While no warm-blooded American football fan wants to think of a world without the NFL, it seems more likely as the weeks go by that the big wigs at the top of the NFL ladder are doing everything they can to take our favorite sport away from us. What will we do on Sundays now? Spending time with friends and family without bone crunching hits in the background doesn’t seem natural anymore.
This whole thing makes me think back on the NHL lockout in 2004. It was terrible that all the diehard fans had no NHL hockey to watch. Everyone had the same thoughts about that as we do now about the NFL. What will we do? The answer was simple and it was right in front of us: The AHL. All of a sudden a new league sprang into the forefront. Everyone went to those games because that was the biggest game in town. But what if the NFL does end up depriving its fans for the 2011 season? All of the money that the league makes on merchandise, tickets, concessions, etc. will still be in the people’s pockets. What will the football starved of America do with it?
The answer there is as simple as the NHL/AHL situation. People will still want to watch football. People who may have never been to or seen an arena football game will have the AFL on their radar. The view of the AFL could change drastically. No longer would we have to worry about the 2009 “season” happening again. People will come out in droves to watch their sport of choice. And for the people who don’t live in AFL markets, they can watch it on television. The league would have to get a station that would play a lot of their games, something similar to the ESPN deal that used to be in place. It may cost a little extra money, but if the AFL is the only game in town, there is a good chance that the money would be made back very quickly with merchandise and tickets. Not to mention the fact that now an entire nation of football fans will open their eyes to a new league…one that they may have never even thought of much. This could be a chance to show the world what we already know. The AFL is one of the most exciting, fast paced and enjoyable sports around.
So while I love the NFL as much as everyone else, it is just hard to look past the enormous potential that a lockout could open up for our league. Players from the NFL that still want to play could come and bring even more buzz to the AFL. There are just too many good things that could come out of this to make it completely bad. So…what do you think AFL Nation?
As always, thanks for reading...and remember
Those who can't play must judge like a pro.
About Me
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Arena Football Nation
To the "many" readers I have out there, I just want to explain why my blog has been a little slow lately. I have been writing for www.arenafootball.com about the Eastern Division. If you are a fan of what I write, please follow me on there. I regularly post my articles up on facebook and twitter after they are posted by the league. I hope that you all enjoy them. In the meantime, I will try to keep up with this blog as much as I can. It will be tough to do regularly because I have deadlines now and I don't just write about stuff that pisses me off. However, surely there will be things in the sports world that make me want to punch a child...and when those things happen and I have time to bitch about them...you know you will be hearing from me on here again. Thanks for all of your support and please do follow me on the AFL website.
As always, thanks for reading...and remember
Those who can't play must judge like a pro.
As always, thanks for reading...and remember
Those who can't play must judge like a pro.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Rex Ryan.....SHUT UP PLEASE
Listen Rex,
This is a plea from everyone in the NFL and all of the fans who have to hear your stupidity over and over again. Please stop guaranteeing that you will win the Super Bowl. It is getting to the point where I don't know which is more obnoxious.
"I guarantee we will win the Super Bowl next year" -Rex Ryan-
OR
"I am going to retire from football so I can send pictures of my junk and sell jeans" -Brett Favre-
Both of them are driving me crazy, and while we might have finally heard the last of the "I am going to retire" crap from Grandpa Brett, a new era of stupidity seems to have started and I am wondering how long it will take for him to realize he is making promises he can't keep and finally stop putting his foot in his mouth. I mean, I know that's what he is into and all, but seriously dude....keep the foot to mouth ratio down.
Point being, you saying you will win the Super Bowl every year is like T.O. saying he will be playing for a team longer than one season before everyone gets tired of him and kicks him to the curb (that means it isn't going to happen). SO PLEASE SHUT UP REX!!!!
As always, thanks for reading...and remember
Those who can't play must judge like a pro.
This is a plea from everyone in the NFL and all of the fans who have to hear your stupidity over and over again. Please stop guaranteeing that you will win the Super Bowl. It is getting to the point where I don't know which is more obnoxious.
"I guarantee we will win the Super Bowl next year" -Rex Ryan-
OR
"I am going to retire from football so I can send pictures of my junk and sell jeans" -Brett Favre-
Both of them are driving me crazy, and while we might have finally heard the last of the "I am going to retire" crap from Grandpa Brett, a new era of stupidity seems to have started and I am wondering how long it will take for him to realize he is making promises he can't keep and finally stop putting his foot in his mouth. I mean, I know that's what he is into and all, but seriously dude....keep the foot to mouth ratio down.
Point being, you saying you will win the Super Bowl every year is like T.O. saying he will be playing for a team longer than one season before everyone gets tired of him and kicks him to the curb (that means it isn't going to happen). SO PLEASE SHUT UP REX!!!!
As always, thanks for reading...and remember
Those who can't play must judge like a pro.
Friday, March 4, 2011
FINALLY......The Blog Covers Wrestling
Alright alright, I know what you are going to say. "Professional wrestling isn't a sport, why are you talking about it on this blog?" Well, the answer is simple, and it is a two part answer.
1) Like it or not, professional wrestling is one of the top watched "sports" in the world. It doesn't matter if it is scripted and planned out, the guys who put on that show are some of the toughest athletes out there.
2) It's my blog and I like wrestling.
That being said, lets talk about the last few weeks of awesome that we have witnessed. Three weeks ago, a momentous return to the ring occurred. After seven long years of making movies, (only some of which were not terrible), The Rock returned to Monday Night Raw announcing that he will be the guest host of Wrestlemania. In the process of doing so, he put Michael Cole and John Cena in their place and it looks like Cena has a freight train coming his way soon. This comeback put on by The Rock was received by a very loud standing ovation from the fans, which goes to show you that WWE fans are loyal. Where else can a former champion and all around bad ass leave the ring and make a movie like "The Tooth Fairy" and still be received as a God among men when he comes back? Exactly....even Hollywood was too embarrassed to be happy for him after that movie.
Another extremely exciting bit of comeback news has to do with the mysterious 2-21-11 commercials that were being aired during Raw and Smackdown week after week. They weren't really all that mysterious because they showed bits and pieces of the person they were advertising and any wrestling fan knows this person just by looking at his hat.
So the lights go down, the commercial starts to play in the arena and then it is pitch black. By now everyone knows what is coming. A little lightning and pyro and then the man we have all been waiting for. The Deadman is back. For those of you who are not sure who I am talking about, the Deadman is the Undertaker.
You can always tell when it is Wrestlemania season because Taker shows up a month before, gets people hyped up about his match that he no doubt will win and keep his undefeated Mania streak alive, then sticks around for maybe another month or two and then disappears back into the night as quickly as he came. While it is cool to see him make his comeback, it loses something when it is year after year. I have been an Undertaker fan since I was a kid...even stuck with him through his stupid "American Bad Ass" gimmick. I don't want to only see him a couple of months a year. Come back and stay back please.
Anyway, back to what I was saying. The Deadman is back and he is standing in the middle of the ring. He starts to reach for his hat which is his signature (he will take the hat off and roll his eyes into the back of his head). As he grabs the brim of his hat, another entrance song starts to play. Shocking....looks like someone is trying to have a Wrestlemania moment with Taker. But, this isn't just any entrance music. It is yet another long awaited return.
The lights go down and all you hear is "Time To Play The Game" and the place FREAKS out because obviously, Triple H is back from injury. Well...injury and making a stupid looking movie, but more so the injury. Triple H gets in the ring and stares the Undertaker down. He then looks up at the Wrestlemania sign which makes Taker do the same. Taker looks at Triple H and laughs then walks away. As he is about to get out of the ring he turns around, walks right up to the Game's face and does the good old Undertaker Throat Cut with his thumb to which Triple H counters with a very big suck it motion. With that, the men left the ring and we have a Wrestlemania match set without any words being said.
I can only imagine how cool it must be to have an entire arena go nuts for you and you don't even have to say a word. Those are the big things happening in the wrestling world right now. There are a few other matches that are happening but that is for another day. Today, we just talk about the return of the greats. The return of some of the attitude era's best stars. Wrestlemania looks to be one hell of a show this year, don't you think?.................."IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK"....I am sorry, I am just a little bit excited about The Rock.
As always, thanks for reading....and remember
Those who can't play must judge like a pro.
1) Like it or not, professional wrestling is one of the top watched "sports" in the world. It doesn't matter if it is scripted and planned out, the guys who put on that show are some of the toughest athletes out there.
2) It's my blog and I like wrestling.
That being said, lets talk about the last few weeks of awesome that we have witnessed. Three weeks ago, a momentous return to the ring occurred. After seven long years of making movies, (only some of which were not terrible), The Rock returned to Monday Night Raw announcing that he will be the guest host of Wrestlemania. In the process of doing so, he put Michael Cole and John Cena in their place and it looks like Cena has a freight train coming his way soon. This comeback put on by The Rock was received by a very loud standing ovation from the fans, which goes to show you that WWE fans are loyal. Where else can a former champion and all around bad ass leave the ring and make a movie like "The Tooth Fairy" and still be received as a God among men when he comes back? Exactly....even Hollywood was too embarrassed to be happy for him after that movie.
Another extremely exciting bit of comeback news has to do with the mysterious 2-21-11 commercials that were being aired during Raw and Smackdown week after week. They weren't really all that mysterious because they showed bits and pieces of the person they were advertising and any wrestling fan knows this person just by looking at his hat.
So the lights go down, the commercial starts to play in the arena and then it is pitch black. By now everyone knows what is coming. A little lightning and pyro and then the man we have all been waiting for. The Deadman is back. For those of you who are not sure who I am talking about, the Deadman is the Undertaker.
You can always tell when it is Wrestlemania season because Taker shows up a month before, gets people hyped up about his match that he no doubt will win and keep his undefeated Mania streak alive, then sticks around for maybe another month or two and then disappears back into the night as quickly as he came. While it is cool to see him make his comeback, it loses something when it is year after year. I have been an Undertaker fan since I was a kid...even stuck with him through his stupid "American Bad Ass" gimmick. I don't want to only see him a couple of months a year. Come back and stay back please.
Anyway, back to what I was saying. The Deadman is back and he is standing in the middle of the ring. He starts to reach for his hat which is his signature (he will take the hat off and roll his eyes into the back of his head). As he grabs the brim of his hat, another entrance song starts to play. Shocking....looks like someone is trying to have a Wrestlemania moment with Taker. But, this isn't just any entrance music. It is yet another long awaited return.
The lights go down and all you hear is "Time To Play The Game" and the place FREAKS out because obviously, Triple H is back from injury. Well...injury and making a stupid looking movie, but more so the injury. Triple H gets in the ring and stares the Undertaker down. He then looks up at the Wrestlemania sign which makes Taker do the same. Taker looks at Triple H and laughs then walks away. As he is about to get out of the ring he turns around, walks right up to the Game's face and does the good old Undertaker Throat Cut with his thumb to which Triple H counters with a very big suck it motion. With that, the men left the ring and we have a Wrestlemania match set without any words being said.
I can only imagine how cool it must be to have an entire arena go nuts for you and you don't even have to say a word. Those are the big things happening in the wrestling world right now. There are a few other matches that are happening but that is for another day. Today, we just talk about the return of the greats. The return of some of the attitude era's best stars. Wrestlemania looks to be one hell of a show this year, don't you think?.................."IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK"....I am sorry, I am just a little bit excited about The Rock.
As always, thanks for reading....and remember
Those who can't play must judge like a pro.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Better To Be Pissed Off Than A Pist-on
There isn't much to say about the Detroit Pistons lately other than "wow".
Clearly, after two years with coach John Kuester, this team is going nowhere and it is obvious to everyone in the league as well as us normal folk looking in. As if the last two seasons have not made your organization look stupid enough as it is, now all the veterans on the squad decide to boycott the coach, basically sending an extended middle finger to not only him, but the entire organization as well as the fans that still support their losing team night in and night out. Any team that has to play a game against ANY team in the league with 6 players is going to have trouble winning. It doesn't matter if it is the Celtics or the Cavs, you won't win a game like that.
The team came into Philly to play the Sixers last week with 5 starters and 1 bench player against an up and coming team that is starting to look like a dangerous group. This is one of the dumbest ideas I have heard in a very long time. all but 6 players on the team didn't show up to shoot around in the morning of the game (all for their own reasons...which really means in protest) and so they were benched for the game.
Now, I personally am all about sticking it to the man and making a statement. However as funny as it seems from the outside looking in, and as happy as I was to see the Sixers win that game, There are some things to point out.
As I already said, you sent a message of "screw you" not only to the coach but everyone in the organization that works hard to keep this terrible team running as well as the few remaining fans that stick by you guys. On top of that, Sixers fans who were expecting to see Tracy McGrady, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey and Ben Wallace come into town were greeted by Charlie Villanueva and his ugly mug. Your selfish act is now affecting 2 fan bases and anyone else watching on TV that wanted to see some of Detroit's bigger names.
Guys, basically your season is in the dumps already. So instead of being all whiny and controversial and making all of you look stupid, why don't you just sit back with your enormous pay checks that you will be receiving no matter how bad your record is and enjoy your court side seats to every game. You make yourselves look bad, you make your team look bad, you make your city look bad. At the end of the season, get on your hands and knees and beg the GM to fire Kuester and start all over. Don't cause a scene in front of the world. If you don't want to do your job and get all that money, then by all means, pass it over to me. But if you want your money, MAN UP!
As always, thanks for reading...and remember
Those who can't play must judge like a pro.
Clearly, after two years with coach John Kuester, this team is going nowhere and it is obvious to everyone in the league as well as us normal folk looking in. As if the last two seasons have not made your organization look stupid enough as it is, now all the veterans on the squad decide to boycott the coach, basically sending an extended middle finger to not only him, but the entire organization as well as the fans that still support their losing team night in and night out. Any team that has to play a game against ANY team in the league with 6 players is going to have trouble winning. It doesn't matter if it is the Celtics or the Cavs, you won't win a game like that.
The team came into Philly to play the Sixers last week with 5 starters and 1 bench player against an up and coming team that is starting to look like a dangerous group. This is one of the dumbest ideas I have heard in a very long time. all but 6 players on the team didn't show up to shoot around in the morning of the game (all for their own reasons...which really means in protest) and so they were benched for the game.
Now, I personally am all about sticking it to the man and making a statement. However as funny as it seems from the outside looking in, and as happy as I was to see the Sixers win that game, There are some things to point out.
As I already said, you sent a message of "screw you" not only to the coach but everyone in the organization that works hard to keep this terrible team running as well as the few remaining fans that stick by you guys. On top of that, Sixers fans who were expecting to see Tracy McGrady, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey and Ben Wallace come into town were greeted by Charlie Villanueva and his ugly mug. Your selfish act is now affecting 2 fan bases and anyone else watching on TV that wanted to see some of Detroit's bigger names.
Guys, basically your season is in the dumps already. So instead of being all whiny and controversial and making all of you look stupid, why don't you just sit back with your enormous pay checks that you will be receiving no matter how bad your record is and enjoy your court side seats to every game. You make yourselves look bad, you make your team look bad, you make your city look bad. At the end of the season, get on your hands and knees and beg the GM to fire Kuester and start all over. Don't cause a scene in front of the world. If you don't want to do your job and get all that money, then by all means, pass it over to me. But if you want your money, MAN UP!
As always, thanks for reading...and remember
Those who can't play must judge like a pro.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
THE MELO-DRAMA IS OVER
Thank GOD we don't have to hear anymore about "Where is Carmelo Anthony going to go? Will he be a Nugget all season? Why did the Nets trade fall through?"
The better question is, who cares?
We know that Carmelo is a star in the league. He is a great player and any team that lands him is instantly going to be better. But we don't have to hear about the situation all year. Now he is in New York with the Knicks. The combination of Anthony and Billups has been a good duo for a while now, but throw Amar'e Stoudemire into the mix and one would think a dangerous team this would make. Well, offensively yes, they are dangerous. Problem is there is no defense in New York....at all. They gave away the only person who played defense to get Melo there.
Even so, their offense does put them above a lot of teams in the league. Sixers fans can only hope that the lack of defense makes them fall in the standings, but we shall see. The only thing that is for sure is that Melo has found a new home and we don't have to hear about him anymore. Thank GOD!
As always, thanks for reading....and remember
Those who can't play must judge like a pro.
The better question is, who cares?
We know that Carmelo is a star in the league. He is a great player and any team that lands him is instantly going to be better. But we don't have to hear about the situation all year. Now he is in New York with the Knicks. The combination of Anthony and Billups has been a good duo for a while now, but throw Amar'e Stoudemire into the mix and one would think a dangerous team this would make. Well, offensively yes, they are dangerous. Problem is there is no defense in New York....at all. They gave away the only person who played defense to get Melo there.
Even so, their offense does put them above a lot of teams in the league. Sixers fans can only hope that the lack of defense makes them fall in the standings, but we shall see. The only thing that is for sure is that Melo has found a new home and we don't have to hear about him anymore. Thank GOD!
As always, thanks for reading....and remember
Those who can't play must judge like a pro.
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