SB Nation User Blog: THE_TRUTH

Rams release linebacker Tinoisamoa

THE_TRUTH — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:48:28 -0000

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/05/08/rams.ap/index.html?eref=si_nfl

St. Louis Rams have released veteran linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa, the team's leading tackler last season.

This is a big announcement IMHO.

Tinoisamoa is a six-year veteran who led the team with 135 tackles in 2008. He was a second-round draft choice, the 43rd overall selection in the 2002 draft.

I guess the overall question is: Why?. I still can't discern their reasoning, but I think Pioli might need to consider him, even though we seem to have been talking about LB quite a bit recently. Anyone that might have watched him on the other side of the state might have some better opinions, but I haven't really had a chance to watch the Rams this year. Maybe the Rams failed the DUI test:

Poll

Should the Chiefs pursue Pisa Tinoisamoa

Yes

116 votes

No

23 votes

139 votes | Poll has closed

Ex-Miami Dolphin Zach Thomas tackles another transition

THE_TRUTH — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:16:14 -0000

http://www.miamiherald.com/459/story/1004632.html

Beyond the outside guidance, two important points caused Thomas to keep going this year. Most important, he feels healthier now than he did when he left Miami. But he still had one more requirement when deciding to sign with the Chiefs: He needed to return to his proper position.

Thomas' decision to opt out of his contract in Dallas after last season had more to do with his role on the field than the drama that surely turned him off in the locker room. Because Bradie James filled the role Thomas played in Miami for 12 years, he was forced into a less comfortable position that limited his playing time.

Although he limited his choices of potential destinations by doing so, Thomas advised his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, that he only wanted to play for a team that would allow him to play in his natural role inside. The Chiefs agreed. And Thomas signed.

Well, that says a lot about how often and in what role he'll be used. I think the mentor role will be there, but it sounds like he wanted to play a lot more than people (including myself) anticipated this upcoming season. We'll see.

...It's fine because he knows his real home these days has nothing to do with a city. It has to do with a position: middle linebacker. That's where he belongs.

And it sounds like he's going to play a lot.

``And you know what? I might be one step slower, but I'm still two steps faster than most of the guys I play against.''

BOO-YAH!!! That's a nice little slam at the kids playing.

Trade down scenario

THE_TRUTH — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:04:46 -0000

I know many of us agree that trading down with a pick in the first five slots is difficult at best, but here's a scenario I hadn't thought of via ESPN:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afcwest/0-3-1984/On-the-Clock--Kansas-City-Chiefs.html

The Chiefs would likely be happy to nab Curry even though they have added four linebackers this offseason. He is the best defensive player on the board and the Chiefs desperately need help in the front seven. Curry is considered one of the safest bets in the draft. He would make an instant impact in Kansas City. The other scenario: The Lions take Curry and Stafford falls to No. 3. This would put Kansas City in a position of strength. Several teams will likely consider moving up to draft Stafford.

Although I hadn't anticipated the aforementioned as a feasible option, I began wondering which teams might be interested in moving up to acquire him?

I did a little bit of research and came ot the conclusion that there are two teams that could possibly make a jump for the opportunity.

So let's look at who might want to shore up their QB situation:

Bengals: 32nd/Pts. 32nd/yards

- The Bengals: Currently picking 6th in 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds respectively. Although Carson Palmer was called upon to carry the team with their running game ranked 29th, he's slowly becoming less and less a factor for the Bengals. Could there be a QBOF desire to replace Palmer if Stafford is on the board? Maybe. This might be a feasible trade option since jumping from the 6th to the 3rd spot isn't that big of a jump, if they want him bad enough.

Throw in the 6'6" Mario Urrutia, in his second season with the Bengals as a WR or possibly another veteran {insert name here} and Pioli might like the idea.

NY Jets: 9th/pts. 16th/yards

- Currently picking 17th. With the loss of Brett Favre and the fiasco with losing Chad Pennington, unless the Jets feel their 3 QB's on the roster Erik Ainge, Kellen Clemens or Brett Ratliff (who, who and who?) are going to be the Jets starter, they're going to want someone they can rely on from the QB position. They relied heavily in their QB position for years and if they think they can get by without a strong starter, it'll be a long season. Perhaps a trade and send a WR (they have 6) or a lineman our way might seal the deal.

Jerricho Cotchery might be a good addition to the swap or could Pioli make a move and get Alan Faneca with a swap and a later round pick?

There's still some options to trading out that I haven't mentioned, but the two teams above I feel are in dire need of a QB to actually start or shore up their offense.

Strike Worsens for Arrowhead construction. Feds might get involved

THE_TRUTH — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 02:43:32 -0000

http://www.kmbc.com/news/19086933/detail.html

The Builders Association wants federal mediators to step in and solve the cement masons strike.The strike shut down all work at the Truman Sports Complex and some other large projects on Friday.

Yeah, let's get Congress involved too. We all know how brilliantly they're handling the bailouts.

The Builders Association has asked for a federal mediator to get involved in the strike.But at this point, there is no response from the cement union on whether they want to do that.

Course not. Drag it out.

Meanwhile, the union on Friday made good on its threat to go on "full strike."

Yeah, no shit. "Threat" is the right word.

The Builders Association said they're offering the cement union a wage increase and a conventional pension plan, as opposed to a 401(k) and health care. Union members said they want more money and a four-year deal, among other things.

And I want a friggin job guarantee as well.

Friggin brilliant. As though the Feds aren't already knee deep in putting their fingers and toes in the financial crisis, now they're trying to get them involved. I have a gut feeling this strike is going to last longer than anticipated.

I'm starting to get a little irritated with the way this is getting handled. Specifically with the cities part in not putting a "no-strike" clause in the contract negotiations in the first place.

Union workers picket at Arrowhead

THE_TRUTH — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:05:25 -0000

http://www.kctv5.com/news/19062527/detail.html

I wish it were a joke. So much for "all the confidence spewed by the press" about renegotiating the last 2 weeks.

The Unions know they have the stadiums at their mercy. The agreement was poorly arranged, they should ahve had a no-strike clause when getting bids for the work.

The union's business manager told KCTV5 News that the sticking points were money and contract length.

Other unions at the stadium who have agreed to tentative agreements are honoring the strikes. They said they won't cross the picket line to work at the stadiums

The Sports Authority said things will be set for Royals Opening Day at the K next week, regardless of a strike. But improvements are far from done on Arrowhead Stadium, and it could affect the start of the football season for the Chiefs

NFL modifies West Coast formula

THE_TRUTH — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:23:26 -0000

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4009230&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines

NFL owners voted Monday to modify the schedule to ease the burden of cross-country road trips.

Last year, the Patriots and the Jets had to make West Coast trips to play AFC West opponents and NFC West teams. The Patriots chose to remain on the West Coast twice last season -- for back-to-back games against San Francisco and San Diego in October and Seattle and Oakland in December -- to minimize the wear-and-tear the schedule presented.

Under the new plan, teams wouldn't have to visit two West Coast teams, just one, along with a team closer to the Midwest. Specifically, Oakland will be paired with Denver, and San Diego will be paired with Denver. In the NFC, Arizona and San Francisco will be paired as will St. Louis and Seattle.

Teams that have road games against Denver and Oakland will get home games against Kansas City and San Diego. The opposite scenario will also be true. The same format of home-and-away games with the paired cities holds true for the NFC as well.

Currently, the AFC South and the NFC West are scheduled to play the AFC West in 2010, which is when the new plan would be starting.

Makes sense to me. Cross country trips can be grueling treks for any team on either coast ESPECIALLY back-to-back weeks. I'm not sure how this might effect KC, but I think that we'd be at a disadvantage at playing away games against stronger opponents than obviously at home.

Does this give a disadvatage to midwest teams? I can't see a scenario, but I'm sure something will pop-up once the scheduling is made in 2010.

Mayor Mark Funkhouser's plan includes eliminating nearly $2 million the city gives each year to the Truman Sports Complex.

THE_TRUTH — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:49:43 -0000

http://www.kmbc.com/money/18866748/detail.html

Sanders said if the city pulls its $2 million annual contribution, it would break the lease and leave the city with no written guarantee keeping the Royals and Chiefs in Kansas City for the long term.

"The teams would then be, to use the sports phrase, free agents to do whatever they wanted to do. Re-negotiate the deal or to not honor any of the provisions of the lease they did not want to honor," Sanders told KMBC's Martin Augustine.

"I don't think it would jeopardize leases," Funkhouser said. "We're trying to focus on services that directly matter to Kansas Citians. For example, our city services, basic services like police. That is a core function. Operating a sports venue is not."

810's Kietzman did a long discussion about this yesterday and actually brought this up a couple of weeks ago.

This should be very concerning to all Chiefs and Royals fans. Kietz spoke to a number of folks on this regard, and it is true. If the city in essence "breaks" the lease by not paying the 2Mil. per year agreement, we've just jeopardized the $500 Million that the taxpayers fronted.

On top of that, there isn't anything binding the Chiefs to front the $200Mil. for the renovations stipulated in the agreement if the lease is broken by the city. Secondly, if naming rights are sold, the teams could keep from splitting the naming rights monies with the city as well since the agreement is null and void.

Win/win for the Chiefs and Royals owners.

Think about this:

It's unlikely the teams would move immediately after these improvements, but let's say 10 years down the road they get offered a new stadium by another city. We'd probably have to match the offer which means spending +$1 Billion after having spent $500 Million. And if that falls through, we'll have empty stadiums we'll have to pay the upkeep on...or bulldoze.

The Mayor's today:

via tbn2.google.com

The Mayor in his prior role:

via stateoftheline.files.wordpress.com

Chiefs name Nick Sirianni as assistant

THE_TRUTH — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:09:45 -0000

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI (TICKER) —The Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday added two coaches, naming Ronnie Bradford as a defensive assistant and Nick Sirianni as an offensive quality control coach.

Bradford had spent the previous six seasons as an assistant with the Denver Broncos, serving in a number of capacities.

Sirianni was the wide receivers coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania the past three seasons.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=txchiefscoaches&prov=st&type=lgns

Here's some more info on Sirianni:

Sirianni

http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/524473.html

''It's a lot of stuff I do (at IUP),'' Sirianni said. ''It's breaking down opponent's film, and then just a lot of stuff from there, like helping to write up playbooks and tip sheets for our guys. The main thing is breaking down the film and really learning how to coach in the NFL, which is exciting.''

Sirianni said he could be in line for either an assistant quarterbacks or assistant wide receiver coaching positions with the Chiefs as well, which would only further enhance his rapid rise up the coaching ranks.

Boy's Club Moment

Ironically, it was Sirianni's ties to Mount Union and a little bit of good fortune that ultimately helped him get the job in Kansas City.

Home on break during his sophomore year at Mount Union, Sirianni happened to be wearing a Mount Union T-shirt while he was working out at the Lakewood YMCA. The T-shirt drew the attention of another man nearby. That man just happened to be Haley, then the wide receivers coach with the Chicago Bears, who was vacationing in Chautauqua County.

A bond was formed.

Not too thrilling...the Chiefs are for the most part keeping the staff pretty young. I know there was a post on Bradford, but wanted to include Sirianni in the mix since the article included info on both.

The case of poor journalism...or

THE_TRUTH — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:54:10 -0000

...why some journalists need a kick in the ding-ding (as Eddie Murphy so eloquently put it).

A while ago I posted a thread here in regards to a comment made by Michael Silver at Yahoo! Sports.

The article made a pretty open ended comment:

The Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs will complete a trade at some point over the offseason, and no one will find out about it for several days...

A reader wrote in and asked this "so-called" journalist to expound on his comment and lo and behold here's the question and reply seen here

“What did you have in mind in regards to your last article … ‘The Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs will complete a trade at some point over the offseason, and no one will find out about it for several days. …’ The only thing I can come up with is Kansas City going after a QB. How about you?”

Brian

I was making light of the fact that both regimes (Mangini/Pioli) are so secretive. From what I can tell so far, even if the trade were a swap of seventh-round draft picks, each organization would treat its disclosure as an act of high treason.

* How is that "making light of the fact" when you posted this under the heading "Take it to the ATM", which would indicate a pretty solid and informed comment? Perhaps it's the fact that your inuendo's and writing lack any type of substance

* Have you written for the National Enquirer? If not, you don't have to worry about the economy woes since I'm sure you could easily get another position there in the "Big Foot Sightings" section.

* Are you close with Chris Mortensen and Jack Harry? If not, you can email them and they can include you on their weekly conference calls.

Lastly:

I fart in your general direction -with your mouth opened.

Browns and Chiefs Trade?

THE_TRUTH — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:45:38 -0000

So I'm reading this article:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-thegameface022009&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

And in the section titled: TAKE IT TO THE AIM

The Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs will complete a trade at some point over the offseason, and no one will find out about it for several days...

That's a pretty open ended statement. Anyone heard of this or have additional 411? I'm just speculating, but could this be where LJ lands?