Unless you been under a rock a week you probably heard that Tiki Barber was going to try his hand at a comeback. This hit me by surprised when I first found out this news then reality set in and I realized why. Well I’m about to tell you the real reason why Tiki is looking to restart his NFL adventure after being retired since 07.
Well once again we have a retired athlete trying to make a return to a sport that he walked from. Like the rest of them Tiki is giving the bullshit reasons that we always hear ( for the love of the game, I still got it, or the classic I need to feed my competitive fire). Tiki that might work on the general public but sports fans no the real reason for the comeback and them three are not it because if it was you won’t just now four years later be making this attempt to be returning to the football field. The top three reasons why Tiki is on the comeback is first his divorce yes Tiki is getting divorce from his wife of 11 years. Tiki left this woman for an NBC intern while she was eight months pregnant with twins. Besides that Tiki has already acknowledged the fact that he can’t afford to pay any divorce settlement, so you can see where this going. Reason number two is child support not only does Tiki have the twins he also has two more for a total of four. Considering the circumstances behind the divorce Tiki would have to pay that to and with the twins not even two he has years to pay that. The third and last reasons why is he doesn’t have a job. Tiki has been missing from NBC because they have cut ties with Tiki. Once the heads of NBC got wind of the affair they terminated the $300,000 contract due to him violating the morality clause which it contained. Tiki has been working for yahoo since then but as we can see that is not going to good. Besides NBC dropping him he has had to cancel public appearances and his goodie to shoe image has been ruined.
After finding all this out I hope you don’t fall for all the bullshit reasons Tiki’s camp is giving for his return. As people and sports fans we must ask if this was Pac-man Jones (a knuckle head), Antoine Walker (gambler), or Shawn Kemp (baby factory) making a return would we be so accepting? I think not so why give Tiki a free pass because he is likable MJ is likable but he gets killed by the media no matter what. All I’m saying is that Tiki is coming back for money that he won’t get better sign on with a company that’s just as desperate as he is.
After the games tonight the NBA will be official at the all-star break. I thought it would be fun to hand out some awards for the guys who have earned them. Without any further interruptions the winners are.
First up we have the fountain of youth award going to a player who we thought was done in the league with 10 plus years but has looked younger. The winner is Shaq yes he has missed time with injury but when healthy he has looked great. The book on Shaq was weak defensively against the pick and roll and he can’t run up and down the floor. Well that looks wrong Shaq is in great shape helping on pick and rolls, trapping guards, and running the floor on fastbreaks with the Cs.
Next is the sixth man of the year, this is one of the hardest ones because their are about three worthy candidates for this one, but like last years finals I go with a laker and celtic with co winners. The Big Baby Davis and Lamar Odom simple because Lamar is putting up start like numbers and can easily make the lake show feel good with parting ways with Ron Artest and starting him. While Big Baby leads the league in charges taken and Doc trust him enough to leave him in the game to close teams out and he also like Lamar can give you a boast off the bench.
The next award is the break out star going to the player who has made the league take notice. This goes to Russell Westbrook he has validated this with his all-star selection to go with his gold medal from the summer and he has helped lead the thunder to a division lead and 4 seed in the west. On top of this he has been listed as a top five point guards in the NBA.
Now we are moving on to the most improved player this award goes to Gary Mathews JR after being a role player for the Jazz last year and leaving for Portland he has been elevated to a legitimate scoring threat and helping to keep Portland in the thick of the playoff hunt.
Now we can move on to the comeback player of the year and I this was the easiest choice to me going to all world point guard Chris Paul who missed a good chunk of last season with injury but this year with a healthy Paul to go along with David West the Hornets are once again a major player in the western conference not to mention he is an all-star once again and proves his worth.
Now let’s crown the rookie of the year although Landry Fields, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousin (when not fighting teammates), and Eric Bledsoe have all had good seasons so far but hands down this honor goes to Blake Griffin. Yes this is true although he was drafted last year he did not play game so he is a rookie. Griffin has been a highlight reel fixture his stats are solid as well and he has made the clippers a relevant team and not the butt of jokes looks like he is just missing a nickname. To top it off he is the first rookie all-star since Yao Ming 03 but he was chosen by the coaches as a reserve and not fans.
Next up is the defensive player of the year and in a surprising choice I think it should be Rajon Rondo over incumbent Dwight Howard. After his performance last Sunday with him taking LeBron out of his game in the second half. To top that off he is in the top of the league in steals. He may not be the sexy pick but he would be a pick you can’t hate on plus he does this defensively while running the Celtics offense as the point, why not give it to a guard.
The last award is the MVP and I believe we should co-mvps this season with LBJ and D.Wade off setting each other I think it should be Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose. KD and Rose have both of their teams division leaders at the break. KD leads the league in scoring as the young thunder look ready to make playoff noise and he is showing he is more then just a scorer lately with his rebounding and defensive play. While Rose have lead Da Bulls with ulcers and loss of key big man throughout the season and by the way he has developed a jumper to go with the rest of the tangibles he bring. Both young studs have grown into leaders plus why not give this to two guys we see for years.
I hope you all enjoy the break and these guys keep up the work. Now let’s see how the rest of the year goes because these awards can change.
Just like most sports fans we have spent most of the Monday after NFL championship weekend listening about the Jay Cutler saga. Okay, as we all know by now Cutler did not finish yesterdays NFC championship due to what was a knee injury and with that out came everyone jumping on Jay. It is easy for everyone to say what they would have done and to trash a person before they know the facts of a situation at let this be a lesson to everyone.
The biggest issue that I had about the whole situation was what current players were saying when some of them has missed time this season themselves. One of the players that had something to say was Mo Jo-Drew who missed the last two games of the season with a knee injury when the jags where in the middle of the play-off race. Mo Jo do we need to question you because if I was the star running back and my team needed to win those games to have a shoot at the post season knee injury or not I would have played. How about if we all jumped on you sir that would not be cool right so why do it to a fellow player so you are a walking contradiction. To the other players like Darnell Dockett you and your cards would have loved to have Cutler under center in the desert and Ashante Samuels you have a little injury history yourself missing time for the eagles at corner this year so let’s be careful before we tweet because you guys basically did the same thing. Everybody is going off what they say on tv as a former ball player and most athletes no it is up to more then the player to make that choice and Cutler was held out by the coaches and medical staff held him out. Looking at the big picture Cutler is still young and the Bears paid him a shit load of money to be the franchise quarterback, so everyone is saying that they would risk their career for one game and if you believe that I got beach front property in Nebraska for sell. Although it looks bad on tv let’s keep in mind players get ripped when they play hurt lose and play bad we say why did he play any way he just hurt the team. Now that we know it is a grade two mcl sprain everybody is saying it is a body language issue so now we are complaining about the guys body language if that’s the truth you can question several peoples commitment.
This should be a lesson to everyone to be careful before you send your thoughts into cyberspace. Now not a sole are coming out to say my bad but they all are looking like a bunch of jack asses. Let all of us who use social media take this as a lesson and just watch what you post are at least get the facts before we let are thumbs write checks to big to cash and make sure we look at are own history as well.
Over the next eighteen months are so the sports world is looking at two events that can shape the landscape of all professional sports. Those two events are the CBA in both the NBA and NFL set to expire over that time frame. What makes those events so important is the fact that both unions are bracing for a lookout. This can cost all parties greatly being that the are one and two in popularity in the U.S and a lockout would defiantly change that. Both leagues just need to work things out are risk becoming as irrelevant as the NHL or scandal filled as MLB. I’m going to see what can be done so that fans are not hurt in these negotiations between millionaires. Let us look at a few of the issues that in each league that is holding both new deals from getting done.
First up is America’s most popular and profitable league the NFL. The NFL is under the most pressure to get a deal done with the current deal set to expire at the end of this season they need to work fast. Both parties have about four different principals that they need to work with to get things taken care of to continue on with football as we know it. One of the things that both parties are apart on is the matter of benefits for former players. Yes the league does provide benefits for ex-players but they are limit to a small pension plan and minimum health care coverage. The owners believe that the current benefits are plenty but players want the owners to provide former players with a better pension and full health care benefits. I agree with the players why not take better care of the guys who earn all the money for them because we do not want to see the players of today to see the horrible fates of such great like Earl Campbell and former steelers center Jeff Webster who died broke and could not afford health care for his concussion ravaged body. This is a reasonable request being the fact that owners want to extended the regular season to eighteen games which the players are not to big on. Both parties can get these things accomplished by realizing that by giving the players an overhaul of retirement benefits that better fit the health hazards that the players face which could see them willing to give in to the ideal of eighteen regular season games. The third sticking point on everything is the power of the commissioner at this time players believe that as far as discipline goes the commissioner has to much power under the current deal the commissioner is judge, jury, and executioner which the players have all voiced strong dislikes about recently. Once again the players have a great argument about this right now if the commissioner wants you fined or suspended its going to happen regardless because nobody can stop him and players are tired of it. What needs to happen to move past this is both parties just needs to do like the other leagues and have a committee to hear players appeals of fines and suspension or that reviews them before they are dished out. I think the committee should consist of two owners, two people from the NFLPA, along with two people from the leagues front office. By doing this the players get the feel of a non bias party to hand out disciplinary action and all three parties can have their say. The fourth and final point is a rookie salary cap which the players have been extremely vocal about over the past three years. This is not a bad ideal because you have vets that still can play ball being regulate to second rate leagues like the UFL and unproven rookies are racking in the money at a record breaking pace. This is not unreasonable it just makes young players earn their money like they do in the NBA and will also save the owners some money in the long run as well and looks like this would be the easiest thing to accomplish.
Now that we hit the NFL we are going to move on two the NBA. The NBA unlike their gridiron counterparts have more time to hammer out a deal to avoid a second player lockout in less then thirty years. The NBA also visible has less obstacles to overcome the current stalemate. The owners are wanting a hard salary opposed to the current soft cap. By doing this the owners will be able to keep money in their pockets and slashing player salaries. The players have already have present a proposal to the owners which includes more extensive revenue sharing instead of a hard salary cap which would increase owner profits and keep player’s salaries the same. The players want the league to lift the age restrictions baring players under nineteen and not at least one year out high school from entering the draft which has been in play for a while. This has been a sticking point for years with players with several standing by the statement that if a guy is good enough and can use it to better a financial situation which is a simple stance. The NBAPA has already sent the owners their initial proposal and yet have heard from the owners and are not preparing any new proposals or counters to the owners. The owners seam to be ready to allow the season to play out without any presenting a counter proposal or proposal at all. With the owners not ready to talk and players not ready to fold as easy as they did on the last CBA this looks to get messy before it comes to an end.
In both leagues both parties just need to work things out because a lockout is not what is needed for everybody involved. The NHL was the last major sports league to have a lockout and still has not recovered in fan support as well as financially and with both leagues being probably the one and two ranked sports and a lockout would devastate both leagues. On top of that with the state of the economy now people have little sympathy for millionaires arguing with billionaires who are arguing about money. So guys let’s do this old school style and sit down over drinks and get the deals done so that America can enjoy their two favorite sports.
Over almost the last month or so of the collage football season fans have been subject to hearing about the Cam Newton controversy. For some of you who have been under a rock I’m going to bring you up to speed on the details. It started with words from the person close to the recruitment process of Cameron Newton alleged that Mississippi State was in the process of a payment plan for newton in exchange for him to sign with the Bulldogs. This has evolved into questions being raised over why he left the University of Florida, the recruitment of Newton to Auburn, and a FBI investigation (which is crazy) into the matter. Let’s just leave Cam alone because I’m going to tell he should get all the accolades that he deserves for his body of work.
The number one thing that strikes me odd with the whole thing is the timing that everything became public. I’m not trying to sound like conspiracy brother but did anyone else find it funny that everything became public with a third of the season left and Newton is the front runner for the Heisman trophy. Let’s first look at the facts no other player has had the effect on college football that Newton has at Auburn. With two games left Auburn are undefeated coming in at number two in the BCS. Now look at Newton’s numbers this season Newton has over twelve hundred rushing yards and over two thousand passing yards with twenty-one passing touchdowns and another seventeen rushing touchdowns. No other player has had such a performance this football season and you can not deny the kid the proper awards which Newton earned. I can understand how the Heisman people not want to give it to Newton coming off the Reggie Bush situation, but unlike when Bush won the Heisman no other player has amassed the numbers that Newton has or made a case like Newton with his jaw dropping performances every week. The one thing that the public needs to keep in mind is these allegations are not new and the SEC has done an investigation and all parties where cleared of any wrongdoing. That’s right America this is old information that Mississippi state reported to the SEC and both schools and the conference did investigations into the matter and cleared all parties stating that no university did anything wrong and Newton is eligible, so if this was done already why do we continue to talk about scenarios and what ifs because nothing happened. Who the hell gave you people the authority to question and speculate why Newton left the University of Florida? Over the time when the play for pay reports came out a week later it was reported that Newton left Florida because he was caught cheating and was about to be expelled. Like Newton Florida head coach Urban Meyer has taken the high road when questioned about Newton leaving the school when he wished Newton the best and told everybody he could not talk about what situation surround a kid leaving the school. Once more a bunch of mess that has no bearing on anything that has to do with this season besides who had not cheated in college. That last set of accusation were uncalled for and was just plain piling on and have no relevance to a thing which matters today do not forget that Florida State cheating incident that covered the whole athletic program or did we forget because none of the athletes was stars like Newton. The final thing that came out of this is a FBI investigation which me myself can say is a little ridiculous. The FBI should not be investigating such rumors when this country has a plenty of missing children, woman, and man that they could use those resources to try to find those people. Since when have recruitment issues been investigated by the FBI anyway so you can tell me that crime at a federal level is that low that they have time to do this if that is so maybe the FBI resources should be reallocated to help make this a better country.
With Auburn only having two more games left before the bowl let’s just enjoy those and the brilliance which is Cam Newton. I do know that all of Auburn opponents hope that the media gives this a break because it seems as the more reports surface Newton’s play on the field only impresses that much more. So to all of the NCAA and everyone else just leave Cam alone because who knows after this season we may never see Newton play on Saturday afternoon anymore.
With the NBA season is a month in there is one big shock. That shock is the record of that super team down in Miami setting around the 500 mark. Yes that’s right the heat are still a mediocre ball club with the super friends all together this far. This is still early in the season and they have plenty of time to turn around this season.
The first thing the heat need is for Chris Bosh to start showing up big time. With the lack of a dominant big man the need Bosh to start to regain his career 20 point 10 rebound form. The next thing they need is for someone from the point guard position to step up and become a floor general like Derick Fisher is for the lakers and Rajon Rando for the celtics. Once they find someone to do that they will have the glue that holds it all together. On top of this they just need more time together as a unit to learn each others habits. Remember this is the first time that all three have been able to play together with D. Wade’s preseason injury, so the deeper the season gets the hotter the heat will be that is without any injuries. Also one of the big three will have to become the vocal leader of the bunch. When you look at the teams that has made this work on of the stars took on this role examples of this is MJ with the bulls, Paul Pierce with the celtics, and even Larry Bird with the celtics they all were and are vocal leaders on a team of three stars. The heat also lack a dependable physical force down low that they will need for a championship. This is something that top teams have when you look at the lakers ( Gasol and Bynum ), the celtics ( Perkins and the O’Neill ), and the magic ( Howard ) so the heat better get taller or become more physical quick or they will never see a title. Finally they have to find a closer which they are going to need to secure those tight victories. Now who will step forward to claim that role LBJ has only hit one big shoot and Wade has not had a chance to hit or take that big shoot. This is key because in order for this to work they need one of these guys to have that killer instinct like Kobe or even better if both guys show it then it will make the team even that much more deadly.
All you people who picked the heat to win it all don’t panic there is still hope. Keep in mind Mike Miller is hurt and trades can be made to improve the team. Remember all they have to do is make the tournament and all bets are off.
With the NFL season has come to the mid way point it is time to hand out some mid season awards.
The first one is the biggest disappointment
I think we can agree this belongs to the cowboys. A team with that much talent and so few wins, gets this award hands down. A year that started with so much promise for the boys has seen the coach get fire and people questioning the teams heart make this interesting to see the rest of the season train wreck on steroids how about them cowboys.
The biggest surprise
This belongs to the Tampa Bay Bucs. Let’s just look at there record with three loss and tied for second in the NFC south who would have thought they would be here. On top of that they have had a handful of last second wins and have a rookie as its leading rusher and receiver surprise.
The MVP
Mike Vick come on down a take your place as MVP. The eagles are an offensive juggernaut under vick this under Vick last week the eagles gave the colts their first November lost in two years. Here is bit of info everyone never mention is the fact the eagles only lost two games Vick appeared in. The first was the packer game which Vick played when Kolb was knocked out and the first redskin where Vick got hurt in not to mention the third lost was the titan game which Vick did not play I call that valuable how about you?
Defensive rookie of the year Ndamukong suh gets the nod here. The numbers tell the story here 33 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and one interception at this point those are great numbers be a vet or rookie. Suh has also help change the attitude of the defense bring an aggressive punishing mentality to the lions defense. Besides name another rookie who has had such an impact.
Offensive rookie of the year
This belongs to the number one pick Sam Bradford the quarterback has been all that has been advertised with over 1900 passing yards he has 12 touchdown passes. Sam has done this behind the rams o-line and with what has been said to be a cast of back ups at wide out due to injury. That says a lot about that young mans ability. Then look at the 4-5 record which has them one game back from the seahawks who has the lead. Sam keep it up and the rams will be relevant.
The back of the milk carton award
Have anybody seen the bengals this season besides TO have you seen any bengal player come to a game. Ochocinco has been a no show this season, Carson Palmer has yet to make this explosive offense to put up the numbers expected. The defense which was known for forcing turnovers last year can’t take away the ball, and Cedric Benson and this what is suppose to be punishing running game is all but. This was the year that the bengals where to turn the corner but they are mia, have anyone seen the bengals?
Defensive player of the year
This goes to the center stone from one of the most impressive defenses that is Clay Mathews. He has the stats to back this up can you say 33 tackles, a league leading 10.5 sacks, and 1 interception and he missed a game. Besides those numbers Mathews makes other teams to game plan for him which proves he is a beast. Don’t forget they have a top rank defense and maybe the best team in the NFC. Only can hope to improve but not problem he will.
Coach of the year
He is the head of black and yellow nation Mike Tomlin head coach Pittsburgh look at what he has done. Big Ben was suspended the first four game which saw them play three different quarterback during that time and all they did was win. They have injuries on defense the back up comes in and plays like the starter. On top of this Tomlin has them ready to make another super bowl push. Black and yellow has the top choice.
The are just a some mid season awards from my view enjoy.
Its week two of high school football and here are ten games if you are a football fan in Tulsa you might want to catch one of these.
Alright here they go and they are not in any fucking order I can leave that up to you.
Cascia hall at Glenpool cascia is coming off their first loss in 41 games and Glenpool looks ready to try and get its second gold ball in three years and are coming off an impressive win over berryhill. Hale at McLain hale is coming off a two point win in week one when McLain is looking for a win and not to mention this is one of thee match up of TPS football teams.
Bixby at Sapulpa
Bixby is looking for their first win as a 6a program after last weeks loss at jenks and sapulpa is looking to get off to a 2 and 0 start after last weeks emotion filled game.
Victory Christian at Holland Hall victory is looking to keep up the winning ways this week coming off of last weeks win and Holland hall looks to keep the wins coming after snapping cascia hall’s 41 game winning streak. Rogers at Webster another match up of TPS programs and both are looking to get a win the loser of this game may not win a game this year but you got to support the public schools. Owasso at Muskogee the rams look for win number one after losing to broken arrow while muskogee looks to go 2 and 0 this earlier season maybe a playoff preview so catch it if you can.
Edison at Memorial
The last match up of TPS programs this week and one of the rivalry games in week 2 Edison looks to go undefeated this early season and memorial is looking for their first win and mid-town bragging rights.
East Central at Bartlesville
This is match up between class 5a and 6a too ten teams and title contenders from their respective classes and both teams look to go undefeated after this game but only one will.
Jenks at Union
Another installment of the backyard bowl need I say more but to add to that this is one of the most heated and highly anticipated games in the state each year. Broken Arrow at Booker T Washington
Broken Arrow looks to keep on rolling after winning impressively at owasso the tigers travel once again to face Booker T in a match of top five teams from class 6a and 5a Booker T still suffering from last years scandal looks to go undefeated and improve on last weeks win versus Carl Albert and this may give the backyard bowl a run for its money besides the backyard bowl is already a sellout.
Oklahoma its football season so get off your ass and support these kids you never know who you may see.
Yesterday Brett Favre finally made his official announcement that he is coming back to come and play his 20th NFL season and second for the Vikings. This one announcement may change the balance of power in the NFC making them the hands down favorites once again this season. So for NFL fans can once again see their favorite gunslinger in action one more, but don’t get to happy because it is yet to be seen if he can repeat the success that he and the Vikings had last season. Also keep in mind that although Favre is back don’t think that those guys have another cake walk to the conference finals and a possible super bowl and I’m going to tell you why.
Well the first and most obvious reason is the same reason why you can’t go ahead and hand the Vikings the trophy is Favre. Please don’t forget the Favre is 40 and by the time the super bowl comes around he will 41 and in NFL years for a player that will go through half of a training camp, a full regular season, and post season for a young stud in his prime that is a physical toll to put on a human body no matter the age. We also have to keep in mind that Favre is coming off two major surgeries each of the last two off seasons one on his throwing shoulder last year and his ankle this one and he has said that the ankle is still sore so that can be a problem once the cold weather comes around (although Favre is the NFL iron man who could see his streak come to an end this year). He also has a dislike for the head coach and his ability to call plays which we seen late last year with them having an argument on the sidelines during the Bears games and reports has surfaced today with the another player saying Favre told him that very thing. The next thing is can all the weapons stay health that the have the team’s top receiver from last year Sidney Rice has yet practiced during camp with a hip injury that is still giving him problems and then Percy Harvin can overcome is migraine issue that has gave him problems since he was ten if the are missing them to it can put a truck load of responsibility on the rest of the wide receivers to put up better numbers and pick up the slack and that will be hard for their group of receivers to do. After that the will have to overcome the loss off running back Chester Taylor who played a key role on last years team as a receiver and back-up to starter Adrian Peterson that is going to be a huge role and one of the several young backs will have to step up and fill that role next year. Speaking of Peterson the also will have to overcome themselves we know in the past Favre’s gunslinger mentality has gotten him trouble with interception and Peterson has problems putting the pigskin on the ground and if the want to host the trophy up at the end of this season they have to get these things under wraps because this is something these guys can control themselves because if both of those key players can not correct those problems that can be trouble in the twin cities. Finally the have to contend with the rest of the NFC north and NFC all together because all of the teams in their division made moves to challenge them this season the Bears added players like Chester Taylor and Julius Peppers. The Packers return their whole off-season that went to the playoffs last year and the defense has had one whole year under the 3-4 blitzing scheme under Don Capers so now the players are more used to it, and the Lions continue to build their team up and young Matt Stafford will be in his second year at qb and the did add to the defense with Ndamukong Suh who the picked number two and signing free agent hell raiser Kyle Vanden Bosch not to add the did give Stafford more weapons in receiver Nate Burleson and running back Jahvid Best to give them some more expansiveness on the offensive side of the ball. This is only what the teams that they see within their own division and when you look what the NFC did as a whole every team from top to bottom will be better and don’t forget the defending champs in the Saints are in the NFC to and you have to beat the man to be the man.
So the Vikings have a long road ahead of themselves and it started already and the question is will the hold up under the pressure or will they break like pipes. We shall see, so tune into the NFL to so how this soap opera plays out this year. Oh yeah we can see how this will be early this year because they start this season off on Thursday September 9 against the saints. Favre and the Vikings let the fun and games start now.
What does Michael Vick, Vince Young, and Cedric Benson all have in common? For those of you who don’t know the answer to that question it is recently they all got a free pass from Roger Goodell and they will be avilable for their teams and will not be supended any this season. This is a surprise to much nfl fans Goodell has been a no nonsense commissioner who will set any player down regardless of who the are, so when everyone heard neither one of those guys would be joining the list of players that could form a pretty good team of guys who has been supended so for heading into the start of the season. Some people may say Goodell is not taking such a hard lined stance on the player conduct policy. Well that’s not it he is just looking at every situation on an indvidual basis when player conduct is concerned, so keep that in mind when you say Goodell is getting soft.
A lot of people say that Vick and Benson both should have to sit out a couple of games, and there was wispers form some people to suspend Young as well as we know none of which happened. Okay I give you the fact that Benson and Vick maybe repeat offenders but this time around both don’t have to worry about missing any time this year so far. With Young he is a first time offender and he only was charged with a misdemeanor assult charge that probelly want see the light of day. Each situation is different but the outcomes are the same bad news for the NFL and a trip to the cop station for each guy to face question and charges. These guys did do one thing other ball players may want to take note of that could help guys out in the future is that they out scooped the reports and notified Goodell’s office and their teams before the media could now that shows accountability which is one thing that Goodell has been telling players since entering his new role. The next thing these three did was come out publicly and admitted their mistake to all the fans to Goodell this showed that they knew it was a privlage and not a right to be a pro football player another thing that Goodell stressed since becoming the new commissioner of the most power sport league. Since the time that all three got in their trouble all three guys has stayed away from trouble and kept themselves away from questionable situation. By doing this they let everyone know that does incidents were just slite blips on their professional raders which I hope stands true.
If any other NFL players read this keep in mind if you get into any trouble that brings your behavior to question try to knock Goodell off his feet in the close door one on one meeting, beat the press to the punch (report your news to your bosses), take ownership for your actions, and remember to be a NFL player is a privleage not a gaurente so keep that in mind. I do not believe that Goodell has gotten soft, but he is being fair toward each player based on the situation that they are in. For everyone who thinks that Goodell is not the same hard ass that he has always been Santino Holmes, Big Ben, Shaun Rogers, and countless others who have to sit in timeout to start off their 2010 season. Remember that like it has been said Goodell’s job is protect the seal and if you ask me he has done a great job of that.
