Remember when the Segway was supposed to be the invention that changed lives? No? Good, neither do I. Anyways, it seems those crazy blokes in Australia have finally found a good use for Segways to capture some on-field shots of cricket players warming up for matches.
The following video comes courtesy of Joe the Cameraman, who is apparently a celebrity of sorts in Australia for letting slip on air that a bowler (think baseball pitcher) couldn't throw. Look, the guy even has his own Wikipedia page!
Looks like you can add "guy who crashed his Segway in comical fashion" to the end of his bio.
In any form of public speaking, one must always be aware of what one is doing with his or her hands. Hand gestures are important to either accentuate the message you may be trying to get across to the audience, or they can become distracting to the point that it ruins any form of effective verbal communication. Usually, we never take any sort of time to think of the hand motions of televised sports personalities, but that may change after this hilarious video of Don Cherry and his piano desk. In trying to make his always salient and brilliant(?) points, Don Cherry spreads his fingers out and pounds his desk like he's Mozart... or perhaps Jerry Lee Lewis.
Since "that guy" Jon Gruden stepped into the MNF booth, many have wondered when he would jump ship from ESPN and return back to coaching. Well after several denials, the "Gruden could be our next coach" rumors are surfacing again. And Gruden is denying, again.
The local Chargers news outlet, Sign On San Diego, is insinuating that with Head Coach Norv Turner on the way out, the team's President Dean Spanos would also have to decide whether or not to keep the team's currrent GM A.J. Smith. The report indicates Smith may also be in line for the Rams GM job if he exits San Diego. Where Smith goes could be major news because of the close relationship Smith has with Jon Gruden, "Chuckie" may be back in coaching sooner rather than later.
"It is well-known in league circles that the relationship between Smith and Gruden is a solid one. The friendship began in the late 1990s when Gruden was head coach of the Oakland Raiders and was introduced to Smith by Smith’s closest friend, Bruce Allen, then the Raiders’ senior executive." and the same news outlet also says "Sources said Gruden has decided to return to coaching in 2012 and that his current employer, ESPN, is already preparing for his departure."
ESPN and Gruden have since denied any truth to the report, but we all know if you are looking for another job, you certainly don't tell your current employer about it until you have a contract or handshake agreement. But besides Gruden pulling an Urban Meyer and leaving ESPN with egg on their face, this could also be the work of a savvy GM who wants to flash his relationships around in hopes he can keep his own job.
“Jon signed a multi-year extension with ESPN this fall,” ESPN said in a statement provided to PFT. “He remains committed to being a part of Monday Night Football for many years.”
If Gruden does leave after this season, it would make a mockery of that "exclusive contract" he signed with ESPN earlier this year. Regardless of whichever team Gruden ends up coaching for, I think it's safe to say most of the MNF veiwership will be smarter upon his eventual departure. Time will tell if he takes his love for everybody in the NFL back to the sideline.
The Lakers avoided an 0-3 start by blowing out the Jazz at Staples Center in Los Angeles Tuesday night. However, the major story of the night in the NBA (besides Norris Cole) was this Lakers fan courtside. Although the long straw actually invokes images of The Penguin, I'm more inclined to say this fella looks like a slightly more evil version of Adam West. Thankfully, one of our favs Kevin Harlan was able to give a full play by play of Devin Harris going into the stands to try and save the ball on this play. Who doesn't love a good Penguin impersonation...
The total sequence included popcorn flying through the air, an expensive courtside seat as a casualty, and Harlan's Penguin for a few seconds. From the sound of it, Harlan seems to be going with the classic Burgess Meredith interpretation rather than the darker Danny Devito version. Good call. Thankfully, other gifted photoshoppers were on the same page...
On Thursday night, I'm hoping Reggie Miller shows up in a Riddler costume for the TNT game because that would just be so fitting.
Only two weeks to go in the first ever Dickies Awards. Can anyone catch Dick Stockton or is he destined to claim this historic prize? There are a lot of great quotes to choose from this week. Here are your Week 16 nominees...
1) "This Jets crowd is really in favor of the Jets today" - Tony Siragusa (via sctvman)
2) "They need a 2 point conversion" - Thom Brennaman with the Cardinals trailing by seven. (via kamuifan)
3) "On the 11th day of Christmas, Dalton throws a touchdown to Jerome Gresham." - Shannon Sharpe (via bjo109)
4) "Shaun Sneezam with his second field goal of the day..." - Dick Stockton (via acsteelersfan)
5) "When his elbow hits, he's down, right?" - Tony Siragusa
6) "A penalty flag is thrown. No flag is down on the field." - Joe Buck (via bloggerjustinf)
7) "He's very accomplished at handing it off." - Dan Dierdorf on Matt Stafford (via dascenzo)
8) "The tie is broken!" - Ron Pitts on an Akers FG. Seattle was winning 17-16 at the time. (via SSReporters)
9) "Look at Tony Tebow right here." - Joe Theismann (via sctvman)
Yesterday we kicked off our year end Pyrotechniiiiiics Awards with polls for the best and worst play by play person of the year. Today, we shift over a chair for voting on the best and worst game analyst of 2011. As with yesterday, there are a few peope that inspire enough praise and criticism to earn a spot on both lists. Voting will remain open throughout the week and there will be more polls on the way tomorrow! As always, these totally prestigious and influential awards are decided by you! Here are your nominees...
Last night's Monday Night Football game between the Falcons and Saints featured an interesting choice to do the game's introduction: former Golden Girls star Betty White.
I know White has achieved cult status over the years, mainly stemming from her stint hosting Saturday Night Live, but this video was just... bizarre. The majority of the MNF audience is male, so why spend so much time talking about how hot Matt Ryan and various other QBs are? And did we really need another Tebow reference just a couple days after a four interception performance?
One of the best Christmas presents AA received was Craig James' departure from ESPN to run for the Republican nomination to fill Kay Bailey Hutchison's United States Senate seat in Texas. James' 2011 at AA was as dominant as Barry Bonds at his enlarged headed best as he won every major tournament that honors the most awful announcers. But now with him out of the booth we get the fun of watching a maligned college football analyst run for the United States Senate. James is so far behind the field in terms of money and public support that he has virtually no chance in the race. Also, Jesse "The Body" Ventura was more qualified in running for public office.
James' hopeless Senate campaign promises to be an interesting ride for everyone and it began in earnest yesterday with an appearance on Fox News.
James on his qualifications for Senate:
"I ate a lot of mayonnaise only sandwiches and ketchup only sandwiches."
James' straight talk:
"Our country is changing, Washington is off its rails, I'm living on Real Street, I understand this."
James on overcoming the Leach scandal:
"There are no allegations. It is indisputable amongst players, coaches, trainers, doctors. Everyone there knew Adam had a concussion and on back to back practices Mike Leach ordered him put in dark solitary confinement. You can't do that to a human being."
"There's some who just don't want to open their eyes and understand reality."
"I'll stand against evil. Right is right, wrong is wrong, it's never right to do wrong."
To summarize:
-Craig James lives on a weird place called "Real Street." -Craig James ate mayonnaise and ketchup sandwiches as a kid. -Craig James thinks it's everyone else that doesn't understand reality when he totally ignores this. -Mike Leach is evil. -Craig James will stand against evil. -Craig James will save America.
Late in the fourth quarter of tonight's Monday Night Football game, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke the 27 year old single season passing yards record of Dan Marino. Brees needed 305 yards entering the night to set the record and looked well on his way after throwing for over 200 in the first half. After the Saints defense and special teams stepped up in the second half, Brees needed just 30 yards on a drive with just over five minutes left in the game. The Saints came out throwing and Brees broke the record on a nine yard touchdown pass to Darren Sproles.
The ESPN crew did a solid job tracking the record tonight, referencing its importance but not allowing it to completely dominate and overshadow the game (although the giant graphics may have been a bit much at times). In truth, Brees' march throughout the season in breaking one of the most important records in NFL history has been incredibly quiet until tonight. Brees has been overshadowed by players and stories like Aaron Rodgers and Tim Tebow much of the year, but tonight was his night.
First, here's the video of the Brees touchdown pass to Sproles and Mike Tirico's call of the record breaker...
But the highlight of the night may actually be Brees' locker room speech afterwards that was caught on camera by ESPN. It is amazing that ESPN was able to capture this locker room footage and speech from Brees to his teammates. This locker room speech by Brees is as pure as a sporting moment you will find and an awesome moment for sports fans anywhere to see. The way Brees gives praise to his teammates gives you a window into what makes him one of the all-time greats to play the game and one of the most respected and popular athletes around. And the spontaneous "that's what she said" moment adds just enough laughs to perfect the moment. It's a remarkable must-see video from inside the Saints locker room...
To close out the year we're expanding our year end awards vote to include several categories beyond best and worst announcer of the year. In trying to think of a name for these awards (because the Awfulies just sucked), I drew inspiration from our favorite clip of the year - PYROTECHNICS!! Actually, the name kinda fits because pyrotechnics and lighting things on fire can be a good or a bad thing. It's all encompassing. And as always, the award winners will be decided by your vote.
We'll run new polls throughout the week and up first are the votes for best and worst play by play person of 2011. There are a lot of great choices for each poll today and as you may notice, some announcers are up for both categories speking to their polarity as announcers. Here are your nominees...
