October 2005

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Culpepper's knee seals Vikings's fate

Filed under: Vikings

ESPN is reporting Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper has a torn ACL, MCL and PCL in his right knee ending his season. Culpepper was running for an 18-yard gain in Sunday's loss to Carolina when cornerback Chris Gamble came in from the side and tackled Culpepper's leg. Tice noted the team must now rally around back-up Brad Johnson. "Brad doesn't have the same arm Daunte has," Tice stated, "[but] Brad has played a lot more games than Daunte has. We can make up for the different styles by going to more short passing to give ourselves a chance to suit his style. Brad is a very good quarterback, he's won a Super Bowl. We have faith in Brad."

Posted by Corey Anderson at October 31, 2005 2:36 PM | Comments (3)

 

Where are they now? T-Wolves edition

Filed under: Timberwolves

Where have you gone, Gerald Glass and J.R. Rider? Marlon Maxey and Gary Leonard? James "Hollywood" Robinson and Stanley Roberts? Beats us, but we'd sure love to know. So as we prepare to semi-root for another bunch of spoiled rich uniforms that will be gone and forgotten by this time next year, it's a good time to find out where some of our former Wolves heroes have ended up:

Shane Heal
Motivational speaker, Australia

LaPhonso Ellis
Living and coaching youth sports in Minneapolis

Gundars Vetra
Assistant coach, Ural Great (Russia)

Christian Laettner
Forward, Miami

Chuck Person
Assistant coach, Indiana

Sam Cassell
Guard, Los Angeles Clippers

Tom Hammonds
Professional stock car racer; owner, Tom Hammonds Chevrolet (Darlington, SC)

Tod Murphy
Assistant coach, UC-Irvine

Stojko Vrankovic
Recently elected president of the Croatian Olympians Club

Latrell Sprewell
Unsigned

Sam Mitchell
Head coach, Toronto

Bobby Jackson
Guard, Memphis

John Thomas
Center, Memphis

Terrell Brandon
Owner, Terrell Brandon Barbershop and Sports Apparel; hasn't played basketball since injuring knee with Wolves

Andres Guibert
Forward, Benetton Treviso (Italy)

Loren Woods
Center, Toronto

Donyell Marshall
Forward, Cleveland

Rasho Nesterovic
Center, San Antonio

Chauncey Billups
Guard, Detroit

Dean Garrett
Part owner of Escape nightclub, Bellamote restaurant, 612 Wireless

Ervin Johnson
Center, Milwaukee

Stephon Marbury
Guard, New York

Terry Porter
Fired as head coach of Milwaukee at the end of last season

Scott Brooks
Assistant coach, Denver

Tyrone Corbin
Assistant coach, Utah

Sidney Lowe
Assistant coach, Detroit

Tom Gugliotta
Forward, Boston

Posted by Jim Walsh at October 31, 2005 9:12 AM | Comments (14)

 

The Idiot Gets His Swerve Back

Filed under: Buck the Idiot

Hey folks. Bucking the idiot would have put you 9-5-1 in games last week, which would still only be the third-best outcome in the four times we've toted it up thus far. For those keeping score, my season mark now stands at 25-34-1, and if you excise the inexplicable hiccup from two weeks back, when I called 11 out of 15 winners, I'd be 14-30-1.

Now, with the weekend's first games little more than two hours away, let's get right to the picks. Here are the ten college and five pro teams I honestly believe will beat the spread. I humbly suggest you buck the idiot and bag some loot from your friendly betting parlor.

ALABAMA minus 34 over Utah State.
It's impress the BCS time, meaning teams still within sniffing distance of a national championship have incentive to run up the score. The Aggies are traveling from mountainous Logan, Utah, deep into the heart of Dixie. That itself will cost a couple of touchdowns.

KANSAS STATE plus 7 and a half over Colorado
The Buffs simply aren't good enough to be giving more than a touchdown to a decent K-State team on the road.

NORTHWESTERN plus 3 over Michigan
The Wildcats are up this season, and are playing at home. The Wolverines are down, and are considered disappointments even if they win out the rest of the year. And Northwestern is the 'dog?

MISSOURI minus 5 and a half over Kansas
The Missouri QB is a fabulous athlete. Even playing at home, Kansas simply doesn't have the talent to hang here.

BRIGHAM YOUNG minus 6 and a half over Air Force
Air Force is going to look mighty enticing to BYU after slugging it out with Notre Dame.

KENTUCKY plus 1 over Mississippi State
The Wildcats don't have a chance to win many SEC games. They'll be up for this tossup in Lexington.

OREGON STATE minus 9 and a half over Arizona
I expected the spread to be double digits. Both Oregon teams are formidable this year, and Arizona will scrum it out with Ty's Washington Huskies as the PAC-10 doormat.

TENNESSEE minus 14 over South Carolina
The Vols have had a frustrating year. And what better, guilt-free way to vent your frustration than by whupping up on a mediocre squad coached by Steve Spurrier?

TEXAS minus 37 over Oklahoma State
Another BCS-induced rout. Oklahoma State is at home. By the third quarter, most of the fans in the stands will be from across the border.

and my college "lock"
GEORGIA plus 4 over Florida
Is there an injury I don't know about? This is always a battle royale at a neutral site. The Dawgs are clearly the better team. And they're getting points?

On to the NFL....

CAROLINA minus 7 and a half over Minnesota
Three solid quarters of football in six games just ain't enough evidence to believe the Vikes can stay with a solid 4-2 team on the road.

ARIZONA plus 9 over Dallas
Denny Green is starting to put the pieces together, and that's a pretty big number the bookies are giving his team.

N.Y. GIANTS minus 2 and a half over Washington
Both of these teams need to play well the next few weeks to prove they're for real in a tough, tough, conference. But I like Eli Manning at home, giving less than a field goal.

SAN DIEGO minus 6 over Kansas City
The Chargers have had a brutal schedule, and must feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel. LT has a little more tread left than Priest Holmes.

Last but not least, the pro "lock"
CHICAGO plus 3 over Detroit
Everybody is raving about Jeff Garcia like he's the savior. The best thing about him is that he's not Joey Harrington. And that won't make any difference to a superior Bears' defense.

Posted by Britt Robson at October 29, 2005 8:41 AM | Comments (1)

 

Buck the Idiot: Reversal of Fortune

Filed under: Buck the Idiot

Okay, so the idiot pulled a fast one last week, actually picking 11 winners out of 15 games. My percentage is now up to 44, which means if you've bucked the idiot from the start, you'd barely have any coin after paying the vigorish. But you'd still be ahead, my friend, and I'm guessing my idiocy will right itself this week and restore things to their proper perspective. Hopefully by now you know the drill. I'll pick the ten college and five NFL teams I honestly think have the best chance of covering the spread. I think you'd be wise to bet the other way.

On to the picks...

IOWA minus 2 and a half over Michigan.
The Hawkeyes have righted themselves-- it's a typical Kirk Ferenz team--and Michigan is down, headed for a minor bowl and Lloyd Carr's head on a platter.

CONNECTICUT plus 3 and a half over Rutgers.
I understand that Rutgers is vastly improved, but whupping Syracuse
doesn't mean they're good enough to be giving points on the road.

AUBURN plus 6 and a half over LSU.
I still think the Tigers are worn down from Katrina distractions and the adjustment to a new coach. And Auburn is gelling.

NEBRASKA plus 2 over Missouri.
Why isn't Nebraska getting more respect? The 'Huskers are one play away from being undefeated. They'll beat Missou straight up, even away from Lincoln.

VANDERBILT plus 8 over South Carolina.
Vandy has played a tough schedule the last few weeks. Going into South Carolina is going to feel like a breather and 8 points is way too much here.

ILLINIOS plus 17 and a half over Penn State.
Illinios is terrible, and the Nittany Lions will win comfortably. But one of their super frosh is hurt, they lost their national championship hopes last week, and I just have a feeling this is merely a workman-like victory, say 22-10.

CALIFORNIA minus 12 over Washington State.
Atonement time for what I still think is a very good Cal squad. They let UCLA get away and underestimated the Oregon Ducks. Washington State won't be so lucky.

WISCONSIN minus 8 over Purdue.
Stick a fork in Purdue. Eight points doesn't mean a lot in this game, as both defenses are suspect. But the Badgers are still playing for relatively large stakes. The Boilermakers are playing for break-even.

CINCINNATI plus 22 over Louisville.
The Cardinals are overrated this year because they were underrated last year--sort of like giving the Oscar to the actor's good performance after a great one slipped past. Cincinnati isn't that bad, and even though the campuses are only 3-4 hours apart, they're playing at home as a heavy heavy 'dog.

College "lock":
VIRGINIA plus 1 over North Carolina.
Virginia chewed up Florida State, supposedly a top ten team, last week. And now they're underdogs to North Carolina?

And five pro games...

CINCINNATI minus 1 over Pittsburgh.
That's two Cincinnati picks this week--I really must be an idiot. But seriously, the Bengals are at home, Carson Palmer is healthy, and Big Ben isn't. And even when the Bengals sucked, they played the Steelers tough.

HOUSTON plus 16 over Indianapolis.
Undefeated team against winless team six weeks into the season is a recipe for complacency. The NFL's parity is a cliche by now, but don't you expect a closer game than two touchdowns just because parity, like shit, always eventually happens in the NFL.

SEATTLE minus 3 over Dallas.
It figures that the Seahawks would finally be good the one year everyone stops regarding them as a contender. Giving up only a field goal at home against the Cowboys, with Shaun Alexander steamrolling to another great year? Sign me up.

OAKLAND minus 3 over Buffalo.
It's been a nice little run for Kelly Holcomb, but if the Raiders lose at home today to go 1-5, it's a major disaster. I don't think Holcomb can handle a defense that's that motivated.

And, last but certainly not least, the NFL "lock"

BALTIMORE plus 1 over Chicago.
I'd lay even money that the Ravens defense outscores the Bears offense; or at least sets up more points with red zone takeaways.

Posted by Britt Robson at October 22, 2005 12:25 AM | Comments (0)

 

Developing hardly: Twins sue to break expired multi-year lease

Filed under: Twins

The Strib reports this morning that the Twins have filed suit to win a judge's declaration that they're under no obligation to continue playing in the Metrodome:

Twins attorney Roger Magnuson said the lawsuit filed in Hennepin County District Court shouldn't be viewed as a first step in an attempt to move the team. For more than a decade, the team has been pursuing public money toward a new ballpark without success.

"That's not the purpose of the filing,'' Magnuson said. "Obviously, the hard reality is we have no obligation to play in the Metrodome next year.''

"It's not a threat at all,'' he added. [Read the story.]

Of course not. It also has nothing to do with Governor Tim Pawlenty's recent declaration that a special stadium session is "dead." Nor does it reflect some half-baked desire on the part of Carl Pohlad and his close personal friend Bud Selig to get the Twins and Major League Baseball a piece of all the reconstruction monies coursing through New Orleans now. Perish the thought.

Note the cunning tactical change-up in the Metrodome Machiavellis' approach: If past efforts at winning a stadium by pledging to move the team were akin to pointing an unloaded gun at the city and state, this gambit seeks instead to imply that the Twins have an unloaded gun in their pocket.

Here's a story I wrote a few years ago about the contraction episode and past Pohlad stadium shenanigans.

Posted by Steve Perry at October 19, 2005 7:52 AM | Comments (0)

 

Who's nuts, Sid or Steinbrenner?

Filed under: Media

Sid Hartman's Strib column remains a tragicomic must-read for any self-respecting sports fan who isn't already living with a crotchety grandpa barking inanities and spraying food over on the davenport. Nearly every day you can unearth something in Sid's column that is either a diamond or a really hard piece of shit. A week or two ago he spun a tale about once riding on a train with Joe Paterno and Woody Hayes as they scrawled plays on napkins until the sun came up. Or something like that. It was an absolutely riveting story, made all the more spellbinding by the fact that, because of Sid's advanced years and obsequious determination to remain in the presence of powerful people, it could actually be true.

But then you read something that just makes you shake your head and wonder who is making this stuff up, and why? An item in today's column was one such eye-popper, especially when you consider that it involves Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. The butt cheeks of Steiny rank among the top ten posteriors Sid enjoys nuzzling, and sometimes the ass of the moment will even offer up a morsel of information for Sid to pass on.(It's no mean feat to crack that top ten, by the way. The competition is heavy, what with Lou Holtz and Bobby Knight still alive and no fewer than eleven stadiums that have to be approved before December or every single athlete in the state will leave town by 2007. That's some serious suck-up.)

After working the kinks out of his kneejerk with some obligatory stadium grumbling, this was Sid's second item under "Jottings":

There isn't any doubt that the New York Yankees would have interest in trading for Twins center fielder Torii Hunter. But the only player on the Yankees roster the Twins could afford and might be accepted by them in exchange for Hunter would be young second baseman Robinson Cano and he isn't available.

Forget the fractured and grafted English (like I should talk) and consider the substance of that nugget. The only question that comes to mind is, Who is nuts here, Sid or Steiny? Robinson Cano is a nice little player who may eventually become one of the game's top five second basemen. Torii Hunter, however, ranks with Andruw Jones as the best defensive outfielder in the world, and is a far more dangerous hitter than Cano to boot. Put Hunter out in center field (even only 3/4 recovered from his broken ankle) when Adam Kennedy hit that "triple" in Game Five of the ALDS and the Yankees are playing the White Sox tonight instead of the Angels. An ace center fielder who can vacuum up flies and hit better than Bernie Williams and Bubba Crosby combined is exactly what the Yanks needed this season. And Cano "isn't available" in a swap for Hunter?

Posted by Britt Robson at October 14, 2005 9:45 PM | Comments (2)

 

Buck The Idiot rolls on...

Filed under: Buck the Idiot

No brag, just fact: I picked a mere five winners out of 15 games last week, actually boosting my overall record to 9-21. In other words, if you'd been bucking the idiot since we started this little exercise, you'd have bagged 70 percent winners against the spread.

On to Week 3, in which, as always, I choose the ten college and five pro football teams I honestly think have the best chance of beating the odds this weekend. Your profitable assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to find a bookie and bet against my choices. That's why we call this Buck the Idiot.

COLORADO plus 17 over Texas.
The Longhorns are clearly one of the nation's top five teams, but giving up 17 to a pretty fair squad like Colorado after an emotional win over Oklahoma seems exorbitant to me.

OHIO STATE minus 6 and a half over Michigan State.
We'll see if the steadfast hype on the Buckeyes linebackers is legit or not, because Michigan State has a potent offense. But Ohio State is at home, coming off a tough loss to Penn State. They should clear by at least a touchdown.

DUKE plus 20 and a half over Georgia Tech.
I know Duke sucks. But Georgia Tech getting more than 20 on the road? Only against Army would this make sense.

TCU minus 23 over Army.
Speaking of Bobby Ross's sad sad squad...I've called only nine out of 30 games right the past two weeks, and two of those wins have been going with Army's opponents.

IOWA minus 14 and a half over Indiana.
Kirk Ferentz has a knack for keeping his Hawkeyes on the upswing throughout the season. Playing at home, Iowa destroys Indiana's rare ability to harbor delusions of grandeur.

GEORGIA minus 16 over Vanderbilt.
Should either USC or Texas slip, Georgia, and not Virginia Tech, should be playing for the national championship. Vandy started strong, is having a nice season, and is at home, but they're simply overmatched here.

NORTHWESTERN plus 7 and a half over Purdue.
Purdue is better than it's shown the past three weeks, especially on defense. But Northwestern nearly beat Penn State, knocked off Wisconsin last week, and is getting more than a touchdown.

VIRGINIA plus 7 over Florida State.
Virginia needs this game and is playing at home. FSU has been, depending on how closely you've paid attention, either unimpressive or overrated.

FLORIDA plus 6 over LSU.
Long after other headlines dominate the news, the hurricane-related distractions will continue to wear on LSU (and the NFL's Saints), beyond the tenacity of their feel-good-story emotions. And the Tigers' new coach isn't as good as Gators' new coach.

My college "lock' this week...

NEBRASKA minus 2 over Baylor.
Huh? The 'Huskers lost in the last few seconds to Texas Tech in a battle of unbeatens last week. Meanwhile, Baylor was finally ending a multiyear conference losing streak. And that enables the Bears to creep within a field goal of Nebraska? Even in Waco, ain't gonna happen.

As for the pros...

JACKSONVILLE plus 3 over Pittsburgh.
After surviving a rugged Monday nighter against San Diego, the Steelers face an even more rugged Jacksonvile D with a gimpy QB who wasn't that mobile to begin with.

CAROLINA plus 1 over Detroit.
The third week in a row I pick against Joey Harrington and the Lions. Let's hope it's the charm.

DENVER minus 3 over New England.
As everyone knows, the Pats are dinged up and at the tail end of an absolutely brutal stretch of games. They've got the heart of a champion, but the Broncos once again are staunch along the O-line, and playing at home.

CINCINNATI minus 3 over Tennessee.
This is the game Marvin Lewis has to win--against a mediocre team on the road--if the Bengals are truly going to take a step forward this season.

And finally, my pro "lock"--

MINNESOTA plus 3 over Chicago.
We've all seen it a thousand times before. Bedraggled team shits the bed with a sensational scandal of some sort that forces them into an "us against the world" mentality and makes the football field the most carefree chunk of real estate in the world that week. I expect a Vikings blowout, followed by much ridiculous chest-thumping.

Posted by Britt Robson at October 14, 2005 8:42 PM | Comments (0)

 

Can Rev. Ragnar save the Vikes?

Filed under: Vikings

This morning's Strib featured a bizarre interview with the unkempt motorcycle-riding Vikings mascot Ragnar that read like a Katherine "Rotary rocks!" Kersten column. Ragnar believes the Vikings are part of a society that celebrates scandalous TV shows such as "Sex and the City" and "The Simpsons," and didn't punish Bill Clinton for those West Wing BJs. "I believe as a country we've gotten away from abstinence," bemoaned Ragnar. One wonders whether the righteous mascot, who spends his weekdays as an assistant dean of students at Hopkins High School, is at all concerned about the NFL's promoting violence to its all-ages audience.

Posted by Corey Anderson at October 14, 2005 11:46 AM | Comments (1)

 

Buck The Idiot Tipsheet

Filed under: Buck the Idiot

Hah! You doubted the idiot, didn't you? When I said my prognostications have been wrong anywhere from 60 to 80 percent of the time over the last five or six years, you figured you'd just hang back and have a little look-see. Well, if you'd taken the plunge and bucked the idiot last week, you would have gone 11-4, including a gaudy 8-2 in the ten college games I called. Name me another tipsheet producing those kinds of numbers, not to mention giving away their picks for free.

Among my more idiotic moments from a week ago was calling Vanderbilt to cover the 15 points against Middle Tennessee (they didn't even win the game); and claiming the Pats minus 5 and half against San Diego as my NFL "lock" (the final? 41-17 Chargers).

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, my friends, and that is precisely what I bring to the table when it comes to college and pro football odds. I read the sports pages of at least one and sometimes two or three papers every day, and I spend anywhere from an hour to four hours over the weekend surfing through the surfeit of pigskin shenanigans. Just enough to pretend to myself I know what I'm doing; enough to fall prey to sucker odds laid by bookies and oddsmakers with far more voluminous and private information.

But enough about the process of my idiocy. By now you're all chomping at the bit for my picks for this weekend's games. As is now the custom, here are the choices I honestly consider to be the best bets on ten college and five pro games (including both a college and a pro "lock"), along with a thumbnail explanation.

Record last week: College 2-8
Pro 2-3
Season record 4-11

On to this week...

OREGON plus 10 over Arizona State
The Sun Devils suffer a letdown after their near-miss against Southern Cal, something they can't afford against the underrated Ducks.

VIRGINIA plus 7 over Boston College
BC finds out the ACC is deeper than the Big East, and that even a non-elite team like the Cavaliers can come up to Chestnut Hill and spring the upset.

FLORIDA STATE minus 21 against Wake Forest
Bobby Bowden is finally able to run up the score on outmanned opponents again.

IOWA STATE minus 8 over Baylor
Baylor is horrible. ISU is home after nearly toppling Nebraska in Lincoln.

OHIO STATE minus 3 over Penn State
Joe Pa nostalgia gets in the way of common sense. No matter how good Penn State's pack of frosh are, they're still playing a superb Buckeyes team that is a bungled quarterback platoon against Texas away from being undefeated.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN minus 2 over Army
Betting against Army was my college lock last week, and one of only two college games I hit. Why quit now?

GEORGIA plus 3 over Tennessee
Making the Vols field-goal favorites at home is the same as saying the personnel of these two teams is approximately even. The Bulldogs will disabuse everyone of that notion in convincing fashion, winning outright on the road.

CALIFORNIA minus 1 over UCLA
The Bears are right behind the Trojans as the class of the PAC-10. No way they should be dogs, even on the road, against a still-unproven UCLA team.

TEXAS minus 14 over Oklahoma
The spread is "only" 14 because of the intense history produced by this rivalry. But even if that passion is worth a touchdown, Texas could still cover. The Longhorns are way up in talent and chemistry this year, while the Sooners look more inept than they have in more than a decade

College "lock":
CINCINNATI plus 13 over Pittsburgh
What's this? Dave Wannstadt is walking through a career-damaging nightmare with a squad that should be on the verge of mutiny and at the very least is seriously questioning itself. And Pitt is still giving nearly two touchdowns?

And five pro tilts...

MIAMI plus 2 and a half over Buffalo
Nick Saban prepares his teams as well as any coach in the country. The Bills counter by, er, starting Kelly Holcomb.

SAN FRANCISCO plus 14 and a half over Indianapolis
Hard to turn down a home dog getting that many points in the NFL.

GREEN BAY minus 3 over New Orleans
The Saints can't cover anybody. With Favre chucking, the Pack will either win or lose by more than 20. I think Number 4 is accurate on Sunday.

CHICAGO plus 3 over Cleveland
Lovie Smith has got a much better defense than anything the Browns' offense can muster. Go with the dog in a low-scoring game.

Pro "lock":
BALTIMORE plus 1 and a half over Detroit
Yeah, the Lions were robbed against Tampa Bay. What are the chances that Joey Harrington keeps his poise enough to avoid multiple errors against a stellar defense two weeks in a row? Slim and slimmer. And the Lions are favored!

Posted by Britt Robson at October 7, 2005 10:41 PM | Comments (1)

 

Twins lose wrong coach

Filed under: Twins

The dailies reported this morning that Twins third base coach and perennial fan favorite Al Newman is leaving the organization he's been with for 17 years to become.... a scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

On the long list of Minnesota sports coaches who should be fired, Newman came in somewhere in the neighborhood of dead last. To be fair, he wasn't exactly fired, but from the tone of the interviews he and Gardy gave, it wasn't exactly a congenial parting. What I don't get is why Newman didn't fish around for a better gig. There had been talk earlier in the year of him taking over the manager's spot in Kansas City; while he might not be managerial material just yet, he certainly deserves better than to shuttle around the Midwest hunting down minor league talent for a terrible team. On the bright side, rumor has it this might make room for Paul Molitor to play a larger role on the bench.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 7, 2005 11:40 AM | Comments (1)

 

The Biggest Loss of the Baseball Season

Filed under: Twins

From TwinsTerritory.com:

"I'm just plain done. I'm burned out by a thousand little flames. The time. The ISP costs. The programming. The relentless task of posting every day. The lack of revenue. The system problems. The frustration of trying to grow a different kind of publishing model. The editing. The emails. The comments. The links, the other sites, the research, the syndication, the ads. Most surprising (and disappointing) is that I'm tired of the writing. And I'm tired of doing all of them, but not doing any of them well."

Blogs are hard work, and this is proof. TwinsTerritory.com, the blogging community site that John Bonnes, a.k.a. Twins Geek, has been maintaining for nearly a year, will cease to exist now that the Twins' most disappointing season ever is finally over. The Geek's many, many readers know what a loss this is. Bonnes was a breath of fresh air in the baseball writing world, which is currently more divided than our two-party nation-state, between what Souhan calls the "pocket-protector crowd" and those who are wary of the pocket-protector crowd. Bonnes wrote with one foot in each camp, and despite what he wrote in his final TwinsTerritory.com post, he did a damn fine job of it. I'm twice the Twins fan thanks to him.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 5, 2005 5:54 PM | Comments (1)

 

Randy Moss fighting re-entry into NFL drug program

Filed under: NFL

ESPN.com is reporting that Oakland Raiders wide receiver Randy Moss is waiting to hear from the NFL's medical director of substance abuse regarding whether he will be placed back into the league's drug program:

After Moss told HBO Sports last month that he has occasionally smoked marijuana, the NFL's medical director, Dr. Rick Spodafora, called Moss in for testing on the grounds that through his words, Moss has indicated that he has resumed his drug-related behavior.

Four years ago, Moss entered the NFL's drug program. The seventh-year pro was subsequently tested up to 10 times a month, but he rotated out after testing clean in the two subsequent years.

Read the rest here.

Posted by Corey Anderson at October 4, 2005 4:52 PM | Comments (1)

 

Police mace Chiefs tight end coach before game

Filed under: NFL

The Associated Press reports Kansas City Chiefs tight ends coach Jason Verduzco was maced when he became combative with police after not being allowed to turn from an outside street into an Arrowhead Stadium gate because of heavy gameday traffic.

Read the whole story here.

Posted by Corey Anderson at October 4, 2005 3:57 PM | Comments (1)

 

Mike Tice death watch, Week 3

Filed under: Vikings

Like the wall posters that students hung during China's Cultural Revolution, the American novelty tee shirt is the place where we fight the ideological battles of our age.

Why go to high school when you can go to school high?

It's not a beer belly: It's a fuel tank for a sex machine.

Here we see the debate between American hedonism and the Puritan ethic played out in a public forum.

And so it surely marks a cultural turning point that there now exists a t-shirt that demands that the Vikings cashier the man who is now widely considered the least competent coach in the NFL. The creator of the "Fire Mike Tice" tee sells merchandise under the name "American Blue Voice," alongside a variety of Democratic sloganeering. (The Vikings field marshal prominently endorsed the nation's commander in chief during the last presidential election.)

While City Pages makes no product endorsements, Vikings fanatics should probably buy now. While it's unusual to replace an NFL coach midseason--and the Vikings assistants hardly seem like candidates for a promotion--few believe Tice will survive a 1-5 start. Hipsters, by contrast, may want to wait for clearance prices, before putting their t-shirt in cold storage. Like a fine bottle of port, the Fire Mike Tice slogan will likely mature into a rich vintage item, guaranteed to leave a taste of sweet irony with the faintest aftertaste of nostalgia.

Posted by Michael Tortorello at October 4, 2005 2:45 PM | Comments (0)

 

The Inaugural "Buck the Idiot" Tip Sheet

Filed under: College

For well over a decade now, I've made a habit of perusing the point spreads of college and pro football games and circling what I consider to be the "no-brainer" picks. And pretty much every year I get hammered, guessing wrong on what I imagine to be anywhere from 60 to 80 percent of the games.

So why not put this stupidity to good use? The guys in Vegas obviously count on casual fans like me--those armed with only the "outside" information of the daily sports page and sporadic time on the couch clicking through games--to be lulled into sucker bets. Rather than wasting your time on expensive shills who "guarantee the Monday night game as our lock of the year!" why not just check out who I honestly think will cover the spread, and wager your money the other way?

My grand plan is to pick ten college and five pro games for the next few weeks, including my most confident "lock" in both pro and college. Let's see if I can prove to you that I don't know what I'm talking about.

Here we go:

MINNESOTA minus 2 and a half over Penn State: Glen Mason's ground game is simply too overwhelming to lose to a mid-tier Big 10 team, even on the road.

AUBURN minus 14 and a half over South Carolina: Steve Spurrier gets his ass handed to him again.

MIAMI minus 21 over South Florida: SF's upset of Louisville last week gives the 'Canes incentive for a high-profile rout to get them back in the major bowl picture.

MICHIGAN STATE minus 5 and a half over Michigan: This ain't your Bo Schembechler Wolverines, or even your typical Lloyd Carr team. Plus MSU always plays the big games tough.

IOWA STATE plus 3 and a half over Nebraska: I saw half of ISU's win over Iowa a couple weeks back, and it feels like the Cyclones have a little more charm, and spine, than in previous years.

PURDUE minus 3 over Notre Dame: Joe Tiller is a better coach than Charlie Weis. And the Boilermakers have better players than the Irish.

USC minus 16 over Arizona State: Why would anyone believe the Trojans aren't at least 20 points better than any other team in the country until somebody proves differently?

VANDERBILT minus 15 over Middle Tennessee: Even when Vandy perennially sucked (meaning every year but this one), they still won games like this. Now they're a fine football team headed for a bowl game.

WEST VIRGINIA plus 10 over Virginia Tech: This is a nasty geographical rivalry pitting two undefeated teams, and the one at home is a ten-point dog?

My college lock of the week:
CONNECTICUT minus 11 over Army: Army is horrible, absolutely horrible. Remember what I just said about USC? Reverse it for Army.

On to the pros...

ATLANTA minus 6 over Minnesota: Even if the Vikes didn't have five defensive players hurt, plus Burleson out, the O line and linebackers are a mess. The Falcons' D will sack or provoke a fumble or pick from Daunte Culpepper at least ten times total.

CINCINNATI minus 10 over Houston: The Bengals are giddy, the Texans in total disarray, having just dumped their offensive coordinator.

OAKLAND minus 3 over Dallas: Is there a more overrated coach in football today than Bill Parcells?

TAMPA BAY minus 6 and a half over Detroit: The Bucs' quick, ferocious defensive line versus perpetually harried Joey Harrington. At home.

Finally, my pro lock:

NEW ENGLAND minus 5 and a half over San Diego: I know Rodney Harrison is out. I know they just came off a bruising, emotional win against Pittsburgh. But can somebody explain to me why the Pats aren't at least a touchdown better than the Chargers at home?

Posted by Britt Robson at October 1, 2005 7:30 AM | Comments (0)

 

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