Links for today.
Ollie Matson: 'He would be superstar' today - NFC West Blog - ESPN
We interrupt the regularly scheduled sniping between NFL owners and players for Bill Bidwill's thoughts on the great Ollie Matson, who passed away recently at age 80. "As football's oldest professional franchise," the Arizona Cardinals' owner wrote in a letter to Matson's family, "our team has had thousands of players wear a Cardinals uniform. Few, if any, ever did so at the level of Ollie Matson."
Patrick Peterson to visit Broncos, Panthers, Cardinals, Bengals and Bills | National Football Post
LSU blue-chip cornerback Patrick Peterson is scheduled to visit the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills. Peterson also has a private workout Wednesday for the Cleveland Browns and is also expected to visit the Tennessee Titans and other teams prior to the NFL draft.
NFL.com news: Texas A&M LB Miller has seven work outs scheduled
Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller has visits planned with seven of the first nine teams picking in next month's NFL Draft, according to a league source. Miller, the consensus top player at his position in this year's draft, is scheduled to travel to meet with the Buffalo Bills (No. 3), Arizona Cardinals (No. 5), Cleveland Browns (No. 6), San Francisco 49ers (No. 7), Tennessee Titans (No. 8) and Dallas Cowboys (No. 9).
Phoenix Coyotes hold off Calgary Flames
The blue-collar Coyotes got it done again thanks to a pair of defensemen. Keith Yandle and Michal Rozsival scored 19 seconds apart early in the third period to lift the Phoenix Coyotes to a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night in a key Western Conference matchup.
Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash expected to return, save offense
The Suns had their worst successive shooting games of the season Thursday and Sunday. They failed to reach 100 points in successive games Sunday and Monday for the first time since January. The Suns' offense, and playoff hopes, are in dire need of a quick fix. Oh, here it comes. Floor general Steve Nash is probable to play Wednesday at New Orleans and floor spacer Channing Frye might soon follow.
Goldwater plans lawsuit if Glendale makes Coyotes deal
The Goldwater Institute announced Tuesday it would sue Glendale, claiming the city's hockey deal would illegally subsidize a private business and put taxpayers at risk. However, the Phoenix watchdog group says it wouldn't file the suit until Glendale completed the deal with Phoenix Coyotes buyer Matthew Hulsizer.
As we maneuver through the offseason, azcardinals.com is ready to debut Monday (March 21) a new video series. The brainchild of senior director of broadcasting Tim DeLaney, the series is titled "All In — Mission: The 2011 Season." As for what it will entail, well, I had Tim write up a little something detailing what’s to come:
Mailbag: Room for differing views on draft - NFC West Blog - ESPN
John from Gansevoort, N.Y., has no problem with the NFL Players Association encouraging college prospects to skip the televised draft proceedings during a lockout. He says those affiliated with ESPN who expressed views to the contrary are toeing the company line in the interests of enhanced television ratings.
azcentral.com blogs - RichardObertRattlers Blog - RichardObertRattlers - Rattlers trying to get the word out they're back
Since moving in as managing partner of the Rattlers this year, Mike Galloway has been surprised at how many people didn't know the team was back after 2009 when the Arena Football League disbanded and filed for bankruptcy.
Logic prevails: No playoff re-seeding - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The NFL has bigger things to worry about than reseeding the playoffs to prevent another division winner from qualifying with a losing record.
NFLPA: No draft boycott; but 'different' feel? - ESPN
NFL Players Association executive George Atallah said Tuesday on Twitter that players and their families will be in New York for the NFL draft, but the experience might be different.
Roger Goodell tells ESPN that draft boycott would be 'a shame' - ESPN
Commissioner Roger Goodell thinks it would be a shame if the NFLPA diverts top prospects from this year's NFL draft.
NFL talks tough on hits, to mull kickoff changes - ESPN
The NFL will be more aggressive in suspending players next season for illegal hits, and also could make changes to instant replay and kickoffs.
Report: Washington Redskins ask The Washington Post to take name off blog - ESPN
The Washington Redskins recently asked The Washington Post to remove the name "Redskins" from team-related webcasts and its blog about the team, sources with knowledge of the circumstances regarding the change told The Post on Tuesday. The Post agreed and the blog, originally named "Redskins Insider," was changed to "Football Insider," the paper said.
NFL considers kickoffs at 35-yard line, touchbacks to 25-yard line | ProFootballTalk
Significant changes on kickoffs are coming to the NFL in 2011 if the NFL’s Competition Committee gets its way.
DirecTV would lose more than $600 million in lost season, but could save $420 million | ProFootballTalk
Fans upset with the lockout have been making it known to us that they’re voicing their displeasure by canceling their NFL Sunday Ticket subscriptions on DirecTV. If there’s no football season in 2011, a lot more will be following suit.
Scoring plays may be reviewed by replay assistant, not coaches’ challenge | ProFootballTalk
Coaches may no longer have the option to throw a red challenge flag after the other team scores a touchdown, as the NFL is considering a proposal to take instant replay on scoring plays out of the hands of the coaches, and have the replay assistant review all scoring plays.
Flagrant hits on defenseless players will result in suspensions | ProFootballTalk
The NFL Competition Committee wants to put players on notice: The league plans to get even more stringent in protecting defenseless players — and suspending players who take cheap shots at their opponent.