Jan 9th 2009 4:00PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
The Ravens enter the game as the chic pick for most, as the Titans are the most maligned 13-3 team I’ve seen since the 2001 Bears.

For the Ravens, the love is well-deserved. Since losing three in a row early in the season, they have won 10 of their last 12 games. The only losses were to the Giants — when the Giants were firing on all cylinders — and to the Steelers in the Walt Coleman game. They have dismantled opposing offenses along the way, and Ed Reed is playing the best football of anyone in the NFL right now. Seriously, when he intercepted that ball last weekend, I would have been surprised if he score.Continue Reading

Jan 9th 2009 4:06PM by Brian Grummell (author feed)
No, this doesn’t excuse his um, hair or his annoyingly unrepentant SEC honkery, but it’s still worth a few pennies of awesome. Tim Brando was the guest of Alabama’s legendary pot-stirrer Paul Finebaum’s radio program recently, discussing Auburn football before taking a few calls.

This being an Alabama radio program, someone was inevitably offended about something or other and went after Brando asking how much football he’d coached. That bee went straight to Brando’s bonnet and what we’re left with is radio goodness. A sampling of his ALL CAPS anger:
“No you shut the hell up. You listen to me! Ok? I’m the guest on this show. You listen to me for a second! I could care less about you!”
Audio clip of the exchange after the jump.Continue Reading

Jan 9th 2009 4:15PM by Brett Pollakoff (author feed)
It was tough to take the recent incident between Charles Barkley and the police seriously, even though it was in fact a DUI arrest. Once the juicy details about what exactly Charles was up to that caused him to run a stop sign and get pulled over were revealed, the whole thing pretty much became a joke. I guarantee you that at this point though, Barkley isn’t laughing.

Barkley’s immediate career has been placed on hold as a result of the incident, as he will be taking a leave of absence from his broadcasting duties at TNT. Turner Sports president David Levy’s comments on the matter are as follows:
“I have spoken with Charles Barkley regarding the incident. … This is an important time for Charles as he deals with the legal and personal issues that confront him. Charles is a valued part of the Turner Sports organization and we are concerned for his well-being.”You have to wonder if the details of Barkley’s comments to the police, combined with the report that his blood alcohol level came back at a ridiculous .149 forced TNT’s hand in (undoubtedly) making Charles take this leave. As you may recall, the last time Charles got himself into an embarrassing situation, all that the network required was an awkward, uncomfortable on-camera apology.

Jan 9th 2009 4:23PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)

On December 14, 2007, World Wrestling Entertainment Chairman Vince McMahon sat down with federal investigators from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to testify about allegations of steroid and illegal drug use in pro wrestling.

More than a year later, that testimony has now been released (PDF), and it’s a fascinating read for anyone with interest in pro wrestling, performance-enhancing drugs, or the way the federal government uses our tax dollars to conduct investigations.

The testimony was contentious from the beginning, with McMahon repeatedly saying “I don’t know” when investigators pressed him to answer whether steroids are harmful. McMahon made the completely reasonable point that if the Committee wants to know about the health effects of steroids, it should probably ask the FDA, not the WWE.

Not long after that, McMahon told an investigator who was questioning him to “Stop trying to put words in my mouth.”Continue Reading

Jan 9th 2009 4:30PM by Tom Ziller (author feed)

After a weak slate Thursday, the league comes back with a rather incredible line-up tonight. We’ll also have Brett Pollakoff at Mavericks-Suns, Twitterin’ away.

HEADLINERS
Boston at Cleveland, 8PM EST, ESPN

It’s easy to forget these teams have already met this season. But back in the first week, no one knew the Cavaliers would actually compete with Boston for the top seed in the East. Ta’ hell with playoff atmosphere. Given the intensity of the players involved and the stakes, this thing is Armageddon. Need a reminder?

Continue Reading

Jan 9th 2009 4:30PM by Geoffrey Miller (author feed)
I suppose you could chalk this up as one of those deals that just makes you want to go “hmmm.”

Not only did one of NASCAR’s most-storied organizations lose much of its independent identity thanks to a merger cued from financial necessity, but a driver thought to be on axe from the other merged team is back in the fold.

In other words, just another day in the always unpredictable world of NASCAR.Continue Reading

Jan 9th 2009 5:15PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
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You may recall that the Panthers have played the Cardinals once already this year. They won. Naturally, the Cardinals did not. But expecting history to repeat itself seems a touch premature (even if it happens all the time anyway) even though it appears that’s what people think — almost everyone is on the Catwagon. Normally, that would be disturbing for Panthers fans; it seems like whenever a bandwagon gets too full it always manages to topple over.Continue Reading

Jan 9th 2009 7:26PM by Ian (author feed)
Bobby Bowden will be the coach of the Florida State Seminoles this year. Just like he has for the past 34. Of course, that fact becomes something along the lines of news when you’re 79 years old and your heir apparent also happens to be one of the more sought-after candidates for a gang of openings. Even if he named Jimbo.

Moreover, with Florida State presumably in the drivers seat in their division, if not the entire conference (we’ve heard that one before, right?), it would be a good as time as any for Bowden to make a victory lap of sorts in 2009. Then again, we’ve heard that one before from Joe Pa, haven’t we? At least Tony Barnhart sees this scenario as most likely, and it’s somewhat hard to argue with. But the question that needs to be asked here is what an 82-year old is going to do with a $2 million salary other than feed his sons hush money.

Jan 10th 2009 1:30AM by Adam Gretz (author feed)
I think it would be fair to say that Steven Stamkos, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, has been somewhat of a disappointment for the Tampa Bay Lightning during his rookie season. After Lightning management hyped the stuffing out of him before he was even a member of the organization, the 18-year old has registered just four goals and 10 assists through his first 40 games. Probably not what Oren Koules and Len Barrie had in mind when they plastered his name all over billboards this summer.

Beyond that, in the wake of his firing after just 16 games, Barry Melrose called out the Lightning for, among other things, subjecting Stamkos to the competition in the NHL before he was ready for the challenge, suggesting that he should have remained with his junior team, the Sarnia Sting.

This leads us to Friday, as Stamkos was a healthy scratch for the Lightning’s 4-3 win in Anaheim. Somewhere Barry Melrose is screaming, “I told you so,” at his television set.

As for the guys in the lineup for Tampa Bay, Ryan Malone scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner at the 10:50 mark of the third period, while Martin St. Louis recorded three points, including a shorthanded goal in the first period.Continue Reading

Jan 10th 2009 1:45AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Cris Carter recently said that if he was in charge of the Dallas Cowboys, he would take a bullet and put it in Terrell Owens. This wasn’t smart, mainly because it implies that he would use violence as a solution for anything.

Naturally, TO — who has nothing to do right now but stir up trouble — responded. But not in the typical way you’d expect (sounding off to the media while doing push-ups, natch); nope, TO went out and got himself a blog at Yardbarker.
This is T.O. and I want to tell you this myself. People ask me what I thought about what Cris Carter said about me a few days ago. All I know is, if I’d been the one who had said that about him, what would everyone have thought?
Well, since this appears to be a rather open-ended, although not necessarily rhetorical, question, as opposed to, say, a statement that Carter is an idiot or deserves to be fired, allow me to answer the Cowboys’ wide receiver:

Everyone would think you are still as crazy as we thought you were, only just a little more violent.

I will say, though, that it’s pretty impressive that TO decided to come out, write a blog and be classy about the way he responded to Carter. What Carter said was uncalled for and unprofessional and I’m not sure why he’s not in more trouble or being forced to apologize to Owens. So, yeah, please keep blogging forever, Terrell.