Brett Favre – Thumbs Down

Here’s a funny parody of LeBron James’s Rise commercial from this past summer featuring Brett Favre:

Here is the original LeBron James commercial for context:

Bob Green – Thumbs Up

The former coach at Montana Tech has some creative ways to describe things.

(via Sports Grid)

Eastern Washington’s Red Turf Football Field – Thumbs Down

College football season is upon us and what a great feeling it is!  There’s just an exciting feeling about football season that brings out the happiness in millions of Americans.  However, this season, one team will have people seeing red instead.

The Easter Washington Eagles will unveil their new red Sprinturf this Saturday against Montana.  Trying to be the next Boise State (who opted for a blue turf field rather than a traditional, more natural green turf), EWU has decided to take it one step further and place red turf on their football field.  It is a bit hard on the eyes I must say.  I’m not entirely sure what they were thinking.  Let’s hope this isn’t a trend.

To see real life pictures, check out the red football turf EWU’s Flickr account.

Now, see Colin Cowherd, EWU’s Favorite Alum and star of ESPN’s “Sportsnation,” promote the  red turf in this Youtube video.

Thumbs Down – Bad Officiating

This fall there has been a wave of poor officiating decisions in the sports world.  Now, refs are always going to be criticized.  Much like offensive linemen, you expect them to do their jobs and only notice them when they fail and give up a sack or make a bad call.

SEC officials have been in hot water all season after a number of questionable personal fouls were called, some of which affected the outcome of games.  One crew was even suspended after one of these calls.  There have also been questions raised about the fact that the SEC replay booths do not have high definition televisions, which is frankly shocking since it’s hard to buy TVs that aren’t high def these days. But the poor calls in college are not limited to football.

A study co-authored by an Indiana University professor found statistical evidence of bias in referees in college basketball.  The chances of the away team getting a foul called on them are 7% higher than the home team’s chances.  Teams with the lead are more likely to get a foul called against them, and refs are way more likely (upwards of 60%) to call the net foul on a team that is at least three fouls behind their opponent.

And of course, most recently, there is the controversy surrounding the France vs. Ireland soccer match that took place earlier this week.  The game ended in a 1-1 tie, with France advancing on aggregate 2-1.  The controversy arose on France’s game tying goal, which came in the 105th minute, and was scored following not one, but two handballs by Thierry Henry.  Unfortunately for the Irish and their fans,  officials didn’t see either of the handballs and the goal was allowed.  The Football Association of Ireland has asked the game to replayed, and a decision will hopefully come soon.

Hopefully, as the year comes to a close, so does this period of heinous officiating. We can start off 2010 with some very cleanly reffed games during the BCS bowl games and get things off on the right foot.

Thumbs Down – Green Bay Packers

According to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Green Bay Packers fired Mike Wood, a member of the maintenance staff on November 1st.  Wood wasn’t fired because he was doing a poor job at work, but rather because head coach Mike McCarthy thought he heard Mr. Wood say “don’t lay an egg” during the week leading up to the big Packers vs Vikings game which included Brett Favre’s return to Lambeau Field.

However, Mike Wood maintains that he never said anything resembling what Coach McCarthy claimed. Wood told the Milwaukee newspaper that he said, “Hey coach, let’s get the boys ready to kick some butt this weekend” three days before the big matchup.

While we may never know the true story behind all the he-said-he-said drama, the fact that the Packers would fire a loyal employee (Wood had worked for the Packers for at least 22 years) for something so minor is disappointing.  There are some rumors that the Packers will fire McCarthy for his lackluster play calling and  his team’s lack of discipline (losing to the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday also added fuel to that fire).  I think that maybe the Packers should consider firing McCarthy for being a big meanie instead.

(via Deadspin)

Vuvuzelas – Thumbs Down

The vuvuzelas, the horns that soccer/football fans were blowing at the Confederations Cup tournament for the past two weeks in South Africa, deserve a big thumbs down.  They were given away free to fans, and the fans blew them constantly throughout the game.  It made the broadcasts of the games sound like a giant beehive.  They reportedly drowned out some TV commentary on certain networks, although I didn’t have a problem watching the USA vs Brazil final on ESPN.

FIFA,the world football governing body, has stated that they will address the vuvuzelas before the start of the 2010 World Cup, also held in South Africa.  Players, coaches, commentators, and fans have called for the ban of these horns claiming that they are annoying and making it difficult for the players to communicate and concentrate.  On the other hand, the vuvuzelas are part of the local football culture in South Africa and the president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter stated, “We should not try to Europeanise an African World Cup.” 

My take on the matter is that the horns are probably a lot of fun to use and might improve the live atmosphere at the game, but for the World Cup, which draws huge television audiences worldwide, the vuvuzelas negatively impact the viewing experience too greatly to justify their use.  One option that I’ve heard thrown around is to allow them for games in which South Africa, the host country, is playing.  I would recommend this course of action for FIFA to take, as this would allow the local fans to use them in support of their country, but would avoid the annoying beehive noise during the majority of television broadcasts.