By now you may surmise I live in the Chicago area. This past weekend and upcoming week, ahead of the winter Olympics, was and is important to my "boys" the Chicago Blackhawks. They beat the hottest team in the world on Friday, the Anaheim Ducks and in a rematch of last spring's Stanley Cup Finals, beat the Boston Bruins yesterday in double overtime, sometimes referred to as the "shootout." This week, two road games, one in "Hockeytown" against the Red Wings and then on to Minnesota to face the Wild. It's the mid season doldrums and the Hawks had been less than their usual. This week will give the boys a good perspective as they enter the second half of the season. I may be mistaken, but Hockey is still the least tainted of the major sports. ANd I think that's why I appreciate the ethos of it.
Football was also very much worth watching. Peyton Manning and the Broncos beat the Pats in a game where Manning was really good. I'm not crazy about the Mannings, but for football enthusiasts, his performance was one more step in getting the icing on the cake and tying his brother Eli for Super Bowl championships. Rumors are that he will retire at the end of this season. I think that's a good idea for someone who may be one of the best quarterbacks they game has seen, but more important than that, so that he can turn his head ninety degrees when he's driving Buicks and wants to change lanes 10 years from now, when he's no longer famous. He has undergone and continues to have neck problems and while the glow of fame burns bright, we need to remember that football is a violent game that exacts a great toll upon the human body.
And in Seattle, last minute end zone breakup ( and tipped interception) of a Colin Kaepernick pass to Michael Crabtree gave Seahawk cornerback Richard Sherman an opportunity to vent on national TV. I'm really tired of players who get stupid, go off on national TV and blame it on adrenaline. Sherman is a great player and reportedly a good guy in the community, as well as a good team mate. But his rant is symbolic of a society that reacts and doesn't think before speaking (only one of many behavioral choices that are made) and then figures he'll come back when he's calmed down to lower the boiling water a little. I enjoyed his play yesterday, but didn't feel the same about his mouth.
And I'm glad a judge deemed the settlement reached between the NFL and the Players Association too small a payout. It's just another case of the owners letting their lawyers do their bidding against an aggrieved but important party, the players. Shirts vs Skins, 1% vs the 99% (even though they make a lot of money), oligarchs vs the worker bees. This whole economic "justice" notion really pisses the haves off. But until the have nots are treated better, don't expect the conversation to end.
So shortly we'll watch the whole money go round thing with SB48. The less things change, the more they stay the same. And you can print that.
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