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Though Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is gunning to become the first two-time Heisman Trophy winner in four decades, the Seminoles star has been embroiled in numerous controversies and off-field incidents, the latest of which was a quick suspension for “offensive and vulgar” behavior, to be served at tomorrow’s game against Clemson.  To many, this suspension was a punishment too lenient for Winston, but Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher spoke out against those critics yesterday, defending Winston against those who believe his suspension is tantamount to a slap on the wrist.

“We’re in charge.  It’s our team.  That’s our thought,” read Fisher’s prepared statement, which succinctly stated that the Seminoles are fully behind the talented, yet controversial Winston.  “We went with the consequences and we’re ready to move on,” Fisher continued in the statement, which interestingly did not include his name.  This led to speculation that the decision to slap Winston with a light form of punishment was a university administration decision, rather than a team decision.

“They’re always involved in university policies,” said Fisher, regarding this contention.  “That’s (the way) things (are) at Florida State, (that’s) the way we do it.”

Winston’s latest transgression saw the quarterback standing on a table on campus and yelling sexually suggestive and profane chants, making it the sixth infraction in a list that included the infamous “crab legs” incident in April.  He later apologized to teammates Wednesday, and while Fisher was not present at that press conference, backup quarterback Sean Maguire told reporters that the apology was an earnest and passionate one.  “Jameis loves this team as much as the next guy, if not even more,” said Maguire, who will be making his first career start tomorrow. “I know how he feels as far as how deep his apology goes.”

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Yesterday, Minnesota Vikings running back and 2012 NFL MVP Adrian Peterson was officially reinstated after serving a one-game suspension over a Texas child abuse charge involving his young son.  Now it looks like Peterson may be in more trouble, as he may be facing more child abuse raps, this time involving another four-year-old son.

CBS affiliate KHOU-TV cited text messages that supposedly include an image of the child with his head covered with bandages, suffering from an apparent wound.  According to KHOU-TV, the son’s mother, who is different from the woman who bore the child from the earlier Texas case, filed a case with Child Protective Services, but no actual charges had been filed against Peterson.  The Vikings RB is set to enter a plea at a hearing to be held October 8 in Conroe, Texas.  If found guilty, Peterson could serve two years in prison and pay a $10,000 fine.

Peterson has remained mostly silent on the initial child abuse issue, but said on a prepared statement that he was disciplining his son in the same way his father did when he was young.  In part, his statement asked “everyone to understand how sorry I feel about the hurt I have brought to my child,” and maintained that he is not a child abuser by nature.  The 29-year-old superstar is expected to return to the Vikings in time for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints.

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Following the furor that surrounded Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson’s child abuse case in Texas, the team announced today that it will be reinstating its franchise player, allowing Peterson to take part in practice and meetings as the Vikings prepare for their Week 3 game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Peterson, 29, was deactivated for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots, one day after the running back answered to charges in Texas claiming that he had injured his four-year-old son with a tree branch while disciplining him.  According to Vikings owners Zygi Wilf and Mrak Wilf, the decision to reinstate Peterson was made today “after significant thought, discussion, and consideration.”  The decision to suspend Peterson on Friday was, as per the Wilfs’ statement, done “in the best interests” of the Vikings, as management decided to take stock of the situation and not rush into severe forms of punishment.  “At that time, we made the decision that we felt was best for the Vikings and all parties involved,” read the statement.

“To be clear, we take very seriously any matter that involves the welfare of a child,” the statement continued. “At this time, however, we believe this is a matter of due process and we should allow the legal system to proceed so we can come to the most effective conclusions and then determine the appropriate course of action.”

The Vikings fell to 1-1 after Sunday’s home loss to the New England Patriots, losing 30-7, with Matt Cassel throwing for only one touchdown and four interceptions.  Reserve running back Matt Asiata scored the Vikings’ only touchdown, but rushed for only 36 yards on 13 attempts.

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Though much of America has condemned Ray Rice for a controversial video that showed him punching the woman who became his wife, the city of Baltimore still stands behind him, as many Ravens fans continued to support the beleaguered running back, wearing his No. 27 jersey at yesterday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“There’s two sides to every story,” said Ravens fan Racquel Bailey in an interview with CBS. “I saw the video. That’s their personal business, and it shouldn’t have affected his career. I don’t agree with domestic violence, but she’s still with him, so obviously it wasn’t that big of a deal. Everyone should just drop it.”  She was one of many fans at the M&T Bank Stadium who wore a Ray Rice jersey and still rallied behind the running back, who was kicked off the Ravens and subsequently suspended by the NFL due to the offending video.

Several male and female fans alike weren’t shy about supporting Rice, but others were quick to score Rice’s supporters, with one woman at the Ravens-Steelers game yelling “You support a wife-beater!” at a man wearing No. 27.  Another fan, 18-year-old Gage Friend, told CBS about the criticism he received from people for his desire to support Rice.  “Yeah, I’m pretty aware of what he did,” he said.  “And, yes, it was awful and it was definitely a mistake on his part, but he deserves a second chance. … People have done so much worse in this league.”

What remains an interesting question, though, is whether the fallout from the Rice incident may have any bearing on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s job.  Though Rice and fiancée Janay Palmer had eventually married, the seven-month-old video, which was taken at an Atlantic City casino, only emerged Monday when it was leaked by showbiz-oriented publication TMZ.  This has led to an FBI investigation that may or may not prove whether Goodell’s office had tried to cover up the Rice incident, hence the video only leaking out seven months after the events occurred.

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The Miami Dolphins relied on big games from running back Knowshon Moreno and quarterback Ryan Tannehill as they leveraged a strong second half to upset the New England Patriots, 33-20, in Week 1 NFL action at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

After trailing 20-10 in the first half, the home team scored 23 points and gained 222 yards in the second half, outgaining the Patriots by over 150 yards, with that total including a rather inconsequential 37-yard run in the final drive of the game. According to Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace, Miami made the necessary adjustments after the first half after realizing they were beating themselves. “We knew what was killing us – ourselves,” he admitted.

The Patriots’ opening week loss was their first since 2003, and this also marks the first time New England doesn’t have at least a share of the AFC East lead since Week 3 2012.

New England started strong in the first half, with quarterback Tom Brady throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski and Shane Vereen rushing for one touchdown. It was downhill from there on in, as the Patriots weren’t able to score in the second half, and got outscored by 23 points or more for the first time in almost six years and 100 games. “We need to do a better job than we did today,” lamented Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. “It’s as simple as that.”

Though Moreno’s 134-yard, one touchdown game made him one of the key players on offense, it was the Miami Dolphins defense that also played a key part in their remarkable comeback.  “We made a statement as a team,” said rookie linebacker Chris McCain. “We had three or four turnovers and we were down, but we knew we could do something. We had to calm down, get our poise and come out and ball. We came back real well and shut them out in the second half. That’s unheard of. With Tom Brady out there you expect about 35 points.”

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Reports that Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby was arrested on a driving-related charge were debunked this morning by the Ottawa Police Department, who called the charges an “out and out blatant lie.”

Early this morning, at about 4 a.m., both the Toronto Sun and Ottawa Sun released separate reports on Crosby’s arrest, both of which have since been deleted.  According to the latter publication’s report, Crosby “was arrested by Ottawa police late Tuesday while driving a rented Porsche,” though there were no details into the nature of the driving-related charge.  Further, the Sun claimed Crosby was taken in for routine procedures, and that it wasn’t clear at the time of the report why the Penguins captain was in Ottawa.

However, police officials are now saying that there was no such arrest that took place last night.  Ottawa police chief Charles Bordeleau said via Twitter this morning that the department had “no dealings with Mr. Crosby.”  He also told CTV News that Crosby “never came in” and was never placed in a cell, contrary to what was reported.  Further backing up Bordeleau’s statements, TSN followed with its own report, saying that Crosby was nowhere near Ottawa, but rather training in Vail, Colo. with other NHL stars.

With the embarrassing reports now deleted and Crosby’s good name cleared, some have wondered whether the reports came about as a result of miscommunication.  Sharing his opinion on the matter, Yahoo Sports’ Greg Wyshinski theorized that QMI Agency, the original source of the news of the supposed Crosby arrest, had misheard “out in Vail” as “Ottawa jail.”   Judging by the slight similarity in the two phrases, that may have indeed been the case, now that one of the more embarrassing errors in sports reporting has now come to pass.

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After months of speculation, the New England Patriots sent backup quarterback Ryan Mallett to the Houston Texans, in exchange for a conventional 7^th round pick in the 2016 draft.

Rumors regarding a trade involving Mallett had been firing up for quite a while, and had begun ahead of the 2014 NFL draft, where the Patriots ended up drafting another quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo.  Prior to the trade, the Texans only had Ryan Fitzpatrick as their starter, plus fifth-round pick Tom Savage as his backup.  While a competent starter for the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans, Fitzpatrick’s performance has been solid at best; playing for the Titans in 2013, he threw only 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, ending up with a rating of 82.0.

Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that new Texans head coach Bill O’Brien had previously served as the Patriots’ quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, ironically doing so when the team selected Mallett in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft.  The former Arkansas Razorbacks QB barely played in three seasons as Tom Brady’s backup, and has completed only one pass in four attempts, with one interception, no TD passes, and a QB rating of 5.2.

Meanwhile, it looks like Garoppolo appears likely to slot in as the second-string quarterback behind Brady, following an impressive preseason.  It remains to be seen, however, whether the Patriots will sign a third quarterback.  As for the Texans, Mallett may end up playing behind Fitzpatrick but ahead of Savage, though his reported improvement since being drafted in 2011 makes it possible he could take over as starter should Fitzpatrick struggle.