Cue The Celebration

Buffalo's Stevie Johnson was flagged for a 15-yard penalty
after mocking Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes.
Johnson should leave the crazy celebrations to the likes of
Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco.

When it comes to celebrating touchdowns I'm of the thought the more creative, the better. Football is all about the fans, and if you can come up with something creative, more power to you.

But there is also a fine line. Buffalo's Stevie Johnson crossed that line on Sunday against the Jets.

After catching a 5-yard pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick, Johnson did a little jig and and then grabbed his leg. The move was supposed to mock Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who shot himself in a Manhattan night club and spent two years in prison as a result.

That wasn't the end of Johnson's antics. He also emulated a jet before tumbling to the ground — mocking Santonio Holmes.

Johnson was hit with a 15-yard penalty and will more than likely be fined by the league. The penalty also indirectly led to a New York touchdown — proving to be the difference in New York's 28-24 victory.

We've seen a lot of crazy celebrations over the years. From Joe Horn's hidden cell phone to the numerous goofy celebrations by Chad Ochocinco. But there's one glaring difference between those and Johnson's celebration. Those were all in good fun and actually clever.

A lot of wide receivers would love to be in the same category as a Terrell Owens or a Chad Ochocinco, but leave the dumb celebrations to them. They can get away with it because they are superstars and have the game to back it up.

Johnson is still a nobody in a small NFL market. Perhaps one day he will be the next T.O. or Ochocinco, but until then he needs to act like he's been in the end zone before — or come up with something more clever than mocking your opponent.

The Hardest Thing I've Ever Done

You will be hard-pressed to find any person better than
Oklahoma State women's basketball coach Kurt Budke.
Budke died in a plane crash on Thursday, leaving behind
a wife and three kids, along with a huge vacancy in the
hearts of many across the country.

In my career, I've covered a lot of events — from state championships to college sports. But fortunately I've never had to experience what I went through last Friday.

For those who may have missed it, Oklahoma State women's basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna were killed in a plane crash outside Perryville, Ark., during a recruiting trip. The news was devastating to the community of Stillwater — especially after Oklahoma State lost 10 members of the men's basketball team's traveling party in a plane crash in January 2001.

As a journalist I'm supposed to be impartial, but covering the press conference where Oklahoma State president Burns Hargis announced that Budke and Serna had been killed — along with Olin Branstetter and his wife Paula — was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my young career.

I remember the first time I met Kurt Budke. It was one of my first days in Stillwater, and I had gone to Gallagher-Iba Arena to pick up my media pass for the football season. I was wandering through Heritage Hall completely lost when I was approached by a man nearly my height — maybe even a little taller.

He greeted me with a smile and introduced himself as Kurt Budke, the women's basketball coach. From there, we talked as he showed me where the media relations office was.

That's the type of person Kurt Budke was. He treated every stranger like they were a close friend. It didn't matter who you were, he wanted to make sure you felt welcome at Oklahoma State.

I only met him one time after that. I covered the Cowgirls first regular season game against Rice. Shortly afterward, I spoke with him one-on-one about his career for a feature in our Stillwater Style magazine. That was last Sunday — and it proved to be one of the last interviews he ever gave.

He could have easily blown me off and gone back to his office. He didn't. Instead we talked for roughly 20 minutes about his life, his family and basketball. It may have been one of my favorite interviews of all time.

Coach Budke was a family man who also enjoyed going on recruiting trips. He treated his players and recruits like family. During games, his voice could be heard throughout Gallagher-Iba Arena. But he wasn't angry — he was excited.

I've seen a lot of coaches come and go in my young career. But I can categorically say that I never expect to come across another coach like Budke. He was one of a kind and when his plane crashed, "America's Brightest Orange" became a little bit darker.

Not-So-Happy Valley

Part of the job of being a head coach is to know what's
going on in your program at all times. Because of the
Sandusky scandal, Joe Paterno lost his job when he
failed to report young boys being assaulted by former
coach Jerry Sandusky.

I've always had the upmost respect for Joe Paterno and the program he ran at Penn State. For 50 years, he did everything he could to turn the Nittany Lions into champions — and he did it the right way.

That is until we learned about Jerry Sandusky.

The life of a college football coach is never easy. During the season, most coaches get an average of four hours of sleep a night — even fewer if there's a big game coming up.

What Sandusky did was unconscionable. And while Paterno did report Sandusky's actions to people above him, Paterno could have done a lot more.

For 50 years, parents of athletes have trusted Paterno to protect their kids while they were at college. In fact, I'm sure that's one thing he promised to do when he was recruiting the athlete. But how can you walk into a recruit's living room and make those promises when you know that one of your assistants is sexually assaulting young boys in his home and on campus?

When Paterno was relieved of his duties as head coach at Penn State, no doubt this thought had to cross his mind. He realized that he had a responsibility to those players and to Penn State.

Fans protested the Paterno's firing immediately afterward, but I believe it was absolutely the right move. As a college football fan, you hate to see one of the greatest coaches ever go out like that, but there are more important things in life than football.

When all the smoke clears and the dust settles, maybe some day we can look back on JoePa's career and marvel at what he did for the Nittany Lions. But until then we can't look past what happened at Penn State. Afterall, that's how we got into this mess in the first place.

Who Is Ali Without Frazier?

The Thrilla In Manila was arguably one of the greatest boxing matches of
all time. But where would Muhammad Ali be without the late Joe Frazier
pushing him? The world will certainly miss Frazier, who died of liver
cancer on Monday.

I was not around in 1975. And frankly, I feel bad if you were — with all the aching bones you must have when you wake up each morning, not to mention having to live through the disco era.

All joking aside, those that were alive will no doubt remember that warm morning in the Philippines when Smokin' Joe Frazier took on Muhammad Ali — also known as the Thrilla In Manila.

I didn't get to see it live, but I have caught glimpses of it on ESPN Classic from time to time.  I can only imagine what it was like to see Frazier and Ali lumbering around the ring after trading blows.

As I type this, I'm watching the movie "Troy" and I can't help but to relate Ali and Frazier to Achilles. Ali and Frazier were gladiators in their own right. Frazier's eyes were swollen shut while Ali compared the fight to dying.

But while the Thrilla In Manila was a great battle — it was nothing compared to what Frazier went through recently. On Monday night, Frazier lost his life to liver cancer.

It hardly seems possible that a man who went toe to toe with The Greatest died. He seemed almost like a superhero. I mean, who can't hear Howard Cosell's "Down goes Frazier" call after his 1973 fight against George Foreman in Jamaica?

When you think of boxing, Frazier is easily one of the first names that comes to mind. The man may be most famous for losses to Ali and Foreman, but he laid the foundation for guys like Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao.

No doubt the world will miss one of the greats, but I have a feeling he's already training for another round with Ali. And I, personally, can't wait for the Fight In The Sky or the Bout In The Clouds.

Crossing The Line

Kurt Busch has been known as an aggressive driver in the past, but his
actions in Friday night's NASCAR Truck Series race were cause of a well=
deserved suspension for the rest of the season.

If you ask any casual observer, one of the things they like about NASCAR are the wrecks. Sure, wheel-to-wheel racing is fun, but nothing beats a good 14-car pile up.

Last Friday, Kyle Busch crossed the line when it comes to competitive racing. During a caution in the Truck Series, Busch intentionally wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr.

Over the past couple years, NASCAR has allowed drivers to be more and more aggressive — rarely punishing them for accidents. But what Busch did was uncalled for.

Officials finally made it clear that Busch's behavior will not be tolerated — suspending him for both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races in Texas. And I applaud officials for taking action.

We've all seen the effects of a crash at nearly 200 miles per hour. Less than a month ago, Dan Wheldon lost his life following an IndyCar crash. And who can forget the death of Dale Earnheart in Daytona 10 years ago.

Don't get me wrong, I love watching the "Boys, have at it" style of racing. It makes every race that much more exciting. But there comes a point when you have to worry about the drivers' safety.

Without any action from NASCAR officials, the situation would only get worse. Eventually a once great sport would turn into nothing but 500 miles of bumper cars and could possibly result in even more tragedies.