The NFL Lockout: What to do if it lasts through the Season?

After waking up this morning and getting ready for work I sat down to watch SportsCenter while I ate my breakfast. One of the first stories that they talked about was the NFL Lockout, at this point I am tired of the NFL lockout. What surprised me the most was it is day 100 of the NFL lockout. At this point it hasn’t affected much except for some off season training camps and mini camps. But we are now at the end of June and normally teams come together for preseason camp in July and the preseason games kickoff in early August. This means we are a month away from the NFL lockout effecting the NFL season.

This is a scary thought to many football fans. The reason being what will men do on Sundays, Monday Nights, some Saturday Nights, and eventually Thursday Nights if the lockout heads into the regular season? Let’s focus on Sunday for a minute. Without Football there will be no drinking beer with your buddies and eating wings or whatever football treat you enjoy. Instead men will have to go to Home Depot and work on projects around the house. They might have to do chores like vacuum or mow the grass. Whatever it is we end up doing it will not be as enjoyable as sitting on the couch with a cold beer watching football. So my thought was to come up with things to do if the NFL does not agree to a new collective bargaining agreement and the lockout continues into the season.

1) Tailgate in the Church parking lot after service. Since there is not game to go to we need a place where we can pull out our Smokey Joe’s and pop open a few cold ones. Note: Some churches may frown on this act. Ok this isn’t really a good idea but why not?
How long until I start missing football again: Immediately.

2) Get into NASCAR. The races last about as long as a football game. It might not be 22 guys beating the crap out of each other but every once in awhile Kevin Harvick (or his owner) might throw a punch at Kyle Busch. Plus the Chase starts in September. For those of you who are confused by the last sentence you lose 5 America points, but the Chase is NASCAR’s 10 race playoff.
How long until I start missing Football again: November when the season is over.

3) Start watching the MLB. The great news is there is a game on every night. They are usually cheaper than football games. It’s a summer sport so tailgating is still an option. Plus September is when the contenders start making their runs to the playoffs and well October is when the magic happens.
How long until I start missing football again: October, maybe November if the series goes to 7 games.

4) Watch College football. This is the most realistic option. It’s similar to the NFL just a little slower. If you are not used to watching it the Spread may seem odd. But overall there are games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. Then there are games on from Noon until late into the evening on Saturday on channels from CBS, ABC, MASN, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN U, ESPN 3, ESPN Plus, and ESPN the Ocho. Just kidding about the OCHO.

How long until I start missing football again: December for two weeks until the Bowl games start. In mid January when the National Championship has been played it will happen again. January is where it will hurt the most because if the lockout is still going on we will miss out on the Super Bowl.

5) Play golf. If all else fails grab your clubs and hit the course. It will get you out of the house for four hours and you won’t have to do yard work.
How long until I start missing football again: Depends on how well you play.

Hopefully the owners and the players can come to an agreement soon and we will not have to contemplate these ideas anymore. But the closer we get to August and then September the more it seems this is going to last awhile. I heard an interview with Chris Collinsworth yesterday. He is a wide receivers coach for his son’s high school football team. This cannot be a good sign when the man who calls Sunday Night Football is accepting a job that would have him working in the fall instead of preparing to call NFL games on Sunday Nights.

In other sports news the NBA may be heading towards a lockout in the coming months. The difference is the NBA is really in the red. The real difference being if the NBA doesn’t play next season is that the league may never recover. It will find itself in a similar position to what the NHL experienced in 2005. And that’s all I’ll say about that because nobody cares about the NBA anyways.

Tiger's "Comeback"

A lot of rumors are starting to circulate that Tiger Woods is going to start his "comeback" to golf at Augusta National for the Masters in a few weeks. I'm going to state right now that if this is true it makes me very happy. I also find it hard to call it a comeback when Tiger has maybe missed 3-4 of his usual tournaments since his car crash in November and his dirty laundry going public.

I think a lot of people are calling this a comeback because of all he has encountered over the past 5 months. But Tiger missed more time in 2008-2009 because of knee surgery. Some are questioning whether he will be a contender at the Masters this year because he hasn't had a warm up tournament, did everyone forget he won the 2008 US Open on one leg.

Tiger woods made golf relevant. I still have a poster of him eying down a put from his first Master's victory in 1997. The intensity at which he plays the game is amazing, when you watch him play nothing surprises you anymore, because its all in the realm of possibility. Phil Michelson and the other guys on the tour, when they do something amazing you still act surprised, but Tiger does it and its all in a days work. But it's knowing we are watching greatness that keeps bringing us back to watching him walk 18 on a Sunday with his Red Shirt, Black pants, and Black Nike Swoosh hat. Its turning on CBS or ESPN and hearing Tiger is only 3 shots back with 4 holes to play and knowing he has a shot at winning that keeps us watching. Anyone who has watched golf in the last 15 years can tell you about watching Tiger do something amazing and that's what's going to keep us tuning in when he does step back on the golf course. If Tiger decides to step back on at Augusta where he won his first Major and has 4 Green Jackets to boot, then people will tune in. Tiger also wouldn't enter a tournament he didn't think he could win. That's why I think Augusta makes sense, the course is familiar to him, he knows he can win there and when he does nobody will be talking about his mistresses and sex addiction. They will be talking about his 5th Green Jacket and how he only needs 3 more major championships to tie The Golden Bear, they will start talking about him as the Greatest Golfer to play the game again and Tiger Woods the Adulterer will begin to fall to the wayside.

Some people are saying Tiger is choosing Augusta because of the restrictions and the Pomp and Circumstance of the event. Only certain press is allowed on site, meaning no TMZ or National Inquirer representatives will be there, the press does not have access to the locker room. Tiger is a member so the club will protect him. Also tickets are not sold to just anyone, they get passed down within families from generation to generation if someone wants to heckle Tiger they could loose there pass for good, not just get removed for the day. While these issues may be part of Tiger's decision it comes down to him being comfortable at Augusta and I think he is considering he has had more success at this Major then the other three, except the PGA Championship.

Tiger has overcome a lot through the years, his father died and he came back to win the British Open and he barely used his Driver, he tore his ACL and MCL in his knee and won the US Open, now he has to overcome a new kind of adversity, something he isn't used to, the world knowing his private buisness and the media digging through his life. All I know is that I am excited for the return of Tiger, he is always fun to watch and I'm thinking come Sunday April 11th, Tiger will be walking up the fairway on 18 to putt for the win.