Danica Patrick has won the pole position for the Daytona 500. She becomes the first woman to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup pole, although admittedly there have been very few women participating in the series on a regular basis. She credits having bacon for breakfast at Cracker Barrel with her boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for putting her in the right groove. She is now a “country girl” who drinks beer and eats nachos rather than the wine and cheese sophisticate she formerly was. I will wait until she gets into a bar fight with Jessica Simpson before I am totally convinced, however…it could happen.
Colts’ player Dwight Freeney, who is arguably the greatest defensive end and pass rusher in the history of the franchise has been told he may seek employment elsewhere. The 33 year old former Syracuse University player was the Colts number one pick in 2002 at number eleven. At the time some “experts” felt the Freeney was a limited one dimensional player, but he quickly showed that he was the total package and he became one of the dominate defensive players of the decade, second only to Peyton Manning in his value to the club. His legendary spin move made him almost unstoppable. In the last several seasons, however, age and injuries has cut down his effectiveness. Last year he attempted to convert to a stand up outside linebacker in the Colts new 3-4 defensive scheme. It didn’t work for him. He was also due a huge bonus if he was re-signed. So it was a business decision. There are several other teams that could use a good pass rusher, so he will find work.
Austin Collie was also let go. This is kind of sad. Austin was one of my favorite Colts. He is a very nice young man who gave 150 percent all the time. Unfortunately his body can’t take the pounding he subjects it to. He spent just about all of last season on the injured reserve with a ruptured tendon in his right knee. It is his tendency toward concussions that has everyone concerned. He has suffered four in the last two years and that could be incredibly dangerous for him in the future. I hope that for the sake of his future health that he will retire from pro football.
This week at Lucas Oil Stadium, the National Football League will hold its annual Scouting Combine to take a look at the top prospects available in the upcoming 2013 College Draft. Most of the top prospects will participate and all of the top brass will be there along with the sports media, so there will be a whole bunch of football team executives, agents, coaches, and of course player prospects running around downtown, so you won’t be able to get into St. Elmo’s with a shoe horn.
The young athletes, depending on their positions, will go through a series of exercises, drills and skill demonstrations so that the coaches and scouts can get an idea of their general skill level. They also have to take a battery of written tests and oral examinations to determine their physiological fitness. Anyway it’s an opportunity for all concerned to meet each other and find out who everyone else is. The Colts will be looking at defensive talent, particularly defensive linemen.
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