Your “Second Verse – Same As The First!” Thursday Evening Open Thread

NFL News:

• In a harbinger of what this season might look like, Alex Smith’s agent is already talking about where he might end up next year.
  • “Alex is the present, and as good a football player as he is, he’s going to have opportunities whether it’s in Kansas City or someplace else.”

• The Seahawks are going to pay Justin Britt…$9 million a season?
  • They do know Russell is getting killed on the outside, right?
  • Well, what Russell wants, Russell gets I s’pose.

• Since they are never going to play in the Super Bowl, the Browns figure hosting the draft is a much-more attainable option. So, they have applied to host it in 2019 or 2020.
  • Laughably, they’ve added the Hall of Fame to the bid as a site in order to make “Cleveland” seem attractive.

• It’s getting ugly between the League & the NFLPA over the Ezekiel Elliott appeal.
  • The League is threatening the union over alleged “victim (“slut”) shaming” in advance of the appeal of Zeke’s suspension.
    • The NFLPA is threatening a slander & defamation suit over the allegations.
  • PFT, meanwhile, is trying to tie the Josh Brown domestic violence suspension into all this. Why?
    • The League originally suspended him six games, but reduced it prior to appeal based on “mitigating factors”.
    • Harold Henderson, the arbiter, also was the arbitrator during the Gordon appeal.

Now, last night, I previewed (quite well, mind you) the wrong game. So I rechecked the schedule on the nfl.com website. Have a gander at this:

They highlight the Bills – Eagles, yet if you squint, the actually-broadcast game will be the Bucs – Jags. So, some quality fan service by the folks at nfl.com.

Game preview: Bucs at Jags.

Oh man, is this shit sad. Both SB Nation sites read like first drafts of suicide notes.

Tampa’s issues are playing out on “Hard Knocks”, and while I refuse to shell out for HBO Canada – “HBO Canada: we call ourselves HBO, but don’t carry all of the programs. Canada!” – I can watch clips on nfl.com and Youtube, and boy is that awkward. Seeing Roberto Aguayo waiting to get axed was awful; it’s like knowing you’re going to get dumped by the best girl you’ll ever get, and dreading each ring of the phone. Their SBNation site – Bucs Nation – has the analysis from a “you poor bastard” perspective. But don’t fear, they also have analysis of how management has gotten them to this point, and how they have a star QB but nothing else to go with it. If an NFL website is all kicker all the time, that’s not good.

The Jags website – Big Cat Country – has clearly given up on the Blake Bortles experiment:

• 6 quarterback options to replace Blake Bortles
  • shockingly, their lead choice is Colin Kaepernick
• Doug Marrone on Blake Bortles: “Some good throws and some horsesh*t throws”
• Allen Robinson after Blake Bortles pass: “F***ing keep that s**t in bounds, bro!”

To sum up both teams, here’s video of a fight at their joint practice, courtesy Pewter Report:

Former #Buc Arrelius Benn getting into it with #Bucs LB Ardarius Glanton. Teams had to be separated. Third scuffle of the day. pic.twitter.com/wMhHilU37C

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) August 15, 2017

Otherwise, ESPN has you covered, since they’re broadcasting the game.

Tonight’s sports:

• Football:
  • NFL:
    • Bucs at Jags – 8:00PM | ESPN / TSN2
  • CFL:
    • Eskimos at Blue Bombers – 8:30PM | TSN
• Baseball:
  • Little League World Series:
    • Southwest vs. Great Lakes – 7:00PM | ESPN2
  • MLB:
    • Yankees at Mets – 7:00PM | Sportsnet

kd lang was excellent last night. Voice still has all the power. I recommend all Canadians take a ladyfriend to the show, as she will thank you for it. Plus, you might get an added attraction we got – DRUNKEN LESBIAN BRAWL!