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Sports |
May 2008
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| Check this out, from the TNT. It's an interesting take on Lofa Tatupu's arrest this weekend for allegedly driving while intoxicated. If you hadn't heard this, the arresting officer forgot to read Lofa his Miranda Rights. The officer realized this while driving Lofa to the station, pulled over and then read the Seahawk his rights.
From the press release:
Tough times ahead for Lofu, who certainly stepped up and immediately apologized. So what's next for the contrite Seahawk who GM Ruskell said two weeks ago, "epitomizes for us what a Seahawk should be"?
"Lofa intends to handle this situation in a manner consistent with his reputation for integrity and leadership. We understand that Lofa fully cooperated with the police investigation and conducted himself as a gentleman throughout the incident. We will issue a further statement once our investigation is complete." Will the Seahawks act? Should they? Usually the team waits for the courts to decide. And people make mistakes. But the case will certainly draw attention as training camp nears. So will Warren Moon's. In the end, two Seahawks are accused of driving while drunk. Not so long ago, so were Koren Robinson and Jerramy Stevens. ...STATEMENT FROM SEAHAWKS LB LOFA TATUPU REGARDING ARREST
"I want to apologize to my family, teammates, the Seahawks ownership and organization, and the fans for making a poor decision and putting myself in a bad situation. I take seriously my role as a leader on this team, and in the community, and because of that I'm disappointed and embarrassed by the level of poor judgment I used last weekend. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. This will never happen again, and I hope through hard work on and off the field to begin earning your respect and trust again." Tatupu's Kirkland DUI arrest report is available for reading here as a pdf file. Lofa was allegedly driving his car over 50 miles/hour in a 35 mph zone. He was then followed by the police officer and pulled over for driving erratically. In the report, Tatupu's final breath samples were .155 and .158.
I don't have much information on this. But KJR 950 radio has a copy of the police report from this weekend's arrest of Lofa Tatupu on suspicion of DUI. KJR's Dave Mahler made the announcement. The TNT has his blood alcholol level at .15. Stay tuned. We'll try and get a copy of the report and make it available as soon as we can. ...The Seahawks wrapped up their May mini-camp this afternoon and after practice hawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck addressed the media for the first time. After talking about all the new additions on offense, Hasselbeck was asked what he thought about Bobby Engram not showing up for the veterans portion of mini-camp.
The Olympian.com has an article about the Bobby Engram Celebrity Softball game. Here's the article. It's June 7th in Lacey. At least 10 Seahawks are suppose to be there. Among the Seahawks scheduled to play are: Engram, Deion Branch, Marcus Trufaunt, Lofa Tatupu, Julian Peterson, Seneca Wallace, Jordan Babineaux, Kelly Jennings, Nate Burleson, Darryl Tapp, Logan Payne, Jordan Kent, Courtney Taylor and Ben Obomanu. Seats are limited(1,000 tickets). The tickets are going for 20 bucks. You can buy them online at athletesunlimitednw.com or call 1-800-838-3006. Proceeds benefit the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic. Profootballtalk.com reports via NFL.com that former Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander will visit New Orleans soon. The interest in Alexander should be regarded as a bad sign for running back Deuce McAllister, who is recovering from his second torn ACL in three seasons. If Alexander signs, McAllister could be scuttled. I've gotta believe this won't be the last team who'll talk to Alexander. Apparently, the Broncos are interested, too. Also on NFL.com's website, Adam Schefter talks about possibly Koren Robinson's final days in Green Bay. ...If you want to hear Seahawks defensive tackle Craig Terrill play his style of music, go to The Triple Door on Monday at 7:30pm. Here's the link to the website. Tickets are $20. He sings country/folk rock (according to The Triple Door website). I've heard a couple of his songs. If that's the kind of music you like, go see his gig. He's pretty good. Who knows, you might even see some Seahawks out there to support him. ...Bobby Engram was not at mini-camp yesterday, and multiple sources say the Seahawks wide-receiver is unhappy with his contract. According to the PI, Engram's base salary is $1.7 million this season. The TNT is reporting that Deion Branch is earning $3.5 million and Burleson $3.25 million (Branch made close to $10 million last season). Engram's 94 receptions last season set the franchise record. Bobby's at the end of a two-year deal he signed in 2007. He'll be a free agent next year. No word yet if Bobby is in Kirkland today. If it's true, Bobby has a beef. He certainly stepped up big-time last season, after bouncing back from a thyroid condition. ...The Seahawks announced today that offensive guard Rob Sims will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee tomorrow. The surgery will happen at the Seattle Surgery Center. Sims, who started at left guard last season, is expected to start at right guard for the Hawks. Mike Wahle will start next to Walter Jones. Sims should be healed up and ready for the next minicamp, in June. ...The rookies are done with their first mini-camp at Kirkland. The veterans will practice until Thursday. Here's a quick update on how the camp has gone so far:
The Seahawks were back to work this morning at their practice facility in Kirkland for their May mini-camp. During day one, it's all about the rookies and the new running backs. Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett who were flying all over the field, both told me they are very excited to be in Seattle. Jones, says he's not quite sure what his role will be on this team, but he's ready for whatever Mike Holmgren hands him. He's also excited to get the chance to play at least 8 games at Qwest Field, Jones says he's always played well at Qwest and can't wait to have the 12th Man on his side for once. T. J. Duckett tells me he brings an explosive, powerful running game style to the hawks. Duckett says, we had some good and bad plays during day one, but thats why we have these mini-camps, to get the rust off. By the way, Justin Forsett is one of the fastest football players I've ever seen. The former Cal Bear was moving during day one of the mini-camp.
The Seahawks announced this morning that the team has resigned offensive lineman Floyd Womack to a one-year deal. The versatile player has filled different positions on the Seahawks O-line since he was drafted by the Seahawks back in 2001. To make room for Womack, the team released defensive tackle Jonathan Lewis. ...A quick double-shot of Seahawks to get this fine TGIF morning going. First, a look at the Seahawks featured running back, Julius Jones. Both the Times and the PI have articles about the ex-Cowboy, from how he looks forward to playing in front of the 12th Man, to how he fits into the Hawks scheme. Here's a quote about the Qwest: "I love playing here. The atmosphere, it's 10 times better than Dallas....It's intimidating. Before the game, raising the 12th Man flag, and then the 12th Man. It's a lot. It gives you the chills." Well, Jones'll be in the mix this morning. The Seahawks begin a three-day mini-camp at Kirkland HQ, starting today.
Plenty of Seahawks news today. First, there is a report circulating that former Seahawk Shaun Alexander may be heading to the Bengals. The story is here. Makes sense, with Shaun growing up in the area.
Ok, so Durant wins Rookie of the Year (rightly so), tickles Seattle Sonics fans with his potential (I still think the NBA will have to rethink the charge rule for KD, he picks up his dribble at the three point line and can freaking dunk--that's how good he may be). Up next? How about two R.O.Y.s for the Sonics, back-to-back? Wait. Don't cringe.
Seattle has a 20 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick, 19 percent of No. 2, 17 percent for No. 3 and 32 for No. 4 and 12 percent for No. 5 The Sonics cannot pick lower than fifth. What? Fans want more reason to hope the team stays in Seattle? The SuperSonics also pick No. 24 (from the Suns) as well as picks 32, 43, 50 and 56. ...West Virginia alum Tim Lindsey signed an off-season deal with the Seahawks to be their long snapper (that's assuming last season's savior Jeff Robinson is retiring). Lindsey could have been a part of a Super Bowl contender. But last Sunday, the Hawks did something they've never done in team history. They drafted a long snapper (Tyler Schmitt from San Diego State). Can you imagine Lindsey's response? An NFL team drafted a LONG SNAPPER. I've never heard of a team doing that. Then a day later, the Seahawks cut Lindsey. Well at least it's not all bad news. The former Seahawk is getting married in June. Hopefully, for his wife's sake, he finds another job...and hopefully in the NFL. ...Here's a look at the Seahawks' new players, TE John Carlson and DE Lawrence Jackson, introduced at a press conference today in Kirkland.
A quick selection of YouTube clips of the top four draft picks taken by the Seahawks, for perusal on this cloudy Monday morning.
You've likely heard again and again over the last week how it takes three years to adequately grade a draft, so I'll simply say I like the picks. Barring injury, Jackson and Carlson could push to start. And Bryant looks like a legit run stopper.
The Seahawks traded two picks to move up and draft Notre Dame tight end John Carlson with the 38th pick. You can read more about Carlson here. Here's a older ND blurb: One of the top tight ends in the nation and a bona fide All-America candidate ... approved for a fifth year by Notre Dame's Faculty Board on Athletics since he did not play as a freshman ... named a second-team All-American by SI.com and one of three finalists for the Mackey Award (nation's top tight end) in 2006 ... only 2006 Mackey Award finalist who returns in 2007 ... named a first-team preseason All-American by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele ... selected as second-team preseason All-American by Street & Smith's and Lindy's ... rated as the No. 1 tight end in the nation by Phil Steele, the No. 2 tight end by Lindy's and the third-best tight end by The Sporting News ... ranked the top tight end by Mel Kiper ... one of the three tight ends named to the Maxwell Award Watch List ... became 49th Notre Dame football player and 181st student-athlete at the school to be named an ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American ... recorded 60 career receptions for 721 yards and five touchdowns ... ranks fifth all-time at Notre Dame for career catches by a tight end and needs three to move into third, 33 to move into second and 69 to become the all-time leader ... joins Maurice Crum Jr., Travis Thomas and Tom Zbikowski as 2007 captains.... Seattle traded its No. 25 pick to Dallas for pick No. 28, a fifth-round pick (No. 163) and a seventh-round pick (No. 235). At 28, the Seahawks took DE Lawrence Jackson from USC. You can read more about Jackson at his USC profile, here. Here's a blurb: The quick Jackson started for his fourth season at defensive end as a senior in 2007. Overall in 2007 while starting all 13 games, he had 60 tackles, including a team-best 17 for losses of 83 yards (with a team-high 10.5 sacks for minus 64 yards), plus 1 fumble recovery, 2 forced fumbles and 3 deflections. He was tied for 18th nationally in sacks (0.8, tied for third in Pac-10) and tied for 24th in tackles for a loss (1.3, third in Pac-10). He was named to the 2007 AP All-American second team, Phil Steele's All-American second team, Collegefootballnews.com All-American third team, All-Pac-10 first team (making it for the second time after being so honored in 2005), ESPN.com All-Pac-10 first team, Collegefootballnews.com All-Pac-10 first team, Rivals.com All-Pac-10 first team and Phil Steele's All-Pac-10 first team. Right now, the Seahawks next pick is in round two. No. 55 overall. ...As much as I strongly dislike Brett Favre, I figured I should pass along this story Favre tells about Matt Hasselbeck. You can watch the video here. It's Favre and Hasselbeck on NFL.com. It's 2:15 long and it's actually pretty funny. Even Hasselbeck had to laugh. ... |
