NFLPA

Saturday's Niblets from around the net.

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Fryingpan Sports

Saturday’s Niblets from around the net.

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By Bill Smith

Best comment of the week:

On Thursday’s article What to look for at the Combine—Offense by 2008 Taxes

Great information about what to look for in an NFL quarterback. I think high school kids should consider going to an NFL style system in college before signing with a team that plays some weird kind of spread.

That is a great point. It is one of the reasons that USC and other teams that use a traditional NFL style offense do so well at bringing drop back QBs to play for them. More athletic QBs that are more run oriented than drop back passer go to schools with the spread offense to take maximum advantage of their ability.

Updates from previous editorials:

On Texas Tech AD needs to have his head downsized from 2/18/09

Mike Leach and the administration have reached agreement. So far there is a gag order on the details of the agreement. The fans, particularly those with a history of large donations to the university, complained loudly about the problem. It is most likely that the Board of Regents slapped down AD Gerald Myers’ attempt to super … Read more at FryingPanSports

Saturday's nibblets around the net.

by

Fryingpan Sports

Saturday’s nibblets around the net.

By Bill Smith

What can the Cavs do to keep LeBron James after 2010?

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Every time James plays in the Garden or talks about playing there, he acts like a 15 year old in puppy love with his 25 year old English teacher. So what is the big deal?

It can’t be the endorsement money because LeBron already ranks #59 in the Forbes list of top Celebrities Endorsements list. According to Forbes, he got 125 million dollars in deals last year alone. He can make just as much money in Cleveland as in New York.

The only things that New York has to offer is life style and the Garden. So what can the Cavs do?

My Advice: Win baby, just win. The Cavs have added some great pieces to help LeBron win a Championship in Cleveland. Win a title in 08-09 and another in 09-10 and James will stay. If New York signs James, he will be right where he was 3 years ago in Cleveland—the star surrounded by sows ears. They won’t have enough money left to sign any help for him. Jordan couldn’t win until the Bulls brought in help … Read more at FryingPanSports

The NFL and NFLPA must keep negotiations out of the press.

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Fryingpan Sports

The NFL and NFLPA must keep negotiations out of the press.

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Roger Goodell

By Bill Smith

Technorati Tags: NFL, NFLPA, labor agreement, strike, negotiations, press, owners

The NFLPA issued a statement that it has built a 118 million dollar strike fund.

On Jan. 29th at the NFLPA annual press conference, it released to the media a report that NFL teams were making an average of 24.7 million a year and owners had no reason to opt out of the current agreement.

Then NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell went before the media at the Super Bowl and said the following:

“That report is not accurate. We are very clear. We understand our numbers. The ownership spent a tremendous amount of time evaluating the Collective Bargaining Agreement. I think they came to the conclusion that it was better to terminate that agreement and go into a negotiation where we could work to try to come up with something that would work for all clubs and our players rather than continue on with that system.”

I have no idea if that report commissioned by the players association is accurate or not. I do know one thing. IT DOESN’T MATTER! The fact … Read more at FryingPanSports

The NFL and NFLPA had better make sure that Tom McHale didn't die in vain.

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Fryingpan Sports

The NFL and NFLPA had better make sure that Tom McHale didn’t die in vain.

By Bill Smith

Technorati Tags: NFL,NFL Football,NFLPA,Upshaw,McHale,Ditka,Bears,Eales,Buccaneers,Dolphins,CTE,chronic traumatic encephalopathy

You may not recognize the name Tom McHale. He played as an offensive lineman in the NFL for 9 seasons with Tampa, Philadelphia, and Miami from 1987-1995 starting 23 of the 87 games in which he played. He died last May at the age of 45 from an accidental overdose of oxycodone and cocaine according to police. Tom was one of a large number of NFL players that suffered multiple concussions during his career. He was one of six players examined by researchers as part of the Sports Legacy Institute for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) — and the sixth whose diagnosis was confirmed by a postmortem study of his brain.

McHale had his own demons including three stints in drug rehabilitation. His wife told the New York Times that he was in constant pain and was taking pain killers all the time. But his death along with the deaths of the other 5 players all have been in vain unless the NFL and the NFLPA do something about the problem. The larger issue is … Read more at FryingPanSports

The NFL may not play in 2010!

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Fryingpan Sports

The NFL may not play in 2010!

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Troy Vincent Trace Armstrong

By Bill Smith

Technorati Tags: NFL, NFL DRAFT, STRIKE, Upshaw, Vincent, Armstrong, NFLPA, Executive Director, Utt, Covert, Smith, free agent, contract

There is another election going on in March and it will not select a president. It will select the man that will replace Gene Upshaw as Executive Director of the NFL Players Association. This election is critical to every NFL fan because the winner will be the key to the future of the league.

Right now there are 5 candidates. Troy Vincent and Trace Armstrong both former Presidents of the NFLPA are the favorites. While both are popular among the players, according to John Clayton’s conversation with him about his possible retirement, Upshaw preferred Armstrong to replace him. Other candidates include former Bears tackle Jim Covert, Ben Utt, who played for Baltimore and Indianapolis, and Washington-based attorney DeMaurice Smith.

The league needs to negotiate a new deal with the players. When Upshaw was the rep for the players, he was able to get them major concessions in the percentage of the total NFL revenue payable to the players and significantly increased the minimum that each team … Read more at FryingPanSports

To declare or not to declare—that is the question!

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Frying Pan Sports

To declare or not to declare—that is the question!

By Bill Smith

Every pro prospect junior and third year sophomore faces a critical question—to declare for the 09 NFL draft or wait until 2010. They have until mid January to make that decision. The problem is that they will have no idea what the NFL and the NFLPA are going to do about the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The ultimate form the CBA takes will have a huge impact on the rookie contract of the top players in the draft.

If things weren’t up in the air far enough, the sudden death of Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFLPA, last August made things not only much more complex but reduced the odds of avoiding a strike/lockout in the 2011 season. Upshaw was heavily criticized by some of his members but presided over the deal that gave the players the largest percentage of the league gross in any professional sport. He had the ability to get the players and the league to a point that they could agree and avoid work stoppages. Now, the NFL will have to wait for the power struggle to work its way … Read more at FryingPanSports