I'm gonna boycott Gurkha for another year just to show my support. Solidarnosc!!!
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Not to just jump in the mix but....The Saints did F up but they do not deserve the harsh penalties that were handed down (keep in mind $hit flows down hill). Everyone can say this should have happened or that but really there was no standard to go by and Goodell just threw the book at them. I don't think Payton should have been suspended that long but I dont know otherwise I would be commish! :-)

I will tune in tomorrow to see the backlash of this comment....

All that being said, football is turning into flag football and I give it say about 5 years till its turned into two hand touch!!!! Oh and as much as I hate Pittsburgh, I love the way Harrison plays the game!! By far one hell of a defensive player, the way the game used to and should still be played! I am not saying I love to see people get hurt but come on every little hit now is getting fined!!

TWO HAND TOUCH...should be called HANDBALL from the start anyway - make more sense!
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+1 on the boycott of Gurkha
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Brad, I don't personally know you, so this comment is not personal. But it sounds to me, from the outside looking in, that you are kind of throwing a fit. Because you don't like the penalties, you won't watch any NFL games this season. I'm not sure how this "boycott" effects anyone adversely but you. The NFL surely won't notice, the Saints as an organization surely won't notice, but you won't get to see any professional football. It's like sending yourself to time out. Remember why we are sports fans. We watch sports to congregate with our family/friends, banter with co-workers, and to have a reason to throw on the jersey of our favorite player and scream at the TV. Dont punish yourself Brad, which is all you are really doing. :-)
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I hate Drew Brees since he left San Diego. Rivers, late season, is better than him, anyhow :-):-)

But, I respect you backing your team :-)
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I'm boycotting Tom for giving himself the Blackhawks... :-)
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I gave myself nothing. :-) Ironic luck of the draw, although no where near as ironic as Bigwaved drawing the Sens. :-)
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:-)
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Didnt San Diego more or less say they didnt want him because of his shoulder?? :-)
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They also lost a first round draft pick. I am going to give the Saints as much sympathy as the Pats got which is 0.
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I am going to be watching the NFL this year more than I have in the last few years. It is an exciting time to be a Redskins fan!
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I understand why you're pissed off; you've just watched your team get eviscerated for doing what you're convinced everybody else is doing. I think that ANYONE that participates in, what amounts to, conspiracy to commit mayhem should be prosecuted. The Law, and a person's Rights do not stop at the sidelines. Targeting a person for injury is a crime, whether on the field or on the street.
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I want to stay out of this as much as possible now that it is clear I am of the major minority opinion, (?) ,
but the wording of this above is difficult for me to parse. I think what you are actually SEEING every Sunday,
from EVERY team is a defense that is purposely trying to hit an opponent so hard that he stays on the
sidelines....a bounty merely pays EXTRA for it. Trying to end a career is certainly a messed up aim
that all players will tell you in public is NOT what they want. But fans are naive if they think that these
guys are not trying to get the first string out of the game as soon as possible, it simply makes it easier
to win games and I would bet they are encouraged to do it 5 days a week.

However at the same time I also think that if you have not played pro football, you don't have a CLUE what
they think or what actually goes on inside a pro locker room/meeting room. So speculation about their aims
based on what they say to the media is useless, I think.
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I would also like to answer in one fell swoop, everyone who has basically characterized me
as having a hissy fit over this judgement. Some have even tried to do it gently as if it
changes what they are implying. I am boycotting the NFL in 2012. Nowhere in any of my
posts have I encouraged others to join my cause or share my opinion. Nowhere in any of
my posts have I ever inferred that I think I am going to hurt the NFL by boycotting it.
Nowhere in any of my posts have I inferred that I feel I am going to incur some kind of
personal, emotional loss by missing games. Like I said early on, when I thought the NBA was
becoming basically pro wrestling with a ball, and that they were marketing themselves like they
wanted thugs and gang-bangers for their audience, it was clear to me that they did not want me
as a fan I left them behind and never gave them a second look. If I do this to the NFL too, it will
be because I felt they came down too hard on my team. And lastly, if people then say "Well then
what's the point of your post if you don't care who knows, who cares about or who is hurt by your
boycott?" And I say to that, have you READ some of the posts we get here?? There is one that
basically asks people to tell us all what the most expensive thing they ever bought was.
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There is a difference between playing a clean game and getting a nice hit on the person with the ball and going out on the field with a particular person targeted that you are trying to physically hurt just because. And then we can throw in that the coach is paying the player to target another player to inflict physical injury just to take him out of the game.

You seem to fail to see the difference between the two and it makes you feel better to say that everyone is doing it.

No, not everyone is doing it.

There are still some class acts out there that get good clean hits and just play the game.
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Your opinions of the aims of players is speculation too, Brad. So not only do I/we not have a clue, but, no offense, neither do you! It's ALL speculation!
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I got the first draft pick in our Fantasy Baseball league that I'm running. I've never got first draft pick in anything, ever. Yahoo must love me this year. Miguel Cabrera, yeah!!! :-)
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I congratulate and adore you, My Friend! :-)
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Some pretty strong opinions here. I'll voice mine now, too. There's a few issues here. Had the Saints stopped when they were told to, this would be a non issue. They were told to stop, and they didn't, then there was the lie and coverup. Additionally, there is all of the evidence that the league had against them. Whatever the documentation of the program is (e-mails, etc.), too. There's obviously no precedent for a team doing anything like this and being punished, so that's one of the big problems. IMO, they were slapped on the wrist a couple times, already, when the league told them to knock the $hit off. They kept doing it, showing a lack of respect for the league and their authority. What else were they to do? They had to mete out a punishment severe enough to let the team (and the rest of the league) that they mean what they say, and if you don't follow the rules, you're going to pay a hefty price. Was it too steep? Obviously to you, it was. Were it to happen to the Vikings, I'd say flat out fire the coach and GM, and let them deal with the suspension when they're out of work, or when (if anyone would hire them again) someone else decides to hire them. They knew the rules, and were reminded of them, but still went around it. IMO, it's much like the "lack of institutional control" charge that college programs deal with when an assistant and/or coach is violating rules, and the AD gets their hand slapped with that.

Now, did they end anyone's career? I don't know, honestly, but there was the intent to injure opposing players. I played enough football to know the brutality of it. At the same time, you weren't out there trying to cause an injury that could potentially end someone's playing days/career. With the knowledge of what concussions have done to some former players (Al Toon and Merril Hoge come to mind right away), going after someone's head in this day and age is beyond not cool. A coach who condones that, and a player who does that, too, is not someone I'd want to play for or with. The fact that Williams didn't care if they hit someone after the whistle (which I believe the tape that I've heard states) implies a disregard for clean play. Play to the whistle, and help your opponent up, not beyond it.

As for just knocking a player out for the game goes...well, that one has been debated a lot. Yes, these athletes have a lot better body control than your average Joe, but at the same time, there aren't many physics majors out there who know just the level of force to apply to cause a "minor" injury vs a "major" one.

I think the NFL's hands were tied a bit in regards to the punishment they handed out. They are being sued for not doing enough to protect the players' safety, especially in regards to concussions. Handing out a punishment like that says that they're serious about it, and want to protect the players.

It serves multiple purposes here, to show they want to protect players, and to serve notice to anyone else who thinks they can get around the rules that if they are caught, they will be punished severely.

:-)
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This is what sports is all about!!!


Even a Skins fan can work himself into such a frenzy as to be excited about football! This stuff is better'n drugs.





February through August is always the best time to be a Redskins fan.
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