Goodell: Some men are a little more Equal than others.

An owner of an NFL team died and went to heaven. There was a long line to get through the Pearly Gates. He went to Saint Peter and complained.

“I am a very important person. I can’t be waiting here in line to get in.”

“I am sorry sir, but you have to understand that here in Heaven, everyone is equal.”

When the owner got in it was time for lunch. Again there was a long line. Just as the he was ready to get his tray some guy in a suit with an NFL pin on his lapel jumped in front of him grabbed a tray and got his lunch. The owner was furious and complained to St. Peter.

“Well you have to forgive him. That is God and he thinks he is the NFL Commissioner.”

When a player or an owner for that matter makes a huge mistake, Commissioner Roger Goodell is more than ready to hand out suspensions and fines. What we saw on Friday was an admission that Goodell blew the suspension of Ray Rice and blew it badly.

That is not the biggest issue with which the NFL and the fans have to deal. It … Read more at FryingPanSports

News, Notes & Rumors for 09-17-2014

News:

The Radisson Hotel chain has suspended sponsorship of the Vikings. This is what the new Viking banner looks like.

Week 2 was disastrous for a lot of teams suffering significant injuries.

Redskins lost QB Robert Griffin for a number of weeks with a dislocated ankle. They also lost WR DeSean Jackson with a shoulder sprain.

Chiefs lost RB Jamaal Charles with a high ankle sprain and S Eric Berry with a low ankle sprain.

Chargers lost RB Ryan Mathews for a month with an MCL sprain.

Saints RB Mark Ingram with a broken hand for a month.

Bengals WR A.J. Green is dealing with a toe injury.

49ers lost TE Vernon Davis with an ankle injury and Vance McDonald with a knee injury.

The Bears lost CB Charles Tillman for the year with a torn tricep.

Bucs DT Gerald McCoy broke his hand.

Bears lost CB Charles Tillman with a triceps injury.

Jags lost TE Marcedes Lewis with a ankle injury.

Jets lost WR Eric Decker.

2-0 teams

Bills – Not making the playoffs.

Bengals – Playing better than I thought and should make the playoffs.

Texans – Amazing what a last place schedule will do for a team. … Read more at FryingPanSports

The Vikings and Panthers may have given their suspended players a gift.

Both the Vikings and Panthers suspended their players involved in spouse or child abuse for last weeks game. Now both teams have declared their active for the week 3 games.

But here is the rub. By suspending RB Adrian Peterson and DE Greg Hardy the teams have taken action against them for their off field issues. Now the NFLPA can claim that because the two were suspended for a game, any additional suspension would be double jeopardy which is prohibited in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. That could prohibit the team or league from taking any additional action against the two players on the same issue.

So far the NFLPA has not shown a great deal of guts in challenging the league on suspensions. It will be interesting to see how these latest issues turn out. I suspect that the NFLPA will back off again. But time will tell.

That is what I think. Tell us what you think by commenting here or tweeting me @NNRonDSN.

NOTE: News, Notes and Rumors podcast are on hold until the site is fixed. Thanks for your support and patients.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and Read more at FryingPanSports

Here is why the NFL is rushing to get the new drug testing deal done.

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                                                      Roger Goodell

Clearly fans of any team with a player that has been suspended are excited about the possibility of getting those players back. But understand that the NFL and NFLPA have been working on a new drug policy for more than 3 years. What is the rush go get it done now?

Let me say that I have no inside information about the issue but I do think I know what is going on. And we will know if I am right by what is in and is not in the new policy.

Here is what I believe is driving the NFL to try to get a new deal—As I said here several weeks ago, the new pressure on the NFL is the different results of the Gordon test.

I have a feeling that the NFLPA is pressuring the NFL to get this new deal done or it will explore the cancellation of the entire drug testing program because of unreliable test results. There is no excuse or explanation for a single urine sample yielding two so different results. That is a threat to the weed testing at a minimum or the entire testing policy at a maximum.

The … Read more at FryingPanSports

The NFL Pledges Unlimited $ but that is half of the story.

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Tonight on NNR Evan Weiner of NewJerseyNewsroom.com will join us to discuss the latest in the concussion law suits and other NFL issues. Join us at 6 PM EDT on www.justin.tv/papaburl or fryingpansports.com/radio-show/.

I congratulate the NFL for stepping up to tell the world and the retired players that they will spend whatever it takes to provide the healthcare the players need. But the promise to pay is half of the issue. The other half is how the agreement will be implemented.

Unfortunately, the history of the NFL caring for their retired players is bleak at best. As I have argued before, the retired players have no representation in negotiations between the NFL and NFLPA. Former NFLPA head Gene Upshaw admitted that he was only representing the current players.

As a result, even when retired players got some crumbs off the table, the NFL and NFLPA made it nearly impossible for the players in need to actually qualify for the help they needed. The league and players association have installed middle men that were paid based on how little money they dispensed.

If the same type of “pay for no pay” system is part of this settlement, things for … Read more at FryingPanSports

The NFL & NFLPA need to be investigated for abandoning ex-players.

nfl

NOTE: Tonight News, Notes & Rumors will preview the AFC North. Join Samantha Bunten of NBC Sports, former NFL scout Kelron Sykes and me at 6 PM EDT on or https://fryingpansports.com/radio-show/. Thanks.

Open letter to Sen. Sherrod Brown and Sen. Rob Portman

The NFL and NFLPA have conspired to prevent retired players from getting the health care they have earned and deserve.

The NFL has falsely assumed that the NFLPA represents both current and retired players. That is not the case at all. The NFLPA has made it very clear by words and actions that they could care less about those no longer in the game. Given the opportunity to grant more money to retired players or the current players, they have chosen to screw the retirees and get more for the active guys.

By allowing the NFLPA to represent the retired players, the NFL has turned it back on those that need help the most. The NFL finally agreed to give the thousands of former players suffering from concussion syndrome a total of 765 million dollars for health care. That is not nearly enough given the skyrocketing cost of health care. The judge in the case has indicated … Read more at FryingPanSports