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Lost (thankfully) amid the many aftershocks of The Punch were plenty of lame jokes, most courtesey of the media.

A few of these one-liners drew smiles. My favorite came from the mind of San Francisco Chornicle writer Scott Ostler. Why would he comment? You might remember that Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable punched an assistant in the preseason. So Ostler wrote this recently ...

"Cable has to be encouraged by the news that New Mexico football coach Mike Locksley, who punched assistant J.B. Gerald and split his lip, got off with a verbal reprimand and a letter in his personal file. The school stopped short of stripping Locksley of cafeteria frosty-cone privileges."

Loved it.

Maybe Alan Branch's career is starting to turn around.

The former Cibola High star and current Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman was a high draft pick who has been labled a bust by many because of his lack of production. That seems to be changing this year. The latest nuggett of evidence comes from Revenge of the Birds.com, a Cardinals blog.

"Alan Branch: The former second round pick that most of us left for dead has impacted two games in a row for the first time in his career. While that might not be saying much, this is the same guy that many fans didn't want to see on the roster. A move to defensive end has jump started his young career and a sprained ankle from Kenny Iwebema has led to more playing time for Branch. He'll have to do much more than one tackle and a batted pass to validate his draft status but at least it's a step in the right direction."

Keep an eye on this.

The surest sign a professional coach soon will be fired is the dreaded Vote of Confidence from the owner or GM.

Recently Sacramento Kings owners and Albuquerque natives Joe and Gavin Maloof told the Sacramento Bee something that was supposed to calm Kings fans. Community fears were excalating because word was the Maloofs may want to move the team.

So does that Vote of Confidence mean the Kings are about to move again?

"No, no, no. There's no way," Gavin Maloof told the Bee, waving his arms emphatically, according to the paper. "We love the market. We love our fans. This is the only place we want to be."

Uh oh.

One quick note about former Lobos defensive back Glover Quin.

Acccording to the Houston Chronicle, the rookies Texans CB will get more playing time today vs. the Raiders due to injiuries.