MNF Preseason Week 3

As expected everything was Michael Vick oriented. I watched the pregame show starting at 7 pm and saw Vick's appology in its entirety. He seemed remorseful - apparently to me that he got caught and his football career's in jeopardy. What threw me off was his use of the Jesus card so soon. He sputtered words and no action. He didn't offer to help dogs and animal shelters. Also the appology seemed rehearsed to me. You see, I write this blog from my head and go over in my head before I sit down what I want to say. Vick's speech seemed like that to me. He's smart enough to do that. He didn't get caught dogfighting for about six years. The only reason he was caught was that his cousin was being investigated and that property was searched and dogs were found.

On to football. Joey Harrington looked good, forturnately for the Falcons. The Bengals still need work. Hopefully they'll be ready for the season.

SNF Preseason Week 3

First of all I want to appologize to ABC. As I found out from sfscope.com, the network did air "The Departed" Saturday night. It just wasn't shown locally. I didn't know that the local stations had the power not to air programs. According to the review I missed the best episode. Figures.

Now on to football. The Eagle defense was as porous as swiss cheese. The Steelers ran rough shod over them. Ben seeens to have recovered and McNabb looked ready for the season. However, the best play of the evening belonged to Jerome Bettis. That was so clever how he got his book plugged by the halftime show mentioning his not revealing an injury so he could keep playing. The drug selling comment is sure to boost sales too. Everyone likes an overcoming a bad environment story. Unfortunately the fallout will probably be players being checked more for injuries and the key players demanding a guaranteed contract, while the rest are screwed. Such is business, I suppose.

I'm Totally Pissed

I can't believe it. When I turned on Masters of Science Fiction last night, I found the movie Ray instead. What happened? I was really looking forward to seeing Harlan Ellison's The Departed. I hate it when the networks cancel shows without warning like what happed to Pirate Master, although that show was extremely boring and needed to go, unlike the science fiction series. I wonder if a DVD of all eight taped shows will be sold (only four were to air).

NFL Preseason Week 3

What a shame about Donald Driver. At least ESPN said the injury didn't seem serious. The Packers looked sharp Thursday and Favre can still play. He's a real asset to the team. People will pay to see him play. A bad asset is Michael Vick who was suspended without pay and signed a document saying he killed dogs. As an animal lover, I wouldn't pay to see Vick play again, but I'd love to see Brett. You know, I've actually never seen an NFL game in person. I came close back in 1997 for a Bengals and Cowboys game, but it didn't pan out.

Leftwich looked shaky. I hope he works out the kinks in time for the regular season, because David Gerrard looked pretty good.

Congrats to Tom Brady for his new son. I was surprised to see him play yesterday. I would have expected him gone, not Randy Moss. The Pats looked good, but the Panthers seemed to be in trouble.

MNF Preseason Week 2

The game was overshadowed by the breaking news that Michael Vick's going to plead guilty to the dogfighting charges. I can't say I'm surprised. My opinion is that he'll never play again. Even if he survives prison where his knees could be targeted for attack daily, fans won't pay to see him play again. All you would think about is him killing dogs and puppies. It's all about the Benjamins and I can't see an owner risking empty stadiums for Vick, regardless of how talented he is. I saw in the paper today where an Atlanta animal shelter is using donated Vick jerseys for dog beds and cleaning rags.

As for the game itself, Peyton was as gracious and good as ever. I enjoyed the Tony segment on Manning's banquet with the queen. It was the first time I had seen his wife. Grossman looks the same as last year, which isn't good if the Bears want to win the Superbowl.

SNF Preseason Week 2

There's always been the debate on whether to have preseason or not. In the Giants' case, they might vote no after last night - four players were injured. Injuries can kill a season and I'm not sure how these will affect the team. On a positive note, Eli Manning looked good and the rumor is that Straham will return. The Giants also learned the downside of a retired player joining the media. Tiki Barber's comments, although truthful, made Eli look boyish. Good thing Barber's retired or he wouldn't be welcome back in any NFL locker room like he predicted if Vick rolls over on an NFL player during the dogfighting investigation. Evidently loyalty is important and Tiki's retired along with him.

The game itself was long and boring due to the penalties. I almost thought I was watching a Raiders' game.

NFL Preseason Saturday Week 2

CBS did a better job this week. Phil Simms was in the booth, but Gumbal was gone. He was replaced by Ian Eagle, who did a good job. The booth was both professional and informative with awesome graphics, but it was obvious Simms carried the booth. Even though there was no side reporter, it wasn't missed. At least the players weren't forced to stare at the camera like deer in the headlights like last week. Only one player miked up, Rivers, and he was comfortable on camera. On a CBS note, I wish they'd get Dion "Prime Time" Sanders back. He was very entertaining on the pregame show plus a snazzy dresser. I watch FOX's pregame in the fall for the entertainment value, since the contents are similar on both stations.

Both the Rams and Chargers looked good. I like Marc Bulger. He played college at WVU and his sister started on the women's basketball team. He deserved the money he received.

The Chargers can win the Superbowl this year, barring injury. Norv Turner's a great coach. Dan Snyder shouldn't have dumped him from the Skins. The owner was too impatient. One more year and the Skins would have been set.

It's my opinion that a starting QB needs to have at least a 60% completion percentage. According to the stats given last night, both Garrard and Leftwich had only 59%. Leftwich better step it up.

NFL Preseason - Thursday and Friday Week 2

I have good news and bad news. The bad news is I didn't see Thursday's game. There was a terrible storm and I lost power. Lightning struck about every six seconds for over an hour. The good news is that I missed those insipid Tony emails on ESPN.

I did, however, see Friday's game of the Jets vs. Vikings. Adrian Peterson was as good as advertised. What a talented back! For all the good I saw from the Vikes, the Jets were the polar opposite. The black and white cat was in the end zone longer than they were. Chad Pennington was awful, not because of arm strength, but because of bad decisions. I'm so tired of people ragging on that. I saw him play in Marshall games and he had no trouble throwing deep balls to Randy Moss. I hope he pulls out of his slump, although the run was good. I really admire Chad as both a player and person - total class unlike some QBs, like one in the dogfighting mess.

I saw on my soap, Guiding Light, where Kim Zimmer is a Jets' fan. At least she and I will be rooting for Chad and for the vast improvement the team needs before the start of the season.

MNF Preseason Week 1

MNF last night was a mixed bag. ESPN gets kudos for muzzling Kornheiser during the broadcast to where the program had some respectability and professionalism. However, that inane 'Tony Tony Tony' email segment was still there, after the two minute warning of each half. Most of those questions were stupid and distracting. At least they didn't interrupt the plays on the field.

I hope the San Francisco defense gets better by the start of the season, or the team threw away millions of dollars on those pricey players since the tackling was gawd-awful. Both young QBs looked good.

I appreciated the straight skinny on Michael Vick's case. With two more defendents potentially biting the dust, I venture to guess that Vick probably isn't far behind. A real tragedy, actually. Vick was a Hall-of-Fame QB. What a waste. Now he's just prepping for the Fall of Fame.

Preseason SNF Week 1

What a difference two days can make! Al and John have done it again. I really enjoyed the professional and informative broadcast of Sunday Night Football on NBC. Cheap it wasn't. Even part of the Football Night in America crew was there for the halftime show. I learned that the challenge rule changed because Seattle was allowed two challenges after winning the first one. Last year the coach had to win both challenges before getting the third. The elephant in the room wasn't ignored - Michael Vick looks to be gone for the season. Now that's news that the fans want to hear since it is the top preseason story.

Speaking of the Football Night crew, I disagree with one of The Bus' fantasy running back picks - Frank Gore. No way would I select a player injured for my fantasy team, if I played. For the past several years I participated on a message board where we picked the winning NFL teams each week and I always made my picks based on the injury of key players. It was successful - I was right more than 60% of the time, better than Frank the comic on Fox a lot of the time.

I agreed with Cris Collinsworth for the most part. He missed the field goal on the Panthers though. They're on the decline with aging stars. Tampa looks best there. Also I'm not sure about the Steelers and if Big Ben is over the motorcycle wreck yet. He sure wasn't last year. The Ravens look good and the Bengals are contenders. I give Cris kudos for not mentioning the Browns. How appropriate a name - brown like dog poo, because if the coach is choosing the starting QB based on a coin flip, the team's morale will be low and I can't see them winning. I'm also not sure about the Jags winning their division. They have a shot and I like Leftwich, being a Marshall alum and all, but the Titans really rocked at the end of last season and played better than the Jags. Also the Colts might have lost too much talent to free agency and the injury in practice to a defensive star isn't going to help them, so Cris has a point there.

NFL Preseason Week 1

So far the highlight of the NFL preseason was the cockroach placed on Tony Romo's jersey. They sure grow 'em big in Texas, and I don't just mean a QB's arm.

The Fox broadcast was OK, even though I wanted to see the Colts' Superbowl ring and much better than CBS that went on the cheap with two relatively no-name announcers, no sideline reporters, and little statistical graphics. As I'm saying, the roach rules.

I don't want to forget the elephant. The elephant of Michael Vick. No one had the guts to talk about him. Maybe they don't want to fight each other in a dirt ring either.

Review in Dark Discoveries Issue 10

My review of the vampire novel A Drop of Scarlet by Jemiah Jefferson is in issue 10 of the magazine Dark Discoveries. You can buy a copy at http://www.darkdiscoveries.com.