THIS AND THAT..........THURSDAY
A Texas grand jury indicted former NFL 1st round pick, Ryan Leaf, on 7 counts of obtaining a controlled substance, 1 count of burglary & 1 count of delivery of a controlled substance. He resigned his post as quarterback coach at West Texas A&M last week after a player reported Leaf had asked him for some pain medication that was prescribed for the player. Leaf, selected with the 2nd overall pick in the 1998 draft, has been labeled by many as the biggest bust in draft history. I recall traveling back to K.C. from Vegas with Joe Z. to see Leaf play the Chiefs. He completed his first pass for a couple of yards & then threw 14 straight incompletions, with a few interceptions thrown in for good measure. He could not have payed worse & this game was a preview of things to come, Leaf was out of the league by mid-2001, cut by his third team, the Cowboys.
I've told you of the unpredictable behavior of former Alabama tackle, Andre Smith, his suspension before the Sugar Bowl, his leaving the combine without telling anyone, firing agents, etc. Smith, a 1st round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals, fired his original agent, Alvin Keels & hired Rick Smith to represent him. Then yesterday he fired Smith & hired Keels again. Bengal management might be shaking their head by now, wondering if they should have stayed away from a young man who has made more than a few bizarre decisions in the last 6 months.
Big-10 Commissioner, Jim Delany, might have bitten off more than he can chew. While being interviewed this week he was asked about President Obama's interest in a national playoff, doing away with the Bowl Championship Series(BCS). Delany responded "I don't think the President understands the complexity of the issue, he should stick to picking basketball brackets". News flash.....the President gets it. Gee Jim, I'm certainly not smart enough to be the President of the United States, but even I understand the BCS. It's a sham that benefits six conferences & 4 bowl committees, whether they deserve it or not, everybody else is pretty much left out in the cold, isn't that how the BCS works Jim? Oh yeah, there's all the smokescreen with the computer rankings & a couple of polls, but the BCS is & always has been a hoax perpetrated on college football fans & 57 schools in the "at large" conferences. Former Representative J.C. Watts, from Oklahoma (a real rarity, an African American, conservative Republican) is now the lead lobbyist in Washington for the BCS, fighting anyone who wants a playoff system. Those BCS guys are pretty serious about keeping the status quo, Watts' contract is for $604,000. Not bad for a former OU quarterback & out of work congressman.
Tampa Bay cornerback Aqib Talib has struck again, literally. Monday, Talib started a fight with offensive tackle Donald Penn during the Bucs' OTA's. While swinging his helmet to strike Penn, he hit fellow cornerback, Torrie Cox, in the face, opening up a gash that required stitches. This is the second time Talib has injured a teammate swinging his helmet in anger. He pulled this stunt while at Kansas as well as being suspended 3 different times for testing positive for marijuana. Aqib blew the incident off as "a family fight", but several Buc veteran players reportedly took him aside & told him "this sh&t stops now, no more".
Bengal quarterback, Carson Palmer, is apparently preparing for life without Chad Ochocinco, the wide receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson. Ochocinco has boycotted all off-season voluntary team activities & that hasn't been lost on Palmer. "T.J.'s gone now(WR T.J. Houshmendzadeh left in free agency), Chad hasn't physically been here & really wasn't here mentally for most of last season. We've got guys here dying to play, busting their butts, showing up for everything & maybe they're the ones we'll go with." Cincy is going to regret not trading #85 last season when the Redskins offered 2 first round draft picks. I'd put Chad's current value at one 2nd round pick. Great talent, but a real diva.
Ever since Lane Kiffin was hired to be head coach for the Tennessee Volunteers, he seemingly can't get out of his own way. He's had to issue apologies on two occasions, he's had 11 scholarship players transfer out & now he's got Twitter troubles. Some genius in the sports information office at Tennessee figured a few "Tweets" from Kiffin would show how hip he is. Swell, but those 152-character Tweets had better not name a prospect who may commit to the Vols, whoops, too late. Report to the NCAA for this violation & the usual apology should be forthcoming. There's also reports the strength & conditioning coach, Mark Smith, hired by Kiffin in February, has already been fired. I wonder how long this marriage will last.
Notre Dame has been negotiating with the New York Yankees to play a game in the new Yankee Stadium by 2011. The Irish would like the opponent to be Army, the Notre Dame/Army tilt of 1913 was considered a classic. You all remember that one right? Back when Army was a national powerhouse, not the 3rd best football team from a service academy. Man, I know things are tough at South Bend, but asking for Army in your return to Yankee Stadium, isn't that........like really lame? I'm not an Irish fan, but honestly the demise of Notre Dame football as of late, is really sad. Every year, the pundits say the Big-10 & Notre Dame are close to reclaiming their proper place in college football hierarchy & every year they continue to slide.
I've told you of the unpredictable behavior of former Alabama tackle, Andre Smith, his suspension before the Sugar Bowl, his leaving the combine without telling anyone, firing agents, etc. Smith, a 1st round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals, fired his original agent, Alvin Keels & hired Rick Smith to represent him. Then yesterday he fired Smith & hired Keels again. Bengal management might be shaking their head by now, wondering if they should have stayed away from a young man who has made more than a few bizarre decisions in the last 6 months.
Big-10 Commissioner, Jim Delany, might have bitten off more than he can chew. While being interviewed this week he was asked about President Obama's interest in a national playoff, doing away with the Bowl Championship Series(BCS). Delany responded "I don't think the President understands the complexity of the issue, he should stick to picking basketball brackets". News flash.....the President gets it. Gee Jim, I'm certainly not smart enough to be the President of the United States, but even I understand the BCS. It's a sham that benefits six conferences & 4 bowl committees, whether they deserve it or not, everybody else is pretty much left out in the cold, isn't that how the BCS works Jim? Oh yeah, there's all the smokescreen with the computer rankings & a couple of polls, but the BCS is & always has been a hoax perpetrated on college football fans & 57 schools in the "at large" conferences. Former Representative J.C. Watts, from Oklahoma (a real rarity, an African American, conservative Republican) is now the lead lobbyist in Washington for the BCS, fighting anyone who wants a playoff system. Those BCS guys are pretty serious about keeping the status quo, Watts' contract is for $604,000. Not bad for a former OU quarterback & out of work congressman.
Tampa Bay cornerback Aqib Talib has struck again, literally. Monday, Talib started a fight with offensive tackle Donald Penn during the Bucs' OTA's. While swinging his helmet to strike Penn, he hit fellow cornerback, Torrie Cox, in the face, opening up a gash that required stitches. This is the second time Talib has injured a teammate swinging his helmet in anger. He pulled this stunt while at Kansas as well as being suspended 3 different times for testing positive for marijuana. Aqib blew the incident off as "a family fight", but several Buc veteran players reportedly took him aside & told him "this sh&t stops now, no more".
Bengal quarterback, Carson Palmer, is apparently preparing for life without Chad Ochocinco, the wide receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson. Ochocinco has boycotted all off-season voluntary team activities & that hasn't been lost on Palmer. "T.J.'s gone now(WR T.J. Houshmendzadeh left in free agency), Chad hasn't physically been here & really wasn't here mentally for most of last season. We've got guys here dying to play, busting their butts, showing up for everything & maybe they're the ones we'll go with." Cincy is going to regret not trading #85 last season when the Redskins offered 2 first round draft picks. I'd put Chad's current value at one 2nd round pick. Great talent, but a real diva.
Ever since Lane Kiffin was hired to be head coach for the Tennessee Volunteers, he seemingly can't get out of his own way. He's had to issue apologies on two occasions, he's had 11 scholarship players transfer out & now he's got Twitter troubles. Some genius in the sports information office at Tennessee figured a few "Tweets" from Kiffin would show how hip he is. Swell, but those 152-character Tweets had better not name a prospect who may commit to the Vols, whoops, too late. Report to the NCAA for this violation & the usual apology should be forthcoming. There's also reports the strength & conditioning coach, Mark Smith, hired by Kiffin in February, has already been fired. I wonder how long this marriage will last.
Notre Dame has been negotiating with the New York Yankees to play a game in the new Yankee Stadium by 2011. The Irish would like the opponent to be Army, the Notre Dame/Army tilt of 1913 was considered a classic. You all remember that one right? Back when Army was a national powerhouse, not the 3rd best football team from a service academy. Man, I know things are tough at South Bend, but asking for Army in your return to Yankee Stadium, isn't that........like really lame? I'm not an Irish fan, but honestly the demise of Notre Dame football as of late, is really sad. Every year, the pundits say the Big-10 & Notre Dame are close to reclaiming their proper place in college football hierarchy & every year they continue to slide.
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