After Drinking, Trueblood Called Mom For A Ride
July 7th, 2010
Remember when you were young and mom told you whenever you got into trouble to call her?
Well, Bucs right tackle Jeremy Trueblood, being the good son he is, did just that. While he wasn’t in trouble — what’s wrong with a few drinks? — Trueblood called mom for a ride, which is what precipitated Trueblood getting thrown into a cage last night, writes Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times.
Ironically, the incident started with what was a wise decision from Trueblood. After playing golf at a local course, he and McKenny became intoxicated and decided not to drive home in that state. Trueblood called his mother, Wanda, to drive them home, according to police.
On the way, they stopped at a local gas station, and that’s where Towle said the problem initiated. The clerk there called police, accusing two customers — said to be Trueblood and McKenny — acting disorderly. The clerk said they were knocking items off shelves, throwing cup lids and bumped into a woman holding a small child.
When the clerk saw them get into a car and drive away, he reported a possible case of drunk driving. An officer was dispatched and stopped the vehicle, though it was determined by officers that Trueblood’s mother was not drunk.
Props to Trueblood for being responsible. Joe’s impressed.
And let this be a lesson to all those young, budding partiers in Joe’s reading audience: You’re never too old to call mom!
July 7th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Joe,
Did you see this (guess not everybody team is offering up the CBA excuse for not securing talent):
Jets hand new contract to D’Brickashaw Ferguson
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on July 7, 2010 1:22 PM ET
Cornerback Darrelle Revis and center Nick Mangold made the most noise of the Jets’ “core four” players that wanted a contract extension this offseason.
Left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson will make the cash. (Or at least he’ll make it first.)
Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that the Jets and Ferguson have agreed to terms on a multi-year extension.
Bob Glauber of Newsday first wrote last month that Ferguson would be first to get his new deal, a report that was quickly denied all around. (Always a good sign the report is true.)
Ferguson made his first Pro Bowl in 2009, playing his best football under vaunted offensive line coach Bill Callahan. Ferguson had two years left on his rookie contract, but the Jets wanted to lock him up early.
See, A.J.: Not every team remains on hold.
July 7th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Man, those cup lids can cause some problems! What else did they do, hurl some twinkies? That is an embarrassingly low level of bad assness.
I take it not much happens in this particular town.
Try South Saint Pete, if the clerk only gets stabbed it aint even reported!
July 7th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Thomas,
Yeah, the Jets, a team that was in the AFC Championship game. You think that the Bucs are a couple moves away from the Super Bowl?
Way to miss the forest through the trees.
July 7th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Thank goodnes we are miles away from the SuperBowl, and totally suck.
This way, we don’t have to make any moves!
Awesome!
July 7th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Well at least he was smart enough not to drink and drive. It reminds me of how Cliff of the Cheers fame explained the “beer smarts”
‘Well you see, Norm, it’s like this . . .
A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo.
And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first.
This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Now, as we know, excessive intake of alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. And that, Norm, is why you always feel smarter after a few beers.’
July 7th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Dunderhead did nothing wrong here. In fact he should get kudos for doing the right thing and calling his moms for a ride. I say it’s the cop that is an asshole for arresting the guy in front of his mom!
July 7th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Mom, can you come pick me up? Me and mckenny had a few drinks, and there is this strange cop following us around! His handcuffs have FUR around ’em! No , REALLY! He’s creeping me out! Hurrrry!!!
July 7th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
If Ms. Watson ever gets drunk and needs a ride someplace to sleep it off, im available………………..24/7
July 7th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Um Eric, if shes that drunk shes at my house already …….
July 8th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
Hey Thomas, have fun:
D’Brickashaw’s real deal? One year, $5.3225 million
Posted by Mike Florio on July 8, 2010 9:46 PM ET
We knew it.
When reports emerged of a six-year, $60 million extension with an eye-popping $34.8 million in guaranteed money, we knew that there was fluff in the new contract between the Jets and left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson.
We just had no idea how much fluff was there.
We’ve obtained a copy of the contract, and we’ve studied it carefully. The contract constitutes, as a practical matter, a one-year, $5.3225 million contract with no other guaranteed money earned or vested through the end of the 2010 season.
The amount comes from a base salary of $622,500, a signing bonus of $1.6 million due within five days of July 15, 2010, and a roster bonus of $3.1 million due within five days of July 15, 2010.
That’s it. No other guarantees trigger unless and until Ferguson makes it through the 2010 season displaying adequate skill and, more importantly, not suffering serious injury.
If Ferguson endures a career-ending injury at any point this year (think LeCharles Bentley on the first day of training camp, 2006), Ferguson gets none of the rest of the money. If Ferguson simply suffers a serious but not career-ending injury at any point this year (think Leon Washington mimicking Joe Theismann against the Raiders in 2009), the Jets likely will terminate the contract and then try to re-sign Ferguson for a lesser amount — or watch him walk away.
And, amazingly, the contract contains no future guarantees based on injury. None. Not a penny.
If Ferguson is on the Jets’ 80-man roster on February 15, 2011, Ferguson’s 2011 base salary of $5.615 million becomes guaranteed only for skill. This means that, if the Jets thereafter decide that Ferguson stinks, they still have to pay him his 2011 base salary. As a practical matter, the money also is guaranteed for injury after he passes his offseason physical, since he’d be owed his entire base salary if he, for example, tears an ACL while at a minicamp practice.
On that same day, February 15, 2011, Ferguson’s $9.985 million base salary for 2012 becomes guaranteed, but again only for skill. So if he suffers a serious injury in 2011, the Jets can cut him before 2012 and avoid nearly $10 million in additional future expenses.
Finally, Ferguson’s base salary of $7.25 million for 2013 becomes guaranteed — again for skill — if he’s on the 80-man roster on the second day after the start of the waiver system for the 2012 season. So if he suffers a serious injury in 2012, the Jets can easily avoid that money due in 2013.
Ferguson also has a $3.9 million option bonus, but the Jets have an extended period within which to decide whether to pay it. The first possible date is the first day of the next league year, which if there’s labor peace will come in early March, 2011. The last day for exercising the option will be the day after the first regular-season game in the next league year. So they can cut him as late as September 2011 and avoid that $3.9 million payment.
None of those payments will be made if Ferguson endures a serious injury, or if his skills suddenly evaporate.
While some may brush this off as a cash-flow issue only, since future payments fully guaranteed for injury and skill must be funded immediately, the Jets could have guaranteed the full amount of the future guaranteed base salaries (which total $22.85 million) for injury now and skill later, like the Bears did with defensive end Julius Peppers. The Jets didn’t, and now Ferguson will bear the risk of that every time he laces up his cleats from now until the end of the 2010 season.
What has Ferguson gained? His base salary of $3.122 million in 2010 (the terms under his prior deal) has increased to a total payout of $5.3225 million.
So he picked up $2.2005 million now, with no guarantees moving forward. Though he’ll be in line for more than $22 million guaranteed if he gets through 2010 (and 2011) unscathed, he already was in line for at least $10 million guaranteed next year, the final year of his rookie deal.
Bottom line? As usual, the real terms of the contract fall far short of the amount initially reported.