My Sports News Digest

NEW ORLEANS (NFL/Wyche) — As lawyers for the four suspended New Orleans Saints players await evidence from the NFL on Friday that will — at the least — outline the league’s position heading into Monday’s appeals hearings, the NFL Players Association sent a letter to the league Thursday claiming current, former or suspended Saints employees fear “retribution” from the NFL if they provide truthful testimony into the “bounty” scandal. Those witnesses’ fears could be alleviated should the NFL compel them to attend the appeal hearings and testify, according to a letter sent from the NFLPA’s legal counsel to NFL Commissioner [...]

Read the full story

Jacksonville, Fla. (NFL/Newsfeed) – A 45-minute video chronicling the aftermath of Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Justin Blackmon’s June 3 aggravated DUI arrest now is available for viewing. First Coast News in Jacksonville obtained the video from the Stillwater Police Department in Oklahoma through a public-records request. Blackmon, chosen fifth overall in this year’s draft by the Jaguars, dons a Kobe Bryant Lakers jersey as he attempts to answer questions from authorities inside a jailhouse booking room. “I’m literally not a drinker,” Blackmon says at one stage. “When’s the last time you drank heavily?” the jailer asks. “Well, I mean, I drank [...]

Read the full story

San Francisco (NFL/Newsfeed) – Two generations of star NFL quarterbacks combined in San Francisco on Friday night as Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady joined Joe Montana, Steve Young and Jim Plunkett at a charity event hosted by NBC’s Bob Costas. That’s eight Super Bowl MVP awards among the five of them, if you’re keeping score. Brady and Rodgers, who grew up in the Bay area, both talked of childhoods spent idolizing Montana and Young. “We were pretty high from the top of the stadium,” Brady said, according to CSNBayArea.com. “We needed binoculars to see what was going on, but there [...]

Read the full story

CHICAGO (NFL/Newsfeed) – Matt Forte would like you to know his knee is feeling just fine, thank you very much. After we reported earlier Saturday the Chicago Bears are concerned about the long-term health of the running back’s knees, Forte took to Twitter to show there was no cause for concern on his end. Sure enough, the video shows Forte sprinting up a hill with a rope and weight attached to his waist. He moves quickly up the grassy incline as miniature dogs bark just off-screen. All in all, it seems like a pretty decent place to spend a Memorial [...]

Read the full story

New Orleans (NFL/Newsfeed) — The 2012 season shapes up as a crucible for the New Orleans Saints defense. Between the stigma of the league’s “bounty” findings and the loss of linebacker Jonathan Vilma (suspened for the entire season) and defensive end Will Smith (suspended for the first four ganes), perhaps no NFL defense has ever gone into a season with more of a chip on its collective shoulder. The man charged with rallying the troops is Steve Spagnuolo, the former St. Louis Rams coach and New York Giants coordinator who led Big Blue’s defense to a Super Bowl victory in [...]

Read the full story

DETROIT (NFL/Newsfeed) — Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley was arrested by Alabama State Troopers on Sunday morning for driving under the influence and attempting to elude police, according to the Mobile County Sheriff’s office. WALA-TV in Mobile, Ala. reported Fairley was taken into custody shortly after 1 a.m. and was released on $ 1,750 bond shortly after 9 a.m. Troopers also told the television station that Fairley was ticketed for reckless driving, no proof of insurance and having an open container. The Lions released a statement addressing the arrest, saying, “We are aware of the reports and are in [...]

Read the full story

ST. PAUL, Minn. (NFL/Newsfeed) — Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Zellers could have been speaking for many of his fellow lawmakers when he struggled to describe his position on a $ 1 billion Vikings stadium bill before a vote that could be critical to the team’s future in the state. “I won’t vote for it, but I want to see it pass,” the Republican said in an interview late last week on sports radio. With votes scheduled Monday on a huge public payout, 200 lawmakers are under pressure from plenty of people who oppose the project — but worry they will [...]

Read the full story

ST. PAUL, Minn. (NFL/Newsfeed) — The Minnesota Vikings took a giant step Monday night toward a new taxpayer-subsidized football stadium when the state House approved legislation, but lawmakers upped the share the team would have to pay. On a 73-58 vote, the $ 975 million stadium plan remained alive. The state Senate was to vote Tuesday on a competing plan, moving the Vikings closer than ever to a replacement for the Metrodome. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton hailed the vote by thanking fans who have flooded lawmaker phone lines, email inboxes and the Capitol itself to push for passage. “The voices [...]

Read the full story