Before we even get into it, please be aware, Chris Carter, that Will Leitch had nothing to do with this post. He’s not even aware of it, so there’s no need to “take him out,” as you’re fond of saying. The offending party is Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (I’ll find you his address if you want it). This isn’t going to make you happy, just so you know. But hey, it’s your own fault.

Carter — who’s an ESPN analyst now — seems to be suffering from amnesia; either that, or he just doesn’t listen to himself. On ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, Carter had a couple of interesting takes on two Matt Millen draft choices. Unfortunately he completely contradicts himself with both. On the air while waiting for game time on Sunday, Carter criticized Millen — who was fired last week — for drafting receiver disappointments like Charles Rodgers and Mike Williams.

From Yahoo Sports:

Carter helped both Williams and Rogers train before their respective drafts. And this is what he said about that on Sunday: “Matt Millen – do a little undercover work. (Mike) Williams and Charlie Rogers both worked out with me before the draft. I could have told him, don’t draft neither one of them. (He) never asked me.”

That’s interesting because here is what you said about both players just before they were drafted. Carter’s comments about Rogers, to the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel just before the 2003 draft: “He’s very similar – and I don’t like to make a lot of comparisons – to Randy (Moss) in a sense, a big basketball player playing wide receiver. He’s the only receiver that’s come out since Randy that you can make an honest comparison to. He has a yearning to learn.” So much for consistency.

I’m sure this is just the crack analysis ESPN was looking for when they fired Sean Salisbury.

Winners And Losers; Favre Sends A Message [Yahoo Sports]

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Raiders, AFC West

It was reported earlier today that Al Davis had not only been interviewing potential replacements for Lane Kiffin, but that the Raiders had also scheduled a press conference for later this afternoon. Everything appeared as if the second-year coach was set to receive his walking papers, when Adam Schefter threw out the possibility that Davis may not yet fire Kiffin, and was only looking for a podium to reprimand the media for rumor mongering.

Just another turn in a never-ending circle of absurd behavior for an NFL franchise.

Now, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen (via MDS at ProFootballTalk) is reporting that Davis had indeed fired Kiffin, and that he has no plans on paying him the money he’s owed.

Per Mortensen, Davis told Kiffin that he is terminating him without pay, and that Kiffin should not expect to receive the remaining money due him on his contract. It’s safe to assume Kiffin and his agent/lawyer will have something to say about that. John Clayton reported on ESPN that Kiffin is still owed $3.5 million. It’s not clear who the new head coach of the Raiders will be, but Mortensen said offensive line coach Tom Cable is the most likely choice.

Sounds like this could get even uglier than it already is.

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by Brett Edwards

Filed under: Lakers, NBA Gossip, NBA Rumors

There was a little bit of talk over the summer about the idea of Lamar Odom coming off the bench this season. With Andrew Bynum back in the mix, it seemed like a delightful possibility; one that would especially help the Lakers offensively when their second unit was on the floor. But you can forget all that. Odom was asked about it at the Lakers’ Media Day yesterday, and hinted that Phil Jackson might have a screw loose if that’s what he was thinking:

“He must have woke up and bumped his head. He probably hit his head on something — boom,” Odom said about Jackson. “To start off like that, you’ve got to be out of your . . . mind.”

I have no proof of this, but having heard athletes speak for many years now, I’m guessing that the ellipsis between the words “your” and “mind” might just have been an expletive. And while I’m sure Odom was speaking in a lighthearted tone when he said this, it’s still kind of disrespectful to Phil Jackson, isn’t it?

We’re not exactly sure how serious Phil was about moving Lamar to a sixth man role, or how serious Odom is about having no desire to go there. But it’s definitely something to keep an eye on, as Odom is due for a new contract next season. If things go south between Lamar and his coach, Odom may very well find himself in another uniform before February’s trade deadline.

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So who likes defense and field goals? Because that’s all you’re gonna see in tonight’s Ravens-Steelers game on MNF. Oh, and a live blog of it. —Sussman

by Tom Fornelli

Filed under: Rays, AL East, MLB Playoffs

You’ll have to excuse the Tampa Bay Rays if they seem a bit confused at the moment. You see, they’re new to this whole phenomenon that is postseason baseball. Generally, the last day of September means the end of six months of suffering a slow death in the AL East, but this year it just symbolizes the beginning of a whole new season.

Of course, to make things even more confusing, the Rays know their first ever playoff game will be on Thursday, but they don’t know who they’re going to be playing against just yet. So right now members of the Rays organization are scrambling to get the team and Tropicana Field ready for playoff baseball, and it’s totally messing with their free time.

“It’s wreaked havoc with tee times, and with football schedules and everything like that but what a great position to be in,” said Rick Nafe, Rays V.P of Operations and Facilities. “It’s my first time in this business going into post season play with the team that I’m involved with so I’m excited. It’s a lot of work but it’s a lot of fun work.”

Golfing: The hidden victim of playoff baseball.

Yes, I’m fully aware that Nafe wasn’t really being serious and complaining about it, I just found it funny that the first thing he’d say when asked about preparing for the playoffs is that it’s totally messing with his golf schedule. Sounds like a typical Rays fan to me.

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What to watch while you fight back against boondoggles …

• WNBA: Eastern Conference Final, Game 3. New York at Detroit (7:00 p.m., ET) Ypsilanti on fire! [ESPN2]
• NFL: Monday Night Football. Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgt Steelers (9:00 p.m., ET) Hey, is that another sack? [ESPN]
• Movie: “First Blood” (9:00 p.m., ET) Then go eat things that would make a billy goat puke. [Spike]

by Brett Edwards

Filed under: Mavericks, NBA Gossip

I always find it interesting how, at the time a story’s developing, details are often few and far between. But months later, a bunch of facts come out (or at least one person’s version of them) that end up clearing the whole thing up. Such is the case with the Mavericks’ firing of Avery Johnson.

We heard rumblings of a rift between Avery and some of his players during the playoffs, and thanks to Mark Cuban, we now know just how bad things got in Dallas:

“I knew after I had so many people asking to be traded,” Cuban said. “I mean, I had to deal with either the players and moving them or the coach and moving him.”

Cuban said the players did not speak in generalities. They told him they didn’t want to come back if Johnson was still the coach.

“As you started looking deeper and deeper and deeper into things, we didn’t have a choice,” Cuban said. “I didn’t want to fire him. That wasn’t my goal.”

Cuban went on to say that definitely more than five, and “close” to more than seven players asked to be traded if Johnson were to remain the coach. Between that and the melt-down during the playoffs, I suppose Cuban had no choice. Even after making a trade last season that seemed to change the Mavericks’ roster for the worse, it appears that Rick Carlisle might have a better shot than his predecessor at guiding the team to some playoff success.

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A brokenhearted Cincinnati Bengals fan asks the musical question: Can I be a Steeler? [Ryan Park Songs]

by Eamonn Brennan

Filed under: Cubs, NL Central, MLB Media Watch

Oh, how generous of you, selected Cubs fans. After merely five years, you’ve decided to “forgive” Steve Bartman for totally ruining your life with his precocious grabby hands in 2003. Thank goodness you’ve come finally around to this momentous decision.

Unfortunately, you’re way too late.

See, most Cubs fans, the reasonable ones, forgave that poor little turtlenecked guy years ago. Some (like me) did so immediately after the game. Some did so immediately after the play. Anyone able to process cogent thought and reason would have either admitted a) This is baseball, and, while disappointing, not that big of a deal; b) This is a big deal, but it’s not Steve Bartman’s fault; or c) This is a big deal, but the Cubs lost the game, and curses don’t exist.

To forgive the guy now, after he can’t reveal his whereabouts, after he got death threats and whatever else goes along with his whole fable, is incredibly disingenuous. If I were Steve Bartman, I wouldn’t want Cubs fans’ hollow “forgiveness” any more than I would want to sit down the left field line at Wrigley on Thursday. If you couldn’t spare empathy for the guy in 2003, you shouldn’t spare any for him in 2008. Just keep his name out your mouth, and drink your beer. Do they still say that at Wrigley?

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