Rodney Rogers

He’s paralyzed from the shoulders down after an accident.  I remember watching him when he was at Wake Forest, where he was freshman of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference over Grant Hill, then player of the year two years later.  He was taken #9 by the Nuggets, then did this as a rookie, showing [...]

Only on the Internet

Rick Reilly is sharp, sometimes brilliant, but he’s gotten a bit too clever for me.  I stopped reading him regularly at least a few years before he moved from Sports Illustrated to ESPN.
But I never would have thought to do the analysis that Josh Levin at Slate did, fully uncovering at least one of Reilly’s writerly tics.
Levin reports:  [...]

NFL round-up, Week 13

Steelers 33, Patriots 10: Pittsburgh is built to last, at least better than any of their AFC counterparts.  The Patriots are like an great prizefighter on his last legs — capable of greatness based on experience and guile, but in trouble against strong and steady opponents.  Oh, and Wes Welker got KTFO by Ryan Clark.
Bucs 23, Saints [...]

NFL round-up, Week 12

Jets 34, Titans 13:  No surprise here.  The Titans were due for a stinker.  In truth, these teams are fairly similar, but the Jets imposed their will (more than 40 minutes possession) today.  A few more weeks like this and I’ll reassess my opinion about their Super Bowl possibilities.
Vikings 30, Jaguars 12:  The Jags seem to have [...]

NFL round-up, Week 11

Jets 34, Patriots 31:  The difference isn’t Brett Favre.  But these Jets are different.  No reason to think they’re a Super Bowl contender, but they will make the playoffs and then who knows?
Titans 24, Jaguars 14: Two touchdowns from Kerry Collins to Justin Gage (I don’t make it home tonight).  OK, I’ll stop with the [...]

Real quick

You might have known that Charles Stone III, creator of the Whassup commercials as well as the tremendous spoof above, directed Black Sheep’s “The Choice is Yours.”  I didn’t.

Lavar Arrington’s career wasn’t that bad (three Pro Bowls) but it seems like he could have done so much more.  Off the [...]

NFL round-up, Week 10

Giants 36, Eagles 31: The team with 219 yards rushing and almost 40 minutes possessing the ball generally wins.  True here too.
Vikings 28, Bears 27:  Imagine if Adrian Peterson wasn’t prone to injury.  If he stays healthy he seems sure to go for 2,000 yards in a season. 
Titans 21, Bears 14:  My hat’s off to the Titans, [...]

The stories are the same

 
This week a Midwestern black man in his mid 40s pulled off a big move.  I’m talking about Joe Dumars, of course, trading Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson.  It might not be a good move for this year but almost certainly it helps the Pistons over time.  And Dumars has a lengthy track record by [...]

NFL round-up, Week 9

Some of your team-leading receivers in games this Sunday: Greg Camarillo, Peyton Hillis, Brent Celek.  I am not Mel Kiper.  I didn’t know about these guys.
Colts 18, Patriots 15: Not quite the clash of the titans this match-up has been for a handful of years.  Adam Vinatieri keeps getting his revenge and Wes Welker stays [...]

NFL round-up, Week 8

I’ve become a casual viewer in my old age but this might be fun:
Giants 21, Steelers 14:  Game of the day, lived up to the hype though neither team looked unbeatable.  Lots of hitting.  If the Steelers stay banged up, they could struggle the rest of the way.  And if they don’t protect Ben Roethlisberger [...]