Jets’ Revis will be at minicamp, Mangold unsure

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP)—Darrelle Revis(notes) insists he’s not angry or bitter. He just wants to get paid—soon.

The New York Jets’ All-Pro cornerback said Thursday he will attend the team’s mandatory minicamp next week despite his frustration over the slow nature of his contract negotiations.

“It’s different sides agreeing and disagreeing on different things,” Revis said. “This is the process right now and it’s going to continue to keep on going until both sides agree. Right now, I’m just being patient. I’m not mad about anything. I’m here. I want to be here, they know that. And, I know they want me to be here.

ADVERTISEMENT

Revis also still wants to be the highest-paid player at his position, saying “it’s important” to him. He also said the Jets’ second offer was better than their first, but was still subpar.

“The season I had last year was crazy, so this is a lot of leverage that I do have right now to try to get to that second contract and get the money that you deserve,” Revis said. “I don’t know how long I’m going to play.”

The two-time Pro Bowl selection and runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year sat out a voluntary workout last week, but returned for both practices this week.

“Minicamp is coming up next week and I’ll be at minicamp, and no comment on training camp,” he said. “I don’t know. We’ll see when that day comes.”

He is due to make to make just $1 million in the fourth season of his six-year rookie deal. Oakland’s Nnamdi Asomugha(notes) is the highest-paid cornerback after signing a three-year, $45.3 million extension last offseason

NCAA shows teeth in USC ruling

After four years, we still have a few more hours to wait before we know exactly what former Heisman winner Reggie Bush did during his sophomore and junior seasons at Southern California, at least in the estimation of NCAA investigators. But we do know Wednesday night that USC has the long-awaited results of the NCAA investigation in hand, finally. And according to ESPN's Bruce Feldman and the Los Angeles Times, the response isn't going to be a light touch:

A two-year bowl ban and a loss of more than 20 football scholarships are among the sanctions that the NCAA has dealt USC, a source with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday.
[...]
Limited recruiting contacts, probation and forfeiture of victories are also among the penalties regarded as possibly in play.

USC sources, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about the situation publicly, said they were bracing for the worst. ... Asked if the sanctions were appropriate, a source said, "It depends how you look at it. It is if you're a UCLA fan."

If that's accurate, we are in for some interesting reading when the report is released Thursday morning: 20 scholarships and a two-year bowl ban is nearly identical to the sentence the NCAA levied against Alabama in 2002, the last really heavy-handed retribution on record; back then, the Tide were docked 21 scholarships over two years and put on five years probation.

Given the extreme corruption targeted in the 'Bama case, the strong punishment here is a good indication that most of the evidence and testimony linking Bush to more than $290,000 in cash and prizes from would-be agents in 2004-05 was accepted as fact by the Committee on Infractions. It's also an indication that a) Someone at USC was aware of the fact that Bush was or might have been accepting money from unsavory characters skulking around the program, or b) The sheer scale of the scandal was of such staggering magnitude that somehow not knowing a star player is accepting improper benefits from agent-type entities is just as bad as knowing and failing to stop or report it.

The Heart Transplant of the Ford Mustang 2011

Despite those incremental improvements, the centerpiece of the 2011 Mustang is obviously the 24-valve Duratec V6, and it includes Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) and polished buckets and roller finger followers in the direct-acting mechanical bucket valvetrain, among other features. Ford officials promise that V6 buyers won't miss the roar of the V8's extra cylinders thanks to a retuned air intake and throaty standard dual exhaust. At the sneak-peek event for this new Mustang motor, Autoblog had the chance to hear the new engine fire up and rev – and it indeed sounds sporty and purposeful. To be fair, however, we only heard the powertrain briefly in an enclosed space (a large development garage on Ford's Dearborn campus), so we'll have to wait until it's out in the open and we're behind the wheel to really get a feel for the 3.7's aural character. Other noteworthy features of the drivetrain include a deep-sump aluminum oil pan that enables less-frequent 10,000-mile oil change intervals and a 7,000-RPM redline.



On the transmission front, Ford has fitted a new six-speed 6R60 automatic (with a special hill assist mode that reduces gear hunting) that allows for the 30 MPG highway bogey, as well as 19 MPG in the urban cycle (a 25 percent improvement over the 2010's 16 mpg city / 24 mpg highway figures). Prefer to shift for yourself? Expect fuel economy to suffer an iota for your enjoyment, with numbers for the six-speed manual falling to 18/29 (2010 MY: 18/26).

Naturally, with an all-new powertrain and its differing weight properties, Ford's engineers also had to turn their attention to the suspension. To that end, the 2011 V6 gets new damper and spring rates, a different rear lower control arm, and stiffer stabilizer bar bushings

LA Preview: 2011 Ford Mustang V6 makes 305 HP, gets 30 MPG

It would be reasonable to expect that Ford might pass over the Mustang and instead devote more attention to its other models since it's fresh off a comprehensive revamp for the 2010 model year. However, that's not what is shaping up in the House That Henry Built.

For 2011, the Blue Oval is introducing a new 3.7-liter V6 Mustang that should give it the firepower and refinement needed to take on Chevrolet's six-cylinder Camaro and Hyundai's upstart Genesis Coupe. But it isn't just the spanking all-aluminum powerplant and its 305 horsepower and 280 foot-pounds of torque that's making the scene for the forthcoming model year. In addition to the Cleveland-sourced mill, there are a pair of fresh gearboxes, a new V6 performance package, and a host of nip/tucks to the interior and elsewhere.

Now, we could grouse on behalf of 2010 MY 'Stang owners everywhere that these upgrades weren't part of last year's mid-life updo, but instead, we'll just be happy that these advancements are arriving at all.

Despite being smaller than the outgoing 4.0-liter V6, the dual-overhead cam 3.7-liter's horsepower and torque ratings represent massive improvements over the 2010 model (305 HP dismisses 210 HP and 280 lb-ft. plays 240 torques). In fact, that's more horsepower than the 4.6-liter V8 Mustang made just a few years ago. While the 305-horse figure only allows the Mustang to pip the crosstown Camaro by a single all-important stallion in the pony car bragging wars, Ford says the powertrain will be good for 30 miles-per-gallon on the highway when paired with its new six-speed automatic, also one notch better than the Chevy.

Click through to the jump to read more details and check out Ford's suite of press releases

Unsigned T.O. blames image as 'cancer'

As a free agent receiver, Terrell Owens is wide open.

And as a 14-year NFL veteran, he doesn't think he resembles anything close to a Hail Mary.

In an interview with the NFL Network, Owens said the perception of him as a possible problem in the locker room has played a role in his failure to land with a team this offseason.

“

Owens If character was such an issue, I don't think Cincinnati would have brought me in.
” -- Terrell Owens, regarding his visit
with the Bengals

"I've heard a lot of the reasons why I'm not on a team right now," Owens told the NFL Network on Friday. "It's because people feel I've disrupted some teams, I'm a cancer -- I've heard all those things. They've said that for the last five, six years. The teams I've been on, if you ask in that locker room how I've been as a teammate and as a person, it's contradictory to what's been displayed out there."

Owens said a trip he made to the Cincinnati Bengals in March helped illustrate his value as a receiver.

"If character was such an issue, I don't think Cincinnati would have brought me in," he said.

Though Donovan McNabb has played down the notion, Owens reiterated he and the quarterback have discussed a reunion.

"He already knew his situation prior to being traded, so we talked about the idea of actually playing together," Owens said of McNabb, the former Eagles quarterback who was acquired by the Washington Redskins in April. "That was something I welcome with open arms, and he as well. If that was a situation to come about and that would happen, we know what we could do on the football field together."

Self-representation backfires on Johnson.

By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports
Jun 3, 12:45 pm EDT
Email Print HOUSTON – An adage in the legal profession is that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.
Sadly, Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson(notes) is learning the NFL version of that saying the hard way. Even after he recently hired agent Kennard McGuire to represent him, the lesson will likely cost him around $20 million over the course of his career.

Johnson warms up during minicamp last month.

(Dave Einsel/AP Photo)
Until hiring McGuire, Johnson essentially represented himself, using uncle Andre Melton as an advisor. The result of that decision has been a costly mistake for a player who is perfect in so many other ways. Aside from being a great player, Johnson is extremely classy and is roundly praised as a helpful and generous teammate.
More From Jason ColeSchaub Q&A: 'I wouldn't say I'm boring' Jun 1, 2010 RB rankings: Vikings edge Titans May 31, 2010 ADVERTISEMENT

Those would be wonderful points to make in a contract negotiation … if Johnson didn’t have five years left on his current deal. He could even use those points to counter the negativity of a holdout if Johnson was playing serious hardball with the Texans by not showing up for offseason work at all. However, Johnson has been far from disruptive. Instead, he missed three days of workouts this offseason, showed up to tell management he wasn’t happy and then went back to work with his teammates."

Source: Jets star Revis a holdout from OTA

Source: Jets star Revis a holdout from OTA