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A bizarre story out of Oregon…
A man who went to the Oregon home of Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph to sell marijuana said he was beaten with a pool cue in a dispute over the price of pot.
The man told sheriff’s deputies at least three men assaulted him but Randolph was not among them. No arrests have been made, and authorities said none were expected on Monday.
Clackamas County Sheriff’s Sgt. James Rhodes said Randolph was in his home outside Portland when the beating occurred early Saturday. The victim was treated for head and face injuries and released from a hospital later that afternoon, when he called police, Rhodes said.
Officers served a search warrant early Sunday. They spoke with 10 people in the home at the time and recovered pool cues and blood evidence. They did not find drugs in the home.
Randolph just signed a mega-extension from the Grizzlies and has been a pretty good citizen while in Memphis. Yet here’s a guy who just got his ass whooped in Randolph’s home and the victim alleges it was over the price of pot.
Perhaps Randolph is looking to moonlight while the NBA lockout is in effect.
It’s now or never for the Houston Texans. Either they win the AFC South this season or spend the rest of their miserable existence in NFL purgatory.
All right, so that was a little extreme. But you’d have to be a corpse not to feel the sense of urgency that is surrounding the Texans as we draw closer to the 2011 regular season.
Peyton Manning’s neck injury has cast a cloud of doubt around the Colts. Tony Dungy was probably right when he recently said that unless Manning is dead, he won’t miss Week 1. But even if he does suit up, Manning, or Mr. Preparation as his poker buddies call him, hasn’t done much prepping for the 2011 season. How effective will he be early on? Will this be an injury that nags him the entire season? Will he be Peyton Manning? Because if he isn’t, then it’s fair to say that the Colts are a rather average team.
Nevermind that though; the Texans can’t be worried about what Manning and the Colts are doing. They need to focus on themselves because their moment to shine is here. Besides re-signing running back Arian Foster and tight end Owen Daniels to keep their explosive offense intact, the biggest move Houston made this offseason was hiring Wade Phillips to be its new defensive coordinator. Say what you will about Phillips’ inability to be a head coach, but the man knows how to run a defense. And he knows something about quick turnarounds, too.
The last seven times that Phillips has taken over as a head coach or defensive coordinator, his new team has reached the playoffs in its first season. And only once in those seven years has Phillips taken over a club that was coming off a winning record, which is a testament to the impact he can have on new teams. That’s a good sign for Houston, which finished 6-10 last year largely because of a defense that finished third to last in yards allowed and fourth to last in points per game.
The Texans also signed a key piece this offseason to help Phillips turn around the team’s defensive misfortunes. While they heavily pursued corner Nnamdi Asomugha in free agency, the Texans did well to land the second-best DB on the market in Jonathan Joseph. Still in his prime at 27, Joseph flashed shutdown corner ability in Cincinnati and should dramatically improve the league’s worst secondary from a year ago.
Of course, the defense wasn’t the only problem last year. The Texans have been a team that has struggled against divisional opponents the last two years. After going 1-5 in 2009, the Texans did finish 3-3 against the AFC South last season, but 3-3 usually doesn’t win divisional crowns. In fact, the 2010 Kansas City Chiefs have been the only team in the last four years to win their division despite having a losing record, which shines light on how important it is that the Texans take care of business against Indy, Jacksonville and Tennessee this year.
I joked earlier about this season being a “now or never” opportunity for the Texans to win the AFC South. Unless owner Bob McNair abruptly folds the franchise after this year, the Texans may be favored to win in 2012 or beyond. That said, when are the Texans going to have a better opportunity than now? Phillips was the right man for the defensive job, Manning’s injury leaves a lot of uncertainty in Indy, and Jacksonville and Tennessee are largely devoid of talent.
Now or never? Not quite. But then again it might as well be.
In an interview with HoopsHype, LeBron discussed the 2010-11 Miami Heat, working with Hakeem Olajuwon on his post game, the fans in Cleveland and more.
Here’s what he had to say about the 2012 Olympics:
What about the Olympics next year? You don’t want to commit yet?
LJ: I’m committed. I can’t wait for it – to have an opportunity to go to London and defend our gold medal from Beijing. It’s going to be great. I’ve always loved the Olympics just to be around the athletes from all over the world. Not only in my country but to see all of the athletes, it’s so fun… I have a great deal respect for all other athletes that are competing as well.
Later, he was asked about the MVP award.
Did you think you have a real shot at winning the MVP last season?
LJ: No.
Why?
LJ: Just the thing I did. The change from Cleveland to Miami wasn’t going to allow me to win the MVP.
No matter what.
LJ: No matter. It didn’t matter.
What about next season?
LJ: I got a chance. But they made me take a year off.
It’s interesting that he blames The Decision for not winning the MVP award.
The Oakland Raiders selected former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor with a third-round pick in the 2011 supplemental draft. Seeing as how they now don’t own a second, third or fourth round pick in 2012, it was quite a gamble for Al Davis and his franchise.
But here are three reasons why Pryor was worth the gamble for Oakland (and three reasons why he wasn’t).
1. Don’t get fixated on the third-round compensation.
No, the Raiders currently don’t own a second, third or fourth-round pick for 2012. But they also just lost cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and tight end Zach Miller via free agency so chances are they’ll recoup that third round pick when the NFL hands out compensatory selections next year. In fact, there’s a good possibility that Oakland will receive a third and a fourth-round pick for next year’s draft. That doesn’t mean that the Raiders should just give away their draft picks, but that’s not what they did. In Pryor, they landed a gifted athlete with plenty of potential…
2. …Pryor is a gifted athlete with plenty of potential.
Pryor is raw as a quarterback prospect but there’s no auguring how good of an athlete he is (which is why Al Davis was so attracted to him). He ran in the sub 4.4-range at his recent pro day and if he doesn’t make it as a QB, he has the quickness and body control to potentially become a receiver at the next level. As of right now, the Raiders don’t have any quarterback on the roster signed through next season. That includes Jason Campbell, who becomes a free agent at the end of the year. Even though Pryor will miss the first five games this season due to a suspension, he gives Oakland the developmental quarterback that their roster currently lacks.
3. The reward could outweigh the risk.
As it stands right now, this isn’t a move that will set the Raiders back for years to come. In the end, all they gave up was a third round pick that they’ll probably get back next year anyway thanks to Asomugha’s decision to sign with the Eagles. If Pryor winds up being a starting quarterback in Oakland, all it would have cost the Raiders up front was a third-round pick. That’s also third-round quarterback money, which is nothing. On the flip side, if doesn’t pan out at quarterback, the Raiders could still try him at receiver. If he flames out there, then hey, at least they didn’t give up a No. 1 overall selection (eh, JaMarcus?).
THAT SAID…
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