More Legal Trouble For NFL

Roger Goodell may be the iron fist of the NFL but apparently his image isn't scaring everyone. Two Pittsburgh Steelers in the last month have been brought up in the news as subjects of assault cases against women.

This week Santonio Holmes was charged in a civil suit by a woman who said he hit her over the head with a glass. Much like Ben Roethlisbergers civil suit in Nevada I believe this case will work out for the accused. There is a discrepancy between the poloice reports and this woman's story. I believe to a jury if it gets this far and to the public this seems as a cash grab by this young lady. She got upset that charges were not going to be filed the police and an attorney in Florida was ready to help her drag an athlete's name through the mud.

However Ben Roethlisberger, Holmes' quarterback in Pittsburgh, is possibly facing criminal charges in Georgia. This comes after Roethlisberger was charged in a civil lawsuit of rape in Reno. This case is not a criminal case because the accuser did not come forward with the allegations in a reasonable amount of time. As of yet the police in Georgia are still gathering information and evidence to see if they have enough to go forward with a case.

This is beginning to get so old and tired with the NFL. I hear all this hype of how Roger Goodell takes no guff, well it certainly looks like it isn't scaring away players. They just keep getting lined up to get punished. It will be interesting to see how he habdles the Roethlisberger situation. He has two cases at once but will he get preferential treatment because he plays for the esteemed Rooney family in Pittsburgh. The Rooneys have been known to get rid of problem players to move the team forward, and maybe that will lead to some lenancy that Pacman Jones and Donte Stallworth did not receive.

As an NHL fan who is tired of seeing the NHL on CNN and PTI as a sport of thugs and goons when a fight breaks out and someone gets injured I am even more upset by this. ESPN has practically tried not to talk about the Roethlisberger case and where is the call for the NFL to become "civilized". I think Goodell is a bright guy and with the labor negotiations coming up I think he needs to make player conduct an emphasis. Maybe there needs to be stiffer contract clauses that give teams more power to punish a player who acts out of line. Training camp and Hard Knocks can't come soon enough for the NFL. The police blotter seems to be ramping up for the stretch run before it takes a break for it's offseason a.k.a the NFL regular season.

Coyotes in 4th Place

The little engine that noone wanted, Team NHL has to be one of the best stories in the NHL this season. The Phoenix Coyotes as of right now sit in 4th place in the Western Conference in the NHL. They are one of only 3 teams with 100 points and if they weren't in the same division as the San Jose Sharks they would be the number 2 overall seed. This is a great thing to see for the NHL. Or is it?

Unfortunately even though the team started the season off hot with sell-outs in back-to-back games and has obviously put a good products on the ice the Coyotes are still dead last in average attendance. Also in early March the NHL sued ex-Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes. The team was bought by the NHL for $140 million after a Phoenix judge blocked the sale of the team to Jerry Balsille. Balsille had a desire to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario just outside of Toronto where a new arena was being built. The Coyotes were previously stationed in Winnipeg as the Jets. The NHL is suing Moyes for $61 million because of his mishandling of the franchise. "According to the complaint, the NHL is seeking $30 million for violations of the agreement, $10 million for aiding and abetting violations of the Coyotes' fiduciary duty to the league, $10 million of punitive damages, and $11.6 million to cover amounts that the NHL paid to Coyotes creditors." That quote comes from an article here.

It really is too bad to see that Phoenix has continued to not support what is an exciting hockey team. While I loved watching the Coyotes in the late 90s with their white outs and Howlng goal horn, I have serious doubts that they still deserve a team. While Balsille may not be going about acquiring an NHL franchise the right way it appears that he may be the best choice for the NHL. I hope the Coyotes can get some support in the playoffs but I just don't trust the community of Phoenix to provide it. Chalk this one up as another Gary Bettman mistake to expand for the sake of just wanting to.