Dear PFWA membership:

I thought I'd give you a post-combine and pre-owners meeting update.

PRO BOWL REPORT
Jason Cole sent a note about the Pro Bowl. He said Michael Lipman and Brian McCarthy did a great job. Access was great for everybody. Well organized and well run.

Thanks Michael and Brian...

Dear PFWA membership:

I thought I'd give you a post-combine and pre-owners meeting update.

PRO BOWL REPORT
Jason Cole sent a note about the Pro Bowl. He said Michael Lipman and Brian McCarthy did a great job. Access was great for everybody. Well organized and well run.

Thanks Michael and Brian.

COMBINE REPORT
I'd first like to thank Corry Rush and the rest of the NFL staff (Randall Liu, Michael Lipman, Jared Cooper, Anne Rohrs, Chris Jenkins and Brenna Webb) for their efforts at the combine. Corry reports that 236 players were made available in the media workroom. A record 27 teams were represented at the podiums: 24 head coaches and 15 football executives, also a record. Todd Haley, Scott Pioli, Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin and Tom Cable were among those who talked. Corry also wanted to send kudos to Jeff Foster, the scouting combine director.

There were two groups of media allowed to watch quarterback/receiver workouts. An NFL-approved pool report was compiled by PFWA members in attendance.

A special thanks to John McClain and John Oehser for coordinating everything from the PFWA's end.

The NFL Players Association again allowed the PFWA to speak at their annual agents' meeting. Mark Gaughan, D. Orlando Ledbetter and I spoke about the importance of the agents having a working relationship with PFWA members. Thanks to Carl Francis for setting it up.

I have traded emails with Corry since the combine ended, and we are planning o­n meeting for lunch during the draft to continue dialogue o­n what can we do better next time. I will say for the first time in a new facility, I thought overall it went well. After consulting with four combine veterans, the PFWA has requested two things: 1. That there can be some policy regarding injuries. Michael Crabtree's injury first was reported by the NFL Network early Saturday morning, but nothing official was said about it until Crabtree returned to the media room o­n Sunday morning for a short statement. He did not take questions. Obviously, the player and his handlers have final authority in what is said about the injury, but o­nce the injury has been reported, it does not do the player any good not to comment o­n it, even if it is in a statement. 2. That the PFWA have a pool reporter inside the dome at all times. This would be just like we do at the Super Bowl practices. The reporter would be allowed o­nly to watch and listen and would not be allowed to interview anyone. During this year's combine, it was announced inside the dome o­n the PA system that Andre Smith had gone AWOL. We know this because the NFL Network story o­n Smith led with this detail. The competition committee has to approve us getting a reporter inside the dome, so those of you in cities with a competition committee member, please push for this with your coach or GM.

MEETING IN CALIFORNIA
For those of you going to the owners meetings in Dana Point, Calif., later this month, our meeting tentatively is planned for Tuesday, March 24 after the AFC coaches' breakfast.

2009 PFWA AWARDS
A reminder to please submit nominees for our annual awards. Nominations are due ASAP, please. Immediately thereafter, we will open voting and send an email with the five nominees in each category. Voting will close April 20. To optimize exposure for our awards, winners will be announced o­n the morning of the draft.

The award representatives below are taking nominations ASAP via email:
Horrigan -- Bob Glauber (bobglauber18@gmail.com)
Good Guy - Jeff Legwold (legwold@hotmail.com)
Rozelle -- John McClain (john.mcclain@chron.com)
Halas -- Mark Gaughan (gggaughan@hotmail.com)
McCann - Tim Graham (timgraham4@gmail.com)

JEFF LEGWOLD'S NOTE
As you might have noticed, Jeff Legwold's email has changed since the last newsletter. Sadly, the Rocky Mountain News has folded. Jeff sent along a note for everyone:

Folks,

E.W. Scripps poo-bahs walked in our newsroom Thursday (Feb. 26) at noon and said Friday would be the last edition of the Rocky Mountain News. I'll leave to you the wisdom of closing a paper that was Colorado's oldest, that won four Pulitzers in the last nine years and was named an APSE top 10 section three days before we closed, but ... We all had to turn in our stuff Friday, including cell, computer, credit cards, etc ... and our ID cards to get in the building were deactivated the same day.

So I was in a communications blackout for a few days.

So, I just wanted to thank o­ne and all for the emails, calls and kind words. I have not been able to get back to everyone in a timely fashion -- I had no computer for a few days until a Best Buy trip -- and for that I apologize.

My cell number will remain the same -- 303-881-9012 -- but won't get the phone until Tuesday or Wednesday after filling out many forms and wrapping myself into a red tape mummy to go from a corporate account to a personal o­ne and keep the number.

My email for the near future will be legwold@hotmail.com.

Thanks to all,
Legwold

PFWA RELIEF FUND UPDATE
Just a reminder that we are accepting donations to our newly established emergency relief fund. Please make checks payable to the PFWA and send them to Mike Sando at 16908 13th Ave. CT E, Spanaway, WA 98387. His email is mikejsando@gmail.com. As you probably know, Brian Allee-Walsh of the New Orleans Times-Picayune was instrumental in starting this fund for us last fall. It is designed to help members affected by natural disasters.

PRAISE WORTHY
I received several emails praising the Packers and the Jets for how they handled Brett Favre's retirement. The Rams also have received praise this off-season. … Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal sent along the award winners for the Browns as voted o­n by the beat writers: Nose tackle Shaun Rogers was the unanimous choice for player of the year, and cornerback Brandon McDonald won the Dino Lucarelli Good Guy Award. Marla said of the Good Guy Award: "This was an extremely close vote, and McDonald came o­n strong at the end of the year to beat out two year-long favorites. McDonald became the youngest (in terms of NFL years of service) to receive this award." Congratulations Brandon, and thank you! … Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Daily News sent along this note after the Super Bowl: "I just wanted to give a shout-out to the league's Leslie Hammond and the Eagles' Derek Boyko for all the assistance they gave the Allentown Call's Larry O'Rourke at the Super Bowl in Tampa. Larry, as you know, is battling ALS and has a tough time getting around. But Leslie and Derek came up big for him. They provided a special van for him to get to all of the interview sessions during the week and to the game o­n Sunday. They had a golf cart for him to get up and down the ramps at the stadium. They put him in the top row of the main press box, so that he wouldn't have to go up and down steps. Anything he needed, they provided." Thanks Leslie and Derek.

I got two notes promoting candidates for our awards. The New Orleans writers are pushing Deuce McAllister for the Good Guy Award. This is part of Sheldon Mickles' email: "Extremely fan-friendly and community-minded to start with (he gives freely of his time and money to underprivileged youngsters in the New Orleans and Jackson, Miss., areas through his Catch 22 Foundation), McAllister has always been respectful of reporters and never turns down an interview request. He gives out his cell number and usually returns our calls (even during the off-season). His answers are usually thought provoking -- and useful. While he's serious about his media obligations, he can be witty and funny as well with a joke and a wry smile. And, he's never been o­ne of those star players who talk o­nly o­nce a week in the regular season; he's available every day." Mike Triplett of the Times-Picayune added that in 2007 McAllister had agreed to do a weekly segment for a New Orleans TV station when he blew out his knee, but "rather than miss out o­n his obligation, he invited the TV guys to Birmingham, Ala., with him to get a close-up look at his surgery and the process. What a class act." Mike adds that McAllister during a tough year that included the StarCaps suspension controversy, a return from two knee surgeries, a reduced role in the offense and an inevitable release from the team following the season.

I got a similar plug for Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner as Mike Sando said, "The Cardinals held their final open locker room two days after Super Bowl XLIII. Warner spoke in the locker room beginning at 9:50, o­nly to be summoned to a team meeting at 10. After the meeting, he dropped by the media room to apologize for cutting short the locker-room session. He asked if anyone had additional questions. Typical Warner. He never turns down weekly conference calls with media covering opposing teams. He'll do 12 to 14 in a season, missing o­nly when reporters request another Cardinals player. When named to the Pro Bowl o­n a Tuesday, which was the players' day off, Warner participated in a media conference call from the community event he was attending." It sounds like we have some good candidates.

BEST WISHES TO DAVE
Veteran AP football writer Dave Goldberg had triple bypass surgery Wednesday (March 4), and seems to be doing fine after the six-hour procedure, according to AP football writer Barry Wilner. Barry writes: "Dave is in a room at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y., and sounds like, well, Dave. Just spoke to him o­n his cell in his room and they already have him doing some exercises. He'll take calls if he is not doing rehab or sleeping. His cell is 917-371-9701 and the hospital number is 914-493-7000."

THIS AND THAT
Congratulations to Tony Wyllie, VP of communications for the Texans, and his wife o­n the birth of their daughter, Toni Simone. She was born Jan. 27 at 10:38 a.m. and weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces. … Condolences to the family of Joe Goldstein. The legendary sports publicist died in Boca Raton, Fla., in February. He was 81. We are going to miss him. He attended the past three PFWA dinners, including the o­ne a few days before his death. As Alex Marvez said of Joe, "He was a giant in our business. He was a tremendous help and source of knowledge for writers." … Rick Smith, the Rams' veteran Vice President/Public Relations, will be retiring after the NFL Draft next month. Smith had a 28-year career in the league, guiding Rams public and media relations for 14 seasons. He will officially conclude his duties o­n April 27. We are going to miss you, Rick. The Rams have hired Ted Crews of the Falcons top replace him … Amy Palcic has left the Browns' PR department. She sent a nice email that said in part, "It is with a heavy heart I tell you I'm leaving the Browns after 10 years. I started here four days after I graduated college, and I'm proud to say that while I was here, I accomplished o­ne of my life's goals to become o­ne of the o­nly female PR directors in the NFL. I am grateful to the Browns for the opportunity."

A REQUEST FROM A MEMBER
Randy Setterberg of Gridiron Goose's NFL Update is asking PFWA members for monetary help for an 18-month-old named Abigail who is fighting leukemia: "She hails from Jefferson, Ga. Abby suffered from what appeared to be the common cold last October; the examining physician initially treated the child for a sinus infection, but when the antibiotics didn't improve her condition, Abby was admitted to an emergency room. Results from a subsequent blood test revealed a parent's worst nightmare: Abigail was stricken with leukemia. The child was immediately transferred to Egleston's Children's Hospital where a cancer team was waiting. The family was admitted into the Pediatric ICU where they remained for a week; little Abby was placed o­n a breathing machine during chemotherapy in an attempt to clear her lungs of the leukemia. The duration of the family's first stay lasted 28 days, and Abigail has since returned for two more concentrated sessions of chemo. Due to the intensity of her treatments, a bone marrow transplant is necessary and the procedure is scheduled for the end of February. Abigail has Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a rare form of cancer that affects just o­ne of out of every 200,000 children diagnosed with leukemia. The survival rate for AML patients is roughly 50 percent. Her big sister Emma is a perfect match for a bone marrow transplant. A successful transplant increases little Abby's odds of survival to approximately 70 percent. As you can imagine, the costs associated with this procedure are astronomical. Abigail's parents, Jade and Holly Pethel, treat every day as a new opportunity to improve the life of their family but are often overwhelmed with the enormity of the challenge.

Through hard work and persistence, many of my dreams have been realized. I find it difficult to comprehend how a little girl's future could possibly be taken away before her journey has even begun." A trust has been established to help with expenses and explicitly states that all monetary contributions not directly used to further Abigail's treatment will be donated to the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Childhood Cancer Research. Send donations to "Jade Pethel Trust," c/o Sun Trust Bank, Mail Code: GA-Gaines-8515, PO Box 4418, Atlanta, GA 30302-9909. Attn: Brandy Browning.

Charean Williams
PFWA President