THE MANSION

Well how does it feel to be Tom Brady for a change. You have 3 Super Bowls, dating a good looking girl, on the cover of magazines everywhere, and considered a stud overall. So what is there to complain?

Well when what got you to the top has suddenly started to collapse and sink, and it is all thanks to the people you work for, I would be ticked off.

The PAtriots have prided themselves on winning in the NFL by using the team concept, saying that the system, not the players make the team a winner. They say they can just replace anyone on the team and have taken a hard-line stance against anyone that wants to renegotiate their contract or is a free agent and generally do not award those players with new contracts. Granted their is a salary cap and it is impossible to probably give ereryone what they want.

Because of this stance, intergral parts of the Patriots team have left. S Lawyer Milloy, QB Drew Bledsow, CB Ty Law, WR David Givens, David PAtten, Deion Branch, K Adam Vinaterri, DE-LB Willie McGinnest have been some of those let go.

Granted, Bledsoe was made expandable when Tom Brady emerged, and Law MCGinnest made expandable by their age, but LAw and McGinnest were long-time veterans who also were leaders in the clubhouse. But losing Vinaterri and Branch were stupid. You cannot afford a kicker? A kicker who helped you win some of the most important victories in your history?

Brady himself got an extension, less than what his market value was based on the promise that the team was going to use that money not given to him to re-sign some of their free agents. Well I wonder what happend? The Patriots have $10 million under the cap and no are 1-2 and look awful, almost like their playing with no heart.

Brady himself has said the letting go of Branch had affected his play. A few years ago when Milloy was let go, ESPN analyst Tom JAckson said the team hated their coach, Bill Bellicheck, in response to the Patriots losing in a shutout to the Bills and to Milloy and Bledsoe. Since then the PAtriots have won 2 Super Bowls and Bellicheck has blown off those comments and Jackson.

But are those feelings starting to resurface? I have never really heard people talk about Bellicheck like he is a great coach. Even old players like Keyshwan Johnson rave at how much they love Bill Parcells. I really have never heard anyone saying this about Bellicheck.

I do not know how much he has to do with resigning these players but I am sure he OKs it. As a result, I feel there will be resentment and a revolt similar to the one in the Giants locker room. If the Patriots are going to go througg this arrogant stance like we can win without you, and we won't pay you, then they deserve what is coming.

As for Brady, hopefully his next few years are not like Brett Favres', because they sure look like it is.

Ryan Howrad and Albert Pujols. Who is the MVP?

I hate the MVP award. I do not know if they want the award to go to the player that had the best season statistically or to the player that was most valuable to their team.

You would think if it was the most valuable to their team, that is the MVP. But that is the most valuable to their team. Does that make him the most valuable to the league?

If that is the case, Albert Pujols should win the MVP. He has 48 home runs with 146 RBI and a .328 average and .430 OBP. He is also a very cluth hitter. The other night, he hit a walk-off right at the moment where it seems the Cardinals are seeming to fade, and he comesin the clutch. Yeah right.

If he is as clutch as all the media types are saying, where is he during this collapse that they are having? One game and people want to give him the award? Please. He is having a good season.

But Ryan Howard is having a better season. 58 home runs, 147 RBI, and .313 average and .421 OBP. 58 home runs people. Rememebr when 60 was sacred? He is only 2 away from that. I do not care if the Phillies miss the playoffs, he deserves the award. HE is the beat player statistically. IF MVP means you have to be the clutch, the official defintion of the MLB Award is the player that has contributed the most to the success of their team.

So if we go by that, can it really be Pujols? No. The Phillies are on contention for the wild card as of today and Howard has been a critical part of the wild-card run.

But the MVP needs to have a broader definition. There needs to be something about the best player statistically being added to the criteria.

Last week I went 10-4 on my NFL picks. For the season that makes me 31-14. Not bad.
Here are my picks for this week.

Dallas over Tennessee
Atlanta over Arizona
Indianapois over NY Jets
Miami over Houston
Buffalo over Minnesota
CArolina over New Orleans
Baltimore over San Diego
Kansas City over San Francisco
St Louis over Detroit
Cleveland over Oakland
Jacksonville over Washington
Cincinnati over New England
Chicago over Seattle
Philadephia over Green Bay

Just heard the 911 call by Kim Etheridge to the Dallas Ambulance and fire department. After hearing it, I don't think it sheds any new light on the situation. I learned nothing new from hearing the tape. Dallas police is now officially saying it was an accidental overdose and not a suicide attempt.

I still stand by the statement I said that this was not a suicide attempt. Owens was probably frustrated with the pain from his hand and desperate to play on Sunday and especially next Sunday, he felt maybe he could take a few more pain pills than what is normally prescribed.

I think everyone has felt when they are sick that if I take a little more than the required dosage, I can probably heal quicker. I am sure there have been people who take a little more than the 2 teaspoons of Benadryl when having an allergic reaction. This was probably it. Because it is TO, it will be magnified 20 times over.

Owens needs to fire that publicist. That was the crappiest job of making trying to make your client look good. 25 million reasons? If he is suffering from depression, money sure ain't going to make up for that. That is the worst publicist since Tom Cruise hired his recent one.

Parcells has probably had it with this. Odds are 90% he will not be back. I do not buy that he did not know of the Parcells situation. It was just the normal spin job coaches give the media who are trying to search for something good to print. I am sure he knew about it and where is Jerry Jones and Drew Rosenhaus? Rosenhaus would have been a better publicist than the Etheridge character. And Jones only releasing a statement through the organization? The same Jones who never met a camera he did not like? Please.

Well it seems something is happened in my neck of the woods in the Metrolex. Anybody else in the woods about it?

According to a report from the ABC affiliate in Dallas, WFAA, police responded to a 911 call coming from Owens' house. In the police report, it stated that Owens had responded to questions about if he intended to harm himself by saying yes. So the police report said it was an attempted suicide.

Kim Etheridge, Owens' publicist, denied it was attempted suicide, saying she was concerned that Owens was acting very different and non-responsive. Owens himself denied it was an attempted suicide.

The Dallas Police Department quickly held a rpess conference neither confirming or denying it as a suicide, saying it was not a criminal offense and the initial report was leaked out and not to have been released.

My initial reaction to this whole mess was "I don't believe it". I just cannot believe that a guy like Owens with his personality would attempt suicide. It does not seem that he is going through any hardships in life. He got his money, he plays for the most elusive franchise in the NFL, and he is getting married soon I believe if it has not happened.

A guy who says that he loves himself cannot have suicidal tendencies. Of course I do not know what skeletons are in his closet. There may be dark secrets that we do not know about. It has been reported that the 49ers and Eagles had recommended to him that he get a psychological evaluation. He refused and was insulted by the advice.

I do not buy the billion bloggers that say this is all a publicity stunt. Owens is a major character but I do not believe he would orchestrate a huge stunt like this to get publicity. If he did, then we have just reached a new low, and a new level of weird. But I don't think he would plan such a stunt.

Bill Parcells sure looked annoyed and I do not blame him one bit. But this is what you get when you have TO. Of course this was clearly Jerry Jones' idea to bring Owens in. I'm sure Parcells had his way entirely, Keyshawn Johnson would still be here. Some are surprised that Parcells did not know about this until early morning. I do not buy that. If you can read clearly into his press conference, maybe he is just wording it where it is partially true. He was asked if he knew about the suicide attempt, not asked if he knew Owens was in the hospital.

There are also some saying if Parcells clearly cared about TO, he would have checked on him or in some way. I am just trying to see if Lawerence Taylor or Johnson were involved, would Parcells, have checked on them. I don't feel that is too strange. Parcells does not strike me as the type to check on his players like that. He probably knew about the initial report that is was an allergic reaction to the medicine and just stuck with that.

Now the big question, do I feel Owens attempted suicide? There are many facts that outweigh the suicide theories. Parcells said last week that Owens had trouble with the medication and became nauseated. So it is possible considering Owens does not smoke, drink or put much medication in his body. The police report? I think many police reports have been filed that are not always portrayed accurately (remember Rodney King?). Owens was also clearly not in a state of mind when these questions were asked. Taking an overdose or having a negative reaction is similar to getting drunk and I think most people will say that drunk people are not in a clear state of mind. I have been to many ball games and parties to see how these idiots conduct themselves. So I can buy that he was not coherent when police were asking him.

As I watched his press conference, I had to ask myself, that this guy does not look like a guy who tried to kill himself 24 hours ago. If this had happened to Hines Ward, I don't see CNN or Fox News would be interrupting their news or showing the story under their main headlines section on their website.

The bottom line is, Owens could do anything because of the baggage he brings, I mean the way the press conferences were packed, you would think it was a state of emergency on the national stage. I mean like Parcells said in training camp is this the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Jeremy Shockey opened his yap the other day calling out the Giants coaching staff after they were pretty much dismantled by the Seattle Seahawks.

The next day Shockey pretty much said he lot his emotions to get away with him and apologized. What does this mean?

It means Giants head coach Tom Coughlin got him in a room and said you better go out and take back what you said if you don't want to be riding the bench or have reduced play for the rest of the year.

The Giants are a team I cannot figure out. Eli Manning at times looks like his brother and at other times looks like he is still learning the job. Tom Coughlin has ruffled a few feathers in the organization and has been called out for his coaching style for first running tough training camps in his first season. He also has rules on what to wear at meeting such as no jeans and no type of casual wear or at least comfortable clothes at meetings. His late policy is still hard to understand; a 9:00 meeting is scheduled but I really want you to come at 8:55, if not you are late and fined $50,000. If that is the case, say what time the meeting really is at!

Last year after the playoff loss, RB Tiki Barber said the Giants were outcoached and now Jeremy Shockey. Shockey to me is an arrogant punk, who does not know when to keep his mouth shut. But Barbers' opinion I respect.

IF the Giants clubhous is questioning the coaching staff, Coughlin needs to open up the airwaves of communication and loosen up. Running a tight ship is good for discipline but it will wear on the players after a while.

Coughlin has a proven record. He took the Jacksonville Jaguars to the AFC Championship game twice with his strict methods. He also won a memorable upset against #1Notre Dame in 1993 when he was the head coach of Boston College. Eventually though his methods in Jacksonville evntually fell on deaf ears and he was let go.

Coughlin had been rumored at times to be tougher than Bill Parcells his mentor, that says a lot. Parcells at least knows how to play the psychological game if there is too much tension, tell a joke or loosen up if he feels it is necessary. Coughlin I guess has not mastered that part of the game yet.

I just ripped Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis for not getting a hold on his franchise. I feel Coughlin has gotten to a point where he has too much of a hold and the players could revolt if the players feel they are not getting the whole message.

Shockey's opinion may fall on deaf ears, after all he blames everybody but himself, but there is rumors that the feeling he had is mutual among some of his teammates. All I can say is as aCowboy fan, I hope it continues.

Another arrest has happened in the Cincinnati Bengals organization this past week. This has not been a great off-season for the Bengals.

If on-field matters of whether or not star quarterback Carson Palmer was going to come back from a severe knee injury were not enough to make this franchise have headaches in the off-season, try tackling a series of off-field incidents involving several players.

LB Odell Thurman was suspended for violating the leagues substance abuse policy, DT Matthias Askew was arrested for resisting arrest, AJ Nicholson for burglary, I still do not understand why an NFL player has to rob somebody, the league minimum must be 5 times my salary.

WR Chris Henry has had 5 arrests ranging from transaction with a minor, felony gun possession to marijuana possession. DE Frostee Rucker for spousal battery, and ERic Stein bach for boating under the influence.

Now this past week another arrest, and bingo the same guy I mentioned, Odell Thurman was arrested for driving under the influence on Monday morning.

Now the question is, does all this fall under Marvin Lewis hands. Is he to blame for all this. I have some experience with this arguement because I experienced this in the mid-90's with my Dallas Cowboys. Remember there were several incidents involving Michael Irvin, Erik Williams and Leon Lett among others. People at that time were quick to blame Barry Switzer. It was easy to blame Switzer. He ran a loose clubhouse with little or no regard to rules and clubhouse management and players were free to do whatever they want. He had the same way of doing things at Oklahoma, which eventually lead to his undoing at the University and as Cowboys head coach.

But I also recall a lot of Tom Landry's Cowboys' of the 70s had a lot of off-field issues. Landry is the opposite of Switzer. Landry ran a tight ship at the Cowboys headquarters and motivated by fear. But the players still got into legal trouble. Hollywood Henderson, Duane Thomas, Bob Hayes and Rafael Stepian ring a bell for anyone?

So how does this relate to Marvin Lewis' situation with the Bengals? A head coach can only do so much to prevent stuff. Hwe can't be blamed totally, but must use his influence to curb the problems. I have not really gotten a grasp for the style of coaching Lewis does. I do not know if he leand more toward Tony Dungy or towards Bill Parcells. But he needs to put his foot down. He needs to take control and hold players accountable for off-field issues.

A player is less likely to get in trouble if he is thinking "how is this going to affect my job?" If a coach is not assertive enough, the thought will not cross the players' mind at all.

More importantly, the other players are watching, and they are seeing nothing being done and soon the domino effect will happen. I mean if a Bengal player can get arrested 5 times and not be held accountable by the organization, then what else can a player get away with? Taking off plays, talking back, excessive penalties?

These Bengals will eventually make the 90's Cowboys look like boy scouts. Rememebr it was about the same amount of players that got in trouble for the Cowboys as the Bengals have had.

Lewis has reportedly have more power than any coach since Paul Brown, so he better start using that power to get his players under control. I feel Lewis gets a free pass because it took him a long time to get an NFL head coaching job even aftereing the architect behind the 2000 Ravens defense, being passed over until almost 3 years later. Also, he seems to be a stand-up guy when talking to the media. But that won't work in a clubhouse out of control. He has also turned around the worsat franchis of the ninties into a playoff contender. Honeymoon is over Marvin, settle it down, or lose the mansion you built.

I have already said I do not get into the Ryder Cup. Bur apparently, a lot of you do get into it so I will try to give some analysis.

Frankly, I do not think any one really cared if we won or not. In fact I do not feel the golfers on the US team care that much either.

I don't feel Tiger Woods is losing sleep because he can't win at the Ryder Cup. Frankly he would settle for 3 more green jackets than to win this Cup.

When Woods surpasses Jack Nickalus for the all-time major victories, no one is going to say "but he failed at the Ryder Cup several times.

I was looking at profiles of famous golfers in the encyclopedia (you know, what was around before the Internet?), and I saw Jack Nickalus' biography, not one mnetion of the Ryder Cup, just his major victories. Same for Ben Hogan. It will not tarnish his Woods' legacy. You think Phil Mickelson is worried about his Ryder Cup legacy? He has got other things about his legacy to worry about.

I feel that there has been an increase of the interest in US sports of late, that we must win at several events such as soccer, basketball and now golf. I do not think it matters. These golfers don't care that much. Maybe a little but not much. They are more concerned where they are in the money earnings than this.

Does this say much for our way of thinking? Are the Europeans more into the team sport than we are? Are we that self-centered that we just care about the individual? That is another problem with this Cup. These players are playing an individualized sport in the form of a team sport and are not used to looking out for the team but themselves. The game of golf has to be a selfish game in order to succeed and it is hard for these golfers to break out of that mentality of me, me, me.

Anyway, it does not bother me that we lost. Just like the golfers are thinking right now, who cares?

Here are my thoughts on this weekend.

1. I do not know what to make of Notre Dame. They struggle against Georgia Tech, blast Penn State, get demolished by Michigan, and have an impressive comeback over Michigan State. All I know is they will not contend for the national championship if they cannot show consistency.

2. Just when I bury Mark Brunell for dead he sets an NFL record for completions with 22 in a row. Of course it was against the Texans.

3. Couldn't find any stats on Mario Williams. I thought the Texans drafted him so they would not have games like the one against the Redskins.

4. Shaun Alexander is killing me in fantasy football. Now there is word that he is going to be out with a broken foot.

5. Chris Simms' spleen had to be removed. I have always wondered about these organs they remove and say we don't need; why do we have them in the first place if we don't need them? I know I am questioning a higher authority or I am questioning the medical field for their diagnosis of it is a helpful organ but not an essential organ. The same goes for Ben Roethlisberger and his appendix. Why do we have them if we don't need them?

6. I can understand all the hoopla for tonight's Monday Night game in NEw oRleans but after this, ESPN needs to tone it down on its Monday Night football promotions. Enough!! Soon people won't watch because of the overexposure. I tell you what, bring back the crashing helmets and play the Hank Williams song before you show the city, stadium and the announcers and not after.

7. Trevor Hoffman is the all-time save leader. I honestly do not know what to say about this. It is important but if Lee Smith, the previous all-time holder is not in the HAll of Fame and Goose Gossage, the once feared 3 inning save closer is still not in it, then is the position as important as it is made out to be?

8. Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady do nto look like quarterback who have taken their teams to Super Bowls the last two years. I think Big Ben is still tentative from the accident and the appendectomy. I feel the effects of the Patriots tough contract stance is finally wearing on the team and the Patriots just have no fire.

9. Interesting fact: The Previous 5 Super Bowl losers have not made the playoffs the folowing year. Seattle is 3-0. MAybe they will buck the trend.

10. I wonder what Tom Coughlin told his team at halftime. Thanks to Deadspin fot his insight: I wonder why the Giants choose to play football only in the second half of games this year?

11. I just cannot get into the Ryder Cup. And by the looks of it, I'm glad I didn't. It has not been a good year for U.S. teams (mens & womens basketball, men's soccer).

12. Kurt Warner has 8 fumbles in 3 games. Matt Leinart is just begging for some more.

13. Interesting story on A-Rod in SI this week. But some insight came in a weekend story from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where the bottom line was that A-Rod ticks off people because it seems what everything he does, it seems as though as if it was scripted or he planned it that way. In other words we do not know the real A-Rod. The guy wil never relax. Should have stayed in Texas, TO would be the talk of the town and not him.

14. Tickets to the Texas Tech-Texas game are sold out after 2 hours on the day they made them open to the public. What is wrong with this picture?

15. I never saw so many penalty flags than in the Bears-Vikings game. Seemed like the game was going to take into 4 hour range.

16. What's up with Bono's haircut? I love U2 but man what happened to the hair Bono?

I did not see the Dodger-Padre game where the Dodgers came back being down 9-5 and hitting back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs. But boy I sure loved to.

People do not understand why I love to see baseball. They say it is so boring and cannot see how I could see a game for three hours straight. This is why.

In baseball, every pitch matters, you do not know what will happen. I loved when the replays of the game kept showing the fans reaction. They were excited. I mean LA fans were excited abiout their sport team not named the Lakers. Man if they showed that kind of enthusiasm to get an NFL team in their town they would have something.

That kind of game can be a morale booster and a morale killer. And the NL west is still up for grabs. Let's ee if this game becomes a turning pooint.

WOW!!! I went 12-3 on my NFL picks last week! I never have done that well. Let us see if I can have another good week. On my college picks I went 9-3. Not bad. I guess we will see if this is another good week for me. Here are my picks. fist with college:

Texas over Iowa State
Baylor over Army
Texas A&M over LA Tech
OK State over Houston
UTEP over New Mexico
Ohio State over Penn STate
Louisville over Kansas State
Notre Dame over Michigan STate
Cal over AZ State
Boise State over Hawaii

Now the NFL:

Washington over Houston
Seattle over NY Giants
Chicago over Minnesota
Detroit over Green Bay (see BH, there is love)
Carolina over Tampa Bay
Cincinnati over Pittsburgh
Indianapolis over Jacksonville
Buffalo over NY Jets
Miami over Tennessee
Baltimore over Cleveland
Philadelphia over San Francisco
Arizona over St Louis
New England over Denver
New Orleans over Atlanta

I am not a Sooner fan. I never have been, never intend to be. I respect Oklahoma. I fear Oklahoma. I have great admiration for Bob Stoops. But I still hate the Sooners.

But I actually felt sorry for them on Saturday. It was only a little bit, and it passed, but I did feel sorry for them.

I do not know how a replay official could mess that call up. Word is that the replay official only had one angle or shot of the actual play and not the feed ABC had. How can that be?

I have felt that the college football replay has been a whole lot better, faster than the NFL's version and have pleaded for the NFL to adopt a similar replay system. But that was really messed up.

I can understand a field official blowing that call. I don't want to hear that the ref is an idiot, when they only get to see it once and we at home or the media see slow motion replay and see it from different angles like what seems 20 times. These field judges do not have the same benefit we have at home. So give them a break.

Sooner fan, settle down. It is not worth threatening this guy's family with death threats or locating where he lives. It just isn't. These guys are human and make mistakes. Don't make this guys life miserable and fearful. You would not want your family being threatened would you?

Who you really should be mad at is the replay official or the people supplying the feed he gets. I do not know what angle the official was looking at when he was looking at the replay. But who is in charge of supplying the camera shots for him? How could we have better view at our home and the offical has only one? He is the one that needs the HD screen shots.

Another point that was made on ESPN was that these officals in the replay booth are local guys, meaning they live around the area where they work the game, in this case, Oregon. Even though I feel if you are a referee, you should not have any bias and I feel most of these officals are too professional to favor a team, there is still a chance that some of that bias could creep in. Why risk those accustations and fly in guys from different conferences to work the replay booth and better yet, get different officials to referee different conference games? I don't know why the PAc-10 insists its officials work all home games against different non-conference opponents.
Change the rule.

Some say the game should not count. That there should be an asterisk or something that wipes out this game. I am sorry but as bad as the game was officialed, we cannot do that. They did not replay or change the outcomes of the band game (Cal-STanford), the Super Bowl, the Lions-Steelers coin flip fiasco, blown call in the '85 World Series between the Royals and Cards and the Jeffrey Maier assisting a Derek Jeter home run in '96 ALCS(Orioles against Yankees). So why should this be any different? Maybe poll voters will consider it but the loss will still affect the BS standings (notice the missing C).

I just wonder if this game is going to mark some kind of turning point for Oklahoma. That years from now, people will look at this game and say "That is where it all began".

Well it has been quite a week. A lot to go over.

I stated in my weekly notes how I felt sorry for Maurice Clarett. I still do. Some might say he is a lazy, no good, spoiled primadonna. I agree. He is.

But to see how far down you can go just makes me feel sorry for you. It does.

Who do I blame for his mistakes? Most of it goes to him. He had no work ethic. No desire to go to class at Ohio State. Most college athletes don't care about the academics anyway, which explains why some get degrees in public recreation or diverse studies. But man at least take the exams or go to class and be a physicial presence.

Also the alochol abuse he endured is the main reason for his fall. The huge layoff from playing football ultimately did it for him. Maybe he uses the time in prison to sober up.

But I feel Ohio State is covering up more than they let on. I am sure they gave the special privilege to Clarett to do what he pleases. The problem was that when he was caughgt, to save the integrity of the University, I feel they blackballed him, tried to make him out to be a troublemaker, damage his credibility, and pretty much let him go loose. I wonder how many sleepless nights Jim Tressel has had since the Clarett arrest.

The NFL also is to blame for its policy. They are within the right to do what they did because the union decided upon the age limit to go into the NFL. By that, it is protected and cannot be considered them denying the right to a job. There is Arena football you know and minor league football. I obviously want the NFL to continue this policy because I do not want the college football to become watered down talent like college basketball and for the NFL to have stars who can't play becaue they do not know fundamentals (NBA).

Still they did deny Clarett entry and who knows if he would be in the kind of trouble he is in now. He would probably be a discipline problem, immature and feel he is above the system but he may not be hanging around mobsters or be heading to prison.

But what is done is done.

Here are my thoughts on the sports events this weekend.

1. The real quarterback controversy is in Washington not Dallas. Brunell makes Bledsoe look like Aikman.

2. The Chicago Bears are for real. They are Super Bowl caliber.

3. The Lions just stink. Hey Roy Williams, shut up! Brag when you actually have something to brag about.

4. Mario Williams has 4 tackles for the year. Don't tell the Texans fans this.

5. I agree it is a great story that the Saints are 2-0 for their home opener in New Orleans.

6. Notre Dame is overrated. Michigan showed Charlie Weis that he still has a whiles to go. I was not a Notre Dame fan like some people think. I just felt an Ohio State-Notre Dame Fiesta Bowl would be the most compelling. Now I am looking at Ohio State-Auburn.

7. I cannot tell if it was the Eagles breaking down or the Giants comeback magic that was the factor.

8. Well if you can't have North Texas, Rice is sure a good opponent to beat up. Colt McCoy sure looked good. Then again it is Rice.

9. I don't understand why the Titans just go ahead and play Vince Young. Go with Young and let him lern on the job, take his licks and learn the process. Just tell him to learn the game and not be concerned about wins and losses. Just do not tell the fans or media that, Nick Saban made that mistake last year. It is obvious the Titans are nto going anywhere this year so use it to learn.

10. I do not like the Football night in America on NBC. Bob Costas was falling behind on several highlights and it is not the same energy that was brought on ESPN's NFL Primetime.

11. These people who criticize the MNF announcers and praise the B team are also the same people who say it does not matter who is in the booth but the game that is actually being shown. So why critique the broadcasters if it does not matter? Obviously it is important.

12. Ozzie Guillen got mad that A's banned alcohol from both clubhouses. Guillen was his usual self, with his macho type you better not mess with me attitude, but the real question is, why is there alcohol in the clubhouses anyway? No wonder there are so many DUIs among athletes.

13. Even though he brought most of it on himself, I still feel sorry for Maurice Clarett. To think this guy was at the top of college football world 3 1/2 years ago and now that is the amount of time he will spend in prison.

14. I think it is fair to question Ryan Howard. After all that has come out on steroids over the last few years, you can't trust anyone. He probably is clean and he has my vote for MVP but in the steroid era, you have to wonder if it is legit.

15. It is amazing what was once a 10 game lead for the Tigers is now a 1 game lead. I still think they will wind up in the playoffs one way or another.

16. The Raiders are just bad. I mean why go out there at all? I mean your own teamamtes are rooting for you to lose.

Well, well, well. Reggie Bush we thought we knew you. As most of you have heard, there is a detailed story in yahoo sports about all the benefits Bush and his family received during the his last year at USC.

The benefits included money for airfare and travel, new suits for the Bush family to wear at the Heisman presentation, hotel fare, plus the famous house that the Bush family stayed in and had not paid rent. Remember, Bush's family moved out the day after this story came out.

Of course when confronted, Bush has his usual respons from April. When we finally see everything, we will able to see he did not do anything wrong. You can only say that so much.

Bush, you say that it is their opinion and everyone in this country is entitled to their opinion. But Reggie, they are not giving their opinion about something. They are accusing you of breaking NCAA rules and have supplied some specific examples of what you did.

If I were being accused of doing something I did not do, I would threaten to sue instead of saying that it is their opinion. Much like the steroid users being accused of in Jose Canseco's book, they have done nothing but say it is lies. But there is not even a hint of a possible lawsuit. Why? Because it is probably true.

Reggie, you look like a nice guy, and I want to believe you but, it does not look good. There is word that an assistant coach knew about your dealings. Also, teammates have said that you told them it could be bad.

You hurt your school, your reputation and your fans who looked up to you. USC cannot forfeit a national championship because the NCAA does not recognize the BCS as an official national champion. But wins can be taken away and PAC-10 titels can be stripped.

But what will happen to the Heisman? It has never been revoked in its history. The group that runs the Heisman Trophy has guidelines saying that winners and participants need to be under NCAA rules and guidelines of eligibility. So if he was not eligible in these wins, what do they do? Give it to Vince Young? You think he want the trophy that way? I hate to be the one that has to put the astericks in the record books and encyclopedias listing the Heisman trophy winners under Reggie Bush's name.

Don't you think it is stange your family moves out of a house the day after it is reported that no rent was being supplied?

Here are my picks for the upcoming weekend. I have also included college picks.

Texas over Rice.
Oregon over Oklahoma.
Notre Dame over Michigan.
Auburn over LSU.
Florida over Tennessee.
Louisville over Miami.
Texas Tech over TCU.
Washington State over Baylor.
Missouri over New Mexico.
USC over Nebraska.
Fresno State over Washington

Dallas over Washington
Chicago over Detroit
Indianapolis over Houston
NY Giants over Philasdelphia
Jacksonville over Pittsburgh
Miami over Buffalo
Minnesota over Carolina
New Orleans over Green Bay
Baltimor over Oakland
Atlanta over Tampa Bay
Seattle over Arizona
St Louis over San Francisco
Denver over Kansas City
NY Jets over NEw England
San Diego over Tennessee

I went 9-7 the first week and I only picked NFL games. We will see how I do this week.

I have had it with the endless promotion of Monday Night Football by ESPN. This promotion has not stopped since they had announced arriving the package. If I had to see another commercial, I would have thrown up.

Even during their bottom line, the small bar at the bottom of the channel which shows the score had an entry for MNF and a separate one for NFL. You got to be kidding.

So how does the new look on MNF seem to be doing. I think it will do fine. But I feel most network executives need to realize that people are not going to watch a game because of the announcers.

The days of Howard Cosell are over. A Cosell could not be around in this politically correct world we are in. The mostly highly rated MNF game happened in 1985, when the 13-0 Bears met the Miami Dolphins. The broadcast booth? Frank Gifford, Joe Namath, and OJ Simpson.

You think the fans stayed up to watch them? Nope.

Tony Kornheiser looks good in the booth and I think it will work. It is nice to have a fan perspective in the booth.

When MNF hired Dennis Miller 6 years ago, it did not work for several reasons.

First, I feel the fans and Miller himself, did not know whether or not they wanted him to be funny or a serious analyst.

Second, when he was funny, you needed an encyclopedia to translate what he said.

Third, the bottom line was, the product had to be good to watch MNF.

Kornheiser is at least a sportswriter and he is funny. He knows sports, he writes a column for the Washington Post and hosted a radio show on ESPN plus hosts the critically acclaimed PTI on ESPN.

With him, I don't think Miller expectations are there. He is funny but he knows how to conduct himself and he does not really need to analyze what is going on. Mike Tirico provides the play by play, even though I thought Mike Patrick was good at it. Joe Theismann is the analyst and does a good job, better than Paul Maguire (Now watch this!)

It will be Kornheisers' job to bring up questions or comments a fan might provide if he was in the booth with these guys. And I have to say he was good during the first telecast. You really cannot go by preseason games.

But please, why do we have sideline reporters, much less two of them. Granted they are cute to look at, but what is a sideline reporter going to comment on?

What the coach said before the game?

What new technique the star player is using to get his rehab going better?

What type of gloves the player was wearing?

What adjustments are to be made at halftime? (Stop making mistakes, score more points, get the running game going again, get some protection up front)

The only thing I see good in a sideline reporter, is if a player gets seriously injured, whether it was the injury that was really severe (back, neck, concussion) or the player who got hurt (star quarterback, star running back, star defensive player), the reporter can probably get the info quicker to the booth than if there was not a reporter.

Just look at the Chiefs-Bengals game, it took awhile for info to be brought on Trent Greens' injury.

Anyway, it is still football and now that it is here, please ESPN, stop the commercials, we get it already! We just have to change the channel.

Well I am almost footballed out. I do not know if I can watch another game. Who am I kidding? Of course I can. It's football for goodness sake.

Ohio State showed Texas why they will win the national championship this year. I know I did not like Notre Dames performance the previous week but I felt reassured after their victory (thrashing) over Penn State. Look for the Irish and Buckeyes to meet for the title.

If only Colt McCoy could throw against North Texas every week. Sure is different when you go up against the All-Americans huh Colt? McCoy showed what he is. A freshman quarterback who played in his second career game. Unfortunately, it was against Ohio State.

McCoy will be fine. This will not be Texas year to win the championship. Of course we would not have this problem if we has a playoff system, but that's another blog. Remember Texas fans, Vince Young was not great his first year. Remember 2003 Longhorn fans? A national championship quickly makes you forget the bad games.

These are my thoughts on the NFL weekend. I apologize for dwelling on the Cowboys but I am a fan of the team.

1. See that behind you Drew Bledsoe? It is Tony Romo lurking in the background. Week 7 there will be a change if the Cowboys record or Bledsoes play is inefficient.

2. Fans and media are trying to hard to read into TO's quotes. They are nitpicking subtle sayings as he is taking shots at Drew Bledsoe or pointing out the"glares" he gave Bledsoe during the game as though as "I was open!" Give it a rest until he actually says something.

3. That was a terrible onside kick. Mike Vanderjagt probably will not be seen again this year.

4. The NFL will eventually look into coaches throwing the challenge flag in order to get the officials to go and talk with them and not to challenge a replay.

5. Carson Palmer looked great didn't he?

6. I still question the hit on Trent Green yesterday. Those rules were made to protect the quarterback and I felt Robert Geathers had plenty of time to stop and did not need to take such a a hard hit.

7. It is going to be a long season for Brett Favre. Probably wish he never came back. Quit flip flopping Brett. You are bringing back memories of John Kerry.

8. Do we honestly need to see shots of the Mannings everytime something happens? Obviously it was not anything no one cared to see.

9. If the Mannings think this game was hard, think about if Peyton and Eli meet in the Super Bowl. I like to see that post-game party.

10. Watch some backlash come from Tom Jackson's comment to Michael Irvin on the Sunday NFL Countdown. It must be hard to work with Irvin, especially if you are Tom Jackson, a professional at the highest, carefully studies his analysis and notes and tries to present with some dignity and in a professional manner and Irvin the exact opposite. . I bet he misses Joe Theismann and Sterling Sharpe. Anyway, when Jackson called Irvin "retarded", I knew he had boiled over. Jackson was harshly critical of Rush Limbaugh for his remarks three years earlier on Donovon McNabb. I am surprised he would let Irvin get to him like that. It will be interesting if the Special needs community will demand an apology.

11. This no way lets Irvin off the hook. I am a Cowboy fan but I hate him on this show. He bases his analysis on what he thinks and seems to not do any study on his work. Irvin defends Terrell Owens relentlessly. Of course. He is looking at a mirror image when he sees TO.

12. Is it me or is NBC having trouble with their NFL broadcast? The picture gets interrupted and at times looks blurry. It happened on both Thursday and Sunday night. Or is it my local affiliate? The other NBC programs had no trouble though. Let me know if you all had trouble.

13. Why did the Patriots have to trade Deion Branch to an NFC opponent? Tom Brady will have a lot to overcome to get his Patriots back on top. Soonor or later, someone is going to have to tell Bill Bellichik and Bob Kraft to pay up the money.

14. I really got creamed this weekend on fantasy football. Should I start Mark Brunell over Drew Bledsoe next week? And for that matter, should I play Tatum Bell over Lamont Jordan? Bell had over 100 yard while being a part-time player for the Broncos.

15. It should be criminal that the Texas Tech Red Raiders are charging $85 a seat for the Texas Tech-Texas game. No matter where the seat is, it is that price. Ranger and Cowboy tickets go less than that.

16. Shaun Alexander is missing his Offensive line from last year. He will earn every yard he gets mostly on his own.

It is here!!! Week 1 of the National Football League. I am all pumped up and ready to indulge in this.

Here are my picks for week 1.

Miami over Pittsburgh
Carolina over Atlanta
Tampa Bay over Baltimore
New England over Buffalo
Kansas City over Cincinnati
Denver over ST Louis
New Orleans over Cleveland
Jets over Tennessee
Philadelphia over Houston
Seattle over Detroit
Chicago over Green Bay
Dallas over JAcksonville
Arizona over San Francisco
Indianapolis over NY Giants
Washington over Minnesota
San Diego over Oakland

I like most of the road teams in this first week. I just do not see many home teams winning.

Report out of Espn.com reports that Bryant Gumbel is cleared of anything from the comments he made about Former commissioner Paul Tagliabue's leash on NFL player union chief Gene Upshaw.

Gumbel commenting on his show Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, closed a particular show addressing new commissioner Roger Goodell telling the new commish that when Tagliabue cleans out his office, to make sure that he showed where he kept Upshaw's leash, because football players do not receive the guaranteed contracts that other players get.

Gumbel, by the constitution is guaranteed the right to free press. He cannot go to jail for these comments. No one is threatening him. No. But these comments have to be taken into consideration.

Gumbel is a different situation because he is employed by the NFL. He will broadcast play-by-play for 8 games the NFL Network plans to televise. So he and any other reporters have to know that when you criticize your boss, you feel the wrath.

I hear various reporters coming to his defense saying it is freedom of speech. But think about this from a non-reporter point-of-view. If I or any of you all were to make public comments about our boss, administration, or superiors, we would definitely be in the hot seat.

Journalists I guess feel that the Constitution guarantees that they can rip anybody and not feel the ripples that come from they said. Ask Tony Kornheiser of PTI if ripping ESPN was a good idea. Kornheiser was suspended for making comments criticizing ESPN during a commercial break on his radio show. The comments were heard on the internet broadcast. Ask Brad Sham, cowboys radio play-by-play, when he criticized Jerry Jones for comments that fans would be more likely to trust him rather than Jerry Jones when it came to matters involving the team. Sham was removed as host of Jerry Jones TV show after these comments and left the booth for 3 seasons before returning in 1998.

Guys, you feel it when you criticize your employer. The NFL has every right to question of Gumebl should have continued on as a broadcaster. He criticized them. In public. Rather viciously in my opinion.

Granted, I know the NFL has a bad union. They do not do enough for retired veterans, particularly players who have suffered injuries that affect them for the rest of their life (see Earl Cambell). Also the guaranteed contract are not there.

If I were Goodell, I would still keep the salary cap, and present guaranteed contracts. But only for a four-year maximum. Anything longer is not guaranteed. This I would feel would eliminate the signing bonuses.

I would also institute a Larry Bird type rule like the NBA has, where a team can exceed the salary cap to resign one particular player.

For the NFL it would probably be two players, considering how big the rosters are.

You are probably saying that I am saying the same things that Gumbel said. OF course I am. But I don't work for the NFL.

It appears that according to an Indianapolis newspaper, Colts head coach Tony Dungy is under pressure to succeed this year and win the Super Bowl or he should be fired.

For the longest time I have felt that Dungy was given a free pass because he is such a nice guy. Some felt this was what kept him from getting a NFL head coaching job earlier in his career and not because he was black.

I have felt because he is an extremely likeable guy that media and fans are not too critical of him. After last years tragedy with his son's suicide, we saw a mass of people coming for support from President Bush to Franco Harris. That is how much of a guy he is.

But let's look at his record over the last four years with the Colts and his six years with the Bucs. With the Colts he is 48-16 regular season record and with the Bucs he has a 54-42 record. With the Bucs his postseason record was 2-4 and with the Colts 3-4. Overall his record is 102-58 regular season and 5-8 playoffs.

The playoff record is what hurt Dungy the worst. But let's say that you looked at the numbers above and did not know it was Dungy's record. Or let's say it was a guy with none of the personality of Dungy. Would you say that this is a record that you would fire a coach by? I don't know but I feel a lot of general managers and owners around the league would love that record for their teams or their coach.

Yes I feel Dungy, does get away with some stuff for being a nice guy. But even if was not a nice guy, he does not deserve to be fired if he does not make the Super Bowl. I mean it took Bill Cowhler 14 years to win the Super Bowl, and you are only going to give Dungy 5?

If GM Bill Polian feels a need to change, I don't feel he will be professional and look at what he does on the field and not his personality. I don't feel he needs to do anything but if he does, he will approach it professionally.

Dungy's nice guy persona will not get in the way of making a change. After all, Tampa Bay fired him.

Well I just did my fantasy draft this weekend and here is how my starting lineup looks so far.
QB-Drew Bledsoe
RB-Shaun Alexander, Lamont Jordan
WR-Joey Galloway, Joe Horn
TE-Vernon Davis
K-Neil Rackers
Def-Bills
I also have Mark Brunell as my backup, and Tatum Bell as a reserve. Right now I am debating whether or not to bench Jordan in favor of Bell. If you have a thought let me know.
We will see if this lineup works. Bledsoe, Galloway, and Horn are sleepers and Alexander is sure to rack up points. I think I could surprise some people.

What a bad summer for Ben Roethlisberger. I mean you almost get killed in a motorcycle accident where they pretty much had to redo your face and then you suffer appendicitis. Don't rule out the Steelers though. Even though there is speculation on Bill Cowhler's contract, Jerome Bettis Antwaan Randle-El are gone, and Hines Ward hamstring, funny how know one really knows about this hamstring as opposed to another certain receivers. It will be quite a year for them if they can repeat.

As the NFL season approaches I wonder about how many cable networks have gotten the NFL Network as of know. As you know, the NFL will broadcast several games on their network this season (8 I believe) including one Cowboy game. Most cable networks do not carry the network. If you have a dish, you probably do have it.

Most cable companies are making the case that the NFL is asking for too much money. Time Warner cable has been in a huge battle with the NFL Network. Let it be known Time Warner is the cable provider for New York City, #1 market in the nation. If they won't give the NFL Network there, what gives me hope that my cable company, Cable One, will provide me with the games.

I just have to wonder, if the NFL wants a lot of money, don't they ask Directv and Dish Network to pay the same. How come they can afford it but the cable companies can't. And on one of those networks, the Channel is available on its basic package.

I guess come December when my Cowboys are on the channel, I will have to go to a local sports bar that carries the channel. It sure will be packed though.

But imagine come Thanksgiving, whether you celebrate it or not, when the Cowboy game is over, won't we miss watching that third game? I have always thought there should be a third game but now that it is hear only 2 percent of the nation will see it.

The NFL has to come down on their demand and the cable companies will have to also have to accept that they might have to pay a little more than what they want to.

NFL carries a lot of weight for only eight games that are being broadcast. I mean nobody seemed to be upset that the NHL was on the OLN even though most cable companies don't carry it, mine included. And that was the majority of the playoffs being carried on the channel.

Cable One has for the last ten years or so provided Rangers and Astros games that are not being provided by my Fox Sports affiliate. So instead of getting 80 Rangers games, I get about 130-140 a year. Also they broadcast the World Baseball Classic games on ESPN Deportes while that channel was only available through expanded digital cable. All this was at no extra charge.
I am hoping they will do the same for these NFL games but this is the NFL we are talking about. Not a bunch of hockey games.

I have not written in a while. Celebrating the Labor Day weekend. Does an extra day really make it a holiday? Is it really enough time to go somewhere? Make no mistake I love the extra day but to make a vacation out of it, I don't know.

A lot has happened this weekend. So let's get started. A lot of college football this weekend. Ohio State looked pretty good. USC also looks good, although I do not expect them to repeat as national champs.

The Longhorns looked good and Colt McCoy looked good. But really how can you tell? I mean they were playing North Texas for crying out loud. North Texas should not even be on the field with Texas. If you are the North Texas coach, how do you prepare for that? Can that coach really think they have a fighting chance? What do you say to your players?

Of course the Longhorns did dominate them which what an elite college football team is suppose to do against a lesser school. Can't win by 14 against these puppies.

Notre Dame did not look dominating. Brady Quinn just did not impress me plus their kicker missed two field goals. Hope the national championship does not hinge on a field goal because they are dead meat if so.

Speaking of kickers, anyone got one that can make a few 30-yarders in overtime to win? Vanderjagt just did not look sharp. I hope we do not have a mark wheelers, Chuck Knoblauch, Rick Ankiel, Scott Norwood on our hands. Surely a kick like that would not affect his head.

The Cowboys defense is looking good and if the offense scores just enough points, they will be fine. I am not sold on their running game, Jones and Barber will share the load with Jones rushing in the neighborhood of 900 yards and Barber for about 500. Jones will have more carries but Barber will have the better yards per average.

It all comes down if we do not have to rely on a game winning kick. Even if Vanderjagt is cut, I would not be really confident going with a practice squad kicker.

TO played on Thursday by the way. It is amazing how TO becomes back page news once the kicker misses two overtime field goals. Still don't know if TO will lstart and I don't think he should for opening day. Owens is not ready to be there and it will not hurt for him to be the third or fourth receiver. Of course, how Owens takes this is another story.

People are just waiting for the first blow-up to happen. Owens does have a little bit more to fight here than at his other stops. Bill Parcells is a Hall of famer and a big ego along with Jerry Jones. Who were his coaches before? Steve Mariucci, Dennis Erickson, Andy Reid, Jeff Lurie, and John York?

Of course, no name fazes Owens. You could have anybody and it will still be about him. You just have to wonder if he cares at all about his legacy. Maybe now he won't but in twenty years will he look back on these days and say "What was I thinking?"

I still have the Cowboys going 12-4. Peter King of SI also has them going to the Super Bowl in his second round of predictions opposite of Indianapolis. His first picks were Dallas against New England.

We will see come this next weekend what happens.