Roger Goodell Is Ruining The NFL

Get out the sparklers Zippy, and put those bottle rockets away. It's once again time for POINTLESS PONDERING, that landmark charred by yesteryear's flames.




Roger Goodell is Badashell for the NFL. How much lower can the game sink before the crowd turns away? He is continuing Paul Tagliabue's erosion of the game. It may be easy to point out the thugs he pretends to show tough love to. The bottom line is his main interest. Even at the expense of the players and the dignity of the game. Every position but running back has been effected by rule changes since 1980. The rule changes got out of control under Tagliabue, a basketball player, and continue to spiral into an insane black hole under the pencil pushing commander of the ship. As I have pondered on in the past, you may as well put the modern day quarterback in a tutu and put flags on his hips. Goodell has made the position almost untouchable for defenders. Pass rushers now have to deal with 300+ pound blockers who get to use their hands, while trying to maintain body control on how they hit a quarterback or attempt to knock down a pass. This same issue holds true for all defenders really. Pretty easy for Goodell, a guy who never played the game, to rush to rash judgments. To make it worse, Gene Washington is on this council. Washington was a Wide Receiver who hated going over the middle in his career, and pretty much ran fly patterns all day to avoid contact. These are the guys trying to tell the defense how to play!

Here are some pictures of Gary "Big Hands" Johnson, Randy "Manster" White, and George Martin. All NFL Greats. Look closely at these pictures. Now imagine if these plays happened in the 2008 version of the NFL. Can you just see the fines and suspensions that Goodell and his cronies would levy?










The quarterback has it so very easy in today's NFL. Not only are they not allowed to be hit, but they get to intentionally ground the ball is they take 3 steps to either side of the pocket. They don't even have to call their own plays. Factor in the horrible tuck rule, the fact that they are robotic with little thought needed, the 5 yard chuck rule, the blockers allowed to extend their hands, and having a ref as a personal bodyguard. It makes one wonder why they get so much money and media push. The NFL has turned it from 11 guys on a team to 10 guys behind the QB. Let us not even talk about how lousy 80% of the NFL QB's are today even with all that help!



Is anyone REALLY upset that the Rays appear headed to the World Series? Will Phillies fans, as loyal to their team as they are, have the same lust in booing them as opposed to any other team? The Rays are just what Major League Baseball needed. Perfect timing, really. After all the steroids talk, the game needed a team like this. Young, full of good players under the guidance of a good manager. They actually remind me of the young Minnesota Twins under Tom Kelly. I don't know if the Rays will get two trophies like the Twins did, but I suspect they will be in the running for the next few years.


I don't babble on college football much, but I did watch a few quarters of Ohio State over 2 games. I just was amazed at the QB Pryor. He already displays an innate ability to lay in a soft touch ball, and has good awareness. Mind you, he is only a freshman. Still, watching him gave me a few thoughts. One was the kid reminds me some of Roger Staubach, and the other was that he may end up with a Heisman by the time he graduates.


What winter sport will you be watching in 3 months? Stern's fixed NBA surely is an option, unless you already have the script of how it'll go (Lakers/ Cavs). The NHL, always the bridesmaid, had a shot and taking a step forward until this week. It may be easy to blame certain incompetencies on Gary Bettman, but it may be more widespread after we all saw that prospect die under shady circumstances. I have no idea how this will unfold beyond an obvious payout to the kids family. I dunno...things aren't very attractive right now for either league. After hearing about those ping pong players fighting, the choice may either be that or MMA?


Did ANYONE notice what rare air Candace Parker just elevated to? Wilt Chamberlain, Wes Unseld, and Candace. NO ONE ELSE. What am I talking about? They are the only three basketball players to ever win Rookie of the Year and League MVP in the same year. To be honest, I didn't see one bounce of the ball in the WNBA this year. Still, this is an achievement to be celebrated by all people who love, or even like, sports.




This is a POINTLESS PONDERING first. A Viewers Poll.

The subject is ESPN's second favorite son = Terrell Owens.




You may know his background growing up. He was raised by his grandmother, who he thought was his mother. He thought his mother was his sister. His dad lived right across the street from him, and avoided him. In fact, he didn't learn any of these facts until he was a young adult. This really explains why the lights are on, but no one is home for this psycho. The question is = If T.O. was unathletic, what would he have grown up to be?

Here are some choices, but you can include your own.

A. A Serial Killer

B. A Male Prostitute

C. Someones Wife In Jail

D. A Pre-Op Transexual

E. A Transvestite/ Female

F. A Respected Member Of Society


Well, it's time to make like a baby and head out. As they like to say in Ol' Mexico = A.M.F.