Hacksaw's Sports

2015-06-02T10:58:00.001-07:00

It's Tuesday, so it's another chance for you to get in on Draft Team's Triple Play contest for a crack at the big prize pool. Space is limited, so hurry and get your entry in before it fills up! Just over a year ago, Miami SS Adeiny Hechavarria ($7,002) landed on the DL. Ironically, he's hurt again, this time with a shoulder injury, sidelining him for the past three games. However, reports suggest that Hechavarria will return to action against the Cubs Tuesday. He's hit safely in seven of the last eight games to wrap up a May that wasn't nearly as strong as his April, but there's no doubt that this 26-year-old Cuban's bat is coming around this year. Hechavarria's counting cats are up and he's hitting a robust .300 with a much better .330 OBP. Make sure he's in the Marlin lineup before grabbing him, but considering he's owned the Cubs over his career (.342 BA), this is a dude you want in your lineup. Can you believe how Texas LF Josh Hamilton ($11,797) has suddenly remembered how to hit now that he's back with the Rangers? With Texas dealing with some injuries, you can expect Hambone to be in the lineup pretty much every day. On Sunday, he was the hero with a pinch-hit, two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. For the weekend series, Hamilton was 5-for-11 with two homers and two doubles. Oh, and against Tuesday's SP for the White Sox, Jeff Samardzija? All Hamilton has done has take him yard twice in six career at-bats.

In mid-April, we recommended Baltimore CF Adam Jones, and it was a decent pick, as he managed a hit, a walk and a run that night. Well, Jones ($8,137) has cooled lately (2-for-15 over the last four games), but Monday was his first game back after hurting his ankle last week and he's expected to play the field Tuesday after DHing last game. Given Jones' history against Houston SP Collin McHugh (3-for-6 with a homer), we're expecting B-More's main man to snap out of his mini skid on Tuesday.

Quick Hits

Dodger 1B Adrian Gonzalez has feasted on Colorado starter Jorge De La Rosa (17-for-46, .370 BA, six doubles, three dingers) over his career.
Washington 3B Anthony Rendon (oblique) finally began a rehab assignment last week, so he should be back with the Nats within the next week or so.
St. Louis' offense is really struggling right now, so consider taking opponent pitchers. Delivering key hits has been the issue as the Cards are just 6-for-37 with runners in scoring position in the last five games, scoring just 11 total runs over this stretch.

Daily Fantasy Sports Line-Up 6/1

2015-06-01T09:51:00.002-07:00

Welcome back to another great week of Daily Fantasy Baseball advice. Minnesota Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki ($7,098), who enjoyed one of his best-hitting seasons last year, has experienced some major shrinkage in his offensive output in 2015. And with a .192 mark over his last seven games, things haven't been getting any better. In fact, Suzuki has seen a fair amount of pine time lately -- but there is some good news. The Twins kick off another series against Boston on Monday, and the veteran backstop simply loves facing the BoSox, hitting safely in 13 straight games against them to the tune of a .417 mark. Better yet, Boston is starting Clay Buchholz, a pitcher whom Suzuki is 9-for-18 against in his career. We're banking on Suzuki snapping his slump in a big way Monday. It's time to jump on Miami 1B Justin Bour's ($11,658) train. This rookie just keeps mauling pitchers, having gone deep three straight games. In all, Bour is 24-for-65 (.369) with five dingers this season. Oh sure, this may all be a weird anomaly, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't take advantage of his hot streak while you can. Colorado 2B DJ LeMahieu ($9,545) is an amazing pick right now. He had a huge game Sunday (3-for-4, two runs, two-run homer) to raise his BA to .380 over the last 13 games. Keep in mind, LeMahieu enjoyed an even better April than May, and overall, we are loving how productive he's been this season. But here's the kicker: he has struggled against the Dodgers lately (.146 BA over last 14 games) and specifically against Clayton Kershaw (who hasn't?), going just 2-for-14 over the last two seasons. We're recommending you discard the history and ride the hot hand -- especially considering that Kershaw hasn't exactly looked like himself early on this season.

Quick Hits

On Monday, Atlanta SP Alex Wood has a chance to win a third straight start for the first time in his career -- all on the road. He's only given up three runs in 14 IP over his last two outings.
Tampa Bay 3B Evan Longoria is 0-for-5 in his career against Monday's starter, Garrett Richards. Longo is also hitless in his last two games with just a .227 mark over the last week and a substandard .262 BA in May.
Seattle SP Felix Hernandez (8-1 with a 1.91 ERA) is averaging over seven innings per start, putting him on pace to top 225 frames for the sixth time in his career. Workhorse!

NBA Playoff Insight

2015-05-22T12:20:00.003-07:00

Happy Friday, everyone. It's the end of the week and that means it's time for another MLB $3,000 High Heater contest on DraftTeam. Have you got your entry in yet? Switching to the hardcourt, the Warriors hung tough yet again to take a 2-0 lead over Houston in the Western Conference Finals after beating the Rockets 99-98 Thursday. Golden State won both its home games -- by a combined five points. As usual, Stephen Curry continues to lead the way for the Warriors, pouring in a team-high 33 points. He was lights out, going 13-for-21 from the field -- including 5-for-11 from downtown -- although he also committed six turnovers. Curry is now averaging 33 points over the last three. The NBA regular season MVP had plenty of competition in this game in the form of MVP runner up James Harden. Harden again just missed a triple double with 38 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. He was also 13-for-21 from the field, plus went 9-for-10 from the line, while draining three treys and adding three steals and a block. It was a better all-around performance than Curry, but Harden couldn't get a shot up in the dying seconds with a chance to win the game, and that could come back to haunt the Rockets if they can't hold serve on their home court. After being pretty much invisible in Game One, Golden State center Andrew Bogut came up huge Thursday, piling up 14 points, eight boards, five blocks and four assists in 31 minutes. The rebounding and blocks were sweet, but it's been a long time since the big Aussie contributed offensively as well. That secondary scoring really helped the Warriors overcome Harden's brilliance. The Rockets came from down three games to one against the Clippers last round. Can Coach Kevin McHale's crew do it again? That is one tough road to hoe, but you know what they say: you're never in real trouble in a series until you lose a home game. Game Three in Houston on Saturday should bring incredible drama.

Three in the Key

Warriors SF Harrison Barnes had a streak of six straight double-digit scoring games end as he was just 3-for-8 with four boards. He did manage four assists and two steals.
Golden State SG Leandro Barbosa tied his playoff high by playing 15 minutes, but was used mostly as part of a platoon to try to stop Harden. The Brazilian Blur did manage three assists and a steal.
The Rockets have dropped to 0-6 vs. the Warriors this season. Their last win in Golden State? December 2013. Needless to say, if that streak isn't busted, this will be the end of the line for Houston.

By RotoRob.com

What's next for the Clippers after falling short again?

2015-05-18T11:26:00.001-07:00

It's just about time for you to set your Daily Fantasy Baseball lineup. By all means, don't let us stop you, but feel free to return shortly to review Sunday's huge Game Seven in the Rockets-Clippers series with a trip to the Western Conference Finals on the line. The Rockets jumped out to a 17-point lead through three quarters and were able to cruise home for the win to stamp their ticket in the Conference Finals for the first time in almost two decades. In fact, Houston never trailed in this game as it completed a shocking recovery from a 3-1 series deficit that has left L.A. wondering what it has to do to get to the next level. Coming from down three games to one is a lot more commonplace in the NHL for some reason; in the NBA this was just the ninth time it's ever happened. Remember that the key game in this series was likely Game Six, when the Clippers were still clinging to a 3-2 series lead, but blew a 19-point lead in losing that game. Don't blame Clippers center DeAndre Jordan for the loss. We already discussed what an amazing rebounding season he had, and he was in beast mode on Sunday, scoring 16 points with 17 boards, four steals and three blocks. Jordan flushed an impressive dunk to pull the Clippers back within eight points with 85 seconds remaining, but he missed the free throw and Houston iced it 30 seconds later on Trevor Ariza's trey. It will be fascinating to see what happens to Jordan this summer in the wake of rumors that he and Chris Paul had a falling out this season. For the Clippers, questions begin anew as they still have never made it to the Western Conference Finals. This team was supposedly built for a title run, but in falling short again, it will be fun to see what moves are made this summer to retool the roster.

Three in the Key

There was nothing wrong with Chris Paul's effort in the second half of this series as he put together four straight double-doubles, on Sunday adding five boards, four steals and two treys.
The Western Conference Finals, pitting the Rockets against the Golden St. Warriors, begins Tuesday. We discussed how long it's been since Houston got here; for the Warriors, it's been even longer -- 1976 marking their last appearance.
The last time a 3-1 series was erased in the NBA was 2006, when the Suns came back against the Lakers.

College Football Fantasy (early) 9/13

2014-09-09T18:05:00.002-07:00

Daily Fantasy Sports is the wave of the future. It's not much different than sports betting, you have to do your research, scouting, and the best part is you don't need to wager on 5-6 different games just have one or two fantasy teams is enough entertainment to keep you pumped full of adrenaline on a Saturday. This week on Draft Kings with a $50,000 salary cap here are the starting line-ups and back-ups to consider for your Early games fantasy line-up. Why trust Hacksaw Sports? Well so far 6 entries on the season and five victories including 3 of 4 in college football. Now it's time to do the scouting that will win you money. #1 QB: Clint Trickett from West Virgina on the road against Maryland. Trickett in his two starts this year lit up Alabama for 365 yards so no matter how good the Maryland defense might be Trickett has seen better. He will also be putting the ball in the air as the Mountaineers whether against a top ranked championship caliber team like the Crimson Tide or vs. Townson State last week will put up the ball with 85 passes in two games. Only question is when will Trickett's arm fall off. Trickett is great value with a $6,000 salary cap. #2 QB: Maty Mauk of Missouri faces a Central Florida team that was torched by Christian Hackenberg for 435 yards two weeks ago in Dublin, Ireland. Mauk has 8 touchdown passes on the season with two interceptions. He will be facing a tough run defense that limited Penn State on the ground to less than a 100 yards rushing and while we expect more from the SEC's Tiger's ground attack Gary Pinkel known for his aerial assaults will not neglect taking advantage of a poor CFU secondary. Mauk's only home game of the season he threw for 3 touchdowns and had less than 200 yards of total offense, expect Maty to put on a show for the home crowd in Columbia. You get what you pay for at $7,500 salary cap. back up QB: Anthony Boone, Duke University, real simple dual threat quarterback at home vs. a Charlie Weis team that is focused on offense. Kansas has yet to prove they can play football in the Charlie Weis era on the road. In the Jayhawks only game of the year they gave up better over 420 yards on 64 plays including 3 interceptions and could barely beat the lowly Southeast Missouri State Redhawks. Don't expect Boone to give up the ball at home against KU. This is a game between an ACC team that went to their conference championship winning ten games and returning a veteran QB and receiving corp. Excellent value at $7,100 and it's tough not to pick him over Maty Mauk. #1 Running Back: Alex Collins the top recruit for Arkansas travels to Texas Tech. So far the Red Raiders have been able to outscore their opponents 72-61. Giving up 61 points to the likes of sub-division Central Arkansas and last year's two win blunders from C-USA UTEP is not going to get it done against an SEC team looking to improve on a 3 win 2013 season and with Brett Bielema looking to pad the stats of his heralded freshman before rigorous conference play. So far this season Collins has three trips to the end zone all against Nichols State and a total of 199 yards including an impressive 6.8 YPC against last year's SEC champion Auburn Tigers in the opener on the road. Collins gets to prove he can play against a questionable Tech defense. Great value at $5,500. #2 Running Back: Royce Freeman a talented back up at Oregon. The #2 ranked Ducks are a 43 point favorite at home. Expect the Ducks to put the pedal to the metal and not let up on Wyoming this weekend in Eugene. Wyoming has been decent on defense holding opponents Air Force and Montana to a combined 25 points in Laramie but don't expect to get the same results from the Quack Attack who are averaging 49 points a game and getting over the 50 point mark is a thing of pride in Eugene. Freeman is winning back-up time against Thomas Tyner and look for him to be rewarded with his early season success with more playing time once starter Bryon Marshall leaves the game. Would love to have Todd Gurley here but at $5,400 look for Freeman to produce! Back-up Running back: Derrick Green (Michigan). While there are some sure-fire high priced running backs available in Thomas Rawls of Central Michigan at home who runs and catches vs. Syracuse this week, James Conner at home against Florida Atlantic University, and everyone's front runner for the Heisman at Todd Gurley on the road against South Carolina (giving up over 5 yards per carry to Texas A&M and East Carolina) my value back is Derrick Green of Michigan. Green is was a highly recruited player coming out of high school and in his sophomore year put up great numbers in week #1 against sub-division power Appalachian State and horrific numbers with the rest of his teammates last week on the road against Notre Dame. Look for Green to rebound this week and put up over 100 yards on the ground against Miami of Ohio while reaching the end zone at least once in the big house. The Wolverines are hungry for a win and a lot of scoring after being embarrassed last week in South Bend. Excellent value at $5,800. #1 Wide Receiver: Kevin White West Virginia. The Mountaineers will be throwing the ball at Maryland. Trickett is proving to be an excellent QB and Kevin White is not disappointing. He is Trickett's favorite target with 19 catches on the year including 9 for 143 and a touchdown in week 1 against Alabama! If you can score on Alabama there should be expectations to score on Maryland and great value at $5,800. #2 and #3 receivers the duo from Mizzou with Darius White and Bud Sasser. The duo has divided 14 catches between them and expect it to increase for Maty Mauk's big targets. Sasser is getting more yards while White is reaching the end zone more. There will be plenty of yards to go around against Central Florida in Columbia with this pair averaging over 40 fantasy points per game and the price is right at $4,600 and $4,300 respectively. Back up WR: Ty Montgomery is a do every thing receiver for Stanford running the ball and catching passes. He could have a huge monster first half against Army but don't expect to see much of the star receiver in the 2nd half as the Cadets are no match for the Cardinal, hefty price tag at $7,500. Devin Funchess is Devin Gardner's favorite receiver for the Michigan Wolverines and after the non-productive effort by Gardner last week in South Bend, Funchess should see more passes and more end zone. Despite a no TD effort last week Funchess still had 9 grabs for over a hundred yards. Good productivity at $6,700. Isaac Blackney, Duke; this 6'6" 225lb tight end is listed as a receiver and is reaching the end zone with 3 touchdown grabs in the first two games on nine catches. Expect Blackney to continue to have success in week #3 against Kansas and is a great value at $4,700. Starting Tight End: The most difficult position to predict with no clear cut stud tight end with a quality match-up in week #3. Leader of the pack is Gerald Christian of Louisville and the price tag reflects the value of $3,900. Other quality options if you want to upgrade the salary cap on some of your other positions look at ultra athletic Arkansas tight end and former QB AJ Derby, this could allow to bring in Todd Gurley by taking out Maty Mauk for Anthony Boone. Austin Hooper is a well targeted tight end for the Stanford Cardinal but how much playing time will he get against Army. Jake Duzey is a consistent tight end for Iowa and against in state rival expect to see him get a few more grabs. Flex: Bryon Marshall starting running back for Oregon. He should get enough points before the Duck starters are taken out in an expected blowout of Wyoming (+43). Marshall is the dual threat averaging better than 7 yards per carry and leading the Ducks in receiving. Great value at $6,800. Back-up line up QB#1 - Trickett WVU, ($6,000) at Maryland QB#2 - Anthony Boone, Duke ($7,100) vs. Kansas RB#1 - Alex Collins, Arkansas ($5,500)at Texas Tech RB#2 - Royce Freeman, Oregon ($5,400) vs. Wyoming WR#1 - Kevin White WVU, ($5,800) at Maryland WR#2 - Darius White, Missouri ($4,300) vs. Central Florida WR#3 - Isaac Blakeny, Duke ($4,700) vs. Kansas TE - AJ Derby, Arkansas ($2,500) at Texas Tech Flex - Todd Gurley, Georgia ($8,300) at South Carolina Total Cap ($49,700)

Online Poker in the United States

2013-05-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

I just got a letter from an online poker player who was unaware of recent laws in the United States pertaining to online poker. Most important thing to remember is because online poker is relatively new there are not a lot of laws on the books. First and foremost law is there can be no operators within the borders of the United States that operate an online gaming company without a license. Companies likes Twin Spires, Bet Fair currently operate in various states with horse racing licenses. Nevada recently licensed the first online poker company to operate within their borders. As for the players there is one law on the books and that is in the state of Washington where it is a felony to gamble online. In 2006 the UIGEA or Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act was passed which went into effect in January of 2010. The summary of the law was banks could not be used with their credit cards, debit cards, pay pal, or any other source to fund an online/offshore gaming account. In April of 2010 The Department of Justice came down hard on companies like Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars who repeatedly violated this act resulting in the expulsion of these companies. There are other ways to fund offshore gaming accounts and the most popular in Western Union but recently the True Poker Network has utilized Belizean debit cards not under the jurisdiction of the United States to fund gaming accounts for US citizens. Click this link to sign u with True Poker and email schap35@gmail.com for an application and directions to receive a debit card so you can enjoy online poker!

The Streak

2011-11-26T06:56:00.000-08:00

In college football no game is as big as Ohio State/Michigan. Granted neither team is worthy this year of national championship talk or even a BCS bowl bid. The football media seems to want Michigan to get ahold of a BCS bowl bid but that would be a New Year's day slaughter. Michigan has improved it's record this season along with statistics showing signs of a defense that was non-existent under the Richrod era and there should be a renewed hatred towards the Buckeyes with Brady Hoke taking the reigns in Ann Arbor but does that equate to a big victory over the Buckeyes?

It could but it won't. Ohio State still possesses one of the premiere defenses in the country that has kept the Buckeyes in games when their inept offenses have failed so don't expect Denard Robinson to run wild. In fact with Robinson's penchant to running the football you can expect Robinson to spend some time on the sidelines as this is going to be the hardest hitting game of the season for both teams, especially Michigan as these Buckeyes have nothing to lose and want to continue the current 7 game win streak over Michigan.

Offensively the Buckeyes lack efficiency out of the Quarterback position but still have some great depth at running back and a very physical offensive line that should create some great smash mouth football this morning. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifExpect the Wolverines to crowd the line of scrimmage but also expect the Buckeyes to get a strong push with lead blocking from Zach Boren for Boom Herron to establish the Buckeye running game and than for the X-factor Braxton Miller to open up the running game with his legs on key third down conversions.

Ohio State/Michigan is a rivalry game. Master Tressell is no longer on the sidelines for Ohio State with his gaudy 9-1 record against Michigan but the players who have stomped the Wolverines for the past seasons still have the drive and mean instilled in them through Tressell. Don't expect any quarter be given by the Buckeyes as this game is about pride. Take the Buckeyes (click here to bet) on the road in a hostile environment in a low scoring game plus 7.5 points to cover and if you have nerves of steel this is a money line worth considering for a few bucks!

Turkey Day Bets

2011-11-22T11:30:00.000-08:00

I of sound mind and faith do not have all of the answers but I do have a good eye for a good bet having won my last two documented players over the weekend. This Turkey Day we have a bunch of games and as a sports bettor if you plan on winning you have to pick the best game unless you are just an action junkie. Green Bay has got to lose sometime and playing in Detroit could be just the place. The weakness of the Packers is the offensive line. A couple of weeks ago Jared Allen and the Vikings were setting up shop in the Packers backfield but this didn't help too much because they still got torched in Lambeau.

Thursday in Detroit should be different. A fierce pass rush has proven to be not enough to rattle Packer's Aaron Rodgers who is playing lights out with quick decision making and a multitude of receivers that have speed and can run disciplined routes trusting Rodgers will get them the ball. The difference this week will be playing in the dome, the noise factor.

On the other side of the ball Matt Stafford and the Lions offense have been lighting it up this year also. Matched up against the Packers defense ranked in the lower half of the league while the Lions are much more formidable. Don't underestimate the Packers though as the defensive rankings don't tell the entire story as the Packers are a league leader in turnovers. In Detroit this should be a tight game take the Lions plus the points! This doesn't mean Green Bay won't walk out of the dome undefeated.

Moral Obligations

2011-11-21T12:56:00.000-08:00

Ever since Frank Noonan decided to use his position as a State Police Commissioner he went overboard with slandering Joe Paterno with the for lack of legal terms "moral obligation". If you are going to make a judgement on Joe Paterno than judge the whole book. Judge how he deferred NFL offers years ago to stick around at Penn State. Judge Paterno on his large donations to the University to assist students in learning in a personal amount in excess of $4 million. Judge Paterno on 61 years of loyal service to the University. Judge Paterno on his 46 years as the head coach and barely a whisper of rule breaking other than a few players that got arrested for infractions. Most importantly judge Paterno on his actions in the aftermath of the 1997 accusation against Jerry Sandusky for improper interaction with a child. Paterno seemed to be the guy who made the right judgement than in pushing Sandusky out of Penn State for character issues and it was the board of trustees along with Wendell Courtney that brought Sandusky right back in with an enhanced "retirement package".

Any head football coach in his right mind with an assistant who was named assistant coach of the year, twice wouldn't push him out at the age of 55 if it was all about the wins. Joe is the last person to impose age discrimination. A head coach would not push out an assistant who coached one of the best defenses in the country if it was all about the wins. Sandusky might arguably be the most successful assistant coach with tenure in the history of NCAA football. Sandusky we can only assume his reasons for leaving the PSU football program but in wake of the 1997 child abuse accusations it's safe to assume "the different direction" Joe Paterno was looking for what character and not winning football games.

Frank Noonan is a police commissioner, this does not make him a morals judge, he is paid to stop and prohibit criminal activity like child abuse. Since Noonan is going to have such a strong opinion on Joe Paterno I have a strong opinion on Frank Noonan. Frank Noonan used the "morals obligation" to focus the spotlight on Joe Paterno as an enabler for the alleged child abuse scandal. Also since the "morals obligation" term has been used by his boss Governor Tom Corbett is appears the two are in cahoots.

Governor Corbett the former attorney general knew about Jerry Sandusky, heck he knew all about Penn State as he is on the board of trustees that fired Joe Pa. Check out this video it says it all about Tom Corbett and "moral obligations". Let's just get rid of "moral obligations" before it becomes a law whereby the holier than thou Noonan and Corbett can use that against the rest of us that stand in their way.

* footnote: Corbett has a striking resemblance to "Police Squad's" Lieutenant Frank Drebin? I think Drebin would have made a better attorney general.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t33DLPVIGos&feature=colike

Fooled

2011-11-20T13:34:00.000-08:00

It's been few weeks since the President of the Second Mile Charity Jerry Sandusky and former assistant coach/defensive coordinator who retired in 1999 at Penn State University was arrested for a series of child molestation charges. The popular immediate reaction was very emotional as the molestation of children is universally appalling but we need to remember that right now the allegations are just that allegations with no in court proof which is necessary to make a legal judgement against this horrific act.

The ugliness of this crime was it occurred for over 14 years that is documented who knows if it last less or more if the crimes indeed occurred. One of the most important factors was if these crimes did indeed happen than a lot of people were fooled and these were the exact words of 61 year PSU employee and former head football coach who lost his job due to the new by law which was made up by Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan for not meeting his "moral obligations" despite following rules and the law on second hand information.

The people who were fooled starts with Ray Gricar and the Centre County Police Department. Gricar is the district attorney who dismissed 1997 charges against Sandusky for taking showers in the nude with minors. Despite admission of showering incidents this huge scandal might have been stopped there and than but it nothing was done by law enforcement at the time possibly due to Sandusky's status as a Penn State assistant coach. Regardless I have to make another special mention to State Commissioner Frank Noonan to publicly reprimand the Centre County Police Department for not "meeting their moral obligations". Can't say much to Ray Gricar who has been mysteriously missing and presumed dead since April of 2005.

Next up on the fooled by Sandusky list is the adoption agencies that allowed him to adopt 6 children. One of the responsibilities of adoption agencies is to do a thorough background check on adopting parents. If Sandusky is found guilty than these adoption agencies who are paid to investigate the backgrounds of prospective adopting parents failed miserably by sending children to a person capable of child molestation.

We cannot forget about the foster care agencies that allowed for Jerry to take in foster children over the years. As a matter of fact The Second Mile Charity was applauded by politicians from former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum to George Herbert Bush.

I still recall sitting in a sports bar back in the 90's with a former Penn State alumnus and friend while watching an Ohio State/Penn State game while ABC-ESPN was doing a special on Sandusky about all his great work. When you adopt six kids you have to have good character considering paid professionals investigate the person but this one got past one of the major networks for their on air pseudo canonization of Sandusky on air for all his work with foster kids, the Second Mile Charity, and association with the Penn State football program. Hey we all make mistakes if you were fooled.

The Penn State University board of trustees were fooled because it's the board of trustees that approved of Jerry Sandusky's retirement package that included emeritus status, full use of PSU facilities and an office and phone in a University building to conduct fund raising for The Second Mile Charity.

The State of Pennsylvania Governor's office: Former Governor Democrat Ed Rendell approved of a $3 million dollar grant for the Second Mile Charity and when current governor and former State Attorney General Republican Tom Corbett who sits on the Penn State board of trustees entered office his administration required all pending grants be reviewed and it was approved by Governor Corbett unless he didn't read what he was signing. So Rendell was fooled along with Corbett, not bad fooling two governors.

Actually it's highly debatable that Corbett was fooled because he was handling the Sandusky investigation for child molestation as early as 2009 but it probably slipped his mind while writing thank you letters to Sandusky's Second Mile Foundation for $460,000 worth of campaign donations while Corbett was running for State Attorney General and another $200,000 for the Governor's office in 2010.

So state agencies, major networks, adoption agencies, politicians on up to the White House, foster agencies, and the people who approve of grants giving away free money were all fooled by Jerry Sandusky who seem to have been given a pass but heaven forbid, Joe Paterno the 84 year old head coach of Penn State University who has not worked with Sandusky since 1999 and has no supervision authority over Sandusky is the one person who the public, the Penn State board of trustees, Governor Corbett and Frank Noonan all want to point the finger at.

The old man would probably point a finger if he wanted to lower himself to the levels of the self righteous but it appears he has taken the high road and with his 20/20 hindsight vision wishes he would have done more when he heard about the accusations on top of making considerable donations to the University, raising funds for the University to support academics and coaching a football team, supervising his coaches and being a voice of vast experiences in life to influence hundreds of young men on how to be good responsible, respectable adults.

As of today the Second Mile Charity is closing it's charitable doors likely before too much investigation is done into the charity which seems to be the center point of the cover up of alleged child sexual molestation.

NFL Pick of the Day

2011-11-20T11:38:00.001-08:00

Well since I nailed the Arizona Wildcats plus 10.5 points yesterday might as well make another pick since I am on a roll. The game that sticks out is Seattle plus 3 visiting St. Louis. The Rams have been improving in recent weeks but so have the Seahawks and the match up favors Seattle. Marshawn Lynch has been running wild lately rushing for consecutive 100 yard games against the top two rush defenses in the past two weeks against Dallas and Baltimore respectively. This week it gets much easier against the 31st ranked Ram defense.

On the flip side St. Louis has been playing much better with Steven Jackson picking up the Ram ground attach while the inconsistent Sam Bradford is experiencing a sophmore slump after being named rookie of the year in 2010. The Rams have been playing much better in recent weeks only losing on the road to Arizona in overtime but all games have been close with New Orleans, Arizona, and Cleveland winning two of three. Meanwhile Seattle has been erratic but the ground game getting stronger in recent weeks has been beneficial in keeping the defense off the field plus opening up passing opportunities for Tavaris Jackson, the game could go either way but with points and a strong rushing attack look for Seattle to be in this game to the very end and either pull it out or have victory snatched in the final minutes regardless it will be a close one as these teams played tight games last year with Seattle coming out on top both times en route to a division title.

Take the Seahawks plus the points for a conservative amount.

Territory Cup; Saturday's Pick of the Day

2011-11-19T11:22:00.001-08:00

It's Saturday the day college football fans can focus on football and not deal with the overload of weekday drama. I'll have my eyes on the Penn State game but only because I am an Ohio State alum and looking for the Buckeyes to stick it to the Nittany Lions. It's not a game I am going to bet on as my game is tonight in a rivalry I know a little something about, the Territorial Cup

What is the Territorial Cup, it's a battle for supremacy in the state of Arizona. These teams just flat out hate each other, fights are the norm on the field of play and expect to see a lot of yellow flags. For the Arizona Wildcats this is their bowl game, with high expectations heading into the season led by one of the top 5 quarterbacks heading into next year's NFL draft Nick Foles along with his favorite receiver another NFL ready player Javon Criner who is just the best of a very deep receiving corp that should face little resistance from the Sun Devil defense. The Sun Devils have the 92nd ranked pass defense in the NCAA this year. Not to be outdone the Wildcats have the overall 107th ranked defense so it should be a shootout tonight in Tempe. The total is indicative of no defense, all offense and a lot of points with an over/under of 70.

The history of this game is a tight one too with the last two games between these two hated rivals separated by only 4 points including Sun Devil come from behind victory last year in Tucson that sent the Wildcats on a slide that they have not forgotten and will be seeking sweet revenge.

Having lived in Tempe, Arizona and spent two years in Tucson I know that either team can win this game. For Arizona State a win means a possible tie with USC for the Pac 10 South and spot in the first Pac 10 Championship game. For Arizona they are 2-8 and this is their bowl game plus a chance to knock Arizona State out of the title game which is sweeter. When it comes to records in this game, they say throw them out and I have seen Rose Bowls destroyed in this game for both of these teams. In a toss up game the Sun Devils are favored by 10.5. consider it the best bet of the day and take the Wildcats +10.5. In a shootout neither team will get too far ahead the pressure is on the Sun Devils to win and they will probably play tighter and with the talent levels about the same the Wildcats will play much looser and if not win the game put a scare into ASU with the game decided in the waning moments.

Notice the picture, the kicker for Arizona State is about to plant the pitchfork in the A at the 50 yard line in Tucson after kicking the game winner in the 2010 ASU victory, this one is sticking in the minds of every Wildcat player wanting a piece of the Sun Devils.

Sandusky Cover Up Scandal

2011-11-17T22:33:00.000-08:00

This commentary is not to justify the alleged actions of Jerry Sandusky. I believe he is more than likely guilty and that is why I could never be an impartial juror. According to the U.S. Constitution, which preserves civility in the United States, we need to recognize the court procedures set forth by it. In other words, we need to recognize that government, law enforcement, and politicians will may use it against us to paint a story with the media. Right now there are only bits and pieces of information; people are appalled and rightfully so, but making sure we get the complete story is necessary. I feel most main stream news sources would not print this, thus we need the internet: the underworld of news. I hope this story is shared by many to get to the core of the truth, as people we are supposed to trust have done a great injustice not only to young children but also to innocent men of which none is Jerry Sandusky in this commentary.

The Penn State University's association with Jerry Sandusky is going to get super ugly and the whole truth will probably never come out as there is far more to it than just PSU football. The cover up involves Penn State officials starting with the board of trustees, government officials and the police all doing their very best to try to pin this on the most obvious person, Joe Paterno. Paterno is the face of Penn State football and Sandusky was an assistant coach a long time ago (1999). One thing I would bet my life on is that Joe Paterno didn't want Sandusky around PSU.

Let's look at some facts. Jerry Sandusky was twice named assistant coach of the year in Division I college football. He was a great defensive coordinator and the record proves his worth to PSU football. While Sandusky was at Penn State, the Nittany Lions had 31 winning seasons during a 32-year stretch. The university was nicknamed Linebacker U. In 1997, Sandusky was first subjected to child abuse charges when the District Attorney of Centre County, Pennsylvania, Ray Gricar dismissed the charges despite evidence and a statement from a victim that Sandusky was showering in the nude with minors and fondling young boys. Because Gricar dismissed the charges, it was just an allegation and 32 years of tenure at Penn State meant the University couldn't just fire Sandusky without justification lest it would face a wrongful termination lawsuit.

After the original allegations, Joe Paterno told Sandusky he would not be the next head coach at Penn State and he should consider retiring. Paterno informed Sandusky the football team needed to head in a different direction. Considering PSU was used to winning football seasons with Sandusky it seemed strange to fix something that wasn't broken. The five years immediately following Sandusky's departure PSU had four losing season. The decision to push Sandusky out was not about winning but about character, and Sandusky's character appeared to be in question. Per the urging of Paterno, Sandusky agreed to an early "enhanced retirement package" and since he was never convicted he was in a position to negotiate a decent retirement package.

Due to the horrible record and sub-standard PSU defense in the post Sandusky years, Tim Curley the PSU athletic director actually asked Joe to step down as football coach; Paterno refused. Based on this knowledge it is safe to say Joe Paterno was not all about winning football games as he pushed out his best assistant coach because of strong allegations.

Sandusky retired from PSU football at a young age for a football coach (55). His focus turned towards the charity he founded,the Second Mile Foundation. This charity had a legal counselor named Wendell Courtney. Coincidentally, Courtney was the university legal counsel who negotiated Sandusky's retirement package. The retirement package included, the title of Professor of Physical Education with emeritus status allowing Sandusky full use of university facilities. Sandusky also received an office in East Hall along with a telephone line yet, he never taught at PSU. The retirement package was approved by the Penn State board of trustees (1998) NOT Joe Paterno the football coach.

Why would Sandusky need an office and phone line at PSU? Perhaps, the answer lies with Wendell Courtney. Courtney was legal counsel for The Second Mile Foundation, a charity that raised millions of dollars for under privileged youths. Raising funds for this organization involved many ex Nittany Lion players who went on to play in the NFL and had big name contacts. Sandusky maintained his reputation that included rather complimentary words from former Super Bowl winning coach Dick Vermeil, former President George H. Bush, and many others plus a continued association with Penn State University as the cleanest football program in collegiate sports. The PSU connection, the phone, and the office were all beneficial to Sandusky when raising funds for the Second Mile Foundation. Wendell Courtney as legal counsel for the foundation was also a beneficiary of the fund raising as only 10% of funds donated to charities are required by law to go to the actual cause while 90% can be used for administrative fees.

Money was the motivation for Sandusky's existence at PSU but former District Attorney, Ray Gricar cannot answer questions as to his motivations because he has been missing since 2005. Gricar's Mini Cooper was last seen along the banks adjacent to the Susquehanna River in April of 2005. Strangely, the body of Gricar's brother was found nine years earlier in the Great Miami River in Ohio.

"Police and family members noted that the location where the vehicle was found – adjacent to two bridges over the Susquehanna River – bore some similarities to the location where the vehicle of Roy Gricar, Ray Gricar's older brother, was located before his body was found in the Great Miami River in Ohio in 1996." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Gricar

Now let's examine Joe Paterno's character. Paterno or Joe Pa as he is affectionately called by many, was an advocate of academics; his players graduated at a rate 78%, 9% greater than the national average and only second to Northwestern in the Big Ten Conference.

"Paterno is also renowned for his charitable contributions to academics at Penn State. He and his wife Sue have contributed over $4 million towards various departments and colleges, including support for the Penn State All-Sports Museum, which opened in 2002, and the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, which opened in 2003. After helping raise over $13.5 million in funds for the 1997 expansion of Pattee Library, the University named the expansion Paterno Library in their honor.

In 2007, former player Franco Harris and his company R Super Foods honored Paterno for his contributions to Penn State by featuring his story and picture on boxes of Super Donuts and Super Buns in Central PA. A portion of the sales will be donated to an endowment fund for the university library that bears his name." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Paterno#Philanthropy_and_education

It should also be noted that Paterno never earned more than $568,000 (base salary) a year in his career well below what he could have commanded given both tenure and nationwide support. While most Division I coaches earn well over a million and up to $5 million per season Joe Paterno, a living legend, collegiate football Hall of Famer barely made a half million per year.

Joe Pa has a reputation of playing by the rules and if he was guilty of anything it was playing by the rules when it came to Sandusky. Paterno couldn't fire Sandusky in 1999, so he suggested Sandusky take advantage of early "enhanced retirement" from the football program. In 2002, upon hearing allegations from Mike McQueary about child molestation in the showers by the former assistant Sandusky, Paterno followed the rules, just like he has done his entire life. The rules at Penn State set forth by the board of trustees state that any sexual misconduct must be reported to one's immediate superior. In this case Paterno and McQueary reported to Tim Curley the Athletic Director and Gary Schultz the Senior Vice President of Business and Finance. Paterno and McQueary followed the rules and per state law McQueary having witnessed an act in the showers of alleged sexual misconduct with a minor by an adult reported this incident to the police. Grand Jury Report, page 12

Joe Paterno was a football coach at Penn State. He had legendary status and many supporters. He was never a god as some disillusioned people might suggest. He yielded power to the board of trustees, the same group that fired him. If you are indeed and almighty and powerful god you don't get fired by the board of trustees.

As for Mike McQueary, the then 28 year old graduate assistant allegedly witnessed a horrific act for which he came forward to Joe Paterno, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, and per his own statements, the police. University police and Centre County police departments are both denying reports of McQueary having made any statements on record. McQueary is considered a credible witness by the state. He has not been fired by the board of trustees and he is not wanted by the police for any violations of the law yet both police departments with jurisdiction are denying he made a statement. Considering McQueary has not been charged and he was found to be a credible, honest witness by the appointed grand jury I would assume he has been honest throughout and did file a police report. As for the police as the puzzle comes together it almost appears they are involved in the cover-up as well.

Gary Schultz is an important figure in this entire debacle. Schultz is the Senior Vice President of Business and Finance for Penn State. Per his job description he oversees the PSU police department. In other words, he is either the head of the university police department or he is a representative of the police department, otherwise what business did he have in hearing statements from Paterno and McQueary? Schultz and Athletic Director Tim Curley decided the incident reported by McQueary was "not that serious" and like Ray Gricar in 1998, dismissed the eye witness account from McQueary and never reported their findings to the state of Pennsylvania child services department as required by law. Gary Schultz appears to have a major conflict of interest. He was the head of the university police department (oversees) and the Sr. Vice President of Business and Finance; to report Sandusky for sexual misconduct with a minor would have rocked the PSU program in 2002, costing the University revenue and making Schultz look bad so it's possible he decided to cover up the incident and focus on finance and business. Schultz has been discredited as having faulty testimony in the case and is not considered a credible witness. Grand Jury Report page 9

This wouldn't be the first time the police have covered up a crime. The fraternity in blue was well aware of first-hand reports of sexual abuse by Sandusky in 1997 in Centre County. The police didn't pursue the allegations and by law ironically since then District Attorney Ray Gricar dismissed the charges; the police did not have the authority to go any further regardless of "Noonan's moral obligations".

Schultz is currently retired from PSU and is out on bail for failing to report a criminal act against a child (Grand Jury report page 12) Based on the information Schultz received from McQueary he and recently fired President Graham Spanier took away Sandusky's keys and notified him to not to bring children onto PSU property. This was not Joe Paterno's ruling but rather the decision of Senior officials at Penn State University.

In 2009 more allegations were brought against Jerry Sandusky by Clinton County High School for molesting young boys at the school where Sandusky was a volunteer coach. AT the time charges were the responsibility of then Attorney General Tom Corbett. Corbett claims he put off the case because he had ties to the Sandusky family. Corbett had enough evidence to arrest Sandusky in 2009 but chose to wait. Ironically the Second Mile Foundation had donated over $640,000 to Corbett's political campaign including $200,000 for Corbett's 2010 race for Governor of Pennsylvania http://earlyreturns.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/early-returns-20/53-post-gazette-staff/3641-more-second-mile-psucorbett-ties To make matters worse Governor Tom Corbett, who was the acting attorney general in 2009 and aware of the Sandusky child molestation case approved a $3,000,000 state grant to The Second Mile Foundation in 2010. Corbett is the same governor who refused to spend $40 million for disabled citizens but approved $3 million to a charity and it's founder who Corbett knew to be the focus of a child molestation case. http://thepennsylvaniaprogressive.com/

The cover up goes far deeper and cuts into the judicial system. The judge who set the bail for Sandusky to roam free on $100,000 unsecured bail ($400,000 lighter than requested by the prosecutor's office) had direct ties with The Second Mile Foundation; another conflict of interest. The Second Mile Foundation also recently purchased land from Penn St. University which was approved by the board of trustees including board member Governor Tom Corbett. Had Corbett revealed allegations against Sandusky in 2009 his acceptance of campaign donations from Sandusky's charity might have come into strong question and he would not have received additional financial support in 2010 for the governor's race. If that is not enough political influence, include Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania in the already embarrassing mix. In 2002 Sandusky was awarded the "Angels in Adoption Award" by Senator Santorum for his work with foster children so Pennsylvania politicians were well represented when sweeping the 1997 case under the rug. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Mile

Considering both the money involved with The Second Mile Foundation and the man who was it's President and founder, it took a lot of nerve, or ignorance by Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan to criticize Joe Paterno for "not meeting his moral obligations". It's easy to go after an 84 year old man. After all Paterno is feeble and will die soon enough even if he does decide to sue the state for slandering his reputation. Remember, Paterno tried to get rid of Sandusky; the board of trustees allowed Sanudsky to keep an office on campus.

Frank Noonan stirred the pot and slandered Joe Paterno so badly that support for Paterno was at an all-time low. This is what allowed the board of trustees to fire Paterno. The spotlight has been placed on Paterno as an "enabler", yet Sandusky has not been under Joe Paterno's supervision since 1999. Paterno is enough of a public figure that a spotlight on him takes heat off of the real "enablers". Frank Noonan slandered Joe Pa to take the focus off his boss in the governor's office. The money trail from Sandusky to Corbett is documented. Sandusky had value in Tom Corbett's political career.

It's a horrific tragedy that young boys have been allegedly molested by Sandusky for years. I refrain from calling him guilty but the evidence, political cover- up supported by police departments state-wide, and the attempt to deflect press onto Joe Paterno is the most corrupt and sickest political scandal in my lifetime. A case so vile as child molestation, that is covered up for so many years, probably wouldn't be covered up by a man who has followed the rules for the past 84 years of his life while exhibiting actions of excellent character. But when politicians, police, and money are involved, even the sickest of actions is allowed to continue for such an extensive period of time until it becomes so hideous that parents talk to one too many cops and finally something has to be done. Finally something has been done!

PSU in this case may not stand for Penn State University, perhaps it stands for Political State cover Up. It takes more than one man to cover up child molestation for 14 years. One man is not powerful enough to enable a child molester to prey on children for 14 years. However combine political donations, an attorney general with ambitions to become governor with law enforcement under his control and that seems to be enough power.

Alternative Sports

2011-11-09T16:24:00.001-08:00

Getting paid the big bucks in professional sports is the ultimate. It means you are playing in front of big crowds paying hundreds of dollars a seat cheering like the mad ancient Romans looking for bloodshed. The downside of this life of luxury is the people that lived way too large and find themselves whoring for a buck. Case in point former Philadelphia Phillie favorite investor baboon frittered away millions per the advice of Bernie Madoff and now has to go toe to toe in a pay per view boxing match with another ex major league ball player, Jose "Roid Wonder" Canseco who couldn't sell enough books to cover the airfare to his last fight so he had his twin brother replace him. It's a grim event as these aging athletes have to step into the dimming spotlight once again to in a fight to the death match that will more than likely be called prematurely as insurance agents influence doctors to not give the fans exactly what they want and that is a dead ball player lying gruesomely in his own pool of crimson blood.

Dykstra and Canseco aren't the only lost athletic souls the list goes on from Lawrence Taylor one of the most feared linebackers to ever grace the NFL gridiron to the mustachioed one Rollie Fingers who cannot find a bidder to pay him to shave the mustache and the fertile one Travis Henry who invested in some his earnings in of all things and elephant trunk g-string and malt liquor to open up his "man whore" sole proprietorship when he got dollar signs in his eyes watching Rob Schneider in the fictional movie "Duece Bigalow". Henry is currently rumored to have been filing a lawsuit against movie writers for not revealing the ever so important detail about man whores using of rubbers. The bottom line is Travis can't work enough jobs now to support his child base but there is still hope Travis there is still hope.

Just to become a high paid athlete it takes practice, hard work, contacts, and a mean streak to step on others in your path to success. While the four major sports comprise of less than 400 high paid athletes there are millions of aspiring athletes in the minor leagues, colleges, and the developmental leagues earning pennies on the dollars compared to our athletic heroes. It's a very low probability of success but it's nothing compared to the American Welfare System.

While there are approximately 50 million welfare recipients none of them really has the golden goose and to get to the golden goose one has to really get mean, down and dirty to get those dollars because those checks only get distributed at the Capitol Hill Welfare Office. These annual $174,000 welfare checks come with full benefits and expense accounts and unlike the lower level recipients of welfare who receive food stamps the stamps coming out of the Capitol Hill Welfare office are Wall Street trading stamps full of insider information so our best of the best welfare recipients can re-invest those welfare dollars into 9 figure fortunes. These position do not come without a cost.

The cost are grueling but the rewards are tremendous that is why so many immigrant mothers are trying desperately to have a lot of babies to teach their children that one day they can get to the Capitol Hill Welfare office and cash in. Just like the welfare down at your local offices Capital Hill Welfare recipients need to get paid under the table and in cash for all side jobs. Recently a tall 1/2 white, 1/2 black man living in the big White House on Pennsylvania Ave told the Capitol Hill Welfare recipients "get to work!" but was shut out by these seedy, slithery snake people by taking another vacation which isn't easy. Often while taking time away from the Capitol Hill Welfare line these professional recipients are subjected to countless hours of idle time which can take down the best of them.

Recently Capital Hill long time recipient of 30 years on the public tit Larry Craig from Idaho was caught up "wondering what to do" while on a 28 year vacation decided to experiment with gay bathroom sex in the Minneapolis airport. At Craig's advanced age he had yet to be challenged much in life since he was on the public nipple sucking it dry. How many vacations can a man take? Wall Street investments with insider trading tips no longer excited the elite welfare recipient so what else was there to do. Perhaps seducing another man taking pinching a loaf was just the excitement Larry needed. So Larry went alternative and went for it signaling an undercover cop dumping in the stall next to him with the love sign signaling "man love".

Well Larry's actions were overboard and it was just the type of Hall of Fame move he needed to advance to the final stage of the Capital Hill Welfare System. Since Larry achieved such elite status he has no longer been required to visit Capitol Hill to pick up his welfare check and can now sit at home with more idle time, collecting full pension, benefits and sitting on the board of directors for the National Rifle Association where he continues to do nothing but get paid.

Indeed Larry Craig has lived the dream life as the Idaho State representative for Capitol Hill Welfare, no work, all play, and oodles of idle time. Just remember for every Larry Craig there are approximately 53,000 aspiring welfare recipients that are looking to get those insider trading stamps and Capitol Hill welfare checks that will be sent to Larry til the day he dies for being a vicious scrupleous snake with no goals other than to collect. On the flip side to be an NFL player of the it's less than 1 out of a 100 college players that get to taste the gridiron glory. Hence the message is to aspiring welfare professionals if you want to get to the top and get those Capitol Hill welfare checks and benefits along with insider trading stamps put on your best snake face and be ready to cheat, life, steal, and stab your own mother in the back if you have to because Capitol Hill glory takes more than a lazy ass and a sad face.

Pissed Off!

2011-06-04T18:32:00.002-07:00

It's been 5 days since Jim Tressell who is the greatest head coach in the history of Ohio State football. Yes, the greatest. He is tied with the legendary Woody Hayes. I had the honor of befriending a few people including John Hicks a former All American offensive lineman and Heisman Runner up who played for Woody Hayes along with a drinking buddy who was a regular house guest of Woody. The stories were frequent about how Woody would make sure his players were taken care of off the football field. He cared more about his players off the field making them into responsible men rather than football players. Woody would often pay for bus tickets for players to go home to visit their families which is illegal by the NCAA today. Sorry NCAA for caring about people. This is exactly why Jim Tressell was forced out.

Not by the NCAA but by self righteous media especially CBS writers Tom Fornelli and Greg Doyell who were right at the forefront in slandering Jim Tressell. It's my blog and I can say whatever I want but fuck Tom Fornelli. You are a nutless ignorant bitch and I hope you learn to grow up because your talents as a writer are irresponsible and unprofessional. You remind me of the the movie "Idiocracy". You are the prosecuting lawyer and the judge. You look at one incident and think you know it all but in reality you know nothing, absolutely nothing.

Jim Tressell is the same guy who won a national championship in 2002. In 2003 the team returned most of it's starters including their best offensive player in 2002, Maurice Clarett. Mo made life easy for his offensive lineman with his battering ram style of running over and through the opposition. Mo in an injury shortened season still set the record for Ohio State freshmen for rushing yards and there have been a lot of great Buckeye running backs. In the off season Mo was caught filing a false police report alleging non-existent items from his car were stolen. He eventually admitted this and Jim Tressell was forced to indefinitely suspend his most explosive offensive player from what was an anemic offense. Thus taking a serious hit to defending a national championship for which the Buckeyes were the favorites to defend in 2003.

Maurice Clarett would have a very negative career after his brief football career at Ohio State including getting into repeated legal trouble with the police that put him in prison well before Buckeye nation had scorned him as an undesirable to the program.

After prison Jim Tressell was there for Maurice. Mo wanted to continue his education at Ohio State and Tressell extended a scholarship for Mo to continue his career at Ohio State as a student. Tressell obviously cared more about his former player to better his life as he was of absolutely no use to the Buckeye football program. Meanwhile the SEC just recently passed a bylaw whereby head coaches including Les Miles, Nick Saban and Gene Chizik winners of recent national championships in football were no longer allowed to extend more than 25 scholarships to players. Often coaches would extend scholarships to players but would over recruit to improve the chances of their football team having the best possible talent and when they would over recruit they would end up telling players they had to move out of their dorms and pay for their own schooling because someone was just a more valued football player. Miles, Chizik and Saban are still coaching and they are not alone in over recruiting. Guys like Steve Spurrier, Bobby Bowden, and Urban Meyer often would run up the scores on the opponents to improve their status of making the national championship game. Meyer is actually considered the favorite to replace Tressell as the permanent head coach at Ohio State. It's good to know that hiding the truth to protect a player for a minor infraction is more important that sportsmanship in the world of college athletics.

If there is any justice in this world, the Ohio State University will keep Luke Fickell for a long time as their head coach. Urban Meyer would be a fine replacement no doubt but the best candidate to replace Tressell who will teach good sportsmanship, respect for others, how to mature as a person should be the next head coach at Ohio State is Jim Tressell.

Brett Favre retired and came back. Michael Jordan did it also. At the University of Florida alone a fine University had both Urban Meyer and Billy Donovan championship coaches both resign only to return.

Former Buckeye comments on Jim Tressell

2011-06-04T18:32:00.001-07:00

In Defense of My Coach

It is always sad to see a hero fall. It has happened to me a few times, and for a few different reasons. Mario Lemieux was taken from the game of hockey as he reached his prime to battle illness. Tiger Woods lived a double life and is now a shell of the man who used to make the world shake with the reverberating roars of galleries across America. Those were my sporting heroes.

Men who stood at the pinnacle of their respective professions and made a legitimate difference in people’s lives.

I thought that watching them lose their air of invincibility would be the hardest way to see a career end. I thought that I would never feel so hopeless again, because I would never be as young and impressionable as I was when I let these men become such a large part of my life. Then again, I thought Jim Tressel was invincible.

Let me start by saying that I will not blame my teammates for any of this. Am I mad at them? Yes. I am mad as Hell at them for some of their actions. I am furious they cast aside our symbols of brotherhood and victory for a few hundred dollars. Those rings and Gold Pants were supposed to remind us forever of what we were a part of. Those rings were supposed to clank off of each other as we shook hands at our 2010 Rose Bowl Champs 25th anniversary banquet. Those rings were a part of our legacy to be carried on to our grandchildren as they looked at us in our rocking chairs and wondered how in the world we used to be champion athletes.

But who am I to tell someone what is important? Show an 18-year-old some money and give him some power, and you have a recipe for disaster. Put yourself in their shoes and tell me you would be able to resist temptation. You can’t. Tell an 18-year-old that he is the greatest enough times, and he will believe you. It comes with the territory.

Coach Tressel made the choice to try to account for his young players’ transgressions and move forward into the season with one of his most talented teams ever. It’s a choice he now undoubtedly regrets.

In my brief time at the top level of the amateur game, I learned one thing to be true without fail: If you succeed, people will hate you. And if people hate you, they will try to bring you down. Look at Auburn. If they went 2-4 through their first six games, would jealous Mississippi State boosters have come out of the woodwork to rat out Cam Newton? Fat chance. And along those lines, there is an even fatter chance that both Gene Chizik and Cam himself knew nothing of Cecil’s plan to shop his son. Examples are abundant. Bob Stoops knew nothing about the tens of thousands of dollars Rhett Bomar took for working a no-show job? Yeah, and I’m dating Beyonce. Dig deep enough anywhere you want, you’re eventually going to hit the dirt.

The difference is that when the others got caught, there was no proof. Coach Tressel reached out to people he thought may have an influence on future decisions made by the players (the quarterback’s “mentor”), and in doing so, sealed his own fate. The nail in his own coffin came in the form of a concerned e-mail.

Do I think Coach Tress was in the dark about the alleged ongoing violations by his players? No way. I always thought that man knew everything. My freshman year he approached me, a mere walk-on back-up punter, and asked me how my parents and two sisters were doing. He referred to them all by name! We had about 120 players on the team and he knew every person in all 120 immediate families. He knew because he cared.

He made a promise to our families to take care of us and he did everything in his power to fulfill that promise. He made us read books that would help us in life, write reports about those books, and present them to the team. The first thing we did every day was reflect and pray. There were constant reminders about how lucky we were to be playing a game for a free education and a chance at a better life. He made us sit through hours of brutal meetings with the compliance office almost every week. Believe me, we all knew what was legal and what was not legal. He brought lawyers and policemen in to warn us about the dangers of drunk driving, nightlife, and hanging out with the wrong people. He put us in hospitals to interact with patients, and introduced us to the military.

He taught us that there was more to being an Ohio State football player than just football.

We had a responsibility to present ourselves in a positive way, as we were representatives of so many things so much bigger than ourselves. Apparently, some of us could not handle that honor.

To some of us, there were different priorities, and becoming a man under the watchful eye of millions around the world was too much. George Dohrmann from Sports Illustrated suggested that Jim Tressel lost control of his football team. Quite the contrary. The Ohio State Football culture took over Columbus. Coach was the only reason there WAS any control on this football team. Ask the troubled former receiver. Ask the star quarterback. Our mistakes occurred away from his watchful eye.

Our mistakes had nothing to do with Jim Tressel.

Coach Tressel had one goal for each and every one of his players. He wanted to put us in the best position possible to succeed. Both on the field and off. He taught us that complacency was not an option, and that we could only be the best men that we could be if we learned every single day. He taught us everything he could, and gave us resources to learn what he could not teach us.

I want to look him in the eyes and thank him for the chance he gave me. I want to thank him for the life I live today and the doors he opened for me along the way. I want to thank him for introducing me to BuckeyeNation. I want to thank him for my rings and for my gold pants. I want to thank him for allowing me to live my dream and for the happiest moments of my young life.

He always said, “On your best days be great. On your worst days, be good. Every other day, get better.” Let’s just say that today, the Ohio State community is only good. But thanks to our Coach, we will always be better. Go Bucks!

BYU Pretender or Contender?

2011-03-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

The biggest controversy surrounds one of the biggest wins in BYU school history. After than #7 Cougars roared into San Diego and knocked of the sixth ranked San Diego State Aztecs for the 2nd time this season the Cougars flexed their muscle led by Jimmer Fredette's 25 points and 9 assists. Fredette boldly predicted pre-season that the Cougs would run the table this season and go undefeated. Well no one is really gonna bash the Cougars so far as the only blemishes up till San Diego State were losses on the road to defending Mountain West Champion New Mexico in the Pit and at Pac 10 front runner UCLA in famed Pauley Pavillion; two arenas with a history of home court advantage. On the resume were some big wins against #10 Arizona and twice beating #6 San Diego State.

Well all of that is over now. The Cougars are #3 in the nation and they just lost their leading big man. Not Jimmer but the big guy 6'9" Brandon Davies. The sophomore a starter in 26 games this season was suspended for the remainder of the season for what could be speculated as extra celebratory conduct in San Diego after the historical victory.

The loss of Davies is magnified by how the Cougars won on Saturday. BYU won by playing great team basketball. No one would doubt the Cougars were capable of winning a national title with their dead eye three point shooting which was very timely hitting 14-24 most of them in the second half to ward off any Aztec comebacks. The Cougars also won with solid defense limiting the sixth ranked team in the nation to 67 points. You cannot win without rebounding and Davies was a big part of this equation leading the Cougars in rebounding. Davies was also the big guy you saw early beating all of the ultra athletic Aztecs down the floor. Davies also brings a 53% shooting touch from the floor so he will be missed.

How missed will Davies be? Maybe not in the early rounds as BYU has too much quality for other teams to handle but a good indicator of how far they will travel will start with this week's rematch at the Mariott Center in Provo, Utah as they attempt to avenge their only conference loss of the season to New Mexico. Should the Cougars win this game it will indicate how well they should do in the first couple of rounds without Davies. The latter stages of the Mountain West Conference Tournament against either San Diego State or UNLV might be a better indicator as the the tournament games will be played on neutral sites.

How far will the Cougars go in the NCAA tournament? The Cougars should get a top 2 seed. Fredette is a star capable of taking games over and his supporting cast has played together for a couple of years now leading to great team chemistry. The chemistry is good enough to overcome the loss of Davies who was a solid inside presence, top rebounder, and efficient scorer. The Cougars also have enough depth to offset the loss of Davies but the loss of Davies eats into the Cougars depth on the bench and this is where the BYU will feel it most. So once out of the first two rounds don't expect the Cougars to overcome a higher seeded team. Even if the Cougars are seeded #1 in their region look for a two or three seed to take them out. If the Cougars can play in a region where upsets knock out the competition expect the Cougars to make a run to Houston. This team is for real they just have a question mark attached with the loss of a key player

Man

2011-02-05T21:36:00.000-08:00

This has nothing to do with sports but is a great non- politically correct statement from a long time friend. A friend who during the first summer I met him brought back free love of the 60's and 70's to the 80's and 90's. In the summer of "89 I met Jim. Whether he was peeping into a girl's window, helping her move, or helping her get her keys out of a locked car it all ended in the same manner with adult pleasure.

Now while out to pasture pushing 50 years of age living Southeast Asia these truthful words might not make everyone smile but might just remind some of what it's like to be a man:

6 pumps in one day for free or by hire at any age in a manley feat.......

some guys take a shot at manliness and fizzle out after a few months or some may stretch it out a few years, then get them self's castrated by some butch, some get neutered by choice.
some guys talk manley after they had a couple condom free love ho's, then their "tender" side comes back out.
but most never realize the beauty of being a man. never understood the thrill of victory, never knew that it was their right to pump..
Sad the sheila's that roam the world never understanding that its not about the occasional act of faking being a man, but a man should be a man, pump where you can, be unapologetic for that
drunken profanity filled pump... it was their right. but they let they bitches and the fags running TV butt fuck them by psychic castration giving them a estrogenic perverted new set of morals.

That's why god mad the third world, where the coyote could still run wild, live as nature indented without the mass judgment.

Halloween Ambush for Top Ten in NCAA

2010-10-30T12:24:00.000-07:00

Sticking to the basic blue print for Halloween upsets and there is nothing better than going with the home dogs. Literally we went with the dogs, the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Thursday and last night the UConn Huskies. Moving into Saturday it gets a bit eerie as we have to take non-canine home dogs with the USC Trojans plus the 7.5 points in Los Angeles on natural grass against the canine toothed Ducks from Oregon who have more than sufficient bite. The other half of the home dogs Saturday duo is the Air Force Academy to dash out the BCS hopes and undefeated season for the #8 ranked Utah Utes.

The home teams that will be ready for ambush are the Oregon State Beavers -2.5 against California and the high powered Cornhuskers from Nebrasksa to completely wipe the artificial turf floor with #7 Missouri.

Watch at least three of the top ten teams fall this weekend and possibly more.

Sticking with the Dogs

2010-10-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

The weekend before Halloween funny things happen. Last year the Oregon Ducks put the official dethroning of USC dominance over the Pac-10 on official hiatus as the Ducks assumed not only Pacific Coast gridiron dominance over all teams not named Ohio State but has assaulted the record books this year making a statement that the football national championship will go through Eugene this year. This Halloween as I look down on my faithful Akita/Chow mix, Goober I am all over the dogs. Not only the underdogs as in North Carolina State Wolfpack but tonight the home underdog University of Connecticut Huskies as they host West Virginia getting a hefty 7.5 points.

The rushing attack of UConn led by Jordan Todman and a veteran offensive line plus the preachings of head coach Randy Edsall who is building a winner in East Hartford focused on the running attack. Despite being a lean year for the Huskies so far with a 3-4 record and high hopes of winning the Big East low lighted by last weeks shut out loss against lowly Louisville the Huskies return to the friendly confines of their home field on a Friday night before Halloween against an average West Virginia team fresh off a home loss to Syracuse.

The only highlight of either team is the Mountaineer defense which is 4th best in the country and keeps their team in games. Keeping the Mountaineers in games on the road this year has kept games close in a loss to SEC powerhouse LSU along with middle of the pack MAC squad Marshall. Now it's time to go on the road again for the Mountaineers. So far this year the Mountaineers have proven they don't play very well on the road while UConn has been undefeated at home in 2010. With such great proven results there is no reason to believe the Huskies will not only win the game at home but should cover the touchdown spread in an important conference game in a wide open Big East. With a win this week the Huskies get in the win column in the Big East. A loss all but ends the season. A win tonight and the Huskies are back playing .500 ball in pursuit of another winning season and bowl game. Too much on the line for the Huskies tonight. Too much good karma: home field, Friday night lights, plus the home team is getting points on Halloween. These Huskies will be jacked to prove their worth while the Mountaineers are on the road which has not been favorable for the boys from Morgantown this year certainly not looking like a dominant team on the road which is necessary to cover a touchdown spread.

Running with the Pack

2010-10-28T18:04:00.000-07:00

Every now and than the Hacksaw has to take the wife out to buy cosmetics, hair and all sorts of women crap. So I missed getting my posting here but I figure if there is a place that will trust a pick it's when the pick is not covering the spread.

Tom O'Brein left a cushy job at Boston College to run the show in Raleigh, North Carolina. He didn't leave one conference to compete in another he stayed in the ACC and went for a job where he felt he could have a greater chance at winning a national title. At Boston College, O'Brein's teams were undefeated in bowl games going 8-0. He is the veteran coach in this duel with Florida State as Jimbo Fisher is the new guy. The Noles are playing better doing great tonight leading the Wolfpack 14-7 with 5 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. But this is NC State's home field, they have the athletes and the stability of the O'Brein era.

Take the Wolfpack and 4 points despite early turnovers to win this game.

Monday Night Mirror Images

2010-10-18T16:48:00.001-07:00

Tonight the 3-2 Tennessee Titans travel to Jacksonville to take on their AFC South rival 3-2 Jacksonville Jaguars. Both teams have no name defenses. The biggest star on either defense is former Raider free agent signing by the Jaguars, linebacker Kirk Morrison a tackling machine. Both teams have long tenured coaching staffs. Jack Del Rio has been with the Jaguars since 2003 with the message of defense being the staple to the teams success. Jeff Fisher pre-dates the Titans as the last head coach of the Houston Oilers who eventually moved to Nashville from Memphis while originating in Houston where Jeff Fisher was the big kahuna of the powder blue Oilers. Fisher has always emphasized the running game and defense like his counterpart.

Both teams have the runners also with Maurice Jones (Drew) and Chris Johnson. Jones is a battering ram of a back at 5'6" unless he is wearing high heels and weighing in at a bulky 215lbs of all legs which makes for misery for opposing tacklers looking for something to grab ahold of. In a contrast of style Chris Johnson is pure speed that will hit the holes and run right past linebackers and the secondary en route to the end zone.

Both teams also feature much maligned quarterbacks. Vince Young of the Titans never couldn't get his head on straight for a few years while jumping in and out of the starting role while David Garrard a less heralded QB has endured the same path of Young. Ironically both QB's can win with their legs just as much as their arms. Like the running backs both QB's contrast in that Young is a tall fleet footed quarterback that can outrun the defenses while Garrard is a thick legged QB that has the power to run through tackles if need be.

The receiving corps of both teams is just the same. Unheralded wide receivers. The Titans feature much traveled Nate Burelson along with young upstart Kenny Britt. On the other side of the ball it's little known Mike Sims Walker along with Mike Thomas. Virtually no game breakers.

Team wise this is scary its so similar. The Titans are the 5th best rushing team in the league trailing the 3rd best running team in the league the Jaguars. Defensively the Jaguars are 12th best against the run while their Monday night opponent is two slots higher at 10th best. If that isn't similar enough then the pass is ridiculously similar. The Titans has the 29th pass offense and the 26th best defense against the pass while the Jaguars are the 26th best in passing while their defense ranks 29th.

So what are the odds makers looking at when they decided to make the Titans a 3 point favorite. Are the Titans a 9 point favorite on a neutral field. Did the Jaguars not just defeat the reigning AFC champion Colts two weeks ago? This game is too close and too close to make the road team the favorite. Take the Jaguars plus the 3 points and enjoy your winnings.

Road "Beaver" Warriors

2010-10-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

Has Oregon State played a game at home all season? I wonder because every time the Beavers are in a big game it's been on the road. Early in the season they played in Dallas basically a home field for TCU and were beaten by 10 in a game much tighter than the score. Since that game TCU has regularly buried their opponents. Against Boise State on the smurf turf in Idaho there Beaver's were the most popular team in the country as the last barrier between Boise State and an undefeated season with the exception of fast rising Nevada. Last week the 2-2 Beavers went on the road and played their third top 10 team this season on the road. This time the Beavers finally slayed the giant despite losing star receiver James Rodgers for the season with an ACL injury. This week is another big game because this is about Oregon State proving they are a top 15 team rather than being just the best 3-2 in the NCAA.

This week is a big road game also. This week the Beavers can get two games over .500 something they have not been able to do so far this year despite high expectation in Corvallis. The test will not be an easy one as the Beavers travel to Seattle to take on the Huskies a team two weeks removed from knocking off undefeated USC and the inconsistent team that took their lumps in a 24-14 loss to Arizona State. As a matter of fact the Huskies are also a team that gave up 56 points at home to Nebraska and also was the only win for a severely porous BYU squad. The formula for whipping Washington is shut down Jake Locker and breeze your way to victory. Nebraska shut him down while Arizona State and BYU found ways to contain him thus rendering the Huskies worthless. The Beavers are so well battle tested they should have no problem causing Locker severe headaches after facing Andy Dalton, Nick Foles, and and Kellen Moore. Locker is just another QB.

The Beavers might not spank the Huskies. It should be a close game but the Beavers will win by at least 3. These Beavers are too good. The crowd in Seattle should not faze the Beavers. The talent of the projected overall #1 NFL prospect in Jake Locker will not be enough to defeat the Beavers. Last but not least the loss of senior James Rodgers is a major rallying point for these Beavers to win one of the Gipper deal. Who on this Beaver team is about to let up in this game and not give 100%. There will be no sleep walking for the Beavers in Seattle as that would be the only way for this game to go in favor of the Huskies. The Huskies are well coached but the talent level is not there to win the big games and this is too big of a game, much bigger than USC on the road where there were minimal expectation. Now the Huskies need to win to be in the position to get to a bowl game, for Oregon State they are making a run at the Pac-10 title along with a BCS bowl bid which their ranking should be pretty lofty by years end with losses to two of the top 4 teams in the country plus a win over a top 20 team in Arizona.

Take the Beavers -1.5. Locker will be having nightmares about furry little buck tooth animals after this Saturday night.

Must Win in Troy

2010-10-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

For the first time in decades the college football focus on USC is not on USC but is focused on the Gamecocks of South Carolina. The USC Trojans in the post Pete Carroll era are an afterthought. The hiring of Lane Kiffin is becoming a joke. Barely post puberty the Head Coach of the Trojans has yet to post a winning record on any level. he lost and lost a lot with the NFL Raiders and in one season at Tennessee was not on the bowl radar. So far this season Kiffin and the Trojans are coming up short of their goal of winning all their games. In the big match-up against former SC offensive coordinator and young phenom Steve Sarkisian it was Sark who held the upper hand over Kiffin. Also an afterthought for the Raiders it was Sarkisian that was Al Davis's first choice for the Raiders and not Kiffin. It would be no surprise except for the inept character judgment of former AD Mike Garret that thought Kiffin was better fit to coach the Trojans than Sarkisian. So all is looking about as bleak as can be in the probation era for SC.

Not as bleak as the record might indicate. Let's face it Steve Sarkisian has the Trojans number. He could coach Washington State to a victory over his former employer. Than last week against a very tough, physical, and explosive Stanford team the Trojans held their own coming up just short in the end of snatching victory from defeat in Palo Alto.

This week it's California. A Cal team that gave up 52 points on the road to Nevada. Now Cal comes into the LA Colleseum. This is a must win for the Trojans, a must win for Kiffin and it's going to be up to the players. Matt Barkley and company need to show what Trojan football is all about. Play great defense it's a staple of SC and should not falter much from the Pete Carroll era although Carroll is a defensive genius who mentored Kiffin along with former NFL defensive coordinator and current SC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. After giving up 65 points in the last two games it's time for USC to step it up in a must win.

This will be a tight game and in a tight game there will be a winner and there will be a loser. The difference is this is a must win for the Trojans. They have lost the last two games by a total of 7 points. A missed 3rd down conversion by Washington and the Trojans are undefeated heading into Stanford and a bit more careful handling of the ball against Stanford and USC could be undefeated and favored by 9 points in this game. Instead it's just a couple of plays that has determined this minor 2 point spread which the Trojans should be taking out two weeks of frustrations looking to right the wrong.

Take the Trojans and give up the two points.

Thursday Night Smash Mouth

2010-10-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

What else can you say about tonight's Kansas State Purple invasion into Lawrence, Kansas to face the 2-3 Jayhawks under first year coach Turner Gill. It's gonna be smash mouth football and the smashing is going to come on the dishing out end from the Wildcats and specifically one 230lb battering ram named Daniel Thomas and the mouth on the receiving end is going to be the 92nd ranked run defense of Kansas.

Last week the Wildcats were humiliated at home by a superior Nebraska team. Taylor Martinez the freshmen phenom ran wild on the K-State defense. Jordan Webb of KU is not Taylor Martinez and even if he was K-State's veteran team and coaching staff would not let this one get past them a second time as the Wildcats have been punished in practice to not let last week's ills occur again and the stars are aligned just right with a hapless KU defense to go along with one of the worst offenses in the nation.

The one plus for KU is they are at home where the frenzied crowd in a rival game can inspire a defense to play beyond their talent level for at least a half of football. The home crowd enthusiasm along with the Kansas State running attack should wear down the Jayhawks in what should be a lopsided victory making the 2.5 point spread something non-existent. The reasons for the line sitting at 2.5 is rival game, home field for the Jayhawks and the beat down K-State endured last week in Manhattan to the hands of one of the top football programs in the country Nebraska.

This week there is no Nebraska. Early on against Nebraska the Wildcats were able to move the ball but the Huskers bend but no break defense stymied the Wildcats early in the 1st quarter on 4th down to stop penetration into the Husker red zone. Once the Huskers got rolling it was downhill as the Wildcats had to play into Nebraska's strength and the Wildcat weakness of passing the ball while Jared Crick and company pinned back their ears and force in-completion after in-completion leading to a lot of second half punts.

This week the foot will be on the other side of the ball kicking behind and it will be the Wildcats kicking rather than being kicked.