My sweet home town has always shown a "can-do" attitude and it's what I love and take from it, and is still within me. I'm so proud of Chicago. It will win the World Bid, and show the World what Chicago's really all about! Wooo!
Chicago Is U.S. 2016 Olympic Bid Candidate By Close Vote
Posted 9:04 pm ET (GamesBids.com)
It was not necessarily a landslide, it was a “very, very close vote”, said U.S. Olympic Committee officials following the announcement that Chicago would be the U.S. candidate in its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
Patrick Ryan, Chicago’s bid committee chairman said, “it’s just beginning. It’s a long road”.
USOC chief executive officer Jim Scherr said, “this contest ultimately is not about the economics, it’s not about the surplus, it’s about the magic that can be created through the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and how that by itself can transform a city, can transform a nation, can transform the world. And so we look forward to trying to earn that prize”.
Before opening a sealed envelope that revealed the winning city USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth said it was a very tough decision. He said, “if I had all the power – and sometimes people accuse me of that – I would take the map and merge the two cities because I’ll tell you what: If you could take the mayors of these two communities and have them run our country, we would all be better off”.
Chicago’s plans call for a $1.1 billion lakefront village that would be built near the convention centre just south of downtown. The lakefront plan was repeatedly mentioned as a key factor, reports the Associated Press.
USOC international vice president Bob Ctvrtlik said, “for the Olympic Games to be a success we have to recreate a certain magic, a certain celebration centre, and the waterfront location, right on the lake, we felt could do that”.
He added, “the legacy projects, coupled with the guarantees they have offered, I believe gave our board a level of assurance that might have been the differentiation between the cities”.
At a press conference following the announcement Chicago Mayor Richard Daley said it was an honour to be chosen to partner with the USOC to bring back the Olympics to the United States. He called L.A. a great city - “they put us through our paces. We will support each other”, adding “2016 here we come”.
Daley admitted he was “very, very nervous” until he heard the name Chicago.
Ctvrtlik said the USOC will work very closely with the city. “It will be a full time partnership this time. It wasn’t so in 2012” (when New York was the U.S. candidate).
When asked how they would do it differently from New York he said, “this is a new day, this is about partnership. We’re a different USOC”.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called Los Angeles’ bid an effort “that we’ve very, very proud of” and a “fair process”. He said he wouldn’t change anything about L.A.’s bid if he had it to do over.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement thanking the Los Angeles team for its efforts saying he would like to congratulate the city of Chicago “which I am confident will do an outstanding job representing the U.S. and ultimately prevail in this competition”.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Don Imus - Problem Of White Racism Masked By Talk About Black Rappers
The Don Imus matter has opened a sore in American society and demonstrated to me that racism still exists and more to the point White Racism. In fact, this form of mental illness is so persistent that those who either practice is or support those who do have worked to steer the focus away from the identification of and reduction of White Racism and on to ....Black rappers.
Wow.
What's all the more upsetting is that Jason Whitlock and Carol Swain -- both Black writers -- have allowed their own self-hate of Blacks to spill over into their appearance on CNN and The Today Show to talk not about White Racism but Black Rappers.
And in Jason's case, his Black self-hatred even caused him to treat a Black family at the Las Vegas Airport like they were animals to be feared and challenged, rather than people who deserved respect.
I'm really disppointed in them. But the task remains -- Racism is a mental illness and White racism must be stamped out. Now, since Whites are the majority and have majority economic power, any talk of Black racism in some weird attempt to even the argument is plain nuts. Plus, Whites are 77 percent of the U.S. population. That's almost eight of every ten people. You can't argue that racism is an "equal" problem if there are more Whites and Blacks, or anyone else!
Plus, the decades past since the passasge of the civil rights amendment have seen African Americans struggle with an inferiority complex that says "You're not good enough because you're not White and were enslaved."
Both ideas are not true, but they're borne of the extreme prejudice that Blacks in America have suffered; a prejudice that comes from White Racism. It's not a Black problem or a White problem; it's our problem.
Lest you think this division between Black and White views is not along color lines, research Technorati by typing in "Jason Whitlock" and reading the difference. Many African Americans don't like what Jason wrote, whereras many Whites do. It's a wake up call for those who think America's grown. It's got a long way to go. Also, it's was shown in a recent study that Whites react more negatively to Blacks than to Whites.
The seeds of what drive Don Imus to make the comment he did, are right there. This pattern of thinking must be unlearned or the problems that stem from it will continue.
Also, by writing this, I'm not referring to everyone who's White or Black, so don't even try to water down the argument with that presentation. Anyone an everyone knows there's a problem.
There's not so much Black racism as Black anger over White racism. Thus, when White Racism is eliminated, Black anger too will go away. You can bet on it.
What Don Imus said was pure White Racism. In an effort to deflect the blame from him, he threw up the Black Rapper claim and those who are White jumped at the device Don Imus himself crafted to defend himself. Now they had something to fight back with and turn the matter away from White Racism.
And that's sick, because we're still stuck with the problem of White Racism. The one best way to eliminate it is diversity. Diversity must be a new public policy objective. We must retrain the people of America to expect this, to walk in room full of Blacks or Whites and ask why there are not more different kinds of people in the room? This should be our objective. I certainly know it's mine.
I also know its the objective of many people, White, Asian, Latino, and on. It's just not a matter of national importance and it should be, plus you've got White conservatives like Tucker Carlson launching senceless rants against it when they get the chance.
Now that's one guy I'd love to debate; I'd make him look ridiculous.
Wow.
What's all the more upsetting is that Jason Whitlock and Carol Swain -- both Black writers -- have allowed their own self-hate of Blacks to spill over into their appearance on CNN and The Today Show to talk not about White Racism but Black Rappers.
And in Jason's case, his Black self-hatred even caused him to treat a Black family at the Las Vegas Airport like they were animals to be feared and challenged, rather than people who deserved respect.
I'm really disppointed in them. But the task remains -- Racism is a mental illness and White racism must be stamped out. Now, since Whites are the majority and have majority economic power, any talk of Black racism in some weird attempt to even the argument is plain nuts. Plus, Whites are 77 percent of the U.S. population. That's almost eight of every ten people. You can't argue that racism is an "equal" problem if there are more Whites and Blacks, or anyone else!
Plus, the decades past since the passasge of the civil rights amendment have seen African Americans struggle with an inferiority complex that says "You're not good enough because you're not White and were enslaved."
Both ideas are not true, but they're borne of the extreme prejudice that Blacks in America have suffered; a prejudice that comes from White Racism. It's not a Black problem or a White problem; it's our problem.
Lest you think this division between Black and White views is not along color lines, research Technorati by typing in "Jason Whitlock" and reading the difference. Many African Americans don't like what Jason wrote, whereras many Whites do. It's a wake up call for those who think America's grown. It's got a long way to go. Also, it's was shown in a recent study that Whites react more negatively to Blacks than to Whites.
The seeds of what drive Don Imus to make the comment he did, are right there. This pattern of thinking must be unlearned or the problems that stem from it will continue.
Also, by writing this, I'm not referring to everyone who's White or Black, so don't even try to water down the argument with that presentation. Anyone an everyone knows there's a problem.
There's not so much Black racism as Black anger over White racism. Thus, when White Racism is eliminated, Black anger too will go away. You can bet on it.
What Don Imus said was pure White Racism. In an effort to deflect the blame from him, he threw up the Black Rapper claim and those who are White jumped at the device Don Imus himself crafted to defend himself. Now they had something to fight back with and turn the matter away from White Racism.
And that's sick, because we're still stuck with the problem of White Racism. The one best way to eliminate it is diversity. Diversity must be a new public policy objective. We must retrain the people of America to expect this, to walk in room full of Blacks or Whites and ask why there are not more different kinds of people in the room? This should be our objective. I certainly know it's mine.
I also know its the objective of many people, White, Asian, Latino, and on. It's just not a matter of national importance and it should be, plus you've got White conservatives like Tucker Carlson launching senceless rants against it when they get the chance.
Now that's one guy I'd love to debate; I'd make him look ridiculous.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Kansas City Star's Jason Whitlock At War With His Own Black Community
Read: Problem of White Racism masked by talk about Black Rappers.
Jason Whitlock's an African American columnist for the Kansas City Star. On the 12th he wrote an article blaming Don Imus' words on the "problem" created by Black rappers.
That's stupid.
What bothers me about Jason is he's on shows basically attacking the all-too-easy target of the Black rapper , while leaving every White racist and White rapper without blame.
Look, it's plain dumb to compare Don Imus obvious racial gaffe to Black rappers. The real problem is that there are people who are White and Asian and Latino who feel that it's OK to make fun of and essentially be hurtful to those who are Black because they are Black.
Those people who do this will use any reason available to justify their words of hate, including pointing at Black rappers as "creating the climate". (Hey, to blame hundreds of years of racism on a 17-year old kid is pretty silly when you think about it.)
But it take a stupidly-reasoning person to help them point the finger and thus let them off the hook.
That's what Jason Whitlock is trying to do.
As I do my research on Jason, it turns out that he's pissed with all Blacks -- I guess including himself -- because he had a bad experience at the airport leaving the NBA All Star Game. Here's what happened:
"The whole All-Star Weekend just put me on edge; it left me in a sour mood. I can't deny what I saw.
When I arrived at the Vegas airport Tuesday afternoon, All-Star Weekend gave me one final kick in the stomach, and I'm not talking about the long lines at the Southwest baggage check-in.
I stood in line for 75 minutes in the Southwest A boarding group. I was fourth in line behind three elderly white people (ages 60 to 75). They beat me in line by three or four minutes. The A, B and C groups were all filled an hour before the flight's scheduled departure.
Twenty feet away from where we all waited in line, a middle-aged black woman (45 to 55), what appeared to be her two sons (22 to 30) and an elderly black man (60s) all sat together and randomly slept, ate and talked.
When it was time to board the flight, the group of four stood, approached the elderly white woman standing in front of me and told her, "We're second in line. That's my bag on the floor."
The elderly white people were obviously intimidated. I wasn't and told the group they were crazy, and they needed to head to the back of the A boarding group and get in line behind all the people who stood for an hour.
Of course, they disagreed. I walked over and told the Southwest boarding agent to fix the problem. He witnessed the whole thing and came over and told the group they needed to move to the back of the A group. Words were exchanged between the agent and the group.
Eventually, and I'm not making this up, one of the young men told the agent that this was racism and they were being to asked to move because they were black. The other young man said that people like me were the reason black people couldn't get ahead.
The rest of the story is boring. I bring the story up to illustrate the mindset that has infected some of us in the black community."
What bothers me about this is that Jason's using a bad experience with a group of individuals who are Black to cast a bad light on all who are Black, and then gets on national television to spread his hatred of what he sees as "Black culture."
And he's Black. He might as well be White and racist, because that classic way of acting comes from a person who's basically blocked their intellect from seeing that there are all kinds of people and that the ones he encountered were obviously not good people -- period, end of story.
But it's not because Jason's telling of the story calls his own behavior into question. It reads -- he told the Black family they were "crazy" -- like Jason has such a weird chip on his shoulder with other Blacks that he as much caused the confrontation at the airport, whereas he could have been the sooth-saying voice that made a bad situation good and gained new friends in the process.
Nope. Jason would rather fight Blacks he views as holding a stereotype. I know this kind of person, because I was that way once. It's a terrible way to be and I was called on it by a neighbor when I was 17-years old. I felt bad, because I'm emphathic enough to be able to feel someone elses pain, especially when I'm the cause of it.
I can't at all say Jason's like that. He was even disrespectful to CNN contributor Amy Holmes, who's Black and female. She's making a point, and he just laughs dismissively while she's talking.
And Jason's talking about Black men being disrespectful to Black women?
Nice demonstration, dude!
There are some of us who think that to have and gain White friends -- and be paid at a position owned by a White-controlled media company, let's be honest -- means pointing hateful fingers at other Blacks who aren't "refined like they are." I'm serious. Jason comes across as that kind of person. Heck, he might find it weird to know that some of us drive
Hybrid Cars!
I've moved far beyond my teens, and learned that I can and do have good friends of all kinds, and don't have to sellout Blacks who aren't "like me" to get them.
I hope Jason sees this, and as they say "Check's himself before he wrecks"....Us!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Don Imus Fired By CBS Today - CNN.com
This just happened 90 minutes ago
NEW YORK (CNN) -- CBS has canceled Don Imus' radio show, effective immediately, after uproar over his racist and sexist comments about Rutgers women's basketball team.
"From the outset, I believe all of us have been deeply upset and revulsed by the statements that were made on our air about the young women who represented Rutgers University in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship with such class, energy and talent," said CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves, in announcing the decision.
The decision by CBS came a day after NBC Universal decided to part ways with Imus, thus canceling the simulcast of his show on MSNBC.
Amid the outcry over his on-air racial slur last week, shock jock Imus said Thursday that he had "apologized enough" and that he will not go on "some talk show tour."
"I'm not going to go talk to Larry King or Barbara Walters or anyone else," Imus said on his flagship station in New York, WFAN-AM, which is owned by CBS Corp. and distributes "Imus in the Morning" nationally.
"The only other people I want to talk to are these young women at the team, and then that's it," Imus said.
He was referring to the members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team, whom he described as "nappy-headed hos" the day after the team lost the NCAA championship to the University of Tennessee. (Gallery: Other controversial comments aired on Imus show)
He has repeatedly apologized for those remarks. Team members have agreed to meet with him privately, but so far no meeting has taken place.
"It gets said. Kids get hurt," he said. "At some point -- I'm not sure when -- I'm going to go talk to the team and that's all I'm interested in doing."
NBC News President Steve Capus, appearing on CNN, said Imus' comments had "touched a nerve" within the organization and firing him was "the only action we could take." (Your e-mails on Imus)
Despite being dropped by NBC, Imus hosted his show from the MSNBC studios in New Jersey. He did not appear on TV.
"As you know, MSNBC folded up yesterday, so we're just on the radio," he said.
Imus was broadcasting his 18th annual radio charity fundraiser, which has pulled in $50 million since 1990. It ends Friday.
"This may be our last radiothon, so we need to raise $100 million dollars," Imus said, chuckling.
According to The Associated Press, Imus raised $1 million in the first five hours of Thursday's fundraiser.
The disparaging remark prompted eight companies to pull their ads from Imus' show: Staples, General Motors, Sprint Nextel, GlaxoSmithKline, Procter & Gamble, PetMed Express, American Express and Bigelow Tea.
Bruce Gordon, a member of CBS Corp.'s board of directors, had called for Imus' firing from WFAN.
Speaking Thursday on CNN's "American Morning," Gordon said that, speaking "as an African-American man in this country, Don Imus violated our community. He attacked beautiful, talented, classy women and when those women showed themselves to the country, I think that those words matched with those images made it clear to America that Don Imus was wrong."
Gordon is a former president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
At a rally outside CBS's New York offices Thursday, civil rights activist Al Sharpton pressured the network to cancel Imus' morning show.
Rain cut attendance at the rally -- another has been scheduled for Saturday afternoon -- but Sharpton, joined by the father of a player on the team, spoke to the media.
"NBC has done in our judgment what is right," he said, and CBS must not be "the dam holding back the waters of insensitivity."
Sharpton said he had met with several NBC leaders and planned to meet with CBS leaders later in the day.
Linzell Vaughn, the father of sophomore center Kia Vaughn, said Imus' comments were "like a slap in the face."
"Do not disrespect our children," he said. (Players talk of hurt, seeking understanding)
Sharpton said the airways should not be used to "call children hard-core hos, nappy-headed hos. ... None of us have the right to use the public airways to express our bigotry."
Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson also spoke on Thursday afternoon outside CBS' offices and called for Imus' firing.
"This is not the first time this has happened on this show," he said, and spoke of previous Imus comments that Jackson characterized as racist and sexist.
"'Three strikes you're out' ought to apply to this position," he said.
Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- CBS has canceled Don Imus' radio show, effective immediately, after uproar over his racist and sexist comments about Rutgers women's basketball team.
"From the outset, I believe all of us have been deeply upset and revulsed by the statements that were made on our air about the young women who represented Rutgers University in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship with such class, energy and talent," said CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves, in announcing the decision.
The decision by CBS came a day after NBC Universal decided to part ways with Imus, thus canceling the simulcast of his show on MSNBC.
Amid the outcry over his on-air racial slur last week, shock jock Imus said Thursday that he had "apologized enough" and that he will not go on "some talk show tour."
"I'm not going to go talk to Larry King or Barbara Walters or anyone else," Imus said on his flagship station in New York, WFAN-AM, which is owned by CBS Corp. and distributes "Imus in the Morning" nationally.
"The only other people I want to talk to are these young women at the team, and then that's it," Imus said.
He was referring to the members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team, whom he described as "nappy-headed hos" the day after the team lost the NCAA championship to the University of Tennessee. (Gallery: Other controversial comments aired on Imus show)
He has repeatedly apologized for those remarks. Team members have agreed to meet with him privately, but so far no meeting has taken place.
"It gets said. Kids get hurt," he said. "At some point -- I'm not sure when -- I'm going to go talk to the team and that's all I'm interested in doing."
NBC News President Steve Capus, appearing on CNN, said Imus' comments had "touched a nerve" within the organization and firing him was "the only action we could take." (Your e-mails on Imus)
Despite being dropped by NBC, Imus hosted his show from the MSNBC studios in New Jersey. He did not appear on TV.
"As you know, MSNBC folded up yesterday, so we're just on the radio," he said.
Imus was broadcasting his 18th annual radio charity fundraiser, which has pulled in $50 million since 1990. It ends Friday.
"This may be our last radiothon, so we need to raise $100 million dollars," Imus said, chuckling.
According to The Associated Press, Imus raised $1 million in the first five hours of Thursday's fundraiser.
The disparaging remark prompted eight companies to pull their ads from Imus' show: Staples, General Motors, Sprint Nextel, GlaxoSmithKline, Procter & Gamble, PetMed Express, American Express and Bigelow Tea.
Bruce Gordon, a member of CBS Corp.'s board of directors, had called for Imus' firing from WFAN.
Speaking Thursday on CNN's "American Morning," Gordon said that, speaking "as an African-American man in this country, Don Imus violated our community. He attacked beautiful, talented, classy women and when those women showed themselves to the country, I think that those words matched with those images made it clear to America that Don Imus was wrong."
Gordon is a former president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
At a rally outside CBS's New York offices Thursday, civil rights activist Al Sharpton pressured the network to cancel Imus' morning show.
Rain cut attendance at the rally -- another has been scheduled for Saturday afternoon -- but Sharpton, joined by the father of a player on the team, spoke to the media.
"NBC has done in our judgment what is right," he said, and CBS must not be "the dam holding back the waters of insensitivity."
Sharpton said he had met with several NBC leaders and planned to meet with CBS leaders later in the day.
Linzell Vaughn, the father of sophomore center Kia Vaughn, said Imus' comments were "like a slap in the face."
"Do not disrespect our children," he said. (Players talk of hurt, seeking understanding)
Sharpton said the airways should not be used to "call children hard-core hos, nappy-headed hos. ... None of us have the right to use the public airways to express our bigotry."
Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson also spoke on Thursday afternoon outside CBS' offices and called for Imus' firing.
"This is not the first time this has happened on this show," he said, and spoke of previous Imus comments that Jackson characterized as racist and sexist.
"'Three strikes you're out' ought to apply to this position," he said.
Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
Craiglist Largest Use Is For Erotic Services - Sfgate and Complete
It's no secret that Craiglist is widely used to locate many goods and services, but it seems the best use is for erotic services. This is what Compete.com reports:
"It’s no wonder that Craigslist is champion of the online classifieds revolution; Compete reports just under 17 million people visiting per month. The site boasts quick accessibility, a straight-forward interface, and a posting registry ranging from video games and community events to furniture and real estate. But as it turns out, many visitors to craigslist.org are looking for something more risqué than that lamp with the red velvet fringe.
Analysis of eight major American cities shows erotic services consistently garners the highest number of individual visitors for February – almost always twice as many as the next ranking category, averaging 265,000 people per city. Equally racy lists that consistently score high visitor volume are the section for casual encounters as well as personals for women seeking men. The most commonly frequented venue outside of this virtual red-light district? Cars for sale."
"It’s no wonder that Craigslist is champion of the online classifieds revolution; Compete reports just under 17 million people visiting per month. The site boasts quick accessibility, a straight-forward interface, and a posting registry ranging from video games and community events to furniture and real estate. But as it turns out, many visitors to craigslist.org are looking for something more risqué than that lamp with the red velvet fringe.
Analysis of eight major American cities shows erotic services consistently garners the highest number of individual visitors for February – almost always twice as many as the next ranking category, averaging 265,000 people per city. Equally racy lists that consistently score high visitor volume are the section for casual encounters as well as personals for women seeking men. The most commonly frequented venue outside of this virtual red-light district? Cars for sale."
Drew Bledsoe retires
QB Drew Bledsoe Retires After 14 Years
By BARRY WILNER
AP Football Writer
Drew Bledsoe retired Wednesday, ending a 14-year career in which he made two Super Bowls.
The top overall pick by New England in the 1993 draft out of Washington State, the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback played for the Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. He was a starter for all three teams, but ended up as a backup with the Cowboys.
Bledsoe threw for 44,611 yards and 251 touchdown passes in his career.
"I feel so fortunate, so honored, to have played this game that I love for so long, with so many great players, and in front of so many wonderful fans," he said. "I fulfilled a childhood dream the first time I stepped on an NFL field, and the league did not let me down one time. I retire with a smile on my face, in good health, and ready to spend autumns at my kids' games instead of my own. I'm excited to start the next chapter of my life."
The 35-year-old Bledsoe lost his starting job to Tom Brady in New England in 2001 when Bledsoe got hurt in the second game of the season, and to Tony Romo in Dallas after Game 6 of last season.
He also asked for his release from the Bills after the 2004 season, when the team informed him it was going with J.P. Losman as the starter the next year. Bledsoe didn't want to be a backup there after he led the Bills to the brink of the playoffs.
He then signed with the Cowboys and was their starter for all of 2005 and part of '06.
In 1996, Bledsoe guided the Patriots to the AFC championship. They lost to Green Bay in the Super Bowl.
He remained the Patriots' starter until he was tackled by the Jets' Mo Lewis in the second game of the 2001 season and injured his chest. Brady took over, although Bledsoe got New England into the Super Bowl in place of the injured Brady by beating Pittsburgh in the AFC title game.
Brady then was the MVP of the Super Bowl win over St. Louis.
The Bills acquired Bledsoe during the 2002 NFL draft by dealing their first-round pick in 2003 to New England. Bledsoe had strong first season in Buffalo, setting 10 team passing records, including single-season marks with 4,359 yards and 375 completions.
His numbers, however, began to decline drastically. In his final 30 games with Buffalo, Bledsoe never finished with more than 296 yards passing, while throwing 29 touchdowns and 27 interceptions during that stretch.
He finishes seventh all-time in yards passing, 13th in touchdown passes and fifth in completions (3,839).
___
AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo contributed to this story.
By BARRY WILNER
AP Football Writer
Drew Bledsoe retired Wednesday, ending a 14-year career in which he made two Super Bowls.
The top overall pick by New England in the 1993 draft out of Washington State, the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback played for the Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. He was a starter for all three teams, but ended up as a backup with the Cowboys.
Bledsoe threw for 44,611 yards and 251 touchdown passes in his career.
"I feel so fortunate, so honored, to have played this game that I love for so long, with so many great players, and in front of so many wonderful fans," he said. "I fulfilled a childhood dream the first time I stepped on an NFL field, and the league did not let me down one time. I retire with a smile on my face, in good health, and ready to spend autumns at my kids' games instead of my own. I'm excited to start the next chapter of my life."
The 35-year-old Bledsoe lost his starting job to Tom Brady in New England in 2001 when Bledsoe got hurt in the second game of the season, and to Tony Romo in Dallas after Game 6 of last season.
He also asked for his release from the Bills after the 2004 season, when the team informed him it was going with J.P. Losman as the starter the next year. Bledsoe didn't want to be a backup there after he led the Bills to the brink of the playoffs.
He then signed with the Cowboys and was their starter for all of 2005 and part of '06.
In 1996, Bledsoe guided the Patriots to the AFC championship. They lost to Green Bay in the Super Bowl.
He remained the Patriots' starter until he was tackled by the Jets' Mo Lewis in the second game of the 2001 season and injured his chest. Brady took over, although Bledsoe got New England into the Super Bowl in place of the injured Brady by beating Pittsburgh in the AFC title game.
Brady then was the MVP of the Super Bowl win over St. Louis.
The Bills acquired Bledsoe during the 2002 NFL draft by dealing their first-round pick in 2003 to New England. Bledsoe had strong first season in Buffalo, setting 10 team passing records, including single-season marks with 4,359 yards and 375 completions.
His numbers, however, began to decline drastically. In his final 30 games with Buffalo, Bledsoe never finished with more than 296 yards passing, while throwing 29 touchdowns and 27 interceptions during that stretch.
He finishes seventh all-time in yards passing, 13th in touchdown passes and fifth in completions (3,839).
___
AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo contributed to this story.
Oakland Raiders Wanted Falcons QB Matt Schaub Now Uncertain About #1 Pick - ProFootballWeekly.com
From ProFootballWeekly.com
Raiders upset they couldn’t land Schaub, still unsure how to spend No. 1 pick
Oakland
Of all the rumors coming out of Oakland in the weeks leading up to the draft, two things are certain: The Raiders remain undecided as to which direction they will go with the first overall pick, and they were very disappointed in their inability to acquire Falcons QB Matt Schaub, who was traded to the Texans in March.
Schaub had worked with new Raiders offensive coordinator Gregg Knapp in Atlanta, and they had high hopes for building around him right away. One factor that could play a major role in which direction they go with the first pick is the potential trade of WR Randy Moss, which could net them a veteran quarterback or at least put them on the lookout for one, as well as have them suddenly leaning toward Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson.
Without a Moss trade, however, the decision would come down between Russell, who has the big arm that owner Al Davis covets, and Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn, who is viewed as more NFL-ready than Russell and has a better work ethic. Quinn’s dedication and experience in a pro-style system should bode well in the eyes of new head coach Lane Kiffin, who tutored Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC, but according to insiders, Russell had a slight edge as of this writing.
Raiders upset they couldn’t land Schaub, still unsure how to spend No. 1 pick
Oakland
Of all the rumors coming out of Oakland in the weeks leading up to the draft, two things are certain: The Raiders remain undecided as to which direction they will go with the first overall pick, and they were very disappointed in their inability to acquire Falcons QB Matt Schaub, who was traded to the Texans in March.
Schaub had worked with new Raiders offensive coordinator Gregg Knapp in Atlanta, and they had high hopes for building around him right away. One factor that could play a major role in which direction they go with the first pick is the potential trade of WR Randy Moss, which could net them a veteran quarterback or at least put them on the lookout for one, as well as have them suddenly leaning toward Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson.
Without a Moss trade, however, the decision would come down between Russell, who has the big arm that owner Al Davis covets, and Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn, who is viewed as more NFL-ready than Russell and has a better work ethic. Quinn’s dedication and experience in a pro-style system should bode well in the eyes of new head coach Lane Kiffin, who tutored Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC, but according to insiders, Russell had a slight edge as of this writing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)