It was a long summer for Rick Pitino, who revealed an extramarital sexual encounter and an extortion attempt against him. The Louisville basketball coach was publicly embarrassed, to say the least.
Matt Youmans
With a chance to throw crushing blows to Las Vegas sports books the past two weeks, Eli Manning instead threw interceptions, and his New York Giants are now an enemy of the betting public.
It’s tough to overshadow the NFL’s best running back, but Adrian Peterson almost seems to be an invisible man at the moment.
As beautiful as it can be to watch Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees work their magic, this NFL season also has an ugly side. We’re seeing a plague of poor quarterbacks and pitiful teams and a disappearance of parity.
A screen pass from Brett Favre turned ugly, the Pittsburgh Steelers got a fluke point-spread cover and more favorites continued to win in blowouts. The formula surely had more than a few sports book directors dropping F-bombs.
A rock-solid quarterback in about every aspect, Ben Roethlisberger rarely is a threat to lead the NFL in passing yards. But he’s atop that chart now, and it’s an indicator of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ strange season.
Midway through his sophomore season, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor is under fire from critics who want to see him benched or switched to wide receiver. None of it makes sense.
It’s one thing to kick around a tomato can. Sticking an ugly black eye on a heavyweight contender, as Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints did Sunday, is a legitimate accomplishment.
Under ordinary circumstances, New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin always puts a well-prepared team on the field. With an extra week to break down and study an opponent, he’s that much sharper.
By early December, you can bet Kobe Bryant will be asked about the Los Angeles Lakers’ chances of winning 70 games. It’s a question that needs not be asked until February or March, if it’s an issue at all.
Any handicapper who pumps up the Oakland Raiders is trying to breathe life into a corpse. There is no resuscitating coach Tom Cable or quarterback JaMarcus Russell, each auditioning to be the NFL’s worst at their respective positions.
As far as coach-quarterback combinations go, it’s tough to beat Bill Belichick and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. If you bet the NFL, you want those two in your corner more often than not.
Injury reports are not officially issued in college football, but we don’t need one to know the status of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who suffered his first concussion two weeks ago.
One of these days, Tony Romo might put the puzzle pieces together and become a complete quarterback. For now, though, the leader of the Dallas Cowboys is perceived as a falling star.
Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, there are excellent coaches walking NFL sidelines. Jeff Fisher of the Tennessee Titans is one of them.
