New video in the Yard for you. We sat down with RB Darren McFadden to talk football, and he offered these words of wisdom: Play your game, don't be fancy, and put 11 in the box if you want to stop the run. That last gem only applies when Darren is in the backfield. Most running backs require eight in the box at most. If it was me back there, all you'd need to do to get me on the ground would be to let the grass grow long and maybe yell really loud. I'll trip up and fold like a baby, I promise you.

- Dewey

What's up, Yard?

I spent today at USC's Pro Day, where Sedrick Ellis, Keith Rivers, Thomas Williams, John David Booty, Lawrence Jackson, Fred Davis, Sam Baker, Chilo Rachal, Terrell Thomas, and others, worked out for NFL scouts. Below is a bit of what I learned after watching the drills, and also from speaking to coaches and scouts.

These are the five guys who I watched most closely. I shot some video and a bunch of photos; between now and the Draft, we'll release some of the video, and I'll post some of the photos here in the comments.

- Dewey

CHAUNCEY WASHINGTON (RB): One scout said to me that on film Washington looks like a 4.73 guy. No one expected him to run a 4.35 forty. But he did. Surprise of the day. The stadium erupted when his official time was announced.

SEDRICK ELLIS (DT): Sedrick Ellis is a beast, and fast too. Five seconds flat in the 40. But most impressive was his quickness out of the stance. The guy fires up and into his blocks. I don't think he'll last past Cincy at #9.

KEITH RIVERS (LB): 42" inch vertical today. He literally out-jumped the machine designed to test vertical leaps. He had to do it again so that he could be measured properly. Rivers had nothing to prove today, but he worked out anyway.

THOMAS WILLIAMS (LB): Maybe the smartest guy on the field. Scouts with whom I spoke love his intangibles and also his work ethic. He's not the same caliber as Rivers, but he helped himself today. I spoke with his teammate Rey Maualuga, who in a nutshell said that Williams was the most impressive guy at Pro Day, and that he made himself some money with a bump in draft stock.

SAM BAKER (OT): He's a value pick in the second round, and a steal in the third round. He doesn't fare well on the quote-unquote measurables (i.e. he's slooooooooow) but in position drills he looks like a first-rounder. He's a football player, not a 40-yard-dash runner.

Barack Obama was not a fan of the big man's mohawk. Neither were Grizzlies teammates (and Yardbarkers) Michael Conley and Hakim Warrick, both of whom wish the hairstyle would go back to whatever hole it crawled out of (most likely also occupied by Mr. T). This video of Warrick and Conley railing on the mohawk also includes a surprise "cameo" from an NBA All-Star.

- Dewey

PS: Thanks to the Yardbarkers who pointed out that Greg recently shaved the mohawk. Even still, the video is worth watching... for the All-Star "cameo" if nothing else.

Yardbarker met with MMA legend Frank Shamrock to discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by the sport in 2008. Frank reminded us that it's "OK to get your ass kicked," and also that being an MMA fighter requires a "wonderful soul," which may or may not be code for "health insurance."

2008 is a make-or-break year for MMA. For the first time, a prime-time network TV deal is in place. Veteran fighters look to cement legacies, and the next generation of bone-breakers will have the opportunity to earn its stripes in front of unprecedented audiences. Frank will defend his Strikeforce title in a March 29 fight against kickboxer Cung Le.

Today we're heading back down to San Jose to again meet with Frank. Our goal is to get footage that will help newbies to MMA understand its intricacies, and also to film a few hands-on tutorials from Frank on how to more effectively kick ass. Because if it's "OK to get your ass kicked," one can only assume that it's also OK to kick ass, right? Encouraged even?

Keep an eye on Frank's blog for more footage. In the meantime, check out this short interview with The Legend.

- Dewey

There has been a lot more traffic in the Yard lately. Obviously this is great news, but unfortunately a small handful of users are abusing the system. Only a minority of users are engaged in this behavior, but it has impacted the entire community.

Please know that we are hard at work on solutions, including increased moderation. Thanks for sticking with us through these growing pains.

In the meantime, if you see inappropriate or spam content, please rate it with a thumbs-down and tag accordingly. Thank you to everyone for your patience and suggestions. Always feel free to email us at feedback@yardbarker.com.

See you in the Yard!

- Dewey

Bob Sanders. Mario Williams. Jim Brown. Warren Moon. Tim Brown. Some guy who used to play for the Patriots and who supposedly was awesome but I'm too young to have ever heard of him (John Hannah). And a good band with a not-so-great name. Oh yeah, you know you're feeling it. Furious George.

RazorGator knows how to throw a Super Bowl party. We shot some footage at their pre-game party outside the stadium in Glendale. The video is short, mostly because we were distracted by the food, beer, celebrities, and girls wearing football jerseys. Is there anything better than a beautiful woman wearing a football jersey. There's no question mark there because it's a rhetorical question. There is nothing better than a beautiful woman wearing a football jersey. Well, maybe one thing: Giants upset.

- Dewey

I was there when history was made, lucky enough to be present and have the camera rolling when Chris Collinsworth was asked for the first, and most likely the last time, whether he had any groupies. Now you may be wondering why anyone would ask a 49 year old man who spends his Sundays sitting next to Babe Magnet Bob Costas whether he has a following of the female persuasion. This response is normal. Collinsworth has a part in Will Ferrell's upcoming movie, Step Brothers, in which he cries. When you have that kind of a range as an actor the ladies are bound to follow, right?

You have to love Collinsworth and his "That's about as good as it gets when you're from Cincinnati" attitude. I wish I could be at the "premiere" when his buddies razz him the moment he breaks down in Oscar-worthy tears.

- Jeff

There are at least four ingredients to any great party: bikinis, paddles, fire and music. The vitaminwater party had 'em all. It also had Donovan McNabb, with whom we had planned to conduct an interview. But can you blame us for getting distracted and forgetting? We didn't think so.

- Dewey

I learned two things from our interview with Tim Brown at the Bud Bowl Watering Hole Super Bowl Party. First, the former All-Pro WR doesn't mind when you accidentally introduce him as "Hall of Famer Tim Brown" despite the fact that he won't actually earn this honor for a few more years. I wasn't expecting him to correct us, but it was enjoyable to see him smile and just roll with it. Secondly, I was surprised to hear how candid and forthright he was. He doesn't exactly toe the company line when talking about his beloved Raiders...or does he? Maybe inferring that Oakland lacks discipline is exactly what Al Davis wants the world to think. It's difficult to tell sometimes.

- Jeff

The red carpet is a lot like the Royal Rumble. Every few minutes a new, random person enters, cameras flash wildly and then that person is gone, usually before they're done posing and hamming it up for the crowd.

I wasn't expecting any wrestlers to show up to John Travolta's Saturday Night Spectacular, but you never can tell what you're going to get at these things. Evander Holyfield? Check. Michael Bay? Check. Carlton from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air? Check (seriously). When I saw the Miz, I waived Jack over. No one was interviewing him and after missing out on a few celebs earlier, I wasn't going to let this one get through. I told Jack we should talk to him. He asked me who he was and I told him that he was on the Real World for a season. That's good enough to show up on a red carpet ten years later, isn't it?

Well, as we found out from the Miz himself, he's also a WWE Tag Team belt holder. After slapping our wrists for not being up to date on our Miz-trivia, he answered a few questions in bad guy mode. I think it actually made the interview better.

If you see Gisele with him in the future and ask yourself how that happened, now you know.

- Jeff

The G-Men were there alongside beauties in Giants bikinis. A few of the bikinis weren't bikinis. Just paint. There were even a few current NFL players outside who couldn't get past security. But somehow there we were (Jack, Jeff, Diana and I): Michael Strahan's post-game Super Bowl party on Sunday night in Scottsdale, AZ.

But you know who wasn't there? Tiki Barber, the running back who put his former teammates and coach on Mac Blast earlier this year. At one point, a dancer held up a Barber jersey, and the fierce "How you like us now, Tiki?!!" insult erupted the crowd. It didn't help that the stiff drinks had everyone feeling a bit like toe-up Tom Brady.

It gets even better. Shortly thereafter another jersey made a cameo, the only other Giants jersey put on public display that night (at least that I saw): Jeremy Shockey. I guess Shockey, who spent the Super Bowl boozing in a luxury box instead of on the field with his teammates, isn't very popular in the locker room.

Jeremy Shockey and Tiki Barber: New York's newest punching bags.

- Dewey

PS: Sorry for only having one picture, and for not having a picture of the jerseys. I'm not really sure how Yardbarker finagled its way into the party in the first place -- certainly not by design -- so the last thing I wanted to do was get our a$$es kicked to the curb for violating Strahan's no-camera policy.

A common Super Bowl refrain is that the pre-game hype is Snooze Central. Not true. We're here to let you know that Super Bowl week is incredible. Worst-case scenario is that the sheer number and quality of the parties serves as a great excuse to avoid the banality of mainstream media for a week. Best-case scenario is -- well, I'll leave that to your imagination.

Schadenfreude reigns supreme. The New York Football Giants have shocked the world. But even though Super Bowl XLII is in the past, we're not ready to shut down our S.B. coverage quite yet. Keep an eye out here for more exclusive photos and videos from pre-game and post-game parties, including the official New York Giants post-game party, hosted by Michael Strahan and attended by Yardbarker. The DJ had plenty of choice words for the Patriots. I can't remember exact quotes but one of 'em started with "Patriots are..." and may have rhymed with " New York Giants football riches" and "Eric Mangini snitches" (wink, wink).

Speaking of choice words, I had a few for Nic after this game of Hot Hoops. Don't know what Hot Hoops is? Watch the video and, as Mike "The Miz" Mizanin said earlier this week to one of the Yardbarkers in AZ, "Be jealous!"

- Dewey

I am not exactly sure how this happened, but Yardbarker was the only "Sports" press at the John Travolta/ Marshall Faulk Saturday night Super Bowl party. NBC, Maxim, Extra and a number of other non-sports news outlets were all there to cover the event. It was actually embarrassing listening to the chatter of reporters behind Jeff and I as they tried to figure out who each athlete was as they walked the red carpet. When Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips entered the room we heard someone say that they were management for the Cardinals. I am not a Dallas fan, but that's just wrong.

Marshall Faulk co-sponsored the event and some of the reporters didn't know who he was! Are you kidding me! Do your homework! The guy had 19,000+ total yards from scrimmage and is a lock for the Hall of Fame. And reporters have the audacity to criticize bloggers? I think they have quite a few lessons to learn. I was truly in shock. Reporters should take this as a warning that there is a revolution coming and bloggers are going to eat your lunch.

Since we were the only sports press at the party that meant we got 1st dibs on Dallas Cowboy's head coach Wade Phillips when he entered the room. Wade's a great guy but pretty reserved in the interview. May be he should coach Plaxico Burress on keeping his mouth shut when it comes to prediction time.

-Jack

Last night John Travolta and Marshall Faulk hosted the A-lister "Saturday Night Spectacular" here in Scottsdale. Tickets were going for $1500+. Jeff and I were able to skip the cover charge and were invited to report from the red carpet, probably based on our ability to quote Battlefield Earth, Face-Off, and Broken Arrow at will. [Thank you years of TBS.]

When Travolta and Faulk get together for an event (and before you ask, I don't know if Faulk is a Scientologist), you can only imagine the diverse group of celebs that would be walking the carpet. Evander Holyfield, Chris Collinsworth, Michael Bay, Jerry Jones, Wade Philips, Cirque de Soleil, Deal Or No Deal Girls (cases 2,4,6,8,15 etc.,) were all in the house. Even the Mayor of Phoenix chose this event to be seen at.

But when Darryl McDaniels (DMC of RunDMC) walked into the room, I knew this was a party. Sure the entire press core that was there didn't really know who this Rap Hall of Famer was. Their loss and Yardbarker's gain. Before DMC showed the world how to Walk This Way down the red carpet of the Super Bowl event, he stopped by to chat with us about athletes moonlighting as rappers, the glory years for the Steelers and his Super Bowl XLII predictions.

-Jack

What I love most about football is the maturity this sport brings out in its fans. Only at a Super Bowl event will you hear a grown man say "cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater" and mean it. Oh, the power of cheap beer and team rivalry!

Lauren and I made our way from Scottsdale over to the University of Phoenix Stadium, which I'm pretty sure was at least halfway to San Diego. Football fans were out in full force, but to my frustration there were just as many Chargers, Cowboys, and Broncos jerseys as there was Pats/Giants gear. (People, your team lost. It's time to get over it and move on. Go drool over some draft prospects or something.)

We decided to give a few lucky fans their 15 seconds of Yardbarker fame. Nic gave us some photo cards in advance, and we asked our fellow football fanatics to give us their first reactions to each. The responses were intelligent and sophisticated… NOT.

- Diana