Judge rejects recusal request in Hernandez case

Reuters

As expected, Judge Susan Garsh has refused to step aside from the murder case against former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez. As not expected, prosecutors won’t appeal the ruling to a higher court.

Via FOX Sports, Judge Garsh rejected arguments that she has shown bias against lead prosecutor William McAuley in a prior case he handled before her.

“Considerations other than the law have not and will not color any of my rulings,” she concluded.

“I have examined my emotions and consulted my conscience, and I am satisfied that I harbor no bias as a result of anything that happened in the 2010 case or . . . McCauley’s statements outside of court following that case.”

The surprise came when District Attorney Sam Sutter announced that the decision would not be appealed. Typically, efforts to remove a judge inevitably go to the next level, since judges usually aren’t inclined to admit that they have some bias or prejudice or interest that would affect their ability to be fair and impartial.

So why make the effort to have Judge Garsh step down?  Given the high-profile nature of the case, it may have been aimed at ensuring the media will pay close attention to her handling of the case, pointing out possible instances of bias in her rulings.  Which in turn may force her to be go so far out of her way to be perceived as fair that it actually helps the prosecution.

The risk, of course, comes from the possibility of alienating the judge at an early stage of the case. That risk may have been balanced out by the decision not to push the issue beyond her courtroom.

While the case ultimately will be decided by a jury, the judge always is in position to make a huge impact on the outcome.  From pre-trial rulings regarding evidence that will and won’t be allowed to be given to the jury and witnesses that will and won’t be testifying to efforts made to strike potential jurors “for cause” based on their beliefs and/or relationships to the many instances during a trial of questions that draw objections, the judge has enormous influence over the final verdict, and in many cases a wide range of discretion in making decisions.

The reality for the prosecutors is that, by firing a shot across the judge’s bow, the result could be that she’ll still make rulings they don’t like — but that she’ll be more careful about making them in a way that can be defended against outside scrutiny.

AP

As he begins his first NFL training camp after an offseason filled with chatter about his off-field habits, Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel admitted Friday he has made some “rookie mistakes” early in his pro career.

However, the Browns’ first-round pick also made it clear he doesn’t see a problem having a good time once in a while.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with me going out and having a nightlife and having a social life,” Manziel said at a press conference. “I mean, I am 21 years old, and I do like going out.

“It was the offseason. It’s free time for us, and if I want to go out and hang out with my friends or go to nightclubs or do things like that, then I think that’s within my rights to being doing that, and I think there’s other guys throughout the league that are going that. And I’m not trying to compare myself to anybody else, but I think that’s within my rights to be doing that.”

While not specifically addressing what he considered to be missteps, Manziel noted he had communicated with coach Mike Pettine and G.M. Ray Farmer and that all was well entering camp.

“Me and Coach Pettine and Ray Farmer have really talked about a lot of things that have transpired over the course of the offseason, and for me, my main thing is, people within this building, my teammates, coaching staff, the higher-ups in this organization, we’ve all been on the same page, we’ve all been good, and very eager to be moving forward,” Manziel said.

Of his “rookie mistakes,” Manziel said: “There’s some things I wish I could have gone back and done a little differently, but (I’m) continuing to move forward and try to represent this organization and this team in a positive manner and in a positive light.”

The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner added he was “just very excited to be back in camp, when it’s football 24-7. That’s what I love doing, that’s what I live for, and it’s what my job is.”

As to be expected, Manziel was asked early in his press conference about the controversial photo of him appearing to roll a dollar bill.

“I’ve talked about that with Coach Pettine,” Manziel said. “I’ve talked about it with Ray Farmer and the people that I need to talk about that with. And moving forward, they’re good with everything, and I’ve told them everything that I need to, and everything’s been good.”

Manziel’s remarks came on the same day that the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported some in the Browns’ organization were “alarmed” by a few of the rookie quarterback’s off-field actions in the offseason.

The Browns’ first training camp practice is Saturday.

AP

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin do not agree about the holdout of running back Marshawn Lynch.

Carroll says Lynch needs to get to camp because Lynch signed a contract and needs to honor it. But shortly after Carroll made those comments, Baldwin took to Twitter and said he hates hearing from NFL teams about how players have to honor their contracts, because teams routinely cut players who have years left on their contracts.

“I hate the ‘but you signed the contract’ argument,” Baldwin wrote. “Players can’t say that s–t when organizations cut them.”

Baldwin’s view is a common one among NFL players, who often complain that their contracts don’t have the same guarantees of their colleagues in professional baseball and basketball. Lynch’s holdout may not be exposing a rift within the Super Bowl champions’ locker room, but it is at the very least demonstrating that players and coaches often have very different views about what it means to live up to a contract.

AP

The Colts saw running back Vick Ballard get carted off the field at practice on Friday and initial reports are that Ballard has suffered a severe injury for the second straight season.

Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that Ballard tore his Achilles tendon during the workout. That sets up another lost season for Ballard, who tore his ACL in the first week of the 2013 season and missed the remainder of the season.

It also leaves the Colts looking a bit shaky at running back heading into the preseason. Trent Richardson did not impress anyone after arriving in Indianapolis in a trade with the Browns after Ballard got hurt last season and Ahmad Bradshaw ended last season on injured reserve with a neck injury. Bradshaw has also dealt with foot troubles throughout his career, which creates further reason to worry about their depth.

Dan Herron, Chris Rainey and Zurlon Tipton round out the running back group, which makes it seem likely that the Colts will be looking for help outside the organization if and when they confirm Ballard’s diagnosis. Michael Bush, Felix Jones, Ronnie Brown and Willis McGahee are some unsigned veteran options that could be of interest to the Colts.

AP

Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is unhappy with his contract and expressing that displeasure by staying away from training camp, an approach that General Manager John Schneider says that the team isn’t planning to give him another one with two years to go on the current pact.

Coach Pete Carroll echoed Schneider’s comments on Friday, saying that the deal they gave Lynch in 2012 was part of the organization’s long-term plan to build a winning team and that they expect Lynch to hold up his end of that contract.

“It’s a contract for a reason. We made a decision and it was signed, by us and by them,” Carroll said, via USA Today. “We expect them to honor their contract just as we will. We’re going to honor it and we expect them to do the same.”

Red Bryant, Chris Clemons and other players released by the Seahawks with time and money left on their contract would probably be interested to know that the Seahawks’ policy is to honor every contract until the moment it expires, especially since they were doing Lynch one better and showing up for work before they were cut loose. USC might feel the same way about Carroll leaving the school for the Seahawks while still under contract.

Carroll’s skewed view of the way contracts work is beside the point when it comes to the Lynch situation, though. Right now, the Seahawks have made it clear that they’ll move on with Robert Turbin and Christine Michael before giving Lynch any more money and Lynch has made it clear he won’t show up until he gets more money. Someone is going to have to change their mind if Beast Mode is going to run again this season.

AP

Less than a week after signing tight end Nate Byham, the Patriots have let him go.

The club released Byham on Friday, five days after adding the ex-Buccaneers tight end to their roster.

The move leaves the Patriots with one open roster spot. They have five tight ends: Rob Gronkowski, Michael Hoomanawanui, Justin Jones, Asa Watson and D.J. Williams.

A fourth-year pro from Pittsburgh, Byham (6-4, 265) is a vested veteran, leaving him free to immediately sign elsewhere. He has played 29 NFL regular season games, catching 11 passes for 83 yards and a touchdowns. After beginning his career with San Francisco (2010-2011), Byham spent the last two seasons with Tampa Bay.

AP

The Steelers will open camp without a pair of players, including one of their rare free agent splurges.

The team announced that safety Mike Mitchell and running back Alvester Alexander would begin training camp on the physically unable to perform list.

Mitchell parlayed a solid season with the Panthers into some security, with the Steelers stepping out of form with a five-year, $25 million deal.

He showed last year he’s not averse to coming up and making big hits (though he thinks Roger Goodell is targeting him for fines), but will have to play more of a coverage role paired with Troy Polamalu.

AP

The Cardinals placed safety Tyann Mathieu on the Physically Unable to Perform list earlier this week, a procedural move that confirms he’s not ready to start practicing after last year’s torn ACL.

The team can remove the designation and allow Mathieu to practice at any point during camp, but it doesn’t sound like that’s imminent. And it might not happen at all.

Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic reports that Mathieu said Friday that he thinks he is 6-8 weeks away from playing, a time frame that fits with coach Bruce Arians’ earlier comment that he wasn’t expecting to have Mathieu back before October 1.

The question for the Cardinals, then, will be whether they activate Mathieu from the PUP list at all or if they will have him remain on the list into the regular season. If they opt for the latter route, Mathieu will not be allowed to play or practice for the first six weeks of the season and the Cardinals could fill his roster spot with another player.

It’s premature to make any assumptions about which way they’ll go, but it is certainly a possibility if Mathieu is going to miss the first month of the season.

AP

Two years ago, the Buccaneers pilfered free-agent guard Carl Nicks from the Saints with a five-year, $47.5 million contract.  Now, Nicks is a free agent again.

Jay Glazer of FOX reports that the Bucs and Nicks have struck a deal to end his time in Tampa.  Glazer calls the situation an “amicable settlement,” which implies that something other than an outright release happened.

It’s possible Nicks has given back some of the $25 million he has received for appearing in only nine games.  It’s possible that the Bucs gave him a little more money to resolve any potential claims arising from the staph infection he contracted last year.

Either way, Nicks will be able to continue his career with another team, if/when he has fully recovered from last year’s illness.

Nicks was due to earn a base salary of $7 million in 2014.

UPDATE 5:03 p.m. ET:  The Buccaneers have announced the move, and Nicks’ comments create the impression that he will not be continuing his NFL career.

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The new Vikings stadium will resemble in many respects a gigantic terrarium, with plenty of glass under which humans will be potentially baking.  But that’s still better than what it may do to the birds.

Deadspin recently pointed out a press release from Audubon Minnesota, which accuses the Vikings of creating a “death trap” for our fine, feathered friends (except when one of those bastards craps on my toupee).

“We’re talking about a billion dollar stadium here, and the cost to save perhaps thousands of migratory birds –- and make the Vikings a global leader in green stadium design — is about one-tenth of one percent of that,” Audubon Minnesota Executive Director Matthew Anderson said.  “Hundreds of millions of dollars of public money is going to build this stadium, and we know the people of Minnesota do not want their money killing birds.  The Vikings recently approved spending millions and millions of additional dollars to make sure the stadium is ‘iconic’ – surely they also want to make sure it’s not a death trap.  We’re asking them to change their minds and do the right thing.”

The issue isn’t a new one.  For months, concerns have been raised regarding the importance of making sure that birds won’t fly into what they believe to not be a giant slab of glass.

Per the release, Audubon Minnesota “communicated regularly with stadium developers until April 2014, when they were told that another meeting would be scheduled before a July 15 decision on the type of glass to be used.”  The meeting allegedly was canceled, and on July 17 Audubon Minnesota was told that there would be no change in the stadium glass.

Apparently, someone decided it would be cheaper to pay someone to pick up all those dead birds from the stadium grounds over the next 30 or 40 years than it will be to fix the glass.  Those costs may go up when dead birds start landing on toupees.

AP

The Falcons have waived a wide receiver who started a pair of games for Atlanta a season ago.

The club announced Friday it had released second-year pro Darius Johnson, who hauled in 22 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown in 10 games after being promoted from the practice squad October 19.

According to Pro Football Focus, the 23-year-old Johnson played 412 regular season offensive snaps for Atlanta. However, PFF gave him the lowest rating of any of the club’s wide receivers. Johnson (5-10, 175) was targeted 43 times, according to NFL statistics.

The roster move leaves the Falcons with 89 players, including 12 wide receivers.

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No one in New Orleans is talking about a future without Drew Brees at quarterback just yet and it will be a good while before anyone starts the conversation if Brees gets his way.

Brees has seen quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Brett Favre remain productive into their late 30s and believes that he can follow in their footsteps. In fact, Brees, who turns 36 in January, thinks he can last even longer than Favre, who turned 41 during his final season with the Vikings.

“No doubt. There’s no question,” Brees said, via Albert Breer of NFL Network. “I’m not getting ahead myself, like it’s a pipe dream, at 45. I understand the challenges that come along with that. But why not? If I can stay healthy, and I’m having fun and playing at a high level, why wouldn’t I wanna do that? The biggest challenge is physically, the maintenance, the recovery, the way you train. You gotta hope that you stay healthy, but why not?”

Odds are that Brees’ luck on the health front won’t be charmed enough for him to play another 10 years, but there’s no reason to think he can’t continue to play at a high level through the end of his current deal with the Saints. The team seems to agree, moving to add players like Jairus Byrd, Brandin Cooks and Champ Bailey this offseason in hopes of maximizing the championship window opened by having an elite quarterback that has already brought one title to town.

AP

Eagles guard Evan Mathis reported for camp this week despite his desire for a new contract and his feeling that he was well-positioned to force the team’s hand because of right tackle Lane Johnson’s four-game suspension.

Had Mathis held out, the Eagles would have faced the possibility of replacing two starting offensive linemen on the fly and that could have softened their stance against reworking Mathis’ deal. Mathis, who is set to make $5 million this year in the third year of a five-year deal, still wants a new deal but said that he didn’t want to do so by potentially hurting the team at a moment when they were already missing a starter.

“It gave me plenty of leverage, if I was to hold out. The fines had nothing to do with it. But what I’d be doing to my teammates and coaches — that’s the ultimate reason,” Mathis said, via CSNPhilly.com. “I’m not trying to strong-arm the team. I’m not trying to put them in a bad situation to get what I want. I’m trying to do the right thing. I’m not really worried about it. Hopefully it works out. If it doesn’t, I’m still going to be the same football player.”

Mathis’ presence will make it easier for the Eagles offense to succeed while Johnson is out of the lineup and it could help get things moving with the Eagles if they feel Mathis needs to be in camp to talk about a revised deal, but the two remaining years beyond this one on the contract give them plenty of reason to wait with Mathis giving up whatever leverage he may have had.

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Somehow, the Pouncey twins’ birthday party featuring the “Free Hernandez” hats ended up being less eventful than this year’s self-celebration of survival for another 365 days.

Andy Slater of 940 WINZ in Miami has obtained a copy of the civil complaint filed by Riquan James, Brantley Williams, and Niya Pickett against Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey and Dolphins center Mike Pouncey over an incident that allegedly occurred at their 2014 birthday party at the Cameo nightclub in Miami.

James alleges in the lawsuit filed Friday in the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County Florida that the Pounceys and their security detail addressed him with “derogatory and homophobic remarks and anti-gay slurs,” and that the Pounceys “began to push and shove” James. When James asked them to stop, Maurkice allegedly “struck James in the face several times” before the Pounceys and their security detail began “to punch, hit and kick James while he was laying in a fetal position.”

Pickett allegedly tried to intervene, but Maurkice “punched her in the face and knocked her unconscious.” (Two-game suspension, anyone?)  Williams was a bystander into whom James and/or Pickett were thrown.

The alleged injuries to James and Pickett include “blunt force trauma to the head, neck, chest and back” and “multiple contusions and bruises over a great extent of their bodies.” Pickett allegedly suffered an eye injury, and James allegedly suffered broken teeth. Williams allegedly suffered “contusions and bruises over the great extent of her body and a laceration to her right leg, which required several stitches.”

The Pounceys have been sued for their own alleged conduct and for the alleged misconduct of their security personnel. The nightclub has been added to the suit, based on the claim that management failed to protect patrons from foreseeable criminal activity.

The Pounceys’ lawyer previously has claimed that there was no altercation with James on the evening in question, and that “[i]f the accuser continues to perpetuate these lies, we will bring an action against him.”

Presumably, surveillance video will go a long way toward confirming or debunking the allegations. Regardless, the presence of two additional plaintiffs means that there will be testimony corroborating James’ version of the events.

AP

It wouldn’t be a Jets training camp without beat writers painstakingly counting first-team reps for the players aspiring to be the team’s starting quarterback and the practice has continued in 2014.

Geno Smith has taken 75 percent of the snaps with the first team in the early days of camp, which would seem to lend credence to the widely held belief that he has an edge over Michael Vick. It’s a belief held by Vick and one that many members of the Jets have also espoused since the start of camp, but General Manager John Idzik continues to insist that the team is not leaning in any direction.

“I don’t think it’s tilted at all,” Idzik said, via the New York Daily News. “It’s not just purely quantifiable like that and reading the playtime and the reps and drawing assumptions from that.”

Vick has a much longer track record than Smith and it is understandable that the Jets would feel less of a need to see him in action right now, especially since he has already played for offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. When every other sign points to it being Smith’s job to lose, though, it points more to the Jets wanting Smith to avoid any complacency that could come with having the job than the kind of open competition that the team has said it is at other points this offseason.

After leading the league in offseason arrests, enduring the backlash that stemmed from a punishment which practically no one agrees is fair (and then signing a three-time violator of the league’s drug and PED policies), the Ravens have taken the obvious next step in a fabulous week for their image.

They’ve had their senior vice president of public relations write 1,200 words about what a great guy Ray Rice is.

No, really.

To his credit, longtime PR man Kevin Byrne understands that he’s not going to change many minds, but apparently felt compelled to share some personal reflections about all the good things Ray Rice has done.

Then again, he also oversees the messaging for a team that thought it would be a good idea to live-tweet Janay Rice’s apologizing for getting knocked out, bringing victim-blaming rushing into the 21st century with a deft social media flourish.

He also used his position to get a nice EXCLUSIVE with his boss, Ravens owner Steve Biscioitti, after asking if he thought this was a good idea.

“That’s your call,” Bisciotti said. “I don’t think Ray needs it, and I don’t think you’ll change the minds of those who don’t want to have anything to do with Ray. . . . How sad we all are that he tarnished his image. No one outside, I’ve learned, can understand how we look at these guys as our sons and close friends as opposed to just employees.

“I saw that clearly when we lost the AFC championship at New England [at the end of the 2011 season],” the owner continued. “I had friends tell me, ‘You must hate Lee Evans or Billy Cundiff. They cost you a trip to the Super Bowl.’ It was the opposite – we felt for Lee and Billy. I wished that they’d get another chance. I felt the need to protect them like I would one of my sons. It’s not like that in my other businesses.

“Don’t we all have days or moments or periods in our life we regret? Ray showed great character for the six years I’ve known him. He has shown remorse after a bad incident. It was out of character. I don’t think now is the time to abandon him. You say we are a Ravens’ family. I’ve come to believe that.”

This is followed by the kind of things you’d expect someone who likes Ray Rice to tell you, about his remorse and civic concern, and another affirmation from Bisciotti that taking care of their own was a good idea.

But it’s probably not, if only for the fact it underscores how tone-deaf the Ravens have been throughout this entire incident.

Having a press-conference with no questions allowed was a sham, a clumsy effort to divert attention on a Friday afternoon. Live-tweeting Rice’s wife trying to jump on a grenade for her husband that day was tasteless at best. John Harbaugh’s tone of mild annoyance in discussing Rice’s two-game absence was cringe-worthy.

And frankly, trying to explain away the negative reaction to domestic violence is beneath them.

Unless, of course, it isn’t.