Before yesterday, Rodney Harrison had contributed absolutely nothing in his first year as an “analyst” for NBC’s Sunday Night football coverage. He’s done nothing to separate himself from the notion that analysts are nothing more than notable ex-players thrust in front of the camera without any ability to bring the viewer closer to bring the viewer into the game. And so instead of trying to make any sort of notable point about this questionable roughing-the-passer call in the Patriots-Ravens game yesterday, he called out Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for…something.

Horrible call. You can’t make this call. And Tom Brady, if you’re listenin’, take off the skirt and put on some slacks. Toughen up.

To be fair, Harrison is the guy lost in the shuffle with the addition of Uncle Tom Dungy; Rodney’s opportunities to say anything are fairly limited. That said, let’s back the truck up. Brady didn’t throw the flag on Terrell Suggs, the referee did. And secondly, if taking two steps and falling into a guy’s knee isn’t a personal foul [depending on the language of the rule], it should be. Regardless of the amount of contact, how can a lunge into a guy’s knee like that be construed as anything but forcible?

And Ray Lewis, if you’re going to play the victim on-camera again anytime soon? Try a different hat.

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NBC is reporting that they lost money airing Super Bowl XLIII, to the tune of $45 million. And if you believe that, I know of a bridge overlooking some swampland in Florida that you might be interested in. Here’s the official company line:

The loss contributed to a 45 percent plunge in first-quarter profit for NBC Universal, according to corporate parent GE, which released earnings yesterday.

It’s no secret the broadcast networks lose money on their football deals because of the huge rights fees the NFL extracts. TV execs consider football a loss leader that brings in a reliable flow of viewers.

Poppycock, I say. If only someone else quoted in this same article shared my dissenting opinion…

“In the last 20 years, I don’t recall a broadcaster releasing a profit-and-loss statement for the Super Bowl,” said Neal Pilson, a former president of CBS Sports and the head of Pilson Communications, a sports consulting firm.

Some industry insiders wondered if GE singled out the Super Bowl in its earnings to send a message about steep rights fees, especially in such a severe ad downturn.

The loss was only one of the contributors to a loss of almost $2 billion in profits for parent company NBC Universal. And the obvious answer is to blame Matt Millen. Millen, you’ll remember, joined the NBC’s studio show in January. Which means that, during his tenure with NBC, Millen has cost NBC about $600 million in profits per month. Hey, the numbers don’t lie.

|NY Post|

Despite whether or not you enjoy Tony Kornheiser’s work on Monday Night Football (I don’t), there aren’t too many people that can disseminate an opinion in two minutes or less better than the Orange roundie. Here he is on The Today Show defending remarks he made on PTI last night about Matt Lauer lying about hitting a deer with his bicycle. I found it especially humerous. Probably because I want Lauer to die in a Texas fire, but that’s me.

And how relevant is that show now since their three lead stories were their co-anchor getting hurt and a couple of YouTube clips. And yet I still watched. Hey, Ann Curry’s gotta get naked one of these days. That day’s gonna come soon, I can feel it. Wait…no, I was just sitting on the remote.

|GameOn|

Even though Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick revolutionized the sports news show format in the early 1990s, they’ve done little else since then, except act like they could apply their alleged Midas touch elsewhere in the world. Patrick took the most boring show on ESPN radio and tried to syndicate it, with predictably unimpressive results. And then there’s Olbermann, who was so damn worried about getting shot in Denver that he threatened to quit without additional security.

From the New York Post, via Ben Maller:

Olbermann – upset to be anchoring at the Democratic National Convention from an outdoor set near Denver’s train station – “announced that his bosses [had] better find a more secure location for him to broadcast from at the Republican National Convention [in St. Paul, Minn.] or he’s not going,” one insider said. “He thinks someone will assassinate him.” MSNBC had no comment.

…Even before he left New York, the biggest mouth at MSNBC was worried about his safety. When a car was late to take him to the airport, Olbermann threatened via e-mail to stay home, another insider told Page Six. The blowhard whined to producers, “I could have been attacked on the street.”

…Connie Chung, a former news star of both MSNBC and CBS, told The Wall Street Journal yesterday, “They have to just grow up.”

Whoa there, Connie Chung. We didn’t schedule a guest lecture for today. And you should know, homegirl, not that you’ve been remotely relevant since 1994. Hey, Connie, here comes your husband with a legal-sized manila envelope. Uh oh, this can’t be good.

When a player finds himself in the Mexican Leagues, it usually means he was a major leaguer that never was (like Brendan Fraser in The Scout) or is a washed-up has-been (like Tom Berenger in Major League).  I think the same can be said of cheerleaders.  That's not to say these lovely young ladies can't make it to the Majors, but their choreography needs to get much better.  Other things to look for in this splendid video include a chicken/cardinal/rooster? riding an ostrich, then taunting a first base coach with the ostrich steed, and finally choking the ostrich and bopping its head.  Enjoy:

That was disturbing to witness.  Now I understand my mother's hysterical reaction when she walked in on me that one time.  I swear I will always lock the bathroom door from now on. -KD