Wembley Wondering

Some REAL football in Wembley! Kidding, folks.
(espn.com)

Why have I been speaking in a God-awful British accent all day? Oh yeah, it must have rubbed off on me from the television by watching the Pats play in Wembley against the Bucs yesterday. I guess the accent is as much of an excuse for me as it was for CBS to constantly play Fergie's 'London Bridge' every chance they got, which if anybody from CBS knew what it actually refers to, they would have yanked it out of their playlist before the FCC went "Nipplegate" on them. Anyhoo, it was another impressive game by the Patriots who seem to have gained their groove on the offensive side of the ball as of late with the combined score of 94-7 against their past 2 opponents. But more important issues are sprouting in my head that go far beyond this team, to a team that doesn't exist, not yet anyway. The success of this event now has spawned the thought of an NFL franchise that will be based in the city that brought us Big Ben, Hugh Grant, and Mr. Bean. Hopefully, this idea stops as a thought. It's great that an abundance of British fans are showing up and enjoying this annual Wembley Bowl of sorts, but it's no excuse to start using football as another tool for the Manifest Destiny. This Wembley game should be treated as that glorious pony show that comes once or twice a year that is beautiful in its rarity, like European football does on this side of the pond in their preseason. I mean, even top-notch rivalries would be bland if they were played every game of the season. With all the dangers of expansion involved, it will be as easy for our friends in the Motherland to tune out as quickly as they tuned in.

What, I'm playing the other football? Honest mistake.
(www.theage.com.au)

From what I have found with the recent soccer epidemic in the United States, sports fanatics enjoy the best of the best of anything, and it totally makes sense in this situation with the British interest with our brand of football. The Brits will probably draw a strong interest on the telly..ehem..television, and many will pick an allegiance just like I have with European soccer (Just don't force me to go to an MLS game). For example, if I were to gain interest in bullfighting, New Jersey wouldn't be my first destination, or my 257th for that matter. But all the interest doesn't entitle a city to a franchise. First, I don't see how the players on the London squad are going to accept the rigorous travel schedule that will be presented to them. Remember, they will have to play 8 across the pond, plus travel state side for their other 8 games. That team will put on as much travel miles as NASA, which will play a negative role on team stamina in a sport that is already compared to being in a car accident. So one will respond: "So how about a new European Division?" Honestly, I don't think the sport will ever catch on in Europe enough to gain any sort of long-term stability. It's as good of an idea as having Jim Zorn become the coach of you team. Remember NFL Europe? While the league gave our sophisticated European brethren exposure to pigskin passion, the 12-year experiment ended up costing the NFL up to $30 million a season. Like I hinted with the bullfighting reference, football is a local phenomenon when it's all said and done, and I'm okay with that. As much as it always sounds like a great idea to expand globally in business, it doesn't make sense in this situation. Barcelona, Munich, Liverpool and Milan already have their football teams, and they don't kick around a brown prolate spheroid (Big words for ya!). If there was another large expansion of this sport, it has to be two things to compete with a giant like the NFL: It has to be niche, and it has to be perfectly executed. It has even been a gigantic task to expand football in these United States, with popular leagues like the Arena Football League having to stop work in the recently sluggish times of this economy, which will probably stunt its potential for future stability and its overall existence. My memory brings me back to last week with the '30 For 30' episode commenting on the rise and fall of the USFL, a league that brought us Jim Kelly, Steve Young, and some of the best touchdown celebrations seen on the planet. The bottom line (pun intended) however, is that despite its contrasting personality to the glum NFL, the USFL's attendance didn't increase in that three year period and the league grew too big too fast without establishing a base. The recent pigskin alternative, Vince McMahon's XFL, became too much of a caricature of the WWE with helmets and pads. On the whole, I have never been a big proponent of willy-nilly expansion in any sport, because it dilutes the talent pool within the league. You have to fill some of the new rosters with some players that have questionable talent, which will later filter into other teams like a pathogen. Combined with that, there is always the threat of placing the franchise in a city that will treat the team as a trend. I feel like these are some of the issues that has doomed leagues like the NHL and is possibly inhibiting the league's future growth. For example, the Nashville Predators make as much sense to me as the "Balloon Boy" family's collective psyche. So let's nix the expansion idea. Besides, we have enough crappy franchises here we need to take care of.

The WOW! Of The Day: Steve Phillips

(image3.examiner.com)

What were you thinking, bro? 'Baseball Tonight' staple Steve Phillips has recently been fired from his duties at ESPN due to the heightened attention to his recent indiscretions with a 22 year old ESPN production assistant. Whether I agree or disagree with nature of his firing has to be completely written in another entry. I mean, does being a bad husband affect your ability to talk bats and balls? But as I always talk about, business rules out above all other factors, especially when your job is in a subsidiary of Disney. Having a famous analyst/revealed adulterer on a highly-acclaimed show on a world-famous network might cause some hardcore stigma to the image that you are trying to present to the public with your product day in and day out. Apparently, sex scandals has been as much of a staple at ESPN as LeBron highlights and Brett Favre-worshiping. Harold Reynolds was dismissed from his 'Baseball Tonight' gig for sexual harassment, Woody Paige had been accused of some "naughty touching" on ESPN grounds and no one can forget the recent Erin Andrews hidden video scandal. Makes me think that Linda Tripp would have a field day in Bristol. Maybe Drew Pinsky should stop by the studio for ideas for his next show. But all I can think about is the big dent that is on the entity known as Steve Phillps's reputation. Not that I condone or support adultery, but isn't the point of the hotel industry to keep your crazy mistress from knowing not only where you live, but to stop her from terrorizing the Mrs. at home? Goes to show you that karma will get its compensation in the end, especially when you are trying to have another life in a haze of deceit and libido. The biggest shocker for me out of all of this is that Phillips has a history of straying from the homestead, as he apparently was indulging in some extramarital romping and was caught in some harassment allegations while working a GM for the Mets in 1998. So now he will get treatment to curb some of his demons and will probably stand in line for the MLB Network, so he can be talking baseball.......right next to Harold Reynolds.


And those are my last written words of my 23rd year on this planet. Here's to a prosperous and more creative 24th!