In Pittsburgh, Mark Kaboly notes under the NFL's new CBA, the league "requires each team outfit its center or both guards with a microphone under the shoulder pads during games for an enhanced television broadcast." But Steelers C Maurkice Pouncey said, "I really don't want to wear it. What's the point of wearing it? I don't get it." Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians echoed Pouncey's statement, adding, "I don't like it. It really kills your no-huddle offense when everybody gets your code words, and they broadcast across NFL Network and everywhere else." The NFL "sent out a memo last week that stated each team has a choice of the center or both guards being fitted with a microphone, believing that calls from the center would be harder to pick up by the guards wearing mics" (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 10/14). Pouncey's criticism comes after Ravens C Matt Birk was fined for removing a mic and Cardinals C Lyle Sendlein expressed his displeasure about the policy (THE DAILY).
HOME REPAIRS NEEDED: In Dallas, Rick Gosselin writes if he was NFL commissioner for a day, he "certainly wouldn’t be taking a second game each season to London." The NFL "must stabilize its product on the home front -- not build markets elsewhere." The Bengals, Buccaneers and Redskins hvae had "two home dates apiece that drew at least 10,000 below capacity, and the Buccaneers "have yet to draw 52,000 in their 66,000-seat stadium." Gosselin: "Problems on this side of the ocean can’t be solved by taking games to the other side of the ocean" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/14).
COURT BATTLE: The AP reported MLB "has gone to court to get an insurance company to tell all it knows about leaked financial information and several MLB teams." Documents filed Oct. 7 in N.Y. Supreme Court indicated that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig's office "wants Beazley Insurance Co. Inc. to show cause why it shouldn't be required to produce records that could identify the source of leaks." MLB said that Beazley "refused to cooperate with baseball's investigation into a story ... and club documents posted by Deadspin.com." Legal papers stated that "six insurers received the confidential financial information from teams and that all except Beazley cooperated with MLB's investigation" (AP, 10/12).
QUEENS OF THE GREENS: SI's Alan Shipnuck writes "there is reason for optimism" for the LPGA, as the tour is "enjoying tremendous buzz from a thrilling Solheim Cup and 16-year-old Lexi Thompson's victory in Alabama." Shipnuck adds Yani Tseng "cemented her standing as golf's most dominant player with a sixth victory this season" (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, 10/17 issue).
