I first have to admit that I do watch "Jersey Shore" on MTV. I mean honestly, how can you not? That doesn't mean it's good television, or that the cast members are in any way important. It's just a guilty pleasure, and I think most people feel that way.

Well, the cast has been seen everywhere lately and now they're even seeping into Sports Arenas. For some reason they were in Los Angeles yesterday attending the Ducks-Kings game, and of course FS West had to interview them....

That could quite possibly be the worst and shortest interview in the history of television. I also love the comment by the elder statesman Bob Miller (who has called Kings games since 1973), that he never misses a show. Me either Bob....me either.

Video: MTV 'Jersey Shore' girls invade Kings game; Snooki talks (Puck Daddy)

I'm not entirely sure why Jay Mariotti decided to wait a whole two weeks to chime in on the Raul Ibanez/Blog thing, but I'm more interested in the premise of his article. Mariotti is now about the 30th mainstream media member to comment that "steroid guessing is bad journalism", but forgetting what he has written about the subject in the past. Before we get into all of Mariotti's accusations about members of the Cubs, let's look at what he wrote late last night....

Yes, given the staggering bulk of guilty names and relentless flurry of new information, we all wonder to ourselves if every major leaguer who has played since 1995 used steroids. But that doesn't mean anyone has the right, legally or ethically, to start speculating for public consumption just because he has a functioning computer, a miniscule niche in cyberspace or a column in the dying newspaper industry. The methods of dissemination may have changed, but journalistic standards suddenly shouldn't go to hell.

If you know an athlete who uses steroids, convince us that it's true with corroborated material.

If not, please keep it to yourself.

Okay then. That's certainly an opinion someone can get behind, and if people want to follow that journalism tenet, I obviously have no problem with it. What I do have a problem with, is when it comes from someone who wrote the following:

The joke isn't funny anymore. Every time I ask Sammy Sosa about ster-oids, he uses a four-year-old punchline about his favorite vitamins. "I take my Flintstones once a day," he says, smiling as always.

But now that baseball's worst-kept secret finally is out of the medicine closet--vast numbers of players are juiced up on 'roids--it is incumbent upon Sosa and other prominent big-leaguers to start speaking up and taking a responsible stance concerning the sport's latest self-destructive issue. Very simply, he needs to tell the truth. If he hasn't used steroids, tell us. If he has used them occasionally, tell us. If he uses them regularly, tell us.

He really should just grab the cup, piddle in it and send it to the lab. It's the only way Sammy Sosa ends all suspicions, quiets the riffraff, blows away the steroid clouds and lets us resume enjoyment of his immaculate career, currently in an innuendo warp. He is sadly mistaken when he says, "The whole world knows that I am innocent."

For some reason, mainstream media members continually forget the words they wrote, if not days ago, at least a few years ago. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, what is wrong with speculating? Sports as a whole is speculation, and whether it's who used steroids?, or will Albert Pujols win the Triple Crown?....What's the big deal?

Also, what's worse in your mind? Writing out a debate with your friend about a player you have on your fantasy team, and trying to defend his stats? Or telling a player in a national publication to send his pee to a lab? Sure it was Sammy Sosa, and we all know how that turned out, but back then it was complete SPECULATION.

It's also funny to me that someone who has been taken for task about doing zero research by both clubs in Chicago, is calling out people for laziness.

Steroid Guessing Is Bad Journalism (Fanhouse)
Letter To Chicago Sun-Times (White Sox and Cubs)

The Irish are certainly improved, and Charlie Weis is just now starting to play with his own recruits, but this bet might not work out so well for Regis Philbin. The talk show host was on College Football Live this afternoon, when he decided to take a little wager thrown out there by host John Saunders....

Ummm....11 out of 12? They do get USC, Washington and UConn at home, but Purdue and Pittsburgh on the road aren't exactly gimmes. Heck, they could lose their first game at home to Nevada. Let's just work on besting last year's six regular season wins first. Okay Rege?

The Jets granted Brett Favre's release today, and wouldn't you know it, a plane left Hattiesburg, Missippi for Minneapolis, Minnesota this morning. Not only that, but it even came back the same day. Now I'm not a betting man (actually that's a lie), but what are the odds that Favre was not on that plane?


While I'm certainly sick of the Favre nonsense every year, one good thing would come out of him signing with the Vikings. We wouldn't have to hear about ESPN hiring him right before the season.

(Via PFT)

Now I'm not one to stop people from having a day of goofiness and fun, but is there a lamer day on the calendar than April 1st? Not only have there been terrible attempts at jokes like....Brady for Cutler and John Calipari already being fired, but Hasheem Thabeet took the lame award for the day....


Hahahaha! Get it? He's joking that he failed a drug test and can't play in the Final Four!!! Oh that's hilarious, especially given the sense of humor that the NCAA has these days. And really? Is Thabeet's nickname really "The Dream"??? That's worse than LaDanian Tomlinson stealing LT.

Hasheem Thabeet Plays the April Fool of March Madness (The Arena)

I linked to this yesterday in the Daily Links, but it really took legs last night with mentions on all of ESPN's networks. An Eagles game-day employee was fired for posting a comment on Facebook ("Dan is f**king devastated about Dawkins signing with Denver. . .Dam Eagles R Retarted!!"), following the team's decision to let Brian Dawkins go, and today Dan Leone talked to ESPN Radio in Philly about the firing. Here's the full audio from ESPN 950 via SRI....

Man, I didn't even realize they fired him over the phone. That's just low. I mean, I sort of understand the organization being somewhat upset, especially when you use the term retarded, but only about 100 of this guy's random friends even had the opportunity to see the comments. Plus, it wasn't like he was posting or using Facebook at work. It was in the privacy of his own home. I think we'll be seeing an out-of-court settlement in the near future.

Eagles' Recently Fired Employee, Dan Leone (ESPN 950)
It’s Not Always Sunny In Philadelphia If You’re An Eagles Employee (Sports Radio Interviews)

Man, there are low things that people say all the time, but this one might actually take the prize. Radio Host, Mike Valenti of the “Valenti & Foster Show” on WXYT-FM in Detroit, made a joke about a capsized boat and apologized for the comments today. Via MLive....

Valenti read two comments from listeners about college basketball and one about baseball, then a joke about a capsized boat in Lake St. Clair. The hosts laughed, and crumpling paper could be heard.

Valenti declined to comment to the Free Press. But on the air, he said: “I just offer you my sincerest apologies. It was completely ridiculous to put it on the air, and again, it comes to me. The only thing I can promise you as my listeners, it won’t happen again. Otherwise, I’ll tell you right now, I don’t deserve to be around.” Debbie Kenyon, the station’s market manager, said: “We fully agree that the comment was absolutely inappropriate.”

Asked if Valenti would face further discipline, Kenyon said: “I think I’ve said enough. We’ve addressed the issue with Mike the way we feel is best. The on-air apology is pretty big. We don’t do that very often.”

Wow. Not only are you making a joke about people who are presumably dead at sea, but you're doing so in the market of one of the players. That's the height of idiocy and just downright despicable.

Radio host apologizes for 'reprehensible' comments about Lions' Corey Smith (M Live)

Of all the things that could happen on Radio Row during Super Bowl Week, this was not one that I could imagine. It turns out that two feuding stations/broadcasters, one from Baltimore and one from Dallas, decided to throw down this afternoon. From Dallas Sports Fans via Deadspin....

This morning on Radio Row at Super Bowl 43 in Tampa, “Nasty Nestor” Aparicio, a controversial Baltimore radio host attacked Gordon Keith. The incident is the latest in an on-going feud between Nasty Nestor and the Ticket.

Apparently, Gordon Keith went over to Nasty Nestor Arapicio with a wireless microphone to attempt to bury the hatchet between the two parties, when Nasty Nestor became angry, grabbed Gordon Keith around the throat and attempted to strangle him. The two were then separated and the police were called.

This is not the first incident between Nasty Nestor and the Ticket. In 2008, at the Super Bowl coverage, Corby Davidson went to Nasty Nestor to make peace. Nestor Arapicio began swearing at Corby Davidson and accused him of having a hidden mic, to which Corby responded, “I swear to the good Lord I do not have a microphone.” Nasty Nestor then called Corby a “(Explitive)-ing Jew.”

Well then! If there's anything lamer than a media feud, it's gotta be a Sports Radio feud. After the banquet lunch, and my interview with Frank Caliendo, let's settle this at the Playground free Pepsi Machines outside the conference center!

If anyone has audio of the exchange, I'd love to hear it.

Nasty Nestor Arapicio Attacks Gordon Keith (Dallas Sports Fans)

A gay rights group, called Egale Canada, is upset with CBC's Mike Milbury for coining the term "pansification", and using it at least twice this season. The term was used by Milbury to describe the NHL's current discussion on fighting in the league, but the group doesn't seem to buy that explanation. Via Globe and Mail....

Network spokesman Jeff Keay said neither Milbury nor Cherry intended to offend homosexuals by using "pansification," a derivative of the word pansy.

"The point is, it was no way intended to be a reflection on or offensive to gay people," Keay said. "I think the colloquial use of the term was something they didn't associate with gay people. The way the language evolves over time, 20 or 30 years ago it would have been seen, reasonably enough, as a direct slur against gay people.

"But I think with usage now, I'm not sure the association is so immediate."

Kennedy wasn't buying the explanation.

"Words like pansification just further the stereotype and perpetuate the homophobic stereotype in our society," she said yesterday.

I've always said that if you offend anyone, you apologize and move on, but this is a little ridiculous. Sure the word was developed in Elizabethan Times to describe and effeminate male, but you also have to take into consideration the intent of the person who said it. I can't imagine that the thought of a comparison to homosexuality even crossed Milbury's mind.

Gay group outraged by CBC's use of 'pansification' (Globe and Mail)

This seems like one of the lesser matchups as far as popularity goes for a Super Bowl, but that isn't stopping ticket prices for the game to be through the roof. A quick look on Ebay puts the tag anywhere from $2-4K, but Stub Hub by far has the best deal. You can now buy an entire 36-person suite at Raymond James for the low, low price of $254,554! Yes that's two hundred, fifty four thousand, five hundred and fifty four dollars....


Yes folks, if you know 35 other people, that each have $7,070 to throw away, then you can have your very own Super Bowl suite! Liquor and food NOT included!!!

Super Bowl XLIII Tickets (Stub Hub)

Everyone knows about my irrational hate for Lebron James. A lot of it has to do with him killing my Wizards during every Playoff series, but a lot of it also has to do with the constant hype of the Cav, and the fact that (up until this year) he's lazy at times on the court. With that said, I've always thought the powder thing he does before games is original, and pretty badass, but not everyone agrees.

Kevin Ding, of the OCRegister, is now chastising NIKE for sending the message that it's okay to ruin his laptop. From the OCReg via BDL via TSB....

"As stylish as James' "chalk" Nike commercial is both in vision and sound, it sends a terrible message. You have no idea just how horrible that 'chalk' is. (It’s actually a rosin mixture — this is the one the Lakers use — to keep players’ hands dry for gripping the ball.) The powdery stuff gets everywhere — especially in sports writers’ drinks when sitting courtside and even worse ... in laptop keyboards. It’s a nightmare. So boo on James (and Kevin Garnett) for throwing that crap into the air. And kudos to Bryant, who gets his and bends at the waist to lower his hands toward the floor, discreetly dispersing it with slow claps that keep it out of harm's way."

Wahhhhhhhh! First of all, powder isn't going to ruin your laptop. Second, if you know it's coming, just shut the top of the thing for 5 seconds. I know a lot of people whine about all sorts of different thing, I too do my fair share (see tag: Lebron James), but this is just a tad annoying.

LeBron’s “chalk” is a silent killer of defenseless laptops (OC Regsiter)
Suicide Lines (Ball Don't Lie)
Writer Wants Nike To Stop Encouraging Laptop-Killing Pregame 'Chalk' Tossing (The Sporting Blog)

This is so bad, I really don't even have words to describe it. During the second quarter, Oklahoma got a first down and goal at the 10 yard line. Well Thom Brennaman got confused at some point and began calling 2nd down as 3rd down, which in turn led to 3rd down down being called as 4th. The worst part though is he and booth partner, Charles Davis, both began yelling for Oklahoma to go for it on 4th down (actually 3rd) that neither was even ready for the Sooners actually going for it on the real 4th down. Here's the clip....

I poke a lot of fun at FOX's Bowl production, but there are literally 25 or so people involved in the broadcast. Someone please yell the f'ing down to these asshats! It says it right there on the damn screen you two!!!

I've never been so glad for ESPN to take something over, and I'm dreading FOX's final BCS offering next year.

This story will be everywhere by Noon today, and rightfully so. Rob Parker of the Detroit News decided to grill Detroit Lions' Coach, Rod Marinelli on his son-in-law, who is also the team's defensive coordinator. Parker tries to get a ton of questions in, and bait Marinelli into saying something controversial, before dropping this bombshell. Stay tuned for the NFL on FOX's response....

"Do you wish your daughter married a better defensive coordinator."- Rob Parker

That's just uncalled for. I mean the guy already answered your previous question, and is dealing with a possible 0-16 season. Good lord....give the man a break. Hopefully Parker is reprimanded, but even if he's fired, he'll still have a regular spot on First Take.

You stay classy, Rob Parker.

Update: Here's Parker's apology from this morning....

I attempted to lighten the moment in a tense situation and asked Marinelli if he wished his daughter had married a better defensive coordinator...What might have seemed like a personal attack wasn't...I have asked Marinelli on numerous occasions if he's going to fire his son-in-law.

Every week, Marinelli says the same thing.

"No."

It's almost a running joke. A news conference isn't complete unless I ask it.
Sunday, with my attempt at humor, I was trying to get Marinelli to lighten up, have some fun after a rough day...Apparently, those watching replays of the news conference on TV didn't see it as humor. There's no way they could have known the relationship Marinelli and I have built, especially this trying season.

I don't know about that. The way the question was asked, it seemed very combative to me.

Fire Rob Parker (Pride of Detroit)
There's more to Marinelli (Detroit News)

The players for this year's Pro Bowl, that you won't watch, will be announced on ESPN during a special hosted by Trey Wingo, Trent Dilfer and Mike Golic. But before they can get to that announcement, both the fans as well as the coaches and players have to get their votes in. The Players and Coaches don't do so for a little while, but the fan vote is in, and it's hilarious!

According to the DC Sports Bog, Redskins fans decided that nine....NINE!....of the team's players deserved to be in the Pro Bowl. As if that wasn't crazy enough, look at some of the names they selected....

At long last, we have the final vote tallies from the objective NFL fan Pro Bowl voting. The objective fans have decided that, of the 19 positional categories in the NFC, nine should be filled by members of the burgundy and maroon and gold and black. And also, that two of the top 10 overall vote-getters should be members of the Redskins offense.

So bring on Shaun Suisham as the leading kicker in either conference, even though he has more misses than any kicker in the league. Bring on Cornelius Griffin as the leading NFC D tackle, even though the Redskins D-line has been the subject of intense angst and RB bludgeoning in recent weeks. The offense is one of three in the NFL yet to crack 30 points? Bah, who cares? Bring on the leading RB, leading FB and leading tackle. Special teams have largely been a disappointment? Tell that to Khary Campbell, the leading specialist in either conference. Power to the people!

Hilarious, but as I pointed out above, it's not going to matter once the coaches and players weigh in. As a Skins fan myself, I think it's safe to say that futility is something that you get used to. Good times!

Here's the rest of the team-by-team breakdown....

Redskins (7-6) -- 9
Giants (11-2) -- 4
Ravens (9-4) -- 4
Titans (12-1) -- 3
Dolphins (8-5) -- 3
Cowboys (8-5) -- 2
Jets (8-5) -- 2
Broncos (8-5) -- 2
Steelers (10-3) -- 1
Cardinals (8-5) -- 1
Saints (7-6) -- 1
Bears (7-6) -- 1
Texans (6-7) -- 1
Packers (5-8) -- 1
Chargers (5-8) -- 1
Raiders (3-10) -- 1
Chiefs (2-11) -- 1

Redskins Fans Finish Off Pro Bowl Mockery (DC Sports Bog)

I don't know if anyone was watching the start of Around The Horn last night (and why would you be?), but RCS caught a cameo by Tha Doggfather. For some random reason, Snoop Dogg popped up with J.A. Adande during the shows opening segment, and here is your video proof....

Not only does J.A. befriend pornstars, but apparently has courted some rappers into his cavalcade of celebrities. I would make fun, but if I knew Snoop, I'd name drop him at every opportunity. Who knows what I'd do if I was a regular on a TV show?

Snoop Dogg Appears On Around The Horn (Real Clear Sports)

I have no idea why Tiki Barber would be so animated in regards Donovan McNabb, but he certainly was during an interview with the Bloomberg show, "On The Ball". Barber sat down with the hosts of the show (airing November 22nd), and called McNabb's misunderstanding of the rule "indefensible" and that he would, "live to regret it for a long time"....

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb's misunderstanding of the National Football League's overtime rules is ``indefensible'' and may have hurt his team's playoff chances, former NFL running back Tiki Barber said.

McNabb said after the Eagles' 13-13 tie yesterday in Cincinnati that he didn't know the NFL's regular-season rule that if neither team scored during a 15-minute overtime period, the game would end in a tie.

``That's an indefensible comment that he made,'' Barber, now a commentator for NBC Sports, said in an interview that will air Nov. 22 on Bloomberg's ``On the Ball'' radio program. ``He will live to regret it for a long time.''

According to Pro Football Talk, in an un-aired portion of the same interview, Donovan even stated that he'd, "Hate to see what happens in a Super Bowl or [I’d] hate to see what happens in the playoffs, to settle with a tie."

And while that statement is just downright dumb, and almost unfathomable, Tiki's comments make no sense. It's not like McNabb wasn't trying to win the game in the first overtime. They were trying to throw the ball down the field as time ran out, but McNabb just couldn't find anyone. Now if Tiki said that Donovan's play and three interceptions might cost them a Playoff spot, that would make sense. But to say that his misunderstanding the rule hurt his team in anyway is just wrong.

Sure it was (and still is) idiotic, but it didn't cost the Eagles their season.

Barber Calls McNabb's Mistaking of NFL Tie Rule `Indefensible' (Bloomberg News)

I've never believed that Sports writers should lose their allegiances once they are on a national level, but that certainly seems to be an unwritten rule. I think Wilbon's love for all things Chicago is clearly documented almost daily on PTI, but he almost considered not singing "Take Me Out...." because of potential backlash. The Chicago Tribune even said it, "raised issues."

"If I live 40 more years," he said, "it will still be the coolest and most bizarre thing I have ever done."

Cool for obvious reasons: Wilbon grew up idolizing Ernie Banks and wearing Ran Santo's No. 10 jersey on his South Side Little League team. The Northwestern alum has hit Wrigley more than 100 times as a fan. And bizarre because of the ethical line he seemingly had crossed. No, this wasn't cheering in the press box. It was wearing a team's uniform on its home field before 40,000 fans.

"When they asked me to do it," Wilbon said, "I thought: No. Sportswriters, journalists don't do that."

Then Wilbon remembered: He's not just a sportswriter. He estimates that no more than 20 percent of his "PTI" audience would even realize he writes a sports column for the Washington Post.

"There's fairness but no objectivity," he said. "I'm not going to pretend I don't root for the Bulls. The people we cover are much cooler with that then this false pretense of objectivity."

Man, the fraternity that is sports writing is just wacky. I love how you have to immediately cut all ties to any team you ever loved as soon as you get to a certain level. That has to be borderline impossible for some people. Obviously you need to be somewhat objective, but this really shouldn't be that big of a deal.

Wilbon at Wrigley raises issues (Chicago Tribune)

(FYI- Sorry for the delay in postings this morning. I had to run errands and Auto Publish failed me.)

I know I promised less Ocho Cinco on the site, but the guy sure knows how to get my attention. In this brief interview Chad talks first about how if he has problems with Carson Palmer he just beats him up (Palmer goes for the headlock), but the real fun is at the end. Listen as Chad claims to know some people who could take down Phelps in the water, and yes....85 is one of them....

Don't laugh! Stop laughing at Chad! Chad swam in Middle School and will beat your Champion, America!!! In all honesty the guy is about 99% annoying at this point, but lately that 1% is coming out. Also, does ESPN just interview him everyday now? It really wouldn't surprise me.

There's either an extremely elaborate story coming out of Foxboro or.....yeah.....there's an extremely elaborate story coming out of Foxboro. I don't even know where to start with this one, but I'll give it a shot.

Tom Casale was, up until recently, apparently a writer for Patriots Football Weekly. Tom has "been let go" for one reason or another (so says he) and now he wants to drop some bombs and nuke the place on his way out. Pats fans then decide to believe the plan via the comments and other websites. And......Herrrrrrrrre We.......GO!

Now that my time with the Patriots is over, I'm sure some of you would be interested in info from a guy who worked on the inside of an NFL Dynasty. Before I give out that info, I want to make it clear that nobody in that organization did wrong by me. Bill Belichick never yelled at me and the players were more than accommodating 99 percent of the time. I have no axes to grind with anyone. The things I write below are simply the truth from information I've obtained and observations I've made over the years. (Good so far....)

--Tedy Bruschi is much more popular with the fans than he is with his teammates. He isn't the team leader people think he is. Actually, Bruschi rarely talks to any of his teammates. (Enh...not bad...)

--Corey Dillon is about the most miserable piece of shit you would ever want to encounter. You should see the looks and gestures he would give fans when we went on the road. (That's a little better...)

--Hold on for this one: I heard from someone who is close to the case that there is a sex tape of Bill Belichick banging the married woman he had an affair with. I shit you not. The husband who is suing that woman for being unfaithful to him has a tape of his wife and Belichick screwing while the two of them were still married. (And Scene!)

Well then. Forget Spygate! We're on to Sex Tape Gate!!! The line forms behind me for the first peek. What's that? You just threw up??? Wuss.

I'm sure they'll receive a ton of press for this tomorrow, and watch for mainstream media to pick up on it around 10 a.m. or so. It should be a fun day in Foxboro and I'm curious to see how far this reaches. Very, very clever move though if you ask me.

Oh and by the way....it's for a betting website. Come on people.

My Last Day as a New England Patriot (Pregame.com)

The Beijing Olympics are obviously not new to controversy, but this wrinkle is by far the most humorous. China had promised that there would be no Internet censorship during the Games, but you can already throw that out the window. Via MDS at Fanhouse....

Journalists in China to cover the Olympics are unable to conduct the research necessary to do their jobs properly because China is blocking access to web sites that contain information about China's human-rights policies. This violates a promise that China made to give Olympic visitors open access to the Internet.

Well that's no surprise right? Well some of the websites they are blocking are. According to the Rocky Mountain News, none other than Fire Joe Morgan is one of those not accessible to reporters and the like....

Daniel Oshinsky of the Rocky Mountain News reports from Beijing that FJM is inaccessible in China.

I find this to be excellent.

What's the matter, China? Can't handle EqA? Big fans of bunting over there? Love Livan Hernandez, hate Johan Santana?

We will not stop blogging until every Chinese citizen has the right to read curse-filled nonsense about Dusty Baker. And that is a kind-of promise!

Awesome. I wonder if it's because of the word "fire" in the title, but then again I'm not sure if FJM went on a recent run of anti-Hu Jintao articles (I heard he was a scrappy ball player). Someone over there let me know if AA is on the list. I'd be honored.

A Journalistic Highlight (Fire Joe Morgan)
Hu Jintao Does Not Care For OPS+ (Rocky Mountain News)
China Breaks Promises on Internet Censorship, International Olympic Committee Does Nothing (Fanhouse)