for stating the obvious.

There are no suprises any more, not with performance enhancing drugs. Very few players could come out now and say "I was on steroids" and have the public be genuinely shocked.

Not coincidentally, Mandarich has a book coming out. About what? About being a juiced up player in a juiced up age? No thanks.

Now, if a recently retired NFL star wants to come out and do what Jose Canseco did and truly change the game as we know it, that'd be something worth reading (because if you live in a hole and don't think current NFL players are all gooped up on gop, you're delusional.)

for stating the obvious

"On Saturday we play another conference game at Eastern Michigan. They've improved. They've got some nice schemes, nice things they do on offense.

"They can move the ball. They moved it against Maryland and against Michigan State on offense. I won't necessarily say they've got weapons, but they've got some schemes that are working for them.

"We're both 0-1 in the conference to this one is very important. They beat Central Michigan, they beat us and Western Michigan also last year. You don't want to start out 0-2 in the league.

"It's possible (to come back from 0-2) because the league is really even. I don't know if anybody's gonna go undefeated. But starting 0-2 is not a situation we want to get ourselves into."

"During the game, in between plays you may see all the defensive players checking these cards we have on our arms. Basically, the cards just list our different personnel packages. The coaches will call in one of those personnel packages and a number and that tells each player their assignment.

"As an example, if they call in 'dime,' it means we're going with three down linemen. If the call is 'dime 1' that just means we all go, or rush the quarterback. The same number might mean something different for the defensive backs and linebackers.

"Sometimes I'll line up at defensive end on the right or left side. That's usually determined by our personnel and the matchup with the other team."

Hey all - Welcome back to the Beacon News' Game of the Week, featuring the Aurora Christian Eagles (4-0, 1-0) vs. Chicago Christian (4-0, 1-0)
Beacon football writer Jim Owczarski is on site, and will be blogging LIVE - interact with Jim throughout the contest here.

could be this guy...
former senior director of player personnel for the White Sox Dave Wilder...

Check out this story from ESPN's Outside the Lines and read about how he was more interested in skimming off the top of signing bonuses for Latin players than finding you know, good ones for the team.

this is a story that is definitely far from over...

especially when you're playing a rival...great stuff from Tennessee center Josh McNeil...

Too easy...

Headline: 5 Russian race walkers banned for doping

There's no need for anything else. It's race ..... walking.
Ha!

I tried to post this shortly after I heard this on the radio yesterday, but due to some technical difficulties, I'm posting it today ....

some Meathead was calling in to talk about the Bears loss to the Bucs, and he ranted about how the defense wasn't up to snuff and not playing with enough fire and passion, essentially...

he then ended his call with "Wake up and smell the '85 defense!"

Huh? Wha?

what does that even mean!? How can you smell arthritic and hobbly-wobbly old dudes? Do we want to smell them? Is that something dat Da Bears need to market? Ode de Bortz? Parfume de Butthead?

Oh! How about this - La Meat: enjoy the frangrance of stupidity and fromunda all day long!

Hey all - Welcome back to the Beacon News' Game of the Week, featuring the Geneva Vikings (3-0, 1-0) and Glenbard South Raiders (2-1, 1-0)
Beacon football writer Jim Owczarski is on site, and will be blogging LIVE - interact with Jim throughout the contest here.

is the real Skeletor?

who

OR

That's what Jerry Kill did Tuesday and Wednesday during practice at Huskie Stadium as his team prepared for Saturday's opener against Indiana State.

But this wasn't the usual marching band fare or raucous stadium noise coaches sometimes pump in as they prepare to play in hostile, noisy venues. Rather, Kill instructed Director of Football Operations Adam Clark to put together a mix of songs that might be featured on the players' i-pods.

Wednesday's session opened with Welcome to the Jungle from Guns 'n Roses and continued throughout the practice with a variety of selections that included hard rock, hip-hop and rap. Many, of course, were beyond the recognition of this old fart. Lil' Wayne was, no doubt, in the house, but I couldn't swear to it.

"I'm trying to make it more like a game situation, plus it creates a little atmosphere," said Kill, who is emphasizing playing hard for four quarters.

"Coach Kill wanted some energy out here," said senior quarterback Dan Nicholson. "It's not distracting. It's similar to having a crowd."

Clark had something for everyone, it seems, except veteran Huskie play-by-play man Bill Baker. Word on the sidelines was his request for some Nat King Cole fell on deaf ears.

"With the bye week last week we had Saturday off. I spent most of it in my apartment and chilled, but I went back home (to Aurora) and had dinner with my family.

"I wanted to go see (alma mater) Marmion because we didn't have anything Friday night, but the time we got done with practice, it was too late because they were playing at Marian Central up in Woodstock.

"I'm looking forward to seeing a game there under the lights. I always wished for that when I played there. It was always a thing t hey said was coming, but it didn't happen in time for me. I'm glad they finally got them. They've made some nice renovations at the stadium.

"We've got some of t hose midweek games in November, so I'm gonna try to get back and catch a game if the season is still going for them.

"This week, we play our first home game. We're anxious for it to get here. It's a little tougher playing on the road. Then, we've got two more road games after this. On the bright side, though, we've got a nice stretch of home games after that."

another case of it popped up when this video & story broke - where Dallas Mavericks player Josh Howard told a cameraphone that he doesn't celebrate the national anthem because he's black.

This naturally led to the Mavericks and owner Mark Cuban "addressing the situation" blah blah blah.

For crissakes - who cares? There are plenty of people, of all ethnicities, that have issues with the American government. So what? I've seen people leave their hats on at games or not stand up during the anthem. So?

The guy wasn't at an NBA-sanctioned event, he wasn't representing the Dallas Mavericks...he was playing flag football somewhere. Just another case of somebody making a whole lot of somethin' out a helluva lot of nothin.'

I was thinking of this today as I listened to the beginning of the Sox game on the radio with Stoney and Farmer...

what will you miss about their brief run together in the radio booth?

i'm serious.

for me, i'm going to miss when they giggle like 13-year-olds when talking about Stoney living next to Ted Williams' frozen head.

I don't know what that means, and i don't care. it's pretty damn funny every time they bring it up though.

That's 1A for me - what about you?

Memo to the management of the Milwaukee Brewers, who fired manager Ned Yost Monday with 12 games to go and his team still clinging to the lead in the chase for the wild card playoff spot:
That red button you pushed wasn't the Staples' Easy Button. It said Panic.

One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes is "The Secret Code", and the following scene always comes to mind when certain sports stories catch my eye....

[George and Peterman are eating dinner. Peterman is in mid-story. George is disinterested.]

TV ANNOUNCER: It's fourth and inches and the Giants are going for it! You gotta love sports!

(p.s. if anyone has a video link to this scene, please let me know - I can only find the Bosco scenes)

Anyway, there are two "You Gotta Love Sports" moments from the past few days.
1. Mom steals daughter's school ID to join high school chearleading team
you just know that the team "pool party" at the coach's house is going to get looked into after this little revelation.

2. Accusations of witchcraft during a soccer match leads to riot & death
Only in soccer. ONLY ... IN ... SOCCER. this makes "Ocho Cinco" look legitimate.

From the Chicago White Sox:
"The Chicago White Sox today announced that Steve Stone will take over color analyst duties for White Sox television broadcasts starting in 2009. The club's agreement with Stone is a six-year deal, through 2014, with a club option for 2015.

Stone, the former Cy Young Award winner, White Sox pitcher, current White Sox radio color analyst and 2008 Ford C. Frick Award nominee, will team with legendary play-by-play announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson. Harrelson, also a 2008 Frick Award nominee, is presently in his 19th consecutive season in the White Sox television booth."

So what of the Feisty one you ask? Well, here's the answer to that (for now)...

"The organization also announced today that it will not exercise the club's 2009 option for current television color analyst Darrin Jackson. The White Sox have offered Jackson the analyst role on the team's radio broadcasts in 2009 and are awaiting a decision from Jackson."

"I took advantage of our bye week this week to have surgery on my broken thumb. Had it Tuesday morning and they put three pins in. It's just bandaged up right now. I'll go back on Monday and they'll cast it up and the cast will be on for six weeks total from the day of surgery before it will come off and I can go without anything. It's feeling pretty good, now.

"I played with a cast at Western Michigan and that was a little different. You can't do as much in terms of grabbing and shedding a block but it's one of those things you have to adjust to.

"In high school the only time I missed was my sophomore year. I was getting real bad stingers every time I'd hit someone. It's like a pinched nerve and just stings. They put me in a neck brace for two weeks and I haven't had that problem since.

"In college, I've had three surgeries now, but still haven't missed a game because of them. I had the (ACL) knee surgery (after getting hurt in the Poinsettia Bowl in 2006). This past winter when I tore my pectoral muscle lifting I had to have surgery, too.

"I don't sit around and think much about (injuries). It's just something that comes with the game. I've had some but it's not like I've missed time from them.

"The way I look at it, I'm doing what I love and it just so happens this comes with it. I know football is gonna affect my life when I get older, but that's a chance I'm willing to take.

"With the bye week, we have Saturday off this week but we'll be practicing on Friday and Sunday. I don't think (players) mind. They want to get better. We've gotta change some things up so we can change the Ls to Ws."

Hey all - Welcome back to the Beacon News' Game of the Week, featuring the Oswego East Wolves (1-1) and Oswego Panthers (1-1)
Beacon football writer Jim Owczarski is on site, and will be blogging LIVE - interact with Jim throughout the contest here.

is already more famous now than he ever was in his 10-year NBA career...

it really is a slow news day when news that the former Golden Domer retired today has been on the Yahoo! main page for over an hour.

How does that happen?

This only goes to show that there's some oddball Orlando Magic fan or Notre Dame nut that is in charge of throwing those links up on that page.

Now, I could have picked any number of videos to show you this unbelievable play by Georgia's Knowshon Moreno against Central Michigan last weekend, but I give you this one because A) it's got a good track with it and B) I like the inclusion of the still shots prior to the actual vid....Trust me, it's not one of those extremely frustratingi YouTubes that is only pictures...the video comes immediately after....enjoy!

Wooooooooooooo!!!!

I love when real life head butts entertainment television especially of the pro wrestling variety. Now, I don't ever want a guy to get popped in the dome and bleed all over, but just because of who it is, it's pretty damn funny.

Here is the link from the Herald-Sun, but i'll do you the favor of not having to register to read it...so here's the story copy & pasted....

Pro wrestler, daughter involved in dust-up in Chapel Hill

BY BETH VELLIQUETTE : The Herald-Sun
bvelliquette@heraldsun.com
Sep 9, 2008

CHAPEL HILL -- Sounds like a script from a World Wide Wrestling event.

Father, daughter and daughter's boyfriend have a disagreement, get in a fight and before the end of the night, father is bloodied and beaten and cops haul off daughter screaming and kicking. Boyfriend walks free.

Imagine Ric Flair playing the role of the father and his daughter, Ashley Fliehr, playing the daughter.

Oh, wait, this is no script. It's real life.

Yes, folks, Ric Flair, otherwise known as Richard Morgan Fliehr, but more commonly known as Nature Boy Ric Flair, one of the greatest entertainment wrestlers of all time, was in Chapel Hill last week at the Sunstone Apartments, with his daughter, Ashley Fliehr, 22, and her boyfriend.

Police got a call about 2:30 a.m. Friday about a fight in the parking lot at 207 Connor Drive, said Lt. Kevin Gunter.

When the officers got there, they saw fresh blood on the stairway and went to investigate, Gunter said.

They found Ashley Fliehr and a 22-year-old man, whom Gunter didn't name, and Ric Flair in an apartment together. The trio had just returned from somewhere else, Gunter said.

"They ended up getting in a fight over what, we're not sure," Gunter said. "Ric Flair was the victim."

Huh?

"Ric Flair is the one that received the majority of the wounds, but he refused to file charges and refused medical treatment," Gunter said.

Flair had injuries to his face and was bleeding, Gunter added.

The 22-year-old man, whom Gunter identified as Ashley Fliehr's boyfriend, was the suspect but since Flair didn't want to file charges, police didn't arrest him.

During the course of the investigation, however, Ashley Fliehr interfered with the police officers, so they charged her with resisting, delaying and obstructing a police officer, Gunter said.

As the officers took her out to the police car to take her to the police station, "she kicks Officer McKinney," Gunter said.

In professional wrestling that would likely get the crowd on its feet screaming and yelling.

In real life, however, that got Ashley Fliehr another charge -- assault on a law enforcement officer.

Alcohol was involved, Gunter said.

but you wouldn't know it if you weren't paying attention.

I was busy most of the day and didn't get the memo that this was a national day of mourning. The way the media is fawning over this story, you would think he had been dismembered on the play instead of just tearing his ACL. Sheesh. 

Crazy thing is, the sun actually came up today, even though the talking heads at ESPN said it probably wouldn't. Imagine that. 

But what is worse than having Matt Cassel, who hasn't started a game since high school, as your new quarterback? It's the fact it's reported that Chris Simms may ultimately become his backup. So you have one guy who hasn't started a game since high school and his backup is a guy who hasn't won a game of any significance since high school.

Wow, and up until yesterday people thought the Bears had quarterback problems...

I realize that these are just commercials, but I love it when athletes who always seem to take themselves so seriously can have a little fun....

Here's the famous EA/Tiger response to a YouTuber who said he found a "glitch" in the Tiger '08 game....

and here's the soon-to-be famous Rubik's Cube putt....this is just ridiculous...

go click here for another angle on the Rubik's putt that makes it seem a little more real

it's monday...

I could talk about the Bears, and how they were fortunate that Peyton Manning wasn't his usual self....

I could talk about how Matt Forte looks like the real deal...

Or how my Iggles are the best team in the NFC....

but, as I'm taking stock of the recent prep week, I thought it was worth mentioning a surprise "stat of the week":

Plano QB Johnny Mendez has more passing yards this year than Geneva's Brandon Beitzel...

and, last but certainly not least, a correction to a Saturday story: East Aurora starting running back and linebacker Leon Harden was not arrested during a sideline skirmish at the Tomcats/Yorkville Foxes game Friday night. We regret the misidentification.

Then again, it might be. Broke that is.

NIU coach Jerry Kill said Monday morning he really doesn't know the status of quarterback Chandler Harnish's foot injury.

"He goes to the doctor today," Kill said during the Mid-American Conference coaches teleconference. "Hopefully, we'll find out the situation with his foot.

"During the game, he felt like he broke his foot. We had doctors look at him and had x-rays taken but they didn't see anything (broken). It swelled up pretty good."

Northern is off this week and has its home opener Sept. 20th against Indiana State.

this only gets better with time...here's the drunk Russian high jumper again, this time from a better angle.

what makes this video great are the laughing children, and the fact that he nearly falls over trying to tie his shoe....

As debuts go, redshirt freshman Chandler Harnish was pretty impressive last week passing for 326 yards under tough conditions at the noisy Metrodome in Minneapolis in a close loss to a Big Ten opponent.

The kid, who got the nod over senior Dan Nicholson, was very poised and appears to have a bright future.

That said, don't write off Nicholson just yet. He's probably still not 100 percent as he continues his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery, but he may need to be an on-field contributor before the season is completed.

Before we get caught up too much in the euphoria of Harnish's debut, let's not forget the first time Nicholson saw significant playing time at Northern. Back in 2005, when he was a redshirt freshman, Nicholson saw mop-up duty early in the year in blowouts over Tennessee Tech (42-3) and Kent State (34-3).

In the ninth game of the season at Central Michigan, he was thrown into the fire early on after starter Phil Horvath was injured and saw his first significant playing time with a game on the line. How did he respond? By completing 19 of 27 passes for 320 yards and two TDs in a 31-28 win.

The following week he passed for 176 yards and two scores to lead the Huskies to their only win over Toledo (35-17) in the Joe Novak era. He was also at the helm when the Huskies beat Western Michigan 42-7 to earn a berth in the MAC title game, which they lost on a last-second score to Akron, 31-30.

It's too early and it would be unwise to give him afterthought status just yet.

Hey all - Welcome back to the Beacon News' Game of the Week, featuring the Kaneland Knights (1-0) and the Marmion Academy Cadets (1-0).
Beacon football writer Jim Owczarski is on site, and will be blogging LIVE - interact with Jim throughout the contest here.

"Looking back at our (31-27) loss to Minnesota Saturday night, we played real hard on both sides of the ball but we made some mental errors that decided it. Defensively, three or four big plays we allowed hurt us but we had a lot of good things we can build off.
"We found a playmaker in Nate Palmer (who had TD catches of 91 and 52 yards). And (QB) Chandler Harnish, I was really proud of the way he played.

THUMBS UP, HONEST
"Really, it's not too bad. I've got a cast on it but I'm not gonna miss a game and I haven't missed any practice. Basically, my thumb is broken, but it hasn't hindered me too much at all.
"I know the play it happened on but I don't know exactly how it happened. I made a tackle in the backfield. It was weird, I didn't feel anything right away. All I can guess is that I had too much adrenaline going. I didn't feel it until the next play.
"I don't know if I caught it on the guy I tackled or jammed it on someone else. There was a pile of guys and I could have hit one of them or hit it on the ground.

LATE START TIMES
"It is a little bit frustrating to wait around (for a 6 p.m. kickoff). I don't really like watching other teams that are playing their games (on television, while waiting in the hotel). I usually try to get some rest.
"The ideal time (for kickoff) for me is a 2 or 3 o'clock game. That way you get to sleep in late enough that you don't have to feel like you're getting up too early. You can get up by 9:30, have a meal by 10:30 and be ready to go.
"I don't like the 11 (a.m.) kickoffs, either, because then you have to be up by 6:30 to get ready."

INDOOR ARENAS
"The Metrodome wasn't too bad. The temperature (inside) wasn't bad at all, it wasn't too hot. It was actually hotter in there on Friday afternoon when we had our walk-through just to get a feel for the place and see what the turf was like.
"Last year (at an indoor arena) at Idaho, it was harder for me to breathe. I think it was warmer and this week I played 50 plays and last year in that game it was like 90 (actually more, as Idaho ran 41 times and passed 54). That's a big difference and that could have been the reason why."

ROCKY TOP
"We had the day off Monday for the (Labor Day) holiday but we hada short meeting that night. Then, most everybody went home and watched Tennessee-UCLA on TV. (The Huskies play at Tennessee on Oct. 4th).
"I watched the line play, for the most part. It was a good chance for me to get a little early look at their offensive linemen. They're big and they look pretty good."

That's all I need to say...

This is fantastic.

and just because it's great...

NIU men's basketball coach Ricardo Patton announced the Huskies' 2008-09 schedule Wednesday.
It features two tournaments, including the Great Alaska Shootout, Nov. 26-29 at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

The Huskies 12 home games include dates with in-state rivals Southern Illinois, Loyola and Chicago State as well as 2008 MAC champ Kent State and 2008 NIT entry Akron.
first tip.

Men's Basketball season tickets for 12 home games are on sale now for
$119 for the general public and $109 for senior citizens. A season
ticket package for both the men's and women's basketball teams is
available for $135 at www.niuhuskies.com or by calling the Athletics
Ticket Office at 815-752-6800.

The schedule follows ...

Did this really happen?

Did one football player really steal another player's luggage because Player A was cut to make room for Player B?

that's awesome.

Hello, Tatum Bell - maybe you should be more concerned about your performance on the field, rather than proving how stealthy you can be in the locker room on your way out to the curb.

Nathan Palmer, a redshirt freshman wide receiver from Central High School in Elkhart, Ind., had his coming out party in the season opener at Minnesota. The speedster caught three passes for 170 yards, including TDs of 91 and 52.

Marcus Perez, a fifth-year senior wide receiver from Elkhart who preceded Palmer at Central High, had a stay put party. Two years ago Perez was second on the team with 30 caches for 406 yards and led the Huskies with five TD catches.

On Saturday, Perez didn't get on the field. He was in uniform as one of the 70-man travel squad but was one of 16 who did not participate.

Hmmmm. Attitude? Discipline?
None of the above, said coach Jerry Kill.

"Marcus just needs to get better," he said of the receiver who is listed along with sophomore Tyler Clasey as a second string X wide receiver behind senior starter Britt Davis. Perez also backs up the top two punt and kick return men.

ok, look a little...but Winfield's own Kevin Streelman is on the verge of keeping his PGA Tour card and officially became a millionaire last week...

The Black Sheep touring pro had a rough go of it over the weekened at the Deutsche Bank, but still qualified for this week's BMW Championship. This is huge for Kevin - a rookie that makes it not only to the FedEx Cup playoffs, but is on the verge of making the Tour Championship.

He's currently 80th on the tour money list, and the top 125 at the end of the year keep their card. I think Kevin will notch at least one top 5 in the Fall Series....

I hope he plays well this week to bolster his ROY of the chances...that'd be a great boost for local golf.