I bought a t-shirt a few years ago that covers the AFC North Division. It says: Pittsburgh – The Good; Baltimore – The Bad; Cleveland – the Ugly; and Cincinnati – The Convicted (of course, with Ben Rothlesburger’s woes, Pittsburgh is becoming known for its run-ins with the law more than football), but this week, maybe the shirt should read: Cincinnati – The Wacky?
The Bengals have been in search of a complimentary wide receiver for Chad Ochocinco since T.J. Houshmandzadeh left for Seattle. This week, they signed Terrell Owens, the talented but self-centered loud-mouth who got himself run out of San Francisco, Dallas, and Philadelphia. Last season however, T.O. spent a rather uneventful year in Buffalo, where he production went into the toilet and made many people believe that his career was in decline. Of course, the Bills had poor quarterbacks as well, so he should be pumped up to receive passes from Carson Palmer. But one has to ask – can a team deal with not one, but two potential power-kegs in the locker room like TO and Ochocinco?
How long will it be before one or the other feels slighted by the number of footballs headed their way? Can these sudden “buddies” put away the selfish ways of the past? Can Marvin Lewis, whose job is on the line, handle the two receivers and keep the team focused?
That’s the multi-million dollar question in Cincinnati. Will this team be a contender or a circus act worth of its own reality television show(all it needs is one of the Kardasian sisters and we have DRAMA)? We will see; but it should be entertaining to watch…

I could be mistaken, but are there tons of people in the cycling world anxiously waiting for Lance Armstrong to be formally accused of cheating? The vultures are certainly circling: Floyd Landis, who has already been banned by cycling authorities for performance-enhancing substances, said that he and Armstrong used drugs together and that Armstrong helped him to get these substances.
Armstrong has denied various allegations for years, almost reminding me of the 14 years that Pete Rose denied betting on baseball. We all knew Rose did it; it just took an opportune time (and a book) for him to fess up. Armstrong, the all-American boy, survivor of testicular cancer, serial dater who almost married singer Sheryl Crow, has a lot to protect in his image. Despite finishing far behind the leader in the recently completed Tour de France, the seven time winner could have all of those wins voided if and when all of the whispers turn to shouts.
It just goes to show you – if you build an image on a mound of sand; it could disappear when the tide comes in.

I hope that you got a chance to read Rick Telander’s series in the Chicago Sun-Times a few weeks ago where he followed-up on his teammates from the 1970 Northwestern Wildcats football team and the physical maladies that those men suffer from today in their 60’s. Of course, the series focused on head injuries, but I would think that knee and leg injuries, and even more serious conditions can be traced back to football.
So, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when it was announced that Jack Tatum had died of a heart attack at the still young age of 61. Of course, Tatum, nicknamed “The Assassin,” was a Pro Bowl safety for the Oakland Raiders best known for his crushing hit that paralyzed Darryl Stingley in an NFL preseason game in 1978.
Tatum became a kind of football pariah because of his seeming lack of remorse for the hit. On Aug. 12, 1978, in an exhibition game against the New England Patriots, the Tatum violently tackled Stingley with his helmet while the receiver was running a crossing pattern. The blow severed Stingley’s fourth and fifth vertebrae and left the receiver paralyzed from the neck down.
Stingley became a spokesperson for the paralyzed until his death in 2007, but the two never met after the hit and Tatum seemed unapologetic in interviews and his book “They Call Me Assassin” in 1980. However, friend and former Ohio State teammate John Hicks said Tatum was haunted by the play. “It was tough on him, too,” Hicks said (quoted on SI.com). “He wasn’t the same person after that. For years he was almost a recluse.”
I loved those Raider teams. My favorite quarterbacks remain Darryl Lamonica “The Mad Bomber” and his replacement, a guy named Stabler. They were outlaws and outcasts, but they did win. The defense had no slouches either: Phil Villipiano, Ted Hendricks “The Mad Stork,” and Tatum and George Atkinson raising havoc on any receiver who dared to cross the middle of the field. Of course, I felt that Tatum should have been remorseful for the Stingley hit, especially as I came to know Stingley when he came to baseball and basketball games in Chicago when I was still an Andy Frain usher.
But I could understand the testosterone fueled attitude that Tatum had. Even though I never played much organized football, I wanted to crush anyone on the other side of the ball. Even in college, when I was no longer anywhere near playing football, when I saw a quarterback run out of the pocket live or on television, I wanted to hit something, because we were coached to hit the QB as hard as you could as a lesson/punishment for leaving the pocket. I didn’t want to hurt somebody, but I did want them to pay. Jack Tatum was the living, breathing personification of that attitude.
If Tatum was haunted by his on-the-field actions, he never said anything despite writing three books about his exploits. I hope he finds peace now and if there is an afterlife, I hope he finally takes time to meet with Stingley.

When I was thinking about this post, at first I thought I had two separate stories: Rod Blagojevich bringing his children to court on the day that closing arguments were to be made in their dad’s corruption trial. The other story was about Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano apologizing to his teammates on ESPN before making the apology in person. I thought they were two separate stories, but they really are both about incredible egos and making things worse.
In the case of Blagojevich; he has been convicted in the court of public opinion, and while that might not be enough to send him to the ex-governor’s wing of the prison with former Governor George Ryan, he has shown that nothing is beneath his slimy self-servingness.
All along, he has said that he would go on the witness stand to proclaim his innocence, meanwhile, he and foul mouthed wife Patti (aka “Lady Macbeth’), have appeared on television shows, radio, public speeches; keeping his name and face on the front pages and amassing as much money as they can (which follows what he did while governor). But, when push came to shove, he didn’t testify, and his defense team offered no defense, saying that the prosecution had not proved their case. It may work, but if not, look for an appeal on the basis of attorney ineptitude. One thing was obvious, the defense attorneys did not want Blagojevich subject to cross examination; based on his personality and big mouth, who knows what he might have confessed to (conspiracy, extortion, the Jimmy Hoffa disappearance, the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder case?).
But the latest stunt, bringing his two daughters into court in a blatant attempt to gain sympathy from the jury was pathetic and sad. To drag ones kids out like cheap props in a bad movie shows that this man will do anything to protect his own skin, even with them having the chance to hear prosecutors tell their side of the story about their father. Personally, I wouldn’t want my children anywhere near the courtroom if I were in such a situation. I would be embarrassed for the Indignant Children to even see me being prosecuted for a crime (yet another deterrent against jail along with an aversion to being anally raped, if one was needed).
Then, we have Carlos Zambrano, the man who threw his teammates under the bus after he surrendered 4 runs against the White Sox including a 3-run homer. He was suspended by the club; underwent anger management therapy; then went to Des Moines to pitch for the Iowa Cubs, and during that time, he did not speak with the media. Fine, that’s his right., but everybody agreed that he needed to address the team and apologize first, hopefully when he rejoined the big club this upcoming weekend.
Instead, “Big Z” made a tearful apology on ESPN, instead of in person to the team like he should have done. This has gotten him blasted by writers from both major newspapers and, while no one commented publicly, left a cold feeling in the Cub clubhouse. So now, Zambrano has further alienated his teammates and knowledgeable fans, and will probably ending up issuing an apology for the first apology.
I realize that politicians and professional athletes have monumental egos – it comes with the territory and is probably essential to them reaching the heights of their chosen professions. But in sports, especially a team sport like baseball, the support and camaraderie of your teammates is probably second only to your family. You play together; you travel together; you spend nine months of every year together. So, togetherness is important to success. Seldom do you see a team win if the players all hate one another. And children are the most important thing in the world to most people, just not Blagojevich. That he will pimp out his kids to try to save his own skin says it all about this vile little man.
Professional athletes and politicians have reputations that are just above auto salesmen and serial killers, but these two are among the worst of their bunch.

The SEC Coaches media gathering is this week in Birmingham, Alabama, and ominous clouds of NCAA sanctions fill the room. Alabama is under investigation because returning defensive end Marcell Dareus may have accepted illegal benefits from an agent. The University of Florida is under investigation because one of its players reportedly took $100,000 from an agent between the SEC Championship Game last year and the Sugar Bowl. The player, who was drafted by the NFL, denies the allegations. Georgia is reportedly next to be scrutinized.
So, it probably surprised no one that the coaches would be in an uproar. Florida Coach Urban Meyer said that his former player denies taking money and that he believes him. SEC Commissioner Mike Slive would like the NCAA to consider reexamining the rules regarding player contact with agents.
But the big story came from Nick Saban, coach of defending national champion Alabama.Saban suggested that while the onus is on the players, agents are to blame. “Agents who do this, I hate to say it, but how are they any better than a pimp?” Saban was quoted by USA Today and on ESPN. “I have no respect for anybody who would do this,” Saban said. Saban went on to suggest that the NFL should suspend an agent’s license if it is proven that they made inappropriate contact and/or illegal payments to players.
First, as he should know since he was a coach in the NFL, the league cannot punish an agent; agents are under the jurisdiction of the NFL Players Association. Would the union attempt to rein in the very people who negotiate their contracts? Would the union allow the league to have any rights to hamper agents? The last time such a cozy arrangement existed between a sports league and a union, Alan Eagleson was screwing NHL players in the 1970s and 1980s and ended up in jail and removed from the Hockey Hall of Fame.
But let’s look closer at the “pimps.” Agents are like pimps because they lure young athletes with promises of money and fame. Sounds like college football coaches do the same thing. Mr. Saban, who is paid millions of dollars, and has seen his income rise through jumps from LSU, where he was successful, to the NFL Miami Dolphins (where he didn’t) and now back to the college game at Alabama. I don’t see Nick Saban’s family worried about the sorry state of the economy or employment?
Nick Saban recruits young male athletes to play football FOR FREE! Yes, I know they have access to an education, but what is the graduation rate of football players at Alabama? (It’s 55% compared to 67% for all football schools according to the NCAA.) Do the players he recruits, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds, want to get an education, or, do they want to get grades good enough to stay eligible to play football? Nick Saban dangles the prospect of playing in the NFL for riches and fame; how is that different from an agent?
And, as I alluded to earlier, the players get room and board and get to go to class. They can’t have work study jobs, they’re not supposed to get money anywhere, and besides, football and classes are a full time job. Meanwhile, they see Nick Saban’s million dollar contract; they see the schools jumping conferences in search of revenue; they see the onset of super conferences and more conference networks like the Big Ten Network. The players see the schools selling jerseys with their name or number or both in stores and online. And do they get any cash in their pockets? Illegally, they do, but it’s all under the table cash. What if a kid wants to take a girl out on a date? Where’s the money there? In the athletic department, in Nick Saban’s paychecks; that’s where the money is. And when anyone talks about the colleges and universities sharing that wealth, they are communists, atheists, and worse.
For decades (since I was writing for The Sportswriters on TV), I have publicly advocated that all college “student-athletes” for revenue and non-revenue sports alike, be paid a stipend. The player can accept or not accept the money, that’s up to the young man or woman. But with stipends, players can buy themselves the little extras, go out on dates, see movies, all honest and above board. And since all athletes get the same amount of money, it’s not like you create a bidding war for a high school player – they’re not professionals, but they have a little money in their pockets. And then, perhaps, the temptation of agents, and more problematic, gamblers and people looking to “fix” games would be lessened.
But no: Nick Saban says it’s the agents’ fault. It’s the players’ fault (and it is to some extent). But it’s not the million dollar coaches fault; the schools and athletic departments and the systems they set up and perpetuate aren’t the problem.
Agents are pimps. So are college football coaches. The Pot calling the kettle black yet again.

In what was a bit of a surprise, Chicago Cub manager Lou Pinella announced that he will retire from managing at the end of the 2010 season. Pinella, if I remember correctly, retired once before, after the then-ownership of the Tampa Bay then-“Devil” Rays made no real attempt to build a winning team in Pinella’s home town. But Pinella was soon hired by the Cubs to be their manager, and he had unprecedented success: back-to-back 90+ win seasons. And let there be no contest, Pinella is a winner – three World Series championships as a player and manager. But even he couldn’t get the Cubs to win.
Yesterday, the 66-year-old Pinella said that he’s tired and he wants to spend time with his family although he did not preclude working as a consultant to the Cubs or another team (again, if I remember correctly, he spent 2-3 years with his family between the time he quit Tampa and signed with the Cubs). But even a baseball lifer – 40 years in the bigs - 22 years as a manager, 18 years as a player, has had enough of the Cubs.
What is it about this team? Is the 102 year history without a championship too much to overcome? Are the hopes and expectations of the Cub Nation too much to handle? Admittedly, the Cub job is a prime one. Good baseball men like Dusty Baker, Don Baylor, Don Zimmer, Gene Michael, Leo Durocher and many others have been unable to lead the Cubs to a championship. For most of those years, mismanagement and penny-pinching by the Wrigley Family was to blame. The Tribune Company did just the opposite – they mismanaged the team by spending lots of money, but unwisely. The managers take the blame; general managers get canned (but less frequently); but the ownership’s bad decisions continue.
And another GM got spared at the same time. The Ricketts family that now owns the Cubs, while announcing that Pinella would not return, stated that GM Jim Hendry, the man who overpaid for Alfonso Soriano; who paid a ton of money to nutcase Carlos Zambrano; who signed and then released nutcase Milton Bradley. No, there’s no repercussions to Hendry, who made some good moves to get the Cubs to the 2003 National League Championship Series, has had a long run of bad decisions and losing seasons. The local papers had been thinking that Hendry, whose contract was also expiring at the end of the season, was toast. The time for a clean sweep of the front office was timely and expected. But instead, the Ricketts are going to allow Hendry, who has spent millions of dollars that didn’t pan out or on players who not only can’t win, but are legitimately insane, to keep his job. Not exactly a ringing endorsement that times have changed on the North Side

So, the speculation is who will follow Pinella? Barring the reincarnation of Casey Stengel, John McGraw, or bringing in Joe Torre, who could win with the Cubs? As I said above, the manager is only part of the solution: smart player management, smart free agent signings, solid talent assessment; the ability to put together a cohesive team are the measures of good teams and front offices.
Of course, the Cub nation believe that the next manager is already in the Cub organization: Ryne Sandberg, Hall of Fame Cub second baseman has been paying his dues in the minors, learning who to be a manager, but I think that the fans that are rooting for Sandberg are thinking with their hearts, not their heads. First, of course, Sandberg made the Hall in part with his glove, but his MLB longest errorless streak is as a result of never going for the difficult chance. When I worked at Wrigley Field, my initial opinion of Sandberg was that he was cold and aloof, but I later thought that he was just vapid and didn’t have anything to say.
I became more impressed with Sandberg after his thoughtful Hall of Fame speech when he blasted the steroid cheaters who were setting baseball records. But that does not make him a good manager. Also, it would be giving this man one of the hottest seats in baseball; under constant scrutiny; in charge of the losingest franchise in sports history and the franchise where he played his entire career. In effect, he could become the baseball version of Denis Savard, who became head coach of the Blackhawks when he wasn’t ready of the job.
The other clamor is for former Cub catcher and World Series winning manager Joe Girardi. Girardi’s contract expires at the end of the season, and, admittedly, Girardi is from the Midwest (a fellow Northwestern alum), and the upside of the Cub job is that if you do get this team to win a World Series, that manager could have a job for life; or could be “Emperor of Chicago;” and be a historic figure. But why would Girardi quit the Yankee job, where you know that the franchise will do everything possible, spend the most money, to bring you the best team possible, to take a job for a team still trying to build what the Yankees have been doing for decades?
Others are mentioned, but really, given Baker’s experience (and this year’s success in Cincinnati is proving that Baker can manage), Baylor’s history and Pinella’s winning experience and history, who can do this job? And, what top manager would throw caution to the wind to take the Cub job? Torre’s contract with the Dodgers expires at the end of the season and he says that he will made his decision on next season soon (and that he’s leaning toward staying in LA according to him). Tony LaRussa’s contract also expires at the end of this season, but he has been such a fixture in St. Louis, I can’t imagine him leaving (although he has had run-ins with the current GM).
Perhaps the Cubs should hire a low key, lower name manager. Not to be cheap (although he would come cheaper than a top name), but to try and take some of the heat off the job and the man in it? And get a better general manager.