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NCAA Football Afc North

Latest Afc North Stories

Bengals Draft Pick Uses a Concussion as Defense for Driving Into an Apartment Complex

You may remember there was some buzz when the Bengals drafted Fresno State DT Jason Shirley. Shirley, up to that time, was best known for driving drunk and smashing his car into an apartment building.

Well, the court case for that incident has started (Shirley faces four misdemeanor charges) and the defense seems to suggest that a concussion he suffered during a game may have contributed to all of this.
Dr. William Carveth, an official team doctor the past three seasons, testified that the concussion Shirley sustained days before he drove a car into a townhome complex in the late night hours of Oct. 8 could have compounded the effects of the alcohol he drank that night and affected his decision making, emotional stability and ability to follow directions.

Carveth met with Shirley on the afternoon of Oct. 8, two days after Shirley sustained a concussion in the Bulldogs' game against Nevada. At that time, Carveth reported Shirley had "a mild, if any, concussion."

Now, that second paragraph is interesting. October 8th was the night that Shirley plowed his car into that apartment building. In more testimony, Carveth stated that Shirley continued to have pain and ... a month later ... Carveth wrote a letter to the school saying he had a "moderate" concussion (Shirley was trying to get reinstated to Fresno State).

The defense also brought out Fresno State head coach Pat Hill, two FSU basketball players and a track and field athlete. They also had the apartment complex manager state that the lights around the accident scene had been out.

As I type this, the case is in the jury's hands.

Cowher's New For Sale Sign Has Penn State Fans Buzzing

There's a for sale sign in front of Bill Cowher's Raleigh, N.C. mansion, which means there has to be speculation about him getting back into coaching.

With every NFL head coaching job filled, it was up to Penn State fans to speculate that Bill Cowher could be coming to town. LaschOut, a Penn State site, says that Cowher visited campus to meet with athletic director Tim Corley. Putting 2+2 together, the site speculated that the for sale sign could be tied to Cowher coming to State College to replace Penn State's favorite octogenarian road rager, Joe Paterno.

There's only one problem with the story. As the Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette found out, Cowher is moving, but it's only a couple of blocks down the street.

Cowher told Bouchette that they are moving because they found their current house is too big, so they are building a new house just down the road near a golf course. They actually waited until after the final NFL head coaching job was filled to try to make sure that the for sale sign wouldn't create false rumors.

Cowher gets linked to every NFL head coaching job out there, but he's pretty consistently denied any plans to get back into coaching, at least until after his youngest daughter graduates from high school. And he's said he may never coach again. Replacing a crotchety old coach at Penn State probably won't change his mind.

Hat Tip: College Football Talk

Marvin Lewis to Michigan?

With Rutgers coach Greg Schiano out of the mix, Michigan treks on looking for a head coach. Someone that could be in their sights: Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis.

This is still in the rumor stage, though some have heard about this on radio and it is mentioned in the New York Times.

Of course, this would assume that Cincinnati and Lewis divorce. Lewis' current deal runs through to 2010 season ... so despite the Bengals down season, it is unlikely he'd be fired. Owner Mike Brown has never been known to eat any contract. He is to make over $3M a year now, so heading off to Michigan would mean a big pay cut.

Lewis' last college job was linebackers coach for the Pitt Panthers in the early 1990s. He spent 1981-1991 in the college ranks as a LBs coach at Pitt, Idaho State, Long Beach State and New Mexico before getting the same gig in the NFL with the Steelers.

The only way I'd see that is if Lewis really thinks he need to get the heck out of the Queen City that bad. The Bengals are having their worst season in his coaching tenure and people are calling for his job. Plus, there are signs that he has lost this team. Again, Lewis would have to be the one to leave because ownership isn't firing him. Look for Lewis to decline or flat out take his name from the running.

This isn't the only NFL coach that Michigan is looking at. The Saints' Sean Payton says he's not interested despite rumors Michigan has expressed interest. Oakland's Lane Kiffin is also on the Wolverines radar.

Video of Steve Beuerlein's 'USC Thugs' On Air Comment



I earlier told you about CBS analyst Steve Beuerlein saying "USC thugs, man" over live air during the Bengals-Titans game today. Here is the video accompanying it.

Like I said before, who knows what Beuerlein was saying right before that comment. Maybe he said "I will take on anyone who says that those are a bunch of USC thugs, man." Maybe not. Either way, Beuerlein got caught breaking the #1 rule in TV work: if you've got nothing nice to say, make sure no one can hear you.

As Bill Macatee says when the broadcast came back, "LenDale White wishes he had that brief emotional explosion back." Maybe ol' Steve wishes he had that comment back.

Hat tip to Trojan Wire for finding the video.
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