Monday, September 15, 2008, 08:57 PM EST [General]
Bengals moves * Signed CB Geoffrey Pope to the roster from the Bengals practice squad. Pope (6-0, 186; Howard) is a first-year NFL player. He spent most of last season on the N.Y. Giants practice squad, and played in two postseason games for New York after being signed to the roster following the conclusion of the regular season. He was waived by the Giants in ’08 final roster cuts and was signed to the Bengals practice squad on Sept. 3. * Waived G Frank Davis, a third-year player from South Florida. Davis joined the Bengals on Aug. 31 as a waiver acquisition from Detroit. He was a game day inactive for the first two games. The Bengals today made the following practice squad moves: * Signed LB Abdul Hodge (6-0, 236), a third-year player from Iowa. Hodge entered the NFL in 2006 as a third-round draft choice of Green Bay. He played in eight Packers games in ’06 and was on Green Bay’s Reserve/Injured list (knee) last season. He played in all four Packers 2008 preseason games (20 tackles) and was waived by Green Bay on Sept. 1.
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Mac is back with Clones CINCINNATI, Ohio – The 2008 Kelly Cup champion Cincinnati Cyclones announced this afternoon that they have agreed to terms with defenseman Matt Macdonald for the 2008-09 season. The Cyclones are the ECHL affiliate for the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators. Macdonald, 25, played in 34 regular season games for the Cyclones a year ago, notching three goals and eleven assist for 18 points, 68 penalty minutes and a +15 plus/minus rating. Matt also spent 22 games with Rockford (AHL), collecting two assists and 39 penalty minutes for the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) top affiliate. He also played in all 22 Kelly Cup playoff games for the champion Cyclones, registering two goals and six assists for eight points, 39 penalty minutes and a +3 plus/minus rating.
Marvin quotes: As much as things change, they stay the same
"..... to be inconsistent on offense, to be inconsistent on defense and obviously special teams ... we lost as a football team today." September 14, 2008
"We need to make sure that we continue to work on things. "We've got to do a better job.-December 15, 2007
"We did some good things, but not enough." November 4, 2007
"We have to do better" October 14, 2007
"I think in all three phases, and I told our guys this, we need to execute and play better." "September 23, 2007
"Obviously, it was not a very good performance. We didn't play well in any of the three phases." September 16, 2007
"I don't have much to say, other than that we didn't play good enough in any area to win this football game." October 1, 2006
"We did some good things at times, but whether it be offense, defense, special teams, and we didn't get it done." Oct 15, 2007
"It was there for the taking. We are just not consistent. " December 24, 2006
"I don't know if we played good enough in any phase. We did not play to the standard, and that's my fault. We'll get it fixed and move forward." December 31, 2006
"We are not being consistent....and we need to do a better job" November 5, 2006
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Show preview Guest Tom Browning, 20-year anniversary of perfect game Brian Kelly Topics Bengals: The stages of fan grief College football: UC and OSU fans....who do you want as your QB? Pefection: Were you at Tom Browning's perfect game? Risky Business: Tuesday is the 25th anniversary DVD release of a great movie Who Am I?
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Did you know? Brian Kelly's Grand Valley St Lakers were D-2's most penalized team during his final four season. Last year, UC was an NCAA worst in penalties (9.4) and yardage (79.1) per game. In three games this year UC has been flagged for 19 penalties for 170 yards.-ESPN The Magazine
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Steelers' bark as big as bite Pittsburgh Post Gazette Most of the Steelers ignored the taunts from Cleveland's great unwashed and went about their warm-ups at the end of the stadium near the infamous Dawg Pound. Not Foote and linebacker James Farrior. They moseyed over and gave the business right back to the, for lack of a better word, dawgs.
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Three elements fuse Giants' backfield NY Times Derrick Ward did not hang around the Giants' locker room long enough Monday afternoon to participate in the great Earth, Wind and Fire debate. Ward dressed and left so quickly, his teammates laughed at his expense.
Bengals biggest dog of this week Bengals are a 13 point underdog to the Giants Sunday
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Next two games are most important of Crennel's career Cleveland Plain Dealer If the Browns are to have any chance of making the playoffs, they have to win this week in Baltimore and the following week at Cin cinnati.
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I'm jealous Did you catch Monday Night Football? Wow. Cowboys 41 Eagles 37. As the game ended Jerry Jones threw a fist into the air and the crowd stood and cheered and the music blared. The two teams combined for 78 points, including 54 in the first half. The level of play and intensity was light years beyond the brand of football the Bengals play. Anyone else notice the abilities of Tony Romo and Donovan McNabb to create and keep plays alive? By comparison, Carson Palmer looks like a rusty robot in need of being oiled.
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That other WR Eagles WR DeSean Jackson had 6 catches for 110 yards last night. He becomes the 2nd WR in NFL history (Don Looney) to begin his career with back to back 100-yard games. He did have a brain cramp. He celebrated a TD by dropping the football prior to crossing the goal line. Comparison of the day DeSean Jackson, Cal, 2nd round, pick 49: 12 catches 216 yards, 10 punt returns 109 yards Jerome Simpson, C.C.,2nd round, pick 46: 0 catches 0 yards, 0 punt returns 0 yards
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Want to figure out a QB Rating? Here is the calculator
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Stages of grief From listener Robert I have gone through all 5 stages of grief already this year with the Bengals 1. Denial: * Example - Training Camp/Preseason.... "Wait till the season starts".... "Wait till everyone gets healthy" 2. Anger: * Example - Me screaming profanities at the TV while watching the Ravens game 3. Bargaining: * Example - "Lets just get a few wins this year" 4. Depression: * Example - "I don't want to go on Sunday".... "I Just don't care anymore"... "I wish the Bengals would leave town" 5. Acceptance: * Example - "It's going to be OK."; "I will still go and enjoy the games and not waste the tickets I bought".. "Its not going to bother me, they really are that bad"
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Classic Casey moment We were discussing what to do with our shattered patio table on the back porch. Casey walks in and says, "Hey dad, remember...if it breaks or cracks call Jack's. He remembered the jingle played after foul balls at the Florence Freedom games.
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Very cool From listener Michael "I wanted to forward you this picture of Rich Franklin, Tim Sylvia, and me onboard the USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76). It was really nice of these guys to come out and visit us in the Indian Ocean. Rich was very nice and took time to take a lot of pictures. Keep up the good work." Michael Land - Cincinnati, Ohio -McNicholas High School Graduate 95'
Monday, September 15, 2008, 01:11 PM EST [General]
Football according to Marvin "If Carson didn't have the two interceptions his QB rating would have been over 100"
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I'm here Wow! What a 24-hours. No power in our area of Independence. I drove around the area and it's like TV show Jericho....quiet and bizzare. I did find a Marathon/Kwik Mart down the road. I
got gas for $4.20 a gallon. No ice...no milk...no bread. BUT.....when
all else fails....and all else is picked over....what remains? HOSTEES
FRUIT PIES. I grabbed them off the shelf! I got peach, apple AND
chocolate. MMM MMMM. The Bob Evans on route 17 is open.....and packed. I swear, the world will end, and Bob Evans will still be packed with people eating the chicken fried steak. Sunday was unreal. The tree in our front yard
was split in half. The back patio glass table was picked up and thrown,
shattering into a million pieces. We watched the shingles raise up and
down in waves on our roof. It's the first time I've ever feared the
roof of the house was coming off. We used candles and then had flashlights to get thru the night. Kids were happy....they have ice cream for dinner. Hey, use it or lose it. I fired up the grill this morning and fixed the JTM burgers we had in the freezer....together again! This morning I realized our CBS fantasy baseball league was in trouble. The
championship is this week. I needed to go in and set the matchup before
the afternoon games began today. Thankfully Dan Clasgens had power and
was able to enter the system under my codes and set the finals.
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Carson perspective Carson Palmer's QB rating is 37.1.......32nd in the NFL His QB rating over his last 10 games is 77....for comparison......last season the following QB's had a rating of 77....Jason Campbell and Joey Harrington
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Last 3 QB's to beat the Bengals Shaun Hill, 49'ers....week 14 last year Joe Flacco, Ravens...week 1 this year Kerry Collins, Titans...week 2 this yea
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What they are saying about the Bengals
I feel bad for quarterback Carson Palmer. In his last 10 games played,
his quarterback rating is 77. He's averaging only 6.57 yards per pass attempt-Mike Lombardi, CNNSI
5 Things I don't like: 3. Cincinnati's offense, and I use that term loosely. I think I'll add
Marvin Lewis to the list of coaches who can start contacting realtors.-Clarke Judge, CBS Sports Bottom 5 32. St. Louis 31. Cincinnati 30. Kansas City 29. Miami 28. Detroit
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Up next: Giants.....they batter the Rams NY Daily News Luck seemed to have little to do with the Giants' most complete and dominant
performance in several years, and their biggest blowout on the road since they
won 35-7 at Detroit on Oct. 27, 1996. In winning their 12th straight away from
home, they outgained the Rams 441 yards to 201. In fact, the entire Rams team
didn't have as many yards as the Giants' three-headed "Earth, Wind and Fire"
backfield. Running backs Brandon Jacobs (15 carries, 93 yards), Derrick Ward
(8-58), and Ahmad Bradshaw (5-52, two touchdowns) combined for 203.
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Giants's RB attack three times as lethal NY Post "We pound them, then they say 'Who the hell is this quick guy?' " said Jacobs.
"We're Earth, Wind and Fire. That's Derrick's creation. Pretty good, huh?"
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Shonert's play calling builds confidence The Buffalo News it also helps to have a coordinator with an intuitive feel for the job, a guy with a clear offensive vision, an aggressive, resourceful mind, and the knack for putting his players in the position to succeed. You've watched the games. You know what I'm talking about. There's a different feel to the Bills' offense, a sense of clarity and purpose. The Bills have essentially the same offensive players as a year ago, but Schonert is liberating their talents, rather than suffocating them.
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Bengals offense was in tatters before Sunday John Clay, Lexington Herald Leader Quiz question: Whatever happened to the Cincinnati Bengals offense? Once feared, it has all but disappeared.
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What they are saying in Nashville The Tennessean "He was getting rid of the ball," said defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, who
bounced back from a mild concussion last week. "He didn't want to get hit. That
was one of the game plans."
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Boeckman or Pryor shouldn't be tough call Bob Hunter, Columbus Dispatch It may make a few people in the Buckeyes locker room uneasy, most notably coach
Jim Tressel, but there would be no controversy. Pryor, an all-world talent,
showed Saturday night against USC that he is ready, maybe not to run all of the
plays Boeckman does, or to read defenses the way Boeckman does, or to hang with
the upperclassmen the way Boeckman does, but ready to help the Buckeyes regain
some of their lost national respect.
Sunday night's prime-time football at the lakefront was among the most agonizing
of the lot and not only because it carried the hope of identifying the Browns to
a national audience as the new sheriff in the AFC North.
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OSU out of its league vs USC Herb Gould, Chicago Sun Times Humiliated 35-3 by USC on Saturday night, the Buckeyes need to pick up the
pieces. Returning to this season's title game is the last of their concerns
after they were exposed by the Trojans, who look like they'll be a difficult
team to stop.
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BTN adds OSU-Minnesota game
CHICAGO – The Big Ten Network announced today that it will televise the Minnesota-Ohio State football game on Saturday, Sept. 27. The game will kick off at noon ET at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Thom Brennaman will call the action with analysts Charles Davis and Glen Mason and sideline reporter Charissa Thompson. Mason, a 1972 Ohio State graduate and former Buckeyes assistant coach, was the head coach at Minnesota from 1997-2006 and led the Golden Gophers to seven bowl games.
It's the first-ever weekly honor for Hartline, who in his third start at
quarterback completed 28-of-47 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns in the
Wildcats' 20-14 win against Middle Tennessee.
Saturday, September 13, 2008, 08:46 AM EST [General]
Got a team?
The 1530 HOMER/Team Fitz Graphics HS Team Of The Week I'm taking your email nominations. Tell me why your HS football team is deserving for the week. Did they pull off an upset? Beat a rival? Tell me who they played, score, record, coach, etc. I will accept email nominations until 6pm each Monday. I will announce the winning team each Tuesday. The chosen team will recieve a 4ft by 6ft 1530 HOMER/Team Fitz Graphics Team Of The Week banner for their lockerroom. I will only accept emails sent to the address to the right, by my photo.
Thursday, September 11, 2008, 08:07 PM EST [General]
Write the headline Give me a headline for Monday's Enquirer after Bengals vs Titans. Post your headline on the right side in the comments section.
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From the gamenotes The series The Bengals have played the Titans (Oilers) 71 times....the 2nd most played opponent in franchise history. They have played Pittsburgh 76 times. Over the 71 games, the Bengals and Titans are seperated by just 17 total points. Bengals: 1670 points scored Titans: 1653 points scored Carson's last two games vs Titans Last season: 32 of 38 passing (84.2%) 2005 season: 27 of 33 passing (81.8%) Uni watch The Bengals will wear white jerseys with white pants Sunday Their record in that combo is 5-7....the worst record of any combo they have worn since 2004.(Best is orange jersey/black pants3-0) Still fishing Titans coach Jeff Fisher and Broncos coach Mike Shanahan are the longest tenured coach in the NFL. Both are in their 14th season with their teams. No other teams have had just one head coach since the start of the 1995 season. There have been 97 different NFL head coaches other than Fisher and Shanahan since 1995. Road trippin with the lead The Titans are 45-2 (.957) when holding the lead going to the 4th quarter on the road. 1. Vince Lombardi, 38-1-1 (.974) 2. John Madden 24-1-4 (.958) 3. Jeff Fisher 45-2-0 (.957)
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All-time Top 10 Sports Cartoons The Love of Sports So, grab yourself a box of cereal and a gallon of milk, pull up a chair and show America we're through with fuzzy purple dinosaurs mucking up the cartoon game. Enjoy.
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Bengals worth 941 million Forbes despite having one of the best leases in the NFL the Bengals try to save a few dimes each year by keeping one of the league's sparsest scouting staffs. Back on the gridiron, look for head coach Marvin Lewis to get the boot if the team does not make the postseason this year. After all, team owner Mike Brown is not going to fire himself.
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Browns look to nab Ben Cleveland Plain Dealer In truth, Roethlisberger is the most-sacked quarterback in the NFL over the past two years. He was taken down 93 times in 30 games the past two seasons. The Browns were credited with seven of those sacks in four meetings in 2006 and '07.
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The stars will come out for OSU-USC The Los Angeles Times reports that between 150 and 200 sideline passes have been issued to fans for the game against Ohio State. Not surprisingly, there are some big names -- led by actors Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx.
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Brooks plans two-QB system, for now Lexington Herald Leader "We'll play both quarterbacks in the first half, and depending on who's moving the ball the best, that one might play a little more than the other one," Brooks said.
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TV watch We checked out the first episode of FRINGE....on Fox. Wow. Not bad. Kind of freaky. Hot blonde(Anna Torv)....with Lt Daniels from The Wire, Pacey from Dawon's Creek and Mark Valley from Boston Legal. I wasn't an X-Files fan...or much of a sci-fi fan. But the guy was co-creator of Lost and Alias....so I'll give it a shot.
Jr watch (AP) Ken Griffey Jr. has managed just one homer in 28 games (92 at-bats) since joining the White Sox and remains tied with Sammy Sosa for fifth all-time with 609.
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Haynesworth says he'll play The Tennessean "If I keep improving like I am,'' he said, "I should be perfect on Sunday.''
Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 08:04 PM EST [General]
Ouch Peter King, CNNSI Tennessee Titans (1-0) at Cincinnati Bengals (0-1) Pointed words from Marvin Lewis Thursday morning on Sirius NFL Radio, regarding the lousy passing game he saw in the opener ... and he was pointing at the marquee receivers, not the marquee quarterback. "They are two very proud guys who know they didn't help us in the opener,'' Lewis said of Chad Whatever His Name Is This Week and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
SEC leads the way in NFL ESPN But another indicator that the SEC plays the best football in the country can be traced to the 2008 NFL opening-day rosters. The SEC had more former players on NFL opening-day rosters (259) than any other conference this season. The ACC was second (254), followed by the Big Ten (227), the Pac-10 (178), the Big 12 (170) and Big East (87).
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Show preview Guests Ivan Maisel, ESPN College football, 3:30 Pete Arbogast, voice of USC Dan Clasgens, Fantasy Playbook, 4:30 Erin Rynning, handicapper, 5:45 Topics Bengals: Is concern for Carson legit? I had an emailer indicate the media protects him more than his OL. Thoughts? 20 Most appropriate names for athletes UC, OSU, UK
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Sad to say, but Young's problems were predictable Jason Whitlock, Fox Sports I'm going to do my best to avoid turning this into an I-told-you-so column. But the truth is, I told you before the 2006 draft that Vince Young was primed for NFL failure. He entered the league with an attitude, mindset and supporting cast totally unprepared to survive the pressure, challenge and responsibility that goes along with the most prestigious and difficult job in all of sports. When I explained all of this in 2006, my naive and misguided critics called me an Uncle Tom. Yeah, they ripped me for attempting to issue a young black kid a warning about what awaited him in The League and the attitude he would need to cope and excel.
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Wells now doubtful for Saturday (AP) Tressel said team officials would monitor Wells' condition before deciding whether to rule him out for the game in Los Angeles.
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Bengals news The Bengals today made the following practice squad moves: * Signed TE Nate Lawrie (6-6, 255), a fourth-year player from Yale. Lawrie played in three Bengals games last year. He was with Cincinnati in the 2008 preseason, playing in all four games with five catches for 48 yards. He was released on Aug. 30. Prior to today's signing, he was on Baltimore's practice squad (Sept. 1-9). * Released OT Dennis Roland. A first-year player from Georgia, Roland had signed to the practice squad on Sept. 3.
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Style matters Todd Jones, Columbus Dispatch Ohio State and USC knew what they needed in a coach when they hired these two men, and it went beyond their ability to coach. Carroll and Tressel are products of their environments, reflect the spirit of their home states, and please the locals with more than just victories.
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"Fletch" writer dies Fletch, published in 1974, was the first in a series of books about an investigative reporter named Irwin M Fletcher, who was later portrayed in the 1985 movie by actor Chevy Chase. Movie clips from Fletch
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Former Bearcat recruit will play at BG Toledo Blade Danny McElroy, a 6-foot-8 senior from La Salle High, has committed to play basketball at BG, he confirmed yesterday. Following in the lead of Aiken's Darren Goodson and Hughes Center's Adrion Graves, McElroy becomes coach Louis Orr's third recruit from the Queen City.
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"24": Exile "24" returns with a prequel movie Nov. 23, to be followed by a full season of the thriller in January. Here's a clip from the prequel film, which is called "24: Exile" and was shot on location in Africa:
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Must win for OSU Yahoo USC can lose and rebound. Ohio State can't. Unless it defeats USC, the Buckeyes have no chance of reaching a third consecutive national title game.
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Losing is one thing, not trying is another St Louis Post Dispatch I don't understand how a team can prepare for months to play its first football game, only to emerge from the locker room looking like dead men walking. No heart, no guts, no pulse ... nothing.
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Congrats This was the scene Wednesday afternoon as 1530 HOMER and Team Fitz Graphics presented the Team of the Week banner to the Milford Eagles.
The 1530 HOMER/Team Fitz Graphics HS Team Of The Week Each week I take your email nominations. Tell me why your team is deserving for the week. Did they pull off an upset? Beat a rival? Tell me who they played, score, record, coach, etc. I will accept email nominations until noon each Monday. I will announce the winning team each Tuesday. The chosen team will recieve a 4ft by 6ft 1530 HOMER/Team Fitz Graphics Team Of The Week banner for their lockerroom. I will only accept emails sent to the address to the right, by my photo.
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Is OSU's offense holding back? Columbus Dispatch The offense was so sluggish last week, the game plan so vanilla, that it seemed Ohio State was holding something back for Southern California.
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Ouch Arizona Republic 0-6 on the roadtrip, the Diamondbacks have now lost 8 games in the standings in the last 13 days. The biggest mistake was made by Adam Dunn in right field in the third. With the bases loaded, Dunn ran back on a Velez fly ball. Expecting it to hit off the wall, he turned around as if he was catching it - an attempt to fake out the baserunners. But when he spun to play the carom, the ball bounced on the warning track. Had he continued back, he might have caught it. Instead, two runs scored.
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Ohio's NFL teams are a disaster in progress Rob Oller, Columbus Dispatch Traffic accidents attract attention, which means this NFL season is shaping up as a rubbernecker's paradise -- much to the delight of league officials -- because car wrecks are happening everywhere. Except in Cleveland and Cincinnati, where train wrecks are front and center.
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Colts to cut starting DT after arrest Indy Star "He was repeatedly told this during the offseason,'' Polian said. "Along with his teammates, he was reminded as recently as (Tuesday) of coach Dungy's rules of behavior. "Unfortunately, he chose to violate those rules. Given the circumstances surrounding Ed's original employment with the Colts . . . we have no choice but to take this action.''
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Titans stuff
Haynesworth improves, but sits out practice The Tennessean "He's improving," Coach Jeff Fisher said. "We usually take a couple of extra days when you're dealing with mild concussion symptoms."
First time for everything The Tennessean Kerry Collins, 36, has never played against the Bengals. He's played against every other team at least once. "You would think after 14 years and five teams that I would have played against everybody. I will now be complete," Collins said. "I'm just excited to be back out there. I now relish the opportunity to play because I don't get to play a lot. So I'm looking forward to playing and being a part of this.''
Young will have to win job back The Tennessean Coach Jeff Fisher said when Young is healthy he's going to have to show he's made progress on all fronts before resuming his duties as the starter. And that could be a while.
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Big night for Brandon Larson CENTRAL ISLIP , NY- Third baseman Brandon Larson slugged three home runs on Wednesday evening but it was not enough as the Long Island Ducks defeated the Somerset Patriots 7-5 in front of 5,904 fans at Citibank Park. The three homers gave him a new Patriots single season record for home runs with 29 and tied a team record for home runs in a game.
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Wow! Anyone stay up for Red Sox vs Rays last night? Tampa wins 4-2 in 14 innings on a 3-run HR by Carlos Pena. They won a series in Fenway for the first time since 1999. They had been 1 for 35 in the series w/RISP before the Pena HR. The Rays jumped their AL East lead to 2.5 games. Boston had runners on 1st and 2nd in the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th and did not score. The strike zone of the home plate ump was a ridiculous as I've ever seen.
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Brooks rips Cats after "wasted" practice Lexington Herald Leader "We're not getting a lot of leadership in practice, and that is very, very disturbing," Brooks said. "We've got a lot of guys talking the talk, but they're not walking the walk. I'm not very happy."
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Brain typing Carson BrainTypes.com This is the story I first linked four years ago....I have been asked about it enough to re-post it. I don't understand most of it. Some will call it mumbo jumbo. Others will call it psycho babble. I don't know. I posted the most interested comments. **"We had Carson, Boller and Leftwich all rated right there," [Ravens' coach Brian] Billick says. "We were prepared to take any of the three with the 10th pick. They each have all the tools. Each had one little flaw. Kyle's was the accuracy. Leftwich was the mobility. With Carson, it was the leadership. He's not quite as dynamic a personality as the other two." **Tough-minded Billick hit the nail on the head and to him, CP's demeanor was a flaw. Had he and Marvin Lewis known Brain Typing prior to the 2003 draft, each would have looked at CP with deeper understanding. **He's too good to be true-the perfect QB specimen with an attitude of Mother Teresa. On the one side of the coin, he's perfect-mentally/attitude and physically. Unfortunately, there's another side to the coin. It's all about winning and being highly competent at your position. In this respect, there are some areas where Carson Palmer is not innately designed to perform as well as some other QBs (in mental, motor, and spatial skills). **CP is not wired to pull rabbits out of hats at the end of games the way ESTPs are. **"When Carson is relaxed and feeling good, his tools and game will be superb; he'll be able to make all the throws and plays; but if he allows pressure and nerves to overcome him, his BT should not operate as efficiently (in mental, motor, and spatial skills) as have the top QB Brain Types of the past few decades." ** What are the odds of Carson Palmer becoming an NFL superstar? Not good. What are the odds of CP playing some good NFL games? Very good.
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More looking back at Carson DailyNews.com (July 2004) Niednagel classifies Palmer's brain type as ISFJ -introverted, sensing, feeling and judging. It is so rare among athletes that Niednagel has never seen it in an NFL quarterback. ``He's not a multi-task processor. He's not very good at juggling a lot of balls at once,'' Niednagel said. ``He's not the kind of guy who is going to come in and read a play on the board and know it. Reps are important.'' This might describe the Palmer many people saw during his first four years at USC, when he threw as many interceptions (39) as touchdown passes. In fact, Chow was so frustrated by Palmer's inability to grasp his offense that he seriously considered benching Palmer for then-redshirting freshman Matt Leinart when the Trojans began the 2001 season 2-5
