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NFL Franchise Notes: Falcons Fully Vetted Shembo Following Notre Dame Incident

In Atlanta, D. Orlando Ledbetter wrote Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff made the "most controversial pick of his tenure" when he selected Notre Dame LB Prince Shembo, who "revealed at the scouting combine that he was investigated in a sexual-battery incident." Shembo "never was charged in connection with the incident" that occurred in his dorm room in '10. Shembo said, "Pretty much, it was an unfortunate event. My name was pretty much cleared." Ledbetter notes the Falcons have "avoided several players in Dimitroff’s previous six drafts for character issues." Dimitroff said, "We are very, very aware of the seriousness of the incident. ... We’ve done our due diligence as far as making sure that we feel comfortable in making that decision" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 5/11). Also in Atlanta, Mark Bradley noted reaction to the Shembo selection "wasn't kind" on Twitter. Shembo will "have more eyes on him than the average fourth-rounder" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 5/11).  

REMEMBERING RALPH: In Buffalo, Jerry Sullivan wrote Bills President & CEO Russ Brandon on Saturday was asked if late Owner Ralph Wilson Jr.'s memory was "constantly on his mind" during the Draft. Brandon "looked down, fumbled with a pen and struggled for words." But he only said, “It’ll be on my ... ” Brandon then "stopped," and when he "looked up, his eyes were red with tears." Brandon continued, "It’ll be on my mind the rest of my life. Every day. As you guys know, he loved the draft. I thought about him a lot as we led up to it. He would have loved the last three days. He loved to wheel and deal.” Sullivan wrote Wilson would have "been in his glory in the war room this year" (BUFFALO NEWS, 5/11).

CARING MEANS SHARING: In Orlando, Mike Bianchi penned an open letter to Jaguars Owner Shahid Khan, writing, "I know you're a busy man, so I'm going to get right to the point: Because we have given you the future face of your franchise and provided you with more TV sets than any city in America, isn't it about time you give us a Jaguars home game in our completely rebuilt and renovated Citrus Bowl?" Bianchi: "We believe the Jaguars should start treating Orlando like a 'primary market' -- especially now that [UCF alum Blake Bortles] is your quarterback" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 5/11).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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