By P. SOLOMON BANDA and ARNIE STAPLETON, Associated Press Writers 1 hour, 39 minutes ago

In a photo provided by the Den…
AP - Oct 8, 8:06 pm EDT This undated photo released by…
AP - Oct 8, 6:43 pm EDT

DENVER (AP)—A 25-year-old man was indicted Wednesday on first-degree murder charges in the drive-by shooting death of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams on New Year’s Day 2007.

Willie D. Clark faces 39 counts, including murder, attempted murder, assault, crimes of violence and a weapons violation, Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said.

Clark is in federal custody in a separate case. He was long considered a “person of interest” in Williams’ slaying but is the first suspect to be indicted.

Williams’ mother, Rosalind Williams of Fort Worth, Texas, told The Associated Press that the indictment brought her peace but also dredged up painful memories.

“Oh, I got bittersweet news today,” she said of her phone call from Detective Michael Martinez informing her of Clark’s indictment. “There’s still a long ways to go, a long trial ahead. And we have to make sure this doesn’t happen to another family, too.”

Williams a former Oklahoma State standout, was shot and killed while riding in a rented limousine early on Jan. 1, 2007, after leaving the Safari Club, a Denver nightclub. He was 24.

The indictment said Williams and Clark were at the club with separate groups of friends and there was an altercation between the two groups. Quoting witnesses, it said Clark got into an SUV, followed the rented limo carrying Williams and opened fire.

At least 15 shots were fired into the limo. Williams was shot in the neck, and two other passengers, Nicole Reindl and Brandon Flowers, were wounded, the indictment said.

Kansas City Chiefs spokesman Bob Moore said the Brandon Flowers injured in the attack is not the Chiefs’ rookie cornerback of the same name.

Also in the limousine was then-Broncos wide receiver Javon Walker, who held the dying Williams in his arms. Walker, now with the Oakland Raiders, wasn’t injured.

Clark does not yet have an attorney for the Williams indictment, said Denver district attorney’s spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough. A call after hours to his attorney on a separate federal case, Alaurice Tafoya-Modi, was not immediately returned.

According to the indictment, taunts were exchanged between the groups inside the nightclub, and both groups went outside when the club closed. Witnesses testified that a “large” man from Williams’ group then grabbed Clark “about the head.”

Clark asked friends for “a heater,” or gun, according to the indictment. Williams and his companions took off in the limo and Clark, driving the SUV, caught up and fired, a witness said. Two weapons—a .45-caliber handgun and a .40-caliber gun—were used, according to the indictment.

“Obviously there’s more than one shooter,” Morrissey said.

Clark was arrested on a parole violation four days after Williams was killed. He was charged with drug violations last year in an indictment that also named Brian Hicks, the registered owner of the SUV police say was used in the shooting.

Investigators have said Clark was part of Hicks’ alleged drug operation. Hicks was in jail at the time of Williams’ shooting.

Morrissey emphasized at a news conference that the police investigation into the slaying was continuing. He described the lead-up to Williams’ slaying as “something that wasn’t even a good fist fight, but because weapons were involved it turned into a shooting. … It’s senseless.”

Police expressed frustration at the “no snitch” culture they encountered during the investigation. A break in the case occurred Aug. 21 when Detective Martinez authenticated a letter written by Clark allegedly admitting to the slaying. The letter was obtained by the Rocky Mountain News.

IN this April 24, 2005 file ph…
AP - Oct 8, 7:54 pm EDT

The indictment came down after the Broncos’ practice, and long-snapper Mike Leach said as he left the team’s headquarters that it brought a sense of relief to the team.

“We’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Hopefully they have all their ducks in a row and everything will work out the way we hope it will,” he said. “I hope in some way it brings comfort to D-Will’s mom and his family. You can’t do anything to bring him back but if it after all these years gives a little comfort to them, hopefully it will.”

Nick Ferguson, a safety who played for the Broncos with Williams, said he hoped authorities have the right person.

“I trust the people investigating the case did their homework and they won’t drag people into court on charges that won’t stick,” said Ferguson, now with the Houston Texans. “I’ve seen that happen too many times.

“I’m like a lot of people who knew Darrent. I just want the people responsible to pay their debt to society for taking such a young, vibrant man from his kids and his family. Not a moment goes by that I don’t think about D-Will and his family after what happened that night.”

Williams’ death hung over the Broncos throughout the 2007 season, as did the death of backup running back Damien Nash, who collapsed after a charity basketball game in St. Louis in March 2007.

Hello Gang:

The "americansportsviews" site has the Broncos ranked below the raiders at #28 as of September 9th.  Don't know what they are thinking!

http://americansportsviews.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/nfl-power-rankings-as-of-september-9-2008/

NFL Power Rankings — As of September 9, 2008

September 9, 2008 at 8:09 pm | In NFL, football, sports |
Tags: NFL, Power Rankings

American Sports Views

NFL

Each week following the Monday night games we will rank the NFL teams from one to thirty-two.

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. New York Giants
3. Indianapolis Colts
4. San Diego Chargers
5. Pittsburgh Steelers
6. New York Jets
7. New Orleans Saints
8. Seattle Seahawks
9. Minnesota Vikings
10. Jacksonville Jaguars
11. Philadelphia eagles
12. Green Bay Packers
13. Chicago Bears
14. New England Patriots
15. Cleveland Browns
16. Tennessee Titans
17. Arizona Cardinals
18. Atlanta Falcons
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
20. Washington Redskins
21. Carolina Panthers
22. Buffalo Bills
23. Cincinnati Bengals
24. Baltimore Ravens
25. Houston Texans
26. Oakland Raiders
27. Detroit Lions
28. Denver Broncos
29. Miami Dolphins
30. St. Louis Rams
31. San Francisco 49ers
32. Kansas City Chiefs

 

 

 

In 14 days the Broncos play the raiders.  To help start with the fun fest I have the following article.

If I were a Raiders fan (with the mighty power to actually change things): 

I would get rid of the "Black Hole" reference from the stadium.  Below are just a couple of the many reasons why the name needs dropped.

via tbn0.google.com

1)  Many sick jokes about the "Black hole" being male anatomy are bad and need to be avoided.

2) All the Star Wars extras don’t fit. 
2a) Darth Raider – Really.  According to the movies ole Darth not only dies but gives a group hug moment with Yoda and Obie Wan while Luke looks on.
2b) See reference made by "Triumph the Comedy Dog" about Darth using a button to call his mommy at a Star Wars convention.
See the following video (7 minute mark)
http://www.comedy.com/embed/triumph-insults-star-wars-fans
2c) To the guys dressed as Storm Troopers.  The Storm Troopers a Clones of Boba Fett (who gets eaten by a sand critter).  Not exactly a good role model.

3) Who are you marketing to?  The Star Wars fanatics who usually don’t care about the NFL?  The space aliens who probe people in bad ways?


If I were a Raiders fan (with power)

1) I would change  "Network Associates Coliseum" where the Raiders play to "Network Associates Mausoleum" or just "The Mausoleum". 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A mausoleum (plural: mausolea) is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the mausoleum. A Christian mausoleum sometimes includes a chapel)

 

via tbn0.google.com

 

2) The stadium logo could be "Where opponent’s hopes of victory go to DIE!".

3) All the Black look would still fit. All Raiders fans can still rejoice.

4) All the Undead possibilities would be available.  Ghosts, Zombies, Vampires,  Lich (powerful undead wizard), Wraiths, etc.

5) Other creatures that haunt cemeteries could be available (Demon, Devil, etc)

6) Expanded marking with H**ls Angels biker gang, the whole "Goth" black wearing crew, People that are into undead, and many others. 
6a) Even the Space Aliens die sometime (See Darth above for details).
6b) Almost every culture has an undead or other creature (see 5 above) in it.   

 7) I would keep the Raider cheerleaders and add the Mausoleum "Spirit Squad".  While the cheerleaders stay on the field, the attractive Pom Pom Spirit Squad would cheer up the crowd from the stands.  "Zombie" body guards would be assigned to protect the women from drunken fans etc.  This will also give more possibilities on going to outside the stadium events and bringing in extra money (while Cheerleaders are at a convention the Spirit Squad could be at a book signing). 

In conclusion:  Mausoleum = idea good, Black Hole – not so much.

From Yahoo Sports

By CHRIS JENKINS, AP Sports Writer
2 hours, 8 minutes ago

Looks like Favre wants back into the club.

Below is the full article

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP)—Brett Favre’s decision to file for reinstatement will force the Green Bay Packers to do one of three things: release him, trade him, or allow him to report to camp.

If he reports, it potentially could cause a major distraction for a team that committed to moving on after he retired in March.

NFL spokesman Randall Liu confirmed that Favre sent his reinstatement paperwork to the NFL offices Tuesday. He now is awaiting approval from commissioner Roger Goodell, a step that is considered a formality, but wouldn’t be forthcoming until Wednesday at the earliest.

Once Favre is reinstated, the Packers will have 24 hours to decide what to do with him.

“That’s obviously the first step in Brett coming back, so we’ll deal with that when he is reinstated and we’ll definitely have a plan in order,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said after practice Tuesday afternoon.

ADVERTISEMENT
 
 
 
ESPN first reported that Favre faxed the letter earlier Tuesday.

If Goodell reinstates Favre on Wednesday, his return to the practice field for the Packers could come Friday. The Packers practice twice Wednesday but can wait a day to put Favre back on their active roster. The team does not have a scheduled public practice Thursday.

Throughout Favre’s latest round of flip-flopping on his football future, Packers officials have said that Favre had the option of rejoining the team— but Aaron Rodgers would be the starter.

“Brett Favre is still a very good football player,” McCarthy said Tuesday. “He is an asset to our football team. Once again, I’m going to answer this question for the last time. The plan for Brett Favre will be discussed with Brett Favre first, and then we’ll make it aware to the public.”

McCarthy also said Rodgers will start all of the preseason games and probably get more playing time than Favre used to in the preseason.

“He’ll be starting all of the games as the starter,” McCarthy said of Rodgers. “We’ve talked about possibly playing our first group maybe a little longer, and those are things that we’ll discuss. The health of your football team obviously factors into that, so that is our plan going into the preseason with Aaron.”

Rodgers insisted he isn’t bothered by the potential of having Favre lurking over his shoulder.

“You know, I’m not as affected as you guys (the media) think I am or should be,” Rodgers said. “They told me I’m the starter, and until that changes, that’s going to be my focus.”

Rodgers said he is confident in his abilities and the firm commitment he has received from Packers coaches.

“I’ve been empowered as the starting quarterback and until that changes, I’ll say it again, that’s going to be my focus,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers said he and Favre have “never had a problem” and would probably “joke around” when they saw each other again.

“We’ve got a great relationship,” Rodgers said. “If he’s here, we’ll welcome him back.”

 
In this Jan. 20, 2008 file pho…

AP - Jul 28, 4:47 pm EDT
 But some Packers players seemed skeptical that Favre would remain the backup if he ended up reporting to camp and wasn’t traded away.

“I don’t know about that,” wide receiver Donald Driver said. “But we’ll see. We’ll see what happens.”

Cornerback Charles Woodson—who chanted “We want Brett!” as he left the practice field Tuesday, but later laughed it off as “just having a little fun” with reporters—seemed to think Favre could play his way into the position.

“Who knows how Brett feels about that—if he’s coming in as being the backup, or coming in and a potential trade is going to happen, I don’t know,” Woodson said. “But if he comes in as the backup, he just comes in and plays the way he knows how to play. And if it’s better, then the organization has another decision to make.”

But Woodson said players aren’t taking sides.

“There’s no reason for anyone in the locker room to take sides or say in the media they prefer one guy over the other,” Woodson said. “It’s A-Rod’s job, and at this point, it’s his job to keep.”

 
Green Bay Packers head coach M…

AP - Jul 26, 1:18 pm EDT
 McCarthy said Favre’s presence wouldn’t become a distraction.

“I’m not concerned about it,” McCarthy said. “We have talked about it as a football team. The players are handling it totally different than I think the perception is out there. We’re about playing football. We’re about getting ready for our season upcoming. Everybody is aware of everything that is going on. There are no ill feelings toward Brett Favre, and he will be welcomed back into our locker room.”

Of course, it won’t come to that if the Packers can work out a trade deemed acceptable to Favre in the next few days.

The Packers have no plans to grant Favre the release he has requested, suspecting that he would immediately sign with division rival Minnesota; the Packers have filed tampering charges against the Vikings.

The team owns Favre’s rights until his contract expires after the 2010 season, making a trade the most likely outcome acceptable to both Favre and the Packers.

But maybe not for some of his old teammates.

“He would look ugly in any other uniform, plain and simple,” Driver said. “Every guy that leaves here and gets another uniform, that’s what I tell them: They look ugly.”

 

 

Hello:

I ran across this first post from the 2006 archive.

Here we sit, only 2 weeks away from the start of the 2006 NFL Season and this BLOG is ready to roll!  Welcome to the Mile High Report, your go to place for everything Broncos.  It figures to be an exciting season for the Broncos and it will be equally exciting around here at the MHR, as I will affectionitely refer to it.  The success of the MHR will rely on you, passionate Bronco fans everywhere, to be interactive wih me and let me know what you want in this site.  I am going to dig in and get started, but if you have any suggestions feel free to let me kow.  Take a look around and get comfy, and make sure you check out the 'Diaries' section, where you too can become an author and contributer to the MHR.

So sit back, relax and get ready to enjoy what we all hope will be another championship season in Denver!

I feel that 2006 was a championship season if only because MHR was started.  In the post TSG requested feedback to make the site better.  Perhaps a quick link tab may be beneficial.  Links to Broncomadness and other such Broncos web sites that might fall under the radar can be listed.  I can't think of anything else right off.  Any other ideas from the MHR crew?

Hello:

There is one often overlooked group that can have great impact on the game:  The referee.   

I decided to gather some information about the 13th man (The Refs). I included links to biographies and pictures of the 2007 referees.  A link an article by John Clayton about the prepartation needed before games (About 15 hours).  Finally, the salary information is included.

Wyoeng

 

 

Continue reading this post »

Below is the Jay Cutler article from 7 news . 

 

******************************

Life as Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler once knew it has changed.

Cutler was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, a Broncos source confirmed.

While this is the most serious type of diabetes, making Cutler insulin dependent, the Broncos are confident it will not negatively impact his career performance. Cutler, who could not be reached for comment, has been taking insulin shots since he was diagnosed and has been participating in the Broncos' offseason workout program.

Several athletes have enjoyed long professional careers while playing with Type 1 diabetes, including former big-league baseball stars Ron Santo and Jackie Robinson and hockey's Bobby Clarke. Among the former NFL players who played despite Type 1 diabetes were center Jay Leeuwenburg, who starred at the University of Colorado, quarterback Wade Wilson, and defensive back Mike Echols.

"People need to understand this is very treatable," said a Broncos source. "Jay's going to be fine."

Type 1 diabetes means the pancreas stops producing insulin, which is needed to convert food into energy. Cutler will have to monitor his diet, particularly carbohydrates, and continually monitor his blood-sugar levels, but modern medicine allows people to live long and healthy lives with the disease.

Type 1 diabetes used to be known as juvenile diabetes because it was more commonly diagnosed in children and young adults. However, there have been cases where people reached middle age before they were diagnosed. Cutler turned 25 on Monday.

Actress Mary Tyler Moore, 71, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes nearly 35 years ago.

Type 1 diabetics are made aware of the possible long-term affects on the kidney, heart and vision.

The Broncos' No. 1 draft pick in 2006, Cutler started the final five games of his rookie season and all 16 games last year in his second season. The Broncos knew of Cutler's disease before the NFL draft last week but didn't select a quarterback, a sign the team is confident their quarterback has his condition under control.

From ESPN.com --

The 25-year-old Cutler found out about two weeks ago that he was diabetic and needed daily insulin injections, Garafalo told The Associated Press.

 

Cutler

He said Cutler was managing his disease and "in no way is his football career jeopardized."

Some 21 million Americans have diabetes, meaning their bodies cannot properly turn blood sugar into energy. Either they don't produce enough insulin or don't use it correctly. With the Type 1 form, the body's immune system attacks insulin-producing pancreatic cells, so that patients require insulin injections to survive.

"It's something that he's dealing with and something a lot of other people have," Garafalo said. "Even though it's a serious condition, it's a condition that can be managed. That's the way he's treating it right now.

"Everything's fine," Garafalo continued. "His condition is fine."

Cutler, entering his third NFL season, threw for 3,497 yards and 20 touchdowns last season after supplanting Jake Plummer with five weeks left in the 2006 season.

The 6-foot-3, 233-pound Cutler was taken by the Broncos with the 11th overall pick of the 2006 draft, becoming the first Vanderbilt player taken in the first round since 1986.

Cutler is expected to address the media on Friday.

Other athletes who have competed with diabetes include Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke, Charlotte Bobcats forward Adam Morrison, golfers Scott Verplank, Michelle McGann and Kelli Kuehne and Olympic swimmer Gary Hall Jr.