IggyReilly

I thought it was exciting to watch too, but I don't follow hockey. It was fun seeing just how wide open the game suddenly became for a few minutes, but I could see why hockey fans would hate it. According to the hockey fans it ends up becoming pretty arbitrary as to who scores first. I guess as a football fan it would be like if teams played 11 on 11 all game, but then in overtime they made it dueling 7 on 7 drills. Non-fans would probably love all the passing, fans who actually watch games would hate it (and rightfully so).

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Know some don’t like Gayle, but besides not being her, what makes Graves a good sports owner?

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I don't know that he'd be a good sports owner, I just think he'd be the best shot we would have for an owner who would keep the teams in New Orleans. He's obviously doing something right business wise to go from nothing to inconceivably rich selling so-so chicken. He's worth $22 billion and that figure will likely keep on rising. There aren't very many other options for people with Louisiana connections who could afford to buy the team at this point and those options are all older than Gayle and less wealthy than Graves. As far as having the proper wealth it's basically Graves ($22 billion, age 54), William Goldring ($7 billion, early 80s) and Gary Chouest ($2 billion, also early 80s. He also had a chance to buy the Pelicans/Hornets before Benson did and punted on it). Graves is basically the only option that is the right age and net worth to make it work.

Who knows, maybe even he would try and move the team, but I'd rather take that chance with someone who's from here and has somewhat of a vested interest in keeping Louisiana relationships strong as opposed to some outside private equity group coming in who only sees dollars.

As others have said it was a combination of so many things.
* His contract didn't make sense for us based on our cap space and roster configuration at the time.
* He didn't seem to always have the best attitude or get along great with his teammates.
* He got guys hurt a few times.
* He never seemed to have any big performances against quality opponents or when the game was close and up for grabs.

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Down 30-7 against the Rams 3 minutes into the 4th

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This game was a prime example of the last point. It was essentially a playoff game, the Saints were 7-7 heading into that game and facing a quality opponent. A win would give the Saints the inside track on the division, a loss would effectively end any chance of making the playoffs. If you looked at Carr's final stat line you'd probably think he had a good game.
27 for 40. 315 yards. 3 TD, 1 INT. 106.1 rating.

But he didn't have a good game. The Saints offense could barely get anything going for 3 quarters and were down 30-7 early in the 4th quarter. Then he spent the 4th quarter racking up stats against a soft, prevent defense (2 touchdowns and over 100 yards passing). That game pretty much encapsulated the Carr experience in New Orleans.

Need a win, don't get it, don't start balling until it's too late, walk away with a decent looking stat line.

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It's a good flick, and proves Travolta was more than a pretty face and a dancer. Sadly it didn't help his career.

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Well, it eventually did as Tarantino has cited it as one of the primary reasons he wanted to cast Travolta in Pulp Fiction, but, yeah, it took quite awhile to get there.

It really just goes to show how fickle success in Hollywood can be. Heading into the the '80s Travolta was one of the hottest young actors in the game having just come off of highly successful performances in Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Urban Cowboy. In Blow Out he turns in an excellent performance in a very well made film made by incredible director who had already made several successful pictures. It was all the right recipe for success and should have kept his career momentum going, but for whatever reason audiences just didn't show up and Travolta's status as a leading man went into the tank for the next 13 years.

I was at this game, I was 10 years old and it was the first Saints I ever attended. Yes, everyone and their mother (from both teams) was on the field while Bailey was running it back. I don't know what the official rule is, but it's hard to believe it shouldn't have been a penalty of some sort.

Also, this was the game that Tyrone Hughes returned 2 kickoffs for touchdowns and set the single game kick return yardage record (304). He also had a pick in the game. Both Bailey and Hughes' records still stand today. Hughes' record has a chance of being broken someday now that they changed the kickoff rules to promote more returns. It would take something really crazy to see Bailey's record fall now that punts that go into the end zone are automatically downed.

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interesting - I don’t remember this part

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They didn't really dwell on it, but the first episode of season 7 begins with Freddy giving an incredible pitch for Accutron Watches to Peggy. "It's not a time piece. It's a conversation piece."

Later Freddy brings lunch over to Don's apartment and Don asks how Peggy liked the pitch. Don goes to pay Freddy for the food, but Freddy declines saying that Freddy should be paying him and makes a comment about how Don is really making a name for him (Freddy) out there. Just goes to show that deep down Don was an Ad Man at heart. He was rich enough to never have to work again, but he was still churning out great ideas for little money and no recognition just to stay in the game. Also shows that Don's work was usually at its best when his personal life was at its worst.

This reminds me of that story when Andre Agassi used the wrong shampoo and his mullet hair piece started falling apart during a match. His coaches' advise to him was to "try not to move too much." This was while he was in the middle of his first Grand Slam final.

Thanks, coach, good talk :lol:

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Freddy Rumsen discovering Peggy and Peggy later rescuing Freddy from alcoholic embarrassment.

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The Freddy Rumsen story arc was one of my favorites in the show (minor spoilers).

When the show first starts Freddy is sort of seen as a bit of a joke around the office and even in a place where seemingly everyone has a drink in their hand his drinking is a frequent punchline. But he was the first one to recognize Peggy's talent and gets her involved in several projects which kickstarts her career as a copywriter. Later when he drunkenly embarrasses himself before a big meeting and gets "put on leave" it's revealed by Roger that Freddy saw significant action in WWII. Roger says it admirably, but it's obvious that Freddy isn't interesting in talking about it and the audience realizes for the first time that Freddy's alcoholism is largely due to undiagnosed/ untreated PTSD (a reoccurring theme throughout the show).

When he emerges later in the series he's working as a freelancer and is now not only sober, but actively involved in AA and in the sponsorship of others. When Don gets put on leave it's Freddy that he ghostwrites through and when Don is at his absolute lowest point and about to throw his partnership away Freddy is the person he calls (ostensibly to go to a ballgame, but deep down it was probably because Don knew Freddy was the only person who would actually help him).

Freddy gets Don out of there, gets him home and the next morning delivers an A+, tier 1 motivational speech that finally kicks Don back into gear.

"Are you just going to kill yourself? Give them what they want? Or are you going to go in your bedroom, get in uniform, fix your bayonet and hit the parade? Do the work Don."

Just incredible stuff and Freddy was never anything more than a minor character, not even in the top 20 most important characters on the show. Stuff like that is why Mad Men was one of the greatest written shows of all time.

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OK, I’ve put way too much time into this breaking it down

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I broke it down just like you did and I've come to the conclusion that Ryan had that shite coming. Outside of the (relatively small) altercation between the lady and the dude in the hat everyone was mostly acting responsibly and just trying to break the fight between the two kids up. Then Ryan comes into it like a goddamned mad man and just wouldn't let things go.

I'd like to think that Ryan experienced a small existential crisis in those seconds that he was immobile and lying face down on an elementary school basketball court, but let's be real, Ryan doesn't fricking think.

Being a successful NFL coach is about far more than just knowledge of the game or being able to command a locker room. To succeed at that level you basically have to be a football psycho with an unhealthy addiction to the grind of it all. The stress, the competition, the long hours, etc. These guys basically turn 90+% of their waking hours over to coaching at the expense of virtually everything else in their lives (especially their families) for huge chunks of the year.

And you have to love it for more than just the money. Guys like Reid, Payton, McVay, Harbaugh, etc. could walk away tomorrow set for life and would have every network lining up to offer them a cushy, lucrative media job. Maybe they'd only make 50-60% as much money, but they'd only have to work 10% as hard for 1% of the stress. Any sane person would rather do that, but these guys aren't sane; they're football psychos.

Rivers has 10 kids, one grandkid and $244 million in career earnings, plus endorsements, sitting in the bank. There's no reason for him to ever coach other than an intense, burning desire to do so. Does Rivers have that level of passion to coach in him? Is he going to enjoy spending 16 hours a day at the team facility for 6 straight months year after year? Maybe, but he hasn't proven that he has that level of desire in him yet and taking a chance on him when you have a HOF quarterback in his prime (and have your choice of other candidates) isn't something a team should do.