Mean Girls . . . Part Deux

Ricky Williams came, saw, and went, all in the same night.

If anyone was watching the mucky mess that was Monday Night Football, then you, too, witnessed the return of Ricky Williams to the Miami Dolphins despite having tested positive several (ok, 4) times for marijuana.

Perhaps you also saw the second quarter when Pittsburgh Steelers' linebacker Lawrence Timmons step on Williams' shoulder as he was attempting to go after a fumble. Out went Williams, never to return again.

If you watch the replay (which I will post as soon as it becomes available), you can see Timmons' foot turns unnaturally out to the side and steps down on Williams' shoulder, even though the natural movement would have been to step with his foot facing straight ahead, thereby avoiding Williams' shoulder altogether. The official word is that he injured his pectoral muscle.

That was just cruel. Here's this guy who obviously has a problem - I say obviously because if the league and the teams thought he was just a weedhead, he would not be returning to the NFL - and you're just going to purposely try to injure him after the play is over? I don't say this often, maybe ever, but I really think the league should review this and fine him. It looked that blatant.

The Dolphins are bad enough as it is. On Monday night, they lose two more running backs to injury (Williams and Jesse Chatman), to add to their already depleted roster, and they just looked defeated. I really feel bad for them. It can't be fun to be in that locker room week after week.

The Steelers weren't doing much of anything themselves on that nasty field (the Steelers won the spectacular game 3-0), but no need to add insult to injury - literally.

Perhaps the NFL should also take some flak for letting the players play in such a mess and risk injury in the first place. Steelers' QB Ben Roethlisberger called it the worse conditions that he has ever played in, and I think he was telling the truth. I actually saw a punt land in the field. Didn't bounce, didn't roll. Just landed, like he'd kicked a javelin. It's too easy to get hurt just playing the game without having to worry about the playing surface.

A Little Money, Some Giants, Some Dolphins, Little Football, Lot of Rain . . . And Bob's Your Uncle!*

So the NFL decided to take a regular season football game to London for the first time ever. The lucky guinea pigs were the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins. As if the Dolphins season wasn't already going bad enough, they now have the distinction of losing every game in America and Europe, dropping to 0-8 after losing to the Giants, 13-10. I know the NFL wanted to take teams from two major cities - that not so coincidentally probably contain two of the highest numbers of people from other countries - and they likely had this scheduled prior to knowing how good either team would be, but this game was not the best that American football has to offer:

The teams combined for 492 yards, only 187 passing -- numbers teams often put up by themselves in a game. They combined for seven fumbles, two missed field goals and 14 penalties.

Tough. But kudos to both teams for playing a fairly decent game in the cold, rainy conditions of Wembley Stadium. I know the players only play once a week, but that still can't be enough time to get used to the time change (4 hours ahead of the east coast). And that certainly wasn't enough time to get used to the British food, which has not improved even after the 1,000,000th joke/comment about its distinct awfulness (confirmed by a friend who currently lives there). Their cars look nice on the outside, too, but they can't seem to get those totally right either. At least they're consistent.

Despite my glum commentary, the game was a positive for the NFL, as they sold out the 80,000+ stadium in two hours (with a request for half a million tickets made within the first 72 hours after the game was first announced), and from all reports the crowd was amped, as would be expected for their first NFL (not to be confused with NFL Europe) game ever. I found it amusing that the only time they booed was when the Giants kneeled on the ball three times to end the game, either not understanding (said the Giants' coach) or not caring (says I) that this is a common play when a team has the lead and possession of the ball at the end of the game. They wanted to see more football (not to be confused with futbol), and who can blame them. They waited a long time for this. They probably thought they were going to see Dan Marino.

Presumably, the NFL will take both teams' feedback and decide whether they want to field a team there at some point down the line. Thus, the decision will be based on whether the dollars make cents. I'd hazard a guess that jersey and other team apparel/accessories sales were huge, with the British fans snapping up anything they were offered, even for teams that weren't playing there. A European team would be right in line with the move to globalize that the major sports leagues (i.e., the NBA in China) have been tossing around as they consider adding teams outside of North America (What, nobody wants to play in Hawaii, Alaska - North Dakota?).

In that system, every week, one team would travel there or the European team would travel here. If any sport is more conducive to traveling long distances between games, football would be it. I'm sure the away team would not be looking forward to that trip, but with the right catering - these boys gotta eat! - perhaps something could be arranged. Not surprisingly, those in and around the game are not as enthusiastic about the prospect. Change is always a bit painful.

What do you think about fielding a team in London? I was skeptical at first, but now the idea doesn't seem so far-fetched. I just might travel there for a game.


* "Bob's your uncle" is a British expression something like "It's as simple as that!" as in, "Add a little of this, a little of that, and wala! Bob's your uncle!"

And lastly, this is exactly what Travis Johnson was so pissed about:

'Who Dropped The Soap' Not So Funny Anymore

If I'm Trent Green, I would start being a little nicer in the lockerroom to the offensive linemen. For the second straight season, Miami Dolphins quarterback Green was forced to leave another game with a concussion after a nasty hit from Houston Texans defensive tackle Travis Johnson. He left the game and is not expected to play next week, and perhaps longer. Green missed half of last season with a concussion after taking a hit in the opener while a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.

This has an interesting subplot. The play happened after Green handed off the ball to a rookie who fumbled it, and in the scramble to tackle him, Johnson says Green tried to tackle him at the knee. Johnson did not take too kindly to this, and he stood over Green in a taunting manner while an immobile Green lay immobile on the field, for which he received a penalty. Said Johnson (remember, he's the defensive tackle, Green is the QB) about the "hit" by Green:

"The bottom line is, it was a malicious hit. It was uncalled for,'' Johnson said. "He's like the scarecrow. He wants to get courage while I wasn't looking, and hit me in my knee instead of trying to hit me in my head. God don't like ugly, you know what I mean?

"My knee ain't never hurt like it hurt today,'' Johnson said. "If you want to hit me, hit me in my head, hit me in my chest, don't hit me in my knee. I'm trying to eat just like everybody else. So, to hit me like that, that showed me what type of man he was.''

Um, ok, Johnson, we get it. Dirty hit by Green. Only the guy didn't walk off the field, he was taken in a stretcher, and you walked off. You may well play next game, and he will not. I know it's football, but you might want to change the battery on that sensitivity chip.

Speaking of injured QB's, the Arizona Cardinals' Matt "that's just my baby daddy, and no I'm not Tom Brady" Leinart is out with a broken collarbone.

Tough week to be a QB. Reminder to us all to treat our offensive linemen or linewomen with care!