Too much Mojo can cause a stir
Detroit Lions safety Louis Delmas has lost his Mojo.
We’re not talking about his self-confidence. We’re talking about his 5-year-old, 6-foot-long pet alligator.
Delmas, who is in his fifth year with the Lions, received an alligator egg in his rookie season as a gift from former teammate Ernie Sims. From that egg hatched an alligator, which Delmas named Mojo, but Delmas said Thursday it’s time for Mojo to move out.
Delmas has housed the reptile in a 36-square-foot tank in his basement, but he said it’s no longer reasonable to do so. Wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, signed after Nate Burleson’s injury, plans to move in with Delmas, but told Delmas he wasn’t comfortable sharing a residence with an alligator.
“I told him I couldn’t stay there with the gator there, so he had to make some adjustments for theNew York City kid,” Ogletree said, according to MLive.com.
Mojo had grown to the point that it ate two giant rats three times per week.
“That gator ate my refrigerator dry,” Delmas told MLive.com.
Delmas had Mojo picked up by Allen Park Critter Shop, which now houses the alligator under the care of owner Rick Simms.
Delmas said Mojo eventually could end up at the Detroit Zoo, although communications director Patricia Janeway told MLive.com the zoo had not been contacted.
Coach’s confidence
The New York Jets face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, which means the Jets will have to try to come up with a way to stop Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green.
Jets defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman has likely been coming up with several options on that front, but not all of them have to do with safety help over the top or other schematic tweaks.
As Thurman explained to the Newark Star-Ledger, cornerback Antonio Cromartie might want to ask for some help from up above with keeping Green from lighting up the scoreboard.
“What does he need to do?” Thurman told the newspaper.
“Put his hands on him and pray, pretty much.”
Staying in shape
Given that Jim Leyland is 68 and stepped down as Detroit Tigers manager saying that he thinks it’s a job for a younger man, it would be interesting if the Tigers turned to a 69-year-old to replace him.
Still, Charlie Manuel, 69, could be the man for the job.
Earlier this week Manuel popped up on a Detroit sports radio station and expressed some interest in the Tigers’ opening.
Manuel, let go by the Philadelphia Phillies in August, said he is getting himself in shape and is hoping to land one of the vacant jobs.
“Condition-wise, I feel tremendous,” said Manuel, who turns 70 in January. “I’ve still got the fire. I’ve got a full tank. I’m still very much in the game.”
Reggie 3, Modesty 0
Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson isn’t getting any more humble with age.
Jackson, 67, was interviewed on HBO’s Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel recently, recalling his three home-run game for the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Gumbel: “As you’re trotting around the bases after the third one, what are you thinking?”
Jackson: “Ruth and Gehrig and players like that were going through my mind. And we have won the World Series. And I’d finally climbed over the hill.”
Gumbel: “You didn’t take a moment to think, say to yourself, ‘Damn, I’m good.’ ”
Jackson: “I knew that anyway.”
Quote of the day “Find some toasted raviolis, eat some. Those are good, especially in St. Louis.” St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Joe Kelly on advice to the Boston Red Sox and their fans
Sports, Pages 20 on 10/26/2013