Category: NFL (Page 178 of 1282)

      Chargers to use the franchise tag on Vincent Jackson?

      February 10, 2011 /

      Fans hoping that their favorite team had a shot at acquiring free agent Vincent Jackson this offseason may have to wait another year. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Jackson expects the Chargers to use their franchise tag on him in 2011.

      Jackson, according to someone familiar with the player’s thinking, expects the tag and plans to play for the more than $10 million it would guarantee him.

      That is, if the franchise tag is part of a new CBA.

      The NFL Players Association says teams have no right to a franchise tag since the current Collective Bargaining Agreement will expire March 3. The NFL says the franchise tag is included in the CBA under which the league is operating.

      I have to side with the NFLPA on this one. If the current CBA deal is set to expire March 3, then how is it fair that teams can use their franchise tags for the 2011 season when the current contract applied to the 2010 season? I get that the NFL wants to keep things business as usual because it believes that a new deal will eventually be worked out. But how about the league just work on getting a new deal in place before worrying about whether or not teams can use their franchise tags. If the owners and NFLPA agree to a new CBA deal, then everything can go back to normal and all of this becomes a moot point.

      Getting back to Jackson, his situation comes down to money. He sat out most of last season because the Chargers were only willing to pay him for one year at $3.2 million. If he’s tagged for the 2011 season, he’ll make roughly $10 million for one year and then the Chargers can let him walk in 2012 while accepting a future compensatory draft pick.

      External Sports, NFL

      Who should play at halftime of Super Bowl XLVI?

      February 9, 2011 /
      during Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on February 6, 2011. UPI/Brian KerseyThe Black Eyed Peas perform during halftime of Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on February 6, 2011. UPI/Brian Kersey

      In the last few days after Super Bowl XLV, there has been much discussion about the halftime performance of the Black Eyed Peas. Our own Anthony Stalter was not a fan, and when I spoke to a few of the guys on my Tuesday night basketball team, they weren’t all that thrilled with the Peas either.

      I am admittedly not a huge BEP fan, though I do like a few of the songs, especially “I Gotta Feeling” since my two-year old always marches and hops his way around our kitchen island whenever it comes on. I thought the halftime show was okay. Slash’s appearance was a nice surprise (though Fergie’s Axl Rose impersonation left a bit to be desired) and they did a nice job with lit-up dancers around the stage. However, if I never saw Usher perform again, I think I’d be all right with that.

      It got me thinking — maybe I could lay some groundwork and help pick the artist/band to perform at next year’s Super Bowl.

      Looking at this list of Super Bowl halftime shows, it’s interesting to note that the Super Bowl used marching bands up through most of the ’60s, ’70s and even the ’80s. It wasn’t until 1991 when the Super Bowl got a “big” name, when Disney produced a show that featured the New Kids on the Block. Through most of the ’90s, the halftime shows would feature a medley of acts, though Michael Jackson and Diana Ross did headline in 1993 and 1996, respectively.

      After Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” in 2004 (produced by MTV), the powers-that-be went conservative over the next few years, booking Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones for the next two Super Bowls before going with Prince in 2007. His show was a bit risque as well (remember the shadow of his guitar?), so the Super Bowl followed up with Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and The Who before booking the Black Eyed Peas for 2011.

      In many ways, the BEP booking makes sense. They’re mainstream enough that a vast majority of the SB audience would have heard at least one of their songs and they’re not going to risk the negative publicity by being particularly edgy or pushing the envelope in any way.

      So where does that leave us? Most of the rock icons have already performed (adding U2, Sting, ZZ Top and Aerosmith to the previously mentioned classic rock acts), but a few names that jump out are AC/DC, the Eagles, Elton John and John Mellencamp. Since Super Bowl XLVI is in Indianapolis, an appearance by Mellencamp makes a lot of sense. AC/DC is probably too hard, though they could do a song or two as part of a medley of artists. The Eagles and Elton John are probably too soft to carry a halftime show by themselves.

      What about a more contemporary artist?

      Here are eight possibilities that make some sense, in increasing order of how much I’d like to see them get the gig (and what chance they’d have to pull it off if given the opportunity):

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL, Super Bowl

      Ward frustrated over lack of opportunities on final drive of Super Bowl

      February 9, 2011 /
      Pittsburgh Steelers Gary Russell (L), Hines Ward (C) and Mike Wallace enter the field before the start of Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on February 6, 2011. UPI/David Silpa

      Hines Ward expressed his frustrations to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about not having more opportunities to make plays on the Steelers’ final drive against the Packers in Super Bowl XLV. But as usual, he was professional about it.

      Ward thought they’d do it right until the end, when they had a first-down on their 13 and two minutes to go. However, without criticizing anyone, he was not happy he did not get much of an opportunity on that drive. Heath Miller caught the first pass for 15 yards. Ward caught the next for 5 yards — which wasted about 30 seconds because Antwaan Randle El acknowledged he lined up on the wrong side. The next three passes all were aimed at Mike Wallace but never connected.

      “I’m thinking deja vu, here we go again,” said Ward, who caught seven passes for 78 yards and one touchdown in the game. “Two minutes, let’s go down there. I really felt like I was in a zone, that anything that came my way it was going to get caught no matter what. I didn’t get an opportunity. I would like to have gotten opportunities [on the final series] but it didn’t happen.”

      Spoken like a true competitor. Ward has been around long enough to know that criticizing coaches or teammates gets you nowhere fast. If you’re a winner, you want the ball in your hands in crunch time and there’s no doubt Ward is a winner. I’m sure Mike Tomlin appreciates that his veteran receiver wanted more chances to make plays in the clutch and expressed his frustrations without throwing anyone under the bus.

      On a related topic, Ward will have two surgeries this week, one on his left knee and the other on his left thumb. As of right now, the Steelers expect him to be back in uniform next year if there’s a season.

      External Sports, NFL

      Report: Mark Sanchez hooked up with 17-year-old girl

      February 9, 2011 /
      New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez reacts with fans after the game against the Buffalo Bills in week 17 of the NFL season at New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on January 2, 2011. The Jets defeated the Bills 38-7 and advance to the playoffs. UPI /John Angelillo

      Clearly still rattled by the loss to the Steelers in the AFC title game, Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez apparently decided to find comfort in the open arms of a 17-year-old girl. She’s a senior at her Connecticut high school and reportedly is the daughter of a preppy dad who is a “super-wealthy financier.”

      From FOX News New York:

      Sexy rich girl Eliza Kruger not only bragged on Facebook about “MARK F–ING SANCHEZ” texting her after they flirted at a hip Manhattan nightclub on New Year’s Eve — she also took photos of a mussed-up bed in his boudoir as “proof” of their huddle just days later.

      “We went back to his place in Jersey after dinner. He lives on a golf course. There was a big storm,” Eliza told Deadspin.com, according to that Web site, which identified her only as E.K.

      Asked if she “hooked up” with the 24-year-old Sanchez that night — after they dined together at Midtown hotspot Nobu the first week of January — the Greenwich high-school senior said, “Yeah,” albeit somewhat reluctantly, according to Deadspin.

      When a Deadspin editor told her he would research the legality, Eliza reportedly replied that the age of sexual consent in New Jersey is “16. I checked.”

      “He’s a really nice guy, you know,” Eliza told the site. “He’s one of the kindest people, and he’s a genuine person.”

      Hey, you can find love in all kinds of different places but what in the name of Fireman Ed is Sanchez thinking? I don’t care if she is a bombshell: she’s 17 and he’s a public figure. The age difference between the two is only seven years but maturity-wise, they might as well be 40-years apart. (By the way, this may or may not be a photo of her.)

      He’s the quarterback of the New York freaking Jets and she’s still in high school. I just don’t know what goes through these athletes’ heads sometimes. The guy has dated models before and he’s taking a high school senior to dinner and back to his place? How stupid.

      The only saving grace for Sanchez may be that he didn’t know how old she was. Seventeen-year-olds can look 24 these days and they met at a nightclub, so maybe he thought they were the same age (or at least 21 since she was in a bar). Unless the female looks super young, I don’t know any dudes that card a girl before they attempt to pick her up at a club.

      If he didn’t know how old she was, then they best thing for him to do is come clean and be honest. The fact that he didn’t know her age is certainly more tolerable than him knowingly dating a high school senior. Or hey, maybe this story isn’t even true and she’s a liar. I hope for Sanchez’s sake that that’s the case.

      External Sports, NFL

      A-Rod not happy about popcorn shot

      February 9, 2011 /

      Per the Chicago Sun-Times…

      A few Fox honchos’ ears were burning Sunday night in Dallas — and it had nothing to do with the action on the Cowboys Stadium field. Turns out Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez wanted to slug a few folks after he spotted himself and his girlfriend Cameron Diaz being shown to the 111 million people watching the game.

      America saw the actress lovingly feeding popcorn into A-Rod’s mouth.

      “He really went ballistic — thinking the cameraman was out to get them in a paparazzi-like shot. … That’s so crazy,” said my source. “Anyone who knows anything about producing a live sports event — especially something as huge as the Super Bowl — would know that those celebrity shots are purely random.

      “A-Rod, of all people, should know that.”

      After that one shot — which frankly was totally innocent and kind of sweet — Rodriguez got a guarantee that he and Diaz would not be televised any further.

      Here’s an idea — if you don’t want the camera to catch your girlfriend feeding you popcorn, THEN DON’T LET HER FEED YOU POPCORN AT THE F#$%!NG SUPER BOWL!

      This is it — this is where ego and idiocy converge.

      Just because he complained to Fox, I’m going to post the video here, in case you missed it:

      External Sports, MLB, NFL, Super Bowl, Television, Video

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