If Georgia wanted to build on their upset of Kentucky, the SEC schedule wasn’t going to make it easy. Georgia’s first SEC road game of the year was at one of the league’s most difficult venues, and the recent winter storm meant that Georgia would have to make the long bus trip rather than the [...]
DawgsOnline
Unless Al Davis can top the last contract he gave to Nnamdi Asomugha then he may as well help the All-Pro corner pack his things now. Asomugha is leaving the East Bay and for good reason. He’s remained loyal while Davis has sold him nothing but lies. Nnamdi had plenty of reasons to leave last time. Davis gave him plenty of reasons to stay the least of which was that $ 45-million contract. Yes, money talks but in the end it was Asomugha’s desire to succeed in a Silver and Black uniform that trumped all. The Cal grad is fully aware [...]
Just Blog Baby | An Oakland Raiders Blog
Hawks defenseman Nick Leddy has been nothing but impressive since being recalled on Jan. 7 from the Rockford IceHogs. But has the rookie done enough to stay with the defending champions?…
Inside the Blackhawks
If one were to single out a visually odd aspect of today’s Packers-Niners game at Lambeau Field (won by the Packers 34-16), one might go with the Packers’ throw(way, way)back jerseys. And yes, those jerseys were very…noteworthy (also, hideous).
But maybe the most bizarre sighting…the fan above, sporting what appears to be, as CNBC’s Darren Rovell tweeted, an entire fox on his head. We’ve all heard of coonskin caps, but this is really taking things to a new, looks-like-he-just-stole-an-unfinished-project-from-a-taxidermist-and-started-wearing-it level. But hey, if it helps you stay warm, then…NOOOOOOOOOO WHY WOULD YOU HARM THIS MAGNIFICENT CREATURE WHY WHY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
Credit for the outstanding shot above goes to Ryan Van Haren, who uploaded it to his Flickr page and gave us the…experience of seeing it.
Well, what an extraordinary twist this is: Wayne Rooney has agreed a new five-year deal with Manchester United and is staying at Old Trafford after all. Here’s the club statement:
Wayne Rooney has agreed a new 5 year contract to stay at Manchester United until at least June 2015.
The agreement follows intensive discussions between the Club and the player’s representatives and means that by the end of his contract Wayne will have been a Manchester United player for 11 years.
Sir Alex Ferguson said: “It’s been a difficult week, but the intensity of the coverage is what we expect at Manchester United. I said to the boy that the door is always open and I’m delighted Wayne has agreed to stay.
“Sometimes, when you’re in a club, it can be hard to realise just how big it is and it takes something like the events of the last few days to make you understand. I think Wayne now understands what a great club Manchester United is.
“I’m pleased he has accepted the challenge to guide the younger players and establish himself as one of United’s great players. It shows character and belief in what we stand for.
“I’m sure everyone involved with the Club will now get behind Wayne and show him the support he needs to produce the performances we know he is capable of.”
Wayne Rooney said: “I’m delighted to sign another deal at United. In the last couple of days, I’ve talked to the Manager and the owners and they’ve convinced me this is where I belong. I said on Wednesday the Manager’s a genius and it’s his belief and support that have convinced me to stay.
“I’m signing a new deal in the absolute belief that the management, coaching staff, board and owners are totally committed to making sure United maintains its proud winning history – which is the reason I joined the Club in the first place.
“I’m sure the fans over the last week have felt let down by what they’ve read and seen. But my position was from concern over the future. The fans have been brilliant with me since I arrived and it’s up to me through my performances to win them over again.”
UPDATE: One interesting thing to note here is that Jose Mourinho was right all along when he predicted Rooney would end up staying. What was it he said? The “big man” will persuade him his future is at Old Trafford?
I guess reports of Ferguson’s diminishing powers were overstated somewhat. He can still be the most persuasive man in football…
More news as we get it
PHOTO: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney lines up before their Champions League Group C soccer match against Rangers at Old Trafford in Manchester, northern England, September 14, 2010. REUTERS/Darren Staples
Via ESPN.com NBA editor Justin Verrier. Verrier also provided a little more context:
@stackmack Last page in the new Mag issue has eight players rating how big of a concern STDs are in the NBA. Ben was at an eight.
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People are actually polling this stuff? Really?
Public Policy Polling, for lack of anything better to do, posed the question of whether Butch Davis should continue as UNC’s head coach or be fired. The results were about what you would expect:
A scientific telephone survey of North Carolina voters describing themselves as fans of the Tar Heels found that:
-Only 14% of Carolina fans want Davis to be fired with 57% preferring that he continue as the coach and 29% having no opinion. 41% of fans approve of Davis’ overall job performance to only 20% who disapprove, numbers any politician would love to have.
-We also asked poll respondents whether they would characterize themselves more as ‘hardcore’ or ‘casual’ UNC fans. Davis’ support is even higher with the hardcore fans who are most passionate about Carolina than the fan base at large. With that group there’s only 9% support for replacing Davis while 68% think he should remain coach. And they also give Davis very solid overall numbers with 59% approving of the job he’s doing to only 21% who dissent.
These numbers would seem to suggest that UNC fans don’t think the program’s current issues are Davis’ fault and that they appreciate the strides the team has made on the field since he became coach. And they would suggest that Chancellor Holden Thorp and Athletic Director Dick Baddour’s strong continued support of Davis is meeting favor with their ‘constituents.’
The full results can be found here. It should be noted that the poll was taken before UNC ended 29 years of frustration at Charlottesville to reach 4-2 on the season. It also does not account for even more players having their fates decided which might affect opinion.
The crosstabs are interesting if not unsurprising. The diehard fans support Davis at close to 70% and give him a near 60% approval rating for his job. The “casual” fan is close to 50% on keeping Davis which is slightly surprising but not necessarily more disposed to disapprove or want him fired. Casual fans seem to be uncertain about the job Davis is doing or what his future should be.
I do not know if PPP plans to poll this again but I would be interested to see how the results differ after the season is over as a indicator of whether UNC’s record affects the numbers. Another poll once the NCAA releases its findings would also be interesting, assuming UNC does not push Davis out of an airlock 48 hours after receiving the report.
One more thing. PPP director Tom Jensen said this proves UNC fans do not hold Davis responsible for the current scandals. Does it? I know it is a reasonable conclusion to draw but why not ask that question as well just to see if that is the case?