With the new NFL plan of diverting the wolves toward the miscreant players, it is worthwhile to note that Commissioner Roger Goodell has not been seen since choking on his own tongue from the remorseless questioning of Norah O’Donnell.
Now that’s some serious bad-ass leadership right there. I never knew his desk was large enough for him to fashion a little bricked-up fort he could hide in, but there you go.
X X X
By the way, why is the NCAA missing this seemingly platinum opportunity to trumpet, “The NFL is why you don’t give money to athletes”?
X X X
This is what we call clever thinking, given the circumstances: pic.twitter.com/bydNXa2fq0.
And this is what happens when you remember to hold a grudge and blame people who aren’t you: pic.twitter.com/6dIYs2jDac
X X X
And this is what we call perspective, from Cleveland Browns analyst Tony Grossi:
“Here's the latest on my NFL power rankings: Don't see the point of them.”
X X X
Brian Steinberg of Variety tackled the burning issue of the day, namely, whether Anheuser-Busch’s chastising of the NFL could actually reach the level of the beer company pulling out. Here’s the meat graf:
“A sour note from this large advertiser often perks up ears on Madison Avenue. In 2004, after CBS got into hot water with a Super Bowl broadcast that included a halftime show in which Janet Jackson bared part of her breast, the brewer’s president, August Busch, told attendees at an advertising-industry conference that the company would be taking 'a more cautious approach' to its advertising. A-B spots at the time included such gimmicks as a dog biting a man’s crotch and a flatulent horse ruining a couple’s romantic carriage ride.
“At the time, Anheuser was still run by the family that founded it. These days, it is a global operation, and sells Beck’s, Rolling Rock and Boddington’s in addition to Michelob and its ever-present Bud line. There is chatter that the company could get even bigger, which, if its concerns about the NFL continue to linger, might cause the league additional concern. Anheuser-Busch InBev has recently explored the idea of securing financing to make a run for rival SABMiller, the brewer of Miller Lite, Milwaukee’s Best and Grolsch, among others. A merger of two massive brewers would consolidate a large number of potential malt-liquor advertisers for NFL games under one corporate umbrella.”
Uhh, ouch.
X X X
There was a brief hoop-de-doo about the New York Mets replacing the United Nations Secretariat Tower with the more distinctive Citigroup Center on the New York skyline portion of its logo.
It died when the Mets went back to the old logo, but nobody pointed out the real issue – that it’s where the logo can be found most often. Attached to the players. You know. Mets.
X X X
Giancarlo Stanton tweeted out selfies of his dented face and since he was smiling, it seems he may have accepted his misfortune with equanimity. For one, he has not been unpleasant to or about Mike Fiers, the Milwaukee pitcher who accidentally hit him with the pitch.
But if it’s any consolation, there’s no indication he has changed his mind about the Marlins.
X X X
Life’s good even if you’re bad, as long as you’ve got someone who believes in the carrot instead of the stick. Like Thailand’s president of soccer Worawi Makudi.
Makudi told The Nation (quoted by Reuters) after the Thai women’s team lost to South Korea, 5-0, in the first round of the Asian Games that he paid the women sizable cash bonuses just for turning up.
“The (Thai) association had planned to give the team 200,000 Thai Baht (around $6200) if they won the match, but, for the players’ efforts, we decided to hand them 100,000 ($3100) as consolation.”
In addition, the head coach (Nuengruethai Sathongwien, if you must know) also allegedly offered about $31,000 to any player who managed to score against the South Koreans in the second half. And the team members had already been paid about $467,000 each for qualifying for the Women’s World Cup.
But money comes easy to Worawi, who as a FIFA executive committee member has been burdened by allegations of corruption since taking the job in 2007. It may not be NFL-owner bad, but it is a head-scratcher.
X X X
And finally, the 49ers and Raiders sell the most expensive small draft beers in the NFL, and amazingly the 49ers aren’t first. They sell one for $10.25, while the Raiders top off at $10.75 – or the same price as two-and-a-half beers in St. Louis.
And what’s that hyena Goodell doing about THAT?