Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 887 of 1503)

Redskins are sending Campbell mixed signals

Imagine for a second that you’re Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell. You’re coming off your first year in the West Coast Offense (which you had to spend all of last year learning) and you pass for 3,245 yards, 13 touchdowns and compile a QB rating of 84.3. Now granted, you didn’t set the football world ablaze, but those are pretty decent stats for your first year in the system.

You (remember, you’re still imagining you’re Campbell) enter 2009 feeling pretty good about the season ahead. It’ll be your second season in the West Coast Offense and while pundits suggest it takes at least three years to master the system, you’re looking forward to building off the success you had in 2008.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, your overzealous owner Daniel Snyder attempts to trade you in efforts to acquire disgruntled quarterback Jay Cutler from Denver. He of course fails, then meets with you to clear the air and reinforce that you’re still a part of the Redskins’ future. But a day later, the weasel turns around and starts talking to free agent Byron Leftwich, who would no doubt compete with you for the starting quarterback job next season if he were signed.

Continue reading »

Mets sign Gary Sheffield

The Mets have signed free agent outfielder Gary Sheffield according to SI.com’s Jon Heyman.

It is presumed that the Mets will pay him the pro-rated portion of the $400,000 minimum. The Tigers are obligated to pick up the rest of Sheffield’s $14 million salary.

“Gary gives us another element in the lineup and he gives us a different intensity, just because of the competitive guy that he is,” Mets GM Omar Minaya said.

Sheffield chose the Mets over the Phillies and Reds because he believes he’ll get more playing time in New York.

“The Mets told him, ‘You deliver, and you’ll play,’ ” a person close to Sheffield said.

Though Mets people have said no promises have been made.

Sheffield should be on a short leash. He’s expected to be a right-handed bat off the bench and maybe get some time in right field but the moment he starts bitching about his playing time Omar Minaya should end the experiment.

The added pop to the lineup will be nice for the Mets, but they don’t need anyone getting in the way of the development of youngsters Daniel Murphy or Ryan Church.

Plax rejected Giants’ grievance settlement offer

According to the Newark Star-Ledger, the Giants offered receiver Plaxico Burress the opportunity to earn $29.5 million (which was the remaining amount left on his contract) over the next four years, but he apparently rejected it in efforts to try and recoup the $1 million in bonuses and guarantees that the team withheld from him last season because of his gun charge.

Well, I’ve gotten the details of the offer and it turns out it was a pretty sweet deal for Burress. And the fact that he turned it down shows you how much he really didn’t want to be a Giant anymore.

According to someone familiar with the negotiations, the team offered Burress the chance to earn all of the money that was written into his contract from here on out. All he had to do was end his fight for the money he forfeited over the last four weeks of last season (base salary, roster bonus and signing bonus) during which he was suspended for “conduct detrimental to the team” and start playing by their rules.

It’s unclear if the full $1 million signing bonus payment the Giants withheld would have been considered part of the defaulted money or if the team would have held on to only the prorated portion for the four weeks he was suspended (a little more than $200,000) and paid him the rest.

I’m confused. Why did Burress want to get out of New York so badly? Because they withheld $1 million from him since they thought he breached his contract by shooting himself in the leg after being an idiot in a club? Or was it because they extended his contract for him in September of 2008 when he bitched that he wasn’t making enough money following their Super Bowl victory?

This guy hauls in the winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl and he feels as though the team owes him a debt of gratitude for the rest of his life. The Giants clearly did the right thing when they released him and put an end to the charade.

Judge rejects Michael Vick’s bankruptcy plan

A judge told suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick to come up with a reasonable bankruptcy plan so that he can start getting out of the enormous debt that he owes from bad investment deals and legal fees. But apparently Vick’s plan wasn’t good enough because the judge rejected it.

Judge Frank J. Santoro called Vick’s plan unworkable Friday, saying it would leave the suspended NFL star with up to a $9 million “hole” on top of the payments he would have to make to his creditors. As of December, Vick had $16 million in assets and $20.4 million in debts, court records show.

The judge added that some of Vick’s plans to make money once he gets out of prison are speculative — including a $600,000 proposal for him to star in a documentary. And Santoro suggested that Vick should consider selling more of his assets, including one of the two houses he wants to keep for himself and his mother in Virginia.

“I am going to give you one more chance to come up with a workable reorganization plan, but that is your last chance,” Santoro told Vick, who wore a gray suit and white dress shirt to the two-day hearing. “I think it would be important for you to make the best of it.”

Santoro ordered a hearing on the status of Vick’s next bankruptcy plan for April 28. Vick’s attorneys, meanwhile, complained they have been handicapped in working with Vick because he has been imprisoned in Leavenworth, Kan. They asked Santoro to allow him to remain in a local jail here until the April 28 hearing. Santoro said he did not have the authority to do that but would consider ordering his appearance at the April 28 hearing.

If you read the entire article, you’ll get a good sense how unbelievably careless Vick was with his money. Hopefully making six cents an hour working as a prison janitor or $10 an hour working construction will teach Vick the value of money. But considering he thinks he’s going to do a documentary for $600,000, it’s clear he still has a warped sense of reality.

Giants release Plaxico Burress

The Giants have officially decided to release wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

The New York Giants released Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress on Friday, a little more than four months after the talented but troubled wide receiver accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a New York City nightclub.

Burress’ four-year tenure with the Giants was highlighted by a game-winning touchdown catch in the Super Bowl 14 months ago but it was also dogged by fines and suspensions.

Burress’ status has been uncertain since he shot himself on Nov. 29. He faces a felony weapons charge that could put him in prison for at least 3 1/2 years if convicted.

Some fans will be upset by this news because of what Burress did to help the Giants win the Super Bowl two years ago, but what was the team supposed to do? Sit idle why he goes through a possibly messy trial and then have to wait to see if he’ll be available to play? Why not douse the fire now before it gets out of control?

The only potential issue for the Giants (besides the fact that they now have one of the weakest receiver units in the league) is now they don’t have much leverage in trade talks. They apparently have already talked to the Browns about Braylon Edwards and if Cleveland was willing to make a deal on draft day, they’ll certainly ask for decent compensation knowing the Giants don’t have many options. The draft is pretty deep in receiver talent, but prospects like Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin and Darrius Heyward-Bey could be gone by the time New York selects in the first round (No. 29).

It’ll be interesting to see if any of the Edwards-to-Giants trade banter starts up again after Plax’s release.

« Older posts Newer posts »