Chad Johnson now Chad Javon Ocho Cinco

Chad Johnson was one of my favorite players in the NFL. He was a little out there like racing horses on a horse track for charity, but he seemed like he was just a guy that had fun with the game. I respected that.



With all of his off-season antics, Chad Johnson became one of my least favorite players. Perhaps, he was easily influenced by his uber-jerk agent, Drew Rosenhaus, but he was a different Chad Johnson. Now, he's an even different Chad Johnson:

The Cincinnati Bengals receiver has legally changed his name to Chad Javon Ocho Cinco in Broward County, Fla., a switch that became official this week.

"It's something I don't think anyone has ever done before," he told the team's Web site. "Have I ever had a reason for why I do what I do? I'm having fun."

Many don't like his antics including head coach Marvin Lewis, who has referred to Chad as "Ocho Psycho." But I love the move. Whether you (or I) like Ocho Cinco or not, one thing's for sure. He will always give us something to talk about.

Jerricho Scott: "Too good"?

Jerricho Scott, a 9-year old youth baseball player, is good. He throws a baseball 40 mph and accurately while helping lead his youth team to an 8-0 record.

But according to parents and officials in Scott's league, Scott is "too good."

Leroy and Nicole Scott, whose fast-pitching son, Jericho, 9, is at the center of the dispute, met Monday, along with another player’s parents, with prominent attorney John Williams to see whether the season could be saved. Williams said Monday he will take legal action to try to get Jericho’s team into the upcoming playoffs, where they belong after an 8-0 season. He also will sue the league over the pain and suffering of Jericho and the other young players.

League officials offered to move the team’s 13 players to other squads after they tried to dissolve the team last week because the coach, Wilfred Vidro, refused to pull Jericho off the pitcher’s mound as requested by league officials.

Jericho’s pitches are so fast and accurate that league officials and some parents feared their kids weren’t able to play freely, league attorney Peter Noble said recently. All the players on Jericho’s team declined to move and are sticking together.

I think this story is ridiculous. Jerricho Scott is good yet he is being punished for being "too good." It should be that the kids learn the lesson that you compete, give it all you have and maybe sometimes that's not enough. But instead of giving up, you continue to work hard and you will get better.

We are too PC these days. There is nothing wrong with competition and no such thing as being "too good."

The one good lesson that is being taught in this situation is what Jerricho, his teammates and his coach are doing. They are sticking together to demonstrate their solidarity. Hopefully, league officials are paying close attention to the good example that Jerricho and his teammates are setting.

Carl Pavano returns

Carl Pavano has made 3 starts since June 2005. He's earned about $11 of his 4-year, $40 million contract that he signed in 2005. Yesterday, he pitched well enough in his return as the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-3.

"It's amazing. This is what I get paid to do, this is what I live for," Pavano said. "This is all I really want, to go out there every fifth day and do my job.

"Asked if he could help the Yankees this season, Pavano replied, "I know I can.

The Yankees definitely need the help (health) in their starting rotation. But something gives me the sense that he'll soon be back on the DL. So, who will miss a "start" first: Carla Pavano or Aaron Rodgers?

Kevin Curtis to have sports hernia surgery

Donovan McNabb finished 2007 very strongly. In the last 4 games of the season, he completed more than 65% of his passes and threw for almost 1000 yards. He also made good decisions with the football as threw 6 TDs to only 1 interception.

Finishing up so strongly last year, McNabb was one of my sleeper picks that I was targeting in my fantasy football drafts. Well, there is a wrench thrown into the plans. Kevin Curtis is going to sports hernia surgery today and will be out for significant time.

The full extent of the injury will not be clear until the surgery is performed, so no timetable was given for a possible return, but expect it to be a while, given the history of the injury. A reasonable timeframe probably would be six to eight weeks from the surgery, which Curtis told the Daily News will take place Thursday morning. The regular season starts Sept. 7. There is little chance the Eagles' leading 2007 receiver (77 catches, 1,110 yards) will be full-strength before October, at best.

Curtis becomes the third Eagles player to suffer a sports hernia in the last few years. Donovan McNabb had surgery during the 2005 season after trying to play through the injury. L.J. Smith had offseason surgery in the spring of 2007 but the injury lingered, especially after he suffered another injury to the area during training camp. Smith cautioned yesterday that Curtis should not try to come back too soon. Previously, cornerback Sheldon Brown played the 2003 season with the injury, something Brown said yesterday he would not do again.

The Eagles drafted DeSean Jackson, who will help the Eagles in the return game to a greater degree than the passing game. But their WR corps with Kevin Curtis was the weakest in the NFC East.

I still think Donovan McNabb will have a strong year in 2008. However, more of the burden will fall on his and Brian Westbrook's shoulders. And, now the Eagles need Jackson to step up and contribute more than previously required.

Brandon Marshall appeals suspension

Brandon Marshall was suspended by Roger Goodell for 3 games (can be reduced to 2) under the Personal Conduct Policy. Well, he has filed an appeal to...umm, the Commissioner:

Brandon Marshall formally appealed his three-game suspension Thursday to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, according to a league source. Goodell had found the Broncos' receiver in violation of the league's personal conduct policy. An appeal hearing has not been set, although it's expected before the season-opening week.

Appeal aside, Goodell said he would consider reducing the suspension to two games if Marshall met certain conditions.

The New Orleans Saints, the Broncos' Game 3 opponent, might be interested to learn the most significant condition is for Marshall to stay free from trouble and disturbances through Sept. 15, which is when he can be reinstated.

Makes no sense. His chance to appeal was when he met with Roger Goodell. The Commissioner isn't going to reduce or cancel the suspension now.

Filing an appeal is just going to give the impression that he doesn't understand why he's being punished under the policy possibly influencing his explanations if to the Commissioner if (when) he gets in trouble again.

Brad Ziegler's Scoreless IP Streak Ends

It's widely-argued that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in team sports. But pitching a shutout is equally as impressive.

Brad Ziegler started his Major League Baseball career with 39 scoreless innings.

"I didn't think about the streak until I started walking back on the mound," Ziegler said. "The first thought that popped in my head was, 'I can't believe that just happened with a runner on first,' but I guess the good thing it wasn't a cheap one. A whole bunch of things fell at once and so that way there's no pressure from this point on."

Ziegler, Oakland's rookie reliever who began the season in the minors, has been one of the few highlights for Oakland in the second half, setting numerous records including the most shutout innings by any pitcher to start a career. The right-hander extended that mark to tie the major league single-season record for consecutive scoreless innings by a reliever set by Cleveland's Al Benton in 1949.

"It's almost been like a no-hitter type streak or something," A's manager Bob Geren said. "Unbelievable what he's done, but I'll get him right back out and try to start another one. He's been tremendous."

What's amazing is he's reliever pitching an inning or two here and there. When a starting pitcher is on, it's understandable that he pitches 9 scoreless, consecutive innings. But to have the stuff to go out there 30 times and not give up a run is amazing.

MLB Instant Replay - by end of August?

Bud Selig was opposed to Major League Baseball implementing instant replay. However, after several controversial calls at the beginning of the season, baseball could have instant replay by the end of the month.

Major League Baseball is working out technical issues to start instant replay for boundary calls such as home runs, hoping to institute the system later this year.

"We've got lots of time in August," Bob DuPuy, the sport's chief operating officer, said Wednesday as a two-day owners' meeting began. "There's plenty of August still to go."

I'm a big proponent of instant replay. If it's relatively easy to get a call right (either 1st attempt or after correction), why not utilize replay?

Rays set record, but how will they handle adversity?

Last month, I made a post predicting the Tampa Bay Rays would make the playoffs. But as a wildcard team, not the AL East winner.

The Tampa Bay Rays continue to play great baseball, winning 8 of their last 10. In fact, they have just set the franchise record for wins in a season with their 71st victory. There are still 45 games to be played in the season.

Although Rocco Baldelli is back, the Rays have lost players to injuries in back-t0-back days. First, it was Carl Crawford and now it's All-Star Evan Longoria.

He is hitting .278 and leads the Rays with 22 home runs, 71 RBI, 27 doubles and a .533 slugging percentage.

His 22 homers rank sixth overall in the American League, lead all major league rookies and are a Tampa Bay rookie record. Longoria also leads AL third basemen with a .971 fielding percentage.

The loss of Longoria will hurt more than that of Carl Crawford. This young, talented team has been oblivious to the pressure of being the AL East leader. It will be interesting to see how they handle the adversity of being without these two stars. And depending on the outcome, this could be a blessing in disguise getting them ready for playoff baseball.

Fans Droppin' the F Bomb on Aaron Rodgers

Although Aaron Rodgers hasn't always said the perfect thing throughout the Brett Favre vs Green Bay Packers saga, I think he has done pretty well at maintaining the right outlook and handling it with class. The "get on board or shut up" statement was ill-advised, but that is the exception to the rule.

Discussing what gets to Aaron Rodgers, he said:

"The things I can't understand, the things I really take personally, is when I'm driving up to the (parking lot) gate and punching in my punch code and somebody says ‘F.U.' to me. That kind of bothers me. Or when a little kid is yelling swear words at me. That kind of gets to me. The boos, they expect a high level of play and they miss Brett Favre. I understand that. But the ‘F.U.' and the little kids saying swear words to me, I don't understand that."

I can definitely understand why Rodgers would feel this way. What I don't understand is the level of hatred some folks have towards Aaron Rodgers. He wasn't responsible for Brett Favre leaving Green Bay.

It really came down to Packers management (Murphy, Thompson, McCarthy, etc.) vs Brett Favre. Not Brett Favre vs Aaron Rodgers. Granted, he's taking over, but because Packers management decided to move on. I guess in some ways Rodgers was right: Packer fans need to "get on board or shut up."

Ryan Torain to miss 3 months

According to the Denver Post, Broncos rookie RB Ryan Torain will miss up to 3 months. He is scheduled to have shoulder surgery Friday evening.

Many people expected big things from this 5th-round rookie RB including Mike Shanahan.

"He's one of the most gifted running backs I've been around for a long time," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said Wednesday. "He is very similar to Terrell Davis when he came in."

"It's a big loss," Shanahan said. "I thought he had a chance to compete to be the starting running back."

If you've ever owned a Broncos RB on your fantasy football team, you know that Torain (or any Broncos RB) has a chance to start. While this hurts the Broncos overall, it helps Selvin Young's fantasy draft value.

Cool way to honor fallen soldiers

Saw this segment while watching the CBS evening news.



Although this isn't quite a "sport", this group's run of 4,129 miles across the country is a great way to honor those who have fallen in Iraq. What they are doing is running each mile in honor of a soldier and they are putting mile markers that honor the individual soldier.

Great way to honor the fallen soldiers.

Brett Favre has been reinstated

Ed Werder of ESPN has reported on Sports Center that Brett Favre has been reinstated by Roger Goodell.

Favre with agent Bus Cook will be met by Packers personnel when they land in Green Bay at 5:30 CT today. However, according to ESPN, Favre will not be at tonight's "Packers Family Night".

He could report Monday at noon, but supposedly both sides will continue to negotiate.

Although I can understand why Favre would have been tempted to accept the $20 million "marketing" offer from the Packers, he's making the right decision to not accept it. There's no doubt that his legacy has taken a hit throughout this whole process. To be fair, the Packers rep has taken a hit as well. However, for Favre to take the money and run, his legacy would take much more of a hit.

Bear at US Senior Open

Stealing the show, however, was a black bear that ambled out of the mountains in the morning and crossed the 13th fairway before checking out spectators outside the ropes.

Nobody was harmed, and neither was the bear.

“(Jack) Nicklaus isn’t here, so I guess that’s a substitute,” cracked Funk.

Although tournament officials were prepared to tranquilize the animal and stop play were it to become aggressive or spooked, after several minutes the bear crawled through a drainage pipe on the ninth hole that leads to the West Course, then went through another drainage pipe and into the wilderness, leaving unnerved galleries and golfers behind.

Click here to see a picture of the bear on the course. Everyone seemed calm and you're not supposed to run. But I think that's easier said than done.