You know it’s a grind when the “Kartrashians” make it in. A former Cardinal gets a lot of money to leave Los Angeles, as a Cardinal legend heads there. A dingleberry from the Mizzou game that no one is talking about, and I have decided my most hated player in the NFL.

MIZZOU

James  Franklin “The Turtle” was miserable Saturday. Mizzou should have beat Florida. Unfortunately they got nothing out of the most important player on the field. Mizzou receivers got open, but Franklin missed them.

It didn’t take much for Florida QB Jeff Driskel to outperform Franklin. One touchdown on 100 passing yards, and a 50% completion rate was more than enough. Despite 51 passing attempts, Franklin had 0 touchdowns. Don’t use the Bradford excuse, because he has plenty of solid receiving options. Don’t use the injury excuse, because last I checked you don’t throw the football with your knee, and he looked fine when he was running scared from defenders.

6’2, 225 pounds, and he cant throw the ball farther than 25 yards. Are you sure you didn’t take a cortisone shot James? Because your arm looks numb.

You can’t put it all on Franklin; someone decided to put him on the field. How about how Gary Pinkel has displayed NO ability to make second half adjustments in his entire coaching career? 

One adjustment Pinkel will make: Jared McGriff-Culver will not see the field again. He had one assignment on Saturday, to block the edge-rusher on field goal protections…he didn’t lay a finger on anyone. Good season son.

NFL

The “real” refs suck too; I won’t go down the list of uncovered blown calls but what is this fumble call on Roethlisberger?

The NFL needs review this. Technically, if the quarterback loses control of the football before the arm is moving forward, it’s a fumble. But what happens when you lose the grip, but not control? Because it didn’t affect the outcome, my guess is the NFL won’t say anything. Had that happened during a crucial situation (such as when the ‘tuck rule’ came of age), we would have an updated NFL rulebook next week.

The player I hate the most in the NFL is Robert Griffin III. You are a rookie; stop acting like you’re a grown man in this league. You want to keep acting like you’ve proven something, then you will keep getting crunched by defenders, and wind up on the gurney (which I wouldn’t mind seeing). During a pummeling at the hands of the Carolina Panthers (2-6), RGIII ran into the end zone, and then did a foolish jig with an infantile grin on his face. Meanwhile, the play was negated thanks to a holding call. Carolina cornerback Josh Norman made RGIII aware of the penalty and the score by pointing towards the jumbotron while he was celebrating a non-TD run in the closing seconds of a loss. Thank you Josh, next time slap him in the face.

Meanwhile, as RGIII receives all the hype and attention, Andrew Luck is quickly becoming one of the best QBs in the league. You think Sam Bradford has no one to throw too? Luck, outside of Reggie Wayne, is throwing to no name rookies, and the Rams’ reject Donnie Avery. He set a rookie record throwing 433 passing yards against Miami. 

Two things I will enjoy the rest of the year:
1. Watching Luck lead the Colts to the playoffs, keeping hope among a franchise and fan base that saw its franchise player leave and then had its head coach diagnosed with leukemia.

2. Watching RGIII lose, cry, and give the Rams a better draft pick next summer.

Throwback Jerseys: Throw them back.

NBA

Lamar Scrodom. Here is a guy, Odom, who went from 6^th man of the year in the NBA, to 6^th man of the Kardashian family.  Have you seen him lately? I thought it was Chloe who was pregnant…Lay off the candy.

Odom returned to a very good Los Angeles Clippers team, after an embarrassing dismissal from the Dallas Mavericks last season. Far more embarrassing was his 20-pound heavier frame, and his new hair-do featuring two stars shaved into the back of his head. Good look for you Lamar, can’t wait to see your new McDonald’s ads.

The other team in L.A., yes, the other team, is struggling early. Not that I expect the Lakers to have a bad year, but losing Steve Nash hurts. If the Lakers offense operates the same without Nash, which it has, then the acquisition was pointless. The Lakers have a lot of work, I no longer have them locked into the finals as I did before. Perhaps a coaching change is in order.

MLB

Dan Haren got $3.5 million from the Los Angeles Angels to leave. Does this bother anyone else? Those agents sure are sneaky. The Angels are a hot mess, and Haren is a free agent.

Mark McGwire is leaving the Cardinals for the Los Angels Dodgers. This makes me terribly sad. WHY BIG MAC?! WHY!? Say what you want about his coaching abilities (I thought he was great), losing Big Mac hurts me deeper. This man is a St. Louis idol, seeing him sporting the iconic #25 in the Cardinals dugout still brought a warm feeling to my heart. Cheers to you Mark, I will sincerely miss you. RETIRE 25!

Keep grindin’