By Emery Filmer
Stamford (Conn.) Advocate Staff Writer
February 4, 2007
Super Bowl Sunday has always been one of the greatest sports days of the year. Some even want the Sunday, or the day after, to be a national holiday. Today, though, it feels like it should be more a day of mourning, or at least one of embarrassment for the league.
Think about all the negative NFL news we've heard in the last couple of weeks . . .
Tank Johnson. Chris Henry and Chad Johnson and most of the other Cincinnati Bengals. Andy Reid's sons. Ted Johnson and Bill Belichick. Those sore losers in San Diego. The end of the Terrell Owens-Bill Parcells saga. Gene Upshaw's heartless comments. The sad plight of the old-timers. And on and on we could go.
All of the above have taken some of the luster away from today's game between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears. None of them, however, make us squirm as much as that last one.
The lack of retirement benefits for so many older NFL greats have left many living in or near poverty. Many have physical handicaps related to their playing days and can't pay their medical bills. Some have pensions of barely more than $100 per month. The NFL Players Association, which was not around in those days, obviously couldn't care less about the men who helped build the foundation for the greatest, most popular and richest sports league of them all.
The NFLPA has thus far refused to contribute more than token pocket change to the older retired players. But don't just blame the players. The owners, who made millions off these guys while paying them peanuts, have also forgotten about them.
Both sides ought to be ashamed of themselves. It's time for them to right this wrong.
Commissioner Roger Goodall has to get NFLPA president Gene Upshaw to convince the players to contribute, say, one percent of their salaries to the pre-1990 retired players pension/disabilities pool. The average salary today is more than $2 million, so that would be $20,000 each, times 1,600 players, or $32 million. The owners could then match it (it's only $1 million per team) and you have $64 million.
Then take money collected by player fines and throw them in, too. A player fined for whatever reason would also get bumped up to two percent of his salary instead of one. The second time he's fined, it goes up to three percent, etc.
Before long, the problem will be gone. Then it would be easy figuring out which team guys like Leroy Kelly, Wilbur Marshall, Jerry Kramer, Alan Page and other old-timers would call their favorite:
Why, the Cincinnati Bengals, of course.
On to other Super subjects . . .
Racism is when you treat someone differently because of their skin color. Some people get confused and fear that if they criticize an African American they will be considered racist. Actually, that's wrong. You praise or criticize African Americans just as you'd praise or criticize whites. So, while we all should be celebrating the fact that we will finally get an African American Super Bowl-winning head coach, someone within the NFL or the media should be grilling Bengals coach Marvin Lewis about the repeated out-of-control behavior of so many members of his football team.
Fantasy football geeks beware. The final four teams in the playoffs all had two backs sharing time (Jones/Benson, Addai/Rhodes, Bush/McAllister, Dillon/Maroney). Watch for this trend to continue, which will drive any Fantasy owner who doesn't have LT crazy. Here's a suggestion Fantasy leagues should seriously consider for 2007: Ban LT from your league.
One man's greatest and worst Super Bowl moments:
Greatest: Joe Namath trotting out of the Orange Bowl with his index finger held high and pointing to the sky.
Worst: Walter Payton, who never got into the end zone that day, watching William "Fridge" Perry scoring a touchdown late in Super Bowl XX.
Here's hoping Colts wide receiver Aaron Moorhead scores a touchdown today. Then he'd be the first player in history whose father is named Emery (an NFL wideout in the late 70s/early 80s) to score a Super Bowl touchdown. Yeah, yeah, I know, he's sure to end up as not only the first, but the last.
And finally, the pick:
The Bears have one chance to win: They must throw off Peyton Manning's timing with an assortment of blitz packages. If Manning gets into a rhythm, it's over.
If the game is close by the middle of the second quarter, the Bears will win a close one. If it's a double-digit Colts lead by then, which puts the onus squarely on Rex Grossman, it'll get ugly.
My heart says the Bears.
My head says Colts 44, Bears 13.
Stamford (Conn.) Advocate Staff Writer
February 4, 2007
Super Bowl Sunday has always been one of the greatest sports days of the year. Some even want the Sunday, or the day after, to be a national holiday. Today, though, it feels like it should be more a day of mourning, or at least one of embarrassment for the league.
Think about all the negative NFL news we've heard in the last couple of weeks . . .
Tank Johnson. Chris Henry and Chad Johnson and most of the other Cincinnati Bengals. Andy Reid's sons. Ted Johnson and Bill Belichick. Those sore losers in San Diego. The end of the Terrell Owens-Bill Parcells saga. Gene Upshaw's heartless comments. The sad plight of the old-timers. And on and on we could go.
All of the above have taken some of the luster away from today's game between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears. None of them, however, make us squirm as much as that last one.
The lack of retirement benefits for so many older NFL greats have left many living in or near poverty. Many have physical handicaps related to their playing days and can't pay their medical bills. Some have pensions of barely more than $100 per month. The NFL Players Association, which was not around in those days, obviously couldn't care less about the men who helped build the foundation for the greatest, most popular and richest sports league of them all.
The NFLPA has thus far refused to contribute more than token pocket change to the older retired players. But don't just blame the players. The owners, who made millions off these guys while paying them peanuts, have also forgotten about them.
Both sides ought to be ashamed of themselves. It's time for them to right this wrong.
Commissioner Roger Goodall has to get NFLPA president Gene Upshaw to convince the players to contribute, say, one percent of their salaries to the pre-1990 retired players pension/disabilities pool. The average salary today is more than $2 million, so that would be $20,000 each, times 1,600 players, or $32 million. The owners could then match it (it's only $1 million per team) and you have $64 million.
Then take money collected by player fines and throw them in, too. A player fined for whatever reason would also get bumped up to two percent of his salary instead of one. The second time he's fined, it goes up to three percent, etc.
Before long, the problem will be gone. Then it would be easy figuring out which team guys like Leroy Kelly, Wilbur Marshall, Jerry Kramer, Alan Page and other old-timers would call their favorite:
Why, the Cincinnati Bengals, of course.
On to other Super subjects . . .
Racism is when you treat someone differently because of their skin color. Some people get confused and fear that if they criticize an African American they will be considered racist. Actually, that's wrong. You praise or criticize African Americans just as you'd praise or criticize whites. So, while we all should be celebrating the fact that we will finally get an African American Super Bowl-winning head coach, someone within the NFL or the media should be grilling Bengals coach Marvin Lewis about the repeated out-of-control behavior of so many members of his football team.
Fantasy football geeks beware. The final four teams in the playoffs all had two backs sharing time (Jones/Benson, Addai/Rhodes, Bush/McAllister, Dillon/Maroney). Watch for this trend to continue, which will drive any Fantasy owner who doesn't have LT crazy. Here's a suggestion Fantasy leagues should seriously consider for 2007: Ban LT from your league.
One man's greatest and worst Super Bowl moments:
Greatest: Joe Namath trotting out of the Orange Bowl with his index finger held high and pointing to the sky.
Worst: Walter Payton, who never got into the end zone that day, watching William "Fridge" Perry scoring a touchdown late in Super Bowl XX.
Here's hoping Colts wide receiver Aaron Moorhead scores a touchdown today. Then he'd be the first player in history whose father is named Emery (an NFL wideout in the late 70s/early 80s) to score a Super Bowl touchdown. Yeah, yeah, I know, he's sure to end up as not only the first, but the last.
And finally, the pick:
The Bears have one chance to win: They must throw off Peyton Manning's timing with an assortment of blitz packages. If Manning gets into a rhythm, it's over.
If the game is close by the middle of the second quarter, the Bears will win a close one. If it's a double-digit Colts lead by then, which puts the onus squarely on Rex Grossman, it'll get ugly.
My heart says the Bears.
My head says Colts 44, Bears 13.
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