Head to Head

Watching the AFC and NFC championship games and wondering, how much longer will we watch football?

Will a future civilized society look back at today's Sundays (and Mondays and Thursdays) of watching super humans in pads and helmets running into each other, bones cracking, brains shaking inside skulls and shake their own heads at our barbarism?

Today I watched a receiver grab the football and bring it close to his body, tucking in and cradling it by bringing his head closer to his chest. As he contracted himself, a defender running at full speed--which is very fast in the NFL--hit him. The defender was trying to get to him before the ball, or even better, to hit him just as the ball came in and cause a drop.

As the receiver lowered his head, the defender crashed into him, helmet meeting helmet. Flags flew. The defender somehow had to be able to stop himself to avoid hitting on the defenseless receiver.

That is an important rule. A rule pushing even the most agile and aware athletes at the top of their ability. Then there's the conflict between pulling up and doing your job. Can it be enforced? When it's enforced it's 15 yards and a first down.

The rules to protect the gladiators are important. They likely are making a difference. But as we watch this crazy game, I wonder how long until it just isn't the same game. More pads, more rules, more whistles.

Moms and dads don't want their kids to play anymore. Young, promising players are walking away. And the issue is increasingly, and finally, becoming an issue. I've known people who loved playing football. I've loved watching it. But as the athletes become bigger and faster and stronger, maybe the game has run it's course.

But don't worry more civilized people of the future. Football is nothing compared to brutality as entertainment of the UFC. Maybe that's football with the pads off.

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Go Blue!

Glad--and relieved--to see the Wolverines win their "bowl" game. I know, it may have been the generic brand cereal bowl, but it's the first time since 2003 that we ended the season on a high note.

The [Wolverines] also carried [retiring Coach Lloyd Carr] to midfield. His players dropped him off and headed straight to the Michigan section for a raucous celebration --AP

Buh-bye, Lloyd. Oh, and Coach, don't let the door hit you on your way out.

Next year, it's Ohio State.

The Coaches

Football coaches have a hard job. I'm not talking about the football coaches of men. No, I mean the football coaches of MIT (men in training). What an opportunity, and what a responsibility.

If I were a coach of MIT, I would hope that I would remember that the boys are learning the game. And I would hope that I would be a teacher.

I would hope that I would look at all the boys and give everyone who was working hard a chance to contribute.

I would hope that I remembered that this is a developmental process and that I would work hard to try different combinations of players. And I would know all of their names.

I would hope that I would remember that this isn't the the NFL or even the Big 10. And that these boys have futures as lawyers and accountants, electricians and drivers, and husbands and fathers and I am preparing them for their real futures, not the canard of becoming the next multi-million dollar franchise.

And I would know that when a boy gives you his heart, that my job is to handle it like the precious gift that it is. And at the end of the season, I would only have succeeded when I return that gift bigger and stronger than when I received it.

That would be my solemn promise. That is, if I were the coach.

The Officials

The 13-year-old finished his football season on a game that was absolutely crazy on officiating. We always tell the kids that they just need to play, and not to worry about the referees, and not to dwell on calls, but that last game was tough.

Anyway, I need to get some football thinking off my chest. I thought, though, that I would start with the officials.



Now THAT'S a call. "Giving him the business." And, repeat the down.

Why Mike? Why?

This is one of those questions that will remain unanswered. Why does somebody do something so bone-headed, that destroys a career and future? Like run a dog-fighting ring.

So let's say I have a $130 million dollar contract, and my red no. 7 jersey is one of the best-selling in the NFL. [Heck, Doc Think bought one, and at least one pair of the Vick sneakers]. And my team isn't even any good.

So, now, I am going to spend my free time running a dog-fighting ring. I am sure that nobody will notice. Or maybe I don't even notice that someone might find this behavior troubling.

Did Paris H. think that? What about Britney? Or Mel? Or Prez Bill? Do they think they will go to jail, lose their kids, be arrested, get impeached?

So I wonder, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? Or not thinking. Were they just doing? Did Vick think that there wasn't an issue with his "hobby"? Or did he just do it (TM?

And then I wonder, is there something that I am doing that would not stand up to scrutiny? Am I at risk of being blinded by my own sense of righteousness? But what if you can't see it until it's too late? Is that what happened, Michael?

Siren's Call

The beach beckons the Doc for our annual sojourn.

I know. It's early for us, but football practice starts in early August and was a big factor in moving the calendar up.

I am looking forward to the 4th over the water. Don't know what to expect, but the key to this vacation is keeping expectations minimal. So, I am expecting sand and hops. Oh, and clearing my head.

And, for my loyal reader, don't worry. I'll be back in a couple weeks.

Vicious Animals vs. Seeds

What's a buckeye?

According to Jon Stewart (who--as we know--is a legitimate news source),

• A buckeye is a gay acorn.

Other ideas:

• A stinky nut that comes off of the Aesculus glabra Willdenow tree
• A fat blob with a football shaped head
• Something wolverines eat for breakfast

"Wolverine?" you say. What's that?

Well, the wolverine has been described as the fiercest creature on earth. Boo-yah!

Years ago, I started a new job and my new boss (a Vanderbilt grad, totally clueless about a Big-10 rivalry) expressed concern that the board president was an OSU grad who had indicated concern about my resume. Specifically my education.

BOARD PREZ: Well, you should know that more Michigan grads screw up at companies than OSU grads.

ME: Well, Dave, I guess they didn't teach analytical thinking at your "school for dummies." The thing is, there are more U-M grads in charge. d'oh! (Anyway, we have better helmets!)

So Dave, this is for you...

GO BLUE!