Snow Job

Usually when there's a major snowstorm, such as the one pounding the east coast, things get cancelled. School activities, meetings, postal service, basketball games. Except in the case of the Towson/George Mason game.

The Towson basketball team was caught in traffic for 10 hours and missed the scheduled 7 p.m. tipoff against George Mason. Officials delayed the game for a 9 p.m. start and Towson's team bus moved a mere 10 yards in that time frame.  The Tigers arrived in Manassas, Va. around 1 a.m. There goes a good night's sleep. So they played the game today. Towson fell to George Mason 84-58 in a game that should've been rescheduled.

Director of athletic communications Pete Schlehr believed that leaving at 3 p.m. for the 70 mile drive was sufficient enough time to beat the forces of nature. He was wrong about that and having federal workers released two hours early didn't help their cause.

The Colonial Athletic Association didn't think it was enough time either. The league figured the school should've taken a more proactive stance with their travel plans. The Tigers were reprimanded for missing tipoff.

“While everyone understands travel complications with winter storms, there is no evidence that any consideration was made by Towson to adjust their normal travel plans to account for the anticipated problems,” CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager said in a statement.


What Mr. Yeager forgets are that these kids are student athletes. I know they really aren't, but that's what they'll tell us. They have to get everyone on the same page for travel and 3 p.m. seemed sufficient. So you reprimand them because they were snowed in by the forces of nature. That just doesn't add up to me. Weather forecasts are wrong all the the time and the snow probably hit sooner than expected. But you're the commish which makes you right.

Coach Pat Kennedy provided the comic relief. He thought it would be smart to lay under a bus tire thinking it would help gain traction to a highway ramp. That was a bad idea as the bus remained stuck and Kennedy's coat was torn to pieces. At least the players took everyhting in stride.

Rip Hamilton Out With The Flu. Really?

Richard Hamilton is sidelined for yet another Detroit Pistons game, this time for the flu. Is it really the flu or would there be some extra fireworks considering Hamilton's friend and longtime backcourt mate Chauncey Billups rolls into town with the Denver Nuggets tonight.

I find the flu thing quasi legit. I would never question one's health. But if you add sit back and add up everything it looks kind of fishy to me. Coach John Kuester and Hamilton haven't been the best of friends and Rip has been riding oak for over a week. The benching was thought to be a result of a trade that never materialized between the Pistons, Nuggets, and New Jersey Nets. Now he's just sitting there with a $12 million price tag and no takers.

I'm baffled as to why Hamilton 's not playing. Although I do feel they need to play their younger players and take their lumps, but he's clearly one of the Pistons' better players and in the NBA you play your best players to win. I agree with Billups' comment that it's disrespectful. Hamilton is someone that helped the franchise to the mountain top and this is his reward? I don't get it. Is this an edict from Joe Dumars? Or has Kuester had enough of Hamilton and won't play him at all. I don't think Dumars would give Kuester such an order. With the way things are going they're going to have to get rid of Rip for a bobsled.

As far as tonight's game goes, I have a feeling Hamilton was told to stay away. With Billups playing major minutes on the court, I think it would've been highly likely that Hamilton would've blown up. It has to be eating him up inside and to his credit he's been above it. It would've hurt him to see his good friend on the court while he's rotting away on the bench. This is puzzling and I'll be tuned in to see what happens.

A Follow Up To Larry Johnson's Tea Party

Here's the commercial for the sweet tea that Larry Johnson has a hand in marketing.

Barkley's Not With The Criticism Of Cutler

With everyone criticizing the exit of Jay Cutler after the NFC Championship game, Charles Barkley was not going to hop on that wagon. Barkley was highly critical of players that voiced their displeasure with Cutler on Twitter.

Barley was on the Waddle & Silvy show on ESPN 1000 and had this to say about all the criticism directed at Cutler.

"I was mad at the players, to be honest with you," Barkley said Tuesday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I think it was inappropriate and wrong to question a guy's heart. Now reporters, they're going to do what they want to. They're entitled to their opinion. But as players, I don't think it's appropriate to question another guy's heart."



"That crosses the line, because you don't know. If you go back and start looking at all the stuff that's been said, and clearly one of the more vocal critics was Maurice Jones-Drew, and then you find out he missed the last two games with a bad knee. And he was really the first guy who crucified Jay. You have to be careful, because in the two most important games of the year, he sat out with a bad knee. And then it really makes him look like an idiot now. I just think it's inappropriate," Barkley said. "It's fair to criticize guys when they don't play well, but it's 100 percent unfair to criticize guys ... if a guy says he's hurt, you have to respect that."

The only problem Barkley had with Cutler is that he wasn't giving pointers to third stringer Caleb Hanie.

"I was very disappointed that he wasn't standing beside that young kid," Barkley said. "I was very disappointed he wasn't there trying to work with that young kid. There were a couple of shots of them on the sideline, with [Hanie] looking at pictures, and [Cutler] was just disengaged. That's a fair criticism."


That's the same thing I was critical of Cutler for. He displayed bad body language and looked uninterested in the game. I wouldn't go too far in questioning his heart or the MCL injury, even though there was a report that said Cutler took the stairs at Soldier Field after the game. This is going to be a story that won't go away anytime soon. That's unfortunate for Cutler.  





 

Larry Johnson's Tea Party

Ex-New York Knick and Charlotte Hornet, Larry Johnson, will soon be peddling some sweet tea. Hey, at least he's doing something with that fine UNLV, Jerry Tarkanian sponsored education.

Me and my co-workers still talk about how much game LJ had until his back went out. I still maintain that his back went out went he got rid of his gold tooth.

Anyway, the beverage comes from Hall of Fame beverages and gives it this description:

Grand Ma Ma Sweet Southern Tea ® ― Inspired by the sweet tea from his childhood in Texas and from the famous character created in his series of commercials for Converse, Larry will be introducing the Grandmama’s Sweet Southern Tea in the coming months. This line of flavored teas is currently in development and will come in sweetened natural flavors reminiscent of the cool refreshment from hot summer afternoons sitting on the porch at Grandmama’s house.



Nobody makes iced tea the way your Grandmama makes it!!

Maybe this will keep LJ in the public's consciusness.

Party Hard

Even though the New York Jets weren't victorious, a couple of their players acted like they had won and partied the night away. This further proves that there is never a dull moment for the Jets, even when they lose.

Sanchez and Edwards reportedly shut down Chelsea's Juliet Supper Club, after arriving at 3 a.m. I know I was thinking about my day job around that time. Sanchez was seen being pimpish, talking to the bartender, described as a "gorgeous South American girl, busty with long, dark-reddish hair. They were knocking down shots and chatting until closing time.

Meanwhile, Edwards was big timing it, buying a bottle an $1,100 bottle of Ace of Spades and tequila shots for his table. I would've settled for some MD 20/20 and a Colt 45. His bill came to $2,500. He needs to spend a little wiser considering the labor situation. Hey, it's his money and who am I to tell him how to spend it. Edwards also got in some time at the DJ booth and told the crowd  "the Jets will be back next season and will go all the way to the Super Bowl."

Well Braylon, the Jets might be back but you might not, since you are a free agent.

Even though Sanchez talked to the bartender all night, he left alone but they did exchange numbers. Edwards left the scene in a chauffered Escalade. Even though they didn't make it to the Super Bowl, Sanchez and Edwards partied like champions.   
  

My Favorite Moments From Super Bowls Past

I'll be posting my personal favorite moments from past Super Bowls over the next few days. For some reason I watch these highlights year after year. If there are any you have leave a comment. I'm sure everyone won't agree with mine.



Super Bowl XIII- My uncle was and still is a Steelers fan, therefore I was one. I still enjoy this action packed game, as the Steelers capitalized on Dallas miscues. I have a lot of moments from this game. I still enjoy the clincher.



There was also the Jackie Smith drop and the most disputed pass interference call in Super Bowl history called on Benny Barnes. The drop is around the 3:00 mark.





Super Bowl XIV- Another game I can still watch. I loved the two long Stallworth catches. I still think Stallworth was a better receiver than Swann, and a lot of people will debate me on that.



Stallworth caught another long bomb later which set up the final touchdown.