The former Indianapolis mayor demonstrated how to improve service and cut costs – and taxes
Who is the greatest champion in the history of Indianapolis? Most would say Peyton Manning, the superstar quarterback who led the National Football League’s Colts to Super Bowl victory. Hockey buffs might offer Wayne Gretzky, who played his first eight games of pro hockey in the Indiana capital for the Indianapolis Racers. Speaking of racers,…
Video replay in football is a perfect example of the law of unintended consequences. And each sport has similar problems
Al Michaels was nettled. The star NBC announcer had watched yet another officiating tire fire at the end of Saturday’s Los Angeles Rams/Atlanta Falcons playoff game. He asked: Why do the final two minutes of a hockey game take two minutes, but the final two minutes of a National Football League game take 20 minutes…
Fire the coach. Yell at the players to motivate them. Or accept that luck plays a significant role in the outcome, no matter how valiant your efforts
Now is the winter of sports discontent. National Football League coaches are being primed for the chop. National Hockey League and National Basketball Association coaches, too, are trying to stay one step ahead of the grim reaper as their teams’ rosy prospects dim. In the NFL, we hear that longtime Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis…
If Roger Goodell were a quarterback in his league, we’d say he’s slow to react to pressure and always making bad reads in coverage
Where’s Bernie Sanders when you really need him? The American socialist scold – who’s usually out of his mind about corporate perks and privilege – has been remarkably quiet about the contract negotiations going on for National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell. According to anonymous source – oh hell, we all know it’s Dallas Cowboys…
I still prefer the NFL to the CFL. But I’ve gained a brand-new appreciation for the Canadian game
For years, I’ve written columns and op-eds declaring my preference for the National Football League over the Canadian Football League. The former was described as a superior organization in terms of teams, players, skills and quality of game, while the latter was depicted as either a weak sister or mediocre by comparison. In March, I…
Charlotte Observer reporter Jourdan Rodrique was treated like almost all reporters are treated by most athletes. With disdain
He was who we thought he was. Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton took up residence in a barrel of his own construction last week. Responding to a postgame question from a female Charlotte Observer reporter about passing routes, Newton responded, “It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes. It’s funny.” It was the sort…
If NFL owners cave in to public pressure and ban taking a knee, they will only be seen as kneeling to Trump
NFL players kneeling during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner is an issue that should have fizzled out in the United States, and probably would have except for the nation’s president. It started in August 2016, when NFL player Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the playing of the American anthem. He did it…
As devastating hits and debilitating injuries rise, football faces a diminished audience. Can the sport curb its most violent tendencies and survive?
The news that the National Football League's TV ratings are dropping – down 11 per cent from the previous season – has been greeted with all sorts of interpretations. Many attribute the drop to the recent spate of social justice protests by players and some coaches in the NFL. A lot of people (68 per…
Five easy ways the president will win his battle with NFL players over taking a knee during the U.S. anthem
U.S. President Donald Trump ignited a firestorm when he told a Huntsville, Ala., rally, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of the NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now!’” For someone who “wasn’t preoccupied with the NFL” before criticizing players for taking…
The CRTC, led by its new chairman, is expected to reverse the controversial decision related to simultaneous ad substitution
It being the time of year to make football predictions, here’s one: there won’t be any U.S. Super Bowl ads on cable broadcasts of the big game when it comes around again early next year. Ian Scott, incoming chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), will have the unpopular task of reversing the…