By the way, I’ve been watching the World Cup for four weeks trying to decide which NBA players could have been dominant soccer players, eventually coming to three conclusions. First, Allen Iverson would have been the greatest soccer player ever — better than Pele, better than Ronaldo, better than everyone. I think this is indisputable, actually. Second, it’s a shame that someone like Chris Andersen couldn’t have been pushed toward soccer, because he would have been absolutely unstoppable soaring above the middle of the pack on corner kicks. And third, can you imagine anyone being a better goalie than Shawn Marion? It would be like having a 6-foot-9 human octopus in the net. How could anyone score on him? He’d have every inch of the goal covered. Just as a sports experiment, couldn’t we have someone teach Marion the rudimentary aspects of playing goal, then throw him in a couple of MLS games? Like you would turn the channel if this happened?

Maybe Chad Johnson’s foray into the MLS may prompt other athletes to take a second look at the “perfect game”.

In a lot of ways, this is exactly what tablets are meant for: easy access to data via wireless networks, high-quality photos, and portability. And from a coach’s or player’s perspective, imagine being able to quickly sort through a large set of plays, look at them in a stylish graphical presentation, see animations of them in action, and more–or to download a photo of the last play seconds later.

From a geek perspective, I think this is a super cool idea and could really be beneficial to teams – consider when they need to look up plays quickly, or check out a photo of a formation the opposition just ran. I think the hang up is that athletes and coaches are supremely superstitious animals. They like their routines, they find comfort in knowing their system so they don’t have to worry about anything else other than the game and its elements. I think there is a place for tablets on the NFL sideline, and other pro sports sidelines for that matter, but I think its going to be a bigger U/X transition than is anticipated. And thats saying nothing about the security issues that need to be factored in and managed.

via CNET News

As you may have heard, videos leaked online that supposedly depict Rex Ryan sharing a fetish for his wife’s feet. He all but implicated himself by saying that the videos were “a personal issue”.

So this week, in a hilariously subtle set of tweaks, Welker made no less than 11 references to feet during his press briefing.

Q} How do you approach the young guys about what to expect in the postseason?
A.) You just talk to them. It’s a playoff atmosphere and you can’t just stick your toe in the water, you’ve got to jump right in and make sure you’re ready to go and make things happen. In a playoff atmosphere that’s what you have to do

Q) How valuable is it to have a guy like Tom Brady standing in the huddle, especially in the intense situations of the playoff atmosphere?
A.)Having Tom in there — it goes without saying, the guy is who he is and he does a great job of making sure everyone is on the same page and putting their best foot forward going out there and playing well and doing what they can out there.

Q) What makes Revis as good as he is?
A.) I think he is very patient. He has good feet. He moves around really well. He understands the game. He gets his hands on you pretty well. [He] understands what you’re trying to do to him, so he definitely is a tough guy to really set up and get open against. You’ve got to be on top of your game and make sure that you’re doing everything possible to get open.

And so on.  Ah, Rex Ryan…the loudmouth that keeps on giving.

For the 2012 NFL season, the league will be switching over from Reebok to Nike as the official uniform supplier/designers for the 32 NFL teams. I don’t know how legit these concepts are, but here are all sorts of uniform concepts/suggestions for each of the NFL teams from a user named Lil Phil on Flickr.

AFC East
National Football Conference (NFC)
Full Set of Photo Concepts

What I like about all of the uniforms is that there is a similar style or motif to each of the uniform designs, while still keeping the distinct and unique attributes of each of the team brands.

Via Mint Blog

I used to like Brett Favre. But I am getting pretty tired of his annual “I’m going to ride out of retirement again on my white horse to save a franchise” charade. Once again, he’s talking to an NFL team about coming back for another season. Last year, he led the Jets to an implosion of mammoth proportions at the end of the season. And now, the Minnesota Vikings are talking to him about coming back….again.

Granted, the Vikings QB situation is a pretty sad state of affairs but did they not see what took place last year in the swamps of New Jersey? Not to mention that the Vikings are to the Packers what the Hatfields are to the McCoys. What in the name of Vince Lombardi is happening here? I guess Favre’s 15 seasons in Green Bay doesn’t add up to a hill of beans.

Is he considering coming back to a team that has a legitimate shot at a Super Bowl? No. Will his addition to this team make them a legitimate Super Bowl contender? No. Did his arrival with the Jets make them a Super Bowl contender? No (although don’t tell that Jets fans and the NY press circa November 2008). He can’t be doing this to improve his legacy because that’s already been demolished beyond repair. His legacy in Green Bay? Forget it. Its a distant memory that moves farther away with every twist in this sordid retirement legacy. What’s happening here is driven purely by greed and the opportunity to take advantage of another desperate franchise.

For the fans of the Minnesota Vikings (of which I am not one) and for the fans of the NFL, just retire. Move on.

• Weren’t you just waiting for Joe Namath to “stop by” to pay Suzy Kolber a visit on the sideline and just plant one smak on her lips?
• The kicker from Seattle should be fired. He cost me winning the halftime score.
• Could the Rolling Stones have looked any older?
• I don’t understand why the Motown artists were not the Halftime feature. Poor decision by the NFL and the organizers.
• What’s the deal with people boo-ing Tom Brady? Just a bunch of bitter Pittsburgh fans.
• Congrats to the Steelers. You’re just lucky the Patriots lost in Denver and you didn’t have to go through Foxborough. :)

I’ve been trying not to post too much about sports this year, just to try to diversify the content on the site a bit. However, with it being NFL Playoff time, I’m can’t help myself. Yes, its that time of year again. My New England Patriots just polished off a first round playoff game victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. This has been an interesting and challenging year for the Patriots because they have had to manage through a great deal of injuries and adversity, including losing two of the best coaches around in Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel. But over the past month or so, they have had some key players return and have started to play effectively.

Will the Patriots win an unprecidented 3rd Super Bowl in a row and 4th in the past 5 years? My instinct says its going to be very, very hard. But time will tell. Bring on Denver or Indy (I think I’d prefer Denver).

New England Patriots – Super Bowl XXXVIII Champions What an amazing and thrilling game! I was impressed at the amount of points that each team produced, especially after the slow start that the game had in the scoring column and the quality of both Defenses. You have to give Carolina some credit as they really played a great game, although I also think that the Patrots’ Defense was not nearly as sharp as when they played the Colts for the AFC Championship. But in typical style, Tom Brady led the Patriots down the field and did what needed to be done to win the game. It was just an great game, and that’s even without the additional exposure that Janet Jackson got at halftime along with that streaker.

It looks as though my Patriots are headed back to the SuperBowl for the second time in three years. They put up a convincing win this evening against the Indianapolis Colts for their fourteenth win in a row (second longest winning streak in NFL history next to the 1972 Miami Dolphins who ran the table that year). While today’s win was good, I thought there were a few areas of concern, with the most glaring to me being the Patriots’ ineffectiveness in the red zone. They had numerous opportunities for touchdowns with the ball at the 20 yard line, or closer, and they could not capitalize and put the game away. They definitely need to improve that for the Super Bowl.

Of the two NFC teams, I guess I am alright playing the Carolina Panthers. I think I prefer them to the Eagles, although the Patriots beat the Eagles earlier this year. I think the obvious advantage is the fact that the Patriots have been there before and know the drill and hype that comes with the SuperBowl. Here’s to a great two weeks leading up to what I hope will be another Patriots World Championship!!!