Most years, I'm the guy who looks forward to the Oscars. I'm a big fan of the movies. I don't get to go all that often, and when I do, it's usually something animated, what with three kids 10 and under. So for me not to have seen the movies nominated for Best Picture is nothing new. I came close this year. I was in line at the box office and was trying to decide between "I am Legend" and "No Country for Old Men". I chose the former, which was a good movie. Anyway, I didn't see the eventual winner, but more than that, I'd barely heard of any of the other nominees. Or the nominees for Best Actor, Best Actress, and so on. So, when the awards show came on, I skipped it. And when I got up in the morning and tuned into "Mike & Mike" on ESPN 2, I was glad I'd skipped the show, because that was almost all they talked about.

First, I suppose I should say that on Monday morning, it really wasn't Mike & Mike. It was more like "Eric & Mike". See, Mike Greenberg was out and Eric Kuselias was in his place. This happens a lot on that show. It should probably be called "Mike & Guest Host In The Morning". But I digress. Eric and Mike Golic spent roughly all of the time I had to pay attention talking about the Oscars. I know that Eric had never seen "Gladiator" and that Golic thought this was a sin. I got to hear Golic mangle the pronunciation of various winners, but that speaks more to the idea that a lot of no one's won. All the while, I'm wondering where the sports talk is. The situation continued with "The Thundering Herd" a bit later in the morning.

I thought that I was kind of in the minority as a guy who's an avid sports fan and a fan of the Oscars. Even if that is not the case, why would ESPN think that I want to hear about the Academy Awards when I tune into their station? I realize that February is a bit of a drag when you're in the sports talk field. Football is done. Baseball hasn't quite begun. It's pre-March Madness, and the only thing worth talking about where the NHL or NBA is concerned are the playoffs, and they're not for months. I'm no NASCAR fan. (Let me repeat that because I want it emphasized: I AM NO NASCAR FAN.) I would still rather hear tidbits about the "Redneck Merry-Go-Round" when I tune into ESPN. How about golf, even. Tiger's undefeated so far. Most folks are probably thinking, "How could anyone talk about Tiger more than they already do?" Well, here's the answer!

Let's limit the "movie talk" that we hear on Sports Center and the other ESPN shows to movies that are about sports. "61*", "3", hell even "The Bronx is Burning" would be allowable. Outside of that, let's stick to talking about the kinds of scores that have numbers, not notes.

BTW - This post officially sets a PhilSox record for most links in a post.

Labels: ESPN, media, movies, sports

I'd never heard of Jim Caple until I stumbled upon his recent "article" on ESPN.com's Page 2. He is asking the pointless question of "Who's fans are the most Obnoxious?". He then goes on to state his belief as an ex-Red Sox fan, that the Red Sox fans who don't bail on the team are the winners of the award.

First of all, Jimmy, I really don't have a lot of respect for an ex-fan of anything. Abandoning your team, especially to root for their main rival, shows an elemental lack of spine and trustworthiness. Now that you have immersed yourself in Italian-American pseudo-toughs with cheesy mustaches and exquisitely monosyllabic vocabularies, your compelled to switch (like all Yankee fans) from chanting cerebral epithets like "1918" and "Who's Your Daddy", to now explaining the the Red Sox Nation has magically transformed from pathetic to obnoxious after one World Series. If this particular "logic" isn't proof of who's the most obnoxious (not to mention pathetic) group of fans, nothing will ever prove it!

So, along with the Sox, who makes for the most hated fan-base? The Yankers, Duke, Notre Dame, Cowboys, and Lakers. So let's see... Notre Dame has 11 national championships (football). The Yankers have 26 World Series. The Lakers have 15. Duke has 3 national championships (basketball). The Cowboys have five Super Bowl rings, and the Raiders have three. Can you follow me on this? How does one World Series since 1918 automatically qualify Sox fans for this list?

Caple goes on to compare Red Sox Nation to the Cowboys claim of being America's Team. I can see why he'd go this route since the only team hated by more people that Dallas would be the Yankers. But the elemental flaw in his logic is the fact that by calling yourself America's Team, you insinuate that the country is behind you and that rooting for others is some how unpatriotic. The term Red Sox Nation indoctrinates or drafts no one. It merely signifies that the fan base extends across the country. Only a fool would argue the geography.

Perhaps the clearest evidence of bias and stupidity is Caple's assertion that Red Sox Nation only exists when they are winning. Considering the total history of the Red Sox franchise, has there ever been a more shocking dumb-ass comment? Ever?

So lets talk about true obnoxiousness. Yanker lemmings complain (at least Jim does) about the playing of "Sweet Caroline" at the Fens like there has ever been anything more trite and nauseating that hearing the late Frank "Johnny Fontaine" Sinatra belt out "New York, New York" after games at The Toilet. Next, I'll mention the fans that truly blend into the woodwork when the falls short. And notice I do not use the words "suck" or "stink". It's been a long time since the Yankers were that bad. But their fans become quieter than Marcel Marceau on a putting green if the Yankees don't win the World Series every year. They also become rather quiet when the subject of the teams maniacal, mentally ill, and monstrously wealthy owner comes up. They live in the past more so than any team with 5 championships in the last decade would be expected to (although that has waned a bit since the whole "1918" thing has become pointless.) They refuse to admit that outside of the 5 boroughs, Yanker fans in the 25 to 35 year old range cease to exist because all of the out-of-town Yanker fans are such for one reason - they jumped onto the band wagon of the hot team (circa 1977 and 1998). How many guys do you know who were middle-school age on 1985 who are Yanker fans? They even have a TV series that explores the dysfunctional 1977 championship team, making total asses out of Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson, and George Steinbrenner, and they love it!

"Yo, did you see The Bronx is Burnin' last night?" says Mikey.

"$#&@ing-A right, I saw it!" says Sal.

"Awesome!" says Mikey.

"$#&@ing-A!" says Sal.

I know that Yanker fans are not supposed to like Red Sox fans. I understand that Red Sox fans aren't supposed to like Yanker fans (don't worry...we don't). But lets stick to realistic arguments about tangible things remotely based in reality. (Perhaps like who was the bigger disappointment, Damon or Drew.) The whole you're-more-obnoxious-than-us thing is A) Not remotely plausible, and B)Whiny and annoying, even as compared to your usual nonsense.

As for you, Jimmy? My mother always told me not to say anything if I didn't have something nice to say, so...

You're a twit, Jim.

Sorry, Mom.

Labels: baseball, ESPN, Jim Caple, obnoxious fans, Red Sox, Yankers