Is cheating in the NFL only an issue when the New England Patriots are caught doing it? Hypocritical comments from Jerry Rice indicate there could be a double-standard when the Patriots are involved in a controversy.
Rice, who is considered the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest football players of all time, recently admitted to cheating by using an illegal substance.
Rice appeared in a Jan. 17 video on ESPN about "The Evolution of Gloves" in football. In one video clip, Rice said he used a sticky adhesive.
"I know this might be a little illegal, guys, but you put a little spray, a little Stickum on them, to make sure that texture is a little sticky," Rice said with a laugh about how he used the substance when playing.
Stickum or similar adhesives were banned by the NFL in 1981.
"Eleven of 12 balls under-inflated can anyone spell cheating!!! #Just Saying," Rice tweeted three days after the video was published on ESPN about the Patriots' controversy after the AFC Championship Game.
No to Louisville
Matt Colburn was named Mr. Football in South Carolina this past year and was a three-star recruit that had committed to play for Louisville Coach Bobby Petrino.
Colburn actually committed to Louisville eight months ago, prior to his senior season at Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, S.C., and pretty much stopped making recruiting visits at that point. After all, he thought he was all set to go as far as his college ball is concerned.
Well, Petrino had other ideas.
With less than 48 hours to go before national signing day, the deadline for college recruits to declare their intentions, Petrino thought it would be wise to pull Colburn's scholarship offer. As a result, Dutch Fork Coach Tom Knotts declared that Petrino and his staff were no longer welcome at the school.
"He [Petrino] won't be able to recruit my school anymore and I imagine there will be some other coaches that will say the same thing," Knotts told GoUpstate.com, a Spartanburg, S.C., website. "Trust factor is just not there."
According to Knotts and Colburn, assistant coach Tony Grantham said Louisville needed the scholarship so it could sign more defensive backs to replace the three that declared for the NFL Draft. But Knotts didn't believe that was a credible excuse.
"They've known about these three DBs wanting to go to the NFL for weeks now," Knotts said. "To use that as an excuse doesn't hold water with me."
Thinking of golf
Stephen Curry is probably one of the 10 best NBA players in the league right now, but his focus isn't totally on the sport he's playing.
In a recent interview, Curry said he thinks about golf during games, especially when he's on the bench. Here's a story from a game in Orlando last season.
"Bubba Watson was sitting on the courtside across from our bench. And when I was out of the game, I noticed he was at the game watching," Curry said.
"And like I'm picturing myself, what would it be like to be Bubba Watson? ... And then sometimes I'll watch Golf Channel a lot, and maybe a swing tip will kinda pop up in my head and I'll be like, 'Hmm ... what if I get my wrist turning a different way or something.' "
Curry claims to, at times, play to a scratch handicap.
QUIZ
Where was Jerry Rice born?
ANSWER
Starkville, Miss.
Sports on 02/07/2015