I try not to follow football until the baseball season’s over. There are pennant races to follow – boy, I hope the Phillies aren’t the wild card and end up playing the Mets in the playoffs, because they seem to have the Mets’ number – and milestones to reach – last night, Jim Thome is the third person THIS SEASON, after Alex Rodriguez and Frank Thomas, to reach 500 career home runs.
Still, I can’t help but notice that, after two weeks, the three NY/NJ NFL teams are a combined 0-6, losing by an average of double digits, while the former dregs of the league, the Detroit Lions and the Houston Oilers, I mean, Texans, are each 2-0. Even the lowly Arizona Cardinals have managed to win a game. It’s gonna be a LOOOONG season.
But there were three stories that caught my attention, all involving teams in the AFC East, sorta. One was the New England coach Bill Belichick spying story. I think I was more annoyed by the “It’s over, and we’re moving on” comment than the actual cheating. “Moving on”, without acknowledging responsibility, is hollow. The one silly thing that came from this is this video that someone found called Leave Belichick Alone. It’s based on Leave Britney Alone. (And if you haven’t seen THAT classic, or its many imitators, go to YouTube and search Leave Britney Alone (or Leave Brittany Alone – spelling doesn’t seem to matter.)
The second is the continuing saga of former Buffalo Bills running back Orenthal James Simpson, accused of stealing sports memorabilia that may or may not have been his. Someone commented, “You know, if he’s convicted, it’ll be a first offense.” That boggled my mind, but as far as I know, the only judgments against him so far are of the civil, not criminal, variety.
The final story is that ultimately heartwarming story of current Bills running back Kevin Everett, who suffered a potentially life-threatening spine fracture in a game last week. But thanks to innovative treatment involving the cooling of the body temperature, Everett, doctors are encouraged that, instead of being a paraplegic, he may actually actually walk again. Damn, I love this story.
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The New York Times will stop charging for access to parts of its Web site, effective at midnight tonight.
ROG