HINES DANCING, CHAD GETTING HIS KICKS, CAM BLASTED BY DRAFT EXPERT & SOME ADDITIONAL UGLINESS
To be honest, I fell asleep in my chair about 8PM last night, so I didn't see it. But Linda said Steeler wide receiver Hines Ward was last night's best on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Doesn't really surprise me, ex-NFLer's have done very well in this competition. Emmitt Smith won it, Jerry Rice & Warren Sapp finished second, Jason Taylor finished third & Chad #85 made into the top half of last season's competition. These footballers have an advantage, they're very athletic, very disciplined, take orders well & most professional football players have excellent footwork. I've always been a huge fan of Ward for several reasons, he converted to wide receiver from quarterback while at Georgia. He runs precise routes & is as tough as a cob. A frightening blocker who will knock a defender into next week. The league created a rule aimed at Ward, no more blindsided shots. Admittedly, he did take a few cheap shots, but when he got blasted back, he never complained. Ward is half Korean-half African American who always had a problem with who he was until his grandmother finally convinced him he could be something truly special & he's never wiped that constant grin off his face since. He's paved the way to the Hall of Fame with 954 receptions for 11,702-yards & 83 touchdowns & still going strong.
Chad #85/Ochocinco/Johnson got a 4-day tryout with Sporting Kansas City, the city's MLS team. It was apparent on day one, he couldn't compete with professional soccer players even tho he claimed to have played the game since he was 6-years old. He got knocked around & looked rather ridiculous on a field with players far superior but it didn't dampen his enjoyment of the opportunity & he stayed all 4-days of the mini camp. Because of his attitude & effort, Sporting Kansas City made Chad "an honorary member" of the team. He is welcome to workout & practice with the team any time he wants. It was a win-win, Chad kept his name in the spotlight, he got to play soccer with the pros & Sporting Kansas City got it's new name out into the public eye, something they desperately wanted.
I'm guessing Cam Newton won't be socializing with Nolan Nawrocki of Pro Football Weekly anytime soon. Nawrocki is the lead scout for the publication & in their Draft Guide, $19.95 on your newstand April 1st, he ripped Newton a new one. He interviewed Newton at the combine & to say he wasn't impressed would be putting it mildly. Nawrocki wrote:
"Very disingenuous, has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted & has a me-first makeup. Always knows where the cameras are & plays to them. Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble & makes him believe he is above the law. Lacks accountability, focus & trustworthiness. Not punctual, seeks shortcuts & sets a bad example."
I'm not high on Newton either, but not to this extent. Of course I didn't get 15-minutes with him to analyze his personality. He will be drafted high, maybe even #1 overall, but he has so many lingering question marks, I think he is a major risk.
Speaking of draft experts, Mel Kiper Jr. is now at the top of Miami linebacker Channing Crowder's sh*t list, ridiculous as it is. Crowder is still upset with the draft guru because Kiper projected Crowder to be a 1st round selection in the 2005 NFL Draft. About a week before the draft took place, Kiper said his stock was falling, maybe as far as the 3rd round. Crowder was taken in the 3rd round as Kiper had predicted. So what is Crowder's beef? He said he took Kiper's word for it, that he would be a first round draft pick & he began borrowing & spending money like a first round selection. He said today he just finished paying off two banks from 2005 & he is holding Kiper responsible for all this debt, he said he never would have spent so much money if he knew he would be a 3rd round draft pick. "Mel Kiper lied" was his story & he's sticking to it. I doubt this is a tongue-in-cheek deal, Crowder has constantly embarrassed himself with his mouth. When the Dolphins were scheduled to play in London, he admitted he had no idea where London was, as in what country. He comes up with a jewel every now & then, the Kiper story is just the newest in a long line of brilliant quotes.
A judge in Harris County Texas refuses to allow bail for Green Bay defensive tackle Johnny Jolley, arrested last week for possession of 600-grams of codeine. It was Jolly's 2nd arrest in Harris County in 14-months on drug charges. The codeine is used to brew up "Purple Drank" a concoction of Mountain Dew, Sprite or Dr. Pepper mixed with codeine & Jolly Rancher candy. His a favorite of the hip hop community. Everyday Jolly stays in jail is another nail in his coffin as far as the league is concerned. I expect Green Bay to waive him as soon as the league begins the 2011 year with a new CBA.
Also on the front page for all the wrong reasons is Tampa Bay cornerback Aqib Talib & what they're writing isn't good. Martin Fennelly of The Tampa Tribune wrote in his column today "dump this clown, let this train wreck somewhere else." The paper also solicited votes in a reader poll & the fans want him gone as well. This guy had a reputation from way back at Kansas, but the Bucs took a chance on him because he can play cornerback at a very high level. But when you start firing off rounds in a residential neighborhood trying to hit your brother-in-law, you might have serious character issues.
**UPDATE @ 3:25PM CDT
Garland Texas police have just issued an arrest warrant for Talib & his mom, Okolo, for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a 2nd degree felony.
Also contending for the bad P.R. report is Dallas wide receiver Dez Bryant. I told you Deion Sanders, his former mentor, had washed his hands of Bryant saying "Dez needs help, he really needs help, but I'm not the guy to give it to him." I told you of the jeweler who filed a lawsuit for $246,000 for bling he had ordered & taken possession of last summer. The hits just keep on coming for Dez, apparently Deion knew exactly what he was talking about, his jewelry tab once again became an issue. Another custom jeweler claims Bryant ordered over one-half million dollars worth of bling, totaling 40 pieces, some while he was still at Oklahoma State. Also listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit is his current business manager. He claims he bought diamond earrings for Bryant while he still had college eligibility left. He also loaned Bryant money in an effort to get the All-American to sign with him as his agent. Bryant made Texas State Senator Royce West his agent & he could be in a lot of trouble as well. The suit asks for $588,000, the amount Bryant agreed to pay. Then this afternoon, yet another lawsuit was filed against Bryant. This one, reported by The Tulsa World, was brought by a former Oklahoma landlord who claims Bryant owes nearly $3,500 in back rent from his days at Oklahoma State. In just two short days, Bryant has been sued three times for over $835,000. I'm guessing he doesn't have $10K to his name right now, he was expecting his $1 million roster bonus when the 2011 league season was to begin back on March 4th. Let's see who gets waived first whenever the de-certified union & the NFL make up & sign a new deal. Jolly, Talib & now Bryant are leading contenders.
The Fiesta Bowl canned it's CEO John Junker for "essentially using the bowl as his private bank." Junker had 4 country club memberships paid for by the Fiesta Bowl, each one over $10k. Junker celebrated his 50th birthday with a trip to Pebble Beach with 3 friends, all billed to the bowl, $33,700 worth. Junker also encouraged employees to contribute to various political campaigns & had the bowl refund them with bonus checks. This is a federal offense & Junker maybe in a lot more trouble than just losing his 6-figure income with the Fiesta Bowl. BCS Commissioner Bill Hancock said the bowl not only could lose their BCS status but hosting the title game every four years as well. This is just the first investigation of this type, the Orange Bowl is currently under the microscope. If the BCS loses two of these bowls, a playoff could be in the works.
Chad #85/Ochocinco/Johnson got a 4-day tryout with Sporting Kansas City, the city's MLS team. It was apparent on day one, he couldn't compete with professional soccer players even tho he claimed to have played the game since he was 6-years old. He got knocked around & looked rather ridiculous on a field with players far superior but it didn't dampen his enjoyment of the opportunity & he stayed all 4-days of the mini camp. Because of his attitude & effort, Sporting Kansas City made Chad "an honorary member" of the team. He is welcome to workout & practice with the team any time he wants. It was a win-win, Chad kept his name in the spotlight, he got to play soccer with the pros & Sporting Kansas City got it's new name out into the public eye, something they desperately wanted.
I'm guessing Cam Newton won't be socializing with Nolan Nawrocki of Pro Football Weekly anytime soon. Nawrocki is the lead scout for the publication & in their Draft Guide, $19.95 on your newstand April 1st, he ripped Newton a new one. He interviewed Newton at the combine & to say he wasn't impressed would be putting it mildly. Nawrocki wrote:
"Very disingenuous, has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted & has a me-first makeup. Always knows where the cameras are & plays to them. Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble & makes him believe he is above the law. Lacks accountability, focus & trustworthiness. Not punctual, seeks shortcuts & sets a bad example."
I'm not high on Newton either, but not to this extent. Of course I didn't get 15-minutes with him to analyze his personality. He will be drafted high, maybe even #1 overall, but he has so many lingering question marks, I think he is a major risk.
Speaking of draft experts, Mel Kiper Jr. is now at the top of Miami linebacker Channing Crowder's sh*t list, ridiculous as it is. Crowder is still upset with the draft guru because Kiper projected Crowder to be a 1st round selection in the 2005 NFL Draft. About a week before the draft took place, Kiper said his stock was falling, maybe as far as the 3rd round. Crowder was taken in the 3rd round as Kiper had predicted. So what is Crowder's beef? He said he took Kiper's word for it, that he would be a first round draft pick & he began borrowing & spending money like a first round selection. He said today he just finished paying off two banks from 2005 & he is holding Kiper responsible for all this debt, he said he never would have spent so much money if he knew he would be a 3rd round draft pick. "Mel Kiper lied" was his story & he's sticking to it. I doubt this is a tongue-in-cheek deal, Crowder has constantly embarrassed himself with his mouth. When the Dolphins were scheduled to play in London, he admitted he had no idea where London was, as in what country. He comes up with a jewel every now & then, the Kiper story is just the newest in a long line of brilliant quotes.
A judge in Harris County Texas refuses to allow bail for Green Bay defensive tackle Johnny Jolley, arrested last week for possession of 600-grams of codeine. It was Jolly's 2nd arrest in Harris County in 14-months on drug charges. The codeine is used to brew up "Purple Drank" a concoction of Mountain Dew, Sprite or Dr. Pepper mixed with codeine & Jolly Rancher candy. His a favorite of the hip hop community. Everyday Jolly stays in jail is another nail in his coffin as far as the league is concerned. I expect Green Bay to waive him as soon as the league begins the 2011 year with a new CBA.
Also on the front page for all the wrong reasons is Tampa Bay cornerback Aqib Talib & what they're writing isn't good. Martin Fennelly of The Tampa Tribune wrote in his column today "dump this clown, let this train wreck somewhere else." The paper also solicited votes in a reader poll & the fans want him gone as well. This guy had a reputation from way back at Kansas, but the Bucs took a chance on him because he can play cornerback at a very high level. But when you start firing off rounds in a residential neighborhood trying to hit your brother-in-law, you might have serious character issues.
**UPDATE @ 3:25PM CDT
Garland Texas police have just issued an arrest warrant for Talib & his mom, Okolo, for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a 2nd degree felony.
Also contending for the bad P.R. report is Dallas wide receiver Dez Bryant. I told you Deion Sanders, his former mentor, had washed his hands of Bryant saying "Dez needs help, he really needs help, but I'm not the guy to give it to him." I told you of the jeweler who filed a lawsuit for $246,000 for bling he had ordered & taken possession of last summer. The hits just keep on coming for Dez, apparently Deion knew exactly what he was talking about, his jewelry tab once again became an issue. Another custom jeweler claims Bryant ordered over one-half million dollars worth of bling, totaling 40 pieces, some while he was still at Oklahoma State. Also listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit is his current business manager. He claims he bought diamond earrings for Bryant while he still had college eligibility left. He also loaned Bryant money in an effort to get the All-American to sign with him as his agent. Bryant made Texas State Senator Royce West his agent & he could be in a lot of trouble as well. The suit asks for $588,000, the amount Bryant agreed to pay. Then this afternoon, yet another lawsuit was filed against Bryant. This one, reported by The Tulsa World, was brought by a former Oklahoma landlord who claims Bryant owes nearly $3,500 in back rent from his days at Oklahoma State. In just two short days, Bryant has been sued three times for over $835,000. I'm guessing he doesn't have $10K to his name right now, he was expecting his $1 million roster bonus when the 2011 league season was to begin back on March 4th. Let's see who gets waived first whenever the de-certified union & the NFL make up & sign a new deal. Jolly, Talib & now Bryant are leading contenders.
The Fiesta Bowl canned it's CEO John Junker for "essentially using the bowl as his private bank." Junker had 4 country club memberships paid for by the Fiesta Bowl, each one over $10k. Junker celebrated his 50th birthday with a trip to Pebble Beach with 3 friends, all billed to the bowl, $33,700 worth. Junker also encouraged employees to contribute to various political campaigns & had the bowl refund them with bonus checks. This is a federal offense & Junker maybe in a lot more trouble than just losing his 6-figure income with the Fiesta Bowl. BCS Commissioner Bill Hancock said the bowl not only could lose their BCS status but hosting the title game every four years as well. This is just the first investigation of this type, the Orange Bowl is currently under the microscope. If the BCS loses two of these bowls, a playoff could be in the works.
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