- Andy Reid must have put the lockdown on Freddie Mitchell's mouth. First, Freddie
(someone obviously didn't give him the note that TO is playing on Sunday, which makes him the fourth option behind TO, Westbrook, and Pinkston. Hell; possibly behind activated TE Jeff Thomason, too). Eagles TE L.J. Smith stated
. It's looks like it's taking a toll on Mitchell's mood, as Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel said
- Quote of the year:
"I can say - in response to the caller from Pittsburgh - because I do listen to the show, that Freddie Mitchell has 22 catches. "He's not a premier receiver. My son in flag football had 22 catches. That's the level he's on. He should keep his mouth shut and catch more balls than fourth-and-26. Score with the ball. Don't catch somebody else's fumble. Be a playmaker, not a player.
- Steve Smith, when asked about Freddie Mitchell on James Brown's show on Sporting News Radio.
- It's rumored that Emmitt Smith will retire tomorrow. I was never a Cowboys fan, but I did think Emmitt was a great rusher and will be considered one of the all-time greats. I did become a fan of his in his last two seasons, although I kinda wished it would have been Barry Sanders breaking the all-time rushing record, and not him. He wasn't the quickest running back ever, but he definitely was one of the toughest rushers the league has seen.
- Donald Driver told the media today that
he expects Brett Farve to retire as well. Not a good idea Driver; let Farve tell the media that himself. You're only putting yourself on the spot if Brett does return for another season.
- I forgot to mention this....after several mediocre years under Matt Doherty, UNC under Roy Williams has been giving out asswhuppins and lollipops. Well on Saturday when they faced Virginia, they left the lollipops at home. As a replacement, they might have handed Pete Gilliam a pink slip. Two embarrassing back-to-back losses to two hated rivals (they lost to Va Tech the game before that one) can't be sitting too happy with UVA's athletic department.
The problem? Gilliam's got six years remaining on his contract. SIX. The alumnis are rumored to be trying to raise money to buy it out. Who knows; maybe they'll have a bake sale or something. *shrugs*
- Congrats to Serena Williams, as she finally showed some heart and pulled out a victory despite being injured to win the Australia Open. I'm sure I'm not the only one that wishes she'd concentrate more on tennis and less on fashion, especially if it's producing crap like
this and
this.
Do better.
- I like Tony Kornheiser on Pardon the Interruption. I wasn't a huge fan of his show on ESPNRadio, as it seemed as if he wanted to talk about everything but sports and for some odd reason ESPN hardly doesn't take callers, which I feel is a talk radio show's best quality (Unless you're Limbaugh, but Limbaugh's show has qualities that no other talker can emulate). All in all, I think Tony is an alright guy.
But he is an ass for
this, as he just trashes Jacksonville for no reason whatsoever. I could see it if he was a writer for a Super Bowl team and he was trashing the opposing team's city, which is a sports media custom for the Super Bowl. But Washington isn't going to the Super Bowl (and won't anytime soon) and Jacksonville is hosting it, not playing in it. Kornheiser comes off as a prima donna for this.
In a post on Sunday about the image of the media I cited an article from Slate.com that talks about how sportswriters featured on ESPN are now uber-celebrities at the expense of the quality of their columns for their respected newspapers. The article is called
Unpardonable Interruptions: How Television Killed the Newspaper Sports Column, ironically written by ESPN Magazine contributor Stephen Rodrick.
I highly suggest reading the column, as it's a great read. Kornheiser and ESPN basketball analyst/Philadelphia Inquirer sportswriter Stephen A. Smith - who's got to be the most obnoxious sports personality today - blasted him for the article, but when you read mess like that Kornheiser's Jacksonville column, you can't help but agree with Roderick.
I wonder if Roderick's going to work with ESPN again after writing this article. As he noted with LA sports columist T.J. Simers, and as I recall the complete 180's Tom Jackson and Chris Berman did after the Limbaugh incident as well as Flip Saunders after the Detroit/Indiana brawl, going against the company grain isn't something the stiffnecks at ESPN take kindly towards.
- I'll have my Super Bowl analysis up by Friday.
