Holier Than Thou

Roger Goodell, in a rush to judgment, suspended Adam “Pacman” Jones of the Dallas Cowboys indefinitely yesterday afternoon (read more here). Go ahead, say it…I told you so! Go ahead…laugh…snicker! Sheriff Goodell will review Adam’s suspension after the Washington game (Week 11). The Cowboys have a bye Week 10, so it ends up being a 4-game, 5-week suspension to start. Goodell will then revisit the situation and may or may not let Pacman play again. Many “experts” believe that Mr. Jones in done…finished…no more football for you, Pacman!

I will be the first to say that what Adam Jones has done in the past is ridiculous, foolish, childish, unlawful…insert your favorite adjective here! The NFL (Goodell and Jerry Jones, more specifically) gave Adam a second chance…but did they? Well, Jerry sure did! He gave him a contract laced with incentives. He gave him a security team to watch his every move. He gave him a support group consisting of former Cowboy Deion Sanders and others…not enough, was it? Jerry Jones did everything for Adam…but did Sheriff Goodell?

Commissioner Goodell put Adam in a no win situation. I know…Pacman has a rap sheet as long as a child’s Christmas list! I get it! Adam screwed up in the past and put himself in this position. But to me, when you (Goodell) give the guy a second chance…give him a real second chance! So, the police were called…no arrest was made…because no crime was committed…suspension anyway! Now I know how to get my co-workers fired…just call 9-1-1 and ask for the police to come out…it doesn’t matter if a crime was committed or not…using Goodell’s logic…fired…fired…fired! What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

Goodell, and I applaud his efforts to clean up the League, has gone too far! He has become a one-man dictatorship…his way or the highway! I sure hope that he doesn’t treat everyone else who has a transgression the same way he has treated Jones. Look out, Larry Johnson! Look out, Matt Jones! Look out, Plaxico Burress! Goodell is taking all prisoners. I just hope Mr. Goodell doesn’t have any skeletons in his closet…of course he doesn’t, because he is…holier than thou!


Short Shots:

The Dallas Cowboys acquired WR Roy Williams from the Lions for a 1st and a 3rd round draft choice. The Lions will also get the Cowboys 6th rounder and the Cowboys will get Detroit’s 7th rounder. Jerry Jones…you risk taker you!

The Washington Redskins signed former MVP Shaun Alexander. I can’t believe it took this long for Alexander to latch on to a team. I know he has lost a step, but some of the RBs that are playing never had the step to lose!

The Eagles failed in their bid to get Tony Gonzales from the Chiefs…anyway, at least they tried? Not!

The Phillies can clinch the National League Pennant with a win tonight against the Dodgers…Go Phillies!

Rush To Judgment

Once again, Adam don’t call me “Pac-man” Jones has made the headlines. And when Mr. Jones makes the headlines, it usually isn’t good news! Early Wednesday morning, Pac-man allegedly got into a “scuffle” with one of his security guards at a hotel in Dallas (read more here). The police were called, but no charges were filed. Is this much ado about nothing…or is Adam facing a possible suspension!

Sheriff Goddell was scheduled for a visit to see Mr. Jones on Wednesday prior to this report…we will have to wait and see if this results in any disciplinary action by the NFL. The shame of it all is that Jones has been playing fairly well for the Cowboys thus far. He got off to a slow start, which was expected since his 1-year suspension of a year ago, but he was coming on strong as of late.

Pac-man has been replacing Terrence Newman in the starting line-up because of Newman’s groin/abdomen injury. Newman may require surgery and miss up to six weeks. This situation was a good opportunity for Pac-man to show off his talents as a starter and prove he had changed his ways. Prior to this alleged incident, Jones has been a model teammate and has been under the tutelage of Deion Sanders.

Unfortunately, this alleged “scuffle” could be his undoing altogether. Goddell had told Mr. Jones previously, that he had a zero tolerance policy…we shall see what happens. I just hope Mr. Goddell researches all the facts before making his decision. After all, Adam Jones’ career is in jeopardy. Sheriff…we don’t need a rush to judgment!

Much Ado About Nothing

Much has been said and written about Terrell Eldorado Owens…so why should this week be any different? It shouldn’t! Mr. Owens had some comments that he made after the Cowboys lost to the Redskins. He wants the ball more…gee, that’s a surprise? He wants the offense to go through him…again, I was shocked? He wants to be involved early and often…okay, now I am just down right astonished?

If you look at the stat sheet (no need, I’ll do it for you), Owens had 7 receptions for 71 yards and scored a TD. He also contributed 11 yards to the ground attack on 2 carries. Not spectacular…nothing amazing…but a good days work…but not for Terrell. You see, Eldog (short for his middle name) needs to be the center of attention. He needs to be the focal point. He needs the drama. He needs the world to see his accomplishments. Mediocrity is not his M.O., perfection is! He trains harder than any other WR (maybe all players) in the NFL. He attributes his work ethic to Jerry Rice and to his grandmother who raised him as a child.

Terrell has this “me against the world” mentality. Why shouldn’t he? His father abandoned him as a child and his mother wasn’t capable of raising him…so his grandmother did. From his perspective…he was alone…nobody wanted him. Football was his salvation…his way to prove people wrong! So, to Terrell, winning is everything. Being a shining star for everyone to see is the ultimate prize. Losing is unacceptable…he wants to win…and be the reason for it!

Is he disturbed? Hardly! He knows exactly what he is doing. He wants, needs, and demands our attention…and we all give it to him! The boy who grew up in poverty is worth millions playing a game…and playing it on his terms. Many people took offense to his comments…I admire him for it. He says what’s on his mind…how many of us can say that? Terrell takes his “Freedom Of Expression” rights literally…good for him!

All Terrell wants is to win, be a star, and be loved…is that all that terrible? I think not! Owens does a lot of charity work that goes unnoticed…but he doesn’t mind. His grandmother suffers from Alzheimer’s. Mr. Owens has spent much time (and money) for the cause…but nobody talks about that! No, they would rather tear him down, than to boast his good deeds. Let’s face it…it makes better copy…better ratings! In the end, his comments are much ado about nothing…maybe we should just leave the man alone!

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover

On Saturday night, I relearned a lesson I already knew. Often times, we need to be reminded of lessons we learned as a child. When we were children, things were simpler. We didn’t judge, we just played with everyone…all the other children were our friends. We learned to judge, as we grew older. Our teachers always taught us right from wrong…but did we listen?

I pulled into a gas station as I was driving home, only to find out it was closed. It looked open, the lights were on…but it was definitely closed. As I tried to get back in my car, I realized that I locked the keys in my car…no problem? I’ll just call my wife to bring me my spare set of keys. I was only about 15 minutes from home…no biggie, right? Wrong…my cell phone was locked in the car also! I looked for a pay phone…nope, nothing! I looked to see if there was any other business that was open…nope, nothing! There was nothing in sight; no one was there…just me!

As time went on, I must admit, I was getting a little nervous. There I was, by myself, in the middle of the night, and I didn’t know what to do. I paced back and forth…stupid, stupid, stupid…I said to myself. So at this point, I gave up and started walking down the highway hoping I would see a car pass by…nope, nothing!

After about ten minutes or so, I saw a bunch of guys (okay, they looked like thugs). I wasn’t sure what to do? Do I ask them for help? Or do I walk briskly away (run like hell was actually going through my mind), before I get my keister kicked? I didn’t have a choice, as one of them approached me. I was nervous…I tried to stay calm, cool, and collected.

After a brief conversation, he offered me his cell phone to call my wife. She got there shortly with my spare set of keys…and all was good. I offered the young lad (we were chums by this point) some money for his services…but he politely declined. I drove home…but I didn’t feel right. I pre-judged those kids because of how they were dressed, because they were hanging around at 2 A.M. in the middle of nowhere.

As I dropped off my daughter at pre-school today, I told her to have fun and play nice with all the other kids. She went off and started playing with all her friends…If only I was as smart as she!