Deion to be on Kornheiser today

[joe]

ESPN radio is reporting that Kornheiser is going to break his no-athlete rule to talk to Deion on the air today. Tony's show starts at 10:00 am, I don't know when Deion might be on, but I will try to listen.

[Mickalino]

No offense joe, but I would rather kiss a 500 pound woman on the @ss, than listen to Deion's mouth go off for an entire interview, and spew out enough garbage to fill up an entire landfill.

.....and no offense here to any guys with 500 pound wives

[ by Mick on June 07, 2001.]

[KMP]

The Reds are thisclose to moving Deion back to the minors. Barry Larkin, Ken Griffey and another player are all coming back from injury over the next two to three weeks. This will force the Reds to move Deion as his .174 batting average ain't cutting the mustard in the Queen City.

I find it interesting the for the past 2-3 months Deion wouldn't talk about his football plans. But now that his fate in Cincy is sealed he's on a PR campaign to get released by the Redskins. I wonder if he'll soon start to take back some of his moronic statements and get back into the good graces of Marty and Danny.

Until this is resolved we should all wear "F DEION" t-shirts.

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[shamaran]

Like others, I too would consider listening to DEON (four letter word) speak, cruel and unusual punishment, akin to reading endless blathering "smack-talk" by a certain Bucs fan here.

Having said that, I expect him to dribble endlessly about his valient attempt to make sports history, and that he was shafted in his attempt by not being in the lineup on an everyday basis. Blah, blah, blah.

Other than that, he will attempt to mend some fences, mostly with Mr. Snyder. Regardless of what he says, he is now in the process of trying to negotiate a release from the Redskins; the Redskins are asking for a prorated portion of the signing bonus back, approx. 6.5 mill, he is offering less than half (3 mill.).

He wants to be free to make his deal with Denver by Sept. He doesn't want to attend ANY training camp, so he has time. Everything now hinges on JR. and if he returns to the Reds. If not, DEON has little to worry about, since his GM-buddy won't demote him if JR. doesn't return. Regardless, he wants to return to football, but not under any situation, with Marty.

[Dirk Diggler]

could i get a little update on the show this morning?

[redman]

I just listened to him, the tail end of the interview at least. It was much more amicable and much less outrageous than his quotes from the last few days.

Kornheiser asked him if he could mend fences with Marty if he came back to football, and Deion ducked the question by saying in essence that he was focusing on baseball right now. He reiterated that he thought the Redskins were just stalling his inevitable release to see what happened to him in baseball. He also commented that the Redskins probably did not want to play against him and that he could not blame them for that.

He ended by asking Kornheiser to "say hi to Dan (Snyder) for me." That could be seen as a jab at Marty.

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"Loosen up, Sandy baby. You're just too damn tight!" - John Riggins to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

[gbear]

Shamaran,

where did you hear he was willing to give back any of the signing bonus? That would be great news.

I'd take his 3 million offer and run. It would put him back on the original plan when we signed him. We planned for him to play atleast 2 years before having to pay off the rest of the bonus. If he gave back 3 million plus the 1+ million already paid plus the 1+ million for this year (cut after June 1st), that's less than a 3 million hit next year. That's doable. Anything aboce the 3 mil would be gravy.

On a side note, how cool would it be to write a 3 million dollar check and know your bank account covered it?

[Om]

Nothing unexpected, Dirk. And nothing about the bonus.

About the only noteworthy thing by my reckoning was Deion's ‘clarification' about his comment the he "doesn't trust Mary as far as he could throw him." Sanders' contention is that he was asked what he thought about Marty's statements to the effect that the Redskins were still considering including Deion in their plans for next season. Deion says his response was that he didn't trust "IT" (being the public position Marty & the Skins appeared to be taking) "as far as he could throw IT."

For what it's worth, I thought it actually sounded believable. We all know how easily comments can be spun ...

I thought the rest of it was mostly fluff. Sanders deflected Tony's direct questions about possible returning next year by saying he wasn't even thinking about football right now, what with his full attention being devoted at this time to hitting a slider. It was almost (almost, I said) self-deprecating.

Bottom line, though: when pressed, at the end I thought Deion did make it clear that he does not expect that he will be on the Redskins roster next year. He realizes the Skins are just "protecting themselves" by playing the waiting game they're playing now.

So I guess we have him around to talk endlessly about for at least a few more weeks. By the fall, when the game itself actually becomes a part of the equation, we might not have to deal with a half-dozen Deion threads a day.

(For the record, even giving him credit for the almost self-deprecating comment noted above, one still walked away with the impression that Mr. Sanders is still pretty d@mn fond of Mr. Sanders. Good thing ... because unless I miss my guess, the number of fans who share his sentiments are dwindling almost as fast as his average.)

[redman]

I'm more worried about the salary cap hit than about Snyder's wallet. That's why renegotiation with Deion as part of a deal where he gets to keep more (but not all of his) bonus is the best possible outcome for the team.

Frankly, as long as we can alleviate Deion's cap impact, I don't care if Snyder pays him $10M in actual money. I just want the team to be competitive.

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"Loosen up, Sandy baby. You're just too damn tight!" - John Riggins to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

[shamaran]

That's a good point, Redman. I doubt that whatever the outcome, cap relief will be part of the mix. Stranger things have happened, but it's doubtful.

My source (a former 'Skin), says a settlement will probably be just money in/out of Dano's pocket. Otherwise, Upshaw would need to get into the act, and we all know how that would come out; DEON would probably be awarded an additional 8 mill. becuase the big-owner-masters have treated him so shabbily!

[ by shamaran on June 07, 2001.]

[Larry]

Kornheiser is going to break his no-athlete rule to talk to Deion

Does this really count as breaking a rule?

[joe]

I thought that Sanders believed that he was misquoted in the paper and wanted to set the record straight. It was clear that he requested to be on the show, Kornheiser did not go after the interview. Deion likes Mr. Tony. That said, I thought the most interesting thing he said, that has not been mentioned, was that IF he were under contract to the skins and IF he were not playing baseball, he would play for football for the Redskins. To me, given the comments by the Reds manager, (Deion can no longer practice for the majors while playing in the majors) that says that we will just have to accept the fact that he is going to be on the field this coming season. I do not believe that the Redskins will cut him if it looks like he will be playing football. So those of us who may be tired of his act, might just have to put up with it for a while longer.

[Braves On Warpath]

Sounds like Tony punked out.

Here is a question I would have asked: "Does your desire to get cut from the Redskins and pocket the entire bonus create any moral issues for you?"

or something to that effect.

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Fight for Old D.C.!

[All In]

www.SportsTalk.com

IS DEION’S DREAM DONE?

Somewhere in D.C., Marty Schottenheimer is laughing his butt off. Not long ago, Deion Sanders had made his king-for-a-day return to Major League Baseball, smacking a home run and moving like the Neon one of years gone by. All signs pointed to a summer of love in Cincinnati, with Deion bringing his infectious personality and demeanor to a sport that holds increasingly less appeal for the Ritalin generation.

Meanwhile, Sanders suspected that the Redskins, who signed a contract with Deion allowing him to do his thing on the diamond, would release the player formerly known as Prime Time after June 1 in order to save the $3.5 million in salary that he would earn by reporting to the team nearly three months after his football teammates. Deion recently has gloated about the reality that such a move would allow him to keep his full bonus of $8.5 million for playing only one season.

The Washington Times reports that Deion’s cake-and-eat-it dream could be done soon. The Reds reportedly are considering shipping Deion to the minors, and Sanders will required to report for Redskins training camp on July 29 if he is not on a major-league roster at the time.

The Redskins have set no timetable for a decision on Deion’s future. Though it seems illogical for the team to keep him, Schottenheimer and company surely enjoy watching Deion squirm.

[Guest Matt Kyriacou]

Sorry guys. I cannot forgive and forget. I want the team to be competitive. First and foremost though, I want Deion to spend the longest possible time in the most uncomfortable situation possible.

If this delays us from being competitive, then so be it. I have lived through seven or eight years of hell. Thankfully, the alcohol makes it somewhat fuzzy. Another year? Child's play.

I want a team to finally take a stand and send the message to a player that the game is not "all about them."

I would be proud if it was us.

F*CK Deion!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[88Comrade2000]

Anyone catch Deion's interview on Tony K's show on ESPN.

Tony K. is such a Deion homer. I can't believe he said most Skins fans were happy when Deion was signed. I don't know who he was talking to but most people didn't want him. We resigned ourselves to the fact he was coming. Also Tony said Skins fans are going to ask where's Deion? What? We are asking when he will be cut.

Nothing special in the interview though Deion says the stuff print in the post was off the record and he really wasn't talking about Marty.

I don't hear the show when it was on, was at work. Our local radio station rebroadcoast the interview during the local Columbus radio show:Herbie and Mark. Kirk Herbstreit, yes the one at ESPN,being a Reds fan you know.

[indyskinsfan]

I weigh More than he's batting

All fluff aside, who's he kidding. Pimps always talk sweet

and act really nice before they smack the hookers and run off with the loot.

Unfortunately, this is not the same regime as last year, and the guy had to be reminded of it, over and over.

Though I see a Huge temptation to follow Matt's plan, I see

the roses either way. We just have less wiggle room either this year or next.

The organization is who this character is confronting and make no mistake, BYPASSING Schneider is his biggest mistake.

Marty can accept reconciliations, but he won't forget where to put this guy when shows, if he shows.

Too late to suck up to Dan now.

[88Comrade2000]

This article has more on what Peion had to say.

>>>Sanders: Return to Redskins Possible

By Mark Maske and Liz Clarke

Washington Post Staff Writers

Friday, June 8, 2001; Page D01

Cornerback Deion Sanders left open the possibility of returning to the Washington Redskins yesterday and NFL sources said the Redskins are leaning strongly toward keeping Sanders long enough to get him to play next season or, if he refuses, perhaps return the bulk of his $8 million signing bonus to the team.

Sanders said during a radio interview that he continues to expect the Redskins to release him eventually and he does not know whether he will play football again. But he indicated that if he plays in the NFL, he would expect it to be for the Redskins. He was conciliatory toward Redskins Coach Marty Schottenheimer, maintaining that his criticism of Schottenheimer this week was misrepresented.

The Redskins are likely to retain Sanders at least until the opening of training camp in late July, sources said. If Sanders is not playing major league baseball then, his seven-year, $56 million contract with the Redskins would require him to report to training camp. The Redskins probably will decide at that point whether to keep him or release him to clear more than $3.6 million of salary cap space, sources said.

If Sanders, 33, retires from football or refuses to join the Redskins when he is not playing baseball, the Redskins almost certainly would attempt to force him to return a prorated portion of his signing bonus, sources said. Several people familiar with the situation continued yesterday to place the chances of Sanders playing for the Redskins at as high as 50 percent.

On the ESPN Radio show hosted by Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser, Sanders said he "can't really answer" the question of whether he will return to football.

"Football is the last thing on my mind right now," Sanders said. "I'm trying to hit a slider, man. . . . I'm not even hitting my weight right now. . . . When I'm in one sport, I try my best to focus on that sport."

Asked whether his intention would be to play for the Redskins if he does return to football, Sanders said: "Yes. I can answer that question fairly. Yes, it would."

Sanders declined to say whether he would report to Redskins training camp if he is not playing in the major leagues when camp opens.

Schottenheimer said later at Redskins Park: "Our position has not changed at all. There's really not much more to say about the situation."

Sanders said Monday night that the Redskins were playing a waiting game and would have to release him at some point. He said he did not trust Schottenheimer.

Yesterday Sanders said that "a lot of things I said [Monday] were true" but indicated that he did not intend some of his comments to be made public.

"That's not fair to [schottenheimer] because I really don't know him," Sanders said. "It wasn't supposed to come out like that. I wasn't talking about him as a person I didn't trust. I was talking about the situation: I didn't trust it."

Sanders said yesterday that he has no immediate plans to speak with Schottenheimer and still expects to be released.

"I think they're really trying to wait and see how baseball pans out because I think they don't want to be in a Catch-22 situation," he said. "I don't think they want to do something like release me on the first day, which was June 1, and something goes unfortunate in baseball and I'm not here [with the Reds]. The next thing you know, I'm free. And I could have the possibility of going to another [NFL] team, and you're playing against me. . . . I think they would rather wait and see how things pan out, and if I'm still with baseball, then they would therefore release me at the beginning of training camp. . . . I think it's just protecting themselves."

Redskins Notes: Free agent safety Darren Perry is scheduled to visit Redskins Park today. Perry, 32, spent last season with New Orleans after seven seasons with Pittsburgh. The Redskins are considering Perry and other free agent safeties -- including Brock Marion, Keith Lyle, Jason Belser and Scott Shields -- as possible replacements for Carrier. . . . The Redskins have begun interviewing candidates for jobs in their personnel department. They have interviewed Tag Ribary, the Seattle assistant director of pro personnel, and scouts Jeff Ireland of Kansas City and Bobby DePaul of Philadelphia.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company<<<

I know you all think I'm nuts but I'm telling you: If Deion plays for us this year, then the old man: 41 year old Daryl Green will be cut or coaxed into retirement. There's no way both players play for the Skins this year.

[Fitz]

I don't think you're nuts, Rdskns2000, I agree that one of them won't be here. I still think that Deion will be the one to go, however.

As sick as I am of Deion, I have to admit that this head-game duel between him and Marty has been fascinating to watch. The best part is that Deion, who is usually able to play the media like a virtuoso, has met his match in Marty. Now that his little attempt at a tirade to bait Marty into cutting him has failed, he looks like a petulant fool. Marty has forced him to backpedal faster than he ever did on a football field. Meanwhile, the coach sits there with that placid, "I'm-holding-all-the-cards" grin telling the reporters "I have no more to say on the subject." Marty has played his hand like a master. Deion's going to have to come to him; Marty knows it, Deion knows it, and Marty knows Deion knows it. Sooner or later, Deion will begin negotiating for his release.

Although I can sympathize with Matt's desire to f*** Deion over at any cost, that's not going to happen. Marty will do whatever's in the team's (and thereby his own) best interest. Right now that's letting Deion twist in the wind. I think it's most likely that we'll see some kind of settlement that allows both sides to save face.

[Terry]

It's funny to see (read) how scared Deion is running right now. For deep down he knows that the only answer for him in this situation is to lose face, one way or another.

Sure he talks brave about going to another team and the Skins not wanting to play against him (is he thinking an NFC East team?), and he's shot his mouth off about clicking his heels and being paid for nothing.

But it all depended on hitting at least .240 or having an OBP greater than his age. And catching a ball with his glove and not his face would be a bonus.

So now he knows he has three options:

1. Retire. I don't think his ego will allow it and he knows that Danny's lawyers will be all over the NFL to get some bonus money back, perhaps a lot of bonus money back. Based on his mouth, the Skins now can make an excellent case that he never intended to honor his contract.

2. Come back and play. I think this represents the biggest nightmare for Deion. Unlike Darrell who works on his craft and has found ways to compensate for whatever skills age has diminished, Deion doesn't appear to have made the same adjustments - and his pride might not allow it. My guess is that his cornerback abilities will have suffered even more since last season. He also knows that he's not the ace of our cornerback corps, Darrell is the venerated future HOFer who links us to our glorious past, we have a young hotshot in the wings waiting to step in and elbow him aside, and another veteran CB who at this stage might not be that far behind him. Kinda hard to be Deion in a crowd like that.

3. Negotiate a settlement, give back half the bonus money, and move on. I think that this is the deal that best suits everybody. We can avoid the Deion distraction at camp, and focus on grooming Smoot now and letting him take his lumps while we are in a rebuild mode. Deion still gets a ton of cash, and can peddle his wares to another team and another market where he can get more attention.

[NavyDave]

NO NO NO I want to spite slimetme but not at the expense of the team special team the B@stard and nickle back him

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Yes I'm paid to think and I need a raise