Hello everyone and welcome to today’s “The Stack” with me, Nathan Stacken. NFL free agency continues to be crazy and we’ll look at some of the bigger moves made by teams as well as other news in the sports world so let’s get right to it.
1. Big names moving as free agency continues.
While the first two day of NFL free agency have not been as crazy as some anticipated, there is still plenty of aciton going down. Moments after I posted “The Stack” yesterday, Santonio Holmes re-signed with the New York Jets. Good move by the Jets. They need to keep weapons around Mark Sanchez. Whether or not they can now re-sign Braylon Edwards or free agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha remains to be seen due to cap room. They will be a factor, but other teams more desperate may throw more money towards Asomugha. Other notable moves yesterday and early this morning include:
- Seattle Seahawks signing wide receiver Sidney Rice to a five-year deal. The Minnesota Vikings wanted to keep him, but Rice was often injured and his only great season happened when Brett Favre was in Minnesota. Last I checked, Seattle doesn’t have him. And what happened the last time the Seahawks went after a big name wide receiver? They got T.J. Houshmandzadeh and it was a disaster. Maybe this time, it will pan out differently.
- Pittsburgh Steelers re-signed cornerback Ike Taylor. There was talk that Taylor would move elsewhere. He is a good cornerback and the Steelers made the right choice to retain him.
- The New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins worked out a trade that will send RB Reggie Bush to Miami. He signed a two-year deal with the Dolphins. The Dolphins needed a running back and Bush brings a lot of versatility. This is a great move by the Dolphins.
- The New England Patriots traded for Albert Haynesworth, sending a 5th round pick to the Washington Redskins. Bill Belichick does it again. He knows how to motivate people and resurrect their careers (see Corey Dillon and Randy Moss). This is a big steal for the Patriots and Haynesworth has put them back into legitimate Super Bowl contenders if not favorites.
There are of course other moves that were made, but we just can’t get to them all. Look today for another flurry of activity and maybe a couple of trades involving QB’s (Kevin Kolb and Kyle Orton). It’s been fun to keep track of so far.
2. Butch Davis out as UNC head football coach.
Bit of surprising news coming from ACC country yesterday when the University of North Carolina fired head football coach Butch Davis for the academic scandal that hit the football team. Right now the NCAA is conducting a probe into the academic problems at UNC. This may be the right decision for UNC to make. After all, they want to show that they are cooperating and perhaps the sanctions levied against them won’t be so harsh. Davis though did put UNC football back on the map and he ended up being a pipeline for players to get to the NFL. The last couple of years, UNC has had more guys go in the NFL Draft then schools like Miami (FL). That’s pretty impressive. But if it was done with Davis’ knowledge of doing things wrong, then that cannot happen and he deserved to be let go. Will he land another college job? Not right away. He could go back to the NFL, not as a head coach, but as defensive coordinator. We’ll just have to wait and see.
3. Wednesday’s biggest baseball news.
The Seattle Mariners finally did it yesterday. They ended their seventeen game losing streak with a 9-2 win over the New York Yankees. It helps when Felix Hernandez is pitching. Free Starbucks for everyone…Anaheim Angels pitcher Ervin Santana threw a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians yesterday in his team’s 3-1 win. He allowed one run in the first thanks to a wild-pitch, but was brilliant after that. Seems like we’re seeing more no-hitters lately. Pitching has gotten just that much better I guess. Congrats Santana…The San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 last night, but it was an acquisition that had the clubhouse buzzing during and after the game. The Giants acquired Carlos Beltran from the New York Mets for minor league pitcher Zack Wheeler. The Giants needed a bat and Beltran will provide that for them. Heads up to the rest of the NL. The Giants are coming.
That does it for me today. Check back tomorrow for another edition of “The Stack”. Until then, have a great day and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.
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