FIESTA BOWL SLAPPED ON THE WRIST, A TIDE TRAGEDY, OSU LB "CLARIFIES" CAR PURCHASE & WHO PLAYS THE MOST SNAPS FOR K.C.?
The long-awaited probe into mismanaged funds by board members of the Fiesta Bowl finally came out yesterday & I have to say the resulting punishment is laughable. The charges of forced campaign contributions, illegal reimbursements, off-the-charts travel expenses for board members & their families, multiple country club memberships & a lot of arrogance will cause the Fiesta Bowl to forfeit $1 million. They don't lose their spot in the BCS Championship rotation, which is once every 4-years, weren't forced to divest themselves of 4 golf memberships at Phoenix-area country clubs, so other than having rid themselves of their chief hoodlum, Executive Director John Junker, who was canned in late March, it appears it's business as usual. Gone is Junker's $600,000 annual salary which was over 5% of the Bowl's net profit. The biggest argument put forth by bowl committees is that the bowl is staged to support local charities & generate tourist dollars for local businesses. Apparently John Junker is a part of some local charity. Junker paid himself more than any bowl director, which is amazing considering the Fiesta Bowl isn't close to being the most profitable bowl game. Of course this pitiful probe barely skimmed the surface & why would we be surprised? The investigation was a joint partnership of the Fiesta Bowl committee & the BCS, no chance we would get a fair deal without any outsiders involved. These bowl games with their phoney self-importance & rigid defense of the bowl system against their playoff detractors are embarrassing. As congress & the Department of Justice have begun circling like buzzards, these old-school bowl cronies just dig their heels in & refuse to give up any of what they have & believe me, they have plenty. All of the major bowls made 8-digit profits after they paid both participants. Speaking of those participants, only a few teams didn't have to dip into their own athletic department budgets to give the "bowl experience" to their teams, cheerleaders & scaled-down bands. These bowl committees exploit everyone along the way never forgetting what these games are really about, lowering their golf handicap.
I told you the other day there were rumors about the "nuclear option" being considered by the NFL. It amounts to shutting down the entire league, laying off 90% of the employees & basically ceasing to do business in an effort to bring the players to their collective knees. yesterday I listened to Commissioner Roger Goodell tell Mike Florio of PFT.com on a webcast "we're considering a variety of alternatives based on the court's decision & nothing is off the table." In other words, there is indeed a nuclear option in their arsenal. Florio pressed Goodell hard, but he refused to rule out anything. I think the chasm between the two sides is widening, which doesn't bode well for the mediation talks that are set to restart. Players like Reggie Bush & DeAngelo Hall take to Twitter to damage the players' image in the eyes of fans. Reggie said he loved the "lockout downtime" & was using it to "lay on the beach, relax & enjoy life." Hall Tweeted yesterday "what a deal, report for 1 day the lockout's lifted & get $500K roster bonus, love it, America's great!" Yeah DeAngelo, all of us struggling to fill our gas tanks & pay inflated grocery prices are glad you got your $500,000, it's something I was worrying about, right up there with how we'll afford to put food on the table & keep our medical insurance current. I'm losing my patience with really arrogant, but stupid, people. Many of those involved in this standoff qualify as arrogant & stupid don't you think?
Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State linebacker, was named in the investigation by the Columbus Dispatch, the one involving used cars at "extremely reasonable" prices. Gibson spoke out yesterday about his being named in the article chronicling 54 used car purchases by OSU players & family members. Gibson was angry at being tabbed as one of the players who essentially got a free car from salesman Aaron Kniffin. He bought a 2007 Chrysler 300C in June of '07. The 8-month old car had 13,760 miles on it & Gibson paid $13,700 for the car. That is nearly $4,500 under the Kelly Blue Book value & $6,000 under the Kelly Blue Book resale price. So what, I guess, "move along folks, show's over, nothing to see." Gibson sees nothing illegal so leave him alone. I wonder how many other customers not associated with the Buckeye football program received 1/3 off the purchase price when they bought a car from Kniffin? If such discounts were granted to the Buckeye "connection" but not John Q. Public, is that an NCAA violation? You bet your ass it is.
Former Florida All-SEC cornerback Janoris Jenkins was rumored to be shopping for an agent so he could enter the NFL's supplemental draft normally held in June. Considering this is anything but a "normal season', Jenkins is now leaning toward transferring to a Division II school so he can play this fall. Terry Bowden's North Alabama program is at the top of Jenkin's list. Jenkins was dismissed from the Gator's program after his 3rd pot bust in two years.
Alabama offensive lineman Aaron Douglas was found dead late last night. The circumstances surrounding his death have not been released. The 21-year old originally signed with Tennessee but transferred to a JUCO after the Lane Kiffin mess at Tennessee. He was named as an All-American Freshman in his one year at Chattanooga. Douglas transferred to Bama this year & was competing for a starting job.
Nine-time Pro Bowl offensive guard Alan Faneca announced his retirement from the NFL yesterday. After watching Faneca last season, the NY Jets did the right thing letting him walk away & sign with Arizona, he was pretty used up, really a shell of the player who dominated all those years for Pittsburgh & New York.
Gus Johnson has indeed signed with FOXSports. He will broadcast both college & pro football.
Adam Teicher at The Kansas City Star published some interesting stats today. It was all about the percentage of plays each team member participated in last season. Only two players made it to 100%, rookie safety Eric Berry & 38-year old center, Casey Weigmann. The veteran hasn't missed a single offensive snap in some 6 years, an awesome track record. Others who played almost every snap include cornerback Brandon Carr, 99%, linebacker Derrick Johnson, 97%, quarterback Matt Cassell & guard Brian Waters at 95%.
In closing, I saw a pretty peculiar story in The New Orleans Times Picayune this morning. Saints' owner Tom Benson & his wife Gayle were in the Vatican last Wednesday during holy week & after Pope Benedict blessed the throng massed in St. Peter's square he met with a the few people lucky enough to receive a personal audience with the His Holiness. Benson & his wife were fortunate enough to meet Benedict & kiss the papal ring. After doing so, Benson asked the Pope if he wanted to see his ring, the Saints Super Bowl ring. He told the Pope he was with the Saints & Pope Benedict said he knew of their victory as he examined Benson's ring. By the way, Pope Benedict didn't kiss the diamond-encrusted fleur de lis. Not something you'll see very often.
I told you the other day there were rumors about the "nuclear option" being considered by the NFL. It amounts to shutting down the entire league, laying off 90% of the employees & basically ceasing to do business in an effort to bring the players to their collective knees. yesterday I listened to Commissioner Roger Goodell tell Mike Florio of PFT.com on a webcast "we're considering a variety of alternatives based on the court's decision & nothing is off the table." In other words, there is indeed a nuclear option in their arsenal. Florio pressed Goodell hard, but he refused to rule out anything. I think the chasm between the two sides is widening, which doesn't bode well for the mediation talks that are set to restart. Players like Reggie Bush & DeAngelo Hall take to Twitter to damage the players' image in the eyes of fans. Reggie said he loved the "lockout downtime" & was using it to "lay on the beach, relax & enjoy life." Hall Tweeted yesterday "what a deal, report for 1 day the lockout's lifted & get $500K roster bonus, love it, America's great!" Yeah DeAngelo, all of us struggling to fill our gas tanks & pay inflated grocery prices are glad you got your $500,000, it's something I was worrying about, right up there with how we'll afford to put food on the table & keep our medical insurance current. I'm losing my patience with really arrogant, but stupid, people. Many of those involved in this standoff qualify as arrogant & stupid don't you think?
Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State linebacker, was named in the investigation by the Columbus Dispatch, the one involving used cars at "extremely reasonable" prices. Gibson spoke out yesterday about his being named in the article chronicling 54 used car purchases by OSU players & family members. Gibson was angry at being tabbed as one of the players who essentially got a free car from salesman Aaron Kniffin. He bought a 2007 Chrysler 300C in June of '07. The 8-month old car had 13,760 miles on it & Gibson paid $13,700 for the car. That is nearly $4,500 under the Kelly Blue Book value & $6,000 under the Kelly Blue Book resale price. So what, I guess, "move along folks, show's over, nothing to see." Gibson sees nothing illegal so leave him alone. I wonder how many other customers not associated with the Buckeye football program received 1/3 off the purchase price when they bought a car from Kniffin? If such discounts were granted to the Buckeye "connection" but not John Q. Public, is that an NCAA violation? You bet your ass it is.
Former Florida All-SEC cornerback Janoris Jenkins was rumored to be shopping for an agent so he could enter the NFL's supplemental draft normally held in June. Considering this is anything but a "normal season', Jenkins is now leaning toward transferring to a Division II school so he can play this fall. Terry Bowden's North Alabama program is at the top of Jenkin's list. Jenkins was dismissed from the Gator's program after his 3rd pot bust in two years.
Alabama offensive lineman Aaron Douglas was found dead late last night. The circumstances surrounding his death have not been released. The 21-year old originally signed with Tennessee but transferred to a JUCO after the Lane Kiffin mess at Tennessee. He was named as an All-American Freshman in his one year at Chattanooga. Douglas transferred to Bama this year & was competing for a starting job.
Nine-time Pro Bowl offensive guard Alan Faneca announced his retirement from the NFL yesterday. After watching Faneca last season, the NY Jets did the right thing letting him walk away & sign with Arizona, he was pretty used up, really a shell of the player who dominated all those years for Pittsburgh & New York.
Gus Johnson has indeed signed with FOXSports. He will broadcast both college & pro football.
Adam Teicher at The Kansas City Star published some interesting stats today. It was all about the percentage of plays each team member participated in last season. Only two players made it to 100%, rookie safety Eric Berry & 38-year old center, Casey Weigmann. The veteran hasn't missed a single offensive snap in some 6 years, an awesome track record. Others who played almost every snap include cornerback Brandon Carr, 99%, linebacker Derrick Johnson, 97%, quarterback Matt Cassell & guard Brian Waters at 95%.
In closing, I saw a pretty peculiar story in The New Orleans Times Picayune this morning. Saints' owner Tom Benson & his wife Gayle were in the Vatican last Wednesday during holy week & after Pope Benedict blessed the throng massed in St. Peter's square he met with a the few people lucky enough to receive a personal audience with the His Holiness. Benson & his wife were fortunate enough to meet Benedict & kiss the papal ring. After doing so, Benson asked the Pope if he wanted to see his ring, the Saints Super Bowl ring. He told the Pope he was with the Saints & Pope Benedict said he knew of their victory as he examined Benson's ring. By the way, Pope Benedict didn't kiss the diamond-encrusted fleur de lis. Not something you'll see very often.
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