A Straight Up Double Standard

Case 1: On January 30th 2000, Shortly after Super Bowl XXXIV ended, Ray Lewis and a whole crew of friends, employees and hangers on went to a night club in Atlanta.They were their to party and have a general good time. However, at some point in the night a fight broke out and spilled into the street.  Two men on the opposite side of the fight ended up with multiple stab wounds to the chest and heart. Both died that night. Although he was originally charged with the murder of the two men, star LB Ray Lewis ended up pleading his way to an obstruction of justice charge. The case of these two murdered men was never solved. Although we dont know who killed the men, we do know that Ray Lewis was present at the scene of the crime and right or wrong he continued his NFL career with very little visible negative consequences.  For his involvement in the altercation outside the club, the NFL fined him $250,000 and gave him a one year probation, allowing him to play the next season.

Case 2: After a October 20th game against the Chicago Bears, Washington Safety Brandon Meriweather repeatedly targeted the head of Bears WR Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. Meriweather has drawn several penalties for targeting players hits with his tackles. The NFL is a league with a serious problem of head trauma related injuries, especially post playing career. Having a player repeated target the head of his opponents is bad for players safety and the leagues public image. So, the NFL suspended Meriweather for two games. After reviewing the situation that eventually decided to reduce the suspension to just one game.

Case 3: On Thursday December 19th, the NFL officially announced the indefinite suspension of Seahawks CB Brandon Browner for violating the leagues substance-abuse policy.The suspension is longer then normal for drug abuse issues because Browner is a repeat offender. He failed a test in 2005, while a member of the Denver Broncos and then failed to show up for several follow on tests. This made Browner a "class 3" offender. Assuming he doesn't win his appeal, Browner will now be suspended for one year and then eligible to apply for reinstatement into the league. Unnamed sources claim that the drug that Browner tested positive for was Marijuana.

You may have noticed that the punishment doled out by the NFL gets harsher in each of these cases. A rational person would assume the crime was also getting worse, but as you can clearly see it doesn't. In the first case, Ray Lewis got a slap on the wrist for being at worst a murderer and at best someone who associates with murderers. In case 2, Brandon Meriweather is basically the exact kind of player the NFL is claiming to try and distance itself from. He is the walking embodiment of what they claim to not want in their league anymore. However, case 3 is just some guy deciding to get high on his own time, in a state that says that activity is legal for adults. Which of these is worse?

When it comes to determining punishment for the negative actions taken by members of the league, the NFL commissioner is the judge, jury and executioner. Apparently, the NFL commissioner thinks murder and targeting the heads of opponents and possibly causing them long term damage is less bad then smoking a joint. Seriously, in the eyes of the NFL, smoking marijuana, a drug that you cant overdose from and is prescribed as a pain managed drug by doctors, appears to be one of the worst offenses a player can commit.

If we dive deeper into the Ray Lewis case it especially highlights the NFL's broken and confusing moral standard. After the murder at the night club, the NFL frequently chose to use Ray Lewis in their ad campaigns. Sports media, like ESPN and Yahoo Sports heralded him for his playing prowess and leadership abilities. Major brands like Old Spice, Under Armour and EA Sports paid him to endorse their products. Because of Lewis's skill on the football field he basically got a pass, when had anyone else been in that situation it would have caused major repercussions in their life. His run in with the law was basically forgotten.

Brandon Browner, who is much less marketable and interesting, got the book thrown at him. He is facing his sentence at possibly the worst time he could in his career. He was about to become free agent and get a big time pay day. Instead he will most likely sit out an entire year and miss out on any pay at all. As a 29 year old football players he is in the prime of his career and will begin declining quickly. His window of opportunity to financially enrich himself as a by product of his athleticism is closing fast. His decision to smoke ganja is most definitely not forgotten.

The NFL and the sports world is basically ignoring Lewis's massive huge life altering (ending for the two men) action and almost rewarding him. While Browner, who committed a much less heinous crime, is being asked to pay a huge price for his transgression. The NFL needs to be dragged into the 21st century and made aware of what issues matter in the modern world. They need to get their priorities straight. They also need to eliminate the blatantly obvious double standard that stardom brings.

Sources: USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated again, CBS Sports

Pacer vs Heat

I have never really been a fan of the NBA. When Seattle still had a team I would watch the occasional game and I almost always watched their playoff series. Once the team left it was difficult for me to get interested. Last years Eastern Conference Finals was an exception. After just happening to turn on game 5 of that series, I was hooked. The Pacers defensive intensity and the Heat's having Lebron James on the roster, made it a blast to watch.

Going into the 2013 season, I had my usual level of disinterest. But then, Yahoo reminded me of the upcoming Heat vs Pacers regular season rematches.This piqued my interest. Would Lebron be able to overcome the pressure defense of Paul George, Roy Hibbert, David West and company? Would a single star driven team (the Heat) or the chemistry and teamwork driven team (the Pacers) prevail?

The thing is about this matchup, I still havent decided which of the two teams to root for. The Pacers appeal to me as the underdog and the small market team. They built a team from homegrown players. Starters Hibbert, George and Lance Stephenson were all drafted by the team. Their biggest strength is defense. Roy Hibbert, Paul George, Ian Mahinmi and David West are in the NBA top 10 in DRtg. They are basically the anti-Heat.

The Heat built their team by signing Lebron James, possibly the best player of all time and definitely the best of his generation. They then complimented him by signing Chris Bosh, a skilled power forward and keeping homegrown star Dwyane Wade. Their whole game is based around three really great players playing at an amazingly high level of play. Watching King James play basketball is mesmerizing.

Unfortunately the first contest wasn't shown nationally, so I missed it. But, apparently, the game lived up to the hype. Trailing by seven at half time, the Pacers battled back, took the lead in the fourth quarter and won the game. The Pacers did there team thing with their starters scoring 64 of the 84 points the team scored. On the Heat side, Lebron James scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, living up to his star billing. Sure sounds fun to watch.

I am really looking forward to the next game on Dec 18th. This time the Pacers travel to Miami. If this isn't on regular TV, I will probably go find a bar somewhere because these games are must see TV.



Sources: Yahoo Sports; Basketball-Reference.com

The dichotomy between Seattle two major professional sports teams (sorry Sounders, despite your awesomeness, MLS isn’t a major sport, yet) is stunning. The Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and General Manager John Schneider have created a high quality, fun to watch football team that looks to be a power for years to come. Because of their success, easy to root for players and their approach to the game the Seahawks fan raised my fandom to a whole different level, as I mentioned in an earlier post. On the flipside, the Seattle Mariners have experienced a decade of losing. During that time their front office has been generally incompetent. They have built a unique level of fandom for their few remaining supporters as well; one of complete and total cynicism and distrust of all the moves they make.

Take for example the recent $240 million dollar 10 year deal for All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano. Instead of being excited or optimistic about the deal, I instinctively assume it is the wrong decision and is doomed to fail. All I can think about is how Cano will be 41 years old when the deal ends and how the team will most likely be handicapped by that enormous contract during its second half. Why didn't they just make it five years? Get out while he is 36.

It isnt fair. I should be thinking happy thoughts about how my favorite baseball team (and for years favorite any sport team) just signed perhaps the best offensive second basemen in MLB history. I should be thinking about how this opens the door to other big name free agent signings. It shows the whole sport that Seattle is serious about winning and somewhere that stars should want to play. I should be dreaming of Baseball Tonight top ten lists, All-star games and playoffs. But, I am not. Instead the Mariners decade of failure has chiseled me into a sad, cynic of a fan.

Seriously, could the Mariners fan part of my mind be more different than that of my Seahawks part? I don't think so. Hopefully Robinson Cano can change that, but something tells me he won't.

A Whole Different Level of Fandom

Has anyone else reached a point yet where every time Russell Wilson throws the ball you just assume something amazing is going to happen? I know I have.

Take this week's Monday Night Football (MNF) game against the New Orleans Saints. During the game Wilson loft a huge ball up and out of the screen while being pursued by about 30 Saints players. In years past I would have assume this was a throw away pass. The QB just trying to get the ball out of bounds, minimize the damage of a failed play and move on to the next down. Instead, yesterday when Wilson threw the pass up, I just instinctively assumed somebody must be open downfield. Prepped myself to cheer before the cameras even showed us the intended receiver. Than BAM, my expectation became reality as pass hit WR Doug Baldwin in stride for about a 60 yard gain.

 I think my current confidence in Wilson became even more apparent when during a red zone trip in the second quarter, Russell again evaded the Saints rush and hucked a pass to his left. Before we could see the intended receiver I just assumed TD, but this time I wasn’t rewarded. Jermaine Kearse dropped what was a beautifully placed throw. I have become so accustom to Wilson always making the play that I was shocked when something actually didn’t go right, even if it wasn’t Wilson’s fault.

This must be what New England Patroits fans feel like. This expectation that things will go your way, have to go your way. Your team is always going to win. As a fan it is an awesome feeling and I am loving every minute of it. However, I do hope that we as a fan base can do a better job of controlling these emotions and not end up becoming like New England fans, who have an entitlement complex that causes everyone else to hate them. I hope that we can ride this high and love every minute of it, but still stay humble just like our amazing quarterback.

Regardless of how the rest of the NFL thinks of us as a fanbase, one thing is for sure though, Russell has changed the way I watch and root during Seahawks game. This new confident edge of your seat experience is awesome!