NFL Week 5 scores. Early games included the Detroit Lions’ first win and the K.C. Chiefs’ first loss that came in the hands of Peyton Manning and the Colts.

Chicago Bears 23 vs. Carolina Panthers 6:  No Jay Cutler, no problem for the Bears who used their running game to win the game. QB Todd Collins was intercepted 4 times and was pulled in favor of Caleb Hanie, in his second year with the Bears. Matt Forte ran for 166 yards and 2 TDs. The Panthers were held to two field goals as Jimmy Clausen only managed 61 yards through the air with one INT.

Detroit Lions 44 vs. St. Louis Rams 6:  The Lions broke into the win column with a pasting of the Rams. Shaun Hill continues his great fill-in job for Matt Stafford, throwing for 3 TDs with no picks. Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson found the end zone as did TE Brandon Pettigrew. The Rams got decent run yardage from Steven Jackson (114 yards) but Sam Bradford threw 2 picks and couldn’t find a WR open in the end zone.

Baltimore Ravens 31 vs. Denver Broncos 17: Joe Flacco didn’t throw one TD pass and yet, the Ravens cruised over Denver. Flacco scored one with his feet; while Ray Rice ran wild for 133 yards and 2 TDs. Kyle Orton continued to throw for copious amounts of yardage (314 on 23-38) but only two TDs, both to Brandon Lloyd.  The Ravens shut down the Broncos running game as well, allowing only 40 net yards.

Indianapolis Colts 19 vs. Kansas City Chief 9: Peyton Manning was frustrated and didn’t hide it. He couldn’t connect with a receiver for a TD all day, but the Colts won on the foot of Adam Vinatieri and his 4 FGs and got one running TD from backup Mike Hart.  Matt Cassel led his team on a two-minute drill down field but couldn’t get to the end zone.  Coach Todd Haley chose a final seconds 51 yard FG attempt rather than going for it on 4^th down and 4 yards to go.

In OT Washington Redskins 16 vs. Green Bay Packers 13: The Packers’ Mason Crosby missed a 53 yard try with 1 second in regulation and off to OT we went.  Redskins kicker Graham Gano sealed the victory for Washington with a 33 yarder at 8:06 of the extra period. The Packers offense was stymied by the Redskins, continuing a trend that began in the second half of last week’s game vs. the Lions. The Redskins still can’t get many points on the board. McNabb threw for 357 yards but only 1 TD and Ryan Torain is no replacement for Clinton Portis. He gained only 40 yards without a score.

Tampa Bay Bucs 24: vs. Cincinnati Bengals 21:  Carson Palmer threw for more than 300 yards last week in a loss. They tried it a different way (21-of-36 for 209 yards) and it still didn’t work against the Bucs.  His 2 INTs in the fourth quarter allowed the Bucs to score a TD and a FG in the final minute of the game, to stun the Bengals at home. Josh Freeman threw his only TD to Michael Williams. He was 20-of-33 with an INT as well.

New York Giants 34 vs. Houston Texans 10: The Giants continue to ignore their early stinker games and used the Texans to make an offensive statement.  Eli Manning threw 3 TDs and Brandon Jacobs remembered how to get into the end zone for a TD on 41 rushing yards.  The Giants D bottled up Arian Foster (25 total yards) and intercepted Matt Schaub once.  The only TD scored by Houston all day was by RB Derrick Ward.

Atlanta Falcons 20 vs. Cleveland Browns 10: The Browns kept it close ‘til their QB threw a pick-six with 4 minutes left in the 4^th quarter, and that QB was Jake Delhomme. He was put in after an ankle injury felled Seneca Wallace who had thrown the only Browns TD of the game.  It had been a tough day for Matt Ryan as he couldn’t muster 200 yards through the air but he did just enough, waiting for the INT score. He threw 1 INT and 1 TD to trusty Roddy White.

Jacksonville Jags 36 vs. Buffalo Bills 26: The Jaguars moved to 3-2 on the season and handed the Bills their 5^th consecutive loss.  David Garrad threw three TDs, two to TE Marcedes Lewis but it was the foot of Josh Scobee who carried the day. He hit on 5 FGs, two for 49 yards each. The Bills were in the game through the middle of the 3^rd quarter and then it was all Scobee and Garrard from there on. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bills QB had a good day with 3 TDs on 20-of-30 passing but the Jags D held the Bills runners short of the end zone all day.

NFL Week 5 late games were filled with mistakes which kept the outcome of all three in doubt until the final minutes of each.

Arizona Cardinals 30 vs. New Orleans Saints 20: Drew Brees was intercepted three times, the last one with less than 25 seconds on the clock to seal the game for the Cards, via a pick-six for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.  The Arizona D also recovered a Ladell Betts fumble for a TD. Young third–string QB Max Hall earned his first win, as the Cards surprised the Saints, who sputtered on offense for the second game in a row. Hall who got the start after Derek Anderson’s benching, demonstrated his toughness early and the Cards responded for him. He left the game for a few minutes after getting laid out near the goal line on a broken play, but showed his willingness to run into the teeth of defenders.  Brees threw 1 TD to Jeremy Shockey and didn’t get more than 85 yards from his RBs as the Super Bowl champs fall to 3-2 and the Cards climb to the same record.

Tennessee Titans 34 vs. Dallas Cowboys 27: The Titans kept the Cowboys guessing with different looks on offense and defensive stops when they needed them. Tony Romo passed for 406  yards and 3 TDs  but was intercepted three times, the final time with less than a minute on the clock. After tying up the game with 4 minutes + left in the 4^th quarter, Dallas kicked off to the Titans’ rookie, Marc Mariani. He returned it into the red zone, leading to Chris Johnson’s second 1 yard TD of the day, giving the Titans a 7 point lead with 3.48 to go. Romo started leading his team down the field and got into Titans’ territory only to turn the ball over on downs, but got it back for the final attempt that ended with the 3^rd interception. Felix Jones’ 109 yards was 90% of the running game on the day but he didn’t score.  Vince Young contributed 2 TDs and the Cowboys fall to 1-3 with Tennessee climbing to 3-2 on the season.

Oakland Raiders 35 vs. San Diego Chargers 27: The Chargers got behind 12-0 with less than 5 minutes off the clock in the first quarter. Two blocked punts, one that went for a safety and the other, a return touchdown by the Raiders, led the list of reasons why.  That sent Chargers QB, Philip Rivers into a passing frenzy. When the dust cleared at half-time, San Diego was up 17-15 on 290 yards passing by Rivers, more than half of it to Malcolm Floyd. The Raiders don’t give up like they used to, however, and they have a real offense these days, even when their QB Bruce Gradkowski gets knocked out, which ushers in the benched Jason Campbell. He threw a third quarter TD to Zach Miller to get his team to within 2 and then into the lead with 3:39 left on a 2 pt. conversion throw to Johnnie Lee Higgins and a Michael Bush RD. The Chargers turned the ball over in their final two drives and the Raiders won their first game in 7 years against the Charger.  Rivers threw for 431 yards and lost. Jason Campbell just won a job back, maybe.

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Atlanta Falcons beat the San Francisco 49ers 16-14:  A new offensive coordinator in San Fran made a difference early as the 49ers scored all their points in the first half letting the defense hold the Falcons at bay. The Falcons had other ideas and ripped out their guts with two seconds on the game clock. Both teams scored just one TD on offense. The rest came from the toe of Matt Bryant for Atlanta and a score off a blocked punt by San Fran. Keep all sharp objects away from 49ers coach Mike Singletary as his team falls to 0-4.

Baltimore Ravens over the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-14: Charlie Batch didn’t connect with any of his receivers for a score and his only INT on the day, with less than 10 seconds left in the game, sealed the victory for Baltimore. Rashard Mendenhall accounted for all of Pittsburgh’s points. Joe Flacco had found T.J. Houshmandzadeh , a mere few seconds prior for the game winner. The teams even their records at 3-1.

New York Jets take the Buffalo Bills 38-14: The Jets took advantage of this division game as they should. Sanchez threw TDs to Dustin Keller and Braylon Edwards, while LaDainian Tomlinson found the end zone twice. The star of the Bills running game was their QB with 74 yards. He also tossed 2 TDs. News bulletin: the Bills are bad and remain winless at 0-4

New Orleans Saints beat the Carolina Panthers 16-14:  The Saints rebounded from last week’s loss to the Falcons and won on the foot of the ageless John Carney. He got the call to come home, earlier this week to take over from kicker Garrett Hartley. Drew Brees could only find one target in the end zone all day and his QB rating was slightly less than that of Panthers’ rookie Jimmy Clausen.  The Carolina RBs scored both of the team’s TDs as they fall to 0-4.

Cleveland Browns over the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20:  Cincy’s defense had been sharp for a couple of weeks and then they came to play in Cleveland. Seneca Wallace keeps doing enough to keep from stinking up the joint and handing it off to Peyton Hillis for 1 TD and 102 yards on the ground. Carson Palmer went 25-36 with 2 TDs, one to Terrell Owens and the Browns D cut off the Bengals running game for the team’s first win of the season.

Green Bay Packers defeated the Detroit Lions 28-26:  The Packers looked great until they stopped scoring at 14:34 of the third quarter. They watched the Lions chip away via 4 FGs by Jason Hanson. Calvin Johnson caught two TDs and the Lions lost yet another game in a sad way. Aaron Rodgers threw for 3 TDs on only 181 total passing yards. The Lions who dominated time of possession and offensive yardage should have had this one.

Denver Broncos  took care of the Tennessee Titans 26-20: The Broncos held Chris Johnson in check so the Titans turned to others for offense. They got a kick-off return TD, a receiving TD from Kenny Britt and not much else. Denver clawed its way back thanks to the kicking of Matt Prater, then Kyle Orton tossed a six-yarder to Correll Buckhalter for the game winner with 1:33 left in the game.

St. Louis Rams over the Seattle Seahawks 20-3:  The Seahawks couldn’t hold the mighty Rams in check with that whiz-kid QB of theirs, you know, the great Sam Bradford? Oh, he’s only a rookie? Couldn’t tell as he threw for 2 scores with only one pick. Seattle’s offense looked like last year’s model – in other words, lousy. The Seahawks had fewer than 70 net yards running the ball and Matt Hasselbeck was 20-36 with an INT. The Rams won their second in a row and Seattle falls to 2-2.

Jacksonville Jags beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-28:  Indy was stunned by a final seconds 59 yard field goal by Josh Scobee, as the Jaguars save their coach’s bacon for one more week, at least.  David Garrard was on fire, for him, with a 17-22, 163 yards performance. He tossed 2 scores, one to Maurice Jones-Drew and the other to big tight end, Marcedes Lewis. Peyton Manning was intercepted once, threw for 2 TDs on 33-46 passing and Joseph Addai saw the end zone twice. But it was the final drive by the Jags, culminating in the mighty kick of Josh Scobee that won the day. The Colts fall to 2-2 on the season as the Jags climb up to the same record.

San Diego Chargers over the Arizona Cardinals 41-10: The Chargers got a big early lead, as Philip Rivers threw for 2 TDs and Mike Tolbert ran for 1 in the first half. Then, Holy Matt Leinart… the Cards benched Derek Anderson after he threw a pick-six, ushering in the next great hope in Arizona, Max Hall. The former third-stringer managed to complete only 8 of 14 passes, without a TD for a mere 82 yards. The Cards running game did not pick up the slack with a total 47 yards on the day. Antonio Gates saw the end zone twice and brought in 144 yards receiving – another monster day for the burly tight end.

Washington Redskins defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 17-12: Donovan McNabb returned to Philly and the Eagles lost their starter, Mike Vick to a rib injury early. Was it voodoo, karma or something else? Whatever it was, it ushered in the second coming of Kevin Kolb and made it clear that without Vick on the field, the Eagles struggle to score. The young QB did his best, came alive late in the game with a TD strike to Brent Celek, and was driving in Redskins territory as time expired on the game clock. If Vick is banged up, Kolb, who looked rusty, will take the snaps with the first unit in practice this upcoming week. Donovan McNabb might have won in his Philly debut as a Redskin but he had another poor game. He was only 8-19, 125 yards, with 1 TD and 1 INT. Credit the Redskins defense for this victory.

Houston Texans take the Oakland Raiders 31-24: Bruce Gradkowski did what he does best, complete passes and keep his team in the game. It just wasn’t enough this Sunday.  Andre Johnson was out with an injury and the other Houston WRs made up the difference very nicely, thank you. Matt Schaub spread his passes around to six receivers, including RB Arian Foster who caught one for a TD and ran for another. He racked up 131 yards on the ground despite missing the first quarter of the game. The Raiders keep losing but they are much more entertaining than the previous couple of years, with a wide open offense and a decent running game. Darren McFadden had to leave the game with a strained hamstring after gaining 47 yards and QB Gradkowski went 24-39, 278 yards 2 scores and 2 INTs.

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

On Thursday, September 30 Jay Mariotti wrapped up his criminal matter in a mere 39 days. He hired a lawyer who protected his client’s privacy throughout and got him the best deal he could get, without going to trial and winning an acquittal on all 7 misdemeanor charges.

To settle the matter, the sports journalist agreed to plead no contest to one misdemeanor count of domestic violence. He was placed on probation for three years, ordered to attend a year-long domestic violence class and spend 40 days performing community service.  Mariotti will serve no jail time for his crime.

He has agreed to stay away from the victim, reported to be his girlfriend at the time, whose lawyer feels like his client got the shaft twice; when she got attacked and then in the reports of the settlement put out by Mariotti’s legal team.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Friday that Leonard Levine was more than a bit displeased that his client has not been treated as if she endured abuse. Rather, he said, the Mariotti team characterized the incident as one in which the victim was drunk and abusive to him. Nothing could be further from the truth, according to Levine and the agreed upon plea deal reflects that reality.

Mariotti was arrested in the early morning hours of August 21 on suspicion of felony domestic violence. An eyewitness called police and gave a statement of what he observed, outside Mariotti’s apartment building in Venice, CA.

Prosecutors chose not to charge him with any felonies and the case was sent to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office to determine if any lesser charges would be brought. Mariotti got slapped with seven misdemeanors but his court date for arraignment was postponed.

It’s clear now why that happened.

His legal team started discussing a plea bargain almost immediately, and within five weeks of his arrest it was wrapped up. That avoided a sure embarrassment of the usual “perp walk” to and from the courthouse, with media surrounding him every step of the way.

Unfortunately for him, he was suspended during that time, from his lead journalist role at AOL FanHouse. His job at ESPN was never formally suspended but the network didn’t book him to appear on his daily afternoon talk show gig on “Around the Horn.” The sports network can now weigh its decision on when and if Mariotti will return to the air. FanHouse and make its determination about that as well.

Pleading to domestic violence and accepting a court mandated course on the subject doesn’t make one the ideal candidate to go back on the air. Especially as a commentator who rips into sports figures when they do the things Mariotti was accused of. It’s more likely that FanHouse will be the first to give Mariotti his chance at redemption. Surely he’ll pen his mea culpa and maybe even admit that he was one of the least liked sports journalist as a result of his superiority complex.

With a three-year probation period, the court sent a message to him that he will be watched and punished more severely if there is a hint of a repeat of that old behavior. One can only guess what his community service choice will be. A battered woman’s shelter anyone…anyone?

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Here comes one of the strangest stories to come out of the NFL this season. Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Shaun Smith has been accused of, and actually caught on tape, grabbing opponent’s genitals during tackles.

It all began when Smith and the Chiefs played the Cleveland Browns during NFL Week 2. After Alex Mack received a 15-yard penalty for hauling off and punching Smith, he later shared that it was all about the man region.

During Week 3 this past Sunday in a game with the San Francisco 49ers, Shaun Smith was at it again and this time there is video evidence showing the creepy behavior. Anthony Davis, an offensive lineman for the 49ers, was bending down towards a pile of men after a tackle when Smith reached in and struck again.

Davis retaliated and a 15-yard penalty ensued. You know that officials always see the reaction shot, not the one that provoked it.

We all know about players baiting opponents, with the hope of rattling them into committing a penalty but Smith has gone way too far in his efforts.

Davis spoke to Bay Area media.  “He tried to feel me,” Davis said of Smith. “That’s weird, right?” You, sir, are correct. This isn’t dog pile behavior during which anything goes when players are fighting for a loose ball. This is outright weird.

The NFL office is officially mum on the subject, although with the media coverage it’s getting and the new video to watch you have to think they are aware of it. If the league isn’t ready to come down on Smith, perhaps it’s time to.

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Just hours after pitching his first MLB start, L.A. Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two of his friends were killed in a violent car crash. Justice came down on that drunk driver in court this week as Andrew Thomas Gallo, 23 was found guilty of three counts of second-degree murder in those April 2009 deaths.

In addition to those convictions, Gallo was also convicted of two felony counts of DUI causing great bodily injury and one felony count of hit-and-run since he fled the scene right after the collision.

The night of this tragic incident, Gallo, who was with his step-brother, sped his minivan through a red light killing Adenhart, Courtney Frances Stewart, who was the driver of the car, and Henry Nigel Pearson.

The prosecution’s decision to charge Gallo with second degree murder rather than mere vehicular homicide was considered risky because if the jury did not decide he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, there was no lesser charge that they were instructed to utilize instead.

Gallo, who was driving while his blood level was about three times the legal limit, has a DUI history–he plead guilty to a DUI charge in 2006. The punishment and instruction passed down at that time formed the basis for the prosecution’s counter argument that Gallo knew the consequences.

Gallo’s defense counsel argued during the weeks-long trial that without intent to drive that night, her client was not guilty of murder. The prosecution successfully argued that Gallo’s previous conviction of DUI, was warning enough for him to know what he was doing.

Defense counsel also attempted to cast doubt on whether Gallo was behind the wheel of the car. According to leaked grand jury testimony, step-brother Raymond Rivera admitted handing the keys to Gallo after the two went on a drinking binge that lasted about seven hours.

Rivera also testified that he had fallen asleep in the passenger seat and at the time of the crash was jolted awake in time to hear Gallo tell him, “Run, bitch” then Gallo ran from the scene.

The judge presiding this case can sentence Gallo to up to 55 years in prison for these multiple convictions.

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

NFL scores Week 3 with recaps are in.

The Saints lost their first game of the season, the 49ers are still winless and the Kansas City Chiefs remain unbeaten. Oh yeah, and the Vikings beat the Lions despite a so-so day from Brett Favre. Let’s go to the videotape as they say.

Pittsburgh Steelers 38  Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13: Charlie Batch threw for three TDs in the first half and the Bucs folded like a cheap suit.  So much for a Tampa Bay undefeated season. Speaking of that, the Steelers go 3-0 without Ben Roethlisberger.

Minnesota Vikings 24  Detroit Lions 10: Brett Favre can’t seem to find a deep threat or keep his INTs at bay…but when you have Adrian Peterson on a good day, you tend to win when you’re playing the Lions. He ran for two TDs and made you forget another pedestrian day for Old #4 who threw for one TD and 2INTs.

Cincinnati Bengals 20  Carolina Panthers 7 : Cincinnati’s passing offense is still less than you’d expect with their receivers, but Cedric Benson can still run and catch swing passes. He scored twice and the Bengals D forced four turnovers from young Jimmy Clausen and company.

IN OT: Atlanta Falcons 27 New Orleans Saints 24 : No Reggie Bush, no problem when you’ve got Lance Moore on a tear. He caught two TDs and Jeremy Shockey hauled in another. But Garrett Hartley, the Saints kicker had one of those days. He got his team to OT on a 32 yard effort but couldn’t replicate that in OT hooking a short 29-yarder that would have won the game. Handing the ball back to the Falcons was a mistake. Their kicker, an ex-USFL player, iced it with a 46 yarder.

Kansas City Chiefs 31 San Francisco 49ers 10: The new-look Chiefs frustrated the 49ers offense that you’d think would be explosive with Vernon Davis, Frank Gore and Michael Crabtree.  Oh well, KC showed off its passing game as Matt Cassel connected with three different receivers. Someone get the Xanax ready for Mike Singletary

Tennessee Titans 29 New York Giants 10:  Vince Young bounced back from last week’s benching and Chris Johnson was back on track with a 2 TD game. The Giants imploded with three turnovers, and multiple personal fouls on the O-line and secondary. Tom Couglin pulled three players as a result. The G-men fall to 1-2

New England Patriots 38  Buffalo Bills 30: Tom Brady threw 3 TDs, with 2 going to Randy Moss, while the latest of the unknown RBs for the Pats scored twice. The Bills made it interesting however, as C.J. Spiller finally found the end zone; he did it twice, one of them a 95 yard kick-off return.

Dallas Cowboys 27  Houston Texans 13: Dallas showed some life on offense with Romo to Williams counting for two of the team’s three scores. They limited their mistakes and their D wrapped up Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson and Arian Foster. Dallas notches win 1 of the season and the Texans lose the cross-state game.

Baltimore Ravens 24  Cleveland Browns 17: Joe Flacco found out how to use his new toy, Anquan Boldin who caught three TDs, as the Ravens won their first game of 2010. The Browns ran the ball against Ray Lewis & company with Peyton Hills gaining 144 yd. with a TD.

Indianapolis Colts 27 Denver Broncos 13 – After a slow first-half the points started coming and fast too, but not for the Broncos. Peyton Manning threw for 325 yards and 3 TDs, two to Austin Collie. On the Broncos side, Kyle Orton completed passes to nine different receivers for a total of 476 yards but only one was caught in the end zone. The Broncos running game is truly in trouble. Laurence Maroney and Correll Buckhalter had 16 attempts for fewer than 40 yards. While the Indy D only forced one turnover, they did what they needed to do to get the Colts to 2-1 on the year.

St. Louis Rams beat the Washington Redskins 30-16 – Rams’ rookie quarterback Sam Bradford looks better each week, but it sure helps to have Steven Jackson in the backfield. Bradford had one TD and one INT on 235 yards passing. Jackson combined with Kenneth Darby for 2 scores. Donovan McNabb continues to love Santana Moss, who racked up 124 yards through the air and the Redskins only TD. Washington could only muster 91 yards on the ground from its running backs and fell to 1-2 in the Mike Shanahan era. Steve Spagnuolo celebrated only his second win at Rams head coach, but he’ll take it, for sure.

Seattle Seahawks got past the San Diego Chargers 27-20 – Seattle held the Chargers scoreless in the first half, but it was San Diego’s three fumbles at key stages of drives that kept them off the board. Then the Seahawks’ pick-up from the NY Jets, Leon Washington ran back the second half opening kick 101 yards for a score. He added another one for 99 yards in the fourth quarter to seal the win for the Seahawks. Philip Rivers and his wide receivers gave it all they had but it wasn’t enough. Rivers ended up with 414 passing yards, throwing TDs to Gates and Floyd. The Seahawks go to 2-1 and their division rivals, fall to 1-2.

Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Jacksonville Jaguars 28-3 Michael Vick looks confident as the official starting QB for Philly. He threw for 3 TDs and ran for one. Jacksonville’s offense was virtually non-existent as they gained a bit more than 200 yards, 132 on the ground. David Garrard was harassed all day, going 13-30 with one INT and a quarterback rating of 38.9. Vick’s performance makes Andy Reid look good, after his early week flip-flop on the starter’s job. Kevin Kolb seems OK on the sideline with a visor and a clipboard. The Eagles lead the NFC East at 2-1 after losses by the Redskins and the New York Giants.

Arizona Cardinals outlasted the Oakland Raiders 24-23 – In a wild one in the desert, the Cardinals’ QB Derek Anderson was able to find his two top receivers, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston for one TD each, although his overall quarterback performance was average to poor. Anderson went 12-16 with an INT on 122 passing yards.

Oakland had more than enough chances to take this one from the Cardinals but tripped themselves up over and over. They committed 11 penalties that cost them 123 yards and to add insult to injury, kicker Sebastian Janokowski missed three field goalds. Bruce Gradkowski doesn’t lack for weapons and new ones at that. Louis Murphy caught 119 yards with TE Zach Miller hauling in 44 yards and one score. Darren McFadden had another good day a TD and 105 yards on the ground. Arizona climbs to 2-1 and the Raiders fall to 1-2

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

WBA Super Lightweight World Champion Amir “King” Khan, (23-1 17 KOs) will climb into the ring to fight WBA Super Lightweight Interim World Champion Marcos “Chino” Maidana, (29-1 27 KOs). The world title fight will take place at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on December 11, 2010.

The formal announcement of the fight was made in London at a Planet Hollywood with the fighters surrounded by decked out Vegas showgirls.

This will be Khan’s third title defense of his belt after previously beating Dmitry Salita and Paulie Malignaggi to retain his title.

Khan is the silver medal winner from the 2004 Athens Olympics, a feat he accomplished when he was just 17 years old. He told the media that he is tired of the doubters who have had issues since his loss to Briedis Prescott a few years ago.

“I want this fight because once I’ve beat Maidana I can shut everyone up and they will know who the champion is.”

Maidana who won the interim WBA World Championship title with a TKO over “Vicious” Victor Ortiz and has successfully defended the crown in three fights, responded to Khan’s comments:

“Khan’s been running from me for a long time, but the running stops on December 11. I’ll show him how a champion acts and fights when we get into the ring in Las Vegas.”

Oscar De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Productions who is co-promoter of the fight told the media, “I believe these are the two of the top 140-pound fighters in the world and with Khan’s speed and Maidana’s power, this fight is going to be explosive.”

The fight will be televised on HBO’s World Championship Boxing.

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The central issue in the divorce trial of Dodgers owners Frank and Jamie McCourt seems to rest on the use of one word in their marital property agreement. A lawyer admitted on the stand that he changed wording in a contract between the couple that is now at the heart of their tussle over who really owns the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Both Mr. and Mrs. McCourt have asserted ownership rights. Mrs. McCourt said she was co-owner under California’s community property laws. Mr. McCourt claimed they signed a marital property agreement in 2004 that named him sole owner.

Both were able to pull out their copies of the agreement to prove their individual cases. It turns out they were correct. Two versions of the agreement exist, with one having been reviewed at the time both parties signed. Another one, with a change made in one of the schedules, was created after that, with only one word change. The original schedule was replaced after the fact. On that one word, hangs the fate of the Dodgers.

The word at issue is “exclusive”, as in whether the Mr. McCourt’s sole portion of the couples’ property and assets excluded the Dodgers, making the team joint property.

The change to the word “inclusive” was made by the couple’s lawyer at the time, one Larry Silverstein, a Massachusetts lawyer. The McCourts resided in that state prior to their purchase of the Dodgers and their relocation to California and Silverstein represented both Jamie and Frank during the drafting of the document.

 The intent of the agreement, according to Silverstein, was to reflect the couple’s wish to segregate their personal real estate holdings from their other assets, with Mrs. McCourt getting the multiple residences and Mr. McCourt getting the businesses, including debt as well as equity.

There has been testimony from Mr. McCourt and Mr. Silverstein about Mrs. McCourt’s concern about the potential for business creditors to put a lien or seize their personal residences if Mr. McCourt overextended himself in his businesses. Silverstein testified that there was an error in the drafting that changed the meaning of their intentions, that hadn’t been caught by anyone prior to final signing and notarizing. The problem seems to stem from the attorney’s failure to alert the couple to what he called a mere drafting error and an innocent mistake.

The mistake is now being viewed by Mrs. McCourt and her attorneys as intentional on the part of Silverstein. He is being browbeaten on the witness stand with allegations of unethical conduct and potential malpractice. David Boies, attorney for Jamie McCourt has seized on this issue to blow a hole in what Frank McCourt thought was going to be a slam dunk for him to walk away with the Dodgers as his little fiefdom.

The team’s fate lies in the balance between these two accounts. If the team is community property, it is probable that neither one will have the liquidity or the credit to buy the other out. It is clear they can’t abide to be in the same room with each other, never mind run a business together. That would force a sale to a third party with the couple splitting the proceeds.

What do Dodger fans want? They are sick of the McCourts and more fans than not want a clean slate with a new owner. Whether that will happen might just hang in the balance between two versions of a contract.

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

After further review, Michael Vick has been named the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, and it isn’t related to the concussion suffered by announced starter, Kevin Kolb.

Andy Reid, the Eagles head coach, told the media on Tuesday that Vick has shown the team that he is among the league’s leading quarterbacks after Week 2. We have to assume Reid is aware it was against the Lions who own the most questionable secondary the NFL has seen over the past several years.

Regardless, earlier in the week, Reid announced that Kevin Kolb would return to his starter’s role, but Vick’s QB rating, during his time behind center is 105.1, ranking him fourth in the league.

Vick threw for 175 yards, threw one touchdown and ran for 103 yards during the two quarters of a 27-20 season-opening loss to Green Bay. In Week 2 against Detroit, he had 284 yards passing and two TDs in a 35-32 win at Detroit.

Numbers don’t always tell the whole story and anyone watching that game knows that Vick threw several balls up for grabs in desperate 3^rd and long situations and the Lions secondary although outnumbering Eagles’ jerseys just could never come down with the ball.

Another factor in the decision has to be Philadelphia’s somewhat ineffective offensive line. With his ability to move outside the pocket, he can get past the inefficiencies up front. Vick was running for his life most of the Detroit game and despite Vick’s ability to scramble, the Lions still had 6 sacks.

Vick has not been intercepted and shown, even to his detractors that he looks to pass before running. He goes through his options, looks for check-downs and his arm is like a cannon. In his post-game remarks on Sunday, he seemed sincere when he said he wouldn’t resist Kolb’s return to the starting role when he was cleared to play. He said he believes that he is ten times the quarterback he was when he was forced out of the NFL, after his indictment on federal dog-fighting charges.

It was plain to see that in the final months of his two-season deal with the Eagles he could smell the future and it included a free-agent pick up for a team looking for a starter who can lead a team.

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

NFL Week 2 scores may produce panic among fans of the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys, both of which suffered their second consecutive losses without a win this new season. But if you live in Chicago, you’re ready to crown Mike Martz, king of the Windy City.

Here are the scores and rundown of the games for NFL Week Two.

Miami Dolphins beat the Minnesota Vikings 14-10: Adrian Peterson was the whole show for the Vikings in their home opener.  He ran for 145 yards and scored the team’s only TD. Another poor day for Brett Favre included a fumble in the end zone resulting in Miami’s second and final TD of the day.

Green Bay Packers over the Buffalo Bills 34-7: The Green Bay home opener against the Buffalo Bills gave the home crowd a big win, but the Pack sputtered a bit until the second half. QB Aaron Rodgers turned it up a couple of notches as he passed for two TDs and ran for another. Fred Jackson scored the lone TD for the Bills.

Chicago Bears win over the Dallas Cowboys 27-20: It’s worry time in Dallas. Cowboys QB Tony Romo threw a ridiculous number of passes for the second game in a row. He was 39-51, which resulted in only one TD and 2 INTs. The Bears held the Dallas running game in check and Jay Cutler was 21-29 with 3 TDs. The highlight for Dallas was rookie Dez Bryant’s 62 yard punt return for a TD.

Pittsburgh Steelers over Tennessee Titans 19-11: The Pittsburgh Steelers are 2-0 without Ben Roethlisberger but it’s no thanks to Dennis Dixon. He left the game with an injury, replaced by Charlie Batch. Kicker Jeff Reed accounted for 15 of the Steelers points. Titans RB Chris Johnson was held to 34 yards from scrimmage and Kerry Collins, in for the sputtering Vince Young threw for the only Titans.

Philadelphia Eagles beat the Detroit Lions 35-32: In a wild and high scoring game in Detroit, the Philadelphia Eagles outlasted the Lions 35-32. Mike Vick had a great day at QB, subbing for the injured Kevin Kolb. But the Lions almost pulled it out, scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter. Lions rookie RB, Jahvid Best scored three times as did his counterpart on the Eagles, LeSean McCoy. Vick ended the day with 2 TDs 21-34 without an INT. Kolb is expected to return next week. QB controversy anyone?

New England Patriots visited the New York Jets and lost 28-14. The Jets had a controversial week with a sexual harassment flap and a bad loss to the Ravens. It made you think the Pats would roll, right? That’s why they play the game. Mark Sanchez didn’t turn the ball over on 21-30 passing and threw for three TDs. The Jets defense intercepted Tom Brady twice, both by Antonio Cromartie who had to pick up the slack for an injured. Darrelle Revis. LaDainian Tomlinson looked like he drank from the fountain of youth. He was the team’s most productive runner for the second week in a row, gaining 76 yards on the ground and added 26 yards receiving.

The Houston Texans came back to tie and then beat the Washington Redskins in overtime 30-27.  Matt Schaub who threw for more than 497 yards, pitched a pretty TD pass to trusty wide receiver Andre Johnson with a bit more than two minutes left in regulation to tie it up. The Redskins couldn’t seem to run the ball very much, except when Clinton Portis was near the goal line. He scored twice but gained only 33 yards. Donovan McNabb threw for 426 yards and one score. The Skins had a chance to win the game in OT, but as kicker Graham Gano ran up to the ball, Houston coach Gary Kubiak called a time out to ice him. It worked and his second attempt failed. The Texans were able to capitalize and won on Neil Rackers third successful field goal of the game. The two teams put up almost 1,000 yards of total offense.

The Denver Broncos skunked the Seattle Seahawks 31-14 and it was not pretty on either offense or defense for the Seahawks. The Seahawks came back down to earth in Week 2, after their win against the 49ers, and their defense let the Broncos run wild. Denver QB Kyle Orton didn’t have a pick and threw for 2 TDs on 307 yards. Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter both scored a Denver TD on the ground. Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck went 20-35 and was picked off three times, in a game that was reminiscent of the 2009 season. Back to the drawing board for coach Pete Carroll.

The San Diego Chargers put a beat down on the Jacksonville Jaguars, 38-13.  Philip Rivers threw for 334 yards, two TDs and 2 INTs. Malcolm Floyd scored once on 95 receiving yards with fullback Mike Tolbert scoring two on the ground. The Jaguars decided that after four INTs and no TDs quarterback David Garrad should be replaced by Luke McCown. It looked like a good move as McCown moved the offense, but he left the game with an injury. A chastened Garrad returned to throw for the only Jags touchdown on the day, a pass to Mike Sims-Walker. Maurice Jones-Drew was held to 31 yards on the ground and 17 receiving yards.

The Oakland Raiders held off the St. Louis Rams, 16-14. After Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell got benched, Bruce Gradkowski did what he generally does for Oakland: he wins. He threw for the team’s only touchdown on the day, a pass to Louis Murphy. Kicker Sebastian Janikowski kicked three field goals and that was enough to beat St. Louis. Rams quarterback Sam Bradford had a decent game two for a rookie. He threw for two touchdowns, both to Mark Clayton and went 14-25 on the day with one INT.

Cincinnati Bengals win against Baltimore Ravens 15-10: Cincinnati evened its their record at 1-1 with a big win against their fierce division rival. Ravens QB Joe Flacco had the worst day of his pro career, going 17-39 with 4 INT’s and one TD. The Bengals got all their points from kicker Mike Nugent.

Atlanta Falcons over the Arizona Cardinals 41-7: . Matt Ryan threw for 3 TDs and running back Jason Snelling ran for two. The Cardinals offense was non-existent except for one 80 yard TD run by Tim Hightower. How’s that QB thing going for the Cards? Anyone? Other news from the Falcons sidelines, Michael Turner left the game with a groin injury in the 2nd quarter and did not play in the second half.

Kansas City Chiefs beat the Cleveland Browns 16-14: The newly invigorated KC Chiefs won their second in a row by beating the Cleveland Browns, who drop to 0-2. Seneca Wallace, subbing for injured Jake Delhomme, at QB for the Browns actually outplayed his counterpart, Matt Cassel but the KC defense and running game ruled the day.

Tampa Bay Bucs win against the Carolina Panthers 20-7:  Break up the Bucs! They are 2-0 after a beat down of the Carolina Panthers, 20-7. Bucs QB Josh Freeman threw for 2 TDs and the Bucs defense held the twin-towers of Carolina’s running game to under 100 yards. They also picked off Matt Moore once, which resulted in him being benched for rookie Jimmy Clausen, who fared no better.

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC