Terrell Owens is a lot of things -- narcissist, team cancer, fan of front-yard topless sit-ups during press conferences -- but you can never accuse him of being unprepared. Despite the off-field distractions, T.O., even at 35, is consistently one of the best conditioned players in the league.
That doesn't mean he's not crazy, just that he's good at compartmentalizing his life. It also means that if I'm the Buffalo Bills, I'm worried about what I've gotten myself into. Owens, who signed a one-year deal with the team this spring, is also the star of his own reality show. And it's about what you might expect, but 1,000 times more absurd.
Stigma from the "too cool" crowd aside, fantasy sports -- especially fantasy football -- are a huge business. Some estimates show up to 15 million people taking part in fantasy football each year with the amount of money changing hands estimated to be around a billion dollars.
Naturally, the NFL Players Association couldn't stand to see all this money being thrown around without wanting a piece of it. I mean, Yahoo! was using players' pictures and statistics to help make money! God forbid a few guys put together a neighborhood fantasy league without having part of their league entry fee go to the players they are following.
Steve McNair played for Jeff Fisher for 11 seasons, including a trip to the Super Bowl in 2000. On Saturday, Fisher, who was in the Persian Gulf as part of the inaugural NFL-USO Tour, learned that McNair was dead.
Last month, NFL Network's Jamie Dukes argued that it was "hypocritical to say [Brett Favre] should stop playing because you think it's time for him to stop." Never mind that no one has ever argued that. Instead, most fans -- even those with just a casual interest in the sport -- would prefer Favre not fake retire every offseason. I don't think that's asking for a lot.
Dukes is back. The just-concluded NFL Rookie Symposium prompted Dukes to writes that, "... there is an expectation among the populous that NFL players are supposed to be perfect because they were given the right to play football. THAT NOTION IS LUDICROUS!"
If the television thing doesn't work out for Cris Carter, he's got a future in motivational speaking. Carter was the final speaker at this week's NFL Rookie Symposium, and his message was what you might expect -- don't do drugs, don't fall for groupies, don't start a dog-fighting enterprise, so on and so forth -- but his delivery was what made it memorable.
Kerry Joseph (no, not that Kerry Joseph)*Arland Bruce leads a relatively obscure life as a wide receiver for the Toronto Argonauts; such is life in the CFL. But something tells me Mr. Joseph* Bruce will be getting a little more attention soon. You see, the CFL is currently reviewing a recent touchdown celebration in which Joseph* Bruce honored Michael Jackson by pretending to be buried. See for yourself and then we'll debate!
It seems like everybody has a distinct memory of what Michael Jackson meant to them, particularly those of us in our 30s, who grew up listening to him. For me, it was convincing my parents to buy the "Thriller" album (33 RPMs!), and listening to it for hours at a time on our sweet Curtis Mathes all-in-one home entertainment system that looked a lot like this.
For a college buddy of mine (who shall remain nameless to spare him the shame of what I'm about to write) it was probably attending breakdancing classes as a chubby preteen while sporting one sparkly glove and a backpack stuffed with his Cabbage Patch Kid. (Amazingly, he now holds down a full-time job and spent very little time in therapy.)
Among the most tired arguments against fantasy football are that people playing it need to "get a girlfriend" or "get a life." First of all, as an avid fantasy football player, I'd like to point out that my wife probably wouldn't appreciate it if I got a girlfriend. Secondly, when seven well-known NFL players play, how can you really question if it's "cool" while comparing it to Dungeons and Dragons? Just get over yourself and try it before knocking it. It's fun.
Smith seems to have a solid handle on the media/message part of his job. He wants it made clear, to the players and the public, that any threat of a work stoppage is coming from the owners' end. The owners are the ones who opted out of the current CBA. The owners are the ones refusing to share the finanical information Smith is requesting. And if there's no football in 2011, it will be because the owners decided to lock out the players, NOT because the players went on strike. It is crucial for Smith to communicate this message to the players, because he believes it is crucial for the players to communicate it to the public.
It's impossible to find an NFL head coach or general manager who is willing to say that he wants to sign Michael Vick, but former NFL coach Dennis Green, now coaching for the start-up UFL, thinks he knows where Vick will end up.
"I have a hard time believing that Michael Vick is not going to wind up with Bill Parcells, simply because he has that creativeness that says that no matter what it takes, he's going to find a way to get Michael Vick," Green told Sirius NFL Radio. "Now, whether it means convincing the commissioner or whatever it takes, Michael Vick is probably going to wind up at Miami because of the fact that Bill Parcells is Bill Parcells."
Terrell Owens is a lot of things -- narcissist, team cancer, fan of front-yard topless sit-ups during press conferences -- but you can never accuse him of being unprepared. Despite the off-field distractions, T.O., even at 35, is consistently one of the best conditioned players in the league. 
Last month, NFL Network's Jamie Dukes 
If the television thing doesn't work out for 
It seems like everybody has a distinct memory of what 
Among the most tired arguments against fantasy football are that people playing it need to "get a girlfriend" or "get a life." First of all, as an avid fantasy football player, I'd like to point out that my wife probably wouldn't appreciate it if I got a girlfriend. Secondly, when seven well-known NFL players play, how can you really question if it's "cool" while comparing it to Dungeons and Dragons? Just get over yourself and try it before knocking it. It's fun. 
The union's message to its players as the collective bargaining negotiations begin is coalescing. Union head 
It's impossible to find an NFL head coach or general manager who is willing to say that he wants to sign 
