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NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue: The State of The NFL - Page Two
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At 11:30 AM EST, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue gave his annual "State of The NFL" speech from the NFL press conference ballroom at Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, Fla. This is page two of the complete speech and press conference.
(con't)..running back. He was a big part of the successful
and exciting season for the Atlanta Falcons, and
for Falcon fans he assured me he still has young
legs, and he's looking forward to playing in this
game, not just coming to this game.
Much like Walter Payton, Warrick Dunn
is also a person of great character and leadership
in the community. Many of you know about his
Homes for the Holiday program. It helps single
mothers become first-time homeowners. The
program does this each holiday season by making
the down payments on a new home and providing
all the furnishings on these new homes for
selected single mothers.
Warrick does this to preserve the memory
and spirit of his own mother, Betty Smothers who
was a single parent in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
where he grew up. His mother lost her life in the
line of duty in 1993 before she could fulfill her
dream of owning her own home. So in her
memory, Warrick Dunn, through his foundation,
with his partnerships, have made that dream of
home ownership come true for 54 single mothers
and close to 150 children. Give him a round of
applause. And he does many, many other things,
too, and we don't have the time to go through the
list of commitments that he makes. But it's really
quite extraordinary. He is not just a great athlete,
but a true hero.
The real excitement of the week is coming
to a head in the next 48 to 72 hours. It's the
football game.
We're honored this year that former
Presidents Bush and Clinton will both be here on
Sunday to continue to raise awareness for the
tsunami relief and hopefully to enjoy a great
football game. There's great anticipation for
Sunday's matchup. It could not be more
appealing. It's the defending champs trying to
make three Super Bowl wins in the past four
years. And in facing the Eagles, the Patriots are
going against the winningest team in the entire
league in the past five seasons.
In fact, these are the two winningest NFL
franchises in the new millennium since the turn of
the century. The Patriots and the Eagles stand
apart for their consistent excellence. Robert Kraft
and Jeffrey Lurie and their entire organizations
have earned great respect both in the league and
outside the league for putting the talent together,
coaches, front office, players and others, that has
had success in this very, very competitive era.
You never know how a game will unfold.
But three of the past five Super Bowl
games, as you well know, have been decided in
the final moments, and it would not be a surprise to
many of us if that's exactly the kind of game we
see this Sunday. So enjoy the remainder of the
buildup, most important enjoy the game and thank
you very much for being here and for working with
us, as you do, throughout the year.
The first question, as is customary,
belongs to Dave Goldberg of the Associated Press.
Q. As you know, Gene Upshaw and the
union are looking for a major change in the
next contract with greater revenue sharing.
You've got owners who want the revenue
shared more equally between the small-market
teams. What's your stance on that issue?
COMMISSIONER TAGLIABUE: I think we
have a long way to go. I know Gene said he was
optimistic, but he's also a realist. I don't know if I'm
optimistic or pessimistic, because I think we have a
long way to go in getting a consensus that's going
to get 24 votes. Everybody recognizes this has
been a very solid system. But to take it to be
responsive to some of the proposals the Players
Association has made to change the system, and
we will be responsive in some ways, but to deal
with the economic issues, including the sharing
issues, we have a lot of consensus yet to build.
When I say the system has been working,
it's important to note just one thing. This year the
2005 season will be the first time any sports
League has ever had average team player payrolls
in excess of 100 million dollars per team, and that's
a system that's working, and we want to keep it in
place.
Q. The NHL is in a lockout, on the
verge of possibly going out of business for the
year. Could you talk as a commissioner to...more..
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