Albert Haynesworth's Former Coach Wants Nothing to do With Him

The Detroit Lions had a pretty terrible defense last season. And the year before. And the year before.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Coach Jim Schwartz is trying to remake that terrible defense. As part of that, the Lions signed Kyle Vanden Bosch as a free agent, traded for former Packers tackle Corey Williams, and drafted Nebraska star Ndamukong Suh No. 2 overall.

Apparently, Schwartz and general manager Martin Mayhew aren't that desperate to rebuild quickly.

Former Schwartz protege Albert Haynesworth is a defensive tackle for the Washington Redskins. The big man isn't happy, because new Washington coach Mike Shanahan wants to switch to a 3-4 defense, something he is unfamiliar with. So, despite $30 million or so in guaranteed money paid out since last spring, Haynesworth wants out of D.C.

His destination will not be Detroit, despite the success he and Schwartz had when they worked together in Tennessee.

The Lions had internally discussed trading for Haynesworth before April's draft, but that's not an option now after the team used its first-round pick on defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Lions general manager Martin Mayhew has serious concerns about the kind of influence that Haynesworth could become, according to the source.

"Even though Suh is his own man, we don't want any negative influences around him," the source said.

Suh is a future star for Detroit. That future may come quickly, as he's expected to make an impact for the Lions almost immediately.

It's nice to see an organization doing their due diligence on a player, even when that player may be familiar and have positive memories with the head coach. There's no reason for a rebuilding team like Detroit to take on Haynesworth's baggage, attitude, and contract.

This is especially true when a young guy like Suh comes along, who appears to have none of those issues. Take advantage of his ability and attitude while you can.

A-FRAUD 'COMES CLEAN' OR WHATEVER

On Saturday, it was reported that Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was on the list of baseball's cheaters.

To the credit of the cheating, adulterous fraud, Rodriguez responded in a hurry, giving an interview to ESPN's Peter Gammons on Monday. In it, he admits to using performance-enhancing drugs.

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure, felt all the weight of the world on top of me to perform, and perform at a high level every day," Rodriguez told ESPN's Peter Gammons in an exclusive interview in Miami Beach, Fla. An extended interview will air on SportsCenter at 6 p.m. ET.

"Back then, [baseball] was a different culture," Rodriguez said. "It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time.

"I did take a banned substance. For that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful."

Check out the video.



I'm not about to "credit" someone for coming clean about cheating. Rodriguez cheated, and Rodriguez deserves to be thrown under the same bus everyone else was. He was already one of the best players in baseball.

He foolishly took $252 million from the Rangers, even though he had to understand it would destroy the team's budget, making it impossible for them to field a competitive pitching staff. Then, all these years after taking that initial contract, he has the audacity to blame it for his decision to take banned substances.

If Rodriguez was some unintelligible dope, I would understand his inability to comprehend reality past dollar signs. Instead, he always has come across as one of the more articulate and well-spoken players in the game. Clearly, he knew what he was doing, and he did it anyway.

Perhaps, at some point in July, it will hit Rodriguez like a ton of bricks. He'll realize that he's spending another summer being the second most-popular player on the left side of the Yankees' infield. At that point, we can only hope he understands the utter stupidity behind what he did in Texas, and how he ruined what was a great opportunity to be part of the rebuilding of baseball's integrity.

Instead of helping rebuild it, he'll forever be looked at as one of the people who tore it down to begin with.

MORE TROUBLE FOR SIDNEY PONTOON

You know you've done something wrong when you are pitching well, yet get cut by a team that has virtually no quality pitching.

That's the latest fate in the career of former Twin Sidney Ponson.

(For the record, I'm pretty sure that I stole the "Pontoon" nickname from Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune, but I can't find any web evidence.)

Ponson pitched poorly enough to get cut by the Twins last year, even though the Twins were short of pitching depth at the time. In his career, he's run into legal problems, anger problems, weight problems, and drinking problems.

Despite his issues, the Texas Rangers, who have no pitching, took a flyer on Ponson. He started the season in Triple-A, but eventually got a shot with the big club. He appeared to have lost some weight, spun a complete game six-hitter at the Twins, and looked to be back on track. A 4-1 start was far more than anyone could have expected.

Sidney, however, found himself out of a job Friday. I suppose you'd like to know why, so here is Rangers GM Jon Daniels with an explanation:

"He had disrespectful and adverse reactions to situations that were unbecoming of a teammate," Daniels said. "We want guys who want to be here. We're trying to put together a team here, and based on some comments and reactions, he didn't want to be part of that. That's not something we're going to tolerate."

The Dallas Morning News story does offer more detail on where Ponson may have gone wrong.

According to multiple club sources, the situation had been bubbling for days and came to a head in the last two days over a disagreement in Ponson's pitching schedule. Ponson, who pitched on three days' rest (one less than normal) Wednesday, was told he'd get five days' rest before his next start, according to sources. He challenged the Rangers to release him.

The Rangers had asked Ponson (4-1, 3.88 ERA) to take an extra day of rest to keep Kevin Millwood on his normal four days' rest.

According to the sources, however, problems began to fester more than a week ago when the Rangers were in Tampa Bay.

The night before his start against the Rays, according to the sources, Ponson was seen late in the evening in the hotel bar. The next day, he lasted only five innings and allowed 12 hits in a 7-3 loss. Club officials spoke with Ponson about comportment after the incident and reiterated the "one-strike" stance they took when they signed him in March. In essence, the club said it would cut ties if he had one behavioral issue.

You don't hear that one from many general managers. The Rangers have the worst team ERA in baseball (5.09), and they just dumped one of their best pitchers.

Must have been some disrespect.

No one roots for people to be unable to overcome personal demons. Ponson is in a position, however, that makes you wonder if he may have just blown his last chance.

GLAD THE PACKERS TRADED JAVON?

Well, are you?

Let's face facts. The guy has gone off the deep end. In that sense, it's completely fitting that he's an Oakland Raider. The owner has lost it, and the star wide receiver is well on his way.

Walker's attributes his demise in Denver to the Broncos and the way they handled his knee injury. While in Dallas for some training camp work against the Cowboys last summer, Walker experienced swelling in his surgically repaired knee. He said he dealt with the issue and kept practicing daily.

In the first two games of the season, two Denver wins, Walker looked like the same player he was the season prior, grabbing 17 balls and being a key offensive component. However, in the third game, a home loss to Jacksonville, Walker had just two catches.

He said that was the beginning of the end of his time in Denver.

"I was open and they didn't get me the ball," Walker said. "Here I was busting my butt, draining my knee, to be able to go out and make plays and they didn't get me the ball. After that, I started to take care of my knee."

You read that right. Walker is mad because Denver didn't get him the ball enough. In Week Three.

Remember, Packer fans, we got a second-round pick for the guy. I'd say that's pretty solid, considering how good a job he's done keeping himself in shape.

With that in mind, Walker says he's ready to play Denver in the second game of that season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader. That leads me to my favorite part of Williamson's piece.

"I was ready in those final games and they just didn't want me to be a part of the offense," Walker said. "It just didn't work for me there with that team. They wanted me to take a pay cut in the middle of the season. They just didn't care about me. I'm glad I'm out of there."

Privately, the Broncos are happy Walker is gone, too. Team insiders said Walker, who wore out his welcome in Green Bay as well as Denver, was selfish and was more interested in his personal numbers than the team's success.

Walker insists he is a team player and is looking forward to an Oakland renaissance, both personally and for the franchise.

"'This team gets me," Walker said. "They know what I can do for them. The coaches want me to get the ball here. I just can't wait to show what I can do in the first game against that team."

Seriously? You insist you're a team player, and then you launch into another monologue about getting the ball? That crap simply isn't going to fly on a team coached by Mike Shanahan. I'm no fan of his, but one thing I'll give Shanahan credit for is that he takes really good care of his offensive players. They're in a system that allows them the chance to do great things, so Walker's decision to blame the coaches for his lack of production rings hollow with me.

There's no question at this point that getting Walker the hell away from Brett Favre was the right move. Then again, the fact that Green Bay is 21-11 with a conference championship appearance since he left was probably plenty of evidence for you.

I wonder how that huge chip on his shoulder could be affecting his knee. Perhaps it's shifting the balance of the weight on his legs and causing a problem. Is there a doctor in the house?

(I doff the cap to FanHouse.)