The New Orleans Saints cut former Terre Haute North punter Steve Weatherford on Sunday after the team’s 30-7 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Weatherford averaged 35.4 yard gross and 30.2 yards net against Carolina.
New Orleans signed former New York Jets punter Ben Graham, who accompanied the team to London for this week’s game with the San Diego Chargers.
According to the Biloxi Sun-Herald, Saints coach Sean Payton said that the reason he decided to tell Weatherford of the move right after the game was so that he wouldn’t have to make the flight to England.
“It’s always difficult to cut a player that you’ve had for a while and to release a player like Steve,” he said during a Monday press conference in London.
“He came here as a rookie in [2006] with us, but I just think that in the end it became a challenge with consistency. We just felt like it hadn’t gotten any better and it had actually dropped off
“Hopefully he’s able to land somewhere, but it was something that we did discuss prior to the game. From a timing standpoint, that’s always the biggest challenge. Again, we felt like we didn’t have the consistency that we wanted yesterday, but it wasn’t just one game. The evaluation was more than just one game.”
“One of the challenges of playing here during a normal work week — which this is — is any type of roster move,” the former Eastern Illinois quarterback added. “Any type of transaction involves the potential player flying in with a passport.
“Things that you would normally do at home maybe on a Tuesday or a Wednesday at the spur of the moment becomes a little more planned here. I just felt it was the right thing to do rather than fly Steve over here and then turn around and send him back.”
Local Interest
North grad Weatherford cut by Saints
Punter released before team heads to London
- Local Interest
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Shining Knights: Northview tops both TH teams for title
A high school baseball game that had been tense all the way through reached angina-producing heights at the end Monday night, as Northview ended Terre Haute South’s sectional championship run by a single run and a fraction of an inch.
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Bubble intact: ISU headed to NCAA baseball tournament
Forty-eight teams had been chosen for the NCAA Baseball Tournament Selection Show and things were getting antsy in the Indiana State clubhouse on Monday.
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Miners beat 2A newcomer for 3rd straight title
Linton and North Central were both defending high school baseball sectional champions, but the Thunderbirds’ move up to Class 2A did not go as they expected.
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South hangs on after scary moment in sectional semis
Terre Haute South’s bid for a sixth consecutive high school baseball sectional championship took a scary turn Monday afternoon.
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PREP/METRO ROUNDUP: Turkey Run rolls to title
Turkey Run routed North Vermillion 15-2 to capture the Class A Rockville Sectional championship for high school baseball Monday night.
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Eaton’s pair of long balls put Linton in title game
Linton blasted its way into the championship game of its hometown Class 2A high school baseball sectional as No. 9 hitter Beau Eaton cranked a pair of home runs to left field, and starting pitcher Tanner Butler capped Linton's scoring with a grand slam.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Rockville’s Greene helps lead Illinois State to MVC title
Rockville grad Lindsey Greene recently completed an outstanding freshman season for the Illinois State softball team, helping lead the Redbirds to the Missouri Valley Conference championship and a runner-up finish in the NCAA regional tournament.
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FROM TERRE HAUTE TO THE MAJOR LEAGUES: Thatcher having a good 0-for-May
San Diego Padres’ left-handed relief pitcher Joe Thatcher has yet to allow a run to score in the month of May.
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HOT MEMORIAL DAY weekend ahead for workers, campers, garage salers
The Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kickoff of summer, and this weekend is expected to be a scorcher with consecutive days of temperatures in the low to mid-90s.
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METRO ROUNDUP: ISU’s Pounds qualifies for NCAA Championships
Brandon Pounds of Indiana State missed the 2011 outdoor season with a hand injury but has made up for lost time, qualifying for the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Drake University with a fifth place finish in the men’s hammer throw at the NCAA East Preliminary Friday.
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Quiz King
Matt Aselage doesn’t usually watch TV game shows, but he is certainly up-to-date on current events.
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MVP of the MVC: Lucas first Sycamore to earn Player of Year honors
Indiana State’s baseball team got the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season hardware last week and it’s hoping to grab more gold this week in its quest to win the Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament.
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Sycamores try to catch Missouri Valley Conference tourney vibe
A Missouri Valley Conference championship season has bloomed for the Indiana State baseball team in 2012. The Sycamores have been dominant through most of the season.
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Braves, Knights open with wins
It was an excellent night for starting softball pitchers to help their own cause Monday night in the Class 4A Northview Sectional.
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Lough dreamt about McMillan
A two-time state finalist in wrestling and a two-time all-Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference football player and wrestler, Tsali Lough of Terre Haute South was named the male recipient of the 2012 McMillan Award on Monday night at South’s Senior Awards Night.
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METRO ROUNDUP: ISU 5th in MVC all-sport standings
Winning three league championships in 2011-12 helped Indiana State finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Trophy standings announced Monday by the league office.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Panthers cruise in sectional opener
Sarah Burnham pitched a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts in high school softball Monday evening as host Riverton Parke defeated defending champion Rockville 10-0 in opening-round action at the Class A Riverton Parke Sectional.
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Notable tradition bodes well for Riverton Parke
Located practically in the shadow of a high school that sets one state standard in track and field, Riverton Parke has a tendency to be overlooked in that sport.
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Vikings get 18th win over Shakamak
West Vigo began a busy week of high school baseball Monday on a winning note, defeating Shakamak 6-3.
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Greencastle new site for girls tennis regional
The starting times might prove to be a bone of contention, but otherwise coaches Bill Blankenbaker and Emily Goff are thrilled their respective girls high school tennis teams will begin play today at the Greencastle Regional.
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METRO ROUNDUP: ISU’s Beisser honored with good neighbor award
Softball pitcher Lindsey Beisser has been named Indiana State’s spring representative for the Missouri Valley Conference State Farm Good Neighbor Award.
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From Terre Haute to the major leagues
Jake Petricka had a whirlwind week, going from Winston-Salem to Birmingham, then back to Winston-Salem — all in the span of just over 24 hours.
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METRO ROUNDUP: Bloomington runners win Run Through the Jungle 5K
Kevin Murphy, an Indiana University student from Bloomington, was the overall winner of the eighth annual Run Through The Jungle 5K at the Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point on Saturday.
His winning time was 17 minutes, 0.71 seconds. -
Knights will get at least a share of WIC title
Monday was a good day for Northview in high school baseball.
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Colts have no plan to move from Anderson
Apparently the Indianapolis Colts and Anderson University officials found a way to work out a few last-minute snags concerning the team’s summer training camp site.
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PREP ROUNDUP: South dominates Sullivan in tennis
Visiting Terre Haute South dominated the No. 1 spots in high school tennis Monday evening as the Braves defeated Sullivan 5-0.
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METRO ROUNDUP: HCAC tourney at Rose
Rose-Hulman will serve as host for the 2012 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball tournament, featuring four familiar in-state rivals.
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Taking aim: No shortage of pitchers in this week’s Big 4 round robin
High school baseball pitching depth is almost always at a premium. Toss in a Big 4 round-robin tournament that includes three games, one a big conference game for all teams involved, and other conference matchups in between and it equals a major headache for the coaches of the four teams.
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Colts fill need at cornerback
While the Indianapolis Colts failed to add any cornerbacks among the 10 players selected during this past weekend’s National Football League draft, general manager Ryan Grigson and the team’s scouting department were able to snag three undrafted free agents to play the position.
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METRO/PREP ROUNDUP: Moren, Hile enter Hall of Fame
Amy Hile, Indiana State’s all-time leading scorer and its all-time leading rebounder until last season, and current Sycamore women’s coach Teri Moren were honored Saturday at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
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