Please don't take this as a shameless promotion for Nike because I have no intention of giving any extra AD space for a company that gets a ton of it anyway but after viewing there latest commercial, involving the NFL's Ladanian Tomlinson (San Diego Chargers) and Troy Polamalu (Pittsburgh Steelers), I can't speak or write enough about the greatness and high quality conceptually of this spot

The commercial itself speaks not just to fans of the NFL but to all individuals who enjoy hard working athletes... it also says a lot about goal-dreaming, keeping a youthful outlook on life no matter how old you get and respect for mankind (I know that description sounds cheesy but thats how I interpreted it, the first time I saw it, I was sitting next to a random guy at a bar and when the commercial ended he looked over at me and said "Damn, that gave me the chills...in a good way"

Nike has done a ton of uniquely creative sports commercials thru the years but they might of topped themselves with this 1 minute piece...its damn good yall, check it out and pass it along if u haven't already

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlXRengzZoc

If Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers are ready to take that next step and win the NBA Championship they need to take the necessary steps to get rid of Lamar Odom and/or bury him so far on the bench he gets zero playing time. I recommend they do the former. I know they'll be on the hook for the monies he's owed this year but in the end it would work out in L.A.'s favor, they would no longer have 2 falsely rely on a player who's categorized as a elite NBA starter but consistently plays like a Division II Collegiate baller

Lamar Odom has never played up to his god-given talent and he's mentally soft when it comes to off and on the court preparation. He's severly overpaid now, in the final year of a contract thats paying him $17 million, and he has the nerve to be upset with the Laker organization because they haven't given him a new deal. I applaud the Lakers for not seriously considering an extension especially considering Lamar admittted, during the first week of training camp, to the local L.A. media that all he did this summer was drink Corona's and lay out on the beach instead of improving his basketball skills 

For the last 4 years all I keep hearing from Laker fans and media is this: "This will be the year that Odom turns that cornerand becomes an All-Star impact player in the league"...well its year10 for Odom and he hasn't turned that Corner yet and he's never going to turn it, so stop holding your breath. The future is now-this season- for the Lakers, Kobe can opt out of his contract next offseason and who knows if he's going to stick around, and for them to compete and win it all they will need players like Bynum, Ariza and Farmer to step up and be major contributors not Lamar Odom 

The football New York Giants re-signed the malcontent and aloof Plaxico Burress right before the current season started and after his most recent 2 week suspension and the reporting that during his tenure with the Giants he's been fined by the team, for smaller infractions, some 40 to 50 times, it makes u wonder "What in the hell were the Giants thinking when they re-signed Burress?"

I know Burress made the game clinching TD catch during last seasons upset Super Bowl win over the Patriots (he only had 2 catches in the entire game); And some might say talent on the field trumps all when it comes down to organizational personnel decisions and there is a lot of truth in that but when it comes to Plaxico, his actions off the field should of trumped his on the field performance, considering he's not even the best receiver on his team (that distinction goes to Amani 'well dressed' Toomer, Eli Manning looks for Toomer when he needs a clutch catch). His rebuttal and explanation about why he never showed up for practice 2 weeks ago (and was subsequently fined and suspended for that action) and how he feels about it now is cause enough for the Giants to revoke his new contract and release him from the team immediately. He's lazy and has very little to no respect for his teammates and organization; I'm surprised they let it go this long. I know there would be a nightmare court case involved between Plaxico and the Giants, brought on by Plax and his lawyers, if the team were to take that disciplinary stand but some owner needs to show-up and say something and/or do something about these arrogant players(from all Professional Sports) who overvalue their importance to their team (i.e. Chad Johnson, Terrel Owens, Adam 'PacMan' Jones, Manny Ramirez-boston red sox, Stephon Marbury)

I remember a few years back when the Pittsburgh Steelers decided not to re-sign Burrress (another smart move by a team thats known for getting rid of problem 'lack of heart' players) and  upon hitting the free-agent market no team went aggressively after Plaxico to sign him to the deal--much to his dismay; during the 11th hour the Giants finally stepped up and signed him to a modest deal (Plax was looking to break the bank but all he really did was lightly tap it) now we all know why  Plaxico Burress gets no 'love' or 'respect' from his current teammates , he's a 'personality' fraud

Big Ben Roethlisberger is the best QB in the NFL not named Tom Brady, despite his injuries and offensive line issues he continues to get better and play at a high level and there's no pass route he can't complete. And of course he's come into his own as a team leader and consumate professional

Yes, he takes a lot of sacks (half of his total over the last year and a half is not contributed to the O-Line but it has more to do with Ben holding on to the ball too long because he's always looking to make a play down-field--Ben has stated many times that his O-Line is not the weakness there often described to be ) but coach Tomlin is willing to take those sacks because he knows there will be 3 or 4 other occasions in the game where Ben will make an outstanding improvised play to pull his Steeler team ahead or complete a comeback 4th qtr/overtime win

He's already, arguably, apart of the best QB class of all-time (2004...Rivers/Eli Manning) and now with a Super Bowl win under his belt and potentially many more down the road there's no way you can't include Roethlisberger in the same sentence as Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.....right?

Are there any NFL studio shows from any of the networks that are entertaining and insightful enough to keep your attention for an hour or longer? I say no...outside of 1 in-studio bright spot on each network show (NBC-Costas, CBS-Dan Marino, Fox-Howie Long, ESPN-Chris Carter, NFL Network-Jaime Dukes) the rest of the experts and hosts are boring, predictable and exxagerated. The best football anaylses are on national sports talk radio shows, they seem to be pulling ahead of network and cable TV NFL talk shows