Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

People are weird.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

You are here: Home / Sports / Steelers Open Thread

Steelers Open Thread

by | 224 Comments

This post is in: 

Terrible towel- check.
Heath Miller jersey- check.
Beverages- check.
Cat fed- check.
Lily fed and walked and rocking her Steelers collar- check.

I’m ready. The only thing missing is the Steelers 4th quarter defense, which hopefully will show up tonight.

*** Update ***

Also, out of respect to TNC, I’m going to be rocking my ghetto name tonight- Jahn Coale.

Reader Interactions

224Comments

  1. 1.

    BruceFromOhio

    Ninth Street was overrun with black and gold.

    It’s like being invaded by the Borg.

    The only thing missing is the Browns offense, which hasn’t shown up in about a jillion years.

  2. 2.

    General Winfield Stuck

    We Brownies can easily say hi from the cellar. Nice having an old friend near by.:)

  3. 3.

    D-Chance.

    It’s Sunday – not check.

    It’s on the NFL network – not check.

    This Thursday night stuff on non-network television was one of the worse ideas to come from the League.

  5. 5.

    Napoleon

    Well here at my house in the Cleveland area my thermometer reads 14 and I can hear the wind outside.

    Go Browns!

  7. 7.

    freelancer

    Also, out of respect to TNC, I’m going to be rocking my ghetto name tonight- Jahn Coale.

    I was just gonna link to that. “Fuckin’ Althouse.”

  9. 9.

    johnny

    What are the odds you’re going to need a 4th quarter defense playing the Browns?

    The Chargers didn’t last week.

    The Browns are possibly the most inept team in sports right now. Rivalry, shmivalry.

  10. 10.

    Toast

    If the Steelers lose to the Browns four days after losing to the Raiduhs, the entire team should just commit ritual suicide.

  23. 23.

    Toast

    @Noonan: Actually, the Rams are worse. Six fewer points for and five more points against. Yes, I actually looked it up. Shocking to know there is a team out there worse than the Browns, but that’s the 2009 NFL for you.

  24. 24.

    calipygian

    Am I to understand that people who worship a woman who names her whelps “Track” and “Trig” are telling TNC that he has no intellectual chops because he has a “jackass ghetto name”?

    The American people will deserve the Palin presidency they so obviously crave and they deserve that presidency good and hard.

  26. 26.

    Noonan

    @Toast: Good call. I was going by total yards allowed. But either way, being a Browns fan ain’t easy. Actually, it is pretty easy. Having no hope is oddly liberating.

  28. 28.

    BruceFromOhio

    @calipygian:

    The American people will deserve the Palin presidency they so obviously crave and they deserve that presidency good and hard.

    A wounded animal often knows to crawl off into a corner and die in quiet, dignified solitude. Somehow, America missed that lesson, and instead is choosing to die in in a spectacular explosion of stoopid.

    At least the beer is cold and there’s gas in the Hummer.

  30. 30.

    mr. whipple

    The only thing missing is the Steelers 4th quarter defense, which hopefully will show up tonight.

    Don’t worry, you won’t need it.

  31. 31.

    John O

    All right, thanks for nothing. I did something I almost never do, and switched to the Steelers with high confidence points.

    As for Sarah, I seem to be able to successfully ignore her, at least until I have to care again. I’m hoping she’s delusional enough (and, well, stupid enough) to start a third party run.

  32. 32.

    handy

    Does this strike anyone else as being a wee bit thick in its pedantry:

    These are your neighbors, your fellow citizens. It’s their country too. They vote—and they won’t be going away. Their beliefs are a fundamental part of American political culture, and will be for decades to come. If we want to effect certain types of “progressive” change, we have to work with those beliefs—for example, by trying to change them.
    …
    These people are your neighbors—your fellow voters—and no, they won’t be going away. One final note: If you want to know why someone thinks something, there is a traditional approach:

    You sit down with that person. You ask

    This kumbaya feelgoodery is all fine and good, but I have to ask Somerby what rock he’s been living under. He keeps implying that the anti-science glibertarian me-first-screw-you mindset that is infecting the wingnut faction in this country is because “us” liberals aren’t being nice enough. We’re not in touch enough with their feelings, man.

    Guess what Bob? Sometimes people choose to be blind. On a host of issues. But particularly with regard to an issue like global warming. Please see here just for one example the extent people rationalize their own short-sighted selfishness.

    I’m sorry. I know a post like this probably has no place in a football thread, but this kind of snotty lecturing just put me in a foul place and I had to vent.

  33. 33.

    Toast

    @Noonan: That’s what I love about my Jets: They never quite allow one to enjoy the true bliss of hopelessness. I was approaching that state at 4-6, ready to let the season go and just live in the beautiful now, the eternal first down of the spotless fan’s mind. Then the fuckers went and won two straight and put themselves back in the playoff picture. Bastards.

  34. 34.

    Jay in Oregon

    @calipygian:

    Am I to understand that people who worship a woman who names her whelps “Track” and “Trig” are telling TNC that he has no intellectual chops because he has a “jackass ghetto name”?

    Don’t forget Bristol (after Bristol Bay in Alaska), Willow (a small town in Alaska) and Piper (after the Piper Cub, a popular model of light aircraft in Alaska).

    I think the daughters got the better end of the name pool…

  35. 35.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Love the Sadly, No! crew:

    To recap, Miller’s ‘top three fascinating people’ of 2009 are a dead woman, everybody and soldiers. And here we didn’t think it was possible to outdo Time’s ridiculous 2006 Person of the Year issue. But Miller’s effort — essentially ‘You plus you other guys and also some corpse’ — would appear to do the trick.

  36. 36.

    calipygian

    There is no negotiating with wicked people like this asshole who is peddling a recycling of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, updated for the 21st Century.

    I don’t want to know why Michelle Malkin believes what she believes.

    I DO want her to stay far the fuck away from me. And especially my children.

  37. 37.

    JK

    @calipygian:

    The American people will deserve the Palin presidency they so obviously crave and they deserve that presidency good and hard.

    Have you chosen a country in which to seek political asylum when the Mooseburger Queen becomes President?

  38. 38.

    calipygian

    @JK: Nope. I intend to stay and go all Wolverines!

    Or Galt.

    As a disabled, retired vet I fully intend to stand out in front of the White House demanding that President Palin
    1) speak the official language of America, Engrish,
    2) show us the long form of her birth certificate since she was obviously born in the foreign land of Alaska, and
    3) demand that the government keep their hands off my veteran’s benefits.

  40. 40.

    mr. whipple

    Just in case John needed some extra rooting incentive: Brady Quinn and Joe Thomas campaigned with Sara Palin last year.

    You betcha!

  44. 44.

    hypusine

    OT, and probably offensive to golfers everywhere:

    A friend and I were chatting and feel we have arrived at why the Tiger Woods scandal has captured national attention. I mean, who could have predicted?

  45. 45.

    BruceFromOhio

    @handy:

    Does this strike anyone else as being a wee bit thick in its pedantry:

    Yes, the whole thing actually. That’s why I let TBogg read and translate such things for us lowly hominids.

    (No, its not the same article, but it is amusing)

  46. 46.

    MattR

    @Toast: An email from a Jets fan to Bill Simmons of ESPN a couple weeks ago

    “I have never been more sure of a Jets victory than I was this weekend against the Panthers. Not for one second did I think they would lose and I know for a fact that they will beat the Bills this Thursday. Do you know why I know this? Because this is what they do. They will beat Buffalo and get people talking about possible playoffs and all that BS, and then they will lay an egg against 1-10 Tampa in Week 14. I have never been more sure of something before in my life. This schedule and season has been mapped out for this event from the get-go. It almost makes too much sense. Mark my words, Simmons. This is happening.”

  47. 47.

    JK

    @mr. whipple:

    Brady Quinn and Joe Thomas campaigned with Sarah Palin last year.

    Neither of these miserable assholes deserve to sniff a win in their fucking lifetimes.

  48. 48.

    Kryptik

    The sad thing about the Rams is that it really wasn’t that long since they were a decent team, was it?

  49. 49.

    ominira

    Nehesy = Nubian. Ta-Nehesy = land of the Nubians – how the ancient Egyptians referred to Nubia/Kush. But it’s more ignorant and thus funnier to althouse’s fans to say it’s a mispronunciation of Tennessee.

  50. 50.

    mr. whipple

    “Neither of these miserable assholes deserve to sniff a win in their fucking lifetimes.”

    That’s kinda how I feel. Luckily, it’s entirely possible.

  51. 51.

    Punchy

    It’s Sunday – not check.
    ………
    It’s on the NFL network – not check.

    Step ya game up, rook.

    /cracks open a scud of 8-ball, prepares to watch a high-scoring game

  53. 53.

    arguingwithsignposts

    El Cid posted this on the thread at S,N! I mentioned earlier. File under “Shoot Me Now”:

    “Stossel” Premieres Tonight at 8pm ET on Fox Business
    __
    Finally! Tonight I premiere my new show on Fox Business at 8pm ET. I still haven’t decided what the show will be about! It will either be about the “climate crisis” or Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”.
    __
    I’m partial to an “Atlas” show because I reread the novel recently and was stunned. It was as if Rand had seen the future…The “Preservation of Livelihood Law.” The “Equalization of Opportunity Law.” The “Steel Unification Plan.”

  54. 54.

    Toast

    @MattR: Saw that when it came out. (I love Simmons even though he’s a Pats/Sox fan and I’m a Jets/Yankees fan.) Laughed out loud at the time. So painfully true.

  59. 59.

    MattR

    @Toast: I grew up in suburban NYC. Somehow I am a Broncos/Orioles fan but I have seen what the Jets are capable of. In fact, my first rule of gambling is: “Do not bet on the Jets. Do not bet against the Jets. Do not bet on anything that remotely involves the Jets in any way. They will find a way to screw you”

  61. 61.

    freelancer

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    I’m not really depressed. It’s just, even through the campaign, the nonsense didn’t rise to the level where it was completely incessant.

    I mean shit. Just look at today’s front page posts. It’s non-stop bugfuck insane.

    Time to get fucked up.

  64. 64.

    Toast

    @MattR: That is a very wise gambling rule. (Says the guy whose four fantasy teams are annually littered with Jets…)

  67. 67.

    JK

    This has been just the week of no good news.

    Editor and Publisher and Kirkus Reviews going under was the coup de grâce. At least C-SPAN and PBS are still standing.

  69. 69.

    mr. whipple

    I

    t seems to me that the NFL Network needs an upgrade to their commentators.

    Um, everyone at the network called in sick for this one.

  71. 71.

    Anne Laurie

    @Joel:

    Ann Althouse can just go by Crack Whore.

    Have some pity, people! Althouse’s parents were so poor & humble they could only afford to give her a 3-letter first name. Of course her supporters are sensitive about those of us more generously endowed!

  73. 73.

    mr. whipple

    : Sadly, this is their number 1 team.

    They must have pissed off someone really important. Like God.

  75. 75.

    John O

    Since I couldn’t tell you who either of the broadcasters are, so far to me they’re unremarkable and I’ve heard worse.

    Nice catch! Those are the plays that will win this game.

    Too cold to play.

  78. 78.

    JK

    @freelancer:

    Lots of states aren’t doing too well these days.

    I’m thankful C-SPAN and PBS are still standing, because I’m sure the wingnuts would love to kill them both if they could.

  83. 83.

    JK

    @Joel:

    Ann Althouse can just go by Crack Whore.

    Warning: Watching Althouse on bloggingheads tv may induce vomiting, headaches, and light headedness.

  85. 85.

    BruceFromOhio

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    I’d rather listen to commercials than these commentators.

    Do yourself a favor – turn down the sound, kick in a cd or crank up the mp3. Unmute for the penalties. You won’t miss a thing. Entire seasons of the NFL have unfolded at Casa d’Ohio in such pleasant splendor.

  86. 86.

    General Winfield Stuck

    Damn Browns may have come to play tonight. Just get that Sarah loving Quinn off the field.

    wooweeee.

  87. 87.

    MattR

    @arguingwithsignposts: Well they only do a half season’s worth of games so that presents a bit of a challenge trying to lure talent away from other networks.

    Interesting that the broadcast they are showing locally in Cleveland/Pittsburgh has the studio instead of the commercials I get to enjoy while watching it on the NFL Network. [EDIT: Ah, I see you are watching online]

  88. 88.

    Morbo

    @General Winfield Stuck: Haha, both times I’ve actually looked at the game, Roethlisberger has been getting sacked. I sure hope he’s healthy for the Ravens game so they can rack up all the sacks they didn’t get on Dixon.

  100. 100.

    mr. whipple

    @John O:

    Quinn useless? A month ago the fans were begging for him to get the ball, only to find out why Mangenius didn’t give it to him to start with.

  102. 102.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @Noonan:

    they ought to just call the game now and give it to the Browns for actually taking a lead. Monumental achievement and all that.

  104. 104.

    JenJen

    That TNC post made my whole damned day.

    By the way, how are you people watching this football game? I have Time Warner, an NFL Network holdout, so no football for me. :-(

  106. 106.

    burnspbesq

    @johnny:

    The Browns are possibly the most inept team in sports right now.

    The New Jersey Nets might have something to say about that.

  110. 110.

    Cat Lady

    As a life long Pats fan, if we can’t go to the Super Bowl again, which we won’t, I just want to acknowledge Tom Brady’s contribution to the sports world in general, the Boston sports world in the particular (three times, fuck yeah!), and the human gene pool.

    ETA: I love my edit button, also too.
    That is all.

  111. 111.

    John O

    Everyone mans up in the cold on 4th down, and…

    …QB sneak, and though I thought the Steelers got a very bad spot on 3rd, the zebras compensated on 4th!

  112. 112.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    I’d like to see the Steelers lose but I fucking hate the Drowns. I can’t root for them. I can only sit here and hope for a meteor.

  113. 113.

    mr. whipple

    they won the other night. but, yeah, they really suck.

    So they’ve already matched wins with the Browns.

  119. 119.

    Davis X. Machina

    The New Jersey Nets might have something to say about that.

    The Nets have a function, though — to make the Knicks look good.

  122. 122.

    MattR

    @JenJen: I have a Hava player (like a slingbox) which allows one other person to watch over the Net but you have to install some Hava software on your PC. Let me know if you are interested.

  123. 123.

    Ron

    I freaking hate that I can’t watch this game on TV because of a pissing contest between the NFL and my cable company. The only saving grace is that I can watch the game online.

  125. 125.

    John O

    Great series, folks.

    Laughing my ass off in 0-degree weather and considerably colder wind chill, watching a football game, got food, fireplace on and gas meter spinning like a meat cutter in a deli…ahhhhhhhh…

    …OK, I’m a pretty solid Bears fan, born and bred and all, and my overall impression of both the Browns and the Steelers is pretty positive. Probably an “other league” thing. I mean, as a kid I just loved Leroy Kelly and Lou Groza, and I grew to respect (a lot) the ’70’s Steelers, which just for your information is why I’m not so down on Quinn and believe it is bigger than even a QB.

    My second-favorite team as a youngster were, obviously, the Raiders. Most hated team, lifetime? Cowboys.

    Christ, I even grew to love the Pack in my old age. They’re now my second favorite team.

  126. 126.

    RedKitten

    @Morbo:

    God fucking dammit, this show is both driving me to rage and tears. BBC: Pedigree Breeds Exposed

    That depresses me — any asshat can become a breeder, and so many of them are just in it for the money. Friends of mine have a Boston Terrier. Lovely little dog. He’s not even a year old, and he’s had to have surgery three times, and now his hip joints are going…it’s not looking good for him.

  127. 127.

    Morbo

    @arguingwithsignposts: Whoa whoa whoa there. The Lions already won that head to head, and are a win ahead besides. If you want to make the case for most inept defense though, by all means. Although not even that is fair to the Lions, as they can’t go a quarter without a defensive injury.

  130. 130.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @John O:

    I mean, as a kid I just loved Leroy Kelly

    LOL. Same here. I made my HS football coach give me No. 44. Was me hero.

    edit. that was weird. your comment went away. oh well. part of it is saved.

  132. 132.

    mr. whipple

    LOL. Same here. I made my HS football coach give me No. 44.

    Good choice. I always wanted to change my name to Fair Hooker.

    That probably wouldn’t have worked out.

  137. 137.

    Davis X. Machina

    Does everyone have their authentic ghetto name yet?

    I shall henceforth be called simply ‘Davis X’. That’s ‘Davis’ as in Angela….

  141. 141.

    mr. whipple

    This is some not-good football.

    This is shaping up to be an NFL Classic compared to the Browns/Bills game earlier this year.

  144. 144.

    John O

    @mcd410x:

    I dunno. I had a talk with a one-week younger old pal last night, he lives in Austin, and for the first time in his 50 year-old life, he said, “It’s too cold to play. I’m out.” This is a guy who plays in several leagues at a time.

    It was 40 degrees in Austin.

    We here in Chicagoland, and I suspect N. PA and OH, don’t wear shirts to play sports in 40 degrees, at least when we’re in our teens to early 30’s.

  145. 145.

    mcd410x

    Know what I miss? The Christian Slater/Michael Jordan Hanes bromance ads. All kinds of awesome.

    PS: even my phone has edit. Even more awesome!

  147. 147.

    burnspbesq

    Line I wish I’d written:

    “Americans like Schlafly think that Jesus was the first coming of Milton Friedman.”

  150. 150.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Ya gotta be a pretty bad team not to be able to score on the Drowns, or so someone told me once in a hurtful way. Sniff.

  152. 152.

    DougJ

    Am I to understand that people who worship a woman who names her whelps “Track” and “Trig” are telling TNC that he has no intellectual chops because he has a “jackass ghetto name”?

    Funny.

  157. 157.

    MattR

    Wow. As bad as Quinn has looked, he is the only person on the field who currently has even a remote resemblence to an NFL quarterback.

  162. 162.

    BruceFromOhio

    OK, I’m mystified, which ain’t hard after multiple ounces of distilled substances:

    – Is the Steelers O-line mad at somebody? Is this the equivalent of a union walkout? Did the Raiders rattle these guys so bad they can’t see or think or hear? The Browns D usually can’t bag a sack of potatoes sitting alone in a dark alley.

    – The NFL Network appears to consist of watching two people watch an off-camera monitor that is showing the game. Cribbs runs another humdinger, and NFL network is showing a Hanes ad. People pay money to receive this channel?

  163. 163.

    MattR

    Now there is an idea. John Madden would be a great part time announcer for the NFL Network. He has definitely lost a step or two as he’s gotten up there in years, but he still would be better than this duo.

  164. 164.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @BruceFromOhio:

    Yeah, I’m not getting this stuff either. Too much announcing, not enough freakin’ football. I mean, they’re showing the radio announcers, ferchrissake.

    This is the NFL Network. You think they’d have the rights to the game (online)

  165. 165.

    MattR

    @BruceFromOhio: Are you watching online? Or on a local broadcast since you live in/near Cleveland? I am watching my normal Comcast NFL Network feed and they showed that long Cribbs run.

  166. 166.

    mr. whipple

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    Agreed about Couch.

    I find the suckatude of the Stillers puzzling. They went so bad, so fast whereas the Browns have sucked for so long they’ve almost perfected it.

    It doesn’t seem fair.

  168. 168.

    Steeplejack

    Man, the Steelers do not look good, especially considering they are playing the Browns.

    The third-string announcers are pretty mediocre, but they are right about one thing–this is a playoff game for the Steelers. They drop to 6-7 and they can pretty much kiss the playoffs goodbye.

    . . . And the Browns score! Yikes.

  171. 171.

    John O

    Gee, that was a great pick switch at 6:58.

    The Steelers couldn’t cover 10 points in this game with the end of the world at stake, now.

    Replay!

    (I’m still assuming this is eventually 6. No qualified coach settles for 3 on first-and-one on the half.)

  172. 172.

    Toast

    Someone needs to explain the “defending” part of “defending champions” to the Steelers. I mean, really, the Browns?

    In other news, I cannot believe they ruled that a TD on review.

  174. 174.

    mr. whipple

    I wonder if it hurts to to be the team to give up the first rushing TD of the year to the Browns?

  175. 175.

    BruceFromOhio

    @MattR:

    Its blacked out locally. I’m watching a web feed of the NFL Network, courtesy of the General. It’s got NFL Network logo all over it, and the yutz with the microphone walking around bothering people is sporting the logo too. wev …

    I’m still wondering what happened on the turnpike between steel town and the mistake on the lake. Stillers better turn this around significantly in the final 30, or there will be multiple suicides later on.

  177. 177.

    John O

    @Toast:

    In an objective world which is ruled by the objectivist and science-trusting liberal elite, that was not quite a touchdown. But it would have been before long.

  178. 178.

    freelancer

    I’m downloading last night’s ep of Friday Night Lights in lieu of streaming the game. Sounds like I’m going to have a more pleasant football night than most of you.

  181. 181.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    I love the way the Drowns get excited after making a routine tackle or play. Woohoo! We didn’t poop ourselves again!

  186. 186.

    mr. whipple

    C’mon, Browns. We’re thiiiiiis close to getting the #1 pick.

    Don’t blow it now with a win.

  187. 187.

    MattR

    @AhabTRuler: Actually, luckily, no. I finally flipped over to the link from the General and I have no idea WTF that feed is. It is not even the same halftime show that I am getting (I have Rich Eisen hosting) The video is really good quality, but I think you are better off with one of the links at http://atdhe.net

  188. 188.

    BruceFromOhio

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    We didn’t poop ourselves again!

    Its the little things that count. Up by thirteen at the half, we’ll find a way to insure PGH wins it.

    Quinn playing without gloves in this cold can’t be helping. I still can’t figure out what the hell happened to the Stiller O-line, maybe it *is* the Gaia-damned water.

  189. 189.

    MattR

    If anyone is willing to download the necessary Hava software, I can give one person my username and password to watch via my cable box. It is actually quite good quality and it has DVR like features so you can pause, rewind, record to your PC, etc.

  194. 194.

    Tim

    Santonio Holmes = da bomb.

    As a Michigan fan (yes, I’ve had a rough two years with them), I am obligated to dislike Holmes, yet as a Steelers fan, I have to like him. It’s a topsy-turvy world.

  195. 195.

    BruceFromOhio

    @MattR:

    Thanks for the offer, the color bars on the local NBC affiliate just got replaced with something resembling a live feed. I think I’ll keep on Jim Donovan at WTAM, however, his play by play is fun to listen to, as opposed to the slack-jawed lowing of the NFL Network stunt cattle. I hope Jerry Jones loses every flucking penny he ever put up for it.

    Mr. Cole, if you ever decide to grace these shores with your presence, allow me to ply you with some of Cleveland’s finer offerings, the Great Lakes Brewing Company wares. It’s the least I can do after that first half.

  201. 201.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Same here. I pay for MLB streaming every summer, but damn if I will pay Murdoch just watch football games. I have Dish international for 10 bucks a month that gets MSNBC and cspan, and a few other channels, but that’s about it cause I don’t watch much teevee anymore other than news.

  202. 202.

    MattR

    @arguingwithsignposts: It is a bit pricey, and I discovered its existence too late in the season to justify it, but if you live in Manhattan (or know someone with a credit card whose billing address is Manhattan) you can buy an online subscription to DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket. The downside is it is not high def, you can only stream one game at a time and the price tag is $350 for the year.

  204. 204.

    Toast

    OK, seriously: This is the same Browns defense that has given up the second most points in the league, yes? WTFF?

  205. 205.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @MattR:

    The downside is it is not high def, you can only stream one game at a time and the price tag is $350 for the year.

    and the upside?

    Seriously, the sports are the worst at understanding teh internets. MLB seems to be catching on, as is NHL (only because they’re desperate), but NFL, NCAA? not so much.

  206. 206.

    Toast

    After healthcare reform gets done, I think Congress’ next priority should be passing legislation that outlaws DirecTV’s “exclusivity” arrangement for the NFL Sunday Ticket.

  207. 207.

    BruceFromOhio

    @mr. whipple:

    That they are across the street from eachother is Gaia’s way of saying she loves humankind, and wants us to be happy.

    I think She is also trying to tell us that NFL games should NOT be played on Thursday nights.

  208. 208.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Toast:

    After healthcare reform gets done, I think Congress’ next priority should be passing legislation that outlaws DirecTV’s “exclusivity” arrangement for the NFL Sunday Ticket.

    No, their next priority should be straightening out the BCS. But given their track record, I’d expect a triggered playoff with an opt-out.

  209. 209.

    MattR

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    and the upside?

    Well, if you are a desperate fan of a non-New York team and you live in an apt that does not allow dishes….

    I have no idea why this is available for Manhattan residents only, (maybe some concession Cuomo won?) but I am sure there are folks who shell out the money.

    On a related note, I wonder if the NFL is setting things up to cut out the networks completely once the current deals run out. We have to be getting close to the point where they can cover/produce all the games and make them available on demand and/or online. But that would probably be giving them too much credit for having foresight.

  210. 210.

    MattR

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    No, their next priority should be straightening out the BCS. But given their track record, I’d expect a triggered playoff with an opt-out.

    There was actually a bill that was passed out of some House Subcomittee that would forbid them from marketing it as a national championship if it does not involve a playoff.

  211. 211.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @MattR:

    On a related note, I wonder if the NFL is setting things up to cur out the networks completely once the current deals run out. We have to be getting close to the point where they can cover/produce all the games and make them available on demand and/or online. But that would probably be giving them too much credit for having foresight.

    It’s the big ten (really 11) network concept, or the yankee network, all over again.

    I seem to recall that NFL Network streaming is only available outside the US, but it’s curious that a Manhattan IP will get you overpriced internet streaming.

  212. 212.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @MattR:
    I especially like how they scheduled TCU and Boise State against each other instead of allowing them to play teams from the big conferences, and then they claim it was not at all about keeping the status quo … quo.

    Big time college football hires Ari Fleischer to do their PR because they’re saints. feh.

  213. 213.

    Toast

    I really can’t believe I’m still up watching this. I don’t really care about either of these teams one way or t’other. But the fact that the Stillers — the Defending Champion Stillers — are coming off a loss to Oakland and are now down a TD to Cleveland heading into the fourth? What a gorgeous car wreck. Fascinating.

  214. 214.

    The Dangerman

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    …especially like how they scheduled TCU and Boise State

    Of course, the best game, like, EVER, was Boise and Oklahoma. Shit, even had a marriage proposal at the end. It was fucking gold.

    But having Boise take out Florida and TCU taking out another of the Big 6’ers would have been disastrous.

  215. 215.

    MattR

    @The Dangerman:

    But having Boise take out Florida and TCU taking out another of the Big 6’ers would have been disastrous.

    And the flip side is that it would have strengthened the BCS’s position if Boise and TCu both got blown out, but the BCS obviously doesn’t have the confidence to see which way it would go.

  218. 218.

    The Dangerman

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Speaking of “NCAA” and “cajones”, UCLA grad here…

    …and the NCAA can’t seem to get up the nerve to ever punish USC, whose football team is paid really quite well. Fuckers.

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