NFL owners approve 17-game regular season, 3 preseason games
The NFL is increasing the regular season to 17 games, as expected, and reducing the preseason to three games. Team owners on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, approved the 17th game, marking the first time in 33 years the regular season has been increased. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)The NFL is increasing the regular season to 17 games and planning to have full stadiums for those games. Team owners at a virtual meeting on Tuesday approved the 17th game as expected, marking the first time in 43 years the regular season has been increased. Each extra NFL game will be an interconference matchup based on where teams finished in the previous season.
No basement blues: Goodell on hand for draft in Cleveland
Goodell will announce the names of this year's rookie draft class within shouting distance of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)CLEVELAND โ Roger Goodell's leaving his man cave for this year's NFL draft. Itโs about fans having hope with new players, clubs having hope," said O'Reilly, Vice President, Club Business & League Events. "The general message is that certainly we want to welcome fans, not only from Cleveland but outside as well,โ O'Reilly said. While it might not be the full-blown draft Cleveland was hoping to host when it was awarded the annual event, it's better than not having one.
Ex-Washington employees ask NFL to release report findings
Owner Dan Snyder hired lawyer Beth Wilkinson to conduct an independent investigation in July after several female former employees made allegations of workplace sexual harassment. The NFL in July took over control of the investigation. โThere must be accountability for the actions we believe are detailed in this report,โ the employees wrote in their letter to Goodell. AdSeventeen former employees signed the letter to Goodell by name and three others anonymously. โFor its own credibility, it is crucial that the NFL release the investigative report, while also protecting from disclosure any witnesses who requested confidentiality.
Woof, woof: Rebel Wilson goes to the dogs in reality show
FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, file photo, Rebel Wilson poses on the red carpet during the NFL Honors football awards show, in Los Angeles. Wilson returns to her roots as host of ABC's Pooch Perfect, an eight-episode series featuring 10 dog groomers and their assistants competing in challenges. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)LOS ANGELES โ Rebel Wilson is going to the dogs. As a child, Wilson traveled in her familyโs yellow van to shows and sold grooming products despite being allergic to dogs. โMy mom was devastated when I chose not to continue the family legacy,โ Wilson said in a virtual call with the Television Critics Association.
Goodell: NFL learnings from 2020 technology here to stay
Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league has found new avenues of communication that will be common in future seasons. โVirtual meetings have now become standard in the NFL; we are not going to have as much (in-person) meetings when we get back,โ Goodell said Wednesday at the NFL Women's Careers in Football Forum. โThe draft is an exampleโ of the effectiveness of the technology the NFL used, Goodell noted. โOne of the things we talked about throughout the last year was how do we learn from what we are going through?โ Goodell said. It also gave us opportunities to find new ways of doing things that actually are quite popular.โAd___More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
The Latest: Peyton Manning gets Hall call
Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson, Jared Allen and Calvin Johnson are first-year eligible players to make the list of 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fames class of 2021. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)TAMPA, Fla. โ The Latest on the 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame class announced Saturday during the NFL Honors TV show (All times EST):___10:49 p.m.Peyton Manning is heading to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, an all-but-preordained honor for a quarterback who helped redefine offense in the 21st century. Manning spent his first 14 years in Indianapolis, where he won his first Super Bowl. ___10:08 p.m.Alan Faneca, the sturdy guard who spent years opening holes open for Jerome Bettis and protecting Ben Roethlisberger, is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. ___9:33 p.m.Calvin Johnson, the receiver better known as โMegatron,โ has been named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
The Latest: Washington's Smith is comeback player of 2020
The 36-year-old quarterback completed a remarkable comeback from a broken right leg that required 17 surgeries to repair. ___9:52 p.m.For turning around a moribund Cleveland franchise, overcoming injuries and COVID-19 concerns, Kevin Stefanski is The Associated Press 2020 NFL Coach of the Year. ___9:43 p.m.One of the well-earned spoils for Derrick Henryโs 2,000-yard rushing season is The Associated Press 2020 NFL Offensive Player of the Year honor. ___9:30 p.m.Aaron Donald has become such a dominant defensive tackle that heโs joined elite company in winning his third Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. The Los Angeles Ramsโ unanimous All-Pro added the 2020 top defensive player honor to his wins in 2017 and 2018.