1. I am here to start a fight, because I’m a man and that’s how I solve problems. I’m not here to help you. I am here to fucking hurt you. That’s what I’ve learned in my years as an NFL fan. You have an issue with somebody? You see somebody being stupid? You don’t look the other way. You don’t back down. You strap on your man boots and you shove it through their teeth.
The Miami Dolphins bullying scandal has shone a harsh light on the NFL. Writing for Grantland, Brian Phillips declares war on the sport’s warrior culture.
2. “It’s probably about 13 years ago when we had our first full-sized artificial pitches built inside. If you look at most of the boys I’m playing with now, they must have been 10 years old, so they’re probably the first generation able to play all year round in Iceland. They’re coming through now and we’re reaping the benefits.”
3. From the beginning, the onus of challenging a call has been placed on the players themselves. It is they who have to figure out how to manage the finite number of challenges they receive in each set. Thus, reviewing a call has become a sort of mini game-show during a tennis match (“Will X challenge? He/she only has 1 left…was it in? Oh, so close!”) that has all to do with entertainment and little to do with the competition itself (and fairness, really).
4. The first wrestling video game I can ever remember playing was WCW Wrestling for the NES, one of two games released by the company that was essentially named “World Championship Wrestling Wrestling” . I was comically young when I first played it and don’t remember much about it, but Sting was involved and there were dudes that my probably pre-school brain could not handle, like the Road Warriors. And, ever since then, I’ve bought nearly every single wrestling video game ever created for a system I’ve owned. Seriously. I bought WCW Nitro AND WCW Thunder each more than once.
Ok, this is essentially a plug for a Kickstarter project — but who wouldn’t want to read a book on the history of wrestling video games? The Classical’s Nick Bondspeaks to co-author Audun Sorlie.
5. At 7:35 p.m. on Dec. 14, 2011, Sam Hurd’s black Escalade arrived in a light rain outside a Morton’s restaurant in Chicago and backed into a street space near the entrance. The Bears’ receiver, then 26, had driven to the steak house following practice to meet with two Mexicans who moved cocaine for one of their country’s most violent cartels, the Zetas—a murderous army known for beheading its enemies and dumping their bodies on public streets.
A long ‘un but a good ‘un. Michael McKnight’s mammoth piece for MMQB on former NFL player Sam Hurd who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for drug trafficking this week.
6. Nonito Donaire is meant to be training tonight in Las Vegas but, two hours into an interview which has turned into a three-course meal at a swanky restaurant deep inside Caesar’s Palace, the engaging super-bantamweight knocks back another slug of fine red wine. It’s an unconventional way to prepare for a fight that, as we talk, is only four weeks away – for Donaire faces his old rival Vic Darchinyan at Corpus Christi in Texas on 9 November – but the “Filipino Flash” is an extraordinary man. He is also in the midst of a life-changing time, both as a once-wounded son and a new father.
Wrestling video games and warrior culture: some of the week’s best sportswriting
1. I am here to start a fight, because I’m a man and that’s how I solve problems. I’m not here to help you. I am here to fucking hurt you. That’s what I’ve learned in my years as an NFL fan. You have an issue with somebody? You see somebody being stupid? You don’t look the other way. You don’t back down. You strap on your man boots and you shove it through their teeth.
The Miami Dolphins bullying scandal has shone a harsh light on the NFL. Writing for Grantland, Brian Phillips declares war on the sport’s warrior culture.
2. “It’s probably about 13 years ago when we had our first full-sized artificial pitches built inside. If you look at most of the boys I’m playing with now, they must have been 10 years old, so they’re probably the first generation able to play all year round in Iceland. They’re coming through now and we’re reaping the benefits.”
The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg speaks to Eidur Gudjohnsen to discuss Iceland’s journey to the World Cup play-offs and the brink of history.
3. From the beginning, the onus of challenging a call has been placed on the players themselves. It is they who have to figure out how to manage the finite number of challenges they receive in each set. Thus, reviewing a call has become a sort of mini game-show during a tennis match (“Will X challenge? He/she only has 1 left…was it in? Oh, so close!”) that has all to do with entertainment and little to do with the competition itself (and fairness, really).
Juan José has some ideas on how to reform the challenge system in tennis. This piece on the Changeover is worth a read.
4. The first wrestling video game I can ever remember playing was WCW Wrestling for the NES, one of two games released by the company that was essentially named “World Championship Wrestling Wrestling” . I was comically young when I first played it and don’t remember much about it, but Sting was involved and there were dudes that my probably pre-school brain could not handle, like the Road Warriors. And, ever since then, I’ve bought nearly every single wrestling video game ever created for a system I’ve owned. Seriously. I bought WCW Nitro AND WCW Thunder each more than once.
Ok, this is essentially a plug for a Kickstarter project — but who wouldn’t want to read a book on the history of wrestling video games? The Classical’s Nick Bond speaks to co-author Audun Sorlie.
5. At 7:35 p.m. on Dec. 14, 2011, Sam Hurd’s black Escalade arrived in a light rain outside a Morton’s restaurant in Chicago and backed into a street space near the entrance. The Bears’ receiver, then 26, had driven to the steak house following practice to meet with two Mexicans who moved cocaine for one of their country’s most violent cartels, the Zetas—a murderous army known for beheading its enemies and dumping their bodies on public streets.
A long ‘un but a good ‘un. Michael McKnight’s mammoth piece for MMQB on former NFL player Sam Hurd who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for drug trafficking this week.
6. Nonito Donaire is meant to be training tonight in Las Vegas but, two hours into an interview which has turned into a three-course meal at a swanky restaurant deep inside Caesar’s Palace, the engaging super-bantamweight knocks back another slug of fine red wine. It’s an unconventional way to prepare for a fight that, as we talk, is only four weeks away – for Donaire faces his old rival Vic Darchinyan at Corpus Christi in Texas on 9 November – but the “Filipino Flash” is an extraordinary man. He is also in the midst of a life-changing time, both as a once-wounded son and a new father.
Donald McRae meets Filipino boxing star Nonito Donaire to discuss how becoming a father, and losing his first fight, have changed him.
Football Manager challenge: My backside is on the bacon slicer
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