Goodell Defends League Stance On Ray Rice

((HT: NFL/ESPN))

The Commissioner of the National Football League was pinned into a scrum at the NFL Hall of Fame weekend and was asked about the action the league took involving the 2-game suspension of Ravens running back Ray Rice.

See if you believe his answer


So, dear reader/watcher/listener...

What say you...???
Do you agree or disagree with the Commish...???

DEVELOPING: UCLA Athletics Flooded By Water Main Break

((HT: ABC7 KABC-TV))

As of 6:20 eastern time this evening, a massive water main break has erupted near all the athletics facilities on the UCLA campus effecting the Drake Track and Field Stadium, Pauley Pavilion, J.D. Morgan Center, the George Kneller Student-Athlete Academic Center, Athletic Hall of Fame and John Wooden Center.

Early reports from KNBC-TV had 36,000 gallons of water a minute escaping from the 30-inch water main break on Sunset Boulevard.

Here's the early news from Sunset


Pauley Pavilion was renovated two years ago at the cost of $133-million. Two parking structures are flooded and taking on water nearby and the intramural fields are reported to be at least 50-percent underwater at present two and a half hours into the emergency.

No word from UCLA athletics at present as to how their facilities are impacted.

More when we know more...

2120 UPDATE: The LA Department of Water and Power put out some details on the pipe that burst.

The water main is a 30-inch, 90-year-old riveted steel pipe that delivers water to the area at a high velocity from Upper Stone Canyon Reservoir.

Water flow through the pipe when operational is estimated at 75,000 gallons per minute. LADWP serves approximately 500 million gallons of water to customers each day.

DEVELOPING: Tony Gwynn Passes At 54

After a prolonged battle with cancer of the salivary gland, 8-time batting champ Tony Gwynn has died at the age of 54. He had battled it in 2009 and again in 2012 when it recurred.

He was equal to Honus Wagner in batting titles and finished with 3,141 career hits (18th all-time) and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007 with Cal Ripken, Junior.

The head coach of the San Diego State baseball program had taken a leave of absence from the program to fight the disease in recent months.

And, to tell you a quick story on how tremendous a physical athlete Gwynn was, he was once taken in for an eye test since people often wondered how a career .338 hitter could pick up the ball so well and so quickly out of a pitcher's hand.

The initial eye test came back with vision that was 20/10- meaning that he could pick up objects clearly at twenty feet that others could at only ten feet in front of them. A retest was demanded since the first round of results weren't believed.

The second test came back 20/8.

Here's a piece the Aztecs had done on them by ESPN's "Outside The Lines" group after Gwynn survived round one back in 2011. Tom Friend reports for OTL
((HT: goaztecs.com))

ICYMI: Coaching Legend Chuck Noll Passes Away

For those of us of a certain age, former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll arguably may have been the best football coach who ever lived.

And if you are very young and don't know who we are talking about, you should take a few minutes and do a Google search to learn more about the man.

Noll, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, passed away Friday night of natural causes at his Pittsburgh area home. He was 82-years old.

Under his guidance, the Steel Curtain defense was born and the Steelers won 4 Super Bowls in 6 years in the mid and late 70's. Including back-to-back titles in 1974 and 1975.

Guys like Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Jack Lambert and Mean Joe Greene, all Hall of Famers, all were developed under Noll's leadership.

Noll coached the team for 23-years and hung up the clipboard in 1991. Two years later he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

We here at OSG Sports, who are of a certain age, and who are well read in football history, bow are heads and salute Chuck Noll. An extraordinary man who did a extraordinary job and one of the few people in Sports who will always have the word "Legend" attached and in front of any mention of his name.

WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh brings us a look back at the Life and Times of a Football legend:

Tillman Plus Ten: Where Are We...???

The answer, sadly, is nowhere and everywhere...

Do we have more answers...??? Sure...

Do we have all the answers...??? No...

And we may never get them...

Mike Fish has done some more quality work talking about where we are in all of this. He tracked down Bryan O'Neal, who survived the friendly fire assault, and Steven Elliott. Elliott was one of the Rangers who fired upon Tillman and the two other Rangers in the mountains. He thinks he may have been the soldier who fired the shots that killed him.
((HT: ESPN))


And Mary Tillman's words still ring true today...
((HT: MSNBC))


As do Pat's brother, Kevin, during the hearings on Capitol Hill
((HT: C-SPAN))


Full disclosure...

The HQ has given to, and will continue to, the Pat Tillman Foundation...

And what happened then, and what has continue to happen to this day- not just in the Tillman case, but other incidents- should give cause to all of us as to what we pay attention to and how we do it.

Always question... always ask... and always wonder...

Cris Collinsworth has maintained that Tillman should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The HQ would go with that as long as others like Bob Kalsu are given the same honor in a wing for contributors.

RIP, Ultimate Warrior... (UPDATED)

In news alerts that seemed too surreal, it has been released that just days after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and making a final television appearance on the franchise "Monday Night Raw" program, James Hellwig- aka The Ultimate Warrior-died at the age of 54.

He had just come full circle with the organization culminating in the Hall of Fame ceremony this past weekend in New Orleans.
((HT: WWE))


And had made the last appearance with more of the same charisma that took him to the top of the wrestling industry in the late 1980's. He beat Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania VI in Toronto for his only title- a reign that lasted nine months.


There are those who will discuss his row with the McMahon family, the political speeches, and the desire to be "Warrior Warrior." But today isn't the day for that from the HQ...

Here's the statement from the complany:

WWE is shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of the most iconic WWE Superstars ever, The Ultimate Warrior.

Warrior began his WWE career in 1987 and quickly went on to become one of the biggest stars in WWE history. Warrior became WWE Champion at WrestleMania VI, defeating Hulk Hogan in an epic encounter.

We are grateful that just days ago, Warrior had the opportunity to take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame and was also able to appear at WrestleMania 30 and Monday Night Raw to address his legions of fans.

WWE sends its sincere condolences to Warrior’s family, friends and fans.

Warrior was 54 and is survived by his wife Dana and his two daughters.

No cause of death is immediately known...


NOON UPDATE: Arash Markazi over at ESPN has details that warrior was walking with his wife to their car at a Scottsdale, Arizona hotel and collapsed. He was pronounced dead at a Scottsdale hospital.

DEVELOPING: Bills Owner Ralph Wilson Dies

((HT: WGRZ-TV))

One of the men responsible for the growth of football as we know it passed away in hospice care in Michigan at the age of 95.

Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson was one of the original AFL owners who picked up a franchise for $90,000 in 1960. He turned that faith in the sport into being an AFL champion and a contender for the NFL title with an unheard of 4-time run to the Roman Numeral Classic.

He left a mark on his adopted town and will be missed by an entire region...

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009- only becoming the fourth owner to be inducted at the time...

DEVELOPING: Jim Kelly Back To NYC For Cancer Treatments

((HT: WGRZ-TV))

Buffalo Bills Hall of Famer Jim Kelly is heading back to a New York City hospital for a Thursday operation as it seems his cancer has no only recurred, but apparently, spread...

Fellow Class of '83'er John Elway was asked about Kelly at the NFL Owners Meetings in Orlando today. The Buffalo News Tim Graham caught up with Elway in the scrums...

"It's sad to me to hear what's taken place since two weeks ago. From what I understand it's not a good report."

Elway, Kelly, and Joe Montana were all in Vail, Colorado for a speaking engagement. Elway saw that Kelly's jaw was not doing well after the restructure surgery from June...

“Unfortunately, it has been determined that his cancer has returned,” ECMC’s Dr. Thom Loree said in a statement released by the hospital ten days ago when the initial diagnosis was given to the media. “Our team of head and neck cancer specialists is determining a course of treatment that will allow Mr. Kelly to battle this cancer successfully. Mr. Kelly has asked that you keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.”

Kelly was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma a year ago and last June doctors had to remove part of Kelly’s upper jaw, part of the roof of his mouth and teeth before the restructuring of his jaw. Lorre performed the initial surgery.

Here's his coach Marv Levy discussing his QB's cancer when it was first announced Kelly was heading back into hospital...
Kelly has no idea how he got the cancer since he never smoked. He called it "luck of the draw...I guess."

Obviously, we'll keep you posted on all of this...

ClubberSpeak: I Don't Care If Baseball Players Cheat

((HT: jimlangblog))

Nothing touches off a heated debate like voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Today the Baseball Writers Association of America voted in Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas as the newest members of the baseball Hall of Fame.

No sane person would ever argue the merits of the three newest inductees. All three, especially Maddux, boast a resume that is beyond reproach.

That leads us to the two biggest omissions; Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. Both players possess some of the greatest career numbers in the history of the game. And both players are doomed to never be voted into the Hall of Fame.

Clemens was far and away the most dominant pitcher of my generation. Clemens won 354 games, had a staggering 4,672 strikeouts and won seven Cy Young awards.

Meanwhile Bonds all but obliterated the MLB record book. Bonds ended his career with 762 home-runs (1st all-time), 2,538 walks (1st all-time), a career OPS of 1.051 and seven MVP awards.

Now do I think both of them used performance enhancing drugs during their playing career? You bet your frozen polar vortex butt I do.

Do I care that they used PED’s during their career? Not at all.

Major League Baseball players are not role models. They are grown men willing to do whatever it takes to keep making money and help their team win.

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/cheaters/ballplayers.html

Back in the day pitchers used spit balls to gain an advantage. Then players took amphetamines to get up for games. Then they corked their bat to hit more home-runs. You name the method of cheating and I guarantee you somebody in baseball has thought of it in order to gain a competitive edge.

When I was in high school I watched “The Natural” and imagined all my baseball heroes were men like Roy Hobbs. Then reality quickly set in as I realized that baseball players live by the age old credo, “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying”.

To make a long story short, if I had a vote for the Hall of Fame I would vote for Clemens and Bonds. So many players were taking some sort of PED during that era that it is next to impossible to sort out the clean players from the dirty players.

Ty Cobb once jumped into the stands and beat up a man with no hands and he was still voted into the Hall of Fame.

I don’t need a baseball writer to tell me about morality. I just want them to vote for the finest players on the ballot and make sure the Hall of Fame is filled with the best of the best.

Why is it alright for pitchers to scuff the ball, doctor the ball and throw spitballs?

Is that not cheating?

According to the rules of baseball it is:

8.02
The pitcher shall not –
(a) (1) Bring his pitching hand in contact with his mouth or lips while in the 18 foot circle surrounding the pitching rubber. EXCEPTION: Provided it is agreed to by both managers, the umpire prior to the start of a game played in cold weather, may permit the pitcher to blow on his hand.
PENALTY: For violation of this part of this rule the umpires shall immediately call a ball. However, if the pitch is made and a batter reaches first base on a hit, an error, a hit batsman or otherwise, and no other runner is put out before advancing at least one base, the play shall proceed without reference to the violation. Repeated offenders shall be subject to a fine by the league president.
(2) expectorate on the ball, either hand or his glove;
(3) rub the ball on his glove, person or clothing;
(4) apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball;
(5) deface the ball in any manner

Despite all of this pitchers did it often and still do it to this day.

Prior to 2003 players were not tested for PED’s. Not that doesn’t make it right. But by taking them they were not violating any MLB rules at the time.

A few things emerged from the steroid era. First off the numbers posted by players, especially hitters, were greatly inflated. Secondly the television ratings and attendance were greatly inflated. The boost in TV ratings results in a massive financial windfall for Bud Selig and MLB.

Not only is MLB raking in the money, but individual teams have signed enormous regional television contracts that will ensure their financial stability for years to come.

Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds played a big role in reviving baseball after their labour shut-down in 1994. If baseball writers want to punish Clemens and Bonds for taking PED’s (allegedly) then that is their right.

I just hope the writers understand that fans don’t care if a player cheats. In they end they all cheat in some way, shape or form. Fans only care if their team wins or loses.

The writers can choose to do what they want when it comes to Clemens and Bonds. The fact remains they put up numbers that may never be matched, let alone broken. Those numbers will live on for all to see for years to come; whether or not they ever get voted into the Hall.

Joe D Heads To Canton...By Foot...

Again...

In OSG Sports continuing relationship with the Hall of Fame Players Classic and Foundation, here's another story from Reid Slider on one of the Buffalo Bills best ever making a 213-mile trek for a worthy cause...

Joe DeLamielleure was given a plaque after the 1973 East West Shrine Game that read “Strong legs run so that weak legs may walk.” No one could have known the effect that those words would have on him 40 years later. That quote would be the beginning of something amazing.

All this started 10 years ago...

Joe DeLamielleure, who is fondly known as "Joe D." is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2003. Even then, he says he knew that he wanted to walk to the Hall of Fame on the 10th anniversary of his induction. He was in a class of all-time greats, including Marcus Allen, Elvin Bethea, James Lofton, and Hank Stram. He knew that the annual Enshrinement Induction Ceremony was something he always wanted to participate in every year in Canton stating he’d be there, “even if I had to walk.” He’d actually planned on walking all the way from Charlotte, N.C., but his wife told him it was too far, so he settled on Buffalo, 213 miles from Canton, as his starting point.

For DeLamielleure, he has to keep doing amazing things. He said he doesn’t want his children and grandchildren to talk about him playing in the NFL. He wanted them to say, “That guy is nuts. He rode 2,000 miles on a bicycle and then a few years later walked to Canton”. Joe D. wanted his walk on the 10th anniversary of his induction to have meaning- to benefit someone in need. He’d looked into multiple causes, such as raising funds and awareness to shoe banks that help those less fortunate get adequate shoes but nothing seemed to feel right.

This past fall a friend from Charlotte, N.C. told him about a remarkable local 20-year-old boy named Joey Funderburk, who was born in Romania without legs because of a rare birth defect. Joey had been walking on the same prosthetics since age 8, and they could barely support his adult weight, which was a very dangerous situation. DeLamielleure’s friend listened to the story Joey and his mother told, and was so impressed that he introduced them to Joe D. in hopes that he could help.

As DeLamielleure listened to this young mans and his adoptive mothers story, he thought to himself “this is your calling. This is what you’re supposed to do.” As Joe D. learned after befriending Joey the problem with prosthetic limbs is that as children grow new ones are typically required every three to five years, with the cost being around $120,000. After the age of 18, obtaining new prosthetic becomes even more difficult due to insurance issues. Since then, DeLamielleure has gotten to know Joey even better, fondly referring to them as “just a couple of Joes.” First of 2013, he partnered with Grace’s Lamp Foundation to help those like Joey in need receive new prosthetic limbs.

DeLamielleure knows that the 213-mile trip won’t be easy. For one, his feet, like many other former NFL players, are damaged from playing on AstroTurf for so long. He’s a size 13, but is forced to wear size 14 shoes because of his foot problems. But he’s been busy preparing and is not about to let a foot issue slow him down. Joe D. walks over 2 hours, an estimated 10 miles, every morning. As he told me yesterday one way he has prepared for the walk is walking to Catholic Mass, every morning at 7AM. He gets there “sweating and stinking like a pig,” in his words, and then walks back home.

Another interesting twist to the story is the trip is being planned by Joe DeLamielleure’s college roommate, and former director of the Secret Service, Eljay Bowron. Bowron rode bikes with Joe DeLamielleure and another Michigan State teammate, John Shinsky, who, like Joe D., has a very big heart. The bike ride was to raise money for the orphanage in Matamoros, Mexico. Shinsky is an orphan himself set a goal when he was 18 that someday, he’d build and fund his own orphanage as his way of giving back.

Together the three roommates traveled 2,000 miles on bikes to raise the final funds for the now completed City of the Children orphanage. When discussing the walk that starts at Buffalo Bills' Ralph Wilson Stadium on July 10. The plan is to walk about 20 miles per day and end on the steps of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton on July 20th. Eljay Bowron again stepped forward and has overseen the planning as well as will be accompanying his former roommate saying to Joey D “if I can get the President through a street corner, I can certainly get you to Canton.”

To follow Joe D’s daily adventures he you can read his blog on http://hofplayersclassic.com/events.html. If you would like to show your support Joey D is asking his supporters to donate $.05 cents a mile to support the Grace’s Lamp Foundation at www.graceslamp.org

Here's coverage of the start from WIVB-TV

Joe D pounds the pavement

A Tribute To Deacon Jones

((HT: Hall of Fame Players Classic and Foundation))

Megan Holland gave the HQ the heads-up on this one...

Reid Slider is an intern with the Classic and wrote this tribute to Deacon Jones with Jones' memorial service set for this weekend in Los Angeles.

Figured we'd let you read it... Reid's a junior in university...

Deacon Jones stood in his three-point stance waiting for the quarterback to take the snap from under center. His mind was racing, trying to figure out the snap count, and in doing so, beat even the offensive lineman off the snap. With a flurry of motion and agility, he swiped past Minnesota’s offensive tackle and made his way towards the quarterback in the purple jersey, now as vulnerable as ever. He reached out to pull future Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton to the turf, to record what he had just recently termed a “sack.” But, and this was something so unusual to Deacon, the quarterback shook him off and Deacon Jones fell to the ground as the quarterback escaped the pocket and looked downfield. This moment of humility, so unusual for Deacon Jones, seemed to ignite a fire in Deacon, as he launched himself off the ground and chased down Tarkenton to record just one of what became an estimated 173.5 sacks.

Just two days after Deacon’s passing, Jack Youngblood told me that he believed Deacon’s sack total to be “well over 200,” but due to the league’s inability to keep sack totals until 1982, we’ll never know for sure. This play, though just a single incident in his vast career, told you everything you needed to know about the type of player, and person, Deacon Jones was. This was one play of one ball game of one season out of the astronomical number of games that Deacon Jones would appear in for the Rams, Chargers and Redskins, but that’s not what it was to him. For Deacon Jones, this was his chance to shine and showcase his incomparable talent to the fans and even to other players on the field that day. So he gave everything he had on every play. When some players would have accepted the defeat of being shaken off by a future Hall of Fame player, and just told themselves “I’ll get him next time,” Deacon couldn’t. He willed himself to that sack just like he willed himself to many things in life. He simply would not let himself give anything less than 100%. It’s truly incredible to watch, because you can see the determination and drive, but also the humility and the caring side of him. Because on this, play, just like every single play of his career, he wraps up the quarterback and makes a form tackle instead of going for the big hit.

It’s not like he couldn’t, considering he was 6’5 and 270 pounds. I’d challenge anyone who’s ever seen Jones play to find a moment where he was attempting to hurt someone. I really don’t think there’s a play out there where it even almost occurred. And that was the great thing - the most admirable thing – about Deacon. He was the fiercest of competitors but the most respectful of opponents.

This is just one of the many reasons we celebrate the career and life of Deacon Jones. We celebrate him because he’s the player we’d kill to have on our favorite team and the man we strive to be.

For those who haven’t already heard the story of Deacon Jones, it begins in Eatonville, Florida, in a four-bedroom house, occupied by 10 family members. Deacon was a standout football player in high school and went on to play college football for South Carolina State, but his participation in a civil rights protest led to the revocation of his scholarship. Fortunately, an opportunity presented itself in the form of the small Mississippi Vocational College, and Deacon continued his college career on the football team there. Coincidentally, that college would become Mississippi Valley State, the program that produced Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice.

Jones went on to enter the NFL with little fanfare, as a 14th round draft choice for the Rams. Tom Mack said that Deacon was “aggressive enough to show everybody that he belonged there.” However, Deacon would impress the coaches and fans out of the gate, amassing 8 sacks in his rookie season. After earning a starting spot next to Hall of Fame defensive tackle Merlin Olsen, his fame and productivity rose greatly. Jones was selected to the All-Pro Team every year from 1964-1970. With the numbers he continually put up, he received the nickname “Secretary of Defense.

As his takedowns piled up, Jones felt the need for a more succinct word to describe taking down the quarterback, so after much though, he settled on “sack,” a term which is used by basically everyone to describe the play today. During his time with the Rams, Chargers, and Redskins, he took many rookies under his wing. Jack Youngblood said “I watched him from day one… he taught me how to play the game.” As Jones’ NFL experience grew, his talent and accomplishments rose to levels previously never experienced by any defensive player, even in today’s age.

The NFL did not begin keeping statistics on sacks until the 1982 season, but if they had, there would be a different name atop the list on single season sack leaders. The record would not belong to New York Giant great Michael Strahan, nor would he rank second on the list. Deacon Jones would have the two greatest statistical seasons ever for a defensive end. In 1967, he recorded 26 sacks and the following year he got to the quarterback 24 times. He was awarded the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award for both seasons. One of the tricks that Jones invented for getting to the quarterback was slapping the offensive tackle at the ear hole, a move he believed caused them to close their eyes, allowing him to move past. Eventually, the NFL outlawed that move but not before Deacon Jones used it in his arsenal of pass rushing moves that helped him get to the quarterback a believed 173.5 times. If recorded, that would be third all-time, behind Hall of Fame companions Bruce Smith and Reggie White.

After leaving the Rams, Jones played for the Chargers and Redskins, retiring in 1974. During his retirement, he stayed active by working with companies such as the Miller Brewing Company and Epson America, while also partnering with the NFL and Champion Products to promote their throwback designs. Later on in life, he founded the Deacon Jones Foundation to reach out to young people and their communities to assist and offer valuable skills through programs such as educational mentoring, and community service. He also traveled to Iraq with the NFL to visit American soldiers stationed overseas.

Deacon Jones was the consummate professional who played the game the right way and will always be remembered for his impact on the game today. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, son and grandson, Gregory and Noah Pinto.

2013 NASCAR HOF Class Announced

And the winners are Buck Baker, Cotton Owens, Herb Thomas, Rusty Wallace and Leonard Wood...

Baker, Owens, and Thomas were three of the sport's early stars in the 1950's and Owens would have added success as an owner.

Rusty Wallace won 55 races in his career and was the Series champion in 1989...
Most folks remember him from here behind the wheel in 1993...
((HT: NASCAR/CBS Sports/Speed/youtube))


And Leonard Wood goes in on behalf of the Wood Racing family who were innovators in the sport. Leonard won almost 10-percent of the racing team's starts as crew chief...

The Wood Brothers last win wasn't too long ago...
((HT: NASCAR on FOX/youtube))


And the ceremony is set for February 8th in Charlotte...
Congrats to all the inductees...

Class Of 2012: No Receivers, But Linemen This Time...

The winners are:

Running back Curtis Martin, the 4th-leading rusher in NFL history and four linemen were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Martin is joined by Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy, Willie Roaf, Dermontti Dawson, and senior selection Jack Butler.

Good to see the linemen getting some love, but there are wideouts that are missing- Andre Reed, Cris Carter, and Tim Brown.

Defensive ends Kevin Greene and Charles Haley, defensive back Aeneas Williams, and former 49ers owner Ed DeBartolo Jr., as well as former commissioner Paul Tagliabue are still looking...

The HQ is still hot that Ray Guy is still on the outside looking in...
Wanna talk injustice...???
That's one... and a big one...

SI.com's Jim Trotter follows in on the topic the HQ just addressed- who didn't get in...

Larkin Joins Santo In HOF

After falling 75 votes last year, Cincinnati Reds second baseman Barry Larkin is heading for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown...

This year, Larkin got 86.4 percent and was the only player to get over the 75-percent threshold...

More when we know more...

PM UPDATE: Here's the reaction from our friends at WCPO-TV

Santo Elected To Cooperstown- About Damn Time...

((HT: MyFoxChicago))

One of the biggest homers in the history of homers finally got his due...

Chicago Cubs infielder Ron Santo, who went on to be a fixture in the radio booth, was elected to the baseball hall of fame by the Veterans Committee...

While the HQ thinks this is very cool, it took entirely too long...

Here's the early part of the story from Chicago...

Ron Santo Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: MyFoxCHICAGO.com