Raiders to get Palmer from Raiders
The Oakland Raiders found a replacement for injured QB Jason Campbell, acquiring Carson Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for two high draft picks. Palmer fell out of favor in Cincinnati prior to the start of this season, stating his intent to sit out the season and potentially retire if he wasn’t traded. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis repeatedly said that Palmer wasn’t on the trading block, but the Raiders were clearly able to sway the team into trading him. The 31-year-old Palmer won the Heisman Trophy in 2002 at the University of Southern California, and was the first pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. He signed a six-year extension with the Bengals during his third season in the NFL, which meant his original deal with the Bengals was to last through the 2014 season and pay him $118.75 million dollars. Palmer made two playoff appearances with the Bengals in 2005 and 2009, but failed to advance past the divisional round in both years. Palmer will take over the starting job in Oakland in favor of Jason Campbell, who is likely out for the season with a broken collarbone.
NFL handshake causes controversey
The San Francisco 49ers handed the Detroit Lions their first loss on Sunday, winning 25-19 in Detroit, but that was only the second biggest story to come out of this game. The 49ers scored ten points in the final 1:51 of the game and Coach Jim Harbaugh’s reaction to the dramatic victory nearly resulted in a brawl between him and Lions Coach Jim Schwartz. When the two coaches met in the center of the field following the end of the game, the two coaches shook hands and Harbaugh patted Schwartz on the back several times. Schwartz took offense after claiming that he heard Harbaugh utter an expletive, and proceeded to run after Harbaugh as he tried to head to the 49ers locker room to celebrate with the team. The two coaches had to be separated by players and other personnel, and eventually Schwartz headed in the opposite direction back to his locker room. Schwartz said after the game that he interpreted Harbaugh’s pats as a push out of the way, and Harbaugh said that he “shook Schwartz’s hand too hard.” Both the 49ers and the Lions are 5-1.
Investigation launched into Wheldon’s crash
IndyCar announced yesterday that they will be launching an investigation into the 15 car pileup that led to the death of driver Dan Wheldon. The preliminary findings are expected within a few weeks. The Automobile Competition Committee of the United States and the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile are the two main governing organizations of IndyCar and both will help determine factors involved in the accident. It’s believed that many vehicles in the crash were at speeds close to 220 miles per hour when it occurred. Regarding the death of the British racer, IndyCar said “The safety of our drivers is always our paramount concern.” Wheldon and his team as well as Italian manufacturer Dallara had been working to fine-tune a safer car model for use next season.
