MLB playoff on FS1

[The Fat Man]

So 28 of your teams

The problem with Patriots fans is that you're not able to see the bias, which is natural, but there's a reason why you hear SO many people yelling at the screen "If that was against Brady, he'd be _________", And playing them twice a year, AFC East teams know it all too well

Bias? The commissioner of the NFL has been anti-Patriots for a long time. He's gone out of his way to condemn the Patriots for acts (yet wrong) have been identified to be committed by each NFL franchise. The only reason you yell, is because the Patriots win. The same as Yankees fans say that the reason Yankee haters yell is because the Yankees win.

 

[The Fat Man]

It's easier to be great when any player that breathes on him gets a 15 yrd personal foul...

That's been seen in virtually every game lately. That's not a Patriots thing. There has been horrible officiating across the board.

 

[The Fat Man]

One of my favorite jokes from that time is the supposed sign at the city limits:

"Welcome to Boston. Home of the 1918 World Champions!".

That's when we longed to brag about the Celtics, as they were the most recent and most successful of all our franchises. The 90s were a black hole for Boston sports fans. Anything remotely resembling success was sucked in and devoured.

 

[HipKat]

Bias? The commissioner of the NFL has been anti-Patriots for a long time. He's gone out of his way to condemn the Patriots for acts (yet wrong) have been identified to be committed by each NFL franchise. The only reason you yell, is because the Patriots win. The same as Yankees fans say that the reason Yankee haters yell is because the Yankees win.

Yet, no other team gets as many Prime Time games....

The Patriots-and-Penalties Conspiracy Theorists Might Have a Point

The Patriots-and-Penalties Conspiracy Theorists Might Have a Point
We’re not saying the league is actively working to help the Pats; we are saying that raising these five points at your Super Bowl party might help you win an argument if New England benefits from a suspicious call

The fix might be in. A selection of questionable officiating decisions helped New England avoid an upset loss to Jacksonville in the AFC championship game, and conspiracy theorists seized on the latest example of an evidently continuing trend. The Patriots have ridden a wave of refereeing luck all season, from overturned touchdowns for the Jets, Steelers, and Bills in the regular season to an odd, pivotal reversal of a penalty ruling against the Titans in the divisional round to the multiple controversies in the Jaguars game. “Somebody in Boston got the refs on the payroll,” Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes complained to reporters last month, and fans in 44 states agree.

The league itself has indirectly indulged the theories, too, with the official NFL Research Twitter account posting a curious statistic about the Patriots’ uncommonly low penalty total after their conference championship win. That nugget has been retweeted more than 16,000 times, which is roughly seven times as much as that account’s second-most-shared tweet.



Here’s another curious statistic of a similar nature: The Patriots were penalized just 10 yards against the Jaguars. That is the smallest cumulative punishment against one team in a playoff game since the 2016 AFC championship … when the Patriots were penalized just 10 yards in a win over the Steelers.


Thus far in the playoffs, the Pats have lost 47 yards on five penalties, while their two opponents have lost a combined 160 yards on 16 flags. And four of the five accepted penalties against New England have come on punts or kickoffs, meaning the Patriots have lost ground on down and distance just once all month.

Of course, it’s preposterous to think that the NFL rigs its officiating to benefit the Patriots. The league crusaded against the Patriots’ organization and suspended its best player because of a kerfuffle over the ideal gas law. It’s not also engineering a systematic, diabolical effort to aid that very team in what would amount to the most brazen favoritism of a prestige franchise since the 2002 Western Conference finals.

Referees err; it happens. And instead of the result of a conspiracy, the Pats’ officiating luck represents a multibillion-dollar manifestation of Hanlon’s razor: Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.

Rather than a conspiracy being under foot, it is more likely that Bill Belichick, who both coaches and constructs New England’s roster, prizes discipline among his charges and works to limit his team’s penalty count. The Pats have been one of the least-penalized teams in the league since he arrived in Foxborough, and as Kevin Clark noted for The Ringer last week, “Belichick associates believe secretive Patriots aid Ernie Adams helps study the tendencies of referees and figure out what officiating crews are more likely to call certain penalties. … Maybe they are just smarter than everyone else. We have plenty of evidence to suggest they usually are.”

But not everyone approaches sports—and the Patriots in particular—so rationally, and it’s harder to dispel conspiratorial notions when some facts actually support their claims. For the anti-Patriots masses who believe New England receives favorable treatment, the following pieces of evidence are compelling. Nobody show them to my boss.

Click Here

 

[HipKat]

That's been seen in virtually every game lately. That's not a Patriots thing. There has been horrible officiating across the board.

Apparently, you don't watch Bills games and see what happens to Josh Allen

 

[brownover]

If you root for whatever team is playing the Yankees, you suffer a lot. No world series in 10 years, so what, they still are winners. Boston still had the best team in baseball this year and look at what they accomplished. Nothing................... They had the material to win it again just as easily as last year. They did too much reading about how good they are instead of playing. Because of the Yankees tradition and history, every team they play puts out more effort against them. And the Patriots have had to put up with that for the last 15 or so years. It is a natural inclination for all players to want to beat the best even though they may not be the best this year. But their reputation precedes them. Patriots, Yankees, hated. Same with the cowboys even though the last 20 years have not produced a champion. As long as i have been watching baseball, i knew that the Astros were the better team this year and they proved it. So no surprise. But watch out for the Nationals, they are the one team that has better pitching than Houston. Enjoy the series sports fans!

 

[The Fat Man]

Yet, no other team gets as many Prime Time games....

The Patriots-and-Penalties Conspiracy Theorists Might Have a Point

The Patriots-and-Penalties Conspiracy Theorists Might Have a Point
We’re not saying the league is actively working to help the Pats; we are saying that raising these five points at your Super Bowl party might help you win an argument if New England benefits from a suspicious call

The fix might be in. A selection of questionable officiating decisions helped New England avoid an upset loss to Jacksonville in the AFC championship game, and conspiracy theorists seized on the latest example of an evidently continuing trend. The Patriots have ridden a wave of refereeing luck all season, from overturned touchdowns for the Jets, Steelers, and Bills in the regular season to an odd, pivotal reversal of a penalty ruling against the Titans in the divisional round to the multiple controversies in the Jaguars game. “Somebody in Boston got the refs on the payroll,” Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes complained to reporters last month, and fans in 44 states agree.

The league itself has indirectly indulged the theories, too, with the official NFL Research Twitter account posting a curious statistic about the Patriots’ uncommonly low penalty total after their conference championship win. That nugget has been retweeted more than 16,000 times, which is roughly seven times as much as that account’s second-most-shared tweet.



Here’s another curious statistic of a similar nature: The Patriots were penalized just 10 yards against the Jaguars. That is the smallest cumulative punishment against one team in a playoff game since the 2016 AFC championship … when the Patriots were penalized just 10 yards in a win over the Steelers.


Thus far in the playoffs, the Pats have lost 47 yards on five penalties, while their two opponents have lost a combined 160 yards on 16 flags. And four of the five accepted penalties against New England have come on punts or kickoffs, meaning the Patriots have lost ground on down and distance just once all month.

Of course, it’s preposterous to think that the NFL rigs its officiating to benefit the Patriots. The league crusaded against the Patriots’ organization and suspended its best player because of a kerfuffle over the ideal gas law. It’s not also engineering a systematic, diabolical effort to aid that very team in what would amount to the most brazen favoritism of a prestige franchise since the 2002 Western Conference finals.

Referees err; it happens. And instead of the result of a conspiracy, the Pats’ officiating luck represents a multibillion-dollar manifestation of Hanlon’s razor: Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.

Rather than a conspiracy being under foot, it is more likely that Bill Belichick, who both coaches and constructs New England’s roster, prizes discipline among his charges and works to limit his team’s penalty count. The Pats have been one of the least-penalized teams in the league since he arrived in Foxborough, and as Kevin Clark noted for The Ringer last week, “Belichick associates believe secretive Patriots aid Ernie Adams helps study the tendencies of referees and figure out what officiating crews are more likely to call certain penalties. … Maybe they are just smarter than everyone else. We have plenty of evidence to suggest they usually are.”

But not everyone approaches sports—and the Patriots in particular—so rationally, and it’s harder to dispel conspiratorial notions when some facts actually support their claims. For the anti-Patriots masses who believe New England receives favorable treatment, the following pieces of evidence are compelling. Nobody show them to my boss.

Click Here

That's a separate (yet valid) discussion point. It's a point of any sport that the team that brings in the most viewers will get the most Primetime spots. Again, look at how much FOX and ESPN puts on the Yankees. Look at how much games with Lebron James are featured on ABC and ESPN. That's not a favoritism of the league, but rather a demand of the networks. The league isn't favoring the Patriots. Most people want to watch the Patriots, some to see them win and many to see them lose. It's the same with the Yankees and Lebron James. That's why such is the case.

Roger Godell placated to Payton Manning, and not Tom Brady. The evidence is the number of times Godell has gone after Brady. As much as I hate the Yankees (as a Red Sox fan), I don't think the MLB favors the Yankees. I think that the buisness behind it favors the Yankees and Patriots. It's the market that we as fans support.

 

[The Fat Man]

Apparently, you don't watch Bills games and see what happens to Josh Allen

I need to pull them up, but there are numerous articles that call out the officiating. There is other variables to examine than just calling favoritism, such as comparing the same defenses between each quarterback, or how each offical calls each infraction between different games.

 

[HipKat]

I need to pull them up, but there are numerous articles that call out the officiating. There is other variables to examine than just calling favoritism, such as comparing the same defenses between each quarterback, or how each offical calls each infraction between different games.

Notice that's the new thing now on NFL games, where they talk about the officiating team and how many penalties they typically call of various infractions?

 

[brownover]

If we are going to talk about officiating, lets talk about MLB umpires. Balls and strikes? Every game there are probably 25 pitches that are called wrong. 3 inches outside the strike zone and you call it a strike. Almost down the middle of the plate and you call it a ball. I know its a difficult job, but they get paid thousands of dollars to get it right. Too many times i have seen a pitch 3 inches outside called a strike. Pitcher throws the next one at the same place, the poor hitter has to swing because it was just called a strike, particuarly if they have 2 strikes on them. I see no favortism in these calls, it just looks like they could get it right as as much as they get paid. As a fan, i like to see the hitters it, i don't tune in to see the umpire pump his fist in the air!

 

[glynnp]

Notice that's the new thing now on NFL games, where they talk about the officiating team and how many penalties they typically call of various infractions?

Clever how you shifted the conversation away from the Yankees.

 

[HipKat]

Clever how you shifted the conversation away from the Yankees.

And I'll pick it back up in about 48 weeks

 

[glynnp]

And I'll pick it back up in about 48 weeks

I don't like the Patriots and Brady more than Claude doesn't Like DISH.

 

[The Fat Man]

Notice that's the new thing now on NFL games, where they talk about the officiating team and how many penalties they typically call of various infractions?

I admit, officiating sucks. Has for a long time. However, I don't think they favor any particular team. I just think that just like Yankee haters have to have a sinister reason why the Yankees win, the same holds true for Patriots haters. The whole garbage with "refs helped the Patriots win the AFC Championship" last year was bullcrap. Now, the Saints were screwed by an awful call. But, I don't think it was a ploy to help the Rams win. I think it was just bad officiating.

 

[Chuck Summers]

We here in the Midwest chuckle at how the national press talk and drool on their selves over the Yankees and Red Sox. while the Cardinals out draw both of them in attendance this year finishing second only to the Dodgers whose fans are gone by the 6th inning. I remember on ESPN the day after the cards won the series in 2011 all they talked about was what the Yankees were going to have do to get back to the series. Then saying later oh yeah Ithe cardinals won the series. Ok now what are the Red Sox gonna do. But its ok they don’t call St. Louis baseball heaven for nothing. Love the satellite guys

 

[Chuck Summers]

If we are going to talk about officiating, lets talk about MLB umpires. Balls and strikes? Every game there are probably 25 pitches that are called wrong. 3 inches outside the strike zone and you call it a strike. Almost down the middle of the plate and you call it a ball. I know its a difficult job, but they get paid thousands of dollars to get it right. Too many times i have seen a pitch 3 inches outside called a strike. Pitcher throws the next one at the same place, the poor hitter has to swing because it was just called a strike, particuarly if they have 2 strikes on them. I see no favortism in these calls, it just looks like they could get it right as as much as they get paid. As a fan, i like to see the hitters it, i don't tune in to see the umpire pump his fist in the air!

Maybe being a pitcher when I played makes me bias but I never feel bad for hitters. The strike zone has shrunk up to the size of a small roasting pan, the ball is juiced and the mound has beentooto low for years

 

[Chuck Summers]

Should be too low for years. Lol. The low mound in my opinion has caused all the arm injuries being about the Tommy John surgeries. Anyway whether ur for the hitter or the pitcher baseball is great because there’s no clock. It’s truly not over till it’s over said a fellow STL native who I was had been a Cardinal

 

[Tampa8]

And I'll pick it back up in about 48 weeks

kidding aside, as I said they over achieved this year. With injuries and a sub par pitching staff compared to others in the playoffs they did well. No shame in losing to the Astros.

I would be remiss however if I didn't point out against the odds the Red Sox did beat them last year to get to and win another World Series beating the Yankees along the way....

 

[The Fat Man]

We here in the Midwest chuckle at how the national press talk and drool on their selves over the Yankees and Red Sox. while the Cardinals out draw both of them in attendance this year finishing second only to the Dodgers whose fans are gone by the 6th inning. I remember on ESPN the day after the cards won the series in 2011 all they talked about was what the Yankees were going to have do to get back to the series. Then saying later oh yeah Ithe cardinals won the series. Ok now what are the Red Sox gonna do. But its ok they don’t call St. Louis baseball heaven for nothing. Love the satellite guys

The problem is the overall population of New York compared that of most other cities. To be honest, Boston historically gets brought along due to the long historic rivalries. The same will happen this year regardless if Houston or Washington wins.

 

[rvvaquero]

Am I the only one who got sick of seeing this photo?

My son sent me this one.