Wednesday, January 21, 2015

NFL Fumbles Ball On Possible Cheating

Roger Goodell needs to vacate the NFL now!

Once again the NFL and Roger Goodell have fumbled the ball.

This time the league is under fire after alleged cheating by the New England Patriots during the AFC championship game this week.  The Patriots apparently were using 11 deflated balls. The deflated balls are considered easier to throw and would have given the Patriots an unfair advantage. The Patriots beat the Colts 45 - 7 to advance to Super Bowl 49 on Feb. 1st. 

This wasn't the first time there was alleged cheating. The Patriots coaches were previously accused of spying on opposing teams sidelines during regular seasons games. The New Orleans Saints were also caught participating in Bounty Gate. Bounty Gate occurred when Saints players were given bonuses for tackling opposing offensive players. This caused the opposing teams players to be injured.

What does the NFL non reactions to cheating show to fans? What does it say about the job that Roger Goodell is doing as commissioner? Does it mean that he's ineffective in his job? Does it say that the bottom line and winning are more important than ethics? If the Patriots are found cheating, what kind of penalties should they get. 

 If there were allegations of cheating, why didn't the NFL do more to prevent it from happening again? And why wasn't there an official in charge of equipment so there's no possible way of tampering? Does it show that the NFL is poorly run?

Even if the alleged cheating never took place, there will still be some doubts about the NFL and the Patriots. Once doubt is in play, it will take a long time for many to trust the sport again. Once trust is lost, good luck in ever getting it back. Even if the Patriots are punished, the damage is still there.

If the NFL wants to recover from this scandal, they need to do a better job of cleaning up their act. They need to have stiffer penalties in place for those who cheat. They need to have a better eye on equipment.  They should also have safeguards in place so that it never happens again. 

Then maybe many can enjoy watching football once more. 







Monday, January 5, 2015

New Year, New Resolutions for Teams.

Happy New Year!

Once again a brand new year is here. And once again many make resolutions that are sometimes broken. 

If were up to me, I would make the following resolutions for our beloved Michigan teams and players. 

For Michigan State basketball and football: Win but not as often as the Wolverines.

For Wolverine basketball: make it to March Madness and don't blow it.  If you do make it to the championship game, don't mess it up.

For the Lions, finally win a playoff game. Quit blowing leads and racking up penalties. Keep Suh, Reggie Bush. Keep Jim Caldwell as coach. No more losing seasons, there's no more excuses for it. 0 - 16 should never be allowed to happen again.  

For Suh and Dominic Raiola: we know you're football bad asses, but you can't keep getting suspended. If you want be bad asses in football, you also have to know how to be good sportsmen too. 

For the Tigers: Do whatever it takes to keep Max Scherzer in a Tigers uniform. Try to sign a power hitter who can really hit in the clean up spot. We have the best pitchers in the game, we don't need any new pitchers. Make to the post season again and try not to choke again when you make it to the World Series. 

For the Wings: You're a good team, kick some hockey ass. You don't get to the playoffs without knowing what you're doing. This losing S*** stops now!

For the Pistons: Win consistently. You've been known for being the bad boys, don't be known for pathetic basketball. What happened the past six years with this team was pathetic. The winning streak is great, keep it up!

For the Wolverines football: liquidate MSU and Ohio State. It will take time to rebuild the team. Recruit well. Hope coach Harbaugh can rebuild this team. Have a plan when it comes to dealing with concessions. What happened with Shane Morris should never be allowed to happen again.

For Miguel Cabrera and V Mart: hope you are Tigers for life. Keep smacking those homers in. 

For all Michigan teams: give your fans something to cheer about.