| |
 How the new-look NFL might line up
Posted: Friday March 19, 1999 11:55 AM
At the NFL Meetings in Phoenix this week, some real momentum grew for realignment to eight four-team divisions. Here's how such an NFL retrofit might look:
Look at the key rivalries -- they will stay put: Cincinnati-Cleveland, Cleveland-Pittsburgh, the Giants-Washington, Denver-Oakland. They don’t want to end the traditional rivalries. But some new rivalries would come from new divisions. Arizona would logically move to the West Coast. The "Sun Belt" division would have at least two of the three Florida teams in it. Sponsor Dan Rooney of the Steelers tells me that the key is to vote on the concept first: eight four-team divisions are better than having a mishmash of some five-, some six-team divisions. Rooney says you vote on that plan first and then leave the rest to commissioner Paul Tagliabue or to a group that would have a selfless view of realignment. Look for progress on that at the NFL's May meetings in Atlanta. Receivers' eyes on MiamiBig meeting coming in Miami on Monday between Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson and ex-Atlanta wide receiver Tony Martin. This meeting is going to have a huge impact future Carl Pickens, the dissatisfied Cincinnati wide receiver who says he has played his last game with the Bengals. Cincinnati has demanded a first-round draft pick in any trade for Pickens, but Miami does not want to give up that pick. If the Dolphins can sign Martin, who is a free agent but is under federal indictment on charges of money laundering, they will not pursue Pickens. Look for Martin to satisfy the Dolphins and to tell them, "Hey, my legal problems are not going to affect what I can do for this team." Hold everythingImportant draft tidbit from the meetings. The Cleveland Browns have not eliminated Georgia cornerback/wide receiver Champ Bailey from their discussions about what to do with the first overall pick. Of course, the Browns want to take a quarterback with that first pick. But if they can’t be totally satisfied by the personalities of Oregon's Akili Smith or Kentucky's Tim Couch, they will strongly consider selecting Bailey. Heavy duesFinally, an interesting asterisk to the penalty doled out by the NFL to San Francisco owner Eddie DeBartolo this week. DeBartolo was suspended for one year and fined $1 million for "conduct detrimental to the interests of the NFL" for his role in trying to secure a riverboat gambling license in the state of Louisiana. But there is more. If the commissioner feels that DeBartolo is too heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the 49ers, he will fine him $4 million. That would be the toughest penalty Tagliabue has levied to date in his 10 years as NFL commissioner. Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL and appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN's NFL Preview.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
