To be quite honest, the whole County vs. the Bengals debate that's surfacing after the Bengals reached out to revise their current lease, gives me one thing. A massive headache. Not quite a migraine, but the nausea is there. Whether you want to breakdown the letter that was written on October 16, or take a balanced view on it, the fact remains, this deal was negotiated a long time ago when the economy wasn't wrecked. Wasn't Great American Ballpark negotiated similarly -- where's the outrage there?
The Bengals got a sweet deal and yes, the former Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus is currently the Director of Business Development for the Cincinnati Bengals so of course, there's the obvious Area 51 connection. If the Bengals want to revise the lease to help county now with the intention of breaking the lease in seven years, more power to them. If county simply wants to demonize the Bengals as the primary villain for financial crisis in the country, hey, more political points, right? But if you expect either the county commissioners or the team to put everyone else ahead of themselves, then maybe utopian life does exist. The crazy world of business and politics is hardly about helping you. And naturally, we'll dive into this once more information is known.
Rey Maualuga will be meeting with the NFL on Wednesday.
Bill Cowher is complimenting the Bengals, saying:
“They’re a solid team; they’ll be back,” Cowher said Tuesday after the CBS news conference here at the Super Bowl. “Marvin (Lewis) does a very good job of keeping them level-headed and I can see them picking up where they left off. It’s a tough team to play. They play good defense with two of the best corners in the National Football League.
While Boomer Esiason likes the Bengals and what they're doing, he admits:
“For whatever reason, they took a left-hand turn and became the ‘89 Bengals and the ‘88 Bengals the second half of the season,” Esiason said. “You won’t win in this league doing that. You have to throw it.”
Pro Football Weekly rates current players and wonders aloud of their Hall of Fame worthiness. Chad Ochocinco is close with Carson Palmer and Cedric Benson requiring "more data" before rendering judgment.
Is Shawne Merriman washed up and done in San Diego? In other Chargers news, LaDainian Tomlinson isn't happy and won't take a pay cut. PFT writes that he'll have to.