I'll have a few quick hits before completely diving into today's e-mail, but first a cardiologist speaks from the heart:
As you read this, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith might still be assessing the damage in his Washington office after what can best be described as a bizarre fire in the bathroom adjacent to his office around 5 a.m.
So far, public reaction to the tragic collapse of the Dallas Cowboys' indoor practice facility has understandably reflected sadness, shock and genuine empathy for the 12 injured persons, particularly scout Rich Behm, who was left permanently paralyzed from the waist down.
I had the chance to sit with the new executive director of the NFL Players Association, DeMaurice Smith, for three hours in Washington last week. I liked him. He's personable, he listens, he makes good arguments ... and, more importantly, he's a huge football fan. He loves the game, and it's going to be tough for him to tear himself away from his beloved Redskins and become a fan of all 32 teams. But to me that's a good thing. He's excited about meeting the men he's watched on TV over the years and was tickled that Peyton Manning was trying to reach out to him last week to congratulate him on the new job.
The news that Plaxico Burress won his recent grievance hearing against the New York Giants over unpaid bonus money has already been declared a victory by new NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith. That's funny, because as a recently retired player and member of the union, it doesn't really feel like one to me.
Quite an offseason we're having. The NFLPA elects someone no one outside the District of Columbia Bar Association has ever heard of to succeed the late Gene Upshaw -- and all he has to do is go head-to-head with Roger Goodell on the most important CBA negotiation in a generation. One of the rising star quarterbacks in football, Jay Cutler, moves closer and closer toward divorce court with the Broncos. And LaDainian Tomlinson, who was supposed to get his contract cut to smithereens in his renegotiation deal with the Chargers, actually did quite well. Maybe not well enough to retire a Charger, but close.
In a year in which sweeping and historic change has come to Washington, D.C. on a national scale, the NFL Players Association followed suit with the trend Sunday night, electing D.C.-based attorney DeMaurice F. Smith, a relative unknown quantity in NFL circles, as the union's new executive director, SI.com has learned.
Musings, observations and the occasional insight as we tip-toe through a Friday the 13th in the NFL offseason...
Consider the following two lists of quarterbacks' names for a second: On one hand, you have Jeff Garcia, Byron Leftwich, Rex Grossman, Kyle Boller and J.P. Losman. On the other, you have J.T. O'Sullivan, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Dan Orlovsky. If I walked down the street and asked any casual fan which list of signal callers were on NFL rosters and which weren't, I bet they would get it wrong nine out of 10 times.
This weekend, the National Football League Players Association team reps will meet in Hawaii to hear each of four candidates explain why he's the right man to head the NFLPA going forward. But few NFL fans, serious or casual, have a clue about what could be the biggest union leader election in professional sports history.
I'll have a few quick hits before completely diving into today's e-mail, but first a cardiologist speaks from the heart:
As you read this, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith might still be assessing the damage in his Washington office after what can best be described as a bizarre fire in the bathroom adjacent to his office around 5 a.m.
So far, public reaction to the tragic collapse of the Dallas Cowboys' indoor practice facility has understandably reflected sadness, shock and genuine empathy for the 12 injured persons, particularly scout Rich Behm, who was left permanently paralyzed from the waist down.
I had the chance to sit with the new executive director of the NFL Players Association, DeMaurice Smith, for three hours in Washington last week. I liked him. He's personable, he listens, he makes good arguments ... and, more importantly, he's a huge football fan. He loves the game, and it's going to be tough for him to tear himself away from his beloved Redskins and become a fan of all 32 teams. But to me that's a good thing. He's excited about meeting the men he's watched on TV over the years and was tickled that Peyton Manning was trying to reach out to him last week to congratulate him on the new job.
The news that Plaxico Burress won his recent grievance hearing against the New York Giants over unpaid bonus money has already been declared a victory by new NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith. That's funny, because as a recently retired player and member of the union, it doesn't really feel like one to me.
Quite an offseason we're having. The NFLPA elects someone no one outside the District of Columbia Bar Association has ever heard of to succeed the late Gene Upshaw -- and all he has to do is go head-to-head with Roger Goodell on the most important CBA negotiation in a generation. One of the rising star quarterbacks in football, Jay Cutler, moves closer and closer toward divorce court with the Broncos. And LaDainian Tomlinson, who was supposed to get his contract cut to smithereens in his renegotiation deal with the Chargers, actually did quite well. Maybe not well enough to retire a Charger, but close.
In a year in which sweeping and historic change has come to Washington, D.C. on a national scale, the NFL Players Association followed suit with the trend Sunday night, electing D.C.-based attorney DeMaurice F. Smith, a relative unknown quantity in NFL circles, as the union's new executive director, SI.com has learned.
Musings, observations and the occasional insight as we tip-toe through a Friday the 13th in the NFL offseason...
Consider the following two lists of quarterbacks' names for a second: On one hand, you have Jeff Garcia, Byron Leftwich, Rex Grossman, Kyle Boller and J.P. Losman. On the other, you have J.T. O'Sullivan, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Dan Orlovsky. If I walked down the street and asked any casual fan which list of signal callers were on NFL rosters and which weren't, I bet they would get it wrong nine out of 10 times.
This weekend, the National Football League Players Association team reps will meet in Hawaii to hear each of four candidates explain why he's the right man to head the NFLPA going forward. But few NFL fans, serious or casual, have a clue about what could be the biggest union leader election in professional sports history.
As the contentious process of electing a new executive director of the NFL Players Association nears its conclusion in less than two weeks, Terri Upshaw, the widow of longtime NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw, told SI.com on Thursday that she questions whether former union president Troy Vincent would be "the right candidate'' to fill the powerful job her husband held for 25 years before his death in August 2008.
With the NFL Players Association having outside legal counsel investigate whether former union president Troy Vincent improperly released confidential information about agents to a longtime friend and business partner, Mark Mangum, sources tell SI.com that one revelation expected to come to light is that former NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw had collected numerous internal e-mails from Vincent allegedly proving that he disclosed the privileged information.
Even though Commissioner Roger Goodell recently said the rookie pay system would remain status quo until at least 2011, an unprecedented number of underclassmen are still expected to enter the 2009 draft. Blame it on their fear of a possible work stoppage and the fear of longer terms of service to reach free agency on the horizon.
Should an NFL player be suspended for consuming a dietary supplement which contains a diuretic (a substance which can help to mask the presence of anabolic steroids in one's body) prohibited by the NFL's collectively-bargained steroid policy, even when the product's label omits mention of the diuretic?
Of course, death could have him as it could have any man: any way it wanted. But an odd thing happened last week once it entered that big house, Gene Upshaw. Death became him.
With no football to play for the first time in 18 years, former pro Ross Tucker is passing the time reading about his favorite sport. What follows are a few links to NFL-related articles he found and his take on them.
The NFL owners' early opt out of their labor agreement with the players is one of the best things that could happen to the process. That isn't to say that this won't be a long and arduous fight between the players, who believe they deserve their rightful share of the pie, and the league, which has some legitimate financial concerns with small market franchises lagging behind the big boys, but timing was a key element here.
Your life-long dream has come true. You have beaten the odds and have made an NFL team. You go on to have a relatively successful career by staying in the league for 3.2 years. You are 25 years old. What are you going to do now?
Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett returned to his native Texas on Friday to be closer to his family for the next phase of his recovery from a life-threatening spinal cord injury.
Kevin Everett will be transferred Friday morning to a Houston hospital to begin the next phase of his rehabilitation, less than two weeks after the Buffalo Bills tight end sustained a life-threatening spinal cord injury.
The treatment of retired NFL players took center stage in Congress Tuesday as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw and others testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The interests of former players were championed by two Hall of Fame players, Mike Ditka and Gale Sayers and others.
Under fire from injured retirees who say they were denied sufficient benefits, the head of the National Football League Players Association asked Congress on Tuesday for greater authority to approve disability claims.
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing the NFL players union of inadequately representing 3,500 retired players.
Former Chicago Bears Coach Mike Ditka brought together his charity work and harsh criticism of the NFL Thursday, announcing a golf tournament and autograph show to raise money for former players who are needy and sometimes destitute.
IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Daryl Johnston is one of the lucky ones. Despite breaking his neck opening holes for Emmitt Smith, he walks without a cane or a limp and is able to hold down a lucrative second career in broadcasting.
The National Football League is generally a flawless marketing powerhouse. But a bunch of broken-down, retired players are in the process of handing the NFL its biggest public relations loss in years.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The punishment was aimed squarely at Adam "Pacman" Jones and Chris Henry. The message went far beyond them, to all NFL players.
The NFL may soon hand down the kind of decision that could highlight Roger Goodell's brief reign as commissioner and put the spotlight squarely on his efforts to strengthen the league's personal conduct policy. Sources within the league office say the NFL is likely to set an example with its punishment of troubled Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman'' Jones, suspending him even before the legal process from a Las Vegas strip club brawl in February is complete. The suspension could wipe out his entire 2007 season.
When a judge ruled earlier this week that Major League Baseball and its players' union can't demand licensing rights fees from fantasy sports services, this was viewed as a victory for both the fantasy sports providers and millions of fantasy sports players.
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) strongly encourages its rookies to choose their advisers from those approved by the NFLPA Financial Advisers Program. But once a rookie has culled a handful of c...
Like a lot of guys heading off to the big city for their first job after college, Quincy Monk didn't know (or care) all that much about stock markets, money management or the finer points of hiring...
Lease wars are being waged at 20th and L Streets, N.W., the latest battleground for developers trying to fill their marble and glass office palaces . . . At 2021 L Street, developers . . . offered ...
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
