Hacked NFL Twitter falsely announces Goodell's death

[June 08, 2016]  The Sports Xchange
 
 The Twitter account of the NFL was hacked on Tuesday and a tweet was sent out to the masses saying NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had died.

The NFL quickly expressed that Goodell was alive. The league deleted the tweet and said that its account had been compromised.

The tweet said the following: "We regret to inform our fans that our commissioner, Roger Goodell, has passed away. He was 57. #RIP."

Goodell joked about the situation on Twitter later Tuesday afternoon.

"Man, you leave the office for 1 day of golf w/ @JimKelly1212 & your own network kills you off. #harsh," he tweeted.

--Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib might not have been the victim of violence when he suffered a gunshot wound in his lower right leg early Sunday.

ABC in Denver reported that Talib had told police that he was too intoxicated to remember who shot him in the early morning hours, all while telling those close to him that he actually shot himself. Coach Gary Kubiak sidestepped a question about Talib's gunshot being self-inflicted but said team doctors will examine the injuries in Denver. He was expected to fly from Dallas on Tuesday night to meet with doctors on Wednesday.

Talib missed the first day of the Broncos' mandatory minicamp on Tuesday. He's not expected to be back for any team workouts leading up to training camp in July.

--NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Smith became the least former player to report issues from head injuries when he revealed Monday that he suffers memory loss and deals with constant pain stemming from a playing career that lasted 19 seasons.

The 52-year-old Smith retired in 2003 after a stellar career that included four Super Bowl appearances with the Buffalo Bills. The defensive end finished his career with 200 career sacks, still the most in NFL history.

"I forget a lot of things sometimes," Smith told reporters while attending former teammate Jim Kelly's charity golf tournament in the Buffalo suburb of Batavia, N.Y.

The physical toll is also an issue for a player who played in 299 games -- 279 regular season, 20 postseason -- for the Bills (1985-99) and Washington Redskins (2000-03).

"I look good, but I'm in pain every day," the 11-time Prol Bowler said.

--The Atlanta Falcons bolstered both sides of the line of scrimmage, signing defensive end Nordly Capi and guard Michael Huey.

Capi, 23, had three sacks in four preseason games with the Jacksonville Jaguars last season before serving on the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad. Huey, 27, has played with the Seattle Seahawks, San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins during his NFL career before competing with Arizona in the Arena Football League.

The Falcons also waived defensive end Josh Dawson.

--Veteran safety Roman Harper has agreed to terms with the New Orleans Saints, returning to the franchise in which he won a Super Bowl title.

Harper, 33, spent the first eight seasons of his NFL with the Saints before playing the last two with the Carolina Panthers. Terms of the deal weren't immediately revealed. The transaction was announced on Twitter by SportsTrust Advisors, the firm that represents Harper.

Harper started all 32 regular-season games with the Panthers in his two seasons. He had a career-best four interceptions in 2014 but didn't have any last season.

--The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have every member of their 2016 draft class signed after kicker Roberto Aguayo became the last to join the group on Tuesday.

Aguayo, one of the team's two second-round picks, signed his rookie deal, the team announced. Although financial terms were not disclosed, the former Florida State standout is slotted for $4.05 million over four years, including a $1.15 million signing bonus, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The 6-foot-2, 251-pound Aguayo is the lone kicker on the roster after the Buccaneers cut Connor Barth and Patrick Murray.

At Florida State, Aguayo set an NCAA record for field goal accuracy, making 267 of 276 attempts for 96.73 percent, topping the previous mark of 96.67 percent set by Alex Henery at Nebraska.

--Quarterback Cardale Jones became the last of Buffalo's seven players selected in the 2016 NFL Draft to sign with the Bills on Tuesday.

The team did not release financial details of Jones' rookie deal, which he signed after the Bills' organized team activities.

The 6-foot-5, 253-pound Jones was selected in the fourth round out of Ohio State, which he led to the 2015 College Football Playoff championship and finished 11-0 as a starter in limited action. In parts of two seasons, Jones passed for 2,323 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

--Offensive lineman Shon Coleman is now among 11 of Cleveland's 14 draft picks to sign with the Browns.

The Browns announced the 6-foot-7, 310-pound Coleman is officially a member of the team. He was selected in the third round (No. 76 overall) of this year's draft.

Coleman received second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors after the 2015 season while at Auburn. Diagnosed with leukemia in 2010, Coleman returned to football on a limited basis in 2012 and played his first college game in 2013.

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