It truly is amazing to witness the blossoming love affair between NBCSports.com and their newest star, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo. We've already documented Mad Dog's clown-like antics (complete with constant juggling motion for no apparent reason) on his exclusive segment entitled "Mad Dog Minute", but what continues to stun us is not the constant moronic arguments from Russo - we're used to that - it's how obsessed with the segment the site has become.
NBCSports.com is more reliant on Mad Dog than SNL is on Palin skits.
On Tuesday, there were four links to the Minute, front and center. That doesn't sound like overkill until you realize that we counted 16 links total, meaning Russo accounted for about 25% of all the potential content offered to readers.
Scroll down that homepage and you'll be confronted with about 5 more Mad Dog rants ripping on the Cubs, K-Rod, Mack Brown and god knows what else in a whirlwind of Spaceballs-hair and lisp.
As much as other sites value their primary meal tickets - Simmons at ESPN, Peter King at SI.com, for example - we can at least commend them for steering clear of spreading their big guns all over the front page as liberally as Travis Henry spreads his seed.
Simply put, NBCSports.com is in love with their Mad Dog.
Oh well, if nothing else, it gives us an opportunity to hear Russo try to say the word "theoretically" without dousing the camera with saliva.
Crap that actually came from somebody's mouth
"To say there is a lot at stake would be an understudy." - Dick Stockton
To say Dick Stockton appears to be drunk every telecast would be an understudy.
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"That's one thing about Chris Hoke, he's one of those guys that has a motor that goes 110 miles an hour." - John Madden
If you're wondering, yes, Chris Hoke is white.
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"I think they're a better team, now I don't think they're better personnel-wise but I think they're better where it matters most." - Trent Dilfer, on the Giants now compared to last season
So then they're better, right?
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"I'm going to say the Tennessee Titans (are the best team) and here's why: the Tennessee Titans know who they are. They knew who they were in training camp." - Trent Dilfer
"The question I have is, 'who are the Steelers?'" - Trent Dilfer
We're beginning to think Trent got hit on the head one too many times during his playing days.
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"Kick it into the 10th row, Chris (Kluwe). And I know at least one person who wishes you had: teammate and fellow special teamer E.J. Henderson, who was running down Bush one second and then looking up at the Superdome roof through his ear-hole, the next." - Jim Rome, imploring the Vikings not punt to Reggie Bush
Uh, Jim, E.J. Henderson was put on injured reserve ... before Monday night's game. That was backup linebacker Erin Henderson. Just trying to help out.
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"Going into the playoffs last season, the Giants did you (the Cowboys) in your house in the first round." - Jim Rome
Uh, Jim, that was the second round. Dallas had a bye in the first round and the Giants were in Tampa Bay. You know what, just do your thing and we'll leave you alone.
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But as unthinkably dangerous as the Cardinals’ slugger was, he couldn’t get his team to the postseason. Howard did. – Bob Klapisch
By himself. Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, Brad Lidge, none of them helped. It was Ryan Howard that got them into the playoffs. Albert Pujols should have done more than be the best player in all of baseball and then his team would have made the playoffs. Freaking bum.
Proof that the writer and headline writer aren't the same
We've always pondered on this site whether most writers and columnists pen their own headlines. We're left to guess that it varies case by case, but SI.com has given us a concrete answser, at least in this particular exchange.
While the headline refers to the Missouri quarterback as "Daniels", the author of the text seems to be aware that indeed, Chase Daniel's name is Chase Daniel. Not Daniels. Not McDaniels. Daniel.
As far as the whole additional "s" at the end or "Mc" at the front, we're really at a loss. If this keeps up, we're likely to see the following name variations of some Heisman hopefuls:
Stan Bradford
Javon Ringlesby
Graham Harrellson
Rashaan Moreno
Tim Teboat
That Teboat sure did a hell of a job with the hardware last season, no?
Michael Strahan Getting "Accustomed" to the Fox Studio
As the NFL season progresses, former Giants star Michael Strahan becomes more and more familiar with the surroundings at his new desk job. Unfortunately sometimes that means sitting a few feet away from Jimmy Johnson the night after he ate 12 hush puppies at Long John Silvers.
Not even the Giants locker room has stenches like that.
Outback TV ads scoring touchdowns with fans
A few months ago, we tackled the phenomenon of seamless integration of sports into advertising during sports broadcasts. For whatever reason, the companies and people trying to sell us something during a game feel compelled to let us know that they too are fans of said game.
A few of the advertising gems displayed in the past column:
..."being a fan means cheering for your team through thick and thin...however if you're holding onto a mutual fund that's under-performing, your loyalty is misplaced."
"...but chances are you'll end up in last place, so go with the champions, Painters District Council #2."
"when it comes to fighting germs, you have to play hardball. That's why I use Germ-X, the instant hand sanitizer. I just apply Germ-x to my hands, rub it in for 15 seconds then I'm ready to throw germs out at the plate."
Not surprisingly, this phenomenon has been going on for years on the tube. Kirk Herbstreit was sure to remind us of that during a TV timeout Saturday on ESPN.
This is Kirk Herbstreit. You know you're a true Outback fan when you think great coverage is crispy bacon wrapped around a filet, on our mixed grill with sweet shrimp and sauteed scallops.
To you, cutting up the middle means slicing into our Outback Special Sirloin; 17 spices, big bold flavor seared in.
Great picks, starting at $9.99 for a limited time.
GO GO GO!
Crave on!
Our only question is, what if we're fans of Outback Steakhouse, but don't think of crispy bacon wrapping a filet when we hear the term "great coverage"? Then what?
Bob Carpenter Memorial Snappy Line
Since the Carpster is a staunch believer in equal opportunity, he's not afraid to throw a bone to the little guy. After all, it isn't just the national talking heads on television or the mainstream writers who can drop a snappy line. As Mark Long proved, the AP game recappers are just as capable as your average mainstreamers. We think Ben Roethlisberger would agree.
"But Big Ben turned them into big completions, maybe the highlights of his big night that gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a big boost in the AFC North."
Safe to say, the Bobber gives two big thumbs up for a big display of snap in Long's discussion of Big Ben.
The Media Circus is written by Josh Bacott and Patrick Imig. They swear this stuff is real. Email them at info@joesportsfan.com.