Bill Simmons is usually pretty good, but he has lapses like anyone else

I read his shit more for the comedy than the actual sports analysis

He's not the Second Coming as some people around here would lead you to believe

1/5/2009 6:23:07 PM

^I'm pretty sure that everybody knows Simmons is just there for comedy, except maybe rallydurham.

Simmons is amusing when he's not fellating the Celtics or Patriots.

[Edited on January 5, 2009 at 6:43 PM. Reason : 2]

1/5/2009 6:42:50 PM

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/11234981/1

Quote :

"Love him or hate him, Rivers one of game's best Admit it, part of you doesn't like San Diego Charges quarterback Philip Rivers. You're not sure why, but the dislike is there. Maybe it's his brash way of playing, his cocky in-your-face style. Maybe you think he's smug. Or is it the sideline-screaming match he had with Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler or his jawing with the Indianapolis fans during a game? Or is it that shot-put release that borders on the ugly? Maybe it's because you just don't like seeing him carve up your team. Whatever it is, it's there. Players on other teams don't like him. Fans rip him. Media members who don't know him well sear him and some have said he's a selfish baby. It's almost become trendy not to like him. Move over, Peyton Manning. Rivers, whose Chargers play the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday in an AFC Divisional Playoff Game, is the quarterback fans now love to hate. "For whatever reason, that perception or that reality I guess, is out there," Rivers said. "I really, you know, to an extent, I don't get it. The guys that know you, your teammates, your family, know you are the type of person you are. And that's all you can worry about." The thing is, he's a really good guy. He's married with four kids. He stays out of trouble. He preaches chastity. There's even a video message on the subject he delivered on a website where he called chastity a "lost art." Yes, there actually is an NFL player who does believe in it. Rivers also works hard to make himself a top passer. He studies film like the son of a coach, which he is. He spends hours at the facility. In league with gun-toting receivers and "make-it-rain" cornerbacks, why would Rivers take such abuse? If you doubt it's there, you can look it up. Do a search for "hating Philip Rivers." You'll see. "I'm not that big a fan of the guy," Cutler said earlier this year. For what it's worth, Rivers doesn't seem to care. "I don't know how to explain it," Rivers said. "I don't see anything. Fans have players, or people have players, they like more than others or don't like and dislike and they all have their reasons. I don't see me as a hard person to like. That perception has been created off a couple of camera shots on the RB, where had they had the audio or really a part of the situation there was no big deal. They get all blown up into a certain deal." Consider yourself lucky, Philip. There were a large segment of football fans that didn't like Dan Marino because he was arrogant and yelled at his teammates in front of the cameras. There are still many who don't like Manning. Maybe being a hated quarterback also means you're pretty damn good. Rivers is now that. Push aside his brashness for a second and consider the season he's had in 2008. I like to call it the unknown season because few have paid much attention to how special it was. When the Pro Bowl teams were named, he wasn't on the AFC team. That was a joke. Brett Favre was, which made it even more laughable. Rivers threw for 4,009 yards, threw 34 touchdowns and led the NFL with a passer rating of 105.5. The 34 touchdown passes tied Drew Brees, the Offensive Player of the Year, for the NFL lead. Rivers' yardage numbers were fifth best in the league, second best in the AFC to his buddy, Cutler. But the number that stands out most is his 8.4 yards per attempt. That was tops among NFL starters. What that number shows is that Rivers was a down-the-field passer. He took chances. He didn't play it safe. The amazing thing is he did it without a healthy LaDainian Tomlinson, with a limited Antonio Gates and an outside receiving group that isn't considered among the top 15 units in the league. Rivers, now in his fifth season, put the Chargers on his back this season and got them to the playoffs. In my book, it's a season that puts him in the top five quarterbacks in the league. The Chargers are his team now. If the Chargers had a better record than the 8-8 that won them the AFC West, his season would be getting much more attention. I've always liked Rivers. He's always been accommodating with me. I know some of his teammates and former teammates, and they all swear by the guy. That's because he's what players call a gamer. He shows up and plays. When he played in the AFC Championship Game last January with a torn ACL, it seemed to win over a lot of doubters. Here we had Tomlinson, the golden child of the Chargers, sulking on the sideline with a bum ankle while Rivers toughed it out on knee that had ligaments looking like spaghetti, an injury that required major surgery after that game. He's followed that up with a special season, his best, giving hint that there will be many more to come. He might not have the best arm, but he sees the field like Manning and Brady and his decisions are quick. "He threw for 4,000 yards and he has had some games where it hasn't been easy because we have been behind or the other team has been scoring a lot of points so we have been fighting through it," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "If you base it on production, he is right up there. He has a different way of doing it, but I think that everybody gets caught up in evaluating a lot of things that are not important. Philip is a winner." Which might be the real reason people don't like Rivers. Success does that. It causes envy. Those who show confidence while having it only make it worse, intensify the hate. So rip him for his "country" way of talking. Kill him for yelling at the Colts crowd. Mock that throwing motion. Hating Rivers is now a sport of sorts. But even the haters can't deny this: He's now one of the NFL's best."

1/8/2009 10:43:02 PM

He went from aww shucks hillbilly to Mike vick asshole real quick.

1/8/2009 11:21:07 PM

yeah, he's such a jackass.

1/8/2009 11:24:04 PM

yeah, he's such a jackass.

1/8/2009 11:24:04 PM

http://news.bostonherald.com/sports/football/other_nfl/view.bg?articleid=1143921&format=text

Quote :

"Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers seeks redemption against Steelers SAN DIEGO — It’s easy to overlook Philip Rivers, given his open, easy-going personality. He’s like a bag of Fritos playing in an NFL era in which the premier quarterbacks are regarded as prime cuts of filet mignon. Manning. Brady. There’s a ring — and Super Bowl rings — to those names. They’re men of careful words and dead-bolted emotions. They’re revered for their calculating minds, competitive intensities and enigmatic personae. They’re exalted and elevated behind velvet ropes. And then there’s Rivers, not fitting that austere image. He has a shotgun mouth and talks with that Southern twang as plucky as a banjo string. Honest to a fault, he tells everything like he sees it. He deals with everyone as though they’ve spent childhood summers together sipping bottled Cokes on his Alabama porch. But it is Rivers, this salty Southern guy with more than a bag of chips on his shoulder pads, who has catapulted his San Diego Chargers from being 4-8 — and "all but done and over with," he said — to a spot in Sunday’s AFC Divisional playoff game at Pittsburgh. Much of the football world has taken a pass on recognizing the rise of Rivers, 27, who plays out of the deep corner pocket of the country and for a team almost singularly known for running back LaDainian Tomlinson. At times in his past three seasons as the Chargers’ starter, fans have wanted to bench the 2004 first-rounder in favor of a untested backup Billy Volek. They doubted his passion for the game — until they saw him jawing with an opposing team’s fans during a game. They called him a "wimp" and questioned his toughness — until they learned he had played through a playoff game last season with a torn ligament in a knee. Now Chargers fans have latched onto to Rivers, his Southern comfort and charm and his fourth-quarter heroics, but the rest of the country has made him an oversight in this, his fifth and finest season. Those voting for the 2009 Pro Bowl didn’t cast enough ballots to get him onto the AFC squad, despite how Rivers has put up career numbers this regular season. Critics have discounted Rivers’ success, contending that he is merely an accurate, pocket passer who benefits from a strong line and smart system. (Isn’t that Tom Brady [stats]?) But nobody can argue with Rivers’ statistics. He completed 312 of 478 passes (65.3 percent) for 4,009 yards. He had the NFL’s best passing rating (105.5). He averaged the most yards per pass play (8.4) and threw the most touchdowns (34), breaking the Chargers’ single-season mark set by Dan Fouts nearly three decades ago. He’s also still playing to be in Super Bowl XLIII. The injured Tom Brady can’t say that. Nor can the newly crowned NFL Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning, whose Indianapolis Colts were upset in overtime by the Chargers in this past Saturday’s AFC Wild Card playoff. Nor can Drew Brees, who was named the league’s offensive player of the year. Rivers replaced Brees as the Chargers’ starter in 2006. Undecorated, Rivers goes into Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh not seeking respect but redemption. The Chargers’ 11-10 loss to the Steelers on Nov. 16 was Rivers’ worst of the season. He completed 15 of 26 passes for only 164 yards and was intercepted twice and sacked twice. "I just got through watching our game against them (the Steelers) from early in the year, and there are things you say, ’Golly, it could have been the difference in the game!’" said Rivers. Can you imagine Manning or Brady saying, "Golly?" Rivers says it — and means it. You can’t open up the Sunday paper to find Rivers in ads for Sony flat-screens or Gillette razors or watch TV and see in him in MasterCard commercials. He’s a spokesman for a local realty company. Rivers isn’t rumored to be engaged to a supermodel. He married Tiffany, the woman he began dating when he was in the seventh grade in Athens, Ala., and they have three daughters and a son. He drove a minivan to a recent practice because he was picking up the family at the airport. Now he’s driving the Chargers deeper into the playoffs and hoping for quarterbacking performance that nobody can ignore."

1/9/2009 12:14:19 AM

anyone who's followed him his entire career would know he is no wimp. there was one year (his junior i think) when he took more hits, regardless of whether he gets the pass off or is sacked, than any qb in the season, and still didn't miss a game.

(this is purely based on hearing kirk herbstreit say it during that game, years ago)

1/9/2009 2:24:38 AM

when did San Diego fans call him a wimp and call for Billy Volek???

1/9/2009 2:32:13 AM

I think it was that game where he pulled out a pistol and shot at some fans.

or so the media would have you think.

1/9/2009 9:04:54 AM

Rivers has taken a whole lot of sacks this year to be behind such a "dominant" offensive line. I know the guy can't run at all but his line really hasn't been as good as that article hinted.

1/9/2009 9:28:45 AM

P RIVERS < TEBOW

1/9/2009 9:44:03 AM

You gotta be kidding me here

1/9/2009 9:57:09 AM

Quote :

"P RIVERS < TEBOW"

1/9/2009 10:19:31 AM

1/9/2009 10:43:55 AM

Hey Tebow is definitely had a better college career

2 national titles
sophmore HEISMAN

1/9/2009 11:35:50 AM

You know who else has 2 national titles and a Heisman?

Matt Leinart.

1/9/2009 11:37:35 AM

leinart only has 1 BCS national title

1/9/2009 11:38:44 AM

Teblow will be as successful in the NFL as Chris Leak

1/9/2009 11:44:15 AM

^^ Well tebow only has 1 BCS national championship as a starter.

1/9/2009 11:57:16 AM

Colin Cowherd towards the end of his show today said he was going to comment on some quote Philip made. Did anyone catch that - what did PR say that merited Cowherd's attention. It had to be interesting.

1/9/2009 1:12:13 PM

Stolen from PP:

http://forums.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=178&f=2531&t=3744286&p=1

1/10/2009 10:42:13 AM

he's playing in a game right now

1/11/2009 5:31:30 PM

Post here when Rivers catches a break.

1/11/2009 8:53:56 PM

Rivers won't be going to the Pro Bowl (sore knee) even though Favre has dropped out of the game

but the chargers are working on signing him to a new contract

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jan/20/chargers-rivers-contract-talks/?chargers

1/21/2009 5:22:19 PM

ugh, they really need to move the Pro Bowl selection date to later in the season. Rivers only got the shaft because of his team's shitty start. He played well throughout the season.

1/21/2009 5:58:53 PM

rivers could have gone this year as 1st alternate because favre isn't going, but he's sitting it out with a sore knee...thus the 2nd alternate is going (kerry collins)

1/21/2009 7:28:37 PM

saw this photo on Evtimov's facebook page, it's awesome he has an NC State hat in the mix. Keeping it real, son.

1/30/2009 11:49:34 AM

What in the hell is that white thing hanging up far left?

1/30/2009 12:18:39 PM

DOES NOT COMPUTE

1/30/2009 12:26:58 PM

Quote :

"P RIVERS < TEBOW"

Looks like you are moron in football as well as basketball

1/30/2009 1:01:55 PM

Philip Rivers condoms must be made of fishnet.

1/30/2009 1:53:50 PM

Philip Rivers > Birth Control

1/30/2009 3:03:04 PM

For some reason he was just with Jim Nance on CBS doing an interview at some golf tourney... just saw it clicking through the channels.

2/7/2009 3:48:32 PM

I'd buy them

3/16/2009 9:01:49 PM

McDaniels and Orton specific...but Rivers makes a guest appearance

http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2009/04/a-beard-for-a-sulk-a-drunk-for-a-drunk.html#more-13426

4/6/2009 10:34:34 AM

that was dumb

4/6/2009 11:21:05 AM

so why is this blog so popular.

everything i've seen from it has been about as funny as an empty beer can.

4/6/2009 12:42:39 PM

I don't know, I thought the first prank call of P Riv to McDaniels was a pretty funny entry.

[Edited on April 6, 2009 at 12:51 PM. Reason : first]

4/6/2009 12:50:47 PM

P.Riv McFarlane figure coming in September:

http://www.spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=4009

5/3/2009 2:55:29 PM

DO WANT

5/3/2009 3:32:07 PM

nice quality statue but definitely something disturbing to own

5/3/2009 4:47:59 PM

Quote :

"Josh McDaniels: Since he’s out…uh, any chance I can swing a trade for you? "

5/3/2009 4:51:26 PM

That thing is awesome

I do find it weird that Romo has already had 3 McFarlane figures

5/3/2009 6:50:13 PM

Unless he's changed for this year...it's the wrong facemask.

5/4/2009 12:50:46 AM

apparently phil is on roids now

5/4/2009 12:52:40 AM

if i owned that figurine, i'd tell people that swatch of turf was from the sideline and not the middle of the field because philip rivers plays on the edge

5/4/2009 10:38:57 AM

i have the Jake Delhomme figurine and its super small..dontknow if this one will be same size or what, but regardless it will be in my possession soon, at which point it will likely possess me.

5/4/2009 11:21:27 AM

Quote :

"regardless it will be in my possession soon, at which point it will likely possess me."

not at all creepy

5/4/2009 11:39:33 AM

Rivers & TA vs. Texas Tech on Fox Sports South right now.

5/27/2009 5:31:37 PM