GETTING PACKER TICKETS CAN TAKE A WHILE, EXTENSIVE POLICE BLOTTER & WHO WAS CALLED THE "SINGLE BIGGEST DUMBASS IN THE ENTIRE NFL?"
I always knew getting season tickets for some NFL teams can take forever, literally, less than a decade ago, the Kansas City Chiefs had over 21,000 people on their waiting list. But when a team turns sour coupled with a miserable economy, that waiting list can be history. In fact, the Chiefs would love to find buyers for about about 20,000 season tickets right now. That's how quickly things change, except for a few teams. Take the Green Bay Packers, who've had a waiting list for well over a half a century. Just yesterday, Tina Dollar-Hibbard got the call from the Packers, she could finally buy season tickets after being on the waiting list for 40 years, that's right, I said forty. Her father put her on the list right after she was born in 1969. Tina, along with 126 other patient souls, were notified by the team that yesterday was truly their lucky day. The 126 people moved from the waiting list to the season ticket holder list, leaving just a few still on the decades-long waiting list, only 83,881 more to be exact. Honest, that's the figure per the Packers ticket office. "Wow!" is about all I can say about Green Bay fans.
Redskin guard Mike Williams will be lost for the season after he was diagnosed with blood clots around his heart. Luckily for Williams it was discovered Thursday before he did an extensive workout that might have killed him. Williams was the 4th overall pick in 2002 NFL draft. He was chosen as a left tackle but he never panned out at that position & later moved to right tackle & after he came to Washington, he moved inside to guard.
The NFL Supplemental Draft is coming up. It's for players who changed their minds about jumping to the pros as a junior or were forced out of school for one reason or another. The big name in this summer's supplemental draft is former BYU career leading rusher, Harvey Unga. The 6' 0" 240-pound Unga got into trouble after admitting to school officials he had violated the schools ultra strict personal conduct policy. He & a women's volleyball player admitted to premarital sex & were kicked out of school. They just had a baby, see kids it can happen just "doing it" once. Some buzz is building for another kid who decided too late he wanted to move onto the NFL, that's if anyone will have him. His name is Vaness Emokpae from Truman State University in Kirksville Missouri. Emokpae had an on-campus workout for the pros this past week & his athleticism is what startled the scouts that were present. This kid is kind of a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. He led the team in receiving in 2007 as the slot receiver. He blew out his knee in 2008 & last year he led the team in both rushing & receiving. The Bulldogs were horrible, posting a dismal 2-9 record, hurting Emokpae's chances of being seen or scouted. I watched a video from his workout & there's no mistaking his awesome athletic talent. He easily dunks a basketball, he can do a standing backflip & he could stand next to a 52" high box, bend his legs & spring right on top of the box. When scouts say a "guy has leg explosion" & "he can jump out of the building" this is what they are talking about. This is the definition of a vertical jump. Here's the most impressive thing about Emokpae, he stands barely 5' 11' & weighed in at 240 pounds. That's unbelievable for a man this size. I've never seen him play football, so who knows if he has potential for anything more than jaw-dropping workouts in gym shorts.
The NFL released sales figures for their jersey's thru June 30th. Can you guess who sold more jerseys than anyone else league-wide? I'll tell you a few facts about the biggest sellers, the top-10 contains 8 quarterbacks, not really a surprise to most. But no runners or receivers, which was a surprise. Only two defenders cracked the top-10, one a perennial top seller, the other, a rookie. Here's the top-10:
10. Mark Sanchez-QB-NY Jets
9. Sam Bradford-QB-St Louis
8. Ndamakong Suh-DT-Detroit
7. Troy Polamalu-S-Pittsburgh
6. Brett Favre-QB-Minnesota
5. Tony Romo-QB-Dallas
4. Peyton Manning-QB-Indianapolis
3. Drew Brees-QB-New Orleans
2. Donovan McNabb-QB-Washington
And the number one selling NFL jersey so far:
1. Tim Tebow-QB-Denver Not bad for a guy who figures to be a 3rd stringer.
The USC Trojans continue to lose scholarship players who have decided to move on after the school was penalized by the NCAA. Fullback D.J. Shoemate has transferred to UCONN & that one is rather embarrassing to the Trojans. A guy willing to leave Southern Cal for Connecticut. No doubt the Huskie program has come a long way under coach Randy Edsell, but they're a helluva a long way from being compared to USC. The number one recruit in 2010, Seantrel Henderson from Minneapolis, has made it official, he's transferring to Miami to become a Hurricane. Lane Kiffin & a handful of his coaching staff took two trips to the Twin Cities in a private jet to try to keep Henderson in the SoCal program. It didn't work, the best offensive tackle prospect in years in gone.
We've had an extensive police blotter in the past few days, these guys are itching to hit somebody & with training camp still weeks away, they're taking it out on civilians. Four Tennessee Volunteers posed for mug shots after they were arrested following a bar room fight that escalated into a full-blown brawl in downtown Knoxville. Wide receiver Da'Rick Rodgers(disorderly conduct & resisting arrest), Safety Darren Myles(assault on a police officer & resisting arrest), defensive tackle Marlon Walls(disorderly conduct & resisting arrest) & linebacker Greg King(public intoxication & resisting arrest) were all booked after a shoving match in a bar turned into an melee that left an off-duty police officer hospitalized. Darren Myles(allegedly kicked the cop in the face when he was lying on the sidewalk was also arrested in April for being drunk & riding on the hood of a moving car) was dismissed from the football program. The other three were suspended indefinitely pending an investigation. Iowa defensive end Broderick Binns has been suspended indefinitely for being nailed with a DUI, driving with a .101 blood/alcohol level. Binns is a starter for the Hawkeye defense. Southern Mississippi had a trio booked Thursday night for public intoxication & disorderly conduct. Their all-time leader in receptions, DeAndre Brown, fellow wideout Johdrick Morris & linebacker Martez Smith were suspended pending an investigation. The President of the Detroit Lions, Tom Lewand, pleaded guilty to driving while impaired, a reduced charge, after he was arrested last week for DUI. Lewand's B/A level was a staggering .214, more than 2 1/2 times the legal limit. Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner, is expected to hand down punishment for Lewand. Former NFL player Chris Zorich, is in hot water after the IRS & the Illinois Attorney General's office began an investigation into the disappearance of some $864,645 from a charity Zorich founded & runs. He claims he's hired a new accounting firm to "find out what happened to the money." The former Chicago Bear started a charitable foundation that raised over $2.5 million for children. A year ago the charity had a balance of $864,645, but this spring the balance was zero & no accounting to prove where the money had gone. Allrighty then. ESPN's Jeremy Green, former Pro Player Director for the Cleveland Browns & the son of former NFL coach Dennis Green is on the hottest of all the hot seats. Green was arrested in a Bristol Connecticut area Holiday Inn yesterday morning. He was charged with cocaine possession & having over 50 images of child pornography on his laptop computer. He admitted to police he was a cocaine abuser but wouldn't talk about the kiddie porno. ESPN issued a statement saying they had terminated his contract.
So who was referred to as "the single biggest dumbass in the entire NFL?" The quote came out of the wide receiver camp that is run in Arizona every summer. It is attended by Larry Fitzgerald, Sydney Rice, Andre Johnson & a few more of the up & coming wideouts in the league. It was started by Jerry Rice & this summers' instructors were Michael Irvin & Cris Carter. It was one of them who uttered the above comment. They were referring to none other than K.C. favorite, Dwayne Bowe. I think he surely qualifies as one of the biggest dumbasses, but the biggest? Maybe, he's truly a knucklehead. Carter was "shocked at the lack of conditioning exhibited by Bowe & his poor fundamentals catching the ball." Are you shocked? I certainly wasn't, it is vintage Dwyane Bowe. This comes from a wide receiver who wasn't fast, wasn't huge, but a receiver who always caught the ball with his hands, literally snatching it out of the air. He said "the people in Kansas City knew I was going to be here & since I never mince words, they knew their guy was going to get an earful." Irvin was just as brutal "he & one other guy have no understanding of what it takes to become a top-flight receiver in this league." Amen.
Redskin guard Mike Williams will be lost for the season after he was diagnosed with blood clots around his heart. Luckily for Williams it was discovered Thursday before he did an extensive workout that might have killed him. Williams was the 4th overall pick in 2002 NFL draft. He was chosen as a left tackle but he never panned out at that position & later moved to right tackle & after he came to Washington, he moved inside to guard.
The NFL Supplemental Draft is coming up. It's for players who changed their minds about jumping to the pros as a junior or were forced out of school for one reason or another. The big name in this summer's supplemental draft is former BYU career leading rusher, Harvey Unga. The 6' 0" 240-pound Unga got into trouble after admitting to school officials he had violated the schools ultra strict personal conduct policy. He & a women's volleyball player admitted to premarital sex & were kicked out of school. They just had a baby, see kids it can happen just "doing it" once. Some buzz is building for another kid who decided too late he wanted to move onto the NFL, that's if anyone will have him. His name is Vaness Emokpae from Truman State University in Kirksville Missouri. Emokpae had an on-campus workout for the pros this past week & his athleticism is what startled the scouts that were present. This kid is kind of a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. He led the team in receiving in 2007 as the slot receiver. He blew out his knee in 2008 & last year he led the team in both rushing & receiving. The Bulldogs were horrible, posting a dismal 2-9 record, hurting Emokpae's chances of being seen or scouted. I watched a video from his workout & there's no mistaking his awesome athletic talent. He easily dunks a basketball, he can do a standing backflip & he could stand next to a 52" high box, bend his legs & spring right on top of the box. When scouts say a "guy has leg explosion" & "he can jump out of the building" this is what they are talking about. This is the definition of a vertical jump. Here's the most impressive thing about Emokpae, he stands barely 5' 11' & weighed in at 240 pounds. That's unbelievable for a man this size. I've never seen him play football, so who knows if he has potential for anything more than jaw-dropping workouts in gym shorts.
The NFL released sales figures for their jersey's thru June 30th. Can you guess who sold more jerseys than anyone else league-wide? I'll tell you a few facts about the biggest sellers, the top-10 contains 8 quarterbacks, not really a surprise to most. But no runners or receivers, which was a surprise. Only two defenders cracked the top-10, one a perennial top seller, the other, a rookie. Here's the top-10:
10. Mark Sanchez-QB-NY Jets
9. Sam Bradford-QB-St Louis
8. Ndamakong Suh-DT-Detroit
7. Troy Polamalu-S-Pittsburgh
6. Brett Favre-QB-Minnesota
5. Tony Romo-QB-Dallas
4. Peyton Manning-QB-Indianapolis
3. Drew Brees-QB-New Orleans
2. Donovan McNabb-QB-Washington
And the number one selling NFL jersey so far:
1. Tim Tebow-QB-Denver Not bad for a guy who figures to be a 3rd stringer.
The USC Trojans continue to lose scholarship players who have decided to move on after the school was penalized by the NCAA. Fullback D.J. Shoemate has transferred to UCONN & that one is rather embarrassing to the Trojans. A guy willing to leave Southern Cal for Connecticut. No doubt the Huskie program has come a long way under coach Randy Edsell, but they're a helluva a long way from being compared to USC. The number one recruit in 2010, Seantrel Henderson from Minneapolis, has made it official, he's transferring to Miami to become a Hurricane. Lane Kiffin & a handful of his coaching staff took two trips to the Twin Cities in a private jet to try to keep Henderson in the SoCal program. It didn't work, the best offensive tackle prospect in years in gone.
We've had an extensive police blotter in the past few days, these guys are itching to hit somebody & with training camp still weeks away, they're taking it out on civilians. Four Tennessee Volunteers posed for mug shots after they were arrested following a bar room fight that escalated into a full-blown brawl in downtown Knoxville. Wide receiver Da'Rick Rodgers(disorderly conduct & resisting arrest), Safety Darren Myles(assault on a police officer & resisting arrest), defensive tackle Marlon Walls(disorderly conduct & resisting arrest) & linebacker Greg King(public intoxication & resisting arrest) were all booked after a shoving match in a bar turned into an melee that left an off-duty police officer hospitalized. Darren Myles(allegedly kicked the cop in the face when he was lying on the sidewalk was also arrested in April for being drunk & riding on the hood of a moving car) was dismissed from the football program. The other three were suspended indefinitely pending an investigation. Iowa defensive end Broderick Binns has been suspended indefinitely for being nailed with a DUI, driving with a .101 blood/alcohol level. Binns is a starter for the Hawkeye defense. Southern Mississippi had a trio booked Thursday night for public intoxication & disorderly conduct. Their all-time leader in receptions, DeAndre Brown, fellow wideout Johdrick Morris & linebacker Martez Smith were suspended pending an investigation. The President of the Detroit Lions, Tom Lewand, pleaded guilty to driving while impaired, a reduced charge, after he was arrested last week for DUI. Lewand's B/A level was a staggering .214, more than 2 1/2 times the legal limit. Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner, is expected to hand down punishment for Lewand. Former NFL player Chris Zorich, is in hot water after the IRS & the Illinois Attorney General's office began an investigation into the disappearance of some $864,645 from a charity Zorich founded & runs. He claims he's hired a new accounting firm to "find out what happened to the money." The former Chicago Bear started a charitable foundation that raised over $2.5 million for children. A year ago the charity had a balance of $864,645, but this spring the balance was zero & no accounting to prove where the money had gone. Allrighty then. ESPN's Jeremy Green, former Pro Player Director for the Cleveland Browns & the son of former NFL coach Dennis Green is on the hottest of all the hot seats. Green was arrested in a Bristol Connecticut area Holiday Inn yesterday morning. He was charged with cocaine possession & having over 50 images of child pornography on his laptop computer. He admitted to police he was a cocaine abuser but wouldn't talk about the kiddie porno. ESPN issued a statement saying they had terminated his contract.
So who was referred to as "the single biggest dumbass in the entire NFL?" The quote came out of the wide receiver camp that is run in Arizona every summer. It is attended by Larry Fitzgerald, Sydney Rice, Andre Johnson & a few more of the up & coming wideouts in the league. It was started by Jerry Rice & this summers' instructors were Michael Irvin & Cris Carter. It was one of them who uttered the above comment. They were referring to none other than K.C. favorite, Dwayne Bowe. I think he surely qualifies as one of the biggest dumbasses, but the biggest? Maybe, he's truly a knucklehead. Carter was "shocked at the lack of conditioning exhibited by Bowe & his poor fundamentals catching the ball." Are you shocked? I certainly wasn't, it is vintage Dwyane Bowe. This comes from a wide receiver who wasn't fast, wasn't huge, but a receiver who always caught the ball with his hands, literally snatching it out of the air. He said "the people in Kansas City knew I was going to be here & since I never mince words, they knew their guy was going to get an earful." Irvin was just as brutal "he & one other guy have no understanding of what it takes to become a top-flight receiver in this league." Amen.
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