Interesting Sports Moments from the Weekend

• Andre Johnson received the game ball against the Tennessee Titans, despite being ejected for a brawl against Cortland Finnegan. Johnson received the ball for catching 60+ catches in a season for the eighth year in a row.Bad timing for Coach Kubiak - nothing like rewarding a player for beating the crap out of a competitor and risking a suspension in a critical game this week!
• Boise State, after arguing for years that they deserve a chance to play for the BCS title, lost to Nevada in a heartbreaker, ending the team's perfect season. The whole team is to blame for losing a 17 point lead, but the Boise State kicker, Kyle Brotzman, took the heat for missing not only an easy field goal in regulation but another one in overtime! Members of the university felt so bad for the heat the kicker was taking that they even started a facebook group in support of him.
• The only light that the miserable Buffalo Bills have seen this season is through receiver Steve Johnson. Yet, in an unbelievable overtime match up against the tough Pittsburgh Steelers, Johnson was delivered the perfect ball in the endzone and dropped it, subsequently losing the game. Johnson accepted the blame, but later tweeted that he blamed the play on God. Of course he never thanked God for the three touchdowns he caught last week...

Brawl on the Field

The bullying craze is now making its way to the football field. Sure, throughout the league's history players have trash talked and gotten away with petty jabs, but this week the bullying came to a head in the Houston Texans match up against the Tennessee Titans.

Titans cornerback, Cortland Finnegan, had been pestering Texans receiver Andre Johnson all game. Johnson told Finnegan to stop taking out his frustration on him. Yet, Finnegan took the bullying another step by pushing Johnson's facemask. Johnson lost his cool and ripped off Finnegan's helmet, landing two solid punches in Finnegan's face. Finnegan was able to take off Johnson's helmet before refs broke it up. The brawl was intense and would have been a contender for best fight even in the NHL.

The players were ejected from the game and are awaiting a ruling from the league regarding fines and potential suspension for their behavior. Johnson immediately apologized after the game for his actions and accepted full responsibility.

Reminds me of Lindsey Lohan's "Cady Heron," fighting the Plastics in "Mean Girls." But a fine by the NFL will unlikely deter NFLers from trashtalking, like "Ms. Norbury's' (Tina Fey's) fuzzy assembly did for the high school mean girls.

Young's Stupidity Will Cost Him Year at Tennessee

Prior to being drafted, quarterback Vince Young's intelligence was tested, along with the other draft prospects that year, using the Wonderlic Test. Young scored a 6 out of 50 on the test, where teams look for QBs scoring 20 and above. This test did not significantly hurt Young's draft position, but the team that drafted him, the Tennessee Titans, are now probably questioning their decision.

During the Titans loss Sunday, Coach Jeff Fisher, pulled Young from the game after he injured his thumb. Young subsequently threw a tantrum by tossing his pads and helmet into the stands, arguing with Fisher in the locker room, and ultimately storming out. Young claims he was simply frustrated at Fisher for lacking confidence in him to return to the game. Well, Fisher clearly knew what he was dealing with, because Young's thumb injury ultimately required season ending surgery.

Since the incident, Young has been banned from attending all team meetings. (He is still allowed to undergo therapy on his thumb at the facility pursuant to NFL rules.) Clearly, Fisher is fed up with Young's 6 year old intelligence, because the childlike tantrums are not going to work for a starting NFL quarterback.

Titans owner will have a decision to make - keep respected coach Fisher for approx. $3 million next year or Young for $15 million. This is one of those times where the sale item is much superior to the full-priced. Guess Young will have to do some shopping for a new team next season...Maybe this time he will hire an agent with a higher score on the Wonderlic than himself.

Randy Moss to Tennessee

So the Minnesota Vikings traded for vocal superstar wide receiver Randy Moss and then sent him packing just a couple of weeks later. Despite the team openly regretting the trade, the Tennessee Titans picked up Moss after their no. 1 receiver suffered an injury last week. (Shockingly, no other teams went after the future Hall-of-Famer Moss.)

The Titans are excited about adding Moss to the lineup even though he has almost no respect for authority. Moss wants what he wants and when he doesn't get it, he likes to go against his team, by giving up on the field and speaking out against his coach and teammates. Sounds like a real winner, right?

Well, Jeff Fisher, coach of the Titans, is a solid leader and plans to reign in the rebel. Moss could have a big impact for the Titans who are have a record of 5(wins)-3(losses). The Titans passed on Moss in the 1998 NFL draft, and were not going to let that talent pass by them again, regardless of the size of his ego.

The NFL's Misdirected Concern

The sports talk last week focussed on the NFL's policy to suspend and further fine players for dangerous hits on the field. Responses to the policy were mixed, but there were fewer on-field dangerous hits this week - coincidence? Well, despite fewer scary collisions on the field, the off-the-field behavior of the NFL players continues to be worrisome.

Tennessee Titan wide receiver, Kenny Britt, was involved in a fight at Club Karma in Nashville Tennessee on Friday night. Britt allegedly punched a guy after he had fallen to the ground from fighting with a third individual. The victim stated that he went to the hospital and received stitches above his eye. He is planning on pressing charges.

Despite this brawl Britt showed up as usual to his game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday and had an all-star appearance scoring three touchdowns. (I am especially focused on this story, because I benched Britt on my fantasy team yesterday due to inconsistency and therefore lost forty five points to my score! Huge bummer.) What about the NFL and team's discipline policy??? A player can somehow get fined and suspended for hits on the field, but gets to play (and earn huge bonuses) after beating up a civilian? The team did actually suspend Britt for the first quarter, but is that enough? Maybe the NFL and the Titans will address this issue further this week, but Britt still walked away with a moment of fame after avoiding a moment of shame.