Three Days of the Seahawk

There's this old movie called Three Days of the Condor, where Robert Redford plays a CIA worker that finds finds all his co-workers dead. His CIA code name is Condor. In the next seventy-two hours almost everyone he trusts will try to kill him.

So I thought, "Hmmm, Bloof, how in John Clayton's bunions can you make a catchy title for a review of the first three days of Seahawks news? I've got it - I'll call it "Three Days of the Seahawk"! I know it's a stretch, but it's got a bird in the title, three days, and Robert Redford gets to open-mouth lip-wrestle Faye Dunaway on the cover, which is vaguely reminiscent of the treatment Alba gives to anyone who compliments him.

Wait. This gets dumber. I stared writing this yesterday. This should be titled "Four days of the Seahawk", retreading the events since camp opened, say, four days ago.

Wow, this is lame. Let's cut to Seahawks stuff already:

Letters from camp: Lots of stuff happening. Kelly Jennings signed, albeit late, but before the pads went on. Ken Hamlin started banging, but the true test of his rehabilitation will be in scrimmage on Saturday. Ruskell and Holmgren started out in a good mood, providing great leadership and effectiveness. But today, Lofa Tatupu is pissing off Mike Holmgren.

Great interviews and articles regarding Matt Hasselbeck, Michael Boulware, Pork Chop, and Julian Peterson. Darry Tapp picks up the mantle of rookie Seahawks Diary Writer.

Events around Cyberspace: A well meaning commenter wears people thin on Sando's blog, and even draws counsel from "The Mike". Folks are bringing their own observations from Cheney on SeahawkBlue. On Seahawks Insider, right now you can catch an argument about the validity of FootballOutsiders.com. Also one notorious troll continues to be an obnoxios cretin.

That's all for now. GO SEAHAWKS!!!


Late Entries: Look out, Spencer's comfortable. Tim Ruskell released a TE, signed another, and had him catching passes - all in the same day. The defense frustrated the offense, but Seneca ran for a TD. Lofa tears it up.

Later Entry: No wonder the defense had the upper hand - they started tackling today for the first time. Peter Warrick's goal is to make it to the Pro Bowl as a punt returner, and here's a shock - Bob Casuullo wants to cut down on the special teams penalties.

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Tuesdays with Morons

For those new to the site, this is a weekly feature where we grab a picture or pictures from the news and provide our own caption in the comments section.

Click on the picture to see a larger version of this image from St. Louis Rams training camp, and then click the green number to the right of the title above to add your caption!

Seahawks Mosaics

Or maybe it should be called "Seahawks Mosaii"?

Either way, were is something I made with a little help from the 12th man.

Click on the desired picture to download the full freaking mosaic. It's huge, but fun to look at all the little details.

Tip: Try printing them in color on 8 1/2" x 11" paper. It's suitable for framing!

Enjoy.

12th man flag (1.9 mb)

Shaun Alexander (1.91 mb)

Jacob Green (1.86 mb)

Matt Hasselbeck (1.89 mb)

The thing they put on their head (1.9 mb)

Walter Jones (1.86 mb)

Cortez Kennedy (1.9 mb, but he seems much bigger)

Steve Largent (1.89 mb)

Jim Zorn (1.84 mb)


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The Hour Has Come...

And as he sat upon the camp in Cheney, the 12th man came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of the Lombardi trophy, and of the end of the championship drought?

This Seahawks dude answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

For many shall troll in the forums, saying, The Seahawks suck; and shall deceive many.

And ye shall hear of division rivals and rumors of rivals: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the championship is not yet.

For rival shall rise against rival, and conference against conference: and there shall be injuries, and bad calls, and East coast bias, in power rankings.

All these are the beginning of challenges.

Then shall they deliver you up to be disrespected, and shall mock you: and ye shall be hated of all rivals for Shaun Alexander's sake.

And then shall many be offended, and shall behave like trolls to one another, and shall lay smack to one another.

And many false power rankings shall rise, and shall deceive many.

And because bandwagoners shall abound, the love of many shall wane erratically.

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall see you in Miami.

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Adopt-A-Seahawk!

As our boys pack up their belongings and say good-bye to their families on the way to Cheney, it's time for the Seahawk faithful to step up and provide some love and support, especially to the young ones! I'm not talking about bunking with them, or bringing over a nice covered dish - - - I'm talking about the 12 Seahawks Street Adopt-A-Seahawk program!

Last season, we all learned a lot about a few of the emerging stars on the Seahawks roster, like Michael Boulware and Kelly Herndon, thanks to the Adopt-A-Seahawk sub-blogs. We won't mention the one annointing the next starting middle linebacker for the Seahawks! (HINT: it wasn't Lofa Tatupu!)

The idea is to adopt a Seahawk player, either a rookie, free agent pickup, or perrennial backup vying for a starters role, and follow their progress through Training Camp, the Pre-Season and throughout the 2006 campaign.

Basically, you'll create your own sub-blog with the look-and-feel of the 12SS main site, and have total editorial control over the content for that site. Bluefoot and the other 12SS site administrators will be available for any technical assistance you may require, but it's really not that difficult a task - why even a Monkey can do it!

Here's a suggested list of adoptees.

ROOKIES

Kelly Jennings (CB) *** Adopted by: O-MEEZY

Darryl Tapp (DE)

Rob Sims (OG)

David Kirtman (FB)

Ryan Plackemeier (P) *** Adopted by: ALAN

Ben Obomanu (WR)

FREE AGENTS

Julian Peterson (LB) *** Adopted by: MIKE

Tom Ashworth (OG)

Nate Burleson (WR) *** Adopted by: HAWKGAL

Russel Davis (DT)

Mike Green (DB)

EMERGING STARS / FRINGE PLAYERS

Jordan Babineaux (DB)

Chuck Darby (DT)

Skyler Fulton (WR)

Jeb Huckaba (DE)

J.P. Darche (LS) *** Adopted by: PITCHIN FROM PDX


To Adopt a player on this list, or anyone else on the Seahawks roster, just leave a comment on this topic and we'll get you started. All we ask is that you periodically update the content on your site, and enlighten the Seahawk faithful about player we might otherwise not get to read about.



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Alba's Recipe for Success

With the opening of training camp less than 4 days away, we all eagerly await the start of the 2006 season with great expectations, while our long history with this team, along with the several "curses" they have to contend with (Madden, Chunky, etc.) secretly forces us to harbor some doubts and anxiety!

But fear not.

Removing all emotion from the equation, and assuming that the refs are really impartial arbiters of the game, rather than paid employees of the opposition, getting back into the playoffs, and punching our ticket to Miami is really a simple Four Step process.

Being able to actually execute the plan, however, is always the trick!!!

1. Win your Divisional Matchups One third of your games are against Divisional opponents, and if you win them all, it is VERY hard not to also win the Division, getting a automatic playoff birth. You must at least sweep ONE divisional opponent and split the other two. You must NOT lose both games to any Divisional opponent.
(best case 6-0, worst case 4-2)

2. Win your Home Games Three of the home games against Divisional opponents are covered above, leaving 5 others. Being undefeated at home not only bodes well for season ticket sales but it also goes a long way to securing home field advantage in the playoffs, which we now know is a pretty huge advantage. The law of averages and the way the ball bounces dictates that you can't ALWAYS be undefeated at home, but you should at least have a winning record.
(best case 5-0, worst case 3-2)

3. Win all the games you're SUPPOSED TO... This covers the proverbial "trap games", like early season non-conference games, or late season games against teams already out of the playoff hunt. The Seahawks SHOULD win on the road at Detroit and at home against the Raiders and Packers. For purposes of best/worst case, we'll ignore the two home games accounted for above, and just count the Lion game, where losing AGAIN in Detroit is NOT AN OPTION! (best case 1-0, worst case 1-0)

4. ...and a couple that you're NOT! So, if the team takes care of business in the Division, at Home, and against the lowly Lions, then the 2006 season comes down to 4 road games - at Chicago, at Kansas City, at Denver and at Tampa. The Chicago game could very well be put in Number 3 above, but the media may still be slobbering on the Chicago D in week 4, so we'll probably be road dogs. The long and dreary history of playing games at KC and Denver, along with them both being talented teams, will probably mean the Seahawks will be getting points in those matchups as well. And the season finale in Tampa brings with it the "dreaded" Eastern Time Zone curse, although if all goes well, it may be a meaningless contest between two teams (well, ONE for sure!) coasting into the playoffs.
(best case 4-0, worst case 2-2)


Tallying up the scenarios above, the best case, of course, has the Seahawks going undefeated, which is highly improbable, but not impossible. The "worst" case scenario has the team at 10-6, winning the Division and at least hosting a home Wild Card game. Given the talent of the squad, the off season acquisitions and minimal key player defections, 10-6 should be "par" for the 2006 course. Every win over 10 is a "birdie", and a notch closer to HFA throughout. Every loss over 6 is a "bogey" and a notch closer to falling into "the curse of the Superbowl runner up!"

So there you have it. A MapQuest quality road map from Cheney to Miami, completely marked with milestones, rest stops and potential disasters.

So let's all get gassed up and enjoy the ride!


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The Magic Hat!

Ladies and Gentlemen....I submit to you the story of The Magic Hat as evidence that even the Great Atlatic Ocean is no match for the power of the Seattle Seahawks.

Here I am on Day 5 of my Cape Cod vacation, jumping in the waves of water so cold my penis had retreated 3 feet into my lower intestines, and my balls were somewhere around my throat, otherwise enjoying the beach and the views. (actual picture of anonymous beachgoer clicked when my wife wasn't looking!)

Anyhow, since I was the only one brave (errr Stupid) enough to get into the water, I was keeping an eye on my kids, who were digging sand castles on the beach, while jumping in the waves.

Not expecting too get in too much above the waistline, I was wearing my sunglasses and everpresent Seahawks cap.

You see, after each season I treat myself to a new Seahawks cap, and generally wear it through the summer, playing golf and doing yardwork etc. On this particular occasion, it was the khaki Seahawks cap that I bought after the 2003 Season, a little worn and tattered, but one of my favorites.

Anyhow, as I'm enjoying numb sensation of my lower extremities, courtesy of frigid temperatures of the north Atlantic seacoast, a moster wave sneaks up behind me and thoroughly wipes me out.

At this point it's probably important to point on that in addition to the unique water temperatures, the North Atlantic is known for its course sand and rocky bottom, so when you get wiped out by a wave, you try to get to your feet as soon as possible, otherwise your flesh gets ripped and tattered quicker than Ben Rothlesburger's Harley T-Shirt as he's flying across the hood of Bluefoot's mother's New Yorker!

So as I'm scrambling to get to my feet and keep from leaving several layers of my epidermis on Nauset Beach, I managed to secure my sunglasses, but lost my hat to the mighty Sea.

As high tide was rolling in, I tried to search each ebb and flow of the waves as they crashed in, for any sign of my beloved Seahawks hat. After about 10 minutes of searching, I realized that it was gone for good, and that I should just let it be.

So I continued to frollick in the surf while keeping one eye on my kids, and other one for any other mini-tidal waves that may be trying sneak up on me, and went back to enjoying my vacation bliss....as well as the general numbness from the waist down.

Then, about 20 minutes later, a full half hour since the hat-losing debacle, as another particularly large wave crashed over me, I saw something tan floating just beneith the surface.

IT WAS MY HAT!

As I reached for it, the undertow started to drag it back to the sea, and it scooted away just below my grasp.

F#CK THAT...SAID I...I'M NOT LOSING IT AGAIN!

So I dove head first into the briney surf and snagged that cap away from the clutches of Neptune, Poseiden, and the watery tart who gave King Arthur that sword!

I came up out of the water clutching the hat like Tom Hanks when he speared that fish in Cast Away, and knew that it was a sign from God, Mother Nature, or some other global force, of the resiliency of this team, and the faith of being a fan!


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Football announcers

(Note: there is a high probablility that this post will have no actual merit. But, its the offseason, so lets do it.)

I haven't posted in awhile, mostly because the offseason is so long, and so boring. Nobody is doing any drives worthy of bronze racecars, and so I idle.

Then at dinner the other night, I was aked to do a John Madden impression. This is not done by voice, but rather in saying the most pointless, obvious football thing ever.

"You see, you want to move the ball forward in the game of football. And eventually you want to score a touchdown, because thats the most points. If you can't score a touchdown, kick a field goal. Because you need points to win." Thats about what I said over chicken wings.

I concluded the demonstration by quipping, "And Pat Summerall asks himself...WHY?!?!?"

Later that night, as I so often do, I thought over how dinner went. Usually this is a time to reflect on why I didn't come home with a girl, or at least get her phone number. That night though it was more along the lines of, whatever happened to Pat Summerall?

Was there anybody better at play-by-play then Pat. He did what so few even try to do today. He simplified a complex game. His typical call would be something like, "Hasselbeck drops back, to Jackson, touchdown. Twenty-six yards."

Simple, effective, to the point. Then Madden (or whoever FOX paired him with on the D crew when Madden bolted) would go nuts over the play.

I realized how much I missed his simple call when listening to the All-Star game last night, as called by Joe Buck. Buck is a great baseball guy, because his job is to do the opposite of a football announcer's. He makes a simple game complex. He tells stories of past heroes of the game while drawing comparisons to the players before his eyes. He comments on the crowd, the weather, and the feel of the game. That's what baseball announcers do, and that's why many of us can survive the summer.

Football announcers today take that approach, and its to bad. Its already a complex game. We already have countless hours of programming each week to preview each game and talk about each key player.

The men manning the mic these days would be well served to mold their craft after Summerall's. Don't get in the way, let the game do the talking.

I'm not sure who usually does the FOX telecasts of Seahawk games, but they seem to do a good job with it. Outside of Raible and Moon, they're as close to the hometown crew as one can get. I don't want them to be homers, and they aren't. They are simple, they work well together, and they make the game fun. I almost cringe when the Seahawks are the national game, because all of the A broadcast teams are prima donnas who constantly fill the air with their words, and the atmosphere at the stadium is forced out of the cast.

Maybe I think about these things way to much (after all, I'm a radio/TV student in college) but maybe its just a good way to kill time until training camp. (14 days, of this writing)



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Peter King's Four Point Stance Makes Him an Idiot of Crap

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Peter King unrolled another lame one today:

Make long field goals more valuable: Simple: Any field goal 50 yards or further is worth four points. No traditionalist would want it. But no traditionalist wanted the three-point shot in basketball, and look how much fun it is to see Dwyane Wade or Vince Carter go wild from 28 feet. Electric stuff. Imagine the Lincoln Financial Field crowd at a 14-10 game, Philadelphia trailing Dallas, late fourth quarter, Eagles' ball, fourth-and-six at the Cowboy 35. "A-kers! A-kers! A-kers!" the crowd shouts, serenading David Akers as he runs on the field. And now the game's in his hands. Or on his foot. It'd add value to the long field goal, and make more games competitive late.

Most of his suggestions in this article were tolerable. but the suggestion that 50+ yard field goals should be worth more points is further evidence that Peter King either smokes crack, doesn't know football from a hole in the ground, or both.

While he describes the advent of the three point shot as an initially disliked, but now welcome addition to the sport of basketball, an implementation of this type of scoring would be devastating to football.

Imagine this scenario, if a 50+ yard field goal was worth 4 points. The clock is winding down below 30 seconds left in regulation. Team A is behind by four points, and has the ball on the 40, essentially a 57 yard field goal. What team A wants at this point is to be between the 33-35 yard line, a 50-52 yard goal for a four point field goal to send the game into OT.

So they need between 5-7 yards. Not more, not less. What is the defense of team B supposed to do? Fall over and let them have eight yards, ruining their chance for 4 points? I suppose they could always have a longer snap, but that would screw with kicker's heads for sure, and make the whole situation a little more prone for error. A longer snap has greater chance to miss.

What if the player from team A with the ball gets close to the 33-35 yard line, and appears ready to down it? If the defender from team B is behind, should he try to push them FORWARD to the 32?

NO. That's not football. Football is about the gridiron, about defending your turf and attacking theirs. IN NO WAY should you ever want the opponent closer to your goal line. Never. It's part of football menatality. To create a magic zone in the middle of the field, that the defense either needs to keep them from crossing, or to push them beyond, goes against the fundamental principles of football.

Defenders would always have to worry about that special range during the whole game. Offenses would be doing "catch and kneel" drills in preparation for that scenario. Which is just sissy. When you catch, it is pure football to try to get to the end zone. Wetting your pants and dropping at the 33 is for (felines). Get closer to the goal, that's what football is all about.

Another result of this is the increased emphasis on the kicking game, which is just WRONG. The kicking part of football is ancillary to offense and defense. That's why special teams players are paid less, and 2nd and 3rd stringers make the bulk the unit. Increased emphasis on kicking is not good for football. In other countries, that is all they cheer for, but they are all limp wristed soccer lovers, and kicking is all they know. But this is American Football, and it built on running around and beating each other's brains out, not KICKING.

I hope I made my point.

Tuesdays with Morons!

So why is there a picture of Stealer's President Dan Rooney on a Seahawks-related blog?

Just as the NFL used to have Thursday Night editions of Monday Night Football, or a very special Blossom episode, I bring you an off-season Friday edition of Tuesdays with Morons.

For the uninitiated and those with short term memory loss, Tuesdays With Morons is a regular in-season feature on the 12 Seahawks Street blog where post a particularly odd or funny picture (or pictures) from the week's NFL match-ups and ask the visitors to provide the caption for it.

Click the picture of "Bukkake Dan" and add your own witty or scathing caption for the full graphic in the Comments section.


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We have a different winner, now that a playoff has been executed!*

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*Outcome affected by computer malfunction. See comments section.

SeahawkBlue's online poker tournament a raging success

In case you haven't already heard, tonight was the first SeahawkBlue Texas Hold 'em tournament, complete with online voice chat and -- did I hear it right -- live music?

Clearly, the founders of SeahawkBlue have created an online fan community like no other. If you haven't checked it out, I strongly recommend becoming an elite member (it's FREE!) and trying it yourself. Start posting right away. You'll be surprised at how easy it is to get engaged, and without all the cockfighting that goes on in most forums.

But I can't say enough about how much fun it was to watch some folks I've known for some time online give it their best shot. It started with ten players, but came down to two, ADP and AZCHAWK. ADP had dominated most of the game, but it tragically ended with the following script:

adp17 finishes in 2nd place.
adp17 eliminated for sitting out too many hands .

AAAAAARRRRGGGHH!!! Damn dialup!!!

After gathering together to come up with a solution for the tragedy, AZCHawk and ADP agreed to finish the tournament fair and square (after some memorable whining from the competitive ADP :P). Same rules and same chipstacks in hand, ADP finished what he started, winning the tournament with a 10 high-10-3 offsuit, which beat out AZCHawk's 9 high. ADP knocked out half of the table, and after gaining a big lead, never trailed again until Senna, the cinderella story, gained and passed him midway through. His lead was short lived, as ADP eliminated tournament maker AlbaNYHawker in 5th. Albany was the one guy who had ADP's number throughout the tournament, so it was fitting ADP won one hand against him-the one that knocked him out. Later Senna was eliminated in 4th by AZCHawk. ChawkUp also made a run, finishing 3rd after ADP knocked him out.

Congratulations, ADP!!!

How does it feel?

(This was edited by several people)

Quarterback Depth - Git 'er Done!

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Last year was the best Seahawk season ever. What a ride it was last year. This is a new season now and it is time to start another journey to the ultimate goal. The off-season has never been shorter, and here I am addicted for any Seahawk news. Anything -- I need a fix. These are the dog days of the off-season in late June and early July.

The front office announced a desire to pursue a veteran backup quarterback and then leaves us hanging. Well I have been hung long enough. I think the lack of noise is really the story here. Jeff Garcia, Shaun King, and Craig Nall, all have been available and all have been West Coast Offense QBs. Yet they only bring in my favorite martian - Jamie Martin! I think all along, the front office knew who they were targeting and were waiting for the right dominoes to fall, to get him.

We have never been so close to the pinnacle of the NFL before. Hass has been very durable. Our #2 QB Seneca Wallace, is considered to be the most athletic person on the team, yet rarely gets on the field. The coaching staff has stated they would like to get Wallace on the field for a few plays via the slash role such as WR/RB/PR/KR, but would not do so without another veteran backup that has experienced success before. Is this coach speak for lack of confidence of Seneca as the backup or do they truly desire SW in a slash role? The team did pursue Brad Johnson last year. The slash role could be just a convenient explanation to pursue a veteran without blowing Wallace’s confidence. Wallace has been in Holmgren’s system for 4 years now. He has not been tested in a meaningful game, so it would be hard to justify his capability to perform in Matt’s absence. A role such as that does put the player in jeopardy for injuries. Whoever follows Seneca on the depth chart is even less capable of managing a team attempting to return to the Super Bowl. David Greene is currently the #3 QB/ Holmgren and Zorn think highly in him for his potential to do well in a WCO offense. Recently, his progress has plateaued though. Most telling, is Holmgren's audio containing a decidedly tepid endorsement of Greene's progress thus far (http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/media/07_08_2006_Holmgren.mp3).

The West Coast Offense is very intricate and takes a long time to learn. To perform well in the WCO, you need intelligence and reps. Receiver routes and blocking assignments may change as the play evolves. Yes, the blocking and the receiver routes are dynamically reconfigured during action. In our offense tempo is stressed. Get the play in from the sideline and then hike the ball with minimum time elapsed. The advantage here is to not let the defense get set. The defense would not be able to substitute based on the offensive formation. The players have to be in great physical shape. Our advantage is that the other team becomes so winded because the time between plays is so short, that they become winded. The majority of the passing plays are short routes predicated in long gains achieved with YAC (yards after catch). Holmgren has been known as a coach that uses more formations than any other coach, except for maybe his disciples. He also scripts his plays to see how teams react. The double TE formations and the plays that emanate out of those sets, raises the complexity and the game planning that opposing coaches must accommodate. This gives the Seahawks an edge.

Not just any QB can be inserted into the WCO and perform well. A veteran backup will need time to acclimate to the scheme or he must have been groomed elsewhere.

Tim Rattay has operated within the West Coast Offenses employed by Tampa and San Francisco for his entire 6 year career. Tim played in 32 games and started 16 of them for SF tossing 24 TDs and 18 INTs. He completed 356 for 586 attempts for 3941 yards. This was remarkable for an anemic running team such as SF, frequently playing from behind and the defense knew they had to throw. His QB rating was 82 overall, 93 when ahead, 135 when the game was tied, and 68 when behind during his tenure with the 49ers.

The scouting report on Rattay as provided by Scouts, Inc. -- “He has a nice touch in the short and intermediate passing game. He has good quickness setting up in the pocket and has generally good quarterback mechanics. He does not have great height and has trouble seeing in the pocket. He is smooth getting rid of the ball and has shown good toughness in his ability to take a hit. He does not have great running ability but has enough movement to escape the rush and get downfield to make positive yards. He makes good decisions with the ball and rarely tries to force the ball where it should not be thrown. He has a quick release but his arm strength and the ability to throw the deep ball is a question. He takes care of the ball and doesn't put it on the ground. His inability to challenge the defense with a deep ball is going to cause more problems with schemes underneath. With a better surrounding cast, he can get the job done."

These attributes meet the requirements set forth by Holmgren when he sought to obtain the services of Matt Hasselbeck. In his scheme, the deep throws are not required, but he does lack the height. Seneca is shorter. He’s smart and makes few mistakes, and he knows how to manage the game well. He reminds me of Dilfer.

Tim Rattay is buried on the roster of Tampa Bay, never rising above third on the depth chart. He is due $1.25m this year as the #3 QB. Only Joey Harrington, Josh McCown and Kyle Boller will make more as a non-starter this year. Simms is the starter. Fiedler is the #2, has been coached by Gruden before, and is more experienced than Rattay. Gruden is enamoured with Brad Gradbowski, the athletic QB they drafted this year. Gruden will retain Gradbowski on the roster to prevent another team from swooping down on their practice squad and taking him. The rookie has really impressed their coaching staff.

Rattay is in the last year of his contract. The Seahawks have plenty of cap room, are a Super Bowl contender, and run the WCO. This would suggest enough motivation to entice Rattay to negotiate an extension with the Seahawks. I should point out that there may be no other team in the NFL better prepared to make a deal with Tampa Bay to obtain Rattay. Ruston Webster was on the personnel team that traded with SF to acquire Rattay. Ruskell also has strong ties with TB. Holmgren has seen Rattay oppose the Hawks. He was 23-35 for 259 yards, 2TDS, 1 INT and a 95 QB rating in that game. Julian Peterson and Jimmy Williams were former team-mates. Gruden really does not have room for him. All indicators are that Fiedler will be fully ready to resume drills at camp. Look for a deal to be made right before camp. A 6th round draft pick will be the cost of acquisition.

Now Ruskell and Webster need to get on the phone with the front office of Tampa. Get 'er done!