Front Office Fans - All Posts

Farewell From Front Office Fans

2011-05-31T13:00:40-04:00

As the frequency of new posts on the homepage of FrontOfficeFans.com may indicate, the Project Franchise Team Captains has been a bit busy lately with life away from the game - as the Mrs. Team Captains seem to have all had a visit from the baby stork in recent months. Unfortunately between all the diaper changing, bottle feeding and non-sleeping, we just haven't had the time to keep the blog up the way we expect from die hard sports fans like ourselves. So, today is the final day for FOF, as we will shut down the site as of June 1 to make way for even more great, SBNation properties to be managed by the fans, for the fans.

It seems fitting timing, as a pair of fan-centric teams face off in an NBA Finals re-match that is certain to bring a heap of joy to the fans in South Beach or Big D. While LeBron James didn't announce where he was taking his talents last summer in a fashion that impressed many fans in Cleveland, we have to give Pat Riley and the Heat management a load of credit for putting their money on the line to bring the Big-3 together and help Miami fans enjoy a potential dynasty. And while we have our roots in South Florida and would usually be all in favor of the Heat winning it all, this year is a little different as they are going against the Dallas Mavericks.

Before Mark Cuban bought the majority ownership of the Mavs in early 2000, the team was abysmal - perennial cellar dwellers who hadn't provided more than a brief smattering of exciting moments to local fans in its prior history. However, Cuban wasn't like other owners. He didn't view the team as purely an investment. He didn't wear a suit or sit way high up in a skybox hobnobbing with league execs. Instead, Cuban rocked a team jersey or t-shirt, sat courtside and barked at officials like he was your drunk Uncle Sal. He also opened up his very fat wallet, helped the fans get a sweet new downtown stadium, hooked up the team with a private plane and made the locker room look like an episode of CRIBS.

This culture of fandom resonated with the squad and the city and on the shoulders of superstar big man (and seemingly all around good guy) Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs became the third best team in the Western Conference over the last decade - which is actually pretty impressive when you consider that the Lakers and Spurs are the top two. This season the Spurs ran out of gas in the playoffs, then the Mavs rolled over the Lakers and then through the upstart Thunder on their way to an NBA Finals rematch with the Heat.

Although our gut tells us that Miami is just too tough to beat in a seven game series, we will be rooting for Cuban and the fans in Dallas who scream alongside their owner - just like we envision at Project Franchise.

It's been a great time writing for SBNation and we'd really like to thank Tyler, Jim and the entire SB team for welcoming us to their awesome community. We look forward to working together on future collaborations as we continue to further the voice of the sports fan through the digital world. We'd also like to thank all of our readers for making FOF so much fun, as we truly believe that Project Franchise has been and always will be defined by our fans - even the folks who told us we were fools in the comments!

To keep in touch with Project Franchise and stay up to speed on our progress as we seek to acquire a real life, entirely fan run minor league baseball team, please sign up for free at ProjectFranchise.org

-PF Team Captains

So Long Senator Sweater-Vest

2011-05-31T02:15:39-04:00

I regularly count January 3, 2003 as one of the absolute worst days of my life. For those of you who weren't wearing orange and green in Tempe, Az that day, let me remind you of the worst call in football history. For those of us who were in the Sun Devil Stadium as Hurricane fans, we experienced one of the greatest highs followed by one of the deepest lows that any sports fan could ever endure. What isn't as clear from the TV highlights is that after Miami won the National Championship in OT they actually shot off fireworks and the Canes fans who were seated clear on other side of the stadium had a full minute long celebration before realizing that we'd been robbed. About 10 minutes later we had to watch Maurice Clarett and the rest of Buckeye nation celebrate our win.

With that all in mind, you can imagine my mixed emotions this evening as we watch the end of a Big-10 dynasty as Ohio St coach Jim Tressel steps down amidst a swirl of controversy.

One part of me is thrilled to see the once revered coach and program brought down and exposed as the cheaters we all knew they were. The other part of me, as a Miami Hurricane fan who knows all too well what its like to go from dynasty to NCAA sanctions, actually feels bad for some of those Ohio State fans who are staring down quite a few seasons in the dumps. And, then there is another part of me that is disappointed that "The Senator" will be leaving before Miami got the chance to enact revenge for that devastating loss eight years ago.

Ohio State and Miami have played only once since then, when the teams met in an early season clash in Columbus last year. I was in the stadium again for that game, where Canes QB Jacory Harris literally threw the game away with 4 INT's. However the two teams are scheduled to wrap up their home-and-home series this September with a game in Miami that fans of The U have been waiting for since that fateful night in the desert. Alas, the game will still be played and Miami victory will still be sweet - but not quite as tasty as it would have been if Tressel was pacing the losing sidelines.

Wild Wild West

2011-04-28T02:37:51-04:00

This evening featured a couple of fantastic finishes in a pair of unexpectedly exciting series in the first round of the NBA's Western Conference Playoffs.Typically a boring game in early series, the Game 5's played Wednesday night turned out to be as entertaining as any sports fan could have hoped.

First up was most surprising series of these young Playoffs, as the 8-seed Grizzlies came within a half-a-second of closing out the top seeded Spurs. With the home team down 3, Manu Ginobili hit a falling out of bounds prayer from the corner that was one of the most big-time shots in modern hoops memory. Upon further review, it turned out his foot was on the line, making it only a 2-point FG. After a quick foul and a couple of key free-throws from Zach Randolph - who was as clutch as possible coming down the stretch for the Grizz - the future of the Spurs franchise rested on the final 1.7 seconds. Luckily for the fans in San Antonio that was just enough time for Gary Neal to take one dribble and do his best Robert Horry impression knocking down the game-tying shot as time expired. The Spurs turned it into overdrive in the OT period and ended up extending the series which now moves to a game 6 where Memphis will have another chance to close them out - this time at home.

Almost as soon as the Spurs victory was in the books, the Nuggets - Thunder game heated up. Denver, down 3-1 in the series and playing at home - clung to a lead for the latter half of the 4th quarter until it became clear that Kevin Durant wasn't interested in playing a game 6. KD, who should now be considered a superstar in the NBA, put OKC on his narrow shoulders - draining a clutch three and pair of runners in the lane, while also coming up with a key block - all in the final two minutes. Arron Afflalo got a pretty rough look at a three at the buzzer that came amazingly close to falling to extend the Nuggets to an OT - but it was not meant to be and the Thunder have moved on to the second round.

With the struggles of the Lakers and Spurs, the once boring Western Conference has opened up and now appears to be headed for a shoot-out over the next two rounds as we ramp up to the Finals.

Poll

Who's your pick to win the west?

Thunder

15 votes

Lakers

7 votes

Spurs

8 votes

Mavs

1 votes

Blazers / Hornets / Grizz - they've still got a chance!

3 votes

34 votes | Poll has closed

Will EA Sports let fans do the (previously) unthinkable?

2011-04-25T18:20:41-04:00

EA Sports publishes the uber popular Madden NFL video game franchise, the company is currently in the midst of an ESPN.com backed contest that will allow the fans determine who will earn the vaunted cover of the game's 2012 edition. The final winner will be announced Wednesday evening, and the two finalists are Peyton Hillis and Michael VIck. Yes, that's right, the once hated, vilified, former prison dweller Michael Vick has a very real chance of winning the NFL's version of "Most Popular". This situation brings forth some very interesting questions. First off all, will EA actually let this fly? If Vick actually wins the contest will EA change the results faster than a third world dictator who isn't particularly thrilled with an election's results? Are the EA officials happy that Vick has made it this far in the voting? Do they actually want him to win? Are they subscribing to the "there is no such thing as bad publicity" adage? It is even more interesting to speculate as to whether market research indicated that this was going to happen? Did EA know before hand that this situation was going to arise and that controversy would ensue thus leading to more sales? If they did you absolutely have to tip your hat to the EA's marketing department's stroke of genius. At least Vick haters can take solace in the fact that the Madden curse will potentially come up and bite him.

Alright Brandon...What did you do?

2011-04-23T21:44:59-04:00

I awoke this morning and commenced with my normal routine of checking twitter on my blackberry, the first tweet that caught my attention was from a sportswriter I follow (Adam Schefter I think) announcing that Brandon Marshall had been admitted to the hospital after receiving a superficial stab wound. Brandon Marshall has been on my mind as of late as I had recently read an in depth article about the Darrent Williams shooting and learned that Brandon had been a key figure in that New Years Eve's festivities and its eventual horrors in which Williams lost his life. One of the main points that the article strived to have the reader takeaway was that of all of the key "players" in the Williams shooting only the fortunes of Marshall had seemed to improve. (Javon Walker's playing career has since fizzled out and he was subsequently beaten in robbed in Las Vegas, the shooter of Williams received a life term in prison etc,) My initial thought after learning that it was his wife that had stabbed him was that the aforementioned article had spoken too soon. My mind immediately went to the question which I knew wouldn't be answered and probably wont be any time soon, these two have a history of not dropping dimes on each other. Alls I know is that you really have to piss off someone, especially your wife, in order for them to want to stab you. There are some obvious reasons that come to mind as to why she might've done it, does anybody have any inside info? What do you think Brandon did in order for his wife to have shanked him?

Poll

The Reason Brandon's Wife Stabbed Him...?

He cheated on her, end of story

7 votes

She Crazy

0 votes

They Both Crazy

11 votes

I would like to call your attention to my pure speculation, which I have placed in the comments section.

0 votes

18 votes | Poll has closed

C'mon Kobe - You're Better Than That.

2011-04-13T14:06:34-04:00

I just watched the video of Kobe Bryant uttering an alleged homophobic slur after getting t'd up in Tuesday's game. I must say that it is disappointing to see someone who is looked up to by millions of kids across the world resort to using that type of language. It is true that we all say things when we are angry that we dont mean, and if we are especially pissed off sometimes we may endeavor, consciously or not, to say the meanest most hurtful thing we can think of in that moment. Watching Kobe on the court is inspiring, even to the casual basketball fan it is evident that his game (save for a select few players) is far superior to the other nine men on the floor. Kobe needs to be hyper aware of the fact that the excellence he exhibits on the floor inspires his fans and admirers to try to achieve a personal level of excellence. I would hope that Kobe and all athletes in his rarefied air would strive to work as intensely to inspire with how they act off the court as they do on.

For The Love Of The Game

2011-04-12T13:00:28-04:00

I thought I bled Hurricane Orange & Green. I've got a "mancave" thats littered with old photos of Miami greats like Michael Irvin, Jimmy Johnson and Uncle Luke, framed newspaper clippings and ticket stubs and a 6ft by 4ft custom Fathead of the outside of the old Orange Bowl Stadium - which I consider my "happy place".

But I don't hold a candle to Art Kehoe.

Kehoe spent a quarter of a century in Coral Gables where he was a part of five national championships and probably a gazillion awesome parties. For two years he donned The U helmet and lined up every Saturday, then for the next two and a half decades he served under five different head coaches as Offensive Line Coach. Howard Schnellenberger, Johnson, Dennis Erickson and Butch Davis all came and went and Kehoe was still there coaching 'em up.

At the end of an ugly 2005 season, right around the time it became clear that Larry Coker was steering the Titanic straight towards the iceberg, Kehoe was quietly sent packing. One unfortunate lawsuit and a few years of bouncing around colleges and the CFL later, and it sure didn't seem like a return to his happy place was even a possibility.

But upon Randy Shannon's dismissal this past off-season, Miami brought in former Temple coach Al Golden who quickly started ramping up his new staff. It didn't take long for Golden to learn about the legend of Kehoe and place the phone call.

Andy Staples at Sports Illustrated recently put together a great piece about Kehoe and his return trip to Miami, which really helps to put the difference between NCAA and pro sports in perspective. While college football is clearly a big business, there is a special connection fans and faculty alike can have with their University that just isn't comparable with an NFL team - and is why I can't wait until football kicks off again next September and Kehoe is back on the sidelines in Miami where he belongs.

-Grant Cohen, THE U

Don't Call It A Comeback

2011-04-09T02:15:39-04:00

With a nasty back nine on Friday, Tiger Woods has put himself in the hunt as we head into the weekend at The Masters - and it appears that golf's normally snooty fans are fully back on board. Frankly golf has gone from boring-to-most to boring-to-all since Thanksgiving of 2009 when Eldrick got caught with his "hand" in the "cookie jar", so it's not much of a surprise that his re-emergence in the first major of the year has the golf media salivating for a story.

El Tigre shot a pedestrian one-under 71 on Friday and made three bogey's on the front side before catching fire around the turn. Making birdie on 10, then back-to-back-to-back birdies on 13, 14, and 15 before a ridiculously strong armed pop up fade from the rough, under the trees on the right side of the fairway at 18 - giving him a bogey-free 31 on the backside. The 66 on the card was good enough to move Tiger into a tie for 3rd at -7, just three shots behind leader Rori Mcilroy - who, at the young age of 21, is looking a strangely like Rosie O'Donnel at 36.

Who knows how Tiger will do tomorrow, as he has been prone to giving us glimmers of greatness in the last year - Saturday at Augusta and Pebble in 2010 most notably - but the interesting part is how the fans have reacted. By the time Woods dropped in his birdie on 18, the fans in Georgia seemed to have forgotten all about his marital indiscretions and were full on the bandwagon, hooting and hollering as he walked off the green.

While its clear that if Tiger can keep himself in the mix through Saturday and early Sunday that all eyes will be focused on Woods coming down the stretch, but the question will be what happens if he wins? How short of a memory do sports fans have? Or how much do they care about the off-field stuff versus what happens between the ropes?

One has to assume that Woods can never reclaim his former spot at the top of the sports universe, but there have been plenty of scenarios where a championship or two is all a sports star needs to get back what may have previously been lost - just ask Kobe.

Poll

If Tiger wins this weekend, how will you react?

I've always been a fan

29 votes

Back on the bandwagon

3 votes

Don't care, he's dead to me

3 votes

35 votes | Poll has closed