The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN IN THE PROS time. Long looks fit and strong, he said, and former teammates who are now with the Falcons have vouched for him. Long was an All-Pro in 2010 and a four-time Pro Bowl selection with the Miami Dolphins. "It's been a very long road,'' Long said. ''I went through a lot of stuff. I'm excited to be back in a locker room, to feel healthy, to be around the guys and to be around football. "I feel good. I spent a long offsea- son getting strong again, getting the knee right. As long as I keep pro- gressing well, I'm excited about what I can do." JUDGE OVERTURNS TOM BRADY SUSPENSION Former Michigan quarterback Tom Brady has been freed for serving a four-game suspension on charges that he knowingly allowed footballs to be deflated in the AFC playoffs to make them easier to throw. Judge Richard Berman ended a hearing about the "deflategate" issue after only four minutes, and it took him only two more days to rule that a four-game suspension should be lifted before the season began. NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported that Brady was willing to accept a one-game suspension for failure to cooperate as part of a settlement, but the NFL said, "No." "The talks never got that far be- cause of the NFL's insistence that Brady admit some wrongdoing, which Brady wouldn't do," he wrote. Rapoport reported that the NFL was willing to move down to a two- game suspension. Berman's skepticism about the evidence when it was presented led many to believe he would rule in Brady's favor, which he did, though the NFL has filed an appeal. Experts say appeals will likely take months, meaning Brady would play until the decision is overturned, if ever. Herman, of Federal District Court in Manhattan, did not rule on whether Brady tampered with the footballs in a bid for competitive ad- vantage, but focused on the question of whether the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the players union gave NFL Commis- sioner Roger Goodell the authority to carry out the suspension. He ruled that it didn't. "The court finds that Brady had no notice that he could receive a four- game suspension for general aware- ness of ball deflation by others or participation in any scheme to de- flate footballs, and noncooperation with the ensuing investigation,'' Ber- man wrote. "No NFL policy or prec- edent notifies players that they may be disciplined (much less suspended) for general awareness of misconduct by others." DAVID MOLK LOST FOR THE SEASON Philadelphia backup center and former Michigan Rimington Award winner David Molk will miss the re- mainder of the season after playing just one game. Molk tore his right biceps muscle during a missed field