Involved in a bit of a scandal at UW, Rick Neuheisel is now having a hard time getting a job.

“It has tarnished me and made it difficult for me to get an interview in the open marketplace,” Neuheisel told The Associated Press.

Oh… so Rick Neuheisel has gotten a small taste of what it’s like to be a black head coaching candidate, then. I’m sorry, but I can’t muster a lot of sympathy for a guy who had his shot, blew it by gambling on college athletics, and now has to wait his turn to get back in. Not when there are, what, 3 black head coaches in Division IA football?

I’m going to have a hard time feeling too bad for Rick Neuheisel. And his complaining, to me, just seems like whining. There are a ton of guys out there who want jobs and can’t get them, and they have clean records. They didn’t gamble on college sports, they didn’t lie about it, they don’t pose a public relations nightmare to any school that hires them, and they’re not in the media asking for sympathy. They just happen to be black. So suck it up, Rick, take a job as head coach of the Southeastern Milwaukee Fighting Woodchucks, prove you can run a clean program, and then maybe you can be Tyrone Willingham’s assistant for a while.

I have yet to hear real, sincere apologies from either Ben Wallace or Ron Artest regarding their roles in the brawl at the Palace… and somewhere, Stephen Jackson is still looking to fight someone. I’m picturing him walking through downtown Detroit, looking for people who were in the building that night, screaming, ‘YO, YOU WANNA FIGHT?”

But Jermaine O’Neal clearly grasps the situation, and is clearly very sorry… not only that it happened, but about his role in it. Give this a read. JO is a stand-up guy. I don’t feel like I’m in a position to be judging anyone else’s maturity, but… I will say that Jermaine O’Neal displays a maturity that seems to elude anyone else involved. He’s not running from any kind of responsibility.

I was initially against the judge ruling in his favor and shortening his suspension, but… this has changed my mind. I do believe that David Stern should have complete and unchallenged authority over suspensions in the NBA, and I’m not changing my mind about that… but O’Neil’s attitude, squeaky clean prior record, and activities in the community should count for something. I’m glad he’s back.

I don’t know if they do or not… and I really don’t care. What I find interesting about this AP article is this paragraph:

“Linebacker Ray Lewis failed to show up to his corner of the locker room and address the subject Wednesday. He didn’t talk to the media after Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh, either, so his take on the situation is unclear.”

That is positively Sapp-esque. When things are going well, when he’s making a contribution to the team… Ray’s the first one to jump in front of a camera. But when Ray gets bitched around all day long, when he is absolutely incapable of wrapping up Jerome Bettis and taking him down, when Jerome puts Ray on his back and drags him four yards before going down… then Ray is nowhere to be found. Ray’s hiding somewhere. He’s gotta preserve that reputation… that’s what keeps him in Pro Bowls, that’s what keeps him on the cover of Madden.

Jason Whitlock gives his Top 10 NFL defensive players of all-time, and I think it’s a pretty solid list. People coule argue forever, and no list is going to be perfect, but… he makes pretty good cases for the guys he’s included.

I’m glad to see Junior Seau on there, I think he deserves it. He was an absolute game changer for a very long time… I fear that people will only remember his less-productive later years. Ray Lewis at #10, I’m not sure about, but… at least it’s no higher than #10. I’m sure there are a lot of people who buy into the hype that would have him ranked higher. He was dominant for a while, sure… but he’s not anymore, and if he never regains that form, then… I don’t think that’s enough of a career to justify inclusion on this list. I think Rod Woodson could make a strong list for inclusion ahead of Ray Ray.

Deion’s at #7… and as a defensive player, that’s probably about right. But if you were to include his overall impact on games, including special teams… his ability to take over a game is matched by few, if any, on either side of the ball. The argument about him not being a tackler is absurd… why isn’t covering enough? No one would jump Randy White’s shit for not being able to cover Jerry Rice, so why hold it against Deion that he wasn’t a run-stopper? When he was on the field, he made things far more complicated for other offenses. Deion won games by himself.

Mike Singletary’s #4, Joe Greene’s #3, Lawrence Taylor’s #2, and Reggie White’s #1.

Was it the right call? Hard to say. Pasqualoni’s done some good things at Syracuse, but the last few years have certainly been substandard. As Beano Cook might say, though, maybe Syracuse’s slide is less indicative of Paul Pasqualoni’s abilities than it is of the future of the Syracuse football program in general. It seems like recruits have finally figured out that, hey, it’s cold and unpleasant in upstate New York, and they’d just rather not be there if they don’t have to be.

But still, it’s hard to blame the administration for the firing. Syracuse has been terrible, and, perhaps more importantly, attendance has been down. I don’t know if another guy can straighten things out or not. For the future of the Big East, Dave Wannstedt’s hiring is crucial, and the next hire at Syracuse is crucial. It’s not a a huge stretch to say that the future of the conference rides on them.

1) Roethlisberger
2) Vick
3) Owens
4) McNabb
5) Sapp

Roethlisberger being #1 is probably the most newsworthy thing about the list of top-selling jerseys, but Warren Sapp at #5… come on. Why? Who’s buying Sapp jerseys, and for what reason? Don’t be fooled, people… Warren Sapp hasn’t made a play since 2001. I expect more, even from the people of Oakland. I guess being a media whore and playing for a team with a criminal history is enough to get people to like you.

Roethlisberger is at the top for a couple of reasons. 1) He’s new… no one has a Roethlisberger jersey yet, whereas fans of Vick or Manning or Favre probably already have their jerseys, and 2) Pittsburgh is an extremely rabid football city that also happens to love white quarterbacks. And none of this even counts any of the cheap-ass knock-off Roethlisberger stuff being sold. If there was an accurate way to measure that, it would be off the charts. Pittsburgh also loves cheap shit.

Who the fuck is Furman beating by 93…

a) The Northern Alabama Academy for Blind Girls
b) The 1941-42 UCLA Bruns, reunited
c) The Dutch National Wheelchair Basketball Team, who forgot their wheelchairs
d) Virginia Intermont

The answer is d, Virginia Intermont. On the bright side for the Cobras, they have an excellent Equestrian team. Basketball, however… evidently not their specialty. The Division II NAIA’ers are 0-13. I have no idea how Furman got on their schedule. I know Furman isn’t a powerhouse, but also appearing on the schedule for the Cobras are King College (to be played at Va. High School), Emory & Henry College, and Alice Lloyd College, twice. I guess they felt like they had to step up after narrow losses to Covenant College and Tennessee Wesleyan.

Furman hit 21 three-balls tonight. Why a team is shooting 21 three-pointers en route to a 93 point victory (including a 69-8 lead at the half), I have no idea. I guess it made them feel beter about themselves. Except for the guy who couldn’t manage to score in a 93-point victory. G. Punch, I hope you aren’t considering the NBA as a possible career choice.

“I am not going to be content being a backup, that’s just the bottom line,” said Kurt Warner, who, if that’s the case, should probably start preparing for an unhappy life. Unless he wants to go back to the Iowa Barnstormer days, Kurt Warner is probably not going to be going into next season as anyone’s starter.

And I don’t mean that to knock the guy, but… that’s just how things are. The NFL is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business, and Kurt Warner hasn’t done much for anybody lately. The only job he could maybe have an outside shot at is the Miami job, and while he’d be an upgrade over A. Jay Fiedler-Feeley, I’m guessing he won’t be their first choice.

But it’s hard to blame the guy for being unhappy… he’s holding a clipboard for a sock-chewin’ bitch, playing for an egomaniac tyrant who can’t actually coach his team to a win, and is married to someone who kinda looks like him… not exactly a dream job scenario. I’ve never really liked Kurt Warner, but somehow, I now feel for him. I don’t want to see him getting a shot at starting for my team, but I wouldn’t mind seeing him get another shot somewhere.

Packers president Bob Harlan ordered the U.S. Flag outside of Lambeau Field flown at half-staff yesterday in honor of Reggie White. Some veterans in the area are bent, because that’s an honor only veterans can receive, according to the official flag code.

“I don’t believe the U.S. flag should be flown at [half-staff] for anyone unless it is authorized by our government,” said some crazy old coot with nothing else better to do. “It sort of denigrates the service of those in Iraq and Afghanistan who have lost their lives.”

Ummm… not really. What denigrates the service of those in Iraq and Afghanistan is the bodily harm they’re put in front of every day, for no real reason. I think that ranks a little bit higher on the denigration scale than the height of a flag in Wisconsin. I don’t want to disrespect any veterans, but… just take your ass back to the VFW, old man, watch some Wheel of Fortunte, order yourself a double scotch, and shut the fuck up.

Alright, I guess that was kinda disrespectful. Sorry.

It’s a flag. The Packers have done this before for other non-veterans, and you didn’t bitch then. The Packers brought in all of the families who had lost a loved one during the war for a game this year and honored them all. I think Bob Harlan has more than done his part to honor our nation’s veterans.

If you want to do something for veterans, old man, why don’t you write your president a letter and ask him why wounded soldiers are returning home, and getting bills for the medical care they received after being shot up in Iraq? Why don’t you try to find out why guys over there are forced to into battle without full armor? I think maybe that’s the more patriotic thing to do. Or spend all day worrying about the Packers organization trying to honor Reggie White.

Congratulations to those of you who had Mike Martz in your “First Coach to Have His Life Threatened by a Player” Pool this year. It seems that he narrowly edged Tom Coughlin.

This is awesome. Mike Martz and Kyle Turley were allegedly screaming at each other, and it came to a head with Turley allegedly threatening to kill Mike Martz. Sources are telling ESPN that Martz filed a report with NFL Security about the alleged death threat. I’m getting really tired of all forms of the word “allege.”

I don’t like either Turley or Martz, so… I’m really hoping this happened. I mean, I don’t want him to kill the guy, but… as long as it isn’t my team, what could be bad about an offensive lineman threatening to kill his coach? I think everyone, at some point or another, has had the urge to put a knife in Mike Martz… why should Kyle Turley be any different from the rest of us?

This is golden. Threatening to kill a coach isn’t quite as dumb as killing someone over an argument about cars (see below), but it’s not serious enough that we can’t make fun of it.

The incident apparently stems from a comment Martz made about Turley not being totally committed to rehabbing his back. Turley confronted him, and it went from there.

They now both deny it… but someone out there with NFL Security knows if it’s true or not. That report exists somewhere. I hope some more comes out about this.