THIS AND THAT..........SATURDAY AFTERNOON
All original content on this site written by Rich Stewart, unless specified otherwise. You can access every piece I've written here by using the archives.
Just days after Brett Favre told the Minnesota Vikings he wouldn't be coming out of retirement to play for them, the current starting quarterback, Tavaris Jackson, gave the Vikes a scare. Defensive lineman Letroy Guion rolled up on Jackson's knee & he went down in a heap. After a few minutes, Jackson walked off the field under his own power. After examination, it's reported he sustained a sprained MCL & will be listed as day to day.Sage Rosenfels will take all the first team snaps until Jackson can return.Every team in the league puts all of the QBs in red jerseys so everyone on the field can see them & avoid hitting them at all cost. It only took 2 days for someone to forget training camp's #1 rule: Do Not Hit The Quarterback.
Speaking of the Vikings, receiver Bernard Berrian, in a bizarre attempt at humor, "Tweeted" not long after Jackson's practice mishap that he was lost for the season. Less than ten minutes later he posted this Tweet: "Relax everybody, T-Jack's fine, just goes to show you can't trust any media". Brilliant. I have no doubt that Twitter is going to be a major issue during the upcoming NFL season & not in a good way.
LeSean McCoy, welcome to the NFL. The 2nd round rookie running back had an eye opening experience in his first practice for the Philadelphia Eagles. The former Pitt Panther found out quickly a lot of that stuff he could do in college won't work in the pros. For the first time since he was drafted, he was in pads & going full speed. McCoy's first carry ended with a 7-yard loss, he was dropped trying to reverse his field. "Man these guys are fast, I had no idea how fast these defensive guys are." His next 3 carries resulted in negative yardage as well. Coach Andy Reid yelled at McCoy after McCoy dropped consecutive swing passes. McCoy did throw a decent block in pass protection but then he pulled a boner that had the entire squad shaking their heads. On a sweep, McCoy tried to cut, lost his footing & went down. In college, play over, but not in the NFL. As McCoy got to his feet, defensive end Chris Clemmons slammed McCoy to the turf. Welcome to the NFL indeed.
I sure like it when people speak honestly from their heart & not some P.C. company line. Former Michigan head coach, Lloyd Carr made it very clear Thursday night, he thinks there ought to be a playoff system in college football. He has a decent formula for determining how the 2 National Championship Game opponents qualify. Take the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar & Orange Bowl and seed them accordingly(1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 & 4 vs 5). The four winners would then be reseeded, 1 vs 4 & 2 vs 3. The winner of those games would play for the National Championship. The three playoff games would be rotated between the four major bowl sites just like they do for the current BCS championship game. Why wouldn't this work? Big-10 Commissioner Jim Delaney, all the conference school presidents, athletic directors & head coaches repeat the same BCS brainwashed blather, nice to see a free thinker who has a workable plan & isn't afraid to talk about it.
I told you in May about Mark Herzlich, the supremely talented Boston College linebacker, who was stricken with Ewings Sarcoma, a very rare cancer of the bone & surrounding soft tissue. I've had my ear to the ground, looking for updates on Herzlich's condition & prognosis. I spoke to one of my readers, who is a pathologist, about this cancer & he's in a battle for his life, but I'm happy to report that Mark Herzlich is holding his own right now. I got a lot of this information from Kevin Armstrong of SI.com, who wrote a wonderful blog about Herzlich recently. Whether he plays football again isn't important right now. Because his right femur is the location of the cancer, Herzlich can only walk short distances, his leg bone has been weakened to the point it could fracture just from running. He has begun his second stage of chemotherapy as well as radiation on the leg. He claims he hasn't lost any weight & doesn't suffer from nausea. He is allowed to do weight lifting for the upper body while seated. Herzlich, an honor student with a double major, finance & marketing, will attempt to return to school in the fall while he continues the treatments. His mother gave up her job as a teaching tennis pro, to help take care of her son. There's been no shortage of people who have voiced their support for Herzlich. Notre Dame head coach, Charlie Weis, lights a candle for him every week & texts Herzlich weekly as well. Lance Armstrong has called several times & invited Mark to join LiveStrong, Lance's cancer fighting foundation. Red Sox CEO, Larry Luccino, a non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma survivor & he also whipped prostate cancer in '99, has sent Mark two hand written letters on Sox letterhead. A cloistered Franciscan nun, who is a colon cancer survivor, sends beautifully hand written notes to Herzlich weekly & there's a prayer for Herzlich given every hour in sister Barbara Anne's Indianapolis convent by other sisters of her order. Herzlich said the lump in the soft tissue of his thigh is nearly gone, but the femur is a long way from healed. I hope Mark, as well as all cancer patients, can whip this hideous disease.
A life-long friend, who's been a sideline photographer at Arrowhead Stadium for over 20 years, posted some very relevant commentary regarding my blog yesterday about "5 Stories to Follow in Chiefs' Camp". Check out Chuck's post, it has nothing to do with player personnel, which was my angle, but instead, he looks at heart, conditioning, discipline etc. A quick read, but a good take on the problems our football team faces.
Just days after Brett Favre told the Minnesota Vikings he wouldn't be coming out of retirement to play for them, the current starting quarterback, Tavaris Jackson, gave the Vikes a scare. Defensive lineman Letroy Guion rolled up on Jackson's knee & he went down in a heap. After a few minutes, Jackson walked off the field under his own power. After examination, it's reported he sustained a sprained MCL & will be listed as day to day.Sage Rosenfels will take all the first team snaps until Jackson can return.Every team in the league puts all of the QBs in red jerseys so everyone on the field can see them & avoid hitting them at all cost. It only took 2 days for someone to forget training camp's #1 rule: Do Not Hit The Quarterback.
Speaking of the Vikings, receiver Bernard Berrian, in a bizarre attempt at humor, "Tweeted" not long after Jackson's practice mishap that he was lost for the season. Less than ten minutes later he posted this Tweet: "Relax everybody, T-Jack's fine, just goes to show you can't trust any media". Brilliant. I have no doubt that Twitter is going to be a major issue during the upcoming NFL season & not in a good way.
LeSean McCoy, welcome to the NFL. The 2nd round rookie running back had an eye opening experience in his first practice for the Philadelphia Eagles. The former Pitt Panther found out quickly a lot of that stuff he could do in college won't work in the pros. For the first time since he was drafted, he was in pads & going full speed. McCoy's first carry ended with a 7-yard loss, he was dropped trying to reverse his field. "Man these guys are fast, I had no idea how fast these defensive guys are." His next 3 carries resulted in negative yardage as well. Coach Andy Reid yelled at McCoy after McCoy dropped consecutive swing passes. McCoy did throw a decent block in pass protection but then he pulled a boner that had the entire squad shaking their heads. On a sweep, McCoy tried to cut, lost his footing & went down. In college, play over, but not in the NFL. As McCoy got to his feet, defensive end Chris Clemmons slammed McCoy to the turf. Welcome to the NFL indeed.
I sure like it when people speak honestly from their heart & not some P.C. company line. Former Michigan head coach, Lloyd Carr made it very clear Thursday night, he thinks there ought to be a playoff system in college football. He has a decent formula for determining how the 2 National Championship Game opponents qualify. Take the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar & Orange Bowl and seed them accordingly(1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 & 4 vs 5). The four winners would then be reseeded, 1 vs 4 & 2 vs 3. The winner of those games would play for the National Championship. The three playoff games would be rotated between the four major bowl sites just like they do for the current BCS championship game. Why wouldn't this work? Big-10 Commissioner Jim Delaney, all the conference school presidents, athletic directors & head coaches repeat the same BCS brainwashed blather, nice to see a free thinker who has a workable plan & isn't afraid to talk about it.
I told you in May about Mark Herzlich, the supremely talented Boston College linebacker, who was stricken with Ewings Sarcoma, a very rare cancer of the bone & surrounding soft tissue. I've had my ear to the ground, looking for updates on Herzlich's condition & prognosis. I spoke to one of my readers, who is a pathologist, about this cancer & he's in a battle for his life, but I'm happy to report that Mark Herzlich is holding his own right now. I got a lot of this information from Kevin Armstrong of SI.com, who wrote a wonderful blog about Herzlich recently. Whether he plays football again isn't important right now. Because his right femur is the location of the cancer, Herzlich can only walk short distances, his leg bone has been weakened to the point it could fracture just from running. He has begun his second stage of chemotherapy as well as radiation on the leg. He claims he hasn't lost any weight & doesn't suffer from nausea. He is allowed to do weight lifting for the upper body while seated. Herzlich, an honor student with a double major, finance & marketing, will attempt to return to school in the fall while he continues the treatments. His mother gave up her job as a teaching tennis pro, to help take care of her son. There's been no shortage of people who have voiced their support for Herzlich. Notre Dame head coach, Charlie Weis, lights a candle for him every week & texts Herzlich weekly as well. Lance Armstrong has called several times & invited Mark to join LiveStrong, Lance's cancer fighting foundation. Red Sox CEO, Larry Luccino, a non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma survivor & he also whipped prostate cancer in '99, has sent Mark two hand written letters on Sox letterhead. A cloistered Franciscan nun, who is a colon cancer survivor, sends beautifully hand written notes to Herzlich weekly & there's a prayer for Herzlich given every hour in sister Barbara Anne's Indianapolis convent by other sisters of her order. Herzlich said the lump in the soft tissue of his thigh is nearly gone, but the femur is a long way from healed. I hope Mark, as well as all cancer patients, can whip this hideous disease.
A life-long friend, who's been a sideline photographer at Arrowhead Stadium for over 20 years, posted some very relevant commentary regarding my blog yesterday about "5 Stories to Follow in Chiefs' Camp". Check out Chuck's post, it has nothing to do with player personnel, which was my angle, but instead, he looks at heart, conditioning, discipline etc. A quick read, but a good take on the problems our football team faces.
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