Archive for ESPN

Some College Football Speculative Fiction

Posted in Football, Sports with tags , , , , on December 5, 2009 by Janna

I’ve always wanted to write some good alternate history or dystopian future fiction, but I’ve never been able to fully realize a vision, including all the little details and ramifications of a single pivotal change, around which one could build a story. Until the nightmare I just envisioned tonight.

Now, I’ve been saying all week that with a win over Pittsburgh, Cincinnati would be able to edge TCU (suffering from a bye week) for that coveted spot in the Bowl Championship Series rankings right behind Texas, waiting to overtake them and challenge Alabama for the National Title,  should the Longhorns falter. Sure, Iowa fans might cry foul for losing a potential at-large BCS Bowl bid to Texas or an ACC champion of questionable quality. Undefeated TCU supporters, whose coach is a proclaimed supporter of the BCS system, would claim superiority and conference discrimination until the end of time. But it wasn’t until the Longhorns tempted fate with a single (almost debatable) second remaining in the Big XII Championship game against Nebraska that I realized the ridiculous drama and “doomsday” scenario that very well might’ve played out had the Longhorns lost that game (they won on a field goal kicked after that one second was put back on the clock, following an official review). Read more »

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How I Became a Real Basketball Fan In Just 48 Hours

Posted in Sports with tags , , on March 21, 2009 by Janna

Well, it seems to be one of those times of year where my generic, topic-free blog turns into a little sports blog again. For not being much of a basketball fan, I’ve sure been obsessed with it over the last couple of days. Sure, a good bit of that probably stems from football withdrawal or just being overly competitive with my prediction bracket against all my friends (it’s never about money, always bragging rights), but after my Deadspin adventure Thursday night, I was really thrown into the thick of it.

I researched the teams, got myself caught up on all the stuff I missed not watching enough basketball over the past few months, and then I really really watched the game. I found myself (gasp!) enjoying watching basketball, with the same level of craziness I do watching football. I’d watch two games at once thanks to CBS’s streaming video, I’d plan my meals around tip-off times, and once it was all done, I virtually watched it all over again on SportsCenter for three hours at the end of the day.

I’ve been a bandwagon basketball fan come tournament time before, but this year it’s a totally different story. This year, I feel really determined to watch more basketball next year, all season long. I’m gonna pay attention to all the teams, become a little bit of an expert, just like I do for football. I’m gonna add all those little mid-major “basketball schools” to my repertoire of colleges about which I know all sorts of mundane facts, mostly involving the history of their mascots. So maybe next year I’ll have a half-decent prediction bracket that’s not just based on geography- and football-related biases. And I’ll beat significantly more of my friends, not just Barack Obama.

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My LA Live ESPN Zone Review: All’s Great, Except the Bathroom

Posted in Food, LA Fun, TV with tags , , , , on January 9, 2009 by Janna

Don’t get me wrong, the bathrooms are totally clean and pretty swanky by most accounts, as is the rest of the restaurant. It’s very spread out, with multiple dining areas and bars, and TV’s in view from almost every angle. Well, except from the bathroom stall.

When I first stepped foot in an ESPN Zone, at the tender age of 16, I was for whatever reason meandering on foot by myself at Walt Disney World and ducked in just to use their restroom. This was probably when my love of round-the-clock sports media began, as I walked past the rows of TV’s showing every sport imaginable, leading up to the amazing, absurd, TV’s mounted above each stall in the women’s restroom. It was the pinnacle of laziness, a testament to the fortitude of the American sports fan and the penetration of cable TV. And also ensured that you never missed a minute of whatever life-changing sporting event was being covered at the time.

After my friend came back from the men’s room tonight, gushing about the TV’s above the urinals, I had to go check out how this brand-spankin’ new ESPN Zone had done in the bathroom TV department. I had high hopes – after all, it was a quite fancy location, and I was so excited to finally have one so close to home. But to my great disappointment, there were none. No little LCD monitors on the inside of the stall doors, no old-fashioned 13″ CRT’s hanging from the ceiling like in Orlando, not even one above the sink. Just mirrors and vanity lights, standard ladie’s room fare.

Unacceptable.

An ESPN Zone just isn’t up to par if it doesn’t reach the point of absurdity when it comes to frequency of televisions and opportunities to get you to watch more ESPN. That’s the entire purpose, and the joy, of an ESPN Zone.  It’s not really about the food or drinks, it’s about the games and lots and lots of graphics-heavy cable television detailing the every move of our favorite sports personalities. And even us girls come to ESPN Zone in hopes of experiencing that. The “I watch ESPN with my Daddy” t-shirt (no “Mommy” option) in the gift shop was one thing. But no TV’s in the women’s room when the boys get plenty? That’s just wrong.

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Another Achievement for USC

Posted in Football with tags , , , on December 10, 2008 by Janna

USC and Ohio State, two storied football programs that don’t meet on the field often enough (though twice this year would’ve been tiring; thank goodness for the Nittany Lions), are still rivals in most other facets of college football. For instance, both teams are tied for the most Heisman trophies won, at 7. Ohio State’s Archie Griffin is the only player to have won the Heisman trophy twice. No USC player ever quite achieved that feat, but one is about to take at least one singular title away from Griffin.

Per ESPN today, Griffin is the only player to have ever started in four Rose Bowls. But in just three short weeks, barring any tragedies, strange acts of God, or Joe McKnight-like shows of clumsiness, USC LB Brian Cushing will start in his fourth consecutive Rose Bowl, allowing him to share the title with Ohio State’s Griffin. Cushing started the last several games of the 2005 season, including the national championship game/Rose Bowl against Texas, was injured for a portion of the 2006 season but came back at the end, in time to be named Defensive MVP of the Rose Bowl against Michigan, and was already a defensive leader up against Illinois in the Rose Bowl last year. Next up: Penn State….

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My Favorite SportsCenter Moment This Week:

Posted in Football, TV with tags , , on December 7, 2008 by Janna

not a potato.

My first reaction upon seeing this during the game was that it was a potato. Thank you ESPN, for clarifying.

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More Voting!

Posted in Football, LA Fun with tags , , , on October 7, 2008 by Janna

There’s only a few days left, but be sure to get your votes in for ESPN’s “Battle of the Bands“! Marching bands from seven top college football traditions face off to determine whose performance of the Indiana Jones theme song is the best (or who just has the best fan following). Please cast your votes for the USC Trojan Marching Band, if for no other reason than because they didn’t need resort to cheap stunts like convincing the football coach to plug for them in their entry video(*cough*cough*LSU*cough*cough*).

The winner will be announced this Saturday during my most favorite show, College Gameday.

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Gameday Sign Update: Fourth Place :(

Posted in Football with tags , , , on September 23, 2008 by Janna

So, voting has concluded and we placed fourth out of five contenders in the “Best Sign” competition for ESPN’s College Gameday, which broadcast live from the L.A. Coliseum September 13. It really was an honor just to be nominated. Plus, it was totally awesome to be featured in a big, pretty picture on the All Things Trojan blog!!

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Vote For Us!!!

Posted in Football with tags , , , on September 18, 2008 by Janna

So my friend and I put way too much time and money into creating a beautiful sign to get on ESPN’s College Gameday, which aired live from the LA Coliseum at the crack of dawn this past weekend. We did get it (and ourselves!) on TV, but we also got nominated as one of the top 5 signs from this weekend’s game, and we need YOU to help vote us as the best!

Just head over to http://www.collegegameday.com/#/comingtoyourcity and choose the Buckeyes vs. Trojans game, then click to vote for the ‘Pete Carroll for Heisman’ sign! We know we’re up against a Song Girl, but our sign has glitter. You can’t see it, but I promise, there’s glitter there.

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