[Posted Wednesday AM]
Super Bowl Quiz: For Steelers Nation (since you travel so well). Give the scores of SBs IX, X, XIII and XIV and the MVP for each. Answer below.
SB 50
–I’m ready for the game, but I also hope the golf action on Sunday at the Waste Management Open is compelling so I don’t have to watch the four-hour pre-game show. Oh, I’ll flip back and forth and maybe catch Boomer, Cowher and J.B. with their hard-hitting interviews of the likes of Cam Newton (cough), but otherwise I won’t be tuning in until Lady Gaga sings the anthem. [I bet she’s awesome.]
My only prediction for the game itself is this. If Denver can hold Carolina to a measly single first down on the Panthers’ first two possessions, Denver will pull off the upset. If Denver allows two or more first downs in the first two possessions, Carolina will roll. That’s my over/under play for the game.
My point being Denver needs to get in Cam’s head early…frustrate the hell out of him.
—More Cam fallout…Richard Sherman, the Seattle cornerback, thinks the criticisms of Newton are way out of line.
As Cindy Boren of the Washington Post noted, “Sherman got some practice at speaking about race and image during the Super Bowl two years ago, when he eloquently defended himself against charges that he was a ‘thug’ after his postgame interview rant with Erin Andrews went viral.
“ ‘He hasn’t done anything wrong to anyone,’ Sherman said Friday on ESPN Seattle’s ‘Justin and Gee Show.’ He hasn’t done anything off the field or hurt anyone or committed a crime or done anything. He plays the game like a young kid, like a kid’s supposed to play it. This is a game. This isn’t life. This isn’t government. This isn’t military. This isn’t anything that’s that serious. I think people are taking it out of perspective.’”
Sherman continued: “They’re saying he’s a bad example for kids. [Ed. I didn’t say that last time.] This is a kid’s game. Unless he’s cursing or putting the middle finger up or pulling his pants down or doing things like that, then I don’t get what they’re saying. The guy’s going out there and playing as hard as he can, living the dream and treating it like that. He’s honoring the game in his own way [Ed. by acting like a jerk?], and I think that old-school way of thinking is why the conversation is going so long.”
Well, yeah, Richard.
One jerk called into Mike Francesa’s sports radio show the other day and said the Ickey-Shuffle was just as bad as anything Cam does. I almost drove my car off a bridge.
Sean Gregory / TIME:
“The code of conduct for a star quarterback in the NFL is as closely cropped as Johnny Unitas’ crew cut: be commanding but not too emotional, be driven but never showy, display enough personality to sell pizza – but not so much that some fans won’t want to buy it. In other words, be a lot like Peyton Manning.
“For 17 seasons, Manning has embodied the marquee job in America’s most watched sport with vanilla excellence….Touchdowns rarely merit more than raised arms. This approach has led to a fortune in endorsements, a league record five MVP awards and a Super Bowl title.
“But as Manning leads the Denver Broncos into Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7, the injury-riddled 39-year-old will be doing more than trying to win what could be his final pro game. Whether he likes it or not, Manning will be ceding his role as the face of the NFL. The heir? Manning’s opposing quarterback and stylistic opposite, the Carolina Panthers star Cam Newton. And his ascension could be one of the best things to happen to the NFL.
“A sport defined for a decade by two aging stars – Manning and Tom Brady – and haunted by headlines involving brain injuries and domestic violence could use fresh air. (Manning now finds himself fighting allegations of performance-enhancing drug use, which the NFL is investigating.) Newton, the sixth African-American quarterback to start a Super Bowl, is a charismatic free spirit unburdened by the conventions of being a franchise quarterback. And even in a league filled with dazzling talents, the 26-year-old Newton stands out…. ‘I don’t think we’ve seen a quarterback like Cam Newton,’ says Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, ‘and I don’t think we ever will again.’….
“(But) on social media, Newton is routinely disparaged as a ‘thug’ – a term with unsubtle racial overtones. ‘Particularly in these times, nobody is going to come out and say, Cam Newton’s a black quarterback, and I don’t like the way black people behave in public,’ says Todd Boyd, a professor of race and popular culture at USC. ‘Instead, what they’re going to do is attack his style.’”
Oh brother. There we go again.
But Sunday night, when I last posted, I didn’t realize that at the same time Cam Newton was on during halftime of the Pro Bowl (if you think I watched even a second of this you’re badly mistaken), saying in part about his earlier statement “he’s an African-American quarterback that may scare a lot of people”:
“It took on a wave that I kind of expected, but didn’t want it to reach that magnitude, but it did….
“And I didn’t mean it to come off as a race thing. I didn’t mean it to come off as anybody that’s being brash or flamboyant about a specific question. I was just saying facts. I’m hoping to be a trailblazer, to give an avenue not only for African-American quarterbacks but athletic quarterbacks as well. You can be Caucasian, you can have any type of ethnicity outside of African-American, and that’s what I was trying to preach.”
Monday night in San Jose, Cam, in front of the assembled media, said: “I’m just trying to give hope for people that may be a step outside the box from being labeled this player, that player,” Newton said. “For me, I’ve always kind of viewed things differently, played differently, not in the prototypical way. So for that athletic quarterback that’s coming up, for that person that may have made a mistake in their life, they can look at me and say, ‘Well Cam did it, so I can still have hope to do it.’”
–As for Peyton Manning, he again addressed the Al Jazeera HGH allegations.
“I can’t speak for anybody else,” Manning said of the story involving several professional athletes. “I’ve addressed this before. It’s why I welcome this NFL investigation, because I know the rules of the NFL and I respect the rules, they’re important to me. And so what this report alleges that I did is simply not true. It’s fabricated. It’s junk. It’s garbage.”
The NFL has told various media insiders their review of the allegations “is ongoing and comprehensive,” as Ian Rapoport said recently.
This should not be an issue for the Super Bowl, just because of the timing, but shortly after the NFL will have something to say, no doubt.
–Couch Slouch (Norman Chad) / Washington Post:
“Yes, I am rooting for Peyton Manning. How many times was he written off this season by yammering talking heads? Just before the AFC championship game, ESPN Radio’s Danny Kanell said he didn’t want Peyton to make the Super Bowl because ‘it’s awful to watch him play quarterback this year.’ Uh, watching Kanell play quarterback in the NFL – now that was awful. Peyton’s a pleasure – if he dropped back to pass blindfolded and tied up in a sackcloth, he would have a higher QB rating than Kanell.
“Cam Newton likes to celebrate – is this really a problem? If it were me, I would just hand the ball to an official, trot to the sideline and pour myself a cup of hot tea. But if Cam wants to lip-sync to Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ and parachute in the Rockettes to do a dance number after every touchdown, then so be it….
“CBS again will use confounded officiating expert Mike Carey to inform us about replay challenges. If Carey says the call will be overturned, it will stand. If he says the call will stand, it will be overturned. Heck, if Carey told me the sun rises in the East and will set in the West, I would have to believe it rises in the West and will set in the East.”
–So it would appear Calvin Johnson’s retirement is for real. At least I think it is. He’s a smart guy. He’s made his money and he understands all the medical news that has been coursing through the sport the last few years. He’s in pretty good shape, physically…get out!
Johnson said in a statement: “Like many players at this stage of their career, I am currently evaluating options for my future. I would expect to have a decision regarding this matter in the not-too-distant future.”
For selfish reasons I was kind of dreaming somehow he’d end up as a Jet, even if for just next season, but I really hope he retires.
Megatron is Detroit’s franchise leader in receptions (731), receiving yards (11,619), receiving touchdowns (83) and receiving yards per game (86.1). Johnson is a six-time Pro Bowler and among those to play in at least 100 games, no player has averaged more receiving yards per game than he has, as the Washington Post’s Neil Greenberg noted.
I think Johnson is a lock for the Hall of Fame. Greenberg doesn’t, pointing to the fact Johnson has played in too few games and that it took Lynn Swann 13 tries before he broke through, Swann playing in a similar number.
Greenberg does note that not including the 2016 current ballot, “there have been nine eligible wideouts (who last played in 2009) with at least 11,000 receiving yards and 80 receiving touchdowns – six are in the Hall of Fame. The three that aren’t, Irving Fryar, Marvin Harrison and Isaac Bruce, each have more games played, yards and scores than Johnson.”
Eh…I like Megatron over those three, but I respect Mr. Greenberg’s observations.
—Raiders owner Mark Davis said his team is negotiating a one-year lease extension to stay in Oakland in the O.co. Rats Unlimited Coliseum. Davis conceded this is not the best situation for his team but as Tony Soprano would have said, ‘Whaddya gonna do?’ The Raiders don’t have a home. The rats there are demanding a bump in their take.
Davis continues to look at San Antonio and Las Vegas. Both make great sense, but while being partial to an NFL team (in these last, final 20 years of the league) in Vegas, I didn’t realize UNLV was already building a new stadium there and the Raiders could partner in that, it seems.
–Story in the New York Daily News that San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick wants to join the Jets, according to columnist Manish Mehta.
This is kind of intriguing. Actually, Mehta writes Jets executives are “aware of Kaepernick’s desire to play for them” and “are intrigued.”
New York wants to bring back free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick, but he’s 33, five years older than Kaepernick, and clearly isn’t a long-term solution.
What’s surprising is that new 49ers coach Chip Kelly would appear to be the perfect coach for Kaepernick, who is Marcus Mariota like when he’s on his game.
–What has been my overriding principle for 17 years at StocksandNews and this column? “Wait 24 hours.” I was disgusted by how the New York media treated the case of Giants lineman Jay Bromley the other day…and some of you no doubt noticed I said zero, nothing, on the situation.
Bromley was accused of sexual assault in a case I see no reason, as yet, to give any details of because the facts still aren’t really known.
But that didn’t prevent the tabloids from plastering his picture all over the place, with vicious headlines.
This is an ugly story, and if Bromley did something wrong he deserves to be in the December file.
But it’s developing the supposed female victim is no sweetheart and may be an extortion expert, which the Post itself reported (hypocritically) may have been the case with a well-known actor the paper names (but I won’t).
As of this writing, Bromley does not face charges.
–Breaking news Wednesday morning…former Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler had high Stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (C.T.E.) when he died in July, as reported by the New York Times’ John Branch.
The day after Stabler’s death on July 8 at the age of 69, his brain was removed during an autopsy and ferried to scientists in Massachusetts. “Over several months,” writes Branch, “it was dissected for clues, as Stabler had wished, to help those left behind understand why his mind seemed to slip so precipitously in his final years.”
The high Stage 3 is on a scale of 1 to 4.
Researchers at Boston University have found C.T.E. in 90 of the 94 former NFL players they have examined, including former Giants safety Tyler Sash, whose diagnosis was made public last week.
–Lastly, this story could be another harmful one for the NFL. As first reported by the Dallas Morning News, former Cowboys running back Joseph Randle, arrested for the fourth time in the last 17 months on Monday for an outstanding driving infraction, apparently was betting on sports.
The Cowboys had released Randle on Nov. 3 after he began “displaying erratic behavior.” Dallas cited mental instability and it was then they learned he was wagering on sporting events, according to the News.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the paper that there was no evidence Randle bet on NFL games, but then cryptically added, when questioned whether Randle’s betting had impacted the results of Cowboys games, ‘not that I know of.’
College Basketball Review
AP Poll (Feb. 1…records thru Sunday)
1. Oklahoma 18-2 (45)
2. North Carolina 19-2 (20)
3. Villanova 18-3
4. Maryland 19-3
5. Iowa 17-4
6. Xavier 19-2
7. Kansas 17-4
8. Texas A&M 18-3
9. Virginia 17-4
10. Michigan State 19-4
12. SMU 19-1
16. Oregon 18-4…wow…Quack Quack!!!
21. Wichita State 16-5
24. Dayton 18-3
25. South Carolina 19-2
*San Diego State received a single vote, same as Stony Brook.
Then there is Duke, which isn’t in the AP poll for the first time since the end of the 2006-07 season, a streak of 157 consecutive weeks as a ranked team, fifth-longest in history according to CBSSports.com. Duke had lost four of their last five games before defeating Georgia Tech on Tuesday.
Kansas now owns the longest streak at 136.
Those of us who follow Duke knew that when senior forward Amile Jefferson went down to a broken foot this was a big loss, as I wrote at the time, but I would have thought Duke would have played better than they have even without him. Jefferson is beginning to practice but these deals aren’t easy in terms of knowing when you’re game ready.
—Lots of upsets Monday and Tuesday….
19 Louisville defeated 2 North Carolina, in Louisville, 71-65, as Carolina shot just 20 of 58 from the field (34.5%). Louisville moved to 18-4, 7-2. It was UNC’s first conference loss.
Houston (16-6, 6-4) upset 12 SMU (19-2, 8-2) 71-69.
25 South Carolina (19-3, 6-3) was upset by Georgia (12-8, 5-4) 69-56.
Tuesday, 11 Providence (18-5, 6-4) suffered a terrible loss at the hands of lowly DePaul (8-14, 2-8) 77-70.
Tennessee (11-11, 4-5) beat 20 Kentucky (16-6, 6-3) 84-77.
14 West Virginia (18-4, 7-2) had a nice road win at 13 Iowa State (16-6, 5-4) 81-76.
And then there is Wake Forest, now 10-12, 1-9! They led Clemson, at home, 28-20 at the half, then proceeded to get blown out in the second…final score Clemson (14-8, 7-3) 76, Wake 62. I have never seen a team implode like this after a very solid start to the season. While this is no consolation whatsoever, for the record we do have the toughest schedule in the country.
At least my “Pick to Click” San Diego State Aztecs (17-6, 10-0) continue to win, eking out a 69-67 victory at home against Colorado State (12-10, 4-5) last evening.
NBA
–The beyond pathetic Phoenix Suns fired coach Jeff Hornacek on Monday, despite his popularity as a former player, with the Suns apparently thinking they could replace him with another former star and the most popular player in franchise history, Steve Nash.
But Nash has no interest in going into coaching full time at this moment, and who can blame him. He played a zillion years, has a part-time job with the Warriors, has made a zillion dollars and what does he need the Suns job for?
So for now the Suns are going with Earl Watson, 36, as their interim coach and he lost his debut on Tuesday, 104-97, to Toronto.
–The Knicks (23-28) sure as heck don’t look like a playoff team after their 97-89 loss at the hands of the surprising Celtics (28-22) at MSG. What a move the Celts made in hiring coach Brad Stevens. You look at Boston’s roster and you’re like, how the heck are they 28-22?!
The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 18 and there has been talk Atlanta’s Jeff Teague could be headed out the door for the right price. The Knicks are definitely interested and he’d be a perfect fit, but they have nothing to offer Atlanta in return.
MLB
–The Yankees suffered a big blow before spring training even started as they announced major prospect Greg Bird is out for the year after season-ending right-shoulder surgery. Bird, 23, was expected to stand in this year for incumbent Mark Teixeira when the oft-injured Tex is on the shelf, and then take over for Tex permanently in 2017, when Tex goes Ex- (he has one year remaining on his prodigious contract). Bird had 11 home runs in 46 games with the big league club this past season.
But here’s the thing about him. His agent told the Yankees his client hadn’t been forthright about his shoulder during the season and that it had been bothering him since May. At that time, Bird was placed on the DL for rest and rehab with GM Brian Cashman saying now we thought “he’d be fine.”
But in January the pain got worse, Bird saw the Yanks’ team physician, and Doc recommended surgery.
So will the Yankees consider free agent slugger Pedro Alvarez, who hit 27 homers for Pittsburgh last season? Alvarez is from the Bronx and would be a huge favorite, plus he could hit 40 home runs regularly in the Little Band Box that Ruth Didn’t Build. [Alvarez also might hit .215 and do little else except an occasional bomb.]
It doesn’t seem likely but I think the Yanks should sign Alvarez for two years. The Yanks, though, seem to be leaning towards going with prospect Dustin Ackley to fill the void for now.
Stuff
—Premier League play resumed…some big games on Tuesday…
Leicester remains the Cinderella story of the season with a 2-0 win over Liverpool.
My Tottenham Spurs moved into third with a 3-0 win over Norwich, Harry Kane scoring two more.
Manchester City defeated Sunderland 1-0, while Manchester United had a solid 3-0 win over Stoke.
And Arsenal and Southampton finished 0-0.
So after 24 of 38 (with a few teams playing their 24th on Wednesday)….
1. Leicester 50 points
2. Man City 47
3. Tottenham 45 (tie broken by goal differential)
4. Arsenal 45
5. Man U 40
—Brandt Snedeker ended up prevailing in the weather-delayed Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Snedeker’s fourth-round 69 in Sunday’s horrendous conditions will go down as one of the two or three great rounds you see this entire PGA Tour season. Among those who finished in the top 30, only Shane Lowry came remotely close with a 73.
For Snedeker it was his eighth win. He’s carved out a very nice career.
–Golfer Jim Furyk is going to be out at least three months following wrist surgery. So no Masters for him….a tradition unlike any other…on CBS….
–Huge scandal on Groundhog Day here in New Jersey. Make that multiple scandals.
Essex Ed, the resident groundhog at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, “slept through Groundhog Day….According to county officials, Ed went into ‘deep hibernation’ because of the unusually warm December.” [Harry T., NJ.com]
So the Essex County executive produced “another denizen of the zoo to stand in for Ed: Otis the hedgehog. According to reports, Otis saw his shadow. That means there will be six more weeks of winter. Apparently, Otis enjoyed the limelight and took things one step further. He predicted the Carolina Panthers will defeat the Denver Broncos,” as also reported by Harry T.
Milltown Mel II, out of Milltown, New Jersey, also reportedly saw his shadow, but Punxsutawney Phil did not, thus foretelling an early spring.
But wait…this just in… “The 2016 Groundhog Day ceremony was canceled in Sussex County (N.J.) after the local marmot died Monday night.” [NJ.com]
Stonewall Jackson is the name and it was owned by state assemblyman Parker Space. Mr. Space didn’t give a cause of death but I’m assuming it had to do with shoveling snow. Others are claiming something far more nefarious and you can be sure we’ll follow up on the story as warranted.
–From the Daily Telegraph:
“The marauding elephant that trampled and gored a British tourist to death in Thailand after attacking its handler is forced to perform at an island safari camp that has been accused of cruelty to animals by customers.
“Animal welfare campaigners have now launched a fresh call for a ban on all tourist elephant rides….
“Gareth C., 36, from Scotland, was killed in front of his 16-year-old step-daughter by an elephant that threw them to the ground after its handler dismounted to take a photograph of them on the holiday island of Koh Samui.
“The handler, or mahout, reportedly tried to control the animal with a speared hook and was also gored, but survived.”
It was the sixth fatal accident in the last five months involving bull elephants across Thailand.
Thailand has an estimated 4,000 domesticated elephants, many working in the tourism trade, as well as 2,500 wild elephants.
Elephant is No. 2 on the All-Species List. Remind me not to ride one until the conclusion of UN-sponsored peace talks between ‘Man’ (No. 323 on the ASL) and our pachyderm friends.
—Hong Kong has a real issue with wild boars…like massive beasts roaming the downtown streets!
–Writing for USA TODAY, Todd Haefer, “Beer Man” for The (Appleton, Wis.) Post-Crescent, recommends Shiner’s Hoppy Pilsner 107 Birthday Beer, “a hoppy pilsner that draws on the brewery’s long tradition of German-style beers.”
I’ve always been a hoppy pilsner guy myself.
Top 3 songs for the week 2/1/75: #1 “Laughter In The Rain” (Neil Sedaka…sounds as good today as it did 41 years ago…41 years?!!!…and then the depression set in….) #2 “Fire” (Ohio Players) #3 “Boogie On Reggae Woman” (Stevie Wonder)…and…#4 “You’re No Good” (Linda Ronstadt…in her salad days…) #5 “Pick Up The Pieces” (AWB) #6 “Please Mr. Postman” (Carpenters…not their best…) #7 “Mandy” (Barry Manilow) #8 “Morning Side Of The Mountain” (Donny & Marie Osmond…Marie lookin’ mighty fine these days, right guys?) #9 “Best Of My Love” (The Eagles…staple slow dance song at Wake Forest…cough cough…cough…) #10 “Some Kind Of Wonderful” (Grand Funk)
Super Bowl Quiz Answer: Scores… IX: Pittsburgh 16 Minnesota 6 (Franco Harris MVP); X: Pittsburgh 21 Dallas 17 (Lynn Swann); XIII: Pittsburgh 35 Dallas 31 (Terry Bradshaw); XIV: Pittsburgh 31 Los Angeles 19 (Terry Bradshaw).
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
