The Sideline

Vikings Linebacker E.J. Henderson Breaks Femur vs. Cardinals

An already weakened Minnesota Vikings defense suffered another HUGE blow to their unit during Sunday nights loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Linebacker E.J. Henderson suffered a broken femur ending his season and possibly his career. Click here to see the video.

While trying to make a tackle in the fourth quarter, E.J. was struck accidently by his teammate breaking his leg which twisted violently while he flew through the air. This was quite possibly one of the worst breaks I have seen in many years! He was carted off the field while one of the team doctors held his leg in place and his brother and teammate, Erin, held his hand.

“I feel bad for E.J.,” Vikings quarterback Brett Favre said. “That’s awful for him and for our team.”

That is an understatement Favre!

Superfan "Barrel Man" Passes Away

Superfan Tim McKernan, a.k.a "Barrel Man", passed away due to complications from terminal lung disease at the age of 67. "Barrel Man" had been a staple at Denver Broncos games for nearly three decades.

Tim was know for wearing a only a bright orange barrel and a cowboy hat. He is arguably more famous among the NFL sports fan world than the Washington Redskins superfans the "Hogettes".

The NFL lost a legend and the Broncos are in need of someone to fill his barrel!

Tiger Woods on Mistress's Voicemail

Earlier this week US Weekly posted this video of Tiger woods allegedly begging his mistress, Jaimee Grubbs, to take her name off of her voicemail. He needs her to do this quickly because his wife got ahold of his phone and may be checking up on his calls.

The voice on this video sounds exactly like Woods but it has not been verified nor authenticated. However, Tiger recently admitted to some "trangressions" regarding his family which would lead one to believe this is him on this video.

Houston Texans Give RB Steve Slaton the Starting Gig

Tonight's Monday Night Football game between the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans has far reaching implications both for the Houston Texans and my fantasy squad.

If the Texans win tonight they will pull into a four-way tie in the AFC wild card race with the Steelers, Broncos, and Jaguars. Of the four teams, Houston has the tougher schedule but they will face the Jaguars in week 13 giving them a shot at splitting the year with them and gaining the advantage in their division records.

Being right in the thick of the wild card chase, Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak regained his senses and named Steve Slaton the starting running back tonight. This will give their surprise RB in '08 a chance to redeem himself after losing his starting role due to fumble issues. Slaton is the most talented back on the Texans' roster and will help solidify their team just in time for the playoff push.

Of course this also bodes well for my fantasy team as I have both Slaton and his backup Ryan Moats but still need one of them to be the unchallenged starter. Should Slaton perform well tonight and regain the top RB spot for the rest of the season my fantasy team would have a very good shot at going deep in the playoffs and possibly repeat as Champions!

Buffalo Bills Sign QB Brian Brohm

The Buffalo Bills are struggling for a multitude of reasons this season which led the ownership to fire their head coach this week. The team has struggled surprisingly not from the anticipated antics from their highly controversial addition of WR Terrell Owens but instead by the team's inability to get their star WR the ball thus making their offense vanilla and predictable. The Bills rotated quarterbacks numerous times both for injuries and poor performance.

Since they have little trust for their current QB situation, the Bills have signed quarterback Brian Brohm off the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad. Brohm a 2008 second round draft choice was beaten out for the No. 2 quarterback spot by seventh round pick Matt Flynn forcing the Packers to stash him on their practice squad for the '09 season.

Brohm has been a disappointment for the Packers but it doesn't mean they weren't hoping that he would come into his own as an NFL quarterback. You know what they say, "one man's trash is another's treasure". Just ask San Diego and Atlanta regarding Michael Turner.

League Wide Retirement of Jordan's Number

LeBron James will be in a different jersey next year and not for the reason you think. James would like to retire Michael Jordan's number 23 jersey league wide and he will be starting the movement.

Thursday night, James scored 34 points to help the Cavs beat the Heat 111-104 in Miami, which Jordan happened to be watching from a third row seat. Afterward, James told TNT he plans to switch his number from 23 to 6 after this season.

If you are anything like me the first thing that jumped out at me was how far the mighty have fallen. Third row seat?!? There once was a day that Jordan was pulling in 500 trillion dollars a year in endorsements alone and now he is relegated to sitting in the THIRD ROW! Enough on that, now back to the story.

"I just think what Michael Jordan has done for the game has to be recognized some way soon," James said. "There would be no LeBron James, no Kobe Bryant, no Dwyane Wade if there wasn't Michael Jordan first.

"He can't get the logo [Hall of Famer Jerry West's silhouette adorns the NBA's logo], and if he can't, something has to be done. I feel like no NBA player should wear 23. I'm starting a petition, and I've got to get everyone in the NBA to sign it. Now, if I'm not going to wear No. 23, then nobody else should be able to wear it."

James wore No. 6 as a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team at the Beijing Games. It has been widely speculated that James will be leaving Cleveland after this season and therefore he would be able to pick from any available number with his new team. This works for LeBron but how about everyone else? The question will be, How many superstitious players feel the same as James and would be willing to make a change? My guess is some but not everyone will be onboard.

It would be fitting for Jordan but not likely to happen!

Are Major College Football Programs Scared of Boise State?

Remember those days in grade school when two kids wanted to fight, one would say to the other, "Meet me in the playground at 3 p.m."? By the time school was out the entire school was aware of the situation and it was a packed playground with everyone wanting to see the action. Well the modern day college version of that is happening right now.

Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier has advised all major collegiate football programs that his program will play "any school anywhere" and as icing on the cake the school doesn't even have to return the favor by playing at Boise State! This kind of offer is one that should have schools chomping at the bit. There has to be at least twenty schools that have taken this offer, right? NOPE! NOT ONE!

Why hasn't a major school taken their offer? Could it be that this game wouldn't be one of those non-conference cupcake games to pad your stats in hope of a major bowl game. Boise is 4-1 against major conference opponents. The only major program on Boise State's schedule this year they beat, Oregon, and Oregon is now 8-1.

ESPN has even offered to assist Boise State in finding major opponents but even they have had success! ESPN would love to find some because they are a huge draw nationally. People love to see their explosive offense unfold before their eyes on national television. Boise State's games have been on national television seven times this season and this trend will continue into the future. Just imagine the draw if they were playing a team like USC!

How can the major football programs claim they are superior if they will not even give Boise State a chance? This reminds me of a bully that will pick on the weak and defenseless but when confronted backs down like a coward!

Hey Goliath, David is calling!

Question for the Fans

Sitting here watching Game 6 of the NY Yankees and Philladelphia Phillies World Series match up and thinking about a something Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. During one of his press interviews Manuel told reporters that he planned on using "anybody except Lee tonight". This I completely agree with since if they lose tonight they get the next few months to rest!

The question is that should there be a game 7, would you start the dominant Cliff Lee on TWO days rest? I am almost positive that Lee would be all for pitching but would it be wise for the Phillies? As dominant as he has been during this series, you can't ignore how many innings/pitches he has thrown in such a time period. He could be willing but would his arm still have some juice left in it?

I myself would let him start but would keep an close eye on him and pull him at the first sign of trouble.

What would you do if you were the skipper?

AFC East Heating Up

I wonder what the NY Jets players are thinking about their coach's recent verbal jabs towards the Miami Dolphins about losing their star corner, Will Allen, for the season.

When he was asked by the Miami media about Allen's injury Ryan's response was: "I don't care about that. We lost a Pro Bowl nose tackle (Kris Jenkins) and a Pro Bowl running back (Leon Washington), so boo hoo hoo." Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but when you are talking about a division rival that has already beat you on a huge stage like Monday Night Football and your team has been struggling, not taking into account the win last week because it was the Raiders, it IS a big deal.

Of course NFL Network got wind of this slam towards the 'Phins and jumped all over the opportunity to stir up some more controversy on their show "Around the League". Miami linebacker Joey Porter just happened to be a guest on the show and during the interview he was asked about Ryan's most recent comment (Ryan and Dolphin LB Channing Crowder exchanged words during the preseason as well). "It didn’t mean nothing in preseason, when he was talking before," Porter said. "When he was taking shots, and making fun of a player being out for the season, as a player, you take that personal. That’s like talking about my family member, what he did. So he made a little comment about Will Allen being hurt, saying, ‘Boo hoo hoo,’ as if it’s a joke or something. We’ll see if it’s a joke on Sunday, because there’s nothing the coach can do about it. He’ll see his players out there with us on Sunday, that’s something they’ll have to deal with."

Jets players have to know that the Dolphins players will be gunning for them during this weekends grudge match. They can thank their coach for trying to motivate his team but in doing so waking a sleeping giant.

This should be a great game that will showcase some hard hitting old school (defensively) football!

Yankees & Angels Duel Delayed

Saturday's Game 6 of the ALCS between the Yankees and Angels has been postponed until Sunday due to rain . The Yankees tried everything they could to play the game, opening the gates, and even did their pre-game exercises but the weather just wouldn't cooperate.

Even though most fans are probably disappointed this delay is lining up perfectly for my t.v. viewing schedule!

My Birthday - Sort Of

It's like tomorrow is my birthday.

The plan if for my wife and I to waking up and enjoying some coffee together while reading the newspaper. After our son wakes up and interrupts this peaceful activity, normally we would get into our Sunday best and head off to church, followed by a wonderful family breakfast at the Original Pancake House. After breakfast we head home to let this food settle and get on with our day. However, this is where my fun really begins.

I will grab my 13 month old son and head down into the basement where our television sits ready to broadcast the NFL's lineup in crystal clear high definition picture. It's not just the football I look forward to it is also watching the "little man" laugh at his old man when he is cheering for something (usually related to his fantasy football team) that happened on the tv.

You must understand that for me watching football at home on a Sunday is a rarity as I usually have to work right during the meat of the action. My shift is a 9am - 5pm (and my commute is 45 minutes) which means that if I want to watch the games I have to set my DVR. This I live with this because my job is exciting and heart pounding trying to keep all of the planes in the sky moving safely across my radar scope. It is truly a pleasure so the complaining is usually held to a minimum from my end.

So hopefully now you can understand why I feel as if a day like tomorrow filled with plenty of family time and NFL action is like a birthday.

Gotta love Sundays!!

Owen Schmitt Has A New Superstition

Check out this video of Owen Schmitt pumping himself up before the start of the Seahawks game versus the Jacksonville Jaguars this past weekend. Two problems with this move. First he injured himself to the point that he needed stitches and missed the first play of the game. Second, the Seahawks destroyed the Jags 41-0. What do you think his teammates (at least the superstitious ones) will be expecting this weekend?!? Let's just hope that he doesn't knock himself out next time.

Ted Williams is Going to Have a HUGE Headache

If you thought the Ted Williams saga couldn't get any weirder, you were wrong. According to the The New York Daily News, baseball legend Ted Williams' cryogenically frozen head has been abused by the facility "sworn" to house and protect. Technicians at Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona had no formal medical training and handled Williams' head "roughly".

According to one whistleblower, a technician took "baseball-like" swings on Williams' using a monkey wrench. Obviously the fallout from these revelations will be devastating and could seriously jeopardize Alcor Life Extension's future in the business. Aside from the ethical ramifications they could possibly face criminal charges as well.

In light of this news, I will be skipping the batting practice session with Alcor and going with the "old school" burial.

Fan On Fan Violence

Thanks to the World of Isaac for this extremely entertaining video of drunk female Detroit Lions fans getting ejected from a game!

Here is the scoop, the two girls were drunk and got into arguments with pretty much everyone sitting near them. It goes like any other story, after a few beers and a little NFL action a beer gets poured over someone's head and then the cops arrive to escort you home.

It is truly sad that Detroit Lions fans are so frustrated they resort to heavy drinking and then turning on their own. But hey that means more entertainment for us!

Urlacher Getting the Shaft

You know it is not your year when you not only lose one job but TWO. First Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher dislocates his wrist knocking him out for the season, and now as a result of that injury a sports memorabilia company, Dreams Inc., has terminated their contract with the former Pro Bowl linebacker stating that this is a career ending injury. Of course this is a fabrication but Dreams Inc. is trying to save on their $1.2 million dollar agreement with Brian.

Brian is not taking this lying down. He responded with a lawsuit claiming the company has wrongfully broken their contractual agreement. It appears that this will be an easy win for Brian, unlike what the rest of his Chicago Bears teammates will have the rest of the season without him in the huddle.

Christmas Gifts

It is that time of the year again when my wife and I keep an eye out for good gifts for Christmas to beat the insanity at the stores. This year I am trying to do most of my shopping online. I plan to blog about this experience, the trials and tribulations that we go through and an overall rating of the experience versus years past.

The first item will be for my father a huge Iowa Hawkeye fan. I am getting him an Iphone and plan to pimp it out with Hawk gear from accessorygeeks.com.

So far so good, my fear is when I get to the wife! What do I do then?!?!?!?!?

Do you take it "In the Can"?

David Kahn on the Hook for Ricky Rubio?

Who do the Timberwolves blame for the Ricky Rubio debacle?

Start with David Kahn! He went to Spain three times this summer in an attempt to broker a deal with Ricky Rubio. Unsuccessfully, as it turns out. The 18-year-old has signed a two year deal to remain in Barcelona, delaying his possible arrival in Minnesota until 2011. Kahn said that he had a deal in place with Rubio and his agent, however, Rubio decided to sign elsewhere.

This is just another tragedy in the history of the Timberwolves' franchise. Kahn should be on his knees in the front office begging for forgiveness and his job.

An Honor Indeed!

According to ESPN, the Tennessee Titans will honor former QB Steve McNair by wearing a No. 9 decal on the back of their helmets. In case you have not read THIS, Steve McNair was shot and killed by his girlfriend on July 4th.

The Titans are looking into other ways to honor/celebrate McNair this season. With all the depressing/selfish stories coming out of the NFL this offseason, it is nice to finally hear about a gesture of this kind.

Maybe the NFL isn't that evil after all.

Is LenDale White on the Slimfast Diet?

NOPE, instead of a traditional diet Tennessee Titan RB LenDale White stopped drinking tequila during the offseason and he lost 37 pounds.

“I really got to be honest. It wasn’t a lot of major diet changes. (It was) watching what I drink. I was a big Patron consumer. … That’s what it was. I was drinking a lot, drank a lot of alcohol. I cut that out of my diet all the way. I don’t drink at all. I cut the drinking, I stopped drinking for six months. It started falling off," LenDale stated to the media during training camp.

This weight loss is just another example of a NFL player making changes during a contract year. According to Titans owner Bud Adams White looks “like a brand new person”. LenDale wants more money and if the weight loss is any indication he is going to get it.

2010 NFL Draft Going Primetime

Roger Goodell has made another brilliant business decision: Starting April 2010, the NFL Draft will be moving to a three-day format. Commissioner Roger Goodell notified teams Thursday that the draft will be running Thursday April 22nd, through Saturday April 24th.

Here is the key business decision: the first round will start in prime time at 7:30 p.m. ET. "We continue to look for ways to make the draft more accessible to more fans," Goodell said in a statement. "Moving the first round to prime time on Thursday night will make the first round of the draft available to fans on what is typically the most-watched night of television."

Of course ESPN and the NFL Network will still televise all rounds of the draft. The second and third rounds will start at 6:30 p.m. ET on April 23. Rounds 4 through 7 will be on April 24, starting at 10 a.m. ET.

Not only are they capitalizing on the viewership and fan availability their sights are dead locked on the advertising revenue. If the NFL could approach the nearly $206 Million advertising revenue generated during the Super Bowl this will turn out to be a brilliant maneuver!

Former NFL QB Steve McNair Found Dead

Former NFL quarterback for the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens, Steve McNair, was found dead in his Nashville, TN condominium. According to the authorities he was shot multiple times, once in the head.

Police said a woman identified as Sahel Kazemi was found shot to death next to Steve. Kazemi had a single gun shot wound to the head and a pistol was found near her body.

Although investigators have not ruled out anything, they are not "actively looking at suspects". Police could not provide details about the circumstances of the shooting.

If you read between the lines, it is clearly a murder-suicide! Scary stuff!

Wave of the Future

After returning from a brief hiatus, I decided to write about a recent article that caught me by surprise. While doing some much needed time killing, I stumbled across a copy of ESPN The Magazine and in this particular copy they highlighted a recent trend in the NFL: Playbooks are going digital.

Just try to imagine how many movies, episodes of NFL Hard Knocks you have seen that have the catch phrase "the coach wants to see you, bring your playbook". This playbook has notoriously been a encyclopedia thick binder full of the teams plays that will be practiced/played in live games that season.

The latest trend is to store these plays in Hudl Pro, an online database that allows teams to store their entire playbook and video library. Each player is now able to view the plays or videos from the comfort of their home and at a time they choose. This is clearly a benefit for the players and their families, but a what cost?

Not all teams have bought into this online playbook because they are concerned about storing their secrets online. Teams can actually pony up $40,000 to host secure servers at their own facilities. In case you didn't know owning an NFL franchise is a million dollar business and for those lucky enough to make it to the Super Bowl it can be a financial windfall. So the question becomes that with millions of people that have fallen victim to Identity theft and other online criminal activities, what would stop a hacker from breaking into the "secure" database to leak information for an advantage.

Just imagine the media frenzy that would come from a hacker leaking a playbook days before the Super Bowl!

The times-are-a-changin'!!

OchoCinco Out of His Mind?

Ochocinco (or should it be LOCOcinco) has been sporting three new tattoos lately?

According to Profootballtalk.com, Ochocinco has on one cheek a small cross, the other cheek an image of the state of Florida, and finally, the letters "OC" appear on his forehead!!!

After creating a media frenzy with his tats, Ochocinco gave up the goods and admitted that the tattoos are fake.

Even though they are fake, Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson is in dire need of help. Perhaps Mr. Mike Tyson could put him in touch with his head doc.

Kobe and the Lakers Take Game 1

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers met the Orlando Magic obstacle like they are playing for their life!

Bryant dropped 40 points leading the the Lakers to a routing of the Orlando Magic 100-75 in Game 1 on Thursday night.

The last time the Lakers were seen in the finals, a bitter taste was left in their mouth as they watched Kevin Garnett and the rest of the Boston Celtics hoisting a trophy they felt was theirs! Bryant and his teammates have used that humiliation to motivate them all season and throughout these playoffs. Now, they are on a mission.

Orlando center Dwight Howard was engulfed by two and three Lakers every time he touched the ball and scored 12 points — 10 on free throws — on just 1-of-6 shooting.

"We did a good job on him, but he'll be ready to go Game 2," Bryant said. "We worked very hard on the perimeter, keeping those guys out of rhythm, then we did a good job on him inside — giving him different looks."

I still believe this will be a great series! The Magic will bounce back by figuring out a plan to get Howard the ball in the lane for some easy buckets and make the Lakers sweat for a night or two!

Vikings Without the Williams Duo

Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams says he doesn’t know if he can trust the NFL anymore. Pat is attempting to place all on the blame on the NFL after the league failed to tell its players that the over-the-counter supplement StarCaps contained an ingredient banned by the NFL. Pat's teammate Kevin Williams also faces a four-game suspension to start the 2009 season.

This is what Pat had to say about the mistrust:

“Basically now I got to hold trust issues with the NFL. I don’t know if I can trust them now. If I did something wrong, I’m going to take it. But they knew about it and didn’t tell the players.”

A federal judge found their claims, under two specific Minnesota statutes, were not included in the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. This fact has Pat and Kevin holding out hope that their suspension will be overturned. I would bet the entire Vikings organization is hoping as well!!

Miami Dolphins Playing at Land Shark Stadium

New Miami Dolphins owner, Stephen Ross, has a new money making strategy, sell the naming rights of your stadium (temporarily) to the highest bidder regardless of the absurdity of the name. What was formerly known as Dolphin stadium will now be "Land Shark Stadium". Why yes that is the name of Jimmy Buffet's brand of beer.

What would a multimillionaire do to promote such a thing? For starters he would have Mr. Buffet create/perform a theme song for the Dolphins and cash in on the residuals from the sale of his beer. This move by Ross is yet another prime example why he purchases the Miami Dolphins franchise and I purchase the Miami Dolphins games on DirectTV's Sunday Ticket.

However, more important than collecting money for the naming rights is that Ross has the tenacity to stipulate that when the Super Bowl comes to town, Land Shark Stadium will revert back to its original name: Dolphin Stadium. We could all learn a thing or two from Mr. Ross.

Cowboys Practice Facility Collapses During Storm

It seems the Dallas Cowboys are raising the ante when it concerns the hazing of rookies. The Cowboys indoor practice "bubble" facility collapsed during a thunderstorm injuring 12 people and scaring the scaring the sh@# out of most in attendance. Rookies and second-year players were working out at the complex during the storm.

All kidding aside, fire department officials said at least 70 individuals were inside the practice bubble when it collapsed. Officials said 10 people were transported to area hospitals and two were walk-ins. Luckily nobody was seriously injured and most the players escaped injury all together.

More details will follow.

Hard Knocks for Cincinnati Bengals?

Say it ain't so joe. Rumor has it that HBO is targeting the Cincinnati Bengals for their successful series "Hard Knocks". The producers are obviously not doing their homework on this one, or maybe they have been turned down by everyone else.

Yes it is true that Marvin Lewis is familiar with the show and it's requirements since he was the defensive coordinator at Baltimore when the series premiered in 2000. However, it is widely known that the Bengals are one of the largest group of criminal misfits in the NFL today. Therefore, it makes no sense for HBO to reward this type of recruiting/character development with a very successful primetime series exposure that would come with this show.

Poor choice indeed for HBO but then again it could be genius. Look at the previous teams and their results = Not so successful. We could be talking about a "Madden"-type curse here.

Pressure Decision and Eric Devendorf FAILS

Most of us have had a situation where we needed to make a decision that would change our lives forever and hopefully that decision was the correct one. Well, last week Syracuse guard Eric Devendorf had this happen to him. It just so happened that it occurred in the middle of his calculus exam.

“I wrote my name on top and then started looking at all the questions,” said Devendorf. “I was like: ‘You want me to integrate what to who? What are all these squiggly marks and stuff?’”

Squiggly marks, are you kidding me? There is a perception of our generation that we are less educated than the previous generation, unfortunately for us Eric proves that point. It is widely known that some star athletes don't attend classes during the season because that would get in the way of their training. All in the name of selling seats!

“I knew I should have gone to class before the final,” Eric admitted. Knowing he would surely fail the exam , "Screw it! I'm going pro!" thought Eric, so he balled up the exam and threw it at his professor's head. Unfortunately for Eric this is when your hope your decision is the correct one.

Most NBA scouts believe Devendorf has no chance of getting drafted at all. “He should have stayed in school,” said one team scout.

Looks like Eric may be looking into the Unemployment Office and how to get paid for doing nada!