PigSkin Info

Posted on Thursday, 12th March 2009 by admin

SAN DIEGO - Chargers president Dean Spanos seemed to have the best perspective on the LaDainian Tomlinson saga.

“The alternative was just unthinkable. He belongs in San Diego,” Spanos said after the Chargers and Tomlinson agreed to a reworked three-year deal late Tuesday.

L.T. feels the same way. That’s because the alternative, of course, would have been for the star running back to be released had the sides not reached a deal. Even as talks dragged on and speculation mounted that the 2006 NFL MVP might be finished in San Diego, Tomlinson never envisioned joining another team.

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Tags: 2006 nfl mvp, ladainian tomlinson, san diego chargers
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Posted on Wednesday, 11th March 2009 by admin

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets signed former Patriots linebacker and special teams standout Larry Izzo on Wednesday.

Izzo, 34, played the past eight seasons with New England and made the Pro Bowl as a special teamer three times, in 2000, ‘02 and ‘04. He had 14 tackles on special teams last season, the eighth time he has led his team in that category.

Izzo has 257 special teams tackles in 188 regular-season games over 13 seasons. He began his career with Miami as an undrafted free agent out of Rice in 1996, and worked with current Jets special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff with the Dolphins. He signed with New England in 2001.

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Tags: Jets, Larry Izzo, patriots
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Posted on Wednesday, 11th March 2009 by admin

Former NFL coaches Dennis Green, Jim Fassel and Jim Haslett will lead teams in the new United Football League.

The league plans to debut in October with four teams in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Orlando and New York. It announced the coaches Wednesday.

Ex-NFL defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell will coach the New York franchise.

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Posted on Wednesday, 11th March 2009 by admin

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Lane Kiffin feels like he’s waited forever to see what his Tennessee Volunteers can do on the field.

After more than three months of recruiting, meeting with fans and donors and waiting, the new coach opened spring practice Tuesday.

“This is what it’s about,” said Kiffin, who’s been on the job since Dec. 1. “This is when it gets really exciting and really fun because we get to really do what we’re here to do, which is coach. The recruiting is fun, and the going speaking everywhere and meeting everybody, that’s fun, but this is a whole other level. This is what I love to do.”

The Vols ran through fast-paced drills during a breezy and warm 3-hour practice, and Kiffin praised the players for their energy.

“It’s a totally new ballgame,” quarterback Jonathan Crompton said. “That’s how the whole team is going about it, offense and defense.”

Plenty of changes from predecessor Phillip Fulmer’s system will be afoot during the spring, which includes 14 practices in preparation for the Orange and White Game on April 18.

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Tags: Lane Kiffin, tennessee volunteers
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Posted on Wednesday, 11th March 2009 by admin

Some in the Los Angeles area are trying to make another push for the NFL to return to the city. In this case, it’s a matter of “if they come, they will build it.”

This time, it’s City of Industry, Calif., which has approved a proposal to build a new stadium in an area 15 miles east of Los Angeles.

The $800 million venue would enable developers to talk to NFL teams about relocating.

Majestic Real Estate Co. managing partner John Semcken said the company would start looking for a team on April 1 , the deadline for opponents of the project to file a lawsuit.

Among the potential franchises looking at LA? Oakland, Buffalo and Minnesota.

“They understand the stadium, they understand the economic opportunity,” Semcken said of the NFL. He expected any move would be approved by the league. “All they want is certainty. They want to make sure our stadium is getting built.”

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told the media that the league was monitoring potential stadium developments in the Los Angeles area .

“We would like to return to the area but only under circumstances that would benefit both the community and the NFL,” he said.

The stadium would be paid for by private funds. Construction wouldn’t begin until a team agreed to move.

Los Angeles has been without an NFL team since the Rams moved to St. Louis prior to the 1995 season. The Oakland Raiders moved to Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994.

The NFL has seen a team relocate permanantly since the Houston Oilers moved to Nashville to become the Tennessee Titans.

Tags: economic opportunity, houston oilers, nfl teams, oakland raiders
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Posted on Wednesday, 11th March 2009 by admin

BUFORD, Ga. (AP) — Anyone in the market for an eight-bedroom, 11-bath home owned by one of the most notorious quarterbacks in NFL history?

Well, it’s still available.

Michael Vick’s gated-community home in suburban Atlanta went up for auction Tuesday with a minimum price of $3.2 million — a half-million dollars less than Vick paid before he moved into the luxurious dwelling in 2005. But no one showed with the qualifying payment of $160,000, which was required just to start the bidding.

Vick is in the closing months of a nearly two-year sentence for his role in funding a dogfighting ring, a criminal case that left the once-celebrated Atlanta Falcons quarterback in financial shambles. He is scheduled to be released July 20, and could be transferred to home confinement as early as May 21.

A pair of real estate agents attended the scheduled auction, held behind closed doors at a lawyer’s office amid a sprawl of strip malls, hotels and office buildings surrounding the Mall of Georgia. But they were merely interested parties, not bidders.

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Tags: atlanta falcons, michael vick
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Posted on Tuesday, 10th March 2009 by admin

Running back LaDainian Tomlinson’s career as a Charger will last at least one more season, as the franchise’s career rushing leader told SI.com Tuesday night that he’s agreed to a restructured three-year contract that — according to L.T. — benefits both sides. Terms were not immediately available.

Tags: bolts, ladainian tomlinson
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Posted on Tuesday, 10th March 2009 by admin

A week after two NFL players and two of their friends sailed into the Gulf of Mexico on a fishing trip that turned disastrous, family, friends and the lone survivor paid tribute to one of the missing men.

CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. (AP) — A week after two NFL players and two of their friends sailed into the Gulf of Mexico on a fishing trip that turned disastrous, family, friends and the lone survivor paid tribute to one of the missing men.

Several hundred people gathered at a Methodist church in Crystal River, a rural community north of Tampa, on Saturday afternoon to remember William Bleakley, a former University of South Florida player aboard the boat.

Relatives and his pastors recalled the young man’s dedication to his family, and his hard work and positive attitude on and off the football field.

“His time here was far too short,” Blake Bleakley, his older brother, told the mourners, “but very well spent.”

Bleakley was aboard a boat owned by Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper the evening of Feb. 28 when it overturned in choppy waters off Florida’s west coast. Corey Smith, a free-agent defensive lineman and 24-year-old Nick Schuyler, a former USF player, were also aboard.

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Tags: marquis cooper, schuyler, university of south florida
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Posted on Tuesday, 10th March 2009 by admin

Possible ACC Realignment?

Warchant.com ($) airs out a rumor that the ACC could be considering realigning. I don’t pay for rivals, but my message board scouring leads be to believe they are considering flip-flopping Georgia Tech and Miami with Boston College and Maryland. As long as Virginia Tech plays Miami every year I think this is a pretty good idea. Miami and FSU were placed in opposite divisions so they could meet in the ACC Championship Game. Miami is oh-for championship game appearances, while FSU made it once in 2005 when they defeated Virginia Tech.  Realigning the teams in this north south way would greatly cut down on travel costs while keeping traditional rivalries intact.

The NCAA ruled Florida State might have to vacate as many as 7 victories because of their academic misconduct scandal. FSU will definitely appeal and try to keep their victories. A successful appeal would keep Bobby Bowden within spitting distance of Joe Paterno as the all time winningest division 1 coach. Oklahoma won an appeal in 2007 that upheld their 8 victories from 2005.

Bo Pelini will cash in on Nebraska’s 9 win season. Athletic director Tom Osborne  hinted a new contract was on the way.

“All I can tell you right now is that it is something that is in process,” Osborne said. “I have no definite timetable. It takes a while with all the people that have to sign off on it at the university. But I think we have a general agreement. We just have to get all the details worked out.”

Pelini is one of the better coaches in the Big 12 and paying him like one is the smart move. With the money he has coming to him he can enjoy all the club sauce he wants.
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Tags: acc championship game, boston college, fsu, georgia tech, virginia tech
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Posted on Tuesday, 10th March 2009 by admin

Sports attorney David Cornwell is challenging the NFL’s right to discipline players by proposing to appoint an independent arbitrator to review — and have the power to change — rulings made by the commissioner.

Sports attorney David Cornwell is challenging the NFL’s right to discipline players by proposing to appoint an independent arbitrator to review — and have the power to change — rulings made by the commissioner.

Cornwell, one of four finalists in the running to replace the late Gene Upshaw as the NFL Players Association’s executive director, described the league’s current disciplinary policy as being “draconian” and requiring independent oversight.

“The notion that public relations drives or justifies draconian and unfair disciplinary actions is simply misplaced and we will no longer accept it,” Cornwell told The Associated Press. “We have the legal right to negotiate these policies … and we are going to exercise that right to get independent review of the commissioner’s decisions.”

Cornwell is closely tied to the issue of discipline after he successfully argued last season to have a federal judge block the NFL suspension of five players for violating the league’s anti-doping policy.

More…

Tags: David Cornwell, NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell
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