Blogcritics Author: Mitchell Blatt

My Rage: CBS Cuts Off Chargers Game Mid-Touchdown Throw

Mitchell Blatt — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:20:06 EST

Sadistic Roger Goodell laughs at me as a last-minute TD pass becomes censored due to contractual obligations.
The San Diego Chargers were down 10-17 to the Tennessee Titans Sunday afternoon as they were driving with less than a minute left. They got inside the ten with 18 seconds left, and my eyes were glued to the TV.Before I go any further, let me make one thing clear: Titans-Chargers was not actually the featured game for CBS' Midwestern region...

My Rage: Another Terrible MNF Matchup

Mitchell Blatt — Mon, 3 Dec 2007 10:06:53 EST

Monday Night Football, once the trash heap of broadcasters, is now the trash heap of football machtups as well.
Last week, we had to suffer through the Dolphins vs the Steelers on Monday Night Football. Even Ricky Williams' return didn't ease the pain, as Ricky got injured after six carries.As if the pathetic matchup weren't enough, ESPN's ads all week sealed the deal. You know, the ones about how you were watching the Dolphins-Pats game three years ago in...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Brett Favre Decides to Keep Throwing Interceptions

Mitchell Blatt — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 17:24:14 EDT

Two months ago Brett Favre announced another press conference, and this time it wasn’t to reschedule the press conference. He stepped up to the podium and steadfastly twitched before decisively spouting gibberish until -- unable to determine his future -- Favre finally made his decision to continue playing football at what John Kerry affectionately calls “Lambert Field.” Maybe I am being unfair to Kerry. Even he can decide which side to butter his waffle in a more timely manner than Brett Favre did on whether he would retire.This is the same man who called out Javon Walker last year for holding out during contract negotiations. Now Favre has kept the Packers from signing anyone in free agency while also keeping their future quarterback Aaron Rodgers from taking snaps -- all while helping the team get rid of Walker. At the same time, he complained that the Packers weren’t doing anything in free agency. Well, had Favre made up his mind soon enough, the Pack could have signed the receiver who so adores Favre: Terrell Owens.If the Green Bay front office had any interest in the success of their team, then wouldn’t we wouldn’t see the name “Fav-ra” on the Packers roster any longer. They should have answered him on March 25th, when he asked, “What will they do, cut me?” by doing just that. For the first time since 1993, he has thrown more interceptions (29) than touchdowns (20). Even Aaron Brooks, who once flung a loose ball 15 yards backward to avoid being sacked, could only muster 17 tosses to the other team. Favre’s 70.9 QB rating was eclipsed by such elite field generals as Kyle Boller, Joey Harrington, Gus Frerotte, and Trent Dilfer.His horrid season can only be blamed so much on injuries. Injuries don’t make a quarterback throw the ball straight to three defensive players. Favre even lost the ball to a fan when he played the Bengals. It’s not as if he’s going to have a much better supporting cast this coming year, anyway. They still haven't found capable replacements for Pro Bowl guards Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle, whom they lost in the 2005 off-season. Top receiving threat Javon Walker was traded for a second-round draft pick that Green Bay promptly traded away to Atlanta. Finally, they signed no one in free agency, because no one knew what the state of the team was with Favre holding everyone hostage.Now that Favre has decided to play, the next great decision awaits him once the season starts: who to throw the ball to? “Favre drops back … He stops … Apparently, he has decided to schedule a press conference to announce who he will throw the ball to.”

Mitchell Blatt is a freakin genius! (I think so, anyway.) You can read more of his rants and/or articles at Juiced Sports Blog. JSB: Writing Enhanced by Flaxseed Oil.