2014 NFL Season

[MissTeeks]

This is a long read, ugly stuff:

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/...er-goodell-nfl

The seven-month scandal that is threatening Roger Goodell's future as NFL commissioner began with an unexpected phone call in the early morning hours on a Saturday in February.
Just hours after running back Ray Rice knocked out his then-fiancée with a left hook at the Revel Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the Baltimore Ravens' director of security, Darren Sanders, reached an Atlantic City police officer by phone. While watching surveillance video -- shot from inside the elevator where Rice's punch knocked his fiancée unconscious -- the officer, who told Sanders he just happened to be a Ravens fan, described in detail to Sanders what he was seeing.
Sanders quickly relayed the damning video's play-by-play to team executives in Baltimore, unknowingly starting a seven-month odyssey that has mushroomed into the biggest crisis confronting a commissioner in the NFL's 95-year history.

After the Feb. 15 incident in the casino elevator, Ravens executives -- in particular owner Steve Bisciotti, president Dick Cass and general manager Ozzie Newsome -- began extensive public and private campaigns pushing for leniency for Rice on several fronts: from the judicial system in Atlantic County, where Rice faced assault charges, to commissioner Goodell, who ultimately would decide the number of games Rice would be suspended from this fall, to within their own building, where some were arguing immediately after the incident that Rice should be released.
The Ravens also consulted frequently with Rice's Philadelphia defense attorney, Michael J. Diamondstein, who in early April had obtained a copy of the inside-elevator video and told Cass: "It's f---ing horrible." Cass did not request a copy of the video from Diamondstein but instead began urging Rice's legal team to get Rice accepted into a pretrial intervention program after being told some of the program's benefits. Among them: It would keep the inside-elevator video from becoming public.

Most sources spoke with "Outside the Lines" on the condition of anonymity, citing the NFL's just-launched, self-described independent investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the former FBI chief, which is being overseen by John Mara, the New York Giants' owner, and Art Rooney II, the Pittsburgh Steelers' co-owner. Mara and Rooney are close confidants of Goodell's. The interviews, viewed together, paint a picture of a league and a franchise whose actions -- and inaction -- combined to conceal -- or ignore -- the graphic violence of Rice's assault. When evidence of it surfaced anyway, the NFL and the Ravens quickly shifted gears and simultaneously attempted to pin the blame on Rice and his alleged lack of truthfulness with Goodell about what had happened inside the elevator.

Sanders relayed the information he had obtained on Feb. 15 to his bosses, but whether he spoke directly with Bisciotti or Cass or someone else who relayed the information remains unclear. Four days after the incident, TMZ Sports released a different surveillance video, shot from outside of the elevator, showing Rice impassively dragging Janay's unconscious body out of the elevator. Although the grainy video did not show what had happened behind the elevator's doors, the images horrified Ravens coach John Harbaugh, according to four sources inside and outside the organization. The Super Bowl-winning coach urged his bosses to release Rice immediately, especially if the team had evidence Rice had thrown a punch. That opinion was shared by George Kokinis, the Baltimore director of player personnel, according to a fifth source outside the organization but familiar with the team's thinking.

The day after the incident in Atlantic City, Rice met Kyle Jakobe, his personal trainer and one of his closest friends, at Jakobe's gym, Sweat Performance, in Timonium, Maryland. In Jakobe's office, Rice wept as he described what happened between him and his future wife. "I'm holding him, he's crying, he's devastated," Jakobe said. According to Jakobe, Rice didn't sugarcoat what happened. The running back told his friend much of what we now know: Rice struck Janay in the face with his left fist and sent her careening into the elevator wall, where she struck her head and was knocked out instantly. "He motioned it to me," Jakobe said, making a closed fist and bringing it across his body. "He was like 'Hey, this is what happened.'"
Rice also leveled with his general manager, Newsome, who had a Hall of Fame career as a tight end with the Cleveland Browns. Rice sat down with Harbaugh, as well, and Harbaugh later described their conversation in a June interview with ESPN The Magazine. "I talked to Ray right away," Harbaugh said, "and what he told me right away -- we always tell our guys, 'Never lie, never cheat, never steal' -- he told me the exact truth of what happened, and it held up all the way through. He didn't sugarcoat it, he admitted what he did wrong, he explained everything to a T. Everything I've heard since then is held up to what he said."

[Pagal4321]

That article....wow....people will definitely be losing their jobs over this and we aren't talking scapegoats. If this is all true, almost the entire Ravens front office should be canned, Newsome, Cass, the whole freaking thing.

[Senator Clay Davis]

The Ravens deified a murderer. Are we really shocked that they appear to be a rather horrible organization who's clearly takes an ends justifies the means approach? Terrible organization.

[Bobblehead]

Closet opens and all the skeletons come falling out...

But why did it take this long for anyone to dig this deep and stuff come out? I'll answer my own question - Because no one wanted to know and no sports network wants to kill their golden goose.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Amid this hellish couple of weeks, there are bright spots.

I just finished watching A Football Life: Brandon Marshall.

I said years ago that he was a "good kid" making bad decisions. Turns out, I was right.

Very proud of how he's turned his life around and now is helping others on a very, very large scale.

[troutman]

Dis, I'm in Denver right now. There are two Bronco cheerleaders at this German brew pub in LoHi.

Was around Mile High yesterday - very impressive.

Can't say I feel the altitude.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

Amid this hellish couple of weeks, there are bright spots.

I just finished watching A Football Life: Brandon Marshall.

I said years ago that he was a "good kid" making bad decisions. Turns out, I was right.

Very proud of how he's turned his life around and now is helping others on a very, very large scale.

Yup he has really turned it around. I was of the opinion that he was just another diva type who was going to sewer his career because he couldn't control his emotions and seemed so entitled.

He has truly done all the right things since, on top of becoming one of the best WR in the league. Terrific story and am really impressed he has called out ESPN among others for their ridiculous exploitation of certain stories/people when they have no reason nor moral compass to do so.

[Displaced Flames fan]

What genius decided KC/Miami should be a late game? I don't get Denver at Seattle now. Unbelievable.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

What genius decided KC/Miami should be a late game? I don't get Denver at Seattle now. Unbelievable.

LOL I cant wait for KC to be 0-3 too

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

What genius decided KC/Miami should be a late game? I don't get Denver at Seattle now. Unbelievable.

you don't get spokane channels?

[Montana Moe]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

What genius decided KC/Miami should be a late game? I don't get Denver at Seattle now. Unbelievable.

If you're in MT, you'll get the Denver/Seattle game. If you're in KS, you're SOL.

Week 3 Broadcast Map

[transplant99]

Former Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas died Saturday night after a car accident near his home, according to police.

Bironas married Rachel Bradshaw, daughter of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw, in June. Police spokesman Don Aaron said a police chaplain was with her after the crash.

One of the best ever....far far to young.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11...ns-kicker-dies

[DropIt]

Wow, that's terrible news. The part where he was just married in June makes it tough.

Thanks for the link, didn't know he held all those franchise records. Can't believe he only made one Pro Bowl

[rubecube]

For those of you who had week 4 in the Arian Foster injury pool, congratulations.

[Senator Clay Davis]

So what? The part where you destroy her in the face didn't happen? Dude, career = over. Accept it and move on, you play RB, you would have been replaced next year anyways.

One of the chief arguments that Ray Rice will make in the appeal of his indefinite suspension is that the NFL extended his punishment on the basis of an edited videotape, sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Legal sources told Schefter that the TMZ tape of Rice hitting his then-fiancee was a cleaned-up, whittled down and condensed version of the events that took place in the Atlantic City casino elevator.

Rice's side is expected to argue that the NFL suspended the former Baltimore Ravens running back indefinitely off an edited videotape that was not the extended version.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11...cee-was-edited

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

So what? The part where you destroy her in the face didn't happen? Dude, career = over. Accept it and move on, you play RB, you would have been replaced next year anyways.



http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11...cee-was-edited

Rightly or wrongly,I think he will be back in the league....this season. He has all kinds of grounds to win his appeal on and the way RB's are falling around the league, there will be someone who takes a flyer on him.

[Senator Clay Davis]

No one is taking a flier on him, and definitely not this season. Ray Rice averaged 3.1YPC last year which is one of the poorest averages in the league. You can find 100 guys off the street who can give you 3.1YPC and not bring the headaches and protests that Rice will. He might get another shot in the future if he's willing to accept the league minimum, but he's a running back. The Bucs got Bobby Rainey off the street and he averaged almost 4YPC last year. Running backs are the least valuable position in the league except maybe punter or kicker (and frankly an elite kicker or punter is probably more valuable than an elite RB).

[Hockey]

Horrible news. Rob Bironas died in a car crash last night. I'll always remember Rob for being the only professional athlete to tweet me back


RIP Rob

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

you don't get spokane channels?

Unfortunately, I'm back in Kansas for a while.

Still, don't understand how a game in Miami is pushed to a 3:00 start.

[GirlySports]

Ray Lewis on ESPN just said "some things you can cover up, some things you can't"

Really!?