by Bill Johnson (bjohnson@gkbsports.com)

 

For once, it’s nice to see common sense prevail.

 

At the beginning of the lockout, the owners wanted a bigger piece of the pie. The players have never been happy with their lot in life in comparison to their NBA and MLB brethren. There was distrust and resentment headed in both directions. Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith were sniping at each other.

 

Now, three and one half months later, we have labor peace.

 

Labor peace for the next ten years.

 

For most of the players currently playing, labor peace for the rest of their careers.

 

Ahhh!!! Drink it in.

 

How is this possible? How did this all get wrapped up?

 

Simple.

 

In spite of their differences, everyone is making money. Lots of it. Would they like to make more? Absolutely. We all would. 

 

All parties involved saw the goose that lays the golden eggs starting to walk the Green Mile. Not even talking to the priest yet. Not even saying her final farewell to the other death row guys. Just leaving the cell.

 

That struck enough fear in the players and the owners that they put aside the smaller things and got the deal done. 

 

Yes the players had to get all puffy when they felt like the owners were dictating to them on Friday, but by Sunday the thought of that goose approaching the electric chair brought them back into line.

 

So now they essentially have to pick teams and get camp rolling. Teams like the Packers, Patriots, Steelers, and Colts will start working on winning the Super Bowl XLVI. Teams like the Bengals, Bills, and Panthers will continue to suck.

 

And all was right with the world....

 

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I look for this whole mess to be settled by July 26th with free agency beginning July 28th. I think we're only going to have the Hall of Fame game cancelled. I still see all teams playing four exhibition games. NFL owners can't afford to lose those millions!

ldavis@gkbsports.com

 

by Bill Johnson (bjohnson@gkbsports.com)

7-8-11

 

Timing is incredible.

 

At a time when the retired NFL players may take the spotlight with their action against the NFL and against it’s current players, Hall of Famer John Mackey has died at the age of 69.

 

The retired players couldn’t have a better example than Mackey to make their case.

 

Mackey is still regarded by many as the greatest tight end of all time. A member of the Super Bowl V champion Colts and their 13-1 team that lost to the Jets in Super Bowl III, Mackey was one of the league best all around players of the ’60’s. He was big, strong, and fast. He had great hands and a nose for the big play, as displayed with his opportunistic touchdown catch in Super Bowl V.

 

Still don’t remember Mackey? 

 

Do you recall seeing grainy, old footage of a guy breaking roughly nine tackles on the same play?

 

That’s Mackey, and that’s a problem for the NFL.

 

In his playing days, Mackey was one of the leagues sharpest players. He was the first president of the players association.

 

From all accounts, the final decade of John Mackey’s life was no fun for him or for his family. The mind that was once so sharp had been dulled by dementia. The body that was so powerful was rendered nearly helpless.

 

Was John Mackey’s dementia a direct result of the pounding that he took in the NFL? One doesn’t have to look very far into the NFL Films vaults to find footage of John Mackey involved in violent contact, either receiving or distributing that contact.

 

What has to trouble NFL players past and present is the way that it happened to Mackey, and to other NFL players with similar issues. You don’t see John Mackey taking or dishing out too many “money shots.” With Mackey, much like with Muhammed Ali, the problem was with the jabs.

 

The league can legislate to eliminate helmet to helmet hits and hits against defenseless receivers. They can fine and suspend the offending players.

 

The NFL will never be able to do anything about the consistent pounding that takes place on every single play. 

 

The center and guard hit the defensive tackle. The offensive tackle absorbs the punches and shivers from the rush end. The fullback bangs into the line of scrimmage. The linebacker brings the ball carrier to the ground.

None of these are worthy of a highlight reel. None of these will ever be deemed fineable offenses. These ordinary plays will continue to happen hundreds of times per week during the NFL season, and they will continue to adversely affect the health of those involved.

 

Not every NFL player will end up like John Mackey, or Dave Duerson, or Tom Neville (look it up.) Sammy Baugh was the scourge of the NFL Films censors and looked very happy as he lived to be 94. There are plenty of players that “look like they could still play.” If you ever get the chance to talk with a former player, ask them how they feel every morning. Even in talking to former players that look in great shape, most of them have at least some lingering issues from playing in the NFL.

 

So, the next time you’re tempted to say, “They get millions of dollars to play a kid’s game,” think about John Mackey.

 

I don’t think you’d want your kids playing the game John Mackey played.

by Bill Johnson (bjohnson613@gmail.com)

 

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

 

The preceding is the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As Americans, it applies to all of us.

 

Rashard Mendenhall is an American.

 

Rashard Mendenhall has the right to say whatever he wants, even if you and I disagree.

 

What exactly is all the hubbub about?

 

Rashard Mendenhall is a running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The last time I checked (and I actually did check) running backs for the Pittsburgh Steelers have about as much impact on international and domestic politics as middle aged sports talk show hosts. None. That would make Mendenhall’s comments harmless.

 

You are free to disagree with his comments because your right to free speech, like Mendenhall’s, is protected by the First Amendment. 

 

But really, what is the hubbub? Mendenhall Tweeted:

 

"What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side..."

On it’s own, this actually makes some sense. We don’t celebrate death. It’s not in our nature. I think behind all of the bluster, we are all relieved that Bin Laden is gone, but we realize that we live in a different world now because of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Their are plenty of little Bin Laden’s out there, maybe more dangerous. Next Tweet:

"We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style."

I have one problem with Rashard’s tweet here: If you’re going to say something, just say it. Don’t make me guess. I’m guessing this is somewhere in the neighborhood of “The Bush administration planned 9-11.” That should be filed next to “Barack Obama wasn’t born in the U.S.” Really dumb things to say that make the speaker look dumb, but still covered under the first amendment. 

In March, Adrian Peterson compared the NFL to modern-day slavery. Mendenhall tweeted the following:

"Anyone with knowledge of the slave trade and the NFL could say that these two parallel each other," 

Like most Americans, including Rashard Mendenhall, I learned about slavery in two places: school and the mini-series “Roots.” Even in “Roots” sanitized for prime time ’70’s TV version of slavery, I don’t remember any mention of signing bonuses or performance incentives. Hey Rashard, if I were Chicken George I'd fire my agent.

The difference is that when a prominent black sports figure says something foolish about slavery, it’s just mildly obnoxious. When Jimmy The Greek made his drunken comments, it ruined him. OK, he was an old white guy with some racist beliefs. How did that effect his ability to predict games on The NFL Today?

If Art Rooney II’s comments end with this, I think he’s handled this situation correctly.

"I have not spoken with Rashard, so it is hard to explain or even comprehend what he meant with his recent Twitter comments. The entire Steelers organization is very proud of the job our military personnel have done and we can only hope this leads to our troops coming home soon."

Rooney’s comments stand on their own, and stand as an example of how all employers should react in these situations. He can’t speak for Mendenhall, only for himself. Stick with that Art.

The problem is that Rooney’s inbox is probably jammed with fan reaction calling for Mendenhall’s head. Fan’s want the players on their favorite team’s to agree with them and they are disappointed when they don’t.

“Athlete’s and entertainers should keep their opinions to themselves.”

Why? Are we that polarized politically as a country now that we absolutely can’t associate with anyone that doesn’t walk in 100% lockstep with us ideologically?

I guess I would say that I lean slightly to the right of center (others would argue it’s more than a lean.) Green Day is about as far left as a rock band can go. Yet their American Idiot album, aimed squarely at the Bush Administration and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, is one of my favorites. I enjoy the music and even though I don’t agree with every lyric, they are clever and intelligent.

We’ve lost track of the happy medium in this country. We rush into recall elections and don’t get anything accomplished.

We try so desperately to identify bad guys that there aren’t any good guys left.

I don’t know if Rashard Mendenhall is a good guy or a bad guy.

He’s just another uninformed celebrity with a forum to say silly things.

He shouldn’t be feared persecuted.

Just laugh at him. Imagine, caring about what a football player has to say.

Almost as silly as caring about what a middle aged sports talk show host has to say.

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by Bill Johnson (bjohnson@gkbsports.com)

 

Watching the Jenn Sterger interview this morning.

 

I’m wondering what kind of reply we’re going to get from #4, because he’s looking awfully sinister right now.

 

I’m not an idiot (really!) I know this type of thing happens all the time. That doesn’t take the rottenness away.

 

Prior to the interview I didn’t think what Favre had done was sexual harassment. 

 

Now I do.

 

It’s the textbook definition of sexual harassment. Someone with a higher position in the company trying to coerce a co-worker into sex.

 

I thought Jenn Sterger played along. I was wrong.

 

I’m convinced that she was just along for the ride, a ride that she never wanted any part of.

 

So what made me think she was playing along.

 

I assumed. (but I think I just made an ass out of me.)

 

I assumed that a gorgeous wise ass in skin tight low cut NFL gear had to be playing along, right?

 

Wrong.

 

I now believe that Jenn Sterger really just wanted this thing to end and that it has been a nightmare for her. 

 

There is one part of Sterger’s story that I don’t quite buy.

 

She claims that she never wanted this story to go public. George Stephanopoulus referred to a “blogger friend” that Sterger had confided in.

 

That blogger friend was none other than Deadspin Editor A.J. Daulerio.

 

If A.J. Daulerio isn’t the last person that you’d tell secret salacious details that you didn’t want revealed about a sports legend, he’s in the front row of the team picture.

 

I know this was an interview sympathetic to Sterger’s cause. I believe Sterger and feel badly that she had to go through this. Stephanopoulus needed to ask the follow-up: “If you really wanted to keep this to yourself, why did you tell the guy that runs the internet’s leading sports gossip web site?” I don’t believe for a second that Daulerio is her ONLY friend. Why him?

 

Did she originally want money or publicity?

 

I don’t think so.

 

I could be wrong, but I think that keeping this to herself became too much to handle. She couldn’t continue to see Brett Favre portrayed as a reformed philanderer when in actuality he still had a very strong desire to philander. You think we were tired of hearing how Favre’s daughter actually talked him into coming back? Imagine how Sterger felt as #4 continued to pass himself off as America’s number one family man. I think it just became too much to keep to herself. Revealing the details was painful, but not nearly as painful and destructive as keeping them in.

 

Just a theory.

 

So what happens now?

 

Hopefully, Jenn Sterger can start putting this behind her. Hopefully her honesty and candor on this issue can open doors rather than close them.

 

As for Favre, I’m sure that he will continue as he has. Maybe he’ll come back. Maybe he won’t. 

 

It’s my guess that if he addresses the Sterger issue at all, it won’t be for awhile. The sad part is that Brett Favre probably doesn’t think that he’s done anything wrong. There have probably been so many Jenn Sterger’s over the years that have been more agreeable (and there likely will be more.)

 

As for us, we continue to learn how to truly follow our sports heroes. Yesterday, Homer and Thunder did a poll on who their listeners would cheer for, Tiger or Phil?

 

It was split about 50/50, with most of those that chose Phil saying that he lived the right way.

 

Hopefully, if Brett Favre has taught us anything, it’s that we know NOTHING about the personal lives of our favorite stars. We need to appreciate their work and not make assumptions about what they are or aren’t off the field.

 

The more I find out about Brett Favre, the less I want to know.

 

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By Bill Johnson (bjohnson613@gmail.com) 

 

Just fix this, you two idiots.

 

Mr. Jane Skinner and DeMaurice Smith have their sawed off shotguns loaded, cocked, and pointed directly at the head of the goose that laid the golden egg.

 

Enough chest puffing boys. Work it out. Now.

 

Rog, tell the “hawk” owners to shut up. If you can’t make enough money owning an NFL team, sell it. If you’re jealous about the money players make, get out of the business. Time to move on and keep the machine rolling.

D, stop acting like you’re Jackie Presser. I think they found him in a land fill in Jersey. You don’t work for the Teamsters. The average NFL salary in 2009 was $1.8 million dollars. $1.8 million dollars and even with a new agreement it won’t go down considerably (will probably go way up again.). Do what Upshaw did. Make the deal, listen to the small percentage of knucklehead Norma Rae types complain, then MOVE ON and keep your rank and file earning huge Bucks.

 

Also, can both of you PLEASE stop talking about benefits for retired players and player safety. Neither side cares about either issue as much as the fans do. You both no that in the end nothing will be done for the retired players, so don’t pretend that any of you has a conscience. With regard to player safety, guess who cares the least? THE PLAYERS. It’s a violent game and they are violent people. They understand the consequences. If they cared, they wouldn’t play football.

 

Coming off of the Super Bowl, I dread the rhetoric from both sides that will embitter the fans throughout the summer if they can’t work this out.

 

I’m also not looking forward to a hasty, sloppy last two weeks of August followed by a sluggish start to the season.

 

If they screw this up, it will just prove that Smith and Goodell are the ridiculous morons they appear to be. By extension, this speaks very poorly of the owners and players on the hiring of their representatives.

 

Work it out, boneheads. Lets move on!!!

 

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