For The Weekend Warriors

What has two thumbs and is heading to Hawaii?

We may not have any football this week, but we do have some good stuff to read...

- It appears that we have moved into the the era of one-year trial periods for coaches. First, Cam Cameron. Now Lane Kiffin? [Signal to Noise]

- It looks like a three-horse race between the fans of the Packers, Raiders and Eagles for "best" fans in the NFL. At least per Fox. [Hugging Harold Reynolds]

- Pete Carroll likes them young. [Rumors and Rants]

- If its Super Bowl prop bets that you're looking for, look no further. I'll be adding this one to my bookmarks. [You Been Blinded]

- Jeff Garcia is back in the Pro Bowl. Cleveland, it looks like that season was more your fault than his. [NFL]

- And finally, while magazines out there want you to frill up the Super Bowl, thankfully we have some Ladies... with their heads on straight. [Ladies...]

Have a good weekend, all.

June Parties in November

Only a few hours after turning out a team-high nine tackles on Sunday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Cato June has reportedly been arrested for a DUI. The Tampa Tribune brings us the goods.

Tampa police arrested June, who turned 28 on Sunday, on North Dale Mabry Highway near Hillsborough Avenue at 2:52 a.m., according to a Tampa police report. In an arrest affidavit, Tampa police Officer Peter Bucher said his radar clocked June’s 2005 blue Cadillac sport utility vehicle at 66 mph on Dale Mabry Highway at Osborne Avenue. The Cadillac was in a 45 mph zone, the affidavit said.

66 in a 25 isn't all too bad, but refusing blood-alcohol tests is never a good sign. The report says that June's eyes were "bloodshot and glassy," and there was a scent of alcohol at the scene.

Of course his team is behind him. Derrick Brooks (who conveniently splits time with June at the weak-side) says,

"Obviously I don’t know when and what happened, but this have been a team that has always backed each other through trial and it’s not going to change now, believe me. We’re going to hug the man and obviously learn from his mistake. He’s going to learn from his mistake and we’re going to move on. It’s not anything we’re going to harp on."

It's great that he has the support of his team, because after Roger Goodell gets a hold of him, he may be receiving that support from the sidelines. Thankfully for June, he may not receive any suspension until about the year 2011 with the way this Travis Henry fiasco is going.

Cato June Speaks To Tribune [Tampa Tribune]

Prepare For Pittman's Pythons

Despite pulling out a win, Sunday was a rough day for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who lost running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams and tackle Luke Petitgout for the season due to knee injuries.

In response to the injuries, Head Coach Jon Gruden said:

"That's a big blow...We have some people who need to step up."

Well, the Bucs are in luck as I know three guys who are a perfect fit to take on the job: Michael Pittman and his gigantic arms. His knees may not be in any better condition than the rest of the healthy options, but his biceps are likely twice the size of anyone eligible to wear a jersey with numbers ranging from 20-49.



On his arm, the veteran back has a tattoo that reads "The Real Black Superman." While I'm not going to be the one to despute the fact, an interview in 2002 explains some of the details involved in the ink.

Roger Mills: On your right arm, you have "The Real Black Superman"?

Pittman: That was my first tattoo. It's about putting my mind to something and accomplishing what I want to accomplish. If I put my mind to it, maybe I can fly. Maybe I can do the things that Superman can do.

* * *

RM: So who is a fake black superman?

MP: You see a lot of guys with Superman tattoos, like Shaq. Well, he's just Superman. I'm the Real Black Superman.

Pittman's obviously proud of his cannons, as he's no stranger to doing the sleeve-roll-up at practice. While this is typically done by females on the beach or guys working on a car in the front yard, Pittman is definitely not self concious when it comes to the "tuck."



Of course, Pittman posesses strong pass-catching skills that will likely be utilized by quarterback Jeff Garcia. Some may say that Garcia will look to form a bond with the running back, and I'm sure that the 20" arms of his counterpart will help meld things quickly.

The Bucs will need to roll on without their Cadillac, and the loss of an offensive lineman will not help matters with the running game. But thankfully, they have "The Real Black Superman" and his two friends.


Knee Injury Ends Season Of Bucs' Williams [San Jose Mercury News]
It's Not All About Biceps [St. Petersburg Times]

Marc Bulger Has No Excuse For Sucking

One of the teams that I thought would be very successful this season, aside from the New Orleans Saints, was the St. Louis Rams. Another year under the belt of Steven Jackson, new pass-catching options in Drew Bennett and Randy McMichael, and a quarterback in Marc Bulger who proved that he really could play 16 games in a season.

If you were to ask any casual Rams fan, I'm willing to bet that they would have preferred Bulger actually miss last week's game instead of tossing three interceptions in an embarrassing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A loss that saw one of the (supposed) high-powered offenses in the league put up a total of three points. Thank you, Jeff Wilkins.

News has recently been shared that Bulger in fact has been playing through some pain that has been caused by injured ribs. This would obviously be a good enough reason for being behind players like Joey Harrington, Derek Anderson, Kyle Boller and Damon Huard when it comes to passer rating. Or would it?

Today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that Bulger is in fact "OK" to play. What he doesn't say is that he's been calling the plays that have resulted in misfortune.

Would he like to see more aggressive game plans?

"Honestly, I just run what they call," Bulger replied.

Not making excuses, but blaming the play-calling? Did Head Coach Scott Linehan call a play that asked Bulger to audible and underthrow Drew Bennett?

Bulger went on to compare his shoulder injury of the past to the rib injury of the present, stating that he knew he couldn't throw the ball after the shoulder, and that this injury isn't effecting his throwing ability.

This week brings an undefeated Dallas team that will provide a increased pass-rush over what the Rams saw against Tampa Bay. Somewhere, Demarcus Ware is licking his chops in knowing that with no Orlando Pace and no Steven Jackson, he'll get his shot at Bulger - likely several times over. Will there be a Gus Ferrotte sighting? If so, don't blame it on the ribs.

Bulger Maintains He's OK To Play [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24, St. Louis Rams 3 [YouTube]

Late To The Party

Attempting to get back into the swing of things this week, there's plenty of stuff to report.

MDS over at the NFL FanHouse is reporting that several outlets claim Jeremiah Trotter has signed with the Bucs. Odd that Tampa Bay wanted to sign Trotter given his age and their defensive scheme. Barrett Ruud can't be thrilled, but the veteran leadership is always a plus. Right? Right.

Tiki Barber's still running his mouth. While Eli Manning isn't the current target, the former running back just can't let go of his past. Apparently, in his new book titled Tiki: My Life in the Game and Beyond, Barber goes on to lash current Giant's coach Tom Coughlin saying that said coach "robbed" him of his joy of the game. Heaven forbid that the Giants have tough training camps and practices. (Thanks to Dan Benton for the tip)

I, for one, am about sick of Barber. He retired from the game, and while his current job allows him to speak his mind, I've yet to hear him say something about a team other than the Giants. I always liked his brother better anyways.

Dunta Robinson, of Houston Texans fame, was reportedly robbed at gunpoint. In a scary line of incidents like this against athletes, it's good news that Robinson is alright.

And finally, this pretty sweet commercial for LaDanian Tomlinson. Enjoy.

Parking Lot Olympics

We all are aware of the David Boston story from last week.

Thanks to The Big Lead, who has been oh-so-helpful today, we get the video of the wide receiver's field sobriety tests.

My favorite part is easily about eight or nine minutes in when Boston shows him that he can do the one-legged Superman move, followed by the officer saying that that's a "standard" move for a professional athlete. That, and the fact that the officer assumed that Boston actually graduated from Ohio State. Silly policeman. Great stuff.

All 14 minutes are very worthwhile...

(Tampa Bay Video News)

Mo, In The Club, With The Roofies

Following up on the David Boston story, I've decided to do a little dectective work.

Now, the Tampa Tribune is reporting that Boston passed all sobriety tests, but appeared "confused and disoriented."

Not that I think this is a sure thing by any means, but I'd like to bring in Maurice Stovall for questioning. With news that Boston had passed Stovall on the depth chart, who's to say that Mo Sto didn't go all Northern Colorado on Boston and slip him a little somethin' somethin'? Go out with your teammates, celebrate a bit, buy a round, drop some love inside, and you're good to go!

Granted, a roofie is a softer than a knife in the leg, but hey - they both get the job done if you're falling down the depth chart. This case is far from closed in my book.

Lay Off, He Was Tired

Reports around the NFL have been raving about the training camp that ex-Ohio State'r David Boston has been having this season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Boston looked ready to bump the emerging Maurice Stovall off of the starting rotation of wide receivers...until this morning.

Boston has been arrested on charges of driving under the influence after being found passed out behind the wheel. Three points of this story that make it even more intriguing:

1) The car was in an intersection.
2) The car was running.
3) The car was in drive.

Yep, passed out behind the wheel of a running car, while in drive.

Hey, if you're going to do something, you may as well do it right...right?

When the officer woke Boston, he says Boston told him he was on his way from the Celebration area in Orlando to Tampa International Airport. Boston completed a field sobriety test, and the officer said he had probable cause to believe that he had been driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance.

Odd that he had passed all of the sobriety tests. Police have reportedly took a urine sample as well, and are awaiting results. Let's just hope they don't find steroids as well.

And Then There Was One

Shortly after being inducted into the ESPN Fantasy Hall of Fame, Tampa Bay Bucs running back Mike Alstott has decided to hold a press conference today, likely announcing his retirement from the game of football - obviously ending on a high note.

Alstott has recently been placed on the injured reserve due to injuries to his neck and vertebra. Alstott, 33, said his neck felt sore after training camp opened, but unlike the soreness in the rest of his body, his neck's soreness didn't subside.

"I guess one thing, you don't mess with the neck, huh?" Alstott said. "There's always situations where it can be worsened by playing. That's why you have IR, and that's why you don't play the rest of the year, because it is a severe injury and it's a situation you don't mess with.

This unfortunate announcement will likely mean that Panthers running back Nick Goings will be the only white running back to make a final roster this season. Goings, himself, saved a few fantasy owners back in the day when he rushed for six late-season touchdowns in 2004. As of this post, he's still waiting to be inducted into ESPN's fantasy hall.

Stay strong, Nick. Your time will come. DeShaun Foster's knees told me so.