Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Ever wanted to watch a movie written by an NFL coach? It’s quite possible Sean Payton will give you that opportunity soon.

Apparently, Sean Payton’s creativity extends beyond his offensive playbook. He came up with an idea for a screenplay two years ago as a “summer project” and it’s now being shopped around Hollywood by top talent agency CAA.

The movie, currently titled “The Xbox Kid,” is about a boy from a poor family in New Orleans who starts controlling the outcome of NFL games through a refurbished Xbox given to him by his grandfather following a devastating hurricane.

via Saints Coach Sean Payton shops movie idea to Hollywood – New Orleans Saints Beat.

I’m not saying Sean Payton is qualified to pitch movies, but anyone who can figure out how to successfully use Reggie Bush at the NFL level without making him an every down back, shows a great deal of creativity. While I don’t expect any Oscar’s for this idea, it’s no worse than anything currently playing on the Disney Channel on coming to a theatre near you.  

Whether the movie gets made or not, I sincerely hope in my heart of hearts this leads to NFL coaches crossing over into entertainment, outside of broadcasting gigs of course. NFL players have tried their hand in music, movies and TV, so why shouldn’t coaches get their moment to shine. 

This scenario begs the questions: what coach would you like to see take on the entertainment industry? How?

My vote is a Tom Coughlin workout video.

I honestly don’t understand the Greg Paulus as QB hype that has swept the NCAA recently. Apparently, undersized white former point guards are en vogue for the QB position this year. Then I come across this quote from the head coach of his transfer destination:

“The only feedback that I got from his throwing ability was from an NFL workout,” Marrone said. “It was basically just a correspondence of, that he threw the ball very well. Those were the words told to me. From the standpoint of my actually seeing him throw the football, I have not seen him throw a football. The only time I saw Greg throwing the football was the tapes of him in high school. So I have not actually have seen him, physically, with my own eyes, throw a football.”

via Marrone said he’s only seen high school tapes of Paulus throwing the football – Orange Football Blog on syracuse.com.

This defies all logic and reason. Imagine you needed a new desk chair because you weren’t satisfied with the options currently at your disposal. So you decide to invest in a used bean bag with some wear & tear, sight unseen and make a big deal about it to anyone that will listen. Sure, at one point a bean bag was a halfway decent place to sit but that doesn’t make it a good desk chair, especially if you’ve never actually looked at the bean bag yourself.

Plus the bean bag got dunked on all the time, which doesn’t help.

[kaltura-widget wid="q1p3v1nupo" width="410" height="364" addpermission="0" editpermission="0" /]

Syracuse blogger Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician had the best take:

Does this remind anyone else of the plot to an 80’s sex comedy?  Are we going to find out that Greg Paulus is actually a girl?  (Wait, don’t answer that…).

Les Miles is known for his risk taking on the sidelines. So much so that one could go as far to say he’s a proverbial riverboat gambler. He’s taking on Twitter with the same reckless abandon.

Oh, not merely to tell his fellow coaches, boosters and the rest of Louisiana’s finest that he’s just had a tuna sandwich. No, Miles intends to Twitter before and after games. And during half-time.

via LSU football coach says he’ll Twitter during games | Technically Incorrect – CNET News.

With the wave of coaches joining Twitter, the NCAA is going to have to make some decisions on how to regulate micro-blogging. Being the glacial, slow-to-adapt monolith they are, their actions (or lack thereof) will be intriguing. Remember, they were late to adopt rules for instant messaging and text messaging with recruits, which was banned in 2007 but continues to be a useful recruiting tool. 

The first big question is whether they lump Twitter in with text messaging or consider it a separate form of communication with other forms of new media like Facebook. Since it’s not technically direct communication, it would be difficult for coaches to control who is following their updates. And that’s not even touching on the issues presented by in-game uses for social media.

Considering their track record and curmudgeon reputation, I’d expect a full ban and a stern request to get off their lawn.

Of course, this incident is drawing comparisons to the Ron Artest “Malice at the Palace” fracas that was a non-stop news story for several weeks in 2004.
[kaltura-widget wid="0wqssvoxco" width="410" height="364" type="whiteblue" addPermission="0" editPermission="0" /]

It is tempting to chalk the lack of attention paid to the Tortorella incident to the obvious race differences between hockey and basketball. The mostly black NBA has an image problem, as their players are often branded as thugs (sometimes rightfully so) stemming from violent on and off the court troubles. The largely Canadian and European NHL meanwhile, has a more clean-cut image despite being a more violent product with plenty of off-ice altercations. However, race has very little to do with the coverage of these particular incidents. The bottom line is that the NHL isn’t popular enough among American fans to solicit any measure of outrage. Something like this may as well have happened on a WWE Pay Per View. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if Vince McMahon offered this fan a contract.

Whether you’re a college or pro football fan, the NFL Draft is the most interesting event in sports that doesn’t take place on the field. It’s the only event where the two leagues interact so directly, in an amazing spectacle of potential on display. Not only are the futures of individual players from your favorite Universities determined, the long-term fate of every NFL team is directly linked to their selections. Of course, the most glamorous position in football and perhaps all of sports, the Quarterback will be prominently on display. However, ESPN and other sports outlets have spent the last few weeks seemingly hellbent on highlighting the negative aspects of picking a QB in the 1st Round. The consensus among “experts” is that NFL teams using their first pick in the draft on a signal caller are foolish. Yesterday, Brian Billick even trotted out a statistic that only 14 of 43 first round QB’s in the last 10 years have been successful in the NFL. Not only is the sports’ media data and conclusion misleading, their agenda is a mystery because it only serves to undermine their superstar system.

Being an NFL Quarterback is among the most select fraternity in athletics. Only 30 men are good enough to start and only about half are very good at what they do. One could legitimately argue that there are only about 20 athletes on the planet truly capable of competently playing QB in the NFL. The reason? Quarterback is the single most mentally and physically challenging position in all of sports. You have to process multiple complicated scenarios in seconds while the huge men attempt to injure you. Plus, its nearly impossible to determine whether college success and potential actually translate into professional success. This fact alone is the reason for the increased value for the position and teams’ propensity to take risks in the first round. With that in mind, you could argue the high percentage of signal caller busts is simply a product of the expectations attached to draft position. Since it is the most highly-paid and marketable position, the pressure to succeed often creates additional weight that other draft picks never experience. If Offensive Lineman were the most sought after position, the ratio of success would likely be similar.

The only question is whether the media and the NFL itself has ulterior motives. I can’t help but wonder if this QB smear campaign has anything to do with the current recession. It certainly would be a good way to drive the prices down, although I believe they call that collusion in legal circles.

Whether you’ve watched football or not for the last 25 years, you’ve heard the name John Madden. Even those that call him Steve Madden know who he is and could probably muster a decent impression, although it’s probably just yelling “BOOM” inordinately loud. Every sports media outlet, even his competitors, are airing more tributes and retrospectives than if the man had actually died. So why has one announcer made such an impact?

Before Madden football announcers (outside of the controversial Howard Cosell) were just background noise, adding or subtracting nothing from the action. They were neutral at best and the aim appeared to be allowing the action to speak for itself. That all changed when John Madden put the color in color commentary with his partner Pat Summerall. His knowledge, passion for the game and everyman appeal were impossible to conceal and officially ushered in the era of the sports personality. While his contribution may be responsible for creating the logjam of mediocre imitators in the booth and possibly spawned the unnecessarily grating ESPN anchor that make themselves bigger than the story, Madden’s unique legacy is nothing short of remarkable. He never devolved into schtick like once popular Chris Berman, even though his style remained familiar. Even as he aged, his zeal was always fresh. The fact he lent his image to the most popular video game series not involving Italian plumbers and inter-dimensional transport only extends his timelessness, as it exposed Madden to a brand new generation and launched a new avenue for branding.

This may not be Madden’s final ride. As we know, retirement for celebrities and athletes is to be taken with a grain of salt. However, I wouldn’t plan to have Turducken on the Thanksgiving menu this year.

What will you always remember about John Madden?

Image via Wikipedia

Drew Carey certainly has no qualms about taking on long standing American traditions. First, he replaces Bob Barker on the best game show and steadfast sick day delight in TV history, The Price is Right. Now he’s attempting to revolutionize fan participation in sports: 

Carey also got his wish: Sounders FC fans will be able to vote to fire the club’s general manager.

“I don’t know why anybody would not want this for their team. I think it’s the greatest idea,” said Carey, who still sounds more like a typical frustrated sports fan than a part-owner of a professional team.

“You vote for a president; you vote for mayor. I don’t know why you shouldn’t be able to vote for the general manager of your local sports team.”

via Drew Carey full of ideas as owner in MLS – MLS – Yahoo! Sports.

Carey got the idea while visiting Barcelona and was inspired to bring the idea back to America as a manner of fan empowerment. It seems to be a perfect time for the idea, considering the recent groundswell of individual empowerment. Record numbers turned out for both the Primaries and the Presidential election. Reality shows that factor viewers into the decision-making process like American Idol are extremely popular. Internet technology has allowed for anyone to build their own circle of influence. So why couldn’t this work for sports?

On top increasing fan participation, it would add incentive to purchase season tickets or make a financial contribution to the team, which is especially important for teams desperate for revenue. Sadly, Sounders’ fans won’t have the opportunity to vote until 2012 when their current General Manager’s term is up… unless they have the power to adjust term limits.

Image via Wikipedia

Ever received a friend request from a woman with an inviting picture but a conspicuous profile on your favorite social networking site? It could be scam, or you could just be collateral damage in an NFL covert operation to vet draft picks.

The twist? These women don’t actually exist, at least not in the way that some unsuspecting NFL prospects are led to believe. Indeed, they are a figment of one NFL team’s imagination – a phony Facebook profile, used as a tool by one franchise in the pre-draft vetting process. A Trojan horse that, when used effectively, unlocks a door to a world of Internet pictures and information which most NFL teams are now consistently compiling to help polish their dossiers on draft picks.

 

“It works like magic,” said a personnel source that was familiar with his team’s tactic of using counterfeit profiles to link to Facebook and Myspace pages of potential draft picks. The source directed Yahoo! Sports to one of the team’s “ghost profiles” – a term he coined because “once the draft is over, they disappear. It’s like they were never there.”

via Social networking a potential trap for prospects – NFL – Yahoo! Sports.

While not as prevalent on Facebook (yet), anyone with a MySpace account has almost certainly received a friend request from a fake profile that uses an alluring picture as bait. For most average people, it’s pretty easy to spot a profile like this because they only get requests from people they actually know, and not random attractive women that want to connect with them. 

It’s a little different for an NFL-caliber talent, who have been receiving disingenuous friend requests online and in real life since middle school. An impossibly beautiful woman contacting you out of the blue isn’t a foreign concept, especially when you likely received similar treatment during your recruitment. That kind of experience dulls the somewhat innate skepticism that sounds the “too good to be true” alarm for regular guys. For high profile athletes, very few things fall into that category.

What do you think of the NFL’s strategy? Share your input in the comments.

‘Tim’ is the pseudonym for a gay Division I college football kicker. Outsports has verified his identity and we have allowed his story to be told anonymously because we feel it is an important one to tell.

via Gay college football player fits in well on his team.

The assumption about the testosterone filled locker room, particularly in a sport like football, would be that his teammates would reject him or at the very least disapprove of his sexuality. However, it seems to be quite the opposite.

This modicum of protection isn’t just because Tim is good at his sport, it also comes from genuine gay-positive sentiment. “My uncle is gay,” Tim recalls one of his teammates telling him. “I’ve got no problems with it.” Apparently, nobody else on the team does either. Tim has received no homophobic harassment and says he has never been harassed by anyone for being gay.

Perhaps we’ve underestimated the macho culture of American football. But why is “Tim’s” experience so drastically different from what people expect? The answer is simple: competition. As the stakes continue to rise for programs, the desire to win becomes even more paramount which may inadvertenly destroy the barriers between teammates. When a group of people begins to focus on a much larger goal the differences, both major and minor, simply fade away.

Undoubtedly there are many closeted athletes that have had a vastly different experience than “Tim’s.” However, this may be a harbinger of progress that brings hope to future generations living in a more progressive society.

Sure economic times are bad, but does the NFL have to resort to this?

Monetize. That was the buzzword for NFL owners in search of creative new revenue streams in these economically-challenged times.

Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones, a member of the league’s business ventures committee, said the league is exploring the possibility of having sponsor logos worn unobtrusively on practice jerseys. In addition to receiving a four-year, $4 billion extension from DirecTV and investigating relaxing rules against liquor and lottery sponsorships, the practice jersey sponsor logos were addressed at the three-day owners’ meetings that concluded Wednesday. Further discussion will be held at the league’s May meetings in Fort Lauderdale.

“It would be similar to logos worn on pro soccer jerseys,” Jones said.

via NFL might consider sponsors’ logos on practice uniforms – The Huddle – USATODAY.com.

If the league does pursue this monetization strategy, I hope they take it to the extreme and have companies sponsor individual players and coaches ala NASCAR. This could lead to some of the most humorous product pairings in the history of advertising. TO and Orville Redenbacher. Donovan McNabb and U-haul. What are some of the other humorous NFL ad pairings you can think of?