Kudos to the NHL for realizing how much their All-Star Game sucks and doing something about it.  In case you haven’t heard, they’re switching to a four team tournament of 3 on 3 hockey.  They also reached into their inner XFL and put down a $1M prize pool for the winning team.

I know one thing is for sure…  I won’t need ecstacy that weekend to be feeling euphoric because gambling on this tournament is going to be the dopamine rush of a lifetime.

I already know I’m going to bet 20 or so units on the Central division to win the whole thing, and then probably another 10 each on their individual games.  Seguin and Benn are going to be locks to crush this tournament.

Can’t fucking wait!

UCLA vs Washington State turned out to be a pretty dope game, as is usually the case whenever Mike Leach is manning a sideline.  I personally was teasing the over and feeling pretty damn good about it.  Washington State can light up the board enough to scare any team in the country, and they looked like they were clicking early on.

Then this shit happened…

https://twitter.com/NussCoug/status/665764064086392833

Yikes…  That was 100% a game ending concussion, but somehow Falk returned to play the entire 2nd half.  Clearly, the concussion exam he took was a sham.  Knowing Mike Leach’s unique history with concussions, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he squeezed the team doctors into giving a favorable diagnosis for the team.  Was it dangerous?  Yeah.  Do I have a problem with it?  Not really.

I’ve said this before and I’m still a firm believer, there are certain times and places where playing with concussions are going to remain a part of sports.  In the NFL playoffs last year, you can’t be a real sports fan and tell me that Big Ben, Russell Wilson, and Julian Edelman had to be sat down.  You can’t tell me that it was smart for Josh Donaldson to leave a playoff baseball game because he was light headed.

Luke Falk is the heart and soul of this program right now and he was on the road in a huge game.  If he’s still functioning and he’s okay with going back onto the field, I’m all for letting him finish his job.  Just make sure to do your best to avoid anymore repeated head blows for the rest of the game.

That being said, I definitely had an issue when I saw this…

Holy shit man.  Even by my standards, that was not okay.  That was a kill shot in the literal sense of the term.

When I said I was fine with Falk going back into the game, I assumed that those types of dirty plays can’t happen in football anymore.  At least half of the targeting ejections I’ve seen this year have been disappointing ticky tack calls.  For the refs to let that play slide was one of the most egregious misses I’ve ever seen.

Clean that shit up Pac-12!

 

PS if you were wondering how the game ended…

A cover for me, and job well done for Mike Leach and his QB.  Awesome throw and catch.

The Mavs beat the Clippers on Wednesday night, and judging by the response of local media, you’d think they won a playoff game…  Seriously?  People are talking about basketball in November?  The NBA regular season is boring enough if you can cheer for a good team in the winter.  If Dallas is getting hyped about a win our shitty team made in the fall, its a rock bottom moment.

Yes, I know about the whole DeAndre Jordan saga last summer.  I still don’t see why anyone should care about it.  If anything, the Mavs are way better off without having a max out contract on the books for a player who at best would get us to the 5 seed and the 2nd round of the playoffs.  Apparently Jordan was booed when he took the court on Wednesday; the fans should’ve cheered him instead.

Mark Cuban – I love the fuck out of you.  You will forever be immortal in my beloved hometown for saving this sad sack of a franchise and making it cool as shit for so many years.  But please stop sounding so butt hurt.  It’s not a good look on you or the city.  I guarantee you if this same story happened in New York or Boston everyone would’ve moved on a long time ago.

Also, fuck the Clippers.  They’re not a relevant contender anymore.  Houston was awful in the playoffs last year and the their defense was absolutely horrendous.  LA’s collapse was was one of the most embarrassing playoff performances I have ever seen.  No way the Clippers are recovering from that.  Warriors, Thunder, Spurs, and Pelicans would torch them in 5 games this year no problem.

I didn’t watch a single second of that game Wednesday night, and my serotonin levels are much higher because of it.

Did you know that last May, Greg Hardy beat up his girlfriend and threw her onto a pile of guns?  Chances are that 100% of sports fans on the internet do know about this already, so I’m not really sure what the purpose of today’s exposé by Diana Moskovitz is supposed to be…

Granted, the pictures she released are new to the public, but anybody who needs to see photos to realize the severity of the situation is a fucking moron.  In addition, this raises an ethical quandary in that Nicole Holder certainly does not want these very personal pictures of her body out on the internet for everybody to see.

The social media stratosphere seems to be taking this ‘development’ as an opportunity to partake in moral grandstanding and bash the NFL over the way they conduct their business.  They are missing the point entirely…

First of all, Greg Hardy has already been suspended for the maximum number of games the courts would allow given the terms of the CBA.  In addition, Hardy spent nearly the entire 2014 season on the exempt list, severely hindering his future earnings potential in the process.  If you want to be upset over the lack of ‘justice’ Hardy has received, turn your anger towards the North Carolina justice system for letting him get through all of this unscathed.

Given that these charges have been completely expunged from Hardy’s record, it seems pretty un-American to me that he wouldn’t be allowed to continue to pursue his profession of choice.  Some would say that, due to the high profile nature of the league, major off-field transgressions should preclude players from being able to step back on the field.  Again, these people are missing the point…

The NFL is an American business.  They make a shit ton of money by putting together an extremely entertaining product for fans to attend and view on TV.  In terms of on field ability, Greg Hardy definitely provides value to their product.  In terms of off-field character, could Greg Hardy possibly have an adverse impact to the NFL’s bottom line?  Doubtful…

If any of the smut bloggers or internet commenters actually plan to tune out the NFL on Sunday, then yes Greg Hardy’s moral character does disincentivize the league from employing him.  Based on the consensus reaction to last year’s Ray Rice fiasco, chances are all of those writers and commenters are still going to be all in on the NFL come kickoff on Sunday.  Therefore, it may be wiser for these people to direct their anger towards their own mirrors instead of the NFL.

I for one am shocked, SHOCKED by the announcement that the Titans decided to can Ken Whisenhunt.

“The Whiz” may have had an atrocious record (3-20) with the Titans, but everyone pointing to that seems to be missing the big picture here.  He was clearly tanking last season, and it was brilliant.  Seriously, tell me that Charlie Whitehurst didn’t throw this pass so poorly on purpose, you can’t…

No, don’t actually score Delanie!  Don’t you want a quarterback next year??

Whisenhunt used to work for Bill Parcells for a year when he was with the Jets.  He learned there that the best rosters to take over are the ones you can build from scratch.  That’s why he turned down the Lions job in favor of Tennessee.  The Lions core was locked in and it was clear they had a ceiling no higher than the wild card round.  The Titans, like the Cardinals team that he coached before, had a clean slate that was perfect to build upon.

Where most coaches would try to prove that they could be winners and actually have their teams compete in meaningless games, Whisenhunt was wise enough to know how hopeless Jake Locker was and that Tennessee needed a top draft pick.

The result?  This future football GOD!

And now he’s getting kicked to the curb?  For real Tennessee?  I don’t get that.  It’s gonna be interesting to see how everything plays out from here…

P.S. – Matt Leinart, you’re elated about this move, huh?  Yeah, that’s probably how all Texas fans felt when you choked away the Rose Bowl, or how Paris Hilton felt when she thought she was banging a relevant pro athlete.

Baseball breaks your heart.  It is designed to break your heart.  The game begins in the spring when everything else your gambling addiction begins again and it blossoms makes you rich in the summer.  Filling the afternoons and evenings and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone poor.

-the late, great Commissioner Bart Giamatti

It doesn’t matter that you hold the lead in 43 out of 54 innings if your lights out closer blows three saves.  It doesn’t matter that Ned Yost is a reject castoff of the sad sack Milwaukee Brewers if your own manager is Terry Collins.  It doesn’t matter if your opponent’s offense is fucked without a DH if they have the foresight to make sure and win the All-Star Game.  The list goes on and on…

Postseason experience and mental tenacity are great force multipliers in the October.  The Royals proved that this year, just like the Giants last year, and the Red Sox the year before, as well as just about every team that has ever won a World Series in the past.  It doesn’t matter what conclusions you make after 2,430 regular season games, you have to take that into account (unless the Marlins make the playoffs).

As a Rangers fan, I am very well used to October heartbreaks by now.  This year, however, the gambling gods were cruel enough to make me experience a new kind of heartbreak…

In addition to Mets +160, I placed a futures bet in August for the Rangers to win the AL West, the Mets to win the NL, and the Blue Jays to win the World Series.  It was $100 to win 7 grand.

So fuck the 8th inning of Game 4…

Fuck Ryan Goins…

Fuck this little twerp and fuck the MLB for not calling his fan interference…

Fuck this god damned called strike in the 9th with runners on 2nd and 3rd and no outs in Game 6…

Fuck everything that happened in the World Series and fuck baseball.  Until free agency starts up.