5-at-10: Peterson exempted, Nats clinch, college football rewind/lookahead, best fictional coaches

Gang, remember the mailbag.

From the "Talks too much" studios, be the ball Danny.

photo Adrian Peterson

Flippity-flop

Adrian Peterson has been placed on the exempt list, meaning the star running back will be out of football-related activities until all the legal issues after he was indicted on charges of "reckless or negligent injury to a child" are resolved.

The Vikings decision is the latest turn in the story, which came to light last Friday night. Petereson was deactivated for last Sunday's game. He was then re-instated by the Vikings in arguably the worst news conference in profession sports. And then, a few minutes before 2 a.m. this morning, Vikings ownership released this statement:

We are always focused on trying to make the right decision as an organization. We embrace our role - and the responsibilities that go with it - as a leader in the community, as a business partner and as an organization that can build bridges with our fans and positively impact this great region. We appreciate and value the input we have received from our fans, our partners and the community.

While we were trying to make a balanced decision yesterday, after further reflection we have concluded that this resolution is best for the Vikings and for Adrian. We want to be clear: we have a strong stance regarding the protection and welfare of children, and we want to be sure we get this right. At the same time we want to express our support for Adrian and acknowledge his seven-plus years of outstanding commitment to this organization and this community. Adrian emphasized his desire to avoid further distraction to his teammates and coaches while focusing on his current situation; this resolution accomplishes these objectives as well.

We will support Adrian during this legal and personal process, but we firmly believe and realize this is the right decision. We hope that all of our fans can respect the process that we have gone through to reach this final decision. - Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf

We actually agree with sitting Peterson until the legal charges are resolved. He has been indicted - which means a grand jury in Texas believes there is enough evidence to press charges, and if you have seen the photos, you would concur - so his due process has begun.

It's hard to image a situation managed much worse.

The timeline is a crazy PR nightmare. Plus, this comes in the wake of the domestic violence against women charges and claims against three other NFL players, and each scenario has been handled completely differently.

This latest image implosion by the Vikings screams two things:

1) The NFL - Roger the Dodger Goodell, the owners, the players, et al. - need to get together today and come up with a plan. A guideline to treat domestic violence and the plan for punishment and enforcement. As we said on Press Row on Tuesday, whether it takes 45 minutes or 45 days, this has to be job No. 1 in the league office, and Goodell can't handle it, then this becomes job No. 2, and job No. 1 becomes finding a new commissioner.

photo Ray Rice holds hands with his wife, Janay Palmer, in Mays Landing, N.J., in this May 1, 2014, file photo.

2) As bad as the NFL has looked the past month starting with the release of the Ray Rice elevator video, is it possible to handle things worse than the Wilf ownership group has in Minnesota? Consider that in the last two days, the Wilfs gutlessly sent their coach and GM to face the media about Monday's announcement that Peterson would be reinstated this week. It was a farce and in truth it jumpstarted this latest turn. Not only did Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton call for the Vikings to suspend Peterson, Raddison Hotels, who are prominently mentioned on the backdrop behind the Vikings press conference podium pulled its sponsorship dollars. Nike then followed with pulling Peterson gear off its shelves. And once the financial pressure, the Wilfs caved quickly. And to complete the entire 40 hour metamorphosis from gutless to completely amoeba, the Wilfs issue the above statement at 2 a.m. Is Barney Fife the head of Vikings P.R.?

Unreal.

And yes, we believe the current outcome for Peterson is the proper call and making the right call late is better than never making the right call.

But the complete lack of leadership across all levels of the hierarchy of the NFL is staggering. What is this, the Federal government for crying out loud?

(And yes, we believe this will come up on Press Row today from 3-6 p.m. on ESPN Radio and here on timesfreepress.com.)

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Nationals clinch

photo Washington Nationals Ian Desmond (20) is greeted at home plate by teammate Jayson Werth (28) as Atlanta Braves catcher Christian Bethancourt, right, looks on after Desmond's two-run homer during the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014, in Atlanta.

The Washington Nationals have clinched the NL East with another kick into the lifeless body of the Atlanta Braves, who are now 75-76, which is the first time this season since losing the season opener they have been under .500.

Mr. Roark (Da Plane, Da Plane) allowed five hits in seven shutout innings against an Atlanta offense that has completely collapsed. How's this for a staggering stat: The Braves failed to draw a walk Tuesday.

In losing eight of their last nine games to fall from wildcard pretender to all-but finishing out the drill, the Braves have scored 17 runs.

Good night John Boy, and turn off the coffee.

Wildcard standings (with the caveat that the folks at Baseball Prospectus have calculated the Braves have a 0.01 percent chance to make the playoffs... so you're saying there's a chance.)

San Francisco (83-68)

Pittsburgh (80-70)

Milwaukee (79-72) - 1.5 back

Atlanta (75-76) - 5.5 back

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College football items of interest

There are two items we want to cover from the college football realm.

The first is light-hearted; the second is all about excitement.

World meet Booker Mays. Booker, this is the world. Mays, a reserve Arkansas State receiver, will forever be known as the fainting goat after last week's botched fake punt in which Mays pretends to pass out during the play.

Hey, amid the litany of frown-tastic junk in the sports world right now, we thought this was worth mentioning.

As for the excitement, we are stoked to see what the Auburn Tigers do on Prime Time Thursday night football.

We believe this will be a fast and fun show. Good times.

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This and that

(hidden story lines that would be bigger deals if the Adrian Peterson thing wasn't happening)

- A grand jury will review the evidence and facts and decide whether to press charges against Tony Stewart in the on-track death of Kevin Ward Jr. "I look forward to this process being completed, and I will continue to provide my full cooperation,"Stewart told reporters. From the way outside looking in, we'd be stunned if Stewart was charged.

photo NASCAR auto racing driver Tony Stewart reads a statement during a news conference at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., on Aug. 29, 2014.

- The NFL players union has filed an appeal on Ray Rice's behalf, and as bad as the video of Rice knocking out his fiancee is, Rice actually has a pretty good case. In a million years, we are not backing Rice or his actions, but Goodell's butchering and knee-jerk reaction give Rice grounds for appeal. Rice was interviewed and, at least according to the Ravens, was pretty forthright about what happened that February night. He was then suspended for two games by Goodell, who caught a firestorm of negative publicity for a far-too-lenient punishment. Goodell changed his stance, laying out a policy that domestic assault would be a six-game suspension for the first offense and a life-time ban for the second. He did not retroactive that to Rice. Then the video hit and Rice gets an indefinite suspension. Remind us again, which one of the Three Stooges will play Goodell in the TV movie of this fiasco?

- The Atlanta Hawks are being sold because of some racially questionable language used by the chief owner and later by GM Danny Ferry. Somewhere Donald Sterling just broke something considering how little play the Hawks are getting by comparison.

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Today's question

Kyle Chandler turns 49 today. Phil Jackson turns 69 today. That screams coach Rushmore, right?

We'll give you the option:

Rushmore of best professional coaches of the last 25 years (and after close review the committee decided that University of Alabama football is technically not a professional franchise).

Or, in honor of Kyle Chandler, who played Coach Eric Taylor in the TV version of "Friday Nigh Lights" let's go with the best fictional sports coaches in TV or movies of the last 30 years.

Coach Taylor is far left, edging Norman Dale, because of Coach Dale's previous indiscretions and his slow start at Hickory.

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