JETS LOOK TO REGROUP AGAINST THE PANTHERS

JETS LOOK TO REGROUP AGAINST THE PANTHERS
by TJ Rosenthal for Football Reporters Online

QB Mark Sanchez is struggling but won't be benched. Free safety Kerry Rhodes , compared to Ed Reed before the season by Rex Ryan, WILL be benched. Ryan will now sit in on offensive meetings as a way to help Sanchez with his development. Oh, and David Clowney's twitter account was hacked into this week as some creep threw violent taunts towards a fan who sent the Jet wideout not so kind  thoughts on the Patriot loss. Welcome to "As The Jets Turn," the latest episode in the Gang Green's 2009 season as the club readies for Carolina . 

It seems like light years ago that this soap opera was full of hope and promise. Now at 4-6, losers of six of the last seven, the Jets look to simply regroup against another 4-6 team, the Carolina Panthers. A club like the Jets whose run game is dangerous yet  whose QB Jake Delhomme, has also come under fire for underperforming this season.

For the Jets, the formula is simple on paper. Sanchez must limit his mistakes ( he's 3rd in the NFL in interceptions with 16)  while Thomas Jones and the Jet run game move the chains. The Jet defense must regain its early season form and create pressure on opposing team's backfields. 

The D must also find a way to start creating turnovers,  something they've been unable to do all season. FS Kerry Rhodes who many thought would become the next Ed Reed, the ball hawking future hall of fame Raven, (a former leader on Rex Ryan's Baltimore defense),  has not made one big play all season. His tentative play has led to big plays given up by the Jet secondary. Eric Smith will replace Rhodes this week who was benched by Ryan in order to send a message to his team. How the Jets react to the benching will go a long way in determining Ryan's presence as a leader of this team in the future.

Ryan has also decided to now sit in and observe the offense at team meetings. Admittedly Ryan likened the experience to "French class," but something had to be done and sitting the future of the team Sanchez, was not on the head coach's radar. Many Jet faithful are starting to wonder though, if its it too early to throw the season away and allow Sanchez the growing pains. What if backup QB Kellen Clemens can settle down an offense that has turned it over too often during this two month swoon? A swoon that has dropped the Jets from first place to a game out of last in the AFC East. Jet analyst and former Jet QB Ray Lucas voiced his belief on SNY that the move to Clemens might be the right one in order to save 2009.

If the Jets want to have any chance on Sunday they have to do one thing. Stop the league's number four rusher (982 yards) Deangelo Williams. He's a faster version of the league's number five rusher  Maurice Jones-Drew, who torched the Jets for 123 yards weeks two weeks ago.  The Panthers defense ranks 11th overall, fourth against the pass at 185 yards per game. That doesn't bode well for the Jet air attack which has struggled to move the ball since the arrival of the player thought to be perhaps the missing playoff piece in WR Braylon Edwards in week five. Sanchez averages 179 passing yards a game. To score, the Jet ground game has to be effective. More carries for Shonn Greene, the rookie backup with big play potential exemplified in Oakland a month back 
may be on the menu.

With Buffalo up next in Toronto on Thursday, the Jets play two games in five days. A win streak would leave the Jets at 6-6 and talking playoffs again.  Anything less than a two game sweep though, and the talk around Florham Park the rest of the way will be about the development of Sanchez and 2010.

THREE KEYS TO THE PANTHERS GAME:

Stop Deangelo Williams: Forget Jake Delhomme. He's good for a few mistakes, missed opportunities and a bunch of yardage that add up to field goal chances. It's Deangelo Williams who must be stopped. Williams can single handedly ruin the Jets as quality RBs often do. It's in the Gang Green's DNA to face a tough back and get dominated. If it happens Sunday, it's light out for 2009. For real.

Sanchez, throw to the Green Jerseys! Interception happy Mark Sanchez HAS to cut down on the INT's. Otherwise one of two things will happen. Or both. The Jets will certainly lose. Two, the rookie will be benched for Clemens during the game as Rex Ryan tries to save a season evaporating faster than electronic appliances  on Black Friday department store shelves.

Shonn Greene, Dustin Keller, Braylon Edwards,  you guys alive? : The Jets need a spark on offense. Here are three players that can provide that. Greene needs more touches, Keller and Sanchez need to get on the same page now and Edwards has to stop dousing his hands with vaseline before he enters the huddle. Catch the ball Braylon let's go. Enough already.


follow TJ Rosenthal on twitter @ thejetreport for daily Jet news and thoughts regarding Gang Green

Tiger Woods update: wife changes story; Rachel Uchitel pics hot

In this Tiger Woods update from TMZ.com and other sources, Tiger Woods wife has a new story and there was no blood found on the steering wheel of his SUV, as it was first reported. Meanwhile alleged Woods mistress Rachel Uchitel pics have become the hot search online.

TMZ's update reports that their unnamed law enforcement sources explained Tiger Woods' wife Elin Nordegren has told two different stories to two sets of police officials, the Windemere Police Department, and the Florida Highway Patrol.

The Windemere Police Department where the couple lives in Florida, got the first story where Elin Nordegren claimed to have smashed in a window of his 2009 Cadillac SUV with a golf club then pulled Woods out to safety. But the story she told to the Florida Highway Patrol is reportedly dramatically different and does not involve going back into the house to get a golf club and rescue him from the Cadillac. However what the new story is, is not known as of this writing.

Why the different stories? Well what's going on is all of the explanations reported by mainstream media have come from one source: Tiger Woods' wife Elin Nordegren. By contrast, the stories pointing to Elin Nordegren have come from different but indirect sources, like a law enforcement official who talked to (in one case) Woods himself.

I talked to my uncle about this, as he's a retired police officer. He told me that on Friday he could immediately tell that the Windemere Police officers that appeared on CNN knew more than they let on. Now it seems Elin Nordegren's shifting stories may cause what we already know to be officially revealed by police officers if not today then by Monday.

The sad possibility seems to be that maybe, perhaps,  Elin Nordegren is concerned about a domestic violence charge and has altered her story because of that chance of such a charge.  There's also the 911 call: who made it has not been explained as of this writing and the tapes from it not revealed.  Moreover, TMZ.com reports that police tried to visit to ask questions today, but were turned away by Elin Nordegren, who then drove away from the house, as this AP photo shows:

And regarding stories, there's no new report, tweet, or content on what Rachel Uchitel has to say about this. But it's clear that her many photos - some of her in a two-piece bikini - are hotly searched for online today. I'll stick with the photo I presented earlier for now:

Flip statements aside, this whole episode threatens to expose the real lifestyle of Tiger Woods beyond the carefully crafted image we have of him. Even if he wasn't carrying on an affair with Rachel Uchitel, it's clear he knows some of the best nightclub managers and executives in the business. What he does with them when he's not doing anything related to golf is the big question. He's already stated he's away from home and Elin Nordegren and their two kids for long stretches of time. Now what he does during that time may be presented for public consumption.

Giants Play Like Turkeys In Thanksgiving Night Loss In Denver

Giants Play Like Turkeys In Thanksgiving Night Loss In Denver
By Jon Wagner-Sr. Writer at Large Football Reporters Online

The New York Giants traveled to Denver feeling appropriately thankful on Thanksgiving.

How could they not, after finally ending a four-game losing streak with an overtime win over Atlanta last week and licking their chops, thinking of feasting on a Denver Broncos team that was on a bad four-game slide of its own?

After an embarrassing 26-6 loss in Denver however, the Giants (6-5) will be most grateful if they can simply remain a legitimate contender in the NFC playoff race by the time the December holidays arrive.

If that happens, Giants’ head coach Tom Coughlin might be thanking any player on his team who could help prevent another performance as dreadful as the one he witnessed at Invesco Field at Mile High on Thursday night.

“We didn’t have any tempo and we didn’t make any plays,” Coughlin said. “We keep talking about winning the physical battle and controlling the line of scrimmage. We thought this would be the night and it wasn’t.

That was the understatement of the evening for Giants fans who probably wished Big Blue could have at least swapped places with one of the NFL teams which played its game earlier in the day. Seeing their team get physically dominated in the trenches the way it did in a Thanksgiving nightcap must have made it tough for Giants supporters to keep down their turkey and all of the trimmings.

The Giants managed just a pair of Lawrence Tynes field goals against a Broncos squad that allowed between 27 and 32 points in each of its previous four games.

New York tight end Kevin Boss (two receptions for 22 yards), who caught two key touchdown passes last week, said “We really wanted this one. We needed this one. We felt like we were starting to play our type of ball again [after last week] and for whatever reason we just came out here and laid an egg. We never got into a rhythm and we were just flat.”

Offensively, that was true right from the start, as the Giants stumbled out of the gate, with their six first-half possessions resulting in five punts and a fumble, going an anemic three-and-out on four occasions.

Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning (24-40, 230 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT), who threw for a career-high 384 yards and three touchdowns only four days prior, was routinely pressured as the Giants’ ineffective offensive line let the floodgates open on its often unprotected quarterback.

Although New York made the final statistics respectable -- the Broncos outgained the Giants 373-267 and finished with just six more first downs (21-15) -- the first half numbers, which set the tone for the rest of the game, told the real story, as the Giants could get very little going offensively and didn’t make enough defensive stops early on, to stay in the game.

Denver (7-4) held a huge advantage (213-38) in total yards (including 149-9 net yards through the air), had twelve first downs to New York’s three, and limited Manning to just six completions in thirteen attempts, for 28 yards in the opening two quarters.

A frustrated Osi Umenyiora was seen scolding his teammates on the sideline during the first as the defensive end seemed to be, like many Giants this season, left without answers as to why his team can often look so good at some points, and during others, as bad as it showed against the Broncos, this season.

After punting on its first possession of the game, Denver drove deep into New York territory on its next two trips, but settled for field goals each time. The first, a 26-yarder from Matt Prater, gave the Broncos a 3-0 lead with 2:28 left in the first quarter. Prater then made it 6-0, Denver, from 32 yards out, with 10:46 remaining in the opening half.

The Broncos would score on their next two possessions though, to take control of the game. A fumble by Giants’ running back Danny Ware was recovered at the New York 38-yard line by safety Brian Dawkins (who used to plague the Giants for years as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles before coming to Denver this season).

The Broncos took advantage quickly, needing just four plays to find the end zone, as Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall (team-high 6 catches for a game-high 86 yards) made a nice leaping, one-hand grab on a pass from quarterback Kyle Orton (18-28, 245 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) for a 28-yard gain. Three plays later, rookie running back Knowshon Moreno (Ware‘s fellow Georgia alum, who racked up a game-high 88 yards on 19 carries), scored on a one-yard touchdown plunge to put the Broncos comfortably ahead, 13-0, with 7:17 left in the half.

A 15-yard facemask penalty on Giants’ cornerback Corey Webster put Denver in field goal range on the Broncos next possession, allowing Prater to connect again, on a 47-yard field goal, 3:28 before halftime, to give Denver 16-0 lead, a margin the Broncos would take into the locker room.

The Giants showed signs of getting back in the game on both sides of the ball in the third quarter. They held Denver scoreless in the period and mounted scoring drives the first two times they touched the ball in the quarter.

But, each of those possessions ended in field goals (third-quarter kicks of 39 and 52 yards from Tynes) rather than touchdowns, something that Coughlin pointed to as the last blown chances for the Giants to come away victorious. “We came away with field goals rather than touchdowns.” he said, “Which could have given us some gas un our tank… and a chance to win.”

The Giants went quietly in the final quarter after Tynes’ second field goal trimmed the Broncos’ lead to 16-6 with 31 second remaining in the third period.

Denver took the ensuing possession 64 yards, finishing a nine-play drive in 5:16 on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Orton to wide receiver Brandon Stokley, who caught a pass wide open over the middle and scored untouched, to put the Broncos up 23-6, with 10:15 left in the game.

Prater closed the scoring, finishing his perfect night with his fourth field goal, a 24-yarder, with 5:02 remaining.

History has been traditionally unkind to NFL road teams traveling on a short week, distances of at least as long as the Giants’ trip to Denver. However, Coughlin didn’t blame the schedule makers. He said his team’s meetings, preparation, and organization during the week were all fine. He simply concluded, “We played very poorly tonight, there was no excuse for it… no short week, none of that stuff... We just did not play well.”

Coughlin came back to losing the battle at the line of scrimmage, particularly losing the battle with the running game on each side of the ball. “That’s where football starts,’ he said. “Stopping the run and running the ball.”

That issue for the Giants was evident by the play calling. Although New York had a slightly higher yards per carry average (3.6 to 3.5), the Broncos, who were in control, were able to rush the ball 40 times (for 138 yards) out of 68 offensive plays. In sharp contrast, the Giants, playing catchup, were forced to abandon their running game earlier than they had originally planned, rushing just 16 times in 56 offensive plays.

The loss was a big missed opportunity for New York, which could have been playing Dallas (8-3, Thanksgiving Day winners over Oakland) for first place in the NFC East at home next week.

Giants’ running back Brandon Jacobs said of his team’s overall effort, “We didn’t want it bad enough.” He remains optimistic though, despite the Giants’ fifth loss in six games, saying, “We’ve got a lot of talent and we know at some point it’s going to pick up. We’ve got to really get our engine going for the next couple of weeks.”

They still may, but as Coughlin alluded to, the Giants must now hope there’s enough gas in the tank for that engine to get them where they’d still like to go.

Seven & Out – Week #12

Seven & Out – Week #12
By Michael – Louis Ingram
BASN/FRO
 
PHILADELPHIA (BASN/FRO): We interrupt this Seven & Out to throw down on some thanks -and some giving; and a reminder that there is a place for all God’s creatures – right next to the mashed sweet potatoes, collard greens and gravy!!!
 
(Burp – excuse me);
 
Okay, hand me a napkin – new shooter coming out…
 
 
DUELING DUOS:  A record that hadn’t been topped since 1964 was surpassed twice on Sunday.  The Chicago Bears tandem of wide receiver JOHNNY MORRIS (77) and Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end MIKE DITKA (59) combined for 136 catches through the first 10 games of the 1964 season.  In 1995, the Detroit Lions wide receiver duo of HERMAN MOORE (73) and BRETT PERRIMAN (63) equaled that total.
 
(Somewhere Wayne Fontes is smiling; and the police are still looking for Scott Mitchell – for stealing that money that should’ve gone to getting Barry Sanders some real help!)
 
 
 
During the Indianapolis Colts’ 17-15 win against Baltimore in yesterday’s 1:00 PM ET game, wide receiver REGGIE WAYNE (76 catches through 10 games) and DALLAS CLARK (65) combined for eight catches, establishing a record of 141 combined catches through the first 10 games of the season.
 
(Everyone knows he’s good; but no one ever says how great Reggie Wayne really is!)
 
 
Later on Sunday, the New England Patriots wide receiver combo of WES WELKER (79) and RANDY MOSS (63) combined for 20 catches in a 31-14 win over the New York Jets in a 4:15 PM ET contest, giving the pair 142 combined receptions through 10 games to surpass the hours-old record set earlier in the day by Wayne-Clark.
 
 
(If he hasn’t already, Welker should name his first/next kid Randy)
 
 
The most combined receptions by teammates in the first 10 games of a season in NFL history:
 
TEAM
PLAYERS (RECEPTIONS)
COMBINED REC.
2009 New England Patriots
WR Wes Welker (79) & WR Randy Moss (63)
142
2009 Indianapolis Colts
WR Reggie Wayne (76) & TE Dallas Clark (65)
141
1964 Chicago Bears        
WR Johnny Morris (77) & TE Mike Ditka (59)
136
1995 Detroit Lions
WR Herman Moore (73) & WR Brett Perriman (63)
136
2007 Cincinnati Bengals
WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (76) & WR Chad Ochocinco (59)
135
1994 Minnesota Vikings
WR Cris Carter (77) & WR Jake Reed (58)
135
 
 
 
MANNING STREAK CONTINUES:  Indianapolis quarterback PEYTON MANNING passed for 299 yards against Baltimore.  Manning, who has 3,171 passing yards this year, has now thrown for at least 3,000 yards in 12 consecutive seasons, the most to start a career in NFL history.
 
 
(The best just keep getting better…)
 
 
SUCCESS ON THE ROAD:  Three teams successfully defended their undefeated road records yesterday to improve to 5-0 away from home: Arizona (21-13 win at St. Louis), Indianapolis (17-15 win at Baltimore) and New Orleans (38-7 win at Tampa Bay). 
 
 
(Give Arizona credit for doing a 180 degree turnabout on road games; they’ve gone from terrible – to terror…)
 
 
With three 5-0 road teams, the 2009 season is now tied for the most ever.  There have been three other seasons in which three teams started 5-0 on the road (1983, 2001, 2007).  All three of this year’s 5-0 road teams are in first place in their respective divisions.
 
(But I see only one of those teams in Miami come February – The Indianapolis Colts)
 
 
DRIVE TIME UPDATE:  Sustaining drives on offense has long been an indicator of NFL success.  This year, the top five NFL offenses in yards per drive have a combined record of 40-10 (.800).  Four of those five teams currently sit atop their respective divisions – Indianapolis, New England, New Orleans, and Dallas.
 
 
The NFL’s two remaining undefeated teams, the Colts (36.9 yards per drive) and Saints (34.7), rank first and third in the category.
 
 
The top NFL offenses in average yards per drive in 2009:
 
TEAM
AVG. YARDS PER DRIVE
RECORD
Indianapolis Colts*  
36.9
10-0
New England Patriots*   
36.2
7-3
New Orleans Saints*  
34.7
10-0
Pittsburgh Steelers
34.2
6-4
Dallas Cowboys*  
34.0
7-3
* Division leader
 
 
 
T-WHOA!:  Buffalo wide receiver TERRELL OWENS posted a season-high 197 receiving yards in the Bills’ 18-15 loss at Jacksonville.  Owens’ 98-yard touchdown reception, the longest in team history, gives him 25 career 50-yard touchdowns from scrimmage (rushing or receiving), tying him with Pro Football Hall of Famer LENNY MOORE for the fourth-most in NFL history.
 
 
(Yet we know scumbags like Skip Bayless constantly lobby against Owens and his inevitable first ballot inclusion into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Again – the man has never committed any criminal offense, but is made a caricature by the likes of invertebrates like Bayless & Ed Werder, who Owens said was a straight up liar; and was not proven to be wrong; one can only imagine the discussion in that smoke-filled room!)
 
 
The players with the most 50-yard touchdowns from scrimmage (rushing or receiving) in NFL history:
 
PLAYER
50-YARD TDs
Jerry Rice
36
Randy Moss*
27
Lance Alworth
27
Terrell Owens*
25
Lenny Moore
25
* Active
 
 
 
 
WHAT A CATCH:  New England wide receiver WES WELKER had 15 catches for 192 yards in the Patriots’ 31-14 win over the New York Jets.  Welker has 302 receptions in his first 40 games with the Patriots and is the first player in NFL history to record 300 catches in the first 40 games with a new team.  The previous record for the most receptions in a player’s first 40 games with a new team was 269 by Denver’s LIONEL TAYLOR. 
 
The players with the most receptions in their first 40 games with a new team (rookies and veterans):
 
PLAYER
TEAM
RECEPTIONS
WR Wes Welker
Patriots
302
WR Lionel Taylor
Broncos
269
WR Anquan Boldin
Cardinals
259
WR Terance Mathis
Falcons
239
RB Marshall Faulk
Rams
228
WR Tom Fears
Rams
228
 
 
 
 
(Here’s the unfairness in it all; some fantasy football asswipe will make a case for Welker as a HOF receiver; but won’t do the research to make a similar argument for Harold Carmichael, Harold Jackson – or Lionel Taylor).
 
 
 
As always, gang – once the point is made, don’t throw a seven – or you will…crap out!
 

Tiger Woods car accident: wife uses golf club over Rachel Uchitel

My Uncle Sampson who's in my first Tiger Woods car accident video (there's another one coming), said "I should go up and type in your blog 'Tiger Woods wife hit him with that club..'" Now just as I thought about writing a speculative blog post, along comes TMZ.com with one of their juicy late-night exclusives.

Apparently Tiger Woods wife Elin Nordegren did use a golf club, but on Woods and not the window of the Cadillac he was driving, or trying to drive. Here's the meat of the TMZ post:

Tiger has yet to be formally interviewed by the Florida Highway Patrol -- that should happen this afternoon. But we're told Tiger had a conversation Friday -- with a non-law enforcement type -- detailing what went down before his Escalade hit a fire hydrant.


We're told he said his wife had confronted him about reports that he was seeing another woman. The argument got heated and, according to our source, she scratched his face up. We're told it was then Woods beat a hasty retreat for his SUV -- but according to our source, Woods says his wife followed behind with a golf club. As Tiger drove away, she struck the vehicle several times with the club.


We're told Woods became "distracted," thought the vehicle was stopped, and looked to see what had happened. At that point the SUV hit the fire hydrant and then hit a tree.

And that's the only news that explains her aggressive action to Woods as of this writing. The woman they were talking about is Rachel Uchitel. Rachel Uchitel is someone you and I have never heard of until this week and rumored to have been in an affair with Tiger Woods, first by the National Enquirer.

But before I get to that, who the heck is Rachel Uchitel?

BlackBook.com has an extensive description of this smoking hot "prime mover", written in 2008 BT (Before Tiger). 34-year-old Rachel Uchitel is described as a 'Hamptons diva' who is the Director of VIP Services at Pink Elephant in Southampton, NY. Pink Elephant is an expensive, exclusive club known for its Hollywood patrons, celeb sitings, and lounge couches. She says the Four Seasons in Chiang Mai Thailand is her favorite place in the World and is regularly seen at what I call "business social events" like club openings and fundraiders.

Uchitel's a nightclub executive and use to the World of celebs, high rollers, expensive cars and long nights. At the time of the Blackbook.com  profile her two favorite men were Ozzy Osbourne and Rudy Giuliani - her dogs, a affenpinscher and a brussels griffin.

In her Blackbook.com profile Rachel claims she doesn't "kiss and tell" about the men she's been linked with and doesn't like her name being "dragged in the mud". But Hollywood Gossip has her in an affair with first David Boreanaz (star of the TV show Bones), then Tiger Woods, both men rich and married with children.

But in the case of Woods, Hollywood Gossip claims she openly admitted to an affair with him, something she didn't do in the case of David Boreanaz.

Sports By Brooks echos the National Enquirer account of Rachel Uchitel either accidentally or intently in Melborne at the same time as Tiger Woods, where he was playing at the Australian Masters.

Whatever the details, the news was apparently enough to send Elin Nordegren into a fit, chasing Woods and ultimately clobbering him with a golf club. Regardless if the affair is real or imagined, it's clear Elin Nordegren's going to kick her husband's ass for just being linked to another woman.

Good for her.

Stay tuned.

Notre Dame beats Stanford; Swarbrick keeps Charlie Weis

Notre Dame at Stanford's shaped up to be an epic battle. It airs Saturday at 5 PM PST; 8 PM EST on ESPN and has a storyline with more subplots than Gone With The Wind.

In fact that's what Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis will be if The Fighting Irish don't emerge from Stanford Stadium with a win against the Cardinal. Weis' team has lost against UConn and Pittsburgh the weekend before that and are out of the BCS picture. At 6 and 5, a win gives Notre Dame seven victories, which would be a one game improvement over the year before and a shot at a better bowl game.

Charlie Weis and Jimmy Clausen

But beating Stanford would give the Cardinal five losses and the same number as that for Notre Dame. A wild consideration given that just two weeks ago Stanford was in line for the Rose Bowl; Cal's Big Game victory last Saturday ended that possibility.

But Stanford's Jim Harbaugh's already looking at a better contractual future win or lose to Notre Dame; Weis is coaching for his job. In a New York Times interview, Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick made a comment that gave me a clue as to the importance of this game as he was talking about former AD Kevin White...

He (White) is part of a group of athletic directors that I lean on and talk to and spend time with. Bowlsby, Wellman, Kevin, Gene DeFilippo at B.C. We’re schools that deal with similar issues. Jimmy Phillips at Northwestern.

"Bowlsby" is Stanford Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby, who will be in the stadium with Swarbrick Saturday. As often as they talk with each other and with their relationship, I just feel that a Weis win on Bowlsby's turf will save Swarbrick's face and Weis job.

I'm sure Weis knows that, and has already said "I'm ready to play Stanford", which means he's going to coach his butt off. Yeah, I could tell you that Notre Dame's got the perfect offensive approach to beat Stanford, but on defense Notre Dame needs to play tight and close to stop the run and Toby Gerhard to really have a chance. I could say Stanford's playing for an eight-win season and a good bowl game, but really they're playing to save face from being beaten by Cal.

I could say all that, and more. But the bottom line is Charlie Weis' coaching future is on the line and he knows it. Until today it seemed as if the media had all but fired Weis; it's Swarbrick's call. Look for Weis to come out swinging at Stanford. Look for Weis to come away with a win.

Tiger Woods car accident ends bad week for golfer

Tiger Woods car accident ends an unfortunate week for the star golfer. According to TMZ.com, Wood was in an accident in his 2009 Cadillac SUV, and ....

in "serious" condition after being involved in a single car crash near his home in Florida early this morning.


The crash occurred at 2:20 AM in Windermere. He was taken to Health Central Hospital with facial lacerations.


Woods struck a fire hydrant and then a tree on a neighbor's property. The fire hydrant is reportedly less than 100 feet from his driveway.


Police say alcohol was not a factor. There were no signs of alcohol on the scene. We're told the police have yet to speak to Tiger.

The latest is that he's released from the hospital.

Additionally, Woods was traveling at less than 33 MPH, according to the Telegraph UK.

UPDATE: The AP reports that Tiger Woods wife Elin Nordegren used a golf club to smash the window of the car and help him out of it.

It was a hard week for Tiger Woods, who last Saturday was inducted in the Stanford Sports Hall of Fame, then watched as his Stanford Cardinal lost to the Cal Golden Bears, 34 to 28 in "The Big Game."

Then Woods was the focus of an Internet rumor of an affair by the words of one Rachel Uchitel, who the Hollywood Reporter says is basically full of it and has a habit of such claims. Then finally this accident.

Let's hope it gets better for Tiger. Stay tuned.

Adam Lambert meet Elizabeth Lambert: the male/female double standard

From what I know as of this writing Adam Lambert and Elizabeth Lambert aren't related at all. But the fact that they share the same last name Lambert caused me to wonder if they were kindred sprits. After all, within the past 30 days, both have been the focus of internet chatter on their outrageous behavior.

That Adam Lambert openly kissed his male guitarist and ground one of his performers face into his crotch, then said he had nothing to apologize for, made me wonder what our reaction would have been if Elizabeth Lambert had said "I grabbed hair and punched my opponent to win; I have nothing to apologize for because that's the way the game's played."



I think it would have gone something like this: Lambert would have been suspended but gained a ground-swell of support from both male and female athletes, who then would be countered by their teammates claiming to support "clean play". Lambert would be quickly booked on all of the morning talk shows. On The View Whoppi would challenge Elizabeth to a fight saying "Girl if you ever dreamed of grabbing my hair I'd wipe the field with you," to which Lambert would just smile and flex a bicep.

Elizabeth Lambert

On Larry King Live, Lambert would advocate for female athletes to use "tough, hard, and win-at-all-costs" play tactics and eliminate the idea of the weak, defenseless woman once and for all. Lambert would then reach over and tweek King's suspenders, giving him another YouTube moment on the heels of Carrie Prejean.

Eventually, Elizabeth Lambert would be offered a deals for a book called "Why I Did It" and a reality TV show named "Female Tough: Elizabeth Lambert On Sports". Within two year's Lambert would be rich, a new era of dirty but online-media-ready-play would take over female athletics, and guys all over would be turned on by and drawn to the new, hard, take-no-prisoners attitude of female athletics. Women's sports program deficits would end, recruiting efforts would accelerate, and TV ratings would skyrocket.

And all of that because Elizabeth Lambert dared speak what was on her mind rather than hide behind the socially-acceptable role crafted for women athletes, basically telling the New York Times that person on the field woman-handling BYU wasn't her.

Nuts.

I'm not condoning dirty play in sports, but as I've said before Elizabeth Lambert is the modern female athlete. I just wish we'd accept her as she is and stop trying to control her. Elizabeth, that was you out there, just let go and admit it.

Oakland Barnes and Noble may close Jan. 31, 2010

According to Sanjiv Handa of the East Bay News Service the enormous Oakland Barnes and Noble bookstore at 98 Broadway in Jack London Square may close Jan. 31, 2010. Barnes and Noble is expected to make an official disclosure next week, baring any intervention from the City of Oakland to persuade them to remain open.

Sanjiv Handa reports that the anticipated closure will cost the City of Oakland's government $125,000 in annual general fund revenue. (He forgot the additional revenue from the predatory parking ticket policy, but admits its harder to quantify.)

The closure of Barnes and Noble is a blow to Oakland but the problem of its low profitability comes as no surprise. Chain bookstores around the Bay Area and around America have closed under the weight of the transition to online sources for news and information and the growth of online booksellers like Amazon.com. 

San Francisco's Stacey's Book Store on Market Street closed in 2008 for similar reasons.

This would not leave Oakland without a bookstore.  The popular  independent bookseller Walden Pond Books on 3316 Grand Avenue is still open; no reports of a planned closure.   Just keep the Oakand parking attendants from chasing the customers away and it will do fine.

But that aside, the loss of Barnes and Noble would be a blow to the image of Jack London Square as the space the bookstore occupies is so large that it was an major anchor tenant. What will the Port of Oakland do to replace them?

Stay tuned. 

OSCAR ALERT - Screen Credits and Music Entry Form Due December 1 for Academy Awards

OSCAR ALERT. You have until December 1 to get your Screen Credits and Music Entry Forms in to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) if your movie is to be considered for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. From the press release, AMPAS explains:

For a feature film to be considered for the 2009 Awards, the film’s distributor or producer must file an OSC form with the Academy by 5 p.m. PT on December 1. If a feature film is released in 2009 and the completed OSC form is not submitted by the deadline, the film will be ineligible for Academy Awards in any year.

OSC forms may be submitted online only, at http://aiwosc.oscars.org/aiwosc/. Information about submission and feature film eligibility can be obtained by contacting Credits Coordinator Howard Loberfeld at (310) 247-3000, ext. 113, or via e-mail at hloberfeld@oscars.org.

For an achievement to be considered in the Original Score or Original Song category, the principal music writer(s) for a feature film must submit an official music submission form by 5 p.m. PT on December 1.

To request music submission materials, contact Dave Hanson at (310) 247-3000, ext. 151, or via e-mail at dhanson@oscars.org.

While the credits submission deadline is December 1, feature films have until midnight, December 31, to open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days to be eligible for 2009 Oscar® consideration.

Entries in the foreign language, animated feature, documentary, and short film categories are subject to special rules and must meet other qualifying criteria. The entry deadlines in these categories have already passed.

The deadlines have been communicated before; it would be sad to learn that a great film missed being nominated because of paperwork issues. Hopefully those responsible will pay attention to this deadline notice.

Black Friday brings video game violence: Moral Combat

In just a few hours Black Friday starts, overtaking "Adam Lambert video controversy" in online popularity, and Black Friday sales of all kinds will be available for shoppers, including video game buyers. Some will purchase Resident Evil, Grand Theft Auto, Company of Heroes, Ninja Gaiden, or God of War, which happen to be some of the most violent video games ever created. Why? Why are these games made. Why do people buy them in record numbers? What does this issue say about our culture and the game makers themselves?

All of those questions and more are explored in Spencer Halpin's new movie Moral Combat.

Moral Combat is Halpin's first film and took him four years to make. It "takes the pulse of what's happening right now" in the industry, as Halpin said to me.
The film's a lovely mix of video game images and interviews with some of the game development industry's brightest talents. Halpin told me (in the video above) that getting married and becoming a father really impacted how he saw the role of video games in our lives. I saw recently it at a special screening at Yoshi's San Francisco, where it attracted a standing-room-only crowd.

As of this writing Moral Combat has not played the festival circuit, nor is it in line for theatrical release.  In my view it's a film everyone in the gaming industry should see at least once.  It's a conversation-starter on a subject that should be on the minds of game developers everywhere: violence in video games.   That was discussed by industry leaders in the film and at the screening event.

We'll get to meet some of them - like Lorne Laning of OddWorld - in the second blog post on the movie. But for this blog post I have a question: what's the most violent video game available for purchase today?

I'm using a write-in polling system for this blog rather than my standard pollsb website device. I don't want to influence the final poll results by giving pre-set game titles.

Let me know what you think and the new system will tally the results.

Take the poll here.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Happy Thanksgiving! Just communicating that is very important to me. In the past I've felt I had to make some profound comment or lengthy statement to mark this annual tradition. But ya know, I'm tired of that, so I'll keep it short.

I'm thankful for my friends everywhere. New Media, and Google and YouTube and CNN and SFGate and the Examiner, and Blip.tv and USTream.tv have opened a whole new World for me.

The YouTube folks are my family, from Chad Hurley to the YouTube Partner Support team they're just some of the most terrific people.

The folks at SFGate.com have been awesome. They really get where New Media can take the Chronicle and make all of the work I've done worth it. I also thank those who have taken time to email with ideas, corrections, and thoughts.

But mostly I'm thankful for my Mom and relatives and a lot of very special people who know who they are.

So if you're reading this today, Thanksgiving Day, take this day to call people who think about you and to just be nice to everyone. Kindness is a blessing.