Texans Name Schaub Starting QB

Texans introduce Schaub as starting quarterback-See my comment

By CHRIS DUNCAN, AP Sports Writer
March 22, 2007

HOUSTON (AP) -- David Carr is done as the starting quarterback of the Houston Texans.

The Texans acquired Matt Schaub in a trade with Atlanta on Thursday and said for the first time publicly that Carr's five-year tenure as the starter is over.

"Matt is our starting quarterback," general manager Rick Smith said. "We're trying to help David find another place. We're trying to trade him today, maybe the next couple of days."

The Schaub Era begins with the same cloud that lingered over Carr's final season: Vince Young. The Texans could've drafted the hometown star who led the Texas Longhorns to a national championship, but opted to stick with Carr in hopes he'd finally live up to his status as the first pick in franchise history.

Houston showed its faith in Carr by giving him a contract extension last offseason.

"Yes, we've made mistakes," team owner Bob McNair said. "Not just there, that's not the only place. And we'll make mistakes moving forward. The key is you've got to make more good decisions than bad decisions."

Carr became the face of this expansion team from the time he was taken No. 1 overall in 2002. He won his opener, but the Texans have gone 24-56 over five years, never posting a winning record.

Houston went 6-10 last season and Young added to the sting by carrying the Tennessee Titans to wins in eight of their last 11 games, including a dramatic overtime victory in Houston.

Now, Schaub gets a chance to make Texans fans forget about Young.

Schaub's agent, Joby Branion, said Schaub signed a six-year deal worth $48 million.

Schaub hasn't started a game since 2005 and threw only 27 passes last season. McNair said Schaub brings "the leadership that we think is needed."

Schaub acknowledged that he'll have to overcome his lack of experience.

"There are going to be a lot more things as the starter that you have to do and handle on a day-to-day basis, as opposed to being the backup," Schaub said. "It's just a matter of knowing that going in and meeting it head on."

Schaub, who was a restricted free agent, could have signed with any team, but was sold on the Texans during a round of golf he played with Kubiak on Monday.

"The thing he told me was he was going to do what it takes to be successful, as an offensive team, especially," Schaub said. "It's just an incredible opportunity for me to take the next step in my career, leading a team and running the huddle."

The Texans and Falcons also swapped first-round picks in the upcoming draft -- Atlanta now has the eighth pick and Houston dropped to No. 10. Atlanta also received second-round picks in the next two drafts.

Schaub entered the league through the same draft as Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers and J.P. Losman. Kubiak said the Texans grabbed Schaub just as he's starting to blossom.

"We wanted a player who's ready to go into his prime and that's what this young man is," Kubiak said. "This guy is ready for his opportunity to run a football team. We're catching him at the perfect time. We could walk across that field today and he could take us out of the huddle."

Before landing Schaub, Houston tried to sign Jeff Garcia and Patrick Ramsey before the two joined other teams. The Texans also reportedly were pursuing Jake Plummer, who retired.

The Falcons took Schaub in the third round of the 2004 draft. The 6-foot-5 Schaub set school records at Virginia for pass completions (716), passing yards (7,502) and touchdown throws (56).

"This player is what an NFL quarterback should be," Smith said. "He's a leader. He's a strong, smart accurate passer. As we looked at the market and assessed how to get better at the position, we entertained a lot of ideas.

"At the end of the day, the acquisition we've made today is perfect for us."

Carr had similarly glowing numbers at Fresno State when the Texans chose him with the first pick in 2002. He completed 60 percent of his passes with Houston, but also threw 65 interceptions and was sacked 249 times in five seasons.

Houston also has quarterbacks Sage Rosenfels, Bradlee Van Pelt and Quinton Porter on its roster.

Carr has two years left on his contract that will pay him about $11.5 million over the next two seasons.

"We're hopeful he will continue his NFL career and be successful," Smith said.

A message was left seeking comment from Mike Sullivan, Carr's agent.
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So this is where it ends for Carr in Texas. He wants to go west, maybe to Denver to back up Jay Cutler, or maybe to Oakland, where the QB spot is wide open no matter who gets drafted. He has to decide weather he thinks he's still "Starting" QB Quality or not.

Philip de Vellis Is Creator Of "1984-Hillary" Video - MacBook and Apple Wins Again!

Thanks to the Huffington Post , we have the identity of the person who created the 1984-Hillary video. His name is Phillip de Vellis.

According to records, Philip de Vellis was the Deputy Director of Internet Communications for Wal-Mart Watch, nationwide public education campaign to challenge the world’s largest retailer to become a better employer, neighbor, and corporate citizen. Prior to working on the Kerry-Edwards campaign in Cleveland, OH, Philip was a commercial editor in Los Angeles for 5 years.

He's also got a channel on YouTube competitor Blip.tv.

Now, he works -- or did work -- Blue State Digital , where he was a strategist. But he says he made the video on his off hours using his Mac computer and video editing software to alter an updated version of a classic Apple ad that aired during the Super Bowl in 1984. (The Black MacBook's my computer of choice -- I have that one and a White MacBook, too.)

Phil was invited to tell his story at The Huffington Post. He wrote:

Hi. I'm Phil. I did it. And I'm proud of it.

I made the "Vote Different" ad because I wanted to express my feelings about the Democratic primary, and because I wanted to show that an individual citizen can affect the process. There are thousands of other people who could have made this ad, and I guarantee that more ads like it--by people of all political persuasions--will follow.



Damn right.

So Apple emerges as the real winner in the 2008 Presidential race. Someone call Steve Jobs!

But my previous point about the very real possibility of using this technology to re-create history is still an active one. It could happen.

I don't think this is a set back for the Obama campaign. Hey, the guy was a little over zealous, but he did create a classic video and it has a message that resonates with many people.

Airbus A-380 Lands In America: NY, Chicago, LAX

The 580-seat Airbus A380 Superjumbo Jet landed in America this week, touching wheels first at JFK, then heading for Chicago and finally LAX. You can get an idea of the sheer size of the airplane in the videos below:

At JFK:



At Chicago:



At LAX (best video):



A-380 Exterior:



A-380 Interior for test flight at LAX (no passenger seats):



A-380 Interior:

Brianna Keilar Gets More CNN Air Time WIth Don Lemon

Brianna Keilar, whom I met at the 2005 NFL Draft and who became a featured lookup on my online report on the event, and got discovered by a broadcast agent as a result, has gotten more air time at CNN recently.

Today, Brianna Keilar's filling in for Kyra Phillips and next to Don Lemon. She's doing a great job and a contrast to her first debut where she was obviously nervous about hitting the really big time.

I just hope she doens't leave her mic on in the ladies room.

UPDATE: Brianna Keilar is on CNN Regularly Now!

Brianna Keilar Gets More Airtime | Brianna Keilar and Kyra Phillips | Brianna Keilar On CNN Saturday | Brianna Keilar Now CNN Anchor | Brianna Keilar At 2005 NFL Draft

Redskins Trade Archuleta to the Chicago Bears

AP: Redskins Trade Archuleta to Bears- see my comment below
By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer

ASHBURN, Va. -- Adam Archuleta's tumultuous time with the Washington Redskins ended Tuesday night when he was traded to the Chicago Bears for a sixth-round draft pick, The Associated Press has learned.

Archuleta, who languished on the bench most of last season despite having the richest contract ever given a safety, will be reunited in Chicago with coach Lovie Smith, his former defensive coordinator with the St. Louis Rams.

The trade was confirmed by an official within the league who spoke on condition of anonymity because the teams do not plan to announce it until Wednesday. The deal came one day before Archuleta was due to paid a guaranteed $5 million bonus.

The Redskins lured Archuleta to Washington a year ago with a seven-year, $35 million contract that included $10 million in bonuses, a signing that quickly became one of the biggest free agents blunders in the league.

It soon became apparent that assistant coach Gregg Williams would try to use the hard-hitting converted linebacker more as a coverage safety. When Archuleta struggled, he landed firmly in Williams' doghouse.

Archuleta lost the starting job in preseason and regained it for the first seven regular-season games only because of a knee injury to Pierson Prioleau. Archuleta's liabilities were one of the reasons the Redskins were especially vulnerable against long passes as they slumped to a 5-11 record. Eventually, the Redskins took Archuleta out of the defense altogether, using him only on special teams for most of the second half of the season.

The subject was clearly embarrassing to both Williams and coach Joe Gibbs, and neither ever gave an explanation for Archuleta's demotion. Once the season ended, Gibbs indicated Archuleta was still in the team's plans, but those remarks were mostly seen as posturing before a possible trade.

Getting rid of Archuleta wasn't easy because of his mammoth contract. The Redskins didn't want to cut him outright because of the huge cost on this year's salary cap. The $5 million bonus was already postponed once as the Redskins worked to make a trade, and any deal was expected to include a renegotiation of Archuleta's salaries and bonuses.

The Bears were the only likely destination because of Archuleta's relationship with Smith. Archuleta was hoping to sign with Chicago as a free agent last year, but he decided on Washington after the Redskins offered the big contract.

___

So the Archuleta Experiment is over in D.C.
Not surprising as he never really fit into the 'Skins real long term plans anyway. The Bears get the saftey they have needed, which could have been the piece they missed last season on their "D" the Skins get another late round Pick they can waste on a player who will make the NFL minimum for 2 or three years and then be coaching at some H.S. in his hometown.

Hillary Clinton Voted Twice For The Iraq War - Technorati WTF

I just saw this great post which states:

While the media covers the news on Hillary Clinton as to why she voted to support for the war in Iraq from the beginning, they are forgetting that in June of 2006 she also voted to ''stay the course'' along with 42 other Democrats-much to my displeasure. While the 42 votes that day would not have been enough to beat the Republicans in order to change the course, Hillary Clinton had the opportunity to correct herself back then. That was 7 months ago.

After her vote in June 2006, learning that her supporters were watching closely and were astonished by her actions, she immediately bashed Rumsfeld at the very first opportunity she had calling the current administration ''incompetent''. Rumsfeld looked at her , curiously enough, as to say, ''I thought you were on our side?''

The fact of the matter is that Hillary Clinton has been on the current administration's side since the beginning and stamped her approval in June of 2006. Her votes are fact. Her actions now are that of a politician who now wants to ''start a conversation with the American people..'' and promises to end the war with no plan to present on how. Barack Obama reminds us of how he voted against the invasion of Iraq from the beginning and has a plan here http://www.barackobama.com/iss… . Barack Obama says that whether they voted for or against the war in Iraq the first time, that the issue now is to take responsibility and challenges his fellow Democrats to present a plan that will bring our troops home.

I could not have said it better myself.

"1984" - Hillary Clinton Video / Fictional Video Of Mit Romney With Paris Hilton?

I was talking with a person who's been following the story behind the now famous "1984" Hillary Clinton video and had some questions for me regarding it's impact on the 2008 Presidential Race. One of the questions was what this watershed video meant for the future of political campaigns.

My response was that the real concern is that we're in an era where someone can create a video that in effect "distorts history" by showing a political candidate doing something that in point of fact they never even did. Say a video showing Mit Romney grouping Paris Hilton in Las Vegas. The question is should such a video be removed from the video distribution system -- say, YouTube or Blip.tv -- it was uploaded to?

My answer is yes it should. But I think we should have a public discussion on this matter before it happens.