SEAT-GATE MESS SWINGS TO COWBOYS, SANCHEZ MAKES A VERY BAD CHOICE & WHAT TO MAKE OF THE CBA MEGOTIATIONS
Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, a lot of informative emails have come to light & they don't paint the Dallas Cowboys in a very good light. The City of Arlington, looking to dodge any blame aimed in their direction, released several emails regarding the temporary seating that was to be installed in an effort to eclipse the Super Bowl attendance record. The city notified the Cowboys way back in September about obtaining approval & a permit for the seats. They followed that up with 3 additional emails to the director of stadium operations over the next 3 months. The Cowboys filed for their permit on January 13th, just 23 days before Super Sunday. When the contractor, Seating Solutions, was brought in to make the modifications, it became clear to Arlington officials it was going to be very difficult to meet the February 6th deadline. Super Bowl week Seating Solutions walked off the job claiming they weren't given sufficient time to complete the job in an approved fashion. Manhattan Construction took over & made a desperate attempt to finish the temporary seating. On February 3rd, city inspector Ed Dryden sent his boss Jim Parton the following email:
"I think the Cowboys are not going to correct certain items & assume the risk. This is not a good situation."
Parton's reply was:
"Bottom line is if it's not right, don't approve it."
On Saturday, February 5th, Dryden sent along this email:
"It appears to me the Cowboys are willing to roll the dice & take a chance nothing bad will happen, like a collapse."
This is inexcusable, what if something would have happened, especially with over 100 million people watching? What if people had been injured or worse? That would have made what's transpired so far a non-story. The NFL has stepped up & taken all the heat for this mess, but they need to do a helluva lot more. They should take care of every affected ticket holder, about 3,200 in all. The beating their reputation is taking is worth a lot more than whatever it would take to satisfy the ticket-holders who were wronged.
I've been tough on Georgia coach Mark Richt, but I'm going to tell you a story about him that needs to be told. Despite a litany of off-field issues with his players over the past 3 years, the Bulldog coach knows how to do the right thing. A high school senior, James Eunice, had several discussions about attending Georgia. Richt told the running back he couldn't offer him a scholarship this year but he was welcome to walk on & try to make the team. Eunice told Richt it had always been his dream to play for Georgia & he was going to forgo other Division 1AA offers in an effort to realize his dream. Tragically, Eunice drowned on January 17th while duck hunting in Georgia, his body wasn't recovered for over two weeks. At his funeral service this week, two of his high school teammates who had signed national letters of intent to play for Richt at Georgia spoke at Eunice's service. At the end they opened a box & read a letter from coach Richt. The letter ended with "And yeah, James made the team." They pulled a Georgia game jersey from the box, it had Eunice's name on the back along with his #23, which he wore at Valdosta High School. A family spokesman said "there aren't words that can properly explain what this meant to the family & ultimately to James." Amen.
I've been talking about Phillip Hunt, a pass rushing specialist from the Canadian Football League. Look for him to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles, a team desperate for some help rushing the passer.
Former NFL scout & ESPN football analyst Jeremy Green plead guilty to possessing child pornography. He is the son of former college & pro coach Dennis Green. Jeremy was arrested after an undercover officer received images of children performing various sexual acts from Green. His computer was traced to a hotel near ESPN headquarters in Bristol Connecticut where he was arrested. Sentencing is scheduled for March 20th.
Another guy with a bright future made a really bad decision & is having his name drug thru the mud in the largest media market in the country, New York. Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez has been dating a 17-year old high school girl. There have been no accusations of anything of a sexual nature, but when you're a 24-year old NFL player, surely you can find a suitable young woman who's not concerned with what she's going to wear to the prom. The 17-year old is from Connecticut & according to Deadspin, a website that regularly scoops the mainstream media, she has sent pictures of Sanchez's bedroom to her girlfriends. I'm going to take these two at their word, nothing has happened between them that would be considered unlawful, but I always believed if you think something might look bad to someone, it does.
For the final icky entry today, former K-State kick returner & current Redskin, Brandon Banks was attacked outside a Washington D.C. nightclub early Friday morning. Banks sustained several knife wounds that were considered superficial & were closed with stitches. His buddy wasn't as lucky, he is currently fighting for his life in a D.C. hospital. The assault happened at about 3 AM in the parking lot of The Park nightclub.
Former Mizzou quarterback Brad Smith was honored yesterday as he was inducted to the university's Hall of Fame. Smith, a New York Jet wide receiver, Wildcat QB & kickoff returner, left MIzzou with over 8,200 passing yards & over 4,100 rushing, at the time, an all-time NCAA record. Smith was the first in Gary Pinkel's succession of outstanding quarterbacks, he was followed by Chase Daniel & recently Blaine Gabbert.
According to Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune says the reason Charlie Weis left the Chiefs was his constant disagreements with Todd Haley about how the offense should be run. Pompei says this is why he named O-Line coach Bill Muir to the offensive coordinator's position. Muir had a similar job in Tampa under Jon Gruden & Gruden called all the plays. Pompei says Weis told him he wanted to run more shotgun offense & spread the field so they could utilize their team speed better. Haley wants a "meat & potatoes offense, nothing flashy." That's what got Chan Gailey fired if you'll recall, he ran a version of the spread offense with Tyler Thigpen the year before Haley came to Kansas City.
So I've been reluctant to talk about the current labor situation in the NFL until the season ended. Barbs have been thrown by both sides & until there was no more football, I wasn't going to breach the subject. Well it's officially over isn't it? Here are a few of the stumbling blocks the sides will argue over the next few months.
1. Players first offer was a 50-50 split. You have to have an opening offer to get the ball rolling, you know have some discussion....maybe. The management council walked out of the meeting. The next day's meeting was canceled by ownership.
2. Under the previous CBA, 1st round draft picks were signed to contracts of at least 5-years & all other draft picks were signed to 4-year deals. The players want each reduced by one year & then free agency.
3. The owners want a revised rookie wage scale & initially the player's union wanted one as well. Now they are calling the rookie wage scale a "veterans wage scale." They believe the new proposal will hurt vets in their 3rd contracts. The money saved on the current rookie wage scale won't be fully given over to veteran players. It should, the current system is a joke, guys like JaMarcus Russell handed over $30 million in his first three seasons & then he's released because he didn't cut it. A vet in his third contract, Hines Ward, Donald Driver or Ray Lewis for instance, should be making a helluva lot more money than JaMarcus Russell, any arguments? After playing at a very high level & surviving into their third contract should net them a higher salary, end of discussion. But you can't take money from the rookies & give it all to the players in their second contracts, which is the owner's position.
4. Ownership & especially the commissioner, need to get off this 18-game schedule dream. It should not happen. Roger Goodell keeps insisting fans want it according to their polls. Anyone with a clue knows you can get the desired outcome for a poll if you word it in such a way you know the answer before the question is even asked. The NFL's poll included a question about paying full price for preseason games, which has long been a gripe from season ticket holders.
"Would you support an 18-game regular season thereby eliminating 2 preseason games that carry a regular season price on them?"
Shockingly they got the answer they were aiming for, YES! How about discounting the preseason tickets by 30% & just keep the 16-game regular season we currently have?
Now let's talk some reality regarding this pending lockout.
1. The owners will receive $5 billion, yes I said billion, from their TV deals whether a game is played or not. Not really great incentive to sit down at the bargaining table & get a deal done.
2. The league is counting on the Antonio Cromartie's of the world to start griping in public about not playing, not getting paid & possibly to break ranks with the NFLPA. There will be a certain amount of this to be sure. The first time players start missing paychecks, the bitching will start.
3. The league is also counting on the players who would have been free agents this off-season to start grumbling & they will. Many players pay a very heavy physical price for the big money contracts they receive. I don't begrudge them a dime of their salaries but they need to remember one thing, this was their choice. The risk to each player is known up front & anyone claiming it isn't is lying. I hate to see anyone seriously injured, but this is the occupation they chose.
4. Some of the owners involved in direct negotiations are acting in a way that's sure to anger the players. Carolina owner Jerry Richardson asked Peyton Manning & Drew Brees last Wednesday if they needed him to explain to them how the revenue sharing charts worked, wondering aloud if they had the education to understand the process. Nice, very nice. Richardson is a former NFL player, not a very good one, but he did play a couple of years for the Baltimore Colts. So his education from Wofford College makes him a Nobel Prize winner in mathematics? So much better he's able to question the degrees Manning & Brees received?
5. Understand it only takes 9 owners to defeat any proposal. You need to understand for every Robert Kraft & Dan Rooney there's a Jerry Richardson or Jerry Jones. Don't think for a second these guys don't have ice water running thru their veins. Don't think for a second they don't believe it's all about them. They carry a lot of power & don't intent to give up one ounce of it to labor.
6. There's a slim chance at the last minute both sides will agree to continue the current deal until a new television agreement is struck & the NFLPA knows exactly how big the pot is going to be.
7. Thru all of this, both sides continue to patronize the fans, the people who ultimately pay the tab on all of this. They tell you how concerned they are about the fans, about the economy, how tough it is for folks to come up with their season ticket money, DirecTV dollars & so forth. Don't believe it, the fans are so far off in the distance during these negotiations they're hardly visible. Both sides know they have the Golden Goose, a goose paid for by fans. A goose that could suffer severe trauma if any games get canceled. People have been hard-hit enough lately to feel much compassion for a bunch of millionaires & billionaires. They'll continue to spend their football dollars, just don't take games away from them, don't make them feel like they're being taken for granted, which they are. It took a bunch of "Roided-Up" home run hitters to get baseball fans back after canceling the 1994 World Series. baseball thought they could do anything & the fans will be back as soon as we throw out the first pitch. Wrong. Pro Football is way more popular than all three of the other major sports' leagues combined but that doesn't mean they can't take a precipitous fall.
8. With little chance of having a free agency period before April's draft, it will cause some teams to "reach" for players they really need, especially quarterbacks. The draft was always a "fill-in the blanks" after free agency. Now it might be the only way for clubs to revamp their rosters & it will make it very difficult on the lesser teams right now. Clubs with a long history of building thru the draft will continue to prosper, but teams that have relied heavily on free agency could really suffer.
9. No player movement in the draft either, draft picks for draft picks, that's all that will be permitted.
10. Everyday this labor strife continues, the league loses prestige. Coupled with the Super Bowl Seat-gate mess, Roger Goodell has his hands full, his reputation is on the line. The NFLPA is putting a figure of 150,000 out there regarding just how it will affect working folks. They claim it could put 150K out of work. After reading their breakdown, I think they're about 25-30% high, it is after all a scare tactic. But some teams have already started laying off workers, most of them middle class income earners, Kansas City is one of them. The Chiefs furloughed 17 people right after the season ended, the Jets sent 30 people packin'. The numbers could multiply quickly after the march 4th deadline is passed. If the training camps aren't opened, you'll really see the effect sky rocket. The thousands of people required to put on just one game will be outside looking in. Suppliers, advertising, radio & TV, stadium personnel & on & on. The TV networks will take a major hit in ratings, making their ad time worth much less causing them to layoff people. The NFL has a major impact on America's economy, there's no question about it, will they do the right thing & keep the flow of jobs & money flowing or will they go into the "selfish mode" & make certain it's all about them?
"I think the Cowboys are not going to correct certain items & assume the risk. This is not a good situation."
Parton's reply was:
"Bottom line is if it's not right, don't approve it."
On Saturday, February 5th, Dryden sent along this email:
"It appears to me the Cowboys are willing to roll the dice & take a chance nothing bad will happen, like a collapse."
This is inexcusable, what if something would have happened, especially with over 100 million people watching? What if people had been injured or worse? That would have made what's transpired so far a non-story. The NFL has stepped up & taken all the heat for this mess, but they need to do a helluva lot more. They should take care of every affected ticket holder, about 3,200 in all. The beating their reputation is taking is worth a lot more than whatever it would take to satisfy the ticket-holders who were wronged.
I've been tough on Georgia coach Mark Richt, but I'm going to tell you a story about him that needs to be told. Despite a litany of off-field issues with his players over the past 3 years, the Bulldog coach knows how to do the right thing. A high school senior, James Eunice, had several discussions about attending Georgia. Richt told the running back he couldn't offer him a scholarship this year but he was welcome to walk on & try to make the team. Eunice told Richt it had always been his dream to play for Georgia & he was going to forgo other Division 1AA offers in an effort to realize his dream. Tragically, Eunice drowned on January 17th while duck hunting in Georgia, his body wasn't recovered for over two weeks. At his funeral service this week, two of his high school teammates who had signed national letters of intent to play for Richt at Georgia spoke at Eunice's service. At the end they opened a box & read a letter from coach Richt. The letter ended with "And yeah, James made the team." They pulled a Georgia game jersey from the box, it had Eunice's name on the back along with his #23, which he wore at Valdosta High School. A family spokesman said "there aren't words that can properly explain what this meant to the family & ultimately to James." Amen.
I've been talking about Phillip Hunt, a pass rushing specialist from the Canadian Football League. Look for him to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles, a team desperate for some help rushing the passer.
Former NFL scout & ESPN football analyst Jeremy Green plead guilty to possessing child pornography. He is the son of former college & pro coach Dennis Green. Jeremy was arrested after an undercover officer received images of children performing various sexual acts from Green. His computer was traced to a hotel near ESPN headquarters in Bristol Connecticut where he was arrested. Sentencing is scheduled for March 20th.
Another guy with a bright future made a really bad decision & is having his name drug thru the mud in the largest media market in the country, New York. Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez has been dating a 17-year old high school girl. There have been no accusations of anything of a sexual nature, but when you're a 24-year old NFL player, surely you can find a suitable young woman who's not concerned with what she's going to wear to the prom. The 17-year old is from Connecticut & according to Deadspin, a website that regularly scoops the mainstream media, she has sent pictures of Sanchez's bedroom to her girlfriends. I'm going to take these two at their word, nothing has happened between them that would be considered unlawful, but I always believed if you think something might look bad to someone, it does.
For the final icky entry today, former K-State kick returner & current Redskin, Brandon Banks was attacked outside a Washington D.C. nightclub early Friday morning. Banks sustained several knife wounds that were considered superficial & were closed with stitches. His buddy wasn't as lucky, he is currently fighting for his life in a D.C. hospital. The assault happened at about 3 AM in the parking lot of The Park nightclub.
Former Mizzou quarterback Brad Smith was honored yesterday as he was inducted to the university's Hall of Fame. Smith, a New York Jet wide receiver, Wildcat QB & kickoff returner, left MIzzou with over 8,200 passing yards & over 4,100 rushing, at the time, an all-time NCAA record. Smith was the first in Gary Pinkel's succession of outstanding quarterbacks, he was followed by Chase Daniel & recently Blaine Gabbert.
According to Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune says the reason Charlie Weis left the Chiefs was his constant disagreements with Todd Haley about how the offense should be run. Pompei says this is why he named O-Line coach Bill Muir to the offensive coordinator's position. Muir had a similar job in Tampa under Jon Gruden & Gruden called all the plays. Pompei says Weis told him he wanted to run more shotgun offense & spread the field so they could utilize their team speed better. Haley wants a "meat & potatoes offense, nothing flashy." That's what got Chan Gailey fired if you'll recall, he ran a version of the spread offense with Tyler Thigpen the year before Haley came to Kansas City.
So I've been reluctant to talk about the current labor situation in the NFL until the season ended. Barbs have been thrown by both sides & until there was no more football, I wasn't going to breach the subject. Well it's officially over isn't it? Here are a few of the stumbling blocks the sides will argue over the next few months.
1. Players first offer was a 50-50 split. You have to have an opening offer to get the ball rolling, you know have some discussion....maybe. The management council walked out of the meeting. The next day's meeting was canceled by ownership.
2. Under the previous CBA, 1st round draft picks were signed to contracts of at least 5-years & all other draft picks were signed to 4-year deals. The players want each reduced by one year & then free agency.
3. The owners want a revised rookie wage scale & initially the player's union wanted one as well. Now they are calling the rookie wage scale a "veterans wage scale." They believe the new proposal will hurt vets in their 3rd contracts. The money saved on the current rookie wage scale won't be fully given over to veteran players. It should, the current system is a joke, guys like JaMarcus Russell handed over $30 million in his first three seasons & then he's released because he didn't cut it. A vet in his third contract, Hines Ward, Donald Driver or Ray Lewis for instance, should be making a helluva lot more money than JaMarcus Russell, any arguments? After playing at a very high level & surviving into their third contract should net them a higher salary, end of discussion. But you can't take money from the rookies & give it all to the players in their second contracts, which is the owner's position.
4. Ownership & especially the commissioner, need to get off this 18-game schedule dream. It should not happen. Roger Goodell keeps insisting fans want it according to their polls. Anyone with a clue knows you can get the desired outcome for a poll if you word it in such a way you know the answer before the question is even asked. The NFL's poll included a question about paying full price for preseason games, which has long been a gripe from season ticket holders.
"Would you support an 18-game regular season thereby eliminating 2 preseason games that carry a regular season price on them?"
Shockingly they got the answer they were aiming for, YES! How about discounting the preseason tickets by 30% & just keep the 16-game regular season we currently have?
Now let's talk some reality regarding this pending lockout.
1. The owners will receive $5 billion, yes I said billion, from their TV deals whether a game is played or not. Not really great incentive to sit down at the bargaining table & get a deal done.
2. The league is counting on the Antonio Cromartie's of the world to start griping in public about not playing, not getting paid & possibly to break ranks with the NFLPA. There will be a certain amount of this to be sure. The first time players start missing paychecks, the bitching will start.
3. The league is also counting on the players who would have been free agents this off-season to start grumbling & they will. Many players pay a very heavy physical price for the big money contracts they receive. I don't begrudge them a dime of their salaries but they need to remember one thing, this was their choice. The risk to each player is known up front & anyone claiming it isn't is lying. I hate to see anyone seriously injured, but this is the occupation they chose.
4. Some of the owners involved in direct negotiations are acting in a way that's sure to anger the players. Carolina owner Jerry Richardson asked Peyton Manning & Drew Brees last Wednesday if they needed him to explain to them how the revenue sharing charts worked, wondering aloud if they had the education to understand the process. Nice, very nice. Richardson is a former NFL player, not a very good one, but he did play a couple of years for the Baltimore Colts. So his education from Wofford College makes him a Nobel Prize winner in mathematics? So much better he's able to question the degrees Manning & Brees received?
5. Understand it only takes 9 owners to defeat any proposal. You need to understand for every Robert Kraft & Dan Rooney there's a Jerry Richardson or Jerry Jones. Don't think for a second these guys don't have ice water running thru their veins. Don't think for a second they don't believe it's all about them. They carry a lot of power & don't intent to give up one ounce of it to labor.
6. There's a slim chance at the last minute both sides will agree to continue the current deal until a new television agreement is struck & the NFLPA knows exactly how big the pot is going to be.
7. Thru all of this, both sides continue to patronize the fans, the people who ultimately pay the tab on all of this. They tell you how concerned they are about the fans, about the economy, how tough it is for folks to come up with their season ticket money, DirecTV dollars & so forth. Don't believe it, the fans are so far off in the distance during these negotiations they're hardly visible. Both sides know they have the Golden Goose, a goose paid for by fans. A goose that could suffer severe trauma if any games get canceled. People have been hard-hit enough lately to feel much compassion for a bunch of millionaires & billionaires. They'll continue to spend their football dollars, just don't take games away from them, don't make them feel like they're being taken for granted, which they are. It took a bunch of "Roided-Up" home run hitters to get baseball fans back after canceling the 1994 World Series. baseball thought they could do anything & the fans will be back as soon as we throw out the first pitch. Wrong. Pro Football is way more popular than all three of the other major sports' leagues combined but that doesn't mean they can't take a precipitous fall.
8. With little chance of having a free agency period before April's draft, it will cause some teams to "reach" for players they really need, especially quarterbacks. The draft was always a "fill-in the blanks" after free agency. Now it might be the only way for clubs to revamp their rosters & it will make it very difficult on the lesser teams right now. Clubs with a long history of building thru the draft will continue to prosper, but teams that have relied heavily on free agency could really suffer.
9. No player movement in the draft either, draft picks for draft picks, that's all that will be permitted.
10. Everyday this labor strife continues, the league loses prestige. Coupled with the Super Bowl Seat-gate mess, Roger Goodell has his hands full, his reputation is on the line. The NFLPA is putting a figure of 150,000 out there regarding just how it will affect working folks. They claim it could put 150K out of work. After reading their breakdown, I think they're about 25-30% high, it is after all a scare tactic. But some teams have already started laying off workers, most of them middle class income earners, Kansas City is one of them. The Chiefs furloughed 17 people right after the season ended, the Jets sent 30 people packin'. The numbers could multiply quickly after the march 4th deadline is passed. If the training camps aren't opened, you'll really see the effect sky rocket. The thousands of people required to put on just one game will be outside looking in. Suppliers, advertising, radio & TV, stadium personnel & on & on. The TV networks will take a major hit in ratings, making their ad time worth much less causing them to layoff people. The NFL has a major impact on America's economy, there's no question about it, will they do the right thing & keep the flow of jobs & money flowing or will they go into the "selfish mode" & make certain it's all about them?
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