2:42 PMBucco Bruce is back in Tampa, along with those classic creamsicle uniforms. And the throwbacks seems to be helping - Bucs only down 21-17 to Green Bay at haltfime. Meanwhile, Raymond James Stadium has been playing all '70s music throughout the game.
2:33 PM The Monsters of The Midway are going through a horror show of their own right now - Chicago is down to Arizona 31-7 at the half. But will the Bears be who we thought they were by the end?
2:00 PM The new AP poll is out, and Ohio State is ranked ahead of USC, who is ranked ahead of Oregon. Um, who beat who again?
NFL executive vice president of football operations Ray Anderson in a letter to Wesley: “The prohibited contact in this case went well beyond simply interfering with the receiver. Instead, by striking your defenseless opponent in the head and neck area, you committed an unnecessary and unnecessarily dangerous act that is specifically prohibited by the rules.” Read more…
Not a lot of people in Carolina are happy with Jake Delhomme right now. The Panthers QB has turned the ball over 10 times in his last two games, and Delhomme looked downright deplorable in Carolina’s 38-10 beatdown at the hands of the Eagles. Among those who’ve voiced displeasure with Delhomme is Panthers WR Steve Smith, as Fox microphones picked up Steve telling Jake, “I never really liked you as a quarterback. But as a person, that’s who I love.”
But wait a second - it was all just a crazy mixed-up misunderstanding!
Everyone remembers Jake Delhomme’s horror show in last year’s playoffs, where he accounted for six turnovers in a 33-13 loss to the Cardinals (on his birthday, no less). Delhomme was rewarded for the collapse with a mammoth, $42.5 million extension in the offseason, which made little sense then and even less now after Delhomme rang in the season with four more picks against the Eagles in the opener.
(This made sense at the time.)
If that seems galling to Panthers fans, imagine how “thrilled” Steve Smith would be. The player who, just three years ago, was considered the best wideout in the game (this is when Randy Moss was still languishing in Oakland), now has to deal with Captain Interception firing the ball “toward” him. Using our Future Glasses, we can tell you that this ends in a season with approximately 1100 receiving yards and 4 TDs, and Smith kind of sees that coming too.
So after one especially egregious pick on Sunday, Delhomme took it upon himself to apologize to Smith. In retrospect, that may not have been wise.
It looks like former NFL players Troy and Darren Hambrick have some sort of competition brewing between themselves to see which one could be the sleaziest loser. Troy (ex-Cowboy, ex-Cardinal) had surged into the lead last year by getting sentenced to five years in jail for selling crack cocaine. That’s called “throwing down the gauntlet” to his brother.
(Hambrick brothers Darren [L] and Troy [R])
But the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES reports that Darren (ex-Cowboy, ex-Brown, ex-Panther) might have surged ahead with his latest misadventure. He has been arrested and charged with raping his girlfriend and holding her hostage in their house for more than 11 hours. That’s going to be a tough act for Troy to follow - especially from jail. Someone should give Troy a pat down and check for shivs, just to be sure.
Have you ever heard of Thomas Davis? Probably not, but he’s a linebacker for the Carolina Panthers, via Georgia. We up to speed? Good. Speaking of speed, Thomas Davis has one of the most recognizable cars in Charlotte, a super-personalized purple 1975 Caprice Classic. You’ll see part of it in the picture below.
(Here I am! Wait… where am I?)
Well, hold the phone; Davis had one of the most recognizable cars in Charlotte, up until this weekend, according to authorities. Repo’ed? Totaled in a crash? No no, just a prop in a cunning plan not thought all the way through.
Ryan Leaf is an instant sports blog punchline, suitable for use anytime you need a real-life example for the words “bust,” “loser” or “train wreck.” But at least he had some shred of dignity: sure, he had been one of the biggest disappointments in NFL history, a top draft pick turned into petulant baby whose lousy attitude with coaches, teammates and the media ensured he would be drummed out of the league; but at least he wasn’t Todd Marinovich. No matter what, at least his rap sheet was clean.
Well, you can forget that. Remember when he took a “leave of absence” from his position as QB coach at West Texas A&M (and also as - for some reason - the golf coach), and it came out that he had “asked” a player for pain medicine for an old wrist injury? It turns out there was more to that story - a lot more. Leaf allegedly really, really needed that medicine - so much so that he allegedly broke into the apartment of an injured player he knew had been prescribed Vicodin and grabbed him a handful of pills.
And Leaf apparently was about as good of a thief as he was an NFL player, since the cops traced the theft back to him, and the AMARILLO GLOBE-NEWS says that he was indicted yesterday on nine different drug and burglary charges. The district attorney says that Leaf is currently in British Columbia getting drug treatment (socialized medicine!), but the DA “hopes” he returns to the country. I can’t say that sounds promising. (And there goes Leaf’s chance of an NFL comeback.)
Also in need of a comeback: the Los Angeles Lakers. Sure, last night’s 106-103 loss to the Denver Nuggets only tied their Western Conference finals at 1-1, but after almost giving away Game 1 as well, it feels like they are staring up at a mountain. For the first two games, they were outplayed, outhustled and physical dominated by the Nuggets, and are now completely out of sync and without home court advantage. (Seriously, how does Kobe Bryant not get a shot in one of those last two possessions?)
So the home court advantage in the two NBA conference finals belong to the Nuggets and the Magic. I’m sure that the NBA front office is thrilled about possibly having to market a Denver vs. Orlando series. If you are an NBA Conspiracy Theorist, then rest assured that David Stern is currently making some angry phone calls to some referees today to “fix the problem.”
Meanwhile, we moved one step closer to a Stanley Cup rematch as the Pittsburgh Penguins outscored the Carolina Panthers 7-4 to a take a 2-0 series lead. Sidney Crosby scored the opening goal - again - but it was Evgeni Malkin who was the real star, notching a hat trick including scoring one of the sickest goals you’ll ever see in your life:
You couldn’t even do that in NHL ‘94 for Sega Genesis without getting your head cracked open. So while the Hurricanes’ Eric Staal might be busy complaining about his brother Jordan“cheating” during face-offs for the Penguins, everyone else is getting ready for another tilt between Pittsburgh and Detroit (and we all know that’s happening, putting NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in a much happier place than David Stern is right now).
Even with his team having been blasted out of the playoffs in the first-round, world class loudmouth Jeremy Roenick still won’t shut up, as the DETROIT NEWS says he told a Chicago radio show that Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock“doesn’t like”Chris Chelios and has “got a grudge against American players.”
The MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE reports that the Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Timberwolves are set to announce their new GMs on the same day. Maybe they got a “Buy One, Get One Free” rental package on the hotel conference room?
Sammy Hasan, a girls’ track coach in Amherst, NY has been charged with forcible sexual conduct with a female high school student. The BUFFALO NEWS says that earlier this season, one of his runners thanked him for “helping her with her technique”after she won a sectional title. SBB PUNCHLINE CREATOR 3000 ERROR 4XQ587: TOO MANY INAPPROPRIATE JOKES.
WTAE-TV reports that former Tennessee basketball player Michael Brooks was arrested after being found in possession of cocaine and Vicodin. Someone check his trunk to see if Ryan Leaf is hiding in there!
Former Houston Texans lineman Fred Weary tried to help an ex-teammate out by hiring former Florida Gator Anthone Lott as a general contractor on four townhouses Weary was building in Gainesville. Judging by the fact that the ST. AUGUSTINE RECORD says Lott has been charged with defrauding a bank and Weary of more than $185,000, I’d say that didn’t end too well.
Florida high school football standout and South Carolina recruit Ben Axon was arrested and charged with marijuana possession with intent to sell, according to the BRADENTON HERALD. But at least he was honest when the cops asked him “if he had anything illegal on him” and handed them 23 small bags of wacky tobacky.
There’s never a great time to start drunkenly hurling swear words at the opposing team from the stands during a high school baseball game…but to do it during a stoppage for an injury is just wrong. But that’s exactly what the SCHENECTADY DAILY GAZETTE says that George “Mr. Class” Sperow did before getting into a fight and then being arrested.
Ferrari is threatening to leave Formula One if they institute a budget cap in 2010, so now the TELEGRAPH is saying that Formula One rightsholder Bernie Ecclestonewill sue them if they do. Where else are they going to go - NASCAR? (Oh please, please let me see a Ferrari NASCAR team.)
Is there anything sadder than a kicker trying to hold out for more money? That’s what PRO FOOTBALL TALK says that Cleveland kicker Phil Dawson is doing as he skips the team’s “voluntary” minicamp. Isn’t there a Bahr brother somewhere who can still kick? Martin Mull? Stefan Fatsis?
Do you remember Deidra Lane? It has been awhile since she was in the headlines, so maybe you need a refresher course. Lane is the woman who, back in 2000, murdered her husband, Carolina Panthers running back Fred Lane, in their home.
While Lane said at the time that she killed her husband in self defense as he had become abusive to her, Fred Lane’s attorneys said she did it in hopes of cashing in on a $5 million life insurance policy after she found out he was going to leave her. We can’t be sure who was telling the truth, but Deidra did plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 2003 and has been in prison ever since. Well, at least until this morning.
One of the perks of being a season ticket holder for any professional sports team is that you get first dibs on buying playoff tickets if the team makes the postseason. Of course, with ticket prices forever rising and the economy getting worse it’s not exactly surprising that some fans are choosing to pass on paying for playoff tickets these days. If you were a Carolina Panthers fan, for instance, you may have decided to save yourself some cash and just watch the team’s playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals at home.
You were probably pretty happy you did too, after seeing the Cardinals destroy your team 33-13 thanks to Jake Delhomme’s five interceptions. Not only did you save yourself some dough, but you also kept yourself out of prison by not rushing onto the field to strangle Delhomme. Of course, then you go to the mail box to get the day’s mail and hey, guess what? You’ve got a letter from the Carolina Panthers. They probably want to thank you for supporting them this season! That or they want you to pay them for the right to remain a PSL holder.
