Football (North America: NFL, CFL, Arena Football, minor leagues)

[Alex]

If it were up to me: no two-week break for the media to endlessly spout about every little detail of the Really Big Football Game.

+1

They tried to offset that by moving the Probowl, but that game has become an absolute joke that they might as well play flag football that day...

[exit322]

They tried to offset that by moving the Probowl, but that game has become an absolute joke that they might as well play flag football that day...

I'd watch if they played a flag football game.  That could be interesting.

[texaskdog]

When WWE was good you could watch the Royal Rumble that week.  How about a 3rd place game between the Patriots & Falcons?  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playoff_Bowl

[Alex]

When WWE was good you could watch the Royal Rumble that week.  How about a 3rd place game between the Patriots & Falcons?  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playoff_Bowl

Did not know about the Playoff Bowl, thanks for sharing that. Its almost like a "bronze metal game". 

[amroad17]

It was--a meaningless "playoff" game.  I couldn't believe any of the players thought, "Great, we ended the year in third place!"

In fact, the 1961 Playoff Bowl ruined the Philadelphia Eagles' 1962 season as Sonny Jurgensen was injured in that game and was not fully recovered by the time the 1962 season got underway.  The Eagles went from 10-4 in 1961 with the top-ranked offense in the NFL to a 2-10-2 season in 1962 because of Sonny's not quite healed shoulder.

[CanesFan27]

The Playoff Bowl was played as a pension fund raiser, and was a glorified exhibition game.  It did lead, however, to Miami being  a top candidate for expansion in both leagues with the AFL awarding the team in 1966.

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post op-ed: Hail to the Ravens? Why Washington should root for Baltimore on Super Bowl Sunday.

The most thrilling Redskins season in 20 years is done, giving way to another brutal January of watching other NFL teams fight their way to the Super Bowl. But up I-95 is another team worthy of your cheers – and not just because of some namby-pamby idea of regional pride.

The reason Washington fans should root for the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 is because they share some of the finest qualities of the Redskins teams many of us knew and loved in a decade-long run when Washington played in four Super Bowls and won three of them.

[1995hoo]

Here's the best part of last night's game: Ed Hochuli calls a penalty. 

[Road Hog]

The Playoff Bowl was played as a pension fund raiser, and was a glorified exhibition game.  It did lead, however, to Miami being  a top candidate for expansion in both leagues with the AFL awarding the team in 1966.

The game was officially the Bert Bell Benefit Bowl, named for the late NFL commissioner. It ended with the NFL-AFL merger. All the games were held in Miami.

I think there might be a place for a third-place game in today's NFL in lieu of the Pro Bowl, should that be canceled. A million-dollar bonus for every player on the winning team would ensure a good game.

[Sykotyk]

Road Hog, the Super Bowl winner only gets $88,000 for each player.

Giving $1m for winning a third place game would be an insult.

[english si]

In the English soccer leagues, teams winning the Championship, League 1 or League 2 will pick up less prize money than if you won the play-offs of those divisions (four best teams not winning automatic promotion compete for the final promotion spot), though they have 3 more games (a 2-leg game to get to the final, plus the final).

But yes, $1 million is a hell of a lot and playing the same number of games, but losing the penultimate one means that they shouldn't get more money than those that won them all!

[texaskdog]

If they had aligned the NFL better back during the merger it would have been far more entertaining.

[mgk920]

In the English soccer leagues, teams winning the Championship, League 1 or League 2 will pick up less prize money than if you won the play-offs of those divisions (four best teams not winning automatic promotion compete for the final promotion spot), though they have 3 more games (a 2-leg game to get to the final, plus the final).

But yes, $1 million is a hell of a lot and playing the same number of games, but losing the penultimate one means that they shouldn't get more money than those that won them all!

I wouldn't mind seeing Hockey, Basketball, MLS and perhaps even Baseball in North America being re-organized on that line (promotion/relegation).



Mike

[amroad17]

The way the NFL is set now isn't too bad.

In the NFC, the four divisions are set perfectly because Dallas and Washington (Cowboys and Indians) have to stay in the same division.  St. Louis has to be in the NFC West because of them being the furthest west NFC team other than Dallas and the West Coast teams.  This beat what it was before 2002 when Atlanta and New Orleans were in the NFC West and Arizona was in the NFC East.
In the AFC, there could be some realignment done.  Baltimore should be in the AFC East instead of Miami, who should be in the AFC South.  That would put Indianapolis in the AFC North.  However, because of former rivalries, in the case of the Dolphins, and current rivalries (Ravens/Steelers) this will not happen.

As far as realignment for the 1970 merger, the NFL teams originally wanted a 16-10 split in conferences.  This would have kept teams in the same divisions as they were in 1969.  The AFL answered with a resounding NO!  If this had happened, the Baltimore Colts and the Atlanta Falcons would have been in the same division as the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers (the Coastal Division in 1969).  Cincinnati would have been in an AFC West division and the Houston Oilers would have been in an AFC East division.  Only the efforts of the Colts' owner, Carroll Rosenbloom, along with him talking Art Rooney of the Steelers and Art Modell of the Browns into joining the AFC, prevented this 16-10 split.

The NBA and NHL have realigned teams geographically in the past decade.  In the 1970's, the NHL had Vancouver as an Eastern Division team and Philadelphia as a Western Division team (as well as Pittsburgh).  When the NHL realigned into four divisions, one division had Montreal and Los Angeles in it!   So, compared to 40 years ago, realignment has improved dramatically.

On the other hand, college teams switching to conferences where some of the teams are 2,000 miles apart... Oh yeah, $$$!

[cpzilliacus]

If they had aligned the NFL better back during the merger it would have been far more entertaining.

I disagree.  As stated above, with "better" realignment, the Cowboys would not have the rivalry with the Redskins (coming back to life, it seems) and the N.Y. Giants. 

And it is unlikely that the Ravens would be in the same division as the Steelers if the AFC divisions were more "logical," even though it's not that that far to travel from Baltimore to Pittsburgh or vice versa.

My biggest gripe with the NFL is its game of always having at least once city without and NFL franchise (currently Los Angeles, especially inexcusable) so it can  extort taxpayer funded new playing venues from state, county and municipal taxpayers.

[Desert Man]

L.A. ought to get a NFL team in the future, the city approved a football stadium project known as Farmers' Field. If L.A. has a team, a second team shall be granted: to a city where they love American or gridiron football to work out: Alabama, Oklahoma, Omaha, San Antonio, Toronto and Virginia (Beach) are good candidates.

Anyone heard of the UFL? They are an alternative semi-pro American football league. They might not make it past their 4th season, but like other smaller leagues before them, the UFL expanded the sport to new cities such as Las Vegas and Sacramento.

[texaskdog]

If they had aligned the NFL better back during the merger it would have been far more entertaining.

I disagree.  As stated above, with "better" realignment, the Cowboys would not have the rivalry with the Redskins (coming back to life, it seems) and the N.Y. Giants. 

And it is unlikely that the Ravens would be in the same division as the Steelers if the AFC divisions were more "logical," even though it's not that that far to travel from Baltimore to Pittsburgh or vice versa.

My biggest gripe with the NFL is its game of always having at least once city without and NFL franchise (currently Los Angeles, especially inexcusable) so it can  extort taxpayer funded new playing venues from state, county and municipal taxpayers.

Cowboys/Redskins is pretty boring.  Both teams are pretty bad now.

[amroad17]

The Redskins and Cowboys played for a division title last season with the Redskins winning it at 10-6.  The rivalry is still there although not with the same ferocity as it was from 1971-1992.  I will say that both teams are not great teams but decent teams. 

As far as last season, both games were exciting--mostly because of RGIII piloting the Redskins.  Let's see how this plays out in the next few years.

L.A. ought to get a NFL team in the future, the city approved a football stadium project known as Farmers' Field. If L.A. has a team, a second team shall be granted: to a city where they love American or gridiron football to work out: Alabama, Oklahoma, Omaha, San Antonio, Toronto and Virginia (Beach) are good candidates.

Anyone heard of the UFL? They are an alternative semi-pro American football league. They might not make it past their 4th season, but like other smaller leagues before them, the UFL expanded the sport to new cities such as Las Vegas and Sacramento.

I'll second it for Virginia Beach (where I lived for 22 years)!

[texaskdog]

True but the Skins weren't much without RG3 and he got hurt, though it sounds like he'll be back.  So turn because I like RG3 and hate the Redskins.

[cpzilliacus]

So turn because I like RG3 and hate the Redskins.

Rather like I hate the Bronx Steinbrenners, but in spite of that, respect, admire and even like their best player, Derek Jeter, who is a class act all the way, and will be headed to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. if he ever decides to retire.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

If they had aligned the NFL better back during the merger it would have been far more entertaining.

I disagree.  As stated above, with "better" realignment, the Cowboys would not have the rivalry with the Redskins (coming back to life, it seems) and the N.Y. Giants. 

And it is unlikely that the Ravens would be in the same division as the Steelers if the AFC divisions were more "logical," even though it's not that that far to travel from Baltimore to Pittsburgh or vice versa.

My biggest gripe with the NFL is its game of always having at least once city without and NFL franchise (currently Los Angeles, especially inexcusable) so it can  extort taxpayer funded new playing venues from state, county and municipal taxpayers.

Cowboys/Redskins is pretty boring.  Both teams are pretty bad now.

TV networks adore it, though.

[Stephane Dumas]

I spotted that article of the Chicago Tribune who mention then football will be dead in 10 years. O_o
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-met-kass-0424-20130424,0,5660156.column

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post: Do no harm: Retired NFL players endure a lifetime of hurt

They remember the hard hits — most of them, at least. The brain-rattlers that left them blank-eyed and disoriented, they have no recollection of at all. But the ones that snapped ligaments, rendered bones the consistency of crushed ice or bent joints in ways they ought not to bend are still felt every morning years later.

A career in the National Football League creates echoes good and bad. Some reverberate in medical records, others in luxuries from rich contracts. But the most vivid ones for many former players come when they get out of bed each day and put their feet on the floor. If the NFL confers wealth — a rookie's base pay next season will be $405,000 — it exacts a heavy price: lifelong hurt.

A Washington Post survey of retired NFL players found that nearly nine in 10 report suffering from aches and pains on a daily basis, and they overwhelmingly — 91 percent — connect nearly all their pains to football.

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post: Pain and pain management in NFL spawn a culture of prescription drug use and abuse

When Fred Smoot, a former Washington Redskins defensive back, fractured his sternum and had to spend four months sleeping in a recliner because he couldn't lie flat, he said his team doctors gave him a choice: Miss the rest of the season or "figure out a way to play."  Worried about his livelihood, he made it on the football field each Sunday thanks to a syringe full of a drug called Toradol.

"Painkillers are like popping aspirin,"  Smoot said. "They get to that point."

When the throbbing in his surgically repaired right knee made it hard to walk, much less play, Chester Pitts, a former offensive lineman for the Houston Texans, found a way to prolong his career one more year: a cocktail of Toradol injections on Sundays, with anti-inflammatories and narcotic painkillers the other days of the week.

[texaskdog]

It was--a meaningless "playoff" game.  I couldn't believe any of the players thought, "Great, we ended the year in third place!"

In fact, the 1961 Playoff Bowl ruined the Philadelphia Eagles' 1962 season as Sonny Jurgensen was injured in that game and was not fully recovered by the time the 1962 season got underway.  The Eagles went from 10-4 in 1961 with the top-ranked offense in the NFL to a 2-10-2 season in 1962 because of Sonny's not quite healed shoulder.

Now they would play it like the probowl, where nobody tackles.