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TOP STORIES - JANUARY 21, 2006 Get 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!  HEARD THIS JOKE BEFORE??? Thought Bob Uecker quit getting invites to the Tonight show quite a while ago. But there he was in the chair, along with previous guest Dennis Miller, giving us two announcers that tried to run ABC Sports into the ground.. Not much I haven't heard over the last 35 years already - the Cardinals gave him a nice bonus for simply staying clear away from the stadium during the '64 World Series, allowing yet another bad future commentator to work behind the plate. Uke says he also got a stipend from Rawlings for NOT endorsing their products. Miller was rolling off the couch, funny I wasn't laughing that hard, guess he hasn't listened to many Brewers broadcasts as of late. Just glad to see the old man between during the winter months. By the way, I've got Uke's mock obit on file, have to make sure not to pull a CNN and let that one slip on-line prematurely.CUBA FINALLY ALLOWED IN BASEBALL FESTIVUS: Speaking of Dead Pool favorites, Fidel Castro got in some great blasts this week suggesting that the U.S. was scared to invite Cuba into the World Baseball Classic. Say what you want, at least Fidel doesn't hide in a spiderhole with just the occasional audio message. U.S. Government, as expected, changes course and allows the Cubans to compete, after some nudges from outside forces, including the International Olympic Committee who suggested that it might be a good idea to allow Cuba to play, especially if Chicago wants that 2016 Olympic berth. The Games in Chicago - great, does terrorism hit the Milwaukee Transit System the day after that baby is awarded??? KENDRA DAVIS DAY 4: Interesting material on Badjocks. I know it's only one still, but Kendra Davis is out of her chair in the face of Mr. Rogaine, who seems to be calmly in his seat. And apparently this isn't Kendra's first time at the rodeo, it's said that there was an exchange between Kendra and Latrell Sprewell a few years back. Now I could never see Sprewell getting into it with a paying customer - oh, that's right, he yelled 'SUCK MY D*CK' at someone in the Staples Center last year.  GETTING OLD MAN!!! You thought Jeff Reardon had aged?? You are looking live at Bruce Sutter (not his dad) upon getting word on election into the Hall of Fame. Wasn't it just yesterday that Bruce Sutter was closing out the World Series, not to mention the All-Star game practically every year??? I know it was his 13th year of eligibility, but the dude's gotten ancient!!! Incidentally, since retiring, Sutter has had nine surgeries, three on his shoulder, three on his knee, two on the back (one recently), and one on his elbow. Sounds like the post-career of an NFL QB, not a late-inning specialist. On the bright side, Sutter is still alive, unlike Dan Quisenberry, another top 1980's closer. Now someone just tell me how Robin Yount hasn't seemed to age a day since breaking in with the Brewers??? He must have the Dick Clark anti-aging formula. BULLS FAN FIGHTING BACK: Michael Axelrod joined Steve Bartman in the ranks of infamous Chicago sports fans Wednesday night. The bad news for Antonio Davis is that Axelrod isn't about to go into Osama Bin Laden-like hiding anytime soon. In fact Axelrod is planning on suing Antonio and Kendra Davis for slander in Cook County Circuit Court, although the 22-year old (who almost looks as old as Bruce Sutter) adds that a public apology would go a long way towards resolving the issue. Axelrod contends he was not intoxicated (as contended by Antonio Davis), and that Kendra Davis was cursing not only at Axelrod, but also to other fans in the area. Also, Axelrod was allowed back in the seating area in time to see Ben Gordon's game winning shot, an indication that security felt in fact that the fan was not in the wrong. REACT: Not to make snap judgements, but notice a trend of family members of players for opposing teams (see Clinton Portis) getting in trouble. I remember Mike Alstott's parents once showing up for a game at Lambeau Field discreetly (Mr. Alstott wore a generic NFL cap) and sitting in the last row, some of these people should take a cue from that. AXELROD ADD: Michael Axelrod is a graduate of Beloit College and works for his father, prominent Democratic political consultant in Chicago who has worked with Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.LAST WEEKEND'S TV RATNGS: REDSKINS V. SEAHAWKS: 17.5, PATRIOTS V. BRONCOS: 18.2, STEELERS V. COLTS: 21.7, PANTHERS V. BEARS: 21.2, FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS: 4.7 CHIEFS PLAYER ARRESTED: Didn't know Kansas City had this many bars. Cornerback Greg Wesley arrested after threatening a bouncer who wouldn't let him in a bar. It is said that Wesley wasn't allowed in the club because he had previously 'been banned from the business'. Wesley was arrested at another establishment minutes later. Wesley was one of the Kansas City players who got into trouble in separate incidents following a pre-season game in Minneapolis last August. MARSHALL FOOTBALL PLAYER ARRESTED: 1,000 yard rusher allegedly tried to steal PlayStation 2 from another student. Is that worth the risk?? It wasn't like it was a X-Box 360 or anything. NHL STEROID BUST: Bryan Berard suspended two years from international competiiton for failing a pre-Olympic drug test. The suspension does not affect his NHL playing status. Berard is the only known positive test out of about 100 Olympic candidates who were tested.  PETE MORELLI'S HOUSE STONED: With a name like that you'd think he lives somewhere in Jersey, but it turns out he's in northern California. No matter, plenty of Steeler fans live there too, and a rock came flying through his living room window just after 10 PM on Monday. According to police, there is no way to determine whether the incident had anything to do with his NFL job, or his job as a school principal. I say a bogus instant replay reversal is far more likely to set someone off than a three-day suspension from school. It is said that Morelli also got several threatening phone calls this week. These guys are getting worse than Packer fans.CUBAN BASEBALL CRISIS??? Fidel Castro suggests that the U.S. 'doesn't want to compete' with Cuba. Meanwhile the International Baseball Federation says they will not sanction the World Baseball Classic if Cuba is not allowed to compete. NBA PLAYER GOES INTO THE STANDS: Smack in the middle of a time-out during overtime, New York Knick Antonio Davis jumps over the scorers table into the tenth row. Early reports indicate that the 37-year old Davis thought that someone in his family 'was being threatened'. Davis played two years with the Bulls before being traded to New York just before the start of this season. Ironically Knicks coach Larry Brown was with the Pistons last year when the infamous Ron Artest brawl broke out. A side note, Davis happens to be president of the NBA Players Association. COLTS GM THROWS O-LINE UNDER THE BUS: And we don't mean Jerome Bettis. Appearing on a New York sports radio show, GM Bill Polian says Peyton Manning was not the problem and that he only deals 'in reality'. MORE TROUBLE FOR RALPH SAMPSON: Already to be sentenced for failing to pay over $300,000 in child support, now former basketball star has been indicted on charges of lying about his finances to obtain court-appointed counsel in the federal case. STEELERS FAN HAS CORONARY OVER BETTIS FUMBLE: Fan credits firefighters for saving his life after collapsing at bar seconds after near disastrous play. Says he's going to take it easy and watch Sunday's game at home. DAMON ALLEN CRITIQUES RETURN: Providing better analysis than his brother, CFL legend says Nick Harper would had scored had he just cut (no pun intended) to the outside. REAPER GETS ANOTHER ONE: Not a good month for those who used to be L.A Ram home run receiving threats, as Ron Jessie dies at age 57. In addition to his 11 years in the NFL, Jessie was also once an indoor long-jump champion. MORE REAPER: Mother of top NFL prospect Haloti Ngata dead at 44. Ngata's father was killed in a truck accident in 2002.RE-RAISE: Off-duty police office shoots two over poker game dispute in suburban Orlando home. It's said the officer and a buddy wanted in but wanted to pay only $20 when the buy-in was $100. Someone should had told them the kiddie game was down the street. Here's the location in case you're in the area and actully do have $100 to get in sometime. RELATED: Cops crack down on underground poker activity nationwide.DAWG POUND: UGA baller needs $13,000 to get out on bond after being charged with theft, DUI, underage possession of alcohol and giving false information. CANADIAN TEAM INTERESTED IN MARCUS VICK??? Sounds like Marcus Vick to R.J. Soward could win a few CFL fantasy leagues next year.  BROWNS FAN TAKES ANOTHER HIT: Fan who ran on the field during 41-0 loss to Pittsburgh sentenced to three days in jail - during Super Bowl weekend, where he won't be able to watch or listen to the game. Fan is also banned from attending Browns games at home or on the road for the next five years (how to they enforce that??). An earlier report had the fan being banned from Cleveland Browns Stadium for life. Maybe he should consider relocating and becoming a Raider fan. The only shocker from this incident is that someone other than Troy Polamalu made the tackle.MLB v. CDM HEADING TO FEDERAL COURT: The headline kind of overstates things just a little. In a lawsuit that they say could affect the pastime of an estimated 16 million people, CBC Distribution and Marketing (CDM Fantasy Sports) is trying to stop Major League Baseball from requiring a license to use 'historical data' such as player statistics. Last year MLB took over the rights to the statistics and profiles from the Major League Baseball Players Association, then issued licenses to most companies that had previously been running fantasy baseball contests, but not to CDM - who continued to operate fantasy baseball games. Before the shift, the players' association was getting 9 percent cut of royalties. MLB's $50 million agreement with the players' association gave baseball exclusive rights to license statistics. Keith Olbermann provided some interesting analysis on the battle during the Dan Patrick show today, noting that if baseball were to win this case, they could theoretically require a license from media outlets simply just to give the score of the games. MY TAKE: This isn't the 'future' of fantasy sports at stake, it sounds like MLB has a beef on CDM. The criticism in the past is that CDM's games border too much into the realm of gambling. In the late 1990's the company fought against legislation that would had made internet fantasy contests illegal. SEAHAWK LEGAL SPAT: A second player who was involved in this weekend's NFL playoff has been involved in a domestic incident, and for the second time this year a Seattle player has gotten himself into trouble after a home game just hours earlier. Starting tackle Sean Locklear is being held without bail pending his initial court appearance. Seattle police were investigating an unrelated incident about 1 a.m. Sunday when told that a man was assaulting a woman nearby. Police said the two involved were Locklear and a woman identified as his girlfriend. According to the police report, the woman said she and Locklear had been at a billiard parlor when Locklear grew angry because she was dancing with another man. The status of the third-year player for this Sunday's NFC Championship game is unknown at this time. JOEY PORTER CITES CONSPIRACY: That old Diego Maradona line about the mafia existing even in sports comes to mind. Steelers linebacker is convinced Troy Palomalu's interception was overturned because the league Illimunati's wanted Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl - 'I know they wanted Indy to win this game. The whole world loves Peyton Manning, but come on man, don't take the game away from us. I felt they were cheating us. When the interception happened, everybody in the world knew that was an interception. Don't cheat us that bad. When they did that, they really want Peyton Manning and these guys to win the Super Bowl. They are just going to straight take it for them. I felt that they were like 'We don't even care if you know we're cheating. We're cheating for them.'' Porter then adds that he was relieved the game didn't go into overtime because in his words 'they would have cheated us in overtime.' No doubt Joey will be fined heavily, but that doesn't mean he's not right. BRONCOS NEW FAVORITES??? Vegas says they would be favored over Carolina or Seattle in the Super Bowl. Now for my take. While Denver fans should be rightfully happy that they are at home instead of going to Indy, I have a feeling they're going to fall this week. First, I know the Steelers only play 11 men on defense, but I'm convinced at least six are named Troy Polamalu. And then there's the Steelers 1-4 Championship game record over the last 11 years, all of which have come at home. My feeling is that in some strange way, being on the road this time around (and not being expected to win) is actually going to be of benefit. Then there's the QB matchup, Plummer or Roethlisberger, I give Roeth a slight advantage in that hand, although Tatum Bell/Mike Anderson gets a slight advantage over Willie Parker/Jerome Bettis - I say Steelers 27-24. Also, when does Jake Delhomme and the Carolina Panthers (my pre-season Super Bowl pick) finally get some respect?? Only problem is DeShaun Foster broke his ankle and Julius Peppers is also dinged - have to take Seattle by about 10 there. I'll be pulling for Seattle-Denver just to have a Holmgren/Shanahan re-dux. REPLAY CONTROVERSY: I'll say it one more time, I could live happily without replay in the NFL. Kind of like a second chance to screw things up in case they got it right the first time. Bert Emanuel was one thing (the league simply didn't want a Tennessee-Tampa Bay Super Bowl), the Tuck Rule was another (Walt Coleman made that one up), but had Indy won yesterday and one of the millions of Steeler fans living in America (trust me, there's some near you) would be finding Pete Morelli's home and phone #. That was so bad you have to wonder if Morelli had a 'vested interest' somehow, that's like when Earl Hebner takes ten seconds to count to two and a half. Coleman had his own moment later on in the day reversing what would had been a Carolina defensive touchdown. INDY COLT STARTS AFTER DOMESTIC SPAT: Cornerback Nick Harper's knee cut in apparent domestic disturbance. Wife charged with battery with a deadly weapon and criminal recklessness according to the sherriff. Harper was arrested just last June on a domestic battery charge after police said he hit his wife. In the game, Harper nearly pulled one of the biggest turnarounds in NFL history, as he recovered a late Jerome Bettis fumble and appeared headed for a 95-yard TD return before Ben Roethlisberger saved the game getting him by his shoestring. FEBRUARY 3, 2003: Peyton Manning in sideline interview at the Pro Bowl: 'Here we are, I'm out at my third Pro Bowl, I'm about to go in and throw a touchdown to Jerry Rice, we're honoring the Hall of Fame, and we're talking about our idiot kicker who got liquored up and ran his mouth off. The sad thing is, he's a good kicker. He's a good kicker. But he's an idiot. When I get home, I'll deal with it. If he is still a teammate, we'll deal with it. That remains to be seen.' MLB OBIT: Paul Lindblad, 64, has had Alzheimer's since 1993 and had spent the last nine years in nursing homes. Lindblad pitched for the A's among other teams in a career that spanned from 1965-1978. Lindblad retired as a member of the '78 Champion Yankees, the third World Series winning team he pitched for in his career. HOWARD DAVID CAREER CHANGE #58: Leaves his morning sports talk gig in suburban New York, I meant Miami. In the last decade, Howard has done the Dolphins and Jets, along with numerous national assignments including Super Bowls, as well as the Bucks and Celtics in the NBA. |
2003 NFL DRAFT PROFILES
