As we approach the end of March and the end of Women's History Month, I can't let the last day go by without shouting out the lovely ladies in the sports world. Last year, I created a similar blog post with some of America's most talented and beautiful ladies in sports broadcasting (if you didn't check out the original post, you can do so by clicking here).

ESPN's Jemele Hill recently did an interview with former Lions WR Charles Rogers. Hill talks to Rogers on certain topics, such as the rise and fall of his NFL career, his drug abuse and what he's currently been doing to better his life.

Hill (who looks great, by-the-way) does a great job of attacking Rogers with the questions the public wanted to know. At times, Rogers hesitates before answering a few questions, and even beats around the bush on occasion (i.e. when Hill asked Rogers did he smoke weed first thing each morning), but eventually answered the questions at hand. Hill also talks to former Lions GM Matt Millen about his decision to pick Rogers #2 overall in the 2003 draft.

Back in the spring, I did a blog about the biggest draft busts since 2000, and Rogers was my #1 pick. Never did I see a guy with so much talent and potential take such a nose dive in his career as Rogers. The 28 year old father of 7 would like a chance at redemption and play again in the NFL. Now, if Brett Favre can un-retire 3 times in as many years then anything is possible. But I'm not so sure Rogers will be looked at as anything more than a liability.

Check out the story. Again, kudos to Jemele Hill for this story. Very interesting. As for Rogers... well, the UFL may be a better place to start on the road to redemption.

Baltimore's beloved Ray Lewis was recently featured on ESPN's Sunday Conversation with Sal Paolantonio. Ray was questioned about his defensive coordinator changes, whether he REALLY thought about leaving Baltimore (he says, "Heck no" and laughs), Joe Flacco, and the death of Steve McNair.

Two petty things I noticed in this interview. The first thing I noticed, was that ugly silver bullet looking vest he has on. The second, is Ray when says, "Child Please", the term used often by Chad Ochocinco, which I can't stand. That's Ocho's saying, find your own, Ray. But other than that, as usual, Ray gives a great interview. This is a must see for Ravens and Ray Lewis fans alike.

As you guys and gals know, I love me some Twitter. It's one of the best inventions since white sliced bread as far as I'm concerned. With twitter you can read folks thoughts and interact with your fave celebs/ athletes, while getting the latest breaking news, all rolled in one.

But with the growing popularity of Twitter, comes the Twitter haters. There are some that have taken certain steps to show that they don't like the intimate tweets made regarding... anything.

Case in point #1- Antonio Cromartie Fined


The Chargers CB was recently fined $2500 for tweeting about "nasty food" at the Chargers facility during training camp.


Come on now..... How many times have you had a potluck or even have a cafeteria at work and came across some food that was down right disgusting??? When you talk to your friends at the end of the day, you say to them, "Man... today I had some food that was nasty as hell..." and continue to tell the story. What Cromartie did was no different. He was speaking his mind.

Now, I follow Cromartie (click here to add him to your follow list), and he doesn't say off the wall things often, so you know he's upset at this point. Hell, I know I would. Because of his fine, last night Cromartie tweeted this after a practice:

"man we had a grt practice 2day The defense flow around we made a lot of plays every1 knows I have 2 watch wht i say now cause i got fined"

LOL dude is scared as hell to say anything related to his job. He probably can't fart and tweet about it without being fined. First the NFL cracked down on tweeting during games (which I can understand. If I'm a coach or an owner, you get paid to play, everything else comes after your play on the field), now this?!

Case in point #2- ESPN's Tweeting Restrictions


So ESPN has added restrictions on what their personalities can and cannot tweet about. Hmmmmm.... To see the new guidelines, click here. So from here on out, if you follow an ESPN analyst, such as Chris Mortensen, you'll get minimal info and probably get teasers leading you to a link to their website to get the story in its entirety.

For both situations, this is some bull hockey, if I ever saw any. Twitter is a great marketing tool that allows you to gain a new fan base, so that they will actually go to the website you write for, or support the team the athlete plays for. For whatever reason, the NFL and ESPN sees Twitter as a threat, and to a point, I can understand. From a league standpoint, the thought of players "airing out dirty laundry" isn't appealing to them. And from a media standpoint, giving away too much info on Twitter when we want the traffic on our website is bad business. But this is too much. Writers and players are being held in Twitter jail, because it's been seen as a threat and not an ally.

If anything, Twitter should be your friend, not the enemy. Gaining new fans should make anyone happy. New viewers is potential $$$ so why it is looked down upon is beyond me. It's another form of media.

News flash to the NFL and ESPN, it's 2009. Get with the times. Twitter isn't going anywhere for a while, so it's time join modern day media. Stop this foolishness before you can't turn back.

Not sure if you guys and gals got a chance to view ESPN.com today, but AFC North blogger James Walker has the featured storytoday. The topic?? The Smartest and Best All Around Player in the division.

Voted by 32 players in the division under anonymity, the Ravens Ed Reed won the Best All Around Player, while Steelers Troy Polamalu won the Smartest Player Award. Now, while any player in the division could be included in this voting (James Harrison tied for 2nd with Polamalu for Best All Around Player), the spotlight was on 2 of the best safeties in the league.... again!

With the high regards, comes the resurface of the great debate. Who's the better safety in the NFL, Reed or Polamalu??

If any of you know me, you know that I DESPISE this debate. It's pointless, stupid and makes no sense to compare the two. If I haven't explained this a millions times, make this a million and one. Here are reasons why you shouldn't compare the two

1. Two different positions- Reed is a free safety, Polamalu is a strong safety... Now I'm sure folks already know this. But did you also know that they have different names because they do different things???

The free safety makes sure WRs like Larry Fitzgerald, T.O. and Steve Smith don't score. He's the guy that's suppose to make the play if the LBs and CBs blow it.

The strong safety is the one that has a little more responsibility. He usually stops the TE if he becomes a receiver and plays closer with the CBs on the stronger side of the field.

Now that we learned this lesson in class boys and girls, let's take a quiz. Does the strong safety and the free safety have the same responsibility??? If you said no, you're right!!! Gold star for you!!!


(yes this is sarcasm... you gotta love me lol)

2. Two different players- The Reed and Polamalu comparison makes absolutely no sense to me. They are two totally different players who contribute in different ways to their defense.

Reed is the top playmaker for the Ravens. He's known to get INTs and making points out of them. His strengths can be more mental than physical. Reed is every deep threat's nightmare.

QB's who play him knows what he's capable of. And even though they may still try and test him, often times they end up wishing they could take that pass back. Throw on his side, and you take the risk of giving him a Pick Six. Reed is 6th on the career INT yards list

Polamalu is a more physical player. He's good at getting INTs too, but his strengths are different.

He can play the line of scrimmage and play the role similar to a linebacker. On running plays, blockers have to account for him. The same for pass plays. He can stop a RB or blitz the QB. He's the guy who stays on your TE when he's in the middle of coverage. He's also the guy that will knock you on your a$$ and make you think again before going anywhere near his part of the field.



Of course, a lot of people love to compare the two for numerous reasons. First, they are division rivals. They play for 2 of the best defenses in the league. Second, they are both safeties and third, they are both dominant at their positions. But to me, this is not a competition. Both players are great in their own right. They both have different strengths and if they were ever on the same team they would be able to co exist.


The intent for Walker's article was not to compare the 2 at all. However, because both players were at the top of the respected category, it started the smack talk and e-thugging between Ravens and Steelers fans (see comments below article). Reed does not = Polamalu and vice versa. It's time fans start realizing this.

The good ol' Great Debate arises again... let's hope it dies soon, once and for all.

This week's sitcho azz down award goes to... Broncos WR Brandon Marshall.



Marshall was reported leaving the Broncos facility last week carrying boxes, not long after a meeting with owner Pat Bowlen.

Now, according to ESPN, the news is out that Marshall is requesting a trade from the Broncos.



Wow!


I think Brandon Marshall is a very good athlete. But as of right now, I think he's the last person to try and pull rank trade requests for the following reasons:

First, his medical condition. Marshall had hip surgery in March and has yet to practice. Now I'm sure that 85% or more of this trade has to do with money (his contract expires after next season). But right now, you don't really have the leverage.

Second, his off-the-field issues. By now, a lot of folks have seen your Outside The Lines episode.

You've been in alleged domestic abuse situations with at least two different women, you've been into bar brawls and fist fights and oh, by-the-way, you lied about a hand injury that severed an artery. If you are trying to pull a Cutler, please don't. Cutler was the QB of the team, and a good one. Not denying your talent, but I would think QB> WR on the NFL Important Chart.

This is another blow the Denver Broncos would love to avoid. Josh McDaniels is having probably one of the worst off seasons a rookie head coach can have. If I were a Broncos fan and you told me that Cutler was traded, Kyle Orton is my QB and Marshall will soon follow his former QB's footsteps, I'd jump off of a Rocky Mountain. I think Eddie Royal is going to be a great talent... but geesh your bread and butter being gone would make it a long season.

If I could tell Marshall one thing, it would be this:

Stay out of trouble and off of the Surgeon's table and you will either get that big contract or that trade you've asked for. Players that hold up their end of the bargain usually get want they want. Being a jerk and a possible medical liability usually doesn't get the same result.

Brandon Marshall, go sit down!!!!

If you've missed the verbal venom between Jets head coach Rex Ryan and Dolphins Channing Crowder, talk a brief look:



It all started when Crowder took shots at Ryan for being confident about his team. Ryan came back and said he had no idea who Crowder was. Then they kept responding to each other like 5th graders. "I know you are, but what am I?" type responses. And it got dumber and dumber and dumber each time.

I love Rex Ryan. He never backs down from anything. He's a confident guy who believes he can beat any and every team, no matter how good they are. While I've gotten the chance to meet Ryan and even learn a couple of things from him, this is idiotic on his part. He's a rookie head coach. I'm not saying he should tone down his confidence, but there are bigger fish to fry here. Get your QB situation taken care of. Better yet, get your RB situation taken care of (both RBs Jones and Washington want new contracts). This is your inaugural season as a head coach of an NFL team. Verbal battles with Channing Crowder should NOT be one of them. Rex, go sitchoazz down.

As for Crowder... well... he really needs to shut up. One, most folks outside of South Florida don't have a clue on who he is. When Joey Porter made the statement that the Dolphins are the AFC East Champs and the team to beat, people listened. Why? Because he's a Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl winner. What has Crowder ever done??? The best memory I have of him is Matt Light bashing his head in during a football game and him not retaliating


Yeah, you better get your uncle and daddy to fight this battle. You've shown what you can do (or can't do, depending on how you look at it). Go sitcho punk azz down!

Now, I love the intensity of the two guys. It's June, and it's slow... they gave us football lovers something to buzz about for two days. But none of this matters when the whistle is blown Week 1 of the season.

Thanks for the show guys.... but Go sitcho azz down!

Hey bloggers and bloggettes. Good to be back after a long weekend of having fun (and losing money) in Viva Las Vegas.


I must say, the time difference has taken a toll on me and I'm moving in slow motion. I need to find a way to get my blogging swag back.

Today is my day to just spew off random thoughts in ANY sport, not just NFL. There are a few things going on in the sports world, so why not sound off on them!

Random Thought #1- Speaking of Vegas, can someone tell me why the SportsBook betting areas was the HOTTEST place to be this weekend.


Forget the craps or blackjack tables, every casino we went to had the Sports Book area packed like a night club. Between NCAA basketball, NBA basketball, preseason baseball and more, folks were going CRAZY! With all of the cheering and beer drinking going on, I thought Frank the Tank was gonna come in streaking. It was all the way live.

My cousin became a sports book junkie in a matter of hours. We had to basically drag him out of there.

Random Sports Thought #2- I knew the moment I couldn't change my NCAA bracket that picking Pitt as my national champion was a big mistake. And I was right. They lost to Villanova on Saturday, but I wasn't surprised at all. They played pretty crappy during the entire tournament and looked like they were running out of gas. This is why I hate bracketology..... I suck at it. First Pitt loses, then Louisville. I think I had both of them as my finalists for the National Championship game.... UGH! Remember what I said my bracket looked like when I'm done? Well, if you forgot that fast, let me show you:


Random Sports Thought #3- Am I the only one that's glad the officer involved in the Moats incident resigned??? I know that he had a job to do. I also know that running red lights is a no no. But the second the nurse confirmed the story that the mother-in-law in fact WAS dying, human instinct should have kicked in, and he should have allowed the him and the family to see her before she left this earth. I don't want to lump him with all cops, because they aren't all heartless. But this is why law enforcement has a bad name now. He FINALLY did the right thing, in my opinion.

Random Sports Thought #4- I really wish Gary Sheffield gets his 1 little home run, then retires. How many teams did this guy play for, seriously?!


He's the rolling stone of baseball. I know I sound like a hater, but ever since that Real Sports interview, he really rubbed me the wrong way. He seems to never accept responsibility for anything he does. Please someone pick up Sheffield, so he can hit his 500th home run, then go away.

Random Sports Thought #5- Ummmm, I just saw a not-so-funny April Fools joke on ESPN.com today. Is James Walker serious?! I'm still waiting for the "April Fools Suckas!" post behind this blog he just posted. I know the NFL season is slow, and this is a good time of year to post anything to get fans going. Not trying to down the Bengals, because I do think they will be a better team in 2009 with the return of Palmer, an over achieving defense and a soft schedule. But if Walker thinks the Bengals are going to beat out Pittsburgh, or even Baltimore for the AFC North title, then I need some of whatever it is he's smoking, cause it must be good. Not funny James Walker.... not funny at all.

I'm a blogger... blogging is what I love to do. I love to talk about my opinions on the hottest football topics, and other sports topics, just for fun. It's something I truly enjoy and hope to do for years come.

But once upon a time, not long ago, I wanted to be a sports broadcaster. In my opinion, there are a lot of attractive women out here who know sports in a way that many men do. We just don't get the recognition or respect because... well... we're females. That really sucks, because there are a LOT of us who know what we're talking about, and look halfway decent in the process.

Since this month is known as "Women's History Month", I decided to dedicate this blog to a few women currently in the sports media business who is currently paving the way for others, like myself, who would love to report the skinny on the sidelines or on the airwaves.



Reischea Candidate

Candidate is multi faceted. In addition to being a sports reporter, this beautiful lady is a former athlete herself. A graduate of USC, Candidate was also on the Woman's Track Team. Candidate was known for working at Fox 5 in New York before going to Bristol to work at ESPN and ESPNEWS. Watching her makes me proud. She's gorgeous and knows exactly what she's talking about. You Go Girl!


Sage Steele


A graduate of Indiana University, Steele got her big break working at WSBT in North Bend, IN as a sports reporter. She then went to work at WFTS in Tampa, FL before coming to MD to work at Comcast SportsNet as the beat reporter for the Baltimore Ravens.

I've personally met Steele, and she is one of the nicest people and extremely knowledgeable about football. My favorite memory of her was an interview with former head coach Brian Billick. Billick could be very intimidating to some, but Steele held her own and continued to asks the hard questions, even though he tried to scare her off.

She finally left Comcast in 2007 to go to ESPN and is a regular fixture on ESPN's First Take, a daily morning show. Being as though I'm familiar with her, I'm a little biased. She was VERY good at her craft. No one has been able to fill her void since she left. It's good to see her at ESPN, where she belongs. Right On!


Rachel Nichols


This MD native graduated from Northwestern University, one of the most prestigious journalism schools in the country. Prior to her employment at ESPN, some have known Nichols as a writer for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and the Washington Post. Nichols is best known on ESPN for her NFL reporting , but her most recent notoriety has been her work on the magazine show "E-60" (which, by-the-way, is a very good show). Pictures do her no justice. I've seen her up close and personal, and she is a cutie pie. Nichols is doing the damn thing!


Suzy Kolber


I love Suzy. She's one of the most awesome ladies on TV. The Philly native was the only girl on her high school football team. Kolber got her degree from The UUUUUUU!!! In layman's terms, she graduated from the University of Miami. She's been on ESPN for as long as I can remember. She was a lead anchor of ESPN2's Sports Night and has been an anchor on SportsCenter. She has reported on NFL Countdown, and has hosted NFL Matchup in the past (which she really showed how good she was at analyzing football). Kolber has since been a fixture on the sidelines during Monday Night Football, since ESPN started broadcasting the games in 2006.

The best memory I have of Kolber, is when she was interviewing Joe Namath during a Sunday Night game, and he tried to play tonsil hockey with her. She handled it in an excellent manner. Suzy gets my utmost respect for that one.


Bonnie Bernstein


Bonnie is one of the most well rounded sports journalists out here. The University of MD grad has covered just about every event imaginable. She's covered such events as the Super Bowl, U.S. Open, NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship, all while reporting for College GameDay, NFL Today and Sunday Night Football.

I remember her best as a sideline reporter for CBS during the NFL season. The Howell, NJ native hasn't been on the scenes as much as she used to. But would always have her hands in just about any major event she could get a hold of. Work it honey!


Erin Andrews


This pretty lady is a product of my favorite college football team- The University of Florida (Go Gators!). Andrews started her career with FSN Florida as a freelance reporter, before going to become the Tampa Bay Lightening reporter for the Sunshine Network. She has also worked for Turner Sports and covered Atlanta based teams such as the Braves, Thrashers and Hawks. She went to ESPN in 2004 as a reporter for the NHL. But since no one really watches hockey anymore, her services were better used as a sideline reporter for the college football Saturday games. She is now a fixture on college football's Thursday Night games as well. I love college football and Andrews knows what's she doing.

Although she' s her best when reporting college football, she has also done sideline reporting for MLB games and also reports for Great Outdoors coverage.

I guess guys like her, too... she's been voted "America's Sexiest Sportscaster" by Playboy Magazine in 2007 and 2008. If ya got it, ya got it!!!


Pam Oliver


Pam started out as a news reporter before crossing over. She got her sports start at WTVT in Tampa. She then went to KHOU in Houston before getting her national reporting gig at ESPN. Oliver went to Fox Sports in 1995 as an NFL sideline reporter and has also worked for TNT during the NBA playoffs.

Pam is one of the most recognized female sports reporters to date. I enjoy her interviews with the players and her working knowledge of football. Pam, you better werk!


Robin Roberts


One of my favorite personalities to date, The Southeastern Louisiana University grad was also an athlete, playing basketball for the Lady Lions. She ended her career as the school's 3rd all time leading scorer.

Her sports journalism career began at WDAM in Hattiesburg, MS. She later got reporting gigs in Biloxi, MS, Nashville and Atlanta before joining ESPN in 1990 as an anchor for SportsCenter. Folks may recognize her with her cameo appearance in Love and Basketball (one of my all time favorite movies)

In 2007, Roberts was diagnosed with having breast cancer, but hasn't fallen to the deadly disease. Instead, Roberts continued to work during chemotherapy. During treatment, Roberts decided to shave her head, and at first wore a wig to disguise it. In April, 2008, she stopped wearing the wig. Her persistence to beat cancer and continue to work speaks volumes. Roberts is a beautiful reporter whose continued to do what she loves, against all odds. Although she no longer does sports reporting, she's still on the tube as an anchor on Good Morning America.



Honorable Mentions: Melissa Stark, Cindy Brunson, Michelle Tafoya, Andrea Kramer

I recently found out that former Cowboys RB-turned-NFL analyst Emmitt Smith was let go by ESPN, as his contract had expired and was told he would not receive a new one.

Am I the only person excited about the news??




Listen.... while I think Emmitt was a great NFL player, and an even greater dancer, his analytical skills were sub par at best. He constantly mispronounced names, misinterpreted stats and even his views/opinions of teams or games made a person say, "huh??".

Now, ESPN has been declining for some time in my opinion. So the fact that they are letting him go isn't a bad thing at all.....it's a very good thing. But ESPN could make some other adjustments. Here's what I think they should do:

Bring Back NFL Primetime on Sunday Evenings- I know that they had to end the popular show due to NBC starting their "Football Night In America" (which I really don't care for, by-the-way). But I really enjoyed this program with Chris "Boomer"Berman and Tom "TJ" Jackson.


I know that most folks can't stand Boomer's antics and cliches. But I love them personally. I love to here him say, "WHOOOP", or when he and TJ sing, "San Diego... Super Chargers". It's fun and it's entertaining, at least to me. It could also give NFL's GameDay a little competition, as there is none right now. NFL Network has the best highlights coverage. But Once Upon A Time, In A Place Called Bristol, CT..... There was NFL Primetime, and it ruled the cable world!!!!!


Do NOT Bring Steve Young Back To Sunday NFL Countdown- Now, Young's cute little segment, Young Is Restless, or whatever it's called, is okay. I don't mind listening to Young for 30 seconds to a minute, once a week. But is it just me, or does Young act like he's on a high dosage of Zoloft???



He's very high strong, and if you get him started, it's hard to make him stop. At the end of Super Bowl XLIII, ESPN did a post game interview with Steelers QB Ben Roethlsherieuiwdgw (just kidding, I know how to type out Big Ben's name, by-the-way). Steve Young was kissing up so much, I thought I was watching a bad version of Fatal Attraction. When Young feels like you're wrong on a topic, he attacks you like a pitbull. We like passionate analysts, but he's beyond that. He's way too emotional. Please don't bring him back.

Start A "The Sport Thugs" Segment With Michael Irvin, Jamal Anderson, and Adam "PacMan" Jones-




Imagine these 3 guys doing a segment every Sunday with a set up similar to "The Sports Reporters". The segment would be about current topics around the league, with the song, "Bad Boys" playing in the background as their theme song (sirens included). It'll be great for TV and I would definitely watch.

Irvin was good on ESPN and in my opinion, shouldn't have been let go to begin with. But I believe that Irvin was let go more for image purposes than work related. He was good at it, he had the personality and unless the topic was about about the Cowboys, T.O. or Ray Lewis, he was unbiased and does bring a different element to the table (something Keyshawn Johnson has tried, but can't emulate). That being said, he fits the bill for this segment because of his past endeavors with drugs and court appearances.

Jamal Anderson was recently on ESPN as an analyst, until someone found him sniffing drugs off a toilet seat (When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong, Vol.1). He was alright, but having Irvin on his segment would bring out his raw talent (no pun intended). And Pacman Jones would be a perfect final piece to the puzzle. He needs a job anyway. Michael and Jamal will be the 2 most vocal, with Pacman being visibly quiet until the end of each segment, when he blurts out, "I didn't do it!!"

Okay, so that was kind of mean. I meant to no harm to the Irvin, Anderson and Pacman fans of the world. But that was not as mean as Smith's unnatural analytical skills. It was hard to watch and listen to. I, for one, am glad he's gone.

Dancing With The Stars- Great.



NFL Analyst- Not So Much.




ESPN, you got it right..... for once.