League Notes

NFLPA Files Legal Briefs Claiming Burress Received 'Excessive' Punishment

In N.Y, Ralph Vacchiano reported the NFLPA Friday filed legal briefs "in one of its two 'non-injury grievance' claims against the Giants for what it had previously called 'excessive' punishment levied after" Giants WR Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg in November. A league source added that a major issue is Burress' potential future earnings, as Burress' contract indicated that he "could lose as much as $27[M] of the $35[M] he could have earned during the five-year deal he signed in September" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/8).

INSIDE INFORMATION: In N.Y., Michael Schmidt cited court documents as indicating that former NFLer Dana Stubblefield provided the NFL "with information about the use of performance-enhancing drugs among players as part of his plea agreement with federal authorities." Stubblefield's sentencing documents indicated that he gave members of the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of California "the names of players, trainers and others associated with the league who may still be involved in 'activities with illegal drugs in professional football'" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/7).

SUMMER PLANS: In Boston, Marc Spears cited an NBA source as saying that "there would be no five-on-five games, referees, or team coaches during" the league's predraft camp this year. Physicals, drill work and interviews "will still be conducted" at the camp, which is "also expected to be moved from Orlando back to Chicago." The games "were considered the most valuable part of the evaluation process, and underclassmen could be hurt without them" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/8).

AMERICAN MADE: Design engineer Ken Anderson indicated that "a formal announcement of a two-car American Formula One team to be based in the Charlotte area is planned for later this month." Anderson, "one of the two principals" in the F1 team, said that "'95[%] of what you might have seen' about those plans in publications and on Web sites covering the world's most popular form of motorsports is true." Anderson added that the team "is close to signing one driver for the team that would debut in 2010" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 2/9).