Games That MATTER Late in 2010 Season

The 2010 schedule was released on Tuesday, April 20th. The first game of the season will be the Superbowl champion New Orleans Saints hosting the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC title game rematch Thursday, Sept. 9. As interesting as this may be, the schedule only gets better.
The last Sunday of the regular season will be filled with 16 intradivisional battles on Sunday, Jan. 2. The NFL stressed this year that they want the remaining games of the season to have meaning. Now, most people would believe that in the NFL every game means something. However, late in the season it is not always the case.
A perfect example is the 16th week of the 2009 season. The Colts and Jets played each other and the Colts pulled their starters halfway through the game to keep them from getting injured. The Jets wound up coming back and winning the game. The next week, the Bengals made the same move and this ultimately gave the Jets a better chance to get into a wild card playoff spot.
Due to situations like this, the NFL has pressured the teams to have divisional games within the last three weeks of the season. So, week 17 will feature divisional showdowns and the final three weeks there will be 28 such match-ups, 13 more than last year.
The NFL is smart for making a decision like this. Fans do not want to watch games in the late weeks that mean nothing. They want to see teams face off and fight for division titles. When second string players come in just because they do not want their players getting hurt it turns the fans off. So thanks so much NFL for encouraging this. It will make mine and millions of other fans happier!
Click here to see the full 2010 NFL schedule.

Big Ben In Trouble With NFL

Ben Roethlisberger, the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, discovered last week that he would not be faced with any criminal charges. About a month ago, Ben was accused of sexually assalting a 20-year old girl at a nightclub in Georgia. Just because he is off the hook with the law, does not mean the NFL will let him off as well.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday on Dan Patrick's radio show, "The issue here is with respect to a pattern of behavior and bad judgments. You do not have to be convicted or even charged with a crime to be able to demonstrate that you've violated a personal-conduct policy, and reflect poorly not only on themselves, but all of their teammates, every NFL player in the league, and everyone associated with the NFL. That is what my concern is, and I have expressed that directly to Ben, obviously, and I'll be making a decision as soon as I possibly can."
The Steelers believe he will suspended up to four games of the season. However, Goodell could give Ben a conditional suspension. This means the length of punishment will not be determined for months. Michael Vick faced this punishment when he was convicted of his dog fighting crime.
Even with his suspension, Ben is allowed to practice with his team as well as play in preseason games.
I believe that Ben should be punished. He is constantly in the limelight and cannot risk his career with accusations flying. Although he may not have been charged with the crime, people still talk and listen to what is said about him. He is giving himself a bad reputation and needs to be punished to show that the NFL does not take these situations lightly.

Texas Stadium Imploded

The Texas Stadium in Irving was turned into nothing but dust and rubble on Sunday, April 11th. With just a push of a button, the dynamite in the stadium imploded; taking down the stadium in about 30 seconds.
This may seem as no big deal to some, but to others it was a place where their biggest dreams and memories were created.
Texas Stadium belonged to America's team; the Dallas Cowboys. While in that stadium, the Cowboys won five Superbowl titles and also started the infamous "Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders." The Cowboys played 38 seasons of football there and had a winning record of 213-100.
Fans of the Cowboys paid $25 to watch the implosion from their cars and see a remarkable yet devastating sight.
People like my father and I lived and died by this particular stadium. So many memorable games, players, coaches and owners came from this stadium and set numerous records. This stadium, as well as its legacy, will live on forever. As former Cowboy receiver Drew Pearson said, "They can blow it up, implode it, dynamite it — but they can't take away the memories created there."

The McNabb Grab

On April 3rd, 2010, Eagles veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb was traded to the Washington Redskins. The trade agreement was that the Redskins would give up their 2010 second-round pick (37th overall) as well as their third- or fourth-round pick in 2011, depending on how well McNabb performs for the Redskins.
McNabb, who was going to enter his 12th season with the Philadephia Eagles, has been quoted saying, "I wanted to finish out my career where I started." Although his dream has not come true, he feels he could be the next John Elway II.
John Elway II was coached by Redskins Mike Shanahan and led his team to two Super Bowl titles. On top of that he was also named MVP in one of the Superbowl wins. By working with Mike Shanahan, he feels that he can succeed just as Elway did.
This may not seem a big deal to many who do not know the game of football. However, I believe this trade is going to have a huge impact on McNabb. He has not only played 11 seasons with the Eagles, but he is also going to be competing against them at least twice each year because the Redskins and Eagles are both in the NFC East division. He has played with the team so long that he has and always will be a huge part of that program, and I do not believe he will be able to let that go
I believe if he starts off on the right foot he could do very well. However, if he lets the chatter from the media get into his head, it could be a very rough season.