Dolphins fans and "Suck For Luck": Legit feeling or wrong? (with poll); plus Henne out for year, Hope Solo waters lawn nude, Marlins logo confirmed & more
Click on At Last, Hopefor my latest column previewing the new-look Panthers as NHL play begins. And on Casualties Of a Train-Wreck Season for my earlier column assessing Dolphins at the bye.
SHOULD DOLFANS JOIN THE "SUCK FOR LUCK" MOVEMENT?: A pithy slogan that rhymes has a shot to become instant gold in the Internet/Twitterific age, and so every NFL team that is really bad -- including this one -- finds many of its disgruntled fans chanting or at least advocating "Suck For Luck," i.e., abandoning hope in the name of the overall No. 1 draft pick and Stanford QB Andrew Luck. See, the beauty of being a fan (or in some cases, a sports columnist, for example) is that you can have it both ways. You get to be outraged at the idea your team would throw games or give anything but its best to try to win every week -- while at the same time rationalizing and sort of hoping that's exactly what happens. To be sure, landing Luck would be the ultimate consolation prize of this currently 0-4 Dolphins season, albeit one coming with the price of great embarrassment. But it also forces fans to be anything but real fans, to all but wish months more continued misery on their team and themselves. Not a tough call from an ethical vantage; you play to win, period. But a tougher call from a practical POV, with a legitimate next-Marino type prospect out there waiting to be somebody's savior (so why not ours, say the Dolfan Luckies). Weigh in on Suck For Luck. Vote and tell us why you come down on the side you do.
NEKKID ATHLETES! WHOOO!: ESPN The Magazine's third annual Body issue is out today, with 22 athletes posing nude though strategically covered. Miami's Helio Castroneves is included but I of course was much more interested in ogling a thoughtful analysis of soccer goalie Hope Solo, who is pictured here. I especially enjoy the photo here of a nude Hope nonchalantly watering the lawn. I believe this photo might star in a future recurring dream of mine that I like to call, "Greeting the New Neighbor."
HENNE OUT FOR SEASON: No big surprise, but ESPN'S Adam Schefter first reported today that Chad Henne will have surgery on his (non-throwing) shoulder and miss the rest of the season. As a backup to sudden-starter Matt Moore the Dolphins have brought back ex-Fin Sage Rosenfels. Yes, the Sage Rosenfels Experience is back! Miami preferred David Garrard but he demanded too much money. How fitting that Henne's injury -- possibly signalling the end of his Miami career -- happened because of a busted play.
MARLINS LOGO CONFIRMED!: The leaked though unconfirmed new Marlins logo at left appears to be the real deal, based on the logo at right that will appear on seats in the new ballpark. The color theme still is not confirmed, but the basic 'M' and stylized marlin in upper left confirm the basic design.
ME, PICKS: Went a little crazy on some longshot upsets and limped in at 9-7 overall but managed 8-7-1 against the spread, finishing on the plus side with Colts with the points Monday night. Details on this week's Friday NFL predix page.
ME, FANTASY: Better news. Greg's Lobos won big, 186-100, eveming our season mark at 2-2. Got a huge 54 points from Aaron Rodgers and also 32 from Hakeen Nicks, 29 from the Ravens D/ST, and 23 from Greg Jennings. Go Lobos! Dammit.
TRIVIA DU JOUR: Bamboo Harvester was the name of the horse that portrayed Mr. Ed in the 1960s sitcom.
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 6:
1. Florida Gators (1) 4-1, 2-1 SEC
2. FSU Seminoles (2) 2-2, 0-1 ACC
3. Miami Hurricanes (4) 2-2, 0-1 ACC
4. S. Fla. Bulls (3) 4-1, 0-1 Big East
5. C. Fla. Knights (5) 2-2, 0-0 C-USA
6. FIU Panthers (6) 3-2, 1-1 Sun Belt
7. FAU Owls (7) 0-4, 0-1 Sun Belt
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FALLOUT?: No Hank Williams Jr. warbling "Are you ready for some football?" last night on Monday Night Football. ESPN cut the intro after some comments derogatory to President Obama made on Fox News. There was a Hitler reference and another to The Three Stooges. Hmm. I'm a big fan of Hank Jr. -- looking at right a bit like Ben Roethlisberger after a long weekend -- but I also respect the prez (this one, and the office). I support Bocephus' right to pander to his Confederate Flag constituency but I also understand and agree with ESPN wanting to keep the smudge of partisan politics off its national brand. I'll continue to like Hank Jr.'s music; "Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound" for me is one of the truly great country songs. But I think I'll think a little less of the man behind that music.
HIGH FASHION: I think they call it high fashion because the designers were high when conceiving looks such as this one at left, seen at the recent Paris Fashion Week. The goal used to be "something the average woman would wear." Now apparently it's "something the average woman who is Lady Gaga would wear." I mean, seriously.
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 6:
Rank Team Points (Last week)
1 Oklahoma 534 (1)
2 Louisiana State 517 (3)
3 Alabama 515 (2)
4 Boise State 474 (4)
5 Stanford 454 (5)
6 Oklahoma State 428 (6)
7 Wisconson 426 (7)
8 Oregon 386 (9)
9 Nebraska 360 (11)
10 Texas A&M 344 (8)
11 FLORIDA STATE 340 (10)
12 South Carolina 334 (12)
13 Arkansas 319 (14)
14 Virginia Tech 316 (13)
15 FLORIDA 251 (15)
16 Texas 211 (18t)
17 West Virginia 189 (17)
18 Michigan State 188 (16)
19 Baylor 156 (22)
20t Clemson 149 (25t)
20t Texas Christian 149 (18t)
22 Ohio State 145 (20)
23 SOUTH FLORIDA 144 (21)
24 Michigan 137 (25t)
25 Arizona State 119 (23)
26 Auburn 117 (27)
27 Georgia Tech 107 (29)
28 Mississippi State 90 (24)
29 Illinois 84 (32)
30 Missouri 58 (28)
37 MIAMI 13 (36)
40t CENTRAL FLORIDA 7 (39t)
Click back. Will be adding yet more stuff to this latest blogpost...
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