On and Off the Field

So remember when that Sal Alosi, New York Jets strength and conditioning coach, decided it would be funny to trip the Miami Dolphins player near the sideline? That was pretty cool. Alosi earned himself a suspension for the rest of the year and a $25,000 fine. In case you were wondering, strength and conditioning coaches make a regular salary, not the millions the players make, but so be it - pay the price for your actions, no?

Fast forward to last Friday when the NFL quietly issued a $15,000 find to Tyler Brayton of the Carolina Panthers for this move here:



$15,000!?! Brayton makes $2.2 million dollars a year, plus this one looks much worse and just dirty - he has to move pretty quickly to get to the scene of the crime in time to drop a people's elbow on a member of the Atlanta Falcons. Here's the catch: the fine wasn't made public.

So let's get this straight: Roger Goodell will sit with Bob Costas before Sunday Night Football and assure everyone that every single measure is being taken regarding player safety, that the "new" rules about hard hits and other safety measures are being put in place because that's what the league really cares about, but then when a player does something this egregious, there's a line item in the news bullets and a nominal fine? By the way, this isn't exactly Brayton's first offense either.

Hey Alosi, enjoy sitting on your couch for the rest of the year, while Brayton makes it rain elbows down in Carolina on the sidelines. Fair? I think not.

Source: Yahoo!Sports: Shutdown Corner blog

Truth at the Garden

What a game. I hope you didn't miss the incredible matchup last night between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks. Let it be known that Amar'e Stoudemire has been unleashed - the man is an absolute machine... against Semih Erden.

The Celtics are easily one of the deepest teams in the league, especially when it comes to big men, and they were missing three of them last night. What they weren't missing was 3pt shots. The C's shot 50% from downtown and 100% from the charity stripe, including 10/10 from Paul Pierce.

Speaking of The Truth, you should probably check out these highlights. I'd be lying to you if I said that my heart didn't leap into my throat when the shot from Amar'e went in. Alas, Knicks fans, too late.

Side note: I wonder how many of the people at MSG last night had ever been there for a Knicks game before... or even watched a Knicks game before. The arena was essentially silent until the 3rd quarter when the beers had started to kick in. A good friend and stalwart Knicks fan's away message said it all: "I will SLANDER all these bandwagon Knicks fans tho." Preach, my man.

While The Truth may have spent his last few moments on the court bowing to the home crowd (hilarious, by the way), even he went back on his trash talking from earlier this week. As Pierce said in his post-game interview, "The Knicks have arrived."

Amateur Videos: Where Amazing Happens

Amazing things happen every day - luckily, now we have Flip cameras, smart phones and other devices that allow us to capture the mundane becoming ridiculous right before our eyes. And with the invention of YouTube, we've been able to mass share these moments with everyone we don't know.It's great when a home video beats everything on SportsCenter, taking the #1 spot and changing someone's life forever. Don't act like if you were the kid who hit a full court toss and landed that spot it wouldn't be your tag line for the rest of your life. It would go something like this:

Girl: "Hey, what's your name?"

Guy: "Hey, I'm Mike - I got number one on SportsCenter once."

Girl: "Take me home."

Anyway, check out this video of a very clever hockey goal and remember, risk is its own reward.

Deep Pockets

If you haven't heard, the Red Sox just signed a guy named Carl Crawford from the Rays to a 7-year, $142 million dollar contract to play left field. The deal comes shortly after signing Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez as well - i.e. it looks like the Sox are out for blood, Yankee blood?

After going through what some Sox fans call a "re-building" year last year (and what several other teams in the MLB would call a very successful season), Theo Epstein and management's patience has apparently worn thin. These two signings are definitely upgrades for the Red Sox who were short-handed at the plate last year.

From my perspective, living in Boston and hearing anti-Yankee arguments for the past six years from friends and passers-by, it will be interesting to see how Sox fans react to the backlash from fans around the league regarding "buying" their way to success. For as long as I can remember, the Yankees were portrayed as the bad guys, the evil empire who went out and bought the best player every off-season. Even though the Red Sox payroll is one of the highest in the Major Leagues, Sox fans were some of the loudest proclaimers of the Yankee strategy.

Now, as the team prepares to hand over somewhere in the range of $300 million dollars to two players over the next 7 years, it will be interesting to see how Sox fans react. In the meantime, you can find me on StubHub looking for Sox tickets for Opening Day.

For more, we go to John Buccigross at ESPN - John?

Manning Face

What on Earth has happened to Peyton Manning? He's thrown 11 interceptions in the past 3 weeks. Huh!? I am by no means a Manning fan, but it's hard to say he isn't one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, among the likes of Tom Brady and Drew Brees... except this year.

Now with a 6-6 record after losing to the Cowboys (?!?) in OT at home yesterday, the Colts hold sole possession of second place (!?!) in their division to the Jacksonville Jaguars (?!?!?!?!?!?!).

Whenever we have the pleasure of a Manning interception, fumble, sack or loss, we are treated to a rare spectacle that has captivated the nation. We look for it, we sit on the edge of our seats waiting, and then, it happens. The Manning Face. The song below is a awful quality spoof of "Poker Face," but hey, a little remixing never hurt anybody.

The Return

I would be rather remiss in my blogging duties if I didn't provide some comment on one of the most anticipated NBA games of the season. My Twitter feed today was absolutely filled with articles, jokes, comments, thoughts, insults, speculation and more. There were of course highlights, so in anticipation for 8PM tonight I give you a short list of the best of the day. I'll see you on the other side.

PS - I've never once in my life wanted Cleveland to win anything. People who aren't from Ohio don't understand this. Tonight, however, we stand united. I'm even cheering for Andersen Varejao. And I can file that under "Things I Will Never Say Again."

Notable Chris Bosh quotes this week:

1. On the Decision: "I think they took it quite hard when he left. So some people -- I don't know why -- but in sports, some people take it personal." (He must not know what a "fan" is.)


2. On spending less than 24 hours in Cleveland: "Sometimes when you have an extra day to hang around, it's no telling what -- you want to feel safer... Just get in, play our game and get out of there." (And they're not going to be intimidated by this crowd?)


3. On the crowd at the game tonight: "I'm sure it's people that have malcontent on their mind." (Malcontent: n. a person who is discontented or disgusted, the condition of being discontented or disgusted... The prosecution rests.)

These hilarious T-shirts:

To which a "malcontent" Cavaliers-fan friend commented, "But it still says 'King' - he's a queen now."

If you're interested in purchasing one, go HERE.

Barstool Sports - NYC:

These guys always have hysterical articles, but the one today about the game, the hype and related NBA news was one of the funnier that I've ever read. You can read the full text HERE - some strong language, but it's hilarious.

Bill Simmons on the Atmosphere:

I make no excuses for being a big Bill Simmons fan - I like the guy's writing and I think he's hysterical. Nothing hysterical here, but some interesting insightHe had this to say about the game tonight:

Standing Your Ground

Thanks to this morning's Google Doodle, millions in America will find out that today is the 55th anniversary of Rosa Parks standing (sitting?) her ground on a bus in Alabama. When we reflect on the Civil Rights Movement, this example of bravery and principle is always mentioned with the "Mt. Rushmore" of American civil disobedience. It was on the shoulders of courageous people like Parks that the Civil Rights Movement took shape and gained strength.

On a completely unrelated and insignificant note, Big Baby Davis of the Boston Celtics has been a stud coming off the bench, especially on the defensive end of the floor. One of his most important contributions on that half of the court is his ability to stand his ground (see where I'm going with this?) and take a charge. By my unofficial count and a quick Google search, Davis leads the league in charges taken and has no problem sacrificing for the greater good of the team.

Below is a compilation of the 14 charges that Baby took through the first 8 games of the season.

Yes, I just used a Rosa Parks Google Doodle to talk about Big Baby and the Celtics defense. Happy Wednesday!