Boys of fall falling; Scandals

If 2011 was the year of the quarterback, then this year is no doubt the year of the coach, and their unceremonious removals and departures.

Joe Paterno and Sean Payton headline the coaches that have been brought before public scrutiny for their participation, or lack thereof, as a head coach. They have been the head to the proverbial snake, and by all accounts, the ones who shall be blamed.

Paterno’s case is appalling. Grotesque. Unimaginable.

Payton’s situation is tasteless. Turbid.

In no way are they related. They are separate instances where a lack of judgment cannot be overlooked.

A head coach, in essence, is the omni-present force of any team. They have control over who will play, who won’t, what type of offense or defense a team will run; they pick and choose those that reside around them; they are the face of the organization and the one, the seemingly sole party that is most “responsible” for the outcome, either good or bad.

But how, in this day in age, can a coach be truly aware and in control of all that is happening around him, and all the circumstances of those around him be explained?

Did Paterno and Payton know about what was happening? Probably, yes. Should they have done more to halt and ever let such a situation arise again? Yes, most definitely. Can you ever come to believe that what happened, the incidents and then the following breakdown, could be with-held from a coach, or slighted so much that the ramifications weren’t worth the crime?

A majority, probably not.

The traumatic events occurred on their watch, under their leadership. They were in the loop, or at least made aware of the situation and it was not handled to the moral and ethical code that we all believe that we live by. A head coach is liable for their assets.

But it’s hard to believe that the debacle lies firmly on one man’s shoulders. There are others.

That’s the real story. Maybe it was their fault, just not in the way everyone is thinking about it. They must take the fall because they hired, not the people that committed the injustices, but the people that would not take actions themselves. The people are hidden by the lack of onus they take, and letting another man own the consequences.

Sean Payton suspended; Saints stand

Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints head coach, was suspended for a year after reports of a “bounty” system was being used by his team.

An NFL scandal of these proportions has never been seen before. They were reprimanded to the nth degree, and Roger Goodell took it upon himself to make a statement, one with no grey area about the issue. He called it “particularly unusual and egregious" and "totally unacceptable."
A shame. A travesty. And a focal point for the Saints.

New Orleans is a town where beads are a common currency. Cajun isn’t a style of cooking, it’s a way of life. And these lives, the ones who once wore brown paper sacks over their heads to football games, were turned upside down by Hurricane Katrina and the flooding the ensued.

They have the Saints, and boy, do the Saints have New Orleans.

“We are humbled by the support our organization has received from our fans today in the wake of this announcement, and we ask them to continue to stand with us, as they have done in the past, when both our team and our city have overcome greater adversities,” the New Orleans Saints said in a response to the NFL rulings.

New Orleans knows what it feels like to decimated. The Saints know what it feels like to be the loner on the playground. This is nothing.

Madden 2013; Who's next?

Madden NFL 2013 is in the fans hands. And they get to choose their new victim.

It’s the one bracket you probably don’t want to win.

The number one seeds, both quarterbacks, didn’t lead their team to a Super Bowl win. There is a possibility that one player will get the boot and still land on top, punter Sebastian Janikowski. And MegaTron got mega-snubbed as a number-6 seed, or 13^th best overall player.

The Madden curse has received much notoriety over the years, but its convention isn’t typical.

One day you’re the face of the most popular video game in the country. The next, you face plant.

An injury, a down year could hoodwink a player, but either, or both, is inevitable. It’s an honor of the highest degree, and yet it places you in the line of fire. Not only are All-Pro linebackers coming after you, but headset wearing, “Lucky Game Chair” sitting, nacho cheese Dorito covered controllers that are in the hands of 13-year-olds and 34-year-olds alike are in pursuit.

#MyMaddenCoverVote

So the player that is “selected”, we wish them luck, because no cover-model has ever been scrutinized more.  

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/feature/madden2013cover

Sweet sweet NCAA bracket

Sweet can turn sour faster than a Blackberry Warhead.

But, as of this moment, I’m content my NCAA Tournament bracket. I’m pleased with my rational, yet sometimes serendipitous picks that came to fruition while others sit in their basements and dent up their mini-fridges with a steel toed boot.

Thirteen of sixteen predictions have made it through the first weekend of March Madness. Only Ohio (Michigan), Xavier (Duke) and Wisconsin (Vanderbilt) have been keen on snaffuing my binge to the top of the heap.

Over six million brackets were filled out on ESPN.com alone, not a one of them being exactly right.

This guy isn’t far off though. With my bakers dozen of sweet sixteen teams, I reside in the 99.8% percentile. A dazzling one of only 11-thousand people will this good of a bracket. (*big head motion*) I’m the Pirates Cove Golf Course Pro, more lucky than good but I do know how to play the bank rock “better than most”.

My Final Four contains Indiana, Marquette, Syracuse, and Kansas. But we’re a long way from there.

Nuggets inconsistency

Night in and night out for the Denver Nuggets, the same team doesn't seem to be on the court. Even quarter to quarter this philosophy feels to be about right.

Denver scored 40 points in the opening period of their 116-115 win over the Detroit Pistons last night at the Pepsi Center. They were smooth, stroking and clicking on all cylinders. Then the next two quarters Ben Gordon almost stole the game back for the opposition.

Inconsistent. Temperamental. Even unstable.

The Nuggets don't have "Star" on their team; an advantage that their opponents cannot key on one player, but also a disadvantage in the same respect.

They can be as good as any team in the league, see March 4th when they beat the number-2 seeded (if the playoffs were to start today) San Antonio Spurs away from home. But they can also be on par with the worst teams in the league, see February 23 when they were blown out of the water by the same Spurs team in Pepsi Center.

On any given night a different team could take the floor, a good thing and a bad thing for Nuggets fans.

Tebow is a Jet

"I'm bummed that Tebow may be leaving. I think John Elway was threatened by him! That's my professional opinion," said my mom - this morning.

Not three hours later Tim Tebow, the soon to be third year professional quarterback, was traded to the New York Jets for a fourth and sixth round draft pick.

And as I sit outside to write this I somehow expect rain-clouds to meander overhead and cast down locusts or toads. Thunderbolts will strike Broncos that sits atop Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium. 

But no, all that is coming to Denver (besides Peyton Manning's sidetables) are lesser TBD players from the New York Jets.

The NFL is a business. It treats people as commodities because, as I learned in the several economic classes I took notes in, and they are indistinguishable from one another. But for the first time in history, this chess piece was different. Tebow wasn't confined to football, but football seemed to be confined in him.

We see him go, we wish him well. 

How can you trade the greatest quarterback in NFL history? In my professional opinion. 

Peyton's day

Peyton Manning is a Bronco. This day is his.

One of the greatest quarterbacks of all time will now strap it up in the Mile High City after a year that has been nothing but trouble. He was forced to sit on the sidelines and watch his team; his city fall to indelible lows.  He withered, with his mind as sharp as ever, getting replaced by someone who had yet to take a snap in a professional game.

Manning deserves this day all to himself. It’s a pen and paper, and a chance finally to play football.

The ex-Colt said everything everyone wanted to hear in the press conference. The feed streamed live across the Internet and the Twitter-verse chimed his quotes in unison.

He chose Denver the way he studies defenses, with pinpoint accuracy. He weighed his options and found a home. He made his decision, on his own, from the comfort of his own impeccable mind, and not a minute to late.

Manning apologized for taking so long, he hates being in the spotlight. But he should soak it all in. All of it, including the 300-plus days of sunshine that are coming his way.

It’s not Tuesday, it’s his first true Sunday as number-18 for the Denver Broncos.