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Player Movements
With a much higher salary cap in place for 2006 June 1 cuts were not
necessary for most teams. That didn't stop the Seahawks waiving WRs Jerheme
Urban, Alex Bannister & Kevin Kasper.
Bannisters career highlight was undoubtedly making the Pro Bowl as a special
teams player in 2003. Since then he has broken his Collarbone twice. Chicago
has since signed Bannister on a one-year deal. Urban has a stress fracture
in his left foot & has been contributing to the team on & off since 2003.
Kasper was with the Cardinals in 2005. Like Urban & Bannister he was
injured.
Practice Squad DE Alain Kashama was also waived with former Dallas Cowboy &
Cologne Centurion DE Darrell Wright signed as his replacement. Wright played
college football for the Oregon Ducks. Defensive lineman Garrett McIntyre
has also been released.
Veteran punter Tom Rouen has also been released. He hadn't played a full
season for the Hawks since 2003. He missed 12 regular season games in 2004
because of a Hamstring injury. Rouen played in 12 regular season games last
season, as Leo Araguz did not work out as anticipated. Expect Rouen to be
waiting in the wings if this years Rookie Ryan 'Gus the Mule' Plackmeier
doesn't fit the mould.
Since his release Rouen has signed for San Francisco.
Notes
Anyone wandering why Grant Wistrom didn't have a particularly good season in
2005 were told why via the News Tribune on June 6. Wistrom played most of
last season with a Shoulder injury but chose not to make it common
knowledge. He anticipates making his first appearance of 2006 in the final
preseason game with the Raiders on August 31.
There is a new addition to the team's Blue Thunder drumline called Rumble.
Here are few Rumble facts:
· At 100" in diameter and 4 feet wide, RUMBLE is the largest drum in the
U.S.
· RUMBLE is the largest bass drum in the world.
· Custom designed and manufactured by Dynasty over a two-month period.
· Built to scale inside a shipping crate; based off of the standard
marching band bass drums.
· Hard rock, maple shells with aluminium endurite casings; shell of drum
is ¾" thick.
· Over 10 feet tall on cart.
· Weighs about 350 pounds (550 pounds with cart).
· Custom mallets were designed and fabricated by Dillon Works in Mukilteo,
WA.
Mini Camps
There were two Mini Camps this month & the biggest news was that the Defense
& the Offense were trading big plays in drills. This is a big thing because
the O normally dominates. Perhaps an indication of how the Seahawks D looks
set to improve its overall ranking from 14th?
Chris Gray missed a days practice because of illness. Chris Spencer took his
place & drew rave reviews. Tobeck slid over to help him in pass protection
drills only to find he didn't need it. Tom Ashworth got some unexpected time
at Left Guard with the first team unit. Floyd Womack was nursing a sore
Triceps & was not risked. This is significant because it was the same
Triceps he injured last pre season, which kept him out for the whole of
2005.
Rookie Guard Rob Sims was not present at Mini Camps owing to the death of
his Father, former Browns Defensive Lineman Robert "Mickey" Sims.
It wasn't exactly the White House but Seahawks HQ played host to the
presentation of the teams NFC Championship Rings. The ceremony was held in
private with just Players, Coaches & Team Officials present.
Record Season Ticket Sales
The Seahawks announced they now have 61,000 Season Ticket holders, with a
waiting list of a further 2,000 applicants. This is the highest ever figure
in team history. They have left approximately 6,000 for single game
purchases. These will go on general sale at the end of July.
Dates for your Diary
Training Camp opens: Friday 28 July
First Pre Season game: Saturday 12 August.
Matt Cheesman
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