Dave Pear will pull himself out of his shallow sleep, the way he has done for countless mornings. He will hobble across his house with the shuffle of a gladiator who has outlived the cheers. He will drink his coffee, he will take his pills, and he will read his Bible.
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Friday, November 28, 2008
Raiders still tinkering with a formula for winning - TFDS
The Oakland Raiders haven't allowed themselves to become complacent even after winning convincingly in Denver last Sunday. They are still working at getting better and are making the types of moves that we here at TFDS have been begging for since the last off-season. While it may be a little late for the Raiders to get that impact diamond in the...
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Lane Kiffin to coach Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee has reached an agreement with former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin to take over as the Volunteers' next coach, with an announcement planned for Monday, barring any snags, according to multiple sources.
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Colts Have Rebounded to Become AFC Contenders Again
The Indianapolis Colts started out the 2008 season struggling, but have rebounded to become legitimate AFC contenders again behind Peyton Manning, Bob Sanders, and Tony Dungy.
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December Awaits Dallas Cowboys. Enough of the Turkey Dance
I have been waiting to write this post all season. December is finally here. The playoff run is about to begin. Games really start to matter now.The Dallas Cowboys have won three games in a row for the first time since the season started. After some ego-disrupting losses to...read the rest at thelandryhat.com
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Raise Your Hand If You Feel Sorry For the Detroit Lions
Chris Johnson was untouched on a short run to the outside and a long gain up the middle. The two plays were symbolic of the canyon-like gap between the once-beaten Tennessee Titans and the winless Detroit Lions.
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Michael 2: Vick Deserves Another Chance in the NFL
I think that Michael Vick should be allowed back into the NFL. I think that the Detroit Lions should give him a chance at RB.
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Thursday, November 27, 2008
New York Looking Super In Both NFL Conferences
New York Looking Super In Both NFL Conferences-by Jon Wagner-Senior Contributing Writer-Football Reporters Online
It seems that immediately after Super Bowl XLII, a general consensus was formed that the road to Super Bowl XLIII would go through anywhere but the place where either of the two New York NFL franchises call home.
Many believed that the journey to Tampa Bay in February would wind through Dallas or San Diego, or perhaps through New England, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, or Tennessee.
The idea of the New York Giants defending their Super Bowl LXII title was an afterthought, and the prospect of the Giants meeting their fellow Meadowlands tenants, the New York Jets, in Super Bowl XLIII, wasn’t even considered.
However, fast forward now, to Week 12 of the 2008 NFL regular season, and suddenly what exists, is the very real possibility of a first-ever all-New York (or if you prefer, all-New Jersey) Super Bowl on the first day of February, 2009.
Yes, that’s the new prevailing view for both a defending champion who has until now, proven itself as the team to beat in the NFC, and similarly, for the team which is this week’s fashionable pick in what has become a scrambled race among several different teams for AFC dominance.
For the Giants, flash back to Super Bowl XLII when looking at Sunday’s game in Arizona. Same locker room, same sideline, same result.
Returning for the first time to the place they were crowned Super Bowl XLII champions, the Giants, as they often have, overcame adversity to do something they’ve done all but once in their past fifteen games -– win. Again.
Playing together as a true team, and having others step up to continue to roll is something that has seemingly become second nature for the Giants. They lose Tiki Barber to retirement and Jeremy Shockey to injury (and later, for good, to Shockey’s poor attitude), and they win a Super Bowl with Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Derrick Ward, and Kevin Boss. They see Michael Strahan retire and Osi Umenyiora lost to injury for the 2008 season, and they pressure 2008 NFL MVP candidate Kurt Warner into enough mistakes on Sunday to hand the Cardinals their first loss in five home games.
Given that track record, it’s no wonder that with their leading rusher Brandon Jacobs missing all of Sunday’s game with a knee injury, and with their best receiver Plaxico Burress sidelined for most of the game (after aggravating a previous hamstring injury in the first quarter), the Giants would find several others to fill those voids in torching Arizona’s defense and special teams for nearly forty points, in a 37-29 win on Sunday.
For those who may still think last year’s run from a 10-6 regular season record to NFL champions was a fluke, the Giants became only the second team in NFL history on Sunday to win five consecutive games against teams with winning records (the 1970 Minnesota Vikings first accomplished that feat).
Despite their 2008 success, the Giants know their path to another Super Bowl remains a difficult one. However, their win over the Cardinals coupled with Carolina’s loss to Atlanta on Sunday leaves the Giants in very good shape for earning the top seed in the NFC. With five weeks left in the regular season, the 10-1 Giants lead both Carolina and Tampa Bay (each 8-3) by a full two games. The Giants don’t play the Buccaneers before the postseason, but they do host the Panthers in the next-to-last week of the regular season, December 21st, at Giants Stadium.
Should the Giants ride a possible number one seed to another Super Bowl, the AFC representative they could play also needs to be sorted out over the next couple of months.
Suddenly, that team is looking more and more like it could be New York’s other team after the Jets won a big statement game on the road for the second straight week.
After taking hold of the AFC East with last week’s overtime win in New England, the Jets waltzed into Nashville and handed the Tennessee Titans (10-1) their first loss of the season, and it wasn’t even close, in a 34-13 rout.
The Jets set the tone early with a nine-play, 76-yard drive grabbing a 7-0 lead just 4:35 into Sunday’s contest on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Brett Favre to Thomas Jones, and they never looked back.
How much of a declaration was it that the Jets have arrived as serious Super Bowl contenders? Check these numbers: though the Jets were outgained through the air (236 yards to 217), Jets’ quarterback Brett Favre was very sharp, completing 25 of 32 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns; the Jets held a huge advantage on the ground, racking up 192 rushing yards to the Titans’ 45; and New York held the ball for more than two-thirds of the game, winning the time of possession battle, 40:30 to 19:30.
The past two weeks, against teams like the Patriots and Titans, are the types of games the Jets spent so much offseason money on upgrading key positions, especially of course, with the signing of Favre, and those moves seem to be paying off now.
At 8-3, the Jets are tied with Pittsburgh (also 8-3) for the second seed in the AFC behind Tennessee. However, given that the Jets just manhandled the Titans on their own turf, they should have plenty of confidence of going back to Nashville for a potential AFC championship game if the Titans and Jets end up as the top two seeds in the AFC.
Of course, it’s understood that defense often wins championships, but also it’s interesting to see which two teams, each now widely recognized as perhaps the current teams to beat in their respective conferences, are the top two NFL offenses at this point.
Two games in two weeks for Jets to significantly measure their progress from more modest hopes of years past, and 34 points scored by the Jets in each of those games. The Jets now rank second with 29.4 points per game, behind only the Giants, who lead the NFL in scoring with 29.9 points per game.
It’s only Thanksgiving week, so no one in New York is thinking beyond Macy’s floats in terms of any parades. But, if things continue for the next couple of months as they have recently, we may know by the end of January if at least one New York team might be gearing up for a parade of their own.
It seems that immediately after Super Bowl XLII, a general consensus was formed that the road to Super Bowl XLIII would go through anywhere but the place where either of the two New York NFL franchises call home.
Many believed that the journey to Tampa Bay in February would wind through Dallas or San Diego, or perhaps through New England, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, or Tennessee.
The idea of the New York Giants defending their Super Bowl LXII title was an afterthought, and the prospect of the Giants meeting their fellow Meadowlands tenants, the New York Jets, in Super Bowl XLIII, wasn’t even considered.
However, fast forward now, to Week 12 of the 2008 NFL regular season, and suddenly what exists, is the very real possibility of a first-ever all-New York (or if you prefer, all-New Jersey) Super Bowl on the first day of February, 2009.
Yes, that’s the new prevailing view for both a defending champion who has until now, proven itself as the team to beat in the NFC, and similarly, for the team which is this week’s fashionable pick in what has become a scrambled race among several different teams for AFC dominance.
For the Giants, flash back to Super Bowl XLII when looking at Sunday’s game in Arizona. Same locker room, same sideline, same result.
Returning for the first time to the place they were crowned Super Bowl XLII champions, the Giants, as they often have, overcame adversity to do something they’ve done all but once in their past fifteen games -– win. Again.
Playing together as a true team, and having others step up to continue to roll is something that has seemingly become second nature for the Giants. They lose Tiki Barber to retirement and Jeremy Shockey to injury (and later, for good, to Shockey’s poor attitude), and they win a Super Bowl with Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Derrick Ward, and Kevin Boss. They see Michael Strahan retire and Osi Umenyiora lost to injury for the 2008 season, and they pressure 2008 NFL MVP candidate Kurt Warner into enough mistakes on Sunday to hand the Cardinals their first loss in five home games.
Given that track record, it’s no wonder that with their leading rusher Brandon Jacobs missing all of Sunday’s game with a knee injury, and with their best receiver Plaxico Burress sidelined for most of the game (after aggravating a previous hamstring injury in the first quarter), the Giants would find several others to fill those voids in torching Arizona’s defense and special teams for nearly forty points, in a 37-29 win on Sunday.
For those who may still think last year’s run from a 10-6 regular season record to NFL champions was a fluke, the Giants became only the second team in NFL history on Sunday to win five consecutive games against teams with winning records (the 1970 Minnesota Vikings first accomplished that feat).
Despite their 2008 success, the Giants know their path to another Super Bowl remains a difficult one. However, their win over the Cardinals coupled with Carolina’s loss to Atlanta on Sunday leaves the Giants in very good shape for earning the top seed in the NFC. With five weeks left in the regular season, the 10-1 Giants lead both Carolina and Tampa Bay (each 8-3) by a full two games. The Giants don’t play the Buccaneers before the postseason, but they do host the Panthers in the next-to-last week of the regular season, December 21st, at Giants Stadium.
Should the Giants ride a possible number one seed to another Super Bowl, the AFC representative they could play also needs to be sorted out over the next couple of months.
Suddenly, that team is looking more and more like it could be New York’s other team after the Jets won a big statement game on the road for the second straight week.
After taking hold of the AFC East with last week’s overtime win in New England, the Jets waltzed into Nashville and handed the Tennessee Titans (10-1) their first loss of the season, and it wasn’t even close, in a 34-13 rout.
The Jets set the tone early with a nine-play, 76-yard drive grabbing a 7-0 lead just 4:35 into Sunday’s contest on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Brett Favre to Thomas Jones, and they never looked back.
How much of a declaration was it that the Jets have arrived as serious Super Bowl contenders? Check these numbers: though the Jets were outgained through the air (236 yards to 217), Jets’ quarterback Brett Favre was very sharp, completing 25 of 32 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns; the Jets held a huge advantage on the ground, racking up 192 rushing yards to the Titans’ 45; and New York held the ball for more than two-thirds of the game, winning the time of possession battle, 40:30 to 19:30.
The past two weeks, against teams like the Patriots and Titans, are the types of games the Jets spent so much offseason money on upgrading key positions, especially of course, with the signing of Favre, and those moves seem to be paying off now.
At 8-3, the Jets are tied with Pittsburgh (also 8-3) for the second seed in the AFC behind Tennessee. However, given that the Jets just manhandled the Titans on their own turf, they should have plenty of confidence of going back to Nashville for a potential AFC championship game if the Titans and Jets end up as the top two seeds in the AFC.
Of course, it’s understood that defense often wins championships, but also it’s interesting to see which two teams, each now widely recognized as perhaps the current teams to beat in their respective conferences, are the top two NFL offenses at this point.
Two games in two weeks for Jets to significantly measure their progress from more modest hopes of years past, and 34 points scored by the Jets in each of those games. The Jets now rank second with 29.4 points per game, behind only the Giants, who lead the NFL in scoring with 29.9 points per game.
It’s only Thanksgiving week, so no one in New York is thinking beyond Macy’s floats in terms of any parades. But, if things continue for the next couple of months as they have recently, we may know by the end of January if at least one New York team might be gearing up for a parade of their own.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
This Thursday Night on Football Reporters Online
Another Informative show this Thursday night at Football Reporters Online! Professor Leonard Marshall Joins us! He is Currently an Instructor and executive in residence at Seton Hall University's Stillman School of Business, but most Football Fans will Remember him as #70 for the NY Giants during the 1980's and early 1990's, the Man who put the hit on Joe Montana in the 1990 NFC title game that eventually would put off the 49ers squad. He will Join us to discuss why the Retired NFL players aren't getting what they deservefrom the Union, His own GPF(Game Plan Foundation) andhis Youth Football Camp in Florida each summer.
Hear the Show at www.blogtalkradio.com/Football-Reporters
Monday, November 17, 2008
Al Davis, Jim Fassel, and The Oakland Raiders Need For A Head Coach
Jim Fassel says he wants to coach the Oakland Raiders. I think he should hold off on that before he hears my take. To make it work, Mr. Davis, the Manager of the General Partner of the Raiders, needs to really give the head coach power to be...head coach.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Old School Players Take NFLPA to School: A BASN/FRO Exclusive
Old School Players Take NFLPA to School: A BASN/FRO Exclusive
By Michael – Louis Ingram- Scouting Director Football Reporters Online/ Host-Black Athlete Sports Network
Editor’s Note: The following is a continuation of a series of articles first broken by the Black Athlete Sports Network last September; regarding the plight of many of the football players who laid the foundation for the National Football League’s rise in becoming the number one spectator sport in America.
Throughout the duration of this series, BASN staffers will offer their opinion and contribute pieces to a very convoluted puzzle.
This past Monday, over 2,000 retired professional football players scored a major legal victory in a San Francisco courtroom when they were rewarded $28.1 million in a verdict against the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and its licensing and marketing division, Players, Inc.
The Hon. William Allsup, presiding over U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, ruled that NFLPA and Players Inc. must compensate thousands of retired players. Citing a “breaching of their fiduciary duty” on the part of the defendants, jurors, in addition to finding the two entities culpable, ruled for $21 million to be handed over in punitive damages.
The jury of eight women and two men concluded NFLPA and Players, Inc. failed to market retired players' licensing rights under a group licensing authorization contract covering the licensing of electronic games, collectables and other merchandise.
Listed as point men on the original suit was Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Herb Adderley and former Cleveland Browns’ defensive back Bernard Parrish, with the original claim filed approximately two years ago.
Adderley, whose career was laced with accolades and championships, received everything he could from football – except proper compensation after his retirement in the early 1970s, barely surviving on $125.86 as his pension from his 12 years in the NFL prior to the filing.
Mr. Adderley and the victorious former NFL players were represented by attorneys from the national law firms of McKool Smith, P.C., and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. The McKool Smith team included firm principal Lew LeClair, senior counsel Jill Naylor and associates Brett Charhon and Anthony Garza.
The Manatt, Phelps group included firm partners Ronald S. Katz, Chad S. Hummel and L. Peter Parcher, in addition to associates Ryan S. Hilbert and Noel S. Cohen.
"This verdict is a great victory for the men who devoted their lives to building professional football," says Mr. LeClair of McKool Smith, attorney for the retired players. "We are thankful the jury decided to right this wrong."
Throughout the three week trial, several former NFL stars testified about the benefits promised by the union that were never received, and the difficulties in gaining information about the NFLPA's finances and licensing agreements.
First & Goal
While the verdict provides some long overdue git – back, there is a downside to this.
The numbers, on their face sound justifiable, but I beg to differ.
Just as insurance companies are wont to do, these numbers, even with the addition of punitive damages factored in, calculate surprisingly low; and this is something I feel the League expected it would take a beating on, as I feel this judgment represents acceptable losses by the League.
If you breakdown $28 million over 2,000 players, it comes out to $14,000 apiece. When you consider the timeframe of two generations; and the fact the League was drowning in liquidity from television packages, international revenue through expansion of the game to Europe, Japan, Mexico and Canada, the concept of the Super Bowl, facilitation for Electronic Arts (EA Sports) to put a stranglehold on the electronic video game business and the creation of the League’s own cable television network, it would be hard for me to fathom NFLPA and Players, Inc. appealing any decision.
But Liffort Hobley thinks these jokers got off easy. Hobley, a defensive back who played seven seasons in the NFL with the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Dolphins, says the amount is even less. “The NFL should be ashamed of itself,” said Hobley, “in allowing this to fester into going to court.
“The money that the players finally get won’t be more than ten grand a head; and while it may offer some immediate relief, it doesn’t speak to some of the long – term concerns many of these veterans have.”
Hobley, now an account executive with Thomson Reuters in Dallas, Texas, says this first check should be an appetizer for a main course in the very near future. “It’s not like these guys (owners and union) were ever in danger of missing a payroll – and no one in NFLPA had the decency to do the right thing by the former players.
“You knew this wasn’t going to be a situation like the USFL debacle, where you kicked out three bucks in damages; but it may as well have been for what little you’re paying out now.”
LeClair confirms Hobley’s numbers. “At the beginning of the lawsuit, 2,074 players were listed on the class action. Twelve opted out, so by the time of the decision, 2,062 players are eligible for the payout.
“But it looks like the NFLPA legal counsel will appeal the decision, and given it takes upwards of two years before anyone sees a check, the per – person breakdown comes out to somewhere between eight and ten thousand per man.”
While that cash will be a welcome sight to those who need it and earned it right now, I’m thinking about the dozens of players the NFL callously let die because they waited for something they knew they were entitled to, but were told otherwise.
I can see a direct correlation between former NFL players dying prematurely to people who were killed after the big gasoline shortage in the 1970s. Motorists were killed for wanting gasoline; jumping ahead of lines, hoarding, etc. – but the oil companies were never taken to court in class action or personal litigation to my recollection because of the preposterous notion these companies aided and abetted someone losing their life – for wanting to fill their gas tank would remain beyond adjudication.
Or how about the hundreds of players whose lives spiraled into depression, pain, blues and agony because of conditions developed from playing a collision sport compounded with stress from continuous denial by NFL doctors refusing to acknowledge said affects as cause.
To conclude that men in their 40s, 50s, 60s and up were in damaged condition due to “natural wear and tear” is tantamount to spitting in their face; but the propaganda machine will remind you of what “noble gridiron gladiators these stout men were” – complete with martial music in the scale of C and John Facenda’s bellowing baritone.
Sure, these cats knew the job was dangerous when they took it – but so did you, you greedy bastards. Why couldn’t you just share and be fair with the understanding that it would be good business in taking care of those who helped you become stinking rich? It wasn’t like you were scrambling to make a payroll…
Show Me The Money!
Which now brings us from the Old Heads to the Young Bloods – the self – indulgent, the clueless (not all, but some); the ones who dance and gesticulate but miss the big picture even after seeing a Kevin Everett or an Anquan Boldin’s life change in one play.
What I’d be asking myself right now if I were a current player or recently retired one collecting what would seem to be a nice check is this: “If they went to such a great extent to screw these cats out of their money, what makes me think they’re not screwing me out of my money?
If you stretch out $14,000 over 20 years, that’s an average of $700 yearly; over 40 years, $350. I’m no accountant, but you would have to include a cost of living adjustment over a similar time frame, then, allowing for inflation, compute how much that would have accumulated if even a third of whatever cash was allowed to sit and accrue interest for a reasonable assessment of what each player really deserves.
It has been said often, and bears repeating: football players have the lousiest contract situation in all the major sports. Your bonus – if you get one – is your foundation. If you get hurt, all those numbers on your contract are as valuable as a roll of Charmin; and your usefulness to that organization after the fact makes you as valuable as the used Charmin that just got flushed away.
Suffice to say this cash should represent the first deposit in a workman’s compensation/royalties/reparations condition; to be expedited to those who need it with all deliberate speed.
The NFLPA and Players, Inc. ran their B.S. marathon; now it’s time for the money to talk.
michaelingram@blackathlete.com
mingram@suavvmagazine.com
mike@footballreportersonline.com
(Managing Partner's note: The last thing we want to do at FRO is damage the reputation of the many fine people who are involved in the business of Football. Many of these said persons have no known knowledge of these Issues. However, as we expect to be thought of as credible journalists, we must "dig deeper" to tell the whole story, to make sure that justice gets done for those who are deserving of it and who are
waiting for it!)
By Michael – Louis Ingram- Scouting Director Football Reporters Online/ Host-Black Athlete Sports Network
Editor’s Note: The following is a continuation of a series of articles first broken by the Black Athlete Sports Network last September; regarding the plight of many of the football players who laid the foundation for the National Football League’s rise in becoming the number one spectator sport in America.
Throughout the duration of this series, BASN staffers will offer their opinion and contribute pieces to a very convoluted puzzle.
This past Monday, over 2,000 retired professional football players scored a major legal victory in a San Francisco courtroom when they were rewarded $28.1 million in a verdict against the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and its licensing and marketing division, Players, Inc.
The Hon. William Allsup, presiding over U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, ruled that NFLPA and Players Inc. must compensate thousands of retired players. Citing a “breaching of their fiduciary duty” on the part of the defendants, jurors, in addition to finding the two entities culpable, ruled for $21 million to be handed over in punitive damages.
The jury of eight women and two men concluded NFLPA and Players, Inc. failed to market retired players' licensing rights under a group licensing authorization contract covering the licensing of electronic games, collectables and other merchandise.
Listed as point men on the original suit was Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Herb Adderley and former Cleveland Browns’ defensive back Bernard Parrish, with the original claim filed approximately two years ago.
Adderley, whose career was laced with accolades and championships, received everything he could from football – except proper compensation after his retirement in the early 1970s, barely surviving on $125.86 as his pension from his 12 years in the NFL prior to the filing.
Mr. Adderley and the victorious former NFL players were represented by attorneys from the national law firms of McKool Smith, P.C., and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. The McKool Smith team included firm principal Lew LeClair, senior counsel Jill Naylor and associates Brett Charhon and Anthony Garza.
The Manatt, Phelps group included firm partners Ronald S. Katz, Chad S. Hummel and L. Peter Parcher, in addition to associates Ryan S. Hilbert and Noel S. Cohen.
"This verdict is a great victory for the men who devoted their lives to building professional football," says Mr. LeClair of McKool Smith, attorney for the retired players. "We are thankful the jury decided to right this wrong."
Throughout the three week trial, several former NFL stars testified about the benefits promised by the union that were never received, and the difficulties in gaining information about the NFLPA's finances and licensing agreements.
First & Goal
While the verdict provides some long overdue git – back, there is a downside to this.
The numbers, on their face sound justifiable, but I beg to differ.
Just as insurance companies are wont to do, these numbers, even with the addition of punitive damages factored in, calculate surprisingly low; and this is something I feel the League expected it would take a beating on, as I feel this judgment represents acceptable losses by the League.
If you breakdown $28 million over 2,000 players, it comes out to $14,000 apiece. When you consider the timeframe of two generations; and the fact the League was drowning in liquidity from television packages, international revenue through expansion of the game to Europe, Japan, Mexico and Canada, the concept of the Super Bowl, facilitation for Electronic Arts (EA Sports) to put a stranglehold on the electronic video game business and the creation of the League’s own cable television network, it would be hard for me to fathom NFLPA and Players, Inc. appealing any decision.
But Liffort Hobley thinks these jokers got off easy. Hobley, a defensive back who played seven seasons in the NFL with the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Dolphins, says the amount is even less. “The NFL should be ashamed of itself,” said Hobley, “in allowing this to fester into going to court.
“The money that the players finally get won’t be more than ten grand a head; and while it may offer some immediate relief, it doesn’t speak to some of the long – term concerns many of these veterans have.”
Hobley, now an account executive with Thomson Reuters in Dallas, Texas, says this first check should be an appetizer for a main course in the very near future. “It’s not like these guys (owners and union) were ever in danger of missing a payroll – and no one in NFLPA had the decency to do the right thing by the former players.
“You knew this wasn’t going to be a situation like the USFL debacle, where you kicked out three bucks in damages; but it may as well have been for what little you’re paying out now.”
LeClair confirms Hobley’s numbers. “At the beginning of the lawsuit, 2,074 players were listed on the class action. Twelve opted out, so by the time of the decision, 2,062 players are eligible for the payout.
“But it looks like the NFLPA legal counsel will appeal the decision, and given it takes upwards of two years before anyone sees a check, the per – person breakdown comes out to somewhere between eight and ten thousand per man.”
While that cash will be a welcome sight to those who need it and earned it right now, I’m thinking about the dozens of players the NFL callously let die because they waited for something they knew they were entitled to, but were told otherwise.
I can see a direct correlation between former NFL players dying prematurely to people who were killed after the big gasoline shortage in the 1970s. Motorists were killed for wanting gasoline; jumping ahead of lines, hoarding, etc. – but the oil companies were never taken to court in class action or personal litigation to my recollection because of the preposterous notion these companies aided and abetted someone losing their life – for wanting to fill their gas tank would remain beyond adjudication.
Or how about the hundreds of players whose lives spiraled into depression, pain, blues and agony because of conditions developed from playing a collision sport compounded with stress from continuous denial by NFL doctors refusing to acknowledge said affects as cause.
To conclude that men in their 40s, 50s, 60s and up were in damaged condition due to “natural wear and tear” is tantamount to spitting in their face; but the propaganda machine will remind you of what “noble gridiron gladiators these stout men were” – complete with martial music in the scale of C and John Facenda’s bellowing baritone.
Sure, these cats knew the job was dangerous when they took it – but so did you, you greedy bastards. Why couldn’t you just share and be fair with the understanding that it would be good business in taking care of those who helped you become stinking rich? It wasn’t like you were scrambling to make a payroll…
Show Me The Money!
Which now brings us from the Old Heads to the Young Bloods – the self – indulgent, the clueless (not all, but some); the ones who dance and gesticulate but miss the big picture even after seeing a Kevin Everett or an Anquan Boldin’s life change in one play.
What I’d be asking myself right now if I were a current player or recently retired one collecting what would seem to be a nice check is this: “If they went to such a great extent to screw these cats out of their money, what makes me think they’re not screwing me out of my money?
If you stretch out $14,000 over 20 years, that’s an average of $700 yearly; over 40 years, $350. I’m no accountant, but you would have to include a cost of living adjustment over a similar time frame, then, allowing for inflation, compute how much that would have accumulated if even a third of whatever cash was allowed to sit and accrue interest for a reasonable assessment of what each player really deserves.
It has been said often, and bears repeating: football players have the lousiest contract situation in all the major sports. Your bonus – if you get one – is your foundation. If you get hurt, all those numbers on your contract are as valuable as a roll of Charmin; and your usefulness to that organization after the fact makes you as valuable as the used Charmin that just got flushed away.
Suffice to say this cash should represent the first deposit in a workman’s compensation/royalties/reparations condition; to be expedited to those who need it with all deliberate speed.
The NFLPA and Players, Inc. ran their B.S. marathon; now it’s time for the money to talk.
michaelingram@blackathlete.com
mingram@suavvmagazine.com
mike@footballreportersonline.com
(Managing Partner's note: The last thing we want to do at FRO is damage the reputation of the many fine people who are involved in the business of Football. Many of these said persons have no known knowledge of these Issues. However, as we expect to be thought of as credible journalists, we must "dig deeper" to tell the whole story, to make sure that justice gets done for those who are deserving of it and who are
waiting for it!)
