Friday, February 16, 2007

Chicago Bears Not Given Head Coach Lovie Smith New Contract; Team Upset - Profootballtalk.com

Profootballtalk.com reports on this terrible state of affairs.

MUTINY BREWING IN CHICAGO - Profootball talk.com

Keep a close eye on the situation in Chicago, where the Bears have still not given coach Lovie Smith a new contract, and where there is no evidence that significant discussions between the team and the Super Bowl coach aimed at extending the deal that expires after the 2007 have begun in earnest.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells us that some members of the team have agreed among themselves to refuse to do any contract extensions or restructurings until Smith gets rewarded for the team's performance on his watch.

And there's also an intention among some of the players to be candid with the free agents whom the Bears plan to target in March, with some current Bears players ready and willing to tell any new recruits not to count on Smith being around in 2008.

We think the team should move very quickly to lock Lovie up for the next four or five years, at $4 million or so per season. That's fair value for a guy who has one Super Bowl appearance and three years of total head-coaching experience.

The sticking point could be that the Bears hope Smith will have reduced expectations because the team lost in the Super Bowl. Then again, the guy who lost Super Bowl XL ended up with an extension that reportedly pays him $7.5 million to $8.5 million per year.

Smith would have had more leverage if he'd tried to do a new deal in the dead week before Super Bowl preparations, since there was a much better overall feeling in the air about the Bears and their coach before the team put on a so-so at best performance in the February 4 loss to the Colts. But Smith gambled that the Bears would win the Super Bowl, which might have put him in line for a deal worth more than $5 million per season.

Wally Matthews Of Newsday Might have something more going on then most mainstream sports media!

I'm starting to Like Wally-He's finally Making Sense!

Wallace Matthews
Lesson in Tiki's leaving
February 15, 2007

It is more than a little distressing that here in the 21st century, too many of us still have a plantation mentality when it comes to our professional athletes. Too many of us want ballplayers, even the best and brightest of them, to say nothing more than "yes sir," and "no sir."

It is not racist, per se, but it is certainly classist. No matter how good they are or how much they get paid, they are the entertainers, the hired help. They are supposed to just shut up and hit the baseball, shoot the basketball or carry the football.

Case in point: Tiki Barber. The other day, to kick off his new career as a television commentator, Barber made the perfectly reasonable observation that his former coach, Tom Coughlin, could be a tad inflexible.

In doing so, Barber implied that his decision to walk away from the NFL at the peak of his career was aided in no small part by the realization that if he were to come back, he would have to play another season for a man so obsessed with some warped version of discipline that he would not allow his 31-year-old running back, who had more touches than anyone in the league over the past four years, to take it a little easier on Wednesdays.

For this, Barber has been roundly criticized as disloyal, egotistical, self-centered and a headache the Giants will be better off without. And that's just from members of the media, who ought to know better and who ought to want more from the people they cover than a lowered head, a shuffle and an "Aw, shucks, ma'am" brand of false modesty that should have been banished from the vernacular around the time Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.

It is bad enough when the fickle fans start bashing a player such as Barber, who brought his A-plus game every Sunday and never missed a start in the last five years, for talking out of turn. But when journalists start becoming more concerned with what people say rather than what they do, then the world has officially gone nuts.

Now, white is black, day is night, down is up and wrong is right.

Today, Tiki Barber is the bad guy, Tom Coughlin the victim. Doesn't he know that only fans, commentators and journalists are allow to analyze, criticize, pontificate?

The truth is, six months from now Barber will be missed a hell of a lot more than Coughlin will be wanted. The "headache," Barber, may be gone, but the tumor, Coughlin, lingers on.

The Giants knew Barber was leaning toward retirement more than a year ago, but did nothing to plan for his absence and took no steps to procure his replacement. And as this past dreadful season wound down and it was obvious the only Giant worth holding onto was Barber, the Giants made no known effort to dissuade him from his decision, even out of respect.

Can you imagine if a week from now, Derek Jeter tells a reporter he is thinking of retiring after the season? You can bet your baseballs the Yankees would spend all season trying to talk him out of it. Yet there is no evidence anyone in the Giants organization, from John Mara to Ernie Accorsi to Jerry Reese to Coughlin himself ever sat down with Barber to ask what, if anything, could be done to change his mind.

Instead, they treated the best player to wear their uniform since LT, and arguably the best offensive player in their history, as if he were Barry Bonds, saying goodbye but thinking "Good riddance!"

And all because he had the temerity to say what he was thinking, rather than what they would have wanted him to say.

You ask me, he should have gone all the way and told the whole truth, said that it was running backs coach Jerald Ingram, not Coughlin, who really taught him to kick his fumbling problem; that the Giants will never win with a befuddled kid like Eli Manning at quarterback; that the sainted Accorsi was actually a failure as a GM, and that Reese, his successor, was a willing accomplice as his head of player personnel.

He could have said that without him, there will be no real reason to watch the Giants offense next season, and that unless they overhaul the defense and pick up some linebackers, there will be no reason to watch a Giants game for the next several seasons.

He could have pointed out what an injury-prone malcontent Michael Strahan has become since he signed that big contract a couple of years ago.

And he might have added that while running backs like Tiki Barber come along once in a generation, losing coaches like Coughlin, guys who lose their tempers, their players, their teams, their games and ultimately their jobs are a drug on the market.

But we don't want that from our athletes. We want them to shut up and do their jobs, and leave the talking to those of us who can't do anything else.



SO i finally agree 100% with Wally! I don't dislike Tom C as a Coach, because he was what the Giants Needed after "Fast" Jimmy Fassel, but he can be overly Strict at times, as Tiki can attest to. He kind of reminds me of my High school coach Marty Tamchester, who had a Brief NFL career with Cleveland, and NY before becoming a Stock Broker, and then Burning out on Wall St. and becoming a Teacher and Football coach. He was always working us Hard up untill the day before a game, too hard for some. Years later I would work for him as an asst. coach in Semi Pro Ball with The NY Bandits and i asked him " why Gassers the day before a game? " "Bill" he said. " if you can run like that in Practice, you can run like that in a game."
That's that old Vince Lombardi Mentality which worked in the 60's and 70's, but doesn't work with the Players of today who have the advantage of medical advances that tell us not to overwork players or they get injured more often(see LaVar Arrington)......

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Former Packer Jerry Kramer is a Saint of a man

Drive Raises Funds for Needy NFL Players
By JOHN HARTZELL
Associated Press Writer

February 14, 2007, 5:41 PM EST

MILWAUKEE -- About $125,000 has been raised to aid needy, retired National Football League players.

The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund was launched by Jerry Kramer, star right guard of the Green Bay Packers four decades ago under Vince Lombardi. Kramer auctioned off a replica of his Super Bowl I ring last spring, raising more than $22,000 to help supplement pension and disability benefits for other former players.

Mike Ditka's 1975 NFC Championship ring -- when he was an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys -- sold for $12,200, a tennis experience with John McEnroe went for $11,250 and hand-drawn plays by Lombardi sold for $7,101 at an auction that began two weeks ago and ended Tuesday night.

"It's amazing how this initiative has taken off," Kramer said. "The fact that so many fans and so many NFL legends are working together to provide assistance to some of the retired players who helped build the league into what it is today is just wonderful."

Jennifer Smith, the fund's executive director, said that reports about the auction resulted in more donated tiems and prompted a second phase of the auction, which will run until Feb. 20.

About $100,000 was raised by auctioning about 50 items in the first phase, Smith said. The second phase has started with about the same number, but other items will be added.

Kramer's Web site, http://www.jerrykramer.com, will continue to serve as the portal to the auction, Smith said.

Items being offered during the second phase include a helmet donated by former Packers quarterback Bart Starr, bearing his signature and those of teammates Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor, and a behind-the-scenes trip at the NFL Network.

About $25,000 was raised through Tuesday in about 225 donations ranging from $2 to $10,000, Smith said.

Ditka and fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame members Willie Davis, Gale Sayers, Harry Carson and Joe DeLamielleure were recently named to the GGAF board of directors, which Smith said will set up policies on how the money will be distributed.

"It is important for everyone to remember who the funds that are raised are going to," Ditka said in a statement. "It's going to the guys who started football, not the guys who are making the money off it."

The Super Bowl ring that Kramer auctioned last May was made for him after his original disappeared in 1981. The original ring showed up last April in an online auction, but was pulled after Kramer learned about it. It eventually was returned to him.

"More than anything else, the fundraising effort has been an opportunity to raise awareness of the problem," Kramer said.

The former Packers guard said he was gratified that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had addressed the matter when asked about players from the 1950s through the 1970s at his news conference a few days before the Super Bowl.

"There are players that do have issues that need to be addressed. And we are going to need to address that directly with them," Goodell said.

Smith said the group plans to hold an annual auction around the time of the Super Bowl and will accept donations at any time.

Mike Sportelli, 45, a sales representative for a Los Angeles area construction company, made the winning bid for Ditka's ring.

"It's a nice way to start my collection. And it gives me an opportunity to help former players in need," said Sportelli, who also had a winning bid on spending a day with Carson, a former New York Giants linebacker. "These guys took quite a beating back then."

Darrel Wright, 65, of LaQuinta, Calif., who formerly served as the timekeeper for NFL games at the Los Angeles Coliseum, donated $10,000 to the cause.

"These guys loved football and didn't make a lot of money. They provided me with a lot of entertainment," he said.

This is a cause we should all rally behind. I'm dissapointed that the NFL has not addressed the issue until now.....
every Player should be giving 1% of their Gross income before taxes.

Ann Coulter Wants To Date Barack Obama - He's Married!

Ann Coulter's got a thing about us Black guys that she just can't shake at all. First, if you've seen her on TV, she's recently admitted to a desure for us brothers. Yep. Not kidding. She told Larry King that she'd date a brotha -- I heard her say it myself. And now, she's got this new article that says she's got Obama Fever! Oh, yeah!

Now, she does poke fun at him, but if you read the text she's got nothing but love for his message. And of course, she admits her excitement for him.

Hey, Ann. It's OK. It's the 21st Century. Go ahead and admit the truth. Say what we already know. You want him. You think us Black men are hot, especially the political ones.

Ann, that "clean, renewable electricity " you're feelng is called an orgasm.

Video - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's Speech At February 8th 2007 Fox Sports Luncheon

Just after a bad PR period where San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom admitted that he slept with the wife of a friend and co-worker and then claimed he had a drinking problem, the Mayor gave a great speech before the Fox Sports Bay Area Baseball Season Kickoff Luncheon on Treasure Island February 8th.

I'm a regular attendee at this function, which this year featured an appearance by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. But this year, I decided to set up a camcorder and tripod and just let it run while I ate my lunch.

The Mayor gave a general talk, but couldn't resist taking a swipe at the San Francisco 49ers when he said that he'd give Niners tickets in place of MLB All Star Game tickets because he only had one All Star Game ticket for 300 requests.

You can't blame Gavin for the joke considering how Niners owner John York had been treating him.

Here's the video:



Also see the video of MLB Commissioner Bud Selig's speech with a click here.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Chargers Interviewing

So now the fun begins for the Bolts Fans.....


SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The Chargers received permission Tuesday to interview four candidates to replace fired head coach Marty Schottenheimer, including one-time San Diego offensive coordinator Norv Turner.

Turner was offensive coordinator with the Chargers in 2001. He's currently the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. He interviewed for the Dallas Cowboys' head coaching job that went to Wade Phillips, the Chargers' former defensive coordinator.

The Chargers also received permission to interview Hall of Famer 49ers assistant head coach Mike Singletary and Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, both of whom interviewed for the Cowboys job. The fourth candidate is Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan.

The Chargers did not say when the candidates would be interviewed.

Schottenheimer was fired Monday night by team president Dean Spanos, who cited a "dysfunctional situation" between Schottenheimer and general manager A.J. Smith.

The Chargers were an NFL-best 14-2 before losing their playoff opener to New England.

So what we want to determine here is weather Coach Singletary is a Rooney rule interview or a legit contender. With the Spanos family you just can't be too sure. I had also heard a wisper about Ted Cottrell at least being considered.

Tiki Barber takes a final Shot at Coach Coughlin

Ahhh Tiki Tiki Tiki........ see my end notes


Tired of Tom
Practices made Tiki think of quitting

BY NEIL BEST
neil.best@newsday.com

February 14, 2007

On his first full day as a retired player, Tiki Barber lobbed a hypothetical hand grenade yesterday during a news conference to announce his hiring by NBC.

Barber several times suggested Giants coach Tom Coughlin set the wheels of his retirement in motion because of the "physical grind" through which he put players. Which led to an obvious question for the reporters who gathered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza along with the network's top news and sports executives.

If someone other than Coughlin had been his coach the past three seasons, might he still be a Giant rather than a correspondent for the "Today" show and an analyst for "Football Night in America"?

"Possibly, but that's speculation," he said. "I don't know. I'm 31 years old. I'll be 32 this year, which is way past the average for my position."

The fact Barber would even address the possibility at the moment of his hiring by NBC was another odd twist in a strained relationship with Coughlin, whose stewardship he criticized at times as a player. NBC loved it, because the network hired Barber in part for his outspokenness. The Giants likely did not, but they declined to comment.

Barber first invoked Coughlin by saying, "The grind started to take a toll on me and the principles of our head coach started taking a toll on me, so I started looking for the next thing."

To which NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol joked Barber would be permitted to cross his legs during meetings with NBC executives.

Later, though, Barber explained it wasn't so much Coughlin's rules as his approach to the physical part of the game that wore on him. Barber said he did not get enough time to rest and recuperate, saying, "It was a constant physical grind on me that started to take a toll.

"While it didn't show up a lot on Sundays because I had my three best seasons under him, and I give him a lot of credit of that, I could feel a difference."

Barber said the team practiced in full pads all season despite numerous injuries and said that eventually "you physically don't want to be out there when your body feels like you do in full pads.

"While it probably doesn't have a really detrimental effect on how you practice or play, it does on your mind, and if you lose your mind in [football], you lose a lot."

Barber said he discussed his concerns with Coughlin and the coach gave a little, such as when Barber told him he could not go full speed in some practices. Still, it was not enough.

"He has changed in little ways," the former running back said, "but I think he still has to come more. The game has changed. Players are different, and you have to understand them and get to know them in order to encourage and motivate them to be successful.

"Twenty years ago it was different. You could push a player until he broke down because you had 15 other guys who could come in and take his place."

On "Today," where he starts April 16, Barber will report on everything from technology to education to politics, from the news-heavy first half-hour to a planned, lighter fourth hour.

On "Football Night in America" he will analyze games and weigh in on topics such as the debate over the long-term effects of concussions, replacing Sterling Sharpe in the studio cast.

NBC so appealed to Barber that he accepted less money than ABC/ESPN and Fox are believed to have offered. His three-year contract is worth about $6 million overall. Barber would have made twice that per season playing, but he lost his passion for the job.

"Coach Coughlin was nothing but great for me as a player, but the grind took its toll on me and it really forced me to start thinking about what I wanted to do next," he said.

"That's not a bad thing. That's a good thing. At least for me it is. Maybe not for the Giants, because they lose one of their great players."



Tiki on Coughlin:

Jan. 8, 2006: After a 23-0 rout by the Panthers in a wild-card playoff game.

"In some ways we were outcoached."

"We spend a lot of time at the line of scrimmage sometimes dissecting the defense, and that allows them to bring up extra guys in the box. When we were going on quick [counts] we were effective. We were getting 4 or 5 yards per play. but we played into their scheme and it ended up ultimately costing us the game."

Nov. 22, 2006: In the wake of a 26-10 loss to the Jaguars in which the offense stagnated and the running game was inconsequential,

"I felt insignificant . . . I'm not here to be a cheerleader. My job is to help the team win."

He argued the running game should be the foundation of the offense, saying,

"This isn't rocket science. Its football."


Well,...This was the unspoken reason why Tiki Hung it up early? hey.....I'm not surprised that it didn't come out until now,...Tiki is a class act...but he should just leave it alone.... he's done....he's a member of the media now......let it be....because you know he will have to interview Coughlin on October 28th when the Gianst play Miami in London.....