Da Blog in LA

Tomorrow, I'll be flying to Los Angeles for a week and a half with my dad. I hope to post regular blog posts about my experience there under the label "Da Blog in LA". I'll probably be bored out of my skull there, but what the hey.

Meanwhile, if you want my NFL picks every week, they should be available here every early Tuesday morning. Please keep in mind at all times that I know nothing about football.

All the college football lineal titleholders have retained so far, with only BYU still playing.

Wild and Crazy Speculation on the Future of the Olympics on TV in the US

ESPN may be gunning for NBC's Olympics rights starting in 2014.

The sports blogosphere generally hates ESPN and so what reaction I've seen has been negative. But on the plus side, between ABC Sp... er, ESPN on ABC, ESPN1, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, and maybe ABC Family and ESPNU (not to mention ESPN Deportes), they have no lack of platforms to put events on (which I'm not as certain of with CBS or Fox), and they might have more by 2014. And you know they'll stream lots of events on ESPN360.

If they do get it, though... well, you see what happened when NBC overextended for Olympics rights - it led to the NFL and NBA leaving and killed NBC Sports until last year. If ESPN isn't careful getting the Olympics would be the peak - and would start a long march downhill that could really help places like Versus. (Hear that, NBA on ESPN/ABC bashers? There might be a pretty good chance you'll get what you want in 2016!)

NFL Lineal Title History

From 1921 to the present, the history of the NFL Lineal Title available in a Notepad file. Learn more about the Football Lineal Title.

The Around the Horn Drinking Game!

As some people who read Da Blog already know, one of my pasttimes is watching ESPN's "show of competitive banter" Around the Horn. As entertaining and informative as it is, it does have a tendency to rely on certain jokes and other repetitive elements... so much so that it seems to just beg for a drinking game.

Note: I know this has been tried at least once before, but to my knowledge, it's no longer available on the Internet. This attempt was done independently. Also, I do not support impulse drinking; remember, this is Just For Fun.

NFL Preseason SuperPower Rankings

In the same vein as my 100 Greatest Movies Project, here's my NFL Power Rankings based on the Power Rankings of most of the leading sports sites. I include ratings from the following sports sites: ESPN, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, USA Today. I'm willing to take in NBC Sports, Yahoo, and Sporting News if they choose to take part in this excersize. One point per rank; #1=1, #2=2, so on. Lower scores score higher. The asterisk indicates a Lineal Title holder.

Note: The Fox Sports rankings occured at the start of this month; the others, right after the draft. Among other things, it explains why they rank the Falcons near the bottom when the others put them in the middle of the pack.

Team Name	TW (LW)	ESPN	CBS	Fox	SI.com	USAT	Comments
Patriots	1-T	1	2	2	2	1	Should be a lot scarier with Randy Moss.
Colts	1-T	2	1	1	1	3	Don't sleep on SB champs, or overstate impact of losses.
Chargers	3	3	3	3	3	2	Maybe the most talented team in the NFL.
Saints	4	6	7	4	4	4	One of the NFC's best teams only improved. The D is still an issue.
Ravens	5	4	6	5	7	5	Expect McGahee to be an immediate help on offense.
Bears	6	5	5	7	5	6	A lot of question marks but the SB defense is still there.
Broncos	7	7	4	6	6	7	Made some impact additions in offseason. Will Cutler be enough?
Eagles	8	8	8	12	8	9	If McNabb's healthy, they could be a powerhouse.
Seahawks	9	11	15	8	9	10	They need a healthy Alexander to remain top dog in a tougher division.
Bengals	10	10	10	9	17	8	Bengals underperformed last year, but D still an issue.
Cowboys	11	9	9	13	14	11	The good news is they dumped Parcells. The bad news is they dumped Parcells. All eyes on Romo.
Jets	12	12	16	10	11	12	Revis, Harris, Jones are impact additions, but still not enough D.
Steelers	13	13	11	15	12	13	Will Tomlin get the '05 Steelers or the '06 Steelers?
Jaguars	14	14	12	11	18	14.5	All eyes are on the QB position after a mediocre '06.
*Rams	15	18	17	18	10	18	The Rams made sure to get better in the offseason. Will it be enough?
Panthers	16	16	21	16	16	14.5	Good draft, not much else. All eyes on Delhomme with Carr looking over shoulder.
49ers	17	15	19	14	22	16.5	With improving young players, could contend in West and win in '08.
Giants	18	17	14	19	21	20	All eyes on Manning and Brandon Jacobs.
Falcons	19	19	18	30	20	16.5	Will probably stink without Vick, but they still have strong pieces.
Titans	20	21	29	22	15	19	Young will have a lot of weight on his shoulders without more offensive help.
Cardinals	21	22	13	20	30	22	"No, this really is the Cardinals' year, really!"
Chiefs	22-T	20	26	17	26	21	The QB question still looms, especially with good but not SB-carrying D.
Bills	22-T	23	20	21	23	23	Went with youth by dumping vets and hoping Losman improves.
Vikings	24	25	23	29	31	25.5	Good defense and Peterson is good RB, but weak WRs and is Jackson ready?
Packers	25	24	22	23	25	24	Favre may be getting an absolutely awful offense. Retire already!
Dolphins	26	26	24	27	19	28	Will Green provide the pick-me-up the team needs?
Lions	27	30	27	26	13	29	The WRs are meeting their potential and Kitna can carry the team, so they could surprise.
Buccaneers	28	27	25	24	29	25.5	A boatload of QBs with other questions going ignored.
Redskins	29	28	28	25	24	27	Campbell must perform or Gibbs could be running back to NASCAR.
Texans	30	29	30	28	27	31	Schaub and Green will help but the OL is still nonexistent.
Raiders	31	32	31	31	28	32	D is good, but even with Russell they were likely to struggle.
Browns	32	31	32	32	32	30	Young team with two top draft picks that could be a big contender... in '08.

Remember what I said about posting on the Project again?

I'm still waiting for the person I've already lined up and my own pace has dramatically slowed. I'm still taking anyone who wants to contribute to the Project by writing up their favorite films. A link to my e-mail is available from my profile; link on the right side. A firm list of taken films won't be available until I'm back from LA. Feel free to provide your own suggestions if you want to contribute.

The strangest part of the Rangers' demolishing of Baltimore?

How do you come in with a 14-3 lead, bulked up from 5-3 not in the just-ended half inning but in the one before, have three scoreless innings to end the game while your team more than doubles its score, and get a save?

This move-up-the-primaries thing is getting out of hand...

As if a mass of states moving their primaries to Super-Duper Tuesday wasn't enough, now Michigan wants to move its primary to January.

I'm going to make a guarantee here. By 2012, someone, either the parties or the government, will mandate that all primaries and caucuses must occur on the same day in all 50 states. New Hampshire and Iowa will just have to deal.

Some sports musings

Couple of things:

*I'm seeing an international pool-play game in the Little League World Series on ESPN while Major League Baseball, a game between two playoff contenders, is on ESPN2. Please don't tell me the former outdraws the latter.

*The NFL Network is going to put its "Total Access" program on "My Network TV" Saturday nights starting in September. Which means it will now be on a "network" that as many people watch as the NFL Network reaches.

Best. Video. Ever.

If you have ever been on an Internet message board, EVER, I suspect you will recognize something in this video. Warning: profanity alert.

I'm also taking the opportunity to cut down the size of the front page down to 10-20 posts.