6-11-11: Bird Droppings - Lockout Update

Time to start off this weekend, and I'm going to start it off with some good news. There are some reports that the framework for an agreement between the two sides could be in place in about two weeks. Lets hope so.

Cardinals News:

Word From the Birds Blog - Revisionist History: Once upon a time in Mexico
Now, there is a game in England every year, as much a part of the NFL landscape as Bill Belichick’s dry press conferences or James Harrison’s fines. Once, though, it was a big deal that the Cardinals and the 49ers were going to play the first NFL regular-season game out of the country, in Mexico City. Back in 2005, we had the NFL’s then-COO, Roger Goodell, talking about wanting to see how a game outside the U.S would work. In a lot of ways, the Cards were a natural fit. A game against the 49ers at Sun Devil Stadium usually would only draw 35,000 or so and it would be half-empty; with the Cards set to move into University of Phoenix Stadium the next year, it made sense they would be the team to surrender a home game for the cause. That didn’t necessarily work for the Cardinals’ players, but in the big picture that usually doesn’t matter.

Steve Breaston's ability to separate - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Wading through thousands of mostly forgettable tweets in search of a couple good ones isn't a job for everyone. Thank you, Paul Kuharsky, for doing the dirty work. And bravo, Arizona Cardinals receiver Steve Breaston, for moving into the No. 2 spot on Kuharsky's Twindex with humor and thoughtfulness.

azcentral.com blogs - Kent Somers - A few notes on Friday
When Ken Whisenhunt came to Arizona in 2007, he wasn't enamored with Flagstaff as a site for training camp. Dorms, fields and class rooms seemed too far apart. He'd heard the stories about the daily afternoon rain showers. The turf inside the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome needed replacing. Whisenhunt wondered how the whole thing was going to work. But like most anyone else, Whisenhunt came to love holding camp in Flagstaff.

The Cardinals need the next Tommy Maddox - ArizonaSports.com
You can't start a fire You can't start a fire without a spark This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark ~Bruce Springsteen, Dancing in the Dark Those lyrics from the Boss' 1984 hit pretty much sum up all the news that has emerged about the Arizona Cardinals' quarterback search. Thanks to the NFL lockout no news is the norm, except the news that is manufactured. The hired gun looking to spark a fire with his opinion Tuesday was the NFL Network's Michael Lombardi. Although noncommittal on a specific name, he did provide a blueprint of what type of QB the Cardinals should be looking for.

Underrated? Welcome to the NFC West - NFC West Blog - ESPN
There is no official rating system for NFL players. Whether one is overrated or underrated depends upon who is doing the rating. The ones ESPN's John Clayton placed on his all-underrated team were generally not early draft choices. They had not been to Pro Bowls. They were sometimes overshadowed by higher-profile teammates. And, in 11 of 22 instances, those players came from teams with divisional affiliations in the West.

Arizona Sports News:

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson sees positives in loss
On the back of Kirk Gibson's lineup card from the latest Diamondbacks' loss - the club's fourth in the past five games, coming by a 6-4 margin to the previously slumping Florida Marlins - he had a running tally of small signs of progress.

Brady Rodgers pitches ASU past error-prone Texas
Arizona State's Brady Rodgers pitched into the seventh inning and Texas committed two errors in the third to help the Sun Devils to a 3-1 victory over the Longhorns in the opener of an NCAA super regional series on Friday night.

Los Angeles Sparks handle Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
Candace Parker scored 22 points, Tina Thompson had 21 and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Phoenix Mercury 98-84 on Friday night.

Barkley would like to be a Suns owner - ArizonaSports.com
Charles Barkley wants to add NBA owner alongside dominant NBA power forward and hilarious broadcaster on his resume (We're not sure it actually says that or if he even has a resume, but if we were him it would look something along those lines). It was a comment Sir Charles made in passing to Philly.com while talking about a potential sale of the 76ers, but it included a nugget that Phoenix Suns fans could find very interesting.

NFL News:

azcentral.com blogs - Mark Faller's Blog - MarkFaller - Fearless predictions for the NFL season. If there is one.
I don't see any scenario where the 2011 season will be canceled. Truncated, maybe. I easily could see the loss of a preseason game or two. But the show must go on. There's too much money at stake. I figure either the players will cave, or the courts...

Communications continuing between not-so-secret meetings | ProFootballTalk
And yet another small piece of good news emerges regarding the 91-day-old lockout. At a time when when NFL and the NFLPA* are engaging in not-so-secret negotiating sessions, they also are engaging in not-so-secret communications beyond the confines of the meetings. The latest wrinkle comes from Albert Breer of NFL Network.

Framework for agreement could come in two weeks | ProFootballTalk
Though it’s still way too early to claim that the lockout is "over" or "almost over," the signs of progress continue to emerge. The latest? Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal reports that the the "expectation is for a framework agreement in about two weeks."

Looking at whether players could send coaches practice tape | ProFootballTalk
Alex Smith had one of those bright ideas recently that suddenly doesn’t seem so bright when you’re married. He considered asking his wife to videotape the 49ers practices last week, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. The idea would be to use the film as a teaching tool afterwards. It all made sense until Smith remembered his wife gave birth to their first child a month ago. So much for that. Smith says that he definitely plans to film the next round of practices. It led to an interesting question: Could he then send those tapes to the 49ers?

Real change feels inevitable for college football | ProFootballTalk
Before you start dropping comments pointing out that this item has nothing to do with pro football, anything that globally affects pro football’s minor league system could affect, one way or another, pro football. And it’s hard not to think that serious, profound, and fundamental changes are coming to college football.

Jake Delhomme’s days with Browns "are numbered" | ProFootballTalk
Though it comes as no surprise considering Jake Delhomme’s recent performance and $5.4 million base salary for 2011, Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer confirmed in a Friday online video that the 10-year veteran quarterback’s days with the Browns "are numbered."

NFL.com news: Hawaii governor says $4 million 'bribe' for Pro Bowl is wasteful
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie said Thursday it's "so stupid" that the cash-strapped state pays millions to play host to the Pro Bowl when the money could be used for education.