yeah louisville and St. Johns killed me too. Michigan today as well

very impressive! I picked FSU & illinois too!

I’m sure he makes a great salary, but for most people, losing $125,000 is a pretty big deal…its ridiculous James Harrison has been fined that much!

1) hahha Barry Zito is a laugher…its only a matter of time Jeter signs. 2) Cliff Lee’s wifey will be accepted in the NY crowd if he performs like a Cy Young winner, if not wifey stays home. 3) MIAMI is definitely in order. The whole crew is down

first – id agree this is ridiculous. how these guys can rip off helmets and throw haymakers without suspension is beyond belief…but the harrison incident, along with any other helmet to helmet hits or plays deemed intent to injure shouldnt be compared to this fight. they are completely separate in my mind. in johnsons defense, he is a quiet guy, never really in the headlines for anything negative and no prior suspensions, fines, or anything else…iin time, we will see that this was an isolated incident and will probably not happen again to johnson…im not saying the punishment fit the crime, because it didnt, but harrison and these other guys that continue to spear head players need to be stopped or we are soon going to see much more sever injuries, including paralization and even death. it is bound to happen. the league is way too violent right now. no one tries to tackle anymore. they are trying to injure on every play. and now, you can start to see it at all levels of football – pro, college, and even high school. it must be stopped. and the only way most of these guys will even notice is to hit them where it counts…their pockets and their playing time. no one likes to lose money or sit out of games. once they start fining guys enough to make a difference… they will start worrying about tackling and not about how many guys they can give concussions to.

The league response to the Johnson-Finnegan bout was the equivalent of the off-setting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that are often called when altercations occur on the field. The league took the easy way out. I think they should have taken a look at what prompted it and taken into consideration the character of the two. Finnegan took cheap shots to Johnson’s head on two straight plays and Johnson had enough of that. The fight was unfortunate and I agree with Matthew, those kind of things filter down. I felt like Johnson should have been fined but I thought that Finnegan should have been fined and suspended for a game. To me, Finnegan’s shots were similar to the the helmet to helmet hits – both are violent actions that have no place in the game. The helmet to helmet stuff is going to result in something devastating at some point. The desire to make the big hit often seems to be at the expense of playing good fundamental football. I don’t understand coaches who tolerate that. The art of tackling is being lost in the NFL. How many times have you seen a guy come in for the big hit and he whiffs or only gets a part of the runner, who then continues on for a bigger gain. As a Redskins fan I see one of our guys (Landry) who has a reputation for big hits but I think he is one of the worst tacklers on the team. I’d gladly give up seeing the one big hit and follow-up posing for 3 or 4 more good tackles that maybe help to prevent a first down.

Here’s the thing: I’m all for protecting the players by penalizing helmet to helmet contact and such but with the way the NFL is going with all these rule changes, where do you draw the line? This sport is the closest thing to being a gladiator; you buckle up your chin strap and go balls to the wall on every play like each play is your last … the passion and speed of pro football is what appeals to Americans and appeal to blue collared people in this country … These players make more than what 99 percent of people will see in their lifetime and you accept that risk when you strap up … It’s not basketball or baseball or golf — it’s a violent sport that can cause bodily harm, what do you think will happen when 260 pound elite athletes are running around at full speed hitting each other … what do you think guys like dick butkus, concrete chuck bednarick, ray nitschke, geno marchetti, deacon jones, jack youngblood, merlin olsen, jack tatum, mean joe greene, ronnie lott, steve atwater, etc etc etc would say about these changes? We’re talking about the top players EVER at their positions who would be reduced to playing two hand touch … This whole issue is so polorizing .. I thought that I was one of the ones on one end but lately I’m finding myself on the other end … The thing is what makes players great is their instinct their style of play … ronnie lott was a great safety because he had great ball skills, great instinct, and the ability to make that game changing blow to a WR or TE … How different would the 2004 NFC Championship have turned out had Brian Dawkins not delivered that hit on Algae Crumpler over the middle (which today he would no doubt be penalized and fined 25-40,000 dollars for) had that rule been in place?? That hit SET THE TONE for the defense the entire day … What if these rules enforced in heat of the moment situations start to determine outcomes of games? As an Eagles fan, I am biased towards their games (as I’ve watched every one for the past 15 or so years) but earlier this year, while playing the Colts, Peyton Manning had a 4th and 18 down 26-17 under three minutes left in the game, Trent Cole comes around the edge goes for the strip sack and GRAZES the QB’s helmet causing, soon after, a sack, fumble, end of drive, end of game — but wait … Cole gets called for a 15 yard unnecessary roughness blow to the head of the QB, the drive continues, they score a touchdown and are within a field goal of WINNING the game .. So say what you will about protecting the players, which as I stated earlier I am definately for, but the previous over officiating COULD HAVE cost the eagles the game … And James Harrison has been fined 125,000 dollars this year is that a joke? I thought players can change their instincts .. I think the rule changes should be left to the players not the league and I hope this fining bonanza dies down because it’s really starting to make football something it’s not

I agree with most of your points except for the BCS one. I don’t care what they say there is NO WAY that College Football loses money if they do a playoff system. Now they might need to restructure the way the money is doled out or whatnot, but if they instituted a playoff system it would be almost like on the level for the Super Bowl commercials. Look at the TV deal college basketball signed for the tournament, that brought them a massive increase. If the NCAA does it right they can name their own price.

Your Hokies were impressive to come back from the early losses! And our Pitt Panthers were a huge letdown when they could have run away with the Big Least!

I read that this morning…funny! And unfortunately so true! I thought this year was the year he does surround himself with better people and make better decisions. But so far, not convinced! Yet still hopeful that this won’t be another disappointing era! I’m willing to give this regime a little time and TRY to be patient!

boy that a a sad trip down memory lane (aka nightmare on Elm Street). I knew with the hiring of Shanahan that things hadn’t changed

Twins are a tough squad man but yes the Yankees consistenly beat them and i love it!!