The LoudMouth Fans

Worse than Irrelevant...

2009-04-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

Ryan Succop will forever be known as "Mr. Irrelevant". The final guy picked in the 2009 NFL Draft is a kicker from South Carolina. When his name was called, fans mockingly cheered and ESPN reporters joked as the kicker's highlight reel was played.

Traditionally, the last guy picked never makes it onto the team roster. But this one could be different. Kickers are replaced quickly these days. And Succop will be competing for a job against Conner Barth. At least Succop HAS a highlight reel to be shown.

And compared to some of the other picks made in this year's draft, its really not such a bad call. The Chiefs adressed one of their many needs, although pretty much any position is considered a need for them at this point. And its safe to assume that thier kicker will be getting a lot of playing time in the upcoming season. Odds are they will scoring the bulk of thier points three at a time, rather than 6 at a time.

Ryan Succop can at least say he was drafted by an NFL team. Thats a lot more than we can say about high profile quarterbacks Grahm Harrel and John Parker Wilson. Those guys were the darlings of the NCAA last season. They were in the Heisman hunt until the very end. And this weekend, their names were never called. Thats what I call "Irrelevant."

Global Castration...

2008-10-06T22:32:00.000-07:00

If a puck drops on the ice in London, does anybody care? Not in the United States. The NHL opened its season with a couple of games in Europe, and nobody noticed. Few Americans are even aware that the NHL season has started at all.

ESPN said little about the opening games. SportsCenter does view hockey as a sport worthy of its valuable airtime. It would simply be inefficient for them to bother collecting game footage and making a few oversimplified comments while the tape ran for 14 seconds.

The American public lost its taste for the NHL when Gretzky retired. Since then, there has been little attention paid to the sport of hockey. With the exception of the occasional Sidney Crosby sighting, the only time we even hear it mentioned these days is when a player seriously injures someone during a game, or during the Winter Olympics. Other than that, we never hear anyone speak about the sport.

Since the passing of the NHL's glory days, what did the American people find to fill its sports void? Celebrity Dancing.

How pathetic can one nation be? We have abandoned one of the fastes,toughest, most physical, and most violent sports ever played, and replaced with with a modern version of Dance Fever. The public TRIES to convince itself that this is a sport by placing actual athelets on the show each year. Jerry Rice, Emmit Smith, Jason Taylor, Helio Castroneves, and now Warren Sapp all agreed to participate in this fiasco. Sure, it helped their Public Recognition ranking and made them each a bit more marketable as spokesmen. But it certainly did nothing to solidfy our fond memories of thier great carreers.

An entire generation of kids will grow up remembering Jerry Rice as 'that dude who won Dancing with the Stars,' rather than remebering him as the single greatest wide reciever of all time.

Even worse, some of these kids will dream of someday being just like him... holding the championship disco-ball trophy high above thier heads.

Pretenders to the Throne

2008-05-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

The LA Lakers have eliminated the San Antonio Spurs from the NBA Playoffs. The defending champs really never stood a chance. The Spurs should feel forutunate the series went five games and was not a complete sweep by the Lakers.

This really should come as no suprise. Many observers point to the overall age of the Spurs team. Their age might be the cause of the team's woes at the moment, but its not because the physical abilities of the players has diminished significantly. Almost every team owner would readily admit to having Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili on the 'Must-have/Wish List'. The Spurs have locked up the trio for another two years. They can all still play at the highest level of the game.

The problem with the Spurs is that they have lost the Fire and the Passion for the game. After four championships in the past decade, what more is left for them to achieve? They were expected to reach the Western Conference Finals, and they did. Nobody doubted they would be a dominant team all season. The Spurs roster is simply loaded with talent and experience.

But you can see the problem when you looked into the faces of the Spurs players during the past few games. They looked tired and fatigued. Tim Duncan looked half asleep during last nights game. They halfheartedly attempted to dispute calls by the ref. They were hesitant under the rim and slow to race backcourt in the transition game. They just looked like they really did not care anymore. They certainly did not look like champions.

The Lakers are the polar opposite of the Spurs right now. They are young and inexperienced, with the exception of Kobe Bryant and Derrik Fisher. Both players stepped up and acted as true leaders throughout the series. The younger guys were excited to be deep in the playoffs, and their enthusiasm showed on the court. They had more energy. The guys on the bench spent more time on their feet in support of thier teammates. The team's hunger was undeniable.

The Lakers motivation dates back to the past offseason. We all know about the drama surrounding Kobe and his attempt to leave the team. We all know about the battle to aquire quality players to support Kobe. We all know about the injury to Bynum and the questions surrounding potential chemistry between Gasol and the rest of the team. And we all know about Kobe's desire to prove he can win without Shaq on the team.

The Lakers are now Kobe's team. There is no doubt about that. The MVP trophy was well deserved. He took the team from the bring of disaster to the NBA Finals. Now we just have to see if they can pull off the biggest win of them all.

Red Rocket!

2008-04-29T16:22:00.000-07:00

Roger Clemens has given new life to the phrase "Red Rocket." The late night talk shows will have a blast with this joke the next several weeks. He has done himself no favors with the recent allegations of an affair with an underage girl (who just happened to grow up to become a famous country singer.)

Barricaded behind tightly drawn blinds at her Nashville home Monday, country singer Mindy McCready confirmed a long-term affair with embattled pitcher Roger Clemens. "I cannot refute anything in the story," a tearful but resolute McCready told the Daily News, which broke the story at midnight Sunday. After the teenage McCready met Clemens at a Fort Myers bar called The Hired Hand, she returned with the Rocket to his hotel room, but there was no sex that night, sources told The News. It wasn't until later, after McCready had moved to Nashville and become a country singing star, that the relationship turned intimate.

This could not have come at a worse time for Clemens. Many people question his value as a pitcher these days. The steroid allegations swirling around him are still a hot topic of debate among sports fans and within the halls of Congress. He potentially faces Federal Perjury charges if it can ever be proven that he lied about using performance enhancing drugs. And now he has to deal with being labeled as an adulterer and a predator. He could be slapped with Statutory Rape charges or worse. He may soon be fighting for his freedom on multiple fronts.

Its sad to see just how fast and how far a star can fall. Not too long ago, Clemens was one of the most beloved players in the game. He was an idol to millions of young boys around the nation. Now he is quickly becoming a pariah.

Public disdain and prison might be the least of his problems. Clemens may soon regret all the HGH he 'Allegedly' gave his wife. We have all seen the photos. She looks pretty comfortable with a baseball bat in her hands. As news of his affair comes out, she would seem fully justified in hitting a couple balls out of the yard.

Money For Nothing....

2008-04-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

Former New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas has been banned from having any contact with members of the team as part of his reassignment agreement with team president Donnie Walsh, the New York Daily News reported, citing a team source.

Walsh, who replaced Thomas as the Knicks' president, fired him as coach last week after Thomas went 56-108 leading the team, including this season's 23-59 disaster, the franchise's seventh straight losing season. He has been reassigned as an advisor to the team.

According to the report, there is concern that Thomas, if allowed to have any contact with the team, could either willingly or unwillingly undermine its new coach. Thomas acquired all the players on the current Knicks roster as team president.

The exact nature of Isiah's advisor role has not been described yet. Considering the 56-108 record he led the team to, it seems he is only qualified to teach them how to aquire overpaid underachievers. He is not allowed to have any communication with the players, so perhaps he will be prevented from tainting them with bad advice.

Presumably the gag order is in place to prevent Isiah from conspiring with players to undermine the new administration. Do the Knicks really think a player will show that sort of loyalty for a guy who led the team to total disaster? How can any player in the NBA feel that Thomas is a positive influence on a team? The numbers don't lie... Isiah Thomas might have been a great player, but he is a disaster in the front office and at courtside.

The bigger question is this: Why not just remove him outright from the organization? What good comes from keeping him around right now? There must be some form of extortion or blackmail going on. There is simply no other reason to keep him on the payroll.

Right now Thomas has the greatest job in the world. He is getting paid an insane amount of money to do nothing. All he has to do is keep his mouth shut and stay away from the team. The Knicks could have saved themselves a lot of heartache if they had simply given him this deal the first day he arrived in New York.

One-Man Crime Wave

2008-04-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

The Cincinnati Bengals, deciding they have had enough of wide receiver Chris Henry's run-ins with the law, released him on Thursday, hours after he surrendered to police to face assault and criminal damaging charges.

Henry, 24, was being held in the Hamilton County jail, pending a court appearance Thursday, after being charged with misdemeanor assault and criminal damaging. He is accused of punching an 18-year-old man in the face and breaking a window in the man's car. A warrant for Henry's arrest was issued Wednesday and he surrendered, a police spokesman said.

Municipal Court Judge Bernie Bouchard set bond at $51,000 on charges of misdemeanor assault and criminal damaging. Noting Henry's previous arrests involving drugs, guns and alcohol, the judge called Henry "a one-man crime wave." He ordered electronic monitoring if Henry makes bail.

"Chris Henry has forfeited his opportunity to pursue a career with the Bengals. His conduct can no longer be tolerated," Bengals president Mike Brown said in a statement.

Henry, arrested five times since December 2005, was suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for the first half of last season for repeatedly violating the league's conduct policy.

The team really had little choice in the matter. Its highly likely that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will suspend Henry for the entire season, regardless of the results of any legal proceedings. The NFL hands down its own guilty sentences with little regard to what the actual US Legal System says... just ask Pacman Jones about that.

The Bengals were facing the possibility of once again taking a hit on their salary cap while Henry remained unavailable to play for them. The money could be better spent on players who are not going to be serving a suspension.

Cincinnati fans are now left with Two Amigos, rather than three. Chad and TJ are will certainly face tighter coverage without the threat of Henry on the field. And their workload will certainly increase. Unless the team can bring in another superstar receiver, the offensive firepower will be diminished greatly.

Its a shame that the team and the NFL seek action against a player before all the facts are known. While its no secret that Henry has established a pattern of off-field problems, we still do not know all the facts in this particular case. There are two sides to every story, and thus far we have only heard from the accuser.

Bengals fans were really excited about the upcoming season. They really felt that this would be the year they reached the playoffs again. Now the fans are once again reduced to watching their team tear itself apart from the inside, and left wondering just how it can get any worse.

Big Bubbles Blow

2008-03-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

We go thru this every year at this time, but for some reason the whole issue of 'bubble teams' seems to loom larger than ever in anticipation of the NCAA Basketball tournament. A handfull of big-name schools are in danger of being left out of the field of 64 TEAMS.

I think everyone needs to stop and think about what I just said. If you are not sure if your team will make the cut and be ranked in the top sixty-four teams in the nation, then that team probobly does not deserve to be competing for a national championship. The whole point to the tourney is to crown the best team in college basketball. Its not supposed to be about ensuring the big-name programs are included in order to generate larger profits. It supposed to be about the very best teams competing for bragging rights and a place in sports history.

Sure, we seem to have a 'Cinderella' team every year in the tournament. But that team seldom wins it all, and usually has a crappy follow-up season. Because the whole 'Cinderella' phenomenon can be better described as a FLUKE.

Right now, fans of Kentuky, Florida, and Maryland are nervous because thier teams might not make the cut. These same fans also point out that thier teams play tough schedules, and ANYTHING can happen once the brackets are set and play begins. I will agree that each of those teams would have a legitimate chance of winning some games once the tourney began. Considering the money they spend on thier programs, the publicity the schools receive which help with recruiting, there is simply no excuse for these teams to suck. But after having seen them play this season, its easy to understand why these teams might be left out.

We watch the tourney to see the true Cinderella teams.. the Villanova, the Layola Marymount, and the George Mason that comes out of nowhere and stuns the world. Small programs with little national recognition or public support. We dont watch in hopes of seeing a big program finally attempt to live up to expectations.

Flip of a Coin...

2008-02-22T12:59:00.000-08:00

Its time for the NFL to adopt a draft lottery. The current system rewards teams for poor performance, and punishes teams who try hard but still struggle.

Lets look at what transpired today as an example. The NFL had a problem on its hands with three teams tied for the #3 selection in the upcoming draft. The Falcons, Raiders, and Chiefs each finished at 4-12 and their opponents had an identical record, the first tiebreaker.

The NFL has a policy of handling this situation via a coinflip. The Falcons won, and will receive the #3 pick, the Raiders will get selection #4, and the Chiefs will get #5. While its easy to argue that this system treats teams with identical records equally, it hardly seems fair to me.

The Falcons were clearly the worst team of the bunch. There is no debating that fact. The team needs players at every major position, and they simply do not show any signs of improving much next season. I have on complaints about giving them the third pick in the draft. The team tried its best to compete this season, they just lacked the talent.

The Raiders hardly deserve the #4 spot. Yes, they suck. But its not because of lack of talent. The Raiders suck right now because they CHOOSE to play poorly. Lack of dedication, lack of commitment, lack of effort, and lack of support from coaches and management are what led to another dismal season in Oakland. They should not be rewarded with the #4 pick in the draft.

The Chiefs are a much better team than the Raiders right now, they just got a few bad breaks during the season. They could have easily won a couple more games, which would have lowered their draft position to about where it is now. But at least they tried to win. They never gave up, which is what football is all about. They should not be punished for trying and failing, just as the Raiders should not be rewarded for failing to try.

A draft lottery would solve this problem. Yeah, every year some team might get unlucky and end up with a lower draft slot than they deserve. But at least we would not be guaranteeing a victory via failure. The Miami Dolphins could have simply forfeited all of its road games and they still would have the same draft position right now. A lottery would have compelled them to try a bit harder after week 8.

The NBA has had a draft lottery for a while and its worked out pretty well. True, the team with the worst record rarely gets the #1 pick in the NBA draft, but that seems fair to me. A high draft pick is needed to rebuild a team and make them competitive again, but an automatic #1 pick is an incentive to lose.

The NBA has a draft lottery. The NHL used it after the lockout. Even the WWE has a draft lottery (yeah, I know its not legit... but I am making a point here.) Its time for the NFL to protect the competitive nature of the league and ensure 100% performance from its teams and players at all times.

Buzzer Beater

2008-02-21T14:13:00.000-08:00

The NBA has done it again. This year's trade deadline has produced another big-time deal that could have come from the pages of a Hollywood script. The biggest deal of year was announced just moments before the deadline passed, and the balance of power in the NBA has shifted once again.

The Lakers started it all when they grabbed Pau Gasol. The arms race started for real when the Phoenix Suns made the trade for Shaq. In terms of big names and marketing, thats about as big as they come. Then came the Jason Kidd Deal to the Mavericks, which took several attempts and dominated the sports-talk shows for a couple weeks before it was all finally completed. Most people agreed that the teams in the southwestern part of the country held all the power.

Then came today's last minute trade. The Cleveland Cavaliers have made a move that is certain to put a smile on the face of Lebron James. In response to thier inability to win during the NBA finals last season, and in an effort to silence the complaints from the leagues brightest star, Cleveland aquired two big-time players who can make a serious impact: Wally Szczerbiak and Ben Wallace.

The Cavaliers sent guard Larry Hughes, forwards Drew Gooden and Cedric Simmons, and guard Shannon Brown to Chicago for Wallace, one of the game's top inside enforcers, and forward Joe Smith. In other words, they gave up the majority of thier starting lineup. But they get a much better talent pool in exchange, and they will almost certainly improve thier playoff position by a slot or two. Right now the team sits in 4th place behind Boston, Detroit, and Orlando. This trade gives them a solid shot at moving up into the #3 or even the #2 spot before the season ends.

Chemistry is the big question now. Many wonder if a sharpshooter like Szczerbiak, a powerhouse like Wallace, and a susperstar like Lebron can mesh well enough to reach the NBA finals. Talented players find ways to win, and all three are proven winners. A talented team with little chemistry will always beat a team with chemistry and without talent. And Cleveland now has a ton of talent.

The scales have shifted. The power now lies in the East. Boston was the frontrunner all season, but they now have some serious competition. And the West needs to be very concerned, because there is no guarentee that they championship will land with one of thier teams this year.

Endangered Species

2008-02-12T11:09:00.000-08:00

The slaughter continues in Miami. Eight players landed on the Tuna's chopping block as the team prepares for the NFL draft in its efforts to turn around its recent dismal past.

Quarterback Trent Green was the biggest name to go. The decision was a no-brainer, considering Green has few brain cells remaining after the many sever concussions he has suffered in recent seasons. The last thing anyone wants to see is an image of Green being taken off the field again on a stretcher. Green will move on with his life and will make a great QB coach for some up-and-coming young players. Green's agent says Trent will meet with Bill Parcells to try and find a way to extend his carreer with the team, but I just do not see him continuing as a player.

Wide reciever Marty Booker was also cut. He has always been an underachiever who occasionally manages to come up with a big play. Booker is a decent #2 or 3 reciever, but is not enough to carry a team on his own. He is good enough to draw coverage away from a #1 reciever, but cannot fill that role himself. Booker and he Dolphins could have benifitted from a guy like Chris Chambers (who was traded by the team to San Diego last season.) Without a supporting cast of more talented recievers and a healthy QB who can get the ball to him, Booker was a waste of money. He will land in a new home soon and will produce much better numbers.

Other notable cuts by the Dolphins included tackle L.J. Shelton and massive defensive tackle Keith Traylor, both of whom were starters. Miami also waived tackle Anthony Alabi, defensive tackle Anthony Bryant, tackle Marion Dukes, defensive tackle Marquay Love and tackle Joe Toledo.

The message here is clear. Bill Parcells is cutting the dead weight and the underachievers. Players will no longer collect a paycheck based upon what they did in the past. Expect more cuts to come, and some very big names may be on that list.

It should be fun to see what Miami does on draft day. The smart bet is for the team to trade thier #1 pick for a boatload of talented, cost-efficient players to fill key positions. But most teams prefer to grab a high profile, big-name superstar to fill the seats in the stadium.

NCAA Playoffs vs Corporate Money

2008-02-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

The Georgia House voted 151-9 Friday in favor of a resolution urging the NCAA to create a playoff system for college football.

"The only major sporting event without a playoff system to identify its true champion that I know of is NCAA Division 1 football," said state Rep. Quincy Murphy, D-Augusta

"The only sensible way to determine a national champion in any sport is to develop a playoff system that allows teams to meet on the field," the resolution reads. "The fans of college football deserve a true national champion to be crowned after winning the title on the field of play and not in a popularity poll."

"When you think about the economic impact of collegiate sports, we're talking about multimillion dollars," said state Rep. Joe Wilkinson, a Sandy Springs Republican. "And from that standpoint, it's worth 10 minutes."

Georgia was ranked fourth in the BCS entering the last week of the season, behind Missouri, West Virginia and Ohio State. When Missouri and West Virginia lost, Georgia did not rise to second behind Ohio State but dropped to fifth in the BCS. Southeastern Conference champion LSU vaulted from seventh to second.

The Bulldogs went on to rout previously undefeated Hawaii 41-10 in the Sugar Bowl.

It seems that the only time people complain about the BCS system is when THIER team is the one getting screwed. Hawaii fans claimed thier undefeated team deserved a shot at the national championhip, but the team got crushed the first time they played an opponant with any talent.

LSU jumped high in the rankings the final week because they played in the SEC championship game, thus giving them a one-game advantage over some other schools. USC had one less victory than LSU, but the same number of losses.. because the Pac10 does not have an additional conferance championship game. Perhaps USC could level the playing field by simply beating the crap out of the winner of the WAC prior to the start of Bowl Season.

A playoff system will never happen in NCAA Football. Sure it would generate a ton of cash for the schools involved, but many schools would suddenly lose out on a lot of revenue.

Sponsors do not want a playoff system. A playoff system would de-value many bowl games by highlighting the insignificance of the game. The five games in the BCS series all claim to be the biggest game of the year. A playoff system would create a single undisputed championship game each year, and would thus instantly make it a much more expensive promotional opportunity for sponsors.

We already have far too many bowl games which are struggling to find sponsors. Some bowl games seem to have a new sponsor each year, thus changing the name of the game and further confusing the public.

A playoff system would also result in additional games for the students... and we must keep in mind that we are talking about College Students here, not professional athletes. Tha vast majority of them will move on to carreers in other fields (as the NCAA likes to remind us with its public service announcments during televised games.) These students already spend enough time away from campus and many struggle to keep current on assignments and class carriculum. More games.. even one or two more for a few schools.. could hinder the academic studies of the players.

Even with a playoff system, some schools would still gripe about being left out. Would we allow only conferance winners? Which conferances would be represented? What about the winner of DIV I? Appalatian St has 3 straight national championships... that should certainly recieve some consideration. And just how would bracket and seeding be determined? And wha venues would host each game? There are just too many topics for debate.

The NCAA will never have a full playoff system in football because it would not leave the NCAA much room to manipulate the matchups. Right now, they have the ability to create bowl matchups for the CS series that they feel would be the most compelling and will generate the most revenue. I am convinved that if the BCS championship game was not held in New Orleans this year, LSU would not have played in the game. We would have seen Ohio St choke against Georgia, USC, or Oklahoma. But the NCAA is wise enough to know that LSU playing for a championship on its own turf would generate more money than any other scenario at the moment. LSU won convincingly, and I congratulate them on thier championship. We cannot blame the players for the flaws in the system. If other teams wanted in the game, they should have won more games during the season or played tougher schedules.

The E-Lie Debate

2008-01-22T13:34:00.000-08:00

Eli Manning will play in the Superbowl this year. Hell has frozen over it seems. Somehow the Giants managed to survive the playoffs despite multiple underwhelming performances.

Rumors of a pending historic upset are swirling in Vegas. Addicted gamblers are selling thier cars to place thier money on Eli Manning. The word Underdog exists for a reason. And Miracles do happen in sports (the US beat Russia in hockey way back in 1980, the famous 'Miracle on Ice.')

A Giants letdown has happened before. The Giants managed to sneak into Superhbowl XXXV (thats #35, for those of us educated in public schools.) The end result was a 34-7 victory for the Ravens, despite having Trent Dilfer at QB. (For the record, Dilfer was 12-25 in that game, with a 36 yard touchdown pass. Ray Lewis was the game MVP, and the GIants returned home completely humiliated.)

Kerry Collins finished Superbowl XXXV with 112 yards, was 15 for 39 passing on the day, and threw four interceptions. The lone Giants touchdown came on a kickoff return by Ron Dixon (the Ravens' Jermaine Lewis scored on the following kickoff, thus ending the Giants' celebration.) Surely Eli Manning will find a way to put up better numbers then his predecesor?

Last year, Eli's brother Payton won the Superbowl by going 25-38 with 247 yards and one TD against a very talented Bears Defense. New York fans are praying that there is still some magic left in the Manning Magic Lamp.

For the past 3 seasons, critics have questioned Eli's ability, his intellect, his talent,the depth of the family gene pool, and his manhood. But he got to the Superbowl in less than half the time it took Payton. And nobody ever doubted the abilities of the older brother. But nobody is giving Eli much of a chance in this game.

The sad truth of the matter is that the Giants must play the Patriots. And New England has been literally unstoppable this season. The Giants failed to defeat the Patriots last month in their season finale, and the Patriots will be playing for much more than just a perfect season this time. They will be playing for another Lombardi trophy, the greatest prize in all of sports.

Eli is prone to mistakes during a game. And in this game, one mistake will mean disaster. After this game is over, Eli Manning will be forever known as the biggest disaster in Superbowl history, or the greatest overachiecer ever.
Sometimes the Underdog wins. Nobody predicted Buster Douglas would knock out Mike Tyson in Japan, but it happened. But Eli is no Buster Douglas. We will not see any parades in New York in February.

The Death of Edmund Hillary

2008-01-11T11:06:00.001-08:00

Sir Edmund Hillary, the unassuming beekeeper who conquered Mount Everest to win renown as one of the 20th century's greatest adventurers, died Friday. He was 88.

He only admitted being the first man atop Everest long after the death of Nepal native and mountain guide Tenzing Norgay, who completed the journey with Hillary.

He wrote of the pair's final steps to the top of the world: "Another few weary steps and there was nothing above us but the sky. There was no false cornice, no final pinnacle. We were standing together on the summit. There was enough space for about six people. We had conquered Everest.

"Awe, wonder, humility, pride, exaltation -- these surely ought to be the confused emotions of the first men to stand on the highest peak on Earth, after so many others had failed," Hillary noted.

"I removed my oxygen mask to take some pictures. It wasn't enough just to get to the top. We had to get back with the evidence. Fifteen minutes later we began the descent."

Then, upon arriving back at base camp, he took an irreverent view: "We knocked the bastard off."

In many ways, we can consider Edmund Hillary an early inspiration for the antics frequently seen on Jackass. He risked his life, and the lives of others, to accomplish a deadly stunt just for the sake of claiming he had done it. Everybody knew there was nothing to be found at the top of the mountain, yet he still went there regardless of the risk.

Edmund Hillary achieved fame for completing a task so utterly useless and dangerous that nobody else has been able or willing to do it prior. Sounds a lot like what the guys on Jackass do all the time. We watch the show and wonder just what compelled those clowns to do something so stupid, but its not much different than what Hillary did in his day. The only real difference is that there are few reachable frontiers remaining for people like Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville to explore, so their adventures typically become the physical sort.

Edmund Hillary climbed the most dangerous mountain in the world just because it was there. He was a true inspiration to children everywhere, encouraging kids to do really stupid things simply to prove that it was indeed possible.

Hawaii Asked For It...

2008-01-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

The University of Hawaii football team demanded respect from the rest of the NCAA. They demanded to be placed in a major bowl game. Thier fans and supporters continually shouted about thier unedefeated season and the staggering records thier quarterback had set this season. They said they could compete with any team in the nation and wanted a chance to show the world that they could compete for a national championship.

I've said it before... Watch what you wish for.

Hawaii got thier shot. They were put on display in front of the entire world in the Sugar Bowl last night. They faced the #4 or 5 (depending on which poll you follow) ranked Georga Bulldogs. And Hawaii got the living crap kicked out of them.

The Georgia defense spent so much time behind the Hawaii line of scrimmage that they should have been paying rent. Colt Brennan spent more time on his ass then he spent on his feet. And the Georgia offense ran wild all night long.

The score was Hawaii 10, Georgia 41. It could have been much worse.

Hawaii was never in the game at any point. They never put up any sort of competitive fight. They showed nothing to indicate that they deserved to be playing in the Sugar Bowl.

This should be a lesson to the BCS, the fans, and teams of the minor conferances like the WAC. An undefeated season is meaningless is you never play any tough games. Hawaii's schedule is a joke, and the WAC is not desercing of BCS consideration. Last year's Boise St. victory over Oklahoma was a fluke and this proved it.

Maybe if Hawaii had played a tougher schedule, they might just have realized they were not very solid in some portions of thier game, thus saving themselves a great deal of embarassment. They gained nothing from this game. Thier performance will not help thier recruiting. They did nothing to promote the strength of thier conferance. They certainly did nothing to improve the draft expectations of Colt Brennan. And they did not exactly leave thier players and fans with a happy experience leading into next season.

They wanted to play with the big boys, and they got crushed. It could be a devastating blow to recruiting, and very demoralizing to the players who remain. Was it really worth it?

UPDATE: It seems that Hawaii coach Junes Jones might be escaping back to the mainland. SMU will pursue Hawaii coach Junes Jones and is prepared to pay between $1.5-1.7 million per year to lure him to the Conference USA school, according to two people familiar with SMU's strategy.

For the record, SMU stands for Southern Methodist University.

A Christmas Gift from the NFL

2007-12-26T15:33:00.001-08:00

Its seems the NFL has had a change of heart, and in true Dickens fasion they have agreed to make the upcoming Patriots/Giants game available to everyone.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New England Patriots' shot at history Saturday night will be available to every television viewer in the country after months of wrangling.

Their game against the New York Giants, in which the Patriots could become the first NFL team to go 16-0 in the regular season, was originally scheduled to be shown only on the NFL Network. Fewer than 40 percent of the nation's homes with TVs receive the channel.

The league announced Wednesday that the NFL Network feed will be simulcast on NBC and CBS. It's a major concession by league officials, who repeatedly said they would not show the game anywhere but the NFL Network. The NFL had faced mounting pressure from lawmakers in recent weeks to make the game available to more viewers.

Local TV affiliates in the Boston, Manchester, N.H., and New York areas who were already set to simulcast the game under NFL policy will still air it.

The NFL has feuded with major cable companies, who have declined to carry the network as part of basic packages.

"We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans," commissioner Roger Goodell said. "What we have seen for the past year is a very strong consumer demand for NFL Network. We appreciate CBS and NBC delivering the NFL Network telecast on Saturday night to the broad audience that deserves to see this potentially historic game. Our commitment to the NFL Network is stronger than ever."

This will be the first three-network simulcast in NFL history and the first simulcast of any kind of an NFL game since the first Super Bowl in 1967, when CBS and NBC both televised the first meeting of the champions of the newly merged National Football League and American Football League.

This was the only smart decision the league could have made under the circumstances. They have contiunally emphasized the significance of this event, so its only right that they allow everyone to experience it.

Merry Christams.. You're Fired!

2007-12-25T03:15:00.000-08:00

Chicago Bulls head coach Scott Skiles was fired on Christmas Eve. Thats pretty cold, if you as me. I have just lost a lot of respect for the entire Bulls organization.

Skiles might not have been the greatest coach in the team's history, but he certainly was not the worst. Over the span of five seasons with the Bulls, he compiled a record of 165-172 (.490), and guided the team to the playoffs three consecutive years, highlighted by a first-round series sweep of the defending NBA Champion Miami Heat in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. In eight-plus seasons as a head coach in the NBA, Skiles owns a career coaching record of 281-251 (.528).

The Bulls are currently 9-16. We are only 1/4 of the way through the season. Its certainly not time to hit the panic button in Chicago. Their schedule has upcoming games against Milaukee, New York, Sacramento, Orlando, Memphis, Charlotte, and Golden State. Those are all games the Bulls can win. If the team can manage to pull off a few victories against the Spurs, Detroit, or the 76ers, they will be in great shape.

I am not complaining that they fired Skiles. I did not think it was really needed, but these things happen. But I am going to complain about the timing of the announcement. Did they really need to fire him on Christmas Eve? Couldn't they have waited a couple days?

Here is the million dollar question: Why was Skiles fired for being 9-16 right now, but Isiah Thomas is keeping his job at 8-19 with fans protesting in the streets? It just makes no sense. Firing Isiah would have seemed like a Christmas Miracle for the people of New York.

The MSG Mystery

2007-12-23T07:02:00.000-08:00

Ryan Parker continues to put together great musical sports satires. This time he simply asks what many in New York have been wondering for a long time...

Please visit RyanParkerSongs.com and check out all his great sports satire videos. The guy is really talented and he knows his sports!

Flyers Too Physical for NHL?

2007-12-03T13:31:00.000-08:00

The Flyers' latest on-ice incident was apparently the tipping point for the NHL.
According to multiple reports out of Philadelphia, the NHL on Monday suspended Flyers winger Riley Cote three games and also warned the team about future altercations.

"I talked to [NHL commissioner Gary Bettman] today," Flyers GM Paul Holmgren was quoted as saying in the Philadelphia Daily News. "He thinks, like I do, that these are different coincidences, different situations, that have to be viewed differently, but the question was raised about ramifications if it happens again. So, obviously, we're under watch."

This is the fifth Flyers player to be suspended dating back to the preseason. The latest incident came Saturday night, when Cote gave elbow to the head of Stars rookie defenseman Matt Niskanen with just 2:14 left in regulation time of a 4-1 loss to visiting Dallas. Niskanen was OK after the hit.

Cote received a match penalty. Per league rules, any player assessed a match penalty is automatically suspended pending a review.

Cote is the latest Flyers player to be suspended by the NHL.

On Nov. 27, Scott Hartnell was suspended for two games for checking Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Alberts in the head a day earlier and was given a major penalty for boarding. Andrews left the game with an unspecified head injury.

In the preseason, Steve Downie was hit with a 20-game ban after a high hit to the head of Ottawa's Dean McAmmond.

Jesse Boulerice was dealt the longest single-season punishment in league history when he earned a 25-game suspension for hitting Vancouver's Ryan Kesler across the face with his stick.

Randy Jones was given a two-game suspension after he sent Boston's Patrice Bergeron face-first into the boards on Oct. 27. Bergeron hasn't returned to action since he broke his nose and sustained a concussion as a result of the hit.

Has the NHL really become so soft that they are going to start punishing teams for hitting too hard? Are NHL players now expected to be pampered and protected like the multi-million dollar NBA and Baseball stars?

Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Ed Jovanovski has been suspended for one game for striking forward Marian Gaborik on the head during a recent 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Most observers believe it was a deliberate shot to the head, and punishment was justified. But this was one of the rare exceptions.

Its a fine line between an accidental High-Hit and an accidental one. Intent is often difficult to determine when it comes to head contact. Clearly a player must be punished if he is deliberately trying to land a blow to his opponent's head. But various factors can lead to an unintentional blow to the head. Player heights, momentum, and exact body position all play a role. There are far too many variables to simply start handing down suspensions for every incident.

Thirty years ago, the violence of professional hockey was brilliantly highlighted in the classic Paul Newman movie Slapshot. The movie brought glory to the Goons... underpaid, unappreciated enforcers of the rink who regularly accumulate more ejections than points. It was the goons of the sport that brought fans to the stadiums in the 60's and 70's.

The Philadelphia Flyers were built by goons. Their fights were legendary. Not even the crowd was safe, with numerous brawls resulting in players going over the glass and into the 12th row to pound on an obnoxious spectator. They were not called the BroadStreet Bullies for nothing.

Obviously we can't have players going into the stands and assaulting fans... those days are long gone. And we can't have players intentionally trying to hurt each other on the ice. But whatever happened to guys sticking up for their teammates when someone took a shot at them? Whatever happened to the hard-hitting enforcers like Marty McSorely, Tai Domi, and Stu Grimson? These were guys who earned their money the hard way, rarely got the glory, and helped their teams win games. They also filled the seats. The NHL cannot survive without goons.

Do we really want a league in which toughness is determined by the front office, and where the 'skill skaters' are left unchallenged on the ice? In other words, do we really want the NHL to become the same as International Hockey?

Let them hit. Let them fight. And let the guys on the ice sort it out themselves.

Rembering Evel Knievel

2007-12-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

Evel Knievel 1938 - 2007

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) -- Evel Knievel is dead.

That sentence probably should have been written in 1968, when Knievel crashed his motorcycle spectacularly as he jumped the fountains at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas and wound up in a coma.

It probably should have been written in 1974, when his rocket-powered cycle failed as he tried to jump the Snake River Canyon and he almost landed in the raging water. Or the numerous other times when, while trying to jump something bigger than ever, he splattered.

Instead, it was written Friday. Natural causes. Age 69.

"It's been coming for years, but you just don't expect it. Superman just doesn't die, right?" said longtime friend and promoter Billy Rundle. He's the organizer of the annual Evel Knievel Days festival in the daredevil's Butte, Mont., hometown. "I lost a good friend and a guy who was like a father to me. I'm just glad he doesn't have to suffer anymore."

Rundle said Knievel had trouble breathing at his Clearwater condominium Friday and died before an ambulance could get him to a hospital. Knievel had been in failing health for years, suffering from diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs. He had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C, likely contracted through a blood transfusion after one of his many spills. He also suffered two strokes recently.

Knievel's son, Kelly, 47, said he had visited his father in Clearwater for Thanksgiving.

"I think he lived 20 years longer than most people would have," Kelly Knievel said. "I think he willed himself into an extra five or six years."

Immortalized in the Washington's Smithsonian Institution as "America's Legendary Daredevil," Knievel suffered nearly 40 broken bones before he retired in 1980.

For the tall, thin daredevil, the limelight was always comfortable, the gab glib. Always, he welcomed the challenge whether in sports, at work or play. To Knievel, there always were mountains to climb, feats to conquer.

"No king or prince has lived a better life," he said in a May 2006 interview with The Associated Press. "You're looking at a guy who's really done it all. And there are things I wish I had done better, not only for me but for the ones I loved."

He garbed himself in red, white and blue and had a knack for outrageous yarns: "Made $60 million, spent 61. ...Lost $250,000 at blackjack once. ... Had $3 million in the bank, though."

Although he dropped off the pop culture radar in the '80s, Knievel always had fans and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years. His death came just two days after it was announced that he and rapper Kanye West had settled a federal lawsuit over the use of Knievel's trademarked image in a popular West music video.

Triumph and Tragedy...

2007-11-27T12:44:00.000-08:00

By now, we all have heard the tragic news of the death of Redskins Safety Sean Taylor. Not enough can be said regarding how senseless his death was, and how dearly he will be missed by his family, friends, and sports fans everywhere. His passing has already received plenty of press coverage, and the story and investigation will continue to maintain the media spotlight for a while.

The sports world suffered the loss of another legendary sports figure today. And while this second man did not command the national spotlight on Sundays, he played a role in the careers of almost every athlete in America today, at every level of competition.

Dr. Robert Cade, who invented the sports drink Gatorade and launched a multibillion-dollar industry that the beverage continues to dominate, died Tuesday of kidney failure. He was 80 years old.

His death was announced by the University of Florida, where he and other researchers created Gatorade in 1965 to help the school's football players replace carbohydrates and electrolytes lost through sweat while playing in swamp-like heat.

Now sold in 80 countries in dozens of flavors, Gatorade was born thanks to a question from former Gator Coach Dwayne Douglas, Cade said in a 2005 interview with The Associated Press.
He asked, "Doctor, why don't football players wee-wee after a game?"

"That question changed our lives," Cade said.

Cade's researchers determined a football player could lose up to 18 pounds -- 90 to 95 percent of it water -- during the three hours it takes to play a game. Players sweated away sodium and chloride and lost plasma volume and blood volume.

Using their research, and about $43 in supplies, they concocted a brew for players to drink while playing football. The first batch was not exactly a hit.

"It sort of tasted like toilet bowl cleaner," said Dana Shires, one of the researchers.

"I guzzled it and I vomited," Cade said.

The researchers added some sugar and some lemon juice to improve the taste. It was first tested on freshmen because Coach Ray Graves didn't want to hurt the varsity team. Eventually, however, the use of the sports beverage spread to the Gators, who enjoyed a winning record and were known as a "second-half team" by outlasting opponents.

After the Gators beat Georgia Tech 27-12 in the Orange Bowl in 1967, Tech coach Bobby Dodd told reporters his team lost because, "We didn't have Gatorade ... that made the difference."
Stokely-Van Camp obtained the licensing rights for Gatorade and began marketing it as the "beverage of champions." PepsiCo Inc. now owns the brand, which has brought the university more than $150 million in royalties since 1973.

Cade said Stokely-Van Camp hated the name "Gatorade," believing it would was too parochial, but stuck with it after tests showed consumers liked the name.

Gatorade held 81 percent of the $7.5 billion-a-year U.S. sports drink market in 2006, according to John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest.

"Gatorade is the clear granddaddy of those drinks," Sicher said.

Cade said he thought the use of Gatorade would be limited to sports teams and never dreamed it would be purchased by regular consumers.

"I never thought about the commercial market," he said. "The financial success of this stuff really surprised us."

The researcher also said he was proud that Gatorade was based on research into what the body loses in exercise. "The other sports drinks were created by marketing companies," he said.
Since its introduction, Cade said the formula changed very little. An artificial sweetener has replaced sugar.

Instead of the original four flavors, there are now more than 30 available in the United States and more than 50 flavors available internationally.
Born James Robert Cade in San Antonio on Sept. 26, 1927, Cade, a Navy veteran, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.

Cade was appointed an assistant professor in internal medicine at UF in 1961. He worked until he was 76, retiring in November 2004 from the university, where he taught medicine, saw patients and conducted research.

Cade and his wife, Mary, had six children. His contribution to the sports world will live forever.

Watch What You Wish For...

2007-11-26T10:57:00.000-08:00

Right now, everyone is whining and crying about the status of their favorite team in the BCS standings. A lot of what we are hearing comes from fans of smaller programs... the so-called Cinderella schools. They all demand that their team be placed in the national spotlight. To them I say: Watch what you wish for.

The loudest noise comes from...once again.. Hawaii. Their supporters point to the perfect record thus far, and claim that Hawaii should play in the National Championship game. They have certainly dominated their conference in every statistical category imaginable. But the fact of the matter is that the team is still untested. Their toughest competition this season was against last year's Cinderella story, Boise St. But the fact of the matter is that Boise St. got LUCKY last season in their win over Oklahoma. Their success last season certainly did not translate into a stronger program this season.

The BCS cannot and will not place this Hawaii team in the National Championship picture. To do so would invalidate the entire BCS concept of 'strength of schedule.' While Hawaii cannot help the fact that the rest of their conference is weak, they could help their cause a bit by playing tougher non-conference games. Instead, they continue to roll with a soft schedule all season long.

I understand that its difficult to find quality programs willing to take the long trip to the islands for a game during the season and school year. But that is not a problem for the BCS to solve. Its up to Hawaii to find a way to get legitimate competition for its non-conference games. Until they do that, they will be limited to consolation bowl games.

Hawaii (11-0) moved up to No. 12 in the BCS standings and will earn an automatic major-bowl berth if it can hold that spot through next weekend. If they win, they probably will end up in the Sugar Bowl against the SEC champion, LSU or Tennessee. Then we will see just how good the TEAM really is. And when its all over, we will see if this team is going to remain a viable contender or if its just the next Boise St, unable to sustain its success over multiple seasons.

Thats the problem with Cinderella. They might get the slipper, but their ride still turns into a pumpkin in the end.

Spy Games, Euro Style

2007-11-24T03:03:00.000-08:00

So you think the NFL has problems with the whole Patriots 'spygate' scandal? You think the NBA has a problem on its hands with the referee gambling investigation? You think steroids are threatening the future of baseball? In the larger scheme of things, these situations are nothing when compared to whats happening with Formula 1 racing.

The ongoing feud between rival racing teams McLaren and Ferrari has been rocking the racing world for a while now. The fines, suspensions, point penalties, bans, lawsuits, and legal appeals have dominated sports headlines in Europe for over a year. The recent $100 Million court ruling against McLaren should have been the end of the headaches for Formula 1 racing. Instead, things have gone from bad to worse.

McLaren has raised the stakes in Formula One's latest spy scandal by releasing details of its allegations against rival Renault. Renault has been summoned to a Dec. 6 hearing of the World Motor Sport Council in Monaco on charges of having "unauthorized possession of documents and confidential information" of McLaren cars between September 2006 and October 2007.

British newspapers on Friday quoted a memo leaked by McLaren's lawyers suggesting that Renault's activities were more serious than those that resulted in McLaren being fined a record $100 million for possessing Ferrari documents.

The McLaren memo says that 33 files containing more than 780 individual drawings outlining the entire technical blueprint of the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars were copied onto 11 floppy disks in March 2006.

McLaren says the disks were loaded onto 11 Renault F1 computers in September 2006, when Mackereth joined Renault, and were discussed by up to 18 Renault F1 personnel, including a group of senior engineering chiefs and heads of department.

If Renault receives punishment similar to what McLaren received, it is believed the company will be forced to shut down its racing operation due to financial hardship.

I have a couple thoughts about this. First of all, if these companies are dealing with such sophisticated technology, then why are they still using FLOPPY DISKS to store data? Somebody needs to tell them that CDs are much more efficient these days.

In the United States, all sports fans are outraged by many of the scandals that plague our sports. But at least in the US, the majority of the problems are solved either on the playing surface or internally by the leagues. Its rare that the court system has to weigh in on a decision that could alter the future of the sport forever.

The real tragedy of the F1 story is that these scandals put all the emphasis on the technology, effectively indicating that its the machines rather than the drivers that win races. Anyone who watches F1 racing knows that these are some of the finest drivers in the world, and the majority of races are won by driving skill rather than superiority of design.

As NASCAR continues to grow in popularity, more and more Indy car drivers are making the switch to stock car racing. As the Indy car drivers leave their circuit, we are seeing many F1 drivers switching to fill the Indy void. The current state of affairs in F1 racing is simply giving drivers more motivation to jump ship and go race elsewhere. For a sport struggling to maintain its relevance in the public eye, this is the worst possible scenario.

"Jerry The Anti-Cable Guy"?

2007-11-23T02:29:00.000-08:00

Another Thanksgiving, another day of Holiday Blowouts is now in the books. NFL fans got to see a trio of proffessional beatdowns today. Well, SOME NFL fans got to see all three games. Those of us who can only afford regular cable were spared the sight of the Colts/Falcons fiasco, which was available only to subscribers of the NFL network. Its just as well, since my eyes were burning after having to watch the collapse of the Lions defense, then watching the Cowboys use Kellen Clemens as a tackling dummy for 60 minutes.

But even though the game was a blowout, I still would have liked to have the OPTION of watching it if I wanted. I can't afford to go to live games because the prices are rediculously high. I can barely afford to pay for cable, just so I can watch the EPSN game each Monday. There is just now way I could work the NFL network into my budget. So I simply don't get to see the games shown on NFL Network.

Out of curiousity... and part desperation... I visited the NFL Network website, just to see what it would cost me. MY local cable carrier does not offer the NFL Network at all ( More on that outrageous detail later.. keep reading!) Time Warner Cable does not offer the channel to its customers, so I checked the other cable services in the area.

Comcast it the only other cable provider in my region, so I clicked the link to see what they would charge for the NFL Network. THIS IS THE MESSAGE DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN WHEN I CLICKED THE LINK:

NFL Network is carried by your area's cable provider, Comcast. Unfortunately, Comcast, is overcharging you to watch football 24:7 on NFL Network. Other video providers include NFL Network in their basic package for no additional cost. Make the switch now to AT&T U-Verse, DirecTV, DISH Network, or Verizon.

WTF? The NFL is actively trying to direct customers AWAY from one of their network carriers, and is encouraging customers to use an alternative provider??? Thats does not seem very ethical to me. While it may be true that Comcast is overcharging for the service, the NFL should not be try to discourage customers from purchasing it.

After seeing how the NFL is treating Comcast in this instance, it makes me wonder just how many other cable providers the NFL is trying to strongarm. It also makes me wonder if this type of thing is the reason that TimeWarner does not offer the channel.

The Cowboys' owner has been VERY outspoken recently about the NFL Network broadcast of live games and the lack of availability in many markets (like where I currently reside.) Jerry Jones has been urging fans to drop their cable subscriptions!

The NFL Network has been in a dispute with large cable providers who don't carry the network on a basic tier. The network is available in about 35 million of the nation's more than 111 million homes with televisions.

"I am frustrated that we've got literally several million fans that won't get to see that game because Time Warner won't be carrying it," Jones said, referring to next week's Cowboys/Packer matchup. "I'm hot about that. I hope those fans will go to AT&T satellite or go over to a competing cable company."

Jones is the outspoken chairman of the league's NFL Network committee. His comments came just three days after Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, sent a cease-and-desist letter to the NFL Network demanding the channel's representatives stop encouraging fans to leave the cable provider.

"I know I have been given a cease and desist to quit saying that, but that is a fact," Jones said. "It's frustrating to think millions of Cowboys and Packers fans won't be able to see it."

At this point I have to wonder what the hell is really going on now. If the NFL is truley concerned about protecting the fans and providing everyone with the opportunity to see thier favorite teams, then why not just make the NFL network a regular channel (much like the GOLF Channel and FOOD channel, which are part of almost every basic cable package these days.) Instead, the NFL is complaining that cable providers charge too much for thier premium service, and THAT is what causes fans to miss games?

I never knew GREED could be so hypocrytical. We have one group of greedy bastards fighting with another group of greedy bastards over how much we should be forced to pay in order to see a 31-13 ass kicking.

And for those of you keep track at home, the total score for today's games was 102-42.

Recent Site Errors...

2007-11-19T04:28:00.000-08:00

As you are all aware by now, we have been plagued by some technical issues recently. We have lost all of our previously uploaded images, and the bulk of our video content has been removed from the Internet due to copyright concerns.

I apologise for these problems. We are taking steps to ensure that these issues do not come up again. We will continue to provide you with the same outspoken, overly opinionated, and completely logical commentary that our readers have become accustom to.

Road to Immortality: 296 Yards

2007-11-05T12:03:00.000-08:00

I normally do not like to talk 'stats'. I prefer to leave that to the big time television and radio talk show hosts. Statistics are easy to talk about, and take little insight beyond the ability to read. But once in a while, something happens that just requires another look at the numbers.

In case you have not heard by now, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson secured his place in history on Sunday. In the process of leading his team to a 35-17 rout of the the Chargers, Peterson managed to set a couple of notable records. He also totally eclipsed the great LaDainian Tomlinson for the day.

The former Oklahoma star averaged an impressive 9.9 YARDS PER CARRY. For those of you who do not speak 'football', that means he came within a couple inches of getting a first down every time he touched the ball. His one reception for 19 yards was not that bad either.

Just how many times did Peterson manage to get his hands on the ball while maintaining such an incredible average? THIRTY.

Yup, thats right... Adrian Peterson averaged 9.9 yards per carry on 30 attempts. The official stats show that Peterson rushed for 296 yards on Sunday. That is a new NFL record for a single day, breaking the old record held by Jamal Lewis by exactly one yard.

Oh... and he scored 3 touchdowns in the process, leading his game to a much needed victory over the heavily favored Chargers.

That was not the only record Peterson set on Sunday. He also became the only rookie in history to record two games with 200+ yards rushing. No other player in history has accomplished this in his rookie season.

In case you missed the point, let me spell it out for you: Adrian Peterson is the real deal. Its amazing to think that 6 teams passed on him in the draft, allowing Minnesota to steal him with the seventh overall pick. There are 6 teams in the league right now who must realize they made a huge mistake.

This rookie currently leads the NFL in rushing. And its not even close. Peterson has 1,036 yards rushing. Willie Parker is in second place with only 726 yards. Peterson already has 1,000 yards and its only week 9. He is on pace to record a 2,000 yard season as a rookie!

My point is this: If you got to see the game on Sunday, you saw something spectacular happening. The Chargers defense is no joke... Peterson racked up these numbers against a real contender.

This guy is something special. A lot of guys are predicted to be the next 'great one', but fail to live up to the hype. Once in a while, somebody comes along and shatters all expectations. They don't come along often. Next time the Vikings play and you have the chance to watch it at home, just sit back and appreciate what you are witnessing. This is the start of a legendary career. Enjoy the show.

On a totally unrelated note... NFL fans witnessed a frightening scene Sunday when superstar wide receiver Chad Johnson suffered a scary blow. Johnson went down motionless for several minutes, and remained prone for a long time while team trainers tended to him. The decision was made to apply head and neck restraints and take him to hospital for further evaluation.

Chad Johnson is reportedly doing fine and flew home with the team as scheduled. He will certainly be monitored closely by trainers and doctors this week. At this point it would be foolish to expect him to play next weekend, but no decision has been made yet.

Its just one of those moments that remind us just how violent this sport is. These are big men colliding with each other at a very high speed. Injuries are a part of the game. Most are minor, but sometimes something terrible happens. While looking at Chad Johnson lying on the field, it was impossible not to think of Kevin Everett, who suffered a serious neck injury while playing for the Bills in week one. Ironically, the Bengals were playing against the Bills when his injury occurred Sunday.

Stealing the Thunder...

2007-10-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

Its an age old question: If a tree falls in a forest and nobody hears it, does it still make a sound? Here's a better question: If the World Series ends in Colorado, does anybody notice?

The Boston Red Sox completed a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies to win the World Series last night. A person might imagine that this would be the top story in sports today. That person would be wrong.

The top story in sports today in not the Red Sox. Instead, all the talk is about their arch-nemisis, the New York Yankees. Just as the season officially ends, the action starts to heat up in New York.

Within the next 24 hours, the Yankees are expected to officially announce that Joe Girardi is thier new manager. This has sparked a lot of debate among the many fans and experts who were anticipating that the job be given to Don Mattingly. The move comes as no suprise to me... I even predicted it back on the LMF Radio show last year.

Why am I convinced that Girardi is a better fit for the team than Mattingly? Its simple: Mattingly is 'old school'... more conservative, more cautious, more traditional. Girardi is younger, more in touch with the mentality of the players, more aggressive with his decision making. Joe Girardi will bring an 'edge' back to the Yankees.

This news has completely knocked the Boston success out of the headlines. Even in the Boston area, where I am currently located at this moment, the World Series championship is not even in the top 3 sports headlines. In addition to the the Girardi announcment, there are two other sports storys that are getting priority coverage.

A second Yankees situation is stealing the thunder from the Boston victory. Its been reported that Alex Rodriguez has opted out of his contract with the Yankees, and will seek to re-negotiate his contract as a free agent. Numerous reports indicate that the Yankees have chosen NOT to negotiate with A-Rod, which means he will now seek offers from other teams. The Boston Red Sox are not expected to be involved in any discussions for Rodriguez.

It seems that even in victory, the Red Sox are still standing in the shadow of the Yankees.

But its not just the Yankees who are stealing the spotlight today. The New England Patriots are getting a lot of attention in the media today as well. The team is undefeated heading into the much anticipated matchup with the undefeated Indianappolis Colts next Sunday. The Patriots are ranked first in every offensive statistical category, and the Colts are ranked third in every category. The hype for this game has already been going on for weeks, and hit full stride yesterday after both teams won their respective games. Talk of this matchup has buried any discussion about last night's World Series finally.

And just to bury the Red Sox story a bit deeper, there is a bit of controversy regarding the Patriots 52-7 thrashing of the Washington Redskins. Many observers feel that the Patriots showed a lack of class while running up the score late in the game. The offense was still trying to score additional points in the final minutes of the game, even though victory had been well established. Some feel Tom Brady was just trying to pad his records and was simply playing for stats. Others feel that the team was trying to send a message to the Colts. And a few people believe that the Redskins simply need a better defense and the Patriots did nothing wrong.

So what does all this tell us? Baseball is supposed to be our National Pasttime, yet nobody really seems to care who won the World Series. Perhaps this is because the outcome was a foregone conclusion.... it was a fluke that the Rockies even made it that far, and they stood no chance. But perhaps the New York Yankees are simply bigger than the game of Baseball itself. And perhaps the NFL might have reached a level of popularity where a midseason matchup captivates the attention of the public far more than the outcome of the World Series.

Or perhaps there is a simpler answer. Maybe people are just sick of hearing about the Red Sox.

A Plea to the Lakers

2007-10-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

I was going to post a nice long rant about the Lakers/Kobe Bryant situation, but it seems Ryan Parker has put toegether a new video and just saved me a lot of trouble.

The Bottom line is this: Kobe Bryant scores points. Period. The rest of the Lakers team is simply not capable of making up for losing a player of that caliber. Kobe has repeatedly asked for quality teammates to help him out, and the ownership responds by calling him a selfish player who does not share the ball or contribute to the success of his teammates.

Kobe Bryant does might not be the nicest guy in the world. He might not be the greatest teammate in the world. But he is certainly one of the greatest players in the world. Any other team in the NBA would love to have him, and the Lakers would be doomed without him.

NBA: No Bets Allowed???

2007-10-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

In the wake of the Tim Donaghy gambling scandal and resulting FBI investigation, NBA commissioner David Stern has made the decision to change official league policy and will now allow NBA Referees to participate in most forms of gambling.

"Our ban on gambling is absolute, and in my view it is too absolute, too harsh and was not particularly well-enforced over the years," Stern said. "We're going to come up with a new set of rules that make sense."

NBA officials will now be permitted to gamble in casinos and bet on horse races. State Lottery tickets are also exempt from the NBA gambling prohibitions. League officials are still prohibited from betting on professional sports or placing any bets with a sports booking agent.

Nobody knows just how deep the Donaghy scandal goes. And nobody knows just how many, if any, game results were impacted thru the actions of referees who may have placed bets on games they officiated themselves. And the league has not yet stated how they will adress that issue if/when investigators determine that the outcomes of games were deliberately manipulated by a referee.

With all this in mind, we are left with a huge question: Is the new NBA policy (which permits gambling among officials but not players) the result of the officiating scandal, or is it the result of the NBA's desire to do business in Las Vegas on a full-time basis? The NBA All-Star game has been held in the city, but the league has stuck to its anti-gambling policy. And there has long been talk of the Maluff brothers trying to move the Kings to Las Vegas, or simply sell the team and get an expansion team placed there.

There is a lot of money in Las Vegas. The NBA knows that. There is a lot of headaches associated with gambling, and the NBA knows that also.

David Stern is now between a rock and a hard place. With the start of the NBA season just hours away, the FBI investigation will certainly be brought up during every telecast this season. The subject is not going away anytime soon, but Tim Donaghy just might be going away soon for a very long time.

Jenson vs Maia

2007-10-25T01:46:00.000-07:00

Jenson vs Maia... UFC 77 ... its a short fight. Enjoy! We'll get more of the fights posted as soon as possible.

When You Gotta Go...

2007-10-16T12:09:00.000-07:00

A Baylor University assistant football coach was cited early Sunday after he allegedly urinated on the bar at Scruffy Murphy’s, a Waco bar frequented by Baylor students.

Waco Police Department spokesman Steve Anderson said that Eric Schnupp, Baylor’s offensive line/tight ends coach, was issued a citation at 2:20 a.m. for disorderly conduct-reckless exposure, a misdemeanor.

Danny Severe, a bartender at Scruffy Murphy’s, 1226 Speight Ave., said the incident happened around closing time as employees were getting people out of the bar.

Schnupp had been drinking for a couple hours, Severe said, when an employee saw Schnupp urinating on one end of the bar. Police officers were already at the bar for an unrelated incident, Severe said.

“While we were kicking everybody out, he apparently thought that nobody was looking and whipped it out and (urinated) on the bar,” Severe said. “He tried to deny it, but there was definitely a puddle and there was no one else around him.”

Severe said that Schnupp got a ride home after police issued the citation. (Congrats to the authorities for making sure this idiot did not get behind the wheel of a car!)

The sad part is, this clown probobly wonders why he is nothing more than an assistant coach at a small-time program like Baylor, and his career is going nowhere. Then again, coaching at a program like Baylor just might be enough to drive a man to drink.

And now we all understand why some places place an instructional sign beside the urinals!

Note: For obvious reasons, I decided against using any images with this article. For once, good taste wins out.

UFC Shocker: Couture Quits!!!

2007-10-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture has quit today. According to reports, Couture notified UFC president Dana White of his decision during a phone call from the set of his new movie in Africa. Couture is currently filming for a role in the upcoming Scorpion King sequal.

According to reports, Couture walked away from the UFC because he felt he had not been treated fairly by the company in terms of payouts for fights. Couture also indicated that he simply felt there were no competitors remaining to challenge him that would be worthy of his efforts.

Fans had been awaiting a possible matchup between Fedor Emelinenko and Randy Couture in the UFC. Those plans were abandoned when Fedor signed a contract with the M-1 Fighting organization in Russia. Couture has no plans on pursing a fight in Russia.

The issue of fight payouts has long been an issue among UFC competitors. Its been reported the as champion, Couture earned around $250,000 per fight, while some of his challengers recieved as much as $750,000 per fight. Many percieve this as a show of disrespect towards Couture and a lack of respect for his status as Champion.

Randy Couture has been the backbone of the UFC for many years. He might never have recieved the mainstream appeal of guys like Ken Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, or Chuck Liddell, but he certainly did as much as any of them when it came to promoting and representing the sport of mixed martial arts. Couture might not have been the face of the UFC, but he was certainly its heart and soul.

It Was a Cold Day in Hell...

2007-10-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

Hell has frozen over.

Ok, I will admit it was not a good week for my Pac-10. Not only did we have 'The Event That Shall Not Be Mentioned' take place at the Coloseum, but UCLA managed to lose to Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is still a joke. One win does not restore thier position in the hierarchy of college football.. thier fans just act like it will. Thankfully we have a new musical gem from Ryan Parker to convince the Lepers to crawl back under thier golden 'shrooms.

And for the record... its going to be a long season. Its going to be tough for anyone to go undefeated this season.Odds are we will see a pair of one-loss teams playing for the national championship.

Why I Love College Football...

2007-10-08T08:46:00.001-07:00

I bitch a lot about college football. Most of my complaints stem from the whole BCS ranking system and bullshit 'voting' system for rankings.

For the most part, I really do love college football. Its more exciting. You never know what will happen. Major upsets take place every week, it seems. There are more 'big plays' than you see in the NFL. The rivalries are more intense. And there is a team for everyone, with colleges covering every market in the nation.

And where else could you ever see something like this.....

Without a doubt, this was the most entertaining thing to happen all season.
Don't Fuck With The Duck!

'The Clear' vs Flaxseed Oil?

2007-10-05T04:33:00.000-07:00

The Washington Post reported Marion Jones admitted using steroids before the 2000 Olympics in a recent letter to close family and friends. Jones, a triple gold medalist in Sydney, said she took "the clear" for two years, beginning in 1999, and that she got it from former coach Trevor Graham. She claims her coach told her it was flaxseed oil.

"The clear" is a performance-enhancing drug linked to BALCO, the lab at the center of the steroids scandal in professional sports. Jones had steadfastly denied she ever took any kind of performance-enhancing drugs despite numerous accusations in recent years.

Jones is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in White Plains, N.Y., on Friday to plead guilty to charges in connection with her steroid use, a federal law enforcement source told The Associated Press. "I want to apologize for all of this," the Post reported Jones saying in her letter, quoting a person who received a copy and read it to the paper. "I am sorry for disappointing you all in so many ways."

Jones faces up to 6 months in jail.

Lets leave all the scandalous speculation and mock outrage to the sports-radio talk shows. They will all argue about the validity of sports records and the proliferation of steriods in sports and the morals of using performance enhancers. I choose to focus on the bigger question....

Why the hell would athletes believe they were being given flaxseed oil? We know what 'the clear' is supposed to do. What possible benefit would flaxseed oil have on them? The following is a list of facts about flaxseed oil from the University of Maryland Medical Center...

Flaxseed oil is derived from the seeds of the flax plant. Flaxseed oil and flaxseed contain substances that promote good health. Flaxseed oil is rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an essential fatty acid that appears to be beneficial for heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis and a variety of other health conditions. Flaxseed, in addition to ALA, contains a group of chemicals called lignans that may play a role in the prevention of cancer.

Flaxseed Oil has many uses. Flaxseed Oil may be used to treat the following: High Cholesterol, High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Arthritis, Breast Cancer, Depression, Burns, Acne, Asthma, and Menstrual Pain.

Its possible that Jones believed she was being treated for menstrual pain... assuming that she needed such treatment at that very moment. Perhaps she was suffering from joint pains (Arthritis) and believed that she was recieving something that would ease the pain. She was never publicly reported to be in need of treatment for any of the other ailments described by the University of Maryland.

So why didn't Jones question the reason the was allegedly being giving Flaxseed Oil? Are we to believe that a proffessional athelete allowed her trainer to coat her with a chemical substance without asking WHY?

Sorry, I will never believe that.

For the record, Flaxseed Oil is not given as a cream or lotion. Its given in tablet or gel cap form.

Throwing It All Away...

2007-09-26T12:38:00.001-07:00

Michael Vick seems determined to throw his whole life away. He had long been in hot water with the fans for failing to live up to expectations on the field. He angered more fans and team ownership when he 'gave the finger' to the hometown crowd during a game. There was the 'Ron Mexico' sexual assault accusation. He was busted by airport officials for trying to pass thru airport security with a water bottle containing a secret compartment filled with marijuana. Then came the dogfighting investigation, the denials, the indictment, and eventually the plea agreement and the admission of guilt. County charges are now being filed on top of the Federal charges (Because these are separate and individual jurisdictions, there is no protection from 'double jeopardy' and Vick's guilty plea in the federal charges will most likely be used as evidence.)

Because of all this, its estimated that Vick has lost over $130 million in salary, bonuses, and endorsements.

For most people, all that trouble would have been enough to ensure some sort of behavioural modification. In the very least, we would have expected Vick to tread lightly and do everything he could to keep himself out of the news.

Some people never learn, it seems.

A urine sample submitted by Michael Vick on September 13, 2007 has tested positive for marijuana. As a result he'll have tighter restrictions on his freedom. He is now under house arrest, must wear an ankle bracelet, and is subject to surprise drug testing at any time.

In addition to these restrictions on his freedom and mobility, Judge Henry Hudson is allowed to take the results of this drug test into consideration when he sentences Vick on the Dogfighting charges on December 10.

Maybe NOW Vick will start to realize that he needs to clean up his act and begin to live life as a responsible human being. Its far to late to salvage Vick the NFL Player... in addition to the pending suspension for the dogfighting, he will now be facing a separate suspension for the failed drug test.

Its likely that Vick will have several years to sit and think about his actions. Odds are he will probably write a book, which will undoubtedly generate several million dollars for him. Maybe the second time around, he will be able to use his money to live a productive life and keep himself out of trouble.

But odds are he will just throw it all away a second time.

Griffin vs Rua

2007-09-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

Here's the other big fight from UFC 76... Forrest Griffin vs Shogun Rua. No controversy in this one... just an intense fight!

Check out this video: Mauricio "shogun" Rua Vs Forrest Griffin

Add to My Profile More Videos

Enjoy the fight! And send me your feedback if you want more of this!

Liddell vs Jardine

2007-09-24T22:57:00.000-07:00

Here is the clip from last Saturday's UFC Knockout PPV Main event, Keith Jardine vs Chuck Liddell. There has been a bit of controversy about the outcome of this fight. Watch and decide for yourself.

Check out this video: Keith Jardine Vs Chuck Liddell

Add to My Profile More Videos

If you guys like this, we can add more fight videos in the future.

ColorBlind in Philly...

2007-09-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

For the past week, Color has been the hot topic of debate in Philadelphia. Responding to a reporter's question, Donovan McNabb again played his race card and once again brought the issue of Racism in Sports to the forefront.

For those of you who missed it, here is the brief rundown of McNabb's comments. Donovan McNabb stated that the public has a different set of standards for black and white quarterbacks. He claims that black quarterbacks are asked to achieve more than their white counterparts, and are under much more pressure to win. McNabb went on to say that the public and media typically attribute the success of a white quarterback to his intelligence, while any success of a black quarterback is attributed to his athletic ability.

As a rule, I try to disagree with anything McNabb says. I have just heard too much of his rhetoric over the years. He always seems to have an excuse for his failures, and rarely shares credit for his successes. But in this instance, I think just might have a point.

I watched many games this weekend... college and NFL.. and not once did I hear a black QB refered to as a 'smart' player. Many times I heard sports commentators mention the great athletic ability of a black QB. And I rarely heard anyone describe a white QB as a great athlete, but I heard many descriptions of thier 'smart' or 'intelligent' plays on the field.

Maybe its just a coincidence. Maybe not. Perhaps there really is a racially based misperception engrained into the cultural sports subconcious. Its certainly something to think about. There are definately many highly intelligent black quarterbacks in football today. Maybe McNabb's comments will cause someone to actually change thier own habits when it comes to providing stereotypical lables to athletes.

Whatever the truth of the matter may be, McNabb had a chip on his shoulder all week long. Thats when he plays best, it seems. McNabb had an amazing day, despite his knee injury. For those of you who missed it, he had 4 touchdown passes and over 300 yards passing. McNabb seems to thrive on pressure. He certainly felt a bit of pressure to turn around the terrible start to his team's season.

The Eagles did their part to end the debate about Color in the NFL. They proved that color does not matter. The entire team joined in unity to show just how ugly the issue of Color can be. They showed us that its not what's on the outside that counts...

.... at least, I hope thats what they were trying to do. There is just no other excuse for the uniforms they wore today.

DO NOT ADJUST YOUR MONITOR. THE COLORS YOU ARE SEEING IN THE IMAGE ARE CORRECT.

Perhaps the most offensive thing to happen in the past week is not what anybody said, but what they wore.

The Biggest Victory

2007-09-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

We all tend to focus too much on the negative stories in sports. Sports radio would cease to exist if it could not focus on all the bad news and scandals in the world of sports. Its rare to hear anything positive these days. With the exception of the 'holiday sob stories' we get on Thanksgiving and Christmas, its pretty much all trash talk all the time.

So when a truely positive story comes along, its important for all of us to take a moment and reflect upon it. Fortunately, there is at least one story in sports right now that defines the term 'feel-good story.'

Kevin Everett will be transferred Friday morning to a Houston hospital to begin the next phase of his rehabilitation, less than two weeks after the Buffalo Bills tight end sustained a life-threatening spinal cord injury.
And doctors said Thursday they believe he will be walking within weeks -- perhaps sooner.

Everett is currently capable of sitting up in his bed without assistance now. Thats a huge leap of progress for a man who needed a respirator to breath a few days ago. Most experts had already taken for granted the fact that Everett would be paralyzed for life. Now he is on his way to living a normal life.

There is certainly no chance the Everett will ever play football again. But considering the situation, football is a pretty trivial matter. Sometime in the near future, Kevin Everett will WALK out of a hospital under his own power. That is a victory bigger than any Superbowl win could ever be.

Mission from God?

2007-09-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

No doubt about it... John Kitna is on a mission this year. But is it a mission from God? Matt Millen certainly hopes so. And Detroit fans... or whats left of them... will not complain if a little divine intervention puts them into the post season this year.

For those of you who have no idea what the hell I am babbling about, here's the rundown: Lions QB John Kitna was knocked out of Sunday's game with a concussion in the second quarter. He returned in the fourth and led the Lions to a 20-17 win over the Vikings in overtime.

"It was a miracle," Kitna said Monday. "I've never felt anything like that, and for it to clear up and go right back to as normal as I can be, is nothing short of a miracle," Kitna said. "I just definitely feel the hand of God. That's all it was. You can't explain it. I have no headaches, no symptoms, no lingering effects. But that was the worst my head has ever felt, and the worse my memory was in the second quarter. Yet, after halftime there was nothing."

Team doctors say that Kitna has 'a very mild concussion', yet Kitna ran the ball twice on the final possession, taking even more hits, and led a game-winning drive.

So what exaclty happened here? A medical miracle? Or an act of God?

Maybe Kitna is in fact the Chosen One, brought to Detroit to restore the team to its former glory. If so, my question is this: Why Kitna? Is he really the best guy God could find at the moment? Was Brett Favre too busy at the time? Did Peyton Manning convert to Islam and not tell anyone? We all know that Derrick Anderson was not an option, since its clear he already sold his soul to the Devil last weekend.

And if the Hand of God was involved in this game, then why no game winning Hail-Mary into the endzone? Will we now have a Touchdown Jesus statue erected at Ford Field?

We all know that Matt Millen has been praying for a miracle for years, but I doubt he expected it to come in the form of John Kitna. And Detroit fans have been praying for a miracle for years, but all they really wanted was for Millen to finally be fired. Now Kitna comes along and just might save Millen's job.

I am certainly not making light of Kitna's ability on the field. I have always been a strong supporter and felt he has been greatly underrated for years. I believed he would improve the Lions team, but never really thought he would turn the team into a contender. But Kitna is a man of conviction. He boldly predicted 10 wins this season. Maybe he knew something we didn't. Maybe he got an inside tip from the man upstairs.

On a serious note, I do not like to joke about concussions. The NFL needs to do a much better job diagnosing and treating players with head injurys. The recent Chris Beniot wrestling tradgedy brought the NFL concussion issue to the front burner this summer.

Players suffering from multiple concussions in their careers need to be monitored closely for signs of trauma. Delerium is one such sign. If Kitna truely believes God intervened on his behalf, thats one thing... a religious experience that science cannot explain. But if Kitna starts claiming he actually HEARD the voice of God, then he could be experience delerium due to severe head trauma. There is a difference, and league officials and doctors need to pay close attention to the Kitna story right now.

The Freak Show

2007-09-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

The BCS has more than its share of freaks. It just seems like the freaks are stepping out of the shadows and into the center ring this season. And it all starts with the biggest freak of them all... Notre Dame. The entire sportsworld is scratching its head trying to figure out what went wrong in South Bend. The team is 0-3, and has not yet scored an offensive touchdown this season.

True, the team is young and inexperienced. But Michigan was not exactly a juggernaugt when they met last weekend. The problem with Notre Dame right now is thier coaching. The world is starting to discover that Charlie 'The HunchBack' Wies is not the genious everyone hyped him up to be. The public bought into the media PR machine, and now everyone is feeling a bit foolish.

Just because a guy worked for a successful franchise (in this case, the Patriots) it does not mean that the guy really was responsible for that success. Now Notre Dame is praying for a miracle, and their current saviour is feeling the pressure. Meanwhile the fans are starting to regret losing Ty Willingham.

Lloyd Carr is another of the freaks right now. On the verge of losing his job, the man is seemingly capable of denying reality. He has yet to display any sense of urgency or panic, and treats every press conferance as just another day at the office. Its as if he has not even seen their games this season. Somehow he believes that the 'big win' over Notre Dame was the turning point and the ship is now headed in the right direction. Even Gilligan had a better sense of direction that Lloyd Carr has right now.

Michigan is in trouble. The Big House has become a House of Horrors. If they don't do something right away, it will become a House of Echos as fans abandon the sinking ship.

Perhaps the biggest freak of all is Joe Paterno. The man is the Energizer Bunny of college football. He just keeps going and going. A few years ago, everyone was calling for his retirement, claiming his best days are behind him. Now Penn State is on the verge of becoming a serious contender again. They are not yet ready to compete for the national championship, but they are going to be knocking on the door. Next season they will be a team that can shake up the rankings.

Keep in mind that Paterno is over 80 years old. Its hard to forget, considering that the guys on ESPN continue to remind us every time they mention his name. But despite his age, he remains as active on the sideline as any coach in sports today. Last year he suffered a broken leg during a game. Two weeks later, he was back on the sideline. He has not lost any of the fire that he possesed in his younger days. If anything, the fire burns even stronger these days.

Appalachian State is certainly a freak. Its a giant fish in a tiny pond. For the past two years it has obliterated everything in its path. The only problem is that the path consisted of Division II teams and the Citadel. This year the team took a giant leap in evolution, and knocked off Michigan in the first game. Perhaps this game destroyed the psyche of Michigan and is the cause of all thier current woes. More likely is the possibility that Appalachian State is just an incredible team that has outgrown its current home.

This week, Appalachian State received FIVE votes in the AP poll. Thats not a big number, but its the only five ever received by a Division II team. Yes, the rules were just changed last week to allow them to get the votes, but that still does not diminish the accomplishment.

The Miami Hurricanes are also freaks. Call them 'The Incredible Disappearing Franchise.' They have quietly faded into oblivian. When Oklahoma pounded on them mercilessly, it barely even made a blip on the radar. Everyone celebrated Oklahoma's win, but most failed to even mention who they played. Thats the price of success: If you send enough players to the NFL, you don't have much left to play with next season.

The Enemy Within...

2007-09-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

If the Chargers want to find the cause of their woes, they need to look at the man calling the shots. Their 38-14 loss to the Patriots was not the result of spectacular play by their opponents (although I must admit, Brady and Moss put on a pretty impressive show.) The Chargers have looked like crap in both of their games this season. The fact that they played both the Bears and the Patriots, two of the top teams in the league, is no excuse.

Observers are saying that the Chargers look flat. They are not firing on all cylinders. They look poorly prepared. They are suffering from miscues on seemingly routine plays. They are playing without passion. The sports reporters have said it all this morning, but none of them have addressed the real issue.

The Chargers have an enemy within their ranks. This is not another Patriots Spy-Gate scandal. This is something much more destructive.

The San Diego Chargers hired Norv 'the Noid' Turner as their head coach. Turner is the Typhoid Mary of the NFL. As a coordinator, he is fine. But as soon as he takes the reigns as head coach, everything he touches turns to dust.

Need proof? Just look at the what happened when he was calling the shots in Washington. Need a more recent example? Look at Raiders, where he took the team to a 9-23 record during his tenure. Lack of talent was not the problem in Oakland.

Norv 'the Noid' Turner is the issue in San Diego. The Offensive line is missing blocks and getting blown off the line.. something that did not happen often last season. Tomlinson is being asked to run a power game instead using his ability to bounce to the outside. And Philip Rivers has fallen apart under Turner's command. watch the tapes from last night's game...on EVERY PASS during the game, Rivers kept his eyes locked on his target receiver... he never tried to 'look off' the defense, or even bothered to go thru his check-down receivers...he simply focused on one guy, and wonders why the defense was able to break up the pass?

The Patriots did not need any dirty tricks to win this game. They already had their secret weapon in place. Norv 'The Noid' Turner is going to drag the Chargers down quickly. The team that was on the brink of greatenss will soon be on the brink of a top 5 draft pick.

Future teams be warned.... AVOID THE NOID!

The Patriots Punishment...

2007-09-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

The latest in the ongoing Patriots Cheating Scandal...

The media is still struggling to find a catch name for the incident. The major networks seem torn between 'Spygate' and 'PatriotGate'... that just shows how limited the imagination is at big stations.

The NFL has handed down its punishment for signal-stealing tactic. Coach Belichick was hit with a huge $500,000 fine, the Patriots team was slapped with a $250,000 fine and will face the loss of future draft picks. If the team makes the playoffs, they will lose their first round pick. If the team fails to make the playoffs they will lose their second and/or third round picks (details to be decided after the season.)

Musician Ryan Parker has a hilarious new song and video online that pokes fun at the incident and raises serious questions about the team's rise to the top. Its pretty good stuff! (For more of his stuff, go to RyanParkerSongs.com )

The Patriots Games...

2007-09-13T06:07:00.000-07:00

Its not secret... the Patriots share a coveted spot right next to Notre Dame on my list of "Teams I Hate.' Its a different type of hate though.. I hate the Patriots because I am just so fucking sick of hearing about how good they are. I can see the scoreboard, I can see the standings.. I don't need every asshole on the street reminding me how good they are (These same backassed hicks can tell me the Patriots are great, but can't name a single offensive lineman on the team or explain the difference between a 3-4 and Nickle defense.)

I will never deny that they are easily one of the most talented teams of this generation. I can respect the talent and enjoy watching them play while hating them at the same time.

So now we have this whole signal stealing scandal happening. On one level, I find it hilarious. We have all heard the storys about some of the stunts the old Raiders used to pull when Madden coached them. This type of thing is not new to football or any other sport.

On another level, I find it all disgusting. First of all, a team that good should not need to resort to such tactics. (Many will now argue that such tactics are what made them good.. they just destroyed thier credibility with fans and historians.)

Its no big deal if the team manages to figure out whats happening just by observing things from the sideline during a game... if a Coordinator is careless enough to flash his signals openly during a game, its his own fault if the other team clues in...thats part of the game. But when you take deliberate measures to decipher signals... strategically position powerful video cameras with high powered zoom lenses, then you have gone too far. Intelligence and wits are removed from the equazion, and now its just a matter of technology.

There is a difference between Gamesmanship and Dirty Tricks. Stealing signals from a catcher in baseball is Gamesmanship. Hiding a guy in a booth with a high powered zoom lens on a video camera is just a Dirty Trick.

The league NEEDS to come down hard on the Patriots for this. Send the message that no team is above the law. Soft punishment will further convince the public that the league shows favoritism towards the New England Patriots.. an accusation that has been around since 2001.

But more importantly then punishing the Patriots, the league needs to do something for the JETS, who are the victims in this. ( I am not saying the JETS dont do the same stuff.. they just have not been caught yet, and clearly are not as adept at it.) The Patriots blatently cheated, and the JETS lost the game. Any financial or post-season punishments will do nothing to help the victims of the Cheating. ANY PUNISHMENT MUST INCLUDE THE PATRIOTS FOREFITTING THE GAME AND A VICTORY AWARDED TO THE JETS. In the NFL, one game can make all the difference between post season and short season.

Beyond the reversal of the game result, I think the league needs to find punishment appropriate to the action. A post season ban would be going too far in my opinion. And I think its a bit harsh to strip multiple draft picks from the team... early round picks are too harsh a punishment, and its pointless to strip them of late round picks who would likely be cut anyways ( and the idea of giving those picks to the JETS is just silly, unless you make the Patriots PAY THE PLAYER's Salary..otherwise you are just dumping a financial burden on the JETS.)

FINES are a bad idea. That type of expense eventually trickles down to the fans, who already pay way to fucking much for EVERYTHING at a game, from parking to seats to food. No need to punish the fans more.

Clearly this type of thing does not happen without the Coaches knowledge. As Coach, the buck stops there. So.. my solution:
(1) Suspend the Coach for a couple games..
(2)the guy who had the tape in his hands should be banned for a full year..
(3) and give the JETS the win. That seems fair.

Keeping Bonds in Perspective...

2007-07-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

In all likelihood, history will be made sometime this week. Barry Bonds will finally break the all-time home run record currently held by the legendary Henry Aaron. You don't need me to tell you this. Its been the talk of the sports world for a long time now.

The controversy remains the hot topic. Did he use steroids? Is the record legitimate? Has he tarnished the sport and its image? Should we honor the accomplishment? What kind of message does this send to kids?

Allow me to present this situation in a new perspective. There are a few things we should keep in mind before passing judgement on Bonds.

First of all, we must respect the American principle of Innocent Until Proven Guilty. Baseball is the National Pastime, and must respect the American Legal System and its traditions. Suspicion is not guilt. Yes, there is certainly much that causes suspicion, but thus far nothing has been discovered that can point to certain proof in a court of law. Until guilt is proven, we must accept his record as legitimate accomplishments.

In addition to proving the use of any chemical supplements, it must also be proven that those supplements somehow enhanced his ability to perform on the playing field. Certainly, steroids and growth hormones will enable a player to hit a ball further. But no chemical will enhance a player's hand/eye coordination and increase his ability to actually make contact with the ball more consistently. Steroids increase strength, but not synaptic reflexes which control muscle speed. They will also will not improve a player's decision making ability on the field or help him identify a pitches more accurately. A stronger player is not necessarily a smarter player.

There are numerous accusations regarding power hitters using steroids. But few people are talking about pitchers using steroids. Why? Pitchers now are capable of throwing many more pitches than they did 30 years ago, and they throw the ball faster with a more complex variety of pitches. The stress and torque put on a pitcher's are is much greater now than it was in decades past. We see many pitchers returning to top playing form soon after injuries and surgeries that would have ended a carreer in years past. Yes, medical science has improved greatly since 'the old days'. But common sense tells us that if hitters are using substances to get ahead, then it stands to reason that pitchers would be doing it too.

We also need to consider the legality of the substances in question. How can you punish a player for using something that is new and has no laws to prohibit it? When the current steroid rules were written, HGH (Human Growth Hormone.. a synthetic form of a chemical produced naturally in the human body) did not exist. Only recently has it become commercially available. If it did not exist, then there certainly cannot be any rule to specifically prohibit it. And if they pass a rule today to ban it, then they can not reasonably punish a player for using it last week You just can't go back and apply rules retroactively.

Some people have said their is a rule that prohibits performing enhancing substances, and this blanket rule implys a ban on HGH and any new substances that might come along. I call that arguement bullshit. GATORADE is a perfomance enhancing substance... it is a liquid potassium infusion that prevents cramping in the muscles. But nobody is rushing to ban Gatorade. They are trying ot pick and choose which substances they allow and which ones they do not.

Lets look at this from the historical perspective. When Aaron broke his record, he was subject to a great deal of bigotry and hatred. His race was an issue with many fans. Even in 1974, there were many whites in this nation who refused to accept the success of the Civil Rights Movement. Many people argued that Aaron had an unfair atheletic advantage because he was black. The theory was that black men were bigger and stronger than the average white man due to selective breeding during the slave era, which continued on down the line to the present time. (The same bigots who used this argument were careful never to claim that blacks were 'physically superior' due to this breeding. They too chose to pick and choose the details they acknowleged.)

Clearly the racial issue faded with time and education. Aaron was simply a superior player, and history has recognized this fact. The record of Henry Aaron does nothing to diminish the accomplishments of Babe Ruth, who's record Aaron shattered. They were two different men, playing in two different eras. It is worth noting that Ruth's carreer was also steeped in controversy and many people hated him vehemontly during his playing days.

There are many other arguments that people are using in attempt to discredit Bonds' record. The balls are made differently. Stadiums are built differently. The bats are made differently. Global warming has changed the atmosphere to favor hitters. The uniforms are made differently and allow easier arm movement. The list goes on. If you can imagine it, it has been used to discredit Bonds.

The record books are full of statistics that can be called into question. The question is this: should we really quesion them all? Look long enough at any great player, and flaws will be found.

The bottom line is this: Under the current rules, Bonds has set the record fair and square. If something is revealed later that strikes his feats from the recordbooks, then we will can start awaiting the next superstar to discredit. Alex Rodriguez is closing in on home run #500. I hope he realizes whats waiting for him in a few years. He better start clearing the skeletons from his closet right now.

Monday Morning Review...

2007-07-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

Its Monday morning, so this would be a good time to let everyone know what happened after they blacked out Friday night.

Speaking of blacking out, some jackass got drunk and fell from an upper deck at Yankee Stadium last week. The story was not widely reported until this weekend for some reason. Normally this would be really hilarious and I would have all sorts of jokes about it, but the incident turned ugly. The drunk fan landed on a tourist who was sitting in the stands below. The unsuspecting victim suffered a broken neck but is suspected to make a full recovery after a successful surgery to stabilize the vertabrae.
This leads to the question: If a drunk falls from the top of Yankee Stadium, what are the odds of him landing on a tourist?

The Matchup for ARENABOWL XXI is set. The Columbus Destroyers will meet the San Jose Sabercats in New Orleans to determine the new AFL champion on Sunday, July 29. The game will be shown on ABC. If you have never watched Arena Football, you are missing an incredibly exciting sport. There is not much of a running game, but lots of deep passes and hard hitting. I just don't understand how any football fan can fail to enjoy the AFL.
My prediction for the game: San Jose will win in a blowout.

David Beckham and his wife have now officially joined the LA Galaxy. Victoria Beckham will not actually wear a uniform or play in the games, but she is now certainly part of the team's overall media marketing strategy. Odds are we will see more footage of her at the games than we will see of her husband.

And whats with the stupid nickname the team has given David Beckham?
If you watched the press conferance on Saturday, you would have seen a large banner welcoming David 'Golden Balls' Beckham. Somehow I just don't think that nickname will catch on in the locker room. But it could prove popular if he ever goes to play in San Fransisco....

Alonzo Mourning will return to the NBA for one more season. ESPN is reporting that 'three months of suspense about his future' have ended now that he has announced he will return to play again. SUSPENSE? REALLY? We're sports fans really losing sleep wondering if he will play again? Did the Miami Heat draft strategy suffer because they did not know if Mourning would be back again? Let's be realistic here. Mourning is a class act and one of the most beloved players in the game, but he has not been a dominant factor in the league for a long time. I am happy to see him back, but the league would not have been devastated without him. I wish him the best this season, though. I really do enjoy watching him play.

All-Stars? Really?

2007-07-02T02:42:00.000-07:00

Baseball's All-Star game is upon us. The rosters were released yesterday. And yes, Barry Bonds will get to play in front of his hometown fans.

I am always quick to admit that I do not follow baseball too closely. I pay attention to who's hot, keep an eye on the standings, and watch the highlights. Around playoff time I really start to pay attention, but not until then. But looking over the All-Star rosters, I keep asking myself the following question:

WHO THE HELL IS THAT?

There are several players starting the All-Star game that I have NEVER heard of. The hardcore baseball fanatic will know who they are, but not me and certainly not the casual observer of the sport. And the All-Star game draws a ton of casual observers...people who tune in to see the spectacle and watch the elite players in action. Every player out there should be a household name, regardless if we have actually seen them play.

The Bonds', the Jeters, the A-Rods, the Schillings... household names, even among people who do not watch the sport. You say the name, people think BASEBALL. Thats what the All-Star game should be about.

Russell Martin? Cole Hamels? Dan Haren? JJ Putz? Who the hell are these people? Admitably, most of them are pitchers.. and baseball has way too many of those to keep track of. But still... are people going to pay big bucks to see these guys? Not the casual observer.

Thankfully the rosters are loaded with the big guns. All the usuall suspects will be there. Its still going to be a good time for all the guys out there, and that makes it a good time for all the fans watching. Because after all is said and done, its just much more enjoyable to see guys playing because they love the game and not just because its their job.

Game Over...

2007-06-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

The troubles keep mounting for Pacman Jones. In addition to his most recent problems with the Altanta Police, he now has actuall charges pending against him from a previous incident. A pair of felony charges have been filed against him in Las Vegas over the February shooting incident at a strip club. Until now, Jones could at least try to appeal his year long NFL suspension because there were no actual charges against him. With these new charges, his NFL career is almost certainly order. Game over, No replay, do not insert new coin.

The miracle season is over for the AntEaters. The UC Irvine Anteaters were beat by the defending champion Oregon St Beavers in the College World Series semifinals today. The Beavers/Eaters game was not much of a contest, with Oregon dominating the entire time. But the entire event is a victory for Irvine. Even the President of the United States proclaimed himself a member of 'Eater Nation prior to the game. The team is on the map now. They will be back next year. Anteater mascot dolls are flying off the shelves now, and 'Eater Nation' merchandise is the hottest thing in town.

The PGA announced it will start drug testing soon. This is just silly to me. How many golfers do you really think are juiced up on steroids when they hit the links? We just don't see golfers bench pressing 400 lbs in the gym. What would they have to gain from it? Sure it might help them drive the ball farther from the tee, but its not going to help them win many tourneys. Golf is a game (NOT A SPORT) of accuracy. Steriods might help you hit the ball harder, but its not going to help you sink a 16 ft put. Concentration, discipline, and accuracy win golf games, not strength.
If golf wants to do something to clean up the game, then do something about the silly looking cloths these guys wear when they play.

Quick Thoughts...

2007-06-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I have updated anything here. I apologise for that... sometimes life just gets in the way. Things should pick up again around here now. Keep your fingers crossed.

Pacman Jones is in trouble AGAIN. The kid just does not know when to keep a low profile. After another shooting at a strip club, he is wanted for questioning by Atlanta police. This pretty much dooms his NFL career. He once said he would choose his friends over his career any day. It seems he is holding true to that promise. Its sad to see such great talent wasted. He could have been one of the greats in the game.

LaVar Arrington was hospitalized Monday with serious but not life-threatening injuries after his motorcycle crashed on a highway ramp. This will almost certainly lead to an NFL rule that prohibits players from riding motorcycles. At the very least, we can count on every team including a clause in the player contracts that prohibits the activity. And we can probobly expect another fight between the Player's Union and the League because of it.

Alexi Lalas claims that the MLS is superiour to English Premiership soccer. Lalas said the only reason the English league is popular is because of American-style marketing. If thats the case, then why is the MLS not successful in its own marketing efforts? When was the last time you saw a sold out MLS game?

Get ready for the BEAVER/'EATERS game! The College World Series could see a matchup between the Oregon Beavers and the UC Irvine Anteaters (who use the name 'Eaters on thier jerseys.) I can't wait to listen to the ESPN play-by-play on the Beaver-Eaters game. It should provide many unintentionally hilarious comments.

Is NASCAR Being Scripted?

2007-04-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

NASCAR fans will be the first to admit that they love the fueds between drivers that threaten to erupt into physical confrontation during any given race. Fans love nothing more than to debate whether or not thier driver may have deliberately bumped into another car and caused a wreck. The NASCAR Nation has an insatiable appettite for sound bites of an angry driver verbally bashing his competition and race officials. The fans claim that this stuff is what makes the sport so exciting.

Now one of the sport's biggest stars has openly accused NASCAR of 'staging' races to ensure a dramatic finish each week. Two-time champion Tony Stewart compared NASCAR to professional wrestling and accused it of using bogus caution flags to shape race finishes. He made his comments on his weekly radio show.

Specifiacally, Steward hints that NASCAR may be calling Caution when its not really needed in order to force a tighter race near the finish. When the race is under caution, driver speeds are restricted and allows trailing cars to close the gap on thier competition. This effectively prevents a driver from pulling ahead of the pack and running away with the race.

Saturday night, NASCAR signaled Caution four seperate times for debris on the track. Race officials a careful to watch for such debris for safety reasons. A fragment of sheet metal can be deadly if run over by a car at full speed. Debris could slice a tire and cause an accident, or it could become airborne and pose a threat to anyone in the facility.

Stewart said on his radio show, "I guess NASCAR thinks 'Hey, wrestling worked, and it was for the most part staged, so I guess it's going to work in racing, too."

Is this just a case of a driver getting frustrated and spewing his mouth? Or is there really something to the theory that NASCAR might be taking active measures to impact the race outcome? If its true, then the sport will be forever crippled in the eyes of fans and will be relagated to the dustbin of television-sports failures like Roller Derby and American Gladiatiors.

Are Sports Leagues Above the Law?

2007-02-19T10:51:00.000-08:00

Think back to high school. Does anyone remeber listening to thier teachers talk about something called The Consititution? And the books showed pictures of this long piece of paper with lots of words and a bunch of funny looking signatures at the bottom? Did you really pay attention to what your teachers were talking about?

Obviously, the commissioners of the major sports orginizations in America did not pay attention in class that day. If they were paying attention, they might grasp the concept of something we like to call The First Amendment. For those of you who are sports commissioners or Jr. High dropouts, lets show you what it says...

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

That seems pretty self explainatory, don't you think? In plain english, it means that it is illegal to tell a person what they may or may not say out loud. The government is not allowed to control your words, thus nobody else may control your words either. As US Citizens, we are allowed to excercise our right to speek freely, without restriction.

Now, there are many laws that in fact do limit certain types of speech. You cannot threaten to kill another person. You cannot spread vicious lies about somebody. You cannot yell 'FIRE' in a crowded theater unless there actually is a fire.

So why are sports leagues allowed to penalize coaches and players for thier words?
The NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and NCAA sports all have long records of penalizing coaches and player who speak out about the officiating after a game.

Bobby Knight was recently fined again for criticizing the referree after a game. It was clearly a questionable call, and it determined the outcome of the game. This was only the most recent example of a league shielding its officials from criticism.

If players and coaches cannot question a sports official's call, who can? How can coaches protect their teams from a biased ref, or an official who simply is misinterpeting the rules during a game? How are they expected to express any dissatisfaction with an official who is simply not performing at an expected level? Everybody makes a bad call sooner or later. But without criticism, how will the officials know that thier rulings were unfair to a team?

When we make the officials untouchable, abuse becomes possible. The founding fathers of our nation understood this. It was part of the reason they felt the need to declare thier independence from the British Empire and fight a war to gain thier freedom. They understood this concept when they crafted the Constitution, and included safeguards that would ensure that government officials were never beyond criticism. And they intended this concept to extend into all areas of our daily lives

In order to keep officials honest, coaches and players must be allowed to express thier opinions after a game. This is not an accusation against any officials. We are fortunate to have men of integrity wearing the stripes in our major sporting leagues. They sometimes blow a call, but they try to do the right thing. But if they are exempt from criticism by thier peers and coworkers, then there is little deterent to prevent corruption from seeping into the system. And all it takes is one bad apple to spoil the whole bunch.

The Sports Wasteland

2007-02-11T18:29:00.000-08:00

This is it. The most boring time of the year for sports fans. The SPORTS WASTELAND. The bleak period of time between the Superbowl and the start of March Madness.

This the time of year where we fill the void in our lives by doing all the things we have been putting off all year. We clean the garage. We finally take down the Christmas lights. We check the expiration dates on all that stuff in the back of the fridge. We do anything we can to keep ourselves busy, because there is a serious lack of compelling sporting events on television right now.

ESPN takes this opportunity to bring us wonderful events such as Poker tournaments, Billiards championships, Bowling competitions, and arm wrestling. Even the USA network is alters its schedule in order to bring us the annual Westminster Dog Show live for 2 consecutive nights. Boredom is contagious, it seems.

Baseball season is still weeks away. The NFL draft is months away. The NBA and NHL are have not yet started the final push towards the playoffs. Arena Football season is 18 days away. Even NASCAR is still a week away from its first real race of the season, the Daytona 500.

Right now the only relevant sporting events are the NCAA basketball games, as the teams fight for thier positions in the March Madness tourneyment. The bracket selection is still a couple weeks away.

This is a strange time of year. Its like an offseason for the entire sports world. But rather than mourning the absense of sports that entertain us, we should embrace this strange phenomenon of the sports calander. It makes us that much more appreciative of the real sporting events when they return.

Samardzija Picks Pitches over Passes

2007-01-20T03:24:00.000-08:00

Notre Dame Wide Receiver Jeff Samardzija has decided not enter the NFL Draft, and has instead accepted a contract to play baseball for the Chicago Cubs. He has signed a 5 year deal worth $10 million, with a $2.5 million signing bonus.

The Cubs drafted Samardzija last year in the fifth round of the MLB draft. He then returned to Notre Dame to play football, where he was one of the top players in the entire NCAA.

Samardzija swears he is finished with football. He makes it clear that he has no intention of ever returning to a sport where he displayed such an incredible amount of raw talent. There was little doubt that he would have been selected very early in the first round of the NFL draft, and would most likely have been one of the first 10 players selected.

What was he thinking?

The average first round pick in the NFL walks away with a $3 million signing bonus. NFL rules limit the contract to a maximum of 6 years for the first 15 players chosen, and five years for all players chosen after that. And the NFL salary cap rules typically result in contracts packed with incentive based bonuses and guaranteed payouts over several years.

The average NFL first round pick will play in seven games his rookie year, but instantly becomes a household name in his new home city. Factor in endorsement deals, and the NFL first round selections come end up with a pretty fat paycheck for limited work

The Baseball draft is rarely talked about. Only the most hardcore fans of the sport can tell you the name of the first player selected in the last draft (I looked it up: Kansas City selected Luke Hochevar, a pitcher.) Player drafted are almost always sent immediately to a minor league affiliate, where their careers linger for years. In the event they ever do get called up to the ‘Big League’, most are shipped back to the minors after a game or two. For players selected in the later rounds… players like Samardzija… the odds of ever playing in a major league game are slim.

So why choose baseball over football? Its not because baseball is safer. As a pitcher, Samardzija has a particularly short shelf-life. Many pitchers develop chronic arm and elbow injuries early in their careers. Major surgeries are now commonplace in the effort to extend a pitcher’s career. Add in the other common injury risks… hit by a pitch, hit by a ball in play, injured while running the bases, or a simple trip and fall… and baseball rosters often have as many injured players as a football roster.

Baseball is not a sport where its any easier to maintain physical conditioning during the offseason. Baseball players require high levels of cardio stamina and strength conditioning. The offseason is much shorter for baseball players, so they have less recovery time between seasons. And the long schedule results in overall fatigue in a player’s body from just the traveling each week.

So why would Samardzija choose baseball over football? Why would he sacrifice instant fame, millions more in pay, and better odds of joining the starting lineup, and instead choose a potentially long stint in minor leagues with no guarantee that he will ever wear a major league uniform?

For the Love of the Game. Why else?

2006... NFL's Year of Regret

2007-01-03T05:50:00.000-08:00

As 2007 begins, there are a lot of people around the NFL who are seriously wishing they had done things a bit differently last year. Here is a short list....

Randy Moss regrets ever signing with the Raiders. Once the most dynamic reciever in the NFL, Moss has been unable to produce big plays and put points on the board since joining the team. Much of that has to due with his lack of a supporting cast around him. A quarterback who could deliver the ball to the proper team would help Moss improve his numbers significantly.

Al Davis regrets re-hiring Art Shell as head coach. Davis said he made a mistake when he fired Shell the first time. Now he will be making a mistake if he does not fire Shell a second time. Team moral and discipline have evaporated under Shell. Their players have been on the brink of mutiny all season long. Thier play on the field has been a comedy of errors, intterupted breifly by flashes of defensive brilliance. The only thing consistant about the Raiders is thier steady decline.... The team will have the #1 pick in the 2007 draft. At least there is nowhere to go but up.

Ben Roethlisburger regrets riding a motorcylce without a helmet. First of all, it damn near killed him. He was lucky to come out of it a functional human being. But despite all claims that he is 100% recovered from the incident, its clear that he is not the same player he was when the Steelers won the Superbowl. Its been a parade of minor injuries since then, and an emergency surgery to remove his appendix. While all those events are not directly connected to the motorcycle accident, common sense tells us that the wreck is what got it all started. Call it Karma.

Ricky Williams regrets not moving to Canada sooner. The new-age, pot-smoking, free-spirited Williams was banned from the NFL for a full year for failing his drug test again. So he went to play for the legendary Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. And despite that he only played 4 1/2 games due to a broken arm, he still finished 8th overall in the league for rushing. He had an impressive 4.8 yrds per carry average. Its clear that money has never been the motivating factor for Williams. He just wants to have a good time, and it looks like he's having it in Canada.

Tony Dungy regrets his devotion to the Soft Cover2 defense. It worked great for him when he was in Tampa Bay. When he came to the Colts, he began to craft the defense to specifically operate in the Cover2. He put together a smaller, leaner, faster defensive unit. In the process, he abandoned any chance they had of stopping the run. At the start of the season, the Colts looked like the team of destiny. Now their secondy will look like a second home for Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, because he will spend a lot of time back there during this weekend's wildcard game.

The Houston Texans regret choosing Mario Williams first in the draft. Ironic enough, the Defensive Rookie of the Year award went to the Texans SECOND ROUND pick, DeMeco Ryans. While Mario Williams failed to generate any impressive stats this season, Ryans led the NFL in tackles. Meanwhile, other first round picks like Reggie Bush, Vince Young, and AJ Hawk all showed that they were worth they hype. Houston, You Have A Problem.. and its somewhere in your front office!

Jim Mora Jr Regrets opening his mouth on radio. The young coach was expected to be a big name in the NFL for many years, but now finds himself unemployed. Mora was not fired for his inability to get the Falcons into the playoffs. He was not fired for failing to use Michael Vick effectively. He was not fired because his recievers are incapeable of cathing a pass. Mora was fired because he is a dumbass. He went on the radio and said that if he were offered the job at the University of Washington, he would 'leave the Falcons in a heartbeat.' Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank is a classy man, and he simply freed Mora from his responsibility in Atlanta so he could go pursue his dream job. By the way, Tye Willingham is still the coach at University of Washington.

Detroit Lions fans regret continuing to support the team. Its being reported that Lions GM Matt Millin will continue to remain on the job, much to the disbelief of the entire world. At this point there is absolutley no reason to justify keeping Millen on board. It shows a blatent disrespect for the fans, and disregard towards the players. The team has been a disater ever since Millen took his seat in the luxury box. His own ego takes precedent over all decisions. He has displayed a complete inability to win the loyalty of his players and coaches, and he has made nothing but terrible decisions regarding the team roster. The people of Detroit should sue the Lions for Fraud and False Advertising... the claim to have a proffessional football team, but nobody has seen it yet.

Bill Parcells has a lot of regrets right now. Far too many to list all at once. He regrets not making Romo his starter earlier in the season. He regrets not being able to find a kicker who can get the job done in clutch situations. He regrets ever having heard the name Terrell Owens. He regrets coming out of retirement and being forced to deal with stupid questions from reporters. And if the Cowboys lose in this weekend's wildcard game, Parcells will regret having so much stuff in his office, because it will take a while to clean it out.

The Green Bay Packer regret keeping Favre all season. This is not a negative comment about Favre... just the opposite. Favre was the best thing Green Bay had going for it all season. But now the Packers will have no choice but to start Aaron Rogers next season, and he will be going in without a lot of NFL experience. Its going to take a while for him to adjust to being the starter and taking all those hits each week. And its going to take a while for him to reajdust to game speeds and get his arm strenth back to playing level. Guys get rusty when they come out of college and sit on the bench for too long. A single season is one thing, but more than that simply takes years off a guy's carreer. The Packers would have been better served if they had simply switched to Rogers midseason, or began putting him in during the second half of games this year. The inexperience of Rogers will guarentee a 'slow start' in 2007.

The Bengals regret not having a personal supervisor for each player. The Bengals finished the year with as many wins as arrests. The 8-8 Bengals had 8 players arrested in seperate incidents in 2006. They should all just stay at home and watch 'The Longest Yard' on dvd, rather than trying to create thier own prison team.

History is Written by the Victors

2006-12-31T06:47:00.000-08:00

As sports fans, we love nothing more than to see a record-breaking performance. We always like to look back at the day we witnessed history. And there is something magical about seeing something happen that has never been done before in the history of a sport.

In our effort to carve out a unique place in history everyone, we tend to loose focus of the big picture. The problem is that some records are nothing more than a tribute to mediocrity or dumb luck.

Bobby Knight, the legendary college basketball coach who turned the University of Indiana basketball program into a household name, is standing on the brink of history. Now the head coach at Texas Tech, Knight is tied for the all time wins total with 880 victories in his carreer. And there is no doubting that he is indeed an excellent coach. But is this record really worth all the hype and attention its recieving from the sports news media?

When it comes to win/loss records, any coach who sticks around long enough will eventually get to the top of the list. In order to maintain your job as a head coach, you need to produce winning teams year after year. Coaches who cannot win consistantly are simply kicked to the curb. So logic tells us that any coach who has been around for a decade or two is bound to have a winning record. String together enough winning seasons, and you start moving up the all-time wins list. Stay in the business long enough, eventually the laws of probobility and basic mathmatics come into play, and you find yourself with more victories than any other coach in history.

This is true in all sports. Just look at Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden in college football; both are excellent coaches who managed to survive the tough years but are primarilly thought of in regards to their carreer wins total... and both have been coaching since before any of thier players were born.

The Persistance of Time is not the real mystique behind Bobby Knight's march towards victory number 881. The real accompishment is the simple fact that the man still has a job in sports at this particular moment. Over the years, Knight has become the poster child for 'Out of Controll Coaches.' His outburst on the court are legendary. His outbursts in the locker room are infamous. He is abusive to game officials, players, and reporters . He screams, curses, and throws things. More disturbingly, he has been accused of physically assaulting his players on numerous occasions. But somehow he manages to maintain his job.

I have nothing against Knight or his coaching style. At this point, students know what they are getting into when they agree to play for him. But in recent weeks the major sports networks have repeated touted all the carreer accomplishments of Bobby Knight. They also mention the negative outbursts and behaviour he has become famous for, but they mention those only as an amusing sidenote. The countless marks against him in the past have now been covered by the banner of 'All Time Leader: Carreer Coaching Wins'. History is truely written by the victors.

Knight lost his first attempt at win number 881. His second attempt might be called off due to a huge snowstorm in New Mexico. The sports news networks are clinging to this story and acting as if there is some sense of drama surrounding this event. There is no suspense here. Knight might not get the record tonight. He might even go on a 10 game losing streak. But eventually he will get another win. Its just a matter of patience and persistance.

Will Bonds ever break the home run record? Maybe, maybe not. Will Tiger woods catch Niclolaus for the tournament wins total? Who knows? Will any NFL team have an undefeated 16 game season? It looks like there is a contender every year, but the still fall short. Will Bobby Knight ever get victory number 881? Yeah, sooner or later its going to happen. If you have a decent team, you will get a win eventually. If you have a crappy team, eventually you will stumble across a team worse than yours. Either way, its not too difficult to predict at least one more win for Bobby Knight.

Congratulations to Coach Knight for managing to stay out of the unemployment line for so long.

The Answer Creates Questions

2006-12-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

Its day six of the Allen Iverson trade saga, and still no developments. Iverson sits at home, his locker sits empty, and the 76ers continue to lose.
At least 11 teams have expressed interest in trading for the leagues leader in points per game this season (31.2 pts per game.) In reality, its only believed that 3 teams can make legitimate offers that Philadelphia management might consider, but that will not stop them from entertaining speculation in an attempt to drive the price up.
Ironically, Iverson currently leads all guards in the Eastern conferance in the All-Star votes. In the unlikely event no trade took place prior to the All-Star game, would he be allowed to play? And what uniform would he wear?
Or what happens if he is traded to a team in the West, which is proboble, and he still is voted into the All-Star game as a player from the East?
Not only has Iverson managed to disrupt the operation of the entire Philadelphia 76ers franchise, but his on-court performance has now managed to throw the entire All-Star game into turmoil.
When will the fans learn that life in the NBA is not about winning championships, scoring points, or putting on a spectacular performance night after night? When will the fans learn that the NBA is about good sportsmanship, team chemistry, gratuitous charity work, excellent practice ethics, and compatibiltiy with upper management?
The 76ers are demonstrating that you don't need star players to provide the fans with a quality product for their money. The teams current losing streak is proof of that. In fact, why should ownership even care about what the fans think? The Clippers managed to survive a couple decades playing in an empty arena, and just look at them now.

Ford, Millen, and Mellencamp Chevy Ads?

2006-12-05T22:47:00.000-08:00

Is anyone else here sick and tired of the over-the-top, ultra-sappy Chevy ads featuring Mellencamp's 'My Country'? We see it at least 12 times during each NFL game. Its like getting hit in the head with a brick repeatedly. Its supposed to get us all sentimental and emotional, remind us all what a wonderful country we live in, remind us of the great struggles in our nation's past... and convince us to buy a truck? What the F#%K?
Now I will not get into the debate about which brand of vehicles is better... I really don't give a rats ass. But there needs to be some way to make this relate to sports, other than the football edition of the ad that sometimes airs during Sunday night games. And when it comes to car makers and football, FORD clearly plays a bigger role than Chevy. Specifically, the Detroit Lions. Ford Field. You get the point.
Now some of you will be quick to point out that FORD is the oldest name in automobiles, and one of the oldest names in the NFL... The FORD was a pioneer in both. And some of you will be quick to point out that the Lions function about as well as thier automobiles... meaning they both need serious redesign.
Some day the Lions will fire Matt Millen and begin to turn things around. Until then, we will just have to settle for ultra-cheesy ads and videos to remind us that there is always hope for a better life....

USC #2, Michigan #3

2006-11-27T10:06:00.000-08:00

There seems to be a lot of grumbling going on about how Michigan is being treated in the BCS. Many people believe that Michigan should be ranked #2 in the BCS standings right now, and should be playing Ohio for the National Championship. But the bottom line is that logic does not justify placing Michigan in this game ahead of USC.
Both USC and Michigan are one-loss teams. Both defeated Notre Dame with similar scores. The only difference is that USC ACTUALLY WON ITS CONFERENCE! Michigan did not win thier conference. Period.
If we start allowing non-conference winners to leap ahead of conference winners, then we might as well throw the whole system out the window now. What would be the point of conference games?
Now a lot of people are still screaming for a playoff system. I would also like to see a playoff system of some sort. But even a playoff system would not have helped Michigan this year. If we had a playoff system, who would get in? Conference winners. Again, MICHIGAN DID NOT WIN THIER CONFERENCE! Ohio State won the conferance. In a playoff format, Michigan would still be out of the picture.
Still need convincing? Just keep in mind the fact that Michigan lost to Ohio State in thier final game of the season. It was the equivilant of a one-game playoff to get to the National Championship. Ohio State won, Michigan lost, and thats the end of it. We have already seen who would win a game between these two teams.
And if anyone should be blamed for the lack of a playoff format, just look towards Notre Dame. They are opposed to a playoff format because they do not belong to a conference. Which is their own fault, really. They choose to try and remain 'different' and refuse to join a conference. Why? Because they would then be required to win a conference in order to get into the BCS. Notre Dame currently receives special consideration each year, as long as they have a winning record.
It might seem like I have something against Michigan here. I don't have anything against them. I enjoy watching them play. But I want fairness in the system, and Michigan blew thier shot. The National Championship game will be USC vs Ohio State. As dysfunctional as the BCS system is, they actually got it right this year.

We're Back!

2006-11-24T11:30:00.000-08:00

After an unexpected absence, I am happy to announce that we are back! We will be updating this blog regularly from now on. There will be a few minor differences though.
In an effort to maintain a regular schedule, we have decided to begin featuring shorter, more concise articles, instead of the long winded rants you all have become used to. But don't worry... you will still find the same sacastic, humorous, and insightful comments that we have always provided. It will just be straight to the point from now on, and will come more often.
Things will start moving quickly around here. Stayed tuned and enjoy the ride!

And be sure to listen to our most recent radio show! Just click Play on the media player on this page!

When Dirty Business is Good for Fans

2006-10-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

Jim Balsillie, whose company makes the BlackBerry wireless messaging device, signed an agreement Thursday to buy the Penguins from Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux's group for approximately $175 million.

Balsillie promised he is committed to keeping the Penguins in Pittsburgh -- the NHL had all but mandated that the franchise cannot move as long as a new arena is built. Mellon Arena, opened in 1961, is the NHL's oldest and least fan-friendly, a 1950s design still in use a half-century later.

In the past few years, city of Pittsburgh has used substancial taxpayer money to build new stadiums for the Pirates and the Steelers. The people of that city cannot withstand year of taxdollars being spent on sports rather than infrastructure.

So how will the stadium be paid for?
The Penguins' agreement with the Isle of Capri casino chain to build a $295 million arena at no expense to the team or taxpayers. To build the arena, Isle of Capri must gain the rights to build a new slots machine parlor in downtown Pittsburgh, and the state agency that will award the license is not expected to make a decision until the end of the year at the earliest.

Now if Balsillie is serious about keeping the team in Pittsburgh, he has a significant sum of money he can pump into the lobby effort in order to get the license awarded. In other words, a payoff.
If Balsillie does NOT want to really keep the team in Pittsburgh, he can do the same thing and simply spend money to ensure the license is rejected. Then he can say he tried his best and ship the team off to its new home, which would lost likely be somewhere in Texas.

Bilsillie and the casion are two huge financial resources. They can get a state-of-the-art modern sports facility built in that city withing a short period of time. The city would rake in tax dollars from the casino. The city would draw visitors to sporting events, concerts, and conventions held at the arena. The citizens of Pittsburgh would keep thier team. Everyone wins.

So whats the holdup? Some low level politicians are afraid that they might lose future votes if they approve a new casino. A few loud members of the moral minority could derail this entire deal.
Then the question becomes this: Can Penguins survive in Houston?

A Nation on Trial

2006-09-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

A federal judge ordered two San Francisco Chronicle reporters jailed Thursday, pending an appeal, for refusing to testify about who leaked them secret grand jury testimony from Barry Bonds and other elite athletes. Transcripts of the testimony of Bonds, Jason Giambi and others before a grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative were published by Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada. The grand jury was investigating the possible links between star atheletes and the company linked to a large steroid ring.

The two reporters have been ordered to sit in jail for 18 months, or until they reveal thier sources.

So much for our Freedom of the Press. Our reporters need to retain the ability to protect anonymous sources. The same type of anonymous sources that helped break the Watergate story, the Iran-Contra scandal, and the Clinton/Lewinsky sex scandal. And now the Barry Bonds/BALCO scandal. Our nation has been brought to its knees by the revelation that professional athletes may possibly have use performance enhancing drugs. How will we ever survive?

The real issue here is not the steroid use. That is a cultural phenomenon that will never completely go away, and we must find better ways to deal with it. The current systems of testing and fines simply does nothing to curb the increased use of steroids by high school atheletes.

The courts have put the wrong people in prison here. The reporters in this case did exactly what they were supposed to do. They had a big story with some juicy details about some of the sports world's biggest stars, and they printed it. They had information that indicated that cheating in professional sports was more widespread than previously thought, and that many individuals were making huge profits thru thier cheating, so these reporters printed the story. They did thier job.

The person who needs to sit in jail is the individual who leaked the sealed testimony to the reporters. That is the person who violated the law.But the governement needs to find a new way to discover that person's identity. The reporters need to remain off limits. The constitutional freedoms granted to the press must be maintained for the sake of all our remaining liberties.

Why is this all such a big deal? Who cares if a few athletes used steroids? Yeah, it sucks.. but its a part of our culture now. We just need to accept that it happens, while still doing what we can to prevent it. We should never encourage it, but we should not completely demonize those who give in to the pressure to do whatever it takes to compete and give the fans what they paid to see.

This is only such a big story because its centered around Baseball. The National Pasttime. It does not matter that more people watch football or NASCAR every week. Baseball is the symbol of America. And that symbol is a pretty accurate reflection of what this country represents. A large, diverse immigrant population. A massive national training and education system starting at the very earliest of ages. Outrageous ticket prices that most people can only afford on rare occasions. Hot dog and beer prices that few people can afford at any time. Eight Dollars for parking during the game. Multi-millionaire players who have no loyalty for thier team and will happily work for whoever offers the most money. Greedy owners who have no loyalty to the fans and will happily trade their best players to save a few bucks. A greedly league that will make any changes necessary to accomodate the corporate sponsors.
That is what we call our National Pasttime.

I do not hate baseball. I hate the way it is placed on a pedastle as a sacred object and used as a political prop during election years. Politicians throw out the first pitch for big games, but how many players on the team can they really name? Ask your local cab driver what he thinks about the local team, and you will most likely get more details than your brain can process.
Now ask that same cab driver what he thinks about this whole steroid mess, and you will get more great commentary. The problem is that the politicians and the prosecutors and the judges are not in touch with the man on the street. They see baseball as a buisness that must be preserved and proteced. The man on the street sees it as a game where the players should police themselves.

And the guys in the locker room? I think they could figure out there own way to deal with the cheaters, if we let them. Especially now that a few individuals have brought them all under the microscope.

Raider Nation in Crisis.. and Denial

2006-09-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

The Raider Nation has seen better days. The Black Hole is now known as the numbers on the scoreboard, rather than their loyal fans. The term "Black Hole' is appropriate, because Randy Moss and Warren Sapp seem to have been sucked into one and disappeared from the stat sheets.
Monday night against the Chargers, the Oakland Raiders registered a dismal 42 yards total in passing, but racked up 54 yards in penalties against them. When your penalties result in more lost yardage than you gain passing, your team is in serious trouble. They did manage 87 yards rushing, which is not much higher than their penalty total.
Maybe they don't understand the concept of the sport. You can't score by going backwards. A saftey is points for the OTHER team, not yours... so try to head towards the other end of the field on occasion.
We all understand that the penalties are a treasured part of the Radier mystique. Back in the glory days, the Radiers were known for taking blatent penalties just to strike fear into thier opponents. They abused thier opposition and stripped away thier will to play. But those were what we call 'smart penalties.' They served a purpose.
The new Raiders is a tradition of 'Stupid penalties.' There is nothing intimidating about a false start, offsides, or holding penalty. Its laughable. Until the team developes a bit of mental discipline, they are doomed to be at the bottom of thier division.
Penalties are not the only problem facing the Raiders. Fans had high hopes for Aaron Brooks in Oakland. If they had listened to me, they would have known that thier big offseason aquisition would turn out to be a disaster for them. Now they are stuck with a quarterback who can't hit an open reciever, can't avoid a blitz consitantly, and can't hang onto the ball. And his two primary recievers, possibly one of the best tandems in the league with Moss and Porter, are calling for a replacement. When the quarterback has lost the confidence of his recievers, his season is over.
The team is not much better on the other side of the ball right now. Last night, the Chargers scored all 3 of thier touchdowns from outside the red zone. For those of you not familiar with the term 'red zone,' that means the Charges scored 3 times from more than 20 yards away from the endzone. The Raiders are getting beat on big plays for long yardage. They are letting recievers get open, they are missing tackles, and they are failing to pressure the opposing quarterback.
In other words, the Raiders suck right now.
The first head to roll has to be Aaron Brooks. The quarterback carousel in Oakland needs to spin one more time.. something fans should be used to by now. The problem is that the Raiders missed out on the big fish during the offseason. They grabbed Brooks when they should have gone after Culpepper or McNair. Now they will have to do something drastic and desperate.
I predict that Patrick Ramsey will be traded to the Raiders soon. Oakland waited too long already, and now will be forced to overpay to get him. And thats IF they act quickly, before Pennington gets hurt again and Ramsey takes the starting job for the Jets.

2006-07 Season Preview

2006-08-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

Its time for my annual NFL off-season recap and season preview. There is a lot of stuff to cover this year, so I won’t be spending too much time on any one team.

The AFC.
The Bills are in trouble again this year, but they will not admit it. They still do not have a championship caliber quarterback on the roster. The battle between JP Losman and Kelly Holcomb is like the battle between Kmart and Target… both might be great values, but there are better options around the corner if you are willing to spend more. The Bills defense lost Lawyer Milloy and have done little to replace him. The team is hoping that everyone will be “talkin ‘bout Willis” all season long. The McGehee Show is the only way they will put points on the board this year.

The Jets are not looking much better than the Bills. At least Buffalo has a decent running back. The Jets managed to further confuse their QB situation this year, guaranteeing fans an opportunity to complain about any decision made. Chad Pennington is coming off multiple shoulder injuries. Brooks Bollinger still belongs on a college roster somewhere. And nobody can be certain of Patrick Ramsey’s condition after making his escape from Washington… he took a lot of physical and mental abuse during his sentence there, and it took a toll on him. No Curtis Martin this year… wait, he says he can play… team says he can’t… wait, now they say maybe….um, they grab Kevin Barlow, just in case?

The Patriots will be a playoff contender again. Period. No need to say more, but we will. The lost the best kicker in the game to free agency, but they will survive. They might lose Deion Branch because they refuse to pay him more, but they will survive. The defense is still solid and interchangeable, so they can always plug any holes that appear in the roster… and they just added Junior Seau to the mix (I will discuss that in detail later.) Their offense is always consistent, and now they have added rookie Lawrence Maroney to back up Corey Dillon… by week 3, I predict Dillon will be the backup, if not sooner. Maroney is my early pick for Rookie of the Year…. The guy is good!

The Dolphins are on the rise. They dealt with their QB problems by adding Daunte Cullpepper and Joey Harrington… Leo Clemon and Brock Berlin will also work in a pinch, but are not starting material. Culpepper looks a lot better than anyone thought he would after his massive knee surgery. The offensive line finally has a desire to protect the QB and give him time to deliver the ball. Chambers and McMichael are going to have huge numbers this season. And the defense is hungry, feeling disappointed at not being the #1 defense in the league last season. It’s a battle between the Patriots and the Dolphins for this division, and the edge will go to the team with the least amount of injuries at the end of the season.

The Ravens finally got themselves a QB when they added Steve McNair to the roster. He looks healthy enough to produce for them and will provide the stability they have lacked at the position since Trent Dilfer left (huh? Did I really just say that?) McNair is reunited with Derrick Mason, and Jamal Lewis is looking to erase the dismal memories of last season. The Ravens defense is still the most feared in the league, and they will be playing with a chip on their shoulders this year.

The Bengals are all about Carson Palmer. He looks like he is not 100%. If his knee is not fully recovered, they have no chance at the playoffs. All their eggs are in one basket. They have great receivers and a good running game, but without their star QB it will not matter. Herman Edwards might be a great coach, but you can’t coach ‘Injury’…its just not in the playbook.

The Cleveland Browns… Take a look at the team’s official website, and their team calendar tells it all… only one item listed: College Football: Wisconsin vs. Bowling Green. It seems like they are already scouting for next year’s draft. I would have suggested the same, despite their improved defense.

The Steelers are the defending champions. And they pretty much stayed intact. Bettis retired and Randel-El has moved on, but they are still basically the same roster as last year. They just need to glue the helmet to Roethlisberger’s head, or remind him of the lesson that took them to the Superbowl last season: Ride the Bus. They are still the class of this division, and should clinch their playoff spot early.

With the #1 pick in the draft, the Houston Texans pick… Not Reggie Bush. If this season goes as expected, that will be the punchline. They did not even draft an offensive line to protect David Carr (poor guy… now that Ramsey has left Washington, Carr has NO competition for the ‘most battered QB’ category.) Instead they took Mario Williams, a capable but not great defensive end. Its time for a complete overhaul of the front office in Houston.

The Colts are the team to beat in the AFC. Sure they lost Edgerrin James, but Rhodes can get the job done. Marvin Harrison might be old, but its never a bad idea to throw the ball in his direction… odds are he will catch it. Peyton Manning will continue to add to his growing legend this year, as will their new kicker Adam Vinitieri. Dwight Freeney and Cato June are just plain scary for opposing teams to deal with. This should be the year the Colts get over the hump and make it to the Superbowl… but we have been saying that for 3 or 4 years now… If the Colts do not go to the Superbowl this year, expect the team to be completely dismantled at the end of the season.

Lets hope the Jaguars can overcome the injury bug this year. They have a dynamic, sharp looking, sleek looking, fast team. They plan to turn every game into a horse race towards the endzone. Unfortunately, that’s where the plan seems to end. They will be fun to watch, even if they don’t win.

The Titans picked up a pair of Rose Bowl rivals in the draft. They beefed up their RB situation with LenDale White, but have since had to deal with his injuries and attitude problems. I suspect that once the season is in swing, White will hit the field and work out just fine for them. They also added Vince Young, the new ‘human highlight reel.’ He promises to be everything Micheal Vick was not. Young has not been named the starter yet, but it should only take a few snaps before the decision is made. Otherwise the Tennessee fans will riot.

The Broncos are always in the hunt. They are solid, not great, at every position. You know they will find at least one RB who will produce over 1000 yards this season. All eyes are on Jay Cutler right now, who looks incredible during preseason play. Everyone is wondering if this marks the end of Jake Plummer in Denver. I still think Plummer can get the job done… we can’t blame him for dropped passes in the playoffs, although I certainly will not justify his own many mistakes. Plummer is not the sole reason Denver got beat by the Steelers last year. I am putting Denver into the AFC championship this season.

The Chiefs are all about LJ this year. The Larry Johnson phenomenon has started, at least in the eyes of the public. Lets hope the coaching staff has a better plan. Everyone gawks at Johnson’s numbers last year… ‘was on pace for a 2,400 yard season.. blah, blah, blah…” Now lets look at the facts: He took over the starting job late in the season, so he was a fresh healthy back going against bruised and battered defenses. Yeah, he did an amazing job, no doubt about it. And yes he will demolish the opposition this year. But his numbers WILL drop off this season. Its easier to get yards in weeks 9-16 than it is in weeks 1-9.

The Raiders are still the Raiders. Always unpredictable, always entertaining. Aaron Brooks will become a comedy of errors just like he was in New Orleans. But he just might get enough protection to produce a few points, then let the defense keep the other team’s points down. And when in doubt, THROW THE BALL TO RANDY MOSS. It works. Too bad this team is in the same division with 3 playoff caliber teams, otherwise they might have had a wildcard shot.

The Chargers will rock this year. Tomlinson will still be the best player in the game. Gates will continue to redefine the position of Tight End. Phillip Rivers… well… let’s wait and find out. He might not be that great, but he has enough support around him to make it all work.

The overall AFC picture: Colts vs Broncos in the AFC championship. Gee, I really went out on a limb there, eh?

The NFC.

NFC stands for No Fucking Clue. Which pretty much describes the NFC picture this season.

Lets start with the big story. Maybe you’ve heard about it. The Dallas Cowboys signed Mike Vanderjagt. Oh, you were waiting for the Terrell Owens story maybe? The TO situation has already gone into OT, and everyone is waiting for the explosion. The team slapped him with a $9500 fine yesterday for missing meetings. Put him on the field on game day, and he will find the end zone… with or without the ball. Its just a matter of Bledsoe staying on his feet long enough to throw it to Owens. But Vanderjagt will be the guy who wins games for Dallas. He is one of the most consistent kickers in history. He will turn short-punt situations into 3 pts for the team. And they lost three games by 3 pts or less last season. One field goal per game will turn a 9-7 team into a 12-4 team.

The Eagles do not have Terrell Owens anymore… Maybe you’ve heard about that? McNabb claims to be healthy this season. And the entire team is singing the chorus of ‘TO is gone, so our problems are solved.” Sorry boys, but Owens never sacked your QB or caused him to fumble. And Owens never allowed the opposing offense to get a first down in a critical situation to keep a scoring drive alive. Nope, the team had more problems than just Owens. But with Owens gone, maybe they can focus on them now.

The Giants are a contender. They are moving in the right direction. Eli Manning is turning out to be a pretty good QB… maybe its in his genes? Jeremy Shockey is having concussion problems, and I expect him to be injured off and on throughout the season. They might not make the playoffs, but they certainly have a good shot at it.

The Redskins are a mystery. They have to tools, they just can’t get them all working at once. Clinton Portis is hurt now, with an injury that could nag him all season long. Mark Brunell still seems to be ‘the guy’ in Gibbs Land, but if he gets hurt Todd Collins will have to take over… too bad the team opted not to sign Kerry Collins as a backup. The Redskins are a really good team on paper. The problem is getting them all healthy enough to be on the field at the same time.

Everyone got excited about the Bears last year. The team was under the radar and managed to bring Defensive football back to the NFL. Even without a real starting QB, they managed to produce enough points to win. They still have the same QB situation this year, but have added Brian ‘can’t keep a job or the ball’ Griese to the mix. So expect more of the same this year. They will need to win on defense. Thomas Jones is still a stud, but he needs an offensive line that can open some holes for him… and they just don’t have that.

The Detroit Lions are like that geeky kid on the block who you always let hang around, but you don’t really know why… he is never good at whatever it is your doing, is laughed at by everyone around, but he is always just happy to be there. The Detroit Lions are still a joke. They will continue to be a joke as long as Matt Millen is associated with the franchise. The owner refused to hear the chants of the fans when they held their ‘Millen Man March’ last year, and over 150,000 people marched through the streets demanding Millen’s removal. Lets shoot for 250,000 this year, and maybe they will hear it.

ATTENTION: Brett Favre is NOT retiring this season. Repeat: Brett Favre is not Retiring this season. Citizens of Green Bay, you may now leave the shelters and return to you homes. And no, they did not bother to improve the rest of the lineup much.

The Vikings will be the most improved team during the early portion of the season. Expect them to come out of the gate with some big wins. Brad Johnson is a damn good QB… understands that you don’t need highlight reels to win games, just yardage and points. Tarvaris Jackson is listed as their #4 QB, but he will be moved up to #2 soon, and will be the starter next season… he is really, really good! The team looks to fix its traditionally shakey running game by adding Chester Taylor to the roster. Overall they have a combination of power and consistency that reminds me of the old Riggens/Thiesman Redskins. The Vikings are easily a playoff contender this season, as long as their defense can hold the points down. Lets just keep them away from those famous Minnesota lakes for a while.

The Atlanta Falcons always show a lot of promise. Any year could be ‘the year’ for Michael Vick. And every year falls short. Warrick Dunn will pile up more yardage this year, but they lost the short-yardage power of TJ Duckett. The receiver lineup is confused… they have a lot of talented guys who just can’t seem to catch the ball. They have a really solid defense though, and that will keep them in contention. They will at least be a wildcard team, but I can’t promise more than that.

Its hard to not like the Panthers. They always look good. Their lineup is strong, they have exciting play, and they are a tough, gritty team. But they have chronic problems with the injury bug. But even if the team falls apart and can’t win games, at least we can hope for more drunken lesbian cheerleader bathroom brawls.

The Saints are a new team this year. I am not going to make fun of them (their owner is still at target for any rude remarks I choose to make, though.) Drew Brees is a playoff caliber QB. Reggie Bush will live up to all the hype and will help them win a few games. They still need to beef up the defense, particularly the secondary. But this team is starting to turn it around. Its just a matter of how their owner will find a way to screw it all up.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are turning into a pretty good looking football team again. Nothing spectacular there, but they work hard and get the job done. Chris Simms will finally get the chance to establish himself as a true NFL starter… if he fails, the team will need look towards Tim Rattay and Brad Gradkowski to turn it around, and that does not sound too promising. The Cadillac will again be almost impossible to stop, and will have Alstott to replace him for the ugly yards… it’s a powerful combo that will cause nightmares for defensive linemen.

There is a lot of buzz surrounding Arizona this year. Yeah, I will admit it: Their new stadium looks great. Too bad they have to put those ugly-ass uniforms on it. The team added Edgerrin James to finally establish a running game. That will win them a couple games this year. They still have Kurt Warner at QB… that will win a couple games for them and lose a couple games for them. Does anyone here really believe that Matt Leinart will sit on the bench as a backup all season long? I give it till week 4. But no matter what happens, it’s the Cardinals… they are still going to suck.

The Rams will be looking to score big with Stephen Jackson this year. He has all the tools, but not enough support. Tory Holt and Issac Bruce will still be a great combination, but Bruce is on the team more as a mentor than as a scoring machine… this will be his last season in the NFL. The ‘fastest show on turf’ needs to oil its gears a bit. Their defense needs a complete engine change. I love the Rams, but this team is going nowhere.

The 49ers are sad. Thank god for the Cartoon Network… at least the kids can be entertained on game day.

The Seahawks are the runaway favorites in the NFC. Shaun Alexander is still dominant… lets hope he can avoid the EA curse and can deal with his new popularity in the media. Matt Hasselbeck gets the job done, somehow. The Seattle defense is the most underrated squad in the league. This team is really, really solid. They just play in the wrong time-zone, so nobody sees it.

The overall NFC picture: No fucking clue. If I had to make a prediction, I would say… um…Seattle vs Atlanta in the NFC championship… I am really not comfortable with that prediction, because the NFC is wide open.

The rest of the football world
Something happened in the NFL last week that really pissed me off. Junior Seau retired. The Chargers signed him to a one-day deal and threw a huge ceremony for him. ESPN aired is whole retirement speech live, and he cried and ranted and carried on like a preacher at the Rapture. Then 24 hours later, he signed with the Patriots. That’s bullshit. The NFL needs a rule that requires players to sit out at least a full season if they retire. What Seau did was an insult to the Chargers and the Dolphins. I lost all respect for him.

This is the end of the Paul Tagliabue era. The commissioner is stepping down soon. It was a good run. He rolled with the punches, made his mistakes. But overall, he did a fine job. During his tenure, the league made huge improvements. New teams joined the league in Carolina, Jacksonville, and Houston. Cleveland moved to Baltimore, then Cleveland got a new team. The Rams moved, the Raiders moved several times. But the league stayed strong. The NFL added instant replay, then experimented for several years until they got it right. The 2 point conversion was added, and a whole new dynamic of the game was opened up. The league is stronger now than it was when he took over. Thanks for all the hard work over the years!

Clarett Fought the Law, and the Law Won...

2006-08-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

Maurice Clarett was charged with carrying a concealed weapon after a highway chase early Wednesday that ended with police using Mace on the former Ohio State running back and finding four loaded guns in his sport utility vehicle.Officers used Mace to subdue Clarett after a stun gun was ineffective because the former Fiesta Bowl star was wearing a bullet-resistant vest. He tried to avoid police and led them on a short pursuit which ended when he ran over a police spike strip.
A few years ago, Maurice Clarett was on top of the world. He led Ohio State to the NCAA Football National Championship. He was the front runner to win the Hiesman Trophy the next year. He was set to be one of the top NFL draft picks after the next season. He was on the brink of having it all.
But he screwed it all up.
First came the minor legal troubles. There were far too many to recount now, but none were serious enough to really warrent concern. Then the academic troubles arose.... he simply could not keep his grades up and was not attending class, the classic college athelete saga. The came his failed attempt to enter the NFL draft early, his lawsuit against the league to challenge the rules, and the flurry of last minute court hearings and appeals... all resulting in a victory for the NFL. Then the NCAA dealt another blow to Clarett by ruling him ineligable for NCAA play because he had declared his intention to enter the NFL draft.... more lawsuits followed, and again Clarett lost. A year later came the NFL draft, and the Denver Broncos took a chance and drafted him in the late rounds. Clarett never saw action in an NFL uniform, and was released before the season ever started.
Since being cut by the Broncos, Clarett has been in constant trouble with the law. Before this latest incindent, he was already awaiting trial on two counts of aggravated robbery, four counts of robbery and one count of carrying a concealed weapon in a separate case.
So what went wrong with this guy? Bad wiring in his head? Momma raised him wrong? He fell in with a bad crowd? Or did society and the celebrity-athelete lifestlye drive him to stupidity?
The short answer is this: Despite all his athletic talent, he was still just a little punk who felt the world owed him something, and he tried to take what he could not earn.

2006 NFL Hall of Fame

2006-08-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

The 2006 NFL Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place today. This year's group of inductees is special, even when compared to all the great names who have recieved the honor in the past.
You know its a big event when a pair of Cowboys legends, Rayfield Wright and Troy Aikman, are the small stories of the event. This does nothing to diminish thier greatness or their accomplishments. It just means that the other stories are truely spectacular.
John Madden is a household name. As coach of the Raiders, he helped create one of the most feared teams in the history of sports. His sideline antics were as outragous as they come. In the broadcast booth he brought his endless wealth of experience and information, and he translated that into terms that the average viewer could understand. He spoke like a fan during broadcasts, and the viewers could relate to that. As a spokesman, he became a household name. His Madden video games have revolutionized sports video games and have helped teach the game of football to millions of kids. John Madden has already left a huge footprint in the history of the NFL, and he is far from finished.
Harry Carson had to wait far too long to recieve his honor. As a linebacker for the Giants, he was one of the most dominant players of his generation. He kept his name out of the headlines, preferring to be the perfect 'team player.' His smart, aggressive style of play set the standard for many of today's linebackers. Off the field, he was even more amazing. Whenever a friend or teammate was in need, injured, or just fallen on hard times, Harry Carson was always the first to respond. His dedication to community projects is unparralled. He has always been a class act. The NFL made a mistake by not including him in the Hall of Fame until now. Finally a new generation of fans can be introduced to someone who truley deserves it.
Warren Moon was one of my favorite players ever. In his prime, he was magic on the field. He brought a whole new level of mobility to position of Quarterback. And as a pocket passer, he was one of the best. Even before coming to the NFL, his stats in the CFL are still held in awe. In his 6 seasons in the CFL, he led his team to 5 champioships. He made his NFL mark with the Houston Oilers. He came into the the league at a time when black quarterbacks were rare. He helped break down a few of the racial barriers that still existed at the time. He never got them to the top, but they were always a contender with him. Injuries finally ended a carreer that age could not. Warren Moon is still considered a prototype for guys like Steve McNair, Michael Vick, and Aaron Brooks.
We all know the Reggie White story. He was one the true good guys. Thats all that needs to be said. His death was painfull for everyone who ever knew him and everyone who ever watched him play. There will not be a dry eye remaining when his name is spoken at today's ceremony. The Hall of Fame will be in good hands with the 'Minister of Defense' there to protect it.

NBA Changes Playoff Format

2006-08-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

Mark Cuban continues to alter the course of NBA history. His verbal antics during this year's NBA playoffs have forced the league to admit there was a flaw in the system. The league has even gone so far as to correct the problem that has always existed but has rarely arisen. Leave it to Mark Cuban to find an obscure loophole and jump into it head first.
The issue the NBA had to deal with was this: The Dallas Mavericks finished the regular season with the second best record in the Western Conference. Division winners are automatically given the top seeds in the playoff bracked based on regular season record, then the rest of the 8 slots are filled out by teams with the best records. Dallas had a better record than the #2 and 3 seeds, but were given a lower seed position because San Antonio had won the division. The end result is that the top two teams in the conference, San Antonio and Dallas, had to play each other in the conference Semi-Finals, rather than in the conference Finals.
Dallas dealt with the sitution by beating San Antonio in the Semis then beating Pheonix in the Conference Finals, before losing to Miami in the Championship series.
It was a minor glitch in the system, but the NBA has corrected it. Now the top 3 seeds will get thier spots, then the teams with the next best records will be filled in..... wait... that still leaves the possibiilty of this situation happening again!
Ok.. here is an idea that the NBA should consider: Lets guarentee each division winner a spot, but still seed ALL positions based upon thier record at the end of the season. That would completely eliminate this problem. It does create the possibility that an entire division could enter with the top four seeds in the conference, but the odds of that happening are very remote.
Either way, the fans got to see the top two teams in the conferance battle in a 7 game series. That is what is important. Who really cares which round of the playoffs it happened in. One team was going to be eliminated by the other eventually.

The 'Yellow Floyd' Sports Scandal

2006-07-28T06:18:00.000-07:00

Here we go again. Another Tour de France in the books, and another round of steroid allegations. Once again the french are claiming that the winner, who happens to be an American for the 8th straight year, tested positive for steroids. Well, not exactly. He only tested positive for an abnormally high level of testosterone after the race, but lets not get technical about little details like that. After all, its only a bicycle race.
If he did in fact use an illegal substance that effected his performance in that now famous 17th stage, then he should certainy be stripped of his title and banned from competition forever. If he did not use anything to alter his performance, than he simply put on a miraculous display of athleticism, determination, and... ok, he simple pedaled faster than everyone else that day.
I am not really trying to poke fun at the sport of cycling. The Tour de France is a brutal month long event where most of the time is spent going uphill. Its hell and I certainly would not be able to do it.
But this all becomes really silly when you consider this as another of the great scandals in sports history. But it does reflect a trend of big scandals erupting from insignificant sports.
The previous cycling scandal will rage for years. People will continue to debate whether or not Lance Armstrong cheated.
Figure skating has had more than its share of headline making scandals. The Tanya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan incident. The Olympic Scoring scandal. The Second Olympic Scoring scandal. The Johhny Wier sexuality controversy.
Track & Field is nothing but scandals involving doping accusations. Ben Johnson alone accounts for more than most other sports ever see.
Golf has controversy and scandal. Women golfers competing in men's events. Women and minorities being barred from certain courses.
Soccer is filled with scandal. This year's World Cup had many drug related issues, with entire teams and their coaching staffs coming under fire. Italy won the world cup despite the fact that over half the team was under investigation for match fixing back in thier home country. The Zidane headbutt has found a home in pop-culture now.
Chess has seen a few scandals over the years, although its hard to imagine what could possibly happen during a chess match. Competitors are now tested for drugs prior to international competition for some silly reason.
Why do these silly little sports seem to have so many scandals? Because the contestants are desperate to get their 15 minutes of fame. Even if they are the best in their sport, they will never be a household name.. until they are involved in a scandal. If Landis had not been accused of doping, his name would already be out of the headlines. Nobody would remember Tanya Harding if she had not hired a hitman to injur her rival.
The heads of these sports organizations claim they hate scandals. I am sure they never want to see cheating in thier sport. But they secretly love it because it gives people a reason to talk about a sport that they would otherwise ignore. And lets admit the truth here: We never pay attention to these events until there is a controversy.
These controversies do not help these sports enter the mainstream or become more popular. Viewership increases after such things happen, just like more people look at the side of a road when there is a wreck. Its a freak show and we just watch and hope all hell breaks loose on live television.
These things will never rank with the true historical sports scandals. Floyd Landis will never be compared to the Chicago 'black sox' who threw the world series. He will never be compared to Barry Bonds and his steroid scandal. His situation will not be compared to the Mike Tyson rape conviction or the Kobe Bryant rape allegations. He will never be remembered in the same light as OJ Simpson. His scandal does not shake the world like the Magic Johnson HIV announcement did. Big sports, big scandals, big story. The Floyd Landis story is just the result of a slow news week in sports.
History remembers the real scandal and all the details. The public barely remembers the name of the people involved in these scandals in minor sports.
If you want to look at a real sports scandal, then consider the Charlie Brown/Lucy situation. For decades Lucy has deliberalty pulled the footall off the tee just prior to the kick, causing her teammate to miss the kick and land painfully on his back. Where is the investigation into this?

Not The Frederick Douglass of Sports

2006-07-26T02:17:00.000-07:00

Texas Longhorns running back Ramonce Taylor said Tuesday he will transfer to another college. Taylor has recently had legal problems resulting from a marijuana arrest. He was forced to miss spring practice due to poor grades.
While he remained in the shadows of QB Vince Young all season last year, Taylor still played a major role on the team. He scored 15 touchdowns and served to draw coverage away from recievers and Young. He enabled the team to open up the offense a lot.
So he has a drug problem and he can't keep his grades up, but he figures he can just walk away from his college and go play somewhere else this season? Remeber when college sports used to make people sit out a full season after they transfered to a new school? In recent years we have seen the NCAA make more and more exceptions made for star players, effectively killing that particular rule.
So whats the big deal? Well, first consider what it does to college sports. This is not the NFL, where players can pack up and move to a new team whenever they are not getting their way. This is college, where student athelets go to get an education. Part of that education sometimes involve learning how to cope with a situation they might not particularly like.
But there is a much bigger problem here. An individual like this should not find it so easy to relocate to a new school and be welcome with open arms. He is not the ideal student athlete. Nor is he the ideal citizen. He has legal problems and academic problems, and he shows no sense of commitment. This means we must question his judgement, his commitment to the sport or teammates, his moral values, and quite possibly his basic intelligence. In other words, he has displayed that he is immature, irresponsible, undependable, and either stupid or lazy depending on how you interpet his grades.
Taylor made the following statement with his announcement: "Frederick Douglass once said, 'No struggle, no progress.' I've had my share of struggles and now it's time for progress." Somehow I do not think Frederick Douglass was referring to anything as trivial as a football player switching schools. And I certainly do not think Frederick Douglass meant that you should simply pack your bags and leave town when the going gets tough. History tells us that Douglass stuck to his guns, stayed loyal to his people, and continued to fight.
If an athlete is going to quote a historical figure like this, they should at least open a history book and learn something about the person they are quoting. Following their example would not hurt much either.

Week In Review

2006-07-23T20:14:00.000-07:00

A quick recap of the past 7 days in the world of sports....
American Floyd Landis won the Tour De France. This makes 8 years in a row that an American has won the race. And this time the French do not have Lance Armstrong to accuse of doping.
Ricky Williams broke his arm in a CFL game. The Toronto Argonauts say he will be out at least 4 weeks. They better keep a close eye on him, since we all know what Ricky does to relax in his free time.
Tiger Woods won the British Open. I still insist that Golf is not a sport, so it should not even be a news item.
Some 21 year old won the World Series of Poker. That is definately not a sport, so I will not even name the guy.
Tye Law has signed a 5 year deal with the Chiefs. Its amazing that someone with that much unused talent is unable to hold a job.
A San Fransisco Grand Jury has decided to not indict Barry Bonds on a variety of charges. Instead they ended thier term and will simply pass the problem on to the next Grand Jury. Kinda like taking time out to change pitchers before letting him walk.
Bengals DT Matthias Askew was arrested after a parking violation and altercation which resulted in police using a taser on him. Askew is the 4th Bengals player arrested in as many months. Oh, the jokes are just too easy now, so I will not even bother. Just add your own punchline.
Yeah.. it was a pretty slow week.

The Ricky Williams Saga Continues

2006-07-22T23:23:00.000-07:00

The strange tale of Ricky Williams continues to take more twists and turns.
His career in the Canadian Football League came to an end today with a severely broken arm. The injury came during his fourth carry of the game for the Toronto Argonauts. Williams was scambling for additional yardage on a short carry, when the opposing players piled onto him. After the play he left the field under his own power, but was clearly in pain. The team has indicated that he has 'a clean break', but have not yet specified which bone is broken.
Now we are all left to wonder whats next for Ricky Williams. Its unlikely he will ever play for the Toronto Argonauts again. Its doubtful he will ever play in the CFL again, a league that is geared specifically towards the passing game. At the time of his injury, Williams ranked sixth in the league, with just under 300 yards total for the season.
Many are assuming that he will never again wear a Miami Dolphins uniform. His recurring drug problems will already force him to sit out the 2006 season, which is why he went to Canada in the first place. The only reason the Dolphins agreed to let him play in the CFL was so he could earn some money to pay off his debts and to stay in shape for the 2007 season. Now neither looks to be the case.
It is only a broken arm. Williams is not an injury prone player, having only missed games in 2000 due to a broken ankle. But the broken arm might just be the straw that broke the camel's back. The Miami Dolphins and the rest of the NFL will most likely throw in the towel now and walk away from the Ricky Williams saga.
And we will forever be left wondering just how good he really could have been.

Welcome to Front Row Sports

2006-07-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

This is it. We finally have a space to share our madness with the world. The sports world will never be the same again.
Move over ESPN. Here comes something slightly different. We are just not sure exactly what it is yet.
This thing will take shape soon. I intend to let it grow and take on a life of its own. I am hoping the rest of the gang will be along shortly to make their presence and opinions known.
We have another one of our NFL Fantasy Drafts starting in a few moments, so the first real article here will have to wait a bit.
Be patient. The party is just getting started.