NFL Needs Less "Merry Time" After Games

Oh it is the Holiday season now, isn't it? Everyone you see this time of year is a bit happier with a more positive outlook on life, the world and their fellow man. I will always advocate this type of approach to life throughout the year; after all isn't the world a better place when we're happier and nicer to one another? However, one thing you won't catch this guy being a fan of is the frolicking that goes on at the conclusion of every NFL game these days.

Back in the 1980s or so, it seemed that the atmosphere after a professional football game ended began to change. I mean if one thinks back to just the previous decade, it was difficult for the Cowboys Roger Staubach and Washington's Chris Hamburger to muster a post-game handshake as they had a total disdain for one another. In the 1980s though, Reggie White began to make it acceptable to have both teams players (those who chose to participate) take a knee and do a little post game prayer. Since I believe in a deity myself, you will never catch me frowning on a short post game prayer.

As with any good thing, it slowly morphs into something beyond what it was originally intended to be thus from post-game prayer we got post-game chats between players. You know the old "how's the wife and kids?", "did you see that movie", "I just got a new BMW which is faster than your Mercedes"...the type of conversations that all spoiled, young, millionaires like to have with one another after work.

After this, we get to the new millennium and the NFL of today. After a game today, you have players from one team asking a player or players from another team for autographs. You don't believe me; go to Google and type in something like "Tashard Choice asking Michael Vick for an autograph". That's right, after his Dallas Cowboys lost a hard fought 30-27 game to their bitter rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles; Mr. Choice decided that he wanted Eagles quarterback Michael Vick to autograph his gloves. The vibration you are feeling right now is Tom Landry spinning in his grave!

This is just one example, it happens virtually every week, after just about every game. If one pays attention they can witness combatants on the field, coming to the center of the field all smiles regardless of the outcome of the game. I guess I can't blame these guys when I think about it; if I was 25 years old, strong as an ox and making $5mm per year to do my job- the operative word is job- then I guess I would smile when work was over too.

Sadly, as we age sports lose the innocence that they held for us in our childhood and we begin to realize that for many professional athletes it is a job, period. I know one thing is for certain around NFL stadiums on Sunday afternoons, there is far more angst and frustration for the fans when their team loses a game than there is for a player. Perhaps the reality of the preceding statement isn't true but as the old saying goes, "perception is reality", I suggest Commissioner Goodell explain this concept to his employees.

Cowboys Need Wizard of OZ More Than New Coach

Anyone who watched part of Sunday Night’s Dallas Cowboy game vs. the Green Bay Packers (unless you’re a Packer fan or into self abuse you surely didn’t watch the whole game) realizes that the Dallas Cowboys have no heart. When the team arrives at the training complex on Tuesday (payday in the NFL) they should collect those checks wearing masks and holding guns because they are stealing! More than a new coach (which they need), more than more talent (which every team regardless of standing can use); the Cowboys need the Wizard of OZ who can hopefully grace these men with a heart.

The utter lack of professionalism and pride that the Cowboys displayed the past two and a half games, climaxing with a primetime performance on Sunday Night that has to have Tom Landry rolling in his grave, hasn’t been seen in the NFL for quite some time. The word “quit” is often thrown around a lot in sports but if you want a real example of a team quitting, watch the film of the Cowboys game with Packers on Sunday night. From Mike Jenkins watching a guy run by him into the end zone without even attempting to tackle him to Alan Ball and Gerald Sensabaugh arguing in the end zone over who’s fault it was for a touchdown pass to Miles Austin doing a disappearing act from the first play of the game; this performance was an utter embarrassment for Jerry Jones’ franchise.

At this point, there is no point in dissecting Xs and Os regarding the Cowboys because the problem goes well beyond that. There are many, many teams with less physical talent than the Cowboys in today’s NFL BUT winning in any sports is about so much more than talent. Winning is about character, selflessness, professionalism and heart among other things, this group of Dallas Cowboys are devoid of those characteristics to a man.

What’s most astonishing to this observer (fan) is that not one guy on this team gets up in other teammate’s faces and says “enough, these guys are kicking our butts up and down the field”. Instead this team sits on the bench with their heads hung, probably thinking about their off-season golf plans, hunting trips and parties with Kim Kardashian. Since the Wizard of OZ won’t be arriving this season with a heart, I have a more pragmatic suggestion for Cowboy fans, stop watching, stop buying the gear and stop showing up at games. If you want to facilitate change the only thing that can get Jerry Jones’ attention is his pocketbook.

In the interim, as Terrell Owens would say, “get your popcorn ready” because the Cowboys trip to New York next week should be a football folly that can be replayed on ESPN Classic as an Instant Classic because we should expect more of the same until the culture changes in Big D.

Random Thoughts to Start November

I was watching the NFL results on Sunday and saw the highlights (lowlights) of the Cowboys game, if Wade Phillips can’t get fired after that then I suspect he may have pictures of Jerry Jones in a compromising situation.

The Texas Longhorns are a mess this season at 4-4 coming off back to back home losses to Iowa St. and this past week to Baylor. If prior to the season someone told you that Texas would lose both of those contests at home this season, you would think that person didn’t follow college football. Maybe it’s something in the water in North and Central Texas this year with the performance of the Cowboys and the Longhorns?

The news for Texas sports got worse last night as the San Francisco Giants won the franchise’s first World Series since moving to the Bay Area. The last Giants title occurred in 1954 when they were still playing in the Polo Grounds with Willie Mays in centerfield. The Giants pitching was dominating but it’s still hard to believe a team with that line-up won a World Series. None the less, a tip of the cap to the 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants from E.

The Vikings release Randy Moss in less than a month after trading a third-round draft pick in 2011 to New England. And we wonder why New England is good year after year; as the saying goes “there is an ass for every seat”.

My USC Trojans were the latest victim of the Oregon Ducks spread offense. USC actually led the game 32-29 in the middle of the 3^rd quarter and ended up losing 53-32! Oregon scored points like they were playing basketball, playing basketball at Duke or North Carolina that is- has anybody watched an Oregon basketball game recently? If you did then you know that the football team may end up averaging more points per game than the basketball team this year which speaks volumes on both.

Wonder if the line of suitors for Cliff Lee will shorten a bit after watching the Giants beat him twice in the World Series? Lee is still one of the top 10 pitchers in baseball no doubt but $20mm per is a lot of cabbage and if Lee is anything less than one of the top 10 pitchers in baseball after he gets his contract your franchise is hamstrung by the deal. I am sure the Yankees will outbid themselves for his services.

Is Brian Kelly really an upgrade at Notre Dame? You want to talk about having a bad week. A young man was killed in a tragedy last week while filming football practice on Kelly's watch- what an awful example of poor judgment by an adult! The football coach controls everything in the program so that's on Kelly. What did Kelly hope to accomplish by practicing in 51 MPH wind gusts and why would you let someone risk their life trying to tape the practice? Then on Saturday, playing Tulsa (the smallest school in D-IA football) and trailing 28-27 with 35 seconds left and the ball on the Tulsa 19 yard line, Kelly dials up a pass play into the endzone that was intercepted. The caveat here is that A.) the Notre Dame place kicker had made 18 straight FG attempts and B.) after the game Kelly told reporters to “get used to it” saying that he will call the same type of play again if confronted with that situation in the future. This may be true but he may not be calling the play for Notre Dame as it’s hard to imagine Kelly lasting very long at the school.

Finally election day is today, my predictions the Republicans pick up 60 seats in the House, 9 seats in the Senate and sometime during the evening Bush will be blamed for all the Democrats troubles.

Catch you all soon…..

Phillies Offense Goes on Halladay- May Need More Than a Doc

Ryan Howard stared back at the umpire wondering how he could call a 3-2 pitch right down the middle of the plate with 2-out in the bottom of the 9^th could be called a strike. Howard looked like Mickey Rivers trying to work a walk in 1978 rather than one of the most feared power hitters in the game; it was as though Howard was wishing he could walk so he didn’t have to be “the man”. Matter of fact, many of the Phillies looked befuddled and bewildered against the Giants pitching as San Francisco eliminated the 2-time defending NL Champions in 6 games sending the Phillies into a winter of questions.

The Phillies prided themselves on developing their own players while winning the 2008 World Series largely with a group of homegrown talent including Howard, Utley, Rollins and pitching star Cole Hamels. As is the case with winning it can become addictive thus the Phillies spent much of the past two-years gutting their farm system in search of the next World title.

Unfortunately for the Phils, destiny was not on their side and instead of heading into 2011 with a 2^nd World Championship in 3-years; they are left with $143mm of committed payroll for next year. Due to their bloated payroll there is a fairly good chance that All-Star RF Jayson Werth will leave via free agency and be replaced by the organization’s best prospect, Dominic Brown. This will leave an already imbalanced left-handed lineup even more imbalanced and susceptible to left-handed pitching. (Bruce Bochey exposed that weakness in the NLCS)

While Cole Hamels hadn’t even approached his pitching prime, the Phils have two star pitchers making more than $32 mm annually combined in Halladay and Oswalt who are approaching their mid-30s. The Phillies also have age in left-field with Raul Ibanez and at 3B with Placido Palanco. In other words, there are needs to be addressed but no immediate help coming from below; why is that?

In the summer of 2009 in their pursuit of Cliff Lee, the Phillies traded a lot of good prospects to Cleveland, this in and of itself was not a bad thing because Lee propelled the Phils to the NL Title. However in their quest for Roy Halladay last off-season, the Phillies traded many of their best prospects to Toronto. Then, rather than holding onto Lee for 2010 and then allowing him to walk after this season thereby getting two sandwich picks between the first and second round of the draft in return; the Phillies traded Lee to Seattle to restock their farm system. The basket of prospects returned from Seattle for Lee was nowhere near the quality that was sent to Toronto for Halladay.

In the summer of 2010, going for the title this year, the Phillies then traded another boatload of picks to Houston for Roy Oswalt and assumed the last two-years of his bloated contract in the process. What does all this mean? Well, what it means to me is that next year the Phillies will contend for the NL East title once again but the organization has a lot of mending to do down on the farm as they have gutted a lot of their system over the past two-years. Couple the preceding, with the $143mm payroll for 2011 already committed to and in place along with the aging cast of core players, and it’s not a stretch to see the Phillies slide back toward mediocrity in 2012 and beyond- a place the organization should be quite comfortable with given their 125 year history.

Chargers and Cowboys- All Too Familiar

I just got done watching the San Diego Chargers turn the ball over four times and still have a chance at a 45 yard field goal to tie the game vs. New England which would have sent the contest into overtime. However, as poor teams do, the Chargers were called for a false start which added 5 yards to the attempt which Kris Brown proceeded to miss wide right by the width of a football thus San Diego is now 2-5.

As usual the Chargers out gained the opponent, which is as sure a thing as Lindsey Lohan abusing drugs, but they lost the two most important statistics in football, the turnover battle (0-4) and the scoreboard (20-23). This game got me to thinking about all the commonality between the San Diego Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys thus I thought I would review it with you.

Each team has a Pro Bowl quarterback, Phillip Rivers and Tony Romo, each team has a capable set of running backs, each team has perennial Pro Bowl Tight Ends, Antonio Gates and Jason Witten, game breaking WRs- that’s a check and very talented defenses. Hell, the Cowboys probably have the game’s best defensive player in DeMarcus Ware, their All-Pro Linebacker.

After going through the litany above, one must be wondering how is San Diego 2-5 and Dallas 1-4 staring 1-5 squarely in the eye tomorrow night vs. the NY Giants? The answer to the preceding is quite simple; the biggest commonality between these teams which renders all the talent above relatively useless is that each has a weak head coach that would be an excellent coordinator but neither is a leader of men. Norv Turner, in San Diego, cut his teeth with Jimmy Johnson’s Cowboys dynasty of the 90s as an offensive coordinator. Turner is one of the most creative offensive minds in the game; he’s also a pushover that allows his team to make dumb mistake after dumb mistake without consequences. San Diego has had one of the league’s most talented teams for the past five or six years yet every year they come up just a bit short.

Wade Phillips heads the Cowboys and like Turner, he is a great coordinator- only he is a defensive guru. Matter of fact, when he was in San Diego with Turner’s predecessor Marty Schottenheimer, Phillips put together one of the best defenses in the league but again the Cowboys continually fall short of expectations despite having a roster littered with Pro Bowlers and All-Pros. Like their cousins in San Diego, Dallas usually does themselves in with penalties and turnovers at the worst of times. Like the Chargers there really isn’t any consequences for the players thus they continue to make the same mistakes and wonder why they “have such bad luck” as I read a quote from Marcus Spears in this week’s paper.

Luck doesn’t go around looking for stumble bums as legendary Texas coach Darryl Royal once said; you make your own luck or bad luck as is the case with these franchises. In a league where the games are close every week and the talent is fairly distributed throughout the league, one cannot underestimate the importance of a great coach, not only a solid X and O guy but a leader of men. The Chargers and Cowboys lack this element and will continue to fall short of their expectations until they change this.

As a Cowboys fan, I have more confidence in San Diego hiring a good coach because owner Alex Spanos is solid and GM A.J. Smith is one of the most shrewd executives in the game. The Cowboys are so organizationally dysfunctional right now with the “everything revolves around me” world of Jerry Jones that they make the Menendez family look like the Brady Bunch. With Wade Phillips on his way out after this season, I would be less suprised if Jerry Jones hired China Phillips before I ever see Bill Cowher patrolling the Dallas sideline.

10-22-10 Free MLB Pick

Over 9 - NY Yankees at Texas

I have no idea who is going to win game 6 tonight in this series but I do believe that both teams will light up the scoreboard. Phil Hughes has been awful lately for the Yankees and I am not a big believer in Colby Lewis, Texas' starter. Take the over 9 in this game.

Prediction: Texas 7 Ny Yankees 5

TV's Funniest Reality Show

Did you ever find a TV show that you can’t get enough of whether it be a drama, a reality series or a comedy? I have found one that airs every Sunday, sometimes Monday, for about 3-hours; it’s a reality based comedy known as the 2010 Dallas Cowboys.

In last week’s episode, the Cowboys played at home vs. Tennessee, our heroes from Dallas had a QB throw for more than 350 yards, a running back top the 100 yard mark, a WR caught 169 yards of passes, the NFL’s best defensive player DeMarcus Ware recorded 2 sacks and they outgained the evil foe from Tennessee by over 200 yards as they amassed 500+ yards of offense. This is pretty good right? Well the Cowboys lost that game, 34-27.

In this week’s episode the Cowboys took the show to Minnesota and outgained the Vikings 314-188 yards, recorded 3 sacks to 0 for Minnesota yet they lost 24-21. Matter of fact, the Cowboys records stands at 1-4 despite outgaining all 5 of their opponents this season. You may ask how does that happen?

It happens when you have an undisciplined team headed by an egomaniacal owner who hires a head coach that acts more like a nanny than a professional football coach. Admittedly I was wrong to even defend Jerry Jones with friends of mine. You heard it there I said it, I was wrong. Jerry Jones could be the best owner in the NFL but he will never achieve that title as long as he wants to be GM of the Cowboys while continuing to usurp authority from his head coach. Where have you ever seen the owner of a team being quoted immediately after a game in the locker-room other than when the owner’s team has just captured the league championship? Well, this event happens weekly in Dallas with Jerry Jones and his postgame remarks.

The problem with most egomaniacs is that it’s never about the team as much as it is about them. Sure, if the team does well that’s great but what’s more important to the egomaniac is them getting their “due” for what is happening and their own glorification. It is this very problem which ironically keeps Jerry Jones from achieving his ultimate goal of bringing another World Title to Dallas for his Cowboys.

The preceding then leads the owner to hire a head coach, Wade Phillips, who is a solid football man but not a leader of men. (Yes, I apologize to friends to whom I previously defended Wade Phillips with) Phillips makes losing too comfortable so much so that DE Marcus Spears recently commented that “it was more uncomfortable around here after a win with Parcells than it is after a loss with Wade”. Hint: that’s not a good thing!

In the Tennessee game former Pro Bowl Guard Leonard Davis was benched for poor play. To his credit after the game Davis admitted that he basically stunk and should have been benched but not wanting his player to “feel bad”, Phillips immediately came to the rescue to say that Davis would be right back in the starting line-up vs. Minnesota because “he’s a Pro Bowl player”. What does it say about a coach who can’t even let a player criticize himself?

The Cowboys are in the top 3 in the NFL in penalties right there with Detroit and Oakland which is never a good thing. This version of the Dallas Cowboys is a broken mess that spent too much time this off-season dreaming of playing the Super Bowl in their own stadium rather than looking for ways to improve as individuals and as a team, they have nobody to blame but themselves and their owner with the bigger than Texas-size ego.

Whether you like the Cowboys or not, you have to watch this circus and laugh because it’s funny. Jerry Jones fretting in his luxury box as the game comes down to the wire knowing that somewhere along the line his offensive coordinator will dial up a dumb play or his QB will throw a key interception. His coach, looking like Captain Kangaroo (my apologies for insulting the Captain) prancing around on the sidelines as if he just found out that they cancelled the postgame meal. None the less, it makes for fun every Sunday even for a fan like me as I try to enjoy the laugh otherwise I would cry.

Free College Football Picks for October 16th, 2010

First Set of Games

Top Plays

Pittsburgh -3 ( Should be in double figures)
Over 49 , Michigan State and Illinois
Michigan +3.5
Arkansas +3.5
Nebraska -10

Can't Favre Just Go Away

Brett Favre is one of the NFL's all-time great QBs; however he had now become a caricature of himself. The latest in the Favre saga is an allegation that he "sexually harassed" a female employee of the NY Jets by sending her text messages and pictures of his "junk". Of course the allegations could be without merit but at this point Favre has generated far more buzz off the field than on it, on balance, over the last three seasons.

What has become evident, at least to me, over the past three years is that Favre is not some "good ole" country boy just looking to play some ball; I believe that he is a narcissist of epic proportions that is able to get away with his illness because of that slow southern drawl. Brett Favre is a guy who should have quit three years ago when he threw the pick in Lambeau Field that sealed the Packers NFC Title game loss to the Ny Giants.

When I look at Favre, unlike say a Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, I say "what is this guy going to do when he retires?” Favre is not charismatic or articulate enough to get a TV gig- well to be fair that never stopped Darryl "Moose" Johnson from doing games for Fox- thus he is left with the thought of hanging around the house in Mississippi with his wife and kids which obviously isn't good enough for a guy with the ego of Brett Favre.

Sadly, Favre was a great football player, there is no denying that. Rather than remembering Favre throwing TD passes, scrambling around and making plays, we are left to remember him grasping his elbow in pain, limping from his ankle injury suffered in last year's NFC Title game and potentially texting pictures of his genitals to young women. To coin a phrase from a hit song in the 1980s, Brett don't go away mad- just go away.

Predicting the Baseball Playoffs- Round 1

October is upon us and for sports fans this is a great time of year as we get our weekly helping of football sprinkled in with post-season baseball throughout the week. I will take a look at each of the series in the division playoffs and try to predict the winners for you based on having watched a lot of baseball throughout the year.

Texas Rangers vs Tampa Bay Rays

This is probably the toughest of the opening round series for me to get a handle on. I like the Texas offense much better than Tampa’s but Texas struggles on the road and Tampa has home field advantage. Each team has an elite left-hander going in the first game with Cliff Lee from Texas opposing David Price from Tampa. Ultimately though, I think the Texas offense will put a little more pressure on Tampa than Tampa will put on Texas. I also like the Texas bullpen as they run power arm after power arm out of that pen. If Hamilton is close to healthy then Texas is a dangerous team. Rangers in 5 games.

New York Yankees vs Minnesota Twins

I believe this may be the best draw for the Yankees because the Twins have less starting pitching than the Yankees right now. Yes, CC Sabathia is a stud but who do you trust for the Yankees beyond Sabathia; young Phil Hughes? Petite is coming off an injury, Burnett and Vasquez are “rag” arms and Nova is a kid. Minnesota, beyond first game starter Liriano, is a train wreck. I mean do you really want your post-season hopes resting with Carl Pavano?

I am banking on the Yankee line-up and pedigree to carry the day in this series but I think it could go 5 games. Yankees in 4 games.

Cincinnati Reds vs Philadelphia Phillies

Right now it’s hard to go against the Phillies starting pitching with Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels but their bullpen remains a huge question mark. Of course, if the starters go deep into the games it mitigates the weakness in the bullpen. The Phillies line-up is a feast or feminine type of batting order in that when they are hot, they are all hot together and the team will score 8, 9 and 10 runs a game. However, when the Phillies go cold, they can go really cold.

The Reds are the feel good story of this season but don’t sleep on their line-up as Joey Votto should probably win the NL MVP, Scott Rolen is healthy and mashing again while Brandon Phillips is just a really good offensive player. However, I don’t like the Reds starting rotation with Volquez, Arroyo and Cueto. It’s not that these guys are bad pitchers; it’s just that they are not outstanding pitchers. Ultimately the Phillies have too much pitching for the Reds. Phillies in 4 games.

Atlanta Braves vs San Francisco Giants

Bobby Cox is managing his last post-season with the Braves as he is calling it quits after this season. Cox is a great manager but I don’t know if he can overcome the injuries that have befallen his Braves. Martin Prado is out for the season, Chipper Jones isn’t around; he has a real challenge on his hands.

Granted, Cox can rely on his pitching but the problem is that San Francisco’s pitching is better. The Giants run out Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito and Jonathon Sanchez- that is a deep rotation and it is coupled with an outstanding bullpen. However, the Giants are offensively challenged which will make this series competitive regardless of the Braves injuries. Ultimately I am going with the home field advantage in this series but in a very tight, low scoring series. Giants in 5 games.

Enjoy the post-season, we’ll see how these picks come out and cover the ALCS and NLCS when the time comes.

Free Sports Picks for Saturday, October 2nd

After our last successful post, I am back to give you 4 great Saturday picks to start your day off right so you can have a great night tonight.

Pick Number One: Ohio State
The Buckeyes have been looking like a national championship contending team all season so far. I don't see too much trouble covering this spread today against a much weaker Illinois team. Although it is a conference match up, I do not see this being much of a battle. Buckeyes -17

Pick Number Two: Florida State -7 (buy the hook)
Pick Number Three: Miami Fl -3 (buy the hook)
Pick Number 4: Michigan -10 ( don't think the hook will be needed)

Philly Fans Have Short Memories- What Else is New?

I have never been a huge Donovan McNabb fan; I think he is a good player but not a great one. McNabb is by all accounts is great teammate and model citizen so give him extra credit for that, in other words you can win with Donovan McNabb as your quarterback. Given my view of McNabb, let’s also remember that he did lead the Philadelphia Eagles to 5 NFC Title games and 1 Super Bowl appearance in his 11 seasons as the team’s starting quarterback. Eagle fans will be quick to point out that McNabb never won the Super Bowl; in a place like Pittsburgh or Dallas this may be considered a valid point. However the Eagles, pre-McNabb, would never be confused with the Steelers or Cowboys.

Prior to McNabb joining the Eagles the organization participated in one Super Bowl after the 1980 season and last won an NFL Championship in 1960 when the league had 13 teams and was just discovering the value of a facemask. This is not necessarily a shot at the Eagles franchise as much as a historical fact needed to put McNabb’s success as the Eagles starting quarterback into the proper context.

On Sunday afternoon, after being traded this past off-season to divisional rival Washington, McNabb will come back to Philadelphia for a game against his old team. Admittedly, as a Cowboys fan, it is hard to envision McNabb in the Burgundy and Gold and I am sure it is twice as hard for some Eagle fans as well. My hope is that McNabb will be given a warm welcome back on Sunday but for some reason I doubt it. This is a fan base that actually prides itself having cheered when Michael Irvin, Cowboys Hall of Fame WR, was almost paralyzed on the turf in old Veterans Stadium in 1999. Couple the history of the Eagles fan base with the fact that Michael Vick their current QB has played awfully well the past two-weeks without killing or maiming any dogs in the area and my guess is that McNabb’s efforts in the past have already been forgotten.

Fans often forget that only one trophy is awarded each season in every sport thus not winning a title doesn’t necessarily make the season a complete failure. The Eagles were awfully good for over a decade with McNabb leading their team and before his devastating knee injury, McNabb was a scary guy to play against because of his ability to run with the ball and throw while running. In other words, McNabb could beat a team on his own with a mediocre offensive line in front of him- there is nothing more demoralizing to a defense than to pressure a QB only to have him run 20 yards for a first down.

Donovan McNabb is a proud guy and being traded to a divisional rival that the Eagles play twice annually shows you exactly what the Eagles though of McNabb at the end of his days with the team; they don’t fear him. I expect McNabb to be a bit emotional on Sunday but I also expect him to be very motivated. Based on his history, we should see the best of McNabb this weekend; whether that translates into a Washington win or not remains to be seen.

McNabb didn’t ask to be traded, the Eagles told him he wasn’t wanted anymore. Based on the preceding statement why do I expect the Philly “Boo-Birds” to be in full force? In other words, why would a fan boo a player who didn't ask to leave the team but instead was traded? Why the Philadelphia fans would boo a guy who was a pillar in the community and was the 3^rd most winning QB of the past decade is beyond me but many things fans say and do these days often leave me perplexed. I hope I am pleasantly surprised on Sunday and hear McNabb applauded when announced but given the City of Brother Love’s rabid fan base and short memories, I will expect their worst and hope for their best.

$100MM Dollar Slave in Washington Imprisons ALL Americans

Certain words get thrown around these days about as easily as grenades in World War II. It is fairly easy to turn on the nightly news and hear words like racism, socialism, insane etc. used much more frequently than they were 40-years ago. However, it’s not often that you hear an African-American man making $100 million over a 7-year period liken his situation to that of being a slave. However “insane” the preceding statement sounds, Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth uttered it in the past day or so. The insinuation is that “the man” (the owner of the team) is keeping Albert Haynesworth down. I am sure it is hard to get out from underneath the pile of money that Haynesworth has made playing for Washington.

At first blush on its surface the statement is absurd but it’s even more asinine when one considers what caused Mr. Haynesworth to make this statement. You see when Haynesworth signed his 7-year contract last year with the Redskins they played a 4-3 defense but in the off-season the Redskins changed coaches and switched defenses to a 3-4 scheme which would require Haynesworth to play his position differently. For the rest of the world this would seem somewhat normal considering that companies change CEOs frequently; it would seem logical and even predictable that over 7-years Mr. Haynesworth could assume he may be playing for a different head coach than the one he signed up to play for when his deal was consummated. Most importantly, Haynesworth still collects a check every Tuesday for exactly the amount he AGREED to play for when he signed his contract last year.

Haynesworth has now resorted to calling his plight that of a slave and this is where the dangerous part begins. Slavery is nothing to be taken lightly, if one reads a few books and understands what his ancestors went through they would quickly rebuke Haynesworth’s statement as not only stupid and insensitive but dangerous to the black community. You see when people begin using labels, serious labels, on silly things it diminishes the label and as a society we become desensitized to true meaning of the label. Therefore, when the situation actually occurs, society is so used to the label being used frivolously that we as people no longer become outraged by the activity. The analogy I can easily give you is nudity on television. 30-years ago, if you saw nudity on an HBO movie, you were shocked- now if you turn on USA at 10pm there is a good chance you will see what you saw on HBO 30-years ago- it’s not a big thing to society because it has become so pervasive.

I would hope that the leaders of the black community, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson et al would speak out about Mr. Haynesworth’s dumb comment but for some reason I doubt this will happen. The preceding group of “leaders” traffic in race baiting and love to keep that debate alive and well in this country as it provides them with full-time employment and plenty of TV time, that’s sad.

What I find more troubling is that a guy making about $15 million annually feels he is in a situation akin to that of his slave ancestors. The last time I checked my history books, slaves weren’t allowed to leave the plantation, were forced to work without compensation, sold like property etc. etc. Mr. Haynesworth has a huge bank account and is free to pursue any other line of employment he would like other than playing defensive tackle in the National Football League, unless of course he can find it within himself to play for the Washington Redskins with whom he signed a CONTRACT with last season.

With millions of Americans out of work and unsure where there next paycheck is coming from, what do they get from the place they turn to for their entertainment and diversion from the serious issues in their lives? What they get is some self-absorbed professional athlete who doesn’t understand just how blessed he is to play a game for an extraordinary amount of money and to live in a country where freedom is taken for granted. If we, as a society, keep paying attention to morons like Albert Haynesworth who are paid to entertain us on weekends, then sadly we’re all “slaves”.

MNF 10-27-2010 Pick

Both offenses in tonight's MNF game have been above average so far; That's why I'm doing just the opposite and picking the under of 46.5. Since it is a divisional game of two teams starting off 2-0, I am looking for the defense to step up for both teams. I also believe the media and public have made the Packers a much better football team. Don't get me wrong, they are a talented bunch but I believe da Bears give them a run tonight. Lean on the Bears if you can get +3.5 or +4...or you can always buy the hook.

Mirages Not Limited to Deserts

The NFL has an extremely long season. Don’t get me wrong, I love every game of it but it’s a long season. Being that the season is long, it leads fans and analysts to jump to snap decisions regarding the quality of teams well before all the evidence is in. I refer to these snap judgments as mirages meaning something appears which isn’t real. Every September NFL fans get many mirages both good and bad, let’s try to decipher which teams could be currently winning with smoke and mirrors and which teams should markedly improve over the next 3-months; always keeping in mind that the object is to be the best team in December and January, not in September.

With the preceding paragraph in mind, let’s take a minute and try to assimilate what we’ve seen thus far in 3-weeks that lead us to believe a team will either get worse or improve as the season moves along. First of all, I am a big effort guy- I love a team or player that gives outstanding effort. However, outstanding effort early in the year without equal talent will usually lead to a team that starts fast coming back to the pack. On the other side of the coin, you will see some very talented teams that make a ton of penalties and turnovers early in the year; the bad news is that penalties and turnovers will lead to losses; the good news is that this can be corrected.

I see two teams out there right now that I feel will come back to the pack over the coming months; Kansas City and Tampa Bay. Let me say, I believe both teams are significantly improved over their 2009 versions, however, Kansas City is not a 3-0 quality team and Tampa Bay isn’t as good as their 2-1 start would indicate. We got some inkling of Tampa’s lack of talent as they were undressed at home by Pittsburgh yesterday, 38-13. Kansas City does have nice club but they are closer to an 8-8 type team than the 13-3 team that this type of start would typically indicate. Look for both these clubs to slowly but surely begin to lose in the coming weeks. I expect Kansas City to get lit up in Indianapolis two-weeks from now, despite coming off a bye week. The Chiefs lack big-time playmakers on the outside thus I think they will struggle against better competition as the season wears on. Tampa Bay is playing a 2^nd year QB, Josh Freeman, who has immense talent but a propensity for big mistakes. The mistakes that your QB makes get magnified as the games get more meaningful throughout the season. I believe Tampa is more of a 7-9 type club this season.

There are two teams that I see becoming markedly better as the year moves forward. The first team is September’s perennial slow starter the San Diego Chargers. San Diego lost their first game at Kansas City in a close tussle. After waxing Jacksonville at home, the Chargers went up to Seattle yesterday and managed to lose 27-20 despite gaining 570 yards of offense vs. a Seattle team whose roster may not be as good as Alabama’s. The Chargers committed 5 turnovers, had over 100 yards of penalties and allowed not one but two, 100 yard kickoff returns by Seattle’s Leon Washington. San Diego gets starting LT Marcus McNeil back after the 6^th game as he finally signed a tender offer and is eligible to play after game number 6. This alone should help the offense and I expect at some point star WR Vincent Jackson will realize that with a potential lockout looming next year it might behoove him to make a few bucks this year so I expect him to sign as well. San Diego was 12-4 last season and their roster is littered with Pro Bowl players; this team will go on a run where they win 5 of 6 and before you know it, San Diego should be closer to an 11-5 team than the inverse.

The other team I expect to continually get better is the Dallas Cowboys. Listen, I always admit in these pieces where my rooting interests are, thus for the sake of full disclosure I am big Dallas fan. However, I try to call it as straight as I see it. Before Cowboys Nations begins putting Dallas back in the Super Bowl after their impressive win over a very good Houston Texans team in Houston yesterday; it will mean nothing if the Cowboys come off their bye week and lose at home to Tennessee. I don’t see the Cowboys losing at home after the bye week but it’s not as though they haven’t underachieved in recent history so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. That being said, the Cowboys have an immensely talented roster, there is no denying that. Demarcus Ware is the game’s best player and he showed that yesterday sacking Matt Schaub three times. Romo is one of the top 6 or 7 triggermen in the game, Miles Austin is one of the top 4 or 5 WRs, Witten is perennial Pro Bowl TE and this rookie Dez Bryant is ridiculously good. The Cowboys lost their first two games due more to them being inept than the other team doing anything to them. Penalties, turnovers, poor play calling all led to Dallas losses to Washington and Chicago- all that can be corrected as evidenced yesterday in Houston. When Dallas plays a relatively clean game, they are as good as any team in this league thus the question becomes consistency. My guess it that like San Diego, Dallas is closer to an 11-5 team than a 5-11 team.

The beauty of an NFL season is that it’s a journey where we must wait for the answers we seek as football fans. Thus my recommendation is that you get a glass of water and try to stay cool because the mirages that appear in September begin to dissipate in October as reality sets back in.

NCAA Football Picks for Saturday, 9-25-10

I have been asked to provide some information and analysis on the games each week thus in giving the folks what they request here goes my two free picks for Saturday, September 25.

Wyoming +13.5 vs Air Force

By all accounts last week, Wyoming was completely waxed at home vs. Boise St. Boise St was motivated as Wyoming had been circled as a possible trap game after their Sept. 6 win vs Virginia Tech. Boise St. came into the game with their hair on fire and blew out Wyoming, who is a traditionally a tough game when you play them at their place. On the other hand, the Air Force Falcons out gained Oklahoma in Norman before finally falling in a hard fought 27-24 game.

Many squares will look at this game and jump on Air Force; I suggest looking to the other side of this game and grab Wyoming as a 13.5 point home dog. First of all, Wyoming is traditionally a good home team as the trip there is not something most teams are used to making. Also, Wyoming has played two of the top 5 teams in the country thus far losing at Texas and home last week vs. Boise St. On the other hand, while Air Force is always a tough customer, I suspect that last week's game with one of college football's "Blue Bloods" Oklahoma took a lot out of the Falcons mentally and physically. Oklahoma has the type of size and speed that Air Force isn't used to going against and it will show up this week in Wyoming. This will be a close game but in the end Air Force has too much talent. Grab the points and Cowboys.

Air Force 31 Wyoming 23


Texas - 16 over UCLA

Go to Austin Texas and ask them about the "Route 66" game. It may not mean much to you but in Austin it represents the worst loss hung on their beloved Longhorns since 1904. It was September 1997, UCLA had one of their few good teams and they came into Austin to play Texas at a down period (one of the few in their illustrious history). Cade McNown, UCLA's quarterback, had 5 TD passes by halftime and when the day was all said and done UCLA hung a 66-3 loss on the Horns.

Now many of you might be thinking; what does a game some 13-years ago have to do with this game? If you ask that question, you don't understand how big football is in Texas and especially how big college football is in Austin. Believe me, the Texas coaches will remind the current players what UCLA did to their predecessors some 13-years ago. Couple the preceding with Texas, while not as good as last year's team which lost to Alabama in the Title game, being a top 5 team with top 5 talent and UCLA being downright awful. Yes, I know UCLA beat Houston 31-13 last week but Houston lost their QB early and folks, it's Houston- they play in Conference USA. Prior to the Houston game, the Bruins played two BCS schools, at Kansas St. which was a 22-31 loss and Stanford which was a 0-35 loss.

I will be surprised if UCLA cracks 10 points in this game and while I suspect that Texas won't score 66 because Mack Brown has too much class for that; Texas will score enough to cover this paltry spread.

Texas 37 UCLA 10

Death and Violence- Something the NFL Can't Tackle

Professional football is a violent game; I think at times we forget that as we watch it on TV far removed from the on-field action. While it would ideal for NFL players to only be violent during practice and for 3-hours on Sunday afternoons, human beings often don’t have a switch that allows them to step into a proverbial phone booth and change back to a “real life” persona.

Over the last several years, a relatively large number of NFL players have met their demise at very young ages. From Darrent Williams being shot in the back of a limousine on New Year’s Eve a few years ago to Sean Taylor being shot during a burglary in his home to last year’s tragic death of Chris Henry, troubled Cincinnati Bengals WR, who was involved in a domestic incident which found him in the back of a pick-up being driven by his girlfriend from which he was thrown to his demise. The commonality among each of these deaths is that all involved young NFL players dying far before their time and each player’s life ended in a violent manner.

I am rarely taken back by the death of an NFL player, based on the evidence previously presented above, but admittedly when 23 year-old Kenny McKinley, a WR with the Denver Broncos, decided to put a shotgun in his mouth and violently end his life, it startled me. McKinley was an up and coming young player who held many of the receiving records at the University of South Carolina, a school that was home to such greats at Sterling Sharpe and Robert Brooks. After all, to most of us these guys live the perfect lives right? They make millions of dollars to presumably play a game they love which they have played since they were 6 and 7 year old boys. However, when the helmets and pads come off what most of us never stop to consider is that professional athletes have problems just like each of us. While it may be hard for a person with three or four children, no job who is behind on their mortgage to understand; money doesn’t automatically make all one’s problems vanish. In some cases, it will make those problems worse depending on the specific issue.

Too many times NFL fans think of the players as the characters they see when their kids (or themselves) are playing NFL Madden Football. If a guy isn’t playing up to par you will hear the casual fan say, “cut him”; if a guy is hurt you will hear “we can win without him, no big deal”. While I am not advocating keeping players who cannot play football, I am merely trying to point out that cutting a football player from the team is the same as someone in your company getting fired. There are family consequences from kids changing schools to selling homes to figuring out where the player’s next paycheck is going to come from.

For every Peyton Manning who makes $12 million per season, there is a Kenny McKinley making $400,000 to $500,000 to cover kickoffs and punts. Before you tell me that you would do that for $500,000 a year, I want you to consider if you would go through all the violent practices, the endless weight lifting and running for a career that may last 4 or 5 years if the player is lucky? At the end, many of these young men are left physically broken without the mental wherewithal to make it in the real world.

Make me no mistake, I am not feeling bad for guys who make half a million dollars a year to play a game while 10% of Americans cannot find a job these days. I am merely trying to point out that the players don’t live lives any more perfect than any of ours. More importantly, they play a sport where their problems are traditionally solved with violence. For all the skill and strategy we say we love about football, it’s a guilty pleasure because deep down most fans love the big hits and huge blocks- aren’t these what end up on SportsCenter every night during the season. Ultimately we should not act surprised when a man who makes his living being violent ends up in a violent situation or solves his “real life” problems with brute force.

I wonder what was bothering young Kenny McKinley so much a few days ago that he decided that the only solution to his problems was to go into a room, put a shotgun in his mouth and literally blow his head off his shoulders? Whatever was bothering him, I’m quite sure that he did not take the time to consider just how permanent a “solution” he chose to deal with his problems. However, based on what we ask these guys to do on Sunday afternoons, we should never act surprised when the path that an NFL players choose to deal with strife is violence.

What's Wrong with the Dallas Cowboys? Where do we start?

The Dallas Cowboys lost on Sunday to the Chicago Bears and all is not right for America’s Team. Like the country, the Cowboys are licking their wounds and looking for reasons for their 0-2 start which Jerry Jones calls the “biggest disappointment of his ownership tenure”. I have some thoughts on what has gone wrong but I am not sure where to begin so I will begin at the top, the management of the organization.

When you want to figure out what’s wrong with a sports team, the answers usually lie somewhere in everyday life. We all have friends, family etc. who just don’t handle success very well. For some reason, some individuals do better climbing the mountain then when circumstances tell them that they “have arrived”. Well, the Dallas Cowboys are that friend you have who landed a good job and spent half his annual salary on a new Rolex.

The Cowboys have a tough enough task as it is, like a Notre Dame, a Duke basketball or the New York Yankees; if the Cowboys field a team they are usually one of the favorites to make the Super Bowl whether that expectation is realistic or not. Couple the teams overwhelming visibility, an owner who is the eternal optimist, a rabid fan base and you have the formula for disappointments of epic proportions.

What’s a bit ironic is that there is a consistent pattern of when the Cowboys have their biggest “failures” and the owner doesn’t even see that he helps contribute to his own unhappiness. Let’s do a quick rewind to 2007; the Cowboys were coming off the Romo fumble in Seattle which cost the Cowboys a potential game winning field goal attempt in their 2006 playoff loss. Bill Parcells had just left as head coach and the Cowboys had hired Wade Phillips to replace him. Cowboy Nation was in mourning, the team was picked 3^rd in the NFC East and what happened? The Cowboys went out and won the division and produced the NFC’s best record 13-3. Despite a division playoff loss to the Giants (who would eventually win the Super Bowl), 21-17, the Cowboys went into 2008 as a favorite to win the Super Bowl.

Well 2008 rolled around and Jerry Jones did what Jerry can’t help doing, he loaded the boat with talent from PacMan Jones to Tank Johnson to Terrell Owens who was already in house. He signed the Cowboys up to be on HBO’s “Hard Knocks”; I mean after all if you’re going to win the Super Bowl, you might as well have training camp preserved for history. The only problem with Jerry’s master plan was that the Cowboys stumbled and bumbled their way to a 9-7 season which ended with a thud in Philadelphia, 44-6.

At the risk of being redundant, I will assume most of you know what happened last year and how the Cowboys rebounded to win the NFC East and a playoff game when nothing much was expected out of that bunch only to once again find themselves the NFC favorite to go to the Super Bowl and host the game in their own stadium this season. Once again, Jerry Jones couldn’t help himself and what did he do, he sent his team on a barnstorming run in training camp which saw Dallas travel more miles then most teams will travel in the first 6-weeks of the season. Jones oozed over his team saying “this is the most talented team I have been around since we were winning Super Bowls in the 1990s”. The Cowboys, devoid of a true vocal team leader among the players, ate cheese as Bill Parcells used to say and we sit here today two-weeks into the season wondering what went wrong?

Well, after a 0-2 start, it’s become evident to me that the Cowboys issues aren’t about talent; the Cowboys have a systemic problem that begins at the top and permeates its way throughout the organization. Jerry Jones is such an optimist, such good news junky, he has a difficult time dealing with reality. This attitude of always wanting to feel good about the team allows players and coaches to make excuses. Ultimately the Cowboys are a team that despite its bountiful talent, finds ways to lose games rather than to win them.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off a 9-7 campaign and playing their 3^rd String quarterback to start the season yet they are 2-0. The Steelers are a team that grinds and finds ways to win with defense, special teams you name it. One thing the Steeler organization doesn’t do is allow bad circumstances (their starting QB to be suspended for the first 4 games) to become a crutch for poor play.

The Cowboys have one of the games 6 or 7 most talented quarterbacks Tony Romo, one of the top 3 or 4 WRs in Miles Austin, one of the top 3 or 4 Tight Ends, Jason Witten and the game’s best and most feared defensive player in OLB Demarcus Ware. However because of Jones’ penchant for star players, the Cowboys have an organizational belief that you need 22 Pro Bowl players to win. This explains the difference between teams like the Colts who routinely lose an offensive lineman, a cornerback and some other key player yet they plug in a first or second year player and win 12 games.

If fixing the Cowboys was an X and O type of issue, the problem wouldn’t be that difficult to solve. However, the Cowboys problems begin with Jerry Jones who is the best owner in the NFL but one of its worst GMs. Until Jones cedes the GM job to his son Stephen who is a very solid football guy and hires a head coach who is really in charge of the football team; the Cowboys will continue to fall short of their expectations.

Is Notre Dame Still Relevant?

I always chuckle when I hear the “smart” sports guys on TV and radio asks this question. “Gee Mike, do you think Notre Dame is still relevant in college football?” Apparently the real thinkers in the sports world need a history lesson, like many Americans these days in general. The argument I hear most often interjected to degrade Notre Dame is “oh they haven’t won a Championship in football since 1988”.

It is a bit humorous and downright disingenuous argument that a fan who doesn’t care for a particular team and whose team has recently won a Championship will throw out to denigrate a team with tremendous history like Notre Dame. Notre Dame is a lot like the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys in that they are their sports most popular and unpopular teams at the same time. No team has as many fans as Notre Dame and no team has as many haters as Notre Dame which is my first reason to state unequivocally that Notre Dame is still relevant. When a team is mentioned and someone just shrugs their shoulders, think Kansas City Royals, you know you have reached the irrelevant stage. When a team is mentioned and regardless of the reaction, love or hate, you get one reaction or the other, think Yankees, Cowboys and Notre Dame then they are definitely relevant.

The other day a good friend of mine asked when the last time my beloved Dallas Cowboys had won a Super Bowl Title and I said it was the 1995 season to which he replied “wow, 15 years” with a smile. However, after I reminded him that it was 26 years between Super Bowl victories for his Black and Gold Steelers (1979 to 2005), the smirk quickly disappeared. Matter of fact, let’s put this whole issue of Notre Dame not winning a title for 22 years to rest, here is a quick history lesson. First we’ll start with college football, when Texas won their Championship in 2005, it was 35 years since their last title, 1970. Ohio St. went 34 years between titles (1968 to 2002), USC 25 years (1978 to 2003). In baseball, the Yankees went 18 years (1978 to 1996), the Cardinals went 24 years (1982 to 2006), the Dodgers are in Notre Dame’s shoes- 1988 and still waiting. In football, the Miami Dolphins are definitely a team that many people follow right; well they haven’t won a title since 1973- 37 years for you people who struggled in math.

My point is simple, the whole issue with claiming Notre Dame is irrelevant due to the recent lack of success is not only a meritless argument but lacks any substance when put in context with other prominent sports teams. Unfortunately we live in a “what have you done for me lately society” which puts a lot of emphasis on right now and in doing this pushes history to background in favor of the newest and best thing. This is how a team that nobody followed in the 60s and 70s, the New England Patriots, can become one of the league’s most popular teams, it is how a guy named Barrack Obama becomes President. History is very important, it is what ties this generation to the previous one and ties the next generation to us. Our history, in sports and as a nation is what makes us who were are.

Notre Dame is an integral part of the history of college football; many of the sports greatest games and moments involved the Fighting Irish. For one to suggest that Notre Dame isn’t relevant in college football speaks volumes to their ignorance regarding the game’s history as well as their utter disdain for Notre Dame. (Remember, my last blog when I gave the disclaimer that I am a big-time USC with a liking also for Texas as well thus none of this is coming from a Notre Dame lover) What the hell, this team has enough interest in it to basically have their own network on NBC Sports which shows all their games including the ones vs. opponents nobody cares about. The aforementioned fact alone speaks volumes to the type of following and support that Notre Dame still drums up nationally.

We live in a world where we can watch football on our cell phone, communicate constantly with one another at any time thus we have lost our ability to be patient and live in the moment. It seems that along with the preceding fact, we have also lost much of our appreciation of history and lineage. That Championship from 1945 that you denigrate today as being old and outdated with the fan of a team that holds said championship will be the same championship your team earned in 2001 that some young kid is telling you doesn’t matter for your team in 2035.

I can only leave you with this thought as I try to help the “haters” understand why Notre Dame is as relevant today as they always have been in the college football world. In 1965 Rachel Welch was probably the best looking woman to walk the planet; today she is a 70 year old woman. (Albeit a very good looking 70 year old woman) If I put a movie on with Megan Fox in it, you may tell me that Ms. Welch couldn’t hold a candle to Megan Fox- 30 years from now Megan Fox will be old too.

Don't Get Bush-Whacked by the NCAA

Before I write anything regarding Reggie Bush, the USC Trojans or the NCAA I will give a full disclaimer; I am a diehard USC Trojans fan and have been for all of my life. I don't believe the preceding is relevant to what I have to say on this subject just I don't believe the dislike that many of you have for USC (due to rooting interests) should be either. To me this issue is about right and wrong along and how we punish people for their indiscretions.

Let's first assume that something went on with Reggie Bush's family receiving some sort of improper benefits; I say assume because it was never proven. Keep in mind the NCAA investigation is not a court of law, there is no evidence presented in public for examination and scrutiny. The NCAA gets to be judge, jury and ultimately the executioner. I find this humorous because outside of boxing, I am not sure I know of an organization in sports more corrupt and self-serving than the NCAA. Let's all keep in mind that this organization makes billions of dollars off amateur student athletes and then they act surprised when a poor kid, without the money to purchase a pizza on a Friday Night takes money from a blood-sucking agent who wants to represent the kid when he heads to the NFL, NBA etc. to make his millions.

If Reggie Bush or his parents received improper benefits, that's wrong. Reggie and his family jeopardized his legacy as one of college football's truly great players. Now I will say that the man who held most of the "evidence" against the Bush's was a convicted felon and former gang member; does that mean he's lying- not necessarily. However, it does make his testimony less than credible.

I want to concede that something happened here so we can move on to the real point of this piece- context. Even if we assume Bush did this and we agree that what he did is wrong, I find it astonishing that this young man, who by all accounts is a fine human being, is being treated like Charles Manson by the NCAA and media throughout the United States. Keep in mind, Bush is a young guy who upon signing his rookie contract in the summer of 2006 watched Hurricane Katrina's aftermath unfold before his eyes while in training camp with his pro team, the New Orleans Saints. What did Reggie Bush do; he donated $1mm to help victims of the hurricane. Does that sound like a self-absorbed professional athlete, a bad person? Again, this action doesn't excuse what he potentially did during the 2005 season while at USC but it puts his actions into context and the bigger picture of his body of work- his life- as a whole.

The NCAA has since required that all references to Reggie Bush be removed from the USC campus- his jersey, his picture, his banner in the Coliseum next to USC's other 6 Heisman Trophy winners. This is where the story makes real life seem like fiction. USC has 6 Heisman Trophy winners besides Reggie Bush; Mike Garrett, Charles White, Marcus Allen, Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and yes a guy named O.J. Simpson. Yes, that guy the double murdering, armed robber now serving 9 years in a Nevada penitentiary. I know, Simpson was found not guilty of murder but I have $30mm reasons to believe he committed the crime since that is what a civil jury (deciding on a preponderance of the evidence, 12-0 not required) awarded the Goldman family. Considering this civil award against Simpson and that the LAPD never looked for the "real killer", I am going to assume Simpson murdered two people and beyond that was subsequently convicted of armed robbery in Nevada for which he is now serving time.

Here is the funny part; Simpson's jersey hangs proudly in the Coliseum and he remains and integral part of the USC history books. The NCAA has no problem with a convicted felon being a part of the history of one of their "Blue Blood" programs. Keep in mind, this is the USC Trojans, the Trojans of 11 National Titles and most Bowl victories (along with Alabama) not some small school in the middle of nowhere. Better yet, when Simpson gets out of jail in 9-years, he can put on a suit and tie and go to the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City for the Heisman ceremony as he is still a proud member of one of sports most exclusive clubs. You think I'm being ridiculous, check it out this is all true.

Context is important for everything we do in life; after all we don't execute someone for robbing $20 of potato chips from the convenient store. For some reason, the NCAA doesn't feel any need for context as they sit in their Ivory Tower in Kansas City dispensing justice upon young athletes and counting money from TV contracts, merchandise sales and other related activities earned on the backs of these kids. Vince Young said it best when asked this week if he would like the 2005 Heisman, "why would I want it, as far as I am concerned Reggie won the award, it's his". At least someone is seeing clearly these days.

Don't Book Those Super Bowl Tickets Just Yet

One thing you learn with age is that the NFL season is a marathon not a sprint thus what you see in Week 1 could be a season long issue or a mirage, it needs to play itself out. However, the preceding will not stop me from pontificating on what we saw thus far in the first week of NFL Action.

Let's start with the Cowboys game vs. the Redskins since that is the title of this blog. This game was much of the same from Dallas O-Coordinator Jason Garrett as the Cowboys were 2nd in the NFL in yards per game last year, 399 yards per game, while scoring but 22.5 points per contest. Garrett is a guy who may be "too smart" for his own good as many times he calls plays where he thinks a bit too much and uses too much trickery when it is unnecessary. The play call at the end of the first half has to have Garrett's parents requesting a refund from Princeton University where he got his degree from. With 4 seconds remaining in the first half, 64 yards away from your opponent's endzone, what does one hope to accomplish calling any play but a "Hail Mary"?

I understand that Tashard Choice, the young man who fumbled for a quick Redskin touchdown to end the half, has to do a better job of ball security or getting to the ground, but why put the player in that position? I would think taking a knee and going to the locker room down 3-0 on the road in a division contest isn't the worst thing. Garrett is an overrated coach, actually as overrated as they come. He has a top 3 WR (Miles Austin), a top 3 TE (Jason Witten), 3 NFL qualtiy running backs and a trigger man in Tony Romo who is easily one of the top 6 QBs in the league and from that he produces what? I could write an entire blog on back-up RT, Alex Barron, who played in place of Marc Colombo but three holding penalties in one game, the final one negating a game winning 12-yd TD pass speaks for itself. Barron should audition for "Dancing with the Stars" as he spent most of the evening groping Redskins defensive players, might as well grab one of those nice looking Russian dancers if you're Barron.

However, I would not bring out the hearse just yet on the Cowboys and conversely I wouldn't get any playoff tickets in Washington. The Redskins offense scored 6 points and managed just 250 yards- this game was more about the Cowboys being inept (12 penalties, 91 yards) than the Redskins being very good.

In Seattle, we found out that Pete Carroll really can coach. How many games did Seattle win last year 3 or 4? I read before the season where ESPN experts were picking San Francisco to go to the Super Bowl, which makes Seattle's 31-6 win even more impressive. Don't get me wrong, I still don't think Seattle will win more than 7 games when it's all said and done and I do think San Fran will regroup to win the NFC West. Yet I cannot help being impressed with Pete Carroll getting that team ready to play and winning as they did; it shows me something about this guy's ability to motivate. Pete has to be even more comfortable now in the NFL where the players actually get a W-2 at year-end as opposed to his Reggie Bush days at SC where payments were so much more complicated. Hey, I'm a USC fan but I couldn't resist that one.

Finally, in Philadelphia, we saw the media's real NFC favorite the Green Bay Packers go into Philly and hold on for an impressive road win. The real story in this game was the reemergence of Michael Vick and what has to be a QB controversy in Philadelphia. Kevin Kolb got knocked out ot his game after spending much of the first half looking like hte family dog playing in traffic only to have Michael Vick come off the bench an almost rally the Eagles from 17 points down to tie the game. The Eagles actually had the ball, down 7, in the final minutes only to have Andy Reid dig into the Jason Garrett playbook for a QB draw on a 4th and 1- Vick was stuffed and the Eagles were losers.

The Eagles will remain losers if they return Kevin Kolb to the starting line-up because Vick looks to me like the guy that was winning playoff games in Atlanta several years ago.

The Colts made some guy named Arian Foster, from Univ. of Tennessee, look like Jim Brown as Foster gashed them for 231 yards and 3 Tds. Again, if you're Houston, don't book the Super Bowl tickets just yet and if you're a Colts fan don't find the local bridge as I suspect Jim Caldwell will get his run defense cleaned up this week and beat the NY Giants.

All in all, it was an interesting week for the kick-off to the season but remember it's a very long NFL season. The object is to be the best team in December and January not in September. You cannot win a Super Bowl in September but you sure can lose one which is why getting some wins this month remains important. Keep it all in perspective though as there remains a lot of football to be played.

Christmas in September

Each year around this time the 2nd Sunday in September feels like Christmas to a true NFL fan. Oh sure, we had the "opener" on Thursday night but to be quite honest, the Sunday games will always represent the true opening of the NFL season to me. Tomorrow is a day where you grab your favorite beer and some food and sit around all day watching NFL football.

Let's face it, while the September games are the less meaningful games on the slate, they are the most fun games to watch. First of all, the weather is beautiful- a cross between Summer and Fall- and every team is 0-0 meaning that hope springs eternal. Tomorrow even the St Louis Rams fan can believe that with some help and some fortunate bounces his team can be in the playoffs too.

As we embark on the 2010 NFL season what do I expect to see tomorrow? (Don't forget as I pat myself on the back here, I did warn you that Brett Favre would decline a lot this season and if Thursday is an indication, I look spot on right now)

I expect a very close game in Philadelphia between the Eagles and the sexy pick for the Super Bowl, the Packers. Kolb is a very good player and the Eagles offense is potent; don't expect a blow-out there as the Eagles will give the Packers all they can handle and then some.

In Houston, the Texans (another sexy playoff pick) play their arch-nemesis the Colts. I expect the Texans to lead about 21-10 going into the 4th quarter and then in typical Texans fashion when they play the Colts, Manning will lead a touchdown drive, the defense will sack Schaub causing him to fumble. Manning will lead another short touchdown drive and as usual the Texans will come really close to upsetting the Colts but lose 24-21.

I fully expect my Cowboys to struggle mightily in Washington before winning a 17-13 type game and I expect the Steelers to struggle at home with Dennis Dixon at quarterback before losing to Atlanta in a close affair.

The Rams will stink once again, no news there and the Lions will be improved, meaning they win about 6 games this season. Monday night's Jets vs Ravens game may end up 3-2 with those two defenses while the Kansas City vs San Diego game is going to be closer than many expect as I think the Chiefs are much improved this season.

So, sit back get the ice cold beer ready and enjoy the best sport in the world- the National Football League- thankfully it's here to stay for the next five months!