I really wasn't even sure I wanted to see Moneyball. The book is still one of my all-time favorites and the thought of confining a complex book largely about guys crowding around computers and the awesome nerdery that takes place into two hours made me worried that they'd butcher the hell out of it. As soon as I heard Brad Pitt would be playing be playing Billy Beane, I imagined we'd be subjected to scenes of a shirtless Beane celebrating with the World Series trophy and maybe a sappy love story. I also was wary when I heard that Paul DePodesta did not want his likeness used in the movie and that his part would be a made-up character played by Seth from Superbad. Hearing Aaron Sorkin was one of the writers immediately helped restore some confidence that they might just not screw this one up.

Thankfully, the movie largely stays true to the book. While some things certainly are exaggerated and some of the things in the movie will certainly make the uber nerdy sabermatric community cringe, I feel like they still did get the heart of the book's message through in the movie. But, there's no mistaking that this definitely is a Hollywood movie.

The movie at its core is a traditional underdog story. It really only focuses on one year (2002) and the A's are presented in the movie as a ragtag group of misfits that must overcome the enormous odds of losing Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi due to their severe economic disadvantage. Of course, the A's still did have Zito, Hudson, Mulder and Miguel Tejada, but you'll rarely hear their names in this movie. Still, it's true the A's payroll was usually 100 million less than their playoff foes and Beane shrewdly assembled them due to the economic realities he faced.

It's really difficult to criticize this movie after having read and loved the book. For instance, my favorite part of the book dealt with the A's drafting strategy and the Jeremy Brown story. But, like I said earlier, the movie spends the majority of its time in 2002 and there's really no way to include the drama of that part of the book in this movie about a prospect who ultimately never panned out.  That would have provided any cohesion to this story. Also, I wished more shine would have been given to Bill James who was the real mind behind the sabermetric movement in baseball... but again, it's only two hours.

Thanks for all your continued comments and tweets that are the lifeblood of the Pam Ward Chronicles.  With Week 4, conference games are beginning to get in gear and the Pammies are heating up as well.  This week continues the powerful performances of Craig James and Gary Danielson, who are both in the list of nominees with multiple selections.  Incredibly, Craig James has four nominees this week all by himself!  Then again, with two games every week, he has twice as many opportunities to say ridiculous things as most other announcers.  In truth, it's an incredibly unfair advantage versus the rest of the Pammies field given his built in ignominy.  Oh well...  As a reminder as to how this works, each week we'll nominate 15-20 quotes for you to pick the best 10.  The winning quote of the week will earn that person 10 points all the way down to 1 point for 10th.  Remember, you can vote for your favorite five quotes.  Here are your Week 4 nominees...

1) "Cincinnati has to have a coming out party tonight for Butch Jones." - Craig James (via Sctvman)

2) "I caught up with Bitch... Butch Jones coming out of the half." - Jenn Brown (VIDEO)

3) "LSU plays grown man football. If you have any Hello Kitty in you, they're gonna bring it out of you." - Desmond Howard (via CaptTouchback)

4) "Braxton Miller is like Barry Sanders" - Craig James (via sctvman)

5) "He comes in the backdoor." - Gary Danielson (via AndyO)

6) "It's a 3rd and goal, 3rd and 1." - Steve Martin as Temple had a 3rd and 1 still in their own territory. (via BloggerJustinF)

7) "Party at the quarterback and the defensive line is invited." - Dan Hawkins (via sctvman)

8) "San Diego State finally breaks the seal here at the Big House." - Eric Collins after SDSU scored their first TD. (via SBisho12)

9) "If you're not conditioned, guys will start to suck... suck air." - Matt Millen (via tedemrich)

10) "The good thing for Arizona State is they have a managable 3rd down here." - Rod Gilmore (via bjo109) on 2nd and 6.

11) "You know what I like about Luke Fickell and Mike Vrabel, they got blood on this field." - Craig James (via sctvman)

12) "That defense was out there like a chicken on a dune bug." - Ray Bentley (via sctvman)

13) "Clemson missed a FG by 60 yards to the left." - Brad Nessler (via sctvman)

14) "One more try at trying to find Arkansas trying to find their tight end." - Gary Danielson (via bjo109)

15) "The Big 12 has everything going their way" - Craig James (via sctvman)

16) "2 of the last 3 Central Michigan passes have been intercepted. The last one for an interception." - Pam Ward (via SBisho12)

17) "And... Incomplete... And INTERCEPTED... No... EDDIE POOLE? EDDIE POOLE?! EDDIE POOLE CAUGHT IT?! UNBELIEVABLE! HOW IN THE WORLD DID HE GRAB THIS ONE?!" - Mike Morgan (VIDEO)

Vote For Your Week 4 Pammy Winners! (vote for up to five)

The winners will come Wednesday morning so make sure you vote early and often and check back for the full Week 5 announcing sked later this week!

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Yes, the Bears might have lost to the Packers, sorry, the "World Champs" (as they were called 749 times today), by a score of 27-17 today.  But, the score should have been much closer if not for a phantom holding call on the greatest punt return fakeout in history.  With only a minute left and the score 27-17, Devin Hester and Special Teams Coordinator Dave Toub pulled off an unbelieveable fake return to the near sideline, while Johnny Knox caught the ball and raced up the far sideline for a TD, if not for that "holding" call.  

Now, I can understand if the play initially might have fooled FOX play-by-play man Joe Buck, but c'mon man! At least show a little excitement! Who cares if there's a flag on the field?  Even Aaron Rogers said it was "the most incredible play I've ever seen" after the game.  Yet for Joe Buck, it was like any other play in any other game. We've chronicled Buck's voice ailment before, and it does still sound his voice is just a hair off from normal. So why the muted call?  Couldn't Buck take some lessons from the UVA-Wise announcers and let loose just a little bit?  (Nice AA shoutout in the local papers by the way!)  

Trust me, I could go into the FOX conspiracy against Jay Cutler, or their on-air apology today for creating false headlines about Jay Cutler... but that would just reveal my own silly Bears bias.  Nope, it looks like the muted reaction is just down to Joe Buck being an announcer who can't find any excitement when calling a football game.  I wonder what will happen first... Joe Buck losing his monotone or the Bears finding a running game... ouch!

[Da Bear Necessities]

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Many, many, many, many virtual trees have been sacrificed the last two years over LeBron James. His mysterious final days in Cleveland, The Decision, the betrayl of Cleveland, LeBron's legacy, LeBron's choking in the playoffs and so much more.  However, among all of the silly things LeBron James said last year, one of the biggest foot-in-mouth moments came at the initial Miami Heat Championship Celebration Welcome Party.  Before the "Three Kings" (shocking how that nickname didn't take off like a rocketship) had even played a game together, LeBron James predicted his Heat would win at least 7 NBA Championships.  Let's go to the videotape!

Of course, LeBron's boasting was a point of comic fodder for much of the season, and especially during his disappearing act in the NBA Finals.  But, amidst the chilly climate of the NBA Lockout, LeBron is now appearing in a new set of McDonald's ads to promote their Monopoly game.  And you know what?  LeBron comes off as a very sympathetic and humorous figure as the narrator pokes fun at his famous faux pas.

And maybe that's the most frustrating aspect of the entire Decision debacle.  Deep down, when you strip away the corporate coccoon of King James and the ensuing farce his image has become, LeBron is someone you want to root for to succeed.  This isn't meant to be another psychological profile of LBJ, but there is that certain connection that one makes with LeBron James when he's not trying to portray himself as something other than the kid from Akron.  Maybe that's what Cavs fans miss the most about LeBron leaving his hometown team.

[SBNation]

You've missed Brett Favre so much. And finally, he's returning. Sort of...

Next Saturday, October 1st, Favre will serve as the color commentator for the CSS (Comcast Sports Southeast) broadcast of the Rice-Southern Miss (his alma mater) game:

CSS, the regional sports channel focused on sports throughout the South, has announced that former Southern Miss and future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre will serve as color analyst for its live coverage of the Rice at Southern Miss game on Saturday, October 1 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

"I'm excited to be back at Southern Miss with the Golden Eagles," said Favre, who played quarterback for the team from 1987-1990. He added, "I'm not committing to a new career in broadcasting, but just wanted to support Southern Miss and check out the view from the press box. It should be fun and I hope the fans enjoy it."

"CSS is thrilled to have Brett share his knowledge and insight as color analyst", says General Manager Mark Fuhrman. "We've had a great relationship with Conference USA for many years and I know our viewers will enjoy hearing Brett's perspective on the game."

Source: CSS 

Joining Favre on the broadcast will be play-by-play announcer Mike Morgan. (You may remember him from last night.)

Unfortunately, since CSS is a regional sports channel, not all of us will get to hear Favre's thoughts on denim and sexting.

In all seriousness, if Favre does a solid job as an analyst, you know that the Worldwide Leader will do everything possible to land him. But, I'm sure they've been trying to do that anyway.

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Being an expert in the services industry (or having watched some television about it), I've come to learn about the "soft launch." Hotels, bars, restaurants, and other highly trafficked places have an unveiling for friends and family members to get familiar with the demands and operations before doing it for real at a larger scale.

For the past several weeks, Gus Johnson and FX have essentially soft launched with a trifecta of nationally insignificant games. Many reading this may have not even realized that Johnson had debuted and it's hard to blame them given the not so potent lineup of Oklahoma vs. Tulsa, Oregon vs. Nevada, and USC vs. Syracuse. The average margin of victory through three games on FX has been over 33 points.

Meanwhile the juggernaut of ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, and ESPNU has flexed their dominance with some great games and anticipated matchups. To their credit, The Worldwide Leader does a damn good job. The likes of Mark May and Craig James can be repugnant, but with the plethora of big games, conference rights, and a cupboard full of talented folks, it equates to some of ESPN's best work being rooted in covering and promoting college football.

Competition has been sparse. The Big Ten Network, Versus, CBS, and NBC all have varying levels of a foothold, but no single major sport is more dominated in terms of coverage as ESPN and college football. Versus and NBC have a good thing going with the NHL, but most fans consume those broadcasts at a local level and hockey still lacks a true broad appeal to casual sports fans...

A very wild finish took place in tonight's Bethune-Cookman vs. Hampton college football game that was televised on ESPNU. (I promise that I only watched the final minutes, and because it was the only live football still on. Okay, it's still probably not a good enough excuse.)

Bethune-Cookman scored on a touchdown pass to go up 35-31 with under three minutes left in the game. However, the play extremely confused ESPNU play-by-play man, Mike Morgan:

"And... Incomplete... And INTERCEPTED... No... EDDIE POOLE? EDDIE POOLE?! EDDIE POOLE CAUGHT IT?! UNBELIEVABLE! HOW IN THE WORLD DID HE GRAB THIS ONE?!"

Here's video proof (I apologize for my crappy camera work):

And things got even crazier in the final seconds of the game. With four seconds remaining, and the score still 35-31, Hampton had a fourth down in the red zone. Hampton quarterback David Legree connected with wide receiver Isiah Thomas in the end zone for a touchdown as time expired. Or so it appeared at first. After a lengthy review, officials determined that Thomas did not maintain possession of the ball all the way to the ground. Incomplete pass; Bethune-Cookman wins.

As I watched the replays a few times while the review was taking place, I thought the touchdown call would be overturned, as ended up being the case. And color commentator, Jay Walker, kept pointing out how the pass may be ruled incomplete as well.

Morgan, however, felt otherwise. After many replays, Morgan said, "I don't think there's any way in the world they reverse this."

Video of this whole scene:

Not Morgan's finest moments as a broadcaster. Thankfully for him, I was probably the only one watching the game.

The snafus are back this week and unfortunately, Matt Hasselbeck is undergoing something of an identity crisis.  He thinks he's Trent Dilfer.  He wakes up in the morning and talks loudly in the mirror. He also holds a strange vendetta against game-managing quarterbacks.  It isn't all bad though, at least he doesn't have to stand in his brother's shadow like Tim Hasselbeck does.

Secondly, the NFL's website isn't the only one screwing things up for the league recently.  They must not have the harderst working spellchecker for the rundown.  Thanks to CaptTouchback for the screengrab...

The king of internet video and graphics, bubbaprog, picked up this awesome snafu from Fox in promoting their Sunday NFL coverage.  I'm not sure what a "Seakawk" is, but I pray to God it's an endangered species on the edge of extinction...


And finally, it's been a rough year for the Florida Marlins.  Nobody shows up to their games, their new logo is hideously ugly, their manager makes Joe Paterno look like a young whippersnapper, and they've been criticized for temporarily sending down frequent tweeter, Logan Morrison.  It looks like the Marlins still don't think too much of LoMo, as they don't even bother to spell his name right on the video board...


That was your week in snafus, next time be careful out there!

In case you missed it, Jenn Brown is in the early lead for the Pammies this week...

Thursday, September 22

Hampton at Bethune-Cookman (7:30PM ESPNU) Mike Morgan, Jay Walker
North Carolina State @ Cincinnati (8PM ESPN) Rece Davis, Craig James, Jesse Palmer, Jenn Brown

Friday, September 23

Central Florida @ Brigham Young (8PM ESPN) Joe Tessitore, Rod Gilmore

Saturday, September 24

Notre Dame @ Pittsburgh (Noon ABC) Dave Pasch, Chris Spielman, Urban Meyer, Quint Kessenich
North Carolina @ Georgia Tech (Noon ESPN) Bob Wischusen, Bob Davie
Cornell at Yale (12PM Versus)  Randy Moss, Ross Tucker, Carolyn Manno
Old Dominion at #7 Delaware (12PM Comcast Network/Cox 11 (VA)) Marc Zurnoff, Kevin Reilly
Eastern Michigan @ Penn State (Noon ESPN2)  Beth Mowins, Mike Bellotti
Central Michigan @ Michigan Stat e (Noon ESPNU) Pam Ward, Dan Hawkins
Louisiana-Monroe @ Iowa (Noon BTN) Kevin Kugler, Danan Hughes, Stacy Paetz
San Diego State @ Michigan (Noon BTN) Eric Collins, Chris Martin, Dionne Miller
SMU @ Memphis (Noon FSN)  Ron Thulin, JC Pearson, Jeremy Bloom
Georgia @ Mississippi (Noon SEC Net) Dave Neal, Andre Ware & Cara Capuano
Toledo @ Syracuse (Noon Big East Net) Mike Gleason, John Congemi, Eamon McAnaney
Liberty at #15 Lehigh (12:30PM SE-2 (PA)/FlamesSN/GamePlan/ESPN3) Mike Zambelli, Mike Yadush, Al Di Carlo/Mike Tilley, Ray Jones
Temple @ Maryland (12:30 ACC Net) Steve Martin, Dave Archer, Scott Przywansky
Alcorn State @ Texas Southern (1pm TSU Sports Network) Nick Strong, Lemont Williams, Kenny Borroughs
#17 Massachusetts at Boston College (1PM ESPN3) Dave Weekley, Rene Ingoglia
Bowling Green at Miami (OH) (1PM ESPN3) Dan Gutowsky, Rob Harley
Presbyterian at Furman (1PM CSS)   Chuck Hussion, Corey Stewart, David Cobb
Ohio at Rutgers (2PM ESPN3)  Jon Anik, Bob Chmeil
Army at Ball State (2PM ESPN3)    Michael Reghi, Adam Archuleta
Bacone College at UT-San Antonio (2PM Longhorn Network) Andrew Monaco, Ahmad Brooks
Tennessee State at Air Force (3PM The Mtn.) Todd Harris, Todd Christensen, Natalie Vickers
Arkansas @ Alabama (3:30 CBS) Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson, Tracy Wolfson
Colorado @ Ohio State (3:30 ABC/ESPN2) Mike Patrick, Craig James
Oklahoma State @ Texas A&M (3:30 ABC/ESPN2) Sean McDonough, Matt Millen, Jeannine Edwards
Florida State @ Clemson (3:30 ESPN) Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe
Kansas State @ Miami (3:30 ESPNU) Clay Matvick, Brian Griese,Allison Williams
California @ Washington ( 3:30 FSN) Craig Bolerjack, Joel Klatt, Petros Papadakis
Tulane at Duke (3:30PM ESPN3)  Neil Solodnz, Je'Rod Cherry
UAB at East Carolina (3:30PM WITN (NC)) Patrick Kinas, Kevin Miller, Billy Weaver
UCLA at Oregon State (3:30PM PrimeTicket/FCS-Pacific) Bill Macdonald, J.J. Stokes, Amy Bender
#11 New Hampshire at #5 Richmond (3:30PM CSN-New England/Comcast Network)  Scott Graham, John Bunting
South Dakota @ Wisconsin (3:30 BTN) Tom Hart, Derek Rackley, Jay Wilson
Western Michigan @ Illinois (3:30 BTN) Wayne Larrivee, Jon Jansen, Lisa Byington
Weber State at Northern Colorado (3:30PM Altitude) Chris Marlowe, Scott Hastings
Virginia Tech @ Marshall (3:30 CBSSN)  Dave Ryan, Rich Rodriguez
New Mexico State at San Jose State (3:30PM ESPN3) Trey Bender, Jay Taylor
Southern Mississippi @ Virginia (3:30 ACC Net)  Rich Waltz, Keith Jones, Jenn Hildreth
Howard vs. Morgan State @East Rutherford, NJ (4PM ESPN3) Adam Amin, Jay Walker
Northwestern State at Nicholls State (4PM Southland TV/ESPN3) Randy McIlvoy, Shea Walker, Jane Slater
Middle Tennessee State at Troy (4:30PM CSS/CST/ESPN3) Joe Davis, Cole Cubelic, Erin Cofiell
Fresno State at Idaho (5PM WAC Network/Altitude2/ESPN3) Barry Tompkins, Joe Glenn
Idaho State at Northern Arizona (5:05PM Universityhouse/FCS-Pacific)  Mitch Strohman, Kevin Stephens, Marc Buckhout
Connecticut at Buffalo (7PM SNY/BH/GamePlan/ESPN3) Jim Barbar, John Gregory
Louisiana-Lafayette at Florida International (7PM ESPN3) Eric Kohler, Warrick Dunn
Lafayette at Stony Brook (7PM Lafayette Sports Network) Gary Laubach, Mike Joseph, John Leone
Florida @ Kentucky (7PM ESPN) Mark Jones, Ed Cunningham, Samantha Steele
Vanderbilt @ South Carolina (7PM ESPN2) Mark Neeley, Ray Bentley
Louisiana Tech @ Mississippi State (7:00 ESPNU) Rob Stone, Danny Kanell
North Dakota State @ Minnesota (7PM BTN) Matt Devlin, Glen Mason, Rebecca Haarlow
UTEP at #18 South Florida (7PM ESPN3) Kevin Corke, Doug Graber
Florida Atlantic at Auburn (7PM FSN-Regional/GamePlan/ESPN3) Bob Rathbun, Tim Couch, Kristina Akra
Rice @ Baylor (7PM FS Southwest) Joel Meyers, Gary Reasons, Jim Knox
Indiana at North Texas (7PM ESPN3) Shawn Kenney, Drew Henson
#12 James Madison at #6 William & Mary (7PM CSN-MidAtlantic/CSN-New England) Bob Picozzi, Scott Brunner
#4 Montana State at #21 Eastern Washington (7:05PM SWX/Max Media (MT)) Chris Byers, Mike Callaghan, A.J. Donatoni
Nevada @ Texas Tech (7PM FOX College Sports): Tom Helmer, Yogi Roth, Desmond Purnell
Nebraska @ Wyoming (7:30 VS) Paul Burmeister, Shaun King, Anthony Herron
Georgia State at Houston (8PM CSS/CSN-MidAtlantic+) Mike Morgan, Chuck Oliver, Craig Ackerman
Colorado State at Utah State (8PM KCSG (CO)/ESPN3) Pat White, Mychal Clanton
Central Arkansas at Arkansas State (8PM KATV (AR), KAIT (AR)/KNWA (AR)/ESPN3) Matt Stolz, Sean Tuchy, Doug Doggett
Louisiana State @ West Virginia (8PM ABC) Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Erin Andrews
Missouri @ Oklahoma (8PM FX) Gus Johnson, Charles Davis, Tim Brewster
Tulsa @ Boise State (8:00 CBSSN) James Bates, Aaron Taylor, Brooke Collins
#23 Southern Utah at UNLV (9PM The Mtn.) Ari Wolfe, Blaine Fowler, Molly Sullivan
#10 Montana at Sacramento State (9:05PM KPAX (MT)) Dennis Patchin, John Edwards, Derek Buerkle
USC @ Arizona State (10:15 ESPN) Joe Tessitore, Rod Gilmore, Shelley Smith
Oregon @ Arizona (10:15 ESPN2) Carter Blackburn, Brock Huard

Pammy Standings after Week 3

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