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Goodell Says Saints Players Won't Be Suspended for Violation of Drug Policy PDF Print E-mail
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Written by Maury Brown   
Tuesday, 15 September 2009 22:46

Roger GoodellNFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced today that the suspensions of New Orleans Saints players Charles Grant and Will Smith for their 2008 violations of the NFL’s Policy on Anabolic Steroids and Related Substances (read the policy here - PDF) will not be enforced at the present time.

“This situation presents several unique and narrow aspects that I believe call for us to put the good of the game ahead of questions of discipline,” Commissioner Goodell said. “Considerations of fairness, uniform application of our policies, and competitive integrity all support deferring the suspensions at this time. I am not prepared to treat players differently when the same conduct is involved.”

Last Friday, a federal appeals court in Minnesota unanimously ruled in favor of the NFL in the so-called “Star Caps” case, rejecting all of the challenges brought by the NFL Players Association, including unfounded claims of bias and failure to share information with players about diuretics. The Court of Appeals fully upheld the earlier rulings of a federal district court in favor of the league.

The ruling upheld the suspensions of the Saints players. However, the federal court also allowed Kevin Williams and Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings to pursue separate claims under Minnesota state law, which prevent suspending them at this time. Commissioner Goodell said the NFL will vigorously contest those state law claims and enforce appropriate discipline on a consistent and uniform basis.

Commissioner Goodell added, “Our primary goal is to maintain the effectiveness and integrity of our program, which has repeatedly been recognized as among the finest in all of sports. An important part of that program has been a tradition of fairness for players and clubs, with all players knowing they are held to a common standard. Because the Minnesota and New Orleans players committed the same violation and had their appeals resolved at the same time, I believe the appropriate step is to defer the suspensions while we pursue both our legal options and continue discussions with the NFLPA.

“Now that the courts have rejected the NFLPA’s improper challenge to our collectively bargained program, we hope the union will join us in ensuring that these principles of fairness and uniformity are preserved. The union’s unfortunate refusal to do so thus far has created needless uncertainty for our program. This is an important issue not only for the NFL, but for all sports and everyone who cares about the integrity of sports competition. This is why the other professional leagues and the USADA supported us in this case. ”

Source: National Football League


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Maury BrownMaury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).

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Coors Light Fantasy Football LeagueThose playing Fantasy Football, you might wsh to consider filing this under, “Don’t try this at home.”

There’s a good reason they call it “fantasy” football. After spending years trying to better understand how the front office functions in professional sports, I have simply dabbled in playing fantasy sports because I always would get tripped up over “reality” vs “fantasy”.

Silly me.

This year, I was approached to play in the Coors Light League, which ties in with the company’s massive ad blitz and promoted through Yardbarker (see Yardbarker And Coors Ready For Some Football for details), of which all the Business of Sports Network sites are a part of, including The Biz of Football. With Fantasy Football taking less energy than Fantasy Baseball to engage in (182 games for baseball, as opposed to up 21 games, when factoring playoffs) the idea of hooking up with fellow Yardbarkers and those at the National Football Post, who are administering the league, sounded fun.

As mentioned, I said, “Don’t try this at home,” because the Draft philosophy was a bit unorthodox.

While running backs are deemed to be the most worthy of first picks, I chose to gamble by looking at the schedule where the Week One Saints/Lions game stood out. The logic? Drew Brees of the Saints against a woeful Lions defense. With the third overall pick, it paid off, at least in Week One, far better than anticipated. Brees went 26-34, with 358 yds passing, a staggering 6 TDs with just 1 INT. His performance landed The Biz of Football team 39 points. The downside? The chances of Brees pulling this off again seem exceptionally thin. Still, Brees ranked 1 or 2 at the QB position in various mock drafts, and might – repeat might – pull enough points to make up for the lack of a high ranking running back.

As for a running back… I was fortunate to have Thomas Jones of the Jets drop through where I selected him with my Round 2 pick, the 22nd overall. Jones racked up 20 carries for 107 yds rushing and 2 TDs, against the Texans, garnering The Biz of Football 37 valuable points.

The other key points gainer was the selection of the Philadelphia Eagles for defense, which were picked up in the 8th round at 94th overall. Against an underperforming Jake Delhomme and the Panthers' offense, the Eagles’ defense posted 2 TDs, 49 tackles, 11 assists, 10 passes defensed, 5.0 sacks, 5 INT, 2 FF, 2 FR, good enough for a solid 37 points.

The other upside for The Biz of Football draft was the selection of Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez, who had 5 catches for 73 yds receiving and 1 TD against the Dolphins. That performance garnered 13 points.

There were downsides. As mentioned, the Panthers underperformed and that hit my selection of WR Steve Smith, who had only 1 carry for 4 yards, 3 catches for 21 yds receiving and in a sign of Delhomme’s abysmal day, 2 tackles. Total take? 2 points. The other bust? Selecting the Browns WR Braylon Edwards in the 3rd round at 75th overall looks like a poor decision. With 1 catch for 12 yards, he garnered only 1 point.

All told, The Biz of Football gathered 136 total points, 24 points ahead of the “LBS” team being run by Larry Brown.

To repeat what I said during the Draft chat to my fellow league members, and will most likely hold true over the course of the season: I expect to slip considerably unless some trades are made. On that front… In the 17th round, the 171st overall, was a selection for The Biz of Football that could pay considerable dividends as a starter or in trade. Who dropped so far down the draft? Mark Sanchez, who in his quarterback debut for the Jets went 18-31 for 272 yds, 1 TD, and 1 INT. Fantasy average? 13 points in Week One.

Look for weekly updates on the Coors Light League throughout the season here on The Biz of Football.

For more details see The Right Brain Fantasy Report sponsored by Coors Light, and running on Yardbarker

Select Read More to see The Coors Light League standings after Week One

Right Brain League Division

W L T PCT PF PA DIV STREAK
The Biz of Football 1 0 0 1.000 136 37 1 - 0 - 0 Won 1
LBS 1 0 0 1.000 112 88 1 - 0 - 0 Won 1
Stubbs94 1 0 0 1.000 99 82 1 - 0 - 0 Won 1
Beast Mode 1 0 0 1.000 97 78 1 - 0 - 0 Won 1
Beer Wolf Stalker 1 0 0 1.000 97 48 1 - 0 - 0 Won 1
NFP 1 0 0 1.000 71 63 1 - 0 - 0 Won 1
RealGM 0 1 0 0.000 88 112 0 - 1 - 0 Lost 1
Awful Announcing 0 1 0 0.000 82 99 0 - 1 - 0 Lost 1
Pete 0 1 0 0.000 78 97 0 - 1 - 0 Lost 1
The Infamous BSO 0 1 0 0.000 63 71 0 - 1 - 0 Lost 1
Rumors & Rants 0 1 0 0.000 48 97 0 - 1 - 0 Lost 1
HHR 0 1 0 0.000 37 136 0 - 1 - 0 Lost 1

OTHER NEWS FROM THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK

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Maury BrownMaury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).

Follow Maury Brown on Twitter Twitter

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