Tiki Busted Using the “C” Word On National TV
August 21, 2008
Damn, he did!… more tomorrow.
Gene Upshaw Dead at 63
August 21, 2008
Gene Upshaw, Hall of Fame offensive lineman with the Oakland Raiders and Executive Director of the NFL Player’s Association for the past 25 years, is dead:
In 1983, he became executive director of the players’ association and guided it through the 1987 strike that led to replacement football. By 1989, the players had a limited form of freedom, called Plan B, and in 1993, free agency and a salary cap were instituted.
Since then, the players have prospered so much that NFL owners recently opted out of the latest labor contract, which was negotiated two years ago by Upshaw and then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
Upshaw was criticized by some for not being tough enough in negotiations with Tagliabue, a close friend of the union head. He also was blamed by many older veterans for not dealing sufficiently with their health concerns.
Time for a Little NCAA Football Talk: Teams 6-10
August 21, 2008
It’s time for numbers six through 10 in the preseason poll. Three of these teams have a legitimate shot at BCS a final game. The others? Let’s see where they stand.
The second five:
Missouri
LSU
West Virginia
Clemson
Auburn
-Missouri has Chase Daniels and your team doesn’t. The quarterback that was too small for Texas head coach Mack Brown to recruit is now the bane of Big 12 defenses and one of the best college QBs in the country. With Daniels and a schedule that has them playing no team ranked higher than No. 11 (Texas), Missouri has an opportunity to atone for its late-season collapse last year and not only win the Big 12 North but meet and beat likely Big 12 South champion Oklahoma Big 12 championship game.
But.
Daniels and crew starts off the season against dangerous 20th-ranked Illinois. The game is in the “other Columbia” - Mizzou’s home city - which should give the Tigers the edge they need to this tough season opener.
The next time Missouri faces a ranked team will be October 18 when they play in Austin against Texas. Mack Brown’s Longhorn are talenbted but inexperienced at many positions and in fact may be overrated. Additionally, the Tigers have the luxury of getting Texas the week following their rivalry game against Oklahoma. If there is any time to play the “Horns at home it is that week.
Time For a Little NCAA Football Talk
August 20, 2008
Ten days. Ten days until the NCAA football season begins. Ten days until the play on the field starts and the talk ends.
It’s also time to briefly discuss how the preseason rankings will change by the beginning of November …
The SI preseason top 10 looks like this:
Georgia
USC
Ohio State
Oklahoma
Florida
Missouri
LSU
West Virginia
Clemson
Auburn
-The Georgia Bulldogs’ Third game of the season will be at Columbia where they play South Carolina. Steve Spurrier still does not have the recruits he needs to make an SEC championship run but his teams are always dangerous. This matchup is great preparation for a three-game stretch at Arizona St. (#15), 24th-ranked Alabama (home game), and No. 18 Tennessee, which is also a home game. The ‘Dogs get a one game rest at home against Vanderbilt before they travel to Baton Rouge to play #7 LSU and then return home to meet #5 Florida.
Michael Vick and His Act of Bankruptcy
August 18, 2008
This Michael Vick news stunned me when I received the email. Marc Isenberg of “Money Makers” wrote a post touching on Vick’s dissolving into the throes of bankruptcy. According to ESPN’s legal expert, Lester Munson, Vick:
…turned to a Falcons teammate, linebacker Demorrio Williams.
Williams recommended Mary Wong, a 40-ish business manager in Omaha, Neb., who had helped Williams manage his money and his accounts. Wong worked quickly to gather the restitution money, cashing in a retirement investment with Lloyd’s of London and persuading a bank to lend Vick more money. That put together just enough money to pay the restitution.
It was a good start for Vick. But, according to papers filed in his bankruptcy, it did not last.
In addition to gathering the restitution funds, Wong used a power of attorney from Vick to “wrongfully remove” at least another $900,000 from his various accounts, according to a document filed by Ginsberg. And, court papers also say, Wong “caused certain business entities owned by [Vick] to be transferred to her.”
There could be more bad news to come. “
Notes: The Greening of Chad Johnson Thanks to ESPN
August 14, 2008
Thursday morning on ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning Show, hosts Mike Greenberg and Erik Kuselias ripped Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, Chad Johnson. Was it because he looks like a hypocrite reporting to training camp and acting as if all is well after all but blowing up his relationship with his Cincinnati Bengals teammates and Bengals management?
No.
In short, Johnson, on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption Wednesday afternoon, said Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps is facing no viable competition. He continued saying that if Phelps had grown up in his South Florida neighborhood he might not be the swimming champion he is today because some of the best athletes are never seen and further, Johnson boasted - “I’m serious” - that today, as three-time child champion swimmer at his local pool in Liberty City, Florida, he could defeat Phelps in a swim race.
“Some of the best people in the world are people who can’t make it to that level. I know a couple of people who can beat Michael right now and I’m one of them.”
Greenberg, the ringmaster in the Mike and Mike airing, took the bait hook, line, and sinker and appeared incredulous after reading Johnson’s remarks. The once print journalist turned radio jock just could not wrap his head around Johnson’s words. So rather than admit his inability to contextualize the words he heard and seek to interview Johnson, Greenberg took the low road and questioned the wideout’s sanity and said he felt Johnson was demeaning the work it takes to become an Olympic champion. Kuselias largely deferred to Greenberg, but agreed with the main host’s assessment of Johnson.
“I’m not Dead Yet”: Why are Stars Past their Prime Treated so Badly?
August 13, 2008
Recently we saw both Manny Ramirez and Brett Favre being escorted off the premises in Boston and Green Bay. Both had delivered a title to each city after decades of losing. Both were slightly past their prime, but still at least among the top 25% in the league at their position. Yet they were widely vilified for their attitudes, and management tried hard to get rid of them. Why did this happen? Are you going to tell me that Manny and Brett’s attitudes have spontaneously changed from team player to spoiled divo as they aged? Or that their attitudes were so bad that they could only be tolerated when playing at an MVP level? Both theories are highly suspect.
The Whiteballing of Daunte Culpepper and Byron Leftwich
August 13, 2008
In three years and six games of a fourth year Byron Leftwich amassed a 24-20 record with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 2007 he was suddenly released by Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio. Leftwich was replaced by David Garrard. Leftwich remained unemployed for most of the season. He was picked up by the Atlanta Falcons as an afterthought. Leftwich was 0-2 as a starter with Atlanta and was released by a team in disarray.Sunday, Leftwich was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers to temporarily replace injured backup Charlie Batch. Leftwich is using the three remaining preseason games the Steelers play as a series of auditions in the hopes of latching onto a team for the upcoming NFL season.
At age 23 Daunte Culpepper was the toast of Minnesota. The huge quarterback led the Vikings to an 11-5 record and was voted to his first Pro Bowl appearance. Though he would never lead Minnesota to another winning record, Culpepper played in two more Pro Bowls (2003-2004; Minnesota was 7-7 in 2003 and 6-6 in 2004) and had a 32-38 record and threw for 135 touchdowns while throwing 86 interceptions in 2607 passing attempts as a starter with the Vikes.
Today Daunte Culpepper is unemployed.
While both Leftwich and Culpepper were thrust into the starter role for their teams very early in their careers, Chad Pennington sat for his first two years before taking the helm of the New York Jets. In five and-a-half seasons as a starter with the Jets Pennington compiled a 32-39 record.
After Brett Favre was traded from Green Bay to the Jets Pennington was released by the Jets and picked up by the Miami Dolphins head player personnel honcho Bill Parcells. Pennington immediately began taking snaps as the starter for the Miami Dolphins.
Leftwich is known as the prototype big (6′5″, 250 pounds), strong pocket passer who will stand tall in the face of unending defensive pressure until he spots an open receiver. He has absorbed many hits - illegal and borderline illegal - below his knees for his efforts.
Why Marvin Lewis Can Smile (while the NFL press freaks out)
August 12, 2008
Marvin Lewis is cool. In fact, in his most recent press conference he was almost giddy despite being peppered with usual questions about difficult Cincinnati’s schedule this season (Cinci must deal with the NFC East and the AFC South), the loss of players due to suspension (Odell Thurman and Chris Henry), and the portent of a defense that might not improve on its 24th-ranked 2007 performance. Additional queries dealt with how the outwardly mild-mannered Lewis plans to get the inconsistent Bengals to a second playoff appearance. And if you listen to the NFL press it is widely felt that Lewis’s player choices and low-key demeanor are responsible for the Bengals off-field woes that are reflected in the team’s lack of consistency.
Though he was hired in 2003 for his reputation as a defensive guru, Lewis’ primary on-field problems are on the defensive side of the ball. Off-field, though, so many Bengals players have run afoul of the law that they have become a sad running joke. Because Lewis has taken his team to the playoffs only once 2005, a 31-17 loss to Pittsburgh - and because Cincinnati players have had so many run-ins with the law, the coach finds himself perceived as being on the chopping block this season.
The primary problem, as it is seen, is that Lewis sacrificed “character” players when the team felt it needed to upgrade its team to match that of elite franchises in the NFL. That sentiment was yet again expressed on ESPN’s NFL Monday Night Countdown before the Cincinnati-Green Bay game. Adding to Lewis’ perceived woes, commentator Mike Ditka, a Hall of Fame tight end and former Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Chicago Bears let it be known that it is Lewis’ fault that the players are not performing on the field.
Normally in situations like these it is said that the bottom line is the players are professionals and must take responsibility for their on and off-field actions. Oddly, the feeling surrounding Lewis is that he is a “good man” but not a good assessor of character and is not firm enough with his players.
Notes: And Tampa Bay Didn’t Pursue Brett Favre Because…?
August 10, 2008
In Brett Favre, the New York Jets got their man. If they get into the playoffs with Favre at the helm it will also save Eric Mangini’s job.
There’s just one little problem with the whole “Favre comes to Broadway,” well, more accurately, East Rutherford, New Jersey, deal. What happened to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ interest in the legendary QB?
Sure, the Bucs have four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Jeff Garcia on their roster as their starter. But no one ever mistook the plucky Garcia for Brett Favre. But despite the clamor for Favre in Tampa, despite the rumors, despite the talk about how Bucs head coach John Gruden likes to “collect quarterbacks” Gruden, last Friday, said there was no talk of bringing Favre to Tampa.
