And here we go with his rant on all that's wrong with youth sports in this country.

(It's a very interesting read, and please feel free to comment - both for and against - to let BBiB! get a taste of what life's like in the blogosphere.)

The Problem with Youth Sports Today

This post is brought to you today by BBiB! as I cash in my ‘thanks for tracking the NFL Draft and NFL Playoffs for me’ reward from BG.

By no means can the idea I espouse below be considered original, but it is meant to stir up ‘conversation’ amongst the parents out there whose youth are participating in sports. If I’m ever granted a second guest posting, I’ll try to drum up interest in some guilty pleasure banter. I’ve learned some very useful information about our resident NFL Guru, BG, that you should all get a kick out of.

Ok, so, it’s the first day of 9-10 year old Little League and yours truly, BBiB!, is managing a team of spirited boys. I figure by this age, the boys will be ready to compete and be excited about winning and playing in the playoffs and for a championship. I introduce myself and meet the players before asking if there are any questions before beginning our first practice. The one and only question I received summed up the problem with American youth sports perfectly, “Hey Coach, when do we get our trophies?” If I could have, I would have slapped that entitled boy silly. Instead I cringed and looked forward to another of season of “nice try”s and “atta boy”s for every little accomplishment.

But to have nearly all 85 players on your team involved in fisticuffs during a practice in early May?

Whoa.

Welcome to the NFL, coach Harbaugh.

But Angelo says he's not cutting Benson, and that he'll simply wait for the legal system to play out.

Smart call.

The Bears have invested far too much in Benson to simply release him over this incident (reminder: the charges were misdemeanors and will almost certainly not result in jail time). Besides, there are enough questions about this case expressed by people who were with Benson at the time that at least make it conceivable Benson ought to get the benefit of the doubt.

Benson will never win a popularity contest in the Bears' locker room, where teammates have questioned his leadership. But last week's won't determine whether he stays or goes. That will be up to his performance.

If the past three years are any indication, things don't look too bright for the former Texas star. But you still don't just toss the guy on the street. Especially not if you're the general manager who staked his reputation on the guy in the first place.

You let things play out on and off the field, and then see where you stand.

Ellis says that's why Williams seems to be distancing himself from some teammates in recent weeks.

Um, Greg, there's a good reason Williams isn't comfortable with head coach Wade Phillips' system. It's because Williams has been a liability in pass coverage throughout his NFL career. So, for all the hard hits and the horse-collar tackles, the bottom line is that Williams' ability as a defensive back leave plenty to be desired.

And by the time he speaks personally to former Patriots video employee Matt Walsh on Tuesday, we suspect he'll have a lot more to say.

Can only imagine what it'll be like when the season starts.

Not sure what to expect from this year's rookie class for Big Blue, although I suspect it won't have quite the same impact as last year's dazzling class. Jerry Reese hit it big last year with contributions galore from first-rounder Aaron Ross to seventh-rounder Ahmad Bradshaw.

With a Super Bowl roster stacked with talent, it will be that much tougher for this year's rookie class to make inroad. But if even just five players make contributions, the Giants will be ahead of the game.

Kenny Phillips seems about as can't-miss as you can get, and he should fit right in now that Gibril Wilson is gone. The real test of the draft might come with third-round receiver Mario Manningham, whose past problems can be erased with quality play on the field and responsible behavior off it.

If you knew what Walsh knew, what would you say?

(P.S. Yes, we have blantantly ripped off Stapler's "Q of the D" headline. We rather like it and plan to use it plenty. As far as we know, Staple neglected to get a copyright on the phrasing.)

We'll be there on Tuesday at the Intercontinental Hotel for a press conference that will start anywhere from 10 a.m.-noon. It all depends how long Goodell and Walsh, as well as Walsh attorney Michel Levy, meet. They're set to convene at 7:30 a.m.

Personally, I think it should end here. Now that we know Walsh doesn't have a tape of the Rams' walk-through practice the day before the Patriots' first Super Bowl win after the 2002 season, my feeling is that the issue is now over.

Yes, Walsh has additional examples of Belichick cheating. But the NFL's penalties against Belichick and the team were for all previous illegal videotaping activity, which Belichick acknowledged during the league's investigation.

Curious to see what you think.

Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh has turned over eight tapes to the NFL, all of which showed the videotaping of opposing teams' offensive and/or defensive signals.

The key here is that Walsh did not turn over - nor does he have in his possession - a tape of the Rams' walkthrough session the day before the Patriots-Rams Super Bowl after the 2001 regular season. The Boston Herald reported the day before the Giants-Patriots Super Bowl last February that such a tape existed; had that been the case, Pats coach Bill Belichick likely would have received further sanctions and possibly been fired or forced to resign.

But Belichick and the Patriots continually denied the existence of such a tape, and Belichick said at the NFL owners meetings last month that he has never taped an opponents' practice in 34 years of coaching.

The fact that Walsh had additional tapes of what the Patriots already admitted they were doing - and were already sanctioned for - means that the league is not expected to take further action.

"This is consistent with what the Patriots had admitted they had been doing, consistent with what we already knew," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press last night.

The league has said the fines ($500,000 for Belichick and $250,000 for the team) and the removal of a 2008 first-round draft pick were penalties for taping procedures that went back to the 2000, the year Belichick became the team's head coach.

Walsh will meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell next Tuesday. Goodell said he will hold a news conference shortly after the meeting.

The Spygate saga started, of course, when the Patriots were caught illegally taping the Jets' defensive signals on the sidelines in a Week 1 game last season at Giants Stadium.

See for yourself.

There has been plenty of sentiment from fans that the Bears simply release Benson, who has been a major disappointment on the field and a questionable chap off it. But that simply doesn't make sense, even in the wake of last weekend's incident. First, the charges are misdemeanor and will almost certainly not result in jail time. Second, if the woman's statements are accurate, Benson might not be in the kind of hot water the team initially feared. And third, he's the starting running back for a team one year removed from a Super Bowl run.

Seems all the news about football these days is off the field - see: Cedric Benson, Pacman Jones, Matt Walsh, etc.

Now this: Football player "Ronaldo" is in the middle of a bizarre set of circumstances that is all the rage. It involves cross-dressing prostitutes. It's complicated. Please read.

He wrote that Archuleta was sent packing, a reference we initially took to mean that David Archuleta was somehow out of the competition at American Idol. This in spite of the fact that last night's competition hadn't yet begun.

Rock was being silly, of course, and sent a link that Adam Archuleta had been released by the Bears, a transaction the Idol-obsessed Glaubers could care less about.

Adam A. has largely been a bust through a once promising NFL career, and we suspect he won't amount to much after being kicked to the curb by Lovie Smith, his former mentor in St. Louis.

As for David Archuleta, the future is bright. We're thinking Jason Castro gets the boot from Idol tonight, which would leave David A., Syesha Mercado and David Cook as the final three. Then again, there have been some shockers at this point in previous Idol competitions. If Castro somehow makes it through, it means there's a problem.

Matt W. and Roger G. are scheduled to meet in New York next Tuesday to discuss what information he has on BB HC of the NEP.

...

For some reason, "Antonio Pierce" was Google's hottest search this morning. It was because he appeared on Stern's show, which I do not get. Adam Abramson gets it and listens to it because he has satellite radio. I do not have said apparatus. I do not have Versus, either.

Thus, my withdrawal symptoms from not being able to watch the NHL playoffs continue.

Have a nice day.

I'm eating an egg white omlette at IHOP.

Black N Gold suggested that perhaps Rashard Mendenhall should have been eating an egg white omlette at an IHOP or Denny's the other night in Chicago. B N G surmises that the rookie running back might not have been robbed at gunpoint had he been enjoying our favorite meal.