With the departure of Derek Anderson and arrival of perennial backup Seneca Wallace, things were looking good for quarterback Brady Quinn.  Didn't last long though.  Evidently, Mike Holmgren will be bringing Jake "Mr. Interception" Delhomme in for a visit later this week.  I'm not kidding Browns fans.  Delhomme could be your starting quarterback next season.

What does Holmgren have against Quinn?  Could it be Brady's pink shirts and penchant for grabbing men's junk?  Maybe Holmgren is into Bears rather than pretty boys.  I'm not really sure, but the Browns are likely to be one of the worst teams in the NFL yet again next year and will be lucky to win more than four games. 

 

  

I don't think Mike Dunleavy is smiling this morning.  The fact that the Clippers kicked Dunleavy to the curb isn't surprising at all.  For the most part, Dunleavy was a disaster in Los Angeles.  What is somewhat surprising is that he was completely blindsided by the decision:

  

Although I didn't see the vast majority of the movies nominated for Academy Awards last night, I did sit down with Mrs. TVOR/SDSG to watch the proceedings.  Here a few random thoughts about the telecast:

1.  Forget about ARoid, Manny Ramirez, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens, how about little Anthony Michael Hall?  Dude is enormous and The Three Tenors would be envious of that deep voice.  One thing is for sure: I definitely don't think he is scared of Bender anymore.  Poor Judd Nelson...what the hell happened to him? 

2.  I thought Demi Moore looked absolutely fantastic.  The older Demi gets, the better she looks.  Moore must have the best plastic surgeon in the business.  Well, at least better than Melanie Griffith's surgeon.  Yikes. 

3.  The Biggest Stick Up His Ass Award had to go to George Clooney.  I don't think he cracked a smile until there was only an hour left in the show.  As far as the Biggest Stick Up Her Ass Award is concerned, Charlize Theron wins hands down.  The normally ebullient Theron looked like she had a bad bowl of chilli and wanted to be anywhere but the Kodak Theater every time the camera flashed to her.

4.  Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were solid co-hosts.  Nothing spectacular, but both delivered quality quips from time to time and the taped bits were all triples or home runs.  

5.  While I'm far from a fashionista, I liked the dresses worn by the aforementioned Demi Moore as well as Queen Latifah and Kate Winslet.  The sneaky hot Tina Fey...not so much.  Although I did find her bit with Robert Downey fairly humorous.     

6.  Finally, I really wish there had been a few more surprises.  Hell, I would have settled for one surprise.  It seemed like the pre-show favorites all emerged victorious when it was all said and done.  This includes Sandra Bullock winning for her leading role in "The Blind Side."  While I'm sure Sandi turned in a decent performance, I can't imagine it was better than the job newcomer Gabourey Sidibe did in "Precious." 

Truth be told, I've never really liked Bullock.  To me, she is just an average actress.  Competent, but hardly a stand out performer.  I don't think any of her movies even come close to cracking my all-time Top 100.  Having said that, I will admit that her acceptance speech was very good and I'll be adding "The Blind Side" to my Netflix queue later in the day.  Maybe this will be the performance that wins me over.  I doubt it though...



  

  

In an absoutely shocking development, Zydrunas Ilgauskas will be returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 22nd.  What a joke.  Essentially, the Cavs gave up the 29th or 30th pick in the draft for Antawn Jamison.  No wonder Phil Jackson and other NBA head coaches are pissed.  The league must change this rule at the end of the season.  Players should not be able to return to the teams that traded them for at least 90 days.  In addition, if a player does return to his prior team he should not be eligible to participate in the playoffs.  It's a simple fix.  Problem solved. 

Sincerely, 

TVOR 

  

OK, time to download five things that have been rattling around in my mind for a while...

1) Having watched Kim Kardashian and Lady Gaga battle it out in 2010 for Biggest Fame Whore, it now appears as though four perennial contenders are primed and ready to re-enter the race.  Don't look now but Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson and Kate Gosselin are back.  God help us all. 

2) Michigan had its Fab Five back in the day, but my Boob Tube Fab Five has to be the following:

Cameron Tucker on "Modern Family"  (Eric Stonestreet)
Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on "Modern Family"  (Sofia Vergara)
Abed on "Community"  (Danny Pudi)
Ruxin on "The League"  (Nick Kroll)
Jay Pritchett on "Modern Family"  (Ed O'Neill)

These five characters are the best/funniest that I've seen in at least a decade.  Instant classics.

3) The word 'brand' has now become my least favorite word in the English language.  It's everywhere and I can't get through a day without hearing or reading it.  Tiger Woods is a brand.  LeBron James is a brand.  Lindsey Vonn is a brand. Colin Cowherd is a brand.  Hell, even Elton Brand is a brand.  Enough already.  It's nauseating.  Well, unless you're talking about the Drew Decker brand.  That one I actually kinda like. 

Incredibly, these days the word brand is even more prevalent then the previous title holder: 'look' (and that is really saying something).  I've talked about this before, but ever since Barack Obama burst onto the national scene every talking head on television and radio answers questions by saying, "Look" and each time it makes my skin cringe.   

4) Lately, a lot of people have been speculating about whether Bill Simmons will be leaving ESPN at the end of 2010.  Here is a scoop for everyone:  There is no chance that he will leave ESPN.  None. 

I'll save the issue about why anyone cares about Bill's employment status for another day, but I find it amusing that people actually think there is even a slight chance of Simmons leaving the friendly and lucrative confines of ESPN.  Like it or not, there is no greater platform than ESPN and Simmons would never be so bold to venture out on his own to compete against the mighty Goliath.  While he may kick, scream and pout from time to time about his employer, deep down Simmons knows how good he has it. 

5) Alright, fasten your seat belts.  Convicted sex offender John Gardner has now been officially charged with the rape and murder of San Diego teenager Chelsea King.  After a five year jail stint back in 2000, Gardner was set free despite psychiatrists saying that he showed absoutely no remorse for his crime and was likely to assault other underaged girls.  Why was he let out of prison in the first place?  Why weren't his whereabouts monitored electronically on a 24/7 basis? 

The bottom line: our judicial system is fucked up.  That's why.  Gardner should never have been allowed to see the light of day.  At the very least, he should have been forced to wear an electronic bracelet for the remainder of his life as a free man.  According to reports, DNA evidence will confirm that Gardner is without a doubt the man who killed Chelsea King on February 25th.  

The question of whether Gardner faces the death penalty is still undecided.  If the district attorney chooses to go this route, so be it.  However, the fact of the matter is that once convicted this monster will sit on death row for the next decade (or longer) while his case winds its way through the appeals process.  Sorry, but this is just not acceptable anymore for known murderers.  

What would I do?  Upon conviction, Gardner should be immediately taken to the middle of the Qualcomm Stadium field, strung up by his balls and given a lethal injection.  The proceedings should be open to the public and televised.  Draconian?  Perhaps, but clearly the current system is not working.  Child predators and murderers need to know that their actions have severe consequences and no longer will be tolerated. 




 

  

A couple helicopters flew over my neighborhood early Friday morning.  As the area had been ravaged by fire two times during the past decade a feeling of deja vu immediately set in.  However, I later found out the helicopters were in the air to search for a missing girl who disappeared about 15 miles north of my home.   Thousands of people have joined the search for this girl, Chelsea King, but to date the news is far from encouraging. 

I'm not sure if posting the above video and this link about Chelsea will help, but it is the least I can do under the circumstances. Tragically, these situations never seem to end well. However, I sincerely hope this one has a happy ending.

  

  

Sacramento Kings:         18-39

New York Knicks:             19-37

Golden State Warriors:   16-40

Indiana Pacers:                19-37

Philadelphia 76ers:         22-34

The combined record of these five NBA teams is 94-187.  This equates to a winning percentage of .334. One common denominator:  the coaches of these teams jerk their players around and are very inconsistent. 

After a promising start to the season, the Sacramento Kings have had an abysmal record since the first of the year.  Last night, the Kings plunged further into the abyss by losing to the lowly Detroit Pistons.  Perhaps the absence of center Spencer Hawes had something to do with yet another close loss. Head coach Paul Westphal deactivated a completely healthy Hawes after reading the following comments from his promising young center earlier in the day:

"All year we've kind of been dealing with that," he said. "When you think you have kind of gotten over that hump, it comes back up again. That's the philosophy, so you've just got to deal with it.

"Everyone up and down the roster has had a taste of that, so everyone can relate. I think it's kind of tough, the not-knowing part on a game-to-game basis, to get in that rhythm. But that's the way it's going and there's not a whole lot you can do about it."

 

After the game ended, here is what Westphal had to say:

"I saw where he's having a hard time understanding his role," said Sacramento coach Paul Westphal. "He should understand it (after) tonight."

Well, I just have one thing to say to Westphal:  You sir, are a clueless dick and you deserve to keep losing. 

Listen to what Westphal says about the importance of consistency in the above Kings.com interview.  Obviously, Westy doesn't practice what he preaches.  Don Nelson, Mike D'Antoni, Jim O'Brien and Eddie Jordan have also had similar consistency issues this season (and in prior seasons as well).   Don't believe me?  Just ask Anthony Randolph, Nate Robinson, Anthony Morrow, Al Harrington, T.J. Ford, Roy Hibbert, Dahntay Jones, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams, Samuel Dalembert and a dozen other guys.  

Until these five head coaches get a clue and stop jerking their players around the losses will continue to accumulate. That is an absolute certainty.  I truly feel sorry for all the die hard fans out there who have to put up with this nonsense year after year.  What a travesty. 

 

 

 

  

Back on February 4th I told you that Ladainian Tomlinson would be shown the door by the San Diego Chargers (scroll down and click older entries).  Yesterday, A.J. Smith and Dean Spanos made it official.  LT is now an ex-Charger. 

The next high profile player to go will likely be Antonio Cromartie.  As far as natural talent and physical gifts are concerned, Cromartie might be peerless in the NFL.  The guy is an absolute freak.  However, he also has a pea-sized brain and lacks heart. 

Although I've warmed a bit to Twitter during the past year, I still have never gone on Facebook...and probably never will.  However, earlier today I came across a Facebook related link about Cromartie that is very revealing...and amusing.  Click here to check it out.  You won't be disappointed...

  

I can only imagine the nasty thoughts that are rumbling around in Herm Edwards' mind as he listens to ESPN hottie, Sage Steele.  Probably something like this:

"Sage, you little minx.  The things Daddy Herm would do to you.  I'd bend you over...ah....uh...what were you saying?  You want my opinion about something? Um, YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!!"