DEZ DONE, NO D.C. DISSENT ALLOWED PART 2 & L.J.'S DAD HURTING
The NCAA took 2 1/2 weeks & once again they got it wrong. The college athletics governing body heard his appeal nearly 3 weeks ago & yesterday they passed down their judgment on Oklahoma State wide receiver, Dez Bryant. He can't play college football again until October, 2010. Bryant was "convicted" of lying to an NCAA investigator about having lunch at the home of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. It has never been made clear why they were asking him about dining with Deion. Whatever the reason was, Bryant thought this might have been a no-, so he told them he hadn't been to the Sanders' home. It's not illegal to have lunch at Deion's, just don't deny scarfing down a couple of PB&J's with a glass of cold milk while you were there. He was suspended by Oklahoma State for the lie he told, but the school went to bat for him with the NCAA, figuring the 3 games he missed during the suspension would be enough. Wrong, the NCAA is using this All-Big-12, All-American, future 1st round draft pick as an example. "When we ask you a question, you better be straight forward & truthful in your answer." So by further tarnishing Bryant's OSU legacy, the NCAA has accomplished exactly what? He's 20-years old, 20-year olds make mistakes & in the grand scheme of things, this is hardly worth a slap on the wrist, much less a life sentence. Bryant will most likely begin preparing for the NFL Draft, I can't see any reason for him to return to Stillwater next season & sit out 5 more games before he's allowed to play again by the powers that be.
Seattle offensive tackle, 9 time pro bowler, Walter Jones, has been placed on injured reserve & his career may well have come to an end. Jones underwent microfracture knee surgery last fall & it just hasn't responded to allow him to practice & play on Sundays. Jones, in my opinion, would rank in the top-5 all-time left tackle list. He was that good & leaves a gapping hole in Seattle's offensive line. I picked the Seahawks to win this division thinking Jones would return by week 2. At this point, I question their chances of just being a .500 team. His replacement? Former Chief Damion McIntosh will start at left tackle this Sunday against Dallas. He'll be assigned to block the NFL's leading sacker last season, DeMarcus Ware. Matt Hasselback better have eyes in the back of his head come Sunday. He'll need them to survive.
Former Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will get his 1st start on November 8th. Byron Leftwich started the Bucs first 3 games & 2nd year man Josh Johnson started the last 4. The Bucs are 0-7 behind these two, so now rookie coach Raheem Morris will plug-in his number 1 draft choice against the Green Bay Packers. Freeman was the 17th overall pick in last April's draft & was considered by most scouts to be very talented but extremely raw with his fundamentals. But honestly, the Buccaneers aren't going anywhere, why not see where your top pick is in relation to his maturity as an NFL quarterback? Tough spot playing the Pack, altho they'll either be coming down from the high of beating Brett Favre or they're going to mad as hell for losing to him.
Mark Sanchez is awash in weenies. The Jet QB went to a local A&P grocery store & bought 500 hotdogs, 500 buns, 10 containers of mustard & 10 jars of relish. He donated the lot to the Community Soup Kitchen of Morristown, New Jersey. The New York rookie hopes this will end all the talk about his late lunch on the Jets' bench near the end of the Raider game last Sunday. TV cameras caught him chowing down on 2 hotdogs, for which he has since apologized to fans, teammates & the Raiders.
I told you yesterday about the Redskins new policy regarding no signs permitted at FedEx Field. Today, the team went a step further, they notified all media outlets they can no longer interview tailgater's before or after a home game. So no signs, no interviews, isn't this a little oppressive? Silence any dissent, regardless if the dissent comes from their paying customers. What rights do they have anyway? The Redskins allow them to spend $85 for a ticket, come in, shut up, sit down, cheer & if you don't want to cheer, then be quiet. The next move will be to marginalize any reporters who criticize the organization, after all, isn't that the Washington D.C. way?
Larry Johnson Sr. is hurting, his son's words have embarrassed & hurt him deeply. The elder Johnson said last night "it's tough for me as a father. Larry doesn't hate gays, that's not what our family is about". Johnson, a defensive line coach at Penn State, spoke of how he & his wife taught their children just how harmful words & hate can be. "He wasn't raised like that, we taught our children that everyone is equal, regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation" Coach Johnson said. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported this afternoon the Chiefs will not play Johnson in the November 8th game against Jacksonville. I personally believe he will be released before then.
The Sporting News' website has a poll regarding the fans' favorites when it comes to televised football. You're asked to vote for your favorite pregame show, favorite game broadcasting team & favorite sideline reporter. I feel pretty strong about my choices on this subject so I voted. The best pregame show of any type, for any sport was an easy choice, ESPN's College Game Day. The 2-hour show every Saturday morning has been our favorite for many years. Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit & Desmond Howard do the best job on television. My choice for best broadcast team was Al Michaels & Chris Collingsworth. I'm not a huge Collingsworth fan but Al Michaels is in a league of one. He is the best television play-by-play man ever. Plus, having dealt with him extensively back in my days at Bellagio, I can tell you he is truly a nice guy. He always talked to the employees, remembered many by name & was just a real genuine guy with a good sense of humor. If you've read this blog for anytime at all , you know my favorite sideline reporter, it's ESPN's Erin Andrews. She's smart, she doesn't rattle & oh so easy on the eyes as well. After voting, you can see the results & everyone I voted for won their particular category & in 2 cases, by a wide margin. ESPN's College Game Day received 47% of the votes, NFL FOX Sunday was 2nd with 22%. Al & Chris were 1st with 17% barely nipping Brent Musberger & Kirk Herbstreit on ABC college football with 16%. Sideline reporter went to Erin Andrews with 32%. CBS' Tracy Wolfson was 2nd with 22% for her work on the network's SEC broadcasts. NBC's Andrea Kremer is also a superior sideline reporter, but many people dismiss her because she's been on TV 20-years. So what, she's excellent. In honor of Erin's win, the obligatory photo has to follow.
Seattle offensive tackle, 9 time pro bowler, Walter Jones, has been placed on injured reserve & his career may well have come to an end. Jones underwent microfracture knee surgery last fall & it just hasn't responded to allow him to practice & play on Sundays. Jones, in my opinion, would rank in the top-5 all-time left tackle list. He was that good & leaves a gapping hole in Seattle's offensive line. I picked the Seahawks to win this division thinking Jones would return by week 2. At this point, I question their chances of just being a .500 team. His replacement? Former Chief Damion McIntosh will start at left tackle this Sunday against Dallas. He'll be assigned to block the NFL's leading sacker last season, DeMarcus Ware. Matt Hasselback better have eyes in the back of his head come Sunday. He'll need them to survive.
Former Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will get his 1st start on November 8th. Byron Leftwich started the Bucs first 3 games & 2nd year man Josh Johnson started the last 4. The Bucs are 0-7 behind these two, so now rookie coach Raheem Morris will plug-in his number 1 draft choice against the Green Bay Packers. Freeman was the 17th overall pick in last April's draft & was considered by most scouts to be very talented but extremely raw with his fundamentals. But honestly, the Buccaneers aren't going anywhere, why not see where your top pick is in relation to his maturity as an NFL quarterback? Tough spot playing the Pack, altho they'll either be coming down from the high of beating Brett Favre or they're going to mad as hell for losing to him.
Mark Sanchez is awash in weenies. The Jet QB went to a local A&P grocery store & bought 500 hotdogs, 500 buns, 10 containers of mustard & 10 jars of relish. He donated the lot to the Community Soup Kitchen of Morristown, New Jersey. The New York rookie hopes this will end all the talk about his late lunch on the Jets' bench near the end of the Raider game last Sunday. TV cameras caught him chowing down on 2 hotdogs, for which he has since apologized to fans, teammates & the Raiders.
I told you yesterday about the Redskins new policy regarding no signs permitted at FedEx Field. Today, the team went a step further, they notified all media outlets they can no longer interview tailgater's before or after a home game. So no signs, no interviews, isn't this a little oppressive? Silence any dissent, regardless if the dissent comes from their paying customers. What rights do they have anyway? The Redskins allow them to spend $85 for a ticket, come in, shut up, sit down, cheer & if you don't want to cheer, then be quiet. The next move will be to marginalize any reporters who criticize the organization, after all, isn't that the Washington D.C. way?
Larry Johnson Sr. is hurting, his son's words have embarrassed & hurt him deeply. The elder Johnson said last night "it's tough for me as a father. Larry doesn't hate gays, that's not what our family is about". Johnson, a defensive line coach at Penn State, spoke of how he & his wife taught their children just how harmful words & hate can be. "He wasn't raised like that, we taught our children that everyone is equal, regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation" Coach Johnson said. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported this afternoon the Chiefs will not play Johnson in the November 8th game against Jacksonville. I personally believe he will be released before then.
The Sporting News' website has a poll regarding the fans' favorites when it comes to televised football. You're asked to vote for your favorite pregame show, favorite game broadcasting team & favorite sideline reporter. I feel pretty strong about my choices on this subject so I voted. The best pregame show of any type, for any sport was an easy choice, ESPN's College Game Day. The 2-hour show every Saturday morning has been our favorite for many years. Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit & Desmond Howard do the best job on television. My choice for best broadcast team was Al Michaels & Chris Collingsworth. I'm not a huge Collingsworth fan but Al Michaels is in a league of one. He is the best television play-by-play man ever. Plus, having dealt with him extensively back in my days at Bellagio, I can tell you he is truly a nice guy. He always talked to the employees, remembered many by name & was just a real genuine guy with a good sense of humor. If you've read this blog for anytime at all , you know my favorite sideline reporter, it's ESPN's Erin Andrews. She's smart, she doesn't rattle & oh so easy on the eyes as well. After voting, you can see the results & everyone I voted for won their particular category & in 2 cases, by a wide margin. ESPN's College Game Day received 47% of the votes, NFL FOX Sunday was 2nd with 22%. Al & Chris were 1st with 17% barely nipping Brent Musberger & Kirk Herbstreit on ABC college football with 16%. Sideline reporter went to Erin Andrews with 32%. CBS' Tracy Wolfson was 2nd with 22% for her work on the network's SEC broadcasts. NBC's Andrea Kremer is also a superior sideline reporter, but many people dismiss her because she's been on TV 20-years. So what, she's excellent. In honor of Erin's win, the obligatory photo has to follow.
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