The Arizona Cardinals arrived in Phoenix is 1988 and while the city has hosted many a big football game including Super Bowls and NCAA National Championship games, their football team has been a pathetic joke. While they teased the fans briefly with Jake the Snake Plummer and a playoff appearance, the Cardinals have not measured up to the success of the Phoenix Suns or the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Now though there is a loud ring of optimism as the Cardinals have what some consider the best receiving corps in football with Bolden, Fitzgerald and Johnson, a Super Bowl veteran quarterback in Kurt Warner, a talented and young defense and a great kicking game. They added future hall of fame running back Edgerrin James via the free agency route and now have landed former USC star quarterback Matt Leinart. Insiders suggest it is just a matter of time before Leinart is flinging passes and handing off to star players like he did as a Trojan.
They also scooped up a huge and talented tight end in Leonard Pope from Georgia and USC guard Taitusi Lutui, so could the Cardinals be the next Pittsburgh Steeler quick turnaround?
The Dallas Cowboys followed a familiar pattern when it comes to Bill Parcells teams by building a winner through defense. After choosing defenders with six of their eight picks in 2005, the Cowboys were defensive-minded again in 2006 with four of their first six picks going to defense -- Ohio State linebacker Bobby Carpenter, Grambling State end Jason Hatcher, Florida State safety Pat Watkins and Louisville tackle Montavious Stanley.
Considering what the Cowboys got last year in the draft on defense -- three starters in linebacker DeMarcus Ware and ends Marcus Spears and Chris Canty -- Jones believes the Cowboys are headed down that path after what they accomplished the past two days.
Carpenter was clearly the gem of the 2006 draft class that can be described as solid more so than spectacular.
Picked 18th overall, the versatile Carpenter is expected to complement Ware and form an imposing outside linebacker tandem for the future. While the third-round pick Hatcher is a relative unknown, he is thought to have a tremendous upside.
Some scouts believe he can be more dominant in the NFL than he was in college. Jones said he compares favorably to defensive tackle Leon Lett, who developed into a force for the Cowboys after being a seventh round pick out of Emporia (Kan.) State in 1991.
The Cowboys traded up in the fifth round to get Watkins, who is rangy and has good ball coverage skills. He could fill their need for a true free safety, although he is expected to make an immediate impact on special teams.
The 6-foot-2, 314-pound Stanley should provide depth at nose tackle behind starter Jason Ferguson, giving the Cowboys another space clogging run stopper in the middle off their 3-4 defense.
How about the Denver Broncos and coach Mike Shanahan who is known as a guru in regards to developing quarterbacks? He takes a quarterback Jay Cutler who many experts believe is better then both Vince Young and Matt Leinart and shocked the rest of the NFL, who did not see this coming. Denver has another John Elway in their stable!
Bob Acton is a sports writer for Sportsbook.com – your online sports betting site.


iPod TV Shows - Fun Wherever You Go
Well, well, well. I had always thought that the inefficiency of the slow moving bureaucracy that is humankind would have put off hell freezing over for at least 10 or 15 years. But, I am a big enough person to admit when I am wrong. But perhaps finding sufficient market demand to allow consumers to pay for and download TV shows that they simply weren't capable of rearranging their schedule to accommodate for further pop culture consumption must be one of the signs that such a point is closing in upon us. Welcome to ipod shows.
So, you unfortunately have to go to a funeral that you just can't get out of, but it happens that the new episode of Monk is on at the same time; and the network has really been touting this week as a blockbuster episode. Well, no problem, all you need to do is log on to the apple website and go into the istore where you'll find all things ipod. Once you've found ipod shows you just need to choose the network and the get to the show and you can purchase it and download it.
Having Monk as an ipod show on your ipod is almost better than having skipped the funeral and watched the show at home, even if you taped it for later viewing. This way, you'll always have it to watch as many times as you'd like, plus you don't need to sit on your couch to do so, you can run all over town watching the show if you want. But, its not to say that you couldn't also still just sit on your couch and indulge. Ipod shows are here so download them while you still can, because I can hear the crackling of forming ice in the living room of Beezelbub's rec room.

Galadriel Anderson makes it easy and fun to get the most out of your iPod. Read her articles about iPod Nano accessories and iPod TV Shows.


NBA Play offs -- Pacers and the Nets in Game 1
And the Playoffs begin! The sixth-seeded Pacers stole home court against the third-seeded New Jersey Nets with a 90-88 upset victory in the opener of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series.
Before NBA player Anthony Johnson was nothing more than Kidd's backup when he played for New Jersey, but last Sunday he backed up his new reputation as one of the Pacers' most dependable players. Johnson made two free throws and played tough defense on Kidd.
The Pacers beat the Nets 90-88 and took Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series. Jermaine O'Neal scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter for the sixth-seeded.
Indiana was considered a pre-season favorite team to win the East, but its season got off course when player Ron Artest was benched. The Pacers went into the final weeks with the uncertain thought of winning a playoff spot before taking five of its final six and earning the No. 6 seed, a roll they continued with last Sunday's victory.
About the Author
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