THIS & THAT..........EARLY MONDAY EDITION
Patriot linebacker Tedy Bruschi will announce his retirement this morning. The 14-year veteran who played his entire career with New England is retiring so Bill Belichick won't have to cut him. Bruschi was a force with the Pats, an 11-year starter & a member of 4 Super Bowl teams. Bruschi suffered a mild stroke in February of 2005 but was cleared to play later that year. He was known as one of the most accessible players in the league for both fans & the media. He attended Arizona & was a member of their famous "Desert Storm" defense & as a defensive end he recorded 52 sacks while in Tucson. Bruschi will be missed both in New England as well as around the league, a real class act & the consummate team player.
Embattled Oakland Raider coach, Tom Cable, apologized yesterday for his team's horrid performance in Saturday's 45-7 rout at the hands of the Saints. New Orleans ran up 536 total yards, 232 on the ground. Even the Oakland fans, who are usually more interested in dressing up like they're going to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", started booing early on & the hometown team did nothing to change their ugly mood. It was really a poor effort, Cable should be embarrassed. I always wonder when I watch the freak show that is the Oakland Raiders, why Nnamdi Asomgha, possibly the best cornerback in the league, resigned with Oakland. I know he went to nearby Cal-Berkley, but as PFT.com's Tom Curran so aptly puts it, "why get into the NFL's biggest clown car?". Good question.
Andre "think the NFL will let me go braless?" Smith finally signed with the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday. He's just 5 weeks late, but that sort of his own way of doing things. Andre has been rather unconventional since he was booted from the Alabama program before the Sugar Bowl. He's played 'musical agents' ever since then. He showed up at the NFL Scouting Combine weighing about 380 & in no shape to work out, blew off the individual team interviews too. He departed the combine on Saturday afternoon without telling anyone connected to the league, they thought something had happened to him. After 2 false starts, he finally worked out for the NFL coaches & GM's who hadn't scratched him off their draft boards. He ran his first 40-yard dash without his shirt, his C-cup manboobs flopping all over the place, it wasn't pretty. Andre's a pretty smart young man, he just makes some strange decisions, but above all, he has awesome natural abilities to play offensive tackle at this level. He's got a bunch to learn & I doubt he's in very good shape, so he might be a spot player most of the season.
OOPS! Washington fullback Mike Sellers created some really bad feelings with the home fans Friday night. Before each game, the last Redskin player introduced runs onto the field carrying the American flag. Sellers was that person Friday night, but when he arrived at mid-field, he threw the flag to the ground & began jumping up & down with teammates. Sellers apologized saying "I have no idea what was going thru my head, I was raised in an Army family, I know how to treat & respect the American flag. I am sincerely sorry for my actions & I promise it will never happen again". Let's hope not.
The Broncos not only lost Sunday evening's game with the Jay Cutler-led Bears, they sustained some personnel losses as well. Starting left guard Chris Kuper injured his left knee & it looked serious. Wide receiver Eddie Royal took a shot to his left shoulder but returned to action later in the second quarter. Then quarterback Kyle Orton lacerated his right index finger hitting it on a pass rusher's helmet. He & Kuper went right to the locker room & didn't return. In true Parcells/Belichick/Patriots fashion, the new Josh McDaniel regime referred to Kuper's injury as "a lower extremity injury" & Orton's as "an upper extremity injury". Ooooo, so mysterious. Wide receiver Jabar Gaffney broke his thumb Friday during practice & he will miss 2-3 weeks. If Orton is sidelined or for how long, could really be a problem for Denver. Orton's backup, Chris Sims, suffered a high ankle sprain last week versus Seattle & he is out for 2-3 more weeks. They have rookie Tom Branstater & former Chief, Ingle Martin as the only other quarterbacks on the roster.
Mizzou coaches are hoping offensive tackle Dan Hoch can return to practice by Tuesday. Otherwise he won't play against Illinois in Saturday's opener in St Louis. Hoch sprained his MCL two weeks ago & hasn't practiced. Gary Pinkel was looking forward to having Hoch & left tackle Elvis Fisher, both sophomores, as his bookends for several seasons. All-Conference right guard Kurtis Gregory was moved outside into Hoch's spot during practices & two inter-squad scrimmages. Not only did Gregory not perform up to his usual standard, but his replacement at right guard didn't look too good either.
The Detroit Free Press is reporting Michigan has violated a number of NCAA regulations regarding practices. The paper claims to have several former & current players who stated coach Rich Rodriguez regularly ordered more & longer practices than the NCAA allows. Once school starts, but before the season begins, a team is limited to 12 hours of practice a week & after the season begins the rules say no more than 8 hours is permitted. The players the paper interviewed, said it was routine for Rodriguez to work them double what the regulations allow.
Embattled Oakland Raider coach, Tom Cable, apologized yesterday for his team's horrid performance in Saturday's 45-7 rout at the hands of the Saints. New Orleans ran up 536 total yards, 232 on the ground. Even the Oakland fans, who are usually more interested in dressing up like they're going to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", started booing early on & the hometown team did nothing to change their ugly mood. It was really a poor effort, Cable should be embarrassed. I always wonder when I watch the freak show that is the Oakland Raiders, why Nnamdi Asomgha, possibly the best cornerback in the league, resigned with Oakland. I know he went to nearby Cal-Berkley, but as PFT.com's Tom Curran so aptly puts it, "why get into the NFL's biggest clown car?". Good question.
Andre "think the NFL will let me go braless?" Smith finally signed with the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday. He's just 5 weeks late, but that sort of his own way of doing things. Andre has been rather unconventional since he was booted from the Alabama program before the Sugar Bowl. He's played 'musical agents' ever since then. He showed up at the NFL Scouting Combine weighing about 380 & in no shape to work out, blew off the individual team interviews too. He departed the combine on Saturday afternoon without telling anyone connected to the league, they thought something had happened to him. After 2 false starts, he finally worked out for the NFL coaches & GM's who hadn't scratched him off their draft boards. He ran his first 40-yard dash without his shirt, his C-cup manboobs flopping all over the place, it wasn't pretty. Andre's a pretty smart young man, he just makes some strange decisions, but above all, he has awesome natural abilities to play offensive tackle at this level. He's got a bunch to learn & I doubt he's in very good shape, so he might be a spot player most of the season.
OOPS! Washington fullback Mike Sellers created some really bad feelings with the home fans Friday night. Before each game, the last Redskin player introduced runs onto the field carrying the American flag. Sellers was that person Friday night, but when he arrived at mid-field, he threw the flag to the ground & began jumping up & down with teammates. Sellers apologized saying "I have no idea what was going thru my head, I was raised in an Army family, I know how to treat & respect the American flag. I am sincerely sorry for my actions & I promise it will never happen again". Let's hope not.
The Broncos not only lost Sunday evening's game with the Jay Cutler-led Bears, they sustained some personnel losses as well. Starting left guard Chris Kuper injured his left knee & it looked serious. Wide receiver Eddie Royal took a shot to his left shoulder but returned to action later in the second quarter. Then quarterback Kyle Orton lacerated his right index finger hitting it on a pass rusher's helmet. He & Kuper went right to the locker room & didn't return. In true Parcells/Belichick/Patriots fashion, the new Josh McDaniel regime referred to Kuper's injury as "a lower extremity injury" & Orton's as "an upper extremity injury". Ooooo, so mysterious. Wide receiver Jabar Gaffney broke his thumb Friday during practice & he will miss 2-3 weeks. If Orton is sidelined or for how long, could really be a problem for Denver. Orton's backup, Chris Sims, suffered a high ankle sprain last week versus Seattle & he is out for 2-3 more weeks. They have rookie Tom Branstater & former Chief, Ingle Martin as the only other quarterbacks on the roster.
Mizzou coaches are hoping offensive tackle Dan Hoch can return to practice by Tuesday. Otherwise he won't play against Illinois in Saturday's opener in St Louis. Hoch sprained his MCL two weeks ago & hasn't practiced. Gary Pinkel was looking forward to having Hoch & left tackle Elvis Fisher, both sophomores, as his bookends for several seasons. All-Conference right guard Kurtis Gregory was moved outside into Hoch's spot during practices & two inter-squad scrimmages. Not only did Gregory not perform up to his usual standard, but his replacement at right guard didn't look too good either.
The Detroit Free Press is reporting Michigan has violated a number of NCAA regulations regarding practices. The paper claims to have several former & current players who stated coach Rich Rodriguez regularly ordered more & longer practices than the NCAA allows. Once school starts, but before the season begins, a team is limited to 12 hours of practice a week & after the season begins the rules say no more than 8 hours is permitted. The players the paper interviewed, said it was routine for Rodriguez to work them double what the regulations allow.
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