Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 16, 1990 TAG: 9003161932
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Tagliabue's first meetings adjourned Thursday in Orlando, Fla., with the new commissioner leaving his stamp on television, labor, steroids, officiating and realignment. Now, he will focus on such varied topics as street drugs and corporate ownership.
"With a little bit of luck, things kind of fell into place," Tagliabue said of a week that went just about as well as he could have planned.
Not only did the NFL get more from television - $3.64 billion over four years - than anyone imagined, Tagliabue was able to push through instant replay for another year in the face of heavy odds, implement random year-round steroid testing, bridge the gap between coaches and officials and put into place a new committee that he hopes will end the labor impasse.
He also took the first step in two decades to rearrange divisions and conferences into more logical groupings when he appointed a committee on expansion and realignment.
The next step will come May 23-24 in Dallas, when the owners meet again to tie up loose ends and perhaps move forward on what has become the new slogan - "Carry the NFL into the 21st century."
One item yet to be resolved is a new drug adviser to replace Dr. Forrest Tennant, who resigned under fire before the meetings began.
Corporate ownership may not be as pressing an issue as drugs, but it is almost as controversial among the league's owners.
For years, league bylaws have prohibited it for fear of selling NFL stocks over the counter and because a wealthy corporation would have far more money to spend on players than a family-owned team.
Tagliabue, though, said he might favor it under the right circumstances. He noted that NHL and NBA teams have been owned by corporations and cited what he called responsible corporations "like Disney and Coca-Cola" that might be brought in.
Asked, however, if he ever envisioned corporate sponsorship to the extent that a team might be called the "3-M Vikings" or the "Coca-Cola Falcons," he replied:
"That's when I will no longer be commissioner."
The main order of business Thursday didn't even involve the NFL.
It came when the new World League of American Football, the overseas offshoot that will begin play in March 1991, revealed the site of its first U.S. franchise - Orlando. New York will be another, and the other four will be announced by June 1.
The overseas franchises likely will be in Mexico City, Montreal, London, Barcelona, Milan and Frankfurt.
The NFL owners also turned down a proposal to eliminate the "in the grasp" rule, under which a quarterback is ruled down when he is in a defender's grasp and control.
The league changed the rules for its new 12-team playoff format by allowing teams in the same division to meet in the divisional semifinals. In the past, they weren't allowed to meet until the conference championship game.
The Miami Dolphins are in no hurry to trade Dan Marino, but coach Don Shula says he would deal his star quarterback if it would improve the team.
Shula confirmed that he and Marino have discussed the possibility of a trade. However, Shula and other club officials also denied that any talks were under way.
"We're not seeking a trade," Shula said at the owners' meeting in Orlando. "He's frustrated just like I am at not being in the playoffs the last four years.
"If I felt I could make a trade that would help our team, Dan or anyone else would be traded, but I am not actively seeking a trade."
Marino, vacationing in Colorado, confirmed through a team spokesman in Miami that he and Shula had talked, but he didn't say they discussed a trade.
"Coach Shula and I talked after the season ended about a lot of different things concerning the team, both good and bad, including my role with the Dolphins," he said in a statement. He said the talks "were private and will continue to remain that way."
Marino is coming off the worst full season of his NFL career, a year in which the Dolphins finished 8-8.
Except for the strike-shortened 1987 season, Marino threw his fewest passes (550), completed the fewest (308) for his lowest percentage (56.6 percent) and yardage (3,997). By comparison, he completed 362 passes, or 64.2 percent, for 5,084 yards in 1984 when the Dolphins were American Conference champions.
The Philadelphia Daily News on Wednesday quoted league sources as saying Marino, 28, had asked to be traded to Pittsburgh, Chicago, Indianapolis or the Los Angeles Raiders.
by CNB