Tag: Throwball Playoffs 2011

2011 Throwball Playoffs

This time through we get excited about the early game on Fox at 3 pm.

Despite over 180 regular season meetings the Bears and the Packers have met just twice in the post season and I’m not as sanguine as my dad about the Packers’ ability to prevail as I was before watching the Bears dismantle the Seahawks last week.

A reminder of why you should be rooting for the Packers–

The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned franchise in American professional sports major leagues. Typically, a team is owned by one person, partnership, or corporate entity, i.e., a “team owner.” The lack of a dominant owner has been stated as one of the reasons the Green Bay Packers have never been moved from the city of Green Bay, a city of only 102,313 people as of the 2000 census.

…

As of June 8, 2005, 112,015 people (representing 4,750,934 shares) can lay claim to a franchise ownership interest. Shares of stock include voting rights, but the redemption price is minimal, no dividends are ever paid, the stock cannot appreciate in value – though private sales often exceed the face value of the stock, and stock ownership brings no season ticket privileges. No shareholder may own over 200,000 shares, a safeguard to ensure that no individual can assume control of the club. To run the corporation, a board of directors is elected by the stockholders.

…

Green Bay is the only team with this form of ownership structure in the NFL; such ownership is in direct violation of current league rules, which stipulate a limit of 32 owners of one team and one of those owners having a minimum 30% stake. However, the Packers corporation was grandfathered when the NFL’s current ownership policy was established in the 1980s, and are thus exempt. The Packers are also the only American major-league sports franchise to release its financial balance sheet every year.

Another old school matchup is Jets @ Steelers on CBS at 6:30 pm.  Last week I told you why the Jets were pretty loathsome and my opinion hasn’t mellowed in the 7 days since.

Plus the Steelers are a better team.

This is the end of the CBS broadcast season.

2011 Throwball Playoffs

Once again I find myself more interested in the late rather than the early game, but I’ll try to work up some outrage for you anyway.

The early game starts on FOX at 1 pm according to all reputable sources and not the dumbass commentators who’s major qualification for their job is that they’re not quite brain damaged enough to be unable to read from a teleprompter.  In fairness they were probably shilling their pre-game program as well they might because who watches that boring crap anyway?

My mild favorite is the Seahawks who have the good fortune not to be the second most bitter rival of my second favorite team (second favorite team == Packers, most bitter rivals == Vikings).  What’s to like about da Bears?  They’re one of 2 original NFL franchises and they still play outside at Soldier Field.  Also I think they’re an easier opponent for the Pack if it should come to that.

The late game is at 4:30 pm on CBS and pits the loathsome Patsies against the only slightly less loathsome Jets.  What’s so loathsome about the Jets?  Outside of the rampant clubhouse misogyny and their status as one of the most Republican teams in the league (and in the NFL that’s saying a lot), they’re also freeloading squatters in Giants Stadium.  Buncha deadbeat Galts they are.

But the Patsies (look for ‘Gillette Stadium’) are even worse.  Their Hartford Hijack is unforgivable, or at least I’m not ready to make nice.

While it would be good to have the Jets kick their ass, it’s probably not possible so I’ll have to look forward to the Steelers kicking it in the Conference Championships next week or a repeat of Super Bowl XXXI.

The usual nonsense below the fold.

2011 Throwball Playoffs

It’s hard to say whether having a bye week is an advantage.  On the one hand you have a week to rest up and get healthy (and not expose yourself to further injuries), but on the other hand it does kind of disrupt your practice schedule.  You could point at the record, but I’d say it’s not dispositive since the teams that get the bye are selected based on their superior record and are presumably better teams anyway.

Today Ravens @ Steelers is the early game at 4:30 pm on CBS.  I think the Steelers are as good as anyone this year so I would expect them to have no problem with the Ravens, but I’m frequently wrong and unexpected things happen which is why they play the games.

The late game at 8 pm on FOX I have an actual rooting interest in.  The Packers are my second favorite team in the league and as I explained last week it’s not just an accident of birth.  To quote from Wikipedia–

The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned franchise in American professional sports major leagues. Typically, a team is owned by one person, partnership, or corporate entity, i.e., a “team owner.” The lack of a dominant owner has been stated as one of the reasons the Green Bay Packers have never been moved from the city of Green Bay, a city of only 102,313 people as of the 2000 census.

…

As of June 8, 2005, 112,015 people (representing 4,750,934 shares) can lay claim to a franchise ownership interest. Shares of stock include voting rights, but the redemption price is minimal, no dividends are ever paid, the stock cannot appreciate in value – though private sales often exceed the face value of the stock, and stock ownership brings no season ticket privileges. No shareholder may own over 200,000 shares, a safeguard to ensure that no individual can assume control of the club. To run the corporation, a board of directors is elected by the stockholders.

…

Green Bay is the only team with this form of ownership structure in the NFL; such ownership is in direct violation of current league rules, which stipulate a limit of 32 owners of one team and one of those owners having a minimum 30% stake. However, the Packers corporation was grandfathered when the NFL’s current ownership policy was established in the 1980s, and are thus exempt. The Packers are also the only American major-league sports franchise to release its financial balance sheet every year.

So Falcons fans (and there must be some of you), it’s not so much that I dislike your team, but they’re in the way of my Packers getting a chance to crush da Bears in the Conference Championships next week.

Nothing personal.

The usual nonsense below the fold.

Did I mention sentiment and loathing?

It’s hard to get worked up about the early game @ 1 pm on CBS.  On the one hand the Ravens are kind of overdogs in comparision to the Chiefs who haven’t been in the playoffs for a long time.  On the other hand I know a rabid Chiefs fan and he’s a total idiot.

Pick ’em.

Now the late game @ 4:30 pm on FOX I can get enthused about.  In the first place I’m only half troll and over the bridge we’re all huge fans of the Pack.  Not to mention it’s the only publicly owned franchise in the NFL so it has that anarcho-syndicalist vibe to it.

And then you have the Iggles, loathsome not just because they play in the same division as my Giants, but also because they employ the despicable Michael "Dog Killer" Vick.  Obama may have forgiven him, but I sure haven’t.

So I think you know how to root.  As I did yesterday I’ll try to note breaking developments in the comments and bump this when the late game starts.

Today’s games are both on NBC and represent the end of this season’s Throwball schedule for them.  The early game at 4:30 pm pits the Who ‘Dats @ Seahawks, the late one at 8 pm features the Jets @ Bolts.

Now since I don’t care much about Throwball (the season is half over by the time the Series is), I make my post season picks based purely on sentimentality and loathing.  Take the Who ‘Dats, they had another tough year down on the bayou what with BP spewing up Billions of Barrels of Crude through a combination of incompetence and greed and the Obama administration is still busily covering it up, so I’m rooting for them.

Sorry Seahawks.  Have a Grande Mocha Latte on me (I’ll have a double Redeye, black as my soul).

As for loathing, there’s no easier team to hate than the Bolts.  Over Irsay?  I don’t think I’ll ever get over Irsay, Elaine.  The Jets also have the virtue of playing in the Tri-State Area which appeals to my inner Doofenschmirtz.

This is a live blog (for both games) which means I’ll kinda sorta be paying attention while I’m actually doing something else entirely and if I do impart some useful information you can console yourself with the knowledge that it’s just an accident.