STEELERS' HARRISON CROSSES SEVERAL LINES, MORE MIKE LEACH & DID TODD HALEY ACCUSE JOSH MCDANIEL OF CHEATING?
Four-time Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison has shown himself to be, uh, he's uh, well let's just say he's been unpredictable. He twice boycotted the team's White House trip after winning Super Bowls. "He claims the Steelers are his 2nd favorite team, but let's not kid ourselves, if Arizona won the game, he'd invite them to the White House" Harrison said. The "he" Harrison was referring to was President Barack Obama. He's been arrested for domestic violence on the mother of his two children. He's twice been sent to anger management. His pit bull bit his son badly enough the child was hospitalized for three days. The same dog bit Harrison's massage therapist & his live-in girlfriend. Harrison has drawn nearly $200,000 in fines for alleged illegal hits the past two seasons. He complained loudly after each sit-down with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Having seen all three hits, I have to say one was a "no doubter," one was questionable & the third was a very bad call by the comish. Harrison was not flagged for the hit, but drew a huge fine days later. So maybe he has an axe to grind with Goodell to some extent. In a new Men's Journal interview released on Wednesday, Harrison crossed the line with Goodell, then he proceeded to cross a whole bunch of lines that are certain to make him ultra unpopular all over the place, including his own locker room. The photo that accompanied the piece will also cause controversy, especially with the league & the Rooney family. Here's a sampling of quotes from this article:
On Commissioner Roger Goodell
"If that man was on fire & I had to piss to put it out, I wouldn't do it."
"I hate him & will never respect him."
Other words Harrison used to describe Goodell:
"Crook" "Devil" "Puppet" & "Dictator."
"If we were on the podium accepting the Super Bowl Trophy, I'd whisper in his ear 'why don't you quit & do something else, like start your own league, in flag football'."
Harrison referred to former Patriots Tedy Bruschi & Rodney Harrison as "clowns."
Of Houston linebacker Brian Cushing Harrison said "he's juiced out of his mind."
Then he crossed a the line most all NFL players know better than to cross, criticizing your own teammates, especially your quarterback. Regarding Ben Roethlisberger's performance in February's Super Bowl, Harrison is quoted as saying "Hey, at least throw a pick on their side of the field instead of asking the D to bail you out again. Or hand the ball off & stop trying to act like Peyton Manning. You ain't that, you know it man, you just get paid like he does."
He referred to Steeler starting running back Rashard Mendenhall as "a fumbling machine."
I think now would be an excellent time to point out Harrison had less than sparkling stats from the same Super Bowl, 1 solo tackle, that's one. Hardly the stuff legends are made from.
The league said there would be no statement regarding Harrison's interview....for now. Mendenhall posted a couple of rebuttle Tweets late yesterday afternoon "Mendenhall, 324 carries, 2 fumbles."
Brian Cushing said he "would pray for Harrison."
Pro Football Hall of Famer & former Steeler Jerome Bettis said he was "really disappointed in Harrison's remarks, especially about his teammates. That stuff may not play well in that locker room."
After becoming the main topic of conversation all day, Harrison agreed to appear on ESPN's Sportscenter on the 6PM Eastern telecast. Less than 10-minutes before the show was to air, Harrison's agent stepped in to cancel his appearance, a very wise decision. Then within an hour, Harrison, thru his agent, said the Men's Journal interview had "twisted his words." Really? What a shock! This & "my account was hacked" have become the signature denials when athletes say something really stupid or inappropriate. Every year that passes, Harrison becomes a little more radioactive.
Just the image the NFL wants
The St. Louis Rams sent 75 staff members to Joplin Missouri yesterday to aid in the tornado cleanup. No players made the trip which I find unfortunate. Many of these people on two buses were folks who've seen their paychecks reduced due to the lockout & yet work all day under sweltering conditions to help their fellow Missourians. Even just a few players would have been nice. Still nothing heard from the St. Louis Blues Hockey team.
Joe Montana is going into the hotel business. The Hall of Fame quarterback, along with former San Francisco owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. & a few more investors have entered into an agreement with the City of Santa Clara to build & operate a luxury hotel right across the street from the proposed new stadium the Niners will use. The City Council voted 5-1 to lease the necessary ground to Montana's group, the one dissenter was the City Manager who wanted it opened up for bids so the city might have gotten more rent for the property. The Montana/DeBartolo group promised the hotel would be open for business long before the stadium's 2015 opening.
Today's Mike Leach entry comes from former Texas Tech Regent Wendy Sitton. In Leach's new book, Swing Your Sword, a copy of the letter Sitton sent to Regents' Vice Chairman Jerry Turner details just how unfairly many "high-ups" in the Tech community felt Leach had been treated & how far some were prepared to go in protest.
"Jerry I know this firing has been in the works since the Chancellor & Athletic Director were outmaneuvered by Coach Leach. That is our problem."
"Our other problem rests with the arrogance of the Chancellor & ineptness of the Athletic Director. Everyone sees thru this injustice to Mike Leach & Texas Tech. The Sitton family has given scholarships & have had multiple seats since 1976. We will not renew our options on our 12 seats or for that matter, our PSL's for Basketball.
"This whole thing smells & we do not want to be a part of this blight on Texas Tech."
Sitton resigned her post soon after this letter was sent. Part III tomorrow.
Chiefs' fans will remember this moment immediately after the 49-29 beatdown Kansas City suffered in Denver during the 2010 season.
Now there's a story to go with this picture along with a possible explanation of what it all means. Chiefs' punter Dustin Colquitt appeared on 102.3 the Fan in Denver yesterday & when asked about the incident, Colquitt didn't hesitate to give his take on Coach Todd Haley's mindset minutes after the game had ended.
"I don't know if I can answer that within in the confines of the locker room, you know, politically correct, but I know that it has something to do with Spygate, the videotaped cheating, you know, when McDaniel was with New England? All the stuff like that & I think Haley was like 'Listen, based on that game, I can tell what you are doing & you are cheating."
It was easily the Chiefs' worst performance of the regular season & it was against a truly awful 4-12 Bronco team that fired coach Josh McDaniel after the season ended. Everything the Broncos did offensively & defensively for most of the first half was amazing, it was like they knew exactly what the Chiefs were going to do on both sides of the ball. Whatever it was Haley thought the Bronco coaching staff had on his team, he changed it midway thru the 2nd quarter. From there till the end of the game, Kansas City outscored Denver 29-14, but by then it was too late. Now the part of this story that really surprised me were the callers to the Vic & Gary Show. Most of them bought into Colquitt's contention McDaniel was cheating. They couldn't pin it down, but many said basically the same thing, I'm paraphrasing, "it was a near-perfect half after playing terribly for most of the season & they never came close to duplicating this type of performance last year." It was obvious no one calling into this show was sorry to see McDaniel kicked out after last season. Buzz words included "aloof, arrogant & smug." Others thought he was in way over his head. There was also very little negative feelings toward Todd Haley. One guy did call him a whiny baby, he could be the Bronco fan that sends "love letters" to me from time to time.
On Commissioner Roger Goodell
"If that man was on fire & I had to piss to put it out, I wouldn't do it."
"I hate him & will never respect him."
Other words Harrison used to describe Goodell:
"Crook" "Devil" "Puppet" & "Dictator."
"If we were on the podium accepting the Super Bowl Trophy, I'd whisper in his ear 'why don't you quit & do something else, like start your own league, in flag football'."
Harrison referred to former Patriots Tedy Bruschi & Rodney Harrison as "clowns."
Of Houston linebacker Brian Cushing Harrison said "he's juiced out of his mind."
Then he crossed a the line most all NFL players know better than to cross, criticizing your own teammates, especially your quarterback. Regarding Ben Roethlisberger's performance in February's Super Bowl, Harrison is quoted as saying "Hey, at least throw a pick on their side of the field instead of asking the D to bail you out again. Or hand the ball off & stop trying to act like Peyton Manning. You ain't that, you know it man, you just get paid like he does."
He referred to Steeler starting running back Rashard Mendenhall as "a fumbling machine."
I think now would be an excellent time to point out Harrison had less than sparkling stats from the same Super Bowl, 1 solo tackle, that's one. Hardly the stuff legends are made from.
The league said there would be no statement regarding Harrison's interview....for now. Mendenhall posted a couple of rebuttle Tweets late yesterday afternoon "Mendenhall, 324 carries, 2 fumbles."
Brian Cushing said he "would pray for Harrison."
Pro Football Hall of Famer & former Steeler Jerome Bettis said he was "really disappointed in Harrison's remarks, especially about his teammates. That stuff may not play well in that locker room."
After becoming the main topic of conversation all day, Harrison agreed to appear on ESPN's Sportscenter on the 6PM Eastern telecast. Less than 10-minutes before the show was to air, Harrison's agent stepped in to cancel his appearance, a very wise decision. Then within an hour, Harrison, thru his agent, said the Men's Journal interview had "twisted his words." Really? What a shock! This & "my account was hacked" have become the signature denials when athletes say something really stupid or inappropriate. Every year that passes, Harrison becomes a little more radioactive.
Just the image the NFL wants
The St. Louis Rams sent 75 staff members to Joplin Missouri yesterday to aid in the tornado cleanup. No players made the trip which I find unfortunate. Many of these people on two buses were folks who've seen their paychecks reduced due to the lockout & yet work all day under sweltering conditions to help their fellow Missourians. Even just a few players would have been nice. Still nothing heard from the St. Louis Blues Hockey team.
Joe Montana is going into the hotel business. The Hall of Fame quarterback, along with former San Francisco owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. & a few more investors have entered into an agreement with the City of Santa Clara to build & operate a luxury hotel right across the street from the proposed new stadium the Niners will use. The City Council voted 5-1 to lease the necessary ground to Montana's group, the one dissenter was the City Manager who wanted it opened up for bids so the city might have gotten more rent for the property. The Montana/DeBartolo group promised the hotel would be open for business long before the stadium's 2015 opening.
Today's Mike Leach entry comes from former Texas Tech Regent Wendy Sitton. In Leach's new book, Swing Your Sword, a copy of the letter Sitton sent to Regents' Vice Chairman Jerry Turner details just how unfairly many "high-ups" in the Tech community felt Leach had been treated & how far some were prepared to go in protest.
"Jerry I know this firing has been in the works since the Chancellor & Athletic Director were outmaneuvered by Coach Leach. That is our problem."
"Our other problem rests with the arrogance of the Chancellor & ineptness of the Athletic Director. Everyone sees thru this injustice to Mike Leach & Texas Tech. The Sitton family has given scholarships & have had multiple seats since 1976. We will not renew our options on our 12 seats or for that matter, our PSL's for Basketball.
"This whole thing smells & we do not want to be a part of this blight on Texas Tech."
Sitton resigned her post soon after this letter was sent. Part III tomorrow.
Chiefs' fans will remember this moment immediately after the 49-29 beatdown Kansas City suffered in Denver during the 2010 season.
Now there's a story to go with this picture along with a possible explanation of what it all means. Chiefs' punter Dustin Colquitt appeared on 102.3 the Fan in Denver yesterday & when asked about the incident, Colquitt didn't hesitate to give his take on Coach Todd Haley's mindset minutes after the game had ended.
"I don't know if I can answer that within in the confines of the locker room, you know, politically correct, but I know that it has something to do with Spygate, the videotaped cheating, you know, when McDaniel was with New England? All the stuff like that & I think Haley was like 'Listen, based on that game, I can tell what you are doing & you are cheating."
It was easily the Chiefs' worst performance of the regular season & it was against a truly awful 4-12 Bronco team that fired coach Josh McDaniel after the season ended. Everything the Broncos did offensively & defensively for most of the first half was amazing, it was like they knew exactly what the Chiefs were going to do on both sides of the ball. Whatever it was Haley thought the Bronco coaching staff had on his team, he changed it midway thru the 2nd quarter. From there till the end of the game, Kansas City outscored Denver 29-14, but by then it was too late. Now the part of this story that really surprised me were the callers to the Vic & Gary Show. Most of them bought into Colquitt's contention McDaniel was cheating. They couldn't pin it down, but many said basically the same thing, I'm paraphrasing, "it was a near-perfect half after playing terribly for most of the season & they never came close to duplicating this type of performance last year." It was obvious no one calling into this show was sorry to see McDaniel kicked out after last season. Buzz words included "aloof, arrogant & smug." Others thought he was in way over his head. There was also very little negative feelings toward Todd Haley. One guy did call him a whiny baby, he could be the Bronco fan that sends "love letters" to me from time to time.
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