Some light reading for a Sunday morning

Here are a few non-law related articles I've come across recently that I found quite interesting...

First, you've heard at least one of your relatives, classmates or co-workers comment that all Asian people look alike. If we take a look at how well people can identify folks of different races or ethnic groups, there is more than a little truth in the statement. We know, for instance, that a white witness is less likely to pick the differences out among a lineup of black or Latino males than a bunch of white guys.

In  preparing for their World Cup opener, the South Korean team tried an experiment to see just how well white folk (Swedes, for instance) could tell the difference among Korean soccer players by switching numbers in their World Cup warm-up games.

Back when I was in high school, ESPN was still undergoing birthing pains. If you watched the channel's update in the morning to see what was on during the rest of the day you could feel their pain, too. From tractor pulls to Aussie Rules Football to lumberjack contests and everything in between -- except for live sporting events from the NFL, NBA, MLB or NCAA.

Back in the early 80's I was a big boxing fan. ESPN teamed up with the ever-corrupt Top Rank, Inc. (headed by Bob Arum - who only looked honest when sitting next to his main competitor, Don King). They put together a live weekly boxing show called Top Rank Boxing that featured a bunch of up-and-comers and soup cans. One of the most popular fighters was a New Jersey middleweight names Bobby Czyz. His career didn't quite work out as expected. Here is the story of how boxing chews up and spits out fighters.

I'm no Aggie, but I'll be one of the first to admit that Johnny Football was one hell of a college quarterback. I still remember sitting on my brother's sofa that Saturday afternoon when A&M dealt a beatdown to Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Damn, could that kid ball.

Unfortunately, being coddled all his life because of his talent didn't do Johnny Manziel any favors in the maturity department. His career in the NFL never got off the ground because he couldn't stay out of trouble - and without a silver-haired coach or big money boosters to shield him, his foibles played out on ESPN and TMZ on a regular basis. I think his decision to leave college early was one of the worst decisions he could have made -- he needed some more time to mature before going off on his own.

Johnny Football hit rock bottom and now he's trying to climb out of the hole he dug one step at a time. Here's a look at his most recent comeback. And, just as I wanted Vince Young to return to the big stage, I hope Johnny makes a return one day. Kids with that much talent deserve a shot.

Taking a stand by sitting down

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

 -- Colin Kaepernick

It would appear that San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick has sent flag-waving pro football fans into a tizzy with the stand he made on Friday night.

If you somehow missed the shitstorm on Twitter, at Friday night's game, Kaepernick remained seated on the bench when the National Anthem was played. When asked he said he would not show pride in a flag for a country that has for centuries oppressed people of color.

Apparently his willingness to take a stand when young black men are being shot dead by police while the officers go on paid leave has left white football fans in the dark. Professional football (along with baseball and auto racing) at times seem nothing more than delivery vehicles for a pro-militaristic, pro-imperialist philosophy that we are all expected to bow down before.

In the eyes of professional sports (and to some extent college sports), true patriotism means supporting military operations overseas - regardless of the reason young men and women are being sent to another country (generally one populated by people of color) to kill, rape and destroy.

On occasion we hear a hue and cry for athletes to take a position on some hot button topic of the day. But that would seem only to apply when the athlete takes the position that the mainstream wants them to take. Pat Tillman is lionized because he walked away from football to join the army in order to invade a sovereign nation. Colin Kaepernick takes a stand against racism and racial violence and he is pilloried by the ignorant masses.

And, speaking of the ignorant masses, you might want to take a gander at this article by The Intercept's Jon Schwartz. It seems that if you listen to more than the first verse of the Star Spangled Banner the symbolism gets a bit complicated and messy.

Francis Scott Key was a slaveowner when he penned the song. For those who don't remember your history, Mr. Key wrote the anthem after the attack on Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 - a war that was fought because the United States decided to invade Canada. During the war the British promised a life of freedom for any black man who enlisted to fight on their side. They also made promises to the Native Americans (who were already learning that the US government was not to be trusted).

No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

-- Star Spangled Banner

Of course I could write many more posts about the intellectual dishonesty of the phrase "land of the free" but I'll save them for another day.

Colin Kaepernick may not be the best quarterback in the league - he may not be the best quarterback on his own team - but he is the most courageous. By taking a stand against racism and racial violence in America he is risking his own livelihood. If he is cut by the 49ers he may find he isn't welcome by any other team in this proto-fascist league.

Thank you, Colin, for taking a stand.

The grass is always greener

Here's an interesting piece from Sports Illustrated about Ricky Williams who walked away from the NFL. I went to the University of Texas at the same time Ricky did and remember watching him play ball at DKR. He was a stud running back (who at one point held the NCAA record for career rushing yards) but he marched to the beat of his own drummer (and still does).

Our marijuana laws make no sense. Alcohol is a much more dangerous drug but it's perfectly legal and manufacturers pay plenty in taxes to the government for the privilege of producing it. As you know, I defend people accused of drunk driving and I see the consequences of it every day. Why the federales leave marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug I will never understand - it has been clearly demonstrated that various components of marijuana have legitimate therapeutic uses.

The NFL has a strict anti-marijuana policy but looks the other way when team doctors hand out painkillers like candy so players can be rushed back onto the field quicker. They are more concerned about the league's image then they are for the people the league chews up and spits out on a regular basis.

Instead of legalizing - or at least de-criminalizing - marijuana we choose to enforce laws that make young people criminals and threaten their ability to obtain student loans for college. Yet we'll just slap 'em on the wrist for underage drinking which is a far more serious problem.

It's time we got past Reefer Madness, wouldn't you agree?

Mouthing the corporate line

A couple of days ago a few former NFL players filed a lawsuit against the NFL alleging that team doctors illegally dispensed narcotics to players. The players allege that team doctors and trainers did not provide the players with enough information about the possible side effects of the drugs to obtain informed consent. The players also allege that teams failed to keep adequate records of narcotics that were prescribed and dispensed to players.

For the past two days ESPN Radio personalities have spent a good deal of time toeing the NFL's company line that nothing untoward happened. Hosts such as Colin Cowherd blamed the players for taking drugs without asking questions about the potential side effects. Morning host Mike Golic even went as far to say that he (and a good number of teammates) would do anything, and take anything, to get back out on the field for the team.

Each host repeated the corporate line that the players were looking to deny any personal responsibility for the problem. But what else should you expect from a media company that pays the NFL millions of dollars a year to broadcast its product? Never forget that the E in ESPN stands for entertainment.

Colin Cowherd even went so far as to blame the toothless NFL Players' Union for the problem. This is the same union that has stood by and allowed the NFL to sign players to one-sided contracts allowing the teams to cut players at will. The NFL Players' Union has never been much more than a wet blanket that puts up token opposition to what the league wants and that sells its own members down the river in exchange for a cut of the action.

An NFL team can cut a player and tear up the contract without good cause. Yet players are castigated in the media when they hold out and seek to renegotiate their deals after a good season. The average NFL career is less than four seasons and this keeps a steady supply of young talent available that drives down wages and encourages owners to cut higher priced veterans in order to get their hands on more of the filthy lucre the league rakes in every year.

It is the knowledge that any injury could spell the end of a career that drives players to take whatever measures are necessary to stay out on the field. The owners know this and fight tooth and nail to protect their plantation system.

Teams doctors and trainers work for the owner, not the players. There is an inherent conflict of interest that drives team doctors and trainers to do whatever it takes to get players out on the field - regardless of the consequences. Hence the giant jars of pain killers in the locker room before and after the game.

The NFL chews up and spits out player after player year after year without a second thought. Fans who are completely ignorant of what's going on buy into the NFL's propaganda that is spread by media companies who aren't "covering" the league as much as they are providing cover for the league.

Professional football is the most violent of our sports and yet the men who suit up and play the game are the most exploited of any professional athlete in this country. I for one am sick and tired of the deification of owners in professional sports. No one goes to a game to see the fucking owner of the team. Few people give a rat's ass about them. We go to see the athletes perform on the field.

The NFL is worried about its image. And it should be. The more the public finds out about how the game really operates, the more likely they are to question its very foundations.

Book review: League of Denial

As we prepare to sit down for a day of food and football (I will be in Austin tonight for the Longhorns' tilt against Texas Tech), it feels like an appropriate time to talk about the NFL's effort to cover up the fact that football causes brain damage.

In their book A League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth, brothers Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru peel back the onion and examine just what the NFL knew about concussions, when they knew it and what they did with the knowledge.

The centerpiece of the story is famed Pittsburgh Steeler center Mike Webster. Iron Mike, as he was known, was a beast on the field. To make up for his size he used his head as a weapon. For some 14 years, Webster pounded his head into other players - and had his head pounded by other players. Once he could no longer play the game due to a long list of lingering injuries and health issues, he was cast aside and forgotten.

His is a familiar tale in the world of professional football where the average career lasts less than four years. And that number is very significant. Most rookie contracts come up for renewal after four years - that's when a team has to decide whether to pay the player more money or cut him loose and replace him with the latest piece of meat taken in the draft. Cutting a player with four years or less of service also means he isn't covered by the league's health plan.

Mike Webster would likely have been forgotten to most football fans had he not died a shell of himself. In the years after he retired, Mr. Webster was both homeless and in need of mental health treatment. After his death a pathologist in Pittsburgh, Dr. Bennet Omalu, peformed an autopsy and discovered Mr. Webster had suffered brain damage -- much as boxers have at the ends of their careers.

The league denied there was any link between Mr. Webster's brain injury and football. Ironically enough, the NFL's disability board had already determined there was a link and awarded Mr. Webster compensation for his injuries.

From there the league did its best to cover up the truth, lest they be found liable for not warning players of the risks they faced playing football. The book details the attempts by the NFL's Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee to hide the truth and provide cover for the league. The book also details competing teams of scientists (and publicity hounds) to expose the truth.

The authors are reporters for ESPN and their employers teamed up with PBS's Frontline to produce a two-part episode of the investigative show about the crisis in football. Shortly before the documentary was to air, ESPN severed its ties with the show. The most likely explanation is fear of reprisal from a league that provides much of ESPN's programming.

Just prior to the start of the 2013 NFL season, the league announced it had settled a case with former players who alleged the league knew about the risk of brain damage and mislead the players by not disclosing what it knew. The league agreed to pay the former players $765 million in compensation. The settlement not only settled the league's liability to the players, it also prevented the plaintiffs from putting NFL executives on the stand and questioning them about what they knew and when they knew it.

But, as in many issues between players and the league, the league got the better of the deal. The NFL is awash in cash and the money they will pay out for the settlement will be but a drop in the bucket compared to the money the league rakes in from its contracts with broadcasters.

The league has long gotten its way with the players and the players' union, the NFLPA, is (next to the NHL players' union) the most ineffective player union in sports. For far too long the NFLPA has been the lapdog of the league - which explains why NFL contracts are not guaranteed and why former players are left out on the street to fend for themselves. The ugly truth is that the players in the NFL are nothing more than meat to the owners and the league - once they are no longer useful they will be discarded and forgotten about.

While I am very critical of the NFLPA and the way it has sold out the players' interests, NFL-flacks such as Mike Florio are way off-base when they try to blame the union as much as the league on the brain damage issue. Yes, the union stuck its head in the sand and went along with league denials about the link between football and brain damage - but the difference is that the league had the data and the doctors and they put out misleading propaganda disguised as research to cover its ass.

The new welfare

The other day, while perusing Gregg Easterbrook's Tuesday Morning Quarterback site, I came across a link to an article he penned for The Atlantic last month regarding the way the NFL acts as a conduit for transferring money from the poor to the very, very rich.

We are, of course, talking about subsidies handed out like candy to NFL owners who want to build expensive new playpens for their teams without reaching into their own pockets. The most glaring example is that of Tom Benson and the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints play in the Superdome which is in the middle of downtown New Orleans. For those of y'all who remember Katrina, you will remember that the Superdome suffered severe damage as a result of not only the storm, but also the aftermath. It took millions of dollars to rebuild - and that money came courtesy of the taxpayers in Louisiana. In return, Mr. Benson pockets all, or damn near all, of the game day revenue in exchange for a mere pittance of rent. He also pockets millions of dollars of national television revenue. And, as if that wasn't enough, the taxpayers in Louisiana pay him about $6 million a year NOT to move the team somewhere else.

So, let's get this straight. The city of New Orleans is still rebuilding after the storm. There is still widespread unemployment and poverty throughout the city. But the state can't afford to spend any money rebuilding infrastructure and homes. The state doesn't have the money to provide good paying jobs rebuilding the city. But the state has plenty of money laying around to lavish on a billionaire who owns a football team that uses the city's name.

And, as Mr. Easterbrook points out, the NFL copyrights all images from the games played in the Superdome and charges a fee to use them. Let us not forget that the Superdome is a publicly funded stadium paid for by the taxpayers of Louisiana and yet none of the taxpayers see any revenue either from the NFL's television deals or from the copyright fees charged by the NFL. All of that money finds its way into Mr. Benson's pockets.

Disgusting doesn't even begin to describe it.

And that's just one example. All across the NFL extremely wealthy owners are threatening to move their teams if local municipalities and states down pony up the money to build new playpens. Then there are also the infrastructure improvements needed to support the stadium that are also paid for with taxpayer dollars. Not mentioned in Mr. Easterbrook's article is the ways in which cities exercise their powers of eminent domain to force landowners to sell their property at less than the going rate. Should a person who owns property the city needs to build the stadium dare ask for a premium price due to the value of his particular parcel of land, the city will step in and threaten to use its powers to take the land from him at a discount to what he could/should have made.

But that's not all. The price of admission to one of these grand gridiron palaces has become out of the reach of the ordinary football fan - the football fan whose tax dollars are being funneled straight into the bank account of the billionaire owner. So, not only are the taxpayers being fleeced by the NFL, they are also being denied entry into the buildings they paid for with their hard earned money. Nice.

We have all of this money being transferred from public coffers to private entities so that the owners can reap a fortune from their association with the NFL. At the same time cities and states are cutting the amount of money spent on social services, infrastructure improvement, housing and education.

We are told by the NFL and the media that these benevolent titans of football made their money the hard way - they earned it of the exploitation of others. They are capitalists to be admired. They are willing to part with vast sums of wealth in order to entertain us with football. No. They are nothing more than welfare queens who preach that unbridled capitalism is good for the masses while they belly up at the trough of the public till.

A couple sporting thoughts

The other day I was driving to the office to pick up some files I needed for today. I was listening to Colin Cowherd's radio show, "The Herd," on ESPN Radio when I heard Colin say something that was grating on my ears.

Mr. Cowherd was talking about baseball and statistics. He was arguing that sabermetrics misses a key element of baseball. He said that one ballplayer might have a great on base percentage but that what was really important was who was getting hits and knocking in runs late in games and late in the season. He made the claim that a win in September or October was more important than a win in May or June.

I beg to differ. Every major league team plays 162 games a season over the course of about 26 weeks. The standings don't differentiate between a win in May and a win in October. A win is a win, regardless of when it happens. If a race comes down to the wire and two teams are tied after 162 games, that one game back in late April could have made the difference at the end of the season.

The same goes for when someone gets a hit or scores a run. The most precious commodity in baseball is the out. You only get 27 of them a game. Preserving that out in the first inning is just as important as preserving that out at the end of the game. My point is that over the course of a season, I'd rather have the player with the higher on-base percentage than the player whom the media label as "clutch" because of a game-winning hit here or there. Over the course of the season this notion of "clutch" tends to balance out - but the ability to get on base at a higher percentage and to preserve an out become very important.

***

We went to my brother-in-law's house for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and the Houston-Detroit game was on the tube. As I sat outside having a cold beer and watching my girls frolic in the swimming pool, Dave, my brother-in-law, came outside and told me that the Texans had scored a touchdown when they shouldn't have because the Detroit coach challenged a call he wasn't allowed to. According to the rules, if a coach challenges a call in that situation, the team loses a timeout and cannot benefit from the challenge.

That rule makes absolutely no sense. If the point of instant replay was to make sure the referees get the calls right by allowing certain plays to be reviewed, then not allowing the play on Thursday to be reviewed led to the absurd result that a call that was clearly incorrect was allowed to stand.

As much as I find instant replay to be annoying (hey, if the standard is "indisputable evidence," then if someone has to watch a replay more than once the evidence was obviously disputable), if you're going to have it, I think college football has the right idea. In college ball a replay official sits in the press box and reviews every play during the game. If there is something that catches his eye, he signals down to the field and play is halted. There are no challenges so that the absurd result of the NFL game cannot occur in a college game.

Numbers, numbers, numbers

ESPN has decided that fantasy football geeks need a new stat to drool all over. According to "The Worldwide Leader," the NFL's passer rating system is passe and in need of an update. I'm not going to bore you with the details - but I will agree that that current rating system yields a number that means next to nothing.

But here's the problem with statistical analysis in football - unlike baseball in which you can boil every confrontation down to pitcher v. batter, football is a team sport and the result of a pass play is far more dependent on the other 20 players on the field.

Besides, numbers have never been nearly as important in football as they are in baseball. The rules in football change every so often because the offense, or the defense, has "too much" of an advantage. The season has expanded from 10 to 12 to 14 to 16 games. There's also the realization that every yard gained on the football field is the result of an entire team working together. In baseball, if you hang a slider, it's more than likely going to find its way into the bleachers.

Before "Big Head" Barry Bonds stole took the title of Homerun King away from Hank Aaron, everyone knew what the numbers 755 and 714 meant. Before the juicers wiped Roger Maris' single-season homerun mark off the books, everyone knew what the numbers 61 and 60 meant. Nolan Ryan is baseball's strikeout king and has thrown more no-hitters than anyone else. "The Splendid Splinter" Ted Williams is the last big-leaguer to hit over .400 for the season. Pete Rose is the all-time hits leader. Quick -- what's the significance of the number 56?

If you're a baseball fan you know that's the number of consecutive games the "Yankee Clipper" Joe DiMaggio got a hit in. And it is also one of the few records that is not likely to ever be broken.

Thanks to Bill James we can argue over a beer until the end of time who the best baseball player was. We've got batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS (slugging + on-base percentage) in our debate kit. On the pitching side we've got ERA and WHIP (walks/hits per inning). In the world of baseball, these numbers mean something - they always have and they always will.

But who has the record in the NFL for most passing yards in a season? Most rushing yards? Most receptions? Most touchdowns? Most career passing yards? Most career rushing yards? And, even if you know who, what are the numbers?

We don't know because it isn't important in football.

So, thank you, ESPN, for another meaningless stat that no one outside fantasy football will concern themselves with. Just like the esteemed members of our legislature, ESPN has created a solution for a problem that didn't exist.

When the breath test contradicts the officer's observations

You only thought blowing under a .08 meant you wouldn't be arrested for DWI. You figured that once the result of that breath test came back the officer would admit his mistake and let you go about your business.

You thought wrong.

Mike Williams, rookie wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, thought wrong, too.

Early this past Friday morning, an officer with the Hillsborough County (FL) Sheriff's Office stopped Mr. Williams for speeding and weaving in traffic. The officer smelled alcohol on Mr. Williams' breath and noted he had glassy eyes. The officer determined, through a decidedly unscientific method, that Mr. Williams was intoxicated so he placed him under arrest and took him to the station where Mr. Williams agreed to submit a breath sample.

The results of that breath test, you ask? .065 and .061. Well below the legal limit in Florida.

Now, aside from the obvious question of how a "scientific instrument" can have two readings .04 .004 apart on two blows that were no more than two minutes apart (I can't imagine a scientist being too pleased with that result on a test), what does this say about the ability of an officer to detect an intoxicated driver using NHTSA's roadside coordination exercises?

These coordination exercises supposedly tell the officer when a suspected drunk driver has an alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. But did they in this case? The answer would appear to be a big fat negative. The officer based his arrest decision on Mr. Williams' driving, his appearance and his performance on the roadside exercises. He came to the conclusion that Mr. Williams had an alcohol concentration of .08 or higher while driving his car. His conclusion was wrong.

Of course the obvious conclusion is that Mr. Williams was intoxicated by something in addition to alcohol. So authorities ordered a urine test (now there's a scientifically accurate test for you). The only problem is that regardless of what shows up on that screening, there will be no evidence that whatever was in Mr. Williams' body (if anything) other than alcohol had any effect on his mental or physical faculties.

The legislature of Florida decided that a person is intoxicated with an alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. The decision was made by legislative fiat. There is no scientific evidence that any given level of any other substance will cause a person to lose the normal use of their mental or physical faculties. None. The results of the urine test will not tell a single person whether Mr. Williams was intoxicated or not.

What we have here is an officer who was convinced, based upon his observations, that Mr. Williams had an alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. The state's own breath test machine proved the officer wrong and so the officer must find some other way to justify his actions that night.

That's DWI enforcement for you.

Taking advantage of a second chance

As criminal defense attorneys we are supposed to believe in the power of rehabilitation and that everyone deserves a second chance. At least that's what we profess to believe when speaking to the prosecutor, the judge or the jury about a client we don't think should go to prison.

In our personal lives, however, we don't always practice what we preach in the courtroom.

Michael Vick is a polarizing figure. He was sent to prison for his role in an interstate dog-fighting ring. Never mind for the moment whether it should have even been prosecuted as a federal case since Virginia has laws making what Mr. Vick did a crime; Mr. Vick plead guilty and did his time.

When he got out of prison the Philadelphia Eagles gave him a second chance. Ironically enough, it was Donovan McNabb who supposedly petitioned his coach, Andy Reid, to sign Mr. Vick. After playing a token role in the 2009 campaign, Mr. Vick has made the most of his opportunity in 2010.

I have colleagues who still spew vitriol whenever Michael Vick's name is brought up. Need I remind you that there are players wearing NFL uniforms who served time for taking the lives of other people. But where's the outrage that Donte Stallworth is allowed to play after serving all of 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to manslaughter in 2009?

Michael Vick made some mistakes. Michael Vick paid the price for those mistakes. Michael Vick is getting his second chance.

Jets receiver grounded for DWI

Braylon Edwards, a wide receiver for the New York Jets, was arrested early this morning in Manhattan for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Mr. Edwards submitted a breath specimen that that had a reported alcohol concentration of 0.16, twice the limit in New York state.

Ironically enough, Mr. Edwards was not stopped as a result of any erratic driving. His downfall were overly tinted windows on his Range Rover.

The 27-year-old Edwards was pulled over for having overly tinted windows in his Range Rover. Edwards was arrested at 5:15 a.m. after police smelled alcohol and Edwards blew .16 on a breathalyzer -- twice the legal limit, the New York Post reported.

What possessed Mr. Edwards to blow into the state's breath test machine is something we may never know. If all the police had was an equipment violation and the smell of alcohol, a conviction for drunk driving would be unlikely.

What should be obvious is that if you consume any alcohol you are at risk for being arrested for driving while intoxicated -- whether you are over the limit or not. Getting pulled over for an equipment violation can lead, as it did in Mr. Edwards' case, to a DWI arrest just because an officer smells alcohol on your breath.

Big Ben to sit down in 2010?

While Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's legal problems appear to have passed (click here for excerpts from the police investigation), he is now awaiting word from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as to how many games he will miss this coming season. Despite the fact that Mr. Roethlisberger was not arrested and that no charges will be filed as a result of the alleged incidents in Georgia, the NFL has deemed fit to suspend Big Ben in 2010.

As I was driving from the courthouse to the office this morning I happened to catch Dylan Gwinn's (a/k/a "The Mighty Gwinn) show on Sports Talk 790 in which he weighed in on the Roethlisberger drama. As you may know, Roethlisberger's (now former) teammate Santonio Holmes was traded from the Steelers to the New York Jets after being sued by a woman for allegedly throwing a glass at her in a bar. According to Mr. Gwinn, there are those in the Steel City clamoring for the Steelers to cut ties with Big Ben and trade him before next week's draft.

But what I found interesting was Mr. Gwinn's assertion that the name of the game in the NFL is winning the Super Bowl and that because the Steelers have won two Super Bowls with Roethlisberger behind the wheel that the owners of the Steelers would be crazy to trade him. I do agree with the statement that the NFL is a business. But I would argue that winning the Super Bowl is not the ultimate goal for an owner of an NFL franchise. The ultimate goal is the same as in any other business - maximizing profit.

The Houston Texans are one of the league's most profitable teams - but nowhere near the Super Bowl (well, maybe about 240 miles from next year's edition). I think Bob McNair would rather ramp up the cash flow and increase the market value of the team than win a Super Bowl.

My point being that Art Rooney II, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers is one of the most image-conscious owners in the NFL. He understands that sports isn't just about the game -- it's about entertainment -- and if your star brings too much negative attention to your product, well, that's just not good for the bottom line.

The grunt work makes it possible

Tomorrow night the University of Texas will seek revenge on Texas Tech for a last-second loss in Lubbock last season that cost the 'Horns a shot at the national title. I expect both teams to be slinging the ball up and down the field and I hope the scoreboard operator at Memorial Stadium bought some extra bulbs.

Last Saturday the University of Houston picked up their biggest win in 25 years

when they marched into Stillwater and knocked off Oklahoma State. I think the footballs in that game were racking up frequent flyer points.

Thirty years ago the Longhorns and the Cougars lived on the ground. The 'Horns ran the wishbone and the Coogs did their damage with Bill Yeoman's Veer. Now they both run variations of the Spread Option and live and die through the air.

But even though the offensive philosophies and schemes are different now, both the ground attacks of the 60's and 70's and the air assaults of today depend on the same thing -- a solid offensive line. It doesn't matter how you intend to move the ball around, if your line can't block and protect the quarterback, you're not going anywhere.

An analogy can be made to the practice of criminal law. It doesn't matter how glib or flashy an attorney is at trial if he isn't prepared. Regardless of one's style in the courtroom, if you don't know your case inside and out, backwards and forwards, you're in trouble. All the technology and glitz in the world won't matter if you haven't put in the prep time.

Math, Texans-style

Over the offseason the braintrust behind the Houston Texans decided that it would be a good idea in these hard economic times to reduce the size of the beer cups at Reliant Stadium from 24 ounces to 20 ounces while leaving the price of foamy adult beverages at $7.75.

Fans of the Texans were outraged at this egregious attempt to gouge them - nevermind they were being robbed in the first place. Hey! Where's the district attorney when you need them? Forget about this DIVERT stuff -- what about Beergate?

As a result of the fans' adverse reaction to this little ploy, the Texans' braintrust (I'm sorry, but I'm a big fan of oxymorons) decided they would reduce the price of beer at the stadium to $7. Unfortunately, their planned pacification of the masses will only work on those who are just a bit challenged in the field of mathematics.

While it might be seen as a good gesture, the reality of the situation is that the size of beer cups has been reduced by 16% but the price of beer has only been reduced by a tick under 10%. So you see, friends and Cowboys fans, that the beer-drinking public is still getting it handed to them - only not as blatantly.

Is this the way to treat your (blindly loyal) fans? I mean, let's face it, it's damn near impossible to watch the (painfully boring) Texans without copious amounts of alcohol.