[Thanks to all who tapped into our live chat today. Do it every Wednesday 1-2 p.m. Click RIGHT HERE to join us then, read transcripts or post questions any time. Note: Results of Dolfan Satisfaction Meter poll may be found directly below this in blog. Question: Is the unlovably violent temper "Just Manny Being Manny" too? Join on Twitter @gregcote]
ON "DAN LE BATARD IS HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE": Our Miami Herald colleague's new TV show, Dan Le Batard Is Highly Questionable, already taking on the obligatory acronym DLHQ, debuted this week on ESPN 2 (weekdays, 4 p.m.), and I'd like to say I like it a lot, both for what it is and also for what it isn't. It isn't like anything else on ESPN, certainly not visually, with Dan and his father sitting at a table in a charmingly ridiculous fake '60s kitchen. I keep expecting Desi to walk onto the set and start yelling at Lucy about her bad coffee. The very idea Dan is doing a show with his Papi as a sidekick is obviously different, maybe a risk, but helping give the show a kinder, gentler vibe. It isn't standard fare. It isn't ranting Jim Rome, intoning holier than thou. It isn't the incessant, repetitive overanalysis ESPN feeds us with SportsCenter. I guess its kindred ESPN spirit would be Pardon The Interruption, which succeeds largely on the chemistry between Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser. My one concern for Dan's new show is how the Miami-centric feel will play in middle America. The show's Cuban accent (literal and figurative) is familiar-as-family and second nature to we in South Florida but less so in other places. In any case I can't be impartial about Dan's show. We have been friends since the early '90s. I know and like his father. When I say the show feels fresh and is good, I can't separate whatever weight friendship plays in that thinking. That's where you come in. Take a dip in our poll and give us an honest opinion. I understand only three shows have aired, but if you've caught any of them chances are you have a feel for whether you like it or not, and why.
I TWEET, THEREFORE I AM...: ... in a shaky position to criticize the social-media phenomenon, and yet I find it amusing that commentary on one's own life has come to intrude on the actual living of one's own life. I say if you're at a parade, enjoy the damned parade, don't Tweet about how much you're enjoying it. This isn't art imitating life, it's a self-imbedded GPS. And so the lampoon-sign at right makes me smile, that's all. Truth in humor, almost always.
SARAH PALIN AND GLEN RICE: WHAT A HOOT!: A forthcoming book about Sarah Palin reveals that she and former Heat star Glen Rice had a one-night stand in 1987. And of course by one-night stand I mean boom-chicka-boom-boom! Of course extreme right-wingers and Tea Baggers will immediately dismiss the story because The National Enquirer first reported it, even though in the book Rice confirms it happened. It happened when Palin was a single sports reporter for an Anchorage TV station and Rice, then a Michigan junior, was there for a tournament she covered. The two are pictured from that era, with Sarah's dreamy, far-off gaze perhaps conjuring memories of Glen's long jumper. Of course for this to come out decades later is a real embarrassment to ... Glen Rice! Dude. Please.
WHY MARLINS CUT MIKE CAMERON: There were other reasons I'm sure. Baseball reasons such as Cameron's age, injuries and production. But a team source tells me the scale tipped against Cameron when he got into a "verbal altercation" with a flight attendant this week on the team's Pittsburgh-to-Atlanta trip. Stars who are producing get away with that. Mike Cameron, evidently, does not.
ME, FANTASY: Greg's Lobos won their opener, 142-113, led by a combined 51 points from Aaron Rodgers (30) to Greg Jennings (21). Also got an unexpected 22 from the Ravens D/ST. Getting that many points from your defense feels like Christmas morning. Won-and-oh, baby!
ME, NFL PIX: Um, not good. I might have had a better week than the Dolphins' pass defense, but even that's arguable. Went 7-9 overall, my face shamed to the shade of a beefsteak tomato, and an even more embarrassing 3-11-2 against the spread (Jags and Cards pushed). Highlights: Had a rare exact score on Jets' 27-24 win over Dallas, and Bills with points at KC. That's it. Will I bounce back? Bank it.
DEAR GREG...: ...your blog's OK but would be better if occasionally you'd show a photo from an International Nude Rugby match in which clothed women attempt to tackle an unpleasantly large naked man. Thank you.
COTE'S STATE OF THE STATE: Our latest updated weekly ranking of the seven FBS teams in our state, with previous week's rank in parentheses. Entering Week 3:
1. FSU Seminoles (1) 2-0, 0-0 ACC
2. Florida Gators (2) 2-0, 0-0 SEC
3. S. Fla. Bulls (3) 2-0, 0-0 Big East
4. C. Fla. Knights (4) 2-0, 0-0 C-USA
5. Miami Hurricanes (5) 0-1, 0-1 ACC
6. FIU G-P's (6) 2-0, 1-0 Sun Belt
7. FAU Owls (7) 0-2, 0-0 Sun Belt
THE REAL T-30: The Real T-30 is our weekly cumulative, consensus Top 30 college football ranking based on a combination of the three major polls: Associated Press, USA Today, ESPN. Points based on 30 for a No. 1 ranking, 29 for No. 2, etc. The combined ranking entering Week 3:
Rank Team Points (Last week)
1 Oklahoma 270 (1)
2 Alabama 259 (2)
3 Louisiana State 253 (3)
4 Boise State 236 (5)
5 FLORIDA STATE 234 (4)
6 Stanford 223 (6)
7t Oklahoma State 205 (9)
7t Texas A&M 205 (7t)
9 Wisconsin 200 (10)
10 Oregon 194 (7t)
11 Nebraska 179 (11)
12 South Carolina 172 (12t)
13 Virginia Tech 166 (12t)
14 Arkansas 165 (14)
15 Michigan State 134 (16)
16 Ohio State 133 (15)
17 FLORIDA 103 (19)
18 West Virginia 91 (21)
19 Mississippi State 90 (17)
20 Texas Christian 88 (18)
21 Arizona State 77 (24)
22t Auburn 70 (25)
22t Texas 70 (22)
24 Missouri 58 (20)
25t SOUTH FLORIDA 54 (29)
25t Baylor 54 (28)
27 Notre Dame 44 (23)
28 Penn State 37 (26)
29 Georgia 35 (27)
30 Southern Cal 31 (30)
33t CENTRAL FLORIDA 6 (--)
35t MIAMI 4 (32t)
Click back. Adding more stuff to this latest blogpost later...
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