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Drew Rosenhaus (@RosenhausSports) has quickly become a big fan of Twitter, updating his 23,000+ followers of the status of several of his numerous NFL clients, like announcing his firm’s signing of Bryant McKinnie or that Mike McKenzie is healthy, has worked out for the Seahawks, and expects to sign somewhere soon.
I wonder, though, how teams will start reacting to his updates, when they may impact their attempts to improve their team. For instance, this morning, Rosenhaus tweeted:
“The Vikings have informed me that they will be waiving receiver Aundrae Allison by 5pm today if he isn’t traded first.”
As far as I can see, this tweet effectively eliminates whatever little leverage the Vikings may have had in a trade situation–after all, why would a team that’s short on WR and kick return talent give up a late round draft pick for a guy who’s going to hit the waiver wire in a little more than 7 hours?
It makes sense from Rosenhaus’ perspective–if his client is traded, he has no control over the team he lands with, and there is no new contract signed, meaning Rosenhaus doesn’t get another commission.
But if you’re the Vikings, would you put up with Rosenhaus announcing their intentions to the world? They may have informed Allison/Rosenhause merely in good faith, so it was clear why he wouldn’t be on the practice field today, since they wouldn’t want him getting hurt after the roster decision had been made.
Now, if I were the Vikings, I would consider not waiving him until the end of camp, merely to spite Rosenhaus.
Cleveland wide receiver Donte Stallworth agreed to a plea bargain that will require him to spend 30 days in jail after killing a man while driving drunk in his car. With time served, according to the New York Times, he’ll serve 24 more.
Unreal.
Michael McCann, legal analyst for Sports Illustrated, visited the Dan Patrick Show Wednesday to discuss the sentence. It appears the agreement became possible when the family agreed to a financial settlement with Stallworth, he told listeners.
So despite killing someone, Stallworth was able to buy himself a lesser prison sentence. That doesn’t speak well of a legal system that is supposed to put everyone on equal footing regardless of their place in society.
Stallworth will be out of prison in time for training camp, if his current team in Cleveland or any other team out there decides they are willing to risk the public relations hit that employing him would hopefully entail.
The comparison has already been made several times in other places. Stallworth got a year-and-a-half less than Michael Vick did for killing dogs and could end up with several years less than Plaxico Burress, who came closer to killing himself than anyone else.
At least one organization is angry. Mothers Against Drunk Driving indicated that it is deeply upset with the sentence and that, if the sentence required a donation to MADD that the organization would decline the money. MADD indicated that it would be watching how NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell deals with the on-field aspect of this case.
They’re not alone. Stallworth might not be behind bars when the 2009 NFL season starts. But that doesn’t mean he should be on the field. Hopefully the commissioner acts accordingly.
The latest rumor (other than ESPN’s update tonight that the Vikings have suspended their pursuit of Favre–presumably until tomorrow, when they wake up and start again) is that Favre’s family and friends have booked a block of rooms at the Midway Motor Lodge near Lambeau Field for the weekend of the Vikings game against the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 1
Every report of this story that I’ve seen has been accompanied by the mention that this COULD be a sign that Favre has told those close to him that he is returning.
But what if it isn’t? What if a really clever manager or bellhop just started the rumor to drum up some publicity for the Midway Motor Lodge? Get some early reservations going, and hope that people don’t cancel in time, or decide to make the trip even if Favre stays retired?
Or, another possibility–what if Favre has actually decided NOT to come back, and he’s been in touch with the Packers, and that’s the weekend they’re finally going to retire #4?
OK, admittedly, neither of those scenarios seem real plausible–but neither does the idea that family & friends booking a block of rooms means he’s 100% coming back, if you ask me.
Until we finally hear something direct from Brad Childress or Favre himself, all of these reports–NFL Network, ESPN, etc–they are all 100% speculation, in my eyes. And speculation that I could care less about. After all, it’s only about two and a hlaf months until our first fantasy draft…
A few days ago DeMaurice Smith, the new head of the NFL Players Association, asked for unity among current and former players as the union and the National Football League prepared to embark on negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.
Thursday, perhaps in a tip of the cap toward achieving that unity, the NFLPA settled a lawsuit that alleged the union had breached licensing and marketing terms while using retired players’ images in video games and other projects, according to several media accounts including the linked ESPN article by Chris Mortensen.
The settlement, for about $26 million, was just under the $28.1 million a jury had awarded the retired players in a San Francisco court last November. The union had originally planned to appeal the court judgment.
Herb Adderley, a former Dallas and Green Bay cornerback, was one of the main faces behind the suit and a frequent antagonist of former union head Gene Upshaw, who died in August. “I’m elated that this thing is coming to a close,” he told the Associated Press. “It’s a great feeling and I’m happy to be a small part of it.”
Retired players have been fighting the union hard in recent years over disability and pension reform along with the licensing issues. With this issue seemingly out of the way for now, it appears as though they may be preparing to next put John Madden in their sights.
Yahoo Inc. has filed suit in Minnesota alleging that the NFL Players Association has no right to charge for player pictures, biographies and statistics used to drive its fantasy football games.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the NFLPA has argued in the past that such information is proprietary.
This isn’t the first time the issue has arisen. CBS Interactive and NFL Players have been fighting over the issue in court since September 2008. CBS filed suit in Minnesota while NFL Players filed a countersuit in Miami a week later.
Richard Berthelsen, acting chairman of the NFLPA at the time, said in a September 2008 press release announcing the lawsuit that “It is just wrong for companies to use the rights of NFL players to generate revenues for their own benefit without any compensation to the players. NFL PLAYERS will take all steps necessary to protect its rights, and the rights of NFL players generally.”
Last year CBSSports.com announced that it would proceed with a college fantasy football offering after Major League Baseball Advanced Media lost a suit in which it claimed ownership of statistics generated by baseball players.
The U.S. Supreme Court in June refused to hear its appeal.
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