THE NFL IS adding game-day testing for performance-enhancing substances - but not recreational drugs - this year under the new collective bargaining agreement.
The league's senior vice president of law and labor policy, Adolpho Birch, said yesterday on a conference call with reporters that tests weren't conducted in the past on days there were games "because of logistical issues involved, much more so than any philosophical issues."
Birch, who oversees the NFL's drug program, added that the league had developed a way to test that "is not overly disruptive to the clubs and that respects the game-day process."
Birch would not say where talks between the NFL and the players union stand - or even if they've started - about details that need to be worked out before the league can introduce random, year-round blood testing for human growth hormone.
The NFL and union agreed last week that HGH testing can become part of the sport's drug program under the 10-year collective bargaining agreement that was ratified by players Thursday. But first issues such as the appeals process and how tests are taken have to be negotiated.
"The key to this testing is the randomness of it, and that every player is subject to and eligible for testing on a year-round basis, with no notice," Birch said.
The only limitation on the number of tests is that a player may be tested a maximum of six times each offseason, from February until the start of training camp.
Noteworthy * Former Miami running back Ricky Williams has passed his physical and is practicing with Baltimore. Williams agreed to terms on a 2-year deal Monday. He is expected to serve as the backup to running back Ray Rice. Coach John Harbaugh said he won't play Williams in the preseason opener tomorrow night in Philadelphia. * Linebacker Channing Crowder says he's retiring, less than 2 weeks after he was cut by Miami. Crowder, 27, said he tried out with New England but decided it was time to retire. Crowder was a starter since his rookie season but drew criticism for failing to make more big plays. * Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton will start Cincinnati's preseason opener Friday in Detroit. The Bengals took Dalton in the second round after Carson Palmer told the team he wouldn't be back. * The Los Angeles City Council approved a framework deal that would grant a private developer access to tax-free financing to help it build a $1.2 billion, 72,000-seat NFL stadium on the city's convention-center campus. * The headaches have finally subsided for Dallas receivers coach Jimmy Robinson, who is still recovering from being run over by a player at the start of training camp. Robinson, 58, was knocked unconscious and sustained a concussion during a punt-return drill July 30. * Tennessee have agreed to terms with safety Anthony Smith, who has played for Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Jacksonville and Green Bay. * A San Diego judge says a Kansas City Chiefs fan who was arrested at a Chiefs-Chargers game after flipping off the crowd was subject to the NFL code of conduct but did not commit any crime. Jason Ensign's attorney, Mary Frances Prevost, said that Superior Court Judge Gale Kaneshiro has granted her request to dismiss all charges against him. In her ruling, Kaneshiro says the gesture was an alleged violation of the NFL code but not a crime. Ensign was arrested in 2009 after private security guards forced him into a stadium tunnel and then applied pain techniques to keep him from resisting. City Attorney Jan Goldsmith charged Ensign with misdemeanor battery for punching and biting a security guard. Kaneshiro says no words justified their unlawful use of force. * Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco could be a lucky fan's houseguest until he finds a home in the Foxborough area. "I'm actually going to stay with a fan for the first 2, 3 weeks of the season," he said. "That should be fun, until I get myself acclimated and learn my way around." He hasn't picked out the fan, but there are a few qualifiers. "I'm not sure how it's going to work, but they have to have Internet and have to have Xbox," he said. "That's about it."