FanHouse

Hellooooooo, Irony: Randy Moss Gets Some New Milestones on a Pass From Matt Cassel


Randy Moss is obviously a Hall of Famer, all time great wide receiver. Etc. He is glitter. He is glisten. He is awesomeness. And he is also now the holder of the following "records": 13 most receiving yards in NFL history (13,014) as he passed Jimmy Smith, who is busy not driving today I'm sure, and third most all time 100 yard receiving games in the history of the NFL.

The catch (yes, pun intended)? The deep ball -- a 58 yarder -- he caught to go over 100 for the game and to break get these milestones was a pass thrown by Matt Cassel. You know, the guy with the second cushiest job in America behind Jim Sorgi? Until today, anyway, when he had to come in and replace an injured Brady in the first quarter of the season opener.

The lesson, as always? Bill Belichick doesn't even need Tom Brady. All he needs is personnel that cares enough about winning and "TEAM" and that tries hard and focuses and keeps their mouth shut ... okay that's not the lesson. The lesson is that the Chiefs stink. And the Patriots are a very talented team and I could probably hook up with Moss for a touchdown this week. So everyone can stop freaking out. For now.

Update: Moss and Cassel love each other so much they decided to hook up for a touchdown. Awww.

TOTAL FREAKOUT. Tom Brady Is Already Hurt and It's Only the First Quarter

The Patriots intended to start the defense their AFC Championship early, picking up the Chiefs by their collective Larry Johnson Diaper and slamming them into the ground with abrupt force. Then, Tom Brady got hurt. Soooooo, freakout please.

Brady was dropping back in the first and began to throw when Bernard Pollard came flying in and gave him one of those little split type things that looks like it could shatter your groin.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, the reigning NFL MVP, limped off the field in the first quarter of Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brady remained on the turf after he was hit in the left leg by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard. There was no immediate announcement on his injury or his status.

Brady had completed a 26-yard pass to Randy Moss, who fumbled the ball away when he was tackled.
Still: total nightmare. From a fantasy perspective, you need to breathe. And breathe often. Because with Brady locked in your lineup, there's nothing you can do. You could go grab the suddenly monstrous Matt Ryan (not really, but it's an option, I would imagine) or maybe look for Trent Edwards if you failed to draft a backup quarterback.

Laurence Maroney, if the injury is serious, will take a major bump up in production, simply because the Pats will be running the ball a lot more. Randy Moss and Wes Welker, yeah, not so much.

Tom Brady Leaves Game After Injuring Leg



Patriots quarterback and defending NFL MVP Tom Brady has injured his left leg early on against the Kansas CIty Chiefs.

He has left the game and gone into the locker room for X-rays. Matt Cassell has replaced Brady.

Brady threw a deep pass to Randy Moss (Moss caught it, fell down, and fumbled the ball) when a Chiefs defender rolled over Brady's lower left leg. Brady went down as he knee bent back and ankle twisted. He stayed on the ground grasping his left leg.

Brady had missed the entire preseason due to a ... well ... some kind of injury to his foot.

More on this story as it develops.

NFL Reverses Course, Former Chad Johnson Can't Wear 'Ocho Cinco' on Jersey

The wide receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson is still known as C. Johnson on the back of his jersey.

Although he legally changed his name to Chad Ochocinco and planned to put "Ocho Cinco" on the back of his Cincinnati Bengals jersey, he took the field with his old name on his back today against the Baltimore Ravens.

Here's the official statement from the team:
"While the NFL has recognized the legal name change of Chad Johnson to Chad Ocho Cinco, the league informed the Bengals today that certain issues remain to be resolved before Ocho Cinco will be permitted to wear his new surname on his jersey. He will wear the name Johnson on his jersey today and will be referred to as Chad Johnson on the official play-by-play sheet. Further questions should be directed to the league office."
The NFL apparently is worried that allowing Johnson to change the name on his jersey would set a bad precedent. Johnson may have changed his name to Ochocinco for nothing.

Live Bloggin': Chevy Rock & Roll 400



The weather at Richmond International Raceway is simply phenomenal the day after Tropical Storm Hanna breezed through, and after a day off, the stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series are ready to roll in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400.

Kyle Busch leads the field to the green just after 1pm/ET and FanHouse has you covered the whole way. Can David Ragan or Kasey Kahne make the Chase? Will Jeff Gordon get booted out?

Jump in below to the conversation as we get a heavy dose of NASCAR live bloggin' -- just in time to set the field for the 12-driver Chase to the Championship!

Donnie Walsh Confirms Knicks-Grizz Talks

As the rumors about a deal pitching Zach Randolph to Memphis for a Darko Milicic and Marko Jaric package continue to fester, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News gets Knicks boss Donnie Walsh to confirm on the record that he's been chatting with his Grizzly counterpart. The rumor mill continues to press Knick subsidies to help pay Z-Bo's deal as the sticking point.

The Darko & Marko package isn't completely clear in 2010: Jaric makes $7.6 million in 2010-11. That still saves New York almost $10 million that summer, and -- without accounting for David Lee, Nate Robinson and Mardy Collins, who will all be free agents in the next couple years -- that's almost enough to free up the Knicks for a max contract in the vaunted summer of '10. The targeted max players of '10 -- LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Amare -- will draw starting salaries of $20 million. With this deal (and again, no new deals for the free agents) the Knicks will sit about $15-16 million under the cap in '10.

There would also still be two years to work on a smaller project. New York doesn't need to be the first team to clear the cap, they just need to get it done by July 1, 2010, if they want to play ball. Things are certainly getting more interesting ...

Next for Chuck Liddell: Anderson Silva? Fight a Tomato Can? Move to Heavyweight? Retire?

With one of the biggest punches in the history of mixed martial arts, Rashad Evans knocked out Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 last night, earning himself a shot at the light heavyweight title.

But what about Liddell, who held that title for two years and would have gotten another shot at it if he had beaten Evans? What is the future of The Iceman, who for years has been UFC's most popular fighter? Here are four possibilities:

Fight Anderson Silva: Silva is the middleweight champion and widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Assuming he successfully defends his middleweight title against Patrick Cote at UFC 90, Silva will have cleared out the middleweight division to such an extent that there really aren't any interesting fights left for him at 185 pounds.

Silva's manager has said that Silva would like to fight Liddell, and the fight would make big money for UFC. The only reason not to do it would be the fear that Silva would absolutely destroy Liddell. Which leads us to another option...

Sunday Morning Tailgate: Football Is Here, Nothing Else Matters (Oh, Fantasy Rulez Too)


GO. TIME. PEOPLE.

That's right. Football started on Thursday night and it was glorious (insomuch as a Giants - Redskins, "Hey, we're both .500 teams!" type of game can be). But today ... today is when everything becomes wonderful once a week for 10 hours at a time.

And part of that glory is fantasy football of course. Which is why the Sunday Morning Tailgate returns for 2008, complete with live chat capabilities. We've already covered the positional rankings, talked about important fantasy injuries, we've discussed sleepers, we've examined a few coinflips, we named some last-minute upside plays, we made total point predictions, and we've even told you what stars to sit.

Now, we will hang out and chat with you, answering your questions, talking strategy and drooling at the thought of 16 more weeks of sweet, sweet foosball.

You bring the chicken biscuits, we'll bring the expertise. We go live at 10:30, and maybe earlier if I can't sleep Saturday night.

Great News Raiders, Jets Fans: McFadden, Gholston Have Bust Written All Over Them


It's finally here, people: the NFL season is upon us. In the seven months since the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, front-office types have wheeled and dealed, players have trained, and coaches have game-planned, all for this moment.

Today everybody's upbeat -- ecstatic, even -- especially the fans, many of whom use football as an escape from real-world drudgeries that can sometimes make the offseason seem unbearably long. And by "everybody", I mean "everybody but Greg Cosell." Cosell is the guy behind the guy behind the guy at NFL Films, and he's basically Ron Jaworski's off-camera alter ego.

His most recent column is about as uplifting as a funeral procession, but without all the ceremony. The title pretty much sets the tone, and if you're a Raiders or Jets fans, it just gets more depressing/infuriating from there: "McFadden, Gholston have look of NFL busts."

Now this could very well be the case, but jeebus, man, we haven't even seen either of them play a snap in a regular-season game. It's one thing to call out Alex Smith and Matt Leinart for their shortcomings -- there's plenty of film of those two in various states of underachievement -- but Darren McFadden and Vernon Gholston? Okay, let's hear it.

Donovan McNabb Kicks Off 10th Season Without Kevin Curtis Or Reggie Brown


Today's game against the St. Louis Rams will kick off the 10th year of the Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid era in Philadelphia. After a decade together, you'd think Big Red would reward the franchise QB with a stud receiver or two.

Jason Avant, Hank Baskett, and DeSean Jackson aren't exactly household names. But with Kevin Curtis out with a sports hernia and Reggie Brown looking doubtful, those three guys will be Donovan McNabb's starting receivers today against the Rams.

Fear not, Eagles fans. While there's no stud in that bunch, the Eagles also have a healthy tight end in L.J. Smith and perhaps the best receiving running back in the game, Brian Westbrook. Throw in the Birds' speedy new half back addition of Lorenzo Booker and the Eagles can certainly catch some passes without their top two guys in the line up.
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