Firing Jagodzinski for just talking to another team is a bit harsh, sure, but it’s not like they didn’t warn him this would happen. In fact, that’s exactly what they did.

“DeFilippo said he fired Jagodzinski over a ”difference of vision for the future.” He has said he wanted a coach who would stay at the school long term. Jagodzinski has been BC’s coach for two years and had three years left on his contract.”

Worst part is, Jag is considered a longshot for the Jets job.

As this  sweaty, gummy, stubbly-looking mugshot reveals, Sir Charles Barkley was busted for DUI last night after running a stop sign in Scottsdale Arizona and failing field sobriety tests. 

Would it be lame to suggest that this guy has driven the lane so many times that he could do it blindfoldedand drunk?

Read more about it at CNN. ]]> http://sport.ology.com/2008/12/31/madame-toussads-wax-statue-of-charles-barkley-arrested-for-dui/feed/ 0 http://sport.ology.com/2008/12/30/holy-shanahan-long-time-broncos-coach-fired/ http://sport.ology.com/2008/12/30/holy-shanahan-long-time-broncos-coach-fired/#comments Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:36:01 +0000 Ology Staff http://sport.ology.com/?p=410 14-year veteran and two-time Superbowl winner (!) Mike Shanahan was fired as head coach of the Denver Broncos on Tuesday. What the fuck?

Tough year for NFL coaches hovering around .500. This AP story at Fifth Down provides a plausible enough argument. Despite a career 146-89 record, Shanahan has made increasingly poor roster choices since the departure of John Elway:

“This year, as the defense floundered, it became obvious it wasn’t just a coaching problem. It was an issue of talent on the field, and in Denver, Shanahan makes all the personnel decisions.

His top two draft picks in 2007, Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder, were barely a factor this season. Two of Denver’s top veteran acquisitions from last year, Niko Koutouvides and Dewayne Robertson, also did very little.”

More at Shutdown Corner, and the visual diarrhea that is Deadspin

Perrotto doesn’t like Minnesota as much as everybody else does, and Rick Pitino doesn’t like Louisville.

“I haven’t liked this team since the first day of practice” Pitino said.

No, you can’t have any context. But you can read more about the Cardinals’ woes at IHT.

Drew Brees. Broke the 5,000 yards passing barrier.
James Harrison. All over the place. A smart, aggressive player who came up with a ton of big player.
Andre Johnson. The game’s best receiver. More receptions than Welker, more yards than Fitzgerald.
Adrian Peterson. Won the league’s rushing title. Nine fumbles hurt, though.
Troy Polamalu. Routinely makes game-changing plays in the secondary.
Ed Reed. Does the same.
Philip Rivers. League’s best QB rating. As many touchdowns as Brees, but with six fewer interceptions.
DeMarcus Ware. League’s sack leader, and maybe the only thing keeping the Cowboys defense even moderately respectable.
DeAngelo Williams. A monstrous 5.5 yards-per-carry average, an amazing second half to the season, and 18 rushing TDs.

I’ll add my dark horse favorite: Chad Pennington.

Frustrated and Despondent, Lions Running Back Kevin Smith turns to Islam.

Welcome to 0-16. 

Photo from Deadspin

From the Star Ledger

This AP story detailing two improbable roads to a College Bowl game starts thusly:

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Halfway through this season, Rutgers and North Carolina State looked nothing like teams bound for bowl games.

The Scarlet Knights of the Big East and the Wolfpack of the Atlantic Coast Conference survived terrible starts, then rode their rejuvenated quarterbacks to late-season rallies and berths in thePapajohns.com Bowl on Monday.

I’m happy for my Scarlet Knights, of course. They did indeed survive not just a terrible start, but a TERRIBLE START, on their way to a respectable if not disappointing 7-5 season. And NC State has a little-offense-that-could, headed up by redshirt freshman QB Russell Wilson, who ended the season with 226 consecutive passes without a pick. 

But, the Papajohns.com bowl? Really? The closest you could get to classy sponsorship was the punctuationally awkward web site of the third-biggest national pizza-substitute franchise?

Stay tuned next winter for the KFC’s Famous Bowl Bowl

All the home teams (in CAPS) are underdogs. Despite the rarity (only one of eight road teams in the last two Wildcard rounds was favored to win), these lines make a good deal of sense. Though, just for grins, I’d take San Diego and Miami.

“For the current New York Jets organization, we’ve made the decision to move on,” the team owner Woody Johnson said.

“We can’t pick a specific area. It’s a judgment call. I’m not saying Eric won’t be a successful coach. I think he will be.”

I’m surprised at this move, but by rights I shouldn’t be. Like a lot of sports fans, I occasionally fall to confusing reputation with record. Mangini was always considered a Boy Wonder, and dubbed by supporters as “the Mangenius”. Under his tutelage the Jets were 23-26.

I don’t think Mangini was a bad coach. He excelled, for instance, at managing practices and players, and at designing flexible, versatile, and tricky-to-cover offensive schemes. But his on-field judgment was always questionable, and he didn’t seem to know what he could and couldn’t expect to get out of his players.

Thankfully, those are things that experience and maturity can teach. Like how to get fired gracefully.

In the space of two days, the Jets saw: their season end; a quarterback they cut loose lead the Dolphins into the playoffs in one of the biggest turnarounds in NFL history; Brett Favre finally show his age and go down with what is potentially the first serious injury of his career; and their head coach get fired.

And so, as a Jets fan, I turn for comfort and succor to that bittersweet German mistress, Schadenfreude.

Right around the start of the fourth quarter, with the news that the Baltimore Ravens (who, with a win against the Jaguars, could knock the Jets out come what may) were up by 20, I started cheering: Go Dolphins!

That’s because, as part of the baroque machinations of the NFL playoffs, wins by the Ravens and the Dolphins would send the New England Patriots packing. And as every New York sports fan knows: when all else fails, curse Boston.