First, the praise writer portion of this post: I appreciate Paul Daugherty's columns. They are well thoughtout. I appreciate writers that can take a stand on a position and stick with it. You may not agree with his opinions, but the guy has style.
Now, the point of the post:
Hamilton County Municipal Judge John Burlew went on the offensive against the NFL for "promoting alcohol consumption during games but punishing their employees for drinking" calling the NFL hypocrites. The judge has a point, doesn't he?
You can't lay blame of Odell Thurman against the NFL because they promote alcohol. Daugherty takes the judge to task.
"Look at any tailgate party," Burlew said. "We're saying that ingesting alcohol is good. What (Thurman) is essentially being punished for, what the NFL is saying is, 'You're a discredit to our organization because you have a legal substance in your body that we make lots of money promoting.' "
No disrespect, your honor.
But you can't be serious.
Burlew leaves the impression that Thurman is not responsible for his actions. Burlew suggests Thurman can't discriminate between drinking legally and blowing more than twice the legal limit. The judge suggests that is the NFL's responsibility.
Well, no, it's not.
Is the NFL hypocritical on occasion? Oh, yeah. The league sanctions/encourages the sort of violence that would get the rest of us jail time. Then when its retired employees emerge from the ritual muggings broken like eggs under truck tires, the league isn't so good at helping them with the Scotch tape.
And yes, the NFL has made billions selling sponsorships to beer companies. So has every other pro sports league. Football fans like to drink beer. The league also sells sponsorships to snack makers and car companies. Should it be held accountable if a fan spends his last dollar on a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos instead of a brake job, then wrecks his ride?
Good news on the injury front.
Levi Jones is back to practice and Lewis didn't rule out "Perry starting the season on the roster instead of the physically unable to perform list". Jones could start against Atlanta Monday Night. Also, Jeremi Johnson is back.
Q & A with Chris Perry. [DDN]
Perry says rehab is 'going well' [DDN]
Other notes in above linked articles.
- No Trotter for you!
- Henderson placed on IR for the year Tuesday
Other articles.
- On Skyler Green
Is Brooks on the edge of losing his starting job before preseason game #3?
Appears that way. He's been pretty bland in the first two games... enter Ed Hartwell. Plus...
Hartwell entered training camp at 235 as a backup to outside linebacker Landon Johnson.
"(The coaches) wanted me to learn outside first," Hartwell said. "I've been playing inside all my life, so I'm a way better inside linebacker than outside."
Could Alex Stepanovich be the odd center out?
Seventh-round draft pick Dan Santucci is running with the third team, and Nate Livings is working at both guard spots and getting snaps at center.
[DDN]
Other nuggets
"It's time for me to show guys and myself that I can play at this level," Rucker said. "They only know me as a guy that's just been here. It's a good feeling to be out there battling with guys instead of standing around."
- Frostee Rucker on being back on the field.
But Lemar Marshall?
Drew Rosenhaus, Marshall's agent, declined comment Wednesday when asked if the Bengals have been in touch.
He was officially signed Thursday.
Bengals sign LB [Curnutte's Blog]
The last two seasons, the former St. X player has 202 tackles, 3.5 sacks and four interceptions -- one returned for touchdown. [NFL.com]