TERRY MOSHER
TOP OF THE TOWN – The Seahawks have now beaten five teams with a combined record of 8-28-1. They beat the 5-3 Rams by one point and lost to the Ravens (5-2) and the Saints (7-1). So tell me how good the Seahawks are at the halfway mark of the NFL season? Five of the teams among the remaining eight on the schedule have winning records. Their combined record is 22-8 (they play the unbeaten 49ers (7-0) twice). It’s not going to be easy for them to make the playoffs with that tough schedule. They will have to toughen up their defense, which ranks in the bottom third of the league. Bottom line for me is the defensive front. It has yet to prove that it can game-after-game, play-after-play, put pressure on the quarterback. Until that happens, the back end of the Hawk defense will be under severe pressure. The offensive line has been decent—not great – but just decent. Some of the problem there is continuing injuries that has not helped it consistency. And now center Justin Britt may be lost for the season with a knee injury. … Did you realize the New England Patriots have intercepted 19 passes, which is nine more than second place San Francisco and the Carolina Panthers. The Patriots have allowed just two TD passes all season. In contrast, the Arizona Cardinals have allowed 20 TD passes and intercepted just two (tied with Atlanta for second worse; Miami has only one). The most penalized team in the league by yardage is Green Bay with 628. By number of penalties it is Cincinnati with 70. … I have gotten tired of the New England Patriots dominating the league. And this year it’s at its worse. The Patriots are 8-0 and have allowed just 61 points. That is incredible. They have allowed just four offensive touchdowns, which equals the four defensive touchdowns it has scored. They play in a division (AFC East) which is so bad they should just call the games in and not play them. They have scored more points (250) than any team in the league. … The NFC East is so bad that the Dallas Cowboys lead the division with a 4-3 record. … Hey, what do you think about California letting college athletics in on a piece of the NCAA pie? I’m not sure what I think. I do realize that some athletes – maybe a lot of the athletes – that sign letters of intent have bigger designs than getting a degree from college. Or at the least we can all probably identify those athletes who are there to put in their required time by the rules and then jump into the respective drafts. One-and-done basketball athletes that are identified from day one are not there to get a college education. Why do they need that when they can earn millions for playing basketball? So maybe we ought to pay them from the get-go. Why pretend? Maybe, in fact, college athletics should be club sports. There is no requirement to go to classes. You just play your sport, sponsored by a school, but you are not there to get an education if you don’t want one. You are there to represent the school in a sport and that is all that is necessary on the athlete’s part. You get paid for playing it. Not a lot, but you get paid enough to put gas in a car, pay rent for a house or an apartment, buy your food and go to a movie if you want. Athletes would get paid based on skill level. A pitcher with a 100 mph fastball and a curve to die for might be paid more than the banjo-hitting second baseman. And don’t forget the women would get paid too. Equally as well as the men. Of course, there is a downside to paying college athletes. If they don’t perform up to snuff they could be fired. To make it fair, club sport athletes who get drafted into a pro league, that pro team would have to pay the club sport. So if the Seattle Mariners drafted one of the players out of a club sport they would be obligated to pay the club sport an agreed upon amount. If that program is successful why not continue this to high school. Make all high school sports club. Players could get paid. Not as much as they would at the college level, but they would get paid. And when a high school player moves up to a college sports club team that club team would have to compensate the high school player’s team. Sounds fair to me. It would be really fair if somewhere along the line the writer – like me – would be compensated in this process for writing about the club team. That REALLY sounds fair to me. Hey, I think that it is
for me.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.