Saints' appeal takes a hit; Pollard needs to shut up; Webb gets paid; Sterling Moore interview, and more
The Gregg Williams audio. The Bernard Pollard reaction. Some defend, saying the culture cannot be changed overnight and point out that just a couple years ago game was still promoted with 'jacked up' segments and big hits videos. But regardless, why would Williams say that on film (or for that matter, why would the Saints let him say that) when they knew they were being investigated, and had been told to stop? This new Greg Williams' speech takes the Saints scandal to another level.
The Patriots' Sterling Moore joined Mike Dussault of Pats Propaganda and Frenz for a podcast; you can also read Erik Frenz' article on the interview here.
There is an espn Pre-Draft Party today at Gillette at 5 pm; I'm not sure exactly who will be there but Mike Reiss did say there would be a lot of big names on hand. The Pats 4th & 2 crew will follow with a draft podcast focusing on OL, DL and OLB tonight at 8.
Tom Curran of Comcast SportsNet New England has a nice mock draft roundup of Patriots draft selections from a dozen well respected national and local sites with his Mock Party Wednesday column.
Mary Paoletti of CSNNE takes a look at an Average Depth of Target study by PFF, and Applies the average depth to Patriots pass catchers.
Pro Football Focus also has Aaron Hernandez: The New NFL Athlete. Will S. expands on that article with Are The Patriots Aiming Towards A More Balanced Offense In 2012?. Will looks at what the Saints have done with their offense and how the Pats can learn from that, and better utilize their running backs. In addition it could aid in putting up points against premier defenses (which has been an issue in recent playoff games), and the defense benefits as well.
The NFL preseason schedule was released. Let's see, week one the Pats play the Saints, so all we will hear about is another rehashing of misinformation about spygate, comparing it and contrasting it to the Saints' bounties. That should inspire Philly fans to call for a congressional hearing to award them the 2003 Super Bowl prior to the Pats week two game against the Eagles. Week three this displaced fan gets to see the Pats play locally, but do I really want to subject myself to melting in Florida humidity in August for three hours? Then to wrap things up we get to relive dozens of slow motion replays from the last two SB losses as the Pats play the Giants. Uggh.
It is opening day and the first day of the Masters, all while the Frozen Four is taking place in my own backyard - yet I still find myself more interested in NFL news. Times have changed quite a bit since I was a kid.
The Ravens' Ed Reed becomes the latest in a long line of NFL players to invoke the word 'family' into contract negotiations. Perhaps it has something to do with Baltimore signing CB Lardarius Webb to a six-year deal with a $10 million signing bonus, $20 million guaranteed, and worth a maximum of $50 million. Here's the thing though: Webb is 26; Reed will turn 34 when the season kicks off. For what it's worth Webb did not allow a single touchdown last year, and opposing quarterbacks throwing his way had a rating of 56.6. I had hoped the Pats would make a run at Webb, but I can obviously understand why they did not after seeing those numbers. There is a very limited number of players that any NFL team can sign to big contracts like that without painting themselves into a corner in terms of quality depth in future years.
The Jets signed rugby player Hayden Smith, but at least one NYJ site is less than enthusiastic, writing that the Jets Signing of Smith is More of the Same.
In 2010 WalMart spent $110k (394th) on lobbying in New York state; in 2011 they spent $2.8 million (3rd) on lobbying there. What's up with that?
Let's see what has happened on April 5th over the years...
Pocahontas married John Rolfe on April 5, 1614
Educator, author, and founder of Tuskegee University Booker T. Washington was born on April 5, 1856
Movie icon Spencer Tracy was born on April 5, 1900
The greatest thing to ever come out of Lowell, Bette Davis, was born on April 5, 1908
Gregory Peck was born on April 5, 1916
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="The Riddler, Frank Gorshin was born on April 5, 1934"]
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Colin Powell was born on April 5, 1937
Michael Moriarty was born on April 5, 1941
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="342" caption="Abba singer Agnetha Faltskog was born on April 5, 1950"]
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Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death for spying on April 5, 1951
Winston Churchill resigned as prime minister of Great Britain on April 5, 1955
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Christopher Reid was born on April 5, 1964"]
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[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Krista Allen was born on April 5, 1971"]
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An emaciated and deranged Howard Hughes died on April 5, 1976 at the age of 70
Canned Heat founder Bob "the Bear" Hite dies from a heart attack at the age of 36 on April 5, 1981
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke Wilt Chamerlain's record for the NBA's all-time scoring record with his 31,420th point on April 5, 1984
Kurt Cobain died at age 27 on April 5, 1994
Alice in Chains' Layne Staley dies of a drug overdose eight years to the day after Kobain's death on April 5, 2002
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Charlton Heston died at the age of 84 on April 5, 2008"]
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[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="320" caption="Marshall amplifiers are the reason I can only hear out of one ear"]
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Jim Marshall, inventor of the Marshall amplifier, died today at age 88
