NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue was not surprised when he
was "greeted by jeers and catcalls" at the Pro Football Hall of
Fame induction ceremony in Canton, OH on Saturday. The reaction
was from Cleveland fans still upset over the Browns. Tagliabue,
noting Cleveland fans can look forward to a new Browns team in
'99, pending construction of a new stadium: "They have a lot to
look forward to in the future and need to put the past behind
them" (Baltimore SUN, 7/28)
NFL NEWS & NOTES: Reax to Michael Irvin's suspension
continues. In Baltimore, Vito Stellino notes the NFL's troubled
off-season and adds, "With the league getting such a black eye,
it might be the time for it to get together with the players
union and install a code of conduct" (Baltimore SUN, 7/28). A
close friend of Tagliabue's told the BOSTON GLOBE's Will
McDonough that it was Irvin's mouth that earned him a five game
suspension, over the normal four-game for first-time drug
abusers. The source: "Paul didn't like it when Irvin shot his
mouth off, knocking the league. All that stuff about how dumb
the NFL is and about how stupid the [drug] testing is" (BOSTON
GLOBE, 7/28).
