Larry Brown Sports

We already know how many of 2002 Oakland Raiders feel about Tim Brown claiming that Bill Callahan sabotaged the team in Super Bowl XXXVII. Aside from Jerry Rice, it appears that Brown’s opinion is not shared by many members of the team. And it certainly isn’t shared by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who feel they earned the victory.

“You’re telling me (Callahan) threw it, Super Bowl, everything on the line?” Warren Sapp told Martin Fennelly of The Tampa Tribune over the phone. “That’s like being at 25,000 on Mount Everest, and you only got 4,000 feet left, crisp, clear, top of the mountain in sight, and you just go, ‘Nah, I think I’ll just lay here a while.’”

Former Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks said “some things don’t deserve a response,” but added that he texted Keyshawn Johnson and some of his other former teammates when he heard about Brown’s comments.

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Lamar Odom has not been able to find a comfort zone since being traded to the Mavericks. He has made no qualms about the fact that he is still upset with the Lakers over the way everything went down, and that has clearly affected his play in Dallas. As a result, the Mavericks announced that they were demoting him to the D-League last week. They then lost to the Hornets Friday night — which was their fourth straight loss — and decided to promote Odom back to the NBA roster for Saturday’s game against the Jazz. The Mavs beat the Jazz and Odom played fairly well, scoring nine points and grabbing five rebounds.

As you can see from the video above from TMZ.com, Keyshawn Johnson does not agree with the way the Mavericks have treated Odom. He disapproves of the D-League demotion so much that he even dropped an f-bomb in front of his young daughter and wife, saying that Odom should ask Dallas for his release because he can still ball but might just be “homesick.” You stay classy, Keyshawn.

The Cowboys gave up 37 points to the Giants Sunday night, including two touchdowns in the final six minutes. Instead of blaming Tony Romo, Jason Garrett, or Dallas’ typical December collapses, NFL analyst Keyshawn Johnson says the defense is the big problem. Specifically, he says Rob Ryan’s complicated playbook is a concern for the team.

“We can all point to the obvious and say ‘Tony Romo, Jason Garrett, the timeouts, all that sort of stuff,” Keyshawn said on Monday Night Countdown. “Take a look at the defense though. Take a look at Rob Ryan. I talk to some people in Dallas that play on the defense. They say ‘we got too much stuff, Key. We don’t know our assignments. We’ve blown coverages that people haven’t found out.’

“Sometimes coaches put too much stuff in because they’re geniuses, because they’re too great. You gotta know what you got and know who’s who, and they don’t do that.”

It never crossed my mind that Rob Ryan’s playbook was too complicated, but Keyshawn is saying that’s what players are telling him, so you have to believe that’s true.

I have felt that Rob’s defenses have performed questionably. Against the Eagles and Giants, his defenses were burned for touchdowns on all-out blitzes on numerous occasions. Whether the playbook is too complicated or he’s taking too many chances, the point is clear that Rob’s defenses have struggled at times throughout the season.

Even though he’s been off acting as a diva on Dancing With the Stars lately, Warren Sapp still hasn’t lost his magical touch of talking smack. The guy got off some good blasts on the ’06 Raiders team, and some even better ones on Al Davis recently. But as MDS at PFT tells us via Adam Schefter, Sapp may have saved his best blast for Keyshawn Johnson when answering a viewer’s question for Inside the NFL:

(On whether he would ever watch Keyshawn Johnson’s reality show about interior design)
SAPP: Me, watch Keyshawn on an interior decorating show? Keyshawn, I knew you were a bitch. And thanks for making it all clear.

MDS points out that this isn’t the first time Sapp’s taken a shot at Keyshawn. He’s called him a bigger malcontent than T.O., and diminished Key’s skills as well. Seems like much ado about nothing, but maybe Sapp’s just one of those guys that always has to have the serrated edge. And believe me when I say that I’m eagerly awaiting Keyshawn’s response. Maybe he’s just the bigger man between the two children, though Key does have a pretty big mouth too so I am optimistic.

Why is it that Keyshawn Johnson still sparks interest? Why is it that there is a sizzle and allure that so neatly corresponds to his name? Remember when he joined Carolina? People said that he was the missing piece to the Panthers’ Super Bowl puzzle. Riiiight. That sure went well. So what on Earth makes Keyshawn an asset now? He’s a year older, another year removed from productivity. He’s living off the same name and big mouth that led to him getting drafted 1st overall in 1996 (which was the best WR draft of all-time), when he didn’t even turn into the playmaker that he assured everybody he was. Keyshawn now, is nothing different from what he’s always been — a name with a big mouth. And now he’s an unemployed big mouth.

But contrary to popular belief, the Panthers did not pay him a $3 million roster bonus before cutting him. That couldn’t have happened — everyone knew the Panthers weren’t that dumb.

Contrary to widespread reports, the Panthers did not pay Johnson a $3 million bonus April 1. They did pay him $1 million April 1, but that money was deferred from his initial $3 million signing bonus and had to be paid under any circumstances.

The Panthers will avoid a $1 million reporting bonus that would have been due if he came to training camp.

He will be designated as a June 1 cut, allowing the Panthers to spread his cap hit over two seasons. Had he played this season, he would have cost $3.25 million against the cap. Instead, he will count $1.25 million this year and $2.5 million in 2008.

OK, so admittedly, this is all just a matter of complicated finances. But the bottom line is that Keyshawn has been cut…once again…because he’s not very good. And certainly it helps that his “protege” Dwayne Jarrett, is much better. I would take the opportunity to say goodbye Key, but that would be senseless — I know I’ll be seeing him on TV sooner rather than later.