Another Reason to Abandon the NFL

I used to really enjoy watching football. It started with high school football when I was in high school and we had a winning team. It was so exciting to go to the games and cheer the team and swoon over the quarterback, on whom I had the biggest crush. I still enjoy high school football and will sometimes go to watch a game even now. No more crushes, but there is still just a bit of that school pride and excitement for the game that a spectator can absorb just sitting in the bleachers.

When we moved to Texas in the late 60's, I became a huge fan of the Dallas Cowboys, and saw in some of those players - Roger Staubach, Lee Roy Jordan, Drew Pearson, Ed "Too-Tall" Jones, Robert Newhouse - that same love of the game and eagerness to just go out and play.

That has changed in more recent years, and I will admit that I have lost my football spirit. Sometimes I still watch a game with my husband, but I don't look forward to football Sunday like I used to. Part of the reason is that it has become about so many other things than the game itself. It is about salaries and who can make the most money. It is about bigger and grander stadiums, with ticket prices out of sight for too many people because of the stadium price-tag. And it has lost its sense of fair play and good sportsmanship.

In all fairness, maybe that last statement is too broad, but we can't deny that "winning at all costs" has superseded what used to be a sport of men who played with some sense of respect and honor.

That has become abundantly clear with the latest scandal that the NFL wishes would just disappear from the news. Last week the NFL released a report that said that for three seasons the New Orleans Saints had a bounty pool that was handled by a defensive assistant. The pool paid out for big hits that would take out an opposing player, and apparently the coaching staff of the Saints knew about it, as did the general manager.

According to an editorial in The Dallas Morning News, this practice is not limited to the Saints.

This is absolutely reprehensible behavior, and I, for one, resign from the role of being an NFL fan. I'll go watch a high school team when I start missing the game.

On another note. I have put my suspense novel, One Small Victory, up for free for today and tomorrow on Amazon. This is the end of Read an E-Book Week, and I thought I would celebrate by giving my readers a gift. Enjoy....

Friday's Odds and Ends

Wasn't it just last year when Texas Governor Rick Perry was running for re-election that he repeatedly said he was not going to run for president? Maybe he meant just not in the near future which translated into, "not until after I'm elected governor."

I, for one, will not vote for someone who is not a man of his word. Oops, that leaves out most political candidates.Is there someone out there who will say what he means, and then do what he says?


As this awful heat wave blankets Texas, parts of the Midwest, and all of the deep south, heat advisories are the lead on the evening news. Followed by the number of people who have died because of heat-related issues. A recent broadcast news story was about pre-season football practice for high school. college and pro athletes, and how many have died because of excessive heat. The newscaster said that coaches are not sure how to deal with the problem because there are no written guidelines.

Ummm, has anyone not heard of using some COMMON SENSE? Yes, I am shouting. I was shouting when I heard the story on the news and my husband told me to calm down before I broke something. I think he was protecting his beloved TV from the shoe I wanted to throw at it.

Surely the game of football is not so important that it is worth risking another life. At least three heat-related deaths on practice fields have been reported in the past week, two high-school football players from Georgia and a coach in Texas. Four high school players in Arkansas were hospitalized for dehydration on Wednesday.

According to a newsstory from CNN, some experts say that parents should petition for rules to protect their children from this danger, otherwise the danger will continue.

Why wait? Surely the game of football is not so important that it is worth risking another life. If coaches and athletic directors don't have enough sense to curtail these practices without a piece of paper telling them to do so, parents should pull their kids from the program. I would chain my kid to the bedpost before I would let him or her take such a risk. I wouldn't want to be the next mother crying on national television because my son or daughter died for the sake of a game.

Speaking of the heat. In Texas consumers pay an extra dollar a month on their electric bills, and the money is to go into a fund to assist the poor and elderly pay their electric bills. We were given the impression this was a protected fund, but in reality much of it has been diverted to balance the state budget. This year $130 million has been collected for energy-bill assistance, but only $28 million has been provided to those in need. This despite the fact that the need has risen.

This is so unconscionable, I don't even know how to respond, except to say, "Shame on you, Texas legislature."