Earlier this week an e-mail from Ravens kicker Matt Stover, the team's union representative to his fellow reps and the executive committee in the NFL Players Association, outlined a suggested process for selecting a new NFLPA directive by March 2009.

Of course, that's a job currently held by Gene Upshaw who hasn't given any indications that he's eager for immediate retirement.

The Stover e-mail followed a union rep conference call last week and union meetings in March in Maui and was characterized in news reports as evidence that a movement to "oust" Upshaw was afoot. That also put the Ravens kicker in the forefront of such a movement.

Upshaw said: "Matt Stover has no clue. Whoever is pulling his chain is doing a disservice to the union. I could understand the idea that they need to get rid of me if I wasn't doing a good job but, shoot, the owners are mad because they think I've done too good of a job."

Now comes still another e-mail from Stover to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, who broke the story. It's a great e-mail. It's diplomatic and artful and praises Upshaw. In the end, it also says what the initial e-mail indicated -- that Stover believes a process of succession should be established becuase "the inevitability of the end of Gene's tenure is approaching this generation of players."

Here's Stover's latest e-mail to Mortensen.

Here's the first e-mail to the other team reps and the executive committee.