Busy day in Jacksonville, let’s get ready to rumble, who needs the NCAA or BCS. All this, and more in this weeks edition of
Does anyone really know their friends anymore?? Here is a man, Bernie Fine, who has been accused by 3 people of being molested; then you have a man, Jim Boeheim, who has know Bernie for over 40 years sticking up for him because of the friendship they have secured over the years. It just goes to show that no matter how long you may know someone, you really never know them.
What about Bernie’s wife? Did you hear/or read the transcript of the taped conversation between Bobbie Davis and Laurie Fine? What is not being mentioned is that in a brief interview Feb. 10, 2003, Laurie Fine acknowledged she had the conversation with Davis, confirmed portions of the tape were accurate, but suggested Davis had created a phony tape.
What would you do if your Bernie?
Urban Meyer is now the head coach of Ohio State after spending a year away from college football. He left a very high profile, high stress job with the Florida Gators. He left the Gators citing medical/health concerns, stress and being with the family. Now he is going into the fire cooker by going to Ohio State. He must have made a remarkable turnaround.
I like to think he left the Gators because he didn’t want to tarnish his won/loss percentage which was starting to take a hit in the 2010 season, when Florida went 8-5 with an un-Meyer like .615. He also knew what he had going into the 2011 season as evidence by the Gators 6-6 record.
CFL legions Joe Kapp (on the left of the video) and Angelo Mosca get into a fight on stage at the 2011 CFL Alumni Legends Luncheon in Vancouver. It appears there is still some Bad blood between these two after a controversial hit on the field nearly 48 years ago. Joe was attempting to make piece with Mosca when all hell broke loose. Joe Kapp was a former B.C. Lions quarterback and Angelo Mosca was a Hamilton Tiger-Cats defensive linemen in the game.
The bad blood between Kapp and Mosca goes back 48 years from Hamilton's 21-10 win over B.C. in the 1963 Grey Cup. In that game, Mosca delivered a controversial hit on Lions running back Willie Fleming, knocking Fleming out of the game.
Does the NCAA have any control over their teams or the BCS? The NCAA should be the “clearing house” for all movement to another conference. If a team wants to move to another conference they submit it to the NCAA for approval and they will decide when it is to happen.
Make all conferences eligible for the BCS or Championship game.
As for the BCS, its okay for the computers and humans to come up with the polls, but I am getting sick and tired of teams who are undefeated not getting their fair shot at the National Title. I don’t care if they don’t have an automatic bid, that was done to prevent non-power conferences from having a legitimate shot at a title.
Today was the second most historic day in Jacksonville Jaguar, the first being Jacksonville selected as an NFL city. But today was a grab bag of items for the 30th team in the NFL.
General Manager Gene Smith was signed to a 3-year contract extension.
Coach Jack Del Rio was fired Tuesday. Everyone expected Del Rio to be let go at the end of the season. Defensive Coordinator, Mel Tucker will take over the Jaguars. Del Rio coached 9 seasons and had a 68-71 record. Jacksonville hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2007. Jack is only the 2nd coach in Jaguar history. He replaced Tom Coughlin who coached 8 years and was 68-60. Del Rio never was able to take the team to the “next level’ as the owner of the Jaguars Wayne Weaver said Del Rio would do.
Speaking of Wayne Weaver, he announced that the Jaguars were sold to Shahid Kahn, an Illinois businessman. The 77-year-old Weaver had been looking for an "exit strategy" for years, wanting to find someone to buy the team and keep it in Jacksonville. He had tears in his eyes several times as he announced his impending departure. "It's the right thing at the right time and for the right reasons," Weaver said. Forbes reported the sale to be worth $760 million. Kahn, born in Pakistan, left home at age 16 to attend the University of Illinois. He graduated in 1971, a year after he started working for Flex-N-Gate Corp. in Urbana, Ill. He purchased the company in 1980. Today, Flex-N-Gate is a major manufacturer of bumper systems for pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles built in North America.
The stupidest commercial on television, the past two months has got to be Nike’s “Basketball Never Stops.” Did Nike forget there was a NBA stoppage??
Some people go out of their way to propose. Listen to what the band leader says at the end.
A trumpet player (Eric Meunier) proposes to his girlfriend of 7 years (Ashley Chalmers) in front of thousands of people at the famed University of Wisconsin-Madison Varsity Band Concert in the Kohl Center.
Well, Thanksgiving has passed so now the mad Christmas rush starts...It's bad enough that stores had Christmas stuff out before Halloween, but now the crazy starts strong...Like all the nut-jobs obsessed with all the deals they can get on Black Friday...I saw this picture, and I had to use it...
I haven't been the biggest supporter of the Occupy Wall Street movement...Mainly because there was no real leadership, or focus...I got what some of the people were talking about, but it was overshadowed too much by the ass-hats that kept getting camera time...But the picture says a lot...The Occupy people were shit on for what they did...Probably by many of these fuck-stains that act like lunatics on Black Friday...Fuck that, I'd rather pat full price, or get a good Christmas Eve sale!
Now before I get into any Sports shit...Here is my REVIEW of an over-hyped, shitty, Grilled Cheese joint...What fucking assholes!
So now we move on to sports...Saturday was the big Ohio State vs. Michigan game...No I don't say Meeeeeeeechigan...I hate them, but that just looks, and sounds stupid when people do that...Now, I also hate Ohio State so I didn't really care about the game...And this year's game just wasn't as hyped as in years past, with OSU having a down year and Michigan getting themselves back on track...So I took the baby for a walk, and then we took a nap...We woke up with a minute and change left in the game...The Buckeyes lost for the first time in 7 years, or something like that...
After that I jumped online and started seeing the tweets and facebook updates...Buckeye fan blowing it off like it was no big deal...Listing their excuses why they lost...Neglecting to list that the big reason that caused so many of those small reasons was that Coach Tressel let his players break NCAA rules, tried to hide it and lied about it, and brought down a proud program in a matter of months...But Buckeye fan doesn't care...They are blogging, and tweeting, and talking about how Urban Meyer is coming to Columbus to save them...
The same Urban Meyer who had a large number of players at Florida get busted for breaking NCAA rules...The same Urban Meyer who quit twice in one year because of health reasons, and wanted to spend time with his family...So it's rumored Ohio State is throwing a huge 7 year deal at him...I wonder if he'll actually make it through that contract...Don't get me wrong, Meyer was a great coach...If you look what he did before Florida, you can see that...He made BGSU a MAC power, then he turned Utah around, and made Alex Smith a first round draft pick...But OSU fan, I see him doing one of two things...Getting your program in more trouble, or quitting in 4 years after being run down again...Oh, and of course, he actually has to take the job...So far, everything has just been speculation...
And don't give me shit for be critical of your damn teams...If you've read me before you know I'm just as honest and critical of my teams...Not all of us go through life with rose colored glasses...So with that, The Notre Dame Fighting Irish went to Stanford to take on Andrew Luck and company...And in the first half, they looked like shit...I thought it was going to be a blow out...Then coach Kelly got that stiff QB Tommy Rees out of there, and put Freshman QB Andrew Hendrix in...Hendrix is perfect for Kelly's spread offense...He runs like Tebow, but he has a fucking cannon for an arm...
Hendrix, along with help from the defense got the Irish back in the game...They lost 28-14, but at least they kept it respectable...
Sunday we put up our Christmas tree, and broke out some decorations...The kids were fired up about it...In the background, The Cleveland Browns were searching out another way to lose a game...Holy shit these receivers drop a lot of passes! Then with less then 2 minutes left...The Browns can take the lead with a field goal...And for the second time in 3 weeks, Butch Davis' best draft pick, long snapper, Ryan Pontbriand fucked up the snap, and Phil Dawson missed the kick...Dude use to be a clutch kicker, and now his snapper is choking and he's pushing kicks wide...Unreal!
Then the Patriots kicked the shit out of "The Dream Team" from Philly...The Eagles looked so bad, those animals in Philly are calling for Andy Reid's big fat head...What took you idiots so long...Fucking guy is grossly overrated...Oh, and as a father he produces quality kids...You know, those two drug dealing sons of his...What? Too Soon? Fuck you! Fuck him! and Fuck his criminal sons! You know what, fuck his wife and her criminal producing gash too!
Speaking of Philly shit heads...The Rangers and Flyers had a warm up for their Winter Classic match up...Lundqvist threw a shutout, and of course some punches were thrown too...
Oh, did you see the Broncos won again? That's right, the lord and savior, Tim Tebow has gotten another win under his belt...Sure, he didn't play defense...Sure he didn't play special teams, but he sure as shit is going to get all the credit from the ass-hats on ESPN and the NFL Network, and from radio talking heads...'Fucking Tebow wins another game, put his ass in the Hall of Fame!'
I know, I'm so negative...So I'll close on a positive...I tweeted a link to this video on Thanksgiving, saying how thankful I am for this little girl...I'm thankful for all my kids, and my wife, and family and friends...But she was singled out, because she was unexpected, and to be honest, for a few minutes when I first found out she was on the way, I didn't want her...Now, I can't imagine my life without her...I can't believe she's almost a year old...
Did Urban Meyer take the easy way out?? Is God a Bret Favre fan?? Congrats to the Beeze!! Congrats to George Karl! Are Jets Cheaters?? Down with the Dome?? Yankees swing and miss on a nasty curve.
Congratulations go out to Mr and Mrs. Beeze on the birth of their daughter Molly Kathleen.
The Gator nation was jolted last week with the sudden resignation of Urban Meyer. Urban was 64-15 in his 6 seasons in Gainesville. While Meyer’s says its to be with his family, I think it was for another reason. He was sticking up for his offensive coordinator, Steve Addazio. Gator fans were vocal about the crappy offense. They wanted the head of Addazio. Since Steve has taken over the offense has gone south for the winter. It started in Tim Tebow’s last year with the team and has continued this year. Urban has been steadfast that Addazio was going to be his offensive coordinator next year and he would not fire him. I think the only way to save face was to resign.
George Karl got his 1,000 win as coach. He is the 7th coach to reach that milestone. Don Nelson, Lenny Wilkens, Pat Riley, Jerry Sloan, Phil Jackson, and Larry Brown are the others to reach 1,000 wins. The more amazing thing is that Karl has battled prostate cancer in 2005 and had neck and throat cancer this year.
The original rules of the NBA, a 119 year old document written by James Naismith, was sold for $4.3 million dollars. Naismith wrote the 13 rules, the original rules of basketball, as a sport for boys of a YMCA in Massachusetts. The money was raised for the Naismith Foundation, a charity which promotes sportsmanship and provides services to underprivileged children around the world.
God has to be a Bret Favre fan as the Minnesota Vikings game against the New York Giants was moved from the Metrodome to Detroit’s Ford Field due to the collapse of the Dome. It looked as if Bret was going to snap his consecutive games played streak by sitting out because of shoulder problems. Now it looks like he will play because of an additional 36 hours of rest.
But wait. Stop the presses!! Could this be the blessing in disguise that the Vikings are looking for to get a new Stadium?? Divine intervention?? Who knows.
Just when you think you have seen it all in the NFL, out comes the Jets Sal Alosi, the strength and conditioning coach. Apparently Alosi tripped, with his knee, Miami cornerback Nolan Carroll as he ran out of bound during a punt coverage. Maybe Sal was doing knee exercises. For those that don’t know Nolan Carroll is the son of future Lieutenant Governor elect for the state of Florida.
Nice curve ball thrown by Cliff Lee. His signing to the Phillies makes them the frontrunner to the National League Pennant and possible World Series. Its not the end of the world for the Yankees. There are other options. They can get a free agent pitcher like Bonderman or via trades for, Josh Johnson, Grienke, or Felix Hernandez.
For all you non-Yankee fans they still will make the playoffs.
Pictures by: NBA Rules - AP/Babeto Matthews, Brett Favre - eworldpost.com, Urban Meyer - kaboommagazine.com, George Karl - sandiegonewsnet.org, Cliff Lee - waitingfornextyear.com
Don’t feel too much angst for fans of Florida Gators football this morning. Urban Meyer’s sudden resignation leaves the program without one of the bright minds of the past decade, but Florida can hand-pick a successor from the same coaching orchard.
Such is life in the upper echelon of college football, which for the recent past has resided in places such as Gainesville, Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Los Angeles, Baton Rouge, La.; and Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Those are the places where guaranteed you can compete for a national championship with the proper personnel, philosophy and right coaching blend. Not so in Starkville, Miss., where fans could be the real loser in the latest Meyer two-step.
Mississippi State is not a last stop on the coaching carousel, unless like Jackie Sherrill you are on the way down from the mountaintop. It remains a stepping stone job, one of maybe just three or four in the Southeastern Conference, where elsewhere those other factors remain in place for a national championship run.
Top-notch facilities, strong recruiting base and deep-pocketed boosters are not the norm in Starkville, and therefore Bulldog fans are vulnerable this morning as their head coach Dan Mullen is mentioned by every media outlet this side of the Azores as the successor to Meyer.
The reasons for the connection are obvious, as most readers know, not in the least that Mullin was able to turn around a stagnant situation at Mississippi State in just two seasons and has the Bulldogs 8-4 and in the Gator Bowl. Pity the longtime supporters of MSU football if he is courted and decides to leave, because not only is it nigh impossible for the Bulldogs to compete annually against the elite of the SEC, it is especially so when the big sister comes home for the holidays and decides to steal away the boyfriend of loyal little sis.
Florida is the loser only in the short run, and barely so had Meyer stayed on and attempted to right the ship with a fractured focus. It will be the same at Texas when Mack Brown decides to retire and the next gunslinger comes in to mine the talent-rich prep field in that state. And at USC, when the Trojans thank Lane Kiffin for guiding them through probation, then tell him he might want to look into the vacancy at New Mexico State.
The winners in this Meyer sequel will be any coach who can get a richer contract commitment from Hometown U lest he suddenly be smitten by the Gators’ advances, exponentially so if mentioned for both the vacancies at Florida and Miami, and of course those folks in Tallahassee who for the first time in ages can sit back smugly and watch the drama unfold.
Florida State has been remarkably free of controversy this season, which means five starters probably will be dismissed prior to the Peach Bowl matchup on New Year’s Eve. Barring that occurrence, a program that boasts wins over both Florida and Miami for the first time since 1999 has no excuses for not harvesting the ripest crop of instate stars from the Class of 2011.
Which is precisely what the Seminoles need, perhaps for the next two or three years, to return to the conversation when it comes to winning national championships.
Okay folks. Last week Mr. Rant and Rave wanted to predict who would win Major League Baseball Awards (yeah like he knew what he was talking about). What’s the insane one going to talk about this week?? Peek if you dare….
Do you notice that, as many times as you might proof read your blog, before you post it, there always seems to be an arror, oops error.
Well now it is official. The Sports Blog Nation Website is officially closed.
Urban Meyer is a Hypocrite!! WR Chris Rainey was arrested mid-September for sending threatening text messages (Time to die) and aggravated stalking his girl friend. Meyer kind of led people to believe there would be no way Rainey would ever be allowed to rejoin the Gators, because he did not like people harming women. Apparently a three game losing streak has Meyer changing his heart. Rainey has been allowed to practice with the Gators and will probably play against the Bulldogs.
I am against players who hold out for more money after they have signed long term contracts simply because they had one or two good season and feel underpaid.
I’m for players getting a negotiated base salary for a predetermined number of years with a pay by merit for athletes. If you have a good season you get a pay raise, if you have a lousy season, you get a 10% pay decrease. Come on, its only fair right????
I don’t think any rookie, in any sport, should be paid more than a veteran player regardless of superstar “potential.”
Maybe the NBA should fine the NBA Players Union for whining about the Technical Fouls for whining. The new NBA Logo is:
If Bobby Cox (2,504-2001 15 Division Titles, 5 National League Titles, 1 World Series) and Tony LaRussa (2,638-2,293, 13 Division Titles, 5 League Titles, 2 World Series) are Hall of Fame worthy isn’t Cito Gaston (894-837 4 Division Titles, 2 American League Titles, 2 World Series) worthy??
Come to think of it, why are sports reporters saying Jim Leyland is a Hall of Fame Manager. He has a losing record and has “only” won one World Series.
Vancouver Canucks Center Rick Rypien was suspended for pushing a fan in the stands. He has been suspended indefinitely pending a hearing. His is the clip:
I think he will be suspended for 10 games. The fan didn’t throw anything at him or even hit him. All the fan did was yell out him, probably calling him names. Big deal. Come to think of it where was security to protect the players and the fans???
Brett Favre and Randy Moss were made for each other. They, in their own way, have BIG EGO’s. One (Brett) is a Drama Queen and the other thinks the team is out to get him because he doesn’t always get the ball.
Speaking of Brett (not that I really want to), but he seems to be in the news again for all the wrong reasons. Seems he has the “Hots” for a former game-day worker from the Jets. Racy messages and photos were sent to Jenn Sterger. Also two female massage therapists who worked part-time for the Jets were also pursued by Favre. He was asked about this by a reporter and "I'm not getting into that. I've got my hands full with the Jets and am trying to get some timing down with our guys, so that's all I'm going to discuss." I bet Brett was really wishing he had his hands full of the women. What a sly dog he is. Just a reminder Favre, is 41, and his wife, Deanna, have been married 14 years. He became a grandfather in the spring.
Here is a picture of Jenn:
Now a picture of Deanna Favre:
Jenn Sterger does look like a younger Deanna Favre. Doesn’t she???
Pictures by: Bleacher Report (Chris Rainey), Thunder Treats (Urban Meyer), West TN Discount Computer Repair ($$), Comic Vs Audience (NBA logo), Armchair GM (Bobby Cox), Rockford Register Star (Tony LaRussa), Fan Nation (Cito Gaston), Chatterbox (Brett Favre), Just North of South (Randy Moss), Mlive (Jim Leyland)
