Being an elite quarterback in the NFL is one of the most prestigious positions in sport. The best are famous, rich, promoted, fawned over by the press and television broadcasters and analysts. Of course, you, or more precisely, your football team, needs to win games, and if you’re the one leading them to victory, especially late in the game, come from behind victories, and you become legendary. If not, you become worse than a has-been, you become a “never-was.”
Two quarterbacks who were often considered on the brink of elite status are Tony Romo and Jay Cutler. Romo was a top QB with the Cowboys, but this past season, injuries and the emergence of fourth round draft pick Zac Prescott kept Romo off the field. The fact that the Cowboys returned to the ranks of the elite teams in the league didn’t hurt. Age and injuries didn’t help Cutler either, although the Bears, where Cutler has started for the past 8 years, went in the opposite direction, 3-13 last year.
Often, Romo and Cuter were discussed in the same sentences because both seemed to throw interceptions at exactly the wrong times, with the game on the line. In Romo’s case, the picks were attempts to throw into tight spaces, but still, the Cowboys never seriously challenged for Super Bowl appearances often it appeared do to Romo’s errors. (In actuality, football is a game that can never be attributed to one man, good or bad.) Cutler however, was more frustrating. Despite having a cannon for an arm, Cutler always seemed to make the bad throw. Often, it was because of miscommunication with the receiver, but still, the throws were never close to the receivers, they were 5 to 10 yards beyond the receiver.
As I wrote above, Romo was sometimes called Cutler of the South or Cutler was called Romo North, but both of them are together today. The Bears announced that they would be cutting Cutler; at almost the same time, it was reported that the Cowboys would be cutting Romo, then, it was reported that the Cowboys were trying to seek a trade. Either way, the two mid-30 year old QBs are looking for new homes. Romo made headlines in his time in Dallas dating celebrities, but eventually, he settled down with former model/actress Candace Crawford. Cutler married reality TV star Kristin Cavallari. Romo has two children; Cutler has 3. Cutler has never been beloved in Chicago – his aloof demeanor (reportedly greatly undeserved according to teammates) alienated the fans. Cavallari made few friends by complaining about the difficulty of getting movie and television roles while living in Chicago. (The worse offense to me has been their steadfast refusal to get their children vaccinated – this is a public health risk to others, not just their children.)
The future for both is unclear. Romo reportedly wants to play for Denver or Houston, but neither team seems to be clamoring for his services. Cutler has been on the trading block for weeks, but again with no takers. Of course, why give up assets in a trade when you know that if no one trades for him, he will just get released, which is exactly what happened. It was been reported that Cutler may just retire if the right situation doesn’t present itself.
Both men are near the end of their careers, Romo may be the better QB, and maybe he has more takers than Cutler, but Denver has two young QBs, Paxton Lynch, who is projected as the QB of the future, and Northwestern’s Trevor Siemian, who did a decent job last season and the Texans just paid a great deal of money for former Bronco Brock Osweiler, who had an awful season. Still, they may not want to throw good money after bad.
It seems that Romo and Cutler will be forever linked, but I’m not going to be as harsh as some. I think they’ll be remembered not as elite quarterbacks, but as almost-weres, not never-wases.

One would like to think that “Captains of Industry” are sane, rational people. After all, they built a business, or at least inherited a business from someone who knows what they’re doing. Since the owners of sports franchises generally run successful businesses, one expects sane, rational decisions. Unfortunately, sports owners are humans, like the rest of us, but with egos above and beyond even “normal” billionaires. We have Jerry Jones of the Cowboys and Daniel Snyder of the Redskins who have runaway egos, but who seemingly listen to no one, buried in their own hubris.
However, it seems now two NBA franchises have surpassed the Cowboys and Redskins as the most dysfunctional franchises. Locally, there are the Chicago Bulls, led by Owner Jerry Reinsdorf. The Bulls of course were one of the most successful franchises in the league during the Michael Jordan era, and it looked as though good times had returned when local hero Derrick Rose became the youngest league MVP in history. Injuries and misfortune plagued Rose and the team and finally, last summer, Rose was traded to New York. In turn, Head of Basketball Operations John Paxson and GM Gar Forman tried to replace Rose with former All-Star and Champion Dwayne Wade and former All-Star with considerable baggage, Rajon Rondo.
The team has been inconsistent, currently 30-30 and in 7th place in the Eastern Conference which would be a playoff spot, but it’s been a rough season. Rondo has been the same disruptive force he was in Boston and elsewhere; Wade and Rondo called out the other players on the team for not giving their top effort. All the while, Bulls star Jimmy Butler was rumored to be on traded, but Paxson and Forman, called Gar-Pax by detractors, kept Butler but other trades were made especially Taj Gibson, a solid player who went out of his way to be a good teammate.
Reinsdorf values loyalty over everything, which is the only reason that Gar-Pax still have jobs. Wade has an opt-out clause in his contract, so he could be a free agent at the end of the season. It will be difficult to find someone to take Rondo off their hands. The team needs an overhaul, but they are in that no-man’s land of being good enough to make the playoffs, but not a serious championship contender.
I guess it could be worse – the Bulls could be the Lakers where Jennie Buss, daughter of late owner Dr. Jerry Buss, hired Magic Johnson as head of basketball operations and fired her brother and GM Mitch Kupchak. It is almost a stereotype for the children of the very rich to fight each other for control of the estate, the riches. The Lakers have fallen from atop the standings in the glory days of Kareem, Magic, Wilt, West, even Kobe and Shaq. Magic Johnson was a coach for awhile but couldn’t make a winner because in general, superstars can’t turn into good coaches or GMs. Jordan, Isiah Thomas, and many others have tried it, only Larry Bird has been consistently successful, but even his Indiana Pacer teams have never accomplished the ultimate, an NBA title.
It is a matter of argument as to which one, the Bulls or Lakers, once proud franchises, is the most dysfunctional.

As I’ve written often, when your team is not in a championship game, you either find a team to root for, or, you find a team to root against. If there’s neither, then you just hope for a great game. Yesterday’s Super Bowl LI was such an example. You hope for a great game and, for most fans outside of the Northeast, were rooting against the New England Patriots.
For one thing, the team has been caught cheating, whether or not you believe in the veracity of Deflategate. Of course, QB Tom Brady has been on a mission ever since the NFL won the court case that confirmed Commissioner Roger Goodell’s four game suspension at the start of this season. Everyone outside of New England generally hate the Patriots, in part because they have been accused of cheating, but more – because they have participated in seven Super Bowls, winning four before yesterday. It also doesn’t hurt that Coach Bill Belichick is about as dour and unpleasant a person as you can imagine.
Mostly however, like most teams that get hated, it is their fans that cause the most ire and Boston fans are among the most outspoken, the most defensive. I wonder if, like Michigan State, Boston has an inferiority complex, for decades always overshadowed by New York? I believe that Michigan State fans are the most obnoxious in the Big Ten because of their jealously and hatred of Michigan. Politically, Brady, Belichick and Patriots’ owner Bob Kraft are Donald Trump friends and supporters, giving people yet another reason to want to see the Patriots not only lose, but lose badly.
They looked like they were going to have their wish with the Falcons opening up a big lead. The game was a great analogy for a typical Falcon season recently. The team started off very well, the teams feeling each other out in a scoreless first quarter, then turnovers propelled NFL MVP Matt Ryan and the high-powered offense to 14 points bolstered by an 80+ yard interception return for a touchdown and a 21-3 lead at the half. Then, like the second half of Falcons seasons lately, the team sputtered. One final TD and then the offense was completely stymied. Belichick’s defense forced Ryan to fumble and then comeback was on. In addition, the long drives kept the Falcon defense on the field, and they eventually wore down.
The best players come up big in the biggest games and Brady knows just what to do. He was able to move his offense down the field all day, but the young and fast Falcon defense held the Patriots out of the end zone for 2 ½ quarters, but I had a feeling that something would give. The Falcons defense had the worse red zone scoring record in the league (gave up more touchdowns to teams when they got inside the Falcons’ 20). Once the Patriots tied the score and sent the game into overtime, it was over. Even if the Falcons had won the coin toss, they were in shock. They were so certain of victory when they had the 25 point lead, when the Pats came back, they came unglued. Matt Ryan was completely overmatched, Belichick pulled his magic once again.
Now, everyone is proclaiming, with five Super Bowl victories and 5 Super Bowl MVP awards, Tom Brady is getting what he wants – vindication for Deflategate, and being crowned as the best player of all time. Better than Montana; better than Bradshaw; better than Elway or Favre; the “GOAT” Greatest of All Time; and he does have a strong case. This season, injuries decimated his receiver corps. While Julian Edelman had a great game and perhaps the catch of a lifetime over two Falcon defenders, he’s hardly a household name. Danny Amendola is a dependable receiver as well, but nowhere near the threat All Pro tight end Rich Gronkowski, who was lost for the season, is for the Patriots. In fact, another key Brady target was Malcolm Mitchell, a 24-year-old rookie from Georgia. He caught 6 passes for 70 yards and was the speedy wide-out that allowed the others to get open.
So, the Patriots are champions, Brady goes back to the supermodel wife and beautiful kids, and all of New England gloats at the rest of the league. Like we White Sox fans who have now seen the Cubs win a World Series, we will survive, painful as it is.

As I written for years, if your team isn’t in a championship game/series, rabid fans have two choices: if there’s a team that you hate, you root for the other team. The “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” approach. If you have no team rooting interest, you just hope for a good, close, exciting game.
Unfortunately, the upcoming Super Bowl LI will be the former for most fans. The NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons are in their second Super Bowl but mostly, they’ve been innocuous, a pro team in the land of the SEC, where on given years Alabama or Georgia could give the pro team a serious run for its money on the field. They have never been good enough long enough to be worth hating.
On the other hand, there are the AFC Champions – the New England Patriots, going for their fifth championship. Led by Head Coach Bill “Jedi Hoodie” Belichick and QB Tom Brady, they have annoyed every fan outside of the Boston area. The Patriots have been caught red-handed cheating by filming other teams’ signals, and of course there was Deflategate and the whole issues with the balls. Add convicted murderer, TE Aaron Hernandez, and there’s lots of reasons to despise the Patriots.
Most of all, it’s the attitude of the Patriot fans. Always “second” to New York, Boston fans have taken their obnoxiousness to a high level. It’s like the fan base said – “you think New Yorkers can be obnoxious? Wait until you see us!” After breaking the 88 year “Curse of the Bambino” by winning the World Series in 2004, the fans became expectant that the team would win every year. They did win two more Series, in 2007 and 2013 making the fan base louder and worse than ever.
The long term success of the Patriots despite the ever-looming shadow of cheating has given the Pats faithful even more of an “us vs. them” mentality. Add that Brady, already a Hall of famer was caught up in the Deflategate scandal, and a Donald Trump supporter, is the “golden boy” – white, good looking, married to a model who is worth more money than he is, and beautiful kids, makes Brady an easy target for scorn.
I am certainly with the haters, but there is one small issue that makes this harder: Brady has taken it upon himself to “punish” the league after he finally succumbed to the 4-game suspension levied on him by NFL Commissioner Roger “The Sheriff” Goodell. You know that Brady, Belichick and owner Bob Kraft would like nothing more than to have Goodell have to present the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the serial cheaters. Seeing Goodell having to present the trophy while holding his nose in disgust, almost makes one want to see the Patriots win.
Notice however, I used the word “almost.”

There is probably no more disjointed franchise in all of sport right now than the Chicago Bulls. We should have seen it coming – the Bulls got rid of oft-injured guard Derrick Rose, making it forward Jimmy Butler’s team. Through free agency, the team added Chicago area star Dwayne Wade – OK, the senior guard still has some game left and his experience after winning three NBA Championships, could only help a young team, right? Then they signed guard Rajon Rondo, a man who, after helping the Celtics win in 2008 has been injured a good portion of the time, and made himself a major pain for coaches and teammates the rest of the time.
The Bulls are Rondo’s fourth team in three years and while Rondo’s output has declined, his mouth has only accelerated. Considering how poorly the Bulls performed in last season’s soap opera between Rose and Butler, disrespecting Joakim Noah and causing Pao Gasol to exercise his free agency option early to leave for San Antonio. One would have thought that owner Jerry Reinsdorf, EVP for Basketball Operations John Paxson, GM Gar Forman and Head Coach Fred Hoiberg would have wanted calmer seas this season, but the signing of Rondo was like throwing a stick of dynamite into a gasoline refinery.
The team started well, going 11-6 through December 2. Since then the team has gone to 13-19 since to a 24-25 record as of now. Then Butler and Wade went public. First, Wade told reporters that he would opt out of his contract if the team’s losing continued. Wade and Butler made statements that they were disappointed with the rest of the team’s attitude toward losing and hustle. Rondo went on Instagram to blast the two leaders, which made everyone angry. Rondo has been benched and not allowed to dress for earlier outbursts; why did they think that bringing in Rondo would be a positive?
Coach Hoiberg benched Butler and Wade for the start of the Bulls’ game against Wade’s old team, the Heat, which the team lost. Last night, the Bulls defeated a resurgent 76ers team with all hands on deck. Paxson and Forman have been on the hot seat for a long time, but Hoiberg had gotten a bit of a free pass as an ex-player during the Bulls’ glory years for last year’s underachievement as a first year coach. The benchings made Hoiberg look ineffective and now there are calls all over town that the three of them need to be fired.
Considering the way that Paxson and Forman treated ex-coach Tom Thibodeau along with poor draft picks and the way Rose was handled, these two men deserve to be on the hot seat. Hoiberg’s honeymoon is over; now many pundits are questioning his hiring. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf is notorious for his loyalty, but he presides over two of the most troubled franchises in sports – the White Sox who have languished in mediocrity for several years despite efforts to bring in high priced free agents. Last year’s Adam LaRoche (son constantly in clubhouse) and Chris Sale (cutting up retro uniforms) incidents briefly placed the Sox as the team most in need of group therapy. The Bulls now have taken that crown.
One must ask whether Reinsdorf in his later years has allowed loyalty to trump sports and business acumen. Remember it was with Reinsdorf’s blessing that loyal minion Jerry Krause dismantled the team that had won six NBA titles in eight years by running Phil Jackson out of town and pushing superstars Michale Jordan and Scottie Pippen to leave/retire. Reinsdorf teams have won seven championships, but none since the White Sox in 2005. The only person in authority who has been with the franchises over that time is the owner. Unfortunately, you can’t fire the owner.

When it comes to being stopped by police, no black man is immune; not even if he won a Heisman Trophy while playing for your in-state school. Former running back Ricky Williams says he felt he was racially profiled during a police stop in Tyler, Texas last week. Williams discussed it Wednesday during a radio interview.
“It was the middle of the day in the parking lot in the hotel,” Williams said on Austin’s KLBJ (as transcribed by the Tyler Morning Telegraph). “They had me put my hands behind my back. They didn’t cuff me. They had me take everything out of my pockets and they started questioning me. I started to get upset. They told me to calm down. I said you don’t know what it’s like to be a black man, and it’s not the first time (police have stopped me for no reason).”
After his interview on KLBJ, police attempted to clear up the situation by releasing a statement and a video of what happened. The full statement can be read on KLTV.com, and essentially police were responding a 911 call from a man who “observed a black male, wearing all black, crouched down behind his wire fence.” Reportedly, that man was Williams, who claims he was just going on a walk before the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award ceremony, which he attended. Williams said when he returned from his walk, he was met by four police officers outside of his hotel.
Police say they spoke with Williams briefly and performed a legal search. They released him with no arrest, but Williams still felt disrespected. “I hope that after this situation, they realize that black lives do matter. I’ve never wanted to say that, but this was a time where it fits,” Williams said. “It fits in Tyler in that moment.”
Now, I could get off on a rant about police and Texas, but I won’t. I’m only glad that tempers did not get out of control and we’re not talking about Ricky Williams’ funeral. It’s funny – a young man is the toast of the state when he was in college setting records, after he’s done entertaining the alums and boosters, he is forgotten.

After going two decades without a presence in the City of Angels, the city of Los Angeles had the Rams return to town, and now, they have the Chargers moving in from San Diego. Owner Dean Spanos The NFL Loves L.A.
After going two decades without a presence in the City of Angels, the city of Los Angeles had the Rams return to town, and now, they have the Chargers moving in from San Diego. Owner Dean Spanos has tried to negotiate a new stadium for the team for years, but each referendum has failed. The Chargers are one of the remaining AFL teams and one of the few that remained in their original home. Over that time, the Chargers have had some standout teams and players, especially Dan Fouts, Kellen Winslow, Wes Chandler, and Charlie Joiner from the Don Coryell “Air Coryell” years and more recently, the play of LaDanian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates and Philip Rivers.
The team has been very odd for the past several years, often starting out losing a lot of games and then struggling to try and make the playoffs late. Some years, this backwards pattern has worked, but most of the time, the Chargers were on the outside looking in. Still, the Chargers drew fans – the only professional team playing that hadn’t moved to L.A.; now the Chargers will join the Clippers moving north.
I have always been old school when it comes to franchises moving – if the fans support a franchise by buying the tickets, showing up to games, buying the merchandise, then the unwritten but important contract that a team has with its city should be upheld. However, at the same time, with many municipalities and states struggling for money, it is a hard sell to commit millions of taxpayer dollars to what is really civic extortion. Billionaire sports owners demanding a new stadium or they’ll move to another location.
The Chargers’ situation is a bit unusual because they have been playing in the same stadium for 4 decades. The stadium did need to be updated, even without the corporate suites and other amenities that the other owners/stadiums have. Cities have learned a little bit however, demanding that the owners pony-up some money to go toward the new facilities, but still, there are lots of things like education, sanitation, and other vital public services that this money can be used for. Plus, despite all of the smoke and mirrors that has been the “conventional wisdom” for decades, there is no great economic benefit in terms of jobs from a professional sports team and new stadiums. So, I can understand why the people of San Diego said no to a new stadium at the risk of losing their team.
Still, Los Angeles seemed to be perfectly happy without an NFL team. The Rams returning from St. Louis was met with some enthusiasm, but considering that the team wasn’t very good, the initial cheers faded into silence. Also, since residents go to games it seems, just to be seen, and then, in the case of the Dodgers, much of the audience leaves around the 7th inning to get out of the stadium parking lots to go home.
So, we now have the Los Angeles Chargers, with a logo that looks like it was copied from the Dodgers. Will the sports fans of Los Angeles support not one but now two teams? The city is big enough, certainly, but with the sun and the beach and the big movie stars that work there, will anyone notice, unless of course, one of the teams become legitimate Super Bowl contenders?