About ROGER GOODELL, NFL Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer

Roger Goodell's favorite by odsmakers | Meeting Roger Goodell

This is a copy of Roger's bio from the National Football League

Roger Goodell was named NFL executive vice president and chief operating officer by Commissioner Paul Tagliabue in December 2001.

Goodell's responsibilities include serving as president of NFL Ventures, Inc., which oversees the NFL's business units. Goodell supervises all league business operations, including media properties, marketing and sales, consumer products, international, stadium development, special events, and strategic planning. In addition, he is responsible for the league's football operations and officiating departments.

Goodell began his NFL career in 1982 as an intern in the NFL office in New York. In 1983, he worked in public relations and administration with the New York Jets, then returned to the league office in 1984 as a public relations assistant. In 1987 he was appointed assistant to the president of the American Football Conference (AFC), Lamar Hunt, by then--NFL Commissioner Rozelle.

Since 1990, Goodell has served under Commissioner Tagliabue as director of international development and club administration, vice president of operations, vice president of business development, senior vice president of league and football development, executive vice president of business and football development, and executive vice president of business, properties and club services.

Goodell has been instrumental in many league accomplishments, including expansion, realignment, stadium development, and international development. Most recently, he played a key role in the launch of the NFL Network, the restructuring of the NFL's business units, and the negotiations for the NFL's television agreements and Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Players Association.

Goodell serves on the boards of the national and New York chapters of Big Brothers & Big Sisters, and he is an officer of NFL Charities, the league's charitable foundation.

Born in Jamestown, New York on February 19, 1959, Goodell graduated from Washington & Jefferson College in 1981 with a degree in economics. He lives in the New York area with his wife Jane and their twin daughters.

(5/06)

NFL PRESEASON KICKS OFF IN CANTON WITH HALL OF FAME GAME

Six will be honored…one will return…and a season will begin.
It is going to be quite a weekend in Canton!!

The NFL preseason of 65 games -- 15 on national TV -- kicks off at 8:00 PM ET Sunday night with the annual Pro Football
Hall of Fame Game in the birthplace of the NFL -- Canton, Ohio -- this year between the Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia
Eagles.

The game will mark the "re-debut" of a longtime NFL partner. It will be televised by NBC-TV, which this year returns to
broadcasting the NFL for the first time in eight years. NBC had carried NFL games for 28 seasons, from 1970-97.

Announcing the game will be a well-known pair -- AL MICHAELS and JOHN MADDEN. They debut on NBC after
teaming on Monday Night Football for four years from 2002-05.

It will be a big weekend for Madden and five other familiar NFL names. The former Oakland Raiders coach will be
inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday along with TROY AIKMAN, HARRY CARSON, WARREN MOON, REGGIE WHITE and RAYFIELD WRIGHT.

Madden, of course, will go in as the former Raiders coach, but he has an on-field tie to the Eagles, too. As a 21-year-old
tackle out of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in 1958, Madden was a 21st-round draft selection by Philadelphia (No. 244 overall), although he never played in the NFL.

The game will mark another "re-debut." ART SHELL is a member of the Hall of Fame class of 1989 who won a Super
Bowl XI ring as a player under Madden and followed him as coach of the Raiders (1989-94). This year Shell returns at
the helm of the club after a 12-year span. That same-team coaching respite ties for the fourth longest in NFL history (see
chart below).

It will be a special weekend for the Eagles, too, as one of their greatest players ever, defensive end-tackle White, is inducted into the Hall. The team retired his number (92) last season.

The Hall of Fame class of 2006:

-- TROY AIKMAN (1989-2000) led the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles. His 90 wins in the 1990s makes him the winningest NFL quarterback of any decade.

-- HARRY CARSON (1976-88) was named to nine Pro Bowls, led the New York Giants in tackles in five seasons, and was a leader of the team’s daunting defense in their Super Bowl XXI title season.

-- JOHN MADDEN (1969-78) owns the best regular-season winning percentage of coaches with 100 wins (.759,103-32-7). Oakland never had a losing record under him, and claimed seven division titles and the Super Bowl XI championship.

-- WARREN MOON (1984-2000) ranks fourth all-time in the NFL in completions (3,988) and passing yards (49,325) and fifth in touchdown passes (291). Selected to nine Pro Bowls. Threw for 3,000 yards in each of nine seasons.

-- REGGIE WHITE (1985-2000) retired as the NFL's all-time sack leader (198). Named to 13 consecutive Pro Bowls. Nicknamed the "Minister of Defense." Won a Super Bowl XXXI ring with Green Bay.

-- RAYFIELD WRIGHT (1967-79) was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1970s. Played in six NFC Championship Games and five Super Bowls, winning two NFL titles. Chosen for Pro Bowl six years in a row.

There will be another induction at the Hall of Fame this year -- one that will make history. Longtime TV broadcaster LESLEY VISSER will receive the Hall’s Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award for her contributions in covering pro football. She will be the first woman to be honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The future of the game also will be celebrated this weekend at the annual NFL Youth Football Summit.

A group of 150 youth and high school football coaches and administrators from all 50 states will convene to discuss issues related to youth and high school programs with football experts and NFL greats.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association sponsor the summit through their joint NFL Youth Football Fund.

Fans nationwide will be able to see all of the weekend Hall of Fame festivities on NFL Network, which will televise more
than 14 hours of on-site coverage, including eight hours on enshrinement Saturday.

The Hall of Fame Game will be the first of 15 nationally televised NFL preseason games this summer. Add to those the
"wall-to-wall-ball" schedule of NFL Network -- 52 games televised in 24 days (including two national TV broadcasts) -- and
fans will be able to see first-hand how NFL teams are developing this summer.

Included on the summer TV schedule will be a record 12-game "whip-around" on August 31. NFL Network on its NFL
Total Access: No Huddle show will cover every game being played that night and cut in to each game as the action
progresses.

"…AND, NOW, TO PRESENT THE HONOR…"

Always of interest are the names of the “presenters” of the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees on their special day. This
year, two sons, two coaches, an NFL owner, and a friend will have the honors.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2006 presenters:

INDUCTEE PRESENTER RELATIONSHIP

Troy Aikman Norv Turner QB coach/off. coordinator from 1991-93
Harry Carson Donald Carson Son
John Madden Al Davis Oakland Raiders owner
Warren Moon Leigh Steinberg Friend/Agent
Reggie White Jeremy White Son
Rayfield Wright L.J. "Stan" Lomax Coach at Fort Valley State College

* * *

ART’S BACK!: The Oakland Raiders' ART SHELL returns as the team’s head coach Sunday night after a 12-year
respite. The longest span between NFL coaching stints with the same team:

COACH TEAM TENURE 1 FINAL YEAR TENURE 2 FIRST YEAR YEAR SPAN

Joe Bach Pittsburgh 1936 1952 16
Chuck Knox L.A. Rams 1977 1992 15
Ted Marchibroda Baltimore/Indianapolis 1979 1992 13
Walt Kiesling Pittsburgh 1942 1954 12
Joe Gibbs Washington 1992 2004 12
Art Shell L.A./Oakland Raiders 1994 2006 12

# # #

NFL & NFLPA AGREE TO IMPROVED PLAYER BENEFITS

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
280 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
(212) 450-2000 * FAX (212) 681-7573

WWW.NFLMedia.com
Joe Browne, Executive Vice President-Communications
Greg Aiello, Vice President-Public Relations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NFL-43 7/27/06

The NFL and the NFL Players Association again have agreed to a series of improvements in NFL player benefits for retired and current players, including significant pension increases and other new benefits for retired players, the NFL and the NFLPA announced today.

The improvements are a part of the recently extended NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement and will cost approximately $120 million per year, bringing the annual cost of NFL player benefits to $700 million per year.

This is the fourth time since 1993 that benefit improvements have been made for both current and retired players.

Retired players now receive nearly $60 million per year from the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle Retirement Plan. In addition, there are three other funds that provide more than $1 million a year in financial assistance to retired NFL players in need. They are the NFLPA’s Players Assistance Trust, the NFL and NFL Alumni Association’s Dire Need Fund, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Enshrinee Assistance Fund.

"We are proud to have the most extensive benefits package in professional sports," said HAROLD HENDERSON, NFL executive vice president of labor relations/chairman of the NFL Management Council.

"These improvements are consistent with our commitment in every negotiation to address post-career issues and improve the benefits of retired players. No other industry reaches back like this to take care of former employees."

"The current players have great respect for the heritage of the NFL and the former players that have contributed to the league's success," said GENE UPSHAW, executive director of the NFLPA. "As they have done on previous occasions, the current players strongly supported the idea of using a portion of their negotiated benefits money to fund improvements for the retired players."

Details of the benefit plan improvements that were announced today:

-- PENSIONS: Pensions of retired players will be increased by 25 percent for the amounts earned before 1982 and by 10 percent for the amounts earned in 1982 and later. The minimum increase for retired players will be $50 per month.

-- WIDOW & SURVIVING CHILDREN BENEFIT: Benefits will be tripled for the survivors of a player who dies before his retirement benefits begin.

-- NUMBER 88 PLAN: Beginning next year, players retired under the pension plan will be eligible for payment of certain medical and custodial expenses, whether provided at home or in an institution, that are a result of dementia, including Alzheimer's, regardless of the age when care becomes necessary.

The benefit will pay the cost of providing up to $88,000 per year for institutional care or up to $50,000 per year for in-home nursing care. There also is agreement to fund research on dementia. The benefit is named in honor of Pro Football Hall of Famer JOHN MACKEY.

-- TUITION REIMBURSEMENT PLAN: For players with at least five credited seasons who retire after the 2006 season, the plan will provide up to $15,000 per year for tuition expenses for the first three years after the player leaves football. Previously, this benefit was available to active players only.

-- HEALTH REIMBURSEMENT ACCOUNT: A new Health Reimbursement Account will be created for current players for use when their NFL health insurance expires (currently four or five years after retirement). The accounts will begin for players who have three credited seasons at $75,000 and increase by $25,000 per year for up to 12 seasons. For example, a 12-year veteran will leave the NFL with a $300,000 health reimbursement account. The accounts can be used to fund post-career medical insurance, including the COBRA premium, and to pay other medical expenses, both for the player and his dependents.

Other CBA benefits for players include a 401K savings plan, annuity program, insurance, severance pay and
disability benefits.

# # #

#1 Ranked Fieldposition.com Podcast Now Features Zennie Abraham (Click For Podcast)

Thanks to Walter Anaruk and Bill Chackhes of this blog and Fieldposition.com, I'm the designated NFL Business Expert for their weekly podcasts, which are ranked Number One according to Yahoo!

The current podcast, available with a click here , is...

A roundtable discussion about issues surrounding the business side of the NFL.

1 - Reggie Bush signing
2 - Matt Leinart Impasse
3 - PSLs and Preseason Tickets.
4 - NFL Commissioner Search.
5 - Revenue issues

...According to Walter, and features....

Zennie Abraham, Sports Business Simulations
Walter Anaruk, Field Position
Bill Chachkes, Field Position

Check us out!

Roger Goodell - Sportsbook.com Odds Makers Pick Him To Be NFL Commissioner

Press Release Source: Sportsbook.com and Yahoo! Finance

Sportsbook.com odds makers choose Roger Goodell to be next NFL Commissioner
Wednesday August 2, 9:00 am ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 2 /PRNewswire/ - The new commissioner of the NFL is expected to be decided during an August 7-9 meeting of the selection committee in Chicago. Sportsbook.com, the world's largest online sportsbook and casino, has been following the story since Tagliabue's retirement and has updated odds now that the five finalists have been confirmed.
Roger Goodell, NFL COO continues to be the front runner, with odds of 2-5 to take the top NFL post. The COO has been working with Tagliabue since 1990 when he started as a Director, and is entrenched in all areas of the NFL business.

Goodell's closest challenger is Gregg Levy, the league's outside council, the position Tagliabue held before he became commissioner. As the chief legal consultant Levy maintains close contact with most of the team owners.

"It will be hard for the owners to replace Tagliabue, with his solid relationships with the NFLPA, owners, players and sponsors, but it is clear by the ages of the candidates that they are looking for a man who will commit to the job for many years, much like Tagliabue did," said Alex Czajkowski, Sportsbook.com. "Everybody bets on the NFL, and a shake up in the front office is no exception," added Czajkowski.

The other three finalists are Frederick Nance, a Cleveland lawyer, Robert L. Reynolds, of Concord, Mass., the vice chairman and chief operating officer of Fidelity Investments and Mayo A. Shattuck III of Baltimore, chairman of the board, president and CEO of Constellation Energy, all are listed at 10-1 odds to become the next NFL commissioner. The successor will require votes from 22 of the 32 NFL teams.

Who will be the next NFL Commissioner?

Candidate Odds

Roger Goodell 2-5
Gregg Levy 2-1
Robert L. Reynolds 10-1
Mayo A Shattuck III 10-1
Frederick Nance 10-1

For more NFL odds please visit sportsbook.com.

About Sportsbook.com:

Sportsbook.com is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best US Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, Sportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, Sportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets - achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.

Sportsbook.com is the flagship brand for Sportingbet PLC, (LSE: SBT - News), the world's leading publicly traded online gaming company. Sportingbet PLC, headquartered in London, England, has been voted number one in the industry for two years in a row by the authoritative eGaming Review Power 50 Survey.

Josh Wolf Jailed For Contempt Of Court - $500 To File An Appeal Is All He Needs

This is from Josh Wolf's website, which can be visited if you click on the title of this post:

Hi, I'm Liz Wolf-Spada, Josh's mom. Although the July 20th hearing seemed promising, today the judge, Judge Alsop ruled against all motions including 5th amendment rights, rights coming under freedom of the press, against bail or a stay. Josh is in Dublin federal prison, in the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay. I don't have any other information at this time, but his lawyer is planning to file an appeal to the federal 9th circuit court. That filing alone costs almost $500, so if you can donate any little bit helps with the expenses of legal counsel and money for Josh while in jail. If you believe in prayer or good thoughts please send them to Josh. Thanks,
Liz

Here's the rest of the story :

Yahoo! Personals - A Crazy-Making Affair With Katie M; Or Why Online Personals Can Be Dangerous

Ok, so I'm taking a time out from Mel Gibson to tell you this story that just happened to me yesterday. I -- like a lot of other people -- have a Yahoo! Personals Ad. I decided to take a friend's advice and "get out there and try" rather than, well, not trying at all and have things just happen.

Which can be fun at times.

At any rate, for those of you who are familar with Yahoo! Personals, people can respond to your ad or you can send a message to someone you want to meet. Well, in this case, I got a message from a woman named Katie who lives in Oakland as I do. What was most interesting about her message-out-of-the-blue was that it read "If you like nerdy women with muscular legs, you won't be disappointed."

I'm not kidding. Of course, that got my attention.

So I replied with a short "let's talk" message and about a week went by. So I chimed in one more time before I determined if I should "punt" on the idea of meeting her. Then, she wrote back that she was working a lot -- seven days on, then seven days off -- but she wanted to meet me. Katie suggested that I leave her my number so she could call me.

So I did. Yesterday, she called. Well, actually, she called three times. Katie and I were playing phone tag, but the point is that she really went all out to meet me. Cool.

So we finally talk on the phone and are having a great conversation. We were so into the idea of meeting that I suggested since we were notn far from each other, we meet at a local coffee shop called "Gaylords." So, I got into my car and headed over there. Once in the neighborhood, I found a parking space and parked the car.

I noticed Katie right as I walked in. She was at the counter ordering tea. She's tall, with a nice short blond hair cut and a good athletic build -- she wasn't kidding about the legs! She's in about her mid 30s, but could pass for younger than that with ease. Let's put it this way, even though I saw only a picture of her face, it never occured to me that I would not be able to pick her out with ease; I did.

We exchanged greetings, got our teas -- I liked what she ordered, so I got the same -- and went outside to a table. From the start I was having a great time and so was she. We talked about all kinds of things, and after a time I did make it clear that I liked her, and she returned the comment. Not bad for a first meeting.

So we walked down to Cato's Ale House and had beers and talk about her folks, her rowing, and my love for movies and being on this screening committe for a major film festival, and all kinds of stuff. Good chemistry, I thought. In fact the conversation and flow was going so well, we made plans to get together for dinner at my place the following week, Monday.

She said that she was getting a little tired -- it was after 10 and she's an early riser. So we left Cato's and walked up the street where my car -- and the way to her place -- were. No, I didn't think she was going to invite me in so soon. Not at all.

So we stopped at the corner of Piedmont and Monte Vista and as I went to hug her, she planted a great kiss and you bet I didn't resist that one. Wow. It was nice -- ok, I admit it was a little out of sync because it was both fun and unexpected, but kisses get better with time and it's not like this was bad. So after the long kiss goodnight, I realized that while she gave me her cell phone number, I didn't have her email, but after my trying to spell it the right way, we decided to just leave our communications to the phone.

Then we kissed again. "See you Monday!!" she said.

Nice.

Now, of course I was happy; who wouldn't be? Monday's not far away so I had to make some arrangements and figure out what I was going to make for dinner. I was excited.

The next day -- which was today -- I sent a simple message of thanks and that I'd see her Monday.

What I go back -- about 8 hours later -- was both weird and hurful. "I don't know how to be nice about this..." she wrote. And proceeded to write that we didn't have good chemistry. That's a crock. If you'd filmed us together, you'd have thought otherwise.

Give the evening and the hug and her kiss, I called to ask what was going on. No answer. It was a direct contrast to the evening before, and it was -- and is -- very scary. See, absent an explaination. Without a phone call. I have no idea of what happened.

What I gathered however is that she was being less than honest with her emotions and that's dangerous. It's sociopathic to fake an emotion or feeling to another person. She had me totally fooled. Plus, she was the person who was interested in me, or so she lead me to believe. She even told me I was what she expected. Go figure!

Everyone I've talked to says two things: 1) What she did was terrible, and 2) she was being dishonest. The guy at the Payless store said he'd want to know what was going on in her mind. My Mom -- visiting me from Georgia for my birthday -- think's she's "bipolar." "Why else would she do that, and then treat you this way?" The comments go on and on.

At one point I thought -- since she picked me out -- that perhaps this was something she did where she targeted black men who seem interested in interracial dating and played these mind games on them. I could be right. Whatever the case, everyone agrees that online personal sites seem to be a place where some people take out their problems on others.

What bothers me about Katie is that she's not far away from me, and so our paths will cross. At this point, my feeling is to say nothing. Her actions were confusing and hurtful and most uncalled for.

I suppose I could decided not to trust a woman I meet on Yahoo! and I may be right, or more to be point, I know I can't trust Katie right now. But I hope she realizes that -- if this is some normal practice for her -- it's dangerous. She could be emotionally phony with the wrong man -- a person with a bad heart -- and the results would not be good. I pray she realizes this. It could be she's too far down this path of game-playing to understand that it's terrible to do.

Hey, if you're a professional, nice, kind guy who's Black, beware out there -- there are some women who just want to be mean to you just because you don't fit a stereotype.

Now, that perception I just expressed above was told to me by a good friend of my Mom's last night: "Some white girls are looking for you as a black man to be stupid, and Zennie, you don't fit that." Mom's friend had a term for it called "Missionary Pussy" and gets it's form from the idea that a European American woman may be of a mind and quirk in her thinking such that she's looking for a kind of Black man who seems "downtroden" or just not one who reminds her that there may be things he knows that she doesn't know -- smart, in other words. I thought this was ridiculous at first, but then I let it roll around in my head a few times...

Hey, you laugh, but this is how some of our Black elders think, and who's to say they're not correct?

The bottom line is I don't know what was on Katie's mind -- maybe using Yahoo! to find guys to play head games with is her form of entertainment, since she doesn't have a television set -- but as long as she doesn't say what was on it, she opens herself to all kinds of assumptions about her character, and that's too bad for everyone, especially others on Yahoo! Personals.