The Great Fall of the NFL Nation

Greed... Hate... Envy... But most of all... Stupidity.

At the very peak of its popularity, The owners, players and Administration of the National Football League have all created a gigantic black-hole of a blunder. This outweighs any major NFL blooper ever. Worse than a fumble on the goalline, or even dare I say, Picking JaMarcus Russell 1st overall. The entire organization is a reenactment of Rome burning to the ground.

Key Contributors:

The Players
Their greed and misconception of their job has doomed them to be grouped as a whiny bunch of primadonnas. Do you know what every aspiring athlete would give to be paid even 1/100th of the Salary of these guys to play a professional sport for a living. I am in NO WAY demeaning how much time, effort and sacrifice is required, it is unmatchable. But, that is why they already make the big bucks. But, they are greedy, yes, the NFL doesn't work without its stars and blue collar employees, but you are shooting yourselves in the foot. Shut Up, take your paycheck and play... or go open a restaurant. Do you know what Bo Jackson would give to not have had his Hip destroyed? Grow up...

The Owners
"It's our money"... No... It's not the players either. It is our money, the fans. That we pour into season tickets and merchandise and Direct TV Packages and Chicken Wings and god know what else. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Greed has gotten the best of you. All you see is dollar signs, half of you probably don't even appreciate the art of the game (exceptions include those like the Rooney Family, Much Love). You are not only being greedy, but you think if you win litagation over the players you actually win? Guaranteed Ratings for the NFL will drop at least 5% or more next season. Ticket Sales in the basement, Jersey sales... probably still strong, because we love our players. You owners should've stayed in your luxury boxes sipping your $500 scotch or Martini. You are ruining the peoples game. We will find elsewhere to entertain ourselves, but we will NEVER, EVER forgive you, if you take this piece of our lives away.

The Victims
The Players claim to be the victims... so do The Owners. No, its definitely the overlooked, under-appreciated fans. Every year I, among millions of others wait for that light at the end of the "sports-draught tunnel" to appear (You know when all ESPN reports on is NASCAR, GOLF and TENNIS.. uggh). We the people look forward to our fantasy teams, our Weekly Pick'em Pools at work, Our team's training camps and draft choices, Our hopes that this will be our teams year. We look forward to the games we can enjoy with friends from our couches, criticizing our coaches and quarterbacks for their lack of production. We, the football fans, look forward to our NFL season as much as any other annual event in our lives, at times, some even live for it. Honestly, with nothing else but their team to root on, people live for football season. And the greed of those who give us this great pleasure is now forcing us to envision a year or more without our great love for the game... Shame on you.

One last note to the Head Honchos in the NFL:
These rule changes need to stop. These players are paid millions per year for the simple purpose that they are dedicating their lives to a dangerous, sometimes deadly sport. Sure, Protect someones blind side and don't allow cheap shots. But, if you take away James Harrison's ability to demolish a Quarterback or Devin Hester's ability to return a Kick to win a game, or even Peyton Manning RARE ability to take big hits and never miss a snap... You are ruining this game, and I care EVEN LESS that you are Locking Out OUR football season. The NFL is the Roman Empire, Burning to the ground, and all we as fans, lovers of this once great football nation, can do is watch with jaws dropped and tears streaming down our faces... And that makes us more Manly for the passion for the game, that some players and most owners, seem to be missing.

Posted in: Lockout,NFL

{NFL/Social Media} "That's Debateable!" - Social Media Men

This situation is becoming more and more prevalent in our society lately. My debate about social media and Pro Athletes (and all famous people with 10,000+ Followers) stems from the recent Twitter Postings of Rashard Mendenhall, Starting HB for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

My question to the world is this, Does the 1st ammendment stop when we go digital. Think about it, In America, freedom of speech is more than just a staple of our society, it is a law with many, many precedents that support it throughout our history. The internet is accessed by the world, the boundaries of our countries become blurred when you enter cyberspace. It's not easy to know who is where unless it is bluntly presented to you. So, where is the limit and should there be one?

Rashard Mendenhall recently tweeted a barrage of comments over a 24 hour period regarding the death/killing of Osama Bin Laden. Some of the tweets included comments like:

"We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style"

"What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side..."

"For those of you who said you want to see Bin Laden burn ... I ask how would God feel about your heart?"


While I don't completely agree with Mendenhall's comments, I think he has every right, regardless of who his employer may be, to speak his mind. He has a contract with the Steelers, if a Twitter Gag Order was part of the Contract, then I would understand, if not, he should have no liability to his comments, let the man speak and let his reputation be enhanced or deterred natrually. But, It is not fair for all these speculators to just jump all over him and say "That is wrong," and "he can't say that."

One last comment I have is to all you ignorant people that call educated people ignorant. This man, Mendenhall, while not completely correct is expressing an "opinion," google the definition of the word. And he also is trying to encourage people to "think" (google that too) and not just believe everything the media tells them. Do your own research and form your own opinions, don't just believe that because the news said it or the government said it, it must be true.

What do you all think?! Am I on another planet here or what...?

Posted in: Freedom of Speech,NFL,Osama Bin Laden,Pittsburgh Steelers,Twitter

{NBA} Heat Fans

The fans that sit in the good seats at AAA [Miami's American Airlines Arena] are all rich people who have no interest in basketball. They just sit there and look at the court as if it was the Tv and American Idol was on... Then the camera guy zooms out and the fans in the upper deck are jumping, screaming and waving towels. We need to get the true fans shifted closer to the court... That would give us a true home court advantage... Fans screaming in the opponents ears from 10ft away... Similar to the [Oklahoma City] Thunder. Just make a rule, if you dont scream at the opponent then you can't sit there!

Posted in: Fans,Miami Heat,NBA

{NBA} Don't Lose Hope...

You know what drives me absolutely nuts? When a fan is watching a game and drops a line in the 3rd quarter that goes something like, "It's over, we stink." Nothing at a sporting event gets under my skin more than pessimism like that. I mean if it's your team and you bleed their colors, you better be in the game until the final buzzer sounds! Is that so crazy of me to believe?

Here is my messages to all you fans out there watching the NBA Playoffs, or any other sport in the future for that matter. Never give up, not until the proverbial "fat lady" sings. Because you are always just one play away from sparking the crowd, creating a rally that leads to an epic run that could lead to the come back of the century. That is what is so amazing about sports, the ebb and flow of momentum and how in one second, upon one play, everything can change.

Hey New York Knicks fans! Yeah, you, I know you like to grumble about your team blowing it... But it isn't even close to finished yet. Phil Jackson once said "A playoff series doesn't begin until the Home team loses." Never were there truer words. New York lost extremely close games to the Celtics in one of the toughest arena's to play an away game at in the NBA. The first loss came on an incredible shot from one of the best pure shooters to ever step onto an NBA court, Ray Allen. And, the second loss, came in a game where two of the Knicks "big three" were out of the game!

Keep hope alive Knicks fans, all you have to do is win 2 in MSG and the series begins all over again. And I will keep hope alive too, that not only the Knicks pull through, but that my Miami Heat keep on pushing, that they don't believe it's over either. Even more importantly, I will keep my hopes alive that in round 2 of the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Heat-Knicks Rivalry will be reignited and the matchup I spent my childhood watching, will return giving this basketball enthusiast, a reason to pay for those outrageously overpriced tickets to a Miami Heat Home Game.

Posted in: Fans,NBA,Playoffs

{NBA} "That's Debatable" Lebron/Wade Vs. Lebron/Rose

Here is our very first "That's Debatable," proposed by our very own Dr. Hoops Let's Get it On!

Dr. Hoops: Which guard would you pair up with The King if you had a choice?  My gut says wade - he is a proven champion.  But rose is more of a point guard and might allow for a more structured offense.

Posted in: NBA

Sports Deuce

Here we are going to take a minute to explain what this site is all about... From the minds of our diverse contributors.

Dr. Hoops: "Sports Deuce" is when you talk s#!* about sports. It stems from the idea that the best ideas come while deucing. A man once said that one day, there would be an invisible helmet that humans would wear, in which we can control the tv with our brains! More to come on the helmet later. For now lets take a quick sportsdeuce... i'll be back later after my coffee :)

The Missing Link: I think Sports Deuce is the embodiment of the ambitions of a buncha guys who like to shoot the $%^t about sports and whatever else. I consider this a place where a guy can be a guy and take what we would've argued about during a game of Halo or at an Ale House over a brew, and turn it into something that, juuust maybe, the masses can enjoy. The Sports Deuce bloggers are a group of people that have known each other for a decent amount of time and all share some common interests, but easily have different styles of expressing their views. I think it will be quite intriguing to see if others enjoy the topics we talk about here.

Posted in: The Sports Deuce