By Mike Wild, Sports Editor

It’s been about two months since the Super Bowl ended. It’s unclear if the City of New Orleans has officially ended its celebration yet either. I suppose that our illustrious colleagues who had a chance to work in New Orleans’ Public Defender’s Office over Spring Break would have a better perspective on the topic. But, I digress.

Outside of free agent acquisitions, the biggest NFL news from this offseason are new overtime rules and a proposal to make late season games more interesting. Let’s start with the overtime rule. In response to Brett Favre sinking his team’s Super Bowl dreams by throwing a critical interception in the NFC Championship game that subsequently allowed the Saints to win by a field goal in overtime, the NFL competition committee changed the rules for overtime in playoff games.

Instead of pure sudden death in, if the team who scores first in overtime scores a touchdown, the game is over. If the team that scores first in overtime scores a field goal, then the other team gets possession. If the other team scores a touchdown, the game is over. If the other team scores a field goal, then the game reverts back to pure sudden death. If that sounds overly complicated, it is.

Essentially, the NFL wants overtime games to be decided by touchdowns. Touchdowns add dramatic flare to overtime games, and drama sells more officially licensed NFL television footage and merchandise. This isn’t about actual competition, it’s about dragging overtime out to increase the chances of an unlikely or improbable ending to an overtime game so the NFL gets more revenue. Unfortunately, the rule is too concerned with promoting a dramatic finish and less concerned with common sense.

I still contend that if the NFL wanted to maximize its chances for both revenue and dramatic finishes while still maintaining a simple rule, there is only one choice: The Texas tie breaker, better known as the college overtime rule. Each team is guaranteed at least one possession and you play until somebody wins the game. It’s simple, and every NFL player who played in college knows the rules. The NFL game got much more exciting to watch when it borrowed the two point conversion from college football, so I see no reason why borrowing the college overtime rule wouldn’t also make the NFL more exciting.

In other competition committee news, there is a lot of talk this offseason about discouraging the teams who are guaranteed playoff spots from resting their star players in late season games. Again, this is not about player health and safety (another perennial hot topic as of late), but is instead solely intended to generate revenue. The players on the higher caliber teams have worked hard all season to guarantee their team a spot in the playoffs. Those same players are all playing with some kind of injury. There is no way that any human being can take the punishment of an NFL training camp, preseason and regular season without some kind of injury. Yet, the competition committee wants to interfere with the coaches’ prerogatives to rest their players by proposing to make all games in week 16 and 17 divisional matchups.

I think this is completely bogus. When one of the NFL’s star players gets carted off the field on a backboard or on the meat wagon in an otherwise meaningless week 17 divisional matchup, to possibly never walk again, the competition committee will realize that it shouldn’t meddle with the coaches’ decisions to rest their star players for the post season. Frankly, if your team guarantees itself a spot in the playoffs, you earn the prerogative to rest your star players and give them time to stay healthy. This proposal jeopardizes player safety and runs completely afoul of other player health and safety programs that the league is investigating, namely its new efforts to reduce new concussions and study the long term effects of existing ones.

Wow, I used a lot of space to rant and rave about the rule changes. Now I have almost no space left to talk about free agency. So I’ll just hit the highlights.

The Bears opened free agency by signing Julius Peppers, Chester Taylor and Brandon Manumaleuna, instantly adding depth on both sides of the ball. They also showed their hand that their coaching staff and front office are on the coaching hot seat unless the Bears return to the winning ways of recent seasons past. Meanwhile, the Lions made a splash too. They signed Kyle Vanden Bosch and Nate Burleson. The Lions instantly added depth to their team, but still leave big questions about line depth on both sides of the ball.

Mike is a 3L and can be reached at forum@valpo.edu.

By Mike Wild, Gripe Columnist

That’s right Sweet Valpo High. Nothing’s grinding my gears lately. The entire world is sunshine and rainbows with candy and sprinkles on top. Even though under Comrade Obama’s new health care overhaul, candy and sprinkles are now illegal.

Seriously, nothing’s upsetting me lately. Jersey Shore is on hiatus, meaning that I don’t have to see those buffoons embarrass states that touch the Atlantic Ocean. Heritage Hall is no longer a hole in the ground, even if it isn’t actually historic anymore, it’s not a hole in the ground either. I know where to find Northwest Indiana’s best burgers. People who drive token luxury cars that they didn’t pay for aren’t parking across three spaces. I don’t study in the library anymore, so I don’t have to watch the 1Ls running around like headless chickens panicking about Legal Research assignments. The Bills overhauled their coaching staff with plans to put talented players on the offensive line. Most importantly, the only remaining Super Bowl commercials that I still see on TV are beer commercials. Things must be looking up.

April Fools. You think I’d get a gripe column if I was always happy? Yeah right. I’ll be back next month with an actual gripe.

Mike is a 3L and can be reached at forum@Valpo.edu.

By Mike Wild, Sports Editor

Say it isn’t so. The NFL regular season ended weeks ago. Like clockwork, my Bills are staying in shape in January by hitting golf balls at the driving range, on the heels of a 6-10 performance in the win-loss column. So once again I find myself on the outside looking in, much like a fat kid with his nose pressed against a candy store window.

I won’t even bother talking about the debacle between the Jets and the Bengals. Nor will I waste any space talking about the beating the Cowboys gave to the Eagles. For anyone willing to sit through these two Wildcard games, the payoff came the next day. To start off Wildcard Sunday, the Ravens matchup against the Patriots turned out to be smash mouth football at its finest. The Ravens came out of the tunnel at Foxboro and thoroughly beat the Patriots at every phase of the game. Ray Rice started the game with an 83 yard touchdown run. Baltimore’s defense caused three turnovers in the first quarter, capitalizing with points every time. The Ravens never looked back as they got revenge for their week 4 loss against the Patriots.

The final game of Wildcard weekend, between the Cardinals and Packers, will go down as a playoff game for the ages. The Packers played a phenomenal game, and Aaron Rodgers played admirably in the second half, as he led the Packers back from a 31-10 deficit in the third quarter. Rodgers turned a blowout into a gun fight. Aaron Rodgers and Kurt Warner traded touchdown drives for the entire fourth quarter and went to overtime tied at 45. In overtime, Arizona backed the Packers deep into their own territory and Karlos Dansby stripped the ball from Aaron Rodgers, returning it for the game winning score. This was clearly the best game of Wildcard weekend, with the Cardinals and Packers trading touchdowns, working towards an improbable finish.

In the AFC Divisional Playoffs, the Ravens squared off against the Colts. The Colts, coming off a firestorm of criticism about Coach Jim Caldwell’s decision to pull key players and forego an undefeated regular season, played a strong effort against the Ravens. Pierre Garcon made the best play of the Colts’ entire season when he dislodged the ball from Ed Reed’s hands on an interception return, helping the Colts regain possession, effectively ending the game. The Colts went on to win by a final score of 20-3.

In the other AFC matchup, the Jets benefitted from three botched field goals by San Diego’s Nate Kaeding, as they went on to beat the Chargers 17-14. San Diego jumped out to a first half lead on a 13 yard strike from Phillip Rivers to Kris Wilson. The Jets pounded the ball on the ground in the second half, including a 53 yard touchdown rush by Shonn Greene in the third quarter. Ultimately, Kaeding’s three botched kicks turned out to be the key stat for the game, emphasizing just how important special teams play is in any football game.

In the NFC Divisional playoffs, the Saints stood up to criticism that their improbable regular season was a fluke. They started their matchup against Arizona strong, and capitalized on a key injury to Arizona starter Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Rodgers-Cromartie was such a key component to the Cardinals’ defense that the team couldn’t recover and get back into the game. Kurt Warner also faced a chest injury in the second quarter. The jarring hit that hurt Warner led to a New Orleans interception. Ultimately, the Saints went on to win 45-14.

In the other NFC Divisional matchup, the Vikings took on the Cowboys. Wade Phillips, coming off his first-ever official playoff win against Philadelphia, found himself overmatched by Brad Childress’ Vikings. (I would like to point out that Phillips won a certain AFC playoff game in 1999, but this victory is not counted because of an egregious case of referee malpractice commonly known as the Music City Monstrosity, but I digress. . .) The Vikings’ defense sacked Tony Romo six times and Brett Favre threw for four touchdowns. This game ended on a sour note though. Favre’s last touchdown pass came inside the two minute warning, on a fourth down play with the Vikings leading by 24. The Vikings had the chance to make the classy play and kick the field goal. Instead, they chose to run up the score. Maybe this is further proof of how far Brett Favre is willing to slide in his quest to annoy football fans everywhere. Either way, it was a dirty play, and it tainted an otherwise sound, although wholly uninteresting football game.

Mike is a 3L and can be reached at Forum@Valpo.edu

By Mike Wild, Sports Editor

So, we’ve had three weeks of NFL action, and I am officially confused.//

For starters, are the Jets really undefeated and in first place in the AFC East? The same Jets team that suffered a monumental end of season collapse last year because Brett Favre kept throwing the ball into triple coverage? Yes, the Jets, and their contingent of loathsome, miserable fans, are racking up wins while head coach Rex Ryan is ruffling feathers among the coaching ranks. After their convincing win over the Patriots in week two, the Jets look like the team to beat in the AFC East.//

In the AFC South, the Titans are anything but undefeated. Last year, the Titans surprised everybody when they went 13-3, won the AFC and clinched home field advantage for the playoffs. This season on the other hand, the Titans are 0-3, with losses to Pittsburgh, Houston and the Jets (err. . . Titans of New York). Even more surprising in the AFC South this year is that the Houston Texans are currently not in last place in the AFC South.//

Another big surprise to me is that as of the end of week 3, the Detroit Lions have the same record as the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don’t know what makes me happier. That my friends from Detroit rediscovered what it feels like to be happy on Monday mornings in fall, or that Steelers fans have to learn how I feel every Monday morning during fall. Oh who am I kidding? I love watching the Steelers lose.//

No seriously, I love it so much when the Steelers lose that I think an extra paragraph devoted to the topic is justified. In week two, the Steelers lost to the Bears because Jeff Reed missed two (not one, but two) field goals in the fourth quarter. In week three, the Cincinnati Bengals mounted an incredible fourth quarter touchdown drive. Carson Palmer capped off a 16 play, 71 yard drive when he connected with Andre Caldwell for a 4 yard touchdown pass to take the lead. Adding insult to injury, the Bengals converted for two points, and gave Pittsburgh the ball back with only 14 seconds left on the clock.//

Oh, and I just want to take a moment and applaud Chad Johnson for doing a choreographed Lambeau Leap in week two. It was really funny, even if he planted some Bengals fans in the front row to help him out.//

There is one thing that I am not confused about though. Terrell Owens is officially a bust in Buffalo. I’ve had my popcorn ready for three weeks, and all three of those weeks, the popcorn ended up getting thrown at the TV. According to my highly scientific record keeping of the T.O. experiment, he’s dropped more passes than he’s caught, and I don’t think he’s even gotten to 100 yards receiving for the season. His lone good play of the entire season came against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when he managed to hold onto a 45 yard pass and score a touchdown. Again, he managed this feat against the worst defense in the league. In week three, up against New Orleans’ secondary, T.O. didn’t do anything. No literally, he didn’t catch a ball. It snapped his streak of 185 games with at least one reception, solidifying my opinion that T.O. is a $6 million distraction.//

Mike is a 3L and can be reached at Forum@Valpo.edu

By Mike Wild, Sports Editor

The NFL’s offseason might be relatively boring compared to the regular season and the playoffs, but as usual, the NFL’s perennial loud-mouths and attention hogs spent their offseason causing trouble.

In Buffalo, Terrell Owens got a key to the city, without even having a chance to drop a single pass.  Mayor Byron Brown even got the chance to ham it up for T.O.’s camera crew.  Yes, in addition to being a huge distraction and overgrown man-child, T.O. spent the summer trying to rent a house in Buffalo and filming a reality show.  I will continue my protest against T.O., and I will only consider changing my opinion if the Bills split the season series with the Patriots or if the Bills get a playoff berth.  Also, I refuse to watch his train wreck of a reality show.  I don’t like the thought of T.O. doing idiotic things in my beloved home town, especially when it’s part of a one man conspiracy to convince the world that he is still relevant.

Up north, Brett Favre continued his quest to tarnish his legacy and embarrass himself.  The only good thing about Favre’s continuing struggle to fill empty space on ESPN is that, much to my relief, he got waived by the Jets and will no longer be mucking things up in the AFC East.  (Much to my dismay, his replacement is Mark Sanchez, who will likely make my life miserable until his contract ends and he can leave that Jets for a real football team.)  Favre’s discussions with the Vikings were painful to watch.  I didn’t think he could fall much further.  With each passing day, I yearn for the cutesy stuff from his early career, like booze and painkillers.

Over in Cincinnati, the wide receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson made a stir by posting pictures of himself with tattoos on his face to his Twitter page.  What is Twitter anyways? I’ve been led to believe that it’s just another way to change your Facebook status message.  Is this all the internet has to offer anymore?  How disappointing.  To further emphasize how pointless this Twitter-based stunt really was, Ochocinco later updated his Twitter page to reveal that the tattoos resembling the outline of the state of Florida were in fact, fake.  Thanks Ocho-Cinco, that was 5 minutes of my life that I can’t have back.  Maybe you should spend more time in practice and less time changing your Facebook status from your Blackberry.

Idiotic behavior isn’t just limited to active NFL players either.  Remember that guy who got drafted after Peyton Manning?  In case you forgot, that guy is named Ryan Leaf, and he got picked up at the Canadian border in June because of outstanding drug warrants from Texas.  This is yet another public embarrassment for Leaf, who lost his coaching job at West Texas A&M University last year because he was asking his players for painkillers.  Adding insult to injury, Leaf is still frequently characterized as the biggest bust in NFL draft history.  This guy might not be able to catch a break, but he doesn’t do much to help his own cause either.

The definitive low point for the NFL this offseason though, was the passing of Steve McNair.  While I may have despised him for his role in the infamous Music City Monstrosity (to some the Music City “Miracle”), it’s still terrible to see someone who played with so much intensity die in such a terrible way.  He was a warrior on the field who played through injuries and pain. It was really sad to hear the details of his murder unfold in the press.

More important than anything else though, there is only one more worthless week of the preseason to go before opening day.  Just so we’re all on the same page, week 1 starts on Thursday, September 10th.  The first Monday night game of the year is on September 14th.  It’s been a long offseason and a painfully long preseason, so let’s move this along and get the regular season going.

Mike is a 3L and can be reached at Forum@Valpo.edu

Yes, I went to Jazzercise class. Yes, I woke up in pain the next day. As for your last question, no, I did not wear any form fitting span­dex. So, now that we’ve dispensed with the initial laughter of picturing me at a jazzercise class. I must admit that it’s a really good workout. My usual work­outs include somewhere between 60 and 90 minutes of cardio with some lift­ing, but this class got me to use muscles that I forgot I had.

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So, Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, and for those of us who are terminally single, this is one of the most irritating times of the year. Insipid heart shaped decorations, those chalky heart-shaped candies with sappy romantic messages, the mountains of heart-shaped candies that pervade ev­ery place you go, the greeting cards, the flowers, the jewelry store commer­cials on ESPN; they’re everywhere, and they’re really annoying.

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On Friday, October 4th, the Lib­ertarian Party’s Presidential candidate, Bob Barr, returned to Valparaiso University. Barr was last on campus in 2007 for a program discussing the powers of the federal government. The Law Libertarians of Valparaiso University (LLVU) spon­sored the event, held at the Neils Sci­ence Center Auditorium.

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After eight weeks of NFL action, the season is nearly half over and while some things stay the same, there are some new faces at the top of their respective divisions.

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