Jay Mariotti FanHouse

All Hope Is Gone for Weis, Rodriguez

Jay Mariotti — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:48:00 EST

by Jay MariottiSOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Outside Notre Dame Stadium, where Touchdown Jesus is considering whether to hold his nose and wear a brown bag over his head, a student waved two tickets at anyone who walked past. "Freebies. Who wants free tickets?'' he hawked Saturday.

There were no takers.

"After we lost to Navy,'' he said, "everyone gave up.''

Juxtapose that scene against one inside the famed bowl, where Charlie Weis did something we'd never seen him do. Locked arm-in-arm with his 33 seniors, who were playing their final home game, he wept openly as they emerged from the tunnel and walked onto the field. Weis initially was standing in the back, wanting the seniors to have their day, when he was told to join them at the front. This was their show of support for a man about to lose yet another maddening game -- and, ultimately, his job as Notre Dame coach.

All Hope Is Gone for Weis, Rodriguez originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:48:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fire Mark Mangino the Monster

Jay Mariotti — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:50:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: NCAA Football

If it's true that Kansas football coach Mark Mangino, upon seeing a receiver named Raymond Brown drop a pass, launched into a hideous tirade that concluded with a racially tinged threat -- "If you don't shut up, I'm going to send you back to St. Louis so you can get shot with your homies" -- then the university should dismiss Mangino immediately. If it's true Mangino told receiver Marcus Herford that he'd send him "back to the street corner where you came from,'' then keeping the coach would be a Rock Chalk Crock.

And if it's also true that another Kansas player, who had told the team that he dreamed of becoming a lawyer and that his father was an alcoholic, was subjected to this insensitive, vicious onslaught from Mangino -- "Are you going to be a lawyer or do you want to become an alcoholic like your Dad?'' -- then we might have to strap Mangino in a straitjacket and haul him away.

For he is a madman.

More: Ex-Jayhawk Speaks Out | Mangino Shoved Out Over Poke?

Fire Mark Mangino the Monster originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Concussions Kill? NFL Finally Gets It

Jay Mariotti — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: NFL

A day doesn't pass without another ode to the NFL's massive popularity, be it another monstrously rated broadcast, another epic game, another billion-dollar gambling feast or this from ESPN: "Pro football is the ultimate reality TV.'' And who can argue, really? The NFL is the epicenter of sporting life in our entertainment-driven land, conquering the consciousness of men and women, old and young, reality and fantasy.

It's so big, in fact, that it's easy to miss the dirty little problem that the league -- and all levels of football -- are attempting to rectify without drawing too much attention to themselves. That would be the irresponsible and dangerous pressure within the sport to view concussions as merely an everyday occupational hazard, no different than sore buttocks or hangnails, and forcing dazed and dinged players to return quickly to the field lest they be known as soft and cowardly. Volumes of medical evidence now conclude that football-related head injuries can lead to brain disorders, including dementia and Alzheimer's, and leave players in such vegetative states that they can't function in their 40s, 50s and 60s, assuming they live that long.

Concussions Kill? NFL Finally Gets It originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Worst Show on Turf: Eric Mangini's Cleveland Clowns

Jay Mariotti — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:57:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: NFL

CLEVELAND -- The mental welfare of this perpetually beleaguered, nationally pummeled, unemployment-burdened, sports-doomed, pray-if-LeBron-leaves city was fairly stable between 1996 and 1998. Those were the three years when the NFL didn't exist by the lake, when civic outrage over the Browns' devastating departure to Baltimore faded into a hope that something better and more loyal was on the way. Who knew that not having them at all was a far saner fate than resurrecting them for the next decade?

And how many folks would like to light the franchise on fire about now, just as the Cuyahoga River once went up in flames in Cleveland's most infamous moment?

Worst Show on Turf: Eric Mangini's Cleveland Clowns originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spygate to Stupidgate: Belichick Blunders

Jay Mariotti — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:30:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: NFL

INDIANAPOLIS -- He was wearing a dark blue hoodie, stylish with a shirt collar, and my thought right now is that Bill Belichick should go back to the old tattered version. Because on Sunday night, in one of the most inexplicably arrogant brain cramps in the history of football and any other sport known to humankind, the coach who gave us Spygate introduced Stupidgate to the American lexicon.

There were the New England Patriots, three-time champions of the Super Bowl and Team of the Decade, facing 4th-and-2 at their own 28-yard line. They owned a 34-28 lead over the Indianapolis Colts. Two minutes and eight seconds remained. Armed with a capable punter and adept special teams, the Patriots could have pinned back the Colts and forced Peyton Manning, great as he is, to drive his offense about 70 yards. The Patriots' defense already had forced him into two interceptions. Two of the Colts' young wide receivers, Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie, were dropping the ball. This was the most obvious decision a coach could make on any level, NFL to Pee Wee.

Punt the friggin' ball.

Spygate to Stupidgate: Belichick Blunders originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ohio State, Pryor Win in Spite of Tressel

Jay Mariotti — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:33:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: NCAA Football

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Welcome to the heartland, home of the Big Ten, a league that doesn't deserve its own TV network and should respectfully reject a Rose Bowl bid on the basis of stodginess and cowardice. Ever wonder why the best talent routinely heads southward and westward? You should have seen the final minutes of the conference's unofficial title game Saturday evening, when two prominent head coaches laid down, played for overtime and reminded us why college football in these parts is maddeningly prehistoric.

There was Ohio State's Jim Tressel, the sweater-vested genius who writes self-help books about life, unable to help himself. Armed with a two-touchdown lead with 11:32 remaining in regulation, he watched the Buckeyes allow a 99-yard kickoff return for a score and have their own interception and touchdown return nullified by an offsides call. So what did Tressel do with 2:37 left and the score tied at 24-24? He shut down all creativity, went ultra-conservative in his own end and punted. In the process, he didn't utilize the running and passing talents of Terrelle Pryor, who might be one of the dynamic weapons in the college game if Tressel wasn't stuck in the 20th century and had a clue how to develop and utilize a two-way quarterback.

More Coverage: Buckeyes Earn First Rose Bowl Since '97

Ohio State, Pryor Win in Spite of Tressel originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LeBron James Right About No. 23, Stan Van Gundy Wrong

Jay Mariotti — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:03:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: NBA

It's another Nike scheme, I suspect, perpetrated to create a rush on LeBron James' new, customized No. 6 jersey. Seems even the swooshheads have to compete against the iPod Touch, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3 and Guitar Hero, right? That said, if it truly was LeBron's idea to relinquish No. 23 out of deference to Michael Jeffrey Jordan, I congratulate him for his style.

While admonishing Stan Van Gundy for his ignorance.

James wants every NBA player wearing No. 23 to follow his lead and find another number. It's an idea akin to placing the image of longtime basketball great Jerry West on the league's logo, a silhouette that has survived to this day. If Jordan indeed is the greatest player ever -- and anyone who disagrees should have his sports fan credentials revoked -- it's appropriate to, in effect, retire his jersey without the actual ceremony. James is the one player worthy of the number, as a legitimate heir to Jordan, and he doesn't feel right wearing it. So why would the inferior likes of Devin Brown, Toney Douglas, Stephen Graham, Wesley Matthews, Jodie Meeks, Byron Mullens, C.J. Watson and Martell Webster not feel sheepish, much less embarrassed, in continuing to wear the sacred digits? Only Jason Richardson, Marcus Camby and Kevin Martin have displayed enough skill and accomplishment at the highest level to not draw sneers for wearing No. 23. Yet they, too, should pay tribute to Jordan and get with the LeBron plan.

LeBron James Right About No. 23, Stan Van Gundy Wrong originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brady vs. Manning: A Symphony on Turf

Jay Mariotti — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:03:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: NFL

Oh, sure, it might be fun if they hated each other, stole each other's women, fired off nasty tweets, treated their rivalry like another bloody night in the Octagon. But the beauty of Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady -- wait, give Brady first billing, since he has a 3-1 lead in the Super Bowl rings derby -- is that neither is a jerk on a sports planet filled with such creatures. Both are classy, dignified men who avoid blowhardish braggadocio and succeed because they rely on a tool that can be so remarkably beneficial when used properly.

The brain, we call it.

Brady vs. Manning: A Symphony on Turf originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pull the Plug on Cable Guy, Commish

Jay Mariotti — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:45:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: NFL

When an NFL player attacks an opponent with a dangerous, helmet-to-helmet hit, he is suspended immediately for a game or more. When Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable acknowledges having struck his first wife -- this as two other romantic partners allege that he physically abused them, this after a Raiders assistant coach accused Cable of breaking his jaw and threatening to kill him during a training-camp confrontation -- well, I'm wondering where the NFL commissioner is right now.

Urgency has been the signature of Roger Goodell's tenure as it comes to violence and personal conduct. A violation occurs, he's on it at once, and next thing you know, Sheriff Roger is announcing another suspension. It has been the most important stance taken by a sports commissioner here in the new millennium, but just the same, Goodell must be as quick to act on a coach as he is a player. In the case of Cable, who at the least has serious anger issues and appears to have an ugly history of battering women and bullying men, it's hard for me to believe he'll be allowed to coach another week in America's most visible, successful league. The NFL says it is investigating Cable and his past, but Goodell already has the proof required for at least an indefinite suspension:

Blackistone: Suspending Cable Good for Everyone, Including Him
Reports: NFL Evaluating Cable, Al Davis Wants a New Coach

Pull the Plug on Cable Guy, Commish originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For Andre Agassi, Truth Is Everything

Jay Mariotti — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:45:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: Tennis

So what do people want from their heroes, anyway: after-the-fact transparency or the perpetuation of fraud? Here we are, still wading through the slime of the Steroids Era, rightfully crucifying juicers for trying to hide behind walls of deceit. And yet, some of the same critics are pummeling Andre Agassi for volunteering 12 years after his sin -- when it would have been far more convenient to keep living the lie -- that he failed a drug test and deceived the ATP by writing a letter claiming he "unwittingly'' used crystal meth.

The admission, in an autobiography called Open,' is crippling to Agassi's reputation as one of sport's good guys. By outing himself, he hurts his family, his numerous charitable causes, his credibility and the image we have of his complete body of work, not good when one of his defining ad campaigns once had him declaring, "Image is everything.'' Knowing the damage that was forthcoming, he came clean nonetheless about his recreational drug problem, unlike the high-profile baseball stars whose performance-enhancing crimes have been revealed in investigations and exposés.

For Andre Agassi, Truth Is Everything originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Time for Notre Dame to Sink USS Charlie

Jay Mariotti — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: NCAA Football

I'm not sure who's more hopelessly out of place: Charlie Weis on the Notre Dame sideline or Jon Gruden in the "Monday Night Football'' broadcast booth. But two wrongs easily can be righted in one spectacular swoop. The Domers need to swallow hard again, reach down for that big wallet, send away Weis with his $18 million buyout and hire Gruden as their next coach.

Because Navy just sank the USS Charlie.

Time for Notre Dame to Sink USS Charlie originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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To Elevate His Legacy, LBJ Must Do NYC

Jay Mariotti — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:01:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: NBA

NEW YORK -- It felt like a recruiting trip, the one he never had when he bypassed college for the NBA. Only this process involved the world's most glamorous arena, a 10-story Nike billboard out on Seventh Avenue and a hip-hop mogul like no other, ready to tell LeBron James that New York is a "concrete jungle where dreams are made of ... there's nothing you can't do.'' Every time James plays Madison Square Garden, with rapper homeboy Jay-Z sitting in the front row with other celebrities, the scene transcends sports and becomes an entertainment blowout.

To Elevate His Legacy, LBJ Must Do NYC originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If A-Rod Is Role Model, Hall Is Reachable

Jay Mariotti — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:30:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: MLB

NEW YORK -- He has found peace to purge his demons, love when all he had was Madonna and madams and, most importantly, truth when his past was so fake and sleazy. No matter what we once thought of Alex Rodriguez, it's difficult to hold a grudge when he has achieved joy and reward the right way. In fact, allow me to propose the ultimate happy ending, something unimaginable only a few months ago but perhaps attainable if he continues to be a model citizen, a fine teammate, a grounded human being and the greatest ballplayer alive.

That would be a place in Cooperstown, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mariotti: Not the American Dream, but Give Yankees Props
Fletcher: Phillies Abdicate Throne | Moore: Yanks Quit Playing Games
Price: Uncertain Future for N.Y. Trio | Olson: Phillies Fade Into Night
Box Score | Matsui MVP | A-Rod Finally a Champ | Fans Rejoice in Victory

If A-Rod Is Role Model, Hall Is Reachable originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not the American Dream, but Give Yankees Props

Jay Mariotti — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:05:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: MLB

NEW YORK -- There is something arrogantly American about it, I know. The $210-million Yankees have won a World Series amid a destructive recession, doing it for Boss George Steinbrenner in the first season of their $1.5-billion edifice of excess, where a $275-million lightning rod just happened to overcome a steroids crisis and finally deliver the postseason we've long demanded. None of those elements are universally endearing to the masses, yet all converged on a festive, rocking November night when Championship No. 27 wasn't welcomed by the pinstripe haters as much as force-fed into them like skunk oil.

Look, President Obama might say, "This is corporate America at its bloated, ignorant worst. The White Sox have a better business plan."

"We're supposed to win," said Yankees manager, Joe Girardi. "We know that every day we come to work."

Not the American Dream, but Give Yankees Props originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tastykake Soft, Hamels Can't Do Game 7

Jay Mariotti — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:10:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: MLB

PHILADELPHIA -- This is where they booed Santa Claus but gave a standing ovation to a dog killer named Michael Vick. This is where they taunted Mike Schmidt, maybe the best third baseman ever. This is where Donovan McNabb is viewed as an emotional dishrag, where MIchael Irvin was cheered when he lay motionless on the field, where I saw a woman in an UTLEY jersey tell a guy to "stop being a (p----)," where men are men unless someone wonders otherwise, which means your life is screwed.

It is in this Yuengling-and-cheesesteak culture that Cole Hamels, a California pretty boy not blessed with the Bruno/Rocco/Angelo first name like many Philly tough guys, decided to commit parochial suicide. Shelled again in Game 3 of the World Series, he emotionally unraveled afterward, suggesting very strongly that he wanted his season to end right then and there. In any town, such an acknowledgment would be viewed as a breach of cowardice. In Philly, where the home team trailed only 2-1 at the time, Hamels is being called a sulker, quitter, crybaby, wimp and (p----) of the worst ilk.

More: Hamels Earns Manuel's Trust for Possible Game 7

Tastykake Soft, Hamels Can't Do Game 7 originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As Phils Give Chase, Lee Strategy Hurts

Jay Mariotti — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:37:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: MLB

PHILADELPHIA -- They have nothing in common but history. Chase Utley is a southern California dude with gel in his hair who speaks in cliches and has all the pizzazz of a resin bag. Reggie Jackson was the portrait of flamboyance, the straw that stirred the drink, the problem child who jarred the equilibrium. But today, they are joined in baseball lore by the five home runs each hit in a single World Series, with Utley's latest two shots propelling the Phillies to an 8-6 victory in Game 5 and renewed life for a repeat title.

"It's pretty cool. It's pretty surreal," Utley said with typical nonchalance. "I'm glad we got the win. It was a do-or-die game."

As Phils Give Chase, Lee Strategy Hurts originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Favre Quiets Haters, Gets Last Laugh

Jay Mariotti — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:30:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: NFL

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Shame on them for booing him, mocking him, staging funerals for him, wearing flip-flops and eating waffle fries to ridicule him. The hostility toward Brett Favre was an embarrassment to a community that never looked smaller, an affront to the idea that the publicly owned Packers and their fans form a unique family bond amid the greed and sleaze of 21st-century sports. If the Cheeseheads truly had perspective, they would have stood and applauded the man whose swaggering presence defined a franchise and state for 16 years, and then they'd have rooted like hell for their boys to beat the old dude and the despised Minnesota Vikings.

More Coverage: Packers in Pain After Another Loss to Favre, Vikings

Favre Quiets Haters, Gets Last Laugh originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yo, Bud: Instant Replay Works! Yanks And A-Rod Benefit

Jay Mariotti — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:40:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti
PHILADELPHIA -- This is why sports has instant replay, Bud Selig: to get the call right, to make sure history isn't tainted by blown decisions, to remove the human element when the human being is conspicuously wrong. I'm not sure the Yankees would have won Game 3 of the World Series if Major League Baseball didn't review home-run calls.

Game 3: Yankees 8, Phillies 5 | Box Score | Series Home

Yo, Bud: Instant Replay Works! Yanks And A-Rod Benefit originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yankees Again Pedro Martinez's Daddy

Jay Mariotti — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:16:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: MLB

NEW YORK -- He didn't want to relinquish the ball, not with the fans ready to bombard him, not when they were preparing a final triumphant round of "Who's Your Daddy!" chants. But it was time for Pedro Martinez to depart nonetheless, perhaps forever from a stage that is 110 streets north of midtown Manhattan but always has felt like pure Broadway every time he has performed there.

Thursday night at Yankee Stadium was no exception. Nicked by the home team for three runs in six-plus innings, on a night when the Phillies had few answers for the vicious breaking stuff of A.J. Burnett and a two-inning dose of Mariano Rivera, Martinez handed the ball to manager Charlie Manuel, absorbed the rude serenade as he left the mound, pointed to his father in the sky and then, as he neared the visitors' dugout, broke into a grin that had to make you laugh even if you were a Philadelphia fan sensing defeat.

Yankees Again Pedro Martinez's Daddy originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With Another Epic Performance, Cliff Lee Is Dr. October

Jay Mariotti — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:10:00 EST

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: MLB

NEW YORK -- Ever seen a crowd in this city so quiet, so wet, so stupefied? This was to have been the beginning of another pinstripe coronation, the first in a series of Win One For The Boss vignettes in the House That Ruthlessness Built. Instead, all the puffy hubris was silenced on a rainy, windy Wednesday night by Cliff Lee, who began the year in woeful Cleveland and may end it in a pitching pantheon.

It wouldn't be wise to dismiss the Phillies as unworthy of these Yankees and this World Series backdrop. With Lee outdueling his best pal in baseball, CC Sabathia, consider Game 1 a firm reminder that the Phillies are the defending champions and not the least bit intimidated by the mammoth city to the north, a Taj Mahal ballpark in the Bronx and the massive payroll and talent of the Yankees. We winced when Jimmy Rollins, the mouthy leadoff man, boosted Jay Leno's sickly ratings when he went on the show and forecast another Philadelphia championship. "Of course, we're going to win," he chirped. "If we're nice, we'll let it go six, but I'm thinking five -- close it out at home."

More: Moore: Yankees Yuck | Fletcher: Utley Show | Price: CC's Heavy Load

With Another Epic Performance, Cliff Lee Is Dr. October originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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