General: Sterno's Talkin' Smack -- Episode #44

Sterno's Talkin' smack. No holding back here. It's all trash, all the time. Welcome to the Thursday morning edition.

Today's round table delivers a steady helping of trash. On the menu you will find the saga of Maurice Clarett, the state of the Pennington-less Jets, and the latest from the mouth of Pedro Martinez.

Smack This: Maurice Clarett -- Let me throw a couple of names at you, and tell me if you see where I am going with this. How about Chris Webber and Lebron James? Ring a bell, do they? Over the past year, plenty has been made through media avenues about these two regarding the legality of some gifts they may have not been entitled to.

How about a couple of other names for you? Rick Neuheisel and Mike Price. Do you know of them? Yes, they were all over the public's sport's pages for their illegal behavior regarding the NCAA.

Well, what I am getting to here are two things, really. One is that Maurice Clarett apparently cannot read, while the other is that I am so sick and tired of this crap. The who you can't and who you can talk to, and who you can't and who you can take things from, game, is exhausting. What ever happened to just playing the game?

Here's my thought on Clarett. The guy should be your Heisman Trophy winner. I said it on this stage late last week when I did my preview of the NCAA football season. He has more talent than anyone in the country, and he is going to be special at the pro level. This will all be, of course, if he grows up.

Clarett knew that cheating to get better grades was wrong. He knew that accepting that kind of help was wrong. He knew that what he did by borrowing a car from a local dealership and playing a role in a scheme of exaggerated theft was wrong. If he is smart enough to figure out those Big Ten defenses, then he can surely be able to know somewhat, what's right and wrong. If not, he would like to buy a clue for $500 please!

Now, Clarett will miss six games, according to the latest reports. This suspension is going to change the face of the Championship picture, as well as the Big Ten picture. There is no way that Ohio State will be better without the premier back in the nation, and guys like Kirk Herbstreit must be smoking something, if they think that the Buckeyes are better of without their young star. Craig Krenzel is not the type of quarterback who can handle losing a guy like Clarett, and the defenses will be bringing a ton of pressure on him, with no fear of a running game.

As far as Clarett goes, he now has no chance of the Heisman victory, and according to his father, he won't return next year for another opportunity at the famous piece of art.

"Enough's enough. Who needs it? He can do the same thing in the NFL," claims his father.

Either way, Clarett, who scampered for over 1,200 yards last year, will not be on the field with Ohio State until October. Oh well, I guess Michigan fans can celebrate now!

Maurice Clarett -- Smacked!!!

Smack This: New York Jets -- Uh-Oh! That's the cry out at Hofstra University, the home of the New York Jets' practice facility. Let me give you the scoop on where the Jets are without Pennington. In one word, they are nowhere!

With Chad, I was talking about a 9-7 season for "Gang Green," simply because their secondary is weak, and their wide receiving core is overall, also weak. The losses of Laveurneus Coles and Chad Morton to the Redskins hurt the team, and Curtis Conway doesn't cut it as far as a replacement is concerned. They already had a "nice," receiver in Chrebet.

Speaking of Chrebet, he is possibly the only one who will benefit from Chad Pennington's injury, an injury that will keep the young quarterback out for most, if not the entire season. With the aging and decreasingly effective Vinny Testaverde at the helm, he is sure to be looking to his old friend Wayne Chrebet, who Vinny threw to for years when he was the Jets' number one option.

Vinny Testaverde was great for the Jets a few years ago, when they were coasting through the season as AFC Championship hopefuls, but those days are gone. Last year, when Testaverde went 1-3 to lose his job to Pennington, he was old, slow, and throwing to the wrong jersey more often than not. If the Jets have any chance to make the playoffs with Vinny under center (which I don't think that they do), he will have to be careful with the ball, and just keep handing it off to Curtis Martin.

So, what about a backup for Testaverde? The Jets had many options. They could have gone to veteran guys like Jeff George and Jamie Martin, and they could have gone back to the well with Ray Lucas. They did neither. The Jets picked up Todd Husak, who was the third quarterback last season for New York. With Brooks Bollinger from Wisconsin as the number two, the Jets don't exactly have much behind Vinny.

Are they crazy? They must be. Instead of getting a guy who could start if Vinnie got hurt, and or sucked, they picked an option that makes them weaker overall than any team in the league at the most important position in the league. Testaverde, who was hurt in the first game of the season a couple of years ago, and out for the year, better stay healthy. No, not so the Jets can win the Super Bowl, so they can go 6-10. If he gets hurt at all, they will do even worse than that.

In a league where time after time, teams realize just how important a backup quarterback really is, the Jets have gone the cheap route. It will cost them! On a side note, these preseason games are sickening. The NFL has now lost two of its premier quarterbacks to the meaningless events.

New York Jets -- Smacked!!!

Smack This: Pedro Martinez -- Oh, boy, here comes Pedro again! Martinez, as you know, I love. He backs up each and everything he says, and he's not afraid to bring it to the table whenever he has to. The only issue I have with him, and it works again here, is that sometimes his mouth opens too wide.

Here is the story. Basically, talk radio guys all over Boston, and their callers, have been crying all week about how Martinez' absence last week due to a throat problem, wasn't sincere. Martinez was diagnosed with pharyngitis, and spent almost six hours in a hospital. That doesn't sound like playing hooky to me.

Are you kidding me Boston? Your city has dealt with a curse that has killed its sports fans for years. Your team, the Red Sox, are falling farther and farther behind the Yankees, and now have their sights set purely on the Wildcard in the American League.

Every year, the Yankees beat you, the team chokes, and all that's left to do is drink at the local bar. On your team, there is one star who year in and year out comes to the park and performs. Okay, Nomar does to, but you get my point. Get behind the guy, instead of bitching about his missing a start. You need him, more than he needs you, and according to Pedro, he is going to make you find that out.

"I will make $17.5 million, and then I'm out of here," says Pedro, when talking about a contract extension next season.

I don't blame him one bit. In the same light, as I have said before, Mike Piazza had a right to shout back at the New York radio guys for their comments while he was out. Pedro will do his job, as he always does, and the Sox still won't win it all.

Watch, he will be a Yankee. I guarantee it.

The Boston Media -- Smacked!!!

One for the Road: Today's one for the road is dedicated to a near apology. Tom Glavine pitched another gem for the Mets, as he shut down the Dodgers this past weekend. That is four consecutive great starts for Glavine. While it by no means makes up for his pitching over the course of the season's first half, it is refreshing to think he may not be done just yet!

Hit me up with feedback at eSports (click the Write the Editor link) or on my homepage at http://www.suite101.com/myhome.cfm/theycallmethecloser. Come on and click that link already! You can't possibly agree with everything I say!

See ya' all next time folks! Until then, don't be the one that gets smacked!