USA Today reported last week that NFL attendance is likely to fall for the third straight season.  The drop was predicted initially at 1-2% but season tickets could be down as much as 5%, president of NFL Ventures and Business Operations predicted.  It is generally agreed upon that incredible NFL broadcast quality is cutting into ticket sales.

How is the NFL combating the sales slip?  Step one is putting RedZone Channel in every NFL stadium.  The channel will drop in on games in crucial moments and during breaks and half time.  The goal is to give fans the feeling of being at home and keeping up on all the games.

The addition of RedZone Channel, some stadiums are offering hand-held, in-game video devices that allow spectators to watch all games.

Beyond keeping fans up-to-date on other games, the NFL has lifted its policy concerning noise-generating messages on the scoreboard such as “Raise the roof!” and “Pump it up!”

Will these additions help?  It’s hard to imagine the words “pump it up” flipping a 5% drop in season ticket sales.

Roger Goodell spoke on the issue on the Mike and Mike in the Morning program on ESPN Radio, he said:

“One, you have to first recognize what your fans are going through. You know it. Our fans are being impacted by the economy just like everybody else so you have to create greater value. That’s what we focus on. How do we improve the quality of what we’re doing and create that value for our fans? That goes for everything from how you price the tickets; to the facility itself, which we’ve invested in new stadiums; to providing a safe and entertaining experience for families when they do go; to the final piece, which is creating technology in those stadiums so that the fans feel entertained when they’re at the stadium.

This year for the first time we’ll have RedZone in all 31 of our stadiums and that provides our fans with even greater entertainment value when they’re in our facilities. That’s what we have to keep focused on, and our clubs are working hard to try to address these issues. I think they’re making great progress.”

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THIS IS BREAKING NEWS…

The Associated Press is reporting that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has reduced Ben Roethlisberger's suspension by two games. Instead of missing the first six contests of the 2010 season Roethlisberger will be forced to sit out the first four games. As reported here the League's suspension due to repeated violations of the League's conduct policy. The primary incident motivating the suspension was an accusation of sexual assault by a Georgia college student following a night of drinking and carousing. Goodell indicated at the time of the suspension that if Roethlisberger kept his nose clean, the suspension would be reduced by two to four games.

Goodell emphasized that Roethlisberger had a responsibility to continue to honor his commitment to make better decisions and avoid the trouble that have tarnished his reputation and become a stain on the league. Such misbehavior motivated the League's personal conduct policy, under which Roethlisberger was the first player to be disciplined without being arrested, charged with or convicted of a crime.

Off the field, the Steelers have been aggressively looking to clean up their image, dealing Santonio Holmes to the Jets after he was suspended for four games for violating the League's substance abuse policy. The return that Pittsburgh received for Holmes - a fifth round pick - indicated the Steelers were fed up with their players misbehaving and intended to send a message. Holmes' suspension came amidst the accusations directed towards Roethlisberger, but before the League suspended him on the 21st of April.

The Steelers quarterback situation has been in turmoil all offseason due to Roethlisberger's uncertain status. The club signed Byron Leftwich to start while Roethlisberger serves his suspension and then shift to the backup role. In their pre-season finale, Leftwish sprained his medial collateral ligament in his left knee which will likely knock him out of the season opener against the Falcons. Third-year backup Dennis Dixon is expected to make his second career start. He threw for 145 yards and a touchdown and an interception for the Steelers in a 20-17 overtime loss against the Ravens on November 29th, 2009.

THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED WITH MORE DETAILS AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE

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After all the rhymes and all the reasons, the result is the same:  2009 Rookie of the Year Brian Cushing will be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season.  Cushing’s variety of excuses for his positive test for the performance-enhancing drug HCG all fell short as Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld the original suspension and length.

"At the request of Texans owner Bob McNair, commissioner Goodell reviewed additional medical information presented on behalf of Brian Cushing," the NFL said in a statement.

"The club and Cushing were notified today that after carefully considering all the information, including a review by outside medical experts, the commissioner finds no basis for changing the decision that Mr. Cushing's suspension for the first four games of the regular season remains in place."

Keep in mind this is the same Texans owner being accused of collusion with the commissioner.    It would have looked pretty funny if Goodell had overturned the decision after McNair’s pleas.

ProFootball Talk Noted that there have been 29 PED suspensions since 2008.

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President Barak Obama honored the 2009 Super Bowl winners, the New Orleans Saints.  Here is a full transcript of his speech to honor the team via an official White House release:

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, welcome, everybody.  Please have a seat, have a seat.  It is wonderful to see all of you.  Welcome, and congratulations to the 2009 Super Bowl Champions -– the New Orleans Saints.  (Applause.)

I want to start by recognizing some folks in my administration who are big fans of this team -- Lisa Jackson -- (applause) -- from the EPA; Secretary Donovan from HUD; -- (applause) -- Craig Fugate from FEMA.  (Applause.)  We’ve got a few very proud members of Congress with us –- Senator Mary Landrieu -- (applause) -- and Representative Steve Scalise are in the house.  (Applause.)

Congratulations to the owner, Tom Benson, who has led this team through times that would test anybody; and General Manager Mickey Loomis, for building this extraordinary championship squad.

Congratulations to your outstanding head coach, Sean Payton, who’s done just great work.  (Applause.)  I must point out Sean is a Chicago guy.  (Laughter.)  I'm just saying.  (Laughter.)  By way of Naperville.  You’ve got to be tough to be a Chicago guy.  I make some tough decisions every day, but I never decided on an onside kick in the second half of the Super Bowl.  (Applause.)  That took some guts.  Were you okay with that?  Did he check off with you?  (Laughter.)  I'm glad that thing went all right.  (Laughter.)

Coach Payton led this team to a remarkable season:  13-0 start, a franchise record for wins; a heck of an overtime win in the NFC Championship.  And then after falling behind in the Super Bowl, with the onside kick, huge second half; Tracy Porter’s interception guaranteeing that the Lombardi Trophy would go to the city of New Orleans for the very first time.  It was an unbelievable moment.  (Applause.)

I want to congratulate the Super Bowl MVP, your quarterback, your captain -- Drew Brees.  (Applause.)  I have to say all of us were very excited after the game -- all my wife wanted to talk about was Baylen, that little boy sitting with Drew, and everybody going, “Awww,” (laughter) -- which, I'm just saying, you made a lot of fans then.  (Laughter.)  Drew and his wife, Brittany, are expecting their second child in October.  So, congratulations to you both.  (Applause.)

Drew threw six touchdowns in the opening weekend, making it pretty clear that the Saints were coming to play.  And over the course of the season, he set a new NFL record for accuracy, completing more than 70 percent of his passes.  I have a few staffers who were thrilled to have Drew on their fantasy team.  (Laughter.)  So they are grateful for that.

And by the way, this is not Drew’s first time to the White House.  Last year, we filmed a PSA some of you may have seen, encouraging America’s youth to get 60 minutes of physical activity every day.  He tossed me a nice tight spiral that I then lateraled to a kid on DeMarcus Ware’s shoulders.  I also want to point out I beat Troy Polamalu over the middle on that throw.  (Laughter.)  You remember.  (Laughter.)  I'm not sure he was going top speed, but -- (laughter.)

Finally, Drew has agreed to serve as co-chair of the new President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition.  And I want to thank all the players who put on a clinic earlier this morning with children from the Boys and Girls Club as part of the Let’s Move and the NFL’s Play60 program.  So, thank you very much, guys, for participating in that.  (Applause.)

So this was an unbelievable season.  After decades of frustration, the Saints finally won the big one.  The “ain’ts” and the “sad sacks” gave way to the “Who Dats.”  Local musicians even gave a jazz funeral to retire the “ain’ts” nickname.  But I think we all know that this season meant far more than that to the City of New Orleans -– and to all Americans, really.

Look, I’m a Bears fan.  I’m not going to lie.  (Laughter.)  But this was a big win for the country -- not just for New Orleans -- because five years ago, this team played its entire season on the road.  It didn’t have a home field.  The Superdome had been ruined by Hurricane Katrina.  The heartbreaking tragedies that unfolded there when it was used as a shelter from that terrible storm lingered all too fresh in a lot of people’s minds.

And back then, people didn’t even know if the team was coming back.  People didn’t know if the city was coming back.  Not only did the team come back -– it took its city’s hands and helped its city back on its feet.  This team took the hopes and the dreams of a shattered city and placed them squarely on its shoulders.

And so these guys became more than leaders in the locker room -– they became leaders of an entire region.  And the victory parade that we saw earlier this year made one thing perfectly clear, that New Orleans and the New Orleans Saints are here to stay.

So plenty of cities carry their sports teams through  a tough season.  It’s a rare thing when a sports team carries a city through tough times.  And that’s why there’s such a deep bond between this organization and the city.  I’m not sure there’s any other city that feels that same way right now.  And that's not just for what the Saints have done on the field, but what they’ve done off it to see that the city keeps rising.

In fact, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently said that every team in professional sports should use the Saints as a model for how to interact with their community.

This entire team has worked with Habitat for Humanity to rebuild neighborhoods in New Orleans.  Many of these guys and the coaches and the players run foundations to help children in need.  All of them are off to Walter Reed later this morning to spend some time with wounded warriors who served our country.

And obviously the Gulf region has spent the last few months besieged by yet another crisis.  But last week we received the news that we had hoped for.  Yesterday, we learned that a procedure to prevent any more oil from spilling with a cement plug appears to have succeeded.  And the final steps will be taken later in August when the relief well is completed.  But what is clear is that the battle to stop the oil from flowing into the Gulf is just about over.

Our work goes on, though.  I made a commitment to the people of the Gulf Coast that I would stand by them not just until the well was closed but until they recovered from the damage that’s been done.  And that’s a commitment my administration is going to keep.

So with the ongoing reopening of Gulf fisheries, we’re excited that fishermen can go back to work and Americans can confidently and safely enjoy Gulf seafood once again.  We’re certainly going to enjoy it here at the White House.  In fact, we had some yesterday.

While they’re here today, several Saints players are going to spend some time teaching our staff their favorite Gulf seafood recipes.  So who’s cooking?  (Laughter.)  Which one -- it’s you back there?  All right.  (Laughter and applause.)  And Sam Kass, the White House -- he’s very excited, he’s very excited.  And after weeks of hearing about food from our response teams down in the Gulf, I can tell you that our staff is excited about the 30-foot po’ boy we’re serving at lunch today.  (Laughter.)

But let me just say in closing, we are very proud of this team, and we are very proud of the owner of this team, because it required a great commitment on your part to help pull this team and this city along.  And so there is a heartfelt congratulations not just from those of us here in the White House, but I think all across America.  These are big guys with big hearts, and shoulders big enough to carry the hopes and dreams of an entire city with them.

So with that, congratulations to all of you -- the New Orleans Saints, 2009 Super Bowl Champions.  Congratulations

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According to Sports Illustrated's football guru Peter King, and confirmed by ProFootball Talk NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has fined Detroit Lions president Tom Lewand $100,000 over a DUI.  The fine, as Biz of Football discussed earlier this month, sets a precedent and sends a message to other NFL executives that they will be held to the personal conduct policy just as players are, but will face higher fines.  We kind of guessed it, suggesting it would be equal to a Super Bowl logo violation of $100,000. 

"You occupy a special position of responsibility and trust, and -- as you have publicly acknowledged -- your conduct must be consistent with someone in that position," Commissioner Roger Goodell told Lewand in a letter.  "As we have discussed, those who occupy leadership positions are held to a higher standard of conduct that exceeds what is ordinarily expected of players or members of the general public."

Lewand will also be suspended for 30 days.

Matthew Coller is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, and is a freelance writer. He can be followed on Twitter

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