notable NFL cuts

Here's 10.

Vince Young
Tim Tebow
Matt Leinart
J'Marcus Webb
Dennis Dixon
Brian Banks
Max Starks
Jermaine Cunningham
Michael Robinson
Jimmy Clauson

and a few more

why keep cable TV?

Two words: college football.

It's opening weekend.  Just looking at today's lineup...

FS1 - William & Mary at West Virginia
ESPNU - Purdue at Cincinnati
ESPN2 - Buffalo at Ohio State
ESPNN - Villanova at Boston College
BIGTEN - Massachusetts at Wisconsin
KFVE - Toledo at Florida
FSPT - Florida International at Maryland
ESPN - Rice at Texas A&M (the one I'm tuned to)

ESPN2 - Syracuse vs. Penn State
KHNL - Temple at Notre Dame
ESPNU - Brigham Young at Virginia
KITV - Mississippi State at Oklahoma State
BIGTEN - Central Michigan at Michigan
FS1 - Nicholls State at Oregon
FSPT - La-Lafayette at Arkansas
ESPN - Alabama vs. Virginia Tech
PAC12 - Eestern Washington at Oregon State

ESPNU - Washington State at Auburn
ESPNN - Kentucky at Western Kentucky
FCSA - Old Dominion at East Carolina
CBSSN - Miami (Ohio) at Marshall
FCSC - Wofford at Baylor
KITV - Georgia at Clemson
BIGTEN - Wyoming at Nebraska
ESPN - LSU vs. TCU
FS1 - Boise State at Washington
PAC12 - Nevada at UCLA
ESPN2 - Northwestern at California

(whew)

NFL settles concussion suit for $765 million

The National Football League has agreed to pay $765 million to settle a lawsuit brought by more than 4,500 players and their families, largely closing the legal front in the league’s battle against accusations that it concealed what it knew about the dangers of repeated hits to the head.

The settlement, announced Thursday, will be seen as a victory for the league, which has nearly $10 billion in annual revenue and faced the possibility of billions of dollars in liability payments and a discovery phase that could have proved damaging if the case had moved forward.

The league has changed its rules to make the game safer and modified its medical protocols for concussions as mounting scientific evidence in recent years linked head trauma sustained on the field to long-term cognitive damage. Among the terms of the agreement is that the settlement is not to be regarded as an admission of guilt by the league.

“The settlement seems low considering the number of claimants and the severity of their conditions, but it also shows the uphill climb in proving the league was responsible for the players’ injuries,” said Michael LeRoy, who teaches labor law at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “The league is keenly sensitive to its public image. It changes the conversation and really lets the air out of the publicity balloon.”

The case was widely considered a possible reckoning for the N.F.L., which has been criticized in recent years after dozens of former players were found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., a degenerative brain disease similar to Alzheimer’s disease. It is believed to be caused only by repeated head trauma. While the settlement closes a legal case for the league, brain trauma among current and former players may continue to vex a sport that embraces violent collisions.

The money would be used for medical exams, concussion-related compensation and a program of medical research for retired players and their families. The money, which may not be distributed for many months, will be available to all retired players with neurological problems, not just the plaintiffs. The N.F.L. also agreed to pay legal fees for the plaintiffs’ lawyers, a sum that could reach tens of millions of dollars.

The pool of beneficiaries could be smaller or larger than the number of plaintiffs in the case, depending on how many retired players with neurological problems come forward. The settlement does not cover current players.

“Rather than litigate literally thousands of complex individual claims over many years, the parties have reached an agreement that, if approved, will provide relief and support where it is needed at a time when it is most needed,” Layn Phillips, the mediator, said in a statement.

C.T.E. was found in the brain of the former Eagles defensive back Andre Waters after his suicide in 2006. Since then, the disease has been found in nearly every former player whose brain was examined. (C.T.E. can be diagnosed only posthumously.) Most notably, the former N.F.L. linebacker Junior Seau was found to have the disease after he committed suicide last year, and in 2011, Dave Duerson, a former Chicago Bears player, shot himself in the chest, saying in a note that he wanted his brain donated for research. Doctors determined that Duerson had C.T.E.

Street Ball Legends

While some guys get paid millions to ball, legions of unknown street ballers dedicate their free time, sometimes their lives, to the outdoor courts scattered across the globe. For most, pickup basketball is just fun and games, but for some, it’s more than that. For a handful of street ballers, it’s how they’ll be remembered forever. These are the 5 greatest streetball legends of all time.

***

Another 5.

Here's 25.

Elite 24

'Doing It in the Park

Top NBA draft busts

They may be widely known for being “busts,” yet life still goes on for many high NBA draft picks who didn’t realize their potential. In advance of the 2013 NBA Draft on Thursday, we update the current whereabouts of 25 of the most infamous busts in history.

bounce alley-oop(s)

starring Jason Williams, John Wall, Isiah Thomas (and Blake Griffin and Dominique Wilkins, and some other guy).

Kobe and Michael comparison

We’ve shown you something similar before, but here is Part Deux of the Kobe Bryant/Michael Jordan game comparison videos.

What Jordan and Kobe do that is similar — especially in the second half of their careers — is use great footwork to get to their spots on the floor. And for both of them that is the elbow area, as you can see from the video (the both also have strong post games). When they get to their spots they can hit just about any kind of shot, even contested fadeaways. The best way to stop them is to not let them get there, but they are both so good on and off the ball that’s easier said than done.

A-Rod suspended through 2014 (but plays anyway)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Defiant till the end, Alex Rodriguez is intent on evading baseball's most sweeping punishment since the Black Sox scandal.

Rodriguez was suspended through 2014 and All-Stars Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta and Everth Cabrera were banned 50 games apiece Monday when Major League Baseball disciplined 13 players for their relationship to Biogenesis of America, a Florida anti-aging clinic accused of distributing banned performance-enhancing drugs.

The harshest penalty was reserved for Rodriguez, the New York Yankees slugger, a three-time Most Valuable Player and baseball's highest-paid star. He said he will appeal his suspension, which covers 211 games, by Thursday's deadline. And since arbitrator Fredric Horowitz isn't expected to rule until November or December at the earliest, Rodriguez was free to make his season debut Monday night and play the rest of this year.

Sidelined since hip surgery in January, Rodriguez rejoined the Yankees five hours after the suspension in a series opener at the Chicago White Sox, scheduled to play third base and bat fourth.

''The last seven months has been a nightmare, has been probably the worst time of my life for sure,'' Rodriguez said.

The other 12 players agreed to their 50-game penalties before they were announced, giving them a chance to return for the playoffs.

Ryan Braun's 65-game suspension last month and previous penalties bring to 18 the total number of players sanctioned for their connection with Biogenesis.