Monday, November 30, 2015

Monmouth bench keeps the hilarity going with each victory (VIDEO)

There aren't many college basketball teams that are having more fun than the Monmouth Hawks so far this season — and are they showing it.


The unheralded New Jersey college basketball squad's antics on the bench started when they topped No. 17 Notre Dame on Thanksgiving. And after a loss to Dayton they ramped up the hilarious celebrations during a win over USC on Sunday.


And I don't even know what this is:



Can't wait to see the craziness these guys come up with when they start their MAAC regular season schedule.

It's a Jersey thing.

FOX's closed captioning gives Eli Manning a really mean nickname (VIDEO)

Eli Manning has been called a lot of things during his career — everything from Peyton's Little Brother to Easy E, but nobody could have predicted the nickname that a FOX Sports caption writer typed on screen during the Giants' loss to the Redskins on Sunday.


Whoever wrote the closed captioning during the game accidentally (we presume) identified Manning as "Eli man penguin boy."
But after the way Eli waddled his way through the game, this is a name that just might stick.

Dwight Howard takes Kristaps Porzingis to school with ridiculous alley-oop (VIDEO)

New York Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis has become the toast of the NBA and it seemed it was only a matter of time before the Zinger got burned.


Against the Houston Rockets on Sunday, the 7’3” Latvian met his match when fellow big man Dwight Howard manhandled the rook with this two-handed alley-oop over the Knicks sensation.




Even though K-Por, KP, K-Zing or whatever you want to call him, ended up on the wrong end of a Superman poster dunk, he still finished the game with 20 points and 13 rebounds in a 116-11 OT loss to the Rockets.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Cam Newton threatens to ‘slap the s--t out of’ heckler at Auburn-Alabama game (VIDEO)

Riding high after beating the Cowboys in Dallas on Thanksgiving, Cam Newton was back in Auburn Saturday to watch his Tigers take on Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

But while walking to Jordan-Hare Stadium, Newton — who quarterbacked Auburn to a national championship in 2010 — became the target of of some unexpected heckling.


A fan can be heard on video yelling "180K!" at Newton as he walks through the crowd, a reference to the quarterback's alleged college recruiting payoff. Newton was not pleased, and responded with an expletive laced threat.

"I'll slap the sh-- out of you!" Newton says, turning and pointing at the fan.



While Newton was still in college, numerous reports claimed that his father, Cecil Newton Sr., had asked schools for large payouts in exchange for Cam's services. A former Mississippi State player even told ESPN that he witnessed Cecil Newton informing Bulldogs coaches the program would need to pay between $100,000 and $180,000 for Cam to commit there.

Looks like it still touches a nerve with the NFL star.

Aaron Rodgers lets f-bomb fly on national TV (VIDEO)

Aaron Rodgers is surely not the first player in NFL history to curse during a game on a live TV broadcast. But the Packers quarterback is probably the first to make about 27.8 million fans choke on their Thanksgiving turkey all at the same time.



After a bad snap during a play in a divisional game against the Bears, Rodgers can be distinctly heard saying "Ahh F--k," after a misplayed snap.
The censures were a little late on the delay button — but no biggie. Now if he had said Redskins ...

Jackets' Brandon Dubinsky breaks stick over Sidney Crosby (VIDEO)

Sidney Crosby has always considered Brandon Dubinsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets a thorn in his side — mainly because Dubinsky is always assigned to do whatever it takes to keep Crosby off his game. But Dubs may have taken things too far in the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins star on Friday.

With Crosby trying to get position in front of the Blue Jackets' net, Dubinsky stuck right behind him to make sure Crosby didn't get a shot on goal. In the process of jostling for position at the net front, Dubinsky clearly and blatantly cross-checked Crosby in the back of the neck. 



Not satisfied with sending the Penguins star to the ice in apparent pain, Dubinsky then takes an additional cheap shot at the prone Crosby — breaking his stick over Crosby in the process.



Dubinsky took only a minor for cross checking, while Crosby left the game temporarily. He came back for the third period, though.


It will be interesting to see if Dubinsky gets a suspension from the Department of Player Safety for this.


Friday, November 27, 2015

Olivia Culpo dumps Tim Tebow over lack of sex in relationship: Report

It looks like Tim Tebow has been cut once again — this time by his girlfriend.

The former NFL quarterback — known for his wildcat play on the gridiron — just got dumped by his model girlfriend Olivia Culpo after a two-month relationship — reportedly because he won't have sex with her.


Culpo, a former Miss USA, was first reported to be seeing Tebow in early October. She has told friends that she can't deal with the famously abstinent star's sex-less lifestyle.

"He was really into her," a source close to the model told Confideni@l, "he was sending her love letters and cute notes and professing his love for her."

And Culpo apparently needed more than cuddles.

"She had to break up with him because she just couldn't handle it," an insider told the gossip site, "He still hits her up, but she just can't deal with the sex thing. He's pretty adamant about it, I guess."


Perhaps Culpo had hoped she could bust Tebow's cherry like she did with ex-boyfriend Nick Jonas, who famously wore a "promise ring," swearing off sex before marriage.

That pair started dating in the summer of 2013, and by September 2014 the one-time Jonas Brothers member told HuffPo Live that he had taken the ring off.

It's not the first time sex has become an obstacle in Tebow's love life.


When he split with girlfriend Camilla Belle after a couple of months in 2009, it was also widely speculated at the time that the Disney channel star was bothered by his chastity.

Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury gives new politically correct name to old trick play (VIDEO)

With a three-point lead and the clock winding down in the fourth quarter of Thursday's game, Texas Tech looked as if it was about to take a knee against Texas for their first win in Austin since 1997.

But they didn't.

Showing how much the Red Raiders wanted this victory, they executed a trick play by deceiving the Longhorns with a misdirection call insensitively known as Hide the Midget.


Watch below as 5'7, 168-pound Jakeem Grant takes off for the end zone after lining up inconspicuously behind the O-line. The undersized wide receiver ran it in for a 40-yard touchdown, helping to extend the Red Raiders' lead to 48-38.


Afterwards, Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury offered up a new politically correct name for the play by calling it “Little People, Big World.” 


And if you thought Kingsbury's LPBW call ran up the score or was a d-bag move in the first place, know that Texas scored on the ensuing drive to cut the lead to 48-45.

PC police happy all around.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

TV cameras linger on Tony Romo's wife as he lays injured on field (VIDEO)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo suffered a left collarbone injury on the final play of the third quarter after a 10-yard sack by Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis Thursday night.

And as the Cowboys faithful watched their season just go down in a heap, Romo's wife Candice couldn't even bare to look at her husband laid out on the AT&T Stadium turf.


And CBS let the camera linger inside her private suite as she dropped her face into her hands:


Davis landed hard on Romo on this sack, jamming Romo's left shoulder into the turf:



After getting treated by the Cowboys' medical staff Romo went straight to the locker room for further examination. He was holding his left arm close to his side as he walked off the field.


Romo has already missed seven games with a broken left collarbone suffered in the Week 2 win against the Philadelphia Eagles when linebacker Jordan Hicks landed on Romo after an incomplete pass.

Now it looks like his season is over.

France bans all visiting team fans from soccer matches in wake of Paris attacks (VIDEO)

French authorities have extended an extra measure of security by banning fans of visiting teams from attending soccer matches in the wake of the Paris attacks.

The French football league said all professional matches this weekend all across the country will be played without visiting fans in accordance with a decision by Interior Ministry.


Officials said the measure will be implemented during Champions League, Europa League, French league and French Cup matches until mid-December "because of a lack of availability of security forces under the emergency state" as well as due to a major climate change meeting in Paris from November 30th to December 11th. 


But the lack of support didn't seem to bother the visiting Belgium's Gent team as the players still celebrated in front of the empty stands where their fans would have been seated Tuesday night.




Security checks including metal detectors, bag searches and body pat-downs have been reinforced at stadiums after ISIS affiliated terrorists targeted France's national stadium as well as bars, restaurants and a concert hall in Paris, killing 130 people and wounding hundreds two weeks ago.

Less people in the stands will make that task a little easier for now.

Colorado player ejected for biting Air Force opponent (VIDEO)

Colorado's Tory Miller might pushing away that first helping of turkey on Thanksgiving after he already had a mouthful of a Falcon in his mouth Wednesday night.


The Buffaloes forward appeared to bite the shoulder of an Air Force player while vying for possession and it was all caught on camera.




The Buffaloes ended up beating the Falcons, 81-70 after Miller was ejected from the game. The flagrant 2 foul could result in a one-game suspension for Miller if deemed an "act of fighting."

Fighting? That's nothing compared to the battles over a leg at some Thanksgiving dinners I've been to.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

College basketball team forfeits game after coach gets fired

A Division III basketball team forfeited a conference game right before tip-off to protest the firing of its coach Tuesday night. Players from William Paterson in Wayne, N.J., dressed and warmed up before collectively walking off the court as the game was about to begin.


The forfeit against Ramapo College was a show support for longtime coach Jose Rebimbas, who was in his 21st season.



Rebimbas, the school’s leader in coaching wins with 384, declined comment on Wednesday, saying he would comment publicly at a later date. He said on Facebook on Sunday that he was fired because of a misunderstanding over facility rental fees for a camp he runs.


“The university has unfairly and illegally taken my right to coach and mentor the student-athletes I love,” Rebimbas said. “I am prepared to fight the actions of William Paterson University and restore my good name and that of the program.”

Athletic director Sabrina Grant and athletic spokeswoman Heather Brocious did not immediately return calls seeking comment from The Associated Press. The school is closed because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

“We came out on the floor, ready to go and it looked like they were ready to go,” said Ramapo coach Chuck McBreen said. “We came back to the bench to get ready for the introductions and they took off their shooting shirts, threw them on the floor and walked off the court.”

McBreen said his team packed up its belongings and left the gym.

“I left there with a numb feeling, like I was in shock,” McBreen said. “I never saw this coming.”

Terry Small, commissioner of the New Jersey Athletic Conference, said he’s not sure how the conference will proceed. He said he contacted the NCAA and the association doesn’t acknowledge forfeits.

“It’s uncharted territory,” Small said. “I know we do have a conference policy towards forfeits, but nothing like this.”

According to the Asbury Park Press, a person familiar with the dispute said that Rebimbas was fired after a loss Saturday night to Brooklyn College because he did not promptly pay the university fees pledged by high schools for the camp. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the situation.

The Pioneers went 21-8 last season, making their ninth trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament under Rebimbas. The Pioneers have won 20 games or more nine times in Rebimbas’ tenure and won the NJAC championship six times. They advanced to the NCAA Division III Final Four in 1999 and 2001 and advanced to the title game in 2001.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Mets replace ‘Game of Thrones’ Jon Snow promo with Matt Harvey (PHOTO)

After the HBO hit show “Game of Thrones” sent the Twitter world into a frenzy Monday by including a photo of Jon Snow — a popular character who was presumably killed at the end of the last season — in a promotional tweet for their own upcoming season, the New York Mets answered with a copycat tweet of their own.


Only the Mets’ tweet features pitcher Matt Harvey in place of Snow.


And whether or not the Snow character is dead meant nothing to Mets fans who fought like the Starks and Lannisters over who should have been featured in the promo:


While other fans, they just wanted some more realism in their fantasy world:





And, coincidentally, didn't the Mets try and kill off Harvey last season too?

Oops. SPOILER ALERT.

Referee robs Patriots of potential touchdown with ‘inadvertent whistle’ in game against Bills (VIDEO)

It looks like more than just the wind was blowing at Gillette Stadium last night. There were also "inadvertent" whistles and a referee's overinflated call to keep things swirling about.


But it was indeed a premature whistle blow during the Monday Night Football game that almost derailed the Patriots unbeaten streak before they managed a 20-13 win over the Bills.

Early in the third quarter, Danny Amendola caught a 14-yard pass from Tom Brady and was about to take off with an open field in front of him. But before Amendola could make his way down field, an official blew the play dead. It would later be announced as an "inadvertent whistle."



It was unclear why the whistle was blown, as no flag was thrown as Brady and Amendola were both well in bounds.


The confusion had fans, players and coaches in a frenzy.

In the end the Patriots were given the ball at their own 45-yard line where Amendola made the catch and then received another 15 yards due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed to the Bills as coach Rex Ryan had stepped on the out of bounds line.

And is anyone sure vengeful commish Roger Goodell wasn't hiding out in the stands with a whistle in his mouth last Night?

But, more importantly, that play cost me 12.9 points and a win in my fantasy league.

That really blows.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Antonio Cromartie's wife gets in nasty Twitter war with Jets fans

While her husband Antonio Cromartie was battling on the field against the Texans Sunday, the Jets cornerback's wife, Terricka, was having her own little war with Jets fans on her Twitter account.


Most of the tweets started early in the second half and got increasingly more vile. Many of them were insults about the number of children her husband has and the number of women he has had them with.

“I’ll Knock ur husbands teeth out one shot, u him and the 9 filth kids can meet me anytime,” one person tweeted at her.

The cornerback's wife kept firing back:


 The back-and-forth went on until her responses to the trolls turned downright venomous.

“Yo mama a Thot (sic) she should of aborted your ugly ass,” she wrote back at one person.

She later deleted several of her tweets during the game.

But when one fan asks her about the Patriots’ fan base, she responded, “at this point compared to the s–t we get [Patriots fans are] Amazing and Loyal.”

“To Sum it all up the Jets Fan Base ain’t s–t Period,” she wrote.


Cromartie didn’t fare well in the Jets’ 24-17 loss, and refused to speak to the media after the game.

But he had plenty to say to the Jets fans.

“At the end of the day my wife nor my kids r on the field so shld never b disrespected by our own fan base like this,” Cromartie tweeted after the game, along with a screenshot of some of the vulgar tweets directed at his wife.


Social media at its worst.

Ole Miss fan allegedly assaulted by police during LSU game (VIDEO)

Police officers working during Ole Miss' 38-17 win over LSU on Saturday appear to have assaulted an Ole Miss fan inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium during the game.

Shocking video shows the moment a university police officer appears to punch Chris Barnes, a soldier with the National Guard, while he was at the game with his wife, Holly, after three officers approached him and tried to remove him from the stands.


His family say he had done nothing wrong and that police had mistaken him for someone who had thrown a cup from a few rows behind, reported the Clarion-Ledger.

Barnes appears to be arguing with the cops and, as he tried to resist their attempts to eject him from the game, one officer punched him in the eye.
A video posted on Facebook by Holly Barnes shows the three police officers confronting her husband and wrestling him to the ground when he refused to leave.

She claims her husband suffered a concussion andorbital wall and maxillary sinus fractures as a result of the assault.



The Oxford Police Department confirmed Sunday morning the officers in question don't work for the department.

"The officers involved are not officers with the University Police Department, but are certified officers from other jurisdictions hired to work security at home football games," wrote Ole Miss campus police in a statement provided to the media.

Barnes' family now plan to take action over the "wrongful assault."

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Australian kid hiccups way through national anthem at baseball game (VIDEO)

Seven-year-old Ethan Hall was given the honor of singing the national anthem ahead of the Australian Baseball League game between the Adelaide Bite and Brisbane Bandits and turned what could have been a vocal disaster into one of the cutest renditions of the song in history.


Seems the red-headed youngster got a case of the hiccups during the song. But Ethan didn't let the little interruptions ruin his big moment and battled through the song like a trooper.




He even shared some high-fives with the players afterwards.

Next time Ethan, chug a gallon of milk, breathe into a paper bag and have someone throw a little scare into to you before hitting the stage.

Canelo Alvarez defeats Miguel Cotto by unanimous decision 

Canelo Alvarez made a case for himself as boxing’s next superstar after winning a unanimous decision over Miguel Cotto and win a piece of the middleweight title in Las Vegas.

And in doing so, Alvarez becomes first Mexican to win junior middleweight AND middleweight titles and set up the possibility of a megafight with Gennady Golovkin, the middleweight champion who was watching at ringside.

Alvarez won the WBC version of the title that Cotto vacated days earlier for not paying sanctioning fees. The fight was for a 160-pound title, though it was fought at a catch weight of 155 pounds.


And Alvarez, whose only loss came to Floyd Mayweather Jr., took it to Cotto early and hard — winning rounds with big right hands and uppercuts starting from the opening bell. Cotto tried to box and had his moments, but Alvarez was clearly ahead as the Mandalay Bay casino crowd stood on its feet as both fighters traded punches in the final rounds.


As the rivalry matchup between the Puerto Rican and Mexican idols went on, Alvarez began landing more of his punches as he patiently stalked Cotto around the ring.

Cotto boxed well at times and landed flurries of punches, but his didn’t seem to have nearly the same power as those thrown by Alvarez.

In the final rounds, Alvarez caught Cotto with a series of punches that seemed to shake him some though he was never down and never appeared in real trouble.

Alvarez was a 3-1 favorite coming into the bout, largely because he is 10 years younger than Cotto and a bigger puncher. 

And although the ages didn’t seem to make a difference, the ringside judges were surely influenced by the much harder punches that the red-headed Alvarez landed. 

Alvarez won by scores of 117-11, 119-109 and 118-110. The Associated Press had him ahead 116-112. Cotto was credited with throwing 629 punches to 484 for Alvarez, but Alvarez landed 155 to 129 for Cotto.

I'm sensing a rematch.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Galeano outpoints Cameron for NY title during Broadway Boxing card in Brooklyn (PHOTOS)

Photos by Tony Mangia

There was plenty of action to go around Friday evening, when DiBella Entertainment’s Broadway Boxing returned to the Aviator Sports and Events Center in Brooklyn for the latest installment of the popular show.


The main event featured a battle of the boroughs between Bronx’s Chris “Golden” Galeano and Brooklyn’s Shawn “Killa” Cameron with the two 156-pounders vying for the vacant New York State Middleweight title at stake. The 10-round affair was a classic boxer versus puncher matchup of styles between two southpaws with each displaying their strengths. Many rounds consisted of exciting exchanges when the two engaged on the inside. Cameron appeared to control the early rounds with his pressure and aggression, throwing in combination. However, by the fifth frame, he was winded and Galeano’s slick boxing skills took over. Over the second half, Galeano calculatingly countered Cameron’s wide-open advances with pinpoint straight lefts until the final bell.


The judges tallied scores of 99-91, 98-92, and 97-93, all for Galeano, who improved to 10-0 (1 KO) with the unanimous decision verdict. Cameron suffered his first defeat, bringing his record to 10-1 (5 KOs). 


Before that, Brooklyn’s own former two-time world champion Amanda Serrano battled the much shorter Djemilla Gontaruk, of Liege, Belgium, in an eight-round Junior Welterweight contest. Serrano began throwing in combination at the outset, and was particularly effective with her right hook.



Though Gontaruk nicknamed "The Pitbull" showed tremendous heart, referee Sparkle Lee felt she was taking too much punishment and elected to halt the action at 1:38 of round three. With the victory, Serrano upped her record to 25-1-1 (17 KOs), while Gontaruk fell to 9-3 (1 KO).


A native of County Cork, Ireland, the 21-year-old Noel Murphy improved to 5-0 (2 KOs) with a very impressive performance against the tough Anton Williamson of Brooklyn. 


The aggressive Murphy applied pressure and overpowered Williamson in every round. A right hook dropped Williamson in round four, but the referee ruled it a slip. The Irishman landed thudding hooks to the body, accurate countershots, and demonstrated deft footwork and defense to earn a four-round unanimous decision with three scores of 40-36. 


Murphy has quickly become one of the more popular up-and-comers throughout the New York area. 

In his pro debut, Welterweight Tyrone James of Elmont, NY, outworked the awkward David Perez, now 0-2, of Pittsburgh, PA, before halting him in round three.


Russian Middleweight southpaw Artur Akavov, 160¼, and current WBO European titlist, made an impressive US debut demolishing Fredy Lopez, 157½, of Chiapas, Mexico, with a TKO at the 2:04 mark of the second round. 


Patrick Day, the former #1-rated U.S. amateur and NY Golden Gloves champion from Long Island, was shockingly upset by Carlos Garcia, of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. An overhand right hurt Day right off the start and Garcia threw a follow-up barrage to force a referee stoppage at 1:19 of the first round. A stunned Day fell to 11-2-1 (6 KOs), while Garcia upped his record to 9-14-1 (8 KOs).


The opening bout saw Canadian Super Middleweight prospect Francy Ntetu, 168, of Montreal, tactically outboxed Oscar Riojas, 169½, of Monterrey, Mexico, over eight rounds, often switching stances to mix up his attack. Scorecards read 77-74 and 76-75 for Ntetu, and 76-74 for Riojas, improving the Canadian’s record to 16-0 (3 KOs). Riojas fell to 9-4 (3 KOs).








Friday, November 20, 2015

St. John's rallies back from 16 down to beat 'out-hearted' Rutgers

It's totally illogical how St. John's could shoot 32.3 percent from the field and make only 13 of 24 foul shots yet come from 16 points down in the second half to pull out a 61-59 win over Rutgers in front of a roaring crowd of 4,540 Thursday night at Carnesecca Arena.

But frustrated Scarlet Knights coach Eddie Jordan had an answer.

"I told my team they 'out-hearted' us," Jordan said. "I've never used that term in my coaching career, but I'm using it tonight."



And Jordan had good reason to fume. It took a big effort for St. John's (3-0) to overcome a 45-29 lead by Rutgers (2-1). The Red Storm didn't score its first point of the second half until 16:20 remained and didn't make its first field goal of the half until Felix Balamou hit a layup at the 13:53 mark.

That Balamou was playing at all was a plus for the Red Storm after he missed the first two games of the season because of an NCAA eligibility issue. He came off the bench to score eight points, grab 11 rebounds, dish out seven assists and commit only one turnover. Red Storm coach Chris Mullin put the ball in his hands for long stretches in the second half, and it solved the St. John's turnover problem.

"He had seven assists and one turnover, and that's huge at any level," Mullin said. " . . . Thanks to [interim athletic director and general counsel] Joe Oliva, we found out he was eligible at 4:30 this afternoon."

After the Red Storm took a 60-59 lead, Mussini forced a Rutgers turnover that led to Christian Jones' foul shot for a 61-59 lead with 6.5 seconds left. Rutgers' Corey Sanders tried to drive to the basket but was shut off and kicked to Daniels, who hit a three-pointer — but it went through after the buzzer.

"At one point, we couldn't make a shot, but we hung in and stayed positive and gave ourselves a shot," Mullin said. "We were fortunate to win in the end."

That's heart.

Storm Barney gets assist on wind-aided own goal (VIDEO)

This might be the most bizarre own goal you have ever seen — thanks to an assist from the 70 mph winds of Storm Barney.


A video captured the hilarious moment Thurrock FC defender Kamarl Duncan was near the halfway line when he attempted to play the ball up field when a sudden gust of wind had other ideas and lifted the ball into the air and blew it back towards keeper Rhys Madden — who watched helplessly as it bounced over his head and into the back of the net.


Tuesday's incredible own goal put opponents Romford FC 1-0 up while frustrated Thurrock first team manager Mark Stimson fumed because the referee refused to call off the match.

The Isthmian League match, at Thurrock's Ship Lane ground in Aveley, Essex, ended in a 1-1 draw — thanks to Storm Barney's passing wind.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Tom Coughlin thinks Odell Beckham Jr.'s play vs. Patriots was a touchdown

Odell Beckham’s non-touchdown catch in Sunday’s last-second 27-26 loss to the New England Patriots should have been a touchdown.

At least that’s what New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Wednesday, when he took issue with one of the many controversial plays that cost his team a victory — and the NFL’s definition of a catch.


“We’ve made this a very difficult call,” a miffed Coughlin told WFAN during an interview. “And the thing that bothers me about it is, first, the word ‘runner,’ There is no runner in the end zone. When a guy catches the ball in the end zone, that’s it. He’s not going to take another step... He’s on the sideline.”

On the play in question, just before the two-minute warning on Sunday, with the Giants trailing, 24-23, Beckham caught a five-yard pass from Eli Manning in the end zone, seemed to get two feet down, and then stuck the ball out. As he did, Patriots corner Malcolm Butler knocked the ball away.


In real-time, it was hard to tell whether or not the play was a score, and the refs took a few seconds to deliberate. They initially ruled it a touchdown only to overturn that on instant replay. On Monday, the head of NFL officiating, Dean Blandino, backed up that ruling, stating on NFL Network that “the rule is pretty clear on this.”

And in slow-motion, it’s not clear that Beckham does have the ball long enough to establish himself as a runner, although Coughlin seemed to think so Tuesday.

“Beckham, the second foot hits, and it’s a fraction of a second, maybe a fraction of a second after that, the ball comes out,” Blandino said. “He didn’t have the ball long enough after the second foot was down to establish possession. That’s why it was overturned to incomplete.”

Still, Coughlin insisted Beckham did make the catch.

“If you look at it closely, he does have both hands on the ball, he does have his left foot down.
Then comes Butler in, and he makes a heck of a play. The kid (Butler) is very good,” Coughlin said. “Whatever has been determined to be a gray call, to me, is not going to be overruled. There was a call on the field that was a touchdown. It was a touchdown. It took a couple of guys to get together, but it was a touchdown. As such, if it was really in a gray area position, I really expected that the touchdown would continue to be ruled. Where is this going to go in the future, as we look at how can we solve this issue, because it is controversial.”

But Coughlin hopes his star receiver learned something from the play.

“He caught the ball. Now do I want him to have the ball in tight? You bet. And is that a tough lesson for Odell to learn? Yes it is.”

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Here's what happens when two 7'6" centers meet for opening tip-off (VIDEO)


The UC-Irvine Anteaters played the UCF Knights in Orlando Wednesday night, but the really big news was that it was the first time two 7'6" players ever appeared on a basketball court at the same time.

UC-Irvine has Mamadou N'diaye, a junior from Dakar, Senegal and UCF has Tacko Fall, a freshman who comes from the same home city — both seven-and-a-half footers. 


And since neither player has ever faced an opponent who even comes close to being their size, everyone wondered what the highly anticipated opening tip-off would be like.



Not exactly Russell vs. Chamberlain, but historic nonetheless.

Andy Dalton puts end to lame 'Red Ryder BB gun' beef with JJ Watt

Right after Monday night's game at Paul Brown Stadium, the Texans' J.J. Watt and Bengals' Andy Dalton got into a public war of words after the defensive end joked on national television that "Our goal was to come out here and make the Red Rifle look like a Red Ryder BB Gun."


Dalton countered later Monday night during the post-game press conference by shooting back:

"I'm disappointed in [Watt's comments]. The integrity of this game -- I have a lot of respect for him. He's a really good player. There's a lot of kids and a lot of people who look up to him. For him to make comments like that, he's showing that's acceptable to do that kind of stuff, to say that kind of stuff. It's disappointing for one of the best players in this league to come out and say something like that. That's all I'm going to say about that. I think J.J. is a good player, but for him to be one of the best in this league and to show that integrity, and to show that type of ... it shows what he's about, which is disappointing."

Hence, one of the lamest feuds in NFL history was on.


OK. Dalton may have overreacted, but on Wednesday, like making a giant Wonder Bread sandwich, the Bengals quarterback spread a comfortable amount of Cheez Whiz between the two NFL stars:


"What I did wrong is that I responded to what somebody said that he said," Dalton said via ESPN.com. "I never even heard his interview. So I don't know the context in which it was said. I don't know what he said before, I don't know what he said after. My part, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did without hearing what he said and actually hearing what he said. I was responding to what an interviewer tells me he said.

"My reaction wasn't warranted just because, again, I haven't seen it. I'm not going to watch, I don't care. I've got no ill will toward J.J. There's no feud between me and J.J. We lost the game. He said what he said, and we're moving on. That's in the past now."

There it is, beef over, Don't forget the Miracle Whip.

Mike Fisher knocks out Kevin Bieksa's tooth in fight (VIDEO)


In the scoreless first period of the Predators-Ducks game Tuesday night, Kevin Bieksa and Mike Fisher got into a tussle, with Fisher appearing to give the Anaheim defenseman a little free dental work.


And no, that isn't a Chicklet.




All I want for Christmas ...

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Ronda Rousey hides face from cameras walking through LAX airport (VIDEO)

In the days following Ronda Rousey's monumental loss to Holly Holm, everyone from fans, fellow fighters and celebrities have come out to express how happy they were after the undefeated  and seemingly over-hyped UFC queen was dethroned.


Rousey has been in hiding since going to the hospital right after the fight, but her first public appearance since the second-round knockout didn't do anything to enhance her reputation as the toughest fighter on the planet.


Surrounded by bodyguards, Rousey and her boyfriend Travis Brown made their way through LAX airport after a flight back from Australia.

TMZ posted a video of Rousey covering up her face while dodging photographers at the terminal — presumably to prevent anyone from seeing the damage she incurred in the beatdown from Holm. 

And it might be worse than her fans care to see.



After watching her Elephant Man imitation through LAX to her limo, one part of me thinks Rousey should own up to the loss and show her battle scars proudly. But another part of me thinks she might be more of a delicate flower than anyone thought beforehand.


Rousey vowed on Monday that she would be back.