USA TODAY's Michael McCarthy notes the NFL "wants all fans patted down from the ankles up this season to improve fan safety." The new pat-down procedures require searches of "ticket-holding fans from the ankles to the knees as well as the waist up." Previously, security guards "only patted down fans from the waist up while looking for booze, weapons or other banned items." NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy said that the league "wanted all clubs to implement the enhanced searches for Week One of the new season." The league "suffered damage to its family-friendly image when a South Carolina man was arrested for using an illegal Taser on other fans" at Sunday's Cowboys-Jets game at MetLife Stadium (USA TODAY, 9/16).
THE NEW DEAL: In Philadelphia, Frank Seravalli notes on Sept. 15, 2012, the NHL's CBA "will expire after a 7-year run," and a new deal "will require compromise and concessions from both sides." The NHL is "just now finally rounding -- and surpassing -- its pre-lockout popularity, while continuing to develop its own niche." An extended NBA lockout "could increase the NHL's popularity even more among sports fans in non-NHL cities this winter," which is why the league and its players "would be foolish not to get a new deal moving sooner rather than later." Sources said that the NHL and NHLPA "are expected to begin formal negotiations after the New Year, likely after the Jan. 29 All-Star break" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 9/16).
JOIN THE MOVEMENT: NHL Rangers C Brad Richards said last week that he "believed the league could survive if hits to the head and fighting were prohibited, or at least much more seriously policed and punished." Richards said, "If that's what it's going to take, I'd rather do that than have more people suffering on the sideline. It's not about the game when it gets to the point of having a guy out for a year, guys retiring early. It's about your everyday health and life. If that's all it takes and we can help, I think the players would adapt pretty quick" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/16).
