Before Spring Training --- The Super Bowl

Homer and Barbara Sweeney Spring 2014

Last Sunday I was about to make a Manhattan which is our treat on Sundays because we found it one of the most enjoyable ways to eat Maraschino cherries.  My wife Barbara said shall I turn on the Pro Bowl and I replied wasn't it this afternoon?  No it's at 5 pm.  Okay put it on.  The announcers were commenting that the game would have no kickoffs, the goal posts would be different and a few other changes.  It brought to mind the suggestions I have offered to the NFL.

Most of you I am sure are not aware of the fact that following the Super Bowl a special NFL red, white and blue ribbon committee on helmet to helmet contact will be meeting in Hawaii for two weeks with a budget of  $5 million to come up with proposed solutions which will be outlined most likely in a 1,000 page report.  If you hear or read about the NFL's RWB Committee you  know it's all about helmets.  In a previous year I had suggested to the NFL that I had a solution to their helmet to helmet problem that eventually could put them out of business with so many concussion related law suits.  My price was only 1/2 million dollars and they didn't even have to send me to Hawaii.  I would drop off the report which would be four words in length in their offices in New York.  No response.

Football fans complain about too many flags being thrown in games.  In earlier years they were called handkerchiefs and we all hoped the referee had a bad cold so not many penalties would be called.  To cut down on penalties it is only common sense that NFL needs to reduce the number of officials to four and cut their rule book in half.  It's gotten ridiculous.  There has to be a replay on almost every completed pass.  Oh it looks like his little finger was off the ball and we'll have to look at the replay to see if he had complete control of the ball.  As a fan you have heard these types of comments in every game.  It is my opinion if the ball doesn't hit the ground it's a completed pass.

The NFL has also tried to put some emotion into the kicking game by experimenting with longer extra point tries in their pre season games.  I understand the excitement was intense.  I am sure this innovation was well thought out by high priced Ivy League grads perhaps lacking a little imagination.  I will offer a suggestion free.  It's 4th down and 2 yards to go on the opponents 25 yard line.  What play are they going to call? Most football fans know it will be a 42 yard field goal attempt.  Nearly every team from high school to the NFL does it.  Boring!  I suggest that the NFL limit field goal attempts to one per half and a team can defer in the first half if they desire and have two attempts in the second half.  Now 4th and 2 sounds exciting!

Who is going to win the Super Bowl game?  My gut would  tell me Seattle by four touchdowns.   But I get last year's team confused with this years that has a habit of not doing it. Last week they did not beat Green Bay, the Packers beat themselves.  Green Bay played 'not to loose' with  very conservative play calling in the fourth quarter.  Finally the big on-side kick came and the Packer player trying to catch the ball reminded me of an Giants outfielder from the past named Glenn Allen Hill going after a pop fly.  It was embarrassing and this was Green Bay's 'good hands team'.  The result was disastrous for Green Bay with Seattle recovering and scoring the winning touchdown with a few big plays.
 
Forty Niner fans from the past will remember the 'Preston Reilly game' in the early 1970s.  The Niners' had a big lead over Dallas in the Championship game at Candlestick Park.  Dick Nolan team got very conservative in the second half with their play calling sending their big fullback Ken Willard up 

 85 Preston Reilly

the middle on almost every play.  Standing almost all alone in the flank was Gene Washington with the defensive back playing way off the ball yet John Brodie the great 49er quarterback would not throw a pass towards Gene.  All San Francisco really needed in the second half was a couple of first downs.

Dallas put in a substitute quarter back with a #12 on his jersey and things changed but the Forty Niners still lead until an onside kick was fumbled by Preston Reilly a second team receiver.  He was blamed for the loss and never played another game for San Francisco.  The real culprit was the coach Dick Nolan  for his conservative play selection and playing 'not to lose'. This story has been repeated hundreds of times in the NFL and still coaches like McCarthy of Green Bay do not learn their lesson.    

Santa Claus left the book Killing Patton under the tree for me on Christmas morning. Found it a great book because I enjoy World War II era history.  Towards the end it was mentioned that the German officers were taking the drug Warfarin to kill themselves.  I found that very interesting because I take a blood thinner perhaps like many of you of the same name.  Happen to have an appointment with my cardiologist a week ago and I mentioned it to him.  He said to my shock, Oh yes, it's a rat poison.  Take enough of it and you will bleed internally an die.  So I discovered I am taking a rat poison to keep my blood flowing.  With the thousands of drugs that have been developed in the last fifty years I am taking one that existed in the 1930s.

Homer Sweeney 1950

If you attended St. Ignatius High School and happened to have the 1950 Ignatian on your coffee table or on a book shelf I would request that you make a correction in the book. Turn to the back of the book and find the picture of the JV baseball team.  In the 2nd row the first name is Grisez.  Cross it out and replace it with Sweeney. Pictured at the other end of the row is Buchanan.  Both Stanlee and myself really made our sports name in basketball not baseball.  Buchanan was the starting forward on the USF 1955 NCAA National Championship team.  I made second string on the All Intramural basketball team at USF in 1957.  I had left USF for a couple of years and served most of that time in the U.S. Army fighting  the Korean War on the European battle front so we could build baseball fields instead of soccer fields in the USA. Loss that battle!