Jon Gruden probably would want to walk these takes back.
The 2021 NFL Draft kicks off tonight in Cleveland, where 50,000 fans are expected to take in the festivities and bring us all a much-needed sense of normality.
Before we get ready for tonight’s draft, though, we need to see why Johnny Manziel has been trending this morning on Twitter. Johnny Football, if you remember, was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 22nd pick in the first round of the 2014 draft.
But if it had been up to Jon Gruden, who was then an analyst with ESPN, Manziel would have gone a lot sooner than that.
Check out this old clip of Gruden absolutely singing the praises of Manziel and how he’d buy two tickets to a Texans game if Houston selected him.
Compilation of Jon Gruden pushing hard for Johnny Manziel during the whole 2014 first round. pic.twitter.com/fkLxY15M0z
Let’s stop worrying about the supplier and just admit that Dodger Dogs are always great.
It is a busy time for sports fans. We have the NFL draft and the Kentucky Derby on the horizon. But the biggest news, for me, is about Dodger Dogs.
Nothing feels more notable than the fact that the hot dog supplier at Chavez Ravine is changing for the first time since 1972. Farmer John, a meatpacking plant in Los Angeles, is no longer the supplier for this iconic ballpark food at Dodger Stadium.
Smithfield Foods, the parent company of Farmer John, told theLos Angeles Times that their contract with the club was not renewed after the 2019 season. Due to COVID-19, no fans were permitted at the stadium in 2020 — a season in which the Dodgers won their first World Series since 1988.
The meatpacking plant, meanwhile, was reportedly hit with upwards of $58,000 in fines given for safety violations that exposed more than 300 workers to the coronavirus.
The two parties were unable to reach an agreement for the 2021 campaign.
According to hot-dog.org, which is my new web browser home page, Dodger Stadium sells 2.7 million hot dogs per season — the most of any ballpark in the United States.
In fact, according to a 2019 report from the trade association National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, L.A. actually consumes 30 million pounds of hot dogs per year, which is more than any other city. Street hot dogs wrapped in bacon compose a large share of that, assuredly.
The late Farmer John Dodger Dog, typically served grilled at the stadium, was also available at some supermarkets around Southern California as well as convenience stores. Due to trademark issues, those have also since been discontinued.
By all accounts, Dodger Dogs were a national treasure. How many other specific stadium food items were used as an insult in the cult classic film The Sandlot (1993)? No one could hear legendary baseball announcer Vin Scully talk about this delicacy without wanting one of their own…immediately.
Los Angelinos take pride in their hot dog and since moving to New York, I’ve gotten into serious debates about whether the Dodger Dog was superior to the classic Nathan’s dog sold at Citi Field.
Full disclosure: I typically argue in favor of Nathan’s because they’re a lot smaller and thus I can eat more without getting full, and that makes many of my friends very upset.
Farmer John’s will no longer be making Dodger Dogs. A difficult day for Dodgers fans, who will be forced to recognize that Dodger Dogs are exactly the same as all other hot dogs and it is weird that people in LA talk about them like they are made of beluga caviar or something.
But I grew up in Los Angeles and have stored countless memories of myself enjoying Dodger Dogs.
The ketchup and the mustard and the onions blend together as vibrantly as the picturesque orange, pink and violet sky I am eating beneath in this imaginary scenario. At least, that is how it looks in this messy montage that I have created in my head that surely ends with a new stain on my shirt.
Maybe I remember the Dodger Dog a bit more fondly than ever before considering that it has been more than eighteen months since my last baseball game, which is by far the longest stretch without live baseball in my life.
(As you have probably picked up on by now, I was obsessed with hot dogs when I was a child and still have a not-so-small soft spot for them even now. I’ve had everything from what is available under the heating lamp at 7/11 to a more extraordinary bratwurst and I’ve loved it all.)
(Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Time does march on, though. After “an elaborate process“, the Dodgers have already reportedly found a new hot dog supplier in Papa Cantella’s, per CBSLA, and are using a recipe designed to taste like the old frankfurters. Some who have tasted it already have disagreed.
I hope they continue to have more adventurous offerings, like the Mexican-cuisine option that featured an al pastor sausage topped with pineapple salsa and cilantro lime crema.
But no matter which direction they decide to go with the New Dodger Dog, they have a customer whenever I am back in Los Angeles. So cheers to the Farmer John Dodger Dog, which lived a long life, and welcome to the Dodger Dog 2.0.
The New York Islanders are on the road Tuesday night to face the Washington Capitals from Capital One Arena.
The New York Islanders are on the road Tuesday night to face the Washington Capitals from Capital One Arena.
The Islanders are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Capitals on Saturday, they’ll look for some revenge tonight as they take the ice in a rematch of Saturday’s game. Meanwhile, the Capitals have been cruising along this season and are sitting at 31-13-4 on the season as they gear up for the playoffs.
This should be a fantastic matchup so make sure you tune in, here is everything you need to know to stream the NHL action tonight.
NHL odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds last updated Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
New York Islanders (-115) vs. Washington Capitals (+100)
O/U: 5.5
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Odds are that if you’re a millennial or Gen X sports fan, you have a vague memory of Slam Ball broadcasts on Spike TV in the early 2000s.
Slam Ball was a bonkers hybrid between basketball, football and hockey. It was a full contact sport that was played on a court behind glass. Basically, teams played basketball on trampolines but were able to hit opposing players like you’d see in hockey and football. It was nuts.
To an extent, Slam Ball still exists in China, but it hasn’t graced U.S. television broadcasts since 2008. So, when a highlight video of the absolutely wild game hit Twitter, sports fans were calling for Slam Ball’s return.
Not gonna lie, if Florentino Perez's next move is to say the European Super League is going full Slam Ball, replete with totally trampolined penalty areas… Well, we'd definitely hear him out. pic.twitter.com/P8T5qdCkQO
I remember seeing 1 game when I was a kid and loved it. Then after that I never saw another or heard about slam ball again. They need to bring this back https://t.co/KxjpDS59TV
The Knicks have a star on their hands in Julius Randle, and the home crowd at MSG let him hear it.
New York Knicks power forward Julius Randle has been performing at a different level over the last few games, and his performance had the crowd at Madison Square Garden singing his praises.
Randle received MVP chants from the home crowd during the third quarter of Saturday’s game against the Toronto Raptors following an impressive first-half outing.
There’s no denying how important Randle is to the success of his team and what he’s been able to accomplish with the Knicks this season, which has many people echoing the sentiment from Madison Square Garden.
It’s not hard to see why Randle elicited that reaction following a dominant first-half performance that reminded everyone why he’s one of the game’s best power forwards and players, period.
In the first half, Randle scored 20 points, including hitting four 3-pointers, and had six rebounds. But his first quarter was even better, as he scored 13 points and connected on three 3-pointers.
Randle finished the game with 31 points, 10 rebounds and five 3-pointers in the 120-103 victory over the Raptors, which was the Knicks’ ninth straight win. Randle became the first player in Knicks history to average at least 30 points per game, nine rebounds per game and six assists per game over any nine-game span.
Now whether Randle deserves to be in the MVP conversation depends on who you’re talking to. Twitter had their thoughts about whether Randle should be in the running for MVP.
i know he won't win or even finish top-5 in voting (and rightfully so), but there needs to be more julius randle for mvp talk. he's absolutely had that kind of impact for the knicks this season.
— hitachi magic wandavision (@evianwordflu) April 24, 2021
Julius Randle is a legit MVP candidate playing for the Knicks…. that’s just weird to me. https://t.co/hMPvHDJxMH
People need to take notice of what’s going on at MSG and the Knickerbockers. Relevant in the best way possible. Makes the league better. Julius Randle is on some Mamba steez. Not quite MVP (yet), but finally a star in NY.
