Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 843 of 1503)

      King: Vick shouldn’t go on Oprah

      May 18, 2009 /

      While appearing on Dan Patrick’s radio show, SI.com’s Peter King squashed Rich Eisen’s idea that Michael Vick should go on Oprah and make a public appearance (as opposed to crawling into a hole and avoiding the public eye) once he’s out of prison.

      “I don’t think Oprah Winfrey helps him at all,” King said. “He needs to say something personally to both Arthur Blank and Roger Goodell.”

      King said that Vick needs to earn his honor back quietly and behind the scenes. He shouldn’t go on TV and deliver a mea culpa that may or may not be sincere.

      King said the circus around Vick on a new team will be intense for two weeks, but then maybe settle down.

      King said a team that’s use to attention like the Cowboys and Redskins has to take him. King said he thought the Bucs would go after him, but now they have “65 quarterbacks.”

      “I’d love to have this guy on my team,” King said of Vick.

      King brings up a good point in that Vick should make personal apologizes to those he lied to and not try to fix everything by making one big public appearance on a show like Oprah. As King noted, there’s a chance Vick could come off looking unapologetic and insincere during the interview and that would only hurt his public image even more. (If that’s even possible, that is.)

      I’m a little surprised that King would say that he would “love” to have Vick on his team, although he might be trying to convey that Vick has done his time and deserves a second chance.

      NFL

      Gruden to replace Kornheiser in MNF booth

      May 18, 2009 /

      For Monday Night Football telecasts, it’s out with TV personality Tony Kornheiser and in with former head coach Jon Gruden.

      Former Super Bowl-Winning Coach to Team with Tirico and Jaworski in MNF Booth
      Gruden replaces Tony Kornheiser, who has decided to step down after three years in the Monday Night Football booth.

      Kornheiser added: “I am totally grateful for the MNF opportunity that I truly enjoyed the last three seasons. I feel we got better each year. My fear of planes is legendary and sadly true. When I looked at the upcoming schedule it was the perfect storm that would’ve frequently moved me from the bus to the air. I kept looking at the schedule the past month and wanted to find a way to quietly extricate myself. If I could handpick a replacement of a football guy, I would cast a net and drag in Jon Gruden. He is the two things you most want — smart and funny — and has the two things I don’t — good hair and a tan. I love PTI and am looking forward to continuing to yammer and yodel with Wilbon until the end of time.”

      Gruden was an analyst for the NFL Network during the draft and he did a nice job. He didn’t blow me away with his commentary, but he was solid nonetheless.

      The brains behind MNF need to get it together. I realize they’re trying to appeal to a broader audience and that’s why they’ve tried comedians and other personalities like Kornheiser and Dennis Miller, but just freaking stick a football guy between Tirico and Jaws and call it a day.

      Football fans want to hear the broadcasters discuss the game – not some irrelevant stat or story that is force-fed to Kornheiser by the producers. It seemed that most of Kornheiser’s jokes were written for him and they wound up being a distraction at times. He played his role perfectly (i.e. someone that tried to bring up different topics during the game), but again, I’d rather have a football guy like Gruden in the booth who obviously has knowledge of the game.

      The question is, how long before Gruden returns to the sidelines? I’m assuming he’ll only be unemployed for a year and that means MNF will have to find another replacement again.

      NFL

      David Wells: ‘Players that cheat should be banned after first offense’

      May 18, 2009 /

      Former MLB pitcher David Wells tossed a few high hard ones at Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens this past weekend, saying that any player that cheats the game should be banned from baseball after the first offense.

      Wells said the home runs that Rodriguez hit during the time he admitted he was on steroids shouldn’t count, including the three he jacked against Wells in 2003. He also questioned Roger Clemens’ veracity on his constant denials that he never juiced, and said all steroids cheats should be banned from baseball after the first offense and have no shot at getting into the Hall of Fame.

      “I think that would be great. No 50-game suspension. Ban them right away,” Wells said. “That would stop it in a heartbeat, especially with the money they are giving out today. It would be incredible if they did that. You wouldn’t have to worry about steroids or HGH.”

      Why do players abuse steroids? So they can post incredible numbers, assault records, extend their careers, sign big contracts.

      “It (stinks) because of the fact that these guys are playing dirty and that’s not fair to the guys who busted their butt all those years to try and stay here and just didn’t have what it took,” Wells said.

      If baseball truly wanted to stop player’s use of performance-enhancing drugs, they would take on Wells’ philosophy. No player in their right mind would risk taking steroids if they knew a positive test would result in a lifetime ban from the game. (Well, maybe I shouldn’t suggest that no player would risk using, because I’m sure some nitwit would do it anyway thinking he’d never be caught.)

      One thing to note is that MLB wouldn’t be able to make this rule retroactive because if they didn’t think it was important to have a testing policy in place 10 years ago, then they shouldn’t be able to ban a player who admitted using during that time. So guys like A-Rod and Andy Pettitte would be given a free pass for now.

      But a lifetime ban would put the responsibility back into the players’ hands – where everything starts anyway. If a player isn’t sure that a supplement or medication will get him banned, he needs to check with a team doctor and have it authorized. That way everyone knows what’s going into these players’ bodies and therefore there wouldn’t be any surprises. And this wouldn’t just help keep the game clean, but it would also show that MLB cares about the players’ long-term health, too. It seems to be a win-win for all parties involved.

      MLB

      Steelers’ Harrison refuses to visit White House with team

      May 18, 2009 /

      It’s always been tradition that the team that wins the Super Bowl is invited to the White House every year. But Steelers’ linebacker James Harrison will pass on the visit once again this year, just as he did when Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl in 2006.

      “This is how I feel — if you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don’t win the Super Bowl. As far as I’m concerned, he [Obama] would’ve invited Arizona if they had won,” said Harrison.

      Harrison also skipped the Steelers’ visit to the White House in 2006 following their victory in Super Bowl XL.

      Harrison is getting way too deep with this line of thinking. If a team wins the Super Bowl, then they get invited to the White House. End of story. I guess on some level I understand his point of view in that every NFL player should have the chance to visit our nation’s capital regardless of whether or not they win the Super Bowl, but his overall stance on this subject is weird.

      Plus, history was made this year when Obama was voted in – why wouldn’t you want to participate in that? I would think he would want to tell his grandchildren some day that he met the our first black president instead of saying, “Well, I could have met President Obama, kids. But he would have invited the Cardinals had they won and that just doesn’t sit right with me.” Oooookay.

      NFL, Super Bowl

      Ducks’ GM hits woman with chair

      May 16, 2009 /

      The title makes the story sound worse than it really is:

      Detroit police say a woman was accidentally hit by a chair swung by Ducks general manager Bob Murray after Anaheim’s loss to the Red Wings in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

      Sgt. Alan Quinn said on Saturday that the woman was struck while in the press box Thursday night at Joe Louis Arena, and Murray apologized. Quinn says police took a report and the woman declined to seek charges.

      The incident was first reported on Friday by WJBK-TV in Detroit.

      The Ducks said Saturday that Murray denies throwing a chair. On Friday, he told the Los Angeles Times that it was a “complete accident.”

      With the 4-3 win, the Wings advanced to play the Chicago Blackhawks in the conference finals that start Sunday in Detroit.

      This story just confirms that being Detroit makes people do bad things…

      NHL

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