Quo Vadimus is sad to see that the NFL Europe is no more. Well not sad really, more like mildly disappointed. I remember the heady days of 1991, when it was known as the World League of American Football, and the cool (read: horrible monstrosities of the early 90's) logos graced those awesome Pro Set cards. You can have your "classic" Bears and Packers designs, I'll stick with the Orlando Thunder, thank you very much. That logo just screams football.
Of course, those days are long gone. As of its last season, the league was exclusively a European league, where NFL teams sent their rough prospects to develop. Unfortunately for the league, there weren't enough prospects who developed into stars. For every Kurt Warner, there were many more players like Henry Burris.
This is most assuredly a blow to the reputation of American football abroad. The sport was starting to gain a following in Germany, and there is some interest elsewhere (as shown by the sellout of the game in London). However, without a constant presence of the sport, will it continue to grow in Europe?
Only the passage of time can give us that answer. Until then, we'll just have to do with the great memories of the World Bowl, the awesome uniforms, and...well, not much else.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Dr. Malcom would have a Fit
Ahh!!! Don't let inGen find out about this one.
I guess its kind of cool, in a playing God with horrible consequences yet unseen kind of way. The question is, will Mike Huckabee and Co. make certain their feelings on the rebirth of the Neanderthal? When they get done dreaming about Jack Bauer, of course.
(Oops, that probably should have gone on August Prairie)
I guess its kind of cool, in a playing God with horrible consequences yet unseen kind of way. The question is, will Mike Huckabee and Co. make certain their feelings on the rebirth of the Neanderthal? When they get done dreaming about Jack Bauer, of course.
(Oops, that probably should have gone on August Prairie)
A proud moment for EIU
I must congratulate this exemplary student-athlete on his sign-making abilities. He shows what you can expect from the noble students of fair Eastern Illinois University.
Kudos, sir. You have shown that an education at the school built on old swampland doesn't mean low quality. Stuff like this makes me proud of my degree from the academic jewel of East Central Illinois *.
*-Excludes Champaign County
Kudos, sir. You have shown that an education at the school built on old swampland doesn't mean low quality. Stuff like this makes me proud of my degree from the academic jewel of East Central Illinois *.
*-Excludes Champaign County
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Just when I thought SportsCenter couldn't get any dumber...
...it goes and does something like this. Unlike Lloyd Christmas, however, ESPN does not totally redeem itself with this stunt.
You see, back in the day I loved SportsCenter. I loved watching Charlie Steiner, Dan Patrick, Kenny Mayne, and the rest of the SportsCenter crew. They actually showed highlights, weren't just a giant marketing wing for Disney and their crappy movies, and were genuinely cool. Who doesn't remember the great "This is SportsCenter" TV spots?
Then ESPN became part of the Mouse's evil empire, and everything went to crap. Rich Eisen and Charlie Steiner left, Dan Patrick went off to do his radio show, and Kenny Mayne was relegated to doing comedic bits and horse racing. Stuart Scott has devolved into self-parody territory, alongside Chris Berman (who was already there before ESPN went downhill).
The anchors today aren't very good. ESPN seriously compromises its journalistic integrity by its ownership stake in the Arena Football League, and embarrassed itself with the whole "Bonds on Bonds" debacle. The once great shows, such as Baseball Tonight, have turned into weak shadows of themselves, with morons like John Kruk and Steve Phillips passing as analysts.
Today, ESPN is nothing but the bloated, oversold, corpse of what used to be a cool network. I guess that is what happens when your network hits the mature stage of life; it becomes weak and bland. Without a cool young network challenging it, ESPN hasn't had any reason to change its course. CNNSI (as a network) is a distant memory, and Fox Sports was a joke.
My question is, where the hell is CSC? I mean, there was some worry it would go under a while back, but ever since that Internet millionaire bought it, we haven't heard crap from the channel and its under-dog SportsCenter challenger, Sports Night....
What's that you say? That wasn't real? Only a fictional TV show....
Nevermind...
You see, back in the day I loved SportsCenter. I loved watching Charlie Steiner, Dan Patrick, Kenny Mayne, and the rest of the SportsCenter crew. They actually showed highlights, weren't just a giant marketing wing for Disney and their crappy movies, and were genuinely cool. Who doesn't remember the great "This is SportsCenter" TV spots?
Then ESPN became part of the Mouse's evil empire, and everything went to crap. Rich Eisen and Charlie Steiner left, Dan Patrick went off to do his radio show, and Kenny Mayne was relegated to doing comedic bits and horse racing. Stuart Scott has devolved into self-parody territory, alongside Chris Berman (who was already there before ESPN went downhill).
The anchors today aren't very good. ESPN seriously compromises its journalistic integrity by its ownership stake in the Arena Football League, and embarrassed itself with the whole "Bonds on Bonds" debacle. The once great shows, such as Baseball Tonight, have turned into weak shadows of themselves, with morons like John Kruk and Steve Phillips passing as analysts.
Today, ESPN is nothing but the bloated, oversold, corpse of what used to be a cool network. I guess that is what happens when your network hits the mature stage of life; it becomes weak and bland. Without a cool young network challenging it, ESPN hasn't had any reason to change its course. CNNSI (as a network) is a distant memory, and Fox Sports was a joke.
My question is, where the hell is CSC? I mean, there was some worry it would go under a while back, but ever since that Internet millionaire bought it, we haven't heard crap from the channel and its under-dog SportsCenter challenger, Sports Night....
What's that you say? That wasn't real? Only a fictional TV show....
Nevermind...
Monday, June 25, 2007
The Decommissioned Tank: Bears cut Johnson
Well, the Tank Johnson era is done in Chicago. Honestly, it was the right move. The team bent itself backwards for him, and stuck its neck out last year after his troubles with the law. What did he do to repay the team? He got in a car while drunk, and chose to piss away his career. Nobody said that football players were hired for their responsible decision-making skills.
I'll Pass on this Revolution
Apparently, CNN thinks the iPhone is the greatest thing since sliced bread. To me, its just a phone. Yeah, a phone that maybe has some awesome features and the sleek (read expensive) style of Apple, but a phone nonetheless.
Michael Gartenberg disagrees with me though, who said:
"This is the most anticipated phone since Alexander Graham Bell did his."
OK, where do I begin. First off, I don't believe Alexander Graham Bell's phone was anticipated all that much, considering it was the first phone ever. I pretty certain that the Michael Gartenberg equivalent at the New York Tribune was not waiting on pins and needles for the release of Bell's phone.
Secondly, that is a whole lot of hyperbole going on there. I mean, the Northern Atlantic Model 20 was highly anticipated, and was the toast of the town back in 1904.
If the iPhone is the pinnacle of technological innovation, than humanity is in trouble.
Michael Gartenberg disagrees with me though, who said:
"This is the most anticipated phone since Alexander Graham Bell did his."
OK, where do I begin. First off, I don't believe Alexander Graham Bell's phone was anticipated all that much, considering it was the first phone ever. I pretty certain that the Michael Gartenberg equivalent at the New York Tribune was not waiting on pins and needles for the release of Bell's phone.
Secondly, that is a whole lot of hyperbole going on there. I mean, the Northern Atlantic Model 20 was highly anticipated, and was the toast of the town back in 1904.
If the iPhone is the pinnacle of technological innovation, than humanity is in trouble.
The Week Ahead: June 25-July 1
Seeing as it is a Monday, I figure it's time to usher in a new weekly feature here on Quo Vadimus. Thus welcome to "The Week Ahead". I'll be taking a look at what I'm looking forward to, and what I wish wasn't happening this week. So without further adieu, I bring you the first (and given my track record, probably only) edition.
This week marks the end of one of my favorite shows of the year. Yes, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ends its turbulent and all too short run this Thursday. The episode is appropriately titled "What Kind of Day Has it Been?", which was the name of the season one finale for both The West Wing and Sports Night. Those episodes were exemplary editions of those two shows, and I hope Studio 60 goes out with a bang.
In February, I made a few short remarks about the show, and my feelings haven't changed much since then. Sure, it was one my regular weekly shows, and it did give me some enjoyment. Also, the last batch of episodes have been much better than the rest of the series. However, it still falls short of the feeling I got from watching the other two shows. Nevertheless, I'll be waiting in anticipation for Thursday night.
In other news, changes might be in store for the sorry Chicago White Sox. After getting drubbed over the weekend by a scraggly bunch of hobos from the north side of town, Kenny Williams is starting to get antsy. My how far they have fallen since '04. I wonder if a fire sale is on the horizon.
If the White Sox have any chance of rebounding this year, this week most definitely is one that can help. They play three at the Juice Dome in St. Pete, then three at Kauffman Stadium in KC. By losing these games, they can assure themselves of a seat in the cellar of the AL Central.
This weeks marks the opening of two big summer movies. The first, Ratatouille, is the new Pixar/Disney film. I don't know much about it, other than it is about a Parisian rat that loves gourmet food. Being that it is Pixar, it probably will be pretty decent. To see why Disney bought Pixar, view the piles of crap Disney pushed out during the short period where Disney and Pixar were on the outs.
The other movie, and finalist for the most pointless sequel of all time, is Live Free or Die Hard. Yes, for some reason John McClane is back. I guarantee I will not be seeing this movie in the theaters.
Oh yeah, apparently a disgusting fat turd made a movie about health care or something. Its being released this week as well. Be certain that many facts will be stretched and information by Mr. DFT.
Eh, they're all in line just to see who will win for one week before Mr. Michael Bay and his army of transforming robots come to town next week.
This week marks the end of one of my favorite shows of the year. Yes, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ends its turbulent and all too short run this Thursday. The episode is appropriately titled "What Kind of Day Has it Been?", which was the name of the season one finale for both The West Wing and Sports Night. Those episodes were exemplary editions of those two shows, and I hope Studio 60 goes out with a bang.
In February, I made a few short remarks about the show, and my feelings haven't changed much since then. Sure, it was one my regular weekly shows, and it did give me some enjoyment. Also, the last batch of episodes have been much better than the rest of the series. However, it still falls short of the feeling I got from watching the other two shows. Nevertheless, I'll be waiting in anticipation for Thursday night.
In other news, changes might be in store for the sorry Chicago White Sox. After getting drubbed over the weekend by a scraggly bunch of hobos from the north side of town, Kenny Williams is starting to get antsy. My how far they have fallen since '04. I wonder if a fire sale is on the horizon.
If the White Sox have any chance of rebounding this year, this week most definitely is one that can help. They play three at the Juice Dome in St. Pete, then three at Kauffman Stadium in KC. By losing these games, they can assure themselves of a seat in the cellar of the AL Central.
This weeks marks the opening of two big summer movies. The first, Ratatouille, is the new Pixar/Disney film. I don't know much about it, other than it is about a Parisian rat that loves gourmet food. Being that it is Pixar, it probably will be pretty decent. To see why Disney bought Pixar, view the piles of crap Disney pushed out during the short period where Disney and Pixar were on the outs.
The other movie, and finalist for the most pointless sequel of all time, is Live Free or Die Hard. Yes, for some reason John McClane is back. I guarantee I will not be seeing this movie in the theaters.
Oh yeah, apparently a disgusting fat turd made a movie about health care or something. Its being released this week as well. Be certain that many facts will be stretched and information by Mr. DFT.
Eh, they're all in line just to see who will win for one week before Mr. Michael Bay and his army of transforming robots come to town next week.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Gettysburg Trip Photos are Up!
Huzzah, the photos from my recent trip to Gettysburg, Antietam, and Shenandoah NP are up. You can visit them here.
I will have a narrative of the trip sometime in the near future.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
More to come, I swear!
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have a lot to discuss, such as my trip home, my trip to Gettysburg, and the impending end of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. So stay tuned!
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