18 GAME SEASON!!!

YES YES YES - I just can't get enough NFL. It's sure as $h!t better than 4 boring pre-season games before the fun begins. Ultimately it doesn't add to the weeks (not that I would care if they did, I love it!) it just converts 2 boring weeks into weeks I would pay attention to.

That is all.

The Power Rankings . . . .

Tuesdays are a fun day (well during Football season anyway) . . .why you ask?

The power rankings get published, if you don't know about this - it's kinda like the NCAA ranking polls but without any consequence.

Further rants on the stupidity of the NCAA system will be saved for another day.

Anyway - here is week 4's report

I will summarize for you:

Steelers are NUMBER ONE BABY! Why? Cuz defense rules the school my friends. To quote the basketball coach of my middle school - the best way to win is to score more points than the other team. (sigh, I shake my head). Anyway - if your team doesn't ever allow any points, then your offense can be totally anemic and you still kick butt. Now - add to that a ROBUST offense and hooray! #1. Well deserved.

See you at Heinz Field Sunday.

Other thoughts on the power rankings . . .I'm not sure the Saints deserve the #2 spot . . .but I will reserve judgement for another week or two and see what effect the missing Reggie Bush has.

Same story for the 5th, 6th and 7th place teams - - - but really we're dealing with fractional difference here so I'm ok really with the top 10.

I can imagine though if you were a Chiefs fan you'd be ticked they are one of three 3-0 teams and they are all the way down at the 15th place.

And entirely not related to the list - but MAN I feel bad for Lions fans. I so badly want them to do well. . .if they could manage 3 or 4 wins this year at least it would be SOMETHING. Poor Lions. Poor poor Lions.

The Evolution of a Hobby

So . . .welcome to the newly christened blog - THE EXTRA POINT!

What was previously known as This Week In Sports (which I recognize was a super boring name), is now known as the EXTRA POINT.

People in my life who are lawyers remind me that NFL already has a site call Extra Points (for their fantasy football stuff) but since I'm small potatoes I'm ok with it. Not trying to take over the world or anything.

So if I'm not trying to take over the world, what AM I about here . . .

I'm not a sports expert

I am not a statistician

I am not an analyst

I'm not a journalist

I'm not a nut/junkie/freakfan

I AM a professional

I AM a mom

I AM a wife

I have things to do - BUT

I like sports. I like watching sporting events. I like attending sporting events.

So the idea here was just to have a little place for me to spout my mouth off (or fingers in this case), and make a few insights, share thoughts and if anyone besides people I am related to reads this, then I hope you enjoy!

What started as a 'regular feature' on my blog for my personal life, which is quickly becoming a photosharing site for my gorgeous daughter, I thought it might be fun to just break out the sports posts here in case you find my thoughts so interesting you're just dying to read all about it without having to weed thru all those pics of my gorgeous daughter.

I didn't edit any of the previous edits that I pulled out of the other blog so if you read back, some things may seem out of context...I also didn't copy over any of the comments and witty remarks...but trust me - they were WITTY.

Anyway friends, old and new, I hope to entertain you with all my sporting thoughts!

T.W.I.S - v.6

Well twodoebs fans . . .this week in sports, there is much ado about, I'm not sure what. Two things come to mind.

1. Reggie Bush giving back his Heisman. Honestly I don't understand why this is a story. He broke a rule, he shouldn't get his award. The school already gave back their 'copy' of the award, and I think it was pretty clear the Heisman Trust was going to take it away anyway, so getting in front of it and giving it away for one doesn't make him magnanimous in my eyes. It was calculated and frankly made more of than I thought the entire situation deserved.

Now if you want to get into WHY he had to give it away - there's a world of stuff to be said here. He received "inappropriate benefits" - a.k.a. he got money as a college student from an agent or someone before he was a "professional". I have to admit, I'm not a huge college football fan - I don't really follow it. But to get your panties in a wad because these kids are being wined and dined and treated like professional athletes because we expect college athletics to be about pure young talent and school spirit - well this just tells me you have blinders on my friends. College athletics, especially football, is a BUSINESS. It's about money, TV contracts, promotion, MONEY. Look at all the shenanigans with the shakeups in all the conferences this year - it was about MONEY.

The waters are muddy here. They system is perfectly happy to let talented young athletes go to college for free for 2-3 years under the guise that it's for an education when all it really is is a protracted try out for professional sports. As soon as these kids can get their pay day - they jump. The system is also perfectly happy to be the beneficiary of large fluffy piles of money because of fans, gear, tickets, tv contracts and what not. THEN we expect these kids - who've been trained to see the dollar signs coming to them - NOT to be taken out to dinner by an agent? Not to sell a Jersey to an agent? On one hand the system is a total prostitute but we expect the student athletes to be virgins. I really don't care one way or another - let them take money, it would be more honest frankly.

But Reggie Bush - keep your yap shut about it. I don't think anyone cares.

2. Women in the locker room!

Ok people this is pretty simple actually. She was a professional doing her job. Her hotness level IS a factor because she is a TV REPORTER. I'm quite sure if she was a dumpy dog she wouldn't have that job. So - you put a super hot reporter in a room of quasi naked men, there are going to be 'issues' - looks, stares (from both sides). If everyone is upset by this then reporters shouldn't be allowed in the locker room.

I don't suspect SHE was that bothered - afterall more people know her name today than they did last week, right? I'm also fairly sure it's not the first time these men have been quasi naked have been in front of a woman (or a pretty woman for that fact) in their locker rooms.

Now - if everyone's going to be all bothered by this then the solution is simple. No more locker room interviews. And frankly, that's their DRESSING room! Perhaps we should let the athletes shower and dress THEN talk to the reporters. If the journalist types don't like the wait time - then everyone needs to be grown ups and carry on. An investigation, memos, statements etc - is just to satisfy an antsy public.

In Summary: We don't want ugly reporters (well ugly ladies anyway). We want instant and on the spot interviews. So - while those two things are true, there will be hot chicks in the locker room. We are all grown ups. Act accordingly.

T.W.I.S -v.5

Not that I've been bombarded by requests for more TWIS posts but I am dedicated to it (for now) so - I apologize for my lack of TWIS - but the end of August got away from me there. So here I am - TWIS v.5. And this week's TWIS has me thinking of Mr. Ben Roethlisberger.

Let's leave aside my anger, disappointment and general disgust with his behavior. In general though, I hope that he is able to find his footing, learn a bit, grow up a whole lot and basically stop being such an ass. He does however have a career in front of him to save and a few things occur to me.

1. Time heals all wounds. Yes. But wounds can be re-opened. At the time of his scandal people around the 'burgh were calling for his head on a platter. Trade him, cut him, who cares just get rid of this giant buffoon of embarrassment. The sports talk radio types and fans all tempered that anger and reminded people that when he throws his first reception, touchdown pass - all will be forgiven. That's frustrating and true. As the summer passed and other NFL'ers had DUI's, Gun trouble, strip club fights - the pendulum started to swing in Ben's favor. People feeling he'd been unfairly punished started rushing behind their franchise man hoping for a reduced suspension.

While a 'less than 4 game' dream never came to be it seemed those sports talk radio types were right. Everyone was just biding their time til Big Ol' Ben returns. Now however we are the start of another NFL of the season and the Steelers are without a number 1 AND number 2 QB, leaving a 'kid' and an 'old man' as the two best choices! I wonder if those Ben fans might not question - if the QB hadn't been such a disgusting, pompous, potentially criminal jerk - the Steelers likely wouldn't be IN this position in the first place. If Ben fans aren't thinking this - I sure hope BEN is!

2. But where does he go from here?? I heard the following discussed and it's a fascinatingly true point. There is only one way out of this if he wants to save his career. Keep your nose clean and WIN. Keep winning. Shut up, play football and win.

Look at Kobe Bryant vs. Tiger Woods. Both caught up in equally gross (though one more criminal) but both unseemly scandals involving women - sex outside the marriage etc. Since Kobe's trial (and associated tribulations) he's been quiet, clean, wins games and championships. He's not meek - he's still a competitor but that scandal is all but closed in his past. Tiger on the other hand appears to be in a downward spiral of failure and with each additional 'failure' at a Major the story just gets worse as we all pityingly shake our heads at this colossal debacle. His standoffish ways now just make him look like a jerk marinating in his misery brought on by his own actions. Whereas before, standoffishness was earned by his unprecedented success. His sponsors have left, his wife is gone, success is out of reach. He appears to have been a facade, a mirage. He's no longer the great and powerful. We see the small man behind the mask.

Clearly Tiger's woes are much closer in time and who knows where we will be in a few years but I can assure you - if he doesn't start winning there won't be much of a Tiger story to tell in a few years.

So Ben - spend this next month recognizing the absolute havoc you've wreaked on your own life, and this team (not to mention an unnamed girl down in GA). There's a lot of clock left on his career and he can write the end of this story.

And despite what people might say about Goodell having a god complex and having radically varying punishments, I frankly think he was right in this case. I don't care about other athletes troubles and punishments. What Goodell has done to give Ben a check will hopefully be just the restart he so badly needs.