SuperBowl XLV Trash Talk
As of post time, it appears SuperBowl XLV will still be played in Reykjavík Texas despite the spate of injuries to innocent plaintiffs, er fans, from ice falling off of Cowboys Stadium. SuperBowls should be played in reasonable and warm climates, not the frozen tundra of Texas. As Dallas born and bred Stevie Ray Vaughn knows, the Texas Flood will give you the blues; just think what the ice storm they have been suffering the past few days will do.
Now the thing that has most fascinated me from all the usual build up hype this week is the discovery that, apparently, all stud Packers quarterbacks are Vikings, whether at the start of their career or the geezerly end. Who knew?
Despite my Geezer based flirtation with the Vikings, and despite living in a city with a semi-pro football team known as the Cardinals, I have been a lifelong Green Bay Packer Cheesehead. I read a biography of Bart Starr when I was maybe eight years or so old and a kid, even ones in places with no teams, had to “have a team”. Mine became the Packers, and the deal was cemented for a lifetime when, at Vince Lombardi’s express demand, the Pack drafted Travis Williams from Arizona State and he had a breakout year his rookie season in 1967, setting the rookie record for kickoff returns, including two in one game against the Cleveland Browns. The Cardinals may be here now, but I am a Cheesehead for life. And I am still waiting for Phred to send me my damn cheesehead she promised years ago. This is in contrast to that “other blogger” here at Emptywheel, who lives equidistant from the Packers, Bears and Lions and seems to want to claim all of them.
The game itself looks to be fantastic. Two original NFL teams that bring their lunchpail to the field. And, in that regard, it is notable that both teams come from the heart of the American workforce, people that make things and do things, and are supporters of American labor. From the Alliance for American Manufacturing:
This year’s Super Bowl presents a special match-up: two teams named for the local industries that support their diehard fans. The Steelers emerged from Pittsburgh’s steelmaking foundries, while the Packers honor their sturdy meatpacking industry.
Both teams are understandably proud of their hometown fans and the work they do. Both Green Bay and Pittsburgh were built on manufacturing, and are the respective epicenters of paper and meatpacking, and of the steel industry, in America. Both cities have suffered heavy manufacturing job losses, but some paper production remains in Green Bay, and Pittsburgh still retains a steel presence. Both Green Bay and Pittsburgh also enjoy a loyal following built on the middle-class, blue-collar jobs supported by these industries.
The video above of Packers AJ Hawk and Mason Crosby is refreshing. It is good to see top flight NFL players standing up for the incredibly important, but too often ignored, principle that the United States needs to renew its ability to actually make things as opposed to the craven churning of financial products that seems the focus of “business’ these days.
To get back to the game, both teams have excellent defenses with genuine stars and studs from the line to defensive backfield; they bring it all game long and make big plays when it counts. Green Bay appears to have the more explosive and superior offense, but I am not sure that is really the case. The Steelers can make big plays and chew up yardage in a hurry when the need to; it is just that their preference is to grind it out and eat up the clock. They are very good at that. Although the Pack seems to have found a solid running game with James Starks, but you would still have to give the edge there to Pittsburgh with Rashard Mendenhall.
Both teams have a few nicked up players, but the only major issue on the injury front belongs to the Steelers who will be without Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey, who went out in the AFC Championship game with a high ankle sprain. This could pose a few problems for Big Ben, but he has played on the run all year anyway from a somewhat leaky offensive line; he should be able to cope just fine.
The rest of the story you all already know from the discussions and Trash Talks throughout the playoffs. These teams are who we thought they were, and that is how they are gonna play Sunday. So, let the trash talking begin! Go Cheesers!
Being a Motor City Kitties fan, it’s hard for me to cheer for an NFC North rival, but I’m kinda tired of the Steelers and I don’t think much of Ben Roethlisberger. So, go Pack.
Once more with enthusiasm!
Go Pack!!!
Hey now, the REASON I’ve been psyched is that, crow-fly rules mean I get to root for the Packers.
And FWIW, I’m probably the only one here who can say she went on two dates with Vince Lombardi. (Yeah,in fifth grade, and the second one was to the library–you’re still jealous, though.) So unless you can top that or are a native born cheeser, pipe down!
As many of you surely know by now, my fandom goes in this order:
I have been pretty darn steadfast in that for literally decades. I used to boo the TV set when Roger Staubach came on, even when the Owboys of that prior generation were playing some anonymous team….
I have reveled in the thought of the Steelers coming to Jerry Jones’ monument to Texas excess, greed and tastelessness. I recall the pictures of $100 seats in Jones-town facing squarely into concrete pillars, with only a tiny corner of one end zone being visible from the seat. I recall thinking: “How Texas, How Dallas, to pull this kind of stunt.” “Sell a $30 standing-room ticket which allows the patron to fight for space in a bar and maybe catch a glimpse of the jumbotron – that’s Dallas.” The mere presence of the Steelers in Jones’ house – where his Owboys were boasting at the beginning of the season they would host the Super Bowl from their home locker room (we all saw how that turned out) – is a thumb in the eye of them and the No Fun League. King Roger the Clown has to be cringing every step of the way to the Super Bowl, watching Big Ben – roundly excoriated for his past-life indiscretions – lead his team over, around, under and through every obstacle thrown their way, overcoming odds and obstacles mere mortals shold have been stopped by. But, it bears repeating, teams throughout the AFC, and every team in the AFC North, judges defensive prospects against one standard: “Can he tackle Roethlisberger?”
The Steeler D has shown itself to be awesome, King Roger’s fines, penalties, on-the-fly rule re-writing and double secret probation to the contrary notwithstanding. They Play Football In Pittsburgh. Just like the other night, in the last minute of the game, Pitsburgh’s Penguins’ backup goalie started the rare goalie fight with the Islanders’ goalie DiPietro, in response to DiPietro working over a Penguin taking a shot. The Pens’ goalie not only knocked DiPietro down with one left, but he also left him with “broken facial bones”, putting him on the shelf for 4 to 6 weeks. They play Hockey in Pittsburgh. Those Penguin players were seen, in the stands, mixed with the ordinary fans, waving towels, too, when the Steelers beat the snot out of the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS. It’s a town which values toughness, and a franchise that does things the right way.
I have no issue with Green Bay. They are a great franchise and Aaron Rodgers stands a good chance of going to Canton when his playing days are done. He is The Goods. The Packers’ fans are great – devoted through a decades-long dry spell between Starr and Favre and regularly braving weather that makes ordinary folks run for cover. They have played well and deserve to be here.
But, I want the Packers to lose and the Steelers to win. I want to watch Roger Goodell cringe as he has to give the Lombardi Trophy to Ben, who Roger saw fit to rake, this week, with a story (Can’t call it a leak b/c it surely wasn’t anonymous) about how no one on the Steelers would back Ben during Roger’s investigation. I want to see that.
But, to be fair and accurate, I don’t think the Steelers will win. I think the loss of Pouncey will be the final straw that renders the Steeler O-Line useless or close to it. I said that two weeks ago, and I’ll stand by it. I don’t like it, but there it is.
I want the Steelers to win, desperately. But I don’t think they will…. I hope I am proven wrong.
The Frozen Tundra of Texas. Thanks bmaz, I’m gonna remember that one. Think it might be a sign? (Please please please, I hope, I hope, I hope ; )
By the way, I apologize for not sending along the Cheesehead as I intended. It’s just that it looked so nice on my hubcap I kinda hated to part with it ; )
Scribe, I sincerely wish you (and my husband) the best of luck, a good game, and no injuries all around… May the best (green and) gold team win!
Aw jeebus. I forgot how that ended up. Where are you guys watching and what do you have bet with each other on the game?
And how many of your local friends won’t talk to either one of you bc their team was supposed to win it this year?
In order…
Watching at home, having invited some friends over to keep us both on our best behavior ; )
The loser has to wear the winning jersey to work next week. Caveat: this is where I would like to point out that I have not one, but two Packer jerseys, one an autographed Brett Favre away (white) jersey and the other a Brett Favre home (green jersey) and have had them for years (admittedly the hubby got them for me), whereas said spouse who is not remotely as big a football fan as I am, has none (probably my fault, see previous parenthetical remark). However (we are still caveating), the Mr. has ordered a Steeler jersey, but it may or may not arrive before the game. So, if I lose, I have to wear it to work whenever it arrives.
Surprisingly, few of our local friends are taking their irritation out on us. Many of our Patriot-ic friends, while seething at various perceived shortcomings of their team, have been quite gracious, if non-committal, to both of us.
i vote green!
: )
EW, I don’t Tweet, but in reference to your Fear Diorama, you really need to check out the lovely little graph at Al Jazeera’s English liveblog (Feb. 5th, 4:52 a.m.). As bmaz would say, heh heh : )
My understanding is that Green Bay is the smallest NFL market, and its team is the only one in the league that is community owned. This makes the Packers the obvious choice for any anti-capitalist fans who like to mix their sports with politics (even though the game itself is a war metaphor, and capitalism thrives on war).
Beyond all that, Aaron Rodgers is simply fun to watch. Go Packers!
Yup. I’ve always liked the Pack for that very reason — and I’ve had a lot of fun over the years tweaking Republican Packers fans on this. My first love is the Vikings, but my second choice is the Pack.
Do the Packers seriously want Brett back? Amazes me.
Uh, arguably the greatest single player in the history of the franchise? Yeah, they probably eventually want him back. Better question is whether he should want any part of the Packers as long as that dickhead Ted Thompson is still around.
No doubt he is the best in the franchise but he’s retired more than Barbara Streisand. That doesn’t seem very dependable to me.
We Packers fans tried to give you Brett Favre and the SuperBowl you have long craved, but you let that blithering idiot Childress get in the way.
Did anyone see that terrible post about the Steelers by Howard Fineman on the Huffington Post? According to Howard even if the Steelers win they will lose because the MSM doesn’t like them and will say bad things about them if they win or lose. He just gave me another reason to cheer for the Steelers. If the Steelers win it will upset a lot of people in the MSM. Works for me.
Go Steelers!
For some reason my link to the Huffington Post won’t post???
Go Packers!
Packers 27 Pittsburg 17
The third period will be critical with a little slice of heaven.
“E-TRADE: The online investing site brings back the popular talking babies it introduced in 2008 in a third-quarter ad.”
The odds:
“As Sunday approaches and betting activity picks up in Las Vegas, you might have thought it would alter the point spread. But so far, it hasn’t. After opening as 2.5 point favorites across most sportsbooks, the most common point spread quickly moved to three points in Green Bay’s favor, and it’s stayed there ever since.”
Nothing sez ‘style’ like a hubcap…
Go Pack!
No, not the Packers. Thousands and thousands of happy Packer fans for the next seven months? No. It cannot be borne.
go bears.
LOL : )
Win this one for Vince..
Great article in ESPN by Wright Thompson
“Lombardi poured drinks, cackled at anything funny, performed magic tricks. Marie would serve her famous crab dip, the cigarette smoke thick against the low ceilings. “He’d walk in with a big smile,” Susan Lombardi says. “Win or lose. He never came in with a grumpy face. He’d go behind the bar. ‘Well, everybody got a drink?'”
Not like Billy B?
Mornin’ BSL, thanks so much for pointing out that ESPN article.
After that, I would have to say… Win this one for Katie Gehring ; )
That is a nice article. There is a documentary entitled “Lombardi” that premiered not long ago on HBO and is still playing. It is excellent and contains many scenes on old film shot in the Sunset Circle house. If you liked the pictures and scenes painted by the ESPN article, you will love the documentary. I highly suggest both you and BSL find it and watch it.
Cool! Thanks for the tip. I’ll have to see if I can find it (we don’t get HBO)…
Thanks. I’ll check it out.
I agree with Scribe that the Cards should relocate to LA.
CNBC filed this story last week…
It’s getting close…
http://www.cnbc.com/id/41364137
I could live with the Cardinals going to LA, but ain’t happening. They are here for the indefinite future because of the stadium we built for them.
My heart is with the Steelers, but my money is on the Pack. 20-17 Packers.
Boxturtle (As a Browns fan, Pittsburgh has always been the “Honorable Enemy” for me)
in honor of the chico branch of the family tree, i’ll be cheering on local boy made good aaron rodgers and his pack.
and may i now introduce you to Farmers Field…a name straight out of a 30s dustbowl movie but the real unfortunate moniker the L.A. developers of the “if we build it an NFL team will come” downtown football stadium bought themselves to the tune of $700 million dollars courtesy Farmers Insurance (uhm, did they get any bailout loot?)
sorry Randiego, looks like we’re coming for your team.
Go Chargers! Plow ‘Em! Fertilize ‘Em! Re-seed their Sod!
“Rivers drops back deep…releases…whoah nelly, that one’s headed for the back 40!”
possibilities are endless.
Everything is bigger in LA. they don’t just want to steal one team from some other city and its fans, they want TWO.
I’m sure the Cardinals would be welcome there. Sort of the NFL’s version of the Clippers.
Actually, until that Kurt Warner led trip to the SuperBowl a couple of years ago, the Cardinals made the Clippers look like the LA Lakers in comparison. Like LA, it is my hope to one day have professional football return to my city.
do not be hating on my clipper crush.
No hatin’ here. Just that the Clippers have been so bad for so long – like the Cards – that the comparison is inevitable. Their sudden good-ness is newsworthy.
Bidwell has a Sterling character.
Make sure that when the Packer defense comes on the field that you root for another homeboy of yours… Clay Matthews. He’s from Agoura Hills.
Go PACKERS! : )
At least some of the city council members are wondering where the beef is, since the proponents are on about their third try at selling a stadium to any government willing to give them a few hundred million dollars and the land.
I really wanted the one in Irwindale to go through, because it would have been a hole big enough to hold even Al Davis’s ego. (For those who have forgotten, it was a former gravel pit. Not very deep, but very wide.)
FWIW Packer fans need to send a thank you note to Garret Cross
Who’s Garret Cross?
He’s the TE that Jeff Tedford (Cal’s HC) went to Butte Community College to watch run routes, when Tedford asked an unknown QB named Aaron Rodgers to throw to him. Tedford wound up signing Rodgers, and as they say … the rest is history
Note, Tedford and the Golden Bears signed Cross too.
I was gonna mention that, but …
PS Thanks. I didn’t know Pleasant Valley HS’s mascot was the Vikings; learn something new every day. And I’ll (Viking fan) still take Rodgers any time you want to give him up, phred. How about Tarvaris Jackson for him straight up? ;-)
Oh, btw, Go Pack Go! (no offense to the Steelers)
He’s mine all mine I tell you!!! Hmmm, that doesn’t quite sound right, but you and your Vikings can’t have him anyway, not for all the Tavaris Jackson’s in China! Or something like that… ; )
Edited to add: I forgot a tip o’ the hat to you for that delightful bit of trivia about Rodgers and Cross. Where do you guys find this stuff?
Well, I knew the story about Tedford going up to Butte CC to recruit a TE and coming away with a Cross and Rodgers because it’s a kinda sorta local legend
If only he could recruit a halfway decent QB, the Cal Bears could really do some damage
To what — beehives along the Pacific coast? Or maybe some pic-a-nic baskets? ; )
Sorry couldn’t help myself — it is trash talk after all…
Hi guys… nice take Bmaz. I really love the working class aspect of this game, and I respect the Stillers organization and their progressive outlook.
Having said that…
I REALLY want the Pack to win this game, for a number of reasons:
– Roethlisberger is a douche and I’m not ready for him to be resurrected
– I basically hate any team that eliminated my team in the last 5 years
– Roethlisberger is a douche and I’m not ready for him to be resurrected.
I’m loving sitting in San Diego and seeing all the Super Bowl activities being held in 20-degree weather. We’ve had sunny warm weather all week, and tomorrow we’ll hit 80. Dear NFL: You suck, and eliminating SD from the SB circuit was a stupid decision.
PS – don’t believe all the hype about the Chargers moving to LA. They can’t be that stupid, can they? The NFL needs to help the Bolts get a stadium built here, if only to be able to hold Super Bowls in decent weather.
Marcy deserves the thanks on the labor bit. She received the info and forwarded it to me. It was really a nice and very appropriate addition to the discussion I thought.
I’m with you on your reasoning, randiego, but as a fan of Da Bears, #2 works against the Pack and not for them. Even so, that still puts the tally at 2-1, so go Pack!
Any bets on who gets elected to the HoF, seeing as how the announcements come out at 4 ET?
I’m betting on Sabol the NFL Films guy, Cris Carter, and maybe Dermotti Dawson. I’d love to see Andre Reed make it, but I think his constituency is waning. I’ll scream if fucking Neon Deion Sanders and his Tomahawk Chop go in – he may have been among the best ever at his position, but he was almost as big an ass as he was a talent, and if I had a vote I’d keep him out, at least on the first-year ballot, just on principle.
I’d have to say Marshall Faulk would go in…
Yes, and like him or not, Neon Dion goes too.
Tons of talent, but a total jackass and a crappy tackler to boot.
Quite true on the tackling. But he was a game changing shut down corner who also created quite a bit on returns at one point. He may be full of himself and an ass, but he is HOF worthy.
All true – and I’ll admit he should go into the HoF. Someday. Not on the first ballot.
And he sucked at baseball – couldn’t hit in that sport, either – and jerked teams in both sports around no end so he could inflate his ego by playing both. I mean, Steinbrenner got rid of him because he was such a pain in the ass. Think about that.
Hah hah good one.
Not sure if you saw TBogg’s tweet on it:
I’m sure this is good news for John McCain, too.
This morning on NPR’s “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me,” they suggested that perhaps all sports teams ought to give up critter based names and go with names based on the tough jobs that made their city great. This, they noted, would of course lead to people cheering on the Portland Baristas, the New York Hedge Fund Managers, the Vegas Hookers (or, since it’s legal, perhaps the Vegas Perfectly Innocent Escorts).
(Yes, they said, we know some of those places don’t have teams, but it’s the idea that matters.)
Yes.
The New York Big Shorts?
The New York Liar Pokers?
Well, that is certainly one way to get people thinking about jobs in this country! However, just as a minor point, the NFL should probably steer clear of Vegas Hookers as it would cause no end of confusion for rugby fans ; )
The Las Vegas Pimps & Hos it is then!
I’ll go sit in my corner now———->
That would be best. Sit there quietly until you can behave bmaz ; )
And back in DC are the fearsome and ever-versatile Washington Lobbyists.
Yeah, but no one will play them, they bribe the officials and cheat like crazy ; )
I don’t know about that. What if you put them up against the San Diego MilCons? (Military Contractors)
Oooo, that’s a toughie…
On the one hand, the MilCons pay the Lobbyists, so you might think the Lobbyists would throw the game to keep the source of their revenue flowing…
On the other hand, without the Lobbyists the MilCons wouldn’t be rolling in dough from the government treasury, so the MilCons need to keep the Lobbyists happy…
I’m guessing when those teams play, there is a gentleman’s agreement to just have a friendly flag football scrimmage that always ends in a tie, followed of course by whiskey and cigars in the lavishly appointed home team’s dressing room ; )
Sorry, I think the MilCons moved to Crystal City years ago–and became utterly indistinguisable from the Lobbyists.
Or the Washington Ineffective Democrats.
I was thinking Washington Lame Ass Democrats
But I think we’re headed the same direction….
I like yours better.
“Washington
Lame AssDemocrats”(edited for redundancy)
Much as I like Peter Sagal, the reasoning breaks down when you get to DC. Bc nothing says Washington like Weasels.
The LA Plastic Surgeons
The LA Valley Guys (Girls)
The LA Gangsters … oh, wait, that’s the Raiduhs
great name
Btw, that was the logic in Ann Arbor for naming ultimate teams: almost all had a car name. Men’s team was BigAssTruck, women’s were Clutch and Strut, co-ed were Viscous Coupling and Hybrid.
The tradition is dying out, but it made for some excellent names for awhile (FWIW, Viscous Coupling was the one Mr. EW and I were involved in starting tho I don’t get credit for the name).
I was in the supermarket earlier today – saw that Tom Bieber Brady is on the cover of GQ.
Wonder how that off-season thing is working out for him so far….
The final seven into the Hall of Fame according to Adam Shefter: Richard Dent, Marshall Faulk, Ed Sabol, Dion Sanders, Shannon Sharpe and also Chris Hanburger and Les Richter (apparently from the old timer’s list).
My, but there are some powerful names on that list.
In the 1985 Bears defense, Richard Dent led the charge from the front line, as Da Bears had their way with the hapless Patriots and Dent was the MVP of the Super Bowl.
Yeah, but the Pats win that year over the Dolphins in the AFC Champ game was a fluke. And we all know what the Dolphins did to the supposedly mighty 1985 Bears that year in the glare of Monday Night Football. It was pretty ugly for the Bears and Dent and the rest could hardly even find Marino before the ball was downfield.
Fluke my arse.
The Pats beat the Dolphins that season in Foxboro, 17-13, and had almost beaten them in Miami in mid-December, losing by only a field goal, 30-27.
In the AFC Champ game, the Pats not only won, but won in a romp, 31-14.
They were evenly matched…. rain played a factor and Clayburn was fan-damn-astic… Marino, I think, sucked.
Thou shalt not call the Pats a fluke…
My hunch is that the most important Green Bay player in the game will be their punter.
i may now live in minnesnowta, but i was born and raised in wisconsin. GO PACK! Sorry folks, i can’t part with my Cheesehead hat.
I’ll be rooting for the Packers since I can’t support that slimeball Ben R.
actually, i’ll be having band practice and probably won’t be watching at all, and it’s the commercials and the madison ave boyz take on the american populace that is the real show anyway.
as long as he keeps sending text messages to chicks that include pictures of his wang, it’s unlikely he’s going anywhere.
Super style points for that Steve Ray video. ;)
I HATE THE STEELERS. Don’t like the Packers much but I like them better without the Drama Queen.
So by default, Packers. The 49ers should have drafted Rodgers.
I grew up in Green Bay during the Lombardi era – a grand time for football.
The stories are wonderful, my barber in high school also cut the hair of most of the Packer board (whose power Lombardi had broken in taking over the Packers). What happened when the player rep, the only all pro on the team when Lombardi arrived, and on and on.
Tomorrow, I think that The Pack can win if the Steelers don’t follow the example of the Bears. In the Bear game, Rogers was eating the bears alive, then he was hit. I’m a Neuropsychologist and for my money, Rogers had a concussion. Of course he played on, but he was throwing passes into the ground with regularity. He has lost part of his sense of timing – the Bears weren’t doing any better. Fortunately, Rogers had done so much damage already and the Pack won.
I don’t know that the Bears hit on Rogers was really intentional. If it happens again, especially early in the Steeler game, it will not have been an accident. How much would you bet if Rogers starts out as he did against the Bears, that such a hit like that won’t occur? I don’t believe that the Steeler coaches would encourage this, but there are a lot of defensive players who are aware, Given the stakes…
Go Packers (and protect Rogers)
I said the same exact thing that day. And if he had been so diagnosed, I am not sure Rodgers even could have gotten clearance to play in the Super Bowl because that would have been his third concussion of the season.
Great comment–as soon as Peppers laid that hit, I had the same thought and agree Rogers was woozy for the rest of the game. And REALLY worry about a guy who has had three concussions already this season getting hit again. Everyone was wailing about Cutler, but no one was saying the really obvious things about Rogers’ noggin.
Everyone’s talking about how Rogers is gonna end up being one of the greats but his head has already had the kind of season that got Aikman and Young to retire. At the rate he’s going, Rogers won’t have a long enough career to be a great (certainly not unless he wins today).
And while I think it’s hard to distinguish intentional from not in this league–after all, the whole point is to hit hard–as a Michigander I can’t help but think that Peppers (who I love) is the guy who took out our QB, effectively for the season.
Oh, speaking of trash, I thought this, from Mark Schlereth, might make the women here particularly ready to talk it:
Yowza! Trash is trash EW, but that that that link of yours is a nasty lump of rotting unidentifiable remains among week-old seaweed washed up high on a beach on a hot midsummer day. Blech!!! Such a thing should be given a very very very wide berth until nature can finish taking its course… which in Schlereth’s case might well be divorce court and a different profession ; )
This is the same Schlereth who had all those nasty legal problems involving the nanny, who (IIRC) was underage at the time? Color me unsurprised….
Really? Do tell…
Did you read the link? I got as far as:
I had to stop. I can’t imagine a guy like this can get a date much less ever be married, which makes me wonder about all of his “football widow” advice.
In the meantime, while I go look up the trial thing on Stink, go read this and this and see why King Roger the Clown is breathing a sigh of relief that he has to deal with the reformed Big Ben and not the unreformed J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS (who manage to drop a turd in the punchbowl).
The J-E-T-S take the Coach Ryan approach, i.e., “we are not going to comment on Mark Sanchez’ private life.”
The thing is, everyone is talking about the age of consent in NY and NJ being 17 but, from the lawyer letter sent to Deadspin, it would appear the young lady is from CT. I dunno what age is ok there…. And then there’s the Mann Act….
Connecticut is 15
http://www.webistry.net/jan/consent.html
Why am I not surprised someone put up a website listing the age of consent in every state?
Schlereth always seemed like the kind of guy who had had experienced an unfortunate physical side effect of ‘roids, if you know what I mean?
No idea if he ever did ‘roids. Just has the physique of a guy who sacrifices his manhood to be more manly.
Do steroids affect one’s brain as well as other… parts? Just wonderin’ ; )
Yes, just against Clemens and his fancy pants lawyer, Mr. Hardin
Oopsy
Should read: Just ask Clemens, et.al…
Although Griffey sayeth to Judge Walton, that “Clemens is one helluva good guy”
Sorry for the mistake, Schlereth – I meant Packer-for-life Mark Chmura and his legal problems.
Yeah, Chewie turned out to be quite a piece of work. Rumor had it that he and Favre back in the day caroused a lot. Still, bagging a high school girl in the bathroom at a post-prom party was more than anyone in WI was about to let slide. Fortunately for the Packers the injury made it easy to cut him.
Just a minor quibble though, Chmura was most definitely a term-limited-Packer, not a Packer-for-life. You will never see him at a team function and most Packer fans don’t even mention him.
Well, I call him a Packer for life b/c he played only for the Pack. While he tried to make his comeback elsewhere, he never played for those other teams.
Yeah, he was limited in his career and, yeah, I’m sure the Good People of Wisconsin would only put up with so much, but give him another 20 years and he’ll be welcomed back at team functions. FWIW, Jim Bouton was persona non grata, blacklisted by baseball and especially the Yankees, for many years after he wrote “Ball Four” but even he got an invite to Old-Timers Day 5 or 10 years ago (after Mickey Mantle, whom his book had particularly offended, was dead).
Well, time will tell : )
By the way, you should be pleased to know that even Al Jazeera is covering the Super Bowl and in the piece they ran they showed footage of the Steelers. They also showed a pair of manatees picking the winner, in a bid to replace the irreplaceable Paul the Octopus, but our psychic manatees came up with a split decision. Guess the teams will just have to play it out, eh? ; )
He was ACQUITTED and has been inducted to the Packers Hall of Fame. He ain’t that shunned.
And Big Ben weren’t even charged; Chewie had to go to trial to be acquitted, and had to be charged before he went to trial.
So, where do people get off with all this hatin’ on Big Ben?
And now the dog wants to go out for a walk or something….
Acquitted of a crime yes, but that is not the same as innocence. There was no dispute over whether the incident happened, just over consent, if I remember correctly and as always I may not.
I didn’t know he is in the Packer Hall of Fame. That’s actually pretty disappointing. I get the fact that that sort of honor is all about one’s accomplishments on the field, but I’ve always been uncomfortable honoring people whose conduct off the field is particularly disgraceful.
First phase of tabloid fodder, already out there….
As a followup to the labor portion of the main post up top, contrast what AJ Hawk and Mason Crosby were doing and saying on behalf of supporting labor and manufacturing jobs with this shit from the MOTU NFL owners:
harry shearer has a goodie up in his found objects video file – the live feed from the White House as Ronald Reagan waits to do the coin toss for the 1985 Super Bowl played at Stanford Stadium.
Nice catch. Three things jump out at me
1) That’s bouncy carpet
2) Like the kids choir singing the national anthem (too commercialized now)
3) That painting in the background could be anywhere, but it reminds me of Emigrant Gap (looking east, and looking north)
Painting in the background
i’m partial to OJ reading along with the teleprompter while Tom Landry says the actual lines.
Ah. for the days when OJ was the Unthreatening Black Man Who Could Sell Anything….
And, to think, he was the first choice to play The Terminator but was dropped because no one could believe him as an evil [robot] character. Just didn’t test….
By the way rosalind, sorry about my confusion about the geographic location of Chico with respect to Agoura Hills. I didn’t check the map first and didn’t realize my sister-in-law had adopted a pan-California outlook on what constitutes a local boy ; )
In any case, I’ve got a bunch of people coming over in a little while to keep the peace between me and the Mr. during the game. Hence, I will be off-line until somebody is holding up the Lombardi Trophy…
So I just wanted to pop in to wish everyone a Happy Super Bowl!
Good luck scribe : ) I’ll be thinking of you…
Here’s the advice that Schlerer forgot to tell you.
If the Mister is cheering obnoxiously, it is fair to block him like Hines Ward would.
Ouch. But, remember, the Mr. has that rocket launcher from New Years….
Hey, a properly delivered Hines Ward block can negate even a rocket launcher.
I watched the game with friends.
She’s the big fan in the house.
Schlerer would be a target there.
(i wondered about that one… :) )
Yea
They’re. not. stiff. or. robotic.
lol
I remember that game. I was a delivery driver hustling pizza for Dominos, in deep snow.
That was the night some clown ordered a large pepperoni and made me deliver it over his iced-up sidewalk, where I slipped and watched the pizza flutter in its bag then land edge first on the snowbank. There ain’t nothing sadder-looking than a large pep that’s taken a dive. Reminiscent of an old deflated football.
Sorry folks, my fondest football memories were not personally meeting Vince Lombardi in the Packer locker room as part of our HS team contingent visiting Green Bay and team trainer/physician Domenic Gentile.
I’d have to go back to seventh grade recess football and the frequent well fought scrimmages against the stronger and more talented eight grade girls.
Football gradually lost its luster from there on out.
Okay, I gotta say that last song by Mr. Nicole Kidman on the Fox Pre-Game Show was pretty good. Guy can actually, surprisingly, play guitar pretty well too.
I’m in trouble.
McCaffrey the MilleniaLab has been whining at me for the last hour or so. Thing is, he has been walked and fed and all that.
Mr. EW and I just figured out what his problem is.
He thinks we should have turned on football at 1.
So I’ve got to figure out how to tell him tonight’s is a late game (and more tragically, the last of the season).
Last year it took about four weeks for us to wean him off of his weekly football fix.
He’ll get over it.
It could be worse. My dog is currently in an episode of “let’s relitigate the rules, with me in charge now”.
Mr. EW is playing football with him now–that seems to have made him happier. He called an onsides kick on the first play! (My dog is even more clever than Sean Payton!)
I understand exactly how he feels, poor pup.
Two further notes from the Fox Pre-Game Show:
1) Catherine Zeta Jones is still teh hot, and she is rooting for the Cheeseheads. Very sexy!
2) That Frank Caliendo doughboy is still one of the least funny “comedians” I have ever seen in my life.
And speaking of teh hot, Jennifer Anniston just predicted a Green Bay victory by placing a blonde wig (symbolizing Clay Matthews) instead of dreadlocks (symbolizing Troy Polamalu) onto Adam Sandler’s head.
This clearly bodes well for the Cheesers.
Is this the correct thread for Puppy Bowl Trash Talk, on Animal Planet?
via cole over at balloon juice:
Hmmm, must’ve brought in D.C. security for the day…
Oh for fucks sake. First I had to listen to fuckstick extraordinaire Bill O’Reilly interview the fucking President, and just now I had to listen to a gasbag talk about how “Ben Roethlisberger wants this Super Bowl more than the others, after all he’s been through”.
After all he’s been through. Fuck. Him.
It’s enough to turn me off that damn game.
ew tweet: ‘I guess they had Bradshaw do the “a third ring will make rape okay” interview because he demonstrates “lots of rings make stupidity okay”?’
CNN reporting 1250 legit ticket holders being denied entry. The reader caps the report by noting “you won’t hear about it over there, but we’re reporting it here”.
I feel a class-action coming on…
It’s big government telling poor Jerry Jones he can’t stage a stadium massacre on international TV.
So wait, did Christina Aguilera hose the lyrics to the SSB? It sure sounded like it…
Looks like Fox had a bit of trouble selling ad time – they’re running a lot of ads for their own shows.
Geez, am I late to the party, or What???
It’s early in the game and already we’re over 100 comments???
Anyway, early on, Rodgers looks more relaxed than Big Ben.
Bob in AZ
The Pack is definitely exploiting the rust holes in the Steelers O-line…!
At least Big Ben put some points on the board…! ;-)
Centers are REALLY underappreciated in this league, I think.
No Bob, under threat of having Marcy post that fucking homoerotic Tom Brady video, I put up Trash early this time. Like Obama, I did it for the hostages that could have been harmed……
Oh snap…! As I recall correctly you first corrupted my eyeballs with that Bieber porn…! Apparently, it also impacted all 50 sports writers… GQ cover and MVP… C’mon now…! ;-)
Man, if I was involved it was as a hostage. EW is powerful and ruthless.
Rodgers and the Pack are doing a good job of picking up the blitz. They look well prepared. As for those points on the board that Pitts got, it looked like he kicked it about a mile.
Bob in AZ
PS What happened? I type a comment, and then when I try to refresh, I get
Cheezyweenies, what happened?
Has the Pack prepared for Rothlisberger, or what?!? Two interceptions already!
Bob in AZ
So, Randel El shows up Heinz Ward by making some big plays, and then Heinz Ward makes a series of big catches and a TD– but with Woodson out! Woodson’s sub bit on Ward’s second fake, but Ward went the other way for the catch.
There’s a lot riding on Woodson’s shoulder.
Bob in AZ
Woodson’s out! A lot is riding on his replacement…
Bob in AZ
Okay! I won cash AND a Stiller beatdown?? I’ve been livin’ right!
The fat lady ain’t sung yet, randy…! ;-)
True dat, but I’ve accomplished what I came here to do! Dont really care what happens next!
PS Is it just me or is Jerrys field eating players?
Goodness, Slash and Sweet Child of Mine…! ;-)
Just gotta chime in. I am just a Valley Girl with a Poli-Sci degree from UCLA. But Geeze peolpe, how can you not just adore the only “commie” team in the nation. Poor folk can go everyday to watch the team workout. I believe there is a City Ordinance that requires the workouts to be open to the public! Working folk can pass their tickets down to their children. Power to the people!
(Full disclosure: I went to Architecture School in Milwaukee)
And they really should have had the Violent Femmes play half time.
Am with ya all teh way! Go Commie Cheeseheads!
Pretty cool rundown by Rachel Maddow
PS adore is too strong ;-) Skol
Thank you, that was cool. Power to the people!
Well, I’m no Black Eyed Peas fan, but good for them for issuing a very gentle callout to Obama to generate some jobs and stimulate the economy.
Go Packers! I’m a Vikings fan but I root for the Pack as long as they aren’t playing the Purple.
The Stillers? Pfft. I’ve disliked them ever since Franco Harris broke my heart with the Immaculate Reception. It makes me happy that it appears Big Ben is not looking his usual big-game self. I sure hope Woodson is able to return.
Just noticed the Stillers are dominating time of possession.
Bieber sighting!
Well, we gotta game.
Bob in AZ
No, I remember this script from two years ago. Does not bode well for the Pack.
I won’t argue with you. Without Woodson, this is where Steeler grit gets serious.
Bob in AZ
I don’t know about the Pack winning this one without scoring again…
dday bringing da funny: “Intelligence of the Packers’ imminent collapse delivered to the Bush luxury suite in 2nd quarter, was promptly ignored”
Turn over!
Pittsburgh had their chance.
Not done yet.
There was no way King Roger the Clown was going to allow himself to be exposed to having to hand the trophy to Ben. You could smell it in the attitude of the press covering the game (esp. ESPN) all week. Everyone knew. Early on, the calls (a couple of dubious holding calls made against Pgh or obvious ones not made against GB) pushed the game just enough that it made further intervention unnecessary.
Even in spite of that, the Stillers had a shot until Mendenhall coughed it up. They have no one to blame but themselves: they came out flat, gave up 3 turnovers, and paid the price for that.
Makes up for that phantom touchdown [out of bounds] by Holmes against the Cardinals.
At least one bad call against GB, though.
I’m not one for conspiracy theories, and roger would have handed it to tomlin, not ben.
Turnovers killed the stillers.
Or, in other words, Green Bay’s defense won the game. Without those three turnovers, or maybe even only 1-2 of them, the Pack loses.
Bob in AZ
Polamalu flummoxed! GB scores a touchdown!
Bob in AZ
Are we watching the last eleven minutes of pro ball for 18 months?
Will Ben engineer the win with 2 minutes left?
The Pack Defense wins!
Bob in AZ
Cheesers in the V formation…! ;-)
I think Green Bay has another hero quarterback. The Favre era has come to a definitive end.
Bob in AZ
As someone noted, the last snap in Brett Favre’s final season went to Aaron Rogers.
Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me! Makes up for having to share my birthday with Bedtime for Bonzo!
What surprises me the most is that Pittsburgh was not able to capitalize on the absence of Woodson in the second half. I caught some hints that rather than do a straight substitution for Woodson, the Pack realigned their defensive backfield, with one of the other backs taking on some of Woodson’s responsibilities. I wonder if that confused the Steeler’s reads so they didn’t know how to capitalize. Anyone else pick up on that?
Bob in AZ
Irony of the game: The Packers take the Lombardi trophy away from Vince’s grandson, Joe (who’s a New Orleans coach).
Let’s hope it’s not the last one for a while.
and the “House” promo FTW in the Network promo division.
Brett who????
PS: do not feed the Lombardi troll!
(Yes, I am jealous I have no Lombardi brush with greatness; why do you ask?)
Why the fuck is Roger fucking Staubach handing over the Lombardi Trophy instead of Bart Starr?? Fucking bogosity!
And fuck fucking Ted fucking Thompson.
Because this is all about the internal politics of the No Fun League, and not at all about football.
Blerrrgghhh!
Gotta say, Packers D is getting way too little credit for this win.
Absolutely! That’s what I was thinking. Even without Woodson in the second half.
It’s almost like they knew something was going to happen to Woodson, and had a plan for dealing with that, and had already rehearsed the backup plan.
But also no media attention on Raji, the 330 pound wonder who intercepted a pass and scored a touchdown in the semi-final game.
Bob in AZ
Apparently Woodson tried to give teh pep talk going into the 2nd half, but he lost it and couldn’t get it out of his mouth.
I wonder if Mr. Phred is done clearing the entryway and driveway of snow yet? Gonna be a long year for male Steeler fans in Casa de Phred…..
On a sad note, very fast F1 star Robert Kubica was severely injured in a rally crash today in Italy. the Renault pilot looks to be out for the entire 2011 Circus.
By the way, I really loved the Detroit commercial.