Carson Palmer threatens to retire if not traded; Bengals say he won't be traded

Chris Mortensen of ESPN reported Sunday that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer asked for a trade and said he'd consider retiring if he didn't get it. Here's Mort:

Palmer has become the object of fan frustration in the past two years and sources said he has grown frustrated with the team's inconsistencies. The Bengals finished 4-12 in 2010.

Sources familiar with Palmer's plan and mindset said he is financially secure for the rest of his life and willing to follow through and retire.

Today, Bengals owner Mike Brown pretty much dared him to go ahead and retire. He said, through the Bengals feed on Twitter, that they had no plans to trade Palmer.

It's tough to know who to side with here. On one hand, I feel like anyone who's been a Bengal for eight years has served their time, and probably should get an opportunity to play somewhere else.

But at the same time, Palmer hasn't been holding up his part of the deal, either. He didn't exactly set the world on fire in 2010, with 20 interceptions to go along with his 26 touchdowns. His season passer rating of 82.4 puts him in the lower half of the league among starters. Usually, someone has to be good before they demand a trade.

The contention from the Palmer camp is probably that he is good, but being a Bengal is dragging him down. It's not an unreasonable claim. The Bengals organization is not known for its long history of competence and efficiency.

I wouldn't bet on Palmer retiring, though. It seems like the retirement threat rarely ends with a man actually retiring. It's not that he's fibbing, necessarily, it's just that when it comes time for the decision to be made, competitors want to play. People also like money.

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Club owner: Dallas will need 10,000 more strippers for Super Bowl

A Dallas strip club owner says the city will need to import 10,000 new dancers to handle the rush for Super Bowl week.

John Walsh, who owns a club in Dallas that I'm not going to name because then he'll have been successful in his blatant attempt at self-promotion, told TMZ that the city's 60 gentlemen's clubs will need the additional workforce to handle the influx of visitors in town for next Sunday's game. I'm not buying it, for three reasons:

1. Didn't Dallas host the NBA All-Star game last year? If the city made due with its homegrown talent for that event, surely it can handle the Super Bowl.

2. Of all fanbases, I'd say the Packers and Steelers would be among the least likely to target strip clubs.

3. Walsh says they're expecting 300,000 people to come to Dallas for the game (and even that seems high.) Let's figure 200,000 are men. That's a 20:1 ratio of dudes to dancers. I don't even think Charlie Sheen's house can boast those sorts of numbers. 

So, yeah, 10,000 seems like a stretch. I'd have bought it if Antonio Cromartie and the Jets were coming to town, but not now. That doesn't mean I'm not going around and quoting this figure for the next week, though. If it was in TMZ, it's gotta be true.

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The Senior Bowl practice week All-Stars: South Team Edition

After five days of practice leading up the Senior Bowl game, most of the coaches and media are gone, and it's time for the players to put their game faces on one more time at the NCAA level. The players listed below are not rated for their collegiate performances or how we think they'll do in the actual Senior Bowl game; there are the guys who looked best to us through the practice week. Of course, we'll have a full Senior Bowl recap as part of Yahoo! Sports' draft coverage. Here are our practice standouts for the South team, the North team standouts can be found here.

Quarterback: Christian Ponder, Florida State -- Perhaps the most well-developed quarterback here from a playbook and awareness perspective. Had Ponder not been challenged by shoulder and elbow injuries through his junior and senior seasons, he would most likely be a lead-pipe lock as a first-round pick. But he checked out medically here, and he showed what you see on tape - a great sense of route development from 0-20 yards, the occasional well-thrown deep ball, nice mobility in and out the pocket, and solid overall mechanics. Any team looking for a young quarterback to run their West Coast offense would have to be impressed with what they saw from Ponder this week.

Running back: Derrick Locke, Kentucky -- Locke had a lot to prove this week, and he ran like it at all times. He told me that NFL teams will naturally be concerned that at his size (5-8, 186), he'll be able to run between the tackles. Every day, he ran inside with authority and broke through the pile a few times. I think he put himself on the radar of a few NFL teams here, and he'll be another one to watch through Combine and Pro Day.

Receivers: Leonard Hankerson, Miami/Ronald Johnson, USC -- Hankerson was the star among all the receivers to many analysts - people like his smooth stride and ability to run routes very well. While I echo those sentiments, and also liked his toughness when going low in traffic on comebacks, I'm a little concerned that Hankerson's lack of speed will affect his NFL prospects. He doesn't make a hard cut in stride - it takes him a second to get back up to speed - and I don't know that you can get away with that against faster and more complex NFL defenses. Johnson consistently impressed me as a slot receiver; he is quick enough to get open in short spaces and helped Hankerson and other bigger receivers by taking the inside route on combo routes very quickly.

Honorable mention to West Virginia's Jock Sanders, who came to Mobile as a late add and blew me away with his speed on quick stutter-go routes from the slot. Size concerns will dog him, but that kid is ridiculously fast.

Tight Ends: DJ Williams, Arkansas/Luke Stocker, Tennessee -- Not much to talk about at the tight end position on the North team, but the South had two standouts. I liked Williams' turn-and-go when getting open downfield, and he has great hands - one hand naturally follows the other when he's bringing the ball in and he's quick to grab the pass in the end zone. Stocker was one of the most physically impressive players through practice week because he caught everything thrown his way, and he also held on early in the week when Alabama's Greg McElroy throw him right into a huge hit in the secondary. He's that big, Jason Witten-type tight end who can do just about everything - a skill set that will never go out of style.

Offensive Line

Tackle: Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State -- Unlike the North team, which was loaded with tackles of interest, the South squad seemed to have more going on with its interior linemen, That said, those North tackles all struggled with consistency on a day-to-day basis, and that's one thing Sherrod didn't do - he gave a solid level of performance every day. Playing right tackle at times, he made "flipping the protections" look a lot easier than it can be. Sherrod is a smooth blocker who reminds me of Jason Smith, and I wonder if he might not wind up as an outstanding right tackle as Smith has become for the St. Louis Rams.

Interior Linemen: Rodney Hudson, Florida State/Danny Watkins, Baylor -- Hudson may be on the wrong side of 300 pounds, but he plays about 30 pounds heavier than he is, because he starts so low before the snap and explodes into the defender's pads. No matter who he had on him during practice week, Hudson would not be denied. I wonder if his build (he doesn't have a really wide base in his lower body) might be more tailored to the center position. Watkins, the 26-year-old former firefighter form Canada who wound up replacing Jason Smith at Baylor, looked pretty solid at guard and told me that he felt especially comfortable at center. All through the week, he played with a serious nasty streak - he stood some good defenders up and he'll come away from this experience with a few new converts on the NFL side.

Defensive Linemen: Phil Taylor, Baylor/Pernell McPhee, Mississippi State -- At 6-4 and 330 pounds, Taylor surprised a lot of people with his quickness - he looked more like a 300-pound three-tech when doing agility drills. McPhee showed a lot of aggressiveness through the week, consistently driving blockers back and exhibiting good quickness in short spaces. He may not be an edge rusher per se, but he could complement an NFL pass rusher very well. What I liked best about McPhee was that he got penetration with inside and outside moves - he didn't seem limited when his options went one way of the other.

Linebacker: Von Miller, Texas A & M -- It's not that we didn't expect Miller to stand out, but the fact that he lived up to all expectations is a good indicator of what he brings to whatever he does on the field. Miller had the benefit of practicing all week against a stellar roster of tight ends, and he took advantage, shadowing Arkasas' D.J. Williams especially well. Everyone knows that Miller is a great pass rusher and a downhill thumper as an inline tackler - add his increased versatility shown on Mobile, and Miller is looking closer at a possible top 15 draft pick.

Defensive Backs: Curtis Brown, Texas/Shareece Wright, USC -- Two aggressive cornerbacks here. Brown can get a little grabby at times, something you hope his NFL coaching staff will train out of him before he gets a rep with officials at the pro level. But he's very quick in short spaces and he has good recovery speed. Brown's major problem - and this is true of Wright as well - is the occasional gamble leading to a score. While that may be a product of the fact that defenses are basically limited to single-high safety zone coverages (Cover-1 and Cover-3), it's something to watch going forward.

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Maurkice Pouncey says he's 'definitely' playing in the Super Bowl

Maurkice Pouncey, the Steelers center who was forced to miss most of Sunday's AFC Championship game with a high ankle sprain, has already given himself the green light to play in the Super Bowl against the Packers.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

"Most definitely," Pouncey said when asked whether he would be playing against the Packers in two weeks in Dallas. "I had this same injury before on my other ankle and I know how to attack it. I know how to approach things. I know in my heart I'm playing in that game."

Pouncey has had a fantastic rookie season in the middle of the Steelers offensive line. Backup lineman Dan Legursky was a capable replacement Sunday, except for that one huge disaster, though offensive line depth is a concern for the Steelers with or without Pouncey.

His proclamation that he's going to play is probably more heart than head, though. It's not that I doubt the guy -- it is his body, and he knows it better than anyone else -- but high-ankle sprains are notoriously tricky. Pouncey's a competitor, and I'm sure he can't stand the thought of missing the biggest game of his life, but optimism and courage alone do not make for a reliable diagnosis.

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Eva Longoria, Ines Sainz, Troy Polamalu and The Latest B/R Swagger Buzz

Troy Polamalu, the newly crowned NFL Defensive Player of the Year, has been getting plenty of raves and respect during today's Media Day in preparation for Super Bowl XLV.

In fact, fake Polamalu hair was passed around between players from both sides.

Also, Ines Sainz, the same one that picked the New York Jets to win it all, has decided to find a different team to root for.

Green Bay Packers or Pittsburgh Steelers? You'll find out in the updates.

In other news, Eva Longoria is officially a divorced woman, as her split with the  San Antonio Spur's Tony Parker became official on Monday.

We're touching on all sports and pop-culture related topics right here in the B/R Swagger Buzz.

Let's get started!

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How we see Saturday's games

Ravens vs. Steelers

MJD: This game is the reason that I hate making predictions. There's so much hatred, and the games between these teams are so close. It's like throwing 35 different explosive substances into a fireworks warehouse, then trying to predict what will happen when you drop in a match.

The best thing I have to rely on here is a hunch, and my hunch says this turns into a game unlike what everyone expects it to be. Everyone expects it to be close. I'm saying blowout. I'll go Steelers, 31-13. If you need me to justify that, here: The Steelers had a week off, their defense is more dominant than Baltimore's, and I still trust Roethlisberger way more than I trust Flacco.

But absolutely nothing would surprise me here.

Chris Chase: The return of bitter NFL rivalries has been my favorite part of the NFL season. Players never seem to care about hating division rivals like fans do. The world and the league are a smaller place now and all these players have crossed paths in high school all-star games and college and in the pros. They don't despise each other like they used to. It seemed like the days when George Allen could stand in the Redskins locker room and get his players to say things like "die you Dallas dogs" were long gone.

But the Ravens and Steelers are old school. They can't stand each other and it shows during their games. The hits are harder, the celebrations a little more animated. I love it. 

It's an especially good rivalry because unlike whatever the Patriots and Jets have going on, there's a mutual respect between these teams. The Pats don't think they can lose on Sunday. The Steelers are well aware they can on Saturday.

I'm with MJD on this one though: expect the unexpected. Everyone is anticipating a taut, defensive battle, but I'm going with veritable offensive explosion (relatively so, of course). It'll be like the exact opposite of the BCS championship, except that a shady quarterback will be on the winning end of both. Steelers 30, Ravens 24.

Doug Farrar: Last year, I wrote that Steelers-Ravens has replaced Patriots-Colts as the NFL’s best rivalry, and the only people who believe that Patriots-Jets is somehow in the same ballpark need to put the last Baltimore-Pittsburgh games on a loop. It’s the football equivalent of two slightly different, but equally matched, twin brothers beating the crap out of each other three times a year.

It’s a very appealing series of matchups, as well – the highly underrated versatility of Ray Rice versus the Steelers’ league-best run defense; the pass rush of Baltimore versus Ben Roethlisberger’s absolute refusal to hit the turf unless there are more than four defenders on his back. Mike Wallace has replaced Santonio Holmes as the Steelers’ deep threat; now, he’s the league’s best in that same department. Ray Lewis is a bit tougher to replace. Still playing at a ridiculously high level after all these years, Lewis has a legitimate claim to the title of best linebacker the game has ever seen. Baltimore’s smash-mouth style against Pittsburgh’s undersold passing attack. Mike Tomlin against John Harbaugh. If you don’t like this, it’s safe to say that you dropped a football gene along the way somewhere.

In the third game between the two combatants, I expect the Steelers to pull it out by the usual field goal or less. Baltimore’s pass defense is still full of question marks, and somewhere in the fourth quarter, I expect Roethlisberger (perhaps with another ridiculously broken nose) to lead the drive that breaks Baltimore’s heart. Like him or not (and I lean toward the latter opinion for a host of reasons), it seems to be what the man was pre-engineered to do.

Packers vs. Falcons

Chris Chase: All of my thoughts about this game are captured in this 90-second rap song by B.O.B. about the game.

That's more cogent analysis than anything I expect out of Terry Bradshaw in the pregame. Bobby Ray hits on the three key questions: How will Aaron's aim be? How ready will Clay be? And will Matt Ryan be able to take that talon out of A.J. Hawk's hands? I'm worried that James Starks is a one-hit wonder and I'm tempted by Ryan's 19-2 home record in Atlanta. But I still like Green Bay (30-20), mainly because the Packers are holding the wild card.

Doug Farrar: The concern for the Falcons in this game should be that, according to Football Outsiders’ advanced metrics, their run defense has been the league’s least efficient in the season’s second half. This factoid leads me to believe that Packers running back James Starks could transcend his current one-game-wonder status, and put up some happy totals for the Packer faithful early on.

And if Aaron Rodgers now has the benefit of play action after playing at a ruthless level all through the regular season without any run game at all, the Packers become a team I’d bet to beat anyone but the New England Patriots. It’s all they’ve been missing all year. Their defense is ridiculous and Rodgers is one of the league’s best. You put a rushing attack in there against a team that has been playing not to lose a little too often, and I think we have an interesting little upset on our hands.

MJD: I see both of these teams as a little underrated; at least, as underrated as teams can be when they're both generally acknowledged as the two best teams in the conference. Anyway, I think they've both played Super Bowl-caliber football late in the season and are legitimate contenders to get the big silver trophy at the end.

I'm hesitantly going with Green Bay here, though. In the end, I think they've just got a liiiiiiiiittle bit more firepower on both sides of the ball, particularly if James Starks can turn in a repeat performance. I think the bigger factor here is that Green Bay is a little better equipped to slow down Atlanta's offense than vice versa. Packers, 27-14.

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Chicago man wears Packers tie to work, is promptly fired

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From Chicago's WGNtv.com comes the unfortunately real story of a Chicago car salesman who was fired because he wore a Green Bay Packers tie to work. And making it even worse, the man wore it because his grandma was a Packers fan who had recently died and was buried two days before her beloved team's NFC Championship game matchup with the Chicago Bears.

Now, I've never been the general manager of a car dealership before, but firing an employee because of the sports logo emblazoned on his necktie seems rather small and petty.

Come on, general managers of car dealerships in the greater Chicago area. You lost. Now you have to take it like men.

From the Chicago Tribune:

John Stone said that when he showed up at work, general manager Jerry Roberts called him over to his office and then ordered him to take off the Packers tie or else he would be fired. Stone said he thought Roberts was joking and went back to work. An hour later, Stone said, Roberts came to the showroom floor and again demanded he take off the tie. When he didn't, he was fired, Stone said.

"I didn't know you could get fired for wearing a tie," said Stone, 34, of Chicago's Roseland neighborhood. "I'm supposed to dress up. I'm a car salesman."

The Tribune goes on to detail how general manager Jerry Roberts said the dealership had previously done promotions involving the Chicago Bears. 

"I don't feel that it was appropriate for him to go directly in contrast with an advertising campaign that we spent a lot of money on," Roberts told WGN reporter Judie Garcia.

Even if the manager's reasons are valid -- and I can understand his concerns about upsetting local customers or running contradictory to an advertising agreement with the Bears -- this still seems like something rational adults should have been able to talk through in about 30 seconds.

I hope Stone lands on his feet at a Packer-friendly dealership somewhere. He did say that he already has an interview with another dealership. And I hope he's replaced at the old dealership by a loyal Bears fan who couldn't sell Caleb Hanie a razor.

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