Sports Radio Interviews

Blake Griffin’s Rookie Year Hasn’t Gone According to Plan

Maybe the Clippers are cursed. They have possibly the worst owner in sports, they play in the same building as the Lakers and they have a dwindling fan base. Not to mention, the franchise has made horrible decisions over the past 20 years and they have had some bad luck involved as well. It would take me way too long to identify all the poor things that the Clips have done recently, but bad draft picks have to be right there at the top of the list. Since 1980, Los Angeles has made 39 first round draft picks and just two of them have made an NBA All Star team. I know the draft is a crapshoot and nobody hits on all their picks, but misses to the magnitude of some of theirs will set a franchise back a number of years and lead the franchise to consistently draft in the top ten. On top of that, they have had some recent bad luck with injuries as well. Elton Brand blew out his Achilles, Shaun Livingston ripped his knee to shreds effectively ending his Clipper career far too early and now Blake Griffin has missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury.

Griffin was supposed to be the player that would help turn the franchise around. When the Clippers won the Blake Griffin sweepstakes, Clippers fans started to party in Los Angeles. He has a ton of talent. When Griffin was at Oklahoma, he was like a man playing against a bunch of boys in college and has a rare combination of size, speed, strength and athleticism. This past summer in the NBA summer league, Griffin tore it up and he looked ready to make a splash in his rookie season. However, much like those that were drafted years before him, some bad fortune cost him his entire rookie season in Los Angeles and it looks like once again another Clippers player has fallen victim to the franchise curse.

Blake Griffin joined The Sports Animal in Oklahoma City with Mark Rodgers to talk about how his rehab is going, how difficult it has been for him to miss his entire rookie season, and what it’s like to play in the shadow of the Lakers.

On how he is doing healthwise:

“I’m good. It’s going really well right now. I’m just doing rehab. I’ve been doing rehab for about two weeks now. I’m just trying to strengthen everything back and hopefully get back on the court sometime soon.”

On whether or not he is still rehabbing in Los Angeles:

“Yes, I’m in L.A. pretty much every day just doing rehab. I don’t travel right now just so I can stay and rehab and all of that. Pretty soon I’ll start traveling once my leg gets to the point where I can do some stuff on the road. So I’ll be with the team for the most part.”

On how he feels about the makeup of the Clippers:

“I do. I love the makeup on our team. We have a good mix of younger guys and older guys. We have struggled at times but for the most part, when we’re playing well and we’re playing together, we’ve beat some good teams and we’ve won some big games.”

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Tags: Blake Griffin, Blake Griffin injury, Los Angeles Clippers, NBA

Posted in Los Angeles Clippers, NBA | No Comments »

Shannon Sharpe: “I’m not going to let the final validation, which would be the Hall of Fame, try to convince me otherwise that I wasn’t a good football player.”

In addition to all the hoopla surrounding the Super Bowl this past weekend, there was also a new crop of football players that were selected to be enshrined in Canton in the Pro Football Hall of Fame later this summer. One of those players was not Shannon Sharpe - the longtime tight end for the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens. What’s puzzling to me, many others, and even Sharpe himself is how his numbers absolutely dwarf those of the other 8 tight ends currently enshrined in the Hall. He also was on a number of outstanding teams. In fact, he won 13 straight postseason games in addition to all the individual accolades. His time will come, no doubt. It just wasn’t meant to be this time around I suppose.

Sharpe joined 1510 The Score in Denver to talk about being snubbed for the second consecutive time since becoming eligible for nomination to the Hall, what his problems with the voting process are, and why he thinks Peyton Manning continues to be a vastly greater quarterback in the regular season than during the postseason when all the marbles are on the table.

On how he’s feeling after not getting in to the Hall of Fame his second time around:

“Well first and foremost, congratulations to the guys who did get in. I think all the guys are very deserving and disappointed, I think there’s 10 other guys who are even more disappointed than I am…But I told someone this the other day - I’m not going to let the final validation, which would be the Hall of Fame, try to convince me otherwise that I wasn’t a good football player. Because I think the fans in Baltimore and Denver can attest. They appreciated the way I played, I think all my teammates respected the way I played. So I think me not getting in to the Hall the second, third, fourth time is not going to sway the way I think I played for 14 years.”

On if he agrees that his time will eventually come:

“I think it will. Here’s the thing. My only problem is this - you’re either a Hall of Famer or you’re not. It’s as simple as that. To have to wait 20 years then all of a sudden you get in, or to have to wait 15 years because as you go further and further, more modern guys come out. So their numbers look better and better. For the past 6 or 7 years, this is a passing league. I mean, you don’t normally have ten 4,000 yard passers, and Kurt Warner had 3,825 [yards], and he didn’t play the last game. So you wouldn’t normally have 11 4,000 yard passers in one season unless there’s rule changes and everyone’s throwing the football. So when you come out, my 815 is going to look small. Tony is probably going to have 1,100. Jason Witten’s probably going to have 900 or 1,000. I mean, some might say Shannon’s numbers weren’t that good. But I played in an era where they rushed the football. I blocked for 9 1,000 yard rushers in my 14 year career. So, I had a long talk with Cris Carter and he was equally as upset as I was because when you look at it, what else could you have done. Cris Carter is the only receiver right now that has more touchdowns than Walter Payton and Jim Brown. And he didn’t get in; this is his third try. So I just don’t know what they’re looking for. I know one thing, they don’t value the tight end position. I think that’s the biggest thing - they don’t really value that position.”

On if he thinks Peyton Manning has another Super Bowl win in him:

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Tags: 1510 The Score, best tight ends in history of football, Colts lose to Saints in Super Bowl, Shannon Sharpe snubbed from Hall of Fame, who was elected to 2010 Hall of Fame Class

Posted in Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, NFL | No Comments »

John Randle, Welcome to Canton!

For the second straight year, a great Minnesota Viking will be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. John Randle will join his teammate, Randall McDaniel, in just his second year of eligibility. He was one of the best defensive lineman of his time as evidenced by his impressive 137.5 career sacks, which are the most for a defensive tackle in NFL history and the sixth most by any player. He was named to seven Pro Bowl teams and named first team All-Pro six times. Randle went undrafted out of Texas A&I University–Kingsville and played with a chip on his shoulder his entire career. He was always considered undersized for a defensive tackle but his incredible quickness and love for the game was the main reason he was so hard to block. I think Randle’s teammate Cris Carter wasn’t inducted this year because the HOF committee did not want another receiver inducted alongside Jerry Rice. Vikings fans should be happy because Carter will make it in next year which will make it three Vikings inducted in three consecutive years. Not too shabby for those “Purple People Eaters”.

John Randle joined KFAN in Minneapolis to talk about when he found out he was going to get inducted into the Hall of Fame and the story about how he scrambled to get down to Miami for the HOF ceremony.

On him being at his home in Medina when he found out he became a member of the NFL Hall of Fame:

“Yes I was… I was heading to Texas to see my brother and my wife was in the other room and I started hearing screaming and I said either that is something good or that is something bad.”

How he found out that went into the Hall of Fame:

“She was watching it and I was in the other room just watching the Golf Channel for some odd reason and she came in screaming and my phone - the next thing I know all these different people texting me that I made it down to the list of seven and they couldn’t call me. So I found out from her first so that is one of the most odd things about it.”

Whether his wife was screaming because he made it into the Hall of Fame:

“I had made it and it was such a bizarre thing because I told her and I said that it is about to happen and it was like the draft day where I didn’t get drafted and I didn’t get that phone call. I was sitting around thinking that it was probably going to be like it was on draft day when I didn’t get the phone call and actually I didn’t get a phone call. I found out from her.”

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Tags: all-time sack leader for defensive lineman, Batman, best defensive lineman of all-time, defensive lineman, face paint, intimidating, John Randle, Minnesota Vikings, NFC North, NFL, NFL Hall of Fame Class 2010

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Eli Manning Feels Awful About His Brother’s Latest Playoff Shortcoming

So, despite putting together yet another masterful regular season, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning remains stuck with just one Super Bowl trophy to his name. That’s the same number as his brother Eli Manning, one fewer than Ben Roethlisberger, two fewer than Tom Brady, and of course, now the same number as Drew Brees. What’s all that mean? Who knows, not too much really. Manning, no matter how you cut it, is going to go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest signal caller to ever play the game. Still, it’s hard to deny that his costly interception against the Saints late in the 4th quarter was a back-breaker and the type of play his critics love to point to when mentioning Manning’s struggles in big moments during the postseason.

Peyton’s brother, Eli, joined The Michael Kay Show on ESPN Radio New York to discuss how tough it was for him to watch the Super Bowl and his brother’s team lose the game, on the onside kick by the Saints, on the Saints changing defenses, and on how disappointed Peyton was after the game.

Was the Super Bowl tough for you to watch:

Yeah, it was. I was rooting so hard for my brother. I’ve obviously been there in the Super Bowl and you prepare all season and it’s so hard to get to that situation, so hard to get there. I just felt for him. I got to speak to him after the game a little bit and I talked to him today. He’s doing good. I just told him he did everything he could and without him on that team, they wouldn’t be anywhere near what they’ve done or capable of doing. He makes his teammates so much better, the receivers, I mean you have all those young receivers - he gets everything out of those guys. I was just proud of him all season, the way he competed, it just wasn’t meant to be. The Saints, they played very well, and offensively and defensively they did everything right. It was just disappointing game.”

On if he was surprised by Coach Sean Payton’s onside kick to start the 2nd half:

“Yeah, I was. I wasn’t even in my seat yet. I was kind of walking there and I heard somebody yell onside kick. It’s one of those deals where it’s an aggressive call - if it works it’s a great decision, if it doesn’t it’s usually a bad decision. But that’s kind of the way it goes, obviously they got it, they recovered it so great call on his part. It was a gutsy call on his part because obviously if the Colts they recover, they got good field position and a pretty good chance to score right there.”

What did you think and what did your brother tell you about the interception:

Yeah it’s one of those plays they run all the time. I haven’t seen the replay, I haven’t seen it, I’ve been traveling all day. So I can’t tell what the route was like, it’s just one of those timing/trust issues where the receiver’s got to run, get five and cut fast. So I think it’s a play they run a lot, I think the corner jumped it a little bit. But it’s a timing deal - you got to trust your receiver to run and get in there. It was probably just a good play by the corner back seeing that, being aggressive and seeing something. But I haven’t seen the route and don’t know exactly what happened.”

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Tags: Eli Manning, ESPN Radio New York, how many Super Bowls has Peyton Manning won, Peyton Manning, Saints beat Colts for first Super Bowl

Posted in Indianapolis Colts, NFL, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants | No Comments »

Gregg Williams is the best $250,000 investment Sean Payton has ever made

Gregg Williams got a lot of heat before the Super Bowl for his comments about hitting Peyton Manning and how to slow him down. It’s not every day you hear a coach come out and talk about making the quarterback pay on every play. Well, maybe it wasn’t the pounding that won the Saints the game, but his defensive strategy could have won him the MVP for the Super Bowl. In the second half of the Super Bowl, Williams mixed it up with 3 and 4 down linemen, mixing in 3 and 4 linebackers and continuously disguising the blitz pressure to the point that Manning, and his receivers looked confused at times. A Peyton Manning led offense confused? That’s good enough for me to give him the MVP trophy. Just ask Tracey Porter who after the game admitted Williams showed them the interception play on tape and he saw it coming. He jumped the route and that realistically put the game out of reach. Maybe the gutsiest call of any Super Bowl or big game I have ever seen was the onside kick to start the second half, but Payton went and asked Williams at halftime about the call before it happened. Williams backed up his head coach and told him to go for it. That play turned out to be the momentum shifter for the game.

Even better is the Williams hiring story by Sean Payton. How many times in sports these days do you hear a coach giving up salary to hire another coach? That’s a story by itself. Payton looks like a genius now doesn’t he? For a measly $250,000 of his salary to go towards Gregg Williams’ first year paycheck, just in order to land the defensive coordinator. A great story that you don’t normally hear about turns out to be a very smart one.

Gregg Williams joined the Stephen A. Smith Show on Fox Sports Radio and talked about the win in the Super Bowl, defending Peyton Manning and the onside kick that shocked the world.

Smith told him he didn’t think he could hold the Colts to 17 points and how did he actually get it done:

“You and about 700 other people out there in the field. You know what we use that stuff as motivation. I know I coach better with a chip on my shoulder. We were just able to play pretty well tonight. Make no bones about it, Peyton (Manning) has had some great games against us, against me and against the defenses I have coached. We were able to make some plays, our guys bought into the plan to change things up. We could not be a static defense and play the same old defense over and over again.”

Smith then asked what was the plan:

“The plan was to use very bullet we had. One of the things we wanted to come out in the first quarter was to  play our 3-4 package and our three package. In the second quarter we switched back to our 4-3 package and our nickel package. In the third quarter we were going to try to mix back and forth and in the fourth quarter we saved a bunch of pressures that we had not shown in the first half. We saved a lot of pressures for the fourth quarter that we didn’t want him to see to get a chance to get an adjustment on. So that was part of the plan as long as the score cooperated we could hold that plan. Now if the score got out of touch, then we had to use evertyhing we had to use to stay in the game.”

Smith asked what did this win mean for the city of New Orleans:

“It really means everything to the city of New Orleans. They adopted me a year ago and I am so happy for that whole region of the country. To be able to bring a championship with all the suffering that has gone on down there. Off the field and on the field, the Saints organization waiting 43 years to get to this, the Benson Family. More importantly the whole city of New Orleans, its awful important that we bring this back to them and I was very happy to be able to be a part of it. They let me become a part of it.”

Listen to Gregg Williams with Stephen A. Smith on Fox Sports Radio (3:45 into podcast)

Tags: Gregg Williams, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Peyton Manning, Sean Payton, Super Bowl XLIV, Tracey Porter

Posted in Indianapolis Colts, NFL, New Orleans Saints | No Comments »

Drew Brees Is Going to Get Paid

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints played spoiler for Peyton Manning and the Colts Sunday evening as they captured their first Super Bowl title in franchise history. There has never been a city that needed a championship more than the city of New Orleans and the Saints were able to deliver. Although the win wasn’t easy, Brees made it look like it was after a rough start to the game. After being held scoreless in the first quarter, Brees was able to gain his composure and outscore the Colts by 24 points for the rest of the game. Brees tied Tom Brady’s record for the most completions thrown in a Super Bowl with thirty-two which helped him to earn the Super Bowl XLIV MVP. This is just another validation that Brees is one of the best in the game and belongs in the same conversation with the greats. He was 17th in terms of amount paid this season at the QB position but that will surely change. In a year where he is due another contract you can bet on them backing up a Wells Fargo truck full of cash and he deserves it.

Drew Brees joined Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio to talk about him feeling like the country was behind them, whether the Super Bowl win has changed people’s minds that he is one of the greats, and when Sean Payton decided to call the onside kick.

*A funny side note about this interview is that the call was interrupted by President Obama and he had to call Colin back*

Whether he felt the country was rooting for the Saints:

“Yeah I did get that feeling just because everyone deep down can identify with us and our team and our city with the struggles that we have had over the last five years post-Katrina. Everything that we have been through, the adversity that we have had to fight through but yet found a way to stick together and believe and just have faith. I believe that everybody can identify with that and that result is a culmination of a Super Bowl victory as we sit here today.”

Whether the Super Bowl win has changed people’s minds that he is one of the greats:

“You know when you get that kind of respect that feels good, but then again I played this game for my teammates and for the city of New Orleans. Every time I step onto the field I kind of lay with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. I feel like there is always something to prove and another challenge around the corner and when it is all said and done I want to win championships and I want to try to be the best.”

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Tags: Bourbon Street, Colts vs. Saints, David Letterman appearance, Disneyland, Drew Brees, Indianapolis, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, NFC beat AFC, NFC South, Saints win, Sean Payton, Super Bowl MVP, Super Bowl XLIV, Terry Porter

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Tracy Porter And The Saints Do It!

The New Orleans Saints have ended their franchise-long futility and finally brought their first Lombardi Trophy back to the Big Easy. Fittingly, the Saints got significant contributions from their explosive offense, their sneaky good special teams, and most importantly perhaps, a big play from their often disrespected defense. The big defensive play came late in the 4th quarter with the Saints leading 24-17. There were about 5 minutes left to play - translation, it was Peyton Manning time. Not so fast said Tracy Porter, the Saints DB who sealed the NFC Championship two weeks ago with his pick of Brett Favre. Porter timed a route perfectly and took Manning’s pass 74 yards for the clinching score.

Porter joined The Dan Patrick Show on Monday to talk about the game sealing play, what he’s thinking and hearing during a play like that, where the football is that he returned to the house, and how the Saints used all the pro-Peyton Manning talk all week as extra motivation to come out and play at a high level.

On the decision by Coach Payton to kick the onside kick to begin the 2nd half:

“Yeah Coach Payton told us coming out that we were going to do the onside kick, and our whole mindset was that we were in it to win it and we were going to pull out all stops. He gave us the heads up that we were going to run it and our guys did a great job of recovering it for us.”

On what he saw on the play where he took Manning’s pass 74 yards for a score:

“No, we went to man-to-man coverage and the formation that the Colts came out in, it was one that we’d been studying the majority of the week, all week with the inverted split and Collie at #1. We knew he was going to motion down and they were going to run a stake route - you know, the point guy Reggie Wayne was in the slot at the time…But once Collie started motioning in, I said okay here comes the stake route. I just stepped inside when he went to make the break to come back in, I was already in front of him and I picked the ball off.”

On if he can hear anything when making a huge play like that on such a big stage:

“I mean I can hear the crowd cheering, the crowd screaming, once I caught the ball I heard the eruption of the crowd and once I got in to the end zone the crowd just started getting louder and louder.”

On where the football is at the moment:

“Well right now the equipment managers have the football, but by the time we get back to New Orleans it will be in my locker. That football’s going in a trophy case right beside my Brett Favre football.”

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Tags: best QBs in football, Dan Patrick Show, longest interception returns in SB history, New Orleans Saints beat Colts for Super Bowl, Saints win Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLIV, Tracy Porter pick six in Super Bowl

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Floyd Mayweather Jr: “He didn’t live up to his end of the bargain”

After Floyd Mayweather Jr’s potential fight against Manny Pacquiao got cancelled, Money needed a new opponent. Well, now he’s got one in Shane Mosley. The two are scheduled to fight on May 1st of this year. Mosley is coming off a very impressive performance against Antonio Maragrito. In the fight against Margarito, Mosley was stronger, faster and better than Margarito as he knocked him out in the ninth round. It was a tremendous performance by Mosley and it got him back into the conversation of one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. But this is not the fight that people want to see. No offense to Mosley, he is a tremendous fighter and if Money doesn’t fight Pacman, than this may be the next best possible fight for him to take, but it will not get the same response that a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight would get. I have said it before and will continue to say it. The fight the world wants to see is Floyd Maweather Jr. fight Manny Pacquiao. That’s it. And until fight fans get to see that fight, no fight fan will really be happy with any fight that pits Mayweather against anyone not named Pacquiao and the same goes for Manny Pacquiao.

Floyd Mayweather Jr joined ESPN 980 in Washington D.C. with the Sports Fix in Miami on Friday at Super Bowl Radio Row to talk about why the Manny Pacquiao fight got cancelled, why he demanded a drug test, and what he thinks of the fight against Shane Mosley.

On why the Manny Pacquiao fight is not going to happen:

“Manny Pacquiao didn’t want to take a 25 million dollar drug test. I had a clause that I wanted and he had a clause that he wanted. His clause, what he wanted, was every pound that I weighed over 147, they wanted me to pay ten million dollars. I said no problem, each pound I’ll pay ten million dollars. My clause for him was for us both to take random drug tests. The only thing that I’m trying to do is clean up sports period.”

On why he demanded a drug test:

“Because in the past, at first you have fighters in the past that didn’t take HIV tests, now all fighters gotta take HIV tests. At one time, you weighed in the day of the fight, now you weigh in the day before the fight. Now you gotta take all different types of tests leading up to the fight. So why not? Out with the old and in with the new. We have to change. Everything has to change.”

On Manny Pacquiao not agreeing to the testing:

“He asked me to do one thing and I asked him to do another thing. The thing is this, a fighter before asked me ‘Floyd if you weigh this much over will you pay?’ I said yes. We’ve done it in the past. Simple as that. I asked him to do one thing. He had something that he wanted me to do and I had something that I wanted him to do. He didn’t live up to his end of the bargain. I lived up to my end of the bargain.”

On people believing that Manny Pacquiao is now the best fighter pound-for-pound:

“Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. I live my life the way I live my life and I’m happy with what I do. I live for Floyd Maywetaher. I don’t live for the fans. I love the fans but I live for myself. Self preservation is first. I must be happy first before I can make anybody else happy.”

On the fight against Shane Mosley:

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Tags: Boxing, ESPN 980, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Manny Pacquiao cancelled, Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao

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Danny Ferry: “If we don’t do anything, I do think we have a chance to win the whole thing”

After a disappointing loss to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals a season ago, the Cavs worked hard in the off-season to put together a roster that could compete for a championship this year, the final year of LeBron James’ contract. After getting dominated inside by the Magic and getting overwhelmed by their size on the perimeter, the Cavs went out and addressed those issues the best they could in the off-season. After making a trade for Shaquille O’Neal on draft night, the Cavs brought in Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon to give the team more size on the perimeter. Those acquisitions along with LeBron James taking his game to another level this season have the Cavs with the best record in the NBA and as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference despite injuries to Mo Williams and Delonte West.

With Orlando looking like a completely different team from a year ago and the Celtics looking like they are too old and not athletic enough to compete with the elite teams in the NBA right now, the Cavs have ascended to the top of the Eastern Conference. With the trade deadline ten days away, Danny Ferry and the Cavs once again have a decision to make. The trade rumors have been swirling around Cleveland and the Cavs have some pieces that teams may want (J.J. Hickson and the expiring contract of Zydrunas Ilgauskas). Ferry has done a tremendous job putting together this roster and putting the Cavs in the class of the elite teams in the NBA. But now Danny Ferry must make a very difficult decision. The Cavs are the best team in the NBA, but they may be able to still get better with a trade. Ferry needs to figure out if he thinks the improvements made in the off-season will bring a title to Cleveland or if he wants to make a move at the trade deadline to bring in another player to compliment LeBron James like Antawn Jamison or Andre Iguodala to try and put the Cavs over the top.

Danny Ferry joined ESPN 850 WKNR in Cleveland to talk about the play of the Cavs this season, how LeBron James has elevated his game to the next level, and whether or not he thinks he needs to make a deal at the deadline for the Cavs to win a championship.

On whether or not this is the best team that Cleveland has had in the past five years:

“I think you could definitely have a good argument in saying that from a versatility standpoint and a talent standpoint that this is the best team that we have had here over the past five years. You add to that that LeBron’s probably in the past six weeks played easily the best basketball that he has played I guess in any time in his life. Shaq’s help the last couple of weeks in particular has been phenomenal and there is still a chance for us to get better. We don’t have a group of guys that are having career years. If some guys step up toward the end of the year and add a little more to what we’re doing, it can be very good.”

On the improvements made by the team in the off-season:

“We looked at what we needed to do after looking at the body of work from last year in the regular season and in the playoffs especially when we were playing against the better teams. We needed to add length on the perimeter. We were able to do that with Jamario (Moon) and Anthony (Parker). Then having a more physical presence inside somehow and obviously Shaq brings that to the table. We filled needs to get into a playoff series and to be able to play against the Lakers, the Magic, the Celtics and the premier teams. We felt like we made ourselves better if we got into a seven game series with some of those teams. In a sense, yes I think we got a lot of our work done in the off-season and we felt good about our off-season and those guys have come in and played very well. Those guys have come in and given us the pieces or the players and the things that we may need as the year goes on. At the same time Michael, even then we’ll see where we go with our roster because we have some flexibility with our contracts that if there is an opportunity out there that makes sense, we’re in a position to take advantage of it. And I think we are in a position that has flexibility to do that it’s just a question of if the right thing comes along one and two is it makes sense for where we are with our team right now based off what we’d have to give up.”

On LeBron’s free agency in the off-season and whether or not they have had talks:

“He has said that he wanted to wait till after the season. We have had a good level of communication with Lebron and (his agent) Leon Rose and I think were in a situation right now where we’re focused on this year and what’s going on with our team this year and ultimately bringing this city a championship. That’s what we’re playing for. We’ve gotten off to a great start and that’s really been our focus. I think earlier in the year LeBron did a great thing in hey let’s just put all that stuff aside right now and let me focus on my team. I think that was the right thing to do for him and I think it’s the right thing for us to do as well.”

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Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Danny Ferry, Eastern Conference, ESPN 850 WKNR, NBA, NBA trade rumors

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Mike Holmgren Has His Hands Full In Cleveland

New Cleveland Browns President Mike Holmgren sure has his hands full. The former Seahawks and Packers great opted to retain head coach Eric Mangini for the 2010 season, but there’s reason to believe Mangini will be on a short leash, particularly after you hear Holmgren’s latest radio interview in which he praises Bill Parcells for bringing in the right kind of people to help him down in Miami. Then there’s the quarterback situation, which Holmgren also questions in his latest interview. To draft Tebow or not to draft Tebow? Holmgren also ponders that question.

It’s all on the mind of Holmgren, who joined KJR in his former hometown of Seattle with Mitch Levy to talk about the above topics, as well his departure with the Seahawks and what he thought of the end to Brett Favre’s otherwise magical 2009 season.

On the rumor that the Browns are interested in Tim Tebow and if the former Florida standout is just one of those special players who will succeed no matter what:

“Well he is absolutely one of those guys. Now I read…I got a little message about him yesterday because Tom Heckert who’s of course our general manager, was at the Senior Bowl. And Tim is one of the greatest college players of all time. So, doing our due diligence, we’re going to look at him hard. Our quarterback situation in Cleveland is interesting to say the least, and so we’re going to look at all the college quarterbacks as well. But I think he’s a fabulous player. How it equates to the game at our level? We’ll have to see. We have to see about that.”

On Bill Parcells and the job he’s done as an executive down in Miami:

“Well first of all he’s a very, very talented guy. Over the years there have been two or three people where if I have a question or need a little advice on something, I phone. And he’s one of them. He’s just been very good to me in that way, and I just respect him tremendously. And I think I would start with the people he has hired. I think when you’re in a position like Bill’s, or now, my position, it’s very, very important to get your upper management people and your coach, and they’re the right people. That’s a big, big step and I think in Miami, Bill was clearly comfortable with the people he hired; he knew them, they were his type if you will; his type of football coaches and personnel people and I think that’s helped turn things around very, very quickly. And then the second thing is Bill’s a very shrewd personnel guy. And as a coach, he was always very involved with setting up his team, knowing what kind of players he wanted for that particular team. And so those two things I think he’s done very, very well. Then the third thing I asked him, which is a difficult thing for him, is he’s tried to not dive in there and interfere once it’s set up. That was the promise he made when he hired those guys. And so I’m kind of sticking with that blueprint a little bit. The difference is…or I think the difference is that my owner Randy Lerner wants me to be very involved with the business side of it as well. So it’s not just football for me. That’s partly a work in progress and I’m learning every day. So my job is a little different than Bill’s in Miami.”

On if it’s too early in the process for him in Cleveland to draw on his experiences in Seattle putting a team together:

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