Former Falcons RB Jamal Anderson Arrested on Cocaine Charges
According to the Associated Press, Former Atlanta Falcons running back and current ESPN sports analyst Jamal Anderson was arrested early Sunday for possession of both marijuana and cocaine. Anderson, who was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, was arrested at the Peachtree Tavern in Buckhead, a suburb of Atlanta.
The Fulton Country sheriff's office says that Jamal Anderson's first hearing is scheduled for Monday. He is being charged with a misdemeanor for marijuana possession and a felony for possession of cocaine.
Jamal Anderson Arrested on Drug Charges: Surprised?
Unfortunately, for football fans, Jamal Anderson's arrest on drug charges should not come as a great surprise. It may, in fact, be a habit he carried over from his playing days. In particular, Cocaine use among professional football players has been a pervasive problem for many years.
In their book, Performance-enhancing Substances in Sport and Exercise, authors Michael S. Bahrke and Charles E. Yesalis include a quotation regarding the use of cocaine in pro football in the 70s from former San Francisco 49er running back Vic Washington: "At the time it was viewed as giving the player and edge....We were in a war out there. And using cocaine was seen as a way of getting psyched up to have an edge. I understood it at the time because we were out of reality. Pro football is not reality."
Jamal Anderson Arrested for Possession of Marijuana and Cocaine: It's Not Just Him
Lest you think that cocaine use among professional football players is a thing of the past, consider the case of Denver Broncos defensive tackle Marcus Thomas, who was arrested last year for possession of cocaine. Consider, too, the case of Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Matt Jones. Jones, like Thomas, was arrested last year for possession of cocaine.
Drug use and general untoward behavior among high-profile athletes has been in the news a lot lately. Olympic swimming phenom Michael Phelps was all over the news last week when a picture of him inhaling from a marijuana pipe hit the Internet. And just yesterday, news broke out that, according to a report from Sports Illustrated, New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez tested positive for anabolic steroid use in 2003. And now the Jamal Anderson story is upon us. Indeed, drug abuse among high-profile athletes has been and continues to be a serious problem.
(c) 2009 Associated Content, Inc
The Fix is In: Are NFL Football Games Fixed?
Before you get all in a huff over this, hear me out. I'm not just saying this because in last night's Super Bowl every close call went in the direction of one team, Pittsburgh, and it was up to the booth or the Cardinals to challenge the play and overturn it, this is something I have been working on for years. I had the Cardinals +7 actually as well so that doesn't come into play either.
While the following is by no means a complete list of my findings, they are all pretty solid examples that something has gone amuck in the NFL and something has been wrong for a very long time. While it is said "a holding penalty can be called on any play", why is it usually called at a seemingly "generic" time when few people will notice the impact it has on a game. While others perceive it as just a call in the middle of a game, these seemingly innocent second down calls become drive stoppers and move teams out of field goal range changing point differentials and game plans.
We see coaching maneuvers which make no sense, we see referee calls who seemingly conveniently forget the rules. We aren't just talking about newbies either, we're talking about men who have spent their entire lives around the game. While I could easily write a very large book on this subject alone, here are some examples of some odd things that have given me this conclusion.
October 8, 2006 Cleveland at Carolina
Here is a game that set up perfectly for a fix and something very strange happened that I don't remember much attention being called to it. The point spread in this game was Cleveland +8 1/2, this is an important fact to remember.
With 1:27 left in the game Cleveland gets the ball trailing by 11, 20-9. Browns QB Charlie Frye moves the team down the field to the Carolina 15 where he is met with a fourth down and time ticking away. Romeo Crennel makes a decision to go for a FG seemingly to set up and eight-point deficit leaving time for an onside kick and a Hail Mary, and a two point conversion, while far fetched it happens and that's why the games are a full 60 minutes.
With this being the Browns only chance aside from going for the TD first, maybe get a play in after an onside kick and kicking a long FG, I can almost by it. What happened instead was the Browns hit the FG making it an eight-point deficit and a cover, they kicked it away to Carolina who took a knee and the clock expired. Crennel certainly wasn't playing to win, those actions reek of a man getting eight-and-a-half and was happy when the final gun sounded and he got a smooth cover. Look it up, these facts are all out there.
January 21,2007 New England at Indianapolis AFC Championship
New England came out like gang busters and were scoring on just about every drive. They also were getting to Indy QB Peyton Manning who was throwing balls to the wrong team that were going for sic. late in the second quarter the Patriots were at it again, carving up the Colts secondary and having a chance to put the game out of reach early. The Patriots were at the Colts 28 with four minutes left to go into the half. Brady threw a ball to Troy Brown which took every bit of life out of the Indianapolis sideline, but wait, a flag on the field, offensive pass interference? Huh?
Even so, this moved it back to the 38, but an illegal motion on Ben Watson later, the Pats were out of FG range. Of course they punted, Indy drove the field and got a FG. The result was a six-point swing, less than the margin of the final score of the game. The face and voice of the NFL, Peyton Manning got his Super Bowl ring and was on every TV commercial for the next 365 days.
February 5, 2006 Seattle-Pittsburgh The Super Bowl
This is arguably the worst officiated game of all time as it wasn't even subtle calls going the Steelers way all night long, it was every call and every chance Seattle had to gain momentum. While we could easily site calls from the 2/1/09 Super Bowl, the San Diego-Pittsburgh game earlier this season, or the Kordell Stewart "catch-no catch" several years earlier which finally brought upon instant replay, this peach of a game works just fine. There were three calls which didn't just affect this game, there were three calls which decided this game.
First, was Ben in or not in? While replays clearly showed Pittsburgh QB Ben Rothlesberger wasn't in the endzone, they awarded him a touchdown anyways. Pittsburgh would have had another chance to score from the one-inch line so we could maybe even forgive this as it could have just been a blunder, but wait, there's more.
Near the end of the first quarter Matt Hasselbeck hit Darrell Jackson in the endzone for a seemingly generic touchdown, at least as generic as Super Bowl TDs can be. Apparently this wasn't ok with the NFL as the play was flagged with an offensive pass interference call. This play was shown from no less than 15 angles and revealed not only no offensive pass interference, it wasn't even questionable as there was little to no contact on the play. Seattle ended up settling for a FG.
Early in the fourth quarter Seattle was very much in this game and was diving. Hasselbeck hit Jeremy Stevens on the Pittsburgh one-yard line to seemingly set up a Seattle scoring opportunity and a chance for the Seahawks to take the lead as the score at the time was 14-10. Upon further review, a flag was thrown on Seattle lineman Shawn Locklear for offensive holding. Seeing as Super Bowls have about 200 TV cameras these days, the play was re shown at every possible angle, no of which showed anything resembling a hold. While they say holding can be called on any play, this wasn't one of them.
What followed was a Pittsburgh interception, a few runs and then a razzle dazzle flea flicker touchdown pass that made a lot of people forget about the 35 replays they had just seen, none of which revealed a hold. This put the game out of reach instead of at the very least giving Seattle a chance as they had earned. This was not just a sad day for football, just a sad day for sports altogether.
I have many more examples I can throw out here, these are just blatant. I didn't even mention the Denver-San Diego game this year where I'm still not sure what happened. I have no interest in any of these teams and there is no sour grapes angle to take in trying to dismantle anything presented here. These are just a few of my many observations which tell me something is very wrong with the biggest money making sports empire in the United States.
Copyright (c) 2009 Bleacher Report, Inc
Ravens' Mattison now defensive coordinator
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) -- The Baltimore Ravens have promoted linebackers coach Greg Mattison to replace departed Rex Ryan as their defensive coordinator, according to a person with knowledge of the hiring.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the transaction was not formally announced. The Ravens called a news conference for Monday afternoon to introduce their new defensive coordinator.
The 59-year-old Mattison was hired by first-year coach John Harbaugh in February 2008. Although he has only one year of NFL experience, the longtime college coach was defensive coordinator at Michigan, Notre Dame and Florida.
He replaces Ryan, who served as defensive coordinator with Baltimore for four seasons before leaving last week to accept the job as head coach of the New York Jets.
Mattison inherits a defense that ranked second in 2008 and is traditionally one of the fiercest in the NFL. Mattison worked extensively this season with standout linebackers Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and Bart Scott.
During his tenure as a defensive coordinator in college, Mattison coached 11 players who made it to the NFL, including seven drafted in the first three rounds. He ran the defense on the 2006 Florida team that won the national championship.
Mattison has 39 years of coaching experience. He started his career at the high school level before serving as an assistant at Illinois, Cornell and Northwestern. He met Harbaugh while serving a six-year stint at Western Michigan from 1981-86.
Mattison then spent two years at Navy, followed by stays at Texas A&M, Michigan, Notre Dame and Florida.
Since the Ravens came to Baltimore from Cleveland before the 1996 season, all their defensive coordinators have gone on to become head coaches: Marvin Lewis, Mike Nolan and Ryan.
Copyright (c)2009 The Daily Times
Lions say goodbye as Wake joins Dolphins
The BC Lions Football Club announced today that defensive lineman Cam Wake has signed a contract with the Miami Dolphins of the NFL.
"Our entire organization takes a great deal of pride in knowing that Cam has fulfilled his dream of playing in the NFL. He has been an outstanding member of our club and we wish him the very best in this new phase of his career," said Lions GM and head coach, Wally Buono.
Wake, who came to the Lions as a free agent for the 2007 season, earned the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player award twice ('07, '08) as well as the CFL's nod as Outstanding Rookie. Last season, the he terrorized opposing offences while rolling up a league-leading 23 sacks.
Copyright (c) 2009 OurSports Central
Hey Detroit! We're No. 1!
Now Detroit is getting the pub. First it was Seattle, with its Sonics moving and its Mariners drowning and its Seahawks sending off Mike Holmgren with a whoopee-cushion season. Seattle was the toughest place to be a fan.
Until Detroit was. Detroit sports journalist Mitch Albom has written a piece for Sports Illustrated, in which he decides Motown is lowest down when it comes to sports. Detroit fans have it the worst, Albom figures.
Frankly, I'm feeling disrespected by our lack of disrespect. I'm tired of Cincinnati not getting the discredit it deserves. No one beats us for futile teams or suffering fans or unrequited, Charlie Brown love. When it comes to following the local jocks, we are the Children of Job. This is not debatable.
Seattle? The Seahawks went to the Super Bowl in 2006, They won a playoff game last year. For several years, the Baseball Hall of Fame Of Tomorrow passed through the gates of Safeco Field: Junior Griffey, Randy Johnson, Lou Piniella, A-Rod. We're supposed to feel sorry for that?
On to poor Detroit. When the Motor City's sports are as bad as ours, Lake Michigan will be a wading pool.
The lowly Red Wings have won the Stanley Cup three times since the Reds last made the playoffs. The Pistons won a title in 2004, the Tigers were in the World Series two years ago. The Lions go imperfect one time and suddenly we're supposed to sing operas for Detroit?
"Our football team put the less in hopeless," Albom writes.
Oh, really?
Since 1991, the Lions have 113 wins. In the '90s, they made the playoff five times. In that span, the Bengals have won 101 games and have lived in the postseason for exactly one afternoon.
The Lions were so dreadful, Bobby Ross quit after nine games in 2000. In the middle of the season! Who would ever do that?
Not the Bengals. Nope, Bruce Coslet ditched the gig three games into 2000. And Ross' Lions were 5-4 when he left; Coslet's Bengals were 0-3. We will see you your Joey Harrington, and raise you an Akili Smith and a David Klingler.
One historic 0-fer doesn't afford you the brass ring. True futility stands the test of time. It takes perseverance and a certain reverse luck to be consistently awful. The truly great, bad teams know what it takes to stink over the long haul. Step aside, Matt Millen-ites, and let the true champions roam. Mike Brown will be taking your questions now.
OK. I understand: Albom's SI piece was about more than Detroit sports. Downtown Detroit was a husk even before GM and Chrysler took their places in the bread line. (Actually, the Bengals and Detroit's broken-down automobile industry have much in common. They're anachronistic, poorly run businesses that have specialized in not listening to their customers and producing products nobody wants. But we digress.)
Detroit fans cope with Coping With more than most. Compared to inner-city Detroit, Cincinnati is Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. But we're talking sports here. Our resume is unmatched. If losing came with gloves, we'd be Joe Louis.
The Reds are losers eight straight years. The Bengals own the worst record in the NFL the last 18 years. The once-proud UC basketball program is weaving along Rebuilding Road. Were it not for the machine that is Xavier basketball, and the freshly minted Brian Kelly Show, we'd all be buying scarlet L jerseys at Lazarus. Oh, that's right. Lazarus is gone.
Someone remind me: Did we get the 2012 Summer Olympics?
We're so beaten down by the losing, our coaches and players have taken to praising their own effort. We "compete" here. We're a city of Knotholers. Play hard. Have fun. If we lose, ah well, stick around. We're going for ice cream after.
Detroit? No, my friends. You're crying on the wrong shoulder. Come to Cincinnati, where you're really needed. The ghost of Marge Schott will give you the grand tour.
Copyright (c)2008 The Enquirer
Story of Ravens' playoff win? A great Reed
MIAMI -- As a child growing up in Louisiana dreaming of football glory, Ed Reed used to practice making acrobatic catches over the shoulder like baseball legend Willie Mays.
One time, though, Reed crashed into a mailbox and opened a cut above his left eye. The collision left him with a permanent scar and a reminder of the importance of staying alert.
There were no mailboxes or obstacles of any kind for Reed and the Baltimore Ravens to avoid yesterday in a 27-9 AFC wild-card victory over the Miami Dolphins before 74,240 at Dolphin Stadium. It's the team's first playoff victory since 2002.
Reed revisited his youth with an electrifying over-the-shoulder interception that he returned 64 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Thanks largely to Reed and that play, the Ravens are headed into a Saturday divisional playoff game against the AFC South champion Tennessee Titans.
Reed caught the football, darted toward the left sideline, dodged a Dolphin and cut back across the grain to the other side of the field. He didn't stop until he reached the end zone. It was the longest postseason interception in franchise history, and Reed probably covered nearly 100 yards on the play.
"Like playing center field, but this is football right now, baby," said Reed, whose touchdown staked the Ravens to a 10-3 lead.
And the total distance?
"Oh, man, counting the zigzag? I'm not sure. It felt like the 200 in track. It took a while to catch my breath. I don't think I caught my breath until like the third quarter. It was fun."
It was the first of Reed's two interceptions as Baltimore (12-5) picked off the normally mistake-free Pennington four times. The Ravens improved to 9-0 when the Pro Bowl saftey intercepts two passes or more. It was Reed's 10th and 11th interceptions of the year, his fourth touchdown of the season and his third game in a row with two interceptions.
"No one's surprised the way Ed Reed plays," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "He's maybe the best player in the game."
"The kid's a freak, and he's the greatest safety alive," teammate Terrell Suggs said. "When he got the ball in his hands, we knew that whenever he sees a crease he's going to hit it like an offensive player. When he gets the ball, he's going to go the distance with it.
"We have arguably one of the greatest players to ever play the game in Ray Lewis and we do have the greatest safety in the game. He proves it week in and week out. Ed Reed can cover everybody on the field. When you've got a duo like that, scary things can happen."
The Dolphins, whose ability to avoid turnovers had been a constant theme heading into kickoff, certainly seemed spooked. Pennington entered the game with an NFL-low seven interceptions and Miami tied the NFL regular-season record with just 13 turnovers.
However, six of those turnovers and five of Pennington's interceptions came this season against the Ravens.
"We heard all week that they don't turn the ball over, but we force turnovers," Lewis said. "We did a great job of going after the ball."
Reed picked off two and cornerback Fabian Washington and strong safety Jim Leonhard intercepted one pass apiece. Also, defensive end Marques Douglas forced a Patrick Cobbs fumble that Suggs recovered. In all, the Ravens scored two touchdowns off the five turnovers.
Pennington couldn't keep the ball away from Reed no matter how hard he tried, and was picked off again by Reed in the third quarter.
"I knew he was staring it down. That drew me over there and he threw it a little late," Reed said of the second interception. "I was actually thinking that maybe they won't even come my way. There were times when he was throwing that he would look at me and go another way. Jimmy caught the first one and that got us going. It showed you can't just throw it away from me."
Few quarterbacks have been able to deal with Reed effectively.
He ranks first in the NFL with 43 interceptions and has racked up over 1,100 return yards since entering the league in 2002 as a first-round pick out of the University of Miami.
"He's got God-given ability and he's probably the best playmaker that's ever been in this league as a safety," defensive coordinator Rex Ryan said. "I saw Paul Krause at the end of his career with the Vikings, but I've never seen a guy with his playmaking ability."
In his first game since being named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year, Pennington was dogged by Reed all day and seemed unprepared for the Ravens' pass rush, which sacked him three times.
The Ravens also shut down the Dolphins' innovative Wildcat offense as running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined for just 36 yards on 16 carries.
The Ravens' second-ranked defense allowed just 52 rushing yards, and the Dolphins gained only seven yards on two plays out their gadget offense. Miami converted just two of 11 third and fourth downs.
Even when the Dolphins threatened to make it competitive in the fourth quarter when Pennington lobbed a two-yard touchdown pass to Brown over a trailing Suggs, cornerback Frank Walker blocked the extra point and Baltimore still led 20-9.
A few drives later, Baltimore rookie quarterback Joe Flacco put the game away with a five-yard touchdown run up the middle. The score was set up by running back Willis McGahee's 48-yard dash down to the Dolphins' four-yard line.
Flacco completed just 9 of 23 passes for only 135 yards, but, unlike Pennington, he didn't commit any turnovers and relied on the running game and the defense.
"They've been doing it all year, you get spoiled," said Flacco, who completed just two passes for 14 yards in the second half. "You're sitting on the sidelines, and that's what you expect. You get used to it, and you're asking for it every play. They did it on every play."
ravens 27, dolphins 9
Baltimore 3 10 7 7 - 27
Miami 3 0 0 6 - 9
First Quarter
Mia-FG Carpenter 19, 8:17.
Bal-FG Stover 23, 2:47.
Second Quarter
Bal-Reed 64 interception return (Stover kick), 2:30.
Bal-FG Stover 31, :16.
Third Quarter
Bal-L.McClain 8 run (Stover kick), 7:33.
Fourth Quarter
Mia-Brown 2 pass from Pennington (kick blocked), 13:09.
Bal-Flacco 5 run (Stover kick), 3:53.
A-74,240.
Bal Mia
First downs 16 18
Total Net Yards 286 276
Rushes-yards 33-151 21-52
Passing 135 224
Punt Returns 2-21 2-10
Kickoff Returns 2-54 3-69
Interceptions Ret. 4-108 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 9-23-0 25-38-4
Sacked-Yards Lost 0-0 3-28
Punts 5-43.4 3-44.0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-1
Penalties-Yards 7-59 4-34
Time of Possession 26:34 33:26
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Baltimore, L.McClain 19-75, McGahee 7-62, Flacco 5-8, Neal 1-4, T.Smith 1-2. Miami, Brown 12-19, Williams 4-17, Polite 3-15, Cobbs 1-1, Pennington 1-0.
PASSING-Baltimore, Flacco 9-23-0-135. Miami, Pennington 25-38-4-252.
RECEIVING-Baltimore, Mason 4-71, Clayton 2-16, Heap 1-31, McGahee 1-9, Neal 1-8. Miami, Brown 6-43, Ginn Jr. 5-38, Cobbs 4-55, London 4-38, Martin 3-16, Bess 2-54, Williams 1-8.
MISSED FIELD GOALS-None.
Copyright (c) 2008 Capital Gazette Communications, Inc
Lions Become Loosing-est Team In NFL History
The Detroit Lions have made history that no other team has made or has ever wanted to make: They are the losing-est team in the history of the NFL, failing to win a single game over the course of a 16-game season. Why recap the game? Chances are that if you watched just one Lions game, you saw them all. Really their only stand-out player was kicker Jason Hanson, and they didn't use him nearly enough in my book.
Nothing the Lions have done has made a difference: firing Matt Millen and not really replacing him, trading Roy Williams, or picking up Daunte Culpepper, who, before long, joined Jon Kitna with his out-for-the-season status.
The question now is: Would firing Lions coach Rod Marinelli make a difference next year? I don't think he alone is to blame. Yeah, I feel on fourth-and-short he went for it when a field goal was more promising, and didn't go for it when it was fourth-and-not-much-more -than-goal to go. But lets face it, the offensive line wasn't there for the team. They gave little protection to the quarterback, they missed key tackles, sometimes froze, and stood and watched as tackle opportunities ran past.
Poor third-down conversions, lousy run defense, inconsistent pass rush, and a lack of turnovers have also caused the Lions to achieve this dubiously historic season. The Lions' big question, "What about right now?" posed in their ads to fans, was answered 3/4 of the way in the season when ticket sales plummeted. Detroit is now are forced to reduce ticket prices for next year to keep the audience the team may still have. The Lions have made watching football not much fun for their fans, myself being one of them.
Copyright (c) 2008 Bleacher Report, Inc
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