Former Chiefs’ linebacker Derrick Thomas was elected into Pro Football’s Hall of Fame along with Buffalo’s Bruce Smith, Pittsburgh’s Rod Woodson, Minnesota’s Randall McDaniel and Bills’ owner Ralph Wilson and former commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
February 9th will mark the ninth anniversary of his death after he died from complications following an automobile wreck.
Thomas’ career ended while still an active player, and he is 11th in career sacks with 126½. Thomas will be remembered for that November 11th game in 1990 when he set an NFL mark with seven sacks against Seattle, the same season he led the NFL with 20 sacks.
In a statement, Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said, "Derrick Thomas was the cornerstone of the modern era of the Kansas City Chiefs and one of the most feared performers of his era, every head coach and offensive coordinator who faced the Chiefs during the 1990s knew when they came to Arrowhead Stadium they had to account for Derrick Thomas."
Derrick Thomas gets into Hall of Fame
Southeast Missourians coping with power outages from ice storm
Thousands of southeast Missouri homes and businesses were still without power on Saturday as a result of an ice storm that blasted the region earlier in the week. The number of outages had totaled in the tens of thousands at one point.
Some help is on the way, however, following President Barack Obama’s approval of a request for a disaster declaration . The declaration means Missouri emergency officials can count on federal assistance from the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Utility crews from AmerenUE and smaller electric cooperatives are hard at work, trying to restore power as quickly as possible. The utilities hope to have the electricity restored to most of their customers by Sunday, but it could be later in the week before all customers will again be able to turn on the lights. [Photo: Viretta McElyea Sexton]
McCaskill wants financial executive salary cap
Senator McCaskill accuses the heads of financial instituitions getting billions of dollars in federal buyout money of thumbing their noses at Congress and the public..
McCaskill is angry at multi-million dollar salaries, multi-million dollar bonuses, and multi-million dollar perks going still going to leaders of those financial institutions. She’s asking the Congress to pass a law limiting executive compensation. She wants to limit salaries at financial institutions taking bailout money to $400,000 a year, the same salary paid the President.
McCaskill tells the Senate, "Once they’re off the public dole…then it’s not as much our business what they get paid. But right now,they’re on the hoo kto us. And they owes us something other than a fancy wastebasket and a fifty million dollar jet. They owe us some common sense."
She says the executives of those companies that continue to enjoy high salaries and benefits are kicking the public in the shins.
Her bill would impose those salary limits until the companies have paid back all of the federal bailout money their companies are getting.
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Rams name Demoff as executive VP
Kevin Demoff has been named the St. Louis Rams’ Executive Vice President of Football Operations/Chief Operating Officer, the team announced today.
Demoff worked as a senior assistant to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager the past three seasons and has been a key professional football executive for eight years. With the Rams, Demoff will be responsible for all player contract negotiations and will serve as a liaison to ownership on football and business operations.
"We are very excited that Kevin has chosen to join the Rams," said Rams Owner and Chairman Chip Rosenbloom. "His experience, intelligence and personality will add greatly to our front office team."
Demoff served as Director of Football Operations for the Arena Football League’s Los Angeles Avengers for four years before joining the Buccaneers as a consultant in 2005. A year later he was named Senior Assistant, in which his duties included contract negotiations, salary cap management, college and pro scouting, and strategic planning.
Kevin is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where he holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a Master’s in business administration from the Tuck School of Business. Demoff and his wife, Jennifer, have a daughter, Claire.
"We’re thrilled about having Kevin and Jen joining the Rams family," said Rams General Manager Billy Devaney. "I’ve known Kevin a long time. He’s a tireless worker, well-rounded in all phases of football operations. He will be a key member of our team as we move forward."
"I am excited about joining the Rams organization and partnering with Billy and Coach (Steve) Spagnuolo in helping to build a franchise Rams fans can be proud of for years to come," said Demoff. "The Rams have a storied past and I am grateful to Chip, Lucia (Rodriguez) and Stan (Kroenke) for allowing me to be a part of the team’s future."
Greatest Super Bowl party story ever told
I’m not a big Super Bowl party guy anymore. I prefer watching the game with my wife and kids and enjoying either a big bowl (or bowls) of chili and Fritos or this year…something special, my wife’s home made pizza.
Anyway, I do have my best Super Bowl Party moment and it came during Super Bowl XIX when the 49ers beat the Miami Dolphins. This was the year that the 49ers beat my Bears in the NFC Championship game. The game where Bill Walsh put Guy McIntyre, an offensive guard in the backfield to run against the Bears. (Which ultimately led to the legend of William "The Refrigerator" Perry).
It was that McIntyre and his bone head play that made my biggest and boldest prediction come true. Enjoy my story.
