PigSooie Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3545830 Hall of Fame football player and longtime NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw has died. Upshaw, 63, had been fighting pancreatic cancer. Clear Channel Online first reported the story early Thursday morning. ESPN has confirmed the report. Upshaw played offensive guard with the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders from 1967 until 1981. He was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and an 11-time All-Pro selection. He played in three Super Bowls -- winning two -- and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987. Upshaw was the Oakland Raiders' first-round choice in the first combined AFL-NFL draft in 1967. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound lineman had played center, tackle and end at Texas A&I. Upshaw moved to guard with the Raiders, starting in 207 straight regular-season games until being forced out of action by injury for one game in 1981. Upshaw returned the next week and played in 10 more games in what turned out to be his final season. Upshaw was a member of the bargaining committee for the NFLPA throughout his playing days in the late 1970s and early 1980s. After his retirement, he took over as NFLPA executive director in June 1983. Upshaw led the players union through a strike in 1987 and years of anti-trust litigation against the league, including a brief period in which the NFLPA became a professional association rather than a union. The union eventually accepted a salary cap in return for free agency. Union members got a bigger share of league revenues because of the deal. Upshaw came up against controversy in 2006 when some 325 retired players from the AFL and NFL came forward with accounts of being given minimal disability benefits. Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover had been leading an effort to oust Upshaw as the NFLPA executive director. In April, he e-mailed a plan to fellow player representatives to have a new union boss in place by March 2009. Upshaw responded, speaking of the looming labor confrontation with owners when the current contract expires, by saying: "I would never leave until this deal is done." Upshaw is survived by his wife, Terri, and sons, Justin, Daniel and Eugene Jr. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wheelco Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Go Bungles!! We went down to the jailhouse and brought back Chris Henry!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
So Long Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 2 days til the "official" start of the season. 5 days til Opening Sunday. Woot. Go Pats Quote Link to post Share on other sites
benjamin Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Argh! Rudi Johnson?... Come on Lions. So our RB Roster has 2 rookie running backs and a veteran that joined the team just days before the start of the season. And when Tatum Bell got cut right after the signing he stole Rudi's bags?http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/09/02/...day-in-detroit/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bleedorange Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 And when Tatum Bell got cut right after the signing he stole Rudi's bags?http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/09/02/...day-in-detroit/ That's one of the strangest stories I've seen. All I know is that after watching Hard Knocks, I am so pumped for the Cowboys season this year. Even more so than usual. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PigSooie Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 I can't remembering being as excited for an NFL game as I am about OAK/DEN Monday night. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kimcatch22 Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 I can't remembering being as excited for an NFL game as I am about OAK/DEN Monday night.I wonder why.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PigSooie Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 I wonder why.... And, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Well, the Redskins look like shit so far. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 In addition, I started Jason Campbell tonight. That's looking like a real winner. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Brandon Jacobs, yeah. I hope Kiawanuka is OK. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 The Giants should be appalled that they did not win that game by more than 9 points. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 16-7 is about as typical a Giants score as you can get. The Redskins adjusted nicely. They did not look too bad at all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 16-7 is about as typical a Giants score as you can get. The Redskins adjusted nicely. They did not look too bad at all.Seriously, though, about the only good thing I saw about the game last night was that the Redskins held onto the ball. Sure, they made some defensive adjustments in the second half, but they weren't able to score any points. Jason Campbell was awful. He looked nervous. Clock management at the end of the game was worse than awful. Campbell stopped a clocking play, wasting about five seconds, to have a conversation with a receiver. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO FUCKING TALK ABOUT - GET ON THE LINE, SNAP THE BALL AND FUCKING SPIKE IT. They should have kicked a field goal with 25 seconds left, then tried for the touchdown. Chris Cooley caught one ball. Too many penalties. Brandon Jacobs just murdered the defense. Too many arm "tackles". Four 3-and-outs (and one 4-and-out). I could go on. After the first touchdown, the Redskins did limit the Giants to three field goals in the first half, but they didn't force a punt or turnover until the third quarter. And Rock Cartwright did a decent job of returning kicks. We'll see how it goes next week. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bleedorange Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 The Giants should be appalled that they did not win that game by more than 9 points. Granted, it's the first game of the season, but after watching that game I'm definitely a lot more confident in the Cowboys winning the division. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 Granted, it's the first game of the season, but after watching that game I'm definitely a lot more confident in the Cowboys winning the division.Pfft. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
So Long Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 Good day for football. Pretty close games. Jets, Fins was fun to watch. Pats game was terrifying. I think Brady'll be fine. The hit looked a lot like the 2001 AFC Championship game hit (where Bledsoe came in and saved the day), Cassel played surprisingly well, so no real complaints here. I don't even want to hear the media's play-up of Brady's injury this week. He'll be fine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PigSooie Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 TD Felix Jones!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gobias Industries Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 Sad day for Browns At least I drafted Marion Barber... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted September 7, 2008 Author Share Posted September 7, 2008 Sad day for Browns At least I drafted Marion Barber...Are there any other kind of day for the Browns? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 wow. Did anyone see Carolina beat San diego with 2 seconds? Great pass by Delhomme Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brianjeremy Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 wow. Did anyone see Carolina beat San diego with 2 seconds? Great pass by Delhomme Oh yeah! Watched the whole game and was really pleased. My wife thought I was mad! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 Oh dear...my Chiefs can't even win when Brady is out.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Duck-Billed Catechist Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-b...o&type=lgns Yahoo is reporting that Brady is likely done for the year. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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