quote:

ORIGINAL: Pete C

I'm not familiar enough with the law, but why isn't something like this considered blackmail? 
If her version is true, then he should be charged criminally.  If Randy's version is true, why wouldn't
she be charged with attempting to extort money? 

quote:

ORIGINAL: Duane Sampson

NFL Players Ready to Strike If...
Thu Jan 31, 2008
 
AP reports a defiant Gene Upshaw said that if the NFL's owners opt out of the current labor agreement later this year, the players union is ready for a strike or the decertification tactics it used to get free agency after the 1987 walkout. "If they want to get out of the deal, there's nothing we can do about it," the executive director of the NFL Players Association said Thursday before the union's annual Super Bowl news conference. "But we'll be prepared." The labor agreement reached after tough bargaining in March of 2006 gave both sides the right to opt out in November. That would lead to 2010 being an uncapped year before the contract expires in 2011. Several owners, including Denver's Pat Bowlen, have suggested that the current agreement is leaving some teams cash-strapped and making it likely that the owners will opt out next year. Upshaw said that he's heard the complaints and is ready for any outcome. "At our meeting in March, our priorities for discussion are four options: strike, lockout, decertification or extension," he said.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Duane Sampson

NFL | Upshaw calls for Heinz Field change
Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:54:08 -0800
 
Scott Brown, of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, reports Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association, said Thursday, Jan. 31, that the Pittsburgh Steelers need to switch from natural grass to FieldTurf. The playing surface at Heinz Field was voted the second worst in the NFL by the nearly 1,500 active players that were surveyed during the 2006 season. Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger and other current Steelers said they prefer playing on grass rather than artificial turf. However, Upshaw said many Steelers players that the NFLPA talked to would prefer a different surface at Heinz Field.

Commish Eyeing New Playoff Seeding Format, But
Sat Feb 2, 2008



The New York Post reports the New York Giants' wild-card run to Super Bowl XLII would have looked different under a plan being studied by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Speaking here in his annual state-of-the-league address, Goodell revealed a potential shakeup to the existing playoff system that would allow wild-card teams the possibility of a home game. In the early stages of Goodell's plan, which would require the owners' longshot approval, the bottom two division winners by record in each conference would go on the road the first week if they have a worse mark than the wild-card teams. If the plan had been in place this year, the wild-card Giants (10-6) would have hosted NFC South winner Tampa Bay (9-7) and the wild-card Jaguars (11-5) would have hosted the AFC North champion Steelers (10-6) in the first round. Ironically, in light of Goodell's plan, the road team ended up winning both of those games. "The focus that we'll probably give it in the short term would be to look at our seeding process," Goodell said. "What we'd like to look at is, if a wild-card team has a record that's better than a division winner, should that give the [home-field] advantage to the wild-card team?" Although it's unlikely, Goodell went a step further by saying the plan could expand in future years to include a complete reseeding of the playoffs based on record. "There are a number of variations on the table," he said. Goodell's aim is to cut down on the obvious tanking of games at the end of the season by teams that have already clinched playoff position, the most glaring recent example being the Colts' final-week home loss to the Titans this year. But Goodell appears likely to face fierce opposition from the owners, several of whom said yesterday they would be reluctant to take away the meaning of winning the division. Any change would require approval from at least 24 of the 32 owners. "If the team wins its division, it should play at home," Steelers owner Dan Rooney said. "It's as simple as that."

quote:

ORIGINAL: djskillz

Watch out, Scott.  Brad will find this thread.  [8|]

Great, great story.  Seriously, you could not dream up a more perfect trio than Brady/Moss/Welker for what the Pats do.  It's amazing.

This part is kind of scary if I'm the Chargers and knowing I have to get through the Pats for the next few years:

One friend says Welker is "massively pissed off" at San Diego to this day, although Welker has never publicly suggested that.

quote:

ORIGINAL: djskillz

Why can no one acknowledge that Welker is also a great receiver at what he does?  No one is disputing that Moss is great.  But Welker is too.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ed_Marotske

I give props to the Giants...They played a game this week that was for the ages.  Makes think though that all the BS media coverage of spygate II didn't have a hand in all this.  I think the Patriots will be too classy an organization to admit it, but I sure do questin the timing of the leaking of this information, and I beieve it had them playing tight throughout most of the game. 

quote:

ORIGINAL: djskillz

Why can no one acknowledge that Welker is also a great receiver at what he does?  No one is disputing that Moss is great.  But Welker is too.