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11-21-10: Arizona Cardinals Bird Droppings

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Lets hope the Cardinals can finally end their losing streak today...

NFL Week 11: Arizona Cardinals At Kansas City Chiefs, 11:00 A.M. AZT - SB Nation Arizona
The Arizona Cardinals head to noisy, rambunctious Arrowhead Stadium to face ex-OC Todd Haley and his Kansas City Chiefs. There'll probably be a lot of running and a lot of not stopping the run. Do the Cardinals stand a chance?

With backs ailing, Cards activate Alfonso Smith
The Cardinals have activated running back Alfonso Smith to the active roster from the practice squad, no shock given that Beanie Wells is dealing with an iffy knee, Jason Wright is coming off a concussion and LaRod Stephens-Howling missed practice all week because of a bad hamstring. All three of those backs were listed as questionable, and my guess is that things didn’t get significantly better Saturday — leading to Smith’s promotion. To make room for Smith, the Cards released wide receiver Max Komar (although my guess is this isn’t the last time we see Komar in a Cards uniform).

Searching For A Win
The locker won’t hold the answer. But when a team starts losing, Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald said, that doesn’t mean a player won’t look in his stall.

Arizona Cardinals' routine must yield results
The Cardinals had barely removed their shoulder pads last Sunday following their fourth consecutive loss when coach Ken Whisenhunt established the theme for the upcoming week. Trust the system in place, Whisenhunt told his players. The schedule, the hours, the pace of practice - all of it was the same when the Cardinals won consecutive NFC West titles the past two seasons. Reassurance, however, is worth nothing without results. And the Cardinals (3-6) desperately need a victory Sunday against the Chiefs (5-4) at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Valley has a shameful history with retractable roofs
Peter Eisenman is a renowned architect, and just like us. He cheers for the Cardinals. He's appalled by the deficiencies at quarterback. He wonders why the roof is closed on most game days in Glendale, a roof that first came to life on his drawing table. "I would love to see it open more often," said Eisenman, who designed University of Phoenix Stadium. "But from what I hear, there are a few fans that, for five minutes, have sun in their eyes." Welcome to our civic embarrassment. We, the taxpayers, have helped fund construction of two retractable roofs for two Valley sports teams and the Fiesta Bowl. Combined, the two structures cost upward of $150 million, not to mention operating expenses and pricey repairs that occasionally require helicopter assistance.

KTAR.com - Whisenhunt and Haley both friends and foes Sunday
Arizona Cardinals' head coach Ken Whisenhunt and his counterpart in Kansas City, Todd Haley, come from different backgrounds. Haley, the son of a former NFL front office executive, never played football, choosing instead to take up golf. He even played the sport at both the University of Florida and the University of Miami. Whisenhunt played football his entire life, was a first team all-ACC tight end at Georgia Tech and played the position in the NFL.

Brian St. Pierre Is Back In Our Lives!
Matt Moore's injured. Jimmy Clausen's injured. Rather than go with third-string rookie Tony Pike, the Panthers have tapped the immortal Brian St. Pierre, the pride of Boston College. On the surface, it doesn't make a lot of sense. But look a little deeper, and it still doesn't make any sense. We had to refresh ourselves on why St. Pierre is such a punchline, so we'll present selected Wikipedia excerpts:

Larry Fitzgerald may not be long for Arizona | ProFootballTalk
As the Cardinals slump, thanks to a quarterback succession plan that didn’t include success in the planning, their biggest star is getting frustrated. And we think it’s only a matter of time before receiver Larry Fitzgerald tries to get out.

NFL Videos: Week 11: Cardinals vs. Chiefs Preview
A preview of the Week 11 matchup between the Cardinals and the Chiefs.

Video Gallery
Cardinals-Chiefs Preview

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Staying United

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Jeremy Bridges Coaching

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Ken Whisenhunt - Wired

Phoenix Suns remain winless on road trip after 123-105 loss to Charlotte Bobcats
Suns coach Alvin Gentry was fuming when he called three timeouts within a five-minute span during Charlotte's third-quarter layup line Saturday night. Gentry was breathing fire at his team in the postgame locker room, enraged that it had allowed 123 points to a team that had been averaging 93.

Former Hawaii QB Colt Brennan in stable condition after SUV crash - NCAA Football - SI.com
Former University of Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan remains hospitalized after he was hurt in a two-car crash on Hawaii's Big Island. Officials at The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu say Brennan is in stable condition. The 27-year-old was admitted after Friday's crash in serious condition.

Arizona Cardinals Injury Report, Week 11: Running Back Situation Updated, Max Komar Waived - SB Nation Arizona
With running backs Beanie Wells (knee), LaRod Stephens-Howling (hamstring) and Jason Wright (concussion) all listed as questionable for Sunday's game versus the Kansas City Chiefs, the Arizona Cardinals made some changes to their roster. RB Alphonso Smith was moved from the practice squad to the active roster. In order to make room for Smith on the active roster, undrafted rookie WR Max Komar was waived.

Audio: Sizing up the NFC West race - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Looks like Sports 620 KTAR in Phoenix has made available audio from my Saturday conversation with host Jon Bloom.

Fantasy Football Week 11 Predictions: Beanie Wells, Larry Fitzgerald Try To Go Shot-For-Shot With The Explosive Jamaal Charles, Dwayne Bowe - SB Nation Arizona
Predictions and analysis for the top seven fantasy football options in Sunday's match up between the Arizona Cardinals and the Kansas City Chiefs.

ProFootballWeekly.com - Cardinals OT Brown struggling as pass blocker
There's no hiding the problems Cardinals former first-round OT Levi Brown has had this season protecting the passer. "Defenses have teed off on him consistently," said one daily team observer of Brown, who was selected fifth overall in 2007 when RB Adrian Peterson was there for the taking — a decision that has been questioned by more than a few critics in the Valley lately. "He's a good run blocker, but he just doesn't move his feet real well at all in passing situations."

Matt Millen Forever Loves The Rod
That said, Matt Millen can eat a kiddie pool full of Dungeness ****s for slathering his Rod Marinelli love juices all over the broadcast. No one wants to hear him slobber over and shamelessly defend one of his former employees in Detroit. Yeah, Rod Marinelli might be doing a fine job as a defensive coordinator, but he was horrid as a head coach and Millen touting his excellence doesn’t make his stint in Detroit any less a disaster. It’s a ******* joke.

Rivers, Orton could add to 5,000-yard club - AFC West Blog - ESPN
We thought the Denver Broncos-San Diego Chargers quarterback drama died when Jay Cutler was shipped out of the division.

Colts afraid Patriots bug their locker room? - AFC East Blog - ESPN
An item in Peter King's latest "Game Plan" column at SI.com reveals the Colts have been suspicious for years that the Patriots bug the visitors' locker room at Gillette Stadium. King wrote Peyton Manning and former offensive coordinator Tom Moore used to leave the locker room and discuss strategy in the corridor. In his inimitable way, Comcast SportsNet New England columnist Tom E. Curran wondered whether that's a plausible concern or simply worthy of ridicule.

Vikings shore up receiving corps, activate Sidney Rice - NFL - SI.com
The Minnesota Vikings have activated wide receiver Sidney Rice in time to play the Packers.

NFL playoff picture after Week 10, if playoffs started today - Don Banks - SI.com
Let's embrace what we do have this season. True excellence is in short supply, but we may be in store for the mother of all playoff races. With 10 weeks down and seven to go, here's a look at what we've got so far, and what the 12-team postseason field would be if the playoffs opened today: