DUIs are no laughing matter. I can think of two members of the sports world who have killed people through their drunken driving. But even after committing a bad crime like driving drunk, Charles Barkley still managed to take the focus off his arrest and gain points from the public with his humor. The man known for always speaking his true feelings told this to the police (the following is from the officer’s incident report)

“[Barkley] told me that he ran the stop sign because he was in a hurry to pick up the girl I saw get in the passenger seat.
…
[Barkley] asked me to admit that she was ‘hot.’ He asked me, ‘You want the truth?’ When I told him I did he said, ‘I was gonna drive around the corner and get a b**w job. He then explained that she had given him a ‘b**w job’ one week earlier and said it was the best one he had ever had in his life.”
…
While being processed Barkley told a civilian Gilbert PD employee, “”I’ll tattoo my name on your ass” if he helped “get him out of the DUI.” According to the report, “He laughed and then quickly corrected himself and said, ‘I’ll tattoo your name on my ass’ and then laughed again.”

I’m having a hard time not scolding Barkley for his arrest, but I can’t help but laugh about this story. Barkley going to get a BJ and that’s why he couldn’t obey traffic laws. The guy’s like a teenager all hyped up on testosterone. And how about that mug shot? Classic, huh?

LSU crushed Georgia Tech with ease in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, 38-3. The team was up 35-3 at the half after outscoring the Yellow Jackets 28-0 in the 2nd quarter, getting short fields on several Tech turnovers. The vaunted Georgia Tech triple option was held in check almost the whole game, with LSU smothering them all night long. So when the 4th quarter rolled around and LSU was hammering Tech 38-3, I had to wonder why they continued to throw deep passes and run trick plays. On two occasions in the 4th quarter, LSU threw deep passes — one fell incomplete. They also had the gall to run a trick play on special teams:

As if to affirm its mastery of special teams, LSU pulled off a successful fake punt in the fourth quarter, with punter Brady Dalfrey running for 21 yards for the first down. LSU led 38-3 when coach Les Miles called for the fake, and Georgia Tech fans booed the decision.

It was a well-designed play that did further delineate Miles’ special teams genius. Problem is, what are you running that for in a 38-3 game in the 4th quarter? Save it for when you need — a close game. I really thought some of Miles’ tactics were unnecessary. Does he have some bad beef with Paul Johnson of which I’m unaware? Sure seemed like it. I hope these teams meet again so Georgia Tech has the chance to turn the tables.

Like many of you, I was shocked by the Mike Shanahan firing. I think it’s because of the strong association he has with the franchise; you just never expect a team to dump an icon like that. I understand the move and why Pat Bowlen wanted to make a change. The team hadn’t made the playoffs the past three years and was a .500 team. Worst of all, they became the first team in NFL history to blow a three game lead in the division with three games to play. Yes, I get all that and I understand how the Dolphins, Ravens, and Falcons proved turnarounds can happen overnight in the NFL. Still, I think you’ll have a hard time finding a finer coach in the NFL, one who can consistently deliver a more competitive team over the long haul than Mike Shanahan.

Even considering the collapse this season, are they forgetting that unexpected and impressive wins over the Jets and Falcons on the road put them in a position to clinch a playoff spot? Did the team not play well to get to that point? Furthermore, as I alluded to earlier, it’s the long term, consistent success that I believe shows the value of Shanahan and what makes him so good. In 14 seasons as the team’s head coach, they only had two losing season. Two. And those were of the 6 and 7 win variety — nothing totally embarrassing. Even when the team was rebuilding with a new quarterback — something that causes most coaches to have crappy seasons — the Broncos were not a bad team. Look at some of the longer tenured coaches around the league by comparison: Jeff Fisher had 4 and 5 win seasons after losing Steve McNair, Jon Gruden had 4 and 5 win seasons with the Bucs, and Jon Fox had three 7-win seasons.

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I’ve heard a lot of criticism of Tony Romo the last few days and I understand where it’s coming from. The Cowboys were hyped up before the year began and brought in even more talent to an already talented team, acquiring Roy Williams mid-season. Despite a disappointing year, the Cowboys still could have made the playoffs by beating the Eagles on Sunday. Instead, they got thumped 44-6 with Tony Romo turning the ball over three times in an embarrassing loss. Much ado has been made lately about Romo’s December record, inability to step up in big games, and his tendency to turn the ball over. While Romo has disappointed in three of the final four games for the Cowboys, I still believe he is one of the more talented quarterbacks in the league who will get over the hump before long.

Let’s start with the pinkie injury. Take that away, the Cowboys beat the Rams and probably go 10-6 and make the playoffs. Still, given the injury, Romo threw for 26 touchdowns and nearly 3,500 yards in only 13 games, many of which he played despite injuries. Even after returning from the pinkie injury, he probably wasn’t 100%, and he got banged up pretty good against the Giants and Eagles to be sure. Secondly, this is only Romo’s second full season as a starting quarterback in the league. He’s still a young guy with a long career ahead of him. In his brief career he’s already shown a great ability to escape pass rushes and make plays, not to mention light up the scoreboard with tons of yardage and touchdowns (36 last year was a franchise record, 26 this year ain’t half bad). How many other quarterbacks in the league have done that the last two years? Not many.

Lastly, regarding this December choking nonsense, the guy plays in a tough division with some of the best defenses in football. Any quarterback will struggle against the Giants, Eagles, and Redskins defenses any time of year, let alone December when it’s hard for anyone to pass. Furthermore, the Cowboys had a hellish December this year playing four playoff teams including two on the road. Their December opponents of the Steelers, Giants, Ravens, and Eagles went a combined 44-18-1. That’s a tough path to the playoffs with defenses that would have made ANY quarterback in the NFL look bad. Yes, Romo threw costly picks against the Steelers and Ravens and fumbled too much against the Eagles, but the guy is still a good quarterback. Remember, Peyton Manning was a choker the first 8 or 9 years of his career, and Eli Manning was still looking awful as recently as November last year. I’m confident Romo will become a better caretaker of the football as he develops and that he’ll grow into a winner before long. Just wait.

So three more coaches were fired on Monday, further reinforcing the notion that there are two types of head coaches in the NFL: those who are fired and those who are going to be fired. Eric Mangini had a roller coaster ride going 10-6, 4-12, and now 9-7. The team seemed to peak in week 12 which is when they won their 5th straight game beating the Titans on the road. From there they went 1-4 to slip out of playoff contention, a span in which Brett Favre stunk up the joint with two touchdowns and nine interceptions. Favre also was playing with a bum shoulder and probably should have ceded the throne to Kellen Clemens if that were the case. While some players pledged their undying support for Mangini, others sang a different tune about the coaching:

“We’re out there busting our butts and (Favre) is turning the ball over,” said the player, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because his comments would be frowned upon by the organization. “You can’t win like that.

“We never got any rhythm on offense. Instead of us pounding the ball with TJ (Thomas Jones), we’re doing all of this other stuff. It’s not just me, a lot of guys weren’t happy with the play-calling. They (the coaches) were always catering to Favre instead of doing what we were built to do, which is run the ball.”

Let’s see, the Jets have used recent first round picks on two of their offensive lineman (D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold) and they signed Pro Bowl free agents Alan Faneca, Damien Woody, and Tony Richardson to bolster the blocking up front (T-Rich is a fullback). There’s a reason I took Thomas Jones in my fantasy league and that was it — with that line they could push people around. Maybe the coaches did screw up by leaving things up to Favre instead of pounding the ball more. It also seems like the Jets are making this move to entice Favre to return to the team. Maybe he didn’t fit in with Mangini and wanted a new coach to consider coming back. Or maybe, just maybe, the Jets want to enter the Bill Cowher sweepstakes.

(quote via FanHouse)

We went over this last season when Roger Goodell said there would be some talks about revising the playoff seeding structure. The proposed revision would ensure that wild card teams with a better record would have home field advantage over division winners with worse records. I’m not suggesting we do away with division champions so teams like the 11-5 Patriots would get into the playoffs over the 8-8 Chargers because I agree with the proximity, rivalries, and interest the division battles create. However, I still wonder why a 12-4 team like the Colts should travel to the 8-8 Chargers home field for their Wild-Card Round playoff game.

In the this year’s playoffs alone, we’d see two changes in game locations for the Wild-Card Round if the seeding were done by record. Not only would the Colts rightfully be hosting the Chargers, but the 11-5 Falcons would be hosting the 9-7 Cardinals. Just merely making it into the playoffs by virtue of a weak division is a good enough gift. Why also reward all division winners with higher seeds than the teams that posted better regular season records? In reality, teams like the Steelers and Giants can come along and run through every team in the playoffs on the road, but it’s rare. Home field matters — there’s a reason why it’s a huge advantage in the NFL. If a team had earned a better record than another, they should be rewarded with a home game. Simple as that.