Jonathan Says

NFL

Up to this point, I haven’t really been able to form much of an opinion on new NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. I think he has handled the situation with “Pacman” Jones extremely well, but his lack of action with Jaguars receiver Matt Jones (who recently pleaded guilty to cocaine possession) continues to puzzle me. However, if there is one thing that I absolutely agree with him on, it’s the retraction of the $7,500 fine handed out to Giants defensive end Justin Tuck. Tuck was fined for what was deemed unnecessary roughness against Cowboys quarterback Brooks Bollinger. When I saw that Tuck was being penalized for the hit, I was dumbfounded. There was nothing dirty about it-in fact, it was a textbook tackle. It might have been a bit late, but that is what 15-yard penalties are for.

The fact is, the game of football is a contact sport. I don’t mean that to be an obvious statement that I’m trying to pass off as a revelation, but it seems that suits in charge of the NFL have forgotten that. If there is a type of hit that tends to cause injury (horse-collaring or chop-blocking), then yes, perhaps a fine should be given for its use. However, fining someone for tackling the quarterback in the same way that is taught in pee-wee leagues is ridiculous. For that reason, I’m happy to say that I agree with Goodell’s decision to retract the fine and let the players play. Now if he’d only be so quick to deal with players who are breaking federal laws .

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

I hate Charlie Weis. I hate his cocky attitude and the team he coaches. Nothing would make me happier than seeing him fail and making Notre Dame the worst program in college football. However, I don’t think the talk of him being on the hot seat is warranted. His teams haven’t been national championship caliber, but this year’s squad certainly has shown improvement over last year. More importantly, most of the contributors on this year’s team are young-meaning they will be around for a few more years to only get better. Unfortunately (for me), Weis will probably be able to take advantage of this and turn the team back into a juggernaut, making the talk of him being in danger of losing a job all but irrelevant. Also, after last year’s contract extension, could the Notre Dame administration afford the buyout (somewhere around $20 million) to get rid of Weis? Probably not (especially in this economy), so for now, it’s full steam ahead for the Weis Express.