Star One Smart Blog's

UPDATE 2/4/07
Vince Young is definitely going to the Pro Bow. From the Pravda:

Titans rookie quarterback Vince Young is going to the Pro Bowl.

Young, the offensive rookie of the year, will replace Chargers QB Philip Rivers on the AFC roster. An announcement by the league is expected today.

Young was not among the first two alternates but other quarterbacks declined an invitation or are injured.

Indianapolis' Peyton Manning and Cincinnati's Carson Palmer are also scheduled to play for the AFC in the Feb. 11 game in Honolulu.

Good for Vince...

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UPDATE 2/1/07 9:17 PM

Vince Young wins another Rookie of the Year Award

Yeah, that's right, another reason for the long-suffering Houston fans to cry in their cereal bowls...Vince Young won the Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Year award today, beating out some pretty good competition. (Reggie Bush and Maurice Jones-Drew in the pic, from John McClain's blog).

These awards are largely symbolic, giving the sponser, Diet Pepsi, another free plug during Super Bowl Week.

Photo credit A.P. Look at the grimace on Reggie Bush's face! And Houston Fans...
misery. But, not to worry, we'll share...UT fans in LP Field are now University of
Texas fans, since University of Tennessee fans' hearts are in Indianapolis...

But aside from the crass commercialism, this gives Vince Young great exposure, and adds to the tremendous pressure he'll be facing when the season begins in September. As if he didn't have enough, carrying the entire team's hopes on his shoulders.
From the link:

Young led all rookies with 12 touchdown passes and ranked second among rookies with 2,199 passing yards as he led the Titans to an 8-8 record and within one game of the AFC Playoffs. Young took over as the starting quarterback in Week 4 and went 8-5 as a starter. He also rushed 83 times for 552 yards and seven touchdowns. After the Titans started 2-7, Young led the youthful team on a six-game winning streak.

During that period, he threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 69 yards and another score in a 24-21 win over the New York Giants; threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 78 yards in a 20-17 victory over the AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts; and threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 61 yards and a touchdown in a 30-29 victory over the Buffalo Bills. Young, who attended the University of Texas, was nominated for six Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week awards, winning four times.

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Oh, on a just-marginally-satisfying note, "Trouble Always Finds Me" PacMan Jones got let off the hook today when a Judge threw the "Spittin' in da bitch's Face" case out of court.

"Judge John Aaron Holt said Krystal Webb gave inconsistent testimony about when she noticed there was spit in her hair and wiped it off, and about when she knew Jones' identity.

The judge told Webb that she could still pursue the case in a civil lawsuit. Webb and her lawyer declined to speak to reporters after the ruling.

Jones wasn't allowed to play in one game Nov. 5 as punishment for the incident, and the NFL fined him $100,000. But Jones said he hopes to get that money back now that the charge has been dismissed."

Hmmmph. Nassty, spitting on a woman, if you did it. Nassty, putting youself in a bar with a golddigger, setting youself up for lawsuits and parole violations, even if you didn't. Time to grow up, Pac, hire youself a nanny if you need one. You see what can happen in a flash...

Not Another Word out of you for the rest of the summer...

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Originally Posted 1/31/07 10:36 PM
This from Florio's Rumor Mill:

McNAIR ON DECK FOR PRO BOWL

A league source tells us that, if/when the league abandons its quest to persuade Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to back out of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and head to Honolulu, the next guy to get a call to head to Hawaii will be Ravens quarterback Steve McNair.

McNair threw for 3,050 yards and tossed 16 touchdowns against 12 interceptions in 2006, his first season with the Ravens after 11 years with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Tennessee Titans.

If Colts quarterback Peyton Manning asks out of the Pro Bowl due to a thumb injury suffered in the AFC Championship game, McNair could be joined in Hawaii by Vince Young, who replaced him as the starting quarterback of the Titans.

Maybe The Kid will get a chance to play with "Big Papa", after all...

Superbowl Update:
Everyone is crapping on Da Bears. Manning is The Golden One; there's no hope in any quarter given for Rex Grossman to do anything but flop, even though he is a Florida Quarterback (whom Manning has yet to beat!)

I'm definitely still pulling for DA BEARS...remember "The Ohio State" crap, and Florida coming from nowhere and kicking their asses? Here we go again!


Cardinals Update

(remember the old Cards Colors, when they first moved to Arizona? Incorporated the State Flag...since then, that's somewhat minimized. My old, original, circa 198? Reebok Windbreaker...)

Again, from that guy who can't pay his web hosts enough money to aquire post hotlinks:

CARDS GAINING RESPECT

As new Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt puts the finishing touches on his staff (must . . . resist . . . urge . . . to . . . repeat . . . off-color . . . pun), more and more folks in high places throughout the NFL are coming to the conclusion that Arizona now has one of the best complement of offensive minds in the entire league.

Coupled with a Heisman-winning quarterback and arguably the most skilled set of skill position players (assuming that someone will block for Edgerrin James), the team that has won only one playoff game since the Truman administration finally could be on the right track.

That said, we figure they'll find a way to screw it up.

Under Whisenhunt, who was a successful offensive coordinator with the Steelers for several years, the team features Todd Haley as offensive coordinator, Russ Grimm as assistant head coach/offense line, Maurice Carthon as running backs coach, and Richie Anderson as tight ends coach.

Grimm was a finalist for the Steelers head-coaching job, Carthon most recently served as offensive coordinator in Cleveland, and Anderson is widely regarded as an up-and-comer who is headed for big things.

Yeah, we've heard it all, Florio, bad jokes for decades...ya know, there is bound to be a year when it turns around. In somebody's lifetime....