after its fifth defeat

NEW YORK -- A former U. Discount Ray Ban .S. attorney hired by the NFL to evaluate its investigation of the New Orleans Saints bounty program said Thursday the evidence shows players received payments for hits on targeted opponents. Mary Jo White said in a conference call that evidence in the leagues investigation of the three-year pay-for-pain system provided "an unusually strong record" and came from people with "firsthand knowledge and corroborated by documentation." When asked twice whether any players actually were paid for hits, White confirmed they were without going into specifics. She added that most of the money in the bounty scheme was provided by the players. "Without them, there wouldnt have been a bounty program," she said. White, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was asked last December by the NFL to examine the evidence. "The factual basis for the sanctions is quite strong in my opinion," she said. "You must safeguard the identity of people that provide information to you in order to protect them, and also to encourage others in the future to come forward with evidence of wrongdoing. This is certainly not a one-on-one, he-said, she-said record at all. This is multiple independent sources." White saw no merit in complaints from the players union that it had not received, "detailed or specific evidence from the league of specific players involvement in an alleged pay-to-injure program." "The players sanctioned all activity and enthusiastically embraced this program," White said. "They always had the option to say no. They didnt say no. "It is no defence that coaches were involved in it, this was an individual responsibility each player has and each coach has. Each player had the responsibility to say no to this program and they didnt do that. They obviously had the option to report this to the union and they didnt do that." Richard Smith, outside counsel for the union, disputed Whites evaluation of the evidence. "I was at the meeting with the NFLs lead investigators in March. She was not there," Smith said. "Anyone, especially former prosecutors like both of us, know that what the league provided could never be called substantial evidence of player participation in a pay-to-injure program. "Worse yet, Mary Jo provided nothing new or compelling today beyond another press briefing." NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith and Domonique Foxworth, the recently elected union president, are in New Orleans talking with Saints players. The four current and former New Orleans players suspended -- linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the 2012 season; defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, now with Green Bay, for eight games; defensive end Will Smith, for four games; linebacker Scott Fujita, now with Cleveland and a member of the unions executive board, for three games -- were given three days to appeal when Commissioner Roger Goodell handed down the punishment Wednesday. The NFLPA did not say when appeals might be filed, but said after the penalties were handed down that it would pursue all options on the Saints players behalf. When asked on his Twitter account if he planned to appeal, Vilma said: "definitely."   cheap nfl jerseys . Louis Cardinals rallied for a 3-2 win over the New York Mets in a Grapefruit League game. The Cardinals trailed 2-0 heading to the bottom of the third, but Jon Jay ripped an RBI double in the inning to get them on the board and Matt Carpenter added an RBI double in the sixth to tie the game. wholesale jerseys . In an off-camera interview Friday with ESPN, Teo said Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, a 22-year-old acquaintance who lives in California, contacted him two days ago and confessed to the prank. Deadspin.com first exposed the scheme on Wednesday and indicated Tuiasosopo was involved in it. http://www.cheapjerseyschina.cc/ . The Galaxy won all four meetings between the two sides last season, and a wonderful strike from 25 yards off the foot of Juninho continued that run of dominance. The best chance in a scoreless first half came from Seattles Erik Friburg, who shot just wide of the right post from outside the penalty area with Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders off his line. cheap jerseys china . "We have to make this place a living hell for [opponents] to come play here," the Raptors general manager pleaded. So far its been anything but. "We have far more focus on the road than we do at home and that is a concern," coach Dwane Casey said after his team dropped to 4-8 at the ACC, losing another heartbreaker, 104-102 to the Bobcats in overtime Wednesday. wholesale jerseys . Nash introduced his longtime friend on Thursday as the man who will lead the senior mens team, confirming a hiring that likely had only one candidate. "Thats why its been one of the best kept secrets in three or four months," Nash joked. MILAN, Italy -- A goalkeeping howler helped Inter Milan beat newly promoted Livorno 2-0 and keep up the pressure on the top three in the Serie A on Saturday. Inter took the lead on the half hour when Livorno goalkeeper Francesco Bardi dived to smother a Jonathan cross but somehow succeeded in pushing the ball into his own net. The Italy Under-21 goalkeeper is one of several Livorno players on loan from Inter. Bardi atoned for his error with a good save to prevent Ricardo Alvarez from doubling Inters lead in first-half stoppage time. Inter captain Javier Zanetti made his first appearance since snapping his Achilles tendon in April. The 40-year-old was given a standing ovation when he came on for the final eight minutes. And Zanetti started the move which led to Inters second goal in stoppage time. The veteran defender went on a forward run before picking oout Mateo Kovacic, who threaded the ball through for Yuto Nagatomos shot. jerseys from china. Inter moved provisionally three points behind Juventus and Napoli, who play each other on Sunday. Livorno remains 14th after its fifth defeat in seven matches. Lowly Catania earned a valuable three points with a controversial 1-0 victory over Udinese. Maxi Lopez scored the only goal from the penalty spot on the half hour after Maurizio Domizzi hauled down Nicola Legrottaglie as a corner kick was taken. Udinese had two strong penalty appeals turned down. Panagiotis Tachtsidis appeared to touch a ball with his arm shortly after Catanias opener, and Luis Muriels effort struck Legrottaglies arm from point-blank range in the 69th. Roberto Pereyra and Gianpiero Pinzi also hit the woodwork for Udinese but Catania held on for its first win under Luigi De Canio. cheap jerseys ' ' '