Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin: two sides of the corruption of power and NFL culture

Forget, for but a moment, about the allegations against Richie Incognito of hazing and workplace harassment of Jonathan Martin (don't worry, we'll return to it momentarily), and look Incognito's behaviour on open display in a bar (which is to say, not in "the locker room"), as depicted in this video...

The issue to consider here is the corruption that comes from power, and the encouragement for NFL players to change the negative culture of stigmatizing mental/emotional health.

Lions Thanksgiving tradition is quite refreshing

Like many people, I finally decided to find out why the Detroit Lions get the privilege of playing football on Thanksgiving and came to understand that it was the Lions franchise, way back in 1934, that started the tradition. It's not so much an NFL tradition - it is a Lions tradition. Simple enough.

Or is it? Some remain perplexed - how can, or better yet, why should - the Lions, one of the league's woebegone franchises (how many teams can boast an 0-16 season?) manage to keep getting these games even though they're such a bad team? Shouldn't the NFL showcase good teams? 

The answer is both yes and no - and the league has responded very well to both.

NFL and the WWE

From week 2, here's a tackle Rolando McClain put on receiver Danny Amendola...

Notes:

• one guy made the tackle
• Amendola landed on his shoulder.

Result? 15 yard penalty.

And here's a "tackle" on quarterback Vince Young...

Notes:

• three guys
• Young was driven, head first, into the turf

Result? No penalty.

Just for kicks, here's what the NFL rules digest says: "Officials are to blow the play dead as soon as the quarterback is clearly in the grasp and control of any tackler, and his safety is in jeopardy."

I guess they hadn't read that part, yet.

[Edit]

In week 4, T.J. Ward lays out receiver Jordan Shipley.

The flag was thrown immediately, it's a personal foul, and would subsequently be assessed a fine from the league. During the game, the commentators are quick to say "that's leading with the head." But, if you watch the replay, at 0:09 Ward is clearly turning his head away from Shipley and leading with his shoulder.

So, I'm going to go ahead and point out the elephant in the room - the penalties were called on plays where the guy getting hit is white, while there's no flag when Vince Young, who is black, and is the quarterback, is picked up by three defenders and driven head first into the turf.

My Mixed Bag Return - Big Mac's Thoughts on The Sporting World

I know my viewing public missed me. Clearly, they did. Haha.

After a few weeks of a mixture of work, more work, a newly developed problem of tendonitis in my right shoulder, and various other incidents that remind me of my natural 'joie de vivre', I have returned to discuss a few things.

Jamarcus Russell Release by the Oakland Raiders

I hate to say it.... but to basically everyone I spoke to for the first 72 hours after they chose him, I TOLD YOU SO!!!

I called this the day he put the hat on. The man is not a great quarterback. He is a great athlete - he can throw a ball very far, he is fast and big (though recently it's been the wrong kind of big, coming into training camp near 300 lbs), and I'm sure he could be very good playing another position.

As a quarterback though, this man was a train wreck. And I called it the first time I heard the man speak. For lack of a more eloquent term, he's dumb as rocks. A lamp post has both more character, more interesting things to say, and I'd largely believe a higher IQ. To be a quarterback in pro football, you don't need to be a Rhodes Scholar - I mean it's not like my boy Tom Brady is building a perpetual motion device or discovering cold fusion on the sidelines - but you certainly need to have a level of intellect and quick reaction time to make intelligent decisions in a small window of opportunity. Through JR's time in Cali, he couldn't do it. Now he's just another cast off, and perhaps the greatest 1st round bust of all time... though a very wealthy one, provided he didn't go spend it all on magic beans or something.

Some team will take a chance on him though. I have a strange feeling we could even see it be the Patriots, as painful as that would be. Want to really amuse me? Make it the Bills. It'll be like my birthday!


World Cup Fever... but is it a disease for Canadians?

I have been a fan of the World Cup since around 1998 when I first started cheering on France, my favourite team. Since then I have watched every Euro Cup, every World Cup, and over the past year and a half have started paying more attention to club teams in Europe (believe it or not, I even recently bought my first soccer video game!)

I have cheered for a multitude of teams, though always Les Bleus first and foremost. The reason being is that I speak the language, have been to the country and know a fair amount about it's history, and I have it in my blood (amongst many other nations). I have also cheered for Japan in respect for my brother in law, Argentina for my best friend, Uruguay for my best female friend, and Turkey for my wife. I have always thought that Canada is supposed to espouse it's multicultural fabric, or at least that's what we're told, so cheering for other nations should come somewhat naturally.

Ignorance, however, is the mold that grows from the bacteria of nationalism. Toronto is house to a multitude of nations, and in any World Cup game, there is a different part of the city cheering after a game, from Spain to Senegal, Italy to the Ivory Coast. I think that's fine - fill your boots! Cheer your hearts out!

Why, though, do people look at me like I have 3 heads when I wear my France jersey, or have my France flag flying out the window of my car?

I cannot count the number of times I've had people ask me "Are you from France?", to which I reply "No, but I have generations of my family who came from France. My great grandmother was of French descent." The usual reply I get to this is "...so you're not French then? How can you cheer for them then? Why don't you cheer for England?"

In my mind, this is indirect racism. The fact that I am a caucasian male who is past 1st generation Canadian, I automatically must cheer for England because I'm a white guy with an Anglo-Saxon last name. The funny thing is that I have precisely the same amount of German, Irish, French, and English blood flowing through my veins. I am also parts Norwegian and Scottish. Even when explaining this fact, people seem to think of me as 'not a real fan' or a 'bandwagon jumper', or even a 'poseur'.

This rule doesn't seem to apply to other cultures. Walk the streets of Little Italy, you will come across swarms of 2nd and 3rd generation Canadians who have never set foot on Italian soil, and don't speak the language, yet they are fully permitted to scream out "Forza Italia!" at free will, while proclaiming the superiority of their beloved Azzuri. No one will bat an eyelash. I have a friend whose great great grandfather was from the Ivory Coast, and she proudly flies the flag on her car. No one questions that either. Ditto the guy I know who is actually Indian, but he strangely looks Mediterranean, and he flies a Portugese flag on his car and heralds Christiano Ronaldo as the single greatest human walking the planet. Even those aware he doesn't hold heritage in those countries, he is totally fine to cheer for them, and no one raises an eyebrow.

Why is it that, in a culture where we are supposed to appreciate everyones background and the tapestry of their heritage, those whose complexion falls under the "caucasian" tab that we are not apparently permitted to cheer for a team other than the most general one available? Why are we only allowed to appreciate the cultural heritage of those deemed more exotic, or those who are greater in numbers? Some may argue this is not the case, but it is absolutely certain the majority think this way. World Cup is about an incredible tournament of a great game to watch, but what it is not supposed to be is an opportunity to boast superiority of one nation over another.

I could have sworn we were all Canadian in the end.


Losing On Purpose - Grant Whybark's Quest to devolve sports

For those who hadn't heard, a college golfer by the name of Grant Whybark who plays for St. Francis College in Illinois, decided that he would intentionally double-bogey a hole during the conference final tournament in order to allow a competitor by the name of Seth Doran to move forward to the national finals. Why would an athlete intentionally throw a game you ask?

Whybark basically stated that he knew Seth for a few years, and decided that he had earned his spot in the finals, and that because he was a 'good person', he spoke it over with his teammates and they were ok with him blowing the hole on purpose to allow his buddy to advance.

How disgusting is this? And how is this not being investigated by the NCAA?

This is no different than match fixing. Controlling the outcome of a game. No difference from this to shaving points in a basketball game, intentionally fumbling in the Rose Bowl, or walking a guy in a baseball game.

While Whybark was allowing his friend to move forward, there was another golfer in that tournament who was busting his butt to quality, and had his chance taken away by this raging idiot. How people can sit there and justify it is absolutely incredible - this isn't a bonevolent gesture, this is absolutely ridiculous.



That's all for now! Back later with more rants :)

How to fix NFL's scheduling problem

There is a solution that would eliminate this and make all 16 games meaningful for the players and the fans, and it's found in rearranging the schedule.