Unsportsmanlike 2-11: Dolph cuts, Marion, Zednik, PETA, Grammys, Knight poll and more

     Another pile of miscellania...

     (*) Dolphins today released veteran starters QB Trent Green, WR Marty Booker, OT L.J. Shelton and DT Keith Traylor among nine players cut. Find story here. No surprises among the departed. Obviously they couldn't get even a 7th-round pick for Booker. Can envision Green being re-signed as a backup for loose change. Who's another Dolphin veteran you'd most like to see gone? And who else do you imagine is on the cut-line? I worry for Zach Thomas.

     (*) Very impressed with Shawn Marion's Heat debut. Dwyane Wade, Marion and a (very) high No. 1 draft pick are three guys you can build a contender around. Liked the Shaq trade from the beginning. Like it even more after watching Marion's impressive all-round game. 

     (*) Best wishes to injured Panther Richard Zednik, who required life-saving surgery in Buffalo after his neck was accidentally sliced by the skate blade of teammate Olli Jokinen. The injury affected the player's carotid artery and nearly severed his jugular vein, which may have resulted in death. An early team quote from assistant GM Randy Sexton thanked people for their "condolences," as if he'd died. Ouch. Subsequent amended Sexton quote thanks people for their "thoughts and concerns." That's better.

     (*) Flummoxed over who to support for president? Click on Steer My Vote to answer a quick 10 questions and learn which candidate is most compatible with your views.

     (*) I'm catching Chris Rock at the Hard Rock tonight. I'll be the white guy. Just kidding. You going?

     (*) People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is shown here protesting Kentucky Fried Chicken's treatment of chickens. I must be honest. If I owned a business, I might strongly consider a calculated, temporary mistreatment of animals for the expressed purpose of attracting naked PETA women. I'm not saying. I'm just saying!

     (*) I watched the Grammy Awards Sunday night; perhaps you did, too. Would it be unkind of me to mention, quite nuetrally, that Aretha Franklin appears to weigh approximately 400 pounds? Also, just curious: Could Kanye West be any more insufferable or Jerry Lee Lewis look more like death warmed over? On a positive note, good for Amy Winehouse.

       (*) Dear Greg: Your blog's OK, but it would be better if occasionally you would show what appears to be an unsettlingly gigantic upside-down papier mache baby's head that may or may not be bleeding.

     (*) I don't see how Roger Clemens makes its out of this mess with his reputation and freedom both intact.

     (*) Here comes a poll on Bobby Knight. Resist your inclination to say "a combination of both" and make a bleepin' decision already!:

Comments

[Tom Loy]

I think Zach Thomas will be traded. Maybe even jason taylor. I think this is only the first wave of housecleaning. Perhaps traylor being cut will open the door for soliai. I think Miami may try and trade one of their running backs.

[Jimbo]

Good start. Tuna is rolling up his sleeves and going to work. No one is safe now, that's good, keep these players on their toes.

Remember the end of last yr when Parcells walked around making his presence known at practice. Some of the players remarked on how they started to practice harder?? Why didn't they have motivation before that?

New era boys. Just don't expect miracles this yr. If you do, you will be crying next yr at this time.

[Dave in VA]

Agree Jimbo, the boys have been put on notice. This will be an interesting off season.

[blue]

These cuts are nothing burgers. No great loss although I'll wonder if New England starts claiming some of them!

[mike1]

I repeat the comedy of the day. Patriots fans petition to have last 1:40 min of the Super Bowl reviewed. Think they were cheated.

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008/02/09/cheaters-feel-cheated-patriots-fans-want-final-1-40-of-super-bo/

[mike1]

we thought Junior Seau was washed up, and somehow thought Welker was only worth a late 2nd rounder. 2 of those guys probably could've gotten something for, or held onto as backups.

[dean]

- it appears bill parcells can't wait to piss all over his turf. kind of like my ex-wife.

- glad you liked marion and another 20 point loss as shaq readies for another trip to the nba finals.

- i knew bobby knight was an asshole when he stretched across three seats on a flight to orlando from indy and farted nonstop for 2 hours w/o excusing himself once.

- chris rock will be worth the price of admission but i know you are getting in for free, mr. cote.

- 400# aretha? still possesses five octaves as i recall. who cares if she looks like bill parcells w/o the bleached hair?

[Jimbo]

Mike1. Junior Seau is washed up. He didn't do much to improve the Pats D. The SuperBowl I saw against the Giants, they didn't even have to block him, as usual he misread the play and blitzed into nothing, leaving his space of responsibility as open space for RB Brandon Jacobs.

Marty Booker will get picked up by someone who needs a slow possession reciever.

Keith Traylor is like 50 yrs old and 100 pounds overweight. He has nothing left in the tank.

LJ Shelton-no big loss there either. Maybe now the Fins will get a legit LT and move Vern Carey to where he belongs-RT.

Love the Fins but these guys were dead weight in my opinion.

Wanny, Speilman, Mueller, Cameron, Saban....Parcells knows more about NFL players then that whole crew put together.

[Jimbo]

Marty Booker is soooo slow he is still running that 40 sprint from training camp.

[Jimbo]

Dave in VA. yes sir, it is interesting now that Parcells is cleaning house, turning over every rock. I was very impressed at his seriousness by bringing in "the man" Ron Wolfe to one of the last home games. That gave Bill a second opinion on current roster.

By the way Dave, I used to live in DC, Fairfax and Norfolk, VA Beach. Very nice state. I really enjoyed the drive from VA Beach back to Pittsburgh to visit family, driving thru that Virginia country side was scenic.

[OC Dolphin]

After Zack Thomas and Jason Taylor, only Vonnie Holliday and Lance Schulters remain as double digit veterans. The rest of the team is young, younger and wet behind the ears. Holliday and Schulters may be the next ones out.

[Jimbo]

OC

Schulters definately will be cut. Holliday 50-50. I'd say last yrs draft pics are safe for now too

[Noel]

Jason Taylor could have run the team better than Cam and Mueller.

[Bill]

This team needs a total overhaul with there 30 years plus players, it doesnt matter what they did last year, they are on the down hill slide and we need to look to the future, I say the Tuna is on top of it, with more cuts to come, the easy one come first, then the harder ones will take longer to decide. Bill

[the shadow knows]

dean,

aretha franklin will always be "lady soul", the only person imaginable who can sing "you light up my life" and make it real, yours truly having seen her sing that monstrosity and give it "meaning". it is scary to look at her in such a bloated condition- i prefer popping in the VCR of her on shindig (before she went to atlantic records and hit with "natural woman and " i never loved a man"; if i hear her version of respect, as good as it was, i gag. it is definitely the most played song on the oldies channel and while very different, much inferior to the original as done by the greatest soul singer ever, otis redding.

[OC Dolphin]

Aretha looked like Java the Hut. Bless her soul. There's much to say about stars who had enjoyed their prime, yet come back to show the world they haven't moved on to play bingo at the local home.

Rachel comes to mind, even Cindy Lauper represented herself well enough. Madona has a new video where she flashes her booty quite a bit, and she's what - 50?

Don't get me wrong. Going out tomorrow with Miss December would be interesting, so long as she was not Miss December of 1940, and thinks she looks like Miss 007.

By the way, when did the Grammy's turn into the Mammy's. No disrespect to our brothers.

[OC Dolphin]

Greg,

Being a west coast guy, and B-ball being a close second to the Dolphins, I've got to say that I've been a Laker fan since Wilt introduced me to the professional game back in the mid-60's.

Back then, Miami did not have a basketball team. As a youngster, baseball was king and for many in our time, Mantle was king. He was "the man." Football had not caught on in our sleepy little town. Hurricane winds continued to come and go until Danny Thomas, in 65 co-funded the Dolphins into town.

For those familiar, this was the first entry into the "big leagues."
Miamians were over the moon in support. Ah.., the good-ode-days.

The Dolphins history is well documented, but if one was a basketball fan, the Heat would not form for another twenty years, so what's a Miamian B-ball fan to do?

1968. Wilt gets traded to the Lakers and the Lakers become the team that I followed. Never wavered, and 40 years later, they remain my team. Because of their past history, love Shaq, Riles, McAdoo and the Heat winning during those times the Lakers can not.

They are better now with Marion and just need to secure both Wade and Marion for the next few years. They need to pick up one more talented guy and they will be competitive. The Heat made the correct move and they are now on the right track.

As for Shaq. I am going to love see it play out in the west. This is going to be fun.

--------

A bit of local trivia. Back in the day when Bob McAdoo was raining down sweet mid-jumpers. The taunt that followed him prior to joining the Lakers was classic. The disappointment from the locals went something like this: McA-doo, McA-don't, McA-could, McA-won't. Then, he soon retired that chant with a championship.

Do you remember that shadow?

[OC Dolphin]

Oh, and if being a Laker fan is not enough to HATE BOSTON all-the-more. Imagine the ecstasy for Laker nation when Kareem floated that sky-hook over Parish to finally win the championship - at Boston! At the buzzard!

The face of Red Auerbach as he was ready to light that fully erect cigar dropped like a bad case of Viagra. To this day, few memories bring me more joy.

[OC Dolphin]

Sorry, that's buzzer. I was thinking Auerbach when I typed buzzard.

[Flipper72]

Zack, JT and Holliday are staying put in Miami. They are not going to be traded.
I think that Spragen might be a goner, Schulters is for sure and maybe Lehan as well.

The big question is QB. Who the hell are we going after as far as veterans go??
Rex Grossman?? Brian Griese?? Chad Pennington?? Jeff Garcia?? The list of free agent QB's is way too thin this year.
Derek Anderson would cost us too much but maybe Cleveland would trade with us for a 3rd rounder?? I doubt it but then again, you never know!!

[Flipper72]

I used to like watching the showtime Lakers of the 80's with Pat Riley as coach. Those teams kicked ass!! Magic, Wilkes, Nixon, Rambis, Abdul-Jabar, Cooper, Scott, Macadoo,
etc. They were fun and entertaining. I think the NBA was a lot more competitive back then than it is now. You had a lot of good teams: The 76ers with DR.J, Cheeks, Malone. The Celtics with Bird, Parrish, McHale, Johnson, Ainge, Walton. The Rockets
with Murphy, Akim the dream, Sampson.
The Spurs with the Iceman. The Nuggets with David Thompson. The Pistons with Thomas and Lambeir.

I used to love watching the Lakers beat the Celtics. The Celtics I still think own the overall record as far as NBA Championships go: is it 16 or 17?? The Lakers have 5 in Minneapolis and 9 in L.A. for a total of 14.
I think I'm right??

I like the Heat too though. Ever since Shaq came down to South Florida and broght us a Championship along with Dwayne Wade, I have been a fan ever since. I think they did the right thing by trading Shaq to Phoenix. The Heat I think got the better of the deal. They should contend in the East next year.

[Noel]

Since Trent Green didn't win a single game, it looks like the clueless duo gave our 4th round pick away for nothing.

[dean]

oc

i remember magic johnson hitting a kareem-esque hook at the buzzer to beat gang-green as well. one of my favorite "i hate boston" moments. the best part was he never broke stride on his way to the locker! kind of like bo jackson disappearing in the runway @ seattle many moons ago.

[ginrai]

dean have you noticed you are a mean a-hole but tinier in size? You need to see for yourself. Look in the mirror for once.

[ginrai]

I'm surprise a laker fan is a dolphin fan ,and I thought he would root for the rams or the raiders. Lala fans are the most obnoxious in the Nba. I don't like the Lalas. Like I don't like the Patsos in the Nfl. Like I don't like the NY Yoyos in MLb. And their huge arrogant trolling fan bases.
dean you should join any of their fan bases you are quite comparable to them.

[the shadow knows]

ginrai,

can you please cut out the vitriol directed at dean? is that really you ripping into another of G-d's creations, or somebody trying to give Christians a bad name?

[Dave in VA]

Jimbo-

I work in DC but live in Fredericksburg. Awesome place. I hate the VA taxes but it is a beautiful state. Beach, Mountains, swamp, this place has it all.

[the shadow knows]

dean, OC, Flipper72,

there is no question in my mind that the "showtime lakers" were the best team/dynasty in NBA history- unchallenged in the western conference for years, while boston and philadelphia were trading punches and trips to the nba finals until detroit came along.

dean: that running baby-skyhook was a classic and is among the NBA's great moments.

OC: i don't remember the chants concerning mcadoo- were they from LA fans taunting him when he played for buffalo? having a multiple scoring champion as a role player shows just how strong the lakers were. later they added mychal thompson (a no. 1 pick as i remeber) to come off the bench. when wilt came to the lakers, they lost game sevens to boston in 69, knicks in 70 (when wilt made an amazing comeback from a mid-season knee injury to lead the lakers back from a 3-1 deficit against the hawks) to lose to a great new york team led by walt frazier, whose game 7 is second only to magic's game 6 against the 76ers in clinchers), lost to the then western conference bucks and secondyear sensation kareem, and then turned in one of the greatest seasons in NBA history when they went 69-13 and finally won a title for LA, after many years of frustration at the hands of red,bill,sam,havlicek,KC and the rest.

Flipper72: you mentioned david thompson and george gervin. the coupling of those names always reminds me of the shootout they had on the fianla sunday of the season when they were within tenths of points of each in the race for the scoring title, as i remember, david thompson scored over 60 points in his final game to seemingly clinch the scoring title, only to have former ABA great respond with a near 70 point game to garnish the title!! kinda like the time will clark was leading tony gwynn going into the last game of the season, in which the giants and padres hooked up. as i remember, will clark choked and went i for 5, while tiny gwynn went 3 for 4 to lock up on of his mant batting titles.

[OC Dolphin]

shadow,

It's been some time now, but the way I remember it, the local sports radio guys were expressing a certain level of ambivalence when the Lakers decided to bring Mc in.

The notion expressed by that rhyme (McAdo, McAdon't, McAcould, McAwon't) followed him from the Nets, Pistons, Celtics. Perhaps formed earlier in his career when he won scoring titles with Buffalo. As the story goes, Bob would hog the ball and not pass it to teamates. McAdo, McA......

The local critics were concerned that by bringing him in, the showtime offense would stall the moment McAdoo received a pass.

That notion was squashed, as the Lakers went on to win 2 with a second "silky" stroke.

[raoul duke]

mike1, referring to your 2/11/08, 8:39PM post The Patriots really have great big AMF ones to throw their bowling balls through glass houses.

[ginrai]

Shadow you are dean's shadow now? Lol!

[ginrai]

dean is in trouble now. dean look down! shadow is dragging you down.

[raoul duke]

Bobby Knight is a great, unlikeable, jackass who worked part-time as a folding chair thrower, student basketball player bitch slapper and an a**kicker and public humiliator of his own son Pat Knight. He will be missed.

[Flipper72]

Shadow,

The Iceman was fun to watch. He never had much of a supporting cast but boy could he shoot!!

What do you think of Phoenix with Shaq making a serious run at the title this year?

[the shadow knows]

Flipper72,

any kind of play from shaq should get the suns past the lakers, who are vastly improved and awaiting the return of bynum, at least. san antonio and dallas could also feel the presence of shaq as boosting the suns' chances.

[the shadow knows]

Flipper72,

gervin had the very good guard james silas, and sven nater,( bill walton's back-up at UCLA) a strong, strong rebounder and defender, for a couple of years. that was about it. you are right, the iceman didn't have much help but was a phenomenal player and was involved in the legendary dunking contest at the ABA all star game in the mid-70s. the infusion of ABA talent saved the NBA till bird and magic got there in 79-80.

[the shadow knows]

OC,

mcadoo had some great players with him in buffalo- my favorite college point guard ever, ernie digregorio (NBA ROY) and the under appreciated randy smith, possessor of the most beautiful jump shot (to these eyes) in NBA history, he had tremendous lift and quickness, having played soccer before he took to basketball. randy smith would be standing at he free throw line, receive a pass from ernie d or gasp, mcadoo, and simply elevate above the defenders and put in many a swish. one of the NBA'a forgotten great players. ernie d was not particularly fast, but after tearing up his knee he just couldn't stay with anybody on defense. jack kent cooke acquired ernie d without consulting jerry west, who put his new guard, nicknamed Ernie No D, into the permanent doghouse. ernie d had a sweet shot and was the most beautiful and accurate passer the shadow had ever seen. every once in a while, when they show the NCAA final four where providence lost to memphis (state) after marvin barnes got hurt, you'll see the left handed ernie thow 3/4 length of the court behind-the-back passes RIGHTHANDED to teammmates for layups. pistol pete, bird, magic- all tremendous passers, but none had the touch of the chubby little guy from providence

[Tom]

I've been watching the Roger Clemens hearing today and it is brutally painful to watch. I want to believe Clemens, especially since his principal accuser is such worthless piece of shit, but it is clear from Andy Petit's statement that Roger is not being truthful. This hearing is a shame and it is giving me a sick feeling in my gut.

The end result is that Roger Clemens will never make it into the Hall of Fame and quite possibly (but not likely) be indicted for perjury. What a sad state of affairs for Roger Clemens and baseball.

[naples jack,patsfan]

Enough with this worthless bullshit, basketball nonsense. Enough!!! It is like watching paint dry.
Tom, I think that asshole clemens, is going to prison. Just watched the hearings, he is lying thru his teath. The scumbag even got his wife involved.

[Noel]

I'll still enjoy baseball and root for my team, but the records are pretty much meaningless to me now. As far as I'm concerned Hank Aaron is still the all time home run king.

[naples jack,patsfan]

No way will he get in the hof. That congressmen dan burton, what a piece off shit he is. It figures he is some yahoo from indiana.

[naples jack,patsfan]

Tom, teeth, was what I meant.

[r. duke]

naples jack,patsfan NFL should run all seaon long. Just increase size of rosters to account for increased number of injuries due to longer season. Maybe we could have a best two out of three or four out of seven Super Bowl tournaments.

[Tom]

naples jack

I gotta agree about Roger lying, but I doubt they'll ever convict him. Not on the word of McNamee. There is not doubt in my mind that McNamee saved those needles and swabs to blackmail Roger at a later date (like right before the HoF vote). Quite frankly, I don't care if Clemens goes to jail. What I would rather see is baseball put the records of this era in a separate category to give back the "true" records to those players who set the records fairly. I know this will punish some innocent players, but they have all done this to themselves with their collective silence about the wrong-doing in baseball.

[OC Dolphin]

naples jack,patsfan

Welcome to the S-L-O-W period of the year. No football until it heats up prior to the draft. No baseball either. Quite frankly, I find that whatever lawyers argue for or against Roger Clemens is as exciting as a soccer match in Kenya.

We visit periodically my brother-in-law who lives in Punta Gorda, a stone's throw from Naples, so I do know a thing or two about "paint-drying-boredom." By the way, The excitement at Shell City was unbeliavable. Simply an extra-sensory explosion!

B-ball and golf will never replace the "big two," but to these eyes remain much better topics than Clemens and Stalone making egg & HGH shakes for each other;-)

[naples jack,patsfan]

Raou Duke, you are so right. NFL season should be longer. Expand the rosters, take a couple of breaks, play more then 1 sb.Will not happen because of stadium situations. Oh well, at least I can dream.
Bad spelling, Raoul Duke.

[mike1]

ESPN Today: I didn't know this

As reported by ESPN in September 2007, Belichick privately admitted to Goodell that videotaping opposing team's defensive signals had been his standard practice since he became the New England coach in 2000. Belichick argued that he believed he was within the letter of the rule, as long as he did not use the material on game day.

The commissioner rejected the interpretation, and also cited a league memo distributed prior to the start of the season that specified teams were not to engage in such practice.

[Dave in VA]

OC, this isn't slow time, it's speculation time!

Peter King wrote today that the Dolphins have freed up the cap space to go after a couple of the high profile fre agents. If you haven't seen it check out his Monday Moring QB section on cnnsi.com. Anyway, point being, the Phins have some Franklins to throw around. Who do you guys think they should covet and go after? I'd hate to see another Porter deal. Wanna talk about football????

[the shadow knows]

naples jack,pats fan,

granted that i tend to get a "little" nostalgic, but OC,dean, and Flipper72 like the good-old days of converse all-stars, shorts (not these baggy tents of today), and knee-socks. don't like it? hit the scrool down key

[the shadow knows]

SHOULD READ: "SCROLL" down key; sorry,jack!