NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue's annual address to the
media has "become a chance for writers and broadcasters to
bag" on him and it has "become a situation in which
Tagliabue cannot win, no matter how hard he tries. And he
certainly does try," according to Bill Dwyre of the L.A.
TIMES. Dwyre wrote that Tagliabue deserves "some credit"
as the "man is a huge success." Dwyre: "Do you suppose he
cares that a bunch of writers and broadcasters think he is
dull, evasive and calculating?" (L.A. TIMES, 1/24). Also in
L.A., J.A. Adande wrote, "If you want flamboyance, look
elsewhere. If you simply want to get the job done, look to
Tagliabue." Tagliabue "comes across as relaxed and engaging
in one-on-one interviews," but in "most public settings, he
seems aloof. ... Fortunately for Tagliabue, he doesn't have
to sell the league to the public" (L.A. TIMES, 1/24).
ON THE OTHER HAND: In S.F., Ray Ratto wrote that "if
you were waiting for the kind of bold, principled, follow-
me-fellows leadership you think a commissioner should
demonstrate, if you were waiting to see someone whose vision
exceeds that of the next owners' meeting, well, Tags didn't
exactly inspire." Ratto: "[W]hat he showed Friday was a man
riding in the back seat while other people drove" (S.F.
EXAMINER, 1/24). In Greensboro, Ed Hardin wrote that
Tagliabue is the "head of a remarkable monster ... a man of
the people, mostly white people who share a love of
violence, greed and denial" (NEWS & RECORD, 1/24). In
Philly, Bill Lyon referred to Tagliabue as the "emperor" and
wrote he was "impatient and flippant, testy and arrogant"
during his Friday address. Lyon: "[T]he emperor treated
every legitimate concern brought before his royal throne
with barely concealed contempt" (INQUIRER, 1/24).
