Feb 8, 2008

Did Roger and Mrs. Clemens get the 2 for 1 special?

This whole Brian McNamee vs. Roger Clemens mudslinging fight is getting more entertaining every day.

To add insult to the Rocket's injured public image, McNamee is now testifying that he put the needle to Mrs. Clemens, too. According to the New York Daily News, this latest morsel came out in McNamee's deposition on Capitol Hill Thursday.

In 2003, Debbie Clemens was set to pose in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition. Apparently, though, she didn't quite like what she saw in the mirror as she prepared for the photo shoot. So, McNamee testified, he injected her with Human Growth Hormone. (Or was it B-12 and Lidocaine?)

"McNamee discussed his wife's use before the committee," according to the source. "She was trying to get in shape for the SI cover. He told them the story that Debbie took growth."

This whole soap opera is just too much fun, and I guarantee that the ending won't be disappointing, because someone is lying like a rug. If it's the Rocket, and he's spent all this time and energy denying on 60 Minutes and under oath in front of Congress, his reputation will be completely and irrepairably damaged.

We all knew this, but who could have predicted his wife would get dragged into it as well?

Feb 7, 2008

Separated at Birth: Kevin Love & Justin Timberlake












Since leaving 'N Sync, Timberlake (right) has sold more than 8 million albums, dated Jessica Biel, and played a crucial role in a Super Bowl malfunction.

Love, meanwhile, is just getting started. The UCLA freshman is averaging 17.8 point and 11.2 rebounds for the Bruins, and he's projected to be a first-round draft pick if he chooses to leave college. He's not rich yet, but he will be soon.

Feb 6, 2008

Jim Mora Jr. is a prophet! (Sort of)

Jim Mora Jr. likes Seattle a lot. Now that he's being named as Mike Holmgren's successor, it looks like he'll get to stay awhile.

Perhaps you recall the flak in 2006 when Mora, then head-coach of the Atlanta Falcons, went on air to say that he would take a job at the University of Washington (his alma mater) in a heartbeat.

But if [Ty Willingham] decides at some point that he's ready to move on and they want me, I will be there. I don't care if we're in the middle of a playoff run, I'm packing my stuff and coming back to Seattle.

Yikes! He quickly retracted, of course, and said he was kidding. But at the completion of a disappointing 7-9 season ("disappointing" is so relative, isn't it?), the Falcons fired Mora. And they weren't kidding.

Fulfilling his own prophetic words, Mora indeed packed his stuff and came home to Seattle, as an assistant for the Seahawks. He managed to keep his mouth shut for a season -- but for that matter, what Seattle fan can complain about his undying allegiances to Washington? -- and now Mora finds himself in the right place at the right time.

It's not the UW, but a five year deal to coach the Seahawks (starting in '09) isn't a bad consolation prize.

Feb 4, 2008

Where will Eli Manning go from here?

Start the presses at the Wheaties factory, we've got ourselves a new hero!

Since the Super Bowl MVP couldn't be shared jointly across an entire defensive line, Eli Manning was as deserving as any individual to receive it. He completed 19 of his 35 passes for 2 TDs and 1 INT that wasn't his fault.

But it was the 12-play, 83-yard game winning drive that sealed Manning's place in history. And his Houdini-like escape from the clutches of (what seemed like) the entire New England defensive line, his rollout and desperate toss into the center of the field, which was somehow snagged by wide receiver David Tyree...was just plain surreal.

But the heroic performance, which no one will soon forget, got me wondering: where will Eli Manning go from here? (Besides Disney World, of course.)

For starters, endorsement offers will come flooding in from every direction. Older brother Peyton is already an advertising icon, while up until now Eli has barely dipped his toe in the water. They say that Peyton is the more gregarious of the two, but Eli won't have a choice anymore; unless he goes into hiding, everyone will want to borrow his face and pay him handsomely for it.

But on the football field, has Manning suddenly become an elite quarterback?

While yardage isn't the only measuring stick for the position, it's worth mentioning that Eli hasn't thrown for 300 yards since Oct. 15 against Atlanta and hasn't exceeded 275 since Nov. 18. And though his touchdown to interception ratio was 6 to 1 in the post season, how many of us have forgotten that it was just 23 to 20 in the regular season?

You could see the younger Manning mature throughout the course of the post season, making better decisions and remaining calm under pressure. He was rarely awe-inspiring, but he was never awful, as he was so often in the regular season.

But Manning was also just one member of an entire team that got hot at the right time. Ahmad Bradshaw came from no where (190 regular season yards) to form a fiersome ground attack with Brandon Jacobs. Amani Toomer was steady throughout the post season, and the Giants got a big lift from both Tyree and rookie Steve Smith.

Life after the Super Bowl will never be the same for Eli Manning. He will be recognized everywhere he goes, endorsement money will bulge in his pockets, and his confidence should be at an all-time high. But come next season, when he's completed 13 passes is 30 tries with three INTs along the way, life won't be that different, either.

He's Eli Manning the Super Bowl champion, now, but he's still Eli Manning. And if he thought he felt pressure from the New York media before winning the Super Bowl, he hasn't seen anything yet.