NFL Offseason Thread

[SlowwHand]

So who is your pick for Surprise Team? Most Improved?

[-Jrabbit]

Off the top of my head...

Most improved = Tampa Bay
Surprise = San Francisco

[Lord Avalon]

Pacman will face two felony charges

Titans CB in strip club melee that preceded shooting

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Suspended NFL player Adam "Pacman" Jones must surrender here to face two felony charges in a strip club melee that preceded a triple shooting in February, authorities said Wednesday.

Two other people police identified as part of the troubled Tennessee Titans cornerback's entourage also will face felony charges in the fracas inside the Minxx club, Las Vegas police said.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger said at a news conference that arrest warrants were being sought for Jones, Robert "Big Rob" Reid of Carson, Calif., and Sadia Morrison of New York.

"They'll be given a reasonable amount of time to turn themselves in, and if they don't, police will go looking for them," Roger said.

No one was named as the shooter in a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in Las Vegas Justice Court. But police released an image of a person who Capt. James Dillon called a "person of interest related to the shooting." Dillon said investigators wanted to identify and talk with the man, who police said may live on the East Coast.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello did not say if the Las Vegas charges would affect Jones' suspension for the upcoming NFL season.

"As we have stated, his status will be reviewed after the Titans' 10th regular-season game," Aiello said.

Jones agreed this month not to appeal the suspension, and officials said Jones had a chance to be reinstated after 10 games if he adhered to team restrictions and had no further "adverse involvement with law enforcement." Missing the entire season would cost Jones his salary of nearly $1.3 million.

Tennessee Titans owner K.S. "Bud" Adams Jr. said the team was focused on the 2007 season and would have no comment about Jones' legal trouble.

"We are moving forward as a team and do not expect to comment on any future matters concerning him until his suspension is completed," Adams said.

Dillon said Las Vegas police had been in contact with Atlanta police, who said this week they wanted to question Jones about a shooting early Monday after a fight at an Atlanta strip club. The police captain said the two cases were not related.

The Las Vegas gunfire occurred Feb. 19 outside a club several blocks off the Strip near the end of NBA All-Star weekend. A bar employee was paralyzed and two others suffered less serious wounds.

Jones, 23, of Franklin, Tenn., faces two counts of felony coercion stemming from allegations he bit a bar bouncer on the ankle and threatened to kill club employees, according to the criminal complaint.

Reid, 37, who police identified as Jones' bodyguard, faces one felony coercion charge alleging he attacked a bouncer who tried to restrain Jones.

Morrison, 25, faces charges including coercion, felony assault with a deadly weapon and battery stemming from allegations that she hit a bouncer in the head with a champagne bottle and attacked several other club employees with a chair and a stanchion.

Coercion is the act of threatening or physically interfering with a person trying to do something that he or she has a right and responsibility to do.

If convicted, Jones faces a maximum of up to 12 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, authorities said.

The charges are slightly different from those police sought in March against Jones, Reid and Morrison. Roger declined to file those charges, asking police for more information and to identify a shooter.

"We wanted to make sure we had a lock-tight case before we started filing charges and releasing reports," Roger said.

Las Vegas lawyer Robert Langford, who has said he would represent Jones, Reid and Morrison if charges were filed, was expected to contact police to arrange their surrender. Langford did not respond to repeated messages Wednesday seeking comment.

Police earlier called Jones "an inciter" of a fracas that caused employees to usher people out of the club, several blocks off the Las Vegas Strip near the end of NBA All-Star weekend.

A police report says Jones showered dancers on stage with money from a black plastic trash bag -- an act of tipping known as "making it rain." When two dancers began fighting over the money, Jones allegedly grabbed one by the hair and punched her.

Jones is accused of swinging his fists and threatening the life of club employees who police said tried to intervene, and is seen on videotape punching a man who police identify as his own business manager.

A police report says Jones was seen walking away from the strip club with a man wearing a baggy black T-shirt and blue jeans. Minutes later, police say a similarly dressed man standing next to a palm tree fired five or six shots toward people at the front of the club.

A bouncer who Jones fought with was wounded in the chest and left forearm. Another bouncer, Thomas Urbanski, was shot in the left hand and the torso, and was left paralyzed from the waist down. A female club patron was wounded in the head, police said.

Langford has called the melee "a glorified bar fight," and said nothing linked Jones with the shooting outside. He said Jones cooperated with police on DNA comparisons that failed to show the NFL star was responsible for a bite injury reported by a bouncer.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/06/20/bc.fbn.pacman.charges.ap/index.html

[Imran Siddiqui]

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


If I get consensus on this, I'll see what I can do .

awww, I liked seeing Detroit in title.

[SlowwHand]

Detroit may get the NFC North title. It's North, right?
I almost said Central.
Hell, let's be honest. I almost said NFL Central.

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
Detroit may get the NFC North title.

Sure, sometime this century. But not till William Clay Ford sells the team.

[SlowwHand]

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) -- The Atlanta Falcons will be without receiver Brian Finneran for a second straight season.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Old news

[SlowwHand]

By CHARLES ODUM, AP Sports Writer
June 21, 2007

I guess it's confirmation, and it isn't old news to me.

[Lord Avalon]

Where's the love?
Young feels 'Pacman' doesn't care about teammates

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- If Vince Young is any indication, cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones may have used up the patience of his Tennessee Titans teammates.

Young was asked during a minicamp session Thursday if he was concerned about Jones, who's been told to turn himself in to Las Vegas authorities to face two felony charges.

"We love him a whole lot, but we feel like he don't care about us right now," Young said.

The quarterback said he hasn't talked to Jones, but echoed Jeff Fisher's comments that the charges are Jones' issue to handle.

Atlanta police have said they also want to question Jones as a witness to a shooting after a strip club fight on Monday morning.

Jones was suspended for the 2007 season in April by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The pending charges in Las Vegas from a Feb. 19 fight at a strip club and triple-shooting that left a man paralyzed likely mean he won't be allowed an early return after the Titans' 10th game.

"He's got to stay out of trouble and watch his back out there," Young said.

The Titans signed cornerback Nick Harper away from Indianapolis in March and signed veteran Kelly Herndon last week after his release by Seattle to help fill the void in the secondary left by Jones' suspension.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/06/21/bc.fbn.pacman.young.ap/index.html

I didn't know about Finneran. (Probably wouldn't have read about him either, if it wasn't posted here, or mentioned in my local paper, which I haven't read today yet.)

[-Jrabbit]

Kudos to Vince Young for telling it like it is.

[Donegeal]

Tank Johnson got pulled over in Arizona for intoxicated driving.

[Donegeal]

LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS (TICKER) -- The Chicago Bears are seeking further information after confirming that Tank Johnson was stopped by police in Arizona, reportedly for driving while impaired.

A report in the Chicago Tribune said Johnson has been cited for driving while "being impaired to the slightest degree".

"We are aware that Tank was pulled over early Friday morning in Arizona," the Bears said in a statement. "We currently are gathering facts regarding the incident. We will withhold further comment until we have more information."

The Tribune reported on its website that Johnson was pulled over in Gilbert, Arizona at 3:30 a.m. on Friday after being seen driving at 40 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone. The officer then "made observations that led him to believe Johnson was impaired," according to police spokesman Sgt. Andrew Duncan.

Johnson was taken to Gilbert Police station where blood was drawn. It could take up to two weeks for the results to be known.

Johnson was handed an eight-game ban by the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell following his involvement in a number of incidents during the last year. He was told by Goodell that his ban could be cut to six games if he had "no further adverse involvement with law enforcement."

[Lord Avalon]

Apparently getting their suspension shortened is not enough incentive for some players to shape up.