9
Sep
2011
NFL Players risking fines to wear red, white & blue on 9/11
(Photo via Twitpic @55Berger)
UPDATE: The NFL has notified all 32 teams that players will not be fined for wearing 9/11 tribute gear this Sunday. Well what do you know? Common sense seems to have prevailed.
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This Sunday, on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, several NFL players will be sporting special red, white & blue tribute equipment, despite the threat of potential fines from the NFL. Bears LB Lance Briggs was the first to reveal his brand commemorative new cleats & gloves (banner pic), which were produced by Reebok specifically for the occasion. From Briggs’ Twitter account:
Reebok great job on these gloves and shoes..looks like I’m getting fined this week. Lol! By far the best fine I will ever have to pay. Thanks…Fines for gloves could be as much as 5k..the shoes 8-10k I think. not 100% on the shoe fine.
Other players, including Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles, Titans QB Matt Hasselbeck and Redskins TE Chris Cooley (via a Tweet from his wife) have indicated that they also plan to wear similar 9/11 gear, and it seems that all are fully prepared to pay any fines levied by the league. The NFL has yet to speak out on the subject, but based on their past history of zero-tolerance for unauthorized uniforms, it’s safe to assume they won’t turn the other cheek here, regardless of the emotion associated with the day.
(Image via Twitter @Hasselbeck)
It seems odd that the league hadn’t already planned to wear some sort of commemorative ribbon or patch for the day, considering the sheer volume of approved patches players will be wearing this season, commemorating such football luminaries as Joe “The Pet” Perry and Myra Kraft. And when an entire month is dedicated to wearing pink in support of breast cancer awareness, why wouldn’t the NFL encourage, let alone allow players a similar tribute on the tenth anniversary of one the most tragic days in our nation’s history?
Quite simply, this is a potential PR nightmare for the league. C’mon Roger … do the right thing here.
4
Apr
2010
Happy Easter! At this point, we’re just waiting for the draft
Kiper Bunny is coming to town
Early April is generally a pretty slow time for NFL news. There have been a few minor moves and signings, and we had our annual player caught with gun story, but in general, things like the Final Four, MLB opening day, Easter with family (and for some of us, reruns of Hard Knocks on Hulu) are more interesting this time of year. And at this point, everyone is really gearing up for the draft, which is less than 3 weeks away.
There are mocks-O-plenty as prognosticators pretend to have a clue as to how the draft (in its new 3-day format) is going to play out. Meanwhile, teams fine-tune their value boards and conduct background checks on their top prospects. We’ve heard plenty of reports from pro days of the top college players, but sorry, we simply refuse to write about Tim Tebow before he actually does something in the NFL. He gets plenty of ink already.
So, before we head out to round up eggs and candy from the neighborhood kids, we’ll leave you with a few links from the past week:
- 8 USA Today analysts provide their 1st round mock drafts
- According to ProFootballTalk, everyone in the NFL hates Todd McShay
- Giving a little love to the unsung soldiers. The New York Times lists the best Right Guards in the league.
- Washington Redskins Chris Cooley and Fred Davis appeared at intermission of an NHL game this week. And raced each other. On tricycles. Poor sportsmanship ensued. Here’s the video, from Gunaxin:
Happy sunday!
19
Sep
2009
Scanning the NFL Twitterverse
Newsworthy (and unworthy) reports from the beautiful world that is Twitter. NOTE: These are pulled verbatim from players’ pages–don’t blame us for the spelling issues.
Jets QB Mark Sanchez:
(after beating the Texans) What a day. So happy and fortunate to be a part of it. Big time team win. Should’ve been a shut out w/o INT. Good start plenty of work to do
Sanchez Twitters. Do you? (Photo: Keivom/News)
Bengals WE Chad Ocho Cinco:
- @DENISE_RICHARDS Writing a script for a movie like the titantic, just there’s no boat just jet skies, are you interested in the lead role.
- @britneyspears Are you still on tour, do you need a back up dancer because I’m free on Tuesdays and off during my bye week!!
- @BarackObama Barrack i dont mean to bother you so late but im looking for a place to stay when I visit DC, how many rooms in the white house
- @Oprah trying to become a billionaire, would you consider dating me and dumping after a few months just for the pub, thanks for your help.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen:
Off the plane in Connecticut. Beautiful breezy fall day.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter:
- If you want to accuse me of being a Rodney stooge, maybe I’m guilty. But not guilty of being a Pats stooge or a stooge of any team.
- You might question this, but it’s absolutely true. Reporters don’t root for teams. We root for people and we root for stories. That simple.
Raiders WR Darrius Heyward-Bey:
@eduardoraider yeah i messed up vs the chargers but just gotta look sharp aganist the chiefs
@oaktownraiders i think seymours a great player he should help us stop the run alot
Cowboys Head Coach Wade Phillips:
- (after last week’s win) 1st win was fun for our team but it was hot and I need mopre sunscreen
Giants WE Sinorice Moss:
- On the way to Dallas. Let’s Go Big Blue!
Browns CB Brandon McDonald:
gotta get bak to work…. preparin fa da Broncos…. i owe em
Chargers OLB Shawne Merriman:
- Just had the best 2hr massage that you can get sunday please hurry up and get here!
- Just got my personalized copy of 50 cent new book in the mail “the 50th law” cant wait to read it
Redskins TE Chris Cooley:
- Crazy off day. Recording with Elliot, ad week with Comcast, then the Sneaker Ball. Being followed by E! the entire time.
Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck:
- The Informant was like listening to a decent book on tape.
- Doing HW with kids tonight. After tonight, I figure I can help them till 4th grade.
Titans LB Keith Bulluck:
@ChrisJohnson28 I got u lil bruh…it’s your show Sunday son,don’t even worry bout the other side. I’m feel’n homeless need 2 eat (pause)
Titans RB Chris Johnson:
I’m layin in the bed watchin college friday night football then bout to watch film me vs steve slaton he up on me 2 to 0 – I got to step up
Bills WR Terrell Owens:
- Never question sum1s character til they allow their character 2 b questioned.
A source of wisdom and calm. (Photo: ESPN)
Cards WR Larry Fitzgerald:
- Gotta have a good walk through practice this morning.We are ready 2 go tomorrow.
- On the plane getting ready 2 take off to jacksonville! This is going to be the longest flight ever!
MORE AFTER THE JUMP
Read the rest of this entry »
15
Aug
2009
Chris Cooley reminds us that the NFL frowns on individuality
Roger Goodell will not tolerate sock violations ... or pledge pins on your uniform
Redskins TE Chris Cooley – the NFL’s best blogger – recently posted an account of a team meeting regarding uniform violations, reminding us just how seriously the NFL takes their policies (in case there was any doubt). Cooley goes on to list some of the fines that can be levied against players for straying from the league dress code.
Camp is well underway so let the multitude of meetings continue – all kinds varying from local gang activity to how to handle your baby’s mama. One of my favorite annual meetings was held as the the team gathered restlessly yesterday afternoon. The NFL dress code and fine schedule.
Just for fun I figured I would list some of the fines mentioned in our meeting and different amounts.
$5000 fines
- High/Low whites on socks
- Pants not covering knees (no skin should show below the waist)
- Bandana
- Wrong nasal strip
- Hand towel alterations – towel must be 7 to 8 inches and have no tape on it
- Tape not the same color of the shoe.
- Jersey untucked (usually there is a warning for this one)
- Jersey cut too short
- Sleeves coming out of jersey – only QB can have this and only a certain amount can come out
- Chinstrap undone ($7500)$10,000 fines
- Personal messages
- Any second offense fine
- Wrong attire 90 minutes previous and after a game – clothes must be Reebok apparel
- Tinted visor – must have a doctors note for a tinted visor
Some of these fines might seem nick-picky, sure. But the fines go to charity, and it’s not like these are huge hits on players’ bank accounts either. And I can totally see why a bandana and incorrect nasal strip could be a threat to the integrity of the game. That’s just common sense.
1
May
2009
The Matt Stafford Song, Cooley’s Wang & Berman’s Swampass
The fans in Detroit have a right to be skeptical about the future of the franchise. How many times have they seen can’t miss, first-round draft picks fail at the NFL level, leaving Detroit to wallow in league-worst crapitude. With that in mind comes this little gem of a number about Lions’ #1 draft pick, Matt Stafford.
Enjoy (song by Ryan Parker):
A few more totally awesome links we found this morning:
- SI.com has an interview with our favorite NFL H-back/Blogger, Chris Cooley, which reveals that the NFL made him undergo psychiatric evaluation after he accidentally exposed himself in a photo on his blog.
- The National Football Post has a great piece on rookie salaries in the NFL, and whether or not they’re ruining the integrity of the game.
- The Big Lead speculates that the Tennessee Titans may have signed Arkansas QB Alex Mortensen (Chris Mortensen’s son) to try and gain favorable coverage from ESPN
- And who would have guessed that Chris Berman would be the winner of the annual Charlotte Pro-Am Golf Swampass Challenge (With Leather)
Chris Berman is a unpaid endorser of "Oops! I Crapped My Pants"
15
Apr
2009
Chris Cooley gets his own internet reality show
Washington Redskins TE Chris Cooley is taking his inimitable fashion sense to the reality set with a new internet series, “The Cooley Zone” launching on YouTube this week.
Cooley is one of the most popular players in the NFL, and has gained a rabid online following through his blog, where he has proven himself to be a fairly hilarious, regular guy who I’d like to grab a few beers with. In addition to being the “only white dude that touches the football” (as Cooley points out in this preview), he also happens to have a super-hot wife, and brought in his brother for sidekick comedy relief.
