NFL Notes:

• A saviour has been found for The Factory! Clipboard Jesus himself, Charlie Whitehurst, has come home from vacation and has been signed to become the Browns designated injury for Week 4. Cody Kessler will likely start Week 3 against the 0-2 Dolphins, but once he gets hurt it’s either the punter or Chuck taking it home.
  • Josh McCown is expected to be out 2-3 weeks.
• Florio seems quite insistent this morning that the NFL adopt the CFL rule of being allowed to challenge Pass Interference calls. Really, it just gives John Fox & Andy Reid more chances to worship BLEERGH!
• Lane Johnson’s appeal of his 10-game PED suspension will take place during the Eagles Week-4 bye.
• Crimebeat! update: LeSean McCoy is being sued by two cops who were involved in the bar fight Shady was part of back in February. claim to have suffered personal injuries as a result of trying to break up the altercation.
  • Forgotten in all of this is the fact that the cops were off-duty, the fight allegedly started after the cops tried to liberate a $350 bottle of champagne from Shady’s table, and the “cop card” only got pulled out after the incident. Both the DA and Attorney General refused to lay charges.
  • Here’s the gold:  “Our investigation has confirmed that [officers] Darnell Jessie and Roland Butler were viciously attacked and beaten by LeSean McCoy and the additional defendants,”said Fortunato N. Perri Jr., the attorney for the officers involved in the incident. “As a result of the violent assault, both men have suffered serious and permanent injuries.” No word on if they are still on the job.

    

• Andy Reid is accusing the Texans of “flopping” to get calls. Someone should ask Lindsey Vonn if there’s a difference between a limp Texan and a flopping Texan.
• People sure seem to be pumping the tires on Carson Wentz. After all, he’s beaten perennial playoff-watching teams like the Bears & Browns.
  • Talk to me after he’s faced the Steelers this weekend and Deebo’s stopped by to say “hello” to his head 2-3 times.
• The Packers are apparently going to kick the tires on CJ Spiller.

Let’s see who’s hurt:

• Running Backs: Adrian Peterson, Jonathan Stewart, Doug Martin, Thomas Rawls, Danny Woodhead, Ameer Abdullah and Arian Foster.
• Quarterbacks: Jimmy Garoppolo, Josh McCown and Jay Cutler.
• O & D Linemen: DeMarcus Ware, Carl Nassib, Cameron Erving, Leroy Guion, Donald Stephenson and Eddie Goldman.

A couple more weeks, and people like Johnny Football and Tim Tebow are going to think they’ve got another shot. Y’know, except for the whole “4-game suspension” and “a terrible player” things holding them back. Last night, I hoped that Belichick would troll the league and bring in guys like Flutie & Favre just to cover up something else he was planning. But you just know some knucklehead GM is going to throw real bags of money at Beastmode or Megatron just to be sure.

FYI: Marshawn Lynch is scheduled for “Conan” tonight. Not sure if it’s a repeat, but links to past appearances can be found here.

Finally, perhaps not recognizing the irony in their word choices, cbssports.com has a story about how kindly ol’ Rog wants the Raiders to stay in Oakland. “‘Well, you never want to see a community lose their franchise once, much less twice,’ Goodell said.” Now, that’s all fine and dandy, but the real kicker/curb stomp comes a few lines later, after he makes mention of how teams and cities need to partner on solutions.

“‘The Minnesota community did that in a great way. I think we can do it in Oakland. I think there’s a solution there, but it takes the community to help identify it,’ Goodell said.”

The story then notes the level of community “contribution” required to keep the team where it is:

• “In Minnesota, taxpayers contributed $498 million out of the $1.1 billion total cost.”
• “In Las Vegas, taxpayers would contribute $750 million of the total $1.9 billion cost.”

And in case you forgot about other cities and their contributions to NFL franchise viability:

• “The Edward Jones Dome, Reuters reports […], is still saddled with about $144 million in debt and maintenance costs.”
• “San Diego voters [will vote in November on whether] to raise taxes for nearly $1.2 billion in public debt to help the team build a downtown stadium and convention center.”

As follow-up, si.com has a story about the facilities left behind after the Rams buggered off for LA. Much like other abandoned-but-still-functional spaces, the story regales about the benefits of being able to book events without concern for a most pernicious tenant. “Now that we have X number of available weeks,” the stories usually go, “we can schedule events that might normally have passed us by.”

Also, a section of the story is given to the rise of a “St. Louis Titans fan club” – not for relocation, but for road-tripping to Tennessee. That seemed to be borne more out of hatred for Kansas City or Chicago than love for Nashville. Why, I can’t imagine any Cardinals fan having a tough time at Soldier Field.

Google says it’s 313 miles via Interstate, so it can make for a good weekend. In case you were wondering about other options:

• St. Louis – Kansas City: 250 miles
• St. Louis – Cincinnati: 350 miles
• St. Louis – Indianapolis: 245 miles

Hmm…Andy Reid, Skyline Chili and Gravy Boat races. I do kinda see the Tennessee attraction. Plus, having recently been to Nashville myself, I can attest that it’s a great place to visit. And the stadium is just a bridge across the river from the Broadway strip of bars & clubs.

So, I get that. I drive half as far to go to Seahawks games, and I’ve never not been disappointed in the experience. You want to pick a place you’ll enjoy yourself, not one where you place your life in danger.

Tonight’s sports:

• MILB: Minor-League Baseball: Triple-A National Championship – 8:00 PM | NBCSN
  • your Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and your El Paso Chihuahuas
• World Cup of Hockey 2016: Canada vs. U.S. – 8:00 PM | ESPN/Sportsnet
• MLB Baseball:
  • Giants at Dodgers – 10:00 PM | ESPN2/TSN
  • Blue Jays at Mariners – 10:00 PM | Sportsnet1

God bless minor league baseball. 

Who needs focus-group tested mascots? IT’S A PURSE DOG VERSUS A PORCUPINE!