SPORT
Super Bowl XLIV Preview: Saints & Colts in Miami
Adam Underhill
02.03.10
I never thought about the double entendre of awfulness that would have fell on earth had Bret Favre beat New Orleans last week and gone on to (maybe even win?) the Super Bowl. No I'd forgotten about the cheeseheads and the humiliation that would haunt them had THEIR guy won on that damn Vikings team (I like Favre btw - CM). Was just pondering New Orleans, still Katrina repairing, rushing to their first Super Bowl ever by beating a fellow borne and bred gulf coaster... that game was a team vs an individual right? the twilight of a heavyweight? the phoenix-like rise of a city? or did I get confused? Well Adam Underhill, long time Green Bay fan didn't miss anything. Here's his preview for Super Sunday, 'tween the Saints and oh yeah, the Colts. And speaking of drama, keep an eye on Colts receiver Pierre Garçon, the Haitian descent player who played with incredible gusto in the AFC championship. Prediction? Well read on...
Momentum
Adam Underhill
01.08.10
It's been a long time since we talked football (talk about momentum, not that we haven't been watching). Most of my teams have gotten knocked out by now - the Giants first of all, the Falcons, the Bills ...ah well this always happens with them, lately, but it doesn't have to, I mean welcome back Jets, but that can only last a week, 'cause who knows, what evil, lurks in the head of Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis who may rouse his team from somnambulism for a rematch of last week (it didn't as I write this, sorry Cincy and Ochocinco - change the name back, get the mojo back, if it helps). It's wild card week from Adam Underhill (who must of got a Beatles Rock Band for Xmas...see last page). Art by Danny Jock. -CM
Benny and The Mets
Gail Hosking Gilberg
09.20.09
Both of New York's MLB teams played in new stadiums this year. While the Yankees are 9 games up as this blurb is written, the Mets, with 64 wins & 85 losses, have looked less than amazing, have already been eliminated from postseason play, and don't seem quite as cozy in their snazzy new home. For longtime Mets fans (and baseball fans in general), forget about this season for a moment and take a gander back in time, as Gail Hosking Gilberg takes us back here through the eyes of her Mets loving son. Art by Danny Jock.
Threading the Needle: Deconstructing NFL Uniforms
Adam Underhill
09.13.09
With the scent of fresh pigskin fresh and heavy in the air, our attention shifts slightly from the art of working the clock while clinging to a 34-31 lead, or an agonizing dropped pass in the end zone, to that subtle, ever-present force, yet so often overlooked in terms of team superiority. That's right, it's the uniforms. And while Adam Underhill may have a different cultural definition for "Cleveland Browns" than I, he possesses a unique zeal and sharp, critical eye for such topics. He opines—no, he decrees—exhaustively on The State of the Uniform for each of the 32 professional football teams. Art by Danny Jock.
Herr Bud
Adam Underhill
07.18.09
Bud Selig: a man often vilified among the ranks of baseball fans and sports writers alike, a man whose judgement and quiddities often flew in the face of baseball purists, a man who made many changes to the game to keep it up with the times, for better or for worse, but usually for better. Although he will probably be best known as the commish who reigned during the ugly times of steroid scandals, Selig's positive contributions to the game must be (reluctantly) acknowledged, as Adam Underhill does here.
Draft-Brewed Goodness: A Look Back, and A Look Ahead
Adam Underhill
06.26.09
Woke up to two emails this morning. First, Danny Jock, responding to the news of Michael Jackson’s death. “I heard. I was in a diner. Where were you when the king of pop died? I immediately said, they should reshoot the video THRILLER now with him. An old lady said, you shouldn't make fun of the dead. I said yeah? They could put you in the video?” Which I have to say after all the hullabaloo yesterday, which was a big deal (and ABC’s going on and on about Farrah Fawcett’s hair, which wasn’t, her hair that is) was a refreshing let’s move on kind of moment. Then in kind, Adam Underhill's NBA draft piece came in, which reminds us that something else happened yesterday besides two icons dying - some were being born, or at least just suddenly becoming rich. Art of course by Danny Jock.
Strawberry Jamming: Darryl's Dodger Days, Memories of a Young Fan
Richard Parks
06.22.09
Richard Parks grew up across the highway from one of the rougher hoods in Los Angeles, Crenshaw (as this editor knows, I used to teach there), and Crenshaw High is where Darryl Strawberry honed his talent on the baseball diamond before jaunting back and forth to New York as both a Met, a Yankee, and an interim return stint as a Los Angeles Dodger, a period that would also introduce him to his arch nemesis, crack cocaine. It was during Straw's Dodger days that Parks, aged 9, first fell in love with the old American pastime (too young for Nirvana yet), and Strawberry was his first hero. A couple of newish books chart Strawberry's checkered, storied career involving drug use, redemption, fall and redemption again. Loosely referencing those texts, Parks here mostly recalls his memories as a young fan and the changing city he knew at the time.
This One Will Last a Lifetime
Pete Hausler
06.21.09
Pete Hausler reminices over the last Stanley Cup victory for the New York Rangers, which came in 1994, after he caught a recent television replay of the final game. Part tribute to his father—who, like Pete, is a lifelong Rangers fan, but who languished in Stanley Cup-less futility for 54 years until the fateful night—and part memoir of the weird and fortunate circumstances in which he watched the final series, Hausler brings the victorious times up to speed with the modern day reality of another decade-plus of fan frustration. This year's hockey season is over, with the Pittsburgh Penguins taking the Cup from the Detroit Red Wings in seven games. The Rangers were bounced out in the opening round, but for the true fan there's always hope for next year over and over again.
OH, CALVIN! I FEAR YE HAVE ANGERED THE RACING GODS: Why Saturday's Belmont Stakes is More Than a Two-Horse Race
Pete Hausler
06.04.09
[Update: yep, Borel finished 3rd, jumped for the lead early on the long track. Another Bird, Summer Bird Wins, read Pete's Postmortem here]. The ancient greeks warned against betting this way - swearing on one's own abilities with excessive pride. It's a trait known as the big H and has nothing to do with horses (it's the humans that are teeming with Hubris). If you don't like Calvin Borel, you likely don't have a heart, but if you think he may end up the first jockey to have his own "jockey triple crown," (winning the big three on different horses) a prize up till now relegated to the horses themselves, then you're either just reading the odds right, or tempting fate along with the quite boastful (and favorite) Cajun. Careful with those bets this Saturday, read Pete Hausler's piece here beforehand (other tips included). Art by Danny Jock
A Two-Week Disney Waltz: Thoughts on the 2009 NBA Finals Between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic
Jason Jude Chan
06.04.09
In our preview, the line was Lakers in 6, they got it in 5. We didn't see the LeBron James and Kobe Bryant matchup that some were hoping for. No, while James, perhaps Cleveland's highest figuring GDP, was couching it for the 2009 NBA final series, before the first tip off Jason Jude Chan imagined what may happen over the next couple weeks as a largely favored Los Angeles Lakers took on a somewhat less formidable Orlando Magic. Art by Danny Jock.
BOMBS AWAY: Five Live Long shots to Die For, A 2009 Kentucky Derby Preview
Pete Hausler
05.01.09
As Pete Hausler pointed out last year, there are some very unscientific ways to bet on the Kentucky Derby, even more so than the stock market, which was seemingly almost still okay then. But this time around he focuses on long shots specifically, so oh nelly, gamblers get ready for heavy panting on Derby Day - TODAY - Saturday, May 2nd, yes read now before you place your bets. Cover Art by Danny Jock ("I Want Revenge" - good name but sits as a/the favorite, rather than a long shot....and wait, Update: I want Revenge was scratched this morning due to an injury. Hmmm. And with a sloppy track now odds keep changing.) 2nd Update:....And it's over! And whaddayaknow A Long Shot Won, Calvin Borel on Mine That Bird, at 50-1 odds! Check the Derby postmortum on the Fanzine Blog.
Superbowl XLIII Preview: The Cards in Tampa?
Adam Underhill
01.29.09
Adam Underhill is waiting till after the Super Bowl to put a lid on 2008 and start singing "Auld Lang Syne." But who will the corks be popping for - Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and the historically lamentable Cardinals? or will the Steelers be celebrating their 6th title? With a win or not on Sunday, the Cards have shown an atypical full deck this season.
The Abysmal Nature of College Football's Postseason System
Joe Jock
01.07.09
In college football, as in hardly any other sport, many teams fight a long season only to be cheated from a chance to prove themselves as number 1. Joe Jock here proposes a solution where everyone wins, even the damn sponsors. Brother Dan draws.
All Hail Hull City
Pete Hausler
11.18.08
How hard can it be to find an English football jersey? Well harder than you think, Pete Hausler finds, especially when you are hunting for the gold and black of the Hull City Tigers, one of the year's great cinderella stories in all of sports. Art by Danny Jock
Mid-Atlantic Dreams: Postseason Baseball
Tom Flynn
10.03.08
It's playoffs time again, and frustrated with the way the season ended for two mid-atlantic teams - The Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles (both wound up dead last in their divisions), Tom Flynn looks back to the days when the mid-atlantic region boasted postseason domination, with the Negro League Elite Giants and DC's Homestead Grays.
Detroit Schlock City
Adam Underhill
09.20.08
We still have a ways to go till Thanksgiving. That's the day the Detroit Lions annually offer up their gullets in ritual sacrifice to another football team for all of America, plump with turkey, to see. But after this year's awful season beginning, even cheesehead fan Adam Underhill is already saying enough is enough. Will someone please step in and save the Detroit Lions? Is it possible? The Giants came back from 0-2 to win the Superbowl last year. Maybe Fanzine's rant here will be enough of a psychic prompt to turn the tides for the motor city's beasts of burden. Uhh...yeah...
Gold Free Games
Tom Flynn
08.08.08
America, unlike a lot of small countries, expects its fair share of Olympic medals each time the torch lands somewhere around the globe. For smaller countries, those three disks of metal - gold, silver and bronze are a lot more elusive, especially that most esteemed medal, the gold. So hopes are often pinned on a sport or two, maybe one athelete even, while a bronze is nothing to be scoffed at, but lauded. Tom Flynn remembers the success of one Norwegian runner, who could stand as a lighthouse for other underdog countries as the Olympics begin in Beijing this week.
Brooklyn Nets, or Whatever
Adam Underhill
07.07.08
Some in Brooklyn are still pissed that the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. Does the NY borough deserve another chance to hold onto a major league team? (Jay-Z thinks so, and who's to argue with him?) Adam Underhill says to Brooklyn, meet your Nets, or whatever they'll be called, and Nets meet your new hood. Art by Danny Jock.
The Big Hit
Tom Flynn
06.23.08
Wimbledon 2008 is in the books, and a couple of weeks prior, Tom Flynn had predicted another classic Nadal/Federer rematch, wondering if Nadal's "big hit" forearm would overcome the Swiss on grass, or if the clay king would need a little more of that old Tracy Austin finesse - and less of the Peter Fleming kill shots - Flynn recalled from the tennis heros of his youth... (Well after 5 long sets and a little rain, the Spaniard used a little bit of everything to end Federer's reign at Wimbledom, stopping him shy of 6 titles in a row). Art by Danny Jock.
Hockey Night: an occasional column #2
Michael Louie
05.08.08
The National Hockey League playoffs continue and whaddayaknow... Mike is leading the pool with his virtual video game money. He keeps us updated here in this second segment of Hockey Night, Louie's new (occasional) column. Update: The Stanley Cup semifinals began last night in Detroit. Red Wings beat the Stars in the first game 4-1. Philadelphia plays Pittsburgh tonight.
Zen Betting The Roses: A Kentucky Derby Preview for Beginning Betters
Pete Hausler
05.03.08
It's Derby Day, been Derby Week. Have you picked out your best hat yet? Or for that matter the horses you're betting on? Could study the hell out of the program, uhh...racing forms that is, try to get the scientific scoop on trainers, jockeys or the health status of the horses and whatnot, or try what Pete does, and what a lot of gamblers often do - use your best illusion. Art by Danny Jock.
American Experience: Roberto Clemente
Dallas Hudgens
04.20.08
Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Roberto Clemente had a laser arm, a champion's career, a humanitarian's way, and a tragic end to his life in heroic fashion. Dallas Hudgens, author of the recent novel Season of Gene, explores the man's life through the lens on the new special on PBS' American Experience that premieres this Monday the 21st of April. Drawing by Danny Jock.
Hockey Night: an occasional column
Michael Louie
04.17.08
Procrastination be damned! Mike Louie is an unabashed Philadelphia Flyers fan and this column is one in an occasional series he will write on sports, particularly the NHL Playoffs, which have been underway for about a week now. This time he responds to the Washington Post’s Mike Wise, who, in a bad attempt to imitate one of Louie’s favorite writers, ended up looking foolish across the Internet by scribbling not the best informed column about the Flyers-Capitals game Tuesday night.
March Madness Blog: The Final Four
Adam Underhill
03.24.08
Updated March 31; check out page 6 or click here. And now there are four...#1 seeds that is. First time in NCAA history the brackets came down to four #1s, which are UNC, UCLA, Memphis and Kansas. Adam Underhill has been writing the scoop while watching, leading up to this preview. Art by Danny Jock.
Mississippi Dusk: Brett Favre Retires
Adam Underhill
03.08.08
Adam Underhill says sayonara to the great Packers franchise player Brett Favre, who, by virtue of his practical risk-taking, quarterback-sneaks his way around the ignominy of riding out his twilight years in the game on the pine. Instead, he bows out graciously like the champion he once was. Drawings by Danny Jock.
Super Bowl XLII: Prediction and Preview
Jon Weissberg
02.02.08
Lamenting his "off" betting in the championship games, Jon Weissberg returns to assert that it's time to give a little brother some, Eli that is. Giants meet the Pats on Sunday, and don't you think Tiki wishes he was there in uniform? (That's Jon in a - whoops - Jets hoodie overlooked by Ham On Rye from Heaven by Danny Jock).
Tom Brady Is Handsome
Jon Weissberg
01.20.08
It's the the last day of football before the superbowl. Chargers play the Pats and Bret Favre and crew take on New York's Giants. Last week, Jon Weissberg and friends finally noticed that not only can Tom Brady execute some pretty fine work in under two minutes, but that he's also, admitedly (in the most objective terms), pretty fine. Let's see if Jon's predictions hold up over the next few hours. Read fast! Undefeated Tom drawing by Danny Jock.
Is it Over Yet?: Overtime in College Football
Adam Underhill
11.27.07
Are you over it yet? College Football's overtime? Goes on a fortnight right? After two important games this past weeked went on ad infinitum (it seemed), Adam Underhill laments that these college guys can't get it together and wrap up a game like a pro. Art by Danny Jock.
World Series 2007 Blog
Dallas Hudgens
10.26.07
Well that was quick...fun for Red Sox Fans, a little boring for writers to cover though. Here's the summation which you can also check on Hudgens' personal blog. Art by Danny Jock
NFL Preview and Notes
Adam Underhill
08.19.07
Adam Underhill armchair QB's his way through a classic Fanzine sports preview. Be warned: Underhill breaks it down in terms we can all understand, and takes no prisoners.
MR. CLEAN: Greg LeMond and Pro Cycling's Doping Problem
Benjamin Strong
07.07.07
As the Tour de France starts today, Benjamin Strong examines one of the last true heroes of cycling, Greg LeMond. With all the doping allegations against Floyd Landis, insinuated against Lance Armstrong, and probably countless others in the past, LeMond stands out as a great who never quite fulfilled his potential, but what he accomplished he did through skill and determination alone, without the doping that's as pervasive throughout cycling history as any other major sport.
Big Horses: A Triple Crown Report
Robyn Weisman
07.06.07
Mid-summer, and the big three are over, and again no Triple Crown. Robyn Weisman looks back at some of horse racing's bigger names, from the 70's packed with Trip winners, to this year's strong filly Rags To Riches
Take Me Out
Wendy Marech
06.25.07
As befitting a magazine called Fanzine, our authors often show a strong bent of enthusiasm in their articles— specifically, the zealotry and irrational devotion shared by aficionados of [blank]. Now, Wendy Marech explains how she copes living with one of these people.
Review of Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season
Dallas Hudgens
04.27.07
This April marks the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's historic debut in Major League Baseball. Dallas Hudgens reviews Jonanthan Eig's account of Robinson's Opening Day.
The Kings of Queens: The Mets' Dynamic Duo
Dallas Hudgens
10.13.06
(Are we jinxing the Mets by putting this up?) While the defeated Yankees brain trust shudders beneath the hand of King George, the Mets are in good hands with General Manager Omar Minaya and manager Willie Randolph at the helm. Why didn't a baseball owner recognize the talents of these two men a lot sooner?
Cheap Shot: Notes on Donald Rumsfeld and the Game of Squash
Benjamin Strong
09.28.06
Donald Rumsfeld wants you! To challenge him to a game of hardball squash. Actually, he probably wants you to enlist as well, but that's not the point of this column by squash veteran Benjamin Strong. Strong wrangles through the mixed metaphors assigned to the Secretary of Defense's recreation, and finds they may not be as astute as their writers believe.
Not A Bad Butt: more soccer sonnets
Casey McKinney
07.12.06
If your own country is among the initial 32 World Cuppers, that's your team. If they get knocked out, then weird rationalizations follow for subsequent teams supported - places you visited, your DNA. If you wound up going for romance and class, might have settled on France and Zidane. But then the whole dance got thrown a wrench with that odd foul late in the final's overtime. Heard an Irish guy's opinion last night about what happened - By tradition, players will exhange jerseys after games. Materazzi, Italy's only goal scorer in regulation had been grabbing the legendary Zidane's jersey. Zisou's smartass reply? - said he could have the damn thing after the game. Materazzi's return? - Keep it you bastard son of terrorists (referring to the fact that Zidane is half Algerian). And thus the head-butt which knocked the Italian out and got Zidane ejected before the close (of the game and his career). Can't blame him for that...But is that really what happened? Probably not (will keep adding to this, as mistaken as we are, as news comes in...).... And BTW, don't listen to me, people are sensitive...just trying to be irreverant and funny...jeez. Both the Italians and the English hate Fanzine now.
Men's Wimbledon Final Sonnet
Casey McKinney
07.09.06
Roger Federer still reigns supreme on grass, but Rafael Nadal has got his number. After a 6-0 Federer dominated first set, Nadal put some fear into the grass master. When the twenty year old clay champ masters this surface, the tennis world might have an undisputed ruler for years to come.
Cooler Heads Prevail: Italy Wins The World Cup
Casey McKinney
07.09.06
Italy is the champion of the world. But felt like the game was over even before the penalty kicks. Zidane, the man I had bragged to I.T. phone agents in India about being such an artist AND a gentleman, pulls a Wayne Rooney before his official time runs out. What does one say to that John? I don't know. It sucks, is sad. Must be more to it...
The Falstaff of Tennis
Casey McKinney
07.05.06
...I say that, the Falstaff of tennis, 'cause comically (black humor yes) Irakli Labadze was the only dude to wander onto Wimbledon grass completely broke, without shorts even, and some nice love handles to boot. Had to convince Londoners to loan him $1500 on spec for the qualifying entry fee, yet ended up on center court playing the 2nd seeded player in the world, and turned that $1500 into $85,000 while having a hell of a good time, as he hurled serves faster than any in the tourney (140 mph?). The longshot Georgian rules, my new favorite tennis player, and well deserves the latest Fanzine sports sonnet.
France Can Dance Too
Casey McKinney
07.02.06
Was that really Brazil out there today? I was confused. French legend Zidane (nicknamed Zizou - yo Wes Anderson fans, take note), having declared his retirement will commence after this Cup, just might be on the team of destiny for 2006. This is the 3rd Fanzine World Cup sonnet from your friendly editor. I hope I don't have to write 140 ingratiating syllables about the Germans or the Italians in the future...and, I will assert, I am planning on writing my next sonnet in either French or Portuguese - any other language (like German or Italian) and the shit will be a haiku).
20 Year Old Super Talented Striker Messes Up Big time - Perhaps Costs England a Cup
Casey McKinney
07.01.06
There were two World Cup games today...here's my second Fanzine soccer sonnet about the early match which involved some nasty nad stomping and one of the most obvious/deserved (among many frivolous) red card deliveries of the tournament
The first World Cup sonnet, prior to the quarterfinal results, is here.
Oldies Among The Eight: World Cup Sonnet 1
Casey McKinney
07.01.06
Well this will be old news after today, as Brazil plays France, and one of the legends (Ronaldo or Zidane) will be knocked out. And as I write this blurb, England and Portugal look like they will be going to penalty kicks, and Beckham's out with an injury. Maybe I'll write more.
The Final Four Finally: The Phenom of George Mason
Dallas Hudgens
03.30.06
There are those schools that nobody ever hears about because, well, even if they have a sports team, they have never made it to any of the big dances. George Mason Alumnus Dallas Hudgens writes about the wild ride it has been for The Patriots this season, making it to the Final Four of the NCAA Championship, a feat that has put this rather unkown school on the map.
M.S.G.: Stop Calling it The Basketball Mecca
Adam Underhill
03.29.06
With the Nicks screwing around for yet another season as NCAA championship history is being made throughout March Madness with cinderella upsetters like George Mason knocking off one big name seed after another, Adam Underhill asks why do we still hold Madison Square Garden in such high basketball esteem?
SUPER BOWL XL: Preview from a Steely Fan
Adam Underhill
01.30.06
Adam Underhill looks back in reverie on the Steelers' past Super success and predicts that Jerome Bettis will come home to Detroit to go out in style. That is if he doesn't fumble again. Photos by Dave Fulmer
The West Ham Football Report
John Russell
01.13.06
John Russell meanders his way through a Birmingham and West Ham match while expounding on the missing links of American (rock) history, why the rest of the world doesn't give a shit about American football, and Frodo Baggins as a neophyte soccer... err football hooligan.
Take One For The Zine
Grant Weber
11.18.05
Grant Weber, like most good journalists, approaches his sources completely clueless about his subject matter. In his first column he talks to his friend Amir about everything (and nothing) sports related.