UPDATE: Now with spit-tastic video below! And it appears that Channing was telling the truth this time.

Channing Crowder is an entertaining guy, always quick with some harsh words for his opponents. But it takes a unique and skilled athlete to constantly criticize his opponents and enemies and actually back it up on a NFL field week-after-week and, unfortunately, Crowder is not one of them. He’s not even unique or skilled. At best he’s quirky and available to play. Yet that doesn’t stop him from running his mouth and making excuses for pitiful play. Like yesterday, when Crowder and the Miami Dolphins lost a 26-10 poopfest to the Baltimore Ravens. Don’t worry, though. Crowder has an excuse – Le’Ron McClain spit in his face.

After the loss, Crowder told reporters that he was told by Dolphins officials not to talk about the incident, but he went ahead and talked about it plenty. Crowder said McClain spit in his face and then ran away to hide behind his team that was subsequently making Crowder look like a sorority flag football player all day. Crowder also accused McClain of cut-blocking him throughout the game, which explains it all now. Crowder is a victim and I really hope he says something intelligent to explain it all…

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not much of a gambling man, but I have been known to throw down a sixpence or two on the local American football contest. Alas, some men are just better gamblers than I. And while gambling isn’t much of a sport, it still mostly involves the urge of competitive nature, and when it involves a retard dying, then I’m all for giving it attention. Especially when that retard died in my old stomping grounds of Broward County, Florida.

Timothy Jordan celebrated his 46th birthday by getting hammered and taking a swim. One of his friends apparently bet him $50 that he couldn’t swim across a canal. Timothy lost that bet when he died from drowning. You know, in all seriousness, I know it’s mean to joke around about someone’s death, but as a person who vehemently defends Florida as a place that isn’t completely full of morons, this kind of crap just really sets my fight back a few hundred years.

Did he at least die with dignity, Sacramento Bee?

Deputies say Jordan was drunk when he stripped down to his boxer shorts and jumped into the canal. He made it about halfway across when he started struggling.

Divers recovered his body just after 4 a.m.

For those of you unfamiliar with South Florida, there are canals everywhere. There was a canal down the street from the house I grew up in and when I was a kid, my friends and I would try to jump it with our bikes. And it was easy because it was like 6 feet across. In fact, most canals are pretty narrow, so it blows my mind that this guy couldn’t swim 10 feet. But then again, I don’t really know anything about Ol’ Einstein and his swimming habits, so whatever. But I do know that canals are f*cking gross and usually filled with alligators, so great job, TJ.

We here at With Leather are spending the day at the annual Uproxx Labor Day Family Picnic, so of course we’re not posting much, but I just took a break from giving Vince piggyfront rides to bring you a fine example of why having “Former NFL Player” and “Hall-of-Famer” on your resume doesn’t necessarily mean you should have a job in sports journalism. Dan “Danimal” Hampton appeared on Pro Football Weekly and the crew offered their picks for the NFL’s Week 1 action. Simple enough, right? Not for “Dipsh*t” Dan.

When it came time to predict the winner of the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings in their rematch of the NFC Championship game, Danimal – who seriously uses that nickname – said that the Vikings “need to go down there and hit that town like Katrina.” He then gave the camera guy a wedgie, pooped on the desk and challenged a 12-year old girl to a push-up contest.

VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP, BROSEPH!

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a confusing few days for the organizations who inexplicably want the services of outfielder/DH Johnny Damon, the 36-year-old former Red Sox star who has slowly morphed from a player who based his career on his ability to run into a player who’s basing his career on the fact that he used to be able to run. He’s always had maybe the weakest throwing arm in all of major league baseball, and now that his speed has diminished so badly that he barely ever plays the field, spending only 37 of the 113 games he’s played so far with a glove in his hand. The only redeeming quality he has left besides his ‘leadership’ is his ability to hit baseballs, and he’s been doing that at a pretty subpar clip thus far.

Yet for reasons that have to do with nostalgia and the close to complete destruction of their starting roster due to injuries, the Red Sox decided that Damon would the perfect remedy for a flailing team and claimed him off of waivers from the Detroit Tigers. And for reasons that may be even more idiotic, Damon decided to decline the offer to return to a city full of friends where he won a World Series championship, became a folk hero and had one of the best heads of hair in recent memory by stating that he, “Loves Detroit” which is ridiculous because people who live in Detroit can’t even jade themselves into thinking they love Detroit. Maybe he was frightened that the receding hairline he’s sporting now will tarnish the memory of the flowing Jesus locks he had while playing for Boston in 2004.

Johnny Damon is staying with the Tigers after all, saying “I love Detroit.” The Tigers outfielder said before Tuesday night’s game against Kansas City that he decided to pass up a chance to return to the Boston Red Sox, with whom he became a cult hero in helping lead the team to a World Series title in 2004, its first since 1918. The Red Sox claimed Damon on waivers this week, but he had the right to veto a move to Boston because of a no-trade clause in his contract.

“It’s good for us. He stays here and we can play more together and see what happens. We can do a lot of things,” Cabrera said. “We can win more games, we can get more support in the lineup. If he stays here for some reason, it’s because he likes it here, he believes in us. That’s good.”

“These guys really like me here,” Damon said Tuesday, adding that he spoke to each of his teammates individually to be sure he was wanted in the Tigers’ clubhouse. -ESPN

Read the rest of this entry »