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      Antonio Gates still feeling the pain

      August 12, 2008 /

      All-Pro tight end and fantasy stud Antonio Gates is coming off toe surgery, and he’s not recovering as quickly as he’d like.

      Before the rest of the team practiced in the afternoon, Gates ran routes in the morning – taking off and stopping and catching passes and appearing to be close to his All-Pro form.

      “It looks better than it feels,” Gates said later. “ . . . It’s not as comfortable as it looks. I got through it. The pain is tolerable.”

      Gates is still feeling a high level of discomfort in his left big toe. And even though he’s been told by the medical staff that setbacks and stalling is normal, he is extremely frustrated with his level of improvement.

      “It’s about the same as it was last week,” he said. “My whole thing is I want to see progress, and I want to see it fast.”

      He went as far as to say if the Chargers had a game that counted this week, he “would dress and try to play.” He still believes he will play in the Sept. 7 season opener.

      But he reiterated his earlier vow not to return before he is entirely ready.

      Gates is still a top 4 TE (Witten, Winslow and Gonzo are the other three) but right now, he has the most question marks surrounding him. Will he be ready for the opener? Will his toe heal completely at some point in the season? Is this something that is going to bother or limit his production?

      I love Gates and I’m an advocate of having a weapon at the TE spot, but if I’m drafting right now, I’d rather have Chris Cooley in the 7th (or Todd Heap/Vernon Davis in the 8th/9th) than Gates in the 4th/5th.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      According to LT, if you play Madden you’re probably boring in bed

      August 12, 2008 /

      Straight from Lawrence Taylor’s mouth to your ears – if you play the video game “Madden 09” you probably prefer the missionary position in bed. But damn it, if you play “Blitz II,” you’re not afraid to experiment.

      Seriously, he said it.

      Women everywhere just gained key knowledge into men’s bedroom behavior. Either that, or Lawrence Taylor is on crack again.

      General Sports, NFL, Video

      J.T. O’Sullivan in, Alex Smith out as 49ers’ QB?

      August 12, 2008 /

      According to the San Francisco Chronicle, J.T. O’Sullivan appears to have the edge over Alex Smith in the battle for the 49ers’ starting quarterback job.

      J.T. O’Sullivan, who has taken more than double the first-team snaps than Shaun Hill and Alex Smith since his elevation into team drills on July 30, completed 10-of-18 with two picks. However, one of them resulted when Arnaz Battle slipped and safety Mark Roman easily picked him off. He was also dogged by a pair of drops, one by tight end Vernon Davis and another by fullback Zak Keasey. Smith ended the first session by tossing an interception on a shovel pass to rookie defensive end Louis Holmes while completing 8-of-13.

      Given that O’Sullivan played for Martz in Detroit, this isn’t entirely surprising. O’Sullivan already knows the system and therefore has Martz’ trust. But still, this has to be blow to Smith – a former first overall pick that is steamrolling towards bustville.

      Maybe Aaron Rodgers will have the last laugh after all. Imagine if he produces a solid season in Green Bay after years after bidding time behind Brett Favre. And then Smith gets benched in San Fran after years of having the opportunity to start.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Michael Vick to play for UFL in 2009?

      August 12, 2008 /

      There’s a possibility Michael Vick could strap on the helmet and shoulder pads again in 2009, although not for the NFL. The upstart United Football League, which is trying to get off the ground by next year, could acquire Vick’s services once he gets out of federal prison according to SI.com’s Peter King.

      The big news, I suppose, from my talk with Huyghue was this: He said the chances of a UFL team signing Michael Vick to play the 2009 season are “98 percent.” Strange percentage, but that’s what he said.

      “Michael’s not going to be able to walk right back into the NFL,” Huyghue said. “He’s going to need some kind of buffer before he signs in the NFL, and we’ll be able to provide that for him.”

      Some may scoff at the idea of any league allowing Vick to play football again, but this makes perfect business sense. The UFL is trying to make a name for itself, so why not make some headlines by acquiring a former NFL superstar? Even if the UFL takes some heat for allowing Vick to play, they’ll still get a ton of exposure, which is exactly what a new business wants. There is no such thing as bad press.

      As far as the UFL itself goes, it’s hard to fathom that any league would be successful with how popular the NFL already is. But at least the league isn’t trying to go head to head with the NFL like the XFL (remember them?) did. If football is being played during the NFL offseason, maybe people will tune in…maybe.

      General Sports, NFL

      Phelps is Three of a Kind: Wins Gold in 200 Freestyle

      August 12, 2008 /

      Three races, three gold medals, and three world records.

      Michael Phelps is dominating the swimming competition at the Beijing Games, as he won the 200-meter freestyle race with a world record time of 1:42.96. He led throughout the race, with at times a full body length advantage ahead of silver medalist, Park Tae-hwan, of South Korea.

      Phelps now joins fellow Americans Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis with nine career gold medals in Olympic competition. And he is 3-for-3 in his quest of breaking Spitz’s 36-year-old record of seven gold medals in one Olympiad.

      There’s no rest for the wicked, as Phelps goes for his fourth gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly tomorrow evening. Oh by the way, he holds the world record in that event as well.

      Swimming, The Olympics

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