Elway is Back!

That's right, the Mile High Miracle Man is back for the Broncos! This particular come back effort isn't going to be a famed 2 minute drive, but it will pretty much seem like one of his famous 98-yard drives. This current incarnation of the Denver Broncos definitely seems like they are sitting 1st and 10 on their own 2 yard line.

Now, the question that most people are worrying about is whether or not Elway has the chops to do this sort of thing. He is the Chief Football Executive, in charge of day-to-day football operations. Not a role that you would think a Hall of Fame quarterback would be used to. Well, you may or may not know this, but John Elway has done this sort of thing, not in the NFL, but in the AFL. As owner of the Colorado Crush, he brought this team in in 2003, and managed to put a team together that won the Arena Bowl in 2005. So he knows how to manage personnel decisions from an executive's point of view.

As a former quarterback, he obviously knows about the qualities that make a winning team. It will be interesting to see the kind of personnel decisions that he will make, and his very first one is going to be the most important. Now, I grew up watching John Elway make miraculous plays, and I worshiped this guy. It is also one of my greatest childhood memories, going to a party around Christmas one of my father's clients hosted and seeing him. I remember walking up to him, I couldn't have been more than 6 years old, and his wife pointing me out to him. He took the time to shake my hand, ask my name, and to wish me a Merry Christmas. So, you'll pardon me if I'm always ready to believe in this guy, as is the whole city of Denver. They know a winner when they see one, and Elway is a winner.

At any rate, in comparison to Josh McDaniels, Elway is bound to be a veritable master mind. But that's not too hard to do. At any rate, we all sit back and await the result of Elway's great coach hunt. Welcome back to the Broncos John!

And Just Like That....

**poof**....He's gone. No, not Keyser Soze, Josh McDaniels. The short lived tenure of, now former head coach, Josh McDaniels, came to an unceremonious end on Monday when Pat Bowlen "relieved McDaniels of his head coach duties." I guess that's a nicer way to put it.

Pat Bowlen then names Running Back's coach Eric Studesville, who immediately gets points for having an awesome name, as interim head coach. This move makes sense for the time being. Studesville has a lot of experience, coaching running backs since 1997 with several teams. Wink, Denver's defensive coordinator, is too busy dealing with being in the Bronco's revolving door of defensive coordinators to possibly take on the head coaching position. And I don't know that anybody can actually name Josh McDaniel's offensive coordinator, since he was so insistent on calling all of the plays and running the offense. Plus, I don't see this as a long term move. Studesville definitely doesn't have the chops, quite yet, to hold a head coaching job, and this is pretty much a just finish things out as strongly as you possibly can situation. Nobody is expecting anything from the Broncos the rest of the way, so 4 more losses would definitely not say anything bad about Studesville.

So, now that the boy king is gone, where do the Broncos go from here? Well, the obvious names will immediately pop up. If the Broncos don't at least make a run for Bill Cowher, they are fools. One thing you can always say about a Bill Cowher coached team is that they are tough, and will be ready to play. That guy knows how to motivate a team. Next, Jon Gruden. Gruden built up the Raiders to be a dominant force in the AFC, and then was traded to Tampa Bay, where he took an already pretty loaded team to a Super Bowl Championship. He helped them get over the hump. Gruden has the same type of fire that McDaniels has, but Gruden won't be caught screaming and fist pumping after 1 touchdown early in a game. Plus, a Super Bowl ring as a head coach will earn you immediate respect.

Then, we might have the not so obvious names. Two names have come up this year as possibly being done in their respective locations. First, Jeff Fisher, another guy who prepares his teams every single week, and holds his players accountable. They guy is great defensively, which should be a HUGE attraction point for the Broncos, whose defense has been inconsistent every single year for the last 7 years. The next is a form Bronco and former Bronco coach, Gary Kubiak. Rumored to possibly be in his last year in Houston if he can't get that team into the playoffs. A Denver guy who was our offensive coordinator for 2 super bowl championships, doesn't hurt! He would be embraced by the fans and organization immediately, and might get us a running game again. Remember when everybody said that you could plug anybody into the Bronco's backfield and they could run for 1000 yards? Well, that was a Kubiak coordinated offense.

Those are my top names for possible Bronco coaches, and I would love to hear anybody else's ideas as well! I will close with the greatest image of the year thus far. Ta, ta, Josh. Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!

All Is Not Well...

Just as Marcellus, that well known Shakespearean character (you know, that guard that Horatio sort of knew in Hamlet? No?), once said about Denmark, I now say about the Denver Broncos. "Something is rotten in the state of the Denver Broncos." Doesn't have quite the same ring as Denmark, but it doesn't make it not true.

6 games into last season, everybody in Denver, including me, was made into a Josh McDaniels believer. Since that time, things have definitely changed. After their 6-0 start, the Broncos quickly regressed from their very impressive start, went 2-8 in their last 10, and missed the playoffs showing very little, if any, backbone in the process. Flash forward to this year. Not only did we not have the same great start we had a year previous, it seems this team just plain forgot how to win. After a very pathetic display in Kansas City, losing 10-6, the Broncos are now 3-9. Making us 5-17 since that amazing 6-0 start from last year. Simply put, that just won't do it. This dismal effort really needs to be credited to one man, Josh McDaniels.

Obviously, it is still the player's job to come out and play the games well, but if the coach isn't respected, and isn't able to prepare his team every single week, no matter who you're playing, then your coach bares the brunt of the responsibility. The crystal clear demonstration of this came between weeks 6 & 7for the Broncos this year. Week 6, the Broncos lost a heartbreaker the the NY Jets, whom many expect to win the AFC East, if not the AFC itself, on a last second pass interference call that put the Jets on the Broncos 1 yard line with less than a minute to play. Not disputing the call, but it was heart breaking. The following week, at home no less, the Broncos come out against a Raiders team that really wasn't showing too much to a lot of teams, and got thrashed. Gave up 59 points to a team, at home, and showed absolutely no fire at all. In fact, McDaniels left the starting team in the entire game, instead of holding them accountable for their obscene lack of effort. The team was not prepared, and that is a direct reflection of coaching.

Just recently, McDaniels was, once again, caught up in a scandal involving his videographer taping the 49ers practice for the game in London. Now, considering he came from the Patriots, where this is pretty common place, I suppose we should have expected something like this, but it is not something that a franchise like the Broncos has ever gotten caught up in in the past. This is a team that has been to 6 Super Bowls, and won 2 for crying out loud. This is a proud franchise, or it was, anyways, and cheating was never something it had been associated with.

Couple these two things (the horrible inability to prepare his team, and the alleged cheating), with his horrible personnel decisions, and you have possibly the worst coach in the NFL. People asked questions about trading Cutler, but not too many people would want him back after what Orton has done. But since then, there has been terrible move after terrible move. In the 2009 draft, he traded away a 2010 first round pick to move up and get Alphonso Smith, an undersized corner back who barely played last year, and then was traded to Detroit this year. Sure glad we gave that pick up. Then he traded Peyton Hillis to Cleveland for Brady Quinn. Hillis is leading the Browns in rushing and is making a SERIOUS difference for that team. The Broncos have the worst running game in the NFL, and Brady Quinn is our 3rd string quarterback. Brandon Marshall was sent to Miami for a 2nd round draft pick, which we then traded to Baltimore during the draft. And Tony Scheffler, our outstanding receiving tight end, was traded away to Detroit because McDaniels basically didn't like him. We haven't had a decent receiving tight end this year as a result of this. Let us also not forget the dismissing of Mike Nolan, the defensive coordinator that turned our laughable defense into a respectable one. Probably because Nolan was a better coach than McD was. Now, one or two of these types of moves are forgivable, but put all of these together, and you just get a guy that doesn't understand personnel. I'm not including the drafting of Tim Tebow in this because we have yet to see how that is going to play out.

Now, Pat Bowlen has said that he was going to have McDaniels as coach again next year, and then back tracked, saying that he wasn't locked in and would do what was in the best interest of the team. Well, I think it's pretty safe to say that an 11-17 record is not what this team expects. The Denver Broncos expect, and are expected, to compete for the playoffs. This is a proud franchise with a lot of really good history. This team, and its fans, do not take well to being the laughing stock of the NFL, and we generally run the people out that attempt to make us that. Dan Reeves hinted at trading John Elway, and he was run out so fast it isn't even funny. Shanny led us to 2 Super Bowls, and when he didn't get us to the playoffs 3 years in a row, he was let go, because we expect to compete for the playoffs. The Boy King has shown himself to be arrogant in his relationships with his staff and players, incapable of making personnel decisions that positively impact the team, unable to prepare his players week in and week out, and all around incapable of leadership.

People say that you need to give rebuilding time, but the time for rebuilding has just begun. The Broncos, under Shannahan, always competed for playoff spots. McDaniels's version of the Broncos barely compete in every game. The time to rebuild is here and now, and it starts with getting rid of the coach. There is some great potential for some amazing coaches to come in who will command respect from their team right away. The top of the list is Bill Cowher. He comes into the room, and you immediately listen to him. His teams are always tough, prepared, and are no nonsense. Another potential coach is Jon Gruden. Things ended badly for him in Tampa, but he led the Raiders to their only Super Bowl appearance in a long time, and won a Super Bowl with the once lowly Buccaneers. You flash your ring to these players who don't have one or haven't even seen one, and you immediately gain their respect. You have been to the promised land, so your methods are legit. There are others to look at as well, I'm sure, but those are my top 2 choices. These may also be affected by the potential work stoppage of next year, but whether there is a season next year or not, one thing is certain, Josh McDaniels should NOT be the coach of the Denver Broncos next year.

KGs week 12 picks!!

Had a much better start to my weekend this time, going 3-0 on Thursday. Had the Pats, the Saints, and the Jets winning, and they finally came through. Much better last week as well. I recovered from my pitiful 5-9 showing to go 12-4. With the exception of Thanksgiving, I have never liked Thursday night football. Wrote about that last year. Check it out if you like. Anywho, 96-64 after my 12-4 week, looking to keep on the up trend.

As I mentioned, I got New England over Detroit, the Saints over Dallas, and the Jets over Cincinnati. So 3-0 already, here are the rest.

Green Bay @ Atlanta: Green Bay has been playing so great lately, and they have one of the better secondaries in the league, plus a good pass rush. Atlanta is also playing great, but I just think that Pack prove to be too much.

Pittsburgh @ Buffalo: Pittsburgh, no question. Though the Bills may make it closer than people think. They have surprised several teams that nobody really expected them to be much of a factor against.

Carolina @ Cleveland: Carolina stinks, and Cleveland has discovered a leader in Peyton Hillis. I look for Hillis to have a big day in beating up the Panthers.

Jacksonville @ NY Giants: The g-men should be able to take this one in what will be a pretty exciting game.

Minnesota @ Washington: This is one of those games where I really can't tell one way or the other. It is pretty much a coin flip for me, as both of these teams aren't playing very well. I gave it to the better running game, which is AP and the Vikes.

Tennessee @ Houston: This division is actually up for grabs for the first time in a really really long time. Both of these teams have a possibility of winning it. I think the Texans have to win this in order to keep their division title hopes alive, and I think that they will squeak it out.

Miami @ Oakland: Another interesting match up here. The Fins have been up and down, and now they're kinda banged up. They are struggling to find some really good consistent offense, and the Raiders are sort of surprising people with some good wins. I think that Oakland should be able to take care of business at home here.

Kansas City @ Seattle: Good game here, but I think KC is too much for the Seahawks in the end.

Philadelphia @ Chicago: Bears have a much better record than they rightfully should. Bad quarterback, old defense. They are going to get picked apart in this game. Lots of people have been throwing around Vick's name for MVP. I seriously hope not because I find him an absolutely reprehensible human being, but he's playing some seriously awesome football right now. Iggles, easy.

St. Louis @ Denver: Well, if you look at it, Denver should win this game. I have the Broncos picked to win, but I won't be shocked one bit if they blow this one too. I'd almost be happier if they did blow this one. The more they lose, the faster the boy king, who apparently wants to be so much like Bill Bellichick that he will even cheat the same way that he does, will get run out of town. At any rate, I pick the Broncos, but secretly hope that they will lose.

Tampa Bay @ Baltimore: Baltimore has let some teams stick around this year, which isn't something that they have a history of doing. Their defense hasn't been nearly as dominant as in the past, so they could have their hands full against the Bucs. Full or not, they are still a group of veterans who have been there and done that, and will end up with a W against the Bucs.

San Diego @ Indianapolis: Another tough one for me to pick. Colts are favored, and are playing at home. Colts have Peyton Manning, whom I almost NEVER bet against. Colts are, however, quite banged up and are without several of their weapons. Colts have also always had issues beating San Diego, no matter how much better they actually are than them. San Diego also has the #1 offense and defense in the league. Put all those things together, I have to pick the Chargers. I hate doing it, because I despise Phillip Rivers and Norv Turner, but that's just how it is.

San Francisco @ Arizona: This has become kind of a who cares type of game. Both teams are out of any realistic type of contention for anything. It's hard to pick this one. Tweedle Dee, or Tweedle Dumb? I'll simply take the 49ers because they are the only of these two teams that have played with any type of desperation this year. The cards have pretty much been like a balloon very quickly deflating. With the same sound as well.

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KGs week 8 picks

Well, here we go again! It appears that A-Mac sat out last week for one reason or another, so I've cushioned my stats. I believe that I was 9-5 last week, getting both the Sunday night and Monday night games in order to assure a pretty good week, putting me up to 62-42 for the season. Still looking for that awesome week of picks, but man oh man has the league been a tough one to choose this year. Well, here we go.!

Miami @ Cincinnati: Cinci's secondary stinks, and their offense is anemic. Miami has a very underrated receiving core, and I have a feeling that the Bengals are going to get shredded in this one. Fins.

Jacksonville @ Dallas: No Romo, bad defense, stupid penalties, Cowboys just have everything running against them. I have a feeling that the Cowboys are going to just keep falling down. I think the Jags may have this one.

Washington @ Detroit: Last year, Washington was a winless team's best friend. They are better this year, and the Lions have been ever so close to pulling things out, but just can't. This could be a good game, and I think it will stay close, but I think the Skins will take this one.

Buffalo @ Kansas City: Buffalo has random weeks where they score a ton, but still lose because their defense stinks. They just aren't going to go anywhere this year. Bills lose again.

Carolina @ St. Louis: St. Louis is so improved this year, and actually have a fighting chance to make the playoffs. They keep those chances pretty healthy this week and beat a horrible Panthers team.

Green Bay @ NY Jets: Packers just can never seem to pull away, and if you let the Jets hang around, they'll beat you. Home field doesn't hurt either, give me the Jets.

Denver @ San Francisco (kinda): This one is out in England, in a game that nobody actually cares about back in the states. The niners are this year's biggest disappointment, and the Broncos just plain suck. I have a feeling that this team has quit on the boy king again, and I may be fairly shocked if the Broncos win 2 more games all year. So the players clearly don't care about McD, so I won't be surprised by how bad things will get for the Broncos. Niners win across the pond.

Tennessee @ San Diego: How bad does San Diego have to play in order to no longer be favored? These guys have forgotten how to win. Tennessee is too tough for them. Phillip Rivers will get hammered, but still not nearly as badly as he deserves to get creamed. Titans.

Seattle @ Oakland: Was Oakland really that good? Or is Denver just really that bad? I'm going with the latter. Seahawks move closer to an NFC West title with a win in Oakland.

Minnesota @ New England: I bet Favre plays, because his ego is too huge, and continues to hurt his team. Then, if Jackson plays, he's just not that good of a QB. Pats, either way.

Tampa Bay @ Arizona: Arizona is in disarray. Who'd have thought that Kurt Warner held together that team this much! Give me the Bucs.

Pittsburgh @ New Orleans: I am officially off the Saints wagon. These guys have forgotten how to dominate. And that is not a good thing to forget when you are playing a team like the Steelers. You turn the ball over that many times against Cleveland, it makes people scared about what will happen to you against the Steelers. No need for a blown call in the endzone this week, the Steelers will win.

Houston @ Indianapolis: Houston shocked the league with a huge win against the Colts in week 1. I don't think that the Colts will let that happen again. Colts take this one at home.

Broncos Pay Elvis Dumervil

Well, after a number of rather confusing moves from the Broncos during this past offseason, I'm looking at you Tim Tebow, the Broncos finally seem to have managed to do something right! After the "Boy King" got here, he pretty much jettisoned every single remaining Bronco that he had inherited from the Mike Shannahan years. Most notably were Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and Tony Sheffler, all of whom were tops at their respective positions. I guess that I wouldn't have been all the surprised to see the Broncos let their best pass rusher go as well. I mean, McD seemed hell bent on keeping people that are "his guys" not Shanny's guys.

Which is why this story made me VERY happy! The Broncos finally agreed to a new contract with Dumervil. The new deal is actually a contract extension that extends him for 5 years, for $58.332 million through the 2015 season.

Now, to be absolutely fair to Dumervil, it is pretty obvious why he managed to get paid while his former Bronco teammates were quickly shown the door. Cutler demanded a trade after it was reported that the Boy King wanted to trade for Matt Cassel, and whined and moaned after Shanny, who spoiled the living daylights out of Cutler, was fired. Marshall, well, we remember his less-than-enthusiastic practice techniques that got him suspended by his team at the beginning of last season, and then his decision to not practice because his "leg hurt" which resulted in him being benched in the last game of the year. And the same thing with Tony Sheffler, who was also benched for the last game of the season last year.

So what is the difference between Elvis and these three guys? Well, just take a look at this quote, and that should tell you everyting.

"Money is not everything, and that's the way I was brought up," said Dumervil, who grew up in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami. "It's nice when you get it, don't get me wrong, but I was always taught that you get what you put into it. And as long as you conduct yourself as such, good things will happen for you." DenverPost.com

What is this? A taste of humility coming from a professional athlete? The Associated Press agrees with this as well. Dumervil did exactly the opposite of what these other guys did, and that's why his services are being retained. He didn't whine and complain about things and make it clear that the team better pony up or else he's out, he just let things play out, continued to show his commitment to working for the team, and the team rewarded him. That is a lesson that all younger players should hold on to. It isn't all about the money, you still have to have respect for your team, and for your organization. This is so refreshing, especially after all the pettiness that has surrounded the Broncos of late.

It's definitely good that the Broncos re-signed him, but how well they will actually do this upcoming season is yet to be determined. Until then!

First round for the Broncos.

Broncos ended up with 2 first round draft picks tonight. First one, not a big surprise. A lot of folks figured they would go with an inside linebacker, but apparently not. Broncos traded down twice, and ended up with Demaryius Thomas, see his draft report here. A big wide receiver to replace the one the Broncos just traded. Will he be as good as Marshall? Maybe, it's hard to tell if a rookie will be able to have the kind of impact that Marshall did. But the off the field issues aren't there with this guy, at least at the moment, so he seems like a good match.

But then, out of the blue, the Broncos come back and trade UP to get the 25th pick in the draft, from the Ravens, for none other than..... Tim Tebow???? Ummm, wait a minute. Didn't we take care of what we wanted at QB? Didn't we sure up our back up spot with Brady Quinn? I'm going to be honest, with the still very large need at line backer for the Broncos, this actually shocks me. We didn't need another back up quarterback, we needed somebody at ILB. Who knows, maybe the Broncos will get somebody in the second round, but this is still a pretty glaring need.

Just another move by the boy king that kind of defies logic. Why get a line backer that can come in in the first year and help make a difference on a defense that needs it when you can draft a QB with questionable mechanics that is definitely going to be on the bench for at least 1, maybe 2 years? I guess that's what makes the difference between me and most Broncos head coaches of late, only they can really understand the moves that they make.

Free Agents and Drafts for the Broncos

Well, I was planning on writing a little something a bit earlier on this, but then the Broncos went out and kept making moves that changed things for me. So, here's my take on things for the Broncos.

Firstly, some of my students were asking me what I thought the Broncos should do in the draft. I thought, for not very long, and decided that I thought they needed the largest, strongest, ugliest NT available in the draft to drop right in the middle of that 3-4 defense. Then, the Broncos went out and signed Jamal Williams. Okay, fine, so they fixed that up. So we don't need to get one of those anymore.

Secondly, I think everybody is in agreement that Kyle Orton is not really going to be a long term solution for anybody. So I'm hearing lots of talk about the Broncos going to Colt McCoy, so I'm reading up on it and trying to figure out all the dish on McCoy. Then the Broncos go and trade for Brady Quinn, and barely give up anything. Peyton Hillis, who really didn't contribute (and wasn't really given a chance to contribute) to the team last year, a 6th round draft pick in 2011, and a conditional 2012 draft pick. I mean, scraps. Okay, Brady Quinn may not be better than he was in Cleveland, but you have to give him a bit of the benefit of the doubt considering that he was in Cleveland for crying out loud. Nothing was going right there for anybody. So I'm willing to give him a bit of a chance.

So what do we need now? Well, the defense still needs improvement. Okay, most people seem to believe that the Broncos are going to go with Rolando McClain, Alabama's very talented ILB, which would make sense in solidifying our 3-4 defense. But we are also going to need a top level WR to replace Brandon Marshall, since he is pretty much all but gone. Even if no team picks him up, I don't see him suiting up for the Broncos again, given all of the clashes that he had with McD. I think he'd rather sit out than play for McD again. But we'll see. So possibly the Broncos will go for Dez Bryant from Oklahoma St. A Marshall size WR that can hopefully do the same sorts of things without all of the drama.

Good work by the Broncos in the free agency pool. Have addressed a lot of their needs. If they can find a decent LB in the time leading up to the draft, they may do even better, and then we can focus on getting a strong WR in the draft, or vice versa. They do still need a lot more work.

On the Chopping Block

Yes, I'm back to talk more about the Broncos. Yesterday we learned that the Broncos and Mike Nolan (the defensive coordinator who finally helped make the Broncos defense respectable again) have "mutually agreed to go their separate ways." This is just the most recent example of the absolutely horrible decisions that have been coming out of Denver all year. I mean, it isn't exactly as if you took a step backwards after you hired Mike Nolan. I mean, if you look at the exceptional start that the Broncos had, it had far more to do with the defense than the incredibly system that McDaniels brought in. Look at the scores of the games. In the first 6 games, there was only 1 game where the Broncos D allowed more than 17 points, and only 2 where they allowed more than 10. And the highest point total for the Bronco offense in each of those 6 games was in San Diego (34 points) where they had 2 kick returns for touchdowns by Eddie Royal. So you take those 14 points away, the offense only scored 20 points.

Here's my assessment of the situation. Look at the way that McDaniels has handled himself throughout the year. Runs out Jay Cutler. Suspends Brandon Marshall. Fit pitching on the sidelines, never playing Peyton Hillis, benching Marhall and Scheffler. This guy is far more concerned with people knowing that he is the one in charge than actually making sound decisions. With the playoffs on the line, you don't bench your best players. If I were Mike Nolan, I wouldn't want to be on this guy's coaching staff either. I mean, how much longer would it be before this guy, who is an offensive guy, comes over and starts trying to tell me how to do my job, or benches my players?

Here's the bottom line. Before Mike Nolan, the Bronco's defense was pathetic. It is true that they totally buckled in the last game of the year, but that is far more about McDaniels than Nolan, in my opinion. The players quit on McD, not on Nolan. Nolan is one of the game's best defensive minds. He has shown that everywhere that he has been, and just a day after parting ways with the Broncos, the Dolphins have already picked him up. The quickness of that should show you how highly people in the league view him. By letting him go, the Broncos will get somebody else who isn't as good, continue their theme of instability in the Defensive Coordinator position, and have players have to learn another whole new system on defense. This is a joke. The only thing that is going to get better for the Broncos after this year is their draft position, because they are going to win fewer games.

The real problem lies with McDaniels. This guy thinks he's Bill Bellichick. One problem, though, he isn't. He is convinced the only way to do things is the way things happened in New England. He only wants his guys, not Shannahan's, or Nolan's, or anybody else's. He is going to make the Broncos worse before he makes them better, and we will see that in the next year. I seriously hope that he will not be around after his contract ends.

Big Mac, Pete Carroll, and some Denver teams news.

There were a lot of interesting things to talk about today that I thought were blog worthy, so here we go!

Firstly, Mark McGwire has "come clean" about his use of steroids throughout his baseball career. You can check out his full statement here, if you like (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Ampu8a0PnMpYMQ.4i4jwUAE5nYcB?slug=ys-mcgwirestatement011110&prov=yhoo&type=lgns-). I have a few things that I want to make out of this. First, is anybody even really that surprised? People were fairly certain of his use of steroids during his home run races with Sammy Sosa, and with all of the people who have been revealed through probes, or admitted to it to avoid the embarrassment of being caught, should this really surprise anybody? It doesn't surprise me one bit!

I also would like to address some of the things that he said is his statement. "During the mid-’90s, I went on the DL seven times and missed 228 games over five years. I experienced a lot of injuries, including a ribcage strain, a torn left heel muscle, a stress fracture of the left heel, and a torn right heel muscle. It was definitely a miserable bunch of years and I told myself that steroids could help me recover faster. I thought they would help me heal and prevent injuries, too." Okay, I can get the frustration of being injured and wanting to be able to do anything to get back on the field. It just always surprises me when these players say these reasons as to why they did steroids, and then always talk about loving the game. If you really love the game of baseball, or any sport for that matter, then there is no excuse for you to go outside of the rules to make yourself better. Using steroids shows an inherent lack of respect for the game and for your opponents. Is this the real reason? I'm sure it's part of it, but I don't know that we'll ever get him to admit the full story of it. "Baseball is really different now - it’s been cleaned up. The commissioner and the players’ association implemented testing and they cracked down, and I’m glad they did." Yeah, right. There are just actual rules now, I highly doubt that the game will ever be fully clean. People are too selfish in trying to get one step ahead of their opposition, and there will always be cheaters around. This is a very uneducated, and naive statement from Big Mac here.

Here's my favorite quote. "I was not in a position to do that five years ago in my congressional testimony, but now I feel an obligation to discuss this and to answer questions about it." You weren't in a position to come clean at your congressional testimony?!?! Excuse me? Are you serious? That's exactly what all of those testimonies were about. Now, I'll grant you that McGwire was smarter than Raphael Palmiero who came out and strongly denied ever using steroids and then tested positive and looked like a giant fool. All McGwire said was that he wasn't there to talk about the past, which is exactly what the hearings were about, talking about that past. I'm sorry, I don't buy that for one second. When Congress tells you that you are to answer questions regarding this time in your life when you allegedly did something illegal, and then tell you that if you come clean and tell the truth about the whole thing you will be given immunity from all consequences, doesn't that sound like an awfully good time, and a great position, to come clean? I'm sorry, it doesn't work for me, and it shouldn't work for anybody else either. It just makes McGwire look like an even bigger phony than he already is.

Second, Pete Carroll has agreed to coach the Seattle Seahawks, who fired Jim Mora earlier last week. This has, first of all, got to be a huge disappointment to USC and the Trojan football program. Carroll really made that group so strong that it was almost a guarantee that we would see the Trojans in, at worst, the Rose Bowl. That being said, I wouldn't worry too much about USC. This was an off year for them and they still won 9 games and their bowl game. They didn't win the Pac-10, which is always a yearly goal of a team in the elite company of USC, but they are also a program that is never really short for amazing recruits. I'm sure that, whoever their next coach ends up being, they will be back and just as competitive in the years to come. I definitely have to say that this is a huge get for the Seahawks. Carroll already has experience in the pros, so he doesn't really have to deal with that initial question of can a college guy earn respect from pro players? He's incredibly charismatic and animated. He will light a fire under the behinds of his players and get them to play to their fullest potential, something that the ailing Seahawks are in desperate need of. Ever since their much maligned loss to the Steelers in the Super Bowl, the Seahawks have just seemed anemic. Carroll will definitely help bring their intensity level up a notch, and I think they will do better because of it. I don't really see Seattle doing much next year, playoff wise, but with a coach like Pete Carroll, you never know.

Last, I want to address a couple of things that have been going on in my home town of Denver the last couple of weeks. First, Broncos, CHOKE-O-RAMA BABY! Only the third team, since the merger, to miss the playoffs after starting 6-0. Lots of things led to this. I think they got caught up in their own hype. A whole bye week for people saying how wrong they were about you and how good you actually are seemed to really sink in. It's like they came back expecting teams to take them more seriously by laying down and getting out of the way. Somebody didn't tell them that when teams take you more seriously, they tend to try and play better against you. Found that out the hard way. Second, the play calling that was seen was just atrocious. How many bubble screen passes can you run in one game for crying out loud? 2-1, run up the middle, stopped short or for a short loss. 3rd - 3, run straight up the middle again and don't go anywhere. The play calling was so frustrating, and always seemed to change when they would get to the red zone. I don't know why that happened, but it was such a huge pet peeve of mine by the end of the year. And now, McDaniels seems as if he is still trying to prove the point that he is in charge by benching 2 of his best receivers for the last game of the season with playoff hopes on the line. Marshall, Scheffler, benched. Royal was injured, and our number one guy was Jabar Gaffney for crying out loud! Marshall is a free agent (restricted) this year. With all the stuff that McD has been doing to try and prove that he is the alpha male, I think we can guarantee the departure of the Bronco's most dangerous offensive weapon. Way to go McDaniels. He'd better hope things go better for the Broncs next year, otherwise he may be canned.

Second Denver item, the Colorado Avalanche. First off, may I say that the playoff race is NUTS right now. Nobody has really separated themselves from anybody else on either side. The Sharks and the Kings are close, for the west, but everybody else is so tightly packed that you can go from 3rd to 7th in the standings in one night. Something similar has happened to the Avs. They lost a couple in a row and are now currently 6th in the western conference, and tons of people are now saying that the Avs have finally hit their free-fall. I'm not convinced of that at all, yet. The Avs still play very competitively and are in every single game. Anderson is playing great, the offense (while not getting a ton of shots) is finding ways to score, and nobody is getting more production from their young players than the Avs are. Most importantly, as we speak, the Avs are tied for 2nd in the Northwest division, and only 1 point out of first place. So why the sudden abandonment of the Avs? Not that there were many on the Avs wagon to begin the season, it just seems like everybody is now expecting the Avs to, as they did last season, drop to the basement of the Western Conference without any say so. All because they lost 2 games in a row. The Avs have not lost 3 games in a row all season long, so why are we so convinced they are done for? I'm not, they may not win their division, but they are a long way away from being that hopeless team competing for the #1 overall draft pick. Give me a break people.

Let me hear what you have to say on all these topics! Thanks for reading folks!