Hey Gabbers. It's Wednesday, but this time it means we're that much closer to a 3-day weekend and the start of college football season. The high school football season is underway. My guys lost a heart breaker 34-27 last week. We had the tying touchdown in our grasp. We were on the 20 heading into the end zone. The guys in the booth called a pass. The linemen blocked it perfectly. The pass came out clean and then proceeded to bounce off the receiver's face mask. That was all she wrote.

The other team got the ball and kneeled to run out the clock. I then had one of my jv kids ask me what the other team was doing. I thought this was the Madden generation. How have they never seen this scenario? I can only guess this particular kid wasn't very good at the game and hope that he learns more from myself and the other coaches.

Speaking of football, it seams that the 18 game schedule so many people are rooting for may be a possible reason for an NFL strike. Many players are against the idea of adding games. They argue that for a player who plays 9 seasons in the league, an 18 game season adds the equivalent of 2 extra seasons to their career. They are also unsure of what health risks might come up. Of course, owners are for it as it will help line their pockets. They are, however, at odds as to how much they should share with the players. Their plan: dole out pittance.

As per usual, the fans are forgotten. ESPN"s outside the lines has asked for fans to leave comments and voice mails at their site. I can sum mine up.

Onto something a bit more light, USA basketball is on a roll. Kevin Durant and the squad are 3-0 having narrowly beaten Brazil. They've done it with some flash, which makes a few talking heads nervous. They might be cutting things a little too close to showboat, but that's how the game is played anymore. It doesn't phase me too much. The first Dream Team put on a show. This happened...

Guys like to show off. It might be "disrespectful", but the game has evolved into a spectacle. It's not enough to just win anymore. you have to have some flair. I'm not saying i condone it, but I think i get it. You can't take the show out of the game. So long as they win, why not let them play?

Lastly this week, it looks like everything that's old in news again. Three controversial figures we thought were gone have come back. Kimbo Slice is back. He's figured out he doesn't have the stamina or training to make it in the octagon. Maybe Toney should have figured out that he was doomed after watching Slice. Either way, a boxing promoter has decided that it would be a good business move to bring Slice to the boxing ring. Seems like a good move. He doesn't have to move as much and he can benefit from his big punch ability. Good luck on the new move.

Maurice Clarrett has resurfaced too. Now, Clarrett has been in the news after he re-enrolled at OSU. Great move on his part. Now, Clarrett has decided to return to football with the UFL. He's signed with the Omaha Nighthawks. He had to get permission from a judge due to his past legal troubles, but hopefully this goes well. Its an interesting draw for the UFL.

Finally, our friend Plexico Burris was not so lucky with the judges this past week. Plex wanted a work release so that he could join a team this season. That plead fell on deaf ears. It looks like Plex will have to serve his full sentence. Good. Maybe it will put some sense into his head. Maybe he'll be more grateful next time and play the game without the stupidity.

Well, that's it for me. Hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend and gets out there to enjoy the tail end of summer. Get ready for some college football. Also, I hope Jeff's boy has a great game this week. That goes for any other proud poppa out there. Thanks for coming by and for any comments.

Oh hey Gabbers. I have to admit I know little to nothing about TSN, aside from the fact that we used to subscribe to the magazine back when I was younger, but I'd like to welcome any new faces to the fold. I got my start here not half a year ago. I gotta say that we've got an accepting group here. Say what you feel, what you want.

On to breaking news: It's ok. You can say what you want about Matt Leinart. After Monday's embarrassing showing against the Titans and college foe Vince Young, many were quick to point out the trouble that Leinart now finds himself in. In fact, Leinart was asked after the game how he felt things were going. He went ahead and gave us all permission to comment on his career.

I think this sums it up...

Slap hands! God that reminds me of the Water Boy.

Speaking of pros embarrassing themselves, I'm getting worried about the Haynesworth situation. This is a player-coach debacle the likes of which we've never seen, at least not publicly. This time, I'm worried it's a sign of things to come. From what I've seen of youth football, they're all a bunch of Fat Alberts. I have guys with phantom injuries all day. They all think they're the best and don't need practice. Even the tiniest bit of conditioning sets their mouths to wagging. Their sense of entitlement, however, may be worst of all.

Now Haynesworth has ben an established started in the NFL for a number of years now. He's had a few good years, including one close enough to his contract deadline to earn him about $100 million. No one, however, gets to come in out of shape anymore. Conditioning during camp was really only used when players had to work during the off season. Haynesworth and his ilk are paid in the millions so that they have no need to work during the off season. This frees them up to keep themselves into some kind of shape. there are "voluntary" team work outs soon before camp, but most teams assume that they're players will come in after a summer of work outs, diets, and cardio.

Hopefully, Shannahan will stand firm on his stance. Haynesworth came in out of shape. He wasn't prepared to come in and play. It was a rookie mistake. Moreover, kids see Haynesworth and Favre waltzing into camp and into starting spots with no consequences and question whether they need to.

Charles Barkley famously said that he wasn't a role model. Many quickly pointed out to Sir Charles that, like it or not, kids paid attention to him and imitated his actions. Pro athletes are more visible than ever. Men like Haynesworth need to realize this and come to work. I know it's unrealistic, even idealistic, but I'd love to see fewer stories like this dominate the air waves.

Also on the airwaves, Colin Cowherd (yeah...that guy who debates who has better abs between the situation and Tim Tebow on Sportsnation) came out and accused Cliff Lee of quitting against the Orioles. Who accuses Lee of quitting? This guy just chews up innings for his team, whichever one it might be that week, and he's usually fairly dominant. Maybe the Orioles are just clicking under their new manager. They've had the talent, people who know baseball would see that. ESPN talking heads would not even know there was a team in Baltimore.

Cowherd claims an unnamed source told him that Lee hates Texas (despite Texas being a strong playoff contender) and wants to go to the Yankees. Cowherd claimed on the show that: "He doesn't care about Baltimore. He doesn't care about Texas. When he pitches against elite teams, he is showcasing his talent. 'Here I am. I still got it.' . . . against the Orioles, he mails it in."  Lee has challenged cowherd to name his source or admit that he was lying.

I get that the show is opinion based show, kinda like our site here. We don't name sources, but then we don't claim to be a journalistic site. ESPN has news in the name. Even if you wouldn't know it by watching, they are a news site and unless they have a disclaimer before the show warning viewers that anything Cowherd says is opinion. He shouldn't claim sources when he gives an opinion, or if he does and is challenged he should be able to silence his doubters.

Ok, I have to preface my finale with a bit of a disclaimer. I am not a country music fan. My girlfriend is. Also, we do get CMT with our cable package. So, my mom found a video by Kenny Chesney called the Boys of Fall. This video really nails the football experience. I heard the speeches, the lyrics and saw the old footage and it took me right back to the field. Everything in it just rings true to me. So, in the spirit of the upcoming football season, I hope everyone enjoys and has a great weekend.

Oh hey, Gabbers. I don't know about you guys, but I found last week to be a great week for sports. So much good baseball being played. Some great players and teams were inducted into the basketball hall of fame. The NFL preseason got under way. Clausen and Tebow looked good. The Lion's lost, which is odd cause we rule the pre-season. Jeff Backus continued his reign of being the biggest fraud on our offensive line. I don't know how he gets people to think he's a good blocker. I really don't. He got bowled over by James Harrison and to make it worse, he was called for tripping on the play. I understand that he's a bit older and might've lost a step, but a lot of my freshmen take bull rushes better.

Here is a small sample of what I get to see each week. He takes out perennial back-up QB Drew Stanton here. The guy recording this says it all here.

Outside of my personal displeasure with Backus, however, last week was a good week in sports. The teams and the games themselves spoke for themselves. There were few look at me moments. The individuals blended together and all was as it should be.

Until this week.

A few old favorites came out of the wood work to take their place in the spot light. Again. Looks like Favre is coming back after all. Odds are if you turn on ESPN right now, they have a new update for ya. Tiger Woods is back, even though he hasn't actively put himself out there. A lot of fans, golf experts, and a, ummm, I guess we can call him a reporter still have been questioning whether Woods will earn a spot on the Ryder Cup team. Honestly, i would imagine Tiger would welcome some downtime. He's had a tough year. He could use the time to get his head right again.

Of course this all pails in comparison to Lebron and his angst ridden media blitz. He came out and told the world that he is keeping a list of those who dissed him. After his recent interview with GQ, I guess his English teachers must have been on that list. Lebron showed off that quality education he got at St. Vincent's by uttering gems like this: " Me and my family have seen the character of that man." Imagine being a copy editor trying to clean quotes up for this guy.

It seemed like Lebron was just starting to turn things around, too. He'd become active in charity events. He'd taken out a full page ad in the Akron Beacon Journal to thank the fans and was set to pay for a similar ad in the Cleveland Plains Dealer.

Then the GQ piece comes along. I have a few pet peeves with this. It kinda confirms everyone who has come out and labeled you as egotistical and spoiled. To begin with, you refer to yourself as Lebron.  "I don't think he ever cared about LeBron." How about this: "I don't think he ever cared about me." gets the same message across without the weirdness. Or, go full blown self-absorbtion:  "Lebron doesn't think he ever cared about Lebron."

Then he goes and says the fans got spoiled. Really? By all those whiffs in the playoffs? By watching you get swept by the Spurs that one year? By your recent playoff performances v. the Magic and Celtics?  "But I mean, even my family gets spoiled at times watching me doing things that I do, on and off the court." Tell me you wouldn't take a wooden spoon to your child if they uttered something like this around you. At least he didn't go A Roid and make out with his mirror image.

Meanwhile, this week has seen an affirmation of the merits of a guy you don't hear a lot from. Jim Thome has reached 580 HR and is pulling closer to Mark McGwire on the all time home run list. Now Thome has always had a huge bat, but I for one was a bit surprised to hear he had made it this far. He has hit the 10th most career home runs in the history of the game. He only needs to hit 3 more to catch Big Mac. I have watched Thome hammer my Tigers for a long time, but his all time numbers still caught me by surprised. He's just such a quiet guy. Not exactly the type of guy who's going to get a lot of media buzz.

I gotta give props to Thome here. I hope he has at least 20 left in the tank. It'd be great to have another solid character, clean guy in the 600 HR club.

Well, that's all I've got for the week. My freshmen (and the 4-5 sophomores who managed to make the grades) have a scrimmage this week. I'm hoping some live scrimmage action will help some of my lineman over come their aversion to hitting. Until next week, thanks for the read and feel free to sound off below.

Interesting news here in Detroit: We might get to keep our Pistons and transition to another good owner in the process. To bad the old and new hate each other. Mike Ilitch has come out and told the people of Michigan that he is willing to buy the Detroit Pistons (as well as the Palace Of Auburn Hills and a few local entertainment venues) from the family of former owner Bill Davidson. Ilitch and Davidson have been rivals in the entertainment business for years. While Ilitch made most of his money with Little Ceasar, he was able to acquire the Fox Theater and start his own entertainment company, Olympia Entertainment. The Davidson's have their own entertainment group, Palace Sports and Entertainment. Naturally, that hasn't made the families close.

Forbes magazine estimates the value of the franchise at $450 million. Ilitch says he doesn't want to see Michigan loose such an important franchise. Of course, this move would give Ilitch a Detroit sports empire. It would also quiet rumors of the Pistons moving to Las Vegas. Unfortunately for Fan, it does fan rumors of a Sacramento Kings move to Vegas.

Speaking of moving, I have heard a lot of chatter about Europe's increasing role in American sports. The NFL has already begun playing one game in London each year. The NBA has announced that they will play two games in London this year, though their choice of sending the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets is rather confusing. One would expect that if you wanted to show of your product you would try to get the best teams, not the worst.

Even more odd are rumors of shuffling around big events in sports. People have conjectured that a possible London Super Bowl could be in the works. There are rumors, and have been for some time, of NBA expansion into Europe. What I don't understand is how this will work and what, if any, improvements this brings to the game.

The NFL has tried to transplant American football into Europe with the NFL Europe. The league was recently shut down and was run more of a farm system for NFL teams. For Americans, it was refreshing to have a spring/summer football league, even if it boosted second tier talent. Europeans, however, never caught the idea. In 2006, the league's season was cut short due to the World Cup. The tournament needed several of the stadiums in Germany, but it was also clearly more important to the populous. The league officially closed in 2007. Notable players from the league include kicker David Akers, James Harrison, Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme, Jon Kitna, and Dante Hall.

The Super Bowl is already a shred of what it started as, as far as football is concerned. It's more of a status symbol and a party than a sporting event. Either way, the idea of moving our biggest game to London is unsettling. Football is uniquely American. The rest of the world may watch, but it is unfair to remove the product from the fans who helped catapult the game to its current level.

Basketball, on the other hand, is already popular worldwide. In fact, other countries have beaten the United States in recent years as the "Dream Teams" only seem to become more lackluster. I would be fine with an NBA Europe league, but to suggest that the NBA should have teams travel to Europe and vice versa is a joke. I know it is easy to travel the Atlantic, but the idea of doing so on a regular basis to expand a league that is already faltering in the eyes of many in the country of origin is fool hardy. The league has many more important issues with the game as it stands here in the Us to consider such expansion.

The MLS All Star game has also fueled ideas of other all star games being played with more of an international flair. The low ratings of the MLB All Star Game have lead some to consider changing the format from the traditional AL v NL to one of America v the world. I would say we have that event: the World Baseball Classic.

Though I disagree with the importance placed on the league rivalry by the game counting for home field advantage, I still like the tradition of it all. Baseball is a game built on tradition, legacy, and its stories. If you put the best players from both leagues on one field, you're going to get an entertaining show. It was great to see the NL outfielders celebrating their victory this year. It's still great to watch the old highlights and see Pete Rose charge right into home in an exhibition. Everyone still gets a chuckle out of seeing John Kruk stand mortified as Randy Johnson blazed fastballs past him.

Some things in baseball are pure. Some things need to change. In my opinion, the all star game is not one of them.

That's it for me this week. Thanks as always for reading. Get ready to enjoy some exhibition football this week. The MLB will be entertaining as teams continue to battle it out in divisional races. Lastof and his Sox are set to battle the Twins for the AL Central. I hope everyone is read for a great weekend of sports.

Can you smell the fall coming? It's about that time guys. High school football camps start right here in Michigan next week. I am excited to be able to help my old high school as an assistant on the JV team. We have equipment check out and player testing this week. Awesome stuff.

This is probably the best volunteer gig I've had thus far. Last year, they put me in charge of the o-line. I also got a look at what kind of kids I might have. Had a lot of good players, but also had a few who didn't come to practice because it was too cold. I've never heard anyone say that before. Gotta hope that the new guys are a hardier bunch. I'd also like to encourage you folks to get involved in youth sports if you can. Ask Beeze, it can be rewarding. A big thanks to anyone out there who has been involved as well.

Speaking of the kids, I found a product out their that was so asinine, I had to bring it to the Gab.

They call this Cuponk. If it reminds you of baby smokes a lot, I guess it should. Seems like toy execs have found a new imitative behavior for the kids: beer pong. I'll admit, I've played beer pong. I never got it though. I was always more of a sit and sip drinker. When my partner got mad that I had to drink, I didn't get that much either. I wanted to drink.

There's a lot of unattractive aspects of this game. First, the ping pong ball rolls on the ground bringing all sorts of crud into your beer. Remember how awesome that last party was? good news, now you can taste it. Second, people expect you to share your beer so that they can play. In the circles I travel this is almost a death sentence. Bring your own.

But why bring a college tradition to the way underclassmen? I don't know. Kids have enough pushed on them before they need to see it. I realize most will know about beer pong by high school and some maybe earlier, but why sell them practice tools? I hope people reconsider before they invent chocolate milk bongs.

Looks like people have finally came out to talk about how terribly ball park food sanitation is. Is anyone surprised? This was as predictable as that jack ass who ate nothing but McDonnald's for a few months and got all kinds of health problems. We get it! It's bad for you and probably not handled with the outmost care. We've all barbecued. Things get on your grill. Things might land on your food. It happens and we eat it anyways in most cases. Out door cooking has risks. What they really need to talk about are the prices. I was more surprised that so many people could afford stadium food.

Anyone feel sorry for Minnesota? They decided to coddle old man Favre and lost out on a few choice QBs in the process. Honestly, I don't think it's true. The Vikes, however, have no right to complain. They let themselves get here. Why do they think the Pack gave up after a few years? It gets old. It keeps the franchise frozen in place. Without Favre, you guys are back in the middle of the NFC North pack. Way to repeat history, Vikes.

That's it for me this week. Hope you guys enjoy and thanks for any comments and discussion I might spark here. Just in case your wondering, ARod is still on 599 and ESPN is still the only population that cares. Have a great week.