Shutdown Corner
  • Former Saints, Chargers running back Chuck Muncie dies at 60

    Chuck Muncie passed away on Monday (USA Today Sports Images)

    Former New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers running back Chuck Muncie suffered heart failure and died in his Los Angeles-area home on Monday, the Associated Press reports.

    Muncie, the No. 3 overall pick of the 1976 NFL draft, had turned 60 in March.

    Muncie spent the first four-plus seasons of his career with the Saints, rushing for 3,393 yards and 28 touchdowns in 59 games and earned Pro Bowl honors in 1979 before he was traded to the Chargers midway through the 1980 season. Muncie ranks fifth in Saints' history in rushing yards, is third in rushing touchdowns and is a member of the Saints' Hall of Honor.

    “Sadly, we have learned of the untimely passing of Chuck Muncie,” said New Orleans Saints Owner Tom Benson. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and other loved ones at this difficult time."

    In 51 games over his four-plus seasons in San Diego, Muncie ran for over 3,300 yards with 43 touchdowns, a number that still ranks second in Chargers' history. Muncie led the NFL with 19 rushing touchdowns in 1981 and scored eight more touchdowns in a nine-game, strike-shortened season in 1982, earning Pro Bowl honors after each season.

    “It’s disheartening and when I got the call it shook me up quite a bit," former Chargers guard Ed White said. “He was a great guy and a wonderful teammate. I loved him to death. The thing that I see when I close my eyes is his happy face, his smile and his kindness to everyone."

    Muncie struggled with drug abuse during and after his playing career and in 1989 he received 18 months in federal prison after being convicted for cocaine distribution. Following his release from prison, Muncie dedicated himself to the Chuck Muncie Youth Foundation where he worked with at-risk youth.

    Read More »from Former Saints, Chargers running back Chuck Muncie dies at 60
  • Minnesota Vikings/HKS Sports and Entertainment

    The Minnesota Vikings have unveiled prospective images of their new stadium, and, in the spirit of similarly asymmetrical and eye-snagging designs like the new Atlanta Falcons design, it's pretty darn striking.

    Minnesota Vikings/HKS Sports and Entertainment

    Designed by HKS Sports and Entertainment, the stadium will seat 65,000, and can seat as much as 73,000 for a Super Bowl (which, of course, is always the goal). Since a retractable roof was too expensive, the stadium will have a clear roof to let in some of that sweet, sweet natural sunlight.

    Minnesota Vikings/HKS Sports and Entertainment

    The venue will be configurable for all sorts of events, including concerts, baseball and NCAA basketball, just in case. And there promises to be a manicured plaza that will give Vikings fans something pretty to stare at if Christian Ponder throws the team out of the postseason.
    Minnesota Vikings/HKS Sports and Entertainment

    The stadium's shape made us feel something ... something we hadn't felt in a long, long time. But it took the fine folks at Kissing Suzy Kolber to nail it:

    The Vikings hope to start work on the giant immobile

    Read More »from New Minnesota Vikings stadium design is indeed a new stadium design
  • LeSean McCoy and Michael Vick. (Getty Images)

    Earlier this offseason, Eagles running back LeSean McCoy challenged quarterback Michael Vick to a foot race. McCoy turned the air green with trash talk, calling Vick "old man" at every turn. But the old man still had some hops; according to Philly safety Colt Anderson, Vick dusted Shady by as much as five yards over a 40-yard distance.

    Now, with OTAs underway, both sides are talking to the media ... and McCoy is hinting that the "feud" (spoiler: probably not a feud) isn't really over.

    "The jubilation I felt that day was unbelievable," Vick told Yahoo! Sports' Jason Cole, "not only to myself but for the morale of this team. Nothing against LeSean, but he asked for it." Vick conceded that he didn't know he had that speed still in himself. He credited the Eagles' strength and conditioning coaches for getting him ready, and the Eagles players for getting him pumped.

    "The build-up has been going on since the beginning of April," Vick said. "I was conservative about it because I didn't want

    Read More »from LeSean McCoy ‘gripes’ about footrace he lost to ‘Old Man’ Michael Vick
  • (AP)

    Former Detroit Lions receiver Titus Young had a questionable history even before he was drafted in 2011, but the recent behavior that caused Young to be arrested three times in less than a week has his family wondering just who Titus Young is anymore. Young was first arrested twice on May 5 -- first for a DUI, and second, for trying to steal his own car from the impound lot. Then, he was charged with burglary, assaulting a police officer, and resisting arrest last Friday after he tried to break into a San Clemente, Calif. home and fought with police during a chase.

    On the same day Young was arrested for the third time, he had breakfast with his father, Richard, and Young's father says that there was no indication his son was about to continue his crime spree.

    “We were really talking, and so I was loving it,” Richard Young told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press on Monday. “We get home, and he said, ‘Daddy, I left my phone in the car. Can I get my phone?’ ’Cause usually I give my wife the key to hold the key, ’cause he’s not supposed to be driving. And I gave him the key, he sat in the car for a minute, and he took off and we ain’t seen him since.”

    Richard Young told the Free Press that his son had recently sought psychiatric treatment in Texas and California, and that he was planning to enter a facility to deal with his problems. Now, he's in the medical ward of the Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana, and Richard Young is left to wonder just who his son has become.

    “I hope they just forgive Titus because this ain’t none of Titus, it wasn’t none of his fault. I look at my son right now, I don’t see my son. That’s not my son. I know my son. Titus is not the boy I really raised, I’m saying the way he acts, the way he intermix[es] in society right now. He shut down, he look[s] through you, it’s like he’s depressed. He don’t like to watch TV, he don’t like to get involved with music that much. And these are the things that you’ve got to know what’s going on in the world. Cause we in the world, you’ve got to have a relationship with the world. You’ve got to deal with people. I don’t know, but we’ve been trying to get him help.”

    In truth, Young has had a complicated relationship with the world for a while.

    Read More »from Titus Young’s father says, ‘That’s not my son,’ says concussions could play a part in criminal behavior
  • Tim Tebow and Ron Jaworski at the 2008 Maxwell Awards. (Getty Images)

    While the hullabaloo surrounding Tim Tebow's continued football unemployment seems to far exceed his actual NFL prospects at this point (we pretty much stopped paying attention when the Omaha Beef became involved), there's now one possible opportunity for the former first-round pick of the Denver Broncos and recent New York Jets cast-off. Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski, who does the "NFL Matchup" show with our good buddy Greg Cosell, also co-owns the Philadelphia Soul Arena League team. And Jaws has reached out to Tebow with an interesting offer: Come play for my team, get your mechanics in order, and see where you can go from there.

    "If Tim Tebow decides he wants to play in the Arena Football League, I'd love to have him on the Philadelphia Soul," Jaworski told Philly.com. "I haven't heard back from him and I'm not going to push it. If he decides he wants to play Arena Football, we'll make a spot for him."

    Most people in sub-leagues want Tebow for the name recognition alone, but Jaworski is far more serious about the football aspects of a Tebow signing, if such a thing could happen. Jaws and Soul head coach Clint Dolezel went to the trouble of sending Tebow a list of plays in which he could be featured. Most were red zone plays, and at this point in time, Dan Raudabaugh would be the team's starting quarterback.

    But Jaws, who has forgotten more about quarterback play than most of us will ever know, is serious about the faster-paced arena game working wonders with Tebow's iffy passing mechanics.

    Read More »from Ron Jaworski offers Tim Tebow an Arena League opportunity

Pagination

(10,242 Stories)