RSS
NFL's Not-So-Secret Dirty Little Secret
Steve McNair was a retired player, and albieit the timing was coincidental, but his murder is a reminder that this is the time of the year NFL teams fear most.
It is between the end of the off season programs and the start of training camp. It usually about a six-week break when players tend to cut loose with what amounts to be about their only true free time of the off season.
Thought McNair was a great player, but obviously there were some other issues there. I strongly feel this: Too many players associated with the NFL are dying young. Sean Taylor and Durrent Williams were murdered. Others were victims of extreme violence. Javon Walker was beaten and apparently left for dead on the Las Vegas strip. Richard Collier was paralyzed for life after a shooting.
I thought it was laughable last year when the NFL started making budget cuts. How much profit is enough? So they only make billions instead of zillions. Greed knows no level like that of NFL owners.
How about investing in the players in two important ways?
One is to protect them from random violence. Find better ways - and spend the money. The other is to pay much more attention - and funds - to players as they get older and face debilitating injuries suffered from playing the most rugged of professional team sports.
There is too much of a "discarded cattle" feel to the NFL. I’d call it the league’s dirty little secret.
Except it is no secret.
Random Thoughts
- Absolutely Brandon Inge belongs in the All Star game. Absolutely, Tiger fans should stuff the ballot box to get him in. Isn’t that part of the fun of the All Star game?
- If they have the opportunity, the Pistons should trade Richard Hamilton to Utah in a heartbeat for Carlos Boozier. They couldn’t get a better deal. And make no mistake, they must trade Hamilton. His fate with the Pistons was sealed the moment they signed Ben Gordon.
- In today’s market, is Jiri Hudler worth more than $3 million per season? If I were Ken Holland, I’d pass on Hudler and save that money for a rainy day.
My column in Monday's Oakland Press about how improbable it is the Tigers are in first place at the halfway point of the season: http://tinyurl.com/ly437q
It is between the end of the off season programs and the start of training camp. It usually about a six-week break when players tend to cut loose with what amounts to be about their only true free time of the off season.
Thought McNair was a great player, but obviously there were some other issues there. I strongly feel this: Too many players associated with the NFL are dying young. Sean Taylor and Durrent Williams were murdered. Others were victims of extreme violence. Javon Walker was beaten and apparently left for dead on the Las Vegas strip. Richard Collier was paralyzed for life after a shooting.
I thought it was laughable last year when the NFL started making budget cuts. How much profit is enough? So they only make billions instead of zillions. Greed knows no level like that of NFL owners.
How about investing in the players in two important ways?
One is to protect them from random violence. Find better ways - and spend the money. The other is to pay much more attention - and funds - to players as they get older and face debilitating injuries suffered from playing the most rugged of professional team sports.
There is too much of a "discarded cattle" feel to the NFL. I’d call it the league’s dirty little secret.
Except it is no secret.
Random Thoughts
- Absolutely Brandon Inge belongs in the All Star game. Absolutely, Tiger fans should stuff the ballot box to get him in. Isn’t that part of the fun of the All Star game?
- If they have the opportunity, the Pistons should trade Richard Hamilton to Utah in a heartbeat for Carlos Boozier. They couldn’t get a better deal. And make no mistake, they must trade Hamilton. His fate with the Pistons was sealed the moment they signed Ben Gordon.
- In today’s market, is Jiri Hudler worth more than $3 million per season? If I were Ken Holland, I’d pass on Hudler and save that money for a rainy day.
My column in Monday's Oakland Press about how improbable it is the Tigers are in first place at the halfway point of the season: http://tinyurl.com/ly437q
posted by Pat Caputo at
1:30 PM
11 Comments
