Via the Birmingham News: Loss to Bulldogs should snap Tide fans back to reality.

James Joyner explains why ESPN Football Coverage Sucks.

So far I am 2-0 in picking winners for 2024 after being 11-5 last season.

The Miami Dolphins(0-2) are playing at the New York Jets(0-2) this afternoon. A meeting between the team I followed when growing up and one I follow today. These twice annual matchups sometimes leave me hoping for a tie.(Something that did happen in a 1981 game between the teams)

Miami hasn’t looked impressive at all this season. The same however can be said for the Jets. One troubling trend I see for Miami, has been their quick abandonment of the running game. Last week the team didn’t rush once in the last 22 minutes of the game. Head Coach Cameron defended it, saying Miami at the time was 7 points down. Seven points down with a quarter and a half of football left and its time to be one dimensional. This and another recent remark of the coach’s leave you wondering if Miami’s coach is just being stubborn. My gut impression is that Miami is going to ride Trent Green down the toilet this year. Not that Miami is going to be any good, but going 4-12 on the arm of an over the hill QB is some how supposed to be a way to build for the future? I don’t think so.

The Jets-Dolphins series often rides on who is playing at home. This year won’t be any different. My prediction- New York 24 Miami 17.

And may he be right: Staubach thinks Romo’s for real

Via Tim MacMahon of the DMN’s Cowboys blog: Blame the Tuna for Hester slipping to Chicago

Hester is already arguably the best return man in NFL history. Fasano is arguably the best backup tight end on the Cowboys’ roster.

Ouch.

And quite true.

David Moore has a nice analysis of the JuJo/MBIII running back combo from Friday’s DMN: Cowboys’ Jones, Barber thriving as duo.

I know a lot of Dallas fans want Marion the Barbarian to start in place of Jones, who hasn’t produced to the level that many expected when he was drafted out of Notre Dame back in ‘04. On the other hand, it may be that Dallas fans are spoiled by the fact that we’ve had Tony Dorsettt and Emmitt Smith running the ball.

Jones’ career stats are actually quite solid. Considering that he he has shared the load his 2,994 rushing yards after three years and two games is nothing to sneeze at, nor is his career 4.0 average yards per carry. Certainly he is the best starting HB Dallas has had since Emmitt moved on. (How soon we forget the Troy Hambrick era, yes?)

MBIII has two key advantages over Jones in terms of getting the fan’s attention, given that he plays mostly in the later portions of the game, when the defense is tired and near the goal line, which means a higher probability of scoring. Further, his running style is rather endearing.

Of course, if one assumes that Barber can do what he has done for part of a game for an entire, then clearly one would prefer him to Jones. However, is that a certainty? Given the two coaching staffs have decided that splitting time is best, one has to wonder if it simply isn’t clear that Barber can’t take the pounding of an entire game. This is especially compelling, given the Parcells thought he should split time, and Barber was a “Parcells’ Guy” and Barber’s father played for Parcells (of course, Parcells did draft Jones, so there’s that as well).

Ultimately, I have no problem with the two-headed attack, given that it appears to be working. As Moore notes:

If you combine the yards gained by Julius Jones and Marion Barber, the Cowboys four-legged back ranks second only to Denver’s Travis Henry in rushing.

Granted, that is only after two weeks, but not bad.

The announcement was made at a news conference yesterday.

SAN FRANCISCO - Barry Bonds is finished in San Francisco. The Giants told Bonds they will not bring him back next season, ending a 15-year run in which he set the single-season and all-time home run records and became a lightning rod for the steroids debate in baseball.

“It’s always difficult to say goodbye,” Giants owner Peter Magowan said Friday. “It’s an emotional time for me. We’ve been through a lot together these 15 years. A lot of good things have happened. Unfortunately a lot of bad things have happened. But there comes a time when you have to go in a different direction.”

On his Web site, Bonds said he wasn’t done.

“There is more baseball in me and I plan on continuing my career. My quest for a World Series ring continues,” he said.

The 43-year-old Bonds did not join Magowan and general manager Brian Sabean at the news conference. Asked whether he had anything to add, Bonds said, “I already made my statement.”

Putting aside whether you think Bonds homerun records are legit or not,(I personally believe Bonds used Steroids and other drugs) he is still a productive hitter. There has to be an American League team that can use Bonds services as a Designated hitter.

In all honesty, I wish Barry would retire. Though this will not silence the debate over his career and records.

More bad news for Miami.

DAVIE — Linebacker Zach Thomas’ history of concussions doesn’t seem to have caught up with him yet.

Thomas, 34, will sit out the Dolphins’ road game Sunday against the New York Jets because of a concussion he suffered in the Dolphins’ loss to Dallas six days ago.

But medical tests didn’t raise red flags for a player who has suffered multiple concussions and once considered retirement because of the problem.

“It’s good news,” coach Cam Cameron said Friday. “They brought back the MRI, and they didn’t see anything on that.”

Since when did Dizzy Dean become Miami Dolphins head coach? I sure hope doctors found something in Zach’s head.

All joking aside, Cameron said Thomas would be day to day after Sunday’s game. Rest up Zach and get well.

As much as Thomas injury isn’t good news for the struggling Dolphin defense(Thomas is
the team’s leading tackler through two games), the concussion also calls into question whether the linebacker should continue playing. Zach had a history of similar injuries earlier in his career.(1999) At age 34 with very rare exceptions, active pro football players have their best years behind him. Zach has become a wealthy man, it may be time for him to enjoy the rest of his life off the football field.

Just one more problem for a Dolphin team that has drafted one Pro Bowl player in Rounds 1 or 2 since 1995. That tells you why the team is so poor at this moment.

Via the AP: Doctor: Bills’ Everett could be ‘walking very soon’

Kevin Everett’s doctor plans to have him stand up on his own soon, and believes the Bills tight end will be walking within weeks – or sooner.

[…]

“Now that doesn’t mean he’ll be walking normally, but standing up and holding his own weight,” Green said. “I think the future for him is very bright.”

Fantastic, if not miraculous, news.

Via the AP: Panel: Landis must forfeit cycling title.