Tarkenton started his rant by suggesting that Favre had forever tarnished his legacy with his behavior:

“I really have no interest in what Brett Favre does. He kind of lost me a few years ago by retiring and unretiring and here and there. I asked a few friends here, maybe 10 or 12 people we were out with last night. I said, ‘What do you think about Brett Favre going back to the Vikings?’ You know who cared? Nobody. It’s good news for you guys. It’s good news for television and so forth but the last time I heard … football was a team sport, isn’t it? It’s not just about the quarterback.”

He later continued his criticism on ESPN:

“We have responsibilities we’re just not athletes that are in it all for ourself, football, is it not a team game? Isn’t it all about team … and here comes Brett Favre riding in on his white horse, doesn’t go to training camp, doesn’t come to offseason workouts and he’s gonna come on his white horse and bond with all these players.”

On Minneapolis sports radio station KFAN, Tarkenton continued his criticism:

“I think he has been a great flamboyant quarterback, but he has made more stupid plays than any great quarterback that I’ve ever seen. Look at his final game in a Packers uniform. He blew that game NFC championship against the Giants.

“I really think the whole Brett Favre saga of retiring, unretiring, three weeks ago saying ‘I can’t play,’ the Vikings said, ‘We’re moving on,’ it’s a circus. It’s an absolute circus, and it takes away from all the other things that are going on with the Vikings, with the NFL. We’re getting ready for a football season and this is a circus and I just have no interest in it.

“Wouldn’t you be upset if you’re a Packer fan? I think you’re going to have Packer fans burning the No. 4 Favre Green Bay jersey. I think the Packer fans have every right to be outraged.”

ESPN, in particular has turned on Favre, fomenting this sort of criticism after being the biggest perpetrator of the interminable will he retire or wont he talk starting last season. Now that theyve turned their attention toward portraying Michael Vick as a victim rather than a sociopath, they appear to be willing to throw Favre under the bus.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

After enthusiasts had come in early on the favored Colts, a good deal of buyback on the Saints had pushed the line to -4′ and the New Orleans backers were enriched by their team’s outright victory. The underdog has now covered three straight Superbowls and taken the money in five of the last seven games. The 48 points scored stayed well under the posted total of 57, which was the highest over/under number in Superbowl history. Five of the last six Superbowls have now played UNDER the total.

In his postgame interview, Brees gave much of the credit to the city of New Orleans:

“We play for so much more than ourselves. We played for our city. We played for the entire Gulf Coast region. We played for the entire Who Dat nation that has been behind us every step of the way. It means everything. We’re here because of their strength and everything they fought through here the last few years. They’ve given us so much support, so we owe it all to our fans.”

“Just to think of the road we’ve all traveled, the adversity we’ve all faced. It’s unbelievable. I mean, are you kidding me? Four years ago, whoever thought this would be happening? Eighty-five percent of the city was under water. Most people left not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back, or if the organization would ever come back. We just all looked at one another and said, ‘We’re going to rebuild together. We are going to lean on each other.’ That’s what we’ve done the last four years and this is the culmination in all that belief.”

Peyton Manning had little to say after the game particularly about the interception return that sealed the victory for New Orleans:

“Made a great play. Made a great play. Corner made a heck of a play. Certainly disappointing, very disappointing. Disappointing.”

Saints’ coach Sean Payton made a bold call at the beginning of the second half when he called for an onside kick. New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Casalis suggested it was a game changing play:

“We were really excited when he made the call. That changed everything.”

Payton explained the unorthodox decision:

“We’re going to be aggressive. We’d seen the onside kick all week and guys executed it well. It turned out to be a big change of possession.”

The city of New Orleans will celebrate their team’s victory with a parade. With Mardi Gras celebrations already scheduled to begin shortly thereafter, it could be quite some time before New Orleans returns to business as usual. New Orleans is usually as fabulous as flamboyant skater Johnny Weir emerging out of a gold Faberge egg, but will be even more so now.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Winning QB Ricky Ray said that he enjoyed playing in the shootout:

“That was a ton of fun. In the CFL you get to play in a lot of games like this, especially against a guy like (Calgary quarterback Henry) Burris, who has done this to us. It’s great to come out on the winning end of a shoot-out like that. It’s a great uplift for the team. It’s a huge win for us.”

Eskimos head coach Richie Hall said that the outcome couldnt have been timed any better:

“Regardless of what happens, we are coming back in first place. Now we have one up on Calgary. It’s going to be a dogfight for all the teams in the West and any chance you get to win, especially a win like this, it’s a real bonus. It’s great for our confidence.”

Calgarys Burris remembered a very similar situation in a game last year where Edmonton won by the same margin on a last play touchdown:

“They got us last year in this situation and of course you didn’t think it was going to happen again or even could happen again. It felt so great to get that late touchdown and with 38 seconds on the clock nobody was even thinking about last year. We had to stop Jackson and we didn’t. And we had to stop Ray and we didn’t. Kudos to Edmonton.”

Calgary returns to action on Aug. 28 in Toronto while the Eskimos will next play on Aug. 29 when they host Hamilton. The two CFL provincial rivals from Alberta will face each other twice more this season.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The good news for NFL betting enthusiasts who took the +13′ with the Browns as a road underdog is that they managed to cover the pointspread by the slimmest of possible margins. Betting against the defending Superbowl champion is a long standing handicapping concept, and this season at least its worked like a charm-the Steelers have only covered one of their first six games. Cleveland, meanwhile, evened their NFL pointspread record at 3-3 on the season. The Browns have covered three straight after dropping their first three both straight up and against the spread.

Pittsburgh dominated the game in virtually every statistical category. They amassed 28 first downs to 12 for Cleveland, held a 543 to’7 total yardage advantage and a 36:46 to 23:14 time of possession advantage. Most of the post game talk from both sides was about a controversial spot in the first half where the Steelers were given a first down on a short yardage play when it appeared that they didn’t make the required yardage.

After the contest, Derek Anderson spoke of the frustration of continually coming up short against the Steelers. The Browns have only one once in ten games since Pittsburgh moved into their new home at Heinz Field:

“We’re not trying to lose every time we go out here. We put tons of hours in and … it’s frustrating. Every single week, it’s frustrating.”

Steelers’ tight end Heath Miller said the team is happy to be where they are at this point despite not playing up to their standards:

“I think we haven’t played our best ball yet and that’s pretty comforting. We’ve gotten a few wins here without playing our best.”

The Steelers will host Brett Favre and the 6-0 Minnesota Vikings next Sunday. The Steelers are a -4 home favorite with the total set at 45. After a bye week, the Steelers will hit the road to play another undefeated team as they take on the Denver Broncos on Monday, November 9. Cleveland will host the Green Bay Packers this Sunday, with the Browns a +7 home underdog and the total set at 42′. They’ll head to ‘The Windy City’ to face the Chicago Bears the following Sunday and then have a bye week.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

American football fans may not realize just how long and storied the history of Canadian pro football CFL style actually is. The league has been around since’30 and the Grey Cup championship (essentially the CFL Superbowl) has been in existence since’09. Many NFL stars got their start in the CFL including Doug Flutie, Jim Kelly, and Jeff Garcia.

The CFL is a very professional and highly competitive league, but its important to understand some important differences between it and the NFL:

At the most basic level, the football itself is bigger than the NFL ball. It is longer and fatter than the NFL ball. The CFL goal posts are on the goal line, while the NFLs are on the end line at the back of the endzone. The CFL field is also longer (110 yards) and wider (65 yards vs. the NFLs 53.5 yards), and the CFL end zones are 20 yards deep as opposed to 10 yards in the NFL.

Teams have 12 players on the field at once as opposed to 11 in the NFL. On offense, the extra player is a receiver, on defense a defensive back. And unlike the American game, where teams have 4 downs to move the ball ten yards the CFL has only 3. Maybe the hardest thing to get used to when listening to CFL broadcasts is the frequently references to teams going two and out. There are a few other subtle differences as well”teams only have 1 time out per half, only 20 seconds between plays, and all backfield players can be in motion prior to the snap (as opposed to only one in the NFL).

There are also differences in the scoring of the game. The first time I saw a CFL score tied 1-1 at the end of the first quarter I thought I was hallucinating. A major rule difference between the CFL and NFL is the fact that teams can score a single point, which those clever Canadians call a single. Basically, a team is awarded a single point for a missed field goal or a punt that lands in the end zone.

Of all the rule differences between the NFL and CFL the one that has the most significance on the game isnt enforced on the field; its enforced in the GMs office. Canadians are big on laws and rules to protect their national identity–thats why their TV and radio stations are required to devote a certain percentage of their airplay to Canadian content. That has led to a number of Canadian-only media stars both good (The Tragically Hip, Sloan) and bad (Avril Lavigne, early 90s white rapper Snow). The CFL has a similar rule which requires that’ of the 40 players on a roster must be Canadian born. This keeps the CFL from becoming a de facto NFL developmental league, and helps maintain its unique identity.

Perhaps the greatest misunderstanding is that the average NFL fan looks at the rules of the Canadian game with more players, a wider field, and fewer downs and concludes that the game is a wide open shootout similar to Arena Football. Thats not really the case–you’ll see some offensive battles but most games end up with final score totals in the mid to high 40s. In Arena Football, youll frequently see teams with potent offenses enforcing their will over and over again against teams with porous defenses. You don’t see that too often in the CFL. The rules may be different, but as is the case in American pro football you need a solid rushing game and a stout defense to win games and championships.

Furthermore, the parity that you see in the NFL where on any given Sunday any team can beat any other team is magnified in the CFL. The primary reason is the rules mandating Canadian native players. I dont think itll offend any Canadians if I suggest that football is played at a higher level in American high schools and colleges. That means that at least 50% of each team is of essentially equal level of talents. Now that may be a bit of an oversimplification”certainly there are differing levels of talent among Canadian players”but the Canadian native rules do serve to further codify the inherent tendency toward parity that you see in most professional sports.

The CFL isn’t in a financial position to draw the top level US players away from the NFL or, in most cases, even a NFL practice or developmental squad. While some US players are uniquely suited to the CFL style of play, most of the US players that end up there are of a similar talent level as to that seen in Arena Football.

The bottom line is that despite the rule differences and personal quotas the CFL game is still football and can be enjoyed the same way. Once you understand the unique attributes of the Canadian game youll start to enjoy it almost as much as the NFL.

In the pre-Internet era, it was often difficult for US fans to find information on the CFL. They don’t get coverage on ESPN, but they receive extensive attention in the Canadian press. Each CFL city has their own sports media, and the official CFL website also has many resources including previews and statistics.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

NFL sports betting enthusiasts who took the Jaguars as +6 road underdogs were rewarded with the pointspread cover. Indianapolis dropped to 11-16 ATS over the past three years when favored. The 26 combined points went well UNDER the posted total of 45. Despite their reputation as an offensive juggernaut, the Colts have actually trended to the UNDER over the past three seasons, with 19 UNDERs in their past 35 lined games. The Jaguars, conversely, have a slight edge to the OVER in that span with a 19-14 mark over the past three years.

After the contest, Manning displayed his characteristic humility when asked about tying the mark held by the Colts’ hall of famer Unitas:

“I’ve never felt comfortable with comparisons with him. I think he’s kind of in his own category. But I am proud of those wins.”

Manning was more concerned about the welfare of receiver Anthony Gonzalez who left late in the first quarter with an injury:

“I asked Rashean Matthis what happened and he said, ‘I didn’t even touch him . He has worked so hard in the offseason, I just hope it’s not a season-ending injury.”

Colts coach Jim Caldwell was pleased with the effort of the defense:

“Obviously, the defense played well and came up big at the end. We thought it would be a grind, and it was. I think our team certainly played tough, played hard, played with a lot of energy.”

Jacksonville wasnt overly discouraged after the contest either. Maurice Jones-Drew gave props to the Indy defense after the game:

“They just did a great job in the red zone stifling our offense. My hat’s off to them. But we have to learn how to finish.”

Quarterback David Garrard also paid respect to the tenacity of the Indy pass rush:

“I thought, ‘Here we go again, we have a great chance. You love to be in that situation. We were trying to get the ball to Maurice, but you’ve got to slow those pass rushers down. We did what we could do.”

The Jaguars will open their 2009 NFL home slate on Sunday as they host the Arizona Cardinals. Theyll travel to Houston for a game against the Texans the following week. The Colts will head to south Florida for a game against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The fight against Franklin was contested at a catchweight of 195 pounds, and Belfort took several tries to finally make weight on Friday afternoon. The pace of the bout was tactical and deliberate until the very end–Belfort landed a few leg kicks, but for the most part it was several minutes of the fighters circling each other. Belfort was clearly measuring Franklin for a big power shot, and he found it after a brief flurry in which neither man gained an advantage. Out of nowhere, Belfort floored Franklin with a nasty uppercut and quickly mounted a ground and pound assault on his fallen adversary. It only took three or four big shots to Franklins head before the referee jumped in to stop the fight.

At the post fight press conference, Dana White quickly endorsed the prospect of a matchup between Belfort and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva”either for the title or at a’5 catchweight. Silva has only three fights remaining on his UFC contract, after which hes insisted that hell retire. Obviously nothing has been signed, but White clearly wants to get his moneys worth out of the fights remaining on Silvas deal and from that standpoint alone a matchup against Belfort makes perfect sense.

A changing of the guard was in evidence in the co-main event, as Junior Dos Santos defeated former PRIDE Open Weight GP champion and MMA legend Mirko Cro Cop by verbal submission. Cro Cop appeared to be moving much better on his surgically repaired knee than in recent fights and through the early part of the bout he was doing well with his straight left hand counter. As the fight wore on, however, Dos Santos began to pick Cro Cop apart and in the third round began to use his Muay Thai knee strikes to good effect. It was a knee strike to Cro Cops head followed by an uppercut that ended the fight”Cro Cop suddenly indicated to the referee that he couldnt see and was unable to continue.

Earlier in the card, Paul Daley made the most of his role as a late substitute for injured Mike Swick as he stopped Martin Kampmann by second round TKO. Kampmanns defense was nonexistent, and his decision to stand and trade with a noted power striker was highly suspect. The end came after a brutal left hook knocked Kampmann to the canvas, after which Daley followed up with some ground and pound until the stoppage.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The Gators struck first, taking a 7-0 lead on a three yard Tim Tebow TD pass to Carl Moore. The Crimson Tide quickly counterpunched, tying the score on an eighteen yard run by Glen Coffee and taking their first lead of the game at 10-7 several minutes later on a 30 yard FG by Leigh Tiffin. Florida responded in the second quarter, tying the game on a Jonathan Phillips’ yard FG and taking a 17-10 lead into the halftime break on another Tebow TD pass, this one to David Nelson from five yards out. Alabama regained the momentum in the third quarter, tying the score on a 2 yard Mark Ingram touchdown run and then regaining the lead at 20-17 in the final seconds of the period on another Tiffin field goal. Florida put them down for the count in the fourth, however, on a 1 yard Jeffrey Demps TD run followed by Tebows third touchdown strike of the day.

As was the case more often than not during Floridas run to the BCS title game, Tim Tebow was the big star for the Gators. The junior QB had 216 yards passing with 3 TDs and no interceptions plus fifty seven yards on the ground. Florida head coach Urban Meyer wasnt hesitant about praising Tebow effusively in his post game comments:

“I’ve had some great players, and I’ve got some great players on this team. But I’ve never had one like this. Tim’s got something special inside him. I’m not talking about throwing. I’m not talking about running. I’m talking about making everyone around him better. That fourth quarter was vintage Tim Tebow.

Alabama coach Nick Saban wasnt about to argue with him:

“He’s a great competitor. He takes his teammates on his shoulders a lot. They have a lot of confidence he’s going to make plays, and they play that way. They scored two touchdowns where we had them covered about as well as we could cover them.”

The conventional wisdom is that the Gators are a speed and finesse team, but according to cornerback Joe Haden make no mistake that they’re tough:

“Our team is a tough team. The only reason they look past our toughness is our speed. They said we were a speed team and they were a tough team. We’re just as tough. We can still be pretty and fast and tough at the same time.”

Even in defeat, it was impossible to overlook the remarkable resurgance of Alabama football. In only two years at the helm, Nick Saban has amassed a’-7 record at Alabama with no signs of slowing down.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Helio Gracie began his training in mixed martial arts early, and by his teenage years was already teaching judo. While he had no problem mastering the theoretical aspects of judo, he found that many of its techniques were less effective for a practitioner with a smaller build. Along with his brother Carlos, Gracie began to work out his own fighting system by adapting many of judo’s techniques and making them more a product of leverage rather than brute strength. This led to the creation of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), frequently called Gracie Jiu Jitsu in his honor.

Gracie also had a professional fighting career of his own, taking on champions from other fighting disciplines in an early version of modern MMA. These bouts were arduous, unregulated affairs with arbitrary rules and no time limits. By his own recollection, Gracie fought 15 times against the top opponents of his time. He began his career in’32 by submitting professional boxer Antonio Portugal in just 32 seconds. Later that year, he fought American catch wrestler Frank Ebert to a draw after the ringside doctor ordered the bout stopped after an ungodly fourteen ten minute rounds.

His most famous battle was against Japanese judo legend Masahiko Kimura, resulting in a rare loss for Gracie. Despite the setback, he fought bravely and may have actually enhanced his legend after refusing to submit to a reverse arm bar (the same modern MMA submission that now bears Kimuras name). Only after his arm was broken did his brother Carlos throw in the towel.

Gracie’s greatest impact, however, may have been through his progeny which is an important part of Brazilian sports and mixed martial arts even today. Royce Gracie is well known as the first UFC superstar, while sons Rickson Royler, Renzo have also achieved considerable fame in professional MMA. At the time of his death, Helio Gracie was a 6th Dan Judo black belt and the only living 10th degree master of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

The cause of Gracies death was officially given as natural causes. His last words will go down as a fitting envoi to a man who gave so much of himself to fighting:

Gracie’s last words are as follows:”I created a flag from the sports dignity. I oversee the name of my family with affection and nerves of blood.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

There was much concern prior to the fight about Pacquiaos ability to handle the naturally larger De La Hoyas strength and power. That concern was completely ill founded, and the reigning pound for pound king began to overwhelm De La Hoya from the opening round. Pacquiaos seemingly nonstop flurries of strikes began to show their effect on De La Hoyas face as his elusiveness made it impossible for his opponent to retaliate with any offense of his own.

As the fight progressed, it became nothing less than a one sided beating. His only effective flurry came in the 5th round, when he scored with a few solid body punches. It did little more than prolong the inevitable finish. Between the 7th and 8th round, trainer Nacho Berenstein told his fighter that he wasn’t going to let him stay out there and take a beating if he wasnt throwing punches. After the 8th round, Berenstein stopped the fight and Oscar smartly didn’t object to what was clearly the right decision.

The judges scorecards at the time of the stoppage vividly reflect the one-sidedness of the contest: two of the three judges scored the fight 80-71, with Pacquaio winning all eight rounds (with a 10-8 margin in the 7th). One judge charitably gave De La Hoya the fifth round, which was certainly a stretch resulting in a 79-72 margin. De La Hoya displayed the class of a champion following the fight, as he deflected Larry Merchants pointed questions about his relatively low weight to keep the focus on Pacquiaos masterful performance. He stopped short of retiring in the ring, but certainly sounded as if he were leaning in that direction as he observed:

“At this stage when you face someone like Pacquiao, it’s going to be a hard fight. I worked hard and trained really hard to get ready for this fight, but it’s a lot different story when you’re training than when you are actually in the ring. I just felt flat, like I didn’t have it. My heart still wants to fight, but when you physically don’t respond, you have to be smart.”

De La Hoyas post fight behavior should be required viewing for all aspiring prizefighters to learn how a champion carries himself with class, dignity and respect for the sport even in defeat. De La Hoya is an international superstar worth nearly a billion dollars; if he can conduct himself with grace and humility there’s simply no excuse for other fighters not to follow his classy example.

The most poignant moment came as De La Hoya prepared to leave the ring to allow Pacquiao to enjoy the glory he had earned. As De La Hoya gave him one last congratulatory hug, Pacquiao assured him that “You’re still my hero”.

To which the defeated Mexican warrior responded: “No, now you’re my hero.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.