Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Can you Moss?
Executives at San Diego-based Pony will put business before loyalty when the shoe company’s top NFL pitchman, wide receiver Randy Moss of the New England Patriots [team stats], faces the hometown Chargers on Sunday night.
Pony launched a "Can You Moss?" campaign at the start of the season using the enigmatic wide receiver, who caught an NFL-record 23 touchdown passes last season and helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl.
The Patriots and Chargers renew an intense rivalry that has seen New England eliminate San Diego from the playoffs the last two seasons, including a 21-12 victory in the AFC championship game in January.
Pony employees plan to pass out Moss posters to tailgaters in Qualcomm Stadium’s parking lot.
"Obviously you live in San Diego, you have a soft spot for all the sports here, but I think it’s like 90-10 we’re pulling for Moss and trying to have some fun with it," said Kevin Wulff, Pony’s president and CEO. "Hopefully we won’t get booed or have things thrown at us."
Moss wears a pair of white Pony cleats. Because of NFL licensing rules, there’s no visible logo.
Wulff heads a management team that relaunched Pony last year. Looking for a pitchman with an edge, it turned to Moss, who had been traded from the Oakland Raiders to the Patriots.
"When we first called Randy, the first thing he said was ’If you were rockin’ Ponys when I grew up, it meant you were doing something,’" Wulff said. "He was a Pony kind of guy, we’re making a comeback, he was hopefully going to make a comeback with New England when we started the conversation. We both kind of got back in the game at the same time."
The "Can You Moss?" campaign grew out of videos on YouTube that played on the phrase "You got Mossed."
Moss was a loose cannon before joining the Patriots, making news as much for his foibles as his feats. After he was traded from the Raiders to the Patriots during the weekend of the 2007 draft, he shed his reputation as a selfish player who took plays off when the ball wasn’t thrown to him.
Moss was elected a team captain this year. With Tom Brady [stats] out with a knee injury, the Patriots’ production is down. Moss has 17 catches for 274 yards and two touchdowns, including a 66-yard scoring pass from Matt Cassel in a 30-21 win at San Francisco on Sunday.
Moss had eight catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns when the Patriots beat the Chargers 38-14 in the last regular-season meeting, Sept. 16, 2007, at Foxborough.
Pony launched a "Can You Moss?" campaign at the start of the season using the enigmatic wide receiver, who caught an NFL-record 23 touchdown passes last season and helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl.
The Patriots and Chargers renew an intense rivalry that has seen New England eliminate San Diego from the playoffs the last two seasons, including a 21-12 victory in the AFC championship game in January.
Pony employees plan to pass out Moss posters to tailgaters in Qualcomm Stadium’s parking lot.
"Obviously you live in San Diego, you have a soft spot for all the sports here, but I think it’s like 90-10 we’re pulling for Moss and trying to have some fun with it," said Kevin Wulff, Pony’s president and CEO. "Hopefully we won’t get booed or have things thrown at us."
Moss wears a pair of white Pony cleats. Because of NFL licensing rules, there’s no visible logo.
Wulff heads a management team that relaunched Pony last year. Looking for a pitchman with an edge, it turned to Moss, who had been traded from the Oakland Raiders to the Patriots.
"When we first called Randy, the first thing he said was ’If you were rockin’ Ponys when I grew up, it meant you were doing something,’" Wulff said. "He was a Pony kind of guy, we’re making a comeback, he was hopefully going to make a comeback with New England when we started the conversation. We both kind of got back in the game at the same time."
The "Can You Moss?" campaign grew out of videos on YouTube that played on the phrase "You got Mossed."
Moss was a loose cannon before joining the Patriots, making news as much for his foibles as his feats. After he was traded from the Raiders to the Patriots during the weekend of the 2007 draft, he shed his reputation as a selfish player who took plays off when the ball wasn’t thrown to him.
Moss was elected a team captain this year. With Tom Brady [stats] out with a knee injury, the Patriots’ production is down. Moss has 17 catches for 274 yards and two touchdowns, including a 66-yard scoring pass from Matt Cassel in a 30-21 win at San Francisco on Sunday.
Moss had eight catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns when the Patriots beat the Chargers 38-14 in the last regular-season meeting, Sept. 16, 2007, at Foxborough.
Friday, October 3, 2008
C's back at it
For Kevin Garnett, the signature moment of the summer -- the moment when it literally hit him how good it felt to be a champion -- came as he walked through a casino in Las Vegas and saw a man in a well-worn Celtics jersey sprinting in his direction.
Was he late for a show? Running to the cashier? Fleeing security?
All of those thoughts passed quickly through Garnett's head as the approaching blur moved closer and closer, the man's radar locking squarely upon the center of Garnett's 6-foot-11 frame.
Full speed ahead, the man leapt and smashed his chest into Garnett's.
"He was like, 'Man! Hellluva year! That's what I'm talking about! Yeah! Thanks!' and he kept moving," Garnett said.
Moments like those, moments only a champion can savor, happened to each and every one of the Celtics at random times and places throughout their summer of glee, a three-month period in which they reveled in the satisfaction of their mutual accomplishment after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers to win the franchise's first championship since 1986.
Eddie House said he couldn't pay for a meal any time he went out for dinner with his wife in Boston; and back home in Scottsdale, Ariz., a transplanted Celtics fan who was in charge of the golf carts at House's local course made sure each and every round House played was on the house.
For Paul Pierce, the moment that made this summer like no other came when he was riding in the passenger seat of his buddy's BMW sedan, and the two exited the L.A. freeway in the hardscrabble district of Watts -- "out near the railroad, where you don't even see people," Pierce said -- to escape traffic as they made their way to the Marina district.
Pierce, doing his best to ride incognito, his window rolled up, his baseball cap pulled down low and his sunglasses on, noticed a car following them and then speeding alongside, the driver motioning for Pierce to roll down his window.
A bit warily, given the location, Pierce complied.
"He rolled down, and he said: 'Man, I'm a Lakers fan, but congratulations to you, all the props.' They all knew I grew up in that area."
The praise came in all sorts of places -- Brian Scalabrine heard it in rural Washington, and Leon Powe was stunned to discover that native Bahamians in Nassau not only recognized him but wanted to know why he wasn't wearing his ring (it's because he won't get it until the Celts' home opener against Cleveland on Oct. 28) -- from people from all walks of life, such as the ruddy old man who climbed off his riding mower and sauntered up to Doc Rivers at the first tee of a country club outside Boston.
"He reaches over to shake hands, says thank you and starts crying. I mean, this is some old gruff, tough guy, and his eyes were just water dropping. He said he was the biggest Celtics fan, how he watched the last one, watched every game last year -- he was naming games -- and he said it was just so emotional for him.
"And I ran right back up to the tee and hit the ball out of bounds," Rivers said, enjoying a laugh at his own expense.
Rivers' joke about his lack of golf prowess was indicative of the loose mood that enveloped the Celtics early this week as they gathered at their training site Monday and then bussed together to the seaside hamlet of Newport, R.I. -- famous for its opulent late-19th-century mansions. Those who were living large 100 or so years ago were not messing around when they told their architects and builders that they wanted a summer home that would display to all just exactly how large they were living.
Students at Salve Regina University swarmed out of a former mansion that has been converted in part to a student cafe Tuesday afternoon as the Celtics left the campus gymnasium and boarded their bus. The students snapped photographs with their cell phones and asked for autographs from a group of players and coaches who have grown accustomed to seeing such faces of joy every time they interact with the public.
It was a mere 3 ½ months ago that seemingly every single piece of green and white paper in New England had been turned into confetti and was falling from the rafters after the Celtics completed their victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the crowning moment of the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history, earning the Celtics the right to raise a 17th banner to the rafters of the new Garden when ring night arrives later this month.
The team returns largely intact, the key missing pieces being the re-retired P.J. Brown and the departed James Posey, who signed with the New Orleans Hornets as an unrestricted free agent. Rivers hopes to use Powe in Brown's spot and plans to fill the role Posey played -- defensive specialist and occasional 3-point weapon -- with some combination of Tony Allen, rookie Bill Walker and nine-year veteran Darius Miles, who is hoping to restart his NBA career after missing most of the past three seasons due to knee injuries and microfracture surgery.
The starting five of Pierce, Garnett, Allen, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins returns, although Perkins is being brought back slowly while he continues to recover from a strained oblique muscle in his shoulder that hampered him in the playoffs. Sam Cassell has been re-signed to a non-guaranteed contract and will try to make the team in camp, earning another chance to battle with House over the backup minutes in the backcourt, and Glen Davis could be joined by Patrick O'Bryant, also a member of the competition to survive the cut from 16 to 15, as the backups at center.
In other words, most of the team that steamrolled its way to 66 victories last regular season will be back. The goal Pierce talked about Monday was what other great Celtics teams did in the past -- multiple championships over a period of seasons when the roster had been as stacked as it is now.
Although a few East contenders have improved on paper, most notably old division rival Philadelphia, the Celtics will open the season as the prohibitive favorites to re-emerge from the East with the chance to add banner No. 18.
They are now as much a part of the resurgence of Boston sports as baseball's Red Sox and football's Patriots, providing a measure of pride that snuck up and struck Cassell over the summer as he walked down West 33rd Street in Manhattan over the summer, right outside of Madison Square Garden, and was accosted by several men in Boston caps.
One of them told Cassell how he had been born and raised in Brooklyn but had grown up a Boston fan because the first games he attended as a fan were at Fenway Park and the old Boston Garden.
"They stopped and said: 'Y'all winning that championship, you make me feel so good in this city wearing this hat'," Cassell said, recalling a time not so long ago when wearing a Boston cap in New York City was likely to provoke a confrontation.
Folks in a lot of cities, wearing similar hats and clothes, had similar things to say or -- as in Garnett's case -- to express through things like the casino floor full-speed running chest bump.
That's how it feels when you are a champion, something the Celtics learned over and over in their just-completed summer of love.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Travis Henry busted for cocaine
Former Denver Broncos running back Travis Henry has been arrested following an alleged cocaine deal, the Drug Enforcement Administration said Wednesday.
Henry and James Mack were arrested a day earlier after the two met to buy cocaine from a person who was cooperating with authorities, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Mack and Henry were in federal custody on suspicion of knowingly and intentionally conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. A preliminary hearing and detention hearing were scheduled for Monday.
It was not immediately known whether Mack had an attorney. Henry's attorney, Harvey Steinberg, confirmed he was representing Henry in the case but declined to comment on the charges when reached by The Associated Press.
The case has its roots in Montana, where a trooper and DEA agent stopped a car that was carrying six pounds of marijuana and about three kilograms of cocaine on Sept. 16, the affidavit said.
A passenger in the car, whose name was not disclosed in the affidavit, told authorities Mack and Henry had supplied him with the drugs, which he was supposed to deliver to customers in Billings. The man said he was supposed to be paid $5,000 for delivering the drugs and transporting about $63,600 in sales proceeds to Henry, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit indicated that separately, the passenger and another customer in Billings already owed Henry about $40,000 in drug proceeds. The passenger told authorities Henry had threatened him and his family over the debt.
The passenger agreed to cooperate with authorities and set up a drug deal Tuesday with Henry that led to the arrests of Mack and Henry, the affidavit said.
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan declined comment Wednesday, saying it wouldn't be fair to say anything until he knew the facts of the case.
Henry was released from the Broncos on June 2, when Shanahan said his commitment was lacking.
Henry signed a five-year, $22.5 million contract with the Broncos before the 2007 season but was dogged during training camp by a sprained left knee.
Also there were revelations he had fathered nine children by nine women, a fact that came out in a child support case in Georgia.
Henry rushed for 691 yards on 167 carries with four touchdowns in his one season in Denver, which was marked by a successful appeal of a one-year NFL suspension over a failed drug test. Shanahan publicly supported Henry in the matter, contending the running back was innocent, but the issue hung over the team for much of the season and the Broncos stumbled to a 7-9 record, their first losing season since 1999.
Henry was slow to return to offseason workouts after a hamstring injury this summer, and Shanahan jettisoned him in June. About a week after his release, reports surfaced that Henry had again tested positive for marijuana, his third offense putting him in line for a one-year suspension from the NFL if he signed on with another team.
Henry and James Mack were arrested a day earlier after the two met to buy cocaine from a person who was cooperating with authorities, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Mack and Henry were in federal custody on suspicion of knowingly and intentionally conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. A preliminary hearing and detention hearing were scheduled for Monday.
It was not immediately known whether Mack had an attorney. Henry's attorney, Harvey Steinberg, confirmed he was representing Henry in the case but declined to comment on the charges when reached by The Associated Press.
The case has its roots in Montana, where a trooper and DEA agent stopped a car that was carrying six pounds of marijuana and about three kilograms of cocaine on Sept. 16, the affidavit said.
A passenger in the car, whose name was not disclosed in the affidavit, told authorities Mack and Henry had supplied him with the drugs, which he was supposed to deliver to customers in Billings. The man said he was supposed to be paid $5,000 for delivering the drugs and transporting about $63,600 in sales proceeds to Henry, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit indicated that separately, the passenger and another customer in Billings already owed Henry about $40,000 in drug proceeds. The passenger told authorities Henry had threatened him and his family over the debt.
The passenger agreed to cooperate with authorities and set up a drug deal Tuesday with Henry that led to the arrests of Mack and Henry, the affidavit said.
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan declined comment Wednesday, saying it wouldn't be fair to say anything until he knew the facts of the case.
Henry was released from the Broncos on June 2, when Shanahan said his commitment was lacking.
Henry signed a five-year, $22.5 million contract with the Broncos before the 2007 season but was dogged during training camp by a sprained left knee.
Also there were revelations he had fathered nine children by nine women, a fact that came out in a child support case in Georgia.
Henry rushed for 691 yards on 167 carries with four touchdowns in his one season in Denver, which was marked by a successful appeal of a one-year NFL suspension over a failed drug test. Shanahan publicly supported Henry in the matter, contending the running back was innocent, but the issue hung over the team for much of the season and the Broncos stumbled to a 7-9 record, their first losing season since 1999.
Henry was slow to return to offseason workouts after a hamstring injury this summer, and Shanahan jettisoned him in June. About a week after his release, reports surfaced that Henry had again tested positive for marijuana, his third offense putting him in line for a one-year suspension from the NFL if he signed on with another team.
Patriots accused of tampering with Moss
Patriots coach Bill Belichick denied Wednesday the claim by Oakland owner Al Davis that New England had a workout with Randy Moss before obtaining him in a trade with Oakland.
Davis said Tuesday that the Patriots had tampered with Moss before the deal in April 2007 that brought the wide receiver to the Patriots for a fourth-round choice that year on the weekend of the NFL draft.
"I've told the story about Randy many, many times," Belichick said in a conference call with members of the media covering the 49ers, "and the first time I ever talked to Randy was the Sunday morning of the second day of the draft last year.
"So that's the first time I met him. That's the first time I talked to him. There was no workout. There was no other contact with him."
Davis made the tampering accusation after ending a news conference in which he announced the firing of coach Lane Kiffin.
Asked Wednesday if he had a response to Davis, Moss said, "No, not at all."
Belichick sidestepped the question when asked by New England reporters, saying he was concentrating on Sunday's game at San Francisco.
In an e-mail to The Associated Press, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Wednesday, "No tampering charges have ever been filed with our office with respect to Randy Moss."
Moss, disgruntled for most of his two seasons with the Raiders, set an NFL single-season record with 23 touchdown receptions in his first season with New England.
Davis said other teams didn't want Moss before the Patriots obtained him.
"You know how many teams turned him down?" Davis said. "That guy in Green Bay thought he couldn't run any more. Even Denver, where they'll take anybody, turned him down."
He did not identify the person in Green Bay.
Davis said former Raiders senior personnel executive Michael Lombardi, who was fired 10 days after the Moss trade, spoke to Belichick about Moss.
"What's his name knew he could run, he's a friend of Belichick's. Mike Lombardi," Davis said Tuesday. "Mike sold what's his name, Belichick, on the idea that he could run. They tampered with him. I remember [Patriots owner] Bob Kraft saying that he had to look him in the eye and all that. They went down and worked him out, he could run. He's their team, of course, with the quarterback."
Moss had 98 catches during the regular season last year, 22 in the first three games. With Brady out for the season after hurting his knee in the opener, Moss has 12 catches in three games.
Davis said Tuesday that the Patriots had tampered with Moss before the deal in April 2007 that brought the wide receiver to the Patriots for a fourth-round choice that year on the weekend of the NFL draft.
"I've told the story about Randy many, many times," Belichick said in a conference call with members of the media covering the 49ers, "and the first time I ever talked to Randy was the Sunday morning of the second day of the draft last year.
"So that's the first time I met him. That's the first time I talked to him. There was no workout. There was no other contact with him."
Davis made the tampering accusation after ending a news conference in which he announced the firing of coach Lane Kiffin.
Asked Wednesday if he had a response to Davis, Moss said, "No, not at all."
Belichick sidestepped the question when asked by New England reporters, saying he was concentrating on Sunday's game at San Francisco.
In an e-mail to The Associated Press, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Wednesday, "No tampering charges have ever been filed with our office with respect to Randy Moss."
Moss, disgruntled for most of his two seasons with the Raiders, set an NFL single-season record with 23 touchdown receptions in his first season with New England.
Davis said other teams didn't want Moss before the Patriots obtained him.
"You know how many teams turned him down?" Davis said. "That guy in Green Bay thought he couldn't run any more. Even Denver, where they'll take anybody, turned him down."
He did not identify the person in Green Bay.
Davis said former Raiders senior personnel executive Michael Lombardi, who was fired 10 days after the Moss trade, spoke to Belichick about Moss.
"What's his name knew he could run, he's a friend of Belichick's. Mike Lombardi," Davis said Tuesday. "Mike sold what's his name, Belichick, on the idea that he could run. They tampered with him. I remember [Patriots owner] Bob Kraft saying that he had to look him in the eye and all that. They went down and worked him out, he could run. He's their team, of course, with the quarterback."
Moss had 98 catches during the regular season last year, 22 in the first three games. With Brady out for the season after hurting his knee in the opener, Moss has 12 catches in three games.
Moss and Cassel
A behind-the-scenes moment from earlier this week seemed to perfectly capture how Randy Moss and Matt Cassel are continuing to develop the all-important relationship between receiver and quarterback.
In the locker room, where they dress side by side, Cassel had turned to Moss and asked if he was interested in viewing some film of the team's next opponent, the San Francisco 49ers, with him. Moss said it was a great idea, and perhaps the two should make it part of their weekly routine.
For Moss, it's been an unexpected getting-to-know-you situation.
After all, part of the reason he re-signed with the Patriots this offseason, inking a three-year, $27 million contract, was to continue to play with his record-setting passing partner, Tom Brady. The two had clicked almost instantly and delivered a season for the ages.
Yet here Moss was with Cassel, offering the type of leadership one might expect from a captain. Asked yesterday what kind of confidence he was developing in Cassel, the 11-year veteran had an unexpected answer.
"Well, I think that first of all he has to believe in himself," Moss said. "I think it will trickle on down to the whole offense. We have seen Matt progress in these last couple of weeks quicker than we expected him to."
Moss believes the challenge now is for the other 10 players on offense to rise up around Cassel.
"We just have to put guys around him," Moss said. "He is the quarterback, so he gets the good with the bad, but with the 10 guys that we put around him we have to make it happen. Not really everything is on his shoulders. He has to be smart and distribute the ball, but at the same time there are still 11 guys out there that have to get the job done.
"We like what we are doing as a whole offensive unit and hopefully we can keep it going."
Moss, who has 12 catches for 163 yards and one touchdown through three games, obviously isn't only focusing on the bottom line as the Patriots rank 28th in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game.
But his comments are telling in that whatever frustration he might show on the field or on the sideline doesn't seem to be making its way into the locker room. That's important considering he is one of the team's eight captains, which he called "a blessing" yesterday.
"It means that the guys still believe in me that I can lead on and off the field - if it is with my play, with my emotions, or if it is verbally," he said. "That is a good thing. It definitely felt good to be appointed a captain of the New England Patriots."
Moss seems to be enjoying the role, despite his reduced production. Coach Bill Belichick pointed out yesterday that Moss is regularly the first player in line for drills, and has been communicative in the huddle, while also participating in weekly captains' meetings with Belichick.
"I think it is just believing in what Coach is selling," Moss said of his captain's role. "When you have everybody on the same page, I guess it's easier to lead a team. I don't think it is just me being a leader, I think it's just that everybody is on the same page. We really have to turn things around and go out with a great week of practice because this is going to be a long road trip. I think we are up for the challenge and hopefully we will get it done."
Moss agreed that the team's off weekend was a bit early for his liking, but he chose to look on the bright side, noting that it provided some important rest for the players.
"We had an early bye week, but the good thing is that we can keep practicing and keep working day in and day out knowing we don't have a week off," he said. "I am looking forward to this run. I am just glad to be back playing football."
In the locker room, where they dress side by side, Cassel had turned to Moss and asked if he was interested in viewing some film of the team's next opponent, the San Francisco 49ers, with him. Moss said it was a great idea, and perhaps the two should make it part of their weekly routine.
For Moss, it's been an unexpected getting-to-know-you situation.
After all, part of the reason he re-signed with the Patriots this offseason, inking a three-year, $27 million contract, was to continue to play with his record-setting passing partner, Tom Brady. The two had clicked almost instantly and delivered a season for the ages.
Yet here Moss was with Cassel, offering the type of leadership one might expect from a captain. Asked yesterday what kind of confidence he was developing in Cassel, the 11-year veteran had an unexpected answer.
"Well, I think that first of all he has to believe in himself," Moss said. "I think it will trickle on down to the whole offense. We have seen Matt progress in these last couple of weeks quicker than we expected him to."
Moss believes the challenge now is for the other 10 players on offense to rise up around Cassel.
"We just have to put guys around him," Moss said. "He is the quarterback, so he gets the good with the bad, but with the 10 guys that we put around him we have to make it happen. Not really everything is on his shoulders. He has to be smart and distribute the ball, but at the same time there are still 11 guys out there that have to get the job done.
"We like what we are doing as a whole offensive unit and hopefully we can keep it going."
Moss, who has 12 catches for 163 yards and one touchdown through three games, obviously isn't only focusing on the bottom line as the Patriots rank 28th in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game.
But his comments are telling in that whatever frustration he might show on the field or on the sideline doesn't seem to be making its way into the locker room. That's important considering he is one of the team's eight captains, which he called "a blessing" yesterday.
"It means that the guys still believe in me that I can lead on and off the field - if it is with my play, with my emotions, or if it is verbally," he said. "That is a good thing. It definitely felt good to be appointed a captain of the New England Patriots."
Moss seems to be enjoying the role, despite his reduced production. Coach Bill Belichick pointed out yesterday that Moss is regularly the first player in line for drills, and has been communicative in the huddle, while also participating in weekly captains' meetings with Belichick.
"I think it is just believing in what Coach is selling," Moss said of his captain's role. "When you have everybody on the same page, I guess it's easier to lead a team. I don't think it is just me being a leader, I think it's just that everybody is on the same page. We really have to turn things around and go out with a great week of practice because this is going to be a long road trip. I think we are up for the challenge and hopefully we will get it done."
Moss agreed that the team's off weekend was a bit early for his liking, but he chose to look on the bright side, noting that it provided some important rest for the players.
"We had an early bye week, but the good thing is that we can keep practicing and keep working day in and day out knowing we don't have a week off," he said. "I am looking forward to this run. I am just glad to be back playing football."
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