7:17 PM Here's a thought: When watching the Yankees ticker-tape parade from one of the adjacent buildings looming over the route, don't toss documents out the window that contain people's social security numbers. Or meatballs.
6:13 PM Navy upsets Notre Dame 23-14. After losing 43 straight to the Irish, Navy has won two in a row at Notre Dame Stadium. Mayor McCheese with a whistle just commenced to melting.
4:29 PM A week after losing to Temple, Navy is dominating Notre Dame today in South Bend. The Middies lead 14-0 at hafltime. Almost 200 first half rushing yards for Navy, which shutout ND in the first half for the first time since 1974.
And so Twitter’s takeover of the human race begins like this. It started as a simple comment by Adam Schefter on Tuesday morning, as he casually typed in ESPN’s Rumors Central section that, hey dude, wouldn’t it be cool if Terrell Owens were a Chicago Bear? Schefter was just pretty much thinking out loud, listing a few reasons why such a trade would make sense.
He may as well have been thinking that scientists could use fossil DNA to bring back dinosaurs to fight for us in Afghanistan. It has just as much basis in reality as the Owens-to-Bears rumor. But Twitter often doesn’t deal in reality.
In case you hadn’t noticed, Twitter can take an idle rumor and jump-start it into the world’s consciousness. Twitter wants Terrell Owens to be a Chicago Bear. Just look at Google trends right now, where “Terrell Owens traded to Bears” is the No. 12-most popular search, and climbing.
And people are reacting. Can Twitter actually will a rumor into existence? Read more…
I’m guessing that there isn’t a lot of serious crime to distract the police in Hamburg, NY, so the miscreants who defaced the front lawn of Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin didn’t stand much of a chance of getting away with it. After an intense investigation (someone called in a tip), the vandals are now in custody.
McKelvin, you may recall, committed a key fumble on a kick return that led the Patriots to a come-from-behind 25-24 win on Monday. Late that night, police said, someone painted “obscenities” on the lawn of his home. Now we know the details of the artwork, and what McKelvin plans to do about it. Read more…
You know the Bills have had a rough history when they can completely blow a game like they did last night, and you can think of like five worse that have happened to them over the years off the top of your head. Buffalo used a poorly-timed fumble on a kickoff that never should’ve been returned to come from ahead and lose to the Patriots, 25-24, in both teams’ season opener.
(These guys have three Super Bowl rings between them)
It wasn’t a completely devastating loss for the Bills (they were, of course, supposed to lose). It’s not like Vincent Gallo’s going to make a movie about it or anything. But at this rate, the people of upstate New York are just going to start hoping the team moves to Toronto so they don’t have to be so miserable all the time. They also should be happy to know that Brady told his New England teammates that he “knew” the Bills would let them back into the game late.
Excited about the first regular season Monday Night Football game? Rodney Harrison is … um, does he realize it’s not on NBC? The ex-Patriots safety, now an analyst there, has some interesting things to say leading into New England’s opener with the Bills. Maybe it’s the human growth hormones kicking in?
Basically, says Harrison, Terrell Owens can suck it. Key quote: “I’m pumped about T.O. opening up his big mouth about the Patriots. It’s fair now. I can actually put a bounty on T.O. if I wanted and not get in any trouble.”
Hey, it’s early August, so it’s that time of year to get really fired up about football and be let down again and again by the abyss of suck that is the preseason. The Hall of Fame Game was last night, and it was billed as Terrell Owens‘ big debut for the Bills against the Titans. It’s exciting and all since it’s football, but it’s lame because even before halftime you’re watching guys that even the UFL would reject. Owens was fine in limited action, and both teams only used their starters briefly. By the end of it, guys like Gibran Hamdan and Alex Mortensen (both of whom I think I just made up) were playing quarterback. There was even a Patrick Ramsey sighting.
(I don’t even know who I am)
This particular rivalry is well-known for the “Music City Miracle” back in 2000, and Tennessee pulled another fast one on Buffalo in last night’s games — though the stakes were just slightly smaller. It all started when Titans punter AJ Trapasso took a long snap, and then pulled off one of the best fakes I’ve ever seen:
It’s too bad they can never run that again, since every team has now seen it. Well, except for the Raiders, who I’m sure haven’t figured out this whole “videotape” concept yet.
And how about the jerseys? Both are old AFL teams and were wearing throwbacks that will be brought out periodically during the season. Though for the Titans, the oil derrick image has some uncomfortable connotations. While the Oilers certainly had their moments of success, to the younger generation the logo serves as a reminder of the team’s ugly divorce from Houston (when a couple of thousand people would show up to see the lame duck team during their last year), and their odd welcome in Tennessee (when they played a season in Memphis, wearing the Houston unis and not exactly packing in the fans). When the team switched looks (and the nickname), things started to head the right direction and the Titans have been one of the better teams in the regular season over the last decade.
It’s officially the time in the baseball season when things start getting weird. The Red Sox were held scoreless for 31 innings by the Yankees over the weekend before finally breaking through with a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning last night by trade deadline prize Victor Martinez. But even that wasn’t enough, as Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira went back-to-back in the bottom of the inning to finish off a 5-2 Yankee victory and a four-game sweep of the suddenly hapless Sox.
The Yanks now lead the AL East by 6 1/2 games with roughly 50 to play. Boston, meanwhile, has allowed half of the AL to creep back into the wild card picture. The Rangers are now tied for the lead with the Rays lurking just a game and a half back. Heck, Seattle, a team that traded away Jarrod Washburn and his sub-3.00 ERA, is only 4 1/2 out and have re-appeared as a contender.
But nothing is as odd as what’s going on in the District. The Nats, a team left for dead in early April, have now won eight games in a row after beating the D’Backs yesterday. Quite an accomplishment for a team that only won 32 of its first 104 games. In fact, it’s the third-longest run ever for a team that started a streak at least 40 games under .500.
By comparison, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen’s threats to start throwing at every hitter in the AL in retaliation for the Indians plunking three of his players in Saturday’s game between the two teams seems downright mundane.
• So you know that guy the Raiders drafted first that everyone says they were totally crazy to pick that high? You’re not going to believe this, but it seems as if he’s not really very good. Like, the Niners are still glad they took Crabtree over this guy.
• WAG extraordinaire Colleen Rooney (wife of England soccer player Wayne Rooney) talks about her daily beauty routine in the DAILY MIRROR. She’s not really big on waking up with “panda eyes.”
(This picture of him has nothing to do with Twitter, but holy hell, Antonio Cromartie can get up. He held onto this for a legit pick, by the way.)
This might top it all, though. San Diego Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie was the first NFL player to be fined for a “Tweet.” No, he didn’t divulge any “classified” information about injuries or his team’s strategies. He did, however, criticize the catering.
Undoubtedly, many in Buffalo bristled when the Bills signed the media circus that is Terrell Owens over this offseason. While his on-field talents are undeniable, there’s always the lingering specter of discontent submarining a clubhouse and a season, borne out during every year of Owens’ career as he still doesn’t have a Super Bowl ring.
(Welcome to Get Your Popcorn, Volume 2. But let’s try not to make such a mess of the refreshments this time, shall we?)
Worse yet, the blowups have become so high-profile that sometimes the level of coverage becomes a story in and of itself. And while that may be an invitation for disaster for a Buffalo club that probably needs a lot more help than a mercurial WR in order to achieve relevance in the Super Bowl race, at least VH1 had the wherewithal to realize that he’d be absolute gold for their team.
So without further ado, after the break, the five-minute trailer for The T.O. Show, premiering in two weeks. We have to warn you; it’s ludicrously silly.
