JASON KIDD & MIKE TOMLIN: COACHES GONE STUPID

Cheating has long been part of society, but it really seems to have gushed into the sports world
like a tsunami over the last decade. Armstrong, A-Rod, Braun, and 'Spygate'. Need I go on?
Heck, the friggin' Chines badminton team was tanking games in the Olympics in hopes of
getting a better seed in the tournament. Good, grief.

Now, there is more cheating, along with shamefully bad sportsmanship. Playing by the rules
and sportsmanship used to matter in sports and society, but they really seemed to go out of
the window just about the same time Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street"uttered the words,
 "Greed, for a lack of a better word, is good." Since then, the world seems to have been in
a free-for-all.

On Wednesday night, Jason Kidd, the head coach of the New Jersey Nets did something that
was, for a lack of a better word, asinine. Out of time-outs and trailing the Lakers by two points
in the waning seconds, Kidd grabbed a soda with ice (what coach does that?) and then instructed
one of his players to "hit me". Kidd then executed the worst acting job in Hollywood since Mariah
Carey's crash-and-burn in that hit movie, "Glitter." Kidd spilled his cup all over the floor, causing
a delay that allowed Kidd's assistant coaches to draw up a play, which failed worse that Kidd's
acting job.

During his Hall of Fame career, Kidd, as a savvy point-guard, was known as a "coach on the floor",
now that he's a coach on the floor, he's turned into a total idiot. His assistant coaches make all
the calls on offense and defense and a talent-laden team is as functional as the Charlotte Bobcats.
The NBA made their call, fining Kidd a whopping $50,000 for his stupidness.

Kidd responded by saying that it was "all about trying to win." Right. Try to win the right way.
Not like some coach in a youth league who will do anything to win a championship to get
his name in the paper. This was a bigger embarrassment to Kidd than his DUI he was arrested
for two years ago in the Hamptons. Great example set by a near 40-year old man. And people
were crucifying 20-year old Johnny Manziel for what again?

Just one night later, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, a highly-respected man throughout
the NFL, appeared to disrupt a kick return by Jacoby Jones of the Baltimore Ravens. Jones
sprinted up the sideline on his way to a 101-yard TD, but out of nowhere, Tomlin, was on
the field and jumped back to the sideline, distracting Jones just enough to be tracked down.
Tomlin said he was watching the play on the jumbotron as he often does for "a better
persepective." How lame.

NBC cameras caught Tomlin with a big smirk after the play, which is sure to be wiped off
as soon as that envelope arrives from the NFL telling him to pay up a big six-figure fine.

Tomlin's move was flat-out stupid. The NFL's has it's hands-full with the Miami Dolphins
harassment case, bad officiating, concussions, and now they have to worry about some
coach trying to cheat and give his team an edge. Wow.

I"m sure Tomlin will play to the Steelers fans by saying that he'd  doing anything to help
the team win. Ridiculous but those fans will fall for the act, which won't be quite as bad
as Jason Kidd's, but they'll buy into it hook, line, and sinker.

This type of behavior by Tomlin and Kidd is a huge eye sore for the league. It's also a
terrible example for coaches everywhere in the country. We see and read stories about
youth and high school coaches doing silly and really dumb things to motivate players
and get an edge to try to win.

Now, we have two coaches in the highest-level acting like this? Not good. What happened
to coaches who set an example with class, dignity, and honor?

Where have you gone John Wooden?

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BLACK FRIDAY: THE DUMBEST PROMOTION EVER

 

There are some things that just scream dumb.  Giving Anthony Weiner a cell phone is one
of them. Introducing Tiger Woods to a stripper is another. But few things are dumber than the
promotion that is Black Friday.

That's right. National retail chains open their stores to bargain-obsessed customers who camp
out overnight to be the first people to lead the stampede when the green flag goes down just to
save 50 bucks on an item. How stupid.

Sleep-deprived, financially-strapped, debt-drowned people running through the aisles and
sprinting to the electronic sections just to get the latest time-sapping addictive device
that'll they ignore the world with just so they can tweet, text, or take one of 792,000 photos
with just for 20 percent off! How absurd.

Yep, trip that the guy in front of you who has the inside track to get that new camera you so
desperately don't need.  Put your size 12 Kenneth Cole shoe, which you saved $30 on last
Thanksgiving, right in the middle of his back so he stays down a little while longer.

Last night in Las Vegas, a man returning from a Black Friday sale was shot and robbed of
a new TV. Man, I bet he still thinks it's worth the $75 he saved.

In California,  three people got into a brawl in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart because shoppers allegedly were cutting the line. Two were taken into custody, according to police.

At another Wal-Mart in West Virginia, a man was slashed to the bone with a knife after
threatening another man with a gun. The altercation was over a parking spot.

Woo-hoo! Retailers should be making commercials with desperate people screaming:
"Black Friday! I love this day!"

What an embarrassment to this country. What's it going to take before Black Friday goes
dark for good? A mass murder by some crazed gunman looking to go out in a blaze of
glory. Don't think some Adam Lanza loser-type isn't already thinking about it.

Black Friday is just idiotic. People cut into their Thanksgiving plans with their family,
a sacred day for many, just to prepare and camp out all night to save $50 bucks.

I'm not a smart man, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Black Friday is
an epic disaster waiting to happen. The retailers know a potential lawsuit is one gunshot
away.

 

But to them, just like the idiots who wait outside stores all night, it's all about the
money.

It always is.

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I AM THANKFUL

I am thankful for my health. The groin pulls and calf strains may occur more frequently now
and the grooves around my eyes are deeper, but I'm thankful that I'm still upright and strong
enough to run marathons, swim across lakes, and bike to Montauk.

I am thankful that I have a job that I love and work with people who share the same passion, commitment and interests that I do. Love what you do, do what you love, and not have to worry about co-workers stabbing you in the back and throwing you under the bus is a beautiful thing.

I'm thankful I still have a lot of hair and women between the ages of 75 and 98 on Christian.
Mingle.com find me cute as a button.

I am thankful to have an unbelievable circle of friends. From Rye, New York to Lake Forest, Ill.
to New Canaan, CT. to Chapel Hill, NC to Atlanta, Ga. to Boston, MA, I have met some
great people who are loyal and just flat-out incredible.

I am thankful that God has blessed me with six incredible nieces and nephews who I treat
as if they are my own children. Wow. They touch my heart every time I see them.

I am not wealthy, but I'm thankful I've been enriched with opportunities that have made this
a truly wonderful life. Baseball at UNC, with the Red Sox, "Bull Durham", a sportscaster
covering Super Bowls, World Series, Olympics, Final Fours---yeah, sorry, but I do sometimes
feel like Walter Mitty. Oh, sure, I've had some serious hard knocks a long the way- been
fired, laid off, and thrown under the bus, but it's all been part of a wild and exciting journey.

Most of all, I am thankful for an incredible family. Kara is one amazing sister. She is filled
with so much love, thoughtfulness, and one giant heart. Those who know her, know she
was blessed with not only great athletic talent, but humbleness and a terrific sense of humor, too

Brother Pat is a beautiful human being. Has never uttered a bad word about anybody and
has become a great father and husband. We may not always see eye-to-eye, but we've always
been on the same page and he would do anything for me without asking anything in
return.

My mom. Wow. I am so thankful to have her as my mother and great friend. So selfless,
giving, and understanding. After my father passed away, she became the rock of the family.
Simply amazing. She took care of my ailing dad for five years, 24/7 and did it with
strength, courage, and such amazing dignity. I love and admire her so much for that. I
was truly blessed to have such tremendous parents.

I am thankful, truly thankful during this holiday season.

I wish you all and your families all the best during this most special time of the year.

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NEWTOWN'S STRENGTH

No parent should ever have to experience what happened in a small town in the southwest
part of Connecticut last December. No community should have to be forever linked to one
of the worst events imaginable. No resident should ever have to hear the words, "Oh, I'm so
sorry," after identifying where they are from to outsiders.

The massacre of 20 innocent children and six adults in Sandy Hook Elementary School is
always going to be a part of Newtown, Ct, just as Dallas is forever woven into the JFK
assassination. The town is trying hard to move on from the tragedy that seared its soul and
punctured its heart. On December 14, the one-year anniversary of the event, there won't
be a moment of silence for the victims. Church bells won't ring and there won't be a
a gathering in the center of town for the people to come together. It's all part of a
coordinated and calculated effort to try to put the past in the past, as well the unimaginable
pain behind them.

Unfortunately, an insensitive and unscrupulous world is not helping them. In the days,
weeks, and months after innocent children were ambushed by a crazed gunman, despicable
behavior followed. A woman in New York falsely claimed to be a grieving family member
of one of the victims and set up a fake charity to defraud donors. She is currently serving eight
months in prisons.

The parents of a child who actually survived the shooting, attempted to sue the state for $100
million just two weeks after the event that shook this country at its core. They said their child
suffered irreparable damage for the shooting at the school. Irreparable damage? Your child
survived. Think about the 'irreparable damage' the parents of the children who died, have
to endure. The lawsuit was dropped after their attorney got death threats.

And less than a month before the anniversary of the event, a manufacturer produced a vile
video where a gunman walks into an elementary school and massacres children, then gives
the participant options of what to do next, which includes committing suicide as the police
entered the building. It doesn't get any more heinous than that.

Now, something more for the parents and community to deal with. The final report on the
shooting and events that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School is to be released to
the world, on-line, of course, at 3pm on Monday. There will be more pain, more sorrow,
and more questions as to why, which will never be answered because Adam Lanza and his
mother are dead.

In reality, Newtown will never be able to move on from this tragedy. It will always be
Newtown followed by, "yeah, that's the place where 20 little children were murdered."
That's tough for any resident of that small, quiet community to deal with, especially for
the parents who lost a child that day.

However, there is some joy in Newtown, thanks to its high school football team. Yes,
football is merely a game where one team wins and another team loses. In the grand scheme
of things, football, whether it be the NFL or a small-town conference, is really not all
that important. But it can help bring a community a little closer together and bring more
pride to.

The Newtown Nighthawks are undefeated (11-0) and are ranked first in the state in Class
LL. They are a fun and exciting team to watch with a Johnny Manziel-type quarterback
in Drew Tarantino. Their top running back, Cooper Gold, has a name straight out of
Hollywood. Their best player, Julian Dunn, is a junior and already being recruited by
several Division I schools.

The team proudly wears "Newtown" on the front of its jerseys. On the helmet is specially-
designed logo that pays tribute to the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School. The school
colors of Newtown are blue and gold, but they added a touch of green this year. Green is
the school color of Sandy Hook Elementary School. There is a the number '26' that boldly
stands out on the logo for everyone to see. The players have been advised by the First
Selectman in town not to talk about the tragedy a year ago, but they have not forgotten
the 20 children and 6 teachers and administrators who were senselessly murdered that day.

There is a Hoosiers-type feel to this team. They are a small-knit group who are quite
capable of doing great things. The division they play in is quite stacked with teams that
are bigger and more talented than them, but the Nighthawks have a big heart and appear
to be on a mission.

If everything falls their way, the Newtown Nighthawks could play for the state championship
on December 14--the one-year anniversary of one of the worst tragedies on American soil.
If that happens, the word Newtown could be followed by 'state champions'. It won't erase the
bad memories of a terrible day, but it will bring more pride to the town and truly help them
move on.

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MLB'S WAR ON STEROIDS IS A JOKE

Bud Selig and Major League Baseball have put on the good face when saying they're trying

to rid the cheaters (PED's) from the game. It's a joke. They don't really care. They are not barring, blackballing, or preventing cheaters from the game they've been entrusted to protect.

Instead, Major League Baseball is rewarding them.

Jhonny Peralta, who was banned for 50-games for his role in the Biogenesis scandal, is reportedly

on the verge of signing a 4-year, $52 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. $52 million! Is this

a great game or what? This came on the heels of Marlon Byrd, another convicted steroid cheat,

signing a 2-year, $16 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Yep, Major League Baseball is sending a great message: cheaters win. Go ahead and pump your

body with cheat. Cheat your teammates, cheat your fans, and cheat yourself, but if you can pick 

or poke it, there is always a spot for you. If you can help a team win, they'll forget about your shady

past and possibly embarrassing them in the future. 

The Oakland A's didn't care that Bartolo Colo failed a drug test in 2012 and was forced to sit out 

50 games. When he served his time, they served him with a 1-year contract worth $3 million. That 

is what they call in the game, "great value."

When Nelson Cruz returned from his 50-game suspension, the fans of the Texas Rangers gave him
a standing ovation. Hilarious. What the heck does Ryan Braun have to worry about when he
comes back next season? Nothing. He still has more than $115 million in guaranteed money coming
to him and if fans in Milwaukee are anything like they are in Texas, he'll probably get a standing
ovation, too.

When other players see this type of reaction,  from forgiving fans to very giving and generous
general managers and owners, they'll continue to take the chance with PED's. There is so much
money to be made out there, it's certainly is worth the risk. Peralta is laughing all the way to the
bank. So is Byrd.

The $52 million payday for Peralta confirms something else: the only people that care about
steroid cheaters cash their paychecks working in the media. The fans don't care, neither do the
owners or general managers. If a player can help a team get to the World Series, they could
care less about what kind of needle they stick in their ass.

Selig, who looked the other way when everybody in baseball was cheating 20 years ago and
used them to line the pockets of the owners, is going big game hunting on his way out. He's
going after Alex Rodriguez just to make it appear that he is serious about cleaning up the game
as dozens of other players cheat, get caught, get suspended, then get even richer. Despite
never having failed a drug test under MLB's policy, he pinned an absurd 211-game suspension
on A-Rod. It'll never stick no matter how he, or anybody else hates A-Rod. He's turning out
to be a bigger fraud than A-Rod.

Even if the suspension sticks on A-Rod, nobody will really care. Oh, the Yankees might save themselves a big chunk of money, but there are more than 700 players in the league now who
see that the golden goose is far from dead. Peralta is living proof of that.

Players in the minor leagues will continue to try get that edge to get to the big leagues. The
money is absolutely insane and the penalties are far too light. So keep on cheating on.
Embarrassment? Does it really matter when you have $150 million in the bank.

There is a reason why Major League Baseball made those commercials with the players
scream, "I love this game!".

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A-ROD IS THE MOST DELUSIONAL MAN ON PLANET

I almost drove off the road while listening to the Alex Rodriquez interview with Mike
Francesa on WFAN Tuesday. It was so absurd, it was ridiculously funny. I haven't laughed
that hard since watching Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze dancing half-naked as Chippendales
on an episode of "SNL".

Earlier in the day, A-Rod had stormed out of his own grievance hearing after learning MLB
commissioner Bud Selig would not be coming into testify. He said he was tired of the "process"
and couldn't stand listening to liars and felons for the past 10 days. A-Rod seems to forget
that he got exposed to the world as a significant liar when he told Katie Couric in 2006
he never used PED's, only to be outed by Selena Roberts of Sports Illustrated a short
time later.

If there were a Lie-O-Meter with A-Rod, it would've been in the red zone. After Tuesday's
performance, it was off the charts.

A-Rod chose to go on WFAN, which was being simulcast on the YES Network, which
broadcasts all of the games A-Rod sometimes appears in with the Yankees.  Francesa, for
some unknown reason, has been A-Rod's biggest defender. You say something bad about
A-Rod and the Grand Pooba of Sports takes it personally. So, with one of his 87 lawyers
by his side, the Yankees third baseman who is appealing MLB's unprecedented 211-game
suspension for his role in the Biogenesis scandal, went one-on-one with Francesa.

Francesa: Have you ever used PED's since 2006?

A-Rod: No

Francesa: Did you ever threaten witnesses?

A-Rod: No

Francesa: Did you ever obstruct the investigation?

A-Rod: I don't even know what obstruction is. (See the Red Sox)

Francesa: Did you try to pay off Anthony Bosch?

A-Rod: No.

Francesa: Did you do anything wrong?

A-Rod.: No.

That's it! Major League Baseball just made this all up. They put their credibility on the
line just to smear A-Rod and get the biggest ratings draw in the game out of it.

A-Rod is just like Lance Armstrong, Ryan Braun, and just about everybody else out there
who has something to protect, preserve, or enhance: They lie. How many times did we
hear Armstrong deny and lie about using PED's? Thousands. How'd that turn out?

Braun, like Armstrong, denied his PED use, then, like Armstrong, went out of his way
to discredit and destroy people's reputations who were actually telling the truth. Absurd.
Haven't we learned anything by now?

A-Rod cried to Francesa that this was about his career and legacy and that he'd have to
face his daughters. A-Rod didn't think about his daughters too much when he appeared
on the cover of the New York Post with that stripper in Toronto. I wonder what he
lied to them about in that case. The woman not his wife and their mother was a masseuse?

When the Biogenesis scandal broke last year, A-Rod was quoted in the New York Times
as saying he had never met Anthony Bosch, heard of him, or dealt with him. On Tuesday's
show, A-Rod admitted he went to the voodoo doctor for supplements and about a weight-loss
plan. A weight loss plan? Are you kidding me? You're not Jon Kruk. You have nothing to
do all day but work out and kiss the mirror after it. Did you want to shed weight as fast
as Jessica Simpson after giving birth? Gimme a break.

The "interview" got even sillier when A-Rod and Francesa started stroking each other.

A-Rod: I watch you all the time, Mike. You don't need any help with the ratings."

Francesa: You don't need help with the girls. I've seen you with enough actresses.

Ooops, I just missed hitting that old lady walking her dog. My bad. Get back on the road.

A-Rod also stated that he has never felt so much love from people when he walks around
New York. Yeah, Aaron Hernandez must've been thinking the same thing when all those
"fans" showed up outside the courthouse in Massachusetts wearing his '81' jerseys. The
cousins of those hero worshippers  must have been the ones greeting A-Rod when he
stepped out of his van on the streets of NYC, flanked by his team of lawyers.

Is a 211-game suspension excessive, especially since A-Rod never failed a drug test?
Absolutely.

But to think MLB made all this stuff up is absurd.  It's obvious A-Rod lives in a world
unfamiliar to us and that he may have his own definition of lying just as Armstrong did
of cheating and just as Bill Clinton did of sex.

However, A-Rod has a track record of lying. And like Armstrong, Braun, and so many
other athletes, its deny, deny, deny, until you get caught in another lie. A-Rod got caught
in a few more on Tuesday.

But then again, according to him, A-Rod did nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing.

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SELFIE, THE PICTURE OF SELF-ABSORPTION, IS WORD OF YEAR

 

The good ole 'selfie' has been declared the word of the year by Oxford dictionary. After the
last few weeks listening to the things coming out of the mouth of Toronto mayor Rob Ford,
the folks in Canada might disagree with that, though.

Yep, the 'selfie', the picture of self-absorption that we've been plastering all over and
Facebook and Twitter for what seems like the last 20 years, received its very own award.
It's the word of the year for 2013.  Maybe Adam Levine, just named People Magazine's
"Sexiest Man Alive", will take a selfie and tweet it to his two million followers. By the
way, what year was "followers" named word of the year? I'm thinking it was 2009, which
may have been the year after "de-friended" took home top honors.

Thanks to Facebook and the iPhones, we are no longer bashful of taking pictures of ourselves.
At one time, taking pictures of oneself would be considered shameless, narcissistic, arrogant,
and even, well, rather strange. Not anymore. Social media has made it a different world
where taking pictures of ourselves has become as normal and natural as blinking. And we
don't think twice about it.

Sometimes we take selfies just because we don't want to ask some weirdo on the street to take
our pictures fearing we'll look really stupid or the fact that he might just run off with our
iPhone 4, 4S, 5, or 5S and just aren't in the mood (or shape) to chase them down to beat the
living crap out of them.

I'm betting that many of us take selfies in the mirror to see how we look with our clothes on,
off, or while doing some really strange things. Most of us will never admit it, but we do. We
take a picture, look at it, and delete it as fast as we can. Some of us, for some stupid reason,
(Anthony Weiner) send it to somebody, never believing the recipient would dare show it
to anybody else. Or you might be delusional like Geraldo Rivera and actually think your
body is so bitchin' at 70, that everybody on the planet wants to see it.

This could be the worst selfie ever

Geraldo blamed his thought process on Tequila. We can only thank the Lord the mayor
of Toronto didn't indulge in selfies after smoking crack when he was in a drunken stooper.

By the way, do people really think it looks cool taking a picture of yourself in the mirror with
the camera off to the side? It's more absurd than the oversized baseball helmet David
Wright used to wear after he suffered a concussion. I think somebody finally pointed out to
him that he looks like a buffoon, just like many of us do when we take a selfie in the mirror
and actually post it on Facebook or Twitter. Get a grip.

Celebrities and professional athletes seem to take selfies more often than the regular Joe.
Remember Greg Oden, the former first-round pick of the Portland Trailblazers? Or how bout
Grady Sizemore and his famous "coffee-cup" pose? They never seem to remember to delete
those risque selfies and they somehow find their way to the Internet. Perhaps, they just don't
know how to erase them.

Perhaps, like many other things in life, we just get lazy or want a picture so instantly, we
don't think. We just take a selfie. Nothing is sacred anymore, not even to the Pope, who
got into the act of taking a selfie in the Vatican. Heck, if it's good enough for the Pope.
what's the big deal? He'll forgive me for being overly narcissistic, right? I'll just go to
confession, say 10 Hail Mary's, and I'll be cleansed.

Now that "selfie" is officially in the Oxford Dictionary and the word of the year, perhaps,
we'll soon discover who invented the selfie. I'm sure after seeing all the attention it can
bring them, one of the eight talentless Kardashian will take credit for it. Maybe Lamar
Odom will claim it was his idea.

My money's on Bobby Valentine. After all, he invented the sandwich wrap, the double-
switch, and he's been silent for a couple of weeks, so I'm sure he'll find the nearest microphone
and camera and scream to the world that it was Bobby V who invented the selfie!

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DOS EQUIS GUY VS. MAYOR OF TORONTO

                                                             TALE OF THE TAPE

                          The Dos Equis Guy is the life of parties he doesn't even attend.

             The mayor of Toronto is the life of parties just as long as he brings Mary Jane, a pipe,
                                                and 3 boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts

                                       The Dos Equis Guy smokes expensive Cuban cigars.

                                    The mayor of Toronto smokes crack in drunken stoopers.

                                  The Dos EquIs Guy has a donor card that lists his beard.

                            The mayor of Toronto has a donor card that says  WARNING:
                            DO NOT USE. Poisoned by alcohol, crack, and a potty mouth

     The Dos Equis Guy is known as the most interesting man in the world and without equal.

                         The mayor of Toronto is known as Chris Farley's twin brother.

                                   The blood of the Dos Equis Guy smells like cologne.

                           The blood of the mayor of Toronto smells like an extra value meal.

                                         The Dos Equis Guy is fluent in all languages.

                      The mayor of Toronto is fluent in a foul language ripe with four-letter words.

                                         The shirts of the Dos Equis Guy never wrinkle.

              The shirts of the mayor of Toronto never quite cover the keg of beer he's trying to hide.

         The police often question the Dos Equis Guy just because they find him interesting.

      The police will soon question the mayor of Toronto because he's a person of interest in
                                                a prostitution ring and drug trafficking.

                             The Dos Equis Guy is so well-known, he doesn't need a nickname.

           The mayor of Toronto wanted to be known as Carlos Danger, but that nickname was taken.

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JOHNNY MANZIEL IS STILL BEST COLLEGE PLAYER---BY FAR

OK, let's all put down the moral compass and save the self-righteous rhetoric for another day.
Character has nothing to do with sports. Absolutely nothing.

If that were the case, the Philadelphia Phillies wouldn't have signed convicted drug cheat, Marlon
Byrd, to a 2-year, $16 million contract on Tuesday. If character counted so much, why the
hell is convicted racist Riley Cooper still in the NFL? And if being squeaky clean was so important,
what is convicted felon Michael Vick, still doing collecting millions from the same team,
the Philadelphia Eagles, Cooper plays for.

In sports, character doesn't really matter. If you can play, you can stay.

So, please don't bring up the alleged bad character of Johnny Manziel when I tell you he is the
the best player in the country--by far. It's not even close. He should win the Heisman Trophy
in a landslide. You're good, Jameis Winston, but your team is stockpiled with future NFL
first-round draft picks. If you have a bad game, the other studs on Florida State can help you
win. If Manziel has a bad game, it's game over

There has never been a quarterback like Manziel in NCAA history. Never. Archie Manning
was exciting, but his teams were terrible. Fran Tarkenton had some magic playing between
the hedges in Georgia, but he didn't have an arm or the charisma of Manziel. Doug Flutie?
Yep, he was good, but few people knew about him until he launched that 'Hail Mary' pass
against Miami that wrapped up the Heisman. He never had the pressure of trying to win
another one when just about everybody in the world wants to see you fail.

I get the feeling Johnny Football has never failed in his life. People have tried to take him
down, but he's resilient. He has the feet of Fred Astaire and an arm like Drew Brees. He's
an escape artist who can turn a 10-yard loss by the way of a sack, into a 65-yard touchdown
pass.

Oh, that's right, you don't like the fact that he got penalized for taunting an opposing player
in his first game of the season? Oh, I'm sorry, you're still disappointed that little Johnny
didn't use good judgement in one of his tweets! I guess he can join you and the other 50
million people who tweeted something dumb in 140 characters or less.

OK, so you nailed him for taking money for signing autographs. Way to go, Ironside.

Sorry, all that stuff does not matter. Manziel is a once-in-a-lifetime college player. I've
heard from all the armchair quarterbacks that Manziel will never make it in the NFL.
Whatever, that doesn't matter, either. He's playing college football like few have ever done.
Nick Saban and his staff spent the entire summer trying to figure out a way to stop Manziel
when Alabama played Texas A & M in September. Saban, whose defensive genius and
preparation is only surpassed by Bill Belichick, couldn't do it.

He had months to figure out to stop one player and he had no answers. Manziel torched the
Crimson Tide defense for more than 500 yards of total offense and 42 points. You may
never see 42 points scored on a Saban coached team again in your lifetime. Manziel made
it look easy.

Go ahead, get on Johnny because he came from a family of great wealth. So, what if he
hit the lottery? All the money in the world can't buy the talent, heart, and savvy that Manziel
has. I'm not even going to say much about his eye-popping stats, which are even more
eye-popping than they were a year ago.

No one can measure Manziel by stats alone. In all honesty, when I watch him play, they
mean nothing. He's leader who has swagger and a giant-sized heart. Manziel gets pounded
but gets back up every time. If you can't see his toughness, then you are more blind than
the people who rip on his alleged bad character.

Manziel loves the bright lights and big stage. The hotter and bigger they are, the better
he performs, and we should admire him for that.

Manziel has two monster SEC games left. One against LSU, the other against Missouri.
Manziel has never choked. Don't expect to see him melt now. I have a feeling he's ramping
up to do something really, really awesome.

It's going to be fun to watch.

But it's going to be even better watching him walk up to the podium to hoist another
Heisman next month.

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