The Links: Lawrence Taylor Scandal & the NCAA Has never read Awful Announcing

Stacy Keibler to finish off the week..... NAVY SEAL found not guilty of assaulting a suspected terrorist...... Conservatives win the most seats in British parliament..... Don't blame the Patriots for no-showing at middle school..... Raiders fans couldn't be happier to see JaMarcus leave..... The Mariners aren't giving up on Milton Bradley..... Vince Young and Reebok partner to help flood victims in Nashville..... The Sharks no-showed in Detroit for game 4...... 'Iron Man 2' is released today...... Who's ready to watch the Kendra Wilkinson sex tape?

The NCAA has obviously never read Awful Announcing (NCAA)

Charm won't work for Lawrence Taylor this time (Yahoo Sports)

Lawrence Taylor's recklessness could finally land him in prison (Sporting News)

Once a Giant, Lawrence Taylor comes up stunningly small (Fanhouse)

Scandals continue with Lawrence Taylor (Jason Whitlock)

JaMarcus Russell leaves Oakland (Sporting Blog)

FSU head coach and former LSU assistant coach Jimbo Fisher remembers a different JaMarcus Russell (PFT)

Where would this world be, if we didn't know where Greg Paulus was located? (National Football Post)

Andy Roddick knows how to woo the NBA free agent class of 2010 (Sporting Blog)

Indians announcer is fed up with the team (SBNation.com)

Lane Kiffin Must Be The Luckiest Person in The World

After I finally figured out all of my computer problems yesterday, I logged onto Twitter and found out that USC hired Lane Kiffin to be their next football coach.

I thought this had to be a joke. Why would USC hire Kiffin? What has he proven? What type of advantage does he bring to USC? King of sounds like the same questions we were asking last year when Tennessee hired Kiffin, right?

That's why I thought this had to be a cruel joke. Why would USC hire a coach who shows zero loyalty? Why would USC hire a coach who scoffs a secondary violations he's committed, right before the NCAA makes their final ruling about the school? And how the hell can Lane Kiffin keep getting better jobs?

Well come to find out, none of this was a joke. Lane Kiffin left Tennessee after only one year and a 7-6 record to take the USC job. Yes Lane Kiffin keeps getting better jobs. Forget Lou Gehrig being the luckiest man on the face of the Earth, Lane Kiffin is the luckiest man on the face of the Earth. He's been so lucky if I was him, I would go immediately to Vegas and start playing craps. Let's take a look at the Lane Kiffin timeline.

Kiffin began his coaching career as a low level assistant to Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville back in 2001. He then moved on to USC where he was the tight ends coach, i.e. recruiter. Then after Norm Chow moved on he was promoted to offensive coordinator. In reality though he called no plays and never designed the gameplans because Steve Sarkisian was the real offensive coordinator. Then Kiffin was given the Raiders job at the beginning of the 2007 year, but that was after everybody including Sarkisian said no to Al Davis. After a season and a half, Kiffin was fired by the Raiders. We all remember the Al Davis press conference. Then last year Tennessee took a gamble on Kiffin, leading us to where we are now.

So I will ask again, is their anybody luckier than Kiffin? Goes to the Raiders after doing nothing at USC as an assistant. Given the Tennessee job after doing nothing in Oakland. Now he's given the keys to the Cadillac at USC after doing nothing at Tennessee. Lane Kiffin, the luckiest person in the entire World.

Now go buy that lotto ticket, Lane.

The Links

Sophie Turner to start off the mourning.... Flozell Adams fined for his cheap shot on Justin Tuck..... I will be going to this Kings game..... Chone Figgins officially signs with the Mariners..... Jake Locker seeking NFL info, while Ryan Mallet avoids draft questions..... I guess the Nuggets don't like playing back-to-back nights?..... Who passed gas around Joakim Noah?...... Charlie Strong is the new Louisville football coach...... Homeowner's insurance doesn't cover cow damages..... 'As the World Turns' has been canceled

The Tigers traded their heart and soul to the Yankees (Detroit Free Press)

A parting shot for Charlie Weis (Fox Sports)

Peter Gammons leaves ESPN for MLB Network (Awful Announcing)

Could Elin take her and Tigers kids to Sweden (Sports by Brooks)

Tiger Woods Gatorade has been discontinued (CNBC)

New York Islanders Brendan Witt was hit by a truck and played hockey on the same night (Bob's Blitz)

Phil Jackson on women in NBA: No way (Slam)

A Tennessee hostesses may have caused recruiting violations for the football program (The Big Lead)

Ray Rice apologizes to Green Bay, but he still doesn't realize he plays in Baltimore (PFT)

Rasheed Wallace predicts the NBA ref scandal will grow (Boston Herald)

Had to know someone would parody this commercial with Tiger (With Leather)

The Links

Jaimie Hilfiger to start the week..... Virginia finally fires Al Groh...... Eli Manning could be missing some playing time...... Waiting for Notre Dame to fire Charlie Weis..... Tiger Woods issues a statement about his crazy weekend..... Bobby Bowden will also be talking about his future..... Some Steelers thought Roesthlisberger should have played last night despite a concussion...... The worst of the weekend in the NBA...... Here are pictures of Tiger Woods alleged mistress

Once again Jay Cutler is acting like a douche (PFT)

The fruit from the Belichick tree is poisonous (Real Clear Sports)

Now is not the time to play the Tennessee Titans (The Tennessean)

Another Roughrider goes home disappointed (Deadspin)

Cincinnati could be the BCS' next victim (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Mike Tomlin must fix the Steelers locker room (Post-Gazette)

The wacky history of New Jersey Nets coach firings (True Hoop)

A timeout, a TD pass, and the USC-UCLA rivalry has become interesting once again (LA Times)

Mike D'Antoni gets a free pass, while Lawrence Frank gets fired (NY Post)

Tiger Woods brushes off Florida state police, now they are pissed and looking to get a search warrant (The Big Lead)

Rasheed Wallace: LeBron James is a flopper (Waiting for Next Year)

Was Lawrence Frank set up to fail as the Nets coach? (Reds Army)

The Greatest Finish is Professional sports (Fire Andy Reid Now!)

The Links

Padma Lakshmi of Top Chef gets the week started..... Tom Brady sets an NFL record as the Titans embarrassed themselves...... What the hell happened to the Eagles offense?..... Can we stop with the Mark Sanchise talk now?..... Rex Ryan did think about pulling Sanchez, but didn't..... More bad news for Seattle: Lofa Tatupu is out for the year..... Uh oh, Jim Zorn..... How the hell is Nicolas Cage broke?..... Green Bay takes out their frustration out on Detroit

Jim Zorn saves job by giving up play calling duties (WUSA 9)

There might be hope for Redskins fans after all (PFT)

Unfortunately Named Professionals (Buzz Feed)

Lamar Odom does the smart thing and has the Kardashian sister sign a prenup (TMZ)

Jim Nantz is getting a divorce and is also dating a 29-year old (Sports by Brooks)

TV stamps it's bland on the Washington-Kansas City game (Jason Whitlock)

The Titans go from bad to worst (Tennessean)

It's not like the New York newspapers are making a big deal about the Jets, Mark Sanchez, and Rex Ryan or anything (NY Times, NY Post, Daily News)

The Houston Texans defense, has been the most surprising (Houston Chronicle)

There are few NBA players tougher than Lester Hudson (Hoops Addict)

Ashley Tisdale showing off her legs (Sharapova's Thigh)

An update on Stephen Strasburg (Babes Love Baseball)

Just when you think you have things figured out, the Oakland Raiders look like a professional football team (The Big Picture)

Thanks to the Sports Guy's latest column, check out this video of Stevie Nicks singing with Fleetwood Mac back in the Mid-70's.

Let The War Continue

There is definitely no love loss between Florida coach Urban Meyer and Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin. Even after Florida beat Tennessee 23-13 on Saturday, Florida played a very lethargic game. Saint Timmy Tebow didn't throw one long pass and the Gators were shutdown for the most part by a very good Tennessee defense. Just don't tell Urban Meyer the Tennessee defense is the reason why Florida only beat the Vols by ten.

"I didn't feel like they were going after the win," Meyer said.They wanted to shorten the game. I think that was the plan. There are 10 minutes to go and they're not in a no-huddle. It's 23-6 and no urgency (on Tennessee's part).

"The way we lose a game there is throw an interception. Why put yourself in that position? Let's find a way to win the game. We're not trying to impress the pollsters. We're trying to win the game. A lot of it had to do with the way they were playing. It made our life a little easier."

Not trying to impress pollsters? Come on Urban. Your the guy who let's his team score over 70 points on a Division-1AA school. You wanted to destroy Tennessee in that game, but you couldn't because the Vols defense actually showed up to play.

Meyer even went as far to blame Swine Flu as to the reason why Florida struggled on Saturday. "It is a panic level of proportions I've never seen before," Meyer said. Ah yes, that old excuse. My mother still doesn't believe me when I say I have a cold.

Lane Kiffin didn't use the flu as an excuse for his team's play. When asked about whether or not Kiffin is worried about his team having the flu Kiffin had this to say, "I don't know. I guess we'll wait and after we're not excited about a performance, we'll tell you everybody was sick." Checkmate.

Kiffin and Tennessee might not have won the battle, but they are still in this war. And for whatever reason, Kiffin is in Meyer's head. More so than Nick Saban, Les Miles, Steve Spurrier, and Houston Nutt combined. Now I can't wait for next year's game at Rocky Top.

Kiffin defends game plan, takes shot at Meyer (St. Petersburg Times)

The Death of McNair Is Hard to Grasp (Update)

I have to say that I am still in shock over the death of Steve McNair. I was at my parents house ready to eat some barbecue and light up some fireworks when my brother first told me about McNair's death. The details surrounding his death since though, is what has been so shocking.

It was first reported that his death was a Murder-Suicide. It was reported that a women approached McNair about a year ago and claimed he slipped a 'roofie' in her drink. A 'roofie' is slang for date-rape drug. And that her boyfriend "was going to kill him." This rumor has not been shot down by police yet.

Then the police finally revealed the identity of the women who was killed along with McNair. Sahel Kazemi a 20-year-old women was found dead along side McNair. She was McNair's girlfriend who had hoped that McNair would divorce from his wife and marry her. There has been rumors that she killed McNair because he wouldn't marry her and then she took her own life.

McNair's wife is now claiming that she never knew about his girlfriend.

Nashville police are saying though that McNair was murdered. He was shot twice in the head and twice in the chest. Kazemi had a single gunshot wound to the head. And that the weapon used in the murders was found underneath Kazemi. The police are not ruling out a Murder-Suicide, but they are also not ruling out homicides. Possibly the jilted boyfriend killed the both of them out of rage.

The details surrounding this case are so puzzling that McNair's death has been hard to grasp. Who killed McNair and this young women? Why they were killed? Is it a murder-suicide? Either way you look at it, "Air" McNair's death is shocking right to the core.

Update: PFT is reporting that these murders could have been professional hits. Florio, who is a former lawyer, thinks that a professional could have killed both McNair and Kazemi and made the crime scene look like a murder-suicide. This case is so bizarre that I wouldn't rule out anything.

Steve McNair's shooting death a homicide, police say (LA Times)

Details shed new light on McNair's death (City Paper)

Girlfriend had hoped to wed McNair (Tennessean)

The Links

Audrina Patridge to start the week..... Colin Powell finally wises up about Obama.... 'Harry Potter' sidekick contracts Hog Flu.... Rasheed Wallace to Boston a good move?.... Dr. James Andrews talks Brett Favre's shoulder.... Why are the A's trading for players?.... The sad case of Timmy Chang

Why the left hates Sarah Palin so much (Legal Insurrection)

Some pictures of Malin Akerman (Sharapova's Thigh)

Only the greatest could have beat Roddick yesterday (Daily Mail)

Steve McNair was one of the most beloved citizens of Nashville (The Tennessean)

Is Avery Johnson the right fit for the Pistons? (Free-Press)

Fun With Klassic Peter King: The Foul Ball Story (Kissing Suzy Kolber)

How is Josh Hamilton an All-Star? (The Big Picture)

A Colombian soccer player shot and killed a mouthy fan. Please don't give Eagles players any ideas (The Guardian)

The Yankees should leave Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen (NY Post)

The WWE was hit again with another wrestler suffering an serious injury (Camel Clutch Blog)

An example of why you should check for camera's before you do something stupid

The Links

Lindsay Marie to start the mourning.... Rudy Guilani, the next New York Governor?.... Shocker! Michael Jackson was not the biological father to his kids.... 'Medical evidence' was taken from Michael Jackson's house.... With Yao injured, the Rockets are now targeting Chris Bosh.... Tim Lincecum was really good last night

John Feinstein had bypass surgery yesterday (Deadspin)

Giants are interested in Jermaine Dye and Victor Martinez (MLB Daily Dish)

A 13-year-old kid committed to Lane Kiffin and Tennessee (Go Vols)

Anna Kournikova has a drink thrown in her face in Las Vegas (The Big Lead)

Happy 43rd Birthday, Atlanta Falcons (The Falcoholic)

Rickey Rubio & Jonny Flynn meet face-to-face (Troy Nunes is an absolute Magician)

Jason Kidd to meet with the New York Knicks (Posting & Toasting)

Billy Mays was about as good a guy, as their gets (CNBC)

Top 10 Moments of when animals attack sports (Real Clear Sports)

The San Francisco Giants are in great shape, compared to the rest of the National League (SF Chronicle)

Botchamania! I suggest if you have time and you are a wrestling fan, to watch the Botchamania series

Lane Kiffin Vs. Al Davis Pt. 3

Tennessee received an letter from the Oakland Raiders on January 22 to reiterate their case against Lane Kiffin.

This fight has been raging between Lane Kiffin and Raiders owner Al Davis since last offseason. During last offseason Kiffin wanted to fire defensive coordinator Rob Ryan for he could bring in his daddy for that position. And of course Davis wouldn't allow it, so Kiffin acted like a child from then on.

Then after four games into the season Davis had the much-talked about press conference where he fired Kiffin. The two have fired back at each other multiple times since. Kiffin is looking to go to arbitration to receive the two months pay that he did not receive while he was unemployed. Davis filed a counterclaim against Kiffin seeking damages.

The three-page letter explained how they believe Kiffin breached his contract, violated the NFL's constitution and collective bargaining agreement and remained insubordinate despite repeated warnings from Raiders owner Al Davis.

"Kiffin's deposition will focus on his repeated lies to the media, team and fans," Raiders public relations director Mike Taylor said in an e-mail.

There is one key accusation that Davis will hammer home. And if you remember that press conference, this is the part when he pulled out the over head projector.

They referred to an amendment added to the NFL constitution at the owner's meeting in March 2008. It requires coaches to, among other things, communicate openly with the owner, respect the authority of ownership to make club decisions and to "to avoid actions that undermine or damage the club's reputation or operating success."

The Raiders said these provisions were incorporated into Kiffin's contract, per league rules, and that he repeatedly violated those terms.

In the letter, the Raiders complained about Kiffin's behavior since he was fired, from hiring away assistant offensive line coach James Cregg during the season to several public attacks on the Raiders organization.

The Raiders also criticized Kiffin and Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton for their actions at Kiffin's introductory news conference, how the two "went out of their way to laugh at the Raiders, referred to the team as 'dysfunctional' and as always in a state of crisis."

It's not like Kiffin hasn't stayed out of trouble since arriving at Tennessee. He has called out numerous SEC coaches, been reprimanded, and reported a self rules violations.

Surprisingly though, I am on Davis' side. Kiffin is a punk, who is living off his daddy's reputation. When he hired Cregg, that situation really put me over the top. The Raiders had only two games remaining in the season. Kiffin, who was making hires for his new staff, hired Cregg and he quit on the team with two games remaining. Then Kiffin attacked the Raiders organization again.

I get the fact you did not like working there, but keep your mouth shut after they fire you. And keep your mouth shut when talking about other coaches in the SEC.

All I have to say is good luck Lane, because you will never see anymore money from Al Davis. He fired Mike Shanahan 21 years ago and still has not payed him one dime.

This could get interesting

Well Lane Kiffin hasn't even been the Tennessee coach since Monday, and he has taken and received a jab by Steve Spurrier.

Spurrier who used to needle former coach Phil Fulmer, was at it Monday before the ink dried on Kiffin's contract. He questioned if Kiffin broke NCAA rules by contacting a recruit before he was allowed to.

Jarvis Giles, a high school running back from Florida was contacted by Kiffin on Sunday mourning.

Kiffin struck back by hiring one of Spurrier's assistants, David Reaves, as his new recruiting coordinator. Then had this little gem.

"As far as recruiting, we've hit the ground running. I took the test a few days before I got hired here so that we could do that," he said Monday at his introductory news conference.

I have to say even though I questioned the hiring of Kiffin at Tennessee yesterday, I am starting to like the move. Kiffin, which we found out in the Bay Area, doesn't hold back when running his mouth. He could be the perfect foil to Spurrier. I can't wait till next year, to see the first South Carolina Vs. Tennessee game.

It's official: Lane Kiffin introduced as the new Tennessee coach

(SEC fans are not as forgiving as Al Davis)

It became official today, Tennessee introduced Lane Kiffin as the 21St coach in Volunteer country.


This hire is peculiar to me because Kiffin hasn't really done anything in his coaching career. He spent five years at USC, two of those years as the offensive coordinator. He more famously the head coach of the Oakland Raiders the past 1.25 years. He only won five games in his time spent in Oakland.

I don't now what qualified Kiffin to be in the same coaching ranks as: Mark Richt, Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Houston Nutt. But Tennessee AD Mike Hamilton obviously saw something in Kiffin. Lane is supposedly going to bring in his father Monte to run the defense and Ed Orgeron as the lead recruiter.

This hire could go both ways: complete disaster or complete genius by Tennessee, but their is no middle ground. And he doesn't have complacent Raider fans sitting behind him, he will have fanatic SEC fans. Good Luck.

The Mourning After

Game of the week: The Missouri-Kansas game was one for the ages. Kansas was down to Missouri 37-33 with about 1:00 remaining in the game. Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing drove the team down the field with a coolness to him that reminded me of Joe Montana. With 27 seconds left and a 4Th-and-7 Reesing felt the pressure, stepped up in the pocket and threw a floater to Kerry Meier for a game winning 26-yard touchdown. This was the best game of the week, in a week full of great games.

Coach of the Week: Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson gets my vote. Tech hadn't beat Georgia since 2000. Georgia took a 28-12 lead into halftime, and it looked over for the Yellow Jackets. But you should never count out Georgia Tech now that Johnson is the coach. His old fashioned Flexbone Offense, tore up the Georgia defense 472 yards on the ground. Georgia knew what was coming and they couldn't do anything about it.

Paul Johnson in my opinion is one of the best coaches in college football. While at Navy, Johnson's teams always preformed very well despite being smaller than their opponents. Georgia Tech was smart by making him their head coach, because Tech will be a force to be reckon with for years to come.

Goat of the Week: Norte Dame was routed by USC 38-3 and all the blame will fall on their coach Charlie Weis. There has been chatter all week that Weis's huge buyout will not affect Weis future with Norte Dame. In all likely hood, the pressure will be to much for Norte Dame officials to keep Weis around and they will be forced to buyout his contract.

The Norte Dame offense only accumulated 91 yards of offense for the entire game. This does all fall on Weis. He is suppose to be an offensive genius. Norte Dame was never going to be out schemed in a game. The offense and developing his young players is where Weis failed. This is the reason why he should be fired.

The debating begins: With Oklahoma winning last night their is a three-way tie in the Big 12 South between the Sooners, Texas Tech, and Texas. The BCS standings(which come out latter today) will determine who is the winner of the Big 12 South.

My vote would be for Oklahoma. They played their best game yesterday, beating their rival Oklahoma St. The Cowboys would not go away last night, so Oklahoma had to keep on scoring to put them away.

Texas also played their rival Texas A&M but they blew them out, in a game they were expected to win big. Oklahoma gets my vote because their win was more impressive. My gut feeling though Texas will get more BCS votes and will win the Big 12 South.

Going out in Style: While former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer didn't have the year he wanted, he went out in style by beating the teams Tennessee has always beat up on. They beat Vanderbilt last week, and this week the beat up Kentucky(a team he has never lost to). Fulmer is a classy guy and we wish him luck in his future endeavors.

This Woman Is Crazy

Yes! She is the Wife of University of Tennessee President Peterson. She was banned from all contact from the UT donors and Staff after a confrontation.