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Johnny Jolly’s bond denied by judge
Posted by: | CommentsFollowing a latest drug arrest on Friday morning and being charged with possession of more than 400 grams of a controlled substance, Johny Jolly faces up to life in prison if convicted. He was arrested in Houston. Johnny Jolly the troubled Green Bay Packers defensive lineman’s bond was denied by a judge. This means he will remain jailed until at least his next court appearance April 20. He did not appear in court during the brief hearing.
It was the earlier charge that led to his suspension by the NFL without pay for all of last season for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. After the hearing, prosecutor Todd Keagle said Jolly’s arrest voided a probation agreement the defensive lineman had with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office that settled a 2008 drug charge.
Police said that after pulling over Jolly’s vehicle during a traffic stop, officers found a bottle containing 600 grams of codeine under the passenger’s seat and another bottle containing an unidentified substance in the driver’s side door.
“At this point, he’s maintaining his innocence,” said Carl Moore, Jolly’s attorney. Moore said he will make another attempt to have Jolly released on bond, which prosecutors are against.
At the time of his arrest, Jolly had an agreement with the Harris District Attorney’s Office in which he had been given pretrial diversion, a form of probation.
Under that agreement, the 2008 drug charge against him would have been dismissed by August if he didn’t break the law. Part of the sentence was 160 hours of community service, which included 10 speaking engagements where he was supposed to talk to children and others about the dangers of drug use.
The end of the agreement means Jolly now will be facing two charges in court: the new one, and the 2008 charge of possessing at least 200 grams of codeine, which carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years, Keagle said.
Moore said Jolly had been training as part of his efforts to get reinstated in the NFL. He did not know how this most recent arrest would affect that.
Brian Overstreet, Jolly’s agent, did not immediately return a telephone call Wednesday.
A Packers spokesman declined to comment on Jolly’s situation.
Jerricho Cotchery had herniated disk
Posted by: | CommentsFor the sure-handed Jerricho Cotchery, it was an out-of-character season who dropped a team-high eight passes — and now we know why. The New York Jets’ veteran wide receiver played with a painful herniated disk throughout the season and underwent back surgery Feb. 3, Cotchery told ESPNNewYork.com Wednesday which was unknown to the public.
Cotchery said doctors “shaved off” the piece of the disc that was pressing against a nerve. The procedure was a microdiscectomy. He said the condition worsened in October, causing shooting pain down his leg and into his foot. He decided to tough it out, waiting to address it until after the season. In retrospect, he wishes he had the surgery before the 2010 season.
Cotchery said his rehab is going well and he hopes to start running in three to four weeks. He’s confident he’ll be ready for training camp — if there is a training camp. Because of the lockout, Cotchery isn’t permitted inside the Jets’ facility, forcing him to rehab at a private facility in New Jersey.
Bill Belichick against kickoff changes
Posted by: | CommentsThe NFL competition committee’s new kickoff proposal is not favored by Bill Belichick.
The committee is proposing moving the kickoff up to the 35-yard line, to reduce injuries on kickoffs and bringing a touchback out to the 25. No player other than the kicker would be allowed to line up more than five yards behind the ball, and the committee will suggest outlawing the wedge on kickoffs; all blocking wedges were reduced to two players in 2009.
the New England Patriots coach said at the league’s annual meeting that it was a pretty complicated proposal and he didn’t like the idea of eliminating the kickoff from the game. He thinks it’s one of the most exciting plays in football. It looks like the competition committee is trying to eliminate that play. He is unsure whether it really is good for the game.
Belichick was asked about the safety aspect of the proposal.
NFL competition committee chairman Rich McKay said the proposals have spurred “healthy discussions” among coaches and general managers.
Patriots president Jonathan Kraft said that after a meeting in which the rule proposal was reviewed, he wouldn’t be surprised if there were some revisions before it went to a vote on Tuesday.
After two massive strokes Drew Hill dies at 54
Posted by: | CommentsA two-time Pro Bowler, Former NFL wide receiver Drew Hill, who was a key part of the Houston Oilers’ famed “Run and Shoot” offense of the 1980s, died at an Atlanta hospital late Friday after suffering two massive strokes, according to his agent. Piedmont Hospital spokesman Jim Taylor on Saturday confirmed the 54-year-old Hill’s death.
Hill fell ill on a golf course on Thursday and died late Friday after suffering the strokes, said his agent, Jay Mathis of Next Level Management.
A 12th round pick from Georgia Tech in 1979, Hill played for the Los Angeles Rams from 1979 to 1984, for the Oilers from 1985 to 1991, and for the Atlanta Falcons for the 1992 and 1993 seasons.
Hill had 634 receptions for 9,831 yards and 60 touchdowns, averaging 15.5 yards per catch, according to NFL.com. He was on Pro Bowl teams in 1998 and 1990 and played in one Super Bowl, Mathis said.
Hill played 14 seasons in the NFL, and had 60 or more receptions during seven of eight seasons from 1985 to 1992. He also had three years with 70 or more catches and five with 1,000 yards, his management company said.
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak, the Hall of Famer who played on the offensive line with the Oilers (now the Titans) as Hill’s teammate, said in a statement that his former teammate had guts.
Funeral arrangements will be announced soon.
Giants say no payments during lockout for the ticket holders
Posted by: | CommentsCEO John Mara, the New York Giants president remains optimistic that there will be an NFL season in 2011. But to keep giants fan at ease he said on Wednesday that season-ticket holders won’t have to make payments until the lockout ends.
Speaking on WFAN-AM in New York, Mara told listeners that a letter will go out to season-ticket holders next week that will give them the option of paying in full by May 1, or waiting until there is a new collective bargaining agreement in place with the players. For the third consecutive season, the Giants will not raise ticket prices either.
New York is coming off a 10-6 season — its first in New Meadowlands Stadium — in which it lost out on the NFC playoffs by way of a tiebreaker. Mara, not surprisingly, expressed his disappointment in the work stoppage, which went into effect last week.
The Giants are among the teams with the most loyal fan bases in the league. However, the team did take a public relations hit when it required personal seat licenses to be bought prior to the opening of the new stadium last year.
Sources: Von Miller to visit top 10 teams
Posted by: | CommentsTeams holding very high picks in the NFL draft will have two upcoming visits from Texas A&M outside linebacker Von Miller said sources.
The sources said Miller will meet with the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as hold a two-day visit with the Cleveland Browns on April 11-12. Miller is widely considered this year’s top linebacker prospect.
Miller is also part of the NFLPA’s lawsuit against the league that includes high-profile players Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. There is some speculation about whether Miller could be blackballed by owners and teams, which would hurt his draft stock. But that doesn’t appear to be the case, as Buffalo (No. 3 overall) and Cleveland (No. 6) both hold top picks in the first round.
Miller wowed scouts at the NFL combine with his athleticism and recently ran a blazing 4.49 40-yard dash during his pro day at Texas A&M. The senior recorded 68 tackles, 11 sacks and an interception for the Aggies last season.
The Bills and Browns were ranked No. 24 and No. 22 in total defense, respectively, and both could use help in their front seven.
Despite labor uncertainty, the NFL draft will begin on April 28 in New York City.
Hearing waived right by Perish Cox
Posted by: | CommentsDetails of sexual assault allegations against Denver Broncos cornerback Perrish Cox will remain secret, for now. His attorney Harvey A. Steinberg waived his client’s right to a preliminary hearing, where investigators present evidence in court, after a judge ruled Thursday that it should be public. Steinberg argued that the public had no constitutional right to court proceedings leading up to trials.
Steve Zansberg, an attorney representing The Associated Press, the Denver Post and The New York Times, disagreed, calling closing such a hearing in Colorado unprecedented and noted that a judge in a sexual assault case involving Kobe Bryant did not approve of a similar request. Charges were later dropped against Bryant.
Douglas County Judge Susanna Meissner-Cutler ruled that Steinberg, prosecutors and Craig Silverman, an attorney representing the accuser, did not sufficiently make their case and ordered the hearing held in public.
Cutler set the case for trial after Steinberg waived the preliminary hearing. Cox will be in court May 16 for a hearing where he’s expected to enter a plea.
Braylon Edwards fighting his DUI charge
Posted by: | CommentsThe New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards wants to stay with the Jets he expressed while he was in a Manhattan courtroom trying to get his drunken-driving case thrown out. To suppress the field sobriety test from Edwards’ DUI arrest on Sept. 21, Peter J. Frankel, his Attorney was going to file motions on Monday.
Although the day was brief and mostly procedural, Frankel said Edwards is aware of the impact the outcome can have on his career. Edwards will be a free agent in the NFL under a new collective bargaining agreement.
Frankel said that Edwards is trying to do all the right things to get through a very important and critical time of his life. He is due back on May 16th.
Packers extend Mike McCarthy
Posted by: | CommentsMcCarthy signed a new multiyear contract Friday less than a month after the Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 for Green Bay’s 13th NFL championship. His previous contract ran through 2012, and both he and Thompson had been locked up for five years when they signed previous extensions after the 2007 season.
Mike McCarthy embraced Green Bay’s culture from the first day he arrived as coach of the Packers. After his first Super Bowl championship, he’ll stay in the NFL’s smallest market for years to come.
McCarthy’s Packers became just the second No. 6 seed in the playoffs to win a championship, and he joined Vince Lombardi (1967, 1968) and Mike Holmgren (1997) as the only coaches to lead Green Bay to Super Bowl titles.
In five seasons, McCarthy has led the Packers to three playoff appearances, including this year’s Super Bowl and an NFC title game in 2008, while also deftly handling the transition from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers and this season’s spate of injuries.
In his final press conference in Green Bay last month, McCarthy said he wasn’t going to be naive that his life would change after the title. He’ll already join Lombardi and Holmgren with his name on a street near Lambeau Field when next season begins.
The 47-year-old McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native, spent six years as offensive coordinator for the Saints and 49ers before taking over the Packers in 2006. Since replacing Mike Sherman, McCarthy is 53-34 including the postseason.
His no nonsense attitude and wry sense of humor that endeared him to the modest, Midwestern town from the start. Along the way, he restored the city’s nickname of Titletown after a 14-year drought — and he hopes that doesn’t change, along with anything else.
83 rescued, Cris Collinsworth among
Posted by: Football Webmaster | Comments (0)A joking reference to the recent rain and rising water levels outside the eatery housed on a barge, Kathy Kinane and her husband walked into the upscale Waterfront restaurant wearing snorkeling gear.
They almost needed it. During the dinner rush Friday night when the restaurant broke from its moorings the Kinanes and 81 others found themselves floating downstream on the Ohio River. All had to be rescued one by one with a makeshift gangplank of ladders and ropes after the boat came to rest against a bridge about 100 feet downriver.
Women were rescued first, then the men. One patron would climb down the gangplank wearing a life jacket, which would then be sent back up for the next person. Officials said the hours-long rescue was orderly and calm. Kathy Kinane said she had to take off her heels to make her way down. Among those rescued was former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Cris Collinsworth, Covington fire Capt. Chris Kiely said.
The restaurant is one of several on the river in Covington, just across from Cincinnati.Collinsworth, a pro football commentator for NBC, has long been associated with Waterfront owner and restaurateur Jeff Ruby. On the waterfront’s menu for $40 is the “Steak Collinsworth,” along with other steaks and high-end entrees including lobster, sea bass and tuna.