I honestely never thought I would say these words: “I am hoping for a lockout.”

I am hoping for a lockout in the NFL at this point.  I never thought it would come to this in my mind.  I never thought I would actually root for a stoppage of football games (of any sort) being played.  But I am to that point folks.  Just sayin’.

Here’s why:

I find it incredibly absurd that one of the most successful business’ in the entire world, in the history of the world, will risk everything to pad the already deep pockets of EVERYONE involved.  Millionaires want to become multi-millionaires.  Multi-millionaires want to become Mega-Millionaires.  Mega-Millionaires want to become Billionaires.  Meanwhile the rest of us have to consider whether it is economically feasibly to treat the family to dinner at CiCis Pizza.

Both sides are at fault:

The Owners:  We all understand that it takes a great deal of money to run an organization.  Lots of overhead.  New stadiums, etc. etc.  But the last time I looked at the figures, you guys were splitting a larger than 10 Billion Dollar pie each year.  I would hope you could get by on this.  And it only stands to get bigger!  Your league is at the absolute pinnacle of it’s popularity.  No sport even comes close or has ever come close.  EVERYONE loves football.  I know some of the most non-sports types in the entire world, and even they know who Tom Brady is and who he plays for.  Owners: you have built something that has comepletely weaved itself into the very fabric of American Society.  It is officially now built into American DNA.  Why screw it up now?  Why not open your books to the player union?  Why not share a tad bit more with the players that helped get you there?  Why not share a little bit more with the retired players who helped build the legacy of this league.  The simple answer is greed.  And in this case in a very non-Gekoian way: “Greed is NOT good!”

The Players: The players in this situation are far from at fault also.  The core of my disgust with them is based on the love of the game.  These guys get paid Corporate CEO type salaries to play a game that most boys/men love from infancy.  I have played plenty of football in my time, and I would give up nearly everything to have two new functioning knees, more speed, and be 10 years younger just to play one NFL game.  I would do it for less than the league minimum.  Less than practice squad pay.  Playing football is about the passion of the game.  It is about the pure desire to knock the absolute PISS out of the guy across from you.  That is why this game is king.  That is why this game works for men.  And this is the core of the reason I don’t understand the players arguments completely.  I do understand that football takes a toll on a body.  I live this everyday.  I understand going to an 18 game season creates more risk, and should be compensated a bit more.  I truly do understand this.  But is this worth shutting down something that you supposedly love to do so much?  If there are games missed from this stuff, I would expect to see the suicide hotlines burning with NFL players if they truly DO love the game they play.  But with today’s crop of players, I am not so sure it is as much about the love of the game as the love of the dough.

So I am truly hoping that this things does not get worked out to shock both sides into shape and hopefully build a stronger foundation for the future.  This product is great and should not be threatened by these problems.  I am also hoping for this to put College Football all by itself in the national football spotlight.  College football games on Sunday with no NFL?  You betcha!  How great would it be to have wall to wall CFB from Thursday night to a Monday night CFB game to replace MNF?  I honestly think the American football fan who leans the direction of NFL, might be won over by the pageantry, passion, and spirit of the college product.  These kids (most of them), play for the love of the game and have no shot at playing as a professional.  I think this makes the game more pure and funner to watch.

So there you go.  I’m sure I am in the minority, but oh well.  I am sick of this absurdity.  If it gets worked out, Great.  I will watch like I always do.  But if it doesn’t, so be it also.  There is another game in town, and hopefully these overpaid snobs will get a dose of reality and come down off their penthouse in the sky and live with the rest of us.

(WISE UP JERRY!!!)

I hate this day… EVERY YEAR.  The day after the Super Bowl.  It is like getting a root canal, while sitting at a insurance seminar, surrounded by accountants.  The definition of depressing, no fun, unglorious, and just downright sad.

Although my thoughts are that this past football season was somewhat lackluster… At least it was still football.  I mean, I didn’t really like either of the Super Bowl teams, the Cowboys stunk all year, the season was dominated by pathetic Brett Favre stories, the Longhorns were turrible, the college bowl season was somewhat lackluster overall, etc., etc., etc.  BUT, it still was football.  It still was something fun to watch every weekend.  It still is the mere fabric of American society these days.  And now it hibernates for 7 months.  Depressing.

Well I guess I can yet again try to get into the NBA or NHL, but there are just too many games.  Too much to handle.  I enjoy watching some fo the golf tourneys, but they only slightly quench the sports thirst.  Baseball will be coming up with the defending American League champions in my backyard, but again, too many games that mean nothing until the postseason.  Hard to get excited about it.

And this year, there is no Olympics to look forward to for a two week respite.  Depressing to say the least as we are on day one of the 7 month count down. 

Depressing…

This week has been something of an enigma that I have never seen in Dallas, Tx. 

Day after day after day of freezing temps with ice covered streets followed by a foot of snow.  It is unbelieveable, not to mention, completely uncharacteristic.  Where is the old Dallas where it would ice and by the end of the day be melted?  I have been here since ’84 and honestly until the last couple of years can remember building a snowman maybe once.  In the last two years, we have been able to build a couple of Snow Miser castles.

I hate driving in Dallas in this weather.  There are simply not enough sand trucks and no one is used to it so it makes it a major Cluster-F!  The original ice sheet laid down on Tuesday morning STILL exists on most roadways and sidewalks still this morning and is now covered by a foot of snow.  Pathetic combination for a city I used to take pride in having mild winters and extreme summers.  Now we are leaning towards exteme on both sides of the spectrum and I HATE IT!

To top it all off, the world is focused on Big D as the Football Mecca of the Universe this week.  The weather is blacking the eye of this great city like it has not seen since ’63.  I feel sorry for the groups that worked for years to plan all of this just to get rewarded with the garbage that has been covering this city all week.  I mean, why couldn’t this have waited a week?  Or happened in January?  I still say it may be punishment from above to Jerry Jones for his treatment of Tom Landry.  What other cause could there be for such extreme winter weather in the greatest football state in the union???

But I guess I will make it through somehow and watch the big game on Sunday.  While the teams are traditional powerhouses and supposed national treasures, I cannot say I like either one of the teams.  I don’t want to see Pittsburgh win because then they one-up everyone in SuperBowl wins and appearances, etc.  But I don’t want to see the Pack win either beacuse, well, I just don’t dig the Pack.  So I am officially rooting for a 0-0 tie with great play by both defenses with lackluster performances by both quarterbacks.  Would love to see at least 5 turnovers by both offenses.  Love to see embarrasing interceptions by both of them.  Fumbles galore.  Jumping offsides, illegal formations…  Would simply cherish an embarrisng performance by both BIG TIME QBs. 

So in summary, give me a defensive battle and an embarrising 0-0 tie and get these Northerners back to their respective states and bring their weather with them!!!

While thinking of all of this, I started to ponder what these sports figures might be thankful for:

Bo Pelini: Anger Management Classes

Mark Sanchez: Broadway and Show Tunes

George Brett: A Clean pair of drawers

Bill Belichick: A Sweater with sleeves AND a hood:

 And last, but certainly not least….

Mark Mangino: Thanksgiving Dinner (or a quality booger)

Here you go…. 

BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We will see…

Yes, we will…

Is it the anticipation of the weekend?  Is it the lack of other employees still being in the office?  Or is it simply the feeling of accomplishment that one more week has been conquered?

I am not really sure…

I just know that it is again a Friday, and I am trying as hard as I can to NOT get anything constructive done!!!

Famous “Friday” Clips for you:

Friday the 13th:

Friday Night Lights:

Friday:

Like many of you, once the calendar turns to August, my schedule really starts to heat up right alongside the temperature.  Do I have more deadlines at work?  No…  More outside networking engagements that eat up my free time… Nada…  Once August hits, I am about one thing every waking (and sometimes non-waking) hour that I am not at my REAL job: Coaching youth football!

Each fall, I coach no fewer than 2 teams, but usually more like 4 or 5.  This falls slate has me as the Defensive Coordinator for my son’s squad at Parish Episcopal School(5th grade).  In addition, I am D Coordinator for PES 8th grade, and an assistant defensive coach for the varsity squad.  You may have seen the recent news about our varsity squad here.  I also help run the Youth Football program at the Town North YMCA.  With all of this and the necessary practices, coaches meetings, parent meetings, and other administrative items, it is needless to say that there is hardly time to BREATH from August through November!

Many people feel it is very simple to coach/mentor young kids.  I was the same way… Until I started DOING it.  Getting your point across to kids of ranging ages is sometimes MUCH harder than it appears.  In addition, it is sometimes challenging to shift your expectation level to the level of child you are coaching.   A motivational tactic, might work great for a 10th grader, but falls well short of what a 5th grader needs, especially in terms of coaching football.  An aggressive, in your face, coaching technique that works well for a high school young man is WAY over the top for a young kid who may or may not still sleep with a night light!

All of this is extremely challenging, but I also find it extremely rewarding.  In my 7 years of coaching at PES, I have seen boys turn into men before my very eyes.  I have seen internal demons overcome.  I have seen confidence blossom.  I have seen shy, introverted, downright petrified youngsters morph into type A leaders.  This, is as they say, WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT and the reason I cannot get enough of it.

We are a couple of weeks into this season, and although I am already exhausted, I am walking on air with excitement.  I find myself truly having to challenge myself to concentrate at work each day instead of diagramming a new defensive formation.  I have to actually tell myself to finish my REAL work before I examine our roster.   I have even caught myself forgoing lunch so I can draw up more inventive ways to get to the QB or stuff the run!!!  But, I wouldn’t have it any other way!  I am 100%, FULLY, addicted at this point.

How bout you guys?  Have any of you had some similar positive experiences with mentoring/coaching/teaching youngsters?  What are some of the techniques you employ to garner positive results?

… Now it is August.  If you have ever been to Dallas, Tx. in August, you know that there is one certainty that you can count each and every year: IT IS FREAKIN’ HOT!!!

This is the number one reason why I HATE August.  I hate waking up in the morning at 5:30, turning on the news, and seeing the temperature is already 85!  I hate stepping out of my door and immediately starting to sweat.  I hate not stopping sweating until sometime later in September, October, or in extra hot and pathetic years, November.  Although the rest of the summer is hot in Big D, August takes it to another stratosphere of SIZZLING.

Another reason I HATE August: The anticipation (but not quite there) of Football season.  Yeah, it is great to see training camps starting up.  It is great to see college and high school teams getting back together and preparing for the upcoming season.  And it is even great for me to get back out there and coach my handful of teams.  BUT, it is just that… PRACTICES.  And many of them.  Just practices…  One after another, with no real game or competition against a foreign opponent to look forward to.  The NFL preseason games are about as exciting as a midseason WNBA game.  The stars hardly play.  There is no pressure to try to win, and the talent level on the field is severely limited.  But, at least we get sumthin’ in the preseason with NFL.  College football makes us wait until the VERY END of August to play ANYTHING!  What happened to the old Kickoff Classics around August 20th?  Those were golden for someone “Jonesin” football and NEEDING it a few days early.  Man, I miss those things…

With all of that being said, premature football is why I LOVE August.  Football is pretty much back baby!  It gives me something to look forward to and be interested in when I wake up.  First thing I do, login to the various sports sites and get an update on NFL Training Camp.  Who is doing well?  Did anyone get hurt?  Who is going to win the QB battle?  Same with the college stuff.  Same with my teams as I have to prepare for practices each and every day and attempt to get the most outta my squads…

While August may be the 8th month on the calendar, it may be the brightest month in terms of anticipation.  BUT, it might also be the dreariest month due to the blazing heat and because of the overabundance of forced and unfulfilled quick enough ANTICIPATION. 

August is an enigma. 

August giveth and taketh away. 

Just get me to September with a quickness…

His on again, off again, flirtation with the NFL has grown so tiresome over the last couple of years and has hidden the fact that he simply does not have what it takes to compete at the NFL level anymore. Although this decision was painfully drawn out and kept the Vikings and the rest of the league on hold for a long time, I ultimately think it is the right decision. This will give Favre more time to possibly coach younger kids (he has mentioned he might like to do this), and promote more Wrangler Jeans.

My question is now who will the Vikings try to go after in his stead? My initial thought would be {GULP} Michael Vick. Is this crazy? Maybe so. He and Tavaris Jackson are kinda the same player right? But what about Sage Rosenfels? If the Vikes could start him and bring in Vick for a Wildcat look with AP in the backfield… This could be kinda a nasty combination… Of course, this means the end of the Viking line for Jackson, but I am not so sure they were that excited about him anyway.

Just some thoughts to kick around as we watch all of this play out through training camp. I am fascinated by what is going to happen with Vick and where he is going to land. Which team will have the guts to give him a second chance? Will this team’s fan base embrace or hate him? All great questions… What are your thoughts???

There is NO DOUBT that VIck can PLAY: