// BEGIN editorial data var i = 0; var spt_trash_talk = new Array(); spt_trash_talk.ID = "spt_trash_talk"; spt_trash_talk.ID_WB = 14400667; spt_trash_talk.sPubDate = "11/16/2009 9:05:01 PM GMT"; spt_trash_talk.navsectionID = "3032112" spt_trash_talk.appFmt = 2; spt_trash_talk.itemsPerPage = 1; spt_trash_talk.appWidth = 624; spt_trash_talk.mainArt = ""; spt_trash_talk.appNavStyle = 3; spt_trash_talk.navCols = 6; spt_trash_talk.sNavLinkStyle = "font size=12"; spt_trash_talk.bDhtml = 0; spt_trash_talk.appLayout = 1; spt_trash_talk.copyWidth = 624; spt_trash_talk.copyMargin = 9; spt_trash_talk.nCellpad = 10; spt_trash_talk[i++] = new Array("","Sanchez might suffer Pats' wrath","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/getty/gyi0058923443.hsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Jim McIsaac", "Getty Images", "229", "368", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); spt_trash_talk[i-1].body = "

In the aftermath of the Bill Belichick brouhaha, one high-profile individual may ultimately suffer the most:

Mark Sanchez.

Riverboat Bill opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 at his own 28 with 2:08 left rather than punt the ball to the Colts and let Peyton Manning beat him. Instead, the Patriots failed to get the first down, and Manning beat him anyway.

The decision was a slap – no wait, a bludgeon – at Belichick’s own defense. The coach said to his defense, in essence: “You guys couldn’t put a stop on a check.”

This week, the Patriots’ defense will have to endure the shame and insult from Belichick’s decision. The defensive players will have to answer questions from the media about how irate and bitter they are at their coach’s decision. It will gnaw at them like flesh-eating bacteria.

No less an authority than Tedy Bruschi, former New England linebacker and now an ESPN analyst, said this: “The decision to go for it would be enough to make my blood boil for weeks.”

The Patriots will be ornery come Sunday.

Their next game is against rookie QB Sanchez and the New York Jets. It will be played in Foxborough, where the Patriots are 5-0 this year.

After starting the season 3-0, the Jets have lost five of their last six games. The Patriots are 6-3. They had won three straight before losing to the Colts on Sunday night, and they’re going to be looking to get on track again and to make somebody pay.

Enter Sanchez. He’s a talented dude with loads of potential. But he’s young and inexperienced. This will be like wrapping him in bacon and tossing him into a wolves’ lair.

Of all the people affected by Belichick’s decision – the Pats, the Colts, their fans, gamblers, fantasy geeks, pundits – Mark Sanchez might experience the most fallout because a coach in a game he wasn’t even involved in chose not to punt.


"; spt_trash_talk[i++] = new Array("","Sorry, but 'Redskins' is just offensive","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/apmegasports/200911051650606275397-pf.hsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Rick Havner", "AP", "273", "182", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); spt_trash_talk[i-1].body = "

On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from a group of Native Americans who sued because it believes the name “Washington Redskins” is offensive.

This might have marked the end of a particular case of legal wrangling, but it doesn’t end the issue: The name is plainly offensive, and always has been. And it has nothing to do with the job Jim Zorn is doing, or the stewardship of Daniel Snyder.

If you called a team the “Brownskins” or the “Blackskins” or the “Yellowskins,” there would be deafening shouts of outrage and threats of massive boycotts. But Native Americans have little power in this matter. The brand has been trademarked and it makes tons of money for the franchise’s owner as well as the rest of the NFL owners.

In a situation like this, corporate muscle will always trump decency.

And members of the Supreme Court live in Washington. They are acutely aware of the passion for the team in D.C. They are reluctant to do anything to upset the status quo, not to mention ruin their own luxury suite fun on Sundays.

If the justices are saying that the nickname is acceptable, then why not go all the way? The next time one of them encounters a Native American, I’d like to hear he or she say, “Hiya, Redskin!” and see how well that goes over. Because by allowing the name to continue, that’s essentially what they’ve done."; spt_trash_talk[i++] = new Array("","ND is in $10 million bind with Weis","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/apmegasports/200911142319839771016-pf.hsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Keith Srakocic", "AP", "273", "187", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); spt_trash_talk[i-1].body = "

Charlie Weis isn’t the problem at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is the problem, for keeping Charlie Weis.

The university gave the rotund Jerseyan a 10-year contract extension after he coached the Fighting Irish for seven games in 2005. That happened after Weis took over for Tyrone Willingham. Weis was winning back then with Willingham’s players, including Brady Quinn.

A huge part of any college coach’s success is recruiting. So how could anyone in their right mind give a contract extension to a head coach until the school found out what kind of a recruiter he was?

After losing to Pitt on Saturday night, the Irish fell to 6-4. Since the beginning of the 2007 season, Notre Dame is 16-19. That either means Weis can’t recruit, or he can’t coach. Or both.

Whatever it is, Notre Dame finds itself in a donnybrook with itself. If it fires Weis, it will have to pay him more than $10 million. If it keeps him, the program may sink deeper into a quagmire of mediocrity.

The school says it will not make a decision based on money, but the school is lying. He would have been gone by now if it weren’t for money.

It was an infatuation with Weis and his NFL bling that led to a reckless business decision which is hurting the program today more than any single coach could ever do."; spt_trash_talk[i++] = new Array("","LeBron isn't going anywhere in 2010","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/ap/498f7642-ca72-4bdf-b058-2c7e7788ba7e.hsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "John Raoux", "AP", "273", "163", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); spt_trash_talk[i-1].body = "

LeBron James has issued a gag order on LeBron James.

He won’t talk about his impending free agency until after the season. That’s understandable. He doesn’t want the chatter to become a distraction to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have championship aspirations.

But the talk is rather silly because his options are so limited.

Does he want to leave Cleveland and go to a team that has an excellent chance to win an NBA title right away? If so, there aren’t that many sure things out there. He would likely be choosing among the Lakers, Celtics and Spurs. Those teams have the overall experience necessary to win it all, and his addition would be a supreme boost.

However, it isn’t going to happen, because none of those clubs can pay him anything close to superstar money without swinging some sort of sign-and-trade that might decimate their rosters.

Second-tier choices include the Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Hawks, Heat, Mavericks and Magic. But the same money issues are present on those teams, and none is good enough to guarantee him a better shot at a ring than he has in Cleveland.

He could go to the Knicks. But he’d be stupid. He’d be playing in the No. 1 market in the nation, but he’d been fighting for the No. 8 spot in the East every year.

That’s why he’s going to stay in Cleveland. He has a better chance to win a championship if he sits tight and is patient as the Cavs add a piece here and another piece there until they’re ready.

That’s why LeBron’s gag order on LeBron is really unnecessary. It’s clear what he’s going to do.
"; spt_trash_talk[i++] = new Array("","A game of pepper","","","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Mark Duncan", "AP", "273", "195", "", "", "", "", ""); spt_trash_talk[i-1].body = "

  • We’re living in an age of high definition. So why is it that recruiting videos are still so grainy? I saw a clip of prep star Harrison Barnes the other day and I couldn’t tell if it was footage from a scouting report or surveillance video of a guy buying a Slurpee at a 7-Eleven.
  • It seems that the standard for reviewing a call through replay has gone from “indisputable video evidence” to “We flipped a coin.”
  • I wonder if the University of Wisconsin has trouble recruiting athletes who are lactose intolerant?
  • There have been times in my life when I’ve parked in a red zone, but I didn’t get towed. I bet Jay Cutler always gets towed.
  • The Cleveland Browns visit the Detroit Lions this weekend. Just for the heck of it, I went on StubHub to see what tickets were going for. There was one seller who wanted $8,500 per ticket for lower level sideline seats in Row 12. Apparently he is a Nigerian prince who needs the money to pay administrative costs so he can get access to an inheritance.
  • After being trounced by Stanford on Saturday, 55-21, there was one bright spot for the USC Trojans: They never got penalized for excessive celebration.

    "; // END editorial data