THIS & THAT..........TUESDAY AFTERNOON
Iowa running back Jewell Hampton is out for the season. Hawkeye coach Kirk Ferentz said today Hampton had a "knee issue" & they knew he would probably miss the first 2 games, but his knee hasn't responded at all & he will need surgery. Hampton, the Hawkeye starter, along with the departed Shonn Greene, accounted for 94.2% of Iowa's rushing yardage in 2008, so this is a huge loss. Defensive end Brandon Deaderick of Alabama was shot last night in an attempted holdup. Deaderick, a 2-year starter, sustained a gunshot wound to his left forearm. He was hospitalized last night after the shooting & is expected to be released tonight or tomorrow. His timetable for return to the Crimson Tide is unknown, tho Nick Saban doubted he would be available for their game Saturday night versus Virginia Tech. Penn State defensive tackle Brandon Ware broke a bone in his foot this morning & will be lost to the Nittany Lions for 3-4 weeks.
On the NFL injury front, Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Osomgha sustained a chipped bone in his wrist Saturday in their butt-kickin' at the hands of the New Orleans Saints. Osomgha, an all-pro performer, will miss 2-3 weeks. Baltimore starting cornerback, Samari Rolle was placed on the PUP list with a neck injury that will require minor surgery & will not be eligible to play for the first 6 games. Rolle will then have 3 weeks to practice & be activated to the 53-man roster or put on injured reserve & be lost for the season. One more injury to a frontline cornerback to report as Seattle's Marcus Trufant will most likely be put on the PUP list tonight as well. I told you yesterday that the Broncos' Kyle Orton had sustained a pretty severe laceration to the index finger on his throwing hand. According to The Denver Post, Orton suffered an "open dislocation", meaning his first knuckle dislocated & the bone lacerated his finger. The knuckle was put back in joint but the laceration is very deep & there's differing opinion as to his availability opening night against San Diego. Orton's backup, Chris Sims has a high ankle sprain & his chances of being ready for opening night are slightly better than Orton's. Rookie 6th round pick, Tom Branstater, will start their final preseason game Thursday against Arizona.
Four days before their season opens, the Oklahoma State Cowboys have lost their starting tight end. The Cowboys open their season Saturday in one of the biggest non-conference games of the '09 season against the Georgia Bulldogs. In a surprising move, Jamal Mosely quit the team today. Coach Mike Gundy said it was for personal reasons & Mosely had never been anything but a model teammate & player.
Saturday night's game between San Diego State & UCLA at the Rose Bowl is in jeopardy due to the fires in the surrounding hills. The air quality in the Los Angeles basin borders on dangerous & conditions could deteriorate even more between now & Saturday. The Bruins haven't made alternate plans, so either they play the game Saturday night or it will be rescheduled for later in the season.
Adam "Pacman" Jones is back in football, albeit the Canadian Football League, but he's back in football. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers signed Jones to a 1-year contract. No word if law enforcement officials in the Province of Manitoba have been put on alert for Jones' arrival.
Andre Smith finally signed his rookie contract with the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday. Details of this contract came out today, they're a doozie. If Smith's weight is over 350 pounds on gameday, he forfeits half his game check. The NFLPA isn't happy Smith signed a contract that calls for him to lose so much money. But Smith has always done things differently. The Bengals didn't disclose his weight when he began practice yesterday, but reports said it was in the 380-pound range, so he's got to get to work. I doubt he'll be in good enough shape to start the season. I don't understand why a player would hold out, continue eating without any conditioning & then sign a contract that requires him to be in shape & his weight under control. If you're going to sign such a deal, why did it take months to get signed? Weird.
NEWS FLASH I just heard an ESPN Radio Sportscenter & it was reported Andre Smith broke a bone in his foot this afternoon & he'll miss "several weeks". Beautiful. Why couldn't this kid stay in some sort of shape, probably avoiding this injury? The report said it was a non-contact injury.
Brodie Croyle will start for the Chiefs Thursday night in St Louis. In typical Todd Haley fashion, he wouldn't say who else, if anyone, will also play at QB. The Chiefs made several roster moves today, waiving Alfonso Boone, Cameron Goldberg & Amani Toomer. Devard Darling was placed on I.R. with a torn ACL & Kolby Smith was placed on the PUP list, still unable to practice from his knee surgery last fall.
Another Coffman will get his first start this Saturday. Carson Coffman, younger brother of Cincy TE Chase Coffman & son of former NFL TE Paul Coffman, will start for Kansas State against Massachusetts in Manhattan Saturday night. The junior from Raymore-Peculiar High School, is 6-3, 212 pounds.
The Chiefs-Rams game Thursday night will be blacked out in the St Louis market. Last season, there were 9 blacked out games out of 256 regular season contests. Look for that number to be over 50 this season. The economy has really affected ticket sales & there's very little even the creative marketing people at 280 Park Avenue(NFL headquarters) can do to change that.
Today's real name of the day; Lavunle Askew, defensive tackle, Arkansas.
On the NFL injury front, Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Osomgha sustained a chipped bone in his wrist Saturday in their butt-kickin' at the hands of the New Orleans Saints. Osomgha, an all-pro performer, will miss 2-3 weeks. Baltimore starting cornerback, Samari Rolle was placed on the PUP list with a neck injury that will require minor surgery & will not be eligible to play for the first 6 games. Rolle will then have 3 weeks to practice & be activated to the 53-man roster or put on injured reserve & be lost for the season. One more injury to a frontline cornerback to report as Seattle's Marcus Trufant will most likely be put on the PUP list tonight as well. I told you yesterday that the Broncos' Kyle Orton had sustained a pretty severe laceration to the index finger on his throwing hand. According to The Denver Post, Orton suffered an "open dislocation", meaning his first knuckle dislocated & the bone lacerated his finger. The knuckle was put back in joint but the laceration is very deep & there's differing opinion as to his availability opening night against San Diego. Orton's backup, Chris Sims has a high ankle sprain & his chances of being ready for opening night are slightly better than Orton's. Rookie 6th round pick, Tom Branstater, will start their final preseason game Thursday against Arizona.
Four days before their season opens, the Oklahoma State Cowboys have lost their starting tight end. The Cowboys open their season Saturday in one of the biggest non-conference games of the '09 season against the Georgia Bulldogs. In a surprising move, Jamal Mosely quit the team today. Coach Mike Gundy said it was for personal reasons & Mosely had never been anything but a model teammate & player.
Saturday night's game between San Diego State & UCLA at the Rose Bowl is in jeopardy due to the fires in the surrounding hills. The air quality in the Los Angeles basin borders on dangerous & conditions could deteriorate even more between now & Saturday. The Bruins haven't made alternate plans, so either they play the game Saturday night or it will be rescheduled for later in the season.
Adam "Pacman" Jones is back in football, albeit the Canadian Football League, but he's back in football. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers signed Jones to a 1-year contract. No word if law enforcement officials in the Province of Manitoba have been put on alert for Jones' arrival.
Andre Smith finally signed his rookie contract with the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday. Details of this contract came out today, they're a doozie. If Smith's weight is over 350 pounds on gameday, he forfeits half his game check. The NFLPA isn't happy Smith signed a contract that calls for him to lose so much money. But Smith has always done things differently. The Bengals didn't disclose his weight when he began practice yesterday, but reports said it was in the 380-pound range, so he's got to get to work. I doubt he'll be in good enough shape to start the season. I don't understand why a player would hold out, continue eating without any conditioning & then sign a contract that requires him to be in shape & his weight under control. If you're going to sign such a deal, why did it take months to get signed? Weird.
NEWS FLASH I just heard an ESPN Radio Sportscenter & it was reported Andre Smith broke a bone in his foot this afternoon & he'll miss "several weeks". Beautiful. Why couldn't this kid stay in some sort of shape, probably avoiding this injury? The report said it was a non-contact injury.
Brodie Croyle will start for the Chiefs Thursday night in St Louis. In typical Todd Haley fashion, he wouldn't say who else, if anyone, will also play at QB. The Chiefs made several roster moves today, waiving Alfonso Boone, Cameron Goldberg & Amani Toomer. Devard Darling was placed on I.R. with a torn ACL & Kolby Smith was placed on the PUP list, still unable to practice from his knee surgery last fall.
Another Coffman will get his first start this Saturday. Carson Coffman, younger brother of Cincy TE Chase Coffman & son of former NFL TE Paul Coffman, will start for Kansas State against Massachusetts in Manhattan Saturday night. The junior from Raymore-Peculiar High School, is 6-3, 212 pounds.
The Chiefs-Rams game Thursday night will be blacked out in the St Louis market. Last season, there were 9 blacked out games out of 256 regular season contests. Look for that number to be over 50 this season. The economy has really affected ticket sales & there's very little even the creative marketing people at 280 Park Avenue(NFL headquarters) can do to change that.
Today's real name of the day; Lavunle Askew, defensive tackle, Arkansas.
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