Scott
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Who cares what you think about football?
Nobody!!!
Richard Rosenberg
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The Chiefs' end zone dance? How do you explain that to kids?
Britt Benston
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#fakesuperbowl
Jon Birge
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Stupid post and you show your lack of knowledge of the sport. Are you aware that NFL has a FEMALE referred working the playoffs?
That the television ratings for these playoffs eclipse all of the networks yearly prime time programming?
That NFL merchandise and sponsorship revenue is at an all time high as are television rights fees and the players and owners now make more money than either have in the games history?
I worked with NFL to book Cheap Trick for pre game show. Band moved hell and high water to get to New Orleans in time and band thought it was one of their best gigs of the year as they played to over 50,000 fans that sang every word to every song
Frederic Traube
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I can't watch it anymore and people say it's because I'm from Buffalo. No, it's because I saw the legal docs in an NHL CTE case where the team had a Lloyd's "concussion" policy (fighter) In which the insurance carrier claimed that to collect same, they'd have to peel him off the ice on a stretcher as opposed to retiring him. I digress, perhaps.
"Every play is a car accident" to quote Boomer E.
The late assassin hit someone put on Edelman late in the game in payment for catching a ball put him at the prom but he got up so.....roll on. I hope he won't be sitting alone in the dark down the pike ala Jim McMahon. I sure don't see any fans bringing him a PapaJohn's Frito Crust Pizza (USA! Out of ideas but ...USA!) and wiping the drool off his chin if so.
G-d forbid.
Daniel Dwyer
PS ever wonder how the Giants stopped Jim Kelly in 91? They didn't, Belicheck did as D coordinator/filmmaker.
"If you ain't cheating..."
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This one is one big whine. You could have skipped this post and saved yourself 90 minutes for more productive things.
I'm a Lefsetz fan of several years standing and intend to be going forward but, honestly, this commentary, on such a lovely SoCal day, was unnecessary.
Ray Valencia
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Bob,
I love you.
Terry Gottschalk
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Oh please.
Don't write about sports.
You sound like my mother in law.
"I don't like that game where the men fall down on each other, wah, wah, wah...."
Kevin Sweeney
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Yikes... you are on a tear tonight.
I'm always interested in why you say what you say and you deliver good reasons. That's why I read your letters. They make me think.
Michael Hugos
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Too much hate, Bob. You hate the NFL. You hate the Chiefs. I'm no fan of the Chiefs, but I don't hate them. I'm not a hater. It's only a game, don't take it so seriously.
Peace & Love
Rodney Rowland
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Football's not your thing? I don't care, but next time, consider putting"Chiefs-Pats SPOILER ALERT" in the subject line, for the working people who use email, but have to time-shift the game. Please.
Mojo Bone
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I love football, Tom Brady and the Patriots and I did not vote for Trump! Just stick to what you know and don't generalize on the human condition because we are all the same in that we are different.
Louise Pappas
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And to make it even worse, you predictably get this stroke off tweet moments after the Patriots win.
https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1087193843756347393?s=21
Allen Scott
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It's not a sport it's business. More hype than anything else designed to keep the average American occupied with useless entertainment rather than questioning the ruling elites. It's just like the Roman Empire
Oh well we can now all enjoy the fall of Rome with wifi
Suril Desai
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That was slot of words to say that you are salty, no matter what kind of old world/new world slant you try to hide it with.
Best,
Greg Davis
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Watch out for the New England Patriots
fans Bob.
"And I'm not saying Brady and Belichik did not deserve to win. I'm just saying it wasn't completely clean, because the rules got in the way."
The NFL is the Master, making and enforcing the rules. The teams do the NFL's bidding. A ref can make or break a game, but the team that benefits from the ruling of the ref has no say in that decision.
The Patriots won from sheer determination, grit and the balls from being the underdog.
We, as Boston fans, celebrate such will. It's what distinguishes the Boston sports fans from all others.
Go Pats.
Thanks Bob.
Paul Lancia
Turku, Finland
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I'm sure you've heard/heard about Malcolm Gladwell's podcast 'Revisionist History'...? His episode about football and its inevitable trajectory is so perfect in its logic that it becomes poetry.
Heather Church
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Lovely, honest! Bet you you got a lot of hate mail
Peter Moon
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Based on the last line you seem to be bitter about something other than football.
Take a breath my friend. It's just a game.
Love to read your take on things!
Steve Langford
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It was actually the blatant pass interference no-call on the Rams that was the most shocking travesty of the day, giving LA a game that New Orleans should have won. And I'm a Boston guy...makes you wonder if Vegas, with their stranglehold on sports and cash, are pulling the strings. It's unexplainable otherwise.
Micah
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Hi Bob. Well, you have actually solved a problem with the name of the game that the NFL goes by that I have had for 40 odd years. Why is it called football? In the rest of the world football Is football. Baseball also makes sense. Basketball? Yup.
We should call it 'Lawyerball', capitalization optional.
Andrew Parr
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Really Bob ? What's really bothering you ?
Sure sounds like sour grapes . One of the best Sundays for football with both games in overtime & millions of people watching a truly American tradition .
You sound like the kid who never learned to play well with others .
Marina Meade
Hampton , NH
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Lol! Common, the women watch because they like the "tight ends." It has nothing to do with being a Trumpster.
Tracy Lipp
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Great read, Bob, and spot on. I do like sports but hate football. I just don't get it...
That last line should generate some hot responses. Looking forward to that!
Chadd Barksdale
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If you didn't enjoy watching this game you are simply not a sports fan. You don't have to like them but at least appreciate we are watching an amazing dynasty (led by the best coach and player of all time ) in a league that does all it can to create competitive parity
Jared Arfa
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I have to take exception to your statement:
" This is why I hate the NFL. If you're aware of all the rules, you're probably a referee."
I think it should read:
" This is why I hate the NFL. If you're NOT aware of all the rules, you're probably a referee."
BTW - the NFL had cracks, but they got papered over. Since the major networks struggle to come up with popular shows, the NFL is the only game in town for them.
It would be interesting to see a poll of the NFL fans political affilations broken down by gender.
Dave Machanick
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Do you think a Rams super bowl would create a real LA buzz a la Gretzky on the Kings?
Gordon Chaffin
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Your insight into the zeitgeist is spot on Bob.
Rock on.
Hal Kempson
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You had to ruin a perfectly good article by mentioning voting for Trump at the end. Still under your skin, huh? #Trump2020
Ron Cori
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You have this all wrong!!
Both games were great!! Get a life!
Jon Fiore
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"As for those women who love the sport...
You probably voted for Trump."
Wow, generalize much?
I know plenty of female football fans, and none of them voted for Trump.
-D.C. Hannay
http://www.dchannay.com
p.s. New England still sucks.
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To be fair, Bob, I know a woman who loves football, is a registered Republican (I know, I know) and hates Trump and the GOP more than any Democrat I know. She votes against him, works against him, and says that football keeps her sane. Go figure.
John Parikhal
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"Maroon 5" Bob... Maroon 5!!
Pass interference' now teaches you Pavlov's dog style apprehension after a failed big throw, last night it really hit home. If you just wait... here comes the yellow flag.
After such a play the majority of sideline people or indeed on field players mimic the flag being thrown.
They'll be a rule for that soon!
That rule was a reaction to some years ago - tonight's Chiefs v Pats game will mean OT rules change next year.
The game still holds me, but the reviews and penalties.
Here comes two weeks of politics about participation of artists when there is the Kap lawsuit.
"Not going to play sun city..." forget seeking direction from artists as not all are the same!
Alan Cassidy
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Hey Bob you have raised the bar yet again on the old man grouchy scale. Love you much, but you're way out there on this one. That was eight hours of great football yesterday. Leave us alone and let us enjoy it.
H. Scott Flegal
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Ouch! I do love the game and I despise Trump. Sundays from September until SB I plan my day around football. The entire male population in my family -3 sons- and 1 brother all are B&B&Bhaters except for my brother. He and I have appreciated the TALENTED Tom/Bill show but my sons, and other male friends are all haters. The texting during the last quarter was mean-spirited by my guys; by the OT it was downright vicious. Hey guys, it's a game. Were the Pats a better team? No way. Should KC have gotten a chance to touch the ball in OT? Of course but the NFL made the stupid 'touchdown/game over' rule. No one is forced to watch football but perhaps if you watch for entertainment value, and not take it so seriously, you might enjoy it more.
sari leon
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TRUTH.
Noah K. Lesser
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Thank you Don Lemon.
Billy Chapin
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I know you are not a sports person as you commended the NBA for their play. Those guys don't play until the last 2 minutes . Sports are to many people what music is to you . A fulfilling way to spend their time; enjoying the skill of others while wishing you could be as productive .
Some people like literature , some art. some history, some math, some science....... some don't like music at all............some don't like sports at all. As long as we can appreciate that there are those who are talented and like to share that talent with whomever wants to enjoy it , we should applaud them. We don't have to like them or the talent, just realize that there are differences of opinion on what is a valuable asset and what is/ isn't worth watching / doing.
Cathy Hancock
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#skipthesuperbowl
Drew Hauser
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Given that you are the Howard Cosell of the music industry, your column on football showed about as much knowledge as if the real
Cosell would have ever chimed in on the music world.
Stay in your lane.
Chris Joseph
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Jeezus man, watch sports much?
The refs gave the chiefs as much bs as they gave the pats. They called it all year long, but ignored a Targeting, helmet-to-helmet hit on Gronkowski in crunch time of the biggest game of the year (thus far).
And if you think the refs gave the victory to the Pats you should've seen the Rams game. It's as is the NFL had to justify forcing a team (2!) on Los Angeles by making sure one went to the super bowl. That's a very good team, but the Saints would have run out the clock if that blatant, obvious PI were called. The refs ensured they made it to the big game.
Instead of sour grapes, how about a piece on age not slowing one down? How about an examination of young v. old? Changing of the guard? New breed VS. Old standard?
There were a ton of ways you could have gone with this. Don't be grandpa Simpson
Jon Langston
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After every game i think to myself why did i watch this? It is so NOT satisfying. I'm starting to think its fixed. Not for gambling but for viewership. A lot of games have the bad/questionable calls at the point where the game score will become lopsided and people will turn it off. The refs don't even know there are throwing the game between replays, missed calls and discretion.
I guess i am an addict.
Rob G
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When it comes to football, I always go back to George Carlin's "baseball vs football" routine. In baseball we get extra innings! In football we get "sudden death".
Another thing to consider:
No matter how you feel about the Patriots' performance in yesterday's game, once they won that coin toss, it was virtually over. So, ultimately, you'd have to admit that luck made a HUGE difference.
Put that in your meritocracy and smoke it!
Rob Hargadon
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This sounds like a grumpy outsider stirring a pot; not bad though:) I think it's too binary to believe that the NFL competes with fortnite and there will be one winner. Part which I do agree with is the technicalities and subjective calls determining outcomes of games. It makes the whole thing seem fixed to be honest.
Mark Burrell
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"on the line, barely offsides" is offsides. That's what offsides is.
Best wishes,
REO
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I have watched football since my Uncle Bill took me to my first game of our beloved Steelers. Pittsburgh is a football town.
Now I live in Nashville and watch the Titans muddle thru season after season. I still love our team. And dream we get a quarterback like Terry Bradshaw and a line like the steel curtain.and I respect Tom Brady and know That people always turn against the star in sports music and any other high profile career.
But I never ever would have voted for Trump. I'll be a Democrat til the end, which is looking closer and closer. Thanks for all your great posts. And go Tom Brady... a true American hero, at least to me.
Susan Nadler
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Bob - who hurt you?
Ben Starr
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I'm sure your in box will be blowing up already, but the Rams won on a non-call by the refs (who completely screwed up and admitted it afterwards!). Otherwise it's Saints in the super bowl with the Pats.
Rishon Blumberg
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I watched part of a Dallas game in the playoffs. On in the background with no audio, while we listened to Carole & James and played Phase 10. My only NFL since last year's Super Bowl. It's a social game where people talk and spill beer on each other. It's like a festival. It's not a listening room.
Although I do Love Volume 106 and the talk. No penalties there.
Dan Fife
Awakening Events
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Poor Ol'Bob - this article is about 10 or 15 years out of date - I never watch the NFL, for all the reasons Ol'Bob brings up, but is there any need to write a column about it? If you or anyone else wants to watch it, go for it - he should just read his book and save the gigabytes.
Ernie Pinder
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TV Football is just filler material between commercials.
Philbo King
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Amen brother! They lost this fan years ago.
Terri Haram
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The last two sentences are priceless.
Jeff Pierce
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Maybe if the Patriots win and the shutdown continues, Brady, Belichick, and Kraft are fed some Wendys and McDonalds on a silver platter.
-Ed Scott
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I really took offense to your Lefsetz letter on January 20th titled Patriots Win.
As a woman and a Patriots fan, I have been following this team since I was a little girl. I am an avid sports fan! As you know, my father was a huge Patriots fan, and as kids he taught Arlyn, Debbie and me all about the sport!!! We watched every game with him, discussed plays, and made friendly bets hoping each week they would win. My father would have loved the game last night! And we won fair and square!!!!!
And guess what... I voted for Hillary!!!
Your last 2 lines of your letter were so offensive!!
"As those women who love the sport.. You probably voted for Trump"
I think you better rethink those words!!!!
Your cousin Leslie
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Your last lines stating "women who love the sport...you probably voted for Trump" I find insulting.
Aunt Sylvia
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Don't forget one of the top reasons (if not THE top reason) football has peaked and is on its way out: the NFL concussion crisis.
Art Velordi
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Dear Sir- You are so right on. Thank you!!!!
Chris Albert -
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"It looked like the Chiefs had won when it was discovered a player was offsides, on the line, barely."
"On the line barely?" Isn't a rule either broken or not? This small detail IS the difference between the Patriots and the rest of the league since 2001. For the casual observer this seems like a one off gift to the Patriots... I swear it happens EVERY year in the big games, the other team loses their focus right in the biggest moment when Tom and Co are at their best. Bad calls happen to all teams, some worse then others but stupid plays like the offsides that negated the game winning interception are always MADE by the other team. Self inflicted.
Also... is Fairfield not firmly New England Patriots territory? Why the friendly fire Bob?
David Rudolf
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And no I didn't vote for trump. But I can tell you've probably never touched the athletic field in your life with this Terrible Take. Vote for trump? You should be ashamed of yourself for this bullshit.
Honestly, waking up to this drivel makes me want to go back to sleep. Don't disrespect sports fans because you don't get it. When I started reading you you hated hip hop as well. Now you suck hip hops dick. Why? because your behind the times and they passed you up decades ago.
Football is more American than rock and roll. Get with the program or don't comment on it.
Your still the best, but you don't understand America like you think you do.
Josh Berman
P.S. Stick to music. Leave the sports reporting to the pros that see the nuance in the human condition between and in between the lines. Quite frankly, you're a terrible horrible no good very bad sports writer.
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Bobby, Bobby, Bobby.
You have had many moments of greatness over the years, and you have equally said some
things so ridiculous, I wondered what you were smoking.
Today, you went where Bob Lefsetz has never gone before.
No one I know in the Sisterhood of Football voted for #TFG
The only thing dead in the water is this diatribe below.
Flag on YOUR play.
Love, Janie Hoffman
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Sad that you can't see that you're in a delusion. The people who voted for Trump are the ones sticking it to the man. Trump is a flawed vessel but the only one going up against the machine. You'll never see it as long as you cling to the ethos of victimhood. Brady and Belichick are examples of greatness, of winning, of working very very hard to achieve one's goals, of seeking and attaining excellence. The divide in America is between people who believe that their problems are mostly within their control and those, like the increasingly radical left, who believe that their problems are completely outside of their control (and the ones who use those people for their own personal power). All this screeching on SNL and the MSM and in your newsletter--it's the last dying cry of American leftism in the night. Winners are going to win.
Appetite
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Dear Bob, is it so hard to understand that one could be a Pats lover and a liberal? This is New England, home of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. We don't take our politics from Robert Kraft, just our football championships. And by now you should know better than to make blanket statements about women.
Leanne Ungar
print it!
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Wow. Your me!
Barry Maizner
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My wife was born and lived in Italy up until 11 years ago when she came her to marry me.
She's a Juventus fan and certainly not a Trump voter ... and she adores American football.
Probably for the same reasons the Romans loved the 'games' during the reign of the Caesars.
My money is on the NFL surviving long past all of us.
Love the letter, love the Sirius/XM show (miss the podcast).
Cheers, - KL
Ken Lasaine
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I got a chuckle out of the last two grafs.
- Greg Dennis
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Wait until the NFL figures out how to harness the power of virtual reality. The fat cats will be paying huge prices to "be on the field and right in the action" safely from their bathrooms at home. Then, maybe, taxpayers won't have to pay for stadiums for the oligarch owners and players to get even richer. And I'm a fan who has been drinking the Kool Aid for years.
Almost as bad as anesthesiologists, radiologists and surgeons using hospitals for free. Wish I didn't have to pay rent.
Harold Love
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Usually your posts are pretty good but you completely miss this one. Championship football games have always been played in cold weather. Californians think everything should be done in warm, ideal temperatures. It's a soft, lazy attitude. Complain about things and think how great you are. If someone disagrees, call them despicable and snidely say they must have voted for Trump.
Patrick McVeigh
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With you, Bob. I used to be a fan of the NFL, but concussions, game-changing penalties, taxpayer funded military displays, and Kaepernick being blackballed all made me lose interest.
I watched a few minutes of a full NFL game from the 1976 on YouTube recently. One of my favorite things about it was the lack of replays to check referee calls. Today's most compelling moments are often five minutes of a lawyer watching a TV screen under a hood.
Terry Walsh
The Belfast Cowboys/St Dominic's Trio
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ahahaha!
So cutting Bob! I can only imagine the general demo of your readership. But then again, if they made it this far with you perhaps they aren't the oldsters you reference...
Sound the bugle, Watchman!
-Alec
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I you hate it, why did you watch, cause you know hating on the NFL is gonna get you a lot of attention and as you keep saying keeping our attention is a MUST!!
Doug Gillis
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A small independent podcast called The Fantasy Footballers won "Best Sports Podcast" from iHeart Media this in LA on Friday night.
Voting was done by the fans - First actual real award show including real production value for Podcasting.
Sure, it had its hiccups, but still - it's there, and it functioned like it should.
Small upstarts with GREAT content can break through and beat the big boys. This is what it's supposed to be and it happened.
Damon Metzner
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Bob, what a negative commentary on two exciting games. It's good you don't watch NFL so your readers aren't contaminated by your bias. I really enjoy most of your stuff, but you pissed me off on this one! See you at the Super Bowl. Tom.
Tom Battista
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I think you grazed the point, but never hit it dead on.
Football won't be around in a generation or two.
What parent in their right mind will let their kid head down a road (pun intended) to CTE, Parkinson's, obesity and all the other joys visited on retired NFL players. I know…WHAT ABOUT THE MONEY? At some point even the Texas Trump moms will say "Honey, what about soccer? Did you see how much money that handsome Renaldo fella is making? And have you seen him without a shirt on?" Shallow, but that's America.
Was never a big football fan, but had it on in the background on a cold day in the 'burbs of New York. But once my daughter started playing soccer, and I started paying attention to the game, I thought American football was the dumbest, most inelegant, and like the electoral college…indecipherable thing I'd ever seen. Then the denial of CTE and all the other damage wrought on the players sealed my opinion.
B&B are what they are. a misanthrope and an idiot savant. Did you see Brady's asinine quote in the NYT's this weekend "Your body gets used to the hits," the Patriots' Tom Brady told a sports radio show last month. "The brain understands the position that you are putting your body into, and my brain is wired for contact. I would say in some ways it has become callous to some of the hits." Are you f'ing kidding me?? Same science class Trump went to?
It will all be over when the insurance companies won't write a policy to Pop Warner, high schools or colleges. I think you said "Ain't that America, where cash always triumphs" A few payouts to victims and the cash (the insurance companies) will get very loud.
P.S. I dig your writing.
- Darryl Estrine
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CFL (Canadian Football League) Coach Ron Lancaster had the best come back when talking about getting robbed by an official's call.
"we shouldn't be putting ourselves in a position to let the referee's decide a game."
Todd Devonshire
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CBS' primetime coverage of the AFC Championship, in which the New England Patriots beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 37-31, posted a 31.2 household rating in overnight metered markets. That's a 26 percent jump over the 2018 NFC title game on Fox (the two networks rotate the primetime slot each year) and the highest-rated conference title game in the late window since 2012.
If the year-to-year gain holds for CBS in the final numbers, it should end up with an audience well above 50 million viewers.
2 crazy games.
Saints were robbed with bad no call.
Chiefs never got the ball in OT.
NFL needs to fix both of those issues!
Jay Marciano
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Wow! Where does one start?
Admittedly you are not a fan of football, yet you reluctantly watch and then crab about everything. Besides that, you think being "a little offside" shouldn't be called. Perhaps you thought the blatant missed call that denied the Saints from winning a game they absolutely should have was the right thing. And using the NBA as an example .... please! This is the league that is noteworthy for its phantom foul calls to the benefit of its star players.
As for Kaepernick, if he was good enough he'd have a job with some team. But no team with a good quarterback would want him. And no team rebuilding would want an aging QB either, especially one that built his reputation on one decent season many years ago. The guy just can't accept he's not good enough for any team to put up with his bullshit.
Then you manage to denigrate women who like pro football, my wife for example, who not only likes the Patriots but did not vote for Trump. She didn't vote for that crook Clinton either, and yes, you don't have to be a deplorable to realize Clinton doesn't deserve to win anything.
I suggest you stick to music, Bob, something you know.
Dean Nardi
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Bob - I'm a New Englander living in LA (3 years now). And the pride of NE winning will never not be there. B&B (and B) are the best of all time, and anyone that hates the team is just sick of losing. No one likes losing, Bob. So the losers become bitter and the winners question when they lose, because it happens so infrequently.
PS I didn't vote for Trump
Yours Truly - A female New England fan living in LA
Kaily Nash
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It's entertainment Bob. The Saints got robbed.
Kaepernick doesn't have what it takes to win games and if he did he would be playing. Maybe you could teach him how to distribute a newsletter.
Who watches a TV these days? You need to read more Bob.
Woody Ferrell
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Sorry Bob, I only made it about five paragraphs in before the pessimism got to me and I quit. I can agree that the NFL is a colossal shit show. You can still enjoy the games if you just ignore all the crap.
Deep down there is still the beautiful and strategic competition between highly skilled young men who throw themselves into the contest with abandon. Athleticism at it's best. Coaching strategy as it's cerebral peak.
The game still has the beauty and grace as it always has. You can still enjoy watching. You just have to dial down your bullshit filter.
Kendrick Allen
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Love Canadian rules football and it's all over by mid December. But it was darn weird when Shreveport and Baltimore had league teams...
Bob Stevens
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Well, you clearly didn't watch the Saint's game.
Blatant pass interference and helmet to helmet contact by the Rams - followed by no call by the ref. There is no review of no calls. The Ram's player who committed the offense admitted it, the NFL admitted that the call was botched and the ref admitted that he did not even see the play. And the game, along with the opportunity to go to the SuperBowl was stolen from the Saints. New Orleans is a one of the few cities left in America with a true identity and real soul. Yet it remains in desperate need of both hope and unity. The Saints are more than just football. They are the common ground that unites us. And that hope was crushed yesterday. Today, on Martin Luther King day, the city of New Orleans is in mourning.
And this woman loves football and hates Trump.
Lori Turoff
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What a load of Crap Bob! You should probably stick to writing about subjects you actually know about.
It was painful to read your account of yesterday's game written at such a pedestrian level. Knowledge of your subject was at best - junior high level probably closer to grade school.
and BTW: "And honestly, I'd be singing a different tune if the Chiefs had won, even though I hate them. Because they would have stuck it to the man, they would have given us hope." Who the fuck is US? You got a mouse in your pocket, please!
As stated earlier it's probably best to stick to subjects you actually know about.
I'm done.
Mike Vascellaro
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You have a lot going on here.
The fanism or rah-rahism you mention is no more specific to football than any other sport or to the fans in one particular city. Soccer? They have a problem with hooliganism. The fans are more violent than the sport itself.
As for AFBall? It should be played in the elements, that's the deal. It's a test of wills and adaptability. It's not staged and sanitized for your comfort. I agree that the whole CTE issue should give us pause for thought and it should make us question the way money alters our notion of what we can conveniently ignore. And then you have boxing which is all about trying to concuss your opponent. I only watch the big games and as a Bostonian I find what the Patriots have accomplished to be remarkable. Sure, the rest of the country are haters, but as they say, even though Barry Bonds took PEDs, it still takes real talent to hit a 97 mph. fastball 400 feet. There is a degree of athleticism in football that produces more jaw dropping moments than any other sport I can think of with the exception of Aussie Rules Football.
Rules? You've got 22 people running around a space that is three and 1/2 times as long as a basketball court and three times as wide. They now have even more rules and reviews of play. As much as football has gone over the edge, all sports are slipping as far as rating are concerned. I don't have time to watch a football game which is another incentive not to go. Record and slo mo through the game and you end up with 40 minutes of actual content. The only way to do it. More official reviews slow down a game that borders on tedious anyway. Penalties are subjective and there's a lot to keep track of. The Saints were absolutely screwed on the blown pass interference call and they likely lost the game because of it. But with this much physical contact it's hard to just let them play. As it is, I'm sure there are a ton of missed calls, so maybe it's the best you can do with controlled mayhem.
How many truck commercials can you fit into one game? Why does Chevy have an inferiority complex and consequently the worst ads. Give me a warm evening at a ballpark or March Madness.
John Brodey
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Bob, REALLY!!!
For the first time , you have reached the highest level of misunderstanding the general concept of "sports" and "media" and how they unite people in the most fundamental ideological way much like music does for ones sole. They are similar which is why you always hear the music chiming in the back round when a team is on a momentum run.
Its invigoration like the feel of a great song that brings back the greatest memories.....sports and music is all we have that seems to bring peace and harmony among a fragile world and nothing less.
The "rules" of the game are there to provide some sort of organizational reality, NOT only to have players be able to throw more for better television as you seem to imply, its how we all need to get along for the most part just like the Music industry which ALWAYS seems to be changing their rules - how about the tribal Moses rules, you know the 10 commandments, the rules we all are suppose to live by so that its not a free for all, how else was he suppose to keep all those tribes in line that he just freed especially without the a media broadcast......THOSE FRCKN RULES!!!
RULES are meant to be changed and NOT everyone is going to like those rules, similar to how you you classify certain sports viewers must be TRUMP supporters.....REALLY BOB!
Your memo is WALKING on the FINE line of those newest RACISM "rules" that keep changing depending on whose speaking and then justifying certain players behaviors as an example of true ACCOMPLISHMENTS and those vulnerable "woman" participating in some sort of scheme.....REALLY BOB!
Hating on a team and its management because they have proven to be the most consistent is like you talking crap about an album that's over rated because the "RULES" back then were albums sold which can be conceived as opinions of that ERA. To automatically assume that the Patriots winning was merely based on some rules that some Referee calls that "allowed" them to win is pure non-sense and believe me, I'm not a Patriot fan or a fan of the some of the NFL rules such as not allowing the other team a similar chance to prevail!
I can comfortably say that the RULES will be considered for change by letting each opponent have a chance and being able to review the calls officials make by reviewing video for its accuracy before its final without sacrifice, especially after this last weekend.
We have had to acknowledge based on facts that BRADY is a bad ass - regardless of age and RULES......PERIOD!
ALSO, I was so looking forward to a good memo from you about the "kickers" in the league who no one ever talks about NOR EVEN MADE ONE MEDIA HEADLINE...you know the one person that doesn't become part of the limelight after kicking his way to the Superbowl for the Rams......REALLY BOB!
IF you can win using the "RULES" as some seem to do - then its a deserved WIN.....just like your best friend TRUMP ignorantly won using the horrific electoral rules so lets keep bashing him instead of figuring out ways to keep him out of making his rules a reality while ALWAYS uttering his name in every media outlet possible.....REALLY BOB!
Moreover, in any GAME - if you play hard and get ahead of your opponent by more then a few points, RULES and a bad referee that forgot his contact lenses will and should NOT make any difference in the outcome because bad calls are just one of the many factors ones needs to consider while strategizing a WIN in any endeavor -
EVEN when there are RULES, there seems to still be casualties of war for peace or greed, power, racism, cheating, killing, stealing, etc., and all that other filthy crap us humans have adopted and justify.
WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT THE "RULES", GOOD BAD OR INDIFFERENT......PER MOSES, THE ORIGINAL "RULES" MAKER !!!!
BOB, you should run for President so you can start changing the "RULES" the way you think they should be.....or would that be your true defining moment to realize how hard Moses really had it, one can only imagine.
We LOVE YA, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!!!
PS: Remember - Professor Bob..... IF your selfless.....how can you help anyone!
Respectfully,
Solomon Aflalo
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Oh Bob. You're going to take a lot of heat for this post! My gal pals watch football on a regular basis and there's no Trump supporters in my circle. We were on a plane while the game was going on. Southwest gives free TV on you iPad/iphone and I was fascinated to see almost everyone on the plane watching the game. When do you see that? Everyone interested in the same event. It made me feel good. Sure the sport is tainted and the guys are (willingly) destroying their bodies but, damn …I was proud of my American Football. Besides Hollywood, what else do we have that's exceptional?
Lizzz Kritzer
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Ratings for the games yesterday were very good and the viewership is generally bi-partisan. Are you making stuff up Bob? Not everything is about politics, is it?
Steve Krupa
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Maaate!
I think I have a new footy game for you!
It's called Rugby League...one of 4 football codes we play down here in Oz!
Suggest you watch a bit of a game on YouTube. It'll be a mystery to you!
Takes 80 minutes...so fast...so hard...no padding, just shorts and jersey.
Your game is "Grid Iron" or "American Football" to us. Many of us put aside a day for the Super Bowl TV show.
Saw a game in New York some years back...couldn't believe they stopped the game, for a rest and a chat, for the TV Network commercials!??
Our own "Australian Rules" game could change your life! 200yard field, running, kicking and catching IS the game! Fast, hard with fanatical supporters!
Regards
Rob Allan
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dang, Bob?
This is the most condescending and judgemental I've seen you write?
There were BS calls throughout the game(s). Hell, the Saints were ROYALLY Fucked out of playing in the Super Bowl today. But, you weren't watching that game? You were busy making your minutes count reading a book.
The NFL, the NBA, the entire country is Rigged.
The Prince of Saudi Arabia can erase a journalist for the Washington Post and nobody does shit? Not even you, Bob.
We're all complicit that the dollar is our God.
There is a factory in China, making iPhones, where the work is so awful that the factory had to install nets outside all of the floors above the 2nd, surrounding the factory, because workers were putting their things down on their desk and running to the window and jumping to their death.
How many iPhones have you bought, Bob?
You are just like the rest of us Americans, Bob.
You are a cynic full of hypocrisy.
Little Pink Houses for everyone.
Sonny Rock in Phoenix
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Not sure about the ending about women. I'm sure you are going to get criticism about that. As for the rest of the piece, per usual, incredibly thought provoking and interesting. I also loved your piece on festivals. I have been talking about it with my father and some other people in the industry. It's so on point. I would love for you to write about live nation and their reliance on statistics. I know from people who have interned that they use statistics for just about everything they're doing. I know you are of the opinions that numbers don't lie and they don't. But statistics won't always tell you the truth about your demographic! The Bonnaroo lineup is a huge example of how this calculating can lead to a potentially unsuccessful bill. They put phish on a bill with over 50% EDM and little crossover in the jam scene. My guess how this happened? Statistics!! Phish are still pulling in huge numbers! So what does live nation figure? Let's put em on the bill and we will get that same turnout. WRONG! Phish fans are not going to pay money let alone trek out to bum fuck nowhere Tennessee to see 3 sets of their favorite band when they can pay a similar price for 6 to 8 sets and it may even potentially be less money. Everything is fucked up. The NFL, the music conglomerates. They are all being managed by people with their heads so far up their ass they have lost track of who watches and goes to their events. Anyway, thanks for being fearless and speaking the truth. I really pray for a day when these people die off, retire, wtvr happens to them, and my generation can step up and try to do things that MAKE SENSE. But then again, millennials are the fucked, burn out generation, so who knows?
Best,
Leonard Gilbert
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This man does not sleep. How can you know so much about so many things?!!!! Answer: you don't sleep. You read. You watch tv. You listen to radio. Etc, etc.
doncasale
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Mostly spot on with your breakdown of the NFL. The culture is what turns me off, along with the pro-wrestling like overhype of each game/matchup.
Much of the general public has been taken by the faux immediacy created by the league. But when you sit down and attempt to watch a game it's painful. More ads and whistles then action and intrigue.
And then there are those who are dedicated. Grown men in size XXL jerseys to hide their girth which grows each winter weekend while drinking, eating and sitting on their arses, as programmed by the NFL. In short, it's not unlike how the uneducated voter, be they liberal or (neo) conservative, forms his/her political view. Don't be educated about the issues, don't learn more about what's beyond the television. Stay narrowly focused on what you've been fed. Overindulge on it, in fact.
If you come at me with your graying goatee, beer gut and giant-sized NFL jersey, AND you're over the age of 25, I know too much about you. And enough to know I will turn and walk the other way.
Paul Nordlund
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