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The first NFL preseason publication, Athlon Sports Pro Football, hit racks around the country sometime over the weekend.

In the last few years I hadn’t bought Athlon. I thought they had traded the compilation of a lot of important news in exchange for being the first magazine on the racks. But this was Memorial Day weekend and I had some free time on my hands at the cabin of some relatives. So I decided to pick it up. Read the rest of this entry »

Mike Florio has done a nice job building his Web site into a national phenomenon. But he was better when he had to pick and choose the issues on which he weighed in because of time constraints stemming from his legal job (though it rarely seemed like he actually had any law-related work to do). Now it seems as though he feels he has to weigh in on every single little thing that comes up. And much of what he floats is simply ridiculous.

In recent weeks, he has posted his opinion that:

- The Vikings should bench Adrian Peterson because he fumbles too much – did he look up the per carry fumbles of other young, future star running backs like Eric Dickerson, Tony Dorsett, Walter Payton, et al? And when he fumbled at the end of the Chicago game (which by the way was lost at least equally if not more so by an ineptly played special teams performance and a defense that generated no pass rush and gave up 36 points to the Bears) it was his first drop in four games. Furthermore he ran for nearly 1400 yards and 18 touchdowns this season – and was criticized throughout the season for not breaking enough big runs. For those numbers in, potentially, a down season, I’ll take seven fumbles.

- The NFL eliminating supplemental revenue sharing likely wouldn’t affect the league’s competitive balance because it never has before. This simply ignores the fact that there has been a salary cap preventing teams from dramatically outspending their league brethren the way the Yankees outspend every other team in Major League Baseball. Does he seriously think that owners like Daniel Snyder and Jerry Jones wouldn’t do the same thing the Yankees do in an uncapped NFL?
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When I first tuned into the San Francisco-Chicago game on the NFL Network tonight something seemed different. I heard the crowd noise but the broadcast otherwise was devoid of noise.

I asked my wife, a non-football fan, if she noticed. It took her a minute – she guessed two or three times and couldn’t come up with it.

Then the NFL Network folks fixed whatever the problem was and the announcers and their constant babble were back. But the announcer-free six or seven minutes that started the game were among the most pleasant football viewing I’ve done in awhile. Not that all announcers are bad – but many of them do talk a lot more than they need to in order to make the game entertaining.

Maybe this is something they could learn from.

Fox and the NFL moved kickoff of the Minnesota-Green Bay game Sunday to 3:15 central time because it’s a big game and because it’s Brett Favre’s return to Lambeau Field. No problem – I get that.

Television’s fascination with Favre jumps to yet another level, however, as Fox has announced plans for a Favre-cam.

Yes, Fox will have one of its cameras set to do nothing but follow Favre’s every move from the time he exits the tunnel until the time he returns to the locker room – who knows, maybe they’ll even follow him to the shower. Whatever footage they get will be streamed live on NFL.com.

Really?

I get that it’s a big game and that Favre’s return to the stadium he called home for 16 years is a big deal. But isn’t this taking it a step too far?

There are 53 guys on each team. There’s going to be roughly half the game where Favre is either watching the Vikings’ defense or, more likely, dissecting coaching photos.

Unreal. I didn’t think television’s love affair with the aging quarterback could get any more ridiculous. Clearly I’m wrong.

The Reverend Al Sharpton has a reputation for sticking his nose in places it doesn’t belong, and raising racial issues where they may or may not be warranted, just to see his name in the papers again.

The NFL is no stranger to Sharpton, who has been critical of hiring practices for coaches, assistant coaches and general managers in the past.

Now, Sharpton is targeting another level of the NFL–ownership. And he isn’t just claiming racism–he’s declaring that a potential owner is…”Anti-NFL?”

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