Violence never solved anything, unless you're the NFL, that most conservative and (lowercase) republican of things. I have it on good authority that the new season begins Thursday night — beefy, bloated and beautiful. Autumn springs eternal.Just let me ask you: Is there any business in America with the corporate mojo of the NFL?Listen, I'm not endorsing a monopoly like this. What's good for the NFL is good for America, and all that. I'm just saying that I don't know of any organization — Coke? Apple?— that is as universally popular as the NFL.Splendid product. Our national opium.I should hate it the way I hate the 405 and frozen pizza, hard as hockey pucks. But the NFL is so a part of our history, so coded into my DNA, I can't seem to resist.New Orleans at Green Bay in Thursday night's opener? My heart just did the Lambeau Leap.Generally, I'm so done with corporations and the things they stand for. How about that grossly overplayed commercial where the yuppie husband goes to rock 'n' roll camp. For that, I need a special credit card? To be exposed as a pathetic Dockers-wearing dweeb? I can do that for free.And how about that new line of Tostitos, the ones they call "artisan"? To attempt to render a mass-produced, chemically flavored corn chip as "artisan" is the highest form of farce. Is there no shame? "Artisan Tostitos" is a moronic oxymoron, like "exact estimate" or "seriously funny."But, oooooooh, that NFL. Talk about processed foods. It's sort of what you'd have if Nietzsche ran Disney."Yeah, I kinda love it," confesses my buddy Steve. " I belong to four different NFL pools and leagues, two of which I am the commissioner for."I also have a very pregnant wife and a 2-year-old. I think their names are Nikki and Reece. At least, that's what their name tags say."Yeah, the NFL is an illness, a chronic condition, treatable only with electro-Shockey treatments and beer.
Alex Bauman is careful with his words, rarely talks about himself, and will never try to tell you a bushel full of manure is a pot of gold like some sports bureaucrats do.Perhaps, it’s that last quality that will be missed most.The double Olympic swimming champion announced Wednesday he was resigning as the leader of Own The Podium to take a similar position in New Zealand.His decision to return to the land Down Under reflects his character. His bout of prostate cancer eight months ago was a stark reminder that his wife Tracy and children Ashton and Tabitha are two days removed from their support system in Australia, where Tracy is from and all their relatives live.Baumann has no living relatives in Canada — his mom and dad have passed away; his older brother Roman committed suicide in 1980.Putting family first is always the right move, but Baumann’s departure after five years at OTP creates a huge leadership void. You just don’t replace a guy with his gravitas,NFL shop integrity and commitment to excellence. More than half a dozen top athletes and officials interviewed Wednesday couldn’t come up with a single likely successor.It was Baumann who stewarded OTP in the post-Vancouver Olympic era and maintained its autonomy at a time when COC president Marcel Aubut was gunning to bring it in house, which would have left it vulnerable to political influence.There are those who believe Aubut forced Baumann’s hand. While there was plenty of conflict there, this was definitely Baumann’s call.It’s the second big change in a week at the top of the Canadian Olympic sport hierarchy. Jean Dupre, CEO of the COC, resigned for “personal reasons” and was replaced by Chris Overholt, chief operating officer.Gold medal eights rower Adam Kreek, a member of the COC’s Athletes Commission, says change has to be expected in high performance sport and believes things are in good hands.“The COC has embraced the culture and mantra of an athlete,” said Kreek.That remains to be seen, but the good news is none of this matters to the athletes getting ready for the London 2012 Games. Theirs is a singular focus and in the short term they should be well looked after by OTP’s director of summer sports, Anne Merklinger, a remarkably capable executive.Baumann was not afraid to make the hard decisions, to tell under-performing sports they were getting a funding cut or even no funding at all.
The NFL is back. (!) And what a way to kick things off, huh? The last two Super Bowl winners square off at one of the sport's greatest venues, Lambeau Field, in primetime on a Thursday following a turmoil-filled lockout that eventually led to one of the craziest offseasons and most anticipated regular seasons in recent NFL history.Cheap Jerseys It's also the first time that two Super Bowl MVPs -- Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers -- will face off against each other on the NFL's opening weekend since 1993 -- when Troy Aikman and Mark Rypien, of the Cowboys and Redskins, respectively -- went head-to-head. And presumably the first time that Kid Rock has been within 100 yards of whoever the people are that form Maroon 5. Of course, these bands apparently impressed Packers wideout Greg Jennings, who referred to this game as a "mini-Super Bowl." Mr. Rodgers would like to disagree, sir."It's a similar feel to a big game, a playoff game," Rodgers said. "I don't want to say the Super Bowl. There's a big atmosphere outside the stadium. But the only thing that matters is taking care of business on the field." Winners of Super Bowl XLV (or "46" for some of you knuckleheads) last season, the Packers have pretty good historical odds on their side in terms of this opening game. The previous 45 Super Bowl winners are 37-7-1 in their season opener the following year, and 10-0 in the last decade when it comes to showing up early and often the next year.Youth Jerseys But then again, the last ten Super Bowl winners probably weren't chugging beer cheese in the offseason, and everyone knows how nasty a hangover that creates. Of course, that's all the past. We're talking about the future now, and both these teams should be wearing shades. Thanks to the roster-building skils of Ted Thompson, the Packers are arguably the biggest favorite to win the Super Bowl again in 2011 and, honestly, look like team with dynasty stamped all over it.The Saints had a "down" year in 2010, but are clearly motivated by their embarrassing wild-card loss to Seattle last year and certainly have the personnel and the talent to get back to February.