Bottom of the Bird Cage 5/26

It is the 146th day of the year.

On May 26, 1868 the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson ends with a vote of 35-19 against the President, but that was one vote short of the needed two-thirds total to remove him from office. Johnson had removed Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and that set off a political and constitutional hurricane that led to the articles of impeachment.

It was on this day in 1959 the word Frisbee became a registered trademark of Wham-O. On May 26, 1978, the first legal casino opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Born on May 26, 1939 in Portland, Oregon was sportscaster Brent Musburger. Hank Williams, Jr. arrived on this day in 1949 in Shreveport and on May 26, 1907 in Winterset, Iowa came the arrival of Marion Robert Morrison. He became better known as John Wayne, and went on to become a Hollywood icon, winning an Oscar and becoming America’s No. 1 box office draw for more than a decade.

And on May 26, 1926 in Alton, Illinois was born a musical genius, Miles Davis (left). He would go on to become one of the great figures in American Jazz, playing his trumpet and changing the way people listened to music. He said it best one day:

I’m always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning… Every day I find something creative to do with my life.”

From the Indianapolis Star:
The on-going uncertainty surrounding the Indianapolis Colts offensive coaching staff, coupled with a lack of communication regarding that uncertainty, isn’t setting well with quarterback Peyton Manning. “I can’t tell you what’s going on,” Manning said during a break for one of the team’s organized team activity sessions today at its Westside complex.”I will say I don’t think it’s been the most properly communicated scenario around here.”

Moore, coordinator since 1998, and Mudd, the offensive line coach since ‘98, each retired earlier this month because of concerns with the NFL’s pension plan. Owner Jim Irsay plans to bring them back as consultants, ideally for the start of training camp on Aug. 2.

Not knowing the details during the process irritated Manning, who faced losing his two most trusted coaches. “It’s not a situation that I’m just thrilled about,” he said.

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I wondered how long it would take for Manning to weigh in with his thoughts about what’s happened around the Colts. He’s been a lucky quarterback throughout his now 11-year career because those coaches most important to him never changed. Reportedly, Moore and Mudd may return to the Colts as “consultants.” There are some problems with that scenario as well. This whole situation is a mess and will be a problem for the Colts in the ‘09 season.

From the San Francisco Chronicle: When Nnamdi Asomugha was a Cal senior invited to the NFL combine, his agent offered to send Asomugha to any top-notch personal trainer of his choice. If Asomugha could boost his strength and speed, maybe he could nudge himself up a bit from his projected fifth-round draft slot. “I’ll stay with ‘Zo,” Asomugha said.

It seemed like an ill-advised and possibly disastrous move by a naive college kid. ‘Zo is Alonzo Carter, then the football and track coach at McClymonds High in Oakland. Nice fellow, good with kids, but Carter had access to only the most primitive workout facilities and equipment, had zero experience prepping players for the combine, and had below-zero cache in the cutting-edge fitness world.

Footwork, Carter could teach that. He was once the lead dancer in MC Hammer’s concert troupe. But train a player for the combine?

In six weeks, Asomugha metamorphosed into a first-round NFL draftee. The Raiders - specifically, Al Davis - used their No. 1 pick to select Asomugha, who had been All-Pac-10 … honorable mention.

Six NFL seasons later, Asomugha is a certified football star. He is an unusual bird who has come to terms with being a Raider. He honestly respects Davis, and recently signed a three-year contract, the first two seasons guaranteed for $28.5 million.

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This is a great story about the best cornerback in the NFL and the man who helped him get there. In this age when potential draft picks end up spending months in glossy, high-tech training centers, here’s evidence that “old school” will work with the right teacher and the right pupil.

From the Ft. Worth Star Telegram: The Landry Cowboys would seem to draft a big-time basketball player or a world-class track athlete every year during the ’60s. Not all the hoopsters came aboard, however.

“Sweet Lou” Hudson (Class of ‘66) went on to star in the NBA for 13 seasons, averaging a little more than 20 points a game mostly with the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks. Ron “Fritz” Williams (Class of ‘68) averaged 9.3 points and 3.5 assists with Golden State, Milwaukee and the LA Lakers. He played eight NBA seasons. Pat Riley (Class of ‘67) was an NBA bench player for nearly a decade before he turned to coaching. Five of his six NBA rings came to “Riles” as a GQ-dressed head coach of the Lakers and the Heat, after he won one ring as a Lakers player.

Not all NFL draft picks are slam dunks, of course.

“But we didn’t just out and pick a guy to be cute,” said longtime Cowboys personnel man Gil Brandt. “We spent each and every draft choice on someone we felt could be successful in the National Football League.”

The Star-Telegram’s Ray Buck is writing a regular series of stories on the history of the Cowboys, as the franchise goes into its 50th season of play. This is a good story on how Dallas was creative in finding athletic talent in the 1960s, sometimes dipping into the world of basketball for players. The Chiefs have done that as well over the years. In 1967, they drafted David Lattin in the 17th round out of Texas Western. Lattin was one of the key players on the ‘66 NCAA Championship team from Texas Western, now Texas-El Paso. He never played for the Chiefs, choosing the NBA and the San Francisco Warriors. Then in 1992, the Chiefs grabbed Corey Williams out of Oklahoma State in the 12th round. Williams was a starting guard for the Cowboys and had not played football since junior high. He ended up going to the NBA as well.