The Fantom Zone

Howdy sports fans, we’re back for another week of Out of Bounds here on Planet Ill. It’s been a busy week in the world of sports, so I have a few things that stood out in my eyes I wanna share with yall. With Super Bowl XLIV just a week away, I figured I would go a little light this weekend and save all of my energy for the week and rest the old bones a lil as we head into Super Bowl.

So on today’s plate, we’re gonna look back at highlights from last weekend’s Championship games. Bid farewell to warrior in not only the NFL’s, but in God’s army. Take a look at a big upset in the world of College Basketball that received “presidential” treatment, and the 2010 Tennis season begins with big wins at the Aussie Open.

First off, let’s look at last week’s Championship Sunday. When we last talked about football, I gave you guys my picks for the Super Bowl. Well we see how that worked out. The New York Jets had the game in their hands in the 1^st half and looked out of sync in the 2^nd half. Peyton Manning was just who we thought he was, the best QB in the league and the league’s MVP. You can’t argue how good he is and you gottta give the man, as well as the Indianapolis Colts, their props.

To read the rest of Out of Bounds on Planet Ill, click here: http://tinyurl.com/yb45a5d

Welcome ladies and jellybeans to another week of Out of Bounds on Planet Ill. We’re down to our Final Four for the 2009-10 NFL Playoffs. After Sunday’s games, we’ll know who’ll be in South Florida for Super Bowl XLIV.

Will there be an early Mardi Gras for the New Orleans Saints? Speaking of the Saints, can the offspring of Archie Manning lead the Colts to their 2nd Super Bowl appearance in three years? Can the 2010 version of the New York Sack Exchange, with their rookie coach and quarterback get the Jets to their first Super Bowl appearance since 1969? Or can the Mississippi Gunslinger lead the Purple People Eaters of Minnesota to their 5th Super Bowl appearance? Well, we’ll look for the answers to that and more in the Championship Weekend Edition of Out of Bounds.

Speaking of the Vikings, did any of you hear the song ”Purple and Gold” that Prince wrote for the Minnesota Vikings?

To go Out of Bounds on Championship Weekend, click here:

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Howdy folks, it’s your boy The Rowdy One and we’re back for another week of Out of Bounds. When we last met up, the NFL Playoffs were beginning with Wild Card Weekend. We also looked at the hiring of Pete Carroll as the new head coach for the Seattle Seahawks, Mark McGwire’s steroids admission and Gilbert Arenas’ gun situation. Well it’s deja vu all over again because the news continues about those same topics.

I will say this, as much of a rivalry USC and Stanford has in collegiate sports, there’s one former Stanford student who’s happy that USC has been in the sports news this week. As we already know, Pete Carroll was the head coach of the USC Trojans football team. Then you have Mark McGwire who played baseball for USC. So what does this have to do with Stanford? When’s the last time you heard Tiger Wood’s name mentioned on ESPN? I know he’s as happy as a fat kid in a candy store right now with some of that media attention off his back at the moment. He probably sent a lovely fruit basket to McGwire’s and Carroll’s house as a token of his appreciation for getting some of the heat off of his back. I’m just sayin.

Let’s look at the Pete Carroll hiring. With the Seahawks hiring Carroll, there’s a new door opening for college coaches to come to the pro level. There was a time in the NFL where teams were looking to coaches from the college levels to run their teams on the field. Instead of an assistant coach or fired coach currently in the NFL, GMs and owners wanted to take a chance with new faces and fresh ideas from accomplished names from the collegiate ranks. It makes sense when you think about it because at the time, the league was getting younger with the talent that was being drafted or signed. Young players were starting right away on teams that needed help. What better person to have coach these types of teams than a coach who is experienced in the field in not only coaching but teaching these young players on the skills needed to play the game.

To go Out of Bounds, click here: http://bit.ly/5qASAH

There are times in our lives when we have to lie. Sometimes we tell lies to protect not only ourselves, but also our loved ones from the harm our lies can cause or disappoint in some form or another. Then there are times that we lie because we don’t want anyone in our business. Sometimes you get caught in those lies, and sometimes you don’t. However, whatever the case may be for us to lie, we all have lied about something.

One of the biggest lies in professional sports was steroid usage among players in Major League Baseball. Baseball and steroids went hand-in-hand for years like peanuts and Cracker Jack’s at a baseball game. Steroid usage amongst baseball players was one of sports worst kept secrets, in a sport where your physical features are the most prevalent. There’s no padding in baseball for the exception of catchers and umpires behind first plate. Everyone else on the field is in their uniforms and that’s it. It’s hard not to look at an athlete in that type of setting and not speculate about their work-out habits and if they’re on any kind of PED. In addition, baseball had the worst steroid testing, if there was any form of testing, in the history of pro-sports. It was like taking an oral exam:

Player X: Hi, I’m here for steroid drug testing
Drug Tester: Okay, come right in.
Player X: Sooo, you want me to go into that stall and pee in this cup
Drug Tester: Sure, but before you go in, let me ask you this: are you on any form of performing enhancing drug?
Player X: Ummmmm, No! No, I’m not!
Drug Tester: Oh, well that works for me. Don’t worry about a urine sample, you’re free to go. Keep playing hard.

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By A Negro With A Keyboard

I swear to goodness, a professional sports contract must come with a “Tough Tony” clause in it these days.

Denver Broncos Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall: Nicknamed “The Beast” on the football field, but the only “beasting” he is known for off the field is upside the heads of past and current girlfriends.

Former New York Giants Wide Receiver Plaxico Burress: This superthug kept that heat on his waist, but unfortunately the only person he ever let his gun bust on was himself, becoming the real-life Cheddar Bob from the 8 Mile.

Cincinnati Bengals Running Back Larry Johnson: Arrested a whole 4 times, all for the same crime: beating up girls.

And now, which I must admit, may be my most favorite of all-time: Washington Wizards All-Star Guard Gilbert Arenas and his teammate Javaris Critterdon decide to re-enact a scene from the movie Face-Off, pulling guns on one another IN THE LOCKER ROOM AFTER A GAME over some dough Arenas lost to Critterdon gambling.

While the details of this event are still sketchy, events like this are the reason that people use the N-Word (and I don’t mean the one with an A at the end) so liberally when referring to black athletes.

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Happy New Year citizens of Planet Ill, welcome to another edition of Out of Bounds. Well, here we are, we’ve made it to the last set of games for the 2009-10 NFL regular season. It’s also the first set of picks for 2010 here on Planet Ill and Out of Bounds.

With Wild Card Weekend starting new week, the playoff picture is somewhat clear. The NFC is pretty much set. The New Orleans Saints are the #1 seed in the NFC, but after the Saints, the outcome from today’s games can determine the seeding for the remainder of the teams that are in the playoffs for the NFC. The AFC is a whole other story.

While the seeding for the AFC is pretty much straight, there are still teams playing to get into the playoffs in the AFC and scenarios are crazy. Here is the current playoff picture and scenarios:

To go Out of Bounds on the last week of the 2009-10 NFL regular season, click here: http://bit.ly/7RcUcg

Planet Ill 2009 Wrap-up: Out of Bounds – The Year in Sports, 2009

As we get older, time goes by faster. The only things that help us stall off our impending mortality are our memories. They allow us to emote and relive experience. 2009 had so many lasting sports images, it’s impossible to pick one. Sports fans rode a roller coaster of emotion in 2009. We witnessed some of the highest of highs and lowest of lows.

We said sad goodbye to likes of Steve McNair, Chris Henry, Nick Adenhart and Jack Kemp and we said prayerful goodbyes to likes of Plaxico Burress and Donte’ Stallworth with the hopes that they get their lives together once they finish serving the punishments. We welcomed newcomers like Brandon Jennings and Percy Harvin, and welcomed back old favorites like Tom Brady.

We witnessed the Cincinnati Bengals, who not only suffered the tragic loss of Chris Henry, but the loss of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s wife Vikki Zimmer deliver an unexpectedly great season. We witnessed a King in Cleveland behaving like a petulant prince after losing in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals and prince becoming a king during the 2009 World Series of Poker. And in the end of the year, we witnessed how a Tiger, who’s usually a lion on the golf course, lost his roar due to his infidelities.

Today, I share with you the ten things I will remember most from the 2009 Year in Sports. I prefer a visual look back instead of a worded one because we watched or “witnessed” most of this. A picture paints a thousand words and believe me, there’s a thousand words and more in this piece. I do my best to stay away from the negative, because when you remember positive things in life, positivity comes back to you. So sit back, relax and enjoy.

To read the rest of Planet Ill’s 2009 Year End Wrap-Up Series, click here:
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In the words of Mike Greenburg of ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning,”We’re back and better than ever” for another week Out of Bounds. With Jack Frost rolling in and the holiday season in full swing, sports fans have plenty of reasons to stay home and do what they do best, watch sports.

With 2009 coming to a close, the sports world is at a buzz. Tiger-gate is still the hot topic in the world of sports and will be for quite some time going into 2010. The NFL has two weeks left in their regular season before the playoffs start. The College Bowl season kicks off this Saturday with the Fresno State Bulldogs facing the Wyoming Cowboys in the 2009 New Mexico Bowl. The NBA finished its first quarter of the season and is looking to the half-way point and the 2010 NBA All-Star Game and the MLB Hot Stove has been burning strong with some big trades between the Phillies, Blue Jays and Mariners.

Since I touched on the topic of baseball real quick, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to New York Yankees shortstop and Captain, Derek Jeter, for winning the 2009 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. Congrats to you El Capitán.

Now, let’s start off with everybody’s favorite punching bag, Tiger Woods.

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