Bobby Petrino Resigns As Falcons Head Coach

Bobby Petrino has resigned his position as coach of the Atlanta Falcons on Tuesday, and is currently negotiating an agreement to become the new coach at the University of Arkansas.

After only 13 games as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, which included 10 losses, Petrino is out of the NFL. Petrino had a five-year, $24 million contract with the Falcons and will be taking a pay cut to coach the Razorbacks.

The Falcons are assured of the 32nd losing season in their 42-year history. Petrino's resignation is another blow to a team that dealt with Vick's legal troubles since the first day of training camp, a blow up with DeAngelo Hall over personnel decisions, and a bunch of injuries.

Poor Arthur Blank....

Pats Rally Late To Remain Unbeaten

Though the Patriots were outplayed and out gained for much of the game vs. the Colts on Sunday, they managed to pull off a come-from-behind win to remain perfect at 9-0.

The Patriots won 24-20 thanks to two touchdowns in the final 8 minutes of the game, after trailing 20-10, to get the comeback victory.

Tom Brady threw for 255 yards and 3 TD's, but did double his season interception total from 2 to 4. On the other side, Manning had a solid day with 225 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. But Manning's final mistake, a fumble coming with two minutes left, was recovered by Rosevelt Colvin of the Pats and ended the game.

The Patriots will now get a chance to rest with their bye next week and then will play at Buffalo on Nov. 18 to try to stay unbeaten.

East Coast Bias- October 29, 2007

Today's Headlines

- Sox Sweep, Changes in the Bronx

- NFL Rundown

- College Football Rundown



On today's show we start with the World Series and the domination by the Red Sox. We wrapup the week that was in the NFL and finish strong with our College Football Rundown highlighting the best games of Saturday. Look for the ECB NBA Preview Show this Thursday followed by our second mailbag!

Also, check out this wild finish to the Trinity vs. Millsaps College Football game.

The NBA Is Upon Us!

Be sure to check out the podcast this coming Monday as myself and Jason breakdown what is going to happen this NBA season in our ECB NBA Preview. We will also provide you, our listeners, with our "expert" NFL picks for week 9.

Looking forward to talking to you guys once again and guess what? We're bringing back the mailbag! Yes, enough people actually enjoy us to the point where they e-mail us. Weird huh?

Edit: Due to more scheduling conflicts we have unfortunately pushed back our podcast to Monday.

East Coast Bias- October 15, 2007

Today's Headlines

- NFL Rundown

- College Football Rundown

- NLCS and ALCS Review

The Weekly Phil

- Eagles Win 16-9


On today's podcast show we discuss the big games in the NFL and rundown the Top 25 action in the College game. We also get into the exciting MLB postseason games with a review and preview of the NLCS series between the Rockies and D-Backs and the ALCS series between the Indians and Red Sox. And we end the podcast with some Eagles talk following their victory over the Jets in the Weekly Phil.

The "Dinosaur" Is Back!

With Jake Delhomme going down with a season ending injury and with only 2 quarterbacks on its roster, the Carolina Panthers went out and signed 43 year old Vinny Testaverde. This will be Vinny's sixth NFL team.

Testaverde will backup David Carr, who became the Panthers' number one QB on Monday after it was learned Delhomme would be done for the season. Testaverde could even start as soon as Sunday when Carolina plays Arizona after Carr suffered a back injury in Carolina's win over New Orleans.

Testaverde will turn 44 next month.

Shrinkage, Liver Damage, and Bloating: Steroids Are Awesome

In her book, Marion Jones used two pages, bold letters, and red type to exclaim that she had never used steroids and would never use them. In 2004 Jones emphatically declared, "I have never, ever used performance-enhancing drugs." Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag now. The three-time Olympic gold medalist pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators when she denied using performance-enhancing drugs. Accordingly, she retired from track and field after the hearing was over.

Many people are asking how she did it, how she kept a lie like this for so long, even after winning all 5 of those medals in 2000. How can someone tell themselves for nearly 7 years that what she took was "flaxseed oil". Hell, she convinced herself to the point that she spent her money to sue Victor Conte, founder and president of Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), for continuously stating that he had saw Jones inject herself with roids.

The Internation Olympic Committee has a statue of limitations for up to eight years regarding circumstances such as this. Marion Jones could possibly be stripped of all her medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympics which would include gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 1,600-meter relay and bronze in the long jump and 400-meter relay.

Now, if it wasn't bad enough that she cheated then lied about it, Jones will probably also be prosecuted for her involvement in a check-fraud scheme. During the hearing Marion Jones admitted lying when she told investigators that she knew nothing about Tim Montgomery's scheme to cash millions of dollars worth of stolen or forged checks. In addition to Montgomery, Jones' agent Charles Wells and former coach Olympian Steve Riddick, have all been convicted in the scam. The maximum sentence on each count is five years and a $250,000 fine, for a total of 10 years and $500,000.

The "bodies" are adding up the longer the BALCO investigation goes on. Currently there are over 15 athletes known to have taken and received supplements from BALCO.

• MLB players: Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Benito Santiago, Jeremy Giambi, Bobby Estalella, Armando Rios
• Athletes: Hammer thrower C.J. Hunter (former husband of Marion Jones, sprinters Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and Kelli White, middle-distance runner Regina Jacobs, boxer Shane Mosley.
• NFL players: Bill Romanowski, Tyrone Wheatley, Barrett Robbins, Chris Cooper and Dana Stubblefield.

Worth the risk?

Welcome Back Donovan McNabb

Put those jerseys on next week!

The Philadelphia Eagles whipped the Detroit Lions 56-21, no thanks to a career day for Donovan McNabb. McNabb threw for 381 yards including 4 touchdown passes, 3 of those going to Kevin Curtis. Curtis had 221 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns. And finally, Brian Westbrook looked like Marshall Faulk in racking up 100 yards on the ground and 111 yards receiving.

The Eagles who came into the game 0-2, had no offensive identity. McNabb had only 1 touchdown pass to go with a 68.8 QB rating until he posted a perfect 158.3 rating this afternoon. Today though McNabb looked as sharp as ever. Marty Mornhinweg did an excellent job today of balancing the offensive attack that took some pressure off McNabb to make plays and allow guys like Kevin Curtis to step up.

On the opposite side of the ball, the Eagles defense played well considering that Brian Dawkins and Lito Sheppard were unavailable. The front 4 were responsible for 7 of the Eagles 9 sacks. Trent Cole led the way with 3 sacks while Broderick Bunkley lived up to his 16th overall selection with 2.

The Eagles play the New York Giants in the Meadowlands next Sunday which would give them a chance to get to .500 before their 5th week bye. The Giants will be coming off a close win over the Washington Redskins that improved their record to 1-2. Someone will be coming out of that game with a .500 record and if the Eagles offense is still clicking like today, the Giants are going to be in a world of hurt.


Look forward to tomorrow's podcast in which me and Jason will rundown NFL and NCAA football scores along with another top new stories.

McNabb Sounds Off On HBO

During an interview on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Donovan McNabb told James Brown that African-American quarterbacks face much more scrutiny than their white counterparts.

"There's not that many African-American quarterbacks, so we have to do a little bit extra. Because the percentage of us playing this position, which people didn't want us to play ... is low, so we do a little extra."

When James Brown brought up white quarterbacks such as Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning, McNabb tells Brown that they aren't scrutinized like he is. While I do agree that Palmer doesn't get enough flak I can't say I agree that Manning was never scrutinized. Manning had people yelling into his ear ever since he got out of Tennessee that he couldn't win the big game. And then he did last year.

Personally I think McNabb is shooting himself in the foot. While I don't necessarily disagree with him about the treatment of black QB's, his decision to voice his opinion on national television wasn't a great idea. Especially considering that the Eagles are now 0-2 entering the third week of the season. It'd be different if McNabb had played well in those 2 games but he played poorly.

McNabb, my advice to you is to keep your mouth shut, start believing in your arm, and once again start playing like the quarterback that led us to a Super Bowl and 4 straight NFC championship games. Hell, we wanted the Eagles to draft Ricky Williams instead of you, and he was black! We don't care whether you're black, white, purple, or orange. Just lead us to the promised land.

The Cowboys Bank On Tank

Tank Johnson and his agent have reached a two-year agreement with the Dallas Cowboys just 10 minutes prior to a deadline the Cowboys had set. Johnson will immediately begin serving his 8 game suspension and will be available sometime during midseason. The Cowboys have been in need of a nose tackle ever since Jason Ferguson went down with a season ending biceps injury in Dallas' opening day win over the New York Giants.

The Chicago Bears waived Tank Johnson on June 25, three days after he was pulled over by police in Arizona. Prior to his run in with the police in Arizona Johnson had served a 2 month prison sentence after a raid on his home found enough weapons to arm a small militia. Johnson had previously told reporters on May 18 that he would become the NFL's Man of the Year.

The Eagles Fall To 0-2

After a lackluster performance on opening day against the Green Bay Packers, the Philadelphia Eagles lost to their home opener to division rival Washington Redskins 20-12 last night on Monday Night Football.

Donovan McNabb once again looked rusty in the first half while completing on half of his passes. Entering the second half McNabb looked much better but still overthrew receivers and beyond his receivers. For the second straight game he averaged less than 6 yard per attempt.

What was probably the most obvious display of McNabb's inaccuracy came on 3rd down when the Eagles were driving to tie the game in the 4th quarter. Kevin Curtis lined up right of McNabb and was in single coverage. Curtis ran a flag pattern and broke for the right sideline and was wide open but McNabb threw at least 2 yards ahead of him.

Not all the blame can be put on McNabb though as Ron Jaworski pointed out during last night's game. The Eagles receivers are not getting separation from DB's. They are getting held up at the line of scrimmage and by the time Donovan makes his 3 step drop the receivers are only 5 yards down field.

Once again the defense played well but didn't seem to get that much pressure on 2nd year starter Jason Campbell. The Eagles defense finished with only once sack against a team in which had 2 reserves on the offensive line.

Third down conversions were hard to come by as well. The Eagles finished the game converting only 4 of 16 3rd down conversions while the Redskins converted 8 of 15.

These were 2 games in which I thought the Eagles were going to sleepwalk through and maybe the team had the same attitude. The last time the Eagles were 0-2 was in 2003 when they went to the NFC championship game. For some reason though I don't think that the Eagles will be so lucky to make it in 2007. The season is young but the future looks bleak.

East Coast Bias- September 17, 2007

JASON MISH IS BACK!!

Today's Headlines

- NFL Rundown - Week 2

- College Football Rundown

- MLB Awards Predictions

- The Weekly Phil


On tap for the September 17th podcast of East Coast Bias we start with a rundown of all the NFL games on Sunday plus the preview of the Monday Night game, Eagles vs. Redskins. We then review the week that was in College Football with a roundup of the action in the Top 25. We hand out the hardware as we predict baseball regular season awards in our third segment and end the show with the crowd-pleaser, The Weekly Phil.

This Time He Didn't Kill Anyone

O.J. Simpson is back in the news after being arrested by Las Vegas authorities on suspicion of being involved in an armed robbery in which they stole his own sport memorabilia. Simpson will be charged with 6 felonies that include robbery with a deadly weapon and assault with a deadly weapon.

Simpson however claims that he didn't rob anybody and was only retrieving stolen property. "You've got to understand, this ain't somebody going to steal somebody's drugs or something like that. This is somebody going to get his private belongings back. That's it. That's not robbery." Sounds like he's got a hell of case there...

Simpson has a long list of run-ins with the law that include, paid a $130 fine for speeding through a Florida manatee zone, allegedly abusing his daughter, and pirating DirectTV broad cast signals. Simpson's reason for not calling the police in this situation was, "The police, since my trouble, have not worked out for me. It just becomes a story about O.J." It's a good thing though that he didn't call the cops because this whole situation hasn't turned into "a story about O.J."

If convicted, Simpson would face up to 30 years in state prison on each robbery count alone.

About Those Picks...

ATL @ JAC - JAC Correct
BUF @ PIT - PIT Correct
CIN @ CLE - CIN Wrong
GB @ NYG - NYG Wrong
HOU @ CAR - CAR Wrong
IND @ TEN - IND Correct
NO @ TB - NO Wrong
SF @ STL - STL Wrong
SEA @ ARI - SEA Wrong
MIN @ DET - MIN Wrong
DAL @ MIA - DAL Correct
KC @ CHI - CHI Correct
NYJ @ BAL - NYJ Wrong
OAK @ DEN - DEN Correct
SD @ NE - SD Not looking good so far.
WAS @ PHI - PHI At this point it doesn't really matter.

NFL Week 2 Picks

In a new weekly segment East Coast Bias will pick the NFL winners of the week and keep tally. Do we think we can beat the experts? Oh yeah.

ATL @ JAC - JAC
BUF @ PIT - PIT
CIN @ CLE - CIN
GB @ NYG - NYG
HOU @ CAR - CAR
IND @ TEN - IND
NO @ TB - NO
SF @ STL - STL
SEA @ ARI - SEA
MIN @ DET - MIN
DAL @ MIA - DAL
KC @ CHI - CHI
NYJ @ BAL - NYJ
OAK @ DEN - DEN
SD @ NE - SD
WAS @ PHI - PHI

Eagles Won Super Bowl XXXIX?

Eagles corner back Sheldon Brown was a huge part of the Eagles success in 2005 when they went to the Super Bowl to play the AFC champion New England Patriots. After losing the Lombardi trophy to the Pats Brown was convinced that they just had a better game plan and executed better than the Eagles defense.

After "Tape Gate", Brown isn't so sure anymore. "Do I think about it? Mmm hmmm," said Brown. "It's crazy. I just don't know how far back it goes. Something's not right about that." Eagles defensive leader Brian Dawkins isn't even sure what to believe anymore, "Now there's always going to be questions about the situation," Dawkins said in an interview on Thursday. "Was it great adjustments at halftime or what?"

Even Pittsburgh receiver Hines Ward threw in his two cents and stated that he had suspected the Patriots in 2001 during the AFC Championship game. But, much like any other case tried in court, no one has any hard evidence to back up these allegations. Eagles running back Brian Westbrook said it's all water under the bridge, " For me to think back two years ago about something they may or may not have done, it's not worth my time."

After only gaining 45 yards in the first quarter of Super Bowl 39 Brown said that he noticed a difference in the Patriots play calling. Almost every time the Eagles blitzed the Patriots would follow suit and throw a screen. Over the next 3 quarters the Patriots gained 286 yards and a 24-21 victory. "I was like, 'Man, I never saw that many screens,' " Brown said.

Leave it to the Daily News in Philadelphia to really blow thing out of porportion though, "Counterfeit RING: Spy Scandal Helps Explain Birds' Super Bowl Loss." Donovan McNabb said that the suspicions were overblown. "One thing people are forgetting is that even if you have the answers to the test, you still have to take the test," he said. "If they have an idea of what's coming, those guys still have to be able to execute the play."

For a city who hasn't won a major championship in 25 years we've become fantastic conspiracy theorists. Maybe Roger Goodell will make the Patriots forfeit their rings......? Maybe when pigs fly.

Bill Belichick Apologizes...Sort Of.

Prior to a regularly scheduled new conference Bill Belichick issued a statement apologizing to his team and confirmed that he had spoken to Goodell about the Tape Gate incident.

"Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff and players," Belichick said. "Following the league's decision, I will have further comment."

Belichick apparently morphed during the new conference into Drew Rosenhaus and refused to respond to a half-dozen questions about the scandal, possible punishments and the potential effect this will have on his team. All relevant questions I might add.

Michael Strahan even found some time in his busy schedule to give his two cents, "It just makes you wonder how long they've been doing this and has it really helped them win some games?" said current New York Gitans That's no different from the cheating ref in basketball."

Packers CB Al Harris also gave comment, "When you look back, it's scary. I don't want to say anything wrong towards their organization, because I think highly of their coaching staff and their personnel, but if that's the case, that's not right. I would consider it cheating. I honestly would."

Roger Goodell has said that he will make a decision Friday, although that is not set in stone. The Patriots could be looking at losing multiple draft picks and Belichick could be looking at a suspension as well.

Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater

New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft commented earlier today that, "When you're successful in anything, a lot of people like to try to take you down and do different things. We understand that." It looks as if Kraft will have to eat those words.

Roger Goodell has once again brought the hammer down and has made the decision that the New England Patriots were indeed video taping and stealing defensive signals from the New York Jets' coaches this past Sunday.

This past Sunday NFL security officials had confiscated video tape belonging to Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella after being suspected of recording the New York Jets' defensive signals. Jets head coach Eric Mangini claimed he saw the spying but didn't want to get involved, "Those are all league-related matters and anything that deals with an issue like this or anything on a team-by-team basis, they all go to the league," Mangini said. The Jets were blown out in the game 38-14.

This is not the first time the Patriots have been accused of video taping the opposing team. The Green Bay Packers claimed that a similar incident happened with the same employee last year during a game on November 19th. That camera man was subsequently escorted off the field.

In regards to the rule on videotaping games NFL spokesman Greg Aiello had this to say, "The rule is that no video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches' booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game. Clubs have specifically been reminded in the past that the videotaping of an opponent's offensive or defensive signals on the sidelines is prohibited."

In addition to the video taping the NFL is also investigating a possible violation into the number of radio frequencies the Patriots were using during Sunday's game. When questioned by the league the Patriots were not able to come up with an acceptable answer.

If the NFL finds the Patriots are guilty of spying on the Jets the team could be fined. In addition to the fine, the NFL could also make the Patriots forfeit draft picks.

Talk about tarnishing the reputation of a franchise...

Raiders Sign No. 1 Pick JaMarcus Russell

The former LSU quarterback has finally ended his lengthy holdout and signed a 6 year deal worth up to $68 million dollars with the Oakland Raiders. Almost half of the contract is guaranteed ($31-32 million dollars). Last year's number 1 pick Mario Williams only received $21 million guaranteed from the Houston Texans, then again, he was a defensive end and not a franchise quartberback. Not since Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Bryant McKinnie in 2002, has there been a holdout this long. As far as top overall picks go you would have to go back to when Bo Jackson refused to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1986.

Russell could see the practice as soon as Wednesday barring any problems during his physical. Russell's lengthy holdout while economically beneficial, was not very beneficial in terms of actually playing a down in his first season in the NFL. As of right now the Oakland Raiders are planning to start Josh McCown and have former Miami Dolphins/Minnesota Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper backing him up. Had Russell not held out for as long as he did he probably would have been competing for the starting quarterback role. And considering his competition at quarterback would have been a journeyman and a washed up veteran, I would've liked his chances.

Eli Manning Sidelined For A Month

A slightly separated shoulder will keep New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning on the sidelines for at least one month. Some people feared Eli had torn his labrum and would require season ending surgery. Giants fans were quick to exhale when an MRI showed no such damage.

In addition to Manning the injury bug also hit top defensive end Osi Umenyiora, and the Giants' new starting running back, Brandon Jacobs. Both players suffered knee injuries and are day to day.

Jared Lorenzen, aka Big Country (6'4" 285 lbs.), will start in place of Eli when the Giants host the Green Bay Packers. Fourth year starter Derrick Ward will start for Jacobs with Reuben Droughns getting more time as his backup.

Other Injuries Around The NFL

• Kevin Everett- Buffalo Bills / Suffered a severe spinal injury. Prayers and wishes that he makes a speedy recovery.
  

• Ko Simpson- Buffalo Bills / Broke his left ankle and is out indefinitely.

• Jason Webster- Buffalo Bills / Broke his forearm and is out indefintely.

• Mike Brown- Chicago Bears / Suffers a season-ending knee injury and placed on IR for the 3rd time in 4 years.

• Dusty Dvoracek- Chicago Bears / Suffered a season-ending knee injury.

• Orlando Pace- St. Louis Rams / Will miss the rest of the season with a torn right rotator cuff.

• Carnell "Cadillac" Williams- Tampa Bay Buccaneers / Bruised ribs and is questionable for next Sunday.

• Jason Ferguson- Dallas Cowboys / Tore his right biceps tendon and will miss the rest of the season.

• Lito Sheppard- Philadelphia Eagles / Out at least one game with a sprained knee ligament.

• Chester Taylor- Minnesota Vikings / Bruised hip and is day to day.
  

• Jon Jansen- Washington Redskins / Dislocated his right ankle and is out for the rest of the season.