Angelo Crowell as entering his fourth year as a starting outside linebacker for the Buffalo Bills. He's been battling some knee pain and missed a few days of practice this preseason, but hadn't sat out of drills for the last week. Everything's fine, right, he'll just play through the minor injury?

Well, that's what the Bills were thinking, but apparently not Crowell. The sixth year linebacker decided to inform the team just three days before the season that he's getting arthroscopic knee surgery on his left knee. That tends to not go over well.


Such a surgery only requires one to four weeks of downtime, so he'll be back very soon. Right? Wrong.

The Bills were clearly displeased with Crowell's lack of communication and surprised their outside linebacker with a season long trip to the Injured Reserve list. Once a player is placed on the list, he can't be taken off until the following season and thus can't compete in any NFL games.

Bills 1, Crowell 0. Although opposing teams may be scoring a few extra points themselves.

Crowell surprises Bills with surgery [BuffaloNews]

If you guessed that one of the first things Michael Phelps would do once he got back from Beijing was get handsy with strippers in Vegas, then come on down and collect your prize. Just try not to kill anyone during the stampede.

Anyway, in what I guess is a not so shocking revelation, America's goofy golden boy was caught recently at the Playboy Club at the Palms Casino in Vegas being a tad forward with the strippers. Or, as the editor for Radar who took the pictures said, Phelps was  "massively skeeving on girls at the Playboy Club."

There's definitely a breaststroke joke I could use here, but I'll refrain.


I'm just impressed that Phelps was able to touch the strippers. I thought that was illegal, because whenever I do that, I wind up in a gutter missing a few teeth.

I guess having 14 gold medals to your name will let you get away with pretty much anything. Shocking, I know.

Michael Phelps squeezes out another victory at the Playboy Club [Radar]

New York kicked off the NFL season last night by running over the Washington Redskins, thanks in large part to Brandon Jacobs and Plaxico Burress. The season kicks off in earnest this Sunday with a lot of high expectations around the league.

You know the drill and have heard all the statistics about how quickly teams go from the top to bottom and vice versa. Can the Jets be that team with Brett Favre under center? Is this the year the Browns break through the AFC North? First things first, and that's getting off with a win in week one.

We'll take a look at all the week's games every Friday morning, and while I'm sharing my predictions today, we'll extend the offer to whomever wins NFL Pick'Em each week going forward.

Jets at Dolphins -- 89% picking New York
A game many were dreading as their national game has turned into a featured showdown. Brett Favre's arrival in New York meant the Jets had to part ways with Chad Pennington. What they probably didn't figure was their former quarterback landing immediately with the first team on their schedule. The Dolphins offense is still far, far behind the Jets, but at least with Pennington they're moving the football. Favre has shown some good chemistry with Jerricho Cotchery and new tight end Dustin Keller and I expect that to carry New York to a hot start. Well that and the Dolphins just aren't very good. Looking forward to seeing what percentage of carries Ricky Williams receives. My Pick: Jets 27, Dolphins 17

Chiefs at Patriots -- 98% picking New England
Injury or not to Tom Brady, New England shouldn't have a lot of trouble with a Chiefs team that's going with all kinds of inexperienced players. Just for good measure, I'm sure Bill Belichick will have Brady passing deep to Randy Moss late in the 4th quarter to let everyone know he's just fine. Patriots 38, Cheifs 7

Texans at Steelers -- 93% picking Pittsburgh
Facing the toughest schedule in the NFL, Pittsburgh needs every home win it can get. If Houston had a healthier, more established rushing attack I'd give them some good odds to keep it close, but instead expect an onslaught of blitzes and a tough day for Matt Schaub. Big Ben and Santonio Holmes will connect early and often. Steelers 31, Texans 13

Jaguars at Titans -- 69% picking Jacksonville
As bad as the Titans offense looked this preseason, an upset here wouldn't surprise me. Jacksonville is hearing a great deal of Super Bowl chatter and it'll be interesting to see how they handle it. Even if they stumble out of the gates, and I expect they will, Tennessee lacks the necessary playmakers to get through the Jags D. Jaguars 23, Titans 13

Lions at Falcons -- 83% picking Detroit
You know you're bad when 80-plus percent are picking you to lose at home to the Lions. Jon Kitna will come out firing to Calvin Johson and Roy Williams, a pair of wide receivers who honestly should tear up the NFC North. But the Lions will make their Lions-like mistakes on defense and keep this relatively close. No way can I go with a rookie QB to win his first game, even against Detroit. Lions 28, Falcons 17

Seahawks at Bills -- 78% picking Seattle
With Matt Hasselback sitting out most of the preseason, I'm tempted to go with the home dog (depending on where you look). But Trent Edwards is equally banged up. I like the 'Hawks defense to limit Marshawn Lynch and kick a late field goal for the win. Didn't we see the last year on opening week in Buffalo? Ouch. Seahawks 20, Bills 17

Buccaneers at Saints -- 81% picking New Orleans
I'm high on the Saints offense, but not as high as many of the experts picking New Orleans in the Super Bowl. Have you see their D? Drew Brees was terrible against the Buccaneers last year and I suspect he'll struggle out of the gate enough to keep this close. Dear Reggie, we'd like to see what you've got now. Saints 24, Bucs 20

Rams at Eagles -- 90% picking Philadelphia
Another team with puzzlingly high expectations. How is it many are going with Philly in the Super Bowl? A quarterback and running back who've had a few injuries and a receiver core that is now banking on a guy rocking the scale at 175. I do like McNabb and Westbrook to get off to a fast start. Eagles 27, Rams 17

Bengals at Ravens -- 75% picking Cincinnati
Chad Ocho Cinco will have a new jersey, but still his same shoulder. I really don't like the Bengals on the road at Baltimore against that defense, even though Ed Reed is banged out. But I like Joe Flacco winning his first start even less. Not to mention, the Ravens might have to go with Ray Rice. With the schedule both teams have coming up, this is a must win on week 1. Seriously.  Bengals 30, Ravens 21

Panthers at Chargers -- 97% picking San Diego
Suicide Pick. Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams rolled up 200-plus yards against the Redskins this preseason, but that defense is a long ways away from the Chargers. With or without Shawne Merriman's knee, San Diego should be able to stuff the Panthers rushing attack enough, and without Steve Smith, Jake Delhomme will have minimal downfield options. Chargers 28, Panthers 14

Cardinals at 49ers -- 70% picking Arizona
Here's a beauty of a matchup. Kurt Warner vs. J.T. O'Sullivan. Woo! Mike Martz is in heaven. Warner tore up the 49ers last year for 484 passing yards and he'll move the ball nearly as well this weekend. Cardinals 35, 49ers 14

Cowboys at Browns -- 89% picking Dallas
I need to see Derek Anderson regain his confidence before I start picking the Browns against any of the top NFL teams. Tony Romo shouldn't need another receiver other than TO, and Marian Barber and Felix Jones give him some nice drop off options. Cowboys 27, Browns 17

Bears at Colts -- 98% picking Indy
I know I've dogged the Bears relentlessly all preseason, and deservingly so, but I actually think this will be close. Mostly, thanks to Peyton Manning not being in Pro Bowl form. Chicago will get great field possession thanks to special teams or a turnover and actually score an offensive touchdown, but after that they'll struggle to get into the red zone. Haven't seen enough out of the Bears defense yet to predict they'll be able to stop Manning and Addai all evening. Colts 24, Bears 16

Vikings at Packers -- 70% picking Minnesota
Wow, surprising to see a strong Vikings lean from all of you. Monday night in Green Bay, I can't go against the Packers. Aaron Rodgers will impress and pass effectively enough against the Vikings relatively weaker backfield.  Don't expect much of anything from Ryan Grant, however. Packers 24, Vikings 21

Broncos at Raiders -- 76% picking Denver
Believe it, I'm going with the Raaaaaiders. There's no logical explanation, so I'll leave it at that. Raiders 20, Broncos 17

Feel free to share your picks below. And if you haven't already, get your NFL Pick'Em predictions in.

There were a lot of questions about Michael Beasley's character heading into the 2008 NBA Draft. Does he take the game seriously? Will he be one of those guys who spends more time smoking blunts than shooting jumpers? Does he have the necessary level of maturity to succeed?

In the end, it didn't affect his draft stock, seeing as he went #2 behind Derrick Rose, and Rose was certainly a worthy #1 pick. And the fact that the Miami Heat, who have South Beach at their disposal, were the ones who drafted Beasley suggests that they believe Beasley can make it.

Well, they may be less sure about that today.

It seems that Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers, the two Kansas teammates and dumbasses who decided to smoke weed and bring women up to their hotel room during the NBA rookie camp (that specifically teaches you how to avoid those two things) also had another friend in the room with them.

Michael Beasley.

Interestingly, a story today in the Kansas City Star says that ESPN originally reported that Beasley was in the room, but then pulled his name from their article. Because obviously Beasley was just minding his own business in a room full of women and weed. Tucked away in the back corner, no doubt. Right.

The Big Lead said someone locked themselves inside the bathroom and kept flushing the toilet while refusing to let police open the door. No one knows - except the police - if that was Beasley or not. Hey, whatever works. Either way, Beasley hasn't gotten in any trouble for this.

Although, I think the worst thing is that the first time I heard there was potentially a third player in the room with Arthur and Chalmers, I instantly thought of Beasley.

Good luck Miami Heat. He's a hell of talent, but man oh man, would I ever be worried.

And by the way, why exactly did ESPN pull Beasley's name from the article? I'd love to hear their explanation on that one.

KU's Chalmers, Arthur booted from NBA program after marijuana found [Kansas City Star]
So ESPN, was Michael Beasley in the room or not? [The Big Lead]

As someone with a background in journalism, I am well aware that that it isn't easy to be live on the air. You'll occasionally spit out things you know you shouldn't be saying, but you just have to roll with it because if you stop you'll be in even more trouble. Emmitt Smith knows this all too well.

My guess is this is also what happens to Mike Patrick every Saturday, except he's better with the English language. Or who knows, maybe Patrick just doesn't care what the hell anyone thinks.

Anyway, lost in UCLA's big win last weekend over Tennessee was this gem of a moment by Patrick above. He informs us that Tennessee running back Arian Foster is a philosophy major. Which is great. Patrick then proceeds to tell us that Foster plans on opening a philosophy store after graduating...and proceeds to leave us all hanging.

I Kant (sorry, couldn't resist) be the only one that's wondering what in the hell you'd sell at a philosophy store. Socrates hemlock punch? Plato commemorative plates?

I guess it's possible that Foster really does want to open a philosophy store, and Patrick did nothing wrong. But given Patrick's background for going off the deep end, I'm going to give Foster the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps we'll get an update on Britney Spears this weekend.




A philosophy store? [Boulder Debate]  via [Deadspin]