In a statement released to the Tennessean Newspaper CBS stated that Steve Beuerlein was kidding around when he referred the the Titans' Lendale White as a "USC Thug" coming back from a commercial break.

LeslieAnn Wade, vice president of communications for CBS, said Beuerlein was joking off-air with play-by-play man Bill Macatee and was unaware the telecast had resumed. Wade said Macatee lives in southern California and follows Trojan football.

"Steve being a Notre Dame guy and like any two friends who have those allegiances would do, they kid each other about Notre Dame and USC all the time,'' Wade said. "Certainly Steve wishes it wasn't on the air and so does CBS, but that is the explanation."

Pretty convenient if you ask me, and the "explanation" line at the end is odd to say the least, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. It didn't sound like Steve was joking at the time, but I guess if that's their story...that's their story.

Steve Beuerlein Is Not A Fan Of USC (Awful Annoucning)
CBS says Beuerlein 'USC thugs' remark was joke (The Tennessean)

I thought I'd be able to get past the bad reporting in regards to Sean Taylor's death after that ESPN post below, but alas...I cannot. DC resident and Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon has fueled an even bigger fire today in the Nation's Capital.

Yesterday Wilbon basically took shots at Sean Taylor's character while the 24 year old was struggling for his life yesterday without knowing any of the facts surrounding the shooting and home invasion...

I know how I feel about Taylor, and this latest news isn’t surprising in the least, not to me. Whether this incident is or isn’t random, Taylor grew up in a violent world, embraced it, claimed it, loved to run in it and refused to divorce himself from it. He ain’t the first and won’t be the last. We have no idea what happened, or if what we know now will be revised later. It’s sad, yes, but hardly surprising.- Michael Wilbon in The Washington Post Chat House

Some of you are emailing me and saying that this isn't really a national issue and maybe this is a sign that Mainstream Media and Wilbon just weren't aware of the changes that Sean Taylor made in his life after the birth of his child. But Wilbon's own paper even wrote a piece on the subject back in October.....

You're not going to write that a 17-month-old baby girl named Jackie melts his heart, how fatherhood makes him feel like more of a mature, young man and less of the moody knucklehead who came into the league four years ago.

You're not going to write that his teammates love and respect him and not one -- not a single one among 35 you interviewed -- has a bad thing to say about him.

Now I know people only look at the bad and of course my homerism might be coming out in these posts, but it was pretty obvious Sean Taylor had taken a turn for the good. I thought this was pretty evident to much of the Country in fact.

While his past wasn't a secret, Wilbon's comments (at a time when the man was fighting for his life) were irresponsible and unfortunate.

Special Spot in Hell Reserved for Wilbon (Mister Irrelevant)
Chat House (Washington Post)
An Enigma Cloaked In a Veil of Silence (Washington Post)

Well look who's back in the booth for the Army-Navy game on CBS....it's Boomer! I can't remember if he called the game last year, but that should be a good game with Eye-in Eagle.

It looks like this is the last chance for anyone to catch Gary Danielson in the Pammy Standings and with Spielman on the bench it won't be him. It's GD, Mike Patrick, and Brad Nessler for the gold!

Thursday, November 29:

Rutgers @ Louisville (ESPN, 7:45) - Chris Fowler, Doug Flutie, Craig James, Erin Andrews

Friday, November 30:

Fresno State @ New Mexico State (ESPNU, 8:00) - Eric Collins, Bill Curry, Dave Ryan

Saturday, December 1:

MAC Championship: Central Michigan v. Miami (OH) (ESPN2, 11:00 am) - Pam Ward, Ray Bentley, Rob Simmelkjaer
Army v. Navy (CBS, 12:00) - Ian Eagle, Boomer Esiason, Sam Ryan
C-USA Championship: Tulsa v. Central Florida (ESPN,12:00) - Dave Pasch, Andre Ware, Erin Andrews
ACC Championship: Boston College v. Virginia Tech (ABC, 1:00) - Brad Nessler, Bob Griese, Paul Maguire, Bonnie Bernstein
SEC Championship: LSU v. Tennessee (CBS, 4:00) - Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson, Tracy Wolfson
UCLA @ USC (ABC, 4:30) - Terry Gannon, David Norrie, Jeannine Edwards
Oregon State @ Oregon (ESPN2, 4:30) - Dan Fouts, Tim Brant, Todd Harris
California @ Stanford (VS, 7:00) - Ted Robinson, Kelly Stouffer, Lewis Johnson
Pittsburgh @ West Virginia (ESPN, 7:45) - Mike Patrick, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe
Big XII Championship: Missouri v. Oklahoma (ABC, 8:00)- Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Lisa Salters
Arizona @ Arizona State (ESPN2, 8:00) - Mark Jones, Bob Davie, Stacey Dales
Washington @ Hawaii (ESPN2, 11:30) - Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham, Jack Arute

As a lifelong DC/MD sports fan the only thing I can compare this to is the death of Len Bias, but this is different. The kid was 24...24 years old, and didn't die by his own hand. As tragic as Len Bias' death was he did take the cocaine on his own accord.

As far as ESPN's coverage on the subject I just wanted to tell you/them that it's a f'ing joke. Last night they barely broached the subject of the shooting on Countdown and during the game. God forbid you wing things and stray from your schedule and planned New England praising. They even had extra time to come up with something after lightning delayed the start of that pathetic game. They had Suzy Kolber report on the field about 20 times during a game that was tied at zero until 2 minutes left in the contest. I had to change the channel to local coverage to get updates.

Even this morning Sports Center talked about his passing for 60 seconds during a lead-in and are just rerunning the Sports Center, which of course is loaded with Monday Night Football highlights. And you wonder why I've blasted Sports Center in the past? Flip to ESPN News....Monday Night Football is the lead in. Flip to ESPN's First Take....yep, Monday Night Football. How about actual news programs not associated with Sports? Of course Sean Taylor's death is the main topic. On ABC’s "Good Morning America," CBS’ "Early Show" and NBC’s ‘Today’ all spent a good amount of time covering the story this morning.

I know you need to spend time promoting your own products and spin the angle of the field making it a hilarious/goofy night, but this is just appalling. Last night's Football game was the worst I had ever watched, but we get it ad nauseum. It makes no sense that a National News story isn't even being talked about. Maybe Ed Werder couldn't fly to Miami fast enough? This could be the reason the "Leader" only has a small tag along the ESPN News crawl which reads...."Redskins Sean Taylor dies after shooting." Wow, thanks for all the info.

Maybe I'm just coping with my favorite player on my favorite team's death, but this just makes me that much more upset at the Disnergy that's been flooding our television as of late. Maybe they can put something together by 6pm? Or will you still be talking about the Packers-Cowboys game still???

Update: I wanted to change my stance of First Take. The program is actually doing a good job of getting each guest's thoughts on the passing. Great job by them as a live show to give some perspective on Taylor's passing.

Just wait for the replay (and Gretchen Wilson).....

That's a photo of the stands from earlier tonight. I think the rain has stopped but this is by far the worst game I've ever watched.

What's with all of this Global Warming/Al Gore talk with Berman as of late? He mentions it during every bad weather game at this point.

It's 0-0 in case you haven't been paying attention, and for your sake I hope you haven't been. Good news....Ricky is apparently going to be okay, and ESPN gets their storyline back! Excellent!!!

Miami gets the ball to start the 2nd, and there are actually lines on the field! Ginn brings it out, and Suzy is wearing her MNF hat again. Very cute if you ask me.

Chapman for zero, but Ginn picks up a nice 15 yard gain on a pretty throw from Beck. Another completion to Booker picks up a 4 yard gain and a trip across midfield for the first time tonight. Chapman for a first down, and don't look now, but the 'Phins are driving!

FLEA FLICKER!!!!!!!! 14 yard gain. I guess that's as exciting as we're gonna get tonight. 1st and 10 at the 29. Run for Chatman gets nothing and a roll out and incomplete puts it at 3rd and 11.

Hahahahaha....a batted down pass is grabbed by Chatman and they lose 4 yards on a possible Field Goal attempt! Too funny. And Miami is going for it!?!?!?! 4th and 15??? Wait...timeout. They need to punt this thing....it's a 49 yarder if they try the kick.

Lemme Lemme Upgrade Ya!!!

They're actually going for it, and Beck is sacked back at the 40. And you wonder why the Dolphins are 0-10. Just stupid.

Parker for 6, Parker for 1, 3rd and 3 pass to Ward for the first. That seemed easy. Parker for 5, Parker for -1, and Big Ben is sacked for a loss of 8. Steelers punt and it goes inside the ten.

You know what makes a boring game better? SEAL!!! That new album sounds...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

"I think this is what it would be like if you played in a Louisiana bayou"- James

Very much so, but you could at least jump across gator's heads like in Bayou Billy if you were in the 'Glades. These players are sinking.

Chapman picks up a nice first down, and he gets blasted by Anthony Smith. That's another RB down for Miami and they're left with Patrick Cobbs. A drop by Booker and it's 2nd and 10.....sack, Larry Foote. 3rd and 16....Beck with the Bomb!!!!! Nothing. At least he tried something into single coverage. Booker got about an inch off the ground.

Wow...that punt on its own shows you how terrible this field is. It is just planted in the mud and doesn't move. I'm pulling that video.

Steelers ball at the 50....nine yard run for Parker. I'm calling a score right now. Another nice run for Parker and a first down for Pitt at the 34. Wow....another great run by Parker who looked bottled up, and he picks up another 8. Willie gets another 1 yard and it'll be 3rd and short.

Joey Porter stops them! He is still a beast. Holy shit! A field goal attempt.....

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha........not even close.....0-0 my friends.

That missed by about 20 yards left and 15 yards short.

"If Gretchen Wilson is here for the party then she's at the wrong game."- Hanrahan

Hey, I'm having fun. Drinking makes everything more exciting!

End of the 3rd Quarter folks! 0-0 still, and I'm loving every minute!!!

So this game sucks....does anyone wanna come over for a little "Rock Band" action? Beck hits Booker over the middle on third and long and they're in Steelers territory! Cobbs gets about 2 on first down. Deep pass to Booker is nowhere near him, and there's a flag on the field. Penalty on the 'Phins.

A screen to Ted Ginn is too high and incomplete. 3rd and 13, and it's completed!!!!!!!! Beck to Booker! Holy crap, the Dolphins are at the Steelers' 24!

Cobbs gets back to back carries for not much and it's 3rd and long again....The Steelers blitz everyone, and the Dolphins are attempting a 38 yarder.....Feely.....

IT'S BLOCKED!!!! No....delay of game. Great job by the crew to note that this is actually a better spot to kick from. But no....Cam Cameron brings the offense back out?!!?!?!?!?!

Sack, fumble, Pittsburgh ball. Are you kidding me?!?!?!

Parker for 3 followed by a first down pass to Wilson. The rain is back and I'm happy....this 0-0 tie needs to happen!

3rd and 5 for Pitt and Roethlisberger hits Hines Ward and he fall into Dolphins territory at the 38. Damn you Steelers! Stop this driving right now.

Davenport for a few, and Parker for another couple, and it's 3rd and 5.....SACK! Back at the 42!!!!!

"I feel like I'm a broadcaster for soccer."- Mike Tirico
"So it's nil-nil on the pitch Jaws."- Tony Kornheiser

Ginn fair catches it at the 10 yard line again, and we're keeping the 0-0 tie dream alive folks!!!

Marty Booker on the screen for 1 yard, Beck had about 40 minutes to throw but is sacked, and another 1 yard pass from Beck leads to a Dolphins punt. False start before that and the 'Phins are punting from their own 5.....

Rossum is down at the Miami 42, and there's 4 minutes left for a score in this one. Let's go Dolphins D!!!!!

"If the twenty yard line was the goal line we'd still be scoreless."- Mike Tirico

That's amazing. Parker for a small gain, and a catch by Hines Ward inside the Red Zone!!! You had to jinx it Tirico!! Dammit. Parker for nine, but a flag is down.....a Holding Penalty!!!! Send them back! We need a sack Jason Taylor!!!

1st and 20, Ward for 6 yards...2nd and 14. Ward again for 11 yards and it's 3rd and short as we reach the 2 minute warning.

Line of the night goes to Tony Kornheiser for saying that the Steelers didn't want to score too quickly because they might "leave too much time for the Dolphins to come back down the field."

3rd and 3.....first down to Willie Reed on the WR screen. Damn you Pittsburgh. Damn you for making me witness this. Joey Porter knocks down the Big Ben pass on first down, Parker for a yard, and Miami calls timeout with one minute left.

"Anyone notice the time? This game started just after 9pm and at 2:17 already is down to 2mins....At least death has been quick."- Anon

I wish I could say that it felt that way. I feel I have been typing zeros for 7 hours now.

Roethlisberger is sacked, and that was the dumbest call in the history of Sports. Just down it on a nice piece of grass and kick the thing. This has to be the worst coached game ever. Reed will have about a 23 yarder to win it.

GOOD! 3 fucking nothing Steelers.

"Awful, thanks for making the worst game in NFL history so amusing. Wait, I took Miami and the points, so it actually wasn't a bad game at all."- Anon

No problem, and someone else made the same wager ;)

A lateral to Ginn on the squib, and that's not working at all. The Dolphins try the lateral game and it fails miserably. Good lord all of you are troopers for even posting one comment during this abortion. I'll see you next week for hopefully a dry and exciting game. Ugh.....it pains me to type this....

3-0 Steelers.