McCain leads Obama on YouTube hits? HUH!!

Do old people even know YouTube exists? Apparently so. Republican presidential candidate John McCain leads Democratic candidate Barack Obama in YouTube hits in recent weeks. Nuts. Of course, in all fairness, according to the Washington Times, McCain "apparently has figured out the younger generation just fine."

It appears funny videos (McCain) beat inspiration videos (Obama). McCain's YouTube channel is ranked sixth this week. The newspaper say, "Mr. McCain has beat Mr. Obama's channel for seven straight days and 11 of the past 14 days, in a signal he intends to compete for the YouTube vote."

According to the Times, "The McCain campaign said it was simply a decision to have fun with commercials, like the 'Celebrity' ad released last week that compared Mr. Obama to Miss Hilton and Britney Spears, and “The One” Web ad that mocks the adulation from Obama supporters and compares the Democrat to Moses as he parts the Red Sea."

Our favorite YouTude videos for each candidate are the followings:

McCAIN's "The One." Ad (funny)



OBAMA's "Yes We Can." -- Video (inspiration)

It must be noted that the Washington Times reports that Obama still leads McCain in overall views by a large margin. Obama: 51 million views. McCain: 8.3 million views.

Redskins filming commercial -- includes Campbell, Portis, Cooley

A few members of the Washington Redskins filming a Gatorade commercial (including and Chris Cooley, among others) on Monday.

Getting to know Jason Campbell (Colt Brennan' nemesis)

Here's an eight-minute clip of getting to know Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell (aka Colt Brennan's nemesis). From watching the clip, it seems like more than just Sports Illustrated's Peter King thinks highly of Campbell. It's an eight minute video. The first four minutes are testimonials from many NFL players, coaches and announcers. The clip opens with high school video. Have to love high school film of great players before they were great. The second half is a musical tribute to Campbell, but it displays his best highlights. I am not one to watch eight minutes (I love one minute clips or less), but this one is pretty good. And, remember, this web site is pushing Colt Brennan to start for the Redskins. In fact, I am starting to think Campbell may be pretty good. The Redskins may be in for a treat at quarterback. Nice going, Redskins.

Bernie Kosar and the tax man?

The Miami Herald is reporting that former Cleveland Browns and Miami Hurricanes quarterback Bernie Kosar owes the tax man. The article states: "The Internal Revenue Service filed a $228,806.21 lien -- income tax owed for 2006, according to Broward County records. Kosar is also delinquent on his 2007 property tax for his Weston home, on Paddock Road in Windmill Ranch Estates. He failed to pay $52,724.95 due last March 31 and now owes $59,881.49 with penalties, interest and other charges." Kosar, according to the report, said it all just fell through the cracks. The Cleveland Browns legend has spent the past year as the president of the Cleveland Gladiators, which reached the Arena Football League semifinals. Then there's a battle with Dan Harri for more than $100,000.

The story states: "Kosar's Cleveland lawyer, John Climaco, says Harri and Jacob Kreuzer, a Houston collection agency investigator, are using strongarm tactics. Climaco cites an e-mail that Kreuzer sent to a Kosar assistant, saying Harri planned to 'air a lot of dirty laundry about Bernie's personal life' to media outlets including ESPN." Kosar is recently divorced, too. All this and Kosar got his photo on TMZ.com.

As head of the Gladiators, he was seen at all the home games in Cleveland patiently signing autographs for Cleveland fans. Many cite his involvement with the team for its success in drawing large crowds to the games. There was even a Bernie Kosar Bobblehead Night toward the end of the Gladiators' season. Kosar was recently seen in the vicinity of the IRS's boss, President George W. Bush. Kosar attended a Republican event near Cleveland. The event reportedly cost $10,000 a head. It is unclear whether Kosar got a chance to discuss his problems with the President.

In other quarterback news, check out the Favre-O-Matic commercial.

Now available: The Favre-O-Matic

Not sure if this is part of Ari Fleischer's work since joining the Green Bay Packers as part of their spin team. It's a "Favre-O-Matic Packers Trade Ad." Probably has been sent to all teams interested in Brett Favre.

Check out Stiles Points' in depth look at Journey's classic video "Faithfully."

Behave, fans: NFL annouces new code of conduct

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell isn't just getting tough with players (Pacman Jones), coaches (Bill Belichick) and owners (the Rooney family). Now he is getting tough with fans. According to the Associated Press, here are some of the things that will not be tolerated at NFL games this season:

Behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or illegal.

Drunkenness and signs of alcohol impairment that result in irresponsible behavior.

Foul or abusive language or obscene gestures.

Interference with the progress of the game, including throwing objects onto the field.

Failing to follow instructions of stadium personnel.

Verbal or physical harassment of fans from the opposing team.

ALSO: Check out catcrave.com's take on the NFL's new policy. The headline is "Breaking News!! President Bush Banned from NFL Games!"

NFL cheerleaders (Oakland Raiderettes) show their skills

Cheerleader photos as a service to you, the reader. Here is a fresh batch of photos of the Oakland Raiderettes.

And for fans across the way in San Francisco, TMZ.com has a photo of former Giants slugger Barry Bonds with his wife in a bikini while on vacation.

Paper boy bilks New York Times for nearly $325,000?

Maybe we shouldn't call him a paperboy, seeing he is 50 years old, but a La Crosse, Wisconsin, newspaper delivery man stands accused of bilking the New York Times of nearly $325,000, according the La Crosse Tribune. The Federal charges were filed against the La Crosse man because he submitted 8,500 fake subscriptions. According to the newspaper, "The Times began shipping the papers and sent invoices to the new subscribers, often to multiple names at the same address. When many of the bills began coming back as undeliverable and others went unpaid, the newspaper cancelled more than 3,000 subscriptions without receiving any complaints from subscribers."

It appears that at least the guy was green. Federal investigators reportedly learned that newspapers would still be in bundles in the man's recycling bin.

According to the New York Daily News, "A criminal investigation was launched after The Times discovered that customers in the area jumped from near 100 to the thousands and that many of the subscriptions had the same address, prosecutors said."

As of this spring the New York Times had the No. 3 circulation in the country with 1,077,256. No. 1 is the USA Today at 2,284,219 and No. 2 is the Wall Street Journal at 2,069,463.

UPDATED (11 a.m., 08-06-8): In other newspaper news, the Los Angeles Times reports that it got 127 million page views on its web site in July.

Redskins must start Colt Brennan now!

Recently, Sports Illustrated's Peter King began his love affair with Jason Campbell as the Washington Redskins quarterback. Let it known that there is another love affair going on with a Washington Redskin quarterback. It's not Campbell. It's Colt Brennan. And it's not with Peter King -- yet. It's with Brennan's fans back in Hawaii. They are watching his every move with the Redskins. Next up may be Redskins fans after Sunday night's game.

After Brennan was 9 of 10 passing for 123 yards and two touchdowns against the Indianapolis Colts at the Pro Football Hall of Fame game Sunday, Redskins fans, too, are excited. The USA Today said the Redskins had Monday and Brennan went to the movie to see "Step Brothers." Brennan told the newspaper, "At the movie theater, I saw a kid in a Brennan jersey," he said. "So that fired me up."

The Bleacher Report said Brennan may be the Redskins' "obvious starter." The web site wrote, "During his incredible season at Hawaii, Colt Brennan seemed to be a lock for the top QB in the draft. Too bad his poor combine and bowl game landed Colt Brennan with not the Atlanta Falcons or Baltimore Ravens, but the Washington Redskins. And Colt Brennan couldn't have been luckier. By being drafted nowhere close to the first round, Colt Brennan only got the best QB coach in the NFL on a team due for a franchise QB."

The Redskins coach Jim Zorn, who is a former NFL quarterback, attempted to put a damper on the Brennan hype. According the Fredericksburg Freelance Star, Zorn said, "Colt Brennan had a couple of plays that could have gone either way. Those are the things he can learn from, and he has to become a more disciplined quarterback and not risk as much as he did in the game. This week, those risks turned out great for us, but they easily could have turned the other way."

Hawaii's TV stations are loving and covering Brennan's NFL debut. One sports anchor said, "That had to be, especially in Hawaii, the most watched preseason NFL game of all-time. Right? It had to be. I did not know one person who was not sitting in front of the TV watching the third quarter of an NFL preseason game." Fans in Hawaii are already wondering if the Redskins' next preseason game will be televised. Below are the three reports (rolled into one) from the Hawaii TV stations.



Here is also a link to TV reports from Hawaii before Brennan's debut.

NOTE: Here is the most recent Redskins post (08-07-08) -- Getting to know Jason Campbell (aka Colt Brennan's nemesis). Check it out.

Chris Berman and Canadian drugs

ESPN's Chris Berman shares some interesting thoughts about bringing drugs across the Canadian border.

WWMSMD?

The BBC reports "Germany hails 'bullet-proof bra' "
MIF: "So what do the new bras look like? Well, looking similar to sports bras, the new bras are white, made from cotton or polyester and padded. They also have the word 'Police' printed at the bottom."

In Beijing, dog is now off the menu. Sorry.

For all you readers out there who were planning to visit Beijing for the Olympics and were looking to dine on dog, you can forget it. The New York Times reports that the Beijing Catering Trade Association has ordered the Olympic designated restaurants to take dog off the menu. So what does it taste like? Chicken? No, lamb, says the New York Times. Fuchsia Dunlop writes, "For a Westerner, eating it can feel a little strange, but is it morally different from eating, say, pork? The dogs brought to table in China are not people’s pets, but are raised as food, like pigs. And pigs, of course, are also intelligent and friendly."

Brett Favre is like Cher?

ESPN's Rick Reilly compares Brett Favre to Cher. Now, I am all for beating up Favre day and night about his waffling, but Cher?!?!? Do even half the ESPN viewers know who Cher is? We're talking about Cher? We're not talking about Paris Hilton. We're talking about Cher? What next? References to the Rat Pack? Bob Hope? Red Skelton? Foster Brooks? The Dean Martin Comedy Hour? War of the Worlds?

But back to Cher. Reilly said, "Remember 2002? The Grand Diva was retiring and decided to stage a farewell tour. Except she liked the attention so much she kept extending the tour for three years. Then at the end, she un-retired. This is now what we have with Favre."

Remember Cher in 2002? Noooooo. Okay, Reilly probably has all his facts right about the Cher retirement thing. Not even going to fact-check him. But he is comparing Favre with Cher?

Is this one of those moments when everyone notices that the game has passed you by?

Woman officiates New Orleans Saints practice

While everyone was concentrating on one woman (Kim Kardashian, Reggie Bush's girlfriend) at the New Orleans Saints' practices/intersquad scrimmage last week, there was another woman on the field that was barely noticed. In fact, it seems Sarah Thomas didn't get any press attention. Buried at the bottom of the New Orleans Saints July 31 practice notes is the following: "NFL officials participated in both this morning’s practice and this afternoon’s practice and joining the officials was a collegiate official from Conference USA. The official was Sarah Thomas, a line judge, who actively participated with the officiating crew."

According to the Blog of New Orleans, "NFL referee Gene Steratore said that the NFL regularly brings in college coaches to help officiate training camp practices and that they’re usually officials that come highly recommended and are being looked at by the league. He would not say whether or not Thomas is being considered for a position in the NFL." The blog quotes Steratore as saying, "I know that she’s very qualified and very good at what she does."

According to a Knoxville News article last year, Thomas is a pharmaceutical saleswoman who became the first woman to be an official for a NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision game when Jacksonville State faced Memphis last September. In the article, Gerry Austin, a NFL referee and Conference USA's coordinator of officials, said, "She has a good presence and demeanor. I feel like she has the ability and courage to make a call, and the guts to not make one, too."

Chicksinthehuddle.com goes to bat for Thomas, saying, "We’d like to think that once she’s paid her dues, she’ll be considered for at least a side or back judge officiating gig (in the NFL). After all, women account for nearly 50% of the NFL’s growing fan base. Wouldn’t it be nice to show us some love by acknowledging the fact that a woman can call a game with the same amount of accuracy as a man? (And considering how some of these guys call a game, I’d like to think maybe even a little better…)"

It unclear what, if any, plans the NFL has for Thomas.

Journalism professor reads Deadspin, The Big Lead

NBC Sports says, "Independent blogs driving edgier coverage: Sites such as Sports by Brooks go where newspapers would fear to tread." The story quotes one journalism professor (Sandy Padwe, an associate professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism) as saying the following: "I read Deadspin and The Big Lead every day. But both of them are unbelievably misogynistic. It's OK to scour the Internet and link to other things, some of which are obviously true. But then what is it with all the pictures of the women on there, half of them don't relate to anything going on in sports?" The story cites Sports by Brooks, The Big Lead and Deadspin as the leaders in the blogging sports news business. FYI: Here is the definition of "misogynistic."

Here is The Big Lead's response.

Las Vegas + O.J. Simpson = Popular Google search

As the O.J. Simpson case nears in Las Vegas, The Movable Buffet (Dispatches from Las Vegas by Richard Abowitz) writes that "O.J. Simpson remains biggest headliner." Abowitz writes: "You would think Simpson would be old news in Vegas. But if you do a Google news search on our city, of the six related suggested topic searches, only 'las vegas hotel' and 'las vegas casino' are not directly connected to Simpson. No 'echelon place,' 'bankrupt lake las vegas' or even 'criss angel.' The remaining search suggestions from Google on news about Las Vegas: 'oj simpson,' 'nicole brown simpson,' 'sports memorabilia,' and 'armed robbery.' "

Vegas probably wishes this O.J. Simpson news, like everything that happens in Vegas, would just stay in Vegas. The Simpson case is slated for September. In other Simpson news, the Associated Press is reporting: "A fourth co-defendant pleaded guilty Monday in the O.J. Simpson armed robbery and kidnapping case, agreeing to testify against the Hall of Fame football player and one remaining co-defendant."

Tony Romo, Jessica Simpson and a web cam?

Sports by Brooks found this gem: "Jessica Simpson Wiggles On Web cam For Romo." Apparently, Simpson likes to entertain Romo via the Web cam. There's no footage available, but this is the closest thing we are going to get when it comes to footage of Jess dancing for Tony. It's 32 seconds of Jessica at her best.

You sports fan or loser in a fake Dallas Cowboys uniform?

Blog Sports Column asks: "Are you a real sports fan or just a loser in sports apparel?" Well, what are you? He lists 10 surefire signs that you should be concern about your love of sports. Here's one of ten: "You come late, leave early. You know what time the game starts, yet you still show up an hour into the game. After a while, you decide to head home before the game is even over and it doesn't matter if it's a close score. You've got to beat the traffic! Surely worth the $90 ticket."

The what nosetackle? John Madden said that?

Yahoo!'s Shutdown Corner thought he heard John Madden say the words: "Cock nosetackle." He played it back and there it was again: "Cock Nosetackle." The headline on his post pretty much says it all: "The cock nosetackle, and why he's not such a bad guy." Shutdown finds a quote from Rod Marinelli, who describes it as: “It’s how we tilt them and we cock him." Shutdown gives us a history lesson in the phrase.

Colt Brennan, the next Washington Redskins starting QB

We know Peter King now loves Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell, but here is your next starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins, Peter. His name is Colt Brennan. For what it's worth, NFL.com has highlights of three quarterback from last night's game, Colts vs. Redskins. Brennan's was 2:30, Campbell's was 1:07, and Colts quarterback Jim Sorgi's was 1:27

Check out a recent post (8-06-08) on Colt Brennan.

NOTE: Here is the most recent Redskins post (08-07-08) -- Getting to know Jason Campbell (aka Colt Brennan's nemesis). Check it out. Even Brennan will be impressed with Campbell.

Carson Palmer selling California house

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, who at one point said he was tired of all the Ohio State football talk (and has since said he doesn't hate Ohio State), is selling his California house. According to the Los Angeles Times, Palmer has listed "Laguna Beach ocean-view home for sale at $2,949,000."

Here is the Times' description of the place: "The four-bedroom, 4 1/2 -bathroom, 4,380-square-foot Mediterranean has a panoramic hilltop view of the Pacific, Santa Catalina Island, city lights and an open canyon below. The top level has an entry deck, an ocean-view office and a two-car attached garage. The gourmet kitchen has granite counters and Viking stainless-steel appliances. There are formal dining and living rooms. The master bedroom suite occupies an entire floor and includes a cedar-lined walk-in closet, an office with a private balcony, a sitting area with a fireplace and a master bath."

Does this mean he plans to remain in Ohio? Hmmmm.

Here's a link to the realtor who is dealing the house. The link has more information as well as photos of the house.

The case against Erin Andrews

Been trying to stay out of this whole Erin Andrews Affair and trying to remain focused on the Brett Favre Affair. By the way, who is the bigger Diva: Andrews or Favre? Anyway, The Big Lead posts a nice defense of Mike Nadel, who wrote the first story about her in the Cubs locker room. The Big Lead writes: "Up to the soap box we go. Did she miss the part about the Cubs players and Cubs manager talking about her outfit? That’s why the column happened. If there aren’t quotes and winking and leering, and Lou Piniella referencing a fashion show, Nadel never writes this." Nice to see someone defending a writer's right to write. Nadel was just writing what he saw. You can say it was his version, but his version probably matches what a lot of guys saw in that locker room. Now let's get back focused on Brett Favre.

And check out Stiles Points' top 10 list on the whole Erin Andrews Affair.

More Favre please!

Awful Announcing writes that Brett Favre is going to get more face time on ESPN. "ESPN will present a SportsCenter special today at 12:30 p.m. ET featuring live coverage of Brett Favre’s arrival at Green Bay Packers camp for a physical examination and a conditioning test all players must pass before they are placed on the 80-man active roster."

Peter King still writing about Brett Favre

Was all excited after reading Peter King's headline to his most recent Monday Morning Quarterback column: "Brett who? Catching up with the 2,500 players not named Favre." Great, King's not writing about Brett Favre -- and he is even acknowledging he tends to write about Favre. So who does he write about in depth? Why it's the greatest Brett Favre imitator of all-time, Tony Romo. Unbelievable!!

Okay, at least there will be no Favre, right? Wrong. About half way through his column, Favre gets a mention. Then on the final page of his usual epic, there he is -- Brett Favre. King shares his "I-think-these-are-my-Favrian-thoughts-of-the-week."

Back to Romo. Anyway, of the whole Jessica Simpson thing, King writes: "I wondered about his ability to compartmentalize and handle the zaniness of the Jessica Simpson/paparazzi part of his life along with the football world. He won't talk about Simpson for the record, in part because he refuses to feed the monster of celebrity. 'I don't read much of the gossipy stuff, and I don't care about it,' he said. 'I take my job very seriously, but it's hard to take that stuff seriously. In five or six years, nobody's going to remember any of it.' "

And this gives us the reason to run the Jessica Simpson video we all love. This is the reason Romo is going out with Simpson. As always, enjoy.

WWBD?

What Would Bloggers Do? Well, here is what they did. Each item is followed by a MIF (Most Interesting Fact) from the article.

Dan Steinberg, aka the DC Blogger, shares his thoughts in a posting headlined: "How Long Does it Take to Lose a Blackberry in Beijing?"
      MIF: Steinberg, who is writing from Beijing for the next few weeks with a blog called: "Beijing Sports Smog." He writes: "Half-shirted men. This is big. In several ways. And occasionally tough to stomach. To cool down, the stylish trick for fun-loving men who want to look hip and modern is to sort of scrunch their shirts somewhere north of belly button but south of breast, allowing perhaps eight-to-ten inches of bare torso to luxuriate in the open."

Stiles Points shares his 10 list of things that happened in the Chicago Cubs locker after Erin Andrews' visit last week.

Also from Stiles Points is the notice of the death of Gene Stallings' son, John Mark, who was 46-years-old and had Down's Syndrome.
      MIF: "John Mark was always by his dad's side while he was the coach with the Arizona Cardinals and Alabama"