REGGIE RETURNS, NEWTON TEXT MESSAGE & WRIGLEY GAME CHANGES THE RULES
We're looking at a USC reunion Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks play in New Orleans. Pete Carroll & Reggie Bush together again, now that Bush's broken leg has healed. It will be interesting to see if there's any pre or post-game hugs between the disgraced former Heisman Trophy winner & his old coach who basically threw him under the bus after an NCAA investigation stripped the Trojans of numerous wins. They ruled Bush ineligible for taking in over $300K in cars, cash, trips, furniture & appliances while he was at Southern Cal. Whether or not the reunion happens, the Saints will be very happy to have Bush back returning punts, catching passes & running outside.
Tampa Bay wide receiver Mike Williams was arrested at 3 AM this morning for suspicion of driving while impaired. He was spotted weaving thru traffic & speeding. His blood alcohol level was .065, not high enough fora DUI charge. But the police apparently believed Williams might have a little somethin' else in his system & Williams was required to give a urine sample. He has been the "go to" guy for QB Josh Freeman this season, catching 40 passes for 627 yards & 5 touchdowns. The rookie was considered radioactive coming into the draft. He was suspended twice while at Syracuse, once for marijuana & he walked out on the team at mid-season last year. Taken down off many draft boards, he was selected by the Bucs in round four, way higher than most draft experts figured he would be selected. Coach Raheem Morris said Williams will travel with the team & start in San Francisco this Sunday.
Brian St. Pierre will start at quarterback for Carolina on Sunday. The 1-8 Panthers just signed St. Pierre on Monday. Both former starters, Matt Moore & Jimmy Clausen, are injured, Moore with a season-ending knee injury & Clausen with a concussion. St. Pierre's NFL career consists of 5 passes thrown in 7 years. With just 5 days to learn the playbook & practice, it's hard to envision Carolina pushing very hard against a Raven team coming off a loss. Panther wide receiver Steve Smith was asked what his impression was of Brian St. Pierre & his reply was "he ain't been here long enough for me to have an impression."
After seven-plus seasons without a TV blackout, Sunday's game between the Bills & Bengals will end the streak. Cincinnati's very disappointing 2-7 record after winning the division last year has Bengal fans in a "who cares?" state of mind.
Now for an update on some ailing Chiefs. Tight end Tony Moeaki still hasn't been cleared to practice after suffering a concussion last week. Safety Jon McGraw was at practice & like guard Brian Waters, was very limited. Running back Dexter McCluster, still mending a high ankle sprain, was also limited at Thursday's practice. One positive note was safety Kendrick Lewis' return to practice from a hamstring strain. He was able to go full speed.
After losing last night's Chicago-Miami game, I got an email from a disgruntled lady who was depending on me to win her office football pool. She stated how disappointed she was in "a self-proclaimed football expert." Since the email address she sent was bogus, I'll respond here in hopes she returns to this page. My 85-59 record is disappointing no doubt. But Let's examine who I'm ahead of at this point in the NFL season. ESPN's Adam Schefter, Mike Golic, Eric Allen, Merrill Hoge, Ron Jaworski, Mike Ditka, Keyshawn Johnson & Cris Carter all have worse records than I do. Feel free to look it up, their records are posted on ESPN.com. So does FOXSpots' Peter Schrager & several other professional football experts. There aren't any real dominate teams in the league this year & that increases the difficulty when you're required to pick the winner of every single game.
The Cam Newton saga got some fresh news yesterday & the whole thing just gets more disgusting as time goes on. The attorney for free-lance recruiter Kenny Rogers admitted his client forwarded a text message from Cecil Newton, Cam's dad, that spelled out in great detail how he wanted to profit from his son's signing with Mississippi State. State recruiter Bill Bell was the recipient of the forwarded text which called for $80,000 cash the day Newton signed, $50K 30-days later & an additional $50K after 60-days. Bell told former Mississippi State QB John Bond of the text message & together they reported it to University officials.
Boise State plays Fresno State tonight on the blue field. The Broncos are a 30 1/2 point favorite. Fresno State isn't a pushover, they're 6-3, losing at Ole Miss while scoring 38-points, at Hawaii & last week by one to #21 Nevada. If you haven't seen QB Kellen Moore, a Heisman finalist to be certain, with WR's Austin Pettis & Titus Young, tune 'em in at 9:30 ET on ESPN2.
I told you yesterday about the very tight confines of Wrigley Field for the Illinois-Northwestern game tomorrow. They literally shoehorned a football field into the landmark baseball park. With one endzone back line a mere 6" from the ivy covered brick right field wall, it's a real safety concern. Soooooooo........they've come up with a solution & it's a beauty. Every offensive drive, regardless of which team has the ball, will go from right to left or east to west, if you will. The west endzone is further from the stands, making it safer. I'm guessing the people with tickets in the right field stands are feeling pretty screwed right now as all of the offensive scores will occur at the other end of the field. The Chicago Bears played at Wrigley for 50-years, but the stadium was configured differently & the field went north to south. The last college game played at Wrigley was in 1938 with DePaul versus St. Louis. Neither has had a football program for decades. If you can get ESPNU on your cable system, tune in for a few minutes tomorrow afternoon to see the field & the one-way drives.
Tampa Bay wide receiver Mike Williams was arrested at 3 AM this morning for suspicion of driving while impaired. He was spotted weaving thru traffic & speeding. His blood alcohol level was .065, not high enough fora DUI charge. But the police apparently believed Williams might have a little somethin' else in his system & Williams was required to give a urine sample. He has been the "go to" guy for QB Josh Freeman this season, catching 40 passes for 627 yards & 5 touchdowns. The rookie was considered radioactive coming into the draft. He was suspended twice while at Syracuse, once for marijuana & he walked out on the team at mid-season last year. Taken down off many draft boards, he was selected by the Bucs in round four, way higher than most draft experts figured he would be selected. Coach Raheem Morris said Williams will travel with the team & start in San Francisco this Sunday.
Brian St. Pierre will start at quarterback for Carolina on Sunday. The 1-8 Panthers just signed St. Pierre on Monday. Both former starters, Matt Moore & Jimmy Clausen, are injured, Moore with a season-ending knee injury & Clausen with a concussion. St. Pierre's NFL career consists of 5 passes thrown in 7 years. With just 5 days to learn the playbook & practice, it's hard to envision Carolina pushing very hard against a Raven team coming off a loss. Panther wide receiver Steve Smith was asked what his impression was of Brian St. Pierre & his reply was "he ain't been here long enough for me to have an impression."
After seven-plus seasons without a TV blackout, Sunday's game between the Bills & Bengals will end the streak. Cincinnati's very disappointing 2-7 record after winning the division last year has Bengal fans in a "who cares?" state of mind.
Now for an update on some ailing Chiefs. Tight end Tony Moeaki still hasn't been cleared to practice after suffering a concussion last week. Safety Jon McGraw was at practice & like guard Brian Waters, was very limited. Running back Dexter McCluster, still mending a high ankle sprain, was also limited at Thursday's practice. One positive note was safety Kendrick Lewis' return to practice from a hamstring strain. He was able to go full speed.
After losing last night's Chicago-Miami game, I got an email from a disgruntled lady who was depending on me to win her office football pool. She stated how disappointed she was in "a self-proclaimed football expert." Since the email address she sent was bogus, I'll respond here in hopes she returns to this page. My 85-59 record is disappointing no doubt. But Let's examine who I'm ahead of at this point in the NFL season. ESPN's Adam Schefter, Mike Golic, Eric Allen, Merrill Hoge, Ron Jaworski, Mike Ditka, Keyshawn Johnson & Cris Carter all have worse records than I do. Feel free to look it up, their records are posted on ESPN.com. So does FOXSpots' Peter Schrager & several other professional football experts. There aren't any real dominate teams in the league this year & that increases the difficulty when you're required to pick the winner of every single game.
The Cam Newton saga got some fresh news yesterday & the whole thing just gets more disgusting as time goes on. The attorney for free-lance recruiter Kenny Rogers admitted his client forwarded a text message from Cecil Newton, Cam's dad, that spelled out in great detail how he wanted to profit from his son's signing with Mississippi State. State recruiter Bill Bell was the recipient of the forwarded text which called for $80,000 cash the day Newton signed, $50K 30-days later & an additional $50K after 60-days. Bell told former Mississippi State QB John Bond of the text message & together they reported it to University officials.
Boise State plays Fresno State tonight on the blue field. The Broncos are a 30 1/2 point favorite. Fresno State isn't a pushover, they're 6-3, losing at Ole Miss while scoring 38-points, at Hawaii & last week by one to #21 Nevada. If you haven't seen QB Kellen Moore, a Heisman finalist to be certain, with WR's Austin Pettis & Titus Young, tune 'em in at 9:30 ET on ESPN2.
I told you yesterday about the very tight confines of Wrigley Field for the Illinois-Northwestern game tomorrow. They literally shoehorned a football field into the landmark baseball park. With one endzone back line a mere 6" from the ivy covered brick right field wall, it's a real safety concern. Soooooooo........they've come up with a solution & it's a beauty. Every offensive drive, regardless of which team has the ball, will go from right to left or east to west, if you will. The west endzone is further from the stands, making it safer. I'm guessing the people with tickets in the right field stands are feeling pretty screwed right now as all of the offensive scores will occur at the other end of the field. The Chicago Bears played at Wrigley for 50-years, but the stadium was configured differently & the field went north to south. The last college game played at Wrigley was in 1938 with DePaul versus St. Louis. Neither has had a football program for decades. If you can get ESPNU on your cable system, tune in for a few minutes tomorrow afternoon to see the field & the one-way drives.
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