LITTLE ROCK — Receiver: Message loud, clear
Washington Redskins receiver Joshua Morgan felt the full downside of the social media age this week, receiving death threats and other venomous messages on Twitter because of his fourth-quarter blunder inthe loss to the St. Louis Rams.
Morgan talked Wednesday about the nastiness he’s heard from fans since his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing the ball at Cortland Finnegan. Thepenalty cost the Redskins valuable field position during the team’s final drive in Sunday’s 31-28 loss.
“I heard everything, especially when they get you on Twitter and are sending you death threats and wishing you bad things andyour firstborn,” Morgan said.
“You see it all, you hear it all. You never let it get to you, especially with me being from D.C. They treated me kind of like they did [San Francisco 49ers return man] Kyle Williams last year when he dropped a punt against the Giants.”
Morgan said the threats are keeping him focused. He said he wasn’t tempted to discontinue his Twitter account.
“The only thing I take seriously is football and my family, and nothing really scares me,” he said.
Nevertheless, Coach Mike Shanahan said the team is looking into the matter.
“We have security that takes care of those issues,” the coach said. “We’ll look at it and see if it’s serious or not.”
Morgan said he has been fined by the NFL over the 15-yard penalty but didn’t yet know the amount. He also said he wouldn’t be throwing such a tantrum again. After all, raising the ire of fans is one thing, but getting a cold stare from the coaching staff is something else.
“Especially with Coach Mike Shanahan,” he said, “none of us are dumb enough to make the same mistake twice.”‘We want Tim!’
The New York Jets were scoreless in the last 40 minutes of their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos threw three interceptions in a quarter in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Wrote Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com: “Wonder whose fans were screaming louder for Tim Tebow?” Horse play
Former Tampa Bay offensive lineman Ian Beckles was arrested last week for disorderly intoxication after he defied apolice officer’s instructions not to touch his horse.
Wrote Reggie Hayes of The News-Sentinel of Fort Wayne, Ind.: “Beckles is the first known professional athlete arrested solely for horsing around.” Out of uniform
During the San Francisco 49ers’ 27-19 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday night, 49ers cornerback Tarell Brown started at right cornerback, made four tackles and played six additional snaps on special teams. Brown also wore red sleeves under his uniform, which is a violation of Rule 5, Section 4, Article 5(a) of the 2012 Official Playing Rules of the National Football League, and has been fined $5,250.
Just in case Brown thinks the NFL is picking on him, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has been informed that if he ever dares to wear a San Francisco Giants cap during a postgame press conference again, he will be fined $15,000. So, there’s that.
“So it’s weird,” Smith said of the NFL’s rule stating that players must wear sponsored gear 90 minutes after every game. “I could wear a Polo shirt after the game and they’re not going to fine me.”Quote of the day “It’s going to be phenomenal. It’s going to be as big time as any
place in the country.” ASU Athletic Director Terry Mohajir on the school’s new indodor practice facility and operations center
Sports, Pages 20 on 09/20/2012