Roger Goodell One More Step Closer To NFL Commissioner

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 7/30/06
SEARCH COMMITTEE SELECTS FIVE CANDIDATES
TO SUCCEED NFL COMMISSIONER TAGLIABUE

The special eight-man Search Committee appointed by NFL Commissioner PAUL TAGLIABUE to recommend
candidates for his successor today announced the names of five individuals to be placed before NFL club owners at a
meeting on August 7-9 at the Renaissance Hotel in Chicago.

The five nominees, according to Committee co-chairmen DAN ROONEY of the Pittsburgh Steelers and JERRY
RICHARDSON of the Carolina Panthers, are:

- ROGER S. GOODELL, 47, New York, New York. Executive Vice President and COO, NFL.
- GREGG H. LEVY, 53, Washington, DC. Partner, Covington & Burling law firm.
- FREDERICK R. NANCE, 52, Cleveland, Ohio. Partner, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey law firm.
- ROBERT L. REYNOLDS, 54, Concord, Massachusetts. Vice Chairman and COO, Fidelity Investments.
- MAYO A. SHATTUCK III, 51, Baltimore, Maryland. Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Constellation
Energy.

In addition to Rooney and Richardson, the Search Committee includes AL DAVIS, Oakland Raiders; CLARK HUNT,
Kansas City Chiefs; WOODY JOHNSON, New York Jets; JERRY JONES, Dallas Cowboys; ROBERT KRAFT, New
England Patriots; and MIKE MC CASKEY, Chicago Bears.

The finalists were nominated by the committee from a group of 185 candidates which was narrowed to 11. These 11
candidates were interviewed by the Search Committee in Detroit earlier this week. All candidates underwent an
extensive interview process assisted by the executive search firm of Korn Ferry.

The balloting procedures set forth by Commissioner Tagliabue, who will chair the meeting, will be as follows:
- Each candidate will make a presentation to the 32 clubs on August 7th in Chicago.
- Each club will be represented by an owner or owner designee.
- After these presentations, the clubs will divide into subgroups. Each candidate then will be interviewed by
owners or club representatives in each subgroup for a specific period of time.
- When these interviews and subsequent discussions among the league’s members are completed, the voting
will begin.
- Procedures will be set for determining whether particular ballots will be secret or open.
- commissioner. Attendance by every club in the league is mandatory.
- Deloitte & Touche USA will count the votes.

Mel Gibson's Statement On DUI Arrest - AP

The Associated Press released this report based on Mel Gibson's statement of appology. Well, at least he got it out there quickly; a great publicist, he has. But it's too bad to learn that this is true. I wonder what was going through his head at the time?

The following is the complete text of Mel Gibson's statement regarding his arrest for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol:

"After drinking alcohol on Thursday night, I did a number of things that were very wrong and for which I am ashamed. I drove a car when I should not have, and was stopped by the L.A. County sheriff's. The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person.

"I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am deeply ashamed of everything I said and I apologize to anyone who I have offended.

"Also, I take this opportunity to apologize to the deputies involved for my belligerent behavior. They have always been there for me in my community and indeed probably saved me from myself. I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry.

"I have battled the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse. I apologize for any behavior unbecoming of me in my inebriated state and have already taken necessary steps to ensure my return to health."

Mel Gibson - Video Reports Anti-Semetic Statements

This video claims that police arresting Mel Gibson orginally attempted to alter the report they were going to file in the belief that if his anti-semetic comments his the public it would flame anti-Jewish feelings.



This video features a South Park segment lampooning Gibson as a kind of backdrop with a collection of reports on the incident in the foreground. It also has a ticker explaining the details of what happened.



I personally will not accept the charge that Gibson actually said this for one reason: the claim that the report was altered or going to be altered. I'm not going to be so quick to try the man before he reaches court.

Joseph Addai - Video Shows Talents No Other Indy Colt RB Has

Joseph Addai could very well be the steal of the NFL Draft at least considering that he hung around long enough to drop into the lap of the Indianapolis Colts.

This video you're about to see shows a running back with a great combination of size and speed, who not only can catch out of the backfield, but has done this deep downfield several times. He's not as quick as Reggie Bush in the video, but check the competition: Arizona State, Miami, and other speedy teams. Bush had his best games against teams like Fresno State. I'm not taking anything away from Bush at all, just putting things into perspective.

Also note that Addai played in a system very much like that of the Colts: single-running-back formations, runs out of the shotgun formation, and so on. If I'm Head Coach Tony Dungy, QB Peyton Manning, and Colts Offensive Coordinator Tom Moore, I'm excited.

Here's the video:

Saints WR Joe Horn - Press Conference - Scout.com

The Saints Joe Horn talks to the local media. Here is the transcript...

Q: Can you discuss your first impressions of this camp?

Joe Horn: "I've been in this game 11 years now, so it was camp. The first day of camp is usually like that. We ran a little bit this morning, so it was kind of hard, the evening practice. It's football; it's all a part of training camp."

Q: What was the first practice like under Coach Payton as opposed to Coach Haslett?

Joe Horn: "It was fun. I was more happy for Coach Payton, because in his first year as a head coach he gets to show the world what he can do as a head coach. I was more happy for him. It was too hot and I wasn't thinking about Coach Haslett. He's doing his thing in St. Louis."

Q: Do you think Drew Brees is progressing?

Joe Horn: "Sure, he's getting more reps and obviously his arm is strong enough to throw the passes that people didn't think he'd be able to throw right now. He got through today throwing the ball very well and I'm sure they'll be highlighting that a lot tonight on ESPN."

Q: What does he bring to this team that Aaron Brooks couldn't bring?

Joe Horn: "Next question."

Q: How is this team offensively different aside from the addition of Drew Brees?

Joe Horn: "Obviously we added some talent in terms of drafting Reggie Bush and some other guys we got on the roster. We'll see. You can always talk about guys you got on your team, but until that first snap on Sunday when the bullets start flying, you really can't tell, but we definitely have some talented guys that we drafted and some free agents that we brought in here."

Q: What do you think of Reggie Bush not being here?

Joe Horn: "He has to do what he has to do. Every guy is blessed to get drafted, they have to take their time and weight out their options. Reggie Bush is not the first one who sat out training camp being the second pick in the first round. I understand. Reggie was here in the off-season and OTAs and the mini-camps, so he showed New Orleans, Mississippi and the whole world that he wanted to be with the New Orleans Saints. I'm sure he'll be here soon."

Q: How important is it that he be here sooner rather than later?

Joe Horn: "I think it's more important for him because he wants to show the world what he can do. He wants to get in here and learn the plays. He wants to show everybody that he's ready to go. We definitely want Reggie here, but he has to take his time and sort out his options and get the best deal for him and his family."

Q: What kind of impact has Drew Brees had on this team?

Joe Horn: "Big-time leadership from day one when I met Drew, he was 150 percent downhill ready to go. Then when he got on the football field, knowing he couldn't throw the ball, he was still involved. He was still trying to be the general, still trying to be the leader and I like that. I expected that out of Drew and he showed it once he started throwing the ball. He basically told the guys what he expected as the leader of this football team and that's what he stated. He wanted everyone to know that he was the captain; he was the leader of this football team. We didn't have to vote on who the captain of this football team would be, because we all knew Drew would come in here and made that a fact."

Q: Did that happen yesterday?

Joe Horn: "Yes."

Q: What do you think of holding the camp in Jackson as opposed to Metairie?

A: "I think the fans there in New Orleans, they've had us there so many years, and after Katrina, the people in Mississippi and New Orleans, a lot of people suffered and I think for us to be here, you should tip your hat off to the fans in New Orleans. We're here in Mississippi. We're giving the Mississippians a chance to come out and see us practice and be a part of the New Orleans Saints. Some of them couldn't go down to Airline Drive to see us after they get out of work for us on Friday and Saturday. It's good for us to be here and Mr. (Tom) Benson is definitely showing his love here to the fans in the Mississippi area. They should be grateful and I'm sure that they are."

Lendale White Signs With Titans...

And he did so, just as Profootballtalk.com reported that White was "supposedly" taking the whole deal of where he was going in the NFL Draft with a grain of salt, hanging out with Snoop Dog in the process.

No kidding.

Profootballtalk.com's staff is so busy trying to afect that African American slang that blacks like me see through, they miss the story, again and again.

Thank God.

I'm not going to go on a rant, ....but maybe these guys will get a story right, eh?

Makes you wonder what they care about.

Indy Colts Sign Joseph ADDAI - Profootballtalk.com

Profootballtalk.com reports that Indianpolis Colts First Round Pick, Running Back Joseph ADDAI signed for The deal pays $4.7 million in guaranteed money and has a total value of $11.165 million. That's a steal, because Addai is as fast as Reggie Bush, has hands as good as Bush, and is going to a team that's better than the one Bush's on. Period. There's no learning curve that everyone's going through, unllike that for Bush and the Saints.

It takes time to field a winning team. If Head Coach Sean Peyton does it in his first year, he's a genius. Hey, Jon Gruden came from another system that he brought to the Bucs in Tampa, and had the added advantage of seeing that West Coast / Bill Walsh Offense nomenclature repeated around the NFL.

So what? Come on! It means that Jon Grudent had a ready-made set of veterans to call on for help, that's what!!

That was less true for Jon.

Reggie Bush Inks Six-Year, $60 Million Deal With The N.O. Saints- Jay Glazer Of Fox Sports

The single best journalist in sports reports on the top deal; Fox Sports Jay Glazer says that the New Orleans Saints Running Back Reggie Bush signed a deal for six-years and $60 million.

The agreement guarantees that Bush will not only be in Saints camp, but playing for the organization during the regular season, making several thousand season ticket holders and ticket scalpers happy in the process.

I figured that Bush would sign a deal after Vince Young did, just because the QB arguably outplayed the USC tailback in the 2005 National Championship, and already secured a deal with the Tennessee Titans.

Ann Coulter Says Bill Clinton Is Gay On "The Big Idea" - David Letterman Fires Back

Conservative political pundit Ann Coulter gets a lot of airtime for being a jerk when the cameras roll (I don't know her, so I can't comment on what she's really like, but I'll bet she's a blast in person). Ann makes comments that are designed to piss someone off, but in this media-driven culture she makes a lot of money doing it. It's like I told my Mom, all a media producer cares about his that you're talking about one of their personalities (and at times hating that person's the most bankable emotion you can express -- at least from the media producer's point of view).

But there's such a thing as a little too much of a thing and Ann may have hit that point. Take this video where talk show host David Letterman reports that Ann Coulter said former President Bill Clinton was Gay on Donny Deutch's show "The Big Idea" on CNBC. Letterman's staff made up a response where Bill Clinton said "Well, I did tell her I was Gay, but that was only to give her an excuse for why I didn't hit on her." The video then continues with this statement from Letterman's staff: "Bill Clinton, Gay only when it comes to evil, crazy b----."

But it's statements like that, and the one where she claimed to have sent "that white powder" to the NY Times, that have caused several papers in her conservative base of the South to drop her column. Perhaps we're seeing the beginning of the end of her popularity. I certainly hope so. She seems to be making money from being a little off and not in a good way.

Here's the video:

San Francisco Bay To Breakers - Video Two

San Francisco Bay To Breakers - Video Two

Click to Play

This is the second of a four part video series on my San Francisco Bay To Breakers run this year -- my 18th time as a participant. I decided to take my camcorder and film as I went along; I don't know that anyone's done this before from start to finish.

The Bay To Breakers run goes from the intersection of Howard and Spear Streets in San Francisco's Financial District (Bay) to the Great Highway on Ocean Beach at the Pacific Ocean (Breakers). It's a 7.7 mile course through the heart of San Francisco; a trek made by over 70,000 people on the third Sunday in May.

Some people dress in costume; others in nothing at all. Look carefully at the people passing me. It's a freak show at points. What I like are the bands playing all kinds of music as I go. So that song you hear isn't a soundtrack, it's the real thing from a band.

SF Bay to Breakers Video One | SF Bay to Breakers Video Two

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

San Francisco Bay To Breakers - Video One

San Francisco Bay To Breakers - Video One

Click to Play

This is the first of a four part video series on my San Francisco Bay To Breakers run this year -- my 18th time as a participant. I decided to take my camcorder and film as I went along; I don't know that anyone's done this before from start to finish.

The Bay To Breakers run goes from the intersection of Howard and Spear Streets in San Francisco's Financial District (Bay) to the Great Highway on Ocean Beach at the Pacific Ocean (Breakers). It's a 7.7 mile course through the heart of San Francisco; a trek made by over 70,000 people on the third Sunday in May.

Some people dress in costume; others in nothing at all. Look carefully at the people passing me. It's a freak show at points. What I like are the bands playing all kinds of music as I go. So that song you hear isn't a soundtrack, it's the real thing from a band.

SF Bay to Breakers Video One | SF Bay to Breakers Video Two

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

ESPN - First Rounders Get Signed: Ravens Sign Ngata; Cowboys Lock-Up Clayton; Steelers Ink Santonio Holmes; Reggie Bush Remains

John Clayon and Len Pasquarelli For ESPN

Roundup: Ravens reach agreement with Ngata
ESPN.com news services

The Baltimore Ravens reached agreement Friday on a five-year, $11.9 million deal with first-round choice Haloti Ngata, the 12th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.

Ngata, a 6-foot-4, 337 pounds defensive tackle from Oregon, was considered one of the key offseason additions to the Ravens' defense because he is a big, body along the defensive line who will eat up blockers and make it easier for middle linebacker Ray Lewis.

"I'm really relieved that it's done and I can go play football. I couldn't afford to miss too much time because I only had that one minicamp," Ngata told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "It was a good deal. The Ravens were very fair to me."

-- John Clayton

Cowboys hammer out deal with Carpenter
The Dallas Cowboys completed their draft choice signings by striking an early Friday agreement with first-round selection Bobby Carpenter of Ohio State.


The 18th player chosen overall, Carpenter will sign a five-year contract with a maximum value of $11 million, including $7.5 million in guarantees.

A tall, athletic linebacker (6-foot-2, 256 pounds), Carpenter possesses the kind of size head coach Bill Parcells has long favored at the position. He is the son of former New York Giants and Houston Oilers running back Rob Carpenter, grew up around the game, and has a strong sense of the league.

A starter in 26 of his 50 appearances for the Buckeyes, Carpenter finished his college career with 191 tackles, including 23½ tackles for losses, 14½ sacks, three interceptions, seven passes defensed, two forced fumbles and two recoveries.

Not surprisingly, given his bloodlines, Carpenter is an instinctive player with good diagnostic skills. Although the Cowboys have retooled their linebacker corps over the past two seasons as they continue to transition to a 3-4 defense, Carpenter should vie for playing time as a rookie.

-- Len Pasquarelli

Holmes agrees to five-year deal with Steelers
First-round draft pick Santonio Holmes reached terms on a five-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, a deal that apparently does not include added contract language protecting them against additional off-field problems.

By reaching terms with Holmes minutes before coach Bill Cowher held his first full-squad meeting of camp, the Steelers locked up their last remaining unsigned player. Earlier in the day, they signed third-round pick Willie Reid, the former Florida State receiver.

Holmes, a former Ohio State star wide receiver, has been arrested twice since being the No. 25 pick in the April draft. He faces an Aug. 15 trial on an assault charge involving a woman in Columbus, Ohio, who is the mother of one of his three children. He also pleaded innocent to disorderly conduct charges brought Memorial Day weekend in Miami.

Despite Holmes' off-field problems, which clearly agitated Cowher and cast doubt on whether Holmes has the maturity and focus to be a productive NFL player, Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert said the team is protected enough by the standard player's contract.

-- The Associated Press

Bills reach agreement with McCargo

The Buffalo Bills have reached an agreement in principle with one of their two first-round draft choices, defensive tackle John McCargo.

McCargo, a 6-foot-2, 302-pound three-year starter at North Carolina State, agreed to a five-year deal worth more than $8 million that included $5.2 million in guarantees. The Bills began practice Friday morning, and McCargo, the 26th overall pick, will try to get to camp at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y. for the afternoon practice.

It's likely, given the turnover in Buffalo, that McCargo will battle for a starting spot as a rookie. At worst, he figures to be a part of Buffalo's tackle rotation in 2006 and log considerable playing time. McCargo has a nice mix of power and quickness and can play either tackle spot. He is one of three former Wolfpack defensive linemen chosen in the first round of this year's draft.

He had 134 tackles in 30 appearance, all but one of them as a starter.

The Bills still have to work on safety Donte Whitner, the eighth pick in the draft.

-- John Clayton and Len Pasquarelli

Jaguars sign first-round pick Lewis
First-round draft pick Marcedes Lewis signed a five-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday, a day before the team opens training camp.

The tight end, chosen with the 28th overall pick, is expected to back up veteran Kyle Brady. But the Jaguars are counting on rookie's versatile skills to help replace Jimmy Smith, who abruptly retired in May and left the team with little experience at receiver.

Lewis' deal is worth about $7.5 million, with a little more than $4.8 million in guaranteed money.

Linebacker Clint Ingram, a third-round pick from Oklahoma, also signed Friday. He had been the last unsigned rookie.