TERRELL SUGGS GETS IT, ADRIAN PETERSON - NOT SO MUCH, MORE UNC NEWS & HOW BADLY COULD NEW CBA HURT THE SMALL MARKET TEAMS?
Ravens' 4-time Pro Bowl linebacker Terrell Suggs gets it, he understands why a rookie salary cap is a necessity & he has little respect for lawyers. Appearing on FOX 1370 Sports Radio Wednesday, Suggs argued for a rookie wage scale in the new CBA. He said "you'd have rookies that would come in & show up to work with their blue-collar shirts & their hard hats. We would have less prima donnas in the league." When asked who was winning the current labor negotiations, Suggs showed he understands it very well. "Who's really winning? One is definitely the lawyers for the players union & the owners. The Lawyers definitely aren't hurting" Suggs stated. He's right on both counts. Owners attorney Jeffrey Pash continued poo-pooing all talk of a settlement on the horizon. He said the owners wouldn't lift the lockout before every "i" was dotted & every "t" was crossed. He said all other lawsuits would have to be dismissed before any discussion of lifting the lockout. He went on & on& on with his negative rhetoric, hopefully paving the way to keep his meter running. Lawyers....I love 'em.
Remember Adrian Peterson's "playing in the NFL is like slavery" comment from a few months ago? He continues his excellent P.R. work on his own behalf this week. The Adrian Peterson Football Camp on the Oklahoma campus is scheduled for June 23rd & 24th. Early on Wednesday, the camp's promoters announced Peterson would not be able to attend the camp because he would be taping the NFL Top 100 on the NFL Network. Bad P.R. move #1, you stiff kids paying $199 for a 2-day camp so you can appear on the NFL Network for 5-minutes. All you have to do is give a few skeptical reporters an hour & they'll sniff out a lot of tall tales being told. Bingo, in less than an hour, the NFL Network said Peterson's appearance would be live, not video taped & it would be on July 3rd. That would in no way interfere with the camp's 6/3 & 6/4 dates. Peterson was nowhere to be found on Wednesday, so the bloodhounds concentrated on the Camp's promoters. They came clean quickly, saying yes, the dates were correct & yes, Peterson was not going to attend the football camp named for him. They proudly announced "Sooner greats Mark Clayton, DeMarco Murray & Jason White will appear." So how does the camp keep Peterson's name on the banner? Cash baby, cash. It should be noted that last year at the Adrian Peterson Football Camp it was also Adrian Peterson-less. How little credibility does this camp have at this point? Who is paying $199 to send their kids to this bogus 2-day deal? If Peterson actually was on hand for the camp, I'd get off his back, but I don't see that happening. Having to be present at a football camp that's paying you & named after you is just too much like slavery isn't it?
On the college investigation front, I found a few more facts from the NCAA's notice of inquiry sent to North Carolina. I have to tell you, some if this crap really turns my stomach. I told you yesterday 11 Tar Heel players were the focus of this investigation. The NCAA said these 7 of these players had accumulated 395 on-campus parking violations. They ranged from lack of parking permit to parking in a fire lane or on 6 occasions, parking in a handicapped spot. These tickets totaled $13,185. One player's violations were paid for by athletic department tutor Jennifer Wiley, $1,700 worth. The late Gary Wichard, an NFL agent, was linked with payments over $27,000 to players along with jewelry & improper travel benefits. The NCAA has charged the Tar Heel program with "improper monitoring" but not the dreaded "lack of institutional control" which is the worst. The compliance office failed to monitor player's Twitter accounts. Many of the travel violations were spelled out right there for everyone to see. They failed to monitor their own tutor, who routinely wrote papers for football players, committing academic fraud. They failed to monitor large deposits by assistant coach John Blake from Wichard's Pro Tect Management. It looks like they will lose some scholarships & might even get a 1-year postseason ban. Because the phrase "lack of institutional control" isn't in the NCAA's 42-page report & head coach Butch Davis isn't mentioned once, they might avoid USC-type sanctions.
I expect to see the NCAA push back the August 12th hearing with Ohio State. There is so much to investigate, I doubt they'll be completely ready in just 50-days.
There is some bad press coming out of Eugene Oregon. The Ducks have admitted to a $25,000 payment in 2010 to Complete Scouting Services of Texas. This is not a violation, many programs pay for high school scouting reports. The perceived problem lies in some communications between then assistant coach Chip Kelly & Will Lyles, owner of the scouting service. There were 12 text messages & cell phone calls between Lyles & Kelly during Oregon's 2008 recruitment of running back LaMichael James, a Texan. In 2010, there were text messages from Lyles to Oregon running backs coach Gary Campbell. Five-star running back recruit Lache Seastrunk, also from Texas, signed with the Ducks. A few days after his signing, Lyles was paid $25,000 for his scouting report that was by now, old news. If Seastrunk or James were steered by Lyles to Eugene, it's trouble. But someone will have to spill their guts, otherwise I doubt the NCAA has anything to pursue.
Could there be a negative effect for small market teams in the new CBA? The answer is yes & it would essentially be all about money. What a surprise huh? The Jerry Jones's & Daniel Snyder's of the NFL want a bigger share of their own revenues. In other words, just like Major League Baseball. How'd that work out? They have no beef with the draft, but want to keep all of the licensed product cash their team generates. They are only willing to share TV revenue & game ticket sales, that's it. Teams in larger markets have larger stadiums, can charge more for parking, concessions, personal seat licenses & local radio networks. They have the same salary cap as every other franchise & will be required to spend nearly every cent of it just like the Kansas City's & Jacksonvilles. The exceptions to the small market theory is of course Pittsburgh & Green Bay, the smallest market in all of pro sports. But the Packers are owned by the community, not an individual, so their profit motives differ from Jerry & Dan. Like Green Bay, the Steelers have a lengthy season ticket waiting list that should keep them very competitive for at least the time being.
Selling the Thursday night game package for $500-600 million would help the little guys have an extra cushion in case the economy worsens. But this won't happen until after the 2013 season, what to do right now is the question. It's doubtful the Jags, Chiefs, Bengals or Raiders will actually sell every seat on any Sunday this season. Their hole begins to get larger with every passing week with empty seats. I honestly don't think Arrowhead Stadium will remain untitled for much longer, Clark Hunt needs that naming revenue, it's guaranteed year after year. I know it was Lamar Hunt's wish to keep the name Arrowhead, but the franchise he founded in Dallas over 50-years ago has got to be flexible to remain competitive.
My greatest fear is the big market teams will cast the little guys aside in hopes of both increased profits & a competitive edge. Think Jerry Jones or Daniel Snyder doesn't want to be the George Steinbrenner of the National Football League? If it's too hard having a level playing surface, change the rules. That's my greatest fear. After Hurricane Katrina, the Saints were given a number of financial "passes" by the league to keep them going, could we see anything like that after this CBA is signed? If this CBA moves even slightly away from the revenue sharing plan currently in place, look out. It's tough to get toothpaste back into the tube.
Remember Adrian Peterson's "playing in the NFL is like slavery" comment from a few months ago? He continues his excellent P.R. work on his own behalf this week. The Adrian Peterson Football Camp on the Oklahoma campus is scheduled for June 23rd & 24th. Early on Wednesday, the camp's promoters announced Peterson would not be able to attend the camp because he would be taping the NFL Top 100 on the NFL Network. Bad P.R. move #1, you stiff kids paying $199 for a 2-day camp so you can appear on the NFL Network for 5-minutes. All you have to do is give a few skeptical reporters an hour & they'll sniff out a lot of tall tales being told. Bingo, in less than an hour, the NFL Network said Peterson's appearance would be live, not video taped & it would be on July 3rd. That would in no way interfere with the camp's 6/3 & 6/4 dates. Peterson was nowhere to be found on Wednesday, so the bloodhounds concentrated on the Camp's promoters. They came clean quickly, saying yes, the dates were correct & yes, Peterson was not going to attend the football camp named for him. They proudly announced "Sooner greats Mark Clayton, DeMarco Murray & Jason White will appear." So how does the camp keep Peterson's name on the banner? Cash baby, cash. It should be noted that last year at the Adrian Peterson Football Camp it was also Adrian Peterson-less. How little credibility does this camp have at this point? Who is paying $199 to send their kids to this bogus 2-day deal? If Peterson actually was on hand for the camp, I'd get off his back, but I don't see that happening. Having to be present at a football camp that's paying you & named after you is just too much like slavery isn't it?
On the college investigation front, I found a few more facts from the NCAA's notice of inquiry sent to North Carolina. I have to tell you, some if this crap really turns my stomach. I told you yesterday 11 Tar Heel players were the focus of this investigation. The NCAA said these 7 of these players had accumulated 395 on-campus parking violations. They ranged from lack of parking permit to parking in a fire lane or on 6 occasions, parking in a handicapped spot. These tickets totaled $13,185. One player's violations were paid for by athletic department tutor Jennifer Wiley, $1,700 worth. The late Gary Wichard, an NFL agent, was linked with payments over $27,000 to players along with jewelry & improper travel benefits. The NCAA has charged the Tar Heel program with "improper monitoring" but not the dreaded "lack of institutional control" which is the worst. The compliance office failed to monitor player's Twitter accounts. Many of the travel violations were spelled out right there for everyone to see. They failed to monitor their own tutor, who routinely wrote papers for football players, committing academic fraud. They failed to monitor large deposits by assistant coach John Blake from Wichard's Pro Tect Management. It looks like they will lose some scholarships & might even get a 1-year postseason ban. Because the phrase "lack of institutional control" isn't in the NCAA's 42-page report & head coach Butch Davis isn't mentioned once, they might avoid USC-type sanctions.
I expect to see the NCAA push back the August 12th hearing with Ohio State. There is so much to investigate, I doubt they'll be completely ready in just 50-days.
There is some bad press coming out of Eugene Oregon. The Ducks have admitted to a $25,000 payment in 2010 to Complete Scouting Services of Texas. This is not a violation, many programs pay for high school scouting reports. The perceived problem lies in some communications between then assistant coach Chip Kelly & Will Lyles, owner of the scouting service. There were 12 text messages & cell phone calls between Lyles & Kelly during Oregon's 2008 recruitment of running back LaMichael James, a Texan. In 2010, there were text messages from Lyles to Oregon running backs coach Gary Campbell. Five-star running back recruit Lache Seastrunk, also from Texas, signed with the Ducks. A few days after his signing, Lyles was paid $25,000 for his scouting report that was by now, old news. If Seastrunk or James were steered by Lyles to Eugene, it's trouble. But someone will have to spill their guts, otherwise I doubt the NCAA has anything to pursue.
Could there be a negative effect for small market teams in the new CBA? The answer is yes & it would essentially be all about money. What a surprise huh? The Jerry Jones's & Daniel Snyder's of the NFL want a bigger share of their own revenues. In other words, just like Major League Baseball. How'd that work out? They have no beef with the draft, but want to keep all of the licensed product cash their team generates. They are only willing to share TV revenue & game ticket sales, that's it. Teams in larger markets have larger stadiums, can charge more for parking, concessions, personal seat licenses & local radio networks. They have the same salary cap as every other franchise & will be required to spend nearly every cent of it just like the Kansas City's & Jacksonvilles. The exceptions to the small market theory is of course Pittsburgh & Green Bay, the smallest market in all of pro sports. But the Packers are owned by the community, not an individual, so their profit motives differ from Jerry & Dan. Like Green Bay, the Steelers have a lengthy season ticket waiting list that should keep them very competitive for at least the time being.
Selling the Thursday night game package for $500-600 million would help the little guys have an extra cushion in case the economy worsens. But this won't happen until after the 2013 season, what to do right now is the question. It's doubtful the Jags, Chiefs, Bengals or Raiders will actually sell every seat on any Sunday this season. Their hole begins to get larger with every passing week with empty seats. I honestly don't think Arrowhead Stadium will remain untitled for much longer, Clark Hunt needs that naming revenue, it's guaranteed year after year. I know it was Lamar Hunt's wish to keep the name Arrowhead, but the franchise he founded in Dallas over 50-years ago has got to be flexible to remain competitive.
My greatest fear is the big market teams will cast the little guys aside in hopes of both increased profits & a competitive edge. Think Jerry Jones or Daniel Snyder doesn't want to be the George Steinbrenner of the National Football League? If it's too hard having a level playing surface, change the rules. That's my greatest fear. After Hurricane Katrina, the Saints were given a number of financial "passes" by the league to keep them going, could we see anything like that after this CBA is signed? If this CBA moves even slightly away from the revenue sharing plan currently in place, look out. It's tough to get toothpaste back into the tube.
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