A couple of days ago, I discussed comments that Penn State coach Joe Paterno made about the Big Ten expanding to 12 teams, and I came to the conclusion that changes, in some way, do need to be made in order for the conference to return to being a real power on the national stage. Is expansion that change that needs to happen? An expansion to 12 teams may well make the Big Ten need to change its name, ...Read More

A few weeks ago, Penn State coach Joe Paterno made a call for the Big Ten to follow the path of the SEC, Big 12, and ACC to expand to 12 teams in an attempt to help the Big Ten be a bigger factor on the national stage. But last week, Paterno took a much different stance from the one that he'd taken just a couple of weeks prior, saying that expansion is something that should be left in ...Read More

Image by ianenos03 via Flickr The NFL Draft is a sporting event unlike any other.  Where else can you see thousands of football fans cheer for their teams without a single pass being thrown or a single yard gained.  Every April, thirty-two NFL teams gather in Radio City Music Hall, huddle within their war rooms and make decisions that will dramatically affect the direction of their franchise.   Often, #1 draft picks, like Peyton Manning, Troy Aikman and John Elway, are so clear ...Read More

As a kid, I used to play a lot of backgammon with my father.  He used to beat me mercilessly.  I could barely get a win in edgewise.  There was no taking it easy on the kid. As I was young and immature, I would whine about his seemingly endless winning streaks.  He was a sore winner, which made me even more sore of a loser.  I’d even go so far as to call him a cheater, in disbelief that he ...Read More

The coronation of the Pittsburgh Steelers as Super Bowl champions marks the end of another football season… unfortunately.  But for those of us who eat, drink and sleep pigskin 365 days a year, football season is never really over. Football is a passionate sport for passionate fans and nobody is more fanatical about the sport than its head coaches.  Over the years, many of football’s more charismatic coaches have lost their tempers in not-so-gracious fashion after frustrating losses. To ease those of ...Read More

Winning is everything, right? Well, if you’re a coach in any sport, it is, if you want to stay employed for an extended period of time. However, there’s more to success than just winning, but how you win. If you win fair, then you can sleep easier at night. If you don’t, you still may be able to sleep just fine at night, but you and many others might be out of a job if you don’t ...Read More

I don't have a wealth of time to post an in-depth preview of today's conference championship games, but I will give a short prediction about both. I haven't exactly had a ton of success with my picks so far, but I'm feeling pretty good about today. True enough, two #6 seeds are taking part in today's conference championship games, and the NFC winner will either be the #4 or #6, but the way things have gone thus far ...Read More

Recent reports out of the Seattle Seahawks' Organized Team Activities suggest Mike Hass is a Pro Bowler waiting to happen. Tell that to T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Tell that to Deion Branch and Nate Burleson. Hell, send Logan Payne an e-mail. The fact is, this isn't news. In fact, to anyone who knows about Mike Hass and his under valued abilities, it's getting fairly repetitive. Let's be honest. Receivers aren't what they used to be. No longer do they make rosters based on being able to actually catch ...Read More

The Kansas City Chiefs will retire the number 58 in honor of the late Derrick Thomas, who will be inducted posthumously into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August. His number will be retired on December 6, when the Chiefs play the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium. Thomas was one of the most dominant pass rushing linebackers during his 11 seasons in the NFL. The 6'3," 255 pound linebacker amassed 126.5 sacks over his shortened career, which is ...Read More

Sure, there's a small part of Brett Favre that is going to love facing his former team twice in 2009. There's a part of him, deep down, that gets added fuel to the fire from his disdain for Ted Thompson and the Green Bay front office. After all, he's a Packers legend, holds all their records, brought them a Super Bowl, and dispersed his magic throughout the city for 16 seasons. And while I can see why many feel it's betrayal that he's ...Read More

I was in a deep slumber last week when my phone rang.  It was about 10 am and I was resting comfortably on my couch, trying to pretend the Orlando Magic meltdown the night before never happened.   The Commish was on the other end of the phone.  He had landed tickets to a special Buccaneers function and invited me to attend.  New head coach Raheem Morris would be speaking and the event would certainly be worth writing about.  Little did I know ...Read More

The top ten picks of a Fantasy Football draft is fairly self-explanatory, no matter the format or scoring settings. It's simply, really. If you have a league the has two quarterbacks starting, getting Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, or Tom Brady with your top pick isn't a bad move. If your league has three running backs starting, you would be doing yourself a favor to get the best three running backs available—and so on and so forth. But what few people realize, is that ...Read More

One of the most difficult things to guess is a team's starting receiving line-up, especially this early in the season. Rookies can gain huge strides due to injuries or poor performances from veterans, while lackluster efforts from the corps can cause the front office to panic and sign someone off the street, or even try to pull a trade. There are a lot of questions regarding Plaxico Burress, Matt Jones, Marvin Harrison, and now even Brandon Marshall. With the AFC out of ...Read More

After Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth received his sentence in court on Tuesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has acted swiftly to hand down his own sentence. Goodell suspended Stallworth indefinitely, with the suspension coming into effect immediately. Excerpts from Goodell's letter to Stallworth are available in a release on the NFL's official website, and they convey just how disappointed, to say the least, that Goodell is with the latest and most tragic instance of one of his ...Read More

The top ten picks of a Fantasy Football draft is fairly self-explanatory, no matter the format or scoring settings. It's simply, really. If you have a league the has two quarterbacks starting, getting Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, or Tom Brady with your top pick isn't a bad move. If your league has three running backs starting, you would be doing yourself a favor to get the best three running backs available—and so on and so forth. But what few people realize, is that ...Read More

One of the most difficult things to guess is a team's starting receiving line-up, especially this early in the season. Rookies can gain huge strides due to injuries or poor performances from veterans, while lackluster efforts from the corps can cause the front office to panic and sign someone off the street, or even try to pull a trade. There are a lot of questions regarding Plaxico Burress, Matt Jones, Marvin Harrison, and now even Brandon Marshall. With the AFC out of ...Read More

The running back position has been covered. Now to the prima donnas, the popcorn, and the drama. Or should I say, the gun-hoarding, gold grill flashing, girlfriend abusing, fantasy all-stars? At this point, yes, I could say that. But it's June, it's warm out, and I'm feeling good about most of the top receivers in this league, even if they are in legal trouble and flirting with costing themselves 3-4 games in 2009. Regardless, if they made the list, they're probably worth taking ...Read More

After taking on the task of assessing 2009's quarterbacks situations (AFC/NFC), I began my quest to finish the rest of the offensive positions with the AFC running backs, and continue here with a look to the NFC. As far as fantasy relevance goes, Adrian Peterson and Michael Turner easily top the list, but there's more than meets the eye. Both backs are likely to lose some carries with both offenses possibly depending more on the pass-Brett Favre looks to sign with Minnesota, ...Read More

Above: Another huge season for Thomas Jones? In continuation of my early fantasy overview, I pick up at the running back spot where I left off at the quarterback position; still excited about the fantasy season, but bewildered over all the possibilities that still remain. There are now more RBBC in NFL backfields than ever, and in Denver, we also have to worry about Peyton Hillis stealing touches from rookie, Knowshon Moreno. That's why there's a little thing called handcuffs, baby. Let it be ...Read More

Tony Romo lost his most talented weapon (Terrell Owens) this off-season, and now only has Roy Williams as a reliable receiver target. However, the word in Dallas is that Owens being gone will lift any distractions from the team, and will have the offense performing more fluidly and in turn, will be more effective. Maybe, and maybe not. Read on to see who wins the quarterback position battles, who is falling, and who is on the rise, in a team-by-team glance: NFC East Eli Manning, ...Read More

(Above: There's no thought needed. If you can, take AP.) If you're an avid fantasy football freak like me, then you've already taken advantage of Yahoo! Sports leagues and probably have gone through countless mock drafts. To put it simply; if you're the owner in more than one league for a sport that is two months from happening, keep reading. We're almost a full week into June. That means Brett Favre and his now (we're told) surgically repaired shoulder are just beginning to stir ...Read More

I was in a deep slumber last week when my phone rang.  It was about 10 am and I was resting comfortably on my couch, trying to pretend the Orlando Magic meltdown the night before never happened.   The Commish was on the other end of the phone.  He had landed tickets to a special Buccaneers function and invited me to attend.  New head coach Raheem Morris would be speaking and the event would certainly be worth writing about.  Little did I know ...Read More

We round out our 2009 NFL Draft team grades by taking a look at the NFC West. Last season, the Arizona Cardinals won the West without much of a serious fight from the rest of the division, and they went on to make a surprise run to the Super Bowl. Did the Cardinals make the necessary moves in the 2009 NFL Draft to stay on top of the heap and remain a contender in the NFC, and did ...Read More

The NFC South was extremely competitive from top to bottom last season, with two teams making the postseason, another barely missing out, and the last-place team finishing with a .500 record. Did each team do what it needed to do in the 2009 NFL Draft to ensure that competitive remains next season and beyond? Atlanta Falcons Grade: B+ Best: Peria Jerry, DT, Mississippi Jerry was the second rated defensive tackle behind B.J. Raji, and gives the Falcons the presence in the middle ...Read More

The members of the NFC North can all come away feeling pretty good about their acquisitions in the 2009 NFL Draft. Which NFC North member came out the best? Chicago Bears Grade: A Best: Jarron Gilbert, DE, San Jose State The Bears are all about defense, and now it looks like they're all about jumping out of pools. Gilbert's Youtube video sensation was just one reason to love him, while the Bears likely picked him due to his great size and bulk, ...Read More

We've done our evaluations of how the AFC's teams did in the 2009 NFL Draft. Now it's time to turn our focus to the NFC, starting with the loaded NFC East. Dallas Cowboys Grade: C Best: Jason Williams, OLB, Western Illinois Williams gives the Cowboys the athletic linebacker they thought they were getting when they drafted Bobby Carpenter. Williams has sideline-to-sideline ability, with great speed and quickness. He's also extremely versatile, allowing Dallas to place him all over the field, including ...Read More

Three down, one to go. We round out our 2009 NFL Draft grades of the AFC's teams with a look at the AFC West, where quite a few interesting moves were made on Saturday and Sunday. Denver Broncos Grade: B+ Best: Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia While the Broncos spent the off-season acquiring free agent running backs, none come even close to what Moreno can and should bring to them. He's shifty inside holes, has good speed, and is a tough, physical ...Read More

We've gone through draft grades for the AFC East and AFC North, and now it's time to give our take on how we think the teams from the loaded AFC South did in the 2009 NFL Draft. Houston Texans Grade: B- Best: Brian Cushing, OLB, USC Cushing is perfect for either outside linebacker position, and has enough versatility to be used in the middle, as well. He plays with a head of steam, delivering nasty hits, and is reliable in coverage. Cushing ...Read More