Forgive me for being off topic for a moment.
A broadcasting pioneer and, frankly, one of my heroes has passed away.  Paul Harvey has died at the age of 90.
Maybe I’m giving away my age here and that’s fine but I can remember growing up and listening to Harvey as he would provide us all with “The Rest of the Story.”  There was nothing like it.
The man even made commercials sound interesting.  He just had a way about him.  Of all of the news men on the radio, he was the one guy I wanted to hear.  Even as a kid.
There’s [...]

Today is a happy day for Kansas City Chiefs fans and a miserable day for New England Patriots fans.  Matt Cassel has been traded to the Chiefs for a second-round draft pick along with Mike Vrabel.
Allow me to be one of the few to question KC’s trade.
Consider that Cassel is going to make $14.5 million this season based on being franchised and that a new deal isn’t in place and this becomes a serious money matter for New England.  They slice massive buck off the books while the Chiefs have to negotiate an extension with a quarterback who has started [...]

An interesting rumor has hit the net – the Saints could be working on trying to land Ladainian Tomlinson.

Sources close to the situation have informed me that the New Orleans Saints are “looking closely” at San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson.  The Saints would have a “high level of interest” if the Chargers were unable to come to terms on a new deal with Tomlinson. 
Tomlinson has spent all eight years of his NFL career in San Diego.  He rushed for 1,110 yards and racked up 12 total touchdowns in 2008.  Last season was the lowest yardage output of his career.
More on this [...]

How do you think NFL teams will reacting after this weekend?  Likely by trying to balance checkbooks that are swimming in red ink.
Huge money is getting thrown around as if much of the economic bailout money had been given to the NFL and it’s teams.
The biggest surprise?  Check out the deal that former Carolina Panthers OL Frank Omiyale signed Friday with the Chicago Bears.
Here’s what he was given – a $5.5 million signing bonus as part of a four-year deal worth between $11.5 million and 14 million.
This is for a guy who has started one game in his very brief [...]

Carolina Panthers Pro Bowl middle linebacker Jon Beason recently underwent shoulder surgery according to his blog.

I tore the labrum in my shoulder the first time we played Arizona, I think it was in October.
 And I wasn’t going to sit home through my first Pro Bowl, so I had the surgery done on February 12. It’s in a sling 4-6 weeks and I have to rehab it close to four months. After that I’ll be able to lift anything I want. I just got the stitches out yesterday, so I just started moving it again.

Before any fans go jumping off a bridge or calling up the Carolina Panthers‘ front offices to complain that they aren’t getting involved in free agency, there is a little explaining to do as to why they are so quiet.
Honestly, they’re going to remain silent.  At least for a while.
First, let’s look at these recent quotes from general manager Marty Hurney.
“You look at our situation and we’ve got our starters back from last year,” said Hurney. “We’ve got a good part of our nucleus back. We’ve got a good young core that’s either (in) or heading into second contracts.
“I think [...]

The Carolina Panthers were set to ship Ken Lucas to the Lions.  He said no, thank you.
 Cornerback Ken Lucas’ future with the Carolina Panthers remained uncertain late Thursday after he declined an opportunity to be traded to the Detroit Lions.
The trading deadline, along with the free agency signing period, officially opened at 12:01a.m. today and it was uncertain whether the Panthers could find another trade suitor for Lucas and, if not, whether they would release him.
Neither Lucas, 30, nor his agent could be reached for comment.
I can’t say I blame the guy.  Who wants to play for the Lions?  I [...]

The 40-yard dash.  The agility tests.  The weight lifting.  The Wonderlic.
The NFL holds its scouting combine every year in Indianapolis.  Each draft-eligible player is studied and prodded like cattle.
Add to that a Thug Test.
Achievement Metrics claims it can forecast whether college prospects are at greater risk for future off-field problems by dissecting their speech patterns from media interviews. Automated text analysis is conducted through a computer model that measures more than 100 different factors, including the use of individual words, adjectives and verb tenses.
So, when you hear a kid say, “Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. [...]

Cat Crave Radio has returned.  We apologize for the delay.  Episode 51 is a little on the short side, we admit.
Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer was back with us to discuss the team’s recent roster moves and salary cap cuts.
Enjoy and feel free to comment below.
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Episode Fifty-One: February 25, 2009

In Episode Fifty-One…

News
Special Guest – Tom Sorensen (Charlotte Observer)
Talking Heads Discuss Julius Peppers

For a complete archive of our shows, visit our Radio Page.

The Carolina Panthers are working to get their payroll under the cap limit.
In another salary cap move that apparently happened earlier this month, the Panthers converted cornerback Chris Gamble’s upcming $10 million roster bonus to a signing bonus, allowing them to pro-rate it and spread it over the next five seasons. It appears that resulted in about $8 million in cap savings for 2009.
This was somewhat unexpected but it does allow the team to save some space for at least a minor run in free agency.
The Panthers have  just announced that they’ve released wide receiver D.J. Hackett, offensive lineman Jeremy [...]