NFL lockout symbolizes America's political split

The NFL lockout has made it clear just how much control a few rich guys can have over an entire country. You read me right. These are the two sides to the NFL lockout saga. On the right we have the NFL owners who opted out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) back in 2008. All of whom are filthy rich dudes looking to get an unreasonably bigger piece of the pie. On the left are the players, coaches, staff and, don't forget, over 100 million fans. Let's just modestly call it, "half of the county."

How is this legit? The NFL's popularity increases year after year. It is the #1 past time in the US, making tons of money. Players, coaches and staff are to take pay-cuts. Fans spend more money. Owners hoard all the dough. Are we really supposed to abide by this? It's an outrage and I don't get it.

Surely our judicial system has our backs, right? They should be able to sort this mess out. Oh! That's right. They can't because we have a total split of political ideologies in our country. Government represents its people and vise versa. Damn!

On one side of the split, we have those who are mislead to believe that we need to reinforce capitalism by supporting greed. The other side, those who are mostly neutral, also struggle with this theory because being rich is often confused with achieving the American dream. "If I made it rich then I wouldn't want anyone to take it away from me," is the notion. So, owners are just doing what anyone else, with that notion, would do if they were in their situation. These convictions make the filthy rich false symbols for the American dream. Contemptuously call them, "the real American idols."

If we conclude our reasoning about the NFL lockout this way then we will give in. The 2011 season will commence thanks to our sacrifice. We will pay more money. We will give plenty to those who already have it all. We will watch our favorite players get more injured (Cole, Yahoo Sports). This is not the base for the original American dream where everyone was supposed to get "a piece of the pie." That's true capitalism. Instead we live in a type of structure where we always owe to someone. It is debt-ism.

I will go further to the left than most are willing to. The teams should belong to the fans. We should be allowed to invest in our own hobby as a committee of owners. It's fitting that the winners of the Superbowl, the Green Bay Packers, are the ones that prove that concept can be a reality (Murray, NPR). Congratulations to them. They deserve it.

A Sign of Humanity from an Owner

The Baltimore Ravens owner, Steve Bisciotti, at first cut pay to the team's coaches and staff then refunded the money. "Until those owners get religion the way Bisciotti did, I'm going to regard them as sinners . . . " (Silver, Yahoo Sports).

Sources

NFL owners opt out of CBA

Owners bullying coaches, staffers with pay cuts

Expect injury totals to rise following lockout

In Green Bay, Packers Fans Are 'Owners,' Too

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A cure for lockout blues

With the NFL lockout presumably bumming everyone out, it's refreshing to see certain things carry-on as planned. "Yahoo Fantasy Football is open for sign-ups" was found in my in-box today. Exciting! I plan to reinstate my league this evening. Let's stay optimistic. Believe that, this fall, we will be playing fantasy football and not fantasizing about football.

It's game time!

Every year I'm excited for the new features in Yahoo FF. It seems they always add about a dozen new things. Many end up being quite useful. Like they were reading my mind. Here are some this season's new features that caught my eye.

New Live Auction Draft App
Draft your team by bidding on players with a fixed auction budget
Stay organized and nominate wisely with our Roster Grid
Use commissioner controls to pause the draft and undo picks

I do a standard draft but I'm really interested in trying out the auction method. It seems more intuitive. For more info on Yahoo's Live Auction App go to:
What is the difference between a Standard and Auction live draft?

Android App
Set your roster from your Android device
Get real-time fantasy score updates
Add and drop players

Updated iPhone App, iPad (coming soon)
Set your roster from your iPhone
Get real-time fantasy score updates
Add and drop players

Every year the mobile fantasy apps get more capabilities, which makes me think, "I need to join the 21st century and get a phone with internet access."

New Scoring Categories
Award bonuses for long passing, reception, rush plays and touchdowns
Penalize quaterbacks for pick sixes thrown
Add defensive stats for yards allowed, 4th down stops, tackles for loss, 3 and outs, and more!

I pretty much have a lock on the scoring system for my league but if I were to make changes, it would be to spice up the defensive teams scoring a bit.

Franchises
Invite league members to manage their teams from last year
Invite new managers to run one of last year's teams
Finalize your league's team list for easier draft and keeper management

With this new capability, allowing one or two keeper players may end-up being a reality.

Upgraded Message Boards
View messages by topic, upload images, format text, and post unlimited messages

Cool.

Transfer Team Ownership
Change the manager of a team so that teams can continue to be actively managed throughout the season

Where has this been?

Configurable Draft Pick Times
Change the time allowed per draft pick to speed up or slow down your live draft

Finally! This one is very necessary.

I can't wait to get started!

Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football
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