It was bound to happen, and it happened Thursday night, as Green Bay QB Brett Favre injured his right elbow and separated his left shoulder (OWIE!) during the game with Dallas, which the Cowboys won 34-27.
At least Favre has three extra days to recuperate, but in case he isn’t available, then his loss to the Packers may hurt their chances of winning the NFC North division, because the Lions will be watching this very carefully. Stay tuned.

Now here’s something worth a hearty laugh:

And then I found out there’s actually an historical precedent for that phrase back in 1986 by NFL referee Ben Dreith:

“We have a personal foul, on number 99 of the defense, after he tackled the quarterback, he’s giving him the business down there, that’s a 15-yard penalty.”

Today at 1300 hours Eastern time, the NFL will play its first overseas regular-season game at Wembley Stadium in London, as the Miami Dolphins ”play host” to the New York Giants. This will not be a foreign thing to Londoners, as the city hosted the London/England Monarchs for a few years during the 1990s, before the NFL consolidated its World League operations to Europe proper, and became NFL Europa.
American Football in Europe, like soccer in the US, may never approach the popularity levels of the other on the other’s home turf. That said, at least the NFL isn’t going in with no experience. Watch for more regular-season games...and eventually, a Super Bowl...overseas.

Don’t get too smug, Colorado Rockies. There are only two things you have going for you right now: being well-rested after having swept the Diamondbacks, and the altitude at Coors Field.
It won’t matter whether your opponent is the Cleveland Indians or the Boston Red Sox (we’ll find out tonight). I have observed over the years that teams which go seven games to get their league championship tend to do better and win it all. Keep that in mind as you get ready.

Now what’s this bulls**t about? A House Committee (specifically, the Committee on Homeland Security) has instructed Congressional staffers attending NASCAR’s Bank of America 500 race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, which takes place tomorrow, to update their immunizations.
And a Republican Congressman rightfully took offense:

“I have never heard of immunizations for domestic travel, and as the representative for Concord, N.C., I feel compelled to ask why the heck the committee feels that immunizations are needed to travel to my hometown. I have been to numerous NASCAR races, and the folks who attend these events certainly do not pose any health hazard to congressional staffers or anyone else,”

Yet another sign of the ignorance the Democrats have about the rest of the country where they don’t hold an electoral advantage. This only contributes to the Do Nothing image it already has.
You know what I think would be funny? NASCAR Fans irking these Democrat House Committee members who attend any NASCAR event by playing Spot The Fed, going up to them with a copy of their immunization record, and saying “Looky here Con-gressional Staffer! I got here my shots record! I can’t spread no stuff to ya!”

Yes...the last of the 20th Century’s sports curses is still in effect, after the Diamondbacks completed a three-game sweep with a 5-1 win in Game 3 of the NLDS. Arizona will host the winner of the Phillies-Rockies series for the National League Championship.
Out of all this, some good comes from Lou Pinella himself, with the right attitude:

This is just a start, fellas. We’re going to get better with this.”

Pinella isn’t afraid to build his team from the ground up. I have a feeling that under his management, the Cubs will finally win a World Series. And we don’t have to worry about the Apocalpyse...for baseball, that is.

Back during the halcyon days of the NFL’s 75th Anniversary Jubilee, each team came up with “throwback” uniforms, which were original depictions of what they wore during their formative years. The two ugliest I remember seeing belonged to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Bears, which, if I recall, were fashioned somewhat like a bumblebee’s configuration.
And then I saw this uniform today, worn by Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb. Poor Lions. There must have been much weeping and gnashing of their teeth. AIEEEEEE! My Eyes!

Man, yesterday I was sweating it out with my coworkers because we were talking about the Michigan-Notre Dame game today. I was concerned that if Michigan went 0-3 at this stage of the season, Lloyd Carr would be out of a job.
Well i just woke up from a Saturday Afternoon Nap™ to find that Michigan beat the snot out of the so-called “Fighting” Irish, final score was 38-0! So I’m a happy camper. So happy in fact, you can play the mp3 file to hear the Anti-ND song!

First, this should warm the hearts of Ferrari Fans everywhere....

SPA-FRANCORCHAPS, Belgium: McLaren Mercedes, the leading team in the Formula One world championship, was fined $100 million on Thursday and excluded from the constructors’ championship this season in the spying scandal that has plagued the sport all season.
The International Automobile Federation, the sport’s governing body, found the team guilty of cheating by using data obtained from Ferrari, its main rival, to improve its own car, the federation said in a statement issued after a hearing in Paris.
The team may continue to race in the series, however, and its two drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who lead the series this season, will be allowed to keep their points and may continue to fight for the drivers’ title.

So is the $100 million fine paid back to Ferrari, because they got cheated upon? Or does this line the pockets of the FIA officials? Inquiring Minda Want To Know.
Over on our side of the Pond, here’s what happened to the New England Patriots and Coach Bill Belichick:

Calling Belichick’s strategy of videotaping defensive signals on the sideline of Sunday’s game against the Jets “a calculated and deliberate attempt” to break league rules, commissioner Roger Goodell announced .severe penalties against the coach and the franchise in a .letter to the Patriots Thursday night.
Goodell slammed the coach with a $500,000 fine, the maximum allowed, and stripped the Patriots of either a first-round pick in 2008 if they make the playoffs this season or a second- and third-rounder if they don’t. While saying he believed Patriots ownership was unaware of Belichick’s actions, Goodell also fined the club $250,000.

Cheating just doesn’t pay, folks...doesn’t matter which sport.

Instead of treating this game as a regular season opener, the Michigan Wolverines treated their meeting with the Mountaineers of Appalachian State as a pre-season exhibition. WRONG MOVE. They lost, 34-32. Since Boise State’s upset win over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Michigan should have taken nothing for granted.
But they did, and now they’ve paid the price. My coworker who’s the Big Ohio State Fan will certainly not let me forget it either.

I have quite a few friends who are diehard Pittsburgh Steelers Fans, and they will likely become quite upset to learn that Jerome Bettis faked the timing of an injury he received before training camp seven years ago:

“Man, did I do a nice job of acting,” Bettis wrote in the book, ”The Bus: My Life in and Out of a Helmet.” “The thing is, I wasn’t faking that I had an injury. I was just faking that the injury happened on that short-yardage play. I had to fool the coaches and the team’s medical department into thinking the injury had occurred on that play. Otherwise, the Steelers would have had their reason to cut me and my salary.”

With Michael Vick killing dogs, Barry Bonds doing ‘roids, former NBA ref Tim Donaghy making bets on games, and now this...I don’t care whether or not he says it’s anecdotal. I have to shake my head and wonder what the frak has happened to the integrity of athletes? Yes, I am saddened by this.

In the worst publicity case to hit the NFL since Rae Carruth‘s conviction six years ago for Conspiracy to Commit Murder, Atlanta Falcons quarterback cuts a deal and pleads Guilty to Federal dogfighting charges. Since he did this before going to trial, he could serve up to five years in prison and pay a $250,000 fine, but chances are he may receive a lighter sentence.
This won’t satisfy PETA, nor will it satisfy Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV):

In any case, Vick will likely never play another down in the NFL, much less the CFL or Arena Football. Stick a fork in him, he’s done.

One of the coolest movies I saw growing up was the 1975 peek into the global corporate state of 2018 (which, chronologically speaking, is now only eleven years away)...and the “sport” which replaced war and all other sports, Rollerball. They actually played games in front of live audiences while filming, and also after principal filming was completed.
If you’re wondering what the rules are, there is a repository of these, as well as a description of the game’s evolution past the initial description from William Harrison’s short story. Makes me wonder how teams from, say, the Middle East and Africa would fare if such a league actually came to pass.

A sign was displayed at last night’s Major League Soccer match between LA Galaxy and DC United, a welcome sign if you will for David Beckham:

“WE SING BETTER THAN YOUR WIFE”

Not a stretch at all, considering Posh Spice hasn’t released a record in three years....

You know the drill:

I am glad that neither MLB Commissioner Bud Selig (IMO, probably the WORST Commissioner the game has ever had) nor Hank Aaron were there to witness the event. In addition, I hope Bonds doesn’t “hold” this record for as long as Aaron did...because A-Rod has already hit 500 homers, and he’s only 32!