Welcome to Thunderdome

Posted: **Tue Sep 09, 2014 12:55 pm**

So what's her message? It's ok to smack your lady around?

Are you seriously condemning the public for reacting negatively to that video? It's OUR fault?

How about instead of taking us to task, you instead explain the thought process behind marrying a guy who knocked you out, spit on you, and then stood around your unconscious body without any concern?

Posted: **Tue Sep 09, 2014 2:28 pm**

"To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass off for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific. THIS IS OUR LIFE! What don't you all get. If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you've succeeded on so many levels.

I'll read between the lines and go with, "I took a right hook and the motherfucker doesn't even have a steady income anymore."

Posted: **Tue Sep 09, 2014 2:50 pm**

*left jab

e: and also gets millions in guaranteed salary for the next two years, playing or not

Edited By Troy on 1410288648

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2014 9:13 am**

In case you were unclear, Floyd Mayweather wants you to know that he's a douchebag.

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2014 12:22 pm**

If the Bills are worth > $1 Billion, imagine what an NFL franchise would be worth.

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2014 12:32 pm**

Wtf, NFL?

"I don't know how TMZ or any other website gets their information," said Goodell, when asked why the NFL didn't have its own copy of the tape. "We are particularly reliant on law enforcement. That's the most reliable, it's the most credible and we don't seek to get that information from sources that are not credible."

Yeah. I must have missed the part where law enforcement officials scoured the four corners of the earth for this tape and submitted it. Surely there's a good reason.

Paul Loriquet, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, confirmed to NFL Media on Tuesday, "It's grand jury material. It would have been improper -- in fact, illegal -- for the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office to provide (the video) to an outside/private/non law-enforcement entity."

So if they law had its way, nobody would have seen that vid until fuck knows how long.

Ray speaks.

"I have to be strong for my wife," Rice said...

Write your own punchline.

Edited By Malcolm on 1410366896

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2014 12:53 pm**

Malcom, I think your art direction and my graphic production can take at least 3.255% of the credit for Ray's cut + new suspension.

Congrats!

Edited By Troy on 1410368319

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:10 pm**

TheCatt wrote:If the Bills are worth > $1 Billion, imagine what an NFL franchise would be worth.

Ha!

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:39 pm**

I think Ray Rice is a miserable piece of shit for the way he treated his wife. I'm more disgusted by how he acted after hitting her because he showed no concern or remorse.

That being said, the NOW needs to shut the fuck up.

Sorry ladies, but at the end of the day, this is sports. The NFL banning Rice is completely voluntary. If they wanted to, they could simply ignore it. There are no criminal charges pending against him, and his wife stands by him. So for the law and the parties involved, the incident is over. Yet the NFL still acted.

Accept the fact that they publicly acknowledged they got the punishment wrong the first time. Accept the fact that they're doing something despite not really needing to do anything. Accept the fact that by continuing to attack the guy who is punishing a woman abuser and not the abuser himself you're coming off like bitches.

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:43 pm**

Troy wrote:Malcom, I think your art direction and my graphic production can take at least 3.255% of the credit for Ray's cut + new suspension.

Congrats!

Kind of annoyed we missed the t-shirt window.

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2014 5:31 pm**

"The NFL has lost its way. It doesn't have a Ray Rice problem; it has a violence against women problem," O'Neill said in a statement. "... The only workable solution is for Roger Goodell to resign and for his successor to appoint an independent investigator with full authority to gather factual data about domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking within the NFL community and to recommend real and lasting reforms."

This is now the only story ESPN is reporting.

Again, why is it the NFL's responsibility to punish players for off field stuff? How does this affect his play?

I'm not being callous, but who the fuck is Terry O'Neil to state that "The only workable solution is for Roger Goodell to resign..." Why? What the fuck does that resolve?

I truly think Goodell is in danger of losing his job over this, and Ray Rice is done done. Not even an arena football team would touch this asshole.

But at the end of the day, what affect does this have on anything? Why role do we and Terry O'Neil expect the NFL to play in stopping domestic violence? It's not their job to stop players from being assholes because you can't. Let me remind you that what Rice did is already illegal. He stood to go to jail, you think an NFL punishment would be more of a deterrent?

Maybe the NFL can start educating players on this issue? They already do on money and that doesn't work...

In my mind there's no difference between scumbags like Al Sharpton and Terry O'Neil.

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2014 8:17 pm**

Whoa. ESPN now says a law enforcement official sent the vid to the NFL on April 9th. He's got some voicemail from the NFL confirming the reception, as it were. This just got far more interesting, if it's true.

Link.

The person said he was unauthorized to release the video but shared it unsolicited, because he wanted the NFL to have it before deciding on Rice's punishment.

Edited By Malcolm on 1410394882

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2014 11:08 pm**

Holy fuck. This exploded. The Panthers owner is on TV in tears (which looks uncomfortably weird), Congressmen have weighed in (because they have nothing better to do than pander for more votes), Robert Mueller is being brought in to investigate the NFL's actions during this time. You'll remember him one of the dudes that threatened to resign unless the FBI's wiretapping program got to step over that minor warrant rule. Goddell's under some very real heat now.

Thoughts from various celebrities:

Olbermann: "...symbolically knocking out every woman in this country." Journalists must have wet dreams about shit like this.

Malcolm: Ray Rice got enrolled in a treatment program to get his sentence waived. This means I'm getting a harsher sentence than he's going to. Fuck the legal system. In what fucking backwards ass place does this occur?

Edited By Malcolm on 1410405759

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2014 11:26 pm**

I saw that, but it's irrelevant to my argument. The NFL isn't a law enforcement agency and they set the punishments and investigations. Terry O'Neil and others like her have zero business sticking their noses into NFL business and chattering about how things should be run. It's a multi-billion a year business with no real competition despite constantly shooting themselves in the foot. They're doing just fine.

That being said, I wouldn't be stunned if the NFLPA gets forced to take a stance defending Rice against the punishment because of Goodell possibly seeing the tape, giving a punishment, and then later revising it. Not that any team will sign Rice. Even if he didn't do this he was washed up already.

As for Goodell, I wouldn't be shocked to see him get shit canned. Not because of NOW and other "put me in front of a camera PLEASE!" morons in the general public who probably don't even watch the NFL, but because he's got a terrible reputation with the players, and that was before this scandal.

Not to mention if advertisers start pulling their money. That's the interesting part.

Question: You run a business that's dependent upon advertising to get the word out. Your products are geared primarily towards men. You're currently advertising with the NFL. Their games are live, which means people are watching the ads. Their games are also insanely popular. Are you pulling your advertising because the league's commissioner might have lied about seeing a tape? Especially since that same commissioner just basically kicked the offender out of the league?

Tough call.

I think the most interesting silence so far has been from the Susan G. Komen foundation. The NFL goes all out for them and trying to fight breast cancer. You think they want to boycott the NFL because of this incident? How many fund raising dollars do they stand to lose by taking a stance against...

What exactly?

A private business dolling out punishment based on their own internally written policies and not actual law? And let me remind everyone that the policy that was in place called for the 2 games. The NEW policy that was written is 6 months for the first offense and a lifetime ban for the second. That's one hell of a deterrent. Goodell helped make that policy, but he needs to be fired?

Hey dumbfucks, did it ever occur to you that even if he saw the tape the old policy only allowed him to suspend the guy 2 games? That shit's written into contracts with the union!!!

Here's how I see it:
They knew they were going to take shit because they probably did see the tape and knew this guy should be gone. Their hands were tied though with the policy and the contract with the player's union. So they wrote the new policy, held off on Gordon's suspension for marijuana so it wouldn't look silly next to 2 games for knocking out your wife, got the new policy written, announced Gordon's suspension, then announced the new domestic abuse policy, and crossed their fingers the tape would never get out. That's when it did get out and they went with the ignorance defense. Who knew there was a voicemail saved of someone saying they got the tape? Now they're fighting in the court of public opinion.

I think the owners have two opinons:
1. Fire Goodell, but if my scenario is correct, he doesn't deserve it. Oh and hey, the NFL is slightly profitable at the moment and he has something to do with that.
2. Suspend Goodell for a period of time and fine him. Give the fine money to a charity about helping abused women. Strip him of responsibility in the punishment of players and appoint a three person panel consisting of a former coach, a player, and a lawyer to oversee player punishments going forward.

If anyone from the NFL is reading this, I just gave you everything you leave this scandal behind you. I wouldn't say no to some Steelers tickets...

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2014 11:31 pm**

Malcolm: Ray Rice got enrolled in a treatment program to get his sentence waived. This means I'm getting a harsher sentence than he's going to.

Rice had been charged with felony aggravated assault in the case, but in May he was accepted into a pretrial intervention program that allowed him to avoid jail time and could lead to the charge being purged from his record. A prominent New Jersey lawmaker called Tuesday for that decision to be reviewed.

Rice went into that first trial with people looking out for him. They aren't looking out for him anymore.

Posted: **Thu Sep 11, 2014 12:41 am**

Reviewed != rescinded. Still means he's got it at present. Did John Law not know about this footage? Other reports are that this is 3rd degree assault, something he still most likely gets probation for with no priors in his past.

Edited By Malcolm on 1410412632

Posted: **Thu Sep 11, 2014 10:11 pm**

Lesean McCoy leaves very low tip

Owner of the restaurant responds by posting the receipt.

Best part:

Actor Charlie Sheen, meanwhile, pledging to give $1,000 to the PYT waiter.

Sheen tweeted the following statement Wednesday on his Twitter account:

dear Tommy Up at PYT in Philly. Please tell Rob K I'm pledging 1000 dollars to him for the tip debacle just wanna help.
c
#NoJudgement

To that, McCoy responded, "That's cool. I'm happy he's finally doing something positive."

Edited By TheCatt on 1410487923

Posted: **Fri Sep 12, 2014 8:17 am**

Didn't realize there was a game last night.

Apparently, neither did the Steelers.

Posted: **Fri Sep 12, 2014 9:16 am**

I've been pretty sick with a head cold and watched the first half before going to bed. The game with an 8+ minute drive by the Steelers that ended with Justin Brown fumbling the ball away. Right there I knew they were going to lose. That kind of drive is a momentum setter, and a fumble was the worst possible outcome. You could see the wind come right out of their sails. Plus, that defense is putrid.

Short week, traveling, horrible officiating (so bad that Browns fans were on social media talking about how the Steelers are getting screwed), the whole Ray Rice thing uniting the Ravens locker room, and a defense that's been built on loyalty will make you suck.

This offseason should see some pretty huge changes for the Steelers. Troy, Ike, Heath, and Brett should all be gone for good. There's an outside shot Ben goes as well. This was their last shot with this core group, and it's clear the defense isn't good enough to win a title.

I expect them to go into shut down mode for the next two years as they wait for a LOT of dead money to come off the books. Their draft next year should be heavy on the secondary, a pass catching tight end, and a flyer on QB.

Edited By Leisher on 1410527785

Posted: **Fri Sep 12, 2014 11:07 am**

Our front 7 may have made Mike Mitchell look better than he really was. And those penalties, goddamn.