Point, Counterpoint: Responding to the Redskins Name Controversy

So I've been trying to avoid this argument all together, but as it drags on I just can't anymore. The reason why I decided to write this post is anger. It's literally pissing me off. As I read Sam's awesome article (check it out if you haven't yet) about the quasi-rant that famous Commackian Bob Costas went on during the halftime show for the Sunday night Redskins-Cowboys tilt, and the hyperbolic, over-dramatized comments that followed from anonymous internet posters, I could actually feel anger building inside me. Not anger directed towards Sam, who was simply pointing out how awful people are, based on their ridiculous comments, while not picking a side in the debate. It wasn't even anger towards those insane commenters. I felt myself getting angry at this debate itself. Why, you ask? Well I'll make it clear for you:

It is 100%, completely and totally POINTLESS, USELESS and UNNECESSARY!

Look, full disclosure, I'm a die hard Washington Redskins fan. Could that make me biased? Sure. Do I want the team name to change? Absolutely not. But that's not what I'm getting at. What I'm getting at, is that it's a moot point, and a useless debate. A survey conducted by the National Annenberg Election Survey in 2004 revealed that 90%, yes NINETY PERCENT of Native Americans did not find the term "Redskins" offensive. And, in fact, their are many Native American schools that use "Redskins" for the name of their teams. So clearly, this group that should be so terribly offended, according to those arguing against the name, doesn't actually seem to have any issue with it.

So why are we debating? If you ask me, I believe it's because people always need to have something to bitch about. Americans always need to be able to whine and complain in order to draw attention. That's why you see stuck up, self-loving individuals (see: Costas, Bob), corrupt BS artists who are only looking for some extra support by focusing on a meaningless debate rather than the endless pile of alarmingly scary issues facing this country (see: Politicians) and potentially insane "street protesters" arguing about a football team name all day, every day. 

The name is not changing. Dan Snyder has said it countless times. 

"We'll never change the name. It's simple. NEVER -- you can use caps."

No matter what Bob Costas, or that random politician ignoring his actual duties, or that crazy guy breaking into the Redskins owners meetings hurling flyers demanding a name change say, the NFL franchise located in Washington is, and will continue to be, the Washington Redskins. So please, PLEASE for everyone's sake, can you protesters please move on. Don't worry, I'm sure soon enough there will be some new, trendy, pointless debate for you to toss your unqualified opinion into, and then I can write this blog again!

NFL roundup for week 6

What did we learn in week 6 of the NFL? Well first of all, all of us at 5G 1B send our condolences and prayers to Adrian Peterson and his family. I'm not sure how he managed to stay on that field on Sunday, but G-D bless him.

Getting back to the sport it's getting more and more obvious each week that other than baseball it's the most painfully slow sport on the planet and we love it, and the cliches of any given Sunday almost proved to be true!

The Jags, Titans, Raiders, and Bills all had great chances to send shockwaves through the league but all came up short (however Jacksonville did cover so that absolutely counts for something in betting cirlces!). The Jags went into the half down 14-12 and it could have been 14-14 sans a missed 2 point conversion. The Broncos didn't look all that great and yet still finished them off 35-19. The Titans gave the Seahawks a real run for their money up in Seattle which is one of the toughest places to play but just came up short, the Raiders kept it close for a little while in KC but didn't have enough in the end and the Bills backup QB Thad Lewis through a touchdown with only seconds remaining to send the game to OT but the Bengals found a way to get the win in OT.

The remaining unbeaten's in the NFL after week 6 are only AFC West division rivals Kansas City and Denver. New Orleans fell from those ranks thanks to a last second touchdown from Tom Brady in New England.

The remaining teams without a win in the NFL after week 6 are Jacksonville, the New York Football Giants, and Tampa Bay.

This weeks biggest surprise and biggest letdown both came from the Monday night game for me. I was very disappointed in the Colts after beating both Seattle and San Fran (at Candlestick) and going up against a team in San Diego missing 2 veterans on the defensive line it looked like it would be a high scoring game and one that Indy should have had and the fact that they put up nothing more than 3 field goals and still choose to ignore Trent Richardson is deeply disappointing. But on the flip side well done to the San Diego defense who has basically been being carried by Rivers all season long and they got a well deserved victory to back him up on Monday Night.

Week 7 games to look out for - Cowboys vs. Eagles in Philly in the battle for first place in the weak NFC East. Patriots vs. Jets, Jets trying to climb out of a 2 game hole in AFC East. And finally Broncos vs. Colts. The return of Peyton Manning to Indianapolis. Need I say more?

What is wrong with people?

So if you haven't seen it yet, Bob Costas spent his half time speech during the Cowboys - Redskins games telling everyone why he believes the Redskins is a slur and the name should be changed. I'm not writing this blog to agree or disagree with Bob Costas on the matter but to wonder what the hell is wrong with the people who do disagree with him.

http://deadspin.com/bob-costas-says-redskins-is-an-insult-a-slur-1444781733?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow This is the link to the story if you wish to read up on it yourself, but some of the comments people have been writing are really really ugly. Here's an example of a few to show you what runs through the minds of some really messed up people: "Hear that? That's the thunder of scared white people stampeding over themselves to trash "political correctness" because they feel threatened by the fact that they're losing more and more avenues by which to marginalize minorities" 
"How about americans stop being pussies over everything and find real shit to fight over, like the economy."

" Funny how Costas didn't mention the fact we celebrate Columbus today who killed and enslaved millions of Native Americans...but that's not offensive right??"

"Hearing some jackwagon's political views are the best part of watching football! Maybe we could get Costas and Olbermann to take on a tag team duo of George Clooney and Tim Robbins in some sort of athletic circle jerk!"

" Most of the people upset with the name are white liberals. Which proves my point that if there is one thing white people love to do, it's to be offended on behalf of a minority that doesn't really care."

But my very personal favorite is this one.... "Get over yourself,its not meant in hate!!go pick on the "white"house!same dumb made up crap.what about"dime"ooh,I'm not worth a dime,so now I find that word hateful.the word costas,now causes me trauma."

This person is absolutely right. The "white house" is racist. That house doesn't deserve to be called out based on the color of its skin. WHAT IS WRONG WITH WASHINGTON?! 

But seriously, I'd just like to apologize for the sake of all man kind.... There are some really big idiots in this world.

                                                                       *** UPDATE ***

Bob Costas is also kind of an assh*le so if you do read that blog and see people ripping on Costas, don't be offended on his part. It takes a lot for someone to make Costas look sympathetic, which he does in this case, but the guy pretends to be from St. Louis, so don't give him too much credit. 

It's the Most Wonderful Time of The Year! NHL Previews and Predictions

Few seasons bring as much excitement as the fall. Leaves are changing, pumpkin spice lattes blah blah blah. That's a load of crap. What really brings excitement? The start of the coolest game on earth (throwback!): NHL hockey! Coming off of last years frustrating lockout and subsequent 48-game shortened season (which seemed to fly by in no time), hockey fans are more then ready for a full, 82 game campaign, offering much more stick and puck to enjoy. So without further adieu, I offer you the 5G1B NHL season guide. We'll discuss rule changes, introduce the new divisions after realignment, and make some predictions for the coming year.

Rule changes

There are quite a few rule changes, so let's delve into some of the more important ones:

1: Smaller Leg Pads for Goalies

In an effort to increase scoring (again), the NHL has decided to shrink goalie's leg pads by a few inches (exact amount depends on goalies height). This is seemingly a small and ineffective change, but a total of 26 goals in last night's first 3 games of the season might suggest otherwise.

2: Hybrid Icing

This one is a little tricky to explain, but essentially icing will now be more of a judgement call. Players will race down to touch up or negate an icing, however, the ref will deem whether to call an icing or negate it based upon which player crosses an imaginary line extending across the face-off dots in that zone. It will essentially be a race to the dots with a linesmans judgement call, rather than a race to the end boards. From a safety standpoint this is a very smart idea, as it will give players much more space to stop or brace themselves and will surely dwindle the large number of awful injuries that have occurred as players tangle up and smash into the end boards while trying to touch up or negate an icing (see: Joni Pitkanen). However, there is some grey area as to how well this rule can and will be called by officials, so for now, the jury is out.

3: Smaller Nets (depth-wise)

Again, in an effort to increase scoring (see a pattern here?) the NHL has altered the size if the nets, by esentially removing the wide extended area on the side of the nets, and bringing the back of the net in. This will provide more space behind the net for players to maneuver and make passes. Here's a picture showing the difference:

4: No Fighting

Okay, that's not literally the rule, but it's certainly what the NHL is trying to accomplish. There is a new rule that states that if you take your helmet off during a fight, you get an extra 2-minute penalty. Understandable, considering the dangers of head injuries should a helmet-less head hit the ice. However, the mandatory use of visors is also being grandfathered in to the NHL. So as more and more players are forced into using visors, fighters will either have to 

a) accept their extra 2-minute pentacle for removing their helmet,

b) punch a visor and probably injure their hand, or 

c) just not fight.

Pretty crappy situation for a fan of fighting in the game of hockey.

Realignment

The NHL took the hard way yet again in attempting to realign the league (mainly to get Winnipeg out of the Southeast division). Would simply switching Winnipeg into the Central division and either Columbus, Detroit or even Nashville into the Southeast division have made sense? Sure! Would the NHL ever do something so logical and simple? No friggin way! So here's the new setup for this year:

Division A is called the "Pacific Division"

Division B is the "Central Division"

Division C is the "Atlantic Division"

Division D is the "Metropolitan Divison"

PREDICTION TIME!

We've all made our predictions on which teams will make the playoffs, Stanley Cup Finals matchup and winner, Hart, Vezina, Norris and Calder Trophy recipients, and one BOLD prediction. So here it goes:

* = conference winner 

Brandon:

East

Metro: Pitt*, NYR, Wash

Atlantic: Bos, Ott, Mtl

Wild Card: Det, Cbj

West

Central: Chi*, Stl, Dal

Pacific: LA, Edm, Phx

Wild Card: SJ, Ana

Cup finals: Blues over Penguins

Hart: Jonathan Towes

Norris: Erik Karlsson

Vezina: Henrik Lundqvist

Calder: Valeri Nichushkin

BOLD Prediction: Taylor Hall finishes top 7 in the league in scoring and the Oilers finish top 3 in the Pacific Division.

Dave "Davy Glide" 

East

Metro: Pitt*, NYR, Wash

Atlantic: Bos, Det, Ott

Wild Card: NYI, Tor

West

Central: Chi*, Minn, Stl

Pacific: SJ, Van, LA

Wild Card: Wpg, Ana

Cup finals: Sharks over Penguins

Hart: John Tavares

Norris: Keith Yandle

Vezina: Craig Anderson 

Calder: Aleksander Barkov

BOLD Prediction: Islanders make the playoffs and win a series.

Sam "Sammer"

East

Metro: Pitt*, NYR, NYI

Atlantic: Det, Bos, Ott

Wild Card: Mtl, Cbj

West

Central: Chi*, Nsh, Stl

Pacific: Ana, Van, SJ

Wild Card: Minn, Phx

Cup finals: Rangers over Wild

Hart: Sidney Crosby

Norris: Shea Webber

Vezina: Henrik Lundqvist

Calder: Seth Jones

BOLD Prediction: Capitals miss the playoffs.

Jonathan

East

Metro: Pitt*, NYR, Wash

Atlantic: Bos, Det, Mtl

Wild Card: Ott, Tor

West

Central: Chi, Nsh, Stl

Pacific: LA*, Ana, Van

Wild Card: SJ, Edm

Cup finals: Red Wings over Blackhawks

Hart: Evgeni Malkin

Norris: Ryan McDonagh

Vezina: Henrik Lundqvist

Calder: Seth Jones

BOLD Prediction: Islanders finish last in the East.

So that's it, you're now set for the NHL season. Happy hockey!!!!

(Editors Note: Davy Glide also thinks Lindsay: James Neal, Masterson: George Parros, Selke: Ryan Callahan, Jennings: Craig Anderson, King Clancy: Jack Johnson, Rocket Richard: John Tavaras, General Manager: Jim Nill, and the most important Steven Mcdonald extra effort: Dab Girardi.)

Congrats to the Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays defeated the Texas Rangers tonight in game 163 for the right to play game 164 for a chance to officially win the Wild Card in Cleveland Thursday night.... but more importantly is the fact that the Rays have a guy who wears a Chewbacca mask after they win...Congrats on your win again Tampa Bay but if that thing isn't move quality THEN IT IS NOT OKAY!

Mets off-season player moves

Who I want the Mets to get - Andre Either, Jacoby Ellsbury, Giancarlo Stanton, Shin Soo Choo (or whatever), Jose Reyes, the Abreu guy, Robinson Cano, Tim Lincecum, Brian McCan, Josh Johnson, and a solid amount of bullpen guys.

Who the Mets will get - No one.

"Things just ain't looking bright. You have to find a bright spot. There ain't no light at the end of the tunnel, though, it looks like." - Cliff Floyd 


Sure there is Cliff, it's the light of a giant oncoming  train of losing seasons coming toward us!

I'd love to do a full season wrap up of the Mets and look for positives but let's be realistic, when your best player needs tommy john surgery and you have the worst medical staff in baseball, when your owner refuses to retire the best player in the history of the organizations number so that he can make more money on another ceremony, when the owner says they won't make the World Series, when for the majority of the season their highest home run hitter was at 10, and when they have never had a winning season at Citi Field what is there to say? They stunk this season and it wasn't pretty to watch.

Maybe next year..

I miss fat Rex Ryan

Sure, Rex Ryan is probably at a healthier weight now that he slimmed down over the last couple years... but the Jets have gotten predominantly worse the skinnier he's gotten! As if somehow Rex's fatness was directly proportionate to the Jets winning, and if that's the case Kansas City has a certified winner on their hands.

But in all seriousness, when Rex first got to New York he was this big boisterous, confident, brilliant football mind who finally got his chance to be a head coach and was gonna take it to the rest of the league for passing over him. He was talking Super Bowl Parade routes, he was talking of a #1 rated defense, and he brought something to the Jets they've really never had in their whole existence, baring one year, 1969, when they actually won the Super Bowl, and that's confidence!

The Jets were not gonna let anyone push them around, no one was gonna come to the Meadowlands and beat them and they were going to go on the road and be unafraid of the challenge. Plus, Rex wasn't going to "kiss Belichecks rings" and that was no better shown than when the Jets beat the Patriots in only his second game.

The Jets were unafraid, they were confident on offense, defense, and special teams, and despite the fact that they somehow snuck into the playoffs in 2009 they stuck to Rex's guns and it worked. They beat Cinci and San Diego on the road and gave Indy all they could despite injuries on both sides of the ball. But it was a great start and had Rex's confidence through the roof and so went the confidence of the team and that of the fans.

In the off-season the Jets added a Super Bowl MVP winning wide receiver to their offensive arsenal, they added a tough, smart defensive super star in Jason Taylor and Rex was back to his Super Bowl parade route ways and it was AWESOME! The Jets weren't afraid, they were the best team in the NFL that season and there was no question.They added one of the best running backs of the past 10 years who was having a resurgence in his career and they were running the ball down teams throats, daring them to stack the box and when they did Sanchez hooked up with Holmes, Edwards, Keller, Smith, Cotchery, LT, Greene, and on the defensive side we DARED teams to throw the ball, they couldn't, the Jets stacked the box and blitzed like crazy, and had 2 of the best cover corners in the league.

The 2010 Jets were unlike any other Jets team before in that they were able to go to places that haunted them previously and win. A late season game in the snow in Pittsburgh usually spelled disaster but they were able to get a win there after 2 straight bad games including being blown out in New England, they went on the road in the Wild Card playoff round and didn't just beat the Colts, but shut down Peyton Manning the very same guy who tormented them in the AFC Championship game the year before, then they went on the road to New England where they had just previously lost a month earlier by almost 40 points and battered Tom Brady and really had their way all day with the Pats. And even though the season didn't end the way it should have they were truly willing to go toe to toe (no joke intended) with anyone and everyone led by their fearless fat leader.

2 straight AFC Championship games, 4 road playoff wins in 2 years, and an 11-5 record (one of the best in Jets history) was nothing to shake a stick at, this team truly was going in the right direction, things seemed good, however...

The Jets dismantled their entire team before the 2011 season and the rest is history. They brought in a guy who shot HIMSELF in the leg . Rex started losing weight, then Holmes threw the ball at a 49er corner, Sanchez butt fumbled and it all went to sh*t. Now Rex is skinny and Geno Smith is trying to put the ball behind his back while Bilal Powell runs around doing nothing and they have the receiving core of a low end high school (commack).

The days of Rex cursing freely and saying things like "lets go get a damn snack!" are over and replaced with visions of another 6-10 season and Woody Johnson wiping his ass with his "Romney Ryan" bumper sticker and wads of hundred dollar bills. The confidence is gone, the ground and pound is gone, the good defense is gone, and all that's left is a skinny reminder of what once was, what could have been and what will never be.