Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/2
It’s the 92nd day of the year and we pause for the briefest of moments to honor those who wore No. 92 at Arrowhead. It’s a brief moment because there haven’t been many who have excelled in the number. The best may have been Darren Mickell. Others who have worn the number were Dan Williams, James Reed, Carlos Hall and Eric Downing.
On April 2, 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond. On April 2, 1992, the “Teflon Don” New York Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering. He was later sentenced to life in prison, where he passed away.
On this day in 1743, Thomas Jefferson was born in Shadwell, Virginia and on April 2, 1995 Harvey Penick died in Austin, Texas. A teaching golf pro and golf coach at the University of Texas for 33 years, over a decade ago he put his teaching philosophy on paper in Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book, the best selling sports-related book in history. One of Penick’s most famous quotes: “Life consists of a lot of minor annoyances and a few matters of real consequence.”
Yeah, but those minor annoyances can drive you crazy.
One observation: saw a national webpage listing of stories Wednesday night and here were four that appeared one after another:
- Man wants guilty (murder) plea withdrawn in (Sean) Taylor case.
- Man accused of shooting (Richard) Collier gets trial delay.
- (Plaxico) Burress gun case adjourned until June.
- Two slain in N.Y. condo owned by Saints (Jonathan) Vilma.
Don’t know what it means, but it sure caught my attention.
Other items that did as well follow.
From the Nashville Tennessean: The Titans have asked the NFL to look into tampering charges against the Washington Redskins in the signing of defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, sources familiar with the situation said. The Titans recently turned in what they considered to be evidence that the Redskins had contact with Haynesworth before he became a free agent in February. The league indicated to the Titans that it planned to look into the matter.
Haynesworth, who played his first seven NFL seasons with the Titans, agreed to terms on a $100 million contract with the Redskins five hours into the free agency period on Feb. 27. Titans officials declined to comment Wednesday. Greg Aiello, senior vice president for the NFL, would neither confirm nor deny that the Titans had contacted the league.
“There are issues of tampering that come up from time to time and if we need to take some action then of course we announce that,” Aiello said. “Until then we don’t comment on it.”
It will be interesting to see what comes of these tampering charges. If its proven true, then action usually depends on what owner is going to get gored. For example, back in 1995 the Chiefs had phone recover proof that then offensive line coach Alex Gibbs had been talking with the Broncos, even though he had just signed a new contract with the Chiefs. The Chiefs never gave Denver permission to speak with Gibbs, but the phone log showed that didn’t stop the Broncos or Gibbs. When he left to join Mike Shanahan’s coaching staff in ‘95, the Chiefs filed tampering charges and presented their evidence to then Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Result: nothing. Tagliabue refused to deal with the issue, largely because owner Pat Bowlen was such a heavyweight in the league, especially when it came to the television and compensation committees. Tags knew Lamar Hunt would be upset, but wouldn’t hold it against him.
From the San Jose Mercury-News:
The San Francisco 49ers and the city of Santa Clara are on the brink of finalizing a stadium deal. With terms significantly more favorable to the South Bay city than those discussed last year, both the 49ers ownership and city officials agreed Wednesday that most negotiating hurdles have been cleared and that a deal is at hand — if Santa Clara voters agree — to build a 68,500-seat stadium that would open for the 2013 NFL season.
The concessions by both sides, which sources familiar with the talks said include the 49ers paying Santa Clara to use city-owned land near Great America for the stadium, and a significantly smaller subsidy from the city’s Redevelopment Agency, came through more than a year of steady negotiations. With the nation plunging into a serious recession, the deal appears to have been shaped by the political reality of winning taxpayer financing for a stadium in tough times. It would move the 49ers a big step closer to leaving San Francisco after seven decades and five Super Bowl titles.
“Until we get the deal done, we’re not going to confirm any of the things that are out there,” 49ers President Jed York said Wednesday, when asked about the concessions. “But I think we are getting pretty close to getting a deal done.” York, who has been increasingly positive about finalizing a deal with Santa Clara in his public statements in recent weeks, added: “I’d be disappointed if (the City Council vote) wasn’t by June.”
In the current economic and political climate in California, if the 49ers pull this off it will be a major victory. The worst stadiums in the NFL are in what was formerly the Golden State. San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego are dumps that should have been abandoned years ago. Candlestick was bad 20 years ago and it’s not gotten any better. Expect to hear some screaming by politicos in San Francisco – including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi – about the Niners leaving the city. But they never come back with any options that make sense for the team.
From the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel: Could Miami Dolphins tailback Ricky Williams be the world’s most famous admitted weed smoker? That’s a question I found myself wondering while watching his interview with ESPN First Take.
While I’m no longer fascinated by his past as a marijuana fan, most of the country still is. [Editorial note: This sentence might apply to the nation's fascination with Williams' love for ganja, or the country's fascination with smoking herb.] During this three minute interview Williams talks about the massage school he’s attending, the scholarship that’s now in his honor, and how he hopes it brings awareness to the powers and impact of holistic medicines. Williams said he hopes to inspire “young men to try something new and learn to see the world in a different way.”
To no one’s surprise he also tackles some “desire to smoke” question, saying: “People like to say it’s a marijuana issue, but I don’t look at it that way,” Williams said. “I’ve never been in trouble with the police. I’ve never had any kind of issue except for around my job. For me, it was an issue of being a football player. I think I’ve framed my life in a way that football fits in and feels better to me, and so these problems have been resolved by becoming more of a well rounded person…
“I’m so focused now on moving forward with my life that I don’t have much down time to do things like smoking marijuana.”
MORE
This blog item on Williams presents an interesting picture of this guy and what motivates and drives him today. There’s no doubt he’s always lived in a world outside the mainstream. We have learned that part of that comes from an anxiety disorder he suffers from, which explains some of his behavior. But Ricky Williams doesn’t think like a normal NFL player other than the fact he has come to love the game.
It’s ok Ricky, just think of all that POT you can smoke after you retire from the NFL for good next time.
The draft is getting closer everyday and I can hardly wait to see what our GM OF THE YEAR brings.
GO CHIEFS!!!!!!
pssssst, hey Ricky, does that ganja therapy really help? I really need a break from my temper tantrums and all so I thought maybe you and me could slip out back and blaze it up and then I could tell you all about my problems with life and how it’s so unfair for me to not be idolized because I rule!
I think Willy Nelson is a more famous admitted weed smoker.