“Football” on The Daily Caller

Tom Brady Sr. was not your typical youth sports parent. Although his son Tom was a great baseball player in Little League, his father wouldn’t let him throw a curve, for fear of hurting his arm. And he wouldn’t let him play football until he was 14. (Details on one of those first games here). (more)

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Authorities arrested 17 students at Texas Christian University on Wednesday as part of a six-month drug sting, an especially embarrassing blow to the school because it included four members of the high-profile football team. (more)

Ricky Williams, a former Heisman Trophy winner and first-round NFL draft pick, informed the Baltimore Ravens he is planning to announce his retirement, a source told ESPN and the Associated Press. (more)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady walks silently to the chair at his locker. He talks quietly with Deion Branch in the adjacent stall. Later, he puts on his jacket and heads for the exit. (more)

Jimbo Fisher got a raise of roughly $950,000 after last season, his first as head football coach at Florida State, boosting his pay to about $2.8 million. (more)

The NFL and the players’ union remain at an impasse on HGH testing with just two weeks remaining before the season kicks off. (more)

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Back when two-a-days were the norm for college football players preparing for the upcoming season, Bob Stoops had a solution. (more)

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis has thrown out a judge’s order lifting the NFL lockout, handing the league a victory in a labor stoppage that has reached its 115th day. (more)

Before the soccer practice began, the kids buzzed around Anthony Armstrong with no direction or purpose, other than to make as much noise as possible and not occupy the same plot of grass for more than a half-second. (more)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The NFL asked a federal judge Monday to keep its lockout in place, saying there are no legal grounds to stop it while accusing the players of trying to manipulate the law with a bogus antitrust lawsuit. (more)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles have placed the franchise tag on Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick. (more)

In 1977 my world changed. (more)

If sports is a metaphor for life and politics — and it is — then the New York Jets’ head coach, Rex Ryan, is the Sarah Palin of the sports world: National Football League (NFL) denizens don’t like him, but to his legion of fans and admirers, Ryan is an inspirational figure who speaks for them, and in a way that no one else does and no one else can. (more)

Analysis of the A.F.C. and N.F.C. championship matchups for the right to face off in Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, Tex., on Feb. 6.  (more)

Brett Favre isn’t messing around this time. (more)

If you love the New England Patriots, then you’re going to adore this video. If you hate the Patriots, then you can still probably appreciate it’s entertainment value, though the idea might be a tad unsettling. (more)

This weekend’s NFL playoff games will be the first in which the league’s new postseason rules for overtime are eligible for use, and those on either side of the debate over the altered format admit they might not know how well it works until it’s implemented. (more)

More mediocre teams than ever filling out too many bowl games for more than three weeks has turned college football’s postseason into a blur for just about everyone but family, friends, alumni and NFL scouts. (more)

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets are paying for their sideline shenanigans. (more)

Reporting from Washington and Honolulu — A standout season has done plenty to calm the controversy surrounding quarterback Michael Vick. But President Obama’s praise of the Philadelphia Eagles for giving the convicted dogfighter a second chance has brought new energy to an old firestorm. (more)