METAIRIE, La. --?New Orleans Saints veterans Drew Brees and Zach Strief expressed concerns Monday that the growing mistrust in the NFL league office has spilled over from the players to the fans and is hurting the leagues popularity.We feel like [the decline in TV ratings] is a direct result, said Brees, who has been an outspoken critic of the way NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has handled controversial issues such as the Bountygate investigation of the Saints, the Deflategate investigation of the Patriots, and the Ray Rice and Josh Brown domestic violence investigations.I know the players dont have any faith in the way that things are conducted within the front office in the NFL -- certainly when it comes to any type of investigation, when it comes to any type of commissioner discipline, Brees said. Its really kind of a joke at this point, unfortunately. And it shouldnt be like that.Brees and Strief spoke to ESPN after the Saints players had their annual in-season meeting with NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith. They agreed that the NFLs declining TV ratings could be a result of probably a buildup over the last few years.Its hard to separate em. It all works together, said Strief, who is in his final year as the Saints player representative. The NFL front office has seemed to have found a way to make everything somewhat contentious. It feels like theres this constant assault on the players, like were two entities. Its like they dont think they need us to do this.?And I think over time, as its constantly in the media and its constantly a public issue, I think the fans start to feel a similar way. Its just a constant contentious issue. When you take Brady and say it affected Tom Brady and it affected the New England Patriots, well the fans feel like theyre a part of that. It does affect them and it does affect their team and it does affect how you feel about the league, and it does turn you off.?At the end of the day, the relationship between the front office and the people who are not in the front office has probably never been worse.The Saints comments echoed those of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, who last week blamed Goodell and the NFL for making the NFL no fun anymore, including imposing strict rules against player celebrations.Brees mentioned the crackdown on player celebrations as another factor that may have turned fans off in recent years.Brees, who was an outspoken critic of Colin Kaepernicks decision to protest during the national anthem, also acknowledged that such protests could be a turn-off to fans.I think its just been a culmination of a lot of things over the last three years that unfortunately might have just turned people off or caused them to be less engaged, said Brees, a former player rep and a former member of the NFLPAs executive committee, who said his hope when he first joined the NFLPA was that there would be a partnership between the players and the league office to move the game forward.And unfortunately weve never felt that feeling reciprocated from their end, Brees said. In fact its very much been a, Were gonna do things behind closed doors. And you just kind of believe what we tell you. And unfortunately thats jumped up and bit us, and I named all those cases ... where you certainly cant trust anything thats coming out of the league office at this point.Listen, we as players want the best for this league. This league has so many great things to offer ... and for a long time the fans were really enjoying it. And now it seems like thats taken a hit. And it really feels like its been the culmination of the last few years and the way the business of football is being run in the front office. Thats the concerning part at this point for us. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. http://www.cheapsoccerjerseysoutletonline.com/ .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. Wholesale Authentic Soccer Jerseys . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. Cheap Soccer Jerseys China . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. PORTLAND, Ore. -- These days Terry Porter often finds himself thinking back to the day he showed up on the campus of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.There had been no schools battling to recruit the young point guard from Milwaukee. The Panthers showed interest but couldnt offer him a scholarship. He arrived, like any freshman, unsure of his decision.But he did know one thing: He loved basketball.The journey that started at the Division III college a couple hours drive from his hometown long ago has brought Porter to the University of Portland, where hes charged with guiding a team of kids that are in so many ways just like he was.I liked the coach, and they had a couple of kids that were from my conference down in Milwaukee, so I knew I could room with them, Porter recalled. I tell our players all the time that theyre so far ahead of me when I was their age, because I didnt get a scholarship to play basketball. At Stevens Point there were no scholarships to be had. I was on grants and work study and things like that.Porter is in his first season as coach of the Pilots after some 17 seasons as a player in the NBA, then more than a decade as a coach or assistant in the league. He replaced Eric Reveno, who was dismissed earlier this year after 10 years with the Pilots.Tapping Porter, who is beloved in Portland, was a savvy move thats generated excitement for the Catholic universitys program.It was a great hire, I think, for the school, said Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who played for the Pilots. Hes one of the Rip City legends in Portland. He has such a great class and reputation about him in the Northwest. I think its a fantastic fit. He brought more interest in the program just from him signing on than weve had in probably the history of the program.Porter played for the Trail Blazers from 1985-95, with a team that went to the Western Conference finals three times from 1990 to 1992 and to the NBA Finals twice. The starters on that team were Porter, Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey, Buck Williams and Kevin Duckworth, but the group would never win a title: In 1990, the Blazers lost to the Detroit Pistons, and in 1992 they couldnt overcome Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.Porter also played for the Timberwolves, the Heat and the Spurs over his NBA career. A two-time All-Star, he averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 assists and 1.2 steals a game. His 7,160 assists rank 14th on the NBAs all-time list.After his playing career was over, Porter was head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks for two seasons from 2003-2005 and for the Phoenix Suns during the 2008-09 season. He had stints as an assistant coach in Minnesota, Sacramento and Detroit.ddddddddddddHes not sure the young players on his team knew he was that Terry Porter when he was introduced as head coach. The only exceptions were his sons, freshman Malcolm and sophomore Franklin.They knew I played pro, but they didnt know if I had won championships, or all the teams I played with, or all the players I played with, and they wouldnt have known all the coaches I was blessed to work with, Porter said. They were just like, `Oh, he played in the LEAGUE, and he played for a long time. I think it made it a little bit easier for me, my body of work, because they were like `OK, he knows what hes talking about.Porter has never coached at the college level before, but hes already excited about sharing his experiences.Hes drawn on his contacts for advice. Porter even traveled to Miami to pick Spoelstras brain.We just met and talked shop, and it was fun. Swapping stories and talking about when he was here years ago and how excited he is about the job. I told him whatever he needs from me, Im here to help him, the Heat coach said.Porter also used his contacts in the sporting world to come up with some unique team-building activities. The group went to Seattle to spend a few days with the Seattle Seahawks, watching practices and hearing from coach Pete Carroll.He also draws on his experiences at Stevens Point, and his coach there, Dick Bennett.My college coach was the first coach I really learned a lot about basketball from, because my high school years were good, but I wasnt a great basketball player, Porter said. There was a huge amount of learning as my game progressed, and I definitely fell under the late bloomer category because I didnt have a great start.After four years at Stevens Point, Porter was the 24th overall pick by the Blazers in the 1985 draft. He remains Portlands career leader in assists (5,319) and is its third-leading scorer (11,330). He made 773 3-pointers on 2,006 attempts.At the Moda Center, just five miles away from the Pilots campus, Porters No. 30 hangs from the rafters.Ive been around basketball my whole life. The journey has been amazing. Its taken me to places I never could have imagined, he said. I have young men now, some who aspire to do the same thing as me, get to the pros or play overseas, and just to be able to talk to them and share my experiences is something Im proud to do.---AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.---More college basketball at www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '