Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Roger Goodell's gonna need shackles and a cattle prod before this is all over...

A banner day for the NFL -

Pacman Jones is trying to work out with the Titans (I'm sure Bud Adams is thrilled), franchised malcontents Lance Briggs and Asante Samuel failed to agree to contract terms with their respective teams, and now what every blogger has been waiting for - Michael Vick has been indicted on federal charges.

With an indictment now hanging over the head of the "league's most exciting player," Goodell will be forced to act. He cannot stand idly by when one of the league's most over-rated star players faces federal charges when he has handed out a one-year suspension to Jones who has had multiple run-ins with the police, but no convictions...and no federal indictments.

How Goodell handles this will send very clear signals to the press and to the NFL-fandom about who he really is. It's one thing to suspend a cornerback, a number three receiver, and a defensive tackle. It's another thing altogether to nail one of the league poster-boys to the proverbial wall.

Of course, in light of Vick's last year, Goodell might very well be happy to serve notice that being a poster boy is not...shall we say, a right for the highly talented. This might become the single most interesting decision to come out of league offices during the Comish's brief tenure.

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