I saw LeBron James do something in Game 5 of their best- of-seven series with the Indiana Pacers and I’m having a hard time getting over it. I saw King James get hacked by a guy that has been talking about hacking LeBron and the Miami Heat all series. I saw would-be bad boy, Danny […]
Winston Churchill once said, “Responsibility is the price of greatness.” Even though I know Churchill was not thinking of baseball, the Arizona Diamondbacks or Justin Upton when he said this, watching Justin Upton play the game of baseball for the Arizona Diamondbacks makes me think of Churchill. Writing the paragraph above made me think of […]
It took me three days to write this column. I didn’t and don’t want my thoughts on the death of another contemporary to be emotionally charged (even though that seems to be the only thing I continue to channel). I don’t like thinking about these sentences and their direction, tone or meaning. The words that […]
When I played the game of football I used what my Creator gave me to the best of my ability. I was too small, too weak, too slow…too everything but was blessed with playing in the National Football League for ten years – even though I shouldn’t have been there ten days. And this is […]
When I played the game of football, I used what my Creator gave me to the best of my ability. I was too small, too weak, too slow – too everything but was blessed with playing in the National Football League for ten years – even though I shouldn’t have been there ten days. And […]
The NFL released its schedule for the 2012 season. Fans, players and analysts all over the country eagerly gathered around the Matrix, staring at their computer screens. The annual occurrence has turned into a celebration of what the league has become, an acknowledgement of offseason greatness – even though the huddled hordes knew what they […]
I think Justin Blackmon is going to be a great receiver in the NFL for years to come. The talented WR from Oklahoma State has been all over draft boards lately, rising and falling with aplomb. Although he runs sloppy routes now and does have some problems in tight coverage, his skill set reminds me […]
Listening to the Gregg Williams audio to his players the night before they played San Francisco put an emotional charge into me and filled me with a darkness only Edgar Allen Poe could understand. I haven’t felt that melancholy in a long, long time. The man is good at what he does…or did. Most likely, […]
Listening to Mike Brown, the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, talk about the dynamics of the player/coach relationship was both amusing and foreboding. Mr. Brown asserted he was the coach, he made the decisions on the team, he would bench players that weren’t playing the right way and that he was in charge. […]
Mercenary football is good. There is an understanding between employer and employee: you play, I’ll pay. Players take the field, give all they possess, bloody the knuckles, rake a few backs, draw a little blood, laugh as they spoil and then pick up a check Monday. This is the way it has been since William […]
I think the Arizona Cardinals are driving the Peyton Manning Free Agent Bus. Sources close to Manning have reported he wants to make a decision in less than a week. Many experts believe this is because Manning wants to sign with a team before free- agency begins so that whatever team he goes to will […]
I can’t stand watching talented people self-destruct. Maybe it’s because I never had any talent and envied those that did? Maybe it’s because I hate to see people waste something that could change their lives and their children’s lives? Maybe it’s because the blessing of talent often comes with a stain on the soul? Watching […]
Recently on the Doug & Wolf Show we had the opportunity to simulcast with Mac & Gaydos on Newstalk 92.3 KTAR. We discussed the merits of letting your son play tackle football as concussion concerns intensify. Playing football is and always has been a dangerous proposition. It involves risk. It’s a dangerous sport and concussions […]
Jeremy Lin is not supposed to happen in the 21st century. We live in a world dominated by technology, communication and knowledge. We live our lives with few surprises. Information is power and knowledge guides us through our days. The weather is tracked, traffic monitored, crops projected, money exchanged, illness predicted, minutia Googled and in […]
When it comes to popularity and financial gain in the world of athletics, there’s only one thing that could rival football in this country: football. The status of the sport has never been stronger and seems to be impervious to economics, natural disasters and dynastic collapses. People love football in this country and they back […]
I hate speculation. It seems like a massive waste of time to pontificate about things that may or may not happen. Contingency plans based on a speculative premise seem like a logical fallacy. Speculating as to whether or not Peyton Manning is going to be a free agent and where he might play if he […]
Even though I only met Joe Paterno twice in my life, I know him so well. If the measure of a man’s legacy are the kind of people he leaves behind, there may never be a more influential coach than Joe Paterno. Over his 46-year career with Penn State University, JoePa mentored thousands and thousands […]
The AFC Championship Game is shaping up to be a philosophical clash of Biblical proportions. Unlike last week, where the New England Patriots played the role of Goliath against Tim Tebow’s David, this championship game has analysts/ideologues debating an old pigskin proverb: does defense really win championships? If defense wins championships then the Baltimore Ravens […]
The Green Bay Packers are the best football team in the National Football League. But if there’s one team in the NFC that is uniquely skilled to defeat the Packers on the hallowed grounds of Lambeau Field, it’s the Giants. Beating the Packers at home in January is like trying to jam four pounds of […]
Rich Rodriguez is getting the band back together. Although none of the band members play an instrument, they are adept at building average college football programs into contenders. They are coaches that blow whistles instead of trumpets and scream instructions instead of lyrics. They are a band of coaching brothers that have produced gold records […]
Brock Osweiler is turning into one of the better quarterback prospects in the country. Few kids playing on Saturday combine his size, athleticism and quarterback acumen with a compact release. He’s 6’8″ but moves like a guy that is much smaller. He’s coordinated and shows decent footwork in the pocket. He seems to have the […]
The Minnesota Vikings are a complete conundrum. Watching them on film belies the record they have posted after the first month of the season: they are talented, relatively young and completely better than 0-4. The Vikings have some of the best talent in the league on both sides of the ball. Donovan McNabb, Visanthe Shiancoe, […]
The offense always lags behind the defense. This has been an axiom of football since the days of leather helmets and Wing-T’s. But this has not been the case in the National Football League in the year of Our Lord, 2011. Offenses have been lighting up defenses like a South Phoenix searchlight. Fourteen quarterbacks threw […]
Beanie Wells is close to becoming a monster. Watching him run last week in Green Bay made me think of Mr. Hyde, not the benevolent Dr. Jekyll. Beanie ran with bad intentions, dare I say malice. AJ Hawk found that out the hard way and so did some other unsuspecting Packers defenders. I want to […]
