Bien! Telemundo Will Broadcast First Ever NFL Game

Good news for our Spanish speaking friends with news that the NFL has made a very wise decision in allowing Telemundo, an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish, to air the September 26th game between the Jets and Dolphins in celebration of the NFL’s Hispanic Heritage Month.

Telemundo is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world and is getting such a sweet deal because they are part of the parent company of NBC Universal, which airs the Sunday Night Football games.

The NFL is strongly pursing new markets and this deal should be an easy ratings victory in the rapidly growing Latino markets. The beauty of the deal is that Telemundo gets a regular-season game and will use its own broadcasters to call the game.

Telemundo will capitalize on its position within NBC Universal to carry an NFL game this fall in three key Hispanic markets. The network will offer a Sept. 26 Miami-New York Jets game on stations it owns in Miami and New York, as well as Los Angeles, which has the largest Hispanic population in the country.

The game will be the national Sunday night game on NBC, but offered in Spanish on Telemundo as a special Hispanic Heritage Month broadcast.

It’s Telemundo’s first “Sunday Night Football” broadcast. The network will broadcast the game using the NBC game feed, but will use its own announcers, including Jessi Losada, Rene Girardo and Edgar Lopez.

Al Davis and John Madden Over the Years

John Madden began his head coaching career with the Oakland Raiders’ in 1969 after spending 2 years as the linebackers coach. Most people today know him as the great TV announcer or video game namesake, but John Madden had a fantastic career as a head coach with the Raiders for a decade (103 wins, 32 loses, 7 ties) and was also only 32 years old when he started as a head coach, which made him the youngest head coach in the American Football League.

Above is a picture of Madden and Raiders owner Al Davis almost 30 years ago after they guided the ’76 squad to the Super Bowl over the Minnesota Vikings.  A few turkuckens later, Madden was introduced into the Hall of Fame in 2006 and Al Davis joined him.

Madden coached the Raiders for 10 seasons, posting a regular season record of 103 wins, 32 losses and 7 ties. During that time, he guided the team to seven Western Division titles, including five in a row from 1972 to 1976. Under Madden’s guidance, Oakland never experienced a losing season.

Marvin Harrison On A Road To Nowhere

Marvin Harrison sure likes his guns.

Since being let go by the Indianapolis Colts in 2009 after battling injuries for a few years, Harrison has quickly shed his nice guy image and turned down the wrong road.

In 2008, Harrison was a “person of interest” in a shooting at a Philadelphia business.  A few lawsuits came of the incident in which Harrison was accused of shooting a man in the hand but Marvin was not arrested.

And this week Harrison was arrested for going down the wrong way of a one-way street and after the cops searched his car they found a gun. 

It didn’t help that Marvin said there wasn’t a gun in the SUV, which is required with his gun permit. Needless to say, the cops are testing the gun as evidence in the 2008 shooting. You wouldn’t think that a person would keep a gun used in a previous accident but if criminals were smart than jails wouldn’t be crowded.

Owning a gun isn’t a crime but lack of common sense should be.

Marvin, I don’t know what happened that made you go down this path but please turn around. For now, I will stubbornly refuse to admit that half of the best passing combination in NFL history is a bad apple and instead try my best to remember him for being a great player on the field.

An Open Letter to Albert Haynesworth

An Open Letter to Albert Haynesworth

After missing every minicamp and offseason practice, Albert Haynesworth informed the Washington Redskins and the media that he was demanding a trade or release. Haynesworth made roughly $32 million from the Redskins in the first 13 months of his contract. Now that he has made clear his intentions, I offer him this letter.

Dear Albert Haynesworth,

Hey Al! I’m going to call you Al, I hope you don’t mind. Look, you’re an adult. You make your own decisions, you live by them, and you know how all of that works. I’m going to assume that by making this choice, you were already aware of how things would play out in the media and I accept that.

What I want to talk about is football. That’s it.

For a guy that’s so concerned about himself, you certainly chose the wrong position. Defensive tackle is one of the least glamorous positions in the NFL.

No one knows what you want to make of your career and your legacy. It could be championships, money, or just a long healthy career. But right now, it goes without saying; your legacy is likely permanently ruined. As a defensive tackle, you can only do so much. It’s not your role to rush the quarterback and accumulate sacks. The only headlines you can typically make are with your behavior and your mouth. Neither of those headlines is going to be a good thing.

I’ll tell you something you probably already know: You were the key cog to the Tennessee Titans brilliant 2008 season. You rewarded for that performance by the Washington Redskins. They and many other NFL teams saw what you did and wanted you to bring that same intensity to their team.

In 2009, you failed to do that. In 2010, you appear eager to prove that your success, not your failure, was a fluke.

You may be absolutely correct that you are not a good fit for a 3-4 defense under new head coach Mike Shanahan’s system. But, the reality is you’re being paid to do a job to the best of your abilities. You aren’t bigger than your team yet your trade demands illustrate that you feel you are. As a great player, your responsibility is larger than just your responsibility to yourself.

By demanding a trade, you effectively tell your teammates that you don’t have their back. There is a full roster of players who probably have an opinion on what they’d like to be doing on the team. And instead of using your status to be a leader, you have decided to use your status as leverage to do whatever you want. The NFL is a business, but that doesn’t excuse a jerk’s behavior.

C’mon Al! You are a great player on the field. But off of it, your arrogance is misguided. No one who knows the game questions your ability. Yet regardless, your selfishness continues to take the headlines.

If you care about your legacy, I strongly recommend you give coach Shanahan and his staff a fair chance. They want you to play; they want you to be a part of their success. Your performance is linked to their success.

Yet, you want to be somewhere else. It is only you who seems determined to undermine that.

The Washington Redskins may not be a great team but leaving them behind only hurts them even more. Walking away without regard for them is low. It is a decision riddled with apathy and one you’re going to have to live with.

You win together, you lose together. You play together, you sweat together. But you, Al? You will regret this choice alone.

Pete Carroll and the Stink

So I’ve been thinking about Pete Carroll. In the wake of sanctions at USC, I started thinking about the legend of Pete Carroll. We roast John Calipari for leaving programs in disarray amid cheating and bribing allegations, and yet I’m not seeing the public backlash on Pete Carroll.

If you are not familiar with the situation let’s bring you up to speed. The accusation was that Reggie Bush took money from USC boosters while in school. This led to a long investigation and it resulted in a 2 year ban from bowl play for USC. This is coincidentally right after Pete Carroll leaves to head to the NFL and takes the Seattle Seahawks head coaching position. Is the timing of this suspicious? Absolutely.

A 2 year bowl ban for a prominent program like USC is hugely crippling. This is a team that most seasons plays in the Rose Bowl as the Pac-10 representative. This is huge exposure for the players involved. The fact that they can’t get to a bowl game no matter how well they do or where they are ranked is a big blow to a program that is one of the best in the country.

But like most NCAA sanctions, the real criminals walk away unharmed. Reggie Bush is making money in the NFL and has a Super Bowl ring. Not a bad consolation prize for a kid who took excessive amounts of money when he wasn’t supposed to ruined his school. Sure, they might take his Heisman away but what does he care? Everyone will still remember that he won it and he ultimately deserved it.

Pete Carroll won National Championships at USC and now leaves for big money in the NFL. He’ll coach there, more than likely produce mediocre results, and then head back to college in a couple of years. I won’t be surprised if he heads back to USC once these sanctions are lifted and they can go back to being a national powerhouse. What does Pete Carroll lose on this? Nothing. Not a game, not a bowl win, not a National Championship, and it appears he doesn’t even lose his reputation.

I realize Pete can’t control everything that happens off the field. There are too many guys and not enough eyes to know that everyone is being the kind of upstanding citizen they should be. But Pete has to be watching the great players, the star players, the people that are putting your program in the position it’s in. Not watching the 4th string running back might make sense but not watching your Heisman star tailback is just irresponsible, or it’s dishonest.

Carroll has to be accountable for what happens with his program. He can blame the boosters and the athletic directors and they are certainly at fault, but he is the closest to the players and it’s up to him to check in with them and make sure they are doing what is right.

So this is where the NCAA needs to step in and make Carroll accountable. He comes back and say he heads to Oregon, then nothing happens and he goes back to business as usual. I say give him a 1 season bowl ban. I realize you can’t give him 2 because you would cripple another schools program but giving him a 1 year ban with the same amount of lost scholarships would be a great punishment. Some program would eat the penalty and take a chance on Carroll but there would be many that don’t. Some of the best universities would have to pass as Carroll would have made himself a liability to them. The stink would officially follow him around.

There is a serious unbalance in what coaches and players are able to do. If a kid transfers schools he must sit out a year but if a coach does it there are no punishments for leaving his school high and dry. At least in the case of paying players there needs to be some sort of sanctions for these coaches.

Maybe failing in the NFL will be punishment enough. Carroll knows when his time is up he’ll head back to college. He’ll have his pick of schools when he gets back, and why shouldn’t he? Apparently he’s done nothing wrong.

Midweek Links

A Tribute to Dads Who Go Above and Beyond: Awesome Treehouses - Father’s day is upon us again. This is a time to reflect on all the great things your father has provided for you over the years. Essentials like food, clothing, advice, shelter… and for the kids with a really cool dad — a tree house.

---

The Vuvuzela – The Ultimate Online Guide to the Real Star of World Cup 2010 - With the World Cup now in full swing, you can always expect there to be a few controversial games where the ref blows a call or a vicious tackle goes unnoticed. At this year’s event, though, there is one thing that is sure to be the most polarizing and divisive part of the tournament: the vuvuzela!

---

Beer Models Posing as Fans Booted from Soccer Stadium (Pics) – Thanks to Bavaria Beer, the big story at the World Cup has finally moved away from stupid horns, to focus on hot chicks wearing Oranje. By kicking the young ladies out of the stadium they drew more attention to the situation, in what has turned into a Streisand Effect.

---

‘June 17, 1994′: An ESPN 30 for 30 Review – That’s the easy, don’t-need-to-think-about-it answer whenever the question “Where were you on June 17, 1994?” comes up. Although the question is usually phrased, “Where were you during the OJ chase?”

---

The Booth Babes of E3 2010 – E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) is underway in Los Angeles, and that can mean only one thing to us here at Gunaxin, Booth Babes!

---

Great News: Cheap ‘Death Ray’ Laser Now Available to All - Like most evil geniuses and supervillains, I like to keep up on the development of personal laser technology, which is why I was very interested when a friend of mine sent me a link to Wicked Lasers and their latest product, the Spyder III.

---

Xbox Live Vs. PlayStation Plus! – There isn’t just one paid online console gaming service, anymore. There are two. Xbox Live and the newly revealed PlayStation Plus are going head-to-head. But, how are the two services different?

Ex NFL Stars Help Clean BP Gulf Oil Spill

BP Oil is the most hated company in the world right now (and rightfully so) and they are going to need all the help they can get to clean up their mess in the Gulf of Mexico.

Aid may come from a couple of unlikely sources that I would never have expected.

First, actor Kevin Costner was in D.C. petitioning his company to help BP with the oil spill. Turns out that Costner has helped develop a device that separates the oil from the water but lacks a lot of funding to be a mainstream tool.

I’m not sure how this actor cam to be part of a company like this. Maybe this is just some public service for making that turkey “Waterworld,”

Second, a group of ex-NFL players may be able to help. A Whitefish, Montana, company says they have the technology to clean up the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, without the use of any chemicals. And they are being backed by two former great NFL players.

Drew Bledsoe and Troy Aikman are competing with Kevin Costner as the company of BP’s choice to get in the water and help remove the oil as backers of a company called Ecosphere.

If politics make strange bedfellows, ecological disaster apparently makes even stranger competitors.

“I know it sounds unusual,” said Chad Wold, general counsel and managing member for Ecosphere Energy Services, a Whitefish-based company that has developed a non-chemical treatment system specifically built for removing oil and chemicals from water.

“But BP was talking about using ping-pong balls and pom-poms to clean up the oil, so we feel they should at least consider this technology that has been proven to work already.” [via]

Drew Bledsoe, who lives part-time in Whitefish and went to nearby Washington State University, and Troy Aikman, helped provide the investment capital to start Ecosphere Energy Services several years ago.

The system, which takes up an entire 53-foot truck trailer, employs a combination of ozone, ultrasound and high-voltage electricity to separate oil, gas and other contaminants from water through a process known as sonoluminescence.

“The water that comes out at the end of the process is cleaner than bottled drinking water,” said Wold. “And the oil is pure enough that they can truck it up and sell it.”

The Ozonix system has already been deployed to help out in past ecological disasters. In the days after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf coast in 2005, Ecosphere sent one of its Ozonix systems to Waveland, Miss. Operators stuck an intake hose into the city’s sewer system, and produced 70,000 gallons of fresh drinking water every day for area residents.

It all sounds good and fancy but I was less than a little thrilled by their presentation. Below is an actual screen shot from their presentation about cleaning up the BP spill. It looks like Troy Aikman’s kid drew it. Is that a shark on the right?

Thankfully, they have put good money into their equipment.

Tennessee Titans Vince Young Strip Club Brawl

You would think by now that all NFL teams would have a “No Strip Club” rule for their players.   Mostly a team like the Tennessee Titans whose former player, Adam “Pac Man” Jones, was essentially the reason the NFL was forced to enforce their modern player conduct rules.

Trouble Titans QB Vince Young recently announced that he would not accept the Heisman Trophy if Reggie Bush would be stripped of the honor due to the variety of NCAA violations.  Young finished 2nd in the running that year.

Then he followed that up by being Suspect #1 in a strip club brawl in Dallas, Texas.

Young was caught on tape arguing with a man in a strip club and then throwing a punch. He was issued a Class C assault citation, which is punishable up to $500.

Although I believe Young can easily afford the $500 fine, it’s the resulting fine from the Commissioner that might cost much, much more if any kind of suspension or fine is handed down.

Also, I know you can’t watch every player all the time but there are some players who just have a habit of not having the maturity to be on their own. There’s just too many things that can go wrong in a situation like this like what happened to Kenny Hamlin a few years back in Seattle. That fight ended up in Hamlin being beat down with a street sign.

That’s a worst case scenario, I know, but when immature players put themselves in positions to get into trouble, like Ben Roethlisberger, I can’t help but wonder if the teams need a rule to have a babysitter.

NCAA: USC Trojans Could Face 2-year Postseason Ban, Scholarship Losses

The University of Southern California Trojan football team, now coached by former one-year Vol head coach Lane Kiffin, are facing a ban from post-season bowl appearances for two years, according to a report from ESPN.com. Additional sanctions include scholarship losses and forfeiture of some past games.

The NCAA had been probing the Trojans for years after report of players including running back Reggie Bush accepting funds from boosters. The violations occurred during the coaching of Pete Carroll who is now with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. He quickly jumped ship to join the ‘Hawks in the NFL near the end of the investigation which led many to believe he had sniffed out potential punishment from the NCAA. Despite the lingering NCAA ordeal, Lane Kiffin bailed on his job at the University of Tennessee to accept the vacant position.

No BCS conference football programs has been banned from postseason play over the past seven years, but the NCAA has been expected to make an example of USC, one of the highest-profile programs in the country.

At stake as well are the BCS Championship that USC won as well as the potential for the loss of Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy.

The school’s football team is under investigation for its dealing with Heisman Trophy-winning running back Reggie Bush, who played at the school from 2003 to ’05. If Bush is found retroactively ineligible, the Heisman Trust could strip him of his 2005 award.

The NCAA and investigators from the Pac-10 Conference have tried to determine whether Bush and his parents took improper benefits, including an alleged rent-free residence provided by a sports marketer. Bush has not met with NCAA and Pac-10 investigators and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Top 10 Hottest NFL Wives and Girlfriends

Being an NFL star certainly has its privileges. Guest writer Matt De Lima takes a look at one of the perks of being a professional football player and grades the Top 10 Hottest WAGs of the NFL.

« Previous Page — Next Page »