BRADFORD/TEBOW UPDATE, MNF NOTES & JIM BROWN WARNS CRABTREE
This afternoon, ESPN's "College Football Live" reported Florida QB Tim Tebow was seen in full pads walking to the practice field. Apparently he has gotten medical clearance to practice. Coach Urban Meyer said earlier today that backup QB John Brantley would most likely start Saturday at LSU. If Tebow is cleared to play, he would likely be the backup.
For the first time since injuring his throwing shoulder, Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winner, Sam Bradford spoke to the media. He said he had been cleared to practice by Dr. James Andrews, the foremost sports orthopedist. Bradford said he wants to play Saturday versus Baylor so he can get some live action before next week's "Red River Shootout" with Texas. He also mentioned he might have to undergo surgery on his shoulder after the season. If he brought it up & said "might", I'd say the surgery is almost a certainty. If the Sooners can get out to a decent lead versus Baylor, you might see Bradford come into the game for a few series.
Former Nebraska Outland Trophy winner, Aaron Taylor, will be forced to auction off his 3 National Championship rings & his Outland Trophy as ordered by a federal bankruptcy judge. Taylor was a 3-time All-American at both center & guard, led the Huskers to a 49-2 while at Lincoln & was drafted by the Colts. After moving to the Chicago bears, Taylor decided pro football wasn't for him & with a few former teammates, opened a restaurant in Lincoln that went broke. Taylor lists debts of $109,000, $93,000 in federal taxes & assets of $5,000. Cornhusker boosters are trying to raise enough money to buy one of his rings & the Outland Trophy for Taylor. Let's hope they get it done.
The Monday Night Football telecast last night drew a national rating of 14.2, which will make it the highest rated cable television broadcast of all-time. The rating means that basically 1 in 7 homes in the country were watching the game between the Packers & Minnesota. The number was higher in places like Kansas City(football fans there are starved for real football) where the rating was 24.9. In Minneapolis the rating was 63.7. Pretty staggering numbers for a Monday Night Football game up against Nielsen top-10 shows "House" & "Two and a Half Men".
The Packers gave up 8 sacks last night, their season total at 20 in 4 games. This projects to 80 sacks for the season. So what makes the Packers 2-2 & able to both run & pass the ball in spite of their banged up & inconsistent offensive line? QB Aaron Rogers is light years better right now than Matt Cassel, the Packers have real, live NFL quality receivers & can run the ball. Their newly converted 3-4 defense can also stop the run, they held the best back in the NFL, Adrian Peterson, to just 55 yards on 25 carries. See the difference between them & Kansas City?
The Big-12 showdown between Nebraska & the Mizzou Tigers in Columbia Thursday night could very well be played in heavy rain. The 8 PM kickoff will be broadcast on ESPN.
The LSU Tigers enter their big game with Florida Saturday night ranked 99th nationally in offense & dead-last in the SEC. Their 321 yard average isn't scaring anyone, yet they continue to win. So something has to give versus the Gators, either they bust out on offense or they get blown out.
The Baltimore Ravens lost 3-time Pro Bowl linebacker & special teams demon, Brendon Ayanbadejo, for the season with a torn quadriceps. Ayanbadejo played 20-30 snaps in the linebacker rotation, but his biggest contribution was on special teams. Linebacker Prescott Burgess was signed from the practice squad to fill his roster spot.
I've trashed Denver WR Brandon Marshall here for months & now I'm going to pay him quite a compliment. He finally "gets it". Sunday after a 51-yard catch & run touchdown that won the game against the Cowboys, Marshall entered the post game news conference & embraced coach Josh McDaniel for about 15-seconds. Marshall then went on to say the immature actions that got him benched were never about the staff or the team, it was always about money. He now knows the money will come & he wants to put all of this behind him & help the Broncos go as far as they can this season. Then he, owner Pat Bowlen & his agent can work out a new contract to stay in Denver. Marshall is a great talent & he just let things go way too far this past off season. I hope he's sincere in his promises, he's a great player & he may have finally realized he was truly hurting himself.
Boomer Esiason "lowered the boom" on Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell. On the CBS pregame show Sunday, he revealed Russell has been fined repeatedly for being late to meetings & practice, missing a meeting & being overweight. If this is true & you have to believe it, given Russell's appearance & performance, Russell can't be a popular guy in his own locker room. Coach Tom Cable might be in danger of losing his team if he isn't able to turn Russell around. It's clear that Raider owner Al Davis is forcing Cable to play Russell no matter how badly he plays. Davis was also said to be the reason they cut backup QB Jeff Garcia, who would be a threat to Russell's starting job. How long is Cable going to last in Oakland, he has this assault charge against him from assistant coach Randy Hanson, who claims Cable broke his jaw in an argument. The Raiders are a mess, there's more here to come & it's all very ugly.
College & Pro Football Hall of Famer, Jim Brown, was questioned about Michael Crabtree's holdout. Brown replied "You don't realize that your legacy will be based upon how you perform, not how much money you made". Well put. This holdout by Crabtree is one of the worst decisions I've ever seen an athlete make & the longer the Forty-Niners stay in 1st place, the weaker Crabtree's position will be.
We have a guest contributor for 'Today's real name of the day' & it's Rance Burger, Sports Director of the Viper Broadcast Group. I've appeared on his radio sportscasts, Rance is a true pro & an all-around good guy, plus I love the name he gave me.
Today's real name of the day: Cajun Titus, drunk & disorderly boat thief from Carbondale, Kansas. Cajun, along with 2 of his MENSA pals stole a bass boat belonging to a fishing tournament official & took it for a joy ride before they were apprehended. Thanks Rance & thanks Cajun for being you.
For the first time since injuring his throwing shoulder, Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winner, Sam Bradford spoke to the media. He said he had been cleared to practice by Dr. James Andrews, the foremost sports orthopedist. Bradford said he wants to play Saturday versus Baylor so he can get some live action before next week's "Red River Shootout" with Texas. He also mentioned he might have to undergo surgery on his shoulder after the season. If he brought it up & said "might", I'd say the surgery is almost a certainty. If the Sooners can get out to a decent lead versus Baylor, you might see Bradford come into the game for a few series.
Former Nebraska Outland Trophy winner, Aaron Taylor, will be forced to auction off his 3 National Championship rings & his Outland Trophy as ordered by a federal bankruptcy judge. Taylor was a 3-time All-American at both center & guard, led the Huskers to a 49-2 while at Lincoln & was drafted by the Colts. After moving to the Chicago bears, Taylor decided pro football wasn't for him & with a few former teammates, opened a restaurant in Lincoln that went broke. Taylor lists debts of $109,000, $93,000 in federal taxes & assets of $5,000. Cornhusker boosters are trying to raise enough money to buy one of his rings & the Outland Trophy for Taylor. Let's hope they get it done.
The Monday Night Football telecast last night drew a national rating of 14.2, which will make it the highest rated cable television broadcast of all-time. The rating means that basically 1 in 7 homes in the country were watching the game between the Packers & Minnesota. The number was higher in places like Kansas City(football fans there are starved for real football) where the rating was 24.9. In Minneapolis the rating was 63.7. Pretty staggering numbers for a Monday Night Football game up against Nielsen top-10 shows "House" & "Two and a Half Men".
The Packers gave up 8 sacks last night, their season total at 20 in 4 games. This projects to 80 sacks for the season. So what makes the Packers 2-2 & able to both run & pass the ball in spite of their banged up & inconsistent offensive line? QB Aaron Rogers is light years better right now than Matt Cassel, the Packers have real, live NFL quality receivers & can run the ball. Their newly converted 3-4 defense can also stop the run, they held the best back in the NFL, Adrian Peterson, to just 55 yards on 25 carries. See the difference between them & Kansas City?
The Big-12 showdown between Nebraska & the Mizzou Tigers in Columbia Thursday night could very well be played in heavy rain. The 8 PM kickoff will be broadcast on ESPN.
The LSU Tigers enter their big game with Florida Saturday night ranked 99th nationally in offense & dead-last in the SEC. Their 321 yard average isn't scaring anyone, yet they continue to win. So something has to give versus the Gators, either they bust out on offense or they get blown out.
The Baltimore Ravens lost 3-time Pro Bowl linebacker & special teams demon, Brendon Ayanbadejo, for the season with a torn quadriceps. Ayanbadejo played 20-30 snaps in the linebacker rotation, but his biggest contribution was on special teams. Linebacker Prescott Burgess was signed from the practice squad to fill his roster spot.
I've trashed Denver WR Brandon Marshall here for months & now I'm going to pay him quite a compliment. He finally "gets it". Sunday after a 51-yard catch & run touchdown that won the game against the Cowboys, Marshall entered the post game news conference & embraced coach Josh McDaniel for about 15-seconds. Marshall then went on to say the immature actions that got him benched were never about the staff or the team, it was always about money. He now knows the money will come & he wants to put all of this behind him & help the Broncos go as far as they can this season. Then he, owner Pat Bowlen & his agent can work out a new contract to stay in Denver. Marshall is a great talent & he just let things go way too far this past off season. I hope he's sincere in his promises, he's a great player & he may have finally realized he was truly hurting himself.
Boomer Esiason "lowered the boom" on Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell. On the CBS pregame show Sunday, he revealed Russell has been fined repeatedly for being late to meetings & practice, missing a meeting & being overweight. If this is true & you have to believe it, given Russell's appearance & performance, Russell can't be a popular guy in his own locker room. Coach Tom Cable might be in danger of losing his team if he isn't able to turn Russell around. It's clear that Raider owner Al Davis is forcing Cable to play Russell no matter how badly he plays. Davis was also said to be the reason they cut backup QB Jeff Garcia, who would be a threat to Russell's starting job. How long is Cable going to last in Oakland, he has this assault charge against him from assistant coach Randy Hanson, who claims Cable broke his jaw in an argument. The Raiders are a mess, there's more here to come & it's all very ugly.
College & Pro Football Hall of Famer, Jim Brown, was questioned about Michael Crabtree's holdout. Brown replied "You don't realize that your legacy will be based upon how you perform, not how much money you made". Well put. This holdout by Crabtree is one of the worst decisions I've ever seen an athlete make & the longer the Forty-Niners stay in 1st place, the weaker Crabtree's position will be.
We have a guest contributor for 'Today's real name of the day' & it's Rance Burger, Sports Director of the Viper Broadcast Group. I've appeared on his radio sportscasts, Rance is a true pro & an all-around good guy, plus I love the name he gave me.
Today's real name of the day: Cajun Titus, drunk & disorderly boat thief from Carbondale, Kansas. Cajun, along with 2 of his MENSA pals stole a bass boat belonging to a fishing tournament official & took it for a joy ride before they were apprehended. Thanks Rance & thanks Cajun for being you.
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