Knucklehead of the Week
Alabama star linebacker Tim Williams was arrested for carrying a handgun without a permit in a Tuscaloosa grocery store parking lot at 1 a.m. Thursday. Must not have had any exams Friday morning. Police detected an odor of marijuana coming from Williams’ car and found a bag containing pot and a pistol. Bama coach Nick Saban said such behavior will not be condoned at his fine SEC institution and was mulling disciplinary measures. Among the harsh options: cut Williams’ postgame Gatorade allotment by one bottle, make him do a few extra pushups, or write “Nothing good happens at Publix after midnight” 100 times on a chalkboard.
Has anyone snapped a photo of one of these stupid clowns? We all have devices that will take video, connect to social media, cook dinner, you name it. But not one clown photo. This whole thing is as ridiculous as the mere thought of Urban Meyer coaching at LSU.
The Bengals beat a bad Miami team on Thursday night. Mike Nugent had to ice his leg after kicking five field goals in a ho-hum 22-7 victory at Paul Brown Stadium. It was a must-win for 2-2 Cincinnati — the first of what could be many such games. The Bengals' next two are on the road against the Cowboys and Patriots. Ouch.
The Bengals’ Super Bowl window is closing quickly. They don’t seem to be in the same league as AFC powers New England, Denver and Pittsburgh. The offense doesn’t have enough juice and the secondary is a concern. Cincy might be good enough to scratch out a wildcard berth, but they won’t go far.
Odell Beckham Jr. was a Knucklehead nominee for his sideline tantrum last week. Beckham attacked a kicking net, which fought back and left a mark on his face. The Giants star said he couldn't remember how it happened. In fact, he answered "I can't remember" to pretty much every question posed by sportswriters. My boss, a big Vikings fan, hopes Beckham doesn't remember how to catch the football Monday night in Minneapolis.
Here's wishing David Ortiz a happy retirement. Baseball will miss "Big Papi," who plays his final regular-season game today. The 40-year-old is going out strong, putting up MVP-type numbers (38 homers, 127 RBIs, .316). His clutch hitting and gregarious personality have been the hallmarks of his career. He's a first-ballot hall-of-famer, on and off the field.
The Reds might not like the way Thursday night's game in St. Louis ended, but I won't argue. The ground-rule double that wasn't called points out a bigger problem in modern ballparks: Where do the fences end? To me, Yadier Molina's shot that bounced toward the bleachers in left field hit a fence. That sign should be part of the fence.
Trending up: Jose Peraza, Tim Tebow, Wesley Baker. Peraza has been one of the Reds' few bright spots this season. His .366 batting average after the All-Star break is the third-highest for a rookie in MLB history. The only guys who were better were Al Bumbry, who had a very good career, and Chris Coghlan, who is making good money with the Cubs.
Trending down: Les Miles, J.J. Watt, Josh Gordon. I'll miss Miles, the caveman coach who wore out his welcome at LSU. Miles was fired after his talented team started the season 2-2. Wonder how long he wouldn't stuck around if LSU would've had one more second to work with last week at Auburn.
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