6-22-12: Arizona Cardinals Bird Droppings - Offseason Stuff

Time for todays links, including something on what the Abdullah brothers are going to do this season instead of playing in the NFL.

Also, congrats to the Wildcats for making it to the College World Series Finals.

"Unclear" if Arizona Cardinals' Clark Haggans faces discipline
Outside linebacker Clark Haggans is currently serving jail time in Pennsylvania for an alcohol-related driving offense committed in Arizona more than a year ago. Yes, that's confusing. The question many of us have now is if Haggans' faces discipline from the NFL. There is no word from the NFL on that yet. League officials typically don't comment on individual cases. Haggans' agent, Jeff Sperbeck, wrote via e-mail that it was "unclear" if his client would be disciplined by the NFL because "it occurred during (the) lockout and no CBA."

Cardinals rookie Lindley wants to take advantage of QB competition - ArizonaSports.com
Lost in the drama of the Kevin Kolb/John Skelton QB competition is sixth-round pick Ryan Lindley. No, Lindley is not in the competition, and chances are he won't throw a single meaningful pass for the Cardinals this season. However, the former San Diego State Aztec told Arizona Sports 620's Doug and Wolf watching the battle in front of him is helpful for his own development.

Abdullah brothers pause NFL careers for Ramadan | ProFootballTalk
Not many brothers make it to the NFL. Even fewer walk away from it together. Hamza and Husain Abdullah have announced that they’ll be pausing their pro football careers to make a pilgrimage to Mecca during the 2012 NFL season, as part of their Islamic faith.

Fantasy sleeper reaction: 11 quick thoughts - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Arizona Cardinals defense/special teams: Good choice here. The Cardinals finished strong on defense last season. They should continue to grow within coordinator Ray Horton's system. Arizona brought back nearly all its defensive starters. Patrick Peterson, already a dynamic force in the return game, will probably score on defense this season as well, in my view.

Video: Kurt Warner's playoff dominance - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Kurt Warner showed up twice on our list of 25 best NFL playoff performances. Was that enough? I've given Warner his due in the latest NFC West "Blogger Blitz" segment above. The chart shows Warner's postseason stats. His St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals posted a combined 9-4 record in postseason when Warner started. Warner's overall stats would be very good for a full regular season.

Arizona Sports News:

Arizona Wildcats move to College World Series finals with win over Florida State
Arizona coach Andy Lopez couldn't imagine taking a hotter team to the College World Series finals. That's where the Wildcats are heading after their 10-3 victory over Florida State on Thursday. They'll go into the best-of-three championship round Sunday coming off nine straight wins and 16 in their last 18 games.

Phoenix Mercury guard Samantha Prahalis' late spurt keys win
The Mercury (3-7) went on an 11-3 run in the last 2:02 led by Samantha Prahalis to dispatch Washington 80-77.

NFL News:

Percy Harvin Says Contract Not The Problem With Vikings - SBNation.com
After the report that Percy Harvin requested a trade from the Minnesota Vikings, the first thought that pops into your head is that this is over money, like most trade requests. But, according to Harvin, his issues are not related to his contract, which has two years remaining.

Brandon Jacobs Makes Young Fan's Day With Bounce House Trip - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
Earlier this month, we heard the story of Joseph Armento, a 6-year-old New York Giants fan who sent former Giants running back Brandon Jacobs his life savings of $3.36 hoping to entice Jacobs to stay with the Giants. Jacobs isn't returning to New York, but Armento's gesture did earn quite the reward on Wednesday.

Ryan Leaf gets his sentence; has terribly low self-esteem | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
A pair of noteworthy San Diego Chargers hit milestones in opposite directions this week. For LaDainian Tomlinson, things were about as good as they get. For Ryan Leaf, well, things are every bit as bad for him as they appear to be in the picture above.