Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1140 of 1503)

      Raiders fire head coach Lane Kiffin

      September 30, 2008 /

      The Oakland Raiders have fired head coach Lane Kiffin.

      The inevitable became reality Tuesday when Lane Kiffin was fired by Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis without pay via the telephone, according to team sources.

      Tom Cable, the team’s offensive line coach, was emerging as the leading candidate to replace Kiffin, a source said. Cable was among three coaches interviewed by Davis on Monday night; the others were offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and special consultant Paul Hackett.

      Davis is expected to have a press conference later Tuesday to explain his decision to dismiss Kiffin.

      Unlike the St. Louis Rams, who fired coach Scott Linehan on Monday, the news was not delivered by Davis in a face-to-face meeting. Kiffin was notified by a team executive Tuesday morning that Davis would call him at 9:15 a.m. PT to relieve the coach of his duties. The call came shortly after that time.

      Linehan also was allowed to speak briefly with his players on Monday. Kiffin will not be afforded the same opportunity, a source said.

      Wow, don’t piss off Al Davis, I guess. You’d think that Davis would have the common courtesy to fire Kiffin face to face, but obviously things were much worse between the two than anyone could imagine. Amazing how Davis hired this man less than two years ago and now it appears that he can’t stand him.

      Update: The Raiders have chosen offensive line coach Tom Cable as their new head coach according to NFL.com.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Lisa Guerrero rips Patriots fans

      September 30, 2008 /

      As SPORTSbyBROOKS.com reported less than a week ago, former MNF reportor Lisa Guerrero is now blogging for the L.A. Times. In one of her first blogs, she takes aim at New England Patriot fans.

      Lisa GuerreroLet me get this straight: Boston fans suffered through 80 years of Red Sox disappointment but can’t sit through the first Patriots loss in 21 regular season games?

      I, of all people, should not be surprised. From 1992 to 1994, I was the director of entertainment for the Patriots. Believe me, those bleak years were anything but entertaining.

      Back then, they played at Foxboro Stadium, best known for having the worst field conditions in professional football, in front of maybe 20,000 fans, best known for urinating off the upper terrace and assaulting women in the dirt parking lot. Really!

      In other words, this was a drunken, dirty, obnoxious crowd. I don’t mean that in a good way.
      Those fans were an embarrassment. The team stunk — 6-10 in 1991 and 2-14 in 1992 — and there wasn’t a lot to cheer about. Remember Dick MacPherson? Exactly.

      But isn’t that when true fans continue to show up … and know how to use the indoor plumbing?

      Well, exit Hugh Millen/Scott Zolak and enter Drew Bledsoe/Tom Brady. Guess what? The crowds started showing up again.

      It’s easy to be a fan when your team wins three Super Bowls in four years, but one loss at home in a couple of seasons and the rats jump off the sinking ship like Tom Brady jumped off Bridget Moynihan.
      This past Sunday, when the Pats took a beating, their fans couldn’t take a hit.

      In fairness to Patriot fans, anybody would have left with the way Ronnie Brown was shredded New England that day. But Guerrero brings up a good point and it’ll be interesting to see how loyal Pats fans are if the team starts to go down without Brady.

      Fantasy Football, MLB, NFL

      Steelers’ RB Rashard Mendenhall out for season

      September 30, 2008 /

      Pittsburgh running back Rashard Mendenhall will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his left shoulder in the Steelers’ 23-20 win Monday night against Baltimore.

      Rashard MendenhallRookie halfback Rashard Mendenhall and right guard Kendall Simmons will be placed on injured reserve today. Mendenhall made his first start and he left in the third quarter with a fractured shoulder. Simmons has a torn Achilles tendon.

      The injuries to the running backs left the Steelers with just one healthy back, Mewelde Moore. They went into the game with just three. Gary Russell was on the roster until he was released the day before they played Philadelphia, and re-signed to the practice squad.

      Not a good start for the rookie back out of Illinois. The Steelers intended to use him in a running back-by-committee backfield with Willie Parker, but Mendenhall had a severe case of fumblitis in the preseason and Parker got the majority of the careers. Now Mendenhall will miss the rest of the season.

      Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t looked that great the past two games as he battles shoulder and hand injuries, and now Mewelde Moore is the starting back. Not too mention the offensive line just took another major hit with the loss of Simmons. Even though they’re 3-1, Pittsburgh is in trouble.

      JP’s Fantasy Take: Wow, what a bummer of a season for Mendenhall. Carey Davis actually looked like he was ahead of Moore on the depth chart, but he left the game with a twisted ankle. If he’s ready to go in Week 5, it looks like he’d be the main ballcarrier.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Steelers edge out Ravens in overtime

      September 30, 2008 /

      Steelers-RavensIt was a tale of two halves Monday night in Pittsburgh as the Steelers slipped past the Ravens 23-20 thanks to Josh Reed’s 46-yard field goal in overtime.

      Baltimore took a 13-3 lead deep into the third quarter but following a Nate Washington 8-yard reception on a 1st and 10 play from Pittsburgh’s 33-yard line, LB Jarret Johnson was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty that set up the Steelers at the Raven 44-yard line.

      Up until that point, Pittsburgh was lifeless and Heinz Field resembled a morgue. The Steelers wound up scoring three plays later on a Santonio Holmes 38-yard touchdown reception, which trimmed Baltimore’s lead to 13-10. Then on the Ravens’ first play following the kickoff, Pittsburgh LB James Harrison crushed rookie QB Joe Flacco, causing a fumble that was scooped up by LaMarr Woodley at the 7-yard line and taken into the end zone for a Steelers’ touchdown. Suddenly, two and a half quarters of solid play went out the window for the Ravens and they found themselves trailing 17-13.

      After the Steelers pushed their lead to 20-13 on Reed’s second field goal of the night with just under 10 minutes to play, Flacco led Baltimore on a nine-play, 76-yard drive which ended with Le’Ron McClain scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 20. It all went for naught, however, as the Steelers forced the Ravens to punt on their opening possession of overtime, then won the game seven plays later on Reed’s third field goal.

      Baltimore flat out blew an opportunity for a big win. Before Johnson gift-wrapped momentum for the Steelers thanks to his penalty, Pittsburgh looked lost. For the second straight week Ben Roethlisberger was playing like crap, they had no running game and outside of finding some success running the no-huddle, the Steelers’ coaching staff appeared befuddled on how to move the ball on the Ravens’ nasty defense. But that’s why teams have to play all 60 minutes, especially when they’re on the road and playing in a tough environment. There’s no doubt Baltimore will look back at this game and think about what could have been.

      Side Note: Is it just me or did anyone else get the impression that ESPN commentator Ron “Jaws” Jaworski was flat out rooting for the Ravens during the game? I know Tony Kornheiser mentioned that Jaws’ son went to Delaware (same school as Flacco), but man, most of his comments seemed aimed at how good Flacco is/could be. I like Jaws, but he seemed a little biased tonight.

      Also, it was great to hear that Andre Frazier was up and walking around the Steelers’ locker room after the game. Frazier was taken from the field on a stretcher after injuring his spine on the opening kickoff of the game.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      White Sox will play Twins in one-game playoff

      September 29, 2008 /

      The Chicago White Sox just made things incredibly interesting in the American League. With their 8-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday, the White Sox have forced a one-game playoff with the Minnesota Twins for the AL Central crown. Alexei Ramirez hit a gram slam during the sixth inning to propel the Sox over the Tigers.

      Alexei RamirezBeginning with Sunday’s series finale against Cleveland, the White Sox knew they had to win three games in order to reach the AL Division Series against the Rays. That magic number has been reduced to one for both the White Sox and the Twins, who enter Tuesday with identical 88-74 records.

      “I don’t think you ever expect a one-game playoff,” said White Sox first baseman and team captain Paul Konerko, who has been talking about this race going down to the final days since mid-August. “It’s an oddity. We are just scrapping, fighting and trying to get to where we want to go.”

      “You get passed feeling tired and forget about all those aches and pains,” added White Sox reliever Scott Linebrink, who struck out the side during an impressive eighth inning. “Adrenaline gets you going. Our situation is great — we fought for this and earned it. One hundred and sixty-two [games weren’t] enough so we need one extra, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

      Isn’t it amazing how teams can go through a 162-game season and still wind up tied at the end? It’s doubtful that either of these clubs can hang with the Angels, Rays or Red Sox for an entire series, but then again, you never know. Momentum is a scary thing – look at the 2007 Colorado Rockies who rode a 10-game winning streak all the way to the World Series last year.

      Nick Blackburn (11-10, 4.14 ERA) of the Twins will take the rubber against Chicago’s John Danks (11-9, 3.47) on Tuesday. First pitch is 7:30 PM ET.

      MLB

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑