Alex Marvez (Fox Sports) NFL wants players tested for HGH.
NFL senior vice president of law and labor policy Adolpho Birch told FOXSports.com on Thursday that the league is insistent upon HGH testing when a new collective bargaining agreement is reached with the NFL Players Association.
"We want it. We think it's necessary. We're going to ensure that it's done," said Birch, who oversees the NFL's drug-testing program. "That's something very important to us and the integrity of our game. We believe some of the basis for going slowly on it before has been addressed. At this point, it's proper for it to be an active part of our program."
Mike Reiss catches Rob Gronkowski on NFLN's Total Access last night, asked to assess Giants' QB Eli Manning.
" ... He ain't no Tom Brady, I'll tell you that."
Christopher Price notes Tom Brady has replaced Tiger Woods as an example for economic theory in the academic world.
For many years, the widely-used economic textbook "Principles of Economics" helped explain economic theory with a chapter entitled "Should Tiger Woods Mow His Own Lawn?" But for the latest edition, author Greg Mankiw has replaced Woods with Brady. Why did he do it? Mankiw told the Harvard Crimson that he and his editor chose Brady because he was another celebrity athlete. (Previous editions of the textbook also used Michael Jordan as an example.)
"From my perspective, this was a relatively small change," wrote Mankiw in an email to ABC News. "I wanted students to focus on the economics of comparative advantage — the main point of this section of the book. I was afraid that keeping Tiger Woods in the hypothetical example would have raised thoughts of an altogether different set of issues."
TEAM TALK
- Patriots Hall of Fame senior selection committee formed.
- Patriots Today - NFL teams check out B.C.'s prospects. (3.18 min. video)
- Patriots Today - 2011 Draft Preview: RBs. (4.54 min. video)
- NFL Network: Rob Gronkowski field demo. (4.46 min. video)
LOCAL LINKS
- Christopher Price reports Bill Belichick and Jason Licht were in attendance at USF Pro Day.
- Ian Rapoport notes Bill Belichick was running receiver drills at USF Pro Day yesterday.
- Jeff Howe thinks LB Mark Herzlich (BC) would be a perfect fit for the Patriots.
- Mike Reiss points out the Patriots are scheduled to hold a private workout with DB Mistral Raymond (USF) within the next week.
- Tom E. Curran explains why the NFLPA has a point on their draft boycott.
- Shalise Manza Young reports the NFL is now insistent that testing for human growth hormone be part of a new CBA.
- Ian Rapoport says Raiders coach Hue Jackson would prefer to keep Richard Seymour than to have his first round pick back.
- Mike Reiss thinks the Patriots could use one of their nine 2011 picks on a QB, thinking long-term for Hoyer's replacement should a trade opportunity arise.
- Ian Rapoport serves up some Patriots-related soundbite leftovers from the Owners Meetings in New Orleans.
- Mike Reiss notes the Patriots Hall of Fame nomination committee will meet today, with the goal to narrow the nominees for induction in 2011.
- Paul Kenyon reports that it's put-up or get shut-out time for season ticket holders.
- Mike Reiss offers the transcript of his weekly online chat.
- Ian Rapoport posts the video of Tom Brady's photo shoot in Under Armour's ramped-up ad campaign.
- Ian Rapoport posts a picture of ex-Patriots kicker Shayne Graham finding a way to keep busy during the lockout.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) Will the players agree to HGH testing? The NFL wants it, but the players will be a tough sell.
- Tim Graham (ESPN) Draft: AFC East.
- Jim Corbett (USA Today) Mark Herzlich beat cancer, long odds for his shot at NFL draft.
- Wes Bunting (Nat'l Football Post) Behind the Measurements: Height vs. Arm Length.
- Mike Pereira (Fox Sports) Coaches get their way in rule changes.
- MJD (Yahoo! Sports) Are we maybe overstating the effects of the new kickoff rules?
- Luis DeLoureiro (SI) Cold Hard Football Facts: The unreliability of the Wonderlic test.
- Michael McCarthy (USA Today) Bill Parcells rejoining ESPN for third time.
LABOR LUNACY
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) The bizarre lockout story of the week. It's Ron Borges eavesdropping from a bathroom stall to get a story.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballtalk) Report: NFL will insist on HGH testing in next labor deal.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) League, union must somehow find a win-win.
- Jarrett Bell (USA Today) Could NFL owners demand players open their books?
- Gregg Rosenthal (ProFootballTalk) And now, a message from Al Davis.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) League chides De Smith for claiming that NFL doesn't fund player pensions.
- Dan Pompei (Nat'l Football Post) The real victims of the work stoppage.
- Don Kaplan (NY Post) NFL playing chicken with wing lovers: The only ones happy about NFL lockout are chickens.
- MB Quirk (The Consumerist) No NFL season could clip the chicken wing industry.
- Brian Billick (Fox Sports) Cheating during lockout? (3.14 min. video)
- Mike Tanier (NY Times) In lockout, Twitter can be a pulpit or a distraction.
- Pat Galbincea (Cleveland Plain Dealer) Businessman Ken Lanci suing Cleveland Browns, NFL over PSL contract violation from lockout.