Vick's Second Chance
(AP )
All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.
Read all 'NFL' posts in Couric & Co.
August 14, 2009 5:24 PM Will the city of brotherly love also come to be known as the city of second chances? Shortly after Michael Vick was named an Eagle, fans were already enraged that their favorite team could stand by a man who had exhibited such cruelty to animals in the past. Some are ticked off at the NFL for allowing a person to hold a job after a felony conviction when most other employers would not allow them back on the premises. You don't have to follow football to realize why this story becomes the "water cooler" story of the weekend and perhaps the biggest story of the NFL heading into this season. Do you believe in second chances and that prison sentences wipe the record clean for past crimes or do you think that Michael Vick's actions were so egregious that there is no repentance possible? Do you believe in redemption?
February 1, 2008 2:49 PM
Specter's Super Bowl Spoiler?
Jill Jackson is a Capitol Hill field producer for CBS News.
It's just two days before Superbowl Sunday, but Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter held a press conference today to rail against National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell. Specter is criticizing the NFL's investigation of the New England Patriots after it was discovered early this season that they'd taped the Jets' defensive signals during games.
Goodell did force the Patriots to hand over all their tapes and fined the Patriots $750,000. The number one team also lost a first round draft pick.
But that's not enough for Specter.
The senator's sent two letters to the NFL commissioner since the story broke. The first on November 15th asked if the NFL's investigation of the Patriots stealing Jets' defensive signals revealed whether the team had also done so in the 2005 Super Bowl when the Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles.
His second letter to Goodell was sent December 19, 2007. Specter was outraged over reports in The New York Times that the NFL had destroyed the Patriot's spying tapes and asked if there were still any copies.
Goodell finally wrote Specter back yesterday and said that was the first day he'd seen the senator's letters. The commissioner says the NFL found no evidence of spying at the 2005 Patriots-Eagle Super Bowl and that the tapes were destroyed to make sure no one could gain a competitive advantage in the future with those tapes.
But Specter's not buying any of it. At the press conference, Specter was skeptical that yesterday was really the first time Goodell saw those letters.
The senator is pushing for a meeting with Goodell soon to discuss the destroyed tapes and possibly notes. He also wants the names of individuals who did the taping at those games. Specter says at this point there is no need for a hearing, but would not rule out that possibility in the future.
And instead of watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, Specter says he might just play squash.
(CBS)
Goodell did force the Patriots to hand over all their tapes and fined the Patriots $750,000. The number one team also lost a first round draft pick.
But that's not enough for Specter.
The senator's sent two letters to the NFL commissioner since the story broke. The first on November 15th asked if the NFL's investigation of the Patriots stealing Jets' defensive signals revealed whether the team had also done so in the 2005 Super Bowl when the Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles.
His second letter to Goodell was sent December 19, 2007. Specter was outraged over reports in The New York Times that the NFL had destroyed the Patriot's spying tapes and asked if there were still any copies.
Goodell finally wrote Specter back yesterday and said that was the first day he'd seen the senator's letters. The commissioner says the NFL found no evidence of spying at the 2005 Patriots-Eagle Super Bowl and that the tapes were destroyed to make sure no one could gain a competitive advantage in the future with those tapes.
But Specter's not buying any of it. At the press conference, Specter was skeptical that yesterday was really the first time Goodell saw those letters.
The senator is pushing for a meeting with Goodell soon to discuss the destroyed tapes and possibly notes. He also wants the names of individuals who did the taping at those games. Specter says at this point there is no need for a hearing, but would not rule out that possibility in the future.
And instead of watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, Specter says he might just play squash.
June 26, 2007 2:42 PM 
Cynthia Bowers is a CBS News correspondent based in Chicago.
As much as America loves football, very few of us can tell you what happened to our favorite players once they hang up their helmets. It’s easy to assume that the guys whose bruising hits and breath-taking catches entertained us on Sundays are living out their golden years on a beach somewhere. That’s not always the case. In fact, it’s seldom the case. Many of them never earned that much money to begin with and a large number of them are facing a lifetime of pain due to injuries sustained on the field.
Most of you may not remember Brent Boyd. He came out of UCA in 1980 as an offensive lineman and was drafted in the third round by the Minnesota Vikings. He only earned 30,000 dollars a year, but as a young college graduate who’d made it to the top of his sport, Brent Boyd thought he had the world by the tail. By the time he left football in 1986 though he wasn’t the same man. His knee was in constant pain. He took painkillers for that. But the dizziness, depression, constant headaches and fatigue were harder to diagnose. He describes feeling like “having the flu every day.” Over the next decade Boyd lost his job, his home, his marriage, and his self-respect.
It wasn’t until 1999 that doctors ever thought to ask him if he’d ever suffered a concussion. Boyd remembers one in particular. It happened during a preseason game against the Miami Dolphins. He says he was hit so hard he temporarily lost sight in one eye. When it was determined he could still see out of the other eye, he was sent back onto the field. Boyd doesn’t blame his coaches, he admits he was fighting to keep his job and did what he had to. He played hurt.
Doctors say the brain and how much battering it can take is still a mystery and often depends on the individual. In other words, the hits to the head that damaged Brent Boyd broken may not have had such a negative impact on another player. Boyd went to the NFL and its players union to request a disability income of $8,000 a month, but his request was rejected, even though he says two of three NFL doctors agreed he was disabled and his injuries were sustained playing football.
Last week we visited him in his tiny Reno, Nevada home where he lives with his second wife Gina and his son Anders. Tuesday he told his story to Congressman looking into how the NFL and the NFLPA treat former players. He doesn’t know if anything that happens in DC today will make a difference in his life, but he does hope today’s hearings might ease the pain of players down the road.
After The Final Touchdown: Damaged Players
(CBS)
As much as America loves football, very few of us can tell you what happened to our favorite players once they hang up their helmets. It’s easy to assume that the guys whose bruising hits and breath-taking catches entertained us on Sundays are living out their golden years on a beach somewhere. That’s not always the case. In fact, it’s seldom the case. Many of them never earned that much money to begin with and a large number of them are facing a lifetime of pain due to injuries sustained on the field.
Most of you may not remember Brent Boyd. He came out of UCA in 1980 as an offensive lineman and was drafted in the third round by the Minnesota Vikings. He only earned 30,000 dollars a year, but as a young college graduate who’d made it to the top of his sport, Brent Boyd thought he had the world by the tail. By the time he left football in 1986 though he wasn’t the same man. His knee was in constant pain. He took painkillers for that. But the dizziness, depression, constant headaches and fatigue were harder to diagnose. He describes feeling like “having the flu every day.” Over the next decade Boyd lost his job, his home, his marriage, and his self-respect.
It wasn’t until 1999 that doctors ever thought to ask him if he’d ever suffered a concussion. Boyd remembers one in particular. It happened during a preseason game against the Miami Dolphins. He says he was hit so hard he temporarily lost sight in one eye. When it was determined he could still see out of the other eye, he was sent back onto the field. Boyd doesn’t blame his coaches, he admits he was fighting to keep his job and did what he had to. He played hurt.
Doctors say the brain and how much battering it can take is still a mystery and often depends on the individual. In other words, the hits to the head that damaged Brent Boyd broken may not have had such a negative impact on another player. Boyd went to the NFL and its players union to request a disability income of $8,000 a month, but his request was rejected, even though he says two of three NFL doctors agreed he was disabled and his injuries were sustained playing football.
Last week we visited him in his tiny Reno, Nevada home where he lives with his second wife Gina and his son Anders. Tuesday he told his story to Congressman looking into how the NFL and the NFLPA treat former players. He doesn’t know if anything that happens in DC today will make a difference in his life, but he does hope today’s hearings might ease the pain of players down the road.
October 19, 2006 3:57 PM
Fear Factor
Lately, it seems the national pastime has been being afraid. Very afraid. Terror has seeped so deeply into our psyche, we can't help but cringe every time a train derails or a small plane veers tragically off course. We were reminded of that yesterday, when word circulated of a vague -- but ominous-sounding -- threat against NFL stadiums. Over at Public Eye, Correspondent Bob Orr has been pondering how we in the media covered that threat, and sums it up in three words: "We blew it."
Check it out.
Check it out.
