I'm going to assume that most Eagle fans have gotten over the loss to the Green Bay Packers. I certainly have stopped laughing about Fat Andrews declaration that he loved prime rib. I mean he probably likes a lot of other foods as well - so what. For those of us who will continue to watch the playoffs the good games start this weekend.
The Ravens/Steelers game has the potential to provide more mayhem than Jared did down there in Tucson as we have a contest between two teams that have no like for each other and have defenses that hit with the intent to maim. Making matters more interesting is that this is the rubber match between the clubs - each having beaten the other once in the regular season. Both teams like to run the ball (unlike a certain large red haired lover of prime rib) which will only intensify the fun for this long suffering fan.
The style of play both of these teams employ almost reminds me of my day when we used a straight T formation and all of the backs ran the ball. Passing was just not a big part of the equation - because as coaching legends like Lombardi and Woody Hayes knew, when you passed the ball many things could go wrong. The first time passing became a prominent part of pro ball was when the AFL was born back in 1959. AFL teams passed a whole lot more than did their NFL counterparts and used wide open offenses. It was an entertaining brand of football, but even the AFL knew how to run the ball and some of the best runners I saw play included Cookie Gilchrist of the Buffalo Bills. Gilchrist who died the other day was a 250 pound fullback who ran angry - much the way Jim Brown did. He enjoyed running over people and did so every week. At 250, Gilchrist was larger than all but the biggest lineman, and he was fast.
Gilchrist began his career in the Canadian League right after graduating from high school, and enjoyed much success during his 6 years up north. When the AFL was born he joined the Bills and helped them win championships. All was not honey and roses for Gilchrist in Buffalo. Cookie was an angry black man and was considered both uncoachable and unmanageable by his coach, Lou Saban. He definately traveled to the beat of his own drum, and because of that did something that helped the civil rights movement more than a lot of peaceful sit-ins and marches did.
The AFL was about to play an all-star game in New Orleans, at that time a city looking to attract a pro team. NOLA at that time was a strictly segregated city, and when the black players landed at the airport the taxi drivers refused to take them to their hotel. The black players had been booked into the Roosevelt Hotel which was a "black hotel". Gilchrist called a meeting of the black players and they decided that they would not play in the game because of the treatment they were getting. The league was beside itself and urged the blacks to play stating that if they didn't play it would be a victory for the segregationist policies of the city.
Much to their credit the players told the league that they would not play. Knowing that without Gilchrist and the other black stars the game wouldn't be much of an all star game so the league transferred the game to Houston, which by that time allowed blacks to stay at the same hotel the white players were housed at.
Lenny Dykstra just can't seem to stay out of the news these days. A story came out today reporting that LA prosecutors have declined to file charges against Nails after his housekeeper accused him of sexual assault, citing a lack of evidence. The 41 year old woman claims that one of duties as Lenny's housekeeper was to give him a blow job every Saturday. (I'm not making this up)
She reported the accusations after Lenny failed to pay her $2000 that he owed her for her services. Now I have a few questions - like how long was she in his employ? And if her Saturday chore was so offensive, why didn't she quit? The 'housekeeper' stated that she didn't quit because she was afraid that if she had, she wouldn't get her money. Uh huh. There are many other questions regarding this but I'll leave that for others to ask since this is a family oriented blog.
Lastly I must report that since the shooting spree in Tucson, sales of Glock 9's are soaring. Gun dealers in Arizona report a spike of 60% in sales of Jared's weapon of choice. What a country!
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