Chicago -
By Jim Coffman
How is it possibly possible?
How can it be that backup quarterback Nick Foles – the guy who was absolutely rejected as a possible starting signal-caller by all 32 teams in free agency last year – is the Super Bowl MVP?
First guess? The NFL has no clue what it is doing.
Posted on February 5, 2018
It’s Always Funny Until The Rioting Starts
The best non-football part of the game – better than the ads and the halftime show – starring MVP MLK.
I mean, this is just too perfect, to get us started:
OMG someone overlayed that ridiculous Dodge/MLK ad with what King actually said about capitalism and car commercials pic.twitter.com/9IB528mCyt
— Astead (@AsteadWesley) February 5, 2018
Posted on February 5, 2018
By Kyle Emich/The Conversation
The New England Patriots lost their best wide receiver to an ACL tear before the season started. Two months later, Patriots defensive captain and Pro Bowl linebacker Dont’a Hightower tore his pectoral muscle, ending his season.
In early December, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz – in the midst of a breakout season – tore his ACL.
Each team experienced enough upheaval to have derailed their seasons. Yet, each will be playing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LII.
While many NFL analysts deal with easily observable factors – individual performance, weather, play-calling and match-ups – it’s often what can’t be seen that determines a team’s success.
Inside and outside of sports, I’ve studied what makes some teams thrive and what makes others falter. Because talent goes only so far, it’s important to evaluate a team’s structure and mindset to determine its true strength.
Posted on February 4, 2018
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Zip lines, fedoras and Justin Timberlake. Plus: The Mirotic Miracle; Sad Saad; Oscar Gamble Was More Than Just The Game’s Greatest Afro; Willson Contreras To Catch Every Game; Being Mark Appel; Foxy Friend Rips Ryan; Ramble Off; and Testify!
Posted on February 2, 2018
By Natasha Julius
Super Bowl halftime acts are announced in October, meaning that this year is truly the first halftime of the Trump era. And, much like everything related to the Molester-in-Chief, the choice is so on-the-nose it hurts. What better way to vanquish the sublime memory of last year’s Lady Gaga tour-de-force than with the weaselly little fucker who ripped off Janet Jackson’s bra cup? Time’s up, #MeToo! We need a cis-het white guy corrective.
Look, you can argue that Justin Timberlake has the requisite career arc for a Super Bowl halftime act. He’s been around an inexplicably long time, he’s accumulated a back catalog of moderately notable hits, he had a somewhat successful year in 201– no, fuck this, I’m sorry. Justin Timberlake? Are you kidding me with this shit? Nipplegate aside, this is a guy who has made a career gleefully squawking about creeping up on unsuspecting women and forcing them to gyrate with him. Don’t believe me? Please allow me to quote from last year’s Oscar-nominated opus, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”:
Posted on February 2, 2018
By Roger Wallenstein
The hat never quite fit so it was a good thing that Oscar Gamble, who died Wednesday at 68, most often wore a batting helmet in his role as designated hitter for the 1977 South Side Hitmen.
Gamble’s ample, expertly coiffed Afro already has been prominently mentioned in the announcements of his passing, but it wasn’t the hair that Sox fans remember from that magical season. The guy could flat out hit.
Posted on February 1, 2018
