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Health & Fitness

An Example of Pigskin Redux

So this goes to show that Plax risk is not just related to teeth and arteries.

Again I find myself in a local East Meadow hangout surrounded by whine and cheesy outfits, discussing the last ten pages of many of the daily publications, while drinking from long-neck bottles, some with fruit stuffed down the mouthpiece.

The conversation is already in progress as I arrive, but the crux of the matter is that most of the arm chair sports fanatics are not sure they really get the logic behind the New York pro sports general manager's fascination with hiring “bad boy” players for their team.

Who wants the added pressure of having to answer the extra questions that the press asks when you decide to employ difficult players with super egos, who do not think they have to play by rules or abide by the laws like Keyshawn Johnson, Bobby Bonilla, Latrell Sprewell, etc.?

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Now the Jets have signed Plaxico Burress to more money in one year than all the salaries of all the patrons currently in this slider and wing serving establishment.  And, in the words of the Middletown, Ohio high school football coach Glenn "Tiger" Ellison, “We can now begin the real run and shoot offense.”

Ha! Ha! Yes, like most sports stars that admit to or get convicted of crimes ala Michael Vick or Doc Gooden, Burress has paid his dues to society and may deserve a second chance. But why, oh why, do New York sports teams want such a potential problem?

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They seem to relish or wallow in controversy season after sports season when they could easily pick a talented pseudo goody-two-shoes instead. Maybe Burress has learned his lesson and will be a model citizen, but maybe not. Maybe Burress has purged himself of his gangsta posse and is now hanging with a different entourage, but maybe not.

And maybe the Plax Attack will perform like he did with his other New York team, but maybe not and then will subsequently be crucified by the members of the New York press in ways that resemble those of the coverage of East Meadow mass murderer Joel Rifkin.

The question posed by the Corona and lime duo sitting on my right was ”Why do we search and seize problem players instead of role models?” Is it that New Yorkers love to root for the underdog? Or is it that the collective we like to build a player up only so we can tear them down?

The press made a whole big michigas (a yiddish word defined as- unwarranted hoopla created and kept going by a certifiably insane individual or persons) over Jets head coach Rex Ryan’s uncanny affection for his wife’s little piggies and their localized parts that would fit is a pair of her espadrilles (which was in fact none of their business.) Or even now-his new calf tattoo.

It had nothing to do with football or sports of any kind (unlike the other controversies involving Coach Fryin’ Ryan flipping birds and saying stupid things at sports arenas and stadiums and sports banquets across the globe).

I do understand that we are all human with a whole slew of foibles that can be exposed by those with cell pix or a byline and not everyone can be like Teflon Jeter, but why look for extra issues? Is it as the marketing gurus say "It’s all good as there is no such thing as bad press?" Or is it that New Yorker’s yearn and churn for a comeback kid?

Keep in mind this is live and not some fantasy league or X-Box 360 game. Here the players can create more problems than they are worth. It is a place where the players can and do affect the performance and morale of their fellow overpaid jocks.

I just hope this all stays positive and does not turn Gang Green into gangrene!

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