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Call it a sign.
But with all the birds dropping from the skies unexpectedly.
My fumbled prediction is no winning bird teams in the playoffs.
Just in case you have not been overloaded with social media ....
Via Twitters Facebook page...
It’s time for the @NFL playoffs, and they are sure to generate more Twitter conversation than ever before. And, this year, the teams and players, themselves will have lots to say. All 12 playoff teams and a full one-third (200+) of the players in the playoffs have Twitter accounts.
To help you keep up with these teams and players, we created a list of Twitter accounts relevant to the playoffs. You can follow @drewbrees and the @Official_Saints as they try to repeat as World Champions or @MikeVick of the @eagles as he continues his comeback. The list also includes folks like @JimIrsay, owner of the @NFLColts, and @PeteCarroll, coach of the @Seahawks.
You also can receive Tweets via SMS on your phone even if you don’t have a Twitter account or a smartphone. Just text “follow [username]” - for example “follow Packers” - to 40404 in the US.
For a rolled up version of NFL Playoff tweets click here.
But just don't expect to see any activity within 90 minutes of game time. . .
What a stupid rule...
I am old school. No big secret there.
I am a big proponent of clearly defined and simple rules.
Not the least of which should include: Having fun and being good.
The best memories and even wisdom can come from life’s experiences.
When it comes to Football, There should be one clearly defined rule.
Actually several, but the first ones should go like this.
- NFL Football Stadiums should be outdoor stadiums.
- NFL Football Fields should be natural turf.
- NFL Fans should love the elements as much as the game itself.
Plain and simple: Football is an outdoor sport!
As I watched the Vikings Monday Night Football Game against Da Bears, I came to the realization that I, and these simple rules, have been right all along . . . ;-)
And a lot of important people agree with me. Here are just a few:
Joe Gibbs: There is no indoor practice facility at Redskins park because of his long standing belief that football is an outdoor sport.
Leslie Frazier: grew up in the cold and experienced many a football game in the elements and loves the idea of being out in the elements.
Zygi Wilf: wants to reinstate the tradition back in Minnesota, or where ever he ends up moving the team . . .
I sincerely hope that this outdoor tradition catches hold and we see a lot more games played out in the elements like the one last night and see more new OUTDOOR stadiums being built.
And for those of you who want to point out that I was inside a climate controlled room with a wide screen TV while I came to this enlightened realization remember this:
I was about 1200 miles away
and
TV is NOT an outdoor sport!
Who will win?
My original idea for this post was a kind of Drama award for the NFL.
We certainly have had (and continue to have) plenty of teams, coaches, owners and players all worthy of some sort of Headline or Drama award this year.
I even had a couple top contenders in mind (Vikings and Brett Favre) vs ( Redskins, AH, McNabb, Shanahan). Yes the Redskin side out numbers the Vikings, but only in candidates.
There are plenty of other contenders out there and everyone (fans), depending on their loyalties and personalities, will have his or her own favorites.
The first dilemma I encountered was how to choose and whom?
One way might be to go simply by number of news articles for 2010. I quickly realized, that despite my , and a certain followers preferences, the previously mentioned; surprisingly are NOT necessarily top contenders.
Google 2010 news articles:
Brett Favre --------- 19K results
Donovan McNabb ------ 9K results
Albert Haynesworth -- 4K results
Mark Sanchez -------- 11K results
Minnesota Vikings --- 21K results
New York Jets ------- 28K results
New York Giants ----- 31K results
I could have done more but I did not feel like going through every possible team and player combination out there.
Another way to choose a winner might be to go simply by popularity.
For this I turned to social media to look for answers.
Again, I found some surprising results.
Teams with most Facebook fans:
#1 Dallas Cowboys
#2 Pittsburgh Steelers
#3 New Orleans Saints
#4 New England Patriots
#6 Minnesota Vikings
#10 Washington Redskins
Then we have the number of people who “like” something, or in this case, somebody else:
673K people like the Minnesota Vikings
440K people like the Washington Redskins
1.16 million people like the New England Patriots
1.26 million people like the Steelers
But what about some of the players?
T.O. has 390K people who like him (obviously there is no accounting for taste as you will soon see)
Favre 98K like him
Mcnabb 40K like him
Only 1K people like Haynesworth.
Randy Moss, has 170K liking him.
Ochocinco 1.3 million people like him (Really?)
And, sad to say, two of my personal favorite NFL role models:
5K like Darrell Green.
2.5K like London Fletcher.
Twitter had some equally interesting results for top followers:
#4 Kerry Rhodes
#7 Mark Sanchez
#9 NY Jets
#11 New England Patriots
#16 ndamukong_suh
#21 Vikings
Oh, and now for something completely different, one funny listing I saw regarding “most retweeted” for 2010 . . .
OK, now that I have totally digressed beyond / past my original idea, let me pull everyone back to how to choose and present an award.
For this, I took inspiration from the original photo I so grandiosely trashed. The Oscars and the Academy Awards.
Instead of creating a dull and most likely incomplete poll, I am going to create discussion threads on my Fumbled Returns Facebook Fan Page with the following Categories:
Best NFL Actor
Best NFL Art or Sign
Best NFL Fan Costume
Best Rant
Best Action Shot
Best Sound Effect
Best Unscripted Comment
Best Dance
Best Score
Best Commercial
And stealing one from categories turned down . . .
Best Juvenile Award
Within these discussion threads anybody will be able to nominate their own personal suggestion / link and or agree with one that is already there.
I will keep the threads open through the remainder of the season, including the playoffs and super bowl.
And in keeping with the original inspiration, tally the votes and announce the awards sometime around the real academy awards in 2011.
So, you all have some time to think about your choice awards for each category and submit an entry.
Submit multiple entries if you like.
Or confirm that you end up liking one already there.
Lets see who wins!
This is a wonderful time of year.
Many people are focused on the holidays, Friends, Family, and all things which we are thankful for and have contributed to making our lives better.
I would like to think that one of the things which make our lives better, or at least more fun and memorable is sports.
This past week, the sports world lost a legendary sports and entertainment figure Don Meredith.
Don Meredith was part of what is now an American Institution. Monday Night Football.
Oh yeah, he was also a Dallas Cowboy, and a pretty Dandy one at that, but I certainly don't hold his choice of teams against him...
When I look for gift ideas, I often try to think of ideas that give either a different spin on a popular topic or represent the "classic" or "best of" a topic.
So, in honor of Dandy Don and Monday Night football I've come up with two Gift Ideas.
Monday Night Mayhem:
Based on the book by Bill Carter and Marc Gunther, this immensely entertaining made-for-cable film tells it like it was in chronicling the golden age of Monday Night Football, a bold experiment in prime-time programming that transformed the pop-culture landscape. Carrying the ball for the lesser-known ensemble is John Turturro's Emmy-worthy performance as Howard Cosell, who played the role of "provocateur" in the then-revolutionary three-man booth that included in its heyday "Dandy" Don Meredith (Brad Beyer) and Frank Gifford (Kevin Anderson). John Heard gives a career-best performance as ABC producer Roone Arledge, who nurtured his brainchild and brilliantly massaged the egos of his stars. His prickly, more complex relationship with Cosell is the heart of this film. Rich with incident, Monday Night Mayhem spans from Muhammad Ali's controversial anti-Vietnam War stance and the blood-soaked 1972 Munich Olympics to John Lennon's death, which Cosell announced to a shocked nation. Also comic and compelling is the behind-the-scenes in-fighting and the colorful backstage characters.
The complete story of the early years of the greatest night in sports.
In September 1970, ABC Sports started a revolution that became an American Institution. Now, 25 seasons later, the beginning of every autumn work week is much easier to handle. The 25th Anniversary of ABC's Monday Night Football celebrates the highlights and history made by football's greatest players and play-by-players.
The hard-hitting action is all here in classic overtime victories, amazing runs, winning kicks, blitzes, bloopers and bizarre moments from the NFL's greatest night. John Frank Gifford, Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf, and former announcers Howard Cosell, "Dandy" Don Meredith, O.J. Simpson, Joe Namath, Fred Williamson and Keith Jackson for magic moments from the booth to the backfield to the bench.
This special collector's edition also features: inside stories, classic anecdotes and great gaffes; moving moments of triumph, defeat and courage; and much more!
Well, it is now officially playoff season.
Fantasy Football Playoffs that is.
And I have managed to qualify in both my leagues.
First, in my Borderless League, I limped into the playoffs by loosing my last 2 games by a heart wrenching 6 total points. No matter, even though I had a mediocere 7 - 6 record, I had the second highest point total in the 12 team league. I won my division (the top 3 teams all tied with a 7 - 6 record) because of that high point total. That means I win the division and I get that all important 1st round bye and a guarenteed extra $50 bucks!
In my Fumbled Returns League of Experts I again won my division as well. Though no money was involved, I do get bragging rights! :-)
On the real football front, it appears that the Redskin organization has FINALLY getting around to expelling Sir Albert and attempting to recover some of the insanely high priced salary cap hit they have taken.
Has this proven to be a distraction?
Yes.
Was signing him in the first place a stupid thing to do?
Yes.
Were Shanny and Allen dealt a bad hand?
Yes.
Now that he is "technically" gone, will this continue to be a distraction?
Yes.
Reports are asking, and will continue to ask every coach and player and fan possible...
Was this a distraction?
Are you glad it is finally over?
Do you think he will be back next year?
We should have cut him before the season even started, or at least put him on the physically/mentally unable to perform list.
You could have gotten a lot more money back.
Now this is a site I could and would get behind!
There could be something for everyone.
From Belichick to Sports Writers
From Owners to Fans
From Players to Cheerleaders
Imagine the possibilities!
So this week we had a leak of new Nike NFL Uniforms hit the web.
By now everyone knows they are fake.
But where did they come from?
Who drew them? What is the source?
And Why?
Well, here at Fumbled Returns we strive to uncover the truth behind the story.
To separate fact, from fiction.
We of course started with the various news agencies, press releases and sports talk shows.
It did not take long for us to realize that there were basically three variations of this story.
1) It was real – later supposedly proven to be false
2) It was a hoax – generated by lonely bored and or failed graphic artists.
3) It was really a conspiracy theory hatched by the NFL and Nike to judge market and fan reaction to their concept drawings.
Which one of these is the truth, if any; and how do we go about exposing the real source of this news and sports story?
Lets start with the last one. The conspiracy theory - With a little of "hoax" thrown in for good measure...
If one were to expand this hoax and conspiracy theory in a predictable next step, we should soon see one of these “concept” drawings show up as a real true prototype.
And when you have a prototype, you have the chance and the opportunity for theft, smuggling and illegal transport of goods for monetary gain.
I believe that the feds have already taken action to stop this from happening by instituting new scanning 
and pat down procedures for the TSA. How else would one hope to uncover smuggling of these concept prototype uniforms?
Don't believe that lady could hide a uniform in there? Well if Leslie Johnson, the wife of the arrested PG executive, Jack Johnson, can stuff $80K in here bra, you can see why hiding a uniform just might be plausible.
I applaud the TSA for “checking out” every potential passenger traveling into and out of airports. But I believe there is a better way to catch a thief. And the source.
Fraudulently claim to be that said source yourself!
Following the money is often the best, quickest and most reliable method to getting to the root of a problem, investigation or uncovering the source.
So here is my solution.
Post up on Zazzle the new concept uniforms and sell them for $19.95 a piece.
Trust me, real , fake , liked, disliked or otherwise, you will get a lot of interest and people wanting to buy them if for no other reason, memorabilia.
If they are really test marketed by the NFL and Nike as a hoax , I guarantee that you will have them jumping all over you with their lawyers and the conspiracy theorists will be proven correct.
If they are really from bored lonely fans and failed artists, and that person(s) sees you making tons of money off of their idea, you will be contacted.
Wow, I knew they were working out a deal but this is truly surprising.
Guess Donovan was right when he said he wanted to stay a Redskin. This is more than I was expecting. 3 years with maybe a 4th but FIVE? !!!
And if the rumors are true about the $78 million contract extension, $40 million of which is guaranteed. This is not a bad deal for either party.
Donovan has average $9 million per year prior to this so it fits very nicely into the scheme of things.
Not too shabby for a hall of fame caliber QB and a 2nd round trade.
Congratulations to Donovan!
Congratulations to the Redskins!
Though, it does make me wonder what he could have gotten if he had been able to run a two minute drill....
Now go out there and toast the Eagles tonight!
I posted last week about parity in my Borderless league and how crazy this NFL season has been.
Week 10 has continued the crazyness.
Jason Whitlock had a very interesting article about this. I was working on a similar train of thought regarding the Cowboys game and the new interim coach, but as is always the case, somebody else said it much better than I could ever hope to.
So here is the article and link. Thanks to Jason.
Explaining the NFL's craziness
You can blame parity, the salary cap, free agency, officiating or even your bookie.Read more...
I’ll blame coaching.
Coaching an NFL team is quite possibly the hardest thing to do in sports, more difficult than playing quarterback or hitting .330 for the Kansas City Royals.
Football is a military sport. A coach leads his men into war. Just imagine if a significant percentage of General Patton’s soldiers had multimillion-dollar contracts and know-it-all agents chirping in their ears.
Further imagine there was a 24-hour TV network dedicated to second-guessing Patton and his infantrymen and all-talk radio stations located at every combat zone dissecting the day’s events. Suppose Patton’s savviest soldiers spent part of their day plotting how to build their brands in hopes of landing a reality TV show or a post-career broadcasting job.
It’s impossible to lead nowadays.
Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry and Chuck Noll had it very easy compared to Tom Coughlin, Mike Tomlin and Sean Payton.
Lombardi and Co. excelled during the era when a coach’s voice rang loudest, when a coach had all the power. A coach could be an absolute bully during the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. He could say and do pretty much anything he wanted. Players feared him.
Marvin Lewis fears Chad Ochocinco. Brad Childress fears his entire roster.
In the new millennium, there has been only one coach who has been able to build and sustain a hold on his football team week to week and year to year -- Bill Belichick.
His success in the postseason, his ruthlessness in regards to dismissing players and his relationship with Tom Brady have allowed Belichick to rule the way Lombardi, Noll, Don Shula and Bill Parcells once did.
Belichick’s competitors pull off an old-school imitation for a stretch of games or perhaps a season, but eventually they lose their grip on their football team. Even Belichick's team can still lose it -- look at the 34-14 loss to the Browns last week.
Mike Tomlin is a good coach. But his Steelers laid an egg in a high-profile, important football game Sunday night. They weren’t ready. They got smacked at home in the marquee game of the weekend.
Like Tomlin, the Giants' Coughlin has a Super Bowl title on his resume. For five weeks, the Giants looked like the best team in the NFC. Sunday, the Cowboys and their interim coach, Jason Garrett, embarrassed the Giants.
The AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs fell behind the last-place Broncos by 35 points. Chiefs coach Todd Haley has been trying to impersonate Parcells for two seasons. Sunday, when his team got exposed, Haley resorted to postgame whining and finger-waving because mean-old Josh McDaniels scored two second-half touchdowns.
It seems that every good NFL team has at least one head-scratching, let’s-reevaluate performance this season. There is no Super Bowl favorite. There are 10 to 12 teams that could win it all if they get on a roll.
It’s coaching. And I don’t mean bad coaching. It’s simply much harder to coach in this current era. It’s more difficult for a coach to sell and get players to buy into an overarching theme for an entire season.
There are more voices in a player’s head. Take the Cowboys. At one point, you had Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips and head-coach-in-waiting Garrett all leading the Cowboys.
Lombardi was the absolute final word in Green Bay. What he said was all that mattered. Now you have star general managers and team presidents and offensive and defensive coordinators.
Plus, you have a commissioner, Roger Goodell, who has appointed himself as the league’s top cop. The players fear the commissioner far more than they do their head coach. Goodell suspends and fines players for their conduct on and off the field. Discipline/punishment used to come from the head coach. Now it comes from the commissioner’s office.
Punishment is a primary tool in leadership.
It’s impossible to lead nowadays, which makes it impossible to predict what will happen week to week.
I’m sticking with my preseason prediction that the Steelers will win the Super Bowl. They’re the most complete team.
I planned on ending this column ranking the 10 best teams. I can’t do it. It would just be a lot of speculation and guesses. In no particular order, the Steelers, Patriots, Giants, Jets, Ravens, Colts, Saints, Eagles, Packers and Falcons can all win the Super Bowl.
Pike called up from the nether worlds to take command beside his highly effective offensive line and teammates.
BTW – That would be Tony Pike of the Carolina Panthers. Not Captain Pike of Star Trek but hey, I could not resist.
The Panthers burned through Matt Moore and Jimmy Clausen and finally called Pike to get him some playing time because , well, just because.
With seemingly ever star name either out or on the bench, this team is really hurting.
But honestly, I can’t decide who is hurting more. Panthers, Bills or Cowboys.
The Bills proved that they stink no matter what country they are in.
They Cowboys proved that there is no low too low for them to go this year.
If I were Jason Garrett, and thank god I’m not, I’d be worried.
Hey Jason, here is a tip from a devoted Redskins fan. Keep calling up those wonderful passing plays!
And on a more positive note.
The Browns took it to Uncle Bill and the Pats! (I actually picked that one in my pickem league)
I know, everyone else was baffled too.
The Redskins didn’t lose.
And I am still winning the division in both my leagues thanks in part to my being able to (unbelievably) pick up Jacob Tamme off of waivers this week. If he is still available in yours, he is definitely worth a consideration.
!!! UPDATE !!!
Cowboys dot Com site goes down due to registration failure !!!
Default Network Solutions page with two kids playing soccer is shown instead of all the wonderful personnel and player headlines !!!
Ha ! Ha ! Ha !
This weekend we have:
A Rally for Fear which will occupy approximately 30,000 people and 3 hours of our time.
A Rally for Sanity which will will probably produce the same results as the Fear Rally.
A Marine Corp Marathon which will showcase about another 30,000 people running for another 3 hours.
I don't want to even mention the nut who happens to be running around with a loaded rifle randomly shooting at military and government buildings and structures.
Halloween which will produce untold amounts of sugar and alcohol highs in kids of all ages.
About 50 or so televised college football games which alone equals more minutes of football than minutes in any given weekend.
A dozen televised NFL games.
A World Series.
Fourteen Hockey Games.
Need I say more? . . .
Not that I am a believer in “hitting them when their down” or politically incorrect cheap shots, but here is one worth publishing. In order to give credit where credit is due, I took a screen shot.
Romo shouldn’t worry though, I’m sure Jerry can still get him good seats to the Superbowl !
There, I feel better for having dumped on da boys.
Now on to the rest of my post...
I think I am going to change my teams name in my Borderless Fantasy League to the Bar Brawlers.
Right now they are called The Fun Bunch (my little protest and honor to the good ol’ days).
But after picking up Kenny Britt and moving him to the starting roster and totally blowing away my competition. I think a name change might be in order.
(Confession time) The only reason I played him was because DeSean was knocked out (literally) this week.
If anybody made a case for not being on the bench (bar stool) or otherwise, it was Kenny Britt.
It was a good week for my Fumbled Returns League of Experts team too!
I figured if the Giants defense could beat up on Cutler and the bears, so could the Skins.
In a game where I swear they were both trying to see who could throw the game more, The Skins Defense ended up being my teams top scoring “player” on the team.
And speaking of the Giants, I suppose congratulations are in order. Though I had my hopes up that da boys would actually win this one and force a tie with my beloved Skins and the Giants. Imagine that, me routing for da boys! What was I thinking ?
But alas, the football gods had other plans.
What is and is not a touchdown catch anymore . . .
Or why certain plays are or are not reviewed . . .
Or why you would celebrate before being tackled?
Why Cutler decided to make DeAngelo Hall his #1 receiver
Why McFadden waited until I vowed never to draft him again to prove how good he really is . . .
Oh yeah, he gets injured too much and (it's only one game)...
How old man Collins can be a stud QB
Oh yeah, bar brawler Britt showed why he should never be kept on the bench
Why going down on a knee is a celebration penalty but going down on two is not excessive . . .
Oh yeah, he's looking up thanking God he managed to run 92 yards !
Why a team averaging 5+ yards a carry would abandon the run or even think that passing it could be better
Why anybody EVER thought that not trading for Cutler was a missed opportunity for the Redskins
That Andy Reid once made the brilliant coaching decision to bench Donovan then brought him back the next week? Yup - he was making bone headed plays
Hmmm Shanny is a pretty smart coach who demands excellence. I wonder if he will do the same?
Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Marisa Miller will become the new spokesperson for the NFL.
What's up with all this "female" movement in the NFL? Nothing against looking at pretty models, cheerleaders, or even pretty model sports reporters . . .
I find this decision, and timing, rather strange. I know these advertising things often take weeks to put together and publish but with last weeks Brett Favre thing hitting the internet and yet another football model reporter scandal . . .
Well, I'm just saying that perhaps Ms. Miller should get an unlisted number.
But for some reason, when I think of the NFL, I do not think of these people. Apparently Ms Miller will be the official spokesperson for the NFL and is also set to appear in both print and television commercials for the league. The former Victoria's Secret model will be an NFL spokesperson through at least the 2011 Super Bowl and also will be promoting the upcoming 49r - Bronco game in London.
Maybe it is just me, but if the NFL really wanted to expand their viewership and demographic base, I would look for more relevant figures to advertise the NFL Brand.
For the upcoming London game, perhaps a prominent English political or other sports (Golf, Soccer) or famous business tycoon to say something along the lines of "when I think of America, I think of the NFL". OR perhaps show that person playing Madden Football and then blending into the real thing.
Could you imagine a commercial with the Queen Mum doing this? It would be great!
Speaking of commercials, promos, and the NFL: Did you happen to see the new Sunday Night intro with Faith Hill. Gawd Awful.
This is another example of a bad decision on the NFL's part: IMHO. At least they can all laugh at themselves and also air the SNL spoof during the past Eagles game.
Randy Moss on wondering what kind of pass that Brett Favre will be making . . .
And buying a new pair of gloves . . .
It’s not the ball that bothers me . . .
It where the hand that threw it has been . . . 
Randy Moss is now worried that Brett Favre has his number . . .
That we would have to deal with a sudden and unexpected death in the NFL after the second week. Thoughts and prayers to both the Mckinley family and the Denver Broncos.
Tampa Bay and Kansas City would be winning their divisions with a perfect 2 – 0 record.
That Carolina would be reduced to pinning their hopes on the Rookie Clausen by week 3.
Cutler leads the NFL in QB ratings!
Arian Foster 1st and Darren McFadden 2nd, lead AP who is 3rd and CJ2k who is 5th in rushing yards.
Da Boys AND the Purple Eaters are both 0-2 ! And Possibly going to 0 – 3 !
Cowboys vs Texans – I’ll take the Texans
Vikings vs the best 0 – 2 team (that really should be 2 – 0) Lions
And
Donovan could throw a 400 yard game and Galloway could still get behind the secondary. Who knew?
That last pass (the one that just missed) was 70 yards in the air! Gee, he only had to throw it 69 ½ yards… Great play calling on that one by the way!
Those are the rounds my top fantasy players were picked during my Borderless League Draft.
Round 5 - Jahvid Best
Round 6 - Matt Ryan
Round 7 - Hakeem Nicks
Thanks to these guys, I am 2 - 0 in that league!
At this rate, I just might have a real difficult decision to make next year regarding a keeper.
My only regret, disappointment, frustration at being pissed off a loser beaten out for top dog (weekly high score) by Brett Favre's Return (and no, that old man is not on that team). Tommy beat me out in the draft and picked Matt Schaub ahead of me. I lost top dog award by 5 stinking points! Oh well, at least I was not matched up against him this week.
In my Fumbled Returns League of Experts I managed to improve to 1 -1; thanks to my two top picks Aaron Rogers and Frank Gore finally deciding to show up and rock and roll some points.
Hopefully this trend can continue.
When I was growing up, lots of kids had nicknames and lots of kids had idols.
It gives you an identity, an ideal, a role model to emulate.
It can even be a way of trash talking and taunting in a clever sort of way or even describing your style.
I understand this.
There were your "Dukes", "Mean Joes", your "Hogs".
Now, we have a kid on my sons Junior Falcons team whos nickname is Katy.
Why?
Because he dances around on the field singing "You think I'm pretty without any make-up on"
I have to admit that it is kinda funny seeing someone in full football gear dancing around singing this in between plays. Especially since he is one of the smallest, yet fastest players on the team, and nobody can catch him.
I just wish he had a different role model...
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