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      Jay Cutler’s latest concussion his fifth since college

      October 14, 2010 /
      Chicago Bears Quarterback Jay Cutler remains on the turf after being sacked in the second quarter against the New York Giants at New Meadowlands Stadium in week 4 of the NFL in East Rutherford, New Jersey on October 3, 2010. UPI /John Angelillo Photo via Newscom

      According to a report by the Chicago Tribune, the concussion that Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler suffered in Week 4 against the Giants was actually his fifth since college.

      A November 13, 2004 article in the Tennessean reported that Culter had suffered three concussions while at Vanderbilt and a fourth occurred on the final game of the ’06 season when he was with the Broncos. If that’s the case, this is certainly something that the Bears will keep a close eye on going forward.

      The NFL did a great service to its players by making it tougher to return to games or play the next week if they suffer a head injury. They now have to pass a series of concussion-related tests and if the player is still showing even the slightest signs that the injury is still prevalent, then he can’t play under any circumstance.

      Of course, if the league is so stringent about head injuries now, it makes you wonder how many players have played with concussions before. It’s almost sad that it has taken this long for the NFL to recognize that it needs to be stricter when it comes to players’ noggins.

      But at least they did figure it out and players like Cutler (who is expected to return to action this week after missing Chicago’s win over the Panthers last Sunday) aren’t putting themselves even further in danger than they already are. After all, football is a contact sport – injuries happen. But if they can be avoided, then the league needs to take the steps necessary in order for that to happen.

      External Sports, NFL

      Giants making the right decision to start Jonathan Sanchez in Game 2

      October 14, 2010 /
      San Francisco Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez delivers a pitch to the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of their MLB National League Division Series baseball playoff game in Atlanta, Georgia October 10, 2010. REUTERS/Tami Chappell (UNITED STATESSPORT - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      Every manager would love to have the problem Bruce Bochy currently has. He has to set his rotation for the NLCS (which starts this Saturday in Philadelphia) and even though Matt Cain is arguably the Giants’ second best pitcher, he won’t be starting in Game 2.

      That responsibility falls on Jonathan Sanchez, one of two lefties San Francisco will throw at the Phillies’ struggling lineup in the best-of-seven-game series. (Rookie Madison Bumgarner is the other.) Sanchez will get the nod over Cain because Bochy prefers to go righty (Tim Lincecum), lefty (Sanchez), righty (Cain), lefty (Bumgarner), when laying out his rotation.

      It’s the right move given the Phillies’ lineup and the ballpark they play in. Chase Utley is a left-handed hitter, as is Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez. All three of them can hit for power and given the Little League stadium that they play in, they can do some damage against a hard-throwing pitcher like Cain who relies on his fastball.

      But Sanchez’s go-to pitch is his slider, which is much harder to hit out of the ballpark than a fastball. In other words, he’s the better pitcher to throw at Citizens Bank Park (where Game 2 will be played) and considering he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Braves in Atlanta on Sunday, he obviously doesn’t have any qualms about pitching on the road in a pressure situation. (Although that certainly wasn’t the case earlier in his career when he was an emotional roller coaster in every start.)

      The Giants have a huge mountain to climb if they want to reach the World Series. The Phillies have the best collection of talent of all of the remaining teams and their pitching staff is expected to put the clamps down on San Fran’s offense, just as the Braves’ starters were able to do in the NLDS. That means the Giants’ spectacular pitching staff will have to be even more spectacular (maybe even perfect) if this club hopes to move on.

      But Bochy can only put his players in the best position to win and then trust that they’ll execute. There’s a possibility that Sanchez could get destroyed in Philadelphia and then Cain blows it in Game 3. However, in setting his rotation the way he is, he’s arguably giving the Giants their best chance to win. Now they just have to go out and execute.

      External Sports, MLB

      Vincent Jackson to report to Chargers by end of the month

      October 14, 2010 /
      SAN DIEGO - AUGUST 25: Wide receiver Vincent Jackson #83 of the San Diego Chargers carries the ball on a 59 yard pass play in the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks on August 25, 2008 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, setting up a Chargers touchdown. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

      In the end, Vincent Jackson’s situation was rather predictable.

      The player’s union has been telling agents for months that players who held out will be unrestricted free agents after season, even if they sat out all of 2010. However, players still have to be on the roster for six games in order to get an accrued season and thus become unrestricted.

      That’s why it isn’t surprising to hear that V-Jax will report to the Chargers by the end of the month. He wants a new contract and if he holds out all year, he may never get one because he would still be under the Chargers and GM A.J. Smith’s thumb. If he’s on the roster for six games, he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and then he can seek his millions elsewhere.

      But nobody really wins here. People will say that Jackson and his agent got one over on Smith, but the GM isn’t dumb – he knows what they were going to do and I doubt he even cares at this point. Smith has made it clear that Jackson has no future with the Chargers so he might as well sign off on his return (Smith has to agree to Jackson returning to the roster), get six weeks out of him (Jackson isn’t eligible to return until Week 12) and then bid him ado at the end of the year.

      What happens if Jackson blows out his knee in the final six games of the season? Then what would have this all been about? What if other teams have been turned off by the way he handled things in San Diego? Then there wouldn’t be a big market for him and thus, he may have to accept less than what he and his agent think he’s worth.

      V-Jax may get his big contract next year but as of this moment, he rolled the dice and he came up snake eyes – for everyone.

      External Sports, NFL

      Mel Kiper Jr. denies claims that he helped agents woo clients

      October 13, 2010 /
      NEW YORK - APRIL 28: Mel Kiper, Chris Mortensen and Keyshawn Johnson broadcast for ESPN during the 2007 NFL Draft on April 28, 2007 at Radio City Music Hall in New York, New York. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

      Former NFL agent Josh Luchs told Sports Illustrated that he provided cash and benefits to college football players in hopes of signing them as clients. He also said that ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. helped him and agent Gary Wichard scheme in order to woo potential clients by using Kiper’s draft rankings.

      But Kiper is now calling shenanigans on Luchs and his employer has already shut the book on a potential probe.

      From NBC Sports:

      Why did the investigation end so quickly? One of the reasons may have been Kiper’s machine-gun rattling of the instances where he had a Wichard client rated lower than the Wichard client actually was picked, which we heard on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning. Kiper also defended himself vigorously in an online chat, which was much easier to digest because the information could be gleaned without, you know, having to listen to him speak.

      Or maybe ESPN realized that the Sports Illustrated article didn’t actually constitute new information. The Kiper-Wichard connection has been well known for years; ESPN surely has crossed this bridge long before Kiper’s latest contract was signed. It would have been unfair and wrong for ESPN to suddenly wring hands and gnash teeth regarding a relationship of which ESPN has been well aware.

      Or maybe ESPN is confident that Kiper hasn’t been corrupted by relationships with Wichard or other agents. Former ESPN producer Fred Gaudelli, who now produces NBC’s Sunday Night Football, contacted us via e-mail today with a first-hand assessment of Kiper’s work.

      “I was the Producer or Executive Producer of ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft from 1990 to 2001,” Gaudelli said. “I spoke to Mel Kiper virtually every day from combine time through draft day(s). I knew his thoughts and opinions of the top 50 to 100 players each year and trust me when I tell you he never falsely pumped or promoted any player for any reason.

      The evidence seems to be mounting for Kiper, not against him so he should be fine. Considering how adamant he’s been about not helping these agents, I tend to believe him. That said, I wouldn’t doubt that he’s been approached by agents to pimp their prospects and I’m sure agents have told clients that Kiper will help them out. But again, there doesn’t appear to be any evidence to suggest that Kiper has been prospect pimp.

      We’ll see if more comes out but as of now, there’s nothing here.

      External Sports, NFL

      “The T.Ocho Show” is so bad it’s bad

      October 13, 2010 /

      I decided to check out Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco’s new Versus show last night and while it’s true that T.O. and Ocho have good chemistry (in spurts) and seem to genuinely like each other, I’m not sure there’s a show here.

      Here’s the format: Former “SportsCenter” anchor and “Entertainment Tonight” host Kevin Frazier is in a Versus studio while T.O. and Ocho sit side-by-side at a studio somewhere in Cincinnati. Frazier asks the guys questions and they take turns responding. Of course, there’s the typical satellite delay awkwardness and at times one guy talks over the other, but for the most part it goes pretty smoothly.

      Topics ranged from the Brett Favre rumors — Owens says that if it were one of them, they’d already be presumed “guilty” by the media…boo-hoo…everybody thinks Favre is guilty, guys — to Ochocinco calling himself out for his poor play this season. The low point of the show was a segment where the duo don doctor’s jackets and discuss the love lives of Jennifer Aniston, Kim Kardashian and Lindsay Lohan. The prescription for each was to start dating T.O. (who mentioned twice that he will be in Los Angeles this week) or Ochocinco, or both. Ugh.

      They also struggled reading the prompter when they had to highlights for a few of the show’s segments, but they’ll probably improve in that area as time goes on.

      In the end, “The T.Ocho Show” is probably only for the duo’s fans, though there’s plenty of room for improvement.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL, Television

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