Lack of character prevails in the NFL

Let’s say you are the Cincinnati Bengals and are desperate for a wide receiver to play opposite Chad Ochocinco.

Do you go after Brandon Marshall? Terrell Owens? Antonio Bryant?

The numbers say Marshall or Owens. The attitude says none of the three.

Sure, Marshall had 101 receptions for 1,120 yards and 10 TDs for the Denver Broncos last season. But do you really want a spoiled brat who started training camp by kicking a football away from a ball boy and ended in his team’s doghouse?

Owens did have 55 catches for 849 yards and 5 TDs for the Buffalo Bills. Yet with his diminishing skills and me-first attitude, do you really want him?

Bryant had 39 catches for 600 yards and 4 TDs last year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yet this is a guy who has already talked his way out of three cities.

Perhaps the Bengals should keep looking for a “team” player with less ability … but a better attitude.

On the character issue, how about the latest from the San Diego Chargers?

Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune (who kisses up every chance possible to Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith) suggests the Chargers got rid of Antonio Cromartie due to his “lack of character.”

That being the case, how do the Chargers keep wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who has two driving under the influence (DUI) convictions in three years … among other things?

Perhaps “lack of character” gets overlooked if you are producing. Otherwise, Jackson would be going down the road with Cromartie.

Chargers hope to warm up for playoffs vs. Bengals

The San Diego Chargers have good reason to want a special victory Sunday vs. the Cincinnati Bengals.

Not only would it be win No. 9 in a row for the Chargers, it would also all but seal the No. 2 seed for them in the AFC Playoffs.

What would it mean for the Chargers? A first-round bye, an AFC semifinal game at home … and a chance to host the AFC Championship if the Chargers were to win in the AFC semifinals and the Indianapolis Colts were to lose that weekend.

But more than anything, a win this weekend would keep the Chargers from going to Cincinnati for the playoffs. Anybody who was at the Chargers-Bengals “Ice Bowl” game on Jan. 10, 1982 will never forget it.

According to espn.com, the temperature during the game at Cincinnati reached minus-9, with winds gusting to 35 mph, creating a wind chill of minus-59. Almost forgotten was the fact that Cincinnati won over Dan Fouts and the Chargers, 27-7, on its way to a Super Bowl appearance.

The “wind chill” will be about 120-130 degrees warmer when the teams play Sunday in San Diego. And the winner will be hot on the trail of the No. 2 seed.

Prediction:
Chargers 27, Bengals 20

For a visit back to the Ice Bowl, visit the espn.com story at http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/news/story?id=3198404

A local NFL blackout may be coming your way

NFL fans, beware!

Television blackouts may soon be coming to your area for your home team.

If you are a fan of teams such as the Washington Redskins or Green Bay Packers, it’s no problem. Your team’s home games will be sold out (and not blacked out) for generations to come.
But in front-runner cities such as San Diego, TV blackouts may be on their way.

Jim Steeg, chief operating officer of the San Diego Chargers, said as much this week to chargers.com.

“Yes, local television blackouts are a definite possibility,” said Steeg. “Our goal right now is to make everyone aware that tickets are still available and that, at this point at least, blackouts are likely.

“It appears that both preseason home games (against Seattle and San Francisco) will be blacked out. Hopefully the knowledge that most home games likely will not be shown locally will spur additional fans to join us at the stadium. Our players want to play in a full stadium, and we want all of our fans to be able to watch all of our games on TV.”
There are issues:

First of all – and most of all – the nation’s economy is still hurting. People aren’t going to rush out to buy tickets primarily ranging from $74 to $98 to ensure someone else can watch the game on TV.

Local Native American casinos and TV stations – which have stepped up to the plate in recent years to buy tickets and ensure sellouts – just don’t have the funds to do so in this economic climate. Last year, TV bought out remaining tickets three times so games could be seen locally.

Charger fans are front-runners, anyhow. In the team’s only Super Bowl season (1994), the first home game vs. the Cincinnati Bengals was 10,000 seats short of a sellout.

The NFL could make an exception and televise all games locally in this down economy. But the chances of that happening are about as likely as the Oakland Raiders winning the Super Bowl this season.