...Since Sliced Bread

 

Celebrate the life of Garrett Morgan. Not because it's Black History Month, as commerce likes to market, but for the simple reason of sheer brilliance of the native of Paris, Kentucky. Being a country of so many diverse backgrounds of ethnicity, all 'colors' define the United States' history. One has to be green to believe otherwise.
Morgan was born in 1877, thinking of innovative ideas up until the summer of 1963, when he died, in Cleveland, Ohio. During his eighty-six years, Garrett Morgan managed to come up with components to invent the world's first respiratory protective hood, commonly known as the gas mask. Morgan didn't stop there. He also incorporated a hair straightening fluid (relaxer) for a more idealized look. Genius, right? Try an invention billions of people celebrate across the globe daily. Young Garrett Morgan also achieved at inventing the traffic light. Whose history? Some would say Black. Others may convey American. Maybe he considered himself simply Garrett Morgan.

2269 Dan Marino Blvd.

Some claim it to be the single most biggest stage in sports.  The ultimate coup de grace. One final stop. This end-all, single lunge for irrefutable supremacy, should answer a lot of questions on February 7 in Miami's Sun Life Stadium, or commonly known as Land Shark Stadium.
Briefly, the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts finished with the best records in the league and in their respective conferences, so on paper they indeed should be facing off against each other.
The Saints are first in points and yards per game. The Colts are the second best passing attack in the league and a top ten scoring defense with virtually no running game, finishing last in the league. Quarterbacks Peyton Manning (2nd) and Drew Brees (6th) were in the NFL's top ten in passing yards and touchdowns (Brees 1st, Manning 2nd). The impact of Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney should be ruled out simply because the severity of his ankle injury has forced the team to play backup DE Raheem Brock more than they would like to. To wrap it up in... an orange, expect the usual, to an extent. Super Bowl 44 should be not only a great story and colossal event, but a game for the ages as well.
In the end, the final may be predicated by a special teams play or perhaps a game-winning scoring drive.  No matter the outcome, Bourbon Street will be disconnected, as opposed to off the hook, to put things mildly.


Off-season comparison: WR    REC      YDS      TD
Sidney Rice                           83         1312          8
Santonio Holmes                    79         1248          5

The Puppy Classic

The 57th Annual Senior Bowl will be played in Mobile, Alabama on Saturday, 3pm CDT, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The most elite graduates that college football has to offer will audition in their very first NFL competition. The North squad will be looking to end a two-game losing streak to the South, in which the South won 35-18 behind the heroics of the game's MVP, Pat White in '09. Matt Forte of the North squad took the MVP honors in '08, despite losing 17-16 on a last second touchdown catch by Andre Caldwell.

The North will feature Detroit Lions' first year coach, Jim Schwartz and his staff, while the South will have Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano and his staff on the sidelines. The South will have quite the demanding task this year as the North squad will headline some of the country's absolute best.

Cincinnati's 6'6" 212 pound quarterback Tony Pike will grace the North while Central Michigan's 6'3" 229 pound QB Dan LeFevour will return to Mobile after a dramatic, come-from-behind double overtime victory over Troy in the GMAC Bowl. Nebraska's 5'11" 211 pound Larry Asante will be in the North's secondary, 5'10" 202 pound running back Chris Brown will represent Oklahoma, and 6'1" 222 pound receiver Dorin Dickerson from Pittsburgh will run routes, just to name a few.

The South should be flying around as well, with six players from the BCS National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide, including defensive back Javier Arenas and colossal defensive lineman Terrance Cody. Mississppi State's 6'0" 245 pound running back Anthony Dixon, Ole Miss' multi-purpose receiver Dexter McCluster, Miami (FL) tight end Jimmy Graham, USC 6'3" 231 pound defensive back Taylor Mays, and 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, among others will attempt to stretch the South's winning streak to three by the game's end.

The Next Level

Many words can be used to describe senior Tim Tebow. Admirable, tough, and leader are certainly a few. One term could possibly prove to be in question. NFL quarterback. The twenty-two year-old native of Jacksonville is arguably the greatest quarterback in college football's history. Standing 6'3" and tipping the scales at 245 pounds before he steps into the phone booth, Tebow has managed to compile quite a resume and will be the litmus test for outstanding student athletes for years to come. On the field alone, his career is comparable to any collegiate at any position, capping off a four-year journey with a season in which he threw for 2,895 yards, 21 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions on top of 910 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, finished with a 13-1 record and a BCS bowl game victory over the undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats by the score of  51-24.
 The graduate of Nease High School will be forced to learn quickly as he is to make his NFL debut January 30th at the Senior Bowl in Mobile. This will also be his opportunity to prove he can read defenses pre-snap, accurately throw passes to receivers who are not wide open as a beneficial result to a spread offense, and go through necessary receiver progressions in a pro-style offense at a much more rapid rate. Perhaps the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner will continue his dominance and go on to be one the greatest professional quarterbacks in history. A select few will remain skeptical until proven foolish.

Meet Darrelle Revis

There's not a whole lot to be said about New York Jets All- Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis, especially since he's probably not going to win the league's Defensive Player Of The Year Award. Instead, here are performances from some of the NFL's best receivers to which Revis was assigned.

PLAYER                                                  RECEPTIONS              YARDS       TDS

Andre Johnson                           4                  35         0

Randy Moss                             4/5             24/34      0/1

Marques Colston                         2                 33         0

Terrell Owens                           3/3             31/13     0/0

Steve Smith (CAR)                      1                  5         0

Roddy White                              4                  33        0

Chad Ochocinco                         0                   0         0

Meanwhile, the 5'11" 198 pound, third year heatseeker from Pittsburgh has collected six interceptions with one returned for a score.

Off-season comparison 2009 season: WR
Marques Colston                        70               1074        9
Vincent Jackson                         63              1167        9

No-dine in, please

                                      

You forgot to set your alarm last night, yet you awoke like clockwork. During the morning commute, you got all yellow traffic lights. The one o'clock across town was changed to a conference call, and the three fifteen was cancelled altogether. As you walk down the hall, you notice that the spot on the ceiling near the corner has been repaired. Your cell rings. You answer. "Steve, you need to call down to the garage...".

Just two days before Christmas, illegal drugs were found inside Mobile County Commissioner Steve Nodine' s county - issued vehicle, according to Sheriff Sam Cochran. Nodine apparently left his vehicle at the county maintenance department to be serviced where marijuana was found by an employee. "I've been informed by the Sheriff's office that a small pill bottle containing a substance believed to be marijuana was found in my county vehicle...", the Commissioner explained in a released statement. He continues, "I want to be clear that I did not possess marijuana, nor did I use any marijuana, found in this vehicle. ".  Later that night, Nodine added that he volunteered to take a blood and urine test when he was informed and believed there was some sort of  "political motive" attached. Nodine has not been charged.

1.a?

How can a man of so few words and of such soft-spoken demeanor create so much chaos and disorder for any defensive back he faces? With hardly any commercial exposure, Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson has quietly blown his way to elite status in the NFL among players at his position. With a 6 foot 3 inch frame and weighing 225 pounds, the seven- year pro has led the league in receiving three of the last four seasons. The twenty-eight year-old Johnson suffered a knee injury in week one of '07 in which he caught 60 passes for 851 yards with 8 touchdowns in just nine games. No one has led the league in receiving in consecutive seasons since 1993 when the San Francisco 49ers' Jerry Rice planted his flag three seasons in a row. Miami native Andre Johnson may very well complete the calmest route to the Hall of Fame in professional football history, with barely uttering a sound.