NFL"Tabulating Error" Causes Colts Tackle Tarik Glenn to be removed from Pro Bowl rouster

This is terrible, and the error should be explained. Moreover, one would think the numbers would be checked before the rouster assignments were made!

NFL.com wire reports

INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 21, 2005) -- Tony Dungy started by congratulating the Indianapolis Colts chosen to the Pro Bowl. Several hours later, he had the grim task of retracting left tackle Tarik Glenn's name from that list.

The confusing saga overshadowed what should have been a celebration: Seven Colts were voted to the Pro Bowl, the most of any NFL team and the franchise's best showing since it sent eight players in 1971. Three defensive players also made the roster, the Colts' highest total since '71.

But it was the recount that angered Dungy.

"I'm happy with the guys who made it," Dungy said after practice. "And I'm a league guy, but this is a bad, bad situation. They need to tell the whole story and it's not good."

As it is, the Colts still could hold a team meeting in Hawaii.

The usual suspects -- two-time MVP Peyton Manning, two-time rushing champ Edgerrin James, record-setting receiver Marvin Harrison and Dwight Freeney -- all made it. They joined three newcomers -- center Jeff Saturday, linebacker Cato June and safety Bob Sanders.

Receiver Reggie Wayne and Glenn were first alternates. So there could be a lot of Colts in Honolulu, especially since Saturday indicated he might bring his linemates with him.

"They'll be well taken care of, you can count on that," said Saturday, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent.

Fans, coaches and opposing players rewarded the Colts for being the fourth team in NFL history to start 13-0.

Manning was selected for the sixth time, Harrison the seventh time. James earned his fourth Pro Bowl selection and Freeney, who broke the franchise record for sacks Dec. 18 in a loss to San Diego, made it for the third consecutive year.

But the mistake led to a lot of outrage.

According to the Colts, the NFL's Pro Bowl list included Glenn's name as one of three AFC tackles selected for the Feb. 12 game in Honolulu. Then the league called back to inform the Colts there was a tabulating mistake.

Dungy asked the league to look into the matter, and when players strolled into the locker room at midday, most still thought Glenn was headed to Hawaii. Manning and Saturday both talked about the eight players headed to Hawaii, and Glenn even thanked his peers for voting him into the Pro Bowl for the first time. He played last year in Honolulu after being a first alternate.

"It's an honor," Glenn said. "You like to get to the point where your peers recognize you for playing well."

At 2 p.m., the league again contacted the Colts and notified them Glenn was, indeed, a first alternate behind Cincinnati's Willie Anderson, Baltimore's Jonathan Ogden and Kansas City's Willie Roaf.

League spokesman Steve Alic explained there was a computer error, a possible first in league balloting.

"Part of the vote was tabulated incorrectly and when the error was fixed, we learned that Tarik Glenn was a first alternate," he said. "We discovered the votes had not been tabulated correctly."

Glenn walked off the practice field with a glum expression on his face. Had he stayed on the roster, the Colts would have tied a franchise record with eight Pro Bowl selections, originally set in 1958, then matched in 1964 and 1971.

"To have eight players going is impressive," Manning said before learning of the mistake. "For some guys, it's their first time, and I think we could have had some more go like Reggie."

How many of the Pro Bowl players will play in the final two regular-season games? Dungy still is not sure.

Manning, who never has missed a start in eight seasons, said he intends to play this week at Seattle after contending his knee was never swollen. Team president Bill Polian announced the injury on his weekly radio show Monday night.

Harrison missed practice so he could be fitted for a hand apparatus after breaking a bone Dec. 18. Starting right tackle Ryan Diem will miss the rest of the regular season after spraining a knee ligament in the loss to the Chargers.

Defensively, the Colts could be without June (sports hernia, knee and ankle), Sanders (back), Mathis (foot), defensive tackle Corey Simon (foot) and Reagor (knee). Freeney, who has a sprained arch in his right foot, still wants to play.

But Dungy thought the most troubling issue was the NFL's mistake.

"We announced it this morning after we got the list from the NFL," Dungy said. "What happened after that, you'll have to ask them. I told him just now. He took it like he would, but the less I say, the better. You'll have to ask the league."

Son of Colts' Coach Tony Dungy Found Dead

From Yahoo! ...Please take time to pray for Coach Dungy and his family

TAMPA, Fla. - James Dungy, the 18-year-old son of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, was found dead in a Tampa-area apartment, police said Thursday.

In a news release on its Web site, the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office said it "responded to the Campus Lodge Apartments this morning at approximately 1:32 a.m. The girlfriend of James Dungy had returned to the apartment and discovered Dungy."

Police performed CPR on Dungy before he was taken to University Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death is pending an autopsy by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office.

Tony Dungy has left the Colts and is in Tampa, according to NFL.com.

The coach and his wife, Lauren, have four other children: daughters Tiara and Jade and sons Eric and Jordan.

The Colts (13-1) are at Seattle on Saturday.

NY TRANSIT STRIKE FLASH: MTA gives $26,315 to each of the 38,000 workers...

Well, it didn't happen, but it does show how much the 1 billion surplus could have helped each of the the transit workers. Even if just 15 percent of that surplus was given to the workers, it would have been $3,947 per transit worker.

That would have been an awesome Christmas bonus for them.

Mayor Bloomberg on The NY Transit Strike - Live now on CNN

Reiterrated that the strike was "unfair" and "illegal" to start today's speech. (But what upsets me about CNN, is they cut away to some press conference about a manhunt for a rapist in Miami. I understand, but the strike impacts millions). Ok, we're back to Bloomberg.

He says it's not as cold as it normal would be, which is good. The New York Blood center can't collect blood and so has declared a state of emergency. "Robery Payne is a health care worker who walked six miles to get to work," he said.

The Mayor plans to warn the transit worker and order them back to work via a restraining order.

CNN just lost the feed, and broke away

I'm not sure that's going to work. Again, the issue is the allocation of a $1 billion surplus, which the workers never got even part of....

Reggie Bush looking for agents - Note to USC's Reggie Bush: pick Sports Agent Leigh Steinberg

Read about it at SBS NFL Football Business Blog with a click on the title of this post.

Reggie Bush looking for agents - Note to USC's Reggie Bush: pick Sports Agent Leigh Steinberg

According to ESPN.com, Reggie Bush is interviewing candidates to be his sports agent, a sure sign he's going to enter the 2006 NFL Draft.

ESPN.com reports that "Seven agents met on Monday in Los Angeles with Bush, who is expected to be forego his senior season with the Trojans and enter next year's draft, and with his advisors. The agents were Tom Condon, David Dunn, Todd France, Mitch Frankel, Eugene Parker, Joel Segal and Leigh Steinberg.

On Tuesday, at least three of the agents -- France, Segal and Steinberg -- were apprised by Bush advisors that the field had been winnowed and that they are finalists to represent the star tailback if he indeed goes into the 2006 draft."

Reggie, here's a friendly note: go with Leigh Steinberg of Leigh Steinberg Enterprises. Not just because Leigh's legendary, but also because he's got the best reputation and can not only get you the best NFL deal, he can leverage your celebrity into other areas, like broadcasting. Something the other agents can't do.

Forget his court battle with Athlete's First. Their arguments against him are exagerated greately.

Also one of these agents you're considering has had a recent problem. To learn more about it, read my account of the 2005 NFL Draft by clicking here.

Good luck Reggie.

PG&E's failure: power outage blanks Oakland's Adams Point / Lake Merritt

Read about it at Oakland Focus, by just clicking on the title of this post.

Google buys 5 percent stake in AOL - Will it buy more of the Internet portal?

From Businessweek.com

DEC. 20 7:38 P.M. ET America Online on Tuesday sealed a $1 billion transaction to sell a 5 percent stake to Google Inc. in a deal that deepens the ties binding two of the Web's most popular Web sites while thwarting Microsoft Corp.'s efforts to grab a larger piece of the booming Internet advertising market.

Approving the expanded alliance had been considered a mere formality last Friday when AOL's corporate parent, Time Warner Inc., abruptly ended several months of negotiations with Microsoft, which had hoped to supplant Google as AOL's main advertising partner.

Many of the details, including a plan that may display more graphical ads on some of Google's traditionally sparse Web pages, had been leaked to the media in the last few days.

New SBS NFL Football Business Blog

Click on the title of this post to see our new NFL Football blog on busineess news related to the game. The blog will also feature opinion on the NFL issues of the day.

Colts QB Peyton Manning receives record 1.18 million Pro Bowl votes.

From NFL Media.com
RECORD 70.5 MILLION ALL-STAR VOTES CAST ON NFL.COM AND SPRINT WIRELESS; PEYTON MANNING, ALEXANDER & TOMLINSON TOP VOTE-GETTERS

RECORD 1.9 MILLION MOBILE VOTES CAST VIA SPRINT WIRELES; PEYTON MANNING RECEIVES RECORD 1.18 MILLION VOTES

Indianapolis Colts quarterback PEYTON MANNING received a record 1,184,142 votes to lead
NFL All-Stars in balloting for the 2006 Pro Bowl, the NFL announced today. Presented by
Sprint, Pro Bowl voting on NFL.com, in stadiums and via the Sprint wireless service ended
Friday, Dec. 16.

There were a record 70.5 million votes cast on NFL.com and via the Sprint wireless service -- a 16 percent increase over the 61 million cast last year.

In the tally was a record 1.9 million mobile votes via Sprint wireless -- nearly 200 times the 10,000 mobile votes cast last year.

Seattle Seahawks running back SHAUN ALEXANDER (1,110,575 votes) ranked second overall while San Diego Chargers running back LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON (1,044,360), Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver CHAD JOHNSON (987,650) and Chargers tight end ANTONIO GATES (941,846) rounded out the top five.

BEARS-VIKINGS KICKOFF TIME ON JAN. 1 MOVED TO 4:15 PM ET

From NFL Media.com - private access website; no direct link available to the public.
The Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings game on Sunday, January 1 will be played at 4:15 PM ET rather than 1:00 PM ET, the NFL announced today.

The change is to accommodate FOX television patterns.

Intelligent Design sacked in court - judge rules lessons unconstitutional

A US court has ruled that school children cannot be taught the theory known as "intelligent design" as an alternative to evolution.

Ihave mixed emotions about this, but it's important that kids are given non-religious tools with which to analyze biological change. But that said, is science a religion itself?