Vince Young has definitely had his ups and downs. He was picked 3rd overall in the NFL Draft right behind Reggie Bush and ahead of Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler. His rookie season was a success for the most part, as his ability to lead his team to victory was obvious. Big plays and close escapes had many people becoming fans, asking how the Texans passed on Vince to draft a defensive end. But last season Vince dealt with "the madden curse" and though the Titans made the playoffs, Vince really struggled, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns, and his frustration grew. After the game this weekend, Vince's family witnessed Young at his "lowest point" even calling coach Jeff Fischer in hopes of finding Vince. Some news came out that it was probably a big misunderstanding and a non-issue, but this isn't the first time Vince has been linked with thoughts to end his football career. I think it'd be a shame, and that Young has a bright future if he works hard enough - but right now it sounds like he might just want to run away from it all - not everyone can handle the pressure, that's for sure. Check out this article.

Awesome. This country definitely is great, but only here would some crap like this happen. You probably have to read it to believe it, but apparently the NFL players association is suing fantasy football sites (such as CBS) for using their public statistic information on their sites. Yes, professional athletes apparently don't realize that the reason their freaking sport is so popular right now is because fantasy football is one of the fastest growing games around. What they also don't realize is the reason they see their salaries going up so much over the last 10 seasons is because of the money coming in from new fans everywhere. Next thing you know somebody will be getting sued for trading LT for Brian Westbrook and Nate Burleson. Somebody needs to give the NFLPA a nice little slap to the dome and see if that doesn't help them snap out of their dreamlike state. Something tells me Gene Upshaw wouldn't have let this BS go through. Just another reason to appreciate the man that used to run the show.

I thought this was an interesting conspiracy theory piece the readers in here might find interesting. My question is this: What are your guys (and girls') biggest sports conspiracies? (Besides Richie Sexon and Vin Baker's contracts)

Wow - quite the big confident fellow... Here's a little excerpt from the article....

"5. M.D.E (Most Dominant Ever): Shaq began referring to himself as the M.D.E. after leading the Lakers to three straight NBA titles from 2000 to 2002. Despite missing a slew of games during those years and of course being very fat, Shaq was virtually unstoppable in the playoffs and especially the Finals (where he averaged close to 40 PPG). People use this nickname to mock him now, but back then it was pretty hard to argue against it."

I guess you never know what to believe in these situations, but there has to be some truth behind this story, right?

Like Kobe said back in the day, Shaq has dealt with this kind of stuff before, he just pays them off... I wonder if Kobe's laughing a little inside?

Like I said, who knows what side to believe, but it never looks good when you're threatening to kill a girl because she doesn't want your enormous sweaty face all over her.

It's completely wrong to say it, but it's a completely more traceable thing to text it to someone. Apparently, (in this article) that's what Mr. O'Neal is up to - first he gets his honorary Sheriff Badge revoked and now he's getting charged with death threats via the old texter - tough summer for the Big Aristotle.

On that note - what's your least favorite (or favorite) Shaq nickname?

Bryan Weimer writes for www.LuckyLester.com and has guest columns on a few other sites like FFToday - check it out.

Yes, tonight the Oakland Raiders were just flat out greater than Matt Leinart.

I know there are hundreds of thousands of fantasy fans out there waiting for Matt Leinart to morph back into the confident and accurate lefty that helped turn USC into one of the most feared college offenses in NCAA history, but too bad for them, because the NFL doesn't seem to be a fairytale game.

Matt's Week 1 and 2 Pre-Season performances allowed some hope to creep back into the hearts of Cardinal fans and former USC homers, but Week 3 against the Raiders was a completely different story. We'll hop into Matt's awesome stats for that game in a second, but first I need to conjure up a way to actually calculate such a magnificent quarterback rating.

The problem with Matt is this: he has to go to practice every single day and start every single pre-season game with the reality check that he's not the best quarterback on the team. That's right, Kurt Warner is the best Cardinal signal caller, and it seems like every single player on this team understands that. Heck, it seems like everybody in the NFL knows that. And I know Matt knows that - watch him play. If there was ever a quarterback looking over his shoulder, Matt's the guy. You think it'd be easy for a guy with two All-Pro receivers like Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, but Leinart's play early last season and against the defensive dynamo in Oakland today shows me that he's not having an easy time at all.

Matt can't run the hurry-up. Matt can't throw the deep ball. Matt isn't as accurate as his back-up. Matt doesn't have the respect of his team. Matt doesn't get the job done. The Titans picked Vince Young over Matt Leinart because Young proved he's a winner. Sure, he might not have the accurate arm and he might not make the best decisions - but when it comes to winning or losing, Vince does work.

In Arizona, they call in a former MVP as a late-inning reliever.

Today in Oakland, Matt was 4 for 12 for 24 measly yards zero touchdowns and 3 interceptions. If there was a negative quarterback rating, I'm pretty sure Matt managed it tonight. I know the Raiders have a decent secondary, they might even have a great secondary, but with 'Quan and Fitz on the edges, you just can't miss that many throws. Even when he's had good stats this season, he hasn't looked good.

Be prepared, fantasy owners, Matt Leinart is not the answer. Stop pretending that this is college, and the Cardinals play in the Pac-10. In the NFL the talent level is fairly even across the board, unless of course you have Boldin and Fitzgerald playing receiver. Ugh. Even with that advantage Matt can't seem to figure it out.

When all is said and done, I figure Matt Leinart will be one of the best college quarterbacks there was. He ran that USC offense to perfection. But when his NFL career is over, he'll always be considered an underachiever. At least that's how I see it. He seems like a good guy, and I hope he proves me wrong, but I can't help but see it how it is. Maybe I'm being too critical, and maybe I'm not giving him a chance, but I'll be stunned if Matt has a good season in Arizona.

It's not always easy to be a referee, especially in a case like this. I've seen basketball players push a ref, and even that big offensive tackle from the Browns tossed that ref to the ground after he got a flag thrown in his eye - but this is impressive. This Angel Matos guy decided he had enough and just kicked the ref right in the head.

The Titans stunned more than a few people in April when they drafted the combine's fastest man, Chris Johnson, in the 1st round. Many thought that they fell in love with a 40-time, claiming that Chris Johnson was just a workout warrior and that he didn't have the size to be a running back in the NFL. He wasn't just called a workout warrior, a small college running back, but more than a few "experts" designated him "a poor man's Reggie Bush".

I wasn't sure what to believe, having never seen Chris play. After a couple pre-season games I'm willing to give the Titans an A+ for their decision to draft this dynamic running back. If his Youtube college highlights weren't enough to make me a believer, his explosiveness against 1st team defenses is. I know it's just the pre-season, but so far Chris Johnson is the fastest man on the field.

Unlike Reggie Bush, Johnson's speed is still too fast for the rest of the NFL. Bush has been quoted saying that defenses are a lot faster at this level and it's hard for him to get outside. The speed of the game has limited what Reggie can do, and since he wasn't a great inside runner to start with, he has become a poor man's Brian Westbrook. I don't think you'll ever hear Chris Johnson saying that it's too hard for him to get to the outside.

In his first couple pre-season games, Chris Johnson has shown me that he's not a version of anyone, let alone a poor man's Reggie Bush. Johnson's toughness and 0-60 speed is a combination that, if he stays healthy, should make him one of the scariest offensive players in the League. Usain Bolt has taken the Olympics by storm, and he surely is the World's Fastest Man, but Chris Johnson is looking for that title on a lesser scale, the NFL's Fastest Man. Chris makes everyone else look like they're standing still.

With LenDale White sharing the load with Johnson, his relatively small size shouldn't be a problem. He's just a rookie, but I see a big season out of the 1st round running back from ECU. He can catch the ball well, and Vince Young will have plenty of short passes to Chris that turn into big gains. The Titans needed a player with elite play-making ability and they're first round pick might just get them over the top.

That means that Chris Johnson might be a nice sleeper candidate for Fantasy Football owners everywhere. With huge-play potential and the starting back upside in a nice Tennessee rushing attack, Johnson's selection late in fantasy drafts could pay immediate dividends. One thing's for sure, the kid is fun to watch.