k19
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"Pacman" Having Rough Summer
During the Rookie Symposium, Adam "Pacman" Jones was reportedly yapping away on his cell phone during the sessions, in the hallways, the entire time.
Let's hope he was saying, "You mean I'm going to lose how much money?"
Jones has already had a helluva career for someone who hasn't played a game yet, or even signed a contract yet. In April, he was listed on an incident report after a brawl broke out in an Atlanta nightclub, but no charges were filed. In June, Jones and some pals were booted from a hotel after not checking out on time; police found pot in the romm and one of Jones' friends said it was his.
Then last week a Titans-friendly nightclub owner asked Jones and his friends to leave after he realized that Jones' friends -- not Jones -- were lighting blunts. The night ended with Jones facing two charges of misdemeanor assault and one felony vandalism charge. Jones has also already gone through his first agent and has claimed that he'll play exactly how he did in college and not worry about the NFL's five-yard contact rule.
At the minimum, all of this means Jones has got to get his friends to shape up. But it's likely the Titans will force him to get himself together first.
Aside from wondering how he's been paying for all this partying, there was one thing left I was wondering: Would the all these screwups come back to hurt Jones come contract time?
Titans GM Floyd Reese told the Tennessean that Jones will be hit where it hurts.
"We're going to have to protect ourselves three or four different ways," Reese said. "We're not going to run the risk of doing something dumb to make sure somebody doesn't miss day one. This one will be a little bit different, and it's not something we've created."
In the end, it's the most effective way the Titans can police their top draft pick, someone who Reese refers to as a "child." His bonus money will be limited, probably the lowest figure we've seen in years for the first cornerback picked.
We're still not through with Pacman. August 11 is his first court appearance. Tags will not be shy to suspend or fine Jones if he's found guilty or settles his charges. Jones isn't done costing himself money he has yet to earn.
Just when you think Brett Favre is through with Drew Rosenhaus, he just keeps going. Monday he stopped between the 14th and 15th holes in a charity golf tournament to tell the Journal Sentinel's Lori Nickel that he won't shy from comments of disappointment he's made about Rosenhaus' clients, Javon Walker and Grady Jackson. "I haven't called him yet," Favre said of Rosenhaus. "I don't think he'll answer my calls.
Rosenhaus had said that he wanted to give Favre the full details of why his clients were considering holdouts.
"Set me straight on what?" Favre said. "I've played 14 straight years. I have not held out one time. He has nothing to say to me."
I have no idea why Favre has kept going with this, or why he put his nose in it in the first place, but I'm glad he did. Nothing like a Superagent vs. Greatest Playing Quarterback feud. Hint to Drew: Favre will win the PR battle on this. Back off while you can.
posted: July 19, 2005 7:49:50 AM PDT | Feedback
Chargers' GM pops off
In holdout talks, it's usually the players who brag about what they've done and why they deserve more money. Guys like Shaun Alexander certainly seem ready to recite their stats when more money is at stake. Over the weekend, another NFL personality publicly patted himself on the back for what he's done in the past year.
Only it wasn't a player.
It wasn't even an agent.
It was Chargers GM A.J. Smith, who over the weekend laced on his boxing gloves, visualized himself landing the knockout blow and entered the ring for a fight -- only to find out he was the only one there.
The topic was the Chargers' first-round pick, defensive end/linebacker Shawne Merriman, and his agent, Kevin Poston. Already ticked off that the Postons, who have never been afraid to hold a guy out of camp, had advised Merriman not to take part in offseason workouts because he could get injured, Smith sounded off to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
"He will be given a good contract by the Chargers, and if he rejects it and misses the first day of camp, it's only going to get worse," Smith said. "They don't have leverage -- not with this organization." Then Smith brought up how well he handled last year's marquee holdout, Philip Rivers, and his agent, Jimmy Sexton. "Call Jimmy Sexton and ask him and you'll find out. He played games, and everything blew up in his face. He got the double whammy."
Way to rub it in. Of course, Smith knows the score in this situation because Rivers missed most of training camp, didn't get the type of deal that maybe he should have and never had a chance against Drew Brees, who threw 27 touchdown passes to only seven picks and led San Diego to a 12-4 record before coach Marty Schottenheimer killed the Chargers' season by choking in the playoffs.
I'm all for Smith holding firm to whatever deal he thinks is fair for the 12th overall pick, but drumming up Rivers' situation, as if he fleeced Sexton and wanted the world to know about it, probably wasn't too sharp. You really think that the Poston brothers, who if nothing else are extremely competitive, want to be the next agent that Smith publicly laughs at for receiving the "double whammy"?
I doubt it. Smith just upped the ante. We'll see whether betting on himself pays off.
While I'm on the subject of holdouts -- a topic that might dominate much of August's banter -- how about Chad Johnson over the weekend claiming that he sees a holdout coming, possibly next year, if he doesn't get his. Will I have to start a "Holdout Watch" in this blog?
Classy move
I was at the wedding of Mike Smith, of ESPN fame, this weekend in Boston. Only an ESPN employee could get hitched at a church a few blocks away from Fenway Park at the exact moment the Red Sox threw the first pitch against the Yankees. I have never seen such traffic.
Anyway, there was an employee of the New England Patriots at the wedding. As I was chatting with him outside the chapel, I noticed his Super Bowl ring -- impressive indeed. The official actually brought two rings with him: the bling-heavy chunk from last year's game, which was in his pocket, and the almost-as-impressive load from Super Bowl XXXVI, which he wore.
Why wear a ring from 2002, I asked.
We won the game in New Orleans, Mike Smith's hometown, he replied. Nice touch.
posted: July 18, 2005 9:32:05 AM PDT | Feedback
During the Rookie Symposium, Adam "Pacman" Jones was reportedly yapping away on his cell phone during the sessions, in the hallways, the entire time.
Let's hope he was saying, "You mean I'm going to lose how much money?"
Jones has already had a helluva career for someone who hasn't played a game yet, or even signed a contract yet. In April, he was listed on an incident report after a brawl broke out in an Atlanta nightclub, but no charges were filed. In June, Jones and some pals were booted from a hotel after not checking out on time; police found pot in the romm and one of Jones' friends said it was his.
Then last week a Titans-friendly nightclub owner asked Jones and his friends to leave after he realized that Jones' friends -- not Jones -- were lighting blunts. The night ended with Jones facing two charges of misdemeanor assault and one felony vandalism charge. Jones has also already gone through his first agent and has claimed that he'll play exactly how he did in college and not worry about the NFL's five-yard contact rule.
At the minimum, all of this means Jones has got to get his friends to shape up. But it's likely the Titans will force him to get himself together first.
Aside from wondering how he's been paying for all this partying, there was one thing left I was wondering: Would the all these screwups come back to hurt Jones come contract time?
Titans GM Floyd Reese told the Tennessean that Jones will be hit where it hurts.
"We're going to have to protect ourselves three or four different ways," Reese said. "We're not going to run the risk of doing something dumb to make sure somebody doesn't miss day one. This one will be a little bit different, and it's not something we've created."
In the end, it's the most effective way the Titans can police their top draft pick, someone who Reese refers to as a "child." His bonus money will be limited, probably the lowest figure we've seen in years for the first cornerback picked.
We're still not through with Pacman. August 11 is his first court appearance. Tags will not be shy to suspend or fine Jones if he's found guilty or settles his charges. Jones isn't done costing himself money he has yet to earn.
Just when you think Brett Favre is through with Drew Rosenhaus, he just keeps going. Monday he stopped between the 14th and 15th holes in a charity golf tournament to tell the Journal Sentinel's Lori Nickel that he won't shy from comments of disappointment he's made about Rosenhaus' clients, Javon Walker and Grady Jackson. "I haven't called him yet," Favre said of Rosenhaus. "I don't think he'll answer my calls.
Rosenhaus had said that he wanted to give Favre the full details of why his clients were considering holdouts.
"Set me straight on what?" Favre said. "I've played 14 straight years. I have not held out one time. He has nothing to say to me."
I have no idea why Favre has kept going with this, or why he put his nose in it in the first place, but I'm glad he did. Nothing like a Superagent vs. Greatest Playing Quarterback feud. Hint to Drew: Favre will win the PR battle on this. Back off while you can.
posted: July 19, 2005 7:49:50 AM PDT | Feedback
Chargers' GM pops off
In holdout talks, it's usually the players who brag about what they've done and why they deserve more money. Guys like Shaun Alexander certainly seem ready to recite their stats when more money is at stake. Over the weekend, another NFL personality publicly patted himself on the back for what he's done in the past year.
Only it wasn't a player.
It wasn't even an agent.
It was Chargers GM A.J. Smith, who over the weekend laced on his boxing gloves, visualized himself landing the knockout blow and entered the ring for a fight -- only to find out he was the only one there.
The topic was the Chargers' first-round pick, defensive end/linebacker Shawne Merriman, and his agent, Kevin Poston. Already ticked off that the Postons, who have never been afraid to hold a guy out of camp, had advised Merriman not to take part in offseason workouts because he could get injured, Smith sounded off to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
"He will be given a good contract by the Chargers, and if he rejects it and misses the first day of camp, it's only going to get worse," Smith said. "They don't have leverage -- not with this organization." Then Smith brought up how well he handled last year's marquee holdout, Philip Rivers, and his agent, Jimmy Sexton. "Call Jimmy Sexton and ask him and you'll find out. He played games, and everything blew up in his face. He got the double whammy."
Way to rub it in. Of course, Smith knows the score in this situation because Rivers missed most of training camp, didn't get the type of deal that maybe he should have and never had a chance against Drew Brees, who threw 27 touchdown passes to only seven picks and led San Diego to a 12-4 record before coach Marty Schottenheimer killed the Chargers' season by choking in the playoffs.
I'm all for Smith holding firm to whatever deal he thinks is fair for the 12th overall pick, but drumming up Rivers' situation, as if he fleeced Sexton and wanted the world to know about it, probably wasn't too sharp. You really think that the Poston brothers, who if nothing else are extremely competitive, want to be the next agent that Smith publicly laughs at for receiving the "double whammy"?
I doubt it. Smith just upped the ante. We'll see whether betting on himself pays off.
While I'm on the subject of holdouts -- a topic that might dominate much of August's banter -- how about Chad Johnson over the weekend claiming that he sees a holdout coming, possibly next year, if he doesn't get his. Will I have to start a "Holdout Watch" in this blog?
Classy move
I was at the wedding of Mike Smith, of ESPN fame, this weekend in Boston. Only an ESPN employee could get hitched at a church a few blocks away from Fenway Park at the exact moment the Red Sox threw the first pitch against the Yankees. I have never seen such traffic.
Anyway, there was an employee of the New England Patriots at the wedding. As I was chatting with him outside the chapel, I noticed his Super Bowl ring -- impressive indeed. The official actually brought two rings with him: the bling-heavy chunk from last year's game, which was in his pocket, and the almost-as-impressive load from Super Bowl XXXVI, which he wore.
Why wear a ring from 2002, I asked.
We won the game in New Orleans, Mike Smith's hometown, he replied. Nice touch.
posted: July 18, 2005 9:32:05 AM PDT | Feedback
