Cleaning out the Inbox

Time for some cleaning of the inbox as we prepare for an attempt to get further caught up over the next two days.

The biggest news was the retirement of perennial All-Pro tackle Walter Jones from the Seahawks.
Jones had basically been retired for the last two seasons with injuries but had made several attempts to return to the field.
Jones now knows that he made every effort to conclude his career the way that he wanted to and the body was simply unable to hold up under the strain.
Jones was the best offensive tackle of his era and was powerful enough to block for the run and yet nimble enough with his feet to remove the leagues best pass rushers from the game.
A first-ballot Hall of Famer, in our opinion, Walter Jones was the type of player that not only isn't easy to replace, but it could also take decades to replace with a player of his skill.
Thanks for the memories, Big Walt.



The Browns made two minor moves in claiming corner DeAngelo Smith off waivers from the Lions and signing free-agent tight end Alex Smith.
DeAngelo Smith spent some time last season with the Browns before being waived and signed by the Lions.
Smith was probably helped by his familiarity with the Browns defense from his stint last season.
Alex Smith was a third-round pick by Tampa and started there for four seasons before spending time as a backup with New England and Philadelphia last season.
Smith is more of a pass-catching type than a blocker and will battle Robert Royal as the backup at tight end behind Ben Watson...

Hagerstown Suns fan lost one of the better guys as former first-round pick Colton Willems has announced his retirement.
We were in the stands with Bill Cover for Colton's final appearance and despite this articles argument to the contrary, it didn't appear that all was well with Willems delivery.
To us, it looked like one of two things, either
A: he was pitching in pain or B.he had changed his mechanics to either protect another injury or the organization had encouraged him to change them.
Willems's arm almost looked like it was going to fly off into the stands and brought back memories of the downfall of former Blue Jays ace Juan Guzman, as the deliveries were very similar.
In any event, good luck to Colton in his post-baseball endeavors, he deserves lots of success...

Hall of Fame announcer Ernie Harwell has passed at the age of 92.
Harwell spent the bulk of his career calling the games of the Detroit Tigers and his work has made an institution in Motown.
In a field that is filled with nasty comments, no one had a bad thing to say about Harwell.
He and his work will be missed.

Finally, I am a day late in mentioning the 40th anniversary of the incident at Kent State.
I had completely forgotten until glancing at a trash can in Frederick last night and seeing a USA Today with a featured article on the top of the can.
KSU has created a walking tour on the campus for those that want to see and learn more.
Cherie and I have often talked about wanting to see the site, which was recently named to the National Register of Historic Places and the tour will make it much easier for visitors to find their way around.
Kent State is an incident that should never be repeated in our country and should never be forgotten, and such as I did yesterday is inexcusable.


Back later with more as I hope to get plenty of things up today and early tomorrow!