Say What?
Minnesota governor may ban 11 a.m. college games
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton does not think the state’s foremost college football team, the Golden Gophers, should be playing a game before noon on a Saturday. “They talk about the concern about attendance at the Gophers’ games,” Dayton said. “They start them at 11 o’clock in the morning. If you want to tailgate you have to be there by 9 a.m. Most students I don’t think are awake at 9 a.m.” The reason for the early start is to accommodate television networks. The Gophers are not a ratings bonanza, so they typically are slotted for an unpopular time. But Dayton is trying to change that by proposing a state law to prohibit high-school and college football games from starting before noon.
Between the Lines: Sounds like potential litigation, with state legislation designed to restrict interstate commerce.
Daily News calls Jets’ coaching search ‘sleazy’
To some reporters it seems a bit suspicious that within a few minutes of announcing he was opting out of his contract as Buffalo Bills head coach, Doug Marrone was cited by ESPN as the front runner for the New York Jets’ coaching position that became available with the firing of Rex Ryan. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News suggested that Jets owner Woody Johnson was being pushed toward Marrone by consultant Charlie Casserley while Marrone was still under contract with Buffalo. Daily News headline: “NY Jets coaching search takes sleazy turn. . .” It does seem surprising Marrone would give up his job for the $4 million opt-out he receives, if everything was going well in Buffalo, unless he was certain of a better deal elsewhere. Sources close to Bills camp say the team’s new ownership wanted someone other than Marrone, who was 15-17 with no playoff appearances in his two seasons. Marrone recently drew a scathing critique from one of his assistants when he was head coach at Syracuse. Bob Cosullo on ESPN Syracuse called him “self-centered, selfish, greedy. . . an egomaniac.
Between the Lines: So this may have been a parting that was mutual. AND sleazy.
Click here for Manish Mehm, New York Daily News, on Jets coaching search. . .
Ndamukong Suh shows his tender side
Ndamukong Suh is not known for tenderness, but rather for being the dirtiest, most unrepentant rule-breaker in the NFL and being quite stoic about it. Thus a national TV audience was surprised to see the Detroit Lions defensive tackle sobbing and stepping way from the podium because he could not speak following his team’s 24-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Apparently he was overcome with emotion at thoughts of how close the team had come to an upset victory on the road and how it may have been his last game as a Lion. It was a game he almost didn’t get to play, being suspended for stepping on Aaron Rodgers as he was sprawled on the ground. But Suh’s attorneys were able to get him reinstated for Sunday’s game, and there was no denying he played well. He had three tackles in the running game and two sacks of Dallas QB Tony Romo. Suh enters free agency at 28, having completed his best season. Would it be overly cynical to wonder if those were crocodile tears?
Mora brushes off Snyder for post-game handshake
After his team’s 40-35 win over Kansas State in the Alamo Bowl, UCLA coach Jim Mora Jr. headed to the middle of the field for the traditional handshake with the opposing coach. But instead of shaking hands with the 75-year-old Bill Snyder, Mora brushed him off, apparently unhappy with the way his team had crashed his victory formation in a last-ditch try for a fumble recovery. Mora later posted some tweets about his reason for snubbing Snyder, but they didn’t stay posted for long. His website was blown up by traffic generated by fans of Snyder and the Wildcats.
A&M student coach strikes Mounties players
College Sportsmanship, Part 2: During the first half of the Liberty Bowl, Texas A&M student coach Michael Richardson struck two players for West Virginia. Video cameras showed him punching cornerback Daryl Worthy in the back of the head and then elbowing and possibly shoving running back Andrew Buie. Coach Kevin Sumlin had Richardson remain in the locker room for the second half.