Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 354 of 1503)

Don’t cry for Jose Canseco…he’s all cried out.

July 10, 2010; Malibu, CA, USA; Steve Garvey's Celebrity Softball Game to raise funds for .ALS Research at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. Photo via Newscom

There have been plenty of athletes that have climbed the top of the mountain in life (by finding money, women, fame – you know, the important things), only to fall off the back of it and hit every rock on the way down.

But outside of Michael Vick, perhaps none have done it as publicly as Jose Canseco.

According to TMZ.com, the former slugger was evicted from his L.A. home on Friday.

According to legal documents obtained by TMZ, the former MLB star … turned steroid finger pointer … turned reality star … turned celebrity boxer … turned alleged deadbeat … received a notice to “vacate” a Northridge home he had been renting since last year.

A source connected to Canseco tells us the trouble began after Jose missed two months of rent.

We’re told Jose left the home late Wednesday night … and won’t be allowed back.

Ahhh – so that’s why he left all of those cryptic messages on his Twitter page last night:

It is true I got evicted everything has gone incredibly wrong since I wrote the book juiced.I am now the modern day frankenstein

Mlb has gone out of there way to distroy my life and they have succeded.I didn’t realize how powerful they are till now.

I have lost everything. Makes you wanna cry but there’s no crying in baseball.and my dad said men don’t cry but he was wrong

To make matters worse the landlords locked me out and I can’t get my things out

Someone should do a show called form the penthouse to the garage

I will play softball for food. Lol

Sometimes life is easier when you have nothing

I had to give away one of my dogs that broke my heart cause I love animals and I am surprised my girlfriend hasn’t left me because I have 0

I am sleeping in someones garage but its pretty good

I grew up poor I don’t mind being poor again

I still have it better than most goodnight

You never want to see someone go poor or hungry, but come on – dude brought it on himself. He helped usher in the steroid era, then bragged out it, then tried to make money off it, and now he wants to blame everything on Major League Baseball? Talk about not taking responsibility for your actions.

The kicker is that the first thing he thought of doing after he became homeless was jump on Twitter to try and gain people’s sympathy. Awe, you got locked out of your home? Excuse me for getting preachy, but here’s an idea: Try paying the f**king rent next time, Jose. This is how it works in the real world: You get a job, you make money and then you can pay for things like food, shelter and entertainment. You blew all of your money (more money than most of us will ever see in our lifetime) on steroids, women and God knows what else, so this is the predicament you’re in. That’s not Major League Baseball’s fault – it’s yours.

I hear Taco Fresco is hiring.

Jamal Lewis denies being injected with HGH by “Steroid Doctor”

DENVER - SEPTEMBER 20:  Running back Jamal Lewis #31 of the Cleveland Browns rushes against the Denver Broncos during NFL action at Invesco Field at Mile High on September 20, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Browns 27-6.  (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Former NFL running back Jamal Lewis says he is a longtime patient of Dr. Anthony Galea, but denies that the Canadian doctor ever injected him with HGH or illegal banned substances.

From ESPN.com:

Lewis, the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2003, is adamant that he was never injected with HGH or any illegal or banned substances. He and other athletes treated by Galea don’t face legal issues as a result of the treatments, as federal authorities have been careful to describe them as witnesses and not subjects in their on-going investigation. Lewis and his attorney, Jerry Froelich, declined to say whether he has spoken with federal investigators or NFL officials.

“It is about being a superb athlete that is very in tune with your body, knowing the right people to go to and find,” Lewis said. “He is one out of how many other doctors that I have seen. I am just more in tune with my body. No steroids, no HGH, no off-brand chemicals in my body, none of that. I am just pure hard work. I am going to out-work you. That is it. At same time, I want to be able to stay fresh. I want to make sure my muscles, my joints and everything is in tune ready to go.”

Of the charges facing Galea: “I just think it was a bad deal, bad rap they were trying to give him. He’s a great guy. Good person. Humble person. Just would never do anything to hurt a person, period.”

Something interesting that Lewis said in the article is that he sought out Galea’s opinion because he, “never really trusted team doctors or the team trainers” because they didn’t have his best interest in mind. Athletes seek second opinions all the time when it comes to injuries, but I wonder if many players share the same feelings as Lewis about not having complete trust in team doctors. If that’s the case, then it’s something the NFL should look into because players have to feel as though they can trust team doctors.

When Galea’s name comes up, I always ask the same questions: Did the players know that Galea was an in for performance-enhancing substances and that’s why they sought him out, or were they completely oblivious to his connections with substances? I would have to imagine that there are players in the league who didn’t ask questions when the doc’s name came up. They probably heard that he can heal injuries fast and that’s all some players needed to seek his advice.

Hear no evil – see no evil.

One thing is for sure: players trusted him. As Lewis notes in the article, he recommended Galea to other players around the league that had chronic problems with knees, ankles, joints – you name it.

But again, was that because players knew Galea had a “cocktail” that could heal them faster or did they really believe he was one of the best doctors outside of the league?

Kevin Kolb impresses in preseason opener

PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 13: Kevin Kolb  of the Philadelphia Eagles stands on the sideline against the Jacksonville Jaguars during their preseason game at Lincoln Financial Field on August 13, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

As Donovan McNabb made headlines in Washington last night for throwing his first touchdown pass as a Redskin, the Kevin Kolb era also started in Philadelphia against Jacksonville.

And it started off well.

On his first pass attempt of the preseason, Kolb threw a short pass to receiver DeSean Jackson, who promptly took it 21 yards for a first down. Kolb then engineered a 9-play, 65-yard drive that took 3:41 off the clock and ended with a 29-yard David Akers field goal.

An offense stalling in the red zone will never be considered a positive outcome, but considering it was Kolb’s first chance to impress in what will be a critical year for the youngster, I’m sure the Philly faithful will take the three points. The Eagles eventually went on to beat the Jaguars, 28-27.

Relatively speaking, Kolb was sharp. He completed 6-of-11 passes for 95 yards and also rushed for 15 yards, which included a nice first down pickup. He would have had a touchdown pass had Brent Celek made the catch on a red zone play in the first half, but a Jaguar defender knocked the ball out of his hands before the tight end could secure it.

On a whole, Kolb was satisfied with his performance (from the Philadelphia Daily News):

“With the talent that we have, we feel like we can execute and be consistent, and I’m not even saying I was consistent,” Kolb said. “We feel like we can put up a lot of points. Like I said, there were some mistakes, but I thought it was a good start overall.”

Michael Vick’s performance in this game was also note-worthy, as he completed 11-of-17 passes for 118 yards and no interceptions. He also rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown on five carries, showing some of the speed that made him so popular earlier in his career.

Of course, he also showed some of that trademark carelessness by fumbling twice and coughing the ball up once.

2010 NFL Question Marks: New England Patriots

FOXBORO, MA - AUGUST 12: Coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots watches his players during the preseason game against the New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium on August 12, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Merry training camp season, 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 Patriots’ pass-rushing concerns.

Bill Belichick is notorious for being able to mask a defense’s weaknesses due in large part because he to his schemes. Even if a player is lacking in physical tools, as long as they do their jobs within his schemes, the Patriots are usually fine.

But a defense’s ability to generate a pass rush is something not even Belichick can scheme for. And pass rush is by far New England’s biggest weakness on defense, if not the team’s biggest weakness on a whole.

The Pats busted out their checkbooks in 2007 to sign former Ravens’ outside linebacker Adalius Thomas, who turned out to be a dud for most of his time in New England. Now he isn’t even on the roster and once again outside linebacker is an area of concern for Belichick’s Patriots.

After recording 9.5 sacks last season, Tully Banta-Cain is virtually ensured the starting right outside linebacker spot. But can he duplicate the success he had in 2009? If he can’t, then his limitations against the run will be expounded and Belichick might be left scrambling for a replacement mid-season.

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The curious case of Glen Coffee

SAN FRANCISCO - AUGUST 22: Glen Coffee #29 of the San Francisco 49ers runs against the Oakland Raiders during a preseason game on August 22, 2009 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California.  (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

A little over a year ago, Glen Coffee put together an eye-catching performance in preseason and some pundits believed that he could emerge as a solid complement to Frank Gore in the 49ers’ backfield.

That, of course, was before Coffee unexpectedly announced his retirement on Friday.

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Coffee is calling it quits despite this being just his second year in the league. He was battling with rookie Anthony Dixon in camp, but head coach Mike Singletary noted that Dixon still had a long ways to go to leapfrog Coffee on the depth chart. Plus, Singletary has given Coffee high marks thus far, making his decision to retire/quit even stranger.

Singletary has developed a reputation over the last couple of years for running a tough camp, but that can’t be the only reason Coffee decided to pull the plug on his career this soon. After all, he got through Singletary’s camp as a rookie last year just fine.

That said, you never know what a person is going through until you’ve walked a mile in his or her shoes. Maybe Coffee has lost the passion to play or maybe he’ll regret his decision in a day and return to the practice field. Many young players struggle with being away from their friends and family and maybe Coffee is just going through a rocky time right now. Relatively speaking, he’s still just a kid.

Whatever the reason, it’s certainly a surprising development. The 49ers are still in good shape at running back with Gore, Dixon and Michael Robinson, but that doesn’t mean make Coffee’s decision any less shocking.

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