Football '14 Week -2: The Tyler Rose.

       Tonight for the Saints is the third preseason game, the "dress rehearsal" for the season opener and I might consider turing off the FXX Simpsons marathon to watch it.  We can all agree there is nothing more insubstantial that preseason football, so here instead for consideration is one of the most substantial players of all time, Earl Campbell.

One of my earliest football memories was watching The Houston Oilers on CBS and seeing Earl Campbell just destroy everyone in his path.  I was mesmerized that the fastest man on the field was also the strongest.  Whoever he didn't run over he just out ran, he was amazing.  If you never watched Earl run, it was as if Barry Sanders, Adrian Peterson, and a Cat Bulldozer had a love child, here,  see for yourself.

Earl's first three years in the league were incredible, and heck, his next three weren't too shabby either.  Alas, the body can only take so much punishment so by his seventh year, it was obvious his legs were betraying him.  As was any superstar's right of passage back in the 1980's, Earl spent his last two years in the league a shell of his former self for the New Orleans Saints.  Bum Phillips brought him in with the hope to recharge him but after the 1986 season, Earl retired.

As you can see from the last two Nine-of-a-Kind pages, The Tyler Rose found himself enshrined in Canton five years after he retired.  He was always a favorite of mine and is the standard to which I hold all other running backs I have ever seen since - remember, I never saw Jim Brown play live, I am not that old.

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

       Sorry I have been scarce the last few weeks, I have been trying this crazy new thing called "having a life" and "going outside to enjoy the lovely weather" - crazy, I know.  Anyway, this thing has been going around the internet like a plague so I thought I would share mine...

I already give to Team Gleason but there are many other good ALS charities out there, and even Curt Schilling's charity is decent since he isn't making video games through them.  As with any charity, just look in to who you are giving to and make sure as much of your donation is going to research as possible.  Awareness is lovely, but all the pink in the world never cured anything.  Proper money for research does.

Don't feel like dumping a bucket of ice water on your head?  That's fine, as long as you give to charity who am I to judge?  And if donating to find a cure for Lou Gehrig's disease isn't your speed, that's fine too.  There are a million other charities to give to.  Remember, if you go to bed healthy in a house with clean running water after a hot meal you paid for with money from your job, you are doing better than most of the world.  Giving back what you can is not hard. 

Fuck You Topps.

Reason #7561:

This could easily become an overwhelming feature, so I will just leave this here and grumble.