-
-
-
-
-
- CBB Front Page
- Scores
- Teams
-
Conferences
- Players
- Stats
- Standings
- Rankings
- Schedules
- Women's Hoops
-
-
-
-
- Soccer Front Page
-
Leagues
- MLS
- England
- Champions
UEFA Cup- English Champ
Germany- Italy
Spain- France
Netherlands- Scotland
Belgium- Mexico
Copa Lib- Copa Sud
Copa Oro- Copa America
World Cup- FIFA U-20
Talk sports, pop culture and more with SI.com's Jimmy Traina.8/22/2006 10:32:00 PM Likes and Dislikes
Things I Don't Like This Week
1. FOX hires Joe Buck for its pregame show and cans Jillian Barberie: The FOX pregame show has been my pregame show of choice for several years. ESPN's Sunday Countdown used to be a great watch, but then it hired Michael Irvin. And few "commentators" are as boring as Steve Young. Speaking of boring, Dan Marino and Boomer Esiason make the CBS pregame show a snoozefest. That leaves FOX. James Brown (who bolted to CBS this season) was a great traffic cop, Howie Long spoke to fans without insulting their intelligence, Jimmy Johnson added the coaching element and was never afraid to rip players and/or coaches, and Terry Bradshaw, for all his wackiness, was entertaining. Throw in the very funny Frank Caliendo (and, before him, Jimmy Kimmel) and some eye candy in Barberie, and you had the formula for a decent hour of television. But now Buck is in and Brown is out. (And quite frankly, between MLB games, NFL games and the NFL pregame show, there's just waaaay too much Joe Buck.) Buck is annoying enough during games; I can only imagine he's going to step up the lame attempts at humor during the pregame show. Plus, he's going to have to battle Bradshaw for yuks. It's not going to be pretty. Just as upsetting is the loss of Barberie. With the pregame show going on the road to accommodate Buck, the FOX higher-ups claimed it would be "too hard logistically" to have Barberie as part of the crew. Simply put, that stinks. Barberie's interaction with the hosts was amusing. And for people worried about fantasy and (shhh) betting, the weather is important, so why not have the person delivering that news be someone men like to look at? Barberie got a bad rap in the mainstream media, but I found the banter and innuendo between her and the co-hosts funny. It was lighthearted fun and it showed that the FOX team didn't take itself too seriously. Jillian, I'll miss you.
Who will Terry Bradshaw lust after now that Jillian Barberie is done with the FOX pregame show?John Iacono/SI
2. The Falcons give up T.J. Duckett for Ashley Lelie in a three-team trade: In Lelie and Roddy White, the Falcons now have two of the most overrated and underachieving wide receivers in football. Atlanta also lost its security blanket in case Warrick Dunn gets hurt. People have wondered throughout his career if Dunn could be a 25-carry-a-game back (last season he averaged 17.5 carries per game). I guess now we'll find out. Either way, trading Duckett, a solid No. 2 back who gave Atlanta a nice change of pace as a bruiser to Dunn's scat-back style, for Lelie is a bad move.
3. Having the fourth pick in the SI.com Fantasy Football draft: The consensus is that Larry Johnson, LaDainian Tomlinson and Shaun Alexander will go 1-2-3. So of course, I get the fourth pick. Who do I take? Clinton Portis? Tiki Barber? Terrell Owens? Anyone have any suggestions?
4. The Vikings' new uniforms: Has anyone seen these yet? From the highlights, it looked as if they were wearing those hideous Pro Bowl unis.
Newly acquired running back Chester Taylor went from being on a team that had one of the coolest jerseys in the league (the Ravens) to a team with one of the worst.Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
5. John Gibbons' chances of returning as Blue Jays manager next season: Two player scraps in one season is a ticket out of town. Of course, if Toronto was in contention for the AL East title or a wild-card spot, these skirmishes would be chalked up to a "family fight." But expectations for the Jays were high, and they're basically out of playoff contention with six weeks left in the season. So now the skirmishes will be chalked up to "losing the team."
Things I Do Like This Week
1. Two-A-Days: This MTV "documentary" series following the 2005 Hoover Buccaneers (a high school football team) debuts tonight, and I already have the TiVo set. From the promos I've seen, the show looks like the sports version of The Real World and Laguna Beach. Sounds like a winning formula to me.
2. Seeing Peter Gammons at Fenway Park during Saturday's Yankees-Red Sox game: The ESPN baseball analyst looked to be in good shape, a miracle considering what happened to him. Now let's just get him back on Baseball Tonight.
3. Kevin Federline's performance the Teen Choice Awards: This long-anticipated debut didn't disappoint. It was as bad as anything you can imagine -- no, make that worse than anything you can imagine -- thus giving us great train-wreck TV. My only complaint: He didn't sing PopoZao
4. Reggie Bush selects L.J.: I'm not a big fan of commercials. I rarely watch any (thank you, TiVo), but I caught ESPN's spot with Reggie Bush, and it actually made me laugh out loud.
5. The Yankees taking five games from the Red Sox: Sorry, Yankee-haters. I had to say it.Comments:
DISLIKE: SportsCenter wasting valuable airtime trying to predict week-by-week how football season will turn out. First it did it with the NFL, now it's doing it with college football. And it's bad enough these guys never pick upsets, always choose the popular and "trendy" teams, and don't account for injuries. Now, they've made up this bogus "playoff system" to determine the "SportsCenter" national champion.
Gee, I wonder if they're going to have USC and Notre Dame playing in the championship.
I'm sick and tired of seeing this "news" program (and I use this term very loosely) wasting time on pointless garbage like this, instead of actually talking about and showing highlights from games and sports that are actually being played RIGHT NOW.Take Steven Jackson at number 4.Jimmy,
Go with either Tiki Barber or Ronnie Brown. Tiki is a proven commodity, but Brown has big upside. I think it's a tossup, since Eli has looked much more confident early on, and looks to focus on the passing game, and Brown has no real competition in the backfield, and looks to be the only RB without an OL question mark.
P.S. Stay away from Edge, the AZ O-line stinks like overripe Gouda.You don't want to take Portis becuase you never know how his shoulder is going to hold up. TO is out also because Parcells doesn't like him and their offense spreads the ball around too much. With another stud receiver, an All-Pro TE, a highly touted rookie TE and Julius Jones running the ball, TO is not going to get the touches to have a big impact this season. TIki Barber would be a good pick. I think Stephen Jackson is to look for this season. The Rams have said that they are going to run the ball more and he looks to get a lot of touches. Why not go with Peyton Manning? You know he's going to throw the ball for yards and touchdowns every week, but it is risky not taking a top RB early in the draft.First 'Extreme Dating,' now 'Fox NFL Pregame.' Thank you to whomever is responsilbe for systematically removing Jillian Barberie from television. Now if we could only get her fired from 'Good Day LA.' Besides, I liked her better when she was Jenny McCarthy."Barberie's interaction with the hosts was amusing."
Barberie is an idiot. She ruins anything she's on for me, especially sports. I will miss Brown, but losing Barberie might make Fox my favorite pregame show now.The Falcons could afford to trade Duckett becuase of Jerious Norwood. He's been impressive in camp and was an excellent college back (and pretty much all of the offense) at Mississippi State.take tikiTiki Barber is the best choice on #4. Steven Jackson is a distant second choice for this position in the draft.Don't worry about Fantasy, someone will screw it up and take a QB, you'll get one of those three. Hopefully it will be Culpepper...Take Tiki or Steven Jackson. Portis' touchdown total most likely will take a hit with the arrival of T.J. Duckett. Don't think about a WR until at least the second round, and that depends on who's available. You take a T.O. with the fourth pick and I guarantee you a 3-11 season.How can you really say that Roddy White is a bust? He has only played part of 1 year in the league!! Give him time. I think if he played with a better passer, he would have done better too! Having said that, I like the trade. Ducket has under-achieved BIG TIME in Atlanta and Jerious Norwood has shown flashes of being a good NFL rb so far this pre-season.First, I would choose either Marvin Harrison or Steve Smith. Parcells offense does not = huge numbers for T.O. & in fantasy production counts.
I agree with the dislike of Sportscenter picking the college football season...just not entertaining.
Jillian out and Joe Buck in means I don't watch Fox as much. No offense to him but I can see the future on Joe Bucks foreheadHow can Roddy White in his second year be considered overrated? Duckett as a change of pace? Obviously you haven't watched any Falcons games in the past two seasons. Only thing Duckett changes is field position for the other team cause Atlanta is sure to punt when he has the ball on third and short. Good riddance!
Don't forget about Rudi J either. Especially if Palmer isn't healthy and Perry is out for awhile so he will be getting all the carries.Let's see...how should I put this ...Tiki,Tiki,Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, TIKI!Why couldn't FOX have put Jillian as the host?!? In a bikini? At Lambeau in December? Just askin'.I actually find myself changing the channel when espn tries picking these college games week by week. they should blindfold these guys, let them throw darts at their huge bracket board and decide who is going to win. To hear these guys say they think there is going to be a big defensive play in the third quarter of such and such game...and the winner is...i'd rather watch these guys dance with the stars if that tells you anything.Take Ronnie Brown 4th. Dont draft on last year alone like so many others. RB is a BEAST.FINALLY! An SI blog contributor who actually watches sports! Without mentioning names, you are seemingly the first SI blogger to point out, not only a relevant, but valid point. JOE BUCK IS HORRIBLE! Those stupid commercials with the throat touching because of his voice...HIS VOICE CUTS THROUGH ME LIKE NAILS ON A CHALK BOARD! He's a pansy, too. I'm losing places to turn to; Dan "I'm back to my playing weight" Marino is smart, but his arrogance is too much. And Irvin's constant arm-grabbing so he can interupt could anger anyone.
Thanks for saying what no other writer will, but we're all thinking.
Go with Tiki.I would take ANY Hollywood wanna-be over Jillian Barbarie for the pregame show sidekick/eye candy role -- We have her on one of the morning shows out here in LA, and she cannot stand to see the camera pointed at anyone else. And she also cannot let 30 seconds pass without mentioning that Pam Anderson is her friend.
There are so many women who are funnier, more attractive and less self obsessed than her, why not hire one of them? Then it might suddenly be "logistically possible" to integrate them into the show.Stephen Jackson is clearly your pick there.For those of who aren't sad to Jillian go there is help now in the form of America's favorite little pill. Please ask your wife/gf for you man hood backTo whoever said that someone would screw up and take a QB with one of the first three picks, are you serious? How stupid are the people in your league? Johnson-Alexander-Tomlinson are mortal locks to go 1-3 (though maybe not in that order). Can I join your league, it'd be nice to win one without really trying...
And, anyway, with the 4th pick, take Tiki. I like Steven Jackson, Ronnie Brown, and Rudi Johnson A LOT, but with Tiki, you know you'll get plenty of touches (rushes and catches), yards, and double-digit touchdowns.Pick Tiki. I took him 5th. Bush went 4th in our league.Watever happened to Melissa Stark? At least she knows something about the game and is nice to look at! What a concept!I think you should take Peyton in with the fourth pick. RB put up more points the QBs but difference between Peyton, who always puts up big numbers and has been injury free so far in his career, and the other QBs is better than the difference between the 4th and 10th best RBs. Take the best QB rather than the 4th best RB. Good RBs can be found in later rounds and during the season, see Sam Gado last year.When Fox put that ho Jillian on their pre-game, they lost me as a viewer (yes I am female and forgive me, but I actually wanted football commentary, not salivating over a fake-breasted bimbo). Glad to see Fox came to their senses, albeit a few years too late for me. I won't be going back, but at least I'd consider flipping over there now.Take Tiki with the 4th Pick. In addition to his rushing prowess, Tiki makes a lot of grabs out of the backfield and always has the potential to take a screen pass to the house. Joe Buck on Fox Pre-Game...You can be sure my remote never goes to that Channel..he is terrible and continues to get worse as the years go on...He may be the reason that Fox pushes all baseball playoff games to have their first pitch at 8:45 PM EST..Who wants to listen to him for over a half hour spew useless garbage....Terrible move by Fox....Jillian gone? I was looking forward to her sideline interview with Joe Namath!
Terell at #4? Get real. If you pick him, then it truly is a fantasy draft.Fox NFL - still the best by wide margin despite no James Brown. Lack of Barberie not a big factor.
Fantasy pick - pick someone who you already enjoy watching. Don't overthink.
Vikings uniforms - jerseys I like, pants not so much.Tiki will loose carries to Brandon Jacobs on the goal line, he plays in a tough division & he's old; anyone who recommends him to you hasn't been playing fantasy long. Gotta go with S. Jackson; no substainal back-up to steal carries, an awesome passing attack to spread out defenses, and plays in the second weakest division in the NFC.FF: Id go with a RB for sure- S Jackson or Tiki. I say Jackson cause of the running improvment and indoors. Tki has good upside, but hes been running for awhile and the wheels might break down soon. Also look at the WR corps too.
As for Fox, I am very upset they took my eye candy out and put in Joe Buck. He is turning out to be the NFLs version of Ryan Seacrest- Annoying, no brains and all talk. For me, Im not sure but I know it wont be CBS this year (again). What Im most upset about is not the pregame show, but the loss of ESPNs NFL PRIMETIME- Now there is a SHOW; too bad they are gonna take it off. No more Boomer and Tom.. pure simple football for Fantasy fans and those that missed the game, with the added "WOOP!" sounds from Chris and his famous "could go all the way.." THAT will be hard to replace, and NBC has BIG shoes to fill for the postgame show...
Gluck with Fantasy!take ronny browntake ronnie brown. tiki had too many carries last year and is too old. can't believe you're even considering Owens at 4. Holt, Chad, and Steve Smith go ahead of Owens at WR.Take Rudi Johnson. Portis is a question mark in terms of health. T.O. isn't even the top receiver available (and I wouldn't take a receiver in round one anyway). And there isn't anything I can point to specifically, but I don't see Tiki Barber being nearly as productive as he was last season. Rudi Johnson was very productive last year, and he has slimmed down, seems hungry, and has a good line in front of him that has been together for a while now.Its sad day that I just read that Jillian Barberie will not be working for FOX anymore. That picture of her posted next to your acticle brought a tear to my eye. I recommed checking out her FHM spread from a few years back. WOWHow about ESPN loading one half of their ridiculous-to-begin-with college playoff bracket? They have Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame and West Virginia in the same bracket - and putting ND and WV in play-in spots at 8 vs. 9 was simply moronic. The bottom bracket is USC and several also-rans (Michigan, Louisville, etc). One of the dumbest things I have ever seen.Rudi, Rudi, Rudi!
1400+ yards over the last 2 years, not to mention, the O Line in the Nati is arguably the best, definitely top 3, in the NFL.
It's a no brainer, you'll thank me later. Who Dey!!!!!!In light of recent events with Portis..... and I think to many other unknowns, this is becoming a good year to think seriously about doing the opposite if drafting midround. There are a whole bunch of RB's with great potential out there, as well as several veterans with some issues. These guys all book out on most sites very close to the same points scored on projections. So why not take a beast in another position first, and then pick up RB's later. I think that an Edgeless Colt roster is going to yield mammoth Peyton Manning numbers (especially in the early part of the season). I would look to picking up maybe Addai later, and possibly Jones and Benson or something of that nature in Rds 3 or 4. Be sure to sneak an early pick on Antonio Gates doing this theory of operation, as well as the Steelers D. Good luck.SUNDAY MORNINGS THIS FALL WILL NOT BE THE SAME DUE TO THE FOX CHANGES TO THEIR PREGAME SHOW. MY WIFE EVEN WOULD STOP AND ENJOY WATCHING THE BOYS (AS SHE CALLED THEM)GO AT IT WITH MR.BROWN TRYING TO ONTROL THEM. I AGREE ENOUGH OF MR. BUCK WAS THERE NO ELSE WHO COULD DO THE JOB?i can't believe more people aren't talking about the biggest tragedy of the NFL this season.
The New Vikings uni's.
They are, without a doubt, the worst thing ever to be placed on a football players body since the Jim McMahon "Rozelle" headband. And that actually had more style! These are the Danny Devito to the Bronco's Arnold Schwartzenegger if these two uniform revamps were to star in a remake of 'Twins'. Ziggy should have his Viagra taken away for jumping into bed with Nike on this disgusting afterbirth of a uniform design.You obviously know nothing about Falcons football. Roddy White is going to have a breakout year now that we have somebody to go deep. Duckett is not the running back everyone makes him out to be. He runs like a small tailback and does not hit the hole like a power back. The Redskins will be disappointed and this trade will help the Falcons offense take a large step forward.Take Ryan Leaf at number 1...or even Maurice Clarett...both are a sure thing!Whoever thought of bringing in the hottie, whether it be sideline or studio should get a raise. I watch pregame shows but as they continue to get longer and longer what's wrong with a beatiful women along for the ride to tell us about the weather and spew out kooky jokes. In most cases the only thing missing is the gateraid bath!Go with Peyton Manning. Best at that spot with those gone. As for CBS vs. FOX....James Brown was solid on FOX and Buck will be marginal. Is Brown on the CBS pregame and halftime? If he is it might be time to switch.Great Picture of Barbie! She is hot!! That got me to read your column today (at least the beginning of it). More pictures of hot women is what your column needs!!!!pick rudy or stephen def best choice.. who cares of pregame shows anyway..I would HATE to have the 4th pick this year and would make every effort to move down to end of the round unless it was a 12 team league. Tiki seems to be the consensus #4 now that Portis is dinged, but I keep waiting for him to finally start the Curtis Martin-like decline. He may go on to have another fantastic season this year, but I would be afraid of gambling on that. And beyond him, I don't see much difference in value between the next 7 or 8 RBs you could possibly take. So, your best option is to try and trade down with someone that is DYING to get Peyton. Failing that, cross your fingers with Tiki or pick whichever of the 7 or 8 clones you think has the most upside this season.hey hommey take billy volek. HE is the best thing the game has seen since Jon Kitna and you do not want to wait around and then he is gone. Take him while you have the chance. Do not listen to all the nay sayersStephen Jackson or Tiki Barber are about even when you consider Barber is going to lose a lot of goal line carries. If your scoring gives 6 points for passing touchdowns Manning might not be a bad choice either, but no reciever is worth anything more than end of the first round statusThis season will be Roddy White's second year in the league. I really don't know how you can even say that he is overrated and underachieving. For one, I don't hear anyone except Falcons' fans talk about Roddy White, so how does that make him overrated? As for underachieving, why don't you at least see how he plays this year before bashing him in your idiotic columnThe Vikings new uniforms stink! Go back to the original before the seasons starts!!!I really will miss James Brown on Sunday afternoons. Fox's pregame show always had me as a viewer and will probably continue to command my attention, but with both JB and Jillian gone, it just won't be the same, especially considering they threw Joe Buck in there. *shudders*I have the four spot in my draft too, which seems like a no-win situation. I've done mock drafts taking either Tiki or Clinton and got flak for my choices. Being the 4 in a 10 ten team league, I get the 17 and 24 spots, which will hopefully land me who I really want: Bush and Marvin Harrison.You gotta take Tiki.
Stay away from Portis, because the Skins just added Duckett, and if Gibbs decides to play Campbell at QB this season, they're going to lose Brunell's long ball, which means more people in the box.
Steven Jackson would be a good choice too, especially considering he doesn't face the Cowboys and Eagles defense twice each this season, like Tiki does.
DON'T take a QB, please! Some idiot always takes Manning in the top 10. Yeah, he's a stud, but QBs are all over the place. You need a monster at RB, ESPECIALLY if your league plays 2 RBs.It's about time someone said how awful Michael Irvin is on the ESPN pre-game show. (or any show for that matter) He is so full of himself and has no grasp of the English language. I can't wait for the day that Tom Jackson stops giving Michael "the eye" and actually hops over the desk and smacks him.It's a no brainer take Tiki...every year they say he isn't going to do much...he is getting old...Jacobs will get all the goaline carries...yet every year he proves them wrong so why should it be different this year. Until he has a bad season I would stick with him. Also I couldn't agree more with you about Jillian she was very hot and entertaining...Joe Buck should not ever replace anyone who is a hot girl...he should replace Michael Irvinyour analysis of the Duckett trade sucks, because you're not looking at it from the right angle.
Duckett was going to be a FA at the end of the year, and Atlanta wasn't going to re-sign him. He's a big back who doesn't play big. He tiptoes around the line, and often he gets stopped for no gain.
While I do agree Lelie sucks, at least they get to see if maybe a change of scenery does him good, and they do really need a receiver. Additionally, Lelie's only good aspect is catching a deep ball, and Vick is very good at the deep ball, if only Atlanta would only let him throw it and not be so stuck on this West Coast Offense idiocy.
As far as Roddy White being overrated, he's only in his second year. All good receivers take time to get used to the pro game, and the only real big WR rookie seasons in the last 10 years have been Moss and Boldin. All the big-time WRs (Smith, Johnson, Owens, Harrison, Branch) took a few years to develop. White still has the potential to develop into a very good WR.Fantasy Football: Take Rudi Johnson from Cincy. Two 100+ games against the Steelers should help you.
Vikes unis: If they wear all purple, will we see Fran Tarkenton???
Fox NFL Sunday: I was hoping they'd pick either Terry Bradshaw or try to steal Suzy Kolber from ESPN. She'd be good too.Joe Buck might add some dignity to the Fox pre-game show. Bradshaw and company act like buffoons and Jillian adds nothing to the mix. I have to admit though, Frank C. is very funny. The childish insults between the hosts, the silly jokes with Jillian, this show is meant for childen.All the hype and the best they could do is Joe Buck?More Joe Buck . . .? Please spare me! It's bad enough sitting through him and Tim McCarver [whose inane platitudes are insufferable enough on their own] during a baseball game and the conversation every other inning ends up revolving around the Yankees/Red Sox --> "The 2-0 slider to Pujols is just outside [author's note: it really was a bad straight change that missed, but I digress]. So Tim, let's talk about the upcoming Yankees-Red Sox series." NO, LET'S NOT!! Contrary to popular opinion, the entire world is not completely and utterly enamored with Yankees/Red Sox.
I wonder how log it will take him to work Yankees/Red Sox/Mets into the NFL Pregame show?
I give him 30 minutes.
And as irritating as I find Terry Bradshaw, he'll eat Joe Buck for lunch.Joe Buck is one of the most annoying people I know on these shows. What happened to Ms. Stark? Some eye candy would be nice, now that Primetime is not around, and Buck is on Fox there's not a NFL show worth watching. Guess i'll have to go to HBO for inside the NFL. Take Ronny Brown or Payton Manning. Safe choices.
D.Glide right by all those who are telling you to take a QB in the first round... RB is the only way to go, and the 4th best RB on the board is Tiki.. ( also, and I'm only gonna say this in confidence..Lawrence Maroney!! If he's still there when you complete your starters GRAB HIM!! )Glide right by anyone who says to take a QB... Tiki is the choice if alexander, LaDainian and LJ are gone.. and by the way, (just between you and I ) Laurence Maroney!! If he's still there when you have picked all your starters TAKE HIM!! He's gonna be a steal...Jimmy,
I couldn't have said it any better about the NFL pregame shows!!! Bring back JB and Jillian and don't mess with success.
I will never watch Espn with Micheal Irvin. "No, No, No, you need to get a player from the U" I was the greatest ever!" Give me a break. Somebody arrest him.Got something to say?
Jimmy wants to hear from you. If there's a story you think he might find interesting or if there's a topic you want him to cover, let him know about it. If you just have a question or comment for him, send it along, too. You can email him here.
(One note on the blogger comments: The only rule is to keep it clean. No curse words or curse words disguised with dashes)Recent Posts
Copyright © 2008 Time Inc.A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.Terms under which this service is provided to you.Read our privacy guidelines.
