“I haven’t scripted any answers to any questions. This is the real Tyrann right now.” The New York Post neglected to add, “…as he hit the jumbo slow so it sizzled. Smoke filled the air around the reporters as he coughed and offered it up. ‘Yo somebody hit this. I gotta go cover some outs and slants.’”

Of course the Jets are interested in Lue. Why not? It makes sense. Antonio Cromartie lining up across the field from the Honey Badger. Tim Tebow sulking in his Soul headphones. Hopefully they can’t move Gator Jesus and Rex gets a tattoo of a honey badger defiling his wife on his other arm.

“[NFL scouts] are definitely going to be concerned about my off-the-field habits,” Mathieu said. “But it’s definitely something I’ve cleaned up. I’m molding into a smart young man now.”

For example, I know to tell my friends to wait until I let them in instead of trying to bust through the security gate.

Hard Knocks should just keep camera crews at Hofstra and Florham Park all year.

What is happening here?  This photo was taken by NY Jets tight end Dustin Keller, apparently on the team plane back from Cleveland where the Jets just beat the Browns 26-20.  Keller stuck it up on his Plixi account for us all to see and I am now forever grateful.

What is Sanchez doing here though?  Is he doing his impersonation of De Niro or Brando?  Is this just how Sanchez actually talks?  It would really warm my heart a lil bit he did talk like this all the time and I have no idea why.  Also, side note, why does he look so much like Adam Morrison here?

The most astounding thing about this picture, to me, is surprisingly not so much the raccoon hat that Sanchez is wearing, no, it is that the star quarterback of the New York Jets does not get to sit in first class.  That is full on coach seating there. Sure he gets a whole row to himself, but c’mon Rex, hook the kid up.

I’d love to see the picture of first class with Rex Ryan and the whole coaching staff sipping on champagne and smoking Cuban cigars while lounging around in NY Jets logo’ed plush robes and slippers. That must be happening up there.  It must.

Mark Sanchez, raccoon hat wearing, coach class sitting, man of the people.

Is this pic dying for photoshops or what?

Hard Knocks on HBO this season has been amazing from the start and this clip from the show is no different. It might even be one of the best endings to a pep talk ever in the history of endings to pep talks. Why? Well because of snacks of course. Who the fuck doesn’t want to eat a snack after getting pepped up? I know I do. Stick around til the end, its just randomness.

Guess which perpetually injured quarterback who has trouble throwing the ball more than 30 yards wants back on an NFL field? Chad Pennington of course! Even more shocking is that the Dolphins wouldn’t mind him back as an insurance option for Chad Henne, but they need to see if he can actually throw a 15 yard out route first. That’s right, they aren’t sure if he can hit a 15 yard out route because his arm/shoulder have been so shredded throughout his career. Isn’t that what you want in a backup quarterback?

Lets take a look at Chad’s injury history in his 9 seasons of pro football real quick:

• 2002 – Fracture/dislocation on his left (non-throwing) hand (missed 6 games)
• 2004 – Injured right rotator cuff (missed 4 games)
• Feb  2005 – Surgery to repair substantial tear in the right rotator cuff, as well as a large bone spur.
• Sept 2005 – Injured right rotator cuff.
• Oct  2005 – Surgery to repair his right rotator cuff.
• 2007 – High ankle sprain (missed 1 game); benched after 8 games.
• Sept 2009 – Injured right shoulder.
• Oct  2009 – Surgery to repair labrum tear and shoulder capsule.

Wow…ok. If this was baseball, this guy would only be tossing balls for a rec league softball team. A guy who never had much arm strength to begin with, coming off his 3rd shoulder surgery, who has only played in 16 games twice in his career, seriously wants to give it another go? I dont want to be the bearer of bad news but, c’mon, read the tea leaves Chad.

Pennington needs to listen to his body more than his heart. He may have the desire to play still, but his body has already told him he just shouldn’t do it.

From Miami Herald

This past Sunday afternoon of playoff football was by far the best 2 games of the playoffs this season. Sure, the Colts and Jets game was done after the colts took a two score lead, but before that it was pretty impressive, but the Saints/Vikings game was an ass load full of entertainment. You had Purple Jesus fumbling the ball left and right. You had Brett Favre playing like a kid, leading the league in smiles, and just gunslinging the ball into the hands of Vikings defenders, ultimately losing the game for his team. It was non stop entertainment and sure I was drunk most the time, but Goddammit, it was for my dollar the best weekend of playoff football yet.

I don’t even know if the Super Bowl can come close to this weekend. You had an overtime game, you had parts of games that were defensive masterpieces, you had parts of games that were offensive explosions, you had untimely pentalties, you had untimely turnovers, you had untimely fumbles and dropped interceptions that weren’t turnovers but should have been, you had challenges, booth reviews, and you had Brett Favre getting beat into the ground and looking like the old man that he is.  The Saints win and the Colts win.  Fun times.

This is what the NFL playoffs should be about. The previous Wild Card and Divisional games that preceeded this weekend of AFC and NFC Championships really cannot even compare. For both these games, you had two relatively evenly matched oppenents facing off their strength vs the other teams strength in a battle for the ultimate conquest…a chance at the Lombardi Trophy. The Jets’ suffocating defense versus the robotically efficient Colts’ offense. MATCHUP! The Vikings’ high flying offense and intense defense versus the Saints’ even more high flying offense and even more intense defense. MATCHUP!

Sorry to sound like an NFL fanboy but I was in heaven watching these games. If parity rules in the NFL then I hope every weekend is like this. Now, we have the Saints in their very first Super Bowl appearance versus the Colts.

The Colts are an extremely efficient offense that thrives on not making any mistakes with their precise attack and they are going against a defense that thrives on forcing their opponents into making mistakes. The Saints offense isn’t as efficient but their firepower makes up for it in that they have so many weapons to get the balls into the hands of, not to mention a quarterback that can put the ball into the hands of the playmakers when they are open. The Colts’ defense is solid, but will certainly have trouble matching up against the numerous options the Saints have.

This might be a Super Bowl I am genuinely excited about for the first time in a long time. Two high powered offenses against two generally decent defenses makes for a pretty evenly matched game with plenty of fireworks. Hooray for the NFL, David Stern couldn’t have planned for a better championship game.

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)