The NFL must revisit its drug policy.

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The NFL has “jumped the shark” with the drug policy. The phrase “jump the shark” refers to the TV show Happy Days trying to increase viewership with an episode where Fonzie jumped a tank of sharks.

The NFL has gone way too far in its attempt to keep “dangerous” drugs out of the league. Last week the NFL announced that Cleveland WR Josh Gordon had been suspended for two games for a violation. Because the NFL never releases the exact nature of the violation, we have to take what Gordon said about what drug was involved.

Gordon distributed the following statement. “In February, I was diagnosed with strep throat for which a doctor prescribed antibiotics and cough medicine. Apparently, the medicine I took contained codeine, which is prohibited by the NFL policy.”

In my opinion the off-season use of a prescribed codeine cough medicine is in no way harmful to the game. In fact the suspension flies in the face of the league’s alleged focus on player safety and well being. The league should support the players getting well under the care of a healthcare professional.

I believe the league should review the policy against prescribed use of HGH by players to recover from legitimate injuries. The evidence of the performance enhancement properties of HGH is mixed. The testing for HGH at this point requires the taking of blood from the player. Thus far the NFLPA has refused to agree to such a test.

The NFL should limit the drug policy to those things that do improve performance. Special allowance should be given to those players that are injured and under a doctor’s care. The league claims it is interested in the long term well being of the players. It also claims that it wants to make the game more enjoyable for the fans. The players need the best care they can get. Many old players are suffering from injuries beyond concussions incurred during their careers. And the fans want to see their favorite team with as healthy a roster as is possible.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He edits http://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on http://www.eBooks-Library.com/Contemporary/ and a non-fiction work at http://www.merriam-press.com/. Follow him on twitter @NNRonDSN to get the schedule of Special News, Notes and Rumors broadcasts. You can hear the previous shows on http://fryingpansports.com/radio-show/.

He also edits http://fryingpanpolitics.org/.

To keep up with the News, Notes & Rumors podcasts, follow me on twitter @NNRonDSN.

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My thoughts on the 69th anniversary of D-Day June 6, 1944

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Just after 4 AM on June 6^th 1944 my Dad went onto Omaha Red beach. He went in with the engineers that had to disable the landing barriers built by the Germans. D-Day was the largest amphibious assault in the history of the world.

When the sun came up he saw that the bombing that was supposed to soften up the defenses had missed. The defenses were pristine. That was the difference between Sword or Gold beach and Omaha Red.

Dad did not ask God for his survival. Like most of the men that were in the invasion, he asked that he could live long enough to do his job. That is why Dad’s age group has been called America’s Greatest Generation.

My Dad passed in July of 2011. In the last days of his life, I read the final draft of his memories to him. That book will be available soon at Merriam-press.com.

If you see anyone that served in the military, take a second to thank them for their service. It will mean a lot to them. Here is an interview I did this morning with 92.3 the Fan in Cleveland.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

He also edits http://fryingpanpolitics.org/.

To keep up with the News, Notes & Rumors podcasts, follow me on twitter @NNRonDSN.

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The PED scandal is one more blow to MLB’s credibility

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Major League Baseball has umpires with impaired eyesight refusing to use instant replay. Even when they do they get the call wrong. Now the league faces the biggest drug scandal in its history.

The league is being run more by the umpire and players’ unions than by team ownership. Every time the owners have an issue they hide behind the unions as the excuse for not being able to change things.

The current collective bargaining agreement provides some fairly stiff penalties for use of PEDs. However, the league needs to regain the confidence of the public. The only way to do that is to give the player a 100 game penalty for the first time he fails a test. The second time he should be banned from the game for life. That should also prevent him from being considered for the Hall of Fame.

The issue of inconsistent umpiring is different. The line setters can adjust to players being suspended for PED use. However, they cannot adjust for wildly inconsistent calling of the game. The interest in any sport is in part due to gambling by the fans. The first indication of the impact of bad umpiring will be Los Vegas refusing to put lines on some games.

There is a way that the umpires can be brought under control by the owners. The owners should put the computers to use by showing the position of the pitch on the scoreboard. If I had a team, I would put up the percentage of correct calls on the board as well. That should take some of the arrogance out of the Umps.

The owners have total control of the scoreboard and should get some guts. The union will scream but someone needs to show the union who is in control. But when the league is run by a wimp like Bud Selig, there is little hope for it.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

He also edits http://fryingpanpolitics.org/.

To keep up with the News, Notes & Rumors podcasts, follow me on twitter @NNRonDSN.

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It is time for Oho State to put a muzzle on Dr. Gee

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Dr. Gee and I have a little history. During his first stint as the President of OSU he would take calls during half time of the football games. I called. Despite just accepting a nice salary bump for himself and tenured professors, Dr. Gee had just asked for more tax payer money. I suggested that he and the others donate some of the large salary increases to offset the request to the legislature. THAT was the last call that he ever took. After that, the call in segment was dropped from the half time festivities.

For the second time in less than three years, Dr. Gee said something stupid for which he had to apologize. Both times involved insults to the Catholic community. His first was the “Sisters of the poor” comment. This last one not only insulted the University of Notre Dame and its leadership but the entire SEC as well.

I have experience being a conservative in the liberal OSU. I was told point blank that if I completed my graduate studies at OSU in political science, I would never get tenured. My views were “too far out of the norm for this university.” I mention this because had a conservative made either of these comments, he or she would have been fired on the spot. And yet loose lipped liberals can babble their way through life with the support of both the Board of Trustees and the “intellectual” community.

Ohio State drew the ire of the sports and legal world by spending tax payer money to defend it adding “The” to the name. While the US Constitution does not protect the citizens from being insulted, it is never a good idea to do so publically. Now that the Big 10 (sorry they cannot count) is renaming the football divisions, I have a suggestion. Let’s call one “teams that have lost to the SEC” and the other “teams that will lose to the SEC soon.”

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

He also edits http://fryingpanpolitics.org/.

To keep up with the News, Notes & Rumors podcasts, follow me on twitter @NNRonDSN.

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I was right about Holmgren being a mistake.

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In an editorial on Dec. 20, 2009 I reviewed the record of Mike Holmgren as GM of the Seahawks and ended by saying that he was not the right guy to lead the Browns back to competitiveness. Now a respected former Brown, Reggie Rucker, said on 92.3 the Fan that Holmgren stole money from then owner Randy Learner. Rucker said that Holmgren was “the last in and first out” of the building on the few days he made an appearance.

Let me make one thing clear. In my opinion the fact that the team is better now than it was when Eric Mangini was running things is due to two factors. First, it would be almost impossible to screw a team up any more than Mangenious did. Trading the 5^th overall pick to New York for a few used Jets was unforgivable. Second, GM Tom Heckert made some good choices. While I did not agree with the choice of Weeden, most of the rest of Heckert’s picks were fine. Think about where the Browns would be if they had followed my advice and selected Russell Wilson as QB in the 3^rd round of the 2012 draft.

Holmgren did nothing other than hiring Heckert. Hiring an unproven and ill-equipped Pat Shurmur was just stupid. Not only did he hire someone totally unprepared to do the job but then compounded the error by failing to give him the guidance to help him succeed. The result was an offense that would have failed in an 8 year old league.

Now Holmgren is gone. I for one will add his name to the list of those against whom I will campaign if and when it comes up for Hall of Fame consideration. The only other name on the list is Art Modell. Neither of those two deserve to be in the Hall.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

He also edits http://fryingpanpolitics.org/.

To keep up with the News, Notes & Rumors podcasts, follow me on twitter @NNRonDSN.

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The investigation of Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam stinks of politics.

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Anyone that knows the background of Attorney General Eric Holder would expect another attack on Republicans.

It was Holder that refused to prosecute the New Black Panthers for threatening white voters with weapons outside Philadelphia voting locations.

It was Holder that pushed the Obama regime to sue Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the state of Arizona for having the gall to enforce federal and state immigration laws.

It was Holder that refused to inform Congress about giving guns to known drug lords (Operation Fast and Furious) then trying to cover it up. After it blew up in his face, he even tried to use the scandal to justify stricter gun control laws.

And of course Holder and the Obama regime are not at all bashful about using the IRS to further their political agenda. The Congress is just now getting started investigating the IRS suppressing conservative votes in the 2012 election by refusing to approve Tea Party groups’ applications for non-profit status.

So it should not have surprised anyone that the Obama regime would go after an gas and oil distribution company owned by a family that includes the Republican Governor of Tennessee. While the charges against Haslam are serious, we must consider the source—the most politically corrupt regime in recent US history.

The advantage of being in power is that you can decide who gets investigated and who gets a pass. If Pilot/Flying J was owned by Al Gore, there would be a courtesy call from the AG to Al saying clean up the rebate program. Since PFJ is owned by Republicans, they get locked down, investigated and skewered in the media.

So when the regime is crying about the unfair practices of PFJ just remember, it is the Obama regime that is the most unfair. I am not saying that PFJ did not screw up. But I do believe that had the family been good Democrats, Holder and Obama would not be going after them.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

He also edits http://fryingpanpolitics.org/.

To keep up with the News, Notes & Rumors podcasts, follow me on twitter @NNRonDSN.