THIS AND THAT..........WEDNESDAY
It looks like being on the coaching hot seat this season could be even warmer than usual. With Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren & John Gruden all sitting on the sidelines right now, it gives an impatient GM or owner some real options. These four have been to 9 Super Bowls, winning five. I can't remember when there were 4 coaches this good, available at the same time. There's little doubt that Wade Phillips, Dick Jauron, Marvin Lewis & possibly Norv Turner, will start the season on that proverbial hot seat. I don't see any guys from the replacement pool taking a mid-season job, but I think most of them will surely be coaching somewhere next year at this time.
Tennessee Titan Pro Bowl cornerback, Courtland Finnegan went off on teammates at last weekend's mini camp. Finnegan ripped the guys who stomped all over the Terrible Towels of the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Titans won their December matchup. Deliberately showing up a playoff team is never a good idea, especially now that they are the defending Super Bowl champs & you open the season in their stadium this year. The Titans travel to Pittsburgh on Thursday, September 10th, opening the NFL season on national TV. It's highly unlikely the Steelers or their fans have forgotten several Tennessee players stomping all over those Terrible Towels, a longtime franchise symbol. Pittsburgh's beloved radio play-by-play man, the late Myron Cope, invented the Terrible Towel back in the 70's & gave both the copyright & trademark to a school for mentally challenged kids. Steeler fans take this piece of cotton, very, very seriously. Finnegan told the offending teammates their actions just made it tougher than it already was. He's right, but ours is an in-your-face society & people seldom think of the consequences of their actions until the damage is done. That Thursday night, with the entire nation watching, the Steelers will receive their Super Bowl rings & I expect they will try to stomp all over the Titans recalling last December 21st.
I doubt the Nevada Sportsbooks are sweating this competition, but, the Delaware senate approved Governor Jack Markell's plan to establish sport's gambling in the state by a 17-2 vote. The state government is currently operating in the red to the tune of $800 million & Markell believes sports wagering can generate $50 million a year for state coffers. It will also create a hell of a lot of degenerate sports gamblers which is guaranteed to be a side-effect of this newly created state revenue.
I spent two hours on the phone last night with one of the most savvy football guys I know, my 20-year Vegas buddy, Joe Z. He asked me what I thought about Mark Sanchez, the Jets #1 draft pick that most media types have slobbered all over since the Rose Bowl. I told Joe it's difficult to judge someone's potential greatness with only a 16-game resume. He pointed out how lame most Pac-10 defenses were and that the Trojans were hardly a juggernaut with Sanchez at the helm. Even with a great defense that consistently provided both superior field position & turnovers, they didn't score consistently. We started recalling other USC quarterbacks & with the exception of Carson Palmer, the overall success of Trojan QB's in the NFL, has been less than impressive. So this evening, I went thru all of the USC QB's that have been on NFL rosters. Joe, it was worse than we thought. Carson Palmer won the Heisman Trophy & when healthy he has been a very good NFL starter with 107 touchdown passes vs 67 interceptions. The other names on this list include Rob Johnson, Todd Marinovich, Matt Leinart, John David Booty, Sean Salisbury, Matt Cassel, Rodney Peete, Pat Haden, Vince Evans, Bill Nelsen, Pete Beathard & Paul McDonald. Johnson had a brief, injury-filled NFL run, throwing 30 TD's & 23 interceptions. Leinart won the 2005 Heisman Trophy but wasn't able to keep his starting job with the Cardinals. John David Booty has yet to play & Cassel threw 23 TD's with only 13 picks in his 1st starting season since high school. The rest of this Trojan QB roster is pretty sad, Marinovich has been busted for drugs many times, Vince Evans was a better kick returner than QB for the Bears & Haden was better known as a Rhodes scholar than a quarterback. This USC QB roster has amassed 546 touchdown passes & 596 interceptions & that includes Palmer's stats. And other than Palmer, this group has only one Pro Bowl appearance between all of them. Not a great legacy to claim. Sanchez might end up being the man, but I think going to New York & playing for a team that needs him to be really good right now, might be expecting too much, too soon. And when the schedule shows Indy, Atlanta, Carolina, New Orleans, Tennessee, 2 with Miami & 2 with the Patriots, this is a tall order.
Tennessee Titan Pro Bowl cornerback, Courtland Finnegan went off on teammates at last weekend's mini camp. Finnegan ripped the guys who stomped all over the Terrible Towels of the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Titans won their December matchup. Deliberately showing up a playoff team is never a good idea, especially now that they are the defending Super Bowl champs & you open the season in their stadium this year. The Titans travel to Pittsburgh on Thursday, September 10th, opening the NFL season on national TV. It's highly unlikely the Steelers or their fans have forgotten several Tennessee players stomping all over those Terrible Towels, a longtime franchise symbol. Pittsburgh's beloved radio play-by-play man, the late Myron Cope, invented the Terrible Towel back in the 70's & gave both the copyright & trademark to a school for mentally challenged kids. Steeler fans take this piece of cotton, very, very seriously. Finnegan told the offending teammates their actions just made it tougher than it already was. He's right, but ours is an in-your-face society & people seldom think of the consequences of their actions until the damage is done. That Thursday night, with the entire nation watching, the Steelers will receive their Super Bowl rings & I expect they will try to stomp all over the Titans recalling last December 21st.
I doubt the Nevada Sportsbooks are sweating this competition, but, the Delaware senate approved Governor Jack Markell's plan to establish sport's gambling in the state by a 17-2 vote. The state government is currently operating in the red to the tune of $800 million & Markell believes sports wagering can generate $50 million a year for state coffers. It will also create a hell of a lot of degenerate sports gamblers which is guaranteed to be a side-effect of this newly created state revenue.
I spent two hours on the phone last night with one of the most savvy football guys I know, my 20-year Vegas buddy, Joe Z. He asked me what I thought about Mark Sanchez, the Jets #1 draft pick that most media types have slobbered all over since the Rose Bowl. I told Joe it's difficult to judge someone's potential greatness with only a 16-game resume. He pointed out how lame most Pac-10 defenses were and that the Trojans were hardly a juggernaut with Sanchez at the helm. Even with a great defense that consistently provided both superior field position & turnovers, they didn't score consistently. We started recalling other USC quarterbacks & with the exception of Carson Palmer, the overall success of Trojan QB's in the NFL, has been less than impressive. So this evening, I went thru all of the USC QB's that have been on NFL rosters. Joe, it was worse than we thought. Carson Palmer won the Heisman Trophy & when healthy he has been a very good NFL starter with 107 touchdown passes vs 67 interceptions. The other names on this list include Rob Johnson, Todd Marinovich, Matt Leinart, John David Booty, Sean Salisbury, Matt Cassel, Rodney Peete, Pat Haden, Vince Evans, Bill Nelsen, Pete Beathard & Paul McDonald. Johnson had a brief, injury-filled NFL run, throwing 30 TD's & 23 interceptions. Leinart won the 2005 Heisman Trophy but wasn't able to keep his starting job with the Cardinals. John David Booty has yet to play & Cassel threw 23 TD's with only 13 picks in his 1st starting season since high school. The rest of this Trojan QB roster is pretty sad, Marinovich has been busted for drugs many times, Vince Evans was a better kick returner than QB for the Bears & Haden was better known as a Rhodes scholar than a quarterback. This USC QB roster has amassed 546 touchdown passes & 596 interceptions & that includes Palmer's stats. And other than Palmer, this group has only one Pro Bowl appearance between all of them. Not a great legacy to claim. Sanchez might end up being the man, but I think going to New York & playing for a team that needs him to be really good right now, might be expecting too much, too soon. And when the schedule shows Indy, Atlanta, Carolina, New Orleans, Tennessee, 2 with Miami & 2 with the Patriots, this is a tall order.
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