What the Tuck?

I'm still a little foggy on where exactly Giants DE Justin Tuck merited a flag - let alone a $7,500 fine - on his hit of Cowboys backup backup QB Brooks Bollinger last Sunday. Tuck didn't lead with the helmet. He didn't hit Bollinger late. He hit the QB high, wrapped him up and drove him to the ground. Even as a Cowboys fan, I was wondering at the time of the play how we snagged 15 extra yards on that hit. Happy to accept it though. Bad calls are made throughout the game, plus the Giants won big so no harm done.

But now that the NFL is fining Tuck for the hit, this is nuts. It was a solid hit on a quarterback. If he hit Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, or if Tony Romo had been back there, maybe you could even argue that the league is taking care of its QB Super Stars. But this was Brooks Bollinger. Heck, the NFL would almost be better off if he was knocked out of the game.

Good for Tuck for appealing the roughing penalty. I hope it gets overturned. Horrible call.

Even after the play, former quarterback Troy Aikman was baffled by the call:


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Texas Rangers shortstop Michael Young wins a Gold Glove for 2008. Just a quick scary thought for Dallas-area sports fans to consider: Could the Rangers have the highest finish in their division of any Dallas-area team this season? Would anyone have thought that to be the case heading into this season? I'm thinking... no!

The Rangers finished 2nd in 2008 behind the LA Angels, and right now the Cowboys, Mavericks and Stars would LOVE to be a second-place team. Granted, the Rangers didn't make the playoffs ... but which Dallas team is on track to do that anyway?

MLB 2008: AL West - Final Standings
Los Angeles ... 100-62
RANGERS ... 79-83
Oakland ... 75-86
Seattle ... 61-101

NFL 2008: NFC East - (through Week 9)
New York ... 7-1
Washington ... 6-3
Philadelphia ... 5-3
COWBOYS ... 5-4

NBA 2008-09: Southwest - (through 11/6/08)
New Orleans ... 3-1
Houston ... 3-2
MAVERICKS ... 2-2
Memphis ... 2-3
San Antonio ... 1-3

NHL 2008-09: Pacific - (through 11/6/08)
San Jose ... 12-2-0 (24)
Anaheim ... 9-5-1 (19)
Phoenix ... 5-6-0 (10)
Los Angeles ... 4-6-2 (10)
STARS ... 4-6-2 (10)

Yikes.