Miami booster says improper benefits given to now-NFL players

August 17th, 2011

Several current NFL players were implicated in a massive Yahoo! Sports investigation, which alleged Tuesday that University of Miami booster Nevin Shapiro — who’s serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme — provided thousands of impermissible benefits to at least 72 student-athletes from 2002 to 2010.

Shapiro, 42, said he gave money, cars, yacht trips, jewelry, televisions and other gifts to players. He also claimed he paid for nightclub outings, sex parties, restaurant meals and, in one case, an abortion for a woman impregnated by a player.

Among the most prominent NFL players mentioned in the report, and some of the alleged benefits they received from Shapiro:

»Vince Wilfork, New England Patriots defensive tackle: A $50,000 lump sum payment, separate multiple cash gifts in the thousands of dollars and three game bounty payments totaling $1,250.

»Antrel Rolle, New York Giants safety: Approximately $40,000, a $7,500 Jacob the Jeweler watch and $1,500 in game bounties.

»Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers running back: Between $20,000 and $30,000 in cash.

»Devin Hester, Chicago Bears wide receiver/kick returner: Approximately $3,000 for an engagement ring, $7,500 in game bounties, cash for rims for his sport-utility vehicle and assorted clothing and entertainment.

»Sean Taylor, former Washington Redskins safety: A pair of diamond-studded dog tags from Buchwald Jewelers for approximately $15,000, and $3,000 in game bounties.

»Willis McGahee, Denver Broncos running back: Unspecified cash gifts, $2,000 in cash bounties, two tailored suits worth about $2,000 and plane tickets for his girlfriend and a second woman to attend the 2002 Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York.

»Tavares Gooden, Baltimore Ravens linebacker: A $7,500 Jacob the Jeweler watch, a suit and assorted clothing, a job with the Miami Beach Police Athletic League, and a studio apartment which Shapiro owned and let Gooden use for one to two months.

»Jonathan Vilma, New Orleans Saints linebacker: Unspecified cash gifts and $2,250 in game bounties.

Vilma dismissed the allegations when questioned Tuesday by the Times-Picayune. “I’m not really worried about that right now,” Vilma said. “You have a guy that’s in jail. Whatever his motive is right now, I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t care. You know, I’m gonna move forward and keep working with the Saints.”

When contacted by Yahoo! Sports, Wilfork declined to speak about Shapiro. “I’m not interested buddy,” Wilfork said, before hanging up.

The other players named above either wouldn’t comment or couldn’t be reached for comment by Yahoo! Sports. Taylor was murdered in a 2007 home invasion.

“Hell yeah, I recruited a lot of kids for Miami,” Shapiro told Yahoo! Sports. “With access to the clubs, access to the strip joints. My house. My boat. We’re talking about high school football players. Not anybody can just get into the clubs or strip joints. Who is going to pay for it and make it happen? That was me.”

Shapiro has said multiple times in the past year, including in the Yahoo! Sports story posted Tuesday, that he is angry with several of the players he claims to have helped when they were Hurricanes. Miami officials began cooperating with NCAA investigators not long after Shapiro made claims about his involvement with players last year. University president Donna Shalala and athletic director Shawn Eichorst were questioned by the NCAA this week. The school reiterated Tuesday it takes the allegations seriously.

“I can tell you what I think is going to happen,” Shapiro told Miami television station WFOR from federal prison in Atlanta. “Death penalty.”

Yahoo! Sports says it spent 100 hours interviewing Shapiro over the span of 11 months and audited thousands of pages financial and business records to try and substantiate his claims.

In many of the alleged payments, Shapiro also implicated his former partner in Axcess Sports & Entertainment, a firm he claimed he co-owned with then-NFL agent and current United Football League commissioner Michael Huyghue.

Shapiro said the $50,000 payment to Wilfork was made to secure his commitment to Axcess Sports. Wilfork eventually signed with Axcess Sports, and his first NFL contract was negotiated by Huyghue.

Shapiro also told federal agents in taped interviews that Huyghue paid Gore.

“I know Michael Huyghue laid out a considerable amount of money to him,” Shapiro said. “Somewhere in the neighborhood of $20,000 and $30,000. I’m quite certain that was the amount.”

And Shapiro reportedly told federal agents that Huyghue told him that he paid Rolle approximately $40,000 while he was playing for the Hurricanes. According to a summary document acquired by Yahoo! Sports, Shapiro said: “Antrel Rolle was, I would say one of (four) guys who I considered closest. The other three would have been Vince Wilfork, Randy Phillips and Jon Beason. Antrel came up to me at a charity function that the University of Miami football team threw. He introduced himself to me and said, ‘I want to get in on all the action. How can I hang out? Let me give you my number.’ When you’re talking about violations, he was about as bad as it gets.”

Reached Tuesday by The Associated Press, Huyghue denied that story.

“It’s just fantasy,” Huyghue said. “He never had any role in my company.”

Huyghue said he signed three Miami players in seven years. He said Shapiro wasn’t a runner and didn’t represent any players, but did invest $1.5 million in his agency in 2001 and that the two spoke only occasionally.

“He didn’t have the acumen to represent players,” Huyghue said.

At least one player named by Shapiro said he did try to steer them toward agents.

“I know of (Shapiro),” Hester said. “At the time, I was going into the draft, he was like a runner for an agent. I had declared into the draft. He was one of the runners for one agent.”

Hester wouldn’t say which agent, and he had no further comment when questioned at the Bears’ night practice. Other NFL players cited in Yahoo’s report include Beason, Andre Johnson, Kellen Winslow Jr., Jonathan Vilma, Sam Shields and Kenny Phillips.

One former Miami player, running back Tyrone Moss, told Yahoo! Sports he accepted $1,000 from Shapiro around the time he was entering college.

“It was me and some other players with my incoming (class). I’m not going to say the names, but you can probably figure them out yourself,” Moss told Yahoo! Sports. “When I was getting there my freshman year, it was me and a couple more players. It was me and a few more of the guys in my incoming class that he kind of showed some love to.”

Miami coach Al Golden, who was hired in December, acknowledged Tuesday that some of his current players might have made mistakes.

“We’ll stay focused. I’m certain of that,” Golden said. “We’re disappointed, but we’re not discouraged. And again, there’s going to be a life lesson here. We’re talking about allegations from a man that’s behind bars, now. If these do hold some truth, then we’ll deal with them. There’s no other way to do it.”

Current Miami players weren’t made available to comment Tuesday, and they will not be made available before Wednesday’s practice, the university said.

At least six coaches and as many as 10 athletic department employees overall allegedly were aware of Shapiro’s illicit activity, including former basketball coach Frank Haith, now at Missouri. All the coaches named by Shapiro have since left Miami.

Shapiro said he paid for 39 different players to receive sex from prostitutes. He also claimed to have offered a $5,000 bounty to any player who could knock Florida State quarterback Chris Rix out of a game.

“I did it because I could,” Shapiro said of his spending. “And because nobody stepped in to stop me.”

Shapiro’s relationship with the Miami program dates back about a decade. Some of the alleged incidents occurred in the past four years, which would be within the NCAA’s statute of limitations regarding violations.

Miami officials said that when Shapiro first made his allegations nearly a year ago, he and his attorneys refused to provide any facts to the school.

“The university notified the NCAA enforcement officials of these allegations,” the school said in a statement Tuesday morning. “We are fully cooperating with the NCAA and are conducting a joint investigation. The University of Miami takes these matters very seriously.”

After Yahoo! Sports posted its story Tuesday afternoon, the university released another statement, saying it “takes any allegations seriously, and will continue to cooperate fully in a joint investigation with the NCAA.”

When Shapiro was sentenced, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said he “used investor funds to make payments to dozens of student athletes who were attending a local university in the Miami area to which Shapiro made significant donations … cash in amounts up to $10,000 and gifts such as jewelry and entertainment at nightclubs and restaurants in Miami Beach. As a result of a 10-year gift to the university, its Student-Athlete Lounge was named for Shapiro.”

The University of Miami wasn’t specifically mentioned in that release, but the school temporarily named its lounge for Shapiro. His name was removed in 2008 after the school said he didn’t follow his pledged donation-payment plan.

Shapiro was sentenced in June after he admitted to securities fraud and money laundering. He also was ordered to pay more than $82 million in restitution to his victims.

Posted in Clinton Portis, Highlights, Jones, about us, glasgow celtic football club jersey, heart, jay novacek jersey sport sell | No Comments »

Patriot forever? Mankins ends contract drama with six-year deal

August 11th, 2011

All of the contract contentiousness between the New England Patriots and All-Pro guard Logan Mankins is finally over.

NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi confirmed Wednesday that the Patriots have signed Mankins to a six-year contract. By signing Mankins to the long-term deal, the Patriots also lowered the six-year veteran’s salary cap number, according to Lombardi. The story

Patriots owner Robert Kraft hinted to reporters early Wednesday that Mankins, who was set to play under a one-year, franchise-tag tender contract worth $10 million, would soon be signed to a long-term deal.

“Probably you’ll see our good friend, Logan Mankins, will be signed up soon, hopefully, to be a Patriot for life,” Kraft said, according to the team’s website.

The value of the six-year deal was not known, but a source told the Boston Herald that Mankins will be the highest-paid interior offensive lineman in the league.

Yahoo! Sports reported Wednesday that the Patriots got some help in paying Mankins from recently acquired defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Citing a source familiar with the deal, the website reported that Haynesworth, who was due to earn $5.4 million in 2011, reduced his base salary to $1.5 million.

He can earn the money back in incentives, including $1 million if he plays in 20 percent of the plays and an additional $590,000 when he hits 45 percent, 50 percent, 55 percent, 60 percent and then 65 percent, according to the report. He can also earn $400,000 if he makes the Pro Bowl.

Haynesworth was traded from the Washington Redskins to New England for a late-round draft choice. The Patriots could not be reached for comment.

A first-round draft pick of the Patriots in 2005, Mankins sat out the first eight weeks of the 2010 season after holding out over his status as a restricted free agent. Mankins signed his tender and reported to the team on Nov. 2 and started the final nine games of the season.

He was still named as a starter in the Pro Bowl, his third career selection.

Mankins had criticized the Patriots organization just before starting his holdout on June 14, 2010, the day before the team’s minicamp began. He said the club asked him to play in 2009, the final year of his original five-year contract, and they would address his contract concerns after that season. He also said he wanted to be traded.

“Growing up, I was taught a man’s word is his bond,” he said in June 2010. “Obviously, this isn’t the case with the Patriots.”

He later apologized.

Mankins also was one of 10 players who were plaintiffs in an antitrust lawsuit filed against the NFL a few hours before the lockout began.

“All I know is,” Kraft said Wednesday, “any face-to-face discussions I’ve had (with Mankins) or any private discussions have all been positive.”

was first reported by ESPN.

Posted in Clinton Portis, Highlights, Jones, Michael Vick, NFL STAR, NFL Team, NFL football News, NFL video, New NFL jerseys, about us, glasgow celtic football club jersey, heart, jay novacek jersey sport sell | No Comments »

Packs’ Matthews: I played second half of 2010 with broken leg

August 10th, 2011

Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Matthews played the second half of the 2010 season and all of the postseason with a broken leg, the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported.

Matthews, who had 13.5 sacks during the season and 3.5 more during Packers’ run to the Super Bowl title, mentioned the injury while answering a question about how much the Packers will miss departed defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins, who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.

“I don’t make a big deal of it,” Matthews said Tuesday. “(It happened) some time in the middle of the season. You can’t do anything about it. I was just taking practices off and showing up on gameday and giving it my all.”

Matthews was listed on the injury report every week from Week 9 through the NFC Championship Game as probable with a shin injury, which in fact was a lower-leg stress fracture.

Jenkins’ presence last season seemingly helped Matthews, who had 14 of his 17 sacks during the 15 games that Jenkins played. In the five games Jenkins missed because of injury, Matthews made just three sacks.

“I also had a stress fracture in four of those games,” Matthews said. “But nobody knows that. I had a stress fracture in my leg. A sore shin as you guys call it, but that’s all right. Obviously, I’m not making excuses. Cullen is a terrific athlete, and we’re definitely going to take a hit in our defensive line, but at the same time I think they have confidence in the guys coming up.”

Matthews, who also has struggled with hamstring issues during each of his first two NFL seasons — both of which resulted in Pro Bowl berths, took a different approach to his offseason training this year, including much more cardiovascular work. As a result, he arrived at Packers camp weighing six pounds less than in 2010.

“This offseason, I put an emphasis on really coming in here in great cardio shape and make sure I had done everything that I possibly could to say, ‘Hey, this is how we’re going to prevent injuries,’” Matthews said. “That’s the nature of the beast. You’re going to get injured in this game, but I feel good. I feel good about where I’m at headed into my third year and feel like I can definitely outdo what I’ve put on paper and on film the last two years.”

Posted in Highlights, Jones, Michael Vick, NFL STAR, NFL Team, NFL football News, NFL video, New NFL jerseys, glasgow celtic football club jersey, heart, jay novacek jersey sport sell, sport | No Comments »

In the saddle: Orton over Tebow on Broncos’ QB depth chart

August 9th, 2011

Tim Tebow might be winning the popularity contest, but Kyle Orton has — for now — won the starting quarterback job for the Denver Broncos.

The Broncos released their depth chart Monday in advance of this week’s preseason opener at Dallas, and there was no change in the order from a year ago: 1. Orton; 2. Tebow; 3. Brady Quinn.

Orton has taken almost all the first-team snaps in training camp, with Tebow and Quinn sharing work with the second and third units.

The crowds at the team’s Dove Valley headquarters are dotted with Tebow jerseys — his No. 15 is one of the league’s best-sellers — while it’s hard to find an Orton jersey. Even the team’s pro shop had 60 adult Tebow jerseys for sale Monday and just five of Orton’s No. 8 jerseys.

There’s a similar disparity in the stands, and Orton was asked after Monday’s nearly three-hour workout about Tebow being the people’s choice.

“Thank God the people don’t make the decisions (on who’s starting),” Orton said. “That’s really all I’ve got to say about it.”

Orton said his job is to win over his teammates and the coaching staff, and “my last goal is to win over the fans.”

And winning football games, “that’s how you win over everybody,” Orton said.

As for Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Cowboys, Orton said he doesn’t necessarily want to play more than usual, given the lack of team work during the 4½-month lockout.

“No, I think you want to go out and play successfully, and once you’ve had some good success, get off the field,” Orton said. “And whether you had the OTA reps or not, still your No. 1 goal is to get your best players into the first (regular-season) game. So, hopefully we can go out, have a little success, get a little confidence going and get off the field.”

Tebow, who started the Broncos’ final four games last season, told reporters Friday that statements he made to The Denver Post about the starting quarterback job being taken away from him were “a little bit out of context.” He clarified that he never was promised the starting job by the Broncos’ coaches or front office.

“(The Broncos) never said anything to me like that at all,” Tebow told the team’s official website. “The plan all the whole time was to come in and compete … that’s what I love doing.

“I don’t feel like anything was taken from me, and I don’t want anything given to me, also,” Tebow said. “I want to work for anything that I get, that’s for sure, and I’ve always been like that.”

While the quarterback competition plays out, plenty of rookies will see some meaningful snaps against the Cowboys.

Von Miller, the second overall pick in the draft, is listed as the starter at strongside linebacker, and rookie Rahim Moore is the starter at free safety. Rookie Orlando Franklin is listed atop the depth chart at right tackle.

“My whole life, I’ve been blessed and fortunate to be able to be thrown into the fire,” Moore said. “I always realize that you’ve got to grow up someday.”

Miller, who grew up a Cowboys fan in Dallas and attended Texas A&M, said he was especially eager for his NFL debut. He said no one should be surprised, either, that so many rookies are seeing meaningful snaps after just two weeks of workouts.

“We put in work over the offseason. It wasn’t like OTAs or anything like that, but we were all working,” he said. “Everybody started from the same spot. We’ve got a new coach and a new playbook, so everybody’s on even ground. So coming in, it gives everybody a fair chance.”

Notes: Rookie Julius Thomas has enjoyed a solid camp but isn’t listed as a starter at tight end. … The Broncos placed RB Mario Fannin (knee) on season-ending injured reserve. … DB Syd’Quan Thompson (groin), DT Mitch Unrein (knee) and RB Brandon Minor (unspecified) didn’t practice.

Posted in Clinton Portis, Highlights, Jones, about us, glasgow celtic football club jersey, heart, jay novacek jersey sport sell, sport | No Comments »

Feeling rejuvenated, RB Portis believes he can make impact

July 16th, 2011

About to turn 30 and coming off a pair of injury-riddled seasons, it’d be fair to conclude Clinton Portis‘ best days are in his rearview mirror.

Don’t tell Portis that. The veteran running back will be a free agent when the NFL lockout is lifted, and he’s confident he has quality football ahead of him.

“For myself, I think (age is) just a number. You’re saying I turned 30, but I had a slate of two years where I really haven’t done anything,” Portis told ESPN 980 on Friday. “So right now, I feel good and feel better at this point than I have in a long time, just feeling like I’m completely healthy, just feeling like things are totally healed. And now that I know what I need to do and what I need to get accomplished, I’m fine with that.”

Portis was originally selected by the Broncos in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He’s had several elite seasons in the years that followed in both Denver and with the Washington Redskins, but the NFL grind seems to have worn on the University of Miami product. Injuries limited him to just 13 games the past two two seasons.

And while durability concerns are now part of the Portis package — injury history is one of the reasons the Redskins cut ties with him in February — the back looks at the missed time since as a blessing in a way.

“The injuries the last two years has really been a lot of rest for myself,” he said. “And with the lockout going on this year, I had the opportunity to go out to Arizona and fully recover and train and straighten out some of the things that were ailing me that I didn’t even have a clue of.”

Portis has an open mind about where he would like to play next season, though years of losing in Washington have him itching to join a contender.

“Any team I can help. I think I have choices, but any team that I can help that’s really a contender,” he said. “I would love to go to … .I’ve always been a fan of Drew Brees, I’ve been a fan of Philip Rivers, I think the young kid down in Tampa (Josh Freeman) is going to be great. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Michael Vick, it’s a lot of guys.

“I just want to go to an organization that’s kind of stable and going to have a set offense and running with what they’re familiar with.”

Posted in Clinton Portis, Michael Vick, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady | 30 Comments »

Police arrest Bengals CB Jones, who denies he resisted them

July 11th, 2011

Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones spent eight hours in a Cincinnati jail Sunday morning after being arrested on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct while intoxicated and resisting arrest, but he steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.

“I hadn’t been drinking,” Jones told WCPO-TV after he exited jail. “I was with my wife. It was her birthday.

“It don’t make no sense,” added Jones, who’ll be arraigned Monday. “There is no reason why I should have got locked up. No reason.”

Police said Jones, 27, needed to be escorted out of a downtown Cincinnati bar after repeatedly being asked to calm down. Jones went outside but allegedly yelled profanities and gestured wildly, leading police to arrest him. Jones allegedly tried to escape his handcuffs, so two officers had to restrain him before taking him to Hamilton County Jail around 3 a.m.

Jones, who’s wearing a neck brace while he recovers from an injury that ended his 2010 season, questioned how he could resist arrest in his physical condition.

“I just had surgery,” Jones told WCPO-TV. “So why would I be resisting arrest? It doesn’t make sense for me to resist arrest.”

It’s Jones’ second run-in with police in Cincinnati. Last fall, they questioned him after he drove his vehicle over a downtown curb to avoid an obstacle, but they later apologized to him, saying it was a mistake and he’d done nothing wrong.

Jones, whose NFL career has been marred by his off-the-field troubles, acknowledged Sunday “the only thing I can do is apologize,” but he vowed, “I’m going to take this to another step.”

“It’s ridiculous,” Jones said. “… I did not yell profanities at the police, and at the end of the day … I’m the bad guy.”

A Bengals spokesman told The Associated Press the team had no comment. The team is prohibited from having contact with Jones because of the NFL lockout.

It’s just the latest off-the-field issue for Jones. He was arrested six times and involved in 12 instances requiring police intervention while with the Tennessee Titans from 2005 to 2007. He was suspended for the 2007 season under the NFL’s personal-conduct policy.

The Dallas Cowboys traded for Jones in 2008, but he got into trouble again, drawing a six-game suspension for an alcohol-related scuffle with a team-provided bodyguard. The Cowboys released Jones after the 2008 season, and he sat out the next year before signing a two-year deal with the Bengals in May 2010.

Jones appeared in five games for Cincinnati last season, totaling 14 tackles and one interception. He also returned a fumble for a touchdown before a neck injury ended his campaign.

Posted in Highlights, Jones, New NFL jerseys, about us, glasgow celtic football club jersey, heart, jay novacek jersey sport sell | 35 Comments »

Chiefs’ Vrabel retiring to join OSU’s football program

July 10th, 2011

Veteran linebacker Mike Vrabel has decided not to return to the Kansas City Chiefs this season, choosing to retire after 14 NFL campaigns to accept a role with Ohio State’s football program, Sports Radio 810 WHB tweeted Friday.

The radio station’s tweet provided no further details, but profootballtalk.com reported Friday that there is a “very good chance” Vrabel will call it quits and that “an announcement could made as early as this coming Monday,” according to a source.

The New England Patriots shipped Vrabel and quarterback Matt Cassel to the Chiefs in February 2009 in return for the No. 34 overall pick in that April’s draft.

Vrabel, 35, was part of three Super Bowl-winning teams in his eight years with the Patriots from 2001 to 2008.

Over the past two seasons with the Chiefs, Vrabel started 30 games and logged 73 total tackles, with two sacks and three forced fumbles. He spent his first four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers after they drafted him in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft out of Ohio State.

Vrabel, one of 10 players named as a plaintiff in the Brady et al v. the National Football League et al antitrust lawsuit, has 704 tackles and 57 sacks in his career, along with 11 sacks and 17 forced fumbles.

Vrabel was arrested and charged with theft at the Belterra Casino Resort in Florence, Ind., in April. He was released from jail after posting $600 cash bond later Monday morning. He released a statement through his agent after the incident.

“It was an unfortunate misunderstanding, and I take full responsibility for the miscommunication,” Vrabel said. “I feel comfortable that after talking with the appropriate parties, we will resolve this matter.”

Posted in Highlights, Jones, New NFL jerseys, glasgow celtic football club jersey, heart, jay novacek jersey sport sell | 55 Comments »

Jackson ‘took it a bit too far’ when he used gay slur in interview

July 10th, 2011

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson issued a statement Saturday apologizing for using a gay slur on Sirius XM radio last month, phillysportsdaily.com reported Saturday.

“In a recent radio interview a caller got really confrontational with me. I got very heated with the caller, took it a bit too far and did not mean to offend anybody. I meant no disrespect and a better choice of words was needed,” Jackson said through a spokesman.

Jackson made the comments June 30 on the “All Out Show” with Rude Jude and Lord Sear on Sirius XM’s “Shade 45″ — an Eminem-styled hip-hop channel. When a caller identifying himself as “Troy in Tennessee” asked a question that rubbed Jackson the wrong way, the wideout responded with an off-color slur, according to Philadelphia Daily News.

Before filing the statement, Jackson appeared to react aggressively to the growing firestorm on Twitter on Saturday, writing: “WANNA BRING ME DOWN BUT IM OK!! THEY TRYIN KNOCC ME OFF BUT IM STILL ON!!”

Tweeted Jackson: “THEY LOOKN 2 TAKE YA DOWN AT ALL TIMES NO MATTER HOW POSITIVE AND WHAT U DO!! ITS ALWAYS AWAY THEY TRY TO GET YA…. IM STANDIN TALL”

In a later series of tweets on Saturday, however, a considerably more polished Jackson appeared contrite.

“I am sorry for using words that I know to be hurtful and unacceptable in a recent radio interview.” he wrote. “Intolerance is unacceptable and I apologize to anyone I have offended. … I have made a mistake and would like to make it clear that words I used meant no disrespect to the Gay and Lesbian community.”

Jackson has emerged as one of the top playmakers in football, both on special teams and as Michael Vick’s favorite deep target. Jackson finished last season with 47 catches for 1,056 yards and six touchdowns.

Posted in Highlights, Jones, New NFL jerseys, about us, glasgow celtic football club jersey, heart, jay novacek jersey sport sell | 76 Comments »

T.O. had knee surgery in April, doesn’t plan to retire

June 29th, 2011

Terrell Owens is recovering from left knee surgery and plans to be ready to play when the NFL season starts, his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said Tuesday.

Rosenhaus confirmed in an interview with ESPN that the star wide receiver tore his anterior cruciate ligament and had surgery in early April. However, Rosenhaus said, his client “will be playing at the start of the NFL season.”

Rosenhaus called speculation that Owens, 37, was considering retirement “nonsense” and said the 15-year veteran is doing “fantastic” and could be recovered as early as August. Sources familiar with the injury told ESPN on Sunday night that Owens wouldn’t return until mid- to late November at the earliest.

Rosenhaus said Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery to the same knee in which Owens tore his meniscus late last year.

“The old injury has been repaired,” Rosenhaus said. “He is many months into recovery and doing fantastic. No predictions on training camp, but he comes back fast from injuries. I won’t rule him out of anything. He will be a starting receiver for someone this year.”

Rosenhaus declined to say how the latest injury occurred, although one source told ESPN on Sunday night that it happened while Owens was taping a segment for his VH1 reality show, and another source said the receiver injured himself during personal workouts.

As for Owens mulling retirement, Rosenhaus said “all the retirement talk is nonsense. There’s been no discussion about that, and this injury is not a big deal.”

Two of Owens’ former teammates also said the star wide receiver plans to return. Both players spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because Owens hasn’t publicly discussed the surgery.

Owens had 72 catches for 983 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Cincinnati Bengals. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve Dec. 21, one day after surgery for his torn meniscus.

Posted in Highlights, Jones, New NFL jerseys, about us, glasgow celtic football club jersey, heart, jay novacek jersey sport sell, wholesale sport jersey discount code | 2 Comments »

Good sign? Goodell, Smith travel together to rookie seminar

June 29th, 2011

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith opened a four-day labor discussion in Minnesota, then hopped on a plane to Florida to speak to rookie players.

Spokesmen for the league and the players’ association confirmed Tuesday night to The Associated Press that Goodell and Smith were on the same plane from Minnesota to address players at the NFLPA-run rookie symposium. Smith asked Goodell to speak to the players Wednesday morning at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Sarasota, Fla., and the commissioner agreed.

Goodell and Smith plan to leave Florida later Wednesday to fly back to Minneapolis and continue the labor talks, which have taken on a decidedly different look.

Goodell and Smith are accompanied only by their staffs, rather than members of each constituency, and owners and players aren’t expected to directly participate, although they will remain apprised of any developments. The parties’ legal teams are expected to trade proposals on the framework of a settlement, in an effort to move the process toward conclusion, and they will intensify their focus on the key issues, most notably the revenue split.

The four-day, face-to-face session will be the longest yet. The previous longest session was the first one, held May 31 through June 2 near a private airport in suburban Chicago. Subsequent meetings on New York’s Long Island, Maryland’s Eastern Shore and Massachusetts’ South Shore each lasted two days.

The changing time frame surrounding this set of talks and the shifting cast of characters — the first “secret” meetings only included Goodell, Smith, owners, players and U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan — are seen as part of the process of negotiating a new agreement to end a lockout that’s in its fourth month.

Boylan ran three two-day sets of court-ordered mediation between the owners and players in April and May, and he has been present for all of the more recent meetings. His chambers are located in Minneapolis.

A decision from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where the league appealed a district court’s issuance of a lockout-lifting injunction, could come soon, too. The time frame on such decisions from an appeals court generally is 30 to 45 days, and the hearing was held June 3. However, the league and players have expressed a desire to work toward an agreement before the three-judge panel’s ruling is announced.

The St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears, who are scheduled to play in the preseason-opening Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 7, are set to open training camp just three weeks from Friday, and time is beginning to run short on the parties’ negotiating teams as they look to preserve the preseason in its traditional form. Some have suggested July 15 as the deadline for that to happen.

The parties have spent the past four weeks largely discussing the revenue split, an issue that dwarfs all others. It’s not just the revenue now, but also how to account for the players’ take in the league’s future growth, particularly when the next round of television deals are negotiated for 2014 and beyond. The idea of an “all revenue” model, which would eliminate cost credits to the owners and limit revenue projections, has bridged some differences, but the issue still hasn’t been settled.

The parties broached the rookie pay system for the first time during clandestine sessions Thursday, and it also proved to be a difficult area to navigate. Last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, received about $50 million guaranteed in his rookie deal, and the owners have long looked to drastically mark down price tags like this.

The numbers aren’t the only issue. Finding a way to replace the market effect those contracts have on veterans and getting those high picks to free agency quicker are among the players’ concerns. Currently, six-year contracts are allowed for the high first-round picks making big money.

Last week, one team executive told NFL Network that owners and players were within “striking distance” of a deal, but that nothing was close or imminent. But another involved executive said: “There are enough legitimate issues to where it could all fall down still. They’re dealing with that stuff.”

After last week’s meeting at a beachside resort in Hull, Mass., Goodell and Smith emerged together and provided a symbolic moment in the joint effort toward a resolution.

“Someone asked me if I was optimistic — I think we’re both optimistic when we have the right people in the room,” Smith said. “We know we’re talking about the right issues, and we’re working hard to get it done. It’s extremely complicated. It requires a lot of hard work by a lot of people. But we’re committed to getting something done. And we’re gonna keep working at it.”

Said Goodell: “We are under court order, as far as what we can discuss. Obviously we’re all working hard, the players and owners were here over the last few days, and De and I were here for the entire meetings also. And it’s complicated and it’s complex, but we’re working hard. We understand the fans’ frustration, but I think both of us feel strongly that we’re going to continue to work hard on it.”

Goodell and Smith have been joined by Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, New York Giants owner John Mara, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, New York Jets fullback Tony Richardson, Baltimore Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth and Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, as well as Boylan, as constants in the room.

NFLPA president Kevin Mawae, who has been in some talks, attended the trade association’s rookie seminar Tuesday and said roughly 170 players were participating in the event. Mawae also addressed more than 40 Tampa Bay Buccaneers players who are holding a three day minicamp at the vast IMG Academy campus, where the NFLPA event is being held.

Posted in Highlights, Jones, New NFL jerseys, about us, heart, jay novacek jersey sport sell, wholesale sport jersey discount code | No Comments »

« Older Entries