A Good Friend of the NFL is Gone.

Gene Upshaw, the NFL Players Association union leader, passed away only
days after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Gene’s entire life was dedicated to the NFL. First, his entire 15-year
playing career was spent as an Oakland Raider, where he played in two
Super Bowls and seven Pro Bowls. He went on to spend more than 25 years
as head of the players union.

He tenure as union leader was not without criticism. He was once
quoted as saying, “Why should I help the retired players, they don’t
pay my salary, the active players do that.” And the salary he was
talking about was close to $3 mil per year.

Upshaw made great strides for the active players, getting them the free
agency deal and the salary cap. But what was always lagging behind was
improved benefits for the retired players, ie. pension benefits along
with benefits for the disabled. As an NFL retired player, I’m more
aware of the improvements needed to help a great number of retired and
disabled players. Until just this year, you had to be blind, crippled
and confined to a bed or wheelchair to get disability benefits from the
NFL. Players would plead their cases, stating that Social Security
recognized them as being disabled and so should the NFL. But the union
would not budge and went so far as to say that even if Social Security
accepted your disability claims, they would not.

Finally this year a “Plan B” was adopted which reversed those rulings.
If Social Security was paying you disability benefits, it then became
automatic for the NFL to do the same. To the many disabled former
players out there this was great, albeit late, news.

NFL players have a unique camaraderie and we are saddened and shocked
by the sudden death of one of our own. My sincere condolences go out
to his wife, Terri, and their three sons.

It’s Tiger talk again. We just learned the complete story about
Tiger’s knee, and it’s not pretty. No, it’s serious - no faking, no
rumors. He needs a complete overhaul on his knee. It’s strange to see
that a golfer needs knee surgery since it’s not a contact sport. But,
according to Tiger’s management company, that’s exactly the case. They
put out a release that said Tiger hurt his knee while jogging near his
Orlando home. Dude, that’s a trip, no pun intended. That just goes to
show that you can do something as simple as stepping off a curb the
wrong way and next thing you know it could possibly end your career.

I’m sure Tiger has the best doctors, but I think he should see the
orthopedic surgeons who specialize in football injuries. They’ve seen
more of these types of injuries and really know which surgery will give
him the best result. This is a football-type injury, not an injury you
see in golf.

All the sports writers are talking about how badly Tiger’s star quality
will be missed on the tour and how much money the networks will lose.
Trust me, this is not on Tiger’s mind. First at the top of his list -
stop the pain - that’s tops on Tiger’s list. Next he’s asking, “Do I
have to change my swing to accommodate an injured knee? And, “if I have
to, I will”, is his answer. Tiger’s thinking only allows him to do
whatever it takes to play and win.

I’m sure he made some swing changes along the way during the Open
against Rocco. The pain was causing him to slice his drives when he
really went after it. Eventually he worked something out to take that
18th hole drive 304 yards down the middle to birdie the hole and win the
tournament. Golf is a game of adjustments. All golfers know this,
that’s why they are constantly working on their swing - including
Tiger. He changed coaches, clubs, and balls to try to find a swing
that consistently works.

Now, once again, the changes begin again. The goal? Big swing, no
pain. That’s what he’ll be looking for. Knowing Tiger, I’m sure he’ll
find it when the time comes.

Yeah, I’m talking about Tiger Woods. What more can you say about the man, the athlete the warrior with the mind of a tiger. Always stalking and watching you. Make a mistake and you’re toast. Play your heart out, and you’re still toast.

If you weren’t watching the Open over the weekend, whether you’re a golfer or not, by Sunday night you were watching highlights on the news with the same intensity as a prime time cliffhanger. Tiger was battling himself first, Rocco Mediate second. Rocco wasn’t really a factor in Tiger’s game, more significant was the battle Tiger was
having playing thru the pain caused by his bad knee.

In the overall picture, it didn’t matter who Tiger was tied with - in this case it just happened to be Rocco - the story was that Tiger battled thru every hole, and came from behind to force an 18-hole playoff today. Rocco’s presence definitely made it a better competition for the television audience. Rocco also gave the bias TV commentators something to build their stupid comments on, such as Johnny Miller supposedly quoting Jack Nicklaus when he said he wondered why other golfers, when they play with Tiger, open the doors for him to win. Is he kidding? It’s like Tiger doesn’t have to hit the ball or make the putts. I’d like to see Jack, even at his prime, play these courses at 7,600 yards - and they legalized the length of these courses to cool down Tiger and his long drives. I think Jack would have retired sooner.

Rocco was good, but the long course was too much for him. Tiger’s bad left knee caused him to hit a lot of tee shots to the right. The left leg is the pivot leg on the downswing, which puts a lot of pressure and pain on that knee. The kind of pain he played through we will probably never know because he’ll never complain or tell you. After receiving the cup Bob Costas asked Tiger if the knee was a factor. Tiger simply said he was “glad that it’s over”. That’s the most he complained. He said he’s shutting down for a while.

This was a good, no make that great win for Tiger - his 14th major. And what we saw was vintage Tiger with eagles, birdies, 300+ yard drives, miracle shots out of traps, and some heart-stopping putts. Tiger was Tiger in spite of his bad knee, the commentators and the gallery - all of whom seemed to favor Rocco. Go Tiger! You are the man.

At the Cannes Film Festival they screened the documentary, “Tyson”. At
the end Mike Tyson was given a long standing ovation by the viewers.
I’m not at all surprised. I’ve long experienced the fans in Europe and
once you have worked hard to elevate yourself from an “also ran” they
will always show their respect for your celebrity status. The
acknowledgment is there without judgment. In this case, they love Mike
as a heavyweight champ of the world - at one time feared by all.
However long ago it was, it was. They will always remember and they
will always show their admiration.

This is one big difference from the way Americans treat celebrities.
Americans put the celeb on a pedestal, then they start looking for the
next star they can use to knock the present star off their pedestal.
In America, no matter whether you’re a sports star or a movie star, your
only as good as your last slam dunk, touchdown, or hit movie.

Musicians go to Europe, especially jazz musicians. When the audience
cools in America, musicians have known for a long time that they’ll
have a warm audience waiting in Europe along with an opportunity to
continue exploring their creativity. They know they aren’t controlled
there by “what’s new” and “what’s in”. The appreciation level is so
much higher.

I remember when we lived in Rome and went to see the Ink Spots only a
few years ago. They are long forgotten here but drew standing room
only crowds at a huge venue in Rome. Years ago Marvin Gaye went to
Europe to renew himself and came back stronger than ever with so many
great hits.

What am I saying? In the U.S., those who drive a Ford strive to drive a
Mercedes. Those who drive a Mercedes, want a Rolls - and those who
drive a Rolls usually feel that the Rolls makes them important and they
can buy anything. Sometimes I think the values are placed on the wrong
thing . It should not be the result of the hard work, but respect the
hard work itself. Respect the bumps and bruises it took to get there.
Respect can never be taken away after all the glitz and glamour is gone.

I think the NFL draft is a total waste of TV time and a big waste of the NFL owners’ money. High draft pick means big time salary and bonus. The size of the salary is no indication that the player will be a high class player or make any contributions to the team. What happens to all the Heisman winners?

Most of them usually take the big money and ride off into the sunset. If a player is not drafted he is called a “free agent” which means he is free to try out with any team of his choice. Obviously, he is going to pick a team that needs a player in his position. If you are a wide receiver you don’t want to go to a team that already has 5 wide receivers, you pick a team that needs you.

The undrafted free agent had a lot of successful players on the FNL roster, i.e. Warren Moon, Antonio Gates, Kurt Warner, Priest Holmes, to name a few.

There should be invitations sent to the players offering them a chance to try out for their team. You would get better players that are fighting hard to make the team, not the Numer 1 or Number 5 draft pick who knows he has the team made.

It was pretty much like that in the “old days” — still the best days. Even gas was cheaper.

Baseball:    San Francisco just built a huge memorabilia facility which is great for players and fans alike.   What makes it so interesting is that there is no sign that Barry Bonds ever played baseball for the Giants.    With all the memorabilia on display, there are no Bonds jerseys, shoes, hats, bats…nothing.   Up till now the question was whether or not to have an asterisk after Bonds’ name - it appears that San Francisco’s answer is to just delete his name.   What’s up with that?

 Basketball:The Phoenix Suns are on a roll, but my Shack has disappeared.   He seems to have run out of steam, but I hope he’ll be getting fired up again soon because the Suns will surely need him if they have any hope of holding off the Lakers for the western championship.  

Now we’re down to the Final Four - this is real college basketball.   My take, the Jay Hawks.   The high profile teams in most sports don’t usually show up for the big game (i.e. New York, Chicago, L.A.).   New York just broke the jinx in football, but that’s the exception not the rule.   I figure Villa will fold and Kansas will win it all.