On Feb. 8, ESPN’s Rich Cimini reported that former National Football League quarterback Ray Lucas was detailing on Facebook, his withdrawal from painkilling drugs. The pain he earned in the NFL.

Lucas hasn’t played in the NFL since 2003, but he recently underwent back/neck surgery. He has been in pain every single day since his retirement from the NFL.

It got so bad, Lucas told The Star-Ledger‘s Amy Brittain, “I couldn’t stand up straight, couldn’t walk up the steps. It was that bad.” So Lucas went to a Doctor Colao, who said that Lucas had a severe testosterone deficiency, likely resulting from his long dependence on pain medications. His prescription, unbeknownst to Lucas, was HGH and steroids. Dr. Colao died a few years back and Lucas said, “I know I’m not in that category where I was trying to get ripped up, because I was a fat pig (300 lbs. at the time)…I was hurt when he passed away. I couldn’t believe it…I was actually supposed to see him two days after that.”

The pain continued. And so did the painkillers. Last September, Lucas, through the help of PAST—Pain Alternatives, Solutions and Treatments—a New Jersey medical group that specializes in helping retired athletes—performed neck surgery on Lucas in September and has been assisting his attempt to conquer addiction. Finally on Feb. 5, Lucas checked into the Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches, a West Palm Beach, Fla., drug rehabilitation center. Since that time, he has been chronicling his journey out of painkiller dependency on Facebook.

Here’s a just a few of Ray’s Facebook entries:

“I arrived in Fla. Randy tells me not to be nervous but that is impossible. I am in the car on my way to BHOP/Seaside. Nervous about everything, my palms are sweating. This weather will be good for my body. Got a text from my mom she & my family are relieved I am here. I am on my way to start my life over. Can’t believe all the FB responses already, it’s a good sign and the support is needed.

“The end of day 2 detox. The symptoms of detox are taking hold, I am in a lot of pain and everything hurts. This gets me scared. This place is amazing, having another player, Randy Grimes, who has been through it by my side is a difference maker. Today in a session for the first time in my life I was dealing with the emotional impact of my departure from the NFL. This is the start of the fight and I AM WILLING TO FIGHT!

“Day 3 of detox was filled with a lot of anxiety. I was moved from the detox unit into the Seaside condos to start full days of various therapy sessions, group meetings and other treatment. I am nervous and feeling on edge. I met my therapist, it was a very emotional time a lot of feelings coming to the surface. I am drained.

“Today marks one week since Randy Grimes and Jen Smith brought me to treatment for pain killer dependency due to my NFL injuries and depression. I am hangin in there. The 1st week has been difficult because of my pain. I had no idea how much pain I was in because the amount of medication I was taking. They are helping me with the pain with massage and acupuncture. I have started going to group and I am fighting the good fight.

“A day ago I was packing my s—; wanted to leave. I can’t sleep and the pain is getting to me. The lead Doc talked me down and explained that my brain was in a craving mode and the thoughts of leaving were tied to that. It was enlightening and I am feeling better. P.A.S.T/ BHOP brought in another ret. NFL player into the player program Sunday. There are so many of us out there. This place and the program are saving lives.

“I was not at all open to going to AA meetings. I was pissed I had to go. I did not understand. I was not an alcoholic, I was not abusing alcohol I thought this was a waste of time. My wife will tell you that I am as stubborn as a mule. I now go to AA meetings and they are making an impact. This week player only groups led by Randy Grimes will start. All the players here will get together for our own group.”

This isn’t an essay on the horrors of the violence of football and what it has wrought. It isn’t to decry that these athletes don’t know what they are getting into. They do. This is just to say that there has to be something the NFL can do to help these guys after their career is over.

This is odd news, Barber was adamant that he was only going to play 10-years when he initially retire in 2007, citing he had other opportunities outside of football that he wanted to pursue.  Barber was a hot commodity when he retired as he was asked to host various shows and landed a job on ESPN’s Sunday Night Football crew.  Barber started out well as he even criticized his former coach and Quarterback while he was working one of their games, and it seemed that he was on his way to a good career in the media.

Barber’s personal and professional life started to go downhill in a hurry. In April 2010, Barber reportedly left his wife of 11 years, Ginny, for 23-year-old Traci Johnson, a former NBC intern. Ginny was eight months pregnant at the time. Soon after, NBC cited its morals clause and terminated Barber’s contract, which reportedly paid him more than $300,000 per year.  This was a relatively stupid move by Barber after not slipping up all of those years he was playing in the NFL only to mess up when you retire and your income is nowhere near what it used to be.

That mistake cost Tiki Barber dearly, his wife pregnant with their children was almost certainly going to come out on top in any sort of divorce proceedings.  With his ex-wife’s latest delivery of twins that makes four total children Tiki and Ginny Barber have had together, and if he paid any attention to how fellow pro athletes have fared in this situation he would have known better.  He is probably going to be on the hook for at least $16k a month per child, and not telling how much his ex-wife was able to get in alimony.  That $300,000 he was making at NBC before he was fired would have made it difficult to foot that bill, so with virtually no income he was going to be walking around a poor man.

Well that’s exactly what is/has happened as people close to Tiki claim his ex-wife was trying to bleed him dry in divorce court.  It seems the terms of the settlement have not been disclosed publicly, but everyone has received all the information they need to know.  Why would a 35 soon to be 36 year old running back come out of retirement to resume playing the most punished position in football?  Teams start dumping running backs when they reach thirty years old, so he may not even get picked up by a team at this point.

The reason is simple MONEY, Barber has dried up all of his media opportunities and is trying to make some fast cash by returning to the NFL.  With the league minimum being near $400,000 a year because of his number of years in the league it’s the most lucrative job he can get in such a short period of time.  Ginny must have made out well in the court room.  Tiki has no one to blame but himself for this situation, and because of that we want to welcome Tiki to the Hall of Fail.  The reason is simple he cheated with a 23 year old woman who isn’t going to be there in 5 years, and he put his wife in a powerful position to get paid off of his work even though he has watched fellow ball players get taken to the cleaners by their wives.  Sorry Tiki your action made no sense.

The New England Patriots have done it again, the “Pats” have traded their star receiver Randy Moss and a seventh round pick to the Minnesota Vikings for a third round pick.  That part you have already heard if you have been breathing for the last 24 hours, and everyone has their speculations about what is going to happen to both teams.  Some say the Vikings are going to be unstoppable, and others say that the Patriots are going to lose their offensive fire power.

We will find out exactly what ends up happening as the season progresses, but this situation brings something else to light.  Why do Bill Belichick and Bob Craft get off the hook for making bad moves?  The Patriots are hardly ever criticized for bad transactions, instead all we hear is how Belichick is a genius and he knows what he is doing.  It’s almost like the man can do no wrong.  Former Patriot Teddy “Beerman” Bruschi was on ESPN today talking about how Moss was a distraction, and that having young players in the locker room who were impressionable forced the Patriots to act.  Then they talked about the alleged locker room incident where Moss and the offensive coordinator had words during half time of the Monday Night game against the Miami Dolphins.

Wait just one minute!  First of all Moss allegedly approached the offensive coordinator and wanted to discuss some offensive adjustments for the second half that could help them score.  The offensive coordinator took it personal that a “lowly” wide receiver would suggest game strategy to him, after all this coach led his team to a whopping six points in the first half against the Dolphins.  It sounds to me like the coach could not see past his own ego, and realize that Moss was engaged in the game and wanted to see how he could get more involved and help the offense.  Secondly, Teddy Bruschi needs to sit down somewhere.  The players in the locker room are not twelve years old, and they all know how things run in New England.  Moss was well liked by his teammates (Bruschi admitted as much himself), and they aren’t going to be like Randy is acting out, so let’s do the same.  It does not work like that, people know where Randy is coming from and they quietly support him out of fear that they don’t offend senator Palpatine and his underling.

What team has traded a receiver that is a lock to be a hall of famer, and a guy who still in his prime demands attention on every play from the defense?  There is only one scenario that matches this one, the Philadelphia Eagles when they got rid of Terrell Owens.  Moss is a better receiver than Owens which is why this move does not make sense.  We all know why they did it, the Patriots don’t want to pay Moss because they are cheap.  They want to get something for him rather than letting him become a free agent, and leave without them getting something in return.  They did the same thing with Richard Seymour one of the better defensive lineman in the league, they have franchised Vince Wilfork rather than giving him a new contract or letting him become a free agent.

All of these moves have watched the Patriots become less and less dominant with each transaction, now they are sitting on eight draft picks in the first four rounds of this years NFL draft.  The Philadelphia Eagles, much like the New England Patriots do not want to pay market value for their players unless they have no other choice.  Tom Brady took a pay cut for his last contract to help them stay cheap (and sign other players), Brady was making about $7 million a year, to contrast Buffalo wide receiver Lee Evans makes $9 million a year.

The Patriots are replacing Moss with Brandon Tate, and just the sound of it gives the impression there is a big loss in the exchange.  When you have Tom Brady then you can take some gamble, but this time Bill Belichick and Bob Craft may have outsmarted themselves.  Defenses can now focus on taking away Wes Welker, which means Aaron Hernandez and Brandon Tate will have to pick up the slack.  Who?

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.

In GQ’s September issue, the magazine will run an in-depth interview with LeBron about his decision to leave Cleveland for the Miami Heat, how he decided to announce his decision, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert’s comments, and other things.

It’s too bad, however, that LeBron has lost the attention of the nation, which is worse than how he lost the nation’s respect when he went forward with “The Decision”. At least people listened then.

Oh, we hear what LeBron has to say, which is why fans are talking about this magazine interview. We just aren’t listening. There’s a difference.

When LeBron sat in front of millions on ESPN, looked like a scared kid, and said he was “taking [his] talents to South Beach,” many people rushed to blame his agent, his family, and all his other close friends that reportedly had a say in the decision (no pun intended).

How could they let LeBron do this? How could they allow him to make the worst PR move in years? Excuses and scapegoats for LeBron popped up everywhere.

His jerseys burned in the streets. His image was cursed in bars. His name was altered forever.

The only thing that followed was one nasty letter from Gilbert—which made him look just as idiotic—and weeks of people harping on LeBron and turning him into America’s newest pariah. James went from being loved nationally to being scorned internationally.

People took shots at LeBron. He posted on Twitter that he was “taking mental notes” of all the people who fired away.

LeBron wanted us to believe that we were adding fuel to his fire, that for once he would create the chip on his shoulder necessary to morph into the ruthless champion that Michael Jordan was and Kobe Bryant currently is.

It was a joke then, and it is even more comical now. We’ll believe it when we see it, LeBron.

Which is why the GQ interview is simply the next decision in a long line of poor ones.

LeBron opened up like he needed to justify why he decided to join the Heat instead of heading back to Cleveland.

He tried to build up excuses for suddenly not loving Cleveland as much as the state of Ohio hoped he did, instead of simply saying that it was a career decision he felt he needed to make.

“Clevelanders, because they were the bigger-city kids when we were growing up, looked down on us,” LeBron told GQ. “So we didn’t actually like Cleveland. We hated Cleveland growing up. There’s a lot of people in Cleveland we still hate to this day.”

LeBron wasn’t referring to Gilbert when he said that, but his disdain for his former owner still seeped out.

“I don’t think he ever cared about LeBron,” LeBron said. “My mother always told me: ‘You will see the light of people when they hit adversity. You’ll get a good sense of their character.’ Me and my family have seen the character of that man.”

Some will say that character isn’t actually LeBron’s strength, but that’s unfair. LeBron isn’t a bad guy, but he continues to show his immaturity. This interview—let alone “The Decision”—is childish and more self-serving than anything.

When asked about his comment last season that he “spoiled” Cleveland with his play, LeBron didn’t back off the statement. He only added to it.

“I mean, even my family gets spoiled at times watching me doing things that I do, on and off the court,” LeBron said.

Clevelanders may have a different take, especially considering how so many rushed to say James “quit” against the Celtics in the playoffs and mailed it in during the waning seconds of Game Six.

LeBron had memorable playoff moments in Cleveland but nothing that led to a ring. For years, LeBron supporters pointed to his lack of quality teammates.  It is all in the past now why is LeBron still trying to justify his actions or clarify things from his days in Cleveland.  “The Decision” has been made Mr. James move forward and stop playing damage control, it seems more and more evident that LeBron reads all the newspaper clippings and comments about him.  His actions indicate a person who does not enjoy being disliked, but it is hard to believe that he did not anticipate this just about everyone in the nation did.

The New York Jets had a great run last season, and quickly became one of the most talked about teams coming into the 2010 football season.  Many experts and fans have been talking Super Bowl for the Jets, but just like with anything else things tend to mess up the best laid plans.  Arguably the New York Jets best player, Darelle Revis has decided to hold out until they make him the highest paid cornerback in the league ($15 million plus per year).

What was once a promising offseason filled with free-agent signings, an invitation to be the centerpiece of HBO’s hit series Hard Knocks, and legitimate Super Bowl aspirations now seems destined to become the latest failure in the long, hard knock lives of New York Jets.

The rift between the New York Jets and All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis seems to be reaching the point of no return, at least according to team owner Woody Johnson.  During an interview with ESPN’s E:60, Johnson was asked directly whether he expected Revis to play for the Jets this season to which he stated eight sobering words: “My gut feeling is, I would say no.”

With Darrelle Revis, the Jets present a defensive squad that strikes fear and intimidation in the eyes of other opponents by effectively removing his side of the field from the passing game.  Revis consistently lines up against the league’s marquee wide receivers (Randy Moss, Andre Johnson, Chad Ochocinco, etc.) and completely shuts them down, allowing the rest of the unit to focus on the shortened field and stake claim to the title NFL’s No. 1 defense.

Without Darrelle Revis, head coach Rex Ryan can outwardly praise his defense as much as he wants to, but deep within his football soul he knows the truth: without their main man closing half of the field to the competition, the Jets have a great defense but not a Super Bowl-caliber defense.

A defense cannot be super when it has a secondary that consists of untested rookie Kyle Wilson, third-year “vet” Dwight Lowery, and Antonio Cromartie (a veteran who is basically trying to resurrect his once promising career).  Do Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum really believe that these guys are enough to fill the vacant land that was formerly known as Revis Island?

The Jets fell just 30 minutes short of their first Super Bowl appearance since Super Bowl III, leading to the series of bold, calculated moves that Tannenbaum made during the offseason.  In fact, those were the moves that had been lauded by fans as he demonstrated a serious effort to push the Jets to the top of the NFL world.

It is unclear how the Revis situation will resolve itself, he wants to get paid, but if they give him the money they may lose some of the pieces to make a Super Bowl run.  The Jets already offered Revis about $5 million a year plus incentives, which is well over the $1 million he is scheduled to make this year.  But Revis’s camp scoffed at the offer, and seems unwilling to make any compromises.  I think if the Jets offer around $8 million a year plus incentives for a one or two year deal, and agree to renegotiate after next season that would be fair.

Lebron James has worked hard to shape his image over his seven years in the NBA; he has a publicly stated several times that he wants to be the first billionaire athlete.  People refer to him as “The King” because of his last name and the fact that some believe he is the best player in the NBA.  Lebron has been very careful to keep his private life out of the limelight, which is relatively easy to do when you play for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

There is now a new reality for James one that he may not have considered when making “The Decision”.  James now plays in Miami, Florida which is a place where keeping your personal life quiet does not happen all that often.  The media in Miami are much different than the media in Cleveland, and now that he is in a more visible place reporters from all over the country will be snooping around for any information they can get their hands on.

Recently reporter Arash Markazi for ESPNLosAngeles.com had the opportunity to party with Lebron James in Las Vegas, and the subsequent story he wrote about his experiences was pulled by ESPN.  The story chronicled an event that was straight out of a dream for most men, here is an excerpt from the story to give you the full effect.

“About a dozen security guards, moving their flash lights, direct us to a roped off section on the dance floor of Tao next to a couple of apparently nude women in a bathtub full of water and rose petals.

Bottle after bottle of “Ace of Spades” champagne is delivered to the table by a waiter flying down from above the dance floor like some overgrown Peter Pan on a wire. One time he’s dressed like a King, another time as Indiana Jones and another in a replica of James’ No. 6 Miami Heat jersey.

James, who can hardly see the flying figure through his tinted glasses, almost gets kicked in the head on the waiter’s last trip down. He looks at the girls around him and says, “I wish they’d have one of these girls with no panties do that instead of the guy.”

Toward the end of the night, Boston Celtics forward Glen Davis walks past James’ party and looks at the scene up and down several times like a painting in a museum, soaking in the images of the go-go dancers, the “King” sign and the costumed man delivering bottles of champagne.

Davis shakes his head and walks on.”

“Five security guards are stationed around him, one at each corner of the table he’s about to sit at and another roving around with him, watching his every move. Anyone who takes two steps toward James is stopped and must have James’ approval to come closer.

The waiter bringing him his cup of green tea with a spoonful of honey and a dash of lemon juice makes the cut, as does the scantily clad brunette with a tattoo of a heart on her right shoulder.

She wants to take a picture with him. “I can’t right now,” says James. “Maybe later, upstairs, I’ll remember you’re the one with the tattoo.”

That was during dinner, as James and his entourage head to the club through back hallways in the bowels of The Palazzo Casino and Resort, the story picks up.

“James, now wearing sunglasses in the dark club, immediately stands up on the couch and folds his arms high on his chest and nods his head.  He smiles as he looks at the dozens of people crowded on the dance floor.  Noticing him, they stop dancing and snap pictures as the DJ screams out, “LeBron James in the building!” and plays LMFAO’s “I’m in Miami.”

A giant red crown-shaped cake is brought over to James while go-go dancers dressed in skimpy red and black outfits raise four lettered placards that spell out, “KING”.

This is nothing new for James much like many other athletes, but stories like this about Lebron have only been rumored for the most part.  Very few concrete stories of his off the court activities are out there, this is all part of James’s plan to keep his image on the up and up.  He saw what happened to Tiger Woods and his endorsement deals when Tiger lost control of the information about himself being released to the public.

My problem with this situation is not the fact that James is celebrating his fame by partying it up in Las Vegas, any young red-blooded man would do the same thing.  But the fact that the story was posted on the internet and pulled within a half hour tells me that both James and ESPN did not want the story out there.  ESPN claims the author did not go through proper editing channels and the story was posting prematurely, then later they said the story would not be posted at all.

Why the cover up?  ESPN has invested a lot in Lebron and cannot afford for his image to take a hit in the public eye.  Having a self serving party in Las Vegas is par for the course when dealing with professional athletes.  I think Lebron over did it a bit, and I think he is over playing this “King” moniker a bit too much.  When a majority of the television viewers see themselves as conservative, and a majority of the viewership is struggling financially the last thing ESPN wants is their marketing cash cow viewed in an arrogant light.

The interesting part of all this is what if this were Ron Artest, Terrell Owens, or Chad Ochocinco would all of this be covered up so fast?  The answer is no, it would be almost front page news.  Ron Artest at club with a crown on dancing with naked strippers!  That would be the headline, but when it is King James all we hear is silence.  I have a variety of sports sources and I only stumbled across this story purely by accident, once again I am not saying that Lebron cannot party and have his fun.  My only point here is, let’s eliminate the double standard, if Terrell Owens self serving actions get reported on in the media then Lebron should be no different.  Making an ass of himself in public is his choice, but he should not be free from the same scrutiny as everyone else.  Doing crossover dribbles, shooting fake baskets, and faking dunks on signs outside of businesses inside a Casino are all immature and childish things to do.  But who can blame him, all the people around who want his money and to profit off of his fame are going to continue enabling him to act this way.

You can read the original posted article here if you want to see all the details about what went on at the party, this was captured by a few people before it was removed by ESPN.

What a difference a year makes, the New York Jets made it to the AFC Championship game last year, falling short only one game from the Super Bowl.  Now the media all of a sudden have the Jets winning the Super Bowl next season, this team finished 9 – 7 last year and will be entering the season with a second year quarterback.  I would hardly say this team is a lock to win or even go to the Super Bowl.

I hate to admit this as a Jets fan, but had Peyton Manning given a crap during their late season meeting last year in Week 16 then the Jets are not even in the playoffs.  I won’t take anything away from what the Jets did last year in the post season, but that does not mean they are poised to win it all this year. The off-season changes are why many experts think they will do well, but did the Jets actually get better?

They let their leading rusher last season Thomas Jones leave the team, and brought in LaDainian Tomlinson in a cost cutting measure.  The Jets did not save all that much money on the deal, comparing the two contracts I believe it was less than $1 million dollars in savings.  Not to mention that Tomlinson is a question mark himself and the Jets really do not have any idea of what they are going to get out of him.  Thomas Jones was a proven commodity; they knew what they were going to get out of him on a weekly basis.  I know that Shonn Greene is the future, and they believe he is ready to be a top rate back in this league, but if he gets injured then you are stuck with LT and Joe McKnight!  According to www.ESPN.com LT was quoted as saying, “We’re obviously competing, and I think the best man is going to get the starting job.” With regards to his competition for the starting running back job.

Through a trade with the Chargers, they acquired cornerback Antonio Cromartie to play opposite field of the best cornerback in the NFL, Darrelle Revis.  Cromartie is the same player the Jets ran over on the way to the end zone and a playoff victory.  He is good against the pass but soft against the run and will be exposed allowing big runs by the opposition just like he did against this Jets team.  That is going to be a problem on a defense that yielded hardly any yards on the ground last season.  They are hoping a change of scenery will bring out a new side of Cromartie, I would not hold my breath.

This team will not surprise anyone this year, and the league will be ready to take on the New York Jets.  Inside the division the Patriots are still dangerous, and the Miami Dolphins beat the Jets twice last season.  This will be far from a cake walk, and with everyone gunning for them it will be difficult to live up to the lofty expectations.  You can look up the NFL Point Spread throughout the season to see if the Jets are living up to expectations.

Who in their right mind would split up with their wife while she was pregnant with their twins?  The husband would not win in any court in the world, and I would hate to think that Barber would be so stupid.  Well things are only getting worse for Barber, as with the typical protocol when scandals happen he has been dropped from his contributing role on NBC’s “The Today Show”.
The New York Post reported last Wednesday that Barber was quietly let go in May as a reporter on the morning news program, a job that paid $300,000 annually. FanHouse reported that Barber’s contract with NBC Sports to serve as a reporter on the network’s coverage of the NFL, was not renewed when it expired earlier this year.

It looks like everything that Tiki Barber left his football career to build is all coming crashing down around him.  When he retired he was a sought after commodity because of his clean image, and success he had on the field as a player.  As time wore on though Barber’s welcome started to wear thin as there were many rumors that Barber rubbed people at the network’s the wrong way, and did not maintain good relationships with his employers.

Then you start to throw in the fact that he left his wife for a young woman, and is not going through a messy divorce and that is a surefire way to disappear from the spotlight.  The current figure that Barber’s “Camp” claims his soon to be ex-wife is asking for in Alimony and Child support is around $150,000 a month, but of course his wife is denying those claims.

It is not clear where Barber will go from here, if NBC no longer wants him, then it is highly unlikely that he will get picked up by ESPN or Fox as they are even more established than NBC is when it comes to the NFL.  Barber will probably have to catch on with a smaller sports news organization, and work his way back up the chain.  None of that will be possible until his divorce is settled, and the stink of his affair has worn off.  One thing is for sure Barber has shown everyone how to blow a promising career in broadcasting, nice work Tiki.

The Cleveland Cavaliers put their coaching hopes on Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, which if you analyze it can be looked at as a good or dumb move.  How successful would a college coach, even one as accomplished as Izzo do in the NBA?

Well, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who has led the Spartans to six Final Four appearances in 12 seasons including a national championship in 2000, has turned down an offer to become the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Detroit Free Press and ESPN report.

There was a report last week that Izzo reached out to James to get some clarity on what he was thinking in terms of his free agency decisions.  It was a smart move by Izzo because with James there was a much higher chance of success than without him, which would have definitely set Izzo up for failure.

Now the underlying question is “What effect will this decision have on the LeBron James sweepstakes?”  This decision delivers a huge blow to the Cavs’ chances of reeling in LeBron once the NBA free agency begins on July 1st, 2010. Cleveland’s head coach situation is still in flux and the Cavaliers have become synonymous with not be able to execute and perform come playoff time.

James has constantly been compared to the likes of Michael Jordan and Earvin “Magic” Johnson, but his legacy will not be complete until he wins a Larry O’Brien trophy. And evidenced by the Cavaliers’ recent performances in the NBA playoffs, that will not happen if he stays with Cleveland.

Meanwhile, the only realistics front runners for Lebron’s services are the Chicgo Bulls, and New Jersey Nets. But the Nets are in rebuilding mode right now and they have a new owner in billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov as well as a new head coach in former ESPN NBA analyst and Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson. I really do not believe that LeBron would go to a team in a rebuilding stage so that puts their odds in getting LeBron around 10 percent in my opinion.

It will always be good water cooler conversation about how Tom Izzo would have done had he accepted the Cavaliers head coaching offer.  Being a head coach in the NBA is a drastic change from the college ranks, and it would have been interesting to see Izzo attempt to make the transistion.  Maybe he will eventually take a chance on the NBA, but we will have to wait and see if that ever comes to pass.