From the St. Louis Disparth’s Jim Thomas.
Rams defensive end Anthony Hargrove missed his second straight day of practice today after failing to show up for a meeting with coach Scott Linehan on Thursday, and will not play in Sunday’s game at Arizona.
Rookie Victor Adeyanju, a fourth-round pick, will replace Hargrove in the lineup.
Linehan said today that he spoke briefly to Hargrove about 4 p.m. Thursday and told him to be at Rams Park by 6 p.m. to meet with him. He said the team has had no contact with Hargrove, a third-year player out of Georgia Tech, since then.
However, Post-Dispatch reporter Jim Thomas saw Hargrove arrive at Rams Park at 11:30 a.m. today. Practice ran from 10 a.m. until noon.
Linehan would not say if the team would suspend Hargrove, saying simply, “He’s just not playing. You can call it what you want.” He did say that the third-year player would be fined.
Linehan said he had no idea what prompted Hargrove to go AWOL. The coach said Hargrove had “general things” just like other players, “but nothing to this extent at all.”
In the event there’s nothing really serious going on and the player has merely overindulged, I’d suggest that Hargrove play the G-d Card. Simply tell Linehan that his religious beliefs preclude maiming Mr. Brenda Warner.
Pro Football Talk cited published reports that potential stadium conflicts between the playoff-bound A’s and Raiders, Twins and Vikings, could lead to addtional Monday Night Football doubleheaders in October.
The October 8 game between the Lions and Vikings would conflict with Game 5 of the American League Division Series involving the Minnesota Twins, if the Twins manage to overcome their current 0.5-game deficit to win the AL Central — and if the Twins finish with one of the top two records among the three division winners.
If that happens, ESPN would probably (in our estimation) air the Lions at Vikings game at 7:00 p.m. on October 9, and the Ravens at Broncos game at 10:15.
The other two games apparently involve the Oakland Raiders, who share a stadium with the Oakland A’s. If the A’s make it to the World Series, which due to the All-Star Game victory by the junior circuit would give them home-field advantage, Game Two and Game Seven would conflict with Arizona at Oakland on October 22, and Pittsburgh at Oakland on October 29, respectively.
Both games undoubtedly would start at 10:15 Eastern, with the Giants at Cowboys getting the 7:00 p.m. start on October 22, and the Pats at Vikings seeing the early kickoff on October 29.