Category: External Sports (Page 110 of 821)

Seahawks offered two picks for Kevin Kolb?

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb throws a forward pass against the Green Bay Packers during the second quarter of NFL football action in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 12, 2010. REUTERS/Tim Shaffer (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

Dave Mahler of 950 KJR in Seattle tweets that he the Seahawks have offered the Eagles a first and a third round pick for quarterback Kevin Kolb. Mahler says that he hears this “from a source.”

But following his tweet, Mahler did qualify his statements via his Facebook page:

“Deal I reported yesterday was made sometime in the last 4 months..I think it says more about where Hasselbeck is on the priority list in Seattle than it does about the chances of Kolb coming. Eagles since offer have also reportedly expresssed desire to trade for players instead of picks.”

Speaking of Hasselbeck, the Nashville Tennessean’s Jim Wyatt writes that Hasselbeck could still be on the Titans’ radar.

“I’m talking about three members of the front office, all have ties to Seattle,” Wyatt said. “They know Matt Hasselbeck. Likely Jake Locker knows Matt Hasselbeck because he’s worked with him.”

Re-signing Kerry Collins would make a lot of sense for the Titans, although it’s not like the new coaching staff has an allegiance to Collins so maybe Hasselbeck would be a fit there. Either way, the Titans need to bring in a veteran quarterback to help take some of the pressure off Locker’s shoulders. Even if it’s a forgone conclusion that a rookie will start, no head coach wants to just hand a young player a job without making him earn it first. (Especially a young quarterback as raw as Locker.)

Getting back to Seattle, I wonder if the Hawks will eventually decide to bypass trading for Kolb and give Charlie Whitehurst a chance to succeed as the full-time starter. Outside of his solid play against the Rams in Week 17 last year (a game that won the NFC West and lifted Seattle into the playoffs), it’s not like Whitehurst has shown that he deserves a full-time opportunity. But the Seahawks did trade a third-round pick and swapped second rounders with San Diego to acquire him from the Chargers in 2010, so they may decide to give him a shot.

We’ll see. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Kolb when the lockout finally lifts.

Brian Wilson blows another save, seeks revenge on Gatorade cooler

It’s been a rough couple of days for Giants closer Brian Wilson. He blew a 1-0 lead in the ninth on Thursday at Wrigley Field when he fell behind Aramis Ramirez and had to challenge the Cubs’ third baseman with a 3-2 fastball that Ramirez promptly crushed over the leftfield wall. The Cubs went on to win the game in extra innings and the Giants had to settle for a split in the four-game series.

On Friday in Detroit, Wilson was again called upon to save a 1-0 lead and again he mucked things up when he allowed a single to Tigers’ right fielder Magglio Ordonez in the bottom of the eighth. The Giants managed to score three runs in the top of ninth off a wild Detroit bullpen to make it a 4-1 game, but Wilson could only muster one out in the bottom of the inning while jamming the bases and allowing two runs.

When skipper Bruce Bochy pulled him in favor of Jeremy Affeldt, this is what the bearded one did in the dugout:

Wilson also punched a wall (which wasn’t shown in the video), making it one of the better dugout meltdowns I’ve seen in a while.

The Giants eventually hung on to beat the Tigers 4-3 so when reporters approached Wilson in the clubhouse, he was back to being his jovial self. Below is an exert from Giants beat reporter Andrew Baggarly’s blog.

“I’m fine,” he said. “Ask the wall.”

Wilson’s other deadpan gem, after he was asked if it would be difficult to have his Happy Gilmore swing played on a loop on television: “Why would it be difficult?” he said. “I squared it up.”

At least one media member took to Twitter last night to insinuate that Wilson’s freak out was all for the cameras, and maybe it was. But despite his, uh, outgoing personality, Wilson rarely shows emotion on the mound. (Anyone who actually watches the Giants and who doesn’t just insinuate things would know that.) He’s usually cool and collected, but he’s intense and obviously blowing two saves in two days would make any closer a little cranky. As long as he didn’t hurt himself, I think everyone should just enjoy the water cooler beatdown and not look too deep into Wilson’s antics.

Major strides save NFL CBA discussions?

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks at his annual Super Bowl news conference in Dallas, Texas, February 4, 2011. The Super Bowl XLV NFL football game will be played in nearby Arlington, Texas on February 6. REUTERS/Pierre Ducharme (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

After talks nearly broke down during the day, NFL Network’s Albert Breer reports that the owners and players made major strides on the revenue split late into Thursday night and early Friday morning.

From Rotoworld.com:

Talks didn’t wrap up until after midnight after they came close to breaking down earlier in the day. Mediator Arthur Boylan has “optimism building a bit,” and it now looks like the revenue split “might not be a major stumbling block” when talks resume next week. Boylan orchestrated a “huge rebound,” writes Breer. That sentiment coincides with a cryptic tweet from CBSSports.com’s Mike Freeman, who suggested football fans should be thanking Boylan as the July 4 holiday weekend begins.

CBS’ Mike Freeman reported Friday morning that the owners had “suddenly reversed course” and were offering “models that had been previously rejected by the players” in terms of the all-important revenue split. But it sounds like Boylan has saved the day and maybe more heartache (I use that term very loosely) for the fans.

As John Paulsen wrote this morning, now isn’t the time for the owners to be reneging on compromises that have already been made. Now isn’t the time to be greedy when so much progress has been made over the last couple of weeks (and so much time has been wasted fighting in court).

While the situation remains as fluid as ever, it still appears as though they’re getting close to signing a new CBA. This is just a hunch on my part, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a deal is completed within the next 2-3 weeks and free agency begins sometime this month. Then things will really get interesting as general managers scramble to fill roster holes and coaches try to get rookies and new players up to speed. Teams with new coaching staffs will certainly have their work cut out for them.

Owners renege on revenue sharing

I’m sure Mr. Stalter will go into more detail later on today, but I wanted to throw out this tidbit from CBS’ Mike Freeman about the regression in the NFL’s labor negotiations:

Based on interviews with several people familiar with the discussions this is what happened. The players thought they had an agreement on the important split of overall revenue. In fact, despite the protestations to players in a conference call, the NFLPA believed a deal was indeed near. Then, the sources stated, owners suddenly reversed course, and offered models that had been previously rejected by the players.

Come on, owners. Now’s not the time to be moving backwards on comprimises to which you’ve already agreed.

« Older posts Newer posts »