Rush Limbaugh and the NFL [J. Mark English]

Here are some various opinions about Rush Limbaugh and the controversy surrounding his failed attempt to be a minority owner of the St. Louis Rams:

Tom Knott of the Washington Post: You knew Rush Limbaugh's NFL ownership bid was done the moment Roger Goodell read the politically correct tea leaves and dropped the "divisive" word on the highly controversial, ultra-conservative, extremely right of center talk show host.

By comparison, Keith Olbermann is a beacon of reasoned restraint. The same with Chris Matthews, who has the eternal thrill going up his leg. So, too, Anderson Cooper, Ed Schultz, Katie Couric, David Letterman, Bill Maher and so on.

The latter are all thoughtful commentators who would be seen as wonderful additions to the pristine NFL community, which has a well-documented history of inclusiveness.

Making it "rain" at a strip club before firing several gunshots is not "divisive." Accidentally shooting yourself at a nightclub is not "divisive." Killing ill-performing fighting dogs is not "divisive." Vehicular homicide is not "divisive." We could go on and on with the felonious habits of the NFL, but this is not a tome.

Limbaugh's fiery political words are hurtful. Actions that lead to a person becoming paralyzed after being shot at a strip club are unfortunate.

The hypocrisy in the Limbaugh matter is so deep, so absurd, that the perpetrators ought to be required to wear a bag over their heads in shame.

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George Vecsey of the New York Times: Limbaugh went on television Monday morning with Jamie Gangel of MSNBC, insisting he’s not such a bad fellow, and surely not a racist, but let’s not lull ourselves into accepting the way he spews code words to his constituency. He is not about economic conservatism or political conservatism, which have an honorable place. The quivering anger toward President Obama is quite visceral in Dave Checketts’s new best friend.

DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the N.F.L. Players Association, is not fooled. Last week Smith called upon the players to speak out about Limbaugh.

The owners should know Limbaugh, who was foisted upon them by ESPN six years ago and said Donovan McNabb of the Eagles was praised as a quarterback mostly because he is African-American. Limbaugh quickly resigned.

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Mercury Morris on CNN:

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Michael Meyers and Stephen A. Smith on Fox News:

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Roman Oben on WFAN:

Watch this at WFAN

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Rush Limbaugh himself:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Did Anyone Find the UFL Last Night? [J. Mark English]

I traversed through the channels last night on my cable box in a desperate search to find the UFL's first official broadcast. Once I finally found it being aired on Versus, I nearly puked at the grotesque sight of the uniforms. It was not a great viewing of football.

Mike Freeman from CBS Sports offers up his own perspective:

The United Football League had its debut on Thursday night and in its infinite brilliance went against college football and the baseball playoffs. In other words, someone threw the UFL a shovel and told it to start digging its own grave.

Let's assume the UFL actually wants people to watch its games. I tried. I tried very hard to watch but couldn't find the league on TV and instead ended up watching The Joy Behar Show and trying to understand what the hell Arianna Huffington was saying.

If Shane Boyd's Redwoods fall and Freeman can't see or hear them, do they make a noise? (US Presswire)
I looked and looked and looked for the UFL. Supposedly, it's on the Versus network. I've yet to find this mythical Versus. It'd be easier to find Madonna's virginity than locate Versus.

In order of obscurity, Versus finishes just behind Carrot Top and just ahead of the Mongolian sand beetle. Versus is the tar pit of networks. Its motto should be "Versus ... where sports leagues go to die."

Three Diet Cherry Pepsi drinks and an Arianna Huffington translation matrix later, I was still in hot pursuit of an actual UFL game. I ended at the league's website. Initially I went to UFL.com and discovered it was the site of the Florida Gators. Damn Gators. They rule the world.

Finally, the actual UFL website was found, and looks like it was designed in 1995. It's so cheesy it makes those Valtrex commercials look like Law and Order.

It offered a link that stated "click here and go live to a game." But you had to download something first. No way was that happening. All I needed was that new rhinoceros gay porno virus to infect my machine. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

So I was stuck. No UFL games. No California Redwoods against the Las Vegas Locomotives. Nothing.

This was the opening weekend of the league and it was invisible.

The UFL stands for the Unseen Football League.

As a football addict, I want the UFL to succeed, but it won't break through a crowded fall sports universe if it makes the games difficult to find on television.

It's one thing for a league to try and compete with the NFL. It's another for a league to give up even before it begins.

Golf and Rugby Sevens New Sports in Olympics [J. Mark English]

As if Tiger Woods needed more things to accomplish, he now has one more. Winning a gold medal! Ben Smith from the London Times online has more:

Golf and rugby sevens will become Olympic sports from 2016 after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to raise the number of sports from 26 to 28.

Both sports will become part of the programme in Rio de Janeiro and in 2020 and were approved despite some opposition which claimed the Olympics could not be viewed as the pinnacle of their respective sports. However, the International Rugby Board (IRB) has said it will scrap the Sevens World Cup to ensure the Olympics becomes the world's premier sevens event.

The golf event will consist of men's and women's 72-hole strokeplay competitions with 60 players in each field. The best 15 players in the world would qualify automatically for each draw, while existing golf tour schedules would be altered to avoid any clash with the Olympics.

Rugby had 81 votes in favour and eight against, and golf 63 in favour and 27 against. Seven sports had been considered for inclusion by the IOC, with squash, karate, softball, baseball and roller sports all rejected.

"Congratulations to both federations. We all look forward to great competition in 2016 and 2020," Jacques Rogge, the IOC president, said.

Padraig Harrington said he hoped the Olympic tournament would soon surpass the majors for golfers.

"I do believe in time the Olympic gold will become the most important event in golf and I don't believe it will take that long," he said. "In the four years between the Olympics there will be 16 majors, so winning gold will be that much more special."

Harrington admitted that golf's elitist image may have contributed to the 27 votes against. "I believe it was a stumbling block and could have caused some of those votes against us," he said.

"But being in the Olympics will help change - it has changed over the last 20 years, and 99 per cent of the professional players are not from elite backgrounds."

Yankeeland Ain't the Same [Tim Joyce]

This is by Tim Joyce of Real Clear Sports:

Instant, knee-jerk nostalgia and longing for times past is seemingly a birthright for many New Yorkers. The phrases, actually more like incantations, of "it was so much better back in the 70's" or "the city is just not the same" or "it's all about money now" and "Sex and the City is evil" are frequently uttered by those who declare themselves authentic Gotham denizens. I admit that I, on occasion, lapse into such behavior. And who's to judge the veracity of these sentiments? Perhaps they come from an irrational, overly emotional place but does that lessen their truth? I think not.

So, with this in mind, I turn to the Yankees. Their awesome power and versatility on display in Game 1 in their playoff debut at the House That Ruth Did Certainly Not Build (more like the Stadium the City Got Bullied Into Giving the Steinbrenner Family after they threatened to vacate New York) dealt a blow to the heavily underdogged Twins who were clearly exhausted - and probably hungover? - after their thrilling win less than 24 hours prior in that embarrassment of a baseball field in the Mill City against the choking Detroit Tigers. I'd be surprised if the Twins are able to escape an 0-10 record against the Yankees in 2009 - they were swept in their seven games in the regular season prior to Wednesday's game.

And much will be made of this team's righting the playoff wrongs from the Yankees of recent years, where they had only won four of their previous 17 playoff contests. Alex Rodriguez will be a big story - for reasons other than steroids and Kate Hudson - as he seemed to exorcise at least a portion of his sizeable collection of postseasons ghosts last night by securing hits with runners on base, something he had been unable to do basically since the Great(est) Choke of 2004 against the Red Sox. And with Jeter being his usual sublime playoff self and the eerily ageless Mariano Rivera ready to hurl a demoralizing one inning knockout on a moment's notice, the Yankees appear for now to be the clear favorites to take the World Series and return the trophy to its rightful owner after eight years in enemy hands.

If the Yankees do indeed triumph in November (and by the way what the hell is up with this scheduling, having our summer game conclude several days into November? That month should be associated solely with the awe-inspiring World Series moments delivered after the 9/11 tragedy when there was a legitimate reason to play in the 11th month of the year. MLB could easily have managed the postseason itinerary in a more compressed manner) there will be the usual celebrations, both on the field and off, and New York will gloat about having its 27th world championship.

But it's just not the same. While walking around the city last night and watching the game in several watering holes to gauge interest, there was not that palpable sense of tension and excitement that is usually a built-in part of autumnal acoustics and environment in New York. In recent years one would have to jockey for position to get a good seat and watch these games. There's just no pulse on the street - and those Yankee diehards who would challenge this assertion are either in denial or blind and deaf.

One can't use a sense of ennui or jadedness as an excuse. As previously mentioned, the Yankees have not played well in the playoffs in some time and missed the postseason last year for the first time since 1993. So you'd think that fans would be more eager and intense with their rooting this time around.

And when the Yankees were winning repeatedly in the mid and late 1990's it never appeared to this observer that fans were losing interest. There was a distinct, almost civic, awareness and pride that those teams and players engendered. Those teams were, in fact, loved.

Is this Yankee team loved? Well, players themselves are but not as a unit. Most definitely Jeter and Rivera are loved, adored and worshipped and rightfully so. And to a lesser degree Posada falls into that category, followed by those who came up through the once-vaunted farm system - Robinson Cano, Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes.

So then what's the reason for this lack of Yeats' dreaded "passionate intensity" when it comes to the Yankees? It's hard to pin it on one thing as it's more of an accumulation of events that have led to - and I'll invoke Jimmy Carter here - a malaise of sorts for a segment of Yankee fans; a vulgarly overpriced and less intimate stadium in this time of economic distress most exemplified by New York's Wall Street, the stacking of free agent players that would make even prior Yankee teams blush, the steroid scandals with Roger Clemens and A-Rod, the absence of Joe Torre, etc.

Of course, the sellout crowds cheering like crazy over the next few weeks and loving this version of Yankee success would find this entire argument ridiculous and wrong, perhaps bitter. But there's no question that, well ... things were just better in Yankeeland back in the 90's.

Top Ten List from the New York Rangers [David Letterman]

Video: Edwards headed to Jets [ESPN]

The Dome That Wouldn't Die [Jeff Neuman]

Jeff Neuman of Real Clear Sports writes:

Don't put the Hefty Bag out by the curb just yet. Rinse out the Homer Hankies, and don't toss the ear plugs. The most ill-conceived park in major-league baseball lives for another few days.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis opened for business the year after the 1981 strike shut down baseball for fifty-eight days. Its last baseball game was supposed to be three days ago, but like Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Rasputin, and Tom DeLay, it refuses to go away.

A month ago, the Twins were seven games behind the Detroit Tigers. A week ago, they were two games back, beginning a vital four-game set in Detroit - their last realistic chance to make up ground. They split the four games, losing vital calendar pages while getting nowhere. The Tigers' magic number was two, with three to play. It never reached zero.

The Metrodome has long been the Twins' loud secret weapon. When they won the championship in 1987, their record at home was twenty-seven games better than on the road. In League Championship Series and World Series play, the Twins have gone 12-2 at the Metrodome while losing ten of fifteen on the road. They've been in three World Series, including one in 1965; each Series went seven games, the Twins won two of them, and they have yet to win a World Series game on the road.

Down the stretch this season, Minnesota won nine of their last ten at home leading up to yesterday's one-game playoff. It's the second year in a row that the Twins played a 163rd game to determine the Central Division champion. Last year, they lost to the Chicago White Sox. This year, they defeated the Tigers.

Care to guess where each of those games was played?

Its baseball diamond is shoehorned into a basically rectangular structure intended for football. The outfield dimensions are irregular, proving that asymmetry is not synonymous with charm. The large sheet of vinyl beyond the right-field boundary (it's difficult to call it a wall) covers the seats that extend outward for Vikings games. The roof is Teflon, the ceiling a shade of whitish gray, with intermittent holes that accommodate lighting and do a wonderful job of mimicking balls in flight. Fielders are urged to keep a constant eye on what would be routine pop flies anywhere else; if you lose sight of the ball, you'll have to choose among the many small round options in your range of vision. As with any enclosed arena, it holds sound very well; crowd noise at games can reach levels associated more with fighter jet engines than baseball's bucolic roots.

Worst of all, the dome forced Minnesotans to make a choice no fan should face: Do I want to spend a beautiful day outside, or do I want to go to a baseball game? If you live in Minnesota, chances are you love the outdoors; summers there are too short to waste much time watching others play, especially inside.

The passing of the Metrodome from the major leagues will reduce the number of artificial surfaces in baseball to two: Toronto's Rogers Centre and St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field. Perhaps it's true that, as the bumper-sticker has it, Nature Bats Last.

The dome isn't going away; the Vikings will continue to play games there, squandering the home-field advantage they enjoyed when they played outdoors in the cold. Young twin-cities fans will discover a new baseball sensation: the smell of fresh-cut grass on a summer evening, one that's been denied them for nearly 30 years. The great bubble will still be around, a reminder of futuristic visions from someone else's past. And, for at least another week, it will cast its inflated shadow on the game that fits it so poorly. The Yankees will be overwhelming favorites to eliminate the Twins and quickly, but no one's gotten rich yet betting against the monster in the night.

Video: Breaking Down The Twins' Central Win [ESPN]

Rush Limbaugh Bids on the St. Louis Rams [J. Mark English]

LBelieve it or not, but long time football fan, as well as conservative talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, may be the next owner of the St. Louis Rams.

Here is more from Breitbart.com with Jim Salter of the Associated Press:

The lowly Rams have someone who loves them.

Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday he is teaming up with St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts in a bid to buy the Rams, owners of the NFL's longest losing streak at 14 and just 5-31 since 2007.

In a statement, Limbaugh declined to discuss details, citing a confidentiality agreement with Goldman Sachs, the investment firm hired by the family of former Rams owner Georgia Frontiere to review assets of her estate, including the NFL team.

Limbaugh also declined to discuss other partners that might be involved in the bid, but said he and Checketts would operate the team.

"Dave Checketts and I have made a bid to buy the Rams and we are continuing the process," Limbaugh said.

Forbes magazine has estimated the Rams franchise has a value of $929 million.

Frontiere's children, Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, inherited 60 percent of the Rams when their mother died in January 2008. Billionaire Stan Kroenke of Columbia, Mo., owns the remaining 40 percent. It wasn't clear if the Limbaugh/Checketts bid was for 100 percent of the Rams or just the share owned by Rosenbloom and Rodriguez.

"Our strategic review of our ownership of the Rams continues," Rosenbloom said in a statement released late Monday. "We will make an announcement upon the completion of the process."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello declined comment. Calls seeking comment from Checketts were not returned.

Limbaugh is a native of Cape Girardeau, Mo., about 100 miles south of St. Louis. He's so popular among conservatives—fans of his show call themselves "dittoheads"—that he has been called by some the voice of the Republican Party.

Limbaugh, who lives and works in Palm Beach, Fla., once worked for the Kansas City Royals and is an avid sports fan.

In 2003, Limbaugh worked briefly on ESPN's NFL pregame show, but resigned after saying Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.

Checketts, 53, and his Sports Capital Partners and Towerbrook Capital Partners purchased the Blues in 2006 from Bill and Nancy Laurie. The Blues have been gradually rebuilt under his leadership and made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2004.

Checketts first approached Rosenbloom in early 2009 about possibly buying the Rams. Eric Gelfand, a spokesman for Checketts, said in June that Checketts had put together a group consisting of local and outside investors.

Fans of the Balt/Wash. Beltway Full of Futility [J. Mark English]

This is written by Jeremy Rachlin from his East-Coast Bias Blog:

We can go round-and-round about how Baltimore and Washington are two entirely different cities comprised of entirely different types of residents and who support entirely different sports teams. That's worthy of probably an entire blog of its own (not to mention that we've covered it extensively in this space before).

However, DC folks... Baltimore folks... like it or not, the Census, and more importantly Major League Baseball, considers us one large market that contains two teams. There are only four other such markets in major league baseball: Chicago (Cubs/White Sox), New York (Yankees/Mets), Los Angeles Basin (Dodgers/Angels), and Bay Area (Giants/A's).

To my fellow Washingtonians and my friends up I-95 in the City that Reads, I have a message for you: We suck at baseball. I hear you telling me, "Shut up with your old news. It's football season." But no, you don't understand. We're literally the worst ever at baseball. Never before since the major league season has expanded to 162 games in 1961 have two teams in the same "market" experienced the same level of futility as the Orioles and Nats have experienced this season.

I've done a little bit of research into this, care of the most amazing baseball stats site that you could hope to access for free. Since the 1961 season (when as stated, the MLB season expanded to 162 games), on only seven other occasions besides this season have the two teams in the same market both lost 90 games or more.

1967 - Mets (101 games), Yankees (90 games)
1979 - A's (108 games), Giants (91 games)
1980 - Cubs (98 games), White Sox (90 games)
1986 - Cubs (90 games), White Sox (90 games)
1992 - Dodgers (99 games), Angels (90 games)
2006 - Washington (96 games), Orioles (92 games)
2008 - Washington (102 games), Orioles (93 games)
2009 - Washington (103 games and counting), Orioles (97 games and counting)

What is striking about this is that in the first five entries above, the "better" team just barely lost 90 games. In 2008 and 2009, the Orioles and Nationals aren't really within speaking distance of a 90-loss season (93 losses is arguable). What is most striking is that as of the date of this blog entry, the Nats and Orioles have combined for more 2009 losses (200) than any other entry on this list. The next closest are the 1979 Giants and As, who combined for 199 losses. I note that the Orioles and Nats still have ten more games total which they can lose.

If the Orioles should lose three of their last five games and finish with 100 losses (or more), the Nats and O's would bring the ignomy to the DC-Baltimore Metropolitan Area of having the first dual-100-loss season ever experienced by a market with two major league baseball teams.

It's already bad. The only thing left for us all to observe through this Sunday is just how low we're going to set the bar.

Your Sports Fix 9.30.09 [J. Mark English]

• Cleveland Indians fire manager Eric Wedge.
• Minnesota Twins still find themselves two games behind the Detroit Tigers. Wheres the luck?
• Chris Iannetta was the unlikely hero for the Colorado Rockies last night, as they put some more distance between them and the Atlanta Braves last night.
• Jim Zorn, head coach of the Washington Redskins, career could be on the line this weekend.
• Cleveland Browns have named Derek Anderson the starter for this week over quarterback Brady Quinn.
• Bobby Valentine is coming back to ESPN! (Could the Mets be next?)

Dementia Risks Connected with NFL [J. Mark English]

Alan Schwarz of the New York Times reports on the recent studies connecting Dimentia to many former NFL players:

A study commissioned by the National Football League reports that Alzheimer’s disease or similar memory-related diseases appear to have been diagnosed in the league’s former players vastly more often than in the national population — including a rate of 19 times the normal rate for men ages 30 through 49.

The N.F.L. has long denied the existence of reliable data about cognitive decline among its players. These numbers would become the league’s first public affirmation of any connection, though the league pointed to limitations of this study.

The findings could ring loud at the youth and college levels, which often take cues from the N.F.L. on safety policies and whose players emulate the pros. Hundreds of on-field concussions are sustained at every level each week, with many going undiagnosed and untreated.

A detailed summary of the N.F.L. study, which was conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, was distributed to league officials this month.

The study has not been peer-reviewed, but the findings fall into step with several recent independent studies regarding N.F.L. players and the effects of their occupational head injuries.

“This is a game-changer — the whole debate, the ball’s now in the N.F.L.’s court,” said Dr. Julian Bailes, the chairman of the department of neurosurgery at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, and a former team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers whose research found similar links four years ago. “They always say, ‘We’re going to do our own studies.’ And now they have.”

Sean Morey, an Arizona Cardinals player who has been vocal in supporting research in this area, said: “This is about more than us — it’s about the high school kid in 2011 who might not die on the field because he ignored the risks of concussions.”

An N.F.L. spokesman, Greg Aiello, said in an e-mail message that the study did not formally diagnose dementia, that it was subject to shortcomings of telephone surveys and that “there are thousands of retired players who do not have memory problems.”

“Memory disorders affect many people who never played football or other sports,” Mr. Aiello said. “We are trying to understand it as it relates to our retired players.”

As scrutiny of brain injuries in football players has escalated the past three years, with prominent professionals reporting cognitive problems and academic studies supporting a link more generally, the N.F.L. and its medical committee on concussions have steadfastly denied the existence of reliable data on the issue. The league pledged to pursue its own studies, including the one at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Ira Casson, a co-chairman of the concussions committee who has been the league’s primary voice denying any evidence connecting N.F.L. football and dementia, said: “What I take from this report is there’s a need for further studies to see whether or not this finding is going to pan out, if it’s really there or not. I can see that the respondents believe they have been diagnosed. But the next step is to determine whether that is so.”

The N.F.L. is conducting its own rigorous study of 120 retired players, with results expected within a few years. All neurological examinations are being conducted by Dr. Casson....

[President] Obama's Olympics Pitch Is Ill-Timed [Ken Blackistone]

Here are some excerpts of an article written by Ken Blackistone of FanHouse:

In short, this is no time for President Obama to make a special trip to Copenhagen to join his home base of Chicago in its final bid for the 2016 Olympics. Just two weeks ago, Obama even admitted he was too busy with health care reform to go to Copenhagen on Oct. 2 to personally pitch Chicago for the Summer Olympics...

...A two-week international sports spectacle seven years from now makes about as much sense being on the president's agenda at this moment as timeout for tiddlywinks...

...We know the 44th president likes his sports as much as his predecessor, a baseball nut. He's done the usual presidential sports' thing in throwing out a first pitch and entertaining championship teams at his Pennsylvania Avenue crib. He's done the unusual by presenting his March Madness bracket on national TV and sitting courtside in casual clothes at an NBA game. He's a participant on the basketball court and golf course, too, and, sort of, on a bowling lane...

....It has been pointed out that Obama is simply doing what other national leaders have done. For example, when London was vying for the 2012 Olympics, British prime minister at the time, Tony Blair, and his wife, Cherie, went to Singapore, where IOC members were holed up before casting their final votes, and spent a couple of days glad-handing voters. Two years later in 2005, Vladimir Putin, Russian president then, visited IOC voters to support Sochi's bid for the 2014 Winter Games.

But Great Britain then didn't have the host of problems facing Obama, and Blair was six years rather than nine months into his office. Putin was in his second term as president when he championed Sochi's bid and, while facing many struggles, exercised his broad authority to get done almost anything he wanted.

Furthermore, London is England. It is synonymous with its home country, it is its heartbeat. And Russia had never hosted a Winter Games.

Chicago is but one of our biggest cities with about 2.8 million people. Another 300 million or so of us make up the rest of the United States. What positive tangible impact will a Chicago Games have on, say, Raleigh, N.C.? Did the Salt Lake City Winter Games help Buffalo, N.Y.?

Hosting an Olympics in this country is a municipal or regional concern. It is not a national issue and, as such, certainly not something that should rise to the docket in the Oval Office. We've seen eight Summer and Winter Games in this country from New York to California and in between. A president need not make the Olympics a special case.

This should be an assignment solely for the first lady, who is as much a part of Chicago as deep dish pizza. She was actually born and reared there. Leave it to her.

What the president is doing is living down to that old Tip O'Neill adage: "All politics is local." This is the president paying off a political IOU to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's cronies – Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett, all in Obama's inner sanctum -- who helped him get elected to the Illinois Senate (over one of my political mentors and former professor, Alice Palmer) and eventually the U.S. Senate and the White House. It is also a pay off to real estate interests in Chicago, as Ben Joravsky, author of Hoop Dreams and a longtime friend and political writer in Chicago, observed recently in his Chicago Reader blog: "The Olympic plan is perceived by many as a thinly disguised urban renewal project. They worry that Olympic 'improvements' will drive working-class African-Americans from the near south side."

But Chicago honchos are fearful they are going to lose out to the favorite for the 2016 Games, Rio de Janeiro, or one of the second fiddles, Madrid and Tokyo and couldn't care less. So they pleaded, and then some, with the president to step up on their behalf even though it may mean trampling on his near south side base.

This is not about the president spreading himself too thin, either, which is a criticism that has been raised as he has sought to orchestrate an economic bailout, two wars (the Iraq war is ongoing), reform of health care, closing the Gitmo prison by his deadline (he is likely to miss it), etc. This is a case of the president getting himself involved in something that is not worthy of the Oval Office, like the arrest last summer of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. into which the president inserted himself.

And therein rests the danger. Like in the Gates' case, the president is exposing himself unnecessarily to a losing proposition. There is still a lot of animosity towards the United States outing of foreign IOC members stuffing their pockets in Salt Lake City. The president's involvement doesn't make winning the games a slam dunk. As former Vice President Al Gore staffer Chris Lehane told Politico.com on Monday: "If they don't come back with the gold, clearly there will be the same questions that American basketball would get if they don't come back with the gold -- they are expected to win."

President Obama isn't in need of another perceived setback.

Video: Brett Favre Miracle Throw Against 49ers!! [J. Mark English]

Week 3 Predictions [David Stefanini]

After a sub-par performance last week I'll try to do better this time:

@NYJ -1 Tennessee: Sanchez is the real deal, so are the Jets. Maybe Vince Young will make an appearance to try to salvage the Titans season.

@Houston -4 Jacksonville: I like Houston in this game. After a beat down by the Jets in week 1, the Texans had a great performance last week against the Titans. Look for their winning ways to continue.

@Philadelphia -7.5 Kansas City: Since McNabb is not playing, I can't see the Eagles beating anybody by more than 7 points. Plus, the real story here is Vick's return.

@Baltimore -13.5 Cleveland: If the Ravens were favored by 30, I would still pick them.

NYG -6.5 @Tampa Bay: 9 Giants are injured with at least 5 (at the time of this post) being inactive. Too much for the G-Men to overcome and cover 6.5 points.

Washington -6.5 @Detroit: Look for the Lions to pick up their first victory since 2007. Why do I say this, cause if they don't win they probably never will.

Green Bay -6.5 @St. Louis: The Packers should win, but I have a funny feeling about the Rams putting up a fight.

@Minnesota -7 San Fransisco: This is a big reality check for the 49ers. Hill has been good as their QB, but the Vikings are one of the elite teams. Look for the Vikings to cover.

@New England -4.5 Atlanta: At this point the Falcons should not be 4.5 underdogs to anybody.

Chicago -2.5 @Seattle: The Bears are turning things around whereas the Seahawks are struggling with injures, the Bears should cover.

New Orleans -6 @Buffalo: I'm not as high on the Saints as everyone else is. If they Saints win this game by 6, I'll become a believer, I'm just not there yet.

@San Diego -6 Miami: The Chargers are such a puzzling team. They have the best players at so many positions, why can't they put together a long 6/7 game winning steak? Maybe it starts now.

Pittsburgh -3.5 @Cinncinnati: I have a feeling the Bengals will win this outright. If not, maybe they lose by a field goal.

Denver -2 @Oakland: Who is the QB for the Raiders?.... Need I say more?

@Arizona -2.5 Indianapolis: Maybe the website I look at is malfunctioning, but HOW ARE THE COLTS UNDERDOGS? Take the Colts in the easiest game of the week.

@Dallas -8.5 Carolina: Too many points for the Cowboys, take the Panthers.

Big Fan the Movie [J. Mark English]

Over the last few months I've been hearing more and more about a movie that was released on August 28th, titled "Big Fan" starring Patton Oswalt, and directed by Robert Siegel. From what I hear it might relate to most fans of any sports franchise. It deals with someone who loves to call in to sports talk radio, and is obsessed with his favorite team, the New York Giants.

Here is the trailer:



Here you will find an interview between Steve Somers of WFAN and Robert Siegel the director of Big Fan:

http://www.wfan.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=4044396

The movie gets an 88% rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

Here is a review from NY Times movie critic, Manohla Dargis:

The little man at the center of the spasmodically funny and bleak love story “Big Fan” doesn’t come with a halo slung over his head. His speeches are written in ballpoint with a heavy hand and delivered with bleats and bellows on the radio. (The words are so deeply inscribed on the page you could read them by touch.) He doesn’t come with a fanfare and, to judge by the square, squat cut of his jib, he’s an unlikely contender. He’s a regular guy or as close to regular as any 35-year-old can possibly be who sleeps under a poster of his favorite football star while tucked under a coverlet imprinted with the names of N.F.L. teams.

As its title suggests, “Big Fan” is about the love that speaks its name, though also often shrieks it in rock arenas, sports stadiums and other public places of worship. That love can be a beautiful, touching thing: I still remember John Belushi kindly taking the time to sign an autograph that I soon threw away. I just wanted the contact with someone I adored (and being a teenager, I had no idea of its possible market value). There’s a kind of grace in that kind of exchange, as the idol recognizes the supplicant and, if only during the seconds it takes to scrawl a name on a scrap of paper, comes down to earth with the rest of us.

An inability to recognize that love gives “Big Fan” its igniting moment. One evening while chowing down on pizza in Staten Island, two friends, Paul (Patton Oswalt) and Sal (Kevin Corrigan), notice Paul’s favorite Giants player, the fictional Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm), gassing up his S.U.V. Giddy with excitement, the friends start tailing Bishop. They spend much of their days and most of their solitary nights obsessing about the Giants, swapping stories about the team’s triumphs and defeats like war veterans, so following him seems natural, even if it means entering unknown territory like Manhattan. (Where, an incredulous Paul marvels, there are no parking spaces.) Then Bishop discovers he’s been shadowed and flies into a rage, unleashing all the furious energy that makes him so magnificent on the field.

Paul ends up in the hospital, his head wrapped in bandages. Much of what ensues involves his coming to painful terms with the horror of that violent night, a reckoning that upends his life and a favorite late-evening ritual: his calls into a local sports radio show. These broadcast interludes are the high point of his day, week, perhaps life, giving “Paul from Staten Island,” as he’s called, the chance to advocate on behalf of the Giants while trash-talking the competition. Reading from a notepad and pouring all his libidinal energy into the task, he drops statistics, predicts plays and taunts the enemy, his voice alive with swagger and heat. More than an enthusiast, he is a defender of the faith.

Kiffin and Meyer: One "Flu" Over the Cuckoo's Nest [Art Spander]

From Real Clear Sports author Art Spander:

Meanwhile, in the "Who said college football was all respect and sportsmanship?'' sweepstakes, the University of Florida held six players out of practice, not so much to prove Lane Kiffin misguided but because the athletes had flu-like symptoms.

Gators coach Urban Meyer expressed concern swine flu could ravage his team. Kiffin, the Tennessee coach, reportedly asked for medical verification, while gleefully hoping the entire Florida squad will be quarantined until 2010, along with Al Davis.

About a year ago, Sept. 30, 2008, Davis dismissed Kiffin from his briefly held position of Oakland Raiders coach, setting off a chain reaction that found Tom Cable taking over at Oakland and Kiffin, after joining Tennessee, taking a lot of shots at Florida and Meyer.

The two schools finally played last Saturday, the Gators, the national champions, winning 23-13, but that was only a three and half hour interim in the verbal game.

Meyer followed up by saying his game plan was conservative because he didn't think the Volunteers appeared to be playing for a win and also that several Florida players already were ailing from the flu.

Never one to let an opportunity slip by without adding his ill-chosen remarks, Kiffin 48 hours later, when asked if he were worried the Gators were contagious and could have given the flu to some Tennessee players, responded, "I don't know. I guess we'll wait and after we're not excited about a performance, we'll tell you everybody was sick.''

NFL: Power Rankings [David Stefanini]

Here are how I see the NFL teams through the first two weeks of the regular season:

1. Baltimore Ravens: I can't believe how good the offense has been so far. Imagine this offense on the team 5 years ago.

2. Indianapolis Colts: With Peyton Manning looking like, well, Peyton Manning the Colts look poised for another deep run into the playoffs.

3. New York Giants: With Mario Manningham and Steve Smith catching everything thrown their way, can someone point out any weakness on this team?

4. Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson is amazing, we all knew that. The defense is very good, we all knew that. Brett Farve has yet to throw an INT and has a passer rating over 110, that we did not know.

5. New Orleans Saints: I understand they have not played a good team yet, but right now their offense looks unstoppable, how can't they be in the top 5?

6. New York Jets: Mark Sanchez looks great, the running game is clicking, and the defense is making every offense nervous. This team looks very good.

7. Atlanta Falcons: When they acquired Tony Gonzalez many people felt this was going to be a team who won a lot of games this season, it looks like those predictions were correct.

8. Dallas Cowboys: They're still a great team who lost to Super Bowl contender by 2 points. Let's not start panicking yet.

9. Pittsburgh Steelers: What happened to defense and running the ball? They can't run the ball at all and need to find some sort of ground game if their going to repeat as champs.

10. Green Bay Packers: They lost a game they should have won, chalk it up to the one-two 'huh' games every team is allowed each year, for their sake I hope there are not many more of those.

President Obama Writes Letter to IOC for Chicago [J. Mark English]

Chicago is pulling out all the stops to have the Olympics in Chicago for the year 2016.

Most recently, President Barack Obama, a Chicago resident, has written a letter to the International Olympic Committee, strongly asking them to consider Chicago as the host of the 2016 games.

Stephen Wilson of the Associated Press has more:

"The City of Chicago is designed to host global celebrations and it will deliver a spectacular Olympic experience for one and all," Obama said in a letter to IOC members that was obtained by The Associated Press.

The 338-word typed form letter, dated Sept. 10, is addressed to individual members and bears the signature of the president. It raises the possibility of Obama going to Copenhagen to push the Chicago bid at the Oct. 2 vote.

Chicago — seeking to host the Summer Olympics in the United States for the first time since 1996 — is in a tight contest with Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Madrid.

"I deeply appreciate the tremendous work of the Olympic Movement and wish to convey my strong support for Chicago 2016," Obama said in the letter, citing the "transformative power" of the Olympics to unite people.

Obama, who served as a senator from Illinois and calls Chicago home, said he has supported the city's Olympic bid since it was launched in 2006.

"As President, I see the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games as an extraordinary opportunity for America to renew our bonds of friendship and welcome the world to our shores with open arms," he said. "If you honor Chicago with your selection, we will ensure that the Olympic and Paralympic Games are a key priority for our nation."

Obama noted that he has already established a White House office of Olympic and youth sport.

"You can count on our government to support Chicago's quest to host an unforgettable event and strengthen the Olympic movement," he said. "I believe we have an historic opportunity to do great things together, and I look forward to discussing that opportunity with you, if not in Copenhagen, then soon thereafter if Chicago is your choice."

Cowboy Stadium? TOO BIG? [J. Mark English]

Jeff Mosier of The Dallas Morning News explains:

Arlington officials and the Dallas Cowboys are discussing the possibility of reducing the number of standing-room-only tickets by two-thirds after crowds became unruly Sunday night when they weren't allowed into the stadium.

Assistant Fire Chief Don Crowson said negotiations Monday would have the Cowboys limit sales to about 10,000 Party Passes at future games, though there could be a few exceptions.

Team officials said they sold 30,000 of the $29 tickets to Sunday's game, which was the Cowboys' first regular-season matchup at the new stadium in Arlington. Cowboys officials, however, said they were willing to talk with the city about changes but have not agreed to anything.

The attendance of 105,121 was a record for a regular-season NFL game.

As kickoff approached Sunday night, Cowboys and public safety officials decided to stop trying to control the flow of fans into the end zone decks when the crowds became angry.

"We believe that it was a better decision to go ahead and let people in vs. confronting them in a situation out on the plaza based on the how the crowd dynamic was evolving," Crowson said.

Although the stadium wasn't truly closed, Crowson said, the number of fans allowed into the end zone decks slowed as the stadium approached capacity. That happened as the start of the game neared.

My thoughts:

Um, what was the the dancers in the upper section of the Stadium? I think I heard Al Michaels joke that they were the minor league cheerleaders as opposed to the actually Cowboy Girls down on the field.

Also, Mike Francesa pointed out that they should not count the fans outside of the stadium as part of the attendance. Its a bit cheesy and not genuine.

The stadium really does look like the Death Star.

Plaxico Burress Officially Sentenced to Two Years in Jail [J. Mark English]

The New York Giants are sitting pretty (so far) in first place of the NFC East. Mario Manningham and Steve Smith are looking like the real deal. Its almost as if they might be saying Plax who?

Speaking of Plax, he will be watching the Giants, and all of sports from a cell:

Melissa Grace & Larry McShane of the New York Daily News -

A teary Plaxico Burress traded his Giants jersey for a prison jumpsuit Tuesday.

The talented but troubled ex-Super Bowl hero was sentenced to two years in jail for weapons possession, 10 months after he shot himself in a crowded nightclub.

"I want to apologize to my family," Burress said before Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Michael Melkonian imposed the jail term.

Prior to the sentencing, Burress exchanged hugs and kisses with his family - at one point burying his face into the shoulder of his 3-year-old son.

"I love you," Burress whispered to little Elijah before he was led off, wiping tears away and offering a rueful wave to his family.

Burress, 32, carried the boy into the courthouse in one of his last acts as a free man.

"This is a very real, tragic case in many, many ways," defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman said. "... I do not believe, under the circumstances of this case, we're sentencing a true criminal in the sense of that word."

GO NY GO NY GO! [David Stefanini]

What a day it was yesterday for football fans in New York. First the Jets pull off a great victory over their rivals, the New England Patriots; then the Giants go into what can only be described as the best stadium in the world and beat the Cowboys! Where do I start?

It has to be the New York Jets, because living in New York you would think they just won the Super Bowl. All I heard on the train today and at my office was how the Jets backed up the talk and put a beat down on the Pats. Everyone just assumed the Pats would beat the Jets, myself included, and we would all be talking about how Sanchez is just a rookie and the team has no chance. But Sanchez looks incredible. Nothing bothers him in the game, everything is so fluid from him, and he makes the right decisions at the right times. The kid looks like a solid Pro Bowler and we're two weeks into his career. Also, we can not overlook Leon Washington who does simply everything for the New York Jets. Whether he is returning kicks, running hard, or breaking tackles are the catch the man does everything. Hats off to the Jets who look like a team to be reckon with this season!

Now onto the New York Giants who looked equally as impressive yesterday against the Cowboys. The Giants could not run the ball, but that did not matter. They were able to pick apart the Dallas defense threw the air, by essentially throwing the ball to Mario Manningham and Steve Smith, and ignoring everyone else. Well the game plan worked and the Giants got a big victory early in the season. Go Big Blue!

Hats off to the New York Jets [J. Mark English]

Holy sh*t! The Jets just physically DOMINATED the New England Patriots. Rex Ryan, Mark Sanchez, and the Jets defense backed up all the talk.

New York Jets 16, New England Patriots 9.

MOST IMPRESSIVE!

Week 2 Predictions [David Stefanini]

I understand some of the games have already started, but due to a technical error this post was supposed to be up by 11am. So without further a due, here are my picks for Week 2.

@ Kansas City - 2.5 Oakland: Matt Cassel is making his first start in a Chiefs uniform. Along with the fact that I'm not a believer in JaMarcus Russel, I'd take the Chiefs to win this by at least a field goal.

@Tennesse - 7 Houston: I know most people love the Titans, and Houston did look horrible in Week 1, but I have a funny feeling about this game. I don't think the Texans will win the game, but in today's NFL 7 points is a lot, and I don't think the Titans are good enough to cover.

New England -3.5 @ NYJ: This game is going to be a blow out. The Pats didn't look sharp last week which means Bill Belichick was in their ears all week screaming. The Jets looked very good in week one but Mark Sanchez is going to see 50 different defenses this week. Furthermore, for some reason the Jets decided to talk trash to the Pats, which will lead to a beat down of epic proportions. The Pats should win this game by 14+.

@ Green Bay - 8 Cincinnati: Everyone please listen to me, Green Bay is Super Bowl bound this year. Aaron Rodgers is on an elite level and this team is going to go very deep in the playoffs. On the flip side, what has happened to Carson Palmer? He was once considered a top 3 QB, and now he looks very average, even sometimes below average. That means Green Bay is going to beat down the Bengals.

Minnesota -10 @ Detroit: Minnesota is a very complete team whereas the Lions would probably lose to half of the Top 25 teams in college football. Plain and simple, always pick against the Lions.

New Orleans - 3 @ Philadelphia: Again, this one is easy, No McNabb no win.

@ Atlanta -6 Carolina: Don't count Jake Delhomme out just yet. He is experienced and been through the ups and the downs before. Matt Ryan is amazing and will continue to grow, but Carolina is still very talented and Delhomme has something to prove today.

@ Washington -9.5 St. Louis: Washington is not a great team, but STL is horrible. Again always pick against those kind of teams.

@ Jacksonville - 3 Arizona: This is a very tricky game. The Cardinals and Jags both need wins this week so both teams will be playing their hearts out. I think Arizona has too many weapons for the Jags to contend with, and will be able to pull out a win.

@ San Francisco -1 Seattle: I don't know why the Seahawks are not the favorites in this game. They looked great in week 1 and should continue their winning ways against the 49ers.

@ Buffalo - 4 Tampa Bay: The Bills are home this week which should give them a little extra energy. Tampa may have a difficult time dealing with the no huddle offense, so T.O should have a field day against the Bucs CB's.

@ Denver - 3 Cleveland: Denver is not going to be as bad as everyone says they will this season; Cleveland will be. Denver should be able to cover this spread with ease.

@ San Diego - 1 Baltimore: Without LT Baltimore is going to drop back in coverage and make Rivers beat them. Rivers is capable of doing it, but Baltimore looked to sharp and quick in week 1 for me to pick against them.

Pittsburgh - 3 @ Chicago: This may surprise some people but I'd go with Chicago in this game. Cutler had a horrible week so he should bounce back relatively nicely this week. He should carry this team to a victory this weekend.

@ Dallas - 3 NYG: For me this is always the toughest game to pick. Dallas looked good and we all know the Giants may be the most well rounded team in the league, outside of WR's. This game can go either way, but I will give the edge to the Cowboys because of the injuries the Giants have in their secondary. That should allow Romo enough space to pick them apart and keep the Giants on their heels all game.

Indianapolis -3 @ Miami: This spread should be a lot higher. No way the Dolphins come out and beat the Colts.

Brees the Best? Are You Nuts! [David Stefanini]

I was just involved in a conversation where three people were trying to convince me that Drew Brees is the best quarterback in the league. I did learn something from this conversation, my friends are clinically insane! How can someone say Drew Brees is the best? But David he threw for over 5,000 yards last season, he threw for 6 TD's last week alone. All wonderful things however here are somethings that everyone overlooks.

Let's look at his season last year. He had a defense that would put him on the field every other minute giving him endless chances to complete passes. He attempted 635 passes last year! that is an average of 8 yards per attempt. He threw for 37 TD's with 17 INT's which is a ratio of 2:1. Now let's look at Brady's and Manning's numbers next to Brees to see how they stack up:

Brady (2007): 4806 yards, 8.3 per attempt, 50 TD's, 8 INT's, 117 RTG, Super Bowl appearance.
Manning (2008): 4002, 7.2, 27, 12, 95, Playoffs.
Brees (2008): 5069, 8.0, 34, 17, 96, NOTHING!

Brees threw for more yards but had less wins, and more INT's than those 2 quarterbacks. Brady and Manning both have rings where Brees has not even played in a Super Bowl. Furthermore, has any looked at who the Saints played last year? Brady or Manning would have gone for over 6,000 yards with that schedule.

Is he a top 5 QB absolutely, I see him as the 3rd best in the league and someone who I would love on my team. He has a great arm, he is very accurate and he throws for a ton of yards and TD's.

My point is obviously this, Brees is not the best in the game. He is great and he is a top 3 QB but to put him in front of Manning or Brady is not only wrong it's foolish.

Yankees Glad to Hear Pettitte is Ready [David Stefanini]

New York Yankees' starting pitcher Andy Pettitte is expected to start against the Anaheim Angels this Monday. Why is this important you may be asking. Let me explain...

Andy Pettitte does not have amazing stand-out numbers this year. He has 13 wins on the best team in baseball, his ERA is 4.14 and his WHIP is 1.36. But Andy Pettitte is not about statistics this season, even though his second half numbers look impressive. He is a big game pitcher that most Yankee fans will want to pitch Game 5, if necessary, against the Detroit Tigers (or whoever their first round opponent is). At the beginning of the year many people, including myself, thought Pettitte was washed up and no longer a solid starter. The Yankees signed him to a $5.5 million contract, loaded with incentives, to essentially be their 4th or 5th starter. But as the year has progressed we have all learned something, Pettitte knows how to win and is still a legit starter.

Come playoff time the Yankees will look to him as their 2nd starter, but most likely give him the ball in the most important games. Which is why his health is so important. If Pettitte is not healthy the Yankees will have to rely on unproven postseason starters to carry them. With Pettitte in the rotation the Yankees can put him in the 2nd spot to make key starts in Games 2 and 5 of a series. If Sabathia loses the first game Pettitte will be there to pick up the Yankees like he has done many times. He will also be there for the most important game of most series, Game 5.

Coming soon, in Your Face! COWBOYS STADIUM! [J. Mark English]

Sunday night, the team that America either hates or loves will be treated to the sights of the new wonder of the world. Cowboys Stadium.

The Giants will play the roll of sacrificial lamb, like early Christians in the Roman Colosseum in the good old days.

These photos are from Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto Agency:


























Nicolai Ouroussoff of the New York Times highlights this new 'mecca' or 'monstrosity':

Here’s one thing that can be said for the new Cowboys Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys will play their first home game of the regular season on Sunday against the Giants: it’s not Mickey Mouse architecture.

With a $1.15 billion price tag and a flying saucer-like form, the stadium’s design mercifully avoids the aw-shucks, small-town look that has become common in many American stadiums over the years. There’s no brick cladding, no fake wrought ironwork, no infantilizing theme restaurants that seem as if they had been commissioned by Uncle Walt for the Happiest Place on Earth.

Still, Cowboys Stadium suffers from its own form of nostalgia: its enormous retractable roof, acres of parking and cavernous interiors are straight out of Eisenhower’s America, with its embrace of car culture and a grandiose, bigger-is-better mentality. The result is a somewhat crude reworking of old ideas, one that looks especially unoriginal when compared with the sophisticated and often dazzling stadiums that have been built in Europe and the Far East over the last few years. Worse for fans, its lounges and concourses are so sprawling that I suspect more than a few spectators will get lost and miss the second-half kickoff.

At one point, it looked as if the stadium might be built in a more contained urban setting. Jerry Jones, the team’s owner, considered situating it in Fair Park, a 277-acre park near downtown Dallas whose many Art Deco buildings, including the Cotton Bowl, were built for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition. That location would not only have contributed to the revival of the park’s derelict landmarks, but it would also have helped spark the revitalization of one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.

But the city rejected the plan as too costly, and Jones was forced to look farther afield, eventually settling on a generic suburban enclave midway between Dallas and Fort Worth, not far from the ballpark where the Texas Rangers play.

Compared with the retro brick facing and quaint castle towers of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Cowboys Stadium, designed by HKS, which has its headquarters in Dallas, does have a certain boldness. Approached from Interstate 30, its massive dome brings to mind the simple geometries and aggressive modern aesthetic of Houston’s Astrodome and the Louisiana Superdome....

...At first, things seem more promising inside. Monumental concrete staircases and circulation ramps are situated near the four corners of the field. The ramps, which are some of the building’s most enjoyable architectural spaces, look broad enough to fit a pair of Cadillacs. Jones has also commissioned more than a dozen works by well-known contemporary artists for the stadium interiors, including a spectacularly colorful abstract composition by Franz Ackermann that decorates one of the staircases. But the vastness of the concourses, some of them 65 feet wide, can make you feel as if you are lost in an international airport terminal. And, as in almost every American stadium today, the seats are broken up by bands of glass-encased corporate suites. The glass can slide open so that wealthy patrons can feel connected to the action on the field — if not to the average fan. Some of the suites even take up prime real estate along the sidelines, a first for the N.F.L.

As it turns out, the biggest controversy so far about the stadium has to do with its supersize scale. The four-sided video board over the field is so big, and hangs so low, that a Tennessee punter hit it during a preseason game. It’s a nice irony that for all the space, there may not be enough room at Cowboys Stadium to play a game.

This morning on the Today Show, former Cowboy, Emmitt Smith gave a tour of the new stadium:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Feel Good Story of the Year? And from a Phillies Fan! [J. Mark English]

ESPN News for the Day [J. Mark English]

Charlie Weis' fate could hang in the balance this weekend:



Terrell Owens is stirring the straw once again:

Panini Football Kitchen Sink Case Rip [J. Mark English]