Raiders' Rolando McClain arrested again

Oakland Raiders linebacker Rolando McClain tried to talk himself out of town. The Raiders kept him in Oakland and now McClain could find himself out the door.  

McClain was arrested again in Alabama for a window tint violation. Not that much of a big deal, but McClain gave the officer a false name and that's when he was taken into custody.

Last year McClain had gun charges dropped after the victim decided not to proceed with the case.

This might or might not get the ear of commissioner Roger Goodell, because it's not too serious. But considering his previous off field conduct he could face a possible suspension. And he could be a man without a team.

Former MLB player,Jai Miller, to play for Alabama next season

After toiling in the minors for ten years and getting a handful of at-bats in the majors, former MLB player, Jai Miller is taking a new route in his athletic career. He'll be suiting up for the Alabama football team next fall. Yes, the same Alabama team that'll be competing for a national championship tonight.

Miller was a 4th round pick by the Florida Marlins in 2003 and decided to play baseball rather than attend Stanford after committing to play for the Cardinal. Miller, who is 27, reportedly will play safety for the Crimson Tide. Miller played for the Marlins, Oakland A's, Kansas City Royals, and Baltimore Orioles during his baseball career.

 Miller's brother-in-law Matthew Elliott told BamaOnline that the 6-foot-2, 220-pound athlete spoke to Alabama head coach Nick Saban about the move several weeks ago and is expected to start out on the defensive side of the ball where he'll likely play safety.

"I think the desire was there on both sides to get him back into football and see what he's capable of doing," Elliott said. "If the opportunity is there for him to play professional ball, then the best situation for him would be to play for one of the best coaches in the game and that would be Coach Saban on the defensive side."


This is a situation that bears watching, just to see if Miller is able to make the transition from the diamond to the college gridiron at this particular stage in his life. Miller did have several big school offers coming out of high school, so he's not a chump just trying to play the game.

Personally, I'm rooting for him to do well. He may not make the NFL, but just to see him try his hand at football again could be entertaining.

Buffalo Bills hire Syracuse's Marrone

The Buffalo Bills have filled their head coaching vacancy by hiring Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone. Many are probably saying "who?" regarding this recent hire by the Bills, but if you look deeper than his win- loss record, Bills fans will realize that this hire was more about giving the Bills offense a jolt.

Before compiling a 25-25 record over four years at Syracuse, Marrone was an offensive line coach for the New York Jets from 2002-2005 and was the offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints from 2006-2008. When he took over Syracuse the program had been run into the ground and Marrone made it competitive and winning two bowl games.

Now the Bills have a major problem scoring points and offense is Marrone's background. He led the Saints' offensive renaissance during his three years in New Orleans. It helps if you have Drew Brees leading the charge, but nonetheless he was the coordinator so that counts for something.

NFL analyst Brian Billick called it a "great hire", adding that Marrone "brings substantial pro experience with a  mix of college."

I will not lampoon this hire considering I'm a Lions fan, but Marrone does have a superior weapon on offense in the underused C.J. Spiller. Marrone may not get the Bills back to their glory days of the early 90's, but the fans should give him a chance before saying the guy can't coach.

Lehigh's McCollum appers to break foot in loss to VCU

Lehigh guard C.J. McCollum entered Saturday's game against VCU as the nation's leading scorer. He left it with a tough break for himself and the team. McCollum appeared to break his foot in the first half of a 59-55 loss to the Rams.

This would be a terrible way for McCollum to go out if this is his last hurrah for the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh and McCollum entered the nation's consciousness after a win over Duke in the NCAA Tournament last March. The Mountain Hawks were thought to be college basketball darlings and McCollum was a legitmate NBA prospect.

Now the what appeared to be a promising season for Lehigh and McCollum is in serious doubt. The Mountain Hawks did notch a win without McCollum over North Texas on December 20, so all is not lost considering they are in the Patriot League which isn't all that powerful.

There hasn't been an official diagnosis of McCollum's injury so there is still a sliver of hope that he can return by season's end, but it's something I wouldn't count on.  

Knicks trying to win by getting older

Why do the Knicks want to get older? Well, because coach Mike Woodson said that older teams have more success in the playoffs than younger teams.  Just look at the Heat this year, with an average age of around 29, beating up on the Thunder who have an average age of 25.  And Boston has done well these past 5 seasons with old dudes.  In the Larry O'Brien Championship Series, aka "The Finals", the older team wins about 70% of the time.

* Note: Jason Kidd just crashed his car at 2:00 AM in the Hamptons and received a DWI.  Age = smarts.

So with their infinite wisdumb the Knicks (who must think they can compete for a Conference Championship) have taken a very strange route to getting older: by acquiring 3 of the 4 oldest players in the NBA in just a couple of days.  They signed Marcus Camby (39), Jason Kidd (39) and traded for Kurt Thomas (40).

Raymond Felton was the apple of the Knicks trade with Portland which netted Thomas.  Felton is 28 and could be their youngest starter.  A'mare likes Felton because Felton was able to run the show and present him as an MVP candidate (before A'mare got hurt) two seasons ago when they played together. Don't get me started on how fat Raymond Felton is and how much of a solid defender Jared Jefferies (who they traded for Felton) is.

The Knicks are passing on Lin, who's 23, because Carmelo said that the three year, $25 million dollar deal that Houston offered him was "ridiculous".  James Dolan, put down the sexy saxaphone. One thing you definitely want to do is to listen to Carmelo Anthony analyze the value of contracts.  Methinks that Carmelo is protecting his "points = $" ego with that statement.  'Melo did average just 16 points with Lin and 28 without.

The Knicks are totally messed up.  Dolan is probably still consulting Isiah Thomas on a daily basis which all bubbles together to create the best terrible reality show in The Association.  At least Knicks fans can defect and become Brooklyn Nets fans now.

And Jeremy Lin, quit being so hurt by the Knicks not matching the heavily backloaded Rockets offer sheet and having to play in Houston.  Sure, Houston isn't New York and doesn't compare to the NYC lifestyle but just know that your GM is one of the best in the league, your coach loves to let the PG do his thang and run the show (think: Kyle Lowry last season), the Chinese love Houston because of Yao Ming, and you may be throwing lobs to Dwight Howard come November.  Isn't the point of playing basketball to make as much money as you can and win a lot?  You can check both of those boxes in Houston.

Tulloch says Jennings should worry his own team

The Detroit Lions have had some well documented problems regarding their on and off field discipline. Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings touched upon it during a segment on NFL Total Access last Thursday.

Knowing the Lions pose a threat to their NFC North supremacy, Jennings wondered if the Lions could keep their composure when the heat is on.

"Can they maintain their composure, both on the field and off the field?" Jennings asked. "They're a very talented team, but they have struggles on the field containing their composure, and definitely, the things we've heard of, them being in the media with off-the-field problems and off-the-field issues. Can they maintain their composure? Can they be a professional ball club for 16, 17, 18 solid weeks throughout the regular season?"


Certainly a legitimate assessment if you ask me. I've seen the Lions too much to know they commit too many dumb penalties at the most inopportune time. So Jennings isn't making up a tall tale when he said that.

The Lions' Stephen Tulloch took offense to Jennings comments. Tulloch took to Twitter to voice his displeasure with Jennings.


"Who is Greg Jennings to talk about the Lions? The guy should worry about his own team...."


True, maybe Jennings should worry about his own team, but after being pasted the last two games to close out their season, they should take it to heart and rectify the problem.

 

Smoltz suggests that Strasburg should fake injuries

The Washington Nationals are sticking by their stance on the number of innings that pitcher Stephen Strasburg will pitch this season. Pennant race or not the Nationals are not going to let Strasburg overwork himself.

Now I necessarily don't agree with that philosophy. I say go with your best and let the chips fall where they may. Maybe that's why I only manage teams on video games. Former Atlanta Braves pitcher, John Smoltz, chipped in on what he would do to shave some innings and save himself for the September stretch.

“Honestly, I know this is gonna sound . . . well, I’m a little bit different anyways,” Smoltz began. “I’d create my own little gap. I’d have a blister one day, maybe a hangnail the next start. You know, I think there’s ways to do it. And I get it — their statement is every game counts. Well, it does, but it doesn’t count as much as in September.


Sounds like something he has first hand experience in doing. I don't find anything wrong with it, it's not like he's going down with a fake knee injury or anything like that. It's something that Strasburg might want to think about since he might miss some critical starts down the stretch due to his team's insistence that he pitch a certain number of innings.