smokinandjokin

I like Larry Johnson, and he has the chance to be a top-flight back in the league for a long while. However, even with McGahee having a demolished knee, there were just as many questions about Larry Johnson's talent and attitude coming out of school. He was hyped because he had several 200+ yard rushing games, and even a 300+ yard rushing game. But those were in blowout wins against 'lesser' teams: Indiana, Virginia, Northwestern, Michigan State, and Illinois. In big games, here's what he did: 68 yds rushing in loss to Iowa, 78 yds rushing in a loss to Michigan, 66 yds rushing in a loss to Ohio State, and 72 yds rushing in a bowl game loss to Auburn. NFL people were concerned about his comparitively low output in PSU's big games. And here's what the scouts said about him before the draft: It's hard to look back and say we should have drafted Johnson instead. The MaGahee pick had much more risk, but if the Bills' doctors were satisfied with the repaired knee, he also had more upside coming out of college. He was a #2 overall before that Ohio State game.

Really? The girl usually doesn't start threatening me until after I handcuff her. "My boyfriend is going to kick your ass when he finds out about this!"

Perhaps the numbers don't bear this out, but it always seems like a rookie goalie catches fire in the playoffs. I can think of Roy winning in '86 Hextall carrying the Flyers in '87 I remember Sean Burke only playing about 10 games in the reg season in '88, and then leading the Devils to the conference finals in the playoffs as a rookie Rookie Felix Potvin backstopped the Leafs on their run to the conference finals in '92-'93. Brodeur took NJ to the conference finals in his rookie year (I think) and then won the Cup in his second season Steve Shields was able to step in for Hasek and beat the Sens in the 1st round in '97 Brian Boucher caught fire, beat Hasek and the Sabres in the 1st round, and took the Flyers to the conference finals in 1998 Unfortunately I vividly remember Johan Hedberg outplaying Hasek when he took the Pens to the conference finals in '01 Kiprusoff carried the Flames to game 7 of the Cup two years ago (I know it wasn't his first year, but I thought I remember them calling him a rookie, similar to Miller this year) Gigure was out of his mind for Anaheim a few years back, but I think that may have been his 2nd year Anyways, there always seems to be an unknown young goalie who gets hot and makes a name for himself. I'm sure you could find a bunch who were playoff busts as well, like you said. Let's just hope Miller steps it up.

I'm not Ray Lewis' biggest fan, but if we're calling him out for hanging out with the wrong crowd and being implicated (and acquitted) for a crime, then this should be included as well. What an embarrassment

There's a few teams you can't go wrong with, including Miami. The Eagles and the Chargers and the Broncos are always able to recruit some top talent. If you saw one of the girls from those squads in a bar, they would definitely be the finest girl in the place. That's not true with the Jills...Trust me, I've seen a few of them out.

They occasionally include a dog who shoots baskets at halftime of an NBA game around #5 or so.

NICE!!! I'm glad Al's daughter is do-able. I thought Al was a little bland in the Super Bowl. The two big plays- Parker's TD run and the bomb to Ward- Michaels' calls seemed a little 'ho-hum' on those plays. For a dry game, you would've thought he'd get excited over some actual yardage gains and scoring.

My buddy has a tshirt that says "I !@#$ the Olsen twins before they were famous"

Gorillaz is a stellar show. Check em out if you get a chance. I saw them play a show in Philly about four years ago and it was off the hook.

Dude, you're going WAY over the top with this. Basically, to sumarize the Super Bowl, the better team played sh*tty, but they won because they benefited from the referees, and the incredibly sh*tty play and poor decision making of their opponent. As we know, the Seahawks are not the first team to get screwed, and they won't be the last. I can't believe the b.s. that is still floating around from this game. Damn, let it go. Except for Hasselbeck's tackle, you could make a case that all of those calls were correct, and you could make the case that they were incorrect. There was a lot of gray area. Just except that and get over it.

Eff the gecko! Make some new caveman commercials!!!!

Taking the "field" in the first pool of Kentucky Derby advance wagering is not a bad bet at all. The horses are so young, that the 15-20 best horses as two year-olds, who have odds individually, rarely make it to the Derby. The winner is typically a previously unknown horse who is included in the "field" group, which covers all other eligible horses.

Ramius, you're right man, but jeez...what's going on here? People are going mad!!! On Stevens' reception to the 1, there appeared to be holding. Maybe it wasn't, but it was close enough to flag. The lineman didn't need to get his hands up around the LB's neck, he could have just bumped him to the outside and it would've been a non-factor. Even still, while 1st and goal inside the 5 is HUGE, they still had the ball and were still in FG range. They came away with 0 points. Warrick's punt return...There's always penalties on punt returns. They still had the ball, they could've made something happen. How come nobody is blaming the refs for the 30-yd pass that hit Stevens right in the chest on the 10 yard line??? Even after all of these penalties and setbacks, Seattle had plenty of chances to pin Pittsburgh deep, and their punter booted nine in a row through the endzone. And Holmgren punts from the 50 with six minutes left when they're down by two scores??? I know it was 4th & 12 (the refs sacked Hasselbeck ) but how do you give the ball back to one of the best clock-eating teams in the league, when you know you will need it twice more? The calls certainly did not go their way- nobody is disputing that. But Seattle compounded that with poor decisions and poor play.

The Bengals look like a good buy at 18/1. Is that REALLY the Cowboys at 10/1???

Agreed. I simply mentioned in another thread that "a champion will overcome the referees" and Mad Buffalo Disease jumped all over me. Pittsburgh got worked by the refs against Indy, and they held on. Seattle had plenty of chances to prevail, and they didn't cash in on any of them. But no doubt, Pittsburgh caught all the breaks, and they made the most of them.

NFL OFFICES NEW YORK, NY FEBRUARY 7, 2006 THE COMMISSIONER AND THE REFEREES OF THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGIZE TO THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS. THE LEAGUE AND ITS OFFICIALS SHOULD HAVE TAUGHT YOU HOW TO TACKLE SO THAT YOU DO NOT GIVE UP 7 POINTS ON THE LONGEST RUN IN SUPER BOWL HISTORY. WE ALSO APOLOGIZE FOR DEPRIVING YOU OF ANY GAME FILMS OF YOUR OPPONENT, THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS. HAD YOU HAD ACCESS TO FILM OF YOUR OPPONENT'S PREVIOUS GAMES, YOU PROBABLY WOULD HAVE NOTICED THAT WHEN THEY RUN A REVERSE TO THEIR EX-QB WIDE RECEIVER, THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE HE IS GOING TO THROW THE BALL INSTEAD OF RUNNING. WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO APOLOGIZE TO YOUR KICKER AND PUNTER, WHO WERE CLEARLY UNAWARE OF THE TREACHEROUS ATMOSPHERE INSIDE FORD FIELD IN FEBRUARY. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE STEELERS' WHITE JERSEYS, WHICH MAY HAVE ACTUALLY LOOKED BLUE INDOORS, THUS CAUSING YOUR QB, #8, TO THROW THE BALL RIGHT TO ONE OF THEIR DEFENDERS. FINALLY, WE APOLOGIZE FOR PROVIDING A WORKING CLOCK, WHICH ACTUALLY TICKED OFF BY THE SECOND AT THE END OF EACH HALF WHILE YOUR COACH AND QUARTERBACK STARED BLANKLY AT EACH OTHER. WE OFFER OUR SINCEREST APOLOGIES FOR THESE ERRORS. PAUL TAGLIABUE

Not the first time, not the last time. Who cares about any of this? Would an apology from the NFL after the Homerun Throwback made you feel better as you watched the Titans in the Super Bowl?

So the Seahawks were forced to go cry in the corner? Take another look at the game and realize how many different aspects of the game Seattle screwed up. They wasted many opportunities. But, but, but....Roethlisberger was short! Wah wah. They lost by 11 and they gave up 14 on a 75-yard TD run and a wide receiver reverse option pass bomb for a TD. But they got screwed.

Kelly the Dog, you wanna chime in here?

A champion will overcome bad calls. Eff the Steelers, I could care less about them. But there's no question (in my mind anyways) that they were the better team from the better conference. What referee forced the Seahawks to give up a 75-yd TD run? What referee told their safety and cornerback to bite on a reverse (handed off to a college QB) by a team who is notorious for running several trick plays EVERY game? What ref told Holmgren and Hasselbeck to consult Herman Edwards on their clock management? Did it get windy in the dome when the kicker missed two FG's? Did the ref make Seattle's punter boot it into the endzone six times? I agree there were questionable calls...But dang it man, you have to overcome if you want to win. In the end, I guess complaining about it is easier.

Really, it's not that interesting at all.

Duke is favored by six, and I say they cover. Unfortunately.

Three Amigos not funny?!? Blasphemy!!! Rosita: "I was thinking later, we could take a walk, and you could kiss me on the veranda." Dusty Bottoms: "Lips would be fine."

Don't be so sure he'll be out until after the break. He's practicing at full-contact right now, and he said in an interview yesterday that if today was the playoffs, he'd be playing. He wants to get in at least one game before the Olympic hiatus to test himself out. His return would be HUGE. Briere article in today's Buffalo News

The rookie class has made quite an impact, but it makes sense that this should be the best class in a while: It's two years worth of rookies.