nfl

Playoff Schedules: Who screws it up the most?

Jeromey Balderrama

Rocktober is here! The Rockies are in the playoffs and I’m really looking forward to see the Rockies take on the Phillies. only to find out that the game aired at 12:30pm on a Wednesday?!?  We’re talking about playoffs – the pinnacle of your season – yet MLB in it’s idiotic lack of wisdom puts the game on when the entire country is at work and can’t watch the game.  At what point is this a good idea?   I realize that these leagues feel like their game should be the only game on TV, but at what point does it seem like a good idea to air your game in the middle of the day compared to airing two games in the same night, or rotating the 4 games with 2 on each night for opposite nights?  Thanks for nothing baseball!

However baseball isn’t the only sport that screws up their playoff schedules.  Nobody is perfect at doing this, but a lot of leagues have a lot more to learn than others.

NFL

It’s pretty hard to screw up football, and the NFL does a pretty good job of not killing momentum with the playoffs.  With the “1 and done” format and the fact that the NFL is played on weekends, it’s not surprising the the Super Bowl is an unofficial national holiday.

What they need to improve: Get rid of the week between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl.  While I’m sure all those involved with the game appreciate that week, it’s excruciating watching the hype-machine in overtime.  This year they’re putting the Pro Bowl in that week between the games, so hopefully this schedule/format change will improve things a bit.

NHL

The NHL arguably does the “best of.” playoff series most effectively.  The NHL isn’t afraid to alternate nights, and have teams play on the same night, yet ensure that each series effectively gets a share of the spotlight.  The playoff rhythm is strong and consistent from the start of the playoffs to the Stanley Cup Finals.

What they need to improve: Get on a network where people can watch them.  They would have the perfect playoff format if they were on at least a major cable network.

NBA

The NBA is obnoxious with it’s playoff scheduling, especially in the early rounds.  You have teams that play one night, then won’t play again until 3 or 4 nights later.  They get in a better rhythm in the later rounds, but it’s tough to get through the first round and realize that the playoffs are going to span a better part of 2 months.

What they need to improve: Go to a best of 5 series for the first round, maybe even for the 2nd round.  Alternate nights for these rounds so that the series won’t last longer than 10 days.  If necessary, air 3 games on the same night.  The Eastern/Western Conference layout makes it easier to make sure the home teams can get a the game on in their prime-time.

MLB

MLB has a lot of wrongs that they need to correct, and they need to start with October.  First off, they need to get their games at times when people can watch them. That means that they need to get their first-round games out of the mid-afternoon time slot, as well as get their League Championship Series and World Series at earlier start times so that people on the East Coast can watch them without staying up until 1-2am.  Trust me, the West Coast will tolerate a 4:30 start time for the World Series.

What they need to improve: Aside from the previously mentioned time changes, they need to move to an “Alternate Night” model and stick with it.  if a series ends early, don’t be afraid to kick it off reasonably early.  Rest after a series is not a right guaranteed to both teams, it’s something you earn by sweeping your opponent. It’s inexcusable that the Rockies had to wait nearly 10 days to play the next round.

Honorable Mention: College Basketball. They do the most effective job maintaining intensity for a 64 team playoff throughout the end. If they could just do away with the 64/65 “Play-In” game they would be perfect.

Dishonorable Mention: College Football. It’s hard to have a playoff schedule without a playoff.  Aside from that, the fact that the bowl games are played up to 5 weeks after their last game is asinine.

Turncoat Broncos fans killing our home field advantage

Jeromey Balderrama

MileHigh

Today was a wonderful win for the Denver Broncos, but too bad it was shared virtually half a stadium full of Cowboys fans.  When we got to our seats, we were dismayed to find that half of the section was filled with Dallas faithful.  Looking out over the stadium it became apparent that each section had a sizable amount of Cowboys fans – so much so that it felt like our home crowd advantage was all but eliminated.

Memories quickly returned to the AFC Championship of 2005, when Steelers fan invaded Mile High Stadium.  Armed with their Terrible Towers they turned Denver into a neutral site.  The game ended with those towels flailing around, looking like wasps buzzing all over the stadium. While I went home disappointed about the Broncos performance, I was cursing those season ticket holders that sold the stadium’s soul so they could make a profit off their Playoff Tickets.

The same happened in Denver again today.  A perfect storm was created when you have a team with a large fanbase (the Cowboys), come to town once every seven years, which leaves hungry visiting fans willing to pay virtually any price to see their team.  I don’t blame Cowboy fans for buying tickets, they have a right to go to see their team play.  I do however have a problem with the ticket holders so willing to give them up.

During the drive home someone called into 850’s post game show with “Lou from Littleton” making the same observation. Lou brushed it off, simply saying the Broncos fans need to be louder, and that you shouldn’t blame people for needing to make money during these economic times.  To those as coy as Lou I say this: Yes, Broncos fans could be louder, but it doesn’t help when Broncos fans that are perfectly able to come to the game send visitors in their place.  As far as hard economic times are concerned: if season ticket holders can’t afford their tickets then maybe it’s time to let someone else on the 15-year waiting list step up and take on these season tickets for a change.

I’m not saying that you should leave your <Insert Visiting Team Name> friend out in the cold.  If they want to go to the game, invite them to go with you.  It sounds like I’m splitting hairs, but bringing an opposing fan is a lot different than blindly selling them your tickets.  At that point they’ll likely bring a fellow <Visiting Team Name> fan, cutting the home crowd influence in your seats to 0% rather than 50%.

This may come across as pretty harsh, but if you’re a season ticket holder for your team and won’t be going to the game, the least you can do is try to ensure that fans of your team will take your tickets.  Is that really too much to ask?  I realize there are a few exceptions, but not enough to fill half of the stadium with fans from another team. In the meantime, enjoy your thirty pieces of silver.

Dirty HGH Player vs T.O.

Jeromey Balderrama

Let me get one thing straight: I can’t stand T.O.  My disdain towards Owens has been well documented here and here, so it really messed with my mind when I write a post defending him.  But here I go.

Last Sunday T.O. broke his streak of 185 games with at least when catch, when he went absolutely stat-less against the Saints.  Obligated to go to the Press  Conference, tried to be as short as possible, repeatedly saying “I just go with the plays that are called.”  Owens was pissed, and whether that is right or wrong Rodney Harrison lashed out at him on NBC’s “Football Night In America”, with this gem of a quote:

"He’s a clown. He’s all about the circus show and the cameras, and it’s all about that. But you best believe he’ll have Shawn Springs in his grill and Brandon Meriweather will be putting his helmet down his throat. So I’m excited about seeing that on Monday." [From USAToday]

I think Rodney Harrison is the perfect example why players should have a TV waiting period, or spend a year in purgatory (aka the NFL Network) before they get these National Network TV Gigs.  Harrison has a right to speak his mind, and I’m not going to argue that it should be taken away from him.  However, for him to make remarks that disparaging on “Football Night”, with his national platform, shows pretty poor judgment.  I really have no idea what NBC was thinking when they hired Harrison.  Throughout his career he was continually voted the dirtiest player in the NFL, and he doesn’t seem to have that charisma that other former players possess when they’re on TV.  It seems Harrison is only engaging when other commentators ask him a question, and when he responds it looks like the other commentators are hoping Harrison won’t punch them out.

T.O., through his Twitter account fired back, in pretty hilarious fashion:

"I could less about Rodney Harrison! Anybody tht using steroids, yes STEROIDS rodney, is a cheater & cheated the game! … Is tht Y u used steroids b/c u were worried about ur stats or ws it b/c u were losing it? Lol! U’re a loser & a cheater? Got any steroid … Hey rodney! Send me sum steroids 2 the Bills facility next week!" [From USAToday]

Owens is talking about Harrison’s 4-game suspension for using HGH in 2007, which was a pretty classic response.  How did Harrison fire back? By completely ignoring the Steroid fact:

"When it comes down to it, I’m a champion. He’ll never have that on his resume. He’ll never be a champion. He’ll look at his stats and say I was a great football player, but I was never a champion. You always have to stand up and be accountable for your actions. As a football player you have to be accountable. Regardless of whether you had 10 catches or zero catches.” [Dan Patrick Show]

Classy Rodney, in the same phrase that you completely ignore the HGH comments, you talk about need to be accountable for your actions.  As much as it pains me to say it, T.O. looks like the guy on top of this one. It was great that he followed up that phrase by demonstrating that he’s more of a Patriots mouthpiece than he is a studio analyst.

With these analysts booths growing as large as they are, is it too much to ask to put some kind of standards in choosing who they put in front of a national audience?  Give players a year or two to get out of the player mentality and shift towards a better analytical contributor.

Hopefully the last Cutler post ever

Jeromey Balderrama

The picture of Cutler showing his Bear excitement was too classic to wait for a post, but I have plenty of thoughts over what transpired last weekend in Denver. Rather than rehash the whole scenario, I just wanted to offer a few random thoughts.

cutler2

First off, Cutler had to go.  He could talk about feeling snubbed by McDaniels all he wants – but when he stops taking call from the guy who signs his checks, Cutler becomes just another disgruntled employee who should be shown the door.  The nerve that he had to claim that he never received any calls, and never wanted to be traded said all that you needed to know about his character.  Despite what really happened – and we may never know – this situation was beyond repair.

Now the Bears, that was definitely a team I didn’t expect to be vying for Cutler, but it all made sense. I think this was a good move by both teams.  People can debate who got the better of the deal, but only time will tell.  It’s up to the Broncos to make smart decisions with these picks, which they’ve honestly could have done better with our First Round track record.  I still think Mark Sanchez may end up in Orange and Blue before we know it.

I like Kyle Orton.  He’s obviously not as talented at Cutler, but is a winning quarterback who did throw for 3,000 yards last year.  When you considered the other quarterbacks on the trading block (Jason Campbell, Brady Quinn), Orton is was probably the most consistent of all.

While the dust settles, it’s still frustrating to think that Bronco fans have endured all of this drama.  After being known as one of the more stable and quiet organizations in the NFL, to have this kind of circus is very Dallas-like.  I’m sick of hearing about Cutlergate every time I turned on ESPN.