Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Hotline: What Did You Expect? Edition

Morning, sports fans. I don't have much to say right now. What do you want from me?

Bobby and I read the FOX Sports preview of Vanderbilt football on Friday, and it got us really fired up. It's just been posted online, and O'Shtoole (that's shorthand for O'Shea and O'Toole, for the lay person) are seriously considering making FOX Sports the official Vanderbilt Apologist News Source. The gist of the preview, aside from the numbers, is that in any other conference the Commies would've gone to a bowl the past two years, and should this year. There is even reference to Vandy having the potential to do what Wake Forest did, would that we played in the ACC. While this is certainly a point on which I don't doubt many would disagree, it's quite an endearing move on FOX's part. With that said, FOX also listed safety Reshard Langford as the third best player on the team -- bit of a head-scratcher there.

For any of you fellow SEC homers who haven't been following along, our recent conversations about relative conference strength, inspired by Stewart Mandel's awful column on SI.com, are worth a look. Ah, how the passions of conference loyalty have flared.

Brett Hait's column is about Dominic de la Osa thinking he's better than a 10th-round pick and worth more than the Tigers are currently offering. Says the All-American: "It’s a win-win either way. Professional baseball is my ultimate goal, but if I don’t sign, I can come back to school and graduate. I would love to go to Omaha. That would be a dream come true. Having the same lineup as last year would be awesome." I bet I can think of a few others in Commie Nation who would agree...

Although it happened two days ago, it's worth mentioning that rising Commie sophomore Hudson Johnson took the 40th Annual Spirit of America Classic by a blistering three strokes after shooting a final-round 68 on Sunday at Burningtree Country Club. He opened with a disappointing 73 and then caught fire, going 66-67-68 to finish. Well done, lad.

Don't forget to watch (or at least be aware of) the MLB All-Star Game tonight. The fact that Ken Griffey, Jr. is playing in his 13th All-Star Game makes me very happy for some reason. Pudge and Bonds are playing in their 14th games. Congratulations to Dmitri Young on being the token obligatory player from the Nationals to make the team.

Done.

20 comments:

Stanimal said...

Anybody catch the piece on Cutler last night on Sportscenter?

Anonymous said...

Pete Carroll is a pear-shaped loser.

Anonymous said...

how come no one is talking about Dan Patrick leaving ESPN....I'm upset about this.

Stanimal said...

That is pretty devastating. But the big reason I suppose is that we try to keep it Vanderbilt oriented here for the most part. However, in the dull days of summer, feel free to discuss whatever you want.

Douglas James said...

5 years ago i might have been upset but he hasn't been the main guy for a while and I don't watch the stuff he does for ABC/ESPN on the NBA. I more upset that a guy i used to love Mike Greenberg is starting to get awfully full of himself. I know Mike and Mike are playing up characters of themselves but the past few weeks its started to get real dedundant

Anonymous said...

Sportscenter was never better (and will never be better) than Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann.

Seamus O'Toole said...

The writing's been on the wall for Dan for a while now. He used to be incredible, and his analysis is still excellent. What I can no longer get past is how completely condescending the guy is to everyone--his guests and his listeners alike. Granted, he knows a ton about sports and, being as experienced as he is, probably gets annoyed with sports ignorance more than he used to.

Three questions:

1) Does anyone else think that Dan stopped enjoying the gig somewhere along the way and thus got cynical?

2) How do we feel about the rumors--circulating prior to his announcement and denied by both sides--that ESPN was looking to fire DP over some bad blood that's been causing some tension?

3) Is anyone going to go out of their way to listen to his last show on August 17?

Stanimal said...

I personally find DP to be very entertaining. I suppose that's because I find his cynicism for the most part to be hilarious. He never lets his guests have easy answers to questions, he always makes them think about their response, and while he grills his guests, I have found that he is always cordial with them at the end of the interviews.

I mean if someone is an idiot and comes on ESPN to say something stupid, I have no problem with DP calling them out. I'm not listening to sports talk radio so I can hear friendly banter. That being said I will go out of my way to listen to his final broadcast on August 17th. I only wish that I could listen to him at work.

Anonymous said...

I have to admit his television stuff has become weak, but his radio show...might of been the best thing out there.

Speaking of Keith and Dan, one rumor I heard earlier today on the "Doc Walker Show" (a new fav on Sportstalk 980) is that Keith and Dan are teaming up again and taking over Don Imus slot. Together again on MSNBC.

I am going to try my best to listen on 8/17, and I do think he stopped enjoying the television part of his job awhile ago, but believe he still loved the radio show.

Douglas James said...

That would be awesome if Keith and Dan took over the morning show left absent by Don Imus. ESPN radio has too many commercials to go along with their VERY long Sportscenter updates

Anonymous said...

Roger Lodge is going to guest host the Rome show AGAIN today.

Lodge as a sports radio host makes about as much sense as a solar powered flashlight.

I will NOT listen to that garbage again today.

Seamus O'Toole said...

As I referenced in a previous post, there was once a time when Dan and Keith were the coolest guys on TV. If they were to reunite in place of Imus, I can only predict that it will either be (a) roughly on a plane with the second coming of the Messiah, or (b) analogous to a washed-up player coming out of retirement because he can't let go of the game, thus staining his legacy. I don't see any possibility of an in-between result.

Anonymous said...

MSNBC needs to do something to justify having Keith on contact...Countdown sucks and he has shown that he is truely a nutjob. He needs to get back to sports.

Boyer in the District said...

Seriously - I mean we all know Bill O'Reilly is a pork rind eatin' loser on the scout team, but can Olbermann please stop referencing him?

What story is going to be number one on the countdown, Keith? How about the story with you talking about the Heisman race instead of the Presidential race...

Seamus O'Toole said...

Nice points about Keith.

Regardless of how you feel about Dan Patrick, this article should provide you with some entertaining reading to get through your work day.

Anonymous said...

Great article, and you know Keith just shows how insecure and jealous he is of Billy O everytime he mentions him. It's pretty sad. Keith just has no business in the political arena.

Aaron said...

If the big show comes back on TV it might rival PTI. Keith is soooo full of himself, he needs another egomaniac to calm him down. That is why Dan and him are so good together.

Stanimal said...

That is a pretty good article. However, let's face it: You can plug in X athlete/celebrity to that scenario and you'll likely get the same result.

Most celebrities are dicks unless there's something to gain from talking.

Anonymous said...

Hell I'm only a local celebrity and i'm a dick, 90% of the time.

Anonymous said...

Best Jungle guest host ever: Jay Mohr.