Is Frank Gore telling the truth about his May 15 party? Posted by Anthony Stalter (07/23/2010 @ 9:00 am) 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. Cardinals survive Detroit, could clinch NFC West Posted by Anthony Stalter (12/20/2009 @ 5:21 pm)  The Cardinals played down to their competition on Sunday, but lucky for them their competition was the Lions and they managed to secure a 31-24 victory. With the win, Arizona can clinch the NFC West for the second consecutive season if the 49ers lose to the Eagles. These past two games have shown that the Cardinals have some issues to iron out before the playoffs start. They turned the ball over seven times in a loss to the 49ers on Monday and have had problems protecting Kurt Warner. Arizona’s run defense, which has been so dominant this season, also allowed Frank Gore and Maurice Morris to go over the 100-yard rushing mark. That said, the Cardinals had issues heading into the playoffs last year and they reached the Super Bowl. Even though they allowed an inferior opponent to hang around today, their passing attack was still there when they needed it (Anquan Boldin had a nice day) and Beanie Wells had a solid game while rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. For Detroit, rookie safety Louis Delmas looks like a special player. With the Lions down 17-0 nothing in the second half, Delmas intercepted Warner and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. He became the first rookie in NFL history to record a safety this season, as well as interception and fumble returns for touchdowns. He turned the game around for the Lions with the pick today and at least made things interesting.
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Packers win, but Kampman and Harris suffer injuries Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/22/2009 @ 9:13 pm)  With their 30-24 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, the Green Bay Packers leapt back into the playoff hunt in the NFC. But unfortunately for them, they may be without two defensive starters for the rest of the season. According to beat writer Greg Bedard, outside linebacker Aaron Kampman and cornerback Al Harris have torn ACLs and both will likely miss the remainder of the 2009 season. At 35, Harris’ could be a career-ender. He was carted off the field Sunday and couldn’t walk in the locker room, and chances are he’ll need reconstructive surgery to repair the damage. Tramon Williams will start at right corner in Harris’ place. Kampman was in the midst of having a horrible season while trying to convert from defensive end to outside linebacker. Given that he’s a free agent at the end of the year, it’s doubtful that Green Bay will re-sign Kampman. And even if the team had interest, it’s more doubtful that he’d even be interested in coming back to play outside linebacker. He just isn’t a fit for the 3-4. Save for a brutal effort against Tampa three weeks ago, Green Bay’s defense had been playing well over the past month. Given how poorly Kampman was playing, the Packers defense might not suffer much in the long haul. But it remains to be seen how Williams will hold up when teams start attacking his side of the field more frequently. As for the game, the Packers held off a late 49ers’ rally to secure victory. Green Bay jumped out to a 30-10 fourth quarter lead, but Alex Smith hit Vernon Davis on a 24-yard touchdown pass with 10:37 remaining to cut the Packers’ lad to 30-17, then running back Frank Gore hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass with 5:56 to make it a 30-24 game. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers had an outstanding game, throwing for 344 yards on 32-of-45 passing and two touchdowns. Ryan Grant rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.
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Jay Cutler + Red Zone = Disaster Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/13/2009 @ 12:04 am)  When Chicago acquired Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos this offseason, it was all Bear fans could do from booking their plane tickets to Miami. They figured that since they finally had a franchise quarterback under center and that the offensive line had improved, there’s no way Da Bears wouldn’t challenge for a Super Bowl berth. Then the games actually started and now they’re starting to realize that there’s a reason why the Broncos never got to the playoffs with Cutler as their quarterback. Cutler threw a mind-boggling five interceptions in the Bears’ 10-6 loss to the 49ers on Thursday night. Not all of those picks were his fault, as Devin Hester fell down on one pass, the ref got in the way on another and San Francisco safety Mark Roman may have gotten away with interference on yet another. But that doesn’t excuse Cutler for throwing two horrendous interceptions in the red zone – an area in which he continues to struggle this season – to kill drives. It’s almost like whenever Chicago reaches that spot of the field, Cutler breaks out into a cold sweat and forgets how to play. He’s so deathly afraid of the red zone that Lovie Smith might as well trot kicker Robbie Gould onto the field and take three points because there’s a good chance Cutler is going to throw a pick. Read the rest of this entry » NFL Week 5 Best of Previews Posted by Anthony Stalter (10/11/2009 @ 8:38 am) 
Here are quick-hit previews of the top four games on the Week 5 schedule in the NFL. 1. Patriots (3-1) at Broncos (4-0), 4:15PM ET
Several pundits have remarked that the Patriots are back after beating the Falcons and Ravens in back to back weeks. But some of their struggles still remain. For the most part, Baltimore marched up and down the field on New England’s defense in Week 4 and if it weren’t for a couple of key drops in the red zone, the Ravens could have walked out of Foxboro with a victory. The Broncos need to pressure Tom Brady for four quarters and not stop what has worked for them the first four weeks. Offensively, Knowshon Moreno will have the opportunity to shine today in his first start and as long as Kyle Orton doesn’t turn the ball over, Denver could pull off the small upset. 2. Bengals (3-1) at Ravens (3-1), 1:00PM ET
Who would have thought this would be a big game in Week 5? The Ravens are still seething from their loss to the Patriots last weekend and will look to take it out on an underrated Bengals team. Cincinnati’s 3-1 record is no fluke – they beat the Packers in Green Bay and the defending champion Steelers at home. While they didn’t play well last week in an overtime with over Cleveland, the Bengals proved that they could still wind up victorious even when they make mistakes. Carson Palmer and company won’t get away with turning the ball over today, however. The Ravens feast off turnovers and Cincinnati’s defense will be challenge to slow down Joe Flacco, Ray Rice and the potent Baltimore offense. This game will be a great test to see where the Bengals are. 3. Falcons (2-1) at 49ers (3-1), 4:05PM ET
Nobody wants to define either of these teams. Before the Falcons lost to the Patriots in Week 3, many people thought they were an elite squad. Plenty of pundits want to crown the 49ers a legitimate playoff team, but they need to sustain momentum and beat a good Atlanta team at home. Even without Frank Gore, this is a game San Francisco can control. The Falcons have had issues stopping the run and if the Niners can get Glen Coffee going early, it could open things up for Shaun Hill and the passing game. Mike Singletary’s defense has been great up to this point and if they sell out to stop Michael Turner and the Falcons’ running game, they better be prepared to double team tight end Tony Gonzalez and slow Matt Ryan in the passing game. This should be a fun matchup throughout. 4. Texans (2-2) at Cardinals (1-2), 4:15PM ET
It’s time for one of these teams to step up. The Texans have more than enough offensive weapons to make a playoff run but their defense has issues stopping the run and keeping opponents out of the end zone. The Cardinals have dinked and dunked their way through the first three games but Kurt Warner needs to start testing defenses vertically or else this team will continue to struggle. This is actually a good matchup for Houston because Arizona doesn’t pose much of a ground threat and the Texans have a decent pass defense. If the Cards can’t get Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower going, they will have trouble building and sustaining a lead today. And if they can’t take control of this game, they’ll be at risk of once again losing at home, where they were so dominant last year. |
