September 2008 Archives

The Raiders fired Lane Kiffin by telephone Tuesday, according to the New York Times.

Here's a segment of the story:

Lane Kiffin's brief odyssey into the bizarre world of the Oakland Raiders ended -- finally -- when his long-rumored firing finally came Tuesday. By telephone.

Kiffin, 33, was the youngest head coach in the N.F.L.'s modern era when maverick owner Al Davis hired him last year. But he fell out of favor before his first season was over and he was fired four games into his second season.

Kiffin's firing has been anticipated since the off-season, but it became clear that Kiffin would not survive the Raiders bye week when Davis began interviewing possible replacements Monday evening -- before Kiffin was let go. The next coach will be the eighth in 13 years. Kiffin is the second NFL coach fired in as many days -- Scott Linehan got the ax in St. Louis on Monday. And last week, the Detroit Lions dumped team president Matt Millen. And the season is just four weeks old.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) _ Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier, who was shot earlier this month, is paralyzed below the waist and has had his left leg amputated, his doctors said Monday.

Rams coach Scott Linehan was fired Monday, a day after the team lost, 31-17 to Buffalo to fall to 0-4.
This just in: The St. Louis Rams, who are off to an 0-4 start, have fired coach Scott Linehan. The only problem is the team named former Saints coach Jim Haslett as interim coach. The  Saints were big-time underchievers during Haslett's reign.
Here's the story from the Associated Press on the firing of the Rams coach

Brett Favre shows he still has it with a career-best six TDs Sunday

Six for Six: I guess Brett Favre still has it. I'm sure the Green Bay Packers, his old team, could have used the six touchdown passes he tossed Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals in a 56-35 victory.
Can't blame Jess on this one: Tony Romo again came up short in a big game as Washington upset Dallas, 26-24. Jessica Simpson, Romo's girlfriend, was no where to be found, so you can't blame her on this one. Romo did throw for 300 yards, but it was a key interception early in the fourth quarter that eventually did in Romo and the Cowboys.
Upset Sunday?: Betting on NFL games has always been a risky business and one only has to look at Sunday's results to see why. The underdogs stepped up big time. Kansas City, which looked as bad as a one-brave tribe previously, showed it can be a tough nut at home, surprising undefeated Denver, 33-19, while Jacksonville, considered to one of the top teams in the AFC, squeaked by Houston, which had struggled during the opening weeks. And who thought the Redskins would beat the Cowboys?
Yes, they are that bad: When did the St. Louis Rams become the Anaheim Lambs? This team, just a few short years removed from being a Super Bowl contender, looks like the Rams teams of the early 1990s that stunk up the Big A. Where have you been guys? We've missed ya.

Frank wasn't the only prognosticator to feel the pain of a bad week. I wasn't exactly Steven Anthony. I'm just 7-5 heading into tonight's game, where I have Pittsburgh over Baltimore. But thanks to Trent Green, I was correct with my lock of the week as Buffalo reamined among the unbeatens with a 31-17 win over the hapless Rams.

Five wins. That's all I was able to pick. And the lock? San Diego beat the Raiders, but no the spread.

Denver over KANSAS CITY
Cleveland over CINCINNATI
JACKSONVILLE over Houston
Arizona over NY JETS
NEW ORLEANS over San Francisco
Atlanta over CAROLINA
Minnesota over TENNESSEE
TAMPA BAY over Green Bay
Buffalo over ST. LOUIS
San Diego over OAKLAND
DALLAS over Washington
CHICAGO over Philadelphia
PITTSBURGH over Baltimore
LOCK OF THE WEEK (straight up and vs. the spread): Buffalo over ST. LOUIS
HOME TEAMS IN BOLD AND ALL CAPS

Denver over Kansas City

Cincinnati over Cleveland

Jacksonville over Houston

Arizona over NY Jets

New Orleans over San Francisco

Carolina over Atlanta

Minnesota over Tennessee

Green Bay over Tampa Bay

Buffalo over St. Louis 

SAN DIEGO over Oakland

Dallas over Washington

Phildelphia over Chicago

Monday night: Pittsburgh over Baltimore

# Home team bold

# Pick underlined

# Lock of the week (Straight up and against the spread) San Diego - 7 1/2 

 

 

 

 

Now that Walnut has expressed its strong opposition to an NFL stadium in its backyard, the commenters on Topix are looking for an explanation. CJ Peters of Los Angeles blames the Raiders for causing all the animosity. Here's his comment:

Lets face it what everyone is afraid of is the Raiders and their sorry team and fans running amuck in Industry,Walnut and Diamond Bar.

Granny Al Davis Still claims Los Angeles to be a fan base of his Raiders since he once had his team here.

Al Davis will move back and then all cities surrounding this new stadium will have a ghetto forming all around them.

Your lawns are green now but wait til those Raiders fans pee all over them and kill people on them. Keep the Pro Football out of LA we have done great without it and USC is the top dog here. who needs the NFL.

It only took 84 losses in seven years, but someone in Detroit stepped up to the plate and did the right thing by firing Matt Millen, the Lion's GM. Fox Sports is reporting that Millen was shown the door today.

This from Bloomberg.com

  Millen learned of the firing last night and was packing his office and telling employees this morning, the News Corp. unit reported without saying where it got the information. Lions spokesman Matt Barnhart didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

The firing comes two days after Lions Vice Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. told reporters that Millen should leave his post. The Lions have the worst record in the 32-team league since Millen took over as president in 2001, and fans have staged protests against him and petitioned for his removal.

Here's an interesting blog post from deadspin:

Every legendary movement begins with one daring act of civil disobedience. As close as I can tell, the Fire Millen phenomenon began one crisp December day in 2005, when a fan was manhandled by stadium security for brandishing a "Fire Millen" sign during a home game with Minnesota. Had Lions officials not overreacted that day, the most dramatic grassroots effort to get a person fired in the history of the NFL may never have been born.

But it did happen, and the beatdown of the "Fire Millen" guy served as the movement's Boston Massacre. It didn't take long for idea to gain traction, and before long "Fire Millen" was, seemingly, the official slogan of the state of Michigan. It turned up on banners, on Tee-shirts, and appeared at Pistons games and on college campuses. On Dec. 11, 2005, the crowd chanted "Fire Millen!" at a Lakers-Pistons game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. A "Fire Millen" sign was shown in the background of a February 3, 2007 broadcast of ESPN College Gameday at the University of Kansas. A web site sprang up. There were marches and other organized protests. "Fire Millen" became the new millennium's "John 3:16."

 

 

St. Louis Rams looked like the Los Angeles Rams in the team's 38-3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday's opener.

So Developer Ed Roski Jr. and his business partner John Semcken believe they can have an NFL team in Southern California by next season.
But who?
Here's a list of five teams, based on Sunday's opener, we would have no problem luring to the Southland. In fact, their current fan base might encourage it:

1. St. Louis Rams: SoCal was home to the Rams for 49 years before the team left in disgrace after the 1994 season. St. Louis, after yesterday's 38-3 lost to the Philadephia Eagles, would probably drive the team to the airport. But would we want them back?

2. Houston Texans: Seven years into their exhistance, the Texans still look like an expansion team, opening with a 38-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

3. Cleveland Browns: Cleveland opened with 28-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The game wasn't that close. I guess the Browns didn't know that you can rush the quarterback in the NFL.

4. Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks almost moved to SoCal a few years ago. We probably could get them today after Sunday's 34-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

5. Washington Redskins: How does the Los Angeles Pechangas sound? It looks like a long season for the Redskins, who looked lost in a 16-7 setback to the New York Giants on Thursday.

Reports say New England Patriots QB Tom Brady is out for the year.

The NFL channel is reporting that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has a torn ACL and is out for the year. The injury occurred in the first quarter of the Pats' 17-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. The NFL MVP was hit while throwing a pass to Randy Moss.
It didn't take long for my famous jinx to hit Patriot Nation.
Steve's thoughts: New England, with Moss, Wes Welker and its defense, is still a solid team that should still win the AFC East, arguably one of the weakest divisions in the league, but I can't see them advancing past the first round of the playoffs. The Patriots went from a team that could easily win 12-14 games a year to one that  will probably be at best 10-6, 9-7.
Their defense is still very good and will keep them in games, and that will allow them to win the AFC East. But Matt Cassell is just not good enough to produce the point totals like the Patriots have shown the past few seasons. Deon Sanders said you can put a fork in them. I won't go that far. They will win the AFC East, but it will one and out for the Pats.
 

Tony Romo hopes to be Super in '08.

The colleges have been playing for the last two weeks, and the high schools got started this week. But football doesn't really begin until the NFL - the biggest show on TV - opens its season, which begins today. Part of the fun of a new season is predictions and here are mine. Expect February to be painted silver and blue with a star on top.

NFC
East   -   Dallas Cowboys
South -   New Orleans Saints
North  -   Minnesota Vikings
West  -   Arizona Cardinals
Wild cards - New York Giants, Green Bay Packers
AFC
East   -   New England Patriots
South -   Indianapolis Colts
North  -   Pittsburgh Steelers
West  -   San Diego Chargers
Wild cards - New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars
Conference championships
NFC
Cowboys over Saints
AFC
Chargers over Patriots
Super Bowl
Cowboys over Chargers
Comment: The Cowboys were the second-best team in the league going into the playoffs last season and have added a pair of Joneses, who should put them over the top. In the AFC, I like the Chargers, who got in tune with Norv Turner's offense by the end of last season, and I expect them to pick up where they left off. Also, don't rule out Peyton's boys, but losing Jeff Saturday is going to hurt them on a few Sundays. In the end, expect a big year from Big D, which should reign supreme in Tampa, Fla. on Feb. 8.

How about these two starters on my team?

David Garrard and Reggie Bush...

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't facing a team that's starting Tony Romo and Adrian Peterson...

How bad is your first week going to be?