If you honestly think that choke-job today wasn't coming, you weren't paying attention, "golf" "fans"...

I usually don't post about non-rigged events, but this basically dovetails into a number of the same issues in which it goes.

NICE COLUMN, GENE.  Way to eat your foot.  I hope you are FIRED tomorrow, because that's a Dewey Beats Truman moment!

The United States just pulled off a reverse-Brookline, choking away a 10-6 advantage and not only losing the Ryder Cup, but losing it OUTRIGHT when Mr. Tin God himself chokes the 18th so that Europe wins the singles 8 1/2 - 3 1/2, for a 14 1/2 - 13 1/2 win.

Europe has now won 10 of the last 14 Ryder Cup matches.  Before that, Europe nor Great Britain had won since 1933!

Why has this happened?  That's easy!!

The United States, and it's golf associations, with the full sport of the corporate backdrop and the sports media of every conceivable company, have made the entirety and totality of American golf around one Eldrik Tont "Tiger" Woods.

Until this changes, you're going to keep losing.  Worse, you're going to keep embarrassing yourselves.

And it's the PGA...

And it's ESPN....

And it's SI...

And it's FOX Sports...

The Golf Channel...

Etc.

And on...

And on...

And on...

Tiger Woods has been on seven Ryder Cup teams since 1997.

He is 1-6.

He got one-half point this weekend and was benched for one session.

He is, historically, one of the worst Ryder Cup players in history.

Why, ESPN?  Because Tiger Woods is nothing short of a corporate whore who is the perfect embodiment of everything, and everything wrong, with United States sport in the late-20th and early-21st centuries.  Tiger Woods only plays for the United State of Tiger Woods.

So why, then, sports media, is he the only story in every tournament he goddmaned plays?

The ONLY reason he's got as many majors as he has had is that there are a number of golfers who are completely stealing paychecks out on the PGA these days (and have been for quite a while!) and either can't handle real pressure or their styles of play allow for no margin of error -- and they usually err.

That's the second time in four Ryder Cups that Europe has gone 8 1/2 - 3 1/2 on the singles.  The last time, they won in Europe 18 1/2 - 9 1/2.

But you've got a bunch of guys (and this is most of the established American names) who just aren't cutting it, for one reason or another.  And until you realize, American sports fans and media, that Tiger Woods does not equal and define US golf, this isn't changing.

I've seen criminality and bullshit in football -- this might just take the cake...

(Another hat-tip to an anonymous friend...)

We had the Texas youth team with all the insane letter stuff...

We had the football riots in Georgia...

Hell, we even had the youth football in Florida being a cover for drug and gang money changing hands in gambling...

But I think I have seen it all with this article from Sports Illustrated, and the shitheads are less than fifty miles from me right now...

Dateline:  Tustin, CA

Bounty-Gate 2:  The Youth Football Edition

THIS FUCKING SHITHEAD OF A COACH WAS PAYING TEN YEAR-OLDS TO MAIM OTHER TEN YEAR-OLDS.

Head coach Darren Crawford and an assistant were running a bounty program.  He and the league's president have been suspended by the National Pop Warner Association.

He literally paid his charges, 10 and 11 years old, to hurt rival players in a playoff game.

One of them was paid $20, apparently, to give another kid a concussion??

Have we gone that stark-raving mad???

The only reason the guy probably didn't get away with it was that he actually paid the money to one of the parents and TOLD THE PARENT WHY!  Honestly!!!

This piece of shit actually believes it's OK to pay kids that age to hurt other kids.

I think I better cut this off here before I get angry enough that the next post made is about ME.

Fine Blotter, Week Three, Part Four: The last round of replacement ref fines...

Source:  Footballsfuture.com NFL News forum

• Seattle Seahawks/Seahags:  Brandon Browner fined $7,875 for throwing Packers' Greg Jennings to the ground and starting a fight between the two.  Jennings was not fined for his reaction in the clip.
• The NFL announced two days ago that the players on the Packers WILL NOT BE FINED for their Twitter outbursts.
• Detroit Lions:  Steven Tulloch:  $21,000 for a helmet-to-helmet on Craig Stevens of the Titans.
• Tennessee Titans: Scott Solomon:  $15,750 for a low (probably knee) shot on Matthew Stafford of the Lions.
• Tennessee Titans:  Leroy Harris:  $10,000 for unnecessary roughness.
• Baltimore Ravens:  Ed Reed:  $21,000 for a helmet-to-helmet.   Deion Branch of the Patriots got his bell rung by that cheapie.
• Denver Broncos:  Von Miller:  $15,750 for roughing the passer on Matt Schaub.
• Philadelphia Eagles:  Jason Babin:  $15,750 for a horse-collar tackle on Arizona's LaRod Stephens-Howling.  This makes Babin a TWO-TIME LOSER.
• Philadelphia Eagles:  Dominique Rodgers-Cromatrie:  $7,875 for hitting an opponent.  After a $21,000 pre-season fine for a cheapie on Byron Leftwich of the Steelers, that makes him a TWO-TIME LOSER.
• Carolina Panthers:  Charles Godfrey:  $7,875 for unnecessary roughness versus Martellus Bennett of the Giants.

Surprisingly few, especially given the post-game outbursts after both national games against the referees.  So there could be even more.

$268,875 for 13 people this week so far.

That puts the yearly wastebasket at $768,625.

A Perfect Skewer, and a Too-Perfect "Performance"...

If you want to see a perfect editorial on the disconnect between our culture and reality vis-a-vis football, I point you to South Park Studios and this week's episode:  "Sarcastaball".

Not going to say anything more, except they get the concussions, the alumni players, the replacement referees, the discussion on eliminating kickoffs, and Roger Goodell.

---

And I will let Brian Tuohy and his Twitter talk about Thursday Night Mass...  err, Football...

Not only did it take half a quarter for a punt returner to get his head near-taken off (the real refs flagged it), but Brian had this to say about the other end of a 23-16 Raven victory in which the Ravens were favored over the Browns by double-digits (more screwing the betting public):

Tweet 1:  "Really NFL? You got rid of the replacements and now we get a 2nd chance at a hail mary ending?"

(Much like the Packer-Saint game from the opener last year, a last-play penalty gave the Browns one more chance to tie the game.)

Tweet 2:  "And people don't think the NFL is all about showbiz? Check the ending of BAL-CLE. The real refs gave CLE multiple chances to stay in it."

And then in response to my telling him of the refunds on the Packer straight and money-line bets by The D in Vegas, Tweet 3:  "@darkstar7646 Yeah, they refunded it so they could win it back on the Browns Thursday night - with no questions asked...."

Nothing more need be said.  Sounds like a big Fine Blotter later today!

One piece of business before the Fine Blotters start up again...

Scoring update for week 3:

45.6875 per game for Week 3 in 2012.

Highest since 2008, 3rd most since 2001.

3 week per-game average:  47.65

Almost a field-goal higher than last year, or any year since 2001.

Yeah, keep cheering, people...

Three Examples of Why One of the Problems With American Sport is the Fans Themselves

Yes, the Internet fandom has been running amok for far too long with no consequences.

Don't believe me?

1) Take this dipshit that posted this on Twitter after the Ravens "defeated" the Patriots:

“Hey, Smith, how about you call your bro and tell him all about your wi----ohhh Wait. #TooSoon?”

 Katie Moody of Baltimore sent that to Torrey Smith about his brother's death.

Katie Moody is a New England Patriots "fan".

I have no problem with threats against someone's life for an action so egregiously callous and classless that it is clear that no one's life is important to this female asshole than her own and that of her Holy New England Patriots.

Maybe if one of these completely idiotic fans was actually physically taken to task and that taking-to-task made public, maybe -- just MAYBE -- we can get some semblance of sanity back.

But who am I kidding when we get this just a few hours later!!

2) Jim McMahon, the former Bears quarterback, says he would've played baseball if he had another go-round at life.

Jim McMahon has beginning stages of dementia due to the hits he took.

That doesn't stop this collection of animals from going off on him...

One actually told McMahon to "man up" about his dementia.

Another basically said to anyone calling him and his animal-squad out that they were complete tools.

Basically, this whole thing about anyone questioning "The Game" is now treated as if they were a domestic terrorist.

The man has dementia because he tried to entertain you motherfuckers.  In a RIGGED SPORT which clearly has been a fraud for it's entire existence.

But you don't care -- these people either need to nut up or shut up and die.

And this is not even limited to football!!

3) Adam Greenberg got one at-bat in the major leagues.

He took a 92-MPH fastball to the dome.  He has vertigo spells ever since.

All he wanted was one more at-bat, and the Marlins are giving it to him, with approval of the Commissioner.  What salary he's getting is being given to the Marlins Foundation, who will give it to brain research.

You can guess what the Internet Warriors have to say about this one...

"What a joke. So many other professional players work hard every day playing many years in the minors and never get the call to the big leagues, Others get injured and also dream of the chance to get back there, but dont. All these other players have enough class to accept their fate. Apparently Mr. Greenberg thinks he deserves something more. He should be happy with the fact that he was a minor leaguer who was not a "prospect" and got a chance."

(And 45 fans gave that a "Like".)

"how do i campaign for a major league at bat? or a technical free throw in the nba? or an opening kickoff return that flies over the end zone for a touchback for that matter?"

(42 fans "Liked" that one.)

FUCK YOU, MOTHERFUCKERS.

That's the only way to put it.   You are so invested in the FRAUD that is corporate sport in this country that you are so completely disconnected from reality and anything which might intrude on your sorry little enjoyment of "The Game".

You make me literally sick sometimes, and I know for a fact that I am not alone.  (Two of these stories were alerted to me by an anonymous friend who is similarly sickened.)

This is one of the reasons that I do not believe that the replacement refs being gone is going to improve the NFL these days.

Why?  Because there are three parts to the problems with the NFL:

1) The corruption at the top (which is where the replacement refs came in).
2) The criminality of the players.
3) and the complete and utter disconnect of anything real by the criminal/violent element of the fans.

Fine Blotter Week Three Part Three: Belichick Pays the Piper, and the player fines start

• New England Patriots:  Bill Belichick fined $50,000 for his tirade.
• Pittsburgh Steelers:  Ryan Mundy is fined $21,000 for a helmet-to-chin injurious (concussion and strained neck) knockout blow to Oakland's Darius Heyward-Bey.  The hit was not flagged.

But the message has gotten across:  THE REAL REFEREES HAVE A DEAL, and they will be back for tomorrow night's game.  Confirmed by the NFL.

That said, the season has been irreparably tarnished anyway.  The league would effectively have to rig most of the rest of the season to pay back some of the teams who have been damaged, and two wrongs don't make a right.

And how many people actually believe that they will be able to jump right in to a regular-season environment and keep the players under control.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....

$146,000 this week so far.

44 people have been fined, including four coaches.

$645,750 is the charity toteboard so far this year.

It was so bad last week that a Vegas casino (The D, the former Fitzgeralds) is REFUNDING all Packer bets for Monday night's stupidity from their casino.

Fine Blotter, Week Three, Part Two: Coach Edition Part One

• Neither coach in the New England-Baltimore debacle will be suspended.  It is expected, though, that Bill Belichick will be fined for his post-game tirade as early as today.
• One coach can add his name to the growing list of ref-tirade fines already:  Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan docked $25,000 for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in Sunday's game.

Kyle Shanahan becomes the 42nd different person fined this year.

$75,000 is the total so far for this week.

Season fines now total $574,750

And you idiot "Fans" want to swear your fealty to THIS?

The two national weekend games both had their outcomes determined (totally determined and changed) by bad calls.

I believe that both of them were full rig-jobs -- the most obvious and open rigging of an NFL game since the Calvin Johnson Game (Bears-Lions I, last year), and a full example of that the incompetence of the NFL replacement referees is part of what I believe to a much more dangerous reality which has several prongs:

1) The players who believe that the replacement referees are too dangerously incompetent to continue are right.  Not only has the season been terminally and irreparably tarnished (The Packers can pretty much throw in the towel on 2012 -- the Patriots only aren't that far because of the abject offensive incompetence of the Jets (Sound familiar??).), the injuries and dirty hits are piling up.  And as tempers continue to flare, it looks as if we might pass a million dollars in NFL official fines in-season (not counting Bounty-Gate or anything else pre- or off-season) in just three weeks.

2) Any idea that the league can fully implement a Player Safety or Player Conduct Initiative is a farcical endeavor until the thug, inner-city mentality of many NFL players is done away with.  The players don't even care about their own safety, much less the safety of anyone else on the field.  And this attitude carries off the field as well.  Tempers are continuing to flare, and I can see frustrations with the scab refs boiling over to incidents like the scrum at the end of the farcical call last night.

3) This whole situation -- the scab refs, the crazy finishes, the close games, the fines, the farcical Initiatives, etc. -- comes back to one thing:  Roger Goodell is Dictator, Godfather, and God in the NFL.  This is why you won't see the regular refs coming back, short of players suing (which would bring an interesting question to the fore:  We already know that the fans have no rights to having the games be fair and clean?  How about the players themselves??) .  This is why you will almost certainly see the better part of a half-million in fines this week, especially for criticism of the officials.  Roger Goodell now believes that, even more than the 31 owners and the People of Green Bay, WI, HE OWNS THE NFL.

He truly believes, and I assert these two games as evidence, that he determines who wins and who loses.  And since he considers the sport nothing more than an "entertainment product" (and more than a few of the players know this to be fact!), all concepts of fair "sport" go completely out the window.

The word is that the farcical call last night changed anywhere from $150,000,000 to $300,000,000 in bets on the Packer-Seahag game last night, depending on who you talk to.  This isn't a function of a judgement or anything -- the NFL admitted today that Offensive Pass Interference should've been called on Golden Tate.

Let's not get into how much Sunday night's botched field goal call cost bettors.

But, again, as I've always said this season:  THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS.

Roger Goodell has firm control of the referee situation, firm control of his "entertainment product", and firm control of the NFL right now, even as the NFL itself spirals out of control.

Don't agree with me?  Let's take a look at the last plays of both games in prime time over the weekend.

Sunday Night:  New England is leading Baltimore by two points.  Two seconds remain in the game in Baltimore -- and Baltimore is lining up what would appear to be a rather simple 27-yard field goal to win the game.

What happens next is where it gets stupid.

Justin Tucker shanks the kick.  Even straight in the middle at 27 yards, it appears to fly to the right side of the screen, past the right upright.  The officials rule the kick good, to which at least one Patriot player commits a clear 15-yard penalty (though no time remains, obviously!) by taking off his helmet and charging one of the officials.

If you stop the clip at :05, it's pretty clear that kick is wide.  (And, at :33, it's even clearer!)  But the brother of one of the Ravens' wide receivers died this weekend, and a heroic performance could not be wasted in our "entertainment product", right?

THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS.

Monday Night:  You could go back several situations on this one before we even get to the last play debacle. 

Seattle fails on 4th down to get the go-ahead touchdown inside of two minutes to go.

Green Bay pulls an abjectly pitiful 3-and-out, losing three yards from their own seven to punt it back to Seattle.  46 yards, 46 seconds.

At about this point, especially if you took a look at the supposed MVP's numbers (26-for-39, 223 yards, sacked eight times, no touchdowns), you could've figured Seattle was going to win this game.

It's how they "won" it that should have everyone who claims to swear by this supposedly-legitimate "sports league" up in arms, unless, like a shithead I know from San Diego who wouldn't have two brain-cells to rub together to make flint, it seems, if it doesn't involve her Seahawks...

4th down, 8 seconds to go from the Packer 22.

Russell Wilson (and has anyone truly seen why this guy was so pimped when he went to Wisconsin in the first place?) drops back.  The Pack rushes 3 (their first mistake), and, after the clock runs out, Wilson chucks the ball toward the near end zone.

Again, what happens next is where it gets stupid.

Waiting in that general area are two Seattle receivers and about five Green Bay defenders.

Whoops...  Did I say five?  I meant four, as Golden Tate, one of the Seattle receivers, clearly shoves one of the Green Bay defenders out of the play while the ball is in the air for ultimate Offensive Pass Interference, which the league was forced to ADMIT in a mea culpa today.

(The camera clearly catches this at the replay you can see clearly at :44.)

Then, Green Bay defender M.D. Jennings catches the ball in the end zone.  Tate, who's already committed Offensive Pass Interference on the play, struggles, at this point, to try to create a "simultaneous catch" situation, so that he can get credit for the touchdown.

Here's the problem:  Let's juxtapose this with another famous denial-of-NFL-reality:  The Calvin Johnson Rule.

For Tate to gain "simultaneous catch", he must not only catch the ball at the same time as Jennings, but control the ball all the way to the ground, and then be able to make another legal football move while in possession.

And, as you watch closely if you keep your eyes open (hence, not be a Seattle fan!), at the replay starting at about 1:01 or so into the clip.  At 1:06, you can clearly see Tate's left arm lose possession of the football while still in the air.

So, for "simultaneous catch" for the touchdown to be scored, he must have caught the ball at the same time and controlled it with Jennings all the way down.

You mean to tell me, scabs, that "control of the ball" is "simultaneous" while Jennings has caught the ball and, at best, Tate has one hand on the ball, trapping it to Jennings' two hands...

You really mean to tell me that??

THEN he goes to the ground and THEN gets the second hand back on.  Two referees look at each other...

They go "Duh..." for a second.

One signals the TD, the other signals a time-out.

So why is the call on the field a Touchdown?  Upheld by video?  Supported by the NFL, in a statement today???

Because that's what Roger Goodell wants...  Not only drama at the gun, but drama after the gun.

How do we know that the ruling on the field was a touchdown unless someone else decided it for them?  It appears to me, in the clip, that one official is signalling a time-out, which would indicate an interception -- but it's immediately ruled a touchdown!

And he wants known quantities like the Packers out of the equation.

And you "Fans" swear your fealty to this "sport"?

You really should be swearing your fealty to Roger Goodell and his "Entertainment Product" motif after these two jokes.

Fine (And Suspension!) Blotter, Week Three, Part One

Yep, we have our first on-field suspension of 2012, and it's exactly the hit you thought it was...

• Denver Broncos:  Joe Mays was fined $50,000 and suspended for one game for a helmet-to-helmet hit that ripped off part of the ear of Houston's Matt Schaub.

Mays is appealing.  Good luck on that one.

This makes Mays the league's first TWO-TIME LOSER, and, hence, especially after there was another roughing penalty on the previous play, should've gotten Mays 4-6 games, in my personal opinion.

Total NFL fines, and we're just starting the week three list:  $549,900

I'd say, between the debacles in Baltimore and Seattle, we're going to be lucky if we aren't well over a million by the time Week Four convenes in earnest.

Fine Blotter, Week Three, Part Zero, Starring the Green Bay Packers...

"Fine Me and Use the Money to Pay the Regular Refs"

Deadspin.com compilation of irate Packer player Tweets.

Am I the only person who saw this blatantly?

Ball in the air.

At the gun.

Complete incompetence by a supposed-great offensive team to get there.

Everyone screams for interference on the home team.

No call.

TOUCHDOWN.

Blatant interference, a full shove in the back right in front of the camera (approx. 0:57-0:59), and a mass melee in the corner with the whole situation completely out of control as the refs try to pull everybody apart!

Because the refs called Tate having full joint possession of the ball in the end zone.

Home team wins.

Betting public gets screwed!

----

Ladies and gentlemen, as long as you continue to watch the games, Roger Goodell will continue to act like God.  He owns The Game, The Shield, your viewing experiences, and HE -- DOESN'T -- CARE.

A short sampling of Twitter posts on all this tonight:

JTTheBrick:  "5 #Packers and 2 #Seahawks and Green Bay can't knock it down? KNOCK IT DOWN HARD TO THE GROUND!"

(And what he forgets is that this was the DESIGNED RESULT.)

JTTheBrick:  "That is when you KNOCK IT DOWN! #Packers feel that they got robbed! #Seahawks and Tate PUSH OFF. Gruden says blatant pass interference."

TheFixIsInTuohy:  "@darkstar7646 Tonight the NFL got exactly what it deserved"

TheFixIsInTuohy:  "Does the NFL lose anything with MNF ending? Nope. There is no such thing as bad publicity. Fans stop watching? Nope. Just more hype now."

TheFixIsInTuohy:  "Now if all you sports fans got this worked up over something that matters...something actually important compared to a lousy football game."

(Why's that, Brian?  We got a fucking bitch in San Diego creaming herself right now as a Seahag fan, not caring about life or anything else -- just soaring like a turkey...)

Even WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel took time out after RAW:  "What a bizarre, brutal ending to the Green Bay-Seattle NFL game!! The post game press conferences should be intreresting!!"

Another WWE Hall of Famer, Jim Ross, took a shot at the refs:  "The officials who called #nfl game between #packers vs #seahawks were allegedly seen getting on a #WWE jet bound for Montreal. WTH?!"

Mark Cuban with a good one:  "I would love to see what my reaction would be if a Mavs game ended like #MNF. #Expensive #NBAtime"

Fine Blotter, Week Two, Part Four: Add two coaches to the list...

We're now over $400,000 for last week.

• Denver Broncos:  Head coach John Fox fined $30,000 for criticism of officials after the Monday Night debacle.
• Denver Broncos:  Defensive Coordinator Jack del Rio fined $25,000 for same.

$345,500 for 28 people last week.
$154,250 for 10 players in week one.

$499,500 for the season.

Belichick went off on the refs after SNF last night.  He apparently grabbed one of the refs after the game.  Forget the "sizable fine" -- Bill Belichick should be SUSPENDED.

A quarterback lost part of his ear after an illegal hit yesterday.

Oh, I can just see this week starting out SPLENDIDLY!!!

Brian called probably the most obvious play of the night...

Now that New England HAS lost (last week), Brian Tuohy had this observation to make when he found out about the unfortunate death of the brother of Baltimore Raven wide receiver Torrey Smith:

"Odds of Torrey Smith catching a "tribute" TD for his brother are what now?"

Six catches, 127 yards, TWO touchdowns, and the starring role in the 31-30 win.

I'm beginning to think the very ugly feeling that Roger Goodell thinks he IS God.

... at least of the NFL.

This goes beyond the whole debacle of the replacement refs, the thug players, the insane fans, etc. and so forth...

Is Roger Goddell trying to create a league where every team is 7-7 entering week 16?

Otherwise, someone please explain to me the following:

• The 49ers clearly dominate the Packers, but can't beat the lowly Vikings.
• Oakland is so bad that Yahoo! Sports does an article having people thinking the Raiders are the worst team in years, and they win a 34-31 game over Pittsburgh?
• Arizona is 3-0?
• The last three undefeated teams in the NFL are Arizona, Houston, and Atlanta...
• The Jets have one of the worst offenses in league history, and are 2-1?
• That there are only two winless teams in the National Football League entering tonight's play?  (They make sense -- New Orleans and Cleveland)
• The four teams in the two national games tonight are ALL 1-1??

Oh, and I've got one more thing on that fine list, by the way...

If you don't think a lot of that doesn't go back to the Bounty-Gate suspension reversals, you've got another think coming!

Just took one more week than I thought.

And more Fine Blotter for Week Two...

• Denver Broncos:  Ray Edwards, $8,000 for his role in the mass Monday Night Football fracas on Monday.  Of all the players in the melee, he was the ONLY PLAYER FINED.
• ULTRA LATE EDIT:  Denver Broncos:  Joe Mays, $7,875 for a cheapie on Atlanta QB Matt Ryan.
• New York Jets:  LaRon Landry, $15,750 for a horse-collar tackle against the Steelers.
• Minnesota Vikings:  Matt Kalil, $7,875 for an unnecessary roughness cheapie against the Colts.
• Minnesota Vikings again:  Jasper Brinkley, again $7,875, AGAIN for unnecessary roughness cheapie against the Colts.
• Indianapolis Colts, their first fine in two seasons:  Dwayne Allen, same fine, same game, same offense.
• Indianapolis Colts, again:  Anthony Castanzo:  same fine, same game, same offense.
• New England Patriots:  Steve Gregory, same fine for a late hit on Arizona's Todd Heap.
• New England Patriots:  Jerod Mayo, $21,000 for hitting a defenseless player.
• Washington Redskins:  The fine for Josh Morgan for that untimely conduct penalty?  $7,875.
• New York Giants:  Kenny Phillips fined $30,000 for hitting a defenseless player from the Buccaneers.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers:  Mason Foster, same game, $21,000 for a helmet-to-helmet.
• New York Giants:  Running back Andre Brown, $15,750 for horse-collaring somebody after an interception by his quarterback!
• New York Giants:  David Bass, $7,875 for unnecessary roughness.
• New York Giants:  Kevin Booth, $7,875 for unnecessary roughness.
• Philadelphia Eagles:  DeSean Jackson, $10,000 for a punch thrown at a Baltimore Raven.
• Philadelphia Eagles:  Cullen Jenkins, $7,875 for striking a Baltimore Raven.
• Buffalo Bills:  Da'Norris Searcy, $21,000 for an illegal hit on Kansas City's Kevin Boss.
• Baltimore Ravens:  Ray Rice, $7,875 for unnecessary roughness.
• Baltimore Ravens:  Cary Williams, $10,000 for unnecessary roughness.
• Baltimore Ravens:  Marshal Yanda, same fine and offense as Rice.
• Miami Dolphins:  Jimmy Wilson, $15,750 for roughing the passer, Carson Palmer of the Raiders.
• Detroit Lions:  John Wendling, $7,875 for a late hit on Alex Smith when he was sliding.
• St. Louis Rams:  Janoris Jenkins, $15,750 for unnecessary roughness.
• St. Louis Rams:  Robert Quinn, $7,875 for unnecessary roughness.
• Washington Redskins:  Lorenzo Alexander, $15,750 for unnecessary roughness in the same game.

This is a personal message, now, to fans who swear such fealty to this game.

IS THIS WHAT YOU FUCKING WANT???

IS YOUR BLOODLUST SO FUCKING MAD THAT THIS OUT-OF-CONTROL CRIMINALITY ON THE FIELD IS YOUR WISH?

That is a record for fines in one week, and it's probably not even close for second-place.

26 players, from 15 teams.

TWO HUNDRED NINETY THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS

That's over $440,000 in fines for dirty bullshit in TWO WEEKS.  You guys that suck the dicks of this game at the expense of everything, and I'm pointing especially at a Seahag fan in San Diego that's under my skin right now (nice helmet shot by your motherfucker, by the by!!)...

The Ravens-Eagles game had five fines.
The Giants-Buccaneers game had four fines, three on the Giants.
The Rams-Redskins game had four.
The Vikings-Colts game had four.

It's got to stop, and letters to the teams isn't going to fucking do it.  Flags might, ejections might, team fines might, suspensions probably will.

The games are out of control, the replacement refs have zero respect from the league, and the games simply have to be stopped or forfeited if this bullshit is going to continue.

That is thirty-eight players fined for dangerous hits (and one uniform violation) in two weeks.  (Shockingly, no repeat offenders.)

Of the 32 teams, 17 have already received fines.

This ain't the replacement refs -- though about the only thing they have left in their arsenal is The Thumb.  And they are abjectly negligent in not doing so.

This is the criminality in the league, the thug nature of the players, the coaches who needle this on in the name of intensity, and a sport and fandom so fucking drunk on this stuff that it's only a matter of time before someone gets killed!

And he'll be a martyr for The Game, right???

EDIT:

(Phillips' fine was appealed successfully in Week 11, but Week 2 was still ridiculous!)

I've got Good News, and I've got Bad News

The Bad News is something which should not surprise ANYBODY.

An arrest warrant, for failing to appear, has been issued for Michael Vick's brother, Marcus.

I don't have enough time to go over all the contempt I have for Dogkiller's brother -- the only reason I don't have more contempt for him than I do Michael is Bad News Kennels.

That said, I am reminded of the ACC Championship Game (one in which Va. Tech had to lose to allow Notre Dame into the BCS and screw over Oregon, if my memory serves -- which was exactly what happened!) in which Marcus ran in for a touchdown, spiked the ball, and the referee threw his flag more than thirty feet in the air.

Another thing should've been thrown that night:  The Thumb -- as in:  You're Outta Here.

But Marcus got his license suspended, has already been in jail once for contempt over failure to appear, now is coming back in for another suspended-license offense, fails to appear for that with his appearance pushed back twice, and now this shithead should be going to jail again.

Or is that what it takes when your brother is Dogkiller, idiot?

---

The Good News is that sanity can now reign with respect to the National League batting title.

Melky Cabrera has been disqualified by Major League Baseball, partially at his request.

The only thing I cannot understand is the actual ruling:  Cabrera could've won the batting title under the present rules if one hitless at-bat had been added to his total (to give him the requisite number -- he was literally one away) and his lead of six points does not completely evaporate.

The ruling is a one-time exemption which says that suspended players cannot have that rule applied, and it only applies for this season (presumably only for Melky Cabrera).

What I do not understand is why this rule is not only made permanent, but actually sustains that any player suspended under the drug policies forfeits all honors earned that season, regardless of whether they would otherwise be eligible.

This half-measure doesn't cut it, MLB, but, of course, this is Bud $elig we're talking about!

Fine Blotter, Week Two, Part Two

Again, I'll link to the thread on footballsfuture.com forums, because they now appear to be getting better at posting animations of the relevant hits.

• Pittsburgh Steelers:  Lawrence Timmons gets a $21,000 docking for a helmet-to-jaw on Mark Sanchez of the Jets.
• San Francisco 49ers:  Tarell Brown loses $5,250 for a uniform violation.
• The fine for Golden State of the Seahags for the aforementioned offense was on the list, $21,000.

One fine was rescinded -- Alex Smith of the 49ers was fined $15,000 for wearing a (San Francisco) Giants cap to the press conference. 

But, today, the NFL did something as what I see as an act of desperation:

It sent a global warning to all the teams, coaches, and GMs.  It was a warning to stop the universal berating of the replacement refs.

Of course, here's the thing:  That's not something a few timely and game-changing 15-yard penalties wouldn't stop now, would it?

Fine Blotter, Week Two, Part One: Golden Tate, one DUI suspension, and another DUI reported

I'm actually going to link to the site I cite here, because the first post in the thread actually shows it.

Golden Tate of the Seahags has been fined $21,000 for this shot (post 1 has several animated GIFs of the replay) on Sean Lee of the Cowboys.

That's a headbutt under the neck, sir.  That's literally taking your head and uppercutting the head of Lee as if you slugged him in the chin and snapped his head that way.

There's a lot of discussion as to how out-of-control the replacement refs are letting things get.  If this is any indication, the league's going to have a very long year.  Disgraceful hit.

Also, Clark Haggins of the 49ers has been suspended three games for a 2011 DUI.

Michael Turner of the Falcons was charged with similar after the win Monday Night.  He probably faces a similar suspension if found guilty.

Various Sports Absurdities of the Week

• And the "Bigot of the Week" Award goes to:  Yunel Escobar of the Toronto Blue Jays!

This jackass decided to take things one step further, and, on what apparently has been commonly-inflammatory eye-black he puts on before every game, he decided, this time, to put a homophobic slur at his opponents, in Spanish.

He's lucky, #1, that none of the apparent opponents knew Spanish.

But he may not be so lucky after his three-game suspension.  Sounds like the Blue Jays' brass wanted their player suspended longer, and, because the game was in Toronto, he can be prosecuted for what he said.

The First Amendment does not apply in Canada at all, Bigoted Sports Fan, and, on top of it, what "Free Speech" does exist up there does not cover this kind of hate speech.

He can be prosecuted, and possibly even deported.

So there may be more on this story.  The forfeited salary (almost $100,000) is being given to You Can Play, an LGBT sports charity in Denver.

• The "Fan Idiot of the Week" Award goes to:  Some Internet fans of the Washington Redskins!

And people wonder why I rail on fans so much.

And I always figured it would come to something like this!!

Death threats.

Joshua Morgan is a fifth-year wide receiver for the Redskins who got an untimely unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (and a place on the second Fine Blotter -- he's already been notified he will be fined) for throwing the ball at St. Louis' Cortland Finnegan in the fourth quarter of a game the Rams would win by three points.

For this affront to human decency, Morgan's life has been threatened on Twitter by various Redskin ultras, all sorts of harm to him and his family have been  proposed, and the team and league security are investigating.

May we all facepalm together.

• The "You Aren't Fooling Me A Bit" Award goes to:  The National Football League and it's assignment of replacement officials!

So it's not bad enough that the officials are, by most accounts, making the league look like an utter joke.

The NFL, in it's infinite wisdom during the officials' lockout, did such a poor job of vetting the replacements that it actually, until realized otherwise, put a known New Orleans Saints fan in as an official in the Saints' loss to Carolina in Week Two.

And it's not like Brian Stropolo, who also worked the Kickoff Game between the Giants and Cowboys, was trying to hide anything -- he attended and tailgated at a Saints' preseason game in Saints regalia!!  Posted the pictures on Facebook, too!  (One is on the article from the New York Daily News linked to above.)

But think of the ultimate STUPIDITY...  Look, Goodell, you ain't fooling me.  It's clear that one of the reasons you're pulling this bullshit is to have officials that are even more in the league's back pocket than the Ed Hochulis of the world.

But to not realize that you might be putting a known fan of one of the teams in a professional regular-season game until hours before kickoff???

Brian Tuohy points out several more on his NFL season page, including a man paid by the Seattle Seahawks to referee regular-season scrimmages (prohibited under NFL rules) doing the Week One game between the Seahawks and Cardinals.  (The Seahags, as well-known, got a bogus extra time-out in the game and STILL couldn't win!) 

And another replacement ref apparently loves fantasy football so much that he walks over to Philly RB LeSean McCoy during the game and tells him to step it up because he's on that referee's fantasy team!

(Links are on Brian's site!)

• And, finally, the "Throwback of the Year (So Far)" Award goes to...  Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig!!

... for apparently STILL being a steroid apologist!!

Selig has basically said that they might look into "at the end of the year" the fact that Melky Cabrera, suspended for 50 games for a positive drug test, appears to be in the lead by a fairly substantial margin (six points over Andrew McCutchen of Pittsburgh) for the National League batting title.

He has only one fewer plate appearance than required for the batting title.  Under the rules, as the article points out, his average would be recalibrated with one more at-bat to his credit without a hit under the Official Rules of Major League Baseball.

His average, under that caveat, would be .34565

McCutchen is batting .34011

In fact, this would be the Major League batting title, as the AL's leader is Miguel Cabrera (no relation -- Miguel is Venezuelan and Melky from the Dominican Republic) at .333 .

So will someone PLEASE explain to me (and, yes, I know it's going to happen -- MLB still recognizes Bonds' achievements while obstructing justice and McGwire's achievements while known on the juice, etc.) how a man who gets a FIFTY-GAME SUSPENSION FOR DRUGS is eligible for any honor, much less the batting title, by RULE...

And, on top of that, let's not forget this was the All-Star Game MVP, helping give the National League home-field advantage in the World Series this year!!

Which the Giants appear to be on a one-way course towards...

Bud, Melky...  You've done something...

You've turned me against "This Time, It Counts..."

How any sane sports league can recognize any of the achievements of Melky Cabrera this year (and, yes, this impacts the upcoming World Series too!) is beyond my sense of comprehension.

So, congratulations, Bud...  Given two chances to do the right thing this year, you've shown you'd rather recognize 'Roids than legitimate play.

• Another football riot in Florida, I see...

And it's time for the NFL to conduct Thursday Night Mass again...  Eesh...  So, "Money", who you got this week???

The "surprises" of Week Two:

THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS

• How many people got suckered by New England?
• Baltimore?

THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS

• How bout those replacement refs?  Missed both a horse-collar and a grounding -- on the same play -- on Monday Night Football!

THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS

• And scoring is up again!  47.8 this week, even higher than last year.  48.625 for the two weeks.  That's half a field goal better than last year's record!

THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS

... and the public continues to get fleeced.

Week One Dirty Hits Digest/Fine Blotter, Part Two...

• Houston Texans:  Antonio Smith:  $21,000 $11,000 for kicking Richie Incognito of the Dolphins.
• Washington Redskins got two this week:  DeJon Gomes:  $8,000 for a headshot to Darren Sproles of the Saints.
• And Madieu Williams is $21,000 lighter for a helmet-to-helmet on Jimmy Graham in the same game.
• Cincinnati Bengals:  Taylor Mayes:  $21,000 for a dirty hit on Ed Dickson of the Eagles.
• Kansas City Chiefs:  Shawn Draughn was fined $7,875 for a face-mask against the Falcons.
• Denver Broncos:  Rahim Moore gets $21,000 for a dirty hit in his game against the Steelers.
• Minnesota Vikings:  Everson Griffen is $15,000 poorer for roughing the passer on Blaine Gabbert of the Jaguars.
• Philadelphia Eagles:  Jason Babin:  $15,750 for roughing the passer on Brandon Weeden of the Browns -- slamming him to the ground.
• Miami Dolphins:  Mike Pouncey, the center, gets $7,875 for a cheapie against the Houston Texans.

I say this every week, but it may be becoming more true than I want it to be:  If players are that interested in giving up money for committing cheap shots, I could certainly use some of it.

If you guys are that invested in dirty hits that you are willing to pay these fines, then please send me some of that money, because you certainly aren't interested in keeping it.

About $140,000, I read here, ten players on nine teams.  And there may be more.

You got fleeced last night, bettors!!

Kept an eye on something as I was seeing the stats from the debacle last night in Lambeau (so bad, now, that people are fearing the team will openly revolt on Jay Cutler, only one week after they basically praised him as a new major player this season!!):

The trend on the Over-Under last night for Packers-Bears was that EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT of the bettors were taking the over, according to VegasInsider.com.

You know, I'm getting real sick and tired of seeing people basically toss friendships aside and forgo real-life loyalties to a sport which is so clearly an obvious scam at this point that any awake person should be able to conclude this.

You'd think that people would not realize that there is only one simple fact regarding not only gambling, but pro sports in general, in this country:  THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS.

The fans got completely suckered into believing that the offense of the Bears would be as solid as it was last week and that Aaron Rodgers would be able to recharge.

And what do you get?  Both offenses sputter, the future of Jay Cutler in Chicago is now in question, and the game turns out to be a dud.

The House Always Wins.  It's how they stay in business -- it's how the handicappers stay in business too.

Is it any wonder to anyone that the amount of fans a team has is usually a direct proportion to how much we end up seeing them in prime spots?  In fact, the only reason they set this asinine Thursday-Night-Game-Every-Week tomfoolery was to make all the teams feel important one week out of the year.

Here's a newsflash:  Most teams don't have the fanbase nor the merchandising revenue to be relevant, even if they had the athletes to be in the Super Bowl/World Series/NBA Finals/what have you.

I'm talking about you, Seattle Sea-Hags.  You think you got screwed over by the officials in that one Super Bowl?  Take the pile of Super Bowl Champion memorabilia you'd have bought as a fanbase and compare it to Pittsburgh.

Ditto Arizona, and we know they got screwed over.

The House Always Wins, fealty-fans.  The House Always Wins.

And here we go with the Regular Season Fine Blotter, Week 1 Edition

(Source:  Football'sFuture.com NFL Forum thread)

• $15,750 for the Dallas Cowboys' Tyron Smith.  The NFL is going after horse-collars this year, and Smith is the first example made.

Apparently, this has forwarded some discussion -- the illegal tackle was made inside the 2-yard line, preventing a Touchdown.

At that point, the Touchdown should be awarded by penalty, as it's no different than a guy coming off the sidelines to illegally tackle somebody who's free for a score -- and that DOES award the score.

More to come...

Does the "Pretty Boy" have a lot of "Money" inside information?

Brian Tuohy noted to me in his Twitter that, in Vegas circles, Floyd Mayerweather is believed to be a "beard" (that is, a front-man for bettors who would otherwise be considered "too inside" to have as high of limits of money to bet) for insiders in sportsbooks.

Last Thursday night, as I noted, he bet $200,000 on the Cowboys on the halftime bet, receiving 1.5 points.  It won.

Last Monday night, he tweeted a picture of a $100,000 Charger Money Line bet (they were to win at about -115 or so).  That won.

Tonight, his Twitter reports he's on the Packers for their showdown game with the Bears at Lambeau.

Does he know something the rest of us don't??

ON EDIT:  He hit the Packers in an abjectly dull Thursday nighter...  You guys swear your fealty when the play on the field is THAT BAD???  No word on how much he bet.

According to his Twitter, though:

• $200,000 on the Cowboys +1.5, as stated above.  Won.
• $100,000 on the Cincinnati Bearcats to win the second half (halftime -.5 points) with Pittsburgh.  (9/6) Won.
• $100,000 on Utah State second half +4 with Utah.  (9/7) Overtime counts in Nevada, so he won that too!
• $250,000 on the Atlanta Falcons to win over Kansas City.  Won that one.
• $100,000 on the New England Patriots -3 with Tennessee.  Won that one too.
• $100,000 on the Lions 1st half -6 over the Rams.  LOST.
• Is rumored to have lost a $3,000,000 bet on the Alabama-Michigan game.

Now, there may be other losses -- he's also using this to promote his website -- but I know this guy is somewhere on the fishy side of Vegas, and you don't hit for those kind of numbers unless you've got some real inside torque.

So, Week One, and can anyone tell me they didn't see some of this coming???

• As of before the two Monday Night Football games, scoring is up, even from last year's Week 1.  In fact, the 14 games having taken place averaged almost a field goal a game higher than last year's 16:  49.857 a game vs. last year's 47-even and even 2002's record of 49.5!
•  The two Monday Night games have to total 96 for that to match 2002's record.  Last year's doubleheader totalled 105!
• Sunday Night ESPN headline:  "Back In Style".  I figured one of two things was going to happen to Peyton Manning on Sunday:  His neck would be broken by a dirty hit, or he'd win.  He did the latter and threw his 400th touchdown, just as the doctor, the league, and NBC would want it!
• Over-under:  New England game was close (most books had it 48, it totalled 47).  Total was 8-6 (far more even than I thought it would be, especially after checking the average this week!), the Wednesday nighter being the only national game to go under.  Green Bay-San Francisco and Denver-Pittsburgh both went over.
• New Orleans goes down hard.  
• RG3 gets the obligatory big first game that QB's of his stature seem to get.
• New England takes step one to 19-0.
• The replacement refs can't count to three time outs and give Seattle an extra one.
• The Sea-Hags still lose to Arizona.
• Green Bay loses to the new front-runners in the NFC, San Francisco.
• But David Akers, AT 581 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL, boinks through a 63-yard field goal at Lambeau Field??????
• St. Louis and Indianapolis both lose.

And it's even worse than I first thought...

This Sunday just became Open Season for head-hunting in the NFL.

What's Goodell going to do, given this ruling?  Any suspension he gives under the present system will be overturned with this ruling as precedent.  That and the replacement refs equals BIG TROUBLE.

Here's something to make it worse:  The NFL has billions of dollars at stake for letting this stand!!

Why?

If the NFL allows this ruling to stand, they can then turn around to all the former players suing for concussions and state that the NFL can do nothing to protect them, using THIS RULING as legal precedent!  The NFL could successfully use this ruling to toss all of the concussion lawsuits!

And as disgusting as this Bounty-Gate ruling is, the fact is this ruling renders the entire current NFL discipline process (where the Commissioner is Judge, Jury, and Executioner) illegal.

Hence, it would be similar to Leong v. Square Enix.  One of the reasons by which the court was able to strike down the lawsuit against the creators and administration of Final Fantasy XI was that the action could not be re-dressable by a court decision nor traced to an illegal act by the company.

If the NFL's discipline system is illegal, then the NFL had no authority to discipline players under that system for player-safety incidents.  Therefore, not only could the league be off the hook because the only illegal acts the league was committing were attempts (farcical or otherwise) to redress the issue, but also that the court can't step in and do it themselves.

I fully expect Sean Payton on the sidelines by about Week 4.

And, Mr. Goodell, bounties are QUITE ACCEPTABLE in the NFL, until you show otherwise.

---

Oh, and one more thing (hat-tip to anonymous friend for pointing it out to me again!):

The league has asked the remaining home teams to observe a moment of silence for deceased owner Art Modell.

That's the Good News.

The Bad News is that one of the games this week is in Cleveland.

Bottle-Gate might be the least of their worries after this one.

And don't think obscene signs are out of the question.  ESPN just saw some of that ugliness in a high-school game in Alabama that day, giving a homophobic sign airtime before they probably realized what was going on!

(Care, assholes, to tell that to the Minnesota Vikings?  Thought so.)

They might as well fire Roger Goodell today...

An arbitration panel just nullified the Bounty-Gate player suspensions (and only the players) and ordered the players be allowed to play in week 1 until:

"commissioner Goodell will, as directed, make an expedited determination of the discipline imposed for violating the league's pay-for-performance/bounty rule."

But, WAIT A MINUTE...

#1, how could Goodell do that without violating what ran him afoul the first time?  If Goodell could make that determination, didn't he do so, twice?

#2, does this not basically completely undercut the Commissioner's absolute authority over player discipline and player safety?  Any suspension could now be overturned because the Commissioner, similarly, oversteps his bounds.  The league would be forced to implement, immediately (as in, effective for games this week), an independent "court" where the players' appeals could be heard.

#3, does this not basically nullify the (farcical) stated Player Safety and Conduct Initiatives?  Those initiatives are Goodell and Goodell alone.  The players don't want to be safe.  They certainly do not wish to conduct themselves within the boundaries of the law.

Roger Goodell should be fired, BY THIS SAME ARBITRATOR, because he cannot act in what he believes to be the best interests of The Game and The Shield under this decision.

Bounties are now acceptable in the NFL.

New York Giants: Give up hope...

Why?

Because last night made it clear you guys are not getting pushed this year.

Last night:

• Was the first time in the history of the Kickoff Game (that made-for-TV post-9/11 jack-off festival which is the return of the National Religion) that the Super Bowl champions hosted the game (which has been their privilege for being champions since the Giants and Redskins hosted the first two as the country "rose from the ashes" (*cough*) after 9/11) and LOST.
• There was at least one person who's been involved in more than a couple dirty sports dealings who seemed to be in on it:  (Hat-tip to Brian Tuohy for this one...)  Floyd Mayerweather, who's out of jail now, just made $180K+ on a $200,000 halftime bet on the COWBOYS at halftime +1.5 points.

There's an old saying in the Mob with respect to sports gambling:  You don't bet that kind of money without knowing the result.

And here's one more thing for the people who still think the games are legit:

All these handicapping services you see on the TV and on the Net.  How many of them, at some point, throw the following spiel at you?

"I'm doing so well, and I'm so sure of these games, that if I don't go [a perfect week on a certain subset of games], that you get the rest of my football season FOR FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111!!!eleven"

How would any of these guys be able to stay in business with that model, sans knowing the results in advance?  Keep all that in mind as America continues to delude themselves.

Another case of absolute fealty to football...

And is it any wonder why we are so screwed as a culture?

(Hat-tip to an anonymous friend who e-mailed me this one...)

Deepi Sidhu is an Indianapolis Colts fan and blogger.

If you need to question the fealty she has sworn to the National Religion, I submit this HLN article about her.

She admits, in the article, to the following:

• Deeming a playoff game more important than a friend's wedding!!
• (Then, trying (and failing) to sneak in late after the fact!)
• Deeming that, more often than not, Football > Mommy!
• Addicted to fantasy football
• Admits to being a bad sport, refusing to even cheer Dan Marino's record-breaking touchdown (for a career) pass because he was on the other team.
• Loves to talk shit about every other team.
• and here's the final kicker:  "Football is the ultimate pick-me-up."

I think I am going to vomit.  Which is going to cause someone to snap first?  All this love for Penn State by the owners of college football (ESPN), or fans like this?

Super Fraud's NFL Predictions: Part III, The Relevant Teams

Note about last post:  Pinkett has now been suspended two additional games by Notre Dame for his comments.  Why he is not fired, I do not know.

So let's finish the predictions for this farce of a season...

Cincinnati Bengals: 

Greeny:  8-8
Golic:  9-7
Me:  7-9

Another of these teams you look at and ask "What can they (positively) bring to the table?"

Atlanta Falcons:

Greeny:  11-5
Golic:  10-6
Me:  I want to go higher, but the schedule holds them back.  11-5

I do think they will benefit from the league smacking down New Orleans (see below), but I just can't see, with that difficult a schedule, that they pull it off.

Detroit Lions:

Greeny:  10-6
Golic:  9-7
Me:  10-6

This is a team that could be a beast in the NFC -- if they could cut out all the player-discipline bullshit. Least-mature team in the entire NFL.  This is going to be a team who should be 12-4 or better, but the league will cut a couple wins off the ledger here, leaving them in a mess (see below) in the NFC North.

Pittsburgh Steelers:

Greeny and Golic:  10-6
Me:  10-6

Another team which would go higher, if not for the discipline, from Rothlesberger to Harrison on down.  Until that team matures, they aren't seeing another Super Bowl.

Denver Broncos:

Greeny and Golic:  9-7
Me:  It all depends on Manning.  Official prediction is:  11-5 with him, 5-11 without.

You know the league wants the Broncos and Manning back in the playoffs, especially if they can squeak the Jets into the 6-hole for that 3-6 game:  Tebow vs. Manning.  That said, that's a brutal first part of the schedule for Peyton, and it ALL depends on him being healthy, without question.

Houston Texans:

Greeny:  12-4
Golic:  10-6
Me:  10-6

A LOT of people are picking them to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

To wit I say, legit or rigged:  HOW?  Who do they have for the NFL to pimp in an offense-first (if not offense-only!) league?  And they hit damn near everybody on their schedule!

New Orleans Saints:

Greeny:  7-9
Golic:  10-6
Me:  6-10, if that!

This is basically Drew Brees auditioning for Los Angeles, IMHO.  The only reason the Saints don't go 2-14  is because of him alone.

Green Bay Packers:

Greeny:  12-4
Golic:  11-5
Me:  10-6

Schedule reads an easy 11-5 at abject minimum (and most have much more than that!), but between the suspensions and the pickup of Benson, they won't even win the NFC North.  Chicago will.

A team at the elite level has to represent the league, and Green Bay has lost that moral high ground, and will fall closer to where they should've been last year than where they actually ended up.

Baltimore Ravens:

Greeny and Golic:  11-5
Me:  12-4

Not crazy about it, but someone has to win that division.

San Francisco 49ers:

Greeny:  10-6
Golic:  12-4
Me:  13-3

... because someone has to in the NFC.  They may not be the best team, but they may be the only team which could represent the league as NFC champions.  Not Green Bay, not Detroit, Chicago's not good enough, neither is Atlanta...

New York Giants:

Greeny and Golic:  10-6
Me:  12-4

Think of what I just said on the Pack and the 49ers...

New England Patriots:

Greeny and Golic:  12-4
Me:  ....


......

They've got two lose-able games on the schedule.

I think they're going to do it this time.

19-0 and Super Bowl Champions, Belichick retires at the end of the year, Brady might too.

Of course, it's one injury away from all falling apart, which is why you never see this prediction made.

But there are very few franchises which could truly be representative of what Roger Goodell wants out of the NFL, and, especially if what I think happens this fall politically happens, a "Patriot=Champion=Perfection" propaganda motif sounds real close to home.