Month: October 2008 (Page 8 of 88)

Lions players new and old sure have fun with Halloween

October 29, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

SPORTSbyBROOKS.com has the story of Roy Williams and his hilarious choice for Halloween costume.

Everyone had a good laugh, but what about the butt of the joke: the still jobless Tatum Bell? Williams said he texted Bell asking him if it was cool, and received the go-ahead. If true, that means that Bell has managed to grown a sense of humor in the two months since he took the bags and snuck out of Ford Field like a child taking his ball and going home.
The Lions annual Halloween party seems to be more mean-spirited than most. The stars of last year were Jon Kitna and his wife, dressed up as defensive coach Joe Cullen and Wendy, from the restaurant. Cullen had been arrested for, among other things, picking up an order from the Wendy’s drive-thru window naked. Here’s that costume:

They may be winless, but it’s hard to argue with the Lions’ players sense of humor on Halloween. Williams’ mock costume of Bell is priceless!

Humor, NFL, Video

Joe Cullen Jon Kitna Jon Kitna Joe Cullen Halloween costume Roy Williams Roy Williams Halloween costume Roy Williams Tatum Bell Halloween costume Rudi Johnson Tatum Bell Tatum Bell steals luggage Tatum Bell steals Rudi Johnson's luggage

Jerry Jones backs Bad Brad…for now.

October 29, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is showing support in sticking with Brad Johnson at quarterback over Brooks Bollinger.

But Jones suggested on his weekly radio show that Johnson’s ability to protect the ball and manage the game trumps Bollinger’s mobility.
“Even in this day and time, you can win games with field position and no turnovers,” Jones said. “You trade that off against being really limited in what you can do downfield, being maybe limited in your accuracy and certainly limited in your mobility. Then you’ve got to pick your poison.
“So I think the real question here is what is our best way to win. My gut is our best way to win is to not turn the ball over, as opposed to go out there and try to create more offense. While Brooks has got some real skill mobility-wise and can throw the ball, you’ve got to look at his track record and look at the limited time he’s been under center this year, and you’ve got a serious chance of turnovers.”
Although his weak arm limits the offense, Johnson is a 17-year veteran with a Super Bowl ring. Bollinger, 28, has started only 10 NFL games and has been limited in practice to scout-team duty.

Jones is saying all the right things now in Johnson’s favor, but Jerry looked like he was going to throw up at any minute watching that game last Sunday. Johnson might be the better “game manager” but at some point he needs to make throws, too. He missed open receivers all game against the Bucs and will need to do a little more than manage the game against the Giants this Sunday.

Fantasy Football, NFL

Brad Johnson Brad Johnson vs. Brooks Bollinger Brooks Bollinger Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones New York Giants Wade Phillips

Wetzel: Penn State benefiting from terrible system

October 29, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports writes that No. 3 Penn State is benefiting from what he believes is a terrible BCS title game system.

Penn State faces Iowa, Indiana and Michigan State. Only the home game against the Spartans presents any meaningful challenge. The lack of a Big Ten conference championship game means Paterno can cozy up before Thanksgiving and watch everyone kill one another off.
This riveting system is what BCS apologists call a playoff, even if not everyone has to face playoff competition.
There is no logic to the illogical way college football crowns its champions, though. So this is what you get – a nation of fans already howling that Penn State is running an end around on the system.
The Nittany Lions’ best nonconference win is over Oregon State. This doubles as the best nonconference win for the entire Big Ten. The only other contenders are Michigan State over Notre Dame and Wisconsin over Fresno State. That’s it. For the entire league. The Big Ten failed to defeat a single currently ranked nonconference team.
How difficult is it to win the modern Big Ten? Well, Minnesota still has a shot at the conference title by winding up 11-1. Last season, the Gophers were 1-11. Nice story, but any league where you can go from 1-11 to 11-1 in a single season is under serious suspicion. It just is.

The BCS got lucky last year that there were so many close regular season games towards the end. They said, “See! We do have a playoff system!” But calling the final three regular season games a “playoff” is a freaking joke. And Wetzel is right – there are certain programs (namely in the Big Ten) that benefit from having a weaker schedule every year. And that’s not to take anything away from Penn State because they’ve had a great year and at this point, deserve to play for a national championship.

But the system is still greatly flawed and while this seems like it will always fall on deaf ears I’ll write it anyway: GIVE FANS A REAL PLAYOFF SYSTEM.

College Football

BCS title game system Big Ten Penn State Nittany Lions

Fifteen North Texas players suspended for failed drug tests

October 29, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

Fifteen out of 86 football players from North Texas University have been suspended for failing drug tests.

The program, at the request of coach Todd Dodge, tested 86 of the Mean Green’s players, the newspaper reported, citing source material obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.
The university did not identify the players who tested positive or what drugs they tested positive for, according to the report.
“I don’t think we have a problem with drugs, but I will say that it’s every coach’s prerogative to test his team,” Dodge said, according to the report. “It’s a great tool to help players stay away from drugs and temptations. When I talked to my team about drug testing all of them, I told them that if there was one young man on our team who secretly needed help, if it saved one young man from getting in trouble or ending up dead, then it is worth it.”

Considering the Mean Green (what a team name) is 0-8 this year, it’s hard to imagine that these drugs were of the performance-enhancing variety. And if they were, then the players suspended got ripped off because clearly the drugs haven’t helped.

College Football

North Texas Mean Green