Orel Family

In August, I wrote a blog post called  Bounties, the New Orleans Saints, and the NFL . The post was just my personal thoughts on the then 5-months old public flogging of the New Orleans Saints organization, from its highest management level to its defensive players. While I noted that certain coaches of the Saints were "a bit detached from what I might call 'normal'," what seemed inescapable to me at the time was that the league had not presented " any  evidence of a bounty program." The league, led by commissioner Roger Goodell, suspended 4 current or former Saints players, for terms of up to one year. The league was required, per its Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), to provide the evidence upon which it intended to rely, as part of the players appeal process. Those exhibits are still retrievable from the  NFLPA website.  Although the league trumpeted those exhibits as "overwhelming," I found the ...

On January 24, 2010, I watched on TV as the New Orleans Saints hosted the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game.  I was mildly rooting for the Vikings, just so that old man Brett Favre could get one last shot at a Super Bowl.  The Vikings dominated the game, but turnovers and penalties doomed them.  Favre was injured due to a questionable hit, so much so that he couldn't hobble for a fist down to set up a last minute winning field goal.  Instead, he threw an ill-considered pass that was intercepted, and the Saints eventually won the game in overtime. Cut forward to 2012.  On March 2, the NFL announced that the Saints may have been intentionally trying to injure Vikings players, including Fare, during that 2010 matchup, including paying bonuses for causing injury.  Of course, I was appalled.  Had the result of that game been unfairly influenced by a bunch of bounty-hunting thugs? It only got worse:  On April 5, filmmaker Sean Pamphilon...

Six years ago, Rush Limbaugh went on national TV and said, regarding Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb: Sorry to say this, I don't think he's been that good from the get-go. I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team. Much has been said about Limbaugh's now ended effort to be part of an ownership group for the St. Louis Rams. Outcries over things he supposedly said, or in some cases about things he never said. But to me, whatever may be in discussion (including another remark comparing NFL football games to gang fights), that one remark about Donovan McNabb was the key. More than his "conservative" politics, more than his positions on race (and, let's be clear: Rush is too smart to say explicitly many of ...