Have some laughs with your sports!

- The Onion on Barkley

- PFT reports: "The move will reunite coach Eric Mangini with Kokinis, in a pairing that some league insiders are calling “Mankok.”

[PFT via MLJ]

-Agent Easy

Just a coincidence?

Rex Ryan is the new Jets coach. Monte Kiffin is the new University of Tennessee DC. The two have more than an address change in common.

After the first talk of a head coaching interview for Ryan, his defense surrendered a season high 391 yards to the Titans. The next week, after Ryan's interview, they did much better against the Steelers, but still gave up more yards and forced les turnovers than their season's average.

When it came out, 12 games into the season, that Kiffin was going to UT, the Bucs defense was giving up 279.5 yards per game, 95 of them on the ground. In their last four games the Bucs D gave up 386 ypg, including 189 rushing ypg. They went 0-4.

There are other explanations. In Ryan's case the Steelers and Titans were two of the best teams in the league, and naturally, with each successive playoff round, the competition is intensified. The Bucs' the losses can be pinned on Jeff Garcia's injury: Griese started the Atlanta game and Garcia struggled when he came back, throwing half of his season's interceptions in the final two losses.

The relationships here certainly aren't causal, but two very good defenses didn't play their best immediately after their respective coordinators were distracted by job offers. The correlation is worth noting.

-Agent Easy

Quick Hit: Why the Cardinals won't win it all

They still have to exorcise the curse of the Pottsville Maroons

-Hazelwood

A Word on the JC Romero Debacle

The question most are debating is whether or not Romero is guilty.

That question is, however, secondary (obviously not to Romero, who, for what it's worth, seemed earnest in trying to play by the rules). In the big picture the main point is that a player on the championship team tested positive for a banned substance, regardless of the circumstances or explanations. The point is that yet again MLB has screwed up. The point is that this is just another example that MLB, despite popular and even legal pressure to execute a legitimate anti-drug program, is still incapable of doing so. That they bungled this (read bungled one of two ways 1. inadvertently misled/misinformed players* or 2. let a “cheater” participate and subsequently contribute to championship)** is just another indictment, the latest in a long line, that their leadership is either incompetent, negligent, or both.

*Gammons: "Somehow, after MLB was warned in early July, those concerns about three supplements available at every GNC store did not reach the players' association."
** He actually tested clean before the post-season, but if you're calling him a cheater, why is he playing in the postseason in the first place?

-Agent Easy

White Receivers Love the Number 83

Really. It's true.

We were watching early season highlights on NFL.com. In the week 6 Miami-Houston game, around the 1:40 mark, Rich Eisen compared Greg Camarillo to Wes Welker, then added, "He's got the 83 number also."

We dwelled on this, lamenting that Eisen had fallen into the typical announcer trap of comparing white guys to white guys* and black guys to black guys, regardless of specific styles or talents.

Just like Welker is a playmaker and Camarillo is simply a posession reciever, Steve Nash is a playmaker and Travis Diener is a slow point guard with a decent outside shot. The latter comparison was made during a forgettable Marquette game in winter of '05. Prior to Nash, the announcer (if only we could remember who) had also compared Diener to Mark Price and Scott Skiles.**

We don't think Eisen's comment was especially egregious, but we were still thinking about all of this when Houston's Kevin Walter, another white WR wearing #83, caught a ball at the 2:20 mark.

We wondered if this could be more a trend than a coincidence. Sure enough, it is.

Wes Welker, Kevin Walter, Drew Bennett, Greg Camarillo, Greg Estandia, Heath Miller, Billy Miller, Mike Leach, Jeff Dugan

That's right. All of these guys proudly wear number 83.

Everyone's familiar with the "Black Quarterback" trope.
- The famous, though seemingly apocryphal, Doug Williams question
- Our own surprise at the prominence of the topic within an SI McNair cover story
- More recently, the McNabb - Limbaugh mess

Now, sure enough, we have the White Receiver.

With the heavy emphasis on the passing game the WR has become the most “pure” athlete on the field - and thus fits with the stereotype of the athletically superior black player (as contrasted with the stereotype of hard-working scrappy white player - David Eckstein, Tyler Hansbrough). At the same time WR has become a glamour position (Moss, TO, Ocho Cinco, etc), and more specifically it’s become a black player’s glamour position, especially as it's still the case that most of the marquee players at QB (the game's traditional glamour position) are white.

These factors make white WRs stick out (white CBs stick out too, but not as much because “cornerback” doesn’t have the cache of “wide receiver” - but don't forget the wildly out-of-proportion fame of Jason Sehorn a few years ago).

Suddenly the #83 trend seems reasonable - that like black quarterbacks have a sense of fraternity so do, apparently, white receivers. And they’re showing it off on their jerseys.

It’s fair to point out that the above list is actually 50-50 WRs and TEs, but we’ll also include Kevin Curtis, who rocked the 83 until this year (wonder if he tried to buy it off Greg Lewis), and Brandon Stokley who we assume wouldn’t dare try to buy the 83 off a fellow white guy: But you’re a long snapper! Jeff Dugan's number choice is illustrative; the TE label matters not: Coach, I know I’m a fullback, but I gotta support my guys!

Then there are the #83 godfathers: Tim Dwight and Patrick Jeffers, he of the flukiest season ever.

Camaraderie aside, it's easy to see how this could have started. White kids playing receiver in HS looked up to white guys playing receiver in the NFL. And don’t think that Jeffers’ '99 season winning more than few fantasy leagues doesn’t factor in here.

Now the trend is firmly set for the future. If any of the teams without an 83 (Arizona, Baltimore, Carolina, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Green Bay, Oakland, Tampa Bay) draft Jordan Shipley, you can be sure which number he’ll take.

- Agent Easy


*Yes Camarillo is Latino, but we're not discussing ethnicity, but rather appearance. Bottom line: If Camarillo was black Eisen wouldn't have made the comparison.

**Another instance we recall, during 2005 East-West Shrine Game the announcer compared Chad Owens to Tim Dwight, Brandon Stokley, and Wayne Chrebet.

The Slash is Back

The Dolphins are apparently taking a serious look as WVU's Pat White for the specific role of running the Wildcat offense. With the Wildcat gaining some traction around the NFL (and not only in the NFL) could this be a new route to the pros for "slash"-type college quarterbacks who don't have the passing skills to be a full-time QB at an NFL level, but could be a weapon out of this formation? And could this also be the reason for Miami's audition of Jayson Foster last offseason? And, most importantly, is Kordell Stewart thinking he was 10 years too early?

-Hazelwood

Delhomme quick hit

Delhomme's 5 interceptions tonight offer a great opportunity to remind everyone that that's still one shy of the modern day record, held by none other than the fabulous Favre.

Think for a moment just how atrocious Delhomme looked tonight, how loud the collective groan was that you heard after the fifth one. Then consider, that on January 20, 2001 Favre threw six interceptions against the Rams. (Technically he shares this record for most INTs in a playoff game with three guys who played without facemasks).

And yes coincidentally Kurt Warner was the QB on both occasions.

Cold Hard Football Facts has a handy chart showing just how devastating playoff INTs are.

-Agent Easy