 TIPS APPRECIATED!!! |
  |
|
TOP STORIES - JANUARY 1, 2006  FROM NFLDRAFT06.COM: 2005 ROOKIE REPORT CARDGet your NFL football tickets now at TickCo. They have all team Cardinals tickets, Cowboys tickets, Packers tickets, Colts tickets, Patriots tickets, Titans tickets and more. Get your Super Bowl tickets here! WILD CARD WEEKEND...  WASHINGTON (OR DALLAS) AT TAMPA BAY 4:30 PM ET 1/7 JACKSONVILLE AT NEW ENGLAND 8 PM ET 1/7 CAROLINA AT NY GIANTS 1 PM ET 1/8 PITTSBURGH AT CINCINNATI 4:30 PM ET 1/8FLUTIE DID IT!!! Some time ago it was decided that extra points and field goals would be better attempted by actuall snapping the ball back to the holder. But Doug Flutie went old school DROP KICKING an extra point in the Patriots loss to Miami. I think you can do that in Madden by hitting the A button, right thumbstick, and left trigger all at the same time. It is the NFL's first sucessful drop kick since the 1941 NFL Championship Game - no, Flutie was not yet being recruited by BC.  MAURICE CLARETT WANTED!!! If you had this for a 2006 prediction you didn't have to wait long. You knew this would be the next Clarett headline considering how his football career was going. For instance, the Packers lost about 90 running backs and called up the likes of Sam Gado and Noah Herron, who wouldn't had been qualified to carry Mo's jock three years ago. Now we hear Mo is wanted for alledgedly using a gun to rob two people in an alley behind a bar. SPEAKING OF DISGRACED COLLEGE RUNNING BACKS: Interesting piece this week on ESPN, where they had the current USC squad playing various teams from the past. One of the installments had SC playing the 1995 Cornhuskers, with Grant Wistrom and Tommie Frazier prominently shown, along with Lawrence Phillips and who I believed to be Ahman Green (#30). Fowler, Herbstriet, and Mark May then have a roundtable comparing the teams. After talking about the stifling defense and Frazier, May then talks about the Huskers great breakaway runner who he generically identifies only as '#1'. I guess Phillips' name doesn't even deserve mention these days in May's eyes. May said '95 Nebraska would win while Herbstriet went with the '05 Trojans. All I know is that SC does have to play the 2005 Texas Longhorns Wednesday night.POST-GAME BRAWL!!! Larry Coker claims two of his players were knocked uncounscious in post-game fistacuffs after Miami's 40-3 loss to LSU. PEACH BOWL ADD: Actually it will no longer be the Peach Bowl. That's right, the training wheels are coming off and the game will now be simply known as the Chick-fil-A Bowl, or perhaps simply the Chick Bowl for short. Don't know exactly what Chick-fil-A is, guess it's a fast food chain like Sonic or Waffle House that simply doesn't venture north. OLYMPIC COACH IN SEXUAL HARASSMENT SCANDAL: As the various U.S. Olympic teams make their final preparations for the Turin Games, skeleton coach Tim Nardiello has been placed on administrative leave amidst reports that he sexually harassed at least two female sliders. 2002 Olympic gold medalist Tristan Gale and longtime slider Felicia Canfield claim Nardiello have made sexual advances and explicit comments toward other female racers, according to the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. Nardiello, a two-time luge Olympian and married father of three who has denied the allegations - it should also be known that neither Gale or Canfield will participate in the Winter Games.  PAPADAKIS RESTAURANT SUBJECT OF NCAA INVESTIGATION: John Papadakis routinely hosts recruiting dinners at his Greek restaurant in San Pedro, and supposedly urges would-be recruits to become a Trojan. The USC compliance office was alerted after the Fort Worth Star-Telegram questioned whether infractions had been committed. This comes after a story appeared online this week regarding Papadakis' influence on USC recruiting. According to NCAA by-laws, only coaches permitted to recruit off campus may contact prospects off campus. John Papadakis is regularly seen on the sideline at Trojan games and was tight-lipped when contacted by the media on the subject. LAKER FAN FEELING YOU!!! Here's a good prediction for 2006, Kobe Bryant goes bezerk and gets a lengthy suspension from the NBA. Here's a quick recap: of the past week in Laker-land, which was once the place to be for Hollywood. Lamar Odom gets sucked into the trash-talking of former Laker Gary Payton during a nationally televised contest. After getting decked earlier in the game, Bryant delivers a vicious shot to the throat of Memphis' Mike Miller, drawing a two-game suspension. New York Post reports that people sitting near the Lakers bench were 'flabbergasted' at things Kobe screamed at his teammates during a game this week. Bryant got in a 'major confrontation' with Odom following a game, accusing Lamar of not making a pick that would had allowed Bryant an open look at a potential game-tying three pointer. Bryant then supposedly smashed up some TV equipment in a Ron Artest-rage afterwards. Kobe has since denied the story.And then there are the reports that Artest himself could be coming to the Lakers, let's see, Ron and Kobe - the San Andreas may finally give way after a few days of that - as they say in the promos, this is why we watch!!! JACK SNOW CRITICAL: Former Rams receiver and long-time radio analyst has been out of the broadcast booth for over a month with a staph infection. It is not known how Snow got the infection, most common among those who live in close proximity to other - which can include sports teams. There was an incident in 2003 when five members of the Rams and 2-3 members of the visiting San Francisco 49ers came down with an infection after a game. Snow has been a fixture in the Rams organization ever since being drafted out of Notre Dame in 1965. COACHES CRITICALLY INJURED IN CAR WRECK: Winona St. football, volleyball coaches expected to recover.  THAT'S A BUNCH OF MULARKEY!!! Guess Detroit isn't the only stadium where anti-coach/GM signs are not tolerated, as security with the speed of 4.5 linebackers confiscate banners, T-shirts, and even paper bags calling for the ouster of Buffalo coach Mike Mularkey and team president Tom Donahoe during the Bills nationally televised December 17th game. Posted stadium policy dictates reads that signs are not permitted if they are 'deemed by management to be inappropriate'. Says one angry fan, 'Just because the management and coaching is awful, where do they get off violating our First Amendment right to freedom of speech???'BOWL BIFF: I clearly blew it on picking Georgia Tech and laying a huge 8½, as Georgia Tech was disinterested playing on the left coast while Utah was happy to be playing somewhere this year other than Memphis, or even worse - Las Vegas. I did redeem myself later on when Oklahoma hangs on to beat Oregon, who were still too busy whining about getting the shaft from the BCS. HOLLYWOOD HOPS ONTO USC BANDWAGON: Sideline fixtures include Snoop Dog, Henry Winkler, Nick Lachey, Kirsten Dunst, Will Ferrell, LeVar Burton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Dr. Dre, Andre 3000, Luke Walton - wait, LUKE DOESN'T HAVE A SIDELINE PASS!!! Seriously though, I remember not too long ago when the Coliseum was half full and stray German Shepherds were running onto the field during games.INDIANA DOESN'T WANT HIM: Lakers and T-Wolves among rumored teams where Ron Artest may be headed to, as a complicated three-team deal would most likely have to be worked out to match salary figures. And no, don't look for him to land in Milwaukee - Pacers aren't trading in the division for one. SEMINOLE LINEBACKER SUSPENDED: Leading tackler A.J. Nicholson was suspended and questioned by police after a 19-year-old woman accused him of sexually assaulting her. Nicholson, a senior, has started every game the past two seasons and led the Garnet and Gold this year with 100 tackles. CRAZIER THAN 'THE PLAY'??? Cal-Stanford 1982 would had been outdone had Michigan managed to score after eight laterals on the final play v. Nebraska Wednesday night. Bill Callahan gets splashed and the team swarms the field thinking the final tackle had been made, but Michigan makes it's way down to the Cornhusker 13 before the ballcarrier was finally shoved out of bounds.  FROZEN TUNDRA SHELVES PREMIER LEAGUE!?!? Below-ground heating systems fail, and fields frosted over turning solid like a rock - what would be called a Chamber of Commerce day at Lambeau Field causes the cancellation of three Premier League Soccer games due to what's being called one of the most brutal cold snaps in the history of Britain. What??? They don't want elements to play a role in the game??? In America this would be an instant classic for NFL Films. Would someone dare head a ball that feels like a brick??? Would someone take a dive on what feels like cold cement to draw a penalty??? What's the worst that can happen - a 0-0 tie??? Isn't that what usually happens anyways. Britons just better pray that Jet Stream never stops.2-0 WEDNESDAY!!! You would had thought you could book a 25 point ATS lead in the fourth quarter, but Boise St. comes within five yards of not only covering, but winning the damn game. There was no such drama in the Alamo Bowl as Nebraska +10 in a de-facto home game was easy pickings, as the Huskers 'upset' Michigan outright. More picks for the rest of the bowl season in Degenerate Central.  CEO CLOWNS BOSTON COLLEGE STAR: BC came into Wednesday's Humanitarian Bowl fuming out the ears after they felt that the pre-game banquet turned into a 'rally' for hometown mid-major Boise State. A number of players were especially incensed when the CEO of game sponsor MPC Computers made fun of the name of star BC defensive lineman Mathias Kiwanuka, noting that no one in Boston or Boise knew how to prounouce it. Kiwi would had been excused for stepping up to the podium at giving the Jerome Brown 'Did the Japanese have dinner with Pearl Harbor before they bombed it' speech, but he has too much class. Incidentally, Kiwanuka's grandfather was once president of Uganda before being capped by Idi Amin's regime, maybe Mr. Computer CEO also thinks that's amsuing. JEROME BROWN ADD: Incredible irony concerning the banquet leading up to the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. Minutes after JB led his team in walking out with his Pearl Harbor line, Penn St. punter John Bruno walked up to the podium and said 'Didn't the Japanese lose that
war?' Penn St. would go on to beat Miami and claim the undisputed National Championship. Most people know that Jerome Brown went on to become a pro-bowler with the Philadelphia Eagles before being killed in a car accident in 1992. What isn't as well known was Bruno also passed away that same year from cancer, both Bruno and Brown were 27 at the time. GREAT TV COMMERCIAL!! You may remember a spot from earlier this year which payed homage to Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run, with a gimpy sandlot softball player going deep with Vin Scully's voice in the background. The follow-up features the audio from Doug Flutie's 1984 Hail Mary, as a quarterback goes deep and finds his receiver through a sea of hands in a pick-up touch football game. The announcer in that famous radio call was then-BC play-by-play man Dan 'The Duke' Davis, who is better known nationally for the sports updates he does during the Dan Patrick show on ESPN radio. It is said that when Davis plays in charity golf outings and gets one close, fans in the gallary start shouting 'HE DID IT, DAVIS DID IT!!!' Nearly as memorable as the final play was Bernie Kosar's conversation with coach Jimmie Johnson which was picked up on a CBS microphone, where the normally mild-mannered Kosar exclaims 'LET'S RUN IT RIGHT UP THE *#@*!'N MIDDLE!!!' Moments later Melvin Bratton scored and Brent Musberger commented 'Bernie called it'.JIM BATES NEW PACKER COACH??? Chicago paper reports team already has successor in line should Sherman be cut loose. MORA: 'I'M NOT LIKE DAD!!!' Falcons coach insists 'I have great control of my emotions,' adding that he is unfairly judged by those seeking to link his emotional displays with those of his father. 'I think part of that comes from the fact I share my last name with my dad, who's got famous sound bites. So everyone is always looking for one, looking for one, looking for one. So you know what? There hasn't been any. That's the problem. You get a penalty for yelling at an official and everyone wants to make a big deal out of it. Every coach in this league yells at officials.' Mora drew a rare 15-yard penalty while berating officials last week in Chicago and is also under fire for using a cell phone late in overtime in Tampa trying to find out what the implications of a tie game would had been. The league supposedly bans cell phone use fearing coaches would use them to determine whether to challenge an instant replay call. Come on Jim, just say it once - YOUR TEAM DIDN'T DO DIDDLY!!! BAD BEAT TUESDAY: Fresh off Nevada blowing a ten point lead then not covering when the opposing kicker misses an extra point in overtime comes this, Clemson scores a late touchdown, but misses their extra point leaving the final 19-10 over Colorado in a game where Clemson went off at -9½. And someone tell please tell me beforehand that Rutgers was fired up while Arizona St. didn't care and that half their team was sick. To their credit the Sun Devils rallied for a 45-40 win but still not enough to cover a spread that shrunk from 13 to 8 in recent days. CHAD JOHNSON BLUFF: Didn't I tell you he wasn't going to let a wild deer loose on the field - couldn't you imagine that thing freaking out??? After scoring on Saturday, Chad pulls out a bag and throws autographed AFC North Champion T-shirts and hats into the stands. Meanwhile the Bengals fell to the Bills in a survivor pool shocker.   FROM CLOSER TO THIEF??? Look at the before and after pictures, here's what the future holds. Now 50 years old, Jeff Reardon, once baseball's all-time saves leader, has been arrested on an armed robbery charge in Florida. Reardon walked into a mall jewelry store and handed an employee a note saying he had a gun and the store was being robbed, according to police. Reardon was arrested without incident minutes later and was unarmed. According to his attorney, Reardon had a 20-year old son who died from a drug overdose two years ago and was taking medication for depression, and also underwent an angioplasty last week. According to police, Reardon cited the medication for causing his actions. The lawyer added that the incident was completely uncharacteristic for Reardon, and that he asked that he 'apologize to all his fans and friends'. The lawyer adds that Reardon, who made $11.5 million in his career, was not having financial problems.THE KIDDIE GAME IS DOWN THE STREET!!! Raided poker game held in suburban D.C. was so big police said it could well have been in Las Vegas. 60 people each forking a $300 buy-in showed up at the home of a president of a satellite company, who also plays in professional poker tournaments. More than a dozen officers raided the house and interviewed each player twice. The homeowner and an off-duty police officer acting as a sentry have been arrested in the case. Says a police spokesperson, 'The house was taking a cut of the money being played. We don't have gambling rights like Nevada does.' |
2003 NFL DRAFT PROFILES
NEW 
