God Bless America: The Lingerie Football League

Here is the official website of the Lingerie Football League, which will kickoff it's inaugural season on September 4th of this year. According to wikipedia:

"The concept originated from the hugely successful Super Bowl halftime alternative television special called the Lingerie Bowl which draws millions of viewers as a pay-per-view event broadcast annually directly opposite the Super Bowl halftime show. The television mega-special has become a staple of Super Bowl Sunday festivities for millions worldwide being broadcast in over 85 countries."

"Play style is full-contact and consists of seven women on each side of the 50-yard field, akin to indoor football. Uniforms consist of helmets, shoulder pads, bikini tops and shorts."

Now, you might think that I'm sitting here disgusted, and feeling like this is just some insultingly obvious sexist ploy to provide men with weekly opportunities to watch scantily clad women run around and fall on each other. But, you'd be wrong. I actually think this is a great idea, and I cannot wait to watch these women compete. Frankly, I think a league like this is a bit overdue. What was the Seneca Falls convention of 1848 all about? Why did women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony fight to have the constitution amended? Why was the Department of Labor formed? Why did women in the 1960's stand in the street burning their bras?

It's all about equal rights, man. The right to vote. The right to fair wages. The right to fair working conditions. The right to attend school with the same professional goals as men. And now, finally, the right to try and make money playing tackle football. This is one of the most sought after and cherished of the male traditions. That, my friends, is progress.





So, as of right now, there are ten teams. Conspicuously absent from the league is a team to represent the city of New York. As a Giants fan, this puts me in a bit of a bind. However, although I do not care for their male counterparts in the NFL, I have decided to throw my support behind the New England Euphoria, who will play their games at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence and whose roster features a quarterback from Fall River, a safety from Danvers, and two players from Medford (one running back and one defensive back). Among other things, it's nice to see that the LFL will provide a little more hometown flavor to the fans than the NFL does (although there are players from Puerto Rico and Vietnam on the roster of the Euphoria).

Here is the website to my new nemeses, the Dallas Desire.

We'll have more information on the Lingerie Football League as it becomes available, and hopefully we'll have full coverage of Euphoria training camp. I think a trip to open practices may be in order.

If I could say one final thing to the women of the LFL, it would be this: don't listen to the critics. Many of the great leagues we know today went through rough beginnings. There were once many who felt that there was no money to be made in professional basketball. People once believed that the pro football game could never get out of the shadow of the college game. However, at the end of the day, the players of those eras laid the foundation for future greatness. You have the full support of the roomofzen, and we look forward to watching you make out with eachother.





Sorry, I mean, we look forward to following you this season.

Foil in the Oven: Week 5 Picks

How can I possibly show my face here again after last week's picks. I stand by my reasoning, as it has served me well in other weeks, and I will continue to pick games the way I always have. There's no way anybody could have predicted what went down in Week 4. Overall, it will probably be remembered more as a crazy college football weekend that marked the true beginning of the Rich Rodriguez and Houston Nutt eras. But, things were equally as crazy in the NFL. I got it wrong on many counts. Here's my shot at redemption....

Giants over Seahawks: It makes me really uncomfortable to see the Giants currently sitting atop the power rankings. Don't get me wrong, I think they're very good. And, as a Giants fan, I'm happy to see them finally getting the respect that they were denied in the offseason. But, I don't really feel like they've earned it yet. Two of their three wins have been against bottom feeders, the Bengals took them to overtime, and they didn't even play last week. I do have high hopes for this team, and I think the Bengals will give a lot of teams trouble on their way to 0-16. I just think the Giants have a lot more to prove. That being said, they're a lock to beat Seattle at home on Sunday.


Chargers over Dolphins: 2007 aside, the Dolphins split with the Patriots every year. That was a nice win for them in week 3, but we can't read too much into it. They can't throw the ball at all and their running game has been inconsistent. I think the Bolts win this one easily.


Panthers over Chiefs: The Chiefs finally showed some signs of life last week, making me look foolish for picking so definitively against them. I was particularly impressed with the play of Derrick Johnson. But, I'm still not convinced that they're anywhere near even being considered a middle of the road team.

Redskins over Eagles: I love what the Redskins are doing. They've looked great for the past three weeks. This game is really a draw for me. But, with Brian Westbrook's status still uncertain, I have to lean towards Washington.

Colts over Texans: Both of these teams have been extremely disappointing thus far. Fresh off their bye week, I expect the Colts to start turning things around.

Bears over Lions: One thing I took away from Chicago's Sunday night victory is that Kyle Orton isn't as bad as people think. He's not a game changer, but he's an accurate passer and he can move the chains. Watching him made me realize that I may haven't been giving this Bears' offense enough credit.


Packers over Falcons: Despite this lopsided loss, I'm sure Matt Ryan will always remember his first time playing at Lambeau Field.


Titans over Ravens: This should be a great game. I'd love to pick Baltimore, but I can't. The Ravens won't be able to run against the NFL's best defensive front. Joe Flacco has looked good, but I don't think he's ready to shoulder the load in this one.


Broncos over Buccaneers: I've never been the biggest Mike Shanahan fan. In the post-Clinton Portis era, he's always killed me in fantasy by refusing to indicate where he's leaning in terms of running backs. And, he's never really seemed to have any personality. But this press conference, in which he stated that Al Davis must like Lane Kiffin more than him, was awesome. Anybody who publicly mocks Al Davis is ok by me.


Cowboys over Bengals: I'm an Ocho Cinco fan, so I just need to acknowledge something here. People have been criticizing him for his poor play, and blaming his lack of production on his antics. Remember that he tore his labrum right before the season started. That injury, not his antics or namechange or anything else, is really what's affecting his play. This week, Chad told reporters in Dallas that he'd like nothing more than to team up with TO in Dallas. I think this would be great for the NFL and for me, as it would turn the Cowboys into even more of a circus. And, Jerry Jones might just be crazy enough to do it.

Note: Chad also said he would score, and then kiss the star in Dallas to show his respect for the Cowboys organization. He may do this, and the Bengals may give the Cowboys all they can handle (but I doubt it.....Dallas is too strong up front), but they won't win. They won't win next week either, or the week after that. I don't know why I'm so certain they will be 0-16. They just have that feel to them.


Bills over Cardinals: Last week I acknowledged that I thought the Cardinals might lose because they were on the East Coast, but that I was still picking them despite this reasoning. Obviously that was a mistake. So, maybe I should pick them this week since they are back in Arizona. But, I think the Bills are good enough to win on the West Coast. And, I think the loss of Anquan Boldin this week is too significant for the Cards to overcome.


49ers over Patriots: The Niners are at home, and I think Frank Gore will have a big day against this New England defense. Eventually I'll stop picking San Francisco to win every week. It hardly seems like an effective strategy. But, I like them over the Pats here.


Jaguars over Steelers: With the Steelers ground game being reduced to what it is, I can't pick them this week. A team that pass protects as poorly as Pittsburgh has this year needs to be able to run the ball. This could be a long day for Big Ben. But, look for this one to be close as I still love that Pittsburgh defense.


Saints over Vikings: I drafted Drew Brees early in all my fantasy leagues for a reason. He will tear apart the Vikings secondary to the tune of 400 yards (a number that has become somewhat common for him).




College Pick of the Week:


Wisconsin (+2.5) over Ohio State:

I love the 08 Badgers, and I think they will be out for blood after blowing a comfortable lead in Ann Arbor last week. Wisconsin's defense is the best in the nation at forcing turnovers (5 in one half against Michigan), and that means trouble for the young Terrell Pryor. The Badgers are without question the better team. And, this game is in Madison, which makes it a lock.

Roomofzen Deportes: Rafa vs. Martin O'Neil

I have to be honest and say when Liverpool first hired Rafa Benitez in the summer of 2004, I did not know too much about him. Sure I knew he had done well with Valencia, but I was skeptical of a Spanish manager coming to Liverpool and doing a good job. Boy was I wrong! At the time I was sure Liverpool would hire Martin O'Neill whose reputation was immense and had done incredible things at Celtic. Surely a manager who had experience in the UK would be better.

I think Liverpool got the appointment right with Rafa, not to say Martin O'Neill would not have done a good job, but I don't think he would have won the Champions League in his first season. The two managers, who I respect a lot, are now involved in a transfer saga. Gareth Barry wants to move to Liverpool, however, Aston Villa are asking too much in a transfer fee, 18 million pounds. I can understand Villa wanting to make a generous profit, but since they know Barry wants to move to Liverpool they feel they can ask more then usual. Here is Liverpool's best players reacting to hearing he might Gareth is coming to Liverpool:


Liverpool are going in the right direction, however, they have a strong nucleus of Spanish players and will only compete for more trophies if they add some veteran premier leaguers in Gareth Barry and Robbie Keane. That would put them over the edge and allow them to win what every fan waiting for: The English Premier League Championship. I will leave you with a funny video of Liverpool players protesting a game being canceled because of the weather by using the authority responsible as target practice: