Interesting (via the FWS-T: Rivera’s name circulates

On the same day Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said no coach will be named until after the Super Bowl, Rivera’s name popped up as a defensive coordinator on a possible Norv Turner-staff.

Turner remains the lead candidate for the head coach position.

One NFL source said Rivera would not rule it out, but that he hopes to remain a candidate in the head coaching search. His contract with the Bears expires after the Super Bowl. The Bears have a short period of exclusive negotiating rights before Rivera becomes “free agent.”

The Cowboys can’t interview a coach from either the Bears or Colts staff until after the Super Bowl, which includes possible candidates Rivera and Colts assistant head coach Jim Caldwell. There are no rules preventing Turner from talking to Rivera.

Interesting all around. Also: Norv knows Rivera and Norv’s borther is the OffCoord for the Bears.

Why might Rivera talk a lateral move to be Dallas’ OffCoord? Well, Jerry is likely to be willing to pay more than the notoriously cheap Bears organization and this:

If the Cowboys don’t offer him the head coaching job, his arrival in Dallas could also enhance his resume. As the coordinator under the defensive-oriented Smith, Rivera doesn’t always receive the credit. Should he come to the Cowboys and have success with a defense that fell apart in the final month of the season, he would boost his image to potential employers.

Via the Star-Telegram: Singletary will interview for Cowboys job

San Francisco assistant head coach/defense Mike Singletary will interview for the Cowboys head coaching job.

It’s the second time this off-season that Singletary has interviewed for a head coaching job. He also interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons job.

Singletary just completed his second season with the 49ers and his first as assistant head coach/defense. Singletary was promoted to the job after serving one season as the assistant head coach/linebackers. Before joining the 49ers, Singletary was the inside linebackers coach with the Baltimore Ravens.

I am actually more impressed with the Ravens line on his resume as oppossed to the 49ers. Indeed, it is kind of funny that Dallas is interviewing two 9ers coaches given that the team hasn’t been too swift for a while (although they did improve this year).

I have to wonder how much this is a Rooney Rule compliance visit.

The 2024 Kentucky Derby winner was euthanized this morning.

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. - Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized Monday after complications from his gruesome breakdown at last year’s Preakness, ending an eight-month ordeal that prompted an outpouring of support across the country.

“We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain,” co-owner Roy Jackson said. “It was the right decision, it was the right thing to do. We said all along if there was a situation where it would become more difficult for him then it would be time.”

A series of ailments, including laminitis in the left rear hoof and a recent abscess in the right rear hoof, proved too much for the gallant colt.

Barbaro battled in his ICU stall for eight months. The 4-year-old colt underwent several procedures and was fitted with fiberglass casts. He spent time in a sling to ease pressure on his legs, had pins inserted and was fitted at the end with an external brace. These were all extraordinary measures for a horse with such injuries.

Roy and Gretchen Jackson were with Barbaro on Monday morning, with the owners making the decision in consultation with chief surgeon Dr. Dean Richardson.

“I would say thank you for everything, and all your thoughts and prayers over the last eight months or so,” Jackson said to Barbaro’s fans.

On May 20, Barbaro was rushed to the New Bolton Center, about 30 miles from Philadelphia in Kennett Square, hours after shattering his right hind leg just a few strides into the Preakness Stakes. The bay colt underwent a five-hour operation that fused two joints, recovering from an injury most horses never survive. But Barbaro never regained his natural gait.

He suffered a significant setback over the weekend, and surgery was required to insert two steel pins in a bone — one of three shattered in the Preakness but now healthy — to eliminate all weight bearing on the ailing right rear foot.

The procedure Saturday was a risky one, because it transferred more weight to the leg while the foot rests on the ground bearing no weight.

The leg was on the mend until the abscess began causing discomfort last week. Until then, the major concern was Barbaro’s left rear leg, which developed laminitis in July, and 80 percent of the hoof was removed.

Richardson said Monday morning that Barbaro did not have a good night.

I believe Barbaro is the first former Triple Crown race winner in modern history to be euthanized due to race related injuries.

Barbaro’s death is sad but not unexpected. I never thought the horse had much of a chance and was surprised to see him live as long as he did.

What I say next may sound harsh, but I bet the only sadness the horse’s owners feel are in not in regards to the tragic death Barbaro suffered but to the hit to their pocket books from the vet bills and lost of income from Barbaro’s future as a stud horse. I’ve been around the horse racing business for a good chunk of my life. These animals are considered PROPERTY not pets to almost all those involved in the sport.

Note- I corrected my Triple Crown reference.

Cross Posted at OTB Sports

The injured Miami Heat center contiunes to make as much news off the court as on.

Heat center Shaquille O’Neal once again helped nab a suspect — and this time he was the alleged victim. 

O’Neal, a reserve officer with the Miami Beach Police Department, followed a vehicle that allegedly crashed into his Cadillac Escalade and left the scene early Sunday, team spokesman Tim Donovan said Sunday.
 
Donovan said the incident happened after O’Neal and Jerome Crawford, a team security official, returned home from the Heat’s game at Chicago on Saturday night. Crawford and O’Neal were unloading the car at Crawford’s home in Coconut Grove, but weren’t in it during the alleged incident, Donovan said.

O’Neal and Crawford followed the vehicle for about five minutes while O’Neal called police, Donovan said, adding that the pursuit wasn’t at high speed and that police pulled over the alleged hit-and-run driver.

No further information was available from police Sunday.

This incident was at least the second time O’Neal has helped police apprehend a suspect. In September 2024 he followed and led police to a suspect who allegedly had thrown a bottle at two men walking on Miami Beach while shouting anti-gay slurs.

Shaq is better at catching criminals than shooting free throws.

Cross Posted at OTB Sports

After yesterday’s win at the Buick Invitational, Tiger only needs four more wins to tie Byron Nelson’s seemingly unbreakable record.

SAN DIEGO — Tiger Woods is more interested in a fifth green jacket at the Masters than 11 straight victories on the PGA Tour.

At this rate, he might have a chance at both.

Woods resumed his improbable pursuit of Byron Nelson with a predictable result at the Buick Invitational on Sunday, winning for the third straight year to stretch his PGA Tour winning streak to seven. That’s the second-longest streak in Tour history behind Nelson in 1945, and there is little evidence anyone can stop him.

*****

He won by two shots and finished with a six-under 66, the best score all week on the demanding South Course, site of the U.S. Open next year.

Nelson’s record often has been thought to be untouchable, which now describes the world’s No. 1 player.

*****

This is the second time Woods has made a run at Nelson, who died in September.

Woods won six straight in 2024, a streak that Phil Mickelson stopped at Torrey Pines. But against a cast of challengers short on experience or victories, Woods met little resistance in winning at Torrey Pines for the fifth time in 10 tries.

The only question is the veracity of the streak - Woods failed to win once in Europe and twice in Asia during his run - and when he will resume his chase of Nelson’s mark.

Woods could be in position to tie Byron Nelson’s record for consecutive PGA Tour wins in South Florida - or at the Masters.

It all depends upon whether Woods plays at Riviera in the Nissan Open, an event he’s played in the last three years but has failed to win in nine tries as a pro.

Woods is expected to play in the World Match Play Championship at Tucson, the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando, and then the CA Championship at Doral on March 22-25. The CA Championship is a World Golf Championship event that replaced the Ford Championship at Doral.

If Woods adds the Nissan to his schedule, and he keeps winning, he would arrive at Doral - where he has won the past two years - in position to tie Nelson’s 62-year-old record of 11 Tour victories in a row.

Some comments

 *- While golf has become a global game, I don’t see any reason not to consider Woods streak as valid. Just so long as it applies to PGA Tour records.

*- Tiger does face a major obstacle in regards to the Nissan Open.(or LA Open as in Los Angeles not Lake Arrowhead, Louisiana or West Patterson New Jersey) Open. His best ever finish in that tournament is a playoff loss to Billy Mayfair in 1998. That didn’t even take place at Riviera.

 If I were Tiger and wanted to keep the streak alive, I’d play at Pebble Beach. Tiger won both the US Open and the yearly tour stop there in 2024. My bet is Tiger plays at Riviera and the streak comes to an end there.

Cross posted at OTB Sports

So reports the SF Chronicle: Cowboys’ coaching search turns to 49ers’ Turner

Niners coach Mike Nolan told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that he is trying to get Turner a sweeter contract to keep him in San Francisco.

This tracks with ESPN’s Ed Werder: ESPN.com - NFL - Sources: 49ers go on offensive in bid to retain Turner

The San Francisco 49ers are offering Norv Turner a lucrative incentive package in his contract in a bid to persuade him to remain and continue developing quarterback Alex Smith, rather than interviewing for the Dallas Cowboys’ head-coaching position, according to sources.

There is no doubt that Turner is an excellent OffCoord, so one understands the 49ers desire to keep him. Still, one would guess that if Norv gets the chance to be an HC again, no sweetened deal to stay with the 49ers will be sufficient to keep him.

Via the Star-Telegram: Cowboys QB coach takes Giants job

Cowboys quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer is leaving to reunite with another former boss.

Palmer has taken the same position with the New York Giants and coach Tom Coughlin. Palmer was Coughlin’s offensive coordinator in 1997-98 in Jacksonville. He will now oversee Eli Manning’s development after helping Tony Romo reach the Pro Bowl.

Palmer, a New York native, spent one season with the Cowboys where he reconnected with Bill Parcells. They were together in New England from 1993 to 1996 when he served as wide receivers and quarterbacks coach.

Palmer is the fourth member of the Cowboys offensive staff to leave.

At this point, with Garrett onboard and Norv probably coming as well, one would think that there would be a serious shifting of the offensive staff, so I guess Palmer’s exit may not mean much.

Remarkably, though, it would seem that Bill Parcells’ fingerprint on this team is going to fade quickly (save for the players he drafted).

Via Yahoo Sports: Nolan Ryan hospitalized, team says he’s in good condition

Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan was hospitalized Friday and in good condition with an undisclosed ailment, his son said.

The 59-year-old strikeout king checked into Round Rock Medical Center for treatment of recurring symptoms from a pre-existing medical condition, Reid Ryan said.

So reports Advertising Age: Miller Repeals ‘Man Law’.

On balance, the commercial were amusing, as far as commercials go. But then again, while I know they are beer commercials, I really didn’t know which beer it was for.

By the same token, I am not in the market for light beer, so I wasn’t the target demographic to begin with.

He’ll replace the injured Jeremy Shockey. It will be Witten’s 3rd Pro Bowl appearance.

From the Star-Telegram: Witten to replace Shockey in Pro Bowl