Julius in a Boot

Sturm and Jones discuss life in the NFL, above.

Julius Jones is injured …

Running back Julius Jones was wearing a walking boot on his left leg Tuesday and the Cowboys are preparing as if he will not play Sunday, a source said.

Jones missed the second half of the Cowboys' 33-10 win over Philadelphia because of a high ankle sprain.

Durability is this guy’s biggest issue. I know I have said this a lot, but I cannot get passed the fact that I think he is not the type of RB to stay healthy through 300 carries. He is not alone. There are plenty of players like him that you can only expect for 13-14 games a year (Fred Taylor, Ahman Green, Priest Holmes), but let’s not assume he is Emmitt Jr.

New Hockeybuzz.com post here: Stars 3, Coyotes 2 …Mike Modano played his best game of the year and got rewarded for it with a pretty assist and a huge shorthanded goal.

Dish Network screws up a sporting event? …Wow. Breaking news there.

The Stars said they were told that several Dish Network subscribers did not get the game on OLN. "We have talked to OLN, the league and Dish Network, and they assure us they are aware of the problem and are doing everything they can to make sure 100 percent of the homes receive OLN," Stars director of communications Rob Scichili said.

I am a Directv guy. The reason I would never consider Dish Network (despite the fact that I may read a commercial once in a while) is that they screw up so many sporting events a year that I would go crazy. I have received 20 emails from people who missed last night’s game because Dish Network doesn’t have their act together. Over the years, this has happened with Stars games and Mavericks games more times than I can count. They obviously are not serious about fixing their problem.

Amare out 4 months! …The Suns are a bit more equipped for injuries this year, but there is no replacing that dude…

Redskins ready to get a divorce with Arrington …

The steady decline of linebacker LaVar Arrington's playing time -- and perhaps his career in Washington -- continued Sunday as the three-time Pro Bowl pick failed to get on the field for the Redskins' 21-19 loss at Invesco Field at Mile High.

Arrington played fairly regularly in Week 1, then got five plays against Dallas, two plays against Seattle and none against the Denver Broncos.

Even with Washington trailing by 11 points late and coaches funneling in depth players such as defensive lineman Ryan Boschetti, Arrington was an afterthought. Most of the game he stood alone at one end or the other of the sideline and was quick to congratulate teammates as they came off the field. He sat draped in a coat on the bench for much of the second half, benched entirely for the first time.
"I didn't play," Arrington said. "There ain't nothing to talk about."

I am sure this has nothing to do with his contract lawsuit…

Tony Kornheiser gives his take on Lavar …

Last time I looked, LaVar had played good enough defense on some darned good defensive teams here to be elected to the Pro Bowl three times -- which is two more times than anybody else on that defense. And just a few months ago, in June, this same Gregg Williams was quoted saying, "It's no secret that I'm a better coach when LaVar is on the field." So, wha' happened?

It's hard to believe a healthy LaVar Arrington isn't good enough to get into the game. (If I owned the Redskins, I'd want to see that with my own eyes.) But if the Redskins don't want LaVar, they should deactivate him, and not strand him out there in his clean jersey so it looks like they're deliberately trying to embarrass and punish him.

Another day, Another Vikings scandal ….



Mark Tauscher, Green Bay’s Right Tackle suffers first holding penalty of his life …

During Tauscher’s six-year NFL career, he never had been called for a holding penalty.

Tauscher’s streak ended in the third quarter when he cut-blocked Saints defensive tackle Brian Young but never appeared to put his hands on Young.

“I didn’t see a penalty,” Packers coach Mike Sherman said. “I was confused myself on who they penalized there.”

Tauscher said he also never had been called for a holding penalty while at the University of Wisconsin and was unsure if he was called for one while in high school.

“It’s been a long time,” Tauscher said. “In fact, that may be the first one I’ve ever had.”

Tauscher said he would live with the ruling, even on a questionable call.

Adam Morris found this gold: Blogger goofs on Jim Rome's thoughts on Erstad and the Angels ...