Mr. Briggs Goes to Washington, Perhaps

Lance Briggs, Bears linebacker and all-around unhappy camper, and his agent what's his name are pushing a trade from the Bears to the Washingtons, according to Len Pasquarelli. What's his name and Washington's owner, Daniel Snyder, can agree to a contract, Lenny the P reports.

The thing that is disturbing in this whole scenario is the fact that the players through their association, the Player's Association, agreed to the whole franchise tag system that the NFL teams employ. But Briggs and what's are really just jobbing the system. Briggs said he would sit out the first 10 games and then play the six so that he gets credit for the whole year.

Washington will propose a swap of first-round draft picks in this year's draft -- the Redskins own the sixth overall selection and Chicago has the 31st choice -- in exchange for Briggs.

I don't think this is enough for Briggs. If I were Bears GM Jerry Angelo, I'd look around to see if there is a team or two that they could job the system right back. Unfortunately, the Bears I think have to protect themselves in this situation. So they have to be buyers for the right deal.

But the unhappiness of every player who is franchised (except for kickers) has to be addressed. Each player who gets slapped, so to speak, with the tag is upset.

thankyouverymuch,

OldCleat

Peter King Loves Pats Moves; OldCleat Does NOT

Peter King, in this week's SI, lovingly describes a New England Patriots offseason as one for the ages. "In New England, the rich don't just get richer. They get smarter," King coos. Well, I disagree. They have signed Adalius Thomas ... and that is their best offseason move so far.

I have no problem giving the Patriots credit when they've done the right thing. And they've done the right thing over and over and over again in their recent history. Most notably, they drafted Tom Brady in the sixth round of the draft in 2000.

This of course made up for the fact that they passed on Brady and instead drafted Adrian Klemm in the second round, J.R. Redmond in the third round, Greg Randall in the fourth round, the incomparable Dave Stachelski and Jeff Marriott in the fifth round, and Antwan Harris in the sixth round before Brady. I guess I'm saying that the Pats lucked into Tom Brady.

They were also lucky that Cleveland drafted the really incomparable SpergonWynn of S.W. Texas State and New Orleans drafted MarcBulger (actually, this was a pretty good pick) in the 2000 sixth round before the Pats tabbed Brady. So I guess I'm saying that Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli are good, very good, but not geniuses.

But this offseason I think has been a not great one for the Pats. The Thomas move was very good, because Belichick will be able to put him in situations to succeed. I will say one thing, however. While the Pats picked up Thomas, they lost Tully Banta-Cain. This may be a little thing. But it all adds up.

I thought the Pats were very smart in being able to get a first-round pick last year for Deion Branch. However, this offseason, they had to trade a second and a seventh for Wes Welker, who is not close to being as good a wide receiver, to replace Branch. They gave up too much for Wes Welker, and that also makes the Branch deal a little less wonderful.

As for their other starter at wideout, they signed Donte' Stallworth with a $12 million signing bonus for a contract worth $30 million over six years (how muchdid Branch want?). Stallworth's best season: 70 catches, 945 yards, 13.5 yards per catch, and 7 TDs. He's been in the league five years. The Saints and Eagles ain't losing sleep over losing him. Good signing?

Last year, King notes, the Pats had to suffer with Jabar Gaffney, Reche Caldwell and Troy Brown as their wideouts. I agree. But they are trying to fix their problem with Stallworth and Kelley Washington, who was a disappointment with the Bengals. Washington's best season was his second, with 31 receptions, 378 yards, 12.2 yards per catch, and 3 TDs. While his signing bonus was only $300,000, he has a $4 million bonus due in 2008. Bet he doesn't collect it. I've seen him play for four years in Cincinnati. He's not as good a player as he thinks he is. Washington sort of reminds me of David Terrell, without all the talent.

King says "2006 first-round pick Laurence Maroney [is] ready to become a 300-carry-a-season running back," though it appeared to me that Maroney was badly faded at the end of his rookie year. I believe the Pats had to cut Corey Dillon, though.

Been there. Dillon became unhappy in New England just like he did in Cincinnati. But King is happy with the Sammy Morris sign as an alternative. He can't be serious. I think Heath Evans is a better player than Sammy Morris. The Pats better keep looking for another back.

The Pats lost Daniel Graham at tight end, which is fine, because he wasn't their best tight end and wasn't worth $6 million a year. But then they signed a badly faded Kyle Brady for almost $3 million a year. Terrible signing. I remember Belichick almost jumping off a roof as Cleveland's head coach a hundred years ago because Kyle Brady was drafted right in front of his pick. He then traded the rights to J.J. Stokes in a huff, which turned out to be a pretty good call, though I thought it was a terrible decision at the time.

And finally, there's the Asante Samuel franchise tag for $7.79 million for one year. That's a tough one for me to decide on, because there are no good corners on the B-list. But a few years ago, the Pats would have let him walk and drafted a guy like, well, Asante Samuel in the fourth round and plugged him in.

King says: "New England's flurry of activity doesn't signify a shift in philosophy." Horsefeathers. I think the Thomas sign doesn't shift their philosophy, because they were willing to go after great, best-in-class, expensive, available players before, such as Dillon or Roosevelt Colvin. But when have they started overspending for guys like Stallworth? Or spending $5 million for the first two years of a mediocrity like Sammy Morris? Kelley Washington?

There is still time in the offseason to stick to what makes the Patriots the Patriots. The Pats haveplenty of time to pick up a couple of good players very cheap very late, a bargain like Edgerton Hartwell or Warrick Holdman, or even a LaVar Arrington at linebacker. They could get a Mike Doss at safety or a Kevan Barlow at running back at dime store prices, and that would be the Patriots I know and respect.

thankyouverymuch,

OldCleat

Pass Interference Rule Is Looked at By Mike Nolan

The pass interference rule in the NFL has been a source of frustration for years. Mike Nolan, the coach of the Niners and Dick Nolan's son, has stepped up and is being counted. He is asking the competition committee to let the officials have some say as to whether the pass interference call should be a spot foul or a 15-yard penalty.

I think that many of the pass interference calls really hurt the game. I have seen terrible calls getting 50 yards for the offense. I've seen two players go for the ball, and the offense getting an automatic first-and-goal from the one-yard line.

There are other penalties that need to be addressed. I think the 5-yard chuck rule being an automatic first down is a bad rule. There should be a minor roughing the passer rule that is a 5-yard and play over rule, and a major roughing the passer rule that is a 15-yard personal foul. I think the sideline rulings have become bad; many of these players are making football plays, and they get the 15 -yard penalties because the opposing player steps out of bounds nano-seconds before the action happens.

The NFL officials need some more flexibility on these plays.

Deon Grant Sees Safety in Numbers

Deon Grant is now the third-highest paid safety in the NFL, according to John Clayton of ESPN. Wow, that's a whole lotta dough for a mediocre safety. Grant is nowhere near a top safety in the NFL, nor does he have any sort of special skill that would warrent an $11 million signing bonus.

Teams are throwing their monies around. While I don't think it's as bad a signing as Leonard Davis, (who received more than $13 million in a signing bonus), Grant isn't that great of a player. And Davis at least has an appreciable skill of being a road grader that makes him somewhat attractive as a player. Grant isn't a huge sticker, and I've never heard anyone who has been wowed by his cover ability or speed.

Ed Reed makes more, but is much better. Best safety in the league. Roy Williams makes more, but is a much better tackler and a play-at-the-line sort of safety. Adam Archlata was signed for too much money last year, but at least he is really fast for a 215-pounder. Micheal Lewis was a pro bowler and a pretty great player.

ESPN has Grant listed as the second-best free agent saftey available, behind Ken Hamlin. I call that damning with faint praise. Of course, that says even less for the fellas that are behind these two, such as Terrence Kiel, Mike Doss, Robert Griffith, Kevin Kaesviharn, Shaun Williams, Terrence Holt, Todd Johnson, Troy Vincent, Tyrone Carter, or Tony Parrish. But I would say that all of those safeties offer something that Grant doesn't, one way or the other. (I say that even though Kevin Kaesviharn has driven me to drink several times in the last several years.) Most are better run supporters, some are better coverage guys, and a few are younger.

Grant's an OK player, not the third best safety in the league. You have to play the salary cap game correctly in the NFL, and this isn't a signing that will do that. What happened to the idea a few years ago that Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick were geniuses for not signing mediocre to good players for huge salaries?

thankyouverymuch,

OldCleat

Cleveland Rocks the Offseason

Say what you want, but to me, it looks like Cleveland is having a helluva offseason. The Browns struck early, bagging Eric Steinbach. Did they overpay? Maybe. But at least they paid for a young, athletic offensive lineman who can swing to tackle (even left tackle) if they need him to. He has the most upside of all the offensive lineman in free agency this year.

Then, they added Jamal Lewis. With the uncertain status of Reuben Droughns, Lewis was a fantastic pickup. He will pound between the tackles. This makes Charlie Frye or Derek Anderson better, makes Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow (who is a warrior!!!) more dangerous. Maybe Lewis won't take it to the house 70 yards away anymore, but he will pound you. I hear that they may cut Droughns. That may not be a bad move, salary cap wise. But if he is on the Browns, that's just ensuring that you have a couple of pounders.

On defense, the Browns signed Kenny Wright, a mediocre corner in a mediocre class, and Antwan Peek. Peek didn't pan out for the Texans as an outside linebacker in the 3-4, but maybe he will for the Browns. Maybe not, but if you run the 3-4, you can never have too many options. Mike Vrabel didn't pan out for the Steelers as a backer in the 3-4, and he's had a pretty good run in New England. Wright, well, what the hey, there aren't too many other options.

What did the Browns lose? Dennis Northcutt. No biggie.

Cleveland hasn't made the moves that Denver has, but the Brownies have improved.

thankyouverymuch,

OldCleat

Paydirt: Might as well jump

Might as well JUMP. There is a nice list of juniors who are jumping to the NFL on the offensive side of the ball. Dwayne Jarrett and Adrian Peterson join that list. Jarrett sure looked good against Michigan. I would be a little leery of him, however. He just looks skinny to me. But I love Adrian Peterson. He certainly is a guy I would take a chance on. He could be a franchise-making running back.

Walk on by. Darius Walker, the Notre Dame tailback who could have used a few more carries against LSU, saw that Adrian Peterson of Oklahoma was going to go pro, so he immediately announced that he, too, was going to skip his senior season and go pro. Actually, I don't quite know what Walker is thinking. Walker is listed at 5-10, 208. He doesn't look 208 to me. He looks smaller. I imagine he will be a second-day pick, maybe a fifth or sixth rounder like Walli Lundy, who was picked fairly low out of Virginia. Lundy had a nice rookie season. To me, Marshawn Lynch of Cal seems to be the better breakaway back.

Conversation. "Roger?" "Yes?" "Roger, it's Paul." "Paul, how are you?" "Fine, Roger, fine. Now listen, Roger. My jacket size is 46, 2XL. Now my tailor is coming over to fit up the sleeves and take in at the waist. I have such a hard time being fitted for jackets." "Well, yes sir. That'll be fine." "And Roger, I'm going to have my fabric gal come over and discuss options for the gold. You know, Old Pete picked those out, and they are just garish. You know I told him many times that Chan didn't like them and that we should change them." "Yes sir." "Now, Roger, instead of that chintzy stuff, I'm going to get a nice breathable wool, and my gal ... I don't recall her name..." "It's Mitzy, sir." "Oh yes, Mitzy, is going to tone down that gold." "Is that all sir?" "Well, that's it for now. Give my best to Jane. I've called over at Michael's, and now they should be able to get you in next Tuesday." "Thank you Paul. Goodbye."

Paydirt: Famers.

Famers. Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn Sr. were elected to the baseball Hall of Fame yesterday. Ripken is No. 3 in voting percentage all time, with 98.53 percent of the votes cast for him. He beat out Ty Cobb, George Brett, and Hank Aaron. I can see Brett, maybe. That a higher percentage of voters voted for him than Aaron is ludicrous. I like Ripken, but ... . Tony Gwynn received 97.61 percent of the vote, higher than Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench, Steve Carlton, BABE RUTH, and Honus Wagner. That is insane. Sorry, Tony, but that is just wrong.

Flex time. Mark McGwire received 23.5 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers Association of America to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The minimum needed was 75 percent of the vote. Many didn't vote for him because they think he might have taken steroids. Many argue that the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" applies in a court of law, but this ain't a court of law. That is probably true. However, when sitting in judgement of someone, you need to have some sort of due process, and McGwire's Congressional testimony doesn't cut it for me as far as due process. And certainly Jose Canseco's book means nothing to me. McGwire was a 12-time All-Star, he is 13th all-time in on-base plus slugging percentage, 10th all-time in slugging percentage, and is No. 1 all-time in home runs per at-bat. I think he is a Hall of Famer, and I think he belongs in Cooperstown.

My name is Jose. What about Canseco? He received six votes for the Hall of Fame, and he is no longer eligible for elections by the BBWAA. He was a six-time All-Star. He was in the top five in slugging in his league five times, and he won an MVP award. He may not be a Hall of Famer, but he was worth more than six votes.

E. One of my top 10 favorite players of all time, Eric Davis, received just three votes (half as many as Canseco!?!) and is also no longer eligible. Davis won three Gold Gloves, two Silver Slugger awards ... and that's about it. But he was about as five-tool as you can come. Unfortunately for him, that sixth tool, namely staying healthy, wasn't in his arsenal.

Goose, Rice, Andre, Bert. Goose Gossage, Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, and Bert Blyleven are the next four on the list that still have not gotten in. I hope that they do next year. They all deserve to.

Good Broncos. I think that Florida deserved the No. ranking in college football this year. I think the Broncos of Boise State should have been No. 2. They didn't play for the National Championship, so the team that wins that game deserves it. But they won their BCS bowl, and every other game that they played this year.

Bad Broncos. Not to single out Mike Shanahan, but he is responsible for firing Larry Coyer, the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos. They has the best defense in the NFL after five games, and finished the season 14th overall. If you're a half-empty guy, that means you slipped 13 places in 11 games. If you're a half-full guy, it means that your defensive was top-half of the league, even though your offense wasn't holding on to the ball as much as it had been earlier. But it seems that NFL head coaches are throwing over their coordinators (and other assorted assistant coaches) much more than they had 15 or 20 years ago.

Paydirt: Whoops, I think the Gators just scored again.

Whoops, I think the Gators just scored again. Watchingthe BCS Championship Game last night, I was struck by how similar it was to the 1996 Fiesta Bowl game that Nebraska beat Florida 62-24. In that game, Florida kept using five-wide formations all night (before that was a totally accepted concept). The problem was, Nebraska's defense was so much faster than Florida's O-line that they beat the living bejesus out of DannyWuerffel. Florida's passing offense didn't produce first downs and points. Last night, Ohio State didn't adjust during the game. Florida's defensive ends specifically and D-line generally were beating OSU's O-line soundly. At some point, you need to keep more blockers in.

In the zone. At some point, if you are getting whupped by a team that is throwing bubble screen and four-yard passes time and time again, you need to get out of your zone and start manning up with some deep safety help. Yet the Buckeyes let Florida just carve 'em up.

Chris Leak. All the things thatI've now read about this kid, and, yes, I compared him to Troy Smith unfavorably ... for all that, this kid is classy. He came to Florida with huge fanfare, and he left the all-time leading passer and National Champion. Enjoy this time, Chris. You earned it probably more than most.

Ginn up the works. Boy, is Ted Ginn fast.

Zooker. If I were an Illinois fan, and I admit that I am a Ron Zook fan, I would be giddy right now. Zook knows how to recruit. I actually think he knows how to coach as well. And when it comes down to it, there isn't really much more than those two factors. I think the Illini future looks pretty good.

Paydirt

You can call me Bobby. Atlanta hired Bobby Petrino. I liked Jim Mora better, and I think that the Falcons should have stuck with him. But Petrino has some NFL coaching experience as a quarterbacks coach and an offensive coodinator. John L. Smith built the Louisville program, and Petrino took it over and advanced it a little bit. (Just a thought, but maybe Smith will come back to Louisville. I think he is fun to watch.) But the NFL is another kettle of meat. (from Bob Dylan's "Quinn the Mighty Eskimo": "Ain't my cup of meat".) More coaching changes. I think that this move helps the Steelers. Strike another team off of the Wisenhunt-Grimm bandwagon. Arizona, Miami, Oakland, and Pittsburgh are still looking. Here are some of the rumors. Norm Chow, former USC and BYU offensive coordinator and current Tennessee Titan offensive coordinator, to Arizona to coach Matt Leinart. The Dolphins are going to go all out after Pete Carroll, USC's head coach. If I were the decision maker in Pittsburgh, I would go for Russ Grimm. I also may try to start a Mike Ditka rumor to Pittsburgh. That could be fun. Oakland? Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, Buddy Ryan's kid, would seem to be the front-runner. He's a Raider now. The players like him. His defense played very well. God help 'em if they pick John Shoop. I also could see them going to Ken Wisenhunt, the Steelers offensive coordinator. I would love to see Mike Singletary be a head coach somewhere. But I don't think Oakland would be the place. Tom Coughlin will be back with the Giants if the Giants can't convince Charley Weis or Bill Parcells to come coach in New York. Tony the Slip. Shut up already about the shiny, slippery football. Tony Romo just didn't handle it. Reminds all of the Brad St. Louis-Kyle Larson botched snap that killed the Bengals' playoff chances. Here's a thought: have a wide receiver do the holding. A wideout should have better hands than a backup quarterback, not to mention a punter. WRs should beway more athletic when the snap is no good. The added arm strength a QB should be offset by the speed and the fact that a wide receiver wouldn't really need tothrow a deep out on a botched extra point or even a botched field goal. Rex Kern lives. Ohio State will win the National Championship game tonight 30-14 over Florida. You say it's your birthday? Happy birthday, King. Seventy-two, if my counting is right. My friend, Hot Doug, who owns a hot dog stand, has the Dr. George Nichopoulos as his special sausage today. The game sausage of the week? Gator. Go Buckeyes.

Paydirt

Cowher power. Bill Cowher more than anything did the nearly impossible, namely, replace a Hall of Fame coach like Chuck Noll, and have a Hall of Fame career right after. Off the top of my head: Tommy Lasorda for the Dodgers, Bill Russell (maybe?) for the Celtics and Tom Osborne at Nebraska maybe sorta equal what Cowher did. I'll have to do some more research on that. Shell game. Poor darned Art Shell. I feel I doomed him bysaying it was the best coaching hire of the year. But, more, I feel bad for him because I think he deserved another shot at an NFL head coaching job for years, and when he finally got it, he really laid an egg. You can win anywhere in the NFL, but that Raiders job would be the worst place to be a head coach in the league right now, if you ask me. Secret Leak. Chris Leak was the No. 1 player out of high school as a senior four years ago. Quarterback. Signed famously for Florida. Is Florida's all-time passing yardage leader. Starter as a freshman. Won the SEC title several times. Is playing for a National Championship Monday night. Andthe biggest name in the game? Troy Smith. Smith wins the Heisman. Smith will probably be a first-day pick in the NFL draft, maybe a first-rounder. I'll be interested to see if Leak is drafted, and if he is, where. [Todd McShay of ESPN has Chris Leak as the No. 7 QB in the draft, after Kevin Kolb of Houston. He also said that Leak merits some consideration as a second-day prospect.] And Smith wasn't not only not heralded coming out of high school, he wasn't the starter his sophomore year. It was Justin Zwick, also a sophomore and the big-name high school recruit QB for the Buckeyes. Remeber that when you hear about such-and-such a school winning the recruiting wars in football.

Paydirt

Oops, I think LSU just scored again. The Tigers did anumber on the Irish in the Sugar Bowl. Be interesting to see how JaMarcus Russell is perceived by the NFL, or at least fans. He has a real nice arm and is huge. He doesn't seem to be real close to NFL-ready, but he can chuck. Quinn the Mighty Raider? If there is a team that needs a quarterback that would pass on Brady Quinn to get a player like Russell, I'm guessing that team would be the Raiders. Pennington over Brees. I said that I would take Chad Pennington over Drew Brees in terms of injured QBs coming back (I also picked Art Shell as a great coaching hire and Eric Mangini as a bad one). The AP agreed, giving Pennington the Comeback Player of the Year Award over Brees. The only problem is ... I don't agree with it. I think Brees deserved the award, albeit slightly. Barren desert. I don'tagree with those who say that the Arizona job is terrible and noone should take it. They were saying that about the Cincinnati job before Marvin Lewis.There were those who were saying that Marvin should have turned the job down and waited for another one, a better one. You can win in the NFL anywhere, despite any sort of team history. Just because Denny Green was fired in Arizona, and they haven't had a playoff game since Jake the Snake was their QB, doesn't mean you can't win there.

Paydirt

Good luck, Nick: The Alabama job ain't the Michigan State job or even the LSU job. The list of coaches forced out or fired: Ray Perkins, Bill Curry, Gene Stallings, Mike DuBose, Dennis Franchione, and Mike Shula. Two GMs do great job. The two GMs of the two best NFL teams this season are due some credit after their respective bashings earlier in their careers. A.J. Smith has received some credit for the Chargers, but, really, it is Marty Schottenheimer who receives most of the credit. And in Chicago, Jerry Angelo should be hailed. But, instead, the question is whether to pull Rex Grossman after a few bad passes in the playoffs. Michigan CB has some woes. Leon Hall was a Jim Thorpe candidate in '06, but I think his Rose Bowl might have cost him a little money. He was beat and beat bad on the Dwayne Jarrett long TD. Now, there were plenty of breakdowns in the Wolverine secondary, but I'm just sayin'. The kid is No. 3 on Mel's Big Board. ... Go where you're drafted: Heard Greeney on Mike squared this morning say that Brady Quinn should pull an Eli and try to get out of the Raiders' clutches in the '07 draft. Couldn't disagree with him more. You just don't know how things turn out. Teams change all the time. Pats top pick. OK: Here is the Super Bowl 41 (XLI) prediction: New England gets revenge for Super Bowl No. 20 by beating the Bears. Go ... Run ... Fly to Vegas and put all your money on every team other than the Pats and Bears. thankyouverymuch. OldCleat

Know Your Super Bowl MVPs, No. 4

Know your Super Bowl MVPs. This former Super Bowl MVP is the second Super Bowl MVP from Junípero Serra High School, the same high school that produced Barry Bonds. He is a quarterback who has been named Super Bowl MVP more than once.

Barely Representative Jack Kingston Ain't No Ripken

I always used to smile when they described Cal Ripken Jr. as the "Iron Man." Now, don't get me wrong, his onsecutive game streak was impressive. But, hey, he worked from February to October, maybe November if he was lucky. The earliest salary I got for him was in 1985, when he made $800,000 for eight months work, which might make it easier to get up in the morning.

He is going to the Hall of Fame. He was a great player.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ripkeca01.shtml

But the Iron Men (metaphorically, just sounds better than "Iron People") that I think of are the guys and gals who work 50 weeks a year, five or six days a week, laying pipe, or even in an office, or out on the road, or in a police station or a firehouse. And they ain't making $800,000. And then there are those men andwomen who had to leave their families behind to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.

And then there are the folks in Washington who sent them there.

House majority leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is makingthe members of the House of Representatives work a five-day week. Five whole days a week. The response?

Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), says "Keeping us up here eats away at families. Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families, that's what this says."

Time away from Washington is just as important tobeing an effective member
of Congress as time spent in the Capitol, said Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga.
"When I'm here, people call me Mr. Congressman. When I'm home, people call
me 'Jack you stupid SOB why did you vote that way?' It keeps me
grounded."

Really? You had me at "stupid SOB." How about all those folks you and your friends sent to Iraq? Was that an "anti-family" action?

This isn't new for representative Kingston. Accordingto the Chicago Sun Times, in 1998 Kingston said, "You can't be in Washington five days a week and service your district. I'm just enough of a populist to believe that the real action is on the streets of America and not in Washington."

Here is an editorial from the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/06/AR2006120601780.html

The 109th Congress will have been in session for agrand total of 103 days
this year, which, as Lyndsey Layton pointed out in yesterday's Post, is seven
days fewer than the "Do-Nothing Congress" of 1948. Anordinary full-time worker
with a generous four weeks of vacation would have clocked 240 days of work
duringthat same period.

... they need time to campaign and to grub for campaign cash. But it's
undeniable that the time lawmakers spend in the capital, actually legislating,
has been on a downward path for the past few decades. According to the American
Enterprise Institute's Norman Ornstein, the average number of days in session
for a two-year Congress has dropped from 323 in the 1960s and '70s to just 250
during the first six yearsof the Bush presidency.

Eats away at families? Gee, Mr. Kingston, they could move here. And, we
wonder: Where, exactly, did you think the Capitol was when you ran for this
job?

Know Your Super Bowl MVPs, No. 3

Know your Super Bowl MVPs. This Super Bowl MVP led his college football team to back-to-back Grantland Rice Bowls. He was named the MVP of the Grantland Rice Bowl as a junior when his college team beat Akron, 33-13. In this Super Bowl MVP's senior year, the Rice Bowl was a different story, as his squad lost to East Tennessee State, 34-14. This quarterback was sacked 12 times in that game. The quarterback for East Tennessee that game was named Larry Graham. Who is this Super Bowl MVP?

Some Slug(ger)s Rank Louisville No. 4

This is ridiculous. Louisville is undefeated, and somehow, in the USA Today poll, they are ranked No. 4 in the nation, behind one-loss Texas.

Now, I understand that Texas' only loss was to Ohio State, and that they should be rewarded for playing a team like that. I have litte problem with them being a top-five one-loss school. But Louisville just beat the No. 3 team in the nation, formerly undefeated West Virginia! And they are undefeated. And they beat Miami (OK, not a great accomplishment, but, who knew?)

Who cares what the Cardinals do Thursday night? (As my good friend, Doug Sohn, says ... "On any given Thursday night ... ") The Cards play the Knights of Rutgers, another undefeated team. (Greg Schiano for Governor of New Jersey!!! ... or maybe mayor of Miami, Florida, if you know what I mean.)

And why is Rutgers No. 14 in the nation, behind two-loss LSU? Sure, an SEC schedule is brutal, but Rutgers beat everyone they've played.

Ahhh, the joys of the polls.

thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat

Know Your Super Bowl MVPs No. 2

Know your Super Bowl MVPs. This is the second question. This Super Bowl MVP was a 12th-round draft pick out of Texas Christian University. He was one of the first Super Bowl MVPs to use his breakout game to score a big contract the following year. He was a Cowboy.

Know Your Super Bowl MVPs

Know your Super Bowl MVPs. This Super Bowl MVP broke Chuck Foreman's school rushing records in college at the University of Miami. He went on to become the first rookie running back in NFL history to average more than 100 yards a game rushing over the course of an NFL season. Who is this Super Bowl MVP?

Sean Casey for ... for ... for MAYOR

Sean Casey is a cool guy. Sean Casey is a great ballplayer.

Sean Casey is sssssslllllloooooowwww.

But, what the hey. Love the Mayor.

Tim Sullivan describes Casey as "baseball's best Samaritan, a genuine, honest-to-goodness, real-life George Bailey, only with much better bat speed. " I just think that George Bailey would beat Case in a foot race. While carrying all the kids.

This from the Richmond Times-Dispatch: "On the slow side: Leyland occasionally jokes about Casey's lack of speed. Yesterday, Leyland said: "My steal sign for Casey is when I jump up in the air and don't come down. When that happens, he can run." Casey, a 9-year veteran from the University of Richmond, has 15 career steals, peaking with four in 2003." -- John Markon

Sullivan also writes: "Long before he attained All-Star status, Casey was so friendly to fans of the Cape Cod League that Brewster (Mass.) manager Mike Kirby was moved to remind him that he was a ballplayer and not the mayor. Casey has been known as “The Mayor” ever since. "

Anyway, I love the Mayor, and I'm glad to see him get a shot at the postseason.

thankyouverymuch,

OldCleat

Boomer Esiason Foundation Is a Four-Star Charity

If you live in New York or on the East Coast, a fantastic charity does great work and has a ton of great events for you.

Here is a link to a piece about the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

http://heartdonation.blogspot.com/2006/09/boomer-esiason-foundation-is.html

Here is another link regarding Jim Otto and the "Legends of Center" award.

http://rbcsacramento.wordpress.com/2006/08/31/otto-finalist-for-legends-of-center-award/

The BEF does great work, and is a four-star charity.