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“Squeaker” McCarthy

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Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

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A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Mid Afternoon NFL Playoffs Open Thread

Reader Interactions

169Comments

  1. 1.

    Corner Stone

    Based on an overly complex mathematical formula, I am forced to root for Carolina in this contest.

  2. 2.

    max

    Based on not caring, I am vaguely hoping the Chargers get an upset, along with Carolina. This will produce a Superbowl that I absolutely don’t care about and thus I can avoid paying attention to any commercials.

    max
    [‘Millions of neurons saved, yay!’]

  3. 3.

    Spike

    It seems the back judge is rooting for the 49ers. Your call has to be pretty bad to rouse Troy Aikman from his gameday slumber to decry it as ridiculous.

  4. 4.

    ? Martin

    Out of loyalty to my neighbor, rooting for the 49ers. And I think I’ll back Denver, mostly to enjoy listening to my mom complain about having to watch Peyton in yet another game. But she’s quite worried about another Manning/Brady matchup, especially with NE having almost no healthy players left. Most of the Pats wins lately have been by way of their defense.

  5. 5.

    Amir Khalid

    My team just won an eight-goal thriller away to Stoke City. Liverpool FC definitely do not suck.

  8. 8.

    piratedan

    @Amir Khalid: that was an incredible game…. part of the reason that I love the EPL, just watching the skill exhibited makes me wish that all soccer could be played at that level….

  10. 10.

    Corner Stone

    This looks like it may be an entertaining game. A little sloppy early, but entertaining.

  16. 16.

    lol chikinburd

    LFC’s fourth and fifth goals were purty indeed.

    It’ll be a Patriots-49ers Super Bowl, I’m afraid, because I hate them — twin vortices of privilege, spoiled fan-bases, and media sycophancy. I’d love for anything at all to happen to eliminate them both, but it probably won’t happen. Also, an all-haves matchup would fit an authoritarian, no-tailgating, no-fun-outside-the-luxury-boxes Super Bowl like the one in New Jersey.

  17. 17.

    Schlemizel

    I think the Super Bowl should be replaced with the Taunting Bowl. Forget about the game that causes all the brain damage & just have these strutting rooster squawking at each other about how wonderful they are and how inadequate the other guys are. It seems to be what they all want to do anyway

  18. 18.

    Tripod

    The Mike Ditka coaching tree. LOL. Chico must have payed attention to Buddy Ryan, and the Harbaugh’s their old man.

  22. 22.

    the Conster

    @lol chikinburd:

    You obviously weren’t paying attention before Tom Brady showed up – the Pats fan base paid for the Brady years with decades of misery. Does the name Tony Eason ring any bells?

  24. 24.

    Amir Khalid

    @gene108:
    We used to. In the 1970s and early 1980s, you’d see guys in white playing cricket on the big playing field in the middle of KL (the Selangor Club padang, now called Merdeka Square). But the sport has lost most of its popularity here in the past few decades. Schools and sports clubs don’t have cricket teams anymore, so new players aren’t coming up. I don’t think we have a national team anymore. The only fans nowadays are expatriate blue-collar workers from India, and of course they support India in international cricket.

  30. 30.

    the Conster

    @raven: @Thlayli:

    The one enduring image for lifelong Pats fans is Tony Eason in a fetal position in the 86 Superbowl.

    “In 2008, ESPN ranked Eason’s performance as the worst (82nd out of 82) in the history of the Super Bowl, noting, “In addition to his awful passing stats, he lost a fumble and not surprisingly was yanked in the second quarter.”

    That was BRUTAL!

  31. 31.

    Corner Stone

    “A douche. A douche with a canoe. A douchecanoe up a creek. A douchecanoe up a creek with no paddle. And through it all, there’s a truck that brought that douchecanoe without a paddle to Shitcreek. The all new Chevy Silverado.”

  34. 34.

    James E. Powell

    @the Conster:

    the Pats fan base paid for the Brady years with decades of misery. Does the name Tony Eason ring any bells?

    The Patriots weren’t a totally miserable team pre-Brady. Eason took them to a Super Bowl, or maybe they took Eason. They made it to the Super Bowl with Bledsoe. They also had some good teams during the Grogan years.

    You want misery? Try Cleveland.

  35. 35.

    Schlemizel

    @Thlayli:

    Yeah, its hard to feel bad for a team whose whine is they once played had a bad day at the super bowl – awwwwwww poor babies!

  39. 39.

    Baud

    @Amir Khalid:

    Not quite everywhere. Cricket’s the chief sport in India. Canada isn’t big on soccer to my knowledge. Not sure about Russia — I think of hockey and Olympic sports with them.

    ETA: Not sure about Australia either.

  43. 43.

    Tripod

    @raven:

    At least the Berry teams were competitive for a few seasons. That team was abysmal in the sixties and seventies.

  44. 44.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    It was great to see one of the arguments for going for it on 4th and goal from inside the 2-yard line come through: even if you get stuffed, there’s a good chance you’ll get the ball back in great field position anyway. I’m vaguely rooting for San Fran but I was glad to see it play out that way.

  45. 45.

    shelly

    Ooh, over at Newsmax headlines

    Frank Luntz Sells Polling Firm, Fed Up

    Poor Mr Luntz, so sad, sad, sad over the current clusterfuck of political chicanery that he himself created. Him, and his evil troll, Rove.

  47. 47.

    Schlemizel

    @Baud:

    I am sorta surprised the the old Red Machine never took to football the way it did to hockey & other ‘fringe’ sports

  50. 50.

    lol chikinburd

    @the Conster: That’s as may be, but that was really then, and this is now. 49ers fans suffered decades of woe prior to Joe Montana’s arrival, but in present context that history amounts to a “so what”.

  51. 51.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @James E. Powell:

    At least the Browns have won an NFL championship (’64, pre-Super Bowl though it may be) since the Lions have won one (’57).

  52. 52.

    the Conster

    @Schlemizel:

    Watching your team make it at that far only to watch your QB step all over his own dick on the world’s biggest stage – BRUTAL. Nothing compared to the pain of Bills fans though. Tony Eason and Scott Norwood still probably have to pay for every drink they ever order.

  53. 53.

    Baud

    @Corner Stone:
    @? Martin:

    A man and his wife. And his best friend. A best friend who his wife is shagging. In the back seat of a truck with an extra large cab. And a shotgun. And a shot that rings out in the night. And a police chase. And an APB for a man in a cowboy hat driving a Chevy.

  54. 54.

    khead

    So, this line is from a column in a southern WV paper this morning:

    “It’s sad to see politicians pandering to one particular voting bloc when an entire state of people could use their assistance.”

    The voting bloc? Unions. Specifically teachers. Tomblin is proposing a 2% increase.

  58. 58.

    FourTen

    @Tripod:

    LOL, no kidding. You think that walking punchline dick-ka took his nap early today so he could be close to the phone to steal credit for this win too?

    That pile of crap owes his career to an abysmal SNL sketch. Chicagoans know he’s the Jim Belushi of the NFL.

  62. 62.

    Corner Stone

    @Baud:

    Forgot to mention China. Don’t know what they’re into.

    I think in China they are mainly into trying to breathe. A friend of mine has a daughter in Beijing and we were just discussing the eco pollution.

  63. 63.

    JPL

    Wahoo! It’s a Chevy commercial with a bruised tailbone.. what

    just sayin.. If I have a bruised tailbone, I don’t want to sit in a truck. Did I mishear the commercial?

  65. 65.

    Schlemizel

    @Corner Stone:

    Yeah, if they started a million kids playing the game young they could all be dead from lung cancer & silicosis by the time there were old enough for the national team – its a libertarian dream!

  67. 67.

    Corner Stone

    @Baud: I don’t have a link for proof but from what he told me they are saying that for X amount of time there it could take 5 years off your life.
    Foreigners with young kids have reportedly been leaving in droves because of the health risks.

  68. 68.

    Schlemizel

    Also, I guess we are supposed to be impressed with the goonish behavior since CBS like to highlight the cheap crap both teams are engaged in

  73. 73.

    Violet

    @Baud:

    Forgot to mention China. Don’t know what they’re into.

    China has a fairly strong basketball following. Kicked into high gear when Yao Ming came to the NBA, I believe.

  77. 77.

    Schlemizel

    @JPL:

    yeah, that. Banging facemasks after the play, mouths moving 90 MPH – man there must be some really tiny dicks to have to over compensate that much

  78. 78.

    Schlemizel

    @JPL:

    yeah, that. Banging facemasks after the play, mouths moving 90 MPH – man there must be some really tiny dicks to have to over compensate that much

  81. 81.

    kindness

    I don’t know about the refs in this Carolina Niners game. Some one has gotten some favors.

  82. 82.

    Morbo

    @kindness: The touchdown reversal was correct, but indeed I would be starting to get a little annoyed if I were a Carolina fan right now.

  84. 84.

    the Conster

    The close up shot of that divot was ridiculous. The tip of it touched the edge of the line, but not one speck more. It was the right call to reverse.

  87. 87.

    raven

    @Violet: My buddy has some hair raising stories about the Bejing team playing in the boonies. They have Randolph Morris and Damien Wilkins since Marbury got hurt and Americans are not all that popular on the road. As far as officiating, all the bitching and moaning here is laughable.

  88. 88.

    MikeJ

    @Schlemizel: If only somebody could have applied this tech to the Newcastle-Man City game. That was clearly a goal. It didn’t matter that somebody who didn’t touch the ball was offside.

  89. 89.

    Schlemizel

    @raven:

    Most sports outcomes are affected by the officials. In football its calls made & not made, holding & interference being the most common & obvious. In Hockey the favorite BS is “Let the players decide the game” which is code for “let the hooking, interference & cross-checking go so we can keep up with the good players. In basketball traveling depends on who has the ball. It was described to me is, “You get two steps plus one for every 5 years in the league – unless you are quick then you automatically get the 5 year bonus or slow in which case you never do.

    As long as the random stupidity does not favor one team too much I guess you just live with it.

  91. 91.

    Schlemizel

    @MikeJ:

    There are pluses & minuses to replay. Mostly its a good thing but very poorly implemented every place it is used. Hockey has (had?) the stupidest, you can review a goal but are allowed only to use the overhead camera so no multiple views, no idea whats happening outside the crease.

  92. 92.

    dedc79

    @MikeJ: Granted, I missed the commentary after the game, but I figured the sideline ref thought that either the ball had grazed one of the players or that they had obstructed the goalie’s view. It’s as clear as can be in the review that neither were the case.

  93. 93.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    @Corner Stone:

    And through it all, there’s a truck that brought that douchecanoe without a paddle to Shitcreek.

    That was beautiful, thanks for the laugh.

  96. 96.

    CaseyL

    Ruh roh; Panthers better wake up. SF starting to run away with this game.

    As a Seahawks fan, I hope SF and Carolina batter the hell out of each other. Injuries, baby; I’m rooting for injuries.

  97. 97.

    Schlemizel

    Got tricked into having to listen to about 15 seconds of Dennis Leary for Ford damn it! When is the Chevy ad coming on so I can hear how bad it is?

    @raven:
    Sarcasm? It always surprises me to hear fans complain about calls as when I don’t care I usually see bad in both directions.

  98. 98.

    2liberal

    jeers to the soccer trolls. Brady is down to two injury prone wideouts and a bunch of waiver wire guys. the pats will have to do a lot of running to get to the SB. I don’t want the pats traveling to that thin polluted air in Denver so I am pulling for a San Deigo victory.

  99. 99.

    Corner Stone

    The whole Scampernick schtick just rubs me the wrong way. I’m not for injuries, but I wouldn’t mind seeing him get Schaubed.

  103. 103.

    Corner Stone

    Mike Ditka’s greatest mistake was not beating that Kenyan guy for the US Senate seat.

  104. 104.

    Corner Stone

    @Schlemizel: It’s everything about him. It’s irrational, but that’s sports I guess.

    ETA, I personally have no idea how he’s as fast as he is. His running mechanics are the worst I have ever seen for a professional skill position in the NFL.
    STOMP STOMP STOMP

  106. 106.

    Yatsuno

    My team already played and won. So ha. But I’d much rather have the Panthros over the Fortywhiners. Unless their ego gets ahead of them and they decide to underestimate the Seachickens. Our defence was pretty damn hot yesterday.

  107. 107.

    Corner Stone

    Watching the segments from this morning’s UP w/ The Kornack. He’s doing some fascinating work on the GWB NJ issue.

  109. 109.

    Yatsuno

    @JPL: The offence was mostly awful with spurts of brilliance. Granted the way Brees was throwing in the first half I’m surprised there wasn’t a pick 6, then again there should have been two or three more interceptions if it wasn’t for fumble fingers on the defending side. Still, they did pretty good overall, I’d just like more consistency on the offencive side. But the next game is the next game.

    I’m at the ranch, feeling pretty good but sleeping a lot. Considering the cocktail of rugs I’m still on, that’s not a big surprise. But a lot of those get eased back here soon, and I’m hurting a lot less, which means I must be healing up good. Now it’s a matter of waking up muscles and getting through to where I can put full weight on the left side. When I can do that, the progress will be much more advanced.

  110. 110.

    Steeplejack

    Sorta don’t care who wins the games today, although I realized that I have slightly negative feelings about the 49ers, for which I can’t account. Didn’t think I had thought about them enough to have an opinion either way. They do seem like a bunch of preening dicks, though. I have never seen so much self-congratulatory hoopla after almost every single play.

    And I have to admit I wouldn’t mind seeing Peyton Manning win a Super Bowl at Denver, after having his neck problems and being jettisoned by the Colts. But that feeling fades every time I see him in the ads with Papa John, which make me want to punch them both in the neck. So, yeah, I’m conflicted. Plus I wouldn’t mind seeing Seattle go all the way.

  113. 113.

    PaulW

    Of course my team sucks, they had Schiano coaching them last season.

    Bucs will get better next season, though.

    GO BUCS.

  114. 114.

    PaulW

    Of course my team sucks, they had Schiano coaching them last season.

    Bucs will get better next season, though.

    GO BUCS.

  115. 115.

    JPL

    @Yatsuno: The weather and especially the wind was played a factor in the game.
    Glad you are on the mend and it seems you have made great strides already.
    I sorta want the Panthers because they are in the same division as the Falcons. All along I thought it would be a Seattle vs Denver Super Bowl.

  121. 121.

    CaseyL

    Oh boy the NFC Championship is going to be epic.

    Two teams and two coaches who genuinely loathe each other. Seattle with a December loss to avenge.

    Fun!

    ETA: … I bet the ‘Hawks have been studying the December 8 game films obsessively.

  122. 122.

    Corner Stone

    @Yatsuno:

    Considering the cocktail of rugs I’m still on

    If you’re taking a Magic Carpet ride, then may I humbly suggest you ask the Doc to dial back your Rx.

  124. 124.

    Steeplejack

    @Yatsuno:

    [.  .] more consistency on the offencive side.

    “Offencive”? Srsly? Dude, you’ve gone into the Madonna-fake-Brit-accent zone. Even the Brits use offence/offensive.

  128. 128.

    Geoduck

    Sigh. I was really hoping Carolina could pull it off. As a Seahawk fan, at this point I’m genuinely tired of watching them play SF.

  129. 129.

    CaseyL

    @Betty Cracker: If I were a betting person, it might be fun to wager on how many penalties each team will rack up. Particularly how many personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conducts.

  130. 130.

    Yatsuno

    @CaseyL: SF will get at least three first downs that way, even ones they don’t deserve. Seattle might get one or two. But yeah, that game will re-define chippy.

  133. 133.

    lol chikinburd

    Both Harbaugh and Carroll have this habit of wandering way onto the field during plays. For next week I’m predicting a fistfight between the two of them during a live ball.

  135. 135.

    James E. Powell

    @CaseyL:

    Two teams and two coaches who genuinely loathe each other.

    Which prompts a question. There are a lot of team rivalries, e.g., Bears/Packers, Patriots/Jets, etc., but how many head coach rivalries have we had in the NFL? Harbaugh v Carroll has potential to be very entertaining.

  138. 138.

    James E. Powell

    @raven:

    It’s not about liking/disliking only. It’s about having to play each other regularly. I’m thinking like Hayes v Schembechler only in the NFL.

  139. 139.

    the Conster

    Typical SD – terrible play calling. WTF kick. Rivers has happy feet and rabbit ears. Looking like another Brady/Manning classic next weekend.

  140. 140.

    KG

    @James E. Powell: I can’t really think of any, partly because coaches lately don’t stick around too long at any location. Plus coaches seem to be fairly cordial with each other because they know if when they get fired, they’ll need a coordinator job

  141. 141.

    Yatsuno

    @lol chikinburd: You have to admit, that would be massively entertaining.

    @James E. Powell: It’s based on old old dirt when they were both college coaches. I’m certain Harbaugh though Carroll always played dirty in recruiting (and there is evidence of that) but Carroll lost just as many to Harbaugh. Add in calls that should have gone another way in their minds and yeah lots of bad blood only exasperated by having to play each other at least twice a year. I’m surprised they haven’t duked it out already.

  143. 143.

    raven

    Harbaugh coached at Stanford 2007–2010, Carroll was at SC 2000-2009. Not exactly some long seething rivalry.

  145. 145.

    KG

    @raven: three seasons, three games, at least one of those involved a charge of running up the score, if I remember correctly.

  147. 147.

    Heywood J.

    Looks like the Final Four are the teams with the most insufferable fan bases (unless the Chargers get their shit together). Bummer, I really wanted to see Carolina and San Diego pull upsets.

    Folks, if you have a few minutes to kill, and you would like to help a struggling bloggerses out without opening your wallet, kindly take a moment and download my free mini-book, which is free through Tuesday. Did I mention it’s free?

    Thanks in advance for your support.

  149. 149.

    Julia

    Actually, as a Chiefs and Cardinals fan, I pretty much loathe the Broncos, Seahawks and Niners. The Pats are “meh”. I feel for the Cards, who came on very hot in the last part of the season, and IMO were the best team not to make the playoffs. Unfortunately, next year also looks daunting. As long as the Niners and Seahawks are in their division, it will be rough. Even the Rams were improved this year.

  151. 151.

    KG

    @raven: part of me wants it to go back to Carroll’s first NFL coaching stint while Harbugh was still playing, but it doesn’t look like they had many opportunities to cross paths

  153. 153.

    KG

    @Julia: not just that, figure Atlanta won’t be terrible, Carolina and New Orleans should be good again. Chicago and Green Bay can be 10 win teams if they avoid injuries, and Detroit may have a coach that makes Stafford stop being stupid/careless with the ball… That’s nine teams for five playoff spots (three division winners and two wild cards) – and of course that also doesn’t assume the Giants and/or Cowboys getting their shit together. The NFC is stacked

  154. 154.

    sb

    Has anyone entertained the thought of giving up on watching the NFL entirely? This subject has probably been broached on this site before so forgive me for reliving it but in light of:

    a) the concussion scandal (and damn if it’s not a scandal) and
    b) the rampant use of PED’s

    I chose the English Premiere League as my source of athletic entertainment. The games are over within two hours (unthinkable in any major American sport), there are *no* commercials (big edge, that) and I have to honest–I don’t miss football at all.

  159. 159.

    Heywood J.

    @sb: FWIW, I have actually given that some thought (and I’ve been watching pro and college football since the mid-’70s, literally since the age of 7 or 8), because of the damage we’ve seen more and more pro players endure after their playing days are over. Every time a Junior Seau or Dave Duerson kills themselves, I feel complicit as a fan — especially when they’re found to have CTE post-mortem, as Seau and Duerson were.

    In the end, old habits die hard, and I watch the strategy and management of the offseason as much as the games themselves. You’re dead on about the commercials — sweet Jebus, watching the same five commercials over and over again for four months worth of games is rage-inducing.

    I watched some EPL back in the day, when I had a “special” satellite card, and enjoyed it quite a bit, but I don’t have the channels now (afaik), and can’t afford premium.

  160. 160.

    James E. Powell

    @bewleys:

    This is also the Broncos team that would have been in the AFC championship game last year, and maybe the Super Bowl, but for one of the worst plays in the history of defensive backs. They didn’t get worse since that game.

  163. 163.

    Steeplejack

    @Heywood J.:

    No opinion on that, but I’m happy to see the return of the Volkswagen ad where the guys learn Spanish on the long road trip. That’s a classic—very funny, and also makes a good point about the product.

  164. 164.

    Heywood J.

    @Steeplejack: Yeah, that was a fun one. Actually, the Coors one doesn’t bother me — they don’t overplay it the way they do the Geico/Nissan/Verizon ones — just that Elliott sounds unusually somnolent in the voiceover.

  165. 165.

    Heywood J.

    Damn, Chargers settle for FG after recovering onside kick. 24-17 with 3:53 to go. Would be fun to see them pull this off, even though the Patsies would eat them alive next week.

  169. 169.

    Heywood J.

    @Bob In Portland: Most teams’ fans are insufferable. The Niner fans in this part of Northern California (near Chico) are bandwagon-jumpers. Had they lost today, they would have called for someone’s head in the Chronicle.

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