I’m not going to get into the “real” rules that are out of control (i.e. roughing the quarterback and pass interference penalties).  I’m talking about taking things a little too far.

Yesterday Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter was fined $5,000 for not showing enough white in his game socks. Seriously?  I wasn’t aware that the NFL has fashion police.  Who noticed that? And why $5,000?  Did anybody think to mention to Porter that he should pull his socks up?  Porter plans to appeal, and said he was never warned before or during the game in question (Week 6 against the Saints).

“You’ve got to tell me so I can fix it,” he said. “You can’t just fine me. You’ve got to give me a fix-it ticket. Even the police give you a fix-in ticket.”

Everybody knows that Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco is a colorful guy.  He likes getting attention, his name pretty much sums that up.  He has openly said he is ready to pay a fine before a game for a pre-planned touchdown celebration dance.  But this week he was fined $10,000 for wearing a black chinstrap instead of the regulation white one.  Seriously? 10,000? 

The only justification could be that this has happen to Ochocinco before.  This preseason he was fined $5,000 for wearing an orange chinstrap.  He first wrote about the fine on his Twitter page:

“I am color blind so this fine is discriminating because I’m disabled in a way, this is a sad day for me:(“

And this week (Week 9) Ochocinco tried to be funny by handing th ref a dollar trying to get a call to go his way.  Everyone knows this is a joke, but I have a feeling the NFL won’t see it that way and he will get fined.   I wonder if he has a separate bank account just to pay off his fines each week?

So what are your thoughts about the “dress-codes” and seemingly overpriced fines?

Here is a good site to look at: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2009/08/29/chad-ochocinco-fined-5-000-for-orange-chin-strap/

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4589878&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines

Now I grew up with a little brother and 6 boy cousins, so I’ve been in my fair share of fights and wrestling matches and I’d like to tell you that it never involved biting anyone…but that would be a lie.  I never went out of my way to bite someone, but if a finger goes near my mouth-an attempted fishhook lets say, then you’re asking to get bit.  That being said, I also played team sports growing up and i can honestly say I never bit anyone at any point during a game (or after). 

So when I recently heard that Jarkko Ruutu of the Ottawa Sentors had been suspended and fined for BITING Andrew Peters of the Buffalo Sabres, I was appalled.  Okay, I laughed a little and then I was appalled.  Ruutu bit Peters glove, ripping it and breaking skin.  Alright, being able to bit through a hockey glove is sort of impressive but highly unnecessary.  Hockey players are supposed to be tough, I’m looking for hay-makers not teeth marks.  Ruutu denied biting Peters, but there are several replays that clearly show the incident.  C’mon Jarkko, man up. 

This got me thinking, this is not the first time biting has occured in the sports world.  Yes, you know whats coming.

Holyfield-Tyson II…better known as: The Bite Fight.

June 28th 1997: Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield have a rematch in Las Vegas.  The fight was nasty from the start, Tyson complaining about Holyfield headbutting him and opening a cut above his eye.  But in the 3rd Round, history was made.  Holyfield got Tyson in a clinch and that is when Tyson bit off a piece of Evanders ear.  Believe it or not, the fight resumed.  In another clinch, Tyson bit Holyfield other ear and the ref finally ended the match.  Tyson was suspended, fined 3 million dollars and lost his boxing license.  Worth it?  Probably not. 

Tyson of course became famous for the biting incident.  A candy factory even tried to make some money off it and marketed ‘Earvander-Tyson Bites’ chocolates in the shape of Holyfield’s bitten-off ear.  Yum.  But due to legal threats from Holyfields attorneys the factory only to withdraw them from sale.  Darn.

So those are high profile.  But this last one took place in a cutthroat Delaware soccer league during a match between “Fulhundred” and “Pizza by Elizabeth.”  After receiving a red card from the ref, the Fulhundred soccer player Rannard A. Jones grabbed the official and BIT HIS FACE.  He suffered lacerations to the face, but was otherwise okay.  Jones was charged with assault, abuse of a sports official, terroristic threatening and harassment. 

I think we need to start enforcing mouthgaurds a little bit more.

Not me.  Not even a little. 

First off, the 11-5 Pats didn’t make the playoffs because Brett Farve decided to turn into the 60 year old man we all know he is.  Then, the 8-8 San Diego Chargers get to host a playoff game! What the heck is that?!  Okay I need to move on…

It started as a pretty boring bracket to begin with.  Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan were getting a lot of attention for being young and Kurt Warner and Kerry Collins were getting a lot of attention for being old.  Both the Manning brothers were in. The Tampa Bay Rays, ummm i mean the Miami Dolphins made the playoffs after having a 1-15 season last year.  Then there were the random who cares teams like the Panthers and Vikings.  Now don’t get me wrong DeAngelo Williams was killer for my fantasy team this season and I’m a huge AP fan, but lets face it kids, these teams are boring. 

So my Boston College boy, Matty Ice gets knocked out in the first round by Grandpa Warner.  Vikings go down at the hands of McNabb.  Joe Flacco shows that the word rookie means nothing to him and takes down those stinkin’ Dolphins.  Thankfully the Football Gods decide that Peyton Manning, (having already won an award he didn’t deserve) would not continue on in the playoffs, so the Chargers send them home.  So at this point, Flacco is really the only interesting story left.  I don’t care about destiny and McNabb. 

Then Carolina who I am “rooting” for, (rooting meaning I glance up at the tv every once in awhile to see the score) falls to Gramps and the Cardinals in embarrassing 33-13 fashion.  Chargers go on to meet up with the Steelers and even though Big Ben left his last game on a stretcher that doesn’t slow him down enough and the Steelers make the Chargers look weak.  (Worse that weak actually, during the 3rd quarter, San Diego only had the ball for 17 seconds.)  Then the Football Gods help out one more time by getting rid of the other Manning left in the playoffs, as the Eagles grab the win 23-11.  The we have 23 year-old Joe Flacco (who will turn 24 this Friday- Happy Birthday Joe) and the Ravens take down the #1 seed Titans in a boring game decided by a FG.

So now we are left with: Steelers/Ravens. Cardinals/Eagles.  Now unless you are a diehard fan of one of these teams then there is no way that this Super Bowl 43 is going to thrill you.  I’m gonna stick with Flacco and hope he becomes the first rookie QB to win a Super Bowl. 

But this year, the Super Bowl really will be about the commercials.

The offensive linemen instigated the ‘staches in honor of their predecessors with an eye toward the throwback game in the finale and now several other players have joined in, including QB Shaun Hill who is hoping his mustache will be ready Sunday.

“I started four weeks ago. How bad is that?” Hill said to reporters on Monday. 

Hill, like many others didn’t realize that the greatest QB of all-time, Joe Montana, also had a mustache once (more of a Fu Manchu than a mustache though).  But as well as being fun, this shows team camaraderie in the closing week of a disappointing season for the 49ers, one that could end with the team winning two in a row, three of the last four and five of the last seven.

So this weekend be on the lookout for the best facial fuzz in a red and white uniform.

Kevin Garnett is scary….in a good way.

A lot of athletes play with intensity but there is one man that rises above them all, and that man is Kevin Garnett.  If you have ever watched him play you know what I’m talking about.  Before each game he sits on the bench with his head down, completely unfazed by everything around him.  After he is introduced and the crowd dies down he goes over and pounds his head into the padded post of the basketball hoop.  If that doesn’t frighten you just wait.

As gallons of sweat pour off of him, he trash talks every moment, not always loud, but just loud enough that the other players can hear and the ref can’t.  Once KG makes a play is when the real show starts.  There is chest pounding…not your average thump on the chest though. Oh no, this is the would-break-my-sternum kind of pounding.  Then there is the head-back scream, which is usually coupled with the jersey pull, you know what i’m talking about- when he shows off the word CELTICS across his jersey.  That one is my personal favorite, mostly because he is showing how he represents the best team in the NBA and he’s damn proud of it. 

And don’t forget: Anything is possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last week the unveiled the new Red Sox uniforms and hats.  I do not like them one bit.  I can deal with the hats, instead of the classic B it is not the actual red socks.  But the new road jerseys make me want to vomit.  They are trying to do a throw-back type thing, but it looks like crud.  And I am not alone in this, boston.com did a survey: check it out.

Plus, we all know the real reason this is happening…to make more moolah.  My 9 year-old cousins first words when he saw the new hats: “I want one of those!”  And that is exactly the reaction Red Sox management was going for.  Everybody’s gonna want the new gear which means more money.  Why they need more money is beyond me…they have raised the price of tickets almost every year since 2004.  They are making it so your Average-Joe can’t even go to the game with his family anymore without emptying the savings. 

Okay, thats all.  Just needed to get that off my chest. 

Click here for more pictures of the hideous changes.

Don’t be fooled by his name. Peach is a very manly cat.  He’s an indoor-outdoor guy so he hunts and brings back “presents” for us.  He’s a very handsome, sleek, gray cat…and I recently painted my room gray and yes he was my inspiration.

Now before you go making judgements about me and my cat craziness, you must know something else about Peach.  He is a huge sports fan. Loves hockey especially (not sure why).  He has most of the jerseys and I thought I would share some of his best pics with you.

DP just won the AL MVP and all people can seem to talk about is his size. 

“Not your typical MVP.”  Yeah, we know. 

So he’s smaller than your average baseball player…who cares?  He’s a beast and that’s all there is to it.

If I’m sick of hearing how he is generously listed as 5’9″  then he must be ready to go down to ESPN and start kickin’ some anchor ass. 

It was 1959 when the last 2nd baseman (Nellie Fox) won the MVP award, and GUESS WHAT he was 5’9″ too. I bet no one pointed that out every chance they got. 

Let’s focus on the stuff that made him the AL MVP. .326 AVG, 17 HR, 83 RBI, 118 R, 54 2B, 20 SB…and the list goes on and on. 

So can we please stop talking about his size?

Here’s the schedule:

    Nov. 5: Rawlings 2008 NL Gold Glove Award winners announced

    Nov. 6: Rawlings 2008 AL Gold Glove Award winners announced

    Nov. 10: AL and NL Rookie of the Year award winners announced

    Nov. 11: NL Cy Young award winner announced

   Nov. 12: AL and NL Manager of the Year award winners announced

    Nov. 13: AL Cy Young award winner announced

    Nov. 17: NL Most Valuable Player award winner announced 

    Nov. 18: AL Most Valuable Player award winner announced