Archive for August 30th, 2012

WATERCOOLER CHAT: JONES-DREW STILL A HOLDOUT, NOTRE DAME NO CHOIR BOYS, REPLACEMENT REFS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the NFL, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew entered the 35th day of his hold out. Basically, Jones-Drew wants a hefty contract extension that puts him on the same pay scale as other star running-backs like Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, and Marshawn Lynch.  A lot of experts thought that the Jaguars would trade Jones-Drew and get as much as they can for him (similar to what the Magic tried to do with Dwight Howard).  But Wednesday, Jaguars owner Gene Smith said that Jacksonville had no intention of trading Jones-Drew.  They just want him back in action and ready to go.  As of right now, the starter would be Rashad Jennings, but holdouts almost always end with the star player coming back.  Hopefully Jones-Drew does and helps all the fantasy owners that drafted him.

And in college football, Notre Dame has been pretty much down as a football power house the last decade.  Sometimes they’re good, but they can’t compete the with the likes of Florida or Alabama.  Recently, the Irish had to hand out some suspensions to a few bad eggs on the team.  This is atypical for Notre Dame, as they rarely have problems off-the-field like other programs.  But, Irish radio analyst Allen Pinkett said it could be good for Notre Dame to have some ‘bad citizens’ on the team.  He said that having troublemakers gives the team an edge and, essentially, an added chemistry of toughness.  He said that you can’t have a football team full of choir boys.

Finally, when the NFL season starts next Wednesday between the NY Giants and the Dallas Cowboys, it will be with the ‘replacement’ referees.  The referee union is locked out right now, as they are making demands for higher wages.  And unlike the players last summer, the refs actually held out into the season.  The replacement refs have been calling the pre-season games, but have been heavily criticized by coaches across the league.  After all, they’re second tier refs, and football is a very complex sport to learn and judge correctly.  It’s no telling when the regular refs will return, but there’s a chance for anarchy if these refs blow some key calls in a game.

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