to not blow this game against the Titans.

Well, it seems the Niners are in fact doing their best to blow this game.

[Alex C]

You know what I'm excited about? New Orleans (+119 point differential) vs. St. Louis (-144 point differential). It could end up like the Patriots-Titans debacle, except sadder, since St. Louis's terrible play is the product of genuine effort.

[Inlander]

Great to see the Wallabies win a game of rugby for a change. It'd be awesome if they could somehow manage the grand slam. At half-time in the match against England I honestly thought they were probably going to lose it, but their second half dominance was unbelievable. They've still got a nasty habit of bombing certain tries by not throwing the last pass to an unmarked player, and their discipline is still a worry, but hopefully they're getting better. It was a really entertaining game, the most entertaining I can remember seeing in a long time, with tactical kicking kept more or less to a minimum and both teams looking to run the ball (though with mixed results). And holy shit, I still can't believe Adam Ashley-Cooper managed to drag three defenders ten metres to score that try. Footage here, from 0:50: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2s_B4O41yU.

[scarred]

I knew the Bears-Cards game was gonna go nowhere, but jeeeeeeez

[valley_parade]

My favorite part: Drogba got booked for flapping around on the ground for five minutes afterwards, like a complete fucking idiot.

btw Ryan, the only reason Tampa won is because of those idiotic "creamsicle" throwbacks. Then again, when they wore them on a regular basis, they were TERRIBLE.

[Theriandros]

Yeah, back in the founding days, the Buccaneers didn't even win a game till near the end of the second season of existence.

[valley_parade]

My favourite part is that Manchester United lost the game and probably the league too. Awesome.

At this point last year, we were six points behind Chelsea, and still won the league. We're only five back this time around.

[Rudi Voller]

My favourite part is that Manchester United lost the game and probably the league too. Awesome.

But how can you enjoy Manchester United losing, when Chelsea end up winning?

I grew up during the 90s when Man United were winning everything. Even as a 7 year old I found myself hating them for this. My opinions on them have not changed one bit over the past decade. Very few men can irritate my simply by being on TV the way Gary Neville can.

But at the same time, fuck Chelsea. I have spent the last few years trying to decide who to dislike the least. I change my mind seemingly every week. These two teams sum up everything I don't like about modern football. The constant hounding of referees; the diving; the persecution complexes; the huge discrepancies between their budgets and everybody elses; Frank Fucking Lampard. Why do they have to win everything?

At least they don't have Phil Brown in charge I suppose.

[Thomas Edison]

Football should be more like the NFL. Having salary caps would be a huge plus to the game I reckon.

[valley_parade]

But how can you enjoy Manchester United losing, when Chelsea end up winning?

A) Tommy's a Leeds United supporter

B) DROGBA GOT BOOKED FOR GETTING A BOOT TO THE CHEST! What a fuck.

[Thomas Edison]

He got booked for rolling around like a fucking pussy.

[valley_parade]

Tommy, I think Eric Djemba-Djemba-Djemba-Djemba-Djemba-Djemba-Djemba-Djemba-Djemba was only signed for two dollars. They paid Diego Forlan and Alan Smith in hair product, and Dong Fangzhou..well..did he ever actually play for United? They signed him for a case of Snickers.

(Maybe I am mixing up "worth" and "market price", though.)

[Rudi Voller]

Given the same money, I think virtually everyone with even a passing knowledge of football could have easily emulated his success given the same kind of budget.

I reckon Kevin Keegan would have done a worse job than Ferguson did. And Berbatov was a better £30m than Veron was. And both were better value than Kleberson.

I think my biggest problem with Chelsea is that they went from being Gianfranco Zola to what they are now. A thoroughly likeable guy, playing for a pretty likeable team. Then they got all the cash, no longer likeable and they completely screwed over Adrian Mutu. I struggle to name one Chelsea player I do not mind. At least Man United have always had Giggs and Solskjaer, whereas the nicest thing I can say about Chelsea is that they aren't Rangers.

I certaintly won't celebrate should either of them win, but I think I'd be less annoyed at Man U winning than at Chelsea. If John Terry would cry again, then that would be pretty much ideal.

[valley_parade]

Don't ever say Kleberson's name again. He and David Bellion were two of the dumbest signings I've ever seen.

[Yayniall]

How dare you speak ill of King Kev, architecht of one of the greatest seasons of championship football ever in 01-02

[Rudi Voller]

I thought it was a reasonable comparison, as Keegan was given a great deal of cash at Newcastle in the 90s, and still failed to bring the title home. Even at Fulham and Man City, he had a fair amount of money for non-Premiership teams.

Don't ever say Kleberson's name again. He and David Bellion were two of the dumbest signings I've ever seen.

How about Liam Miller then? What was the point in signing him? How about Park Ji-Sung still getting a game? Nani and Valencia costing £30million between them?

[valley_parade]

I love Park. Park off the bench, especially.

[Alex C]

Sometimes it's not about good or bad but market value. Even as a English football outsider, I have an inkling of what Tommy is talking about, since managers routinely overpaying somewhat expendable players is a frustrating situation that can happen in any professional team sport you care to name. Some teams essentially end up bidding against themselves when pursuing players and it can really end up throwing everything out of whack in the long run. Paying a fairly average 27 year old premiership player 2.5 million when you could have replaced him for half that doesn't sound like a gigantic misstep by sport standards, but it can really hurt you in the end when a rising young star's agent sees that salary and says "Well, my man is worth at least twice as much as that shmuck." It reminds me of how the local NBA team here in Minnesota operated for many years; they routinely overpaid veteran backups by two to three million each a year as opposed to cycling in untested youngsters on the cheap. That doesn't sound like much money by NBA standards, but when you add up the sum total you'll find that many teams could afford another useful roleplayer if they could just avoid such missteps.

[Alex C]

A post in which I defend a Brett Favre interception.

I can't get over this whole Favre-is-a-Viking thing. I know everyone else on the planet is sick of hearing it, but to me, it's still sinking in it. This is some bizarro world shit going on. I realized today that I've been actively defending his play for a while now. If you had told me this would happen in 1996 I would have looked at you like you were a god damned space alien.

[the_pied_piper]

A very sad story from the world of International football today as German Goalkeeper Robert Enke died:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/8353733.stm

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2009/1110/enke.html

The reports say he was hit by a train and suspicion is that he committed suicide after the death of his daughter from a rare heart condition in 2006 when she was 2 years old.

He had recently been confirmed as the number 1 Goalkeeper for the German national side and would in all likelihood have been the Goalkeeper at the World Cup Finals in South Africa.

Update: It has been confirmed as a suicide

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/11112009/58/bundesliga-enke-death-confirmed-suicide.html

[scarred]

The Bears are on Thursday night Football but  NFL Network is the only place that's airing it. FFFFUUUU

[scarred]

... probably gonna lose anyway. Our defense is falling apart.

[scarred]

uggggggggghhhhhhhh

[Yayniall]

Did you know the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by Williams Shatner is about LCD too?

[Yayniall]

OH SHIT

edit:
Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto, anybody bothered?

[the_pied_piper]

I am interested but I don't know whether I will watch it live with it being broadcast at around 3:30am GMT. It's going to be a very difficult fight for Pacquiao with Cotto only losing one bout in his career but I think he will just about win it.

[BeoPuppy]

You know who's team is definitely not going to lose today?  Mine.  The Redskins will, in fact, avoid tacking on losses at least two Sundays in a row.

Congratulations!

Also, are the cowboys collapsing ahead of schedule this year?

[Bastardous Bassist]

I hope.  Maybe we can stretch it to two wins in a row.  The Skins usually keep it pretty close for NFC East games, no matter how bad they are, so if the Cowboys are falling apart, we could end up winning that game.  Hell, we might end up at .500 (we won't).

[the_pied_piper]

So I ended up staying up to watch the Pacquiao vs. Cotto fight and wow, was that a one-sided fight or what? Right from the off Pacquiao was all over him with completely unmatched speed and movement while Cotto tried to pick a one-punch KO from pretty much nowhere. Mid-fight Cotto tried to change his tactics a little by doing more legwork and making Pacquiao chase him around the ring to hit him but by the time he tried this the fight was already over as he had been knocked down (commentary claimed twice but I still maintain that the first time he fell to the mat was more of a slip than from being hit).

Now a champion across 7 different weight divisions, there is surely nothing that anyone can say that would prevent him from being recognised as an all-time great boxer and at only 30 years old there is still time to add some more belts to his collection.

My personal opinion is that it would take an awful lot for him to make it 8 divisions as that would mean straying from his optimum weight by much more than is really possible for maintaining a boxing style that he is used to; too much weight would prevent his movement around the ring from being as spry and difficult to watch as it usually is and too little weight would remove some of the power in his punches that he optimises well. However, a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. (bringing him out of retirement once again) to try to prove the best fighter of the last decade is a possibility with only one weight division the difference between them (Pacquiao classed at Light Welterweight and Mayweather Jr. classed as a Welterweight), a fight that anyone with even a remote interest in professional boxing would be drooling to see.

[Yayniall]

Pacquiao performed a concert afterwards, what a man.
In sports today: WOOOOO BENGALS WOO.

[Alex C]

I dunno, all things considered, the Cowboys loss was bad, but doesn't necessarily say much about their odds in other games due to the fumbles. Even if you put the ball on the ground, there's still a chance the other team won't come up with it, and they're an easy thing for the refs to get involved with, so you never really know which way they will go. Obviously it's not a good sign that they happen, but I'd still take Dallas over a lot of teams.

Well, in the regular season, at least.


I'm bummed out that the Pack won though. If they had lost, I would have started campaigning that the Vikings bench Favre so he could just show up to games with a newspaper, slippers and a smoking jacket until playoff time rolls around. Sadly, he probably cares about his consecutive start record and I suppose it'd be nice to at least stay in theoretical contention for the number 1 seed, although I don't really think the Vikings have a realistic chance of overtaking New Orleans. Still, I can't see anyone else in the NFC North making a run at this point.

[scarred]

That Bungles win over the Pittsburghs was pretty impressive. The defense gets all the credit there.

Also, anyone surprised that the Colts are down 24 - 14 to the Pats at halftime? I mean, they're definitely still in it, but they're not really playing with much intensity and I think that's what's given the Pats the edge (that, and the pass rush, Peyton doesn't look comfortable in the pocket yet).

[Alex C]

The only thing that could really surprise me about that game would be a truly one sided blowout, which just isn't happening. There's a lot to like about the Patriots and Indy is really good but has some holes here and there, particularly in the secondary. This is kind of an issue, since, you know, Randy Moss still plays football.

I'm still kind of pissed that we traded him.

[scarred]

He is a total dingbat though. He was T.O. before it was the new hip thang.

[Alex C]

You realize that Terrell Owens got into deep shit a couple times before Randy even was in the league, right?'

Randy Moss had maturity issues, it's true. He's a dingbat and a distraction at times. He wasn't anywhere near as bad as Owens though. Owens actively antagonized his teammates. A few players like Culpepper and Robert Smith didn't get along with Randy, but if you lived in the Minneapolis area, you'd find that people not getting along with Culpepper was a pretty damned common issue and Robert Smith was frankly pretty sick of football before Randy even came on board. Randy Moss doesn't necessarily always care about football, but he did actually care about his teammates so he wasn't as bad of an internal issue as T.O. often was even if he was commonly a media target; he was a wreck over Korey Stringer's death, for example.

Also, it's not covered in the media very often, but basically, Daunte is kind of an ass and I suspect that the team wouldn't have kept him around if he weren't a highly drafted QB with a nice arm. There's a reason nobody was exactly dying to scoop him off the scrapheap once his knee went, and it's not all just because he probably couldn't run anymore.  I'll say it again: that he didn't get along with Randy isn't very surprising; Daunte wasn't really known to get along with anybody.

[Alex C]

I can't stress this enough, btw: Minnesota is one of the few states where the local media still really protects their players more often than not. That's why you hear about things like Randy Moss's legal issues but not about the some of the wonderful Daunte urban legends floating around; if it's public record, the national media picks up on it pretty quick. But things like Kevin Garnett routinely punching out his teammates (yes, that's a plural; he'd punch out guys in summer league games) gets quashed quicker than you can imagine.

Hell, ESPN hired a Minneapolis based writer to cover their NFC North blog and it is now the most blatantly homer section of the site short of a Bill Simmons Larry Bird column.

[BeoPuppy]

Ugh.

Pats.

[scarred]

As much as I've kept my grudge against the Colts from the BearColt Super Bowl, it's always a happy day when the Pats lose. At least Bill & Brady waited till time expired to jog off the field (without so much as a "good game"). When they left with 30 seconds to go in the Super Bowl, well, that was just hilarious(ly unsportsmanlike).

[valley_parade]

I could have sworn I saw Brady go and shake Manning's hand after the game.

[the_pied_piper]

NEEDZ MOAR ICE HOCKEY

So now that the season is around 1/5 to 1/4 of the way through the league is starting to shape up and we can see what teams are going to have a chance of finishing where. To all you Tronno and Carolina people out there i'm sorry but your season is over already; all other teams still stand a chance of making the playoffs but I am going to go ahead and discount St. Louis and Florida too as they don't seem to have strong enough rosters to stand a chance of turning it around later in the season.

For teams supported on the forum: the Flyers are distinctly average right now relying heavily on Richards, Carter and Pronger though with Emery in goal this season there are many less issues in that respect but it doesn't mean the rest of the team can slack off like they are doing; The Bruins are sucking out loud and really need to get into focus over the next 10 games or so otherwise they will see themselves slipping away from the playoff bubble and having what would amount to a disastrous season; someone supports the Capitals, i believe, who are moving along steadily at the top end of the table although with Ovechkin out injured are struggling a little (as would be expected when you lose arguably the world's best player). I don't think that there are any more supported teams here but a shout out to the Islanders is deserved after their great turnaround from the first 10 games when they were losing in OT every game to their progression into the playoff bubble with a great chance of making it provided they keep key players injury free.

[Bastardous Bassist]

Who needs Ovechkin when you've got Varlamov ensuring that nobody scores a goal, ever?  Also, I am happy that Bill apparently screwed the Patriots by making a poor decision (what I heard?), because I fucking hate that man.

[the_pied_piper]

Actually, the Caps have conceded more goals than almost all of the other teams sitting in the playoff spots right now (Columbus Blue Jackets and LA Kings the only exceptions) and more than a couple of the non-playoff sitting teams too.

Varlamov does indeed have better than average stats but he is by no means preventing the other teams from scoring (22 GA in 9 games, 0 shutouts) though he looks certain to become the #1 Caps goalie any time soon with Theodore struggling so badly (3.08GAA). Regular high-scoring wins are what has kept the Caps up at the top with the last 5 results being: 2-5L; 1-3W; 4-5W; 4-7W; 4-1W (21GF, 15GA).

[David_Dovey]

Dear Players of Grimsby Town FC: An Ode to Long-Suffering Sports Supporters everywhere

Dear Players of Grimsby Town FC

I am writing with regard to my absolute astonishment and disbelief as to the sheer magnitude of your complete lack of talent and failure to carry out the job for which you are paid to do. I am not aware of any swear word or other derogatory phrase in my current vocabulary which comes close to a description of your ‘performance’ (and I use that term loosely) this afternoon, but let me just say that you have collectively reached a level of inadequacy and ineptitude that neither I nor modern science had previously considered possible.

In fact I recall a time, in my youth, when I decided to call in sick at work and instead spent the entire day in my one bedroom flat wearing nothing but my underpants, eating toast and wánking furiously over second-rate Scandinavian porn. Yet somehow, I still managed to contribute more to my employer in that one Andrex-filled day than you complete bunch of toss-baskets have contributed to this club in your entire time here.

I would genuinely like to know how you pathetic little píssflaps sleep at night, knowing full well that you have taken my money and that of several thousand others and delivered precisely fúck all in return. I run a business myself, and I believe I could take any 4,000 of my customers at random; burn down their houses, impregnate their wives and then dismember their children before systematically sending them back in the post, limb-by-limb, and still ensure a level of customer satisfaction which exceeds that which I have experienced at Blundell Park at any time so far this season.

You are a total disgrace, not only to your profession, not only to the human race, but to nature itself. This may sound like an exaggeration, but believe me when I say that I have passed kidney stones which have brought me a greater level of pleasure and entertainment than watching each of you worthless excuses for professional footballers attempt to play a game you are clearly incapable of playing, week-in, week-out.

I considered, for a second, that I was perhaps being a little too harsh. But then I recalled that I have blindly given you all the benefit of the doubt for too long now. Yes, for too long you have failed to earn the air you’ve been breathing by offering any kind of tangible quality either as footballers or as people in general. As such, I feel it’s only fair that your supply runs out forthwith.

I trust, at this precise moment in time, that Mr Fenty is in his office tapping away on the Easyjet web site booking you all one-way flights to Zurich, complete with an overnight stay with our cheese eating friends at Dignitas. Don’t bother packing your toothbrush – you won’t need it.

In the event that our beloved chairman can’t afford the expense (understandable given that he’s soon going to have to assemble a new squad from scratch), then I am prepared to sell my family (including my unborn child) to a dubious consortium of Middle Eastern businessmen in order to pay for the flights. Christ, I’ll drive you there myself, one-by one, without sleep, if I have to.

Failing that, understanding that most dubious Middle Eastern businessmen are tied-up purchasing Premier League football clubs, I ask you to please take matters into your hands. Use your imagination, guys – strangle yourselves or cover yourself in tinfoil and take a fork to a nearby plug socket, or something. Just put yourselves and us fans out of our collective misery.

So, in summary, you pack of repugnant, sputum-filled, invertebrate bástards; leave this club now and don’t you fúcking dare look back. You’ve consistently demonstrated less passion and desire than can commonly be found within the contents of a sloth’s scrótum, so frankly you can just all fúck off – don’t pass go, don’t collect your wages, don’t ever come back to this town again.

I look forward to you serving me at my local McDonald’s drive-thru in the near future.

Yours sincerely


A very disillusioned Mariner

[Yayniall]

hah @ the fishy men.
Magic of the FA Cup.
Go Bath City!