Dies & Das » last year when Scott and Angel Cabr

MINNEAPOLIS - Adrian Petersons appeal was stopped for no gain, when the NFLs unpaid suspension of the star running back was stayed until next spring.Peterson wont be considered for reinstatement before April 15, and by then he might not be with the Minnesota Vikings anymore. Hell likely be the plaintiff in a lawsuit against the league, though.Harold Henderson, the league-appointed arbitrator who heard Petersons appeal, released Friday his decision affirming the Nov. 18 punishment levied by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for the child-abuse case that kept Peterson out of all but one game this season. Hed been on paid leave, even during the appeal, but Hendersons ruling translated to a fine of more than $4.1 million. Thats the six-game portion of his salary this year.The NFL Players Association argued that Petersons time on the exempt list, at Goodells sole discretion, should have counted as time served toward a suspension. Thats one of the many grievances the union will likely raise in court. The rift between the league and the NFLPA over the fairness of the disciplinary process has widened this season while the cases of Peterson and former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice played out.According to a person with direct knowledge of the situation, a complaint will be filed against the NFL on Petersons behalf in federal court in Minnesota as early as Monday. The person spoke Friday to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the lawsuit had not yet been finalized.Nothing is final about Petersons status with the Vikings, either, and coaches and players have said often this year theyd welcome him back. But in an interview Friday with ESPN.com, Peterson said hes been so frustrated by this process with the NFL that hes considered retiring. Focusing on real estate instead and even trying out as an Olympic sprinter in the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes have entered his mind as options, he said.You only live once. It might be time for me to pursue that, Peterson told ESPN.com.In an ironic twist, Peterson probably wouldnt have been punished as much had the public backlash to the initial leniency for Rice not been so severe. Now Rice is reinstated and Peterson remains suspended, though Rice doesnt have a team.Peterson could find himself a free agent next spring, too. The combination of his age and his contract was already going to make the Vikings think hard about his status, before the heat the organization took for initially announcing hed continue to play while he went through his due process in court.The six-time Pro Bowl pick, three-time AP All-Pro and two-time NFL rushing leader has a contract that runs through 2017, with a salary for 2015 at $12.75 million. Thats not guaranteed like the other major sports, though, and the Vikings could release him before next season and owe him nothing, taking only a $2.4 million hit on their salary cap.Hendersons announcement was a decisive victory for Goodell, whose indefinite suspension of Rice was overruled last month by a different arbitrator. Rice was caught on camera punching the woman whos now his wife but was initially given only a two-game ban. The video went viral, and Goodell toughened the punishment.The unions grievance for Peterson was similar, arguing essentially that Goodell was making up protocol for discipline as he went along. But Henderson forcefully wrote that he saw no bounds being overstepped by the league boss.Goodell announced in August a stiffer penalty for players involved with domestic violence. The union argued that Peterson, who was charged with felony child abuse in September for use a wooden switch to discipline his 4-year-old son in May, should be subject to the prior guidelines. Henderson said that argument didnt matter.The Commissioner has broad discretion to impose appropriate discipline for violations of the personal conduct policy, and his recent pronouncements simply reflect his current thinking on domestic violence and other incidents involving physical force, Henderson wrote.The NFLPA called Hendersons objectivity into question.The decision itself ignores the facts, the evidence and the collective bargaining agreement, the union said in a statement. This decision also represents the NFLs repeated failure to adhere to due process and confirms its inconsistent treatment of players.The Vikings initially announced Peterson would stay on the active roster after the first game he missed following the indictment, but they reversed course less than two days later following intense public pressure and placed him on the exempt list at Goodells approval. Thats like paid leave, which the union argued counted as discipline and therefore contributed to an overreaching punishment. Henderson dismissed that argument, too.Peterson pleaded no contest to misdemeanour reckless assault in Texas Nov. 4 for probation time, community service and a small fine. He acknowledged physically disciplining the boy as he had been as a youth, but he said he meant no harm and was sorry for the trouble he caused.I love my son more than any of you can imagine, he said outside the courthouse that day.Still, Henderson sided with Goodell in his written reprimand of Petersons purported lack of remorse.While the discipline assessed is indeed greater than in most prior cases, this is arguably one of the most egregious cases of domestic violence in this Commissioners tenure — the severe beating of a 4-year old child, with a tree branch, striking him repeatedly about the body and inflicting injuries visible days later, Henderson said.___AP NFL websites: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Air Jordan 12 Online Australia . The White Sox said Wednesday they acquired left-handed pitching prospect Sean Bierman and infielder Ben Kline, who both played at Class A this season. The White Sox dealt Crain to Tampa Bay on July 29. Cheap Air Jordan 12 Australia .ca presents a week long look at some of the teams and stories that will shape the up coming campaign. http://www.cheapairjordan12australia.com/.C. - Blair Jones scored the eventual winner in the third period as the Abbotsford Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Oil Barons 3-2 in American Hockey League action on Friday. Wholesale Jordan Retro 12 . -- Another baseball tradition is about to largely disappear: a manager, with a crazed look in his eyes, charging the field and getting into a face-to-face shouting match with an umpire. Jordan 12 Cheap For Sale . Venable and Jeremy Hermida drove in three runs apiece, and the Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 7-2 on Sunday to snap a nine-game losing streak.AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The first full day at the Masters turned out to be a short one Monday. Augusta National was open for only two hours because of storms, still enough time for a few players to see some of the changes to the golf course -- even though this was supposed to be a year with really no change at all. The ice storm in February that led to the demise of the famous Eisenhower Tree also cost the club countless other trees, giving Augusta a slightly different look. Instead of a forest of Georgia pines, players can see from the 10th fairway all the way across to the 15th fairway. Players couldnt help but notice the number of trees missing from the right side of the narrow, claustrophobic seventh fairway. "You dont feel like youre going down a bowling alley as much," Brandt Snedeker said, his hair wet from wearing a visor in the rain. The club lost thousands of limbs that were damaged from the ice storm, so many that Jimmy Walker said he saw workers up in the trees with chain saws when he came to Augusta a few weeks ago for a practice round. "I havent played here a ton, so I kind of got the feeling you could see down through the golf course a little bit better than you used to be able," Walker said. "I dont know if thats a good thing or a bad thing." Some things never change. The course was starting to burst with colour. The greens already had a tinge of yellow to them. And there was a buzz about the Masters, even without Tiger Woods around for the first time in 20 years because of recent back surgery. Still, nothing stood out quite like the 17th hole. Masters champion Adam Scott always assumed the 440-yard par 4 was a dogleg left because of the 65-foot high loblolly pine that jutted out from the left side about 220 yards from the tee, forcing shots to the right except for the big hitters who could take it over the tree. Mike Weir is not one of the big hitters, so when asked how he found the 17th hole on Monday, the Canadian smiled. "Much friendlier," he said. "I was playing with Jason Day. For him, it doesnt matter. He hits it high and long enough. For me, I had to hit around it. It was probably the toughest drive on the course. Now, its much easier." It was amazing to him to walk up the fairway and see a patch of pine straw where the tree once stood so proud and tall. Weir and several other players assumed that Augusta National would have another pine placed their before the Masters.dddddddddddd Maybe next year. But not this week. The tree was such a treasure -- named after former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a club member who hit into the tree far too often -- that it was taken off site for storage. The club will determine later what do with the trunk and what limbs remain. But what a difference it has made already. "If the tree was there, I would have hit it yesterday," said Patrick Reed, who arrived on the weekend and already got in two practice rounds. "It was cold. It was a little into the wind and I hit it down the left side. I knew exactly where the tree was, and I probably would have caught the top half of that tree and would have been underneath it." "First three times I played this course it was there, and it made that hole really hard." Snedeker played on Sunday with Masters rookie Harris English and said he pulled his tee shot on the 17th. Any other year, he would have hit the tree. "It was perfect," he said. "Its still not an easy tee shot. But its not as hard as it used to be." The rest of the course should be the same as usual. The Masters can set up the course any way it likes -- difficult for scoring, or birdies that make cheers reverberate. It has trended toward excitement over the last several years, such as when Charl Schwartzel won with four straight birdies at the end, or even last year when Scott and Angel Cabrera in the last two groups each made birdie on the 18th to force a playoff. The biggest change is likely to be the guy in a red shirt. Woods won his fourth green jacket in 2005, though he usually kept it interesting, and always kept fans guessing. His back surgery last week means the worlds No. 1 player will be out of golf until the summer, and out of the Masters for the first time in his career. "Without Tiger here, its a different feel," Snedeker said. "Its a different event. He does a great job of bringing energy and bringing fans out that we dont usually get." Those fans had to leave early on Monday. By lunch, the course was closed for good. Masters chairman Billy Payne said they would get a refund in May, and they were guaranteed a chance to get practice round tickets for next year. Woods likely will be back by then. And odds are, there will be more trees. ' ' '