After the first full day of hitting and two a days some of the news i've gathered from websites, news sources, local talk radio and friends who are up at camp watching.
1. Second year Fullback/DE A.J. Schable of Univ. of South Dakota has broken his foot and is heading back to the valley for what will apparently be season ending surgery. He got tangled up in some cords in the high step drill, landed awkwardly and had a freak injury. It's a shame because he played really well on special teams last year despite being moved all over the place by the staff and asked to do more then he was ready to do as a blocking back. He was facing a bit of a climb to make the roster this year but might have stuck with the new staff given his versatility and special teams play.
2. The free agent rookie guards are looking good in drills and have all been complimented at times by Grimm and the staff. The Card's went out and got three top quality college guards from big name programs in Lyle Sendlein from Texas, Brian Johnson from LSU and T. J. Downing from Ohio State. Sendlein and Downing were both three year starters for major programs and their fathers both had NFL careers, while Johnson started all over the LSU line and was a major force on the OL for one of the nations top teams. If the Cardinals can find one or two solid backups and prospects at guard that can have a couple of years learning from Russ Grimm with out having to spend high draft picks it will be a major plus for the team this year and in the years ahead.
3. The competition for the number 5 receiver spot is going to be one of the most intense in camp. With the top three slots going to Boldin, Fitzgerald and Johnson, and the forth spot probably going to special team ace Sean Morey, the number 5 spot has Michael Spurlock, Todd Watkins, Steve Breaston, Greg Lee and LeRon McCoy battling to make the team. This team is loaded with WR prospects and each of the players listed above has had flashes where they have stood out. Unfortunately a couple of good receivers are probably going to be cut as the numbers just don't add up to keep more then 6 if you figure they might keep Breaston just to return punts and kicks if he shows he's up for the task.
4. The Levi Brown hold out is annoying as it seems like the agent and the Cardinals aren't in a big rush to get him here. However, Darnell Dockett today said the OL from this year to last is "like night and day" in that they are in better shape, quicker, know their assignments and are getting the job done. It's early but just hearing that is good news. Also, Coach Whisenhunt praised Mike Gandy's first contact work at LT. If Gandy can play a solid left tackle this team is going to take a big step forward.
With the deadline having come and gone without a deal for the Dbacks, it really begs one very simple, very plain question. Did the Diamondbacks do the right thing by not making a deal?
Recently I did an interview with Andrew Kasamentzky, a writer for ESPN The Magazine, about what it meant to me being an Arizona Cardinals Fan. Some questions he asked were:
1. Why the Arizona Cardinals?
2. How long had I been a fan of the Big Red?
3. How was I able to [...]
Bill Walsh, NFL Legend, and Three Time Super Bowl Champion, has passed. He lost his long time battle with Leukemia at the age of 75.
An article on Fox Sports about Bill Walsh said, “Walsh didn’t become an NFL head coach until 47, and he spent just 10 seasons on the San Francisco sideline. But he left an indelible mark on the United States’ most popular sport, building the once-woebegone 49ers into the most successful team of the 1980s with his innovative offensive strategies and teaching techniques…
Even a short list of Walsh’s adherents is stunning. Seifert, Mike Holmgren, Dennis Green, Sam Wyche, Ray Rhodes and Bruce Coslet all became NFL head coaches after serving on Walsh’s San Francisco staffs, and Tony Dungy played for him. Most of his former assistants passed on Walsh’s structures and strategies to a new generation of coaches, including Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick, Andy Reid, Pete Carroll, Gary Kubiak, Steve Mariucci and Jeff Fisher.
Walsh created the Minority Coaching Fellowship program in 1987, helping minority coaches to get a foothold in a previously lily-white profession. Marvin Lewis and Tyrone Willingham are among the coaches who went through the program, later adopted as a league-wide initiative.
He also helped to establish the World League of American Football - what was NFL Europe - in 1994, taking the sport around the globe as a development ground for the NFL.”
RaisingZona.com wrote, “I write this post with a heavy heart, because this man changed the way we play the game of football, he was the quintessential leader on and off the field and has left his mark on the sporting world forever. It does not matter if you are a San Francisco fan or not (and I am the first to admit I am OBVIOUSLY NOT A 49ers FAN)……if you are a football fan, than this means something.”
Perhaps Dick Vermeil, a Super Bowl-winning coach himself, best sums up Walsh’s impact: “There are many, many fine, fine coaches but I really think that Bill Walsh was the one that had as much to do with the game we play today, by many teams, as anyone.”
So, Kevin Garnett is headed to Boston. Which means a few things for Suns fans: (a) is not going to the Lakers; (b) he's headed East and above all (c) he's not going to be a Sun. I am not sure there was really a possibility of KG becoming a Sun nor I believe Steve Kerr will let us now how close a deal possibly was, since it'll be like telling a couple of players – Amare and above all Marion – that you were willing to trade them to improve the team.
Meanwhile the Celtics will become instant contenders since three players like KG, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in your starting five will more or less make you the best team in the Atlantic.
If the rumors are correct I feel Kevin McHale did one last great play for the Celtics; I think you could call it a nice assist to his old pal Danny Ainge. There's a nice article by the always funny Bill Simmons on ESPN.com Page Two about the trade, don't forget he was the Boston Sports Guy.
Of course we could start analyzing all salary cap consequences, the fact that Minnesota will be able to have plenty of cap room in a couple of years to go after the next big free agent, whoever he will be. At that time no top free agent will be willing to sign with Minnesota since they'll be losing lots of games and the weather won't be any better up North. The T-Wolves are telling the world they believe their current window of opportunity has closed and that they are officially now in "rebuilding mode". They have a nice group of young players and I could be wrong if Al Jefferson, Gerald Green and Corey Brewer all become all-stars but there's just something wrong in trading away one of the best 5 players in the League.
Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney calls Keith Ballard a priority player. If he was a priority player, I would like to think he would be signed by now.
According to the article in the Arizona Republic, the snags of the contract are the length and the financial terms. Based on the fact that Ballard was the one of the few shining spots in a dismal Phoenix Coyotes season last year, he’ll be worth every penny that they choose to spend on him.
Even though Maloney has not categorized the discussions as antagonistic, I really don’t see a reason why it is taking so long to sign one of the future impact defenseman of the Western Conference (if he isn’t one already).
With the Coyotes vision of the youth movement, he’s at their perfect age of 24 and has had two solid years of NHL performance. He is ranked among the top 70 defensemen in the NHL in every category and will be the future anchor of the blue line.
Therefore, it’s perplexing to me just why he has not been signed yet. Every time I see reasons to think the Coyotes are going in the right direction, there have been an equal number of situations where I have to take pause and say, “Um…what’s that, exactly?”
The signing of Ballard was a no-brainer at the beginning of the off-season and if Maloney isn’t careful, he’ll get the contract he wants, but when it’s time for Ballard to be the Unrestricted Free Agent, he’ll depart to teams that actually covet his services.
This was an AZ Cards weekend for sure! I was up in Flagstaff Saturday so my kids could take part in the Super Bowl XLII & NFL Sponsored Youth Football Clinic, and headed over to watch the Arizona Cardinals start conditioning running shuttles, as well as attend the first practice Sunday!
NFL Youth Clinic in Flagstaff
The kids clinic was a lot of fun, I highly recommend if you have kids, younger brothers or sisters, nieces, nephews etc. that you take them to one of the few more Youth Football Clinics the AZ Super Bowl Host Committee has planned. It is not so much a clinic with actual coaching, as it is a chance for the kids to get out and get excited about football! They say your kids need to be at least 7 years old, but there were lots of little guys and girls out there having a good time- so don’t let the age limit stop you from bringing them out!
AZ Cardinals Begin Training Camp 2007
Across the way (NAU), the AZ Cards began their training camp, Saturday July 28th, with timed running. It was amazing to watch them get out there and go! Especially the bigger boys!
I was back up there again Sunday, July 29th, to watch the AZ Cardinals first official practice of 2007! There was a great turn out of Cards fans! Everyone was cheering and having a good time, in spite of the clouds, a little rain and occasional lighting and thunder in the distance. (The film guys on the cranes were probably a little nervous about that though…)
Practice went from 1:30 to about 2:30PM; some Cards headed off, meeting fans and signing autographs on their way out. Some Cardinals players stayed and continued working on various drills, running etc. Kurt Warner and Coach Whisenhunt were the last two to head out, really taking their time with the fans. We have some really good guys as part of this team. You can check out more Cards training camp pictures and video on their site.
The ESPN Writer Cometh
I also met with a writer from ESPN the magazine who was researching a fun article on being a fan. We hung out and met with Cards fans, including a couple of fans who are famous for making themselves part of the Tillman Tribute by how they paid their respects on the field.
The writer, his photographer and myself all headed back to Phoenix and met with some more Cardinals fans. We had a great time talking about the good, the bad and the ugly…and the renewed optimism of the AZ Cardinals and their fans. I’m not sure if we convinced him to be a fan, but I know that after this weekend, I am much more of a Cardinals fan then I was before!
In case you have been sleeping in a fox hole the past few weeks, it’s time for me to wake you up and tell you to get Chris Young on your fantasy squad. I don’t care if you already have a backup of OFers, Chris Young is for real, and I’m not the only one squawking it:
Chris B. Young: Young is starting to really starting to heat up now and is free in many leagues. Hitting for a .286 BA with nine runs, two home runs, three RBI, and four stolen bases in the past week makes him one of the hottest free agents available. If you have a hole in your OF, or are looking to replace someone not really getting it done, I would recommend Young.
You can’t argue with the post-all star break numbers. Chris is batting .293, with 5 home runs and 6 stolen bases. If you watch him on a regular basis, you can see he is starting to role. Pick him up, before it’s too late.
Thanks to Kukla’s Korner, we learn that ESPN is talking with the NHL to bring hockey back to one of its channels. How nice. The ESPN family of networks left their relationship with the NHL because they could not justify programming a league with an undetermined period of possible inactivity. When the lockout concluded, they still didn’t want the NHL or its programming back and Versus (then OLN), picked up the ball…er puck…and ran…um skated away with it.
Say what you want about the Versus network, and I agree with the complaints of no one knows where to find the games, not all cable/satellite households carry the station, the schedule is not well known, and on and on, but they were the only national programming company in the States to regularly air hockey games. NBC had its coverage too, but they didn’t air the same amount of games due to their commitments with the NFL. Versus picked up the slack when the other sports network did not.
Due to the fact that they needed to fill air time, ESPN used to be that renegade sports network that showed anything remotely related to competition. Years later the channel morphed into a sister station of ESPN2, created ESPN News (because SportsCenter aired at very inconvenient times for most of the country), and even acquired a Classic Sports channel so that we return to the nostalgic times of sports yore.
Now Versus, who acquired college football programming rights, could be using the same model that ESPN used to use before they became corporate - schedule as many sports as possible and just maybe consumers would clamor their cable companies to add Versus thus increasing their Nielsen footprint.
After the NHL’s departure from ESPN, SportsCenter aired 29 fewer minutes of NHL highlights than they did in 2004, leading many to believe that if it’s not on ESPN, then it’s not sports. Now the influential World Wide Leader of Sports wants to return thus increasing hockey’s exposure. So, in terms of economics, hockey then must relevant enough for ESPN to crawl back. The numbers prove it to be true: increased merchandise sales, and increased attendance.
What do I say when reading the news that ESPN is interested again? Big deal and thanks for helping out. ESPN did they real heavy lifting here, and we’re better now that ESPN wants to come back. [/sarcasm]
If were Versus, I would demand that in order to drop the exclusivity, ESPN must enter the same arrangement that it has with TNT and the NBA - cross promotion. Without that aspect to the deal, if I were running things at Versus, I would not give up exclusive rights that I negotiated to a league that was on life-support.
Clearly both parties, Versus and the NHL, needed something with the current business relationship, and that point is still taken with me. However, if I were risking my business model on anemic United States Nielsen ratings, whereby the NHL hasn’t solved to improve fan and viewer support, I would figure since I offered something to commissioner Gary Bettman that no other company did not, I should be thrown a bone here.
Therefore, if the NHL returns (and notably John Buccigross, and Barry Melrose with it), I guess Bill Simmons will begin to care after all.
If there is one player who wants another shot at the Finals, it’s Raja Bell. Raja got a chance as a rookie to run with the Sixers and ended up guarding Kobe Bryant in their 2001 NBA Finals loss. He’s come a long way as a player . Raja turned his buzz-worthy ‘06 postseason into a great ‘07 season that came with First team All Defense honors.
Raja’s competitive fire makes one of the more hated Suns and makes him the heart and soul of the team as well. While Amare and Boris wandered away from the bench to do whatever they were doing, Raja caught an elbow in the face going after Robert Horry. Raja is the player a lot of fans would like to be on the court. The guy who doesn’t take a possesion off. He makes a player like Kobe Bryant work on both ends of the court. Fighting a scorer for position, reaching, flopping, jawing- while his shot total increases and his percentage drops. Raja then runs the floor hard and doesn’t miss when he’s wide open.
Some of the best theater in the NBA is when Raja is called for a foul. He picks himself up. He gets in the ref’s ear with smiling complaints. He walks over the scorers’ table wipes his feet for more stickum. Then he returns to battle. Raja is a pro. He’s the player every title team needs. The guy who gets dirty and fights for the extra inch. He calls himself the poor man’s Bruce Bowen.
There’s not much Raja needs to work on this offseason other than healing from a recent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. Raja was banged up at times last season and hopefully this procedure will help out. Raja logs major minutes for this team due to his defense and shooting. It’d be nice to see his minutes scaled back a bit in the regular season now that it looks like DJ Strawberry will make the roster. Having two guards (possibly three if Banks gets more minutes) to sic on opposiing wing scorers would be nice. The development of the young wing players will help depth and give veterans like Raja more in the tank for the grueling Western Conference playoffs.
Revenge for Raja would be another chance to perform on the highest level. The Suns’ season slipped away due to stuff that had nothing to with actual basketball. Those things eat at veterans and fuel their fire. Raja will have plenty of fire for 07-08.
Your Views...Blog 'em
Got a Photo...Share it
Record it? Upload Video
Daily Email
Subscribe
With the deadline having come and gone without a deal for the Dbacks, it really begs one very simple, very plain question. Did the Diamondbacks do the right thing by not making a deal?
Recently I did an interview with Andrew Kasamentzky, a writer for ESPN The Magazine, about what it meant to me being an Arizona Cardinals Fan. Some questions he asked were:
In case you have been sleeping in a fox hole the past few weeks, it’s time for me to wake you up and tell you to get 
RSS Feeds
