Middle fingers of yesteryear: John Franco

Posted on by
1

For some reason, I was absolutely sure John Franco had flipped off the Shea Stadium crowd at one point or another — or maybe on multiple occasions — but I can’t find any documentation of it online.

All I can dig up is this story about Franco straining a tendon in his middle finger. I’ll just assume that happened when he was really viciously showing someone the ol’ state bird of New York, as Kevin Nealon once put it.

“I got your blown save right here!”

Anyway, though without the Internet’s support I cannot be 100-percent sure that Johnny has ever actually employed the gesture, I don’t imagine he’d object to being classified as one of the city’s great all-time middle-finger guys. He is, after all, a quintessential New Yorker.

Would anyone be that surprised to be cut off by a Camaro on Staten Island, only to spot John Franco behind the wheel, flipping you off? I wouldn’t, and I wouldn’t even mind. John Franco’s earned that right. Lord knows I’ve given him the same treatment after some of those blown saves.

Great middle fingers caught on video

Posted on by
1

Note: The following videos are unsafe for work, if you somehow work someplace where you’d get fired for watching videos of people getting flipped off.

This is the greatest moment in math-teacher history. Every high-school math teacher secretly reveres Edward James Olmos:

Also, great Lou Diamond Phillips work in that scene. And in every scene. My buddy Scott’s email address is LouDiamondPhillips@ — well, I won’t say which because I don’t want him getting spammed, but it’s one of the major email providers. And I think it’s hilarious to consider Lou Diamond Phillips trying to register for email, and being like, “oh, what the f@#$?” and then having to sign up as LouDiamondPhillips2.

Here’s a great moment in sports-franchise owner history:

Rex Ryan eating a dolphin

Posted on by
2

I got no response from my PETA-baiting last week, so maybe this will help. This image comes courtesy of Pavan, and I believe it speaks for itself:

Note: TedQuarters does not officially endorse eating dolphins because I live in fear of the dolphin uprising.

Middle fingers of yesteryear: Jack McDowell

Posted on by
Reply

Former Cy Young Award winner and alternative rock guitarist Jack McDowell’s one year in Yankee pinstripes was marked by 15 wins, 157 strikeouts and one extended middle finger.

His was the disillusioned, Kurt Cobain variety of the gesture, the depressed grunge-rocker wildly and ineffectively firing back at a world he felt could never truly understand him.

But it was a cathartic middle finger, it turned out:

“That incident actually helped set things straight between me and the fans, to let people know where I was coming from. I truly believe that once all the BS was put aside and everybody was done trying to make more out of that than it was, that’s what came out of it.”

In 17 starts that season before giving fans the finger, McDowell went 7-6 with a 4.87 ERA. In 13 starts afterward, he went 8-4 with a 2.81 ERA.

Makes you wonder why the guy didn’t flip off fans a month or two earlier.

Much later, a band called The Baseball Project featuring R.E.M.’s Peter Buck wrote a song about McDowell called “The Yankee Flipper,” and confessed that part of McDowell’s frustration could have been due to a long night of drinking with members of the band.

Today, McDowell writes a blog about the White Sox for ChicagoNow.com.

Rex Ryan extends middle finger of awesomeness

Posted on by
5

So Rex Ryan gave the finger to a bunch of Dolphins fans yesterday at a MMA event outside Miami. This made the back cover of the Daily News, Post and Newsday, because we’re apparently supposed to be all broken up and sanctimonious about it.

What I don’t get is exactly which Jets fan that loves Rex Ryan will suddenly stop loving Rex Ryan because he flipped off some Dolphins fans. Look at that guy. Look at that finger. What a hero.

Rumors that he wasn’t trying to offend anyone but merely admiring how much his finger resembled a sausage are still unconfirmed.

Anyway, as a salute to Rex Ryan and his one-finger salute, and in tribute to me learning that it’s apparently cool to show unblurred pictures of people giving the finger in respectable news outlets like the New York Post, today all of the content on TedQuarters will focus on the middle finger.

For now, enjoy the Best of Rex, courtesy of our SNY.tv video crew. No middle fingers, sadly, but some pretty great moments regardless:

Items of note

Posted on by
4

Joel Sherman writes about phonetic phenom Jack Zduriencik, the one that got away in the Mets’ front office.

After reading just about the saddest scene imaginable in Joe Posnanski’s the Soul of Baseball, it’s really good to hear about Willie Mays smiling.

Apparently Pitt is heading to the Big 10. Should make the college hoops season a lot less difficult.

Johnny Damon sounds a little bit desperate.

Melvin Mora is joining the Rockies.

Weekend items of note

Posted on by
Reply

You’ll have to excuse the lack of posts this weekend. Usually I like to at least get one thing written, but I’m a bit busy with some other projects — most notably my ongoing attempt to smoke a 19-pound turkey — so here are some links to check out:

Anthony McCarron at the Daily News catches up with Mike Hessman, recent Met signee and the active Minor League home run leader. Good read.

Jane Jarvis, the Mets’ longtime organist, passed away this week. Barry Wittenstein wrote an awesome feature about her life a couple years ago.

The Mets signed Frank Catalanotto to a Minor League deal. Cool. His skills are clearly on the wane, but he’s always gotten on base at a reasonable clip, and he’s a nice hedge for Chris Carter as a lefty-hitting corner infielder/outfielder to stash in Triple-A.

Apparently cheerleaders also make the Pro Bowl.

Omar Minaya from last night’s Hot Stove

Posted on by
5

I’m getting vague word that someone on WFAN has criticized SNY.tv for not carrying the full Omar Minaya interview from last night’s Mets Hot Stove, apparently suggesting that we’re somehow protecting Minaya.

Because, you know, that’s exactly what we do here at SNY.tv.

Anyway, I’m not sure if that’s actually true because I haven’t been listening, but if it is, the person in question obviously isn’t privy to the details of this network’s cable affiliate agreements. But whatever. Here’s what we do have from last night’s show:

And Jerry Manuel:

So much genius in one take

Posted on by
9

Rainn Wilson, via Twitter, posted this list of the 20 greatest extended takes in movie history.

It made me think of the following clip from the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, which has got to be the greatest single take in sketch comedy history. It’s vaguely inappropriate and probably not for the easily-grossed-out, but it’s hilarious. Ian Roberts is awesome:

Ass Pennies – watch more funny videos

Items of note

Posted on by
9

It’s Mets for Me provides a pretty good counter to my John Smoltz argument. I’m really trying not to bring politics here, or to allow politics to get in the way of what I think would be a good baseball move, but this makes me want no part of Smoltz in New York.

Toby Wachter investigates the nature of the Mets’ brand.

“The Russians told us to soak our feet in buckets of vodka.”

I really, really hope Nick Markakis carries this beard into the season. That would make for such a hilarious and radical identity shift, from “pretty good young player on the Orioles” to “triumphant beard hero who puts Casey Blake to shame.”

I can’t find any evidence of it online, but I’m pretty sure when Cherokee Parks got tons and tons of tattoos, Timmy Hardaway said something along the lines of, “I guess he didn’t to just want be known as ‘bad’ anymore.”