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Next Entries »Arizona Cardinal’s Clark Haggans to serve Jail Time
Clark Haggans, who’s a linebacker at Arizona Cardinals, turned himself in on Wednesday in order to start his sentence of nine days for a DUI offence which he committed in Arizona in 2011.
Haggans will serve a 48 hour jail time in Westmoreland County Prison, after which he’ll serve the remaining seven days in work release. He will also pay fine of $702 for the same charge.
In a statement which he wrote on Twitter, the player said that he’d been at a concert, when he received a call from his babysitter, who said that his five year-old daughter had difficulty breathing. In his rush to get home, he sped past red light, only to be stopped by a police officer.
The officer then proceeded to escort him home to check on his daughter, before citing him with speeding under the influence and running a red light. Haggans pleaded guilty to the DUI charge. However, the other charges against him were dropped.
“In hindsight,” Daggans said in his twitter release, “I should have found another way home, and I take full responsibility for my actions”.
According to Carla Boatner, an administrator in the Chandler Municipal court, Haggans’ initial sentence had been 45 days in prison, a fine of $3229 and counselling treatment. He was to be held in custody for nine days, and he would spend the other thirty six days in home detention.
Haggans completed his counselling treatment in Arizona, paid the amount he had been fined and was allowed to serve his jail sentence in Pennsylvania instead of Arizona, Carla said.
According to Jeff Sperbek, Haggans’ agent, the reason why it took a year for Haggans to serve his term was because it took long for him to come to an agreement with the judge. NFL has not made any comments regarding the case, and therefore it remains unclear whether Daggans will receive any disciplinary action from the league.
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San Francisco 49ers invite exonerated linebacker Brian Banks to rookie minicamp
In his continuing bid to get his football career and life back on track, Brian Banks makes his way to another tryout, this time with the San Francisco 49ers.
Banks, convicted of rape at 17, spent five years behind bars, wiping out any chance of playing college football, even though he was being heavily eyed by many prominent programs, such as USC. His story took a twist when his accuser admitted on tape that she lied about the rape charges, and that admission set into motion a series of events that led to the May 24 overturning of that conviction.
Pete Caroll, one-time head coach of USC and now that of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, had already had Banks in for a tryout last week at the Seahawks minicamp, and he had praise for the linebacker, though no contract was agreed upon. He now finds his way to the 49ers’ rookie minicamp, and looks to prove himself to Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco coaches.
Making the team at inside linebacker could be tough, as the position is solidified with All-Pro player Patrick Willis, and up-and-comer NaVorro Bowman, whose strong play almost got him into the Pro Bowl last year. Those two make up one of the strongest one-two punches at the position in the league, but there is no reason that Banks couldn’t provide depth at a position known for taking a toll on players.
Head Coach Jim Harbaugh also loves having a special teams ace or two on the squad, and Banks may have to catch on in that role first before finding a full time roster spot on defense.
All in all, there are a lot of people rooting for Brian Banks to succeed, and if he can show the hustle and desire he once had all those years ago in high-school, he could find himself standing on the sidelines with the San Francisco 49ers come this September.
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Fasano Says Everybody’s Not Delighted With the Miami Dolphins Being On ‘Hard Knocks’
After having a harrowing time searching for a subject team for the summer edition, NFL Films as well as HBO had finally ended their quest for “Hard Knocks” with the Miami Dolphins. Not wanting the intrusive camera to divert and distract the players, as much as six teams had expressly stated that they weren’t interested.
However, when the Dolphins acceded to let their training camp be open to the camera’s eye for 2012, it didn’t really go down well with everybody on board. While on one hand coach Joe Philbin seemed to be enthusiastic about it, callig it as a “football decision”, there were many who were far from being excited.
Anthony Fasano in a conversation on the SiriusXM NFL Radio said that after being informed of the decision in a team meeting, players were rather grumpy about it, and that they would try to not let it end up being a distraction. With his damp response being understandable, there aren’t any doubts that this will otherwise be prove to be an immensely enjoyable visual feast for the fans, which Fasano went on to say, would be fun even for other players.
With Dolphins now providing a good deal of behind-the-scenes fodder for “Hard Knocks”, there are bound to be some disconcerted crew members and players who don’t like the idea of being on camera as they prepare and practice. Yet, one shouldn’t forget that this might just the up the ante for Miami as well as the Dolphins, particularly during a time when the ticket sales have plummeted every year. Even if a part of the team is disgruntled, perhaps it was still wise to choose to go on a show that airs for an hour every week; though one can only wait and see if the Miami Dolphins can indeed bring back the energy!
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Will the Dallas Cowboys trade cornerback Mike Jenkins?
Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys is not willing to trade his cornerback Mike Jenkins although the Cowboys signed Morris Claiborne from LSU and free agent Brandon Carr. Jones said, “He’s a vital part of our plan and we know that we’ve got a situation where we can identify what we are on defense by having three corners in there a lot.”
Now Jenkins has to compete with Carr and Claiborn for the starting job as a cornerback or he will only be the third choice. Currently his chances aren’t that good because he is recovering from a should surgery. Nonetheless, Jones said that he is planning with Jenkins short-term as well as long-term. However, he only has a contract for one more year.
The fact that Jenkins didn’t show too much commitment to the cowboys’ voluntary training program throughout the offseason, also isn’t a strong argument for him. Although the training program is voluntary, the Cowboys’ vice president Stephen Jones explicitly said that he wished that Jenkins put in more work.
Time will tell who will play the cornerback position for the Dallas Cowboys next season.
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Chicago Bears: More luck next season with better backups?
If you are a Chicago Bears fan, you’ve probably been quite enthusiastic in the beginning of last season. But suddenly, with the loss of Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, the future didn’t look that bright any more. The Bears lost 5 consecutive games against the Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, and Green Bay Packers. Caleb Hanie didn’t have a chance against the corresponding first QBs Carson Paler, Tyler Palko, Tim Tebow, Tavaris Jackson, and Aaron Rodgers. Especially the game against Tyler Palko and his Kansas City Chiefs was a staggering loss that showed that Chicago needed better backups.
Therefore, Chicago signed Jason Campbell und Michael Bush to backup Jason Campbell as well as Matt Forte this offseason. Maybe these signings were more important than the signing of Brandon Marshall in the long run, although the latter one got much more media attention. Although Marshall will be an excellent addition to the team, Bush and Campbell will still be able to run the Bears’ offense if Cutler and/or Forte will be missing again.
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