What will be next?  Steriods, HGH, Taping?

I want to see sport franchises make information like this public, so we can see in detail what happen.  Like Barry Bonds’ record, I think the NFL should put an asterisk next to any of the Patriots’ accomplishments (including the championships).

Bill Belichick has been illegally taping opponents’ defensive signals since he became the New England Patriots’ coach in 2000, according to Sen. Arlen Specter, who said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told him that during a meeting Wednesday.

“There was confirmation that there has been taping since 2000, when Coach Belichick took over,” Specter said.

Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team was fined $250,000 because of the Spygate incident. The Patriots also forfeited a first-round draft pick.

Round 1: This fight is underway. Trinidad lands a couple of solid lefts, as well as a right cross. Trinidad is jabbing, Jones isn’t doing much in the first minute and a half. Trinidad lands a couple of borderline low blows and gets a warning. Trinidad tries a left hook and a left uppercut at the end of the round, Jones shuffles his feet, and the last 10 seconds were the best 10 seconds of the round. I’ll give it to Trinidad, 10-9.

Round 2: Trinidad doesn’t look as rusty as you’d think a guy coming off this long a layoff would. He’s landing some good body shots. They’re trading punches and neither fighter is landing a lot. Jones lands a straight right hand with 15 seconds left in the round, and again the most action comes at the very end of the fight, with Trinidad landing a right cross at the very end. Another close round, which I’ll again give to Trinidad, 10-9.

Round 3: Trinidad has a decent combination early. Jones is hoping that Trinidad will get too aggressive and that he’ll be able to counter, as Max Kellerman pointed out in the HBO broadcast. So far it isn’t working, though, and Trinidad is doing a fairly solid job, especially when he gets Jones against the ropes. Jones is taunting Trinidad, and I’m not sure why, seeing as Trinidad has done more to yap about than Jones has. Jones landed a right at the bell and the ref had to jump between them. This round, again, goes to Trinidad, 10-9.

Round 4: Trinidad gets off to a good start in round 4, and I don’t get what Jones thinks he’s doing here. He’s standing around too much and letting Trinidad hit him. Jones landed a couple of clean punches with a minute to go in the round, and he finally seems to be accomplishing something here late in the round. He gets a right hand straight to Trinidad’s nose, then snaps Trinidad’s head back with another. Jones landed enough solid shots that I’ll give this round to Jones, 10-9.

Round 5: They’re feeling each other out early. Trinidad lands a low blow, and Jones is upset about it. The referee has warned Trinidad but didn’t deduct a point. Trinidad has been the more effective fighter overall in this round, although Jones is backing him up a bit more than he did early. That was a close round and it could go either way but I’m giving it to Trinidad, 10-9.

Round 6: Jim Lampley says it’s a better fight than he expected to see, and I’d have to agree. Trinidad is doing more with his jabs, and Jones is trying to counter but not doing it effectively. Jones is most certainly not as fast as he was 10 years ago; Trinidad is doing damage with the kinds of shots that wouldn’t have touched Jones in the 90s. Trinidad landed a couple of hooks to the body, Jones then went on the attack but didn’t sustain it. Trinidad lands a couple of lefts to the head. Jones shakes his head as if to say it doesn’t hurt, but I think it did. And then Jones lands a couple of very solid rights. A brutal combination for Jones in the last five seconds, and that might have been enough for some judges to give him the round, but I’m still giving it to Trinidad, 10-9.

Round 7: Jones starts out strong, lands a combination and down goes Trinidad! A short right hand by Jones knocks Trinidad to the canvas! Trinidad gets up but Jones is on the attack. Jones wants to knock Trinidad out right here, right now. Trinidad has recovered and managed to get his legs under him, and it’s a little disappointing that Jones wasn’t able to capitalize on the knockdown. Jones wins the round 10-8, but if he doesn’t win this fight, he’ll look back on this round as a missed opportunity.

Round 8: Jones starts the round strong. Tito has recovered nicely, though, and through the first half of the round it’s been a fairly even round, which shows the way Jones has failed to capitalize. And then Jones unleashes a right and a left. Those two punts landed as solidly as anything Trinidad has landed, and that’s why this has been a tough fight to score: Trinidad is more active, but Jones’ punches are landing more directly and with more force. I’ll give this one to Jones, 10-9, and it’s another very close round.

Round 9: Trinidad is much more active here than Jones, although Jones is blocking a lot of Trinidad’s shots. Jones snaps Trinidad’s head back with a quick punch near the ropes. Trinidad is landing a lot of shots that are hitting Jones around the forearms. Jones gets a nice combination, a solid right just a second before the bell, and I’ll give this one to Jones, 10-9.

Round 10: Trinidad is starting to look hunched over, which is a sign that he’s getting tired. He swings wildly and misses, and the Jones of a few years ago would have capitalized on that. Trinidad backs Jones up against the ropes and does the most damage he’s done in the last few rounds. But Jones comes back with a couple of rights. Jones comes in hard and knocks Trinidad down! Trinidad goes to the canvas again late in the round, and although it’s too late for Jones to do anything about it, it’s enough for Jones to win the round, 10-8.

Round 11: Trinidad backs Jones up against the ropes, but for a guy who’s fallen behind, he’s not being very aggressive. The round isn’t very action-packed, and that’s to Jones’ advantage. Jones is playing from ahead right now. This round was pretty dull, and I’ll give it to Trinidad, 10-9, but I won’t argue if others give it to Jones.

Round 12: Here it is, the final round. Trinidad just isn’t doing anything, and he’s going to need at least a knockdown, and probably a knockout. Jones attacks and lands a punch, and after that Jones is playing defense effectively. Jones lands a good left. Trinidad lands some punches, but there’s no power behind anything Trinidad lands anymore. Jones connects a couple of shots right to Trinidad’s face at the end of the round, and this has been a very impressive performance. Jones, 10-9.

This fight is going to the judges’ scorecards

Roy Jones defeats Felix Trinidad by unanimous decision.

The most impressive win of the weekend.  The Chargers, without L.T. and Phillip Rivers in the 4th quarter win.   I think the Chargers will give the Patriots a better game than most think, they may even win.

Giants beat the Cowboys 21-17

I expected the Giants to win.   I didn’t think the Cowboys would win because they haven’t played well in weeks and I didn’t see them beating the Giants a third time.

Giants have only played the Packers once, so they will not have the same luck beating them.

Packers beat the Seahawks 42-20 

After watching the first two possessions, I presumed the Seahawks would win.  Nevertheless, the Packers outplayed and outclassed the Seahawks after the first two possessions.

The Packers should win next week and go on to the Superbowl.  Unless, the Chargers go to the Superbowl, I hope the Packers win.  It would be a good way for Brett Favre to end his career.

Patriots beat the Jaguars 31-20 

Everything seemed to bounce just right for the Patriots.  With the cheating scandals all across sports (mainly steroids), I am waiting to find out what comes out about this team in a few years.

Patriots will be expected to destroy the Chargers and any NFC team they play in the Superbowl.

What happens if they lose?

Mayweather did the typical few rounds of feeling out his opponent and then he took control.  He eventually was landing at will, which lead to the KO in the 10th.

Hatton wouldn’t let Mayweather move, but it didn’t matter as Mayweather used precision punches to wear down the challenger for his 147-round crown. Hatton kept trying to get inside and score points, but Mayweatherhad an answer for everything he did.

I think folks expected too much from Hatton.  He may have been undefeated, but he was not in the same league as Mayweather.

USC dominated as expected over UCLA this year.  However, UCLA did not help themselves, with the early fumbles. 

The question now is who and where should USC play in the bowl games.  After #1 & #2 losing, the BSC championship game is up in the air. 

It will probably be a game between Ohio State and LSU.  However, I think Ohio State is overrated.  I am also surprised to Oklahoma jump USC and Virginia State in the AP and the USA Today polls. 

I would rather see USC play LSU, since they are probably the two best teams.  Now, with Ohio State playing for the championship, the Trojans will be playing a much weaker team in the Rose Bowl (Illinois).

The Trojans dominated crosstown rival UCLA in a 24-7 victory in front of an announced crowd of 91,553 at the Coliseum with an offensive performance that was neither attractive nor flawless.

“I feel we left a lot of yards on the football field,” USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said. “We catch a few more balls and don’t jump offsides so much and there are a few more style points.”

Even worse, the game provided about as much emotional energy seen in the USC-Oregon State game.

“It wasn’t quite so much a crosstown battle thing,” USC offensive guard Drew Radovich said. “They were a lot more chirpy last year.”

I don’t believe anything Victor Conte says regarding the drug test.  Whether or not he is convicted of lying, which he did, because the evidence shows he took steroids, his baseball career is done.  I also hope that they put an asterisk on his record and deny him entrance to the Hall of Fame.

I don’t like how Bonds has responded or reacted since the steroid charges have been raised.  I would have preferred to see him tie Aaron’s record and retire rather than breaking it and continuing to lie in the media (and to Congress) about the steroid issue.

Bonds, baseball’s home run king, faces prison time after being indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice that stem from his denials under oath that he used anabolic steroids and that his personal trainer injected him with performance-enhancing drugs.

The indictment alleges that Bonds lied to a federal grand jury 19 times. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Dec. 7.

The indictment was unsealed Thursday, more than five years after a federal agent started digging through trash outside the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) near San Francisco and collected evidence that would lead to the biggest steroids scandal in the history of sport and, ultimately, lead to the charges against Bonds. The indictment includes a reference to Bonds testing positive for steroids in November 2000 – and that could prove to be the most controversial piece of the government’s impending case against the controversial slugger.

Major League Baseball did not begin drug testing until 2003, meaning the results of the drug test referenced in the indictment probably were seized during the government’s raid of BALCO, which happened to be that same year.

Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO who served four months in prison after pleading guilty to steroid-related charges, said the drug test likely took place when Bonds joined an assortment of world-class athletes working with Conte. But Conte said the case against Bonds could crumble if the positive drug test is the government’s “smoking gun.”

Conte said the protocol used to assure the integrity of a drug test – typically known as the chain of custody because it tracks the sample of urine or blood from the point of collection to the lab where it’s tested – was not in place. Second, Conte pointed out that the indictment does not say what the positive drug test showed. But if a high level of testosterone was detected, according to Conte, the positive test could have resulted from a contaminated nutritional supplement or pro-hormones that were sold legally until 2005.

Laker owner Buss not closing the door on Kobe trade

Jerry Buss has already shown that he’ll part with superstars. Yet upon hearing that the Los Angeles Lakers‘ owner would consider trading Kobe Bryant, even Shaquille O’Neal was shocked.

“I guess it’s business before loyalty. But, wow. He said that?” O’Neal said Thursday in Miami after learning Buss told reporters he would trade Bryant under the right circumstances.

Buss indeed did, telling three Los Angeles-area beat writers covering training camp in Honolulu on Wednesday that he “would certainly listen” to trade offers for the two-time NBA scoring champion.

“At any time, I think you have to do that with anybody,” Buss said, discussing Bryant publicly for the first time since the often-frustrated Lakers’ star asked to be traded at the end of last season. “It’s just part of the game, to listen to somebody who has a dissatisfied player that you think is going to fit.

“You can’t keep too many loyalties. You’ve got to look at it as a business. He looks at it the same way I look at it.”

I like that Jerry Buss is responding to Kobe’s request to be traded.  He is now putting the ball back in Kobe’s hand.  Kobe can decide to continue to pressure for a trade.  If he does, and the right offer comes, Jerry Buss can make the deal.

Even though I like how Jerry Buss responded, I don’t think I would trade Kobe.  He traded Shaq and received “really” nothing in exchange.  He won’t receive equal value this time either.  Either way, this hurts the Lakers.  Further, players should have more loyalty to a team, even when they are losing.  Kobe’s responsible for the losses as much as the other players.  He doesn’t pass.  What makes Kobe think he will play any different on another team?    

Kobe should have signed with the Clippers for a little less money two years ago.