I understand that ESPN The Magazine‘s The Body Issue looks to highlight the human body at its athletic peak, but I see no reason why Oakland Raiders placekicker Sebastian Janikowski couldn’t have kicked footballs with his shirt on. The kicking leg is impressive, but the rest of it reminded me too much of that scene in Mallrats where Michael Rooker dances out in a towel and shows his ass.

Two upsides to the video: Janikowski explaining how he became so good (“Just kick it hard as I can!”) and the reminder that Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion/”Gina Carano for real” Ronda Rousey is in there with him. Maybe they can combine the photoshoots and do a Lucy/Charlie Brown thing.

Ah well, this shoot looks at least a little better than “Shadowdick” Jose Reyes and aiming the camera right up Jon Jones’ butthole.

[h/t Sweater Punch]

According to his wedding website, free agent quarterback Jason Campbell was quite excited to marry his longtime, on-again/off-again girlfriend, Jenny Montes, at the Paradisus Palma Real in the Dominican Republic. Campbell’s massive wedding party included other NFL players like Ronnie Brown, Carlos Rogers, Jacoby Ford and Louis Murphy. Somewhere, Cadillac Williams shed a single tear.

But apparently it all fell apart during the day leading up to the Super Bowl of Campbell’s heart. Reports are mostly vague as to why the couple called it off, so I chose to go with the most ridiculous source I could find, from a site that watermarked the NFL logo.

Take it away, Media Take Out:

Jason’s fiance Jenny is a beautiful woman, and an MTOer. She had been pursued by TONS of ballers, but she chose to date Jason, when he was a rookie and his NFL career was uncertain.

The two met and started dating 5 years ago, and after a long separation found each other again. Jenny and her family were excited to fly down to the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, to celebrate their nuptials. But that was not to be, Jason INEXPLICABLE BROKE IT OFF just hours before the ceremony was set to begin, stunning guests.

How hard is it to create a sensationalized gossip story that doesn’t have Swiss cheese logic? First of all, the two met and started dating in 2005, but if the wedding was in the Dominican Republic on Saturday, why wasn’t the family already there? Probably because they mutually called off the wedding on Friday and he definitely did not stand her up at the altar, according to CNN’s Kate Longworth.

But I like to think that Campbell and Brown decided to run away together. Unfortunately, they only made it 2 yards.

"Seriously, Peter King, I'm here right now. You've got me here."

Despite not having the best of track records and a history of disagreements between the league, teams and city, Los Angeles is going to have another NFL team soon enough. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has made it clear that he recognizes L.A. as the second largest media market in the country, and he knows that he’s missing out by not having a team there. Of course, you also need a stadium and fans, but baby steps, people.

Ever since Al Davis moved the Raiders back to Oakland in 1995, a number of teams have been rumored to be potential replacements in L.A., including the most recent suspects of the St. Louis Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings. But Goodell doesn’t want to upset a strong fan base like the one in Minnesota or six people in Jacksonville, so he’s going with the logical solution – add more teams to the league and screw up the current perfect system.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday night on Costas Tonight: Live from the Super Bowl that when it comes to the national’s [sic] second-largest market, he’s now more inclined to expand than relocate existing clubs … even if it means expanding twice.

“Really, we want to keep our teams where they are, and that’s the dilemma because not only do we have to get the stadium in L.A., then we have to find out how to get the team,” said the commish.

As for potential expansion plans, Goodell said, “We probably don’t want to go to 33,” adding he prefers 34. (Via the Tucson-Citizen)

Of course he prefers 34. Then he can justify putting a team in London and he wins the professional sports space race of being the first league commish to establish a full-time team on another continent. The results will be magnificent, as David Stern and Bud Selig will summon their dark hell forces and reign 1,000 years of fire and plague upon this Earth until Goodell mounts Shadid Kahn’s mustache like a Pakistani Falcor and delivers his NFL faithful to Valhalla. Or something like that.

I’m sure there’s plenty of NFL news and notes to update today, but the majority of games were on Saturday and you’ve probably seen Jerome Simpson landing a flip into the end zone 600 times by now (if you haven’t, it’s here). What you may not have seen nearly enough of are NFL cheerleaders dressed in all of their best holiday attire during the NFL’s Week 15 and 16 action. And I know that most of them are dressed like Santa Claus to honor Christmas, but I say holiday attire because the Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders wore blue and white so they could technically be giving the NFL’s Jewish fans some bigger candles this Hanukkah season.

Among the teams to feature their festive females were the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Colts, Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders, among others. And even the Los Angeles Clippers’ dancers got in on the action, as if to say, “Merry Christmas, NBA fans who stayed up late to watch the newest media bandwagon darling lay a complete thrashing on the Golden State Warriors.” Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, indeed, friends of With Leather.

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It was awfully hard to believe that someone as talented as JaMarcus Russell – the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft – could just apathetically throw it all away once the Oakland Raiders realized that he was a colossal bust and cut ties with him. After all, if a team could just work with him and schedule meetings and practices around last call and his 10 a.m. alarm, he might actually deliver on what we once saw at LSU.

And according to a news source that I’ve never heard of, that team has finally stepped forward. It appears that Russell’s comeback will begin with the Louisiana Swashbucklers of the Professional Indoor Football League. Who says dreams don’t come true? Well, PR people, for starters.

Swashbucklers media relations director Duane Bergeron on Thursday said the organization would not confirm or deny contact with Russell or his agent.

General manager and president Chris Meaux released the following statement through Bergeron: “We are not prepared, at this time, to comment on any player-contract negotiations.”

(Via The American Press)

God, I hope this is true. And I bet that Russell hopes it’s true, too. Think about it – indoors? That means AC, probably a couch and a flat screen, naps when the defense takes the field. And that field is half the size of a regular field so interceptions and 4-and-outs will come twice as quick. Can he play in a Snuggie? Because that would be great.

This part is supposed to be the story:

Raiders starting middle linebacker Rolando McClain has been arrested in his hometown of Decatur, Alabama, for allegedly assaulting an individual, holding a gun to his head and firing a shot next to his ear.

But probably the only thing you’re going to notice is that epic, cheesy, socially-uncomfortable photo of him being led into a police car captioned “McClain smiles for the camera after he was arrested by Decatur police”.

As the story goes, the victim got into a fight with a guy named Jerradius Willingham and, by proxy, McClain. He lost. As he was crawling to his car, McClain held a gun to the guy’s head and made him beg for his life. Instead of blowing his brains out, McClain held the gun next to the victim’s ear and fired it. He’s been charged with discharging a firearm within city limits, third degree assault, menacing and reckless endangerment. It’s the second time this year he’s been present when shots were fired. He’s 22. That’s the picture he took as he was being arrested. It’s funny, yeah, but Jesus.

“I didn’t do anything and am being treated stupidly by these policemen” is the only reason I can see to pose like Norbit in your arrest photo. If he seriously held a gun to another human being’s head and tried to blow out his ear drum because he thought it’d be funny AND posed like this as he was being taken away he is beyond f**ked. Maybe not professionally, a topic that requires tons of editorial columns to assess and over-analyze, but personally and in his physical brain he is f**ked.

[via SFGate]