HS coach takes hands-on approach to punching players

It's one thing to be a "player's coach," but it's another to be " a coach who gets into fights alongside his players." Someone apparently needs to explain the subtle difference to Jamie Joyner, the head coach of the Nature Coast High football team in South Florida. He has been barred from being on the sidelines the rest of this season after he threw some blows along with his team during a brawl with a rival school.

This isn't the first time that Nature Coast has had issues with fights during their games. Here's a post-game scuffle after a close loss last year:



Joyner has also been ordered to take a "fundamentals of coaching" class before he can rejoin the team. (The first lesson: don't punch the other team, i.e. the Woody Hayes Rule.) I know that many Chiefs fans would like their coach Herm Edwards take the same course as well.

Posted by The Duke of Everything at 11:00 AM 0 comments  

BYU thinks Air Force are dirty players

BYU head football coach Bronco Mendenhall has a Veteran's Day message for you, ahead of the Cougars' game this weekend with Air Force: they are a bunch of dirty, unethical players. But he stilll supports the troops!

Specifically, Mendenhall is upset at Air Force's use of the "cut block" - that is, blocking by taking out a player's legs. Although technically legal, Mendenhall thinks it shouldn't be, and isn't happy with how much the Falcons use it:

"Without even mentioning the game after Air Force, I am just not a proponent of the block, anyway," he said. "I don't think it is good for the game, and I think it puts our players at risk, and I am not saying Air Force is cheating or doing anything unethical, but if I were to have a say in the rules committee, and just in general, I don't think the block is necessary. . . . It is effective, and certainly it is difficult to defend, I am just not a proponent of it."

So maybe I exaggerated a bit in the first paragraph, but you get the point. Clearly, Mendenhall isn't going to come out and say "what a bunch of dirty bastards the Air Force is" - after all, Bush still has a few weeks left in office, and Gitmo isn't closed yet. But that's obviously what he's thinking.

I take the opposite approach: I'm thrilled that they are teaching the future fighter pilots of tomorrow how to cut block. I've seen "Behind Enemy Lines," and if Owen Wilson knew how to cut block, that move would have been 20 minutes long. Let's drop the Air Force football team in Afghanistan and have them cut block a path right to bin-Laden.

AMERICA! YEAH!

Posted by The Duke of Everything at 10:42 AM 0 comments  

Palmer pretty sure he doesn't want to play this week

CINCINNATI - Bengals QB Carson Palmer, who has watched from the sidelines with an elbow injury for six of the last seven games as the team has slumped to a 1-8 record, said on Tuesday that there was "no way" he would play this coming Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

"No, my, um, my elbow still is way to sore to get out there right now," Palmer said. "Yeah, it's really sore. Ooh, oww!"

Palmer then shook his arm and grabbed at his elbow while wincing in an exaggerated manner.

Palmer said that he re-injured his elbow yesterday afternoon while watching tapes of the Bengals' offense this season.

"I was feeling pretty good, but then I reached for the remote to fast-forward through tape of (back-up) Ryan Fitzpatrick getting sacked over and over, and I must have tweaked my elbow again," he said. "It's a real shame, because I was really looking forward to coming back this week."

Palmer also responded to criticism that he had been using the injury as an excuse to avoid playing for the Bengals as the team struggles this season. Newspaper reports have had him doing several activities that would appear to place great strain on his injured elbow, including golfing, playing tennis, and arm wrestling.

"That's all part of my rehabilitation program," Palmer said. "I know it might look bad, but my doctor assures me that this aggressive, alternative form of treatment is what's best for me right now."

Palmer has been working with his personal doctor instead of Bengals' team trainers, and has not let them inspect his injured elbow in the past four weeks. Palmer's physician, Dr. Leo Spaceman, was not available for comment.

Although he didn't want to speculate, Palmer said the soft tissue injury in his elbow could take "months, maybe years" to heal, but added that it would probably heal faster if he was playing somewhere other than Cincinnati.

Posted by The Duke of Everything at 9:31 AM 1 comments