Wanna Be A Baller...

 So as you know, today was the day for the end of the NFL lockout. So now we have only one sport from the the big three pastimes that is in a stalemate. The good news we can prep for Monday Night Football in September, Superbowl menu for next Winter, and my personal favorite, the end of NFL athletes keeping their names in the press by making outlandish statements and/or trying to find a new career. I'm sure some were entertained, but for me, I was not. Not to say there aren't articulate and well-intentioned  players such as Ryan Clark on ESPN's 1st and 10 but there seem to be many more suffering from hoof and mouth disease. That is they didn't know when to be quiet or how to.
 My first example of this is Chad Ochocinco and his pursuit of athletic fulfillment via bull riding and soccer playing. Not that I think this is wrong but with Ochocinco everything's a spectacle. I mean never mind his wrong translation of his number (ochocinco means eight five, not eighty five) but his overall demeanor as an athlete has made him more of a joke than an actual athlete.
 Then there is Ray Lewis who was now infamously said that crime would go up because of the lockout. So I guess we dodged the bullet of riots, pickpockets, and who knows what other perils because there's no football. I just though that there might actually be less football widows and more Tupperware parties. We'll never know but nonetheless, it was too much of blanket statement to be considered fact.
  And finally there was James Harrison's insightful musings about his teammates along with the artistic photography of him brandishing guns. He called out his teammates Rashard Mendenhall and Ben Rothlisberger on what he perceives as a lack of skill on the field and followed that up by holding guns across his bare chest. The cherry on top being him insulting NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
 Now don't get me wrong, I believe in free speech as much as anyone, but in terms of maintaining a public profile you have to think before you speak and then think before the ink hits the paper. Athletes I believe especially are vulnerable to criticism because of what they do and how much money they make compared to the average person. But I will admit these quotes and musings provide great entertainment on a slow news day or a day you don't want to watch the real news. I'm just waiting now to hear what we'll hear during the NBA lockout.

News links: http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story/_/page/gallo-110714_harrison_influence/offseason-pigskinpalooza-lets-james-harrison-pass-wisdom

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6550618

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=hill/110524