Month: April 2009 (Page 33 of 53)

      Chad Ocho Cinco likely staying in Cincinnati

      April 13, 2009 /

      According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Chad Ocho Cinco is unlikely to be traded this offseason by the Bengals

      Chad JohnsonThe primary people, agent Drew Rosenhaus and Ocho Cinco, are not saying anything. Last year, both were telling every media outlet within shouting distance that they wanted out of Cincinnati. This year Rosenhaus is staying true to his word by working behind the scenes and staying quiet.

      According to ESPN.com, the Bengals’ salary-cap hit would be $4.87 million. It is a high figure, but not a crippling amount that might preclude a trade from happening.

      Whenever he’s been asked, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has said he expects Ocho Cinco to be here and that he should have a good season. But at the league meetings a couple weeks ago, Lewis also said something that can be construed as a personal challenge to Ocho Cinco:

      “In order to get back to being the Chad Johnson that everybody feared, he was a guy who worked very, very hard at his craft. And if you don’t do that, it falls away very quickly and people forget about you.”

      So will Ocho Cinco be traded? Unlike last year, when there was a zero percent chance, it’s slightly possible. There is only one person who is going to make the final decision, and that is club president Mike Brown.

      Considering Johnson is coming off one of his worst seasons of his career, is already 31 and didn’t show up to voluntary workouts, why would any team give up a high draft pick for him? Anyone who thinks the Bengals will be able to get a first or second round pick for him at this point is dreaming.

      NFL

      Percy Harvin’s draft stock falling?

      April 13, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Palm Beach Post, Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin’s draft stock is falling dramatically.

      First there was the reported score of 12 out of 50 on Harvin’s Wonderlic test in February, which measures quick thinking and basic problem solving. Then NFLDraftBible.com reported 10 days ago that Harvin and three other players tested positive for marijuana at February’s NFL Combine in Indianapolis, though no other outlet has confirmed the report.

      Harvin scored 32 touchdowns in three seasons and was a major factor on two national championship teams. He can play running back or receiver, averaged 11 yards every time he touched the ball in 2008 (110 times), and, playing with a fractured bone in his foot, famously gained 170 yards with a touchdown in the 2009 national title game.

      Still, Pro Football Weekly recently polled NFL executives about the riskiest picks in this coming draft and Harvin was selected as the unanimous winner because of “coachability, a posse of hangers-on, his lack of respect for authority and drug usage.”

      The reports never will be publicly confirmed by the NFL, but fair or not, the rumors are out there. Combine them with Harvin’s frequent run-ins with authorities as a high school star in the Virginia Beach area, which resulted in him being removed from high school sports altogether, and suddenly Harvin has gone from a top-10 pick to maybe slipping to the second round.

      It’s hard to blame teams these days for taking a pass on a prospect that supposedly has off field baggage. The Falcons spent millions of dollars and sunk the hopes of their franchise into Michael Vick, only to watch him wind up in prison for federal dog fighting charges. Teams don’t want to be burned down the road because a player can’t stay out of trouble off the field, or stay away from their troublemaking friends.

      Then again, as the article points out, guys like Dan Marino, Randy Moss and Warren Sapp also sacred off some teams and they obviously turned out to be pretty good. And it’s unfair to assume Harvin is a bad egg based on a couple of these reports, most notably the one by the unreliable NFLDraftBible.com.

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Brewers interested in Jake Peavy?

      April 13, 2009 /

      The Chicago Tribune speculates that the Brewers could eventually make a push to trade for Padres’ ace Jake Peavy.

      The Brewers obviously have enough offense to compete for the National League Central title, but they probably could use another starter in their rotation to help them hang with the Cubs.

      The Brewers acquired CC Sabathia from Cleveland last summer, and don’t be surprised if they make a push for Jake Peavy later this year.

      “That’s going to be based solely on how well we play over the course of time,” said center fielder Mike Cameron, Peavy’s former teammate in San Diego. “I expect for us to play well. We have a lot of talent here.”

      Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin shocked the baseball world with the Sabathia trade. But Melvin is a small-market GM with a big-market mentality, and stealing Peavy out from under the Cubs’ noses would be a big coup in Wisconsin.

      What’s interesting is that the Padres attempted to trade Peavy for most of the offseason and failed to do so. They’re not expected to be competitive this season, yet they’ve started off 5-2 and it’ll be interesting to see if they hang on to Peavy in order to make a run in a weak NL West, which just got a little weaker with the Diamondbacks having to place ace Brandon Webb on the 15 day DL.

      But if the Brewers were able to make a deal for Peavy, they would obviously strengthen their starting rotation while keeping him out of Chicago, who made a push to acquire him this past offseason.

      MLB, Rumors & Gossip

      Mel Kiper is losing it

      April 13, 2009 /

      During one of his recent chats on ESPN.com, Mel Kiper answered a reader’s question about the quarterback class of 2010 and listed Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour as the next best signal caller behind Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford.

      Jeff, Mpls: Looking ahead, will next years QB class be a lot better than this years?

      Mel Kiper: Next year’s QB class will have Sam Bradford as the No. 1 guy. After that, you’d be looking at Dan LeFevour out of Central Michigan. Bradford should be the No. 1 overall pick. LeFevour in the top 10-15. Colt McCoy. Then Tim Tebow will factor in. And Pike out of Cincinnati.

      I love Dan LeFevour. I’m a CMU grad and credit him for making the Chips relevant again in the MAC. He’s fun to watch and I’ll root for him no matter where he winds up. But I want some of whatever Kiper is smoking because there’s no way LeFevour is the second best quarterback behind Bradford in the 2010 draft class.

      First and foremost, LeFevour rarely takes a snap from under center and he plays in the spread offense. He’s mobile, tough and he has decent size at 6’3″, 229 pounds. But he doesn’t have great arm strength or accuracy, doesn’t play against top competition in college and one has to believe that he would struggle trying to grasp a pro style offense. Kiper is nuts if he sees LeFevour as a top 15 pick.

      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      The corniest commercial of all time

      April 13, 2009 /

      I have the MLB package for DirecTV and normally you get the opportunity to watch whichever team’s broadcast that you want during a given game. For example, the Tigers were playing the Blue Jays last week, so I tuned into the FOXSports Detroit broadcast of the game.

      During the broadcast, FOXSports Detroit must have played this one commercial at least nine or 10 times. After about the fifth time, I started searching for it on YouTube because it was one of the corniest commercials I had ever seen I had to share it with those outside of Motown.

      Well, it took a buddy of mine (thanks Drew) to finally find it for me, but he did and now for your viewing pleasure I give you: “April in the D!”

      Now you might be saying to yourself, “That wasn’t that bad” or “I’ve seen worse” and I admit, it’s somewhat catchy. But re-watch it about nine more times and then tell me what you think. Watch it nine more times and tell me you don’t want to punch that lead singer with the Pistons jersey and no undershirt on right in throat. Watch it about nine more times and tell me those lyrics aren’t some of the worst you’ve ever heard.

      Apparently these guys won some contest and that’s why they were given the opportunity to shoot this commercial. I’d hate to hear what the losers’ songs sounded like…

      General Sports, Humor, MLB, Video

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