An interesting issue of SI this week.
First, Peter King's story, "The Gathering Storm" on the upcoming labor negotiations between NFL players and owners. Now, I have made a promise to myself that if there is a work stoppage in the NFL, I am not going to beat my head over it. I'll survive without the NFL (and so will everybody else; really!), and I'm not going to waste a lot of time reading about these guys fighting over how to split $8 billion, or whatever the figure is, a year. King's story, however, is brief, gives a good overview of the situation, and is worth reading.
Of great interest was this fact: even if there is no NFL football in 2011, the teams will still be paid by the TV networks. It's guaranteed. How did the NFL get the networks to buy into that? Talk about a sales job! So, if there is a work stoppage, the players don't get paid, and the owners still receive $4 billion in TV money in '11. Guess who's gonna cave in that situation?
Remember Leroy Kelly, the great Hall of Fame RB for the Cleve Brownies back in the 60's? He gets a $176 monthly pension from the NFL. Whatever the outcome of these negotiations, I would hope that BOTH sides do something about old-timers like Kelly. With the kind of money the NFL rakes in, that kind of story is a disgrace.
The second SI story of note is the much publicized story of former player agent Josh Luchs who talks about how he paid college players to recruit them for his agency when they were ready to turn pro. Now, if you follow sports, you are pretty much aware that this is a dog-bites-man story, but it sure does expose the sleazy world of college athletics. Nobody looks good in this one....players, agents, and coaches and institutions that turn the other way when these goings on, er, go on.
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