DEZ GETS SUED, NFLPA TAKES 1 STEP FORWARD, ONE STEP BACKWARD & A PERSONAL NOTE
Maybe Deion Sanders was right, Dez Bryant may well need help, like counseling or a mentor or something like adult supervision. I told you other day Dez had been kicked out of a Dallas area mall for wearing his pants too low, you know "gang-style". Today another Dallas retailer, Rafaello & Company, a custom jeweler, filed a lawsuit against the Cowboy wide receiver & we're not talking chump change either. According to work orders signed by Bryant, he ordered $267,000 of custom jewelry & diamonds, paying a $21,000 cash deposit. That was nearly a year ago, Bryant took possession of the bling mid-summer promising to pay the balance within 10-days. Hasn't happened to date, so Rafaello & Company filed a lawsuit for the $246,000 balance owed them. This young man needs to get his act together because regardless of his football talents, at some point his antics will out-weigh his on-field production. This is bad P.R. for the players right now, they need to look like victims in the eyes of fans, not the bad guys.
One piece of Dez Bryant's custom bling
Another bad actor, Tampa Bay cornerback Aqib Talib, is back on page one. He was identified as "a person of interest" by Garland, Texas police. Apparently Talib & his mom got into an argument with his sister's boyfriend & it escalated to gunfire in front of mom's house. According to police reports, when the face-to-face confrontation between Talib & the boyfriend, one Shannon Billings, got to the point Talib pulling his gun, Bilings jerked it out of his hand & went out the front door. Mom grabbed her piece & fired three shots at Billings then Talib took it from her & fired two more. He has already had two run-ins with Tampa police, once for beating a cab driver. He was in trouble at Kansas for pot on several occasions. More good P.R. for the players.
The NFLPA has decided not to have a competing event during the draft next month. They also said today they will not discourage rookies from attending the draft. They need to make that part crystal clear,as previous statements from union members & ex-players on TV have suggested attending the NFL Draft could be detrimental to them being accepted by their new teams. A plus for the players.
George Martin, President of the NFL Alumni Association spoke out last week about the current players ignoring the needs of former players. He said NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith refused to meet with him for even a 15-minute private session. The de-certified union allowed an audience with it's hierarchy on Saturday & Martin didn't feel he was received too warmly. "The atmosphere was very defiant, accusatory & outright disrespectful" Martin said. The union feels like the 2000+ member group is siding with the owners in the current labor strife. Maybe that's because the league is the only entity helping the association with money. The owners also put $80 million in increased retirement benefits & medical care in their last proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement. Another step backward for the player's side.
Another CBA issue is possible testing for HGH(Human Growth Hormone). The owners want to discuss it, the players don't want it. The players don't want it because it can't be tested with a urine sample, blood has to be drawn, a no-no to many squeamish football players. Plus it can't be masked with diuretics like a urine test can be. As long as HGH makes players bigger, faster & stronger, it will be an option for some players. Since the drug is being used as far down the sports' ladder as high school, drawing a line in the sand saying "no more" is a good lesson for younger athletes.
While some teams are raising ticket prices, franchises that suffered thru blackouts or the threat of them last season, are lowering some or all of the prices. Could be they want favorable opinions from their fans during the labor upheaval. San Diego, Arizona, Cleveland & Tampa Bay are all cutting ticket prices. San Francisco & Kansas City are going both ways, raising some while lowering others. But my award for playing to their season ticket holders goes to the New York Giants, who have not asked for a dime for 2011 tickets. They told their season ticket holders they would have to pay when the season is resumed after a new CBA is signed. Smart move, very smart.
Mizzou's Michael Egnew is rated at the top of 2012 tight end prospects. Why? He's 6' 6" & 245, runs good routes, has tremendous ball skills & caught 36 more passes than any other college tight end. His production can't be ignored & believe me, scouts are paying close attention to the kid from Plainview Texas.
Originally thought to be the #1 rated prospect for April's draft, Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers, is fighting for his first round life. He underwent what was described as a simple "clean-out of his knee in December. He hasn't worked out for scouts since. He came to the combine, but wasn't able to participate. Then he sat out Clemson's pro day on campus two weeks ago. This Friday will be his last chance to convince the NFL-types that he belongs in the first round, forget about the top-5 picks. The number of scouts choosing to return to Clemson for the workout is less than half of the total that attended the pro day, many have simply lost interest. I have long been a skeptic of Clemson players, so many have proven to be way overrated. The list of Clemson draft disappointments is extensive.
KCKrissy asked about offensive tackle Tyron Smith of USC. She wondered why I didn't list him among my tackle possibles for the Chiefs? Smith could very well being the best of the bunch, he has huge hands, long arms & excellent athletic ability for a man 6' 5" 307-pounds. My problem with Smith simply can't be argued, he was strictly a right tackle, never started on the left side. He was a 24-game starter while Anthony Castonzo, Gabe Carimi & Nate Solder all played mostly left tackle(the more difficult position) & all three started at least 36 games, Castonzo started 54-straight for Boston College. My take on Smith is he would need at least one season sitting & watching. When there are several tackles that are "plug-in & play", Smith wouldn't be my choice.
Last Friday I was grocery shopping & after I loaded the bags into my truck I turned to put the cart in the enclosure they have in the parking lot. I'm back walking with a cane as my left knee is a mess. I heard a woman's voice say "I'll take that for you." I look up & it was a beautiful young lady in her mid-20's, fashionably dressed with a gorgeous smile. As she reached for my cart, I noticed she was wearing a black Mizzou cap, her ponytail out the back & I thought she was doing it for a limping Mizzou guy. But she said "thank you for your service." It was then I realized I was wearing my "Air Force Veteran" cap that particular day. That's the first time anything like that ever happened to me, I have to tell you, it felt really nice. You hear "we support our troops" & "thank you for your service", often in a condescending fashion. I didn't get the young lady's name but she truly made my day.
One piece of Dez Bryant's custom bling
Another bad actor, Tampa Bay cornerback Aqib Talib, is back on page one. He was identified as "a person of interest" by Garland, Texas police. Apparently Talib & his mom got into an argument with his sister's boyfriend & it escalated to gunfire in front of mom's house. According to police reports, when the face-to-face confrontation between Talib & the boyfriend, one Shannon Billings, got to the point Talib pulling his gun, Bilings jerked it out of his hand & went out the front door. Mom grabbed her piece & fired three shots at Billings then Talib took it from her & fired two more. He has already had two run-ins with Tampa police, once for beating a cab driver. He was in trouble at Kansas for pot on several occasions. More good P.R. for the players.
The NFLPA has decided not to have a competing event during the draft next month. They also said today they will not discourage rookies from attending the draft. They need to make that part crystal clear,as previous statements from union members & ex-players on TV have suggested attending the NFL Draft could be detrimental to them being accepted by their new teams. A plus for the players.
George Martin, President of the NFL Alumni Association spoke out last week about the current players ignoring the needs of former players. He said NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith refused to meet with him for even a 15-minute private session. The de-certified union allowed an audience with it's hierarchy on Saturday & Martin didn't feel he was received too warmly. "The atmosphere was very defiant, accusatory & outright disrespectful" Martin said. The union feels like the 2000+ member group is siding with the owners in the current labor strife. Maybe that's because the league is the only entity helping the association with money. The owners also put $80 million in increased retirement benefits & medical care in their last proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement. Another step backward for the player's side.
Another CBA issue is possible testing for HGH(Human Growth Hormone). The owners want to discuss it, the players don't want it. The players don't want it because it can't be tested with a urine sample, blood has to be drawn, a no-no to many squeamish football players. Plus it can't be masked with diuretics like a urine test can be. As long as HGH makes players bigger, faster & stronger, it will be an option for some players. Since the drug is being used as far down the sports' ladder as high school, drawing a line in the sand saying "no more" is a good lesson for younger athletes.
While some teams are raising ticket prices, franchises that suffered thru blackouts or the threat of them last season, are lowering some or all of the prices. Could be they want favorable opinions from their fans during the labor upheaval. San Diego, Arizona, Cleveland & Tampa Bay are all cutting ticket prices. San Francisco & Kansas City are going both ways, raising some while lowering others. But my award for playing to their season ticket holders goes to the New York Giants, who have not asked for a dime for 2011 tickets. They told their season ticket holders they would have to pay when the season is resumed after a new CBA is signed. Smart move, very smart.
Mizzou's Michael Egnew is rated at the top of 2012 tight end prospects. Why? He's 6' 6" & 245, runs good routes, has tremendous ball skills & caught 36 more passes than any other college tight end. His production can't be ignored & believe me, scouts are paying close attention to the kid from Plainview Texas.
Originally thought to be the #1 rated prospect for April's draft, Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers, is fighting for his first round life. He underwent what was described as a simple "clean-out of his knee in December. He hasn't worked out for scouts since. He came to the combine, but wasn't able to participate. Then he sat out Clemson's pro day on campus two weeks ago. This Friday will be his last chance to convince the NFL-types that he belongs in the first round, forget about the top-5 picks. The number of scouts choosing to return to Clemson for the workout is less than half of the total that attended the pro day, many have simply lost interest. I have long been a skeptic of Clemson players, so many have proven to be way overrated. The list of Clemson draft disappointments is extensive.
KCKrissy asked about offensive tackle Tyron Smith of USC. She wondered why I didn't list him among my tackle possibles for the Chiefs? Smith could very well being the best of the bunch, he has huge hands, long arms & excellent athletic ability for a man 6' 5" 307-pounds. My problem with Smith simply can't be argued, he was strictly a right tackle, never started on the left side. He was a 24-game starter while Anthony Castonzo, Gabe Carimi & Nate Solder all played mostly left tackle(the more difficult position) & all three started at least 36 games, Castonzo started 54-straight for Boston College. My take on Smith is he would need at least one season sitting & watching. When there are several tackles that are "plug-in & play", Smith wouldn't be my choice.
Last Friday I was grocery shopping & after I loaded the bags into my truck I turned to put the cart in the enclosure they have in the parking lot. I'm back walking with a cane as my left knee is a mess. I heard a woman's voice say "I'll take that for you." I look up & it was a beautiful young lady in her mid-20's, fashionably dressed with a gorgeous smile. As she reached for my cart, I noticed she was wearing a black Mizzou cap, her ponytail out the back & I thought she was doing it for a limping Mizzou guy. But she said "thank you for your service." It was then I realized I was wearing my "Air Force Veteran" cap that particular day. That's the first time anything like that ever happened to me, I have to tell you, it felt really nice. You hear "we support our troops" & "thank you for your service", often in a condescending fashion. I didn't get the young lady's name but she truly made my day.
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