Hall of Fame linebacker Harry Carson has nixed a bid to run for Congress as a Democrat in New Jersey. The 58-year-old retired Giant and Football Hall of Famer told The Associated Press in January he had been considering a run against five-term Republican Rep. Scott Garrett in a northern New Jersey district. Carson reportedly told Bergen County Democratic officials late Tuesday that he has decided not to run. Carson spent his entire professional career, from 1976 to 1988, playing for the Giants.
Last July, Steelers receiver Hines Ward was arrested on a DUI charge, an incident that stunned CBSSports.com’s Mike Freeman* because he seems like the exact opposite of the kind of guy who would get himself into that kind of trouble. Ward’s lawyer denied Ward was impaired by alcohol as he drove, and seven months later, Ward has cut a plea bargain deal with the DeKalb County (Ga.) Solicitor’s office, which has dropped the DUI charge. In exchange, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports, Ward pleaded guilty Wednesday to... [Read More]
The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission today came to terms with the St. Louis Rams on an agreement that would allow the team to play a game in London's Wembley Stadium in the 2012 season. The agreement would allow the Rams to play one of their eight home games there in exchange for giving the CVC greater convention scheduling flexibility during the football season, which is also a busy time for conventions. "St. Louisans will benefit from the arrangements for additional access to the Edward Jones Dome... [Read More]
Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson is due back in court Monday after he pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges in January. Simpson is scheduled to appear in Kenton County Circuit Court after investigators from California tracked a package shipped to his Crestview Hills home, which they say contained two and a half pounds of marijuana. Authorities said a search of Simpson's home also turned up six more pounds of marijuana, smoking pipes and scales. Simpson entered a not guilty plea on Jan. 30 after a grand... [Read More]
Canadians who want to buy Green Bay Packers stock will now get their chance. The team said Monday it has cleared Canadian regulatory requirements and is now selling shares north of the border, each share costs $250. In the U.S., there’s also a $25 handling fee and in Canada, the charge is $35. The NFL’s only publicly-owned team originally offered 280,000 shares for sale, it says there were 17,000 shares left as of Feb. 14 and the sale will end no later than Feb. 29. The money is being used to fund an expansion of... [Read More]
One of items brought to the negotiating table by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during the lockout negotiations last offseason was the implementation of a new 18-game, regular-season schedule. Goodell hasn't give up on the idea of adding two more games to the schedule, though he said last week any changes are still a couple of seasons away. "Well I appreciate the enthusiasm for it and I hear it from the fans consistently," Goodell said during an interview WEPN-AM in New York, via SportsRadioInterviews.com.... [Read More]
The NFL and NFL Players Association will conduct meetings at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis that should help lay the groundwork for rules changes and tweaks to off-field aspects of league business. This year’s sessions will be held under much less adversarial circumstances than in 2011, when the two sides were bickering over a new collective bargaining agreement that didn’t get finalized until the summer. But there should still be some spirited debate between NFLPA executives and player representatives about two... [Read More]
Nearly a dozen former NFL players living in Louisiana have sued the NFL, the latest players to accuse the league of failing to protect players from the risks associated with concussions. Several former New Orleans Saints players, including John Fourcade, are among the 11 ex-players named as plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in New Orleans. The lawsuit says each of them has developed mental or physical problems from concussions or concussion-like symptoms. Football helmet manufacturer... [Read More]
Former Ravens Pro Bowler Jermaine Lewis was arrested Thursday in Baltimore County for driving on a suspended license, an arrest that comes two months before he is due in court for a reckless driving charge from last year according to Justin Fenton of the Baltimore Sun. Police said Lewis, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the team's 2001 Super Bowl victory, was seen driving a Dodge Charger with his 4-year-old son unrestrained in the front seat just before 10 a.m. The officer conducted a traffic stop and saw that... [Read More]
Multiple anonymous sources told the Minneapolis Star Tribune Friday that a preliminary agreement has been reached to pay for a new stadium to be built for the Minnesota Vikings in downtown Minneapolis. The newspaper reported that the team, the city and the state of Minnesota have agreed on how to fund the $975 million stadium, with the city set to pay $150 million (in addition to $180 million in operating costs over 30 years) and the state putting up $398 million. The Vikings would shoulder the largest portion of the... [Read More]
Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga (mow-uh-LOO’-guy) has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge. The three-year veteran’s attorney filed a written plea Friday in Hamilton County Municipal Court. An employee at a downtown Cincinnati bar told police that Maualuga punched him in the face on Feb. 5. Maualuga and the Bengals have not commented on the charge, which could bring a fine or suspension from the NFL. It’s Maualuga’s second court case in two years. He pleaded guilty to drunken driving after police in... [Read More]
A deal to build a Minnesota Vikings stadium next to the Metrodome neared completion Thursday, as stadium planners worked late to put the finishing touches on an agreement among the state, the team and Minneapolis. How to make it all work was the subject of a midday conference call involving numerous executives and business leaders, a call that reinforced talk a deal was imminent, to be announced as soon as Friday or early next week. Even a signed deal, however, still must win the support of many legislators and... [Read More]
Attorneys for the NFL Players Association are arguing a lawsuit by a group of retirees alleging unfairly reduced benefit payments is "fatally flawed" because the complaint lacks legal backing. U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson heard the NFLPA's motion to dismiss the lawsuit but she did not rule Wednesday. Retiree attorney Michael Hausfeld said his clients lost a collective half-billion dollars over the 10-year collective bargaining agreement between owners and players last summer. Under intense... [Read More]
Santa Clara leaders Tuesday night approved plans for a new 49ers stadium by the 2014 season, finalizing the team's exit from San Francisco sooner than expected. The City Council voted 5-1 to support an $878.6 million contract that calls for kicking off construction on the 68,500-seat stadium in July, about six months earlier than anticipated, and finishing it by August 2014, in time for the exhibition season. The 49ers, who have called San Francisco their home since their founding in 1946, could play just two more... [Read More]
The Minnesota Vikings will not file paperwork with the NFL signalling their want to relocate before Wednesday’s deadline, according to an Associated Press report. Vikings vice president Lester Bagley told the AP that “there is no point” in filing with the NFL. Bagley indicated that the team and state lawmakers are working towards building a stadium at the same site as the Metrodome, where the team currently plays their home games. Many team supporters — including Minnesota governor Mark Dayton — fear that no new... [Read More]
