Fire Lovie?

As another December rolls on we ask the question that has become an annual tradition as of late:

Is Lovie Smith finally on his way out?

Sorry Lovie-Haters, probably not.

I don’t pretend to know the heart of Phil Emery but, unless the Bears absolutely stink it up in these next 2 games, I see Lovie keeping his job for one more year. (If the Bears had’ve beat the Packers this past Sunday after 5 straight losses to Green Bay, Lovie may have received an extension.) I believe that Lovie is so beloved in Halas Hall that he’d have to lose complete command of the team to lose his job. 

And, if you listen to Brian Urlacher, Lovie is still in charge. 

However, at minimum, Lovie will be forced to reshuffle his coordinators again. But what credible coordinator would want to come into a dysfunctional situation?

So how will it play out? I’m glad you asked!

Say hello to Jeremy Bates, your new Offensive Coordinator.

If Phil Emery is serious about giving Jay Cutler an extension and would like a hometown discount, then this move is a turkey shoot. Jay loves Jeremy and Bates is going to climb up the coaching tree to be a head coach someday. The Bears will ditch Mike Tice and O-line coach Tim Holt and Lovie will stick around for at least one more year.

But what if they did fire Lovie? What would the Bears look like next year?

That will be my next post.

The Hits Just Keep On Comin'

I’ve heard and read the arguments that either Gary Bettman or even Donald Fehr should do more to curb the extreme violence that is on display in hockey, particularly the brand of hockey seen in this Stanley Cup playoffs. But there is only so much either man can and/or is willing to do.

A perfect example would be the state of the NFL over the past few years. Ever since Roger Goodell took over in 2006, there has been a concerted effort to increase player safety and to rid the league of players behaving in criminal acts. I have little doubt in my mind that there is some measure of benevolence involved in Goodell’s governance.

Nevertheless, I am sure money continues to be a major inducement. There are over 1,100 former football players, including Mongo, suing the NFL over brain injuries incurred during their careers. They argue that players were consistently misinformed about the negative effects of head trauma. What’s the best way to combat these charges? By making it seem the NFL is all about player safety and has been from the beginning. They are trying to save themselves hundreds of millions of dollars by getting ahead of the curve.

 More importantly, the NFL saw the potential for losing those fans who were tired of watching their stars getting carted off the field with no consequence for the opposing players or team.

What does this have to do with the NHL?

As long as people are paying for tickets to watch players beat the crap out of each other and the NHLPA doesn’t threaten to file suit on behalf of former players, then it’s status quo. They will do just enough to seem like they are doing something, but not what they should be doing, like banning players for life, taking away draft picks, and levying heavy fines.

As a matter of fact, fighting and the crap associated with it should be banned altogether. Yes, I said it.

For those “purists” who believe fighting is just part of hockey, stop it. Really. Fighting had been part of other sports and when it got taken away or curbed those sports did just fine. It’s all about escalation: it starts with the pushing and shoving, then later a smack to the head, then a slash on the hands, then a one-on-one fight, then a brawl.

Or one dirty hit leads to a retaliatory hit where the retaliation gets the guy a 5 game suspension, but the original hit gets nothing.

At some point the fans have to stand together and say that they’ve had it with the inconsistencies, the needless violence and the cheap, petty, whiny thuggery. The fans have to stop buying jerseys, stop buying tickets, stop watching the broadcasts and start making their voice heard. The stakes are just too high.