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Technology And The XFL
There was all sorts of "hi-intrusion tech" on display during the prime-time Saturday unveiling of this weird league. The XFL is the brainchild of the World Wrestling Federation's Vince McMahon, in conjunction with NBC. This was supposed to be a return of macho values and purity to the game of professional football, increasingly slowed down, corrupted and homogenized by TV, luxury boxes and the NFL money machine.
No fair catches in the XFL, trumpeted all the promos, and no sissified, overpaid, limo-driving superstars either. XFL players get a few thousand bucks per game, with a small bonus for winning. As a result, we were told, they were all playing for the love of the game.
But in the two games I watched parts of -- New York vs. Las Vegas and Orlando vs. Chicago -- what was interesting was the use of tech devices to take viewers places they supposedly had never been and would love to go. Las Vegas' telecast required 27 cameras and 26 wireless mikes.
There were robotic cameras rolling over the field on special wires, and helmet-wearing munchkins carrying portable cameras all over the field. The players and their helmets were miked and equipped with portable cameras. Cameras went into the locker rooms before, during and after the game. They were on the sidelines in between every play. They caught grunts, complaints and curses. Especially the grunts. It's almost unbelievable how many different ways people can grunt. And one memorable inside-the-locker-room shot of the New York/New Jersey team caught a huge linebacker getting the top of his butt rubbed down.
According to USA Today, the XFL premier posted a surprising 10.3 overnight rating in 49 large TV markets. (Each overnight rating point equals 675,000 TV households. A national rating point equals 1.02 million homes). The first half hour of the Las Vegas - New York/New Jersey game drew a 17.7 rating, the highest for a Saturday night on the network since the Olympics in October. NBC said it expected to do especially well with the XFL's target audience -- males between the ages of 12 and 24. After Las Vegas, the highest-rated XFL market was Birmingham, Alabama, with a 12.5, followed by Memphis, with an ll.4.
Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura provided surreal in-the-booth commentary before roaring off on his motorcyle, raking the NFL and pointing out loudly and repeatedly that the XFL was "free" and boasting that it was "intrusive." WWF broadcaster Jim Ross described the Chicago-Orlando game as a "slobberknocker." On the XFL, he crowed, viewers could hear anything, go anywhere, and players could curse, bellow and be vulgar without fear of penalty or fines. This was, he suggested, a return to the glory days of American sports culture -- just what we need -- and new technology was going to pull it off, he pledged.
It's hard to get behind the idea that you could invade the collective privacy of football teams and coaches in prime-time television. But this was a case of technology supplanting the event itself, and overwhelming its participants. All-seeing tech devices are, after all, only as good as the things they capture and represent. There were giant digital TV screens and shots of wiggling cheerleaders with enormous breasts. Fans captured from every conceivable angle (their comments were actually more interesting than the players). XFL workers fired T-shirts into the crowd out of bazooka-like launchers, and elaborate fireworks exploded whenever somebody -- anybody -- scored.
Truth is, we saw too much. The athletes and coaches had mikes stuffed in their faces continuously, but hardly any of them had much to say except "wassup," and "yo," and "we're gonna go get 'em." Several embraced the bizarre and growing NFL practice of thanking God for touchdowns (does he really get into that?) If the player's comments were numbing, the coaches's speeches were even less inspiring -- "they're not beating us, we're beating ourselves." The range of camera angles was exciting but dizzying and confusing.
Simple, wider and more distant shots would actually have captured the action much better, perhaps even preserving the illusion that there was good football being played. It seemed that from the perspective of their helmets, the players have the worst view of anybody. As it was, we got incessant, insider shots of nothing in particular, usually other helmets. And we learned Saturday that the intimate utterances of most football players in most circumstances -- huddle, catch, tackle, injury, score -- are usually not worth hearing.
Just because we can use new technology to go places doesn't mean we want to.
So I agree that the games are not fixed, but some actions unrelated to the outcome of the game appear to be, as to increase the 'plot' of the overall season.
"Pinky, you've left the lens cap of your mind on again." - P&TB
"I can see my house from here!" - ST:
When an offense is clicking, and really rolling, the defense can know what ever single play is and still not stop it. Such an offense also takes a lot of time to actually work together, and this looks like what marred alot of the XFL's play... offenses that didn't work well together.
(as opposed to a defense, which can be readily thrown together for the most part)
Ridiculopathy XFL Coverage
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$4500 a week over a 10 week season. Plus the time they have put in for preseason practice, for which I understand they were not paid. $45,000 a year sounds like very little to me, especially when you factor in the ongoing risk of career ending injury that they assume.
with humpy love,
with humpy love,
humpmonkey
with thanks to New Hampshire for their motto on that one.
"You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas"
Sen. Davy Crocket to US Congress, Nov. 1, 1835
I agree. The actual football was enjoyable, sort of the same charm of watching a good high school or college game as opposed to the NFL, which I find boring.
All in all, I'd say it wasn't too bad for it's initial run. They'll tighten the whole presentation up a bit, I believe. I agree with the poster who said to get the cameras out of the crowds. Those shots were mortifying. Also, keep the WWF personalities out of it, except for the broadcast team of Ross and Lawler (I thought they were great).
I hope that there is a good level of parody between the teams, because I enjoyed the Chicago game (it was close) a lot more than the NY game (blowout).
One more thing: despite the WWF being involved, the games have to be on the level, because there are Vegas betting lines on the games. As another poster pointed out, the pure betting demographic is huge in and of itself. If there is legitimate action to be had on these games, some people will watch just for that.
I hope the XFL does well, and I hope it works on the strength of the actual football being played, not on the carnival taking place around it.
Bush is a cylon.
I'm still waiting to see someone yell at Jesus for making him drop a pass, fumble, lose a game. They thank him when the win-- they shoul dcurse him when they lose.
"Yeah, I missed the field goal, but it was Jesus's fault. Fuck that guy."
I find it funny that they dont blame their "god" when something goes wrong. Funny isn't it?
huh?
It did not take an expert to see that. Horrible ball, barbaric attitude. Couple interesting angles, I guess.
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--hongpong.com
McMahon doesn't own all the teams. It's a franchise deal, just like local restaraunts that are part of a franchise chain. The local team is owned by local people under a franchising deal with McMahon (or XFL league) so that they can use the XFL promo images and such, and the XFL can use their team name and logo in promos, but the team and stadium is still owned by the (hopefully) local owners. Unless someone from out of town decided to purchase the franchise for the town. But it still wouldn't be owned by McMahon or the XFL specifically.
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evil adrian
evil adrian
I watched a bit of the NY/NJ vs. Las Vegas game. One pass was deflected by a defender into the hands of a Wide Receiver for a TD. The play-by-play announcer (not Ventura) called it "sloppy seconds". I wonder how many parents heard, "Daddy, what does sloppy seconds mean?" "Uhh, it's, um, when a ball is deflected for a touchdown. Yeah, that's it".
The TV work & quality reminded me of cable-access broadcasts of HS games, the quality of football looked like nonconference division III football, and the announcers reminded me why I'd rather watch "Touched By An Angel" than "Smackdown". Guess I'll have to let NFL2k1 run live simulations of games if I want to watch football between February and August.
Now this.
Granted this earlier article generated a lot "Me too!" and self-sanctimonious, back-patting, and this article is stirring up a good deal of posting; however, Slashdot is spiraling down to "News for the Lowest Common Denominator. Stuff that Sells."
At any rate, why do people assume that because I'm a geek and have a high IQ, that I shouldn't be able to bench press my weight or that I think sports are pointless?
/s/people/slashdot readers
.iMMersE
codegolf.com - smaller *is* better.
I've been in Canada too long. I just realized what I miss about the USA the way it was before the intellectually and politically correct goon squad mind police somehow seeped their values into the collective American consciousness. In Canada, if you so much as look at a tit, you risk being arrested for harassing eye movements.
Rien n'est plus beau que le creux du 0.
They may not be pro calliber players, no, but a lot of people still very seriously enjoy good college football. The players in the XFL were all very good college football players. (Whether another college football league is viable is another question, of course, but I think the XFL is supposed to be more about the spectacle than the sport. I was just saying that the XFL's ad campaign was misleading in that regard. They promoted the sport when they're really trying to sell the flashy/jiggly things.
- Helmet cams (first tried, with poor results in, iirc, 1991, then brought back in 2000 with better results)
- Miked coaches (been on since I started watching in 1997... I think it goes back to 1995 or 96)
- Cameras in locker room (put in in 2000)
- The umpire cams were first tested in NFLE last season
- Some players were miked last season, as well (at least one per team per game)
Of course, 3 of 8 XFL coaches were NFL Europe coaches last year (Al Luginbill (LA, Amsterdam), Jim Criner (Las Vegas, Scotland), and Galen Hall (Orlando, Rhein)) and a majority of the players have played in Europe (the Las Vegas backup tight-end is even a German: Werner Hippler)As for technology - heck it was their first weekend. THe first sign the XFL will succeed is if they tweak things as the weeks progress. Yes, the player interviews before they could play was stupid. But I really liked hearing the huddle conversation and what the refs said to each other before they finalized the call. The on field cameras are great since in the NFL you rarely see what happens in the backfield once the ball moves forward. The stadium screens were amazing - when the camera caught them - it looked like a computer imposed image. Impressive!
I think they need to get the yellow 1st down line technology - that's great. But I also think teh NFL WILL borrow some ideas from teh XFL as well as use it as a new recruiting tool.
Besides, I kinda like watching players working to win some cash. The last second field goal to win the game for San Fransico was great.
So cut them a little slack. Yes they are overhyping things - but damn the Superbowl is hyped MUCh worse. The use of off field technology will go through some growing pains.
After all.. When was the last time YOU deployed a product and got it perfect the first time? I didn't think so.
Regardless, I'll be watching next week since I really like football and I can only watch so many college basketball games beyond those with my team (GO HEELS! #1 baby!)
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since mystery science theater 3000 was cancelled, the robots will now provide commentary.
How often do we get to hear what is going on inside the huddle during a live game? If you can decipher it the game is much easier to watch. And the coach mikes on the sideline gave a nice insight into what really goes on between the coaches and players. The locker room cam was probably not as exciting as the XFL had hoped, but it does show that not all coaches yell all the time.
I hope the NFL takes some cues from these guys and gives us more of an insiders view to the game.
Oh my god, another WWF fan on slashdot?
What did you think last night when Kurt went from telling Vince how fair he was to telling him "that's not fair" when he had to team with the Rock? (Sorry for the OTness, but I don't get a chance to 'talk' WWF very often with anybody but my wife.) So, out of curiosity, what did you think of the XFL, or did you get a chance to catch a game?
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Just because we can use new technology to read Jon Katz articles doesn't mean we want to.
He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. - "Big Al" Einstein
I think one of the main reasons the vegas lines were touted so heavily was that they provide some assurance that the games aren't 'fixed'. Vince asked the odds-makers to publish the lines (an interview on NPR mentioned that the amount you could bet was being limited until the league establishes itself) to provide the aura of legitimacy to the operation.
You can't bet on Professional wrestling. Not through a recognized odds-maker at least.
ColdCuts
Well, my problem is this - why should God take your side and not theirs? I mean, if both teams pray for deliverance before the match, how should He pick sides? Personally, I think you're being unfair to god by getting Him involved in competitive engagements. Thanking Him for your prowesses is fine, but not for the outcomes of the game, for the performance of the ball. This is between you and them. Not to say that God has no business on the field, just that believing in His involvement for your personal benefit is unfair to the other team..... I mean really, there are a finite number of players on the pitch, if God wants to get involved then He can throw on a cup and a jersey and play some fscking football.
Otherwise, He should sit on the sidelines like the rest of us.
Out of interest are there plans to allow the viewer to select the camera angles? We have some kind of limited service for this for football (en-us: soccer) over here in the UK.
Special Relativity: The person in the other queue thinks yours is moving faster.
Did you watch the game on NBC. This actually happened. Home team got to announce themselves, each team got their own "theme song," and players mikes were indeed piped over the loudspeakers.
The rest of it was pretty funny, though. :)
I heard the games really sucked. How long til someone dies from no fair catch? What's with all the X names now? Even M$ is using X for whistler! Is everyone copying apple or what?
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get jiggy w/ ayn rand!
The football was just as real as any CFL, WLF, college, or high school game. The NFL isn't the final arbiter on what is or isn't football. Personally, I'd rather watch an NFL game with teams I really cared about than any XFL regular season game, but the NFL's gotten kinda bland.
As for the cheerleaders, I don't know why people were talking about them, or why people keep using the term "scantily clad" to describe them. Give me the tease of a Dolphin or Raider cheerleader bouncing around in a loose skirt anyday over the lame hotpants of the XFL cheerleaders or Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders anyday. (And this is coming from a Dallas fan.)
The best thing that the league could do would be to kill those cringingly horrible wrestler commentaries and locker room skits (QB Clement to cheerleader: "I'm hoping for deep penetration." *salacious nod*). I love football and forced some other people to watch it with me, and when things like that would come on, I was hoping the earth would open up and swallow me whole.
I'll be tuning in this coming weekend, though, since 3 out of the 4 games this past weekend were actually pretty competitive.
Cheers,
Is the XFL really about football? Everyone I talked to who saw the games just commented on the cheerleaders and their revealing leather outfits. I saw a few minutes of the game and the football wasn't that great. Seems to me the new league is more about watching scantily clan women than football. If that's the case, fine, but don't try to pass it off as football. Khyron
Personally, I'm planning to invest in the technology that allows the cameras to follow the "cheerleaders" up into the stands from such an advantageous angle.
www.Jackassery.com
Remember, if you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter.
Although it wasn't rife with insight (not intended as a slight -- after all, what brilliancies can be deduced from the existence of the XFL anyway?), Jon did an excellent job. This was a pleasure to read.
...I was at the San Francisco / LA XFL game on Sunday. I've been going to home 49ers games since 1978 (when they were 2-14 on the season!). I love football, and while I can't claim to be a world-class expert, I know a fair amount about it.
So let me briefly defend the play during the first XFL games.
Yes, it was sloppy. Yes, much of it was high school caliber. But I think it's a mistake to rush to judgement here.
What I saw was football play about on par with the second half of an early exhibition game in the NFL. You've got 45 guys who just met each other three months ago. They have no experience playing together. Coaches don't know who's really going to play, and who just wants to be there. Nobody's figured out how to use the rule changes to their advantage (though LA's surprise 3rd down punt was pretty clever, given the live ball rule).
Football is an incredibly complex and demanding sport. I personally don'r expect the XFL to ever deliver NFL-quality football. I could imagine it producing NFL-europe caliber play if it can keep going for a couple of years... and that would be good enough for me.
I largely blame the XFL itself for the way everyone's rushing to condemn the quality of football. By focusing on showmanship rather than the game, they imply that they've got the game all figured out. Or that they don't care about it. I don't think either one is true (at least, I hope Dick Butkis wouldn't sell out that badly!)
So look at it as entertainment. Don't expect great football in the first year, probably. But don't be down on it based on the first game in the first season; a good game of football is a lot harder than it looks!
Cheers
-b
If I wanted a sig I would have filled in that stupid box.
-- In spite of that, you can't deny the ratings, and you can't deny Vince's marketing genius --
This was just the first of many games, let's wait and see if the ratings hold up. IMHO, I don't see it happening.
So, why dont these fuckers thank god when they get busted for drugs, or beat up their wives, or kill their pregnant girlfriends?
nice generalization.
http://www.skwull.com Learn it. Live it. Love it.
Exactly.
Personally, to me at least, the XFL games didn't 'feel' scripted like the WWF matches are. If it is scripted, or even 'pushed' in a direction, they did a much, much better job of hiding it than they do in the WWF. And considering the pay, I really doubt that they could convince a team to throw a game (like they obviously script winners and losers in the WWF). But I could say that some of the fights and stuff on the field was probably just because these guys finally had a chance to be as bad-ass as they wanted to be while playing. How about the guy that came out with the words, "HE HATE ME" on the back of his shirt instead of his name? That guy was all attitude. And I would say that the "big names" that had previously been in the NFL didn't get nearly the camera time as the small time, new guys.
But, time will tell if as the XFL becomes more polished it also becomes more recognizable as a scripted bunch of non-sense (but even non-sense can be entertaining, I love the WWF!).
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The few things that stuck out with me were:
Yes, the camera work is a great idea - I can't say it was done well because, well, it wasn't, but, we are talking about the first weekend of this. Having a couple of camermen (read: targets) ON the field during play was a great idea, I liked being able to "be in the tackle" and I also liked the view from the camera suspended above the field behind the Quarterback (while a columnist from The Chicago Tribune said that "there's a reason why people want tickets on the fifty yard line").
As for play, well, the opener wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. The televized game was (this is also a segue into a con) The New York / New Jersey Hitmen vs. The Las Vegas Outlaws, it was a trouncing!!! The game ended up being 19-0 LV. In the 4th quarter they switched games over to The Orlando Rage vs. The Chicago Enforcers. This was what seemed to be a very decent game. But, the question that was running through my mind the whole night was - "I'm from Chicago. I live in Chicago. Why the hell am i watching NY/NJ play LV when my home team is playing?!?!?!"
Granted there are pure hard-core football fans but those fans are more of a fan for their home team so one of the many things that will have to be looked over is the regionalizing of games. I watched the first games because I wanted to see if the XFL was going to be football, not a show of tits and ass and wrestling hoaxes. I'm going to stay a fan NOT because of the XFL but because of the teams and The Enforcers in particular. Yes, there was a huge showing of tits and ass and in most cases, thats a good thing. But, if i want to see half-naked women on a saturday night or sunday afternoon, I'd give my girlfriend a kiss on the cheek and see a fully-naked woman infront of me (and her breasts aren't fake)
The trips into the locker room (which were heavily hyped) were less than spectacular. The miking up of more than 20 people made for quintessential four-star-five-second-delay-goofs (maybe they need seven). They also have to get betterannouncers. There was virtually no insight into the game or who the players were. But I did have the opprotunity to have Gov. Jesse "The Body" Ventura scream at me for over 2 hours.
If you were/are a fan of old-school football when guys actually got popped this may be for you 'cause the rules made the game. I'm not trying to say this is some hard-core rough-nose football that is sure as hell going to impress everyone (I've seen Lawrence Taylor play live) but these guys are out to win. The starting salary for Quarterbacks is $50,000, Kickers get $35,000 and everyone else gets $45,000. The incentive is that with every regular season game, the winning team splits a pot of $100,000. The championship pays a pot of $1,000,000. So in fact, they arent paid all that much to play - but they do get paid more to win.
Other noteworthy rules are:
No fair catches. Recievers are given a 5 yard "halo" that can't be breached until he catches the ball. I can tell you now, as long as its only a five yard penalty for breaching it, the kicking team is going to do all they can to kill the poor-lame-duck-reciever.
One man-in-motion towards the line of scrimmage before the snap.
Bump-and-run all the way down the field. If the Defensive End can, they can have their hands on the wide reciever throughout the entire play with a few exceptions. 1) Until the ball is in the air 2) The Reciever passes him (no hitting from the side or from the back). This can maked timed plays (eg. 12 and In) very difficult.
No coin toss. The ball is set in the middle of the field and one player from each team run 20 yds and fight for posession of the ball. Kinda cool but, a player from Orlando (I believe) seperated his shoulder during this and was out of the game before it even began.
The four games (eight teams) are played on seperate nights, two on saturday and two on sunday.
The ratings showed that people were definitely interested but that was the first weekend, let's see what happens in the weeks to come and if they can keep their fan-base. All in all *I* thought it was an enjoyable weekend of football and seeing how it is in its infancy - I'm sure it'll only get better.
"From of old, there are not lacking things that have attained Oneness." - Lao Tzu
I would like to thank the beans I ate earlier that gave me the extra "boost" to run faster ;P
They should be thanking themselves. "God" didn't lift weights for 10 years to make the player's muscles bigger.
Insert obligatory "I'm too 3l33t to watch barbaric insulting sports, in fact I'm too enlightend to even watch TV, it's only for those who are under me on the intelligence scale." post here.
Sheesh, sometimes the posts here sound a little too close to the "master race" propoganda the nazis prattled on about. Just cause you are a geek doesn't mean you are superior to all who don't feel the same way as you.
Finkployd
Yeah, what I noticed was that Saturday night on ESPN, they did a segment reporting on the first game(s) of the XFL, but they didn't even bother to tell the scores. They still don't seem to take it seriously.
Just because you *can*, doesn't mean you *should*.
The gambling industry is not going to immediately embrace a sport created by the man behind the WWF. I mean, they barely even pretend that their matches aren't scripted any more.
Vince McMahon may be marketing it as "real football" with people who play "for the love of the game." But coming from a guy who has made a mint as a modern day P.T. Barnum, I have no doubt it's all about the money. If he can take what he learned in the WWF and parlay that into another mint with the XFL, he'll do it. And if scripting certain aspects of the game (or even the game itself) will make people watch, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to do that too.
If that's the route they end up going, then big time gambling will be out of the picture. Even casinos aren't going to get involved with knowingly taking bets on rigged games.
Hell, forget watching the game ... you probably didn't even READ my post, did you?
Amen!!! I don't watch football anymore, way too boring, hockey is the only fun sport to watch
Very little? Most of them make more in a week than a first-year C programmer makes in a month.
They make less than major league athletes, but that's because they are in a minor league. They still are very well paid for playing a game.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
10 bucks says I think this will actually happen.
- I don't care if they globalize against free speech. All my best free thoughts are done in my head.
Why 32bbp? And I assume you are talking about uncompressed frames to begin with?
Seems to me like it would be no more than 24bpp and at least MPEG1 if not something like motion JPEG.
--- I do not moderate.
Great take on the XFL.
What has suprised me is that the major media outlets (no I don't mean slashdot) continue to lambast the league after having seen it in action. This is real football, anyone who watched could have seen that. It's not played at the same level as the NFL, but it's pretty close to other semipro leagues.
Will it last? I think it has a real shot. It had a 10% ratings share saturday (17% for the first half), It doesn't make the mistake of starting long after the NFL season ends that many now defunct or struggling leagues did. The broadcast is entertaining. I actually sat through a game between 2 teams that I care nothing about, it has to be the playoffs for me to do that for a NFL game.
He'll be a bit depressed over this weekend's result, though.
At least Katz isn't claiming it was an interactive broadcast, like he did with last year's Academay Awards.
So it's not that the WWF Wrestlers aren't skilled, just that they aren't skilled in the art of professional wrestling.
What WWF wrestlers do is professional wrestling. I think you are thinking of shoot-fighting.
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evil adrian
evil adrian
>>>>>
If you do want to talk technology in sports broadcasts, let's talk about the Super Bowl, with the matrix-like images (which do work well), the masking of the 1st down line in real time, and the broadcasting ability to manipulate that many cameras and personal and produce a quality broadcast.
<<<<<
Well, I've watched the superbowl (one week later) [bored me to death, but that George Eddy commentator here has an atrocious accent which spoils whatever comments he does], and while I'd really love to see the "Matrix" effect in action over here, I must say that I'm unimpressed by the orangish 1st down line.
In the European Rugby Cup, and now in the VI Nations Tournament, whenever a penalty kick is to be kicked, they draw in real time a distance line, with the actual distance (though their advertised 10cm precision look a bit extreme for the capabilities of a 750x625 bitmap...), and that's about a second or two, no later, after the kicker has prepared his ball on the ground.
I'd really love to see a dynamic off-side line on replays of actions where a not that obvious penalty has been awarded (dual off-side lines for mauls, scrums and line-outs, of course)...
This whole "putting your nickname on your jersey" idea is all right, but that "He Hate Me" guy bugs me: if you're going to give yourself a stupid nickname, at least get the grammar right. This will probably start a trend of misspelled jersey nicknames. It might be amusing, however, when some team gets a former Stanford player who goes by the moniker "L33t H4x0r."
Today's sig brought to you by http://www.swankypimp.com
Gotta rub him the right way, ooh, yeah.
I don't see the original comment as anti-religious, it is anti-bad-religion. Humans are hard-wired for animism and try to understand and manipulate the world using the spiritual. So I don't see the comment as a dig at Christianity, rather at animistic Christianity. This type of animism creeps into all religions, and makes them irrational. As many people pointed out, there is no reason to assume that God dictates the results of each weeks sporting events. Religion should be used as an inner compass, not as a tool for gaining worldly success.
Uh, nobody said they were EX-strippers (it is Vegas, after all). And every single one of them had a pair of implants to pay for...
BTW, I noticed that the cheerleaders in the other games weren't as consistently attractive or enthusiastic.
This is obviously a preference thing. I can't expect to sway somoneone with convincing persuasion, so there is no point in even trying to justify football. As an illustration, however:
I have a couple of computers, one of them runs Linux, some of them are overclocked. I have an expensive DSL connection with 8 IP addresses. I'm a programmer. I have no girlfriend. I think I qualify as a geek, but I hate most geeky things.
Remember that you're unique, just like everyone else.
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But your example is, at least, a participatory one. The person playing Quake3 is, at least somewhat crudely, participating in a social game. The person slobbing on the couch isn't participating in anything more than his girthline growth.
The nearest example I can think of is watching a movie. That's not participatory. But there's a story, at least, and the brain can enter fantasyland for a while.
With football... do people actually become absorbed in the game, fantasize themselves as the players, become emotionally involved, etc?
I say, turn off the tube, get your buddies, and head down to the pool hall...
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Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
I admit I had a preconceived notion because of the press on the XFL beforehand. (And some, think it was on ESPN radio? were LIVID about the whole XFL thing). But you do make a couple good point, and some of the big negatives were press related. I didn't get to see much, but it was football. And the comment about a QB sitting down rather than getting sacked.. I'm glad to here there was a comment on that. (I'm not real thrilled to see a QB in the NFL 'slide' when he could've picked up an extra 7-8 yards just cause he's not to get hit.) Seeing the cheerleaders doesn't bother me :), long as it doesn't interfere with the game. And oh gee, I must've missed the guy getting a butt massaged in the locker room. But if I complain on that, I'm sure I'll be called a sexist. (Though if it gets to the point we're watching some guy try and figure out how to get his cup back in his jock, we've probably gone too far.) They DO need to keep cameras out of the way though, and a helmut cam is ok, but watching another helmut on the line is well... so much fun. And someone said it's about college level? Hey, sometimes college ball is a lot more enjoyable than an NFL game. Next time I'll probabaly actually carve out time to really the whole game. As long as these guys play ball and let it be the entertainment, it just may be worth the time.
I wonder why the Americans call American Football "Football", since its not primarily played with the feet. Now American Rugby I could understand, or maybe "Sissy-rugby-with-pads-and-helmets-played-on-astro turf" if I wanted to be flamebait.
There used to be some baseball team that used a buzzer in the dugout and they sent buzzer codes to the team to let them know what the pitches were going to be after the hand signals were studied and deciphered by telescope or something like that? If the other team wants to snoop you then they are going to do it one way or another anyway, and besides that these guys know they have a mic on them so if they aren't careful with what they say then I think it is their own goof.
Personally, I can't wait until one of the camermen gets run over. (I have a feeling that would be more in line with what many of the WWF/XFL viewers are looking for anyway...)
Even though part of Jon's article may be true where there were times when the camera maybe shouldn't have been filming, I think a large part of me watching the game Saturday was due to the cameras.
There were some impressive shots from all over. The suspended cameras, the cameras on the field and all over were interesting. I'm just waiting for one of those field camera guys to get hit and end the practice of filming on the playing field.
But regardless, I hope to check out another game or so of the XFL. Everything has to start somewhere and this league seems like it wants to start out big using the latest technology there is.
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Scott Miga
suprax@linux.com
I do fail to see how you expect "privacy" in the middle of a football field with hundreds of thousands of fans watching your every move.
I *would*, however, expect (nay, demand) some privacy on my crapper.
A poor analogy. I would expect that most people would prefer to play Quake 3 than to watch others play it. While there is the thrill in watching others who are very talented play, it is much more fun IMHO to play a game of Quake 3 than to watch someone else play.
RedHat would win that one. I can see the billboard ads now: A shot of a woman wearing a penguin baseball hat (and nothing else), from the waist up, her arms crossed over her chest. The words next to her, "I like RedHat, and nothing else."
How is the scripting of the WWF different from the scripting of figure skating or gymnastics? Yes, the result of each WWF match is predetermined, but the real judges are the fans, who know that the ref is just part of the show.
And besides, anyone who has ever watched an international ice skating competition or a Las Vegas/Don King fight has seen a fixed sporting event anywhoo.
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Gort! Klatu Barata Nikto!
I wouldn't be surprised if the league's top players see this as a springboard to the NFL. I'm specifically thinking of former NFL players like Vaughan Dunbar and John Avery. These two guys could be the XFL rushing leaders this season for small money to prove that they still can play, then be NFL back-ups for a few hundred grand per year.
Today's sig brought to you by http://www.swankypimp.com
Part of these players' religious beliefs include being thankful to their diety for perceived blessings.
And another part of their religious beliefs prohibits them from expressing their thanks in an enormous stadium.
(Matthew 6:5-6):: "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."
These guys probably haven't even read the Bible they hold so dear to their hearts. Most likely, they're just working on that important public image. Jesus is a big moneymaker these days.
--Reverend Nimrod
[insert witty sig here]
But that's my point: instead of being a passive spectator, become an active participator. Don't watch football: get out and ______, where ______ could be "go for a walk," "have sex," "bungy jump," "play tiddlywinks," "play football," or whatever *active* sport/game/action turns your crank.
Sitting on the couch watching *other* people having fun, getting exercise and *participating* in life? -- my god, what a waste.
(But, then, I suppose the same can be said about the cows that watch soap operas, idiots that watch Survivor, and other morons who suck down enough television to raise the nation average to something on the order of six hours a day of passive entertainment... chrissakes, what a waste of oxygen!)
(erm. He says this, posting to Slashdot, of all places. Mea culpa!)
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Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
If the XFL drops 25% in ratings it will be a smash. All it needs to really succeed for the long term is a 4-5 rating on Saturday night. The USFL had extremely high labor costs and need far more media success than does the XFL.
I have a problem with the name XFL:
Whenever I goto talk to my friends about football and the XFL is mentioned I think about XML.
Thinking about XML causes me to think about HTML.
Thinking about HTML makes me think about designing webpages.
Thinking about designing webpages makes me think about talking about designing webpages.
Thinking about talking about desinging webpages causes me to talk about desinging webpages.
Talking about designing webpages causes said friends to get scared and confused.
Having scared and confused friends causes friends to run away.
Having friends running away causes me to lose friends.
Having no friends causes me to go back to my computer.
Going back to my computer causes me to forget about the rest of the world.
Forgetting about the rest of the world causes me to forget about eating.
Forgetting about eating causes me to die....
And that's not a good thing.... Despite what said friends may think....
In Third Rock From the Sun once, Tommy was forced to play on the basketball team. They were praying for God to help them 'kick their butts' and Tommy said, "Hey--the other team is praying too! Isn't that a conflict of interest?"
Hello little man. I will destroy you!
Haven't spent much time in Florida, John. Sunday is for Football and Jesus, in that order. The relationship is explicit. And yes, God loves a footballer; he likes those dances they do, too.
illegitimii non ingravare
--
"In spite of everything, I still believe that people
are really good at heart." - Anne Frank
"In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." - Anne Frank
I have a similar ritual that I find helps quite a bit. Whenever I get through a rough patch and my program finally compiles, or whenever I root out and correct a particularly intricate or bothersome bug, I push my chair back, stand up, point and the screen and yell: "THAT'S RIGHT, BITCH! HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?"
It makes me feel good, and is often the difference between success and failure.
Seriously though, I too realized that without a God, I am nothing. Then I realized that no Gods existed, and that I was therefore nothing. It was only through this realization that I was able to know what I was, and have any shot at all at being something. I suggest you read the Tao Te Ching for further insights.
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share and enjoy
i dont get it (have they fear?). is this supposed to be funny. sorry its been a bad day. and i dont have any xanax.
Watching and doing are the same thing now. Didn't you read yesterday's article about mirror cells? ;)
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
Incorrect. The XFL owns all the teams in the league. All salaries, contracts, etc. are paid through a single entity.
That's why there won't be any bidding wars for players, etc.
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OliverWillis.Com
OliverWillis.Com
An Operative with an Agenda
It's the same stadium that UNLV plays in seats about 39k if I recall. The game in Orlando was in the Orange Bowl, certainly not a "converted track field". The San Francisco game was in Pac Bell park where the baseball Giants play and the 49ers used to play. I'm guessing that Las Vegas has the worst stadium due to the lack of major sports teams in the area
Well, DUH! If they knew what it meant, it wouldn't be a secret play now, would it. Hell, all the defensive coordinators would have to do is carry a Sony Watchman onto the field with them and intercept the plays, then radio them to the defense! We're not SUPPOSED to know what these plays are. But hearing them anyway is kind of cool.
The media can be so clueless and blind sometimes ...
On that note, I should mention that the part I liked best is that the Announcers for NFL games try to over-analyze the game, and take the fun out of it. In the XFL, it's like two ordinary guys with Headsets of Charisma +2 enjoying the game and calling it like they see it.
Because some people don't like to play sports? Because some people don't want to get tackled and accidentally break a bone? Because some people just suck at football and play other sports instead? I can't list a billion reasons...
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evil adrian
evil adrian
I thought one of the biggest flops was taking the camera into the locker room. I played football after high school, and it didn't seem much different. Very Drab and boring to watch.
Now what I WOULD like to see is halftime footage in the Cheerleaders locker rooms! Now there's excitement!
I am not a huge football fan, but I like watching good, skilled football. I caught about 1/3 of one XFL game, before being sick by seing two "professional" football teams which would have had a hard time beating CAL [1]. It is a minor league, no question about it.
Most of the camera work was distracting. The cameras on the field were pointless, the in-the-face-interviews of players was a waste of time, in general, the packaging disrupted what little substance there was.
However, the above-the-field wired camera (which was positioned above and behind the QB) was a new and, IMO, useful angle. I'd guess that, of all the crap thrown into the XFL telecast, it will be the one new feature which ends up common in football telecasts.
It gave a good sense of the flow of the game, from the offense's perspective. But, defense can wins Superbowls, and I wish they would also run a camera, in the same way, from the defensive viewpoint (but it might be too low to the field to do so).
[1] Yes, I go to UC Berkeley (aka Cal). Our football team sucks. I'll still go to the games, but it doesn't change the basic premise.
Nicholas C Weaver, Winged Rat Consulting
Test your net with Netalyzr
Now parents have something new to blame when their kids go on a destructive rampage (Instead of their poor parenting skills)
I may be wrong, but I'm never uncertain.
Have you ever seen a minor league game? I saw a player jump a ref once. It wasn't pretty. (DOGPILE!)
No, don't watch wrestling. I feel my intelligence is being insulted when I watch. Nothing personal, just not my bag.
I played ball in high school, so it's not as if I don't understand football. But... from what I saw, I just saw a regular football game being played by some folks who weren't as organized as the NFL players. (notice I didn't say skilled, as some of them were clearly very good players)
I somehow could not help but get annoyed when the players had to wait for the cameramen to get out of their way before getting to the line of scrimmage... That is REALLY uncalled for -- especially when it causes a delay of game. More cameras are nice... just.. stay out of the way, please...
On the other hand, I do like the idea of them allowing all of the players to introduce themselves. Getting to know the players -- that is usually a desire of most fans, if not all.
The NYTimes has a really interesting article on a couple of math prof's at University of Vermont who using combinatorics designed the XFL's schedule so it met all sorts of crazy constraints.
I believe the XFL is going to get sh1t for quite a while? Why? Because people fear change and new ideas. I realize that most of us here on /. aren't like that, but unfortunately we aren't the majority. I am not much of a sports person, but I was even tempted into watching a bit of the XFL. All I can say is that it was more entertaining than the few NFL games I have seen.
The ref mics were hillarious. I don't even remember which game I was watching, but listening to the refs argue over "why in the world was that flag thrown," was side splitting. This was worth hearing, "Hey Ed, HEY ED, what number, what number was it, ED! I need to know what number....HEY, tell me what number so I can do this. NO! There is no number 47, pick another one.....fine 57 it is, hope he was on the field." (and indeed he was not)
And then to see the ref walk over to do the official announcement all proper like.
-chaswell
NOTE: this was posted while I had a fever over 102, please excuse any major mistakes, I was delerious.
I -liked- the XFL a lot. And judging by the ratings, so did a lot of people. So maybe your entire article is offbase, because the technology did take people where they wanted to go, but you're preaching to the sports-hating-Slashdot-crowd, so your article will probably get a lot of support.
Just because you didn't like it doesn't mean it's bad/wrong.
BilldaCat
All of the teams in the XFL are owned by the league so the only one getting rich and fat will be McMahon and the XFL Corporation. Hopefully they will increase salaries as revenues grow but if it is 'for the love of the game' that shouldn't matter should it.
Where am I going and how did I get in this handbasket?
I fully agree that the idea is to make the spectacle more exciting then the sport, but I highly doubt that any scripting of any kind is going on. They are just pulling the same kinds of things that MTV has been pulling for years with "The Real World" and "Road Rules" shows. Where on MTV the get to pick the most clashing people to live with each other with the XFL they basically just key in on the most obnoxious loud mouth players and wait for them to go off, which undoubtedly they will.
Elp
"You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means..." Inigo Montoya
I think this might be the wrong audience for this type of article or even this type of show.
----- 70% of all statistics are completely made up.
It's hard to get behind the idea that you could invade the collective privacy of football teams and coaches in prime-time television.
Give me a break. The NFL players grunt, curse, and everything else too. They just don't mike all the players up. Remember when the player introductions during the Super Bowl? I heard the 'f' word at least 3 times. According to people at the stadium, they heard it several more times over the PA system. It's not an invasion of privacy. They're just taking what really goes on and putting it out there for the world to see.
BigCat79
BigCat79
"The dead have risen and are voting Republican!" --Bart Simpson
Products? Sure, they've got all kinds. Check this out for more information.
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Slashdot: News For Zealots. Stuff That's Hypocritical.
Of course they require skill, BECAUSE they are dangerous! Ever seen the Hardy Boys jump off the top rope, do a vertical 270 midair, and smack the guy on the mat with their head as they land (lightly, of course) That's precision jumping, man. Do that one wrong, and *crack* there goes your neck.
The secret of Vince McMahon's success is simply this: He gives the audience what they want. For the XFL, he's started with the premise that people want a reduction in player commercialism and a higher focus on enjoyment, scantily clad cheerleaders, and a more "in-your-face" style of game reporting. Anything that isn't received well by the audience will vanish, or change, and XFL will evolve into a crowd pleaser variant of football. I just hope that they keep it fair and unfixed, which it looks like they will.
As for the quality of football played, I thought it was decent enough to be entertaining, and it will surely improve with time as the franchise expands and attracts more talent.
P.S. there's a lot of people saying this piece isn't "News for Nerds" and doesn't belong here... if that's the case, why does this story have 250+ comments within an hour? As far as I am concerned, anything that generates this much heated discussion among nerds most certainly belongs on a News For Nerds discussion group.
"Mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent present in every electron." -Freeman Dyson
What struck me as very XFLesque is the beginning where the decline of American TV Sports is depicted (Football players doing "Lord of the Dance" after touchdown, hilarious).
Here is a google hit for the curious: A Fan's Page
Disclaimer: I never heard about the XFL before and don't like Football anyway. Soccer rules, and I find it extremly annoying that the US couldn't find their own word for their pet sport that doesn't invovle that much footwork with the ball. ;-)
Marcus
45 grand for 4 months of work? Tell the guy who refills your mocha at Starbucks how rough those players have it. I'm sure he will weep for them.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
Nobody gets to that level of football competition without considering that sort of thing to be fun, which means that they are getting paid to have fun, so save your tears on those who deserve it.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
any league that has their stats in order so quickly is Ok in my book.
as for the gameplay, who says that entertainment value is proportional to skill level? if this is true, then why are collegiate sports so much more fun to watch than pro sports? i like to think that the unpredictability introduced into the game by higher variation in performance makes for a more exciting game.
How sad is this? I mean, really, Jon. Did you *see* the players? Did you *see* the cheerleaders? The most interesting thing about the XFL is the babes on the field and on the sidelines, not the helmetcam.
Babes? Those were mediocre looking strippers.
Last night on CNN'S "The Spin Room," they had some big sports guy as the guest. This guy went off on the mic's in the XFL, saying that it would ruin the game because the defense would hear the calls being given to the quarterback.
Can the defense hear the offensive play call? Of course not! The game was on delay, braintrust! With all those mic's, they need a few buffer seconds for the censors to work.
Plus, even if they heard the call immeadiately, think about how hard it would be for the TV spy to relay it to the defensive co-ordinater to relay it to the defensive captain on the field to relay it to the squad? A tad longer than 3 seconds before the ball gets snapped...
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Let me give you the lowdown
I didn't see much of the XFL, but the few minutes I saw were in an odd camera angle. Not one that you couldn't get used to, just a different angle. With all this tech, why can't they give me the camera angle I want to see? In the Super Bowl they were showing off their new Matrix camera tech, but they did it stupidly. The commentator would say something like "Let's look at the passing lane he had" then spin the camera 180 degress so now I'm looking at the right side of the field inside of the left. How does that help? I want to see the view from BEHIND the QB or running back so I can see what they see. I can't imagine this is that difficult, but no game I've seen with "new technology" has done that. Did XFL do anything like this, or did it just concentrate on the player and coaches comments?
I have a feeling the "he hate me" phrase will be the next "ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!" fad. Too bad you can't fit that on an XFL jersey.
Your comment makes no sense.
He is playing Quake 3, not watching it....
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What a novel idea. Take players that weren't good enough to make it in the NFL and add some glitz and see if it works. It won't. For those of you unlucky enough to remember the ill fated USFL, it also was a ratings cow, when it opened for play. First week it avereged around a 14 rating. Soon, the product on the field brought the league down. And that league had some big name players, Steve Young, Herschel Walker, and still couldn't make it.
The new technology is nice. But really, how oftern are you going to tune in, to see that camera angle? People wan't to see good football. The new technology will draw them in, but in the end, the quality of play is what will keep them around. The big week for the XFL will be around week 4 or 5. Let's see then, what the ratings are.
I would love to see things from your point of view. But I can't seem to get my head that far up my ass
But my skepticism was renewed when I realized that two thirds of the crowd disappeared before the end of the first quarter. I am forced to believe that the high initial ratings were purely curiosity-driven, and that they will drop precipitiously from here. Furthermore, as ratings drop McMahon & Co. will start boosting the cheerleader-content, making the position that the XFL is "about real football" more and more untenable.
Others have pointed out their suspicions that the game was scripted, and further noted that people who had been profiled at outset curiously seemed to be involved in on-field action/scuffles later. I too expect that the games are partly scripted, and if this continues Vegas is going to be more and more reluctant to set odds. This would be a disaster for the XFL.
Of course, the fact that Vegas didset odds, in the first-place, when they cannot have had much basis to do so (new rules, players noone knew about, and uncertain confidence in whether the games are legitimate) should be viewed as a first black-eye anyways. And the fact that Vegas is viewing their participation in XFL betting with some trepidation is evidenced by the fact that there was no over-under line set in the books I visited. How do you set a valid point spread, without being able to set an over-under ? The spreads were guesses in the dark, and some gamblers I know are pissed about it.
As for me, I'll be waiting for the day when the XFL goes away with a whimper. Dick Ebersol is a moron.
It's definitely not PC-- that's the Political Crap--er Correct-- it does show some honor and intelligence. This man realizes that he is just a man, and without an all-knowing, loving God, he is nothing. And even a touchdown doesn't matter if he doesn't thank God for giving it to him through his skill and abilities.
I should be doing that too-- kneeling and thanking God for another skillful script on my machine or a great install or an excellent diagnosis of a problem on of one of our machines.
Dang-- I just started preaching at myself. It's not enough to have Jesus in my heart, I should be living here in the office and the computer room just like those pro-players are living it in the end zone (and hopefully lockers, sidelines, and home!)!
"You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas"
Sen. Davy Crocket to US Congress, Nov. 1, 1835
In the XFL, things are much different. There is no fair catch. The receiving team cannot let it drop, since after 25 yards its a free ball. He almost HAS to catch it, and fair catches are not an option. It's only a matter of time before the various factors coinside and something bad happens. The kicker will catch it, and moments later, an opponent (traveling at full speed) will step right on the halo as the ball touches the fingers of the receiver (more likely he'll be inside the halo, I'm just trying to show you how it could be a clean hit) In less than half a second (the average human reaction time), the receiver, who up till then had his eyes on the ball, will be hit by a 200 pound man traveling at top speed (likely he will be speared or clotheslined, the XFL players arent exactly play-by-the-rules types.) I don't know if youve ran into a grown man traveling at full speed, but I have. It isn't fun, especially if you cant brace yourself.
Week four. Trust me. By week four.
Given a reasonably level playing field, who would win a fight between a bear and a shark?
<p>
so multiply it by some arbitratry number, like, say 6 (or 2 or 3, for all you roundballers). there, is that better ?
<p>
-c
I have discovered a truly remarkable proof which this margin is too small to contain.
I'm pretty sure when Flarg! said, "Now parents have something new to blame . . .", he meant something new in addition to movies, computer games, and D&D.
http://www.skwull.com Learn it. Live it. Love it.
I may not be a doctor, but a quick review of everything he has posted leads to a quick diagnosis -> Anhedonia (sp?). He seems to suffer from an inability to experience joy/happyness/pleasure. Using the XFL as an example, the games were fun! That's what they needed to be. Instead of writing a thinly veiled article about technology and the media, he harps on things that are sorta fun. I hope you get the help you need Jon!
I don't think the point of the XFL is stunning, technically precise football... some players aren't bad, the defenses are slow, and overall it's like watching a college game. But that's not the point... this is "sports entertainment" (Vince McMahon's category describing pro wrestling) and the idea is simply to entertain. I think it will get better as the players get used to the idea (five years ago no one in wrestling could cut a decent promo either, now anyone who wrestles has at least SOME small level of acting ability). The XFL will eventually be fun to watch if it survives more than a season, but it's never going to offer the level of play you find in the NFL.
I thought McMahon was babbling about how each team was a franchise, just governed by the central body. Of course, I suppose I forgot that you can never really be sure if McMahon is speaking as Vince McMahon the person, or Vince McMahon the WWF 'star'.
Oh well.
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The glowing hockey puck helped viewers enjoy the game?!?!? Please...that was quite possibly the worst idea in televised hockey ever. Fortunately, I'm not aware of any networks still using it...
I watched the first quarter of the Vegas game, and I realized how I've grown so used to the magic yellow line on NFL games that its absence in the XFL was annoying.
The XFL pays very little, so the players are motivated by the desire to play football.Many have probably even taken a pay cut to allow them to play football, much like Linux hackers a few years back (and even the future, unless the RHAt shares go up.
Katz already covered all the camera tricks.
One note, Jon, teh NFL has been using a ref-cam this year for roving images, this is where the XFL got the idea from.
Similary, Linux and Open Source software is about openness.
This too is reminiscent of Linux and Open Source software. Who can forget all the posts about the young woman in latex acting as mascots for FreeBSD (and where were the shapely young men in tight latex)? Who can forget the hue and cry that prompted segfault closing their dicussion board after it was discovered that a female system administrator was quite attractive (and you trolls think Natalie-Portman naked and petrified was first).
Contrast this with MS, who rarely capitalizes on sex appeal to sell their products.
So, it won't suprise me is the XFL becomes and underground geek hits, like Junkyard Wars or Battle bots or Scrap Heap challenge.
It's remarkable to see week after week how this man is able to hit on exactly what I'm thinking about. I was just discussing these issues the other night with my friends... technology, camera angles, microphones and celebrity on the XFL football field.
I wonder how Jon Katz is able to keep up his level of writing so often. I know that I can't write this much this often (at least not as well spelled as Jon Katz) and it certainly wouldn't be so often on-topic and so often accurate.
Maybe someday I'll be able to, someday.
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You can't imagine how much I really do love Jon Katz.
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You can't imagine how much I really do love Jon Katz.
(I filter all non Katz stories).
All the XFL is is trying to take what Vince McManhan learned from years of WWF wrestling television and that is making the spectacle more exciting than the sport. We all know that the moves that are put on the mat in WWF are scripted and mostly stunts (still dangerous, but definitely not skill), but what draws people to keep watching it is the trash talk, the babes, and the "thrill" of what goes on outside the ring. And that was perfectly duplicated in what I watched of that XFL preview - you had trash talk (hearing the scrimage talk over the mikes), the babes, and all those extra shots of locker rooms, etc etc. And even a causal watching of football knows that what was played was worse than most high school teams. Heck, the stadium looked like a large-scale high school or small-town college stadium.
And while I'm sure no one is going to admit it, I do believe that there is scripting going on for some of the games and the confrontations between players. Most of these people are no-names, so how did the broadcasters know which people to focus on in the opening bits? And then was it a big surprise that these same people were the focus of some scuffles on the field after key plays? I wouldn't go as far to say that every play is scripted, nor the winner of the particular game, but some players have probably been told to liven things up to push the 'plot' forware. It's written very much like the WWF once you look under the surface.
In other words, XFL isn't a sport. It's simply the WWF translated into a different realm.
If you do want to talk technology in sports broadcasts, let's talk about the Super Bowl, with the matrix-like images (which do work well), the masking of the 1st down line in real time, and the broadcasting ability to manipulate that many cameras and personal and produce a quality broadcast.
"Pinky, you've left the lens cap of your mind on again." - P&TB
"I can see my house from here!" - ST:
personally i think its kind of funny that they actually believe in god. since he doesn't exist.
i dont know where you live but those were pretty damn hot for ex strippers
The idea of watching football game from lots of exciting angles is a good one. It's just that it is extremely hard to do, unless your in Hollywood.
I must admit after watching NFL games after I saw Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday they just looked weak and mild. However, it took a lot to make the exciting football sequences in Any Given Sunday (like camera's hanging off of running backs and cameras in the right place for every play). The problem is that no matter how hard they try, the XFL is not going to get the excitment that is generated by a carfully orchestrated movie sequence.
Hitman
The QB was pulled from the game just a couple of plays later. Of course, they were losing 19-0 at the time ... so the two may not be related. But I bet they are.
The "technology" that the XFL used were video cameras and microphones.
Is this exotic?
I think not. (Therefore I ain't ;-)
The placement of cameras on the field was *mildly* interesting; the one on the cables that seem to float over the field I first saw in a NASCAR race at Sears Point maybe four years ago. It was called "cable-cam"..
Was this a big deal?
No. Flat no.
It was a *very* mediocre mid-college level football game played by a group of has-beens and never-weres in front of an audience, that if you *really* looked into the upper parts of the stands, looked as though it was bored to death.
This had nothing to do with sport, nothing to do with football, and nothing to do with technology.
It's a pure marketing ploy by NBC, which lost its NFL contract to some other network (Fox? dunno..) and by the clowns who dreamed up the WWF.
The only point of the XFL is to suck money out of consumerist sheep who are always willing to prove, once again, that they don't have a life.
Technology?
Been done before, over and over.
t_t_b
--
I think not; therefore I ain't®
I'm on PJ's "enemies" list! Are you?
Sorry, Jon, you don't know much about football.
I watched the XFL, mostly since I was curious about the whole thing. I watched alot of NFL over the years and have grown tired of it -- people sitting out because they broke a nail, or they're having their period.
I turned on the XFL and watched the NY/NJ v. LV game with sheer glee. It was the most interesting game I've seen in a long time. Sure, they looked like a bunch of amateurs out there, but that's the whole thing. They're living out their dream -- playing on a professional team.
Who wouldn't love scoring a touchdown with 10 million people seeing you do it? These men finally have that chance.
Even if it lasts one season, the men of the XFL get their minimum guaranteed '15 minutes of fame.' I wish it lasts more than one season.
As my last point, let me say that after watching XFL this first weekend, I bought season tickets for my home stadium. No domes, no astroturf.
And players who don't have their head up their ass.
Katz! We expected better of you than this!!!
There was an article on espn about rejected rules in the XFL. I like the "kamikaze" player, and the quarterback's button to activate tasers in the defenders.
http://www.talknerdy.org
Actually, I saw the Las Vegas game, and I think you're missing the most interesting folks they had miked -- the refs.
Normally, the refs trot off to consult each other on a play, and you have no idea what it is that they're going back and forth on. It was really neat to hear them discuss their different angles on a particular play and try to reach a quick, but fair decision. You don't get that in the NFL.
I don't see a future for the XFL (though I could be wrong). I think what's more important is how the innovations in the XFL will affect play in the NFL.
If it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet.
The first reason being that NBC does not have very much at stake here. Their saturday night lineup is pretty much non-existent. so they can afford to put XFL in their program. And lets face it, how many Americans watch hockey on saturday night.
WWF/NBC have said that as long as they get ratings anywhere between 3 and 5, they are OK. So that means that even if half of the WWF fans tune in to watch the game McMahon is a happy camper.
Speaking of technology, its refreshing to see a change in some of the stuff. With the 7-second delay, I don't think giving mikes to the players and coaches would have that big a concern. Maybe they can develop something along the lines of that EveVision(ugh!) and keep people interested.
Now personally, I like some of the rule changes. The "sprint-toss" is a unique style to win the toss. Maybe, they should put something more at stake, like starting 10 yards closer to the opposing teams endzone or something.
Of course, here in Canada, we're used to the no fair catch in the CFL. It'll be interesting to see how American players adapt to this. I think that the rating at the end of this year will decide XFL's future.
peace out
NeoCode
Unless you're a crippled geek laid up in bed and desparate for something to watch on the boobtube, why would you *watch* football (or any other sport, for that matter) instead of *play* football (or any other sport, for that matter)?
I completely fail to grok the attraction of televised sport. Except for women's beach volleyball, which is always, um, bouncy.
--
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Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
As a College Football player, I gotta say, not everyone wants to end up in the NFL after playing NCAA, I play for the enjoyment of the game, and once I've got my engineering degree, adios football, hello some other country. NFL/XFL its all too commercial, any league that has a TV Timeout has gone too far. In the UK and Australia they have amateur leagues(no endorsements, no TV coverage, no BS), I might go play there to keep fit(My fat D Tackle ass loves burgers too much), have fun, good for stress relief too. screw a career in the NFL/XFL, It's not worth betting your career on your body.
Alprazolam - what have you been taking ?? Haben sie angst??
Hmm. I might have seen a different NY/NY vs LV game, but the one I saw had lousy tackling, and generally seemed boring.
Also, it seemed the players seemed unprepared and uncomfortable being interviewed during the game. Sure, I wouldn't do any better. But it did seem funny.
One running back was so out of breath while being interviewed all he could do was pant.
All in all, it reminded me of college football. If you want more football by guys who love playing it after the season is over, buy a football!
rbb
Keep in mind of course that technology is always changing our lives. It's also always had an impact on the sports world.
When they added a clock to basketball with a fraction of a second, it was a big deal. Instant replays in football made the game better.
But those are changes that make an impact in the OUTCOMES of games. There are other changes to help the TV viewer enjoy the game, such as that glowing hockey puck and the yellow first down line.
The addition of player mic's and that (incredible) over-the-field wire-camera is really nothing new in the trend.
------
Let me give you the lowdown
I don't know if you watch pro wrestling, but the WWF has excellent production values. Their nearest competitor, WCW, looks bush-league in comparison. Give them some time to work out the kinks. It was, after all, the first weekend of action.
-- $SIGNATURE
Well, apparently you guys didn't think that it was all that interesting, but I for one, thought that the unique camera angles were great. Especially the downfield view. The camera operators, I thought for the most part, at least in the first half that I watched of NY/NJ vs LV, did a great job of following the ball around from that downfield view. Also the camera hovering above the field had a pretty unique perspective. And I did rather enjoy the fact that live audio was on all cameras all the time. What did bother me was that as soon as the refs started talking, is when they voiced over from the announcers and cut to commercials. If yer gonna have commercials, call more time outs, or make the clock stop more often. heheh
The football played wasn't ---THAT--- bad, come on. I don't know how many of you saw the NY/NJ game instead of the Chicago game, but NY/NJ had a pretty darn good running game, until they got close to the end zone.
I'm not even a football fan, and I kinda enjoyed watching the thing. I do realise that they are taking something they've learned from the WWF - Performance, and putting ritz and glitz behind it - but i thought it worked rather well. It may not be the most intelligent form of entertainment, but given the choice between XFL and WWF, I think I'll take XFL. And we all know that WWF is probably the least intelligent form of entertainment on TV today.
"Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
"was the new league's efforts to use technology to penetrate every corner of the field, stands, sidelines, locker rooms, and games."
who cares about all that i was some tech that will help penetrate the cheerleaders...
(oops did i say that? there goes my only karma point)
I believe sex is highly over rated... unless it involves me
emblazoned with "We Hate You"
This was the first weekend with all the new rules, and changes in how the game is presented. Things were expected to be a little rough. I say wait a couple weeks and see what happens. As problems and complaints are ironed out things will get better.
In addition, NBC captured a 10.7% rating which is twice what they expected. The XFL actually stole some of audience from the Pro-Bowl.
So, even with all the complaints there were a lot of people glued to their television sets.
Steve
Depends on where you go to the game, I went to a Canucks game and got pretty nice arena level seats for less than $60 US
You know, this might be worth looking into. Throw in a few tags like <SCREAM> (148-pt bold yellow font), <L33T>, and <LAMER>, and see what kind of new-age psycho web sites come out of it...
Even though this article should be modded down(WAY offtopic), I'll ask anyway.
NBC played the XFL on Saturday night(I miss the Pretender and the Profiler), and then the next day my local UPN affiliate played another XFL game, sans Jesse Ventura(who might I add reminded me of the color commentary he did in The Running Man).
Does the XFL have contracts with TWO networks for ONE show?
It's still as corporate as the NFL, but this time they just pay the players less money. I'm sure it's just as corrupt. Let's wait and see how long it takes for a steroid scandal to hit the XFL like it hit the other corporate venture, WWF.
/*drunk.. fix later*/
This football article was a miscue, Jon (John?). It's finally become obvious that you are, in fact, John Madden.
Consider the evidence:
John Madden: "When you're behind by 20 points going into the fourth quarter, what you have to focus on is scoring."
Jon Katz: "Just because we can use new technology to go places doesn't mean we want to."
John Madden: "In a close game like this you don't want to turn over the football"
Jon Katz: "...the intimate utterances of most football players in most circumstances -- huddle, catch, tackle, injury, score -- are usually not worth hearing."
Jon Katz/John Madden: Master of disguise, Master of the Obvious.
Cheers
-b
If I wanted a sig I would have filled in that stupid box.
The best use of technology in football is still to get the sounds of two fairly large people running into each other. After a particularly brutal collision, they will always play it back at full speed with sound so everyone can imagine the guy on the bottom being that punk that cut them off on the freeway. Bottom line: it's still all about the crash and smash. And how little clothes they can have the stripp...errr, cheerleaders wear on T.V.
=-=-=-=-=
"Do you hear the Slashdotters sing,
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Oh bother.
I think Malda needs to get a liaison with oxygen.com or something and start advertising News for Nerds, and for Aerobics fans to even up the gender dichotomy here.
Props to Dilbert's Douglas Adams, of course.
What I meant was that, when a kid does bad stuff, just about everything gets blamed but the parents. I wasn't exluding other social factors. In fact, I consider parents to be just slightly behind a child's peer group in determining a child's behavior (at least in teens), Social conditions to be third, and media (all types) to be a distant fourth.
Now, did I miss anything, or do you want to do more nitpicking to make yourself feel even more clever?
I may be wrong, but I'm never uncertain.
Did I hear you correctly?
The XFL actually stole some of audience from the Pro-Bowl.
The Pro Bowl has an audience?
I would need to see some data verifying that outrageous claim before I believe you.
Ventura is a High school football coach..so he does know a thing or 2 about the game.
Several embraced the bizarre and growing NFL practice of thanking God for touchdowns (does he really get into that?)
What's up with this Katz? Part of these players' religious beliefs include being thankful to their diety for perceived blessings. If they consider a successful play a blessing and they choose to thank their diety, so be it.
Cheap and intolerant shot, Katz.
----------------------------------
"We're sorry, but the website you're trying to reach has been disconnected."
they didn't go nearly far enough in reimagining the sport and the show. I wanted a fundamentally wacked-out hybrid of entertainment and sports, something more radical and new and disconcerting. I wanted more violence, more cursing, more theater, more spectacle, more music, more special effects, more slutty cheerleading, more madness. I wanted postmodern degradation and debasement of the self-serious institution of American football. Judging from one game, the XFL is not nearly as perverse or shocking as it needs to be.
needs more smash and less mouth.
The cheerleaders were allowed limited options as well, but they could only cash in if they agreed to accept the capital gains in one dollar bills stuffed in their g-strings. On live TV, of course.
---- Just another spud server.
Sorry, but real football is about a bunch of people who love to play the game, who'd be on the field playing it whether they were paid two million a year or twenty thousand a year. What you mentioned, that thing about getting bigger, faster, stronger guys--that's football as a business. That's why I'd prefer to watch a high school football game any day--the NFL is a business, and no one there cares about the game, except a few who are vastly outnumbered. Even college football is a business, if you're a big time college with a big time team--for the staff it's about bringing revenue into the school, and for the players it's usually about trying to get scouted or about using status as a football player to coast through school, make contacts, etc.
You never see real football there. You just see an entertainment business, in the end no different from any other TV show. It isn't a real sport. Real football--that was when I was at a small college, so tiny our football team had no chance of bringing the college any revenue and the players had no chance of getting scouted so they didn't even try. They trained as hard as anyone, and went out on the field not for money, not for a career, not for anything else but a love of the sport and a desire to kick the ass of the other team for the sake of pride and school spirit. No one was ever charged admission. People just came and sat in the bleachers or on the hillside enjoying themselves, drinking their own beer instead of $6.50 stadium brews. And the football team had fun playing heir sport, and we had fun watching them, the same way it was 104 years ago when our football team was founded. Now, that's *real* football, and most people will never appreciate it as much as NFL business BS.
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws."--Tacitus, *The Annals*
You guys want real football, go to a semi-pro game. Cheap, good competition a lot of x-college/pro players doing it all for FREE in fact they have to pay to play.
If I'm spending 3 hours on a damn game, it better be more impressive than the commercials!
Also these XFL players are real football players, they play AFL, other minor leagues, even college football. These guys practiced for FREE for months, and now only make 5K per game.
No matter what, the XFL seems to be a nice uncut game of football, with out the sissy NFL rules.
Oh yea, Cute cheerleaders too boot.
The most interesting thing about the XFL is the babes on the field and on the sidelines, not the helmetcam.
What the hell are you talking about, man? What about the guy on the Playboy Channel with the helmetcam? That's the whole premise of the show!
Hah... "not the helmetcam" my as^H^Hfoot.
--
You can't take a game that's as exciting as watching paint dry and make it exciting.
:)
You have to play a different game and that games Rugby. Real men, no helmets, no padding and a game that that has 80 minutes of playing time only takes 90 minutes to play...
Oh and they play it in more than one country...
And, they have a world cup that all countries are invited to...
And the americans suck at it...
'Rugby New Zealands Big Game'
[Please type your sig here.]
The Tech was neat, but the production values of the game is self were very poor. It nice to have 27 cameras running around the field, but you need a good director and production crew to choose the shots that actually look good.
I think a lot of this had to do with the fact that they were playing on what looked like a converted track field or some kind of small stadium. All the shots were really grounded. It seemed to me that there was an effort not to show too much of the statium in the shot because it showed what a small opertaion it was. This created issues with the coverage. And the entire production suffered because of it.
Beyond that the Players were poor. International American Football has better quality of players. I'm willing to be better coaching too. This was like watching a company football game.
I just didn't get it. NBC knows how to put on a sporting event. This just wasn't up to par.
So, for your situation to happen, a punter has to kick a ball >25 yards, with enough hang time to let his coverage team circle around the returner ... not gonna happen. With normal coverage rules, that's like a getting popped right after a 40-yard kick. Might happen; but any kickers/coverage men that can do that ain't in the XFL.
Fax Baba!
Angela nonchalantly walked home from school strolling up the hill to her isolated cottage home, her long thick golden blonde hair blew into her face as she laboured up the hill.
Jack was carefully watching her progress up the hill in her navy blue school uniform, admiring her very pretty looks and form. He was in love with her and had been for more than a year, despite her being only 9 years old and him 40 it didn't matter to him. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever set his eyes upon and he wanted her in his "special cellar." The first time he saw her huge blue eyes, full lips and blonde hair he was smitten!
He had planned this moment for many a month and it was going to plan, he would take her to his isolated sound proofed apartment, "specially fitted out', and make love to her for as long as he could. He had taken a week's holiday from work for this purpose. Just as she passed him he quickly leapt out and covered her face with a cloth, she struggled briefly then went limp as the chemical took effect.
Jack swiftly scooped her light body up and placed her carefully in the back of his van after loosely tying her up so as not to hurt her. Jack's heart was pounding all the way as he travelled the half hour to his isolated house.
She was still out cold when they arrived. Good. He picked her up, put her over his shoulder and went into the house. He went down the twelve stairs to the basement and placed her on the settee then went back up, locked his car away and locked the door as he went back down to the basement to his lover waiting for him.
She was still asleep but would soon wake, he knelt down beside her and just looked and admired her beauty. He gently brushed some hair from her face and then kissed her full on the lips, they were so, so soft!
Her hair smelt so new, so good, he took great deep breaths of her smell. He looked at the rest of her and could not resist a peek underneath her navy blue uniform skirt, "what colour knickers will she have on" he said to himself. He lifted her skirt up to her waist and revealed plain navy blue knickers to match her skirt, he could see the outline of her plump virgin vagina in her knickers and ran two fingers between her legs up along the cleft. Just then she began to wake, moving around and groaning.
He fetched some water, she sipped it and looked around rather confused. The obvious questions then started to pour out, for an hour Jack explained to her that she wasn't going to be hurt but she MUST cooperate. It was during this hour that Angela noticed the unusual paintings and drawings on the walls and the strange ornaments.
Jack had spent a lot of time fitting out his " Porn -cellar." It was totally soundproofed so he could happily carry out the most noisy rape if he wanted. There were porn paintings and drawings all over the three rooms and even in the bathroom.
The "little girl's bedroom" he had fitted out and decorated would have made any mother proud: pinkish wallpaper with pictures of dolls and teddies, frilly curtains around a pretend window, furniture and nicknacks suitable for a little girl and the bed had pink and white frilly sheets with a pink pillow case, around the bed and on the furniture were dolls and teddies.
Around the walls of the room were porn o photographs and drawings all of which involved naked little girls, some featured close-up shots of vaginal penetration and some of a man with erection kissing or cuddling a girl or fingering her vagina. Every picture involved girls between 6 and 13 and not one had pubic hair nor breasts.
The best painting was above the bed and was about 3'x4" depicting a naked, handsome young man with a huge erect penis that stood almost vertical, foreskin pulled back to expose a bloated glistening head, with heavy large testicles. Either side of him and with his arms around them, were two very, very pretty little girls stood with legs slightly apart making their petite little slits look even more attractive. There was also a TV in the room where he would show nonstop porn as he played with his little girlfriend. On top of all this he had a camera in every room to record his success. Jack had made the room a fitting and appropriate place for raping little girls. And that is exactly what he intended to do to Angela.
Jack had by now put his arm around Angela to calm her down, he would give her a little kiss on the cheek and keep on saying you MUST cooperate with me and don't try and stop me touching you or anything else. He wiped a few tears from her big blue eyes and leant across and kissed her on the lips, at first she tried to break free again but Jack gently took hold of her chin and held her as her kissed her "properly." He tried to french kiss but her mouth wouldn't open, "PLEASE, open your mouth," he said.
He kissed her again and this time their tongues entwined and he tasted her sweet saliva, he leant back with her on the settee to a more comfortable position and continued kissing and stroking her hair and face. Jack's cock was really beginning to get hard. He pulled away from her lips and began kissing, biting and licking her neck, she tasted so good! She bucked every time he administered a love bite on her neck. Jack was fast becoming more and more excited, as she sat next to him his hands were stroking her body and then her legs and thighs right to the top.
Then he said, "I want to see your knickers Angela, I saw that you have navy blue school knickers on, let me lift your skirt up. Stand up." She obeyed his order and stood up in front of him, too frightened to object. He knelt and took the hem of her skirt in either hand and lifted it up to her waist, she looked great, her shapely milky white thighs were in contrast to her blue knickers and that delightful little slit could be seen between her legs. He leant forward and kissed her between her legs and smelt a faint waft of urine. He let the hem down then carefully he undid her skirt and let it drop to the floor then he undid her blouse and took that off followed by her top. She stood in front of him wearing just knickers and white socks to her knees. The apartment was very warm so she was not shivering through cold. Jack leant forward and began kissing her all over, as her was doing this he began gently squeezing her peach like bottom.
Angela's resistance had now waned away and Jack was free to do as he wished, and he did.
Jack escorted her to the bedroom hand in hand. He decided to put a porn video on now whilst he took his own clothes off in front of her in the bedroom. Item by item he stripped off until he stood just wearing a pair of frilly white panties, his 8" cock poked out the top and his testicles half hanged out the bottom. He was fully erect and the pre-cum juice was flowing well.
The video had started it was called "Young Love" and involved a man in his early twenties seducing, and enjoying intercourse with, six girls all aged between 7 and 13. It happened over a period of several weeks and he had each one in a different place. The video played as the confused Angela looked at that, the room and Jack's threatening cock .
He knelt down in front of her which made them both the same height and he kissed her passionately once again. His hands were again fondling her lovely bottom, squeezing and kneading. Jack had never enjoyed anything so much in his life and he was becoming desperate to make love to her properly.
"Let me pull your knickers down," he said to her. They were words he'd wanted to say for so, so long.
"What?" she said.
"I'm going to pull your knickers down so I can have a look at your little pussy."
Slowly they came down her legs revealing a totally hairless, perfectly formed vagina. She stepped out of them and he gently stroked her between her legs watching the flesh move under his tender touch.
"Lie on the bed now my love," he said to her softly.
She did as asked, lying with legs closed. As she did this she glanced over at the TV and saw the young man in the film with a close up penetration shot of intercourse with an eight year old girl, noticing how big his penis looked compared to her vagina and how much his penis was stretching her opening. She looked away but could not stop the sound of heavy breathing from him and squealing from her as it went in.
Jack climbed next to her and kissed her again, but he wanted a good look at her pussy before he went any further. He crouched in front of her and spread and raised her legs with his strong hands. He stared and stroked the beauty of her little vagina, it was so smooth and soft and there was pink when he parted her outer lips.
As he did this he became more and more aroused, his breathing became deeper and his heart was pounding in his chest, he shuffled himself in front of her so that when he pulled his cock out from his panties he could stroke her pussy with his cock . He began to do this and the precum was oozing out onto her vagina making it sticky and wet. He watched as his knob-end pushed her lips around, he stroked it up and down her slit time and time again.
His lust for her was now so great that gone was the concern that he may hurt her upon penetration (his cock was a considerable girth and he had always worried about this) all that remained was an extremely intense desire to push it inside her vagina as soon as he could.
It was at this point that he thought "she's mine now, she's my little hairless, flat-chested girl, she's my little preteen lover!" His body was now trembling with sheer lust and his mouth was dry.
Still in the crouched position, with finger and thumb he parted her plump outer lips and placed his bloated knob end onto her tiny vagina opening, he gave a gentle push and it went in a tiny amount, but it was located there. Then he moved on top of her, she began to cry a little just as he resumed the attempted penetration, he felt it push through something then Angela squealed in a high pitched tone and cried out in pain!
It was music to Jack's ears and it was confirmation that he had pushed his cock through her hymen and de-flowered her. It was a proud moment. He didn't stop though, bravely Jack, consumed with lust, continued to stretch her vagina and force his cock deeper into her young pussy. She continued to cry as he still pushed hard, gradually going in deeper and deeper until he could feel his balls touching her little ass. Breathing frantically he began fuck ing her properly: withdrawing a bit then plunging back deep into her. He was moaning out loud, very loud as his enjoyment was at a level he had never thought possible. Her preteen body rocked about almost violently under his lustful thrusting motion.
The only thing that mattered in the world right was fuck ing Angela, was fuck ing his preteen lover until he emptied the contents of his balls into her little pussy and that moment was getting very close. He knew he couldn't hold on to his load any longer as he felt that wonderful moment of ejaculation approach.
He pushed in hard one more time just as he began to cum, he held it inside her as deep as he could go whilst he gushed out a massive amount of semen in long strong squirts. Squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt went his semen into her preteen pussy. A pussy that had never had a cock in until just now. From squirting he went to dribbling until he was spent on top of her beautiful young body.
He had completed making love to her for the first time and as he lay beside her holding her close to him he knew that he would want her many more times before she could go.
J. Wipo Troll, Esq.
Crapflooder Associates
Slashdot.org
10. League champions no longer empty Gatorade cooler onto coach, now they just whack him with a steel folding chair.
9. New play in playbook: Wide receiver distracts referee while manager (coach) comes off of sidelines to tackle defensive lineman from behind.
8. Playoff games require entire field to be covered within a steel cage.
7. During timeouts and at halftime, the TV scene will break from the game to cover the in-fighting that goes on in the locker room.
6. Key players will have a scoreboard video intro scored with a rock song as they enter onto the field. Prior to the snap, players may use a wireless microphone for talking trash about the other team over the stadium loudspeakers.
5. After a safety is made, defensive lineman climbs on top of field goal post. (Crowd cheers). Then does a dive onto the already injured offensive player.
4. Broadcaster's sideline table frequently collapses from players landing on top of it. Spanish annoucers table is fair game too.
3. Controversial rule: A tackle is not valid until the referee's "3 count".
2. All bets are off when the "special guest referees" get involved.
1. Highest gross revenue next year from a single Pay-Per-View event: TackleMania
Je t'aime Stéphanie
Angela nonchalantly walked home from school strolling up the hill to her isolated cottage home, her long thick golden blonde hair blew into her face as she laboured up the hill.
Jack was carefully watching her progress up the hill in her navy blue school uniform, admiring her very pretty looks and form. He was in love with her and had been for more than a year, despite her being only 9 years old and him 40 it didn't matter to him. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever set his eyes upon and he wanted her in his "special cellar." The first time he saw her huge blue eyes, full lips and blonde hair he was smitten!
He had planned this moment for many a month and it was going to plan, he would take her to his isolated sound proofed apartment, "specially fitted out', and make love to her for as long as he could. He had taken a week's holiday from work for this purpose. Just as she passed him he quickly leapt out and covered her face with a cloth, she struggled briefly then went limp as the chemical took effect.
Jack swiftly scooped her light body up and placed her carefully in the back of his van after loosely tying her up so as not to hurt her. Jack's heart was pounding all the way as he travelled the half hour to his isolated house.
She was still out cold when they arrived. Good. He picked her up, put her over his shoulder and went into the house. He went down the twelve stairs to the basement and placed her on the settee then went back up, locked his car away and locked the door as he went back down to the basement to his lover waiting for him.
She was still asleep but would soon wake, he knelt down beside her and just looked and admired her beauty. He gently brushed some hair from her face and then kissed her full on the lips, they were so, so soft!
Her hair smelt so new, so good, he took great deep breaths of her smell. He looked at the rest of her and could not resist a peek underneath her navy blue uniform skirt, "what colour knickers will she have on" he said to himself. He lifted her skirt up to her waist and revealed plain navy blue knickers to match her skirt, he could see the outline of her plump virgin vagina in her knickers and ran two fingers between her legs up along the cleft. Just then she began to wake, moving around and groaning.
He fetched some water, she sipped it and looked around rather confused. The obvious questions then started to pour out, for an hour Jack explained to her that she wasn't going to be hurt but she MUST cooperate. It was during this hour that Angela noticed the unusual paintings and drawings on the walls and the strange ornaments.
Jack had spent a lot of time fitting out his " Porn -cellar." It was totally soundproofed so he could happily carry out the most noisy rape if he wanted. There were porn paintings and drawings all over the three rooms and even in the bathroom.
The "little girl's bedroom" he had fitted out and decorated would have made any mother proud: pinkish wallpaper with pictures of dolls and teddies, frilly curtains around a pretend window, furniture and nicknacks suitable for a little girl and the bed had pink and white frilly sheets with a pink pillow case, around the bed and on the furniture were dolls and teddies.
Around the walls of the room were porn o photographs and drawings all of which involved naked little girls, some featured close-up shots of vaginal penetration and some of a man with erection kissing or cuddling a girl or fingering her vagina. Every picture involved girls between 6 and 13 and not one had pubic hair nor breasts.
The best painting was above the bed and was about 3'x4" depicting a naked, handsome young man with a huge erect penis that stood almost vertical, foreskin pulled back to expose a bloated glistening head, with heavy large testicles. Either side of him and with his arms around them, were two very, very pretty little girls stood with legs slightly apart making their petite little slits look even more attractive. There was also a TV in the room where he would show nonstop porn as he played with his little girlfriend. On top of all this he had a camera in every room to record his success. Jack had made the room a fitting and appropriate place for raping little girls. And that is exactly what he intended to do to Angela.
Jack had by now put his arm around Angela to calm her down, he would give her a little kiss on the cheek and keep on saying you MUST cooperate with me and don't try and stop me touching you or anything else. He wiped a few tears from her big blue eyes and leant across and kissed her on the lips, at first she tried to break free again but Jack gently took hold of her chin and held her as her kissed her "properly." He tried to french kiss but her mouth wouldn't open, "PLEASE, open your mouth," he said.
He kissed her again and this time their tongues entwined and he tasted her sweet saliva, he leant back with her on the settee to a more comfortable position and continued kissing and stroking her hair and face. Jack's cock was really beginning to get hard. He pulled away from her lips and began kissing, biting and licking her neck, she tasted so good! She bucked every time he administered a love bite on her neck. Jack was fast becoming more and more excited, as she sat next to him his hands were stroking her body and then her legs and thighs right to the top.
Then he said, "I want to see your knickers Angela, I saw that you have navy blue school knickers on, let me lift your skirt up. Stand up." She obeyed his order and stood up in front of him, too frightened to object. He knelt and took the hem of her skirt in either hand and lifted it up to her waist, she looked great, her shapely milky white thighs were in contrast to her blue knickers and that delightful little slit could be seen between her legs. He leant forward and kissed her between her legs and smelt a faint waft of urine. He let the hem down then carefully he undid her skirt and let it drop to the floor then he undid her blouse and took that off followed by her top. She stood in front of him wearing just knickers and white socks to her knees. The apartment was very warm so she was not shivering through cold. Jack leant forward and began kissing her all over, as her was doing this he began gently squeezing her peach like bottom.
Angela's resistance had now waned away and Jack was free to do as he wished, and he did.
Jack escorted her to the bedroom hand in hand. He decided to put a porn video on now whilst he took his own clothes off in front of her in the bedroom. Item by item he stripped off until he stood just wearing a pair of frilly white panties, his 8" cock poked out the top and his testicles half hanged out the bottom. He was fully erect and the pre-cum juice was flowing well.
The video had started it was called "Young Love" and involved a man in his early twenties seducing, and enjoying intercourse with, six girls all aged between 7 and 13. It happened over a period of several weeks and he had each one in a different place. The video played as the confused Angela looked at that, the room and Jack's threatening cock .
He knelt down in front of her which made them both the same height and he kissed her passionately once again. His hands were again fondling her lovely bottom, squeezing and kneading. Jack had never enjoyed anything so much in his life and he was becoming desperate to make love to her properly.
"Let me pull your knickers down," he said to her. They were words he'd wanted to say for so, so long.
"What?" she said.
"I'm going to pull your knickers down so I can have a look at your little pussy."
Slowly they came down her legs revealing a totally hairless, perfectly formed vagina. She stepped out of them and he gently stroked her between her legs watching the flesh move under his tender touch.
"Lie on the bed now my love," he said to her softly.
She did as asked, lying with legs closed. As she did this she glanced over at the TV and saw the young man in the film with a close up penetration shot of intercourse with an eight year old girl, noticing how big his penis looked compared to her vagina and how much his penis was stretching her opening. She looked away but could not stop the sound of heavy breathing from him and squealing from her as it went in.
Jack climbed next to her and kissed her again, but he wanted a good look at her pussy before he went any further. He crouched in front of her and spread and raised her legs with his strong hands. He stared and stroked the beauty of her little vagina, it was so smooth and soft and there was pink when he parted her outer lips.
As he did this he became more and more aroused, his breathing became deeper and his heart was pounding in his chest, he shuffled himself in front of her so that when he pulled his cock out from his panties he could stroke her pussy with his cock . He began to do this and the precum was oozing out onto her vagina making it sticky and wet. He watched as his knob-end pushed her lips around, he stroked it up and down her slit time and time again.
His lust for her was now so great that gone was the concern that he may hurt her upon penetration (his cock was a considerable girth and he had always worried about this) all that remained was an extremely intense desire to push it inside her vagina as soon as he could.
It was at this point that he thought "she's mine now, she's my little hairless, flat-chested girl, she's my little preteen lover!" His body was now trembling with sheer lust and his mouth was dry.
Still in the crouched position, with finger and thumb he parted her plump outer lips and placed his bloated knob end onto her tiny vagina opening, he gave a gentle push and it went in a tiny amount, but it was located there. Then he moved on top of her, she began to cry a little just as he resumed the attempted penetration, he felt it push through something then Angela squealed in a high pitched tone and cried out in pain!
It was music to Jack's ears and it was confirmation that he had pushed his cock through her hymen and de-flowered her. It was a proud moment. He didn't stop though, bravely Jack, consumed with lust, continued to stretch her vagina and force his cock deeper into her young pussy. She continued to cry as he still pushed hard, gradually going in deeper and deeper until he could feel his balls touching her little ass. Breathing frantically he began fuck ing her properly: withdrawing a bit then plunging back deep into her. He was moaning out loud, very loud as his enjoyment was at a level he had never thought possible. Her preteen body rocked about almost violently under his lustful thrusting motion.
The only thing that mattered in the world right was fuck ing Angela, was fuck ing his preteen lover until he emptied the contents of his balls into her little pussy and that moment was getting very close. He knew he couldn't hold on to his load any longer as he felt that wonderful moment of ejaculation approach.
He pushed in hard one more time just as he began to cum, he held it inside her as deep as he could go whilst he gushed out a massive amount of semen in long strong squirts. Squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt went his semen into her preteen pussy. A pussy that had never had a cock in until just now. From squirting he went to dribbling until he was spent on top of her beautiful young body.
He had completed making love to her for the first time and as he lay beside her holding her close to him he knew that he would want her many more times before she could go...
J. Wipo Troll, Esq.
Crapflooder Associates
Slashdot.org
Maybe you should suck on some penises. Lots of penises. Dirty, smelly, stinking penises. Like mine. It's been up CmdrTaco's ass enough...
J. Wipo Troll, Esq.
Crapflooder Associates
Slashdot.org
< Crocodile Dundee> /Crocodile Dundee>
;)
That's not extreme, this is extreme!
<
PS don't remind me that 2000 was *last* year. I'm well aware of it
Pope
Freedom is Slavery! Ignorance is Strength! Monopolies offer Choice!
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Angela nonchalantly walked home from school strolling up the hill to her isolated cottage home, her long thick golden blonde hair blew into her face as she laboured up the hill...
Jack was carefully watching her progress up the hill in her navy blue school uniform, admiring her very pretty looks and form. He was in love with her and had been for more than a year, despite her being only 9 years old and him 40 it didn't matter to him. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever set his eyes upon and he wanted her in his "special cellar." The first time he saw her huge blue eyes, full lips and blonde hair he was smitten!
He had planned this moment for many a month and it was going to plan, he would take her to his isolated sound proofed apartment, "specially fitted out', and make love to her for as long as he could. He had taken a week's holiday from work for this purpose. Just as she passed him he quickly leapt out and covered her face with a cloth, she struggled briefly then went limp as the chemical took effect.
Jack swiftly scooped her light body up and placed her carefully in the back of his van after loosely tying her up so as not to hurt her. Jack's heart was pounding all the way as he travelled the half hour to his isolated house.
She was still out cold when they arrived. Good. He picked her up, put her over his shoulder and went into the house. He went down the twelve stairs to the basement and placed her on the settee then went back up, locked his car away and locked the door as he went back down to the basement to his lover waiting for him.
She was still asleep but would soon wake, he knelt down beside her and just looked and admired her beauty. He gently brushed some hair from her face and then kissed her full on the lips, they were so, so soft!
Her hair smelt so new, so good, he took great deep breaths of her smell. He looked at the rest of her and could not resist a peek underneath her navy blue uniform skirt, "what colour knickers will she have on" he said to himself. He lifted her skirt up to her waist and revealed plain navy blue knickers to match her skirt, he could see the outline of her plump virgin vagina in her knickers and ran two fingers between her legs up along the cleft. Just then she began to wake, moving around and groaning.
He fetched some water, she sipped it and looked around rather confused. The obvious questions then started to pour out, for an hour Jack explained to her that she wasn't going to be hurt but she MUST cooperate. It was during this hour that Angela noticed the unusual paintings and drawings on the walls and the strange ornaments.
Jack had spent a lot of time fitting out his " Porn -cellar." It was totally soundproofed so he could happily carry out the most noisy rape if he wanted. There were porn paintings and drawings all over the three rooms and even in the bathroom.
The "little girl's bedroom" he had fitted out and decorated would have made any mother proud: pinkish wallpaper with pictures of dolls and teddies, frilly curtains around a pretend window, furniture and nicknacks suitable for a little girl and the bed had pink and white frilly sheets with a pink pillow case, around the bed and on the furniture were dolls and teddies.
Around the walls of the room were porn o photographs and drawings all of which involved naked little girls, some featured close-up shots of vaginal penetration and some of a man with erection kissing or cuddling a girl or fingering her vagina. Every picture involved girls between 6 and 13 and not one had pubic hair nor breasts.
The best painting was above the bed and was about 3'x4" depicting a naked, handsome young man with a huge erect penis that stood almost vertical, foreskin pulled back to expose a bloated glistening head, with heavy large testicles. Either side of him and with his arms around them, were two very, very pretty little girls stood with legs slightly apart making their petite little slits look even more attractive. There was also a TV in the room where he would show nonstop porn as he played with his little girlfriend. On top of all this he had a camera in every room to record his success. Jack had made the room a fitting and appropriate place for raping little girls. And that is exactly what he intended to do to Angela.
Jack had by now put his arm around Angela to calm her down, he would give her a little kiss on the cheek and keep on saying you MUST cooperate with me and don't try and stop me touching you or anything else. He wiped a few tears from her big blue eyes and leant across and kissed her on the lips, at first she tried to break free again but Jack gently took hold of her chin and held her as her kissed her "properly." He tried to french kiss but her mouth wouldn't open, "PLEASE, open your mouth," he said.
He kissed her again and this time their tongues entwined and he tasted her sweet saliva, he leant back with her on the settee to a more comfortable position and continued kissing and stroking her hair and face. Jack's cock was really beginning to get hard. He pulled away from her lips and began kissing, biting and licking her neck, she tasted so good! She bucked every time he administered a love bite on her neck. Jack was fast becoming more and more excited, as she sat next to him his hands were stroking her body and then her legs and thighs right to the top.
Then he said, "I want to see your knickers Angela, I saw that you have navy blue school knickers on, let me lift your skirt up. Stand up." She obeyed his order and stood up in front of him, too frightened to object. He knelt and took the hem of her skirt in either hand and lifted it up to her waist, she looked great, her shapely milky white thighs were in contrast to her blue knickers and that delightful little slit could be seen between her legs. He leant forward and kissed her between her legs and smelt a faint waft of urine. He let the hem down then carefully he undid her skirt and let it drop to the floor then he undid her blouse and took that off followed by her top. She stood in front of him wearing just knickers and white socks to her knees. The apartment was very warm so she was not shivering through cold. Jack leant forward and began kissing her all over, as her was doing this he began gently squeezing her peach like bottom.
Angela's resistance had now waned away and Jack was free to do as he wished, and he did.
Jack escorted her to the bedroom hand in hand. He decided to put a porn video on now whilst he took his own clothes off in front of her in the bedroom. Item by item he stripped off until he stood just wearing a pair of frilly white panties, his 8" cock poked out the top and his testicles half hanged out the bottom. He was fully erect and the pre-cum juice was flowing well.
The video had started it was called "Young Love" and involved a man in his early twenties seducing, and enjoying intercourse with, six girls all aged between 7 and 13. It happened over a period of several weeks and he had each one in a different place. The video played as the confused Angela looked at that, the room and Jack's threatening cock .
He knelt down in front of her which made them both the same height and he kissed her passionately once again. His hands were again fondling her lovely bottom, squeezing and kneading. Jack had never enjoyed anything so much in his life and he was becoming desperate to make love to her properly.
"Let me pull your knickers down," he said to her. They were words he'd wanted to say for so, so long.
"What?" she said.
"I'm going to pull your knickers down so I can have a look at your little pussy."
Slowly they came down her legs revealing a totally hairless, perfectly formed vagina. She stepped out of them and he gently stroked her between her legs watching the flesh move under his tender touch.
"Lie on the bed now my love," he said to her softly.
She did as asked, lying with legs closed. As she did this she glanced over at the TV and saw the young man in the film with a close up penetration shot of intercourse with an eight year old girl, noticing how big his penis looked compared to her vagina and how much his penis was stretching her opening. She looked away but could not stop the sound of heavy breathing from him and squealing from her as it went in.
Jack climbed next to her and kissed her again, but he wanted a good look at her pussy before he went any further. He crouched in front of her and spread and raised her legs with his strong hands. He stared and stroked the beauty of her little vagina, it was so smooth and soft and there was pink when he parted her outer lips.
As he did this he became more and more aroused, his breathing became deeper and his heart was pounding in his chest, he shuffled himself in front of her so that when he pulled his cock out from his panties he could stroke her pussy with his cock . He began to do this and the precum was oozing out onto her vagina making it sticky and wet. He watched as his knob-end pushed her lips around, he stroked it up and down her slit time and time again.
His lust for her was now so great that gone was the concern that he may hurt her upon penetration (his cock was a considerable girth and he had always worried about this) all that remained was an extremely intense desire to push it inside her vagina as soon as he could.
It was at this point that he thought "she's mine now, she's my little hairless, flat-chested girl, she's my little preteen lover!" His body was now trembling with sheer lust and his mouth was dry.
Still in the crouched position, with finger and thumb he parted her plump outer lips and placed his bloated knob end onto her tiny vagina opening, he gave a gentle push and it went in a tiny amount, but it was located there. Then he moved on top of her, she began to cry a little just as he resumed the attempted penetration, he felt it push through something then Angela squealed in a high pitched tone and cried out in pain!
It was music to Jack's ears and it was confirmation that he had pushed his cock through her hymen and de-flowered her. It was a proud moment. He didn't stop though, bravely Jack, consumed with lust, continued to stretch her vagina and force his cock deeper into her young pussy. She continued to cry as he still pushed hard, gradually going in deeper and deeper until he could feel his balls touching her little ass. Breathing frantically he began fuck ing her properly: withdrawing a bit then plunging back deep into her. He was moaning out loud, very loud as his enjoyment was at a level he had never thought possible. Her preteen body rocked about almost violently under his lustful thrusting motion.
The only thing that mattered in the world right was fuck ing Angela, was fuck ing his preteen lover until he emptied the contents of his balls into her little pussy and that moment was getting very close. He knew he couldn't hold on to his load any longer as he felt that wonderful moment of ejaculation approach.
He pushed in hard one more time just as he began to cum, he held it inside her as deep as he could go whilst he gushed out a massive amount of semen in long strong squirts. Squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt went his semen into her preteen pussy. A pussy that had never had a cock in until just now. From squirting he went to dribbling until he was spent on top of her beautiful young body.
He had completed making love to her for the first time and as he lay beside her holding her close to him he knew that he would want her many more times before she could go.
J. Wipo Troll, Esq.
Crapflooder Associates
Slashdot.org
I think that's the main attraction of the XFL: the cheerleaders. It's also the major application of technology in the game; whole new breakthroughs in silicone and saline...
You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
Read that in an article. Makes me think someone in MS marketing used to play D&D, where XP's stood for experience points.
Here's a thought. Maybe that's how Microsoft is going to qualify it's certication program. No more taking and passing classes. For each Windows problem you solve, you get a certain amount of XP's. After a certain number, you rise in levels. Heh.
"Hey, what are you?
"I'm a 12th level MSCE" "Damn, I just made 3rd level!
----------------------------------
"We're sorry, but the website you're trying to reach has been disconnected."
OK, you've got WWF-types pretending to play something like football. If they could play, then they'd be playing for real teams and real money.
WHY would anyone want to either watch or listen to a bunch of third-rate hacks trip over their shoelaces or burn out their synapses trying to come up with pithy statements? It was destined to be terrible from the beginning. They've made it perfectly clear that the cheerleaders are the main source of revenue, and even they can't dance. Oh well, at least we have the crotchcams.
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
Jeez, you know, I thought they made pretty good money without having to rely on a second job as a chauffeur. They should go on strike for better wages.
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Slashdot: News For Zealots. Stuff That's Hypocritical.
The cameras acted like I was watching someone else play a video game - there was too much movement/bad angles to watch the game - but perfect if you were controlling the team.
Also the game was wayyy to long - the end of the second quarter came almost two hours after the start of the game. And I thought the NFL dragged out their games.
to email me: take my
The other big argument against the XFL was that it wasn't "real" football. Anyone who WATCHED a game this weekend should have seen that it was indeed "real" football. Every possible outcome was represented this weekend: The blowout (Las Vegas v. NY/NJ), the high-scoring offensive battle (Orlando v. Chicago), and the last minute decision (LA v. San Francisco). No, they aren't NFL players, and it's not NFL quality, but to me, it's exactly what I want to watch: a bunch of ordinary guys having fun and getting paid for it. Not a bunch of millionaires and stuck-up announcers. The XFL is EXACTLY what it was supposed to be ... more football after the NFL season is over.
Lambast Ventura all you want, but I have to give him credit for knowing when to all a spade a spade. (Same goes for Jim Ross.) When the Hitmen's QB sat down rather than get sacked (and the defensive guy only touched him), Ventura was quick to tell him that you aren't going to play much if you come to the game with that mentality. Quarterbacks aren't protected, and if your offensive line isn't doing their job, you're going to get hit. A lot.
I enjoyed what I saw this weekend, and not just because I'm a wrestling fan. I liked it because it was different, it was energetic, and it was genuinely fun to watch. And I'll be damned if this "spectacle" isn't turning me into a football fan.
Most interestingly, they had a guy playing for, I think it was the Outlaws, who was in the ZFL because he was released from the NFL because he was making too much money. He offered to play for less, and they wouldn't let him, because of the salary caps and mimimums. So now he's in the XFL, because he loves to play. And that was the whole point.
When the announcers remembered that this isn't the WWF crowd (JR, please stop saying slobberknocker), there were some good comments (though not from Brian Bosworth). I liked Jesse once -- "What's that? They're gonna show us how dominant their running game is when they're behind 19 nothing?"
Stop talking to the crowd. Get Stephanie McMahon and Coachman out of there. I would say get Lawler and Ross out of there too, but I think Ross is entertaining to listen to. Tell UPN and TNN to stop hyping the game like it's NASCAR. Seriously, I heard a promo on TNN last night where a bunch of yahoos said "These guys are playing to put food on the table!" and I thought "Oh, great, so now we're gonna condone cheating because they have to feed their kids."
Personally I liked the football, too. More long passes, a few cool dives. The variety of plays was interesting to watch. Sure, it's no way near as extreme as they led us to believe (even in the FAQ it now says that XFL does NOT stand for "eXtreme football league"), but I liked it, what can I say.
www.HearMySoulSpeak.com
Don't forget ... starting next week, XFL games run on TNN as well.
The one place I thought I was safe from the XFL!
Ah well. Frogblast the ventcore.
- Ryan
"All your base are belong to this file I send in order to have your advice."
Katz is all about asking, "Hey Anybody got a Winmodem driver in here?" The games were very collegy, technology not in sync with game or camera for that matter. Other than that, tis OK, if your into that foosball thing. Find some REAL news... try www.google.com
Vince should have created a Hockey league instead, now nothing can get rougher than hockey. Fights, bodychecks, slapshots and more shots. Hockey is way more spectacular than Football, you won't need extremely talented players to put on a show. I'm sure he'll still be able to put cheerleaders, it's not very cold in a hockey arena. Personnally i think cheerleaders are wasting their talent but I don't mind watching them :)
That Vince almost got it right, oh well I'm sure his XFL league will do well anyway but I hope he'll create an XHL to. We Canadians love nothing more than Hockey
I think Bill Maher said it best, with regards to Kurt Warner's interview attributing last year's Super Bowl victory to Jesus. Why is there this inconsistency? If Jesus is responsible for football wins, certainly he is also responsible for losses as well? (That is, if he can intercede to win games for faithful players, certainly his lack of intercession can cause faithful players to lose games?) More succinctly: Why don't these players blame Jesus when things don't go their way?
INTERVIEWER: Kurt, you could have won this game if your last pass would have been a couple of feet shorter; it would have been an easy completion and touchdown. What was the problem?
KURT: It was that fuckin' Jesus, that was the problem!
Of course, you could make the case that it is perhaps Satan that causes faithful players to lose games, but I'm betting that he's more of a soccer fan.
We're going down, in a spiral to the ground
When the XFL is a tough as the New Zealand All Black, come back and talk to us.
Being a BIGTIME football fan I do like the idea of an alternative to the NFL and its constant lack of football and more show. I am Uncertain that McMahon is the man for the job of NO SHOW though. the entire WWF was built on alot of fluff and little if any content. On the technoly part, WE (whoever we is) must be sending a message to THEM(again who are THEM?) that we need more. The constant barrage of REALISM TV, the lit-up hockey puck on FOX. For some reason the need for more technology seems to have leaked into the things we once held sacrid and "pure". I think the assume that because of the technology CRAZE they must assume if its possible to show it or do it PEOPLE WANNA SEE IT. If the ratings for the XFL continue to stay high, maybe we are wrong in saying its gone too far.
Side Note I have not and do not plan on watching this series of Survivor strictly out of protest. I will rent BABES ON THE BEACH instead.
Razzious Domini
Razzious Domini
I could be a GREAT KARMA WHORE if I could just shed the few morals I have left.
The X is not for Extreme, as has been explained by McMahon and the league on several occasions. The X doesn't represent anything, the PRESS are the ones to label the league "Extreme" even though they had yet to see a game or the production.
Personally, I can't wait until one of the teams starts watching the live broadcast of the other teams's miked huddle or team conference.
How much strategy can you talk on the field when you know that the other team could be potentially listening to every word you say?
I finally got a TV after 15 yrs just to see what is on. Normally, I'd say "60+ channels of nothing". I was channel surfing during the Daytona 24-hr and stopped to see what this XFL was about.
Very nearly went on when I saw McMahon's face. His wrestling show is so against my ethics and moral standards that... But I stayed long enough to see the 'coin toss' twixt LV and NY. I liked it! I Finally saw an interesting football game. Hard hits, kicks and punts returned, even a helmet or 2 knocked off. Sure the player comments were dumb, they're in battle. Sure they missed a lot of passes; watch an early season NFL game for more of the same. The adds weren't as bad as the Superbowls, either.
As for your "The range of camera angles was exciting but dizzying and confusing. ", Have you ever tried to watch Riverdance on tape? At least here, I could catch a breath between most of the camera changes.
"the debut was a ratings smash."
One sunny day doesn't make it summer. Let the season run out and then determine how successful it is. The debut was at a time of year when it was guaranteed to get the biggest possible audience, it's something new, it's wildly over-hyped and marketed. Let the buzz die down and then see how much of a smash it really is.
While the substitute for the coin toss certainly was amusing, I was a little confused by it. For those that didn't watch: They had a player from each team line up next to each other, then sprint to grab a ball on the field.
I was confused by the fact that after the original leap by both guys, only one guy seemed to make any effort to go for the ball that squirted out a few yards.
Well now I know why. It turns out that the other guy BROKE HIS COLLARBONE on that first jump. He's out for the year. Nothing like a sport where people are injured just deciding who gets to start with the ball, eh?
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Let me give you the lowdown
Personally i enjoyed alot more the XFL then the NFL.
First of all, the NFL is trying to show their players like their living gods to justify their big salaries. Have you seen who won the biggest honnors this year in that league? The truth is, there very far from beign that.
What did you think it was like in a huddle? Did you really think it was like in *The Replacements Players*? Where hot shots change the plays?
The thing I love about the XFL is beign everywhere. When the coach discuss strategy, when the players scream at each others, hearing them call the plays, all this stuff that reminds me of HighSchool football, when we did play ugly maybe, but very good football.
The players did not speak much because they are not used to that. Give them 2 more weeks and they'll have their lines prepared at home for when they get in front of the camera.
The beauty of the XFL is in the fact that they show us a real game of football and how it's played by ordinary people. And of course, where in the action everywhere.
wiZd0m
"The most interesting thing about Saturday's games ... was thenew league's efforts to use technology..."
How sad is this? I mean, really, Jon. Did you *see* the players? Did you *see* the cheerleaders? The most interesting thing about the XFL is the babes on the field and on the sidelines, not the helmetcam.
OTOH, the most interesting thing about the Las Vegas game may have been how the XFL managed to get 45 guys under 30 in a group, and only 3 were named Jason.
I mean, part of the XFL's whole pitch was to recapture the glory days of the NFL. Well, part of that glory is that you *didn't* have cameras everywhere. You were only concerned about the game. I'm sure that the emotions on the field are interesting, but that's a task best left to NFL films, and best enjoyed long after the game is over.
There is a lot of crossover between football and wrestling, and Vince wanted to capitalize on that opportunity. His timing couldn't have been worse, because the NFL is as good as it's ever been right now. In spite of that, you can't deny the ratings, and you can't deny Vince's marketing genius.
Still, I'd personally enjoy the XFL more if they focused more on the game itself - of course the talent won't be on par with the NFL, but there's a lot of it on the XFL roster that isn't immediately apparent. I watch games in the comfort of my own home so I don't *have* to sit right behind the drunk middle-aged guy painted red and purple and screaming his head off. Don't try to put him in my living room and call it "interactive."
I can't be the only one who that that XFL stood for eXtensible Football Language.
Me and my friends have started a pool on when the first punt returner will be killed, thanks to the no-fair catch rule in the XFL (not to mention how out of shape some XFL players are) I'm betting one will bite the dust by the fourth week.
Given a reasonably level playing field, who would win a fight between a bear and a shark?
I'm sorry, I watched one play - exactly one - from the XFL festivities this weekend, and it was enough for me to know that what was on display was not top-notch football.
Of course, the play I watched was a quarterback getting clotheslined before he was even ready to take a snap.
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In sudden death both teams get the ball at the opponents 20 yard line and have up to 4 downs to score. I assume this continues until there is a victor.
So here in the XFL, we have a bunch of guys playing for relatively cheap. How long before these guys want to have a bigger cut of the pie, especially if the XFL takes off? Or will they continue to do it for the love of the game, while the owners get rich and fat off their efforts? (if it succeeds at all?)
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
For the most part I enjoyed the first XFL broadcast.
The XFL's competition, however, is not the NFL but rather "Survivor" and other reality shows. Katz says people don't want that sort of invasiveness. Fine, then explain the popularity of the reality shows.
Violence (on tv, in movies, in computer games, even in D&D games) has long been a traditional scapegoat for insuffiently involved parents.
That being said, I certinaly see no need for *me* to be exposed to it, so I don't watch it. Nuff said.
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Remove the rocks to send email
On the whole, I find that I prefer Slashdot posts to twitter ones because I don't get limited to 140 chars before
Masem obviously never played football.
Comments like this one, prove that to be true:
And even a causal watching of football knows that what was played was worse than most high school teams. Heck, the stadium looked like a large-scale high school or small-town college stadium.
Uh huh. You try it.
Besides, who cares if the players weren't that good? It's about entertainment. I played for a number of years and I haven't seen a professional game quite as interesting as what I saw in the XFL, this weekend. I really could give a sh*t if they script some of it. The announcers (Yes, in all pro sports) use scripts, why shouldn't the players? It's about ENTERTAINMENT.
Just ask (XFL's head dog) Vince McMahons #1 show pony what it's all about. He calls himself "The most electrifying man in sports entertainment history".
All the XFL is is trying to take what Vince McManhan learned from years of WWF wrestling television and that is making the spectacle more exciting than the sport.
God forbid someone takes a proven concept and uses it elsewhere. He's almost cheating, isn't he?!?! Give me a break.
If you do want to talk technology in sports broadcasts, let's talk about the Super Bowl, with the matrix-like images (which do work well)...
Don't you think the XFL is going to have those things, and more, once it takes off? It was the first weekend ever for the XFL, give them a chance.
P.S. Guys that played the game, almost never say "Heck".
TK
I'll admit I wanted to see what the XFL was like, so Saturday night I watched the NY Hitmen play the Las Vegas whoever. Anyway, I realized only a few minutes into the game that the whole reason for Vince McMahon to do this was for the gambling interests in Las Vegas. The announcers said flat out what the line was, and how many points were given. And just think about it, the first game, possibly the biggest game of the season for this new league, was IN LAS VEGAS.
Vince knows what people want to see. He has perfected his art in the WWF. Now, all the cult followers of the WWF are going to do what they could never do with wrestling: bet on the outcome.
On a side note, I wasn't very impressed by the resolution of the cameras. And I don't even have a DTV set. In fact the majority of the shots were so grainy that I couldn't follow the ball most of the time until the receiver had it.