For me, if there's one moment that symbolizes the Tim Tebow disaster, it's this: A frozen image of Tebow on a TV screen in Mike Tannenbaum's old office.

A few days after a November loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the New York Jets general manager was studying a DVD of the game when a reporter arrived for a scheduled interview. Tannenbaum paused the video on a goal-line play in which Tebow was supposed to run a counter over the left side of the line.

The call was perfect. The line opened up a huge hole. It should've been a walk-in touchdown for Tebow, but the play was blown dead because of a false-start penalty.

And there it was on the flat screen: Tebow, ball in his hands, a few strides away from his first touchdown as a Jet. Tannenbaum pointed to the screen, lamenting what might have been. Even an untrained eye could see there was no chance he'd be tackled.

It was a cruel case of taunting in HD.

Two months later, Tannenbaum was out of a job. Tebow is out of work, too, fired Monday by the Jets only one year after they traded to get him -- the worst personnel move in the history of the franchise.

That's right, the worst.

The Jets have made some doozies over a half-century (Vernon Gholston, Blair Thomas, Lam Jones), but anybody can blow a draft pick. It happens all the time in the NFL.

With Tebow, it's different because they went out of their way to get him. They didn't choose him on the clock during the draft, forced to make a decision. No, they did it out of free will.

They wanted him. Badly.

The Jets sweet-talked Tebow, convincing him they were the team for him. They completed a complicated trade with the Denver Broncos, introduced him at the biggest news conference in team history, built him up him like a rock star and …

Failed to use him, demonstrating no plan whatsoever.

It was an utter embarrassment, even by the Jets' standards. It revealed cracks in the organization, an obvious disconnect between ownership, football management and the coaching staff.

They treated Tebow like a carry-on bag. They figured he'd fit conveniently in the overhead, but when they realized he was too big and had to be checked, he became a burden.

Tebow's time in New York was brief and bizarre. He was a goner even before they drafted Geno Smith on Friday; it was just a matter of when. With six quarterbacks, someone had to go.

I spoke to Tannenbaum the night of the trade, and he was absolutely convinced it was a good deal, done for all the right reasons. He felt confident that Tebow, reprising the Brad Smith role from 2006 to 2010, would put the Wildcat back in the Jets' offense.

Tannenbaum liked to think outside the box, and he made some good moves over the years with that approach. This time, he went way, way, way outside.

The risk (year-long distraction, quarterback controversy, et al) far outweighed the potential reward (what, 30 or 40 rushing yards per game?), but he didn't see it that way.

Over the course of several months, the Tebow idea went from intriguing to laughable (a clandestine practice) to head-scratching to explosive.

It was undermined by an owner, Woody Johnson, who fueled the madness by making ridiculous comments: "You can never have too much Tebow."

By an offensive coordinator, Tony Sparano, who lacked the creativity and, perhaps, the desire to integrate Tebow into the offense.

By a head coach, Rex Ryan, who was afraid to play Tebow for fear that he'd actually succeed, ruining Mark Sanchez and sparking the quarterback controversy of all controversies.

"It was," retired special teams coach Mike Westhoff said after the season, "an absolute mess."

Tebow doesn't get away unscathed here. He failed to capitalize on his few opportunities, looking nothing like the player who ran through the Jets in 2011. He put on weight, at the team's request, making him slower.

He threw the ball so poorly in training camp, making the same mistakes over and over, that coaches began to question the trade.

But wait a second, what did they expect, Steve Young? They knew exactly what they signed up for.

The Jets made it worse by mismanaging the situation, turning to third-stringer Greg McElroy -- not Tebow -- when Sanchez had to be benched. By doing so, they did the unthinkable: They broke Tebow's ever-sunny attitude, infuriating him to the point that he asked out of the Wildcat package.

By the end of the season, the Jets were a bad soap opera, taking us back to the bumbling days of Rich Kotite.

Gholston never did that, even though he was terrible. Neither did Thomas nor Jones nor Browning Nagle … and we could go on. The Jets set a new low with the Tebow mess.

It didn't cost them major compensation (a fourth-round draft pick) and it didn't cost them a ton of money (roughly $2.5 million), but this was about the collateral damage.

The Jets' integrity took a hit, and you wonder if other players will think twice before believing a promise from them. They chased the smile off Tebow's face, which means they're capable of anything.

They made the official announcement at 8:18 a.m. on Monday -- a three-paragraph news release. Imagine that: They celebrated Tebow's arrival with a massive news conference, and revealed his ouster with the morning birds.

As if we wouldn't notice.

The New England Patriots will sign Tim Tebow, league sources told ESPN.

The Patriots are signing Tebow, who is expected to participate in the team's mandatory minicamp Tuesday, as a quarterback, according to sources.


The move reunites Tebow with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who was the Broncos' head coach when Denver traded into the first round to draft the Heisman Trophy winner in 2010.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick often has spoken with admiration for Tebow's versatility, intelligence and character. Belichick covets what he has described as tough, smart, versatile football players.

Last month, Yahoo! Sports cited an "organizational source" as saying Belichick disliked Tebow as a player and there was "no chance" of him landing in New England. Belichick dismissed that notion last week, telling ESPNBoston.com that the report was completely untrue.

Ironically, Tebow's last NFL start came with the Broncos in a blowout playoff loss in Foxborough to Tom Brady and the Patriots following the 2011 season.

Tebow, 25, was released by the New York Jets in late April following a disappointing season as a backup to Mark Sanchez.

The Jets traded a pair of draft picks to Denver in the deal to acquire Tebow but failed to establish a consistent role in the offense for the versatile quarterback.

Aaron Hernandez, ex-New England Patriot, arrested


Aaron Hernandez was taken from his North Attleboro, Mass., home in handcuffs Wednesday morning after being arrested by the Massachusetts State Police and North Attleboro Police.
The increasing attention and speculation surrounding the former New England Patriots tight end took a decisive turn as a throng of policemen arrived at Hernandez's residence at 8:47 a.m ET.


The Massachusetts State Police announced that Hernandez was taken into custody shortly after they obtained a warrant for his arrest. The MSP tweeted that Hernandez is currently being booked at the North Attleboro Police Station and will be brought on Wednesday to Attleboro District Court for arraignment. The charge against Hernandez will not be released until it is presented to the court, the MSP announced.
NFL Network's Rich Hollenberg told "NFL AM" that three police cars, two of them unmarked, arrived at Hernandez's residence early Wednesday. As many as nine plainclothes police officers and two uniformed North Attleboro officers entered Hernandez's home, bringing him out about five minutes later. The tight end answered the door shirtless, but was taken away with a white T-shirt draped over his upper body, with his hands cuffed behind his back.
Following his arrest, the New England Patriots released Hernandez.
The team said in a statement: "A young man was murdered last week and we extend our sympathies to the family and friends who mourn his loss. Words cannot express the disappointment we feel knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation. We realize that law enforcement investigations into this matter are ongoing. We support their efforts and respect the process. At this time, we believe this transaction is simply the right thing to do."


Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported Wednesday that the decision to cut Hernandez came from the top of the Patriots organization. According to Rapoport, the team had decided last week to release Hernandez if the tight end were arrested for being involved at some level in a homicide investigation. The team told Rapoport they do not have any additional knowledge of the case, but given the seriousness of the situation and what the Patriots and brand stand for, they made the decision to release Hernandez.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello issued the following statement to NFL Network's Steve Wyche:
"The involvement of an NFL player in a case of this nature is deeply troubling. The Patriots have released Aaron Hernandez, who will have his day in court. At the same time, we should not forget the young man who was the victim in this case and take this opportunity to extend our deepest sympathy to Odin Lloyd's family and friends."
Authorities have been conducting a homicide investigation involving the death of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd, whose body was found at about 5:30 p.m. on June 17.
Lloyd's family told The Associated Press that Lloyd, a semi-pro football player in the Boston area, had connections to Hernandez. The family would not elaborate.
State police have searched in and around Hernandez's home multiple times in the last week.