Browns Seek Offensive Firepower.

With the choice of Phil Taylor (DT) and Joe Haden (CB) in the opening round of the NFL Draft the past two years, the Browns ended a streak of selecting offensive players in seven of their last eight first round picks dating back to 2002. 

This April, it seems very logical to say that Cleveland will take an offensive player with their fourth choice overall. Browns’ General Manager Tom Heckert has stated that Cleveland has no interest of trading up one spot and would consider dealing down as far as the eighth pick. 

Many insiders have speculated the Browns to look at Alabama running back Trent Richardson, who ran for over 1600 yards (1679) for an average of 5.9 per carry this past season. Richardson also caught 29 passes for 338 stripes. 

The Plain Dealer recently reported that Texas A&M signal caller Ryan Tannehill will work out for the Browns prior to the selection meeting. The 6’4 senior threw for 3744 yards and a completion percentage of 61.6 and 29 touchdowns. Tannehill tossed eight interceptions over the course of his last five games this past year.

The St. Louis Rams, who are picking at the sixth spot, are said to be very high on Oklahoma State wideoutJustin Blackmon. The Terrell Owens-built receiver caught 232 passes for 3304 yards and 38 touchdowns over the past two campaigns. With new offensive coordinator Brad Childress now in the mix in Cleveland, he remembers what Owens did for his Eagle offense during the 2004 season. Blackmon would be a major upgrade to the receiving corps if the Browns decided to land the 6’1, 215-pound pass catcher. 

The Browns have addressed the defensive line in free agency by bringing aboard two veteran players inFrostee Rucker and Juqua Parker. I look for Cleveland to keep the pedal to the metal and take advantage of their bevy of late round choices to search for gems on the defensive side of the ball by seeking defensive lineman, corners (to eventually replace an aging Sheldon Brown), and outside linebackers. 

The offensive line will be a main focus of the Browns’ brass. Besides Joe Thomas (LT) and Alex Mack (C), the seal brown and burnt orange will look for depth along the line and to find a right tackle for years to come. Cleveland owns two first round draft choices and I would not be surprised to see the pride of the Cuyahoga River take a right tackle with their second or third selections. 

http://www.wytv.com/content/news/headlines/story/Draft-Browns-Seek-Offensive-Firepower/YCgVUlvt50ezAi6uigT9CA.cspx

Golden's Nuggets: On Vince Young's past and future; Myck Kabongo; T.O.'s newest teammate.

A five-piece order of Nuggets, for your perusal:

Thanks for the emails and social media messages you sent in response to my story Sunday on the dozens of players who the 2005 Texas team sent to the NFL.

While researching the article, I spoke with Roy Williams, whom I consider one of the two greatest receivers to ever play here (Jordan Shipley gets my other vote). Williams left two years before Texas ran the table and beat USC for the 2005 national title, but he did play one season with quarterback Vince Young, the unquestioned man of the hour that championship season.

Young turned out to be one of the most electrifying quarterbacks in college football history, but Williams said he had his doubts about whether Young would make it during their one season together.

"I was a senior, and I'm looking at this guy and I'm saying, ‘This guy can't play on this level,' " Williams said. "I'm playing with him and whenever the No. 1 receiver is not open, he just takes off running. There's no way they can ever win anything with this guy."

But Texas did win with Young. And along the way, he earned the respect of a nation of college football fans.

"It just goes to show the maturation with the kids and the coaches at Texas," Williams said. "Every year they do it."

Speaking of Young, it's surprising that no NFL team has signed him to a free agent contract, since he'd come much cheaper than the reported $58 million he signed for with Tennessee in 2006, $25 million of that in guaranteed greenbacks.

It makes me wonder whether Young is finished in this league. His physical skills are still there, but he hasn't been a picture of confidence over the past couple of years. Still, when you see players like Derek Anderson signing with teams, it becomes a head scratcher.

The questions facing any team interested in Young: Will we get the playmaker who owns a 61-21 record as a starter (dating back to his days at Texas), or will we get the inconsistent performer who has thrown more interceptions (51) than touchdowns (46) in his five NFL seasons?

Young appeared on the NFL Network last week and told NFL.com that he would love to play for his hometown Houston Texans, who face a bit of uncertainty with starter Matt Schaub coming back from foot surgery. It's still puzzling to see the Texans not go after a name free agent to back up Schaub. Surely there's someone better than T.J. Yates available. If anything, Young would sell some tickets.

Former Longhorns receiver Ramonce Taylor just signed a contract with the Allen Wranglers of the IFL, meaning he's now a teammate of Terrell Owens.

"Just signed with the Allen Wranglers. Bout to make plays with T.O." Taylor posted on his Facebook page.

Many look at Taylor and say, "Oh, what could have been." He's one of the top five athletes Mack Brown has ever recruited, in the same class with V.Y. and Jamaal Charles. The only thing that kept Taylor from NFL millions rested between his ears. Let's hope he has found his positive path.

Point guard Myck Kabongo suffered through periods of bad decision-making during his first season at Texas, but he made the correct read Monday when he decided to return for another season. Kabongo isn't ready to play in the NBA, and another year in the Big 12 gives him some time to get stronger against good competition.

You can't blame coach Rick Barnes for being excited to have his point guard back. As for Texas' other guard, J'Covan Brown isn't ready to announce yet, but it would surprise me to see him come back.

We lost a real gem Sunday in famed boxing scribe Bert Sugar, who died at the age of 75 from a heart attack. Sugar was to boxing what Bud Collins is to tennis — an old-school historian respected by the athletes he covered and by writers who were fortunate enough to sit alongside him at major events.

Sugar's trademark fedora and unlit cigar dangling from his lips sometimes overshadowed how brilliant he was. He was a law school graduate and the owner of a rapier wit. The sport and the journalism community will miss him greatly.

http://www.statesman.com/sports/longhorns/goldens-nuggets-on-vince-youngs-past-and-future-2263278.html

Correcting the 5 Biggest Misconceptions About the Philadelphia Eagles.

3. The Eagles Front Office Doesn't Work Well with Drew Rosenhaus .

Every year since the 2005 season, Eagles fans have had a bad feeling in their stomachs each time they hear the name Drew Rosenhaus. Rosenhaus was Terrell Owens agent during that fateful 2005 season in which Owens was nothing more then a distraction and a hindrance to the whole team. Owens was eventually released.

Now, every time a player is represented by Rosenhaus on the Eagles roster and is in the final year of his contract, Eagles fans assume the worst. But since 2005, Rosenhaus has been nothing but professional with the Eagles.

This off-season, the Eagles have been able to re-sign DeSean Jackson and Evan Mathis, and are also in the process of signing LeSean McCoy long-term as well. Both Jackson and Mathis are represented by Rosenhaus, and both players signed very team-friendly deals that made both sides happy. We can expect the same thing with McCoy in the next couple of weeks.

I think both the Eagles front office and Rosenhaus learned a lot of from each other after the 2005 fiasco. We can expect to see a more professional relationship between the two sides for years to come. Rosenhaus is one of the premier sports agents and the Eagles are one of the most well-run NFL teams.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1118621-correcting-the-5-biggest-misconceptions-about-the-philadelphia-eagles/page/4 

Air Jordan VI – Terrell Owens 2008 Pro Bowl Cleat PE.

We’ve seen the Air Jordan VI brush up against the flossy look once or twice before, with the Air Jordan VI ‘DMP’ and the forthcoming ‘Gold Medal Pack’ version both introducing some hits of gold to the silhouette. This chromed out player exclusive Air Jordan VI cleat made for Terrell Owens’ at the time of the 2008 Pro Bowl blows both of those out of the water though in terms of gaudy metallic looks, a motif broken up only by the hits of navy brought in through the laces and lining to complete the Cowboy look (also notice the lack of branding in compliance with NFL guidelines). Hit the jump to get a close up look at the Air Jordan VI Terrell Owens 2008 Pro Bowl cleat PE and head over to the auction now from cnoriega_2007 on eBay. 

http://sneakernews.com/2012/03/23/air-jordan-vi-terrell-owens-2008-pro-bowl-cleat-pe/ 

Will Terrell Owens play against the Wild on Saturday?

Terrell Owens might play football in Wichita on Friday night.

Or he might not. It’s anybody’s guess.

Owens, a former NFL superstar wide receiver, now plays for and is a part owner of the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League. The Wild hosts Allen on Saturday, but no one is sure if Owens will make the trip.

"If I knew, I would tell you, because we would have fans," Wild general manager John Blazek said. "But I don’t want to give any false indication that he’ll be here or not."

No one, except the six-time Pro Bowl receiver himself, has been certain of Owens’ status for any game but the first one this season. He played in the Wranglers’ opener at home against Wichita, and the word originally is that he wouldn’t travel without benefits.

Blazek said the Wild received an e-mail early in the season that requested $20,000 plus traveling accommodations to get Owens to play in Wichita. The Wild won’t pay, and it is unclear if Owens and his representation still have any asking price.

According to Blazek, paying an opposing player is against league rules. Owens played on the road against Colorado and was not paid extra, but two weeks ago in New Mexico he was paid an undisclosed amount by that team’s ownership to appear.

"They didn’t know in Colorado that he was even showing up until he walked in the arena," Blazek said. "I know the owner out there (Tom Wigley) really well and he said, ‘I had no clue, because I didn’t pay a penny. We didn’t count on him and all of a sudden he shows up.’ "

The Wranglers were scheduled to arrive in Wichita on Friday, but all indications were that Owens doesn’t travel with or eat a pregame meal with the team, and his status might not be known until just before kickoff.

Forced to guess, Wichita coach Morris Lolar said he anticipates seeing Owens in uniform.

"I’m just like you, I don’t know," Lolar said. "My gut feeling is that he will be here in Wichita. That’s simply because this is a big game for them. They need to win it and he needs to be a team player for them."

Owens, 38, attempted to play in the NFL last season after suffering a major knee injury but found no suitors. During his 15-year, five-team NFL career, he had 1,078 receptions (fifth on the career list), 15,934 receiving yards (second) and 153 touchdowns (tied for second).

He’s the biggest attraction in the IFL, even though it’s difficult to plan to see him or oppose him.

"I don’t know if their team knows if he makes it," Blazek said. "When we were at Allen, he arrived at 6 o’clock for a 7 o’clock kickoff."

http://www.kansas.com/2012/03/23/2268239/will-terrell-owens-play-against.html 

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2012/03/23/2268239/will-terrell-owens-play-against.html#storylink=cpy

Of Bill Parcells, Bob Knight, Terrell Owens & Kentucky.

ESPN ostensibly hired former college basketball coach Bob Knight to provide analysis and commentary, but after having watched him work games where he mails it in I am convinced he was brought along for autographs.

The man does not know the teams he watches and obviously does no preparation. He sits there saying, "That's a really big bucket right there." 

The irony is that he is making what is very likely a fat check working for a network he used to rail against when he was the head coach at Indiana.

Now he has created a "controversy" when talking about this NCAA tournament field. He won't say "Kentucky" when talking about Kentucky; rather he says, "The team from the SEC."

Very clever, coach.

Knight's feelings towards UK and coach John Calipari are well documented - basically, he thinks his teams are not loaded with student athletes. Say this for Bob, his teams did graduate. Now, he was a horses rear and behaved like a spoiled, enabled, boorish 8-year-old but ... that's a different rant.

This no mentioning by name trick is not new. In fact, one of Knight's closer friends used to do this often.

When Bill Parcells, who has been friends with Knight since their days at Army, coached the Dallas Cowboys he routinely did not call Terrell Owens by name. Instead, he said, "The Player".

This is their way of saying they don't approve of, or like, said subject.

And it's also another way of a pair of older guys proving they are always young at heart.

http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/mac-engel/2012/03/of-bill-parcells-bob-knight-terrell-owens-kentucky.html 

Read more here: http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/mac-engel/2012/03/of-bill-parcells-bob-knight-terrell-owens-kentucky.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/mac-engel/2012/03/of-bill-parcells-bob-knight-terrell-owens-kentucky.html#storylink=cpy

Ice look to upset Wranglers.

The Colorado Ice look to get back to the .500 mark today when they host the Allen Wranglers in an Indoor Football League game.

Colorado (1-2) opened the season with a road loss, won at home and last week lost on the road to the Tri-Cities Fever. Allen (3-0), meanwhile, is just one of three undefeated teams in the 17-team IFL.

The Wranglers made national headlines before the season with the signing of former NFL star Terrell Owens. Owens has played in two of the Wranglers' three games - one at home and one on the road - and has eight catches for 103 yards and four touchdowns.

It is not known if Owens will play today. He had announced several days before the Wranglers' trip to Rio Grande, N.M., that he would play against the Stars, but no similar announcement has come this week.

Colorado is coming off a 64-50 loss at Tri-Cities, which is tied with Allen for first place in the IFL's Intense Conference. The Ice ranks fourth in the IFL in scoring (53.7 points a game); the Wranglers are fifth (47.7).

Allen has the league's best defensive unit, surrendering 28.3 points a game. The Nebraska Danger and Chicago Slaughter share second at 36 points a game, 7.7 points more than the Wranglers. The Ice give up 49 points a contest, 12th in the league.

Ice quarterback David Knighton ranks eighth in the league in quarterback ranking at 101 a game. He is 11th among QBs with 165.3 yards a game and has thrown 11 touchdown passes and two interceptions.

The Wranglers' Darius Fudge is sixth in the league in rushing with 105 yards. Knighton is fifth with 114 and teammate Tobias Robinson seventh with 92.

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20120318/SPORTS/203180361/Ice-look-upset-Wranglers