Category Archives: Sports

Don Shula, Mythbuster

shula_time.jpgAs a fan of the Jets, of course I wanted them to beat the Colts on Sunday. But as a fan of non-douchebags, I wished Indy could stay undefeated. Because that would mean they had a chance to win all 19 games, and thus threaten the sore winner tyranny of the 1972 Dolphins. Up until two weeks ago, I hoped both the Saints and Colts would go undefeated in the regular season and win the AFC and NFC championships, thus ensuring there would finally be a completely undefeated team to knock those old crabs off their cheap throne.

In every other sport, when a record falls, the previous record holder (or his family) is on hand to congratulate the new champ and wish him/her well. Even Hank Aaron begrudgingly tipped his cap to Barry Bonds when he beat the all-time home run record. If anyone ever had a reason to flip off the guy who supplanted him in the record books, Aaron did. But Aaron decided the game was bigger than him and paid tribute to Bonds, because he’s not a huge dick.

The ’72 Dolphins don’t suffer from such humility and perspective. They’re like mountain climbers who’ve scaled Everest, and decide to take sniper shots at anyone else who attempts the feat. Each year, they literally pop champagne when the last undefeated team takes a loss–and brag about such poor sportsmanship, on top of it all. And make commercials about it, too.

They insist to whoever will listen about how they’re the best team of all time, which, considering how much football has changed in the last 37 years, is borderline insane. Athletes are conditioned so much better in every single sport now, but especially infootball. Can you imagine the ’72 Dolphins trying to block the linebackers of today? Just look at these guys. They’d be mashed into the ground by the Lions, let alone a decent team.

Oh, and they played one of the easiest schedules in NFL history. Not in the NFL that year. In NFL history. Their opponents that season had a .396 win percentage. They are in the 99th percentile in terms of ease of schedule, all time. An NFL team is less likely to play such an easy schedule every again than a person is likely to be born with a dorsal fin.

Two years ago, when the Patriots were in the midst of their undefeated (regular) season, Don Shula got all a-snitter about how Camera-Gate invalidated their accomplishments. He conveniently neglected to mention that his ’72 Dolphins were not without their own ethical missteps.

He also tried to poke holes in many other grand achievements, on this very web site. It was quite a coup to get him to open up, I must say! You can take a trip down memory lane and read all about it here.

Dane Cook: There Are Several Failed Oc-TOW-bers

danecook.jpgJune 30, 2007

You know what’s brewin’ in Milwaukee? The Milwaukee Brewers,
broseph! They got the choice hops of Prince Fielder, the finely toasted barley of J.J. Hardy, and the exquisite sour mash of Ryan Braun. There’s gonna be no hangover for the Brewers this year, Soda Popinski! These guys are goin’ on a bender–all the way to the World Series. *pop*

/dumb hand gesture

After All-Star break, Brewers lose Ben Sheets, Ned Yost mismanages the bullpen, a promising season goes down the tubes as Milwaukee falls 2 games shy of the NL Central title.

August 1, 2007

Never mind that, bro-ha-ha. ‘Cause the rime of the ancient mariner is ringin’ out in Seattle! And it rhymes with “postseason”. Ichiro! Sexson! Vidro! They even got a reliever named Putz! That’s awesome! No albatross around their necks, ya heard? They’re paddling their way upstream, all the way to a wild card berth, Mother Brain! *pop*

Mariners lose 15 of 17 in late August/early September. Coinciding with the Yankee’s surge, Seattle’s slide virtually eliminates them from playoff contention.

September 3, 2007

Okay, my last couple didn’t work out so great, tight bros from way back. But that’s because you haven’t met the Mets yet! Nothin’ wrong with David Wright! Jose Reyes the roof! Carlos Beltran is, um, a pretty good player! The rest of the National League don’t wanna meet the Mets, Fist of the North Star, you feel me? *pop*

Mets go on historic collapse, pissing away a 7-game lead with 17 games to play, finish one game behind the Phillies in the NL East.

October 23, 2007

Look, bro-logna sandwich on rye with mustard. Major League Baseball picked me to be the official postseason spokesman for a reason. It’s because I know what it takes to be a winner. I built up my stand-up empire through tireless touring, internet self-promotion, and idiotic hand signals and mouth noises. *pop* It ain’t my fault that all the teams I did commercials for earlier in the year went straight to toilet town. You think I wanted to do a
commercial for the friggin’ Diamondbacks? Even I can’t stand Eric Byrnes.

/does the worm on a stool

I’m not gonna let these losers drag me down, Cliff Huxtable. Dane Cook is gonna stay on top forever, just like slap bracelets and Patrick Swayze. You just watch, Ben Fong Torres–the Cookster is never goin’ down!

Next Dane Cook album, Wild Flailing in G Minor, sells 12
copies, sequel to
Employee of the Month straight to video, eventual comeback via
celebrity dance competition widely mocked.

Up the Middle with Skitch Hanson: Jeters Always Prosper

Today, Scratchbomb hands over the reins to nationally syndicated sports columnist Skitch Hanson. You may know him as the author of the highly popular column “Up The Middle,” recipient of the 2006 Mitch Albom Award for Most Self-Righteous Moralizing in a Single Sports Column. You may have read his best-selling books “Numbers Prove Nothing Except When They Do” and “No One Will Ever Be Better than Willie Mays Because I Said So”. He’s also a frequent guest on ESPN’s sportswriters panel show Four Paunchy White Guys . Without further ado, here’s Skitch.

Many Yankees fans are calling for Joe Torre’s head, now that he’s failed to deliver yet another World Series title. But if you cut off Torre’s head, then the Yankees will literally lose their head as well.

No, make that figuratively. Figuratively lose their head. In any case, it would be bad.

But since there’s no way that Cleveland was simply a better team than the Yankees, someone must be to blame. If you want to know who’s really responsible for the Yankees’ postseason failure, there’s only one man you need to look to. And I know this won’t be a very popular opinion, but I have to say it anyway.

That’s right: Alex Rodriguez.

Continue reading Up the Middle with Skitch Hanson: Jeters Always Prosper