NFL Drug Policy is a Fraud Too

by | Dec 10, 2008 | Business of Football, NFL News

In addition to the policy on levying fines for every offense from using the ball as a prop to committing a 15-yard facemask penalty that wasn’t called a penalty being a crock, and the suspension appeals process being a crock (albeit a crock that the players allowed themselves to be thrown into), it appears now that the drug policy in general might be a crock too.

Case in point: Jacksonville Jaguars WR Matt Jones.

Jones, a first round pick in 2005, was arrested this past off-season when a police officer saw him cutting lines of cocaine with a credit card in a parked car.  Jones plead not guilty to the charges, but later agreed to enter a drug treatment program to reduce or drop the charges against him.

The resuling suspension for Jones?  Three games, which was upheld by the wonderful appeals process this week.

So, according to the NFL, use a diuretic that is laced with a banned substance that is not on the label–reportedly to cut some weight to make sure you’re a) allowed to practice, and b) not fined–you get a four game suspension.  Get caught with a hardcore recreational drug, and enter drug rehab as a result–three games.

Thanksgiving Halftime Shows Pathetic

by | Nov 27, 2008 | NFL ... something, NFL Random Thoughts

Watching the Lions-Titans debacle earlier today, I thought it strange that the halftime show featured Jesse McCartney–an act that seemed better suited for teenage girls than the typical NFL fan base (one member of my family asked “Is he related to Paul McCartney?” To which I had to admit, I didn’t know, since I had barely heard of Jesse McCartney–but I assumed not, since presumably a child of Paul’s would have more sense and musical talent than needed to join a boy band).

At the time, I figured it was just another thing that the Lions organization managed to screw up.

Then, during the afternoon game, The Jonas Brothers were featured in the halftime show at Texas Stadium–complete with a throng of screaming teenage girls surrounding the stage.

This has left me wondering, who in the hell is in charge of setting halftime shows up?  In recent years, Super Bowl halftime acts have featured U2, The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty–and this year Bruce Springsteen.  These are huge acts that make more sense with the demographic of NFL fans.

Heck, even before those acts, when they didn’t make as much sense (ie, the MTV years), you had Janet Jackson flashing the world, and NSYNC at least had Britney skanking around the stage, and Aerosmith playing with them.

But Jesse McCartney and the Jonas Brothers?  Who is the NFL expecting to tune in to watch that?  And who will be the halftime show at tonight’s Eagles/Cardinals matchup–maybe New Kids on the Block?  Miley Cyrus?  The cast of High School the Musical?

Hall of Fame Semifinalists

by | Nov 26, 2008 | Hall of Fame, NFL News

The 2009 Hall of Fame Semifinalists list was announced Wednesday, about a month after the list of eligibles was announced.  Four players in their first year of eligibility made the cut — DT John Randle, DB Rod Woodson, TE Shannon Sharpe, and DE Bruce Smith.

The other candidates are WR Cris Carter, RB Roger Craig, RB Terrell Davis, C Dermontti Dawson, DE Richard Dent, DE Chris Doleman, LB Kevin Greene, OL Russ Grimm, P Ray Guy, DE Charles Haley, CB Lester Hayes, DT Cortez Kennedy, G Bob Kuechenberg, G Randall McDaniel, owner Art Modell, WR Andre Reed, QB Ken Stabler, commissioner Paul Tagliabue, ST Steve Tasker, LB Derrick Thomas, and owner Ralph Wilson.

A further round of voting will cut the list to 15, which will be announced in January (so far, all 15 of ZoneBlitz.com’s picks as finalists are still in play).  From those 15 (plus senior candidates Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey), inductees will be picked (and announced) the Saturday before the Super Bowl.

ESPN Monday Night Football is A Joke

by | Nov 24, 2008 | NFL Media, NFL Random Thoughts

So, I was sitting at a local chain restaurant having a quick bite to eat with my wife tonight, and had my eye on the TV watching a little bit of the pregame show before tonight’s Green Bay Packer vs. New Orleans Saints matchup.  Fortunately, we didn’t have any sound.

The pregame show is bad enough with the group of jokers that they have on set (including a bit with Trent Dilfer that appeared to be talking about what Tony Romo’s return has meant to Terrell Owens and the Cowboys–and I wouldn’t be shocked if he didn’t bother to mention the illegal contact and pushing off that TO appeared to do in every highlight).

But to make it an even bigger waste of time, they aired a segment that appeared to be a “Newlywed Game” type contest of who knows Reggie Bush better–between what I assume was a teammate and Bush’s girlfriend, Kim Kardashian.  That’s right, they devoted at least five minutes of airtime (and who knows how much production time) to a segment that featured a player that is not playing in tonight’s game, and his “celebrity” girlfriend/fiance that is most known for a) having a fat ass, b) having a not quite as famous as Paris Hilton porn tape, and c) getting booted off Dancing with the “supposed” Stars.

Congratulations, ESPN–you have sunk to a new low.

And, to make things worse, in a quick search before writing this, it appears that the Bush/Kardashian bit isn’t limited to Monday Night Pregame–it appears that they are in ESPN: The Magazine, ESPN: The Website, and presumably ESPN: The Vomit Bag.  At least, I hope so–I think I need one after seeing that.

Week 11 & Week 12 NFL Picks

by | Nov 20, 2008 | NFL Picks

Alright, getting caught up (again)–week 11 picks are below.  After 11 weeks, things are very tight in our races.  In our ranked draft head to head match up, things are tied at 53-26 after we both went 6-2 in week 11 (the Philly/Cincy tie counted as a loss–at 15 points, that hurt us–but a lot of people had it that high, so a Philly win probably wouldn’t have put us in the money).

I closed the gap in our straight picks with a 13-2-1 week, versus Andy’s 11-4-1 week.   He still has a five game lead on me, though, at 94-51-1 to 89-56-1.

And against the spread, I tied things up with a 9-7 week, while Andy went 7-9 overall, to bring both of our totals to 67-61-2.

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