Last year it was Donovan McNabb who didn't understand that there were ties in the NFL, but this year it's Rich Gannon that couldn't grasp the intricities of the extra period. During overtime of the Cincinnati-Cleveland game, the Bengals called timeout to give kicker Shayne Graham some time to prepare for the game winning kick. Gannon immediately chastised the team for leaving too much time on the clock for Browns' return man Josh Cribbs.

There's only one problem with that....it's called "sudden" death for a reason. Via Shutdown Corner....

No, Gannon didn't like the timeout because he thought that if Graham hit the field goal, it would leave too much time for dangerous Cleveland return man Joshua Cribbs(notes) to take back the subsequent kickoff for a touchdown. You know, that dreaded post-score overtime kickoff that has felled so many teams throughout history.

Gannon's partner in the booth, Ian Eagle, quickly and politely informed Gannon that the game would be over if Graham successfully converted the field goal, since NFL overtime is sudden death. Gannon laughed and apologized for his mistake. Awesomely, Eagle then asked if McNabb had infiltrated the broadcast booth. Nah, Ian, if that were true, Gannon would have vomited when the game got down to crunch time. (Rimshot!)

It was a ridiculous mistake, but unlike McNabb's ignorance of overtime rules (and his continued defense of said ignorance later in the week), we'll give Gannon the benefit of the doubt and say this was more likely a slip of the tongue than a complete misunderstanding of how overtime works. But, of course, it didn't seem possible that McNabb wouldn't know about ties, so maybe we're giving Gannon too much credit.

No offense to Yahoo, but yes....you're giving him way too much credit. Ties rarely happen in the NFL, and McNabb's mistake was somewhat excusable. To have played multiple overtime games in the NFL, and not know that the game ends on a score, is just the opposite of that.

Rich Gannon doesn't know how NFL overtimes work either (Shutdown Corner)

Now this story should make you laugh. A few people have come out and admitted that they had no ideas there were/are ties in the NFL, and Hines Ward is one of them. Now you might say that since there are a handful of people now that weren't aware of the rule, it might be plausible that a good bit of the NFL has no idea. Well in Hines Ward's case, he really has no excuse. He actually played during the last tie in the league....

“No, I didn’t know,” Ward said. “I thought we were the last team to do it when we played the Falcons. I thought we just played it until you have a winner or something. It’s kind of weird now that you can still tie ballgames.”

Roethlisberger speculated many players didn’t know ties can happen because games are played to a conclusion in high school and college football. Also, a large percentage of current NFL players weren’t in the league when that Falcons-Steelers tie occurred.

If he had been standing on the sideline late in the overtime period Sunday, Roethlisberger said, he would have needed time to sort out whether a tie can happen.

“I think people are making too big a deal and are being too hard on Donovan because you’d be surprised, I bet at least 50 percent of the league didn’t know that at the time,” Roethlisberger said. “You’d be real surprised. I think people just assume that the quarterback should know it all and that everyone should know that stuff and it’s not necessarily true, because whoever thinks about that stuff?”

I agree with Roethlisberger on the fact that people are being too hard on Donovan McNabb, and that it really doesn't ultimately matter because you're still playing for the win. It's just amazing how many people seriously had no idea that there were ties. Also, now that this has come to light, it seems rather dumb that the league wouldn't play a second overtime period. I personally think ties in any Sport outside of Soccer make absolutely no sense, and we should just get rid of them. Especially in a Sport like Football where there are only sixteen games in a season.

A tie? Ward among Steelers unaware of tie rule (Yahoo Sports)

Chad Johnson was on my list of people not to mention this site for most of the season, but I have to break my rule to post this story from Pro Football Talk. Johnson said on both Monday Night Football, and Sports Center the following day, that he had some things planned.

I ignored both interviews and figured it was just more costumes and/or props for his cheesy TD celebrations. Boy was I wrong. Chad Johnson has taken the first steps to officially change his name to "Ocho Cinco". Seriously....

Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson was fined $5,000 for wearing “Ocho Cinco” on the back of his jersey before a game in 2006.

To avoid getting fined, Johnson hasn’t done it since then. But Johnson now has a plan for how he can get away with having “Ocho Cinco” spelled out over the “85″ on his back.

We’ve learned that Johnson has taken the first steps in the state of Florida toward legally changing his last name to Ocho Cinco.

If Johnson follows through on this, his actual, legal name will be Chad Ocho Cinco, and the NFL would then (we assume) allow him to put his new last name on the back of his jersey.

On the surface it seems like yet another cheesy Chad Johnson stunt, but when you think about it, anything to make the "No Fun League" squirm is kind of entertaining. Obviously this is still a rumor, but imagine how many jerseys he would sell. It wouldn't approach Favre territory, but it would be quite a few.

Johnson Wants To Be Ocho Cinco Legally (Pro Football Talk)

I found this vid over at Yahoo's Shutdown Corner and it couldn't be more entertaining. It's a look at one of the skits that the NFL puts on for rookies and the party involved in this one is Cowboys Rookie RB Tashard Choice from Georgia Tech. Enjoy!

How entertaining was that? Man, the NFL could come up with a whole series surrounding these things. Great work by Tashard there, but I'm still waiting for the one when a groupie approaches them though. Now that would be entertainment!

Tashard Choice's friends should get used to watching him on TV (Shutdown Corner)

Every single year there seems to be a church that has it's Super Bowl party canceled by the NFL because it violates some sort of Double Secret Probation rule. Well when reading through this Slate article I found that many of us could be in violation of similar rules.....

NFL officials say the church would have broken the law by charging an admission fee and by screening the game on a TV that exceeds 55 inches. On Thursday, Slate's Josh Levin promised to host a Super Bowl party with his new, gigantic television. Will he get in trouble, too?

No. The 55-inch limit cited by the NFL applies only to public showings of the Super Bowl, not private gatherings. According to U.S. copyright law, Josh is in the clear so long as he doesn't take his gigantic TV to a public place, or invite "a substantial number of persons" to his house—more than a normal circle of family and social acquaintances.

What exactly is a substantial number of persons? 10? 50? 100??? What if I knew 25 people at the party but five were not from my "normal circle"? This is all too scary.

How am I even going to be able to enjoy the game with all of this on my mind? Damn you NFL!

Is My Super Bowl Party Illegal? (Slate)

(P.S.- Yes....that is my parent's basement)

In all my years on this Earth I have never seen anything like this kick from Phil Dawson. Matt Stover had kicked a FG with 20 seconds left in the game completing the Ravens amazing comeback, and then...I don't have words...just watch....

Josh Cribbs set the Browns up with a great return, Anderson hit Braylon Edwards, and then Phil Dawson kicks the wackiest FG I've ever seen. I honestly thought you couldn't review a kick, and it doesn't appear that they "technically" looked at it, but it's sketchy that the ref got on the headphones. Not sure who he talked to, but if I were the Ravens I'd be a little upset about this one.

Of course Cleveland went on to win it after the game went into OT.