Kwan to co-chair IOC women’s conference (AP)
Retired figure skater Michelle Kwan and Hollywood producer Frank Marshall will co-chair the organizing committee for the International Olympic Committee Women and Sport Conference in 2012. Their appointments were announced Thursday by the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games. The three-day event will be Feb.
Lightning beat top-seeded Caps in Game 1 (AP)
The lockout has been lifted. At least that’s the feeling for the Washington Capitals, who finally get to play another playoff game after nearly a week of waiting. “I couldn’t believe how long it took to find out who we were going to play,” right wing Eric Fehr said. “It felt like a month.” The Capitals were just too good, finishing off the New York Rangers in five games…
NCAA puts 3-year moratorium on new bowls (AP)
The NCAA will re-examine its role in licensing bowls and has put a three-year hold on any new games in the wake of the Fiesta Bowl’s problems. The NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors on Thursday approved a new task force to look at the criteria and process for licensing bowls and will not approve any new bowls until updated standards are put into place.
Filed under: online games
USOC rekindles Kellogg sponsorship (AP)
The U.S. Olympic Committee is back at the table with Kellogg, reuniting with a longtime sponsor that took a brief break during the rough economy. The deal, announced Monday, runs through the 2016 Olympics and falls into the category of the USOC’s bigger sponsorships, which are usually worth more than $10 million over a four-year period.
Filed under: stories
Former Bears QB Douglass arrested (AP)
Police say former Chicago Bears quarterback Bobby Douglass faces trespass and criminal damage charges following an incident with an ex-girlfriend at her suburban residence. Lake Forest Deputy Chief Glenn Burmeister says Douglass was arrested Wednesday night. He says Douglass and his girlfriend had recently broken up and Douglass allegedly went to talk to her, tried to force open the door of her…
Filed under: strategy
Alabama unveils statue of Saban (AP)
Alabama coach Nick Saban has already left his mark on the football program. So much so
they’ve already built a statue of him. The University of Alabama unveiled the statue in front of Bryant-Denny Stadium as part of a celebration leading up to Saturday’s spring game. The unveiling comes 15 months after Alabama beat Texas for the BCS national championship.
Police report accuses Aqib Talib of pistol-whipping
shooting at a guy
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Aqib Talib is in a heap of trouble. The following paragraph Monday from Richie Whitt at Sportatorium
the Dallas Observer’s sports Blog
is a doozy. According to a GPD initial report about the incident and two sources familiar with the case Talib allegedly attempted to pistol-whip his sister Saran’s boyfriend
Shannon Billings
and then
after a struggle
used his mother Okolo’s pistol and fired several shots at Billings as he fled the scene on foot. If you’re scoring at home
that’s a pistol-whipping and a borrowing of mom’s gun to shoot at your sister’s boyfriend
all in one paragraph. Yikes. Police currently describe Talib as a “person of interest” in the shooting. Billings
the alleged victim
has been involved in two other family-violence cases involving Talib’s sister
Saran. You can check out more details of the police report here. Talib has yet to release any kind of statement about the incident.
The Second Shutdown 40: #58 – Jon Baldwin
WR
Pitt
With the 2010 NFL season in the books
the draft edging ever closer (and a lockout battle now headed to the courts) it’s time to turn our eyes to the pre-draft evaluation process. We've already done scouting reports of the top 40 players on our board
and you can read all the details on the first Shutdown 40 here. For the second Shutdown 40
players 41-80
we have the advantage of combine performances and that much more evaluation material. Over the next few weeks
we'll also be adding Pro Day data when relevant. But we're always going mostly on game tape; the proper evaluation formula seems to be about 80 percent tape
20 percent Senior Bowl/combine/Pro Day. If you see what you expect in drills
you go back to the tape to confirm. If what you see in drills surprises you in a positive or negative sense
you go back to the tape to catch where the anomalies may be. We continue the second Shutdown 40 with Pitt wide receiver Jon Baldwin
who went the same high school (Aliquippa High in Aliquippa
Pennsylvania) as Mike Ditka
Ty
Law
and Darrelle Revis. Baldwin presents an intriguing size/speed combination; he ran a 4.49-40 at the scouting combine at 6-foot 4 and 228 pounds. At Pitt
Baldwin put up 18 receptions for 414 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman and really blew up in his sophomore year
when he caught 57 passes for 1
118 yards and eight scores. In 38 total games for the Panthers
Baldwin brought in 127 passes for 2
325 yards and 16 touchdowns. However
there are red flags that put Baldwin quite a way down the receiver boards of most draft pundits — serious questions about his attitude
maturity
and consistency have popped up from time to time. Baldwin has had the time and opportunity to answer those questions with NFL teams
but since we're about the tape here at Shutdown 40 HQ
let's belay the other stuff and take a closer look at Jon Baldwin
Future NFL Receiver. Pros: Presses off the line and gets up to speed pretty impressively for his size; could be an asset on slip screens. Will jump and catch in traffic even when he knows the big hit is coming
and he's an imposing target when he gets vertical. Will stretch for passes downfield and can do so without losing a lot of speed — potentially devastating on 9-routes for that reason. Will physically overwhelm smaller defenders inside on slants
digs
and posts. Succeede
d in a Pitt program with a limited passing game
generally unspectacular quarterbacks
and his role as the primary target of most every pass defense he faced. Cons: Tends to struggle with his body control on tight timing routes — understandable to a point
since he's a tall
high-waisted player
but he looks like he's on skates at times and that will need to be fixed at the next level. Tends to turn his body instead of moving his feet in place on comebacks. Good inline speed
but doesn't have that extra gear to accelerate downfield to make tight catches — better at jumping and diving in those cases. Size gets in his way when he tried to juke defenders in space; he doesn't have especially quick feet to get free in short areas. Not always physical enough when he needs to be — for example
when he's boxed out downfield by a cornerback
he doesn't always push and move out or up to stay open. Isn't quick to turn upfield; his motion is more a half-circle than a quick turn-and-dash. Conclusion: There are some fairly major issues that pop off the tape when you watch Jon Baldwin
but it's difficult to know how many of the fundamental issues about his play would have been fixed had he been in a more dynamic offense in which he wasn't the primary focus. His struggles in the combine drills
however
didn't help his case — asked to succeed in a neutral environment
Baldwin showed a lot of rust in frills and when trying to catch passes in quick-cut situations. Malcolm Kelly had some of those same issues
and would have benefitted from a team with higher standards and better overall teaching and schematic discipline. Unfortunately
Kelly got the Jim Zorn Redskins
and whatever is it Mike Shanahan’s trying to do these days. Baldwin may need a better environment to succeed in the NFL. NFL Comparison: Malcolm Kelly
Washington Redskins More Second Shutdown 40 #41 — Justin Houston
OLB
Georgia | #42 — Muhammad Wilkerson
DT/DE
Temple | #43 — Aaron Williams
DB
Texas | #44 — Ryan Williams
RB
Virginia Tech | #45 — Rahim Moore
FS
UCLA | #46 — Martez Wilson
ILB
Illinois | #47 — D.J. Williams
TE
Arkansas | #48 — Marvin Austin
DT
North Carolina | #49 — Jerrel Jernigan
WR
Troy | #50 — Jabbal Sheard
DE
Pitt | #51 — Christian Ballard
DE
Iowa | #52 — Brooks Reed
DE/OLB
Arizona | #53 — Randall Cobb
WR
Kentucky | #54 — Colin Kaepernick
QB
Nevada | #55 — Sam Acho
OLB/DE
Texas | #56 — Andy Dalton
QB
TCU | #57 — Davon House
CB
New Mexico State
Filed under: stories
Roethlisberger isn’t living with fiancee because of religious beliefs
We knew Ben Roethlisberger was getting married. Now we know the particulars. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback spoke for the first time this week about his upcoming nuptials. In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Roethlisberger confirmed that he’s engaged to 26-year-old Ashley Harlan
whom he met during training camp in 2005. “We were kind of on and off for five years — almost six years now — so I’ve known her for a while
” Roethlisberger told the newspaper. “It’s not like a random new person. We dated awhile ago; we have been friends ever since.” Roethlisberger and Harlan became engaged around Christmas
but the quarterback refused to talk about the subject during the Steelers’ run to the Super Bowl. The 26-year-old works as a physician’s assistant in the cardiac surgery department of a Pittsburgh hospital. She attended St. Francis College
where she played softball. The two are scheduled to be married on July 23
one week before the scheduled start of training camp. “I think a small part of her is hoping we hold out for a week so we can honeymoon
” he said. “I told her I was laughing with coach [Mike] Tomlin; he said ‘You guys might have to have the honeymoon suite at Saint Vincent.’” (Isn’t he not supposed to be talking to coaches?) Another revelation in the lengthy interview was that Roethlisberger won’t live with Harlan until the wedding because of their religious beliefs. She still lives at home with her parents in nearby Newcastle. The quarterback insists his engagement isn’t part of an effort to rehabilitate his image and there’s no reason not to take him at his word. But when he says stuff about cohabitation and religious beliefs
it’s fair to say that he’s not shying away from using his upcoming marriage to try and restore his good name. Why bother mentioning that if it’s not to make yourself look pious and to try and draw attention away from past brushes with immoral behavior? “People will always have opinions of everybody and me
and that’s fine
they’re entitled
” Roethlisberger told the newspaper. “People can say that it is whatever
but people who know and can see and are around us and know me
know that it’s something special when you find that person
and I’m extremely lucky
” he said. Follow Yahoo! sports on Facebook and be the first to know about the most interesting stories of the day. Other popular Yahoo! Sports stories: • How superstar athletes looked in HS yearbooks • Female high school pitcher’s super fast toss • LeBron makes historic sports purchase
Filed under: strategy
