BobbyWhioux

As usual, a little of column A, a little of column B. [suggs seems sorely missed, to put it mildly.] This has not been a game to show Pop Warner you're trying to teach to play defense.

Final score left as 43-"24" through a commerical break and the last 2:00 of game time. Well at least laughing at FOX can take a little sting out of it.

From the FOX being FOX dept: Kaepernick appears to score a garbage time TD to make the score 43-24. The FOX box graphic changes to reflect the new score. The call is ultimately reversed and Pittsburgh takes over on downs. Now coming back from the 2:00 warning and the FOX box continues to erroneously display the 43-24 score (and Kenny Albert just gave the wrong score summary coming back from commercial).

As the kids these days like to say, Fixed That For You.

Kinda, but the Giants' offense during this run has never really been great even at full strength. Mostly it's that it turns out you need more than 1 good starting pitcher. Heston, the rookie, kinda ran out of gas several starts ago. Mostly okay for 6 now but tends to have 1 crooked inning (and it's typically the 1st). Peavy's best case scenario is 6 effective innings. Hudson missed a couple months with injury and has only been back for a couple starts [and has already announced his retirement as of the end of this season]. Leake, the BIG DEADLINE ACQUISITION [tm], has been Not-Terrible but less than expected (and missed a couple starts with injury almost immediately after being traded for). Cain had to "Go on the DL" because he stinks and/or never really recovered from last year's season ending injury. Lincecum was actually slightly better but has been for many years what Cain is this year, and he actually is hurt (and may now literally be done as well as figuratively). Vogelsong is old and has always relied on savvy and location and technique rather than having good stuff/"talent". He's dependent on routine and hard work. Thus, moving him to the bullpen to make room for Cain only to have to move him back to the rotation a month later due to Hudson's injury and Cain's being unreliable messed up Vogelsong's routine. The bizarre silver lining is that Hudson, Vogelsong, Leake, and now Peavy have all hit a home run in the last couple weeks.

Let's just say I wouldn't put down a deposit on Vikings playoff tickets. Flying out to New York in April might be a good idea though! [And yes, both these statements are equally applicable to the 49ers as well.]

I'm a 49er fan and even I almost want them to lose this game as punishment for this nakedly cynical attempt to push a new replica jersey. Getting a strong XFL San Francisco Demons vibe from this uniform.

Nah, he's back, dropping an F-bomb on national television after giving up that Bridgewater scramble!

Norv Turner back in an OC role. Commence countdown to him being head coach of like Jacksonville or something in 2017. Time Is A Wheel, etc.

I think ESPN continuing to broadcast this game may constitute an FCC violation.

Baltimore had 2 grand slams (part of 3 total home runs) for a total of 10 runs in the 8th against Kansas City. I'm sure you all can easily guess what happened to Chris Davis in between the Grand Slams.

And of course, 49 total points and a 7 point margin of victory, possibly relevant For Entertainment Purposes Only*

No less than the Titans deserve for betraying their Houston Oilers heritage

49ers and Raiders. The latter were the fairy tale heroes of the past in my favorite bedtime stories from my dad (and the fact that at that time the "Oakland" Raiders were no more and part of an unattainable permanent past, like all good mythology, perfectly amplified the romance of the tale). Yeah, I head all the classic fairy tales too, and mom and dad would read some classic literature to me as well. But Kenny Stabler and Dave Casper and John Madden were far cooler than any hobbit or dragon or ogre ever was. And they were REAL~! Or had been, anyway. The former were current fairy tale heroes happening before my eyes on television, as I'm just the right age where my beginning to have consciousness and memories and the ability to turn on the TV and watch it myself, coincided perfectly with their rise to dominance, such that throughout my childhood their greatness not only seemed self-evident and exceptional, but eternal. It was all I had ever known. I imagine Patriot fans feel much the same way now. [AND YOU ASSHOLES WILL KNOW BETTER when Tom Brady dies on the field due to LaGarrette Blount failing to pick up a blitz. Oh Yes, You Will Know.] I turned on football and it was just like my favorite cartoons. The good guy was just too awesome not to always win at the end, so of course he did. Only instead of a big robot or a guy with a magic sword, it was Joe Montana. Time for so much as one play left and of course he'd make it even if it was "impossible" for everyone else. It was as expected as a sunrise. Or a Hulk-Up. Or the power of Grayskull. 4th Quarter, Montana and the 49ers cannot be stopped. It was wonderful. How could I ever have chosen anyone else?

Along those lines, what better moniker for their front office and/or owner is there than The Bad Brains ?

In looking at reports - Wayne asked for his release This is like the time Dusty Rhodes joined the nWo and then they just dropped the angle. Though didn't that get dropped because Louie Spicoli died? Hopefully that similarity doesn't manifest.

One of the finer DVDVR moments. Irsay Madness, running wild, yeah. What can I say? I could say something but nothing is something. Nothing isn't nothing, if I say it it is something, no things are nothing things, OOOOOOOH YEAH!!! SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM! Here's hoping Irsay gives me a second chance at a Macho Man impression of my own this season.

Obviously I'd want to see the Mets win it all but if we don't I hope the Cubs do because their fans deserve it more than anyone. Now that Grilledcheese's disgusting wish for ass-jamming has been granted and I'm most likely going to be in the market for a surrogate rooting interest come the post-season, I'm much more amenable to the idea of "eh, fuck it, the Cubs have waited long enough, let 'em have one." The newfound optimism of Mets fans has been fun to observe, too, though. Plus Cespedes is still easy for me to root for.

Surely you mean "to spend more time with his family"

It certainly doesn't help matters that the title, The Winds Of Winter, implies that the plot point I've been anticipating most is finally going to come in the next book, too.

That 2013 season was magical. But fuck if 2012, 2014 and 2015 didn't suck. Dead Last 3 out of 4 years but with 1 World Series win sandwiched between them? Sounds like more than a fair trade to me. There's a lot of fan bases that would happily trade places if you offered that package deal.

It's just the one but people often confuse the brothers and thus re-tell the story with the other/wrong brother's name so both are attached (wrongly) to the same story. And yes, I've once again forgotten whether it was Bill or Martin. And whether they were on the Bucs or the Cardinals when it happened.

I'm glad this conversation has come up because it allows me to point out that the A's are still Philadelphia's most successful franchise in terms of championships won (not baseball franchise, franchise period) despite being 60 years gone.

That the only off-season news about the team which I can recall/have heard is this instead of, say, roster adjustment with an eye towards becoming a playoff team again is, well, draw your own conclusions. Ah well, hope springs eternal (for no good reason).

Speaking of made up traditions, the Sharks are finally changing their goal scoring music after 25 years (i.e. their entire history). Previous attempts to do this have been met with heavy fan backlash, probably since the Sharks are still too new to have any organically-developed traditions so fans cling to this manufactured one. Hence the "The artist's a paedo! Now will you PLEASE let us change the song this time?" angle.