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ABOUT ME:
Home to a half Mexican who now lives in Silverdale, WA and who supports the Hawks, Sonics and Mariners along with the alma mater (WSU). I also post wacky links, pictures of insanely hot women and what have you (if you don't want to read my ramblings), so enjoy.


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Monday, December 29, 2003
I hate it when friends tell you one thing and do another. Shit like that pisses me off. Tell me the truth or don't hang out with me at all if you're going to take advantage of my kindness.

Enjoy these rumors, go here for football games of yesteryear and go Cougs.


-The way we hear it, the knee injury suffered by Panthers DE Mike Rucker could really bother him in the playoffs and it has some in the organization concerned about how effective he will be in the postseason.

-Don’t look for big changes in the Buccaneers’ receiving corps. We hear the team is pleased with the production of WR Charles Lee and has high hopes for the return of WR Joe Jurevicius from the knee injury that cost him most of this season.

-When asked if he’d be happy to see Todd Peterson return as the 49ers’ placekicker next season, head coach Dennis Erickson said, “We’re not going to be without a veteran kicker. There’s frickin’ no way.” As for P Bill LaFleur, however, we hear he couldn’t be more gone.

-With the Cardinals agreeing to a two-year contract extension for PK Neil Rackers despite the fact Rackers missed two critical field-goal attempts in the Week 16 loss to Seattle, you can probably say goodbye to Bill Gramatica.

-A source close to the Bengals says OLT Levi Jones’ decision to play in Week 15 vs. San Francisco, six days after having surgery on his right knee, ensures Jones will be respected as a team leader for seasons to come.

-According to our sources, the Jaguars’ special teams deserved a leverage penalty, during John Carney’s game-deciding extra-point miss in Jacksonville’s 20-19 win over the Saints in Week 16. Buccaneers DE Simeon Rice received a similar penalty in Tampa Bay’s Week Five loss to the Colts. However, the Jaguars’ leverage did not affect Carney’s miss, and officials often overlook those penalties.

-Having been placed on injured reserve with a torn labrum in his shoulder, OT Adam Meadows has likely played his last game as a Colt.

-Colts RCB Nick Harper (back) estimates that he is playing at no better than 70 percent while LCB Walt Harris (knee tendinitis) claims to be playing at 75-80 percent. As a result, opposing wide receivers have beaten the Colts starting cornerbacks more frequently in the last few weeks.

-Don’t read too much into Titans RB Chris Brown getting more reps. His increased playing time has more to do with RB Robert Holcombe’s injured hamstring than Brown’s improved play.

-The Patriots’ young OL starters, ORT Tom Ashworth and C Dan Koppen, likely have their starting jobs locked up for next season after excellent work this year in relief of injured starters Adrian Klemm and Damien Woody (who was moved to a starting OG spot once healthy), respectively.

-Expect the Bills to look for a young quarterback in the draft this offseason, but nothing too extravagant. There is a faction in Buffalo that still believes in QB Drew Bledsoe, understanding that the offensive line’s performance and the play-calling have been as much to blame for the offense’s woes as Bledsoe’s struggles.

-We hear that Bills S Lawyer Milloy, although he hasn’t made as many big plays as expected, has quietly had a pretty good year in a defensive system he still hasn’t fully learned.

-The Giants will try hard to re-sign C Chris Bober, a player they think will be much better with an improved supporting cast, and expect them to sign a veteran guard as an insurance policy to OG Rich Seubert, who was the team’s best lineman before getting hurt, in case he does not rehab properly.

-There is almost no way RS Brian Mitchell returns to the Giants next season, but there’s no guarantee that leaves the job to Delvin Joyce.

-Although it appears that unproductive Cowboys DE Ebenezer Ekuban, a free agent at season’s end who was made inactive against the Eagles two weeks ago, will not return next year, sources close to the team say he could be brought back for less money as a pass-rush specialist.

-The fight between Browns WR Quincy Morgan and SS Robert Griffith the Friday before the Browns’ Week 16 game vs. Baltimore is regarded as an isolated incident and not a sign of a rift between the players, according to a source close to the team.

-The Ravens love rookie LOLB Terrell Suggs’ pass-rushing skills. But they would like him to cut back on his fast-food consumption. Example: A source close to the Ravens says Suggs has been known to scarf down some pizza only minutes before practice.

-The Ravens’ defense doesn’t have a lot of weaknesses, but one is at free safety, where second-year player Will Demps sometimes struggles in coverage. One example came in Baltimore’s loss at Oakland in Week 15, where the Raiders seemed to be targeting Demps.

-Browns head coach Butch Davis was said to be in a somewhat subdued mood in the week leading up to the team’s season finale vs. Cincinnati. One source close to team believes Davis is starting to realize how much work it will take for the Browns to again contend in the AFC North.

-We’re told that although there won’t be wholesale changes to the Falcons’ offense this offseason, there will be a concerted effort to provide the offense more flexibility should QB Michael Vick get injured next year.

-Sources say Falcons DT Travis Hall could be forced to take a major pay cut to stick around in Atlanta because the team might not be willing to restructure his contract a third time.

-We hear the Panthers are disappointed that they didn’t get more production out of RB DeShaun Foster, who was supposed to be a big-play back but only had one run of 20-plus yards this season.

-Although some team observers have questioned the wisdom of the Saints changing playing surfaces in Superdome in midseason, Saints PK John Carney believes the move was the best for all the players on the team even though he has struggled on the AstroPlay surface.

-Saints head coach Jim Haslett didn’t exactly endear himself to fans in New Orleans when he complained about the officials in a Week 16 loss to the Jaguars because we’re told the complaints came across as whining.

-Why didn’t the Bucs give rookie QB Chris Simms a chance to play in a meaningless Week 17 game? We’re told head coach Jon Gruden wanted to give starting QB Brad Johnson a chance to set a career high in TD passes and didn’t want to risk harming Simms’ psyche if Simms struggled.

-The Lions are more concerned than disappointed at this stage, but second-year DE Kalimba Edwards has developed durability issues. Out of training camp and more than a month of the regular season after surgery to repair a sports hernia, Edwards struggled to regain all of his faculties and was placed on injured reserve with a groin injury related to the hernia.

-A source close to the team said the Bears’ No. 1 need entering the offseason is defensive tackle. While a new coaching staff almost always brings a change in philosophy, Chicago has next to nothing to build upon at the DT spot.

-Vikings head coach Mike Tice was encouraged by the performance of his defense against two playoff-caliber offenses — Seattle and Kansas City — in recent weeks and is optimistic that the unit’s woes may be behind them.

-The Vikings will include a jumbo-sized nose tackle on their offseason wish list and are still pondering whether to move rookie DL Kevin Williams, who has been playing the NT spot, or UT Chris Hovan to the edge. Hovan reminds some scouts of a mini-Dan Hampton because of his effort. Minnesota sees the versatility and ability to mix personnel as an advantage over offensive coordinators who are forced to guess which package the Vikings are putting on the field.

- With Niners RB Kevan Barlow making a strong case to play a featured role next season, that doesn’t mean Garrison Hearst is totally out of the picture. We hear it’s not inconceivable Hearst agrees to a backup role at a significantly lower salary. If Hearst doesn’t come back, we’re told the Niners will strongly consider Jamal Robertson as the No. 2 back. Our sources tell us RB coach Tim Lappano really likes the second-year pro out of Ohio Northern.

-Word is the Niners couldn’t have been happier this season with C Jeremy Newberry, who wasn’t selected to the Pro Bowl after being picked the previous two years despite one of the best seasons of his six-year career. Newberry played at a high level all season despite taking a painkilling injection in his buttocks (mainly for his ankle) before every game.

-With Rams longtime OL coach Jim Hanifan finally retiring, look for assistant head coach-OL coach John Matsko to share the line duties with a new hire.

-The Rams give DT Ryan Pickett high marks for not missing a game despite being bothered by a high ankle sprain all season.



etch-a-sketched by john at 7:05 PM