“He is the most underrated football player in the history of the game,” Shanahan said of Asomugha.

“I can’t believe this guy hasn’t been to the Pro Bowl or people don’t talk about him all the time. He is off the charts and as good as it gets. He doesn’tget the attention for the way he plays consistently. He is the most underrated football player that I have ever seen in my coaching career.”

We agree that Asomugha is the most underrated player in the game, but we’re not sure about NFL history.

People talk about shut-down corners quite a bit, but there really aren’t many in the game. Asomugha is a shut-down corner. No one even bothers to throw his way.

An NBA source told Newsday that the Knicks haven’t announced the deal yet because they might not be finished trading. Another rumor has the Knicks shipping Zack Randolph to the Clippers for Tim Thomas and Cutino Mobley.

Photo Caption: Jamal Crawford has perfected his “I’m not even paying attention” brand of defense.

Something else will almost have to happen or the Knicks just serious weakened their back court. This is assuming they still plan to ban Stephon Marbury, which seems likely.

Because he is out for the year, he becomes a risky fantasy option moving forward.

And now, Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post says that he keeps hearing the same thing:

“I continue to hear that Brian Westbrook is badly hurt, and I wonder if they end up shutting him down, at least for a week or two. Having to play at Baltimore - which has a defense that generally leaves an opposing offense bruised and battered for weeks - will do them no favors, and I wonder if they fall off for good. (I also saw where Reid actually called for pass plays on all 18 of Philly’s third-down plays in the tie with Cincy, including a bunch of third-and-one situations. That’s hard-nosed football. I guess Correll Buckhalter is in the doghouse or something.)”

Why is La Canfora an insider on Brian Westbrook, considering he covers the Redskins? It’s simple: Byron Westbrook, Brian’s brother, plays for the ‘Skins and is probably the best source for BWest information.

In our opinion, this is terrible, terrible news for Pacman. This means that he’s just a flat-out asshole with no excuse.

And guess what?  It worked.  The three Cantania players dropped their shorts (to their knees) during a kick by fellow teammate Giuseppe Mascara.  Torino goalie Matteo Sereni couldn’t see the kick and the ball found the net.  The goal ended up being the difference in Cantania’s 3-2 victory.  

This got me thinking.  Can this be done in other sports?  And if not, what creative strategies can we think of that are similar to this maneuver?

• Can a basketball player drop their shorts in an attempt to stop a basketball from being passed in between their legs?  Would their lateral movement be effected?  Can they drop their shorts during an opposing teams’ free throw to try to distract them?  Or do the balloon-like noise makers already do that?
• Can Randy Moss pull down his pants, moon the Packer fans, and wipe his bum on the field goal post?
• Can Bill Buckner drop his pants so ground balls don’t go through his legs?  Again, will that effect his lateral movement?  Actually, does he still play?  If not, can I swap Bill Buckner with Akinori Iwamura?
• Can Charles Haley drop his pants in the locker room?
• In an attempt to motivate the 49ers, can a coach…lets say Mike Singletary…drop his pants to show his players what part of their body is getting kicked? 
• Can a hockey player drop his shorts to screen the goalie?  Probably not a good idea if you want to have babies.  Maybe Travis Henry and Jason Caffey should play hockey and drop their shorts?  They don’t need any more kids.  They have a combined 19 kids by 17 different women (as far as we know).  What are the odds that one of those women has a kid from both Travis and Jason?  I’ll set the odds at 25-to-1.

Alright, I’m done.  Feel free to chime in.  Let’s hope no clothes are coming off in the WNBA, right fellas?

“Adam has been through a period of time where he’s gone through medical evaluations and I will be hearing from those personnel later this week,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said through an interpreter. “And we’ll be making a decision some time in the coming days with respect to his status.”

Regardless of whether he reinstates Pacman, the douchebag (Pacman, not Goodell) won’t be able to play this week against San Francisco.

We think Goodell will let him play again, but we aren’t sure why. This ass was kicked out of football for the 2007 season and continues to act like a hump. When does it stop? At what point do we acknowledge that he just doesn’t have the makeup and upbringing to be a productive member of society?

This means the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls, plus the BCS Championship Game, will be televised in prime…blah blah blah…who the F cares?

I read the article about five times and I still haven’t found the sentences that read, “starting in the 2009-10  college football season the NCAA will have a playoff system consisting of the top-eight ranked teams to determine the National Championship.  Four newly formed bowls have been named.  The Super Awesome Bowl will be featuring the number one and number eight ranked teams.  The It’s Finally Here Bowl will be featuring the number two and number seven ranked teams in the nation.  The There Will Finally Be No Arguments About Who Is Number One Bowl will play the number three ranked team against the number six ranked team.  And finally, the If You Oppose This Playoff Format You Are An Idiot Bowl will host the number four and number five ranked teams.

PHOTO CAPTION:  The Super Awesome Bowl would be played at Lambeau Field.

Don’t give me the argument that the number nine team is left out of this tournament.  Nobody cares about Boise State.

After round one we have four teams left, which leaves us three more games that can be played in the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl.   These three bowls will alternate every year in hosting the National Championship game.  It’s that easy.

I’m sorry I left out the Rose Bowl, but Vince Young and Matt Leinart’s performances in the NFL have completely ruined my perception of the 2006 game in Pasadena.

This new playoff system would be the best tournament in sports and would trump March Madness.

Do I think he and every other NFL player should know this rule? Yes, I do. But the fact is, he didn’t. And several other players have admitted to it as well.

Per PFT, Ben Roethlisberger told a Pittsburgh radio station that he thinks half the NFL probably doesn’t know the rule.

“People are making too big of a deal of this,” Roethlisberger said, according to Tim Benz of WXDX. “They’re being too hard on Donovan. I’d bet you fifty percent of the league didn’t know that at the time. You’d be surprised. People seem to think that the quarterback should know it all, and that everyone should know that stuff. And it’s not necessarily true. Because who ever thinks of that situation? How often does it ever come up? And the rules change so often that you never know what happens.”

To me, Donovan’s real crime was admitting his ignorance of the rule publicly. As he’s finding out, it’s just not worth it. The only thing that will save him is more players coming out and saying they didn’t know either.

Hines Ward’s Steelers played in a tie game in 2002 against the Falcons. Yet, he doesn’t know the rule?

“I thought we just played until we had a winner,” Ward said. “It’s kind of weird now that you can tie ball games.”

Everyone thinks the players should know rules like this, but the truth is, everyone has gaps in their knowledge. Regardless of the subject matter, every one of us could be asked an “easy” question and not know.

I know some people that I consider to be extremely intelligent that couldn’t label each state on a blank map of the United States. Do you know the date of D-Day? Do you know the role of the Watergate in “Watergate?” Do you know the address of the White House (I admit, I just forgot the numbers. I know it’s Pennsylvania Ave, but I was thinking 1200, not 1600. I’m stupid)? The engine on your car has how many cylinders?

These are just a few examples of things we should all know, but don’t always. There are tons and tons of other things that we should probably know, but don’t. Donovan just had the unfortunate experience of telling the whole world that he didn’t know an important NFL rule. No one notices when you are watching TV on the couch with your wife at night and it comes out that you didn’t know the name of the Vice President of the United States (I’ve seen it happen!).

We all have the gaps and we all have important information missing from our brains. Hopefully, more NFL players that didn’t know the rule will come out and defend McNabb.

When he was a Philadelphia 76er, everyone argued they never put the right players around him.  It wouldn’t have mattered.  Allen Iverson can’t play within a team because he has a me-first and score-first mentality.  Moreover, he lacks the maturity to respect and listen to his coaches.  His relationship with Larry Brown is a prime example.  And his horrible attitude towards Moe Cheeks on his way out of Philly is another.

Allen Iverson finally found himself with the Denver Nuggets, a playoff team filled with high-profile players in the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Marcus Camby, and Kenyon Martin.  He had the opportunity to show the NBA world what he could do on the roster of an elite team.  And what happened?  The Denver Nuggets became an even worse basketball team and lost eight straight playoff games. 

Are you sick of me bad-mouthing Allen Iverson?  How about we listen to what George Karl has to say in reference to the Chauncey Billups-Allen Iverson trade?

“There are less bad plays, more solid plays,” Karl said. “I think the wasteful, cheap possessions that we used to have 10 to 15 a game, they don’t exist very much anymore.”

“We have contested-shot charts, bad-shot charts and cheap defensive possessions,” Karl said. “I would say that when A.I. was here, we had most games in the teens of contested, tough shots, sometimes in the 20s. And I don’t think we’ve had a double-digit one since (Billups has) been here.

“I don’t think there’s any question coaching a team for many minutes, without a passing and point guard mentality, is frustrating for a coach. Sometimes I saw something, but I couldn’t get it done on the court because I didn’t have a playmaker out there.”

Back to me, I’ve been preaching this for years.  I understand Allen Iverson is fun to watch.  He’s amazing at scoring the basketball and very talented.  But he never will understand what it takes to win a championship.  He can pile on stat after stat, but ‘wasteful and cheap possessions’ will always be Allen Iverson’s downfall.

As a Detroit Piston’s fan, I plead to Michael Curry to start Rodney Stuckey over Allen Iverson.  And if he doesn’t, I guess all I can say is ’good luck.’

He was doing the whole “playing-dumb-because-that-is-such-a-stupid-rule-and-I-can’t-believe-we-just-tied-the-Bengals” card.  Donovan has played in 12 OT games during his NFL career.  If you honestly fell for that whole “he didn’t know” crap, you are just as dumb as the talk radio hosts in the Philadelphia area. 

Maybe Correll Buckhalter didn’t know.  Maybe Greg Lewis didn’t know.  But they found out from one of their trainers during the OT.  Maybe DeSean Jackson didn’t know, but he’s a rookie.  Maybe Omar Gaither didn’t know, but whatever.  Donovan knew.  I think they all knew. 

PHOTO CAPTION:  McNabb looks down field at his wide receivers’ feet.

They were embarrassed, so they played dumb.  We’ve all done it before.  There’s a six-pack in the fridge and you know it’s your roommates.  Your roommate isn’t home, so you decide to drink one, then you drink two, then you kill the whole sixer.  Your roommate comes home and he asks where the hell his beer is and you respond, “I thought that was my beer.  If I knew it was yours, I wouldn’t have drank it.”

That’s not a good example.  But my point is I think he knew.  I know he knew.  Saying he didn’t know was his way of letting everyone realize what a ridiculous rule it is to have an NFL game end in a tie.  And I agree.  It’s a stupid rule.

1. Nick Collison, Thunder
2. Shaq, Suns
3. Zach Randolph, Knicks
4. Malik Rose, Knicks
5. Channing himself, Blazers
6. Greg Oden, Blazers

This got me thinking of another top five list, which I will extend to six. The top five first names I would never name my kid in the NBA:

1. ‘Channing’ Frye, Blazers
2. ‘Rafer’ Alston, Rockets
3. ‘Solomon’ Jones, Hawks
4. ‘Dirk’ Nowitzki, Mavericks
5. ‘Stromile’ Swift, Nets
6. ‘Jawad’ Williams, Cavs

PHOTO CAPTION: Channing Frye makes both lists.

“As we allege in the complaint, Mamma.com entrusted Mr. Cuban with nonpublic information after he promised to keep the information confidential,” said Scott W. Friestad, Deputy Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Less than four hours later, Mr. Cuban betrayed that trust by placing an order to sell all of his shares.”

PHOTO CAPTION:  “My turn?”

• When did McNabb start playing the quarterback position like he is 5-foot-7 inches tall?
• When will Andy Reid realize the “throw the ball into a large mass of linemen” play doesn’t work on 3rd and 1.  They ran this play six times yesterday making it a grand total of 79 for the year.
• When will McNabb realize that trying to ricochet a pass off a defensive lineman’s hand is not an effective way to get an important completion.
• Why do Kevin Curtis and LJ Smith run routes without looking back to see if the ball is going to be thrown to them. 
• I’m learning to appreciate the art of the 25-second three-and-out.
• Will someone wipe the smile off Donovan’s face?  Nothing was funny about yesterday. 
• Apparently there is no ‘wind in your face’ in Australia.
• The quarterback sneak gets you one yard, sometimes two.
• The thing about trick plays is the Eagles can’t execute them.
• McNabb may not have puked yesterday, but I sure did.
• When was the last time McNabb engineered a game-winning drive?  Seriously, I can’t remember.  If you know, please tell me.
• Andy Reid is really fat.  Black usually makes you look thinner.  But with Andy, black really makes him look fat.
• If a wide receiver is wide open are you supposed to gun it over his head so the ball lands 30 yards down the field…
• Or are you supposed to gun it at his feet?
• I would trade Donovan McNabb straight up for Eli Manning right now.
• I bet the first thing that reads on Andy and Marty’s play-calling sheet is “syalp evisneffO,” because it seems everything they call is ass-backwards.
• I’m going to wear a shirt that reads, ‘Third-and-done,” to the next Eagles’ game.
• Screen plays are effective when the other team is not expecting them.
• Always play for the tie.
• Can you tell that I’m getting ready for the Kevin Kolb era to begin?  I have always been a McNabb supporter, but there is no defending that performance yesterday.
• LJ Smith can’t catch with one person defending him, so maybe he can catch with two people defending him?
• I was 70-for-76 in guessing what plays the Eagles were going to run yesterday.  Andy Reid has become too predictable.

There we go, I feel much better.  Did I miss anything?  Feel free to chime in.

-The defense was pretty good I guess.

-We done here? Good.

…and not so much…

-Someone explain to me what got into Donovan McNabb. Three INT’s? I can’t remember the last time that McNabb threw that many in a game. Like say…the Super Bowl? Even then, the last one didn’t really count that day; the game was already over. But whatever, four turnovers is very un-McNabb-like.

-If the Eagles were worth a darn in short yardage, you could have gone for it on fourth down instead of settling for the Akers field goal with five minutes and change remaining in the game.

-The Eagles cannot run the ball a lick. This is a big problem.

-The Eagles looked like they had no confidence at all today.

-I don’t care how chilly and windy it was out there, Sav Rocca was a disgrace. For a guy that has punted so well this season, he was just terrible every time he had to kick the ball.

-Memo to Eagles; Stop dropping passes.

-Dumb penalties are the sign of a team that lacks discipline.

-Speaking of which, that was a miserable roughing the passer penalty towards the end. The refs have to let guys play.

-It’s troubling that the Eagles struggled all day to get separation from the Bengals secondary.

-This team looked beaten today. I don’t know if it was the loss to the Giants or what, but they had zero life.

Correll Buckhalter thought the same thing. So I wonder who in the hell is in charge of telling the players the damn rules.

There are a couple potential problems, however. The Yankees just unloaded five young pitchers to acquire the likes of Xavier Nady, Damaso Marte and Nick Swisher. So, they may be low on ammo.

Also, Peavy has a no-trade clause in his contract and may not want to play in New York.

We wouldn’t be surprised if the Yankees abandoned their one-year philosophy of “we’re going to hold onto our young talent.” The Yankees didn’t do much of anything last year and the Steinbrenner’s aren’t known for their patience.

The Yankees have offered CC Sabathia (a baseball pitcher) $140 million over six years.

We’re sure that they’ll increase that offer with little effort from CC’s camp.