"Idiot? No, Not Me"

So about three years ago during an ESPN Sunday Night Football Game Joe Theismann called Keyshawn Johnson an 'idiot' for the whole feud he was having with Bucs Head Coach Jon Gruden. Keyshawn got his chance last weekend to have a word with Mr. Theismann and I think he had every right to.

I think sports commentators should pick their spots when it comes to throwing words around...and in this case I think Joe shouldn't have called Keyshawn anything. Had it been for Keyshawn's idiotic remarks in his book about Wayne Chrebet and flashlights - sure, that was stupid...but the whole mess with the Bucs and Gruden wasn't stupid. I would go as far as to say that both parties were wrong in that split. Former teammates of Keyshawn have even come out since and said that the coach and organization handled it wrong so that is good enough for me.

I'm sure you've read the quote on either ESPN.com or FoxSports.com, but I absolutely love it...

"The guy called me an idiot a couple of years ago when I was de-activated in Tampa," Johnson said. "I just told him that's not acceptable. I'm a guy with a degree from the University of Southern California. Idiots don't get degrees. Especially when you don't know what transpired within the organization, I'd just assume you would keep your mouth shut, because the next time that I'm an idiot on national television, I'm not going to be so nice. That was pretty much the conversation."

Way to stand up for yourself Keyshawn - you're not an idiot and you've been a fantastic receiver for a long time - now go be the little flashlight on the Panthers to the star that we call Steve Smith.

Oh What A Fight!!!

I’m absolutely thrilled that the "Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya, is going to defend his junior middleweight championship on May 5, 2007 against “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather, Jr. the welterweight champion and pound-for-pound king of boxing. This fight has the makings to be one of the all-time best. The early talk is that the fight will be at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but no matter where they square off it will bring two of the best boxers on the last decade into the ring to battle each other.

Mayweather (37-0, 24 KOs) fresh off of his dominating win over Carlos Baldomir is a boxing prodigy. If ever you could call someone in sports the ‘Tiger Woods of….” it makes perfect sense with Floyd. He was born into a boxing family and raised to be a boxer. I’ve watched him fight over a dozen times now and have never been disappointed. Even though he’s just 29 years old he is saying that this will be his last fight…what a way to go out.

De La Hoya (38-4, 30 KOs) beat up on Ricardo Mayorga earlier this year with a decisive TKO in the 6th Round. I honestly thought that might be it for Oscar…but one more shot to stamp his name on boxing is too enticing to keep him away.

The Golden Boy is actually trained by Floyd Mayweather, Sr. making this fight even more interesting. Senior and Junior don’t speak to one another…Junior is trained by his uncle Roger Mayweather and friend Leonard Ellerbee. The subplot of whether or not Senior will coach Oscar to beat his son is thicker than you could believe.

I hope this fight gives us 12 rounds of perfect boxing…and it comes down to who worked harder in the ring. I also hope that Mayweather, Sr. stays out of this fight…no need for him to train De La Hoya against his own flesh and blood.

This and That from the NFL and More...

First off, let me reiterate that I truly believe that Michael Vick is the most overrated athlete in all of sports. I know, he had two fantastic games a several weeks back and everybody said, “Wow – Michael Vick is finally getting the West Coast Offense and he’s going to be the best quarterback in the history of the NFL!” Let’s not get ahead of ourselves people…did you see what his stat line was yesterday or last Sunday?

Let me spit some numbers at you…from his last two games (both losses)

At Detroit – 17-32 for 163 yards passing with 2 INTs and a fumble…
Vs. Cleveland - 16-40 for 197 yards passing with 2 INTs and a fumble…

That’s just downright BAD.

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LaDainian is the best ever. He’s one of the most incredible running backs to ever walk on this Earth. With all due respect to the Great Three – Jim Brown, Walter Payton and Barry Sanders – LT is better than everybody. He runs, he catches, he blocks, he even throws…he’s unstoppable. And when a team actually does find a way to slow him down, the Chargers offense gets the job done by throwing the ball to Antonio Gates, Keenan McCardell and the rest of the receivers…

LT is only 27 years old…he’s got almost 8,300 yards rushing, 386 career receptions in his young career with 98 total TD (rushing and receiving). And like I said earlier, the man has five passing TD’s.

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Let us give the Washington Nationals and GM Jim Bowden a hand for hiring Mets third-base coach Manny Acta as their new manager.
Acta is set to replace Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, the man he worked as third-base coach from 2002-04 when the Nats were still in Montreal.
Manny is just a young 37, and will be the fourth Dominican to manage in the major leagues. Felipe Alou is clearly the most recognized of the bunch and the only one to have a winning record. Felipe managed the Montreal Expos from 1992 until 2001 and most recently with San Francisco from 2003 until last season. Tony Pena managed the Kansas City Royals from 2002 until 2005 and went 198-285 and Luis Pujols went 55-100 in Detroit in 2002 after Phil Garner was fired after the first week of the season.
I’m hoping that Acta gets a good opportunity to make Washington into a winner. He’s got a great city to work in with a new ballpark opening in a few years…this could be the job of lifetime for a young manager. Good luck Manny.

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Yao is on fire right now...the Rockets might be for real this season.