What's going on in Morgantown?

Here's a new thing for school's to consider when hiring a new coach. Character. And I have undeniable proof of just why that is important. Let's look at the character of Rich Rodriguez.

*Steals Terrell Pryor, a top recruit, right out from under the nose of West Virgina before even announcing his departure to Michigan.

*Accepts a job to Michigan despite less than a year ago saying he was staying in Morgantown.

*Files a countersuit against WVU after they try to recoup the $4 Million he owes as stated in his SIX YEAR contract that he walked out of.

*Shreds and hides important player related files as far as the current WVU roster is concerned.

Why do I mention all of these things. Well it's proof that Rodriguez's real character came out recently and he just so happens to be someone you wouldn't want to model yourself after. Yet people are sending their young boys to learn by his example. Could that be dangerous?

Rich Rodriguez coached the Mountaineers 2001-2007.
Bengals WR Chris Henry attended WVU and played for Rodriguez from 2002-2005.
Titans CB Adam "Pacman" Jones attended WVU and played for Rodriguez from 2002-2005.

Henry has a "Criminal History" section on his Wikipedia entry.

Pacman has a "Legal Troubles" section on his Wikipedia entry.

Search for Chris Henry, you get mostly sports related, but you still get things related to the suspension and off field problems.

Search for Pacman Jones, you get 3-4 sports related entries and 6+ (especially if you click the news link) strip-club/shooting/warrant/arrest/etc entries.

Have you ever heard of Quincy Wilson? He was arrested in June of last year. Played his college ball at West Virginia for Rodriguez, and is close friends with Pacman and Henry. Close enough that the two showed up at his football camp.

It just makes you wonder exactly how many of Rodriguez's former players have criminal records, including the two years he spent at Clemson or even earlier at Salem, Tulane, or Glenville. It will be interesting to see which Michigan players get suspended a few years from now.

Is it something in the water in Morgantown?

What's the connection to Mike Vick here?

Well Surry County, Virginia, the home of Michael Vick, is just over 200 miles from Morgantown.

Well that's a little absurd but the point remains. We saw Rodriguez's character the last couple months, and we've seen the character of some of his former players. This doesn't bode well for Pat White and Steve Slaton or the future of Michigan football alumni.
More after the jump...

The Pacman Saga

Pacman Jones has an affinity for strip clubs apparently. Less than a year ago we caught him making it rain in Vegas causing his ensuing suspension. Fast forward to this week, and Tennessee's version of our beloved video game hero, is in Atlanta and now is accused of assaulting a woman in the strip club:

"I was sitting in the office and he lunged at me numerous times in an effort to do grave bodily harm," Jackson wrote in the warrant application filed Jan. 7. "Veronica Jones, an owner, went into the hall to deal with a member of his entourage. I followed to gawk. He was in the hall, surprisingly reached over or around a security guard and sucker punched me in my left eye."

Man this guy is great. He's obviously keeping his pimp hand strong, another thing we can check off Mr. Jones' list-of-things-to-do-that-happen-to-be-cool-sayings-in-the-hood. Now instead of going on a random tear of bad puns involving the stupidity of the 6th pick from the 2005 draft, I'm just gonna say this: Pacman...you'll be playing for the Bengals in no time.


*quote from ESPN.com
More after the jump...

Busy Day

It was pretty busy around work today, plus work on the shop was a little more time consuming than I thought. Anyways here's a couple videos I found on the net today.

I've never seen ANYONE look as dejected as Kenny George does after getting dunked on. He drops his chin STRAIGHT to his chest. Some people say getting dunked on is part of the game, especially when you play in the post. I don't think Kenny George feels the same way.



Dan Majerle would have dropped his epic "hey hun, don't forget the coffee." line following that one. Speaking of which, I read recently on TrueHoop that the former Suns standout trey-baller and current Phoenix restaurant owner drops the notorious line post dunk during his announcing duties. If you aren't aware of the joke go watch Good Will Hunting or just click here and listening to Matt Damon deliver it.

Six and a half months ago Jon Kitna promised us 10 wins for the Lions. Just over four months ago he said he was miraculously healed after being knocked out of a game with a concussion, saying he could, "definitely feel the hand of God". 3 months ago he was "naked" in Detroit for his Halloween costume. Two and a half months ago he was the starting QB for an explosive 6-2 Lions team. Three weeks ago he was the starting QB of another Matt Millen led sub .500 Lions team (7-9). Three days ago he gave us this little beauty:



Former UA/current Titan Running Back who left the program upbruptly last spring to enter the NFL draft got a real taste of the NFL a couple weeks ago.


That freight train is Darryll Reid of the Colts and the bug on his windshield is Henry. Dallas Clark seemed to enjoy that one, and who can blame him.

Can you believe it's been over a year since this happened:

The meltdown to end all meltdowns. Jim Rome just flat out lays into Caitlin Upton. Part of me feels bad for the girl to be so beat down for this that I'm still talking about it a year later. It's too bad that the education system, therefore, such as, the Iraq didn't supply this girl with enough Maps, or whatever she's talking about. When is this going to be a Coors Light commercial?

Guy: Miss Upton where is that place with all the terrorists who DON'T drink Coors Light?
Caitlin: such as, The Iraq
Guy: Yeah I think that's what it's called, I'll just show it to you on one of those flat picture of countries.
Caitlin: maps, therefore.
Guy: Yeah I think that's what they're called. You're so smart, what ethnicity are you again?
Caitlin: US American

Can we just edit the guy from Billy Madison in there please, to drop the what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul." In fact if anyone can make that video for me and send it in I will be forever in debted to you.

Have any of you heard of Tito and the Gun Show? 4Real showed me this awhile ago but I figured I'd pass it on:

They also have a poor quality live version on YouTube and a new one about Tim Hundson worth a listen.

Remember Slamball? One of the greatest things ever right? That's what these kids thought too.

More after the jump...

Quick Draft Update

The NY Jets reportedly have decided to stick with Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens. That means that Matt Ryan with the 6th pick no longer makes any sense. Also Laurinaitis has decided to return for his Senior year which I suggested would happen in Picks 1-6, but doing what one should never do I second guessed myself in Picks 7-12 and suggested he was NFL and New England bound. To ratify those egregious errors here's a Draft Update 2.5, complete with an extra pick.

With the 6th pick the New York Jets fans will be looking running back or offensive lineman. Well they've got Thomas Jones and although he only had one rushing TD last year he performed well (3.6 YPC) and Leon Washington gave him a few breathers and managed to rack up a 5 YPC average over 70 carries. I don't think Running Back is where they'll be going but their running game does need a lot of help. Here we should see OT from Boise State Ryan Clady coming off the board and heading out to New York as the Jets fans boo, because that's what they do on draft day.

Now at 7 the Patriots have a choice to make. And for them this is more of a luxury pick than anything. Lawrence Maroney had a decent year in a pass first offense so I don't think they're going Running Back here despite some good Running Back talent waiting to be picked up. Laurinaitis is no longer available so are they still looking at LB. I see Penn State LB Dan Connor getting picked up. Their Linebacking corps is still getting older by the Minute and they should be looking to the future. Dan Connor could easily be that future.

Of course at 8 now Baltimore is looking at Matt Ryan or Brian Brohm. Yes I know they still have Troy Smith and Smith looked pretty good in the last few games of the season when he saw some playing time but passing up on Matt Ryan for a 5th rounder who's barely 6 feet tall is going to be hard to explain to Ravens fans. If they aren't looking to get Ryan then they better start listening to some trade offers. If Matt Ryan really is available going in to pick 7 or 8 expect to see a lot of phones ringing in an effort to make a move up there where no one thought they would be available. I say Ryan but I expect a trade.

Now at 11 Buffalo is also licking it's chops at a top QB that didn't look to be available, Losman even said he wants out of Buffalo and I don't think Trent Edwards is the future. So Brohm and Woodson are available here. I think Brohm has the edge right now but all of that could change going into the combines. Maybe Woodson moves ahead, maybe Brennan surprises a lot of people, maybe Dennis Dixon still interests, but Brian Brohm should be the pick here.

And for the additional pick that I promised, the Carolina Panthers with the 13th pick go to the offensive backfield and they will take Andre Woodson from Kentucky. Delhomme has been average since that Super Bowl run, Matt Moore is not the future, and Testaverde simply can not play another year, it's against the laws of phyisics. If they aren't one of the teams to trade up looking for the slipping Ryan, then expect them to jump all over Andre Woodson right here. Unless they think they can get Brennan or Dixon in Round 2 and they're happy with that.

So an updated Recap:
1. Miami - Glenn Dorsey, DT - LSU
2. St. Louis - Chris Long, DE - Virginia
3. Atlanta - Darren McFadden, RB - Arkansas
4. Oakland - Sedrick Ellis, DT - USC
5. KC - Jake Long, OT - Michigan
6. NYJ - Ryan Clady, OT - Boise State
7. New England - Dan Connor, LB - Penn State
8. Baltimore - Matt Ryan, QB - Boston College
9. Cincinnati - Vernon Gholston, DE - Ohio State
10. New Orleans - Mike Jenkins, S - South Florida
11. Buffalo - Brian Brohm, QB - Louisville
12. Denver - Kenny Phillips, S - Miami
13. Carolina - Andre Woodson, QB - Kentucky

Don't forget to keep up with the draft action with Picks 1-6, picks 7-12 , picks 14-20 , and an UPDATED picks 21-31.
More after the jump...

Grand Opening... Kind of

The BearDown will be opening on online store. Launch date is tentatively set at early to mid February. The first design that will be available for mass production is the one below.




























This will be available without the Arizona logo when produced, and yes that is my foot in the second picture.
More after the jump...

Bring in Mitchell, He'll Get to the Bottom of this

We've all seen the list:


Barry Bonds, Jason Grimsley, Miguel Tejada, Brian Roberts, Timbaland, 50 Cent, Mary J. Bli...What?


According to the Albany Times Union, which is in fact a real newspaper, the list of linked superstars with steroids and HGH isn't only in the clubhouse. So far Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, Timbaland, Wyclef, and Tyler Perry have all been linked to a Steroid scandal brewing in Queens, NY. Seriously. Also mentioned, but not directly with the Queens bust, was Sly Stallone (who was linked to HGH in Australia in May 2007).


Do we need to put an asterik next to Timbaland's album sales? Will we have to take back Sly Stallones star on the Walk of Fame (if he has one). At least now we know what's really in that Formula 50 Vitamin Water, 1 part water, 1 part grape flavoring, 2 parts winstrol. Also, this let's us know that one of the unknown side-effects of steroids is being bullet-proof. Sweet.
More after the jump...

I F*cking Hate Mondays

I don't want to talk about this weekend. Instead enjoy TGIF's ugly red-headed step-sister

http://view.break.com/433228 - Watch more free videos
Sweet.
More after the jump...

2008 NFL Mock Draft 7-12

Here for another edition of Dom's NFL Mock Draft we got picks 7 through 12 for you guys. Go ahead and take a look back at picks 1-6 to get caught up. A quick recap for you:

1. Miami - Glenn Dorsey, DT - LSU
2. St. Louis - Chris Long, DE - Virginia
3. Atlanta - Darren McFadden, RB - Arkansas
4. Oakland - Sedrick Ellis, DT - USC
5. KC -Jake Long, OT - Michigan
6. NY Jets - Matt Ryan, QB - Boston College

I still stand by those picks since I think Atlanta has a chance at solving their QB problem before draft day and McFadden is an incredible pick-up anywhere in the draft. With that said, Matt Ryan could also be the 3rd pick by Atlanta and McFadden would most likely drop to Oakland. There is also chances of picks 3, 4, and 5 being different since they are subject to a coin toss. As I said before though I'm sticking with 1-6 until majro developments change them. With that said here are picks 7 - 12.

Brady Bunch - They really don't need anything as proof of their dominating season. Furthermore they really, really, don't need anything on the offensive side of the ball. Barring injuries or trades. I think the best outcome for New England here is bolstering their Defense, specifically their linebackers. The 4 starters this weekend are Tedy Bruschi (12 years) Adalius Thomas (8), Junior Seau (18), and Mike Vrabel (11). That's a combined 49 years, next year it's 53. That's a lot of miles. Plus Rosie Colvin is on and off the IR all season, every season, has been since he left Chicago. I think the only pick is Ohio State LB James Laurinaitis. If Laurinaits comes out of college, and is here, he will be the next Mike Vrabel.

B-More - The Billick-less Ravens will be looking for something, anything, to get out of their rut. I think that comes in the form of a new QB. Right now that pick looks to be solid as Brian Brohm. But if Ryan goes to the Falcons and the Jets pick up Brohm then this will be Andre Woodson from Kentucky. I feel safe saying that this will be Louisville's Brohm though. The Kyle Boller experiment is done and it was not overwhelmingly successful.

Bungles - The Nasty Natti has tricked people for a few years now and no one realizes they're not in on the joke. The Bungles had one playoff season and everone thought they had shed the Bungles image. Think about it for a second. They've only had one winning season since 1991. That 11-5 fluke in '05. Other than that they've had four 8-8 seasons and a bunch sub .500. They need a lot of help. Besides trying to get prison terms lowered they need some help on the Defensive side of the ball. They need it bad. So the question is who? Ohio State DE Vernon Gholston? Penn State LB Dan Connor? South Florida CB Mike Jenkins? Florida DE Derrick Harvey? It think they go Gholston, but could surprise many with Dan Connor. This pick will rely heavily on what happens in the coming months. The only downside of the above players is none of them have any priors so I'm not sure they'll get along with the rest of the Bungles roster creating some serious character clashes.

America's Saints - They slipped a little this year after their emotional 2006-07 season. They had a good run but couldn't overcome their slow start. They've still got a very good team and this pick will help them in the future. They could use some help in the defensive backfield with Mike McKenzie and Roman Harper being the only DBs there with name recognition for many of us. They need a playmaker back here. I think the nod goes to USF's Mike Jenkins here but look out for Arizona's Antoine Cason. He has silently been moving up some draft boards and his character impresses many of the people who have contacted him. It will be interesting to see if the 2007 Thorpe Award winner can garner enough interest at the Combine and in workouts to steal the spotlight from Jenkins. As of right now I'm 60/40 that the Saints go with Jenkins but that could obviously change.

B-lo - The frigid northern New Yorkers need some help. Recently they've been looking back on the early 90s and their back to back to back to back Super Bowl losses and the Music City Miracle with fondness compared to what they've been watching the last 8 seasons without a post-season. Though they finished with the same record (7-9) as they did last season, they actually did look a little bettter but still have a ways to go. Especially after the emotional loss of Kevin Everett. Buffalo needs to look to a new young talent to garner some interest nationally and make Buffalo worth discussing. So the question is, which offensive weapon do they go after Early Doucet, Mario Manningham, DeSean Jackson, Ray Rice, or Kevin Smith? I think one of the best picks they could make here would be OT Ryan Clady from Boise State and he would be one of the top steals of the draft. Of course the chances that Clady is still available at 11 are slim, in my draft it's possible and is the best pick for Buffalo. He would be a solid pick but don't be surprised if the Bills go for Flash over Substance and chase down one of the talented backs or receivers.

Broncs - Shanahan's troops have seemingly been at a standstill since their Super Bowl victories. They've had 4 post-season trips in the 9 years since then and 3 times lost in the wild card. Jay Cutler made a nice turn for the better this season and it appears maybe the whole Plummer/Cutler fiasco wasn't the worst thing to happen to Denver since Dikembe left the Nuggets. The offense has looked better and better by the game. The defense isn't really making Tom Jackson proud. They could use a safety or a defensive tackle right about now and with most of the top D-Linemen already off the board Safety is naturally the way to go. It's really going to be a coin toss at pick 12 between Florida DE Derrick Harvey and Miami Safety Kenny Phillips. I think they're gonna go with Phillips here but this is one of the biggest either or picks of the first round. Either way they're going to get a solid player who can have a great career and bolster the Denver Defense. I really don't see a wrong choice between the two.

That's it for now don't forget to get caught up with picks 1-6. I'll have 13-18 sometime later this week/early next week along with the updates as far as who declares and who doesn't.

UPDATE: A couple picks changed since the original posting of this article. An updated list can be found here in Picks 1-13 version 2.0

Don't forget to keep up with the draft action with picks 14-20.

Keep up with the Finalized 1-31 for the 2008 NFL Draft
More after the jump...

Blame it on Mexico...

Back in 1991 one of the greatest men to grace the stage in a cowboy hat released one of my favorite songs.


"Blame it on Mexico if you need a reason, Say too much guitar music, tequila, salt and lime. Blame it on Mexico, but she's the reason."


Now it appears that quoting George Strait is the fun thing to do when covering sports. Sure it's a little ironic that its a Cowboys player getting wrecked by the lyrics of a country song, but let's be honest here. Bromo heading to Cabo was not the reason the Cowboys lost yesterday. The G-Men played a great game and did what they knew needed to be done. They pressured the hell out of Romo. I reiterate, it is not Tony's fault that the Cowboys lost yesterday, he was getting a tremendous amount of pressure and needed his receivers to step up which they failed to do. He also needed his offensive line to show up, which they failed to do. 11 penalties on the offensive line, and a couple of sacks amongst constant pressure. Sure it's easy to take a line from one of country music's greatest but let's be honest. It wasn't like Romo was out of control, he went with Jason Witten, his wife, Jessica, and Jessica's Parents. I don't forsee a lot of craziness, maybe a few Coronas on the beach while playing pictionary. But I digress the real shocker here is not that the Boys lost or even that they haven't won a playoff game since 1995. The Shocker is T.O's post-game comments while hiding tears behind dark sunglasses.


"This is not about Tony. You guys can point the finger at him. You can talk about the vacation. And if you do that, it's really unfair. It's really unfair. It's my team. It's my quarterback. If you guys do that, man, it's unfair. We lost as a team. We lost as a team, man."


What?


I think Donovan McNabb and Jeff Garcia just had a combined guffaw the likes of which none of us have ever seen. What is T.O. on? This is the guy who chased McNabb up and down the sidelines in Philly. Called Garcia out, and is sobbing over the mistreatment of Bromo. Is anyone else as confused as me?
More after the jump...

NFL 2007 Playoffs - Divisionals

Ok so I've been a little bit behind with the posts - my bad - running around the sprawling Phoenix metropolis is both time-consuming and internet-lacking providing a lethal combination for slacking. However with the Panthers, Bears, and Browns out of the playoffs, I suppose the Beardown crew could conjure up some unbias - however boring - outlooks on this year's playoff picture. With the first week under our belts, and the pretend teams eliminated - although Seattle is still in the hunt which I still giggle about due to their interesting season and weak ass conference - the predictable happened San Diego is still here even with Norv Turner despite his best efforts to jinx another team. The Giants beat Tampa Bay who came out of the NFC South which sadly was one of the worst conferences this year, being compiled of New Orleans, Hotlanta, and the beloved Panthers. And Jacksonville downed the Steelers pleasing me, 4real, and our buddy WithLeather. With these wins in the scrapbook, let's look at the weeks to come. I'm laying it on the line saying this is what's up.

Saturday:
Seattle @ Green Bay: As much as Dom hates Favre, he's having the season of his life. This year's Farve highlight videos could be a Levitra commercial. With Green Bay having the second most effective offense in the NFL (second only to the Brady Bunch) Seattle is gonna have an uphill battle with their mediocre defense. To make matters worse Branch and Hackett are probable for the game and most likely not gonna be 100% to play on Saturday, where they will be needed extremely to try to outscore the Green Bay offense. Let's not forget it's Lambeau Field. In January. Fuck that. I pick the Pack.

Jacksonville @ New England: Jacksonville did beat Pittsburg in one of the nastiest games ever earlier in the season putting to rest the whole cold-weather issue. That and dealing with the annoying fans of Pittsburgh. So they're more than ready to deal with the cold weather and mind-numbing fans of Foxboro. New England hasn't looked as stellar recently as they did in the first half of the season. They've had close calls at many games, with teams they should've slaughtered. Tom Brady is human as seen in the last 3 weeks. The Hoody is more than just cotton and screen print, he infact has a pulse. But then again, its the Patriots. It's gonna be a close one as long as the Jags stay physical throughout the whole game. Hopefully the Jags can run the ball into the endzone as many times as the Pats throw into the endzone. Game plan, keep Brady off the field. Oh yah, I'm partial to the Jags because they came into the league the same time as the Panthers - so I lied about being partial - and I hate the Pats. I pick the Jags on a prayer.

Sunday:

San Diego @ Indy: San Diego seemed to have Peyton's number earlier this season stealing 6 picks from him and taking the win. But with Gates questionable, Rivers' head may be spinning in the backfield. As a fan of LT, I believe he'll play a competitive game but his lead blocker Oneal isn't looking too pretty for this game as listed as probable. On the flipside, injuries plague the Colts all year, and it doesn't look like it's letting up. Both safeties are questionable as well as one linebacker. Their recieving core finally gets back Marvin at the expense of their rookie slot reciever Gonzalez who hasn't had a terrible year. This game hangs in the balance of San Diego's defense responding and locking down Peyton. But I'm still sticking with the Colts.

New York @ Dallas: Oh Bromo, here's your second chance. This year though, he won't be the one holding the ball for field goals. It's been his breakout season this year with a couple missteps so we will all finally see what kind of playoff quarterback he is. Eli, coming off his first playoff win is riding pretty high as he beat his brother to his first playoff win. The battle of the Young Gun Slingers begins. The Giants have kept it close both times they've played the Cowboys only to have the T.O.-Romo combination beat them in the 4th quarter. Oh yah, the 'Boys get Terry Glenn back. I pick Bromo and his 'Boys.

Unlike the NCAA football year, the NFL has been rather predictable. Mostly because for teams that were on the fence, when it rained it poured. Injuries, crimes, and other things helped to seperate and distinguished the best teams from the not-so-good ones. Oh ya Romo...no girls at the game.
More after the jump...