Redskins training camp report

ASHBURN, VA (August 18, 2010) There have been moments during training camp the last three weeks when Larry Johnson has looked more like the All-Pro running back from 2006 than the castoff who is with his third team in the last year.

Take yesterday morning’s practice, for example. Late in the two-hour session, Johnson took a handoff and ran straight toward the line of scrimmage. After two steps, though, he saw tight end Logan Paulsen seal the defender on the left edge of the line.

In an instant, Johnson changed direction and burst through the opening. He scampered about 30 yards before he was stopped.

This is the version of Johnson that the Washington Redskins are counting on this season. Even at age 30–which history shows is not kind to a running back’s physical skills–the club believes Johnson can team with incumbent Clinton Portis to comprise a running attack worthy of a playoff contender.

“I think everybody knows how Larry has played in the past and what he is capable of doing,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “I like what I saw in film last year, and that is one of the reasons of why he is here.”

Shanahan saw Johnson up close at his very best. Back in 2006, when life was quite different for both men, they were part of a rivalry that is about as far removed as possible from the Redskins’ sphere in the NFL. Read more

MOREHEAD, KY (AUGUST 16, 2010) Morehead State men’s basketball coach Donnie Tyndall’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) has improved 139 points, the seventh best jump in the nation according to a survey conducted by FOXSports.com.

The APR is the method the NCAA uses to rate all Division I teams in regards to academic process. In an effort to improve transparency, the NCAA recently released individual coaches’ APR, determined by a program’s score while that coach was employed there. Read more

DENVER, CO (August 12, 2010) – It’s been just more than a decade since Steve Atwater launched himself into an NFL ball carrier. He’s raised his kids, run a business and gone about his life after football. Until . . .

“My kids are growing up — we just got one off to Georgetown — and my wife, she looked at me and said, ‘You know, you need to get out of the house,’ ” Atwater said, laughing heartily. “Football has been such a big part of my life and the time was right to try this to see what it would bring. I’ve had a great time.”

A great time in Mike Shanahan’s first training camp as head coach of the Washington Redskins, a training camp that has been wrapped in a little orange and blue heritage.

Atwater, Terrell Davis, Steve Beuerlein and Michael Pittman — former Broncos all — are interns on Shanahan’s coaching staff this summer. They have taken an entry-level, kick-the-tires, short-term job to see what coaching in the NFL is all about. Read more

WASHINGTON D.C. (August 9, 2010) The Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints visited the White House on Monday as a celebration for their accomplishments over the 2009-2010 NFL season. Among those Saints players are ASPE clients, Pierre Thomas and Courtney Roby.

Thomas scored the go-ahead touchdown in Super Bowl XLIV and the Saints never looked back after that. Roby also played a huge role in the victory on special teams where he gave his team great field position after his kick returns. Read more

DENVER, CO (August 6, 2010) – First round NFL draft pick Russell Okung and the Seattle Seahawks have reached a 6 year deal worth a reported $48.5 million, with $29 million guaranteed.  In response to his contract, Okung, who was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks as the 6^th overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft, said “It feels great. This is the best job in the world”. Read more

(HOUSTON, July 29^th, 2010) – The Houston Texans have signed running back Ben Tate, a second-round pick. Read more

AKRON, OH (JULY 18, 2010) Cleveland sports fans are looking for an heir to LeBron James’ vacant throne, and Browns Pro Bowl kick returner Josh Cribbs embraces the idea of becoming their new king.

No, Cribbs doesn’t want to be featured on a mural in downtown Cleveland like James was before he chose to leave the Cavaliers and join the Miami Heat. But he doesn’t have a problem with becoming the most beloved sports figure in Northeast Ohio, either.

“I embrace it because I feel like some of the values I hold strong to myself are the same values that the city should hold strong to itself, and (it does),” Cribbs said Friday in a phone interview with the Akron Beacon Journal. “Not being drafted and coming from the bottom to reach the top is something that speaks for itself, and I think that’s what Cleveland is. . . . It’s one of the most loved cities and one of the most hard-working cities.”

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Josh Cribbs Is The Next Cleveland Browns Legend

CLEVELAND, OH (JULY 17, 2010) When you think of the past greats who have donned the Cleveland Browns uniform, names such as Marion Motley, Otto Graham, Dante Lavelli, and Jim Brown come to mind.

Or perhaps you have fond memories of men like Ozzie Newsome, Paul Warfield, Brian Sipe, or Cleveland’s own sidearm super hero Bernie Kosar.

Through the Browns’ storied history, there have always been players who just seemed to make us stand up and cheer. These men not only embodied the Cleveland Browns, but were men who defined, and sometimes revolutionized the game of professional football.

Read more

MILWAUKEE, WI (JULY 12, 2010) –  The Green Bay Packers have signed tight end Andrew Quarless, a fifth-round pick.

Quarless started 29 games at Penn State. He finished his career as the Nittany Lions’ all-time leader in receptions by a tight end (87) and second in receiving yards by a tight end (1,146). Read more

NFL Rookie Ben Tate comes home to Berlin to help inspire young players

BERLIN, MD (July 13, 2010) — The town will celebrate the success of one of its own Saturday with the first ever Ben Tate Day in Berlin.

Tate, drafted this spring as a running back for the NFL’s Houston Texans, will be greeted with a parade and picnic in his hometown July 17.

“It’s going to be a good time,” said Tate, who will be in the area visiting family in Berlin and Salisbury. Read more