Details of Vasher’s Contract Revealed
ESPN.com is reporting the details of Chicago Bears cornerback Nathan Vasher’s new deal, which will make him a very very rich man. Vasher’s new contract doesn’t change his salary in the coming season, but it will add an extra 28 million dollars to his bank account through the year 2012, including 14 million dollars in possible bonuses. 15.6 million of those dollars will be in Vasher’s bank account by the end of the 2008 season.
There are big money contracts and there are Big Money Contracts. Nathan Vasher just signed one of the latter. Vasher was a fourth round draft pick. His new contract just paid out a 9.5 million dollar signing bonus. To put that in perspective, Vasher’s base salary, which hasn’t changed this year, is 250,000 dollars. He is slated to earn 750,000 next year. His roster bonuses over the next two years, under his new extension are 2 million in 2007 and 2.5 million in 2008. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what’s know as “moving up in the world.”
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Wojciechowski calls Former Bear Tank Johnson Stupid
In the realm of monumentally wussy things a man can do in his life, there are few more shameful than saying something about someone when they are not around that you wouldn’t say directly to their face. ESPN writer Gene Wojciechowski has done just that today, by calling Tank Johnson stupid in his column. Sure, Tank has probably not shown a whole lot of intelligence in the type of judgment calls he’s made over his career to date, but this type of shock journalism is absolutely beneath ESPN. Unfortunately, it’s not beneath Wojciechowski, who is king egghead when it comes to this type of crap.
Gene, honestly, could you try to come across as less ignorant of the plight of the African-American male growing up in this country during the 80s, through the hip hop movement, and into the 21st century next time, please? If you’re going to write an article that calls an African-American man “stupid,” I truly believe you need to take a good solid look at the achievement gap in this country, then how it correlates directly to the difference in funding in our schools systems, and then how African-American athletes are both demonized and deified all at once in this country. I’d also like you to have the balls to call Tank Johnson stupid to his face.
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Bears not Backing Down on Stance with Briggs
In the standoff between the Chicago Bears and Lance Briggs, the Bears refuse to blink. ESPN.com is reporting that the Bears seem totally uninterested in forking over any sort of big money, long-term deal for Briggs, who was given the franchise tag in the off-season. Briggs has been threatening to sit out most of the season if the Bears don’t give him the big money contract he believes his deserves and could get in the free agent market. The Bears, frankly, don’t really seem to care very much.
This story gets more and more awesome every day. Lance Briggs becomes reason number 7,893 why no one, under any circumstances, should ever listen to Drew Rosenhaus when he opens his stupid, greedy piehole. The man is a pox on humanity. Lance, dude, all you had to do was take your seven mill, play on a Super Bowl team for one more year, keep your freaking mouth shut, and then wait and see what kind of cache the Bears, and the rest of the league, were willing to throw at you.
Instead, you’re now mired in a horrible standoff you can’t possibly win. The Bears have completely defeated you, to the point that even if the entire defense is swallowed into a black hole tomorrow, they’re NEVER paying you. Not only that, but no GM who gives a crap about integrity, team unity, or the respect his players show the coaches and organization will pay you the kind of jack you’re asking for. Also of note, every GM in the NFL hates your agent’s guts. Have fun with that.
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Former Bear Great Appeals to Congress
Espn.com is running a story reporting that several former NFL players, including Bears legend Mike Ditka, have appeared before the United States Congress to ask for their assistance in spurring the NFL to action in putting together a better pension and disability program for retired players. The players put forth their case to Congress, who may very well become involved if the NFL Player’s Union doesn’t do something to improve the current system. The NFL Player’s Union continues to claim that the system is fine and Congress doesn’t need to step in.
This is completely ridiculous. You have players who are homeless, battered beyond the ability to work, who played 20 and 30 years ago, when salaries were not nearly at the level they’re at now. The system is obviously screwed up. The NFL basically pays men to suffer debilitating injuries that have been proven to have very unfortunate long term effects to say the least. I would say it’s most likely not out of the question for NFL players to demand that they receive better benefits after they retire. It really bears noting here that many men who work in the NFL don’t have an extremely long shelf-life, are put out of the game by some sort of injury, and don’t make a ton of money while they’re in the league. Something must be done. The Player’s Union would do itself a favor to do something themselves rather that make Congress get involved.
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Bears Release Tank
Espn.com is reporting that the Chicago Bears have released Tank Johnson. Johnson, who was already suspended by the NFL for half the 2007 season, was pulled over late Friday night for speeding, possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Though the results have not yet returned from a blood test Tank took on Friday down at the station after he was pulled over, the Bears simply decided this was the last strike for Tank, and today, they waived him.
This marks a tragic end to Tank Johnson’s career as a Chicago Bear. Though it may strike some as odd that the Bears would stick with Tank through all his problems in 2006, then release him after a routine traffic stop in what may have simply been an incident of racial profiling (not saying it was, just saying, those things do happen), this may simply have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Or it may have just been the fact that the Bears are not, at present, right in the thick of a Super Bowl season in the National Football League, and now Tank is a bit more expendable. I, for one, don’t care which it is. I simply hope that this talented individual can now focus all his energies on getting his life on track and reclaiming his NFL career.
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Tank Johnson Pulled Over
According to reports on espn.com, Tank Johnson has had another run-in with the law. Tank was apparently pulled over for speeding at night in Arizona. According the the report, Johnson was going 40 in a 25, and his driving led the officer who pulled him over to believe that Johnson was impaired. Johnson apparently cooperated with the officers, who took a blood sample. The results of the blood test are not expected for two weeks.
This is just all around not good news for Johnson. If what these officers are claiming is true, and Johnson was in any way impaired, that would not only be a violation of his probation, but the terms of his suspension as well, and could lead to further disciplinary action both from the league and from the law. It should be noted that going 40 in a 25 is something nearly everyone has done in their lifetime, and, sad as it is to say, in a lot of parts of this country, being big and black and behind the wheel of a car past a certain hour is enough probable cause for an officer to think you’re “impaired.” Here’s hoping that Tank was not in the wrong, and this all blows over.
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Urlacher Wears Teammate’s Number
In an odd twist on a story that has been full of crazy shenanigans, Chicagosports.com is reporting that Brian Urlacher wore holdout teammate Lance Brigg’s number 55 jersey in the last day of spring practice. Urlacher didn’t say anything about it, and no one seems to know if this was meant as a jab at the Bears, at Briggs, or just Urlacher stirring up a bit of controversy because he was bored. There is obviously no shortage of opinions on the matter, and those opinions will be allowed to swirl for at least five weeks, when Urlacher will most likely resurface and smirk about the whole ordeal at training camp.
This is absolutely hilarious and just speaks to the ludicrous nature of how insane Americans are for the NFL. Somebody wears a hold out player’s number in spring practice and it’s actual news. The NBA Draft is what - a week away? And literally, I’m not sure I know one person who even cares. And yet I had 4 friends of mine, only one of them from Chicago, send me some kind of message with this link, saying “Did you see what Urlacher did?” Only in the NFL, my friends. Only in the NFL. You gotta love a sport that steals headlines from other sports during its off-season.
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Ditka to call his first MNF game
According to espn.com, Mike Ditka will be in the booth calling a Monday Night Football game for the first time in his career in 2007, aiding espn radio personalities “Mike and Mike” call the second game of the NFL’s week 1 doubleheader - a game pitting the Arizona Cardinals vs. the San Francisco Forty-Niners. Mike & Mike (Greenburg and Golic, respectively) have been announcing arena football games together this year. Ditka does football analyst work for ESPN, but has never been a MNF commentator.
I can’t take credit for this idea, because it’s actually a Bill Simmons original, but this will work because Greenburg and Golic actually know and like each other. They have great chemistry, and they will gloss over any inadequacies Ditka might have as a commentator and allow him to exist within a space where he can accentuate what he will probably do well, which is tell awesome football stories. I, for one, am very excited about this game. More excited than the other game, I can tell you that.
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Urlacher Optimistic
According to a report on espn.com, Brian Urlacher remains optimistic about the Bears’ 2007 NFL season, despite what would appear to be some real setbacks in the off-season. The Bears lost defensive coordinator Ron Rivera. They will be without Tank Johnson for at least half the season, as Johnson is serving his suspension for violating the league conduct policy. They have also had to deal with the holdout of Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs. Despite all the controversy and problems, however, Urlacher remains firmly convinced that the Bears will have no trouble defending their NFC Championship.
Can you blame him? The NFC is terrible. There isn’t a team in the NFC North who will challenge The Bears this year. They’ll most likely beat up their division and the rest of the whole horrible conference on the way to a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Honestly, unless half the team gets hit by a bus, I’d say the Bears are in fine shape to repeat as NFC Champions. That’s the sad thing about the NFC. The Bears, playing without a marquee quarterback, would limp into the AFC playoffs and be lucky to make it out of the first round. In the NFC, they’ve got another cakewalk into a Super Bowl that should be about as fun to watch as this year’s NBA Finals. But for now, let Urlacher gloat.
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Briggs still holding out
Lance Briggs continues to hold out for more money, according to a report from the Daily Herald. Briggs, miffed at his franchise player designation and in the unenviable position of taking advice from Drew Rosenhaus, has yet to participate in even one off-season activity with the Bears and is expected to hold out through training camp and the pre-season at the least. The main gist of the article is that Briggs basically has no choice but to show up and play at some point if he wants to make big money, which is 100% true. The whole idea of sitting out because you’ve been designated franchise player is absolute idiocy.
I’m going to make this short and sweet. The franchise player tag means that a player gets a HUGE raise for one season before that player gets yet another huge raise while playing during their franchise player year. It is given to players who were undervalued and played above their contracts as a way for the team that gave them a shot to say thank you while retaining them an extra year so they don’t lose them to free agency if they can’t afford the jack under the cap one year. Agents like Drew Rosenhaus, with their greedy little agent backwards logic, have somehow convinced players that they don’t owe a team that gave them a shot when they were barely worth league minimum one more year and a chance to re-sign them. This is total bunk. Briggs should lace up, play hard, and then if he wants to follow the money wherever it calls, that’s on him. But for now, man up and take your 1,000% pay increase to 7.2 mil a year. It’s insulting to the rest of us that you’re insulted.
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