Thursday, April 15, 2010

The speculation is that Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will have to sit out some games this season after meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after his latest legal transgression.. Many close to the Steelers program feel it may be too late to salvage the Super Bowl quarterback. Said Marvel Smith, a former offensive lineman. "I’m not going to say Ben gets away with a lot, but he’s held to a different standard. He gets away with more than any other guy on the team would."

Here’s the sobering part of the problem. Can the quarterback win the Steeler fan base back? Of course he can Smith told the New York Times. "Steelers nation is everywhere. They don’t care about anything but football."
 

And in a related matter, a food product company which sold ‘Big Ben’s Beef Jerky’ has ended its relationship with the player. Folks, when a beef jerky company drops you, you’re in deep trouble.

This from North Carolina sports cynic Jamie May on Tiger Woods’ behavior during the Masters. May says all Woods had to do, when it was over, was to congratulate Phil Mickelson and compliment his four-day partner K.J. Choi on his splendid play and demeanor. Instead we heard a bunch of whining.

I’m not pushing any panic buttons after seven games in a 162-game season, but the Atlanta Braves surely managed to undo a lot of early excitement with their streak of losing four of five and being hammered by the bottom-feeding Padres, 17-2.

Former Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant has hired a ‘life coach’ to help make him more appealing to NFL teams who worry about his ability to make practices and his diva attitude. The life coach is supposed to help him with a regimen and make sure he gets to where he needs to be on time. In short, to develop habits that will allow him to be a responsible person. Isn’t that person usually called a parent?

Reason No. 86 why major league baseball is in trouble. The Baltimore Orioles drew a crowd of only 9,129 this week to Camden Yards, once the Babylon Gardens of baseball parks. Never in its history had the club drawn only a four-figure audience.

The fact that as many as five Kentucky underclassmen may enter the NBA draft should sound warning bells across the land, but I wonder. The one-and-done is a joke. It’s more of a one-half and done. Most college freshmen who are leaving early go to class for five months and then skip class during their second semester. This isn’t the NCAA’s fault. This lies at the feet of the NBA.

This is Norman Arey and one solution to the above problem is to declare freshmen ineligible.