A lot happened in the NFL over the weekend. Spygate Part 2 came and went without 70 points being put on the board. In fact, the Patriots vs Jets game was a lot closer then anyone would have thought. Brett Favre also became the all-time leader in career passing yards, moving past the former #1 Dan Marino. Favre now holds just about every record a quarterback can get.

The Cowboys got beat by the freaking Eagles. A lot of people were speculating that Romo isn’t the same since he started dating Jessica Simpson. Simpson was seen at the game sporting a pink Romo jersey. I wonder how it feels to have your girlfriend watching your every move on the field. It’d probably freak me out too.

In AFC news, the Jacksonville Jaguars out Steelered the Steelers. The Jags went up to Heinz Field and straight up dominated in the Steelers in a very physical and brutally cold game. The conditions were awful, something the Steelers would want. But the Jags came out strong, pounding the ball all day with Fred Taylor (147 yards and a touchdown). The Jags are the only big time AFC team left that haven’t had a shot at the Pats, but that could all change in round 2 of the playoffs.

When Roger Clemens was with the Houston Astros, he was one of my favorite players. How could you not like a dominant, power right hander. He came to the mound withy fury and determination. He had the anger and will to come straight at guys and strike them out. Well, according to the Mitchell Report released yesterday, we now know why Clemens was so furious on the mound. There is now reasoning behind him throwing a shattered baseball bat at Piazza. Roger Clemens was named in the Mitchell Report and allegedly took performance enhancing steroid in his ass. Way to be a role model to all the millions of fans, including your own sons.

Roger Clemens wasn’t alone though. His best friend Andy Petitte was also named, along with Tejada, Lo Duca, Gibbons, Roberts, Sheffield, Giambi, and of course Barry Bonds. These players are just a handful of the ones named. Odds are there were dozens more who took the drugs, but just didn’t get caught.

It’s said that Barry Bonds gave baseball a black eye. It’s most hallowed mark, the all-time homerun record, is tainted by steroid allegations. Now it’s safe to say that Clemens and the rest of the Mitchell crew have given baseball it’s second black eye.

Not much is known about what will happen to these players. Many of the named guys aren’t even active. The active players will get a slight suspension, while the retired players will have to worry about their name being tarnish and their possible Hall of Fame careers being nothing more then good career embelished with drugs and lies.

Michael Vick was sentenced today to 23 months in prison, with good behavior he could be out in 20. That means Vick will be a free man somewhere around August 2009. It’s nice to see him get nearly 2 years in jail. Most celebrities and athletes get a slap on the wrist and rarely do hard time. Vick will be locked up long enough to possibly end his NFL career.

By the time he is released from prison, he’ll likely still face a minimum 1 year suspension from the NFL. This means the earliest he could come back would be the 2010 or 2011 season. Vick would be 31 years old by then and out of football for years. I can’t imagine any teams taking a flyer on him.

No one has fallen faster then Michael Vick. From being the NFL’s top paid athlete and having millions of fans and high dollar sponsors to now being locked up in jail with no money and no freedom. All of that just to fight some dogs.

Floyd Mayweather is a straight up badass. Not only is he the most skilled boxer out there but he presents himself very well. He knows how to market himself, with examples being him Jim Rome appearances. I just love listening to this guy and watching him fight. He’s like the Chad Johnson of boxing. Always entertaining and always producing.

Tonight Mayweather takes on rising star Hatton, the ‘great white hope.’ Both fighters are unbeaten, so this match really is intriguing.

I have a feeling this one will go all rounds and be decided by the judges. I hate when that happens, but when you have two talented boxers going at it with the world watching, they always seem to come down to judges. Neither fighter will get knocked out.

I’m obviously predicting a Mayweather victory. He’s just too damn good.

Barry Bonds arrived in court today and entered a not guilty plea. Bonds has maintained his innocence since day 1 and will testify and prove in court that he is not guilty of four counts of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. Those are very hard charges to prove for a defendent.

According to ESPN.com, “U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ordered Bonds released on $500,000 personal recognizance, meaning he won’t have to put up any money unless he violates the conditions of his release. He was ordered to return to court on Feb. 7.”

That’s a long time for Bonds to sit around and wait, but hey, at least he gets to spend the holidays with his wife and kids. The 2 months until his next meeting should give his lawyers plenty of time to scheme and figure out their loop holes.

The BCS Gods have spoken. LSU’s victory over Tennessee to win the SEC convinced enough voters to jump them several spots into the #2 place in the BCS standings. LSU will take on #1 Ohio State January 7 in New Orleans. LSU will be the first 2 loss team to ever play for a BCS title.

This is the second year in a row now that OSU will be fighting for a National Championship and this is the second year in a row that they will have had 51 days rest between games. Will OSU make up excuses again if they end up losing, or will they learn from last year’s mistakes and use the time off wisely?

I personally think LSU is going to whipe the floor with OSU, just like Florida did last year. The SEC is just far too superior. The Big 10 can’t hang with their speed or size. This also might be one of the very few times when the #2 team is favored to win over the #1 team.

I’m disgusted with the way the NCAA handles coaching interviews in college and football. There shouldn’t be any coaching discussions during the regular season. ESPN is reporting that “LSU athletic director Skip Bertman confirmed Wednesday night through spokesman Herb Vincent that his Michigan counterpart, Bill Martin, has officially requested permission to speak with Les Miles about becoming the next coach of the Wolverines. Bertman requested that the meeting not take place until after LSU plays Tennessee Saturday for the SEC championship. Martin told Bertman he will comply.”

Doesn’t Michigan know that LSU has a SEC Title game to play on Saturday. Can’t they wait 4 more days before they start calling Les Miles and creating distractions for the LSU team? It’s not fair to the players who committed to Miles and gave it their all this season. They deserver a chance to be an SEC Champion.

Les Miles could probably give two shits about what LSU does this weekend. He’ll be coaching Michigan next year. If Miles does leave LSU to coach the Wolverines, he must pay LSU $1.25 million. But big deal, the UM will probably reimburse him for those losses.

I don’t blame Miles for wanting to leave LSU. It’s every coaches dream of coaching for their alma mater. Just freaking wait until your done with the current season before you go making arrangements to fly to Ann Arbor.

If there’s any word that is overplayed more then ‘gunslinger’ this year among NFL analysts then I don’t know what it is.

Tomorrow on the NFL Network (which means I won’t be watching unless I go to my friend’s house), the Cowboys and Packers will play in what many people are calling a preview to the NFC Championship game. Both teams are 10-1 and playing the best football in the NFC. I still think the Pats, Colts, Jaguars, and Steelers could beat these two teams, but anways… we can’t all play in the NFC.

The Packers have the first true gunslinger, Brett Favre. While the Cowboys have the newest young gunslinger in Tony Romo. Being a gunslinger pretty much means you just throw the ball as much as you can and try to force throws. You rack up hundreds of yards and don’t worry about throwing interceptions. It’s a risk/reward mentality and fortunately for these two it has been working.

The game is being played in Dallas, so I’m expecting America’s team to win.

Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died after he was shot in the leg during a possible burglary at his Florida home. He was 24.
Talk was positive last night after Taylor grasped a nurses hand. Doctors thought he would pull through. However, in the early AM this morning, Taylor passed away in the hospital.

Sean Taylor was a bad ass safety for the Redskins. He was a multiple Probowler and one of the biggest hitters in the league. He presence on and off the field will be missed by his teammates and the fans.

What I don’t understand is why the authorities are calling this a possible burglary. Taylor’s girlfriend and daughter were in the house during the shooting and weren’t injured. Criminals who try to rob someone, won’t go in the house and shoot up one person and leave the other’s alone. They’ll shoot everyone. I think that this was a targeted hit on Taylor. He may have messed with the wrong guys and they waited for a time when they could get back at Sean. They knew he would be home in Miami.

It’s a tough situation to lose someone in the public eye. The Redskins were already having a down year. They’ll either go further down with this news, or they could rally around Sean’s spirit and move in a positive direction.

We all somewhat expected Carr to retire after this season, and following Ohio State’s recent Michigan beatdown out expectations were confirmed. Michigan legend Llyod Carr will retire. It’s a good thing he chose to retire, because Michigan might have fired his ass anyways.

From ESPN.com

The Jim Tressel-led Buckeyes beat the Wolverines 14-3, Saturday, dropping Carr to 6-7 overall in the matchup that matters most.

“Lloyd Carr is one of the true gentlemen of college football,” Tressel said Sunday. “His legacy is extraordinary and his leadership in the coaching profession is greatly appreciated. He made a difference in collegiate athletics.”

Carr led the Wolverines to the 1997 national championship. He won 77.9 percent of his conference games, trailing the success rate of just two coaches that were in the Big Ten for at least a decade: Michigan’s Bo Schembechler and Fielding Yost. Against top-10 teams, Carr was 17-9.

And that 6-7 overall record against Ohio State is a bit skewed. He’s like 1-6 in their last 7 meetings. Sure Carr has a great ‘body of work’, but really he just wasn’t getting the job done as of late. They got beat by a DII school earlier this year and ended this season with two straight losses. Not quite what I call leaving on a high note.

Michigan will likely target current LSU head coach Les Miles to replace Carr.