Football

[jjreason]

The SI write-up hits the nail on the head - young Atlanta defense was on the field for about 1.5 normal games. They were tired out & weaknesses figured out.

Seems to me that amazing, implausible catches have decided more than their fair share of the last few Superbowls - I thought Julio Jones' feat of wonder was going to be this year's version.

[anarky]

That was a lot of football to sit through for a Lady Gaga mini-concert.

[jjreason]

It was a good show though, tummy & all (for the record, I thought her tummy was yummy, but some tards took the opportunity to get on her case about the fact it stuck out .01 inches over her shorts).

[Tom Foolery]

I didn't notice her tummy. But when she was singing 'Born this way' I turned to my GF and said "except for my nose..."

[Diabolical]

People apparently have no clue when it comes to human anatomy. That was not a gut - that is where her stomach is.

I didn't know that was Lady Gaga. I just thought the NFL was doing their tribute to Dazzler with a cosplayer.

[jjreason]

She is Dazzler, except her mutant ability is to give me weird, confused boners.

[jjreason]

General sports comments - not just football - I get bored doing surveillance:

- Currently there are 45 "big league" cities - cities with at least one team in MLB, NFL, NHL or NBA

- The "Biggest Winners" in terms of growth during my lifetime are Phoenix/Ari which has added 3 teams to become a complete 4/4, Charlotte/NC (including Raleigh, which some may not) which has gone from 0 to 3 teams, Tampa Bay which has gone from 1 piss poor NFL team to a 3 team city which has won the Superbowl, the Stanley Cup and has competed for a World Series, and Oakland who lost their NFL team then got it back, won the Superbowl, won the World Series, added an NHL team (if we include San Jose) which is perpetually competitive, and now has what might be the best team in the NBA looking back over the last 3 seasons

- most recently Vegas has joined the list, adding their first team as look forward to the Golden Knights taking the ice next fall (other cities that have joined the list during my lifetime include the aforementioned Charlotte, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Memphis, I'm sure there are others)

- Losers include Hartford and Quebec City which lost their only team and fell off the list

- Los Angeles has gained and lost a total of 5 NFL teams during my lifetime (Raiders arrive from Oakland then go back, Rams leave for StL then come back, Chargers move back to LA from San Diego, where they started out before I was born), to end up "+1" for my lifetime (even though for me, classically, LA had the 2 teams)

- 2 cities have lost the same league twice (!!): St Louis has now lost 2 NFL teams in my lifetime and Atlanta has lost 2 NHL teams

- A good number of cities have lost teams only to have them replaced a short time later with mixed results: NHL = Atlanta (oops), Winnipeg, Minnesota; NBA = Charlotte; NFL = Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Louis (oops), LA x 2 (we'll see)

- the only city with at least 3 teams that hadn't won a championship in my lifetime took care of that last year when the Cavs finally brought home a trophy to The Land

- the only cities with 2 teams that haven't won anything in my lifetime are Milwaukee, Nashville (who really just got here so no biggie, yet) and poor old Buffalo (San Diego just fell off this list by losing their Chargers, sorry SD you're still the prettiest girl at the dance)

- 14 cities have all 4 sports represented, I believe Boston/NE has won the most championships during my lifetime, with NY/NJ, Chicago and LA running a ways behind. The Motor City has done well in the this regard as well with 4 Cups, 1 WS and 3 NBA titles

[Ran]

Oakland lost the Seals to Cleveland and the Barons merged with the North Stars before they moved to Dallas. Kansas City lost the Scouts to Denver, who lost the Rockies to New Jersey. I guess Denver and Minnesota broke even in hockey. New Jersey lost the Nets, but gained the Devils, so overall they are even.

Somewhere in my closet is the Topps hockey card that has the "new expansion teams" of Hartford, Quebec, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. That is the first expansion/relocation I really remember. It was a year before the Flames moved to Calgary.

Seattle lost the Sonics to Oklahoma City, which became their first pro team.

I think you missed Ottawa and San Jose as cities that gained pro franchises during our lifetime. San Jose doesn't consider itself part of Oakland or San Francisco.

Expos moved to Washington DC....I still think we're missing a franchise that moved.

Anyway, they are still saying the Raiders are moving to Las Vegas and that the stadium will find the additional funding. If not, they will build a smaller stadium that will be used by UNLV football. UNLV's current stadium is kind of small and way on the eastern edge of town. Between the location and the bad team, there attendance isn't very good.

[jjreason]

Those new expansions were absorbed from the dying WHL - I don't remember that happening. My earliest hockey memories are hating the Islanders and hoping they'd lose the cup every year starting with their second win vs Vancouver - to me, the classic NHL has 21 teams and the original conference/division names (Campbell & Wales instead of East & West, Norris, Smythe, Adams & Patrick instead of what they have now).

I guess I have cities lumped in that wouldn't like it: San Jose & Raleigh for sure, and I was originally considering Columbus & Cleveland all together but that's truly not accurate. Columbus is the biggest city in Ohio, apparently, and they don't need to be lumped in with anyone.

Yes, Ottawa got their first team. Montreal moving to Washington is the only baseball move I remember. I don't know if I mentioned Baltimore & Cleveland "breaking even" by getting expansion NFL teams - only to watch the teams that left both hoist the Superbowl trophy a few short years later (ouch). Hartford & Quebec also suffered this fate, having to watch the Canes & Avalanche win the Cup.

I wonder if the Raiders will hold off to see how the Aces* errr I mean Golden Knights draw before they sign anything.


*Las Vegas Aces sounds a ton better than Golden Knights. Admit it. Imagine a Fighter pilot combat helmet as the alternate logo & you're in business. I wish they had called.

[Ran]

There are a bunch of Raiders fans already in Vegas. Plus, they expect all of the Raiders fans from California would come up here.

The NHL team didn't want to have a name that had anything to do with gambling. Vegas has had minor league hockey (Wranglers and Thunder), baseball (Stars and 51s) and football (Gladiators, Outlaws, & Locos (as in locomotive)). They really try to keep gambling out of the team names. Plus, there is a minor league team called Alaska Aces, so there is probably a copyright thing.

[jjreason]

I had read about the gambling issue & was hoping against hope they'd still use Aces & figure out some way to justify it. That's too bad, it was a no-brainer especially with the Nellis USAF base in the area.

I know you'd be borrowing from the Jets, but put a plain black or grey F22 or F35 on the front going through a capital A & these would be on the home/away jerseys in the shoulder patch area:

[Ran]

That would be cool, but the owner is Army, so there is no way he'd go for something Air Force.

We went to Target today and they had some Golden Knights gear in stock. First time I've seen NHL clothing in a Target store here. They typically carry some Dodgers, Raiders & Chargers clothes. Oh, and the LA Rams stuff they got last year is now on clearance.

[jjreason]

Can't help but wonder if folks will be breaking out their old 11 and 29 LA Rams jerseys. Dickerson was the original "Beastmode" of my lifetime.

[jjreason]

I guess the Raiders have decided to try & sabotage the Vegas deal - why make the fans happy, right?

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/02/14/nfl- ... rve-better

[Tom Foolery]

Detroit is getting new uniforms. Good. That pseudo-sweat stain on the abdomen is gone.


http://www.detroitlionsuniforms.com