Today is a good day to watch some Jimmy the Cabbie...this is a two-parter...first Jimmy brings up the conspiracy of the letter "M"...he then talks about MTV's beach house and not being able to swim...
Burl Toler, the NFL's irst African-American on-field official died earlier this week...the following is his obit that appeared in The New York Times...
Burl Toler, who as perhaps the best player on one of college football’s greatest teams became the focus of racial discrimination, and who went on to become the first black on-field official in the National Football League, died Sunday in Castro Valley, Calif. He was 81.
He died after a sudden illness, said his daughter Susan Toler Carr.
The story of Toler’s college team, the 1951 University of San Francisco Dons, is one of the most extraordinary in sports. Called by Sports Illustrated “the best team you never heard of,” the Dons sent nine players to the N.F.L., three of whom — Gino Marchetti, Bob St. Clair and Ollie Matson — were eventually inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame. Its head coach was Joe Kuharich, who went on to coach at Notre Dame and for three professional teams; and the athletic publicity director was Pete Rozelle, who became the N.F.L. commissioner.
Toler, who played on the line on offense and linebacker on defense, was drafted by Cleveland, but he never made it to the pros because of a severe knee injury in a college all-star game.
“I personally felt Burl Toler was the best player of any of us,” Marchetti said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “He was the best tackler, the hardest hitter, and he had the most speed.”
The team went 9-0, defeating its opponents by an average score of 32-8, but it was not selected for a postseason game by the Southern-based bowl game committees, ostensibly because of its weak schedule, but in fact because of its two black players, Toler and Matson. In the interview, Marchetti said Rozelle and Kuharich told the team they would be invited to play in a bowl only if the team agreed to leave the two black players behind.
“We answered ‘No, we’d never do that,’ ” Marchetti said. “And after we said no and removed ourselves from consideration, nobody ever had a second thought about it.”
In 2000, the United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution, submitted by Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, acknowledging that the Dons were victimized by racial prejudice and “that the treatment endured by this team was wrong and that recognition for it accomplishments is long overdue.”
Burl Abron Toler was born in Memphis on May 9, 1928. His father, Arnold, was a Pullman porter. His mother, Annie King Toler, operated a small store and ran a boarding house. Young Burl went to a segregated high school and did not play football because of a severe burn on his arm; he had an accident disposing of a vat of cooking grease.
After graduating, he went to San Francisco at the suggestion of an uncle who lived there, and he enrolled at the two-year City College of San Francisco, where the football coach spotted him in the gymnasium and asked him to come out for the team. In his first practice, the story goes, he tackled the star running back, Ollie Matson, on three consecutive plays. Their 1948 team was 12-0, and both Toler and Matson earned scholarships at the University of San Francisco.
Toler’s wife, Melvia, died in 1991. In addition to his daughter Susan, who lives in Altadena, Calif., he is survived by a brother, Arnold Jr., of Memphis; two other daughters, Valerie, of Hayward, Calif., and Jennifer, of Berkeley; three sons, Burl Jr., of El Sobrante, Calif., Gregory, of Oakland, and Martel, of San Francisco; and eight grandchildren.
After his knee injury, Toler taught math and physical education at a San Francisco junior high school, the Benjamin Franklin Middle School, where he eventually became the principal. The school was closed in 2004, but reopened in 2006 as the Burl A. Toler Campus, home to two charter schools. Toler was also a commissioner of the San Francisco Police Department from 1978 to 1986.
N.F.L. officiating is part-time work, conducted mostly on weekends. Toler was an N.F.L. official for 25 seasons, beginning in 1965, a year before Emmett Ashford became the first black umpire in the major leagues and three years before Jackie White broke the color barrier in the National Basketball Association. Toler officiated a number of crucial games, including Super Bowl XIV in 1980, in which the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams, and the 1982 A.F.C. championship game, in which the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the San Diego Chargers. It became known as the Freezer Bowl because it was played in the coldest temperatures of any game in league history. The wind chill in Cincinnati on Jan. 10, 1982, reached minus 59 degrees Fahrenheit. Toler sustained frostbite on his fingers.
“He was very, very knowledgeable about the game,” Jim Tunney, who worked on the same crew with Toler for 11 years, said in a telephone interview Thursday. “He knew about blocking and tackling. He knew about the emotions the players go through playing the game, which is very important.”
Tunney said Toler was so self-possessed that whatever racist attitudes he encountered in the game simply never became an issue.
“He just didn’t allow racism to enter into his doing his job,” Tunney said. “He never mentioned it, and if it ever did occur, he just rose above it.”
Unlike baseball umpires, whose crews rotate positions from game to game, football officials specialize. When Toler began his career, there were six on-field officials: the referee, who lines up behind the offensive backfield; the umpire, who is positioned in the middle of the field behind the defensive line; the head linesman and the line judge, who are on opposite sidelines on the line of scrimmage; the field judge, who stands on the sideline in the defensive backfield, and the back judge, who is positioned in midfield behind the defensive backs. A seventh official, the side judge, an across-the-field complement to the field judge, was added in 1978.
For most of his career, Toler was a head linesman, with a twofold responsibility: first to watch for line-of-scrimmage infractions like being offside, and then to move downfield to monitor receivers running short and midrange pass routes and the defenders covering them. The job requires not just the instinct to read plays as they develop and foot speed, but also, because he lines up on the sideline and within easy shouting distance of coaches, an especially serene demeanor.
“Burl was extremely quick; he could run like the wind,” said Art McNally, the N.F.L.’s supervisor of officials from 1968 to 1990. “But more than that he was a master of getting people who were up on the ceiling screaming and bringing them back down again.”
After reading in more detail about what went on between Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable and assistant coach Randy Hanson, Cable should be fired even if he is not charged with assault...'
For an NFL head coach to basically sucker punch a co-worker then try to choke him while yelling, "I am going to kill you, I am going to kill you" is not appropriate for that position...there are 32 head coaching jobs in the NFL...there are many coaches who are assistants for years and years who never get the opportunity to have the honor of being the head coach of an NFL team...
Obviously Cable does not know how to handle the responsibility of being the man in charge...he clearly lacks communication skills and the ability to have everyone working together as a team...
If Al Davis does not terminate Cable as his head coach, the NFL commissioner needs to step in and suspend Cable for conduct detrimental to the NFL...
Brett Favre must think we are all idiots...this guy is a piece of work...
After going through all this drama over the last few years, I could not watch his press conference on Tuesday...by the way, his arrogance showed by being 45 minutes late...of course, the media sat there and waited like a bunch of giddy young kids meeting their first famous person...
Anyway, I passed on the press conference, however, I caught pieces of it the next day on "The Dan Patrick Show"...
"Daddy, go win one more Super Bowl"...this will be the line that was over-the-top...
Are you kidding me!?!?!?!?!?!...does Favre actually think that football fans are going to believe his bullshit story of how he sat on the back porch of his house and asked his daughter why she was so sad...and how he cried when taking her to school the next day...the topper is how Brad "Ram Me Up the Ass Again" Childress just happened to call Favre that same day...
There is something wrong with Favre...seriously, there is some type of mental problem for someone to make up that story of his little girl crying and asking him to "go win one more Super Bowl"...
I don't understand why all these "experts" are picking the Vikings to make it to the Super Bowl...I don't even think they will win their division...
Favre appeared in two Super Bowls - the last coming in 1998 when Favre was in his prime at 30-years-old or so...why do people think that a 40-year-old Favre will magically make the difference in leading the Vikings to the Super Bowl?...
People forget about Favre's ego too...will his ego allow him to let Adrian Peterson be "the man" in Minnesota...say the Vikings make the playoffs and are behind late in the game...anyone who believes Favre will let Peterson be the center of the comeback must also believe that cock-in-mamie story about his crying daughter...anyone who knows football knows that Favre's ego will take over and he will try and drill a pass into triple coverage and get picked off...
The sad part, most media people will continue to adore and honor this miserable liar...
Former Minnesota Viking and Pro Football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is sick of Brett Favre...on Wednesday, he appeared on "The Opening Drive" on Sirius NFL radio and said the following:
"I really have no interest in what Brett Favre does. He kind of lost me a few years ago by retiring and un-retiring and here and there," Tarkenton said.
"I asked a few friends here, maybe 10 or 12 people we were out with last night. I said, 'What do you think about Brett Favre going back to the Vikings?' You know who cared? Nobody. It's good news for you guys. It's good news for television and so forth but the last time I heard ... football was a team sport, isn't it? It's not just about the quarterback."
"I think he has been a great flamboyant quarterback, but he has made more stupid plays than any great quarterback that I've ever seen. Look at his final game in a Packers uniform. He blew that game [NFC championship] against the Giants," Tarkenton said in late May on KFAN-1130 in the Twin Cities.
"I really think the whole Brett Favre saga of retiring, un-retiring, three weeks ago [saying] 'I can't play,' the Vikings said, 'We're moving on,' it's a circus," Tarkenton said. "It's an absolute circus, and it takes away from all the other things that are going on with the Vikings, with the NFL. We're getting ready for a football season and this is a circus and I just have no interest in it.
"Wouldn't you be upset if you're a Packer fan? I think you're going to have Packer fans burning the No. 4 Favre Green Bay jersey. I think the Packer fans have every right to be outraged."
As most know I have a strong allegiance to the Michigan Wolverines and New York Yankees...and for the most part, I do feel that I am objective the majority of the times...however, many friends, who are Ohio State and Cleveland Indians fans, do not agree...
In all honesty, there are few sports figures that I truly hate...a friend of mine would get on me about not liking Ohio State, but at the same time, she would player hate even more than me...the only team that I hate in college sports is Ohio State...I have no problem with Notre Dame, Michigan State, Texas, Penn State, USC, etc...
And in baseball, I dislike the Indians followed by the Boston Red Sox...otherwise, I have no problem with any other team...
This brings me to the Top 10 sports figures that I truly hate...there will be a strong slant toward Ohio State in this category...so if you are an Ohio State fan, please suck it up and read on or quit reading now...
1. Justin Boren, offensive lineman, Ohio State - I truly hate this kid...how the hell can he transfer from Michigan to Ohio State...I have no problem that he wanted to transfer from Michigan after Rich Rodriguez was hired...he could have transferred to any other college in this country, but he chose Ohio State...I know his hometown is close to Columbus, but he could have transferred to Cincinnati or even Purdue, which is not that far from his home...I never want to see any athlete get hurt, but this miserable bastard is the exception...he is truly a Judas...
2. Troy Smith, quarterback, Ohio State - this is one lucky dude...in 20 years when people look back of questionable Heisman Trophy winners, Smith will be on that list...he was fortunate that both Reggie Bush and Vince Young left early for the NFL...then during his Heisman season, Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson broke his collarbone...
3. Curt Schilling, retired pitcher, Boston/Arizona - this cocky asshole was the leader of the pitching staff in Arizona and Boston that beat the Yankees in the playoffs...he has that arrogant freaking sneer on his face...
4. Omar Vizquel, shortstop, Indians - he now plays for Texas, but when he was with the Indians he was another arrogant little prick...he was also a showboat in the field...
5. Craig Krenzel, quarterback, Ohio State - all we ever heard was how he was studying genetics while at Ohio State...the media made it sound like Krenzel was this brainiac who going to find a cure for cancer or AIDS...some brain - that is why he is selling real estate in Columbus...
6. Michael Vick, quarterback, Eagles - I don't think I need to explain this one...
7. Kenny Lofton, outfielder, many teams - I cringed when he wore the Yankees Pinstripes for one season...Lofton was another cocky player who never thought a strike should be called on him...
8. Brett Favre, quarterback, Vikings - Favre is an arrogant asshole...but the national media just loves Brett Favre...when the Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers, the national media made it seem like Favre was going to take Rodgers under his wing and help him out...during a preseason game that year Favre said that it was not his job to teach Rodgers...it seemed like he was ticked that the Packers drafted Rodgers...but of course, the media failed to follow-up on this...they did not want to ruin the pristine image of Favre...Fuck Brett Favre!!!...
9. Danny Ainge, guard, Celtics - like Vizquel, Ainge was one of those annoying players who got under an opponent's skin...so many times I wished Magic Johnson would have drilled Ainge in the groin...
10. Chris Spielman, linebacker, Ohio State/ESPN announcer - Spielman was a heckuva linebacker - I will not deny that...but after some of the comments that he has made about Michigan on his talk show in Columbus, ESPN should not allow him to announce a Michigan game...
Yesterday was a review of the first 8 rounds of my league's fantasy football draft...today is a breakdown of my enitre 22 man roster...because we only have 8 teams in our league, we go 22 rounds...the overwhelming opinion was that my draft sucked...oh well...
Rd 1 - DeAngelo Williams, rb, Panthers - went with youth over age (LT)... Rd 2 - Tom Brady, qb, Patriots - easy pick here... Rd 3 - Terrell Owens, wr, Bills - Buffalo did not bring this asshole in just to be an asshole...he will score TDs...I am not a TO fan, but he does score - look it up ladies... Rd 4 - Pierre Thomas, rb, Saints - who is going to be the workhorse, Reggie Bush???... Rd 5 - Steelers Defense - defense wins titles...I got the best defense...last year, the Steelers Defense finished with 162 points which was more than the following: Tomlinson and Westbrook 152 each, Randy Moss 137, Clinton Portis 131, Marion Barber 130, and Chris Johnson 124... Rd 6 - Joseph Addai, rb, Colts - he sucked last year, but this is a decent pick in round 6... Rd 7 - Felix Jones, rb, Cowboys - let's see who is the man in Big D come mid-season... Rd 8 - LenDale White, rb, Titans - Chris Johnson does all the work while LenDale gets the TDs...plus he is in the best shape of his career - so far... Rd 9 - Chad Johnson, wr, Bengals - I hate this prick, but I needed another receiver...and with TJ gone, Johnson is truly the #1 receiver in Cinncy... Rd 10 - Eli Manning, qb, Giants - this was a need pick...pickings were slim at QB at this point...
Rd 11 - Donald Brown, rb, Colts - a speed guy who has nothing but upside... Rd 12 - Santana Moss, wr, Redskins - he is a good bye week receiver... Rd 13 - Jamaal Charles, rb, Chiefs - some magazines are predicting he may take over the running duties from Larry Johnson...at round 13, what the heck... Rd 14 - Stevie Breaston, wr, Cardinals - another bye week receiver... Rd 15 - Vikings Defense - I wanted to sure up my defense...in my book the Steelers, Giants, and Vikings were the elite of the defenses...I got 2 of the 3... Rd 16 - Mario Manningham, wr, Giants - early reports indicate that he has a decent shot at being one of Eli's main receivers...a gamble pick at #16... Rd 17 - Glen Coffee, rb, 49ers - like Donald Brown, Coffee is a rookie with nothing but upside... Rd 18 - Percy Harvin, wr, Vikings - worth a gamble... Rd 19 - Shaun Hill, qb, 49ers - I needed a third QB and he was all that was out there... Rd 20 - Jeff Reed, k, Steelers - if he works out great, if not, I will cut him and bring in another kicker..
Rd 21 - Kellen Winslow, te, Bucs - I have since cut Winslow and picked up Danny Ware, rb, Giants... Rd 22 - Bills Special Teams - Roscoe Parrish is guaranteed to bring at least 1 back a year...
Is this the team that I envisioned drafting - NO...but sometimes the draft dictates how you end up drafting...I made some audibles...some players, like Chad Johnson, Felix Jones, and Pierre Thomas are boom or bust picks...let the chips fall where they fall...
It is the 15th year of our Fantasy Football league and we held our draft on Sunday night...out of an 8-team league, I had the fifth overall pick...in our league, you can start 2 quarterbacks, therefore, that is why some people take 2 quality QBs early...also, tight ends are considered the same as wide receivers...here is how the first 8 rounds went down:
Round 1 1. Valentine - Adrian Peterson, rb 2. Persino - Michael Turner, rb 3. Ellis - Maurice Jones-Drew, rb 4. Edmonds - Matt Forte, rb 5. George - DeAngelo Williams, rb (photo) 6. Hunter - LaDainian Tomlinson, rb 7. Leonard - Chris Johnson, rb 8. Lehman - Steven Jackson, rb
Round 2 9. Lehman - Larry Fitzgerald, wr 10. Leonard - Clinton Portis, rb 11. Hunter - Drew Brees, qb 12. George - Tom Brady, qb 13. Edmonds - Steve Slaton, rb 14. Ellis - Aaron Rodgers, qb 15. Persino - Randy Moss, wr 16. Valentine - Frank Gore, rb
Round 3 17. Valentine - Brian Westbrook, rb 18. Persino - Peyton Manning, qb 19. Ellis - Brandon Jacobs, rb 20. Hunter - Philip Rivers, qb 21. George - Terrell Owens, wr 22. Edmonds - Reggie Wayne, wr 23. Leonard - Ryan Grant, rb 24. Lehman - Andre Johnson, wr
Round 4 25. Lehman - Calvin Johnson, wr 26. Leonard - Marion Barber, rb 27. Edmonds - Anquan Boldin, wr 28. George - Pierre Thomas, rb (photo) 29. Hunter - Ronnie Brown, rb 30. Ellis - Kurt Warner, qb 31. Persino - Greg Jennings, wr 32. Valentine - Donovan McNabb, qb
Round 5 33. Valentine - Roddy White, wr 34. Persino - Marques Colston, wr 35. Ellis - Steve Smith, wr 36. Hunter - Larry Johnson, rb 37. George - Steelers Defense 38. Edmonds - Tony Romo, qb 39. Leonard - Knowshon Moreno, rb 40. Lehman - Jay Cutler, qb
Round 6 41. Lehman - Dwayne Bowe, wr 42. Leonard - Marshawn Lynch, rb 43. Edmonds - Ben Roethlisberger qb 44. George - Joseph Addai, rb 45. Hunter - Willie Parker, rb 46. Ellis - Thomas Jones, rb 47. Persino - Darren McFadden, rb 48. Valentine - Reggie Bush, rb
Round 7 49. Valentine - Beanie Wells, rb 50. Persino - Derrick Ward, rb 51. Ellis - Kevin Smith, rb 52. Hunter - Carson Palmer, qb 53. George - Felix Jones, rb (photo) 54. Edmonds - Matt Schaub, qb 55. Leonard - Matt Cassel, qb 56. Lehamn - Matt Ryan, qb
Round 8 57. Lehman - Jason Witten, te 58. Leonard - Jamal Lewis, rb 59. Edmonds - Fred Jackson, rb 60. George - LenDale White, rb 61. Hunter - Brandon Marshall, wr 62. Ellis - T.J. Houshmanzedeh, wr 63. Persino - Jonathan Stewart, rb 64. Valentine - Matt Hasselbeck, qb
My thoughts Round One - In the first round I was torn between DeAngelo Williams and LaDainian Tomlinson...I like Williams a lot, but I hate sharing carries which he does with Jonathan Stewart...LT is getting up there in age, but he did score well last year, plus he makes a lot of receptions...I went with Williams because he is the younger player...
Round Two - I wanted Tom Brady...he was there and I did not hesitate to take him...
Round Three - Going into this round I wanted Peyton Manning but Persino shot that...I wanted a stud receiver, so I went with TO because Leonard is a big TO guy and I figured that he would not it past him twice at the 23rd and 26th pick...my thinking was to take Owens then come back and snatch Calvin Johnson in round 4...
Round Four - Lehman crashed my plans by taking Calvin...Calvin Johnson is a freak of nature...with CJ gone, I wanted another solid running back...Pierre Thomas is not a sexy pick, but he was solid as hell at the end of last season...Thomas has the potential to score 12-14...I had him as one of my sleeper picks...I got the player I wanted...
Round Five - I was hoping Greg Jennings would be there, but Persino ruined that...taking the Steelers Defense may raise a lot of eyebrows, but I was hellbent on getting a stud defense...the Steelers Defense will get me more points than 95% of the players who were available at that point...plus, I knew the Steelers D would be going soon because there are 3 big Steelers fans in the league: Lehman, Persino, and Hunter...I had to move on this pick now...I am thrilled with the selection...
Round Six - Leonard snagged Knowshon at the end of round 5 so that eliminated one of my players for round six...with the 44th pick, I wanted to get Darren McFadden here, but I thought he would be there in round 7 because he plays for the Raiders...Addai was crappy last year, but I knew he would not make it back to me at the 53rd pick...so I roll the dice and go with Addai...three picks later Persino fucks me again by taking McFadden...
Round Seven - as this round begins, I am contemplating another QB and have my eyes set on Carson Palmer..one pick before my selection, Hunter ruins that from happening...after losing out on Calvin Johnson and Darren McFadden, I was not going to lose out on another player I wanted - Felix Jones...I may have reached a bit here, but I was not going to let someone snatch Jones...I believe Jones will be the starter in Dallas by mid-year...
Round Eight - I start to think about handcuffing Jonathan Stewart to go with DeAngelo...however, I am basically giving up the 60th pick just in case DeAngelo gets hurt...there is no way I am going to start both Stewart and DeAngelo...there is one player that catches my eye - LenDale White...LenDale has slimmed down and is clearly the goal line back in Tennessee...so I roll the dice again and go with LenDale, hoping that Stewart makes it back to me in round 9...for the fourth time today, Persino fucks me over by taking Stewart...I hate Persino...
Check back tomorrow for a check of my entire 22-man roster...
Mitch Abramson of the Daily News writes a detailed feature on the sex scandal of Rick Pitino and Karen Sypher (photo, right)... "Spruced up with heavy red lipstick, purplish eye-liner and a tiny pink skirt that hovered above her knees, Sypher looked like she was dressed more for a night on the town than for an appearance in court." ...
Burl Toler, the NFL's irst African-American on-field official died earlier this week...the following is his obit that appeared in The New York Times...
After reading in more detail about what went on between Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable and assistant coach Randy Hanson, Cable should be fired even if he is not charged with assault...'
Former Minnesota Viking and Pro Football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is sick of Brett Favre...on Wednesday, he appeared on "The Opening Drive" on Sirius NFL radio and said the following:
It is the 15th year of our Fantasy Football league and we held our draft on Sunday night...out of an 8-team league, I had the fifth overall pick...in our league, you can start 2 quarterbacks, therefore, that is why some people take 2 quality QBs early...also, tight ends are considered the same as wide receivers...here is how the first 8 rounds went down:
Mitch Abramson of the Daily News writes a detailed feature on the sex scandal of Rick Pitino and Karen Sypher (photo, right)... "Spruced up with heavy red lipstick, purplish eye-liner and a tiny pink skirt that hovered above her knees, Sypher looked like she was dressed more for a night on the town than for an appearance in court." ...
