RANTS!

[trailerparkmedic]

My boyfriend's mother is whining like a 3 year old, because my boyfriend and I won't cancel our plans to fly to my parent's house for Christmas. We paid for the tickets months ago and can't get a refund, but that doesn't matter at all to her. No, we're condemning her to a lonely, lonely Christmas (with her other son and her two sisters...) because my boyfriend is a terrible son and because I'm trying to steal him away from his family. Grow up. PLEASE!

I also hate Christmas music with a passion.

[BookstoreEscapee]

People who take up the better parking spaces in the lot with vehicles that they are not using. There are two motorcycles (covered up) taking up two good spots in the back lot (one of them is the closest spot to my building), and they have been there for over a week because the weather has been too cold/windy/rainy/etc. to be riding a motorcycle. If you're going to store it, don't take up a good spot.

[Jester]

Al Davis is bad, but he'll die.

I often say that the Raiders are just like Cuba....because nothing gonna change till the old man die.

That being said, Davis is 958 years old, and while he is getting more and more senile, he doesn't appear to be shuffling off this mortal coil any time soon.

I love what Davis did for the team for decades, but right now the best thing he could do for them would be to sell them, or hire a GM, or turn over control of the team to someone else, or die. It's sad, but it's true.

As for the GM thing, some Raider fans recently purchased space on a billboard in the Bay Area that basically said, "Please, Mr. Davis--hire a General Manager!"

Raider fans have a team history they are proud of, and rightfully so. But right now, even with all the talent on the team, and there really is a lot, the Raiders are one of the biggest laughingstocks in the league.

It is a dark, dark time for the faithful of the Silver and Black.

[derangedperson]

It is a dark, dark time for the faithful of the Silver and Black.

I won't argue with you there, Jester. Until Al dies, you guys are going to be terrible. I don't say that to be mean, I say that because Al clearly doesn't give a shit about the team anymore.

I mean, Darrius Heyward-Bey?!

[Jester]

Oh, Al gives a shit about the team, he just no longer has the acumen or skill necessary to run it.

And while Heyward-Bey was a reach, no one, no matter how much they were detractors of picking him at the early slot Oakland did, thought he was going to be this bad or this ineffective.

Gotta love Louis Murphy, though.

[sarasquirrel]

my rant:

i can not motivate myself to to my damned paper. idk what to write about, where to get articles online and its due tomorrow. i thank vague professors for that one

and my throat reallly hurts, but only on one side. im tired and wanna go take a nap. but i should do the paper

[AdminAssistant]

My rant: I almost don't want to go home for Christmas. My family already has me stressed out. Between my father's alcoholism and my mom's neurosis and clinginess...GAH. 2 weeks of fighting, yelling, no privacy, walking on eggshells, and praying for no actual violence. *sigh* I'm ready for my sister to build her house, so I can stay with her. (They don't have enough room for me in their little trailer).

[derangedperson]

Oh, Al gives a shit about the team, he just no longer has the acumen or skill necessary to run it.

And while Heyward-Bey was a reach, no one, no matter how much they were detractors of picking him at the early slot Oakland did, thought he was going to be this bad or this ineffective.

Gotta love Louis Murphy, though.

A few years ago, a local radio station aired a poem from Al Davis' point of view regarding the Immaculate Reception entitled, 'Twas The Night Before Playoffs. Here it is:

'Twas the night before playoffs, and all through the league
Not a head coach was stirring, all battle fatigued
The brackets were set by Mr. Rozelle in his chair
That bastard never liked me--I knew he'd be unfair
The Raiders were seeded low--Rozelle left us for dead
While visions of flea flickers danced in our head
With Madden in his parka, and my hair freshly greased
We all settled down for some pre-game roast beast
When out of nowhere, Fat John started to chatter
I agreed on our strategy--their quarterbacks we must splatter
So into the film room I flew like a flash
Loaded up a few reels, and started talking trash
Our highlights of glory on the locker room wall
Gives a rush of great pride, despite that bad call
When what to my bleary eyes should appear
But Fuqua, that bastard--it was so friggin' clear!

Well, the ref he was blind, and in a game Rozelle fixed
I knew in a moment our Super Bowl run had been deep-sixed
More rapid than Cliff Branch, I rushed to the bunks
And whistled and shouted, saying, "Wake up, you punks!"
Now Stabler, Van Egan, and Freddie Biletnikoff
Alzado and Haynes--"Let's rip some heads off!
To the endzone we go with our vertical offense
Don't listen to Madden--he just don't make sense!"

As I drew up some plays and chewed out my own team
The Steelers came charging with a head full of steam
They were all dressed in black from their head to their foot
And Bradshaw kept throwing--our defense was kaput
Madden had tried to keep our players on track
But he looked like a fat slob--even his pants showed some crack
His eyes, how they twinkled, when I mentioned per diems
He ate all his food, and most of the team's
His droll little mouth could utter many dumb things
But if it weren't for Al Davis, the Raiders would have no rings!

In the pressbox I sit, simply gritting my teeth
The smoke from my ears circles my head like a wreath
I hate that Chuck Noll and his cranky sourpuss
Lynn Swann is a chump, and we know Franco's a wuss
Joe Greene is a hack--he couldn't tackle an elf
I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself
But a wink from the ref and a nod from his head
Soon led me to know my Raiders was dead
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work
Madden even heard him say, "I'll show that greasy jerk!"

And on that last play, as everybody knows
Fuqua touched the ball, just as the replay shows!
And he sprang from the field, put away the whistle
All I could do was sit there and bristle
But I heard Rozelle claim as the Steelers advanced
"F you, you dirtbag Davis! Your team never had a chance!"

[Jester]

Do NOT get me started on the Immaculate Deception. There's a rant I could go on about!

New rant: I so do not want to drive up to North Florida and back this weekend. Grrr. It's Hicksville, USA, for one thing, and for another thing, it's going to be cold. And frankly, I did not want to spend my weekend driving 500 miles each way. Bleah. Bleah. And more bleah.

I am too good a damned uncle, I tell ya. (I am doing this for my niece, who just bought a new truck in Key West, since she is losing her old one, which is still part of her dad's estate, but since she can only drive one truck up there, she is taking the new one, and I am taking the little pickup. I so look forward to that....NOT!)

[derangedperson]

Do NOT get me started on the Immaculate Deception. There's a rant I could go on about!

Not to stoke your fire, but it does indeed look like Fuqua touched the ball on the replay. Didn't the rules at the time state that a ball deflected off the intended receiver was considered a dead ball?

[Jester]

The Immaculate Deception

Not to stoke your fire, but it does indeed look like Fuqua touched the ball on the replay. Didn't the rules at the time state that a ball deflected off the intended receiver was considered a dead ball?

Grrr. Now you've gone and done it. This play is the most hated in all of the Raider Nation, because it is so utterly bullshit in so many ways. First, let's review what happened, and then I'll attack it point by point.

Recap (for those unfamiliar with it): December 23, 1972. Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Oakland Raiders and the hometown Pittsburgh Steelers. Raiders score on a Kenny Stabler touchdown run to to take the lead 7-6 with 1:17 to go in the game. Steelers get the ball back, and with 22 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, they faced a 4th & 10 on their own 40 yard line. Steelers QB Terry Bradshaw drops back to pass, and under great pressure from the defense, throws the ball towards Steelers RB John "Frenchy" Fuqua at the Oakland 35 yard line. The ball, Fuqua, and Raiders safety Jack Tatum (known as "The Assassin" for his punishing hits) all meet at the same spot at the same time. Fuqua gets knocked on his ass back and the ball goes sailing backwards several yards, where it is apparently snatched out of the air just before touching the ground by Steelers RB Franco Harris, who then runs down the sideline, stiff-arming Raiders DB Jimmy Warren and scoring a touchdown, winning the game and beginning the Steelers dynasty of the Seventies.

At least, that's the official story.

Point #1 (the one most often cited, and the one asked about by derangedperson): Did the ball hit off of Fuqua before ricocheting to Harris? This is important because, while under today's rules it wouldn't matter, until 1978, a passed ball could not be touched by two successive offensive players (after it was passed, not counting the QB) without touching a defensive player either between the two offensive players or simultaneously with one of them. If the ball hit off of Fuqua, the reception was illegal, and the touchdown would have been disallowed, giving the Raiders the ball on downs, and the victory. If the ball hit off of Tatum or Tatum and Fuqua simultaneously, the reception would be legal. Many people have opined on this over the last few decades. From what I have seen, in my opinion, the ball clearly ricochets off of Fuqua. Reception illegal, touchdown nullified, Raiders victory. So much for the "reception" part.

Point #2: Did the ball hit the ground before Harris caught it? If it did, the result would be an incomplete pass, turnover on downs, Raider victory. Many opinions I have read from people who were there are that the ball hit the ground, and was not caught cleanly. It is impossible to tell from the tape, as in every tape of the play, you cannot see the ball and the ground. The most famous view cuts off the ball just above the point where it may have hit the ground. The one wide angle view that shows the play in its entirety from the end zone doesn't help, as unfortunately one of the goal post uprights is directly in line with Harris and the ball at the moment he allegedly caught the ball. From what I have seen of the tape, and interpolating where the ball and the ground probably are, it is my opinion that Harris did not catch the ball cleanly, and that the ground aided him slightly. So much for the "immaculate" part.

Point #3: Why did the referees wait so long to signal touchdown? At the time of the play, only one official signaled touchdown. The others did not make any signal. The officials huddled, and then referee Fred Swearingen used a sideline phone to call NFL's supervisor of officials Art McNally, who was in the stadium's press box with the Steelers' owner. McNally has said Swearingen did not ask for a ruling or what McNally saw on video or video replay, but merely that two of the officials saw two opposing players (i.e, Tatum and Fuqua) both touch the ball. At which point McNally told if that were the case, "everything's fine then, go ahead." At which point Swearingen signaled touchdown.

Different sources have suggested or said that Swearingen actually asked McNally to give him an opinion from his vantage with video. Since there was no instant replay rule in place at the time, this would have been outside of the purview of Swearingen to ask for or McNally to provide.

Some reports also have Swearingen asking security personnel, while looking around the bedlam that was the Pittsburgh stadium's stands, how many police officers there were on hand to get them (the officials) out of there. After being told only about a dozen or so, Swearingen then returned to the field and signaled the touchdown.

So why the long delay? Why the call to the press box, unprecedented at the time? I am not the only person that has trouble believing that Swearingen was only asking for a clarification from his boss. The delay spawned much of the controversy, and is a sticking point for many people to this day. Then-Raiders head coach John Madden has said often that this was the part that bothered him the most. So much so that, in one of his books, he details how a friend of his one day, while at Three Rivers Stadium, ripped that very same phone off the wall, and gave it to Madden, who claims to have it to this day. And this is one of the reasons I refer to this play as a "deception," rather than its usual moniker.

Point #4: This is a minor point, but one stated by both Raiders LB Phil Villipiano and Coach Madden. According to them, Villipiano was illegally blocked from getting to Harris by Steelers TE John McMakin. Had this penalty been called, the touchdown would have been nullified, and the Steelers would have had to replay the down after a loss of yardage. I say this is a minor point because it is certainly possible that the Steelers could have found another way to convert the fourth down and potentially win the game. Unlike the other three points, this particular aspect of the play does not make or break the game definitively for either team. But it is something to consider.

Ultimately, what you believe happened that day in Pittsburgh depends on who you believe, and what you think the tape shows.

I have stated my opinion for years, quite unequivocably: the call was a farce and the play should never have been allowed to stand as a touchdown. And even if one can make the argument that it should have, the behavior of the officials, especially the referee, were inexcusable. At best they were incompetent. At worst they were cowards impugning the integrity of the game due to fear for their own safety and taking the easy way out.

In short, it was the Immaculate Deception. And to me it always will be.

[derangedperson]

*Jester's diatribe about the IR*

I never realized that about the referees. Hell, if that story about the Steelers owner holds water, it's no wonder that Al thinks the entire NFL's against him. Couple that with that infamous Broncos game in '78 ("The Big Lie," as Davis called it--it was a fumble, goddammit) and you have a bigass tub of animosity.

Sorry to get you riled up, Jester, but here's something to feel good about--the Cardinals at least will be in the playoffs again and have two consecutive winning seasons for the first time in fucking EONS.

[Jester]

...the Cardinals at least will be in the playoffs again and have two consecutive winning seasons for the first time in fucking EONS.

Yay. *yawn*

Sorry. It's nice to see the Cardinals doing well, and I will of course root for them, but I just can't work up the passion for the Cardinals that I have for the Raiders or my Sun Devils. It's a consolation prize, nothing more. So...yay. Meh.

Now if only my Phoenix Suns could start beating good teams, and not just bad ones.....

New rant: I so do not want to drive up to North Florida and back this weekend. Grrr. It's Hicksville, USA, for one thing, and for another thing, it's going to be cold. And frankly, I did not want to spend my weekend driving 500 miles each way. Bleah. Bleah. And more bleah.

Good news: I don't have to drive up to Hicksville Lake City this weekend! Yay.

Bad news/new rant: Guess what I'm doing Christmas weekend? Yep. Driving up to Redneck Central Lake City. Not just that, but driving back I'll be driving Princess's SUV...with a trailer. Everyone pretty much agrees that it would be better for me to drive that whole rig than her, since I've been driving longer than she's been alive, and I am a very good and experienced driver, and she is....neither. She's already had more accidents than I have, and she's not even 19 yet. Man, that is going to suck. If we weren't hauling a trailer, I could actually get some sleep on the way back while she drives. But there is no way I am letting her drive that rig on the freeways. She wants to get some practice driving it, and I will probably let her get some of that practice in once we are in the Keys, so I can get some rest, but I still can't sleep, as I'll have to keep my eye on her. While it IS her vehicle, she has agreed to my one unmoving demand, that I have veto power over her driving....I say pull over and give me the wheel, she has to comply. Even she knows it's a better idea to have me drive it.

Amusingly, I have never driven a vehicle with a trailer before. But I have driven almost everything, I do have some talent as a driver, and I have far more experience and feel for such things than she does.

Positives: while driving across Florida with a teenager does not usually sound like a recipe for anything but much hair-pulling, I did just that three years ago with her when she was 15 (to drop her at her father's as I was on my way to points north), and it was no problem. I drove and listened to the car radio, she sat there quietly and listened to headphones. And actually was very good and obedient when I needed her to "clear" me on the passenger side....which is something I'll need a lot more of this trip.

What a way to spend Christmas weekend, huh? I'll be leaving here Saturday night, after a day shift at The Bar. I would have left Friday night, but apparently that Saturday is one of our busiest of the year, so they need me to work, but are willing to let me do a day shift. And I'll still get to see my Raiders take on the Browns....I'll be getting in way late Saturday night, Sunday I'll be waking up early to help Princess pack the trailer, but come 1:00, she is dropping me at a sports bar so I can watch the game, and then picking me up afterwards to help her finish packing the trailer. The reason I'll be getting so little sleep is so that I can help her get the big stuff, i.e., furniture, packed up. And Sunday night I plan on sleeping plenty, so I am fresh and ready to go Monday on our journey back.

"All I want for Christmas is a trouble free road trip....a trouble free road trip....a trouble free road trip....."

[Cat]

My rant:

Yet another flat tire. I was able to gone on it....looks like a slow leak. Working from home today, AAA just threw on the spare, and after I sign off I go get this one fixed (or a new tire *sigh*)

Tomorrow I have to get an oil change and a new battery.

I hate cars

[Midnight12]

mah rants
that yet another year is going to be a joyless christmas/newyears only this time because the family of DH is either it costs too much or religion in your face. Or just plain inconsiderate. Not going anywhere which is not a surprise but anything to get out of this ancient infested house to save my daughter thats my rant.

Not to mention that when it is let out that DH is going in for possibly A.D.D. and bipolar testing will set off the mother in law like its the apocalypse. One more baby to deal with