No Football in 2011

Going into next season there will be no salary cap, but it is 2011 that should scare all football fans. The head of the NFL Players Association painted a very cleak picture about a possible new CBA agreement before a lockout...

"On a scale of 1 to 10," Smith said Thursday, "it's a 14. I keep coming back to an economic model in America that is unparalleled," said Smith, who often repeated phrases for emphasis. "And that makes it incredibly difficult to then come to players and say, on average, each of you needs to take a $340,000 pay cut to save the National Football League. Tough sell. Tough sell."

This is not good news for any football plan. I have a hard time siding with either the owners or the players. On the owners side it is hard in these economic times to give anyone a raise, but on the other side the NFL is the most successful of the 4 major sports, and yet they are not paid like it. The other thing that needs to be resolved is what to do about rookie contracts. It has to change since rookies make more then most 5 year veterans.

I wish I could be optimistic, but both sides seem to have their feet in the ground and I very much doubt there is any chance of avoiding a lockout.

With Smith saying the NFL would receive $5 billion from its network television deals even if no games are played in 2011. He regarded that as proof owners are preparing for a lockout, which is hard to argue against, since they seem to be in good shape no matter what happens. So, why would they even bothering passing a new CBA is they don't get everything they want? I hope I am wrong, but it looks like we won't be seeing much football in 2011.

NFLPA Asks For Congress' Help

So the NFLPA wants Congress to step in and stop a lockout from happening after this season. As much as I don't want a lock out to happen, why the fuck does the US Government have to get involved? We have a policy of never getting political on this site, and I think Congress should have a policy of not getting involved in sports. There are enough fucking problems in this country to have Congress busy for a long time, at the bottom of that list should be sports.

People are unemployed, companies failing, roads falling apart, but no lets focus on whether or not some asshole should get $3.8 million or $4.3 million. Honestly, this kind of shit drives me up the wall. I love sports, it is part of my life everyday, but I know what is truly important, and sports is not on the top of the list. If there is a problem in the NFL then they should fix it themselves, I think they get paid enough that it can be left up to themselves.

Court Rules NFL Can't Suspend Vikings' Williamses

"A federal appeals court ruled the NFL can't suspend Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams for violating the league's anti-doping policy. The decision came Friday, two days before the Viking open the season at Cleveland. The NFL had cleared the two to play Sunday, but the court fight was still pending. The NFL wanted to suspend the Williamses for four games after they both tested positive for a banned diuretic during training camp in 2008. They had taken the over-the-counter weight loss supplement StarCaps. It did not state on the label that it contained the diuretic -- which can mask the presence of steroids. Neither player tested positive for steroids (Sportsline)."

This is a huge win not only for the Vikings but for the players union. Steroids have been such a losing battles for players in all leagues, but this time the players stood up for themselves, and won in court. This has to be a huge relief for them, and any fan of the Vikings, because without these two the Vikings defense would be terrible...

Union Goes After Giants

"The NFL players' union filed a grievance contesting the $1 million the New York Giants withheld from Plaxico Burress' signing bonus after he shot himself in the thigh in November at a nightclub (Sportsline)."

What a bunch of bullshit. Burress is a fucking punk and got what he deserved. You shouldn't be shooting a loaded gun in a crowd. He has pushed the Giants to the point that there is just no way they are going to bring this guy back. The union really just fucked any chance that Coughlin might give him another shot. He is going to want to put this all behind him, and he knows the best way to do that is to part ways with this shithead.

I am ashamed he went to Michigan State