Pepper On Sports

 

 

No, Dolphins running back Reggie Bush didn’t buy Bentleys or Escalades (those are so 2001, I know) for his teammates on the offensive line;  Instead, Bush bought the big men who helped him record the best statistical season of his NFL career something out of the ordinary: the environmentally friendly yet semi-nerdy Segway PT.

Each lineman received a Segway (worth around $6,000 each, according to NFL.com) as a token of Bush’s appreciation for the role they played in helping him log his first +1,000-yard rushing season since entering the league in 2006.  After winning a Super Bowl with the Saints in New Orleans two seasons ago, Bush, in his first season with the Dolphins, notched 1,086 yards and six touchdowns rushing and 296 yards and one touchdown receiving through 15 games.  Bush will not play in the Dolphins season finale against the Jets on Sunday. 

Here’s the gift-giving play-by-play (the two photos he posted with the tweets are pictured above, left and right), care of Bush’s twitter account:

@reggie_bush: Just bought the whole offensive Line Segways!!!! I think they like them!
 
@reggie_bush: They are riding around the parking lot like little kids in a candy store! LMAO!
 
@reggie_bush:  Direct Quote from the O Line: “This is the coolest gift I’ve ever received!” Mission Complete!

While the Dolphins won’t make the playoffs, finishing the season with at least five wins (with the possibility of a sixth) is somewhat of a pleasant surprise after Miami’s 0-7 start.  If you recall, Bush was the center of controversy after comments he made following the Denver Bronco’s 18-15 OT comeback victory over the Dolphins (who led 15-0 in the fourth quarter), handing Miami it’s sixth consecutive loss.  After his team got Tebow’d, Bush said, “Right now, this team stinks,” which made for a dicey locker room situation after several of his teammates publicly expressed their displeasure with his comments. 

Bush went on to defend his “stinky” statement, saying, “I do stink. We all stink. When it comes to 0-6, everybody stinks. We’ve all, in some way, shape or form have not been good enough, and that’s what I meant with those comments.  I don’t care if it’s the front desk secretary—she ain’t doing a good enough job. Everybody’s in this thing together.”

Apparently, Bush’s tough love motivational approach seemed to work, but on a one-week delay.  The Fins lost one more game after the Denver debacle but then rattled off three straight W’s.

Perhaps Reggie was right at the end of the day, and now he and his offensive lineman can ride off into the offseason sunset together…on Segways. 

          

Thank you Twitter, thank you.

Oregon Ducks running back Kenjon Barner posted the hilarious picture above featuring Barner (right) sitting next to teammate LaMichael James on the ride Space Mountain from the team’s visit to Disneyland on Dec. 27. 

The caption accompanying the tweet read, ” @KBDeuce4: Damn lol space mountain do somerhings to u”

The ride certainly did something to James’ face as the fearless-on-the-field playmaker looks terrified in the classic photo!  I rode Space Mountain a few months back, and while I thought it was pretty awesome, it could definitely scare someone who isn’t an experienced roller coaster rider, so I can’t fault James for his raisin-like facial scrunch. 

Typically it’s everyone else who is afraid of the 5-foot-9, 195-pound 2010 Heisman finalist who is averaging 149.6 rush yards per game this season.  The Wisconsin Badgers have the tall task of shutting James and his fellow Ducks down in the upcoming Rose Bowl game on Dec. 2.  Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema told the L.A. Times that James is a player who “makes something out of nothing.” 

Also making something out of nothing, the girl sitting in the third row on the right, clearly striking a pose for the camera, cool as a cucumber and perhaps inadvertently finding fifteen minutes of twitter fame. 

Gary Klein of the L.A. Times wrote it best:

“Regardless, he already has an enduring keepsake of the 2012 Rose Bowl.  And he’s not afraid to admit it.  ‘I have to say the picture,’ he said. ‘It’s probably going to be the most memorable thing ever.’”  Love it. 

           

Not only will he not play against No. 13 Michigan in Tuesday’s BCS Sugar Bowl, but Virginia Tech spared little expense when sending its senior kicker Tyler Weiss home to Roanoke on a bus.  Yes, 833 miles on a bus.  OUCH.

What did the young fellow do to deserve a one-way ticket out of Crescent City? He was nowhere to be found when a coach came to his hotel room for 1:00 a.m. bed check Thursday morning. 

What exactly was Weiss doing in lieu of being tucked in on time?  We don’t know, but whatever it was clearly didn’t qualify as appropriate, otherwise I’m sure the coaches would’ve cut him some slack had he a legitimate excuse for missing curfew. 

Perhaps he wasn’t living it up on Bourbon Street, but I kind of hope he was, because whatever he was doing better have been worth missing the final game of his collegiate career.

As for the Hokies kicking game, this Weiss kid was the backup until being promoted last week when Cody Journell, the starting kicker was suspended following an arrest.  Why was Journell arrested you ask?  Only for a felony stemming from an alleged home invasion of a Hokie basketball player!

From roanoke.com, Journell and two others are, “accused of entering the house of Dorenzo Hudson and Sean Allen with a weapon [gun], with the intent to commit larceny, assault and battery, or another felony, according to warrants… the three showed up at Hudson and Allen’s residence last night because they said Allen [the resident] stole marijuana from Dunton [one of the three suspects],” according to the website’s reporting based on court testimony.

Clearly, the backup kicker Weiss, who missed the only field goal he attempted this season (a 29-yarder)  has nothing on Journell, either on the field or on a rap sheet.

Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer told the Associated Press, “My kickers are not bad guys. They just made bad decisions. And young people do that.”

Not sure if you qualify as a good guy after attempting an armed robbery inside someone’s home over drugs, but perhaps I’m just being judgmental. 

Anyway, the 11th-ranked (BCS) Hokies are now left with kickoff specialist Justin Myer to be responsible for putting points on the board.  Myer missed his only two attempts of the season, but they weren’t gimmes at 57 and 53 yards.  Coach Beamer told the AP that his punter Michael Branthover and a redshirt freshman Conor Goulding could earn a shot at the kicking gig during practices leading up to the big game.

 

Before the Celtics’ first victory of the season on Friday night, there was plenty of panic running up and down Causeway Street as Boston began the season with an 0-3 slump.  Meanwhile a familiar foe was going through a similar situation out west as the Lakers lost their first two games of the season causing folks to practically crown the Clippers as the new kings of Los Angeles hoops. 

Both Celtics and Lakers were missing a star player, not to mention a number of other factors contributing to their slow starts, so working with a sample size of less than five games, is it really fair to freak out just yet? 

Yes and no. 

CELTICS

No, because when you are missing a team captain in one case, and a starting center in another, the expectations should be lowered substantially.  Yes, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said there would be no excuses for his team to start slow; losing Jeff Green to heart surgery right before the season, team captain Paul Pierce out with a bruised right heel… neither was an acceptable excuse for failure according to Rivers.  Obviously, a coach can’t tell his or her team, “hey listen, we’re missing some key parts, so if we suck, well, no big deal.  Nobody expects us to win anyway,” but losing to the Knicks, Heat and Hornets all within four days on the road shouldn’t really come as a shock.

The Knicks looked good in the opener, the Heat were forced to fend off a furious Celtics comeback and the Hornets have some great young talent thanks to the Chris Paul trade so I don’t think there is much shame in this particular 0-3 start.

Here’s where Celtics fans have the right to worry.  Jermaine O’Neal is your starting center.  Yikes.  The big man finally got his act together dropping 19 points on the winless Pistons in Boston’s 96-85 victory over Detroit on Friday, but one good game doesn’t give me much confidence.  In his 15th NBA season, O’Neal (who missed much of last season with injuries) only scored eight points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks in the Celtics’ first three games combined.  The guy is 6’11, c’mon!  O’Neal’s backups are Chris Wilcox (who has missed two games with a bruised shoulder) and rookie Greg Stiemsma. 

The good news is that Stiemsma, last year’s D-League Defensive Player Of The Year has a lot of potential.  The 26-year-old was a standout in an otherwise awful game against the Hornets, with 6 blocks in about 20 minutes in his NBA debut.  I heard good ol’ Tommy Heinsohn compliment Stiemsma a few times during the Celtics broadcast of the Pistons game during the rookie’s 16 minutes which comprised of 2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, one block, one steal and four fouls.  While the stats seem small, Stiemsma’s presence was felt in a big way, which will only  improve with time.

More good news/bad news …. Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett might be on the verge of dinosaur age by NBA standards, they all still have “it.”   They are still fierce competitors with the physical abilities to win on a nightly basis.   The shortened season is a double-edged sword for an older team as they benefit from playing fewer games overall, yet suffer a disadvantage of little rest between games.  As a true master of this team, Rivers knows these cats well enough to pick the right games to rest each guy when they need it.

Then there’s Rajon Rondo getting ready to hit his prime, not to mention that trade rumor chip on his shoulder that will keep him intent on his proving his worth to Danny Ainge and anyone else who dares to doubt him.

Guards Marquis Daniels and Keyon Dooling will be nice role players for Boston as will forwards Brandon Bass and Sasha Pavlovic.  But as with most things in life, it all comes back to the middle, or the center.  Will the trio of O’Neal, Wilcox and Stiemsma be strong enough to fend off the likes of Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, Al Horford, and the entire Miami Heat throughout the whole, albeit shortened regular season?  Can the Celtics rotation of Bigs truly compete with the size, strength, skill and experience of the top teams in the East at the 5 position?  Time will tell, but I won’t get my hopes up. 

Then there’s the defense.  Losing a defensive mind Tom Thibodeau is a big deal and it showed last season.  The defense is what made this team dangerous over the last few years.  It is one thing to ask older players to produce offensively but it’s another to expect them to play as tenaciously on the other end of the floor.  I think the younger players should do whatever they can defensively to compensate for what the Big 3 might lack at that end. 

If the Celtics can find a way to stay rested and maximize the play of their big men, I think they’ll get back on track and be a legitimate factor in the East. 

LAKERS

As for the Celtics loathed rival, I would start with expressing concern over Kobe Bryant’s health, but after doing so over the last few years of bad knees, jacked up pinkies and whatever else, I have finally learned to accept the fact that injuries rarely hamper Bryant.  He says his surgically repaired right knee is “as close to 100% as it’s going to get” after an offseason procedure in Germany, and despite a torn ligament in his right wrist, Bryant is shooting a career-best 48.1% from the field.  True, the Lakers have only played four games this season, but it’s impressive nonetheless.

Barring catastrophic injury, I expect Bryant to kick it up a notch on the heels of what many perceived was a “down year” for him on the court.  Kobe has been less concerned with offense though as he says defense will be the bread and butter for this Lakers team.  Even in L.A.’s losses to the Bulls and Kings, the team played stifling defense in stretches, but not consistently.  That changed in the Lakers last two games against the Jazz and Knicks as the team really picked up its pick and roll defense and held both teams to under 33% shooting.  If the Lakers can play the defense that Mike Brown and his staff have implemented on a consistent basis, their offense will come easily via the fastbreak, turnovers, and defensive rebounds. 

Defensive rebounding shouldn’t be an issue for the Lakers with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol hanging out under the hoop.  If Bynum can keep his head screwed on straight, the Lakers won’t need Dwight Howard this season.  Every year, Bynum is proclaimed as the “key” to the season by coaches, teammates and the media.  While he has showed flashes of brilliance, a combination of injuries and mental/emotional weakness has derailed what should be an all-star career going into his sixth NBA season. 

I ran into Bynum at one of L.A.’s toughest workout spots over the summer and he looked fantastic, perhaps in the best physical shape of his NBA career.  If he can stay disciplined and even-tempered, playing alongside Gasol will give the Lakers a lot to work with.  As for Pau, remember how he got hammered after the Lakers lost to the Celtics in the finals back in 2008? “He’s soft,”  “he sucks,” etc.? How did Gasol rebound from that criticism?  He kicked ass and led the Lakers to back-to-back NBA titles.  Gasol is now facing the same situation, and thus far, has responded accordingly.  He has to prove himself once again and Gasol is already playing with a fire he lacked last season. 

Now to Lamar Odom.  Without bringing in an all-star player, Odom can only be replaced by committee which is what the Lakers are looking to do.  Josh McRoberts and Devin Ebanks have both played surprisingly well thus far at the 3 and 4 and will do so with less pressure once Bynum returns from a four-game suspension today against the Nuggets.  New addition Jason Kapono has made the most of his little playing time behind Kobe, and Steve Blake is not only facilitating but actually hitting his shots this season! Who knew?

The X-factor here is none other than Metta World Peace.  Fitting, right? The artist formally known as Ron looked HORRENDOUS in the Lakers preseason games and regular season opener, in fact, I half-joked that he might get cut before the season started.  He was slow, couldn’t run, certainly couldn’t jump and was unable to make a basket if you stood on the baseline waving cash in front of his face.  

But with a new name (‘Metta,’ a Buddhist term meaning loving kindness) and a new outlook on life also comes a new job on the court.  World Peace is filling Odom’s old shoes as the anchor of the Lakers second unit and is actually scoring points in doing so, 12.4ppg to be exact.  While the 2004 Defensive Player Of The Year is known for what he does without the ball, the Lakers need him to produce offensively as well.  Like Odom in years past, I think putting World Peace in the “bench leader” niche will give him just enough responsibility to feel accountable and important without the pressure and lofty expectations that come with being a starter.

With so many new and inexperienced players on the roster, not to mention a new head coach as well as overhauled systems both offensively and defensively, there will definitely be a learning curve for this Lakers team.  Having said that, this specific group of guys (a few stars and several role players) reminds me of the kind of roster the Lakers had back in the Phil Jackson 3-peat days.  The real concerns for the Lakers are heath (as it is with every team), consistency and just how big the learning curve might be in this truncated season.

We can choose our picks for most disappointing team of 2011 once the NFL regular season wraps up Sunday, but I’ve already cast my unofficial ballot for the Minnesota Vikings.

Heading into the 2011 season free of Favre, Moss, Childress and any other drama from last season, the Vikings showed promise in signing Adrian Peterson to a contract extension, drafting a talented quarterback in Christian Ponder and signing Donovan McNabb, a proven veteran. 

While the Vikings looked decent on paper, they were awful in reality, resulting in McNabb being cut, the misfortune of Peterson tearing his ACL and MCL in week 16 and a dreadful 3-12 record with one game against the Chicago Bears remaining on the schedule. 

In his first full season as a head coach, Leslie Frazier said that he speak with the Wilf Ownership group every day and acknowledged that despite his team’s struggles, he expects to be back on the Vikings sideline next season. 

Take a look at Frazier’s comments from Scout.com:

“I’ve got great bosses, and they’ve been very supportive. Write that. Very supportive. Even in the midst of … a 3-12 season. They’ve been very supportive, which I’m thankful for.”

Laying it on a bit thick there, ‘eh Leslie?
“…they’ve been very supportive.  Write that.”  Does that strike anybody else as odd?  You can kiss your boss’ butt without actually directing the media to help you do so.  But wait…it gets better!

“I haven’t been told I’m back for sure. It never has been an issue. I’m being completely honest with you,” he said. “My job security has never been an issue other than when I’m talking to you guys (reporters). That’s the truth. We’re going to get this thing turned eventually. We’ll get it done.”

Now I feel bad for our guy Leslie.  He seems like a smart, genuine and nice person.  I don’t think he should be fired after one bad year (yes, he went 3-3 as the Vikings interim coach last season after Brad Childress was fired, thus he inherited a hot mess), but going through a positive self-talk therapy session in the press looks pretty desperate. 

I’m sure he’s right; Frazier’s job is probably safe but it looks like he needs more convincing of that than anyone else.  Barring extenuating circumstances, I think most coaches should keep their job after one bad season.  For example, I think Jim Caldwell should remain the Colts head coach .  The team was successful under Caldwell after Tony Dungy left, but who knew Peyton Manning was the real offensive coordinator in Indianapolis?  It’s not Caldwell’s fault that Manning was handed all the cards in the deck over a long period of time.  With Manning, Luck, or whomever under center, Caldwell deserves another shot.

There is good news for Frazier though; Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said, “Leslie will definitely be back next year,” according to startribune.com.  Surely that quote has made its way to Frazier since the article was published on Dec. 5, but it sounds like Wilf has yet to deliver the news to Frazier directly.  Perhaps Vikings ownership should put Frazier’s mind at ease, officially, once and for all. 

                            

I decided to end my Hanukkah vacation a few days early to bring you the always fun, yet cliched obligatory “athlete saves somebody’s life” story. I love this kind of stuff; it’s so cheesy and heartwarming! Without further ado, here’s the story.

It all went down at Lawry’s, a prestigious Beverly Hills restaurant where the two teams playing in the Rose Bowl game (this year, it’s Oregon and Wisconsin) take part in the annual Beef Bowl dinner a few days before taking the field in Pasadena. Yes, the Beef Bowl is one of those events that probably makes foreigners dislike America as it challenges two college teams to a duel of eating; whichever team can consume the most prime rib is the “winner.”

Paul Diamond, the father of a University of Oregon student was dining at Lawry’s during the Beef Bowl Wednesday evening when he started choking on a piece of meat and gestured for help. A restaurant chef gave the good old Heimlich maneuver a try, but to no avail. That’s when Ducks offensive lineman and our story’s hero, Mark Asper sprung into action.

The senior told the L.A. Times, “I stood up and patted [the chef] on the back and said, ‘If you don’t know what you’re doing, I do, because I’m an Eagle Scout,’ ” Asper said. “So I whipped in there.”

An Eagle Scout? I can’t stop laughing! This guy is awesome. Oh ya, he’s 6-foot-7 and 325 pounds, so naturally, he was concerned that his strength might do more harm than good. “The first heave was a test heave, because the guy seemed a little old, and I didn’t want to break his ribs or anything. So, test heave, then it seemed like he could handle the full force, so I popped it out.”

Despite being called “old,” Diamond was certainly grateful for the big man’s help, but Asper’s performance wasn’t quite perfect. “He came up to me afterward and said ‘Hey, man, thanks a lot, but you broke my sunglasses.’”

While I don’t condone needless consumption of food while millions worldwide are starving (plus the whole thing totally grosses me out), this story is awesome in part because Asper potentially saved a man’s life and also because of Asper’s personality and reaction to what went down.

After all the hoopla, it was back to dinner as usual, prime ribs and all. “Last I saw, he was taking smaller bites, but still at the plate,” Asper said with a chuckle. Raised in Idaho Falls, ID, Asper is a 26-year-old married father of two daughters. He is on the older side as Asper completed a two-year Mormon mission after graduating from Bonneville High School. In fact, my first night as a sports reporter was spent shooting a Bonneville Bees football game as my first on-air job was with KIDK-TV in Idaho Falls, although I just missed Asper by one year. Too bad though because he seems like a fun guy to cover as a reporter.

On a serious note, choking is so dangerous because it is silent. When a person is truly choking, their airway is completely blocked, thus preventing the person from making any oral sounds. When I was a counselor at a summer camp several years ago, a camper sitting next to me at the lunch table choking, but because my head was turned to the kid on the other side of me, I had no idea. Thankfully, the camper sitting directly across from us saw him motion that he was choking so he got up, ran around to our side of the table, and successfully performed the Heimlich on his buddy.

Good thing Asper was an Eagle Scout otherwise he might never have learned the life-saving technique. I think every athlete from high school on up should be first aid and CPR certified. It takes one day of training that could easily be done during training camp. The athletes would learn telltale signs of dehydration, heat stroke, sun stroke and other common ailments that come along with playing sports.

Thursday night, Wisconsin will take the Beef Bowl stage at Lawry’s. No word yet on how many pounds of prime rib the Badgers need to throw down to beat the Ducks, but we’ll find out that pertinent information soon enough. Either way, it looks like the Ducks will win the Beef Bowl, at least in the eyes of the public thanks to Asper lending a very large helping hand.

   

Thanks to the groups of lawyers representing the NBA and its players, we were given the gift of the professional basketball this Christmas.  Opening day of the shortened 2011-2012 NBA season was no throw-away as each of the five games had something to positive offer as well as something to hate on.  In the spirit of Christmas, we present the naughty and nice of NBA’s opening day!

NAUGHTY

The Justin Beiber/NBA Holiday Promos:  Was the idea that the Beibs has the power to draw in the under 18 female viewers?  Surely, the NBA’s target audience was cringing while being force-fed spoonfuls of the talented teeny-bopper throughout the day.

Rajon Rondo, But In A Good way:  The Celtics guard stole the show for me (despite Carmelo Anthony’s performance) as many wondered if preseason trade rumors would distract Rondo and make his already questionable attitude worse.  If anything, Rondo did what the best competitors do as he excelled among controversy (real or perceived), picking apart the Knicks defense and dropping 31 points and 13 assists while logging five steals in Madison Square Garden.  While the Knicks escaped with a 106-104 win, Rondo’s performance was encouraging for a team playing without the injured Paul Pierce and boasting Jermaine O’Neal as the starting center.

Lamar Odom:  Adding insult to the injury of his new team being humiliated by the Heat, Lamar Odom got himself tossed out of his first game playing for the Dallas Mavericks.  Coincidently, the ejection was the second in as many games for Khloe’s husband dating back to last season when Odom was ejected in what would be the Lakers final playoff game after being swept by the Mavs in Dallas.  This time around, Lamar got tossed because he barked at the referee about a foul call in the third quarter, or as my Mom explained to my Dad, “he sassed the ref.”  Looks like L.O.’s track record in American Airlines Center could use a turn-around real soon. 

Dallas Mavericks: The reigning NBA Champion Mavericks were god awful in their season debut leaving a sellout crowd disappointed in Dallas as last season’s finals foe, the Miami Heat trounced the home team 105-94.  The game was nowhere near as close as the final score with the Heat leading by 35 points midway through the third quarter.  We’ll address the Heat in the “nice” section, but the Mavs, while still reigning champs, lost several vital pieces of the title-winning team, such as J.J. Barea and Tyson Chandler.  The addition of Sixth Man Of The Year Lamar Odom is fantastic, but with Vince Carter and Delonte West also new to the roster, Rick Carlisle, Dirk Nowitzki and the gang have a lot of bonding to do in order to find the right team chemistry. 

Dwight Howard:  The Orlando Magic big man had a less than Super performance on Sunday as the Oklahoma City Thunder held Dwight Howard to only 11 points.  Thunder bigs Kendrick Perkins and Nazr Mohammed did most of the damage on Howard helping OKC to a 97-89 win.  Sure, it was an ugly team effort for the Magic as only three players scored in double figures, but as the leader of your team, trade talks or not, Howard needs to shoot better than 4-12 from the field (he’s 7 feet tall, c’mon now) in 38 minutes.  Howard grabbed 15 rebounds, so I’ll give him credit for that, but if nobody on the team can convert rebounds into points, why bother? Meanwhile Kevin Durant balled out, dropping 30 on Orlando in a solid overall team win by the Thunder at home.  By the way, if you folks haven’t checked out Kendrick Perkins on Twitter (he recently joined), you are missing out big time.  He is one of my favorite athletes I’ve covered as he is sweet, sincere and brutally honest.  Follow him on twitter for some good laughs and Perky knowledge bombs at @KendrickPerkins

Drunk Santa Harassing LeBron James:  A lovely man dressed as Santa Claus heckled LeBron James with an alcoholic beverage in hand as the Heatles star shot free throws during Miami’s shellacking of the Mavs.  Santa, clearly a Dallas homer, shouted to James, “What do you want from Santa? A ring?”  I would give this guy props if he had anything original to say to James, but not only was he boring, but his team was getting hammered which makes heckling a bit pointless.   

NICE

Carmelo Anthony:  On a day where the New York Knicks led by 17 points and trailed by 10 in the same game, Carmelo Anthony provided the only real consistency for the home team in MSG.  Anthony scored 20 of his 37 points in the second half and sunk two free throws which proved to be the game-winning points for the Knicks.  After trying to pull a Sprewell on former teammate Billy Walker after the game, Celtics big man Kevin Garnett told reporters, “They seem to have a little swag and confidence behind them.  It’s good for the city. It’s good for the Knicks. I’m going to see how consistent they are with that, but for the most part Carmelo played really well.”  When KG shows you love after you beat him, that is saying something.

Los Angeles Clippers Swagger:  There was no shortage of confidence among the Clippers starting lineup; Caron Butler, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Chauncey Billups and Chris Paul took the court at ORACLE Arena in Oakland beaming with pride and a sense of belonging as they faced the Golden State Warriors.  While the Clippers performance was far from perfect and the 105-86 win over the Warriors was closer than the score indicates, the Clipps season opener was encouraging as the guys demonstrated noticeable differences from Clippers past.  As an L.A. native and long time Clippers fan, I have never seen a Clippers team with this kind of swagger.  There was a time when a young run & gun  collection of guys like Darius Miles, Quentin Richardson and Lamar Odom got cocky after doubling their win total one year after a 15-win season.  Once Blake Griffin took off last season, the Clippers showed more and more confidence with each game they played, but this season, that positive attitude is on a different level.  Now watching the Clipp Joint play with legitimate energy and boldness from the opening tip (backed up by their play in the preseason and down the stretch vs. Golden State) until the final buzzer sounds is really refreshing. 

Miami Heat: Yes, it was only the first game of the season but it was important for the Heat to get off to a good start this year, especially given the time and place of their 2011-2012 debut.  Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra kept his team sequestered as the Mavericks unveiled their championship banner and celebrated last season’s finals win over Miami on the court before the game.  It was a small gesture that sent a strong message that their finals failure was in the past and it was time for the uber-talented Heat to start anew.  That they did as Miami scored at least 30 points in each of the first three quarters, and at one point, held a 35-point lead en route to smoking the Mavs 105-94.  LeBron James and Dwayne Wade scored 37 and 26 points respectively as the Heat finally got the better of the Mavs; at least for one game. 
 

NAUGHTY & NICE

The final minutes of the Bulls/Lakers game played out like a poetic Wagner opera, full of surprise, joy and heartache.  My eyes began to water and butterflies took over my stomach after Chicago’s defense forced a turnover resulting in a gorgeous Derrick Rose floater good for a one point Bulls lead with 4.8 seconds to play.  The beauty of DRose’s shot coupled with the anticipation of watching perhaps another Kobe Bryant game winning shot was a bit overwhelming for me on Day 1 of the NBA season. 

While the home team Lakers started strong despite a torn ligament in Kobe’s shooting wrist as well as being without  center Andrew Bynum (who is serving a four game suspension), L.A. let it all slip away in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.  The Bulls fell flat for a good chunk of the game, seemingly unable to hit air with the basketball or play anything resembling defense.  But that all changed when Chicago woke up as  Rose went down with 3:34 left to play after the league MVP took a shot to the head, care of teammate Luol Deng’s elbow, as he landed a pretty up & under for two points.  Rose hit the deck shortly after, and clutching his head, the Bulls took a timeout to make sure he was okay and had not received a concussion.  Rose stayed in the game and from that moment on, Chicago’s offense and defense were synchronized enough to dig them out of an 11-point hole and lead them to a one-point, 88-87 win over LA.

For the Lakers, they have to be pleased with the play of Kobe as well as Pau Gasol, despite the drama surrounding a failed trade that would’ve sent the Spaniard to Houston for Chris Paul.  Role players (aka guys you probably didn’t know existed) like Josh McRoberts, Devin Ebanks and Steve Blake were impressive in running Mike Brown’s new offense as well as variations of Phil Jackson’s old triangle.  The Lakers defense was also spectacular until the final minutes.  It is not encouraging for LA that they had the Bulls down in the dumps and couldn’t keep them there, at home, on opening day, with the Staples Center going crazy.

As for the Bulls, they struggled to shoot and rebound for much of the game, despite having scoring ability and being one of the league’s top rebounding teams last season.  The defense was non-existent which was shocking as the Bulls had the top defense in the league last season.  Despite a long rough patch in this one, the team managed to turn water into wine, pulling the win out of nowhere.  As usual, DRose did his part but Deng was also sensational, playing stellar defense down the stretch and scoring 21 points, second only to Rose’s 22 for the Bulls.   I think this young Bulls team started slow and just needed a while to realize the lockout truly is over, for real, and no, they weren’t playing in a charity game or Vegas league contest.  The Bulls are incredibly talented and fun to watch, thus I wouldn’t anticipate too many more slow starts like the one we witnessed against the Lakers on Christmas.  

 

Several NFL teams experienced the joy of the holiday season on Saturday, but for some, Christmas Eve was quite unkind.  

Lowlights
Tony Romo gave Dallas Cowboys fans a scare after exiting the game with a bruised throwing hand in the first quarter and leaving some dude I’ve never heard of (aka Stephen McGee) to quarterback the team against the Philadelphia Eagles.  Despite suffering a 20-7 loss to Philly, the ‘Boys still lead the NFC East but will need a win over the Giants in week 17 to keep it that way.  X-rays of Romo’s right hand came back negative which is a good sign, although he was unable to grip the ball or take snaps on the sideline following the injury.  After the loss, Romo told reporters that he would be just fine hinting that he will indeed play against the Giants in the regular season finale.  Hell, if the guy could play with broken ribs, we can assume he’s tough enough to give it a go a week from now.

Despite a 33-26 win over the Washington Redskins, the Minnesota Vikings also received a huge lump of coal this Christmas.  The Vikings four-time Pro Bowl running back  Adrian Peterson suffered a torn ACL during a rushing play in the third quarter where he planted his foot, then got hit by a defender pushing his knee in the opposite direction.  Adding injury to injury, Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder went down on the very next play after a helmet-to-helmet hit resulted in “concussion-like symptoms” for the rookie.  Peterson is looking at a nine-month recovery process jeopardizing his availability for the beginning of next season.  No word on whether or not Ponder will return for Minnesota’s meaningless regular season finale against the Bears, although backup Joe Webb looked great finishing out the game in week 16.

Highlights & Playoff Picture

AFC
As for the games themselves, lets start with the obvious Christmas choice, the Denver Tebows…errrr … Broncos.  Although the Broncos got smoked by the Bills (40-14), yes, those Bills, from Buffalo (no, Tebow did not earn his wings with a late-game comeback or anything of the sort), Denver still leads the AFC West and can seal the deal with a victory over the Chiefs in week 17.  Here’s where it gets interesting though:  The Broncos will host the Chiefs, quarterbacked by one Kyle Orton who was ousted by Denver in October to make way for Tim Tebow as the starter.  Plus, it looks like the Chiefs really like interim head coach Romeo Crennel and will fight hard and play to win in hopes of helping him get him the permanent gig. 

Should the Broncos lose to KC and the Raiders beat the Chargers in week 17, Oakland will win the division.   Even if Denver wins the division for the first time since 2005, Oakland could get in as as a wildcard which means that TWO teams from this heinous division will make the postseason.  Hard to believe, but true. 

The AFC North will also be decided in week 17 but it’s not quite that simple.  Both the Steelers and Ravens have clinched a playoff spot, but a #2 seed/first-round bye is still up for grabs.  Pittsburgh, without Ben Roethlisberger shut out the Rams 27-0 in week 16 and will hope for a similar performance against the Browns on Sunday to catapult them out of the wildcard spot (#5 seed) in which they currently sit.   Baltimore leads the division at the moment and can claim the #2 seed with a win over the Bengals on Sunday, but Cincinnati will give it their best as beating the Ravens guarantees the Bengals a playoff berth.  Should the Bengals lose to the Ravens, they can squeeze into the playoffs with either a Jets and Raiders loss OR the Raiders winning the AFC West and a Jets loss to the Dolphins.

The T.J. Yates-led Texans have clinched the AFC South and will host the Tennessee Titans in Houston in week 17.  Interestingly enough, should the Titans beat the Texans Sunday, they will reach the playoffs as a wildcard team and play the Texans again in Houston during Wildcard Weekend. 

The AFC East-leading Patriots are kicking butt, despite allowing the Dolphins to actually think they were a good football team for the first half of their week 16 matchup.  In the end, Tom Brady and the New England offense ripped Miami to shreds as the Pats are just one win away from home field advantage throughout the playoffs until the Super Bowl itself.  Should they beat the Bills at home on Sunday, we might be in store for several weeks worth of smug news conferences from Bill Belichick.  Cue Bart Scott… CANT WAIT! 

Speaking of Bart Scott, it’s time for the Jets to put up or shut up as their postseason hopes are on the line in week 17.  It’s hard to have faith in the Jets after watching them get worked by the Giants, despite Rex Ryan going balls out from the get-go in sending only Plaxico Burress to represent the Jets captains at midfield before the coin toss in week 16.  How awkward was it watching Plex shake hands with his former Giants teammates?   The super quick and icy exchange between Burress and Eli Manning was cringe-worthy, wasn’t it?  After getting out of prison, Burress publicly expressed his disappointment with Manning for not visiting him in the clink and it looks like he still holds a grudge.   Back to the playoffs now, I for one would love nothing more than to watch the always entertaining Sexy Rexy and his Jets trash talk their way through the playoffs for a third straight season, but for my dreams to become a reality, New York will have to beat Miami Sunday, plus the Bengals, Raiders and Titans must lose OR the Raiders win the West while the Titans lose in Houston.  Good luck Sanchize! 

NFC

As for the NFC, the Packers took care of the Bears in Green Bay (thanks Jordy Nelson for almost eviscerating my lead going into my fantasy championship on Monday night) on Christmas, securing the top seed/bye week and eliminating Chicago from playoff contention.  Green Bay’s offense rolled and heck, even the defense, which is one of the worst in the league, showed up for this one.  And how ‘bout Aaron Rodgers carrying the ball and splitting the defense, causing a Bear-on-Bear collision between Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher?  When you force two of the NFL’s best linebackers to look like they’re acting out a slapstick scene from the  Three Stooges, you’re the man. 

The Lions are playoff bound for the first time since 1999 having clinched a wildcard spot (either the #5 or #6 seed depending on the Falcons) after exposing a fraudulent, never-to-be-trusted Chargers team with a convincing 38-10 victory in Detroit. 

Meanwhile the 49ers and Saints are both fighting for that elusive #2 seed/bye behind the #1 Packers.  If the Falcons beat the Saints in New Orleans on Monday night and log a win over the lifeless Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Atlanta in week 17, the birds will win the NFC South and San Francisco will watch Wildcard Weekend from home as the #2 seed with the Saints in as a wildcard team.  The Saints can clinch the NFC South with one win or one Falcons loss (Atlanta would then be in as a wildcard team)  but can only secure the #2 seed with a 49ers loss (among a few other factors).  I wouldn’t count on a 49ers loss as Jim Harbaugh’s team is playing the horrendous St. Louis Rams to close out the regular season.  Sorry Rams fans.  All three of you. 

At this point, the real excitement in this conference lies in the week 17 NFC East matchup between two mediocre teams in the Cowboys and Giants in Jersey.  Winner takes all, loser goes home.  The Giants looked good against the cross-town rival Jets in week 16, but the same cannot be said for the Cowboys after losing Tony Romo to injury in the first quarter against the Eagles.  With running back Felix Jones dealing with a bum hamstring, the regular season finale will be especially tough for the ‘Boys, even if Romo plays injured (to some degree).  The East winner will occupy the #4 seed. 

Not much can be said for the Colts, Jaguars, or Rams, but there is room for a few non-playoff honorable mentions. 

Honorable Mentions

The first one goes to the Seattle Seahawks who had few expectations from anyone outside of the organization to start the season, yet managed to come away with some good wins behind Tarvaris Jackson and a skittle-snacking, ghost-riding Marshawn Lynch.  The running back alone made his team worth watching as Lynch had some of the best runs of the season in all of the NFL.

The Arizona Cardinals also made things interesting as backup QB John Skelton made somewhat of a name for himself going 4-2 as a starter. 

And finally, the last but certainly not least honorable mention goes to one Killa Cam Newton.   I have to admit, I was a non-believer in Newton, who I thought would prove to be a 1-year-wonder and a possible draft bust.  But Cam converted me, not only with Panthers wins, but with his performances in certain losses as well. With Carolina’s 46-16 beat down of the Bucs in week 16, Newton surpassed Peyton Manning’s rookie passing record, raising the bar as he now has 3,893 yards through the air.  Newton is responsible for 34 Panthers touchdowns this season, 20 passing and 14 rushing, the latter number, more than any quarterback in NFL history.  We can’t ignore Newton’s 16 interceptions and 5 fumbles, but we can cut the rookie some slack as the young man is smart, composed and already viewed as a leader by young players and veterans alike in his locker room. 

While the most important matchups are probably the Giants/Cowboys and the AFC North games (Big Ben could use the rest of a first-round bye while the Ravens would appreciate home-field advantage for once), I am looking forward to watching Cam and the Panthers one last time in week 17 as they take on my guy Drew Brees and the playoff-bound Saints. 

                         

For some professional athletes, playing to win is not nearly as important as the paycheck and lifestyle that comes along with the job.  For others, like Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs, logging that W is a major source of pride and accomplishment, making any loss unacceptable.

Suggs and the Ravens (10-4) were humiliated by the San Diego not so super until three weeks ago Chargers (7-7) on Sunday night, the 34-14 defeat not sitting well with the four-time pro bowl selection.  Check out a tweet posted by a sizzling hot T-Sizzle a few hours after the game ended:

@untouchablejay4:  That was Phuckin Bullsh!t Bmore. I apologize from the bottom of my heart. WE WILL WIN OUT!!!!!!! #byanymeansnecessary

Please pardon his phrench, as clearly, Suggs is frustrated.  When this tweet popped up on my timeline, my first thought was, “uh-oh.  Guaranteeing wins never ends well.”

Suggs had several reasons to be upset.  For starters, the Ravens went into Sunday’s game leading their division, but because of the loss, should the Steelers beat the 49ers on Monday, Pittsburgh would take sole possession of the AFC North and drop Baltimore down to the fifth seed.   

“It’s back to the drawing board,” Suggs told the media in the locker room after the game.  “Everybody said we’d fall to fifth so what… Like I said, we in hell now, so, but, we got a vacation home in hell.  This is normal for us…” 

Umm, okay.  I won’t pretend to understand exactly what Suggs is getting at there but losing the game to the Chargers stung on several levels and wasn’t cool, even by Hades-dwelling standards. 

The long-heralded Ravens defense only laid two nasty hits on Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers in the entire game, and the only sack the Ravens notched went bye-bye with a personal foul called on Suggs. 

The Ravens came into Sunday’s game not only riding a four game winning streak, but also enthused for the return of their captain/emotional leader/amazing pre-game dancing linebacker Ray Lewis (from injury) for the first time in as many games. 

Despite leading the defense with ten tackles, Lewis’ return wasn’t nearly enough for the Ravens as quarterback Joe Flacco was hammered by the Chargers, being sacked five times and throwing two interceptions. 

As for Suggs’ promise of winning out, that isn’t out of the question by any means as the Ravens host the Cleveland Browns (4-10) next week, followed by the Bengals (8-6) in Cincinnati to close out the regular season. 

Ravens fans should wait to see what goes down with their arch-rival Steelers on Monday night before going into freak out mode just yet, although ESPN’s Trey Wingo tweeted Sunday that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he was optimistic that the injured Ben Roethlisberger will be under center against the 49ers.  I wonder if Suggs and the Ravens will watch that game with the rest of us?

   

 

 

The Boston Celtics announced Saturday that the contract of Jeff Green will be voided as a result of the forward being diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm.  The 25-year-old will undergo season-ending heart surgery to repair the problem.

This incident is important on both micro and macro scales. 

After reporting to training camp on Dec. 9, the condition was discovered when Green failed a stress test during his physical.  Several cardiac specialists recommended the surgery that should allow Green to resume his basketball career next season. 

According to the Mayo Clinic website, an aortic aneurysm (which can cause fatal bleeding) is described as, “a weakened and bulging area in the upper part of the aorta, the major blood vessel that feeds blood to the body.  Because the aorta is the body’s main supplier of blood, a ruptured thoracic aortic aneurysm can cause life-threatening bleeding.”

Green is not the first professional athlete this year who has discovered a life-threatening condition via a team physical.

In October, the Eagles medical staff discovered a brain tumor when running back Jerome Harrison underwent a required physical after being traded by the Detroit Lions to Philadelphia.  The Washington Post reported that Harrison told the Eagles doctor he suffered from headaches, prompting the doctor to order an MRI which revealed the tumor.  ESPN reported that Harrison’s surgery was successful as doctors removed the entire tumor. 

Had Harrison not been traded, or Green not signed a new contract, both of their lives would still be in medical jeopardy, at best. 

News of Green’s heart condition elicited sad memories for Celtics fans as the death of Reggie Lewis in 1993 still haunts Boston.  The late Celtic  died during an off-season practice after having previously shown symptoms of a heart condition (including collapsing during a playoff game) in the months leading up to his death.

Lewis died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, commonly referred to as an an enlarged heart, the same condition that took the life of Fred Thompson, an Oregon State freshman football player who died on Dec. 7.  

Like Green’s condition, an enlarged heart can easily go undetected due to lack of physical symptoms.  According to an Associated Press story about the death of Thompson, “Dr. Karen Gunson said Friday that the 19-year-old had increased thickness of the heart muscle, which can cause an irregular heartbeat during strenuous exercise. She says the condition is a common cause of death in young athletes who seem completely healthy but die during heavy exercise.”

Despite the fact that few people exhibit symptoms of an enlarged heart, some do, and others could if they underwent physical testing, such as the stress test that helped reveal Green’s condition.  According to the Mayo Clinic website, “in a small number of people with this condition, the thickened heart muscle can cause signs and symptoms, such as shortness of breath and problems in the heart’s electrical system resulting in life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias).”

If an athlete exhibits any symptoms, a simple, painless test called an Echocardiogram (ECG) could be administered to diagnose an enlarged heart and other heart conditions.  In fact, several countries and the International Olympic Committee now require athletes to undergo screening including an ECG before partaking in sports, according to a story written by CNN’s Elizabeth Landau in March of this year after four high school student athletes died of heart conditions during athletic competition within a two week period.

“There are about 50 to 100 sudden deaths among athletes in middle, high school and college every year, said Dr. Marlon Rosenbaum, associate clinical professor of medicine and pediatrics at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons,” wrote Landau. 

The same article ( http://tinyurl.com/6nfepto ) cites two differing studies; one of which found mandatory ECG testing did not affect the number of sudden athlete deaths in Israel and another study which previously found a reduction in sudden deaths among athletes after the implementation of mandatory testing in Italy. 

While the impact of screening is debatable, that is exactly the point; there should be a debate.  I have long maintained that professional athletes (and even college athletes for that matter) should undergo both physical and mental evaluations three times per year.  Once during the preseason, again during the season and once more at season’s end. 

Why should some football and hockey players suffer head injuries in a game and not be given a concussion test immediately? 

Why should an athlete wait to get traded to undergo a simple test that would subsequently reveal a brain tumor? 

Why should three NHL enforcers fight mental demons which stemmed from the game and resulted in their deaths? 

While Derek Boogaard addressed mental health and addiction issues by going to rehab, he was embarrassed and worried about how his reputation might be impacted ( http://nyti.ms/vvLrZM ).  Surely mandatory physical and mental evaluations would simultaneously help to reduce the stigma of weakness associated with health issues and perhaps, reveal life threatening conditions before its too late. 

Click here to read Elizabeth Landau’s article on how teen athlete deaths can be prevented: http://tinyurl.com/6nfepto

Click here to read “Punched Out: The Life and Death of a Hockey Enforcer,” a fascinating 3-part series about Derek Boogaard by John Branch of the New York Times: http://nyti.ms/vvLrZM

                              

All things being possible for Tim Tebow, he probably could’ve sniffed cocaine on Sam Hurd during last week’s game against the Bears, if only the quarterback played on special teams. 

Instead, the canine version of Tebow gets the credit in this case, as the drug-sniffing dog named after the former Florida Gator and current folk hero helped bust a guy at  Orlando International Airport on Dec. 8.

The Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation said agents approached Weslie Jadier Morales Castro after they noticed the 20-year-old checking the tags on all of the luggage on the carousel, indicating that he was looking for a bag he had never seen before, which is mighty mysterious.  When the agents stopped Morales Castro, Tebow the trusty pooch’s reaction to the suitcase was no bueno, prompting an inspection.  Turns out, Tebow hit his target as the bag had a kilogram of cocaine inside.

“A cocaine-stuffed children’s toy was found inside,” according to an article on FoxSports.com.  “Morales Castro claimed that the suitcase, which was tagged for a Jose Garcia, did not belong to him — but later admitted that he was paid to take it to people at a nearby fast-food eatery.  Morales Castro now faces a federal charge of selling or distributing a controlled substance, according to a criminal complaint filed last week. He was released from jail on $25,000 bond.”

Clearly, there is no task a Tebow can’t tackle.  Mark that down that as another score for the good guys, aka Team Tebow. 

We’ll see if the human Tebow and his fellow Broncos can match the canine’s precision in Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots in Denver. 

For more details, click here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2075560/Tebow-wins-Drug-sniffing-dog-named-football-star-makes-cocaine-bust.html

 

Everyone can agree that that the Cleveland Browns handled the Colt McCoy concussion situation poorly.  Well, everyone but the Browns themselves. 

Quick recap:  After the Browns quarterback received a crushing helmet-to-helmet hit last Thursday night care of the Steelers’ James Harrison, McCoy’s hand was checked out by the team’s medical staff, not his head, after the play.  McCoy played the rest of the game, missing only two plays after the hit and was not even tested for a concussion until after the game when his complaints compelled the medical staff to do so.  As an indication of how serious that hit was, McCoy’s father said his son has no memory of the play ( http://tinyurl.com/bvbly8t ).  According to the Washington Post, McCoy did not undergo the mandatory Sports Concussion Assessment Tool review until the following morning.  The results of the test were abnormal and the doctors sent McCoy home.

Browns president Mike Holmgren confirmed the fact that McCoy did not undergo concussion-related testing on the sideline during the game, yet defended the reaction of the coaches and medical staff in a press conference on Wednesday, saying that nobody on the sidelines saw the helmet-to-helmet hit. 

“I’ve had guys in my career come out and go, ‘hey, you better check Steve Young, somebody better check him because he’s not coming out right.  None of that happened,” Holmgren said.   “Ok, no one alerted anybody to this.  It seems inconceivable that nobody did, so, how do we do this, now so they get the information they need, the doctors?  This is still to be talked about, but to have somebody say something at a proper time.”   

My first thought was why didn’t the assistant coaches up in the booth call down to the sideline and inquire about the hit once they realized McCoy was going back in the game after sitting out for less than four minutes?  The coaches have a television feed in the booth and even if the TV was muted, they would’ve seen NFL Network replay the hit over and over again.   Interestingly enough, that was the situation Holmgren himself was in.

“I saw the hit on replay, and I go, ‘okay, that’s not good’ but I’ve also seen hits that… it looks bad, but you know, and off ya go,” Holmgren said.  “You really do have to just let the medical people go through their procedures and make the judgement they’re getting paid to make.  I’m telling you, we’ve got good guys.  It didn’t start to show until the locker room, and a good, good time in the locker room, that’s when they really got alerted to it I suppose.”

Accidental or not, I thought the NFL should fine the Browns, which would hopefully compel teams to do their due diligence when recognizing and diagnosing head injuries, regardless of how it could affect the outcome of a game. 

Just when I thought fining the Brows was the answer, I read this from an article written by Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com:

“The NFL has a new policy this season where a league observer in the press box can alert a team’s medical staff on the sideline about a concussion (or other injury) the team may have missed. Some players say that isn’t good enough. They want an independent observer with a medical background to look for concussions that were missed or are being hidden by players or ignored by the medical staff.”

Holmgren confirmed that the appointed NFL official at the game last Thursday did not speak up or contact the Browns in any way regarding the hit.  Given that information, how could the NFL possibly condemn the team’s inaction when the league’s own representative failed to see the severity of the hit noticed by the NFL Network broadcast crew and subsequently, every viewer? 

Even more disturbing is an attitude expressed by Holmgren in Wednesday’s press conference.  Holmgren said that even if the coaches and medical staff had seen or been alerted to the severity of the hit, because McCoy was on the bench after and not displaying any signs of a concussion at that point, nothing would’ve been done differently.  Well ya see Mike, that is the problem.  That’s why guidelines are set mandating the medical staff to test a player for concussion after a play like whether the player shows “symptoms” of trauma or not.

Freeman’s article addresses that issue as well:

“Said one player, who is also a player representative: ‘The concussion rules are the best they can be. The league and the union have done a good job protecting players, but the truth remains, players are still hiding concussions, because they want to protect their careers. In some cases, teams know a player is concussed and let it go. Yes, that still happens.’  The NFL and players union might soon respond to holes in the policy by placing independent doctors on the sidelines during games, taking the decision out of the hands of the interested parties: the teams and players. But until then, some players will continue to put themselves at risk by doing whatever they can to stay on the field.”

Remember what happened to San Diego’s Chris Dielman in October?  The Chargers guard took a hard hit in a game against the New York Jets, stumbling around the field after the play.  The referee even approached Dielman as he couldn’t find his balance, yet the Chargers didn’t take him out of the game.  Dielman did in fact suffer a concussion on the play and ended up having a grand mal seizure on the plane ride back to San Diego ( http://tinyurl.com/7zyz3hg ).

Research has proven that hits taken before the symptoms of a concussion have subsided can be extremely damaging and sometimes fatal.  Second-Impact Syndrome (SIS) has killed several high school football players, as the brain is fragile and still forming in the teenage years.  SIS is a huge reason why the NFL and other athletic governing bodies have created guidelines to test for a concussion immediately following a play.  The goal is to save an injured player from sustaining further damage by letting the athlete continue to play. 

Colt McCoy finished the game after being knocked out.  Chris Dielman finished the game after suffering a concussion.  NHL star Sidney Crosby not only finished one game after receiving a concussion, but was knocked out of the following game four days later before the Pittsburgh Penguins realized the severity of his injury. 

Crosby was forced to sit out for 10 months before returning to the ice this season.  After only eight games, it was recently announced that Crosby will be out indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms. 

While many players are starting to come around in terms of realizing the importance of healing from head injuries ( http://tinyurl.com/7nalxh2 ), many still choose to ignore the evidence pointing to a tragic future that possibly awaits them.    If the story of the NHL’s Derek Boogaard won’t scare someone into taking care of themselves ( http://nyti.ms/vvLrZM ), perhaps nothing will. 

That is exactly the point.  It is the league’s job to save players and coaches from themselves and their perhaps misguided self interests.  While the NBA, NHL and NFL have all taken steps in the right direction by adopting policies to keep players safe, it clearly isn’t enough just yet. 

Click here to read Mike Freeman’s eye-opening story about the NFL’s efforts to curb concussions while many players still try to avoid the polices designed to help them: http://tinyurl.com/7nalxh2

            

  

The impeccable New York Post is on its “A” Game today.  First, the Post tells us about the parting gift Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter allegedly gives to his one night stands ( http://nyp.st/tmeHbE ).   Then, the Post followed up by dropping this classic Kardashian-related knowledge bomb.

After hearing of the proposed three-team trade that would’ve sent Lamar Odom from the L.A. Lakers to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Chris Paul, the swingman tearfully told Stephen A. Smith that maybe his other job as a reality television star rubbed people the wrong way, perhaps prompting the Lakers to use him as trade bait. 

Have no fear Lamar, because your reality TV gig is no problem in Dallas where your new boss is interested in getting a taste of Hollywood! 

Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle welcomed Odom and his wifey with open arms telling the Dallas Morning News, “Khloe’s my favorite Kardashian.  She’s the coolest.”

Carlisle, who has a stiff upper lip on the court, said he would certainly appear on “Khloe & Lamar,” although E! isn’t exactly breaking down his door quite yet.

“I’ve never been one to rule anything out,” said Carlisle. “I guess it would be a long shot to be asked.”

One would expect this from Mavs owner Mark Cuban, but Carlisle? Really?  Who would’ve guessed?  A head coach since 2001 with the Pistons, Pacers and now Mavericks, the 52-year-old always seemed like one of the more serious NBA coaches, rarely cracking a smile on the sidelines.  Although after winning an NBA Championship and landing Odom after fearing him for the last 7 years in the Purple and Gold, this would be a good time to let loose.

I listened to Jim Rome interview Carlisle on his radio show during the playoffs last season and was surprised at how interesting and entertaining he was.  Good thing Carlisle has a sense of humor because surely he’ll need it if he intends to keep up with Khloe and Lamar. 

If you heard your son or daughter’s high school basketball team chant, “One, two, three, [N-word]!” during pregame festivities, what the heck would run through your mind at that moment? And what if one of the players on that team were black?

The girls basketball team at Kenmore East High School near Buffalo, NY just got their tooshie’s handed to them after the lone African-American player on the team got in a fight with a white teammate over the racist chant, or as the white players call it, a tradition.

According to a foxsports.com article, the team has done this chant for years in the locker room without any coaches or school administration being aware of it.  Here is more info from that article:

The officials only learned of the practice after the current team’s sole African-American, sophomore Tyra Batts, was caught brawling with a teammate over the use of the slur.
While both girls were suspended for fighting, school district officials were called in to deal with the allegations of racism.

Batts said she only learned of the chant ahead of the season opener against Sweet Home High School on Dec. 2.

“I said, ‘You’re not allowed to say that word because I don’t like that word,’” Batts told the paper. “They said, ‘You know we’re not racist, Tyra. It’s just a word, not a label.’ I was outnumbered.”

The investigation by Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School District found the players guilty of violating the school’s conduct code and the extracurricular athletic code, superintendent Mark P. Mondanaro confirmed.

He said the chant, apparently always delivered after adults had left the locker room, was “wrong, unacceptable, unfortunate and will never, ever be tolerated.”

The offending players will each serve a one-game suspension across the season, receive a two-day, out-of-school suspension and be required to attend cultural-sensitivity training. A scheduled game against Olean on Saturday was postponed.

I find it extremely hard to believe that no adults on campus had ever heard the chant and were completely unaware of its existence despite it being passed down from team to team over the years.
Imagine the situation Batts found herself in as her teammates yelled the N-word in front of her.  What an awful situation.  For teenagers to think their behavior was acceptable is quite frightening.  I’m glad this issue is gaining the national attention it deserves, hopefully forcing other high school and college programs to do a bit of self-auditing and soul searching as well. 

           

2011 can’t end fast enough for Charlie Bell.  Apparently being locked out by his employers was the least of Bell’s problems.  The Golden State Warriors reserve guard was busted for driving drunk in February, allegedly stabbed by his wife with a box cutter in May, followed by another DUI arrest in Flint, MI in October, which leads us to our story today. 

Bell, 32, had a hearing Thursday in connection with the October DUI , which included a previously scheduled breathalyzer test… I think you know where this is headed… Mr. Bell blew a .09 during Thursday’s alcohol assessment.  Yes, Bell showed up to a DUI hearing legally drunk.  Yikes. 

According to SFGate.com, Bell’s case was going to be resolved on Thursday, that is until he arrived in court with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit.  “Bell was held, in a district court holding cell, on a bond violation until he sobered up,” wrote Rusty Simmons of SFGate.com.  “He’s expected back in court Friday, which marks the start of Warriors training camp for the rest of his teammates.”

Bell seems to be only a shadow of the young man who helped lead the Michigan State Spartans to an NCAA Championship back in 2000, as he has jumped around between the NBA and overseas basketball over the last decade.  Bell played in only 19 games for the Warriors last season, and according to Eric Freeman of Yahoo Sports, Golden State is considering using the amnesty clause to dump his contract.  The Warriors can waive Bell along with the $4 million owed to him without it counting against the salary cap.

Clearly, this young man has serious problems and hopefully he has somebody around him to lead him in the right direction and convince him to seek professional help.  In the internet age of youtube, public humiliation and bullying, Bell’s misfortunes make him an easy target for ridicule.  But Bell is beyond that point as perhaps he has hit rock bottom. 

Should the Warriors waive him, it would be nice to see the organization do the right thing by offering him whatever medical or psychological help he might require, as Bell needs the support of a team now more than ever. 

                                    

It didn’t take long for UCLA to find a rebound after breaking up with Rick Neuheisel a few weeks ago as the school has reportedly hired Jim L. Mora (aka Jim Mora Jr.) to be its next head football coach.

Perhaps L.A. will find itself in another Pete Carroll-esque football fairytale:  A failed NFL coach has a tough pill to swallow, taking a perceived demotion to keep his career alive and turns out to be a college football genius, creating one of the most dominating programs in the nation.  Carroll was 49 years old when he landed the USC job, Mora is 50.  USC football was down in the dumps at the time, just like UCLA is now, not having made the Rose Bowl in a school-record 13 seasons. 

After finishing 6-7, UCLA will play in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl with offensive coordinator Mike Johnson at the helm as interim coach.  Johnson served as the Falcons quarterbacks coach under Mora in Atlanta, a connection that bodes well for Johnson who may very well get to keep his job as a result. UCLA is expected to officially announce the Mora hire Saturday. 

This hire is interesting to me in that UCLA’s first choice was Boise State’s Chris Petersen, who is one of the “it” coaches in college football.  Everything about Petersen screams “college.”  After Petersen turned down the gig, UCLA appraoched Miami’s Al Golden (who wasn’t interested) and subsequently met wth Houston’s Kevin Sumlin who was not offered the job, according to the LA Times. 

It appears as though after most of the big names in college ball either already took jobs elsewhere (like Urban Meyer, Rich Rodriguez, etc.) or declined UCLA’s offer, the Bruins went to the next big name they could find, even though he lacks experience at the collegiate level.

That’s where Jim Mora comes in.  Sure, we know his name, his famous father and “PLAYOFFS!?!”  Sure, he has been a head coach before, but in the NFL, with the Atlanta Falcons, and most recently, Seattle Seahawks before being fired and replaced by Pete Carroll in the offseason of 2010.  In fact, Mora’s only coaching at the collegiate level came in 1984 as a graduate assistant at the University of Washington, his alma mater, according to the LA Times.  Mora has spent the last two seasons as a television analyst for NFL Network and co-hosts a podcast as well.

According to the LA Times, Mora was interested in the UCLA job from the get-go, meeting with university officials twice.  Mora’s interest in the Bruins gig wasn’t completely out of left field as he was born in Los Angeles and his father served as an assistant coach at UCLA in 1974. 

With Carroll out, Kiffin in, and still no NFL team, this would be a golden opportunity for UCLA to get its Mojo back.  Mora’s name alone will help sell tickets but UCLA alumni and Los Angeles football fans will demand success on the field in order to sustain their interest in the Bruins.  Mora certainly has his work cut out for him. 

To read the LA Times article about UCLA’s hiring of Jim L. Mora, click here: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-ucla-jim-mora-20111210,0,3170928.story

         

 

The Southern California sun is shinning brightly in Dallas Thursday as Orange County is now the belle of the ball at Major League Baseball’s annual winter meetings. 

In stark contrast to Frank McCourt and his bankrupt Los Angeles Dodgers, business must be great for cross-county rival Arte Moreno as the L.A. Angels of Anaheim owner dropped just under $330M to sign slugger Albert Pujols and pitcher CJ Wilson on Thursday.

For a bit of context, check out the following tweet from Yahoo Sports writer Jeff Passan:

@JeffPassan: Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson will cost Arte Moreno $147.5 million more than the entire Los Angeles Angels franchise did.

What recession? 

Anyway, the Angels have only one World Series title (2002) and haven’t made the playoffs in  two seasons, yet Angel Stadium ranked fifth in the league in fan attendance last season. Let’s take a quick look at the facts and you can decide for yourself whether or not you like the signings. 

Pujols, 10 years, $250M: At 31 years old, the former St. Louis Cardinals first baseman has 10 seasons of batting at least .300 with at least 100 RBIs and has 445 home runs under his belt. 

Wilson, 5 years, $77.5M: Also 31, the lefty went 16-7 with a 2.94 ERA with the Texas Rangers in 2011.  According to the LA Times, “In 10 playoff games, nine of them starts, Wilson is 1-5 with a 4.82 ERA, allowing 46 hits, including 10 home runs, striking out 43 and walking 29 in 52 1/3 innings.”

By the way, huge props to the LA Times for reporting, “Albert Pujols being aggressively pursued by Angels” at 11:19pm EST on Wednesday.  I’m not sure if they were the first, but this story seemingly came out of nowhere Thursday morning, didn’t it?

What do you guys think of the Angels new acquisitions? Obviously, time will tell but it certainly is fun to pull out the crystal ball and make predictions.  My friend Lee wrote me saying, “Pujols is not a good long term decision, and Wilson has had…1 good year…we’ll see. I’d much rather have Prince Fielder for 6 yrs and Mark Buerhle for 3 yrs.”

Wilson is joining an already outstanding pitching staff and Pujols is one of the best players of all time, so barring serious injuries or a catastrophic collapse (a la the 2011 Boston Red Sox) the Angels should be in good shape, at bare minimum.  Whether they win or lose on the field, the organization has won big, at least in the short term as fans will flock to Angel Stadium. 

Despite the outstanding seasons of Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp at Chavez Ravine last year, the disarray of the Dodgers organization coupled with a strong hispanic fan base and their desire to see Pujols will finally be the catalyst the Angels needed to get some of the Dodger faithful to make the drive to Anaheim.  

                

If you are already mad that Alabama is playing for the BCS title, chances are you not only have a beef with the way the system works in college football, but you probably aren’t a big fan of Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban either.  I can’t say I’ve met many Saban fans, but I’m sure they exist.  If the following story being reported by Deadspin is true, well, then Saban has NO shot of winning any popularity contests in the near future.  Or ever. 

Former player and current NFL Network analyst Heath Evans, who played for the Dolphins during Saban’s short stint as an NFL head coach in Miami, told a mighty interesting story on the radio while appearing on the Jorge Sedano Show on Tuesday.

According to Evans, Saban callously ignored one of his own players as he experienced a dangerous medical situation during training camp in 2005.  Here is what Evans had to say, via Deadspin:

“Jeno James, our best offensive lineman at the time, comes in and collapses after practice, uh, vomiting all kinds of stuff that would make a billy goat puke, eyes rolled in the back of his head. Myself, about four other lineman are trying to carry him from the locker room, to the training room…

Nick Saban literally just starts walking in, steps over Jeno James convulsing, doesn’t say a word, doesn’t try to help, goes upstairs, I don’t know what he does. But then obviously they get Jeno trauma-offed to the hospital.”

HUH??? For real???  Wait, lets not jump to conclusions just yet because Saban fully explained himself later that evening: 

“Saban calls a team meeting about 10:30 that night. [He] comes down and says, ‘You know, the captain of the ship can never show fear or indecision, we’ve always gotta have an answer, and so I had to go upstairs. That’s why I walked over Jeno like that, I had to collect my thoughts and decide what’s best for our team.’

And I’m thinking to myself…’Did he, does he really believe what he’s just saying?’ He showed no human emotion for one of his best players. He literally stepped over him when four or five grown men are trying to carry Jeno to the training room.”

Okay.  Either A) Saban just didn’t care or B) Saban really believed what he told his players in a team meeting, despite the utter lack of common sense, obligation, responsibility and overall logic. 

How much must Evans dislike Saban to drop this knowledge bomb a few weeks before the man plays in the BCS title game?  So cold. 

One would think that fresh off a college coaching job at LSU, maybe that sense of caring and the parental-like responsibility as a leader of young adults would perhaps carry over to the NFL, at least in that first year.  As a programming coordinator responsible for staff and kids at an overnight camp this past summer, I would’ve been held criminally negligent for doing to a camper what Saban allegedly did to James. 

If I am the parent of an Alabama football player, I am calling the football office RIGHT NOW to get a guarantee that if my son drops, the nearest coach will take personal responsibility for making sure he gets medical care and that the head coach will be involved to the fullest possible extent.   

That guarantee is already in writing when a player signs the paperwork when committing to a University as a student-athlete.  Plus, how many hundreds of times has Saban sat in the living room of a recruit and promised the young man and his family that he would take personal responsibility for that child’s safety and welfare?  NFL players aren’t kids, but they are human beings with families.  Perhaps coaches are held to different standards in the professional ranks which I suppose would make sense. Nonetheless, it is hard to imagine a group leader in any profession acting so carelessly. 

Six years after the fact, I don’t expect to Saban to comment on the alleged incident when he is in the midst of preparing for his former team LSU with a BCS championship up for grabs.   Winning is the bottom line after all, right?  Roll Tide. 

I established a solid routine when working Rex Sox games during the sweltering, humid Boston summers.  Dressed to impress with high-def TV makeup firmly caked on, I’d put on my backpack (filled with notes, a laptop and high heels), slip on my flip-flops and leave my apartment for the local T stop about four blocks away from my place. 

I’d hop on the train and get off a few blocks from Fenway Park.   By the time I would arrive inside the press box, I’d be sweating, but hiding it well of course.  I would find my seat, unpack my notes and laptop, then finally, before heading down to the clubhouse (still several hours before first pitch), I would exchange my comfortable black sandals for those pesky and painful (but necessary) heels. 

After the game ended and I had completed my final TV hits, I would run the same routine in reverse, feeling such relief when taking off the heels and putting on my trusty flip-flops.  I would say my goodbyes to my coworkers and do a few chat-and-waves with coaches, players and stadium workers as I left Fenway for the train ride and walk home, arriving back at my apartment around midnight. 

Those days are long gone now with news of Major League Baseball becoming the first major sport in North America to create a dress code for the media.  Ben Walker, a baseball writer for the Associated Press, explains the basic idea with help from an MLB press release:

“The media should dress ‘in an appropriate and professional manner’ with clothing proper for a ‘business casual work environment’ when in locker rooms, dugouts, press boxes and on the field, the new MLB rules say.”

Here is the MLB’s list of what not to wear:
-Sheer and see-through clothing
-Tank tops, one-shouldered or strapless shirts
-Clothing exposing bare midriffs
-Skirts, dresses or shorts cut more than 3-4 inches above the knee
-Visible undergarments
-Team Logos
-Flip-flops

These new guidelines didn’t fall out of the sky and land in Bud Selig’s lap.  They were carefully constructed by, “a committee of executives and media representatives,” according to Walker.  “The panel included female and Latin reporters and there was input from team trainers, who had health concerns about flip-flops in clubhouses and bare feet possibly spreading infections. Such footwear is no longer permitted.”

The AP article quotes an MLB spokesperson as saying the policy wasn’t adopted because of any one, specific incident but that baseball was aware of a situation involving the New York Jets and female TV Azteca reporter Ines Sainz at a practice in 2010 (read about that incident here:  http://bit.ly/sqClSF ).

It looks like the new guidelines are geared more towards women’s apparel, which, as a female reporter, raises a red flag.  BUT, this dress code is absolutely reasonable and is really more of a reminder to use common sense than anything.

I’ve had plenty of reporters come up to me and say something like, “did you see what he was wearing?  Cargo shorts, a Hawaiian shirt and flip flops? This isn’t the beach!”  Yes, men hate on each other’s wardrobes.  Who knew?

I think using the language “business casual” is the league’s way of sending a message to male media members that the dress code isn’t only for the ladies. 

Just as the MLB took notice of the incident in the Jets locker room, there is no doubt the NFL, NBA and NHL will keep an eye on baseball’s new policy going forward.

“MLB said it would consider appropriate actions if the guidelines were broken,” wrote Walker.

From now on, I guess I’ll have to rock sneakers and a dress before slipping on the heels.  It won’t exactly be fashionable, but hey, at least my feet won’t hurt, I won’t endanger the health of professional athletes and I’ll be within the new rules of baseball.  I wonder if the league will use video replay when assessing possible violations?  Just a thought. 

To read Ben Walker’s AP article about the MLB’s new media dress code, click here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5heIzPhQdHGiKc3v4aFwGqokboMUA?docId=3749bb1d25eb4ce0b9849db3c830493b