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BCS National Championship Game: FOX Praises Tim Tebow for Taunting Sooners

As long as the media is turning today into the official Tim Tebow Hagiography Day, we ought to at least acknowledge that this was a bush league move:

That was Tebow doing the Gator Chomp directly in the face of Sooners safety Nick Harris after Tebow picked up a first down late in the fourth quarter. It was a clear violation of college football rules, and the officials correctly penalized him for it.

The FOX announcers, who absolutely embarrassed themselves with the way they worshiped at the Tebow altar, were just as ridiculous as you'd expect them to be. Thom Brennaman said, "That might be the first thing he's ever done wrong in his life."

Brennaman's partner, Charles Davis, was even worse: He tried to excuse Tebow's behavior by saying, "he was backing away, which is good." Uh, no. Tebow had purposefully walked several yards downfield to get right into Harris' face before he did the Gator Chomp. He only started backing away when he was sure Harris had seen what he was doing. Last time I checked, getting in someone's face to taunt him, only to back away before he has a chance to respond, isn't "good."

Is this a big deal? No. Taunting goes on in every game. But it's absurd that the FOX announcers responded to a player committing a penalty -- a stupid, unsportsmanlike penalty that stopped the clock just when the Gators were trying to run it out -- by showering praise upon him.

The Dugout: ProStars?

Saturday morning cartoons these days (the ones that still exist) are nothing but flash animation with no deeper worth than the bright colors and farts that fill them. Things weren't like this when I was a kid. No, when I was a kid, cartoons were shameless attempts at selling me toys, and then different toys or toy-related foods and services during the commercials. Occasionally they would try to sell me on the danger of drugs (usually marijuana... I learned it by watching you) or the enjoyment of "sports" (usually extreme).

ProStars was the best/worst/most Hammerman-esque example of this. The 400-minute cartoon (if I'm remembering it correctly) starred Bo Jackson, Michael Jordan, and Wayne Gretzky (not really) as sports-themed super heroes who fight crime using super versions of sports equipment. Sometimes they'd write "sports" on a brick and throw it at a criminal!

Anyway, updating ProStars is a project that is long overdue, and it's about time somebody brought the world's sports together once more to save kids from fires and rollerblade under rapidly-closing doors.

Tonight's esoteric-ass Dugout is after the jump.

FanHouse NFL Season Preview: Detroit Lions - Is 2008 the Payoff?

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: Jon Kitna -- man of God, man of many passing yards, man of many lapses in judgement. With Kitna, Mike Martz found a quarterback who could air it out appropriately in his offense. Appropriately, in this instance, means bombing away with little regard to risk, and the interception and sack totals with Kitna under center reflect that. Martz is gone and the Lions are shifting to a more conservative offense. Kitna isn't the right man to helm it, and, turning 36 early this season, should be on his last tour in Detroit. The problem is that the Lions aren't sure if they have anyone behind him to take over, with Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton possessing exactly zero starts and only 17 passing attempts between them, all Orlovsky's. Heat Index: 5

Running back: That conservative offense will put more work at the feet of the team's tailbacks. The Lions' running game in 2007 was 31st in the league and lost their best runner in Kevin Jones. Still, they're going about improving in the right way. They kept Tatum Bell and Brian Calhoun from last year and tailored their attack to a one-cut zone blocking system that suits their skills. Bell had almost 2,000 yards and 10 touchdowns running in that system in 2005 and 2006. Assuming he stays healthy, he should bring a big-play punch. But the biggest impact will be made by the biggest unknown -- rookie Kevin Smith. He also excels in a zone system, and the wildly productive college back is one of the players I think is going to absolutely turn heads this year. Heat Index: 7

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