In America, the winner takes all.

Chapter 335: Putting together a training camp here and there

In the footage, cornerback Roland Bailey, who was selected with the seventh overall pick by the Los Angeles Angels, was not as excited as the previous young players. He even frowned slightly. Maybe he didn't like the Angels, maybe he had already reached an agreement with other teams. Intention, in the end, he could only nod helplessly and accepted the situation.

You know, in the draft, players are just commodities on the shelf, placed there for teams to pick. This almost reversed the situation between labor and management, and the seller's market directly turned into a buyer's market. At best, it saved team owners a lot of expenses, and at worst, it kept the entire league competitive.

A very small number of players still failed to sign with the team after being selected, and the reason was not that they could not agree on treatment, but that they were eliminated in the training camp.

There is almost no situation where the Cowboys want and want Eason like last year, but Eason later proved that he is indeed worth the price.

The remaining picks in the first round have nothing to do with the Angels. Ethan discussed with the three coaches around him to decide who should be selected with the first pick in the second round.

Burger King Andy suggested that Ethan choose defensive end Mike Rooker from the University of Nebraska.

His mentor Holmgren suggested that Ethan choose another defensive end from West Virginia State University, Gary Stiles.

"Mike Rooker is 118 meters tall and weighs 49kg. He was a four-year starter at Nebraska, played 21 times, sacked the quarterback 169 times, and made tackles in four years. I think this year There is no better defensive end than him!" Andy said almost through gritted teeth.

"That's what you think, Gary Stiles set a new record in school history and won all the honors he could get with West Virginia in his senior season. His data is indeed not as eye-catching as Mike Rooker, but his rate of improvement is Very quickly. 69 tackles in his senior season, how many did Mike Rooker have?" Holmgren asked rhetorically.

"Holmgren, you only use one year's data to measure a player? This is ridiculous, we are drafting!" Andy's voice increased.

"Yes, but please note that I am talking about the senior season. Compared with the four years of college, has Mike Rooker's skills improved?"

"Of course, and he's more stable!"

"Stability? Stability is the greatest mediocrity!" Holmgren retorted loudly.

Soon the two of them were arguing with each other. Ethan and Rhodes, who were next to them, had long been accustomed to this scene. The two of them would often get into arguments before they could finish a sentence.

"Quiet, gentlemen, the second round of the draft has begun." Ethan whispered.

The two stopped arguing.

Ethan's phone was always on the line, and this time he chose to listen to Andy and select Mike Rooker from the University of Nebraska.

Then the Cleveland Browns selected wide receiver Kevin Johnson from Syracuse University, and the Cincinnati Bengals selected West Virginia State cornerback Charles Fisher...

The second round ended and the third round began, and Ethan discovered that the defensive end still had no team selection.

"Now the problem is solved, we want both of these defensive ends."

"Now we still have Marty Booker as a wide receiver. If he is not selected in the third round, we must take him in the fourth round." Andy looked very nervous.

Ethan feels that there is a high probability that other teams will not let the Angels get their wish.

Sure enough, with the 78th pick, the Chicago Bears selected Marty Booker of Northeastern Louisiana University.

With the 79th pick, the New York Giants took tight end Dan Campbell from Texas A&M University.

"FUCK, the Giants won't use a tight end at all. It's a complete waste of a spot." Holmgren whispered.

These two offensive players are both within the Angels' options, but their priority is not that high. Now it seems that the plan to take all these people away has been ruined.

At the beginning of the fourth round, Eason directly selected another tight end, Desmond Clark.

This year, they used additional draft picks to select defensive tackle Roderick Coleman in the fourth round. The forwards are often given the highest priority in the draft. In addition to the forwards themselves being crucial, it is also because The performance of forward players is often relatively stable, and the risk of injury is lower than that of technical positions. From an investment perspective, the return of choosing forward players is more stable.

Among the forwards, the priority of the defensive front is higher than that of the offensive line. This is the consensus reached by Ethan and the three coaches before the draft. At least this is the case with the Angels, because the Angels have Ethan who can run flexibly outside the pocket. Moving quarterback.

In the fifth round, Brendan Ayambadejo, a linebacker who graduated from UCLA, was selected by Ethan.

In the sixth round, Eason selected offensive tackle Brian Waters, for no reason other than that the Angels were taking an offensive tackle in this round, and Brian Waters was among the remaining offensive tackles. The largest tonnage, his weight is as high as 145KG.

In the seventh round, after some discussion, the Angels finally selected a fast-horse wide receiver, Donald Driver.

This is a black track and field athlete from Alcorn State University. He once participated in the high jump competition of the 1996 Summer Olympics. He has good physical fitness, but his ability is not outstanding. He also performed abnormally in the previous physical test, so that he was left out. , but Ethan still decided to give him a chance.

So far, the Angels' draft for this year has been completed, and the defensive front line has been basically completed. The running back and cornerback positions are all super rookies that have attracted much attention this year. Other positions are also good, including offensive tackle, tight end, and wide receiver. It can be regarded as achieving a balance of offense and defense as much as possible.

Ethan then looked through the information of these players and realized a problem.

The Angels drafted all black men and not a single white man.

From the perspective of team managers, black players are indeed useful. In the NFL, which relies heavily on the body, it is inevitable that they will become more and more popular.

Of course, the shortcomings of black players themselves are also obvious, such as their love of fun and lack of self-control. However, these players are all college graduates, and their basic professional qualities are still guaranteed.

As for Andy and Holmgren, they are very satisfied with the Angels' draft pick this year.

"Even Donald Driver, a seventh-round pick, has the potential to make the Pro Bowl in my eyes," Holmgren said.

"Yes, but the premise is that the team has good enough results. As long as we make the playoffs, maybe more than half of the people will be selected for the Pro Bowl." Ethan answered casually.

Next, Andy gave Ethan another list, which he had written before.

"Excluding those players who have already been drafted, as long as they are on the roster, we can bring them to training camp."

The subsequent training camp is similar to a trial training. When the trial training begins, the team does not need to formally sign a contract with these players. In other words, there is no risk to the team.

Ethan put this list away, and today he will arrange for Lisa's subordinate Armstrong to contact these selected players and bring these players to the training camp. The Angels' roster for this season will also be determined after the four-week training camp.

However, the current number of players is far from enough. Ethan needs more players to select.

"Holmgren, I need you to find a professional player scout. It is best to work in the NFL for a long enough time, have enough experience, and have a clear understanding of each player's situation, especially for those free agents. . Take ability as the first criterion, and try to find experienced veterans as much as possible when the abilities are similar."

In the NFL, there are two types of scouts, one is college scouts, and the other is professional scouts. The former is responsible for drafting, and the latter is responsible for recruiting players from other teams. Those who do not have a contract are free agents.

Don't even think about missing out on this part. Players with quality simply can't end up in such a situation. Besides, the Angels currently don't have the ability to offer high salaries. Ethan is going to let Holmgren do it.

Then Ethan contacted an old friend of the University of Alabama, athletic director Bob Boone, who brought Ethan to the University of Alabama, and at this time he had been promoted to vice president.

When he heard that Ethan wanted to recruit a group of young players, Bob Boone readily agreed and asked Mike DuBose, the current head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, to contact Ethan later and recommend a group of players to Ethan.

At this point, the players' preparations are basically in place. Although there are many talented players like Ethan in the lineup, plus two super rookies such as cornerback Roland Bailey and running back Echilin James, it still looks very thin. Ethan can't reverse this situation. The Angels are a new team without any financial resources. They have to start everything from scratch and don't have enough funds to recruit players. It is not easy to achieve the current level.

Although the draft is over, the NFL has also announced a series of news for the next season.

Including many minor changes to the rules, followed by the highlight of next season - the expansion and adjustment of divisions, and the rearrangement of the competition system.

With the official addition of two new teams, the Cleveland Browns and the Los Angeles Angels, the previous arrangement of six divisions has become very bloated. Starting this year, the NFL has changed to eight divisions, with four divisions in each of the American League and National League. Four teams.

The Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, and Kansas Chiefs are divided into the American League West.

None of the Angels' three division rivals are easy to deal with. The Kansas Chiefs, who seem to be slightly weaker, have stable performance in the middle of the league every year. For the new team, this division scheme is not good news.

The NFC Western Division consists of four teams: the San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and Arizona Cardinals.

As for the specific competition format, it is very intriguing. The NFL has arranged the opening game of this season to the Los Angeles Angels, who will face the Dallas Cowboys at home.

As the Super Bowl champion last season, Ethan will lead the newly established Angels to clash with the old team. League Commissioner Paul seems to understand the ratings.

Intense preparations are still going on. During this time, Ethan has been focusing on the renovation work of the team base. When he got home at night, he found Lisa, whom he had not seen for a long time, appearing at home with her children.

When the little guy saw Ethan, he even became a little acquainted with him. He hid behind his mother and looked at Ethan timidly.

With Lisa's encouragement, she walked towards Ethan, and was then picked up by Ethan.

"Why are you two here?" Ethan asked casually.

Lisa drooped her face and muttered: "If you don't come over, the children won't recognize you anymore."

Speaking of which, except for Ethan's visit to Lisa's home when he just returned to Los Angeles, the two of them never met once. It wasn't because Ethan was busy with the team, but Ethan also has a solution now.

"After some time, I plan to buy a magnificent single-family house in Beverly Hills. You will also move here at that time, and we will live together from now on." Ethan handed the child over to the maid at home.

As the number of people increased and the home began to become crowded, it was time to move to a larger house.

When Lisa heard this, not to mention how happy she was. Of course she hoped to live with Ethan, and immediately prepared to help Ethan contact some real estate agents.

"Where are the other people? Why didn't they come back?" Lisa asked at this time.

"Working overtime, everyone is busy during this period, and they won't be back until a while." Ethan shook his head.

Ethan has arranged for his whole family, even his brother in San Francisco, and asked him to create a website related to the Angels. Unlike other teams, the Angels choose to actively embrace the Internet. In addition to the official website, there are also official forums. The content discussed is not limited to the Angels. It can be said to be all-encompassing and ambitious. In the future, Ethan will also develop an online shopping mall to sell team-authorized products.

Lisa nodded and got down to business now.

It turns out that she brought her children to find Ethan not just because she missed him, but because a local bank in Los Angeles found her, hoping to become a sponsor of the Angels.

This was good news, but Ethan shook his head.

"NFL teams can't accept sponsorship alone."

In terms of commercial development, the NFL has strict regulations on each team. The NFL is only allowed to accept sponsors in the name of the league.

In order to circumvent this set of regulations, Jones Sr. accepted sponsorship in the name of the stadium, which is why he went to court with the NFL. In fact, this is basically a counterattack launched by various teams to see the Cowboys eating alone.

The final result is that all teams have begun commercial development of stadiums, but the Angels now have no stadium at all. In other words, sponsors have no way to sponsor them.

"We can only join hands with sponsors in the name of partners." Ethan shook his head, this was the only way. This method cannot get cash directly from the other party, but can only strive for some preferential conditions that are better than nothing.

The Angels have to actually have their own home stadium next season. Ethan said in his heart.

"Well, it seems that there is no way to attract enough sponsorship in a short period of time." Lisa shook her head, and the enthusiasm that had just been ignited was quickly extinguished.

"By the way, if you need funds, just ask me. I will give you some today." At this time, Lisa took out a previously written check from her bag, which was a total of five million in cash.

She heard complaints from Mia before that Ovitz invested in the club to open up real estate. Apart from the 8 million promised to the league, most of the rest has not been implemented and has to be paid. Allocating a large part of it to open up real estate, the club didn't have much money in its account at all, which caused a lot of pressure on Ethan.

So Lisa took some money out of the trust and took this opportunity to bring it to Ethan.

Ethan shook his head dumbfounded.

There are countermeasures from above, and strategies from below. Ethan's cry for poverty is actually to create pressure on Ovitz. Regardless of the lack of money, Ethan has saved everything he can. In fact, the expenses are much less than the apparent expenses, let alone losses. Some of the money was saved and fell into his own pocket. Moreover, Jones Sr. also promised to provide some financial support to the Angels, but this part has not yet been fulfilled.

After listening to Ethan's explanation, Lisa realized the truth of the matter.

"You are applying Hollywood accounting techniques to club operations." Lisa laughed.

Ethan handed the check to Lisa again, ready for her to continue using it as an investment. He has also seen Lisa's trusts, and they are quite safe for now, but they may not be safe next year.

"You can't take back what you gave away." Lisa shook her head.

In fact, with Lisa's current net worth, she has basically achieved financial freedom, but she still works hard. At first, Ethan thought this would help Rice's family, but later he discovered that Rice's biological father was also considered a rich man, not at all. Lisa is needed.

So, who is earning this money?

"It will be you sooner or later anyway. Why are you being polite to me? When the time comes, you will have to buy a big house, just treat it as my sponsorship. By the way, I am going to sell my house, and I will move to your place in the future. I can't even drive him away." She leaned into Ethan's arms affectionately, one hand groping for Ethan out of habit.

Quite anxious. Ethan began to move his hand up and down.

Lisa giggled, cueing Ethan into the room with her eyes.

Ethan had no intention of getting up, so he just stayed in the living room and started stripping off his clothes. The nanny was so frightened that she immediately took the child away.

"It's time for Mia to come back, let her see how embarrassed she is." Lisa blushed and felt hot.

"Don't you just want her to see that your wish will be fulfilled today." Ethan teased.

"I never said that..." Lisa's final voice became as thin as a mosquito.

When Mia came back and saw the two people who were not ashamed in the room, she cursed secretly, turned her face away quickly, and walked quickly to the room.

"Mia, take care of your son, he's bullying me!" Lisa shouted loudly, and Ethan saw it accurately. This strange feeling made her feel particularly comfortable.

Lisa was so vulnerable in this situation that she surrendered to Ethan within a few minutes.

"I will serve you with them tonight. Today is Mia's birthday, so be more solemn." Lisa pulled down the skirt that had fallen to her belly.

In the evening, other people arrived home one after another. Those with sensitive noses, such as Kelsey, smelled an unusual smell as soon as she came in. Looking at Lisa with lingering warmth next to Ethan, she realized what had just happened, but she didn't say anything. After all, The highlight of the night is Mia. In the evening, Ethan, four women, including Lisa, and two children gave Mia a simple but warm birthday. Several people took out carefully prepared gifts. In the process, Jennifer and Sarah, who had just returned from the set, also arrived. In addition, although no one arrived, including Penny and Charlize, they also sent gifts to Mia.

Among them, Lisa was the most generous. She actually gave Mia a small beauty salon in Beverly Hills and let her be the boss. It can be regarded as doing what he likes.

Then Sarah saw Ethan looking at his phone from time to time, and thought he was afraid, so she quietly came over and said in his ear: "There are so many people tonight, aren't you scared anymore?"

Ethan raised his head and said unmoved: "If they are all the same as you, it doesn't matter if there are twenty more."

"You're bragging again," Lisa muttered.

In fact, Ethan was in contact with Britney. This little girl has finished her guest appearance and will leave Los Angeles tomorrow.

"Making movies is quite interesting. I hope we can continue to collaborate when there is an opportunity."

"What if I don't want you to make a movie?"

"Others... are fine too."

"Don't think too much, I'm talking about recording songs. Maybe one day I'll have a sudden idea and want to invite you to record songs?"

"[middle finger]"

That night, Ethan was really one against six, but he also felt really tired for the first time. He felt that the amount of exercise was comparable to the Super Bowl.

The few people who witnessed Ethan accomplish this feat were also in extreme astonishment, marveling at Ethan's monster physical strength.

If you understand Chinese, you will probably say "It's so scary".

"Next time I'll call a few more people to have sex together. I'm very curious about where Ethan's limit is." Lisa Tonton said with a smile after taking a few sips of water.

"I give up. I still want to play for two more years." Ethan really didn't want to plow so many fields at once. In the end, the last two were just boring and mechanical repetitions.

"I was just joking, I wouldn't do this. If you don't feel sorry for yourself, I still feel sorry for you." Lisa hugged Ethan.

"By the way, are you here this month?" Catherine suddenly asked nervously.

The other two who were on Xisuo Island at the time shook their heads...

·

Half a month later, New Orleans.

Kristen, who was wearing casual clothes, returned home to her apartment with a cardboard box in her arms. As soon as she entered the door, she took out all the photos she took on the Saints cheerleading team and threw them directly into the trash can.

Until it was all over, she still seemed indignant.

I was training well, but the manager of the cheerleading team suddenly called me to the office and fired me directly because of financial constraints.

Instead of firing others, why should you fire yourself? This made Christine feel deeply betrayed, not to mention angry.

If cheerleading was a full-time job, and if cheerleading had a union, she would sue to the end.

Mad!

Kristen leaned back, lying on the bed, looking at the mottled ceiling...

How about joining the Angels and continuing to be a cheerleader? An idea came to mind.

The second time I thought of Kelsey, and then I recalled how excited Kelsey was when she cheered for Ethan.

never mind. She silently gave up the idea.

The next second, the phone in the carton rang suddenly. She stood up and found that the caller was an unknown number.

After getting through, I discovered that the caller was actually Ethan. He was quite concerned about me and asked about how I was doing.

"You didn't blame me for getting fired from the Saints, did you?" Kristen yelled. It was such a coincidence that it was hard not to think that way.

Ethan on the other end of the phone admitted generously: "It's my arrangement. I want you to join the Angels."

"Partnering with Kelsey?"

"Yes, the Angels will imitate DCC and develop the cheerleading team into the most important team card. The treatment I give is very high, the salary is higher than that of DCC, and there is also my personal preferential treatment."

From the perspective of recruiting cheerleaders, Ethan's words are indeed sincere enough.

But to Kristine's ears, it clearly pointed to another possibility.

Why did Ethan put so much effort into letting himself go? After all, isn't it just for your own benefit?

She has seen too many people like this.

Originally I wanted to refuse this time, but then I thought of Ethan's current situation, rich, young, and the manager of a team.

But after going to Los Angeles this time, I’m afraid it will be difficult to come back.

"If I refuse, will you continue to pester me?" Kristen said suddenly.

"Pray? If you really don't want to come, then I will have to find someone else."

"I do." Christine said silently.

She made her decision. She is willing to be Ethan's lover.

"You reimburse me for the air tickets, arrange accommodation for me, and send someone to pick me up at the airport. I will tell you the other requirements when I remember them. Just treat it as compensation for poaching me." Christine refused. The unforgiving way.

"no problem."

After hanging up the phone, Kristen threw the phone away and then buried her face in the pillow. You can see her shoulders shrugging slightly, as if she is crying...

The next day, Kristen packed her luggage and came to Los Angeles alone. Before she got on the plane, she got Peter's phone number. At this time, she called Ethan's assistant. The other person was already waiting for her at the airport. Peter called her The luggage was loaded into the car.

After getting into the car, Kristen found that Peter had no intention of starting the car.

"Why haven't you set off yet?" Kristen asked doubtfully.

"There are two other female team members who haven't arrived yet." Peter looked at the rearview mirror and said to her.

"There are two more?" Christine's heart skipped a beat.

Half an hour later, Peter got out of the car again, this time bringing back a brown-haired woman.

Opening the car door, the other party saw Christine and greeted her warmly.

"Hello, my name is McKenna Allen." She smiled.

"Hello." Kristen responded with a stiff expression, taking advantage of the situation to look at the other person.

"Are you a professional cheerleader? You have such a good figure." McKenna asked with a smile after getting in the car.

Kristine nodded: "What about you?"

"I only joined the Crimsonettes when I was in college. I haven't danced in a few years. I'm a little fatter than before." She said with some distress.

"Crimsonettes, the requirements to enter there are very high, right?" Of course Kristen knew about Crimsonettes, her former teammates were from there, and their overall quality was much higher than those who came from no-name cheerleading teams.

"It's quite difficult."

Not long after the two chatted, the third woman also arrived.

She was wearing a low-necked vest and a denim jacket. The upper circumference was a bit exaggerated, but the waist was slender. She had a perfect hourglass figure, dazzling golden hair, and a good height.

Kristen had seen the costumes of the Angel Cheerleaders before, and the beautiful blond beauty in front of her obviously matched the temperament of the costumes very well.

She calls herself Belinda and was a Jacksonville Jaguars cheerleader last season.

It can be seen from her expression that joining the Los Angeles cheerleading team was mostly out of necessity.

In the car, she talked happily, and she looked very familiar with Ethan as soon as she opened her mouth.

"Ethan called me for 40 minutes, begging me to join the Angels cheerleading team. At that time, I was about to sign with Storm Models. Do you know how powerful this company is? Gisele Bundchen has heard of it. No? The best supermodel ever! She’s from that company.”

"There is no other way. Since Ethan has begged me so much, I can only agree. Who told me to be so soft-hearted." She shook her head with a helpless expression.

The real situation was actually completely opposite to what she said. She did not pass Sarah's interview. In order to avoid losing her job, she took the initiative to call Ethan again, and then she caught the last train of the Angel cheerleading team.

Although the two people in the car didn't know the real situation, they didn't completely believe this woman who was talking about cheating.

"Crimsonettes... McKenna, are you Ethan's college classmate?" Christine suddenly realized something.

"Actually, I'm his college girlfriend." McKenna revealed her identity at this time.

"Ah?" Belinda was stunned, and then she realized that she had met the real owner. She quickly explained awkwardly: "I just said it casually, don't think too much about it."

She couldn't bear the responsibility of ruining other people's feelings.

"But I think it's really possible for Ethan to tell you this, after all, this Mormon has so many female companions." McKenna shook her head and sighed.

In the past few years, she had been studying full-time as a graduate student at the University of Alabama, but she had always been in contact with Ethan.

Over the past few years, Ethan told her everything.

Only then did she realize that she had been hidden for too long.

"I wouldn't have agreed to him if I had known, but what can I do now? I wanted to marry him before, hey..." McKenna sighed. The only thing to blame is that I am too soft-hearted and stupid, and I was coaxed into being stunned by Ethan.

Mormon? What a good excuse, so who can say anything? Kristine shook her head, only thinking that Ethan’s trick was beautiful.

Even if she were killed, she wouldn't think Ethan would believe in God.

But when I heard that there were so many people in the same situation as me, I didn't know why, but I felt a little more balanced.

"What about you? Kristen, you and Ethan..." McKenna looked at Kristen, who was always silent.

"I just know him, he came to the Saints' home field last year."

Kristine really didn’t know how to introduce herself to McKenna, so she could only say this.

Only then did the three people in the car realize that the vehicle was heading east.

"This training camp is held in Irvine, at the University of California, Irvine."

After about two hours' drive, the three of them arrived at the training camp venue. There were many decorations with Angels elements outside the school gate. Many fans came here to visit the training camp.

The three people dragging their luggage quickly met Kelsey.

"Let's change clothes first, you three." Kelsey smiled at the three of them.

Ethan had previously told her to welcome the three of them.

"Change clothes? Do you want to work now?" Belinda was confused.

"Yes, the preparation time this time was very rushed, and the cheerleading team itself did not have enough people." Kelsey explained.

Ethan's requirements for the team members were very strict and he eliminated almost everyone. Currently, including Kelsey, the Angel Cheerleaders only have five members.

"Is he choosing a wife or a celebrity?" Belinda complained as she changed her clothes. She pulled down her clothes with her hands, and her top was bursting, causing her pain.

"I'd better take the next size up." Kelsey shook her head and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The three of them successively changed into the white feather uniforms carefully designed by the Angels cheerleading team, and put on gogo boots with white heel lines and gold rims. Finally, they took the bouquet and rushed out to appear.

The sunlight outside made it impossible for Kristen to open her eyes for a while. After she got used to it, she saw a dense crowd of spectators in the stands and Ethan standing there in the distance.

Ethan's strict standards for the cheerleading team had an effect. Not to mention the players, even the audience, especially the male audience, were attracted by the Angel Cheerleaders, and their eyes were firmly fixed on a few people.

Even those players who participated in the training camp forgot about the training at hand as the Angels cheerleaders appeared on the stage, and they all looked over.

"It's really an angel coming!" someone exclaimed.

(End of this chapter)