it's time for steroids

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18299098

The debate of whether or not performance enhancing drugs should be allowed in professional sports continues. I believe everyone has heard countless of reasons why they should not be allowed: They are dangerous, they give players an unfair advantage in the field, they are unethical, etc. Others argue that allowing them to be used legally removes many of the problems.

I believe that performance enhancing drugs should be allowed in professional sports because they add a new level of competitiveness to the whole thing. That would, first of all, get rid of the unfair advantage that those who are using them now have over those who follow the rules. This drug use could be monitored if it is legitimate, so it would be considerably less dangerous. The worst imagined consequence of legal steroid use is the notion that youngsters will begin experimenting with such drugs. However, it is up to those children’s parents to step up and educate them the way they see fit. If they disagree with the use of performance enhancing drugs, they should educate their children about it so that they can make up their own mind about the issue. Parents, today, spend too much time blaming their lack of parenting skills on things like the media. It is time for parents to play a bigger role in their children’s lives so that entertainment, competition, etc. can stop suffering because of them.

Talks About Benching Favre Into Retirement

http://www.vikingspost.com/2010/12/favre-exits-vikings-scoring-points-like-mad.html/

It is no secret that Brett Favre has not been completely healthy the whole season. At times, it seemed as if the only reason that he was kept as starter is to complete 300 consecutive starts for the records. It was surprising, then, to hear about him getting benched for the majority of a game, and his return next week said to be questionable, because of a hard hit by Moats. What is not surprising, though, is the trend that because Tarvaris Jackson put up 28 points against the Buffalo Bills, he should start instead of Favre.

It’s important to realize that the Vikings have not been playing well, as a team, this whole season. Brett Favre is the person who is least to blame for the team’s shortcomings. Although he is not as athletic as he used to be, and although he has been injured this whole season, Favre is still a dangerous quarterback. The problem, though, is that the Vikings’ offensive line as well as his receivers have not been complementing his hard work. I don’t think anyone is surprised that the Vikings beat the Bills. So, instead of beginning questions of whether or not Jackson is better than Favre, people should concentrate on the fact that the Vikings played the Bills who are more comparable to the Vikings than any of their past opponents. Victories are all subjective to the opponents that they are won against. Two B teams playing each other does not offer enough context to subject Favre to the bench for the rest of his final season.

Thanksgiving!

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010112500/2010/REG12/patriots@lions#recap-channels:cat-post-recap-full-story

I woke up on thanksgiving to the sweet smell of holidays and impending laziness. Conveniently, the New England Patriots vs. The Detroit Lions game was about to begin. The first half of this game was completely unexpected. At the beginning of the game, the Patriots enjoyed a 8-2 record while the Lions were suffering with a 2-8 record (2-9, now- haha). However, I believe that America was fully expecting to see a complete shutout. This was not the case with this game. The Lions came into that field looking stronger than this nation has seen them in seasons and limiting the Patriots’ offense’s progress severely. The Lions were, in fact, ahead by the half-time show. It was a first half filled with beautiful plays by the part of the Lions. They were calm and patient with the ball; they were doing everything right. They, however, lost their momentum over the halftime break. The Lions Defense allowed over 20 points in the second half while their offense was almost completely shut down.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010112501/2010/REG12/saints@cowboys#recap-channels:cat-post-recap-full-story

The second game came after the Thanksgiving dinner, and I might have dozed off from a turkey-induced coma for a few minutes. However, this was another exciting game. The Cowboys are a completely different team under Jason Garret. This game was a lot closer than the one that had been playing earlier, too. Kitna was looking great out there, and so was the Cowboys defense after a rocky start. This game ended as it began, though…unexpectedly. Towards the end of the 4^th, I could have almost said with certainty that the cowboys would take the victory. However, an unexpected turnover from a play that should have resulted in a touchdown put the Saints in a position to take the lead very late in the 4^th. The Cowboys simply did not have time to close the gap again to send the game into overtime.

There is nothing like a Thanksgiving of great food and superb Football. These two games certainly brought an unexpected level of excitement to an otherwise relaxing Thanksgiving. It was a shame to see the Lions lose after working so hard the first quarter, though.

Giants Lose NFC East Leadership- Perhaps a Blessing in Disguise

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010112113/2010/REG11/giants@eagles

After enjoying the number one spot of the NFC East for a while, The Giants have been brought down to second place by the Eagles. The game was a very physical confrontation as both sides knew how important this game was. It’s important to note that while the giants allowed 27 points, the loss is not on them. NYG defense played a spectacular game and punished Michael Vick in ways that he has not been so far this season; however, Eli’s two turnovers were devastating.

It would be easy to blame Eli manning for the loss seeing as he had an interception that was returned for a touchdown and then he gave up the ball at the last minute after running for a first down. He should have slid after earning the first down. He was cocky, however, and continued to run, doing a half-slide half-dive that was too ambiguous to call the play dead…he lost the ball in the process while the giants trailed by 7. That was the Giant’s last chance to either send the game into overtime or win it with a two point conversion after a touchdown.

The Giants’ offense was relatively unhealthy coming in to this game. The offensive line was missing a few key players and Steve Smith was out of the game- Smith being a weapon that would have proved useful against the Eagles. This loss will hopefully put the Giants’ heads into perspective. They definitely looked better than last week against the Cowboys, who are now undefeated with their new head coach. Here’s to hoping they improve further for next week.

:(

It’s no secret that I’m a New York Giants fan. As you may imagine, I was very disappointed earlier at their defeat at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys. The Giants have been one of the top teams this season and the Cowboys one of the worst. This game was not horribly important, however. Yes, it would have been great to have that buffer lead on the Eagles for the NFC East. However, the Eagles still have to play the Redskins in Monday Night Football. If they manage to win, they will have tied the giants at 6-3; however, the two teams face off the following week. I’m not too worried about the result of that game, though I may become a bit anxious if the Eagles perform well against the ‘skins.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/11/14/1814189/jason-garrett-and-the-dallas-cowboys-turn-lights-out-on-giants-33-20

Cowboys fans, as expected are loving what happened. However, the chances for the Cowboys to make the Superbowl are slim.

Cowboys "Officially" Out After Another Humiliating Defeat

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/11/7/1800487/45-7-cowboys-humiliated-please-jerry-jones-do-something

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/11/8/1800698/cowboys-2011-offseason-begins-today-what-would-jimmy-do

By all intents and purposes, the Cowboys (now 1-7) are officially out of the picture this season. The 45-7 embarrassment brought down upon them by the Green Bay Packers made it absolutely clear that this team will not be in the post-season even with the aid of a deity or two. The writer of the first article I’ve linked here suggests that it was the defeat at the hands of the New York Giants that finally crippled the team completely. However, I believe the Cowboys already had a record of 1-4 by the time both teams faced each other, so I’m not willing to agree with him. A better analogy of one loss completely destroying a team would be the New Orleans Saints against the New York Giants last year. Both teams were undefeated by the time of the game (4-0 or 5-0), but the Giants got embarrassed. I don’t remember the score of that game but I do remember that it was something shameful with the Giants giving up over 30 points.

The Cowboys have a habit of disappointing their fans. So deeply-rooted is this reputation that one of the most hardcore Cowboys fans I have ever met told me that he was happy the other week. He said he was glad they were coming to an early end this season because he would not be getting his hopes up for a Superbowl run. Weird- I would be quite depressed, just as I was last year after the Saints crippled the Giants.