Dom's Dish - Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Since Friday, the NFL "business season" has not disappointed. (There is no offseason people). With well over $1/2 billion thrown around on contracts to players in these last five days, there sure are some hefty signing bonuses being thrown around. And how about those that have signed in the state of Florida - Dennis Northcut and Tony Pashos (JAX), Joey Porter and David Martin (Miami), and Jeff Garcia (Tampa) who soon will suddenly realize that their signing bonuses are state income tax free! But it's been crazy all the moves thus far. And most of the names recently are 30-something players: Brad Johnson (Dallas), Ahman Green (Texans), Joey Porter (30 in 2 weeks) (Miami), Jeff Garcia (Bucs), and Kevin Carter (Bucs).
For all these years, the Patriots have kept quiet in free agency and been praised for the way they have managed the cap. What happens? They lose to the Colts who win the big one and now they skip their management style? Throwing all kinds of money around...on Kyle Brady, Adalius Thomas, Sammy Morris and Wes Welker. I rescind my offer that Jeff Garcia will end up the Gil Meche of the NFL free agency period. That title now goes to Wes Welker. Welker signed a 5 year, $18.1 million contract (with $9 mil guaranteed money in bonuses), AND the Patriots gave up two draft picks for him to Miami (2nd and 7th), all for a 5-9 wide receiver who had a freak season last year with 67 catches. He does fit the Patiot-jack-of-all-trades mold, he is a returner and actually back in his rookie season (2004), kicked a 29-yd field goal and an extra point during the regular season. But only two career TD's - one return and one reception. The next Wayne Chrebet? Last year, of his 67 catches, more than 30 went for 1st downs. Still, $18 million?!? And oh, by the way, 12 fumbles in 3 years (most as a returner).
And how about the Cowboys? Leonard Davis was a bust for years in Arizona, so sign him to a huge deal. Best signing though is Brad Johnson. He can still play, yes, but in the past few years, the Cowboys have tried Vinny Testaverde, Drew Bledsoe and now Brad Johnson as a QB for their roster. This is 2007 and not 1997, right?
(Moral of the story, when you're sitting in the first row and the flight attendant asks you to turn off the cell phone, do it. I don't agree with it, especially when still on the ground and at the gate, but on Friday I witnessed a male flight attendant go off on some guy sitting right in front of me. Apparently, the gentleman (passenger) gave a signal like brushing off the flight attendant's request. After the second time and during the safety presentation (that this flight attendant apparently takes very seriously), the gentleman turned his phone back on to do something. Whoah! The flight attendant yelled at the passenger so loud I can only compare it to a teacher yelling at a kid with their hand on the fire alarm. The passenger took it well, but when he asked the flight attendant his name calmly, he went off even more. After a call to the captain to notify of the situation, an announcement from the captain to follow the direction of flight attendants, and a call from the captain to the flight attendant to ask the gentleman if he wanted "to fly with us today" (mind you the flight was already delayed 2 hours and we were pushed back from the gate)...we finally left. It made for an uncomfortable first hour of this three hour "US Airways Express" flight from Houston to Philadelphia! After having to serve the passenger a drink and that hour to calm down, eventually the gents shook hands and all was well. Was even more fun "waiting for a gate" on the ground in Philly, that the pilot then overshot and had to do some interesting things with the engines to move us toward the gate, then the gate attendant not being able to open the front door. And then US Airways has problems with their reservation system...I think I'll fly United or Continental from now on....all I could do was laugh the entire way home.)
Around the balls:
Giant-orange- From the NCAA, Sam Ashaolu, the Duquesne player who was the most seriously injured of the group of players shot on campus on Sept 17, was cleared to begin participating in the offseason program in a few weeks. Ashaolu still has two fragments of a bullet in his head, but has recovered from his near-death experience. The announcement comes today, one day before the Atlantic-10 tourney in AC, NJ when the Duquesne Dukes (10-18) play an opening round game. The Dukes will also receive an award at the Final Four for being the Most Courageous NCAA team.
White-leather-stitched- Cole Hamels of the Phillies has drawn lots of criticism already for his comments the other day in which he said he expects to win 20 games this season. Hey, that may not be far off with the lineup the Phils have. Hey, I hope he does, 20-wins would most certainly mean a Cy Young winner in Philly, on the way to a NL East title.
Rubber-non- The Pittsburgh Penguins are moving again. They are, they aren't, they are...I wish someone had a blue streak following this story so I knew what the progress of the talks for the new arena were...
Big-brown-oblong- Brady Quinn, "the most NFL ready QB in the draft" worked out in Notre Dame on Sunday at his "pro day." And, the Detroit Lions weren't there at his workout. I guess they're looking hard at drafting another WR with their second pick. They've made some nice moves this offseason, but leave it to Matt Millen to start messing up draft time. Talk about a franchise that should move to Los Angeles...
Tiny-white- Did you see, some guy missed a 3 foot putt and as a result lost out on the top prize of $990k and a 3 year exemption from qualifying for the PGA tour? And no, his name was not Dominic Santillo.
Green-fuzzy- Roger Federer won in Dubai. 41 straight matches and counting, six more sets an all time record with 47. He hasn't lost a match since August.
Big-black-and-white- David Beckham bent something other than the ball this past weekend, his knee. Reports out of Spain, Real Madrid (I hate that fake one) say that it could be his MCL (which would be a 6-week injury recoup time) or his ACL (possibly up to a 6 month recovery). Stinks throwing $250 million at someone who is hurt. And then you wonder why the world hates the US.
Giant-black-holey- The PBA Open (yeah, bowling) was held in NJ this past weekend, up in New Brunswick. And I thought bowling was a teenager and midwest thing...
Program Alert:
Beginning tomorrow night, the mens Big East starts at MSG in NYC on ESPN. With Villanova cruising lately, if they make some noise in NYC, expect them to be higher than a #8 seed this year. If they win it all, I predict a #4 or 5 seed for the Wildcats.
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For those new to "the dish", I once dreamed of being a sports-caster having my own column. Let me know if you don't like it, and/or want to be discontinued from the list. If you have another email address to send it to, send that to me also. For older issues of the dish, email me. domsdish@gmail.com or go to http://domsdish.blogspot.com/
Showing posts with label free agency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free agency. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Dom's Dish - On the Brink Edition
Dom's Dish - Thursday, March 1, 2007
31 days to Phillies opening day! With the March 11th deadline fast approaching to sign MVP Ryan Howard, word is Howard will finally get a little dough in the area of $1 million for the year. Doing so, the Phils payroll would be in the area of $95-$100 million this year. Big news for small market teams, but Philly is no small market. With the Yankees consistently over the $200 M mark and the Mets fast approaching, a state of the art ballpark (it gets rowdy in Left field), and some die hard fans looking for a pennant run this season, $100 M is not too big a deal to me. At least the Phils didn't overpay for Soriano or Gil Meche! Now if we can only find a way to keep the starting pitching healthy, Lieber under 250 and Burrell to hit at least .275, that pennant run isn't so far off after all.
Lovie pay day! The Super Bowl (losing) coach who was the worst paid (not least, worst paid) in the league last year, well now he'll make up for those years. The coach received a 4-yr $22 million extension putting him in the elite $5 mil club. It sure did take them long enough, everyone out in Chicago was starting to worry "on the inside" and if by "on the inside" I mean "in public" "in newspapers" and "not on the inside." I do wonder though if the contract includes a clause whether or not to back Rex Grossman as his QB?
NFL free agency starts in 7 hours! Word is Jeff Garcia will be elsewhere (likely the Raiders now since his former QB Coach is there in Oak-town) and since Stallworth hasn't been signed, the Eagles will be sticking to their guns in not overpaying for older and injury prone players. Some other big names have already moved around and/or been re-signed. My boys out in San Diego have re-signed Lorenzo Neal and cut Keenan McCardell. Some other big names cut: Jamal Lewis (RB, Ravens), Joey Porter (LB, Steelers) and Brad Johnson (QB, Minnesota). Already a trade involving 3 players and a pick, the Lions get RB Tatum Bell, T George Foster and likely a 5th round pick for CD Dre Bly. Dre Bly, Champ Bailey, John Lynch all in the same defensive backfield? That sure will be a force to stop the Colts. As for players that have already re-signed? Mike Alstott and Fred Taylor in the state of Florida. Some big names to watch out for and the huge contracts they'll get: Adalius Thomas, who has played every defensive position for at least one snap the Ravens in the past few years - wow, Nate Clements, a "shut-down" type corner up in Buffalo who will be worth every penny if not hurt. The Gil Meche of this year's offseason who gets extremely overpaid? I'd hate to say it, but Jeff Garcia or Leonard Davis (T from the Az Cardinals). Let the madness begin tonight!
Oh and by the way, Bill Parcells signed with ESPN as an analyst and will be on radio and TV for the upcoming system. No maybe they're out of room for Marty-ball?
What's the deal with the Oscar's? It's worse than a Monday Night Football Overtime game! I was up until like 12:45 am watching so I could see who won Best Picture! Every year, they know it is going to run late, but why do they insist on pushing the start time back to 8:30pm EST this year? I don't watch it religiously, but it seemed to lack some of the star quality at the event, at least they didn't show them on TV. It seemed to be a much older, more serious crowd. Again, maybe that's just me. And Jack Nicholson - what a piece of work. I can't wait to actually see The Departed.
Around the balls:
Giant-orange- LeBron James' girlfriend is expecting the couple's second child. Second?!? I didn't know he had a first? I guess David Stern looks down on it, since a.) it was out of wedlock and b.) LeBron, Jr. doesn't wear a 3-piece suit to home games. Though I'm told Jr. does play with a plastic ball, not a leather one. This also explains why LeBron always looks tired. Base- Something you may have seen, the 2007 Topps Derek Jeter baseball card contains Photoshopped images of Mickey Mantle holding a bat and watching Jeter hit, and President George Bush. I'm sure having Mantle on the card will appreciate the value of the card, however I am a little skeptical as to President Bush on the card. At least he doesn't have a cartoon bubble coming out of his mouth saying something dumb...
Rubber-non- Man I hate still bringing this up, but Martin Brodeur is a beast. The other night he posted his 12th shutout of the season. He is in his 13th season in the league and this is his best so far, in a "new game" that's supposed to be higher scoring and more exciting. Gary Bettman, the Commish must hate him. Talk about hot too - 10-3 the NJ Devils went in the month of Feb!
Brown-oblong- For those that missed the combine coverage, the best part (aside from John Locke, the Strength coach from Arizona that yells and calls everyone meatheads) was the coin toss. The toss decided the draft order between two teams for the 3rd pick in the draft: Tampa Bay and Cleveland. Cleveland won that one. (They have to NBA-ify the draft in some way) Now if they could only stop ending up at the top of the draft every year.
Little-white- So, maybe Tiger is not back. Then again, the media will come up with something saying that a match play tournament is not a "real tournament" and they'll keep his 7-event PGA streak going. Either way, I think the pressure is off and in about a month at the Masters Tiger will prevail for his fifth Green Jacket.
Green-fuzzy- Roger Federer, though, is still going. 38 straight wins and counting. This time he is doing it down in Dubai, U.A.E. He is having much success there as has Tiger and former TCNJ President Harold Eickhoff (of Eickhoff Commons fame (TCNJ dining hall)). He is only 8 away from the record set in 1977. Again, instead of an ambulance chaser, I'm a history chaser. Go Roger!
Program Alert:
This Sunday on ABC, Arena Football, the ESPN way. Mike and Mike (ESPN Radio morning hosts) will be leading the coverage. This coupled with free agent news, FOOTBALL IS BACK!!!
--------------------------------
For those new to "the dish", I once dreamed of being a sports-caster having my own column. Let me know if you don't like it, and/or want to be discontinued from the list. If you have another email address to send it to, send that to me also. For older issues of the dish, email me. domsantillo@gmail.com
31 days to Phillies opening day! With the March 11th deadline fast approaching to sign MVP Ryan Howard, word is Howard will finally get a little dough in the area of $1 million for the year. Doing so, the Phils payroll would be in the area of $95-$100 million this year. Big news for small market teams, but Philly is no small market. With the Yankees consistently over the $200 M mark and the Mets fast approaching, a state of the art ballpark (it gets rowdy in Left field), and some die hard fans looking for a pennant run this season, $100 M is not too big a deal to me. At least the Phils didn't overpay for Soriano or Gil Meche! Now if we can only find a way to keep the starting pitching healthy, Lieber under 250 and Burrell to hit at least .275, that pennant run isn't so far off after all.
Lovie pay day! The Super Bowl (losing) coach who was the worst paid (not least, worst paid) in the league last year, well now he'll make up for those years. The coach received a 4-yr $22 million extension putting him in the elite $5 mil club. It sure did take them long enough, everyone out in Chicago was starting to worry "on the inside" and if by "on the inside" I mean "in public" "in newspapers" and "not on the inside." I do wonder though if the contract includes a clause whether or not to back Rex Grossman as his QB?
NFL free agency starts in 7 hours! Word is Jeff Garcia will be elsewhere (likely the Raiders now since his former QB Coach is there in Oak-town) and since Stallworth hasn't been signed, the Eagles will be sticking to their guns in not overpaying for older and injury prone players. Some other big names have already moved around and/or been re-signed. My boys out in San Diego have re-signed Lorenzo Neal and cut Keenan McCardell. Some other big names cut: Jamal Lewis (RB, Ravens), Joey Porter (LB, Steelers) and Brad Johnson (QB, Minnesota). Already a trade involving 3 players and a pick, the Lions get RB Tatum Bell, T George Foster and likely a 5th round pick for CD Dre Bly. Dre Bly, Champ Bailey, John Lynch all in the same defensive backfield? That sure will be a force to stop the Colts. As for players that have already re-signed? Mike Alstott and Fred Taylor in the state of Florida. Some big names to watch out for and the huge contracts they'll get: Adalius Thomas, who has played every defensive position for at least one snap the Ravens in the past few years - wow, Nate Clements, a "shut-down" type corner up in Buffalo who will be worth every penny if not hurt. The Gil Meche of this year's offseason who gets extremely overpaid? I'd hate to say it, but Jeff Garcia or Leonard Davis (T from the Az Cardinals). Let the madness begin tonight!
Oh and by the way, Bill Parcells signed with ESPN as an analyst and will be on radio and TV for the upcoming system. No maybe they're out of room for Marty-ball?
What's the deal with the Oscar's? It's worse than a Monday Night Football Overtime game! I was up until like 12:45 am watching so I could see who won Best Picture! Every year, they know it is going to run late, but why do they insist on pushing the start time back to 8:30pm EST this year? I don't watch it religiously, but it seemed to lack some of the star quality at the event, at least they didn't show them on TV. It seemed to be a much older, more serious crowd. Again, maybe that's just me. And Jack Nicholson - what a piece of work. I can't wait to actually see The Departed.
Around the balls:
Giant-orange- LeBron James' girlfriend is expecting the couple's second child. Second?!? I didn't know he had a first? I guess David Stern looks down on it, since a.) it was out of wedlock and b.) LeBron, Jr. doesn't wear a 3-piece suit to home games. Though I'm told Jr. does play with a plastic ball, not a leather one. This also explains why LeBron always looks tired. Base- Something you may have seen, the 2007 Topps Derek Jeter baseball card contains Photoshopped images of Mickey Mantle holding a bat and watching Jeter hit, and President George Bush. I'm sure having Mantle on the card will appreciate the value of the card, however I am a little skeptical as to President Bush on the card. At least he doesn't have a cartoon bubble coming out of his mouth saying something dumb...
Rubber-non- Man I hate still bringing this up, but Martin Brodeur is a beast. The other night he posted his 12th shutout of the season. He is in his 13th season in the league and this is his best so far, in a "new game" that's supposed to be higher scoring and more exciting. Gary Bettman, the Commish must hate him. Talk about hot too - 10-3 the NJ Devils went in the month of Feb!
Brown-oblong- For those that missed the combine coverage, the best part (aside from John Locke, the Strength coach from Arizona that yells and calls everyone meatheads) was the coin toss. The toss decided the draft order between two teams for the 3rd pick in the draft: Tampa Bay and Cleveland. Cleveland won that one. (They have to NBA-ify the draft in some way) Now if they could only stop ending up at the top of the draft every year.
Little-white- So, maybe Tiger is not back. Then again, the media will come up with something saying that a match play tournament is not a "real tournament" and they'll keep his 7-event PGA streak going. Either way, I think the pressure is off and in about a month at the Masters Tiger will prevail for his fifth Green Jacket.
Green-fuzzy- Roger Federer, though, is still going. 38 straight wins and counting. This time he is doing it down in Dubai, U.A.E. He is having much success there as has Tiger and former TCNJ President Harold Eickhoff (of Eickhoff Commons fame (TCNJ dining hall)). He is only 8 away from the record set in 1977. Again, instead of an ambulance chaser, I'm a history chaser. Go Roger!
Program Alert:
This Sunday on ABC, Arena Football, the ESPN way. Mike and Mike (ESPN Radio morning hosts) will be leading the coverage. This coupled with free agent news, FOOTBALL IS BACK!!!
--------------------------------
For those new to "the dish", I once dreamed of being a sports-caster having my own column. Let me know if you don't like it, and/or want to be discontinued from the list. If you have another email address to send it to, send that to me also. For older issues of the dish, email me. domsantillo@gmail.com
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