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Introduction

AP - '"What is necessary is an objective investigation," Specter said at a news conference in the Capitol. "And this one has not been objective."
The Pennsylvania Republican was unforgiving of his criticism of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, saying that Goodell has made "ridiculous" assertions that wouldn't fly "in kindergarten." The Senator said Goodell was caught in an "apparent conflict of interest" because the NFL doesn't want the public to lose confidence in the league's integrity.
"They are enormous role models for everybody," Specter said. "If you can cheat in the NFL, you can cheat in college, you can cheat in high school, you can cheat on your grade-school math test. There's no limit as to what you can do. I think they owe the public a lot more candor and a lot more credibility."'

A few months ago when this all broke lose I wrote a post about where it was all headed. The link to the full text is here but below I will post some of the latter part of the article.

I Told You So

From my post entitled "Big Brother is Watching" dated February 14th, 2008:

It was Only a Matter of Time

Well, now they have gone farther. First, they used the excuse that steroids are illegal drugs to begin the investigation, then they said they were lied to so they needed to go farther, then they said they needed to protect kids so they went farther (sound familiar? Weapons of Mass Destruction, Liberating the Iraqi People, Spreading Democracy).

Now, they are going after football. This has nothing to do with the use of illegal substances, this has nothing to do with perjury, this has only to do with our "right to honest football games."

So now we have arrived at the stage where the Federal Government is preparing to directly intervene in the affairs of a major sports league in order to ensure our "right to honest football games." The only question now is, how will they do it? What are their plans to make sure football stays honest?

Well, here's how I think the process is going to go.

Congressional Hearings

This is the logic next step. Congress will call before them Roger Goddell and company to testify about the integrity of the game, the extent to which teams are cheating, and possible collusion between teams and the NFL front office.

They'll even threaten to end the NFL's Anti-Trust exemption. Then what? Will they really break up the NFL? Separate it back into the AFL and NFL? Destroy the Super Bowl? Crush America's largest major sport and a billion dollar generator for the cities lucky enough to land a Super Bowl?

This will drag out for a while, wasting millions of our dollars, and distracting from real issues our government was designed to confront.

Commission to Investigate the Integrity of the National Football League

Shortly after these hearing wind down I'm pretty sure that Congress will "conclude" that it is in the "best interests of the American people" to establish a commission designed to investigate the integrity of the game. They will poke and prod and examine everything that every NFL team does on and off the field.

Maybe they will even have representatives at every team meeting and every practice just to assure ethics are being maintained. All at the cost of millions to the taxpaying public.

Bureau of Fairness in Sports

After that it's only a matter of time before the Federal net gets cast wider to include other sports. The NBA, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, NFL, all of them will be subject to the judgment of Federal authorities charged with ensuring they maintain integrity. That they do not cheat and play the game the right way.

Additional millions and billions will be spent by the Federal government to ensure that athletes compete fairly. That they don't cheat, that they obey the rules set out to the letter. Who knows, maybe they'll even make those rules into laws. Punishable by fine or imprisonment by the Federal Government.

Maybe they will take over punishment from the leagues so that if you violate the rules of the game you will be punished by a public entity rather than a private organization. Maybe they will integrate the major leagues into the greater apparatus of the Federal Government so they can watch it more closely.

Conclusion

We let this happen and by the time somebody steps up to stop it the government's intervention in major sports will be seen as "necessary." After all, they are just trying to protect the children.

The fact that someone who say was have a right!!!!!!! to "honest football" is ridiculous. That's not a right I'm particular concerned with losing. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's not a "right" most people care about. Did you stop watching the Patriots after you found out they cheated? Me neither.

Instead of worrying about our "right to honest football" why doesn't Congress worry about our right to a transparent government? Why don't they worry about our economy and the various wars in which we're embroiled? Why don't they worry actually trying to do the things for which governments are established?

...That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it... (Declaration of Independence)

I don't believe the Founders were talking about our "right honest football." I don't think they would be applauding Congress' actions now. In fact, I think they may encourage us to enact our final right described above, before it's too late.

No doubt many who read this will think I'm being ridiculous. I wonder, a year ago if someone told you a Senator would be concerning himself (as a legal matter) with cheating in the NFL you would've said it was ridiculous.

Well, now they are and we must begin to seriously discuss what they will do next.

Conclusion (Part Deux)

And so it has come to pass. This all began benignly enough. We have charged Congress to protect us, to preserve us, to care for us, and to tell us what is right and wrong. We have enabled the government to step in and spend money and time on things like the NFL when half a world away citizens are sent to die in a sandbox for an unknown cause.

When responsibility is handed over to government and our sense of entitlement increases the growth of State power is inevitable. We believe that it is the government's job to secure our entitlements and to use any means necessary to do so. We can't be expected to raise our own children, handle our own finances, manage our own health, defend ourselves and our families, or even oversee our own pass times.

And so the government reins in society to raise "good Americans," steals our money in order to provide us "Social Security," regulate our personal habits to ensure our health, invade foreign nations to protect us (while leaving our border completely undefended), and investigate our sports organizations to provide us "honest football."

Some people are happy that Congress is investigating this situation because they hate the Patriots. These people mystify me but they also explain to me how we got here. People are naive enough to believe that if they hand over their power to government it will act only on their behalf and never against them. Well, when the popular claim that "every" NFL team does this is proven true I wonder if they will be surprised when Congress goes after their team?

This is what happens when "rights" become "entitlements." Rights are something to be protected, entitlements are things to be given. But for everything that is given something must be taken: and in this game what is taken is freedom.

I'm sorry to say but "I told you so..."

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Introduction

While the Cowboys have been relatively quiet this off season the media channels make it seem like they are the most active team. Every day there is a new rumor or expansion of a rumor associated with them. It seems every NFL player that is unhappy where they are seems ready to jump to Dallas.

Even though they often name other teams Dallas is always focused on for three years. One, they are the Cowboys,  America's Team. Everybody loves or hates them so they are sure to draw ratings just by virtue of who they are. Second, they are competitive. An impact player here or there could make them the Super Bowl favorites. Third, Jerry Jones is willing to take risks to get his team to the top.

So, I've been thinking about all these rumors and the upcoming draft and about what the Cowboys could feasibly do over the next couple months.

No McFadden

There's been a lot of speculation about the Cowboys jumping up the draft to get Darren McFadden. Besides not needing a top-five back the money they would have to pay him is simply too great. The Cowboys will sit pat towards the tail end of the draft and, if anything, move out of the first round.

Unfortunately for those who love McFadden and the Cowboys he will not have a star on his helmet come next year.

Pacman Jones and Chad Johnson

These are the two prominent rumors regarding the Cowboys right now. "Pacman" Jones has made it clear that he wants to play for the Cowboys. If he's willing to suck it up and take 90% of the risk then he will. He's good enough for the Cowboys to take a little chance on but he won't be commanding huge money or a high draft pick.

Chad Johnson has made it clear he wants to play anywhere but Cincinnati. He mentioned the Cowboys and suggested that with his addition the Super Bowl is guaranteed. While that's certainly a stretch an throwing game combining the likes of Owens, Johnson, and Witten would be formidable to say the least.

While I originally thought the Adam Jones trade was much more likely I'm beginning to think there's a real possibility with Chad Johnson. This is solely based on some comments by Jerry Jones. He stated that the Cowboys are assuming Terry Glenn won't be back and their number one priority is getting some firepower opposite Terrell Owens. When pressed about whether he thought that firepower would come from the draft Jerry Jones said it wasn't likely.

The Draft

Well, the Cowboys have two first round picks this year. That gives them an edge in this year's draft. Combine that with the fact that they have no glaring needs and they have many options. They will not trade one of these picks to get Chad Johnson or Jones directly but could use them to maneuver.

For the purposes of this piece that's what I will assume the thinking is. These first two choices will be looked at as pieces to build towards these trades.

Pick 22: From the Cleveland Browns for QB Brady Quinn

There is much speculation about what the Cowboys will do with this pick. In this scenario they are going to trade this bad boy to either the Falcons or the Dolphins (who ever offers more). I'm going to assume the Falcons will in order to snatch up a QB the Dolphins otherwise would have. So...

***Dallas Cowboys trade pick 22 to Atlanta Falcons for 2009 First Round Pick and pick 34 (Second Round, pick 3)***

Atlanta Falcons select Quarterback Brian Brohm from Louisville.

This is a repeat of what happened last year when the Browns traded from early in the second round up into the first to insure they got Brady Quinn. Here, I'm betting the Falcons fear the Dolphins scooping up Brohm enough to want to jump up.

Pick 28: Antoine Cason CB/S (Arizona)

This is called hedging your bet. The Cowboys select a good young DB just in case "Pacman" doesn't shake out. They also give themselves someone to groom behind Henry and Newman. If Newman's price is too steep after next season then they will have his replacement waiting. Cason also gives them some depth at Safety and could be moved there if necessary.

This pick gives them lots of options moving forward. They have fulfilled a serious need and set themselves up for the future. They also protect themselves against Jones if they manage to get him and he tanks.

Pick 34: From the Atlanta Falcons for QB Brian Brohm

The Cowboys now have two picks in the second round. They also have two first round selections in 2009. One of which is from a team that seems destined to struggle for years to come (but isn't that what they thought about Cleveland too?).

I think this is where they make their big move. ..

***Dallas Cowboys trade pick 34 (Second Round, pick 3), pick 61 (Second Round, pick 30), and LB Bobby Carpenter to Cincinnati for WR Chad Johnson***

This is about as close to market value as the Browns can hope to get for Chad Johnson. It gives them a lot of options are where to go. They will have three picks in the second round to help bolster their defense and add a talented receiver or whatever they want.

For the Cowboys, it removes a few things. First, Bobby Carpenter hasn't really found a place in this defense. He's out of favor with the coaching staff and seems to need a fresh start. He's young and talented and with the right team could become a stud Line Backer.

Second, they don't have to worry about busting on a WR selection. This will give them the ability to continue to wait on two promising young Wide Receivers (Sam Hurd and Isaiah Stanback) while assuring they are competitive on the field.

Third, they will have some leeway with Terry Glenn. He won't be called on to step immediately back in and will be given some time to heal. If he's anything like what he once was then a one-two-three punch of Owens-Johnson-Glenn will be nearly unstoppable (not to mention the continued presence of Barber, Romo, and Witten).

...and the Rest

The rest of the draft is relatively uneventful (though I'm not sure anything could compete with what they did above). The Cowboys use the later rounds to shore up their Defensive and Offensive lines. With the final few picks they may pick up a DB or two just to keep the churning going on there.

The real story of the rest of the Cowboys draft is this...

***Dallas Cowboys trade pick 157 (Round Five, pick 30) to the Tennessee Titans for Adam "Pacman" Jones***

Jones and the Titans get their wishes. Those are, respectively, to play for the Cowboys and to be rid of Jones.

As the Cowboys demonstrated by using their first round pick on Cason they are not playing games with Jones. He will either come in to compete for a job and stay on the straight and narrow or will be dismissed without hesitation.

With this scenario the Cowboys would be stupid not to at least pick him up. He's a proven talent and a dynamic return man. If he really has learned then the Cowboys have their DB's for the future in Cason and Jones. Henry would be moved to Free Safety and Hamlin to Strong Safety (if the Cowboys so desired) and Williams released after the conclusion of the 2008-2009 season.

Summary

Cowboys acquire WR Chad Johnson from the Bengals, draft CB/S Antoine Cason with the 28th overall pick, and acquire Adam "Pacman" Jones from the Tennessee Titans

WR's: Terrell Owens (81), Chad Johnson (85), Terry Glenn (83), Patrick Crayton (84),Sam Hurd (17),  Isaiah Stanback (86)

CB's: Terrance Newman (41), Anthony Henry (42), Antoine Cason (43), Adam "Pacman" Jones (32), Alan Ball (20)

Conclusion

So after being fairly quiet the Cowboys absolutely take over the hype of the offseason. Their two trades dominate headlines and promise to make them better on both sides of the ball.

By being crafty the Cowboys assure they have two picks in 2009 and many more options then and shore up their Defensive Backfield. The only obvious missed opportunity was a RB but the Cowboys have one more trick up their sleeve when they trade for Ricky Williams...

...just kidding. The Cowboys use a later pick (or two) on a Running Back their willing to take a chance on. It could be a committee of three to at least begin the season but Marion Barber is clearly the starter.

Keep in mind this is a hypothetically and purely for fun. There's no way this would go down but it would be a lot of fun if it did. It would also significantly improve the Cowboys on both sides of the ball and give them plenty of options for the future.

See this post in Stunning HD!

Introduction

"We have a right to honest football games," quoth Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA).

Excellent, now we will have the Feds assuring us "honest" football games. The government of the United States is now and from hence forth will be directing resources generated by the labor of Americans everywhere to ensuring will have "honest football games."

Never mind that we have a War on Terror costing us billions to fight with no clearly defined objective, never mind that we have a sluggish economy which is going to be "stimulated" by a poorly-planned and useless economic "package." Never mind that we habeas corpus is being violated routinely by our own government (an issue we fought a war over). Never mind that in order to fight "terrorism" Americans are going to be scrutinized, examined, and approved by Federal officials and files on each one of us will be collected, maintained, and proliferated to the various states through the Real ID Act.

Never mind any of that, what's really important is that Federal authorities guarantee our "right to honest football games."

A Joke Gone too Far

A couple weeks ago I wrote a few posts on Congress and the President taking action against the New England Patriots. They did so because of the dangerous precedent set by letting Congress investigate steroid usage in baseball and prepare to regulate that sport.

I sincerely hope Arlen Specter does not waste further tax payer money while he's at work by reading my blog because shortly thereafter he actually began the process of intervening in football. He wanted to know why the NFL had destroyed the video tapes and why the penalties against the New England Patriots were not harsher (like what? Give the Eagles a Super Bowl ring?).

Way back when all these steroid scandals were hitting the papers I was one of the ones who said this was dangerous. When Congress called before them baseball players to question them about their usage of drugs I said they had gone too far. Most everyone disagreed. After all this is what they deserved, those smug millionaires defacing "our" sport. Most salivated with the thought that their government was going to prosecute these cheaters.

They dismissed my (and plenty of others) calls for caution as a ridiculous slippery slope argument. This is as far as they'll go, they said, no farther.

It was Only a Matter of Time

Well, now they have gone farther. First, they used the excuse that steroids are illegal drugs to begin the investigation, then they said they were lied to so they needed to go farther, then they said they needed to protect kids so they went farther (sound familiar? Weapons of Mass Destruction, Liberating the Iraqi People, Spreading Democracy).

Now, they are going after football. This has nothing to do with the use of illegal substances, this has nothing to do with perjury, this has only to do with our "right to honest football games."

So now we have arrived at the stage where the Federal Government is preparing to directly intervene in the affairs of a major sports league in order to ensure our "right to honest football games." The only question now is, how will they do it? What are their plans to make sure football stays honest?

Well, here's how I think the process is going to go.

Congressional Hearings

This is the logic next step. Congress will call before them Roger Goddell and company to testify about the integrity of the game, the extent to which teams are cheating, and possible collusion between teams and the NFL front office.

They'll even threaten to end the NFL's Anti-Trust exemption. Then what? Will they really break up the NFL? Separate it back into the AFL and NFL? Destroy the Super Bowl? Crush America's largest major sport and a billion dollar generator for the cities lucky enough to land a Super Bowl?

This will drag out for a while, wasting millions of our dollars, and distracting from real issues our government was designed to confront.

Commission to Investigate the Integrity of the National Football League

Shortly after these hearing wind down I'm pretty sure that Congress will "conclude" that it is in the "best interests of the American people" to establish a commission designed to investigate the integrity of the game. They will poke and prod and examine everything that every NFL team does on and off the field.

Maybe they will even have representatives at every team meeting and every practice just to assure ethics are being maintained. All at the cost of millions to the taxpaying public.

Bureau of Fairness in Sports

After that it's only a matter of time before the Federal net gets cast wider to include other sports. The NBA, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, NFL, all of them will be subject to the judgment of Federal authorities charged with ensuring they maintain integrity. That they do not cheat and play the game the right way.

Additional millions and billions will be spent by the Federal government to ensure that athletes compete fairly. That they don't cheat, that they obey the rules set out to the letter. Who knows, maybe they'll even make those rules into laws. Punishable by fine or imprisonment by the Federal Government.

Maybe they will take over punishment from the leagues so that if you violate the rules of the game you will be punished by a public entity rather than a private organization. Maybe they will integrate the major leagues into the greater apparatus of the Federal Government so they can watch it more closely.

Conclusion

We let this happen and by the time somebody steps up to stop it the government's intervention in major sports will be seen as "necessary." After all, they are just trying to protect the children.

The fact that someone who say was have a right!!!!!!! to "honest football" is ridiculous. That's not a right I'm particular concerned with losing. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's not a "right" most people care about. Did you stop watching the Patriots after you found out they cheated? Me neither.

Instead of worrying about our "right to honest football" why doesn't Congress worry about our right to a transparent government? Why don't they worry about our economy and the various wars in which we're embroiled? Why don't they worry actually trying to do the things for which governments are established?

...That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it... (Declaration of Independence)

I don't believe the Founders were talking about our "right honest football." I don't think they would be applauding Congress' actions now. In fact, I think they may encourage us to enact our final right described above, before it's too late.

No doubt many who read this will think I'm being ridiculous. I wonder, a year ago if someone told you a Senator would be concerning himself (as a legal matter) with cheating in the NFL you would've said it was ridiculous.

Well, now they are and we must begin to seriously discuss what they will do next.

See this post in Stunning HD!

Introduction

Last week I wrote a couple of posts about how Congress was banning the Patriots from the Super Bowl because they cheated and then that the President was going to support the move in his State of the Union.

Some people took it the wrong way, as Patriot basing, which I freely admit I am guilty of. However, my point was criticizing Congress and their meddling in sports. There are more important things for Congress to be worrying about than cheating in sports: a chaotic war, a sluggish economy, a declining dollar, and many more.

I was being tongue-in-cheek last week; then I wake up today and find out that Senator Arlen Specter (R - PA) is calling NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell before him to explain why they destroyed the Patriots' tapes of the Jets' signals.

Integrity of the Game

It all started with Congress taking baseball to task over steroids. That was a move applauded by many observers. They were sick of suspected cheaters succeeding and claiming for themselves some of the most sacred titles in the game. When baseball did nothing, the government stepped in and spent millions of taxpayer dollars investigating the state of Major League Baseball.

Most supporters were simply glad that these players weren't going to get away with cheating. But Congress had a grander vision, they would ensure that cheaters wouldn't succeed so that children wouldn't grow up thinking cheating is the key to success.

When discussing the matter with the New York Times Senator Spector said, "The American people are entitled to be sure about the integrity of the game. It's analogous to the CIA destruction of tapes. Or any time you have records destroyed."

Congress and the Constitution

I would love for anyone to point out where exactly in the Constitution it outlines Congress' role in protecting the "integrity of the game?" Is this really what we want our government doing? They are all ready discussing making it a requirement that public highschool athletes be subject to random drug tests, maybe next they will have a government representative on the sidelines, in the meetings, and in NFL board rooms to make sure they are doing things with "integrity." Sounds almost like what the Soviet Union used to do. Correction, it's exactly what the Soviet Union used to do.

This is no place for government. When Congress began investigating steroids many people, myself included, said this set a dangerous precedent. Those who wanted to see those mighty and corrupt baseball players brought low said we were making a ridiculous "slippery slope" argument.

It appears, that we were all too right. What's next? What sport will be left untouched? There will always be accusations of (and actually instances of) cheating in pro sports so where does Congress stop?

The Bed We Made

As much as I blame Congress for this horrible misuse of my tax money, I also blame all of those who cheered their actions in the steroids issue. There is an old saying that I always apply to any new power we grant to our government officials, "give 'em an inch, and they'll take a mile."

Now, they are taking the first step of that mile. Who knows what new regulations they will impose on the NFL but I'm sure some will be coming. Perhaps there will be a new integrity clause or maybe teams will have to report to a new government bureau to ensure they are doing things "the right way."

Conclusion

I was joking last week, but now, I'm really not surprised. Once we gave to Congress the responsibility of monitoring pro sports it was only a matter of time before they stepped in to the NFL. Now, we just have to hope the damage is limited. That the cost of Congress' new venture isn't too great; that the regulations they hope to impose won't impact the game too much.

This is our bed, though, and now we've got to lie in it.

See the original story here.

January 28, 2008 - Washington, DC - In light of Congress's actions against the Patriots, the President has felt compelled to devote a portion of his final State of the Union to the situation. The crisis began after Congress decided to remove the New England Patriots from Super Bowl XLII and allow the Chargers to advance instead.

The action, which was approved by the President, was in light of the Patriots being caught cheating. Congress has recently mounted a crusade to teach children that cheating is wrong, highlighted by their investigation of steroids in baseball, and felt this action was necessary. Removing cheating from sports has been a major goal of the Federal government over the last several years and Congress has begun acting vigorously to meet this goal.

The press has been asking questions of the administration since the controversial act but the President has remained silent on the issue. The President has decided instead to make the issue the cornerstone of his address and use the speech to highlight the need for the government to help parents raise there children with what President Bush calls, "good values."

Washington insiders believe that new legislation could be introduced shortly which would create a Presidential Commission to Combat Cheating (PCCC). This new commission is envisioned to someday become a cabinet level position akin to the Department of Homeland Security and will be responsible for regulating professional and collegiate sports.

According to sources, Secretary of State Condelezza Rice has expressed interest in heading up the commission; this would trump her desire to become NFL commissioner and the role of pro sports commissioners would be left in doubt.

Many believe this move would be unpopular but suggest that the commission establish a play off system in college football to gain approval. However, the exact desires of the President and plans to combat cheating will be left until after his State of the Union address.