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Locked
Out Watching sports television these days requires a higher education and a love for the law. Forget highlights; this is all about each network having an "official legal analyst" and the latest court ruling from a judge not named "Judy". Televised games are now interrupted by court rulings and the latest lawsuits. It has become more routine than a local weather alert from your favorite meteorologists. It's become so ridiculous, that I now root for a weather interruption when I'm watching a game on the tube. I've had enough of the suits, judges, court rulings, stays and lockouts. Please give me back my sports. I'm getting so turned off by the nonsense taking place away from the games, that it's becoming easier to pick up a great book or enjoy the outdoors. To be honest with you, it might be the best thing that has happened in recent memory. Sports is going down an ugly path. The more you watch and hear about the greed that has become the NFL (players and owners are both guilty), the easier it is to find something better to do with your spare time. I loved Roger Goodell getting booed in New York during the NFL Draft.....he earned it. Enough of the BS....get a deal done. Given the economy, unemployment, gas prices.....neither side seems to have any legitimate concern for the "common man" (the same group of people that follow and support the pro game to no end). Speaking of the NFL Draft, the SEC placed 38 players into the 2011 edition, and that was the most of any conference in the country.....again. That makes 5 consecutive years that the SEC is #1 in this department.....I guess it's just a coincidence that the SEC has won the last 5 BCS titles, too. I don't think so...it's a direct link that teams with the best players and coaches usually put themselves into position to win titles, and nobody has been better in college football than the SEC. Ironically, the SEC has either led or tied with the most players drafted in 12 of the last 14 years. Their little Southern Fried Football™ brother, the ACC, did a nice job, too. The conference produced 34 guys into the NFL Draft, trailing only the SEC and Big Ten. Of the 34 players drafted in the league, North Carolina and Miami produced half of the picks.....17 of the 34 ACC NFL draftees came from Chapel Hill or Coral Gables. When you figure that neither UNC or Miami have sniffed a chance to even play in an ACC Championship game, it makes you wonder what Randy Shannon and Butch Davis are doing on gameday? Of course, Shannon has been removed from his Hurricanes' gig, and Butch Davis is doing his best to cooperate with a nasty NCAA investigation. It's one thing to recruit good players, but you've got to coach 'em up, too. That's where the SEC has everybody covered. The Panthers drafted Cam Newton, and the response has been interesting. Some folks love him...some people believe he'll be a bust. I'm not sure how you can make a case for either position, at this point. Like all of the picks, time will tell if a player can develop and produce at the ultimate level. This is just like Signing Day in college football....only magnified. I hope Newton turns out to be great....the city of Charlotte can use a jolt of good sports news. The last year has been brutal.....Panthers, Bobcats, NASCAR, etc....you name it. The Charlotte sports scene needs something good to happen....and soon. In my 20 years living in this town, I've never seen the pro sports scene so down and depressed. That's a lot of pressure and responsibility to put on a guy like Cam Newton....and perhaps it isn't fair. But the kid's attitude and reactions have been great and he looks like he's up for the challenge. I just pray that he can deliver. I'm rooting for him.....there's nothing better than when people think you're going to fail, before you ever put on your jersey. The Atlanta Braves had a lousy week. After sweeping my struggling SF Giants last week, the Braves returned home only to find problems all over the place. First of all, Roger McDowell was accused of using homophobic slurs to fans in SF, which included comments in front of young kids at the ballpark. He's now apologized, been sued and been suspended by the club. Nice job, Roger. Classy. Obviously he wasn't paying attention last year on the bench during the playoffs, when the Giants eliminated them, and then celebrated the career of Bobby Cox before spraying champagne in their locker room. That's the way you act when you're a pro. After the McDowell mess, the Braves' Derek Lowe was stopped for a DWI and racing his auto somewhere near Peachtree Street......every street in Atlanta has a "Peachtree" reference. That's another classy act.....what is going on with the Braves? Only to make matters worse, the St. Louis Cardinals rolled into town over the weekend and thumped the Braves and in the process put Atlanta under .500 for the season. Somewhere, Bobby Cox is counting his blessings that he got out at the right time. So, the college football suits have finally put a 3-year moratorium on the expansion of bowl games. What took so long? If these same guys had a brain in their respective heads, they would do all of us a favor and eliminate about 25 of these meaningless games and somehow find a way to incorporate a college football playoff system. It's really not that hard to do....but when you've got people being paid off (see Fiesta Bowl), you know how corrupt the system really is.....we can only hope and pray that a new revenue stream needs to be produced. That's when you'll find out how easy it is to create a playoff for college football. |
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