Welcome to Friday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

FRIDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NHL playoffs: Maple Leafs at Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN, NHL Network)
NHL playoffs: Rangers at Capitals, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
NHL playoffs: Ducks at Red Wings, 8 p.m. (CNBC)
NHL playoffs: Blues at Kings, 10 p.m. (NBCSN)
NBA playoffs: Heat at Bulls, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
NBA playoffs: Spurs at Warriors, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)
MLB: Blue Jays at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. (NESN Plus; WEEI-FM)
MLB: Cubs at Nationals, 7 p.m. (WGN)
MLB: Yankees at Royals, 8 p.m. (MLB Network)

AROUND THE WEB:

Former Jets quarterback Tim Tebow has offered no clue as to where he might end up next season. (AP)

♦ Free agent quarterback Tim Tebow, in his first public comments since being cut by the Jets, offered no information about where he might play in 2013 as he spoke to students at Lake Michigan College on Thursday.

“I don’t know what the future holds,” Tebow told a crowd of about 3,000 at the school in Benton Harbor, Mich., “but at the end of the day I know who holds my future.”

The Patriots were rumored to be a possible landing spot for Tebow, but a Thursday story by Yahoo! Sports’ Michael Silver indicated that, according to an organizational source, Bill Belichick “hates” Tebow as a player despite his outward affinity for the individual. The source said about the possibility of Tebow landing in New England: “No chance. Plus they wouldn’t like the circus that comes with it.”

Despite his lack of success in New York last year, Tebow this week was named America’s most influential athlete in a Forbes magazine poll.

“That’s a huge honor,” Tebow said Thursday. “I see it as a great responsibility to be a role model for future generations. That’s something I care about more than winning football games. If I can take the game of football and can transcend football, go to hospitals and make kids smile, I’ll be doing things that matter.”

Added Tebow: “What I want to do with my life is impact lives. When a kid in a hospital is fighting for his life and I’m trying to win a football game, what really matters? This game isn’t as important as a lot of us make it out to be. If I can give him a little bit of hope, I can do something that matters. That’s what I want my legacy to be about. That’s how I want to be remembered.”

♦ Redskins owner Dan Snyder made it clear that he has not softened his opposition to changing the name of his team, despite growing criticism.

“We will never change the name of the team,” Snyder told USA Today. “As a lifelong Redskins fan, and I think that the Redskins fans understand the great tradition and what it’s all about and what it means, so we feel pretty fortunate to be just working on next season.”

Amanda Blackhorse, a Native American who has filed a federal trademark suit in an attempt to force a name change, told USA Today that she would dare Snyder to call her a redskin to her face.

“I think the best way is to just not comment on that type of stuff,” Snyder responded. “I don’t know her.”

♦ With NBC announcing this week that Carrie Underwood is replacing Faith Hill as the singer for the “Sunday Night Football” theme song, Real Clear Sports has a list of the top 10 sports broadcast theme songs.

No. 1 is the Olympics theme music, followed by “Monday Night Football” and the NBA on NBC.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA (answer below): On May 10, 1999, which Red Sox player hit three home runs — including two grand slams — and collected 10 RBIs in a 12-4 rout of the Mariners at Fenway Park?

Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to Tuesday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

TUESDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NBA playoffs: Pacers at Knicks, 7 p.m. (TNT)
NBA playoffs: Grizzlies at Thunder, 9:30 p.m. (TNT)
NHL playoffs: Canadiens at Senators, 7 p.m. (CNBC)
NHL playoffs: Penguins at Islanders, 7 p.m. (NBCSN)
NHL playoffs: Canadiens at Senators, 7 p.m. (CNBC)
NHL playoffs: Blackhawks at Wild, 9:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
NHL playoffs: Canucks at Sharks, 10 p.m. (CNBC)
Hockey World Championships: United States vs. Russia, 1 p.m. (NBCSN)
MLB: Twins at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. (NESN; WEEI-FM)
MLB: Tigers at Nationals, 7 p.m. (MLB Network)
MLB: Cardinals at Cubs, 8 p.m. (WGN)

AROUND THE WEB:

Ryan Clark

♦ Steelers safety Ryan Clark, no stranger to Patriots bulletin boards, offered his analysis of the New England offense during an appearance on ESPN’s “NFL Live” Monday and said Tom Brady‘s job got a lot more difficult this offseason.

“I think what’s really underestimated is Wes Welker’s importance to not only the New England Patriots, but Tom Brady,” Clark said. “A lot of what they do is timing. A lot of what they do is option reads, when you’re working inside against that nickel back or against those linebackers. Losing him is huge.

“I know they think Danny Amendola can come in and have the same type of numbers he had with the Rams, but we also have to remember, he’s fragile. He’s not a guy who has completed a whole season, especially playing inside in what can be a physical AFC East. You also think about [Rob] Gronkowski and the injury; that is going to be bigger than anything for the New England Patriots coming in this year. Also Aaron Hernandez.”

Clark also took a shot at Brady, insisting that the veteran QB can be rattled by pressure.

“In 2010, we saw it start with the Jets in the playoffs. When Tom Brady gets pressure and when you’re man-to-man and bumping those guys and making it hard for him to throw, he sees ghosts,” Clark said. “Even when guys aren’t around him, even when he’s not about to be sacked, when his clock goes off in his head that the ball should be out, we’ll see him duck, we’ll see him flinch. When you get Tom Brady doing that, the whole New England Patriots mystique goes away.”

The Patriots host the Steelers on Nov. 3.

♦ Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez returned to the field Monday for the first time since having surgery on his left hip Jan. 16, working out at the team’s minor league complex in Tampa, Fla.

“It feels good to be back out in uniform,” Rodriguez said. “It’s been a rough stretch with the rehab, obviously. It’s small bites at a time.”

Rodriguez said he’s focused on getting back and redeeming himself for the embarrassing finish to last season, when he was benched during the Yankees’ four-game sweep at the hands of the Tigers in the ALCS.

“I have a lot of unfinished business,” Rodriguez said. “I’m really looking forward to getting back on the field close to 100 percent and being who I am.”

As for the latest controversy — A-Rod reportedly had ties to a since-closed clinic in South Florida that allegedly was dispensing performance-enhancing drugs — Rodriguez offered no insight.

“I can only control what I can control,” Rodriguez said. “I’m really focusing on all the great things that have happened in the game. I’m really focused on getting healthy, and just getting back and helping the Yankees win a championship.”

♦ Forbes magazine released its list of America’s most influential athletes, and Tim Tebow ranks No. 1. The free agent quarterback, who has 2.2 million Twitter followers, was judged as influential by 29 percent of poll respondents.

Tebow is followed on the list by swimmer Michael Phelps, sprinter Usain Bolt, injured Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. The second five consists of Saints quarterback Drew Brees, gymnast Gabby Douglas, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, NBA MVP LeBron James and soccer icon David Beckham.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA (answer below): On May 7, 1997, which Red Sox catcher — who would go on to greater fame as a member of the Athletics’ “Moneyball” team in 2002 — hit his first career home run (along with his second) in an 11-3 rout of the Twins?

Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to Wednesday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

WEDNESDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NBA playoffs: Celtics at Knicks, 7 p.m. (CSNNE, TNT; WEEI-FM)
NBA playoffs: Hawks at Pacers, 8 p.m. (NBATV)
NBA playoffs: Rockets at Thunder, 9:30 p.m. (TNT)
NHL playoffs: Maple Leafs at Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN, CNBC)
NHL playoffs: Islanders at Penguins, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
NHL playoffs: Sharks at Canucks, 10:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
MLB: Red Sox at Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m. (NESN Plus; WEEI-AM)
MLB: Nationals at Braves, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

AROUND THE WEB:

Geno Smith says he's happy to be a Jet, but he clearly wasn't happy with how long he had to wait to be drafted. (AP)

♦ New Jets quarterback Geno Smith was disappointed that he lasted until the eighth pick of the second round of last week’s NFL draft. So disappointed, in fact, that he fired his agents.

The former West Virginia star apparently felt he deserved to go No. 1 overall. Instead, he waited in the green room at Radio City Music Hall the entire first day without hearing his name called. He announced plans to go home after Round 1, but he changed his mind and returned Friday.

On Monday, he confirmed a report that he had decided to part ways with his representatives at Select Sports Group.

“I don’t want to shed too much light on it,” he said in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio. “The thing that I can tell you is that it’s not because of the whole draft experience. It’s not because of one particular incident. There are a number of things, and that story, you know, that battle will be fought on a different day. As of right now, I don’t feel too comfortable talking about all the details of it.”

Responded the agency in a statement: “We worked tirelessly for Geno Smith and all of our draft prospects. The NFL draft is unpredictable, and we prepared Geno and all of our draft prospects, as we do every year, about what can happen during the draft. Not only did we tell him that what transpired on the first day of the draft was possible, the question of whether Geno would be a first- or second-round pick was arguably the most talked about subject in the three months leading up to the draft. We wish Geno the best.”

Meanwhile, Jets general manager John Idzik said that the team will have an “open competition” at quarterback, with Smith vying for the starting position along with incumbent Mark Sanchez, Greg McElroy, David Garrard and Matt Simms.

♦ Speaking of Jets quarterback, the recently released Tim Tebow received a job offer from the Omaha Beef of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League. The team called Tebow’s agent’s office with the offer of $75 per game.

The Beef are 5-1 behind quarterback James McNear, who is competing 70 percent of his passes, with 21 touchdowns vs. two interceptions.

Said McNear: “I think Tim can learn a lot from me.”

♦ Jason Collins‘ former fiancee said she did not suspect that he was gay during their eight-year relationship that ended when Collins called off their engagement in 2009. Carolyn Moos, who attended Stanford with Collins and went on to play in the WNBA, said Collins contacted her over the weekend, days before Collins’ first-person account in Sports Illustrated hit the web, and revealed that his homosexuality was the reason for their breakup.

“It’s very emotional for me as a woman to have invested eight years in my dream to have a husband, soul mate, and best friend in him. So this is all hard to understand,” Moos told TMZ, adding. “I care about [Jason] tremendously and only want the best for him. I want Jason to be happy for a lifetime and stay true to who he really is, inside and out.”

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA (answer below): On May 1, 1977, Gerry Cheevers and the Bruins blanked the Flyers, 3-0, to sweep the Stanley Cup semifinals in four games. Which Bruin scored two third-period goals (one an empty-netter)?

Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to Tuesday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

TUESDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NBA playoffs: Warriors at Nuggets, 8 p.m. (TNT)
NBA playoffs: Grizzlies at Clippers, 10:30 p.m. (TNT)
NHL playoffs: Wild at Blackhawks, 8 p.m. (NBCSN)
NHL playoffs: Kings at Blues, 8 p.m. (CNBC)
NHL playoffs: Red Wings at Ducks, 10:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
MLB: Red Sox at Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m. (NESN; WEEI-FM)
MLB: Reds at Cardinals, 8 p.m. (MLB Network)

AROUND THE WEB:

Jason Collins

♦ Former Celtics center Jason Collins‘ revelation that he is gay led to overwhelmingly positive responses from people in and around the NBA. However, there was one notable exception.

ESPN NBA analyst Chris Broussard, during an appearance on “Outside the Lines,” offered an objection on religious grounds.

“Personally, I don’t believe that you can live an openly homosexual lifestyle, or an openly premarital sex between heterosexuals,” Broussard said. “If you’re openly living that type of lifestyle, the Bible says you know them by their fruits, it says that’s a sin. … I think that is walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ.”

Broussard said there are others in the NBA who agree with him, but some are hesitant to voice their opinion because they are afraid of the backlash.

“Just because they disagree with that lifestyle, they don’t want to be called bigoted and intolerant and things like that,” Broussard said.

Former NBA star Larry Johnson tweeted a mixed message.

I don’t Jason Collins personally but he seems like a great guy. Me personally gay men in the locked room would make me uncomfortable .

— Larry Johnson (@TheRealLJ2) April 29, 2013

Meanwhile, the Red Sox tweeted their support to Collins, offering to have him throw out the first pitch before a game.

We salute you, @jasoncollins34 for your courage and leadership. Any time you want to throw out a first pitch at Fenway Park, let us know. — Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) April 29, 2013

♦ Tim Tebow‘s release by the Jets not surprisingly was a huge story on ESPN. The network has been criticized in the past for providing coverage disproportionate to Tebow’s accomplishments in the NFL, and that continued Monday. This time, one of ESPN’s own personalities questioned the strategy.

SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt, during his ESPN Radio show Monday, offered his take.

“I vowed when we got up today and saw the news that Tebow’d been released by the Jets we weren’t going to go all in here because he’s a backup quarterback who was responsible for zero touchdowns last year, and if SportsCenter wants to turn it into a carnival in the morning then that’s on them,” Van Pelt said. “I don’t get it, but if you want to talk about that for an hour and not show Golden State highlights, then I would disagree with that and people would be happy I’m not anchoring, ’cause my thing is, show me highlights.”

♦ A Russian soccer official was banned for life for assaulting an 18-year-old player as the final whistle blew during a game in Chechnya. Linesman Musa Kadyrov attacked Ilya Krichmar after a reserves game between Russian Premier League teams Grozny and Amkar Perm. Grozny beat Krichmar’s Amkar Perm team, 2-1.

A Russian Football Association official said the player swore at Kadyrov repeatedly, and then he put the lineman over the edge by insulting his mother. Krichmar was given a retrospective red card.

“Throughout the whole game, the Amkar player was swearing at him, and Kadyrov didn’t signal with his flag once after these actions, instead referring it to the referee,” Russian FA official Lom-Ali Ibragimov said. “Unfortunately, the referee didn’t react.”

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA (answer below): On April 30, 1956, the Celtics traded Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan to the St. Louis Hawks for the No. 1 second overall pick in the draft. Who was that selection?

Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to Thursday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

THURSDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
MLB: Red Sox at Indians, 7:05 p.m. (NESN; WEEI-FM)
MLB: Giants at Brewers, 1:10 p.m. (MLB Network)
MLB: Rangers at Cubs, 2:10 p.m. (WGN)
MLB: Cardinals at Phillies, 7:05 p.m. (MLB Network)
NHL: Devils at Flyers, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
NHL: Wild at Sharks, 10:30 p.m. (NHL Network)

AROUND THE WEB:

Ray Allen is in Miami now, but his thoughts were with Boston following the Marathon bombing. (AP)

♦ Former Celtics guard Ray Allen no longer is in Boston, but the victims of the Boston Marathon were on his mind Wednesday night before his Heat played the Magic in Miami.

“We have a family friend that was there, that ran the marathon, and she’s in intensive care now because she lost her leg,” Allen said. “A good friend of mine, one of the managers of his restaurant, the 29-year-old that was killed was his manager. And his assistant chef, I don’t know if he said he lost both his legs or one, but he got hit pretty hard and he’s dealing with that now.”

Allen said he would have been somewhere close to the bomb scene had he still been in Boston, cheering on family members.

“We would have been sitting at the finish line, me and my whole family, waiting on my mom and my wife. … They would have been running if we were in Boston,” Allen sad. “So that presented some anxiety when I thought about it.”

♦ Rasheed Wallace won’t come back to haunt (or help) the Celtics in the playoffs as a member of the Knicks. The 38-year-old forward announced his retirement Wednesday after his final unsuccessful comeback bid — a brief appearance in Monday’s game against the Bobcats. Wallace, who returned from a two-year retirement to join the Knicks this season, missed most of the year with injuries — most recently a broken foot that required surgery in February.

“Rasheed has given this team everything he had,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said in a statement. “He is a winner, true professional and leader on and off the court. Due to his injury, he will not be available to play for us during the playoffs. We owe this season’s success to veterans like Rasheed.”

Wallace, who was a member of the 2009-10 Celtics team that lost in Game 7 of the NBA finals, played 21 games for New York.

♦ Last week, Mark Sanchez‘ personal coach, former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia, took some shots at Tim Tebow. “Having Tebow there doesn’t bring anything positive. It just brings distraction,” Sanchez said. “For Mark, the main competition is going to be David Garrard and Greg McElroy.”

On Wednesday, Tebow’s coach, Steve Clarkson, tried to defend Tebow by claiming he was set up to fail. Clarkson also took a swipe at Sanchez, calling him “fragile-minded.”

“I think [Tebow] was purposefully sent to New York,” Clarkson said on a conference call, ignoring Broncos vice president John Elway‘s explanation that Tebow chose New York over Jacksonville. “From the standpoint: You send him to a situation where you have instability with your coach — you don’t know if he’s coming or going. You have a fragile-minded Mark Sanchez at quarterback. You stick Tim Tebow in there and you kill two birds with one stone. So if you’re Denver, you’ve got to be thinking, ‘We send him to New York, we basically kill an opponent and, at the same time, Tim Tebow doesn’t come back to bite us in the proverbial butt, if you will, because he’s not going to make it out of there.’ ”

Clarkson also said the Jets’ limitations on Tebow guaranteed he would not succeed.

“I think in Tim’s case, they walked him into New York and said, ‘We’ve got four plays for you. You execute these four plays and that’s all you’re going to get,’ ” Clarkson said. “Well, when you walk on the field and that’s all you practice, and you don’t get any meaningful reps and you walk into a game and basically the defense is telling your offensive line basically where the ball is going to go, it’s pretty depressing and it doesn’t give you much room for hope. I would hope whoever, wherever he ends up that they give him an opportunity, and I think if they do, they’ll be pleasantly surprised. I think the guy still can play.”

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On April 18, 1997, the Bruins fired coach Steve Kasper one week after the season ended with the Bruins failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 1967. Who replaced him?

Read the rest of this entry »

Christopher Dorner, the former Los Angeles police officer who is suspected of killing three people and wounding two others this week, released a bizarre Facebook manifesto this week that, for some reason, included an address to Tim Tebow.

The note read:

“Tebow, I really wanted to see you take charge of an offense again and the game. You are not a good QB by todays standards, but you are a great football player who knows how to lead a team and WIN. You will be ‘Tebowing’ when you reach your next team. I have faith in you. Get out of that circus they call the Jets and away from the reality TV star, Rex Ryan, and Mark Rapist Sanchez.”

Dorner mentioned several other celebrities in his message, also referencing Ellen DeGeneres and Charlie Sheen, among others. He is suspected of shooting and killing Monica Quan, an assistant coach for the Cal State-Fullerton women’s basketball team, on Saturday, and of shooting three police officers.

Welcome to Monday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

MONDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NHL: Stars at Avalanche, 9 p.m. (NBCSN)
College hockey: Beanpot, Boston University vs. Northeastern, 5 p.m. (NESN)
College hockey: Beanpot, Boston College vs. Harvard, 8 p.m. (NESN)
NBA: Kings at Jazz, 9 p.m. (NBATV)
College basketball: Notre Dame at Syracuse, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Oklahoma at Iowa State, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: George Mason at Old Dominion, 7 p.m. (NBCSN)
College basketball: Seton Hall at Pittsburgh, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: Texas at West Virginia, 9 p.m. (ESPN)

AROUND THE WEB:

Ray Lewis

♦ Ray Lewis ended his career a champion Sunday night when his Ravens held off the 49ers to win the Super Bowl, but the tarnish on his legacy remains. During an interview with CBS’ Shannon Sharpe that aired during the pregame show, Lewis addressed the controversy surrounding his role in a double murder outside an Atlanta nightclub in 2000.

Lewis, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and testified against two companions who were eventually acquitted, claimed “the system” needed to better investigate the case.

“It’s simple,” Lewis said when asked what he would say to the victims’ families. “God has never made a mistake. That’s just who He is, you see. And if our system — it’s the sad thing about our system — if our system took the time to really investigate what happened 13 years ago, maybe they would have got to the bottom line truth. But the saddest thing ever was that a man looked me in my face and told me, ‘We know you didn’t do this, but you’re going down for it anyway.’ To the family, if you knew, if you really knew the way God works, he don’t use people who commits anything like that for His glory. No way. It’s the total opposite.”

After the interview, Sharpe told fellow hosts that the fact Lewis had come so far “is a testament to how this man has transformed his life,” and he got defensive when fellow host Boomer Esiason questioned Lewis’ “complex” issues.

“How is it complex?” Sharpe demanded to know from Esiason.

Responded Esiason: “He was involved in a double murder and I’m not so sure he gave us all the answers we were looking for,” Esiason said. “He knows what went on there. He can obviously just come out and say it. He doesn’t want to say it. He paid off the families — I get all that, that’s fine. But that doesn’t take away from who he is as a football player. I appreciate you going down there and asking him that direct question. I’m not so sure I buy the answer.”

♦ ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday that the Jets still are looking to trade Tim Tebow, but there isn’t any interest. New York is asking for a mid- to late-round draft pick, but apparently other teams have no confidence in Tebow’s ability to lead a team.

Said one NFL general manager: “I think his career is over without playing another position.”

♦ The family of Muhammad Ali denied a report that the boxing legend was near death and posted a photo of him sitting in a chair wearing a Ray Lewis T-shirt. Daughter May May Ali said her father was watching the Super Bowl at home in Arizona.

Ali, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, turned 71 on Jan. 17. A British tabloid quoted his brother Rahman, who acknowledged having no contact with the family since last summer, as saying Ali was in bad health.

“He’s fine, in fact he was talking well this morning,” May May Ali said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “These rumors pop up every once in a while, but there’s nothing to them.”

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA (answer below): On Feb. 4, 1990, which Bruin became the 32nd goaltender in NHL history with 200 victories following a 3-2 victory over the Quebec Nordiques?

Read the rest of this entry »

Mike Tannenbaum

After a disastrous Jets season, trading for Tim Tebow became just one in a long series of missteps the team has made in the last year or so. Still, Tebow’s presence became a sideshow that was a distraction for the Jets throughout the year. Former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said Tuesday, in his first interview since being fired at the end of the season, that acquiring Tebow was his idea.

Jets owner Woody Johnson was previously thought to be the one pushing to trade for Tebow, in an effort to generate publicity, but in fact, Tannenbaum said he brought it up first.

“I’m disappointed it didn’t work out, just like I’m disappointed when certain draft choices don’t work out,” Tannenbaum told ESPNNewYork.com Tuesday. “We put in a lot of time and effort. We had a rationale for it. At the end of the day, it didn’t go as we had planned.”

Tannenbaum said he and coach Rex Ryan had been discussing bringing in a running quarterback even before the Broncos signed Peyton Manning and made Tebow expendable. According to ESPN, they wanted a replacement for Brad Smith, who had run the wildcat in New York through 2010.

“We thought there was a role for [Tebow],” said Tannenbaum. “Working with Rex every day, and seeing the way the league has evolved with the ball being in the quarterback’s hands and making plays with your feet, we thought it would give us a chance to make our offense more dynamic. It just didn’t work out that way.”

The Jets sent a fourth-round pick to Denver and got Tebow, who ultimately participated in only 75 offensive plays this season. Even when Mark Sanchez struggled mightily, he was replaced instead with third-string quarterback Greg McElroy.

Ryan and Sanchez don’t appear to be going anywhere, but Tebow is expected to be traded and Tannenbaum was fired at the end of the season.

“Ultimately, I report to Woody. It was his decision to make,” Tannenbaum said. “I was disappointed, but I totally understood it. I had final say and authority on the football team. We fell short this year, and that’s what happens when you fall short.”

Jets owner Woody Johnson claims the decision to acquire Tim Tebow was not his. (AP)

Jets owner Woody Johnson, previously reported to be the driving force behind the team’s acquisition of Tim Tebow, claimed this month that the quarterback was “forced” on him, according to one of the candidates for the team’s since-filled general manager vacancy.

An ESPN story reveals that Johnson and team president Neil Glat interviewed former Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist two weeks ago, and during that meeting Johnson said he only “jumped on board” after being convinced of Tebow’s value by his football staff.

“They realized it was divisive and hard on the locker room and they wanted an exit strategy,” Sundquist said.

Johnson fired GM Mike Tannenbaum one day after the regular season ended and hired former Seahawks executive John Idzik last week to replace him. Idzik will be introduced at a press conference Thursday.

Welcome to Tuesday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

TUESDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NBA: Trail Blazers at Nuggets, 9 p.m. (NBATV)
College basketball: Tennessee at Kentucky, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Wake Forest at Clemson, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: Notre Dame at St. John’s, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
College basketball: Mississippi at Vanderbilt, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: Wisconsin at Indiana, 9 p.m. (ESPN)

AROUND THE WEB:

Carmelo Anthony

♦ According to multiple reports out of New York, Knicks owner James Dolan had audio technicians stationed at both ends of the Madison Square Garden court during the team’s two weekend games holding parabolic microphones designed to capture everything said by and to Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony recently was suspended one game for his postgame altercation with Kevin Garnett that began when the two exchanged insults on the court. Apparently, Dolan wanted a tape of every conversation Anthony had — perhaps so that he could vindicate the player if he’s involved in another confrontation, although the specific reason is unclear.

Said coach Mike Woodson on Monday: “I heard about it, but I don’t know about all of that, I don’t know where it came from.”

Said a league executive to the New York Post: “I’m sure they were trying to placate Carmelo Anthony over anything else. But it would [tick] me off if I didn’t know about it.”

♦ Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel‘s parents got a pep talk from Texas A&M athletic director Eric Hyman recently, with the AD encouraging the freshman quarterback’s family to be more careful with his public persona.

Manziel, who was arrested last summer after he showed false identification following a fight outside a bar, tweeted a picture of himself holding a wad of cash at an Oklahoma casino last month, and a day later the 20-year-old was photographed partying at a Dallas bar.

“I told them he’s no longer a freshman, and he’s no longer a sophomore, junior or senior,” Hyman said Sunday. “He is a ‘Heisman.’ … It’s [about] education, and we’ve got to help the family and Johnny with the transition into being a Heisman award-winner. There are things you have to learn, and we have to help him with that.”

Said Manziel last week: “I’ve got to learn from [things] and move on, and make sure I don’t make some of the same mistakes.”

♦ Tim Tebow‘s brother, Peter, took pleasure in the Broncos’ 38-35 overtime loss to the Ravens on Saturday. Apparently bitter over how Denver shipped his brother to New York following his memorable season in 2011, Peter tweeted after the game: Am I the only one in Denver who’s happy right now?

After the tweet made its way around the web, Peter apologized on Monday.

Tweeted Tim’s older brother: My comment after the game was uncalled for. I may root for another team but I should never gloat about anyone’s misfortune. I’m truly sorry.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Jan. 15, 1987, which Bruins forward recorded an assist in a 6-4 victory over the Hartford Whalers to become the 35th player in NHL history with 500 career assists?

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