Praise Jeebus, The New Podcast Is Here!

I attempted a podcast this past Friday with my Bay Area friend Jeff through the computer program Skype. There were some technical difficulties and we sound like we are discussing things beneath an over-turned canoe. To be honest, I'm just happy to get this PantsCast up after the multiple server issues I had over the weekend. I switched sites and now I've managed to avoid the pernicious issues that were plaguing me.

Enjoy this mockery of a good podcast. You warthog faced buffoon.


Love,
Brad

It's Like SportsCenter....But Fun And Entertaining

Sign Of The Apocolypse

A new podcast will be available just as soon as the damn site gets their server up again (it's been down since yesterday)

This weekend the city of Phoenix hosts an NRA convention. Generally this influx of humans, while good for the local economy, will stir up even the most stolid of people because many of the attendees at events like this are extremists who utter lines like "the Obama administration being called Socialists, but that's being nice. They're really this close to being communists." Now I just need to figure out a way to schedule a Greenpeace convention next door....

Here at SportsPants, we don't argue Second Amendment rights. That being said, this can't be a good sign....


Watch CBS Videos Online

"I want to shoot something, but I also want my weapon to match that pretty red dress I got for Christmas last year." And people question our priorities! Pfft!

Which One Would You Rather Have?

Just a quick apology: I should have seen the signs....anytime a game is supposed to be a sure-fire classic just as the Caps/Penguins game was going to be....well, it's not. Such are the perils of trying to predict the slippery, unctuous world of sports. But there are two more NHL Game 7's tonight. At least ONE of those games has to good right? Ugh.

Now for today's post.....

Did you ever have to answer the riddle about two doors and two guards? You're in a room with two doors each with a guard. One door leads to death, the other leads to riches. One guard always lies, the other always tells the truth. You can only ask one question. Blah Blah Blah.

Let's say there are two football players, both unproven. One was a talented player in high school, but chose to play a different sport at the next level. The other was a first round draft pick talent who screwed his own life up and fell out of football. Both men want to play football again despite having not played the sport in years. Which one would you want?

Greg Paulus has decided to play football at Syracuse University. He's had success doing it in high school when he set New York state passing records and led is Syracuse high school to an undefeated record. Instead of playing football, he decided to follow in the long line of little annoying white point guards at Duke.

Now after four average years of NCAA basketball, Paulus has decided to return to his home town of Syracuse and compete to quarterback the Orange. He has one year of eligibility left due to a special waiver he can get.

Wendell Bryant was the 12th pick of the NFL draft in 2002 because of his dominant play at Wisconsin. When he signed his big contract with the Arizona Cardinals, Bryant spent more time smoking, drinking, and popping ecstasy pills than he did playing football. He gained weight and failed drug test after drug test. When he was finally suspended by the NFL for a year in 2005 for his drug abuse, Bryant left football for good.

Now Bryant is clean and sober, has lost 30 pounds (down to a "rail thin" 295 pounds), and is ready to make an NFL comeback for any team that is willing to sign him.

So which guy would you put your money on to succeed?

Greg Paulus

Positives:
Paulus comes from an athletic family and is obviously in athletic shape after playing point guard at Duke for four years. He's known as a hard worker and anyone who's met him say that he's a genuinely good guy who could only help the locker room situation of a football team. He played quarterback throughout high school, so he's not learning a new position. Plus, he's from Syracuse, so he doesn't have to spend time acclimating himself to a new setting and he will have family support.

Negatives:
The guy has been a 180 pound point guard for the past four years. He looks like a twig and might break in half if hit by a blitzing linebacker. While flopping to the floor as though you've been shot gets you a foul call as a Dookie, in football they call that a sack. He only has one year of eligibility to learn a college offense so coaches may want to go with a younger guy who can get experience playing for several years. The Syracuse line doesn't exactly protect a quarterback very well. Paulus went to Duke for basketball and is therefore hated by most college sports fans throughout the country.

Wendell Bryant

Positives:
The guy was a beast at Wisconsin. He was good enough to be a top pick in the draft, so he probably won't struggle physically in the NFL. While he was a disaster mentally, he seems to be focused now and is more thankful for his chance to play instead of taking it for granted. He can recognize other problem guys on a team and help prevent them from going down the same self-destructive path he traveled.

Negatives:
The guy was an idiot in the NFL. Seriously, he failed three drug tests before leaving football. Three. Nowhere in there did he decide to himself "hmmmm, maybe if I stop doing these drugs, I'll stop failing these tests." He's a full blown addict who could fall off the wagon at any point and the pressure of the NFL isn't exactly a safe haven for drug users. He wasn't a good player during his three year career. That could be because of the drugs, or it just could be that he sucks. He's 29 years old, so a team would only get maybe three seasons out of him before he started on a decline in talent.

So which football player do you pick?

Do you pick the smart kid who was great four years ago in high school, but only has one season to be in football shape physically and mentally?

Or do you pick the NFL washout who has decided to get his life in order three years later and make a comeback?

Or do you just sit in the room and play with your twitter account? "I just drink two glasses of water and now I have to pee." Thanks for the update.

Fan Wars Episode 4- The Mavs Fans Strike Back

I feel like I'm under house arrest today in Phoenix. The news channels have put the fear of Obama traffic in everyone since the president is speaking at the ASU graduation today. We aren't supposed to approach Tempe if we can help it. I just envision the place sealed off like some scene from Escape from New York.

I was going to make my post about Obama's visit, but there isn't much to it. People who have the "privilege" of going have to arrive early and stand around in triple digit heat for hours and they aren't allowed to bring water bottles or seat cushions in with them (there will be water stations). So the scene will be a bunch of people sitting on metal bleachers that have been scorched by the sun listening to our well-spoken president explain to the students that there are no jobs and that they're basically screwed for the next year. The Daily Show already covered the issues of the commencement anyways.

So I'm here to bring you the real controversy of the day: The visiting fan versus the home fans.

The Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets renew their playoff festivities tonight at the Pepsi Center. You, of course, won't catch much of the first half because you will already be engrossed by Game Seven of the Caps and Penguins I told you about. But when you do tune in, you will find a suddenly bitter rivalry between the Mavs and Nuggets due mostly to the events following the controversial ending to Game Three.

You already know about the Mark Cuban vs. Kenyon Martin's mom issue. You've probably also heard about Carmelo Anthony's fiance La La Vazquez claiming that Mavs fans are racists who spent part of Game Three insulting her before she was escorted away by security.

Well now a new chapter has been opened in the great Game Three saga. A Mavericks season ticket holder contacted the Dallas Morning News to say that it was La La who was out of line during the game. According to the Dallas fan, "Ms. Vazquez claims that racism and insults to her child were the reasons for her aggression are completely unfounded. Her child was not with her but with a nanny and was not a topic of insults or discussion at all. I heard no racism and was definitely within hearing distance. Her reaction was immature and borderline scary." The fan also said that while there was some heckling, none of it was directed at Kenyon Martin's mom.

So what's the truth? We've all been to sporting events where people in the crowd start acting like jack asses towards opposing fans. You hear stories out of Philadelphia, New York, Oakland, and most other major cities about bad fan behavior. A person should be able to go see an away sporting event without having to abnegate their rights to respect and decency.

Then again, I've also been to sporting events where the opposing fans more than deserve a beat down. I've sat next to someone who spent the entire game hurling insults at the home team and then acted appalled when home fans turned on them.

There are two different sides to the story and there isn't a way to prove who is correct. Sports by Brooks has a poll asking which person is more likely telling the truth, the Mavs fan or La La, and 92% of the readers say the Mavs fan is probably being more truthful. I happen to agree, mostly because I still have fresh memories of Jason Kidd's ex-wife causing a stink up in Boston for being singled out even though she went out of her way to get attention at all times.

Tonight's game is in Denver which means the Mavs will hear it from Nuggets fans and Dirk will no doubt see multiple posters making fun of his personal life. Hopefully, the Nuggets fans will be funny as they hurl their verbal arrows. The good news is that Mark Cuban won't be there to stir things up. I can only hope that La La will follow suit.

It Is Time To Give Some Of Your Love To Hockey

I'm serious.

I know hockey has been banished to a network that tries to sell us on bull riding and bass fishing, but as I've stated before, there really is no comparison to the NHL playoffs this time of year.

And if you haven't seen the sport much, make some time tomorrow night, Wednesday, May 13, 7 p.m. EST, 4 p.m. PST on the Versus network, to watch Game 7 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals.

You owe it to yourself. It's a classic series with superstars, storylines, sex, and a Game 7 atmosphere in Washington. Eliminate one of those attributes, my mind was elsewhere.

How is this Game 7 set up to be a classic? Let's look at the past six:

Superstars: The two biggest named players in the NHL are Sidney Crosby for Pittsburgh and Alexander Ovechkin for Washington. Both players were first overall draft picks one year apart, both players have amazing skills and both are the poster children for today's NHL:






Storylines: And here's the best part: they don't like each other much.



But enough about the hype. A league can play up the stars all year long, but if they don't perform, no one will care.

During the regular season, Ovechkin and Crosby were both top three in total points (the top point getter was Crosby's teammate Evgeni Malkin.)

During the six games of this series, the Penguins have scored 21 goals. Crosby has been involved with nearly half of them. The Capitals have scored 20 goals. Ovechkin has been involved with 13 of them. Both players had a hat trick in Game 2.

Unlike the NBA, however, a hockey game isn't just about the superstars. Ovechkin and Crosby are the trigger men on their respective teams, but they can't win the games by themselves. It will take a team effort to win Game 7 and these two teams have been about as evenly matched as you can get in these playoffs. All but one of the six games have been decided by one goal and three of the games have gone into overtime.

So you have two exciting, high-powered teams whose superstars hold a bit of odium towards one another playing one game for the right to move on to the conference finals. That bodes well for an exciting Game 7 and you will feel the electricity coming from the Verizon Center crowd tomorrow night.

Just give this thing called hockey a chance my good peeps. You just might enjoy it.

Soooo awkward

It's like a Will Ferrell movie played out in front of our eyes....