Baltimore Beat Down, a Baltimore Ravens community

To celebrate the start of the new season and thank you for your support, the NFLPA is launching an exclusive Facebook promotion, "Let’s Play Football Sweepstakes."

National Football League Player Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith was the featured speaker at the University of Maryland Commencement Exercises today.

The National Football League has released a statement with instriuctions to teams on what to do now that their appeal of the order to lift the lockout has been denied and it appears that in some way, shape or form, the 2011 season will now get back on track.

In a effort to one-up the NFL, DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the NFLPA has slashed his salary from $1.8 million to zero, $1 less than both NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Fresh off the heels of the great conference call that SB Nation (including Baltimore Beatdown) had with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday, comes the other side of the coin with a conference call with the NFL Players Association (now no longer a "union" but a "trade association') Executive Director DeMaurice Smith.

Even if the NFL team owners open up their financial books for the players union, they might find so many discrepancies that it will result in more questions than answers.

The NFLPA is declaring Tuesday as "Let Us Play Day," in support of finding a solution to stop the owners from potentially locking out the players if a new CBA is not in place, thereby jeopardizing the 2011 season.

Due to the nature of pace of the Baltimore Ravens recent OTA's, the NFL has decided to punish the team by cancelling its final OTA scheduled for next week.

Our own Baltimore Ravens' Domonique Foxworth, may be looking to become the next President of the NFL Player's Association