The real irony here is that the NFL is terrified of huge, violent hits, but all this current emphasis does is increase the likelihood of such hits occurring. The key ingredient to the really explosive collisions is speed - speed on the part of both the ball carrier/receiver and the defender. With WRs getting free…

Another GB nitpick: The TE position is probably better now in the aggregate than it was with Finley (and I like Finley), and Ryan Taylor isn't really even in that discussion.

Isn't that what I wrote? He's from the city of St Louis. God Bless him for getting out and documenting what is going on in the greater community, but it's also not a case of him being in the street representing his direct constituents.

That may be, but this post and the link article are all about gear, so to some extent it IS about armor, guns and vehicles. You'll note that the very ideas of training and how to deal with people of all kinds is exactly what I'm talking about as the heart of the matter.

I agree. I just think that conflating the two issues only makes things worse from the standpoint of analyzing either from a public policy standpoint.

Militarization of police forces is an issue worthy of serious discussion, but to the extent that this post is inspired by the ongoing events in Missouri, it should be noted that Michael Brown was killed by a regular cop on the beat with a standard issue police sidearm. Everything else that followed makes for great…

This is in no way a defense of what the police are doing, but Mr. French is not a duly elected alderman in Ferguson. He's from St Louis proper. Simply calling him a "local" alderman obscures this distinction, which is an important one on a number of levels. Being absolutely precise with facts is one of the most…

1) The NFL doesn't want to pay for a developmental league.

Arbitrary is a very good word for encapsulating the ruling. It's like she thought the players were on in the right side as a matter of general principle, but she really had no place to go from there other than throwing together some of the trial testimony from expert witnesses and presenting them as a solution to a…

Watching it live, I was almost certain he was going to fall to his death on Waveland. Nice grab at any age.

Possibly, but going the academy route has its own problems outside of sports like golf and tennis. In team sports, who are these academies going to compete against? * Without organized competition which allows the athletes to improve and showcase their abilities, the system would be pointless.

Well, there could be if the NFL didn't feel the need to shut down every USFL that dares to raise its head. Remember that the jury found the NFL in violation of antitrust laws in how they worked to kill that league. Then they awarded the USFL one dollar.

If you want to make money, go make money.

The argument for paying players is an argument for treating them like employees.

Thanks for that link. So maybe Sochaux's streak of always being in the top French league could continue?

Fair enough. I don't have a great deal of sympathy for the NCAA setup, but I have more than most (who have zero sympathy for the setup), for this simple reason:

I wasn't dodging anything. I was asked to back up an assertion I didn't make. But since you seem so interested, here is why universities can spend more on men's athletics than they can on women's athletics and still be in compliance with Title IX:

As I was replying to a person arguing something I wasn't arguing, it seemed appropriate.

At what point in my posts have I stated anything about equality of funding or made any argument on that basis? You don't even know where I stand on the many issues regarding Title IX and its narrow application to college athletics.

Well, specifics of the coming plans are everything. The entire issue is extraordinarily complex from a legal standpoint. I just think that once the big pieces start moving on this chessboard, all interest groups are going to feel the need to get involved immediately. I'm not commenting at all on the validity of…