Tag: Roger Goodell (Page 7 of 11)

      Is the 2014 Super Bowl rigged for New York?

      May 25, 2010 /

      Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune is of the mind that Roger Goodell and the NFL are rigging the 2014 Super Bowl vote so that New York can be the host city.

      The essence of New York’s bid?

      Hey, we’re New York.

      That’s not nearly good enough, but Goodell is driving this subway car and he has considerable clout among the owners who pay his prodigious salary.

      South Florida is also in the mix, but that bid figures to be dismissed after the preliminary vote, leaving Tampa Bay vs. New York.

      Central Park vs. Central Ybor.

      Majority rules.

      Unless reason prevails, a group of wealthy, powerful NFL owners is about to be led down a slushy path by a commissioner determined to reward New York for building a new home for the Giants and Jets.

      Awarding the Super Bowl to New Meadowlands Stadium might be the worst idea since Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty shook hands to participate in “Ishtar,” but the New York bid has momentum.

      Is Kaufman more upset that the 2014 Super Bowl is being “rigged” for New York or that Tampa is going to lose to the “Big Apple” in the voting? It sure sounds like the latter to me.

      Honestly, who cares? I mean really, who gives a flying horse testicle where the Super Bowl is played? Football is meant to be played outdoors in any conditions, so whether it’s sun, sleet or snow, does it really matter? The event should be about the game – not the host city.

      Whether the game will be played in New York, Tampa or East Jesus, Wyoming, I’m going to watch.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NFL, Super Bowl

      Goodell active in getting concussion law passed

      May 24, 2010 /

      According to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter to 44 governors urging them to pass a law that protects young athletes from playing soon after they’ve suffered a concussion.

      Washington state has already passed the Lystedt’s Law, which helps keep young athletes from returning to the field too soon after they’ve suffered a concussion. The law was named after Zackery Lystedt, a Washington young who suffered a brain injury in 2006 after returning to a middle school football game following a concussion.

      The Lystedt law contains three essential elements:

      _Athletes, parents and coaches must be educated about the dangers of concussions each year.

      _If a young athlete is suspected of having a concussion, he/she must be removed from a game or practice and not be permitted to return to play.

      _A licensed health care professional must clear the young athlete to return to play in the subsequent days or weeks.

      I’ve made it a habit not to talk politics on this blog or in my everyday life for that matter. But this is a law that needs to be passed nationwide.

      Young athletes are often so desperate to please their parent or coach that they’ll risk injury to prove themselves. They’ll tell someone that they’re fine enough to play and then the next thing you know, they could suffer a serious injury.

      But if a coach or a parent has a checklist to go through before the athlete can get back onto the field, then it takes the guess work out of whether or not he or she is ready to start playing again. It’s a good law and it’s nice to see someone like Goodell strive to get it passed in all states.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, High School Sports, NFL

      Big Ben finishes behavioral evaluation, but will he change?

      May 12, 2010 /

      The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has completed his behavioral evaluation ordered by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

      The behavioral evaluations are just part of Roethlisberger’s punishment after he was accused of sexual assault for the second time in less than a year. If he fulfills his requirements, Goodell may reduce the quarterback’s suspension from six to four games and while Big Ben’s camp is hopeful that he’ll be able to participate in team activities soon, the Steelers have no timetable for his return.

      Goodell is doing a thorough job in this situation, but who knows if Big Ben has learned anything – or will learn anything. He may be fulfilling his requirements in order to get back on the field, but that doesn’t mean he has changed. Has he been humbled by this experience? Will he make smarter decisions in the future? Will he strive not to put himself in situations where it may lead to him getting into more trouble?

      Roethlisberger is a young, single guy. To think he’s going to spend the rest of his football career staying at home and nuzzling up to the fireplace while watching HGTV and sipping a glass of wine is unrealistic. But in order for him to avoid future punishment and embarrassment, he needs to improve his decision-making. Steeler fans can only hope that this process will lead to a wiser, more humbled Ben Roethlisberger.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NFL

      New NFL draft format works for viewers

      April 23, 2010 /

      I’ll admit – I was skeptical, even down right venomous about the NFL’s draft format. I hated it. I thought, “How stupid is it to turn the draft into a Thursday night prime time special? For the love of Pete Rozelle, this isn’t “Dancing with the Stars.”

      But I was wrong – the new format actually works.

      An hour into the draft last night, teams were already picking in the middle of the first round. Normally an hour into the draft, the first six or seven picks haven’t even been announced yet. In previous years, I have often felt like I had just got done running a marathon after the first round, instead of witnessing an exciting event. But this year has changed much of that.

      While the new format doesn’t come without its flaws (how was it to be a Bears, Panthers or Vikings fan last night and not see one pick?), it’s hard to argue that it isn’t better for the causal fan. (Or even the diehard draft fan, for that matter.) The selections were made faster, the trades were more exciting and the coverage was tighter. (I don’t need to hear 10 different former athletes or coaches talk about players that they clearly know nothing about, when Todd McShay, Mel Kiper and Mike Mayock are more than enough.)

      The nice thing about all of this (which is something I hated when the new format was announced) is that there is still a lot of action remaining for true NFL draft fans. It’s exciting knowing that there are two more rounds tonight and four more on Saturday. It’s fun getting caught up in a new batch of rumors and allowing the hype of the second round build up. If you’re a draft nut like myself, think of another time when the second and third round was more exciting than this year.

      My only gripe is that our great troops don’t have the opportunity to watch the draft without having to wake up in the middle of the night. I know at least one diehard draft fan that got up at 1:30 a.m. yesterday morning just to see what his Lions would do at No. 2. Maybe next year he can watch the draft with us again from the comforts of his own couch. (Best of luck Jon – we thank you for all that you do.)


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      Roethlisberger suspension coming soon

      April 19, 2010 /

      Yahoo! Sports reports that the NFL will suspend Ben Roethlisberger on either Monday or Tuesday of this week.

      While NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said he has been given no timetable for a decision, the question remains whether Goodell will keep the suspension to one or two games or make it four games or longer. It is also unknown whether the Steelers will levy an additional penalty upon Roethlisberger or if a punishment will be factored into the league’s suspension. Over the weekend, two league sources said Goodell was growing angrier by the day as more information from the investigation became public.

      “After you read the file and you listen to the player, the only conclusion you can come to is that what he did is unbelievably stupid,” one of the league sources said. “How could he have really thought this was a good idea?”

      The article notes that Roethlisberger probably won’t fight the suspension, even though he wasn’t charged with committing a crime. It would probably be a wise move on his part, seeing as how he was accused of committing the same crime last year and he never faced punishment from the league. It’s also worthy to note that Goodell came out today and said that Big Ben violated the league’s conduct code, so there’s little doubt that a suspension is forthcoming.

      If he is suspended, this has to be the final wake up call for him. Women will always throw themselves at him because he’s a celebrity athlete that makes tons of money. But maybe after this, he’ll think about the ramifications of his actions and choose to remove himself from the situation before he winds up in more serious trouble.

      Basically, he should try and keep his plane in the hanger for the time being. Maybe find a nice girl to bring home to mom, one that doesn’t mind his banana hands being all over her.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

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