Headhunting

Well, the big fuss and foldorall this week in the world of sports involves the National Football League getting religion on the subject of vicious hits to the head being made by and upon their players. This is the same NFL, by the way, that has made fortunes by marketing such videos as "NFL's Greatest Hits" and is now seeking to add two more games to the regular season schedule.

Of course, locally, this focus falls upon James Harrison who was hit with a $75,000 fine from the League for his two head shots against the Browns on Sunday and for being a "repeat offender." Poor James is put upon to the extent that he is considering retiring, and his agent says he is "serious" about this. Poor James indeed. Good luck with whatever it is you hope to do as your life's work, James. Perhaps, one could work up some sympathy for Harrison if it weren't for some of the other little incidents that have cropped up around him in recent years, like the pet pit bull that bit his son, and that nasty little domestic violence incident that Dan Rooney somehow found to be okay and overlooked.

I'm sure that James will realize that the 75 Large that the NFL is taking from him will be a mere dent in that $51 million contract the Steelers are paying him and that he will somehow figure out that he can, indeed, "play football" within the rules (at least until the next kill shot).

Of course, we'll all be cheering him on, which, in the words of Michael Corleone, makes us all "a part of the same hypocrisy." And I include myself in this hypocrisy. Maybe we should keep Jerry Seinfeld's thought in mind that we are really just cheering for laundry, and not the people wearing the laundry.

Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Corleone in the same paragraph - a Pop Cultural Bonanza!!