I don’t think people get bent out of shape simply from a professional athlete complaining about life to the media. Actually, lots of fans out there can appreciate the humanity of it all, provided that the athlete in question is qualified to speak for his team. But what really chaps my ass is when a guy runs his mouth during the week and then goes out to play and totally lays an egg. And I mean total failure without any sort of composure at all. After they talk the talk, we expect athletes to walk the walk.
And this is where Dallas Cowboys wideout Roy Williams failed. After complaining to the media about how Tony Romo throws an accurate ball to everyone but him ["Mom! How come Jason has more ice cream than I do?!"] he went out against Green Bay only to fumble a long catch downfield after dropping a touchdown pass in the endzone. That performance arguably cost the Cowboys the game against the Packers, and it also drew the ire of the Bayou Beast, Terry Bradshaw.
“Dallas lost that game when Roy Williams dropped that pass and then fumbled, too,” said Bradshaw, a cohose of FOX’s NFL Sunday show. “He may have finished with 100 yards receiving, but he’s certainly not worth two first-round picks and all that money Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is paying him. He’s not proving anything.” –Dallas Morning News, via FanNation.
Williams is hardly alone in his mouth writing checks that his body can’t cash. A day after telling everyone how great a player he could be in the NFL, LeBron James sat out the entire most of the second half of his game against the Washington Wizards. James, who said he banged his wrist on the rim during a dunk, watched his Cavs squander a 17-point first-half lead to lose, 108-91. One wonders how valuable a guy like that would be to an NFL team.
Nobody has any problem with a guy that can put his money where his mouth is. But when he runs his mouth in front of the media and then can’t bring his A-game in front of the fans, we’re the ones that end up getting shortchanged.
UPDATE: When asked about James, ESPN reports that Browns coach Eric Mangini said, “I think he should come on down.” Word.
NBA superstar LeBron James was asked about the 1-7 Cleveland Browns last night, and technically speaking, they’re his hometown team. But James wasn’t necessarily upset upset about Eric Mangini or the direction of the team. He just wishes that he could help.
“If I put all my time and commitment into it, if I dedicated myself to the game of football, I could be really good,” the Cavaliers superstar said before facing the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. “No matter what team I was on.” –NBC Sports.
Whatever. There’s nothing worse than That Guy who talks about how great he’d be “if I really put my mind to it,” even if that guy really was one of the best basketball players in the world. If James really wanted to help, he could buy a majority share of the team and then fire Eric Mangini. And after seeing the way that Mangini runs out some of his own players, he might be content to just take five steps in the lane and complaining about not getting calls. Ah, basketball…Also.
On Sunday, Titans owner Bud Adams showed him the bird. Earlier today, Bills owner Ralph Wilson showed him the door.
Dick Jauron was officially fired today as head coach of the Buffalo Bills. This is the same coach that fired his offensive coordinator in the preseason and still hadn’t found a way to get the ball to Terrell Owens. And now, having led his team to a 3-6 record (including a hilariously boring 6-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns), Jauron is gone.
Apologies for the issues today; we’re still trying to get our internet going again. More posts coming. Tomorrow.
Larry Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Bengals earlier today. Johnson said he was just happy for the opportunity blah blah blah. Nobody really seemed surprised that it was the Bengals that picked up Johnson, considering that (a) Cedric Benson is hurt and (b) Johnson is kind of a prick. But there are concerns.
The Bengals are taking a needless chance and risking a good thing. Johnson is the kind of player M. Lewis has spent a few years trying to get rid of. It’s odd he would add a guy like that. The Chiefs are paying him $2 mil to go away. Lewis was adamant Monday that if Benson is OK, Johnson will be a scout team guy and likely inactive on Sundays. He also said he approached Ced about it last week, meaning a bruised ego was a concern. –Cincinnati Enquirer.
The Bengals play next at Oakland next week, which seems appropriate. The Raiders are terrible and they abuse their women, plus that who human sacrifice thing. Wait, that’s not the Raiders. I’m thinking of the Aztecs. My b. That’s the Aztecs, right?
That two hundred fifty large is the going rate of greatness. That’s the amount that NFL czar Vladimir Goodell fined Tennessee Titans Bud Adams for shooting the double-bird at the Buffalo Bills, as if to say, “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.” And really, I don’t think a better $250K has ever been spent. And really, what the hell else could a guy like that spend it on? Two hundred fifty thousand chocolate Frostys? And why the hell are they making vanilla Frostys now? What’s a WHITE FROSTY GOT TO DO WITH ANY DAMN THANG? Shee-it.
Mike Tirico said that he didn’t like the Thursday Night Football on NFL Network because he didn’t like the matchups. Well now that little bastard can eat crow because tonight’s Monday night matchup could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch. I remember earlier in the fall when ESPN was airing high school football from Cincinnati, and it’s hard to see how any such matchup could be worse than the possibly-finally-over-the-hill Baltimore Ravens and the I’ve fallen and I can’t get up Cleveland Browns.
By now, everyone has figured out that Brady Quinn will be starting under center for the Browns. Whatever, dude. The stupid cat-and-mouse games that Eric Mangini plays with his quarterbacks are symbolic of his inept meddling, and the team’s total absence of direction. It’s fun to say that these Browns are a worse team than the ‘99 squad that resurrected the franchise, but it’s also a fact, and at some point they’ll have to blow up what they have and start over again. And that might be the only thing that cleans out all of that staph out there.
Baltimore? They’re old, man. They can still bring it–Cincinnati only beat them by ramming Cedric Benson into the line, and he done broke, yo–but you wonder if they might be in the same spot as Cleveland in terms of what they’re putting out on the field. The difference is that the Ravens have the front office and the younger personnel to weather what might be a 9-7 year. That’s a wild card berth in the NFC; but in the AFC North this year, 9-7 could mean watching the playoffs at home. At least they won’t have to watch this game.
