AFC North: Same Old, Same Old?

It's time to look at an AFC division and the
North is up first. Both top heavy and bottom
heavy this may be more true here than in any
other division in the NFL. So that being
said, this is how is see it shaping up.

1. Pit. Steelers (Little Change, Lots Of Stability)
2. Baltimore Ravens (Not Sold On Flacco As Big Time QB)
3. Cleveland Browns (A Step Towards Getting Back On Top)
4. Cincinnati Bengals (Too Much Wrong)


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Sometimes You Can Go Home

The title of this story is one that may be a
bit off, but not entirely. You see, at one
time there was a team in Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Canada, the Jets. You know, where they love
hockey. Well in the infinite wisdom of the
NHL and ownership about twenty years ago they
moved that team to the desert, yup, the desert.
Winter sports with ICE to the desert. That
team became the Phoenix Coyotes, a team that
is easily at least 25 million dollars in debt.
Now NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has done many
good things with and for the NHL, but that was
NOT one of them. Well this week he got the chance
to right a wrong. The GlobeandMail is reporting
that the Atlanta Thrashers are moving to Canada,
and yes they are moving to Winnipeg. No word
yet on the name, but I do hope that like the
Browns of the NFL they retain their name and
once again become the Winnipeg Jets like when
the Browns left Cleveland and became the
Baltimore Ravens, but the new Cleveland team
was once again named the Browns.

It is the right thing to do here. It's Atlanta's
second failed NHL franchise (The Atlanta Flames
are now the Calgary Flames, see a trend here?),
and the fans there wont even know their gone.
So let's hope the Atlanta experiment is now over
with, and perhaps Mr. Bettman will allow the group
that wants to but the Coyotes and move them back
to Canada do that as well. One can only hope.

Around the Leagues

So there was this story on MSNBC's Today
Show page discussing relationships and it
somehow ventured into the "Bro Code".
Don't know what the "Bro Code" is you say.
Well they show a video clip of Toronto
Raptors guard Leandro Barbosa holding hands
with teammate Reggie Evans just after a game
in the tunnel on the way back to their locker
room. From there they had thoughts and
opinions on what is and isn't acceptable
with teammates before venturing into possible
homosexual assumptions. Check it out, and
you make the call.

Another NBA item has us looking at Lakers
bad boy Ron Artest and his winning the NBA
Citizenship Award. Now I am all for second
chances and am certainly glad that he has in
so many ways changed his ways, but the
Citizenship Award? REALLY? Is this the same
guy that helped his sister defraud the welfare
system out of thousands of dollars while all
the while she was getting substantial amounts
of my from her brother Ron?, and is this the
same dude that tells a story where he may or
may not have killed an individual by stabbing
him with the broken off leg of a table in a
schoolyard in Queens growing up?, and You thought
I was gonna mention Pistons Pacers incident,
didn't you? I'm just saying.

The NBA is so much fun that perhaps we'll do one
more. Remember the Decision?, Ha! who doesn't?
well it looks like that the money raised from
that fiasco, and no I don't mean LeBron's contract,
I mean the money raised from the ESPN special,
was actually put to good use, and about 60
Boy's and Girls clubs across the country will
benefit from this. Heck why should comedians and
sports talkies get all the fun.

OK, now football.So Peyton Hillis is on the
cover of Madden 2012, WHY? Seriously, why?
So they can ensure this guy will follow the
trend make sure that he ends his season early
with and injury or mishap, like so many past
honorees have? The way this guy runs he is
a lock to get injured or not finish the full
season anyway. Let's be fair he is no better
than Mark Van Eeghan (one of my very favorites
by the way) was in the 70's, and they never
would have put Van Eeghan on the cover of
Madden any year, and Madden was his coach!
And oh yeah, he beat out Michael Vick for this
honor. This I can only believe is due in large
part to the deep pockets of Andy Reid??? Hmmm,
Maybe there isn't going to be football this
year after all.

In Europe this is also called football, so let's
roll with it shall we? The other day Dutch
Football(Soccer) Club VVV-Venlo signed 1 year
old Baerke van der Meij to a contract, yes they
signed a one year old to a contract. Now this
was seen as a publicity stunt, and it was, and
they didn't deny it either. BUT below is a video
of this kid taking shots on "Goal", and even
though the contract was more honorary than real,
I'm not sure sure they shouldn't lock him up to
a futures deal anyway. Check It Out !!!!!

Curse Of The Schottenheimer ?

The Curse of the Schottenheimer may sound like
something I just made up, and it very well could
be, but if you take a look at the numbers of the
Schottenheimer trio and their history, both on the
College and Pro level, you have to admit, it may
actually exist. Marty the most notable member of
the Schottenheimer's has the most extensive career.
Marty started out coaching in the now defunct WFL
(World Football League), where he was the linebacker
coach for the Portland Storm. During his time there
they compiled a record of 7-12, and though you can't
very well blame that on him, you may eventually see
a pattern. I for one think Marty Schottenheimer is
a very good football coach, I just don't think he
is a coach you can win a Championship with.
I also think that Dan Snyder made a mistake firing
Marty and replacing him with Steve Spurrier, and I
said so at the time. Marty is a great coach to get
your team going in the right direction, but eventually
he plateaus, and that's as far as you're gonna get.

Marty also has a well documented one sided feud with
the owner of the Oakland Raiders. I say one sided
because he won't say anything other than he hates the
Raiders and Al Davis, and Al Davis never makes any
mention of this. Marty says that he will tell us all
in due time when he retires, but those days seem to
be upon us, since he hasn't coached in more than four
years and is quickly approaching the age of 68 when
team owners and GM's stop beating down the door of
a coach who has a losing playoff record and has never
been able to reach the Super Bowl let alone win one.
Marty never coached on the collegiate level that I can
find but his career numbers read as follows:
200 Wins and 126 Losses with one Tie a very respectable
.613 winning percentage but his playoff number are
a different story all together. He has 5 Wins and
13 Losses with NO Super Bowl Appearances, that is
a winning percentage of .384, and if you take
the numbers of the coaching staffs he's been a part
of the numbers get worse, 259-225-1 .538% and
5-15 in the playoffs for a .250 winning percentage.
His so called "feud" with Davis might in no small
part have to do with the fact the Marty was in his
first year as defensive coordinator of the Cleveland
Browns in 1980 when they lost to the Raiders in
Cleveland, but that's just a guess.

There are two other members of the Schottenheimer
clan that take part in this "curse". The lesser
known Kurt Schottenheimer is Marty's brother, and
though he has never been a head coach, the teams
he has been on the staff of, and many times as
defensive coordinator have compiled a record of
202 Wins and 166 Losses, and while again a .549
regular season winning percentage is quite
respectable, the playoff numbers dip to 5-11 or
a .313 winning percentage. Add to that that he
was the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay
Packers the year they lost to the Giants in the
NFC Championship game in the 2007 season.
Just another Conference loss for the Schottenheimer
clan, and believe me those are plentiful.
By the way Kurt did coach on the college level, and
again never as a head coach. His collegiate numbers
are as follows: 39-57-1 a woeful .402 %

Since conference Championships were mentioned with
Kurt it's only fair to point out how fresh Marty's
son Brian is from Conference Championship battle.
Brian has been the offensive coordinator for the
NY Jets the past two years worth of those, and
it should surprise no one that they are 0-2 in that
time. Brian's name has been mentioned many times
for head coaching jobs in the past, but if the family
numbers are to be taken into account, then the question
that begs to be asked is, why? His career numbers are
as vanilla as the family trophy case, 12-12 as an
assistant on the college level with two different schools.
96-96 on the pro level with 5 different organizations,
and 4-4 in the playoffs, and yes NO Championships.
With that the family numbers read as follows.
557-487-1 a .533 win percentage in the regular season.
14-30 a .318 win percentage in the playoffs, 0 for
7 in conference championships, hence the ZERO Super
Bowl appearances, and that is with eleven different
franchises. Yes even as assistants.
Their college numbers are 51-69-1 .421% with 7
different schools and ZERO Championships.
More numbers, if you add all this up it is as
follows: 526-586-2 a very very sad .472%

Rex Ryan said that Brian Schottenheimer would
absolutely be back as offensive coordinator of
the Jets the day after they were ousted in the
AFC Championship for the second consecutive year,
but maybe he should have taken a little time to
think that over. Many Jets fans want Brian's
head on stick, however that's not unusual for fans
these days. It's just that the numbers don't lie
and perhaps they are starting to understand that
having a Schottenheimer in your ranks may not
lead to the type of success you're looking for.