The Phoenix Coyotes have signed free-agent center Bracken Kearns(who’s sale NFL jeresys in top 20)to a one-year, two-way contract.
Terms of the deal were not announced Tuesday.
The 29-year-old Kearns had 15 goals, 36 assists and 99 penalty minutes in 80 games last season for Rockford of the AHL.
He has played 266 career AHL games with Rockford, Norfolk, Milwaukee and Cleveland after four years at the University of Calgary
Offensive tackle Willie Anderson(who’s sale NFL jeresys in top 10) played 12 years with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1996 through 2007, made four Pro Bowls, and missed just two games in his first 11 seasons. He ended his career with the Baltimore Ravens in 2008 and will go down as one of the better players at his position of his era.
Anderson now lives in Atlanta, owns three Fatburger franchises (where we hope that JaMarcus Russell isn’t hanging out…), and has a company called Think B.I.G. Entertainment. Anderson also may have a future in breaking and parsing NFL news, if his recent Tweets about the receiver situation in Cincy are any indication.
Just to catch you up: The latest on Terrell Owens was that the St. Louis Rams were the most interested party, with the Bengals said to be giving T.O. a hard look if Antonio Bryant wasn’t 100 percent for camp and Chad Ochocinco didn’t have a complementary receiver. According to Anderson, the team has been discussing the issue most intently:
The Tennessee Titans(the team that NFL jeresys sale in top 10) are suing Southern California and coach Lane Kiffin for “maliciously” luring away assistant running backs coach Kennedy Pola a week before training camp opens.
Tennessee Football Inc., the company that owns the Titans, filed the lawsuit Monday in Davidson County Chancery Court against both the university and Kiffin.
The lawsuit accuses Southern California and Kiffin of violating Pola’s contract that required him to have written permission to discuss a job with anyone other than the Titans.
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Tennessee hired Pola as running backs coach in February only to lose him Saturday to Southern California as the Trojans’ new offensive coordinator and running backs coach.
“USC and Kiffin maliciously intended to—and did—induce Pola to breach the Pola contract,” the lawsuit charges.
“USC and Kiffin engaged in improper means in their procurement of the breach and were not legally justified in their actions. Kiffin and USC’s actions, through him, were part of a course and pattern of conduct fostered by Kiffin and USC to use improper methods and means to the direct harm and damage of parties to contracts …”
The Titans declined to comment Monday beyond the lawsuit.
Titans coach Jeff Fisher, a Southern California alumnus, said Saturday that Kiffin neglected to make the customary courtesy phone call to let him and the NFL team know he was interested in hiring Pola. Fisher himself had hired Pola, letting go Earnest Byner to free up the spot on his coaching staff.
Pola’s contract ran at least to Feb. 14, 2011, with the NFL in the final year of its current labor agreement with the players.
The lawsuit lawsuit notes that written permission from the president and general counsel was needed because verbal “consent is inadequate.” The lawsuit also notes Southern California and Kiffin, through Pola, knew about his contract requirements.
“Pola was not given express written consent by Tennessee Football or the Commissioner of the NFL to entertain employment with any other entity,” the lawsuit argues.
The move left the Titans without a running backs coach one week before training camp opens, which the lawsuit argues disrupts planning, causes “potential loss of confidence by players” and the loss of salary and benefits already paid to Pola along with “future damage.”
The lawsuit is particularly harsh on Kiffin for what it calls intentional actions. Kiffin said he first spoke to Pola on Friday, and then called Fisher on Saturday after Pola called him back, apparently to accept the job.
Kiffin acknowledged in a statement that timing wasn’t perfect.
“I have spoken with Coach Fisher and he now has an accurate understanding of the timeline of events,” Kiffin said. “We realize the timing of this isn’t perfect for all parties, but this is a great opportunity and promotion for Kennedy.”
Fisher told The Tennessean newspaper he was very disappointed in Kiffin’s lack of professionalism. The lawsuit doesn’t hold back in criticizing Kiffin for “furtherance of a culture of violation and avoidance of respect for the sanctity of contract, which Kiffin similarly practices …” in inducing Pola to breach his contract.
Denver Broncos outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil(who’s sale NFL jeresys in top 20) has agreed to a contract extension and it’s not for a small chunk of change, according to the Denver Post.
The Post reported that Dumervil’s five-year extension is worth $58.332 million; including the $3.168 for the coming season, the total six-year package is $61.5 million. Not bad for a 26-year-old in a tough economy.
He had 49 tackles, four forced fumbles, and 17 sacks last year
The Miami Dolphins(who’s sale NFL jeresys in top 20) moved quickly to find a replacement for injured defensive end Phillip Merling.
Free agent Marques Douglas agreed to terms on a $2.5 million, two-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations said Friday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Dolphins had not announced the deal.
Douglas shores up a position depleted when Merling recently suffered an Achilles’ tendon injury that will force him to miss the entire season.
Douglas started 12 games for the New York Jets’ top-ranked defense last year, and he had 36 tackles and 28 assists. The Dolphins will be his fifth team in an 11-year career, and he’ll compete for playing time with the Dolphins’ No. 1 draft pick, Jared Odrick.
The 33-year-old Douglas will rejoin Mike Nolan, the Dolphins’ new defensive coordinator. They were together in San Francisco and Baltimore.
Merling, who played mostly as a reserve in 2008 and 2009, was hurt preparing for the start of training camp next Friday. His status was already in question after he was arrested in May and charged with felony battery against his pregnant girlfriend.
Jets center Nick Mangold(who’s sale NFL jeresys in top 20) says he will report for training camp with the rest of the team next weekend despite not having a new contract in place.
Mangold tells the NFL Network on Friday night that it wouldn’t do him any good to hold out, so “I’ll be there with bells on.”
The Jets report for training camp on Aug. 1 in Cortland, N.Y.
The All-Pro center is making $3.3 million entering the final year of his rookie deal, but is seeking a long-term contract extension. He decided to participate in minicamp despite being unhappy with the lack of negotiations.
All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis(notes), also seeking an extension, has not indicated if he will report to camp. He’s due to make $1 million in the fourth season of his six-year rookie deal.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed coach Mike Tomlin(the team that NFL jeresys sale in top 10) to a two-year contract extension through the 2012 season, with an option year in 2013.
The extension was expected because the Steelers’ policy has been to sign a coach before he begins the final season of a contract. Tomlin is only the Steelers’ third coach since 1969, following Chuck Noll (1969-91) and Bill Cowher (1992-2006).
Tomlin is 31-17 in three seasons, with two division titles, an AFC championship and a Super Bowl victory. During the 2008 season, he became the youngest coach—he was 36—to win the Super Bowl when the Steelers beat Arizona 27-23.
“Mike Tomlin has proven to be one of the top head coaches in the National Football League in a relatively short time,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. “His unique ability to lead the team and motivate individuals have been key factors in our success.”
The Steelers were 9-7 and missed the playoffs last season. They open training camp July 30 at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported July 13 that Tomlin had signed a three-year extension through the 2014 season.
Tomlin made an average of $2.5 million per season under the contract he signed upon succeeding Cowher in January 2007. His new contract is expected to at least double that.
Kaye Cowher, the wife of ex-Steelers coach Bill Cowher and a former basketball player at North Carolina State and in the now-defunct Women’s Professional Basketball League, has died of skin cancer. She was 54.
Cowher died Friday in her native North Carolina, where the family relocated at her urging during Cowher’s final year as coach in 2006, one season after the Steelers won the Super Bowl. The family had lived since in Raleigh.
“Kaye was such a loving and compassionate person and she was the foundation of our family,” Bill Cowher(who’s sale NFL jeresys in tip 10), now an NFL analyst with CBS, said in a statement Saturday. “Kaye was always at my side throughout my career as a player, coach, NFL analyst and, most importantly, as a parent to our three daughters.”
He added: “Kaye was the rock that we could all lean on in the tough times. She was looked up to by so many people and I cannot say enough about what Kaye meant to our family.”
Kaye Cowher and other family members were often seen cheering from a private box at Steelers home games during Bill Cowher’s 15 seasons as coach from 1992-2006. The Steelers lost four AFC championship games—all at home—before finally winning the Super Bowl, and Kaye Cowher was repeatedly seen consoling her husband following those defeats.
Steelers president Art Rooney II said: “Kaye was a very private person who was very devoted to her family. Kaye made many friends in our organization and our community.”
The Cowhers met at North Carolina State, where Bill played linebacker before beginning an NFL career. They married in 1981, after the former Kaye Young played alongside twin sister Faye in college and during a three-season pro basketball career.
After leading North Carolina State to a 29-5 record and the first Atlantic Coast Conference women’s title in 1978, the sisters played one season with the New York Stars and two with the New Jersey Gems in a league that was a forerunner to the WNBA. During the twins’ WPBL careers, they filmed a Wrigley Doublemint gum commercial.
At the time of her death, Kaye Cowher served on the North Carolina State Board of Visitors, which advises the school’s chancellor and board of trustees. The Cowhers returned to Raleigh even before Bill Cowher’s NFL coaching career ended partly because of their close ties to the university and the friends they made during college.
Besides her husband, Kaye Cowher is survived by daughters Meagan, Lauren and Lindsay. Meagan and Lauren played basketball at Princeton and Lindsay plays at Wofford.
A private funeral service will be held Monday in North Carolina.
The Miami Dolphins (who’s sale NFL jeresys in top 10)moved quickly to find a replacement for injured defensive end Phillip Merling
Free agent Marques Douglas agreed to terms on a US$2.5 million, two-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations said Friday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Dolphins had not announced the deal.
Douglas shores up a position depleted when Merling recently suffered an Achilles’ tendon injury that will force him to miss the entire season.
Douglas started 12 games for the New York Jets’ top-ranked defense last year, and he had 36 tackles and 28 assists. The Dolphins will be his fifth team in an 11-year career, and he’ll compete for playing time with the Dolphins’ No. 1 draft pick, Jared Odrick.
The 33-year-old Douglas will rejoin Mike Nolan, the Dolphins’ new defensive co-ordinator. They were together in San Francisco and Baltimore.
Merling, who played mostly as a reserve in 2008 and 2009, was hurt preparing for the start of training camp next Friday. His status was already in question after he was arrested in May and charged with felony battery against his pregnant girlfriend.
The Josh McDaniels(who’s sale NFL jeresys in top 20) administration has chased off most of the disgruntled Denver Broncos players it inherited — Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall) and Tony Scheffler( have all been knifed out of the picture since McDaniels took over for the fired Mike Shanahan before the 2009 season. However, defensive end/linebacker Elvis Dumervil, who was engaging in his own contract squabbles after finding himself stuck with a one-year, $3.168 million tender offer as a restricted free agent, now finds himself among the highest-paid defenders in the NFL.
The Broncos announced on Thursday that Dumervil agreed to terms on a five-year extension, one worth $58.332 million that will take him through the 2015 season, according to the Denver Post. The total six-year deal, including the $3.168 million he is due to make in the coming season, is worth $61.5 million with $43.168 million guaranteed. The deal is similar to the one struck by the Baltimore Ravens and Terrell Suggs in July of 2009 — that deal gave Suggs $62.5 million over six years, and $38.1 million guaranteed (including a $23 million roster bonus in March of 2010).
As good as Suggs has been, it’s easy to argue that the deal for Dumervil is a bargain in comparison if the Denver pass rusher maintains the standards he set in 2009. Dumervil didn’t just lead the NFL with 17 sacks; he also added 20 quarterback hurries, four quarterback hits, and four forced fumbles (the picture above could explain why Jamarcus Russell needed all that purple drank). These totals were especially impressive considering Dumervil’s move from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense and the relatively thin support he’s received through his career from complementary pass rushers — throughout his four-year career, Dumervil has regularly ranked high among pass rushers with the highest team percentages of quarterback disruptions. On the other hand, Suggs showed up to training camp out of shape in 2009 and amassed just 4½ sacks, two hits, 14 hurries, and one forced fumble. And this with a much better defense around him.
Dumervil may have a slightly tougher time in Denver’s 2010 defense with coordinator Mike Nolan off in Miami, only to be replaced by a guy named Don “Wink” Martindale, but it’s good to see the Broncos pony up for one of their stars instead of petulantly draining the roster dry any time someone offends His Joshness with a compensation concern.