For much of college football’s recent history, the former Pac-10 (now the Pac-12) has been a bit of a middle ground; firmly established inside the group of BCS automatic qualification conferences, but sometimes overlooked in favour of the SEC and Big Ten thanks to its geography, late start times and television distribution issues. That’s starting to change, though, […]

As the NFL’s brief free agency period unfolded, the New England Patriots caused the most heads to scratch when they traded for Chad Ochocinco, wide receiver of the Cincinnati Bengals and Albert Haynesworth, defensive tackle of the Washington Redskins. Both have been attractors of good and bad attention with their statements to the press, and it seemed like a […]

In the world of college football, few programs can provoke so many extreme reactions from so many different types of fans as the University of Notre Dame. To some the Fighting Irish are “America’s Team”, winners of eight Associated Press national championships, the subject of movies old and new. For others, they are the NCAA equivalent of the New York Yankees or […]

Andy Reid doesn’t look very agile, but his stealth this offseason has Philadelphia pulling off a huge heist. The Eagles got two talented cornerbacks when they signed Nnamdi Asomugha to a five-year contract and received Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from the Arizona Cardinals in a trade involving Kevin Kolb. These two acquisitions could potentially solidify the Eagles’ secondary as the best not only in their division or […]

“Football is back.” With those three words, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, in his mind, obliterated the past few months of NFL media coverage. Of course, it was Goodell who insisted on calling the league-initiated lockout a work stoppage, a euphemism remarkable for the disingenuous nonchalance with which it was intended to absolve the league of its creating the […]

When it comes to the Buffalo Bills, it’s often almost as important to keep track of their backup quarterback as it is to keep track of which player is starting at the position. The reason for this is simple. Since Jim Kelly retired after the 1996 season, no fewer than 14 different players have seen in-game action at quarterback for the Bills, […]

Starting last Wednesday, there were rumblings around the University of North Carolina football program that something was going to happen. Given the last year of scandal surrounding the program, there was a feeling that news probably wasn’t good. However, few predicted what it was going to be: the firing of head coach Butch Davis. Davis’ firing came at a curious […]

The Minnesota Vikings are no strangers to quarterback drama. They’ve been one of the most notable NFL teams on that front over the past few years, first benching Tavaris Jackson for veteran Gus Frerotte midway through the 2008 season, then luring Brett Favre out of retirement before 2009 and doing so again before 2010. Now, they’re back in the […]

The saga of Craig James, Mike Leach and Texas Tech has left its impacts all over the map of college football, but one of the most interesting residues of that era is at a small Conference USA school: East Carolina University. The ECU Pirates have been playing football since 1932 but haven’t found all that much success over time, and […]

If you asked an average NFL fan who led the league in receiving yards last season, they might not be able to tell you. It wasn’t Larry Fitzgerald or Reggie Wayne, Andre Johnson or Roddy White. It was, if the headline of the story didn’t already give it away, Brandon Lloyd of the Denver Broncos. Prior to his 2010 […]