Your Paragon of Virtue

I feel stupid for having tried this. I feel even stupider for having hit my head three times and coming up with nothing.

I didn't hear something everyday, but are you now going to try and argue with me and say that Michael Vick doesn't deserve the attention that he gets? If you're going to say that no one does (doubtful), are you going to at least admit that if one person did deserve that attention that it would be him? He won't get them into the playoffs, but that won't stop the media from talking about him, which is what I meant. When he has a bad game, they'll be quick to pounce on him as well. People forget that when a player is doing great and gets a lot of attention, that when he plays poorly they eat him alive. McNabb and Warner are two examples.

Football is the top sport on it's own. NASCAR is number two if I remember correctly. Maybe it isn't, but it's definitely the fastest rising sports league in America, which is pretty sad. EDIT: I had assumed that baseball was doing badly. What with the contraction issues, how much people hate Bud Selig, low TV ratings, etc.

Because he made a good story. So did Tom Brady. So did Trent Dilfer. And before them, so did Doug Williams, but he was probably a better story considering the racial landscape (and missteps) of American sports at the time. And the next Doug Williams will also be a very good story, which is why the media wants to tell that story. I'm not saying it wasn't a good story, I'm just saying you don't have to be black to get a lot of press behind you, which Warner obviously wasn't. Besides, it's not like the press is all over Mcnabb. He's injured, but when he comes back it'll be all about Vick (as it should be).

I can't be the only one who thinks the record is not nearly as credible as it should be, due to the high amount of pitchers in the league they have nowadays. Mark and Sammy were supposed to have like a special season, breaking the single season mark, and the record is broken like three years later? No wonder why baseball is doing so badly. That's what I love about playoff baseball though, as the quality of talent is high and therefore the game is played the way it should be...

It was done in Donovan's name and McNabb participated. He's hardly innocent there. Where were the Giants before Collins came around? Where were the Ravens before Dilfer? Heck, the Pats weren't too much before Brady took over (Bledsoe, much as I love the Bills, is just not that terrific a QB). Mike ALSTOTT?!? HE is a difference maker? McNabb has the better starting RB(Duce, while not great, is better than anybody TB has had in years). And KEYSHAWN? You can't begin discussions of overrated players without mentioning him prominently? He's never done ANYTHING of note. See what I mean? Johnson is "Another Dilfer" (Trent, though, has had a pretty good run as a starter and it's insane that he has such a hard time getting a job). Johnson is a QB talented enough to get DRAFTED in spite of NOT STARTING at FSU. He is, flat out, a better QB than McNabb. He doesn't run -- but he makes far fewer asinine errors. Okay, let's take the small market into account. Why does he get more press than Collins, who since he joined the Giants, has put up some impressive numbers? -=Mike I was planning on going into a long spiel about Donovan, but since we won't end up agreeing, I'll just say this much; I don't believe that he was marketed due to the colour of his skin. He's a young quarterback, who has charisma and plays a very exciting game. He's marketable. If he were white and still had all those things to back him up, it would be the same thing. Collins, Dilfer, and Johnson are part of the old NFL. The Gun-slinging pocket passers who aren't really great personalities. All those other guys happen to have qualities in addition to being black. Race isn't an issue. When Kurt Warner had his Cinderella season he received more hype than any of the black quarterbacks, including Vick. I've seen Brian Urlacher in way more commercials, and he is the leader of the worst defense in the league, or one of. Jeremy Shockey gets tons of press. Peyton Manning has been in a few commercials as well. I'm positive that there are more black players in the NFL than white, and I'm also sure that there are more white players in commercials. Don't have stats on that one, but it seems to be a safe bet. As far as the athletes on the field go, football is one of the few workplaces where race isn't an issue. So let's not make it one.

So you ARE a janitor than?

Sarcasm is hard to detect over the internet. Even harder when you can't speak English OR French.

As far as Boiler Room goes, Affleck soooo wanted to be Baldwin from Glengarry Glen Ross, and failed miserably. Don't get me started on Ben.

Kazushi Sakuraba is who your thinking of. YPOV: I started taking judo last January at my college. It's a lot like Tough Enough at first, you have to learn the proper way to take back falls, and different rolls, then you gradually learn some throwing techniques and Ne Waza (ground techniques). Have you learned up to the point where you can realistically use it, as in actual chokes, submissions, etc.? Can you sense the improvement? I always wondered how long it would take a guy how to get a black belt too.

Gary Goodridge always provides for an entertaining fight, I'll give him that, depending on what you're after. Almost always over in the first round.

I never heard the story about Donovan when he was a rookie. In reality though, Donovan probably had nothing to do with it, but it was rather a ploy by the agent. He probably didn't care. Of course, most of you probably would think differently, but whatever, that's not the issue so why bring it up? No reason to. I was just stating how stupid Philly fans were, that wasn't a race issue. I've yet to see anyone tell me how an "above average" quarterback can take a 3-13 to two NFC Championships. Anyone? When in the HISTORY of the NFL has someone done that? He has three bad games and all of a sudden we're supposed to forget about that? He's in his what, fourth season? Two NFC Championships and another Playoff Appearance where they outplayed the team that won the Super Bowl that year yet lost because of bad Special Teams. All from 3-13. IN FOUR SEASONS! Brad Johnson has Mike Alstott, Keyshawn Johnson, Keenan McCardell, AND the most underrated wide receiver in the league, Big Joey Jurevicious. McNabb has...nobody. The small market thing could also be a factor, and also that they had arguably the most dominating defense in history. He's another Trent Dilfer. He doesn't make defenses. His main advantage over Mcnabb if any is that he can read defenses better, but alot of that comes with age. PLEASE don't bring in an argument where you don't even CONSIDER any of the outside factors. It's like you're reading a list of stats and just pulling a QB who looks similar. Think before you post.

The amazing QB Class of '99. Remember how much they booed Donovan? I bet it's still in the back of his mind...

Actually, safeties are generally the captains of the secondary, as they command the DB's. Obviously though, cornerback is generally harder to play as far as actual skill and physical ability is concerned, but it takes a leader with football smarts to be a safety.

In terms of Shockey, 100% correct. He has the benefit of playing in NY (and God knows nobody can overrate like New Yorkers) and being an "attractive" white guy (as opposed to, say, John Rocker). He has gotten infinitely more press than he deserves --- and him being a white guy, honestly, has a lot to do with it. The NY press (most of the country really doesn't think he's THAT good) fellated the man, and his skin color had something to do with it. Gonzales is hurt more by KC being a small market than anything. Stick him in NY and you'd see a star along the lines of Jeter. If I wanted an NFL player to market my crap, he'd be one of the FIRST guys I'd take. Rush didn't say he got attention because he was black. He said he got SO MUCH PRAISE because the media and the NFL desperately wanted a black QB to succeed. And Donovan got WAY more praise than he deserved. Just in terms of black QB's, I'd put Jeff Blake (who always plays well, just for usually really bad teams) on his level and keep both solidly behind McNair. Culpepper is just too iffy for me. -=Mike I don't know about that. Minnesota is a small market and Cris Carter got plenty of attention (I don't use Moss because he gets attention for shit he does OFF the field for as much as he does on it). All the great Bills players of the early nineties. The Triplets in Indy. I have no clue why Tony gets so little attention, and it's not just from the fans and popular media but also from football critics. Everyone mentions Priest and Trent in KC, but no Tony. He deserves respect, but doesn't get much attention because he's quiet. In my opinion anyway. I still like his commercial with NFL/United Way. "Tony has good hands...on the field." If any other quarterback took a team from 3-13 to two NFC Championship games, with NO big stars on their offense other than the quarterback, and NO constant starters, they would get praise regardless of race. The fact that he's black is hardly an issue. Jeff Blake put up some good numbers but let's face the facts, he's too streaky and dependant on the rest of his team. Donovan also outmatches him as far as intangibles go. Oh yeah, if you want to make sure that race isn't an issue, can you please not obviously use a BLACK quarterback to compare him to? Compare to anyone in general, just follow your own criteria. The way you grade them it's like you have a seperate list for black quarterbacks. It raises questions. Regardless, Blake is far behind Mcnabb, and his time is done. He doesn't have much left in him. Mcnair is ahead of Mcnabb, but Mcnabb's time hasn't come yet. Mcnair has had the same system and workhorse running back (until recently) for like eight years, he's had it easier than any other quarterback in the league. Regardless of his ability on the field, when you can run like a running back and are built like a linebacker, along with the ability to throw the ball fifty yards, you will be hyped. It would be the same for Drew or Peyton if they could do it too. Admittedly, Culpepper makes some REALLY bad decisions sometimes, and is all raw talent. If the core of the Vikings stays intact and their defense proves to be in it for the long term, within the next five years they should win a Super Bowl. Hell, they're early contenders this year.

I remember a few years ago Jason Sehorn was the only starting white cornerback in the league. Now that he sucks, there's no one else left. That's just insubstantial information though. I'm sure that stat will change in like a few years, although I don't what could attribute to such a thing. I mean, John Lynch and Adam Archuleta are two of the best safeties in the league...

You guys are right about the media giving a blowjob for anyone who is black. That's the only reason that they're praised. In fact, the worst case of all is this guy who has the biggest mouth, talks a lot of shit, and can NOT back it up on the field. He's extremely offensive, and simply put he's an ass. He was called the prototypical football player BEFORE HE PLAYED A FUCKING DOWN! He can't perform when it counts, has other guys whom are better than him at the position yet get no praise simply due to the fact that they're of different skin colour, or simply because they're not as LOUD~! as he is. Yeah, I would say that JEREMY SHOCKEY only gets all this hype due to his skin colour, and that if TONY MOTHERFUCKING GONZALEZ was white that he would be the fucking man at tight end. I mean really. I'm just playing devil's advocate here, I love Shockey AND his antics. But in no way does he deserve the press for what he does. No chance. I personally believe that it's because he's an ass, and that he has a big fucking mouth. Hopefully that shatters the myth for all you insecure white people now. Of course, those quarterbacks only get that airtime because they're black. It has nothing to do with the fact that they're exciting, and that at the times of their media hoopla they had the most potential surrounding their future. I mean really, a quarterback is bigger than the opposing linebacker and can hang with a few running backs and BEAT most tight ends in a foot race, and you think Daunte gets the praise because he's black? Nigga please.

The east always votes PC, Quebec always votes for the seperatists, Ontario always votes Liberal, and the west votes Alliance (except Saskatchewan which votes NDP). In 1993, the Liberals literally won nothing outside of Ontario, but one all but one seat in Ontario and still won a majority. This country is extremely divided right now. Hmm? I could've sworn that in '93 Chretien KILLED Campbell by like 146 seats to 2 or something. I am almost positive on this.

Throw in submissions and chokes, than yeah, pretty much.

I'm starting Judo in January, and I was wondering; how long have you been taking Judo? What is it like anyway?

They're trying to show that Yoshida has balls by making him "ask" to fight Silva. He would lose to any of them, and at least picking the favourite would give him a good rep for people in Japan. Odds are either Silva will kill him or he will be in the process of killing him when the referee steps in and pulls him off. Yoshida complains, they say to stop the fight and it looks like a BS decision. I mean you know Silva is going to win, it is just HOW badly is he gonna win? I think Yoshida might succeed in the clinch if it goes that far, but it's doubtful. Liddel or Jackson? I'm picking Liddel, I think he can take on Silva as well. But in one night? Doubtful...

Not really, I'm pretty tall. 6'2, 255 isn't too bad. I coudl stand to lose 10 pounds but who couldn't these days? I had assumed that you were like a small guy, but not Barron small. 255 is like one of the biggest on the forum yikes. Eh.

Is that like a 333 mL can for us metric folk? 217.15whatever for me.

I thought they already knew Silva was fighting him, at least that's what they said on the UFC PPV. SHERDOG IS RUN BY A BUNCH OF LIARS~!

*shakes fist*