Newsday (N.Y.): Cromartie's day gets all fouled up

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

OAKLAND, Calif. — Antonio Cromartie was headed to the hospital. "He won't be talking," a Jets spokesman told several reporters waiting at his locker. True to the cliche, Cromartie's actions, the ones on the field, had spoken louder than any words Sunday.

Twice Cromartie, a cornerback and return man, was called for pass interference. Twice Cromartie was called for defensive holding. Once he muffed a kickoff, at the end of the third quarter, allowing Oakland to recover the ball at the Jets' 13, only seconds after the Raiders scored to break a tie at 17.

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Copyright © 2011 Newsday. All rights reserved.

RealClearSports: Leaving USC Early Works Out for Sanchez

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

Pete Carroll never really said Mark Sanchez would become a bust. But he certainly implied it. Sanchez was leaving USC early and while not exactly leaving Carroll in a lurch, was leaving him with a freshman quarterback replacement, Matt Barkley.

Don't you love hindsight? Looking backward is delicious. Never mind the famous stuff, the idea people said Lindbergh couldn't cross the Atlantic. It's the little things, particularly in sports, which keep us enthralled.

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© RealClearSports 2011

RealClearSports: Losing Only Part of Lost Weekend for Jets

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

NEW YORK -- Tom Brady, for one, must be delighted. Didn't he say he hates the New York Jets? He has company these days. It didn't take long for the Jets to go from television stars, rollicking, laugh-it-up guys with their rollicking, laugh-it-up-yell-out-an-obscenity coach, to a lot of apparent misfits. And failures in their first game.

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© RealClearSports 2010

Newsday (N.Y.): Keyshawn works, hangs out at Hall

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

CANTON, Ohio -- No one from the Jets or Giants went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, but former Jet Keyshawn Johnson, now working for ESPN, managed to attend.

Before working yesterday's telecast, Johnson attended an invitation-only party Friday night at the McKinley Grand Hotel with dozens of other former players, many of whom (Steve Young, Elvin Bethea and Warren Moon) are in the Hall.

Johnson, a wide receiver from USC, was the No. 1 pick in the 1996 draft by the Jets. He went on to the Bucs, Cowboys and Panthers before retiring after the 2006 season.

Trippi makes the trek
Among the 80 or so Hall of Famers in attendance for the weekend was Charlie Trippi, 88, who played in the 1943 Rose Bowl game for Georgia, went into the military and returned after World War II to play two more years for Georgia.

Trippi, a running back, was drafted in 1947 by the Cardinals, then in Chicago, and signed what one newspaper called "the unheard-of sum of $100,000." That season he led the Cardinals to the NFL title.

Blinded by the light
The Bengals, who play the Cowboys here today, toured the Hall of Fame and Terrell Owens walked by, wearing sunglasses in the indoor shrine.

Berman receives award
ESPN's Chris Berman was given the Pete Rozelle radio-television award at the Friday night ceremonies. Peter Finney Sr. of the New Orleans Times-Picayune got the McCann Award of the Pro Football Writers.

McDonald shows old moves
When introduced Friday night, Tommy McDonald, the 5-9 former receiver (1957-1968) with Philadelphia, Dallas, the Rams, Atlanta and Cleveland, danced up the runway and then embraced each of the seven inductees from this year.

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/keyshawn-works-hangs-out-at-hall-1.2187178
Copyright © 2010 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Newsday (N.Y.): Revis again shows he can handle tall task

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

SAN DIEGO -- That stuff about a good little man not being able to handle a good big man? The size is relative, of course, but for Darrelle Revis, considered small at 5-11, all the talk is just so much talk.

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Copyright © 2010 Newsday. All rights reserved.