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Today is Good Friday, and it is also the seven year anniversary of the day when Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. So, for today here are some links, and a little highlight video of his time in Arizona is after the jump.
I'm also wearing my Tillman jersey today in honor of him.
Seven Years After His Death, Pat Tillman Is Needed By The NFL Community More Than Ever | ThePostGame
Friday marks seven years since Tillman was killed in Afghanistan and nothing has changed, even if everything has changed. The official military announcement that he died in an ambush has proven a piece of grievous fiction replaced by a more unsettling truth that he was in fact killed by friendly fire. The wars in the Middle East that he so valiantly volunteered to fight have lost the attention of many people back home -- white noise to an impatient country that has already changed the channel. His name is a pawn now: Equally used by those who believe in the wars and those who despise them. A book has been written, a movie made. His life has been cut open and dissected, all his complexities and contradictions parsed and yet in a world where heroes prove as cheap as the wind that blows through their paper-thin facades, Tillman remains as revered as the day he died. After everything that happened he still matters.
On whether Cards would draft QB early - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The Arizona Cardinals have dropped strong suggestions that they will not draft a quarterback with the fifth overall choice in the 2011 NFL draft. They have set the bar high for any quarterback drafted that early. They have suggested the current crop of quarterbacks might not measure up to established standards.
Word From the Birds Blog - The other side of the mocks
Even the Cardinals mock draft. It comes at the tail end of their draft meetings, after they set their top 120 board. They’ll go through as many scenarios as they can to try and guesstimate what will happen (although in the end, it’s impossible to really know; as coach Ken Whisenhunt said Thursday, "the only time you really know is when (a team) makes that pick." "We go through a mock draft exercise every year and I think that it is a good exercise," general manager Rod Graves said. "It is not totally worthless."
Nothing certain surrounding Arizona Cardinals' No. 5 draft pick
The Cardinals might select a quarterback in the NFL draft next week. Or they might not. The people who could supply the answers probably wouldn't even confirm the spelling of their own last names at this point. "It depends on the quarterback," Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said Thursday when asked whether the team would like to draft a quarterback. "We've said that's a position that we feel is important that we address." The Cardinals, who have the fifth overall pick, could find a new quarterback through various avenues; the draft is just the first exit along the road. The Cardinals could take that exit, or bypass it, hoping that the answer awaits in free agency or via trade.
Flip-Flop To The Draft
Without free agency, Cards dealing with backward offseason
Four worthy picks for the second round - NFC West Blog - ESPN
NFC West teams will be well represented at the 2011 NFL draft when retired players announce second-round selections. Cornerback Aeneas Williams is scheduled to go first among the four when his original team, the Arizona Cardinals, selects with the 38th overall choice.
Arizona Cardinals 2011 schedule analysis
How many wins do you think the Arizona Cardinals will get in the 2011 season?
Lombardi: Bulger wants to play in Arizona - ArizonaSports.com
This time next week the Cardinals' quarterback situation might be a little more clear. They might have drafted a signal-caller high enough to give him the advantage in the race to be the team's starter. Until then, the speculation continues. And the Marc Bulger train has picked up another passenger.
Lombardi believes the defense needs addressing with fifth pick - ArizonaSports.com
After a 5-11 season, the Arizona Cardinals are in need of some change. With the lockout still in full effect, the only place the team can look is to the draft and the question becomes which position needs addressing first. NFL analyst Michael Lombardi believes securing a pass rusher with the number five pick would be the best decision.
What's the worst Arizona sports jersey of all-time to own? - ArizonaSports.com
Have you ever had the dream where you're back in high school standing in front of your classmates but instead of wearing the crazy parachute pants or ugly tie-dye shirt you thought was cool back then, you're just standing there naked? I haven't. My dreams like that are slightly different. In them I'm standing in front of my junior English class but instead of being naked I'm in front of everyone in an embarrassing jersey from one of the Arizona sports teams. You know the type I'm talking about. The jersey of the random player you thought would be good but was horrible or did something ridiculous. The type of jersey that now sits in the back of your closet taunting you and bringing up bad memories every time you stumble upon it.
Sam Bradford's place among NFL QBs - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Sam Bradford went through a six-game stretch last season featuring 11 touchdowns, one interception and the St. Louis Rams' first road victory. The rookie then tossed one touchdown pass with six interceptions over the Rams' final five games, a reminder that even the most promising young NFL quarterbacks will hit rough patches along the way.
Ultimate Mock Draft VII: QB heavy at the top - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
If teams could draft anyone, there would be a run on signal callers through the first five selections. - National Football League news
Video Gallery - azcardinals.com
Whisenhunt and Graves on NFL Draft
NFL.com news: Fitzgerald willing to help needy mates; Gonzalez giving back
The Bank of Larry Fitzgerald is open, at least for needy Arizona Cardinals players. The five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver said Thursday that he's ready to help any teammate who's struggling financially as the NFL lockout hit its 41st day.
Phoenix Coyotes' on-ice fate dictated by finances
Coyotes defenseman Keith Yandle sat at his stall in full gear Wednesday night, unwilling to part with his equipment and not ready to close the door on the season. "It's the way they play. They just played so good," he offered as the reason the Detroit Red Wings disposed of the Coyotes in four games, making them the first casualty of the NHL playoffs. "Their guys came to play. They played hard. They deserved to win." But the Coyotes' early demise can be traced to last summer when General Manager Don Maloney had difficulty retaining his unrestricted free agents. From there, the handicaps of NHL ownership and a narrow budget continued to snowball.
ASU's Vontaze Burfict embracing leadership role
Arizona State's Vontaze Burfict entered spring practice knowing he had to become more of a leader. But once senior cornerback Omar Bolden was lost to a knee injury, the junior middle linebacker realized he had no choice.
NFL schedule has room to make up lost games - ESPN
The recently released NFL schedule leaves open the possibility that there could be no games the first three scheduled weeks and all 16 regular-season games could still be played.
NFL.com news: Retired NFL stars to announce second-round draft picks
Barry Sanders, Franco Harris, Marshall Faulk and 29 other retired NFL stars will announce their former teams' second-round picks at the NFL draft April 29.