tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

College Football Is Burning

The recent report of unbelievable violations committed by the University of Miami should be the fuse that sets off an explosion which would result in major changes in college atheltics specifically college football. Unfortunately, it won't happen. College football is big business. While the NCAA tries to sell the whole purity of the sport story, the truth is that college football is about as pure as the creeps who work on Wall Street and the bankers and oil men who are living high off the hog.

The Miami story is similar to Ohio State in that the AD, the University administration and football coaches knew what was going on with one Nevin Shapiro. To think that 18,19 and 20 year old kids, who may come from impoverished backgrounds, would not jump at the chance to get large amounts of money, get new cars and attend lavish parties with strippers is totally unrealistic. I don't blame these kids. The blame needs to be placed on the adults. The very people who were supposed to be looking out for these kids. The fact is they could careless about these kids as long as they perform on the field so the University can rake in the cash.

Eight major college football programs have been penalized or are under investigation. (USC, Ohio State, Auburn, Oregon, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, LSU) and the NCAA sits idly by and watches. My initial reaction is that Miami needs to have the death penalty dropped on them. However, that probably won't happen. There are some who believe that it won't happen because the NCAA fears that if Miami gets hammered, the big football programs will end up breaking away from the NCAA and create their own organization. This organization would be basically the BCS which is comprised of the big conferences. The mid-majors and small schools will all that will be left for the NCAA and as a result they would be powerless and lose plenty of money.

College football is burning. The NCAA is on the spot. Will they do the right thing and drop the death penalty on Miami or will they give them a slap on the wrist. Stay tuned.

NFL News

Here's what is going on around the NFL:

* Jermichael Finley had a promising start last season before an injury ended his 2010 campaign. Well, the Packers are hopeful that Finley will be back on the field possibly for this week's second preseason game.

* The Chicago Bears were not happy with the performance of second string quarterback Caleb Hanie in last Saturday's game against the Bills. Apparently, rookie Nathan Enderle is getting reps with the Bears second team offense. Not sure what this is all about. Maybe a motivational move to wake Hanie up. Whatever the case, the Bears need to get this situation worked out.

* Jimmy Clausen is scheduled to start once again this week for the Carolina Pathers against Miami. Coach Ron Rivera indicated that a decision will be made as to who the starter will be by the August 25th preseason game against the Bengals. Claussen's competition is overal 1st round draft pick Cam Newton.

* Speaking of the Bengals, Mike Brown's ridiculous stance on Carson Palmer's demand to be traded is typical of an owner who is a joke. Palmer has been a consumate professional and at age 31 sees the handwriting on the wall: the Bengals will be bad for awhile. Palmer could probably bring back a reasonably high draft pick back to Cincinnati but Brown refuses to budge. If I was a Bengal fan, they wouldn't see me at a game this year.

* Chris Johnson is out of his mind wanting to be one of the highest paid players in the NFL. The Titans are ready to pay Johnson Adrian Peterson money but that's not good enough. Johnson wants to be paid like a quarterback. Well, that's not happening. The average career length of an NFL running back is far shorter than that of an NFL quarterback.

* The Washington Redskins have announced that John Beck will start this week at quarterback and the word is that the Shanahans have already made the decision that he will be their starter. So much for Rex Grossman.

* Mike Sims-Walker may be a big find for the St. Louis Rams this season as he wants to prove that the Jacksonville Jaguars made a huge mistake letting him go. Sims-Walker could be somebody to keep an eye on for fantasy purposes.

* Earl Thomas, safety for the Seattle Seahawks, is having an outstanding camp so far. The former Longhorn star is drawing comparisons to All-Pro Raven safety Ed Reed.

* The Buffalo Bills have cut Aaron Maybin. Maybin, the former first round pick, is another of a line of light Penn State defensive ends who were drafted in the 1st round only to be cut. (Michael Haynes - Bears, Courtney Brown - Browns) I can't believe that Maybin came into camp at 228. Several teams have contacted Maybin's agent, including the Jets. It would seem that if Maybin has a future its at OLB.

* Don't know why but I'm really thinking the Kansas City Chiefs can be an exciting team to watch this year. Matt Cassel will have Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston, rookie Jonathan Baldwin and tight end Tony Moeaki as his receiving corp. This coupled with star running back Jamaal Charles and Le Ron McClain should make the Chiefs an exciting team to watch this year.

NFL News

It's time for me to take a break from the Yankees (another loss last night) so starting today, once a week from now until the Super Bowl there will be a post dealing solely on what's going on across the NFL. I hope you enjoy it.

* Chad Ochocinco going to New England is a great move for both him and the Patriots. I truly believe that Ocho still has some gas left in the tank and teaming up with Tom Brady should really be fun to watch. If anyone can get the most out of him it certainly is Brady and Bill Belichick. By the way, can you imagine having Ochocinco living at your home for a few weeks??? That's what he's doing while he gets acclimated to the Boston area as he plans on living with a fan until he gets his own place.

* Staying with the Pats, Belichick has beefed up his defense with the signing of Shaun Ellis, Mark Anderson and Andre Carter. I think it was really odd how the Jets treated Ellis, who was a stalwart on the Jet defense for years.

* I have enjoyed listening and reading about Rex Ryan. However, the Jets coach's act is starting to get old and I'm not sure that this year's edition of Gang Green is better than last year's team.

* Donovan McNabb starts over again this time with the Minnesota Vikings. McNabb will be helped out by having Adrian Peterson in the backfield and a better than average defense. It's interesting how little appreciation there has been for McNabb who has had a great career and has been a model citizen. Here's hoping McNabb has a good season.

* The Ravens signing of Ricky Williams was an excellent one. Williams will be a great compliment to Ray Rice. As a Browns fan, I hate the Ravens but this was a good move.

* Plenty of controversy in Chicago over Olin Kreutz leaving the Bears. Kreutz was a stalwart on the Bears offensive line for years but I'm not sure I agree with those who believe his departure will signal another bad year for the O-line. News flash: wasn't Kreutz a member of last years O-line that was hammered all year for not protecting Jay Cutler. Kreutz is not getting any younger and I think Roberto Garza will be handle the center duties. The bigger issues are at tackle but I think O-line Coach Mike Tice will have things ready for opening day.

* I've never been a Tim Tebow fan. In my mind I never thought he would be a good NFL QB. It seems that all reports out of Denver is that he is not better than Kyle Orton and he may not even be better than Brady Quinn. It doesn't surprise me that Orton is number 1 on the depth chart. I think that Orton is underrated and that the Broncos best chance of winning is with the former Purdue QB. Tebow?? There are those in South Florida who are clamoring for Timbo to come to Miami. News flash Dolphin fans: you are better off with Chad Henne who reportedly has looked good in camp.

The NCAA Is A Disgrace

http://eye-on-collegefootball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/24156338/30798279

The NCAA has found that there was no institutional wrongdoing on behalf of Ohio State University in the memorabilia-for-sale scheme that involved a number of players over a multi-year period. According to the NCAA, all the blame falls on Jim Tressel. Give me a break!!!

From everything that has been brought to light since this all came out back in December, it appears that various administrative types at OSU knew exactly what was going on. It is just unfathomable that no one but Tressel knew that players were selling or trading jerseys and other memorabilia for tattoos and cars. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, it was reported that the OSU AD before Gene Smith notified Tressel of problems pertaining to players selling items. I believe this was in 2005-2006. The article above does a great job of describing the inconsistencies of the Ohio State story.

There appears to be selective justice on the part of the NCAA. But what we also see is that the NCAA has some significant ethics problems. USC is on probation. Georgia Tech has given up their 2009 ACC title and been fined. Tennessee has self-imposed penalties and is awaiting an NCAA ruling. LSU is under investigation. Who will be happen next?

The NCAA is a disgrace. It talks about protecting student athletes. It talks about the importance of competition. Yet, it turns a blind-eye to a Big Ten institution and football powerhouse out of control. The yahoos in Columbus must all be happy. Tressel must be viewed as a martyr. And the Ohio High School Football Association will go on with their opening day tribute to him. Because at the end of the day its all about winning no matter how many rules you break. I can tell you one thing: I would never recommend a young man to go to OSU for any sport. It's nothing more than a meat factory. So much for protecting student athletes.

The NFL Remains Closed For Now

Yesterday with much fanfare, every talking head who's job is dependent upon the NFL was trumpeting the end of the lockout when the owners voted 31-0 to approve a collective bargaining agreement with the players. But the players put an end to the party by not taking a vote and in fact some claimed that the owners were trying to pull a fast one. Is it hard to believe that Jerry Jones and Daniel Snyder wouldn't try to pull one over on the players??

From what I have been able to find out, the terms of what the owners approved requires that the players recertify the union by July 26th and that the terms and conditions of the old collective bargaining agreement would be in effect. The parties would have until July 30th to agree to any changes. If they cannot come to an agreement, then the terms of the old agreement would remain in effect for the next 10 years. I have been involved in plenty of labor contract negotiations and I cannot imagine a labor union ever agreeing to something like this.

Since the rookie cap, revenue split and retiree benefits supposedly have been agreed to, unless these terms of the old CBA are inconsequential, I find it hard to believe that DeMaurice Smith would agree to only a 4 day period to renegotiate. I have to laugh when I hear people say that the players are greedy. The players have reduced their share of the revenue split. They have agreed to a salary cap for rookies. So who is greedy??

What people need to remember is the NFL is the players. They are the product. People don't go to the games to see Jerry Jones on the sidelines. They go to see Peyton Manning, Adrian Peterson and Larry Fitzgerald. NFL players have the shortest career span of any of the 4 major sports. By the time they hit their late 20's and early 30's many of these guys are done physically. Do they make a good buck?? You bet they do. But, they physically and mentally pay for it.

This deal will ultimately get done. But the owners shameless attempt to embarass and pressure the players is a disgrace. In case they don't realize it, it's the players who are putting people in the seats, getting fans to buy jerseys, caps and hats, and paying for the outlandishly priced NFL Sunday Ticket.

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NFL News

News on the status of talks between the NFL and the players has more twists and turns than a road up in the Smokey Mountains.  There had been considerable talk that an agreement will be reached by next Tuesday.  Drew Brees came out and said that they were working on small points and that they were real close.  But NFL.com reported last night that the talks were far from ending and that core issues had still not been resolved.  As we get closer to the dates for when training camps were suppose to open, both the players and the owners are getting antsy.  Peyton Manning and Tom Brady both came out saying that a deal needs to get done.  It will be interesting over the next couple of weeks to see what happens.

James Harrison is at it again.  Yesterday he called out Commissioner Roger Goodell calling him a punk, a puppet and used a homophobic slur.  He went on to say that if Goodell was on fire he wouldn't p*%s on him to put it out.  Harrison didn't stop there as he went after Ben Roethlisberger calling him out for the 2 interceptions Big Ben threw in the Super Bowl and to quit thinking he was Peyton Manning even though he's paid like Manning.  These gems from Mr. Harrison came from an article in a magazine in which Harrison posed shirtless with a gun in both hands.  Great image James.  It's jerks like Harrison that gets me aggravated with the NFL.  Harrison is a thug plain and simple.  Being critical of Goodell is one thing but do you have to sound like a jerk doing it.  As far as crticizing a teammate, it's totally uncalled for.  Curious to see what the Steelers do about this.

Plaxico Burress says that he would be interested in signing with the Chicago Bears.  Burress had a lot of nice things to say about Jay Cutler and would look forward to playing with him.  Burress is a big playmaking receiver that would help the Bears.  However, reports out of Chicago indicate that if the Bears had interest, Burress would have to agree to a significantly lower contract than the one that he had with the Giants.  Not sure about this one.  There's a part of me as seeing this could be a good thing for the Bears.  On the other hand, not sure about Burress' character issues.  Tough call here but maybe a short-term incentive laden contract might be the answer.

If and when this lockout gets settled, the free agent frenzy is going to be fun to watch.  It will be interesting to see where certain players end up and what will be the time frame for when free agents must be signed.  A lot of uncertainty.  Thank you NFL owners and Roger Goodell.

Bud Puts Issue To Bed…All-Star Game Boring

I have been critical of Bud Selig many times but I have to give him props for putting the contrived controversy over Derek Jeter's absence from the ASG to bed.  Selig made it very clear that he was not disappointed in Jeter's decision and in fact understood it completely.  In addition, Selig went on to say that Jeter has been an excellent ambassador for baseball and was a role model on and off the field.  The Commissioner made it very clear that anyone saying that he was disappointed or upset about the Jeter's decision was flat out wrong.  Now maybe we can expect the talking heads at ESPN to focus on the second half of the season.

A final note on this issue, if Derek Jeter had not reached 3,000 hits before the ASG would anyone have cared that he wasn't going to the game??  In fact, if he did go to the game I'm sure you would have heard that Jeter didn't deserve to be on the team let alone start.  That's why this whole thing was nothing more than a media created controversy.

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Last night's ASG was flat out boring.  It's rather unfortunate that home field advantage for the World Series was determined by this exhibition which did not have much excitement.  Wonder what the story is with Josh Beckett as he had a problem with his knee which prevented him from going into the game.  If it forces him to miss any games it really puts the Red Sox rotation in a real mess.