The landscape of the Eastern Conference has slowly changed recently.  The last few seasons all everyone wanted to talk about is how weak the Eastern conference was, how all of the dominant teams were in the West. Thanks to the Kevin Garnet/Ray Allen trades in 2007 the Celtics were able to upset that trend, although that happened it on temporarily tilted the balance. Their chance at winning multiple championships is severely limited because of their aging roster. They may have another run left in them, and if they do there won’t be too many more after that.

Cleveland was nothing short of superb in the last two regular seasons before falling apart in the playoffs due to no low post presence, and no one that could consistently knock down a jump shot. The Orlando Magic have had a couple of good seasons in a row, but took a step back this past season? When you look at Orlando Dwight Howard jumps off the page, and as great of a player as he is, he’s not going to carry any team offensively. Other than those three teams and maybe the Bulls, the rest of the East was a joke. Name one playoff team in the West where Joe Johnson would be the franchise player?

This season will be far different than the last few seasons, as the East will be much more competitive. When was the last time the Eastern Conference had two teams capable of winning an NBA championship?  Not just make it there, but actually winning once they’ve gotten there. A lot more is involved in winning on that stage than talent.

Now with the super trio in Miami, Orlando retooling, Boston, and Chicago there are four teams that have a legitimate shot at being in the hunt for a championship.  If you look at those teams in the East and compare them to the teams in the West then the balance of power may have swayed permanently for the time being.  Phoenix will never get there with Amare departing for New York, and Steve Nash aging as each year goes on.  The Dallas Mavericks are still trying to find the right formula to get to the next level, but should still be a good team.  The Lakers are the best shot out of the West, as the other teams still have a lot of re-tooling to before they are championship caliber again.

The coming NBA season will  ultimately tell if the East has not taken over as the power conference in basketball, but there are plenty of teams in the West that won’t go down without a fight.  San Antonio is a bit of mystery this coming year, and a team with that many veterans may have another run left in them.  It is not a foregone conclusion that Miami will win it, the NBA has gotten less interesting as it comes down to 7 or so teams with a real shot at winning it all.

The Miami vs. Ohio State game is fast approaching, the months of debating are about to come to an end.  Fans of both teams have been going at each other for nearly a year over this game, and there have been very good discussions along with heated ones on both sides.  One of the biggest discussions has been which team has the better quarterback between Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor and Miami’s Jacory Harris. This match up could be the deciding factor in the game.

Let’s break down both quarterbacks and let the fans of each debate state the reasons why their guy is superior, or why they are even.  This game is going to come down to which guy can control the other team’s defense, so it is probably the single biggest factor in determining the outcome of the game.

Terrelle Pryor, 6’6” 240 lbs.

2009 Statistics:

Cmp/Att Cmp% Yards TD INT Rating

167/295       56.6     2,094   18    11    128.9

Terrelle Pryor is the fastest player on the Ohio State football team, and he is not a bad weapon to have running your offense.  Pryor runs a 4.33 40-yard dash and is 6’6”, 240 lbs. He is a formidable opponent to deal with.  Looking through all of Pryor’s game stats over the last two seasons, what stands out the most is his completion percentage in 2009. It ranged from a low of 38.5 percent to a high of 82.4 percent, with many games hovering in the 40 to 50 percent area.  That is a large range that shows why people knock Pryor, but at the same time why they see potential for him to do big things.

Pryor is safe with the ball, does not turn it over much, and was very efficient managing the offense last season.  Pryor’s biggest asset is his ability to run with the football, where he totaled over 700 yards on the ground last season.  Some would bring in the Michael Vick argument: Is he a running back moonlighting as a quarterback?  Doug Flutie said on ESPN Radio that Pryor is good, but he is not convinced that Pryor can make tough throws when the receiver is not wide open.

OSU fans point to the definitive game against Oregon as proof of Pryor’s newfound passing abilities. He did have a decent game against the No. 44 passing defense in the nation, but is that enough combined with his performance against Marshall to prove that he has taken the next step?

Jacory Harris, 6’4” 200 lbs.

2009 Statistics:

Cmp/Att Cmp% Yards TD INT Rating

242/406       59.6     3,352    24    17    140.1

Jacory Harris is listed at 200 lbs., but he is probably closer to 190 pounds when he steps on a scale.  He is not physically imposing like his counterpart on Saturday, and this leads some to question his durability as a player.  Looking at Harris’ statistics from 2009, his completion percentage ranged from 36 to 80 percent with an average sitting in the 50 to 60 percent range.

The eye popping stat with Harris is his 17 interceptions. He led the nation in that category, but Harris had four 300-yard passing games while Pryor had none.  Harris does not run with the ball, nor does he have any inclination to run with it. On the flipside, running is a major part of Pryor’s game.  To illustrate that fact even more, Harris posted negative rushing yards in every game except one last season, and in that game he had zero yards rushing.

Harris is a passer, and will string out a play to the last minute in an attempt to make that last-minute throw down field.  While that may be a redeeming quality in many situations, it has worked to his detriment at times as well.  Harris’ refusal to scramble when it is there in front of him has caused defenses to adjust and stay back on receivers knowing Harris will try to force it in there at times.  This is an area where Harris will need to improve if he is to limit the number of interceptions to an amount lower than he had last year.

Based on the statistics you could say Harris is a better quarterback, but if you take everything into account then you can make the argument that Pryor has won more games and his running ability makes him more dynamic.  Miami fans believe Pryor has made no progress, and the Oregon game was an aberration against a weak defense.  Ohio State fans believe that Jacory Harris will throw the ball to the other team, and that Miami’s offensive line lacks the ability to protect him.

We have two good quarterbacks here, and reasons why both could be considered better than the other one.  Rather than laying everything out on the table here, the fans can debate the finer points between the two.  Everything should be revealed on Saturday after the head-to-head matchup and the argument can be settled then, but spirited debate is what makes sports great.

The New York Jets and start corner back Darrelle Revis have played out a soap opera throughout the summer, and it has taken everyone involved through the gamut of emotions.  There have been intense moments on both sides of the negotiations, stubbornness, and finally mutual agreement.

That is right Darrelle Revis is back in the fold as a New York Jet, as he is expected to sign his new deal on Monday.  ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report it via Twitter.  Manish Mehta reports that additional four-years at $46 million, $32 million of which is guaranteed, are the terms of the contract.

It has been said that Jets coach Rex Ryan himself flew down to Florida this past weekend to negotiate a deal. The Jets had previously offered a 10-year/$122 million deal, which Revis rejected.  The deal on paper is actually seven years, but Revis has an opt out option after four years and the Jets expect to be negotiating a new contract after four years if they want to keep him.

This was the best move for both parties, but it would have been much better had this happened about a month sooner.  Revis is expected to play Monday night against the Ravens, but missing out on training camp generally does not bode well for players who hold out.

Many in the past have held out, signed their new deals right before the season starts and typically get injured and never live up to the new deal.  We can only hope this does not happen to Revis.  The Jets held all the cards the entire time, he had three years left on his contract and they did not have to trade him.  On top of that there is no guarantee that another team was going to give him the $15+ million a year he was looking for.

If Revis chose to hold out the entire season then this year would not have counted, and he still would have owed the Jets three years on his contract.  Also, a player who misses an entire NFL season loses his value quickly, and he would have never been able to get what he was looking for.

Revis took the best deal that was available to him under the current conditions; he received one hell of a raise which is more than the team had to do.  Now Revis has to keep producing at the level he did last season, or even raise it up a notch to prove he was worth the time and effort to put this deal together.  If you tally it all up, Revis only had one break out season, so he has to show he can keep that going.  Now that the Jets have all the pieces, it’s Super Bowl or bust.

The beginning of the 2010 NFL season is just around the corner, and while there are still a few moves that will likely be made before week 1 games get underway, we have a solid good idea of what each team is going to look like this season. Based on what has happened so far during the off season; here is a look at my 2010 NFL predictions.

AFC East: I have the New England Patriots repeating as division winners in 2010, but should get a strong push from the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. Even after the Jets amazing run to the AFC
Championship game last year, I believe that the Dolphins are going to top them for the No.2 spot in this division, while the Buffalo Bills finish way back in last place.

AFC North: The Cincinnati Bengals dominated this division in 2009, going a perfect 6-0, but I don’t think we will see that happen again in 2010. I have the Baltimore Ravens slated atop this division, as
they figure to be one of the more balanced teams in all of football. I then have the Bengals slightly ahead of the Steelers, who could dig a huge hole to start the season without Ben Roethlisberger. The Browns figure to be much improved this season, but I don’t think we will see them make a run at the division title just yet.

AFC South: As long as Peyton Manning is quarterback of the Colts, they are going to be the favorites to win this division. They do however figure to get a strong push from both the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans this season, both of whom have the talent to make the playoffs. I have the Jacksonville Jaguars finishing last, as I just don’t think they did enough to truly compete in this division.

AFC West: The Chargers are the clear cut favorites to win this division, and should have no problem doing just that. I do however see big improvements coming from both the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders. The Chiefs had a huge off season when you look at the draft and coaching changes, while the Raiders finally cut ways with quarterback JaMarcus Russell. I have the Denver Broncos falling back to the bottom of this division, as I just don’t think there are enough weapons on the offensive side of the ball.

NFC East: This is arguably the toughest division in all of football, making it very hard to predict just who will come out on top. As of right now I have the Dallas Cowboys as my clear cut favorites to take
home the top spot. Despite the trade of quarterback Donovan McNabb, I have the Philadelphia Eagles slated second in this division, just ahead of McNabb and the Washington Redskins. That leaves the New York Giants to finish in last, but this team is much better than any other last place team you will find, and could easily finish atop this division.

NFC North: As long as Brett Favre comes back to be the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, they are going to be the top dog in this division, but they don’t have a very big edge over the Green Bay
Packers, who many believe will win this division even if Favre does come back to Minnesota. The Chicago Bears should be better than their 7-9 record a year ago, and could be a surprise team out of the NFC.  The Detroit Lions figure to show some big improvements from a year ago, but not enough to get them out of the basement in the North.

NFC South: Despite the fact that there hasn’t been a repeat winner in this division since the realignment back in 2002, I have the New Orleans Saints winning the South once again in 2010, as they look to defend their Super Bowl Championship. The team that has the best shot at taking over the top spot are the Atlanta Falcons, who should make a strong push to get back to the postseason. I have the Carolina Panthers slated to finish third, but this team could be another one of those teams that surprises everyone. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will look to improve, but will likely finish in the bottom again this season.

NFC West: With the retirement of Kurt Warner from the Arizona Cardinals the West figures to be wide open this season, as there really isn’t a clear cut favorite. I am giving the early edge to the
San Francisco 49ers, but I believe that the Arizona Cardinals will be right there with a great shot at winning the division again this season. I have the St Louis Rams finishing slightly ahead of the
Seattle Seahawks, but neither team figures to be much of a threat at all this season.

If you are interested in beating the NFL spreads this season, be sure to stop back for our expert NFL picks from the top handicappers in the world.

The University of Miami Football Team is kicking off their 2010 campaign by taking on the Rattlers of Florida A&M.  The Hurricanes released their depth chart and starting lineup for the game, and it contained what some might consider several surprises.

With several players returning from injury like Marcus Forston and Adewale Ojomo, the Hurricanes have developed depth at much needed positions.  This depth chart in a lot of areas had players listed with or next to their name, which means the competition was fierce at that particular position.  It also means there are a lot of players who are backups that will be seeing significant playing time during the season.

Enjoy looking at the depth chart for the 2010 Hurricanes as they get ready to take on Florida A&M, and a prediction of the outcome of the game as well.

Quarterback

This was the position least in doubt coming into the season, and the race was for the backup position.  Jacory Harris seems to be fully recovered from the thumb injury he suffered last season, and his work in the off season should be evident this year.  The only question for Harris is if he is going to be able to limit the amount of interceptions this year since he led the nation in that category last year.

Alonzo Highsmith and Spencer Whipple just need to be ready in case something catastrophic happens.  Harris has a few areas he is expected to improve in outside of the interceptions, for example taking what the defense gives him rather than going deep every play.  Also, many fans are hoping to see Harris scramble for yardage more when he has the opportunity, but it is unclear if the coaching staff shares the same sentiment.

Depth Chart:

Jacory Harris

Alonzo Highsmith

Spencer Whipple

Running Backs

This is probably the deepest position on the Hurricanes Football team, and many speculated that Lamar Miller or Storm Johnson would break into the top two on the depth chart.  Well despite both players having a strong showing in spring, it seems that the depth chart is keeping the status quo as the incumbents kept their spots.

That does not mean we will not see players like Lamar Miller and Graig Cooper (provided he is healthy), but early in the season Berry and Mike James will have to carry the load because of the murderers  row of games the Hurricanes have to play early in the season.  With all the explosive playmakers at this position the Hurricanes should be able to keep players fresh, and allow them to be able to keep pressure on the defense.

Depth Chart:

Half Back

Damien Berry

Mike James

Full Back

Patrick Hill

Maurice Hagens

Wide Receivers

This is another deep and talented group on this team; the Hurricanes can make an argument for having the fastest receiving group in the nation.  On the depth chart all of these players are listed as starters because a lot of them are interchangeable.  The main focus for these players is to get open and read the blitz’s from the defense so Harris will have a hot route to throw the football to.  The Hurricanes really cannot go wrong with any combination of this group, although Leonard Hankerson is considered the go to receiver for Jacory Harris.

The tight end position is filled with talent as well although a lot of the players do not have much game experience; Richard Gordon is the elder statesmen of the group.  Chase Ford is a transfer, and the other two players are true freshmen.  Gordon is talented, but a comfort level will have to develop with him and Jacory Harris.  It is widely accepted that Gordon will be better than Jimmy Graham, which means this is an upgrade at the position.

Depth Chart:

Leonard Hankerson

Aldarius Johnson

Travis Benjamin

LaRon Byrd

Tight Ends

Richard Gordon

Chase Ford

Asante Cleveland

Billy Sanders

Offensive Line

This has been the most scrutinized and criticized group on the team, many people are talking about how suspect the offensive line is.  Most people are focusing on one game, and they forget that this team averaged over 30 points a game last season.  You don’t score that many points if your offensive line is suspect, they had some injuries in the bowl game and performed badly.  In the offseason the offensive line took it personal that they were considered the weak link on the team, and I expect them to come out and make a statement this season.

Depth Chart:

Left Tackle

Orlando Franklin

Ben Jones

Left Guard

Harland Gunn

Jared Wheeler

Center

Tyler Horn

Brandon Linder

Right Guard

Brandon Washington

Malcolm Bunche

Right Tackle

Joel Figueroa

Jermaine Johnson

Defensive Line

This should also be a position of strength for the Hurricanes with Marcus Forston returning from a season long injury.  Forston is not listed as the starter; it says that he or Josh Holmes could get the start at Left Defensive Tackle.  Either way Forston will see significant playing time, or if he can be a force in the middle this defense will be hard to score on.  Adewale Ojomo is also in the same situation, list as one of three possible starters at defensive end after missing last season with a broken jaw.  With all the players back and playmaker Allen Bailey back to playing defensive end, the front four should be solid this season.  Definitely more than enough to handle Florida A&M.

Left Defensive End

Allen Bailey

Marcus Robinson

Dyron Dye

Left Defensive Tackle

Josh Holmes

Marcus Forston

Right Defensive Tackle

Micanor Regis

Luther Robinson

Right Defensive End

Olivier Vemon

Adewale Ojomo

Andrew Smith

Linebackers

The linebacker position has not been particularly strong over the past few seasons for the Hurricanes, and the middle linebacker position was the biggest question coming into the year.  Sean Spence is back and healthy again, but still undersized at 220 lbs. playing the weak side linebacker position.  They decided to move Colin McCarthy to the middle linebacker spot, and Kylan Robinson seems to have beaten out Ramon Buchanan for the starting Strong side linebacker position.  Overall this group has to play better; McCarthy was good but not overwhelmingly impressive last year.  This group had better use Florida A&M as a game to get the kinks worked out because Ohio State will be much less forgiving.

Strong Linebacker

Kylan Robinson

Ramon Buchanan

Middle Linebacker

Colin McCarthy

Kelvin Cain

Weak Linebacker

Sean Spence

James Gaines

Jordan Futch

Defensive Secondary

The defensive backfield is very strong and could be one of the best in the country if this group plays up to their potential.  It all starts with Brandon Harris who is one of the best cornerbacks in the country, but will have a challenge against bigger receivers because of his size.  DeMarcus Van Dyke has gotten better every season, and seems poised to have a breakout season across from Harris.  He must be ready as teams throw away from Harris and challenge him to see if he holds up, if he can then the DVD moniker will be a feared this season.

Prized Miami recruit Ray Ray Armstrong will finally be a starter and have to live up to the hype he received during his recruitment.  In the spring he was not the starter and this fall he worked his way back into the position and has the physical attributes to be one of the best safeties in the country.  That group rounds out with Vaughn Telemaque who was a surprise contributor last season, and the same can be expected from him this year.  If this group plays to their talent level then Miami will boast one of the top passing defenses in the nation.

Left Cornerback

DeMarcus Van Dyke

Ryan Hill

Right Cornerback

Brandon Harris

Brandon McGee

Strong Safety

Ray Ray Armstrong

JoJo Nicolas

Free Safety

Vaughn Telemaque

Kacy Rodgers

Jared Campbell

The Game

The Miami Hurricanes come into this game with the challenge of staying focused and executing the game plan despite playing an inferior opponent.  There is no way FAMU wins this game, of course some will say on any given day any team can win.  This will not be one of those days, the Hurricanes have to avoid injury and not let the Rattlers hang around.

In last season’s meeting the Hurricanes defeated Florida A&M 48 – 16, and the Rattlers hung around for a little bit in the first half.  Miami can ill afford to let that happen this year, they need to make a statement and crush this opponent from the start.  What many may now know is FAMU beat Miami in their first meeting in 1979, but Miami has reeled off 7 straight wins against the Rattlers.  Miami leads the all-time series 7–1; expect it to go to 8–1 after this game.

With that being said, this is an important game for the Hurricanes, as it is a tune up for their game the next week against Ohio State.  The Hurricanes struggled last year with play consistently at a high level for the entire season, and will need to display they can play mistake free football.

Florida A&M barely missed the playoffs last season, and are a very capable FCS subdivision football team.  The Rattlers averaged 28 points per game last season and combined for over 2200 yards rushing as a team.  The Rattlers offensive production will be hurting with the graduation of Dual threat quarterback Curtis Pulley, and his replacement Eddie Battle has big shoes to fill.  We all know that Florida A&M will win one battle, at halftime their band “The Marching 100” is second to none.

Miami wins this game in convincing fashion 45 – 13.

You can’t open up a newspaper or sports website without seeing people talk about Manny Ramirez and his latest antics.  The media has once again taken the bait and gone overboard with these situations.  Manny has a history of doing these types of things, and they report on it like it’s something new.  Sports reporters have started appealing to the lowest common denominator, and this situation with Manny Ramirez illustrates that.

The first incident took place a few nights ago when he was still with the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Manny was benched for the last four or five games by Joe Torre because he felt that another player gave the team a better boost.  Manny was also coming off of a calf injury and they had already placed him on waivers for which he was claimed by the Chicago White Sox.  So, at that point they were working out a trade with the White Sox for his services, and his days with the Dodgers are complete.

So late in the game the Dodgers are getting hammered 8 – 2 and they get the bases loaded, then decide they want Manny to come in and save the day (hoping he hits a home run).  Manny comes up to the plate gets a pitch called for a strike on the outside corner, he protests and is thrown out of the game by the umpire.  The Dodgers lose the game of course, and after the game everyone is pissed with Manny Ramirez for getting thrown out of the game.  I think the ire was misguided, first of all the Dodgers are paying him $20 million dollars a year, and they had him on the bench for the last few games.  Then the team is so bad they are down 8 – 2, and expect Manny to come in cold off of the bench and save them.

The assumption is that Manny forced himself get thrown out of the game intentionally, which may be true in this case.  But where is the blame directed at the team for getting down by six runs late in the game?  You act like Manny had a big role in the game, it was one at bat in a nine inning game, but all anyway wants to focus on is Manny.  He gets traded to the Chicago White Sox and does his introductory press conference in Spanish with an interpreter.

This mad everyone go ballistic again and start talking about how he does not deserve to every go into the Hall of Fame, and that he should be banned from baseball.  Can we stop for one minute and listen to what people are saying Pete Rose is banned from baseball for gambling on his own team, and Manny basically being an ass warrants the same punishment?  People need to stop being so invested in a player whose ass they were kissing a few years ago, push away from the table and calm down.

Can Manny speak English?  Of course he can, and he knows that all of us know that he can, but he does things like this to toy with the media and it works every time.  He claims he is more comfortable speaking Spanish which may or may not be true, but unless you can speak two languages you really don’t have a leg to stand on criticizing him.  We all know it is a defense mechanism for him, he knew some ass hole reporter was going to ask him about the infamous at bat during his last game with the Dodgers.  So Manny pulled a Sammy Sosa and used an interpreter to make a circus out of it, now guess what no one is thinking about that at bat anymore are they?

Manny’s manipulation of the media is comical because it is fairly simple, but yet it works.  He does all of these things and gets more press coverage than Tom Brady and Peyton Manning combined, but yet he still finds a way to move things the way he wants.  Think about it if a reporter says, “You have spoken English your entire career, why an interpreter now?”  All Manny has to say is look I am not from America, Spanish is my first language and I am more comfortable speaking in Spanish at times.  Of course I can speak English, and as long as I am out here answering your questions why does the language make a difference?

See how easily he can make the reporter look like an ass?  The media is handling Manny the wrong way, and it’s the reason he pulls these stunts.  If the media did not pay so much attention to him believe me he wouldn’t do half the things he is doing now, but unfortunately the search for a story makes them do it.  Until that changes, just expect Manny to continue being Manny.

A lot of people have started using Twitter these days including professional athletes, many of them are slowly jumping on the Twitter trend and setting up accounts.  Unfortunately for most of them it may be better to not have a Twitter account at all because the public continually seems to want to scrutinize every picture and tweet they put out there.  Oakland Athletics’ Pitcher Brett Anderson had probably the shortest lived Twitter account in the history of professional sports.

Anderson shortly after creating his Twitter account posted a few pictures online, one of them showed him with a bunch of one dollar bills and his arms draped around two women.  They were fully clothed, and to be honest Anderson looked a little bit drunk, and that is about it, there was nothing scandalous about the photo if you just take it for what it is.  Of course a bunch of people will read into the photo and have an issue with the one dollar bills insinuating that he is hanging out with strippers, Oh no a young rich professional baseball player is having fun with women GASP!!!

Well someone took notice and the Oakland Athletics allegedly asked Anderson to remove the photo, but Anderson probably not having a clue on how to use his new found technology messed up.  He just deleted his Twitter account completely which was probably a good idea, but it’s too bad that he did not realize that the twitter photo site is separate from his Twitter account and it is still currently there!

We are in agreement with the fictional apology speech that www.sbnation.com wrote for Anderson, “On Thursday, I tweeted a photo of me hanging out with two women while holding money. I sincerely regret this photo, as it implies that I have a lot of money (which I do) and that I hang out with women (which I do). There is nothing to take away from this photo but the insinuation that I am a terrible person. It was grossly irresponsible, and I would like to sincerely apologize for depicting myself having a laugh for the camera in the company of women.”

Now someone needs to show Anderson how to actually delete the photos (http://tweetphoto.com/41423663) off of the TweetPhoto website because as of Tuesday it is still there.  Why do people care?  The average person spends too much time sitting at home worrying about what athletes are doing, if you are spending time surfing the Twitter pages of famous people your life is really pathetic.

This has to be one of the funniest/oddest stories in quite some time.  Of course we have heard plenty of stories about drunk college kids doing odd and crazy things over the years.  But I think this guy might take the cake from all of them, I will say it is good he did not get killed with what he did.

An Oregon State University offensive lineman has been dismissed from the team after police say they found him naked and intoxicated in a stranger’s home and had to use stun guns to take him into custody.  Corvallis police say they received the call about a naked intruder early Sunday.

Responding officers ordered 19-year-old Tyler Patrick Thomas of Kalispell, Mont., to get on the ground, Lt. Tim Brewer said.  Thomas refused and instead dropped into a three-point stance like a football player and lunged at the officers, Brewer said. At that point, he said, two officers fired their stun guns.  Yes, you heard correctly he got down in a three point stance like he was about to block for a running play, said “hike” and lunged at armed police officers.  He must have been lit up really good, because I don’t think many people would do that even with alcohol in them.

Thomas was arrested on suspicion of criminal trespass, criminal mischief and resisting arrest. He was booked into the Benton County jail and later released.  Oregon State head coach Mike Riley dismissed Thomas from the team Monday, OSU athletics spokesman Steve Fenk said. Thomas redshirted during the Beavers’ 2009 season.

The other point here is why was he in some random persons house naked in the first place?  How did he get there?  It is safe to say that he must have been intruding in a woman’s apartment looking for some companionship, there isn’t really any other explanation for the kid being naked in someone’s home.  On the pure power of the kid losing his scholarship and getting arrested for one of the oddest incidents ever, we are going to induct him into the Hall of Fail.  Tyler Patrick Thomas we hope that you land on your feet somewhere (clothed of course), but in the meantime Welcome To The Hall!

All I have heard about the last two days is, how Tiger Woods is back.  On the heels of his divorce being finalized he all of a sudden has gotten his golf game back.  That may be true, but he has only played the first day of the tournament and currently on the course for the second day as we write this article. Just a few weeks ago the media was all over Tiger claiming that he lost it, and that he would never be the same player again.  Now all of a sudden he is back and it is the same Tiger Woods that is threatening to break the record for wins in Major Golf Championships, all of a sudden they are all acting like they were not down on the man recently.

The truth of the matter is he never lost his golf game, you are not the best player in the world at something for nothing.  He doesn’t all of a sudden go from great to mediocre at the snap of a finger, and of course we know why the media did it.  They know that fans eat up anything related to Tiger Woods and it will get them reads and ratings, so they feed into that and look for stories to write even if they are far fetched.

Sure the divorce had something to do with Tiger’s performances over the past few months, he admitted it himself.  He was spending time with his children and making arrangements for the pending custody changes that were coming, any person in the world dealing with that issue would not perform the same at their job.  Tiger is no different that anyone else in that regard, he was not focused on golf instead he was focused on his family.  Now that everything is settled he can focus on golf and playing the game the way he is used to playing it, he doesn’t seem to care what the media says anymore as he was painted in a bad light over the past year.  He knows full well how fickle they can be, and most importantly Tiger knew his golf game was always still there and he just needed some time to get his affairs in order before he could show it.

Beason played his college football at the University of Miami. He began his career at fullback but shifted to linebacker as a red shirt freshman. During his career he collected 187 tackles, three-and-a-half sacks, and one interception. He majored in sports administration.  Beason also garnered the nickname “The Beast” from his playing days at Miami, and his exploits as a part of the “7th Floor Crew” who were best known for taking in the full college experience on the 7th floor of Mahoney Hall at the University of Miami.

He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the 1st round of the 2007 NFL Draft with the 25th pick. He still plays for the panthers today and has accumulated over 400 tackles during his NFL Career.  In 2008 Beason was selected to his first pro-bowl and was also an NFL All-Pro selection; he recorded 138 tackles and three interception during that season.

Here are a few excerpts taken from (www.beason52.com):