If you act now, there's a chance to get Matt Leinart into your pants ... pocket.
The Desert Schools Federal Credit Union is still offering ATM cards featuring a picture of Arizona's favorite backup quarterback. The promotion started a while ago, but a teller I spoke with only recalled giving out one of the Card's cards. A similar offering with the team's stadium is apparently a hot item.
Despite the Cardinals falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl, Phoenix continues to show plenty of pride in their hometown heroes. Even Costco is selling NFC Championship commemorative items.
Speaking of Arizona, the USC men's basketball team is in the desert this weekend. The school's former star football player? He was spotted back in Los Angeles visiting with a financial planner. No word if he uses his own card.
Three USC alumni were in Tampa for the Super Bowl, but only one of them left with the big prize.
Troy Polamalu's Pittsburgh Steelers won a thriller, 27-23, over Deuce Lutui and Matt Leinart's Arizona Cardinals.
Polamalu assisted on two tackles and broke up a pass -- a relatively quiet night for one of the league's most feared defenders. He'll take the ring over the stats, thank you very much.
Lutui started the game on the offensive line for Arizona, while Leinart never left the sideline. Pete Carroll, in case you were wondering, indicated he was rooting for the Cardinals.
There are three USC quarterbacks with a lot of offseason buzz. If Kurt Warner returns to the desert (there are rumors of a potential two-year contract), will the Cards trade the former USC Heisman winner? Matt Cassel, now that he has a franchise tag, is also a hefty roster burden in New England. There's a rumors he could wind up in Kansas City. And then there's Mark Sanchez, who could be drafted to Detroit, San Francisco or just about anywhere. Stay tuned.
It's never fun to line up against USC alum Troy Polamalu, and Coke ad execs played into that with this commercial homage to their classic Mean Joe Greene campaign from the 1979 Super Bowl. Thirty years ago they went for touching -- this time they went for slapstick. The result was one of the better commercials of the year (my personal favorite was this gem from Doritos, followed by the punched koala and embarrassed Conan).
USC has experienced problems with sports agents in the past. As a safeguard, staff now checks visitors' identification outside the gates of the team's open practices.
Apparently, they couldn't keep one suitor away from their star quarterback.
Mark Sanchez has reportedly hired his brother, Nick Sanchez, as his agent. Nick was a quarterback at Yale, earned his law degree at USC, and works as a business litigator for Theodora Oringher Miller & Richman in Costa Mesa. According to the Orange County Business Journal, "Mark is the first client of Nick's new sports consultancy at the law firm."
Nick Sanchez knows about college football and has a solid legal resume, but no known experience as an agent. Earlier this month, his brother announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility at USC and enter the NFL draft. With projections placing Mark at anywhere from the first overall pick to somewhere in the second round, it's stunning that he would pick a rookie to guide him through the process. It's unknown if he will seek additional representation.
Mark Sanchez has been very quiet about his decision to turn pro, taking just a few questions during the news conference held to announce that he was leaving for the NFL. He hasn't been seen much in public since then, but was at the L.A. Sports Awards on Friday. He declined to discuss the matter at that time.
Hiring within the family is often considered risky business, a concern being expressed at SportsAgentBlog.com.
UPDATE: Nick Sanchez confirmed the arrangement to LA Times reporter Gary Klein. He does have some experience in the sports world, as his firm represented the Angels in their fight with Anaheim over the Los Angeles name issue. David Dunn, an experienced agent who represents Carson Palmer, will be retained as an adviser.
-- Adam Rose Photo credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport
As most football fans know by now, New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel sat on the bench at USC behind two Heisman Trophy winners -- Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart.
This past year, Palmer was hurt early and missed most of the Cincinnati Bengals' season. He still collected $7,750,000.
Leinart was a backup to Kurt Warner and was barely called upon, even for mop-up duty with the Arizona Cardinals. He's still dreaming of a starring role, but this Sunday he may get a Super Bowl ring to cap off a $6,175,280 season.
And Cassel? He stepped in when Tom Brady shredded his knee in Week 1, then led the Pats to 11 wins and narrowly missed the postseason. He piled up 3,693 yard and 21 touchdowns with his arm, adding 270 yards and two scores with his feet (behind a struggling offensive line, no less). Cassel even wrote himself into the team's record books with successive 400-yard games against the Jets and Dolphins.
All that for just $525,640? Talk about a bargain.
As a result of his unexpected performance, Cassel was honored with the 2008 Vizio Top Value Performer award. In only its second year, the concept is to recognize "pro football players with smaller contracts that emerge to perform above and beyond expectations and bring the highest value to their teams." Cassel won a fan poll with 42% of the vote, beating out Houston's Steve Slaton, Denver's Brandon Marshall, Tampa's Antonio Bryant and Green Bay's Nick Collins.
Consider this a one-time honor for Cassel. New England plans to slap a franchise tag on him, locking him in as Brady's backup for a whopping $14 million per year. That's the equivalent of Leinart's guarantee for six years, though the total value for the Arizona backup could have reached $51 million with incentives.
For the second year in a row, USC had the most players in the Senior Bowl, the annual all-star game featuring some of college football's brightest stars.
Maualuga had the best showing out of his former teammates, with three tackles (one for a loss) and a forced fumble. Wide receiver Patrick Turner led the South with three catches for 30 yards. Defensive end Kyle Moore made a sack for a 6-yard loss. Matthews assisted on a tackle and broke up a pass play. Cushing and defensive tackle Fili Moala were both credited with one tackle.
The biggest performance on Saturday was from West Virginia's Pat White, leading the South to a 35-18 win over the North. That could affect Mark Sanchez. The early-entry redshirt junior seems to yo-yo in draft predictions from No. 1 overall to somewhere in the second round.
The idea that McGwire took steroids isn't shocking to, well, anybody ... but who would have thought his own (estranged) brother would be the one to offer up evidence? As one of the Deadspin commenters said, "Before we rush to judgment, it should be pointed out that Jay is exhibiting symptoms of FCS: Fredo Corleone Syndrome. "
-- Adam Rose Photos: Mark McGwire in 1984 with the US Olympic team, the year he and Randy Johnson left USC, and 1998 with the St. Louis Cardinals, the year he broke the MLB home run record.
No matter who wins NFL's final game between Arizona and Pittsburgh, at least one USC alum will earn a Super Bowl ring.
If the Steelers win, a large reason will be Troy Polamalu. The former USC star was a one-man wrecking crew on Sunday in the AFC Championship game. Polamalu tortured rookie Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco when he tried to run bootlegs and on fourth down, then clinched the game with a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown:
If you act now, there's a chance to get Matt Leinart into your pants ... pocket.
