News. Sports. Arts & Entertainment. Politics
Amber Theoharis formerly of MASN, and the Baltimore Orioles replaced Kara Henderson on NFL Network. Theoharis was a sports talk radio host for WJZ-FM, and from late 2011 to April 2013 was a sports reporter for WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.
She is a graduate of the University of Maryland. With the NFL Scouting Combine just completed, Amber and the rest of her NFLN crew ran the 40 yard dash last night on the network’s flagship program.
Follow paulmbanks
Stacey Dales left ESPN in November 2008 after a contract dispute in which she was denied first class flight privileges during cutbacks. She claimed a sexist double standard.
Stacy Dales, a 6-foot two-time All-American the University of Oklahoma who also played in the WNBA, is a native of Collingwood, Ontario.
On August 31, 2009 the NFL Network announced that Dales would be co-host of Gameday Morning. For the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the now 32-year old Canadian hottie was hired by Universal Sports to work as a correspondent.
Follow paulmbanks
Kimberly Jones also known as Kim Jones used to be a New York Yankees sideline reporter for the YES Network and a semi-regular talk show host on WFAN, the famous New York City sports talk radio station. She was with YES from 2005 through 2011.
The 43-year-old Kimberly Jones graduated from Penn State University in the early 1990s and is associated with their Center for Sports Journalism
Follow paulmbanks
In 2012, the Green Bay Packers find themselves in one of the biggest match-ups of week one, as last year’s #1 seed in the NFC will take on an NFC finalist in the San Francisco 49ers. After that scintillating on paper contest the Pack host the rival Chicago Bears in week two on a Thursday night. After a week three trip to Seattle, to battle the Seahawks on Monday night, the Packers return home to face the Sean Payton-less New Orleans Saints, and possibly get revenge for the bounty hunters targeting Aaron Rodgers.
Follow paulmbanks
The NFC North figures to be a three-horse race in 2012. The Green Bay Packers will be the favorite, as they were 15-1 last season. The Chicago Bears have made some good moves this offseason and figure to be a major player in the NFC. And then there’s the Detroit Lions who’s young nucleus gets older and better next season.
The Lions made a breakthrough last year, finally have a winning campaign and reaching the postseason after many years of futility. Looking at their schedule, here’s the chance for them to vault from sixth seed wild card to division champ this year.
Follow paulmbanks
Welcome to the NFL Andrew Luck! Your initiation will be a brisk one, as you and your Indianapolis Colts teammates will face a couple of the league’s most elite pass rushers right off the bat. In week one Mr. Luck and his Colts teammates travel to Chicago to face the Bears and fearsome DE Julius Peppers. The next week the opponent is the Minnesota Vikings and the manliest man in the NFL, Jared Allen.
Have fun with that! Bring your protection. And I’m not talking about condoms.
Follow paulmbanks
If you want to pick the Chicago Bears to lose a game, take a Monday Night Football road game in December. Forget the myth about “Bear Weather,” Chicago is just not very good in the late season when it’s cold, and pretty awful on Monday night- usually. Only one of their three MNFers is late in the year however, Nov. 19th at San Francisco. (Cue the memories of the 1984 and 1988 NFC title games).
The other two Monday nighters are October 1st at Dallas and October 22nd versus the Detroit Lions.
Follow paulmbanks
Resistance is futile. Especially at this point, when ESPN devoted an entire SportsCenter to Tim Tebow; making a Tebow reference literally every 18 seconds. As poignant as song lyrics could ever be. Green Day “American Idiot”….”don’t want to be an American idiot, one nation controlled by the media.”
As a New England Patriots fan, well…I guess whatever gives Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker and company an extra edge. They’re certainly flying under the radar today, even though their a heavy favorite in the NFL playoffs!
So let’s get to the point and run down all the Tebow pieces we’ve been forced to do. (It’s like covering the Amy Winehouse death, you don’t want to do it, but as a business man you’re a complete schmuck if you don’t).
So let’s talk media-whoring and annoying displays of public faith! Greatest hits after the jump
Follow paulmbanks
Without a doubt Tim Tebow is the most polarizing figure in the entire sporting world. And the main reason isn’t his overt Christian faith, which he publicly displays as if he were receiving royalties for every mention of the lord, or even anything inherent to his personality.
I don’t think Tebow himself is worth hating. Sure, none of us really know him, but his public facade seems like a nice guy. We don’t know who he actually is but he seems a decent sort. Sure, he’s home-schooled, and those people are usually creepy and simplistic. But I think he generally means well even if he isn’t exactly bright.
However, I don’t find him likable at all. In fact I think he’s an annoying one-trick-pony, but that’s different from being detestable. There are other people connected to Tebow who are much more detestable.
Follow paulmbanks
It’s very easy to draw the analogies between Denver Broncos starting quarterback Tim Tebow and Jesus Christ. For one, very few athletes in recent memory have been as publicly overt about their Christian faith as Tebow. Secondly, the flock of devotees (NFL football fans) who worship Tebow do so in a very religious “onward christian soldier” mentality.
Since there’s no true evidence to believe he’ll be a true star NFL QB, Tebow’s acolytes believe in him through faith. And we in the sports media have fun calling him St. Tebow, Jesus Tebow, Tim Christ etc. But now someone has actually skipped past metaphor or simile and actually gone literal with the comparison.
Follow paulmbanks
Veteran NFL fullback Heath Evans is done lacing ’em up on Sundays. This fall he’ll move to a more relaxing gig in the broadcast booth, joining the NFL Network as an in-studio analyst and reporter.
The 32-year-old Evans spent the last two seasons with the New Orleans Saints, including the 2009 Super Bowl championship season, after playing four years with the New England Patriots, which included the 2007 Super Bowl winning campaign.
So Evans got two rings during his career.
“I lived out part of my dream by playing 10 years in the NFL,” said Evans, who was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round (82nd overall) in 2001 after a stellar career at Auburn. “Now I’m excited to begin my second career staying connected to the game I love.”
Follow paulmbanks
When it comes to press conferences, they don’t get more boring, mundane and lacking in entertainment than the head of the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick. Although Lovie Smith and Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears are pretty bad too.
If you haven’t seen NFL Films Sound FX Bill Belichick, I highly implore you to do so! You’ll see BB has a personality after all; at least with his players. He swears (not Rex Ryan level, but some cursing nonetheless), talks shop about cars and trucks with his players and spends time with his son. You’ll see that he’s human after all; not a Darth Sweatshirt.
By Paul M. Banks
Follow paulmbanks