Tonight on the FRO Weekly we had the honor of Visiting with two Great Guests!

English: Franco Harris, Running back, Pittsburgh Steelers (1972-1983) and Seattle Seahawks (1984) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

First Legendary Steeler great Franco Harris joined us In a Pre Recorded session from early today, Then Sports Lawyer/Player Agent John Phillips joined us to discuss the Issues facing the NFL’s Players and retired players today!

Listen Here(follow this link):Listen to my new episode Football Reporters Online weekly at http://tobtr.com/s/3212675. #BlogTalkRadio

By Dr. Bill Chachkes & David Levy-Football Reporters Online

Wilson sporting goods brought their “Factory” to the NFL Shop’s “pop up” store to NYC for NFL Draft week, and I have to say I was impressed at the dedication and workmanship of the folks who put the time into making each football. Yes folks, even though there are machines involved in the process, it’s still a “hand to hand” station to station process. I was also surprised to learn that each ball passes a quality control process that rivals many appliance and electronic companies. Our Fan experience reporter/videographer David Levy and I watched the entire process from start to finish(see video below) and after it passed over all the stations it gets a laser etchng process with the NFL teams‘ name that the ball will be shipped to(780 Balls for each team per season are made, not including special orders for each team. (See Photos of my sample)

“Giants” ball). we were also treated to a great Interview with Kevin Murphy, Wilson’s General Manager of American Football and Wilson’s PR staffer Molly Wallace. We Hope we have conveyed the work ethic and dedication that goes into creatiing each football.

To us, everyone who is is involved in producing footballs for Wilson is dedicated to their work. Those of us who are football fanatics are grateful that all this hard work goes into making a ball.

Click Here for video of our Interview wth the Production staff.

Click Here for the Interview with Kevin Murphy

Special thanks to our fan experience reporter David Levy for The Video

and to Sixto Gallgeo for the video editing.

By David Levy-Fan Experience Reporter-Football Reporters Online

Sunday night the Jets opened up their 2011 season with a win over the Dallas Cowboys.  In typical fashion, they come back from losing to pull it out for a W in the win column.  For some odd reason, they seem to play better when the game are close.  Knowing they are close to losing seems to light a fire under them that should have been there before the game.

Maybe the fire was lit before the game.  Since last week.  When they went to Ground Zero, surprise the workers and other staff to see the site firsthand.  Sometimes one gets the biggest motivation from a bigger tragedy.  Playing for a city, families, and those who were lost can definitely motivate anyone to perform at their best.

Besides the game and the memorial before the game, fans showed respect their own way.  Flying American flags, wearing 9/11 remembrance gear, wearing anything to represent those social services who responded that fateful day, flying other flags, and anything else they could do to show their patriotism on a day remembered by all.  Many songs blared from Bruce Springsteen‘s “Born In The USA” to “Empire State Of Mind” by Jay Z.  No matter where you went, fans showed pride in their own way.

Read the rest of this entry →

To NFL Fans:

This may be the first week of the regular season, but it has the feel of a Super Bowl week for the NFL. One of the reasons is that we will unite with the rest of the nation on Sunday to reflect on the anniversary of 9/11 and honor the spirit of America.

All of us in the NFL appreciate your patience and understanding through what was a most unusual and challenging off-season. Now we are ready to enjoy what the NFL is all about — great players, great fans, intense competition, the performance and passion surrounding America’s most popular game.

Thanks to the hard work of our players, club owners, teams, and staff, the NFL’s pledge to deliver great football to our fans has been strengthened and is more secure than ever. We start the regular season and the race to Super Bowl XLVI with tremendous anticipation and momentum.

We want you most of all to sit back and enjoy it – in our stadiums, on television, and wherever else you connect with the NFL. Football fans enjoying football is what we love.

Be assured, however, that we believe in better. Players, owners, coaches, team and league staff – working together — will be putting our collective foot on the accelerator. We have more work to do to improve our league and game on a variety of fronts. We will do that by continuing to focus on the quality of the game and innovation. And we will do it relentlessly.

On behalf of everyone in the NFL, thank you for your incredible support, and thank you especially for sharing your views with us. Please keep it coming. We value your opinion because it helps make us better. The passion of our fans and communities is what makes the NFL so special.

Thank you again. Let’s get it started.

Roger Goodell

Don’t forget tonight on Football Reporters Online Weekly: Former Minn. Viking Great and Retired Players assoc. President CARL ELLER returns to the show up update us on the Lawsuit vs. the NFL…Plus, A special “serviceman’s letter of the week” segment, “Are you kidding me?” and Open lines in the last 30 mins. Listen at: www.Blogtalkradio.com-Football-Reporters

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

From Pr Newswire…

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

NFL Football Star, Ndamukong Suh, Seeks to Prevent Head Injuries With Endorsement of New Sports Safety Product

Battle Sports Science Launches the New, Revolutionary Impact Indicator

OMAHA, Neb., June 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Last season, Detroit Lions football player, Ndamukong Suh, registered 10 sacks, the most by any NFL Defensive Tackle, 66 tackles, 1 interception and 1 forced fumble – all miraculously without head injuries. This upcoming football season, Suh will be the first NFL football player to take another precautionary step to protect athletes from head injuries by endorsing the new revolutionary Impact Indicator by Battle Sports Science.

The Impact Indicator is designed to measure the G-force and duration of hits sustained by an athlete’s head during play. It uses highly sophisticated technology and proprietary software, embedded in a helmet chinstrap, to signal the possibility of a head injury. This revolutionary new product will alert referees, players and coaches to get a player off the field for a medical assessment – maximizing treatment, recovery and possibly preventing subsequent brain injury. In 2011, there will be limited availability of the Impact Indicator and only select sporting goods retailers will carry the product.

Suh, a rookie defensive tackle for the NFL’s Detroit Lions, was the number two overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft and the first defensive player to win the 2010 NFL Rookie of the Year award. Following an award-winning college football career, where he was recognized as one of the most decorated defensive players in the history of the sport, he became the first defensive player ever to win the Associated Press College Player of the Year Award, in addition to being a Heisman Trophy finalist and winning multiple other awards.

“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Ndamukong Suh and have him be the first NFL player during the 2011 football season to align with the Impact Indicator,” said Chris Circo, CEO of Battle Sports Science. “With the Impact Indicator, Suh is becoming a pioneer in professional football by helping others understand the dangers and importance of early detection for a possible head injury in a player through the use of advanced sports technology.”

About Ndamukong Suh

Ndamukong Suh is a defensive tackle for the NFL’s Detroit Lions. He played college football at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where as a senior, he became one of the most decorated defensive players in college football history winning accolades for his team, conference and on the national level. In 2009, Suh became the first defensive player ever to win the Associated Press College Player of the Year Award, in addition to being a Heisman Trophy finalist and winning multiple other awards including the Outland Trophy, the Lombardi Award, the Bronko Nagurski Award and the Chuck Bednarik Award. Additionally, Suh was named to the NFL’s All-Pro Team and voted to be a Pro-Bowl Starter; a feat never accomplished by a rookie defensive player in NFL history.

About Battle Sports Science

Based in Omaha, Nebraska, and founded in 2009, Battle Sports Science focuses on enhancing safety for athletes. The company is dedicated to sports safety; producing products through science, research, innovation and development, and bringing them to market. Additional sports safety products produced by Battle Sports Science include the Battle Shield, DMask, 100MPH Helmet and select TapoutPro products. For more information go to www.battlesportsscience.com.