NFL.com wire reports
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (March 9, 2006) -- The New England Patriots released linebacker Willie McGinest in a salary-cap move, ending a 12-year relationship with the NFL's all-time postseason sack leader.
The release of the two-time Pro Bowler was announced March 9, the day after the NFL owners voted 30-2 at their meeting in Grapevine, Texas, to extend the collective bargaining agreement with the players for six more years, resulting in a new salary cap figure of $102 million.
The 34-year-old McGinest carried a salary cap figure of more than $7 million for next season. The veteran linebacker is now a free agent and can sign with any team, including New England.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
NFL Adopts "Baseball Style" Revenue Sharing Adjustment - Observation
The new NFL CBA includes and adjustment where the richest revenue teams place a portion of their revenues into a pool which is then used by the smaller revenue organizations. This is very much like the system in the current Major League Baseball Collective Bargaining Agreement, but the percentage of the top-tier-teams revenue gotten is not as great.
Commissioner Tagliabue Press Conference, Special League Meeting, Dallas Texas, March 8, 2006
This from NFL Media.com today
Commissioner Tagliabue:
We just concluded two long days of meetings. Last night we went until about 1 a.m., and this morning we started around 7 a.m. and finished at about 6:59 and 59 seconds before the 7 p.m. deadline. The membership approved the Collective Bargaining Agreement and accepted the offer of the Players Association for the six-year extension of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement by a vote of 30 in favor and two voting against.
It was really a tremendous effort by owners across the entire spectrum of the league, no matter how you define the spectrum – whether it's in terms of longevity, whether it's in terms of big-market, small-market or high-revenue, low-revenue. Everyone came together after these two full days of discussions and reached a consensus not only on the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but on some major new revenue-sharing features to support the ability of all teams to function well under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The consensus was forged really by all 32, but nine teams worked this afternoon to take two different concepts that had evolved over the last two days and meld it into one concept. The first concept had been developed in the last two days by the New York Jets and the New England Patriots, Woody Johnson and Jonathan Kraft. The second concept had been developed by the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, particularly Art Rooney and Ravens President Dick Cass. Then over the luncheon hour, three other owners spoke with me about a concept for putting together the two proposals, the two
different sets of ideas, and a process to take the Jets-Patriots concept and the Ravens-Steelers concept and blend it into one.
Those three owners were John Mara, Jerry Richardson and Pat Bowlen. Then when we resumed this afternoon, all of those owners plus Jerry Jones and Arthur Blank played a critical role. We ended up with one single resolution that brought all of the different ideas together. It was sponsored by the nine teams that I just mentioned: Giants, Steelers, Patriots, Ravens, Falcons, Panthers, Broncos, Jets and Cowboys. And that's what we presented to the membership and explained it. Once it was all explained, we had the vote and it was adopted without any changes. The blending of the two proposals into one, which was developed this afternoon between 3:15 and 6 p.m., was accepted on the basis that it was presented and developed by those nine teams. In addition to Art Rooney, Dan Rooney was involved in that process. In addition to Arthur Blank, Rich McKay was involved in that process, plus all the owners I've already mentioned. I'll be glad to take questions.
Q: Can you discuss the new revenue sharing agreement?
PT: The revenue sharing basically is a commitment of almost $500 million over the first four years of the deal and then several hundred million additional dollars over the last two years of the deal. I think the total amount over the life of the deal gets to over $850 or $900 million of incremental revenue sharing to be funded in some significant degree by the high-revenue clubs. "High-revenue" includes the top five, the next group, six through 10, and to a lesser degree the clubs who rank 11 through 15. All of those clubs in differing proportions ended up making the alliance or the commitment to fund the
revenue sharing.
Q: How will those funds be redistributed among the membership?
PT: The lower-revenue teams will draw from that fund. The overall concept was geared to the idea that when a team spends to the midpoint between the salary cap and cash over the cap on an average basis, to spend to that level a team should not have to spend more than a specified percentage of its own revenue. So there is an objective standard in there.
Q: What number, percentage-wise, is fair or equitable?
PT: The target in this concept was 65 percent maximum, as a percentage of your own revenues. Of course, the players are getting an unprecedented high level of total revenue, approaching 60 percent of the total.
Q: What will the salary cap be for the 2006 season?
PT: The salary cap for 2006 will $102 million and for 2007 be $109 million.
Q: When will the free agency period begin?
PT: Free agency is going to begin after a 48-hour hiatus, so that clubs can use the additional funding within this cap to re-sign players rather than release players, if that's the way they choose to proceed.
Q: Can you describe some of the other landmark changes that are included in this new CBA?
PT: There are several major features, a lot of major features. There is a significantly expanded post-career medical coverage for players. They already have five years postcareer. There is a healthcare-IRA-type element set aside that the players will get funded in proportion to the length of their career. It's quite a significant improvement in benefits.
The franchise player rules basically stay as they are with some minor tweaking. For the first time a player is tagged and the second time a player is tagged, then in the eventuality, which is very rare, that a player would be tagged a third time, the structure has been modified so as to virtually ensure that in the future there would not be any three time tags, that players and clubs would be able to work out multi-year agreements, including signing bonuses, either the first time a player was tagged or the second time a player was tagged.
Another change is that drafted players in rounds two through seven will have a maximum contract length of four years. Someclubs have been signing players to five and six-year contracts. That had become an issue with the Players Association in this negotiation relative to the concept of free agency after four years. We agreed there would be a maximum contract length of four years for players drafted in rounds two through seven. The first round can still be negotiated with longer deals.
Q: Any changes in terms of club disciplinary procedures and forfeiting signing bonus?
PT: Yes. There are also provisions in there that modify the ground rules in terms of forfeiture of signing bonuses. There are also a number of areas that the discipline provided at the league level for the most part becomes the exclusive form of discipline, whether its suspension or fines, such as with the drug program and with other areas. League discipline would become exclusive.
Q: Any changes in the amount of the rookie salary pool?
PT: No. We had a lot of discussions about the rookie pool, but in the end I don't think we've made any changes.
Q: On the discipline aspect, you're saying that what Philadelphia did to Terrell Owens could no longer be an option?
PT: I'm not saying that. I'm saying that in certain areas we've modified what teams can negotiate. In certain other areas, we agreed that league discipline would be exclusive and that individual club contracts would not be individually negotiated departures from the league disciplinary pattern. That would not be permitted.
Q: You've said all along that this would get done at the 11th hour and 59th minute. It almost sounds like it was orchestrated.
PT: Do you have another question? Harold Henderson heads our Management Council and he had been hearing me say for several years that this would get done at the 11th hour and 59th minute. Frequently over dinner he'd say, "11th hour and 59th minute before what?" And I would say, "I don't know. It's just going to be at the 11th hour and the 59th minute."
Then the other night on Sunday when we had the second break off of negotiations and we were able to talk to Gene Upshaw late at night that his proposal would be presented, I think we got it done after 11 p.m. Then Harold finally said to me, "Now I know what you mean when you talk about the 11th hour and the 59th minute. We're now at the 11th hour and the 24th minute." So I say, "Wait until we get to Dallas. If we have more than 60 seconds to spare, it will be a miracle." And that's the way it turned out.
Q: How important is this new agreement to game of football and the league?
PT: I think it is important. Time will tell how important it is, but it was certainly an opportunity to continue building what we've been building. I think it's great for the fans. I think the quality of the game is at a tremendous level. The spread of talent around the league, the ability of teams to become competitive relatively quickly and to do what Marvin Lewis has done and what other coaches have done, it's a great thing. This preserves all of that. It continues with the elements that we have with the Players Association on the shared cost of constructing new stadiums. It continues a lot of our initiatives, Youth Football and other areas. So I think it's a very positive thing for the fans and the league generally even though it's a stretch from a financial standpoint for many, many teams in terms of the cost.
Q: Does this agreement affect the G-3 funding program for new stadiums?
PT: There are some changes in the G-3 funding program, yes. Basically it's an improvement.
Q: Are debts of some of the high-revenue teams addressed in this agreement?
PT: Not in any way that I could explain right now. We didn't get to the point of micromanaging the way teams operate. We set targets in terms of what should be a reasonable target that a club would have to spend on players to be competitive relative to its own revenues. Once we had that target agreed to, then we did a calculation, or thousands of calculations. Once you translated that target and tried to figure out how it would play out over the next six seasons, the question was, "What is the resulting revenue-sharing obligation that had to be funded?"
And that is what we funded. But we didn't get into micromanaging what teams do in order to generate revenue or to
figure out how to net out the costs of stadium construction, except in some of the structural elements of the agreement. There is a concept of TFR, which takes account of stadium construction costs, there's a G-3 credit that takes account of that, but we didn't micromanage what teams do. We want to have the right incentives for teams at every level, the right support through the league and to give great incentives for low-revenue teams to pick their revenue up, be it through new stadiums or other things. But it's not micromanaging.
Q: Beforehand, you had thought that revenue sharing did not necessarily have to be a part of this deal, but it is now part of the package. Can you discuss that?
PT: I always thought it would be part of the package. That was always my expectation.
Q: How pleased are you that this is done?
PT: I'm pleased, and more than pleased, I'm relieved.
###
Dubai Ports World Proves Their Smart Business People - Sell Rights for Cash Now; Get More Cash Later
While Dems and Repubs are happy over the annouced deal that DPW was to give up stake in the operation of American Ports, I applaud their business intellect. They've gotten so much attention from this that their rights have skyrocketed in value. So selling was the right thing to do.
Bit of History - Byron Price (1891-1981)
(From The Dish List)
Born in Topeka, Indiana on March 25, 1891, Byron Price graduated from Topeka High School (1908). While his father, John Price, was a farmer, Bryon Price chose to be a reporter. As a student at Wabash College, Price worked as cub reporter for the Crawfordsville Journal and Review and Indianapolis Star and News. After earning his B.A. degree, he joined the United Press staff and worked as a reporter and editor for the Chicago and Omaha bureaus before joining the Associated Press (AP) staff in 1912.
With the AP, Price served as a day editor for the Atlanta Bureau, acting correspondent and bureau chief in New Orleans, before being transferred to Washington, D.C. During WWI, Price took a leave of absence from the AP and enlisted in the Army (1917). At the end of his service (1919), Price returned to AP's Washington Bureau; the following year, he married Priscilla
Alden.
In 1922, Price was promoted to news editor of the Washington Bureau and bureau chief in 1927. Ten years later, he became executive news editor, a position he held until December 16, 1941, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt tapped him to head the newly created Office of Censorship.
On January 15, 1942, Price's office issued the Code of Wartime Practices for the American Press. While the code had no built-in legal penalties, the media were urged to avoid printing information deemed national security interests or demoralizing, such as troop and ship movements and photographs of dead American soldiers.
Reporters continued to seek out their usual sources, and government departments and agencies still issued press releases, but each department had a list of things that could not be published. Price's voluntary self-censorship program worked well. With the single exception of a Chicago Tribune 1942 report of the battle of Midway, no code violation was considered severe enough to warrant prosecution under the Espionage Act. Thus, wartime reporting tended to run heavily toward human-interest stories.
Price's office employed 14,462 people between 1942 and 1945. Weekly, these civil servants read and censored a million pieces of mail. US soldiers, subject to censorship by officers, were prohibited from mentioning anything about the surrounding military situation when writing home. US soldiers' families were encouraged to write light, happy, non-specific letters. The Office of Censorship kept records of every telephone, mail and telegraph inquiry it received between mid-January 1942 and August 1945.
The Office of Censorship was closed down on August 14, 1945. Price received numerous awards for his work, including an honorary LL.D. degree (1943) from Wabash College, a special Pulitzer citation (1944) for the creation and administration of the newspaper and radio censorship codes from Columbia University, an honorary M.A. from Harvard University (1946) and the Medal for Merit (1946) presented by President Harry Truman. The American Society of Newspaper Editors and ten other associations of the press, radio and photographers awarded Price special commendatory citations in 1945 and 1946.
After closing the Office of Censorship, Price served as President Truman's representative to occupied Germany. Appointed vice president of the Motion Picture Association of America (1945), he became chairman of the board for the Association of Motion Picture Productions, president of the Central Casting Corporation, first vice president of the Educational Films Research Corporation, and director of the Hollywood Coordinating Committee (1946).
In 1947, Price became Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for Administrative and Financial Affairs. The only American among eight assistant secretary-generals, he supervised arrangements for construction of the new UN building in New York City. Price died August 6, 1981, at his Hendersonville, N.C. home; Price was 90.
(Sources: www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWpriceB.htm, www.depauw.edu/library/archives/ijhof/inductees/priceb.htm,
http://uncpress.unc.edu/chapters/sweeney_secrets.html, and www.cameron.edu/~johnh/defpg2.html)
Born in Topeka, Indiana on March 25, 1891, Byron Price graduated from Topeka High School (1908). While his father, John Price, was a farmer, Bryon Price chose to be a reporter. As a student at Wabash College, Price worked as cub reporter for the Crawfordsville Journal and Review and Indianapolis Star and News. After earning his B.A. degree, he joined the United Press staff and worked as a reporter and editor for the Chicago and Omaha bureaus before joining the Associated Press (AP) staff in 1912.
With the AP, Price served as a day editor for the Atlanta Bureau, acting correspondent and bureau chief in New Orleans, before being transferred to Washington, D.C. During WWI, Price took a leave of absence from the AP and enlisted in the Army (1917). At the end of his service (1919), Price returned to AP's Washington Bureau; the following year, he married Priscilla
Alden.
In 1922, Price was promoted to news editor of the Washington Bureau and bureau chief in 1927. Ten years later, he became executive news editor, a position he held until December 16, 1941, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt tapped him to head the newly created Office of Censorship.
On January 15, 1942, Price's office issued the Code of Wartime Practices for the American Press. While the code had no built-in legal penalties, the media were urged to avoid printing information deemed national security interests or demoralizing, such as troop and ship movements and photographs of dead American soldiers.
Reporters continued to seek out their usual sources, and government departments and agencies still issued press releases, but each department had a list of things that could not be published. Price's voluntary self-censorship program worked well. With the single exception of a Chicago Tribune 1942 report of the battle of Midway, no code violation was considered severe enough to warrant prosecution under the Espionage Act. Thus, wartime reporting tended to run heavily toward human-interest stories.
Price's office employed 14,462 people between 1942 and 1945. Weekly, these civil servants read and censored a million pieces of mail. US soldiers, subject to censorship by officers, were prohibited from mentioning anything about the surrounding military situation when writing home. US soldiers' families were encouraged to write light, happy, non-specific letters. The Office of Censorship kept records of every telephone, mail and telegraph inquiry it received between mid-January 1942 and August 1945.
The Office of Censorship was closed down on August 14, 1945. Price received numerous awards for his work, including an honorary LL.D. degree (1943) from Wabash College, a special Pulitzer citation (1944) for the creation and administration of the newspaper and radio censorship codes from Columbia University, an honorary M.A. from Harvard University (1946) and the Medal for Merit (1946) presented by President Harry Truman. The American Society of Newspaper Editors and ten other associations of the press, radio and photographers awarded Price special commendatory citations in 1945 and 1946.
After closing the Office of Censorship, Price served as President Truman's representative to occupied Germany. Appointed vice president of the Motion Picture Association of America (1945), he became chairman of the board for the Association of Motion Picture Productions, president of the Central Casting Corporation, first vice president of the Educational Films Research Corporation, and director of the Hollywood Coordinating Committee (1946).
In 1947, Price became Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for Administrative and Financial Affairs. The only American among eight assistant secretary-generals, he supervised arrangements for construction of the new UN building in New York City. Price died August 6, 1981, at his Hendersonville, N.C. home; Price was 90.
(Sources: www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWpriceB.htm, www.depauw.edu/library/archives/ijhof/inductees/priceb.htm,
http://uncpress.unc.edu/chapters/sweeney_secrets.html, and www.cameron.edu/~johnh/defpg2.html)
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
NFL and Players Union Reach Agreement
And Raiders QB Kerry Collins remains with the Silver and Black. We''ll find out who's going where starting Friday.
NFL.com wire reports
GRAPEVINE, Texas (March 8, 2006) -- Labor peace was restored to the NFL when the owners agreed to the players union's proposal, extending the collective bargaining agreement for six years.
There were no further details on the agreement, or whether it includes expanded revenue sharing.
The vote was 30-2, with Buffalo and Cincinnati, two low-revenue teams, voting against the extension.
Free agency, put off twice by the protracted negotiations between the owners and players, now will start at 12:01 a.m. March 10.
"It was a good compromise," said Jim Irsay, owner of low-revenue Indianapolis. "We're happy with it -- 30-2 is a good vote."
The agreement comes after a week of on-again, off-again negotiations, culminating in a two-day owners meeting.
No agreement wouldn't have meant a work stoppage -- at least not for the next two years -- but it would have sent teams scrambling to get under a $94.5 million salary cap. That would have put a number of veterans on the street and it would've also limited the amount of money available for other free agents. And it would've led to an uncapped year in 2007.
Now the cap is expected to go up by as much as $10 million with an extension of the CBA in place.
The real debate was between the owners themselves on the important issue of expanded revenue sharing.
The revenue debate involves low-income teams such as Buffalo, Cincinnati and Indianapolis who say high-revenue teams -- Dallas, Washington and Philadelphia, for instance -- should contribute proportionately to the player pool because they can earn far more in nonfootball income such as advertising and local radio rights.
Those high-revenue teams might contribute only 10 percent of their outside money compared with 50 percent or more for low-revenue teams.
"Some teams are contributing a little more than others," Redskins owner Dan Synder said. "This is really a win-win."
Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, has insisted throughout more than a year of negotiations that the division between owners must be resolved before agreement could be reached on a contract extension.
NFL.com wire reports
GRAPEVINE, Texas (March 8, 2006) -- Labor peace was restored to the NFL when the owners agreed to the players union's proposal, extending the collective bargaining agreement for six years.
There were no further details on the agreement, or whether it includes expanded revenue sharing.
The vote was 30-2, with Buffalo and Cincinnati, two low-revenue teams, voting against the extension.
Free agency, put off twice by the protracted negotiations between the owners and players, now will start at 12:01 a.m. March 10.
"It was a good compromise," said Jim Irsay, owner of low-revenue Indianapolis. "We're happy with it -- 30-2 is a good vote."
The agreement comes after a week of on-again, off-again negotiations, culminating in a two-day owners meeting.
No agreement wouldn't have meant a work stoppage -- at least not for the next two years -- but it would have sent teams scrambling to get under a $94.5 million salary cap. That would have put a number of veterans on the street and it would've also limited the amount of money available for other free agents. And it would've led to an uncapped year in 2007.
Now the cap is expected to go up by as much as $10 million with an extension of the CBA in place.
The real debate was between the owners themselves on the important issue of expanded revenue sharing.
The revenue debate involves low-income teams such as Buffalo, Cincinnati and Indianapolis who say high-revenue teams -- Dallas, Washington and Philadelphia, for instance -- should contribute proportionately to the player pool because they can earn far more in nonfootball income such as advertising and local radio rights.
Those high-revenue teams might contribute only 10 percent of their outside money compared with 50 percent or more for low-revenue teams.
"Some teams are contributing a little more than others," Redskins owner Dan Synder said. "This is really a win-win."
Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, has insisted throughout more than a year of negotiations that the division between owners must be resolved before agreement could be reached on a contract extension.
Barry Bonds: SF Chronicle Reporters' Attempt at Dismissing Bonds Comments About Racism are Culturally Insensitive
The news about the new book "Game of Shadows," which reportedly presents evidence of San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds use of steroids includes some comments that should be reviewed and removed. The one I'm focused on now is this excerpt from the book, and which I obtained at www.cnnsi.com
"As he sometimes did when he was in a particularly bleak mood, Bonds was channeling racial attitudes picked up from his father, the former Giants star Bobby Bonds, and his godfather, the great Willie Mays, both African-American ballplayers who had experienced virulent racism while starting their professional careers in the Jim Crow South. Barry Bonds himself had never seen anything remotely like that: He had grown up in an affluent white suburb of San Francisco, and his best boyhood friend, his first wife and his present girlfriend all were white. When Bonds railed about McGwire, he didn't articulate who "they" were, or how the supposed conspiracy to rig the home run record was being carried out. "
This underscores what I think is the real motivating factor behind the production of the book: a dislike for Barry as one who's "arrogantly black." Just because the reporters -- Mark Fairanu-Wada and Lance Williams -- are both not black, is no real excuse for them to write that garbage above. 
I, like many African Americans, have grown up in schools that were mostly white, dated European American women, and have friends who are not black. But that does not mean we don't experience racism. Racism is a form of rejection. It doesn't have to be expressed by someone calling a black person a name, but by simply being excluded. It could come in the form of someone walking past you to ask somone white for directions. It could rise when a person moves away from you immediately as you sit down next to them at a public transit stop.
There are countless examples.
That may have been what Barry was trying to explain to his girlfriend, who may have been too culturally immature to understand what he was explaining. Moreover, the Chronicle's reporters didn't bother to report that his girlfriend was white, and they didn't attempt to dig to determine her understanding of what he was saying. This reads like a smear job.
But what hurts so much is to see the reporters obvious insentivity toward the problems faced by African American placed in the black and white of a major book.
For me, it further taints their work.
"As he sometimes did when he was in a particularly bleak mood, Bonds was channeling racial attitudes picked up from his father, the former Giants star Bobby Bonds, and his godfather, the great Willie Mays, both African-American ballplayers who had experienced virulent racism while starting their professional careers in the Jim Crow South. Barry Bonds himself had never seen anything remotely like that: He had grown up in an affluent white suburb of San Francisco, and his best boyhood friend, his first wife and his present girlfriend all were white. When Bonds railed about McGwire, he didn't articulate who "they" were, or how the supposed conspiracy to rig the home run record was being carried out. "
This underscores what I think is the real motivating factor behind the production of the book: a dislike for Barry as one who's "arrogantly black." Just because the reporters -- Mark Fairanu-Wada and Lance Williams -- are both not black, is no real excuse for them to write that garbage above. 
I, like many African Americans, have grown up in schools that were mostly white, dated European American women, and have friends who are not black. But that does not mean we don't experience racism. Racism is a form of rejection. It doesn't have to be expressed by someone calling a black person a name, but by simply being excluded. It could come in the form of someone walking past you to ask somone white for directions. It could rise when a person moves away from you immediately as you sit down next to them at a public transit stop.
There are countless examples.
That may have been what Barry was trying to explain to his girlfriend, who may have been too culturally immature to understand what he was explaining. Moreover, the Chronicle's reporters didn't bother to report that his girlfriend was white, and they didn't attempt to dig to determine her understanding of what he was saying. This reads like a smear job.
But what hurts so much is to see the reporters obvious insentivity toward the problems faced by African American placed in the black and white of a major book.
For me, it further taints their work.
Houston Texans Sign G Steve Mc Kinney and Plan To Go After Rams Isaac Bruce
This is from the Houston Chronicle's John Mc Clain. It also explains that The Texans will use the same zone blocking system that Denver used.
Here's the article, in case the Chron fails to maintain the link:
Although the start of free agency has been delayed a second time as owners and the NFL Players Association try to extend the collective bargaining agreement, it has not kept the Texans from doing business.
Although the Texans had no problem getting under the $94.5 million salary cap, general manager Charley Casserly will enter free agency with more revenue to spend because of the cap dollars freed up Tuesday by guard Steve McKinney's deal.
McKinney agreed on a four-year extension worth $9 million, including a $2 million bonus. It saves the Texans $2.2 million.
Meanwhile, the Texans are one of many teams interested in former St. Louis receiver Isaac Bruce, who was waived by the Rams when he declined to take a pay cut.
Although the Rams are hoping to re-sign Bruce, 33, he's going to test the market once the NFL allows free agency.
Because Jabar Gaffney and Corey Bradford will be unrestricted free agents, receiver is one of the Texans' priority positions this offseason. Without an extension of the CBA that would increase the salary cap at least another $10 million, it might be a long shot for the Texans to sign Bruce, who was limited to 36 catches for 525 yards and three touchdowns last season.
If the owners, who are meeting in a Dallas suburb, reject the union's latest proposal today, free agency will begin and teams can start bringing in players on Thursday.
Casserly and coach Gary Kubiak will be looking for help at receiver, tight end, defensive end, offensive line and linebacker.
The Texans tore up the last year of the five-year contract McKinney signed when he left Indianapolis for Houston in 2002 and gave him a new four-year deal. He was scheduled to make a base salary of almost $4 million.
"I was happy to do it, and it worked out to where it was fair to both sides," McKinney said. "I'm glad it's over so I can concentrate on football. I'm excited about our new coaches, and I'm fired up to start playing again and helping this team make the playoffs."
McKinney has two new offensive line coaches in Mike Sherman and John Benton. The Texans will play the same zone blocking scheme that Denver has made successful.
"I can't tell you how much it means to a new staff to have a veteran like Steve," coach Gary Kubiak said. "He was very unselfish last season when he moved from center to guard. We watched film of every play last season, and he just played so darn hard on all of them. Steve means a lot to what we hope to accomplish this season."
Here's the article, in case the Chron fails to maintain the link:
Although the start of free agency has been delayed a second time as owners and the NFL Players Association try to extend the collective bargaining agreement, it has not kept the Texans from doing business.
Although the Texans had no problem getting under the $94.5 million salary cap, general manager Charley Casserly will enter free agency with more revenue to spend because of the cap dollars freed up Tuesday by guard Steve McKinney's deal.
McKinney agreed on a four-year extension worth $9 million, including a $2 million bonus. It saves the Texans $2.2 million.
Meanwhile, the Texans are one of many teams interested in former St. Louis receiver Isaac Bruce, who was waived by the Rams when he declined to take a pay cut.
Although the Rams are hoping to re-sign Bruce, 33, he's going to test the market once the NFL allows free agency.
Because Jabar Gaffney and Corey Bradford will be unrestricted free agents, receiver is one of the Texans' priority positions this offseason. Without an extension of the CBA that would increase the salary cap at least another $10 million, it might be a long shot for the Texans to sign Bruce, who was limited to 36 catches for 525 yards and three touchdowns last season.
If the owners, who are meeting in a Dallas suburb, reject the union's latest proposal today, free agency will begin and teams can start bringing in players on Thursday.
Casserly and coach Gary Kubiak will be looking for help at receiver, tight end, defensive end, offensive line and linebacker.
The Texans tore up the last year of the five-year contract McKinney signed when he left Indianapolis for Houston in 2002 and gave him a new four-year deal. He was scheduled to make a base salary of almost $4 million.
"I was happy to do it, and it worked out to where it was fair to both sides," McKinney said. "I'm glad it's over so I can concentrate on football. I'm excited about our new coaches, and I'm fired up to start playing again and helping this team make the playoffs."
McKinney has two new offensive line coaches in Mike Sherman and John Benton. The Texans will play the same zone blocking scheme that Denver has made successful.
"I can't tell you how much it means to a new staff to have a veteran like Steve," coach Gary Kubiak said. "He was very unselfish last season when he moved from center to guard. We watched film of every play last season, and he just played so darn hard on all of them. Steve means a lot to what we hope to accomplish this season."
NFL Considering Union's Revenue Sharing Proposal In Dallas Now
After what was reported by ESPN's John Clayton to be a stirring speech by NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, the NFL's 32 owners are discussing the revenue sharing proposal presented by NFL PA Exec Director Gene Upshaw. The deadline for a deal is today.
More later.
More later.
The Balboa Theatre in San Francisco Showing All Oscar-Nom Documentary Shorts
The Balboa Theatre (www.BalboaMovies.com ) is showing all the Oscar-nominated documentary shorts through Thursday. Our own Dan Krauss and Steve Okazaki will be speaking after select screenings.
Through Thursday, March 9:
THIS YEAR'S OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
The rarely seen short documentary category hits the big screen. All 4 nominated shorts on one program. Filmakers in person. Details below.
The Mushroom Club -Steve Okazaki examines the terrible personal toll that followed the bombing of Hiroshima 60 years ago; 10 people whose lives were marked by the explosion are profiled. 35min.
A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin -Corinne Marrinan and Eric Simonson explore the lasting impact of radio broadcasting legend Norman Corwin's work focusing on his landmark "On a Note of Triumph," which aired on the evening of VE Day. 40min. OSCAR WINNER (2:55), 5:45, 8:35
The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club -Dan Krauss- After shooting an award-winning photograph that captured the full horror of starvation in the Sudan, South African photojournalist Kevin Carter found himself tormented by doubts about the ethical implication of his work. 27 min
God Sleeps in Rwanda - Kimberlee Acquaro and Stacy Sherman - The genocide that devastated Rwanda in 1994 also left in its wake a population that was suddenly 70% female. Five courageous women struggle to rebuild their lives in a society still reeling from its bloody recent history. 30min. (1:40), 4:30, 7:20
Intermission between each pairing. -
One admission price for all 4 films.
DIRECTORS IN PERSON:
Dan Krauss, director of THE DEATH OF KEVIN CARTER
will speak Wednesday after the 7:20 showing.
Steve Okazaki, director of THE MUSHROOM CLUB,
will speak Thursday after 8:35 showing.
More information on the nominees:
Oscar.com
BALBOA THEATRE
3630 Balboa Street at 37th Avenue.
San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 221-8184
http://www.BalboaMovies.com
Through Thursday, March 9:
THIS YEAR'S OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
The rarely seen short documentary category hits the big screen. All 4 nominated shorts on one program. Filmakers in person. Details below.
The Mushroom Club -Steve Okazaki examines the terrible personal toll that followed the bombing of Hiroshima 60 years ago; 10 people whose lives were marked by the explosion are profiled. 35min.
A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin -Corinne Marrinan and Eric Simonson explore the lasting impact of radio broadcasting legend Norman Corwin's work focusing on his landmark "On a Note of Triumph," which aired on the evening of VE Day. 40min. OSCAR WINNER (2:55), 5:45, 8:35
The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club -Dan Krauss- After shooting an award-winning photograph that captured the full horror of starvation in the Sudan, South African photojournalist Kevin Carter found himself tormented by doubts about the ethical implication of his work. 27 min
God Sleeps in Rwanda - Kimberlee Acquaro and Stacy Sherman - The genocide that devastated Rwanda in 1994 also left in its wake a population that was suddenly 70% female. Five courageous women struggle to rebuild their lives in a society still reeling from its bloody recent history. 30min. (1:40), 4:30, 7:20
Intermission between each pairing. -
One admission price for all 4 films.
DIRECTORS IN PERSON:
Dan Krauss, director of THE DEATH OF KEVIN CARTER
will speak Wednesday after the 7:20 showing.
Steve Okazaki, director of THE MUSHROOM CLUB,
will speak Thursday after 8:35 showing.
More information on the nominees:
Oscar.com
BALBOA THEATRE
3630 Balboa Street at 37th Avenue.
San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 221-8184
http://www.BalboaMovies.com
"24" Clobbering "The Apprentice" in The Monday Ratings Race
Monday, I watched the terrific episode of "24" and didn't even realize "The Apprentice" was on the other channel -- and I'm an Apprentice fan! I just realized I missed it today, and decided to check to determine how "The Apprentice" performed in the ratings against "24."
As I suspected, it got clobbered.
I think the problem is that Apprentice fans are used to seeing the show on Thursdays, and it's been this way since it first aired. Changing this pattern was a big mistake for NBC. If a popular show is just that, and it's held a particular day and time slot for several years, then moving it may kill it.
Look, the Winter Olympics weren't big in the ratings, so a lot of Apprentice fans may have missed the memo that the show was coming on Monday and not Thursday.
Move it back. I like "24."
Natalie Portman Rap: It's Hard To Be Natalie
This video of an SNL skit's all over the place and was even removed from YouTube for copywrite violations! Click here to see Natalie Portman bust out a rap to make Ice Cube proud. It's totally funny.
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