Lions better suited to play band anyway
It was an embarrassing Sunday for the Detroit Lions, on and off the field, at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field.
Lions center Dominic Raiola was accused Monday of making hateful comments at members of the University of Wisconsin marching band prior to the Lions’ 22-9 loss Sunday to the Green Bay Packers.
During his pregame routine, Raiola allegedly taunted several band members for being overweight, questioned the sexuality of at least one band member, said the band sucked and used a derogatory term toward a female member of the group, NFL.com reported.
“Dominic Raiola is literally the worst person I have ever had the fortune to encounter,” one band member posted on Facebook.
“We are aware of the reports involving Dominic Raiola and the University of Wisconsin Marching Band,” the Lions said in a statement. “Those reports are extremely inconsistent with the standard of behavior we expect from our players and from every member of our organization. We currently are gathering more information and will respond further when appropriate.”
MLive.com reported Monday that Raiola has been disciplined twice by the Lions for fan altercations. He was fined $7,500 in 2008 and $15,000 in 2010.
Raiola said the interaction with the band was “blown way out of proportion.”
“We’ve got more important things to worry about right now,” Raiola told MyFoxDetroit.com.
“We’re worried about wins and losses.”Here we go
The Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars are on opposite ends of the NFL spectrum after five weeks.
Led by quarterback Peyton Mannning, the Broncos are one of three teams that are 5-0, while the Jaguars are 0-5 under firstyear Coach Gus Bradley.
Denver’s public relations department decided to spice up the team’s game against the Jaguars on Sunday, via Twitter.
“The Broncos’ 51 points in yesterday’s win are as many points as the Jaguars have scored all season,” the Broncos tweeted.
Jacksonville’s PR department replied, “Stay classy, Denver.”
Denver’s response? “No shots, just stats.”
The Broncos are a 26 1/2-point favorite over the Jaguars, making them the biggest favorite ever in an NFL game.
Free advice
Houston Chronicle columnist Jerome Solomon has some advice for Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub, who set an NFL record Sunday night with an interception returned for a touchdown in his fourth consecutive game.
“Schaub deleted his Twitter account last week,” Solomon wrote.
“If he is smart, thisweek he should erase any trace of him from Facebook. Hell, he probably needs to just go ahead and cancel his Randalls Club and Kroger Plus cards, too. Hey Matt, send the family on vacation and get somebody else to do your grocery shopping for a while. And whatever you do, don’t Google yourself. It is going to be ugly out there.
“After a horrible week, for Schaub to come out and throw another touchdown to the wrong team on the first play had to be devastating. He looks like a dead man walking and is playing like one.
“It is sad to watch.”
Not as sad to watch as the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He said it
From Miami Herald columnist Greg Cote:
“The Heat named Juwan Howard an assistant coach, meaning he’ll be playing about as many minutes as he did last season.”
“Michael Jordan said that in his prime, he’d have beaten LeBron [James] 1-on-1. Anybody else think Mike should shut up and concentrate a little harder on not being the worst owner in professional sports ?”Quote of the day “I kind of like it. It kind of gives me adrenaline.
I kind of use it in my favor.” St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha on the crowd at PNC Park in Pittsburgh
Sports, Pages 18 on 10/08/2013