NFL Lineman Gene Upshaw Was a Leader on and off the Field
In the history of the U.S. labor movement there have been smarter tacticians and better legal minds, but there may never have been someone more proud than Gene Upshaw. The Hall of Fame player, who served as executive director of the National Football League Players Association from 1983 until his death Thursday from pancreatic cancer at the age of 63, grew up picking cotton in Texas in the 1950s. As a player, he was a fierce offensive guard, who wrapped his arms in tape like a mummy from his shoulders to his fingertips, then used them like machetes as he led the great Oakland Raiders teams of the 1970s and early 1980s, winning two Super Bowls along the way. And yet the moment that will likely shape Mr. Upshaw's legacy occurred far from the gridiron in a federal courtroom in Minnesota, when Mr. Upshaw was called to the witness stand to testify in an anti-trust case against the league.
This was five years after Mr. Upshaw had led his players out on a strike that the owners crushed, and three years after he advised players to pursue the controversial strategy of disbanding the union so they could take their fight for free agency out of the bargaining room and into the court.
From the witness stand, Mr. Upshaw recalled the words of former Cowboys executive Tex Schramm, who likened NFL players to cattle and the owners to ranchers -- whose job it was to keep the herd under control. "He talked about what it felt like to hear those words as an African-American who grew up picking cotton in Texas," said Jeff Kessler, the lead outside counsel to the NFLPA. "I remember seeing the look on the judge's face as Gene spoke. He brought that courtroom to a standstill." Lawyers for the NFL moved to strike Mr. Upshaw's comments about Mr. Schramm from the record, but the damage had been done.
A victory in that case led to the 1993 Collective Bargaining Agreement that finally granted NFL players the right to sell their services to the highest bidder. The deal revitalized the union and 15 years later, the NFL's 1,500 players now share roughly 60percent of league revenues, or nearly USD 4 billion.
"He was the rare individual who earned his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame both for his accomplishments on the field and for his leadership of the players off the field," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement released Thursday. Of course, it was Mr. Upshaw's cozy relationship with Mr. Goodell and his predecessor, Paul Tagliabue, that earned him so much criticism in the past quarter century. Union officials in other sports, including Marvin Miller, the legendary former leader of American Major League Baseball's Players Association, called him the worst union head in the industry, dismissing him as a lackey of the league. Mr. Miller declined to comment Thursday on Mr. Upshaw's death.
Usually, the always immaculately dressed Mr. Upshaw stiffened his jaw and politely disagreed with the criticism. He pointed to the ever-rising salaries of NFL players, and proudly described his agreement as a "partnership" with NFL owners. Still, most NFL players don't have guaranteed contracts, which are pro forma in other major U.S. sports. They can be cut at any time, and the union has been almost powerless in challenging disciplinary actions taken by the commissioner.
For years, retired player pensions were paltry. Dozens of players, most notably former top coach Mike Ditka and Hall of Fame player Jerry Kramer, have complained the NFLPA has done too little too late to assist players suffering from chronic injuries that are a direct result of violent contact on the field, including dementia and skeletal problems. The complaints led to congressional hearings last year and a public relations nightmare for Mr. Upshaw, who, in two weak moments that forever tarnished his reputation, claimed he didn't work for the retired players and threatened to snap the neck of one of his critics.
"If I saw Gene on the street, I would go say hello and rehash old times and be drinking beers, but there still would be a lot of questions that needed to be answered," said Boomer Esiason, the former quarterback. "After the 1987 strike, I was very disappointed in the union and its leadership." Yet even Mr. Esiason credits Mr. Upshaw with gaining NFL players a system that allows unproven rookies to receive $30 million signing bonuses and veteran defensive backs to take home nearly $10 million a year.
While it may have taken a quarter century, Mr. Upshaw received the ultimate compliment for a labor leader earlier this year, when NFL owners voted unanimously to terminate the current collective bargaining agreement in 2011, two years before it is due to expire. Mr. Goodell said the league had given the players too much in the last negotiation and allowed player compensation to grow out of control. Jim Plunkett, a former Oakland Raider who always felt a little safer with Mr. Upshaw in front of him, said his old lineman liked to preach the slow and steady approach, and more often than not, people listened.
"That year we won the Super Bowl, we started 2-3, and Gene got us together and said 'One game. One game. One game,' trying to keep our focus," Mr. Plunkett recalled. "He was so forceful, so commanding of a situation, so daunting and intimidating. All those words that describe someone who can get something done."
Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc
Surprising Jays pound Tigers pitching staff
As the Toronto Blue Jays spun their revolving roster door, the new Canadian on the block figured he might have dodged a bullet.
"I'm just happy I'm still here, obviously, and I'll just try to do my best out of the bullpen," said Scott Richmond, who was demoted from the rotation to the relief corps after Monday night's 7-2 win over the Detroit Tigers.
Jesse Litsch was recalled from triple-A Syracuse and will start against Detroit on Thursday afternoon. The odd man out is John Parrish, dispatched to Syracuse after four starts and three relief appearances.
The Jays called up Richmond, a North Vancouver native, on July 28 and immediately placed him in the rotation. The move took him off the Canadian Olympic team, for which he was the No. 1 starter. In three starts for Toronto, Richmond has an 0-2 record and 5.06 earned-run average. Litsch started the season 7-1, but struggled thereafter and was sent down July 28. Manager Cito Gaston said management wanted him to focus on throwing his two-seam fastball on the outer half of the plate instead of relying on breaking pitches.
In three starts at Syracuse, Litsch was 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA.
"We said we'd bring him back if he worked it out, so hopefully we'll see that up here, what he's done down there," Gaston said.
Starting Litsch on Thursday will allow the Jays to give Roy Halladay an extra day's rest before he pitches in Boston on Friday. Halladay threw a career-high 130 pitches in his last start. Richmond seemed to think he might have been on the bubble instead of Parrish.
"It could have been either way there," he said.He said he had worked in relief with the independent-league Edmonton club last year "to try to make myself a more well-rounded pitcher," and feels comfortable in that role.
"Whatever I can do to help the team win, that's what I'm here to do," he said.
The moves wrapped up a day on which the Jays released veteran outfielder Shannon Stewart, then put on an unusually balanced performance against the Tigers. Rod Barajas homered and drove in three runs, backing a second straight solid start by Shaun Marcum.
The Jays had not hit a homer in 47 innings when Barajas, the man who connected for the previous blast, delivered in the sixth inning. It was his 10th of the season, making him the second Jay to reach double figures (Matt Stairs has 11).
Vernon Wells, in his second game back from the disabled list, gave every indication that his hamstring injury is fully healed. Wells had two hits and twice took two bases when Stairs singled behind him. On Sunday, Wells went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter and did not have to run hard. In his first at-bat Monday night, he legged out an infield hit and later scored from second base on a single by Barajas. Next time up, Wells singled sharply to left field, scooted to third on a Stairs single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Barajas. The first six Toronto runs came off struggling starter Justin Verlander, who has surrendered 24 in his last four starts. The Jays battered him for a pair in each of the second, fourth and fifth innings.
Meanwhile, Marcum worked six innings and allowed eight hits. The only damage came on solo homers by Brandon Inge and Miguel Cabrera. The victory continued Toronto's season-long trend of persistent inconsistency. Last week, the Jays won four straight from Oakland. On the weekend, they dropped three in a row to Cleveland.
The Jays chased Verlander in the fifth. John McDonald led off with a double and scored one out later on an Alex Rios single. Wells made it 6-1 with a sacrifice fly.
2005 - 2008 Canwest Digital Media
Letter of the Day
There have been terrible owners in the history of baseball who made mountains of money on the backs of the players who did not share fairly in the games' profits.
Marvin Miller should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame for redressing this wrong. But Manny being Manny, and his agent Scott Boras goading him on, did a terrible disservice to the Boston Red Sox. To take USD160 million from an organization and then purposefully force them to trade you is criminal. ManRam dishonoured his contract and dishonoured the game so he should be punished by the commissioner's office. Refusing to play because of a phantom sore knee when you are being paid millions is not funny. Shoving Jack McCormick, the 62-year-old travelling secretary, to the ground because he could not get game tickets is not funny. Holding the owner, the fans, and the American Major League Baseball Association hostage is not funny.
If an owner failed to live up to his end of a deal, the Players' Association would be justifiably incensed. Ramirez has failed to live up to his end of a contract. He forced his team to trade him and now he and Boras are going to parlay this bad behaviour into more money next year. Where's the justice?
Copyright 2008, Canoe Inc. All rights reserved
LL Cool J to rock the Trop on Saturday
Unlike several other musical acts who have visited Tropicana Field, LL Cool J won't try to take swings at batting practice.
Nor will the rapper toss Saturday's first pitch, quipping that he would probably "throw it out of the park" or accidently injure somebody.
Instead, the hip-hop pioneer will let his performance, as part of the Rays Summer Saturday Night Concert Series presented by Hess Express, do the talking. And his career, which has spawned two decades, will do the inspiring. In explaining his marathon stay atop the music charts, LL Cool J likened releasing a bad album to going through a bad game -- you forget it, and move on. His advice on longevity could go a long way for the Rays, who have begun to show signs of vulnerability atop the American League East.
"It's a matter of being able to believe in yourself," he said. "Digging deep and keep working toward your goal and maintaining that ambition inside. And that desire -- that deep down desire -- to keep going."
Sage advice from a man who has sold over 15 million albums in the U.S., a man who has achieved success in Hollywood -- he has appeared in 17 films, and the hit T.V. series "In the House" -- and in the fashion industry.
LL Cool J will be performing a free postgame concert following Saturday's Rays-Tigers contest, and the rapper will be a welcome reprieve for the Rays. While the team has struggled on the road, it is a perfect 6-0 in games during the Summer Concert Series.
"I just plan on having a lot of fun," he said. "I want to give [the fans] some classic old school, some new school. ... People can enjoy the music on all different levels."
While it will be LL Cool J's first trip to the Rays' home dome, the media mogul grew up a baseball fan and remembers watching games with his grandfather when he was a young boy living in Queens, N.Y.
"It reminds me a lot of growing up with my grandpa," he said, adding that he is an avid fan of that team on the other side of New York, the Yankees.
Thankfully, he won't have to worry about allegiances on Saturday night, as LL couldn't contain his enthusiasm for St. Petersburg, and has definite plans to be in attendance for the game. Just don't expect a revisiting of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," a melody he sang in 1996 as part of commercials for Major League Baseball Association.
"That could potentially hurt album sales," he said with a laugh.
Instead, the rap star is perfectly content being just another awestruck fan until he assumes the stage.
"I know my limitations," he said. "I have a lot of respect for the sport and the athletes that play it."
2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P.
Rays working magic with American League
The name Tampa Bay Rays sounds snappier than Tampa Bay Devil Rays, not to mention less demonic. The Indians might want to give it a try. Chief Wahoo never has been politically correct anyway. Perhaps the best way to start cleaning up the ashes of this aborted 2008 Indians season is with a look to the promises of a fresh start next year with a more marketable moniker.
Such as the Native American Houdinis, as in one season they're within a game of the World Series, the next they're up in smoke before the All-Star break. Of course, baseball folks outside of the Sunshine State keep waiting for the magic to wear off on baseball's best team to date, for the real Tampa Bay baseball team to appear. But for the first time in the team's 11-year existence, the Rays' fast start isn't an illusion. Indians fans (what's left of them anyway) will see for themselves beginning Thursday, when the Rays arrive at Progressive Field for a four-game weekend series featuring local product Andy Sonnanstine. The right-hander from Wadsworth enters his Thursday start with a 10-3 mark and 4.31 ERA in 18 games this season, only the Rays' third pitcher in franchise history to collect 10 wins before the All-Star break. The Kent State product doesn't dazzle opposing batters as much as he simply out-wills them.
''I'm a very competitive person,'' Sonnanstine told MLB.com after getting his 10th win, and fourth in a row, against Kansas City on Saturday. ''So I kind of have a chip on my shoulder every time I go out that I've got to prove to myself I can do it.''
Seems like a majority of the Rays players buy into the underdog mentality. At 55-34, they own the best record in the major leagues, as well as a three-game lead in the American League Baseball Association of East Division over the Boston Red Sox, an opponent the Rays recently swept. Tampa Bay won its season-high seventh consecutive game Sunday, before losing Monday to the Kansas City Royals and Tuesday to the New York Yankees.
''The culture here in the past had been if we'd won two or three games in a row, that it was OK to lose a couple,'' Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon told ESPN last week. ''We're at a point now where we don't like that idea or thought at all.''
2008 The Akron Beacon Journal
MLB players and Dunkin' Donuts team up again for promotion
Dunkin' Donuts and baseball can't seem to get enough of each other. The Canton, Mass.-based fast-food coffee chain announced Thursday the American Major League Baseball Players Association is backing its latest promotion including iced beverages.
During the "Bases Loaded" promotion all Dunkin' Donuts cold drinks purchased will have a peel-away sticker on the cup to reveal a one-time login code for participation in an instant-win game at dunkin' donuts site. Certain MLB players, including Boston Red Sox closing pitcher Jonathan Papelbon, will also be featured in the promotion.
Prizes include coupons for free items from Dunkin' Donuts' new oven toasted menu such as flatbread sandwiches, and chances to win other items, including high definition TVs, video game systems, and tickets to local baseball games in participating markets. The "Bases Loaded" promotion will run through Sept. 30.
2008 American City Business Journals, Inc
Red Storm Baseball Trio Earns ABCA All-Northeast Region Honors
QUEENS, N.Y. The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) has announced that St. John's senior pitcher George Brown and junior pitchers Colin Lynch and Scott Barnes have earned All-Northeast Region honors. Both Brown and Lynch earned first team accolades, while Barnes was a second team honoree. Already this season Brown has been named the NCBWA District II Player of the Year, a Louisville Slugger second team All-American and a Pro-Line Athletic/NCBWA second team All-American. Brown was also named the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year and was an All-BIG EAST first team selection. The lefty finished the season with a 9-1 record and was a perfect 9-0 in the regular season. Brown compiled a 2.91 ERA in a career-high tying 14 starts and added a career-high 59 strikeouts. The lefty tossed a career-high 89.2 innings, held opponents to a .251 batting average and walked just 12 batters.
Brown finishes his career at St. John's with a 22-3 record. The lefty ranks tenth in the all-time record books with 22 career wins and also ranks tied for fifth with nine victories in a single season. The senior lefty earned BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week honors twice this past season and was named to the honor roll once. An accounting major with a 3.47 GPA, Brown also earned ESPN The Magazine second team Academic All-America honors and first team Academic All-District honors. The senior was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 27th round (815 overall) of the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
An All-BIG EAST second team selection, Lynch was 4-1 with a 3.58 ERA and 13 saves. The reliever made a team-high 24 appearances and had 23 strikeouts in 27.2 innings. Lynch ranks second in school history with 24 career saves and is only the second St. John's pitcher to reach the 20 career save plateau. Lynch also ranks second and third in single season saves with 13 (2008) and 11 (2007), respectively. The junior was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 40th round (1215 overall) of the 2008 draft. Barnes, meanwhile, was 7-3 with a 3.69 ERA in 15 starts this season. A back-to-back first team All-BIG EAST selection, Barnes had 90 strikeouts in 90.1 innings and allowed just a .216 opponent batting average. The lefty also earned NCAA Houston Regional All-Tournament team honors after allowing just one run in 7.2 innings in a no-decision against then-No. 19 Texas.
In three seasons, the southpaw ranks third all-time with 263 strikeouts. Barnes also ranks sixth and seventh in single season strikeouts with 99 (2007) and 90 (2008), respectively. The lefty was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 8th round (237 overall) of this year's draft.
2007 CSTV Networks, Inc.
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