The CIAA held its annual football media day at Virginia State University and SportsGroove TV gets the preseason scoop as the conference begins its 99th season of intercollegiate athletics. Mark Gray has the story from Petersburgh, Virginia

Minnesota Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe and Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett hosted a free football camp at Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex – near their respective hometowns and talked to Mark Gray about stresssing the importance of education for young student-athletes during a free one day event in Landover.

Check out the latest edition of In Your Face with Mark Gray now.

From Fanhouse.com

From the time he became the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, Albert Haynesworth has said it’s not about the money.

But you can bet it’s because the Washington Redskins want a nice chuck of their cash back from the petulant and disgruntled defensive tackle that Haynesworth announced Wednesday that he’ll report with his teammates for training camp July 29 at Ashburn, Va.

“Despite my current differences with the Redskins, I have always planned to attend training camp and honor my contract,” Haynesworth, who signed a seven-year, $100 million contract in 2009, said in a statement. “As I have previously said, I am continuing to prepare individually and will report on time, in shape and ready to play football. Any issues I have with the club I will discuss privately and therefore do not plan to make any further public comments on this matter.”

Haynesworth, the 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year with the Tennessee Titans, chose to boycott all offseason workouts after the Redskins, under new coach Mike Shanahan, switched from a 4-3 defensive front to a 3-4. Haynesworth, 29, claims the team promised to build its defense around him, and that a three-man front — which requires a nose tackle to occupy linemen so linebackers can make plays — is not the best way to suit his talents.

Last week, Haynesworth failed to show up for a mandatory mini-camp and was fined $100,000 by the team. Haynesworth, through his agent, demanded a trade.

Redskins players, both current and past, trashed Haynesworth in the D.C. press as being selfish and all about the money. The team reportedly was set to go after a portion of the more than $41 million he already has received as part of the contract.

Now, Haynesworth’s arrival next month should make for quite the circus for Shanahan’s first camp with the Redskins, and one of the best story lines to the start of the 2010 season.

After recently departing the front office of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Doug Williams has now found a new home. On Tuesday it was announced that Williams will serve as the general manger of United Football League’s new expansion team in Norfolk, Va.

“For me, it’d be a blessing,” Williams, MVP of Super Bowl XXII with the Washington Redskins, told the Newport News’ Daily Press. “The only thing I’d ask for is for the community to come and support their team.”

The new team in Norfolk still is without a name, but with Williams running the show at general manager, the team can expect to bring in some great talent and compete early on in the UFL. The Norfolk team will begin play in 2011.

The league says it hopes to expand to up to 14 teams. The Omaha Nighthawks will debut in the UFL’s second season this fall, joining the Florida Tuskers, Hartford Colonials, Las Vegas Locomotives and Sacramento Mountain Lions.

The UFL granted Virginia businessman Jim Speros the expansion franchise. In 1995, Speros owned the Baltimore Stallions, the only U.S.-based team to win a Canadian Football League Grey Cup.

“I am very fortunate to be able to bring a pro football team to the state of Virginia and especially to the Tidewater region,” Speros said in a statement. “There is already a lot of football history in this area and I believe Norfolk will become the shining star of the United Football League.”

“We are delighted to welcome Norfolk, Va., and the Tidewater region as our sixth city and are excited to have a successful team owner in Jim Speros and a proven winner in Doug Williams on board to lead the team,” UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue said in a statement.

Williams first joined the Bucs as a first-round draft choice out of Grambling in 1978, and went on to lead them to their first three playoff appearances, in 1979, 1981 and 1982. He spent two years with the Outlaws, who moved to Arizona in 1985, but returned to the NFL when the USFL folded in 1986, joining the Redskins at the behest of Gibbs, a former Bucs offensive coordinator.

Williams first served the Redskins as a backup to quarterback Jay Schroeder, but took over as the starter at the end of the 1987 season and went on to lead the Redskins over Denver in the Super Bowl.

He retired as a player following the 1989 season and began his college head coaching career in 1997 at Morehouse College. A year later he replaced the legendary Eddie Robinson as the head coach at Grambling, where he led the Tigers to three straight Southwest Atlantic Conference titles.

With the NBA Draft on the horizon and the Washington Wizards holding the top pick in the 2010 NBA Draft SportsGroove TV host Mark Gray talks with head coach Flip Saunders as the team prepares to chart the new direction of the franchise while looking to rebound from back to back dismal seasons. Check it out here.

After officially becoming the majority owner of the Washington Wizards Ted Leonsis talked about his plans for the future with NewsTalk 1450 WOL’s Mark Gray at the Verizon Center. In the first episode of SportsGroove TV’s new In Your Face program Gray begins a series of conversations with the real players on the DC sports scene by talking with Leonsis about the future of the Wizards franchise.

Check It Out Here

By Mark F. Gray

To those who still want to pose the Kobe versus Michael Jordan question regarding who is the best player ever be advised that these NBA Finals are the defining moment in the Black Mamba’s career. As a lifetime Laker Bryant takes his place amongst the likes of Wilt Chamberlin, Elgin Baylor, and Jerry West as players who have gotten to the NBA Finals and haven’t solved the mystery of the Boston Celtics.

Until he finds a way to slay that dragon Kobe can’t be considered the best player of all time. In fact he can’t even be considered the greatest Laker ever. No matter how many championships won if he doesn’t beat the Celtics that honor will be shared by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the pantheon of purple and gold.

Perhaps it is unfair but that’s just how it is for a lifetime Laker of Bryant’s stature. These are the two most storied franchises in the history of pro basketball. The Celtics and Lakers have combined to win 33 of the NBA’s 64 championships. However, when it comes to The Finals it has been nearly all Boston. The Celtics have won nine of the previous 11 series between the teams. Had it not been for Magic, Kareem, and Pat Riley during the mid-80’s the Celtics would still be pitching a shutout with the Larry O’Brien trophy on the line.

When you play for the Celtics and the Lakers you are defined by winning championships. There are no division, conference, or attendance championship banners hanging in the rafters of Staples Center or the new “Garden”. The Celtics have hung most of theirs at the expense of the Lakers much to the chagrin of their Hall of Fame wing that includes Chamberlain, West, and Baylor.

If you’re Kobe that’s a fraternity you would prefer not to be a part of. Each player has carved his niche in NBA lore but each looks back upon an illustrious career with an asterisk for not being able to defeat the Celtics for an NBA championship. Bryant enters these NBA Finals trying not to embrace past history but he now stands as another all time Laker great who hasn’t beat the Celtics when it counts the most.

This is bigger than being compared with Jordan as greatest player ever. While Jordan defined basketball in Chicago the Bulls were anything but a storied NBA franchise before he got there. They had never won a championship before him and were historically irrelevant. Its easier to make history where there is none as Jordan did.

Kobe, meanwhile, walks in the shadows of greatness. He is defined as much by winning championships as who he beats. Bryant’s scroll of titles comes at the expense of legendary franchises such as the Pacers, Nets, Cavaliers, and Magic who had been there before. For the record, against franchises with NBA titles Kobe is now 0-2 having lost to the Pistons in 2004 and the Celtics in 2008.

Four championships define Bryant as one of the all time greats. However, as a Laker Kobe is held to an altogether different standard. He will defined be the ghosts of the past. He has proven that he could win without Shaq but can he join the greatest duo in the history of the franchise by beating a long time nemesis. You can’t be the best player ever without being the greatest player in the history of your franchise.

Kareem and Magic earn that distinction with five titles – two against Boston. If Kobe doesn’t lead his team to victory over the Celtics his place will remain on a lower rung. Its not fair but that’s just how it is!

With all of Wizards Nation still basking in the afterglow of winning the NBA Draft Lottery in a year where there seems to be a transcendant franchise changing player SportsGroove TV breaks it down with authority. Mark Gray, host of The SportsGroove Radio Program, welcomes you inside the WOL SkyBox for comprehensive analysis of projected #1 pick John Wall from Kentucky who basketball experts say will change the direction of the franchise for the next decade.

SportsGroove TV Presents Live From The SkyBox so check it out here.