Peyton Manning really likes throwing to Antonio Cromartie

Only problem with that is Cromartie isn’t really on his team. The ever-mopey MVP threw three, count ‘em, three picks to the second-year corner out of Florida State in Sunday’s loss on the road to the Chargers. I would think after a while you would stop throwing in someone’s direction after they’ve picked you off twice but Peyton was courteous enough to give Cromartie the trifecta on way to throwing six interceptions. I know that it never entered Colts head coach Tony Dungy’s mind to pull the struggling quarterback but he should have. Am I surprised that he didn’t? No. But it would have been Dungy’s chance to show that no matter who you are or how many companies and products you shill for, if you don’t perform, you don’t play. Make this two weeks in a row that Manning and the Colts offense has blown big conference games.

You may want to wait before buying those Saints playoff tickets

The Saints dropped a bad home game yesterday against the formerly win-less Rams after putting together a nice little streak and putting themselves back in playoff contention. Given that the Saints play in what is arguably the weakest division in football, I think , barring any further collapses, they are still going to the playoffs but it’s important to remember that prior to their four-game winning streak, they started the season 0-4. You have to wonder if a loss to a bad team like the Rams will send the formerly terrible Saints into a shame spiral and out of the playoff race. Time will tell. Their schedule the rest of the way is pretty mild and none of the games they still have on tap jump out at you as being potential landmines.

Donovan McNabb may be headed to Minnesota

The latest trade rumor has Donovan McNabb headed to Minnesota after this year to re-unite with former Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress. I’ve gotta say this rumor smacks of irony to me. He would be leaving a team with a great running back, a decent offensive line and no receivers to go to a team with a great running back, a decent (if not overpaid) offensive line and no receivers. Are are Troy Williamson and Sidney Rice that much of an upgrade over Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown? I think that no matter where McNabb goes (unless it’s New England), his best years are behind him.

Ron Zook is the national coach of the year

As it turns out, Gator fans, Ron Zook can actually coach. Forget about Jim Leavitt or Mark Mangino, no one has done a better job this year than Ron Zook. Zook took a team that was 2-10 last year and made them nationally relevant this weekend, knocking off top-ranked Ohio State on the road to get their 8th win of the year. If Zook can continue to pull big time recruits like Arrelious Benn and recruit well in the Chicago area, Illinois could become a real force to be reckoned with.

It’s 1994 all over again in Bloomington

The last time Indiana was bowl eligible it was 1994, they went 6-5 and didn’t get invited to a bowl. Well boys and girls, welcome to 1994. I’ll be rocking my Zubaz pants and my #2 Charlotte Hornets Larry Johnson jersey and listening to Meatloaf and Ace of Base. Indiana, barring a miraculous win at home next week against Purdue, isn’t going to a bowl this year. Saturday just wasn’t a banner day for the Hoosier football team. Not only did they give away a game that would have given them seven wins and a virtual bowl guarantee, they gave Northwestern their sixth win of the season, and Iowa and Michigan State all became bowl eligible as well. I’m going to go sulk and listen to Gin Blossoms.

Sylvester Croom will have a job next year

The Fighting Crooms of Mississippi State have put together a nice little resume this year, on their way to become bowl eligible for the first time since people were spazzing out about Y2K. After upending #22-ranked Alabama this weekend, Croom has seemingly changed the football culture in Starkville. The Bulldogs, who play excellent defense and the worst offense imaginable, have knocked off Auburn, Kentucky and now the Saban-led Crimson Tide and have a chance at seven wins when they play Ole Miss next week in the Egg Bowl. Well done, coach.

Rich Kotite, Ray Rhodes, Todd Pederson, Bobby Hoying, Ricky Watters, Bubby Brister. I’ve been through all of it. But nothing hurts like this does. Nothing hurts worse than being a Phildelphia Eagles fan at this moment in history.
When you have the expectation that your team is bad and won’t perform well week-to-week then it’s something you can live with. I remember telling friends that after Week 1, I always looked ahead to the next season after being rightly trounced by a team far more deserving of the win than my beloved Iggles. And then they got my hopes up and strung me along.

I remember getting misty when Donovan McNabb hoisted the NFC Championship Trophy above his head in 2004 and then watched in disappointment as they floundered their chance to make me and thousands of others of equally suffering Eagles fans happy for a lifetime.

But nothing compares to this.

After riding Jeff Garcia’s back all the way into the playoffs last year, we came into the season thinking that we would be back in the playoffs like it was divine right. We should have known better. Any off-season where your major acquisition is Kevin Curtis, formerly the St. Louis Rams’ third best receiver, you know you’re in trouble.

And then there’s the McNabb saga. Twice, the Eagles have had their season ruined, and nearly ruined last year if not for Jeff Garcia, by McNabb’s inability to stay healthy. I know that some will say that the Eagles have never given him a marquee receiver, save He Who Shall Not Be Named, and I agree with that whole-heartedly except that McNabb won with far less earlier in his career. Lest we forget, Donovan took the Eagles to the NFC Championship with Todd “Crocodile Arms” Pinkston and James Thrash on the outside. McNabb may very well be a victim of his own success but the team’s inability to score this season has to fall on his shoulders.  I have always been a McNabb supporter. I thought it would have been foolish for the Eagles to take Ricky Williams ahead of him in 1999 given that the Eagles had a solid back in Duce Staley. I have rooted for McNabb and wanted him to succeed but I have also understood that he’s a far from perfect quarterback. He displays little to no touch at times, rifling fastballs into the arms of tight ends on 5-yard hook routes, is not a terrifically accurate quarterback and seems to have abandoned his ability to scramble and improvise. As great as it’s been since he took over the starting job from Todd Pederson his rookie year, it may very well be the end of number 5 in Philly.

And then there’s Andy Reid. I am not going to get into the ongoing legal saga that is the lives of his two sons and I’m certainly not going to speculate how much that has or hasn’t affected his ability to coach and lead the Eagles this season. At the end of the day, as much as I love the Eagles, a man’s family is more important than anything. What I have to judge as a fan is the product on the field. For the better part of this century, we haven’t questioned Reid’s decision making as coach and GM because we were winning.  But this is different. With a team that nearly made it to the NFC Championship last season circling the drain, blame has to fall somewhere.

Forget that Sunday, the Eagles’ once-vaunted defense managed to make Brian Griese look like John Elway. The problems with the Birds started on  April 29 at Radio City Music Hall.

This year’s draft, like many others recently, was an unmistakable failure. With so many holes, particularly at receiver and linebacker, the fact that they traded out of the first round (with a team in their own division) to take Kevin Kolb with their first pick of the draft is inexcusable, particularly considering that Kolb was rated by some as the fifth best quarterback in the draft behind Drew Stanton and Trent Edwards, not to mention JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn. At such a critical juncture in team history, to screw up such an important draft pick that spectacularly is a particularly condemning act.

So where do we go from here? It appears that this team needs a facelift and it needs leadership. So who goes? Is it Andy Reid or Donovan McNabb or both? Make no mistake, this could be the most important off-season in franchise history.

___________

No, seriously… 

The cops in Oakland are mean.

Dog burglars on the loose in Seattle.

Boy ‘assaults’ elderly man with cocktail weiner.

__________

ESPN tries to make me hate college football with 25-hour pregame show.

Donovan McNabb blogs on the departure of veteran linebacker Jeremiah Trotter.

Stephen A. Smith will no longer be writing columns for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Stephon Marbury proves once and for all that he grew up under powerlines.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach with five predictions for the Big Ten.

Eli Manning and Tiki Barker are feuding over comments Barber made during the Giants preseason game on Sunday. New York Daily News.

USC’s Patrick Turner is ready for a breakout year at receiver.

TROT FALLOUT 

• Daily News’ Les Bowen
• ‘Shocked Trotter takes his release in stride,’ Ashley Fox
• ‘Trotter’s passage isn’t that shocking,’ Rich Hofman
• ‘Trotter grew into role as top Birds defender,’ Les Bowen

Eric Gordon and the other Hoosier freshmen in Kelvin Sampson’s sick’07 recruiting class have arrived on campus.. begin the countdown to Midnight Madness!

Michael Vick will not find a place to play in Canada.

Chiefs running back Larry Johnson ends holdout, inks new deal.

Browns target unruly fans.

The AJC’s Tony Barnhart wonders if Alabama can shock the college football world this fall. I’m going with no.

Kevin Costner to fight to keep the College World Series in Omaha.

NFL will be fine after Vick, says Tim Cowlishaw.

Oklahoma quarterback race over; Sam Bradford named starter.

Redskins rookie LaRon Landry drawing rave reviews.

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‘Heroes’ mania is too much, too soon, says Boston Globe critic.

Slashfilm’s ten best movie endings.. kind of a curious list.

Christian Bale not approached for Justice League movie.

A Ferris Bueller sequel? Oh no..  Is nothing sacred?

Bottom Line fave Cold War Kids plan headlining tour, do support dates for White Stripes.

Everyone throw a couple of prayers up to the big guy for Donovan McNabb who makes his return to the field tonight. I worry that he rushed his rehab after the Birds took Kevin Kolb in the draft and that knee is not ready. We’ll see. I’m hoping for the best.

__________

No, seriously… 

Even insurance fraud can be painful.

__________

D-Nabb returns to the field tonight.

The Big Ten Network isn’t being picked up by cable carriers.

USC tailback Emmanuel Moody is headed out of L.A.

Miami Herald columnist wonders if Trent Green can still be good.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers want a cooler training camp facility at Walt Disney World.

The Orlando Sentinel on Chris Simms’ fall from grace.

___________

Netflix to drop prices yet again to compete with Blockbuster.

Disney’s Hollywood Studio to have an entire land dedicated to George Lucas?

The Huffington Post’s Liza Palmer on why Lost is like a bad relationship.

A whopping 18 stills from The Dark Knight!

Move-in day on the campus of Virginia Tech.

____________

No, seriously…

Pittsburgh hospital takes a stand against crocs.

AMC doesn’t carry nickels?

Apparently life is tough when you share a name with a boy wizard.

___________

Is this the last year for D-Nabb in Philly?

McNabb appears to be showing promise early in training camp.

The Ocho Cinco has some money set aside for fines.

More of the Fanhouses Big Ten preview:

• Most overrated players
• Coaches on the hot seat
• Key position battles
• The five best players
• The underdogs
• Toughest schedules

Penn State QB Anthony Morelli is confident but is he overconfident?

Virginia Tech hopes football season will mark a return to normalcy.

Joe Theismann says he urged Tony Kornheiser to stick with Monday Night Football.

Eagles fans crash Cowboys training camp.

The Colts are parting ways with defensive tackle Corey Simon.

Pro d-backs put Indiana wideout James Hardy through his paces.

‘Browns insider’ says Brady Quinn’s agent is the reason rookie QB isn’t in camp yet.

Wolverine players tell Jim Harbaugh where to go over academic criticisms.

SI’s Peter King says Brady Quinn is a fool for not being in camp.

What a dope Michael Strahan is.

Joe Paterno considers staying in the press box. Consider this — retire.

Wilbon on the death of Bill Walsh.

IU to pay tribute to Coach Hep on uniforms, helmets.

Big Ten commish Jim Delaney proving once more that he really is a complete idiot.

UCF is loving their new digs.

Baton Rouge Advocate talks some LSU football.

Vince Young proves that his low Wunderlich score wasn’t a fluke; punches teammate’s helmet with throwing hand.  The Tennessean.

Tech group files complaints against sports leagues over fair use.

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio expects the Spartans to be bowl bound in ‘07.

A nice story on the rise of Michigan true quarterback Ryan Mallett. Expect to see Mallett some playing time this season in mop-up duty. In time, I firmly believe Mallett will prove to be a much better quarterback than his rival Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen. 

The State (Columbia, S.C.) ranks the SEC quarterbacks.

The AJC’s Tony Barnhart ranks the SEC best running backs.

The NFL to produce a Vince Lombardi biopic.
__________

Well-rounded news…

The University of Iowa could become the first university to name one of its colleges after a corporation following a $15 million gift from Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Disney has pulled the plug on its plans for a ‘Ratatouille’ wine.

Two-a-days are becoming a thing of the past in the NFL.

Even investment bankers love them some Facebook.

Blogger thinks new Bourne film is an attack on the Bush administration.

Wyclef says Lauryn Hill is the reason there hasn’t been a Fugees reunion.

Halo 3 to feature online multi-player co-op.

Tech blog Valleywag urges Facebook to stop counting its money and fix the site.

First season of Heroes to come out on DVD later this month. YES!

John Mayer, Dave Matthews and Nas set to play gig at Virginia Tech in September.

Cinematical reviews The Bourne Ultimatum, which I am excited beyond words to see tomorrow night.  Another review from Time Magazine.

Robert Downey, Jr. talks about playing Iron Man.

Rumors swirl over the title of J.J. Abrams’ new project. Some production stills from the set.

The Detroit Free Press interview Cold War Kids frontman Nathan Willett.

Not everyone was a fan of Rocco Dispirito’s cameo on Top Chef last night.

Entertainment Weekly wants to know who you like more: Bond or Bourne?

American Airlines will test in-flight broadband next year.