ProFootballTalk.com's Cries Of "Reverse Discrmination" Are Down Right Silly

ProFootballTalk.com has interesting posts more often than not, but this one is down right silly. I'll post it first, then respond to it:

WHISPERS OF REVERSE DISCRIMINATION CONTINUE

In the wake of the recent hiring of Tony Softli by the Rams and Don Gregory by the Panthers, there continue to be whispers in league circles that teams are more willing to grant permission to African-American front-office candidates than they are for white candidates.

Under NFL rules, the only promotion in a new city that a team cannot block is a promotion that gives the employee "final say" authority over the roster, the draft, and/or the coach. For any promotion short of one in which "final say" is involved, teams can block front-office employees who are currently under contract.

Some league insiders are troubled by the fact that white front-office employees have been barred from non-"final say" promotions. Most recently, Patriors exec Tom Dimitroff (who is white) was refused permission to interview for the Rams' V.P./Player Personnel gig, which ultimately went to Softli.

Meanwhile, guys like Softli, Gregory, and former Broncos assistant G.M. Rick Smith (all of whom are African-American) received permission to leave their former teams for jobs that did not entail "final say" authority in a new city.

But other league insiders dispute the notion that teams are applying a double standard when deciding who gets permission and who doesn't. In Softli's case, for example, the strong thinking is that he got permission to leave not so that the Panthers could curry favor with the Fritz Pollard Alliance, but because the team was ready to see him go after he had spent two years or more scampering for a bigger gig elsewhere.

Also, it's our understanding that the search resulting in the hiring of Gregory to replace Softli included at least one white scout from another team who received permission to interview for the job, even though he was still under contract.

But regardless of whether African-American candidates are or are not receiving preferential treatment when it comes to getting permission under circumstances where permission can be denied, the human-nature reality of the situation is that the NFL's efforts to place more minorities into high-profile positions will prompt the guys who feel they're getting the short end of the stick to say so privately.

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Here's why that's totally silly. First, white front office candidates have been getting favorable treatment for over 100 years of pro football in America. During this time there were few complaints of discrimination. But in the 21st Century when a group of young, talented, professionally trained African Americans armed with experience and degrees -- in some cases Masters Degrees like me -- emerges and are considered for and get high-paying, high-profile front office jobs, some white candidates cry "reverse discrimination" and then go to ProFootballTalk.com, which publishes it.

I've seen ProFootballTalk.com show pictures of African Americans in ways that could be considered completely racist -- like the one where a photo of "Chef" from South Park was used to represent Raiders Head Coach Art Shell
(What's up with that?) -- but I've never seen that online publication point out racism or discrimination where it's active at any point in its coverage of the NFL.

Look, it's a new World, get with it. There are smart, young, professionally-trained black men who will more often than not be on someone's short list for an NFL job in the future, and in some cases get those jobs. ProFootballTalk.com should be applauding this development and not trying to make the world safe for anyone white and male who thinks an executive position in the league should be theirs because they're white and male.

In my case, at the 2003 Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party in Houston, Bucs Head Coach John Gruden and GM Bruce Allen paid me a great complement when they remarked that I would be a great front office person in the NFL -- and I'm not even looking for a job there! It was a totally unsolicited complement but one I take to heart as coming from two well-respected NFL men who do seek out talented African American, Latino, and generally people of color. That's a good thing.

We're out there: young, gifted, and black. Embrace us; don't fear us. Rejoyce in the continued elimination of racial barriers, don't whine because they no longer exist.

It's called competition. Call for more of it, not less.

NY Giants TE Jeremy Shockey On NFL Network Today - What's Up? Maybe He's Just High On Life?!?

I'm watching Jeremy Shockey on the NFL Network and just cracking up. I love the passion Jeremy Shockey brings to the game; the way he catches passes and bulls his way for yardage as he did in his first game as a rookie, a preseason tilt against the Houston Texans. But today -- as a veteran -- he was on the NFL Network as a guest and to be totally frank, he acted like he was a bit -- "loose."

Wow.

In all of the episodes of the NFL Network I've watched, I've never seen any guest talk while host Darren Horton was reading the teleprompter in the process of doing the show. Jeremy Shockey did this several times and even to the point where Horton finally gave in and said "This is the Jeremy Shockey Show."

It was hard to watch.

I'd like to be a fly on the walls of the NFL Network studio to learn what the producers thought of that performance.

They can't be slapping high-fives. But, then on the other hand, as it makes for good Internet chatter...

Hey, give Shockey his props, as he provided insightful and heartfelt comments on the late NY Giants Owner Wellington Mara, and his information on newly-hired LB Lavar Aarington, whom Shockey reports is ready to take on all challengers this season after a serious off-season workout program.

But what got me was the number of times Jeremy Shockey rubbed his nose with his left thumb. Check it out -- again and again and again. What's he flicking away? Does he normally do this? Again, he's a massive talent -- there he goes again with the thumb but with the right hand this time -- but what's the deal?

Maybe -- with the white suit (cool, it is) and the thumb act and the interruptions -- he's bucking for a role in Miami Vice II.

Regardless, Shockey has his fans, including me. One produced this cool video:

"Cat Massage" - Cat Massaging Dog Video Found On You Tube

I found this much-viewed video of a cat massaging a dog -- or apparently doing so -- against a wall. One viewer remarked that the dog looked as if it were not alive, but that person seemed to forget the camera-person's not likely to take a video of a dead dog. It's just sleeping. Undoubtedly deeply given the cat's fingers!

Spiderman 3 Teaser Trailer - The Real Trailer of Spiderman, Sandman, Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, and The Black Uniform

This seems to be the plotline fot the film, and it's followed by the actual trailer itself. This is the real-deal, as there's a "fake" running around YouTube. The third installment in the highly sucessful movie series -- I think it's one of the best in film history -- adds "Prmary Colors" Adrian Lester to the cast, and making him the first African American to hold a lead role in the series.



Here's the rumored plot:

Plot: Third film in the highly successful "Spider-Man" series sees several new villains and a new woman enter Peter Parker's life. With his secret now revealed to both Mary Jane and Harry, Peter must face the consequences of his actions and his new life together with Mary Jane as they finally form a relationship. Yet their newfound open display of love has yielded some unfortunate results, not the least of which is Peter's upset boss determined to make his life hell for causing his son emotional distress. Not helping is a young investigative reporter named Eddie Brock who Jameson has hired to find out why Mary Jane dumped his son for Peter - what's Parker's secrets?



At the same time an escaped prisoner hiding out on a remote beach is caught in a dreadful accident and finds himself turned into a shape-shifting sand creature. Peter's investigations into the past of this 'Sandman' (Thoman Haden Church from "Sideways" pictured) brings him in contact with two very different things that will inevitably alter his life. The first a young woman named Gwen Stacy, daughter of the city's new police chief who is developing a soft spot for Peter. The other, a black substance from an accident scene which 'merges' with Peter's costume and gives him new found abilities.

Things come to a head however when Harry Osborn, determined to take revenge against Peter for his father's death and now equipped with what he needs to pull it off, teams with The Sandman in a new variation of his father's Green Goblin guise and causes mayhem. In the ensuing chaos lives are lost, including people very close to Peter, whilst the black substance covering his suit separates from him and merges with a distraught Brock to form something else entirely - a creature unlike anything he's ever faced. A 'Venom' that he may not be able to stop.

Raiders Bond With Fishing and BBQ - Adam Scheafter of The NFL Network

NFL Network's Adam Scheafter reports that Raiders Head Coach Art Shell organized a team fishing trip. 25 Raiders players attended the outing, which was followed by a team-sponsore BBQ. A great way to bond that could produce a Super Bowl Champion.

Cardinals Running Back JJ Arrington Reportedly Concerned About Matt Leinart's "Head" - Video Of Matt and Paris Gives Good Reason

I have it directly from a source I can't name that Cardinals Running Back J.J. Arrington expressed concern about the "head" of new and former USC Quarterback Matt Leinart. Arrington, who played against Leinart when both were in the Pac-10 and at Cal and USC respectively, apparently knows what's said about him on the grapevine.



Arrington claims that Matt Leinart has a "hot dog" reputation because of the fact that he has friends like Paris Hilton and Nick Lachey. (Not to mention Leinart's photo with Paris in May and his party boy reputation ) I don't know how much of this is based just on Arrington's prejudice regarding Leinart -- or even jealously that Matt has as much fun as he does. Because my source reports that Arrington bragged about how many girls he himself has, his brand new Denali, his BMW 750i, and his house in Arizona (I think I left out a car or two).



Finally, Arrington did express concern that his playing time would be effected by the Cardinals "new running back" as he put it to my source. He didn't mention the name of the new player -- fomer Indy Colts Running Back Edgerrin James.

I remarked to my source that if Arrington played better, the Cardinals may not have paid to employ Edgerrin James.

Meanwhile, below you can see the video which contains not only the picture of Matt Leinart and Paris Hilton above, but also of them getting down -- dancing, that is -- in Vegas.

Here's the video:

On Astroturf v. Grass v. Field Turf v. Kentucky Blue Grass

GROUND RULES- Looking at the differences between playing football on natural and artificial surfaces.

The debate over the "ideal" playing surface has been going on for quite a few years now. When artificial playing surfaces began to appear in the late 1960’s Football purists began to wonder aloud if the game was changing for the worse. "The absolute worst thing that could ever happen to the game," said Former Alabama Coaching great Paul "Bear" Bryant. NFL owners, looking for a way to cut the cost of upkeep of their stadiums, had contracted Monsanto Corporation to develop
a type of artificial grass that they would call "Astroturf". It made its first professional football appearance at the Houston Astrodome, and soon began showing up in other buildings throughout the League.

Many players and coaches who were considered to be purists to the game did not care for the new surface. They preferred the cushion that a real grass surface gave them, over the artificial bounce of "The Rug" as it was being called. But looking at both sides of the coin, each surface has it’s good and bad points.

An Artificial surface, while being extremely strong and durable, and able to withstand great amounts of wear and tear over the course of several seasons, as well as hold incredible amounts of water with the proper drainage system, does have one major fault. Under its playing surface is cold hard cement. Once that surface begins to loose it’s cushion (or bounce), it can be very hard to fall down on it without sustaining serious injury. It can also freeze hard during the temperature drops that take place in the northern portions of the country.

A natural surface (like Kentucky Blue Grass) can be more forgiving to players to land hard on it. It is also less stressful on players recovering of lower limb stress injuries then artificial surfaces. However, even the best prescription playing surfaces can not handle constant flooding even with a good runoff drainage system, and can freeze almost as hard as a wet artificial surface can (like soldier field) in cold weather. Although many players will tell you they like grass better then turf, some of those same players have better performance numbers on turf then on grass.

Sports medicine specialists across the country note that more players get hurt on turf every year then on grass. I spoke with two prominent New York City Chiropractors who specialize in sports injuries. One is the official team chiropractor to a major catholic High School’s sports program, and the other treats several hundred people a week, and by his own admission fully one third of whom are sports related stress injuries. "I constantly tell young kids playing on these surfaces to be very careful, and do their best to try and play on a grass field instead. The pressure of resistance from your lower body pounding itself against a hard surface is causing long term damage to ligaments, tendons, and the joints themselves," said one.

Many players will try to get to a team with a natural surface once they have had a knee or ankle injury on turf. One NFL running back popped both knees on the grass at Soldier Field in 1998, and had to retire in 2000 because he was never able to cut the same way.

The NFL conducted it’s own study in 1997 and determined that there was no significant increase in injuries on turf. Even so, many teams are going back to natural grass surfaces, or at least experimenting with them. Recently the first NFL game on a grass surface was played in Giants stadium, a building that has had an artificial surface since it opened in 1976. Even player agents are beginning to get into the act, by trying to help their players get to teams with Grass surfaces if that is what they desire. More recently, a new surface has been invented and is being rolled out across the NFL and college Football. Called
"Field Turf" it's grass is made of plastic sewn together, with a sponge rubber base that absorbs water. Under the base is a composite of pebbles and sand mixed together to aid in fast drainage. "The wave of the future in stadium surfaces," says George Toma, the "God of Sod."

It seems that the debate will continue for a long time before we have a solid answer to the question of "What is a better playing surface?"