Thank you. I’ve been very blessed with that. My odds were not good with my last diagnosis, but I’m still here, and to meet me, you’d never think I’d been sick. I’m especially blessed today. My brother’s family lives in Tuscaloosa and extended family in another town that was devastated, but they all survived those storms.

While I may not agree with your ultimate conclusion about Roger, your position is well-reasoned.

I hope you continue to beat the cancer. It must be a very difficult thing to face. Here’s to your continued good health.

Actually, I supported Roethlisberger’s suspension. Although the evidence shows it was a false accusation, he was clearly on a self-destructive path and all efforts to get through to him had failed. I believe the suspension was a wakeup call that may ultimately have saved his life and career, and certainly was the best thing for the team. And I’m grateful to Goodell for agreeing to attorney David Cornwell’s request that he also require Roethlisberger to get an evaluation and counseling. It’s one of the few things Goodell has done right in my eyes.

My problem is that after rewriting the personal conduct rules to suspend Ben, he didn’t follow through by suspending Vince Young on Brandon Underwood. He’s extremely hypocritical in the way he applies his standards, and I hate that.

Some of Harrison’s hits deserved to be fined. My problem with him there is that it was all a PR stunt to satisfy Congress that he was addressing head injuries so they needn’t implement Congressional oversight. For three years the league has had ejection rules in place but never applied them. I don’t want players getting fined after the fact. They need to be flagged–and if need be, ejected–during the game when it will make an impact on them and the team. He refuses to address the league’s horrific officiating. Harrison is one side of the issue. Don’t forget that Ben got a broken nose and Heath Miller suffered a severe concussion on plays that weren’t flagged. I want him doing things that are effective and will actually decrease head injuries instead of playing to the cameras.

The chief source of my anger toward Goodell is his plan for world domination and those bloody UK games. The World League of American Football failed–at tremendous cost. Now he wants to put NFL teams in Europe? So when we play Sunday, Mon., and Thurs. night games here … they’ll kick off at 1 a.m. in London? How’s that going to work? So all the U.S. teams are going to be flying to Europe for regular season games every year? What about the playoffs? There’s no college farm system there to produce players so they’ll have to come from the NCAA, and we can’t produce enough quality QBs to cover 32 teams now. And what if all those American players don’t want to live in Europe? It will not work logistically and most fans say they are violently opposed to it, but he’s hired the former World Cup PR guru to shove it down our throats anyway.

And on a personal note … as a three-time cancer survivor, I don’t want to see Pepto-Bismol fields in October. The whole pink campaign is controversial within the cancer community. It is possible for the NFL to donate to cancer causes, including breast cancer, without the pink overkill. Goodell does that because he’s trying to attract more women to the game. Meanwhile, the NFL cut funding to paralysis research, which–like brain trauma–directly impacts players. Everything with him is about PR.

Chamberlain at Munich? Try Michael Spinks at Mike Tysons’ right hand. Shoudn’t have gotten in the ring with no ability to defend himself!

The game has grown under Roger, and while he isn’t perfect, he was hired by the owners to advance their interests, and, apparently, they think he’s doing a good job.

That said, I believe there is room for discussion about how effective his leadership has been. However, any evaluation must take into account the mess he inherited from Tags. The 2006 CBA was such a shaky deal that both sides agreed to a parachute provision allowing either the union or the owners to back out effective 2010. Roger’s legacy first hinged on whether he is able to maintain the essence of the NFL while sustaining profitability. Now? It will be determined by his ability to defend to NFL against De Smith and Jeff Kessler. That’s just the way it is.

I am not a doe-eyed fan of his leadership, and I think his legacy may ultimately be tarnished because his naive approach to negotiating with the NFLPA resembles Chamberlain at Munich in 1938.

I think Roger was absolutely right to seek the TV lockout insurance, which was, in retrospect, a smart risk given the scorched-earth approach the NFLPA is taking.

But in the end, he trusted De Smith and expected a negotiation of the terms of the 2006 CBA, not a legal assault by the players against the very foundation of the NFL.

Will Goodell be remembered like Chamberlain? Or will he be remembered like Churchill? We’re about to find out.

Calling someone a Nazi is hyperbolic, and yeah, you might say it’s immature. But that doesn’t change the fact that Goodell is an ineffective commissioner. That was the consensus last season before some people began defending him because they support the owners and he’s aligned with their side.

Goodell is a guy from a corporate/PR background and his poor handling of issues from European/UK expansion to proposals for an 18-game season has alienated fans as well as players. The commissioner has an extremely difficult job, but it’s not all about appeasing business interests at the expense of everyone else. He’s got to be seen as fair to everyone’s interests. He can’t play favorites among the players and just give lip service to fans. He can’t repeatedly announce he’s doing things “for” the fans when polls show fans vehemently oppose his decisions.

He works for the league, but really represents owners, players, and fans. When large segments of two-thirds of this kingdom don’t trust him, he can’t be an effective leader.

You haveno credibility Roger. Suck on that pal.

I agree with you 100%. Goodell needs to be gone!

Of course I grew up. Can’t say the same for everyone, obviously.

REX

RYAN

Did Goodell stop taking pay like he promised?? I would like to know.

_______________________

No. The Judge said business as usual. So now he can continue to get overpaid for the terrible direction he’s taking the NFL.

Once this chaos is settled and the season resumes, we need to have a serious push for Goodell to leave the building … and his little dog (Aiello), too.

…but I’m really curious…. didn’t Judge Nelson’s ruling basically ORDER the NFL to engage in activities that violate the anti-trust laws??

How do they conduct “business as usual” without violating the law??

Seems to me, she’s forcing them to engage in illegal activities, and says if they don’t, they will be in contempt….. confusing, to say the least!!