GarageGabs

Two weeks after after making the Hall Of Fame, ESPN has decided to let Michael Irvin ride into the sunset.  You know the routine, Irvin has been working with the network since 2003 but has ruffled a few feathers due to his off the wall comments.  Of course, ESPN says that this was simply a talent decision.  Either way, Irvin now has the opportunity to chase what I’m sure will be a storied career on the big screen.

I never really had a problem with Michael Irvin.  So what, he always had T.O.’s back, (Irvin was one of the FEW that told felt ESPN was jumping the gun) he thought Tony Romo might be black, he wore loud obnoxious suits, and yeah, he was usually loud and obnoxious himself.  I’ll take Irvin over Steve ‘I have no personality’ Young any day.  Also, I wonder if Michael Irvin would have sat back and let Rush Limbaugh say what he did about Donovan McNabb like Tom Jackson did??  You can’t tell me you aren’t tired of Chris Berman?  I think I lot of people disliked Irvin for many different reasons, but he actually wasn’t that bad of a studio guy.

Breaking: Michael Irvin Out At ESPN   (The Big Lead)

Michael Irvin Not Returning To ESPN  ( Dallas Morning News)

ESPN is reporting that the Chargers have fired Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer 

I just don’t get this move.  Well, yeah I do….sorta.  After losing both coordinators and a couple of other coaches, Chargers brass decided that the Marty headache just wasn’t worth it any more.

Whatever.  The guy got you to 14-2 with an untested QB and no real wide receivers.  Also, everyone knows that Marty and G.M. A.J. Smith do not get along.  The Chargers aren’t trying to hide that this was the biggest part of the equation.  So now the Chargers are left without a coaching staff in what is a very thin head coaching market.  There just aren’t any big names left.  I’ll have more on this later, I just wanted to jump in while the jumping was good.

I know I didn’t.  If you didn’t, it appears you missed a fairly good game as the NFC rallied from 28-14 with 3 minutes remaining, only to have victory snatched from them as time expired.

Trailing 28-14, Steven Jackson scored from 4 yards out for the NFC who then failed on a 2 point conversion, leaving the score at 28-20.  Then, Ronde Barber recovered an onside kick, Tony Romo found Anquan Boldin for a 47 yard TD pass, and finally hit Steve Smith for a 2 point conversion, knotting things up at 28.

Carson Palmer got the AFC over midfield and then was aided as Adrian Wilson interfered with Chad Johnson at the goal line.  Wilson thought the ball had been tipped.  Nate Kaeding came in and kicked a 21 yard game winning field goal, giving the AFC a 31-28 win.

In the “go figure” moment of the game, Drew Brees played just 2 series before leaving the game with a dislocated elbow.  Sweet huh?

Anyway, I wish I would have at least DVR’d the game, I’ve heard that Tony Romo had to do some holding on kicks, I wonder how that went.  Also, this was Tiki Barber’s last pro effort,  he ran for 4 yards on 7 carries, caught an 8 yard pass, and did score the games 1st TD, a 5 yarder.

Ok, I really tried to take up for Sean Salisbury, but now he leaves me no choice.  Salisbury, who has been under constant attack from the blogging community just doesn’t know how to let things die it seems.  Most of us here in what Salisbury considers some “alternate realm” listened to this audio and concluded that he did use the word “jew” BUT he didn’t mean anything by it.  Even Deadspin (Obi Wan to Sean’s Vader) kinda let things drop by saying…here’s the audio, you decide.  Story over.  No big deal, you accidentally used the word “jew”.  It happens, you were talking fast, and a different word than intended came out of your mouth.

Well, Sean couldn’t let it ride.  In a Chicago Tribune Article Sean said the following:

“I said crunch and chew. I don’t know where a Jewish comment would have any place in talking about a quarterback driving down the field. If a blogger heard what he wanted to hear, there’s nothing I could do about that. But I didn’t say anything remotely close.  People who know me know when it comes to religion, race, color, sexual preference, those things don’t matter to me.  At some point you’ve got to defend yourself. We’ve all made mistakes, but that wasn’t a mistake.”

Ok, now he’s asking for it.  No one heard what they wanted to hear.  We all heard you use the word “Jew” and didn’t feel it was a big deal.  Your character wasn’t being assaulted, you were being let off the hook for misspeaking.  It happens.  I suggest that Salisbury actually sit down and listen to the audio himself and see if he said anything “remotely close” to the word “Jew”.  Why not just admit you misspoke?  When you get SO defensive you start to seem a bit guilty.  No one is asking you to say you hate Jews or admit that you care about sexual preference….but you said the word Sean.  I’m sure this story is going to carry on even further now.  Yes, I believe the blogging community has it out for Salisbury….but not nearly as much as he has it out for the bloggers.  The great thing about blogging is the opinions of viewers/readers are allowed all the time, for all to see.  With venues such as ESPN you get your news from their homers and that’s just how it be.

Sean Salisbury Should Probably Relax A Little Bit  (Deadspin)

Sean Salisbury Audio  (Pro Football Talk)

Chicago Tribune Article 

Sean “The Greek” Salisbury  (GarageGabs)

Ok, at this point, I’m starting to feel bad for Sean Salisbury, a guy whom I previously didn’t care for.  First, he got hit with the whole penis picture thing.  Now, it appears he used the word “JEW” as he described Peyton Manning and the Colts overcoming adversity.
Here is what I think he said:

“No need to panic, we’ll nip, we’ll tuck, we’ll go, we’ll punch, we’ll jew,  we’ll do it all, and they nickeled and dimed em, and Peyton made the play when it mattered.”

Profootballtalk.com was kind enough to extract the actual audio, so you can listen for yourself.

I really don’t see the big deal.  I think he used the word “jew” but I don’t think he intended to.  I think maybe he meant to say juke….who knows.  Either way, I bet he gets fired for this.  ESPN is reporting that he said “chew”, so obviously, they are a bit worried as to the implications.  Seriously though, people always complain about living in such a PC world, and now we are ragging this poor guy to death.  I for one, am going to let up on Salisbury.  Everything reported about him has been pure speculation, he’s probably just a normal guy, just like the rest of us.  He obviously has a passion for football.  Good luck with this one Sean.

The Salisbury Audio: Decide For Yourself  (Deadspin)

If you haven’t heard, it appears Donovan McNabb has been a bit upset with the Eagles since his knee surgery. According to ESPN he has 3 gripes, one of which I agree with. Apparently, McNabb wanted to travel with the team during the playoffs, but he wasn’t allowed to because of a team rule. I agree with McNabb on this one, I think you make exceptions to all rules from time to time. This is a time where I would have made an exception if the guy wants to be with the team.

The other two gripes are just McNabb at his McVery best. According to sources that are “close to McNabb” (ummm, ok) he gets the feeling that many of his teammates prefer Jeff Garcia over him. Quite honestly, it doesn’t surprise me that this might actually be happening or that McNabb would be upset by it. I’ve been urging people to read Terrell Owens’s book T.O. for several months now just to get an idea of what kind of a heel McNabb is. Owens made it pretty clear that McNabb HAD TO BE the face of the Eagles. This latest report only validates Owens theory.

McNabb is also upset at how his mother is being portrayed by the media and by Eagles fans for comments she wrote in her blog: Evidently she said something to the effect of: watching the Eagles win without Donovan was “bittersweet”. Hey, Donovan, I totally understand you being upset at how someone in your family is being portrayed…but guess what? Your mom opens herself up to public scrutiny by

A. Appearing in commercials.

B. Having a blog where she discusses the Eagles. Yeah, I’ve got a blog myself, and I am open to public scrutiny as well. However, my opinion or commentary isn’t really all that important to anyone, as I am not related to any NFL stars.

So what happens in Philly? Not much, if they let McNabb go, they are insane. Jeff Garcia had a nice run, but he isn’t the future, past, or present of this team. They need to bring BOTH guys back, with McNabb being the starter, Garcia waiting in the wings.

McNabb isn’t the only person sounding off recently. Terrell Owens fired some jabs at departing Bill Parcells, comparing him to his grandmother:

“I am just hoping his retirement brings promise to what the team has to offer,” Owens said. “This past year was a big letdown. On paper we were as good as anybody we played against every week. The end result didn’t show that. Our play was not indicative of what we could have done. What we should have done. Hopefully, the owner will hire a coach to take the team to the next level.”

I’m no longer going to attempt to defend Owens. I think he is seriously blaming 2006 on Bill Parcells. Well, he might be right. Having known a couple of alchoholics in my life, Bill Parcells was what is called an “enabler” for Owens. Parcells, in his old age, allowed Owens to pretty much have his run with things, and it led to a pretty weird season. Just think, if Owens catches the easy TD vs. Washington, Dallas is seeded higher….honestly, I believe Dallas lost a couple games thanks to T.O.’s lack of catching ability. Not that I’ve ever pointed a finger at the guy, but if you are going to point fingers at coach…well, look in the mirror T.O. I can’t believe Owens thinks that coaching was part of the problem. If you are keeping score that’s Terrell Owens 1, Dallas Cowboys 0.

ESPN is reporting that Lab Results conclude that Michael Vick’s water bottle did not contain drugs.  In the biggest sports story since the Terrell Owens overdose, Vick was suspected of trying to get a water bottle with weed in it into a Miami airport last week.

This new information leaves a lot of questions to be answered:

1. Does the police officer that determined the substance in the bottle smelled like sticky icky face any punishment?  I mean come on, seems like the police would know that they had better be sure in such a high profile case.  If I’m ridin around with my boys and someone hands me a bottle, sure, I would say….“Hey man, this smells like dope”.   However, you might wanna think twice about saying something like that if your comments are going to GO NATIONAL!

2. So, what exactly was in the freakin bottle?  This doesn’t change the fact that Vick had a water bottle with a secret compartment in it that he was a bit hesitant to part ways with. Of course, neither of those are crimes, but really….I’ve never had a need to carry around the old secret water bottle thing.  Is this just a case of the police dropping the ball?  Was their really some residue in the bottle, but to save face they said there was nothing?  Saving face because they didn’t inspect the bottle until after Vick had thrown it in a recycle bin.

3. Does Michael Vick really smoke weed?

If I were Ron Mexico Michael Vick,  I’d want to clear this mess up.  Something fishy is going on here.

Ron Mexico is at it again. I’ll see if I can give you the short version of what happened. Vick was flying from Miami to Atlanta from Miami International Airport yesterday. Apparently, he was told to discard a water bottle at a security checkpoint and was a little reluctant to do so. This raised the attention of screeners who recovered the bottle and investigated it. Evidently, Vick obtained the bottle from James Bond, as it had a hidden compartment in it.

”The concealed compartment contained a small amount of dark particulate and a pungent aroma closely associated with marijuana,” Miami-Dade Detective Kevin Kozak wrote in his report. “The top half contained a small amount of clear liquid. When held upright the bottle appeared to be half full of water.”

The Miami Dade Police have notified the NFL that they are now investigating the bottle to see if it contained drugs. Personally, I’ve got no problem with someone that wants to smoke a little weed or whatever, but HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE!? As an NFL athlete, is it that important to take your bottle of sticky icky along with you on an airplane? You’re telling me Vick doesn’t have a contact in Atlanta? Was he planning on getting stoned while on the plane? Cold he not afford to buy more? WOW.
*Disclaimer* The following is simply my personal opinion, based in no way on any factual evidence…..sorta.

The only logical conclusion I can come to is this: Vick must be a regular user of marijuana. I can’t see any other reason why someone would do something so stupid. The weed must have impaired his ability to think….to the point where he tries to sneak water bottles with secret compartments onto airplanes. For example, have a look at this spider on drugs. The strange activities of the spider go a long way to explain the behavior of Vick.

Not sure why this story isn’t getting any national press. The Big Lead got hold to it, as did the Miami Herald.

Mike Vick is Not Nearly as Smooth as He Thinks He Is (The Big Lead)

QB Vick Raises Suspicion at Miami Airport (Miami Herald)

Report: Vick Had  Bottle With Secret Compartment At Airport  (WMTW.com)

2 comments

In a move everyone knew was coming, Bill Cowher called it quits today as the Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  It’s been widely speculated that this move would come ever since Cowher bought a home in Raleigh, NC in May of last year. It is also speculated that Cowher’s retirement isn’t permanent…it may just be a one year hiatus.  We’ll see.  Cowher retires with a 140-90-1 record with the Steelers including a Super Bowl win last year.  The guy is a legend here in NC as he has North Carolina State ties.  Best of luck to Bill and his family.

Art Shell moved on in a different way as he was fired by Al Davis today.  Honestly, I think this has to be a relief for Shell.  The sides were supposed to come to an agreement tomorrow, but I bet Shell sat down and said “don’t worry about hurting my feelings….FIRE ME PLEASE”.  There is no way he could have known what he was getting himself into when he signed up to coach this team.   No clue where the Raiders go from here, anyone that takes that job has to be crazy.  I would expect most of the Raiders offensive staff to be gone with Shell.  I don’t think John Shoop showed enough in 5 games as offensive coordinator to hang around.  Good luck with that #1 pick.

LaDainian Tomlinson was an easy pick for MVP as he gathered 44 of 50 possible votes. Drew Brees earned 4, and Peyton Manning 2. The winner is determined by a panel of national broadcasters and sportswriters. I’d seriously like to sit down and have a talking to with any of the folks that didn’t vote for L.T. Not only did Tomlinson have perhaps what is the best season in NFL history by a running back, he also led the Chargers to a 14-2 record, tops in the NFL. Of course, a lot can be said for the importance of Manning and Brees to their respective teams but this was a special year for L.T.

In other NFL news Chad Pennington won the NFL comeback player of the year award.