NEWS » ook outside the building for help after being disappointed

James Harrison said in an affidavit provided to the NFL that he has never violated the leagues policy on performance-enhancing drugs and also has never met the man who alleged to Al-Jazeera America that he supplied the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker with an illegal substance.The affidavit, dated July 11, 2016, was included with a letter from Heather M. McPhee, the NFL Players Associations associate general counsel to Adolpho Birch, the NFLs senior vice president of labor policy. A copy of the letter was obtained by ESPN.The union included the affidavit, along with a transcript of the only references to Harrison in the Al-Jazeera report, to support its position that there is no need for Harrison to agree to an in-person interview with the NFL as the league lacks evidence to support such an interview.Harrison is the only one of the four active players named in the Al-Jazeera report to supply the league with a sworn affidavit. Green Bay Packers linebackers Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers and free-agent linebacker Mike Neal were also named in Al-Jazeera report. The NFLPA has previously resisted requests for in-person interviews with the NFL on their behalf as well.Charlie Sly -- the source for the Al-Jazeera report that implicated the four aforementioned players as well as retired quarterback Peyton Manning and athletes from other sports -- has since recanted his remarks. The NFLPA has argued that because of that, the players should not have to discuss the matter with the NFL. Birch has previously disputed the relevance of that argument.The Al-Jazeera America documentary The Dark Side aired last December. In the transcript, which was provided by the NFLPA with the letter, Sly tells an undercover reporter that he supplied Harrison with a substance named D2 or Delta-2. Harrison, however, says in the affidavit that to the best of my knowledge and recollection, I have never met the individual who is apparently named Charles Sly, whose remarks appeared in the report.Since he doesnt know Sly, Harrison says has not had email, text messaging or other communications with Charles Sly and has never been supplied with a substance called D-2 or Delta-2 that the person who appears to be named Charles Sly refers to in the Al Jazeera report.Harrison ends the affidavit by stating: I have never ingested the substance or product called Delta-2 and I have never violated the NFL Policy Performance Enhancing Substances.The NFLPA points out in the letter that Harrisons affidavit addresses each of the specific references to him in the supplied transcript.In the absence of the existence of any documented, credible evidence, this affidavit constitutes reasonable cooperation by this employee, McPhee writes.Notably, none of the letters previously sent by the union were on behalf of Manning, who is a former player and could decide to cooperate with the league investigation even as the union defends its current players from having to do so. The NFLPA has been in contact with Manning, whose cooperation could conceivably put the other four players in a difficult position from a public relations standpoint. Some people familiar with his thinking have previously told ESPN that they believe he will cooperate.This dispute between the NFL and its union came to a head last month when Harrison, who has a history of public arguments with the league over discipline matters, said commissioner Roger Goodell would have to go to Harrisons house if Goodell wanted to interview him.ESPNs Dan Graziano contributed to this report. Cheap Padres Jerseys . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. San Diego Padres Store . R.J. 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The New Orleans Saints acquired defensive end Chris McCain in a trade with the Miami Dolphins on Monday.The Dolphins will get a conditional seventh-rounder, according to a league source.The trade was first reported by the NFL Network and later confirmed by McCain on Twitter.The Dolphins were deep at defensive end, which put McCain on the roster bubble and ultimately made him expendable. They have starters Cameron Wake and Mario Williams, who have combined for eight Pro Bowls, along with veteran backups Jason Jones and Andre Branch.McCain (6-foot-5, 236 pounds) has pass-rush ability and can play a variety of special teams. His two signature plays in Miami were a blocked punt during his rookie season and a sack of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.The Dolphins signed McCain as an undrafted rookie in 2014. He played in 18 career games and registered seven tackles and two sacks. New Saints tight ends coach/assistant head coach Dan Campbell is familiar with McCain after serving as the Dolphins interim head coach last year.Its unclear if the Saints expect McCain to push third-year pro Kasim Edebali for a starting job or if they were just looking for depth and special-teams help. But the Saints have essentially been in the market for pass-rush help since back in March -- a need that became even greater after second-year defensive end Hauoli Kikaha went down withh a knee injury this summer.ddddddddddddNew Orleans apparently decided to look outside the building for help after being disappointed with its most recent preseason results. Coach Sean Payton called the pass rush very concerning after Fridays preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.For the amount of times they threw the ball, our ability to affect the quarterback was poor, said Payton, who also hinted on Monday that the Saints would be looking outside the building for help over the next week.This next 10-day period, theres gonna be some good football players that shift from one team to another via a lot of different ways, be it from trade, be it waiver claims and/or free agency, Payton said.The Saints also addressed another one of their top trouble spots Monday, signing veteran offensive lineman Khalif Barnes after a tryout.Barnes, 34, spent the past seven seasons with the Oakland Raiders after spending his first four years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He has played in 151 games with 117 starts.Its unclear what his role will be in New Orleans since the 6-6, 320-pounder has played both tackle and guard. The Saints most pressing need is at guard, but they might also be looking for a versatile swingman to provide backup at both spots. ' ' '