Martellus Bennett

Bennett at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
No. 89     New York Giants
Tight end
Personal information
Date of birth: (1987-03-10) March 10, 1987 (age 25)
Place of birth: Alief, Houston, Texas
Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Weight: 296 lb (134 kg)
Career information
College: Texas A&M
NFL Draft: 2008 / Round: 2 / Pick: 61
Debuted in 2008 for the Dallas Cowboys
Career history
Dallas Cowboys (2008–2011) New York Giants (2012–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Honorable mention All-Big 12 (2005, 2007) Second-team All-Big 12 (2006) John Mackey Award semifinalist (2006)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 13, 2011
Receptions 81 Receiving Yards 813 Touchdowns 4 Stats at NFL.com

Martellus Demond Bennett (born March 10, 1987 in Alief, Houston) is an American football tight end for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Texas A&M.

Early years[link]

Bennett played football and basketball at Alief Taylor High School in Alief, Texas. He was a three-year starter and two-time All-District and All-Greater Houston selection at tight end. As a sophomore, he averaged 12.4 yards per catch. During his junior year, he grabbed 13 catches for 170 yards and two touchdowns. In his senior year, he caught a team-high of 42 catches for 487 yards and six touchdowns, earning first-team Class 5A all-state honors from the Texas Sports Writers Association. He also averaged 23 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as a senior in basketball.^[1]

As a college football prospect in his senior year of high school, Bennett was a five-star recruit ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 1 tight end and No. 8 best player in the 2005 prospect class. He was recruited by Texas A&M, Duke, Kansas, LSU, Miami, Oklahoma, and Texas. Although originally committed to play for Miami,^[2] he chose to sign a National Letter of Intent to play for Texas A&M.^[3]

After his senior season, Bennett decided to declare for the 2005 NBA Draft, though did not hire an agent, intending to go to college if he did not get selected in the first round. NBA scouts informed him that it was unlikely he would, causing him to withdraw from the draft a few days prior. As a result, he decided to enroll in classes in the second summer session at Texas A&M.^[4]

College career[link]

In his freshman season at Texas A&M University, he caught 18 passes for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns, earning freshman All-American honors from Sporting News.^[5] In his sophomore season, he was named one of eight semifinalists for the John Mackey Award, given annually to the nation's top tight end, after making 38 catches for 497 yards and three touchdowns.^[6] On October 28, 2006, he caught a career-high of 133 yards and two touchdowns on five catches against Baylor. He was named the Mackey Award Player of the Week after the game. He finished his sophomore season with All-Big 12 Second Team honors.^[7] In his junior season, he made 49 receptions for 587 yards and four touchdowns.^[8] After his junior season, an NFL committee indicated to Bennett that he would be a first or second-round pick in the NFL Draft, so Bennett decided to skip his senior season and declare early.^[9][10]

In his three seasons at Texas A&M University, Bennett caught 105 passes for 1,246 yards and 10 touchdowns. His 105 receptions equal the school record of most receptions by a tight end.^[11] He only averaged 34.6 yards per game, though many felt that his head coach, Dennis Franchione, who ran a run-oriented offense,^[12] did not properly utilize his talent.^[9][13] After his sophomore season, Bennett recorded a rap song called "Throw me the ball coach," and made a remix of it with his teammates.^[14]

Bennett also played basketball for Texas A&M for two seasons under head coach Billy Gillispie,^[15] but decided to focus on football in January 2007.^[16] In the 2005–06 season—his first—he became the first Texas A&M athlete since 1969 to letter in both basketball and football.^[17] He played in 26 games his freshman season,^[18] averaging 1.9 points and 1.5 rebounds. In his sophomore season, before choosing football, he averaged 0.5 points and 0.5 rebounds.^[19]

Professional career[link]

Pre-draft[link]

At the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine, Bennett finished the 40-yard dash in 4.68 seconds, ranking seventh out of the eight tight ends in his group. He ranked third in the vertical jump (34 inches) and fifth in the broad jump (9–9).^[20] Along with 30 other prospects,^[21] he was invited to the Dallas Cowboys' Valley Ranch headquarters for a pre-draft visit on April 17–18, 2008.^[22]

A week prior to the draft, an Associated Press sports writer critiqued Bennett's playing abilities as follows: "Played basketball for the Aggies as well, and has the athletic ability to be a nice red-zone target. Lack of speed means he’s not a deep threat, but once he improves his routes, his strength and size should make him an asset. Needs to improve zone recognition, too. Good, aggressive blocker."^[23]

Dallas Cowboys[link]

Bennett was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round (61st overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft.^[24] According to Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones, Bennett was selected not because they needed a backup tight end, but to "add a new dimension" by being part of a two tight end offense.^[25][26][27] In the 2008 preseason, Bennett learned technique from tight end Jason Witten.^[28][29][30] During the preseason camps, the documentary series Hard Knocks initially portrayed Martellus as a lazy and unmotivated player.^[31] Although Bennett was initially having trouble learning the Cowboys' offense, he worked hard to improve, as later episodes of Hard Knocks showed.^[32][33][34]

Bennett agreed to a four-year contract with the team on July 24.^[35] He was given the No. 2 tight end position over Tony Curtis.^{[36][37][38][39]} Bennett finished his rookie season with 20 receptions for 283 yards and four touchdowns.^[40]

In his second season, Bennett compiled only 15 catches for 159 yards and no touchdowns. In a January 2010 news conference following the season, Jerry Jones indicated that while Bennett has breakout potential, he needs to put in the focus to meet it.^[40] Despite a left ankle sprain in the preseason, he responded in 2010 with a career high 33 catches, but for only 260 yards and no touchdowns.^[41]

Bennett raised some eyebrows during a radio interview when he stated that backup quarterback Jon Kitna deserved a chance to compete for the starting quarterback job after filling in for the injured Tony Romo during the 2010 season.^[42] He had an injury plagued preseason in 2011, with an injured hamstring and right high ankle strain keeping him out of two out of four preseason games. He is expected to miss the season opener, as well.^[43]

New York Giants[link]

On March 14, 2012, he signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the New York Giants. On June 1, 2012, Bennett showed up to OTA's weighing in at 291 pounds.

Personal[link]

Bennett is a friend of former Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett. After Everett's career-ending neck injury in 2007,^[44] Bennett chose to honor Everett by wearing his jersey number for two games during his 2007 junior season at Texas A&M.^[45]

He is also known for his sense of humor.^[14][46][47] As a Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter put it, Bennett "had more memorable quotes than memorable catches at Texas A&M".^[25] After being drafted by the Cowboys, Bennett stated, when referring to incumbent quarterback Tony Romo: "Any quarterback that can get Jessica Simpson, I’ve got to play with him". The Cowboys addressed his comment shortly afterwards.^[48] During an interview at the NFL Combine, when asked about his interest in both basketball and football, he responded: "Football is my wife and basketball is my mistress".^[49]

In January 2009, Bennett was fined $22,000 for an explicit rap song he posted on YouTube.^[50]

Martellus has one sibling named Michael, who played defensive end for Texas A&M and plays defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.^[51][52] Their parents are Penny and Michael Bennett Sr.^[53]

In 2011, Bennett married Siggi Walker from Oakland, CA. She studied Psychology at Sarah Lawrence College and attended Marin Academy High School in San Rafael, CA. They currently live together in Dallas, TX. Martellus is also a FC Dallas fan, and has been spotted watching their practices and games.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• NFL Scouting Combine Interview
• College career statistics
• Texas A&M biography
• Dallas Cowboys bio

Stephen A. Smith
Born	(1966-10-14) October 14, 1966 (age 45) Hollis, Queens, New York, USA
Education	Winston-Salem State University
Occupation	Sports journalist, television host, radio host
Website
stephena.com

Stephen A. Smith (born October 14, 1967) is an American sports reporter for ESPN, columnist, radio host, and television personality. He currently hosts The Stephen A. Smith Show on ESPN Radio 710 Los Angeles and ESPN Radio New York 98.7FM and is a featured columnist for both ESPNLA.com and ESPNNY.com. Smith also is a regular on ESPN's First Take along with Skip Bayless.

Early years[link]

Smith was raised in the Hollis neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. He lived with his parents and four older sisters.^[1]

He attended Winston-Salem State University, a historically black university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. While in college, he played some basketball under Hall of Fame coach Clarence Gaines. He later wrote an article for the university newspaper suggesting that Gaines retired due to health issues.^[1]

Career[link]

Print media[link]

In 1993, Smith was a sportswriter for the Daily News in New York City.^[1]

Since 1994, Smith has had a position as a writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He was initially a general sportswriter for the Inquirer before he gained positions as their reporter for the Philadelphia 76ers as their NBA columnist, and eventually, as a general sports columnist. On August 23, 2007, the Inquirer announced that Smith would no longer be writing columns and would instead be demoted back to the position of general assignment reporter. Prior to his job with the Inquirer, Smith has had positions with the Winston-Salem Journal, the Greensboro News and Record and the New York Daily News. In 2008, the Inquirer ended its relation with Smith, which coincided with Smith starting his own blog. In February 2010, Smith returned to the Philadelphia Inquirer after winning an arbitrator's ruling that he was to be reinstated, but having to agree to remove all of his political views from his website and from cable news shows.^[2]

Radio[link]

On April 11, 2005, Smith became the host of a weekday noon to 2 p.m. radio show on WEPN in New York City with his "right hand man B.T. (Brandon Tierney)". On September 20, 2007, his radio show was shifted to the 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. slot, with the second hour being broadcast nationally on ESPN Radio, replacing The Dan Patrick Show (Mike Tirico took over the first two hours). The show came to an end in April 2008 as Smith sought to expand his career in television, and beginning May 1 Scott Van Pelt began hosting in the 3–4 p.m. hour that was previously Smith's.

In November 2009, Smith became an on-air contributor to Fox Sports Radio, and was the one who broke the story of Allen Iverson's retirement on the Chris Myers-Steve Hartman afternoon show on November 25. Iverson later ended his short retirement, and re-joined the Philadelphia 76ers on December 2.

Smith became a Fox Sports Radio morning show host on January 4, 2010, replacing popular longtime Washington, D.C.-based host Steve Czaban. Smith can also be heard from time to time as a caller to the Mark Levin and Sean Hannity radio shows.

In early 2011, Smith became a resident FSR NBA insider and ended his morning show, which was replaced by the Indianapolis-based Zakk and Jack show.

It was announced on February 1, 2011, that he would be returning to ESPN as a columnist for ESPN.com and host weekday local radio shows on 1050 ESPN Radio New York (WEPN-AM) at 7–9 p.m. ET as well as 710 ESPN Radio Los Angeles (KSPN-AM) at 6–8 p.m. PT. April 24th, 2012 was Smith's last show for LA 710 ESPN. ^[3]

Television[link]

Smith started his television career on the now-defunct cable network CNN/SI in 1999.

Smith is frequently seen as a basketball analyst and talk show host on ESPN and ESPN First Take. In August 2005, he started hosting a daily hour-long show on ESPN called Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith. After the show was cancelled in January 2007, he mainly concentrated on basketball, serving as an NBA analyst.

Smith has appeared on other ESPN shows as well, including the reality series Dream Job, as well as a frequent guest (and guest host) on Pardon the Interruption, Jim Rome is Burning and as a popular participant on 1st and 10 . He has appeared as an anchor on the Sunday morning edition of SportsCenter, but on April 17, 2009 announced on his website that he would be leaving ESPN on May 1, 2009. The Los Angeles Times reported that ESPN commented that, "We decided to move in different directions."^[4] Though according to Big Lead Sports a source says that ESPN and Smith went to the negotiating table and couldn’t reach an agreement.^[5] Apparently, ESPN’s offer was considerably lower than Smith’s previous contracts – which were multi-media faceted – and Smith passed. He was then offered the decision to work through the remainder of his contract, or walk away and still get paid, and a source says Smith decided to work. Since then, Smith has returned to ESPN.

Smith appeared on MSNBC Wednesday July 8 and 9, 2009 as a special commentator on the Michael Jackson memorial funeral service. He provided a unique commentary on the choice of public funding for the celebration contrasted to the victory parade after the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship. Smith has recently become a regular guest on the MSNBC's Morning Joe, The Dylan Ratigan Show and The Ed Show.

On 30th April 2012, it was announced on air that Smith would be joining First Take on a permanent, five-day per week basis.

Acting career[link]

Smith made his acting debut in a cameo appearance as a television reporter on the February 2, 2007 episode on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. Later that year, he appeared in the Chris Rock motion picture I Think I Love My Wife, during a double-date scene.^[6]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Stephen A. Smith

• Official website
• Stephen A. Smith at the Internet Movie Database

Jarrett Payton

No. 34     Chicago Slaughter
Running back
Personal information
Date of birth: (1980-12-26) December 26, 1980 (age 31)
Place of birth: Arlington Heights, Illinois
Career information
College: Miami (Fla.)
Undrafted in 2005
Debuted in 2005 for the Amsterdam Admirals
Career history
Amsterdam Admirals (2005) Tennessee Titans (2005) Montreal Alouettes (2007) Toronto Argonauts (2009) Chicago Slaughter (2010-present) *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
2005 World Bowl champion (Amsterdam Admirals)
Career NFL statistics
Stats at NFL.com

Jarrett Walter Payton (born December 26, 1980) is a professional American and Canadian football running back. He is the son of Walter Payton. Payton was previously signed as an undrafted free agent by the NFL Tennessee Titans.

Payton has also played for the Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts. Payton played for the Chicago Slaughter of the Indoor Football League and hosts his own internet radio show named the "Jarrett Payton Show" on ChicagolandSportsRadio.com.

Early years[link]

Payton played high school soccer and football at St. Viator High School. In his first two years of high school, he opted for soccer and earned All-State player honors. As a senior in high school Payton accounted for 2,842 all-purpose yards while playing quarterback, tailback, and wide receiver (passed for 1,088 yards and rushed for another 1,345 yards). He was rated the No. 58 overall prospect in the nation by The Sporting News and named the No. 5 athlete in the Midwest Region by PrepStar.

College career[link]

As a freshman at the University of Miami Payton saw action in several games. He finished his freshman year with 262 yards rushing on 53 carries for a 4.9 average. He also totaled six catches for 48 yards (8.0 average) and returned two kickoffs for 44 yards. As a sophomore in college Payton sat out the season with a redshirt year (not medically related). As a third-year sophomore, moving to fullback from tailback, Payton played in eight games during the regular season and gained 26 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns. In 2002, as a fourth year junior, he played extensively at tailback and as a starting kickoff return man (averaged 20.7 yards per kickoff return). At tailback he rushed for 223 yards on 50 carries (4.5 average). In his final year at the University of Miami Payton ran for 1,018 yards and several touchdowns on 182 carries (5.4 average). He also caught 17 passes for 136 yards and one touchdown (8.0 average). He was also named the 2004 MVP of the Orange Bowl.

Professional career[link]

National Football League[link]

In 2005, he moved from the Titans to NFL Europe, where he played for the Amsterdam Admirals. He was a major part of the Admirals victory that year in the World Bowl XIII. Also a member of the all-NFL Europe League team in 2005. He was the Titans third running back for the 2005 season, finishing the season with 33 carries for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Payton was released prior to the 2006 season by the Titans during final cuts.

Canadian Football League[link]

On February 22, 2007 it was announced that Payton had signed a one year contract with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL. He scored his first career CFL touchdown on August 2, 2007 against Toronto. Jarrett's first 100 yard rushing game came on August 9, 2007, when he rushed the ball 20 times for 160 yards and one touchdown against the Calgary Stampeders. Payton finished the season fifth in the CFL with 852 yards and fourth with eight rushing touchdowns. Payton was released by the Alouettes on July 2, 2008.^[1]

Payton signed with the Toronto Argonauts on June 7, 2009.^[2] He was released by the Argonauts, at his request, on September 9, 2009. During his time with the Argos he gained 47 all-purpose yards on three catches and seven carries. He announced that his desire was to continue work with the Chicago-based Walter & Connie Payton Foundation, which helps underprivileged children.^[3]

Indoor Football League[link]

Payton signed with the Chicago Slaughter on January 7, 2010.

Personal[link]

Payton is the son of Walter Payton, a former Chicago Bears running back, and grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois and South Barrington, Illinois. He has a sister, Brittney. In 1993, 12-year old Jarrett gave the induction speech at his father's induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He wore jerseys numbered 33, 4 (Titans), and 34 (Miami). Payton chose 33 when he played with the Titans because #34 was retired in honor of Earl Campbell. He wore #34 with the Chicago Slaughter.

Apart from playing football, Payton spends his time recording music. He was married to the former Trisha George on March 4, 2009 in Florida. The wedding date was intentionally set on this date to coincide with Walter Payton's famous #34 with the Bears. They held their reception at Soldier Field in Chicago on March 7.^[4]

Further reading[link]

• Signing announcement at rds.ca.
• Chicago Tribune feature on Jarrett Payton signing with the Montreal Alouettes
• Mitchell, Fred (June 21, 2009). "Jarrett Payton on his dad, Walter: 'He would be so proud'". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-21-mitchell-jarrett-payton-jun21,0,3946248.story. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Toronto Argonauts profile
• Jarrett Payton Studios
• Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes bio
• Jarrett Payton's profile on Walter Payton's website
• Jarrett Payton on Twitter
• YouTube channel
• MySpace Music page
• Chicagoland Sports Radio, The Jarrett Payton Show