Extracurriculars » nfl

Bissinger on Goodell’s ‘p-whipped’ NFL

Wendy Parker — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:42:57 +0000

On The Daily Beast today, Buzz writes that the league is trying too hard to compensate for the sport’s innately violent nature, and it’s leading to a crummy brand of football:

Football is violent because it was designed to be violent. Football hurts because it is meant to hurt. Hitting is not for the faint of heart, and I proudly number myself among the cowards after getting slammed into the ground on a missed tackle in eighth grade that I still remember.

Football still is football, but every year it edges closer to a tamped-down ersatz version thanks to Roger Goodell, the Mother Teresa of professional sports commissioners. If Mother Goodell has his way, don’t be surprised if “huddles” become “meditations,” “timeouts” turned into yoga breaks, posturpedic mattresses placed in the pocket to further protect the quarterback.

Safety is an issue; purposeful helmet-to-helmet hits needed to be made illegal. But some of the referee calls this year in which contact was so clearly incidental, defensive linemen gyrating into contorted ballet to not touch the quarterback but still getting flagged, were ridiculous.

One of the NFL’s all-time tough men, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, says he’s calling it quits at the end of the season

Bizzinger’s calling his six-month talk radio stint quits, saying the format is “fundamentally trivial.” There is also this:

According to one well-placed source, Bissinger was involved in two separate F-bomb-filled office confrontations that resulted in him being charged with “creating a hostile work environment.” Once CBS Corporate in New York was poised to get involved with the second incident, Bissinger resigned, says the source. Bissinger would not comment on the record about the disputes. But clearly the station knew he was volatile. It’s one of the reasons they hired him.

Farewell to the ‘King of the World’

Wendy Parker — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:09:49 +0000

George Blanda played in the NFL to the age of 48, and on Monday passed away at the age of 83, giving hope to those in middle age that one’s best days — and memories — don’t necessarily occur while young.

When sports is all there is, until it isn’t

Wendy Parker — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 20:30:44 +0000

Greg Couch reflects on the apparent suicide of Denver Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley and ponders the illusion of sports dreams shattered by painful reality:

“Football is the American Dream. At one point, football — and sports in general — was supposed to be about building character and learning about teamwork, personal responsibility and sportsmanship.

“Oh yeah, it also was about health. Are those the reasons now? Or is it the Tiger Woods Syndrome, the football equivalent of fathers cutting down golf clubs for their 4-year-olds? When families strap a football helmet on their young kids, is it about promoting physical fitness or becoming the next star?”

For Woody Paige, McKinley’s death hits close to home. Too close.

Are you ready for a lockout?

Wendy Parker — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:54:33 +0000

The NFL season starts tonight with the usual bouquet of roses arranged and delivered by the usual suspects. Yahoo’s Michael Silver sorts through the issues should the thrill be gone and we’ve got a full-blown labor dispute dominating the headlines in just a few short months.