I love TO's ankle!!!!!

It makes me laugh that so many media members are complaining that they are tired of all the talk about TO's ankle leading up to the Super Bowl.

Since TO is a person who feeds off of all the attention that the media has given him over the years, I find it laughable that the people that created this monster are already tiring of it.

And for those that think TO is selfish by trying to play hurt, I'd suggest that they look at what John Abraham sitting out did for the Jets in the playoffs. Personally, I can't believe that the 54th guy on the Eagles roster will contribute more than TO at x%.

Sosa to the Os

I bet Randy Johnson is looking through his contract for a strike out bonus.

Seriously, what are the Orioles thinking? A team that needed arms almost as badly as the Yankees and their big move of the offseason is getting a cut rate deal on a used up Sammy Sosa?

Oh wait, they need Sosa to combat the Washington Nationals. Riiiiiiiight...............................

Romeo to the Browns

For the sake of Romeo and the Browns fans, I hope this works out better than Belicheck's time running the Browns.

Romeo certainly deserves a shot at a head coaching job, but I' not going to annoint him a savior just yet.

Every "coaching family tree" turns out a few duds. And who knows if Cleveland, or Notre Dame for that matter, are going to get a dud of the litter of BB offspring?

The bigger question will whether or not the Patriots will suffer from brain drain and that will be what ultimately derails the Patriots dynasty. And while people like BB and Peter King don't want to call the Pats a dynasty after they win on Sunday, I'm going to.

Today's salary cap/free agency/parity party NFL is set up to make what the Patriots are currently doing al but impossible. And yet this team is going to win 3 out of 4 Super Bowls and have the core of their roster returning. Along with their head coach and personnel guru not looking to get out anytime soon.

Much to my wife's dismay..........

As the NHL doesn't turn

I'm honestly having a hard time figuring out which side is more idiotic in all this.

Is it Gary Bettman and the owners that refuse to set a deadling date that might get a deal done because the NHLPA wants a deadline?

Or is it Bob Goodenow and the NHLPA members that have chugged Bob's Kool Aid who think that the owners will cave if they call their bluff and let the season get nuked?

I can't believe that either side has yet to figure out that cancelling the season will shrink the business to the point that profits made whenever the league starts mack up won't be close to what they would have been had a comprimise deal been struck say in October or November.

My "I hate Larry Quinn" moment

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050129/1049716.asp

Larry, back away from Hockey Hotline.

It's the best thing that's going about Sabres broadcasts.

It was even better when Brian Blessing was the one driving while Roby rode shotgun.

And I think everyone knows that the only people that need to be afraid of straight shooters are idiots who don't know what they are doing.

And I guess everyone knows where you fall now.

The dance continues

So the question remains: will the NHL and NHLPA get a deal done or is the season already been flushed down the toilet by their little game of $2 billion chicken?

So we've had a few small group meetings again this week. And again, the NHLPA says that the talks have gone nowhere and the NHL seems a little more optimistic.

Personally, I'm hoping the NHLPA's outward pessimism is just a bluff to try and get the owners to panic and sweeten their offer. And that's for their own sake, as well as the sake of the league as a whole and most importantly the fans.

I just don't see how calling the owners' bluff and going ahead with the season being cancelled will get the NHLPA the "capless" deal that they appear to desperately want.

If the season is cancelled, then the NHL owners will not be able to accurately predict what future revenues will be. Will they remain flat? Will they drop by 20%, 50%, 75%? Nobody knows and that will further strengthen the owners' need for a hard cap.

So if the NHLPA is deathly afraid of a hard cap, then how will pushing things to the point that the season is cancelled work out for the NHLPA in the long run? The only explanation has to be that Bob Goodenow has convinced the players that the owners will cave. I mean, sitting out a year has worked for players like Ken Dryden, Nikolai Khabibulin, Michael Peca, and Alexei Yashin, right?

Sure, but to win those battles those players only needed to find one person crazy enough to give them what they wanted. In this battle they need to convince at least 2 dozen NHL owners to cave. And I just don't see any signs right now that there is that huge groundswell of sentiment amongst the owners to cave.

And since it's pretty obvious that a lot of teams are losing less money this season than they did last season, I don't see the Toronto's and the Detroit's of the world being able to convince even the moderate NHL owners to cave 4 to 6 months from now.

And even if the NHL gets their "cost certainty" in the long run, will that be worth the untold damage that will have been done to the league? Personally, I doubt that as well. Too much corporate money will leave the game if the NHL is shut down for a year or two for me to believe that the NHL will come out of this mess stronger.

Both the NHLPA and NHL leadership has become so stubborn that they appear to be on the brink of cutting of their noses to spite their faces. And that fact both saddens me and ticks me off.

At least I have the Amerks to fall back on........................

McNabb leads the Eagles to victory in the Rush Limbaugh Bowl

In the 1st ever Rush Limbaugh Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles put a beat down on the Atlanta Falcons to get to the Super Bowl.

But, since the Philly defense pretty much won the game by themselves, I'm betting that Rush is still rationalizing his idiotic take that got his ass sent packing by ESPN.

Now let's see if TO can heal quicker than Wolverine and be productive in JVille in two weeks.

Big Ben looks like a Big Rookie, again.

Was anyone all that surprised that Romeo and B-squared came up with a gameplan that made Roethlisberger look like the rookie that he is for the second playoff game in a row?

For me, that was the lock of the weekend. I would have been stunned if the Pats couldn't take the Steelers out.

However, I was surprised that both teams scored as much as they did.

And so much for the worries that taking the Notre Dame head coaching job would somehow affect the job that Charlie Weis did for the Pats, huh? The Patriots offense tore up a Steelers defense that was one of the best in football.

Don't tell my wife, but I have to pick the Pats to win their 3 Super Bowl in 4 years. Especially since B-squared and his crew will get two weeks to gameplan for the Eagles.

The NHL lockout continues

And things have gotten so bad that they can't even agree as to whether the latest talks were constructive or not.

Maybe they should have invited Bettman and Goodenow after all................

And who should be insulted more by an NHL labor lawyer comparing NHL players to auto workers?

If I'm working on a car line in Detroit, I'm insulted that I'm compared to a bunch of guys that are whining about a salary cap that would pay on average $1.3 million per year.

Random takes of the day

A glimmer of hope for NHL fans

NHLPA President Trevor Linden kickstarted some informal talks between the league and the NHLPA that excluded head honchos Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow.

The good news is that most comments after the 5 hour meeting were guardedly positive and there was none of the namecalling and spindoctoring that has become way too common in this dance between the two sides. The better news is that the two sides are again meeting today. Although, Calgary Flames owner Harley Hotchkiss won't be at today's meeting as he will be attending a funeral.

Only time will tell if these talks lead anywhere or whether they will just leave NHL fans heartbroken and without NHL hockey.

But, at least for a day or two, there can be legitimate hope that the season might be saved.

Dan Daly needs a new research assistant

http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20050120-121120-1413r.htm

So imagine, if you will, this scenario: The Vikings send Moss to the Redskins for their No. 1 pick (ninth overall), a No. 2 (either this year or next) and LaVar Arrington (without whom the Washington defense did just fine this season, ranking third in the league). It would be similar to the Champ Bailey-for-Clinton Portis trade. The Redskins would be swapping a Pro Bowl defensive player for a Pro Bowl offensive player — one big contract for another — and also mortgaging some of their future. The trick would be to make the numbers work. The Redskins would be hit with a huge cap charge if they traded Arrington so early in his deal, but they could alleviate some of it by releasing Mark Brunell, their grossly overpaid backup quarterback.

A) Dan Daly needs to learn how much cap space the Redskins have and how big the cap hit would be to trade Lavar Arrington right now before he proposes such a deal. Trading Arrington this offseason could bring a cap hit as large as $10 million.

B) Releasing Brunell would only make the Redskins' 2005 cap situation worse as it would add more "dead money" for the Redskins.

Next time, Dan should talk to a cap expert before suggesting any trades such as this one.

The Jets get a new offensive coordinator

It seems the NY media has finally stopped slamming Herm Edwards. At least long enough to praise him for hiring former Tennessee Titans OC Mike Heimerdinger to replace Paul Hackett. Most feel that Heimerdinger will have an effect on the offense similiar to the one that Donnie Henderson had on the Jets defense this past season.

Personally, I like the hire. The only down side is the fact that Heimerdinger very well could see himself at the top of many teams' lists of head coaching candidates next offseason. He interviewed for the 49ers job that eventually went to Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. But, you would expect Heimerdinger to get a lot of buzz as top candidate should he be able to revive a Jets offense that gives him some solid players to work with in franchise QB Chad Pennington, the NFL's leading rusher this season Curtis Martin, and an OL that is anchored by Pro Bowl center Kevin Mawae. Heimerdinger even has a WR that he's familiar with in Justin McCareins. McCareins came to the Jets from Tennessee last offseason.

The NY media needs to back off Herm

I know that Herm didn't learn from Marty Schottenheimer's mistake from a week earlier that helped the Jets advance.

I know that the TO that Pennington burned in the first half was crucial in the end.

However, any talk of how Herman Edwards somehow being on the hot seat once Doug Brien and Paul Hackett are let go as this year's scapegoats has got to stop.

Herman Edwards is a darn good football coach. He gets his team to play hard week in and week out. He also is a good person.

Plus, he's won with a team that isn't exactly the most talented bunch in the world.

I'm looking at the roster of the Jets and looking at what they did this season, and I'm wondering why Herm is getting so much heat. This team simply is not that talented.

They've got talent in spots. However, they also are not as talented on the whole as teams like Pittsburgh, New England, and Philadelphia.

And when you factor in that the Jets starting QB was playing hurt and the team's best defensive player refused to play hurt, I'm wondering why hanging really tough on the road and against the best team in the NFL this season was somehow a horrible loss. And more to the point, a bad coaching job.

The loss stings. However, I find it hard to believe that too many coaches could have taken that team and gotten them to that point.

Herm Edwards is a darn good football coach. And he should remain with the Jets for a very long time.

Heck, check out his counterpart on Saturday. Bill Cowher was 6-10 last season and many people were calling for his job. Instead, Cowher got an extension. Much to the chagrin of many in and around Pittsburgh.

And that move seems to have worked out for the Steelers.

Besides, if the Jets were to replace Edwards in the near future, who's to say that his replacement would be any better than some of the guys that have preceded him with the Jets like Pete Carroll and Rich Kotite?

Brian Burke with a new CBA proposal

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=110994

I can't see the NHLPA agreeing to guarantee anything, nor can I envision the NHL either agreeing to expanded revenue sharing, nor even trying this system.

Although, to me, this makes a lot of sense because it tests out the NHLPA's idea over the short term, but also makes them accountable if things don't work out.

I didn't know hockey players could backpeddle...........

As has become so predictable, Mike Modano made comments that appeared yesterday morning saying that the NHLPA's solidarity would be hard to maintain if the 2004-05 season were lost and there was not an 05-06 season ready to go in October and then backpeddled last night.

I have no problem if the NHLPA wants to smack around their members if they speak up and voice a dissenting opinion. Just don't insult my intelligence by saying that your members are free to say what they want and that you don't employ the same heavy handed tactics that the NHL does with the owners and their henchmen.

Or is withholding Rob Ray's lockout stipend not punishment for suggesting that he'd be a replacement player and that he knew 10 guys that would do it before him?

Or are we to believe that every single player that has back tracked from statements about how a salary cap might not be that bad to Modano's latest words really are mistaken or misquoted or uninformed?

Sorry, that doesn't fly with me. So in the future, please stop the BS and just come out and say what's really going on. I'll respect that a lot more than the insulting of my intelligence with your weak spin doctoring.

An interesting NHL CBA proposal

http://www.eagletribune.com/features/nhl-proposal.htm

One of the NHL's 6 proposed systems once upon a time included a salary bracketing system. Russ Conway has proposed a system that would do just that.

While neither side would likely want to deal with it, I like the system. It would more equitably distribute talent and youth throughout the league.

But who wants a league where teams are roughly equal in talent?

Certainly not most sports writers and TV execs.

ESPN offers up their version of a new pro hockey league

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/index

ESPN put forth their idea for an ESPNHL which would be a new start up pro hockey league to replace the shut down NHL.

Some of the changes are drastic (no fighting), some are great (3 players and 1 coach from each team have to wear a microphone for TV broadcast use), and many fall somewhere in between.

Being a Buffalo Sabres fan it's tough to look at a proposed pro hockey league with teams in Atlanta, Miami, Hartford, and Columbus and not Buffalo.

But all in all, it was a lot of work, it had some good new ideas, plenty of recycled ideas, and it was a pleasant temporary diversion away from the real ills of pro hockey.

Dungy on Moss and The Big Meldown

Tony Dungy on Randy Moss' Moon Walk in Green Bay

Apparently it made Tony Dungy laugh.

Tony said yesterday that he laughed because Green Bay Packer fans have a tradition after a win. A bunch of fans line up near the visitor's bus and they moon the bus as it pulls away from Lambeau. Dungy said that has happened to him the last 7 times he's been to Green Bay, he figured that it had happened to Moss a few times in his career, and that Moss' teammates probably got a chuckle out of it.

Personally, that should be the litmus test. If you can make a conservative guy like Dungy laugh, then it isn't really that bad.

Randy Johnson melts down on a TV camera in NY

First off, who cares?

The media in NY are idiots. It's not like Randy lost Game 7 of the ALCS to the Boston Red Sox. Nobody was hurt and no equipment was damaged.

Secondly, I get a laugh when people try and infer from this that Randy will crumble under the pressure in NY.

Randy is not only the Big Unit, he's the Big Red Ass. He's known to be about as warm and fuzzy as Barry Bonds. So this is probably just Randy being Randy.

I'm more worried about the fact that Johnson's right knee doesn't have any cartilage left in it than I am about this.

My takes on the NFL's wild card weekend

Call me when Randy actually drops his pants

Maybe it's just me, but I think Randy's post-TD celebration yesterday is funny.

You know that the venom spewed from Packers fans towards Moss over the years can't be printed in the local newspaper nor broadcast on Fox without tripping the FCC meter. So don't get holier than though with me about what he did.

And don't get me started on the people saying that it was horrible on the Fox broadcast and then Fox making it the first thing that they showed on the post-game show.

You insult my intelligence by doing that.

If media heads and the NFL really wanted this stuff to stop, then they'd treat it like the streakers on the field and cut away from it immediately and not give these guys the air time that they crave.

I want Eric Barton to pick my lottery numbers for me

On second thought, he's probably used up all his luck for a while.

Dude, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

Drew Brees is throwing up a bigger prayer than Joe Public dreaming of getting inside Lindsay Lohan's pants and you decide to club him upside the head with your forearm?

Lucky.

That's all I can say about that.

It was a priviledge to watch Chad Pennington

I thought the guy had a deader arm than Pedro in the 8th?

And I know everyone will say that Marty's post-season incompetance takes away from the Chad answering the call about not being able to win the big game.

But I wonder if people will say the same thing should the Jets upset another bad playoff head coach who has a rookie QB calling the signals?

Bottom line, Pennington had one heck of a game. That bomb to Santana Moss was a thing of beauty. And they certainly played to win the game.

Memo to the Denver Broncos:

The next time you feel the need to say ANYTHING about the Colts, don't.

Not unless you like getting rookie CBs burnt on national TV.

Now the big question is can BB and Romeo come up a scheme to slow down the new "Greatest Show on Turf"? I have a feeling that the Patriots offense will need to be able to win the time of possession battle if the Patriots are going to win this game. Especially with Ty Law out, the rest of the Pats secondary being beat up, and the new "no touch" rules in the passing game and it will be interesting to see if Peyton and the boys can take their electrifying passing game and win in New England or not. Especially since BB and company would have had the extra week to gameplan.

Is this the end of Brett Favre as world beater?

Brett Favre is a Hall of Fame QB. Of that, there should be no doubt.

The only question now is how good will Brett Favre be in 2005? Or even if he'll play in 2005.

You know the Cheeseheads don't want to ask those questions. But they have to after Brett's 4 INT and 1 boneheaded play showing yesterday at home against Vikings.

And another question, what happened to the whole mystique of Lambeau Field?

Do I have to comment on the Rams-Seahawks game?

Since I should, may I say that Rod Gardner would fit right in with the rest of the Seahawks WRs that can't seem to catch a cold.

And I wonder if the Falcons are a little more nervous about next week's game than they were on Friday?

Personally, I think they should be. That Rams team on turf and in a dome should at least keep Jim Mora Jr. and his defensive staff up late this week.

Welcome to the new year.........

Now that I'm back to the real, unreal world of the internet, here are random thoughts and takes from after the holidays:

The Redskins finish the year at 6-10 and have the 9th pick in the draft

How on earth did they give up that game losing TD pass to Vinny and the Cowboys? For a defense that wanted to be the best in the league, that was horrid. But, the team came back the next week and beat a Vikings team that was fighting for a playoff spot.

Hopefully Joe Gibbs and company can fix the offense and special teams this offseason. Gregg Williams and the Redskins defense deserved a lot better than they got this season.

And as far as the draft goes, I wonder if a WR such as Mike Williams or Braylon Edwards is the direction the Redskins will go? Or, will they look to strengthen an already strong defense by adding a pass rushing stud DE or perhaps replace UFA CB Fred Smoot with someone like Miami's Antrel Rolle or West Virginia's Pac Man Jones?

The World Junior Hockey Championships are over and Canada wins Gold again

The Sabres had a few prospects that played well, namely Canada's Clarke MacArthur and the US's Drew Stafford.

MacArthur was a key role player for Canada and he also showed a nice scoring touch by getting 4 goals.

And Drew Stafford showed signs of being a top line guy as he led the US in goals and points.

But, the tournament for me will be defined by two things: the disappointing play of the US and the Russians once again living down to their reputation as immature players that tend to taunt the opponent.

ESPN.com's EJ Hradek has a great article on how USA Hockey can improve the way things went this time around as the team failed to medal on home ice in their defense of the gold that they won last year: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?id=1959790

John Buccigross with a great column about hockey moms:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=buccigross_john&id=1957729

Hockey moms are the best.

Is Al Strachan worth getting your hopes up over?

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/2005/01/06/812437.html

Toronto writer Al Strachan has an unnamed NHL GM that says that the outcome of the January 14th NHL Board of Governors meeting could be that the owners will back off the stance that they need a hard cap, as long as the NHLPA gives in on a laundry list of issues starting with getting rid of guaranteed contracts.

It would be interesting to see how far the NHLPA is willing to go to save the season and stay away from a salary cap situation.

Personally, I'd love to see how the NHLPA were to spin their stance on things should the NHL give up on wanting a hard cap. My guess is that their list of things that they won't negotiate will grow by the minute if the NHL went that route.