My God, we Red Sox fans are now officially Moonies...

I've heard that Baseball is a religion, and more so for some than others. People will often bring up Red Sox and Cubs fans, Yankees and Indians (but they never address those small cults on the West Coast...just kidding). But the following is a little too much, even for me -

According to the Sports Illustrated Web sites' "This Week's Sign of the Apocalypse" weekly feature, the current sign is this -

"Ben Affleck will narrate a DVD series that prepares infants and pre-school children to become Red Sox fans."

It begs certain questions like - what will the specials be on the DVD?

Learn to speak like a fan from Southie!
Learn important phrases that will get you immediate acceptance from the other bleacher creatures such as, "I'd nevah sit in the Monstah seats, too many Bahneys sit up theah."
or the ever popular, "Jetah sucks!"

Learn the face of 2004 playoff hero Dave Roberts so that you may fulfill your responsibility as a Sox fan in never allowing him to pay for another meal.

See the Dropkick Murphy's video for "Tessie."

Learn in a painfully long documentary, directed by Ken Burns and narrated by Ben Affleck, why the Sox started playing "Sweet Caroline" during the seventh inning stretch.

See the Red Sox help Dora get to her destination while having to cross the lake filled with the evil Yankees!

DVD interactive features include games to help your child improve their spelling, exposing them to names like Varitek, Okajima, Youkilis, Papelbon, Matsuzaka, and many, many more!

The DVD case is a mock-up courtesy of my wife. The news is real, but the stuff after qualifies as my own sarcastic take on the thing. I'm anxious to hear the titles - I like "Horton Hears a Homer - raising your kid to be a Red Sox fan with Sox-Nation lifer Ben Affleck" or, "All Big Papi's Children."

Matthews Speaks...

Rolls over, and possibly plays dead apparently only on the advice of his lawyers.

Mattews yesterday finally came clean, sort of, with the general public, issuing a denial in the use of hGH to boost his on field performance. According to an AP report, the Angels issued a four paragraph release to the press that said the following:

"I have never taken hGH -- during the 2004 season or any other time. Nobody
has accused me of doing so, and no law enforcement authority has said I am a
target of any investigation for doing so.
"Before saying anything publicly I wanted to make absolutely sure of my
ground. In particular, I needed to try to learn whether anybody in authority --
in or out of baseball -- felt they had reason to accuse me of anything with
regard to hGH. If they did, I would have to deal with that. It has taken me, and
those representing me, 16 days to make certain that's not the case. And that is
why it has taken longer than I would have preferred to make a public
statement."

That statement comes approximately a week-and-a-half after the following from Matthews' lawyer, Robert Shapiro (of OJ Simpson fame):

"Gary wishes to cooperate with Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Angels and
any other investigative agency that may look into this matter. He is eager to
tell his side of the story and looks forward to providing a statement once all
investigations into the matter have been completed.
"However, it is my long
standing policy not to allow clients to comment while an investigation is
ongoing. To do so would be inappropriate and I believe irresponsible."

Now, I will admit to being no lawyer, but these statements ring hollow and leave a whole series of other questions, but precious few answers. Let's cover some of them:

• If Matthews indeed never used hGH, then why wait 16 days to deny use?
• Why did he need to know if someone in baseball was going to accuse him of use before he could deny use?
• Sure, the investigation both he and his lawyer cite - but if he's clean, why did he need to wait?
• Couldn't he have issued a statement when first linked to the pharmacy records denying use and stating that he was sure his name would be cleared? I'm guessing not, or he would have done so. More on that below.
• If he was waiting on the results of this so called investigation to exonerate him, why not release the findings of the investigation?
• Why would it have been irresponsible to issue a "not guilty" earlier than this?
• And most importantly, can he address how his name, address and credit card "mistakenly" ended up in the database of a distributor of the drug along with an order attributed to him?

It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes (or John Holmes for that matter) to deduce the following - the investigation was solely to establish that, beyond his enhanced numbers last season, there would be no way to link his order with him actually taking the hormones. Once they established that a potential break in the chain of evidence existed that would allow him his denial without the possibility of a "Palmiero" coming back to bite him in the ass, then - and only then - Shapiro told him to issue his denial.

Unfortunately he still left the question of how he got into that business' customer database, and really avoids answering the question of why the denial took so long. Personally, I don't buy what he and his lawyer are selling.

Interesting things are afoot at the Circle K...or over at the Razor...

According to a report in today's Boston Herald, Troy Brown is thinking about returning for a 15th season. It poses some questions since Brown has previously said he doesn't see him finishing his career anywhere else, but the Patriots are suddenly rich at wide receiver with the signings of Kelley Washington, Donte Stallworth, Wes "I'm Troy but younger" Welker, and hold-overs that include Reche Caldwell, Jabari Gaffney and Chad Jackson (currently recovering from knee surgery).

It's possible that Jackson will be on IR this upcoming season due to the tear in his ligament which is supposed to take 8 to 12 months to heal (the surgery was in February, so the earliest he will be running is likely to be August, and he probably won't be ready for hitting until the end of September - and that's if he recovers quickly).

Does Brown get resigned as a receiver low on the depth chart? Does he get resigned as a nickel-back? Does he still have enough in the tank to beat out any of the five healthy receivers that the team has under contract - all of whom are younger than him?

I would like to see him go out on his own terms, and go out as a Patriot - but with the current roster, is that really possible? I don't know.

Clearing the dust off the metaphorical shelves of my mind

Well, I think the Patriots are officially the winners of this year's Free-agent Bowl. Typically the winners are the Washington Redskins who go about free-agency with no real regard for what they are trying to accomplish on the field.

To wit - last year the Redskins landed the biggest names available in free-agency and via trades last year in defenders Andre Carter, Adam Archuleta, as well as Antwaan Randle El, and Brandon Lloyd. The problem was Archuleta is the same sort of player as safety Sean Taylor - a hitter with mediocre cover skills. The two did not complement each other in the defensive backfield creating a defensive liability deep in the secondary.

The Patriots seem to be trying to fill all their needs before the draft so that they can focus solely on drafting the best possible player to fit their system rather than having to draft for need.

Entering this off-season the Patriots needed to get younger and faster at linebacker, needed to deepen the receiving corps, needed a blocking tight-end, and needed a back-up running back. If they could get help for the secondary, that would have been a bonus.

Including resignings, this is what they have done -

Adalius Thomas, LB (5yr, $37.5M, $3.4M v. next season's cap)
Larry Izzo, LB (1yr, $820K, $482K v. next season's cap)

Heath Evans, FB (2yr, $1.56M, $720K v. next season's cap)
Sammy Morris, RB (4yr, $7M, $2.125 v. v. next season's cap)

Billy Yates, G/C (3yr, $2.1M, $845 v. next season's cap)
Kyle Brady, TE (2yr, $5.3M, $2.3 v. next season's cap)

Donte Stallworth, WR (6yr, $33.1M $3.6M v. next season's cap)
Kelley Washington, WR (5yr, $22M, estimated $3M v. next season's cap)
Wes Welker, WR (5yr, $18.1M, $1.7M v. next year's cap)

Asante Samuel, CB (1yr, $7.9M, same v. next year's cap - franchised and numbers are subject to change)

The contract numbers were compiled from multiple sources and might not be exact in regards to next year's cap hits.

While the numbers in the contracts may seem puzzling - particularly in the cases of Washington and Stallworth - some of the deals might not really be what they appear. Realistically, Stallworth and Washington are on one year deals that can be extended if the Patriots pick up the options of the players around this time next year.

Both are regarded as highly talented players but both have been plagued by injuries, and Stallworth has had some hits to his reputation as a touch on the lazy side (he has been fined for showing up late to meetings and oversleeping in training camp). If the structure of the deals isn't incentive enough for these players (both of whom gave up more guaranteed money from the Dolphins to play in New England), then the Pats can cut their losses at the end of the season without incurring dead money on the cap.

It's also obvious who the Patriots are betting on as a long-haul sort of player. To pick up Stallworth for next year the option will put his cap hit over $11 million, Washington's hit would likely be in the $6 million to $7 million range. Somehow I get the feeling that Stallworth is one and done with the Pats.

Heard around the 'Net...
Riding the message boards before free-agency I saw a lot of fans from other teams talking about how free-agents don't want to come to New England and play for Belichick because of the Pats penny pinching ways. So much for that idea.

...and on the same subject; for those of you out there upset that the Patriots are spending money to make themselves better, Thomas, Evans, Washington, and Stallworth all took less to sign with the Patriots than they would have made elsewhere. What a refreshing concept in professional sports - taking less money in the hopes of winning.

The car appears to be stuck in reverse...
Jerry Jones must be stuck on permanent meltdown without Bill Parcells to temper his hand. This off season he has hired Wade Phillips as his head coach, and then its been down-hill. Rumblings among long-time friends of Parcells is that he was indeed tired of having to deal with prima-donna Terrell Owens and when Jones didn't release TO that Parcells decided it was time to hang up the whistle. This is the same TO that it has now come out that he couldn't be bothered to learn his playbook and had to be told in the huddle where he needed to be.

Funny thing about that - when Drew Bledsoe was still starting and throwing primarily to Terry Glenn all you heard was TO whine about how he wasn't getting the ball. Interesting how, to this day, you haven't heard Bledsoe say a thing about how maybe he would have thrown TO more balls if the receiver knew where he was supposed to be.

Then, after siding with TO in this little circus called Big D, Jones goes out and signs one of the league's worst starting offensive linemen, Leonard Davis, to a seven year $49 million contract.

I guess Jones learned nothing after driving Jimmy Johnson out.

Bitterfans...
I posted my AL Central predictions over at Bitterfans yesterday. Go on over and take a look, I'll wait for you.

Genarlow Wilson and the idiots in the Georgia legislature...
Eric Johnson (R-Savannah, GA), the self-appointed executioner in the case of Genarlow Wilson has a really twisted view on justice. Here is what he wrote about his efforts to block legislation that would allow the courts to go back and review Wilson's case -

Mr. Wilson decided to fight – and he was convicted by a jury of his peers. (My
personal opinion is that the jury would have preferred to convict him of the rape charge due to sex with the older girl after she was passed out and incapable of consenting, but since she had earlier had consensual sex, they felt they couldn’t. So they used the minor to convict him. Remember, they could have found him “not guilty” and didn’t.) Between conviction and sentencing, he was offered [a plea bargain which would have labeled him a sexual predator] instead of the mandatory 10 year sentence. He refused and accepted the sentence. That offer, by the way, is still available today. He can go before the judge any time and request a new trial. He and his lawyer appear to prefer martyrdom to the 5 additional years in prison. The Georgia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court has upheld the conviction.
As you know, Georgia passed a very strict sexual predator law last year. Within the
new law was flexibility for prosecutors for consensual sex between a 15 and 17 year old. However, I don’t believe the legislature anticipated permitting leniency with a 6 on 1 situation as occurred here.
The issue before the Georgia General Assembly is SB 37. Genarlow Wilson’s case generated it, but it isn’t limited to this single case. The bill would allow defense attorneys to petition judges to re-open every case of a convicted sex offender who engaged in sodomy, child molestation, aggravated child molestation, or enticed a child for indecent purposes if the criminal and the minor were less than 4 years apart.
The victims involved could be as young as 13. I strongly oppose any legislative effort to require the courts to revisit over 1100 cases like Wilson’s. They violated the law. Police arrested them. District attorneys chose to prosecute them. Grand juries decided to indict them. Juries convicted them (when they could have found them “not guilty”). Each of those convictions left a scarred victim. The legislature should not second guess the process. We did not listen to the testimony or see the evidence. I hate to think of the emotional burden on thousands of victims, the cost to the taxpayers, and the delay in justice to pending court cases if this bill were to pass.
People seem to forget that a 15 year old girl was the victim. I stand with her. I also stand with future possible victims of politically correct apologists who want to turn loose convicted sexual predators. Remember, one of Mr. Wilson’s buddies impregnated a 12 year old while awaiting trial and has been convicted of statutory rape.
Wilson is NOT the victim. The minor girl in a hotel room with 6 stoned adults is the victim.
Usually, society complains about sentences that are perceived as too soft. Granted, this sentence was harsh. But it was MANDATORY under the law. Life comes with accountability for our decisions. Genarlow Wilson could have selected different friends to hang with. He could have joined millions of law-abiding teens all over the country enjoying New Years’ Eve without alcohol, drugs and sex. He could have left the hotel when “the fun” started. He didn’t.
He made a choice. Now his life has changed forever. That is sad. I hope other young men and girls will learn from this tragedy and avoid his errors.

Interestingly enough, that new law that he talks about was passed because of the problems that were found with the existing law due to the Wilson case. But it gets better. He claims to talk on behalf of the jury, saying they convicted Wilson of the one because he was guilty of the other and just couldn't get him on it, but at least one juror describes it very differently.

From an ABC interview with juror Marie Manigault:

She (Mar. 9, 2006), reported that the jury saw the rape case as very weak: “[I]t
wasn’t even an hour. We immediately saw the tape for what it was. We went back
in and saw it again. Then everybody immediately said not guilty.”

This doesn't even take into account the following:

• That the 15-year old for whom Wilson was convicted of "sexually preying" on initiated the act and had been sexually active since 11-years of age. You might stand with her senator, but I have a hunch she's not standing with you.
• That the senator would rather let people rot in a jail cell than get the spirit of the law right (the legislator who originally penned the law that Wilson was convicted under has publicly said that the way the law is being applied does not match the intent with which it was presented - and that it needs to be changed). He notes that there might be up to 1100 people jailed in Georgia under similar circumstances - that's an awful lot of people to be marked child predators that might not really fit that scarlet letter. I don't know about anybody else, but I'd rather have my courts overburdened in the name of getting the ruling right than my jails burdened with people that don't belong in them.
• I have read nowhere that Wilson was stoned, and as I understand it, none of the seven were 18 or older at the time, so calling the others "6 stoned adults" reeks of hyperbole in order to inflame the emotions of his voting base.
• From reading other accounts the jury didn't want to convict Wilson of anything and were very upset when they learned that he had to serve a mandatory ten-year sentence.
• He claims that the legislature "should not second guess the process." Isn't that exactly what the checks and balances system is all about? Isn't that how the Jim Crow laws were struck down? Some legislator somewhere second guessed a process and the laws changed.

God, I hate politicians.

Doubting Thomas

After the initial "Jaws"-like feeding frenzy of NFL free-agency many of the pundits are declaring the 49ers and Patriots the early winners and a number of them are even saying that the Patriots signing of Adalius Thomas is going to put the Pats in the pole-position for the Super Bowl next year. I don't quite buy it.

The Patriots were thirty minutes away from the big game this year, and likely would have beaten the Bears in Miami (although I will grant that's not guaranteed). However, when you look at what happened to that flu-stricken defense (not an excuse considering pretty much the same defense stricken with the flu got the job done against the Steelers in the playoffs two seasons earlier) in the second half against the Colts, I find it hard to believe they were one player away. I suppose you could argue that a healthy Rodney Harrison and Thomas would amount to two impact starters that they were missing - but you have to play with what you've got.

Here's what the Pats have - the most coveted defender on the free agent market who came from a team whose best players have traditionally failed when they have moved on.

Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli are very good evaluators of talent, often finding value over the years in late round draft picks (Tom Brady), other team's cast-offs (Heath Evans, Antowain Smith, Rodney Harrison), and rookie free-agents (Randall Gay, Stephen Neal). Even so, they have been very erratic in the free-agent market. Yes, they acquired Harrison via free-agency and Mike Vrabel that way - but they also brought in Monty Beisel, Chad Brown and even traded for former Raven Duane Starks.

On paper - I love the additions. Kyle Brady can be a punishing blocker, Wes Welker reminds me of Troy Brown - only faster, and with the Pats committing to Laurence Maroney as the feature back, I think Sammy Morris is a good complimentary piece. Of course the additions of Welker and Morris are important because they also hurt a division rival.

I don't expect Thomas to be the force he was in Baltimore in much the same way that Rosevelt Colvin's roll differs now than the one he filled in Chicago. Thomas will still be an impact player - and be used in multi-faceted rolls, but I figure Belichick will sit down with his defensive coordinator this offseason to look at how they can really utilize someone like Thomas. He'll get his sacks and tackles - there just might not be as many.

This looks like a stronger free agent class than they have had in several years, but until they strap on the helmets in September looks don't mean a thing.

From a GM standpoint - the other teams in the division, who I believe all made good steps in regards to improving themselves (the Jets getting a legitimate backfield threat, Buffalo shoring up the offensive line, and the Dolphins hoarding draft picks while getting Joey Porter), those GMs can't be happy that the Patriots still hold six picks in the draft (including two first rounders) and are expecting two compensatory picks for free agents lost last year. Trading away one of those first rounders could easily result in the Patriots having ten picks in the upcoming draft and still leave them with a first round selection.

And really - the Patriots have made a living this decade out of selecting players outside of the first round - Brady (6th round, 2000), Stephen Gostkowski (4th, 2006), Jarvis Green (4th, 2002), Ellis Hobbs (3rd, 2005), Nick Kaczur (3rd, 2005), Dan Koppen (5th, 2003), Matt Light (2nd, 2001), Garrett Mills (4th, 2006), Ryan O'Callaghan (5th, 2006), Patrick Pass (7th, 2000), Asante Samuel (4th, 2003), James Sanders (4th, 2005), David Thomas (3rd, 2006), Eugene Wilson (2nd, 2003).

So...in the second round since 2000 the Pioli and Belichick have found a starting left tackle and starting safety. (2)
Third round - their second string tight end, a starting corner/kick returner, and a starting right tackle. (3)
Fourth round - kicker, rotational defensive end that could start on other teams, a back-up tight-end/fullback, franchise cornerback, and back-up safety. (5)
Fifth round - Back-up right tackle with the size and potential talent to start, starting center (2)
Sixth round - franchise quarterback (1)
Seventh round - fullback (1)

Fourteen players who are significant contributors - most starters, in the later rounds with most of the damage in the middle rounds.

Another Bitterfans Post is Up...

Covering my predictions for the AL East. Outside of the fun of trying to predict the outcome of a season (often wrong), I tend to stay away from predictions. This article for Bitterfans I went into my reasons for picking where I did - and certain acknowledgements about how I could end up wrong.

Go take a look.

Check out my latest at Bitterfans.com...

http://www.bitterfans.com/ShowArticle.asp?CategoryID=5&ArticleID=343

A Genarlow Wilson Update

It seems that there has been some recent news in regards to Genarlow Wilson, the high school football player who was jailed for 20 years for being the recipient of fellatio from a 15 year old. He was 17 at the time.

For those unfamiliar with the case, by all accounts, including that of the girl's mother, the girl was a willing participant and even initiated the sexual contact. Wilson is serving a sentence essentially for being a child-molester. For a more in depth look at the case, check out the previous Angry Fan listing, the original ESPN.com article, or visit this site.

To keep it brief - it appears the former Georgia legislator who originally proposed the law under which Wilson is serving his term has publicly stated that the law is being applied incorrectly. He did not specifically address the Wilson case, but came out in support of the legislation that would allow Wilson's conviction to be overturned.

Take some time and join the fight. Sometime saving the world one person at a time is enough.

Patriot Games

According to a report this evening the New England Patriots made a big splash in the free agent market agreeing to a preliminary deal with former Baltimore Raven multi-purpose defender Adalius Thomas. While speculation has been put forth that Thomas would come in and play for the Pats as an outside linebacker, expect the versatile 270 pounder to line up in the middle next year next to Tedy Bruschi, allowing Mike Vrabel to return to his more natural outside position and Roosevelt Colvin to return to the weak side.

Thomas, who has shown the speed to play as an effective corner and safety, will likely be expected to cover the tight-ends and running backs as well as free Bruschi up to make plays by taking on offensive linemen.

In light of this signing, it should be interesting to see if it sways Troy Brown to come back for one more shot at a fourth ring (assuming the Pats want him back).

I'm guessing that this signing might signal the end of Banta-Cain's time in New England, unless the market for him is not quite what he or his agent expects. However, I figure that he, like Matt Chatham before him, ends up with the Jets.

WELCOME TO POST 150!!!

This is, I suppose a milestone of sorts - it is the 150th post at Angry Fan. I have had, on occasion, guest bloggers, but roughly 60 percent of what is here came from my twisted mind (there is a fair chunk that are my wife's photos of my Aussie rules football matches)...

And now for a look back at the top ten posts arbitrarily picked by me, and the top five photos taken by the wife...

1. http://theangryfan.blogspot.com/2004/12/born-in-humble-log-stadium.html - Not my best writing, but it was the entry that launched a thousand ships...okay, 149 subsequent entries, and that has to count for something.

2. http://theangryfan.blogspot.com/2007/01/im-not-normally-political-here-but-for.html - Also not my best writing, but the subject really pissed me off. Too important a story to put low down on the totem.

3. http://theangryfan.blogspot.com/2005/11/look-at-pats-for-remainder-of-season.html - One of my favorite pieces that I did during the Patriots doomed playoff run of the 2005 season. With everything this team went through in the way of injuries, making the playoffs was a pretty damn impressive feat.

4. http://theangryfan.blogspot.com/2006/03/new-york-daily-news-sports-roid-probe.html - The first of my "rage against 'roid" pieces. Some of my better observations too. This is short, to the point, and one of my first really angry posts. I'm proud of this one.

5. http://theangryfan.blogspot.com/2005/10/espncom.html - I just like some of the observations I made here. Some of my more clever writing (and I know that I have not been as clever nor as witty as often as I would like to have been here).

6. http://theangryfan.blogspot.com/2006/08/vindication-in-my-defense-of-drew.html - For all the knocks Bledsoe has received over the years - here's my defense of him. Let's just say he compares pretty favorably to a number of Hall of Fame QB's.

7. http://theangryfan.blogspot.com/2006/09/normally-i-dont-have-issue-with-borges.html - Welcome to another one of those Angry rants - the target, Deion Branch and his agent.

8. http://theangryfan.blogspot.com/2006/11/theres-been-lot-of-talk.html - A lot of random observations and rants. Mostly on the Patriots, but I covered the Sox too in this one

9. http://theangryfan.blogspot.com/2006/09/time-to-stop-blaming-receivers_26.html - Another of my Angry rants. The subject? Tom Brady and the media. I just calls 'em like I sees 'em.

10. http://theangryfan.blogspot.com/2005/11/theo-and-my-denial.html - Former co-worker and Frederick Beat Writer Keith Martin makes the list with his e-mail about my denial when Theo bailed on the Sox after a blow-up with Lucchino at the end of the 2005 season. Not his best work, but some amusing observations - particularly for anyone intimately familiar with the Boston sports scene.

Honorable mention is the following week in its entirety -

http://theangryfan.blogspot.com/2007_01_21_archive.html - It was a very good week for me that included rants about the Genarlow Wilson case, the Saints, Parcells retirement, The Bengals and the NFL Playoffs.

And now for the Picture Show...

With many thanks to my wife who manages to get decent pics with a crappy camera.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Here's to the next one-fifty.

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND---THE FOOTBALL VERSION

Visitors to the Angry Fan know full well that I generally do not use the site as a political forum. however, long-time visitors might remember my posting regarding No Child Left Behind from some time ago (and recall that I once taught high school English in Philadelphia). The following was forwarded to me by my sister-in-law who is currently doing her student teaching and knows in what contempt I hold No Child.

Three quick things - this pretty accurately illustrates the philosophy of No Child Left Behind, I don not know who originally authored this or I would have given the person credit, and finally, I wish I had written it...

So without further ado...

1. All teams must make the state playoffs and all MUST win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable. If, after two years, they have not won the championship,their footballs and equipment will be taken away UNTIL they do win the championship.

2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time even if they do not have the same conditions or opportunities to practice on their own. NO exceptions will be made for lack of interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities of themselves or their parents.

ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL!

3. Talented players will be asked to workout on their own, without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in football, have limited athletic ability or whose parents don't like football.

4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in the 4th, 8th, and 11th game. It will create a New Age of Sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimum goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child gets left behind. If parents do not like this new law, they are encouraged to vote for vouchers and support private schools that can screen out the non-athletes and prevent their children from having to go to school with bad football players.

"Which brings me to my next point kids...don't do crack..."

33rd Team Anybody?

With the advent of this year's free agent period finally upon us in the NFL and teams trying to jockey for more dollars to spend, a number of veteran players were cut or are known to be on the market as trade bait. With the numbers available at each position, takers for trades might be harder to come by.

With the numbers available, one could easily construct a reasonably competitive 33rd football club with these players. Particularly at specific positions.

Let's take a look at what a person could do (and for the sake of argument, let's call it the L.A. Fantasy - sure it sounds like a strip club, but when was the last season that you remember that didn't involve some incident with a professional athlete at a strip club?) -

For the purposes of this exercise, I will primarily be eyeing unrestricted free-agents, but will mention the occasional bit of trade bait on the premise that they may get released at some point due to the market. Also, I'm looking at the people that I think could give you a reasonably competitive 53 man roster - not necessarily a Super Bowl winner, but a team that could make the post-season if it gels.

Head Coach - Marty Shottenheimer (asst coaches at his discretion - sorry AJ).

Offense -

QB - Take your pick based on system and/or the line you can put together: Drew Bledsoe, Jeff Garcia, Joey Harrington, Brad Johnson. Known to be available for the right price - David Carr, Jake Plummer (although likely to just switch teams) and Trent Green.

Center - Seth McKinney, Trey Teague (also Tackle), Jeremy Newberry

Guard - Bennie Anderson, Ruben Brown, Chris Dielman, Grey Reugamer (also Center), Adam Timmerman, Ross Verba, Chris Villarrial

Tackle - Anthony Clement, Marc Columbo, Damion McIntosh, Luke Petitgout, Todd Steussie, Floyd Womack

Tight End - Christian Fauria, Daniel Graham, Doug Jolley, Jerramy Stevens, Jermaine Wiggins

Wide Reciever - Joe Horn, Eric Moulds, Brandon Stokley, Donte Stallworth, Dennis Northcutt, Sean Morey, Keenan McCardell

Running/Full Back - Correll Buckhalter, Reno Mahe, Fred McAfee, Dominic Rhodes, Cory Schlesinger, Anthony Thomas

Currently for offense, the biggest area of concern would be the running game.

Special Teams -

K - Morten Anderson, Billy Cundiff, Jay Feely

P - Todd Sauerbrun, Matt Turk

Defense -

DE - Bobby Hamilton, Rodney Bailey, ND Kalu, Patrick Kerney, Robaire Smith, Marcellus Wiley

DT - Jason Fisk, Dan Klecko, Monte Reagor, Keith Traylor, Jeff Zgonina

LB - LaVar Arrington (only if you could get him on the cheap), Tully Banta-Cain, Dexter Coakley, Don Davis, Na'il Diggs, Donnie Edwards, Carlos Emmons, Larry Izzo, Joey Porter, Junior Seau, Donnie Spragan, Adalius Thomas, London Fletcher-Baker, Napoleon Harris

CB - Phillip Buchanon, Nate Clements, Chidi Iwuoma, Nick Harper, David Macklin, Dexter McCleon, Fred Smoot

S - Jay Bellamy, Mike Doss, Ken Hamlin, Tebucky Jones, Michael Lewis, Mike Rumph, Lance Schulters, Tavares Tillman, Troy Vincent, Shaun Williams

Without even delving into the draft a person could put together a decent team. Sure it would still have holes - not a lot is available for running backs (would probably have to be solved through the draft), you could put together a decent but aging D-line - but depth might be an issue, there are some good linebackers available, but the defensive backfield could be suspect. There is good special-teams type depth though with people like Izzo, Morey, Tebucky Jones and Stone out there.

For my money -

QB - Bledsoe, Harrington, Rookie to develop (3)

OL - Newberry, Reugamer, Timmerman, Verba, Columbo, Petitgout, Steussie, Womack, two rookies (10)

TE - Graham, Jolley, Wiggins (3)

WR - Horn, Moulds, Stokley, Stallworth, Morey (5)

RB - Mahe, Rhodes, Schlesinger, Rookie (4)

25 on offensive roster

K - Feeley (1)

P - Sauerbrun (1)

2 Dedicated special teamers

DE - Hamilton, Bailey, Kerney, Wiley, Rookie (5)

DT - Fisk, Klecko, Traylor (3)

LB - Fletcher-Baker, Harris, Edwards, Izzo, Porter, Seau, A. Thomas, Rookie (8)

CB - Clements, Harper, McCleon, Smoot, Rookie (5)

S - Doss, Hamlin, T. Jones, Lewis, Vincent (5)

26 Defenders.

And that's my 53 man roster based on what's available and where I would draft for help and for the future. I believe this gives me a good group of veterans at every position with a strong core of special teamers, a veteran QB that can help bring along a rookie, a decent offensive line, talented receivers and tight ends, veteran leadership on both sides of the ball and a strong linebacking corps.

Would love to hear other roster ideas.

Check out Bitterfans

For a more in depth piece I wrote on pro-athletes juicing to compete.

Sports Juice and Classic Video Games in the News Again

Well, this week we saw a federal drug bust in the on-going investigation into the distribution of illegal performance enhancing drugs. In the wake of this week's bust in the Deep South, several names have come up - Evander Holyfield, The Pittsburgh Steelers, and former journeyman outfielder Gary Matthews, Jr., who coincidentally had a career year last year...at the suspect age of 32.

Somehow I'm less than concerned about the use of human growth hormone in boxing. The sport stopped being interesting sometime ago - but that's a whole separate rant.

The Steelers ownership right now is doing their best to distance themselves from a long-time team physician that was on the customer list of the pharmacy busted as a distribution center for the illegal substance (like steroids, HGH is only legal to possess for valid medical reasons and requires a prescription).

But the interesting one here is Matthews, who, of course, is denying any wrong doing and publicly questioning how his name made it onto the customer list. Until last year Matthews never batted higher than .276, but at 32 years old he hit .313 - almost forty points above his career high, and over sixty points higher than what his career average was before the start of last season (from 1999 to 2005 Matthews was a career .248 hitter).

I invite you to draw your own conclusions, I already know what I think.

On a related note, Game of Shadows was just issued in paperback with a new section detailing Bonds growth since joining the Giants. According to the book, based on information from the Giants (part of the reason to be nicer to the clubhouse workers than Bonds has ever been) the man's shoe size has increased from 10.5 to 13 and hat size has increased from 7 1/8 to 7 1/4. So his feet grew two and a half sizes and head by an eighth of an inch, or one hat size.

I don't know about anybody else out there, but I'm on the verge of turning 37 and I've had the same hat and shoe size for 20 years. Don't even try to tell me it's because he got bigger as he got older - I weighed 142 when I was 16. I'm 180 now. Foot and hat sizes just don't change unless you're altering body chemistry - that's not circumstantial - it's fact. You don't believe that - talk to a doctor.

Bonds apologists can continue to deny Bonds's use of performance enhancers all they like, but they should consider this one immutable fact (and this goes for the same people that defend Mark McGwire). Since the publication of Game of Shadows (and Jose Canseco's Juiced), not a single fact, not a single accusation has been challenged in a court of law. There was sabre rattling when the books hit, but no one - Not Bonds, Not McGwire, Not Palmiero, not anyone else named or implicated in these books has filed libel suits against the authors. Bonds attorney challenged (unsuccessfully) the rights of the writers to publish grand jury testimony, but never once challenged the allegations.

I don't know about anyone else out there, but if I was a pro athlete and authors were writing that I was cheating...I'd have them in a courtroom before the publisher hit the first full week of sales. Think what you want - but the lack of any attempt to recoup damages is pretty damning.

Number 9, Number 9, Number 9...

No, I'm not talking Beatles, I'm talking Pacman. On Wednesday the Tennessean, and later on SI.com, reported that Pacman Jones is now facing obstruction charges in Georgia from an incident from last year. Right now Marvin Lewis has to be breathing a sigh of relief that there's actually someone on another team that makes Chris Henry appear to be a model citizen.

I don't know for sure that this makes a ninth incident (according to the report there have been 10 run-ins with the police which includes four arrests), or if this was reported on as one of his eight since entering the NFL, but I do know that we're looking at Lawrence Phillips territory here. Phillips, for those who don't recall, was a talented athlete with enough off-field problems that the Rams, who drafted him, kept him on a short leash before cutting him.

In a three season career (1996, 97, and 99) Phillips was cut during his second season due to his issues. He played his most in his rookie year, playing in 15 games, then was cut by St. Louis after 10 games in 1997. Was subsequently signed by Miami and was cut after two games. No one touched him in 98. In an effort to restore his image and get one more shot he played for the Barcelona Dragons in NFLE. San Francisco gave him that shot but he appeared in only eight games for the team by the Bay.

In subsequent years he spent time playing for teams in Canada, but was cut by both for insubordination.

The nature of his off-field transgressions? Multiple run ins with the law for assaulting women (including domestic abuse charges) and sometimes children. His fate? He's facing 20 years in prison after his 2006 conviction on seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

It's hard not to see Adam Jones heading for the same fate.

As Troy Brown Ponders Retirement...

I ponder Patriot games without Troy Brown...

Troy Brown has been a Patriot for 14 years. He came into the league and joined the team with former Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe. For almost a decade I have watched this man suit up for the Patriots.

He has lasted through two distinct uniform changes, played with Andre Tippett, Bruce Armstrong, and Vincent Brown, and outlasted higher Pats picks from that year in Chris Slade and Vincent Brisby. A pick in a round of the draft that no longer even exists, Brown (if he retires) will retire with the following among his career highlights (courtesy of the Patriots Web site) -

• Brown ranks first on the Patriots all-time receptions list with 557 career receptions and also places second on the franchise's receiving yardage list with 6,366 yards.


• On Nov. 27, 2005, Brown grabbed his 500th career reception in a game at Kansas City. Brown became just the second player in Patriots history to achieve the feat (Stanley Morgan).


• In 2004, Brown earned accolades for his play on defense, showing a level of versatility unmatched in recent NFL history. After injuries had taken a toll on the Patriots' secondary, he pitched in as the team's nickel back for the final nine games of the regular season and all three of the Patriots' postseason contests. The team's third all-time leading receiver finished second on the team with three interceptions in the 2004 regular season and matched his reception total with 17 tackles on defense.


• Brown became the only player in Patriots history to record a reception and an interception in the same game when he pulled the feat against Buffalo (11/14/04).


• Brown's 321 receptions from 2000-03 are the highest four-year total in Patriots history.


• Tight end Ben Coates ranks second with a four-year total of 308 (1994-97).


• Brown is the Patriots all-time leading punt returner, topping the team's all-time lists in returns (237) and yardage (2,524), and tying for the franchise record with three punt returns for touchdowns.


• Brown's 97 catches in 2002 were the second highest total in franchise history, four behind his record 101 catches in 2001.


• Brown became the first Patriot in club history to record three 80-catch seasons (97, 2002; 101, 2001; 83, 2000).


• Brown amassed a franchise-record 16 catches vs. Kansas City (9/22/02), which ranked as the most receptions in one game in the NFL in 2002. It also tied the fourth highest single game total in NFL history shared by Keenan McCardell (10/20/96), Jerry Rice (10/20/94) and Sonny Randle (11/4/62).


• Brown has amassed 13 career 100-yard receiving games during his 12-year career, and is tied for second in Patriots history behind Stanley Morgan (39).


• Brown is the Patriots all-time leading return specialist with 4,386 combined return yards. He surpassed David Meggett's previous record of 3,999 yards in 2002.


• Brown became the franchise's all-time leading punt returner in 2002, surpassing Irving Fryar's career total of 2,055 yards. He also ranks eighth among the Patriots all-time leading kick returners (1,862 yards).


• Brown has played in 162 games during his 12-year Patriots career, the most of any active Patriot. He enters the 2005 season ranked eighth on the Patriots all-time games played list.


• Brown established a franchise record with 101 receptions during the 2001 season (96 - Ben Coates, 1994).


• Brown accumulated 1,199 receiving yards in 2001, the second highest total in franchise history (1,491-Stanley Morgan, 1986).


• Brown is the Patriots all-time leading receiver in the postseason with 47 catches and 553 yards during his 15 postseason games.


• Brown returned two punts for touchdowns in 2001 (85 yards vs. Cleveland, 12/9 and 68 yards at Carolina, 1/6) and was the only player to accomplish the feat in the NFL in 2001. He became just the third Patriot to have two punt returns for touchdowns in a single season (Irving Fryar and Mike Haynes).


• Brown recorded a 55-yard punt return for a score against Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game (01/27/02). It was the first special teams return for a score in the playoffs in franchise history and was the first punt return for a score in AFC Championship game history.


• Brown's 14.2-yard punt return average in 2001 was the second-highest in franchise history, behind Mack Herron's 14.8-yard average in 1974.


• Brown caught 83 passes and accumulated 944 receiving yards during the 2000 season. His 83 receptions were the seventh-highest single-season total in franchise history.


• In the 1996 season finale against the Giants (12/21/96) he made one of the most acrobatic receptions of the season when he snared a 13-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe on third-and-13, extending a drive which led to the game-winning touchdown in a 23-22 come from- behind victory.


• Scored his first career touchdown on one of the most unusual plays of the 1995 season when he picked up a David Meggett fumble on a kick return vs. the New York Jets (12/10) and raced down the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown.
  

Not bad for a guy that was drafted in the 8th round.

With the retirement of Brown, Tedy Bruschi will become the longest tenured Patriot with 11 seasons under his belt and the only other Patriot still left from the Bill Parcells Era.
It will, to say the least, be weird to see someone else out there wearing number 80.

If we don't see you on the field next year, good luck and thank you. It's been our pleasure.

Thoughts on recent events

Corporate families...

Business owners like to talk about their businesses, their employees, as families. This is no different in professional sports where the last four months have been particularly rough for two franchises; The Denver Broncos and the Boston Celtics.

The Broncos, in the last 60 days, have lost two players (starting corner Darrent Williams, backup running back Damien Nash) under what can only be described as an unfortunate series of events and circumstances. Williams was shot in the neck as he left a New Year's party, while Nash collapsed after a charity basketball game late last week.

Neither player made it to the age of 25.

On the other end of the spectrum, almost four months ago the Celtics lost arguably the greatest coach of all-time and Hall-of-Famer when the 89-year old Red Auerbach died at the end of October. Then again this past weekend, former Celtic (and Sonic) great Dennis Johnson, one of the NBA's great all-time defenders, collapsed and died while coaching one of the NBA's developmental league teams. He was 52.

My condolences go out to both teams and the families of all.

Some thoughts as we move into free agency and past the combine...

Corey Dillon could retire or could seek a job with another team should the Patriots grant his request to be released. He has left both options open. Either way, I wish him well.

Troy Brown has been talking retirement, evidently, for a couple of months - and is still thinking it over. The general belief is that he will probably retire, but that the Patriots all-time leader in receptions is mulling coming back because the team didn't win it all this past season and that he had hoped to go out on a championship. I wouldn't be surprised to see him back next year, but would also not be surprised to hear that he had accepted a position with the Patriots somewhere in the front office.

I'd like to see tight-end Daniel Graham return to the Patriots (I think he's better and more consistent than Ben Watson), but unless a deal gets done before the free agency period beginning on March 2, I think Graham is likely to be in a Jets uniform next year.

I think Ravens Linebacker Adalius Thomas is the crown jewel of the free-agent market this year (and would have been even if Dwight Freeney and Lance Briggs don't get franchised), and the contract he gets is going to reflect that.

The NFL Network broadcast fair bits of the Combine this past weekend. Ultimately, the workouts at the combine are pointless. The usefulness of the Combine comes down to the following;

The ability for teams to meet with players and evaluate character and intelligence in so meeting.

The ability to have the player examined and to review medical histories.

The ability to meet a player in the off-season and see (via the physical) if the player has let himself go, or if he looks like he can go out and play now (gives a good idea about that off-season work ethic and drive to improve).

Useless? Getting times on the 40. Throwing drills. Bench press. Catching the football.

At least somewhat useful...maybe? Vertical leap. Route running...and that's about it.

The problem with the drills comes back to the lack of pads. None of this shit matters if the player can't do it with the armor on, and, quite frankly, if your scouts don't have the player on film doing these things, then it's useless evaluating them without the pads. The history of the draft is littered with workout warriors who helped their positioning with a good combine, but couldn't get the job done when the pads were put on.

Late last week at the combine, players from a number of teams got together for a meeting and proposed to union leader Gene Upshaw that the league adopt a "three strikes and you're out" rule as a solution to the "thug life" attitude that appears to be the hallmark of the NFL's more recent generation of players. Details are still sketchy, but the young players that are still skating through the NFL on their initial deals like the Bengals' Chris Henry, Odell Thurman, and Tennessee's Pacman Jones would likely be done with their NFL careers if this rule were already in place.

The thinking of the players is that they are sick of the masses getting lumped in with the Tank Johnsons, and Pacman Joneses who are repeat offenders, and they want to send a message to these people that playing in the NFL isn't their right - it's a privilege. This is exactly the reason that the NFL is rubber and the NBA is glue.

Rubbing the government the wrong way...

Barry is at it again. Barry Bonds is claiming he can't cooperate with MLB's steroid investigation due to his perjury case. According to the AP -

Barry Bonds and other players under suspicion of using performance enhancing drugs have been asked by Major League Baseball's lead steroids investigator to turn
over medical records and submit to interviews.
A letter urging the cooperation of Bonds and other players tied to the BALCO scandal was sent Feb. 1 by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, who is leading baseball's steroids inquiry. The letter, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday on it Web site, was accompanied by medical waiver forms that, if signed, would allow
investigators to view Bonds' and other players medical records.Members of
Congress have told Mitchell they might intervene if baseball's own investigation
is hampered by lack of player cooperation.
Bonds' lawyer Michael Rains told the Chronicle that Bonds cannot cooperate as long as he remains the focus of a possible perjury indictment. Rains did not immediately return calls from the Associated Press on Sunday night.

For the entire story, click here.

Of course this begs the questions - If Bonds did not perjure himself, then why would turning over his medical records to MLB's investigation be a problem in the Grand Jury perjury case? If the medical records were something that would clear Bonds of the perjury charge, wouldn't it be in the best interest of Bonds and his attorney to turn those over as quickly as possible?

Bonds is in no way barred from turning over his medical records to Major League Baseball, but his lawyer is counting on the ignorance of the masses to believe that as long as the perjury case is going on, that Bonds is not in a position to cooperate with the steroids investigation. That is beyond the pale. Get ready for federal involvement in MLB and steroids, round two.



Manny Ramirez has shown up for Spring Training. Big Whoop-Tee-Fucking-Do.



Don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't like having ManRam's big production numbers in the middle of that line-up, I do. I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong with my Red Sox-rooting brethren.



Jim Rice, Ted Williams, and Carl Yastrzemski, all products of the Red Sox farm system, busted their asses in left field, and got booed...quite regularly by the Fenway Faithful. But Ramirez, who's head obviously pops out of the game from time to time, occasionally plays as if he were totally disinterested, and has repeatedly asked to get out of the Boston pressure-cooker, is roundly and regularly applauded and cheered by the Sox fandom.



That's just wrong. He needs to be held to a higher standard by the fandom, and boo-fucking-hoo if he doesn't like it.

Dillon Hangs 'Em Up

He admits that it might not be a done deal but, as of now, Patriots powerback Corey Dillon says that his NFL career is...well, a done deal, according to a report in the Boston Globe. The former Bengal and sometime Patriot leaves the game as 14th on the all-time list in rushing yardage. No small feat when you consider that his first seven seasons were spent on a Bengals team that went 34-78 during his tenure (and on which he was the only legitimate threat for most of his time in Cincy) and did not make the playoffs.

By contrast, in the three seasons he spent on the Patriots, he was on a team that won 36 games, went to the playoffs all three seasons and won a Super Bowl ring.

You might not like him, he was often truculent with the media, but if you couldn't watch him and appreciate his power and style of play, you probably aren't a true football fan (I hated the Bears growing up, but damn, if Walter Payton wasn't one of the most impressive things to watch on that field...).

Hope the man enjoys his retirement - and thanks for 2004 - that was one hell of a season.

Wish I had written this

Yes...just another case of Manny being Manny...

Stupid is as Stupid Does...

Titans trouble child Adam "Pacman" Jones is in the news again. Evidently Pacman was at a strip club in Las Vegas while attending this past weekend's NBA All-Star activities. The evening, of course, ended with three people being shot, including one of the club's bouncers.

Jones's lawyer claims that Jones is not a suspect, however LV police said they were not at liberty to comment at this time. Jones story is that he left the club as soon as there were problems and that he answered police queries solely as a witness, not a suspect.

NFL.com's Adam Shefter reported a somewhat different story -

PACMAN DETAILS EMERGE
The Pacman Jones story is mysterious, intriguing and unnerving, all at the same time.
Like most stories, this one has two sides, and maybe more. On one side, there is some evidence against Jones, who was involved in a nightclub brawl in Las Vegas that turned into a triple shooting.
Police have been told Pacman bit the ankle of one of the two bouncers who was shot. Also, police took DNA evidence that some think could implicate Pacman. Additionally, the bouncer in question had Pacman in an armlock on stage, seen by at least a dozen witnesses.
The bouncer continued telling Pacman to settle down. When he didn't, the bouncer popped Pacman's shoulder out. Witnesses said Pacman appeared to be experiencing pain in his shoulder as he exited the club.
But what those in attendance didn't know is that Pacman underwent surgery on his shoulder about 10 days ago, and the armlock could have done nothing more than aggravate his injury.
On another side of the story, Pacman claims that, even though he was at the scene, he did nothing wrong. He has cooperated with authorities, answered their questions and believes he has done nothing wrong -- which he feels will be proven over time.
But clearly, the last of this story has not been told.

There is a certain benefit of the doubt, I have to say, that Jones is no longer entitled to. Whenever he goes to a club, it seems, trouble doesn't follow him - it's his date.

Thug life and the NBA -

I read an article not too long ago that asked why the NBA got such a bad rap when NFL teams like the Bengals have so many issues - and the NFL seems to skate by without consequence.

Overall, the players tend to have fewer legal issues in the NBA - but you're also looking at a roster that's 20 percent the size of an NFL roster. Many of the big names in the NBA have had issues with the law - Ron Artest (assault), Gilbert Arenas (unlawful possession of a firearm), Allen Iverson (drug possession, unlawful possession of firearm, assault), Jason Kidd (domestic abuse), the list goes on - while in the NFL you only occasionally hear about run ins involving the biggest names (Ray Lewis, Michael "Ron Mexico" Vick, and Randy Moss come to mind), but the majority of big name players are people like Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Carson Palmer, Steve McNair, Curtis Martin - and these are the people that at one time or another have been the face of their franchise.

Additionally, the NFL has never had this sort of thing happen. Crime spiked significantly over the All-Star weekend. If Stern is trying to disassociate basketball from "thug-life," then he's losing the war.

Weight...still holding steady at around 179. Am trying to increase the intensity of my workouts and starting up with speed training to get ready for Aussie Rules season. I figure if I can drop another 12 to 15 pounds between now and mid-April I will be considerably faster and have better endurance for the games, and I'll be the lightest I will have been since college. Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi.

And on a lighter note - my new part time gig? I'm the Maryland columnist for the Mid-Atlantic Brewing News. Nothing like getting paid to go to the bar.

That first question has been answered...partially

Today the Chargers announced that Norv Turner will replace Marty Shottenheimer as the head coach. Is it just me, or is that like announcing that you just replaced your Mustang with a Gremlin?

Cleaning out the cobwebs of the mind...

What are the biggest off-season questions in the NFL? I'm not sure - but I think we're looking at...

Who will take over the Chargers, and will they be the same next year? I'm betting that they'll be good, but not the same.

What does Randy Moss think that being a petulant trouble-maker of a child will get him in the NFL? He has killed his trade value, and most scouts seem to think he's too far gone to be the play maker he once was. I'm sure somebody will take a flyer on him - talent always gets a second chance, but he needs to understand that his next chance is probably his last.

Can Ben Roethlesberger resurrect his career? Honestly, I was never that sold on him to begin with.

Same with Eli Manning who spent the better part of last season regressing.

What does the Patriots brain-trust feel is the biggest problem to address in free-agency? I have been reading a lot of pre-draft about the Pats drafting a line-backer in order to infuse the position with some youth, but that hasn't been Belichick's way. Sure, they have drafted five or six during his time, but none have stuck. They like to convert defensive ends or bring in veterans. My bet is that they make a hard run at Adalius Thomas of the Ravens.

Can the Colts repeat? I think there are going to be too many key free agent losses due to the fact that they have a lot of players going to free agency and not anywhere near enough cap-room to keep them (for example, I have a hunch Dominick Rhodes will be on another team come training camp). They'll make the playoffs, but I would be surprised if they made it all the way to the Super Bowl.

Which coaching change this off-season is most likely to result in a Sean Payton-Saints/Eric Mangini-Jets type of season? I'm guessing the Arizona hiring of Ken Wisenhunt - providing he can straighten out the offensive line woes. Cam Cameron has too may questions at line, quarterback and running back, Mike Tomlin is coming to a team that played .500 ball as opposed to the Cardinals .312. Bobby Petrino also enters a better situation than Wisenhunt, although I believe he Cameron, and Wade Phillips in Dallas are the most likely to backslide by a game or two before showing any signs of improvement.

Trouble in Paradise -

Mariano Rivera is lobbying for a new contract from Boss Hog in New York and the greatest closer in Yankee history is not likely to get it. If there's truth to the rumors that the Yanks are positioning themselves to pursue Francisco Rodriguez in the next off-season, then Mo should be ready to follow up on his threat to play anywhere.

With a starting rotation likely to consist of Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, Chien-Ming Wang, Carl Pavano and whoever they can plug in, Brian Cashman has to be sweating a little. Pettitte and Mussina are near the end of their careers, Pavano hasn't been healthy since Montreal and their ace looks like it might be Wang. Not exactly a front four that will put the fear of the baseball gods into most of the American League.

Basketball and the Rainbow Connection -

Tim Hardaway is an idiot. If he wants to be homo-phobic, fine. I don't even mind that he's upfront about it. Hell, I'll be the first to defend his right to be a bigot. But advocating somebody lose their job due to their sexual preference (which he did) is no better than advocating that they lose their job based on their skin color. Way to set the Civil Rights movement back by about 50 years.

For those of you that missed the report, here's a snippet from the AP story -

"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people
and I don't like to be around gay people," Hardaway said. "I'm homophobic. I
don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United
States."
Hardaway also said if he did find out that a teammate was gay, he
would ask for the player to be removed from the team.
"His words pollute the
atmosphere," Amaechi said. "It creates an atmosphere that allows young gays and
lesbians to be harassed in school, creates an atmosphere where in 33 states you
can lose your job and where anti-gay and lesbian issues are used for political
gain," Amaechi said.
Meanwhile, the NBA banished Hardaway from all-star
weekend in Las Vegas because of his anti-gay remarks.
Hardaway, who played in
five all-star games during the 1990s, was already in Las Vegas and scheduled to
make a series of public appearances this week on behalf of the league.
"It is
inappropriate for him to be representing us given the disparity between his
views and ours," Stern said.