Rocketboom Fight on Yahoo! - Amanda Congdon and Andrew Michael Baron Battle On ABC Content

Update! Andrew Baron responds to this dustup.

As I just reported, Amanda Congdon's got a new show on ABCNews.com. When I was watching the program, my first reaction was "Gee, that looks like Amanda on Rocketboom, but without the map."

Well it seems like I wasn't the only one who thought so. Andrew Michael Baron (pictured below), Rocketboom creator and co-owner (with Congdon) apparently has seen the show and doesn't at all like it, feeling it's a kind of rip off of his original work. This position has spilled over into a massive argument being played out in all of its ugliness on the Yahoo message board for video-bloggers. But you don't have to worry about finding the message board thread, I'll give you the blow-by-blow as it stands here Saturday, December 16th.

It started on Wednesday, December 13th, with this Yahoo! post from Andrew Michael Baron where he states he's offended:



"Jeeze, I have never been so offended.

Its like Alice and Wonderland around here, somebody pinch me:
http://www.dembot. com/011895. html"

The link above refers to this message Andrew wrote:

"Some of the legal documents between me and Amanda Congdon are circulating and I have received several calls from the press on the "Amanda story" or "Amanda Gate" as I have heard it said in one email.

A writer from the LA Times, Richard Rushfield, who was referred by Gina Piccalo, is currently investigating the information and mentioned I could say as much here so let's just wait and see his take instead of hearing it from me.

I will say this: yes, it is in fact my position that the Amanda Across America, ABC News and HBO projects are all Rocketboom projects that were usurped out of Rocketboom by Amanda when she quit.

And when I say usurped, I don't just mean a little bit. I spent months working on these projects and relationships. I spent a great deal of legal fees on contracts, etc. - we are talking deep, deep development.

Cory Bergman is asking people what they think of her new project and others will no doubt be pitching in with commentary. Well I have an opinion too and I am going to be candid. This is a subject that is important to me and my field.

After seeing what she has done with Amanda Across America (no spirit or production value) and now ABC News which is a carbon copy of what I hired her to do for Rocketboom, I give her an F for creativity and originality and a D- for effort. Seeing her take a "turn to camera 2", just as we do in today's episode of Rocketboom is just embarrassing.

So besides all this, which only just scratches the surface, there is a great deal of news that I will leave up to Richard to report on regarding the progress that Rocketboom has made, some pretty damn big news that no one yet knows!"

That fired the first shot on the Yahoo! Message Board; the fur started flying from there...

First, a couple of vloggers referred to a misspelling of the word "Internet" as "Iternet" and which in an Intenet world can be quickly repaired with little fuss. But I think the vloggers were trying to be nasty toward Amanda behind Andrew's cries over content theft.

Then Amanda saw Andrew's rant that I posted above and responded with this:

"Andrew, get a grip. Please.

This

http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?q=rocketboom.com&url=rocketboom.com

is not my fault.

You made the decision to let me go. So I went.

As for your outlandish claims about HBO and ABC, please contact my lawyers. Let's do this the right way. And having a desk and a second camera are not ideas you own. Those are conventions.

Best to focus on your own show, I think. Or you can continue to attempt to drag me down and write "emotional" emails to ABC but I'm done talking about this publicly. Time to move on."

That "this" Amanda refers to is the graph shown here:



What it shows is that Rocketboom traffic dropped from the 1.2 million daily visitors it enjoyed during the much publicized and televised business breakup of Amanda and Andrew to an average of around 150,000 daily visitors now. In part, Amanda's departure caused the rise and the eventual fall of the shows traffic, so she's wrong there. But I digress.

Andrew's rant caused Steve Watkins, another participant on the message board, to write this response to Baron:

"Wow you still havent got over this? You still dont recognise that this whining makes you look like a bit of an ass? You think you can turn back time or use legal means to ensure you get the credit etc you deserve for all those wonderfully original ideas and contract negotiations?

Its not like rocketboom was 100% original, borrows from the past and otehr formats all the time.

You'll just have to learn to live with the fact that Amanda has as much moral right to build on her legacy with rocketboom as you do. I dont know what the law will say, obviously there are a load of boring specifics that I dont want to know about (Im sick of your dirty laundry being waved in my face), I hope you get laughed out of court. Theres not a single idea in rocketboom or anythign else that I think should be protected, and it would be utterly unrealistic to expect Amanda to build a totally new no-camera persona just to avoid any comparisons with the past.

You arent the first person to get a rude awakening when it comes to the fact that the person the viewers see may have an equal or stronger relationship with the viewer than the show/brand itself. But time has now passed, isnt there any progress?

For me you are defecating on your own legacy, please stop.

Steve Elbows"

Andrew answered Amanda's original reponse presented above with this:

"Amanda, I have always been outspoken about sharing my experiences with Rocketboom and this is no longer an exception.

You can hide talking about it publicly, we see how that has led to your advantage. As long as no one speaks up, you continue to lie and mislead people about what you have done for "yourself". Meanwhile no one can learn from the problems you have created.

As you know our lawyers ARE working on it. I hope your lawyer is listening when I say yet again, look here below how you have out right lied in saying I let you go.

People should know that in order to do business in this field there is a need to protect oneself from this kind of atrocious behavior.

Luckily I have, its just that I have previously been quiet about it for legal reasons myself.

So now Im ready to share with everyone how I expect this will turn out and then we can talk about it, take wagers, and see what the judge has to say.

In the end, we should all be in a better position to engage in creative partnerships."

Hmm....Take wagers?! More on that in a bit. Let's move on.

Jesse Cooper, another member of the message board, wrote this:

"A creative partnership? ??? I thought you all had that with rocketboom.. . now it sounds as if you would like to creatively get paid by ABC for what Amanda does regardless if you are a part of it or not."

On top of Jesse -- no pun intended -- was this post by of all people Mario Librandi, Amanda's boyfriend and participant in Rocketboom when Amanda was working for it:

"Andrew,

There is nothing to hide. Facts are facts. You made a mistake by kicking us out and now you have to live with it. Good luck with the lawsuit.

And if you really want to share experiences, I am still waiting for that $7,050 check.

I've always said to Amanda that we should just have a public debate to end this once and for all, that way we can show everyone the truth. "

Well the "public debate" is actually unfolding on the message board. Here's Andrew Michael Baron's retort:

"I dont want anything at all right now. I just want to talk about it. I think its lame, that all. I have not filed a suit against Amanda.

If you had a business yourself and one of your partners left and took all of your contacts and business relationships, your code, your design and your format and the projects that meant the most to you, the same projects that you spent a lot of money on, I think you would be concerned, especially if they did not have any control over these projects.

Its illegal in most cases. This is just what I have learned."

And this direct reponse to Mario:

"Great, easy.

Chuck, you are the man with the answer. It was the night before
Amanda posted her video. As our mediator, I told you I was going to
make a demand.

I said I was no longer negotiating and I demanded that Amanda come
into work on Monday and film a news day for Rocketboom.

Everything else was negotiable but that one demand I put on Amanda
was non negotiable.

So what happened? As a matter of fact she did not meet my demand,
gave up, as we expected she would, and that was it.

This was the third time she had quit and this time she quit for good.

End of story on that one."

Yahoo! Message Board member Adam Quirk feels its necessary to "take sides" in this issue because, as he states it, Amanda has "has lied to the public, specifically us in this group, about the Rocketboom situation, and has underhandedly stolen our colleague Andrew's hard work, time, and business contacts and passed them off as her own.

I find it's necessary to take sides in situations such as this, because standing on the sideline applauding the chaos is inhumane.

Someone is lying to you, either Amanda or Andrew. I don't know Amanda. I know Andrew. He has not lied to me before and I see no reason why he would now."

Wow. And John Coffey sides with Steve writing:

"Right on Steve! I began to think Andrew was a real schmuck when he posted the contract from Microsoft re Zune on his blog.

JCH"

He did? Gotta check that out. But first, Chuck Olsen, who was the business manager for Rocketboom and may still be, answers here and with love:

"First -- I want to say congrats to Amanda. It's very surreal seeing her on ABCnews.com, sort of like the grownups left
the cameras and lights on and she snuck in and made a show.

I'm also tickled to see links to AAA shows I edited up there (Atrios, Vilsack, Jarvis).

As for rehashing Rocketboom.. . the community has spoken and said "No."

I'm very intrigued by all of this and have my own thoughts/insights. And I do understand why you'd be upset today Andrew.

However I fear any comment I make on that last offer to Amanda (and whether she quit or was fired) will have some legal significance in the future. It'll also reopen the whole can of worms. We have the emails of the final proposal, and we all know things fell apart at the end.

Anyway, y'all are happier and more successful than ever going your separate ways. Hopefully that will still be the case after the lawyers battle it out...

love,
chuck"

Then, just when it seemed this thread was about to reach an end, Andrew Baron chimed in with this post, which reveals a bit of jealously over Amanda's success at securing a show with ABC:

"On the topic of ABC's videoblog, I'm going to set aside all of the technical problems everyone has already mentioned with the video distribution and the ABC platform - the fact that there are no RSS feeds, the comments are pre-approved and filtered (even when not offensive), the video scrolls have been turned off, one is forced to view long, irrelevant pre-roll ads that outlast many people's curiosity and especially the closed platform with no mobile or local
potential.

In otherwords, the only difference between this video platform and one from say, 1997, is that for this one, at least the video does come on and plays.

Maybe they can hire someone who knows a thing or two about it.

I'm going to suggest that the greatest failure of this project however has to do with the severely expensive resources that are
being used for a product that can be much more valuable for a mere fraction of the effort and costs.

My question is, how much money did it take to produce this?

Also, if all of the effort only goes into a once-a-week show, how effective and interested are the people behind the show to take so much time and money to do so little?

For instance, we know they are probably paying Amanda a professional salary. They are also paying two senior level producers for this. Then there is at least one editor, a camera person (unless one of the producers is a cameraman), lighting tech, audio guy, all with premium 'ABC' salaries. I am just speculating, perhaps I have missed some.

In addition to that, the entity ABC needs to make revenue (beside the people), yet they also have at least one rep that works with Amanda besides the producers and other production staff. Surely they have someone who works on the website if not a section of a team. Amanda's agent needs a professional share. Amanda's manager too. They obviously have a very aggressive PR team too (which they will definitely need to drive people to the show). Lets not forget the advertisers! They are the ones supporting this and because so many people need to get paid such high salaries, the advertisers need to get paid most of the real-estate of the website. In many ways, this scenario is typical of one where the advertisers are way more important than the show itself. The show is just a tool for ad sales in the end, after all.

The point I want to make is, there are probably WAY too many people needed to pull off this one 5 minute production exclusively for a small flash file on one website.

A company like ABC should perhaps use their expensive resources to produce content that needs expensive resources. Was there special access gained? Was there need for expensive equipment? Travel expenses? 3 producers?

No, there was no sign of any need for any of the above that I could see."

That new rant caused Amanda's brother Andrew Congdon to give this link to the Wikipedia definition for "Sour Grapes"

To which Andrew fires back: "Apparently, not having your own ideas runs in the family. ;)"

Freakin nasty, man! Wow. It wasn't called for at all, and got Gary Short really pissed off, leading him to write this:

"Andrew, you are really starting to get on my nerves now with this carping; it is so childish, it's like listening to my kids arguing over who has been given the most veg and how it's soooo unfair. For goodness sake stop being such a baby.

"The sad fact of business is that people come together, they do great work and sometimes they disagree and go their own way - that's life Andrew, get over it. The thing is there is no doubt you have talent, but you are not encouraging
anyone to reach out to you with a new business idea/partnership with this behavior. People will be reading these outbursts of yours and saying to themselves, "is this what it is like if it doesn't work out?" and they'll be giving you a big body swerve.

While we are on the subject, stop pretending that Rocketboom was some huge intellectual breakthrough on your part, that it was all your wonderful idea. What utter nonsense. Entertaining though Rocketboom was (and still is) there wasn't a single new idea there. I mean, taking a look at the more quirky aspects of the news? Been done. Fronting the show with a good looking, intelligent and charismatic woman. Been done. Hosting the show as a video cast for download?
Been done. So what was your idea exactly?

Like I said though, I don't want to pour oil on troubled waters, as I think we are all tired of hearing about it - just please, get over yourself will you?

Cheers,
Gary"

Whew! Man, the fur's flyin! It's a good thing they're not in the same room! This was on Thursday, and it continued on and on through Friday, December 15th, with some posters asking for an end to the feud and others actually adding fuel to the fire, and firing-up Andrew in the process. Here's a posting example by Andrew that shows he's ready to fight, sort of:

"Gary, whats the point of telling me Im getting on your nerves? You are doing exactly what Andrew Congdon did and I have no problem speaking up about it and defending myself.

I think I provided a well rounded argument for disucssion about the cost of doing business when merging established media and new media.

When Andrew Congdon chimed in to "refute" my contribution to this group by saying "Sour Grapes", I think this shows dolt behavior.

I think this is now your unfortunate oversight.

Your comments should have been directed at him."

Then on Saturday, just when it seemed the thread finally did pass on, it gained new life, with Andrew accusing Amanda of taking business relationships and deals he started:

"Oh boy, digging a deeper hole for yourself.

ABC News is exactly the people we were in deep talks with. ABC NEws and ABC Family. Its all under Dinsey and we were in project talks with all. You have just lied again, mark my words here. I will release the document to my blog then.

The AAA story? Jeze, you have not told the relevant truth, documents are forthcoming. I spent months on this project and it was my sponsor relationship you took for Ford. You quit before the deal was done. You were only able to complete the deal for no money. My deal was for $250,000. No wonder you were able to close it.

HBO contacted Rocketboom and wanted to do a show with Rocketboom. You told them I didnt want to. I said I did. I will provide docs, forthcoming.

Finally, now we can get somewhere.

And Amanda fires back, with gusto:

"Call up ABC. We were working on shows for ABC Family that I was never intended to host. Isn't that right? Anyone at ABC will attest to that. They were trying to to figure out what department to put us in and
that's where we landed. ABC Family.

"Ari, my agent at Endeavor, turned HBO onto me. HBO never approached Rocketboom directly. They never wanted you. They wanted my personality. I considered bring you along for the ride IF things panned out and if HBO was game, but since there was only one meeting at that point it was far from a sure thing... sure glad you never got involved.

"As far as AAA goes, just another example of you failing to secure sponsorship. No contract, no deal. Unless there was a contract that you hid from me? You did hide a lot of business stuff."

Then Andrew goes and digs up past emails that were exchanged between HBO, he, Amanda, and other parties, and presents the whole kit-and-kaboodle on the message board for all to see. Here it is:

As you can see, I spent legal fees on the HBO opportunity that was
meant for Rocketboom but yea, as I said, you stole it away for yourself.

Lie #2. Resolved.

Begin forwarded message:
> From: "Amanda Congdon"
> Date: June 2, 2006 2:20:46 PM EDT
> To: "Thompson, Bryan"
> Cc: "Johnson, Channing" , "andrew michael
> baron" , "Jim Congdon"
>
> Subject: Re: Matthew Lesher, semi-urgent
>
> Bryan and Channing,
>
> Thank you for getting back to me on this so quickly. As it turns
> out, the HBO meeting is now happening on Monday rather than later
> today. The introductory meeting between Ari, Andrew and me is still
> on as scheduled at 3pm Pacific. How does this change the order of
> events, if at all?
>
> Yes, please prepare Matthew's termination letter.
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Amanda
>
> On 6/2/06, Thompson, Bryan < bthompson@akingump. com> wrote:
> Amanda:
>
> I spoke to Channing about this. We think that your analysis of the
> situation is spot-on accurate and that it would be appropriate for
> you now to terminate your relationship with Matthew.
>
> Accordingly, we believe that you should inform Matthew, both orally
> and in writing, that your relationship with him is now terminated.
> You should also inform him that he is not to participate in the HBO
> conference call, nor is he to contact or speak with HBO or Endeavor
> concerning you, Andrew, or Rocketboom.
>
> Let me know if you would like us to prepare a letter to Matthew
> concerning this.
>
> In order to assure that Matthew is not on the call, you will need
> to contact him orally before the call. Even if we sent a letter
> right now, he might not actually read it before the HBO call
> begins. When you speak to him you can let him know that a letter
> will be coming.
>
> From: amazingamanda@ gmail.com [mailto:amazingamanda@ gmail.com] On
> Behalf Of Amanda Congdon
> Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 10:19 PM
> To: Johnson, Channing; Thompson, Bryan; andrew michael baron
> Cc: Jim Congdon
> Subject: Matthew Lesher, semi-urgent
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> I spoke with Matthew Lesher this evening. I asked him why Ari
> Emanuel would be under the impression he was Rocketboom's manger.
> He said he didn't know, that maybe Ari just "assumed" as much. He
> then said, in fact, that both he and Ari had no interest in the
> management of Rocketboom. He also said that because Ari (and thus
> Endeavor) were not involved in the book deal, that he felt Ari was
> being "aggressive" in wanting 10% equity in Rocketboom. I asked him
> why he then jumped on the bandwagon and asked for the same thing
> (on Friday Matthew brought up getting 10% too). He started back
> peddling and saying that we were just beginning the conversation,
> that nothing had been decided. I told him it sounded like he didn't
> have my best interests in mind, and he said no, he was just
> presenting all the options. If he truly had my best interest in
> mind, he would have told me he thought Ari was being aggressive on
> Friday, not now after I pressed him about it. Bottom line is that I
> don't trust him, so I believe the relationship will have to be
> terminated. I would love to hear what everyone else thinks.
>
> The big issue now is that I have a conference call today (Friday)
> scheduled with Caroline Strauss at HBO to workshop show ideas at
> 2:30 Pacific, and I don't want Matthew in on that. Ari is the only
> one that had anything to do with setting that up. Matthew also has
> included himself in an introductory conversation that was supposed
> to happen directly before the HBO meeting, with Andrew, Ari and
> me. Andrew just sent me an email suggesting perhaps the talk with
> Matthew occur very shortly before the HBO meeting is scheduled, so
> as not to give Matthew time to backlash before the meeting. Help
> please!!
>
> Thanks so much for all of your guidance,
>
> Amanda

What Andrew is trying to show is that the HBO relationship started with him and Amanda but she's basically correct. What HBO was talking about according to these emails is how Amanda would work with them. it shows that Amanda was talking about show ideas with an HBO rep. Unless there was something in the contract to block this possibility, there's nothing Andrew can do about Amanda profiting from relationships she started at Rocketboom. Plus, if she owns 49 percent of Rocketboom, she still has rights to these contacts by that agreement alone.

But I digress, again. The Yahoo! feud carried on from there today, with Amanda calling for Andrew to be banned from the message board!: :

"Hi Ryanne,

I think considering Andrew's onslaught of attacks have been unprovoked and
unsubstantiated, it might not be a bad idea to ban him. All I have ever done is defend
myself."



But of course that didn't happen. Hell. It's a soap opera, and people love these things, and I guess I'm one of them. It's content. But after three days of this, even Robert Scoble (pictured) and Ted Tagami the "Digital Buddha" had enough:

"I agree. This isn't impressing me in the least about either party.

I don't really care anymore. You both are polluting this group and it needs to stop, and stop now.

Take it onto your blogs where, if we care, we can read your slings at each
other.

Robert"

_____

From: videoblogging@ yahoogroups. com [mailto:videoblogging@ yahoogroups. com]
On Behalf Of Digital Buddha
Sent: Saturday, December 16, 2006 10:49 AM
To: videoblogging@ yahoogroups. com
Subject: Re: [videoblogging] Re: OOoh, Amanda's Up!

"Andrew and Amada, I admire your work both when you were working together, and now independently of one another. I am embarrassed for the two of you with your public display. The court of public opinion is not the one to discuss this. It may not seem like poor judgement today to either of you, but you may be thinking much differently a year or two from now.

Please, please, please take it off line. You are now at the stage of "virtual shouting". I am waiting for objects to start to fly. It will just get uglier. I hope you and your respective legal counsel will be able to settle this swiftly."

I doubt it. What's happening is Andrew's rather upset over Amanda's success. I for one am proud of her. Andrew does have some very sound concerns and he uses his blog to explain them, but the bottom line is that without an agreement not to basically go off and start a new Rocketboom, a competitor, then he can do nothing to recover damages. The other nagging problem -- for Andrew -- is that Rocketboom was supposedly 49 percent owned by Amanda, which places Andrew even more in a position of loss.

So, while Amanda's new show gets recognized around the World (in Japan for example and Italy as another), cheered, jeered, and hailed in the New York Times, the one thing that's fact is she's back and with just a bit of a loss in her Q rating for just a month before this deal with ABC emerged into the new show. Now, she's on CNN today, sounds great, and is moving forward.

Meanwhile, Andrew's coming off as, well, jealous in the blogsphere, with such words at "trashes" associated with his name or just being the guy who fired Amanda as he comes off in TechCrunch and of course on Amanda's own blog, which is now even more popular -- and looking rather stupid in the process. That's not good at all. Andrew's best move is to congradulate Amanda.

Heck, if I were him, I'd hug her and kiss her and whisper sweet nothings in her ear -- and get her a Christmas Present -- for breaking down the door between vlogging and television and entering it just by feuding with him. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was a plot hatched by Andrew. What stops me from believing it is, is that Andrew's not making money or traffic from it. In this, he's hurting himself -- and guaranteeing that this will continue to be a nightmare for him.

Amanda Congdon On ABC News!

Amanda Congdon -- the former Rocketboom Host -- has now hit the TV big time on ABCNews.com Her show features her wearing the famously tight t-shirts, and dishing on celebs. You can even send in your video to Amanda for consideration on her program via a link on the page.

Here's Amanda's video: http://blogs.abcnews.com/amanda/2006/12/test.html .

It's the next logical step, but wait until Apple iTV gets going. My prediction is that shows will be made and then seen on Apple iTV rather than ABC for example. Why? Because Apple iTV allows you to see your videos on television. So now, you have an alternative to television that could become -- no, will be -- the next standard for how we watch video images.

But that's an aside; congradulations Amanda!

(Andrew's still upset, though!)

Indianapolis Colts v. Cinncinati Bengals Game Notes - From Indy Colts

From NFLMedia.com and Colts

Making a nationally-televised appearance for the fourth time this season, the Indianapolis Colts, 10-3, host the Cincinnati Bengals, 8-5, on Monday, December 18 in the RCA Dome. Kickoff for the contest, broadcast coast-to-coast by ESPN and Westwood One, is 8:30 p.m. (EST).

The Colts and Bengals are meeting for the second straight season in a high-profile regular-season contest. Indianapolis, sporting a 9-0 mark, visited the 7-2 Bengals last November 20, taking a 45-37 shootout. The win gave the Colts a 13-8 edge in the league series. Both clubs enter Monday battling for playoff positioning. Indianapolis is coming off a 44-
17 loss last Sunday at Jacksonville. Cincinnati posted its fourth consecutive win with a 27-10 home verdict last Sunday over Oakland.

Indianapolis is 3-0 in nationally-televised games this season, takingSunday Night verdicts at the New York Giants (26-21 on September 10), at New England (27-20 on November 5) and versus Philadelphia (45-21 on November 26).

The Colts own the NFL's best regular-season record (87-38) since the start of the 1999 season, while being the only team to earn six playoff appearances in the last seven seasons. Indianapolis enters Monday's game as victors in 32 of its last 38 league games. Indianapolis' winning ways include a 23-6 record in AFC South play (including 12 wins in its last 14 divisional games), while the club has owned or shared the lead in 75 of 82 weeks of the division's existence.

Series Notes

The league series stands 13-8 in favor of the Colts, and 1-0 in favor of the Colts in post-season play. Indianapolis forged a 45-37 win at Cincinnati last November 20. Taking a 35-27 halftime lead with touchdowns on the first five possessions, the Colts earned an offensive shootout victory. QBPeyton Manning was 24-40-365, 3 TDs/1 int. passing to lead the Colts. WRReggie Wayne was 5-117, 1 TD, while TE/FB-Dallas Clark was 6-125, 1 TD and RB-Edgerrin James was 24-89, 2 TDs rushing. James tallied a rushing score in a 6th consecutive game as the Colts moved to 10-0. WR-Marvin Harrison was 5-42 to surpass 900 career receptions in his 149th game, the fastest pace in NFL history. Cincinnati produced 492 yards behind QBCarson Palmer (25-38-335, 2 TDs/1 int.).

Cincinnati rushed for 164 yards, while WR-Chad Johnson was 8-189, 1 TD receiving. The Colts posted a 28-21 victory over the Bengals on October 6, 2002 in the last regular-season series renewal in Indianapolis. In that contest, Indianapolis raced to a 21-0 first-half lead and never trailed. Manning was 21-34-224, 2 TDs/1 int. and tallied on an 11t rush to open scoring matters. Manning teamed with TEMarcus Pollard (3t) and Harrison (9-145, 1 TD, 3t) on first-half scoring plays, while James' (22-60, 1 TD) 3t fourth-quarter rush provided the winning points.

Cincinnati cut the deficit to 21-14 and 28-21, but DB-Idrees Bashir's last-minute interception of QB-Jon Kitna (31-43-244, 1 TD/3 ints.) sealed the outcome. DB-Walt Harris had two interceptions, while Cincinnati's RB-Corey Dillon (23-164, 2 TDs rushing) had a big day. The clubs met on October 24, 1999, with the Colts winning in the RCA Dome, 31-10. Cincinnati's last win in the league series came on November 9, 1997, 28-13 in Indianapolis. The Colts won the only playoff encounter between the clubs, 17-0 in Baltimore on December 26, 1970. The teams met annually in league play from 1992 through 1999.

NFL TO HONOR MIAMI DOLPHINS GREATS DAN MARINO AND DON SHULA AT SUPER BOWL XLI - NFLMedia.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - NFL Media.com

NFL TO HONOR MIAMI DOLPHINS GREATS
MARINO AND SHULA AT SUPER BOWL XLI

Marino to Toss Coin and Shula to Participate
In Vince Lombardi Trophy Presentation

The NFL will salute two of the most revered names in South Florida sports history during Super Bowl XLI on
Feb. 4, 2007, it was announced today. The Super Bowl coin toss featuring DAN MARINO and the Vince
Lombardi Trophy presentation with DON SHULA will be televised live by CBS at Dolphin Stadium in South
Florida.

Marino, the Dolphins’ Hall of Fame quarterback, will toss the coin moments before the start of the game.
Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history who led the Dolphins to five Super Bowls, will participate in the
Vince Lombardi Trophy ceremony following the game. Shula will carry the Vince Lombardi Trophy, given to
the Super Bowl champion, to the stage for its presentation to the winning team.

Watched by more than 141 million viewers in the U.S. last year, the Super Bowl is annually the nation’s
highest-rated TV program. The game will be broadcast to a potential worldwide audience of 1 billion people
in more than 230 countries and territories. Pregame activities begin at Dolphin Stadium at 5:40 p.m. ET.
Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005, Marino ranks among the NFL’s all-time greatest
quarterbacks. Marino, who was the 1998 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, holds 17 NFL records and is
tied for six others. He played in 242 games, ranking first all-time in pass attempts (8,358), completions
(3,686), passing yards (61,361) and touchdowns (420).

Marino joins an esteemed list of Super Bowl coin toss participants, including former Presidents RONALD
REAGAN (from the Oval Office in 1985) and GEORGE H.W. BUSH; MARIE LOMBARDI, wife of Vince
Lombardi; and Pro Football Hall of Famers EARL CAMPBELL, FRANK GIFFORD, RED GRANGE,
GEORGE HALAS, DON HUTSON, TOM LANDRY, BRONKO NAGURSKI, ALAN PAGE, ART SHELL,
and GENE UPSHAW. (see below for complete list of past coin toss participants)
The two-tone commemorative flip coin is silver with 24kt gold highlights and is minted by The Highland Mint
Company. The coin will feature the Super Bowl XLI logo on one side and the Vince Lombardi Trophy and
competing team logos on the other.

Shula has coached in the most Super Bowls ever (one with the Baltimore Colts, Super Bowl III and five with
the Dolphins, VI, VIII, VIII, XVII and XIX). Shula’s record as head coach of the Baltimore Colts from 1963 to
1969 and the Miami Dolphins from 1970 to 1995 is unmatched in NFL history. In 1995, he concluded his
33rd season as the winningest NFL head coach ever with a career mark of 347-173-6 (.665). Of all NFL
coaches, only Shula and the immortal George Halas attained 300 victories. The Colts under Shula enjoyed
seven straight winning seasons and in 26 years at Miami, his Dolphins experienced only two seasons below
.500. Shula’s teams reached the playoffs 20 times in 33 years and won at least 10 games 21 times. In
Super Bowl VII, the 1972 Dolphins completed their historic 17-0-0 campaign – the only perfect season in
NFL history – with a 14-7 win over the Washington Redskins. In 1973, Miami defeated the Minnesota
Vikings in Super Bowl VIII to culminate a two-season span in which the Dolphins won 32 of 34 games.
BART STARR, Super Bowl I MVP, participated in last year’s Vince Lombardi Trophy ceremony, which was
expanded to include a legend from a prior Super Bowl.

# # #

HISTORY OF SUPER BOWL COIN TOSS
SUPER
BOWL
COIN TOSS
I-XI Game Official
XII Red Grange
XIII George Halas
XIV Art Rooney
XV Marie Lombardi
XVI Bobby Layne
XVII Elroy Hirsch
XVIII Bronko Nagurski
XIX Hugh McElhenny (with President Ronald Reagan on video)
XX Bart Starr (representing 17 MVP’s who were present)
XXI Willie Davis
XXII Don Hutson
XXIII Nick Buoniconti, Bob Griese* and Larry Little
XXIV Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Art Shell and Willie Wood*
XXV Pete Rozelle
XXVI Chuck Noll
XXVII O.J. Simpson
XXVIII Joe Namath
XXIX Otto Graham*, Joe Greene, Ray Nitschke and Gale Sayers
XXX Joe Montana, representing 25 MVPs present
XXXI Mike Ditka, Tom Flores, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, George Seifert and Hank
Stram*
XXXII Joe Gibbs*, Eddie Robinson and Doug Williams
XXXIII Raymond Berry, Sam Huff, Roosevelt Brown, Art Donovan, Frank Gifford, Tom
Landry, Gino Marchetti*, Don Maynard, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker and Andy
Robustelli
XXXIV Bud Grant, Lamar Hunt*, Bobby Bell, Paul Krause, Willie Lanier, Alan Page and
Jan Stenerud
XXXV Marcus Allen, Ottis Anderson, Tom Flores* and Bill Parcells
XXXVI Former President George H.W. Bush* and Roger Staubach
XXXVII Miami Dolphins Hall of Famers from Undefeated ’72 Team: Don Shula*, Bob
Griese, Larry Csonka, Larry Little, Jim Langer, Nick Buoniconti and Paul
Warfield
XXXVIII Hall of Famers from Texas—Earl Campbell, Ollie Matson, Don Maynard, Y.A.
Tittle, Mike Singletary and Gene Upshaw
XXXIX Four young players, ages 7-10, from Jacksonville’s Pop Warner and Police
Athletic League teams and two coaches from New Orleans and Hyattsville,
Maryland (2004 NFL HS COY)
XL Super Bowl MVPs. Tom Brady performed toss.
XLI Dan Marino

NFL INJURY REPORT - WEDNESDAY 12/13/1006 - MORTEN ANDERSEN CAN BECOME NFL'S ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER

From NFL Media.com

FOR USE AS DESIRED
NFL-PER-15A 12/13/06

ANDERSEN CAN BECOME NFL'S ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER

Atlanta Falcons kicker MORTEN ANDERSEN has 538 field goals and 2,433 points in his 24-year career.
Andersen needs one field goal and two points to pass GARY ANDERSON (538 field goals, 2,434 points) for
the most in NFL history.

Andersen and the Falcons host the Dallas Cowboys this Saturday night (8:00 PM ET, NFL Network).
4=1

Following is a list of quarterback injuries for Week 15 Games:
Minnesota Vikings Questionable Brooks Bollinger (Left Shoulder)
Carolina Panthers Questionable Jake Delhomme (Right Thumb)
Cleveland Browns Questionable Charlie Frye (Right Wrist)
Miami Dolphins Probable Joey Harrington (Ankle)
New England Patriots Probable Tom Brady (Right Shoulder)
New York Jets Probable Chad Pennington (Calf)
St. Louis Rams ms Probable Marc Bulger (Ribs )
Following is a list of injured players for Week 15 Games:
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS on Thursday
San Francisco 49ers
OUT TE Eric Johnson (Knee); LB Derek Smith (Hamstring); T Adam
Snyder (Knee)
QUESTIONABLE LB Jeff Ulbrich (Foot)
PROBABLE DT Anthony Adams (Knee); CB Shawntae Spencer (Ankle); T
Jonas Jennings (Ankle)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
TUES Adam Snyder; Eric Johnson; Derek Smith; Jonas Jennings
WED Eric Johnson; Derek Smith; Adam Snyder
Seattle Seahawks
OUT C Robbie Tobeck (Hip); WR Darrell Jackson (Toe); TE Itula Mili
(Concussion)
QUESTIONABLE DT Rocky Bernard (Foot); G Floyd Womack (Groin); WR Bobby
Engram (Illness)
PROBABLE DE Joe Tafoya (Calf)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
TUES Robbie Tobeck; Darrell Jackson; Itula Mili; Rocky Bernard; Floyd
Womack
WED Robbie Tobeck; Darrell Jackson; Itula Mili; Rocky Bernard; Floyd
Womack
DALLAS COWBOYS AT ATLANTA FALCONS on Saturday
Dallas Cowboys
QUESTIONABLE RB Oliver Hoyte (Knee)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Practice Not Complete
Atlanta Falcons
QUESTIONABLE RB Warrick Dunn (Calf); RB Jerious Norwood (Knee); CB Jason
Webster (Groin)
PROBABLE DT Grady Jackson (Knee); T Todd Weiner (Knee); C Todd
McClure (Back); WR Ashley Lelie (Thigh); CB DeAngelo Hall
(Knee); LB Keith Brooking (Knee); LB Edgerton Hartwell (Knee)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Warrick Dunn; Jerious Norwood; Grady Jackson; Todd Weiner;
Todd McClure; Ashley Lelie; DeAngelo Hall; Keith Brooking;
Edgerton Hartwell
DETROIT LIONS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS
Detroit Lions
DOUBTFUL DT Marcus Bell (Hand); CB Fernando Bryant (Concussion); G
Ross Verba (Groin); G Blaine Saipaia (Chest)
QUESTIONABLE LB Teddy Lehman (Hamstring)
PROBABLE T Jeff Backus (Foot); WR Eddie Drummond (Hip)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Marcus Bell; Fernando Bryant; Ross Verba; Blaine Saipaia;
Teddy Lehman; Jeff Backus; Eddie Drummond
Green Bay Packers
OUT DE Mike Montgomery (Knee)
DOUBTFUL T Mark Tauscher (Groin)
QUESTIONABLE WR Ruvell Martin (Chest); S Atari Bigby (Hamstring); WR
Donald Driver (Shoulder); LB Ben Taylor (Hamstring); TE David
Martin (Ribs)
PROBABLE RB Ahman Green (Knee); C Scott Wells (Illness); CB Charles
Woodson (Shoulder)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Mike Montgomery; Mark Tauscher; Ruvell Martin; Atari Bigby;
Donald Driver; Ahman Green; Scott Wells; Charles Woodson
WASHINGTON REDSKINS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Washington Redskins
QUESTIONABLE C Casey Rabach (Hand); T Jon Jansen (Calf)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Casey Rabach; Jon Jansen
New Orleans Saints
QUESTIONABLE S Omar Stoutmire (Knee); TE Mark Campbell (Knee); WR Joe
Horn (Groin); RB Aaron Stecker (Hamstring)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Omar Stoutmire; Mark Campbell; Joe Horn
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT TENNESSEE TITANS
Jacksonville Jaguars
OUT S Nick Sorensen (Hamstring)
QUESTIONABLE P Chris Hanson (Left Hamstring)
PROBABLE CB Ahmad Carroll (Groin); LB Jorge Cordova (Hamstring); CB
Terry Cousin (Groin); WR Cortez Hankton (Hamstring); LB Clint
Ingram (Shoulder); RB Maurice Jones-Drew (Calf); G Vincent
Manuwai (Calf); RB Montell Owens (Shoulder); LB Kenneth
Pettway (Knee); LB Daryl Smith (Shoulder); DT Marcus Stroud
(Ankle); RB Fred Taylor (Hamstring); CB Brian Williams
(Hamstring); RB Derrick Wimbush (Ankle); TE George Wrighster
(Shoulder)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Nick Sorensen; Chris Hanson; Maurice Jones-Drew; Fred Taylor
Tennessee Titans
OUT DE Antwan Odom (Knee)
QUESTIONABLE WR Drew Bennett (Knee); RB Travis Henry (Ankle); G Benji
Olson (Back); TE Bo Scaife (Ankle); WR Brandon Jones (Chest);
RB LenDale White (Hip); DE Josh Savage (Hamstring); DE Kyle
Vanden Bosch (Illness)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Antwan Odom; Drew Bennett; Travis Henry; Benji Olson; Bo
Scaife; Kyle Vanden Bosch
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS AT CHICAGO BEARS
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
QUESTIONABLE LB Shelton Quarles (Knee); DT Ellis Wyms (Ankle); CB Juran
Bolden (Quadricep)
PROBABLE CB Phillip Buchanon (Groin)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Phillip Buchanon
Chicago Bears
OUT DT Tommie Harris (Knee)
QUESTIONABLE LB Leon Joe (Hamstring); RB Thomas Jones (Ankle); S Todd
Johnson (Ankle); T John Tait (Ankle); CB Nathan Vasher
(Hamstring)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Practice Not Conducted
NEW YORK JETS AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS
New York Jets
QUESTIONABLE RB B.J. Askew (Foot); CB David Barrett (Hip); LB Matt Chatham
(Foot); S Eric Smith (Foot); DE Bryan Thomas (Shoulder)
PROBABLE RB Kevan Barlow (Calf); LB Brad Kassell (Shin); WR Justin
McCareins (Foot); DT Rashad Moore (Hand); QB Chad
Pennington (Calf); DT Dewayne Robertson (Shoulder); TE Sean
Ryan (Thigh); WR Brad Smith (Shoulder); S Jamie Thompson
(Ankle); DT Kimo Von Oelhoffen (Shoulder)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED B.J. Askew; David Barrett; Matt Chatham; Eric Smith; Bryan
Thomas
Minnesota Vikings
QUESTIONABLE RB Chester Taylor (Ribs); QB Brooks Bollinger (Left Shoulder)
PROBABLE DT Pat Williams (Knee); CB Cedric Griffin (Neck); LB Napoleon
Harris (Wrist); WR Marcus Robinson (Ankle)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Chester Taylor; Brooks Bollinger; Pat Williams; Cedric Griffin;
Napoleon Harris; Marcus Robinson
CLEVELAND BROWNS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS
Cleveland Browns
DOUBTFUL LB D'Qwell Jackson (Toe); G Joe Andruzzi (Knee)
QUESTIONABLE LB Willie McGinest (Pectoral); WR Dennis Northcutt (Shoulder);
DE Nick Eason (Foot); LB Mason Unck (Groin); DT Ted
Washington (Knee); TE Kellen Winslow (Knee); CB Leigh
Bodden (Knee); QB Charlie Frye (Right Wrist)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED D'Qwell Jackson; Joe Andruzzi; Dennis Northcutt; Mason Unck;
Ted Washington; Charlie Frye
Baltimore Ravens
OUT RB Musa Smith (Neck)
QUESTIONABLE S Gerome Sapp (Thigh); WR Derrick Mason (Thigh); LB Dan
Cody (Knee)
PROBABLE T Adam Terry (Back)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Musa Smith; Gerome Sapp; Derrick Mason; Dan Cody; Adam
Terry
MIAMI DOLPHINS AT BUFFALO BILLS
Miami Dolphins
OUT RB Ronnie Brown (Hand)
QUESTIONABLE WR Chris Chambers (Knee); G Jeno James (Knee)
PROBABLE C Rex Hadnot (Shoulder); QB Joey Harrington (Ankle)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Ronnie Brown; Chris Chambers
Buffalo Bills
QUESTIONABLE LB John DiGiorgio (Ankle); CB Terrence McGee (Ankle); T
Jason Peters (Knee); LB Takeo Spikes (Ankle); S Donte Whitner
(Hamstring)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED John DiGiorgio; Jason Peters; Takeo Spikes
PITTSBURGH STEELERS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS
Pittsburgh Steelers
DOUBTFUL S Mike Logan (Hamstring); S Troy Polamalu (Knee); WR
Cedrick Wilson (Ankle)
PROBABLE S Ryan Clark (Groin); C Jeff Hartings (Knee); WR Hines Ward
(Knee)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Mike Logan; Troy Polamalu; Cedrick Wilson
Carolina Panthers
QUESTIONABLE WR Taye Biddle (Groin); QB Jake Delhomme (Right Thumb);
CB Chris Gamble (Thigh); RB Nick Goings (Shoulder); LB
Brandon Jamison (Thigh); CB Ken Lucas (Thigh); TE Kris
Mangum (Hip)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Taye Biddle; Jake Delhomme; Chris Gamble; Nick Goings; Ken
Lucas; Kris Mangum
HOUSTON TEXANS AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Houston Texans
OUT RB Jameel Cook (Knee)
DOUBTFUL S C.C. Brown (Foot)
PROBABLE C Drew Hodgdon (Foot); WR Jerome Mathis (Groin); DE
Anthony Weaver (Knee); DE Mario Williams (Foot)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Jameel Cook; C.C. Brown; Jerome Mathis
New England Patriots
OUT LB Don Davis (Knee/IR); RB Patrick Pass (Hamstring/ R)
DOUBTFUL S Rodney Harrison (Shoulder)
QUESTIONABLE CB Ellis Hobbs (Wrist); TE Daniel Graham (Ankle); LB Eric
Alexander (Shoulder); S Rashad Baker (Thigh); WR Chad
Jackson (Groin); RB Laurence Maroney (Back); T Ryan
O'Callaghan (Neck); TE Benjamin Watson (Knee); DT Vince
Wilfork (Ankle); DE Mike Wright (Shoulder)
PROBABLE QB Tom Brady (Right Shoulder); LB Corey Mays (Hamstring);
DE Richard Seymour (Elbow)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Rodney Harrison; Ellis Hobbs; Daniel Graham; Eric Alexander;
Rashad Baker; Chad Jackson; Laurence Maroney; Ryan
O'Callaghan; Benjamin Watson; Vince Wilfork; Mike Wright
ST. LOUIS RAMS AT OAKLAND RAIDERS
St. Louis Rams
OUT LB Pisa Tinoisamoa (Hand)
QUESTIONABLE DE Victor Adeyanju (Forearm); S Jerome Carter (Ankle); RB
Paul Smith (Neck)
PROBABLE DE Leonard Little (Neck); LB Isaiah Kacyvenski (Concussion);
QB Marc Bulger (Ribs)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Practice Not Complete
Oakland Raiders
OUT RB LaMont Jordan (Knee); DE Lance Johnstone (Knee)
DOUBTFUL WR Jerry Porter (Hip); G Corey Hulsey (Knee)
QUESTIONABLE T Robert Gallery (Elbow); WR Randy Moss (Ankle)
PROBABLE DT Tommy Kelly (Knee); G Barry Sims (Abdomen); CB Nnamdi
Asomugha (Quadricep)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Practice Not Complete
DENVER BRONCOS AT ARIZONA CARDINALS
Denver Broncos
QUESTIONABLE TE Stephen Alexander (Ribs); T Adam Meadows (Hamstring)
PROBABLE S Hamza Abdullah (Hamstring); K Jason Elam (Left Hamstring);
S Quentin Harris (Finger); WR Brandon Marshall (Ankle); T Erik
Pears (Ankle); WR Rod Smith (Hip); CB Darrent Williams
(Shoulder); LB Al Wilson (Thumb)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Stephen Alexander; Adam Meadows; Darrent Williams
Arizona Cardinals
DOUBTFUL RB Marcel Shipp (Ribs)
PROBABLE CB Robert Tate (Illness); T Reggie Wells (Illness); DE Chike
Okeafor (Calf); S Hanik Milligan (Illness)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Marcel Shipp; Robert Tate; Reggie Wells; Chike Okeafor; Hanik
Milligan
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT NEW YORK GIANTS
Philadelphia Eagles
QUESTIONABLE LB Matt McCoy (Shoulder); LB Shawn Barber (Neck); CB
Roderick Hood (Hamstring)
PROBABLE C Jamaal Jackson (Ankle)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Shawn Barber
New York Giants
OUT T Luke Petitgout (Fibula)
DOUBTFUL DE Michael Strahan (Foot)
QUESTIONABLE C Shaun O'Hara (Ankle); CB Corey Webster (Toe)
PROBABLE K Jay Feely (Right Foot); T Kareem McKenzie (Neck)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Luke Petitgout; Michael Strahan; Shaun O'Hara
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
Kansas City Chiefs
QUESTIONABLE DE Jimmy Wilkerson (Hamstring); T Kyle Turley (Shoulder); LB
Rich Scanlon (Neck)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Jimmy Wilkerson; Kyle Turley; Rich Scanlon
San Diego Chargers
OUT WR Malcom Floyd (Ankle)
DOUBTFUL G Scott Mruczkowski (Knee)
QUESTIONABLE DE Luis Castillo (Ankle); LB Randall Godfrey (Calf); LB Marques
Harris (Hamstring); WR Keenan McCardell (Calf); LB Shaun
Phillips (Hamstring); DE Derreck Robinson (Foot)
PROBABLE C Nick Hardwick (Ankle); S Marlon McCree (Calf); S Bhawoh
Jue (Knee); DT Jamal Williams (Knee); RB Michael Turner
(Hamstring)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Practice Not Complete
CINCINNATI BENGALS AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS on Monday
Cincinnati Bengals
OUT WR Kelley Washington (Hamstring)
DOUBTFUL C Rich Braham (Knee); T Levi Jones (Knee)
PROBABLE LB Caleb Miller (Ankle); TE Tony Stewart (Ankle); T Willie
Anderson (Foot)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Walk through Conducted
Indianapolis Colts
OUT TE Dallas Clark (Knee); WR Brandon Stokley (Achilles)
QUESTIONABLE S Bob Sanders (Knee); RB Dominic Rhodes (Wrist); WR Aaron
Moorehead (Back); CB Marlin Jackson (Shoulder); CB Nicholas
Harper (Ankle); T Ryan Diem (Groin); CB Antoine Bethea
(Shoulder); RB Joseph Addai (Foot)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
WED Practice Not Conducted

4-Year-Old Boy (African American He Is) Suspended For "Touching" His Aide - Another Race Problem Masked By Mainstream Media

Two days ago, I reported that the news of a 4-year old suspended for rubbing his head in the chest of his teacher's aide at the La Vega Primary School after she gave him a hug was actually a racial issue and I speculated that the boy was black by the name of his father, DeMarcus Blackwell.

Well, I was right about that. Here's a link to the story and a Windows video that is a television news cast on this stupid matter:

http://www.kxxv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5785699

This story has received a ton of coverage all over the Internet and from bloggers like The Volokh Conspiracy and Blonde Sagacity , and rightfully so. I'm trying to find out what the latest news on this is.

I was also trying to locate photos of any of the La Vega people in charge and in an effort to test my hypothesis that they are all White, including the teacher's aide. I didn't yet, but I did find their webpage. It has the emails of the principal Elicia Krumnow, and two other administrators. The only photo I located was of "Golden Apple Award Winner" Karen Musselman, who's worked there for eight years, and yes, who's White. She's pictured here.

My point here is that if there was an administrator who was Black in the ranks, this matter would not have unfolded in the way it did. It's really terrible that American society can still be such that it's predicatable in this way, but it is. This is basically a story of a kid being excluded for a simple innocent action; what is racism but a way to exclude a person from participating in mainstream society?

I'm still wiling to bet that if the boy was White it would be far less likely that this would have happened; that's sad. I'm going to lay this bet: the teacher's aide is Whte and female and has a complex set of problems: how she reacts to displays of affection, sex, and black men, even as boys, and that with all three, she's conflicted. Thus, this action, this stupid action that we are all informed of thanks to the Internet.

If you want to call the school and issue a word or two about this matter, here's the contact info:

Elicia Krumnow, Principal
La Vega Primary School
4400 Harrison
Waco, TX 76705

Phone: 254-799-6229

You can also contact the Board of Trustees of the La Vega School District:

Mildred Watkins - President
Rodney Outlaw - Vice President
Dr. Tamra Walthall - Secretary
Henry C. Jennings - Assistant Secretary
Phil Bancale
Randy Devorsky
Kevin P. Harris

c/o La Vega Independent School District
3100 Bellmead Drive
Waco, Texas 76705

Phone: 254-799-4963
Fax: 254-799-8642

NY Giants' Mathias Kiwanuka Performing Well In 2006

Another Great Article By Giants Beatwriter & Blogger Arthur Staple of NEWSDAY-My comments at the end.

Kiwanuka doing more than expected
December 13, 2006

This final season for Ernie Accorsi hasn't exactly gone as he'd planned. He probably figured the Giants would improve on last season's 11-5 record and go deeper into the playoffs before he retired after 36 years in the NFL. Instead, his prized quarterback has been under fire, his Hall of Fame defensive end is injured and his potential Hall of Fame running back is retiring along with Accorsi.

But the season can still be redeemed. And a large part of how the Giants withstood the barrage of injuries and poor play over their four-game losing streak can be traced to a decision Accorsi and his staff made in April, one that was seemingly a head-scratcher at the time.

The Giants traded down in the first round of the draft and selected Mathias Kiwanuka, a long, lean defensive end. "You can never have too many pass rushers," Accorsi said at the time. It sounded like a hollow cliché then: With Pro Bowlers Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora and improving second-year DE Justin Tuck, where would Kiwanuka play?

Accorsi is hardly feeling vindicated now. Just relieved that Kiwanuka not only has played, but done a very solid job for a rookie. For three games, he was the only true pass rusher on the field for the Giants, with Strahan out for five games and counting, Umenyiora out for six and Tuck done for the year.

"He's saved us," Accorsi said yesterday. "It's like a rookie pitcher. You start him off in middle relief to work him in slowly, but he ends up in the rotation. Kiwanuka didn't just end up in the rotation, he was our No. 1 starter for a month."

True, the Giants didn't win in that month, and Kiwanuka figured prominently in two of the losses. His failure to put Vince Young on the ground was one of many costly mistakes in the loss to the Titans. His fumble after an interception gave the Cowboys life in the first quarter when a Giants score could have made things difficult for Dallas.

But Kiwanuka hasn't missed a beat, or a play. He's been on the field for every defensive snap since he took over for Umenyiora against the Bucs seven games ago, and he still has kickoff and punt coverage duties.

That he quickly recovered from both errors - and from having his Cadillac Escalade stolen out of the Giants Stadium parking lot, which would be enough to push you or me over the edge on its own - speaks to the other reason Accorsi drafted Kiwanuka.

"Even after those two unfortunate events, I didn't worry about him the way I would another rookie," Accorsi said. "He's such a serious, mentally strong kid. He's had to do a lot more than we'd have thought this year, and under fire, too. This stuff is only going to help him."

It's helping his wallet, too. According to a person familiar with Kiwanuka's contract, the rookie could earn an extra $150,000 on top of his $275,000 salary for 2006, $50,000 for playing 60 percent of the defensive snaps and having four sacks, which he reached in Charlotte on Sunday, and $100,000 for being named first-team All-Rookie. He and No. 1 overall pick Mario Williams of the Texans seem to be shoo-ins at end. Kiwanuka also can trigger escalators in his 2010 salary with the sack and playing-time numbers this season if he stays on course.

Strahan already is a near-certainty to miss Sunday's game and a real question mark to return before the playoffs. "If we didn't think he was coming back, we'd have put him on IR," Accorsi said. So Kiwanuka will be counted upon to provide Umenyiora with a capable complement the rest of the way.

It's a far cry from April, when Accorsi told his coaching staff that he "wasn't drafting a guy to stand next to me in the tunnel."

You really can't have enough pass rushers.

And my Take: No, you really can't have too many Studs on the D-line. I remember sitting at the draft With Zennie, and Next level Scouting's and now Yahoo Sports' John Murphy and being mildly surprised that The Giants would select another Defensive end except for depth. That was 7+ months ago. Guess Ernie Accorsi thought ahead, knowing that Strahan wouldn't play forever.

My Lamar Hunt Story

As you may know, Kansas City Chiefs Owner Lamar Hunt passed away yesterday at the age of 74 and from complications developing from prostate cancer. What you may now know is that Lamar Hunt is truly a kind man.

Now I'm not passing myself off as his good friend or buddy. Not even close. I'm just an acquaintance. But Mr. Hunt did something I will always remember -- indeed, I have a reminder of it. It's a note from him.

I met Mr. Hunt at my first NFL Owners Meeting as I headed the effort to bring the Super Bowl to Oakland. This meeting was in the fall of 1999, specifically November 1-3rd, and at the Hyatt Regency O'hare. Because the league's business in naming the Houston Texans the 32nd NFL Franchise had been conducted at the previous NFL meeting, the schedule was shortened and the "Super Bowl Policy Committee Meeting" that was to be the destination for the Oakland and Alameda County elected officials involved was moved up one day. Now, only one Oakland representative was in Chicago to be at that meeting.

Me.

I presented the case for Oakland to a committee that consisted of then-NFL Chief Operating Officer Neil Austrian, NFL Senior Vice President of Special Events ("Mr. Super Bowl) Jim Steeg, the now late NY Giants Co-Owner Bob Tisch, Indianapolis Colts Owner Jim Irsay, and Mr. Hunt.

After a presentation that Mr. Irsay said was "outstanding" both he and Mr. Hunt were kind enough to just grab my bags and help me pack my equipment. All the while Mr. Hunt said "So where are we going this weekend, Jim?" And basically teasing Irsay about the upcomming game between the Colts and the Chiefs. So there I was being helped by these giants of the league and just plain having a great time talking. Mr. Hunt asked me what I thought about the talent of Peter Warrick (I told him I thought he had other-worldly speed and that he should be gotten if possible.) Then Mr. Hunt gave me his card and told me to keep in touch.

Much later -- in late 2000 after we lost to Jacksonville for the right to host the 2005 Super Bowl -- I got a small envelop in the mail and which contained one 3-by-5 inch note paper with a message scribbled on it. "From The Desk Of Lamar Hunt."

The hand writing was such that I had to read it and re-read it, but Mr. Hunt thanked me for leading Oakland's effort and encouraged me not to give up. Given all that I'd went through, it was more than welcome. But what got me then and now is that the note didn't come from the City of Oakland or the mayor, or any California official, or from anyone connected with the Oakland effort. It came from Lamar Hunt.

For that, Mr. Hunt always has a special place in my heart and memory.

Lamar Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs Owner Passes At 74

AFL founder, Chiefs owner Hunt dead at 74

NFL.com wire reports

DALLAS (Dec. 14, 2006) -- Lamar Hunt, the pro sports visionary who owned the Kansas City Chiefs and came up with the term "Super Bowl," died Dec. 13. He was 74.

Hunt, the son of a famous and wealthy Texas family, died at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas of complications from prostate cancer, Chiefs spokesman Bob Moore said.

Lamar Hunt 1932-2006

Lamar Hunt founded the AFL and helped shape the modern NFL.

Hunt battled cancer for several years and was hospitalized the day before Thanksgiving with a partially collapsed lung. Doctors discovered that the cancer had spread, and Hunt had been under heavy sedation since last week.

"He was a founder. He was the energy, really, that put together half of the league, and then he was the key person in merging the two leagues together," said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Hunt's neighbor. "You'd be hard-pressed to find anybody that's made a bigger contribution (to the NFL) than Lamar Hunt."

The son of Texas oilman H.L. Hunt, Lamar Hunt grew up in Dallas and attended a private boys' prep school in Pennsylvania, serving as captain of the football team in his senior year. His love of sports led to his nickname, "Games."

Hunt played football at SMU, but never rose above third string. His modest achievements on the field were dwarfed by his accomplishments as an owner and promoter of teams in professional football, basketball, baseball, tennis, soccer and bowling.

Hunt's business dealings were also the stuff of headlines. Hunt didn't need to make money -- his father was an oil wildcatter who was often referred to as the richest man in the world. But he tried to build on his father's wealth.

Along with two brothers, Hunt tried to corner the silver market in 1979 and 1980. Their oil investments also soured in the 1980s. Some estimated the family's losses in the billions.

Hunt also suffered setbacks in the world of pro sports, but overcame them.

When NFL owners rebuffed Hunt's attempt to buy a franchise and move it to Dallas, Hunt -- ignoring his father's advice -- founded the AFL. He owned one of the AFL's eight original teams from the inaugural 1960 season, the Dallas Texans.

The Texans, however, struggled in head-to-head competition with the expansion Dallas Cowboys of the NFL. Convinced that both franchises would suffer as long as Dallas remained a two-team city, Hunt moved the Texans to Kansas City in 1963.

"I looked around and figured Kansas City could be a success," he told The Associated Press. "By our fourth or fifth year, we started to succeed. The Cowboys, of course, did very well, too."

Hunt realized his dream of becoming an NFL owner after the two leagues reached a merger deal in 1966.

In 1967, the Chiefs lost the first AFL-NFL championship -- it was then called the World Championship Game. Three years later, the Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings for the title.

By then, the championship game had been christened the Super Bowl. Hunt came up with the name while watching his children play with a SuperBall.

In 1972, Hunt became the first AFL figure to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and each year the Lamar Hunt Trophy goes to the winner of the NFL's American conference.

Hunt long campaigned to let teams other than Dallas and Detroit play at home on Thanksgiving Day. To honor his effort, the NFL scheduled a third game on the holiday this year -- in Kansas City. Hunt missed it, though, because he was in the hospital and couldn't get the game on TV.

For several years, Hunt also owned the minor-league baseball Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs, but his 1964 effort to bring major league baseball to the Dallas area failed. After the 1971 season, the Washington franchise moved to suburban Arlington and became the Texas Rangers.

In 1967, Hunt was one of 10 original founding partners in the Chicago Bulls basketball franchise. He was the last remaining original owner.

Also in 1967, Hunt started the first organized effort at a pro tennis tour with World Championship Tennis, and in 1968 he helped bring pro soccer to the United States with his Dallas Tornado of the old North American Soccer League.

More recently, Hunt and his sons owned Hunt Sports Group, which manages Major League Soccer franchises in Dallas, Kansas City and Columbus, Ohio.

In 1969, Hunt tried to buy Alcatraz, the island in San Francisco Bay that once housed a federal prison, and develop it with a tourist park and shopping destination. The idea died amid local protest.

Hunt created Worlds of Fun, a $50 million amusement park, and Oceans of Fun, a $7 million water recreation park, in Kansas City. He opened a pro bowling arena in Dallas -- actress Jayne Mansfield was the opening-night draw.

Hunt was part of H.L. Hunt's "first family" -- the wildcatter had 15 children by three women. Despite huge losses in the silver and oil markets, family members kept much of their wealth protected by elaborate trusts, and their names have long dotted lists of the wealthiest Americans.

Counting pro football, Hunt has been inducted into eight halls of fame, including ones for soccer and tennis as well as the Texas Business Hall of Fame and the Kansas City Business Hall of Fame.

Hunt is survived by wife Norma, children Lamar Jr., Sharron Munson, Clark and Daniel; and 13 grandchildren.


AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

NFL WEEK 15 INJURY REPORT -- TUESDAY

FOR USE AS DESIRED
NFL-PER-15 12/12/06

WEEK 15 INJURY REPORT -- TUESDAY
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS on Thursday
San Francisco 49ers
OUT T Adam Snyder (Knee)
QUESTIONABLE TE Eric Johnson (Knee); LB Derek Smith (Hamstring); CB Shawntae Spencer
(Ankle); LB Jeff Ulbrich (Foot)
PROBABLE DT Anthony Adams (Knee); T Jonas Jennings (Ankle)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
TUES Adam Snyder; Eric Johnson; Derek Smith; Jonas Jennings
Seattle Seahawks
OUT C Robbie Tobeck (Hip); WR Darrell Jackson (Toe); TE Itula Mili (Concussion)
QUESTIONABLE DT Rocky Bernard (Foot); G Floyd Womack (Groin); WR Bobby Engram (Illness)
PROBABLE DE Joe Tafoya (Calf)
Listed players who did not participate in ''team'' practice:
(Defined as missing any portion of 11-on-11 team work)
TUES Robbie Tobeck; Darrell Jackson; Itula Mili; Rocky Bernard; Floyd Womack

NY area Fans STILL Getting Squeezed By NFL network

NY area Fans STILL Getting Squeezed By NFL network-from today's NY times sports section.

By RICHARD SANDOMIR
Published: December 13, 2006
The NFL Network has offered Time Warner and Cablevision an opportunity for their New York-New Jersey subscribers to see Rutgers play Kansas State in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 28 if they accept the network’s weeklong free preview.

Yesterday, Time Warner and Cablevision — with about 4.5 million customers in the local market — did not show enthusiasm for the offer. Cablevision’s response showed that it did not want to give the channel much exposure.

Cablevision said it expected to carry only the pregame programming before the Texas Bowl, the game and any postgame coverage, not the full week from Dec. 24 to Dec. 30. It would be available to Cablevision’s Family Cable customers on Channel 14.

In doing so, Cablevision would eliminate the NFL Network’s hope of showing the breadth of its programming to customers who had not seen it and might demand it from Time Warner and Cablevision.

Maureen Huff, a Time Warner spokeswoman, said, “We just received the proposal and are looking at it.” She declined to say whether Time Warner was considering the same limited response as Cablevision.

League spokesmen refused to comment on whether Cablevision’s response violated the terms of the weeklong offer. “We will review their full response,” said Joe Browne, a spokesman.

Time Warner and Cablevision have refused to carry the NFL Network, at a monthly subscriber fee of 70 cents, on a broadly available tier like expanded basic.

The free preview, a common marketing tool in cable, especially for movie channels, was offered by Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the National Football League, during a telephone conversation yesterday with Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey. The league has received several hundred phone calls from fans who want to see the Rutgers-Kansas State bowl game.

Lautenberg has been lobbying the league to broaden the coverage of the Texas Bowl ever since it appeared possible that Rutgers would play in it. “The bottom line is that people in New Jersey need to be able to watch Rutgers play, and now we have a way to do that,” Lautenberg said in a statement.

The league chose to provide the free preview rather than license the game to local broadcast stations in the New York-New Jersey or Manhattan, Kan., areas, or stream it to broadband Internet users on NFL.com.

And my Take: This is just another slap in the face by The NFL network to it's NY area fans. People who don't want to pay for the Poor service of Dish Network or to Give Verizon anymore money. Some of us really want this Coverage, but we are happy That CABLEvision and Time Warner are standing up for us customers. It would be nice to have the free Preview though.

Indianapolis Coach Problem - Defensive Line Injuries Galore!

Yep.

You know I'm really surprised at how the media misses the important details in football. Take the Colts Defense. Do you know that three of their defensive line people -- two of them starting tackles -- have been out for the year?

Look at this:

20 Doss, Mike Defensive Back IR Knee 12-11-06 - 04:40 PM
96 Goddard, Johnathan Defensive End IR Foot 12-11-06 - 04:40 PM
23 Mungro, James Running Back IR Knee 12-11-06 - 04:40 PM
90 Reagor, Montae Defensive Tackle Non-Football Illness/Injury 12-11-06 - 04:40 PM
97 Simon, Corey Defensive Tackle Non-Football Illness/Injury 12-11-06 - 04:40 PM

That list also includes Mike Doss and for some reason Bob Sanders is missing from this sheet, which comes from their website. That's six defensive players. It's not to so much the Colts personel as just plain injuries. But the Colts have to find a way, and there's an answer at least for the short term.

Chicago Bears Clinch Division; Beat Rams 42-27

Bears profit on Hester's returns 42-27
NFL.com wire reports

ST. LOUIS (Dec. 11, 2006) -- Devin Hester expects teams to keep on kicking deep to him. And he expects to keep right on returning those kicks to the end zone.

The high-stepping rookie got the Rams' home dome rocking with chants of "Let's Go Bears!" as he set an NFL record with his fifth and sixth returns for touchdowns this season, a 94-yard kickoff runback in the second quarter and a 96-yarder in the final period. That sparked a 42-27 victory that gave the NFC North champions (11-2) a bye for the first week of the playoffs.

"It's the NFL, and a team is not going to bow down to one player," Hester said. "They'll continue to kick to me."

They're fools if they do.

"It's like the gates of Heaven opening up for me," he added.

A second-round draft pick, Hester also has three punt return touchdowns and ran back a missed field goal 108 yards against the Giants to tie the longest play in NFL history. But he had returned only six kickoffs all season before his historic romps that made the thousands of fans who trekked from Chicago rise from their seats.

"I almost thought we were back at Soldier Field," coach Lovie Smith said.

Hester struggled to find a position in college at Miami, but he has been a sensation with the ball in his hands on kick returns for the Bears.

"The story of the game is Devin Hester," Smith said. "It's time we start looking at him as an offensive player. There are a lot of good offensive rookies in the league making big plays, but who has had as much impact as Devin Hester has in the league as a rookie right now?"

He came through the middle on the first runback, then swiftly cut to his left untouched and sped down the sideline, high-stepping like a drum major the last few yards while holding up the football for the raucous Bears fans.

Hester outdid himself in the fourth quarter when it appeared the Rams might try an onside kick. The only Bear standing deep, he went straight up the center of the field, again untouched, and turned around at the Rams 20 looking for pursuers. No one was there.

He admitted it was a tribute to his friend Deion Sanders.

"That played a major role in us losing the game," Rams cornerback Ron Bartell said. "We lost by 15. You take away those two returns, we've got a pretty good game."

Beleaguered quarterback Rex Grossman had a pretty good game and the Chicago running attack dominated the last two quarters.

Carrying a 14-13 lead into the second half, the Bears outgained the Rams (5-8) 191 yards to 31 in the third quarter. They scored on Thomas Jones' 30-yard run and Muhsin Muhammad's superb fingertip catch of a 14-yard pass from Grossman, who probably quieted calls for his benching -- particularly from the thousands of fans who outshouted Rams rooters much of the evening.


Rex Grossman temporarily silenced his critics with a mistake-free two-touchdown performance.
"They were all over the place tonight," linebacker Lance Briggs said. "I could hear the crowd chanting 'Bears, Bears, Bears.' Man, that's a warm feeling being away from home."

Grossman was 6-for-19 for 34 yards in a victory against Minnesota last week and had registered six interceptions and no touchdowns in the past two games, but was 13-for-23 for 200 yards and two scores against St. Louis. Aside from the fade pass to Muhammad, he hit Bernard Berrian on a perfect slant pattern for a 34-yard score late in the second period.

"The best way of describing it is efficient and decisive and getting the ball to guys I needed to," Grossman said.

Chicago rushed for only 65 yards against the Rams' porous run defense in the first half, then Jones gained 58 yards on the Bears' first series of the second half. That included a 24-yarder featuring a flashy spin move.

The Rams did get a 6-yard TD pass to Torry Holt midway through the fourth quarter, and a 6-yarder to Steven Jackson with 4:41 left. But they barely stung thanks to Hester's heroics.

"To beat a team like that you almost have to play perfect, and we didn't," QB Marc Bulger said. Now the Rams have lost seven of eight and are all but eliminated from playoff consideration.

Chicago kicker Robbie Gould missed twice on field-goal attempts -- from 37 and 49 yards. They were only his second and third misses of the season.

When Chicago's special teams came through early -- on Brad Maynard's punt downed at the St. Louis 1 -- the defense couldn't. Holt caught back-to-back passes of 13 and 16 yards, then Marc Bulger's perfect throw on third-and-13 found Kevin Curtis for 39 yards. Looking like the vintage Rams of the early decade on the 99-yard drive, they also converted a fourth-and-1 on Stephen Davis' 16-yard run to the 1 before Holt's double move beat Hester for the score.

A bad snap botched the extra point.

To their credit, the Rams responded immediately to Hester's first TD return with a 72-yard drive featuring Jackson, who gained 35 yards and ran in from the 2.

It was then the Bears' turn for an impressive drive that covered 74 yards, capped by Berrian's 34-yard TD catch and run for a 14-13 halftime edge.

4-Year-Old Boy (African American It Seems) Suspended For "Touching" His Aide After A Hug - Another Race Problem Masked By Mainstream Media

Let me get this straight, the four-year-old son of DaMarcus Blackwell was suspended by his school for "inappropriate touching" after he hugged the woman and he "rubbed his face in the chest of (the) female employee" on Nov. 10.

What kind of idiot would think a four-year-old boy is old enough to think of such a thing as sex as opposed to...lunch? Plus, he's short -- a kid, so there's no way....oh, geez, this is so silly and depressing. What kind of anxiety is the aide carrying around in her freaking head? Was she just so guilty of feeling turned on she got mad -- at a four year old? Damn!

Does she have kids? Does she breast feed? What does she do then? Get pissed and give the kids a spanking because she got turned on? Oh, god!

What bothers me about this story is how the matter of race is -- once again -- whitewashed. Look, his father's name is obviously not one someone White takes; it's commonly a Black person's name. The media is doing a massive disservice to the improvement of society with this constant habit of masking skin color in a story.

Second, I'll bet $100 the person complaining was at the least not black and perhaps given the region, most likely White. I'd lay money on that given the silly range of racial fears that taints our society. Look, if the news article were written to reflect the color of the participants, the reaction would be almost certainly one of even more outrage.

Why this form of censorship exists is beyond me. But it's got to stop. There's certainly a racial element here that's being deliberately burried.

I wrote "African American It Seems" -- I should have just written "Black."

Indianapolis Coach Tony Dungy On The Day After The Jacksonville Loss - Colts.com

The Colts took it on the chin Sunday, weathering a stunning 44 to 17 loss to their division rivals the Jacksonville Jaquars. Coach Dungy sounds ready to learn from the game, and prepare for the Bengals.

STILL TIME

By John Oehser - Colts.com

Colts Have Opportunity to Improve in December, Dungy Says
INDIANAPOLIS – Tony Dungy’s mood didn’t improve much Monday.
Because what the Colts’ head coach saw watching tape Monday was pretty much what he saw from the sidelines of Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., the day before.

Way too many rushing yards.

Way too many mistakes.

Way too much of a lot of things, with the result being a 44-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, a loss that not only kept the Colts (10-3) from clinching a fourth consecutive AFC South championship, but also set off a barrage of questions and criticism from outsiders.

On Monday, at his weekly next-day news conference, Dungy – in his fifth season with the Colts – arrived ready for the questions, and his message was that which he gave the team:

Yes, Sunday’s loss was disappointing.

And yes, the Colts must improve.

But he said he very much believes the Colts – who have lost three of four regular-season games for the first time since 2002 – can make that improvement, and Dungy said despite criticism to the contrary, there is plenty the Colts can accomplish.

“Obviously, not one of our better days yesterday, and that makes the next day a little tough,” Dungy said early Monday afternoon, a day after the Colts slipped from the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the first time since the end of the 2004 season.

“That makes the next day a little bit tough, but what we have to do from here is look at things, examine the breakdowns and improve. That’s going to be our task.

“Fortunately, we still have time to do that.”

Said Colts linebacker Rocky Boiman, “We’ve had a lot of success, especially in the regular season, around here. We’ve got to put this in perspective and say, ‘Hey, winning every game in the regular season is not something that happens all the time.’ ”

The Colts, who won their first nine games of the season, had a chance each of the last two weeks to clinch the AFC South with victories over division opponents. The loss to Jacksonville trimmed their division lead to two games, and meant that a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals (8-5) Monday won’t necessarily clinch the division.

The Colts can clinch the South this weekend if the Jaguars lose to the Tennessee Titans Sunday.

“We’re not going to lose sight of the fact that we’re 10-3,” Dungy said. “It’s easy to forget that at this time, after a game like this. What we have to do is watch the tape, get the corrections, and get ready for Cincinnati. Nothing more, nothing less.”

If the Jaguars win Sunday, the Colts can clinch a wild-card spot with a victory over Cincinnati.

The Colts are currently tied with the Baltimore Ravens for the second-best record in the AFC, and hold the AFC’s No. 2 seed because of strength of victory.

“We don’t have that No. 1 seed in our hands right now,” Dungy said. “We did up until yesterday (Sunday). We have to continue to play and win, and win as many games as we can. But right now, we’re in the thick of things.

“We’re still in the No. 2 slot. We’ve got a lot of good things that can still happen for us, but the big thing for us is going to be playing well. If we’re playing well, I don’t think it really matters what seed you are. You can be the No. 1 seed – if you’re not playing well, it’s not going to help us.

“So, that’s our concern, is to try to get ourselves back playing well. That’s everything.”

The Colts

on Sunday allowed the Jaguars 375 yards rushing, setting a record for the most yards the team allowed by the Colts in franchise history.

The loss also was the third in four games, the first time since 2002 – when the Colts lost three consecutive games in October and early November – the Colts have lost three games in a four-game stretch.

The Colts, after winning 30 consecutive games from mid-2004 to mid-2006 in which they had yet to clinch their playoff seeding, lost to Dallas (21-14) on November 19, beat the Philadelphia Eagles (45-21) on November 26 and lost to the Tennessee Titans (20-17) on December 3.

“It happens,” Dungy said. “You go through those times. You wish you didn’t. Ours is happening at the wrong time, but we still have three games left in December to get it going. We have a very hot team we’re playing, and we’ve got to play a lot better than we did yesterday (Sunday). . . .

“It’s going to take work. It’s not going to be easy. But I think we’ve got the people here who can do it.”

But on Monday, Dungy and Colts players spent less time talking about the scenarios for a fifth consecutive playoff appearance and more about correcting mistakes that have caused a recent slump.

“The thing we have to do is look forward, and pull out of this,” Dungy said. “There are some teams that have had some similar-type things, and they have pulled out of it. We’ve done that in the past as well.

“That’s our task right now, and that’s what we look forward to doing.”

Dungy, as was the case Sunday afternoon, on Monday pointed to several cases in which teams have struggled before recovering for successful late-season runs. One such case: 1999, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – with Dungy as head coach – lost to the Oakland Raiders, 45-0, late in the season before losing in the NFC Championship Game.

“It was much worse than this game – I promise you,” Dungy said. “It’s hard to believe, but it was. . . .

“It was 45-0 only because they slowed the game down and didn’t make it 75-0. We came back and won the last two we had to win and went to the playoffs and played pretty well. Sometimes, those games come out of the blue and you don’t know where they came from. Sometimes, it’s just that particular day, a style.

“One week doesn’t have to say what’s going to happen the next week. It may, but it doesn’t have to.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers last season lost three consecutive games in November and December, including 26-7 at Indianapolis, before winning their final eight games of the season, including Super Bowl XL.

Dungy said the message he gave to the players Monday was the same he gave the Buccaneers in 1999 – that one loss, even a bad loss, in December doesn’t necessarily end a team’s hopes of a postseason run. It’s a message Dungy said he believes the Colts have received.

“I think our team is still upbeat,” Dungy said. “I think they understand that we’re in the middle of a playoff race, and we’ve got a record that a lot of teams would like to have. The negative for us is the last four weeks we really haven’t played up to our standards and played as well as we can play. . . .

“We’re all frustrated. We’re all disappointed. We know we have to play better, but we all feel like we can play better and that’s what’s got to happen these last few weeks. My thought is to look ahead to see how we can improve it and get ourselves going and win these last three games.”

More Coverage On the Giants from Newsday's Beat reporter. Last paragraph will be my commenrary

Giants beat Panthers to end 4-game slide
BY ARTHUR STAPLE
STAFF CORRESPONDENT

December 10, 2006, 4:34 PM EST

CHARLOTTE, N.C -- It took a month of losses for the Giants to reach their desperation point. There's still a month to go until the playoffs begin, but a lot can happen in a month.

The Giants ended their losing streak at four games with a 27-13 win over the fading Panthers yesterday. It wasn't the prettiest of efforts, especially against a quarterback who hadn't played in four years and two little-used cornerbacks, but the Giants never trailed in winning for the first time since Nov. 5 against the Texans.

"A month like that," cornerback R.W. McQuarters said, "feels like two years. It's like, 'Damn, we haven't won in a month!' All it takes is one, no matter how you get it."

The Giants got this one by being smart and unspectacular on offense, relying on Tiki Barber (20 carries, 112 yards), who passed 10,000 rushing yards for his career, and Eli Manning, who threw three touchdown passes and wasn't intercepted for the second straight game.

The Panthers gained 463 total yards, but that was the product of a beaten team trying desperately to rally. Chris Weinke, starting for the first time since Oct. 30, 2002, threw 61 passes, completing 34 for 423 yards. The Giants had three interceptions in the second half, two by Gibril Wilson, to solidify their lead and their playoff position.

The Giants host the Eagles on Sunday; both teams are 7-6, along with the Falcons, and are tied for the lead in the battle for the two wild-card berths. The Giants also moved within one game of Dallas for the NFC East lead. So this is no time to bask in the glow of a long-awaited win.

But perhaps the memories of the past month -- players calling each other out, a coach calling his players out, the headlines screaming for the coach's head -- will quell any lofty thoughts.

"We had a lot of criticism, probably a lot of it deserved, but we knew this was like a playoff game," Antonio Pierce said. "We've got four playoff games to get us to the playoffs. We're 1-0 now."

The first sign that the Giants were approaching this game with a different mind-set came on their second drive. Twice they went for it on fourth down.

The first made sense -- fourth-and-inches from the Panthers' 34 -- and Manning's sneak got the first down.

The next was an atypical Tom Coughlin call, on fourth-and-10 from the 33. Manning avoided pressure by rolling to his left, froze a pair of defenders by faking a run, then fired a pass to David Tyree, who dived forward for the first down. The Giants came away with only a field goal, but it was a tone-setter.

"It's about building up emotion and esteem right there," said Tyree, who caught a 3-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter as the Giants took a 27-10 lead. "We don't get anything there, it definitely does something to your psyche."

Plaxico Burress walked off the field in disgust after the field-goal drive, having gotten open twice without Manning finding him, but Manning completed passes of 45 and 28 yards to Burress to put the Giants ahead 10-0, the latter a touchdown pass into single coverage on third-and-7.

Just 1:49 later, the Panthers made it 10-7 as Weinke targeted Giants rookie cornerback Kevin Dockery for three completions in four plays, the last a 36-yard touchdown pass to Drew Carter. John Kasay's 37-yard field goal tied it at 10 with 3:02 left in the half, but Manning put the Giants ahead for good by directing another crisp two-minute drive capped by a 2-yard TD catch by Jeremy Shockey 27 seconds before halftime. Shockey had recovered Brandon Jacobs' fumble at the 1 a play earlier.

With 10 points in the opening 8:01 of the second half on Jay Feely's 29-yard field goal and Tyree's touchdown reception, the Giants just had to grind out a win. They didn't earn any style points, going without a first down the remainder of the game and picking up only 70 yards in the second half, but the defense held its ground.

The Panthers were without starting corners Ken Lucas and Chris Gamble, then lost backup Christian Morton in the first quarter, forcing them to use two rookies and a backup safety.

The Giants were able to run the ball even with a hodgepodge of offensive linemen in the game. Shaun O'Hara left for two series after Barber rolled onto the back of his right leg, and Kareem McKenzie missed the second half with a strained neck. That forced left guard David Diehl to play tackle against All-Pro end Julius Peppers, who was generally neutralized.

Now the Giants, who will play the Saints and Redskins after facing the Eagles on Sunday, have to make the last month seem like a bad dream.

"We had great purpose over the entire [losing streak]," Coughlin said. "I don't think we had any distractions. They really handled the situation very well."


And my Comments:
Ok so The G-men played a bit smarter this time, infact the last two games prior to this as well, then thy did in the first two losses. Even if the play calling was a bit better-172 yards passing Vs a team with a weak group of d-backs isn't very good. Also no rushing TD's this time, and Jacobs looks stuck again when they bring him in. Still not using the TE enough either, even though he scored a TD (Shockey), he was only 6 grabs for 49 yds. But i guess a win is a win is a win...

Citigroup Inc Pays $400 Million For New Mets Stadium; Jets and Giants Next? - Naming Rights Deals Make Rebound

Stadium Naming Rights Deals Make Rebound

By Ben Klayman
Reuters

Sports stadium naming rights deals seemed bad karma a few years ago amid accounting scandals and the dot-com bust, but they have rebounded with a vengeance, with bigger dollar amounts and more comprehensive plans.

Companies are no longer simply slapping a name on a stadium. They are devising complex brand-burnishing strategies involving logos, advertising and technology deployment with a view to boosting profits.

Financial services company Citigroup Inc. agreed last week to pay the New York Mets a reported record $400 million over 20 years for rights to name their new baseball park, set to open in 2009, Citi Field. In California, the Oakland A’s said network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. would pay $120 million over 30 years to name their new stadium Cisco Field, to be built in nearby Fremont.

“What you’re seeing today and why you’re able to get $20 million a year out of a relationship with Citibank, for instance, is that these are strategic alliances designed to drive business between the two organizations,” said David Carter, executive director of the USC Sports Business Institute.

The Mets-Citigroup agreement tops the 30-year, $300-million naming rights deal the National Football League’s Houston Texans have with Reliant Energy Inc., according to Bonham Group, a Denver sports marketing and consulting firm that has negotiated a number of similar deals.

Teams are only too happy to sign such deals as they look to squeeze every possible dollar from their properties, analysts said. And past scandals have not scared off either side.

The most infamous name change occurred in 2002, when the Houston Astros baseball team re-acquired their stadium naming rights from bankrupt energy trader Enron Corp. in order to sell them to Coca-Cola Co.’s Minute Maid.

Other sports venues have seen similar changes. The football stadiums of the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens, respectively, switched from names linked to a former unit of cable company Adelphia Communications and Internet services provider PSINet, both of which filed for bankruptcy.

As companies look to connect with customers, naming rights deals will remain lucrative for the teams, said Fred Popp, chief executive of SME, a New York sports branding and design firm.

“Clients need to bypass the brain and go right for the heart,” Popp said. “Sports brands are surrogates. They allow the typical consumer brand to engage the consumer in a highly emotional way, in a way that you just can’t establish with your product alone.”

Naming rights alone are not enough, however, The Mets deal also includes the right to put the Citi brand throughout the new park, the use by Citigroup of Mets logos, the bank’s purchase of advertising on the Mets’ cable network and the joint development of business opportunities.

The Cisco deal includes the sale by the company of 143 acres of land to the Oakland team for a new stadium. Cisco’s technology in the ballpark will allow services such as the ability to upgrade tickets in on-site ticket kiosks, order souvenirs or food using a mobile device, and view replays at your seat and save them to a personal Web page.

Cisco treasurer, David Holland, who negotiated the deal, said it aligns closely with his San Jose, California-based company’s business objectives, which include getting more of its technology into sports venues.

“In the past, we have not been a company that looks to hang our sign on these kinds of venues,” he told Reuters. “If you look at how Cisco’s business has evolved, particularly in the last few years and most recently with the acquisition of Scientific Atlanta, we are moving closer and closer to the (consumer) of our equipment.”

While still growing accustomed to new ballpark names, fans accept them as the price to be paid for competitive teams and lower taxes related to stadium construction.

“Nowadays, when you talk about the costs of stadiums, you understand eventually it’s going to go to the highest bidder,” said Mets fan Nick Parente.

“I’m just looking forward to the new stadium, in all honesty, because even though Shea was one of the older stadiums, it wasn’t one of the prettiest,” said the 37-year-old Hoboken, New Jersey, resident, who works in aviation insurance underwriting.

The Mets shouldn’t get too comfortable with their record-setting deal, however.

Analysts said the NFL’s New York Giants and Jets’ new football stadium—planned for 2010—features a large venue, two major teams in a popular sport and the New York market, suggesting yet another new record is likely.

San Francisco 49ers, Monster Park, Stadium Naming Rights, And Corporate Responsibilty

Oracle, who's name now graces the Oakland Arena, and Monster Cable, which placed its name on the stadium where the San Francisco 49ers play, have got themselves into a big mess.

Now that both companies have their names on publically-owned stadium, they're discovering they can't get away with treating the public poorly.

This Oakland Tribune article tells the story:

Naming rights not all companies get
Oracle, others find monikers on arenas bring community expectations

By Barbara Grady, BUSINESS WRITER - Oakland Tribune Article Last Updated:12/10/2006 02:50:10 AM PST
A cheerleading squad from an inner city Oakland high school and their parents are angry with Oracle Corp. ever since the company -- whose name is emblazoned on the arena of the Golden State Warriors -- turned the students away from an Oracle trade show.

A San Francisco neighborhood of immigrants and members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors are upset with Monster Cable Products Inc. because the Brisbane company -- whose name is all over the 49ers football stadium -- has laid off 120 employees who have scant chances of finding new jobs.

What Oracle and Monster Cable are learning -- the hard way -- is that with the naming rights to big professional sports stadiums comes higher expectations about how the companies will behave in the community. Redwood Shores-based Oracle, one of the world's largest software companies, is paying about $3 million a year for Oracle Arena to be the name of the Warriors' home. Huge red Oracle signs are not only highly visible to every driver on Interstate 880, every pedestrian in the neighborhood and every basketball fan coming to the arena for games, but Oracle's name also appears in newspaper, magazine and online accounts of games played at the arena.

Monster, paying $6 million over four years for naming rights to the 49ers stadium, gets the same huge publicity benefit by having its name on the former Candlestick Park not far from Highway 101.

So when the Oracle signs piqued the interest of the cheerleaders from Castlemont High School, the coach, a parent and squad members decided one October afternoon to visit the huge Oracle OpenWorld trade show in San Francisco.

To their hurt and dismay, the students were turned away from the show. "They didn't have to act that way to teenagers," said Lillian Foster, coach of the Castlemont cheerleading squad. "They asked us not to come in because they thought all we wanted to do was pass out fliers."

Said Ethel Davis, grandmother to one student, "You have these kids trying to go to learn about computers and people are shunning them."

Strike one for Oracle community relations in the hometown of its arena. Oracle officials did not know about the visit and said contracted security guards, not Oracle employees, turned the students away.

"We would have gladly welcomed the students if we knew" in advance of their interest, said Bob Wynne, chief spokesman at Oracle. The squad later was hosted at a Warriors' basketball game and is in discussions with Oracle about a donation.

Still -- like Monster Cable -- Oracle learned a lesson. "Getting the naming rights has put more expectations on Monster to explain our actions as a business," said Daniel Graham, spokesman for Monster Cable.

Citing pressure from overseas competitors, Monster laid off 120 employees from its Brisbane plant in late October. Almost all of them were longtime employees of immigrant background and limited English skills, said San Francisco Supervisor Jake McGoldrick, who represents the district in which many laid-off workers live.

Now Monster Cable faces threats of losing naming rights to the 49ers stadium because of community anger over layoffs.

"He should take the letters M-O-N-S-T-E-R off the walls of that ballpark and we will gladly release him from the contract. He can use the money to help the workers," McGoldrick said of Monster Chief Executive Noel Lee. Lee founded the company 27 years ago in the Richmond district, which McGoldrick rep resents.

When Monster moved to Brisbane, many workers followed him. Monster gave four weeks severance pay and four weeks extended health benefits to the laid-off workers. But the workers want the same severance that Monster gave to previously laid-off workers, which is four weeks plus one week for every year an employee worked at Monster, according to McGoldrick and an association representing the workers.

"The City and County of San Francisco shares a special connection with your company since your name is attached to the stadium at Candlestick Point," Supervisors Aaron Peskin, McGoldrick and Ross Mirkarimi wrote to Monster Cable. "We have seriousÊconcerns about the layoffs. As a major employer in the Bay Area, Monster Cable's mass layoffs will be felt throughout the City and County."

Lee responded in a letter to the supervisors that four weeks of severance pay is more than what other manufacturers often do and that "we are one of the highest-paying employers in the local manufacturing industry" by paying $12 to $25 an hour. "To imply that we do not treat our people well is uninformed."

But sports marketing consultant Zennie Abraham, chief executive of Sports Business Simulations of Oakland, said the high public exposure a company gets from a sports stadium naming contract puts a higher obligation on that company to act on behalf of the community.

"The name is in the public's face and because that company is associated with a good organization -- for example, the Warriors -- the general expectation from the community is that the company is going to be good," Abraham said.

"Only a big company has enough money to demand that its name is placed on a facility, but they do it because they know they are going to get enormous marketing benefits," Abraham said. With that publicity, "it's absolutely inherent in naming-rights contracts (that) they open themselves up to community concerns."

In some stadium naming contracts, such as ones crafted by American Airlines in Dallas and FedEx in Landover, Md., the naming-rights contract comes with agreements to sponsor community programs in the city, he said. The most infamous mistake involving naming rights might have been Enron Park in Houston. After the Enron scandal erupted, the Astros quickly bought out the 30-year, $100 million naming-rights deal with Enron and found a new, more palatable sponsor, Minute Maid.