Paul Brown Stadium would be a great home for Manti Te’o next season. by Derek Jensen, via Wikimedia Commons

Over the last ten years, the Cincinnati Bengals have taken chances on players. Most of the “chances” they’ve taken have been due to questionable character of their draftees. Some examples are Adam “Pacman” Jones and offensive lineman Andre Smith.  For years the franchise was mocked as the “Bungles” instead of Bengals for all the arrests of players on their roster combined with their average-at-best play on the field. But recently the “Bungles” talk has calmed down and the franchise has matured. Former quarterback Carson Palmer helped the Bengals by leading them to the playoffs in 2009, but never made the “next step” into being true contenders. After making the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since the early 1980s, this team is poised to make that true next step toward contention. Despite early playoff exits, both coming against the Houston Texans, the Bengals future looks bright and they can make it even more exciting during the upcoming NFL draft.

The Bengals defense is one of the best and youngest defenses in the NFL and showed signs of what they are capable of last season ranking seventh in allowed passing yards and twelfth in allowed rushing yards. With weak pass coverage from linebackers, many tight ends torched the Bengals for big yards including Owen Daniels of the Texans in the postseason. The middle linebacker position is one place the team should target in the draft. As I said above, the Bengals have had a history on taking chances with players and I think they should look into taking a chance on former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o. After a great season on the field, Te’o and the Fighting Irish were embarrassed on national TV during the BCS Championship Game by Alabama, where many people questioned Te’o’s true ability. Yet Te’o did finish with ten tackles and you can’t blame the loss on him entirely. The entire Notre Dame team didn’t show up plus they were playing Alabama, who has won three of the last four National Championships. I didn’t think Notre Dame deserved to be in the title game in the first place and they showed exactly why, and thankfully the NCAA has taken measures to start up a playoff system in 2014.

After a great statistical season and finishing second in the Heisman race, Te’o seemed to have high stock in the draft. But after a very strange scandal dealing with his fake girlfriend and him getting catfished, Te’o has seen his likeability and credibility drop. He went from being one of the most loved players in America to being one of the most hated in a matter of mere moments and I feel for the kid. I’m not going to say that I know what happened but I believe he was victim of a terrible prank that went terribly wrong. Being said, I don’t think that Te’o and his football career should take a hit just because he was a little too trusting and let his stupidity get in the way of his emotions. He still is a good football player and his off-the-field issue should be looked at as second rate to his actual skills. The Bengals drafted middle linebacker Rey Maualuga in 2009 out of USC in hopes of him being their linebacker for the future. Maualuga has been decent but decent isn’t enough for the Bengals this year. Both Te’o and Maualuga had similar college careers statistically with Te’o edging Maualuga by a slight margin. The Bengals like the type of player Maualuga is and Te’o is a very similar type player to him, only better. Te’o would not only bring his skills to the Bengals but also his leadership. You don’t lead a team to a National Championship Game without some leadership qualities. Here is a look at the final colligate statistics for both players:

Manti Te’o:

437 total tackles

34.0 tackles for loss

8.5 Sacks

7 Interceptions

Rey Maualuga:

273 total tackles

22.5 tackles for loss

9.0 Sacks

5 Interceptions

1 Interception returns for TD

The Bengals should take a risk and select Manti Te’o with their 21^st overall pick in the upcoming draft, assuming he is available then. He would be a great addition to an already-good defense and I believe he is worth the risk. In the case that he didn’t pan out as a player in the NFL then at least the Bengals took a risk and selected him. The alternative is not good for them. What would happen if they miss out on him and the championship game and the odd scandal were minor bumps in his career and he turns out to be a great player. It’s a higher reward than risk for the Bengals who are used to taking chances. It may not be the “sexy” pick at this time but I believe in a few years if the Bengals were to take him, they wouldn’t regret it. For now all we can do is wait and see if Manti gets his name called in the draft and hopefully for the Bengals sake, they do it before some other team does.

What do you think? Is Manti Te’o even a first rounder in your mind? Give us your thoughts below.

I sit around lately. OK, no I’m not usually sitting. Truthfully, I’m hiking, running, skating, or walking when I think most of the time. Why don’t athletes spend more time being people of high morals or character? Why isn’t there more focus put into their training regime at all levels, high school, college, and professional; on integrity, honesty, health and reputation?

Is winning and making huge money more important than the kind of person we become? More important than the image we portray? More important than our CHARACTER?

Bill Belichick (right) and the Patriots haven’t been back to the White House since the league caught them videotaping opponent practices. By Eric Draper [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Lance Armstrong

Pete Rose

Barry Bonds

Tonya Harding

Alex Rodriguez

Manti Te’o

Chinese gymnasts

Bill Belichick

Tim Donaghy

Ben Johnson

John Calipari

Rosie Ruiz

Danny Almonte

Donald Crowhurst…

These are the first that come to mind. But, it’s not about those folks specifically, it’s about what we’re teaching our young people. I’m not a parent or an educator. But, I give a crap about what our children become and how our world will look to them later.

If we gave less attention to unintelligent people who’ll do ANYTHING to get ahead and more on the ones that teach our children life lessons about truth, honesty, character and respect, wouldn’t our world be that much better? Maybe it sounds Pollyanna, or too idealistic. You may say I’m dreaming. But, but, but, I’d rather live this way, without desperation for success.

Cheating, lying, or hurting others should NEVER have a reward or payoff. I’m afraid for our world when we give so much attention to the negative, the crime, the dark. Where did we go wrong when we started worshipping the winners only or the richest only or the “best” only, the Hiltons, Lohans, the Kar-somethings? Reality TV is poisoning our youth. The reality of our sports stars is poisoning our youth. Irresponsible TV and movies are poisoning our youth! When oh when will we stop the MADNESS???

C.J. Silas is the host of the C.J. Silas Show on ESPN Radio 1280 Wednesday nights at 7:00.

There has just been too much material.

Betwen Manti Te’o and Lance Armstrong, last week was filled with an over-hyper media, once again simultaneously covering a story and covering themselves as part of a story in a sort of snake eating its own tail kind of a way. Weeks like this are the stuff legends are made of.

As consumers of sports, the last seven days have, like a political race, either opened our eyes to new and fresh ideas or further cemented our sports media allegiances.

Bill Simmons’ “malibag” columns were made for situations like Manti Te’o. By David Shankbone (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons

For some, a daily dose of Grantland.com is necessary even in a pre Te’o scandal world. Post Te’o, I would argue that there are few things more salacious or tasty to read than a Bill Simmons Manti Te’o mailbag post. Sure, the sports guy runs Grantland.com and had a podcast bigger than his ego, but the way he got to the top of that mountain was through columns like the mailbag he put out on Manti Te’o last week. This scandal was made for Simmons.

If you’re looking for someone with a strong alternative opinion, I recommend Jason Whitlock. Whitlock describes himself as “agenda free, honest, and unpredictable,” and if you like someone who tries to “stick it to “the man” on a regular basis, Whitlock is the guy to read. His twitter feed is constantly updated and his views, while extreme sometimes, are usually healthy to have in the sports ether. If you want someone who is not afraid to criticize anyone, Whitlock is your guy.

The Te’o story provided lots of targets for Whitlock’s wrath including mainstream media, ESPN, and Notre Dame. His take on Manti is one that I think lots of people didn’t know they had until they read the article, and that’s probably the biggest compliment I can give Whitlock.

More local writers, like Bill Plaschke of the LA Times, pondered a specific part of the story — namely the media’s inability to do it’s job as watchdogs. Perhaps this was a more mainstream, less intense version of Whitlock’s view, but it was a solid piece for a west-coast paper.

In the midst of Te’o “tooling out” (as C.J. Silas would put it), Lance Armstrong remained in the midst of a 15-year “tool-out.” For Armstrong, TJ Simers of the LA Times wrote a nuanced Lance Armstrong column. Simers is more the king of sarcasm and making himself a story usually, but it’s gems like the Armstrong column that keep bringing me back.

I guess, this time, it’s because I have mostly the same opinion on the matter as Simers. Does what Armstrong says now have the ability to take away all the people who found some inspiration or positive message in what he did?

I would argue that Armstrong’s consecutive Tour de France wins put more people on bikes than Tiger put on golf courses. Those people have burned millions of calories and, I would argue, are probably healthier than they were before Armstrong put the Tour de France at the top of SportsCenter. An entire industry has gone from something that was a niche sport to something more mainstream. I have ridden 3 century (100 mile) rides over the past two years and rode over 2000 miles in 2012 while losing a little weight and getting my astronomical cholesterol numbers in-check, all of which came from having a bike — and I can’t be the only one. Without Lance Armstrong’s rise I think it would have been unlikely that I would have ever gotten into cycling in the first place.

As Simers said regarding Armstrong’s confession:

… But what difference does it make today to those who found hope so long ago in his own cancer story?

His story was alive and brimming with inspiration when those afflicted at the time needed it the most.

How many took what Armstrong had to say as the gospel, finding common resolve in their own yellow wristband, only now to have to watch Oprah?

I have no interest in watching. Who cares what Armstrong has to say now? Who cares how this story plays out, with his athletic career over and his influence now old news?

Like so many other athletes and celebrities, he had the ability to uplift, did so for a time, but ultimately wasn’t up to the task.

None of it changes the power of inspiration and what it means to some — even if under false pretenses.

Would you lie to someone dying if you thought it would bring them some peace?

Where someone gets their news and opinion says something about their fansmanship. By Cortega9 (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

Point made. I wasn’t dying, but I did use Lance as an inspiration at some level and that’s not something that even his confession can take away from me — and I’m not ashamed of it either.

So what website did you visit last Wednesday when the Te’o story broke? Even though the Te’o story was only related to sports and the Armstrong story potentially outdated in its relevance, we can learn something about our fansmanship by thinking about where we look for our information about sports and about which outlet has the information in its most relevant and useful form.

While the LA Times and Grantland are staples for me already, I think I’ll be reading a little more Whitlock and a little less ESPN.com this week (and yes, I know ESPN owns Grantland…). Whatever I’m reading about though, I just hope it has a little more to do with what’s happening on the field than off it.

Manti Te’o apparently didn’t follow Luke’s rules of i-dating. By Shotgun Spratling/Neon Tommy

I understand falling for a woman on the Internet. Why? Because I did.

In 2007 I signed up as a late bloomer to facebook. While perusing the various links to each and every categorical description – religious, political, likes/dislikes – up and down the profile, I bumped into my religious description and clicked.

Click.

Now, 5-years later, and that was the greatest most random click of my life. I married a lovely Italian with a strong will, intelligence and sass, and all because I decided to “stalk” a pretty young 21-year old girl from Fairfield, Ca, with the same religious perspective as me.

But there are rules to this sort of game. Rules, which if obeyed, afford both parties at play the right to a comfortable first date, and from there a yay or nay in the direction of their relationship.

Have a first date within a month of meeting one another.  As much as I’m all for a patience that guards your heart,  allowing ample time to stalk-back and comprehensively research the one seeking your attention, you HAVE TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND within a month. Indecision won’t work here. Give in or let go.

Make contact beyond emails, Facebook conversations and twitter. Birds tweet, people talk.  Not putting the puzzle pieces together through the unsyncopated lack of intonation on the Internet, will save people like Te’o a ton of heart break, castrate the intentions of Internet trolls and if you’re lucky, actually find you love.

These rules are all very, very simple. Had Manti Te’o done his footwork he never would have been duped the way he was by a “woman” named  Lennay Kekua, a “graduate” from Stanford, who earlier this year “lost” her battle with “leukemia.”

The story of her loss to leukemia became the dominant backdrop to Te’o’s legend and national rise to prominence. On September 12th, he lost both his grandmother and his supposed girlfriend to two devastating diseases. Despite this, Te’o shined. And so did Notre Dame, the two mirroring one another. Te’o turned into a top-10 pick and the Irish back into a number one team, both symbolizing a level of redemption.

And yet it all was a grand hoax. None of it was true. Kekua, according to Te’o, was a character created through the smoke and mirrors of the Internet facade.

All this happening to come out three months from April’s NFL draft is fishy. Not to say Te’o is lying or that he drummed-up the fake girlfriend, but how he was strung along for a year just doesn’t sit right.

In last Saturday’s national title game against Alabama, Te’o looked over-matched and non-existent against the beef of the Crimson Tide’s offensive line, often slipping off offensive players and baring down below average in the open field. To say his stock is slipping because of it is an overstatement. But not all that far fetched either. In recent draft conversations, Te’o, once thought as a lock to be a top-10 pick has become more vulnerable in terms of draft position.

The real victims in this all are the fans. Along with the media, fans fell for a fake story all year, and now must reconcile that it all wasn’t real and that they too, were duped. To read a story with a sour ending, no matter who is to blame, taints the entirety of the novel and all of its characters developed. Manti Te’o, as far as I’m concerned will never be the kid we thought he was ever again. Whether he’s the perpetraitor or the victim, he’s stained, and that’s a shame for everyone.

Manti couldn’t help but hold his breath after last Monday’s blowout defeat in BCS Title to Alabama. By Shotgun Spratling/Neon Tommy [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Alabama blew-out Notre Dame 42-14 in last Monday’s BCS National Championship Game, ending a miraculous season for the Irish. That kind of ending was definitely not what star linebacker, Manti T’eo had hoped for.

But it was the kind of ending to a year my friend Tommy hoped for.

As much as a championship for his beloved alma mater would have meant to him, Tommy and his dad took on a challenge the last year I pray none of us will ever have to face: Cancer.

And they won.

Larry, the man with the perfect curve ball, lover and knower of all things baseball, for a year made due with a questionable future. Despite losing weight, his appetite, and his stoicism he remained a steadfast family man amidst great turmoil.

Notre Dame’s ascension back into a football elite, was more than a metaphor, it was a sign.

“The journey of the Irish this season helped us put a lot of bad stuff behind us – bad Notre dame teams of the past decade and a tough year for the family,” said Tommy after Monday’s defeat.”My whole life my pops has always been “into” at least one thing I’ve been into as well. Baseball cards, baseball, and even collecting pint glasses at a certain point. But more than anything else, we have shared our love for Notre Dame.”

Most Irish fans with that kind of fansmanship must have woken up with a wicked metaphorical (and perhaps real) hangover on Tuesday. But for Tommy, not the case.

For Tommy and Larry, the National Championship Game meant more than Notre Dame vs. Alabama.

Tommy, did the incredible thing, taking his father on a four day excursion to Miami to see the game in-person. It was a trip that moved me to tears, considering the way this year has gone and knowing the family. The last I knew they had traveled together just as father and son, came in the Summer of 1996, when the two lovers of America’s greatest past time, boarded a train and went to as many baseball games as they could in three weeks.

Quietly, and in classic Larry fashion, the hardworking former CHP officer, desired more than anything that his son attend a school like Notre Dame after high school.

“As I found out well after I started going to [Notre Dame], my mom told me that when I was born he told her that one day his son would go to Notre Dame. She thought it was a bit odd because he wasn’t a big Notre Dame fan, so she sort if shrugged it off thinking he was being weird like he sometimes is. And when it came time to apply to college, he didn’t say a word. But he was apparently overjoyed that I chose to go there. Call it Notre Dame magic, but that’s how it happened. Anyway, the game was not just a fun trip, but a way for us to keep connecting on a shared passion and also a way to unofficially celebrate overcoming the past year,” said Tommy.

As unofficial as the celebration was, I’m certain for Larry it meant the world. 2013 rang in renewed health, and an elongation of life that can now be spent with his son, daughter and his beloved wife Nancy– a longtime teacher.

Despite his alma mater’s defeat, Tommy sees the brighter side of things.

“The ironic big is that my dad’s recovery essentially coincided with the season,”said Tommy. “When we went to the game, tailgated, and soaked it all in, I think we both got a little teary when we got to our seats, saw the field, hugged and said that we loved each other.  We were happy to be there, both because the team went undefeated and because he COULD be there. And the team really being back to prominence with coach and program that is just beginning is much like my dad. He got a new lease on life and this is just the start of our new relationship as a dad and his adult son. Not dad and his kid, or his teenager, or his young adult son. It’s something new that we still need to figure out but it’s really fun. Coming home with a win would have been incredible, but just being there with my dad was 99 percent of it. Just like Notre Dame making the National Championship Game was 99 percent of the joy.”

Which is more than true.  1 percent of anything is the actual outcome, the 99 percent the steps it took to get there. For Tommy and Larry the steps to get here now, today, still alive, was an arduous one, a task prayed and fought for with sweat and tears, and a little Irish luck.

Tonight, the 78^th Annual Heisman Memorial Trophy for the 2012 NCAA Football season will be presented at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square, New York. While four finalists are usually showcased at the presentation, this season only has three finalists. They are quarterback Collin Klein, quarterback Johnny Manziel, and middle linebacker Manti Te’o.

The ESPN experts usually have some idea who the front-runner is for the award. This year seems to be wide-open though. Each of the three players deserves to win the Heisman, but unfortunately in this competition (and in sports) there can only be one winner. Here’s a quick break-down.

When all is said and done, Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel should be the winner tonight. By Shutterbug459 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Collin Klein (Kansas State University):  The Senior quarterback for the Wildcats passed for 2,490 yards and 15 touchdowns while also rushing for 890 yards and 22 touchdowns.  He completed 66.2 percent of his passes during the year, only throwing seven interceptions. He is also second in Kansas State history in scoring with 336 points and third in career yards with 7,028. Klein has led the Wildcats to what is probably the best season in school history.

Manti Te’o (Notre Dame): The Senior Middle Linebacker for the Fighting Irish would be the second defensive player to ever win the award. He helped lead his team to an undefeated season (12-0) with 101 tackles and surpassed a school record with his seven interceptions. He ranks third in Notre Dame history with his career 427 tackles and he would become the eighth Notre Dame player to win the award.

Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M University): The quarterback for Texas A&M passed for 3,419 yards and 24 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,181 yards and 19 touchdowns. He is the first quarterback in SEC history (and the fifth player ever in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision) to have 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season. He completed 68.3 percent of his passes, only throwing eight interceptions. Oh and I also forgot to mention that Manziel or “Johnny Football” is only a freshman.

The Verdict: All three of these players had incredible seasons and all could easily win this award but only one can actually call themselves Heisman trophy winners. For most of the season, Collin Klein was the frontrunner, but once his team lost to Baylor, his chances dropped dramatically. Te’o and the Fighting Irish were the only undefeated team this year and him being a defensive player, and to make it this far in the Heisman chase is incredible. But the fact remains that a freshman in the SEC threw for over 3,000 years and 24 touchdowns while also rushing for over 1,000 yards and 19 touchdowns.

While Klein and Te’o are both great players, what Johnny Manziel has done is simply amazing and shouldn’t be overlooked just because he is a freshman. Manziel should win this year. When all is said and done, Johnny Football should be posing in New York tonight.