Take a look at the photo below, from Texas A&M’s women’s basketball site (it’s also a poster). Too much? Are some women’s college teams, like Florida State, depicting their athletes in the sexiest ways possible, so as to distance themselves from the lesbian stereotype? I ask because I care.

(Sexy poster, or deleted scene from HBO’s “Big Love”?)

Jayda Evans, who covers college and pro women’s basketball for the SEATTLE TIMES, says that’s exactly what’s going on at some schools. She looks at the photo above, and others like it, and says, “I’m just concerned the sexualized look continues a different, damaging constant in women’s hoops — homophobia.” Whoa. Rebuttal? Yep.

Chantelle Anderson, Vanderbilt’s all-time leading scorer who played for three teams in the WNBA, lets Evans have it in a post on WOMEN TALK SPORTS, where she is a regular contributor. Have at it, ladies. (Notice how I avoided the term “catfight”? … oops).

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Behold the magical Twitter page of Florida State football recruiting coordinator James Coley, as originally pinpointed by Spencer Hall @ EDSBS:

Not much really to add to his resplendent body of work, except to say “MINDSET - BIZY MASHIN BOILD PEANUTS 4 COACHED BOWDIN!!!!“

Drawing crude penises on someone’s face when they’re passed out? Funny prank. Wrapping someone’s dorm room in aluminum foil while they’re at class? Funny prank. Pulling a gun on a cashier at a Check N Go? Well, that’s less of a funny prank, according to the Jacksonville Police Department, and more “felony.”

Former FSU linebacker Bradley Jennings must not have gotten that memo in time, unfortunately; as you can tell by the morose mugshot above, Mr. Jennings was trying to pull a prank, and he chose… poorly. So even as he told the cashier it was all a joke and apologized before the cops showed up, he was still arrested yesterday for aggravated assault.

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In case you had the TV off last Saturday (or had switched from ESPN to CBS to watch Fedor Emelianenko rock Brett Rogers‘ face off), Clemson took down FSU in a 40-24 slugfest that was much closer than the score indicated.

(It’s like he’s trying to open the helmet like a Christmas present.)

It was also more violent than the score indicated - which seems to be more of a shortcoming of today’s scorekeeping than anything, but we digress - and as the picture would show, someone got a little eye-gougey. It’s Clemson’s Andre Branch, getting a fistful of FSU’s David Spurlock’s face. Video, of course, is after the break.

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If you hadn’t been paying close attention - and we don’t blame you if you hadn’t - Terry Bowden ain’t dead yet, #*%$#@!! Terry was the first member of the vaunted Bobby Bowden family tree to be unceremoniously dismissed from D-I in 1998; brother Jeff left his post as FSU OC during the 2006 season, Tommy Bowden was fired from Clemson halfway through last year, and Bobby will probably be murdered if he tries to come back after this season, so you’d think the sun was setting on the Bowden legacy.

Not so, bitches, not so. Terry Bowden resurfaced this year at Northern Alabama, a Division II school, to about the amount of fanfare you’d expect: a couple wowreallywhatevers and about a week of headlines. Then it’s off to pay more attention to I-A, because come on. Bowden’s on a slower track to success, winning a modest amount of games and oh who are we kidding, he’s tearing D-II up and he’s probably going to be the last Bowden in I-A.

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And now a quick recap of your late college football contests:

Hope you enjoyed your stay in the Top 10, BYU. Just as Oregon had earlier busted Utah’s chances of a BCS-busting season, the Cougars saw their dreams of a big BCS payday go up in smoke in a 54-28 massacre at the hands of the Florida State Seminoles. Hard to believe this was the same FSU team that was losing 9-7 to 1-AA Jacksonville State with only two minutes to go last week.

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Just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder in Raiderland, the Internets are buzzing over a report published on NATIONAL FOOTBALL POST yesterday that cites anonymous sources detailing exactly what Tom Cable did to assistant Randy Hanson. If you aren’t familiar with what’s going on, we told you that Cable is alleged to have punched Hanson in the jaw during a meeting on August 5th. And if the latest report is anywhere close to being true, Cable won’t need to worry about his quarterback controversy, or anything else Raider related, anymore.

First, here’s the nitty gritty:

According to the source, Cable knocked Hanson out of his chair and up against the wall and into a cabinet. Cable and Hanson fell to the floor, where Hanson was choked, the source said, and Cable was pulled off Hanson by the other men before Cable went after Hanson again.

“Cable said, ‘I am going to kill you, I am going to kill you,’ as he was choking him,’’ according to the source, who also said furniture in the room was damaged.

Hanson’s jaw is reportedly broken, and he also reportedly had to undergo further treatment in the emergency room on Wednesday night, a full two weeks after the August 5th incident. Cable could be facing a felony assault charge if everything is as it seems. If charges are filed, one has to think that Roger Goodell would invoke the “personal conduct” policy and at least force Cable to take a leave of absence, if not ban him altogether.

(”Why couldn’t you just ‘make it rain’ instead, Tom?”)

Things are complicated, however, by the fact that Hanson doesn’t seem like the most stable guy on the face of the Earth. In fact, he only decided to cooperate with police and NFL investigations when he was told by Davis that he wouldn’t be able to return to his assistant position. He had hoped that the matter would be addressed internally, and that he’d be given his job back. The alleged assault came when Cable told Hanson that he was being demoted from his job as defensive backs coach and would instead by breaking down film and wouldn’t be allowed on the field.

If Hanson’s name sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Just weeks into last season, Lane Kiffin’s tenure with Oakland started to become unraveled when he suspended Hanson for “personal issues.” Hanson claimed that he was subsequently ostracized by Kiffin and wasn’t being allowed to perform any coaching duties. This angered Al Davis, who used Kiffin’s suspension of Hanson without his knowledge as an example of “insubordination.”

Now, Hanson is experiencing déjà vu. From the NFP story:

Cable had been working to reduce Hanson’s role for months, the source said. Cable said that Hanson had been confusing the Raiders’ defensive backs, and Cable held a closed-door meeting with the cornerbacks and safeties and just himself. That led to a meeting between Cable and Hanson in Hanson’s room, and later a meeting with coaches after Cable had instructed Hanson not to come to practice.

Anything can happen once, but Hanson has been basically told to take a hike by two coaches now, which means that there’s probably something wrong with him. But is it worthy of getting his jaw broken? If Cable is charged, he’ll have to decide if his defense will be “I didn’t do it” or “he got what he deserved.” For what it’s worth, it looks like Cable was coming to the defense of his defensive coordinator, John Marshall, who NFP said was being verbally abused by Hanson.

Also complicating matters is the fact that the particulars of NFP’s story aren’t being corroborated independently by anyone at this point. Every other story I can find about the situation references the NFP story as its main source. The writer of the story, Brad Biggs, just joined NFP earlier this month, though he has written about the Bears for the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES for several years. I don’t think there’s any reason to doubt any of Biggs’ assertions, but it is a bit curious that none of the major newspapers in the Bay Area have confirmed any of these new details with their own reporting. Or maybe they just think Hanson’s crazy and not worthy of further publicity.

(It’s not a good sign when this is the only photo of you on the entire Internet.) 

The last time the United States hosted the World Cup, in 1994, O.J. Simpson stole its thunder and most of America ignored the whole thing. But now, with momentum for the sport building in the states, the U.S. is bidding to host either the 2018 or 2022 event (2022 seems more likely), and as part of the bid must come up with 12-18 stadiums to be used.

Yesterday, the list was trimmed down from 45 venues to 32, and contains, as you might expect, many of the largest and most modern NFL stadiums, as well as a smattering of others. Among those still on the list are the Rose Bowl, which hosted the ‘94 final, as well as the new stadiums in Arlington, East Rutherford, and Indianapolis. A few college-only stadiums are under consideration as well, including Michigan Stadium, Stanford Stadium, and Husky Stadium in Seattle.

(Is there enough room for a full-size soccer field here between the brick walls?)

The dregs of the list include Detroit’s Ford Field (which shouldn’t really host any sort of championship football), domed stadiums like the Edward Jones Dome and the Georgia Dome, and the Oakland Mausoleum, which probably (hopefully) won’t exist in 2022.

Among those cities taken off the list were Salt Lake City, Las Vegas (sports bettors still can’t get used to a game where an over/under might actually be set at “0″), and the soccer-crazed town of Fayetteville, Arkansas (could you see Ghana and Portugal going to play a game in Fayetteville?). Unfortunately, Arkansas’ exclusion will further complicate Alan Partridge’s “soccermeter” should he give it another go in 2022:

• If “disgruntled” was a stat, there’s no doubt that Gary Sheffield would lead all of baseball in that category over the last 20 years. But he seems to have a point this time. The NY DAILY NEWS says Sheffield is confused that the Mets withdrew his name from waivers after another team made a claim, but also told him that he’s not in their plans for next season. It’s somewhat bizarre, considering the Mets are paying him $400,000 this year, that they wouldn’t just let him go. Especially if they could trade him for some sort of mid-to-low level prospect to a contender. Sheff’s Chefs are particularly unamused.

• If you’ve ever wanted to have a guy in a mascot suit take you for a piggy back ride, you’ll think twice after watching this. There are few things more hilarious than a good, solid, mascot accident:

• The NCAA is furious that a judge has ruled that documents relating to an investigation into academic fraud at Florida State are public record and FSU should have unfettered access to them, according to the ORLANDO SENTINEL.

• The Cubs are, finally, about to get Ricketts.

• An eight-year-old British kid named Tiger Brewer became the youngest person ever to stand on top of a plane while it’s flying around. This is apparently called “wing walking.” His parents are named Colin and Zoe if you’re wondering who’s trying to come up with a creative way to off their own kid.

• Ex-Major Leaguer Scott Spiezio is trying to work his way back from issues with drugs and alcohol, and is doing so in the Golden Baseball League. The LA TIMES caught up with him as he tries to repair his reputation.

• Chad Ochocinco is about to change his middle name to “Gramatica,” after kicking a perfect extra point and booming a kickoff inside the 10:

• Earlier in the game, Randy Cross produced some fine artwork with the telestrator. KISSING SUZY KOLBER has the screenshot.

• The NEW YORK TIMES says baseball is likely to toy with the idea of an NBA-style system in which draft picks have pre-determined salaries based on where they are picked in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. This, of course, is at odds with baseball’s general open-market attitude, but might be easier to negotiate than a salary cap.

• Vote early and often: FANTASY BASEBALL DUGOUT’s “Hottest Baseball Wife” poll is underway, and 2009’s winner will be crowned on August 31st. Mark DeRosa’s wife, Heidi, is the defending champ and seems to be running away with it this year as well. Some of the pics on the site aren’t exactly flattering (Jordan Schneider looks like she’s in the Zapruder film), so here’s a better photo of the scrappy underdog, Ashley Eckstein:

• Suspected steroid abuser Manny Ramirez gets a rude reception from San Francisco Giants fans - the same Giants fans who were so passionate in supporting suspected steroid abuser Barry Bonds.

• 49ers coach Mike Singletary makes a mountain out of a molehill, forcing QB Alex Smith to watch the rest of practice from high above.

• Bobby Bowden would like to share his prostate problems with you.

• EA sports donates advanced copies of Madden 10 to a U.S. submarine crew who are shipping out before the game’s official release date.

• Would it really kill the NHL to let Jim Balsillie move the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton, Ontario?

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In case you haven’t watched a single sporting event on television in the last 10 years, you might not know this, but urinary health is a big issue among men over 50 and ad executives. Apparently, you probably don’t have a going problem, but a growing problem. You… well, I’ll just let you watch the commercials, don’t want to spoil the surprise.

(”And so I get an MRI, and I kid you not, dadgummit, my prostate’s the size of a cantaloupe, just bulbous, just… you’re not grossed out by this, are you son?”)

Ah, but if you haven’t watched a sporting event on television, odds are pretty good that you’re also a college football coach, that small sect of America who work 90-hour weeks and just don’t have time for the distraction of ESPN. Oh, but if you’re very old - like Bobby Bowden -  we have a perfect storm of prostate disaster. Here, we’ll let Bowden explain.

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One can’t categorize this as another case of golf rage, because it appears that former NFL wide receiver Hassan Jones would have seized anything handy to use it as a weapon in this sad and unfortunate episode. Jones was arrested Monday on charges of aggravated assault and felony battery, which included waving a golf club at his wife and daughter.

As you might recall, the 6-foot 2, 235-pound Jones had played for the Florida State Seminoles & Minnesota Vikings. And one has to give props to the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES for diving headlong into the reporting on this one; it even named the type of club that he used during his berserk attack: Read more…