Finally Fired

The Oakland Raiders have just fired coach Lane Kiffin after a 1-3 start to the 2008 season. Syracuse football fans have been monitoring that situation closely after this post by The Post-Standard's Donnie Webb.

Karma

As posted eadrlier, Bengals wide-out Chad Johnson has changed his last name leagally in a court of law to "Ocho-Cinco". While the team has recognized this name change on its website and will be allowing him to wear the ludicous surname on his back, Reebok is not being as nice.

The company that produces and sells a majority of NFL player jerseys, is asking that Ocho-Psycho pay the company $4 million, the cost to pull all the already made C.Johnson jerseys from the shelf and re-print new ones reading the ridiculous name.

Oh well.. here'a a classic Chad Johson qoute to make us all feel better.

"There are two things for Brother Harris this week. The bad thing is, he has to cover me. The good is, he can save 15 percent by switching his insurance to Geico"

-Matt Armstrong

Seven Yards Per Carry

Former Onondaga High School football star Mike Hart just notched his first NFL touch. The Colts rookie ran seven yards on his sole carry in a 29-13 loss to Chicago. Hart was drafted by Indianapolis in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft after becoming the University of Michigan's all-time leading rusher.

DONE-ZO

It'll be awful hard to fetch Gisele Bundchen's herbal tea on crutches.

Introducing Chad Javon Ocho Cinco

Yea, thats correct. The showster, mouth-running, riverdancing, endzone celebrating wide out formerly known as Chad Johnson has officially changed his legal name to Chad Javon Ocho Cinco. The Cincinati Bengals wide reciever went to a court in Florida near his Miami home and had the process finalized this week.

I had to scower the Bengals website to find this story, it was hidden on their front page, but they are acknowledging these shenanigans. However, if you were to look on their official roster posted on the team website, you will find that Mr. Ocho Cinco, is still listed as "Chad Johnson". Perhaps they should just ignore the name change all together and list him as "Ocho Psycho".



- Matt Armstrong

Carl Says it Best

Carl's Super Bowl Preview

FOX 11 Heismans Eli; Osi Steams the Ladies

WLUK FOX 11 in Wisconsin is doing their part to make sure Eli Manning has a rough stay in town. The station normally airs Seinfeld reruns at 5:30 P.M. on Saturday afternoons, but not this weekend. Apparently the station caught wind of the fact that Manning's favorite show just happens to be Seinfeld. They have pulled the show from their programming schedule and are allowing their viewers to pick a replacement:

I'm sure this strategy will be equally effective as Lawrence Taylor's.

Meanwhile, on the defensive front it would appear as though Osi Umenyiora had some odd requests granted by a female acquaintance. Said acquaintance has now created a blog to tell all about the experience. Warning, she used a nude photo of herself as the page header. Allegedly, Osi doesn't like toilets all that much. There is no way of telling how valid this story is. It is simply a blog written by an unnamed person, but it is very entertaining.

Terrell Owens as Tito Jackson as Tyler Hansbrough

Sean Taylor Dead at 24

Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor has died as a result of a gunshot wound. Taylor was shot in his home early Monday during an apparent robbery. He sustained a wound to his leg and lost a significant amount of blood. Family friend Richard Sharpstein said he first heard of Taylor's death at 5:30 a.m. He said he was unsure of the exact time of Taylor's death. Taylor was 24 years old.

Jets Demand an End to Embarrassment of Female Fans

Calling harassment of female fans at the now infamous Gate D spiral "outrageous" and "unacceptable," the Jets are demanding that Giants Stadium security put an end to what has become an unruly halftime tradition.

The Jets were responding to a New York Times story detailing the antics during halftime at their games this season in which fans reportedly line the circular Gate D ramp, shouting at passing women to expose their breasts.

Both Jets officials and fans said they were stunned to learn of the behavior. Some fans said they were even more shocked that they had been in the dark about it until Tuesday.

"I've never even heard it mentioned," said Joseph Catalano, a season ticket holder from Manhasset. "If that story never appeared, never in a million years would I have known that this happens."

Said Bob Muhlenforth of Ronkonkoma, another season ticket holder: "The thing that surprised me most is that I never heard about it."

The Times reported the halftime rowdiness Tuesday. Hundreds of fans reportedly line the circular ramp at Gate D that leads from the ground to the upper levels of the stadium to harass women with chants and shout at them to flash their breasts. Some do and, according to the report, the ones who don't are sometimes pelted with beer bottles and even spit on.

The New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority is in charge of security at Jets and Giants games. Calls to the authority and to the Meadowlands were not returned Tuesday.

Matt Higgins, the Jets senior vice president of business operations, released a statement saying authority officials have told the team they will fix the problem.

"We have spoken with NJSEA officials and demanded that they take steps immediately to ensure that it does not happen again," the statement said. "The NJSEA, the operator of the facility, has assured us that they will address this conduct at all Meadowlands events. We will not allow a small minority of people to ruin the experience for our fans and will be monitoring the situation."

Higgins also said that the Jets were unaware of the behavior.

The story said that close to 10 security guards were standing in the area watching the event Sunday, and one of the guards said they were not permitted to do anything to stop the abuse because of free speech laws.

"The problem is, you got to watch four or five hundred people sometimes in one particular spiral," Patrick C. Aramini, the NJSEA's vice president for security, parking and traffic for the Meadowlands Sports Complex, told the Times. "What do we do, arrest everybody that starts chanting?"

Rowdiness at sporting events is nothing new, but some say the attitude of fans who attend Jets games has changed in recent years. Michael Stallone, a season-ticket holder, said the demographic and focus of the crowd has shifted.

"It's definitely a younger crowd, a rowdier crowd, with people who don't give a damn about the game," Stallone said. "They're there more for an event than to support the team. They're there just to have a good time, have a few beers, and cause mischief."

Article Courtesy of Newsday
Based on this article

Posted by Pat Morgan (Should I include free shows in my future Ebay listings?)

Is Perfection Classless?

Another week, another opponent the New England Patriots have steamrolled. With the 56-10 romp of the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park Sunday night, the Pats once again asserted that they are the best team in the NFL. But does perfection really have to be so classless?

The NFL has only ever seen one perfect team, the 1972 Miami Dolphins. And every year the remaining members of that team get together and toast with champagne the first loss of the final undefeated team in the NFL, knowing that their immortality is, at least for one more year, safe. When asked if anyone will ever be as good as they were, the answer is always a definate no. So, it makes you wonder, does perfection make you classless?

My answer is yes.

Bill Belichick and the Patriots lack all the class in the world at the moment. Up 35-7 against an inept Bills offense, Belichick had his players go for it on 4th and 1. They made it, and a touchdown was scored a few plays later, making it 42-7. The next time the Patriots get a chance to score, 4th and 1 again. Again, the Patriots go for it, a few plays later, another score. 49-7. This isn't the first time we've seen this happen. Numerous times the Patriots have been accused of running up the score on opponents. I don't really think it's accusations anymore, I think it's fact. Bill Belichick and the Patriots have no class, and no respect for their opponents. Even against the Bills, a team Belichick has stated that he likes, he runs up the score. Why? Who knows. Pride? Ego? Tom Brady said this to Yahoo! Sports last night, "Coach says he puts you out there to score when you touch it, he doesn't put you out there to punt." That may be, but respect is part of the game. You don't respect an opponent when you run up the score. It's fine to punt when you're up 35-7, or 42-7. And when you bring out a defenseman for your punter late in the game, that is just showing how low the Patriots can truly sink, and how obsessed with winning they have become. Winning is important, but it isn't the only thing. Respect for the fans, your opponents, and the game itself are more important than winning. And that's why when someone finally lays out Brady, and it will happen, and maybe injures him, everyone will stand up and cheer.

Maybe the Belichick should eat a piece of that "humble pie" he's preaching to his players. Maybe the Patriots won't be hated by everyone in the league then. Because I know one thing. If it turns out that the Patriots and Cowboys make it to the Super Bowl, for the first time in my life, I will be a Cowboys fan because I refuse to cheer for a team that lacks any class whatsoever.

Benjamin Amey

Romes N Malones Pick 'Em

88.9 FM WNYO's Ryan Maloney & Andy Rohlin began tracking their picks this week. Maloney is 9-3 and Rohlin is 8-4 heading into tonight's game. You can participate next week by leaving your picks in the comment section of this post. As expected, Kige Ramsey is having his way with us.

SUN, NOV 4	TIME (ET)
Denver at Detroit	1:00 PM
San Francisco at Atlanta	1:00 PM
Cincinnati at Buffalo	1:00 PM
Carolina at Tennessee	1:00 PM
Green Bay at Kansas City	1:00 PM
San Diego at Minnesota	1:00 PM
Jacksonville at New Orleans	1:00 PM
Washington at NY Jets	1:00 PM
Arizona at Tampa Bay	1:00 PM
Seattle at Cleveland	4:05 PM
New England at Indianapolis	4:15 PM
Houston at Oakland	4:15 PM
Dallas at Philadelphia	8:15 PM
MON, NOV 5	TIME (ET)
Baltimore at Pittsburgh	8:30 PM

This is Getting Ridiculous

It is halftime in Miami. Tom Brady has two more touchdown tosses than incomplete passes (5, 3).

Randy Moss has two catches: a 35-yard TD and a 50-yard TD.

The 6-0 Pats lead the 0-6 'Fins 42-7.

Brady's 2007 line: 164-223, 2062 Yds, 26 TD

Max McGee 1932-2007

Max McGee, the man who scored the first Super Bowl touchdown, died Saturday at the age of 75. The former Green Bay Packer fell from the roof of his Minneapolis home while trying to remove leaves.

The following is from the Pioneer Press:

Thrust into the Packers' starting lineup during 1967's Super Bowl I after Boyd Dowler suffered a shoulder injury, McGee - still hung over from a night of partying - caught seven passes for 138 yards and two TDs to lift Green Bay to a 35-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

ESPN.com shed more light on McGee's personality:

Though an admirer of (Vince) Lombardi, McGee time and again pushed the tough-as-nails coach to the breaking point.

McGee -- remembered for saying: "When it's third-and-10, you can take the milk drinkers and I'll take the whiskey drinkers every time." -- put Lombardi to the ultimate test prior to the first Super Bowl.

McGee had caught only four passes for 91 yards during the 1966 regular season and, not expecting to play against the Chiefs, violated the team's curfew and spent the night before the game partying.

Reportedly, the next morning he told Dowler: "I hope you don't get hurt. I'm not in very good shape."

Dowler went down with a separated shoulder on the Packers' second drive, and McGee had to borrow a helmet because he left his in the locker room. A few plays later, McGee made a one-handed reception of a pass from Bart Starr and ran 37 yards to score.

"He had a delightful sense of humor and had a knack for coming up with big plays when you least expected it to happen," Packers historian Lee Remmel said. "He had a great sense of timing."

Remmel said McGee once teased Lombardi when the coach showed the team a football on their first meeting and said, "Gentlemen, this is a football."

"McGee said, 'Not so fast, not so fast,' " Remmel said. "That gives you an index to the kind of humor that he served up regularly."

Mangini Thinks Eagles Cheated, Romo Denied Entry

Bang Cartoon's latest video shows Eric Magini alerting Roger Goodell about suspicious Eagle activity, and Tony Romo denied entry into downtown night club.

You Suck, Scott Norwood

For all you Bills fans out there. Kudos to WTOP's Chris Hill for sending this to me.

Pat Murphy's Interns Are All Fired

With Leather gets credit for this gem.

Pat Morgan's Week 3 Recap

Jets 31, Dolphins 28; A game with very little defense as both running backs (Thomas Jones and Ronnie Brown) dominated. A key kickoff return from Leon Washington and late first-half TD catch by Chris Baker gave the Jets the momentum after Miami dominated offensively for much of the half. Jets had two good 3rd quarter drives that proved to be too much for the Dolphins to overcome. Third down conversions were a big factor too as the Jets were 8-12 and the Fish were 3-9.

Ravens 26, Cardinals 23; For the second straight week the Ravens almost blew a 17 point, fourth quarter lead. Kurt Warner replaced Matt Leinart and led the Cards back to a 23-23 tie, but a good last minute drive set up a 46-yard winning field goal from Matt Stover. After two lackluster fourth quarters from their defense, the Ravens are lucky to be 2-1. I didn't like the personal foul call on Adrian Wilson that gave the Ravens 15 yards on their final drive. Ugly hit on Todd Heap, but I thought it was clean.

Packers 31, Chargers 24; Really stunned by the outcome of this game. I thought the Chargers would come out firing today after that embarrassing loss in New England. Credit the Packers' defense for being the third team in a row to slience LT. Brett Favre is off to his best season in years as the Packers improve to 3-0. The Pack's next three games (@ Min, Chi, Wash) are very winnable. Can you imagine this team 6-0? Wow! As for the Chargers, I still think they'll be fine in the AFC West, but they are giving up serious ground to the Pats and Colts for those precious first round byes.

Colts 30, Texans 24; Not the close game the final score would seem to indicate. A very ho-hum type of victory for the Colts as Peyton and co. won without sexy numbers. But they made no mistakes and took advantage of every situation. Might as well give them the AFC South division crown as they have won two road games within the division that they lost last season. The Texans fought hard, but this game brings them back down to earth after two impressive wins to start the season.

Chiefs 13, Vikings 10; I'm surprised that there was even this much scoring. Vikes' defense played well and Adrian Peterson brutally outplayed Larry Johnson, but the Vikings lack of a QB cost them again. What's Drew Bledsoe doing? As for the Chiefs, this is a terrible football team that got lucky to win today. It's going to be a long, long season with their Pop Warner like offense.

Patriots 38, Bills 7; Those who thought Randy Moss wouldn't work out in New England need their heads examined. Moss working out in New England was about as sure a thing to me as Lindsay Lohan checking into rehab again. This Patriots team could go 16-0, and they would embrace it unlike the Colts of two years ago. The Bills are an awful football team who will be fighting for the #1 pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Eagles 56, Lions 21; The Eagles did everything right today (except for the throwbacks) to get off the decks and get their first win. I was amazed with how many people picked the Lions to win this game. Really shows how people buy into the week-to-week play of teams and not the entire body of work. The Eagles showed just how bad the Lions defense really is. They could have scored 70+ points if they really needed to today. Big reality check for the Lions as they'll lick their wounds and head home for a big divisional game with Chicago.

Steelers 37, 49ers 16; A game that shows just how much better the AFC is than the NFC. A third straight, very impressive win for the Steelers. With the Bengals 1-2 and the Ravens struggling late in games, the Steelers have emerged as the early team to beat in the AFC North. I also think, for the time being, the Steelers have surpassed the Chargers for the third best team in football. The 49ers are lucky to be 2-1 and not 0-3 this season. Like the Lions, the 49ers will head home for a big divisional matchup with the Seahawks.

Buccaneers 24, Rams 3; Jon Gruden is a tremendous coach. This team has had two dominating wins at home the last two weeks to open the season 2-1. If the Saints lose tomorrow, this division becomes wide-open and there's no reason the Bucs can't win it. The Rams are finished as they have lost 3 of the "easy" games on their schedule.

Jaguars 23, Broncos 14; The Broncos might be the worst 2-1 team ever in NFL history. After two, at-the-gun field goals against the dregs of the NFL, the Broncos laid a big egg at home against a Jaguars team that looked awful the first two weeks as well. But somehow the Broncos are in first place in the AFC West. The Jaguars are 2-1 as well. While the top 3 (NE, Indy, Pitt) in the AFC have been very impressive, the eventual wildcard teams could come limping home. Enormous difference between the wildcard contenders like Denver and Jacksonville and the big daddies in New England and Indianapolis.

Raiders 26, Browns 24; It's funny how history repeats itself sometimes, as the Raiders got to use a last breath timeout on a field goal this time. The NFL needs to do something about this though as it is getting really messy at the end of these games. Defensive timeouts need to be called before everyone is set. Freezing the kicker is overrated anyway, and its more of a fluke that its worked the last two Oakland games. Browns' QB Derek Anderson game back to earth after his Cincy game. How many people picked him up in fantasy this week? Good win for the Raiders who have played well (for their standards) the first three weeks.

Seahawks 24, Bengals 21; The Bengals' defense played a heck of a lot better. However, they couldn't hold the Seahawks from scoring late. Then to make matters worse they fumbled the ensuing kickoff to eliminate any late second chance of their own. But winning 3,000 miles from home is never easy, and this would have been a tough game for the Bengals to win even if they had been playing well. Good bounce back win for the Seahawks as they improve to 2-1 and get set for a showdown with SF next week.

Panthers 27, Falcons 20; Without Delhomme late, the Panthers found a way to eek out a victory. The bi-polar Panthers had a big game from DeShaun Foster on the ground. The Falcons should start Leftwich at QB, and see if that sparks the team.

Giants 24, Redskins 17; Enormous comeback win for the Giants. Down 17-3 at the half, it looked like the Giants were on their way to an 0-3 start. That would have meant a Redskins 3-0 start, and in effect a quick elimination from winning the division. Give the Giants' defense credit who were torched the first two weeks of the season. Jason Campbell was lucky to lead the Skins as far down field as he did on the final drive. They had much more time left than they played like they had. Didn't need to spike the ball on 1st and Goal, and they simply rushed the 3rd and 4th down rushes.

Cowboys 34, Bears 10; Cowboys making a great case for themselves as the best team in the NFC. Their offense has been very, very good the first three weeks (45, 37, 34). A terrible loss for the Bears. I thought people started jumping on Grossman too soon last year, but I can't defend his sorry play any longer. Is Brian Griese the answer? Probably not. With the trade deadline looming, maybe it's time for the Bears to go shopping. Their defense in the 2nd half was even worse. This Bears' defense is so overrated as they never come up big in the big game.

Titans 31, Saints 14; A horrible start for the NFC favorite, New Orleans Saints. They can still win a weak NFC South, but the 0-3 stat does not lie. Only a handful of teams have made it when starting that badly. The last was the '98 Bills. Bills' fans suddenly thinking we're not so bad! The Saints also lost Deuce for the season, making Reggie Bush the feature back. This will limit the trickery they can use with him. As for the Titans, this is an excellent win. The AFC South will be fun division to watch with all teams 2-1 or better.

Performance of the Week: Donovan McNabb. 21-26, 381 yards, 4TDs. Most of which was accomplished in the 1st half. Had they needed to score 70 to win today, McNabb probably would have thrown 10TDs today if he had to. Kevin Curtis was the beneficiary of McNabb's big day (11 catches, 221 yards, 3 TDs).

Goat of the Week: Rex Grossman & the Bears' D. As said before, the Bears' defense never plays well in the big spot. They are stat whores in games they should win. As for Rex, I wouldn't bench him yet, but you've got to believe it's coming fast. If you can, find Keith Olbermann's segment from Football Night in America that documented the many, many, many quarterbacks the Bears have had throughout the years.

Pat Morgan

From the Mind of Oompah

Ben Berrios is a former DJ and Executive Board member of WNYO. In a move that I am sure to reget later, I have allowed Ben to post on this blog without editing. Some people call this man functionally retarded. We here at WNYO call him...actually, come to think of it we're the ones who labeled him functionally retarded. More on Berrios later, here is his first post:

You know when you have a team like the Patriots and a coach like Belichick (who was a guaranteed lock for the Hall, which he might be) is all besides the point let me say this as loud as possible, YOU CHEATED….YOUR COMPLETE AND UTTER GUTTER TRASH and in lame man terms YOU’RE GARBAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In other exciting news in sports, according to an article posted on Yahoo Sports website the Patriots are ranked as the number one NFL team. I mean is this stupid they should have forfeited the game to Mangini and the JETS I mean clearly I know Chad and his shoulder were a little uncooperative but it wasn’t like the game wasn’t close. I mean THEY CHEATED WTF WAS THE COMMISH THINKING I MEAN OMG THEY CHEATED…..VIDEO TAPED OBVIOUSLY VERY CLEAR EVIDENCE DO YOU NEED 3D GOGGLES TO SEE THAT ARE YOU DRUNK I MEAN EVEN A MAN WITH A CLEAR VISION EVEN HE WAS DRUNK COULD SEE THERE WAS A CAMERA ON THE SIDELINE AND THEY CHEATED I DON’T CARE WHAT ANYBODY SAYS THEY CHEATED!!!!!!!!!!!! END OF STORY THEY CHEATED THAT IS COMPLETE AND UTTER GUTTER TRASH, GARBAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ben Berrios

Upon reading this, I feel as though I may have mislabeled Ben when I called him functionally retarded. During his time away from Oswego State his condition has clearly worsened, and he is now ginormously retarded. WNYO staffers are hard at work trying to de-code this post and will provide a translation as soon as possible. If you're asking yourself, "who is this man/thing?" read this.