Monthly Archives: August 2011

Michael Vick's $100 Million Dollar Contract

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Eagles and Vick, for better or for worse

August, 29, 2011
By Dan Graziano

The Philadelphia Eagles and star quarterback Michael Vick have agreed on a six-year, $100 million contract with $40 million in guarantees, ESPN’s Andrew Brandt and Adam Schefter are reporting. It’s obviously the culmination of a remarkable comeback story for Vick, who was in prison on dogfighting charges three years ago, third on the Eagles’ quarterback depth chart two years ago and a backup to Kevin Kolb at this time last year.

Many, including myself, have written extensively on Vick’s shockingly rapid redemption story, and surely many more will in the next 24 to 48 hours. But my first thought was that this speaks loudly about the way the Eagles right now are managing their franchise: Everything they do revolves around and depends on Vick.

For example: the idea that this might affect the Eagles’ efforts to sign star receiver DeSean Jackson to a long-term contract. Jackson is upset enough with his very low ($650,000) salary that he held out of the beginning of training camp, and he’s made it clear he’d like a new deal before he becomes a free agent at the end of this season. So there was thought in some circles that the Eagles might have to do a Vick deal in order to free short-term money for Jackson. Vick’s salary-cap number had been a little more than $16 million under the franchise tag, and the thought was that knocking that number way down would allow them to give Jackson a 2011 salary more in line with his status among the league’s top wideouts.

But Brandt reports Vick’s salary-cap number in 2011 drops only to $14.4 million under the terms of the new deal. So, while that likely leaves the Eagles about $4 million under the cap even with all the free-agent signings they made late last month, it’s not a significant enough savings to indicate they’re about to make a big-splash deal with Jackson.

More likely, this deal is about Vick and the Eagles’ decision to hitch their wagon to his mercurial star in spite of his risky style of play and his proximity in time to his legal troubles. Everything the Eagles have done since the lockout ended indicates they are determined to take advantage of Vick’s window, however long it stays open.

The Eagles don’t — and can’t — know how long Vick will last or continue to perform at the level that he did last season. What they do know is that, when he does, they have a weapon for which other teams have no answer. And because of that — because of what Vick is at his very best — the Eagles have decided he’s worth building around and, apparently, investing in. The Eagles have been consistently excellent winners under Andy Reid, but they’ve yet to win a Super Bowl with him as coach, a fact of which he and his staff are keenly aware. By latching onto Vick to the extent that they have, they’ve announced their belief that he’s the thing that can set them apart from the pack far enough to finally make it happen.

Time will tell whether they’re right, but when Kolb got injured in Week 1 last season and Vick took over for him, Reid found a lottery ticket. And he’s going to do everything he can do to make sure he gets to cash it.

4.5 Magnitude Aftershock Shakes DC Region Overnight

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Daniel Guzman

 

MINERAL, Va. (WUSA) — A strong tremor hit early Thursday morning and was felt across the Washington region. The United States Geological Survey website reports the 4.5 magnitude quake was centered along Cross County Road near Mineral and Cuckoo, Va.

There were no initial reports of any damage. However callers to 9NEWS NOW from Northern Virginia and Maryland reported feeling the early shake.

People are on edge following Tuesday’s 5.8 magnitude quake. That earthquake left significant damage in Culpeper County, VA. It also cracked the Washington Monument, forcing it to close indefinitely. The tremor damaged several spires at the Washington National Cathedral.

The USGS website said Thursday morning’s event is still being reviewed by seismologists.

 

Stay with 9NEWS NOW and WUSA9.com for updates on this developing story.

Written by Dan Guzman
9NEWS NOW & wusa9.com



USGS Reports 5.8 Earthquake in DC Region

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http://www.myfoxdc.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=11266

USGS Reports 5.8 Earthquake in DC Region : MyFoxDC.com

USGS Reports 5.8 Earthquake in DC Region

The quake was in Mineral, Va., in Louisa County

Updated: Tuesday, 23 Aug 2011, 4:36 PM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 23 Aug 2011, 2:05 PM EDT

WASHINGTON – A 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia forced evacuations of all the memorials and monuments on the National Mall in Washington and rattled nerves from South Carolina to Martha’s Vineyard, the Massachusetts island where President Barack Obama is vacationing. A District of Columbia fire department spokesman said there were numerous injuries, no reports of serious injuries or deaths.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was half a mile deep and centered near Louisa, Va., about 40 miles northwest of Richmond. Shaking was felt at the White House and all over the East Coast, as far south as Charleston, S.C. Parts of the Pentagon, White House and Capitol were evacuated.

Two nuclear reactors at the North Anna Power Station in the same county as the epicenter were automatically taken off line by safety systems around the time of the earthquake, said Roger Hannah, a spokesman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Dominion-operated power plant is being run off of four emergency diesel generators, which are supplying power for critical safety equipment. Hannah said the agency was not immediately aware of any damage at nuclear power plants in the Southeast.

Obama and many of the nation’s leaders were out of town on August vacation when the quake struck at 1:51 p.m. EDT. The shaking was felt on the Martha’s Vineyard golf course as Obama was just starting a round.

At the Pentagon in northern Virginia, a low rumbling built and built to the point that the building was shaking. People ran into the corridors of the government’s biggest building and as the shaking continued there were shouts of “Evacuate! Evacuate!”

The U.S. Park Service evacuated and closed all National Mall monuments and memorials. At Reagan National Airport outside Washington, ceiling tiles fell during a few seconds of shaking. Authorities announced it was an earthquake and all flights were put on hold.

Amtrak said its trains along the Northeast Corridor between Baltimore and Washington were operating at reduced speeds and crews were inspecting stations and railroad infrastructure before returning to normal.

In New York, the 26-story federal courthouse in lower Manhattan began swaying and hundreds of people were seen leaving the building. Court officers weren’t letting people back in.

More than 12 million people live close enough to the quake’s epicenter to feel shaking, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The agency said this quake was in the yellow alert category for economic damage, meaning there was potential for local damage but it would add up to far less than 1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

East Coast earthquakes are far less common than in the West, but they tend to be felt over a broad area. That’s because the crust is not as mangled and fractured, allowing seismic waves to travel without interruption.

“The waves are able to reverberate and travel pretty happily out for miles,” said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough.

The Virginia quake came a day after an earthquake in Colorado toppled groceries off shelves and caused minor damage to homes in the southern part of the state and in northern New Mexico. No injuries were reported as aftershocks continued Tuesday.

In Charleston, W.Va., hundreds of workers left the state Capitol building and employees at other downtown office buildings were asked to leave temporarily.

“The whole building shook,” said Jennifer Bundy, a spokeswoman for the state Supreme Court. “You could feel two different shakes. Everybody just kind of came out on their own.”

In Ohio, where office buildings swayed in Columbus and Cincinnati and the press box at the Cleveland Indians’ Progressive Field shook. At least one building near the Statehouse was evacuated in downtown Columbus.

In downtown Baltimore, the quake sent office workers into the streets, where lamp posts swayed slightly as they called family and friends to check in.

Social media site Twitter lit up with reports of the earthquake from people using the site up and down the U.S. eastern seaboard.

“People pouring out of buildings and onto the sidewalks and Into Farragut Park in downtown DC…,” tweeted Republican strategist Kevin Madden.

John Gurlach, air traffic controller at the Morgantown Municipal Airport was in a 40-foot-tall tower when the earth trembled.

“There were two of us looking at each other saying, `What’s that?”‘ he said, even as a commuter plane was landing. “It was noticeably shaking. It felt like a B-52 unloading.”

Immediately, the phone rang from the nearest airport in Clarksburg, and a computer began spitting out green strips of paper — alerts from other airports in New York and Washington issuing ground stops “due to earthquake.”

Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/usgs-reports-5-8-earthquake-in-dc-region-082311#ixzz1Vt3GyLxo