Droppin

For you frequent fliers out there, here is a useful link with a list of airports that offer free high-speed internet.

free wi-fi airport high speed internet access list

This looked like a scene from a backyard wrestling match, helmets and crutches being used as weapons.  Players stomping on other players ala Titan’s Haynesworth a couple of weeks ago.  What a mess.  31 players total were suspended for only one week, one week!?  I don’t think that the participating players should be able to finish the season.  More sanctions can be handed down by the universities, let’s hope that they do. 

Miami, FIU have 31 players suspended for role in brawl – NCAAF – Yahoo! Sports

Pepsi announced that they will be launching a new and expensive ad campaign to fight dropping sales in the cola market.  Below you will also find some of Pepsi’s taglines over the years.  You have got to love, “Be sociable, have a pepsi”. 

Pepsi’s taglines over the years
1906 The Original Pure Food Drink 

1939 Twice as Much for a Nickel 

1950 More Bounce to the Ounce 

1958 Be Sociable, Have a Pepsi 

1963 Come Alive! You’re in the Pepsi Generation 

1969 You’ve Got a Lot to Live. Pepsi’s Got a Lot to Give. 

1976 Have a Pepsi Day 

1979 Catch That Pepsi Spirit! 

1984 Pepsi: The Choice of a New Generation 

1991 You Got the Right One, Baby, Uh-Huh! 

1995 Nothing Else Is a Pepsi 

1997 Generation Next 

1999 The Joy of Cola 

2003 It’s the Cola 

Read the entire article: 

Advertising Age – Pepsi Primes Brand Overhaul 

It’s official. I’m giving it up. Throwing in the proverbial towel. I can’t go on like this anymore. I mean it almost feels like all the players and coaches in the NFL got together over the off season and decided to do everything bass-ackwards just to mess with the millions of junkies out there who pour their blood sweat and tears into drafting a team that with a little know how and a whole lot of luck can beat the odds and win their leagues. Well I won’t stand for it anymore. I mean tell me what I am supposed to do when even LT, the best back in the league is suddenly sharing carries with Michael freakin Turner.

That’s not even bringing up the QB situation. Guess who is a top 5 fantasy QB this season? DAVID CARR & REX GROSSMAN people! Only Peyton Manning even looks remotely close to living up to his fantasy potential this season. Everyone else is a complete wash.

And wide receivers? Come on its like teams are purposely conspiring to ensure that nobody gets back to back 100 yard games.

Something has to change with Fantasy Football. The current system just doesn’t work for today’s game. Their is too much parity in the league and while that might make for entertaining football it doesn’t highlight superstars the way it used to and that leads to incosistency from key players. This might seem “challenging” to some and you might even say that it seperates the good owners from the bad. I say it has reduced Fantasy Football to pure dumb luck.

There are some people out there who think they have a solution for the future, you’ll hear terms like “team running back” or even the idea of “optimal Fantasy Football”. There may be something to that but it will take a revolution in the system to change things.

That’s why I’m hanging up my fantasy clipboard and headset. I’m done with fantasy football.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go set my rosters. Hey just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean I can’t still win right?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go set my rosters for next week. Hey just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean I can’t win right?

So word on the street is that the upcoming “Evan Almighty” movie starring Steve Carell has seen production costs skyrocketing lately as the numbers creep in on the $160 million mark. That would make Evan Almighty the most expensive comedy ever. Tack on marketing and advertising costs and suddenly you are faced with a movie that will have to gross $250 million to break even! I like Steve Carell as much as the next guy, moreso probably but thats alot to ask of the guy.

Jim Jenkins from the Sacramento Bee tries to instill a little hope to the RaiderNation.  Also, Jim writes about the Randy Moss vs Howie Long verbal spar, very telling if you ask me.

By Jim Jenkins -
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Relax, Raiders fans. As grim as things appear, as nasty as what you might hear and read, this isn’t a team that will wind up winless. Not going to happen.  In the NFL, where parity is king, you would have to be pretty horrible not to come out on top at least once in a 16-game season.

Even the best teams occasionally play to the level of their competition, only to regret it.  Undefeated Indianapolis at home against winless Tennessee last Sunday was the most recent example, but the Colts woke up just in time for a narrow victory.  The Raiders? Two of their four wins last year were over winning teams, including Washington, which went to the playoffs. Of their five victories in 2004, two were over winning clubs, including a road upset of Denver, a playoff entry. In 1997, a 4-12 Oakland season, the Raiders beat a Broncos team that would win the Super Bowl.

Recent history suggests none of the teams without a victory so far — the Raiders, Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions — will be winless when the season ends.  In the NFL’s early years, going winless was common. Some franchises were loosely put together and not very competitive. Then there was scarce talent during the war years. Since World War II, however, only three teams finished a season winless.  Two were expansion teams, the 1960 Dallas Cowboys (0-11-1) and 1976 Buccaneers (0-14). The third was the Baltimore Colts (0-8-1) in the strike-shortened 1982 season. That also was an era before expansion teams could stock up with extra draft picks and true free agents.

See, nothing to worry about.

Moss has more to say

Randy Moss, during his weekly Monday segment on Fox Sports Radio, implied he still has his sights set on the Oct. 17 trading deadline.  Do you suppose he hopes Raiders management is receptive to a deal after his drop of one end-zone pass and catch of another in an embarrassing 34-20 loss to the 49ers on Sunday?

Moss told Fox host Chris Myers: “If I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing, it might be in the team’s best interest to look elsewhere. Chris, I love what I do, I respect the game, I respect this organization. But at the same time, if you don’t like what is going on or don’t like what you see, then there has to be some changes made, no matter whether it’s the front office, coaching staff, players or whatever it may be.”  Moss’ interview this time might have stirred up extra trouble.

Hall of Fame defensive lineman Howie Long, part of Fox television’s NFL show, questioned Moss’ passion for football, prompting a sharp response from the wide receiver. Moss said Long played during an era when “he was probably popping pills and tablets and all that, to get up and going, but nowadays with the drug-testing policies and performance-enhancing policy, it’s hard for a player to just go (out there) week in and week out.”

More from Moss on Long: “I know he’s an analyst, and it’s his job to stir up controversy, but (if he doubts my passion), you tell him to come out here, put on some pads and go at me.”

Wouldn’t advise it, Randy.

Oakland Raiders – Will Raiders go winless? Don’t bet on it – sacbee.com

For those of you without BYU Cougar football tickets this year, they have created a mock movie based on Batman starring none other than Cosmo.  So far they have released three installments and they are entertaining for the most part.  Check them out here:

Cosmo Begins – ONLINE! – UPDATED. « Cosmo Films

Well the NCAA basketball season is upon us and it couldn’t be coming at a better time for this sports fan.  This Friday night, UNC will be celebrating the opening of the basketball season by goofing off and scrimmaging a bit.  The event will be hosted by Stuart Scott of ESPN (boo-yah) and this will be the first chance for many to see the new freshman in action.

With seven experienced returnees and six incoming freshman (ranked best class in the nation) Roy finally has the depth and experience that he was used to at Kansas.  In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year of sorts for the Heels, they finished second in the conference last year at 23-8 and Tyler Hansbrough’s tough play earned him rookie of the year honors.  However, the Heels were bounced from the tournament in the second round by cinderella George Mason.  This year, the Heels will have more options than to just feed the big fella.  In addition to the sophmores (Bobby Frasor, Danny Green, and Marcus Ginyard) you will have the top-ranked point guard (Ty Lawson), top-ranked shooting guard (Wayne Ellington), and the top-ranked power forward (Brandan Wright).  The rest of the rookie class should help out Tyler as well as it includes 6′ 9″ Alex Stepheson, 6′ 8″ Deon Thompson, and power forward William Graves.

The Heels will host St. Augstine on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 7:30 p.m.  Their second and final exhibition will be on Saturday, Nov. 11, against Pfeiffer.  I will post the rest of their schedule in another post here shortly.

We had already seen the “new” colors and logo a while back but the Bucks organized a full-fledged fashion show to unveil their new look for the 2006-07 season.  Adidas selected to go with the “shimmer” fabric which I am personally not a fan of.  The home unis are white with the Bucks nameplate and the road uniform is green with a similar nameplate.  You have to believe that a red alternate is on the way (which I think will be better than the green).  The Bucks also redesigned their court featuring the new logo and a shaded three-point zone.  [Check out my main man Noel in the road unis - Go Heels!]