The Tino Standard

2002... Browns' final game of the year, and it is a must-win against Michael Vick and the Falcons... I was sitting seven rows behind the Falcons' bench on the 50, and on three or four occasions, we talked with Ray Buchanan DURING THE GAME... The guy was so cool that at one point, I toasted him with my beer, yelling "You're my guy, Ray!" and he grabbed a cup of Gatorade and toasted back. Anyway, back to the game... Browns HAD to have the win to get to the playoffs for the first time since '94. They're down in the fourth quarter when William Green busts a 60-yard run, sending Cleveland Stadium into total pandemonium. I ran up and down the aisle, high-fiving everybody in site. I think I hugged the usher just for good measure. Probably one of the five drunkest days of my life, but GOD that ruled. Ohio State winning the national championship is a close No. 2. Just a classic game with a dramatic finish. Once it ended, we were all stunned with joy because having grown up in Cleveland, my teams have never won the big one... Sure the Indians won a couple pennants, but they lost the World Series both times. Browns and Cavs? Nope. Here, 14-point underdog Ohio State just won the national title. Awesome.

If you think Shinnecock was difficult this weekend, just keep in mind that Corey Pavin won the Open there in '95 by finishing the tournament at even par. Also, at Carnoustie in '99 (not sure on the year), the winner there finished the tournament at +6.

Tugboat = Fred Ottman Mr. Ottman also had the brief and distinct honor of playing the immortal SHOCKMASTER in WCW.

That game was fucked up.

I think the only people that truly hated the Bulls in that era besides the fans of the Western Conference teams they beat would probably be Knicks fans and Cavs fans. <Watches ESPN show the Jordan over Ehlo clip for no good reason for the 4 millionth time> Yes, we DID truly hate them. - Tino (A Cavs fan)

I'd mark out HUGE for old school arenas... Wrestlemania IX was the worst WM ever, but Caesar's Palace looked AWESOME for that event. I'm sure there are probably 4-5 other classic venues they could easily make too.

It would be fun if you could punch in a code to get "angry athlete after a bad game" sideline interview mode, like Shaq's meltdown this year... Shaq: This was a fucking joke out here. Reporter: Um, Shaq, we're on live TV. Shaq: I don't give a shit. Without something like that, sideline interviews with players are a waste on a game. Come to think of it, they're a waste in real life too. How often does a sideline reporter actually get an insightful, worthwhile quote from a player from one of these things?

Yeah, God forbid they'd actually use that time to show more highlights or maybe even use the full-screen recap with detailed stats after every game instead of just the score in the corner at the end of the highlight. Sorry, ESPN... I know I'm asking for too much.

Those postgame interviews with Suzy Kolber are a nice idea, but horrible in execution... It's basically Suzy asking a generic question followed by the player spouting off one cliche after another that has nothing to do with the question. Suzy: What was the key for you guys out there today? Tyrone Wheatley: That's just how we do. We go out and give it 110 percent and leave it all on the field every game... Yada, yada...

Word to the wise with fake IDs: Pay attention to detail when getting one. A few kids in front of me at the gas station got one taken away... The guy at the counter let me look at it afterwards... The fake ID looked pretty good... except for the fact that it had "license" spelled "LICENCE"... D'oh.

You wouldn't happen to live in Central Ohio and be subjected to commercials from Ricart, would you? Nope, Houston. But I'm from Toronto, so I've been subjected to years of Mayor Mel saying "Noooooooobody!!!" for his kid's furniture stores... Well, you've missed out on the joy of watching commercials for Ricart Auto Sales, the largest car dealer in Ohio... Fred Ricart is the company owner and he makes his own commercials... It started out with him just playing the guitar, but now we've gotten things as ridiculous as this one with him dressed up like Trump with two associates next to him in a board room... And he's interrogating a horrible Michael Jackson impersonator. It makes no sense. On the other hand, Byers, a rival car dealership has this awesome line of commercials with the Trunk Monkey ("a feature no other car dealership can match"). The best one from this line has a guy trying to steal a car... As he's trying to hot-wire it, the monkey sneaks up behind him and bashes him over the head with a tire iron. In the next shot, the monkey dumps the guy over a bridge and into a river. Now THAT is how you get shit done. BTW, I have a theory on that John Basedow guy... My roommate and I decided that he looks like a guy that probably weighed 120 pounds in high school and got the shit beat out of him on a daily basis. He went to college, never got laid, and finally just decided, "Fuck it... I'm locking myself in a basement with a weight bench for the next 10 years... Then I'll show those sons of bitches..."

WHAT? Beat Tetris? How in the hell do you beat Tetris??? I thought the game was never-ending, with the level just getting proportionately faster than the previous one into infinity.

All the Brandon Hunter love in here is awesome... I got to watch him for three years at OU, and aside from the layup I scored over him in a pick-up game (true story), I know he's a hell of a talent. The guy can sink a mid-range jumper or two and he's a terrific rebounder. I really don't understand the Celtics... They draft Hunter at No. 56 last year, give him a guaranteed two-year contract (unheard of for someone drafted so late), then put him on the block a year later after he was productive in what limited minutes they gave him. By the way, watch for Jason Kapono of the Cavs to get drafted. He's a sharpshooter and he's making the league minimum... Perfect candidate to get taken in a late round.

You wouldn't happen to live in Central Ohio and be subjected to commercials from Ricart, would you?

http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/index.php?showtopic=56196

Movie Voice having sex: "Oh yeah... The DESIRE in your eyes... the PASSION between us burns with FIRE... Oh yeah, one way in... No way out." AWESOME

I don't know about that... Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 Well, four separate sources is enough confirmation for me. That is just amazing.

Exaggeration? On 13 different occasions this year, and Indians starter has pitched his team to the lead after 7 innings, only to have it blown by the bullpen. If they held SIX of those games (less than half), they'd have 32 wins, which would put them in first place right now. Betancourt has been decent with a 3.99 ERA, but two things about him to keep in mind are: 1. He's 2 of 6 in save chances this year. 2. He is notorious for not being able to pitch well on back-to-back days (his fastball is 3-4 MPH slower the second day, meaning big-time problems). To give you an idea of just how bad it is, despite what I said in the above paragraph, Betancourt has still been hands-down the best reliever. He had been put into the closer's role, but was actually DEMOTED to a setup spot because the rest of the pen was so bad, they couldn't even hold a lead to give him save opportunities in the 9th. Tribe bullpen...

Hey, you can knock "The Disembodied Voice" Bill Wolff all you like, but I'd kill for a head of hair like that, and I'm only 22.

Cincinnati fans can go sit on a stick and spin if they don't like the job Danny Graves is doing as the closer. Try driving up I-71 to Cleveland to see what real bullpen problems look like. If the Tribe had a real closer, they'd be in first place right now, and that is not an exaggeration by any means. By the way, those 26 saves Graves has right now look mighty fine on my fantasy team, thank you very much.

That price has to be a typo. I've always been a Madden loyalist and I was planning on getting it again this year, but shit, if ESPN really is $19.99, I'll buy both just for the hell of it.

I'm super pissed that Pablo Francisco didn't make it. I didn't see his set tonight, but I've seen his Comedy Central special a few times and I've heard other material of his in clips online. There's NO F'N WAY that all 10 of the people they selected from that group were better. What a joke.

EXACTLY. I agree with you 100%.

http://www.easports.com/games/madden2005/c...torsedition.jsp This sounds AWESOME... Kinda strange that it's only for the PS2. Oh well. By the way, I can't wait to see the mockumentary on the Madden Cover Jinx.

I mentioned this after Game 1, but it bears repeating: No team in NBA Finals history has ever won Games 3, 4, and 5 at home. Oddly, the ROAD team has come in and swept the three games, but the home team has never won all three.