Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 215 of 1503)

      Cam Newton named AP Player of the Year

      December 23, 2010 /

      Cam Newton can now add AP Player of the Year to his list of accomplishments in 2010.

      From ESPN.com:

      The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback led the Tigers into the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game against No. 2 Oregon with a mix of flair and poise and enough highlight-reel plays to widely split the vote among a handful of coaches and teammates asked for their favorite.

      Newton received 51 votes from the 60-member AP football poll panel. Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore received three, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck got two, and four ballots went unreturned.

      Scandal or no scandal, Cam Newton is one hell of a football player and turned in quite a performance this season. Football is the ultimate team game but if Auburn goes on to win the national championship, it’ll be because of Newton. He’s one of those rare players that can completely take over a game on his own. Watching him battle with Oregon in a couple of weeks will be incredibly fun to watch.

      Perhaps the most amazing thing about Newton is that he kind of came out of nowhere. Auburn fans knew he was special but he wasn’t really on anyone’s radar in preseason and he certainly wasn’t being considered as a Heisman candidate at the start of the year. Yet he won the prestigious honor running away and then scooped up the AP Player of the Year award in a landslide. Amazing.

      College Football, External Sports

      Did Coughlin kick Dodge out of locker room following loss to Eagles?

      December 22, 2010 /

      Giants’ punter Matt Dodge had himself a rough day last Sunday. First he had to watch his team blow a 21-point fourth-quarter lead to the Eagles and then he helped them lose the game when he punted the ball right at dangerous returner DeSean Jackson (who returned the gift for a game-winning touchdown).

      Following the game, Tom Coughlin saw Dodge crying and told him to get out of the locker room, or so says local Philadelphia sports radio loudmouth Howard Eskin via his Twitter page.

      After Eagles game learned that NY coach T. Coughlin saw his punter in tears. Told him get out of locker room. No longer on this team.

      If the report is true, hopefully Coughlin kicked his defense out of the locker room, too. After they left, hopefully he proceeded to kick out his punt return team, his offense and all of his assistant coaches as well.

      Then when he was the only one left standing in his locker room, here’s hoping Tom Coughlin booted himself out. Because it doesn’t take just one man to blow a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter with only eight minutes remaining in the game. Did Dodge screw up? No doubt. It was a bad mistake and he cost his team dearly. But with the way Coughlin and his coaching staff was handling the game at that point, there’s little doubt that the Eagles would have won in overtime anyway.

      Maybe the report isn’t true. After all, it did come from Howard Eskin, who isn’t above Tweeting something like that just to rub the Giants noses in a loss to the Eagles. But again, if it is, Coughlin owes Dodge an apology.

      External Sports, NFL

      And the most bizarre sports story of the year goes to…

      December 22, 2010 /

      I almost didn’t post anything about this but it was just too bizarre not to.

      Deadspin recently posted a report that shows a number of videos with a woman that looks very much like Rex Ryan’s wife. In the videos, the woman is showing off her feet while a cameraman, who sounds very much like Ryan, talks to her about her feet. (You can watch the videos here.)

      ESPN.com now reports that Ryan won’t address the report.

      “I know you need to ask, it’s a personal matter,” Ryan said, according to the Chicago Tribune, when asked if the situation could snowball into a distraction.

      He said it was between him and his wife and he would not elaborate beyond that.

      The Jets had already issued a statement: “This is a personal matter and Rex will have no comment.”

      The story already made the front page of the New York Daily News and has gone viral. Ryan is scheduled to meet with the New York media Wednesday afternoon, although he’ll probably repeat what he said above.

      On one hand, I almost feel bad for Ryan. He’s not the only one in the world who has a fetish like this (uh, assuming of course that that is him and his wife in the videos) and now he’s going to be judged by people who would die if their personal obsessions got out too. It’s not fair to judge.

      That said, don’t post the videos online if you want to keep the matter private. The sheep essentially invited the wolves to dinner in this instance and the entire situation could have been avoided with a lot less candor. I still don’t think people should judge, but then again everyone isn’t posting videos on YouTube of their personal fetishes either.

      Of course, is anyone really surprised by this? When I read the story I thought, “Yeah, I could see it. Oh, that Rex Ryan…”

      External Sports, NFL

      Will Ochocinco be back with Bengals in 2011?

      December 22, 2010 /

      On Tuesday night’s episode of the “T.Ocho Show,”Chad Ochocinco discussed the possibility of not returning to the Bengals. He sees “significant” changes being made for the 2011 season and he doesn’t know if the team will retain him.

      From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

      Says Ochocinco about next season: “I’d love to see Terrell come back next year. As far as myself, I don’t even know if I’ll be back next year. … Changes will be made and they’ll be significant.”

      Some pundits believe that the Bengals are unlikely to pick up Ocho’s $6 million option for next year. The team has to make decisions about whether or not to retain other key offensive players such as Cedric Benson and Carson Palmer and may not want to spend $6 million to keep a receiver when a makeover is paramount.

      Offensively, the Bengals have been inconsistent the past two years. The one thing they had going for them on that side of the ball last year was that they could run. But after spending the offseason trying to upgrade the passing game with the additions of T.O. and rookie tight end Jermaine Gresham, the entire offense has taken a step backwards. Now Cincinnati is to the point where it has to consider gutting the whole thing and starting from scratch.

      Will that require jettisoning players like Ochocinco and Palmer? Maybe.

      External Sports, NFL

      Aaron Rodgers cleared to play on Sunday

      December 22, 2010 /

      The sound you hear off in the distance is coming from Green Bay; it’s the sound of utter jubilation as Packer fans celebrate quarterback Aaron Rodgers (concussion) being cleared to play against the Giants on Sunday. (Somebody may be running a blender, too.)

      ESPN Milwaukee reports that Rodgers has gained clearance from team physician Dr. John Gray, as well as an independent neurologist to play. Rodgers could still suffer a setback between now and kickoff, but for the time being it looks like he’ll suit up for the most important game of both Green Bay and New York’s seasons.

      If the playoffs were to start today, the Giants would own the sixth and final spot in the NFC. But the Packers control their own destiny from here on out so if they beat New York on Sunday and then Chicago in Week 17, they would go to the playoffs and the Giants would be left out. (The Bucs are also in the mix, but their fate was essentially sealed last week when they couldn’t beat the Lions at home. Sinners.)

      On Monday, Eli Manning apparently held his first players-only meeting since being drafted by the Giants in 2004. The team needed somebody to perform damage control after their fourth quarter collapse against the Eagles last Sunday, and Eli took it upon himself to step up. We’ll see if the little pow-wow pays off.

      External Sports, NFL

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