By Mike Luce

As viewers and fans of an inherently violent game, at what point are we morally obligated to object, to stop watching, to stop buying merchandise and to demand that the officials (administrators, coaches, athletic directors) make changes to the game to protect the players?
While not always stated as directly, the damage done by playing football on players has been the topic of discussion for several weeks. For example, Michael Sokolove authored an opinion piece for the New York Times’ “Week In Review” section (from Sunday, October 24) titled “Should You Watch Football?” about the quandary of watching – and being entertained by – a game “whose level of violence is demonstrably destructive”. (Sokolove’s opinion seems to be “it depends”.)
Much of the hand-wringing results from a weekend of nasty injuries in college and pro football. Last Saturday, Rutgers University defensive tackle Eric LeGrand suffered a traumatic spinal cord injury during a kickoff return against Army. As of this writing, LeGrand remains paralyzed.

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Posted on October 29, 2010

By Thomas Chambers

Today’s secret word is “marketing.”
Every time you see that word here, shout. Maybe the pee-wee brains who run Thoroughbred horse racing will hear you and decide to market and promote the next animal even resembling a super-horse.
That’s because we have a couple of ladies preparing to do great, unthought of things in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs on November 5th and 6th.
And a lot of people don’t even know it.

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Posted on October 29, 2010

By The Beachwood Brand Repositioning Affairs Desk

He should realize that very few people on this Earth have access to the kind of creative talent that can so brilliantly reposition his brand in search of more acclaim.

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Posted on October 28, 2010

By Andrew Golden and Carl Mohrbacher

Blue: Choosing the Blue (positive) side of this report seemed at first to be a great idea. I could talk up my Chicago Bears week after week. And after last year, they just had to have far less embarrassing games than the 2009 campaign.
Ahem.
Four interceptions by Jay Cutler this week against the Washington Redskins, zero offense the week prior versus the Seattle Seahawks, and only marginal improvement from the Bears’ offensive line . . .
However, I’ve learned by lesson from having two wives, and that’s to be open about saying things like “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” (Or as my brother would say “I hate myself already.”)

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Posted on October 27, 2010

By Dan O’Shea

Week 7 in the NFL featured monster performances from a RB who was supposed to see very little action, a WR who was missing his starting QB, and a QB who was facing one of the toughest defenses in the league.
Probably very few people expected Darren McFadden, Kenny Britt, Tennessee, and Ryan Fitzpatrick to have much success last week, but they ended up as the top three fantasy point scorers in Yahoo! leagues. McFadden had 165 yards rushing and four TDs; Britt had 225 yard receiving and three TDs; and Fitzpatrick collected 374 passing yards and four TDs.
Can these guys keep it up? More importantly, who might be three sleepers poised to have huge games in Week 8?

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Posted on October 27, 2010

By Ray Anderson, Executive Vice President of Football Operations

“A player is accountable for what he hits.”

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Posted on October 26, 2010

By Jim Coffman

For the first six games of the season, Jay Cutler was so determined to cut down on his interceptions that he was going to hold onto the football come hell or high water or halitosis. When things began to break down in the pocket he cared about one thing: Don’t throw the ball to the other team.
I already miss that guy . . . even if it was clear he wasn’t going to survive the season. The old, scary Jay (model 2009) returned on Sunday (in preparation for Halloween?) and in 30 minutes of football obliterated all the work the new Jay had done to rehabilitate himself.
In throwing four picks in the second half alone he displayed all the delightful deficiencies that made last season such a romp – the Grossman backpedal, the locking-in on one receiver until everyone in the stadium knew where the pass was going, and the throws to absolutely blanketed receivers who apparently should have been open (according to a petulant quarterback) if they had just run their routes well enough.

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Posted on October 25, 2010

By Mike Luce

Last week, we talked about a phenomenon unique to college football: In contrast to their NFL brethren, who often seem content to call plays “by the book” to keep the game close, college coaches put themselves above the book. Premier NCAA coaches seem to prefer to win or lose the game on a single call rather than play the odds and keep the game within reach. The Genius Coach Myth is so pervasive that few question decisions by the likes of Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier.
Why does that happen?
Many fans love the college game for this very reason – teams take risks you would rarely see on most Sundays in the NFL. Fans of professional football revel in precise execution and a finely tuned game, yet the strategists who call the plays don’t want to sacrifice a six (or seven) figure salary on, say, a fake field goal. And who can blame them? In a league where even the likes of Dick Jauron can find gainful employment – for years – why would coaches shorten their shelf life?

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Posted on October 22, 2010

By The Beachwood Ad Hoc Committee On Cubs Affairs

Why did the Cubs not only “spurn” Ryne Sandberg but “break [his] heart?”
The Beachwood Ad Hoc Committee On Cubs Affairs has learned that Ryno was rejected for the following reasons:

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Posted on October 21, 2010

By The Beachwood Ad Hoc Committee On Cubs Affairs

“Cubs general manager Jim Hendry made the right call Tuesday in announcing that Mike Quade would manage the team in 2011,” our very own Chris Rewers writes at sister site Agony & Ivy.
“Ryne Sandberg may have been the people’s choice, but the 53-year-old Quade was the choice of the players, who played with a lot of passion over the final portion of their schedule long after there was anything to play for.

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Posted on October 20, 2010