Odds and Ends: NFL Countdown says sayonara to Emmitt Smith

Posted on Wed Jul 30, 2008 at 01:03:58 PM EST in NFL
More on: ESPN, Emmitt Smith, Phil Mickelson, West Virginia, NFL, Florida, skiing, Colt Brennan, video, Odds and Ends (all tags)

If you love language-butchering and verbal buffoonery then this is going to be tough for you to take. Emmitt Smith has been released by ESPN, kinda.

It's official. Emmitt Smith will not be part of ESPN's two-hour pregame show, NFL Countdown, in 2008.

ESPN is expected to make the formal announcement soon.

Emmitt will be replaced by Cris Carter, whose enhanced visibility could help his chances of getting into the Hall of Fame on the second try. (Then again, if Carter does a bad job or comes off as a blowhard, it could hurt him.)

Emmitt will remain on Monday Night Countdown, and he'll have a role on the Sunday morning pre-Countdown version of SportsCenter.

We know, we know; it's difficult to confront. We loved listening to Emmitt slaughter the simplest of sentences just like everyone else. Don't forget though, he's not gone; he's just on two hours less each week. Anyways, utterances like these will live on forever.

In other news...

[FanHouse.com]: Guess which golfer got rid of his man boobs?

[The Undrafted Free Agent]: Mountaineer basketball players love their alcohol

[Bugs & Cranks]: Yup, William Hung is still a horrible singer

[By the Numbers]: Vote no on a tournament in college football. Wait, what???

[YardBarker.com]: Ocho Cinco, Too Tall, Crazy Legs, Bad Moon, Gravedigger and many, many more of your favorite NFL nicknames

[SportsAgentBlog.com]: Finally, a reason besides Erin Andrews to love the University of Florida

[Rush the Court]: NBA draft picks by school (1949-2008)

[CollegeHumor.com]: "Oh, monsieur!! The boys took a beating on that one."

[Redskins.com]: Colt Brennan is a system quarterback and a blogger

[The Big Picture]: "Booze + Ambien + bad judgment + flight attendants = one year of jail time and a $4,000 fine"

[The Love of Sports]: Yogi Berra gets robbed, winds up with only one of the Top 20 Baseball Quotes of All Time

[SidelineHotties.com]: Finally, a site devoted entirely to sideline hotties

[TampaBay.com]: If the Rays win the World Series, we want a large with pepperoni and jalapenos

[Hollyscoop]: Freddie Prinze Jr. joins the WWE and becomes The Masked Blogger

[Tirico Suave]: Can it get any better than babes telling us about fantasy football? Uh, no

[Kissing Suzy Kolber]: `Just make it look like an accident'

[The World of Isaac]: Hallelujah, we can finally forget about Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

And finally, hey, where'd you find that guy? We've been looking for a little person friend who's willing to kick himself in the head with steel toe boots too!!

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Odds and Ends: Ichiro goes bananas

Posted on Fri Jul 25, 2008 at 01:19:34 PM EST in MLB
More on: Ichiro Suzuki, Colt Brennan, Super Bowl, fantasy football, LeBron James, Brett Favre, George Brett, Redskins, video, Odds and Ends (all tags)

Ever since we heard about Ichiro Suzuki's out of character behavior every year at the All-Star Game, we thought something about the story sounded a little fishy. Well, we were right. As it turns out, Ichiro was accidentally exposed to the blast of a test detonation of a gamma bomb as a child. The effects were startling, making him a baseball machine, but also creating an emotional and impulsive alter ego. When anger or frustration set in, the transformation occurs. So, please, whenever around Ichiro, don't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

In other news...

[D.C. Sports Bog]: Colt Brennan is a system QB...and a dork

[FoodCourtLunch.com]: Super Bowl halftime performer odds are released

[Kissing Suzy Kolber]: `Joe Simpson's Daughter Touching Company' and other snazzy fantasy football team names

[IntentionalFoul.com]: LeBron says the USA is as good as gold

[Chicago Bull]: Would you want to wrestle a Long Wang?

[eTrueSports.com]: "Brett, who is this Purple People Eater that keeps texting you?"

[Sportaphile.com]: Wow, has it really been 25 years and day since this...

[Bugs & Cranks]: We thought it was just passion, but cocaine is much more reasonable

[SimonOnSports.com]: We did much better on the "What Bra Size Do I Wear? Erin Andrews Edition"

[Fanhouses Boxing]: Wait, we missed the World Chess Boxing Championships again?!?

[The Zone Blitz]: A tour of Pac-10 stadiums, Google Earth style

[Mr. Irrelevant]: Redskins bust out the big balls to practice for upcoming Wipeout tryouts

[The Big Lead]: Last night's minor league baseball rumble from a fan's POV

[ABC News]: Ricky Williams is all over this article

[Blue Monkey Disco Party]: Bet you don't have these cards in your collection

[Our of Right Field]: Remember this guy?

[Metacafe.com]: Some call it a prank, we call it a GREAT day

And finally, dude, use your star power!

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Early season Heisman watch

Posted on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 01:45:15 PM EST in College
More on: Heisman Trophy, Darren McFadden, John David Booty, Steve Slaton, Brian Brohm, Colt Brennan (all tags)

McFadden could really be big pimpin'
after this season: how does Heisman
winner and No. 1 overall pick in the NFL
Draft sound?

We're only entering the third week of the college football season, but it's never too early to start getting worked up over the best players in the nation. And there are a lot of talented guys this year who could be taking home the hardware in December. Here's how the college gridiron studs stack up going into, or in Steve Slaton's case, coming out of, week 3:

1. Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
Arkansas didn't play last week, which means Darren McFadden hasn't been able to add to his 181 rushing/receiving yards, 19 return yards, 42 passing yards or two touchdowns yet. But McFadden will have a great opportunity to make a serious Heisman statement when the Razorbacks head to Tuscaloosa for their SEC opener against Alabama. McFadden will be facing a solid run-stopping defense in a hostile stadium, but after an extra week's rest he should be ready for the challenge. However, if history is any indication then he'll end up with about 100 yards on the ground and a touchdown.

2. John David Booty, QB, USC
John David Booty looked good in the Trojans season opener as he went 21-of-32 for 206 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-10 victory over Idaho. Now, after an early season bye week, USC will have a much more difficult opponent when they travel to Lincoln, NE., for a match-up with the No. 14 Cornhuskers. Last year, Booty passed for 257 yards (25-of-36) and three touchdowns as USC won 28-10 in the City of Angels. But it probably won't be quite so easy this year considering that the Blackshirts have held opposing quarterbacks to just 124 yards per game (41.2 completion percentage) while picking off three passes.

3. Steve Slaton, RB, West Virginia
Steve Slaton did it again last night as he carried the load for the No. 4 Mountaineers of West Virginia with 137 yards rushing (147 total) and three touchdowns in a 31-14 win against the Terrapins, who ironically looked like they were moving in slow motion at times against Slaton. Now just one touchdown away from tying a the school record of 42, Slaton has already racked up 465 rush/receiving yards and nine TDs on the year. Not too shabby for just three games. Pat White, who many figure could be Heisman finalist as well, stayed fairly quiet on the evening (8-of-13 for 95 yards passing with 22 yards and a TD rushing), allowing the consistent criticism of how the two will split votes to be quelled for at least a week.

4. Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii
Hawaii needed overtime to get past Louisiana Tech, 45-44, which allowed Colt Brennan to set a school record for completions in a game (43) and his 548 yards were the second most in school history. Brennan has now thrown for at least 400 yards in eight consecutive games and has already accumulated 964 yards (77-for-101) and 10 touchdowns in only two games. Brennan looked mortal last year when UNLV crossed the ocean to the Big Island where they limited him to 296 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Since then Brennan has thrown for 59 scores and only nine picks.

5. Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville
Brian Brohm threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns on a mere eight completions in the first quarter of a 58-42 shootout against Middle Tennessee State. By the time the game ended, Brohm had a career high 401 yards and five touchdowns to bring his season totals up to 776 yards and 9 TDs. Brohm could be commanding another air assault when the Cardinals travel to Lexington for a game against rival Kentucky. And if the Heisman trophy isn't motivation enough, he should have some added incentive to put a hurting on the Wildcats after the Kentucky athletic department erected billboards of their well-known players throughout Louisville.

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