Jabrill Peppers Was Fined By The NFL For A Seemingly Legal Hit, And Responded By Way Of Internet11/30/2017 
I suppose it's important to acknowledge the question that's on everyone's mind, and no - I did not post the wrong video. That perfectly-timed, helmet-to-chest hit that separated the ball from a receiver that was only defenseless because he was looking down during the process of a catch that was still up for grabs is what got Jabrill Peppers docked over $24,000. I would say I'm surprised that the league deemed it was worthy of a fine considering the only thing that made it worthy of a flag was the assumption that no clean hit could possibly send an offensive player sailing six feet out of bounds. Unfortunately, the NFL has given me reason to believe that they have better things to do than to actually watch the plays they demand monetary compensation for. So, with that said, further penalizing what shouldn't have been a penalty in the first place makes perfect sense. Now, on to something that is somehow more hilarious than the NFL's ruling, which is the hypothetical way in which the Commissioner's office will react to Jabrill Pepper's response...
First of all, I'd be pretty surprised if Roger Goodell sees that tweet and doesn't initially think that it's actually a video that Jabrill Peppers shot of himself. Yes, I know that he announced his name on stage at the NFL Draft less than eight months ago. In fairness, however, that caption says "me" and that's far more telling than any semblance of a visual recollection that the Commissioner might have of the high profile players contributing to the endless stream of money entering his bank account. In fact, I hope he doesn't find out that the person being used to make a joke at his expense is Big Sean, because that would be considered "lying" which is only permissible if you work for the NFL in a capacity that doesn't require you to wear pads. Second of all, there's no way someone who lacks all forms of logic and human understanding knows what emotion that GIF is trying to portray. In that sense, it's actually the perfect act of social media mockery. A rolling of the eyes would have gotten detected by Roger Goodell's half-human registry of facial expressions, but a empty stare into the camera? That's juuuuust subtle enough not to get a professional athlete re-fined for responding sarcastically to a ridiculously bogus fine....I think.
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The opinion that it's "pathetic" for the Giants to relegate one of their organizational icons to the bench in an effort to give 27 year old Geno Smith - of all people - a chance to prove that absence hasn't made his arm grow fonder of throwing to the right team is not new. It's also not a novel concept for members the "quarterback fraternity" to stick together when one of them has - either rightfully or wrongfully - been used as a scapegoat. Therefore, it's not exactly surprising that Philip Rivers has strong feelings about the way a franchise and its soon-to-be-unemployed caricature of a head coach handled the benching of the two-time Super Bowl MVP that he was once traded for. The long-time Chargers QB would probably give up his soon-to-be-conceived unborn triplets to have the success that Eli Manning has had, so to think that not even multiple championships can save you from being strong-armed to the sidelines has to be absolutely baffling to him. Regardless of all that, I want you to listen to how impassioned Philip Rivers was in defense of Eli Manning, and then envision a world where the two switched career paths. Pretend, just for a minute, that Eli Manning wasn't a spoiled little brat that used his family's league-wide standing to manipulate the integrity of the draft process, and that Philip Rivers was the one with the shockingly full trophy case and a spot already carved out for his likeness in Canton.... Can you imagine someone like Ben McAdoo - who currently carries such a laughable lack of clout in his own locker room that he might as well become the Giants unofficial mascot - giving Philip Rivers the option to either accept a pity start or carry a clipboard? I know it's a far-fetched hypothetical that is wildly circumstantial, but since it would result in an NFL quarterback beating the ever-loving piss out of an NFL head coach (in name only), I'm just going to let my imagination run with it. The locker-front blubbering would be replaced by an expletive-laced rant for the ages. Eli's quivering lip would be replaced by Ben McAdoo's bloody lip. In fact, I'm not even sure that this decision gets made if the course of history were altered and the face of the Giants' franchise were the most emotionally erratic quarterback in the NFL as opposed to someone whose employer had to metaphorically spit in the mouth he predominantly breathes out of before his face wore an expression other than confusion. I honestly think that if Eli Manning shunned a career's worth of perceived apathy and went full-Philip Rivers in response to being told he wasn't starting then he would probably be both starting and finishing. There's not a lot that Philip Rivers has over Eli Manning, but the ability to make people apprehensive about delivering him bad news absolutely has to be on that short list. P.S. I think Steve Young is inclined to agree...
Loyalty? LOYALTY?!? Now that...that's a good one. This was a radio show Q&A with a college football coach, correct? Jimbo Fisher will have you removed with a head-nod before admitting as much publicly, but - considering how important loyalty is to his net worth - it might as well be spelled 'LOLoyalty'. Seriously, that potbelly'd fan with the receding jew fro doesn't look like he's some naive 10 year old with his face painted burgundy and gold that's yet to learn that big time college athletics are a means to a disproportionally profitable end for coaches, but he sure sounds like one. I don't know why he's walking away with some smirk on his face like he just got one over on a guy who helped bring his alma mater a National Championship. As Tennessee's prolonged search for someone to fill a now stigmatized gig has proven true, not even unjustly implicating an innocent man of being a co-conspirator to multiple decades of sex crimes against children can stop a college coach from getting the last laugh. In the same vein that Tom Brady potentially likes his footballs to be mildly more malleable, it's more probable than not that Jimbo Fisher takes the Texas A&M job. That said, reminding him that he leaves behind a program that's become more successful since his arrival isn't exactly the most scathing of burns. Assuming that a man that scheduled a public appearance while being the subject of rampant speculation that he had no interest in addressing is immune to awkwardness, I highly doubt that ungrateful sap that got escorted out quicker than he's run in a decade has anything to feel smug about. 
As is the case with all trades, there are two ways to look at this - emotionally and logistically. Emotionally, this particular one hurts in a way that makes losing the lovability of Adam Larsson seem like a sentimental hang nail. The second Adam Henrique put to rest the demons of '94 and finished off the cross river rivals with his second series-clinching overtime tally in as many attempts he became so much more than a promising rookie coming up through an organization who was in need of young talent. It wasn't one of the timeless moments that ultimately resulted in the raising of three Stanley Cup banners, but the goal that brought to eternal life Doc Emrick's "Henrique...IT'S OVER!" call is embedded nearly as deeply in the hearts of Devils' fans. Since he helped New Jersey advance to Finals, a variety of circumstances that were out of his control made it so that the heroics became few and far between. That, however, didn't stop Adam Henrique from becoming the face of a rebuild that finally appears to be coming to fruition. By all accounts (See: Rico's Soiree), he was just as appreciated in a locker room that was growing and maturing together as he was/is throughout the entirety of its fanbase, so his work both on and off the ice makes this trade a pill that's hard to swallow. Logistically, on the other hand, it's a pill that's been sitting in Ray Shero's desk as a potential cure to what ails his team most since he lucked into drafting a dynamic forward first overall this past summer. Never mind the offseason hearsay of an eerily similar swap, because Adam Henrique's demotion to the bottom half of the lineup when this team was at it's healthiest was an unmistakable sign that the Devils' had a surplus of forwards. In both theory and execution, that made a versatile-but-consistently inconsistent 20-25 goal scorer expendable. Sami Vatanen is primarily an offensive force from the blue line, so I'm not sure he's the end all-be all to the Devils' defensive woes. I am sure, however, sure that he just became a bargain as the most talented player at a position of need. If you include the sentimental value as part of the package then this trade undoubtedly feels like less than a steal, but when you consider that a couple of months ago the going rate for a quality defenseman was basically an organizational castration then it's tough to consider this anything but a huge win. The Devils are currently benefiting from the premium that young, up-and-coming defenseman are currently at as Taylor Hall makes Oilers' fans more and more manic depressive every time he takes the ice, and they just got a dynamic one at a rate that has to be considered a discount. If I created a lineup of beloved Devils then Adam Henrique has got a case for the Top-6, but as it stands now he's optimally a third liner player that can contribute on special teams. Detach the name and memories that come with it, and his importance to this team plus that of a prospect that couldn't beat out journeyman-turned-juggernaut Brian Gibbons for the final roster spot pales in comparison to what Sami Vatanen brings to the table as an unquestioned Top-4 defenseman. What he lacks in his own zone, he should make up for by keeping the Devils out of it, and that's invaluable to a group that's treating 22 year old Steve Santini like a sacrificial lamb. My only concern is that this causes some sort of rift in the locker room due to Henrique's presence as a leader in it, but even his now former teammates should be able to see that this was a move that had to be made in the interest of their future. I think the fact that it felt like it was only a matter of time has taken some of the sting away for me, so hopefully it did the same for a team that's managed to play above the handicap they just addressed. It pains me to say it, but Sami Vatanen fits the mantra this team has finally started to turn fruitful better than Adam Henrique and he does so from a far more depleted position. Ray Shero - once again - took advantage of a vulnerable Ducks' team, and in doing so he made the Devils a more balanced one whose roster is just as flexible going forward. There will never be a time in my life when watching the following video won't send goosebumps throughout my entire body, so it's impossible not to find myself emotionally conflicted by viewing this knowing the inevitability of seeing Rico in an ugly sweater (sorry, not sorry Anaheim) a week before Christmas... However - after you get a good cry in, of course - this video should help you cheer up as you wipe away the tears... Adam Silver Was In The Stands During The Sixers Game...As It Got Hacked Into A Foul Shooting Contest11/30/2017 
Let me paint a picture for you. Vinny Chase and the rest of the Entourage stroll wide-eyed and bushy tailed into the theatre for the first public screening of the fictional, semi-biographical tale of Columbian kingpin Pablo Escobar. They have smiles across their faces and lavish dreams of the pay day that's sure to come their way as the title Medellin flashes across the big screen. The group couldn't be more optimistic, and why not? All the hard work had been one to get the movie made, and not it was time to sit back and bask in the glory, glitz, and glamor of it all. I imagine felt Adam Silver felt as he first sat down amongst fans that have getting treated to exciting, winning basketball for the first time in years. Sure, he was in a city as thankless as Philadelphia, but - considering the state of The Process and the popularity of professional basketball - there was no way the mood of a building was going to completely shift with the transcendent talents of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons set to take the stage. This was a night for the Commissioner of the NBA to forget about all the bullshit that he deals with on a daily basis, and enjoy the fruits of his labor. He endured all the criticism that was unceremoniously directed his way as the 76er's intentionally made his product partially unwatchable for half a decade, and now it was time to exhale as it has finally produced something - other than a trusted tag line - that could actually be marketed and turn a profit. Then, like the first investor getting up mid-Medellin to "take a piss" and never return, it all went wrong. You could say a persistent problem came to light at the worst possible time, or you could just say the energy of the building got...ahem...hacked. Either way, Adam Silver must have felt like he was "the bald fuck" getting indicted under Murphy's Law in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. To put it simply, having two of the most enticing young talents in his league get picked to participate in a free throw shooting contest that - relative to the alternative - was as depressing as getting selected for jury duty is as "what can go wrong, will go wrong" as it gets. And I get it, most teams don't have a player whose critical to their success that makes the stroll to the charity stripe look like a walk to the end of the plank so they'll never vote to rid the NBA of Hack-A-Whoever to benefit of those teams who do. Winning will always matter above all else, and a middle finger to the fans that go comatose watching professional athletes suppress their actual skill as they casually walk up and down the floor for long stretches is a small price to pay for even a slight increase in the likelihood of success. Still, of all games, the one in which the most beloved Commissioner in professional sports was present as mid-court is the one where one of the few recurring complaints he receives comes to the forefront? There is an NBA matchup taking place, but the ire of every member of the most irritable fan base in sports is centered on him? I don't want to speak for a guy that was able to take the unearthing of a racist owner (and President) in stride. However, the lump in Adam Silver's throat as the first off-ball, intentional foul was administered in a building full of Philly's unforgiving faithful must have at least temporarily grown to the size of the one in Vinny Chase's throat as credits rolled and half the potential financiers of his passion product woke up and wiped droll from their chin. Bret Boone Randomly Slid In A Reporter's DM's To Joke About Sexual Harassment For No Apparent Reason11/29/2017 
SeattlePI- Since The New York Times reported accusations of repeated sexual assault against Hollywood mega-producer Harvey Weinstein in October, it seems like you can't go more than a day or two without another high-profile man being accused of being a sexual predator. Wednesday was no different, as two titans of media -- NBC's Matt Lauer and public radio's Garrison Keillor, host of "A Prairie Home Companion" -- lost their jobs following allegations of inappropriate behavior. After tweeting my disappointment about the Keillor allegations, I received a direct message on Twitter from former Seattle Mariners second baseman Bret Boone, the three-time All-Star who was instrumental in the M's success in the early 2000s. That was notable in and of itself, as I don't get many (read "any") unsolicited DMs from professional athletes, former or current, let alone bat-flip and frosted-tip trailblazers like Boone....
I'm not entirely sure how Bret Boone defines sexual harassment. The tone of these unprompted messages to a reporter seem to imply that he thinks every powerful male that has skeletons pouring out of their closet is getting fired and having their career canceled because their greetings to the fairer sex were too chipper in the morning. If that's the case then he's going to find himself pretty shocked when he learns that half of 'Hollywood' finds themselves so "excited" by the presence of a woman that they instinctually drop trou and start jacking off whenever one enters the room. Regardless, having not known anything about Bret Boone as a person before five minutes ago, I'm beginning to think there's nothing he loves more than making the opposite sex feel uncomfortable. Consider this, how many things are so near and dear to your heart that you randomly bring them up free of any sort of context with people that you have absolutely no connection to? As someone who prides himself on an ability to read a room, I'm not sure there's even one thing that I enjoy enough to incessantly force it on people in unwanted conversation. Meanwhile, Bret Boone has such a deep-seated passion that he literally has to go out of his way to talk to anyone and everyone about it. You thought vegans had a cult-like obsession with their beliefs? Well, when's the last time some unsolicited, online meat mockery got sent directly and only your way? Seriously, if Bret Boone were strolling through the neighborhood instead of hawking the internet he might be going door-to-door passing out 'Please Support The Patriarchy' pamphlets, because that's the real life equivalent of going inbox-to-inbox on behalf of every prominent predator that's made their way through the news cycle recently. It's definitely unfair for me to assume that just because a former pro athlete thinks it's okay to walk up to strange women and demand that they smile (which he surely does daily) that he also thinks it's okay to expose himself and demand that they watch to completion. However, if your initial interaction starts with an unprovoked, shameless endorsement of the former, is it really out of the question that - if humored - it could end with the approval of something dangerously close to the latter? 
The bad news for Corey Perry is that he's so universally disliked that a significant amount of average, everyday schlubs are willing to bust out their credit cards on behalf of a professional athlete that - all things considered - deserved a far bigger fine for a play so scummy that it managed to turn the NHL's preeminent instigator into a victim. Fortunately, the good news for Corey Perry is that I'm pretty sure that's exactly what he strives for. I mean, I guess he could do without having 20 stitches and the bloody outline of a butt-end in the middle of his mug, but when there's very few lows you won't stoop to in an effort to become the league's most notorious dickhead, you kind of lose the ability to ever take the moral high ground. So, honestly, he should wear that scar like a badge of honor, and take some sort of maniacal pleasure in the fact that he has done such a good job of getting people to hate him that there are literally charitable endeavors dedicated to his demise. Sure, he took one on the chin, but sometimes that's what you got to do to get under people's skin. No one should know that better than the guy that just reset the bar of what it takes to be a successful son of a bitch by putting people in the Christmas spirit with nothing more than the sight of his lacerated face. Usually people have to like you for you to ultimately be the impetus behind them opening their wallet, but to indirectly promote philanthropy by way of endless spite? That's a whole new level of asshole. 
I'll tell you what. Having 23 catches, a few hundred yards, and couple of touchdowns isn't all that bad for a rookie second round pick at wide receiver that's playing in an offense that doesn't know its ass from its elbow. In fact, before watching this clip (1,000x times over) I would have argued that Zay Jones has had a fairly promising start to a career and deserves a novelty tee-shirt for surviving the entirety of the Nathan Peterman era. Unfortunately, in learning that he's actually a goddamned wizard, my expectations has jumped up significantly. A couple of minutes ago I would have congratulated him for scoring his second touchdown of the season, but now I'm left wondering how a sorcerer caught merely three of ten targets for 33 measly yards last Sunday. I know the pass in question was a little off, but you can't levitate from the ground following an incompletion without leaving me wondering why those same powers couldn't be summoned in avoiding said incompletion. With a starting quarterback whose job security is - for one stupid reason or another - in need of cementing, you can't be out there saving your freakish feats for after the play. Honestly, what good is being a magician if your best tricks are only on display while in the process of failing at your trade? I'm all for Zay Jones defying gravity, but not without studying the next chapter in his book of spells and learning how to defy inaccuracy. 
Wait, people actually thought that Ricky Aguayo got jumped by a bunch of frat dudes for a missing a few field goals? Like, they actually took the word of the person who got beat up as fact, and assumed that he was just skipping down the street whistling to himself when J-Crew stormed out of Pi Kappa Phi, chased him down from behind, and started wailing on his face while screaming "maybe next time you won't limit our margin of victory over a rival to 18!"? I know the "victim" painted himself as such in the tale he told police, but I thought we were all in silent agreement that drunk dudes that lose fights typically take liberties when telling the story to authorities. Guess not. I'll admit that I didn't expect to see Florida State's kicker repeatedly going on the offensive with a fighting style that appeared to employ the "close your eyes and swing wildly" technique, but I had no doubts that this scuffle was caused by the mutual chirping of drunk college students. I didn't hear or see what initially caused the two parties to square up so I can't say for sure, but I'd imagine that something along the lines of a "nice shank last Saturday, bro" took things from contentious to violent. For that reason I won't call Ricky Aguayo a liar, but rather a self-conscious kid with a pride injury and an inability to gracefully take an L. That being said, he's a self-concious kid with a pride injury and an inability to gracefully take an L that I absolutely would not want to fuck with. Never mind that he throws punches like most people swat at bees, because - if this story is any indication - then he's not a shitty fighter that you'd was to make an enemy out of... ------ TallahasseeDemocrat- Florida State University kicker Ricky Aguayo and tight end Ryan Izzo were suspects in a burglary at a College Avenue fraternity house where they were accused of smashing a coffee table and ripping a pet turtle in half. The February incident occurred at the house next door to where police reports say Aguayo was punched in the face two months earlier by Pi Kappa Phi fraternity members. That fraternity was closed down earlier this month in the wake of the death of a 20-year-old pledge at an off-campus party. Fraternity member Daniel Furmanski, who was awoken by loud "celebratory chants coming from the living room," spotted one of the football players holding the house pet turtle, named "Turntle." Its shell was ripped from its body, according to the police report, and it appeared dead. The fraternity brother told police it was unclear who killed the turtle. He never confronted the football players nor asked them to leave. Fraternity members told police they did not know Aguayo or Izzo personally and had no issues with the football players. ------ I guess if you're going to be a mentally fragile college athlete who plays a position that's insanely easy to pick on then it's actually not entirely to your detriment to also be a sociopath that murders innocent pets? That type of behavior should absolutely get you put in a padded room....but you can't say it's not alarming enough to get people to stop heckling you about your shortcomings. Just saying, if Roberto Aguayo had taken homicidal action against a member of Franklin's family in the middle of the Buccaneers locker room then you can bet your ass none of his teammates would have been invading his personal space. Now, when you're attempting to get retribution against a household full of degenerates it's probably best to memorize their address, but Pi Kappa Phi certainly learned not to mess with Ricky Aguayo when they found out that he separated the neighboring fraternity's turtle from it's shell like a goddamned lunatic. Showing that you're not bound by morals or capable of feelings is the ultimate defense mechanism against unfair criticism, especially when you also have a teammate who is 6'5, 250 and willing to get physical on your behalf. 
Sigh, growing pains. Just part of the maturation process if you ask me. Every prospect has some learning to do, and how can you possible know that it's not actually okay to use the sharp edge of a piece of protective equipment that was crafted to block vulcanized rubber as a weapon if you don't first suffer the ramifications of using it to punch a prone opponent in the head as he lays fallen on the ice? Some goaltending coach probably told a young Gilles Senn that he's got to "protect his crease" in passing without offering any specifics as to how best to do so. Simple misunderstanding. One man's simple assault is another man's preservation of his blue paint. As far as I am concerned, the Devils' 5th rounder is a more intelligent player now than he was before he shed his mask drawing all attention to him as he jabbed a player in the face with the blunt end of his puck shield. If he uses that ejection as the impetus to evolve his game to a point where he's not getting thrown out of them for bludgeoning the face of every attacking player then this unfortunate scenario could be seen as a blessing in disguise. It's probably a lesson he should have encountered prior to getting drafted as a 21 year old, but some of the best to ever mind a net have been slow learners that get a bad rap as overreactive assholes...
Wow. Just wow. It's as if the New York Giants' have taken it as an organizational challenge to put the Browns' in the rearview as the most embarrassingly run operation in the NFL. Benching the face of a franchise that somewhat unbelievably won multiple championships with him at the helm in favor of Geno Smith is such a sick and twisted joke that it initially made me think that @PLeonardNYDN was a parody account run by a Jets' fan. Forget the finger pointing, the internal leaks, the unexcused absences, and - more importantly - the embarrassingly unwatchable losses for a team that is a couple of months removed from being thought of as a contender. Placing your two-time Super Bowl MVP on the pine - and thus asking him to end his 210 game start streak - for no other reason than to sacrifice some backups behind a line whose effort was offensive before it was riddled with injuries is such an egregious decision that it makes Ben McAdoo's use of olive oil as a hair care product look ingenious. I'm thee furthest thing from an Eli apologist and I'm all for seeing what you have at quarterback before making the decision to draft one. However, if that's truly what the Giants think they are doing then they haven't read their depth chart recently. Whether or not it is, this is going to look like a tanking so shameless that it would make Sam Hinkie blush. There's not a single person not named Tom Brady that could possibly step under center and look like a capable ringmaster for this clown show given the active roster's complete lack of just about everything necessary for offensive success. In fact, to call going on the road to the 'Blackhole' with someone whose biggest career accomplishment is not dropping the clipboard as your starter a "losing situation" wouldn't even do justice to the volatility of the venue they are sure to return home to. I want to say this should get the most obvious of lame ducks canned once and for all, but the truth of the matter is that if this decision wasn't first ok'd upstairs then he would already be seeking employment as the first dead extra in some low budget mob movie. A once proud organization - from it's ownership on down - just quit on the only player who has actually been given a reason to quit, and if they didn't do it for a slightly higher draft pick then they did it for a reason that's more illogical than Ben McAdoo's continued employment. Right Tom?
LBS- Florida State kicker Ricky Aguayo told police he was physically assaulted by some fraternity members after a rivalry game last season, according to a report.
Tallahassee Police records obtained by Karl Etters of the Tallahassee Democrat show that Aguayo reported being “jumped” in front of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house at around 3 a.m. on Dec. 2, 2016. That was roughly a week after the Seminoles beat Florida 31-13 — a game in which Aguayo missed two field goals. Aguayo told police he was walking by the frat house when people began shouting at him about the missed kicks, and he was later confronted and punched in the face. “He said they were giving him a hard time about missed field goals during the Florida game,” police wrote in their report. “He said he was rushed by several of the members of the fraternity … and was punched in the face.” Police said Aguayo had blood on his face and shirt and had swelling that indicated he had been punched. He declined medical treatment and said he called a teammate, Florida State tight end Ryan Izzo, to help him, but the fight was over by the time Izzo arrived. Aguayo refused to press charges. Aguayo has made 15 of 18 field goals this year and earned an All-ACC honorable mention on Monday. His older brother, Roberto, was also a star kicker at Florida State and has had well-documented struggles in the NFL. ------- I don't want to undersell how big of a dickhead you have to be to drunkenly pick a fist fight with the kicker for your college football team because he happened to miss a couple of field goals during a game in which the outcome was not remotely effected by said misses. I'd imagine that these frat dudes did what frat dudes have the unfortunate habit of doing by getting too drunk and abusing their power in numbers to either verbally, physically, and let's not forget sexually assault those that are inherently weaker than them. I'm sure that Ricky Aguayo didn't exactly turn the other cheek when instigated by a bunch of bros who were probably measuring each others' dicks (either literally or metaphorically, it's basically a toss up) while he walked shamefully back to the sideline after the shanks that started all this. I wasn't there, but if I know a woefully generic Kappa Phi fuckhead like I think I do then having a kicker bruise his fragile ego in front of the friends he paid for is what turned this violent. The good news here is that Ricky Aguayo had a positive male role model to look up in an effort to remind himself that - regardless of his unfortunate experience - things can always be much, much worse. It sucks to have to tend to your face and dry clean your shirt solely because you missed a couple meaningless field goals, but - objectively speaking - it doesn't suck as much as becoming the laughing stock of the NFL solely because some moronic General Manager drafted you far too high and placed an unforeseen amount of pressure on you to perform under the brightest of lights. Never mind the oddly incestuous activity of frat brothers, because Ricky Aguayo had a blood brother in Roberto to show him that getting jumped for a subpar performance can't do nearly as much damage to his psyche as being deemed a professional disappointment prior to lacing up his cleats. The following clip was obviously shot after Ricky Aguayo was decked by a douchebag, but - in retrospect - he'd certainly rather fight some "Brad" than have a 300 pound man stand over his shoulder and mock the entirety of his short, short career while he tried desperately to save it. That had to give little bro the perspective that Chadwick and his "cut from the Lacrosse team" cronies clearly lacked...
P.S. What a swell group of well-grounded gentlemen... "The students who allegedly attacked Aguayo belong to the same fraternity that was recently shut down after a pledge died at an off-campus party on Nov. 3." 
That's it. Right there. The perfect reaction to pretty much anything regarding the current state of the Houston Texans season following Deshaun Watson's torn ACL. Not one, but two deep breathes to really drive home the exasperation of playing out the remainder of the schedule without the player that took everyone's breathe away. I know that Tom Savage had just finished quarterbacking a professional football game in frigid Baltimore and had already spoken with reporters in the locker room, but I'm pretty sure every Texans' fan can easily relate to those audible sighs as of late. Almost wish I could have heard the response if the media did care enough to be in the room and the person who stepped to the microphone did actually give them nothing more than dispirited exhale, because if I were covering that team I think I'd totally sympathize with the appearance of apathy. I truly feel bad for Tom Savage. I know he tried elsewhere, but there's honestly nothing he can say to help deter from the fact that the most disheartening of injuries is what has him responding to questions that - more or less - all have the same answer. That answer is a 6'2 rookie out of Clemson, and his absence from the active roster has to be almost as depressing for the player that replaced him as it is for the media that tried to beat the traffic. A Georgia Tech Player Knocked His Own Teammate Out Cold, And The Video Of It Is Surprisingly Casual11/28/2017 
TMZ- A Georgia Tech football player straight-up KNOCKED OUT his teammate during a fight in the GT athletic facility ... and TMZ Sports has the video.
The players are GT starting defensive backs Step Durham and Lance Austin -- who got into a heated altercation earlier this year, before Spring Practice began. As a shirtless Lance walks towards his teammate, Step ... he gets hit with a quick right hook on the chin -- instantly putting Lance to sleep. Lance collapsed into a chair and appears to be completely unconscious. You can hear multiple voices in the room instructing Step to pick Lance up off the ground. We reached out to Georgia Tech -- and we were told, "Georgia Tech’s football coaching staff became aware of the incident between teammates and friends shortly after it occurred. Discipline was handled internally." Sources tell us neither players missed any playing time during the 2017 season as a result of the incident. It's unclear what the punishment was exactly. We're told both players told the coaching staff about the fight and insisted things were cool -- there were no hard feelings. ----------- No hard feelings? NO HARD FEELINGS?!? Lance Austin might be a forward thinker with an innate ability to leave the past in the past, but can we double check how he's feeling about Step Durham now that the video of him getting clocked so cold that he might as well have been laid to rest in a cryogenic chamber is making its rounds on the internet? I'm sure they shook hands and made nice, but can we circle back on the hardness of those feelings now that the whole WiFi-abusing world watched him get his jaw softened? Like, how many times does he have to hear his teammates ultra-casually chatting around his completely lifeless body before bygones are no longer bygones? It sucks that the "video or it didn't happen" culture of 2017 has made it so that you can no longer maintain the privacy of your own football facility when getting your ass whooped with the quickness, but don't tell me that having the entirety of an online community discuss that ass whooping in detail doesn't re-open some old wounds. He might be the most forgiving person in the world, but you can't convince me that being looked at like road kill on a one lane street by the person who t-boned his face doesn't still make him stretch out his jaw in anger from time to time. I know things can get inherently heated between teammates when they've yet to have been given the opportunity to take out their aggression against an opponent, but I'd imagine the whole "let's grab a beer and forget about it" philosophy is a lot less effective once social media starts reminding you. 
My reaction, in GIF form... 
He did it. He did the unthinkable. The endless cliche machine that is Chuck Pagano has mastered a new deflection strategy, and this time it is anything but conventionally and conveniently overused. Considering that performance was a successful attempt at skirting slyly around the actual answering of a difficult question about repeatedly finding ways to lose games, the Colts' head coach should have gave a goddamn curtsy after spending a full minute dissecting the plot of 25 year old movie. He almost, almost got sucked into discussing disappointing football, but...wait...is that an organizational hurricane approaching or Chuck Pagano's second wind?!? The media types that spent the time they are afforded to collect quotes and information might not think so, but that surface level description of weather patterns was part of an awe-inspiring (albeit completely conspicuous) display of diversion. I'm half surprised that Chuck Pagano didn't make someone in attendance dial up the local meteorologist for some insight, but I'd imagine that the reason he didn't was so that the Q&A turned aimless monologue could still be considered a one man show. It's theoretically shameless to babble on and on about completely irrelevant topics as if you're not the lamest of duck in a position of power, but in execution it was about as attention grabbing as Al Pacino's speech in 'Any Given Sunday'. Someone should have told the beat reporters there was no need to bring their tweet machines, because they just got a free clinic in how to get people to hang on your every word as you talk for two and a half minutes and actually say absolutely nothing. Chuck Pagano's job security might be headed the wrong way down a one way street, but I can't help but marvel at how he just managed to swerve through the traffic of well deserved criticism. If dropping a bunch of boilerplate adages is the press conference equivalent of small talk then that brain-dump has to be considered an exhilarating conversation. For the man who has become somewhat infamous for the former, delving into the latter was a welcomed change. I don't know how he managed to quickly become an expert in the art of bullshitting, but he could probably make a quick buck charging Ben McAdoo for lessons when they are both looking for work this offseason...
SECCountry- Alvin Kamara had a monster performance at the NFL Combine this week.
The former Tennessee running back shined, both in the interview room and on the field. This led to some asking why the talented running back didn’t see the field more in Knoxville. But the mother of former Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd had a different take on why Kamara didn’t see the field as much at Tennessee. Tara Smotherman gave a very ominous answer as to why Kamara spent part of the season backing up Hurd.... 
Reasons, like, with an 's'? As if the implication of their being multiple wasn't enough, the inclusion of the word "many"? Considering the current click-hungry state of sports media, there has been a rampant in increase in terrible prognostications, but this one might just 'Trump' them all. At this point, Alvin Kamara would have to quit his team mid-season like a particular former teammate of his did in order to not win the Offensive Rookie Of The Year award. Meanwhile, the guy that had him relegated to backup is now at Baylor slowly becoming an afterthought as he sits on his thumb on a sideline that is now accepting all applicants that don't show up as a red dot on an online map. Honestly, the only legitimate reason I can possibly conjure up to as why Tennessee wasn't giving him the lion's share of the carries to the guy that's now treating professional football games like they are played during recess is because they were actively trying to drop his draft stock enough for him to decide to stay in school. It clearly didn't work out seeing as he's currently lighting up NFL box scores as they undergo an insanely embarrassing coaching search, but at least it would explain why scouts repeatedly skipped over someone that is displaying transcendent talent just ten games in his professional career. I know Alvin Kamara seems like a perfect fit for the Sean Payton's system, but the way he's making people miss with an absurd amount of regularity is due to a hell of a lot more than a schematic advantage. Maybe all these reasons are still pending but for the time being I think Jalen Hurd owes his mother a nice, sarcastic "thanks a lot MOM....", because her blind eye for potential like this dragged her son's name back into a discussion he simply doesn't belong in....
Hand up. My level of intrigue regarding this news has everything to do with the recency bias incurred from learning that a head doctor needed no more than a few months to help Jesper Bratt go from scoring six goals in the Swedish League to being the Devils' most confident puck handler not named Taylor Hall. If not for that psychological miracle then I'd probably find myself ready to lock Pavel Zacha in a padded room and forget that his developmental curve has plateaued until the start of next season. Luckily, the timely transformation of a 6th round pick into a top-6 mainstay has provided some precedent for the minor miracle of immediate mental health, and the most comforting part is the player in need of it has already shown flashes of what to expect when he has it. In Pavel Zacha we aren't talking about a guy that has looked completely dumbfounded since his arrival in the NHL. We are talking about guy whose skills have been on display in spurts when backed by the confidence necessary to showcase them at the highest level. If this athletic therapist can unleash the beast from his cage of self-consciousness then the Devils just might just get a better look at the player that had them oozing optimism in the preseason. It's actually unbelievable that they have been so successful while adding Pavel's PTO to the injuries they've experienced early in the season. If they can reach a point where Zacha is no longer performing like a candidate to come out of the lineup as players get healthy then they'll be exponentially better off in the long run. Let's hope whatever couch he's getting laid up on after games has him feeling more comfortable in his own skin, because the Devils are better when he's playing like himself as opposed to wondering who himself really is. 
Most hockey fans would say that there's nothing more unlikely than a 29 year old journeyman/ fringe professional leading an NHL team in goals while more than doubling his previous career high just a quarter of the way through a season that most thought he stood little chance of being a part of. My ex-girlfriends - on the other hand - would argue there is nothing more unlikely than me happily admitting when I am dead wrong. Usually I would completely dismiss their opinion without a second thought, but in the interest of proving their allegations false (and the impressiveness of his play right) I offer Brian Gibbons this...ahem...::takes bite of humble pie, pounds chest to force the swallowing of pride::...apology. I really thought he was training camp roster fodder. Just a warm body saving Joseph Blandisi's place in the lineup as some sort of temporary logistical move that I'm not smart enough to fully understand. Turns out Brian Gibbons' was a disruptive top for the penalty killing diamond diamond that was waiting to be dug out of the rough by a system and situation that caters perfectly to his skill set. Him turning the puck over in overtime on a play that could, should, and would turn into an odd-man situation going the other way 99.99% of the time only for it to immediately end up on his stick and in the back of the net is undoubtedly the peak of him magically fertilizing a shitty situation. That said, this isn't like Bobby Farnham blindly squirreling his way to a goal streak that was nothing short of nuts. Brian Gibbons' is scoring in every which way and even when his shooting percentage inevitably plummets from 30% and the spectacular wears off, what will remain is a solid, relentless player that can contribute up, down, and all-around the lineup. If there's a player that Ray Shero can point to as the personification of a batting average that's humbly hovering right around .950 it's Brian Gibbons, so I hopes it's not too late to say "sorry" to a guy who has instrumental to the Devils' early season success and the General Manager that believed in him. I'll get used to breathing through my nose if he wants to keep feeding me my foot. 
The response, in a nutshell...
What it led to....
The allegation that ultimately killed the contract offer (as per Yahoo): On Aug. 25, 2015, former Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary was deposed as part of a civil suit between the university and its insurance company over liability for payouts to victims of Sandusky. During the deposition, McQueary said he once discussed Sandusky with another Penn State assistant, Tom Bradley, who most recently was an assistant coach at UCLA. He said Bradley was not surprised by what McQueary told him because Bradley had heard similar. From the deposition: Q: “Did [Bradley] tell you that he had had information concerning Gerald Sandusky and children?” A: “He said he knew of some things. … He said another assistant coach had come to him in the early ’90s about a very similar situation to mine, and he said that he had — someone had come to him as far back as early as the ’80s about seeing Jerry Sandusky doing something with a boy.” Q: “Did he identify who the other coaches were that had given him this information?” A: “The one in the early ’90s, yes.” Q: “And who was that?” A: “Greg Schiano …” Q: “And did he give you any details about what Coach Schiano had reported to him?” A: “No, only that he had – I can’t remember if it was one night or one morning, but that Greg had come into his office white as a ghost and said he just saw Jerry doing something to a boy in the shower. And that’s it. That’s all he ever told me.” That is the extent of allegations involving Schiano, which first surfaced in 2016 during the unsealing of documents in the civil case. ----------- I'm not going to lie, those "Grumors" are a whole hell of a lot less funny now that they rose the hopes of the Tennessee fanbase to such egregious heights that they Volunteer'd the reputation of a man they simply didn't want to coach their favorite football team to absorb the blow when they inevitably came crashing back to earth. I can't fault a football program or it's fan base for not wanting to be even mildly affiliated with a name that was haphazardly implicated of covering up child rape, no matter how unsubstantiated the claim. However, I'd be very surprised if a vast majority of those that ran with the wild speculation that tarnished the career and character of a person realized the extent of the "evidence" against him was the litigious equivalent of a game of 'Telephone' with the last person being someone whose own damn testimony contradicted itself. Mike McQueary couldn't even consistently convey the unspeakable acts that he saw in those showers. I honestly wouldn't trust him to recall what he ate for fucking lunch, but his recollection of what someone he never worked with saw through the word of a third party that testified he never gave it is enough to officially declare Greg Schiano an accomplice to a generation of molestation? Get real. This outrage predominantly stems from one thing, and it's not a then Graduate Assistant's stint with the Nittany Lions two and half decades ago. Hell, 90% of the people that sabotaged this deal didn't even know Greg Schiano ever worked at Penn State before yesterday, but they sure as shit knew that his name wasn't Jon Gruden. The uncovering of years and years of disgustingly deep-seated and actively covered up misconduct in which innocent children were the victims is sure to have some collateral damage. That said, it's ridiculously disingenuous for it to come as a result of a fan base having some delusional, glorified view of their football program that's dead last in the worse of two SEC divisions. In a desperate act that was completely counterproductive to EVER getting a more accomplished coach to accept the job opening that's not nearly as enticing as they think, Tennessee fans flat-out abused (no pun intended) the sexual assault of dozens of kids as leverage in thinking they were benefiting their rooting interest going forward. Not wanting Greg Schiano to take the reins at Tennessee because of some unproven event during his early-to-mid 20's is just barely understandable, as is not wanting him to take the reins at Tennessee because his NFL tenure was a disaster. Conjuring up some fictitious sense of disgust regarding the former because the thought of the latter makes you uneasy is simply despicable. Not only did it come at the expense of someone who is a far better recruiter and program builder (See: Rutgers) than anyone who would even think about taking on that career suicide mission now, but - more importantly - it came at the expense of someone who has the support of those far more "in-the-know" than a raucous internet mob of overreactive college football fans below the Mason-Dixon line...
If I had offered up the hypothetical "The Saints will lose to the Rams because _________________" 24 hours ago then most would preemptively point to the absence of the player whose Defensive Rookie Of The Year honors are merely a formality and his counterpart who came off the bench to spark what is now a recently deceased 8-game winning streak. After watching Sammy Watkins cap off the fist drive of the game with a touchdown in front of who other than the soon-to-sidelined DeVante Harris, the questionable health of Marshon Lattimore and Ken Crawley appeared to be the right answer. Unfortunately, the way the rest of the game played out would have ended up getting you (or I) nothing more than partial credit regardless of what Jared Goff's final stat line might indicate. In fact, you need not look further than the Saints first possession to get a harrowing glimpse at the ways in which the active players and coaches actually cost themselves yesterday's game. I'm all for the concept of catching a team off guard. However, passing on four straight downs when your quarterback is reliant upon a clean pocket, your offensive line is coming off a weak performance in drop-back situations, the opposition rosters the best interior pass rusher in football, and your proven rushing attack appears to be the perfect match for their suspect run defense is nothing more than a fool's errand. I hesitate to critique Sean Payton because his willingness to adapt to his personnel is what has allowed New Orleans to go half a season without a loss, but if his initial game script wasn't a classic case of overthinking things then it was a case of not thinking things through at all. It made very little sense to immediately go into shootout mode, and Alvin Kamara's seemingly effortless 74 yard touchdown dash on the next drive was proof positive of that. Now, one questionable set of downs doesn't tell the whole story, but how it served as a sign of things to come certainly would have gotten it featured in the cliff notes. Hell, the only thing that was missing from that uninspiring display of turnover prone football was a senseless penalty that backed them up even further than the two consecutive sacks did, because a complete lack of discipline rivaled odd play-calling and porous pass protection at the top of the list of problematic play. After the Saints turned it on late to run roughshod over the Redskins en route to a miraculous comeback, many - including myself - assumed that the offense would be the least of the concerns yesterday. Instead, it was a pedestrian effort from Drew Brees and company that left a vulnerable defense at even worse odds than their injuries. As can be seen in the huge chunks of yardage they gave up, they didn't exactly beat those odds but they did a hell of a job keeping it close as the offense continually crapped itself. The complimentary football that brought this team back from the dead was non-existent, and it's no coincidence they looked defeated far before the final whistle as a result. Of course, it's tough to find yourself disappointed in a team that hadn't lost since mid-September. After all, getting to 8-2 after an 0-2 start required a defiance of history so a first round bye and home field advantage was essentially a pipe dream. A loss was probably coming eventually and with cluster of divisional games on the horizon, this probably wasn't the worst time to suffer it. That said, it was the way in which they lost that uncovered pessimism to a fanbase that had somehow found itself unfamiliar. Simply put, there are a lot of things to clean up if New Orleans wants regain sole control of the division next Sunday, and the injury report (that might now feature Terron Amstead in a more prominent role) is only one of them. ------- Also of note: - I know the presence of Mark Ingram makes Alvin Kamara more effective and vice versa, but it seems inexcusable that the latter only got the ball 11 times when he was the only thing consistently working. Don't let the overtime heroics of the former fool you, because this marks the second week in a row in which the hot hand was left helplessly sizzling for long stretches. Discount his 74 yard run and Kamara still averaged over 11 yards per touch. The unit being out of synch didn't help and I doubt he would have been able to overcome the ineptitude of the rest of the offense, but you can't watch this play and tell me if wouldn't have been worth a shot to force his involvement...
- Cam Jordan deserves his own mention. Two sacks, two tackles for a loss, and two batted balls. In the same vein as Marshon Lattimore, his excellence has become a foregone conclusion. The respectable defensive effort was led by him, and he might have something other than absurd stats to show for it if the offense eased the burden on a battered secondary even a little bit.
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