Former Chicago Bear Sam Hurd allegedly may have sold drugs to other NFL players.

Sam Hurd liked to play with kilos of cocaine, until he was caught.

From The Chiacgo Sun Times

What if Sam Hurd had been supplying his Bears teammates with cocaine and marijuana? What if the five to 10 kilograms of coke and the 1,000 pounds of weed he allegedly wanted to purchase per week were also for his former Cowboys teammates and for pro players who make Dallas and Chicago their offseason homes?

What if Hurd was the Unofficial Drug Dealer of the NFL?

Then, friends, the Bears have a problem that will make Tank Johnson’s past criminal troubles look like a 911 call for a cat stuck in a tree.

It doesn’t take much of an imagination to get to a very uncomfortable place with Hurd and the Bears. They waived the receiver Friday, two days after his arrest on federal drug conspiracy charges. According to the criminal complaint against him, Hurd told an undercover agent that he and a partner already were selling about four kilograms of cocaine a week but needed more. The amount of cocaine and pot he wanted to buy weekly was worth about $700,000.

Original Photos Bloomberg, insidesocal

Albert Pujols of the California Anaheim Los Angeles Angels will have to be pretty good to justify his big contract.

It's going to take a lot of hits for Albert Pujols to give the Angels their money's worth.

From The Wall Street Journal

As The Wall Street Journal’s Jared Diamond pointed out, teams that sign players to 10-year deals don’t always regret them. But a team signing a first baseman who will be 32 when he starts serving the contract has less chance of getting its money’s worth. That’s because most of a first baseman’s value derives from his bat — even for a good fielder like Pujols. He’ll have to continue to justify his worth with his offense, which is likely to decline.

Pjuols will have to deliver about 40 wins above replacement for the duration of the contract to justify its value, based on how teams value wins today and taking into account that a dollar he earns later in the deal is worth less than a dollar in 2012. But none of Pujols’s peers have been able to do that. I looked at the other 84 men to earn at least 15 wins above replacement by their age-31 season while playing at least three-quarters of their games at first base or designated hitter. None managed more than Lou Gehrig‘s 31.5 wins above replacement for the rest of his career, and that’s even with Gehrig’s career cut short by his eponymous disease. Only 10 players reached 20 WAR, and two out of three didn’t even provide 10 more wins above replacement.

Original Photo bleacherreport

Chris Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, until the NBA rejected the deal.

Chris Paul is a Hornet. No, he's a Laker. No he's not, he's a Hornet again.

From Yahoo

NBA commissioner David Stern killed the New Orleans Hornets’ trade of Chris Paul after several owners complained about the league-owned team dealing the All-Star point guard to the Los Angeles Lakers, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Some owners pushed Stern to nullify the trade and that the Hornets be made to keep Paul on the roster for the foreseeable future, sources said. A chorus of owners were irate with the belief that the five-month lockout had happened largely to stop big-market teams from leveraging small-market teams for star players pending free agency.

Original Photos thirdage , nbajerseys4sale

Shahid Khan is on the verge of becoming the new owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Shahid Khan's purchase of the Jacksonville Jaguars is almost enough to overshadow his mustache. Almost.

From USA Today

Asked whether the team would remain in Jacksonville, the Illinois businessman said he couldn’t comment until the deal was approved — then offered a hint of what the answer would be.

“Hopefully the vote goes the way we’re expecting; I’ll be happy to elaborate on that, and (fans) will not be disappointed,” Khan said after meeting with the 10 owners on the committee at league headquarters.

Wayne Weaver announced last Tuesday that he had agreed to sell the franchise to Khan for a reported $760 million. The owners will vote Dec. 14 in Dallas.

Original Photo patrickgarvin

Chris Paul really wants to be a New York Knick.

If Chris Paul has his way, he'll be on the New York Knicks sooner than later.

From ESPN NY

The source did not confirm or deny reports that a representative for Paul has told the Hornets their point guard wants to be traded to the Knicks, but league sources say team general manager

The first day Demps could be allowed to talk to Paul is Dec. 9, when commissioner David Stern hopes to open training camps and fully lift the league’s labor lockout.

What will Demps hear that day? Apparently, not even Paul may know. “At this time, he is weighing his options and deciding what the best thing to do is,” the source familiar with Paul’s thinking said.

Original Photo Fan’s Edge

The NBA and it’s players showed their holiday spirit by reaching a deal to ensure there will be basketball on Christmas.

NBA commissioner David Stern is feeling the Christmas spirit after a tentative labor deal was reached with the players.

From The New York Times

The deal was reached about 3 a.m. Saturday, on the 149th day of the lockout, after a final 15-hour bargaining session at the law offices of Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Midtown Manhattan.

Based on tentative agreements reached earlier, the deal is expected to be for 10 years, the longest such contract in the history of the National Basketball Association, with an option for either side to terminate it after six years. It includes a significant pay cut for players, along with shorter contracts, smaller raises and a more punitive tax system to rein in the top-spending teams.

Original Photos yahoo, costumecraze

The Denver Broncos’ chief of football operations John Elway is not a big believer in Tim Tebow.

John Elway does not have faith in Tim Tebow's arm.

From ESPN

Tim Tebow on Tuesday told “ESPN First Take” that he doesn’t pay attention to the lukewarm support from Denver Broncos chief of football operations John Elway and instead focuses on trying to get better as a quarterback.

Elway answered “no” on Monday when asked on his weekly radio show on 102.3 FM The Ticket in Denver if the Broncos were “any closer to feeling if you have your quarterback on this team?”

Original Photo yahoo

When the NBAPA announced it’s plans to disband, they likely killed the chances of an NBA season.

The NBA Players Association dropped a bomb on labor negotiations, that according to David Stern, will cause a "nuclear winter".

From The Washington Post

NBA Commissioner David Stern quickly discredited the players’ attempt to take legal action as a “charade” in an interview with ESPN, calling the move a tragedy that could lead the league into “the nuclear winter.” He was highly critical of the “badly misled” union that he said is bent on self-destruction.

“There will ultimately be a new collective bargaining agreement,” Stern said in a statement issued by the league, “but the 2011-12 season is now in jeopardy.”

Original Photo bleacherreport

A growing number of NBA owners are actually hoping that the players reject the latest CBA proposal.

If there were any more hardliners at NBA owners meetings, it would look like the Polit Bureau.

From Yahoo

The point is that the players are facing a group of owners who are either representing or paying for the sins of teams that were purchased for way too much, and subsequently spent way, way too much on the Josh Childress’ of the world. As a result, those owners don’t care if there’s a season in 2011-12. They don’t care about their employees, and they don’t care about the workers that make a living tangentially through NBA basketball. And you can’t reason with that sort of lunacy.

All you can do is cede to it, if you want some of what you once had. Because negotiating only brought you this far.

If the players want to play, this really is the end of the line. It’s not the beginning of the end, the first step in some sort of magical, decertified journey that is going to lead back to a majority of the basketball related income in their pockets and sign-and-trades for all. No, this is it.

And we’re expecting NBA players, whose sense of perspective is skewed as badly as anyone’s, to recognize this. God help us all.

Original Photos marxists, cnbc

Joe Paterno has been fired for his role in the worst college sports scandal ever.

Joe Paterno's statue at Penn State.

From The Chicago Tribune

Shed no tears for Joe Paterno. Save your pity for the innocent boys who will grow up into tortured men, not JoePa.

Spare me the indignation over the Penn State Board of Trustees firing Paterno on Thursday night over the phone.

Had Paterno picked one up 13 years ago and called the most powerful law-enforcement official he knew in the state, not just the top campus cop, he might have saved innocent boys from an alleged pedophile — and quite likely his job, his school and his legacy.

Penn State removed Paterno from that job because, finally, somebody in Creepy Valley did the right thing. Somebody followed a conscience instead of a university handbook. That it came 13 years too late will haunt State College, Pa., forever. It will indelibly stain Paterno’s Hall of Fame tenure, as if that matters.

Original Photo theforkandtheroad

The Carolina Panthers are very happy with Cam Newton.

Cam Newton might actually be a machine.

From National Football Post

What isn’t questionable is the impact the ex-Auburn star has had on the Carolina Panthers (2-5).  With seven games under his belt, Newton has surpassed all expectations by breaking records and leading an offense, which is ranked No. 5 in the NFL after experiencing a season of finishing near the bottom in several major categories.

Despite a losing record, Newton has brought hope and excitement to Carolina.  He believes he could have played better in spite his excellent numbers.  Moreover, he doesn’t take the credit for being fourth in passing yards (2,103) and second in rushing touchdowns (7) in the NFL.

He didn’t take credit for last week’s victory over the Washington Redskins, either.

Newton couldn’t do anything wrong against the Redskins.  After throwing three interceptions against the Atlanta Falcons two weeks ago, Newton didn’t have a turnover and completed 18 of 23 passes for 256 yards and a 127.5 passer rating.  He finished with a 127.5 passer rating and rushed for 59 yards on 10 carries.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera gave Newton the game ball for that performance.  But Newton decided to give the ball to the offensive line.

Original Photos Yahoo, teenymanolo

The St. Louis Cardinals are 2011 World Series Champions.

Jesus loves the St. Louis Cardinals.

From ESPN

After seven raucous and stirring games — when, as the end drew near, it became clear that there was no amount of runs, no dearth of outs that this club could not overcome, so much so that even a quick 2-0, top-of-the-first-inning deficit in Game 7 did not appear disconcerting — the St. Louis Cardinals are World Series champions, not only resurrected from the crypt to shock the devastated and disheartened Rangers and themselves, but also in spirit.

Original Photo orlandofinearts

NBA owners are meeting with the players again.

Commissioner David Stern gives an update on the NBA lockout.

From The NY Daily News

Following a marathon 15-hour negotiating session that concluded at 3 a.m. Thursday, officials from both the sides said there is a possibility that an 82-game schedule can be played if a new collective bargaining agreement is finalized within the next five to seven days.

“We’ll try to schedule as many games as possible if we can make a deal this week,” Stern, the NBA Commissioner, said early Thursday. “Until we have an overall deal we don’t have a deal on anything.”

Original Photos Yahoo, awise

Carson Palmer is a Raider but Peyton Hillis is still a Brown.

Peyton Hillis says he loves being a Brown, but he's played like he actually loves pink.

From Cleveland.com

The NFL trading deadline came and went without the Browns trading running back Peyton Hillis. Just as they said would happen.

But the hours leading up to the deadline extended the drama that has become Hillis’ second season with the Browns. Early in the afternoon, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported the Browns “could be persuaded” to deal Hillis. Later Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer tweeted that the Browns have received “some inquiries” about Hillis, but told teams they weren’t interested.

Original Photo yahoo

Dustin Byfuglien of the Winnipeg Jets has not let arrests or his weight slow him down.

Dustin Byguglien of the Winnipeg Jets appears upset after learning that NHL rules do not allow for snacks while on the ice.

From Bleacher Report

When Dustin Byfuglien was arrested for operating a boat while intoxicated, the reactions varied around the NHL. Fans of Byfuglien and the Winnipeg Jets were embarrassed and disappointed by his actions, while other fans that couldn’t care less about Byfuglien laughed at his stupidity and the fact that he tipped the scales at nearly 290 pounds at the police station.

However, neither Byfuglien’s weight nor his stupidity of operating a boat while being under the influence is reason for the Jets organization and their fans to be worried.

Original Photo Yahoo

Dream Team my ass.

That whole Dream Team thing has not worked out so well for the Philadelphia Eagles, who's fans now call them the Scream Team.

From NFL.com

Social activist Elliott Larsen once said, “Anger always comes from frustrated expectations.” And every Eagles fan woke up angry Monday morning — angry that their team gave up 21 unanswered points to lose to the 49ers; angry that their team is now 1-3 and in last place of the NFC East; and most of all angry that their team is not a “Dream Team.” Even Michael Vick proclaimed when asked how he felt after the game, “I’m frustrated.”

In fairness to the Eagles, this whole dream team nonsense was placed on them by their backup quarterback, Vince Young, not a player who actually plays. But the nickname stuck, in part because it was embraced by the Eagles organization. Could you imagine a new player signing with the Patriots, then proclaiming them the dream team? He might get cut the next day.

Original Photos wikimedia, phillyist

Tom Brady of the New England Patriots has done a lot of passing this season.

Tom Brady has used his big arm for the Patriots all season.

From Forbes

Memo to defensive coordinators everywhere: Forget what you’ve been led to believe. Tom Brady is human after all.

It certainly didn’t seem that way through the first two games of the season, when Brady put up numbers so stunning they almost looked cartoonish. He was on a pace to throw for nearly 8,000 yards in a league where no one has reached 6,000, and was hitting receivers in the end zone at a clip that even Brett Favre would admire.

That didn’t change much on Sunday in Buffalo, where Brady threw for four touchdowns – giving him 11 in three games – and 387 yards. What did change was he threw four passes into the arms of guys he wasn’t aiming for, matching in just one game his total for all of last season.

Original Photo yahoo

Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions are 3-0.

The Detroit Lions' Mathew Stafford has an arm that works like a machine.

From The Arizona Daily Star

So far this season Stafford has been brilliant, throwing for 977 yards and nine touchdowns against just two interceptions through three games in leading the perennially hapless Lions to their first 3-0 start since 1980.

Stafford still has to prove he can play a full 16-game schedule, but it’s safe to say that he’s entered the realm of elite fantasy quarterbacks, especially when receiver Calvin Johnson is catching balls. Johnson has hauled in six of Stafford’s nine TD passes, and the two are becoming the best QB-receiver duo in the league.

Original Photos Yahoo,  lqsgroup

Eli Manning and the New York Giants seem adrift.

Eli Manning is looking for a new identity, but unfortunately Captain America is already taken.

From NJ.com

We got to figure out what our identity is going to be,” said Manning, who completed 18 of 32 passes for 268 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception while also rushing for a score. “That could change each year. You got to see what we’re doing well, what’s working and what’s not working as well and figure out exactly what’s going to be our style.”Patience is not something the Giants can afford, even this early in the season.

Head coach Tom Coughlin was frustrated by the lack of execution on offense, which was 1 of 10 on third down and could not accumulate possessions in the second half resembling the eight-play, 85-yard drive in the second quarter that gave the Giants a 14-7 lead.

And with each week precious in the NFL, Coughlin wanted his offense to quickly discover that identity Manning said it needs.

Original Photos Yahoo, leatherlollipop

Las Vegas oddsmakers do not like the Indianapolis Colts without Peyton Manning.

Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts shares a laugh with Kerry Collins.

From Bloomberg

There is no doubt he is the most important player to his team as far as affecting the odds,” said Jeff Sherman, the assistant manager at the Las Vegas Hilton’s sports book.

The Hilton moved the Colts’ Super Bowl odds to 25-1 from 15-1 because of Manning’s injury. The Colts are 9-point underdogs against the Houston Texans in their season-opener Sept. 11, a game that started with an even spread at the Hilton.

Since Manning became their quarterback in 1998, the Colts have won 10 or more games 11 of 13 seasons and won the Super Bowl in 2007.

“Peyton Manning is the only player in the NFL that would affect his team’s odds by more than a touchdown,” RJ Bell, founder and chief executive of Las Vegas-based handicapping information website Pregame.com, said in an e-mail.

Original Photos baynews9, johnmonty

Things didn’t go as planned when Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Todd Haley played his starters into the 4th quarter of the final preseason game.

Matt Cassel cracked rib.. Tony Moeaki out for the season.. the mind of Todd Haley continues to be one of the most unpredictable forces in nature.

From kansascity.com

Haley hasn’t been available to answer questions about Cassel’s status since immediately after the Green Bay game. At that time, he said, “He wanted to go back in. I thought the prudent thing was to be smart there.

“Unfortuntately, he got dinged up a little bit. I’m not overly concerned.”

The Chiefs lost tight end Tony Moeaki for the season because of a left knee injury in the loss to the Packers. Moeaki was also injured in the second quarter.

Normally, starters are removed from a team’s fourth and final preseason game by the end of the first quarter to protect them from injury. As a comparison, the Packers pulled their starters after each team had one possession Friday night.

Original Photo sulekha

Michael Vick signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles for 100 million dollars.

Michael Vick slips out the back door of the Philadelphia Eagles' offices after signing his 100 million dollar contract.

From Forbes

But is Michael Vick worth $100 million?

He has started five playoff games in his career and won only two (the last win coming after the 2004 season). Compare that to Brady and Manning who have won 23 playoff games combined along with four Super Bowls. Vick’s career QB rating is 80.2 just behind such immortals as Ken O’Brien and Jeff George.

QB rating does not take into account running ability which is one of Vick’s strongest attributes, but Vick is 31-years-old and his legs are bound to slow down as he ages. Look at Randall Cunningham who Vick is often compared to and is second behind Vick in career rushing yards per game among quarterbacks. Cunningham averaged 42 yards a game rushing before his 30^th birthday and less than 15 rushing yards per game in the 65 games after he turned 30.

Original Photos dailymail, missxpose

An anonymous Broncos’ executive said some mean stuff about Tim Tebow.

Tim Tebow wasn't literally thrown under a bus by the Denver Broncos, he just feels like he was.

From Yahoo Sports

If you’re wondering about the plight of that other inexperienced passer on the Broncos’ roster – how far and fast he has fallen in the eyes of his bosses – consider that at least some people in the organization believe that Tim Tebow is the fourth-best quarterback on the roster.

As one highly knowledgeable member of the organization told me Monday, “If everything was totally equal, and this were a competition based only on performance at this camp, Tebow would probably be the fourth-string guy. Kyle [Orton] is far and away the best, and Tebow’s way behind [Brady] Quinn, too. And I’m telling you, Adam Weber is flat-out better right now.”

Original Photos zimbio, msnbc

Michael Vick threw 3 interceptions for the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night.

The Philadelphia Eagles' Michael Vick played like Michael Pick last night.

From Yahoo Sports

After telling GQ magazine that he didn’t want to come to Philadelphia to be a third-string quarterback following his release from federal prison two years ago, Vick clarified his remarks late Thursday after he threw three interceptions in a 24-14 preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I wanted to be with (coach Andy Reid),” Vick said. “I knew that I was going to have to sit, but I knew it was going to pay great dividends for me. I couldn’t see it at the time, but that goes to show how much I know because of how things worked out. I’m glad to be an Eagle and hopefully I will be for a long time.”

Original Photo FansEdge

The Daily Meal has a list of the greatest commercials starring athletes.

Hard to believe Tom Brady and his Summer's Eve douche ads were left off the list.

From The Daily Meal via Yahoo

Think about the most resonant athlete food commercials of all time. What comes to mind? “Mean Joe” Greene’s Coke commercial is an obvious one. Gruff, tough, persistent, touching — it hits all the right emotions, the soft spots that cause typical American males to fight back tears at the end of Rocky movies — the ones that make them gulp after slow-motion end-zone passes or stealing-home scenes in the run-of-the-mill sports movies. Then there are the clever commercials, the ones like the Bird versus Jordan game of horse that just hit exactly the right tone. When you think about it, athlete food commercials are an art form… really.

Original Photos buzznet, walmart, gstatic

Jim Thome of the Minnesota Twins hit his 600th home run.

Jim Thome of the Minnesota Twins has hammered his 600th HR.

From Fox News

Minnesota slugger Jim Thome become the eighth player to hit 600 home runs, connecting twice against the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.

The 40-year-old Thome hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning for No. 599, then added a three-run shot in the seventh. The milestone came on a 2-1 pitch from Daniel Schlereth.

Both homers were hit to the opposite field. When No. 600 cleared the fence in left, Thome raised his right fist as he went around first base, and the crowd in Detroit came to its feet to applaud him.

Thome became the second-fastest hitter to reach the milestone, hitting his 600th homer in at-bat No. 8,137. Babe Ruth needed only 6,921 at-bats.

Original Photos photoshelter, stayfitbug

The Chicago Cubs will be without Carols Zambrano for a while, after he had a complete melt down and retired.. in the middle of a game.

Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs, moments before he threw a grenade at the Braves' Chipper Jones that may have cost him his job.

From The Chicago Sun Times

The Chicago Cubs placed Carlos Zambrano on the disqualified list Saturday and said the right-hander would receive no pay and have no part in team activities for 30 days.

Zambrano cleaned out his locker and left the team after giving up five homers and being ejected from Friday night’s 10-4 loss to the Braves. He did not return to the team Saturday.

General manager Jim Hendry said Saturday that Zambrano’s actions, including a brush-back pitch to Chipper Jones that led to the ejection, were “intolerable.”

Hendry said Major League Baseball and the players’ association would discuss Zambrano’s statements about his baseball future.

Original Photos yahoo, 3dshop

NFL Preseason starts tonight, with the Seahawks – Chargers game on ESPN.

Mark Brunell desperately searches for his partial before his NY Jets teammates notice.

From SBNation

The Seattle Seahawks and San Diego Chargers square off Thursday evening in a preseason opener at San Diego. The Seahawks are a team that struggled to a 7-9 record but stumbled into the playoffs while the Chargers once again got hot late but just missed a playoff spot at 9-7.

The Seahawks made a lot of changes in the offseason, with the most notable being the departure of longtime quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. His departure resulted in the Seahawks signing Tarvaris Jackson who enters the preseason as the number one quarterback on the depth chart. Jackson had some ups and downs in Minnesota and will look to justify Pete Carroll’s excitement.

Original Photos Yahoo, dentalelements

Buffalo Bills rookie Defensive Tackle  Michael Jasper is 400 lbs.

400 pound DT Michael Jasper of the Buffalo Bills has some Nutty Professor in him.

From Democratandchronicle.com

At his heaviest, at least according to that scale, Jasper weighed 448 pounds, and Hand was frank with him: At that weight, he had no future in the NFL.

“Matt Hand made a deal with me initially saying they wanted me under 400 pounds,” Jasper said. “All of the other scouts that came through, they were telling me that I had to be 320, 310; they were giving me unrealistic goals to reach. Finally I heard, ‘Get down to 400, see if you can get to 400.’ So that was a mark. I set it, attacked it, and got down to 400.”

Original Photo yahoo, mymovies

Sean Avery of the New York Rangers got himself arrested.

Sean Avery of the NY Rangers got into confrontation with the LA Police Department, and wound up in jail.

From TMZ

NHL star Sean Avery challenged cops to a FIGHT when they responded to his Hollywood Hills home this morning … calling them, “Fat little pigs” … law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

We’re told cops were dispatched to the home over a complaint about loud music — and when they arrived to Avery’s pad, the hockey star was NOT happy to see them.

Sources tell us 31-year-old Avery immediately began running his mouth at the cops — telling them he would fight all of them … even challenging them to, “Come back without your badges.”

During the incident, Avery — who famously dated Elisha Cuthbert a while back — allegedly shoved an officer and slammed the front door on the cops.

Original Photos usatoday, morgangenser