Sports

[gardenman]

Dan Snyder is insisting that the government in one of the nearby areas (DC or Maryland) gives him hundreds of acres of public land for free for his new stadium with its moat around it, so ripping him for buying a multi-million dollar yacht isn't all that hard to understand. I'm not sure if he's also asking for public funding to help build the stadium or not, (owners typically want upgraded roads and infrastructure around a stadium including new rail lines, etc.) but he definitely wants the land for free. Asking for free land from the taxpayers at the same time you're buying a mega-yacht tends to be bad optics.

His old yacht, the Lady Anne (purchased in 2011) was only worth a measly $70 million while the new one, the Lady S, is reportedly worth $130 million. You can't really expect someone like Snyder to be out riding around in a crusty old eight year old yacht, so he needed an upgrade. Oh, sure. He could have used that money to buy the land he needs for his new stadium, but he knows public officials will give him the land if he plays hardball and threatens to move the team, so why waste the money on something silly like land when you can buy a shiny new yacht?

If you assume he'd need 500 acres of land for his new stadium then the $130 million for his yacht would have allowed him to pay up to $260,000 per acre for the land. Land in Maryland (the fifth most expensive state for land by the way) sells on average for around $75,000 per acre. But then he'd have to keep using his eight year old yacht that's only worth $70 million. He'd be a laughingstock showing up in Monte Carlo on an eight year old yacht worth just $70 million. No, this was the best option. Buy the yacht and get the taxpayers to foot the bill for the land for his new stadium. If they won't, then he'll just move his team someplace where they will give him the land.

Snyder has to know that begging for free land while indulging in a new yacht will bring deserved heat.

The Eagles may be looking to add another kid QB in the draft this year. They've added yet another QB coach to the coaching ranks in GJ Kinne. For those that don't know, GJ Kinne is arguably the best preseason QB the Eagles ever had. He's one of those guys who looked great in the preseason every preseason, but never really did anything afterwards. That gives us Doug Pederson (head coach,) Mike Groh (offensive coordinator,) Taylor Press (lead QB coach,) Spencer Phillips (assistant QB coach,) and now GJ Kinne (assistant QB coach.) That's kind of a lot of coaches for just Wentz and Sudfeld. They're likely to bring in a third guy as a project for the coaches to mold. 

Free agency may have an extra leg this year when the AAF league year ends.Typically you get that first wave in March, a second wave in June (when the teams can cut a guy and have it count on next year's cap,) and the third wave when the final cuts take place. The AAF league year ends on April 27th and I suspect there will be a flurry of NFL teams picking up guys from the AAF at the end of their season. The AAF adds a new variable to the equation. If you miss out on a guy in regular free agency, you can poach a kid from the AAF before the draft and have very recent film of him against decent caliber competition. I'm guessing there will be a scramble to sign guys from the AAF that have been playing well. 

Finding room for everyone on a ninety man off-season roster may be more of an issue for teams this year. I suspect we'll see quite a few older guys get cut loose to make room for a few younger guys this time around. We're apt to see lots of roster moves made this year as teams shuffle their rosters to accomodate the first wave of free agents, then clear roster space for the AAF guys, then more shuffling as they clear roster space for their draft picks. If you're on a roster, you better make a positive impact in those first few days of OTA's or you could be off the roster pretty darn quickly.

The Eagles roster right now is at about 81 players. They'll lose a few in free agency and gain a few in free agency, so that number should stay about the same. Then they'll likely sign a few guys from the AAF.  Then they have nine draft picks. Some guys are going to have to go bye-bye pretty quickly to squeeze everyone in under that ninety man offseason cap. You don't want to get off to a slow start in the OTA's or you could be gone. Smart GM's will be studying those AAF guys like mad to find guys who are a good fit for their rosters at a lowish price.

[teganslaw]

I forgot about Snyder wanting a new stadium. Redskins' attendance has been down the past few years, so to paraphrase, Snyder probably thinks "if he builds it, they will come." I think making changes in the team rather than a stadium would be better. Maybe new management? 

I watched some highlights of an AAF game, and it was interesting. More action than the Superbowl.  I recognized some players who used to play in the NFL. 

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

I haven't watched any of American Alliance Football, maybe I'll check it out sometime.. 

Trent Richardson (remember him?) is an RB for Birmingham in Alliance Football. I wonder if he'll do better than he did in the NFL. 

SPURT, Dan Snyder was criticized by an official (can't give the name)  for buying his yacht. The person said that he should have used his millions to help people in the area instead. I didn't notice that Jerry Jones was criticized for his yacht. Snyder didn't reply to the critic. 

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@teganslaw

I will say a LOT of people pick on Dan Snyder. They criticized him for the same thing about his house having its own generator when power went off in the area---they all ask why doesnt he use his money to help the poor!  Snyder is just hated. Snyder and his wife do a lot for charity, they even mention the events on the Redskins website. I think it was the Washington Posts campaign against Snyder that started it all.....The Post made fun Mrs. Snyder and at the time she was battling breast cancer...So Snyder sued them for defamation....he later dropped the suit.  He's a downright awful NFL owner and destroyed the Redskins JKC built, but some of the criticisms is downright petty...

Jerry Jones doesn't get mentioned and the only charity I've heard or seen him support is the Salvation Army and that's due to the publicity the team gets on the Thanksgiving Day game......And what has Robert Kraft done???.(mäybe Kraft's charity is his young "actress " girlfriend and putting up money for her movie projects, guess he supports "the arts "  And John Mara????  Lurie???And the other powerful NFL owners....?????   .Now Paul Allen had his own charitable foundation...a real Philanthropist

[gardenman]

Jeff Lurie supports multiple charities in the Philly area. The Eagles have an eye mobile that travels the area giving free eye exams and glasses to needy children. They give a ton for autism research. Our former owner helped start the Ronald McDonald's house at Children's Hospital. I believe they say they support over five hundred local charitable endeavors. They build at least one new playground each year also. Jeffrey Lurie is a very generous owner.

[stevieb]

@Spurt Consider reading the Wickipedia pages for Kraft and Snyder. Not only do they give a pretty good overview of their philathropy, which, in the case of Kraft, is significant, Snyder's appearing to be a bit less so, but Snyder's page might provide additional insight into why he is not well liked in the DC area... The Snyder item also clarifies his issues with the media, particularly the Washington City Paper, not the Post, and while the Post has held his feet to the fire, deservedly so, he's more or less made his own bed. He's simply not very likable.

[gardenman]

The Browns have signed Kareem Hunt giving them a game breaking running back to complement Baker Mayfield. Hunt's a superbly talented back with some off the field issues that could have him suspended for the first six games. The Browns will be a handful next year.

[gardenman]

Kyler Murray, the Oklahoma QB who's also a baseball star, has now decided to focus on football and the NFL. The hot rumor around the league is that he made this decision after being told by the Cardinals that they'd take him first overall in the draft. Kliff Kingsbury, the new Cards head coach had said in the 2018 NCAA football season that if he had the first overall pick in the draft he'd take Kyler Murray. Well, now he does have it and it appears he could be taking Murray.

So, where does that leave Josh Rosen, last year's first round pick at QB for the Cards? Apparently on the trading block. Rosen was not everyone's cup of tea coming out of college.There were questions about his leadership ability and his willingness to be part of the team. His 2018 season wasn't great, but we didn't hear anything too negative about the kid either.

What would be Rosen's value to another team? God only knows. I would think a second or third round pick would be the most likely draft pick offered. I'm not sure a team would give up a first round pick unless they truly loved Rosen coming out of the draft last year and not a lot of teams did. The Cards would have already burned up one year of his five year rookie deal also making him a bit more expensive sooner rather than later. He certainly wasn't a Baker Mayfield level rookie last year, but he wasn't horrible. 

Do the Cards make a bold move and move on from one rookie QB to another this quickly? We'll have to see, but indications and rumors are that's very likely. Where does Rosen end up? God only knows. He was on the board last year when the Broncos were picking and they passed him over which implies he's not someone Elway loves. Jacksonville, Miami, maybe Oakland if Gruden loves the kid. (Oakland would probably be the Cards preferred destination as with three first round picks, they could hope to get one of them for Rosen.) 

We'll learn pretty quickly if these rumors are true or not. You can't shop a guy like Rosen around without word spreading and the only reason the Cards would be shopping Rosen would be if they were picking Kyler Murray to replace him. Word will likely leak out during the Combine as to what's really going down. That's when the GM's around the league are all together in one place and lots of trade talk and gossip gets exchanged. I don't see many teams giving up a first round pick for Rosen at this time unless it's the Raiders who have three and give up one of their later ones. The rest of the league will likely be bargain shopping and hoping to get him for a second or third round pick. The Cards can't really keep the kid if they draft Murray, so he'll likely be moved before the draft if he gets moved.

[Spurt]

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@stevieb wrote:

@Spurt Consider reading the Wickipedia pages for Kraft and Snyder. Not only do they give a pretty good overview of their philathropy, which, in the case of Kraft, is significant, Snyder's appearing to be a bit less so, but Snyder's page might provide additional insight into why he is not well liked in the DC area... The Snyder item also clarifies his issues with the media, particularly the Washington City Paper, not the Post, and while the Post has held his feet to the fire, deservedly so, he's more or less made his own bed. He's simply not very likable.

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@stevieb

Since you live in the area you DO have a lot more insight about Snyder than I do....you get to hear all the local media stuff...TV, radio, and papers other than the Post...(and I dont like the Post for things other than sports too...)  Just like we get to hear more about Jerrah Jones....because our city has no obligation to cater to him as does the Dallas Area Metroplex...we get the total unflattering scoop...and one local sportscaster does a darn good imitation of him..LOL...So those with closer local access (and our local sportscasters do pay little D many visits to see what's really going on) we see more of the real character ....Many a long time Cowboy fan has changed their allegiance due to their hatred of Jones...

Getting back to Snyder, One curious thing....the Cowboy's Emmit Smith made a comment one time about Snyder having a cold heart...I wondered where that all came from...how is he hobknobbing with Snyder???

Yes, Snyder might be a real jerk and unlikeable but on the outside looking in, it seems a tad more political, and more about his stand on keeping the nickname.......But it appears to be more to it,and thanks for pointing it out...No wonder Jones/Snyder are like two peas in a pod in the off season....and even vacation together.

BTW do you think Kraft's girlfriends baby is Kraft's???

A spokesperson for Kraft tells PEOPLE in a statement, “Last fall, Ricki Noel Lander became the proud mother of a beautiful, healthy baby. While Robert Kraft is not the biological father, he is thrilled with Ricki’s blessing of having a healthy child. But although her 76-year-old beau is “thrilled” for her, he has denied that he’s the father of the child.To respect the family’s privacy, we will not be commenting any further.” 

The baby news came shortly after reports broke that Kraft and Lander, 38, had secretly welcomed a child last year.

The pair, who have been dating for five years, are still together, and Kraft currently splits his time between his home in Boston snd LA, where Landers lives in a house he owns...Gee Sounds like a soap opera and shades of JKC   Guess all this shows is just more cases of men behaving badly...Sorry @gardenman 

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Jeff Lurie supports multiple charities in the Philly area. The Eagles have an eye mobile that travels the area giving free eye exams and glasses to needy children. They give a ton for autism research. Our former owner helped start the Ronald McDonald's house at Children's Hospital. I believe they say they support over five hundred local charitable endeavors. They build at least one new playground each year also. Jeffrey Lurie is a very generous owner.

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@gardenman

That's good to know....😊

[stevieb]

@Spurt No idea on Kraft... Have to say, as you note, not being local to Boston, I don't follow the media on him... As you know, I'm somewhat of a Pats fan but not a Kraft fan, per se. I don't have strong feelings about him one way or the other, and not being much of an NFL aficionado anymore don't really follow any of these folks... I just happened to pull up their pages on Wikipedia and was frankly surprised at Kraft's largess and not so surprised that the piece on Danny boy wasn't exactly flattering...  I suspect Emmit's assessment might have had something to do with intel he'd gathered from players or former players, though I noted recently that Alex's wife had expressed gratitude to him for his support during Alex's injury and ongoing rehab... Of course, the team has a ton of money invested in Alex, so there's motivation... The truth about Snyder probably lies somewhere in the middle, but the consensus seems to be he isn't one of the NFL's good guys...

Overall, agree with you on the Post. Where most things are concerned, their bias is glaring... Still, that's more or less today's media, where objective reporting is no longer the norm...