Left field

The pursuit of perfection vs the goal of a championship

Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell stressed all season that his goal was a Super Bowl victory, not an undefeated season. He felt his team had a better chance at capturing the Lombardi Trophy if he could keep them rested and healthy.

With their place atop the AFC secured, Caldwell pulled many of his key starters in the third quarter against the New York Jets two weeks ago. The result was a 29-15 loss, ending any hope of the Colts joining the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only NFL team to go undefeated for an entire season.

Some said that by pulling his starters, Caldwell was tampering with the integrity of the game. As former Jets coach Herm Edwards famously said, “you play to win the game.”

Others felt the Colts, or any team that enters the final few weeks of the regular season with nothing to gain from a win, earned the right to decide who plays and who rests.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, obviously unimpressed with teams not fielding their best possible lineups during regular season games, said on Sunday the league is looking at ways to reward teams for playing their starters, even in games that will not change their place in the standings.

The debate was front and center again on Sunday when New England Patriots’ leading receiver Wes Welker suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter of their game against the Houston Texans. Even though the Pats were not seeking perfection, win or lose they would be hosting a first-round playoff game next week.

While some were quick to point out that this validated the Colts decision to pull key starters, others said regardless of Welker’s injury, Caldwell’s decision was still wrong.

Is NFL treating Rush Limbaugh’s bid with fairness?

During his brief stint as a commentator on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown pre-game show back in 2003, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh was forced to resign after making this controversial comment about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

“I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve. The defense carried this team,” Limbaugh said at the time.

In his resignation letter Limbaugh said “my comments this past Sunday were directed at the media and were not racially motivated. I offered an opinion. This opinion has caused discomfort to the crew, which I regret.”

In a league where almost three quarters of its players are African-Americans, including the head of the players’ union, Limbaugh’s attempt to become co-owner of the beleaguered St. Louis Rams, in his home state, has been met with swift opposition.

According to ESPN, DeMaurice Smith, the Executive Director of the NFL Players Association, has written an email to the association’s executive committee, detailing his opposition to Limbaugh’s bid. “I’ve spoken to the Commissioner (Roger Goodell) and I understand that this ownership consideration is in the early stages. But sport in America is at its best when it unifies, gives all of us reason to cheer, and when it transcends. Our sport does exactly that when it overcomes division and rejects discrimination and hatred.”

Commissioner Roger Goodell has already cast doubt on Limbaugh’s viability as an NFL owner, saying that “divisive comments are not what the NFL is all about.” Goodell said that Rams representatives told owners at a recent meeting that they haven’t fully committed to selling the team, which is being shopped by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

UPDATE: Have decided to turn comments off. Sorry about that but felt the debate was generating more heat than light.

Is Michael Vick an asset or a liability for NFL?

Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick’s prison sentence followed by house arrest for participating and bankrolling a dog-fighting operation officially ended on Monday July 20.

It took exactly one night for Vick’s name to be once again embroiled in controversy. Vick’s Virginia-based lawyer Lawrence Woodward denied reports that his client spent his first night of freedom at a Virginia Beach strip club. “It is absolutely, categorically false,” Woodward said.

Two dancers at the club, who identified themselves as Tropical and Tara, told reporters they saw Vick and NBA free agent Allen Iverson there Monday night.

Throughout Vick’s legal ordeal, the NFL seemed content to toss all the controversy into the hands of the legal system. Now that Vick is out of the proverbial dog house, all eyes are on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Shortly after regaining his freedom, Sports Illustrated and other media outlets, quoting anonymous sources, reported that Goodell and Vick’s agent, Joel Segal, secretly met in New Jersey.

It was then reported that the NFL had granted Vick a conditional re-instatement that includes a four-game suspension. NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello quickly went on Twitter to announce that “despite what ESPN says, commish has made no decisions on MVick.”