My favorite series on television returns for its fifth season. As always, I am pumped for the new slate of 30 for 30 films.

The opener, Playing for the Mob, looks like a can’t miss. Here is a link to the preview.

The official rundown:

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ESPN Films today revealed the films that will make up its fall 2014 30 for 30 slate. The series will return for a six-week runTuesday nights on ESPN beginning October 7, with one additional film in December. This October marks the fifth anniversary of 30 for 30’s launch in 2009.

The upcoming slate will kick off with “Playing for the Mob,” which delves into how mobster Henry Hill once helped orchestrate the fixing of Boston College basketball games. The film is narrated by actor Ray Liotta, who played Hill in the iconic movie “Goodfellas.” Other film topics include: the 1989 San Francisco earthquake shortly before Game 3 of the World Series; the rise, fall and maturation of former Oklahoma All-American linebacker Brian Bosworth; and the incredible story of Livan and Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, half-brothers who escaped Cuba separately and quickly made themselves into star pitchers in the major leagues. “Brothers in Exile” will premiere in Spanish on ESPN Deportes onSaturday, Nov. 1, at 9 p.m. ET.

Additionally, actor Michael Rapaport takes a look back at the championship teams of the New York Knicks in his film “When The Garden Was Eden,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this year; and “Rand University” will explore the enigma that is former NFL star Randy Moss by going back to where he came from – Rand, West Virginia.

“The U Part 2” will debut after the Heisman Trophy presentation in December, making it the first 30 for 30 sequel. “The U,” a chronicle of the rise of the University of Miami football program in the 1980s, was one of the first 30 for 30 films, and subsequently became ESPN’s most-watched documentary film in history up to that point. In “The U Part 2,” director Billy Corben picks up where his original film left off, with Miami trying to recover from the devastation left by NCAA sanctions and scandals.

“Even though we have been at this for five years now, there is no shortage of incredible moments from the world of sports, so that enables us to continue making 30 for 30 films we’re proud of,” says Connor Schell, vice president and executive producer of ESPN Films and Original Programming. “The new slate takes a look at events and people that may be familiar to viewers, but our intent is to provide a totally different perspective through the visions of our various filmmakers.”

The “Playing for the Mob” debut on October 7 will be immediately followed by a special premiere of a new 30 for 30 Shorttitled “The Great Trade Robbery,” directed by Stu Zicherman. Launching on Grantland the next day, this short film is a first-person account by Jimmy Johnson of arguably the most significant trade in NFL history—when the Dallas Cowboys built their Super Bowl dynasty 25 years ago by sending star running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings.

30 for 30 films will air on ESPN as follows (all times ET):

Tuesday, Oct.7, 9 p.m. – “Playing for the Mob”

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 10 p.m. – “The Day The Series Stopped”

Tuesday, Oct. 21, 9 p.m. – “When The Garden Was Eden”

Tuesday, Oct. 28, 9 p.m. – “Brian and The Boz”

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 9 p.m. – “Brothers in Exile”

Tuesday, Nov. 11, 8 p.m. – “Rand University”

Saturday, Dec. 13, 9 p.m. – “The U Part 2”

30 for 30 Film Summaries:

“Playing for the Mob,” directed by Joe Lavine & Cayman Grant (CLIP)

What happens when you combine “Goodfellas” with college basketball? You get “Playing for the Mob,” the story of how mobster Henry Hill — played by Ray Liotta in the 1990 Martin Scorsese classic — helped orchestrate the fixing of Boston College basketball games in the 1978-79 season. The details of that point-shaving scandal are revealed for the first time on film through the testimony of the players, the federal investigators and the actual fixers, including Hill, who died shortly after he was interviewed. “Playing for the Mob” may be set in the seemingly golden world of college basketball but, like “Goodfellas,” this is a tale of greed, betrayal and reckoning. Ultimately, they both share the same message: With that much money at stake, you can’t trust anybody.

“The Day The Series Stopped,” directed by Ryan Fleck

On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. PT, soon after Al Michaels and Tim McCarver started the ABC telecast for Game 3 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics, the ground began to shake beneath Candlestick Park. Even before that moment, this had promised to be a memorable match-up: the first in 33 years between teams from the same metropolitan area, a battle featuring larger-than-life characters and equally colorful fan bases. But after the 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake rolled through, bringing death and destruction, the Bay Area pulled together and baseball took a backseat. Through archival footage, previously untold stories from players, officials, San Francisco and Oakland citizens affected by the earthquake, and a scientific look back at what happened below the earth, “The Day The Series Stopped” will revisit that night 25 years ago. The record book shows that the A’s swept the Giants, but that’s become a footnote to the larger story of the 1989 World Series.

“When The Garden Was Eden,” directed by Michael Rapaport

In the early 1970s, America was being torn apart by the war in Vietnam, with racial unrest in the streets and a distrust of the White House. But there was a happier place where men of different backgrounds showed people what could happen when you worked together: Madison Square Garden. “When The Garden Was Eden” (based on the book by Harvey Araton) explores the only championship years of the New York Knicks, when they made the NBA Finals in three out of four seasons, winning two titles. Stitched together by Red Holzman, the previously mediocre Knicks might have seemed an odd collection of characters: a forward from the rarefied air of Princeton (Bill Bradley), two players from the Jim Crow South (Willis Reed and Walt Frazier), a blue-collar guy from Detroit (Dave DeBusschere), a pair of inner-city guards (Earl Monroe and Dick Barnett), even a mountain man from Deer Lodge, Montana (Phil Jackson). But by embracing their differences and utilizing their strengths, they showed the NBA and the world what it was like to play as a team. That they did it on the stage New York City provided made it all that much sweeter.

“Brian and The Boz,” directed by Thaddeus D. Matula

In some ways, Barry Switzer and Brian Bosworth were made for each other. The Oklahoma coach and the linebacker he recruited to play for him were both outsized personalities who delighted in thumbing their noses at the establishment. And in their three seasons together (1984-86), the unique father-son dynamic resulted in 31 wins and two Orange Bowl victories, including a national championship, as Bosworth was awarded the first two Butkus Awards. But Bosworth’s alter ego – “The Boz” – was taking over. Eventually, he went on a downward spiral and became known as an NFL bust. In “Brian and The Boz,” the dual identities of Brian Bosworth are examined as he looks back on his life and passes on the lessons he’s learned to his son.

“Brothers in Exile,” directed by Mario Diaz, produced by Major League Baseball Productions

Major League Baseball has been transformed by the influx of Cuban players like Aroldis Chapman, Yasiel Puig and Jose Abreu. But a special debt of gratitude is owed to two half-brothers whose courage two decades ago paved the way for their stardom. “Brothers in Exile” tells the incredible story of Livan and Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, who risked their lives to get off the island. Livan left first, banking on his status as the hottest young prospect in Cuba, to defect via Mexico and sign with the Florida Marlins, for whom he soon became one of the youngest World Series MVPs in history in 1997. Staying behind was Orlando, who was banned from professional baseball in Cuba for life because he was suspected of having helped Livan escape. Then, on Christmas 1997, an increasingly frustrated and harassed Orlando left Cuba in a small boat. He was stranded on a deserted island for days before being picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard. Less than a year later, “El Duque” was helping pitch the New York Yankees to a world championship, completing a most unlikely journey for two brothers who rode their arms to freedom and triumph.

“Rand University,” directed by Marquis Daisy

Randy Moss has long been an enigma known for his brilliance on the football field and his problems off it. “Rand University” gets to the intersection of those aspects of Moss by going back to where he came from – Rand, West Virginia – and exploring what almost derailed him before he ever became nationally known for his extraordinary abilities as a wide receiver. After overcoming troubles with the law, losing the opportunities to play at Notre Dame and Florida State and then reviving his enormously promising football career at Marshall University, all that was good and troubling about Randy Moss materialized on the day of the 1998 NFL Draft. Twenty picks were made before the Minnesota Vikings selected him in the first round. Based on what unfolded throughout Moss’s NFL career, the teams that passed on him may have had a mixture of regret and relief.

“The U Part 2,” directed by Billy Corben

Produced in 2009 for the 30 for 30 series, “The U” took a look at all that was good and bad about the rise of the University of Miami’s football program in the 1980s. But that wasn’t the end of the story. “The U Part 2” picks up where the original film left off, with the program trying to recover from the devastation left by NCAA sanctions and scandals that had some calling for the school to drop football. The Hurricanes rose from those ashes to win another national championship, only to face new controversies when a booster used a Ponzi scheme to win favor with the program.

After only two games into the new season, Brian Urlacher has decided to quit his role as analyst at Fox Sports.

The former Bears linebacker informed the network that he is resigning his position so he could spend more time with his family. This season, Urlacher worked on Fox Sports 1’s “America’s Pregame” and Sunday morning’s “Fox NFL Kickoff.”

In an interview with Matt Spiegel and his former teammate Patrick Mannelly on WSCR-AM 670 this morning, Urlacher said traveling weekly to Fox’s studios in Los Angeles was taxing.

“I really enjoyed working with the guys at Fox Sports 1,” Urlacher said. “The travel to (Los Angeles) got to me quite a bit. I called the producers and they were understanding about my situation. I wanted to feel retired. That was my main reason. They were cool about it.”

Urlacher went on to detail how he enjoys playing kickball with his kids in the backyard.

“When you’re retired, that’s what you do. ”

Urlacher joined the network last year after retiring from the Bears. He worked his last shows Sunday.

It wasn’t your typical week for the NFL pregame shows Sunday. Not with the NFL going through perhaps its worst week ever off the field.

Actual football talk was secondary to dissecting the various controversies. In some cases, it produced some raw honesty, such as Bart Scott on CBS admitting he is going through counseling to deal with his anger issues.

In case you missed it, here is a round-up of what was said:

CBS NFL Today

Bart Scott: This story is very personal to me.  Of course Ray Rice was a teammate of mine. This marks the fifth teammate that I’ve played with that’s either been accused or convicted of domestic violence. This is a problem in the NFL and has been a problem in the NFL. I think this video really forces the NFL and society to take a look and itself and make sure we do something about it. This offseason, I had been retired for two years and I went and saw a mental health specialist so I can learn how to handle my rage issues and things like that. What happens is we teach everybody how to turn it on but nobody teaches us how to turn it off. So I want to tell these players out there that it’s okay to seek mental help, especially so you can learn how to come down and decompress, so to speak, so you don’t put yourself in situations where you make spontaneous judgments and actions at the same time.

Boomer Esiason: That guy (Adrian Peterson) should never be on the field again. I don’t want to hear about how he grew up, what he learned. This was a whipping of a 4-year-old boy for god’s sake! All I’m telling you right now that is sickness to me.  That player should never be on the football field again until he is held accountable either by a court of law or he seeks the help you speak of.

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ESPN NFL Countdown

Tom Jackson: “What a sad week for the National Football League. I can’t remember as many mistakes as have been made over the course of the last week. Actually, it even begins before that.”

Cris Carter: “It’s been a tough week. … My whole MO is based on the NFL, so now is all that a lie? … In our experience with the NFL, there’s this thing called ‘NFL magic’. When you stay in the NFL long enough it change(s) your life. … I expect the commissioner’s office to change this, because this is a problem around the United States. … I put a mandate on Roger Goodell right now: put that ‘NFL magic’ to domestic violence and I guarantee we get some changes.”

Jackson: “If he (the Commissioner) gets this right at the beginning, I don’t know what the suspension should have been – 12 games, a full season, whatever it should have been – the video would have come out and people would have said, ‘Wow. That’s why he was so severe in his punishment.’ … They got it wrong.”

Bob Ley: “I think the league could count itself fortunate Saturday Night Live is not in production because we’d be playing 10 minutes of skits just skewering the league.”

Mike Ditka: “A parent has a right and an obligation to discipline their child if it’s done in the right way. My dad whipped my butt. Did I deserve it? Yes. … I wouldn’t be here today if that hadn’t happened in my life. That was a great thing. I didn’t like it. I cried, but every time I got it … I became a better person for it. That’s all I can say.”

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Fox NFL Sunday

Mike Pereira: “The owners are going to support him with all of the money that he has raised for this league. I think I am wondering what he feels right now and to me what he is, he is embarrassed. He is a guy who fights for the truth; I know, I worked there. It was about truth and transparency; I was told that all the time with the clubs. It was, ‘Hey, if you made 10 [officiating] mistakes, tell them.’ He is a guy that fought for the truth, which is why I believe him still at this point, but he is embarrassed about what has happened within his organization.”

Pam Oliver: “I worry about his wife and I think about her a lot. Victims tend to support their abuser and that’s frankly what Ray Rice is, he’s an abuser. And that’s what I think women can take from this: put yourself in her position and maybe think about her more than you think about Ray Rice.”

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NBC Football Night in America

Cris Collinsworth:  “As football fans, we were let down by everybody last week. It starts with Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens, the NFL, and even the judicial system. But just because that case was so messed up by everyone across the board, doesn’t mean you can throw a blanket over all these other guys. Ray McDonald’s case is completely different. Greg Hardy’s case is completely different…(Costas interjects: “It’s worse. Perhaps, worse.”) So you have to analyze these individually. And, yeah, we’d all like to have an easy answer. There is no easy answer.”

Bob Costas: “One other note — our NBC colleague Ted Robinson is also the radio voice of the San Francisco 49ers. This week, Robinson made some uncharacteristically inartful comments when talking about the Ray Rice and Janay Palmer Rice situation. As a result, the 49ers have suspended him for two games — the exact length of Ray Rice’s original suspension — which strikes many as peculiar.”

I’m not a big soccer guy, but Fox Sports trying to make Gus Johnson its lead soccer announcer always seemed like a bad idea. The sports’ fans are a highly discerning bunch. With Fox Sports slated to do the Women’s World Cup next year and the World Cup in 2018, not to mention many important matches in between, Johnson was set up to vilified as the lead voice.

Now it won’t happen. Johnson said the demands of getting up to speed were taking a toll on him from a personal standpoint. From Richard Deitsch at SI.com.

Depending on your soccer broadcasting orthodoxy, the following news will be received as a cause for celebration or bitter disappointment:

Gus Johnson has stepped down as Fox’s No. 1 soccer broadcaster.

Johnson told Sports Illustrated on Sunday that he called Fox Sports president Eric Shanks last week and explained that with a full schedule of college football and college basketball, he could not give soccer the attention it deserved and that viewers demanded of a lead broadcaster. Shanks agreed to pull Johnson off the assignment.

“I think that it was a mutual decision, but maybe I was the guy who came to it first,” Johnson said.

Later Deitsch wrote:

Asked by SI if the external criticism of Johnson’s soccer work impacted his decision, (Fox Sports president Eric Shanks) said no, but added, “I am not going to lie and say we were unaware of it. We make decisions based on how we feel, and in this case, in consultation with Gus.”

As for the replacement:

Shanks said Fox has a relationship with the acclaimed British soccer broadcaster Martin Tyler, so look to see if that connection increases over the next year.

“I would not say we are running around here like the sky is falling and we need to fill this position tomorrow,” Shanks said. “We believe Fox has some work to do and we will look at every possible candidate that is out there.”

With all the focus on the Ray Rice story, the debut of the new Thursday night package on CBS and the NFL Network more than doubled last year’s opener for the comparable game on NFL Network.

The Baltimore-Pittsburgh game did a 13.7 overnight rating of major markets, up 108 percent from the 6.6 rating for the New York Jets-New England Thursday night game on NFL Network in 2013.

The NFL hoped to get a much higher rating for the Thursday night games with CBS’ promotional power and larger distribution; the game also was simulcast on NFL Network. The game delivered  CBS its best primetime rating since May, 2006.

It is hard to determine how much the Rice saga impacted the rating. However, clearly there was considerable interest with Baltimore playing its first game since it released Rice.

Let’s see what happens next week when CBS does Atlanta at Tampa Bay.

There is a scene in the new A Football Life that shows a White House ceremony in which Barack Obama says “Mean Joe” Greene captured his attention during his formative sports years as a child of the ’70s.

He wasn’t alone.

Greene was a big reason why I was a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan in the ’70s. As a kid, how could you not be captivated by someone with the nickname “Mean Joe?”

If you are like me, or simply want to learn about one of the greatest defensive players ever, check out tonight’s season premiere of A Football Life on NFL Network.

Here is a link to the preview.

The film not only documents what made Greene so great, but it also shows another side of “Mean Joe.” To his family, “Papa Joe” is the polar opposite of mean.

The official rundown from NFL Network.

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‘Joe Greene: A Football Life’ Premieres Friday, September 12 at 9:00 PM ET

“When you think of me as a football player, I would like for people to think that I put it on the line every time. Good or bad, win or lose, I put it on the line.” – Joe Greene

“There is nobody else out there that I would put ahead of Joe Greene. By far the best Steeler of all time.” – Jack Ham

As a Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle, four-time Super Bowl champion, 10-time Pro Bowler and two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Joe Greene earned the nickname “Mean Joe” and established himself as one of the most-feared defenders in NFL history. Yet off the field, the husband, father of three and grandfather of seven goes by the name of “Papa Joe” and bears little resemblance to the 13-year NFL veteran.

The fourth season of the three-time Emmy-nominated series A Football Life kicks off Friday, September 12 at 9:00 PM ET on NFL Network with a profile of “Mean Joe” Greene. The one-hour, NFL Films-produced documentary features sitdown interviews with Greene and those who know him well, including former Hall of Fame teammates Franco Harris, Lynn Swann and Jack Ham, Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney, and more.

Among the topics discussed in the documentary are:

Presenting Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and having his jersey retired by the Steelers

Nearly quitting after a late-season loss during the 1974-75 season

Leading the Steelers to four Super Bowl championships as a player and contributing to two Super Bowl titles as a front office executive

The dominant “Steel Curtain” defense and his relationship with the other members of the ‘Front Four’ – L.C. Greenwood, Dwight White and Ernie Holmes

The iconic Coca-Cola commercial and the impact it had on Greene’s public perception Joe’s relationship with his family

Emmy-nominated actor from CBS’ The Good Wife, Josh Charles, narrates.

Provided below are some select quotes from Joe Greene: A Football Life:

– “When you think of me as a football player, I would like for people to think that I put it on the line every time. Good or bad, win or lose, I put it on the line.” – Joe Greene

– “I just remember walking out on the deck of this aircraft carrier, and there were airplanes and there was Joe Greene. And they were both impressive. It was just sort of a presence that was there and still is today.” – Jon Kolb

– “There is nobody else out there that I would put ahead of Joe Greene. By far the best Steeler of all time.” – Jack Ham

– “He was special. He did signify this team. He meant everything; the way he performed, the way he carried himself on and off the field. He was it. He was the guy.” – Dan Rooney

– “Joe stands as the beginning of reform and change for a football team and for a city. When Joe came, the Steelers were bad, they didn’t look like they were going to get better, but Joe had the blue-collar work ethic.” – Lynn Swann

– “I was depressed. I was just depressed. I did not want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler because I knew of the record.” – Joe Greene on being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers

– “When I look back and I think about it, it was being disruptive and belligerent. I don’t know how many other teams would have tolerated my antics.” – Joe Greene

– “I was quitting…As I was taking those steps I was saying, ‘Somebody please stop me.’ Lionel Taylor, our receivers coach, said, ‘Hold up a minute,’ and he sat down in the car and we talked. I don’t know what we talked about but I was glad we talked because I went back. And that’s when it started.” – Joe Greene

– “It brought Pittsburgh into the picture of football teams in the National Football League that, ‘OK, you have to deal with us now.’”– Joe Greene on the victory in Super Bowl IX

– “You look up to that guy and you don’t want to let him down. With Joe Greene, I found that leadership really does matter.” – Jack Ham

– “It changed our lives a lot. It changed Joe’s personality a lot. Because so many kids were looking up to him, he decided he really wanted to be a role model for the kids.” – Agnes Greene on the Coca-Cola commercial

This season, A Football Life airs Friday at 9:00 PM ET on NFL Network. Below is the broadcast schedule for the September and October episodes:

September 19 – Brandon Marshall

September 26 – Sean Taylor

October 3 – Warren Moon

October 10 – Eric Dickerson

October 17 – Doug Flutie

October 24 – Terrell Davis

October 31 – Ricky Williams

Yesterday, I wrote in the Chicago Tribune that the Ray Rice fallout would blunt what should have been a festive night for CBS with the launching of its new Thursday night NFL package.

Later in the day, CBS decided the celebration will have to wait for another day.

CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus opted to can the theatrics to focus on the huge news that is rocking the NFL. From Richard Deitsch at SI.com:

CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said the network has also pulled an opener featuring actor Don Cheadle doing narration over Jay Z’s “Run This Town,” which is sung by Rihanna. A comedic segment was also jettisoned. 

“It’s important to realize we are not overreacting to this story but it is as big a story as has faced the NFL,”  McManus told SI.com from Baltimore Thursday afternoon. “We thought journalistically and from a tone standpoint, we needed to have the appropriate tone and coverage. A lot of the production elements we wanted in the show are being eliminated because of time or tone.”

The pregame show on NFL Network, in collaboration with CBS, opened with 30 minutes on the Rice saga. Writes David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun:

The premiere of “Thursday Night Football” on CBS was a winner in my book before a second of the game between the Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers was played at M&T Bank Stadium.

Given the nuclear fallout all week from the TMZ video that showed Ray Rice beating his then-fiancée, CBS found itself about to launch one of the biggest productions in the history of the network in a highly emotional and totally unstable situation. In some ways, it was a situation without precedent for a TV sports operation.

The network made a daring call and scrapped all the entertainment and showbiz elements of its pregame show and went for the first 30 minutes with news and analysis of one of the biggest stories in league history.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe praised James Brown for his essay saying the NFL needs to step up this time to confront the problems of domestic violence.

“Now let’s be clear: this problem is bigger than football,’’ said Brown, who was joined at the desk by Bill Cowher and Deion Sanders. “There has been, appropriately so, intense and wide-spread outrage following this video showing what happened in the elevator at the casino. Now wouldn’t it be productive if this collective outrage could be channeled to truly hear and address the long-suffering cries for help from so many women, and do something about it?”

Brown, who made a similar plea after Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend in a murder-suicide two years ago, said men must be educated — and must be willing to be educated — about how they treat and view women.

“Our language is important, for example,’’ said Brown. “When a guy says you throw a ball like a girl or you’re a sissy, it reflects an attitude that devalues women and attitudes that will eventually manifest in some fashion.”

He noted that domestic violence experts estimate that three women a day lose their lives at the hands of their partners. Then he provided viewers with the heartbreaking math.

“That means since the night of February 15 in Atlantic City [when Rice was caught on video punching Janay Palmer], m”ore than 600 women have died. So this is yet another call to men to stand up and take responsibility for their thoughts, their words, their deeds, and to get help. Because our silence is deafening and deadly.

All in all, journalism prevailed over show business Thursday. It’s a long season, and CBS will have plenty of time to roll out Rihanna and all of its production numbers.

Thursday wasn’t a night for celebration. It was a night for examination and reflection. The network made the right call.

Really disappointed to hear this news.

HBO announced it won’t be doing a “24/7: Road to the Winter Classic” this year.

.In a statement, HBO said:

“Everybody at HBO enjoyed working with the NHL and its teams on 24/7 the past four years. It was an exciting endeavor and we’re very proud of the never-before-seen presentation of the world of hockey that 24/7 was able to capture.

“There was never an expectation that HBO would chronicle the lead-up to the Winter Classic every year. So we will not be involved with the NHL this season.We wish the NHL the very best and the door will always remain open.”

I’m even more disappointed since I live in Chicago and this year’s Winter Classic will feature the Blackhawks at Washington on Jan. 1. I was looking forward to hearing the uncensored version of Coach Q.

Since HBO doesn’t edit for profanity, it increased the authenticity of the popular series. There’s nothing like hearing these guys like they really talk.

However, it went much deeper. HBO did a terrific job in the filming, writing and narration by Liev Schriber.

It remains to be seen whether another form of the series will be done by NBCSN, the NHL’s TV partner, or the NHL Network. Still, it likely won’t be the same as what we saw on HBO.

Yet another example of a sports announcer stepping into a mine field when the topic veers into highly complicated social issues.

The latest case involves Ted Robinson, the 49ers radio voice who now will have a few weeks to think about what he said.

The team suspended Robinson for two games following comments he made about Janay Rice during an interview Monday on a local San Francisco radio station. He also was suspended for two games by the Pac 12 Network, where he also does play-by-play.

While discussing the Ray Rice controversy, Robinson said his wife’s decision to marry him was “pathetic.” He also said Janay Rice had a responsibility to speak up after she was knocked unconscious by her then-fiancee.

“That, to me, is the saddest part of it,” Robinson said.

Said 49ers president Paraag Marathe: “The comments made by radio broadcaster Ted Robinson on Monday were offensive and in no way reflect the views of the San Francisco 49ers organization. We have made the decision to suspend him for the next two games. I informed Ted of our decision earlier today, and we will continue to address this matter with him internally. Our organization stands strongly against domestic violence and will not tolerate comments such as these.”

Said Robinson: “I want to unconditionally apologize for my comments the other day. As a professional communicator, I am responsible for my words. My choice of words was careless and does not reflect my true feelings about domestic violence. I understand that the cycle of abuse keeps people in unhealthy relationships.  No blame or responsibility for domestic violence should ever be placed on a victim.”

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Sports announcers and analysts, consider yourselves warned again. Just stick to sports.