Make 'em say UGG (na-na-nana): Tom Brady & The Patriots rocking some furry footwear

As kickoff approaches for Super Bowl XLVI (that's forty-six, I googled it) many questions that experts and pundits have asked all week will finally be answered. Is the Pats O-line man enough to slow down the vaunted Giants pass rush? Will the Giants' suspect secondary be able to contain the likes of Welker, Hernandez, and a gimpy Gronk? How many talking babies will we see today? Will this year be the year that seeing Danica Patrick in a bikini convinces me that I need a godaddy.com domain name?

However, there is one lingering question that may never be answered, why you so hipster Tom Brady?

It turns out the Super Bowl winning, Brazilian super model wedding, GQ cover modelling QB is also the pitchman for UGG boots. Not only that, but the generous, Beiber-coiffed QB also gave his entire team a pair as a Super Bowl gift. Now I would have been the first person to repack those bad boys, and re-gift them, but not so for Patriots' reserve linebacker Markell Carter:

In one season in New England, the linebacker out of Central Arkansas has not yet dressed for an NFL game.

That did not stop him from looking fly Tuesday.

"Even at practice, like if I get my foot stepped on, it sucks," Carter said. "My feet gotta be comfortable."

Carter opted with a pair of gray UGGs for the event. Teammate and UGGs spokesman Tom Brady made Carter's color choice a harder decision than one would imagine.

"I like the black ones, but I feel like the gray ones match a little better," Carter said. "They feel a little better. I love these. Tom's probably given us four or five, maybe six pairs of UGGs this season."

          Source: Y! Sports

Perhaps I'm not secure enough in my masculinity to rock UGGs, or maybe it's because this joke of a Bay Area winter would be tolerable for even the skinniest and most hairless nudist, but the idea of UGGs is not appealing. Then again, when you are 6'4" and 252 lbs you can pretty much wear whatever you want without anybody giving you flack (except me, anonymously via the interenet, puwhahaha).

These boots are made for walking

Forget UGGs, the clear fashion trend this winter is the walking boot popularized by countless NFL players fashionistas hobbled by various leg and foot injuries. In the Bay Area alone, Raiders players Darren McFadden, Jacoby Ford, and Denarius Moore, as well as the Niners' Michael Crabtree have all sported the boot at some point during the season.

Perhaps I'm out of touch with the wonders of modern sports medicine, but I feel like the term walking boot wasn't even en vogue in the NFL until recently. Gone are the days of athletic tape, so you better sell your stock in ACE bandage because in today's NFL it seems like any player that suffers an injury ends up in a walking boot in hopes of a speedier recovery. The things are so wildly popular, they have even become collectibles and memorabilia (see inset).
 

Michael Crabtree's walking boot w/ 49er team autographs

In fact, the emergence of the walking boot may have coincided with the ever popular sports injury known as the "high ankle sprain." I rolled my ankle plenty of times playing basketball, never was I aware that my ankle could travel up my leg. This also begs the question, if you have cankles can you get a high ankle sprain? Are NFL linemen immune to such injuries? With the number of star caliber players sporting this specialty footwear over the years, from Brady to Roethlisberger to Adrian Peterson, you'd think those boots were made from molded plastic cooled by water from the fountain of youth.

However, the use of the boot is not without some controversy, as a 2009 article from Medical News Today points out:

"Thus we recommend the use of a 10-day below knee cast for the management of severe ankle sprains, or alternatively, an Aircast brace. Neither tubular compression bandage nor the Bledsoe boot are recommended."

The findings suggest that the walking boot, or Bledsoe boot as it's called in the study, may not be the best choice, and I'm inclined to agree if not for the simple fact that the boot shares its namesake with Drew Bledsoe, a quarterback who forever lost his starting job to Tom Brady after getting injured. If that's not bad juju, then I don't know what is.

If you ask me, science needs to take things a step further and create a full body boot to help players recover more quickly. Nintendo has already presented the prototype with its popular Super Mario Bros. franchise.

Mario's status for Week 13 is questionable

Or maybe, instead of having players wear a walking boot, have them drink from Das Boot. Sure the ligaments and tendons won't mend faster, but at least the tremendous amounts of beer will have an analgesic effect for the pain, and you know midweek press conferences will be A LOT more entertaining.

The VickRib is back, get it while supplies last!

The news out of Philadelphia keeps getting worse as Michael Vick's availability for Sunday's key divisional matchup versus the Giants remains uncertain. Head coach Andy Reid, who looks to have thrown back a few gazillion McRibs in his day informed the media Vick suffered two broken ribs on the second play from scrimmage in last week's surprising loss to the lowly Arizona Cardinals. Vick himself didn't use the injury as an excuse, no athlete would, but the possibility remains that Reid used the injury as an explanation for Vick's errant throws throughout last week's game. Of course benching one of Vick's most explosive weapons in Desean Jackson for missing a team meeting didn't help matters, but dishing out discipline is easier when you're at home and projected to crush your opponent (oops).

Vick's decision to play through the pain played out like a failed version of Tony Romo's Week 2 heroics versus the San Francisco 49ers, in which the Texas gunslinger rallied his team to a 4th quarter comeback and subsequent overtime win. Unfortunately for Vick the location of the injury is pretty much where the similarities end, as the Cowboys appear to be playoff bound while the Eagles have better odds of finding actual beef in a Mickey D's cheeseburger than making any noise this season. It's hard to fault Vick's decision as it was a real catch-22 situation. If the Eagles had won this would be a non issue, as it stands they lost and at least you can say Vick is gritty, but sitting out would have been another matter. We all saw how well it worked for Jay Cutler last year in the playoffs. Funny how winning erases the bad taste in peoples' mouths, like guzzling a coke after plowing through a 20 piece McNugget meal. So where do you stand on Vick's decision to stay in the game?

Source: ESPN

Occupy New York (Jets)

Y! Sports is reporting that 3-time Pro Bowl signal caller Mark Brunell is currently mired in $50 million worth of debt due to a string of bad investments. The news does not shock Ken Ruettgers, former player and current head of gamesover.org, a group dedicated to helping former players transition into everyday life upon leaving the game.

"It's something like 78 percent of former NFL players, two years after their last game, are either bankrupt, divorced, or unemployed," Ruettgers told WAWS-TV in Jacksonville.

At this time it is unknown when Brunell, the former Jaguars star and current Jets backup, will join the tent city on Wall Street, but given the inconsistent nature of the Jets offense a good guess would be by the end of the regular season on January 1st.

Brunell himself could not be reached for comment, but looked inexplicably excited and happy despite his predicament. One can only speculate that his font-like handwriting or love of giant sheets of binder paper are helping ease the pain of financial ruin.

T.O.'s open workout well attended by chirping crickets and tumbleweeds

Free agent wideout Terrell Owens, fresh off a six month stint of rehab for a torn ACL, held an open workout today for the press and NFL scouts in hopes of landing a new contract with a team. Unfortunately for T.O., his workout, which was promoted by the NFL Network and Owens' agent Drew Rosenhaus, generated the same amount of interest as when I'm at the gym doing dumbbell curls near the pilates class (minus their laughing or my subsequent sobbing).

The showcase was held at Calabasas High School, but the 37 year old veteran may have been better served staging his audition on the croquette lawn at the local senior center as Owens lacked any semblance of the burst necessary to create separation on his routes.

Undaunted by the fact that none of the 32 NFL teams sent reps to the training session, Owens remained confident in stating, "I have faith I'll land on my feet."

I'm all for the guy looking at the situation with the glass half full, but in this case it appears that the glass isn't even on the table any longer. It's a fairly telling sign when your VH1 reality show garners more interest than your ability to catch a football, and the sooner Owens sees the writing on the wall, the sooner he can transition into a cushy commentator gig. With his flash and charisma, Owens would be a natural fit alongside the likes of Keyshawn Johnson or Deion Sanders.
 
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report

Raiders to Palmer: Mastery of Krebs Cycle required for Sunday start

Raiders offensive coordinator Al Saunders shocked the sports world yesterday morning during an interview on 610 Sports Radio Kansas City when he stated newly acquired quarterback Carson Palmer would start Sunday's contest against the Chiefs "as long as he's breathing."

Palmer, eager to impress his new teammates and Bay Area fan-base, took his coordinator's words to heart and began studying the nuances of cellular respiration from a biology textbook he once saw some Asian students carrying around the USC campus.

When asked how his assimilation to a new team and playbook were going, Palmer responded, "I've got a pretty firm grasp on where the ball needs to go when coach calls Slant Left 787 check swing, check right, but I can't seem to remember that the decarboxylation of oxalosuccinate is the rate limiting step of the Krebs Cycle."

With each passing day it's becoming clear that Palmer will get the start Sunday as he continues to take first team reps and breathe at a very efficient rate, generating an impressive 36 ATP along the way.

In other Raiders' news, the Kyle Boller era in Oakland has ended before it ever got started, and former starter Jason Campbell has begun rehabbing a broken heart clavicle.

Niners tame Lions as Harbaugh and Schwartz engage in Mortal Kombat

The San Francisco 49ers (5-1) notched yet another come from behind road win on Sunday, and in the process dealt the Detroit Lions (5-1) their first loss of the season with a 25-19 victory at a raucous Ford Field. Alex Smith put the Niners ahead for good with just 1:51 remaining in the 4th quarter when he hooked up with Delanie Walker for a 6 yard score on a dramatic 4th and Goal situation. Smith's TD to Walker capped an impressive stretch going back to the second quarter where the Niners rallied from down 0-10 to outscore the Lions 25-9 in the final 3 frames.

The most impressive part of the win is the way that the 49ers dominated the Lions in the trenches, playing a smash mouth style of football personified by their fiery coach Jim Harbaugh. Make no mistake about it, this is not the "physical with an F," run into a wall repeatedly and punt style that was the trademark of the Mike Singletary era. This is a smart kind of dominance, physical toughness tempered by cerebral calculation.

You hear talk across the Bay from Raider's coach Hue Jackson about wanting to create a bully in Oakland, well Harbaugh's Niners are also a bully, but they're a bully that will beat you up just to steal and finish your algebra homework because it's fun. The Niners aren't physical with an F, hell they aren't even physical with a PH, the Niners are physical with a PhD.

Of course it's easy to play smash mouth football when you believe your coach is willing to literally smash the opposing coach in the mouth, as was evidenced in the post game "handshake" between Harbaugh and Lions' coach Jim Schwartz. Harbaugh's post game mea culpa claimed exuberance leading up to a firm handshake, while Schwartz claimed he felt dissed and ignored. Deliberate or not, you can judge for yourself after watching the video below. Anyone familiar with Jim Harbaugh's track record knows he's a passionate guy, but he's also shrewd as they come, and loves his guys to play with an edge harboring an "us against the world" mentality. So after the fines, sound bytes, and pomp and circumstance, what remains is a Niners team sitting atop the NFC West at 5-1, and a Niners coach that just stole Jim Schwartz's homework.

video courtesy of Sports Grid

49ers sign Brett Swain, adding depth at receiver, special teams, and grunge metal bassist

Matt Maiocco at CSNBayArea.com is reporting that the San Francisco Forty Niners have signed former Packer wideout, special teams player, and "high motor guy" Brett Swain to a one year deal. The move comes after receiver Josh Morgan underwent what is likely to be season ending surgery for a leg fracture he sustained during last Sunday's romp over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Swain logged a total of 6 catches for 72 yards all of last season for Green Bay, but appeared in all sixteen games for the Packers as a cog on their special teams unit.

A source close to the Niners (i.e. me sitting 3" from my TV on Sundays) was quoted as saying that "Swain was able to distinguish himself at yesterday's tryout from veteran wideouts like T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chris Chambers and Brian Finneran by demonstrating a sense of angst and social disenchantment through sludgy and distorted guitar riffs."

One can only hope that Swain's melancholy yearning for freedom may help him find soft spots in zone coverages. He will likely enter Sunday's matchup against the Lions as SF's 4th wide receiver.

The buc stops here: Niners roll Tampa 48-3

The 49ers turned in their most complete effort of the young season this afternoon in a 48-3 throttling of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Candlestick Park. The offense hit on all cylinders, paced by 2 TDs from all-pro tight end Vernon Davis. Frank Gore helped break the will of the Tampa Defense scoring a TD and logging his second consecutive 100+ yd rushing game. Gore's recent success has helped ease some concern about the Niners' nonexistent rushing attack early on in the season, a change which seems to have coincided with Adam Snyder's insertion into the starting lineup at right guard. Niners QB, Alex Smith, managed the game with the ruthless efficiency of an Asian accountant, going 11/19 for 170 yds and 3 scores. The same could not be said for Bucs QB, Josh Freeman, who at times seemed confused by San Francisco's blitz packages and zone coverages, even surrendering a pick-six to Carlos Rogers early in the second quarter.

The win is significant for the 49ers on many fronts, keeping them two games ahead of division rival Seattle, avenging last season's shutout loss to the Bucs, and validating last week's come from behind victory over the dream nightmare team Philadelphia Eagles.

Official press release on the passing of Al Davis

The Passing of Al Davis

Posted Oct 8, 2011

JULY 4, 1929 – OCTOBER 8, 2011

The Oakland Raiders are deeply saddened by the passing of Al Davis. Al Davis was unique – a maverick, a giant among giants, a true legend among legends, the brightest star among stars, a hero, a mentor, a friend.
Al Davis was the only person in professional football history to have been a scout, assistant coach, head coach, general manager, commissioner and owner.
He was an innovator, a pioneer with a deep love and passion for the game of football.  His contributions to the game are innumerable and his legacy will endure forever through generations of players, coaches, administrators and fans.
Al Davis was a champion of diversity who maintained the courage of his convictions. His passion for the game we all love is best exemplified by his famous phrase, “COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE.”
The fire that burns brightest in the Raider organization, “THE WILL TO WIN,” will continue to blaze through the legacy of the great Al Davis.

Source: http://www.raiders.com/

Al Davis dead at 82

USA Today is reporting that iconic Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis has passed away at the age of 82. Check back at THMG for updates as the Raiders prepare to issue a statement later today.

If you're a hipster, then the Saints are dead to you

Y! sports via the AP is reporting that Mercedes Benz has purchased the naming rights for the Lousiana Superdome, home to the NFL's New Orleans Saints, and the source of frustration for countless fantasy football owners trying to figure out which Saints wideout will be Drew Brees' flavor of the week (please let it be Meachem).

Ernst Lieb, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, issued the following prepared statement in response to this blatant example of crass consumerism joyous occasion:

"The joining of the Mercedes-Benz brand with the world-class Saints organization and the Superdome, an iconic destination which has undergone an incredible transformation over the past six years, is a significant moment for us, the City of New Orleans, and the State of Louisiana."

The deal inked between the German auto giant and the 2009 Super Bowl champs leaves the NFL with just 9 stadiums (e.g. Lambeau Field) across the league yet to be pimped out for corporate sponsorships. Sadly, even THMG's beloved Bay Area teams aren't immune to such pandering, as evidenced by local venues such as the HP Pavilion (clever product placement in the name, except that HP no longer makes computers) and the Overstock.com Coliseum. I'm sorry Oakland, but you're doing it wrong by only getting $1.2 million out of the sponsorship, a sum that amounts to sofa cushion change to a company like Overstock.com.

MNF recap: The Colts die hard

The Colts, led by luscious locked QB and Hans Gruber associate Curtis Painter,

continued to surge ahead in the "suck for Luck" sweepstakes by falling to 0-4 in a 24-17 loss to the Bucs on Monday Night Football.

Painter, in his first career start managed to throw for 281 yds and 2 scores, and had this to say about his team's performance:

"It's always a little easier when you know you're going to get some playing time," Painter said. "We got off to a good start and put some points on the board. But obviously we have to find a way to put more points on the board and move the ball a little bit better."

Now if I were Painter I would have thanked (and possibly offered up my first born child to) Pierre Garçon for racking up both my TDs and half my passing yards on two short throws followed by monstrous YAC. Then again, if I were Painter I probably wouldn't sport the haircut of a 13 year old girl either, but hey that's just me.

Lost in this snore fest of a game that featured 20 penalties for 156 yds was that the comeback kid Josh Freeman led his Bucs to yet another 4th Quarter come from behind victory. Of course when you're playing the Colts, it's usually just a matter of when and not if the comeback is going to happen.