Keyboard Quarterbacks

By Mark La Monica

This week's salute to the bold, brash and man-up moments in sports

Props to Patrick Crayton for "[T.O.] is always a threat to run by you. Ask Sam Madison." Great work this past week by the Cowboys wide receiver. Any athlete who talks such a good game instantly earns props on Monday. And, conversely, any athlete who doesn't back it up has a wonderful opportunity to wind up in Paybacks on Tuesday.

Props to Michael Strahan for "We hope T.O. has his popcorn ready. Maybe him and Crayton can sit in his home theater and watch us next week." A stellar display of verbalism by the Giants defensive end.

Props to Brandon Jacobs for "They might have had a chance to win if Patrick Crayton didn't drop the two key passes. There was a lot of talk. But it's over with. We won the game. They're chillin' and we're going to Green Bay next week." Wow. The Giants running back brings the pain.

Props to the players on the Chicago Bulls for voting to make Joakim Noah sit for an extra game for being a dumb kid.

Props to Ryan Grant, the Green Bay Packers running back who turned the ball over twice in the first three plays of the game to let Seattle build a 14-0 lead in three minutes, then ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns. A great personal comeback in the biggest of situations.

Props to Mrs. Manning, the matriarch of a royal football family who clearly switched her sons' lunch boxes on Sunday morning.

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By Mark La Monica

This week's salute to the bold, brash and man-up moments in sports

Props to Fred Taylor who admitted that he voted for himself a few times in the online fan balloting for the Pro Bowl. Impressive move for the Jaguars running back who has never been named to the Pro Bowl. You know he's not the only one who's done it. His quote about it was even better: "‘Why not vote for yourself?," he said. Ten extra votes. This is Florida."

Props to Brian Westbrook, the Eagles running back who thinks about the team before he does his stats. Eagles lead Cowboys, 10-6, with just over two minutes left. Cowboys have no timeouts left. Westbrook breaks a run and then tackles himself at the Cowboys' 1-yard line. He could have scored, padded his TD stats and given the Cowboys two minutes to score 13 points. Not probable, but Westbrook was smart enough to know it's not worth letting them try.

Props to Andy Pettitte for manning up and admitting his two-day use of HGH, as documented in the Mitchell Report. It takes a good man to admit that, instead of denying it just because the report has no legal ramifications.

Props to F.P. Santangelo for doing the same thing.

Props to the Miami Dolphins for getting off the schneid and beating the Ravens, 22-16 in overtime. Sure, it completely destroyed my Don Shula Scenario, but such is life. Now let's just hope they find Snowflake soon.

Props to Micheal Spurlock of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the being the first person in the 31-year history of the franchise to return a kickoff for a touchdown. It used to be death, taxes and no kickoff returns for touchdowns in Tampa. Now, it's just death and taxes. Not much to look forward to, huh?

This week's salute to the bold, brash and outlandish moments in sports

Props to all college football teams that made this season one of the most outrageous and unpredictable ever.

Props to Quentin Richardson, the Knicks forward who after saying he's not afraid to play the Celtics, maintained his position after Kevin Garnett called him out for those comments after a 45-point loss to those same Celtics.

"I still believe the same thing that I said I believed before the game," Richardson said. " . . . Because they have Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, are we supposed to crawl into a corner and say we're afraid to play them? Go ask the other 29 teams and you show me a player that says he's afraid to go play them. I've never heard of that."

Granted, the Knicks got smoked (and keep getting smoked), but we're proud to see him not be a typical athlete and recant the original comment. Nice work, Q-Rich.

Props to the NFL for hooking up America with a live Internet broadcast of the Packers-Cowboys game last Thursday. Smart PR move. Of course, if these teams weren't both 10-1, we wouldn't care. But at least the NFL was smart enough to realize that if the NFL Network is going to televise games and very few cable subscribers are going to clamor for the games to be carried by their cable operators, there needs to be another outlet to air the games. I enjoyed the chance to watch the game, even with a few glitches (my wireless' fault, not theirs, although it seemed to cut out whenever Bryant Gumbel spoke, which is impressive). I enjoyed enough to intentionally click on the Sprint ad to signify my customer satisfaction.

Props to TNT analyst Kenny Smith, who during the fourth quarter of the Knicks' 104-59 loss to Boston last Thursday said, "I don't think, even in darts, I"ve seen guys get beat this bad." Ouch for the Knicks. Joy for everyone else.

Props to Eli Manning, who after being villified all week by New York and national media for his woeful performance against the Vikings, led the Giants on two scoring drives late in the fourth quarter to beat the Bears, 21-16.

Props to Lee Corso and Lou Holtz (I know, I know), who on ESPN's BCS Selection Show offered passionate reasons why recently named Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini should not be the defensive coordinator for LSU in the title game while Kirk Herbstreit could not stop laughing at them. Watching those two was like watching your two grandfathers go at it about a Lincoln vs. a Cadillac on Thanksgiving while your cousin just sits there laughing and eating grapes.

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By Mark La Monica

Our weekly salute to the bold, brash and otherwise counter-culture maneuvers in sports.

Props to the dude in the Virginia Tech sports information office who had the guts to list the Dec. 1 ACC Championship football game against Boston College on their Web site's schedule days before the Hokies needed to beat in-state rival Virginia to earn the right to play in the championship game. In today's world of online message boards, fan forums, Facebook and MySpace, that's guts. That's the pure embodiment of Props. And if someone from the VT office wants to step up and lay claim to that move, we'll name an award after you.

Props to Stephen A. Smith for this gem to blowhard Skip Bayless who in the middle of one of his stupid "I hate everything in sports that's not me" rants, "What did he do, steal your lady? You got veins popping out of your neck!" Bayless was yapping on SportsCenter about how David Stern should step in and get rid of the Dolans as Knicks' owners.

Props to the Knicks, for winning a real, live, professional basketball game against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. That takes onions!

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By Karen Bailis

Far be it from me to outright steal my KBQB colleague Mark La Monica's practice of giving props to outrageous and otherwise noteworthy accomplishments in the world of sport. Let's just call it "Props Propagating." I couldn't let pass the passing of the longest streak in women's NCAA basketball without giving proper props:

Oklahoma pre-season All-America Courtney Paris' streak of 64 games with a double-double came to an end Friday night in a win over the incredibly athletic Mississippi State. The streak extended back to the 6-4 junior center's freshman year. She managed to record double figures in points and rebounds in 69 of her 72 games at Oklahoma. Still, she kept it all in perspective.

"I'm disappointed that it had to end,” Courtney said of the streak. "I never felt any pressure to keep it alive, but it was a personal goal of mine to keep it going, because I felt like that kind of production is what the team needed out of me to be successful."

Though Paris' numbers on Friday were a little subpar for her -- 16 points, 8 rebounds after averaging 23.5 ppg and 15.9 rpg last season -- her twin Ashley was there to pick up the slack.

Ashley Paris, a 6-3 foward, had been playing in Courtney's large shadow but has started to come into her own with a starting position for the Sooners. In their two previous seasons, Ashley had not outscored Courtney. She's done it in three out of Oklahoma's four games this season, as defenses key on her dominant sister. She broke her career-best in points in the past two games -- 21 points, 4 rebounds Thursday in a win over Arizona State and 24 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks the next night against Mississippi State.

Props to the twin towers.

By Mark La Monica

Our weekly salute to the bold, brash and otherwise normative-behavior departures in sports.

Props to the six Ripon High School cheerleaders who defied their coach and went ahead with their slightly frisky cheer. If the school doesn't rescind their suspensions, we need to launch an investigation. If the school doesn't man up, the Keyboard Quarterbacks got your back, girls. Free the Ripon 6!

Subsequent props to the Modesto Bee for posting the video and the girls' defense of their move.

Props to Todd Reesing, quarterback of undefeated Kansas (No. 2 in the BCS as of now) for his work in the Pop Culture grid in the Nov. 19 issue of Sports Illustrated (the college hoops preview). He was asked his favorite pickup line. His response: "Did you see the game on Saturday?" Damn, that's good. Rock chalk, Jayhawk!

Props to A-Rod for negotiating without that agent fella of his, Scott Boras.

Props to Kenny Rogers for canning that agent fella of his, Scott Boras.

By Mark La Monica

A salute to the bold, brash and otherwise counter-to-the-norm events and people in sports:

Props to Isiah "Juice" Williams, the Illinois quarterback who told coach Ron Zook, 'I'll get you an inch" during a timeout on fourth-and-inches at the Illinois 33 in the fourth quarter Saturday against No. 1 Ohio State. Williams, got the inch - and more - to keep the drive and dream alive for the Fighting Illini, who were ahead 28-21 with 6:33 left at the time.

Additional props to Isiah "Juice" Williams for backing that statement up with runs of 12 yards on a third-and-7, 12 yards on a third-and-10 and 3 yards on a third-and-2. In all, he kept the ball for the final 8:09 and crushed the national title hopes of the Buckeyes.

Further props to Isiah "Juice" Williams for restoring athletic dignity to the nickname "Juice."

Props to Steelers linebacker James Farrior, who early in the week advised that Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. "keep his head on a swivel" during their game this Sunday. He followed that up by making sure we all knew he'd be looking for Winslow Jr. in the game. Good ol' fashioned trash talk. Winslow Jr. caught five passes for 46 yards and a touchdown, but the Steelers won, 31-28.

Props to Terrell Owens, who was caught by cameras doing the Soulja Boy dance after catching his second touchdown against the Giants. He was a day early, but you have to appreciate his observance of Soulja Boy Monday.

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AP Photo

By Mark La Monica

Hopefully by now, you understand what Props is all about. But if not, here's a quick refresher course.

Props celebrates the brash, bold and otherwise outrageous occurrences in sports each week.

This time around, we have reserved this space for just one group of people.

Props to the Georgia Bulldogs football team for their work on Saturday against Florida in what used to be called "The World's Largest Cocktail Party."

Oh, sure, Georgia won, 42-30, but in the bigger picture, it's what the Bulldogs did after scoring their first touchdown of the game that cemented their singular spot on Props.

On the front end, Knowshon Moreno ran it in from the 1-yard line with 4:54 left in the first quarter. On the back end, 30 yards in penalties! In between, the entire Georgia team rushed the field to celebrate Moreno's touchdown and 7-0 lead over archrival Florida.

No amount of jorts could overcome the psychological and emotional boost the brash move gave Georgia.

Before the game, Georgia head coach Mark Richt demanded some type of celebration after his team's first touchdown.

"I told them if they didn't get a [celebration] penalty after the first touchdown I was going to run every one of them at 5:45 a.m.," Richt said in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Surely, he didn't expect that.

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By Mark La Monica

In Props, our three-week old new feature, we salute the brash and the bold in sports. They're umbrella terms and concepts, thus making the entire sports world eligible for inclusion.

This week, we're only throwing out props to one person. Not so much because others aren't worthy, but rather this athlete deserves a singular pedestal for the day. Besides, how many times can you say you heard of a 214-year-old dude who was sitting on his couch in a house he's about to sell on a Tuesday, signed to be a backup quarterback in the NFL on Wednesday, studied a playbook, film, a game plan and practiced for four days, then threw a touchdown on Sunday in a real NFL game?

Hence, props to Vinny Testaverde, the new starting quarterback of the Carolina Panthers, who was old enough to throw a touchdown pass in a 21st straight season, and young enough to break his old record of 20 straight seasons with a touchdown pass. Testaverde, Long Island's favorite son, was 20-for-33 for 206 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions in a 25-10 win over Arizona. Yo, Vinny!

Watch Vinny's highlights on NFL.com.

By Mark La Monica

Time for the second installment of "Props," a series celebrating those moments in sports that are brash, bold and generally counter to the accepted norm.

Props to Tim Tebow, the Florida quarterback who ran for a touchdown against No. 1 LSU in the first half and then gave the "call me" hand signal to the LSU home crowd. Pretty gutsy move for the sophomore. Gotta respect him for that.

Props to the the LSU crowd, a group so unwilling to let Tebow's actions go unchecked, they immediately burst into an "F U Tebow" chant, only they didn't censor themselves. Such quick thinking without a cheer coordinator always earns instant consideration for Props.

Props to Les Miles, the LSU head coach who went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Florida 7-yard-line with two minutes to go in the game when a field goal would have tied it at 24. This guy has some serious intestinal fortitude.

Props to Aaron Ross, the Giants cornerback who gave one of the most honest and emotional radio interviews with Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts on WFAN last Friday. They asked him questions and he answered them like a normal person, not an athlete. Clearly, he's a rookie . . . and a welcome refresher for sports fans.

Props to David Justice, the YES in-studio analyst. The Yankees lost the ALDS on Monday night. In the postgame locker room interviews on YES, A-Rod answered all the questions thrown at him. Most of those questions revolved around his upcoming decision to opt out of his contract or not. He said he hasn't thought about it, that it's been all about baseball for the past eight months. After that, Justice needed no more than a few seconds to say "To say that he hasn't thought about it, who you kidding?" You don't get that sort of honesty from most people in Yankee broadcasting land, TV or radio.

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By Mark La Monica

Athletes can be brash. Athletes can be funny. Athletes can even answer a question from a reporter with remarkable honesty.

Of course, it doesn't always happen. But when it does, we should celebrate it. Henceforth, we bring you the first installment of "Props," our new series those moments in sports that go counter to the accepted norm of not doing anything that may wind up on the proverbial bulletin board of an opponent's locker room.

Props to Hope Solo, the U.S. women's soccer goalkeeper who was benched for the World Cup semifinals in favor of former champion Brianna Scurry. After Scurry gave up four goals in a 4-0 loss to Brazil, Solo hammered her coach, Greg Ryan, and Scurry. Among her quotes: "It was the wrong decision" and "The fact of the matter is, it's not 2004 anymore." Good for her. Speak your mind, Hope!

Props to U.S. women's soccer coach Greg Ryan who had the guts to basically say, "Oh yeah, Hope, you wanna hammer me? OK, you're off the team for the consolation game." Granted, it was only the third-place game, which is more of a waste of time and television space than the NFL Pro Bowl, but still. An impressive move. First Amendment and free speech be damned!

Props to Jimmy Rollins, the Philadelphia shortstop who during spring training claimed his Phillies were the team to beat in the National League East. It may have taken all 162 games to prove it, but the Phillies proved it. And Rollins is the leading candidate for NL MVP. Gotta admire the testicular fortitude.

Props to Oakland Raiders quarterback Daunte Culpepper. He returned to Miami to play the Dolphins, the team that screwed with him last year and then traded him this year in favor of Trent Green. He stuck it to Miami on Sunday by throwing two touchdowns and running for three scores in a 35-17 win. After one of those touchdown runs, he looked at the Miami sideline, pointed to his surgically repaired knee a few times and gave the "OK" signal with his hand. It's bad enough for the Dolphins that he smoked them for five touchdowns, but then to rub it in that his knee -- the reason the Dolphins traded him -- is fine. Ouch. The Raiders are 2-2. The Dolphins are 0-4. Ouch, ouch.

Props to Tony Romo, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback who after a bad snap that went over his head, bumbled the initial scoop-up, kicked it back another 15 yards, then picked it up, ran it 33 yards back to the line of scrimmage and then another 4 yards to pick up the first down on third-and-3 (Watch the play). Great play in the final minute of the first half in a 7-7 game that ended up 35-7, but that's not why we salute him today. In the post-game, Romo joked (give or take a word), "That play is the reason why we won the game." Humor goes a long way in sports press conferences.