'THE EDGE' (COMING SOON!!) |
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BUSCH STADIUM TIME LAPSE TIPS APPRECIATED!!! |
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RICKY WILLIAMS SIGHTING  |
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TOP STORIES - JULY 23, 2006 Get your NFL football tickets now at TickCo. They have all team Cardinals tickets, Cowboys tickets, Packers tickets, Colts tickets, Patriots tickets, Titans tickets and more. Get your Super Bowl tickets here! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Fantasy football arrives with KACSPORTS fifth annual pre-season player rankings, starting with the quarterbacks. This may also answer your questions over my teases on 'The Edge' over the last few months...  CHIMP PLAYING WSOP MAIN EVENT!?!? Why the hell not, you see just about everyone else there. Last year alone saw ex-football players (Shannon Sharpe), actresses (Jennifer Tilly), a 90 year-old man, and some one who lost his arms, and thus used his bare feet (with sponsor named tattooed) to see his hole cards. In fact it wouldn't doubt me if the chimp cashed - but even if he does get busted out, there is the off-chance that he could go St. James Davis on Matusow...COLE SLAW - YAHOO WRITER SUGGESTS REGGIE BUSH COLD HOLD OUT ENTIRE YEAR: They say Chuck Robinson went out on a little vacation, but Yahoo has a new writer wasting little time jumping on Reggie Bush - suggesting that he is nowhere near a contract with the Saints. The writers's premise is that Bush already has $5 million in endorsement deals racked up, and could financially afford to skip the season and go into the 2007 Draft. Not so fast. First name me a high first-round pick who actaully sat out a season and went in the draft a second time??? (Not counting Rocket Ismail getting a sizable contract to go to Canada) Then Cole writes a second column talking about how no first-rounder had been signed going into the weekend. And that's actually the point. Bush participated in mini-camp, and has made some notable contributions to the post-Katrina effort. I'm not saying things might not get contentious in the next few weeks, but Bush and the other top draft picks have little to lose right now except a lot of two-a-days. No doubt, Reggie has incredible leverage right now, but if Bush did sit out the year he would take a bad PR hit and owner Tom Benson would take an even worse hit. My very worst case scenario??? Bush makes his NFL debut when the Saints make their Superdome return in Week 3. BREAK AN ARM: Unfortunately I'm not talking about an Adjustibale Rate Mortgage. It's been quite a week for the CFL, as two of weekend's four games gets mentioned in this column. Ricky Williams now joins what has to be a very short list of those who have visited both India as well as the inside of an ER in Regina. CUB FAN DIES AT HANDS OF MILWAUKEE POLICE??? It is now being reported that a 66-year old man died the day after allegedly being shoved by police during a game at Miller Park two weeks ago. The man was attending a game with his son and his wife, who wound up being ejected for an unspecified violation. The man tried to follow the couple into an elevator on the way to a police holding station when an officer shoved the man, causing him to fall and land on his head. The man was fine initially but was found uncounscious and vomiting later that night on a bus. The family has hired lawyers while police spokesperson Ann E. Schwartz says it's the first she's heard of the matter. The officer is on administrative leave. HILLENBRAND DAY THREE: We remain on high alert tonight, as the near-ground war that started in the Blue Jays clubhouse the other night has evolved into an arial assault over the radio airways. Catcher Greg Zaun offers Hillenbrand some 'advice', not to bring his name up publicly when discussing his departure from the team. Apparently Shea refers to Zaun as the 'self-described team leader'. Other former teammates mentioned that some didn't get Hillenbrand's 'sense of humor' - including ripping a Canadian flag patch off the teams special cap that was worn for Canada Day - this after Hillenbrand was removed from the game in the seventh innning. Sense of humor??? More like some serious disrespect. Hillenbrand denies he did that, as well as writing 'sinking ship' on the clubhouse blackboard. 100-YARD DASH ENDS CFL GAME: With no time left on the clock and Winnepeg trailing Edmonton 22-19 and at their own 10-yard line, QB rears back and finds his receiver, who then outruns the secondary for a game-winning 100-yard TD. No laterals, no nothing - for whatever reason the Edmonton defensive coordinator called for the blitz instead of going prevent. I'm looking for a clip of this to appear on YouTube. NO B.S. - EX-BADGER LOOKING AT PRISON TIME: Booker Stanley was considering transferring to a Division 1-AA school after being booted out of the Wisconsin program back in February. It doesn't look like that will be happening, but he might end up being a good choice if you're in a prison fantasy football league. Stanley was found guilty of three felonies in a case involving his former girlfriend last Christmas. Among other things, Booker was said to have choked the woman three times, causing her to black out in the final two instances. Stanley could be sentenced for up to 57 years in prison, which should take care of his NCAA eligibility. And Booker is not through with the courts yet, he still faces four misdemeanor counts stemming from the infamous Mifflin St. block party brawl from April 2005. In case you've forgotten about that bloodbath, here are a couple images to refresh your memory. PRO GOLFER SCORES HOLE-IN-ONE: That isn't a huge deal, I could fill this page on a weekly basis with weekend hacks scoring aces on munis all over the world. Now let me tell you that this hole-in-one occurred on a 357-yard Par 4!!! Aussie Andrew Tschudin (all 5'7" 155 pounds of him) managed the feat during a Hooters Tour event in Arkansas. Are we sure everyone is clean in golf???  AND SPEAKING OF... R & A (which governs the sport everywhere outside of the United States) announces that drug testing will be performed for the first time at the World Amateur Team Championships in October. Meanwhile, anti-doping czar Dick Pound is suspicious of golfer's claims that performance enhancing drugs are of no help in the sport. Pounds response is that it 'sounds a lot like baseball, doesn't it'JAYS MANAGER CHALLENGED HILLENBRAND TO FIGHT!?!? I haven't heard of anything this ugly since the days of Lenny Randle/Frank Luchessi, that ended with a broken jaw for the manager and a subsequent lawsuit. Now it's being said that Shea Hillenbrand first wrote 'Play for Yourself' then 'The Ship is Sinking' on an easel in the Blue Jays clubhouse. After the second statement, manager John Gibbons challenged Hillenbrand to a fight in front of the team. Gibbons is not even denying his actions, saying 'He had a chance yesterday to defend himself in front of his coaches and his teammates. He chose not to...' Gibbons added that Hillenbrand would never again be in the lineup as long as he was manager, and that either he or Hillenbrand was going to go. Meanwhile, General Manager J.P. Ricciardi was busy getting acupuncture treament, I'm guessing getting the pain Hillenbrand was causing out of his backside. WHAT'S THAT SIGN?? CUBS COACH BUSTED FOR DUI... Chris Speier arrested after going through a stop sign near Wrigleyville in the hours after the Cubs Tuesday night win. Dusty Baker spent last night trying to find someone with a clue to coach third base while Speier takes a leave of absence. Can we fire that coaching staff already??? Oh that's right, Wood and Prior are injured and Derrick Lee missed half the year - everyone gets a pass!!! EA SPORTS SWEATS DETAILS IN NCAA07: The recent release of Head Coach quickly swept under the rug as hundreds line up at game stores across America for the college football game’s 12:01 AM release. Promising the latest in realism, satellite images were used to figure out the sun position in each stadium. For instance, for a September game at Camp Randall Stadium, the field would be basked in sunshine. If it were late in the season, shadows from the south end of the stadium would appear and would travel across the field during the game. I just want to know if I’m LSU hosting Alabama in a late-season game picked up by CBS, would nightfall hit for the second half??? They have also figured out where the student sections are in each stadium and also where the visiting team’s fans are housed. In an addition to ‘campus legend’ mode, players now have to choose a major and actually take exams during the season. ‘In-season’ recruiting is also added. Reviews I have read thus far are mixed, with some saying the game got toned down a little. I imagine that in NCAA08, your coach can take Willie Williams to dinner and shell out $80 in lobster tails, then get questioned by the NCAA. BUSCH STADIUM STORM: In what’s said to be one of worst storms in recent memory, winds estimated at over 80 MPH blew out press box windows, overturned portable concession stands and ripped the tarp just before the scheduled start of Wednesday night's game at Busch Stadium. Right after the national anthem, menacing aqua-green clouds descended on the ballpark as dust began swirling 20 feet in the air. Several fans could be heard yelling while scattering for cover as windows protecting the press box popped out of place and flew into the stands. Fans and ushers were seen clinging to railings as the wind reached it’s strongest. The game was played after a two hour, 12 minute delay – and it was estimated that two-thirds of the sellout crowd remained for the contest. The storm affected the entire St. Louis area, uprooting trees of up to 60 feet and leaving nearly 500,000 without power.  POLITICAL FUTBOL - MLS RELOCATION TO BECOME 'REAL-ITY'??? Even though I'm talking about a pro soccer team, perhaps Real Salt Lake should check with the Multiple Listing Service, as it sounds like the second-year franchise could be headed east. At issue are long-awaited plans of the construction of a 'soccer-specific' facility that have apparently fell through in a sea of local political ligitation. RSL owner Dave Checketts has been blaming long-time Salt Lake icon Larry Miller for opposing the soccer stadium - Miller owns the Utah Jazz, an Arena Football team, as well as virtually every used car lot in the region. The real truth may be that Checketts has an even greater itch than George Noory to get back to St. Louis. Not only that, the team wouldn't have to change it's logo or even initials if they move there - although they could look forward to lightning delays for about half their home games. After leading the league in attendance in 2005, attendence has declined amidst negative publicity as the team has continue to struggle. Several possibilities for alternate sites for a stadium have been mentioned for the team, the latest being an abandoned lot just outside of Provo. RSL currently plays at Rice-Eccels Stadium, but they lose money there and the University of Utah doesn't want to smell the stench any longer than what is necessary. BLUE JAY WANTS OUT: Possibly making a run at being the most-hated teammate this side of J.A. Pierzynski, Shea Hillenbrand refuses to sit with his team in the dugout Wednesday after launching into a profanity-laced tirade towards the organization earlier in the day. Among other things, Hillenbrand is upset that the team has not congratulated him for adopting a baby child last weekend. Hillenbrand was also supposely singled out by teammates during a team meeting. Says Shea, 'I love my teammates here, but I'm waiting to be traded. I should have been traded two months ago.' Hillenbrand adds that the organization is making him feel like he did something wrong by leaving the team to be with his family for four days. Perhaps Shea is just making sure he doesn't get that nasty staph infection apparently making it's way through the Blue Jay clubhouse. Have they made sure that isn't SARS yet??? UPDATE: Hillenbrand designated for assignment. TURN-BLOW DOES IT AGAIN: Giants rally in ninth to beat Brewers. Rotoworld still doesn't think Turnblow will be removed as closer, saying that #59 was simply a victim of bad luck today. And I imagine Uecker is busy saying that Derrick will get back on his horse yet again for his next save opportunity. But to phrase an old Yogi Barra quote that actually makes sense, 'Luck is the residue of design...' WIE SLAMMED, DEFENDED: If you really want to royally piss off your playing partners on Tour, just trying playing slow enough so your entire group is put 'on the clock', which gives a negative smear of all involved and gets their names mentioned in the same breath as Ben Crane. Just ask PGA Tour veteran Jeff Gove, who told a Chicago paper over the weekend that he was glad to see Wie cash out after 27 holes of play. Said Gove, 'She didn't complain about anything. She just said, 'I'm going to withdraw,' which was good. She was holding us up again. If she has her name on her bag, she needs to be professional, and she's not there yet. I saw she was hurting, but she never said anything. She was walking real slow, which I thought was very inconsiderate again because we were trying to keep up. I know she's 16, but if she wants to play pro golf, she needs to learn how to act and what to do.' The sting of those quotes alone may send her straight back to the ER. Fellow tour pro Joe Ogilvie didn't share Gove's criticism, saying 'If somebody has a problem with Michelle Wie getting a sponsor's exemption, they don't understand what we're about. Our job is to entertain. That's why we're out here.' ITALIAN SOCCER POWER HEADED FOR SERIE 'C'??? Whatever USC gets busted for in college football, it won't possibly be as bad a fate as what Turin-based powerhouse Juventus was penalized. Not only are they stripped of their last two league titles, but were also 'relegated' to Serie B. Relegation is usually reserved for the teams with the worst three records in a given season. But that's not all - Juventus also starts the 2006-07 season with a NASCAR-like 30 point penalty. The squad needs to win it's first ten games just to get back to zero, where they would be tied with any teams who are 0-10 at that point. But one may say that with the collection of talent Juventus usually features they ought to win every game, a 28-10-0 (84 points) record could conceivably get them back into Serie A. Not so fast, as is the case of most teams that are relegated, the best players are going to seek employment with other contending teams throughout Europe. Also key sponsors have pulled out (another NASCAR anology), which not only keeps the team from signing quality players, but also puts them in the red financially. Yet another demotion, and perhaps even the team filing bankruptcy - are far more likely outcomes. Whatever tribunal hammered this team sure got them good, perhaps the NCAA are taking notes. COMPLETELY USELESS BY MID-JULY: Cubs were 'crusing' with a five-run lead at one point Sunday night. That's before the Mets connected for two grand slams, and 11 runs - IN ONE INNING!!! Another juicy nugget, according to the ESPN radio broadcast (Dan Schulman and Dave Campbell are the best in the business), the Cubs have ranked in the bottom three in On-Base Percentage in each of the last 15 YEARS!!! Dusty Baker, what is your opinion of Carlos Beltran??? HURRICANE WILLIE BLOWING NORTH... Controversial Miami recruit thanks Larry Coker for the Lobster dinner from a couple years back by apparently transferring to West Virginia, which should be interesting considering that Willie damn near froze to death during a recruiting visit to Auburn a few years back. By the time Willie was recruited by the Hurricanes, he had been arrested 11 times in his illustrious prep career. But considering the recent list of recent WVU stars include Chris Henry and PacMan Jones, Williams ought to feel right at home. BRIAN ROBERTS BOBBLEHEAD BLUNDER: Considering the Derrick Turnbow curse, perhaps this is the best thing for the second baseman. Orioles were to give away 20,000 bobbleheads of Roberts - but instead are sending back the shipment, because the dolls don't exactly look like him. You see, the dolls depict Roberts as having much darker skin, a team spokesman also said the skin had a bluish tint. Well, as far as we know Roberts is not an alien - although with 22 stolen bases on the year he could easily be confused with being a brother. The teams vows that all of the botched bobbleheads will be destroyed, and kept out of the hands of potential collectors. Good luck with that plan, teams often produce a small portion of bobbleheads in a promotion in a different jersey (road or alternate uniform). Often team employees (inside info) take the rarer collectables for themselves (behind the bosses back of course). Wouldn't be shocked if a few dark Roberts made their ways into the secondary market, where it would go down right alongside the old Billy Ripken baseball card.  MICHELLE WIE - SICK: Somewhat fitting that Wie chose Pepto Pink, as she was overcome after being introduced to an old-fashioned mid-summer, Midwestern heat wave at the John Deere Classic. Wie landed in the emergency room after nine holes, which was bad news for the nurse who hadn't been on break for two hours. And I imagine this also gives Steve Czaban ammunition for another few weeks. Wie may get a little too much pub, but I don't get the over-rated stuff, how many golfers do you know who've managed to contend for two majors by the age of 16. At least she earns some of that lucrative Nike contract playing with the boys a couple times a year. The good news was that Wie was able to book out of the town before the real heat sets in for the weekend. I chose the link from one of the Quad Cities TV stations because it looks like the reporters there are every bit as hot as the weather!!!BONDS INDICTMENT IMMINENT: The battlelines already appear well drawn for baseball's biggest legal showdown since Pete Rose/Bart Giamatti circa-1989 - with Bonds' legal team already going into defense mode for when the charges finally come down sometime next week. The more immediate question is what action Bud Selig will take against Bonds, if Jason Grimsley was indeed a precedent one has to believe the commish has to suspend Bonds. From one interview I have heard with Selig within the last week, it sounds like Bonds has not been suspended only because there hadn't been an indictment. ANOTHER CLEAN SHEET: Angels John Lackey makes case for being hottest pitcher this side of Francisco Liriano with second consecutive shutout. It also marked Lackey's third consecutive outing of ten or more strikeouts. It was however a far cry from last weeks outing, when Lackey retired 27 consecutive batters after allowing a hit to lead off the game. DAMNING CHARGE ON STEVE LARGENT SON... The youngest son of Seattle Seahawk legend and former congressman Steve Largent has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of soliciting an underage girl for sex, according to court records. Kramer Largent, 20, of Tulsa, OK, is indicted on four felony counts of sexual solicitation of a child under 16, which allegedly occurred last fall in Delaware. Other details weren't available.   BATTERY MATES?? NOT EXACTLY I did say that I was a little behind on last weeks news, as there were pre-July 4th fireworks in a Milwaukee courtroom that I don't even think the Bartalotta's could of possibly topped - as Ann Ladd got to sit 60 feet 6 inches from Bob Uecker - except it was Uke that was throwing the high heat - testifying for nearly an hour on his invasion of privacy, while Ladd's lawyer raised constant objections to the judge. Ladd's attorney also says that Ladd is very eager to finally give her side of the story. The next hearing in the alleged stalking case is slated for August 3rd. Think Ann has seen enough of Uke yet??? (PHOTO CREDITS: JSONLINE) |
2003 NFL DRAFT PROFILES
