A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT JAPAN, COLLINSWORTH FLOATS AWAY, HERBIE MOVES SOUTH, BIG-12(10) CLOSE TO A NEW TV DEAL & CHIEFS WILL BE FORCED TO SPEND MORE
Friday night NBC's Chris Collinsworth & his wife Holly went to one of their favorite restaurants, Jeff Ruby's Waterfront Grill, a floating barge on the Ohio River. There's even a steak on the menu named for the former Bengal wide receiver. Minutes after being seated, the Collinsworth's, as well as the rest of the packed dining room, felt a slight jolt & as they looked out onto the rain-swollen Ohio River, they quickly realized they were moving. Diners scurried for the exit & found the walkway from the barge to the dock was no longer attached to the eatery. As the barge moved out into the channel, it came to rest against the pillar of a bridge. A tugboat & two police boats were quickly dispatched & they began removing diners one at a time, clad in life jackets. It took nearly two hours to get everybody off the restaurant barge & tie it off with two large steel cables. It was returned to it's mooring after sunup on Saturday. No word if everybody's dinner tab was comped after the interruption.
In other Ohio news, ESPN's Kirk Herbstreidt is moving his family out of the state of Ohio. The former Ohio State quarterback was born & raised in Columbus, the son of another Buckeye QB. He's leaving the state for a new home in Tennessee. Why? He's tired of the disrespect shown toward his wife & 4 sons, tired of the foul language, tired of the threats. From who you ask? Buckeye fans who believe Herbie's place on ESPN & ABC as their lead color commentator & ESPN Gameday contributor, is to never, ever criticize Ohio State. I've believed for a very long time, he's the very best color commentator in college football on any network. I think he's fair, which is the problem back in Ohio. There are Buckeye fans who believe he is there to always side with his alma mater. News flash Buckeye fans......he's not. He said his wife takes abuse just running family errands & his sons have listened to more than their fair share of crap about their dad. Herbstreidt did say it's about 2% of the Ohio State fans that get out of line, but enough is enough. He bought a home in Tennessee & will move his family very soon. Folks, it's just not Ohio State fans, it's fans, period. Sadly, these are not real fans, they're like this moron who claims to be an Alabama fan who poisoned the 130-year old oak trees on the Auburn campus. They use their so-called team loyalty as a built-in excuse for really bad behavior.
According to Sports Business Journal, The Big-12(10) is close to signing a deal with FOXSports for a new TV deal. It is rumored to be in the neighborhood of $60-70 million a year. With their ABC/ESPN contract, worth an estimated $80 million, the conference, sans Nebraska & Colorado, could have a deal worth as much as $150 million per year. It would effectively double their television revenue. It will still lag behind the SEC & BIG TEN, but considering this conference was on life support last summer, it could be a real coup for Commissioner Dan Beebe.
Mizzou quarterback Blaine Gabbert will perform for a large crowd of NFL scouts, coaches & GM's this Thursday in Columbia. He didn't throw at the combine, so this is a big test for the Tiger QB. His agent, former Chiefs' guard Tom Condon, has represented 4 of the past 6 #1 overall draft picks. He didn't go after JaMarcus Russell, never had contact with him. The same is true this season, Condon never approached Cam Newton to offer his representation. Hmmmmmm.
Other high profile prospects testing for the pros this week are LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson & Pitt WR Jonathan Baldwin(today), Florida interior lineman Mike Pouncey(tomorrow), Florida State QB Christian Ponder(Wednesday) & Gabbert on Thursday.
ESPN's Trey Wingo mentioned yesterday the 3 most read articles on ESPN.com from Saturday were all about the NFL labor strife. The 4th most popular article was about who was in & out for the NCAA basketball tournament. This is how wildly popular the NFL is. It's more popular than any other sport even when there's no football.
I know I said I wasn't going to post daily stuff regarding the NFL lockout/union de-certification, but I thought Kansas City fans would like this one. Under the last proposal the league put forward to the players, all teams would be required to spend 90% of their salary cap money every season. The Chiefs as well as Tampa Bay won 10 games while spending less than $85 million. This figure is close to $40 million less than half the league spent & represents the 31st & 32nd lowest team salaries for 2010. If a new CBA is ironed out in time for a free agent period, Kansas City ought to turn loose of some real cash & sign a couple of high-profile free agents like Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. Obviously he would be a huge upgrade for Kansas City's defense & it would be salary cap money well spent. Signing Tamba Hali to a new long term deal would also make good financial sense.
One other labor item I feel is worth mentioning, the proposed 18-game schedule is dead as a doornail. The idea was ownership driven & the players as well as most fans hated the idea. It is no longer part of any negotiations for a new CBA.
In another move destined to aggravate football fans far & wide, the newly de-certified NFLPA is advising the top rated draft prospects to boycott the draft telecast, hoping to hurt TV ratings. First off, the NFLPA no longer represents NFL players. Secondly, drafted players are not NFL players, they haven't been signed. So they have zero control over these kids, young men who have dreamed of this moment their whole life, hearing their name called & then walking out onto that stage at Madison Square Garden. Good idea, break their hearts while pissing off the fans. Great strategy, real smart P.R.
I couldn't sign off today without mentioning the the Japanese people & the horror millions of them are enduring right now. In the early 70's, I lived on Okinawa & south of Tokyo for 26 months. I spent a lot of time discovering Japan, roaming the countryside, seeing much of a beautiful country & meeting the people. They're facing a horrific short term future, but the discipline & ethic these people possess will bring them back quicker than you'd ever expect. I loved my time in this country, loved the people, loved the food, the beer, hey I loved it all. In my many travels around the country, I never saw a speck of trash on the roadside, on a sidewalk or anywhere. Now I see homes, boats, cars & trucks thrown about like toys & their once pristine countryside looks like a landfill. It's tragic, but these people know what they have to do & they'll get it done in record time. I was going to whine about the snow we're having today, it's really coming down, but I thought about Japan & decided it would truly be offensive to bitch about a few inches of slush when these people are worried about loved ones, their homes & employers plus the uncertainty of nuclear power plants melting down & turning much of their country into the moon. It's snowing in parts of Japan right now & they're living outdoors or in shelters without electricity & heat, these people are truly up against it. Say a prayer for them tonight & every night for the foreseeable future, they'll need all the help they can get.
In other Ohio news, ESPN's Kirk Herbstreidt is moving his family out of the state of Ohio. The former Ohio State quarterback was born & raised in Columbus, the son of another Buckeye QB. He's leaving the state for a new home in Tennessee. Why? He's tired of the disrespect shown toward his wife & 4 sons, tired of the foul language, tired of the threats. From who you ask? Buckeye fans who believe Herbie's place on ESPN & ABC as their lead color commentator & ESPN Gameday contributor, is to never, ever criticize Ohio State. I've believed for a very long time, he's the very best color commentator in college football on any network. I think he's fair, which is the problem back in Ohio. There are Buckeye fans who believe he is there to always side with his alma mater. News flash Buckeye fans......he's not. He said his wife takes abuse just running family errands & his sons have listened to more than their fair share of crap about their dad. Herbstreidt did say it's about 2% of the Ohio State fans that get out of line, but enough is enough. He bought a home in Tennessee & will move his family very soon. Folks, it's just not Ohio State fans, it's fans, period. Sadly, these are not real fans, they're like this moron who claims to be an Alabama fan who poisoned the 130-year old oak trees on the Auburn campus. They use their so-called team loyalty as a built-in excuse for really bad behavior.
According to Sports Business Journal, The Big-12(10) is close to signing a deal with FOXSports for a new TV deal. It is rumored to be in the neighborhood of $60-70 million a year. With their ABC/ESPN contract, worth an estimated $80 million, the conference, sans Nebraska & Colorado, could have a deal worth as much as $150 million per year. It would effectively double their television revenue. It will still lag behind the SEC & BIG TEN, but considering this conference was on life support last summer, it could be a real coup for Commissioner Dan Beebe.
Mizzou quarterback Blaine Gabbert will perform for a large crowd of NFL scouts, coaches & GM's this Thursday in Columbia. He didn't throw at the combine, so this is a big test for the Tiger QB. His agent, former Chiefs' guard Tom Condon, has represented 4 of the past 6 #1 overall draft picks. He didn't go after JaMarcus Russell, never had contact with him. The same is true this season, Condon never approached Cam Newton to offer his representation. Hmmmmmm.
Other high profile prospects testing for the pros this week are LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson & Pitt WR Jonathan Baldwin(today), Florida interior lineman Mike Pouncey(tomorrow), Florida State QB Christian Ponder(Wednesday) & Gabbert on Thursday.
ESPN's Trey Wingo mentioned yesterday the 3 most read articles on ESPN.com from Saturday were all about the NFL labor strife. The 4th most popular article was about who was in & out for the NCAA basketball tournament. This is how wildly popular the NFL is. It's more popular than any other sport even when there's no football.
I know I said I wasn't going to post daily stuff regarding the NFL lockout/union de-certification, but I thought Kansas City fans would like this one. Under the last proposal the league put forward to the players, all teams would be required to spend 90% of their salary cap money every season. The Chiefs as well as Tampa Bay won 10 games while spending less than $85 million. This figure is close to $40 million less than half the league spent & represents the 31st & 32nd lowest team salaries for 2010. If a new CBA is ironed out in time for a free agent period, Kansas City ought to turn loose of some real cash & sign a couple of high-profile free agents like Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. Obviously he would be a huge upgrade for Kansas City's defense & it would be salary cap money well spent. Signing Tamba Hali to a new long term deal would also make good financial sense.
One other labor item I feel is worth mentioning, the proposed 18-game schedule is dead as a doornail. The idea was ownership driven & the players as well as most fans hated the idea. It is no longer part of any negotiations for a new CBA.
In another move destined to aggravate football fans far & wide, the newly de-certified NFLPA is advising the top rated draft prospects to boycott the draft telecast, hoping to hurt TV ratings. First off, the NFLPA no longer represents NFL players. Secondly, drafted players are not NFL players, they haven't been signed. So they have zero control over these kids, young men who have dreamed of this moment their whole life, hearing their name called & then walking out onto that stage at Madison Square Garden. Good idea, break their hearts while pissing off the fans. Great strategy, real smart P.R.
I couldn't sign off today without mentioning the the Japanese people & the horror millions of them are enduring right now. In the early 70's, I lived on Okinawa & south of Tokyo for 26 months. I spent a lot of time discovering Japan, roaming the countryside, seeing much of a beautiful country & meeting the people. They're facing a horrific short term future, but the discipline & ethic these people possess will bring them back quicker than you'd ever expect. I loved my time in this country, loved the people, loved the food, the beer, hey I loved it all. In my many travels around the country, I never saw a speck of trash on the roadside, on a sidewalk or anywhere. Now I see homes, boats, cars & trucks thrown about like toys & their once pristine countryside looks like a landfill. It's tragic, but these people know what they have to do & they'll get it done in record time. I was going to whine about the snow we're having today, it's really coming down, but I thought about Japan & decided it would truly be offensive to bitch about a few inches of slush when these people are worried about loved ones, their homes & employers plus the uncertainty of nuclear power plants melting down & turning much of their country into the moon. It's snowing in parts of Japan right now & they're living outdoors or in shelters without electricity & heat, these people are truly up against it. Say a prayer for them tonight & every night for the foreseeable future, they'll need all the help they can get.
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