Category — Reggie Bush

Cousin Sal delivers more great lines (all pun intended).
Grantland

It will take much more than Joe Flacco crying about the officiating.
You know Roger Goodell isn’t going to do anything about the replacement refs until 1 of them cost Jerry Jones or some influential owner a game. Then, all hell will break loose and the muzzle the commissioner imposed will be tossed like a bad habit.
These scabs are blowing big calls on a weekly basis. The lack of holding penalties called on offensive linemen is off the charts.
What gives, Roger?
Deadspin

A Cowboys-Steelers Super Bowl? Now that’s an NFL prediction that surely will make Cowboy fans and their cheerleaders happy.
Route4Sports

Just a wild guess this will be the hottest ticket in Vegas on New Year’s Eve. And if the NBA lockout is still going, imagine how many whores will be showcasing their wares at this freak show.
Examiner.com

Selfishly, we were so excited to give you our upset special, we neglected the rest of the NFL. WTF? In our haste, we forgot to mention some of the other matchups of note, particularly the Steelers and Ravens. You can never go wrong there.
And for the good folks in Denver, where they still have mad love for Tim Tebow, be careful on your trip to the Black Hole. It could get ugly Sunday.
Peter King’s picks.
SI.com

From SI’s Extra Mustard: BoDog.com sent out some newly offered prop bets Tuesday. You can actually bet on these things.
Kim Kardashian’s next boyfriend will be?
Professional athlete: 1-2; professional actor: 2-1; professional musician: 3-1.
If Kim Kardashian’s next boyfriend is a professional athlete what sport will he play?
Football: 1-2; baseball: 5-2; basketball: 7-2; soccer: 10-1; golf: 15-1; tennis: 20-1; hockey: 25-1.
Will Kim Kardashian date Tiger Woods, Ashton Kutcher or Jessie James in 2011-2012?
Yes: 20-1
Extra Mustard

We’ll get back to you on that after we speak with Tony Parker.
With Kim Kardashian hooking Kris Humphries, AverageBro wonders if you care about your bizness, in this case number of sleeping partners, being in the streets? Didn’t think so, but…
AverageBro

The image above is a figment of your imagination. The 1 on the right is imagination at its finest.
It seems ironic that the USC fiasco is put to bed about the time the 1 at Ohio State is shifting into high gear.
Two programs steep in tradition and frequently at the center of the battle for national championships are stripped of their powers at what seems to be the height of such things.
The BCS made it official Monday, yanking the 2004 national crown right off the head of Tommy Trojan.
Gone is the Heisman Trophy won by Reggie Bush. Gone is the national championship of that 1 season, but so too is gone all the major players in the debacle.
Bush has long since made millions in the pros. Pete Carroll, seemingly blinded by the glitz of leading USC back to the top of college football’s mountain, is gone as well.
Even Mike Garrett, the AD who looked the other way, is also gone, though he was shoved out the door while others raced through it.
USC and its players who had nothing to do with the troubles are left to clean up the mess of others.
Same thing at Ohio State. Jim Tressel hit the eject button just as it was about to be pushed by the administration. The star quarterback will likely do the same for his own good.
When all the damage is done, it will be those who remain left to pay the tab.
That is the problem with college sports. Others are forced to take out the garbage the morning after, and many of those weren’t invited to the frat party that turned into a college sports orgy.
And don’t think it is just college football with this egg on its face. Look at problems at Memphis after John Calipari fled to Kentucky.
Or after he left UMass.
This is an old tale but one that keeps getting updated. This is also the real challenge of the NCAA police.
Forget about the BCS, what makes somebody a real student-athlete or even the bigger discussion as to should college players be paid.
The NCAA has to figure out one thing first; how to police itself.
They need to get a handle on the problems that exist before they hit the front page of sports sections. They also need a way to push those who break the rules — that’s the individuals and not just the institutions.
This will not be easy. The NCAA is understaffed when it comes to investigators. It has also trouble getting the help needed from those who are under investigation. Nobody tells the truth the first time the NCAA cops come calling.
And why should they? It might take 6 or 7 years before anything is determined, and by then those folks are off to greener pastures, or bigger paychecks.
Big dilemma. The NCAA has no real teeth except against the schools themselves. That needs to change.
But until it does, there is no hope of keeping everybody in line.
Party on. Somebody will clean up the mess.

Cam Newton was already the talk of college football. Now, he is the talk of trash.
Newton went from sitting on college football’s throne to its hot seat in a matter of days, or, in a matter of a few words.
Still, the Heisman front-runner, Auburn’s larger-than-life quarterback has become a lightning rod in the sport he currently dominates.
Did he or didn’t he take extra money to go to Auburn?
Or is this about a lover scorned, as members of the Mississippi State community cry about over spilt milk, or the fact that Newton left them hanging on signing day?
This is really the big question, the only question.
I don’t care about those leaks that claim he cheated while he was a freshman at Florida. Who cares? I call those mistakes of youth.
Did he learn from those transgressions is all that matters.
I wonder what kind of an adult would leak such stories to the media knowing it was only going to embarrass a young person.
We sometimes forget that these players, Newton included, are all youngsters who are learning how to live in an adult world while performing under great pressure.
I know I made a few mistakes back in the day and hope nobody comes calling to remind me. I wouldn’t be sent to jail, but I’m not proud of everything I ever did. Nobody is.
But this money thing is concerning.
Here is what we know as of today. Cam Newton is the quarterback of Auburn, a team in contention for the national title. He is the leader of the pack when it comes to winning college football’s greatest individual award. He claims he has done nothing wrong, but doesn’t want to answer all the questions swirling around him.
Others say the Newton took the money and ran with it.
Proof? In today’s world of instant access, who needs proof?
I want to take Newton and his father at their word. I want to believe that still means something. I wanted to do the same with Reggie Bush and look where that got us.
Fair or unfair, the shadow of Bush is all over this case. Just months after the Heisman world was rocked by Bush giving back his trophy under pressure, we now have the curious case of Cam.
A vote for Newton could be wasted a few years from now, when the NCAA finally wraps up its investigation.
If Newton did nothing wrong, why not come out screaming and say so? Why not tell the world he never cheated at Florida, never took any money to attend Auburn? Even if he was in trouble at Florida, admit it and move on.
It was 2 years ago in college and we all grow from our freshman mistakes. That doesn’t bother me, but taking money under the table is a different story.
One also wonders just who is blowing the whistle on the kid. The SEC has always been known for eating its young, so this is nothing new. Snitching on other schools for personal gain happens all the time on the recruiting trail, but this is a taller tale. It reeks like sour grapes.
So what are we left with? Another big college mess.
Newton can’t win. He is forever tainted by a world that believes the worst when it hears something, whether it’s true or not. You can’t get back your reputation.
And if it is revealed he took the money, then Newton is labeled as a liar and a cheat and can never be trusted again.
It will always be easy to blame the young athlete, but there are others involved in this, older people who should know better. School officials in leadership roles who don’t care about rules.
Would I still vote for Newton in the Heisman race? Yes. But I want to know more before passing judgment on this case. More will come out, but until then, we don’t know what to believe.
“Weekend Predictions” image courtesy of AJC.com

OK, here’s a small consolation courtesy of Saints’ finest.
This didn’t go over well with the Niner fanatics. They’ll say they should have won (and maybe should have, but its the NFL baby), unlike Mike Singleterry, who said after the game he’d never say anything like that. Perish the freaking thought.
Singleterry also stuck by Alex Smith this week after some vultures were circling the quarterback.
Still…Saints 25, 49ers 22
AP