By Sue Green

I am in Heaven.

The N-F-L football season has officially arrived! I have my jersey on, I cracked a beer and I am laid out on the couch… alone with the remote! There is nothing better than watching Brett Favre once again suit up for another season on the field.

He might be getting up there in years, but man, it just wouldn’t be the football season without him. For the past 19 years I have started the season with Brett. And I am so glad I get to do it for one more year.

Now, as for the game itself, between Minnesota and New Orleans, well, let’s just say there wasn’t a lot of offense, and there weren’t a lot of highlights.

The final score was an ugly Saints 14 and Vikings 9. But doggon it, we are playing football again! And that’s the way it is supposed to be!

Life is good again!

This post was originally published on KFrye & Girlfriends Talk Sports.

Kurt Warner and partner Anna Trebunskaya. Photo: ABC/BOB D’AMICO

By Sue Green

Ok, I know we could be discussing Monday night football, or the Yankees and Rays battling it out for first place in their division.

Or heck, we could be talking college football, and ASU’s heartbreaking loss to Wisconsin over the weekend. All legitimate sports stories.

But no, the only “sports” story I am interested in tonight was the one pitting former Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner against former Lakers player Rick Fox.

Rick Fox with partner Cheryl Burke Photo: ABC/BOB D’AMICO

Yes, tonight the two squared off on the dance floor in the latest installment of Dancing With the Stars! Come on now, don’t laugh, you know that you wanted to see if Warner was as nimble at dancing around the floor as dancing away from defenders.

And yes, Rick Fox looked pretty much at home on the hardwood. And hey, it doesn’t hurt that he’s cute!  That’s according to my 83-year-old mother-in-law.

When it came down to who performed better, well, let’s just say that Kurt was a little stiff. But hey, he did much better than expected scoring 19 out of 30.

Rick fox did much better, at least in the eyes of the judges coming away with 22.

So, if you just go by the score, I would say basketball outdueled football this week. But hey, the ultimate judge is the viewers who call in.

Here is hoping both athletes survive week one, and we get to see them strut their stuff again next week with the latin dances.

This post was originally published on KFrye & Girlfriends Talk Sports.

By Sue Green

Not wanting to tarnish the dignity of the award, Reggie Bush gives his Heisman back

Reggie Bush doesn’t have to worry about the Heisman officials stripping him of his trophy because he took the decision out of their hands.

Today the NFL all-star forfeited his 2005 Heisman win, and gave the trophy back in the wake of the USC football scandal, and subsequent slap-down by the NCAA.

Bush came under scrutiny over possible NCAA violations back in 2006 when Yahoo! Sports reported some possible benefits violations during the years he tore up the football field for USC.

The NCAA began investigating the accusations, and Bush denied any wrongdoing.

But his denial didn’t seem to have much impact on the final decision as the NCAA penalized USC by vacating the 14 victories in which Bush played from December 2004 through the 2005 season. That means they also had to give up the BCS championship win against Oklahoma.

The university also had to give up 30 football scholarships over three years.

In handing out its penalties, the NCAA said the University was penalized for a lack of institutional control. The report also cited many improper benefits that had been given out to Bush and former basketball player O.J. Mayo.

What is really sad is that Bush thinks he is doing the right thing *now* by giving the award back, saying he did not want the scandal to stain “the dignity of the award”.

“One of the greatest honors of my life was winning the Heisman Trophy in 2005,” said a statement released by Bush. “For me, it was a dream come true…Each individual carries the legacy of the award and each one is entrusted with its good name.”

“It is for these reasons that I have made the difficult decision to forfeit my title as Heisman winner of 2005.”

Now he’s thinking about dignity?

How dignified is this? Reggie Bush is about to go down in another record book connected with the Heisman award. This is the first time in the award’s 75 year history that a player has forfeited the award.

What’s really sad is Bush was the best player on the field in 2005, just maybe not the best player when it came to off the field, or at least when it came to following the NCAA rules off the field.

So, what’s next? Well, Bush says he wants to work with the Heisman Trustees to establish an educational program. This program would help assist student-athletes and their families so they could avoid the mistakes that he made.

I guess it’s better late than never.

This post was originally published on KFrye & Girlfriends Talk Sports.

Venus Williams appears to be having a wardrobe malfunction during her U.S. Open matches. Photo by: Rob Loud/usopen.org

By Susan Green

I love this time of year when the hint of fall begins to arrive in New York City and the best players in the world arrive to try and claim the U-S Open title.

It is the Super Bowl of tennis. But this year it’s not necessarily the tennis itself that’s the talk of the town, but the tennis outfits.

Now, I have always loved the idea that Venus Williams loves to dabble in fashion on the tennis court, and over the years she has come up with some interesting outfits. But I have to say it is a bit distracting when all the talk this year at the U-S open is not just about her improved game, but mostly about what she’s been flashing on the court.

Can someone say Bedazzler!

She is using some tight, stretchy material for her dress, with the bedazzled sparklies all over. Now, to each their own when it comes to deciding whether to sparkle or not. But when the outfit is getting in the way of good tennis, then the outfit has to go!

The last match she was rocking one of her bedazzled beauties on center court. The problem was the pink dress kept riding up her body, and it became a battle not between Venus and her opponent on the other side of the net, but between Venus and the dress.

It got so bad at one point that the CBS commentators started having conversations about the dress and how often Venus was tugging. They even got into counting the number of tugs!

Venus, you are an amazing, beautiful, talented tennis player, as well as a fashion designer. But this time, I say you get a big double fault on the outfit. Put the bedazzler away, and just work on dazzling us with great tennis!

This post was originally published on KFrye & Girlfriends Talk Sports.