Football Turns Men Into Boys

There is something about the raw human nature element of the game of football that make football players resort to innate instincts. For example, only on the field do you see a player spank another man's butt, a quarterback put his hands between the legs of his teammate to get the ball, or even a bunch of men rubbing up against each other when tackling. Well, interestingly, this phenomenon of NFL men becoming immature boys on the field applies to coaches on the sideline too.

In the NY Jets vs. Miami Dolphins match up this weekend, Jets strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi, intentionally stuck his knee out on the sideline in order to trip Dolphins player Nolan Carroll. Yes, a coach actually tripped a player on the field during the game. You can check out the video of the incident below:

As soon as the game was over Alosi personally apologized to Carroll, the Dolphins, and the Jets organization. He released a statement admitting his "mistake in judgment" and that his act was "inexcusable and unsportsmanlike."

It is like Alosi lost all sense of responsibility and maturity in the moment and resorted to a childlike action of tripping another. Yet, as soon as the game was over his adult perspective returned with his sincere apology. Sure we all have lapses in judgment from time to time, but should Alsoi be penalized for his actions in this scenario?

Players get punished all the time for acting outside the bounds of the beastly regulations of the NFL game with in-game penalties and post-game suspensions and fines. Shouldn't a coach who was on the sidelines and not even permitted to be a part of the game be sanctioned? Seems like a no-brainer to me, but the sincere immediate apology by Alsoi should minimize the crucifixion.

What to Watch Tonight

Monday Night Football tonight is a classic match up between the NY Jets and New England Patriots. The Jets are the only team to win all their road games, but will really be challenged tonight in New England. Which of the match ups between these teams are the most interesting to you?

• Quarterbacks: Tom Brady of the Pats vs. Mark Sanchez of the Jets - Both are playing well and are female fantasies. Who will have a better performance tonight?
• Coaches: Three time Superbowl winning coach Bill Belichick vs. fun loving comedic Rex Ryan of the Jets - Rex has won over the crowd and his players, but Belichick has a proven record. Who can coach their team to the win?
• Defenses: This is where the Jets have the edge, but will it be enough?

Post your comments!

What do Tom Brady and Rex Ryan Have in Common?

They are both married to Supermodels!

Rex Ryan had some fun with the press yesterday while discussing this week's rematch between the NY Jets and New England Patriots. Ryan, the comedic loud mouth heavyset coach of the Jets, said yesterday that, "I never realized how similar that I am to Tom Brady. I mean, the obvious physical appearance would be the first thing. The fact that he's married to a supermodel? Hello?" Ryan then revealed a picture of his wife in InStyle magazine modeling NFLShop clothes and grinned revealing, "Yeah, I'm also married to a supermodel."

Sure, Mrs. Ryan does not match Gisele's modeling career with her NFL ad, but gotta give her mad props. Guess Brady's got nothing on Ryan.

The Jets are the Real Deal

Mark Sanchez and the NY Jets proved themselves yesterday to be a legit Superbowl contender. After escaping some weak teams in lucky overtime losses, the Jets came from behind yesterday to take down the strong Houston Texans. With less than a minute left in the game Sanchez marched down the field to score a beautiful touchdown with ten seconds left on the clock. The composure and passing game for Sanchez made me believe that the Jets may be for real.

With this win, it may be a good time for you to jump on the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets bandwagon. Not sure who to root for this season and waiting for a good winner to stand by? Go with the Jets. But to do so, you gotta learn the Jets celebratory dance in order to fit in, so here goes:

1. Put your arms straight out to your sides

2. Start running

3. Tilt your body from left to right as you run, mimicing a jet flying through the air (your arms are the wings)

Sanchez's New Girlfriend?

Since the rumor has started let's fuel it...

NY Post today reports that cutie Jets QB Mark Sanchez is chasing sports reporter Lindsay McCormick to be his new girlfriend. The two have known each other for a long time, but McCormick is based in Portland while Sanchez is in NY, so the two have seen little of each other as of late. Moreover, McCormick denies being anything more than friends with Sanchez.

Who knows what's really happening between these two, but lucky for you blondes, looks like Sanchez has moved on from the brunettes!

In Case you got Sleepy Last Night....

Rex Ryan and his Jets beat out Favre and his Vikes 29-20 last night in a torrential downpour in New York. It was all about the defenses until Favre woke up in the second half. He had some beautiful touchdown passes (his first connecting with newly signed Randy Moss), but also some bad snaps and an interception. Favre looked like an inconsistent rookie, but you still loved him, because he went for it all despite the tabloids and the tendonitis in his elbow. Yet, the Jets took the win and march on.

Earlier in the night the SF Giants closed out the series with the Atlanta Braves. The Giants get to move on towards the Pennant, but the night was about honoring Braves manager Bobby Cox who retired after last night's game. Cox managed for 29 years in the majors and had a record 14 straight division titles with the Braves! This is a feat that we will never again see in our lifetime. Cox was a winner, but his emotional farewell spoke to how much more this game meant to him.

Monday Night Football Drama

Tonight the Minnesota Vikings take on the New York Jets. This match up is full of peripheral drama so here is the juice to focus on:

Randy Moss: Randy Moss was recently traded from the New England Patriots to the Minnesota Vikings. Tonight is his first game with his old team (he previously played for the Vikes) and he gets to face an old division rival in the Jets. Moss will be out to prove he still has it in his old age so look to see some spectacular one hand grabs in the end zone.

Brett Favre: Yes, this grandpa QB is full of drama. First, Favre is facing his old team the Jets in this Monday night showdown. Favre's time with the Jets was brief and fairly unenlightening so the Jets will want to put him in his place.

Secondly, Favre is facing the team in the center of his scandal with Jen Sterger. As was recently reported, it is rumored that Favre sent racy messages and photos to a former Jets employee, Sterger. These messages have been released and its hard to deny Favre's voice. In addition, two Jets masseuses have come out accusing Favre of inappropriate behavior. Although nothing has been proven, the NFL is now involved and investigating. Tune in, cause you may just get a peek into the not so perfect side of Favre.

Damn Tinted Windows

Braylon Edwards, a wide receiver for the NY Jets, got to spend the night in jail last night for drunk driving. (He was driving with a BAC double the legal limit.) Yet, the idiot was pulled over for heavily tinted windows (and maybe a bit of erratic driving). The worst part about this incident is the fact that the NFL has a Player Protect program, which protects players from driving drunk by providing free rides home.

I guess showing off his Range Rover and tinted windows at 5 a.m. in NYC was worth a trip to the slammer, fines, risking the lives of others, and a possible suspension from the league. At least Edwards has his priorities in check.

Hot Reporter was a Distraction for the Jets Offense

Ines Sainz, a good looking Azteca Reporter, was at the NY Jets practice on Saturday to do a story on Mark Sanchez. Yet, while at the facility the players apparently threw footballs her way and made deragatory comments about her. Apparently, she was so big of a distraction the Jets were unable to get their offense together for their game against the Ravens. The owner of the Jets has sinced apologized to Sainz and the NFL is investigating the matter.

Its quite unfortunate that in 2010 a female sports reporter is still faced with this behavior. Check out this opinion piece by Jenni Carlson on female sports reporters in a man's world. Although the discrimination has lessened over the years, boys are still boys and need to grow up.

NFL Week 1 Recap

Here is what you need to know about NFL week 1. And read up, because it will be the talk of the week going into week 2. (Yes, the next 6 months will be consumed with NFL news week to week.)

• Upsets Galore Set the Tone for the new Season: First, the glitz and glamour Dallas Cowboys fell to old rival Washington Redskins. The 'Skins defense looked tough and put the C'boys in their place. The Seattle Seahawks tore apart the San Francisco 49ers who were projected to win their division. (I guess Pete Carroll, the Seahawks' new coach, escaped his violations at USC for bigger and better things.) Lastly of note, the Kansas City Chiefs took down QB Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers last night in MNF. The heavy rain that beat down during the game seemed to make the Chargers slip all over the field, while the Chiefs got faster and used their speed to pull out the win.
• Peyton Manning and his Indianapolis Colts fell to the Houston Texans. Not an upset, because the Texans are actually really really good this year, but notable, because Peyton always knows how to take his team to a win and this is the first time he has lost to the Texans.
• The Detroit Lions almost had a win against the not-so-good-looking Chicago Bears, but a last minute touchdown was taken back due to a rule technicality. Maybe a bad rule, but the Lions violated it and therefore lost the game. Yet, the upside is that they looked pretty decent and may actually win some games this season, despite losing their star quarterback to an injury that may last a few weeks.
• Michael Vick, yes that dog fighting machine, is back in the mix. After the Philadelphia Eagles starting QB, Kevin Kolb, suffered a concussion in the game, Vick took over. Despite the loss, Vick looked solid and may just have regained a starting spot.
• Hard Knocks for the NY Jets: The Jets probably enjoyed the Hollywood scene a bit too much during preseason, because their offense was just not up to speed yesterday in their loss against the Baltimore Ravens. Maybe the hard knocks the Ravens defense gave to Jets QB Mark Sanchez, are just what he needs to get his game back.

Tune in Tonight!

Lots more sports to see tonight. Here are some highlights to be sure to tune into:

• The U.S. Open Men's Finals, which were rained out yesterday, will be played today at 4 p.m. est. on CBS. See Rafael Nadal face Novak Djokovic for a career Grand Slam (winning all major tournaments).
• NY Jets v. Baltimore Ravens in the first Monday Night Football Game of the season! Tune in at 7:00 p.m. est. to ESPN as this will be a great physical match-up. Plus, you know who else will be watching? Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, the real life couple who adopted football player Michael Oher, as depicted in the movie "The Blind Side." Oher is an offensive tackle for the Ravens. Can't miss "Big Mike!"

• Since it's week 1 of the NFL season there will be a double header for MNF. The second game between the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs will kickoff at 10:15 p.m. est. on ESPN. And, for those of you sick of football, I promise this is the last NFL game of the week.

Career Moves

This weekend several significant NFL contracts were negotiated and signed. Here is the rundown:

• Quarterback Matt Leinhart was cut by the Arizona Cardinals after complaining one to many times. Yet, the Houston Texans signed him as a backup quarterback for one year. Leinhart quickly went from being the likely starter of an NFL team to the backup to a pro-bowler QB. This is like getting fired from your dream job to then go be the assistant to your replacement.
• 
  Cornerback (that's the defender that guards the guys who make the catches) Darrelle Revis finally signed a new deal with the NY Jets for fours years and $46 million. The Jets finally got this deal to happen, in time for the season to start, knowing that without Revis the Superbowl would likely be out of the cards. Thought to be a win-win for both sides, the Jets still need Revis to perform because they are on the hook for $32 million guaranteed.
• T.J. Houshmandzadeh, a wide receiver, signed a one year contract with the Baltimore Ravens for $855,000. He will also be paid an additional $6.5 million by the Seattle Seahawks this season for money that is still owed on his contract. Houshmandzadeh gets to leave a losing Seattle team to compete for a title with the Ravens, while still getting paid the big bucks by Seattle. Sounds like a good deal for the receiver. I mean, wouldn't you want to get a giant severance package to then go justify a small paycheck at a job you love?