A win is a win, but nobody feels good about this Bears win except for perhaps Lovie. Lucky.

The Little Man has spoken..

Mitch Albom column

CHICAGO -- That was a touchdown. You can show me the rule book. You can cite the referees. You can stand me in front of Jim Schwartz even as he defends the call that killed his team.
I don't care. By any definition that makes sense, by any memory of any person who has ever played the game of football in their backyards, on their local fields, in high school, in college, anywhere -- that was a touchdown.

When you do what Calvin Johnson did, lift up between defenders, come down with the ball -- with two hands -- get both your feet down, hold the ball after that with one hand (one massive hand that can grip a football confidently) and as you go to break your fall with the other hand, you carry that ball all the way down to the ground, it's a touchdown. He didn't just break the plane of the goal line, he could have painted a new one! That may not be the definition for a passing touchdown (although it is for a rushing one), but it should serve as some parameter.

Calvin Johnson owned that ball. He owned it long enough for Lions fans to cheer, for Bears fans to groan, for one official to signal a score.

Here is what referee Gene Steratore said afterward: "The ruling is that in order for the catch to be completed he has got to maintain possession of the ball throughout the entire process of the catch."

In my mind he did. How long does the catch have to go on? Another 5 seconds? He made the catch, got his feet down, then went to break his fall with his left hand while maintaining full possession with his right.

I also don't concur with Schwartz when he said, "The rule is if you are going to the ground in the process of making the catch you need to finish with the football, and we didn't finish with the football."

Yeah, but "going to the ground" is where I differ. Johnson wasn't diving for a ball. He leapt up for it. Way different. Those rules about completing a catch generally apply to one being made as the body is heading to the ground. When you leap for a ball -- and come down with it -- to me, that IS making the catch. If your momentum then carries you downward and you have time to try to break your fall, I don't think you consider that part of the catch the way you do when a guy is diving for the ball....

That rule needs changing.

Okay, "letter of the law," the zebras got it right. But that was a touchdown in spirit.

Well, the Lions did their best. And we know what Sean Connery thinks about that!!!

If I cared about the Lions I would be concerned that Stafford's out for multiple games and might be injury prone or that the team hasn't gotten rid of left tackle Jeff Backus, the human turnstile who blew his assignment and watched as his quarterback got abused. But I've learned not to care about the Lions...

Harassment or BS? Time will tell.

NEW YORK — The NFL is looking into how a female television reporter was treated at New York Jets practice Saturday.

Ines Sainz, a reporter for Mexico's TV Azteca doing a story on quarterback Mark Sanchez, had footballs thrown in her direction by a Jets coach during practice, and players later called out to her in the team's locker room.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Sunday that the league and the Jets began looking into the situation when they were made aware of it Saturday night.

Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum called Joanne Gerstner, a board member of the Association for Women in Sports Media, on Sunday to discuss the matter. The two organizations were working to schedule an educational and awareness session with the team, according to Jets spokesman Bruce Speight.

Speight added that he also addressed the situation at the team meeting Sunday in advance of New York's season opener against Baltimore on Monday night at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Earlier Sunday, the Jets issued a statement, saying owner Woody Johnson spoke to Sainz on Sunday to discuss the incident.

He stressed to Ines that he expects all members of the Jets organization to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times," the statement said.

The team also said it would work with the league to gather facts and "take any appropriate steps necessary to maintain a respectful environment for the media."

The AWSM said in a statement Sunday night that both the NFL and the Jets were "responsive to our concerns" and that it would continue to monitor the situation.

"We are awaiting the results of the investigation," the statement read, "and further action from the NFL and Jets."

Update: SportsByBrooks found a tweet from Sainz, which allegedly shows the outfit she was wearing on the day of the incident:


http://i.huffpost.com/gen/200320/INES-SAINZ-AZTECA-REPORTER-JETS.jpg

Story and comments

Holy shit the Colts O-Line is bad. Houston shouldn't surprise anyone, they're a good team, just in a very tough division.

To quote "The Ladies Man":

It looks like someone stole 2 fine hams and shoved them down the back of her pants.

I'm in love (She's no Trish, but then again, who is?)

2 hams down her pants?

I knew there was something not quite kosher about the picture.

Colts over Giants.

Very suprised by da Bears win...

Ya wanna go on and crown their ass, go ahead...

Not sure if we're in 1997 or 2010 when the Chiefs & Bucs are 2-0 and the Cowboys & Vikings are 0-2. Great comeback yesterday by the Texans.

Tom Brady needs to get his hair cut. It must be hanging in his eyes and affecting his visibility......

From Huffington
Ines Sainz, the female sports reporter who was allegedly harassed in the New York Jets locker room earlier in September, slammed the Association for Women in Sports Media in a column titled "My September 11th in New York."

In her Saturday column for El Universal, Sainz criticized the AWSM and said she was "shaken by what happened."

"Today I wonder why a well respected association such as the AWSM, within its right to inform about any violations of work conditions for its members, acted so impulsively," Sainz wrote.

Sainz also said she was unhappy with the way the media covered the incident and believes that it set back the women's rights movement by "at least 50 years."

On the other hand, the Azteca TV reporter is happy with how the NFL handled matters.
Commissioner Roger Goodell said on Saturday that the league will implement a training program for all 32 teams on proper conduct in the workplace.

Google Translation

Hams or not, kosher or not. How about those Steelers!

Ines has one of the nicest "back yards" I have ever seen...of course not as nice as Mrs. Mark's!

BTW - Da Bears!

I'm so glad Lovie is going to do just well enough to keep his job and keep the Bears mediocre for years to come

4th-string QB? No problem.
Now it's time to put manners again on those Ravens, aka Steeler wannabes.

Randy Moss traded.
Trade

When Randy Moss(notes) first came to Minnesota 12 years ago, he electrified a stagnant franchise and immediately turned the Vikings into Super Bowl contenders.

Now the Vikings need him to do it again.

The New England Patriots traded the seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver to the Vikings on Wednesday, giving Moss the exit he expected all along and sending him back to the place where he became a superstar, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the transaction had not been officially announced.

Curious to learn in the coming days what specifically made NE feel like they could no longer have Moss on the team. I also question how this makes their offense better this year. It's no secret Moss could be a disruptive force on the sidelines, in the locker room, etc. But he must have really done something serious to have Belichick unload his talents.

After week 1 Moss made comments about getting out New England. Belichick, more than any coach in any sport I've ever seen, has supreme confidence in his decisions, and is free from the shackles of conventional wisdom. NE now has two picks in each of the first three rounds in next year's draft. This may not seem like a big deal, but the Patriots handle drafts well, and I suspect that the move will give them flexibiliyty in terms of other moves before the draft while allowing them to move a good, but aging player, who has exhibited laziness and lack of focus at times throughout his career.

After my post, I read that Moss and one of the NE assistant coaches were involved in a very heated disagreement at halftime of Monday's game.

NE actually has two picks in each of the first four rounds in next year's draft. If I recall correctly, the first two rounds of extra picks are coming from Oakland and Carolina. In other words, they will be (most likely) Top 10 picks. NE can use these picks to either draft well and get younger, or as trade bait on draft day to a team that wants to move up.

Then actually NE did him a favor. I've had a few bosses like that and if someone on their team really doesn't want to be there they accomodate that person. It prevents agitation and irritation for everyone in the long run.

Randy Moss is such a valuable offensive weapon either as a decoy or as someone to chuck it to in traffic and watch as he hauls in the pass.

But they got a 3rd round pick after using a 4th to get him. So they got Randy Moss for a few years and flipped him for a higher pick. Plus they would have gotten maybe a 5th if he had just walked after the season.

I wonder if this will lead to any offensive struggles for the Patriots. Like maybe Tom Brady developed a bad habit of chucking the ball in traffic and having the receiver make a play, except Randy's not there to do it. Wes Welker is going to be doubled a lot more now.

Pats will continue to use their 2 TE sets as they had been and rely on their receiving threats they have there. Maybe Law Firm will be that workhorse back again like Corey Dillon.

Kansas City Chiefs are the last undefeated team in the NFL. What were the odds on that?

Indy's having a rough season with injuries and the O-Line is still broken. They only thing saving them is Peyton Manning is the QB and Joe Addai is a great receiving threat.

Green Bay is having an even rougher season with injuries, mostly on defense. Their offense hasn't been clicking like last season yet either. The running game hasn't been great without Ryan Grant but if you look at the last few years Grant never really got going until a quarter-midseason, so maybe it will pick up soon and Aaron Rodgers will go back to doing his Peyton Manning impersonation.

Vikings gave Old Man Croc Shot bags of money to return, trade for Randy Moss. Going for broke this season at the expense of the long term. Didn't draft a QB, doubt they really want Travaris to start after acquiring Sage Rosenfels then trading him when Favre came back. Could have had Clausen and given him time to sit for a year then unleashed him with a great WR corps (even before Moss, still not as good as Green Bay, Indy, or NYG, but close). What happens after the Vikings don't win the super bowl this season? Their QB retires, their 2 best WRs contracts end after this season. I think if they don't win it's time to ax the coach and restart.

It would be an ideal situation for a coach because they have plenty of playmakers on the team. I just think if you give Childress all of these things and he can't make it happen then it's not going to with him.

... and then there's the Steelers!

The Steelers are scary. 3-1 without their starting QB. Steelers have the best QB depth in the league but still impressive.

And now they're down right ... uh, it's too terrible to imagine. May God have mercy on the rest of the NFL.

That was a pretty nifty one handed catch by the Colts Pierre Garcon on SNF.

I have just watched it this morning!

One of NFL's best contemplating retirement after $75,000 fine levied by league

James Harrison says he might retire
ESPN NFL
October 20, 2010, 7:10 PM ET

The Pittsburgh Steelers excused James Harrison from practice Wednesday as the Pro Bowl linebacker contemplated retirement, according to his agent.

Harrison's agent Bill Parise said Wednesday his client is "very serious" about retiring after getting fined $75,000 for a hit that knocked Mohamed Massaquoi out of the Steelers' win over the Cleveland Browns. Harrison met Wednesday with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who excused his linebacker from the Steelers preparations for Sunday's game against the Dolphins.

"We wouldn't joke about this," Parise said. "This is a very serious issue. James is very concerned about how to play football. If James is going to be fined $75,000 for making a legal tackle, then how do you go play football? It's quite frustrating to James, to Coach Tomlin, to me, to everybody."

Asked how real these retirement threats were, Parise said, "We're working very hard to make sure that we make good decisions."

Tomlin said he expects Harrison to return to practice on Thursday.

"We had a meeting this morning, he and I did. It was a very productive one," Tomlin said in a conference call with Miami reporters. "I thought part of being productive and moving forward was excusing him for today and coming back starting new tomorrow."

Asked if Harrison would return to the Steelers on Thursday or even at all this week, Parise said, "I sure hope so."

Harrison said Tuesday on Fox Sports Radio's "Into The Night with Tony Bruno" that he might consider retirement.

"I'm going to sit down and have a serious conversation with my coach tomorrow and see if I can actually play by NFL rules and still be effective," Harrison told guest host Judy McDonald. "If not, I may have to give up playing football."

Harrison was not penalized on the plays that resulted in Massaquoi and Josh Cribbs leaving the game with concussions.

Massaquoi's agent, Brian Ayrault, didn't think the league was tough enough on Harrison.

"Harrison has made $20 million over the past three years, and they only fined him $75,000?" he said. "To me, that's not going to be a deterrent. The Browns are probably going to be without a starter this week. I don't think that fine is a deterrent or fair to competitive balance.

"The punishment did not fit the crime."

Full Article

Yeah right, James Harrison is going to walk away from his multi-million dollar contract on "principle" for being upset about the NFL fine/rule change. It's just posturing on Harrison's part.