the pinjockey

What does not having Super Bowl rings have to do with pointing out that you do not get involved in another players contract dispute? I don't agree with Walker holding out, but who the hell is Brett "Already set for life" Favre to call him out over it. And CC, already discussed the context issue, so no need to reiterate that.

On TSNs website they are saying Clarke will make a trade to get under the cap, with Roenick being a likely candidate to move. Forsberg for Roenick is certainly an upgrade.

I don't think it would be a bad idea to do a diatribe/review type thing with two people involved. You can do it from the side of the newer fan and then have one of the more experienced people (RRR, Lei Tong) come in with the more indepth/involved perspective on it. That way for the people who have not seen MMA it is not too intimidating for new/non-fans, while having someone else there to get in deeper without the reader really realizing it. Plus, over the course of the review you might ask a question/bring up a point that the reader might be curious about that they haven't wanted to ask in a thread. Wow that was rambling.

The Eagles aren't going to lose both Owens and Westbrook. They likely aren't going to lose either as they are both in contract years (after all of this there is a 5% chance the Eagles keep Owens after this year). They will either be miserable or hold out now, but they aren't going to fuck up their entire careers by messing with their contract years. And the extension for Millen is insane. I like what he has done for the past couple years and he MIGHT turn the Lions into a winner. But why rush to get him an extension now?!? I don't see other teams beating down the door to get him. While he might turn the Lions around, what would it have hurt to wait and see before jumping at that kind of commitment. Oh wait, they are the Lions....never mind.

Who was it that had the Bobby Clarke getting shot up picture? I could use that right now.

Apparently they have also trade Danny Markov to Nashville for a 3rd round pick. If I liked emoticons you better believe there would be a banging head against the wall one here. Interesting note: that means they got more in trade for Tood Fedoruk than Danny Markov.

I am afraid that the Westbrook situation could get very ugly. Unlike TO, where I think they can get to the Super Bowl without him, I don't think the same about Westbrook. It has been proven in the last two years that this offense comes to a screeching halt when Westbrook isn't in the lineup. The problem with the negotiations here is that there are arguements for and against paying him a boatload. From the side of not paying him: he has never carried the ball more than 177 times in a season and has not gone a season without getting hurt yet. From the side of paying him: he is the absolute perfect back for this offense. He is the best receiving back in the league and for the team that uses the RB as a receiver most how is this not a perfect fit? He sees how the offense runs when he is out of the lineup and (rightfully?) sees he is one of the bigger difference makers in the league. It has been reported (leaked?) that the Eagles are offering a deal with a 5m signing bonus, while Westbrook wants a deal with a 12m bonus. IMO, I offer him a deal with 8-9m signing bonus and make him one of the top 5 paid RBs in the league. Is he worth a top 5 RB contract to any other team? Unknown. Is he worth a top 5 RB contract to the Eagles? IMO, absolutely.

You have to be fucking kidding me. I didn't mind the signings of Hatcher and Rathje, they have Jonsson, Pitkanan and Seidenberg to an extent that can be offensive defensemen. But today they brought back Chris "Turnstile" Therian. Quote from Clarke: "We knew Chris (Therien) wanted to come back and play here. Both Keith Primeau and Jeremy Roenick called me on their own and said that Chris would help the team and that he is not only important on the ice, but in the locker room." Translation: We knew no one else wanted Chris and Keith and JR told me they felt sorry for him and they wanted their buddy back on the team. We realize he can't play for shit, but by golly we like him and want him back. Edit: note, "You have to be fucking kidding me.", was in response to Therian, not people not liking the Hatcher/Rathje signings.

Fuck you RRR, now I won't be able to watch that movie without thinking of this fight as opposed to Famke Janssen. Was there any reason that they needed to just feed Thacker to Leben? (yes, I know I just answered my own question) But everyone and their mother knew that was going to be a massacre and doing things like that is what gets people seriously hurt.

If he says he is 85% there is no reason to go back and forth until he shows otherwise. Get to the first preseason game and if his arm is shot you will see he is lying, otherwise there is no point assuming otherwise. The problem I see with Pennington (assuming he is 85%) is that last 15% is huge for him and sometimes it doesn't come back either with related nagging injuries or just taking it from the arm permanently. From the few Jets games I can usually catch a season he doesn't have the great speed or a cannon arm that he can make up for the 15%. He has to be spot on or else he just turns into a mediocre pocket passer.

I accepted the Sheffield/Wickman-Kazmir/Swisher deal.

Eagles DE Jerome McDougle was shot in the stomach and is in critical, but stable condition.

I will rephrase and say asked and note offered, just got in a really pissed off stretch there. It was in Jayson Stark's latest chat:

There is a thought floating around that if they get Baez, they can then trade Wagner because then they'll still have two "proven veteran closers". It doesn't make it any less retarded. They want to trade a young, inexpensive arm with an extremely high upside for an older, more expensive [big point considering how much they have 70 some million tied up in 11 players for next year] , pitching over his head closer that they don't need. If they do this trade, I hope they trade Utley so I can break clean with no regrets. Another note, apparently they offered Billy Wagner straight up for Juan fucking Pierre. That is the hard on this team has with Pierre, they would trade this best trading chip in years for him straight up. I hope Wade is fired before the offseason otherwise he is going to throw a boatload of case Pierre's way as a FA.

According to every rumor site (including Jayson Stark and baseballprospectus), it looks like the Phillies have offered/will offer Ryan Madson for Danys Baez. I swear to god, if they do that deal I am done with the Phillies until Ed Wade is fired and tarred and feathered in CF at CBP.

I am waiting to see how long it is until Rosenhaus feels a real backlash from his clients. It has gone from hiring him with whispers of a new deal in their heads to becoming a cause which the NFL owners are likely to stand hard against. There is going to be a point at which these players realize that if Rosenhaus is their agent the front offices are not going deal with them.

They have been rumored to take a run at Niedermeyer. They will have a shot if they really want him. It appears the roster is pretty well filled out and they have about 7 million left to spend, which is just under the max (30% of the cap) that can be offered. I am sure someone will offer the absolute max, but at that point I don't think $200,000 would really make a difference if he wanted to go to Philly. And don't be surprised to see the Flyers go after the no. 2 pick as supposedly they want Bobby Ryan.

I'll never understand the hard on they have for Theisman. He is fucking terrible. The previous post was far and away the most praise I have ever heard him receive and that was faint at best. Theisman is the master of the obvious who can't wait to tell people about the times he has talked to the players/coaches/front office personnel. "Al, let me tell you, I had dinner with Andy Reid last night and he told me personally that he was worried about Michael Vick running. I was able to find out that he thinks one of the keys to the game will be containing Vick."

A gift for you good boys and girls, the latest from Screamin A. Smith aka TO's Towel Boy from the Philadelphia Inquirer Bolded the really amusing parts. Yes, they do have recourse in that they can sit him the fuck down for the year. And I would be shocked if they did not do this before cutting him or trading him (unless it was a good offer which it won't be at this point) And TO doesn't bow down to such strong arm attempts such as....erm, uh.....saying no new contract after one year. Damn that Eagles front office for trying to break such a noble spirit such as TO. And I am sure a pre-meditated plan to be a distraction won't result in any "conduct detrimental to the team" fines. Besides, if he is a fuckwad they can still take the 1.8 million from his signing bonus for missing the mandatory mini-camp right after the draft. They haven't exercised that option yet, but if he wants to be a dick they can be a dick right back.

They can't afford to do that. If TO is saying he will report and the Eagles turn him away, that gets rid of all the support (about 98% of Eagles fans) the FO has in this dispute. But it would be pretty awesome. TO better be careful though. If he is coming in announcing that he won't be happy and procedes to become a premeditated distraction, I am sure there are all kinds of "conduct detrimental to the team" fines available to slap him with.

Voted one. I went into the past year thinking I would be in the fuck em group, but a couple months in every Tuesday and Thursday I would say to myself "I wish the Flyers were on".

Double post

I disagree with the idea that the players have too much power. The only real power they have is the holdout and in the end the player always comes back before game time. And honestly, as a fan, if a player is holding out, but everyone knows will be back then I am happy for the player to miss the time. Less contact = less chance of injury. Take Brian Westbrook for example, he missed a mini-camp because he wanted a long term deal, but everyone knew he would sign and be in training camp. In the end, I am happier with that as a fan, because it was a couple less days of injury risk and abuse to his body. The only problem is when the fat boys (OL and DL) or rookies miss time, because linemen always get out of shape if they miss camp (I'm looking at you Corey Simon) and rookies need to learn in a hurry. And to go back to the time when teams handed out contract would be a bigger farce than Rosenhaus' clients holdout-fest.

IIRC, there is a "Did not report" option available to teams, that pretty much covers that. I am going to have to dig around a little to find it, but the jist of it was a team could stamp a player with that tag, they wouldn't be able to use or trade them during the year, but the contract year will not count. Of course that is pretty much the nuclear option as the player will always be a malcontent for that team, but in the cases of TO (malcontent anyway and only one year into a 7 year deal) or Walker (not financially secure enough to fight this option) it might not be a bad idea. Edit: This was actually the list that Ricky Williams was on last year. Not only does the contract not go forward, the player does not count against the cap for the year either. Link

The reason he is only making 515 grand this year is because more than half of his rookie contract was in bonus money. 4.3 million of his 7.4 million deal was tied up into bonuses in those first two years. Rosenhaus: "I can't let my client go onto the field for only half a million." Packers GM: "Well can we get a refund for letting him walk on the field his rookie year for 3.5 million?" In NFL contracts, it is deceiving to bring up one year's base salary and cry woe is me off that. Besides that, I wasn't aware that one year was worth opening the vaults to someone. Prove that you are an elite WR and not a one year wonder, then talk new contract. I am very worried, however, that the GB front office caves and ruins what the Eagles are doing by not renegotiating with Rosenhaus.