Joe Vitt says Drew Brees can't 'sing or dance'

Joe Vitt doesn’t figure to see Drew Brees on the next season of “American Idol.”
That is because the interim head coach of the New Orleans Saints doesn’t believe the quarterback can sing or dance. Brees can’t sling the football for the Saints either, not without a contract.
But Vitt remains confident a deal will get done as Brees continues to stay away from the team’s voluntary offseason program while he angles for a long-term deal. The club has placed its franchise tag on him. Vitt, speaking to reporters in New Orleans today, said he just had a conversation with Brees earlier this week.
“I’m still confident,” Vitt said in a transcript released by the team. “I had a great conversation with Drew the other day. We were talking about training camp. I had some questions and I knew that he wanted to do some certain things at training camp. I feel confident. He’ll be here.”
That sounds good. What gives Vitt confidence a deal will actually get done? Everyone has said it will happen but there has been little reported traction.
“What else is he going to do?” Vitt said. “He can’t sing or dance. Listen, again. I don’t think that anyone thought this was going to be easy. We talked about the lockout last year; well they’re going to come back here. They are going to come back there. No, I think that everyone knew that it was going to go until the 23rd hour and that everything was going to be settled. Again, there are a lot of pieces here that Mickey’s (Loomis) got to get fit in, with the cap and getting people signed and so on and so forth and it’s all going to fit into the future and this is going to get done.
“It’s going to get done when Drew and Mickey know what is best for our football team and we can move forward.”
Vitt better hope it gets done.

source:  NFP.com
author:  Brad Biggs

Harbaugh: 'Silly' to think 49ers flirted with Manning

Jim Harbaugh had to get something off his chest Wednesday.
"It's an erroneous perception that we were flirting with Peyton Manning," the San Francisco 49ers coach said, according to The Sacramento Bee. "I keep hearing that over and over again. It's silly, and it's untrue. It's phony. Even the perception that we were pursuing him ... we were evaluating him.

"I've said all along, Alex Smith has been our quarterback," Harbaugh went on. "There's been no scenario, other than Alex choosing to sign with another team, that we would have considered him not as our quarterback."
Harbaugh and 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman traveled to Duke University in March to watch Manning throw, leading to speculation the 49ers had emerged as a sleeper candidate for the 11-time Pro Bowl quarterback. Though understandable from an outsider's standpoint, the perceived pursuit was surprising because Harbaugh had championed Smith from the moment he took the job 14 months earlier.
"Now, were we out there seeing, evaluating if we could have them both? Heck yeah," Harbaugh said of his Duke visit. "You evaluate that, you eliminate that. Further evidence -- we would not have given any player that was out there in free agency a sixth of our salary cap and let six or seven of our own guys go. Hopefully that sets the record straight."
Harbaugh's comments are a nice way to try to put a bow on the whole situation, but the bottom line is that the 49ers explored Manning as an option, and that exploration was enough to get Alex Smith on a plane to visit with the Miami Dolphins. It appears Harbaugh is more bothered by the perception that San Francisco went hard after Manning, which he maintains couldn't be further from the truth.
It's surprising Harbaugh even brought up a topic that could be considered water under the bridge. But like we said, the man had to get something off his chest.

source: Around The League on NFL.com
author: Dan Hanzus
photo: Getty Images via Yahoo Sports: "Shutdown Corner"

IFL team dumps Terrell Owens

Receiver Terrell Owens can’t get back in to the NFL.  And now he’s out of the IFL.
The Allen Wranglers have announced that Owens has been released.
It’s hardly an amicable split.  The statement takes multiple shots at Owens for not having the right level of commitment.
“Our fans are amongst the best in the league and it is impossible to maintain a player when even our fans notice and comment on a player’s lack of effort both on and off the field,” owner Jon Frankel said.  “We need to do what is best for this team, our fans and this community.”
Team president and co-owner Tommy Benizio chimed in, too.  With gloves fully off.
“It is difficult to look other players on this team in the eyes and tell them that being a team player is important . . . that giving it your all on the field every night is our expectation, when another member of this team is not operating by these standards,” Benizio said. ”The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back for Mr. Owens was his no-show to a scheduled appearance at a local children’s hospital with other Wrangler players and coaches.  It is not the desire of the Allen Wranglers’ organization to disappoint fans by having our most notable player miss a scheduled appearance.”
Owens signed a much-hyped deal with the Wranglers, giving him a piece of the team.  But it paid Owens only for home games.  His participation in road games hinged on the willingness of the other team to sweeten the pot.
For the season, Owens appeared in eight games, catching 35 passes for 420 yards and 10 touchdowns.
And so likely ends the football career of Terrell Owens.  Unless he can successfully find a way to blame this on the media.  Or at least to blame someone other than himself.

source:  PFT.com
author:  Mike Florio
photo:  AP imagaes

Charlie Sheen did not buy LT's Super Bowl XXV ring

Noted sports memorabilia collector Charlie Sheen says he’s not the man who bought Lawrence Taylor’s Super Bowl XXV ring at auction last weekend.
Rumors have swirled in recent days that Sheen, who at different points has had a vast memorabilia collection, was the winning bidder of LT’s ring. But Sheen, via his personal Twitter account, says it isn’t so.

“RE: Lawrence Taylor's Ring: As much as I would be honored to own such an important artifact... I had nothing to do with the acquisition. C.”

The auction house, citing confidentiality, has not identified the bidder who purchased the ring for $230,401. It was LT’s son who hawked the ring and when he did so, the old man reportedly didn’t know anything about it.

source:  NFP.com
author:  Brad Biggs
photo from TMZ Sports.com