?

Does the fact that Brian Hoyer is potentially a viable fantasy quarterback make anyone else feel like they're living in some sort of alternate universe?

Extremely Loud, "Silent" Snap Counts

Is there an unwritten code in College/NFL football about the silent snap count? Is it only obvious to the TV viewer when the ball will be snapped because of our angle but the defensive players can't see it because of the huge linemen in their vision?

How long has the silent snap count been around? Forever? 25 years? Teams have been doing no-huddle, hurry-up-offenses, 2-minute drills for over 25 years, so they've had to rely on a silent snap count. The "12th Man" has been a big reason as well. Stadiums with a fan base that are much louder require the silent snap (or maybe because the stadium DJ is using artifical noise, which is cheating).

Here's where this is coming from. The QB usually lifts his right foot about one foot off the ground to signal to the center, who is looking between his legs, to snap the ball. It seems it's always about one full second of a delay. But every time, the center lifts his head to get in the ready position before snapping the ball. It's quite clear. So, how are NFL/College players not figuring that out after...one play! "Hey, when the center lifts his head after looking between his legs, that means he's going to snap the ball in one second."

Then I noticed this on Saturday night during the Instant Classic between Michigan and UCONN. The right guard for UM would look for Devin Gardner to lift his leg. He then tapped the center's right hamstring that the QB was ready. And again, one second later, he snapped the ball. The only difference is the center didn't have to lift his head because he was no longer looking between his legs, but the guy right next to him was doing all the pre-snap movements. It still only took one play to figure out when they were going to snap the ball.

So, how are defenses not getting better jumps on the ball because I feel they should clearly know the snap count, even though it's silent. It's actually a lot "louder" than it should be. I understand you can't move until the ball moves, but no one seems to be anticipating the ball moving. No one is even jumping offsides. The linebackers should at least be trying to time the blitz. The cornerbacks aren't even trying to sneak in early for a corner-blitz. There's just nothing.

Ridiculous

Apparently the NBA is considering allowing the Heat and the Nets to wear jerseys with a nickname on the back instead of their last names in at least one of their games against each other this season.  I understand the possible financial incentives of selling additional merchandise, but I'm still a little shocked that professionals would even consider this. Doesn't the NBA already have enough of a reputation as a "Me" league? Doesn't it already get criticized enough for being too much like street ball and not enough like a team game? Maybe each jersey could just say "No Class" on the back just to make it clear to people.

Quarterback U?

After a dismal showing by MSU's QB combo of Cook & Maxwell and a shocking three touchdown performance by former Spartan QB Brian Hoyer for the Browns I've been thinking about quarterbacks. During the fantasy draft we all laughed at the commentator doing the Bears preseason game who called MSU "QB U" and I still think it's pretty ridiculous. However, I did some research and came up with a few interesting stats:

-There are currently three former Spartan QBs on NFL rosters (Stanton, Hoyer, Cousins).*

-The last four Spartan QBs who have completed their careers (Smoker, Stanton, Hoyer, Cousins) have gone on to play (some) in the NFL.**

-Six of the last eight Spartan QBs (Miller, Banks, Smoker, Stanton, Hoyer, Cousins) have been drafted or played in the NFL.

That's not exactly like USC having Palmer, Leinart, and Sanchez all drafted in the first round, but it's not actually too bad either. We tend to minimize guys playing backup roles, but being one of the top 96 in the world at your job is still pretty good when you put it in perspective. I wouldn't say MSU is "QB U" but it isn't quite as crazy as I would have thought.

*And since I know you're going to ask, there are two former Wolverines (Henne, Gisele Bündchen's husband). You could stretch that to three if you want to consider Ryan Mallett a Michigan QB, but that's probably not fair to Arkansas.

**Maxwell will surely break this streak.

Quote of the (Other) Day

This guy is a rolling ball of butcher knives.

-Chuck Pagano, referring to newly acquired running back Trent Richardson

Doppelgänger

Do you remember Kliff Kingsbury? With a name like that he had to be a quarterback in Texas, so he played for Texas Tech from 1998-2002. You might recall he was the first of the crazy stat Red Raider quarterbacks. Anyway, Kingsbury was in the NFL for a while and eventually went into college coaching and now coaches his alma mater. Also, he apparently looks just like Ryan Gosling, a fact which set Twitter on fire last night when Texas Tech was on ESPN. Red Raider fans even have a hashtag, #OurCoachIsHotterThanYourCoach, which may be the weirdest thing I've ever heard of in sports and will never be applied to Brady Hoke.

$100,000

The NFL has fined Ndamukong Suh $100,000* for an illegal low block on Sunday. Everyone knew the fine was coming and that it was going to be steep so it's not really a surprise. You know what is surprising to me though? The number of Lions fans defending Suh. There's no question the guy is a dirty player. He's moved well beyond the point where you can give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm surprised any company still has endorsements with him. Cheer for your team, but don't be an idiot.

*If you're scoring at home that's 20,000 $5 footlong sandwiches.

?

Multiple times this week on ESPN Radio I've heard advertisements for Infinity, Marvel's current comics event. While I applaud Marvel for doing a little advertising to more general audiences, does it work at all? If you're an ESPN listener who never reads comics and you hear this commercial are you going to go buy a copy (or download) of the book? If you liked Avengers is it more likely?

"We're watching one of the greatest right-handed hitters who ever lived."

Jayson Stark of ESPN has a fascinating article from last week comparing Miguel Cabrera to some of the all-time great hitters in baseball. There's a lot of numbers in the article, but the short version is that Cabrera compares well with anyone worth mentioning. It makes me wish I had the chance to see a few more Tigers games.

Hypocrisy

With the court cases going on, the Johnny Manziel autograph story, and the beginning of the college football season you're sure to hear plenty of sports writers and personalities (Jay Bilas and Michael Wilbon come to mind) opine on the "hypocrisy" of the NCAA making millions of dollars but not paying the players. I think there's plenty to be said about that, but it strikes me that all of these guys seem to have no problem working for businesses that derive a significant amount of their income from college sports and spend lots of time discussing them. You think Bilas hesitated for a second when he cashed his last paycheck from ESPN? Why not? Doesn't it make him complicit in the whole system he's railing against? It seems like cheap self-righteousness to me if these guys will criticize every chance they get but won't actually take a principled stand.

Still sad...



This is what replaced the Trans Am.


...but this ain't too bad either. Not exactly your typical grandma car.

Men's Devotionals

Does it annoy anyone else when you are looking for a Men's Devotional that it is authored by a woman? I'm sure they have excellent credentials and great writing talent, but come on. Really? I can somewhat cut them a little slack if it's a Boy's Devotional, but not a men's.

Am I a jerk? Am I expecting too much? What am I missing?

Small World

This weekend I met the Kelley family...former Evan Free pastor and wife...who also Baptized much of the Stack family.

Draft Prep Super Megapost

With 26 days until the 2013 fantasy football season starts it's time to start thinking about the draft (And signing up if you haven't yet. Seriously, what is wrong with you people?). Here's few links to help you be successful on draft day:

ESPN Top 300 (I'm thinking we'll use this as the default list.)
Fox Sports Top 200
NFL.com Projections
Eric Karabell's Top 200 (ESPN)
Matthew Berry's Top 200 (ESPN)
ESPN's Sleepers and Busts
NFL.com Rankings based on schedule

And also some advice from FOX Sports on naming your fantasy team.

Redskins.

I just wanted to get that out there. Here's why, if you haven't heard.

The Dark World

Sad Day

The Trans Am has been traded in.

Johnny Football

If you're going to try to follow the 2013 college football season you had better read this article by Wright Thompson of ESPN The Magazine because it's going to be referred to a lot. Thompson obtained some amazing access to the Manziel family and made great use of it. It's worth checking out even if you're sick of hearing about Johnny Football.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Marvel has revealed the title for the sequel to Avengers:

This is the same title as a recently concluded comic series but word is it will not be based on that story, which is just as well as it involves lots of time travel and lot of characters. But it will involve Ultron. Who's Ultron?

That's Ultron. He's a robot created by Avenger Hank Pym, who hasn't been introduced in the movies yet. Ultron, like all evil robots, wants to wipe out humanity. Ultron often makes copies of himself, so there could be lots of robot-smashing action in the film. It also means we should see a version of one of the best Ultron/Avengers scenes:

That will be awesome.

The Joey

Presenting the 2013 Cass City Monkies Fantasy Football Championship Trophy: