'The Big Game' Ads

It has been a few days since 'The Big Game' so I think it is appropriate to name my Top 4 ads. Any advertiser worth his or her salt should be dying to know what I think a few days after. There are countless people out there with an immediate breakdown on the winners and losers but I gave all of the ads time to sink in (or to forget practically all of them). If they are paying $2M+ just to show the commercial they better hope it resonates for more than 17 minutes. Well, now that I have explained why my list is so important let’s take a look at them. In no particular order:

Fire Breath: This was an early ad from Bud Light but it was hilarious. Hilarious is generally what I am looking for. The part I liked best was that I think it is highly probable that the main character does not have pets since he was allergic to cats. I like people that don't have pets. I despise pets so I think the girlfriend deserved to have her place catch on fire due to a sneezing attack.

Unibrow Babe: If I remember correctly this was a Planters ad. I loved that the chick was clearly not attractive (unibrow, glasses, whacked outfit, weird gait, a bit portly, etc.) but was still able to attract the guys. You know that girl paid close attention to all of those stupid self-esteem assemblies in elementary school. For anyone that cares I do not have a fondness for the aroma of nuts.

Will Ferrell: Just as I don’t have a fondness for nuts, I generally am not all that excited about men in short shorts with a leg raised but this was an exception. I’m terrible at remembering lines so I can't give any examples but Ferrell used some great ones to describe his affection for Bud Light.

Victoria’s “Story I Don’t Want To Tell You”: If I’m not mistaken this was Victoria’s Secret’s first Super Bowl ad and they did a great job. This commercial will likely be used in advertising classes at journalism schools across the globe for years to come. Seeing the hot model in lingerie was nice and all but the truly redeeming part of this ad was that it got me thinking about Valentine’s Day. Here all along I thought that holiday was a bunch of crap. Who knew Victoria’s Secret would open my eyes to the necessity of such a holiday? Is it just me or is Valentine’s Day a much better holiday when Victoria’s Secret is reminding me about it and not some chocolates and flowers place?

Go here to view all of the commercials from 'The Big Game' if you so desire. Note, I use the term 'The Big Game' because the NFL is far more concerned about me using trademarked names than it is ensuring that teams are not blatantly cheating.

Divisional Round Recap

Seahawks Collapse: I have long thought the Seahawks were a really boring team to watch. No one on the team excites me but I think I’m their good luck charm. I watched the first couple of minutes then had to run all over town chasing materials for a baby nursery. Doesn’t my wife know it’s playoff football? When I returned home the field was covered in snow and the Packers had completely taken over the game. This isn’t a BCS Championship Game involving Ohio State, so I felt spotting the Seahawks a 14-point lead would be a bad idea. That was certainly wrong and good luck to the Packers in the next round. I’m going to save my thoughts on Brett Favre for a later post.

Jim Nantz: It’s one thing to hear a local radio guy opine on the greatness of the home team. It’s something else to hear Mr. Masters himself broadcast a national game of his favorite team. I admit that I absolutely hate the Patriots so I notice when announcers, and more often refs, love them too much. (I also hate the Chargers so the AFC Championship game is going to be like watching women’s basketball for me.) I did not watch the entire Jaguars vs. Patriots game but what I did see and hear was the president of the Patriots Fan Club in the CBS booth. Very early in the game the Jaguars scored and Nantz, at the top of his lungs, was screaming that the Patriots needed to challenge the call. It wasn’t the usual chatter you hear from a national broadcaster wondering if a play in the first quarter was worth a challenge. In fact, I’m pretty sure Nantz opened the booth window and yelled some colorful 4-letter words at Belichick for not throwing the challenge hankie during the commercial break. This was only one example but throughout the game I thought the broadcasters were at a Patriots tailgate party swearing the refs were against the Patriots and every call went the way of the Jaguars. Great work Mr. Nantz!

Rodney Harrison: I’ve established that I did not watch the entire game but based on what I did watch I would have guessed Harrison was the NFL Man of the Year. I could care less if this guy has an interception. Can someone mention that this guy is routinely voted the dirtiest player in the NFL? If he played for the Oakland Raiders (a team I strongly dislike by the way) he would be banned from the league. Not just for his steroid suspension earlier this year but for his repeated dirty play. Based on the way he plays, the way his team congratulates him and the way the announcers speak glowingly about him I would guess he gets paid, not by the tackle, but by the personal foul. I feel bad for people that have never watched football and watch the way he is celebrated and think that’s the way the game is supposed to be played. Don’t be surprised if in 10-15 years a new group of players lives off of the cheap shot and dirty play thanks to watching Harrison and noticing that he is so well thought of by the media.

Philip Rivers: The NFL Playoffs are unfulfilling for me. There are so many players left that I cannot stand. Rivers is #1 on that list. Ever since I saw him trash talk Jay Cutler on Christmas Eve I believe the devil has a special spot reserved for him in that place that’s really warm. Has anyone ever seen a NFL quarterback trash-talk the other team’s quarterback from the other side of the field in a blowout? And to top it all off Rivers flat out sucks. Somehow he has found a way to be worse with quarterback “genius” Norv Turner to boot. It takes someone special to make a genius look completely unqualified but Rivers has found a way. Today further adds to the Rivers legacy. He may have played well, I don’t really know. What I do know is that backup Billy Volek drove them 80+ yards down the field for the game-winning touchdown in the 4th quarter. Then what do you know? At the end of the game Rivers was trash-talking with the Colts fans. Stay classy San Diego’s own Philip Rivers.

Tony Romo: I have found out how I can get wives to watch a football game. Too bad I did not know this yesterday! The trick is to have the gossip magazines talk about the star player the week before the game. If I had a dollar for every time my wife mentioned Jessica Simpson during today’s game my bank account would be doing very well. Anyway, there was a ton of talk about whether Romo should have gone to Mexico during the bye week. Personally, I could care less. The bigger problem is that he went down there with Simpson and her dad. That is unacceptable and if Romo doesn’t watch out the dad might ruin his career too. What is Romo’s problem? With all of the hot girls in Dallas he has no reason to date the one with a dad on a leash and all that other baggage.

Channel Surfing: During halftime of one of the games I went channel surfing. Big mistake. I came across a women’s basketball game and thought it would be fun to implement something a friend does: Don’t change the channel until a basket is scored. About 6 minutes later I was still watching the game. It was unwatchable. To call it basketball is an insult to James Naismith and anyone else that cares about the game. Would the media please quit telling me women’s basketball is exciting and full of world-class athletes? If I’m not mistaken, reputable journalists need multiple sources before going with a story. Political correctness should never trump integrity.

Broncos Finally Win

It has been an extremely difficult and disappointing season for the Broncos. It has become so bad that Tuesday was the best day of the season as far as I can tell. Travis Henry won his appeal of a positive drug test and will not be suspended. Now that the season is practically over for the Broncos it is nice to know that Henry will be with the team for the remainder of this season. More importantly, Henry should be in the backfield next year when the Broncos totally redeem themselves.

Back to the drug test debacle. I realize this may be a surprise to some but I am not a doctor so I don’t know all of the medical jargon associated with the drug test. I do know that Henry tested positive for elevated levels of something. When the story first broke Henry claimed the test was not valid because he did not smoke pot and he did not have representation present at the test. What I like about this case is that Henry and the Broncos showed that they weren’t going to let the NFL run all over them. Too many times the players are treated like expendable assets by the league. Maybe this will inspire other players to stand up to the big, bad NFL.

A little known piece of this story that I heard on the radio a couple of weeks ago was that Broncos coach Mike Shanahan had Henry take a lie-detector test. Shanahan said that he believed Henry’s story but wanted a lie-detector test to be taken to prove it to everyone else. If Henry failed the test Shanahan said he was going to cut Henry. Well, Henry passed the test, did whatever he had to do to dispute the positive drug test and is not going to be suspended. I’m not sure who Henry’s lawyer is but if he can give the NFL the middle finger I think he is going to be quite busy representing other athletes in the future. As a Broncos fan I’ve had very little to get excited about this year. Given that, this certainly counts as something to get fired up about.

In entirely unrelated news: How does one manage front row seats at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show? A legitimate answer may even top the news of Henry avoiding suspension.

(Photo of Travis Henry from AP.)

Was That The NBA?

Just finished watching the Monday Night Football game against Baltimore and New England and all I can think is that David Stern has had a hand in preparing NFL officials. It sucks for the NFL that they want an undefeated team so badly because all of a sudden they started calling every play against the Ravens. On the Patriots final drive they converted a couple of 4th downs, well saying they converted them would be too generous. The referees decided after 59:30 of tough, hard-nosed football that they were going to call every ticky-tack foul they could. The most egregious penalty was on 4th and 5 from the 13. A touch by a Baltimore defender was called holding and as I watch the highlights on ESPN it’s no wonder they didn’t show a replay on the worst holding call of the weekend. If the NFL routinely called plays as closely as this one each game would average 40-45 penalties. I could have sworn I was watching David Stern’s referees directly change the outcome of games with selective penalty enforcement.

I definitely was not the only one that thought the referees decided they needed to do their part to keep the Patriots undefeated. After the Patriots scored on a catch that certainly could have been overruled but wasn’t, Bart Scott of the Ravens accumulated 30 yards in penalties. The referees called an unsportsmanlike penalty on Scott so he picked the flag up and threw it in the crowd. I thought it was great because it showed how much emotion the Ravens defense played with and how unfortunate it was that the referees would play such a crucial role in the game.

Random Thoughts

There are quite a few things happening right now so I figure some commentary is appropriate.

1. The Oregon vs. ASU football this game is being televised by 3 networks. That is how stupid the Pac-10 and its administrators are. What other game in the history of the world needs 3 networks to broadcast a matchup of the #4 and #5 teams to ensure the game is seen by everyone? The game can be seen on FSN Arizona in Arizona, OSN in Oregon and ESPN everywhere else. Let's just say if I wasn't going to the game I would wish I lived 'everywhere else' so I could watch a broadcast of top-notch quality.

2. Brett Favre and the Packers just ripped the heart out of my beloved Broncos. The Broncos are not very good this year but a win tonight would have kept them in the thick of the playoff race. Some will claim sour grapes but tonight's game proves the AFC is vastly superior to the NFC. Denver is an also-ran in the AFC and Green Bay (coming off a bye week) has the best record in the NFC. This further proves my point that the Seahawks only became good after they were traded by the AFC to the hapless NFC. Oh well, Cutler looked decent tonight and maybe a high draft pick can help the pass rush.

3. I spent this entire year telling Red Sox fans at the workplace that the Red Sox are the new Yankees. They spent an ungodly amount of money on payroll this year and it paid off for them. I suspect the strategy of buying players like the Red Sox have done and the overzealous nature of Red Sox Nation are going to turn people off to the Red Sox. Just because 3-4 guys on the roster came up through the farm system does not mean the Red Sox are a homegrown team. As I recall that is roughly the same number the Yankees have had over time. Also, the number of East Coast people here on the West Coast has grown exponentially the last few years. Maybe it's because I now live in Oregon where everybody is a transplant but I find it hard to believe these people have been Red Sox fans for an extended period of time. I had one guy tell me today that because he is from Connecticut (not sure how long ago) he likes the Red Sox and Yankees, and in particular the Red Sox today. Unbelievable!

4. Everyone loves to hate Scott Boras. So it should come as no surprise that I like him. I think he is a smart guy and if I was a player I certainly wouldn't mind him on my side at the negotiation table. Boras is likely very successful because of his humble roots and his highly respected high school alma mater but that's just a guess. A lot of folks were upset with Boras today because he announced Alex Rodriguez becoming a free agent during last night's game. Personally, I saw nothing wrong with it. The World Series had been over for a few days so what was he supposed to wait for? Red Sox homer Peter Gammons wanted to jump off the Green Monster because it overshadowed the Red Sox win last night. For me it was the most pathetic World Series I have barely seen and I'm thankful Boras was able to spice it up a little bit.

5. I am not a fantasy sports geek. I don't spend money on premium services and only check my team once a week to make sure I have players playing at every position. With that said, I cannot stand Norv (Norville, Norvelle, Norval, Norvel or whatever he wants to be called) Turner. He is killing my fantasy team by disrespecting LaDanian Tomlinson. It is rumored that friends of Turner read this blog every now and then so they will take offense to my thoughts but I could care less.

6. There is no reason to keep any secrets. The first meaningful post on this blog explained how Joe Torre was overrated and needed to be fired by the Yankees. I still believe that to be true but I sure wouldn't mind seeing him prove me wrong in a Dodgers uniform. Rumors are flying that the Dodgers may be interested in hiring Torre. I say why not? If he can turn around the debacle that is the Dodgers clubhouse then I will be forced to change my tune.

7. Lastly, the NBA season starts tomorrow and I don't care so don't expect too much analysis from me.

I Was First

Many blogs and articles written by hoity-toity journalists are starting to wonder if Norv Turner is the right man for the job. As a Broncos fan I strongly dislike the Chargers, but as a fantasy football team owner I love LaDainian Tomlinson. Turner is trying to single-handedly destroy my team by being a terrible football coach. It comes as no surprise that Turner is not doing well since nothing on his resume suggested he was going to be good when the Chargers hired him. Well, maybe one thing. He did attend the University of Oregon but that was a lot of coaching losses ago.

In an effort to toot my own horn (no hidden meanings with that verbiage so don’t try to take it that way) I called for Turner to be fired after watching the Chargers preseason game against the Seahawks. The Chargers had one too many players on the field for a Seahawks field goal. The Seahawks missed it but were given another chance and made it. In the end the field goal did not factor into the game but it was an early indication that Turner has no idea what is going on. Again, it’s nice to see the Chargers stumble since the Broncos haven’t exactly set the world on fire but Can’t Beat Ginormous needs some points from Tomlinson. Turner is coaching the way he always has so others will start to follow my lead and wonder if he should still have his job.

Isn't That Sweet?

The NFL is certainly the land of second chances. Even the guys that have made bonehead mistakes in the last few months have had transgressions in the past that would suggest terrible behavior in the future. Well, Bill Belichick certainly falls into that category. The beauty of the NFL though is that if you are the right person your transgressions are judged by one person and one person only, Roger Goodell. This guy wants you to think he is tough but I have my doubts. Yes, he did throw the book at Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson and Michael Vick. Really, does it take a disciplinarian to determine those guys are morons? But because Goodell handed out suspensions never seen before, the media made him out to be the ultimate "the buck stops here" kind of guy. After much thought I don't agree.

The most current and relevant situation involves Belichick. I have let my feelings on him be known but some follow up is appropriate. Goodell really showed him not to misinterpret the rules last week. He was fined about 11% of his annual salary, which isn't $20,000 mind you. Wait, that's not all. Provided Belichick makes the playoffs he will not have 1 of his 2 first round draft picks. My oh my, what is a coach to do with only 1 first round draft pick? And if the Patriots don't make the playoffs they give up two middle round picks. I am thoroughly not impressed with the punishment of taking draft picks, particularly in this age of free agency. Patriots supporters will claim Belichick is a drafting wizard but if I'm not mistaken his biggest additions this year were through trades or free agency. You tell me, were these guys drafted this last year? Adalius Thomas, Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker. Simply said, the punishment Goodell handed out was weak. Belichick has a history of cheating and was recently warned not to cheat but simply claiming a misinterpretation of the rules is enough for Goodell to slap his wrist. I could care less if this is an unprecedented punishment. The offense committed is also unprecedented!

Goodell's soft spoken interview with Bob Costas on Sunday Night was real stirring and would have brought me to my knees if I was a cheating coach. Goodell is so certain Belichick is going to hand over all the film that is asked for. Who in their right mind would say that with a straight face? I mean Belichick has shown he is a man with great character after all. The guy cheated after you told him not to and now you're convinced he isn't going to trash incriminating video? I could have sworn people have tried to tell me Goodell is smart. Goodell's crack research team will come back saying all they found was footage from the 2 games that Belichick was caught cheating in. I just hope I'm not the only one that doesn't believe it. I can say for sure Goodell likely will though.

To top off the whole Bill Belichick story I have had to read articles about the team standing behind their coach following the win over the Chargers. Why weren't these guys standing up for Belichick last week? Those Patriots are incredibly ballsy showing support when they did. It sure is easy to stand behind a guy that blatantly cheats after a big win. Tedy Brushci and Mike Vrabel, I'm still trying to decide which is football's version of the incredibly overrated Derek Jeter, are acting like Belichick is a true American hero. They also likely think Rodney Harrison was unfairly suspended for HGH use and will want to give him a parade through Boston after his first interception following his suspension. Something tells me Bruschi and Vrabel would get their jock strap in a bunch if an opposing coach had repeatedly done the same thing as Belichick. I know, call me crazy.

Let me just leave you with some words of advice. The next time Goodell gets a thumbs up from the media for suspending a player just remember that he is in bed with the owners, particularly owners who like to be in the media (see Kraft, Bob). A punishment I would have liked to have seen would have been a reduction in the Patriots salary cap of $5-$10M for the next couple of years. That would have taught every team and coach in the NFL not to cheat. I suppose the reason Goodell's punishment for Belichick was so weak was because he doesn't really care.

(Photo from AP.)

An Insult To Video Guys

I was born on the West Coast, raised on the West Coast and plan on raising my own kids on the West Coast. I love most everything about the West Coast and strongly dislike the East Coast for the most part. I hate the big cities, the crappy weather, the pompous sports fans and the overrated sports teams. The Yankees and Red Sox rivalry is played out, the Patriots are nowhere near the 49ers or Cowboys dynasties of yesteryear and the NBA played on the East Coast is an absolute embarrassment. I haven't even mentioned college football (there isn't any in the Northeast) and Big East basketball is too boring for me to even acknowledge its existence.

I bring all of this up because the New England Patriots have gone and embarrassed video coordinators. I don't know much about the profession but I do know a couple of people who work in the video field. They are hard-working individuals and have to answer to some pretty demanding coaches, or so it seems. It appears Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella has marched to head coach Bill Belichick's orders one too many times. Apparently, he was caught recording the hand signals of the New York Jets on Sunday. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has determined they broke the rules and a punishment is likely to follow. Check out stories on the situation here, here and here.

My question is this. If the Patriots are the single greatest team ever assembled (according to various media blowhards), why do they need to cheat? And why do they need to cheat more than once before being punished? The Green Bay Packers kicked Estrella out of Lambeau Field last year for doing the same thing. Only in the NFL could a player be suspended for a year for being charged, not convicted, of a crime but some 'genius' coach can repeatedly cheat and get away with it. No I'm not talking about Vick, I am talking about Pacman Jones. I predict the NFL will protect one of its 'genius' coaches and fine the team an amount that equals a Sunday's worth of hot dog sales or take away two 7th round picks. Whichever it is, the Patriots will certainly pay so dearly for the offense that they would never want to do it again.

I have long held that the Patriots are overrated and been annoyed by the media's infatuation with them. Now it only gets worse as they employ their video assistant to blatantly cheat and do it more than once. Only an idiot would assume the Patriots have been caught the only 2 times they've tried to film the opponent's signals. Belichick likely thinks he has done nothing wrong and the Northeast will follow his lead like the starstruck sissies they are. If the Red Sox tell their faithful they are not doing what the Yankees did 10 years ago they buy it hook, line and sinker so whatever Belichick comes up with will be taken as gospel.

Awkward Commercials Are Back

Due to a busy work schedule last night's Seahawks vs. Chargers game was the first NFL preseason game I was able to catch a substantial part of. It's embarrassing to admit that I watched most of a game that does not count but I needed to get my football fix in. I generally dislike the Chargers and Seahawks for obvious reasons. The Chargers because they are in the Broncos' division and the Seahawks because they had to leave the vaunted AFC West before they could win consistently. It's no coincidence that the Seahawks finally became a playoff contender after leaving the AFC West. As I watched the game a few things caught my eye.

1. John Madden is already in mid-season form. He spent a good couple of minutes dissecting the enchiladas he received. I'm sure it is a surprise to nobody that he did a marvelous job. It makes me wonder when he will ever be on a Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray type of show.

2. There were countless shots of the cheerleaders throughout the broadcast. The uniform designers defy all rules of physics with the tops they create. The women are so tantalizingly close to falling out of their tops. It's like a car wreck actually. You just can't take your eyes off of it because you don't know what you are going to see next.

3. One would only have to watch the commercials to know the NFL is back. I sat through a few too many Cialis commercials that made me uncomfortable and embarrassed for the actors.

4. San Diego is my favorite city in California. I love visiting there so seeing the sights of the city throughout the night was awesome.

5. Apparently due to Tony Romo's inability to hold a snapped football on field goals the NFL has its own version of Homeland Security for 'K' balls. There is a completely new way of dealing with balls used for kicking. It's quite a science. As sad as it is, the NFL takes more care in ensuring the 'K' balls are taken care of than the NBA does in ensuring its games are fairly refereed.

6. At one point in the 4th quarter the Seahawks 5th string was making a comeback on the Chargers 5th string. The Seahawks were down two points and got into field goal range. Their kicker missed but the Chargers had 12 men on the field. Thus, the Seahawks kicked again and made the kick. This completely changed the momentum of the game and the Seahawks went on to win by 8. I bring this up because if Marty Schottenheimer can be fired after going 14-2, I think it is time to put Norv Turner on the hotseat after that blunder.

7. They previewed the upcoming September schedule for Sunday Night Football and it nearly put me to sleep. There are way too many games involving teams from the NFC East. It is easily the most boring division in the NFL and their games are painfully boring. Only the Big Ten games on Saturday's compete for being less TV-friendly.

8. Towards the end of the game they showed the spots in Qualcomm Stadium where the team video coordinators shoot from. I will simply say that it was awesome to see that. I had no idea there was such a thing as team video guys. See, you learn something new every day.

(Photo of Ben Obomanu from Lenny Ignelzi/AP Photo.)

Are The Bears Taunting Briggs?

A lot of folks are familiar with Lance Briggs, unfortunately it is because he was the first player of this NFL off-season to show that he had any balls. Some players like Larry Johnson decide as mini-camp begins that they want more money and may holdout. Briggs let the Bears know well in advance that he wasn't going to appreciate being 'franchised'. He wasn't trying to use deception he just wanted a little respect. The Bears put the 'franchise tag' on him and offered him a 1-year deal worth $7M and change. (The $7M figure is a result of a rule in the collective bargaining agreement where the contract for a 'franchised' player is the average of the top-5 paid players at his position the season before.)

To the fan that hates that pro athletes make a lot of money they say Briggs is a greedy guy for wanting more. The problem is that it is a bit more complicated than a desire for more money. Let's get past the fact that Briggs wants more money and look at his situation. He was a 2nd round draft pick in 2003. Meaning he did not get a huge rookie contract with an insane signing bonus. Briggs had the fortune of being drafted by the Bears who had a great defense. (As an aside, the Bears have had an embarrassingly inept offense primarily caused by horrendous quarterback play in my opinion. However, they will have a great offensive line as evidenced by some off-season coaching changes.) Briggs has played his balls off since being drafted and has been to the last 2 Pro Bowls. Before last season the Bears and Briggs tried to come to an agreement on a contract extension but were unsuccessful. Briggs let his frustrations over being 'franchised' be known but to no avail. He has honored his rookie contract and now wants to take advantage of being a premier outside linebacker. The NFL salary cap increased for this upcoming year so teams had money to spend. As a young, 2-time Pro Bowl linebacker Briggs would have commanded top dollar on the free agent market with a nice signing bonus (Key Point: The only money a player is guaranteed to receive during the contract is the signing bonus).

Again, people claim the guaranteed $7M is enough for Briggs to be happy. Yes, that is true but put yourself in his shoes. You were a 2nd round draft pick, became a Pro Bowler through hard work, honored your rookie contract and became a free agent at just the right time. Instead, a crazy rule allows your team to keep you for 1 more year at a pre-determined salary. The team could show you respect and sign you to a multi-year deal but don't. If I owned a business and instead of making $7M I could guarantee myself $10M I would sure as hell take the $10M. Maybe I'm greedy but I'm not stupid. I'm assuming my business has nothing to do with me wearing pads and a helmet and using my body as a weapon for 50+ plays once a week. Have some of the old-timers of the NFL tell you how that turns out 25 years later.

Then to top this all off word came out yesterday that the Bears have signed a contract extension with cornerback Nathan Vasher (going into his 4th season) and are trying to extend their other starting cornerback Charles Tillman (going into his 5th season). Briggs has said he will never play for the Bears again but it seems more likely he will sit out the first 10 games of the season. If I'm not mistaken he still gets paid by playing in the final 6 games. As far as I'm concerned he should do just that. The Bears have shown him no respect. He has asked to be traded but they have done nothing to get that done. Only the NFL in the year 2007 can hold its players hostage without the players have any recourse. I guess that is what happens when Gene Upshaw is in charge of the NFLPA. (His incompetence deserves a later post on its own.)

In conclusion, the Bears are taunting Briggs by signing other players who still have years to be played on their rookie contracts. He should be sitting out and I commend him. The media and most fans will rip on him for sitting out but in the end he may be the reason the 'franchise tag' rule is abolished. Also, by keeping Grossman behind center the Bears have shown they have no desire to help the defense out. Grossman could have Randy Moss, Jerry Rice and Tony Gonzalez. His high school JV level mechanics and his apparent inability to distinguish between uniform colors will always guarantee horrid numbers.

(Photo from Nam Y. Huh/AP File.)

What A Day!

Today was a marvelous day. I can't believe I used the word marvelous. As a result of fortunate circumstances I was able to meet the greatest quarterback of all-time. He leads the NFL in games won by a starting quarterback (148) and 4th quarter game-tying or game-winning drives (47). He threw for over 50,000 yards and rushed for over 3,000. He took 5 teams to the Super Bowl and won 2 of them. He won an NFL MVP and a Super Bowl MVP. A lot of people dislike Mel Kiper, Jr., but he says every year that the greatest NFL prospect out of college he has ever seen is the man I met today. This man even dabbled in the New York Yankees farm system and averaged 36.1 yards on 7 punts. The man I speak of is Hall of Famer John Elway.

My encounter with Mr. Elway was certainly brief but will be remembered forever. It went down like this. Shaking of hands. "Mr. Elway nice to meet you. Hope you have a nice visit." That's right, if I had to take a guess I don't think I said my name but the gentleman that introduced me did. Oh well, as a friend so eloquently put it via text, "a non event for mr elway no doubt." That is likely true but it still was a great moment. I have idolized Elway ever since he took the Broncos to Super Bowl XXII and got pounded by the Washington Redskins. Then to meet him in person nearly 20 years later after seeing him dominate the NFL like no one else has or ever will was awesome. Thanks Mr. Elway for a simple handshake and a nice greeting.

(Photo of Elway after defeating the hapless Packers in the Super Bowl from Timothy A. Clary/AFP-Getty Images.)