That's right, I Googled his dad.  As it turns out, the guy sounds like a real class act.

Meanwhile, [Larry Johnson, Sr.'s] successes have been so significant that he is now mentioned among the favorites to land the Nittany Lions' head job whenever Joe Paterno retires.

"Larry's not out for Larry," Zook said. "Larry's out for the program ... He's got all the right things in perspective. He doesn't beat his chest. He lets his work show for itself."

Too bad the son didn't come away with any of his father's better qualities.

FoxSports: PSU coach Larry Johnson stays close to southern roots.

There's been a lot of activity on the site today on what we should do with LJ.  Cut him.  Bench him.  Suspend him.  Let him and Haley go behind closed doors and hug it out.  Regardless of which group you fall into, you likely have ideas of how you'd like to see the Chiefs' resident malcontent dealt with, particularly after his latest outburst.

Unfortunately, while we don't get to be the one making the final call on LJ's fate and ultimately don't get any input into how we would deal with him, we can (thanks to ArrowheadPride) each make an "If I were Pioli ..." statement about how we would solve this particular problem.

And, hey, putting them all here -- in one place -- allows us to see others' proposals without having them clog the conversations in other threads.

As for me?  Well, my proposal is after the jump ...

Continue reading this post »

The Minnesota Vikings have released wide receiver Bobby Wade, who led the team in receptions the past two years.

Wade confirmed Thursday he has been let go, but declined comment.

With first-round draft pick Percy Harvin joining the team, the Vikings had fewer opportunities for Wade. He is starting his seventh year in the NFL.

Bernard Berrian and Sidney Rice are the other two receivers atop the depth chart heading into Sunday's opener at Cleveland. Berrian has been slowed by a hamstring injury.

Wade routinely drew praise from coach Brad Childress and he made his share of clutch catches over the middle. Wade had 53 receptions for 645 yards and two touchdowns last season.

Source: Vikings cut leading WR Wade days before opener

Leading receiver on a team who suddenly became Receiver heavy in the off-season.  Good at making clutch catches over the middle.  Experienced, but not necessarily old.

Any chance Pioli is making a call?

Doug Gottlieb just reported (on his show's SportsCenter, anyway) that Safety Jarrad Page is the first, and thus far only, Chief to earn his Arrowhead and solidify his place on the roster of 53.

I can't find any other information on this, however, and there isn't anything up about it just yet on ESPN's site.  I'm assuming that it'll be announced 'officially' sometime soon.  Can anyone else verify this story?

From the FanPosts  -Joel

Take a look at how closely this year matches resembles the Chiefs two decades back ...

After a playoff appearance in 1986 (which the Chiefs lost in the Wild Card game) followed by two disappointing seasons, in 1989, Lamar Hunt hired Carl Peterson as Chiefs' General Manager (and President and CEO).  Hunt fired Frank Gansz and hired Marty Schottenheimer.

Marty was known as a hard-nosed, take-no-crap kind of coach with a demanding training camp regimen and a reputation for finding ways to win (200-126-1 overall, but 5-13 in the postseason).

After a playoff appearance in 2006 (which the Chiefs lost in the Wild Card game) followed by two disappointing seasons, in 2009, Clark Hunt hired Scott Pioli as Chiefs' "President of Football Operations" (ie: General Manager).  Pioli fired Herm Edwards and hired Todd Haley.

Todd is also known as a take-no-crap kind of coach with a demanding training camp regimen.  Evaluation of his reputation and, as a head coach, finding ways to win will have to wait for now.

In the 1988 and 1989 NFL Drafts, the Chiefs had used their first round picks on a Defensive End (Neil Smith) and a Linebacker (Derrick Thomas).  One became a Hall of Fame-level pass rusher, thanks to help from the other collapsing the pocket.

In the 2008 and 2009 NFL Drafts, the Chiefs have again used their first round picks on the Defensive Side of the ball (Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson, both Ends); with one expected to be a fierce pass rusher, with help from the other collapsing the pocket.

Early in his tenure, Carl was known for bringing in quality veteran players to help strengthen the team -- Barry Word, Joe Montana, Marcus Allen -- often players that other teams had given up on as too old (though, arguably, this would eventually become his downfall).  Early in his tenure, Scott has shown that he's willing to do the same thing -- bringing in Mike Vrabel, Zach Thomas, Amani Toomer, Bobby Engram -- again, players that other teams had given up on as too old.

What Lamar, Clark and Marty built was a team that was a perennial play-off contender.  The first season together, they went from last in the AFC West to 2nd in the AFC West.  They missed the playoffs that season, but they made the playoffs in 7 of the next 9 years, with a combined record of 101-48-1 over those 10 seasons.

What Clark, Scott and Todd are trying to do is build a team that won't just be a one-shot playoff contender, but a perennial playoff contender.  This first season together, there are very real expectations that they'll go from last in the AFC West last season to 2nd in the AFC West (ahead of Oakland and Denver, behind only San Diego).

It's beginning to look as though history does, indeed, repeat itself.  And, for Chiefs fans, that's looking like a very, very good thing.