At a Crossroads

Take a good look at this photo, you won't be seeing this again...

The New England Patriots released wide receiver Antonio Brown after one game once a SI report was released earlier on Friday. To say that bringing him in after his sudden release from the Oakland Raiders (after he was traded from Pittsburgh) as shortsighted is saying something, but the collective grasp from social media echoes the near disgust of him being signed in Foxboro to begin with. Brown has had a very mercurial 12 months, and as a result it leaves him off his third team in that same time.

The Patriots will be just fine, thank you. This organization has been known to take guys like Randy Moss, Corey Dillon and more recently Josh Gordon into their fold, becoming productive players and model citizens. However, there are some incidents that even the Hoodie can't ignore, and those text messages sent by Brown might have been the straw that broke the camel's back. They are still the favorite in the AFC, and now will be commended for reversing course on an action that should have probably not occurred. More than likely the Hoodie will give a quick, smug answer to reporters and then say, "We're moving on to New York."

It's Brown that is the bigger concern here. His antics have made him persona non grata throughout the league, and at this point a team will be hard pressed to gloss over this story just because he can run a go-route with the best of them. Maybe it will break him to the point of humility, or maybe it will make him even more defiant. Whatever happens from here, one can only hope that the young man from Liberty City, Florida will get back to being that hard worker that made him such a wonderful story to begin with.

This isn't about revitalizing a career, but about getting his personal life back on track. Whether you believe his accusers is irrelevant, what does matter is that the last thing Brown needs to focus on is what type of helmet he can wear. He better make sure that the next uniform he wears isn't an orange jumpsuit...

Check out our latest podcast episode of the Final Five, only on Blog Talk Radio: http://tobtr.com/s/11513645

Tom Brady: NFL Savior?

While I'm pondering how I can grow a 'stache like Gardner Minshew...

Look, I'm the last guy who should be wanting to praise Tom Brady for anything. After all, it's because of him (well, maybe it was more Kyle Shanahan) that I will go to my sporting grave with the numbers "28-3" tattooed on my forehead like a scarlet letter. My best friend (who of course is from Massachusetts) is quick to remind me of that number to the point where it haunts me Sunday in and Sunday out. Anyway, Brady has ended many a dynasty for two decades, but it was something he did earlier this evening that might have a greater impact. Hold on, Oakland Raider fans, before you start crying about that "Tuck Rule" again, hear me out.

As the Tennessee Titans-Jacksonville Jaguars game was taking place during Thursday Night Football, Brady sent out a set of tweets blasting the referees for calling a series of heinous penalties. Now, at "It's Sports, It's Life," we tend to look at the more serious issues in the world of sports. However, when the arguably G.O.A.T begins to opine on the state of officiating, that merits a discussion.

This isn't about whether or not the referees are not simply doing their job, it's about a league that refuses to acknowledge a problem that they created. It was in their desire to kowtow to pressure from one blown call in last year's NFC Championship that has led to the yellow flags being thrown more than the footballs through two weeks. The men in stripes, through no fault of their own, are calling any 50-50 play in favor of the offense. It led to an atrocious call in Sunday's Denver-Chicago game which led to the Bears kicking a game-winning FG (if only that had occurred last January). ISIL is predicting that by year's end some team is going to be on the wrong side of a roughing the passer penalty that will make that call a reviewed one by a disgruntled team.

But back to Brady. He's already had the most accomplished career of any football player ever, and even with a simple tweet can get others to listen. After all, his legend began on a controversial call, isn't it time for Tom Terrific to give back by pushing for change? He can even create the next Twitter craze and call it #PutTheFlagsAway.

By doing so, he can get back to doing what so many Americans did, and watch the exciting battle between Marcus Mariotta and Gardner Minshew. Who'd want to miss that?

Check out our latest episode of the Final Five on the Washington Redskins: http://tobtr.com/s/11512855

What Price Justice?

While I'm getting ready for the Wednesday Night Wars...

Rarely does the moment come when sports and justice come into unison, but that is exactly what happened on Wednesday when the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association suspended a referee for forcing a wrestler to cut his dreadlocks prior to a match on December 19, 2018. The Buena Regional High School wrestler Andrew Johnson had to deal with a humiliating experience of removing part of his hair and culture or risk forfeit. The decision was made after an investigation into the referee's heinous actions that going forward rules need to be focused on the action on the mat and not on the appearance.

Simply put, there is no place for this type of treatment on behalf of the officials. Their role is to maintain order and keep the contest moving. Recently there was another incident in which a young Alaska swimmer was told that her swimsuit was not proper attire due to her body shape. I am left dumbfounded at how those we trust to call the contest evenly can have such an uneven view when it comes to policing the natural order of hair length and body development.

In both incidents we see the decrepit nature of man when power becomes corrupt. Decisions are made not on the athletic merit of the competitor, but on how they are viewed externally. We have seen throughout history how leagues have given mandates to how the players should represent their leagues in their uniformed attire. We cringed when the NBA and then-commissioner David Stern issued for his players to give up the hip-hop gear that came to define the early 2000's and wear suits on the sidelines. It was a corporate dog whistle that fortunately did not become the uproar that was anticipated. However, it has led to the players using their creativity to turn it into a fashion show.

These incidents are nothing of the sort, and it highlights a greater issue. Teenagers have enough challenges throughout their amateur years. Where to go to college, the ability to obtain scholarships, and that's before you add on the pressure to win. What should not be on the foremost of their minds is whether or not some referee or judge is going to embarrass them based on something upon which they have no control over before the competition even begins.

Today justice was served in New Jersey and last week in Alaska, and may this be the beginning of a shift in high school sports, where the young men and women do not have to experience defeat before they even step onto the playing field.

Check out our latest episode of the Final Five on NXT's first episode on the USA Network. http://tobtr.com/s/11511271

So You Want to be a QB?

While wondering just how he got those scars...

Week 1 of the 100th NFL season concluded in spectacular fashion, and there were several performances that permeated throughout the weekend. As always, in our instant 'jump to conclusions' culture we live in, 32 different judgments were passed out based on 16 games by the time we woke up Tuesday morning:

1) The Patriots are going 19-0 (maybe not out of the realm of possibility)

2) Dak should be paid $50 million a year based on beating a hapless Giants team

3) The Steelers will regret getting rid of AB and Le'Veon (well, maybe not AB).

However, one performance stood out, and it shouldn't have been unexpected. Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens was electric against the tank...err, rebuilding Miami Dolphins en route to a 5 TD day and only missing 3 passes. I could wax poetic about how he dominated the game from start to finish, but why don't we let him tell it...

As we talked about on Sunday with Drew Brees, being a QB means being able to take the arrows that are thrown their way. This is especially so when despite all of Jackson's heroics during his high school days in Florida and eventually starring at Louisville as one of college football's premiere players. Yet it wasn't enough in the eyes of some people, who chided the decision for the Ravens to draft him as the eventual replacement for Joe 'wake me up when he does something interesting' Flacco. 

Lamar didn't let the criticism stop him from leading the Ravens to a surprise playoff berth, and regardless of the opponent Sunday, he served notice that he is going to be a special player in the league. Yes, the history of the NFL is littered with supposed can't miss (Leaf over Manning?) to "he'll never make it" (Russell Wilson) prospects. At least they were given time to see if they were the real deal, but in today's culture we have become apt to call a player a bust if they aren't putting up Madden-like numbers by their second start. 

Being a QB is more than just throwing passes while staring down a zero blitz package, it's being able to withstand the negativity of critics who will pick apart every aspect of their game. Just because someone doesn't fit the "mold" of a QB, doesn't mean they can't play the position. So yes, perhaps we can learn a lesson of this thing called patience, and let those who are called to play the position do so.

Not bad for a running back indeed. 

Check out our latest episode of the "Final Five" in which we discuss KD's no-holds-barred interview below:

http://tobtr.com/s/11500239