Week 17: Endings & Beginnings

Christmas & New Years - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year for Sports ...

Happy Holidays from Jason & Michelle
Witten.
Courtesy of dallasnews.com.

The holiday season is full of parties, events, family, and sports.  Christmas Day featured a special NFL game, a day full of NBA games, and a couple of college football bowl games.  Every day since then, there has been at least one bowl game on television.  New Years Day is the day for bowl games and the NHL Classic.  Does anyone actually have time to watch all of these games?

We had the pleasure of watching the Cowboys game on Christmas Day, even without NFL Network, thanks to the Dallas CW station.  Before the game, we watched "A Cowboys Christmas," which featured Tony Romo interviewing his fiancee and several other players with their families.  (Click here to watch part of the special.)  We also watched the Vikings game on Tuesday night with my parents.  It was great watching the Vikes beat the Eagles in spite of having to wait out the blizzard.

Today, of course, is the last week before the playoffs.  None of my favorite teams are going to make it.  So I'll wait to see what happens today and then pick someone to follow to Cowboys Stadium for the Super Bowl.

... Weddings and Babies Too

Apparently, the holiday season is a great time to get engaged, married, or to have a baby.  After Tony Romo and Candice Crawford were engaged, many other celebrities have been announcing engagements, surprise weddings, pregnancies, and the birth of babies.  No other NFL players have big news, but I'm hoping Michael Vick gets married or the Manning brothers become fathers in 2011.

Brett Favre to Retire (Again)

This is how we should remember Favre.
Courtesy of SI.

The Vikings are playing their last game of the season today and Brett Favre says it's also his last game (again).  Since it is his last game (for the fourth time), he wanted to play but will be inactive due to the concussion that occurred during the game at the University of Minnesota.  

I really hope that Favre stays retired this time.  Both his pride and body would have benefited from not getting on that plane this season, but he can't change the past.  He definitely needs to go home, recuperate from all of his injuries, and lay low for a while.  He is a talented player, but made the mistake of trying to play too long.

Hopefully, Jenn Sterger is done with Favre also.  I don't know if she was looking to make money or just hurt Favre's reputation, but she ended up doing neither.  The commissioner couldn't conclude that Favre did anything inappropriate and he was fined $50,000 for failing to fully cooperate with the investigation.

Week 9: Drama, drama, drama!

The NFL - The Manly Version of One Tree Hill

My favorite drama-loving duo, T.Ocho.

People say that women are so dramatic and love to gossip.  I believe men have their own love of drama and gossip.  My husband has a friend who calls him every day to talk about their group of friends.

That's why I know men don't watch the NFL games for just the action on the field.  Most of the excitement is the drama during the week.  There's drama when a star player is injured - how long will he be gone, who will take his place, will the team be able to win without him?  There's drama with players getting arrested for DUIs, beating their baby mamas, and bringing guns to the club.  My favorite drama is when they start a new relationship with a famous celebrity.

That's why I enjoy the NFL.  I have two favorite teams (Vikings and Cowboys), and I like to know who wins, but my favorite part is the drama.  To be honest, I wasn't aware of all the drama until this season.  It's amazing what the players get away with off the field and how strict the playing rules can be.

There's been a lot of drama with my teams this year.  Favre has been in the spotlight with his injuries and sexting drama, and the Cowboys have all the drama associated with a horrible record and the expectation of playing in the Super Bowl at home.

Top Drama

Favre's sexting drama has died down with occasional, not highly publicized updates.  Sterger is the key to finding out what really happened and she hasn't talked to the NFL yet.  Mark Kriegel of foxsports.com has a great article about the current situation.  Basically, now she's unemployed and needs to get attention and money.

James Harrison, who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers, keeps receiving fines for hard hits.  As of Nov. 5, he has racked up $100,000 in fines and keeps complaining about it.  He claims the fines are unfair because he wasn't called for a penalty on two of the offending hits.  He is the only repeat offender under the new policy.

Hopefully Randy Moss knows he's on his last chance.

Randy Moss.  This week he was picked up by the Tennessee Titans after being dramatically and mysteriously released from the Vikings after a month with the team.  The owner of the Vikings, Zygi Wilf, let it be known that he thought about firing the head coach and keeping Moss instead.  Head coach Brad Childress let Moss go without consulting the owner, which is a big no-no.

All of this happened after Moss announced that he wouldn't talk to the media for the remainder of the season.  The players are required to answer questions and conduct interviews, but Moss decided only he would ask the questions.  Most people think Childress was ticked because Moss didn't play well against his old team, the Patriots, and said he missed his old teammates.  Sounds like 90210, huh?

Dallas Football Socialites

Erin, the wife of Cowboys punter Mat McBriar.

If you really love my blog, there's a show on VH1 you may enjoy.  "Football Wives" is showing it's third episode tonight at 9:30 EST.  The show is filmed in Dallas and features women in various stages of relationships with former and current NFL players.  There are wives, girlfriends, and an ex-girlfriend.  VH1 won't tell you who Mercedes Nelson dated, but it was Marion Barber of the Cowboys.  I watched the show for ten minutes yesterday and saw four ladies fighting over a game of golf.  Like its predecessor, "Basketball Wives," the show probably won't last long.