As our elected representatives debate the wisdom of freely spending money confiscated from their constituents to bail out the auto industry, other industries continue to suffer. Now the Arena Football League has canceled the 2009 season. The Arena Football League is the league where they play football in basketball arenas. No one really pays attention, but people are losing their jobs. These people are suffering. Why can't we bail them out, too?
Well the Patriots choked. Tom Brady had laughed at the prediction of Plaxico Burris that the Patriots would score 17. I guess Plaxico was giving the Pats too much credit.
(With apologies to Michael Vick.) I didn't have a dog in this fight. I am fan of neither team. I would have liked to see the Pats win to smack that hoity-toity smirk off the faces of those old grouches: the '72 Dolphins. (Yeah. We get it. They were a great team. Shut up, now.)
I am also glad that the Giants won, because I don't care for Belichick.
The thing is: I missed all of it. About one minute into the game, my son (the 7-year-old who wound up in the ER at camp last summer) complained that his arm hurt and couldn't move it. So my wife and I trekked to the urgent care. We waited, and waited, and waited. All the while the TV in the lobby was tuned to the Biggest Loser. Just before half-time, I changed the channel. Then we were called back, and waited some more. X-rays, poking and prodding took place. They determined it was likely a small break at the elbow. They did not see a definite break on the x-ray, but they saw some swelling on the x-ray that concerned him. They splinted him up and put his arm in a sling. We were then off. I switched on the radio in the car and listened to the last two desperate Tom Brady passes.
From what I have heard on the local news, I didn't miss much because our pitiful local Fox affiliate botched up the transmission. It seems they mess up every big event. A few years ago during the World Series they kept losing the signal. During the Giant-Cowboys playoff game, they completely lost the sound for half the game. I guess that is what you get with drunk hamsters running a TV station.
The Dolphins won their first game since last year.
In a Christmas miracle reminiscent of Jimmy Steward (George Bailey) finding out what life would have been like if he had never been born, in It's a Wonderful Life, or, Kris Kringle receiving tons of mail addressed to Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street, this is a miracle of Hollywood proportions. Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover, who had been a perfect five for five in overtime kicks, missed wide left in sudden death overtime. The Dolphins then marched down the field and score a touchdown, bringing to an end the speculation about the only football franchise to have a perfect season (1972) going perfect in other direction.
Christmas miracles continue.
The storied franchise of the Miami Dolphins are setting a new high (or low) in utter futility. In a streak that would make the New York Mets of the early 1960s blush, the Dolphins have rattled off a breathtaking streak of twelve straight losses. Today, they laid an egg against the nearly as futile New York Jets. In a year that is seeing the great 1972 Dolphins unbeaten record challenged by the New England Patriots, the current edition of the Dolphins is chasing the record for futility. How embarrassing? The Redskins called Joe Gibbs out of retirement. Perhaps the Dolphins should call Don Shula, but then he probably would not want to be associated with such a pitiful thing.
By the way, I think the NFL is going investigate. The Dolphins are claiming to be pro football team. That is suspect. Perhaps the NFL will force the Dolphins to play in some other league, but then no other league would have them.
I realize that the NFL has overtaken baseball as the favorite sport in the US, but pre-season football is the biggest joke. They promote it as though it is "real" football. They televise it as though someone actually wants to watch it. They sell tickets to it at the same price as regular season football.
The games mean nothing. It does not matter if the team wins or loses all the games. Next month, the slate will be wiped clean and everyone will start 0-0 after four practice games. The starters play two series, if not one, in the first two games. They may play the first quarter in the third game. They may actually play an entire half in the last practice game. Who wants to watch the third or fourth string play?
Practice football is fine. I understand that they need the practice, but don't promote it as though it is "real" football.
Marty Schottenheimer was fired yesterday as coach of the San Diego Chargers. John Clayton, of ESPN.com, writes, "[Chargers owner Dean] Spanos will pay Schottenheimer $4 million not to coach this year." I want to not coach the Chargers next year, and I'll do it for only $1 million! Where do I sign up?
This episode continues to point out some of the things that are wrong in sports today. They pay a guy for doing nothing other than to just go away. Coaches are constantly being "bought out" by teams to not coach. Coaches, and Schottenheimer certainly is not the only one, are paid obscene amounts of money to sit on their back-sides and do nothing. No wonder the average person has to mortgage the house to afford a ticket for a football game. The cheapest ticket to a San Diego Chargers game is $54 all the way up to $92 per seat, and that is for one game.
Again, where can I sign up to not coach?
