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On Friday I had the esteemed pleasure to interview fellow baseball broadcasting colleague, Dan Arndt, who is an Events Production Supervisor for the NFL about what it is like to work behind the scenes at the Super Bowl. Dan gave great insight into all the hard work that the men and women behind the scenes do to put the worlds biggest game on the air. Listen to an excepert here: You can catch the full length episode right here: Full episode: http://tobtr.com/s/7266917

In his annual State of the League address, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell emphasized that the investigation into Deflategate is moving forward until the truth is found by investigator Ted Wells. "We take it very seriously about anything that affects the integrity of the game," the embattled Commissioner said. The Patriots, who play in the Super Bowl on Sunday, are believed to be in the know about 11 footballs that were less than the required 12.5 lbs of PSI. Those 11 balls were detected by the Colts and the officials in the first half, and New England was told to inflate them at the half. However, in recent days Vice President of Officiating Dean Blandino tried to put cold water on the situation, saying that the officials didn't log the weight of the balls before, during or after the AFC Championship. It has not been explained why 13 other Patriots footballs were at full inflated capacity, and why the Colts footballs were perfect. It's been a wild week where the...

Roger Goodell needs to be as mad as hell, and he shouldn't take it anymore. In a year where he has watched the credibility of his sport get dragged through the dirt, the latest scandal to hit the National Football League needs to be taken care of, not only with the utmost care, but with a hard and quick resolution. The New England Patriots are being investigated for deflating footballs during the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. Both teams are responsible for their own footballs, which by league rule are inspected by NFL officials two hours and 15 minutes before the game kicks off. Anyone who doctors the ball afterwards will be heavily fined. Apparently the Patriots didn't get that memo, or, they just didn't care. Several reports have the Patriots deflating as many as 11 of the 12 balls in their possession, two PSI below the standard weight of an NFL football. Walt Anderson, who was the head referee for the football game, said that every footbal...

If you base winning the press conference by how much humor and boastful proclamations the coach throws at the media, than Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan have a lot of work to do. Bowles and Maccagnan are the anti-Rex Ryan. The days of circus press conferences are over, and the focus is now on football only.  In place of trending quotes, we got an introductory press conference were we heard a who lot of nothing as Bowles and Maccagnan were introduced before the NY media for the first time on Wednesday. Neither guy showed their hand, playing it close to the vest like a couple of poker players. Maccagnan he did a solid job, he came across with a much firmer grasp of the media than his predecessor, Idzik did in two years on the job. He didn't offer much insight as to how he will handle things as General Manager of the team, reading mostly from a prepared script and answering each question with the much expected and practiced declarations. When asked about Geno Smith, he dodged th...

After the Seahawks completed a stunning come-from-behind victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game, the Patriots demolished the Indianapolis Colts 45-7 in the AFC Championship. The AFC contest wasn't even close as the Pats built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Tom Brady was terrific once again on the big stage, throwing for 226 yards and three touchdowns, including one to offensive lineman Nate Solder, who lined up at tight end. The Patriots held the football for nearly 38 minutes, and amassed 397 yards of offense as compared the Colts inferior 209 yards of offense. In fact the game was so one sided, it was easy to forget that Andrew Luck was even playing in this game for the Colts. Luck's contributions mattered little, with a 12 of 33 night for 126 yards and two picks. It didn't help that his teammates didn't even get off the bus on Sunday night. Now it sets up what should be a pretty fascinating Super Bowl. These are...

SEAHAWKS 28 PACKERS 22 The Green Bay Packers were up 19-7 and had just intercepted Russell Wilson for the fourth time in the game. With 5:04 the game was all but over, the Packers were heading to the Super Bowl with an improbable upset. Oh, how cruel the sport of football can be. The Packers did nothing with the interception, going three and out and punting it back to the Seahawks, and giving them the hope they were searching for. That was the theme of the day for Green Bay. They had numerous opportunities to finish off the Seahawks, but never did. The Packers could have put the dagger in the Seahawks in the first quarter, but never did. Their first three possessions were in Seattle territory, two of them because of Seahawks turnovers, and all the Packers could muster were two field goals to take a 6-0 lead. Later on with the Packers up 16-0, Green Bay had another chance to shut the door on the Seahawks, but never did. After Wilson's third interception, Aaron Rodgers re...

Score one for Jets General Manger Mike Maccagnan! The freshly minted New York Jets executive showed more gusto then his predecessors ever did when word came down Friday afternoon that the Jets have fired Director of Player Personnel T erry Bradway , at long last. Bradway, who had various titles in recent years including director of player personnel and college scouting, was an albatross for 13 years. In fact, he redefined the term survivor, because year-in and year-out he found a way to stay on Woody Johnson's good side no matter what. Starting when he was the general manager of the team back in 2001 and through his 13-year stay, the Jets have been steeped in mistakes and disasters coming out of both free agency and the draft under his watch -- yet through it all he never paid the price.  Until now. Dwayne Robertson? Total disaster. A first round pick at defensive tackle that flamed out quicker than a candle when Bradway was the GM. Justin Miller? Forgetable. Mike Nugent?...

After a six year absence Giants' fans finally get their wish, Steve Spangnuolo has returned to Big Blue as defensive coordinator. Popular amongst former players and the fans for the way he guided the Giants defense to one of the top units in the NFL in 2007 and 2008, which included a thrilling Super Bowl victory, bringing back Spagnuolo was a no-brainer . Sure the Giants did their due-diligence by interviewing several candidates including Raheem Morris, Pepper Johnson and Dennis Allen for the post, but the writing has been on the wall for a very long time. The Giants wanted to get "their guy" back in the fold. In what could be Tom Coughlin's final year as Giants coach, having a trusted hand by his side is huge. Under Spagnuolo the Giants were a top 10 defense, ranked 7th in the NFL in total D in 2007, and 5th in total D in 2008. The Giants haven't sniffed the top ten since he left. Heck, they haven't even been in the top 15! Maybe it's ironic in ...

Here ya go Jets fans! Rex Ryan has officially become the Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills. Ryan didn't make any guarantees, but he was still his boastful self. Buffalo Bills @ buffalobills  ·  39m 39 minutes ago Rex Ryan: "I'm not going to let our fans down. It's been 15 years since we made the playoffs ... We're going."   Buffalo Bills @ buffalobills  ·  25m 25 minutes ago Rex Ryan on the AFC East: "We're not afraid of anybody" # KissTheRings   Manish Mehta ‏ @ MMehtaNYDN 6m 6 minutes ago Rex on facing the Jets: "I'll be honest. It's still the Patrio...

Woody Johnson better hope his new hires for head coach and general manager work out, otherwise the next banner that he will see flying over the Jets training center might read, "sell the team." The Jets made their decision on Tuesday. The much talk about search for the next HC and GM of the NYJ is now over, and in a lot of ways, feels like a rushed marriage on the part of Woody Johnson, and a move totally orchestrated by consultant Charley Casserly. First, New York made it official by finalizing a deal with the worst kept secret in the NFL, when they agreed to make Mike Maccagnan their new General Manager. Maccagnan has spent the past week in New Jersey, and it was only a matter of time before he got the job. Maccagnan is a football guy, steeped in personnel, a huge contrast from John Idzik with was more of a salary cap guru. That has to make Jets fans at least crack a smile, since they desperately needed a football guy running the show. Maccagnan will have his work...

Check out the latest radio podcast of Open Mike, heard live Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's on blogtalkradio. In this edition, I welcome in my Jackals co-host, Nick Delahanty onto the show and we discuss the fallout from a crazy divisional round of the NFL playoffs. We open up talking about Peyton Manning's future, and the John Fox situation before moving onto the "catch that wasn't" between the Cowboys and Packers. LISTEN LIVE HERE .

Peyton Manning's legacy in the National Football League has been etched for some time. Playoff losses and a 1-2 record in the Super Bowl aside, Manning will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, if not the greatest. He put up prolific numbers every single year of his career, obliterated the touchdown record (530), and captured three conference championships with two different franchises, and set the stage for the NFL as we know it today where quarterbacks rule Sunday every week. He did it all with class, it was never about him and his down-to-earth personality, and vibrant sense of humor made him a favorite among NFL fans, even if they were not Colts or Broncos fans. So it hard to sit there and watch what could be (hopefully unlikey) Manning's last game as an NFL quarterback. Over the course of the season we have seen Manning suffer the toll of 17 NFL seasons; the hits are becoming a bit much. He suffered an apparent tear in his right calf d...

Rex Ryan won't have to kiss Bill Belichick's rings in his next coaching stop either. Because the bombastic head coach is taking his mouth and his defense to western New York as head coach of the Buffalo Bills . Talk about a punch to the gut of the Jets. Ryan will not leave the AFC East after the Jets fired him two weeks ago following a horrific 4-12 season, instead opting to sign with their division rivals. If the Jets-Bills rivalry has come across as stale over the years, those days are over. With Ryan in Buffalo, the hate between the two teams is going to ignite big time. It's a stunning move on Ryan's part. He could have chosen to wait for the Falcons to make up their minds and go there. The Falcons have a much better football team as compared to Buffalo, since the Falcons have an established offense with a franchise quarterback in Matt Ryan. One could argue that if Ryan were to rebuild Atlanta's defense, he would have a shot at the Super Bowl. In Buffalo i...

Here we go with another one from the rumor mill. Likely brought to you by the "boy who cried wolf," there are more rumors that the Jets may have settled on a head coach (yes, even without a general manager in place). The latest rumor is that the Jets are leaning toward hiring Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as its head coach . While this rumor will certainly bring smiles to the faces of Jets fans, as compared to the Doug Marrone rumors, the fact is nothing has been finalized. Quinn cannot commit to a coaching job until the Seahawks season is over. If the Jets even tried to work on a deal now they would be in danger of tampering. What is known is that Quinn would like to bring in offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan with him when he does accept a head coaching job in the NFL, and a lot of people think the Jets are very much in the mix. Shanahan was released from his Cleveland Browns contract on Thursday, and was to interview for the Bills head coaching job. The...

The Jets might be narrowing down their exhaustive search for a general manager to replace the infamous John Idzik. The team has interviewed seven candidates for the position, and have now extended a second invitation to Texans director of college scouting Mike Maccagnan. Usually when a team sends out a second invitation for an interview, it means they are close to making a hire. " A league source who is familiar with Maccagnan said he is a very thorough, competent person who will be able to work well with a head coach and others in the organization. The source said Maccagnan has a solid plan on how to build a team, something the Jets surely saw in the interview ," ( NYPost 01/08/2015 ). While there isn't much known about Maccagnan, we do know that he has strong ties to Charley Casserly who has been consulting Woody Johnson on this search. It has been speculated by numerous news outlets that Casserly is hoping to convince Johnson to settle for a Maccagnan/Marro...

A week ago it looked like defensive coordinator Perry Fewell was safe in his spot with the New York Giants. Just goes to show you how much can change in a week. Fewell, along with secondary coach Peter Giunta, was fired by the Giants after the club ranked 29th in total defense this year. It has been a long time coming as the Giants defense has been lagging for far too long. The unit was ranked 31st two years ago, and as high as 8th in 2013. This season was marred by inconsistent play and injuries. Fewell's inability to work with the pieces he was dealt and adjust spelled the end of his tenure in New York. In a year where the Giants will have to win or else, firing Fewell makes a lot of sense. Now the question will be who will replace him?  The hot name that will surface right away is Steve Spagnuolo, the former Giants defensive coordinator from 2007-08, who is currently with the Ravens as its assistant head coach and secondary coach. If the Giants want to speak to Spagnuolo, or...

Former Mets' catcher Mike Piazza will have to wait another year to find out if he will enter the storied halls of Cooperstown. The Baseball Writers Association of America cast their votes for the 2015 Hall of Fame ballot , and once again Piazza was left off, although he did receive a higher percentage of votes (69 %) than last year (62%). Last year Piazza was left off the ballot because many voters suspected that he was a steroid user, even though there was never any proof of such. Fast forward to 2015, it is safe to assume that bias still exists. Piazza never tested positive, and was never called before a grand jury the way other HOF candidates, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire and Curt Schilling were. To our knowledge, Piazza led a clean baseball existence, in addition to being the best hitting catcher in baseball, period. He deserves a shot at the Hall of Fame. Falling 28 votes shy is both encouraging and discouraging all the same. He should get his day come 2016 -...

The Doug Marrone-to-the-Jets saga has become the story of the off-season so far in the NFL. A couple days ago it appeared that Marrone was on his way to the Jets, as CBS' Jason LaCanFora reported that Marrone was all but a sure bet to become the Jets head coach.   The Jets general manager search just happens to be littered with candidates who have ties -- and in some cases very strong ones -- to Doug Marrone, who became a free agent last week when he exercised an out clause in Buffalo. The Jets are already deep into their GM search, and they met with Marrone on Saturday, with several league sources maintaining they are likely to be the first team to name a new coach this week , (LaConFora, CBS).  Since that time the Jets may have soured on Marrone, according to LaCanfora's Twitter account: Jason La Canfora Verified account ‏ @ JasonLaCanfora Jets still have more candidates to speak to...

The 2014-15 NFL postseason is now upon us. This weekend four games will be on tap during Wild Card weekend, a week in the NFL that is typically pretty crazy in recent years. Since 2005 six teams that won on Wild Card weekend went on to the Super Bowl, five of them have won it all. Those winners include the 2012 Ravens, 2011 Giants, 2010 Packers, 2007 Giants, and 2005 Steelers. Only the 2008 Cardinals got to the Bowl but lost. So which team will come out of this weekend with the potential to upset the top seeds on the way to glory? While it figures to be difficult, we will find out soon enough. Cardinals (11-5) @ Panthers (7-8-1) On paper this would figure to be a good match-up for the Cardinals. They have one of the better defenses in the NFL, and the Panthers struggled to get to seven wins this year. However, Arizona limps into this game losers of their last two, and with no quarterback. Ryan Lindley will get the start for the Cards, which is not a good sign. The Panthers have wo...

Once again the Jets find a way to do something completely (pardon my French) ass backwards. In a move that smells like tampering, the Jets are in the process of doing to their division foes, the Buffalo Bills, what the Patriots did to them 15 years ago. Only problem is the guy the Jets might be getting is not of the profile of Bill Belichick. Doug Marrone is out as Buffalo Bills head coach, more accurately, he quit as Bills coach. With a cloud of uncertainty surrounding the franchise after it was purchased by Terry Pegula, Marrone decided to opt out of his contract. When Marrone signed his deal with Buffalo back in 2013 there was a stipulation in the deal that allowed him a window to opt out if there was a change in ownership. This week Marrone had a three-day window to do just that, and did so at the last minute. According to ESPN, Marrone was influenced to opt out when he couldn't get the extension he wanted beyond the two years left on his deal. Now the rumors are flying...