Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell is back in the news. No he didn't play in the Pro Bowl & he isn't doing spots for Nutri-System, altho he should consider the latter, people are calling him JeLatinous now. He was spotted at a Golden State NBA game by television cameras. I saw the shot from the TV broadcast before it was pulled off YouTube. Russell probably had $500,000 worth of diamonds on, minimum. Actresses on the Academy Award red carpet don't wear as many diamonds as Russell did the other night. Russell, who attended LSU, wore what looked to be an 8" wide by 5" tall necklace the had "Bama Boy" on it, all in diamonds. It appeared he had 5 rings, plus a diamond bracelet, two diamond earrings & the obligatory diamond watch. Hell, it might have been worth more than half a mil. He looked like a chubby pimp with a jewelry budget on steroids. Kevin Harlan & Doug Collins were doing the broadcast & Harlan commented "you know, if he spent as much time in the film room as he does in jewelry stores, he might be a better quarterback." It's good to see Al Davis' money being well spent, how much longer are they going to tolerate this guy's half-assed effort?

Tiki Barber is speaking out about Adrian Peterson, fumbling & what needs to get done to remedy the situation. This is a subject Barber knows well, he too had great difficulty hanging on to the ball. He said someone Peterson respects needs to sit him down & tell him "as great as you are, you've become a liability to this team. I love the way you play, I love your passion for the game of football, but you've become a liability." Barber suffered thru fumbleitis until Giants' coach Tom Coughlin told him basically the same thing & the turnovers ceased the next season. Peterson is a great weapon, but he is truly a liability, 10 fumbles in the Vikings last 10 games speaks for itself.

The NFL has a huge charity event the night before the Super Bowl every year called the "Taste of the NFL". It's a pricey ticket at $500, but it all goes to fighting hunger right here in the U.S. A chef from each NFL city is paired with a current or former player to prepare & serve food all evening. Kansas City will be represented by Debbie Gold, from the American Restaurant at Crown Center & Hall of Famer Bobby Bell, himself a former owner of several BBQ eateries. Linda & I attend a function like this every fall for the March of Dimes with about 30 restaurants & chefs represented. The food is wonderful & the March of Dimes is a wonderful charity. Thankfully, we don't have to pony up $500, that's out of our league, but not for many Super Bowl attendees, it sells out every year.

Tennessee's Chris Johnson, fresh off a 2,000 yard season, wants to be paid for his accomplishment. Johnson said today he deserves to be the highest paid running back in the league. It's hard to argue with his production, 3,234 yards rushing in just 2 seasons & 26 touchdowns. Johnson broke Marshall Faulk's all-time record for total yards from scrimmage with 2,509 in 2009. The one thing that scares me about Johnson is his increased workload last season. He went from 251 carries in '08 to 358 last season. Johnson has a slight build, barely tipping the scales at 200 pounds, but his quickness & vision allow him to avoid the big hits many backs sustain. Carrying the ball 350 times will take it's toll on his longevity. So asking for huge money isn't out of line, the average career span for an NFL running back is just under 4 years, not much time to earn enough to carry you later in life if you're a virtual cripple. The NFL pension isn't enough for men who truly sacrifice their long-term health & life expectancy to play this game.

The committee of 44 Hall of Fame voters will go behind closed doors this Saturday to decide who, of the 15 finalists, will be enshrined in Canton this August. No more than 6 can be elected, here's my picks:

Emmitt Smith--RB--Dallas--absolute no-brainer

Jerry Rice--WR--San Francisco, Oakland & Seattle--ditto Emmitt

Shannon Sharpe--TE--Denver & Baltimore--Until Tony Gonzalez gets into Canton, Sharpe will have the best numbers from a tight end. He earned three Super Bowl rings as well, very deserving.

Dick LeBeau--CB & defensive coordinator--Detroit as a player & Pittsburgh, among others, as a coach--LeBeau finally gets in thanks to the veteran's committee, 62 lifetime interceptions, 3-time Pro Bowl player & defensive coordinator for 2 Pittsburgh Super Bowl Champions.

Cris Carter--WR--Philadelphia & Minnesota--Carter beat cocaine addiction to become one of the league's best receivers of his era, 1,101 receptions, 130 touchdowns & nearly 14,000 yards. Carter was elected to the Pro Bowl 8 times. As Buddy Ryan said "all he does is score touchdowns." How true, easily one of the 5 greatest redzone receivers of all-time.

Richard Dent(maybe)--DE--Chicago--a member of Buddy Ryan's famed "46" defense that won Super Bowl XX & nearly pitched a shutout in the 1985 post season. Dent was a great edge pass rusher, recording 137.5 sacks in his career. He was also an effective run stopper too. This is the 4th year Dent has made it as a finalist, if he doesn't make it Saturday, it may take the veteran's committee to elect Dent further down the road.

Another HOF note, the veteran's committee is also considering former Denver Bronco Floyd Little. He has modest Hall of Fame numbers, just 6,300 yards rushing lifetime & 43 touchdowns. He scored another 9 TD's catching over 200 passes. Little had but one 1,000-yard season & his lifetime average per carry is only 3.9. Little is a sentimental favorite, but I don't see him as a Hall of Fame running back, 5 seasons with less than a 4-yard average just doesn't cut it. Little was backfield mates with Larry Csonka at Syracuse & both went on to star in the AFL & NFL.

Some more Senior Bowl notes:

Myron Rolle, a Rhodes scholar from last year, looked like he belongs in the NFL in my opinion. He obviously has the IQ, he has the size at 6' 1" & 217 & he has the speed. I think he'll run about 4.55 at the combine later this month. Does he have the fluidity to run with backs & slot receivers in coverage, we'll see. I think that based on his showing in Mobile, Rolle can be a late 2nd round to mid-3rd round selection in April's draft.

LeGarrette Blount was getting some praise heaped upon him since he was reinstated by Oregon Coach Chip Kelly. He played well in the Senior Bowl, but I have some questions about his sincerity thru all this mess he got into after punching a Boise State player & attempting to go after fans immediately after Oregon's loss in Idaho. He said all the right things, stayed in school, attended anger management courses, continued to practice with the team in spite of being suspended for the rest of the season by Kelly. I was sincerely hoping he had turned the corner, but I have my doubts. Two things that happened at the Senior Bowl practices, one I saw, one I heard about. The play I saw that bothered me was during an 11-on-11 drill, Blount carried the ball. There's no tackling in this drill, defenders simply 'tag' you like it's touch football. A defender 'tagged' Blount & he turned around & got right in the guy's face shouting & shoving. You're at what is essentially a non-contact practice, you're getting paid real money to play, you weren't even hit & you still blow up in anger? It bothered me, I won't lie. The other thing I heard was during another 11-on-11 drill he was distracted by a player yelling on the sideline & he began showboating while running the ball. This is in front of an NFL coaching staff, lots of NFL coaches & scouts in the stands & you already have somewhat of an image problem. This is immaturity without a doubt. I have sincere reservations about Blount now, I'm not looking for programmed robots, but when a kid already has serious character concerns, this is not the way to impress the people you're auditioning for right?

The four best offensive linemen from the entire week, including the game, were guards. That's by a big margin too. The best 4-5 tackles in the country weren't in Mobile, the ones that were didn't impress me at all. The centers were even worse. The guard play was at times exceptional, other times, it was just above average, which is still good for a game like this. Idaho's Mike Iupati was the best run blocker of the bunch, superior strength, great leg drive & a mean streak. His pass blocking needs work. Jon Asamoah from Illinois, was my second favorite, his run blocking wasn't as dominant as Iupati, but his pass protection was better to be sure. He looks like a late 2nd to early 3rd round selection. Mike Johnson of Alabama was technically sound, showed good body flexibility but not overpowering strength, something he'll have to work on in the weight room. Vladimir Ducasse of UMass showed athletic ability on a par with Iupati & like Iupati, Ducasse might make it at the next level as a tackle. Ducasse & Iupati are similar in size, 6' 5" 325 pounds & 34" arms, the things you look for in a tackle. Ducasse, born in Haiti, is behind fundamentally & will require a lot of pro coaching to get him up to speed with the other 3 prospects. Iupati & Asamoah(both Samoans) could start in the fall & Johnson might be able to if he can get his core strength up to an acceptable NFL level.

I'd like to take a minute to wish Sue Reardon a Happy Birthday today as well as belated birthday wishes to her significant other, master carpenter & computer genius, Jimmy Ray. They have been very good friends to us since Linda & I moved here almost 5 years ago. Happy Birthday to you both!