This week, speculation grew that the NFL will play the 2010 Pro Bowl in Miami, instead of Hawaii, to increase profits. And that the game will be played a week before the Super Bowl. Personally, we think this is brilliant. B.R.I.L.L.I.A.N.T. What better way to make the most uninteresting all-star game in professional sports somewhat, worth watching? What better way to increase your profits (or force people to stop wearing those damned hula shirts while I'm freezing my ass off in Ohio weather)? Playing it before the Super Bowl, while we're starving for football after hours, upon hours, upon hours of media coverage, analysis, highlights, with a Prime Time football game in between, at the site of the NFL Championship game could actually increase a fan's likeliness to watch the game (now that is a run-on sentence). Personally speaking, meaningless football games after watching NFL playoff games and college bowl games seems empty. With one Championship game to go, I might be more willing to tune in.
There is a possibility that the Pro Bowl will move back to Hawaii in 2011, then back to the mainland (or "back to America" as Brian's ex-girlfriend Julian would say). However, there will be one Cincinnati Bengals there. . You know Chad Johnson's always where the stars are going to be (and he has ties there).
When you fire your two most important positions, it doesn't make things stable. Mike Shanahan was dumped as the Denver Broncos head coach and general manager on Tuesday. Broncos fans are shocked, disappointed, understood, appreciative. Broncos owner Pat Bowen said that "after giving this careful consideration, I have concluded that a change in our football operations is in the best interests of the Denver Broncos." This was after, like several hours after, John suggested that the Broncos need to focus on stability.
From a Bengals perspective, the only shock value we could possibly have is "Holy s%$t, they actually fired Bob Bratkowski?".
Why we believe Brown won't change, and why change is coming. You know people are forever scarred, when you have to justify that the opponents we played (and won) in the past three games isn't something to get excited about. Silly me. And all this time I'm here thinking that wins is the whole point. AP writer, Joe Kay, makes the connection that the team's three game winning streak will mean "NO CHANGE". Kay, however, fails to point out this mythical signed document in blood where Mike Brown would change if the Bengals met certain clauses. In fact, anyone claiming that the winning streak hurt the team's chances of "change", fails to produce any agreement of promised change.
The news that the Bengals were looking into the direction of hiring a general manager during the final week of the season. The final week. After beating the Redskins and shutting out the Browns. So one could argue, if change was going to be made, it wasn't thwarted by winning back-to-back games. More radically thinking, this blogger believes that any additional mention of "change" is further indication that Mike Brown isn't changing, rather stepping down.