Category: NFL (Page 388 of 1282)

      Brett Favre and Brad Childress heart drama

      July 23, 2010 /

      There are only five things I truly hate in life: Grilled cheese sandwiches, broccoli, grape juice, the Los Angeles Dodgers and drama.

      Before I continue, yes, I hate grilled cheese sandwiches. And no, I don’t know why. Maybe because the bread is soaked in butter and there’s enough cheese on the damn thing to clog my arteries for two lifetimes. Throw some damn meat on there and then maybe we can talk.

      Outside of maybe the Dodgers (regular readers know I’m a Giants fan), nothing in my group of hates annoys me more than drama. Whether it comes from movies or real life, drama is like pop-up ads when you’re trying to look at content that is not suitable for work.

      That is why around this time of year, Brett Favre and Brad Childress really fry my eggs. Listen to what Childress had to say yesterday to the media in relation to Favre’s return in 2010:

      “I don’t know if he’s going to play [this] year and I don’t know if he knows if he’s going to play [this] year,” Vikings coach Brad Childress said Thursday during an appearance on the team’s radio home, KFAN (1130-AM). “… I’ve said this and I really believe it even more right now. It would not surprise me either way.”

      Let’s cut the crap, shall we? Favre is coming back. He knows it, Childress knows it, and the Vikings know it. Childress wouldn’t be so calm about the approaching season if he knew Tarvaris Jackson was going to be his starting quarterback. In fact, the Vikings wouldn’t have acquired Sage Rosengels from the Texans last year if they were completely sold on Jackson as the starter – I don’t care what “Chilly” says about Tarvaris’ development.

      Although hey, none of this is surprising, is it? Childress could have come out and said that the Vikings are prepared to go into the season with Jeff George as their starter and it still wouldn’t be surprising. Favre does drama – and apparently so does Childress now too.

      It’s infuriating, but at least I can take solace in the fact that grilled cheese won’t be on the menu today at lunch.

      External Sports, NFL

      Is Frank Gore telling the truth about his May 15 party?

      July 23, 2010 /
      GLENDALE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 13: Running back Frank Gore #21 of the San Francisco 49ers stands on the sidelines during the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the Universtity of Phoenix Stadium on September 13, 2009 in Glendale, Arizona. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 20-16. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

      Frank Gore says he doesn’t know if any of the attendees at his May 15 party at his home in South Florida were college football players. But the NCAA isn’t about to take Gore at his word.

      According to a report by ESPN.com, the NCAA is investigating two separate parties that players had attended in May. One of them was at Club Liv in the Fontainebleau hotel at the end of the month, while the other was held by Gore on May 15.

      If NCAA players were at his party, Gore says he wouldn’t have known. But even if they were, he wants it made public that he paid for the party himself.

      “I don’t even know those guys. There were a lot of people there; it was crazy,” Gore said, according to the Sports Business Journal.

      “I paid for my own party,” Gore said, adding that no agent or financial adviser contributed.

      Call me a cynic, but it seems farfetched that Gore wouldn’t know there were college athletes at his party. I could understand if he didn’t know if I were there, because I’m a nobody (ouch…self-inflicted). But word would have traveled fast if there were college players in attendance and something tells me Gore isn’t telling the whole truth.

      But that doesn’t mean that he or any of the players did anything wrong. As long as nobody paid for the players to attend the party, then everyone is in the clear. If runners or agents paid for the athletes to attend, then NCAA rules were broken and the players could have their eligibility stripped. (Or worse, the NCAA could go USC on another program.)

      Of course, how is the NCAA going to prove whether or not the players paid their own way? If there’s a paper trail of purchases that leads back to a runner or an agent, then the NCAA can nail someone for breaking rules. But other than finding receipts, it’s going to be hard for them to prove that a player was given cash at the party unless the player admits to it. And considering their playing careers are on the line, I highly doubt any of them will admit to any wrongdoing.

      College Football, External Sports, NFL

      Nick Saban is being hypocritical when it comes to “pimp” comments

      July 22, 2010 /
      TUSCALOOSA, AL - APRIL 17: Coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts during the Alabama spring game at Bryant Denny Stadium on April 17, 2010 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Dave Martin/Getty Images)

      That didn’t take long. Yesterday I was front and center on the Nick Saban-is-right-bandwagon, but this morning I already find myself trying not to break my leg while jumping off it.

      That’s because I remembered who was doing all the talking in this growing discussion about player agents, how they interact with college athletes and what the NFL should do to help remedy the situation.

      It’s Nick Saban. The same Nick Saban who left LSU high and dry to take the NFL’s money in Miami, only to stick it up the Dolphins’ you-know-what when he got home sick for the NCAA. Now he’s blasting the NFL for not taking a more active role in getting agents to stop pestering students? Oh, brother.

      As I wrote yesterday, the NFL should help. College football is where the NFL gets its talent and if its little brother needs assistance dealing with a problem, then big brother should step in. As Saban noted in one of his rants, if an agent breaks a rule that leads to a player losing his eligibility, the NFL could suspend that agent’s license. (Assuming of course that the NFL can even do that, which at this point remains a little unclear.)

      But let’s keep in mind that little brother makes billions of dollars a year and therefore, can deal with its problem on its own if it comes down to it. And the root of the issue isn’t the NFL or even the agents themselves – it’s the players who continue to hold their hands out.

      There’s a simple solution when it comes to this growing problem and that’s for the athletes to stop accepting gifts. Don’t go to parties hosted by these agents, don’t accept gifts of suits, cars or money, and don’t do anything that’s going to threaten your playing career or the future of your program. It shouldn’t be that hard to say no, given the recent developments with Reggie Bush, who single-handedly just made the USC football program irrelevant for the next two years.

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports, NFL

      Saban right to criticize NFL about lack of involvement when it comes to agents

      July 21, 2010 /
      Jan 5, 2010; Newport Beach, CA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban at the 2010 BCS National Championship media day at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa. Photo via Newscom

      Nick Saban just served the National Football League a warning: Either help us clean up or you totally can’t come over anymore.

      According to a report by ESPN.com, University of Alabama officials are investigating whether junior defensive lineman Marcel Dareus broke NCAA rules by attending an agent’s party in South Beach earlier this summer. Apparently the investigation goes beyond Dareus’ involvement, as players from North Carolina (including defensive end Marvin Austin) and South Carolina (including tight end Weslye Saunders) are also being investigated about the same party.

      Saban, who realizes that the athletes aren’t responsible enough to turn down offers from agents and that the universities can’t play babysitter to every player, wants to know what Roger Goodell and the NFL will do to help the growing problem.

      “What the NFL Players Association and the NFL need to do is if any agent breaks a rule and causes ineligibility for a player, they should suspend his [agent’s] license for a year or two,” Saban said. “I’m about ready for college football to say, ‘Let’s just throw the NFL out. Don’t let them evaluate players. Don’t let them talk to players. Let them do it at the combine.’ If they are not going to help us, why should we help them?”

      Great point. The NFL only cares about one thing: the NFL. But the league needs to remember where all of its talent is coming from. Saban and his staff at Alabama are known for being one of the more accommodating programs in the nation when it comes to giving pro scouts access to their players. Maybe if they too are affected by the situation, the NFL will actually spring into action.

      “Right now, agents are screwing it up,” Saban said. “They are taking the eligibility of players. It’s not right that those players do the wrong thing. We have a great education process here. We have a full-time worker who meets with players and their families and does everything else.”

      Again, Saban is right. The football programs and the athletes are the only ones being hurt in these situations, which is why the NFL has yet to do anything about it. Some might point out that it’s not the NFL’s responsibility to monitor what agents do. To that I call shenanigans. You’re telling me that the king dicks of the sports world can’t do something about agents who clearly have a disregard for rules when it comes to recruiting players as clients? I’m not buying that – I don’t care how much you’re selling it for.

      Maybe Saban should be the first one to step up and ban NFL scouts from his campus. It won’t hurt the players much because talent always wins out in the end. (If a player is good, the NFL knows about it.) The only thing it might do is get the NFL to look down from its ivory tower and help the NCAA for once.

      College Football, External Sports, NFL

      Ravens could be without Ed Reed for the first six weeks of season

      July 20, 2010 /
      FOXBORO, MA - JANUARY 10: Ed Reed #20 of the Baltimore Ravens looks on against the New England Patriots during the 2010 AFC wild-card playoff game at Gillette Stadium on January 10, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

      The Baltimore Sun is reporting that Ed Reed (hip) will probably begin the regular season on the PUP list.

      • Ed Reed, safety: The Pro Bowl safety is almost a certainty to start training camp on PUP. In fact, it would be surprising to see Reed play in the preseason. He recently said he is 35 percent recovered from offseason hip surgery. The most likely scenario is placing Reed on the Reserve PUP at the start of the regular season, which would mean he misses at least the first six weeks.

      Ken Hamlin and Tom Zbikowski will battle for the starting free safety position in training camp and preseason. Hamlin has started in all but two games throughout his career, so he has the leg up on Zbikowski in terms of experience. But Hamlin’s production has decreased over the last couple of years, so it isn’t a foregone conclusion that he’ll win the job.

      It’s a little odd that Reed told a local radio station in Baltimore a couple of weeks ago that he would like a new deal in place before returning to the field, even knowing that he’s doubtful to return anytime soon. Granted, he did say he wouldn’t push the issue until he was healthy, but he nevertheless has awful timing.

      He still has three years remaining on the six-year, $44.4 million contract extension that he signed in the summer of 2006 – the same deal that included $15 million in guaranteed money. It’s not surprising that Reed wants to cash in one last time, but considering he’s not healthy and was even complementing retirement as recently as April, he’s not in position to be pushing for a new deal.

      External Sports, NFL

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