Does anyone else see something wrong here???

OK, let the debate begin right now. Am I too much of a stickler, or is it my prior military background? Here's my beef today. John Chaney stepped down as the coach of the Temple Owls yesterday to much fanfare and much applause. However, I have a huge problem with this. Isn't this the guy who once threatened to "kill" another coach in a post-game press conference? Isn't this the guy who admittedly sent a goon into a game to hard foul a St. Jospeh's player? Forget for just a second that the guy that was fouled was a senior, had his arm broken, missed the NCAA tourney, etc. This is a guy whose retirement should have been five years ago, and now, all of the sudden, we are praising a guy whose behavior is no worse than Bob Knight's in his last days at Indiana. Say what you want about that last comment.....Miles Brand was president at Indiana when he instituted the "zero-tolerance" policy, and thus, spelled the end for Knight in Bloomington. But, years later, it's OK for Chaney to act like a moron, embarrass Temple by admitting to the thug incident, and basically rant and rave like a crazy man? Where is the equal treatment? Don't give me the argument that's coming out right now....the "Well, he helped inner city kids from Philadelphia become men.." . Don't even try to sell that one here. Chaney will surely leave his mark on the game. Heck, he's a Hall of Famer. But, again, I think he hung on five years too long, and tarnished his legacy with the thug incident. Should we celebrate him? I don't think so. I think Temple will be better off by upgrading at its coaching position. Now, maybe they won't lose so many recruits to Villanova, St. Joseph's, or other area schools. Temple is finally stepping into the 21st century.
As of this posting, I am seriously considering becoming an NFL free agent fan. The Miami Dolphins today sent a second round pick to the minnesota Vikings for QB Daunte Culpepper. It's a homecoming, of sorts, for Culpepper, who played his college ball at UCF, and his high school ball at Vanguard (Ocala). But, to spend that high a pick on a QB whose knee was literally shreeded during last season is too much, in my opinion. Keep the pick, and gamble on a QB being there, like a Charlie Whitehurst, or a Corey Bramlet. Give Miami credit, though. They were very thorough ni testing Brees' injured shoulder. They were also unwilling to meet Brees' demands of guaranteed money. I guess it was a good dream while it lasted. If you're Brees, though, what are you thinking? The Saints? A new head coach, a team still in flux following the storm, and a team with absolutely NO chance to win. Plus, what does this do to the upcoming draft? I'll tell you. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. New Orleans was never going to take Leinart with the second pick. He'll go to Tennessee to reunite with Norm Chow. When it happens, remember where you read it, OK? Young now drops due to the fact he didn't want to do full workouts at the combine. Does Vince Young end up in NY with the Jets? Who knows? Gosh knows they need so much more than just a QB. I think the Saints are now sitting in a decent spot, being that they could trade out of #2 for a boatload of selections, or they could take D'Brickashaw Ferguson or Mario Williams, and address needs on their club. For Young, here's where it all shakes out now. At noe, REggie Bush to Houston. New Orleans now is the wild card at two, Leinart to Tennessee at three, and then it gets interesting. Unless the Jets take him, and i really can't see that they will, Young could slip out of the top 10. Following the Jets would be Green Bay (Arron Rodgers), San Francisco (Alex Smith), Oakland (relying too much on the deep ball that Young hasn't proven he can throw consistently), Buffalo (JP Losman), and Detroit (Joey Harrington, Jeff Garcia, and now, Jon Kitna) and Arizona (Kurt Warner) to close out the top 10. This makes the debate for Young a lot more interesting. Before people jump on me for saying Young isn't a top 10 QB, consider two things: 1. He can ride the Rose Bowl wave for only so long, then he has to come back down to earth, and 2. The last time a hyped QB dropped out of the top 10, it was a guy named Roethlisberger. How is he doing in the NFL nowadays? Last time I checked, he was hoisting a big trophy with the name Lombardi on it.
Real quick, and I don't want to spend too much time on it, lest I get called in front of Congress (as if they don't have more important things to be doing), read the latest Sports Illustrated article on Barry Bonds, and it will all but prove that he's been on the sauce for a long time. I remember Bonds from his Pittsburgh days when he played against the Braves. Nowhere near as big as he is now. Now, comes new allegations in a different book that Bonds was quoted as saying he was going to take hard-core performance enhancers? Face it, Bonds fans. He got caught. If we had any kind of a commissioner in baseball with some real backbone, Bonds would be tossed from the league. Why won't he? Because he's a huge B.I.T.S. factor (butts in the seats). That's what Selig is looking at. And why not? He is a salesman. But, I say this.....toss Bonds out on his ear, wipe his records from 1998 to present day off the books, and get the whole thing done. I was right, people, about Pete Rose......I'll be right about this one.
We'll look at the AFC South today, starting with the Indianapolis Colts. They now need a franchise running back, with the departure of Edgerrin James. De'Angelo Williams from Memphis will surely be gone by the time they pick. They'll probably go second round to take a Maurice Drew. They'll tweak other positions, like kicker and linebacker, and add depth at others, but they'll still be a tough team to beat in the coming season.
Houston- We all know they are going to take Reggie Bush, but what else do they need? We don't have time to cover that question. Obviously, the big need is offensive line help. Carr spent too much time running for his life last year, and he's getting paid way too much money not to be a productive player by this point in his career. Houston is still a few years away from contention.
Jacksonville- Get a new RB to replace Fred (The Human Infirmary) Taylor. Upgrade at wide receiver, and add depth all around on the defensive side of the ball. Jacksonville made the playoffs last season, and with a good draft, they'll be a solid wild-card team in the AFC.
Tennessee- Get Matt Leinart, put him with Chow, re-create the magic. McNair has another year to go, so let Leinart hold a clipboard a la Carson Palmer, then work him into the mix. They upgraded at center today with the addition of former Jet Kevin Mawae, and got better at the wideout, by adding David Givens from the Patriots. If Adam Jones can keep his head on straight next year, he'll be the presence on defense that the Titans need him to be. With Jeff Fisher at coach, Tennessee could make things interesting next season, but more than likely, they're probably 2 seasons away from returning to the play-offs.

There you have it.......you heard it here first. The tournament is starting this week, and we're about three weeks from Opening Day. If I ever get elected to Congress (God forbid), Opening Day will become a national holiday. More to come again soon. Thanks for reading.


Patrick