Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 341 of 1503)

      Why Roger Clemens would rather go to jail than admit guilt

      August 30, 2010 /
      Former Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens leaves the U.S. District Court House after his arraignment hearing in Washington on August 30, 2010. Clemens is being charged with making false statements, perjury and obstructing Congress in his congressional testimony on his alleged use of performance enhancing drugs. UPI/Kevin Dietsch Photo via Newscom

      I don’t know Roger Clemens and despite the advances in modern technology, I still think we’re a couple of years away from being able to walk around in someone’s head to help understand what they’re thinking.

      That means I can only speculate as to why Clemens decided to plead not guilty on Monday to charges of lying to Congress about whether he ever used steroids or human growth hormone. Or better yet, why he also decided not to accept a plea agreement in order to face a lighter sentence.

      But the reason, I speculate (along with the fact that he could lose future earnings and the chance of being elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame), is rather simple. Had he accepted the plea deal, he would have admitted guilt to everything: taking steroids, for lying about taking steroids and for calling Brian McNamee a liar. (And there’s no doubt that Clemens wants to give into McNamee – even if it meant that he would stay out of prison.)

      Even if Clemens has told a shred of truth over these past couple of years, it won’t matter. All people will care about is that he a) cheated the game and b) lied about cheating the game.

      That’s why I think he’d rather go to jail maintaining his innocence than be deemed a liar. That may sound ridiculous to most people and it should, but we’re talking about someone facing hard evidence and yet he continues to deny that he used steroids. Keep in mind that even if he does get locked up, he can still say that the judicial system screwed him or he was wrongfully accused.

      Here’s another thought: He has bought into his lie. There are some people in this world that tie a lie so many times that they start to believe it. They’ve repeated to themselves enough times that they’re 6’3” and 230 pounds of shredded muscle that when they look in the mirror, the person starring back at them is 6’3” and 220 pounds. (Now you know what I do before I got to bed each night…right before I cry myself to sleep.)

      Either way, I think “Rocket” is lying. And either way, I think he’ll go down maintaining his innocence, even if he eventually winds up behind bars.

      External Sports, MLB

      2010 College Football Predictions

      August 30, 2010 /
      Jan 1, 2010; Pasadena, CA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes players huddle before the 2010 Rose Bowl against the Oregon Ducks. Photo via Newscom

      Conference winners, sleepers, power rankings and one big, fat national championship prediction.

      Enjoy.

      Big Ten

      Champion: Ohio State
      Yes, it’s true – the Buckeyes need Terrelle Pryor to be more consistent in the passing game this year if they expect to win a national championship. But stop acting like that’s the difference between OSU winning the Big Ten and them turning into Vanderbilt. Choke on this for a second: The Buckeyes return all three leading rushers from 2009 in Pryor, Brandon Saine and Dan Herron, the secondary features three senior NFL prospects, and they own the best defensive end in the nation in Cameron Heyward. Pryor is also coming off a dominating performance against Oregon in the Rose Bowl and reports state that he has committed himself this offseason to being a better teammate. Sorry Buckeye-haters, but the gap between them and Alabama is closer than you think.

      Conference Champion Sleeper: Michigan Slate
      My biggest concern with the Spartans is that despite pulling off an upset nearly every year, they also manage to lose a game they shouldn’t. But they have a slew of playmakers and plenty of depth on both sides of the ball, plus feature a ton of offensive firepower in Larry Caper, Edwin Baker, Keith Nicol and Mark Dell. Oh, and linebacker Greg Jones is the best defender in the nation. If this team can avoid being tripped up by an inferior opponent, they could easily surprise this season.

      Conference Power Ranking: #1 Ohio State, #2 Iowa, #3 Wisconsin, # 4 Penn State, #5 Michigan State, #6 Northwestern, #7 Michigan, #8 Purdue, #9 Illinois, #10 Indiana, #11 Minnesota.

      I admit that I had Michigan rated too high when I did my Big Ten preview last week. Having any sort of trust in Rich Rodriguez right now is a dangerous proposition for obvious reasons. Just when you think he’s going to figure things out in Ann Arbor, he makes a decision to muck everything up. Penn State might be ranked a little high given their quarterback concerns. Wisconsin is going to give teams trouble this year and Northwestern is going to be a tough opponent every week as well.

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Will the safety position hold the Bengals back in 2010?

      August 30, 2010 /
      PITTSBURGH - NOVEMBER 15: Chris Crocker #42 and Chinedum Ndukwe #41 of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrate in the bench area en route to an 18-12 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers during their game at Heinz Field on November 15, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Bengals defeated the Steelers 18-12. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

      Merry preseason, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be breaking down the Bengals’ safeties and why they could become a liability for the team this season.

      Special teams is arguably the Bengals’ biggest weakness heading into the 2010 season, but I’ve avoided talking about kickers to this point and I’m not going to start now.

      Pass protection, pass rush and quite frankly, even Carson Palmer are question marks for Cincinnati heading into the season. But the safety position may be the biggest concern the Bengals have in 2010.

      Granted, this isn’t a huge issue because starters Roy Williams and Chris Crocker have loads of experience and Crocker has played very well in Cincinnati despite lackluster tenures in Cleveland and Atlanta earlier in his career. But both of these players have glaring weaknesses that can be exposed by opponents.

      We’ll start with Williams, because his weakness is more widely known. The man is a force against the run but couldn’t cover his bed in new sheets. He has also played in just seven games the past two seasons because of nagging injuries. His backup, 25-year-old Chinedum Ndukwe, has failed to impress in his first couple of years despite having the opportunity to see live action when Williams was out.

      As previously noted, Crocker has been a good Bengal over the years but he was assisted off the field in the first quarter of the Hall of Fame game earlier this month with a right ankle injury. He dealt with ankle issues late in the year in 2009 and had arthroscopic surgery on one of them in February so obviously that’s a concern.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      Donovan McNabb doubtful for Week 1?

      August 29, 2010 /
      Washington Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb warms up before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland on August 21, 2010. UPI/Alexis C. Glenn Photo via Newscom

      Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan said Sunday that Donovan McNabb’s ankle might keep him out in Week 1.

      From USA Today:

      “I really don’t know for sure,” Shanahan said Sunday. “That’s why it’s day by day. We’ll see how it goes.”

      McNabb did not play Friday against the New York Jets. In fact, he hasn’t even practiced since he sprained his left ankle in the second preseason game against Baltimore. At Sunday’s practice he sported a black sleeve on his left leg and watched practice.

      The Redskins could do worse than Rex Grossman (who has looked good thus far in preseason, throwing for 446 yards on 33 of 55 passing and 2 TDs) in the opener, but of course the situation isn’t ideal. Grossman deserved a lot of the criticism he received in Chicago, but he was also was better than the pound scum that he was compared to.

      That said, I’m not buying that McNabb will miss Week 1. Maybe if the season started tomorrow he’d be held out, but he still has nearly two weeks to rest up and as long as he doesn’t suffer any setbacks, I’d be willing to bet he plays in the opener.

      External Sports, NFL

      Do the Eagles have enough depth in the secondary?

      August 29, 2010 /
      PHILADELPHIA - DECEMBER 15: Asante Samuel #22 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with Quintin Mikell #27 and Trent Cole #58 after an interception for a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns on December 15, 2008 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

      Merry preseason, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the lack of depth the Eagles have in their secondary.

      Truth be told, the Eagles are in pretty good shape entering the season. The question on everyone’s mind is whether or not Kevin Kolb can replace Donovan McNabb, but I wouldn’t necessarily deem the quarterback position a weakness.

      Nor would I say secondary is a weakness either. I like the starting four of Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs, Quintin Mikell and highly intriguing rookie Nate Allen. But after trading Sheldon Brown to the Browns in the offseason, the depth behind those players is now where the concern lies.

      Hobbs, who keep in mind is coming off neck surgery, is expected to return kickoffs once the regular season starts. If he were to go down with an injury, it would leave the Eagles with Macho Harris, Joselio Hanson or fourth-round pick Trevard Lindley at the cornerback position opposite Samuel. And none of them have proven that they can be starters at this level. (Although to be fair, Lindley is only a rookie.)

      And what if Allen struggles as a first-year starter? All indications are that he’s a stud in the making, but the regular season hasn’t started yet and thus, he hasn’t officially been tested. After losing his job to Harris last season and battling injuries throughout the year, can the Eagles get by with Quintin Demps if Allen can’t produce as a rookie?

      Of course, most of this is hypothetical, which is why I’ll reiterate that I don’t think the Eagles have any predominant weaknesses. Again, I think their starters are solid and Allen has a legitimate chance of winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year award if he can live up to expectations.

      That said, this is still a thin secondary and Andy Reid better hope that this unit can stay healthy throughout the year. An injury to a starter could derail Philly’s chances of returning to the postseason.

      External Sports, NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑