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NFL News
Browns nameLombardi GM; hire
Ray Farmer as assistant GM
Vikings releaseWRJenkins
ExtraPoints: Tagyou'reit
Colts giveDTMoalaextension
Chiefs re-signBowe, Colquitt; tag
Albert
Dolphins franchiseStarks
Search GOIN THE NEWS: DOWJONES SERGEIFILIN L.A. MAYOR'S RACE 'IRON MAN 3' DENNIS RODMAN
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Extra Points:Te'o rumors make NFL look small
By JohnMcMullen, NFLEditor
(Sports Network) - NFLcommissioner Roger Goodell has already decidedwhat hewould
likehis legacy tobe.
WhilePeteRozelleandPaul Tagliabuewill beforever reveredas economic geniuses, there
was adarksidetotheir respectivewatches -- theNFLturnedintoaclearinghousefor
felons andmiscreants.
Goodell wantedtocleanthat upandhas beenfar moreaggressiveinterms of disciplining
players, somethingwhichhas madehimfairly unpopular withsomebecauseof it.
The"gotcha" typeof natureof theNFL's public relations-fueledperformance- enhancingdrugs policy andwhoit really serves can
always bedissected, but sideliningplayers for crimes or drugoffenses shouldnever bequestioned, evenby theNFLPA.
That said, most fans don't really careif their favoritestars arefailures as humanbeings as longas they candeliver theVinceLombardi
Trophy tothehometownteam. That doesn't meantheleader of theNFLcan't or shouldn't grabfor themoral highgroundwhenever
possible, though.
My problemis aselectiveenforcement of morality andwhy Goodell doesn't takealookat someof thedecision-makers inhis league
whoembarrass theNFLfar morethananabuser of Adderall ever could.
MaybeGoodell's next ethical outageshouldbeaimedat peoplelikeMiami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland, whoonceasked
Cowboys star Dez Bryant if his mother was aprostitute.
Or maybeGoodell shouldtry tofindout whowantedtoknow if Coloradotight endNickKasa"likedgirls" at thescoutingcombineearlier
this week.
After all, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commissionhas decreed"sex- stereotyping" as aformof discriminationillegal under Title
VIIof theCivil RightsAct of 1964
NotreDamestar Manti Te'owas theleadstory duringmuchof thecombineandthemicroscopehewas placedunder was largely a
self-inflictednuisance.
Te'o, of course, claims hewas ledtobelievea"girlfriend" hehadmet online, Lennay Kekua, was areal personwhodiedfromleukemia.
Inreality, amannamedRonaiahTuiasosopocreatedKekuaout of thinair.
Tuiasosopolater claimedheconcoctedthewhole"catfishing" scambecausehewas inlovewithTe'o. Subsequent Te'olies tohis own
father, his teammates andcoaches, coupledwithafailuretocomecleanimmediately aretroublingbut tameincomparisontowhat other
NFLprospects havedoneinthepast.
Yet whenTe'oranapredictably slow timeof 4.82seconds inthe40-yarddashat thecombine, youmight havethought thesky was
fallingontherunner-upfor theHeismanTrophy.
Inreality, Te'owas supposedtoruninthe4.75range, sochalkingupapair of runs just over 4.8werehardly asurprisetoanyone,
perhaps aslight disappointment but nothingwhichcouldn't havebeencuredat NotreDame's upcomingproday.
Speedis certainly animportant part of success intheNFL, but it's hardly somekindof definitivestamponfuturesuccess.
Perhaps thebest purefootball player sinceJimBrown, Hall of Famewidereceiver Jerry Rice, rana4.72at theNFLCombine. Cris
News
Browns nameLombardi GM; hireRay Farmer as assistant
GM
Vikings releaseWRJenkins
ExtraPoints: Tagyou'reit
Colts giveDTMoalaextension
Chiefs re-signBowe, Colquitt; tagAlbert
Full Scoreboard
Nogames this week
Full Scoreboard
NFLTOUCHDOWNLEADERS, 2012
# Name TD
1 ArianFoster , HOU 17
2 James Jones , GBP 14
3 Eric Decker , DEN 13
3 AlfredMorris , WAS 13
3 AdrianPeterson, MIN 13
6 Dez Bryant , DAL 12
6 MarshawnLynch, SEA 12
6 DougMartin, TAM 12
6 Trent Richardson, CLE 12
6 StevanRidley , NEP 12
NFLPASSINGLEADERS, 2012
# Name Yards
1 Drew Brees , NOS 5177
2 Matthew Stafford, DET 4967
3 Tony Romo, DAL 4903
4 TomBrady , NEP 4827
5 Matt Ryan, ATL 4719
6 PeytonManning, DEN 4659
7 Andrew Luck, IND 4374
8 AaronRodgers , GBP 4295
9 JoshFreeman, TAM 4065
10 CarsonPalmer , OAK 4018
NFLRECEIVINGLEADERS, 2012
# Name Yards
1 CalvinJohnson, DET 1964
2 AndreJohnson, HOU 1598
3 BrandonMarshall , CHI 1508
4 Demaryius Thomas , DEN 1434
5 Vincent Jackson, TAM 1384
6 Dez Bryant , DAL 1382
7 ReggieWayne, IND 1355
8 Wes Welker , NEP 1354
9 Roddy White, ATL 1351
10 A.J. Green, CIN 1350
NFLRUSHINGLEADERS, 2012
# Name Yards
1 AdrianPeterson, MIN 2097
2 AlfredMorris , WAS 1613
3 MarshawnLynch, SEA 1590
4 Jamaal Charles , KAN 1509
5 DougMartin, TAM 1454
6 ArianFoster , HOU 1424
7 StevanRidley , NEP 1263
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2. Carter was probably atickslower thanthat andhe'll bejoiningRiceinCantonthis summer.
Anatural instinct inthis gameturns a4.72toa4.4rather quickly, just as afalsesteprenders a4.4virtually meaningless.
Te'o's performance, however, was achancefor his detractors topileon.
KatieCouric of all peopleexposedwhat many intheNFLareactually thinkingabout Te'oduringahigh-profileinterview withhimonher
syndicatedtalkshow last month, andit has nothingtodowithspeedor lackthereof.
Couric, theformer host of "Today" andcurrentABCNews contributor, askedthe6-foot-1, 241-poundTe'oif hewas gay.
Inapie-in-the-sky world, that kindof thingshouldn't matter. Inthetestosterone-fueledworldof theNFL, however, sexuality might bethe
final frontier.
After ex-SanFrancisco49ers tackleKwameHarris was arrestedfor adomestic incident inlateJanuary -- onethat revealedhewas
gay -- comedianArtieLangeaskedcurrent 49ers cornerbackChris Culliver what hewouldthinkabout havingagay teammate.
"Idon't dothegay guys man," Culliver said. "Idon't dothat. No, wedon't got nogay peopleontheteam, they gottaget upout of hereif
they do. Can't bewiththat sweet stuff. Nah-- can't be-- inthelocker room, man."
Culliver thenwent ontosuggest homosexual athletes shouldkeeptheir sexuality privateuntil 10years after they retire.
Harshbut indicativeof theintolerancepervadingtheNFLculture.
Culliver was vilified, of course, andspent therest of his Super Bowl weekbackpedaling, somethingthat satiatedthepolitically correct
crowdbut addedlittletothediscourseandthefact that somany sharehis views.
NoactiveNFLplayer has ever comeout of thecloset yet various studies onsexuality havepeggedupto10percent of thepopulation
as gay. That number seems hightomany, solet's say it's 5percent. That wouldmean85current NFLplayers arehomosexuals.
Statistics aside-- understandtherearegay menplayingintheNFLright now andtheactual number is -- or at least shouldbe--
inconsequential. Thefact that peoplegotoridiculous lengths inaneffort toconceal whothey really are, is.
Thereal questionsurroundingManti Te'ois asimpleone-- canheplay?Infact, that shouldbetheonly question.
Unfortunately tosomeof themoreshallow andsuperficial power-brokers intheNFL, it's aquery whichwill remainawashinaseaof
stereotypes, never tobeasked.
02/2714:02:46ET
7 StevanRidley , NEP 1263
8 C.J. Spiller , BUF 1244
9 Chris Johnson, TEN 1243
10 FrankGore, SFX 1214
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