NFL ROUNDUP \ News and notes

League meetings: Replay is here to stay in the NFL. Or at least as permanently as any rule can be in pro football. League owners voted 30-2 on Tuesday to make the video replay system a permanent officiating tool. All but three stadiums will be equipped with high-definition equipment and will be recabled before the upcoming season, at a cost of as much as 300,000 per club. The stadiums being replaced in Irving, Texas, Indianapolis and East Rutherford, N.J., will not get the updates. "It's a long time coming," said Atlanta Falcons general manager Rich McKay, co-chairman of the competition committee that recommended the change. "It made sense to us this year to do it. Instant replay is an accepted part of the game. It's what we are. There was not really much discussion about it." Cincinnati and Arizona voted against the proposal, as they nearly always do on replay issues. The owners also voted unanimously to allow a second interviewing window for assistant coaches on Super Bowl teams who are in the running for other head coaching jobs. Previously, only during the week after the season ended could an interview be conducted. The coach's current team would have to grant permission for the second interview, which would take place during the bye week after the conference title games. "We wanted to make sure that coaches on Super Bowl teams didn't feel it was a disadvantage," McKay said. One proposal was defeated. Defenses will not be allowed to have a coach-to-player communications device similar to what quarterbacks use. McKay said owners and coaches were concerned about who would be allowed to wear the device with defenses using multiple formations, and the possibility that more than one player could wind up on the field with such a device. San Francisco withdrew its proposal to make defensive pass interference either a 15-yard penalty or a spot foul, depending on the severity of the infraction. McKay was not optimistic that the recommendation to move the kickoff for overtime from the 30-yard line to the 35 would pass Wednesday. He said some people were concerned about the effect on the return game, and that a group of owners would favor a mandatory two-possession overtime in which each team gets the ball once. That has not been proposed, however. Nor has any system similar to the college overtimes, or a continuation of the game from where it ended after four quarters. The owners also will vote on Tampa Bay's proposal to use instant replay for all penalties except holding; increasing the number of players suited up for games from 45 to 47; and instituting 5-yard penalties for players who spike the ball on the field of play. Spikes in the end zone after scores would be allowed.
Titans: Adam "Pacman" Jones will meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on April 3 to discuss the Tennessee Titans cornerback's run-ins with the law. A person within the league familiar with Jones' situation said a hearing will occur next Tuesday. Goodell is unlikely to make any decision on a suspension or fine at that time, because the commissioner's new, stricter player conduct policy has not been completed. The NFL confirmed last month that officials were reviewing Jones' off-field conduct, which has included 10 incidents where he was interviewed by police. Also Tuesday, a Tennessee prosecutor monitoring the investigation of a triple shooting at a Las Vegas strip club said he will revive a criminal case against Jones if the Titans cornerback is charged in Nevada.
Meadowlands stadium: The owners voted to allow the New York Giants and Jets to borrow 650 million each for construction of the new stadium they will share in the Jersey Meadowlands. That project is expected to cost 1.6 billion, with the venue opening in 2010. The NFL normally caps debt at 150 million per team, but waived that limit for the Giants and Jets by a 31-1 margin. The teams are partners in the project, with no state money involved. Asked whether personal seat licenses would be used to finance the stadium, Giants co-owner Steve Tisch said "it's open for discussion."
Associated Press
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