NFL Sf Giants

Confession time. I believe that one of the most genius sites on the interwebs is the precisely titled Hot Chicks with Douchebags. (warning not terribly NSFW) The founder of the site, Douchebag1, receives pictures from readers of beautiful womens paired with guys who are douchebags. Lots of websites attempt to arouse and amuse their male readership in one place, and this site is probably the most honest, direct and successful at it.

It's well written and very funny. There is something strangely poetic and philosophical in DB1's quest to find the platonic form of the perfect chica matched with an appallingly preening, gesturing, greasy, oft-orange douchebag. And to speak movingly about how wrong it is. This is hard to explain without pictures, so I guess I will send you directly to some of the HCwDB immortals such as Fish Slap, Joey Porsche, Oompa Prompa, and Millenium Bag. (yeah, there is some vulgar language in those links and the ones below too, if you are the delicate flower).

Recently, DB1 declared that Deion Sanders has earned a place in the Hallowed Hall of Retro Douche. The case is made with the above YouTube video and DB's discussion and reader comments on same. It is nearly impossible to watch that entire video. I couldn't and now I have that "song" as a ear worm. "Must be the money....that's turning them on." Exactly. You've been warned.

Thanks to DB1 for bringing attention to the menace of global douchebaggery, and good luck with your upcoming HCwDB book.

I told you last week that not too many people saw Barry's 755th home run live on TV. Now comes the word, via Ben Maller, that more people watched the Cowboys/Colts game on FOX Thursday night than Barry's record breaking 756th home run Tuesday on ESPN. From Ad Age:

The game on Fox last night delivered a 2.7/8 rating and share from 8-11 p.m. in last night's Nielsen "Fast Affiliate Ratings" in the ad-centric adult 18-49 demographic, which if it holds would tie for the eighth-rated program of the week.
...
But the 1.1 ESPN household rating for Bonds' blast -- compared to NBC's 22.3 rating for when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record (adult 18-49 figures aren't available) -- underscores just how much baseball, and especially media, have changed over the last 30 years.

Well, it does show how much the media has changed recently, and how much football now dominates. The low ratings also confirm my suspicion -- that not too many people were sitting around, excited to see Bonds break the record. Or maybe everyone just wanted to see Pam Oliver go toe-to-toe with her producer. Now that could account for the difference.

Previously at FanHouse:
Not Many People Saw Bonds 755 Live
Pam Oliver, Tony Romo, and a Cockroach

When luck's got you down. When it feels like everyone in the free world is against you (except for those in San Francisco, natch). And, when all hope is lost, don't fret. He will appear like a vision on the center field video screen. It's Joe Montana, there to comfort you, Barry Bonds.

"Hey Barry, Joe Montana here," said the football Hall of Famer, shown on the ballpark's large video screen in centerfield. "Congratulations on a great career, and good luck on the road to history. And remember, don't just break that record. Give 'em a number that no one will reach."

Bonds, standing in leftfield for the start of the first inning, applauded with his glove. The Giants greatly hope there'll be more reason to celebrate by the end of this week, although they're not sharing every last detail of their plans.

Rumor has it Bob Costas came on the screen in the sixth inning to lend his support as well, but because he's a midget, you could only hear him. Cameras can only shoot straight ahead, don't you know that?

{Via the Biz of Baseball.}

A few weeks ago, as I purchased tickets to the Saints/Rams game in New Orleans this November on StubHub, I wondered how teams could sit idly back knowing people were re-selling their tickets for gross profit on the Internet (for the record, I paid $70 apiece and a limb for $35 tickets). Historically, there's never been a profit a sports team hasn't liked, and if they could find a way to make extra money on something like ticket sales, why not?

Little did I know that the wheels have already been set in motion. If you live in St. Louis, take solace in knowing that, at the very least, the Rams and Cardinals will be making money twice on ticket sales. Each team will be offering a re-sell option for ticket holders who can't use their tickets. After you pay the team for your tickets, you can bring the tickets back to them, where they'll sell them to someone else for whatever price you set. They take a "convenience" commission. You keep the profits. It's like Flip This House, but you don't have to think about pastel-themed dining rooms or what tile to use in the master bath.

This is being made possible by the repeal on scalping in Missouri, although scalping in front of stadiums (or as I like to call it, the black market without all the fun of drugs or prostitution) will still be a no-no -- this is an Internet-only venture. The San Francisco Giants, in a move that contradicts the city's decidedly bohemian (read: dirty hippy) ethos, have already been using a system like this.

I'm really trying to find a reason to be indignant about this, but I can't come up with anything good. The system is literally identical to StubHub, a service I use fairly often. If someone is willing to pay more than face value for an event, that's their right. The seller sets their price for a good, the buyer decides whether or not to pay it, and the middleman takes a piece for the trouble. Let's hear it for the free market!

Still, I feel dirty knowing that teams are profitting twice on ticket sales. Something about it just doesn't seem right. Any anarchists out there care to conjure up some reason for me to want to rebel against the system for this?