FanHouse

Reporter to Packers Coach and GM: 'Do You Know What You're Doing?'

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-09-07T21:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Packers, NFC North, NFL Media Watch

Normally, when a reporter sits down to interview an NFL coach and/or general manager, you get static questions and boring answers.

Not in Green Bay.

In August, we told you about Milwaukee Journal Sentinel veteran Bob McGinn's interview with Packers general manager Ted Thompson. In the interview, I felt he crossed a line from asking tough, legitimate questions to framing questions within his own personal opinions.

Taking a cue from McGinn, Jason Wilde - a reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal - recently sat down to chat with Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy. To a certain extent, you could argue that he injected personal opinions into the interview, too. However, you could also argue that he was asking questions the fans wanted to have answered.

One thing that can't be argued is that Wilde is a prime example of what it's like to have more guts than brains. In many cases, that's not a good thing. Not this time.

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Report: Brady Out For Year

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-09-07T20:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Patriots, AFC East, NFL Injuries

Disastrous news for the New England Patriots.

Yahoo Sports' Michael Silver is reporting that quarterback Tom Brady will miss the rest of the season. Silver's sources indicate that Brady suffered a torn ACL in his left knee on a hit by Bernard Pollard of the Chiefs.

While on NBC's Football Night in America, Sports Illustrated scribe Peter King could not confirm the severity of Brady's injury, but did say it was an injury that would put the rest of the season "in jeopardy".

Word of Brady being gone for the year will send shockwaves throughout the league, and it will probably re-ignite conversation over the play itself. The league has already said it was a clean hit by Pollard, but there are many who share the opinion of Patriots' receiver Randy Moss, who doesn't agree with the NFL.

Already, we'd heard from Jets players who were saying Brady suffered a torn ACL, and any look at the tape of the play leads you to the conclusion that this was probably a bad injury.

The Patriots have not confirmed Silver's report. They are listing Brady as questionable for next week's game with the Jets because of a sore back.

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SNF Live Chat: Lucas Oil Lid-Lifter

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-09-07T19:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Bears, Colts, AFC South, NFC North, NFL Live Blogging, NFL Media Watch

Outside of it being the first (real) game at Lucas Oil Stadium, it's Sunday Night Football.

You know what that means, right? 25 people on the pregame show, snark from Olbermann, that hideous Faith Hill song, and unending praise at Peyton Manning and (oddly) Brett Favre. Plus, maybe Bob Costas will get really confused, think he's still in Beijing, and start asking around for Michael Phelps.

And we'll be here to talk about all of it. Not only that, but I'm sure we'll have to chat about the injury to Tom Brady and all the other Sunday happenings.

Join us for the first Sunday Night Football live chat of the season. We'll start at around 7:30pm Eastern, and it's all right after the jump.

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Is Pat Williams Ready to Eat His Words?

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-09-07T14:50:00 00:00

Filed under: Packers, Vikings, NFC North

Since he appears to enjoy eating anything else he can find, Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams should prepare to eat his words. I'm not sure the calorie count, but if you add enough salt, they can be quite tasty.

Especially if you mix in a little crow on the side.

He apparently didn't think he'd said enough when he boldly predicted that his Vikings would hand new Green Bay starter Aaron Rodgers his "first damn loss" Monday night. Williams added - in essence - that Brett Favre was the only reason the Packers were any good.

I remind you of these comments only because of the fact that Williams wasn't done. After a few weeks of relative silence, probably because he was too busy eating to talk, Williams struck again Friday.

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College Football Saturday Chat: Late Shift

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-09-06T18:30:00 00:00

Filed under: ACC, Big 10, Big East, SEC

Brent Musberger is calling a game featuring Tim Tebow at quarterback. Count me in, though I'm sure to be fully annoyed within the first six plays.

On the bright side, there are a few other good matchups to discuss tonight, including another potential ACC embarrassment (Maryland at Middle Tennessee), another potential Tim Brewster embarrassment (Minnesota-Bowling Green), and a potentially entertaining matchup of directional Florida teams (South at Central).

It should be a fun night of football, and you can chat with us right after the jump, starting at 7pm Eastern.

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Line Play Should Decide Vikings-Packers

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-09-06T13:20:00 00:00

Filed under: Packers, Vikings, NFC North

There were two facts about the Green Bay Packers' preseason that you might find startling.

For starters, an offensive line that has prided itself on protecting Brett Favre for so many years didn't do a very good job with Favre's replacements in the preseason. Aaron Rodgers, Brian Brohm, and Matt Flynn were sacked a combined 16 times in four games, the most sacks allowed by any team in the preseason.

Meanwhile, the Packers defensive line struggled to generate much of any push against their opponents. The defense picked up just two sacks, which ranked last in the NFL.

Yes, it's just preseason, but the Packers clearly have a little bit of work to do in the trenches.

Luckily for them, so does Minnesota.

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Chat: College Football Saturday - Early Games

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-30T10:00:00 00:00

Filed under: ACC, Big 10, Big East, SEC, NCAA FB Fans, General CFB Insanity

College football season officially started Thursday night, and it really gets going today.

There are a ton of games on the docket, starting with LSU and Appalachian State at 11am Eastern. If you didn't hear, they moved that game up six hours because of the threat of Hurricane Gustav, which is rapidly strengthening in the Caribbean and causing evacuations in Louisiana.

We'll be covering that game, along with all the other early games, in a CiL chat that begins promptly at 11am Eastern time. That's 10am Central, and 7am Alaska time.

For future reference, we'll be chatting every Saturday throughout the season. Please do make a point of joining us for our first Saturday chat of the season, after the jump.

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FanHouse NFL Season Preview: San Francisco 49ers - It's JTO Time

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-30T08:00:00 00:00

Filed under: 49ers, NFC West

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: Listen, I'd love to believe in J.T. O'Sullivan. He's had a great pre-season, he's battled through a lot of adversity to earn this shot, and he seems to have the physical tools. However, the fact that he's failed in every NFL stop before this worries me. Is Mike Martz the magic potion that will cure O'Sullivan and turn him into a good NFL quarterback? Maybe. He's certainly made a lot of other quarterbacks look really good. At quick glance, O'Sullivan appears to be a perfect fit for the Martz offense. He's making good, quick decisions. He's got an arm that's plenty good enough. But the fact that he's never succeeded anywhere else in the NFL tells me that there is at least a part of his pre-season performance that's "mirage". There isn't much else to work with here. Alex Smith has been generally terrible, doesn't appear to get along well with coach Mike Nolan, and he's getting to the point in his career where San Francisco may just have to consider giving up on him. Shaun Hill, meanwhile, looked passable in a late-season audition last year before becoming virtually invisible in training camp. He doesn't appear to be much of a factor. Heat Index: 5

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Sakic Makes Up Mind, Will Play

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-27T16:05:00 00:00

Filed under: Avalanche, Western, NHL General, NHL Free Agency

Unlike our friend Mats, who apparently has issues with this "decision-making" thing, Joe Sakic has figured out what he wants to do.

The future Hall of Famer announced Wednesday that he intends to play again in 2008-2009. He signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche, setting him up to begin his 20th season in the NHL.

"Ultimately, it came down to the fact that I still enjoy playing and competing," said Sakic, who won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 1996 and 2001. "I'm comfortable with my conditioning and my overall health. I'm ready for the start of [training] camp."

When healthy last year, Sakic was still effective, averaging around a point per game in the regular season and exactly one point per game in ten playoff games. However, he wasn't the impact player we're used to seeing.

He's still a great leader and a super representative for the Colorado organization, but if the Avalanche are leaning on him to lead them to a Stanley Cup, they're crazy.

Not only that, but Sakic's return doesn't even begin to make up for the loss of Jeff Finger.

Right?

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Merriman Says He Will Play

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-27T15:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Chargers, AFC West, NFL Injuries

After consulting with every doctor this side of Doogie Howser, Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman has made a rational, well-researched decision.

Or maybe he's continuing to prove that he's absolutely crazy.

"I'm going to play," Merriman said via text message to the Union-Tribune. "I'll deal with it when it's time to get surgery."

You read that correctly. Merriman, after being told by at least five doctors (counting the one employed by the team) that he needs knee surgery, is going to put off the surgery and play for the Chargers this season.

Merriman has two torn knee ligaments, and he's already acknowledged that he could be risking his career by continuing to play.

There's no question that every NFL player faces a certain amount of risk every time they put the pads on and play. It's a wonderful sport, but it's also extremely violent and unpredictable.

There's another part to this story, too.

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Weekend at Aaron's: Hanging Out in Green Bay

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-26T22:10:00 00:00

Filed under: Packers, NFC North, NFL Fans

Not many husbands/fathers can claim to be as lucky as the one whose wife suggests a trip to Lambeau Field for a summer getaway. Not only can I claim it, but I have the photographic evidence to prove it.

We spent this past weekend in Green Bay, purposely timing our trip to coincide with a Packers preseason game on the road. It was surmised that we could have an easier time navigating around Lambeau Field and the Packers Hall of Fame if there weren't 70,000 people around at the same time. There was also the chance to check out a Packers training camp practice on Sunday afternoon.

Since I'm pretty much a complete dork at this point in my life, I figured I'd bring the camera with. I come now bearing photos from our trip to Green Bay to hang out with the Packers (sort of). I'll share a few of them after the jump.

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FanHouse NFL Season Preview: Philadelphia Eagles - Avoid the Trainer

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-26T07:55:00 00:00

Filed under: Eagles, NFC East

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: That nagging, annoying question is back. Will Donovan McNabb stay healthy for a full season? Will Kevin Kolb rot on the bench again? Obviously, most Eagles fans hope Kolb doesn't see the light of day this year. McNabb, however, hasn't gotten through a season healthy since he and Terrell Owens were getting along. Injuries have kept him on the sideline for seven, six, and two games, respectively, each of the last three years. The injuries are the only thing keeping McNabb from being mentioned among the truly elite quarterbacks in the game. Certainly, his numbers last year weren't subpar, but McNabb continues to take way too many hits. He was sacked 12 times by the Giants in Week Four last year, and 44 for the season. For a comparison, backup A.J. Feeley started twice for McNabb last year, and he was sacked three times in those two games. Also worrisome is McNabb's sudden inability to throw the deep ball. One season is not a fair sample, especially considering the Eagles' relative lack of big-play ability at wide receiver. However, it's a development that bears watching, especially if McNabb's penchant for getting hurt doesn't go away. Heat Index: 7

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FanHouse NFL Season Preview: Green Bay Packers - Promise of a New Day

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-14T08:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Packers, NFC North

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: Did you hear that Brett Favre retired? Well, don't worry, because he changed his mind. And he did it too late, so the Packers wanted to move on instead of keeping him on board. So they traded him to the Jets. Got it? Aaron Rodgers is the new starter in Green Bay, and while I'm excited for him, I have to admit that this is all a little weird. I was barely 15 years old the first time Favre won a game for the Packers. That means Favre was the starter for more than half my life. Other guys - Rodgers, Mark Brunell, Matt Hasselbeck, Ty Detmer, and T.J. Rubley, among others - have taken snaps for the Packers, but Favre's been the only starter. He didn't even miss a pre-season start for the Packers until Monday night. Rodgers has the physical tools, he appears well-prepared, and he's handled this circus wonderfully. I can't rate him too highly because I just don't know if he can be as good as Favre, but he does appear to be better at reading coverages and making consistently good decisions than Favre was. Favre's improvisational ways were entertaining and often effective, but they also led to mistakes. Rodgers will play a safer style, but won't be nearly as dynamic. Heat Index: 7

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Stoll To Walk the Aisle With Hunter

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-13T21:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Kings, Western, NHL General, NHL Gossip

The well-chronicled romance of Jarrett Stoll and Rachel Hunter now requires an update.

It seems that Stoll's move from Edmonton to Los Angeles has helped accelerate things. First, there was the talk of babies, and now comes word that the two are engaged.

"She is engaged. She's never been happier," her rep told People Magazine.

"She has been with Jarret for a long time and everyone is thrilled for them. He was recently traded to the L.A. Kings, so it's a really exciting time in their life together. He is an amazing guy and she is an amazing girl - they're truly meant to be."

We couldn't be happier, either.

I'll bet Stoll is pretty thrilled. After all, it's not often that a 26-year-old, relatively anonymous hockey player can claim to be engaged to one of the most well-known models on the planet.

Yes, it's gossip. But it's August. I mean, unless Mats Sundin wakes up tomorrow and actually makes a decision related to his hockey career (or lack thereof), we got nothing around here.

The very least we can do is share in the joy of the future Mr. and Mrs. Stoll. Or, at least we could be supremely jealous of the groom-to-be.

Anyone got any ideas for the bachelor party?

(Thanks, Jes!)

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U.S. Gymnast Memmel Competed at Games With Broken Ankle

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-13T15:38:00 00:00

Filed under: USA

The United States women were beaten out for a gold medal in the team competition by the ~~women~~ girls from China.

While Chellsie Memmel and her teammates didn't get the gold, Memmel may have established herself as the toughest gymnast in the competition.

Why? She was competing with a broken ankle.

Memmel said after the U.S. women won the silver medal in team gymnastics Wednesday that she'd been competing with a broken bone in her right ankle. The 2005 world gymnastics champion hurt the ankle during training Aug. 4, but competed on uneven bars in both the preliminaries and the team finals.

"I have mixed emotions," she said. "I would have loved to compete on four events, but the silver medal for my team is great."

And you thought hockey players were tough!

If you look at the above photo, you can see the heavy tape on her right ankle. Now, I'm not an expert on gymnastics, but it seems that uneven bars would be about the only event she could safely compete in. The feet and legs aren't relied upon as heavily, and she's probably okay if she can handle her dismount.

Memmel certainly held up her end of the bargain, performing well on the uneven bars in the team final Wednesday morning (Tuesday night U.S. time).

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Vikings Begin Trash-Talking Packers

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-12T16:35:00 00:00

Filed under: Packers, Vikings, NFC North

There's no doubt that the rivalry between Minnesota and Green Bay is one of the better ones in the NFL. After a few non-descript seasons in the 1980s and 1990s, when one or both teams sucked, things have heated up nicely in recent years.

It probably all started when Randy Moss stomped all over the Packers defense on a Monday night in 1998. Since then, the intensity has been amped up quite a bit.

Since Mike McCarthy took over in Green Bay, the Packers are 4-0 against Minnesota. This is probably not taken well by Vikings fans, players, or coaches.

For evidence of this, I invite you to join me after the jump, as we present the comments of Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams.

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FanHouse NFL Season Preview: Denver Broncos - Trying to Turn the Corner

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-12T08:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Broncos, AFC West

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: There is little doubt in my mind that Jay Cutler wasn't the problem last year. In his first full season as a starting quarterback, Cutler hit 64 percent of his throws and threw just 14 picks, which is pretty good for a first-year starter. He was good under pressure, which is also pretty good for a guy who was pretty much a rookie. Moving forward, Cutler needs to work on what many, many young quarterbacks need to work on: Decision-making. It's not at all uncommon for college quarterbacks or even Brett Favre to sometimes trust the ol' arm too much, which can lead a guy to throw a lot of footballs in traffic. As long as you grow out of it, or you're Brett Favre, it's okay. Happens to everyone. I really like Cutler. He shows pretty much every skill I like to see in an NFL quarterback, and he's the kind of kid who will only get better because of his dedication and drive. Ignore the fact that he hasn't had a winning season as a starting quarterback since high school. Heat Index: 7

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Packers GM Second-Guessed in Interview

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-10T12:25:00 00:00

Filed under: Packers, NFC North, NFL Media Watch

Bob McGinn has been writing for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as long as I can remember. He's covered the Packers, and he's largely done so fairly and with great passion. He brings with him great insight and a keen sense of how to frame a story so it's interesting to the reader.

McGinn recently conducted a lengthy interview with Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson. Naturally, Thompson has been a hot topic of discussion among Packer fans for his recent decision to trade future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre to the New York Jets for only a conditional draft pick. Since McGinn isn't an idiot, he had to ask a question or two about the move and how tough it was to pull the trigger.

I've been involved in journalism since 1996, and spent much of the last decade getting paid to cover sports. I spent seven years hosting a sports talk show, and I have conducted literally hundreds of interviews, chatting with athletes, coaches, front-office people, reporters, analysts, and even agents.

One of my general rules of conducting interviews is that I don't feel it's right to let opinion dictate the questioning. Just because I think a certain way doesn't mean everyone else has to, and interjecting my opinion in hopes of generating agreement is not how to conduct an interview. I feel that's a tactic that makes the interviewer seem more important than the interviewee.

And in this case, I feel McGinn - no matter how much respect I have for the man - crossed the line.

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Packers' Grant May Miss Pre-Season Opener

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-10T10:40:00 00:00

Filed under: Packers, NFC North, NFL Injuries

It's not looking good for Packers running back Ryan Grant.

A balky hamstring has taken Grant off the field in the last few days. Despite his long contract dispute costing him significant on-field work during the off-season and training camp, head coach Mike McCarthy has to seriously consider holding Grant out of Monday's pre-season opener against Cincinnati.

When Grant signed, I mentioned that second-year pro Brandon Jackson was looking good in camp after a strong finish to his rookie season.

Saturday, McCarthy sounded like a coach who was a bit frustrated. He's dealing with bumps and bruises all over the field, and the last thing the Packers need is for another starter to be dinged. In Grant's case, though, discretion is certainly called for.

"He needs to practice, obviously with the time he has missed with his contract (holdout) and now with his injury. He definitely needs reps," said McCarthy.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, we should know more about Grant's status later Sunday. Obviously, they're going to be careful with a hamstring, as Grant could be out for weeks if he does something to make it worse.

If Grant misses Monday night, it's a great opportunity for Jackson, who has gotten the bulk of the camp work with the first team. If Grant somehow can't go Saturday night in San Francisco, and Jackson plays well, don't be surprised to see Jackson in serious contention to start the regular-season opener September 8.

Oh, and Aaron Rodgers will start a game at quarterback Monday for the first time since college. That might generate some media hype.

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Aaron Rodgers Would Like Your Kids to Stop Swearing at Him

Bruce Ciskie — 2008-08-08T18:20:00 00:00

Filed under: Packers, NFC North

Stephanie Stradley already chronicled the story of kids telling Aaron Rodgers that he sucks. That's bad enough, but I'm sure any pro athlete out there can handle a kid saying "You suck".

Unfortunately, the kids aren't stopping there, and one has to assume they aren't getting their mouths washed out with soap, either.

Rodgers said he's been handling the boos with no problem, but some of the personal attacks have bothered him. Probably every practice there's one or two pro-Brett Favre people who are yelling things loud enough for the players to hear them.

But Rodgers said he hears things off the field, too.

"I understand it to some point if I put myself into a Favre fanatic's shoes," Rodgers said of getting booed. "The things I can't understand, the things I really take personally, is when I'm driving up to the (parking lot) gate and punching in my punch code and somebody says 'F.U.' to me. That kind of bothers me. Or when a little kid is yelling swear words at me. That kind of gets to me. The boos, they expect a high level of play and they miss Brett Favre. I understand that. But the 'F.U.' and the little kids saying swear words to me, I don't understand that."

Are we for real here? Kids swearing at a totally innocent bystander in the Brett Favre drama?

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