L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast.  A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey.  His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me…

Or is the NFL walking a dangerously tight rope?  The NFL insists on playing four preseason games, putting its stars and players at risk.  Football is a collision sport with several violent hits per game.  The chances of being injured in a football game appear to be higher than any other professional sports.

Take a minute and look at how they begin a game.  Each team lines up on opposite sides of the field, the receiving team is spread out over forty or so yards ready to catch the ball or block for the teammate who does catch the ball.  Usually, the kick returner is down near the goal line when he catches the ball and begins running at full speed with blockers in front of him.  The team kicking off begins running at full speed with the purpose of tackling the receiver and/or knocking the ball out of his hands.  They have several yards to run and build up speed before colliding into one another.  The kickoff is usually a violent beginning to a violent activity, football.

After the kickoff, regular play begins.  Eleven larger than average men line up against one another prepared to hit each other as hard as they can with their bodies.

It is controlled / organized violence that feeds the public’s appetite for mayhem.  You have quarterbacks who are standing there with their arms cocked in a statue like pose just waiting to be struck by men who outweigh them by 50 to 60 pounds.  Punters, who are balancing on one leg as huge lineman come charging at them , trying to block a kick.  And, of course, receivers who come across the middle of the field, or jump to catch a ball, leaving themselves particularly vulnerable to a hit.  My favorite offensive players are the running backs, who are handed the ball and asked to run into a wall of ‘meat’,  huge linemen who want to put a good hit on a back.  Lastly, on offense we have the offensive linemen who are required to protect the quarterbacks and kickers.   They are also asked to open ‘holes’ for running backs to run through.  All this against agile huge defensive players, whose job is to tackle and discourage the offense from being successful.

It is amazing that players are not hurt on every play.  Wait a minute, they usually are.  Football, the number one sport in America, controlled violence, you gotta love it.

All this with replacement referees,  a multimillion-dollar product in the hands of amateurs.  Come on NFL get the real refs back before someone is seriously hurt or a game is ruined due to an error.  And eliminate some preseason games,  too many hits are dangerous.

Where is Victor Cruz?  A very quiet preseason for the talented Patersonian, but then again that’s how the Giants handle their business.  Stay off the back pages until the season starts.  Victor who is making the veterans minimum should have a breakout season and hopefully gets paid next year.  Go School #21!!!!!!!!

NFL teams continue to adjust and shape their rosters;

A list of current NFL transactions can be found at

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/transactions/

Is it me…

Or has NIKE lost its mind?   The new LeBron sneakers will cost $315.  Only NBA players and stars in the entertainment industry will be able to afford them.  The normal working guy will need four years or until the next Olympics to buy a pair of these.

At $315 these sneakers are for show and will never see the  blacktop of a playground.  What ever happened to sneakers for playing ball?

NBA teams are adjusting their rosters.  Please follow this link for the latest information on your team:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/teams/?eref=sinav

Is it me…

Or does Mike Tyson deserve a Tony?  His one man play was a stunning success and Tyson did a great job putting his life on display to the world.  Bravo!!!!!  Go Brooklyn!

Is it me…

Or is it kind of sad that it took this long?  The world’s most famous golf course, Augusta National, made “history” this week when it accepted its first female members, Condolezza Rice and Daria Moore.  Is it really 2012 and we still have a ‘first’ of this nature?

Edited by D. Pride.