Ranting With Rizzo Replay 11-29-11

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Urban Meyer Begins His Career With Ohio St. A Liar

Getty Images

Now you may find this headline a bit extreme, and
you may even go as far to say that I'm exaggerating
or even that everyone does it, but nonetheless it's
true, Urban Meyer is a LIAR! I would also love to
hear how he would rationalize this to a player or
recruit when asked about it or when it's done to
him in a similar way.

Urban Meyer through ESPN statements, representatives,
his agent or whatever said that he had not been
offered, nor had he accepted a job as Head Coach of
the Ohio State football team. Call me naive, but I
find it hard to believe that that offer, acceptance,
details, and everything else involved took all but a
few minutes to take place. Again, you may find this
to be trivial, and point out numerous head coaches
both college and pro that do this, yet the fact still
remains that he LIED. Everyone does it? If everyone
jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge would Urban Meyer jump
off the Brooklyn Bridge?

I will not sit here and tell you that you're wrong in
your belief that this happens more often than not, but
a simple no comment could have been used as well.
I'm not silly enough to believe that this is more the
norm than the exception, but I will say that when you
are Urban Meyer and you portray yourself with this I'm
so mush better attitude, then perhaps you should attempt
to lead by example, or you shouldn't expect the same
from you players, recruits, their families, or anyone
else for that matter. Heck, what would Tim Tebow think
of your lying ways Dad, err, Coach?

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Eagles & Chargers Should Meet In Toilet Bowl

AP Photo/Denis Poroy

Depending on who you spoke to this year, the "Dream
Team" Philadelphia Eagles were probably going to go
to the Super Bowl. Many so called experts may not
have picked the Eagles out of the NFC, but they sure
did go with the San Diego Chargers to represent the
AFC in the BIG Game.

After this past Sunday's games it is beyond clear
that neither of these two teams deserves anything
other than to perhaps face each other in the so
called "Toilet Bowl". After all we are approaching
"Bowl Season", and since they aren't in any danger
of ruining their playoff chances, then perhaps they
should duke it out to see which of the two is better,
or, err, worse. I have never seen not one, but two
teams with so much talent, and promise in the same
year look so bad. It's fair to say that they will
probably go in a different direction in San Diego
as far as head coaches go, but Andy Reid may be
sparred that fate, at least for now, but not if he
has a repeat type performance in 2012.

Before you run to look at their schedules, no they
don't meet in 2011, but maybe the NFL can make an
exception for charity or something.

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NFL Stone Cold Locks Week 12

Doug Benc/Getty Images

3- 0 last week drives the record to 28-5 for the year, but
it still sees a title disappointingconsidering what it
should be if teams had played up to their level of talent.
This weeks winners are as follows:

1. Atlanta - Time to start living up to the championship hype

2. Seattle - First and last time you will see it this year

3. Pittsburgh - C'mon, the Chiefs are That BAD


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Never Ending Weekend Of College Football Continues

Photo Credit: Getty Images, By: Christian Petersen

LSU showed Arkansas that they clearly do not belong
in the hunt for the BCS Championship, so today it's
Alabama's turn to tell Auburn that the Tide does.
The annual Iron Bowl game between Auburn and Alabama
is just the tip of an iceberg for what should prove
to be a great day of Thanksgiving Saturday College
football, so here is a guide of what games you should
keep an eye on for a variety of reasons.

1. Rutgers v UCONN - Could be a nine win season for
what may prove to be Penn St next head coach

2. Ohio St v Michigan - Make no mistake this game means
alot to these two, and Urban Meyer will be watching.

3. Michigan St v Northwestern - Northwestern can mess
with Michigan State just like when they went to Nebraska

4. Georgia v Georgia Tech - HUGE game for #13 Georgia,
winners of 9 straight, and matched up vs LSU next

5. Alabama v Auburn - When Conference foes meet, throw
the records out the window. Should be a good one.

6. Virgina v Virginia Tech - #6 Virginia Tech can benefit
win the Arkansas loss, a win and who knows who else losses.

7. Penn St v Wisconsin - The Badgers can't afford to lay
an egg, and a shot at the Big 10 Trophy is at stake here

8. Notre Dame v Standford - Means alot to Notre Dame, but
could mean a shot at the BCS Championship for Standford

9. Clemson v S Carolina - Alot of pride on the line here
and some positioning for a better Bowl bid for the winner

10. UCLA v USC - Sorta like the Alphabet Bowl, and the only
bowl for USC this year. Neuheisel needs this to save his job

This ought to stuff your football appetite as good if not
better than the Thanksgiving Turkey feast you had this week.
Enjoy !


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BCS Games & Non BCS Games Worth Tuning In To

By David Minton, Denton Record-Chronicle via AP

Football, football, and more football, and yet not all
these games on Thanksgiving Friday are worth tuning
into, but these games are definitely worth a glance
at the very very least.

1. Houston v Tulsa - at #8 Houston is still flying under
the radar at can improve their position if anyone falls

2. Nebraska v Iowa - Iowa can really put a nice cap on
their season. Nebraska has been fairly disappointing

3. Arkansas v LSU - This one can be an instant classic,
or a real dud if the Razorbacks don't show up for this.

Saturday is sure to hold some more gems, but let's start
with these to wet our appetite.


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Detroit Lions Ndamukong Suh Turkey Trot

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

I am a fan of Lions defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh,
but the more I saw the replay of his personal foul
today against the Packers the less I could find any
reason whatsoever to defend his actions.
Suh made things worse if that's at all possible by
saying he was doing it to regain his balance, wow.
His actions were inexcusable, his explanation too
much for the mind to process. I think a suspension
is now in order. Fining someone who makes that much
money will never deter him from doing it again, so
it's time he gets what Albert Haynesworth got when
he behaved the same. It's the only thing left to do.


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A College & NFL FOOTBALL Feast

Courtesy: Turf Show Times

Green Bay and Detroit started out your Thanksgiving day
pigskin bonanza, and though that was soon thereafter
to be followed by Dallas and Miami it certainly wasn't
all there was. The Harbaugh bowl later took center
stage to cap off the evening and again this wasn't all.
College football fans also had a Texas Texas A&M battle
that could very well be there last for a long time, and
again this was to be just the beginning of what is and
was to be a weekend of football that seems never-ending.

College football on Friday had a huge tilt that would
see Arkansas and LSU with Alabama and Auburn to follow
Saturday, and then back to the NFL again on Sunday and
Monday. This certainly was not a weekend for Turkeys,
but rather just the right amount of football to keep
you craving the Bowls, and the NFL playoffs that follow.
If you're a football fan you are clearly in your element
this weekend and the bigger the upset, or the more a
team gets wronged in the BCS polls as far as your
concerned the deeper your passion for this is bound to
grow for more. Good food, good football, and if you're
lucky, good times with family and friends, WOW, what
else could you ask for?

So how long before football is truly year round?


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Rex Ryan, MLB, NBA, Random Thoughts

Courtesy: NY Post

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Rex was as vocal
as he was towards that fan, whether he used any
profanity or not, but he put that on himself.
When your mouth writes checks you can't cash,
people tend to make sure they get two cents in.

Quite a few sports fans had alot to say when Justin
Verlander was named AL MVP, and I get it, but like
I said earlier: Most times i agree tat a pitcher
should be eligible for MVP, but he was so dominant,
and after his first seven starts he went 22-2, and
one of those two loses was a 1-0 decision to Jered
Weaver. Not MOST valuable Player? Where would the
Tigers have been without him?

First Penn State, then Syracuse, but have you noticed
the difference? Syracuse is getting alot less press,
and I think alot of it has to do with the fact that
the man in charge Jim Boeheim came out right away and
said something. I love Joe Paterno, but I'm still
waiting for a decent explanation, and I'm afraid I
may never get it. Booo

I don't know about you, but I wasn't surprised at all
when I heard that their may be allegations form a
family member in the Jerry Sandusky accusations.
I mean come on, didn't it raise a red flag to you when
you first heard about this and then heard that ALL of
his kids were adopted, and there were foster kids too.
I was saying it privately to friends, but I was hoping
I was wrong. It seems I may not be.

And By The Way: Didn't Mrs. Sandusky ever think that
her husbands constant disappearance into the basement
whenever young male boys slept over was strange?
Is she a victim or just as guilty as the Penn State
people who looked the other way?

Back to MLB: So they agree on HGH testing in their
new CBA before the NFL who signed theirs months ago
did, but it seems that the players all do it in spring
training, so they all know it's coming and then only
if a player is suspected and the players union consents.
How likely do you think that's gonna be? Not very.

MLB did however agree to a new deal in principle with
their players, and no strike, no lockout. Maybe they
should takeover the NBA talks. NBA? What NBA?

Lots of good college football this weekend, so enjoy
the Turkey, drive safe and sober, and let's hope that
Arkansas or Auburn can throw a monkey wrench into this
whole BCS thing so we don't have to watch another LSU
Alabama field goal fest again.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !



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Sports News Ripped From The Headlines

Courtesy: KSFY

Rich Rodriguez named head coach at Arizona.
Good move by him and the University of Arizona.
Don't be surprised if he succeeds there, much less
pressure at a school who has never succeeded on the
football field, a win win situation for both of them.

Justin Verlander wind both MVP and Cy Young Awards.
Normally I would be totally against this, but if there
was someone who deserved it it was Verlander, and
honestly was there anyone that was a "clear cut" MVP
that wasn't a pitcher in the AL this Year?

Jay Cutler is probably out for the rest of the
regular season at least
Now haters in Chicago will see how valuable he is
to the Bears. Still think he's soft? He finished
the game with that injury and got it chasing down
an interception return that could have been a pick
six, and wasn't even his fault. Can't be that soft

Vince Young wins in Michael Vicks absence
Don't get too excited Philadelphia, chance are the
Bears have a better chance of winning with Backup
QB Caleb Hanie than the Eagles do with Vince Young
if he hasn't shed some of the habits that got him
run out of Tennessee

First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Jill
Biden Booed at a NASCAR in Florida yesterday.
Really? Whatever happened to supporting your
President? If you don't like what he's doing vote
against him on election day and stop whining!


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Ranting With Rizzo Replay 11-21-11

With all the talk of improprieties going on at
some of our best and worst schools, the show
tried to put some of this in perspective and
addressed their sudden appearance. We also
took a look at the NFL and college football.
Have a listen to the podcast.




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NFL Week 11: Interesting Nuggets To This Point

Courtesy: Sports Illustrated/CNN

Still think the 3-7 Dolphins aren't that good?
Even though they have only scored a total
of 19.3 points per game they have still
managed to outscor their opponents by a
total of SEVEN points.

Just Win! The Raiders lead the AFC West
with a 6-4 record and yet have been outscored
by their opponents by at total of 19 points.

Defense wins Championships?
That theory will definitely be put to the test
once again. The Green Bay Packers score an
average of over 35 points per game.

Can you find the expert who said this?
The San Francisco 49er's will be 9-1 after ten
games under first year head coach Jim Harbaugh?

Can you find the expert who said this? Part Deux
Jim Harbaugh's team will have a better record
than his brother John's Baltimore Ravens team
when they meet on Thanksgiving night

Hard LUCK, Bad LUCK, or Good LUCK?
Do you realize that because of the new rookie cap
friendly CBA agreed to this past summer the Colts
could have both Peyton Manning, and Andrew Luck,
or even Matt Barkley on their roster next season?

Say it ain't so! How many fans would have believed
that the Chicago Bears losing Jay Cutler would be
a bad thing?

Even after TEN games: The 49ers have as many wins
as the remaining three teams in their division(9)

Wild Weird West: No one in the AFC West has scored
more points than their opponents.

Did I miss anything? Let me know.

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NFL Stone Cold Locks Week 11

Last weeks losses were an embarrassment, but more so
they should be to the Eagles, and Ravens who managed
to lose to teams that they should have easily handled.
my record is now 25-5, and that has rally put a
major cramp in my plans for an almost flawless record.
Without further adieu here are this weeks winners:

1. San Francisco - Haven't let me known yet

2. New England - KC doesn't deserve to be in this game

3. Detroit - A bit of a stretch, but little choice

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Not Everything Is Fine At Syracuse

William Perlman/The Star-Ledger

It's bad enough when victims of abuse, bullying and
other personal crimes are afraid to come forward,
because of shame or fear, but the problem gets even
more painful when there is doubt involved. We have
just been through a couple of weeks were some very
big names have been shamed, whether through they own
doing or lack of doing, and now comes another.

Syracuse University has been dragged into the muck
much like Penn State was this week, and in the interim
there have been other schools and institutions that
have been exposed. Even the Citadel recently admitted
that they may have handled a previous issue of sexual
misconduct improperly, and there are countless others
that don't even make national headlines when something
like the Penn St story isn't floating around. Just
last week I read a story that I had never heard of
before until Jeff Passan of Yahoo sports did a piece on
it, and it involved the Boston Red Sox. According to
Passan it was only news in Massachusetts and Florida
where the child abuse occurred, hardly a national stage.

Syracuse much like Penn State is not located in a big
city, and the Basketball coach much like Penn State's
Football coach is almost God like, in that they have
been there for what seems like forever, have squeaky
clean reputations, and are winners on and off the field.
That may be where the similarities regarding the recent
news ends though. Boeheim unlike Paterno has come out
very loud and very vehemently denying all charges.
Boeheim even went as far to say "I am not Joe Peterno..."
in a statement, when going on to say that if he knew,
he would have said something, and that this is a pack
of "...a thousand lies". I admire Boeheim for this,
especially if he's telling the truth, and I believe he
is. I've been waiting for Paterno to do the same, but
every case is different and I believe there is alot more
muck involved in the Sandusky case than there is in the
Bernie Fine case, and yet, I like you sometimes don't
know what to believe. I saw the "Outside the Lines"
video interviewing both the accuser and the his step
brother who claims that there was some abuse with him
as well, but he stopped it much sooner. I also give
Jim Boheim credit for something else in his statement,
he said that right now he doesn't have any reason not to
support Bernie Fine, if he had reason to not support him,
he wouldn't support him, he also goes on to say that if
he saw something he would have reported it. He has been
strong and adamant in his statements, and unless he is
being duped as well, which is very well possible, then
someone is being very wronged here, victim or accused,
very wronged.

Watch the video, see for yourself. I'm no expert, but as
I stated earlier in my radio show: "these guys are either
real good liars, crazy, or they're telling the truth",
I just don't know, but this is getting ugly and I hope it
doesn't keep real victims from coming forward or real
abusers from being caught.




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College Football Worth Keeping In Mind

Courtesy of University of Michigan

This feature here that has College Football games
I think are worth a look can sometimes offer a
few interesting nuggets, especially since the
season is starting to wind down. Last week the
Nebraska Penn State game was all the buzz, here
are some that you may find interesting this week.

1. Wisconsin vs Illinois
The Illini were once 6-0, now 6-4, Badgers need this
2. Nebraska vs Michigan St
Can Nebraska win tough back to back road games?
3. Penn St vs Ohio St
Two once proud programs face off to forget
4. Boston College vs Notre Dame
A holy war of sorts that ND needs to stay on course
5. USC vs Oregon
Could be huge, and the Ducks are still in the hunt
6. Cal vs Stanford
Interstate rivalry that means more than their records

BONUS: How did Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida
wind up with three cupcakes like Georgia Southern,
The Citadel, and Furman this late in the season?



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Mad Stork Sports with Nick Rizzo Replay 11-17-11

If you missed the show, the you missed that there
is still lots of talk regarding the emerging news
out Penn St, and the dozens of skeletons people
there have been hiding. The audio got off to a
rough start, but after that we also took a look
around the NFL, and the world as the sports world
always manages to offer us some entertainment.
The podcast is ready for your listening pleasure,
Enjoy !





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Are The Miami Marlins Really Fishing, Or Are They Nuts?

Courtesy: Ball Park Chasers

The question here is pretty simple: Are they serious?
About what they have done, and offered these past few
days I mean, or is it simply just to drum up publicity?

In the last few days they have made offers to Jose Reyes
for 6 years at 90 million, which is not crazy by any
means, but a number the New York Mets can easily match,
and may match. They have offered Albert Pujols a 9 year
deal at about a little under 200 million, which again is
a number St. Louis would gladly match and has been tied
to in the past, and they have met with Chicago White Sox
free agent starting pitcher Mark Buehrle twice, and are
rumored to be making a strong push for him as well.

This is a team that at one point last year during a single
admission doubleheader drew approximately 250 people,
and they don't normally do much better at other times
either. They have actually had bad attendance numbers
even in years after they have won the World Series if
memory serves me correctly. So where do they think the
people are going to come from? Is this all smoke and
mirrors or do they really thin that a new stadium is
going to make people magically appear?

"If you build it they will come?" Maybe, but if you
suck, they will stop. They may not suck if they sign
all three of these players, but it's no guarantee they
will win either (See the Miami Heat, Philadelphia Eagles)



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NBA Lockout Starts To Turn Stomaches

Courtesy: NY Daily News

In most cases when there are strikes or lockouts in
professional sports leagues, I like to take a wait
and see approach before I choose to side with anyone
if anyone at all. In the case of the NFL lockout
I found the both sides had some good points, and
that's why it was necessary to compromise, which
they eventually did, and move on.

The NBA lockout has become an embarrassment of sorts
these last few weeks, because it seems that there is
something else going on which we as a society have
been trying to fight in recent years, BULLYING.
David Stern has made this battle one that could very
easily be broken down in the simplest of terms to
show how one can bully another, and though some may
call that "tough business negotiating", it's still
a form of bullying. Michael Jordan seems to be the
biggest hypocrite of all the owners, and has hunkered
down more than anyone, forgetting what it's like to
be a player, and thinking it's Cleveland in the NBA
playoffs all over again. There seems to be no
negotiating going on from the owners at all, I say
seems, because I am not in the room, but everything
we hear indicates that Stern is saying "this is what
we want in order to lift the lockout" and every time
the players give the owners say it's not enough.
Keep in mind that when these talks started the split
was 57% players 43% owners, a number I will be the
first to say is, and was unfair to the owners.
That number is now 51/49 players or maybe 50/50, but
Stern is threatening to only give the players 47%
if they don't accept the current deal which would
call for more concessions from the players on other
issues. Once again, I am not in that room with them,
but this to me comes across as trying to put a choke
hold on the players union, and not negotiating, but
trying to crush their partner, NOT opponent, partner.
The ABA was considered an opponent, the players work
with you to generate revenue with their play.

David Stern, Michael Jordan, and the rest of the
owners really need to show a little good faith here.
The players have already reduced the salary gap from
14% in their favor to about even. The NBA is about
to approach the "we don't care" status with the public
that the NHL reached when they sat out a whole season
in 04/05. Sign a 2, 3, 4 year deal, and continue to
work behind the scenes to bridge any other concerns you
have with each other. Show the fans ,and the public,
that they aren't just a meal ticket, but that you care
about whether they suffer in this or not. This is
getting really tired. Stop being a BULLY Mr Stern !




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Ranting With Rizzo Replay 11-15-11

The replay of the last show, still debates the Paterno,
Sandusky, and Penn St mess, and we look at the Giants
victory over the Pats, as well as the Jets and Pats.
Check out the Podcast !




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Can The 2011 Packers Succeed Where The 2007 Patriots Failed?

I can't believe this question hasn't been asked more
often than it has. After all the Packers are the
defending Super Bowl Champs, and in 2006 the Patriots
weren't. Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers might also be
having as good a year thus far as Brady did in 2007.
Brady threw for 4,800 yards that season, and Rodgers
in on pace for 5,100. Brady threw for 50 TD's and
Rodgers is also on pace for 50 Touchdowns. Brady got
picked off only eight times in 07 while Rodgers is on
pace for only a shade over 5 interceptions for this
entire season.

The question you may ask yourself though is: Will
they go the Peyton Manning, Colts route and sit the
final game or two if it means nothing in the way of
seed or clinching the division, or will they go
after it hard like the Belichick and the Pats did?
The Packers toughest games are three out of their
next four games, where they to Detroit, on a short
week on Thanksgiving night, and then to New York to
visit the Giants on extended rest the week after
that Thursday night tilt. Detroit is no pushover
this season, but they have looked very human and
less than that since losing to the Niners in their
own building, and getting crushed by the Bears just
yesterday. Still it will be one of their very few
tough games remaining. Beyond those two, I would
like to believe that their matchup against the
Raiders might offer them a tough time, but at
Lambeau in December, maybe not. They will face the
Bears and Lions again in the last two weeks, but
both of those games are at home, and we still don't
know whether or not they will care enough to try.

No one in the AFC shows me that they are ready to
dethrone Green Bay should the Packers make it that
far, but it has been a crazy season at times, and
yes "On Any Given Sunday", anything can happen.

After tonight's drubbing of the Vikes the talk should
definitely start to heat up, the only question is:
Will they play along? I think they do, too much
tradition there to not want to add that to the trophy
case as well.



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Some NFL Observations On This Crazy Week

This may not cover all of what may seem strange, off
or funny with some of the results in the NFL thus far,
but it won't be far from the truth.

The Philadelphia Eagles loss to the Arizona Cardinals
on Sunday have turned the "Dream Team" into "Nightmare"
on Broad St.", Wow, I just can't see a recovery here.

The defending AFC West Champ KC Chiefs are 4-5, but
have been outscored by 87 points, which incidentally
is equal to the margin they were outscored in there
first two games of the season.

Tim Tebow has won three times as many games as Kyle
Orton has this year and on Sunday he threw EIGHT
passes and won. Unreal

The Baltimore Ravens have now lost two road games to
two teams that at the time were a one win team
(Jaguars), and a two win team(Seahawks), but yet
they have already swept the Steelers for 20111
How can you have any confidence in this team?

Are the 5-4 Falcons still going to the Super Bowl?
The Packers looked bad early last year as well, so
I guess it's still possible, but I'm not impressed.

As a starter for the Cardinals Fordham grad John
Skelton has twice as many wins as the guy they gave
up the high draft picks for Kevin Kolb, every analyst
anointed savior.

After a 5-0 start the Detroit Lions are 1-3

The Redskins are back!, to being the bad team we always
knew they always were. How badly are Mike and Kyle
Shanahan ripping off both Snyder and Redskins fans?

The 8-1 49er's can pretty much cruise into the playoffs
if they keep playing like this. The only notable
matches they have left are the Thursday night matchup
on Thanksgiving of the brothers Harbaugh at Baltimore,
and at least the Family will be together, but I would
love to be a fly at that table for the post game
conversation, and a home game against the Steelers on
12/19 in a game that should still matter to the Steelers.
They have already surpassed the win mark of last years
defending NFC Worst Champ Seahawks (7-9)

Back to back wins by the formerly winless Dolphins, and
I think it's safe to say that the Colts are very close
to being "on the clock"

Does anyone in the AFC scare you or make you believe that
they can beat the Green Bay Packers? Yeah, me neither.

Did I miss something? Let me know.


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NFL Stone Cold Locks Week 10

The record is now up to 24-3, but no matter what you
may think, it will probably get a little more difficult
as the possibility of being a spoiler begins to be the
only motivation for some teams. I'm looking for another
perfect wee, so here goes.

1. Philadelphia - A loss turns their dream into nightmare
2. Baltimore - I will be stunned if they lose this one
3. Green Bay - it's just not supposed to happen, period!




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College Football: The Weekend After

A new feature here lately has been College Football
games I think are worth keeping an eye on, and just
one week after the debacle at Penn State it seems
that their game against Nebraska toady may have alot
more eyes on it than last weeks feature event of
1 vs 2 with Alabama, LSU. Sports can sometimes be
a welcome distraction, so I hope that as hard as it
seems to fathom that it may be for the victims and
their families, I hope it is, and their days get
brighter as opposed to darker moving forward.
Here are a few games besides Nebraska Penn State
that you may find interesting.

1. Michigan St vs Iowa
Ask Michigan if Coach Ferentz was welcoming last week
2. W Virginia vs Cincinnati
A 1 Loss Cincy team can really make some late noise here
3. Florida vs S Carolina
Spurrier can forget his teams underachieving with W here
4. Oklahoma St vs Texas Tech
Can the Red Raiders slay 2 Oklahoma giants in 1 season?
5. Miami vs Florida St
BIG game once, now a possible Al Golden audition
6. Michigan vs Illinois
Illini can save some face after three straight defeats
7. Auburn vs Georgia
Georgia surging after early season heat for Mark Richt
8. Maryland vs Notre Dame
Battle of weird uniforms this game, and ND needs this
9. Oregon vs Stanford
WOW, #3 vs #6, this is HUGE for both teams BCS title hopes

These ought to keep you pretty busy flipping channels, so try
and enjoy the games and your weekend


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Hey Penn State What About The Victims ?

Now that lives have been ruined, people have been
fired, others placed in protective custody, and
finger pointing has reached a feverish level,
how about we concentrate on those poor souls
that have felt the most pain in all of this.

Andrea Anushko Phd is my guest writer for the
following piece and she has some Penn State
ties in the family so growing up in Pennsylvania
she knows all to well the "We are, Penn State"
sentiment. I think we can agree with Dr. Anushko
when she asks, what about the victims?

The following are her thoughts on this mess:

There is no shortage of opinions about Jerry Sandusky,
Joe Paterno, and the PSU board of trustees; however,
what has been missing from the media circus is a focus
on the support victims need and what parents, educators,
coaches, and children can do when child abuse is suspected.

Only now are media outlets starting to focus on the victims;
however articles, broadcasts, tweets and you tube videos
addressing what one can do if they are a victim of sexual
abuse, or witness something they feel is inappropriate are
lacking. There has been no information offered to parents
about how to talk to their children about inappropriate
touching or abuse. There have been few messages that as
adults and a university, we can be trusted.

Where are the hotline numbers? The resources for parents?
The resources for kids who have questions?

In all of the finger pointing, blame assigning, and morality
high-horsing few have stepped back to say what can I do to
prevent sexual abuse? What can I do to support victims who
experienced sexual abuse?

Here’s a new idea. While we wait for the facts about the
role of Paterno, McQueary and others, let’s use this media
spotlight on PSU to raise awareness and demand better
resources, better laws, and more responsibility from ALL
adults.

For those of you in attendance at the game tomorrow, in
addition to your “blue out”, how about instead of
“F the Board” you chant “Protect our Children” or
“We support the victims?” How about painting the number
for the National Child Abuse Hotline on your chest?
Show all kids, including the 8 year olds who will be
watching tomorrow, that PSU supports victims, not blames
victims. Show your local and state officials that better
information about what to do if child abuse is suspected
needs to be distributed to all adults, and that better
laws need to be in place to protect reporters of suspected
child abuse.

You are Penn State. You are not only football but academic
excellence. Gather your resources. Find your psychologists,
researchers, and social workers. Ask for information to be
distributed to parents on signs of sexual abuse and how to
talk to their children about abuse before it happens.
Talk to your teacher prep majors and ask them about
communicating the importance of telling an adult if an
interaction doesn’t feel right. Gather you poli-sci and
pre-law majors and review local and state laws. Find out
what else can be done to protect our children and keep sexual
predators off of the streets. Contact university administration
and let them know campus personnel need clear information on
what to do if they witness or suspect abuse. Campus Newspapers,
local newspapers and media outlets help provide quality
information to adults and children about sexual abuse.

The eyes of the entire country will be on you tomorrow
PSU - use that media coverage to show that for the victims
and for all children this is about adults not tolerating
child abuse. Use that coverage to distribute resources and
supports for parents and children – knowledge is the best way
to prevent future tragedies.

Madstork Sports wants you to post information for parents,
children and educators about sexual abuse. List local hotlines
and websites, national resources, or community centers where
adults and children can get information and help. Let’s demand
justice for victims and provide resources to families and
communities to address previous abuse and prevent future abuse.

National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-252-2873
New York City Child Abuse Hotline -
General Public: 1-800-342-3720. In NYC, call 311
New York City Prevention Information & Parent Helpline at 1-800-342-7472




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Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal Very Murky

In case you thought my conspiracy theory was more
than a little bit of a stretch, I'm sure you're
not the only one, but you still can't deny that
there are way too many questions and facts that
make no sense what so ever. The NY Times has
had quite a few stories on this, from the Ray
Gricar mystery vanishing to another I leave for
you here that speaks to three others who could
have stopped this back in 1998. It is more than
a coincidence if you ask me, but I guess sometimes
we believe what we want to believe, like those
that are certain Joe Paterno is the villain here
without waiting to here more.

Let's make sure of one thing here, and this is the
most important: Please don't forget the victims,
the abused, the children. Let's not get too caught
up in finger pointing, and forget that they are the
ones that have and will continue to suffer the most.


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Mad Stork Sports with Nick Rizzo Replay 11-11-11

The focus of the show is something that will
probably be a focus of many shows for a long
time to come, and may only be surpassed, if
at all by all the talk the OJ drama created
at it's height. Check it out and voice your
view on this.




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Paterno, Sandusky & Gricar = Much Cloak & Dagger

CDT/Nabil K. Mark

As I have stated earlier, and continue to state here
this is not going to be about the defense of Joe
Paterno. This isn't going to be about feeling sorry
for an old guy who spent his entire life winning
football games and helping build Penn St. University
from the ground up, nope. This is about making sure
that we are not to quick to judge in this case.
I also don't want too get into a long winded never
ending article about why blaming Joe Paterno is a
bit premature here, yet does is not amaze you that
Jerry Sandusky has received less venom than Joe
Paterno has in the last few days? That this
despicable excuse for a human being is getting less
brunt than some of the other members of this scandal.

I will make these few points, and be happy to take
any comments or questions you may have about this.

1998 Paterno, and McQuery not involved, but DA,
Parent of an abused child, and Police are. Sandusky
is not prosecuted even though Police bring evidence
to then DA Ray Gricar of Sandusky admitting to childs
Parent, and apologizing for it while Police are hiding
in another room. Doesn't this seem off to you?

Campus Chief of Police knew of another incident or
incidents, and has since been arrested for not reporting
it to the Police. Why? Who was he protecting?

McQuery told Paterno of what he saw, and as a matter of
fact their Grand Jury testimony verifies the same
accounts by the two of them, therefore confirming that
Paterno relayed exactly what he was told. Paterno told
AD Tim Curly. Isn't that what he was supposed to do?

Curly told no one? Why? Who was he protecting?

McQuery's father stated recently that he's been living
with this for the past ten years. Really? Then why not
take action yourself and perhaps drop an anonymous letter
or phone call to the media or authorities?

McQuery didn't stop what he saw. OK, I get it, stunned,
blown away, scared, but he told Paterno. Isn't that what
he was supposed to do?

Blame Paterno? Does anyone really know what transpired
in closed door meetings with Paterno, Curly, etc.?
Perhaps Joe was lied to, and told the Police were
investigating. How do you know? Not making excuses,
Joe says he wants to talk, then maybe you should let
him talk.

Am I the only one that finds it a little more than
fishy that the original DA who didn't prosecute wound
up vanishing without a trace? No Cell Phone, No Car,
No Money, trashed work laptop without a hard drive,
and finally a recovered hard drive somewhere else
without one shred of retrievable data on it.

Another oddity is: Why now with the news? Why not
sooner? News comes after Paterno breaks record for
most wins in College football history? Who's pulling
the strings?

Here comes my version of the cloak and dagger, and
yes, I won't blame you one bit if you think I've
lost my mind, but this has NOTHING to do with Paterno.

I would not be in the least bit surprised if someone
of major pull is behind the scenes here. Research on
child molesters shows that abusers are likely to have
been abused once themselves. If this is true of Jerry
Sandusky, it is the only sympathy he will get from me,
because he was once a victim too, but I don't know
this for a fact. It's just that it seems too many
people have gone out of their way to let this guy
slide over and over, and I can't help but wonder if
they were influenced into doing so. Fear, money
intimidation, etc. If Sanusky's abuser is someone of
great power and influence in the state of Pennsylvania
who does not himself wish to be exposed, it may just
stand to reason that he believes that he will be, if
Sandusky is ever pushed to a point where he may expose
his abuser if he isn't protected. Conspiracy theory?
Sure, maybe. It's just that I don't understand how
this just kept so many people from talking, and one
from disappearing, I don't get it.

Penn St looked out for dollars and cents last night,
not for the victims, that could have, and should have
been done along time ago. These are the very same
dollars and sense that Paterno helped turn into a
ONE BILLION DOLLAR endowment for the University,
and though that should never make him immune to these
sorts of crimes, it should afford him the time to
explain himself. We often criticize people when they
hide behind lawyers, and yet when Paterno wanted to
speak at his normal Tuesday press conference and tell
people what they wanted to hear, but he was silenced
by the University. Paterno will get his story out,
and I assure you will want to hear it. It may not
be what you imagine or like, but at least he won't
silenced.

Make no mistake here, Paterno could have done more,
but just how much more may be subject to debate.
Paterno, Spanier, McQueary, Curly, etc. Guilty of
falling short yes, but definitely to varying degrees,
and since we don't know the FULL story, I think I'll
wait.

If nothing else, can we keep one thing in perspective
here? Jerry Sandusky did all of this, NOT Joe Paterno!

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Ranting With Rizzo Replay 11-9-11

The long awaited replay of last weeks show is
now uploaded and ready for download. Listen
in, check it out, voice your opinion.




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Smokin' Joe Frazier: A Legend Among Legends

AP Photo

My memories here are few, but what few I have,
they are of legendary proportions. Before there
was the embarrassment that was Leon and Michael
Spinks, the hollow champ that was Larry Holmes,
or the hurricane that was and in some ways still
is Mike Tyson, there were legends. Many will
call late night talk shows and was poetic about
the golden age of boxing when they can get a
word in edgewise because the hosts are dying for
callers. Some will recall vividly and not so
vividly, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson, and
others I am way to young to mention, but when I
was growing up, there was no MMA, and for me boxing
was in one of it's best periods ever when it came
to the Heavyweight division. You had the likes
of Ernie Shavers, George Foreman, Muhammad Ali,
and of course "Smokin' Joe Frazier". These are
just the headliners, these are the top tier.
Even the lower level of the heavyweight division
could beat on some of today's bums. Kenny Norton,
Jimmy Young, and Jerry Quarry earned a fair amount
of respect as well. Quarry lost to Muhammad Ali
twice, Kenny Norton and Joe Frazier once each and
still managed an impressive 53-9. Impressive because
of who he lost four of those to, not because nine
losses can ever be impressive.

Joseph William Frazier, had an unbelievable flair
about him, he was 32-4, an Olympic Gold Medalist,
a Heavyweight champion, and an entertainer like
very few could be. His Heavyweight crown came
when he defeated Muhammad Ali in the "Fight of
the Century", and is an inductee of both the
Intl. Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing
Hall of Fame. I will always remember Frazier for
his style, hats, that fur collar on his coat, and
never being afraid of going toe to toe with the self
proclaimed "Greatest" Muhammad Ali.

Boxing lost a true legend, as did the world on November
7th, and it's not just sad because of how great he was,
or entertaining he was, or even because soon we may have
to deal with the reality some some of his peers may soon
see their end, but because it was as lightning quick as
one of his powerful blows. He was diagnosed with cancer
in September and we lost him in less than two months, at
the very young age of 67.

I wish I could tell you more, but I was just a boy
when Frazier began his greatness, and lucky for us he
never stopped being great. R.I.P. Smokin' Joe!

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Valley Not So Happy For Penn State's Joe Pa

Like many others across the country I've been
fighting myself to figure out how I really
feel about Joe Paterno's role in what took
place at Penn State during and after Jerry
Sandusky's time at the school. Believe it
or not, for those of us who aren't on a witch
hunt, this isn't an easy decision.

The DA stated the Paterno is not a target of
the investigation, and that he did exactly
what he was supposed to do legally, report it
right away. Paterno did nothing to cover this
up. He didn't sugarcoat it, or make excuses,
and Sandusky was reportedly no longer part of
the staff when the one specific reported act
at hand took place. Yet I can't help but ask
myself, what would I do if it were my kid who
was the victim here? I mean, Paterno had
nothing to do with it. He didn't turn a blind
eye to it or enable it, but why didn't Paterno
follow up on this? Should he have? Did he,
and we don't know about it? Was he discouraged?
How could he be? He's Joe Paterno, Joe Pa,
He is Penn State! Make no mistake about it,
this is no easy question to answer, because as
mad as you wanna be, and are at Peterno, he
wasn't the predator here. So whether you defend
him or damn him, I'm not sure either is wrong.

What's craziest about this is, that in a world
of college athletics, yes we have to bring that
up too, Penn State football is probably one of
a handful of programs that is "clean", if that
many LSU, Stanford, Oklahoma St, Alabama, Boise
State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Arkansas, Clemson, and
Virginia Tech, those are your BCS Top 10, and I
assure you that you will be hard pressed to find
a school among them that has as clean a reputation
as Penn State does over the same period of time,
similar maybe, as good, hard to believe. Keep in
mind that just when you think that you got it all
figured out, you don't. As a sports fan I was dead
to rights sure that both Manny and A-Rod were clean,
they weren't. Remember how Nick Saban left LSU,
and then again the Miami Dolphins? This isn't a
finger pointing contest, just trying to put it in
some kind of perspective. I too am disappointed in
Paterno, a little mad maybe, but those calling for
his head should be more concerned with what Jerry
Sandusky did, and how to get justice for the victims,
than how can we get this head coach fired because he
was a half a step behind the curve. Yes it was a
huge curve, but it was a mistake, surely a big, big
error in judgement.

Joe Paterno was not in that boys pants. Joe Paterno
did not prey on little children. Joe Paterno did
not give this animal an extra five minutes to get out
of Dodge, and though he pisses me off for not being
more full on aggressive about this, I just can't hang
him for it, but maybe I can say that because it wasn't
my kid. I just don't know. You have a right to feel
more angry about this than I do, just don't let your
anger be and frustration be misguided. Jerry Sandusky
is the degenerate here, not Joe Paterno.





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Was Mike Tomlin Seperated At Birth

MSN Sports

It crossed my mind while watching Sunday Night
Football on NBC tonight and thought that this
was one of the better comparisons I had seen.
Usually I find this stuff dumb, you decide for
yourself.


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NFL Stone Cold Locks Week 9

With the record at 21-3, it looks like last years
mark should be surpassed, but I want 3-0 every
week the rest of the way. Last week I went 3-0,
so that's a good start, now I need to maintain
great momentum like a streaking playoff team in
December and January. This weeks picks are ready
to be the momentum I need, let's see:

1. Atlanta - If they lose this, label them pretenders?
2. Houston - Same goes for the perenial under achievers
3. San Francisco - Wasn't sure, but the Skins are dying



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College Football Games Besides LSU Alabama

This is becoming a weekly feature I'm enjoying,
so I thought that since everyone is either
waiting for the LSU Alabama game or sick and
tired of the hype machine heading into it, that
I might point out a couple of other games of note
you might be interested in taking a peek at.

1. Michigan at Iowa
Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz never makes these games easy
2. Stanford at Oregon State
Does Stanford take advantage of an Alabama/LSU loss?
3. Cincinnati at Pitt
Can Cincy keep their first ranking in the Post Kelly era?
4. South Carolina at Arkansas
#10 at #8, this is big for both teams
5. Kansas St at Oklahoma State
Can K State recover from last weeks debacle?
6. Oregon at Washington
Can Oregon keep their BCS title hopes relevant?

Enjoy the Football


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Andrew Luck Or Peyton Manning?

Back in September I wrote a piece on how if the Colts
are in a position to draft first in the 2012 draft
and select Andrew Luck, they should pass. I said
trade the pick, get Manning a new weapon, and win now.
Now comes news that the Colts are in a bit of a bind,
in that they have to choose to either trade or release
Peyton by pre agreed to date March, or the Colts will
be on the hook for over 30 million dollars, and
Mannings health is not really getting much better.
It's possible that he may get a snap or two in December,
but is that really a good idea?

I stil think that sticking with Manning is the way to go,
if he's as healthy as he needs to be, but to play him in
order to make sure is a bad idea as far as I'm concerned.
He could get further injured, and just as bad, the Colts
might win a game or two. Why risk losing the top spot?
Whether you decide to pick Andrew Luck or not is pretty
much irrelevant here, what matters is that your season
stinks, and your fans deserve a reward. Choose Luck,
and he either gets to be an understudy to one of the
NFL's greatest or he has the same type of first season
Manning did his fist season, a stinker. Don't choose
Luck and trade down, get value, you have to go far,
team s like the Dolphins, and Broncos will be chomping
at the bit to get a shot at colleges golden boy,
either way you can take a team that wasn't so bad just
a year ago and put your team in a spot to compete again.

It's not an easy situation it's true, but there is a sea
of can't miss qb's in the NFL's past that missed, and
Missed pretty bad. Akili Smith, Tim Couch, David Carr,
JaMarcus Russell, Alex Smith, heck Ryan Leaf almost got
chosen ahead of Peyton Manning, do I need to go on?
You can draft a qb later in the first or second round,
pay less, and still wind up with a franchise qb.
Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Brett Farve, when were
those guys drafted? Not number 1! I say let Manning
heal, put him on IR , and don' t go out of your way to
win. I'm not saying lose, but why jeapordize a spot
at truy stregthening your team for a long time?
"Don't SUCK for Luck", make your own luck!


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Mad Stork Minute 11-3-11

Derick E. Hingle/US PRESSWIRE

There's alot of talk around the huge match up
this weekend between Alabama LSU, the rest of
college football seems irrelevant, well I don't
think that's true, and some have gone too far.
Join me in my 1st edition of a new feature
called "Mad Stork Minute"




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NBA Lockout Nears THE END

Image found @bcuban

No matter how you received or read this headline,
the one thing that is for sure is, that no matter
what, it's true. The lockout is near the end,
because they have reached an agreement, or it's
near the end because they are about to piss away
huge portion of the season as we know it.

Last week was supposed to be the NBA season opener,
and last night we should have had the "Dream Team"
Miami Heat against the new look, championship
aspiring, defense playing, New York Knicks in a
newly remodeled Madison Square Garden, but that
wasn't to be. I am by no means an NBA expert, or
aficionado, but I am however a fan, and must admit
that I probably would have lost much more sleep
had the NFL dispute gone this far than I am with
this. I think that the owners, and players both
need to realize that this is much more the norm
than the exception in this country, and it is
probably in the best interest of both parties to
get this resolved. I understand that most owners
have lost money, but the players have already given
back quite a bit. I realize that the players
didn't start this, but there must be some other
angle they can take to help the owners feel like
they may have won here. GET IT DONE, this is
ridiculous. It's becoming less and less sports
relevant everyday, do you really want to become
that obscure in the American sports scene?
The latest news has them bickering over as little
from 1/2 to 1%, and maybe that's a big number in
dollars, but keep this up and you won't ever make
it at the box office, not from me, and not from
quite a few ticked off individuals.

Michael Jordan is/was coaching the the American
golf team, you have players playing in China,
Turkey, Israel, and who knows where else, and
owners getting fined 500,000 for disagreeing
with how this is playing out. Talk about doing
a great job of tarnishing your image. Sheesh

I think I can speak for many of you when I say
that we are all getting to the point where we are
getting tired of hearing "it's just business"


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Skinny On Kim Kardashian & Kris Humphries Split

Sandrarose.com

If you cam here to read about the recent news of
the Kim Kardashian, Kris Humphries divorce, I'm
afraid you in the wrong place. The headline was
not meant to deceive you, but when I said "Skinny"
I meant skinny, like real skinny, like bare bones,
nothing. This is a sports site, I, and I hope
my readers and followers, don't give a rats ass
about what the F@%K Kim Kardishian does in her
leisure time. Remember we are talking about
someone who's real vault to fame is attributed
to the fact that she first rose to fame in 2007
when she starred in a sex tape with R&B singer
Ray J., someone who metaphorically sells her ass
for a living, classy huh? The only reason the
story or blurb even makes it on here is because
Kris Humphries is a "Basketball Player", who
averages 5.6 points per game, and a disappointment
as the 14th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.
So much so that he's already been on four different
teams in seven years and is about to see his fifth
if anyone is interested in signing him after the
lockout. Truth is she put him on the map.
Again if you came here to read about their split,
you have bigger issues.


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