Lewand Gets A Costly Punishment

NFL commish Roger Goodell doesn't discriminate when he hands down his brand of justice. Detroit Lions team president Tom Lewand found that out. He was made an example of when he fined Lewand $100,000 and suspended him for 30 days. No team activities until game three. Do not pass go and do not collect $200 while your handing out punishments Big Raj.

Lewand was caught drinking and driving, but pleaded to a lesser charge. He alledgedly was the designated driver. A loaded designated driver, the kind of driver I want taking me home. He went through the legal system and was fined $1000.

Goodell and Lewand met on July 24 and this is the conclusion they came to. This should serve as a lesson to Lewand. Also this should be a message to other NFL executives who seem to think they can get over on the system.  The players aren't the only ones being policed.

Angels Thrwarted In Move To Strengthen Team

The Los Angeles Angels failed to strengthen their team, when they attempted to trade for Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee. Lee has a no trade clause and nixed the deal saying he wanted to do what was best for him and his family and stay in Chicago. He also said that he would like to remain a Cub after this season and beyond.

Even though Lee has somewhat struggled this year, he would've been welcomed to an Angels team that needs another bat in the lineup. His Gold Glove defense would've also been a help. Current first baseman Kendry Morales is on the DL with a broken leg after celebrating a a walk off grand slam in May. This is a blow to the Angels in their pursuit of the first place Texas Rangers, but I'm sure they'll keep looking to make deals until the trade deadline on Saturday.

Lorenzen Wright Found Dead

Former Memphis Tiger and Atlana Hawks center Lorenzen Wright was found dead in Southeast Memphis. I never knew he was missing until i read the report that his body was found this afternoon.

Wright last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009. He starred for his hometown Memphis Tigers in college and also played for the Grizzlies. Wright was a former lotttery pick and played in the NBA for over a decade. 

The police report said it appeared Wright had been shot multiple times and that it did not appear to be suicide. Wright was 34 and left behind six children. 

'Reality Boys' Team Up In Cincy

After seemingly being blackballed by the NFL, Terrell Owens finally has a home. Owens is the newest member of the Cincinnati Bengals. Owens officially signed with the Bengals yesterday and now joins fellow reality star Chad Ochocinco. Ownes is a good pickup and him and Ochocinco, along with Antonio Bryant gives the Bengals a potentially explosive group of receivers. Of course if this pairing was done about 5 years ago it would be absolutely lethal. Owens clearly isn't what he once was. Although, even at 37, he has kept himself in great physical condition and still can get the job done. He gives quarterback Carson Palmer another target to throw to, if he can hang onto the ball. Owens has been plagued by drops the past few years and he also has his past to deal with. He does have a lot of baggage, but I also believe he really wanted to win. It just always came to his teammates' expense. Maybe he's turning over a new leaf. He was awfully quiet in Buffalo last year. Not just statwise either. I wasn't in the locker room, but there weren't any public outbursts or throwing his quarterback under the bus. Even though the Bengals are starting to resemble the Raiders of old, with the cast of characters they've assembled, this could actually be a good landing spot for Owens.    

Mallika Sherawat Topless on Twitter

Jack Tatum, R.I.P

The man who I consider the godfather of hard hitting safeties, Jack Tatum, passed away from a massive heart attack. He was 61. Tatum previously battled diabetes and other health problems for years.

To me, Tatum brought in the era of the jaw rattling safety. He was a feared man on the field. Ronnie Lott, Kenny Easley and others were players in the same mold. Hard hitting, fearless, and dared you to come across the middle. Being from Michigan it would be wrong to pay a Buckeye this much respect, but Tatum was the man. He was more known for paralyzing a defenseless Darryl Stingley in 1978. Even though he never formally apologized, there was some remorse for the vicious hit that confined Stingley to an electric wheelchair the rest of his life.

Tatum was best known for his days as a Raider, but played his last year for the Houston Oilers. He may not have been the best to play the game, but to me, the godfather of safeties that made receivers think twice about going across the middle.

They're Done

I hate to keep harping on one thing and beating a dead horse, but after being no hit by Tampa Bay's Matt Garza, I came to the conclusion that the Detroit Tigers are done. Donelike the Thanksgiving turkey when the little red thing pops up. The Tigers showed no signs of life and looked overmatched most of the night. I guess that's what happens when you have to replace proven major leaguers with 4a player types. Some will fault Jim Leyland, but he's only playing the hand he's been dealt. It's been a combination of bad luck, untimely injuries, and Dave Dombrowski not building enough quality depth in the minor league system. It's all happening at the worse time of the year, where th Tigers face their most brutal stretch of game. All on the road no less, where they've struggled all season.

I hate to give up on the season, but it's pretty hard to watch a team that seems close, but they're really far away. I still say don't make any desperation moves since they really don't have any chips to bring to the table. Unless they get a sweetheart of a deal. It would be a disservice to the fans to publicly admit giving up on the season. Deep down I think they all know it's pretty much over and the day will come where they'll be playing for next season and beyond. I'll still watch ad support them any way I can, but I think i have the same sentiment as many Tigers fans. It's over. Wait til next year. Then again, I could be wrong. Stranger things have happened. 


Yes, Garza still has that thing on his chin.

Hot Kareena Kapoor

Katerina Kaif's Hottest Pics

Tigers Need Help After Guillen And Ordonez Injuries

With Carlos Guillen on the 15 day disabled list and Magglio Ordonez out for the time that you get a rebate check (6-8 weeks), the Detroit Tigers might be desperate to pull the trigger on a trade that could bring another heavy bat to their lineup. This is a big blow to their hopes of catching the White Sox and without them they could fall out of the race altogether.

I would like to see them make a trade, but I just don't think they have enough ammunition to get a trade done without depleting a pretty thin farm system. They were rumored in talks for pitching, notably Arizona's Dan Haren, but he was dealt to the Angels. I heard they might be in play for Kansas City's Jose Guillen. Another rumor that has been put out there is that they are interested in Washington's Adam Dunn. I'm sure Tigers fans would love to see that, I just don't think they have the goods to get the deal done. I also heard they had scouts looking at the Phillies' Jayson Werth. With the Phillies semi struggling on offense, that might not happen.  If the Nationals reportedly asked the White Sox for Gordon Beckham, they'll want Fort Knox from the Tigers. If they can't get any deals done without giving up anything significant, I'm afraid they'll need to pull the retooling trigger a bit faster than the people of Detroit would like.

USC's Short Term Success Yields Long Term Problems

If everyone in the Pac-10 plays thier cards right, they can bury USC, starting this season. With the Trojan brass booting out former Athletic Director Mike Garrett and giving back Reggie Bush's Heisman, it seems like they're trying to get back into the good graces of the NCAA. They also picked former Trojan QB and Rhodes Scholar Pat Haden to run the athletic department. All because everyone looked the other way and Garrett was so smug and arrogant that hedidn't want to see the wrong doing going on with the football and basketball programs.

The if you don't know, you don't need to know atmosphere in Trojanland, fostered by Garrett and former coach Pete Carroll and others allowed to go on at USC was and is unacceptable. Of course the only ones punished for this are the current and future players at USC.

This is why I say it's time for teams in the Pac-10 to step their game up and bury USC. This is theperfect time for Rick Neuheisel to get UCLA back on track. This is a prime moment for Oregon to cement their staus as kings of the Pac-10 (if they can keep out of trouble). California and Washington can possibly take a step up in class by landing some great talent that is sure to spurn USC to go elsewhere. The Trojans are amn lucky Texas, Oklahoma, and others didn't take the invite to go to the Pac-10. I'm sure they'll get back on their feet, but it might take a while before that happens.       

Kiffin keeps pissing off Tennessee

USC head coach has once again pissed off someone in Tennessee. This time for stealing away Tennesse Titans running backs coach Kennedy Pola. From USC alum and Titans head coach Jeff Fisher. It's not the point that Pola left for a lateral job move. It's the fact that Kiffin hired him away without asking Fisher for permission to talk to him about the job. Now the Titans are staring at going into camp without a running backs coach. The reason why the Trojans need one is because former coach Todd McNair was the fall guy in the cheating scandal.

Pola, who also is an USC alum,and played and coached for the Trojans, is also the uncle of former Trojan and current Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu. I have no problem with Pola going somewhere that he feels he advance his coaching career. But the way this went down, I don't know if he will get another shot on an NFL coaching staff. Not after leaving one of the longest tenured coaches in the league today. Jeff Fisher is none too pleased with how this all went down.

"I am very disappointed in Lane Kiffin's approach to this,'' Fisher said on Saturday. "Typically speaking, when coaches are interested in hiring or discussing potential employment from coaches on respective staffs there is a courtesy call made from the head coach or athletic director indicating there is an interest in talking to the assistant.




"So I am very disappointed in the lack of professionalism on behalf of Lane, to call me and leave me a voice mail after Kennedy had informed me he had taken the job. It is just a lack of professionalism."

Word is, that Pola wasn't Kiffin's first choice. Eric Bienemy, the running backs coach for the Vikings got a promotion and pay raise to keep this scenario from happening to them. If Kiffin had any friends left in Tennessee, he doesn't have any now.

Kiffin is now trying to explain another mess he's created.

"We reached out to Kennedy Pola [on Friday] to gauge whether he had any possible interest in returning to USC before we moved forward with the process," Kiffin said.






"Kennedy said he would think about it and get back to us today. Once Kennedy did call back earlier today, out of my great respect for Coach Fisher I immediately reached out to Coach to make him aware of the situation. I have spoken with Coach Fisher and he now has an accurate understanding of the timeline of events," Kiffin said.
I think Kiffin needs to keep his mouth shut and coach since it seems like he can't do anything on the up and up.

One Of The Best Dunks Of All Time

This is one of the most illest, underrated,not talked about dunks of all time.





Nice music.

Ndamakong Suh- TV Star

I never knew commercias of the big man existed until now.






As a Lions fan, let's hope this translates to the field.

Wake Up The Echoes

Word on the street is that the Notre Dame-Miami rivalry will be restarting in 2012.

 The Hurricanes and Fighting Irish will play Oct. 6, 2012, at Soldier Field in Chicago, then play a home-and-home starting in 2016 at South Bend, Ind. They play in Miami the next season. Even though the series dates back to the 1950s, this rivalry really got going in the 80s with Miami's emergence as a player on the national scene.Notre Dame leads the series 15-7-1.

In 1985 the Canes whipped the Fighting Irish 58-7 in coach Gerry Fast's last game. I personally enjoyed it as Miami blatantly ran up the score with no regard. On the flip, if you can't stop the backups, don't complain. That's why I couldn't be a broadcaster. I'm a bit biased. Going into the 1988 game Notre Dame supporters coined the contest 'Catholics vs. Convicts'. Notre Dame won the game and that was also the last time the Fighting Irish won the national title. During the 80s and early 90s this was a game that was a deciding factor in the national championship race. Notre Dame won the last game in the series in 1990, 29-20.                                                                                                                                                                             

I'm anxious to see this series get started again. I hope both teams are nationally relevant by the time this game rolls around. I would love to see the pregame trash talk and pushing and shoving that teams aren't allowed to do these days. Wake up the echoes.

Hot Katerina Kaif

 

Katerina Kaif Hot Pictures in Boom

Huggs Is Ok After Bad Fall

West Virginia basketball coach is expected to be released from a Las Vegas hospital today after breaking four ribs in a bad fall. Reports don't get into specifics, except that he was in Vegas for a recruiting trip. Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said the fall was not related to any previous heart problems. Huggins is expected back in Morgantown later today.

I do hope he makes a quick and healthy recovery,as he is one of my favorite coaches. I've always liked the teams he's coached and the style they played. I also hope this wasn't related to alcohol use, since he's had a problem with that before. It also got him unceremoniously dumped from the University of Cincinnati.

Bulls' capspace doesn't land big prizes

Basketball fans you've seen this happen before. A team trades players (salary dump) and gets rid of draft picks to clear salary cap space to land a few big prizes in a bumper crop of free agents. Then no one takes your money and you have to settle for a second tier player on the market. The team that I speak of is the Chicago Bulls. Remember when Michael Jordan retired and Pippen and Rodman parted ways and GM Jerry Krause said "organizations win championships,not players" or something to that effect. They proceeded to clear out scores of cap room and no one came to Chicago. Its almost the same scenario except the cupboard isn't bare and they do have young pieces in place with Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, and Joakim Noah, and James Johnson. They signed Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer, and Kurt Thomas. Probably not what they wanted out of free agency, but they were solid pickups. In the process they lost Brad Miller to the Houston Rockets.

I do consider the Bulls to be losers in free agency, but they're a young, up and coming team, so shed no tears for them. To me it looks like Derrick Rose wants to be the man in Chicago and i think he's up to the task. Noah is maturing and becoming a solid player. If Deng can stay healthy and all the pieces click, they will be a contender in the Eastern Conference for years to come.

Second Half Predictions

The second half of the baseball season has started and I have a few predictions in store for the rest of the season. Of course, I coud be wrong.

AL East-I see the Yankees taking the division, but they won't run away with it. Tampa Bay and Boston will ahve a lot to say about that. I figure either the Rays or Red Sox should win the wild card. As of now New York holds a 4 game lead on Tampa and 7 up on Boston. I do expect all three to make significant trades as the deadline nears. The Yankees are in the mix on everyone, Boston has been quiet on the rumor front, and the Rays have been rumored as a possible destination for Kansas City's Zack Greinke. If Greinke lands in Tampa, that could possibly change the tide in chase for the AL East title.

AL Central-No one seems to want to take control of this division. Although it looks like the White Sox are showing no signs of slowing down. They've been involved in trade talks, notably for Milwaukee's Prince Fielder. If that happens, pencil them in for the playoffs. I do think they need more pitching,especially to be considered a serious threat to get to the World Series. I expect the Twins to get healthy and right the ship and make their annual late season surge. I like the Tigers, but I think they should play more for the future of the franchise than make any deadline deals. They should hang around, but flame out towards the end. You can't lose four straight to the Indians and expect to win your division. Also, the Twins and White Sox have their number, even though no one in the Tiger clubhouse will admit to it.

AL West- The Texas Rangers have forged ahead to a seven game lead over the Los Angeles Angels, with a chance to push it to nine by the end of the weekend. Texas got one of the biggest trade deadline prizes, being the surprise winner in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes. The offense can mash with the best of them and now they have a little piching to go with it. The Angels need to pick it up if they want to catch the Rangers. I still think they need another big bat in their lineup to make that happen. Right now I see the Rangers running away and hiding with the division crown.

NL Central- I think the St. Louis Cardinals will overtake the Cincinnati Reds when it's all said and done. The Reds have shown more staying power than I thought they would. Scott Rolen, who has been a big piece of the Big Red resurgence is hurt and I can't say for how long. That could be crucial. I do hear pitcher Edinson Volquez is due back soon and that could balance out the loss of Rolen. St. Louis has staved off these kind of challenges before and I don't expect that to change. Their involved in the Roy Oswalt trade talks and Roy wants to be in St. Louis. Do the Cards have what it takes to pry him out of Houston? Who knows. If that trade is made, they would be the favorites to represent the National League in the World Series.

NL East- It's a bit surprising the Atlanta Braves are in first and six up on the Mets and Phillies. I mentioned in another post the Phillies hve shown themselves to be a strong second half team in the past. They could get Pedro Martinez back and could also make a big trade to vault them back into first. I haven't been sold on the Mets since they blew that seven game September lead a few years back to the Phillies. They're starting to fade, even with the return of Carlos Beltran. The Braves are the surprise leader in the clubhouse and I don't see them going anywhere. They have a balanced lineup and their trademark pitching with the savvy Bobby Cox leading the way. I expect this one to go down to the wire between the Braves and Phillies.

NL West-Once again, this is the wild west. Four teams have a legitimate shot at winning the West. The San Diego Padres don't have much offense, but they do have strong pitching and they do have the best offensive force in the division in first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Don't expect them to make any moves at the deadline though. I haven't seen many of the games the teams in the NL West play in since its too damn late to watch them. I do know this much, the Giants,Dodgers,and Rockies will make this pennant chase exciting to watch. With six games separating the furthest competitor (Dodgers), this will be another that goes down to the wire.

Jimmy Johnson on Survivor?! I think he's just bored

Former Super Bowl and National Championship winning football coach Jimmy Johnson will be going on the Survivor reality show. Personally, I think he's bored. Think about it. Jimmy has always been hyper competitive. He likes to win at everything. If he doesn't, he sure acts like it. He needs another challenge, but doesn't want to coach football to meet that challenge, so he found a new one. I might watch it just to see how Jimmy handles himself. If he does win, I wonder is he going to keep the money. I don't think that would go over too well with a person less fortunate finishing behind Jimmy and not getting the money. I'll be tuned in to see how he does. 

The Buddyball Era

Once LeBron James joined Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade in Miami, two of his closer friends in the NBA, I said it was the start of buddyball. Now it seems like New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul wants in on the action. Not necessarily going to play in Miami, but calling for a trade where there is an established superstar. He wants a trade unless the Hornets can convince him that they're willing to become a contender. As of now I don't see that happening in New Orleans at this moment due to the slow pace of an ownership change.

I can understand wanting to win, but don't try to pout your way out of town. Making a trade demand makes you look like a spoiled child. By trying to go to a team that has a big time player is only saying I want to play with my boys. Especially in the light of the Miami 3 get together. Players must remember this is basketball not the get along gang. Saying he wants to go to New York, Orlando, Dallas, and Portland. All teams that are playoff contenders, with the exception of the Knicks. But the Knicks do have Amare Stoudemire,supposedly one of Paul's "boys". I'm no insider, but Stoudemire said he could deliver Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks if he signed there and Paul said that he, Anthony and Stoudemire would form a "big three" in New York  at Anthony's wedding. Here's the thing Chris, management holds the cards. They're not going to trade you for a bag of basketballs and the towel boy. If the Hornets do trade you, they have to get fair value. It's a business. I know the Hornets have never been the ideal franchise, they still have to trot out a good product to keep the fans interest and make money.

Personally, I get tired of athletes making these kind of demands. Paul should've thought about this when he signed his contract extension in 2008. I understand the Hornets appeared on the cusp after taking the defending champion San Antonio Spurs to seven games. But he should've tried to look at the bigger picture. Hey, money talks doesn't it? That was as good as it was going to get with the way the team was constructed. But he signed on for more and now he wants out. Unless some team gives up a king's ransom for Paul, he ain't going nowhere. Unless some GM pulls out a handgun and pantyhose and completely robs the Hornets. Right now the best option is to just try and get his team back to the playoffs.

Fans,buddyball is here, whether you like it or not.