04-29-2006, 04:30 AM
http://www.insanetrain.com/forums/showth...hp?t=36734
Wow. What a week.
In the five days since Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports and Jason Cole of the Miami Herald put a name to the rumor that we floated on April 15 regarding a first-round prospect and a house owned by a member of an Indian tribe, Reggie Bush has gone from being the clear-cut No. 1 overall pick in the draft to, at best, No. 2.
Instead, the No. 1 overall pick is defensive end Mario Williams, a defensive end from a basketball school that suddenly can't find a basketball coach.
And although it's still not clear whether the events of the past 120 hours contributed to the Texans' decision to pass on Bush, something prompted the team to embrace the guy who originally was nothing more than a source of leverage for Bush's contract.
In the end, it could be that Bush's financial demands killed the deal. But even if the snowballing story that started with a San Diego house and grew into a crossfire of claims of extortion and fraud had no impact on the thinking of Houston owner Bob McNair, it's very possible that agent Joel Segal felt compelled to play hardball in order to avoid subsequent whispers from rival agents that he went light at the bargaining table in order to get a deal done.
We've heard that it was indeed McNair who personally authorized the efforts to sign Williams, even as the football guys in the organization continued to press for Bush.
Bottom line -- Bush will be No. 2 at best, and given the difference in pay from the first spot to the second, it looks like karma has found a way to ensure that the Bush family paid the rent.
And then some.
Wow. What a week.
In the five days since Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports and Jason Cole of the Miami Herald put a name to the rumor that we floated on April 15 regarding a first-round prospect and a house owned by a member of an Indian tribe, Reggie Bush has gone from being the clear-cut No. 1 overall pick in the draft to, at best, No. 2.
Instead, the No. 1 overall pick is defensive end Mario Williams, a defensive end from a basketball school that suddenly can't find a basketball coach.
And although it's still not clear whether the events of the past 120 hours contributed to the Texans' decision to pass on Bush, something prompted the team to embrace the guy who originally was nothing more than a source of leverage for Bush's contract.
In the end, it could be that Bush's financial demands killed the deal. But even if the snowballing story that started with a San Diego house and grew into a crossfire of claims of extortion and fraud had no impact on the thinking of Houston owner Bob McNair, it's very possible that agent Joel Segal felt compelled to play hardball in order to avoid subsequent whispers from rival agents that he went light at the bargaining table in order to get a deal done.
We've heard that it was indeed McNair who personally authorized the efforts to sign Williams, even as the football guys in the organization continued to press for Bush.
Bottom line -- Bush will be No. 2 at best, and given the difference in pay from the first spot to the second, it looks like karma has found a way to ensure that the Bush family paid the rent.
And then some.
