Are you ready for some football? The NFL has games Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday to open the season
Like Colin Cowherd, I had no idea until Wednesday that the league was holding a Friday night game in Brazil. That's the power of the NFL. They can barely promote a Friday night game, yet all of us will figure it out and we'll be tuned in.
This one will be shown on YouTube.
Tonight's Cowboys-Eagles game will be simple -- it's on NBC. You can sit back and relax as Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth take you through four quarters of action.
If you were hoping for new blood in the NBC booth, that's not happening for the foreseeable future. Cris, 66, is signed through the rest of the decade.
As if being a Browns fan isn't hard enough, this is what they have to hear from the front office.
Like Manziel, I root for the Browns to go 0-16 because I'm a Bengals fan, but these poor people still don't deserve to be beat over the head by front office humans acting like they're AI bots.
-- Jim from Parma (OH) writes:
Fellow Buckeye Joe, love your writing and one of these days I'll contribute to the TNML. Been following it since its inception here.
But, more importantly, with regard to the article you wrote about the Clowns, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for referencing me within the writing.
-- Speaking of Johnny, Kim P. weighs in on Mike from Layton's email on Johnny:
Not disputing anything Mike from Layton was writing about re Johnny's tenure at A&M or the Browns. With that being said; the mandate for Johnny to remain in the pocket; at all times; by Browns head coach Mike Pettine ; was without a doubt ; the most bull headed coaching directive I have ever witnessed. (I will admit I am biased toward Johnny's unbelievable playing career...I view Johnny as 1 of the 2 greatest college football players in my lifetime along with Archie Griffin) . Johnny had no chance to succeed under Pettine.
-- Bob H. is struggling with this news:
Hey Joe-Your buddy Bob here again. Today is my 78th birthday. For my birthday I am now finding out that the enlightened execs at NFL/ESPN are eviscerating my beloved NFL Redzone by a) charging me to view a product that used to be aired "kinda" free and b) inserting commercials in said product that used to be commercial free.
As to the latter, this, per Outkick, after the NFL Commissioner publicly pledged Redzone would remain commercial-free (we'll call this Roger Goodell's "the border is secure" moment"). Is it me or is there a disconnect here? Isn't one now essentially going to be paying for the privilege of watching commercials?
Joe, my friend, this one's easy. ESPN has put a nose ring on the Mona Lisa. I may be old but the Who had it right: "we won't be fooled again". Let's "Target/ Bud Light/Cracker Barrel" Redzone.
Rise up fantasy football fans! DON'T BUY ANY PRODUCTS SOLD ON REDZONE!!
PS-Scott Hanson, no matter what, we'll will love you through thick and thin!
Kinsey:
OutKick founder Clay Travis is indicating ESPN had nothing to do with the commercials. Yes, the NFL was testing commercials on RedZone late in the 2024 season, which would make sense to give potential suitors an idea of what they were getting in a purchase.
The true test will come when ESPN eventually owns this property. Will ESPN say no more commercials? Is there any going back?
I have my doubts. Our sweet prince of a channel appears dead as we know it.
-- Brad M. gives us some history on this timeout:
The famous (or infamous) Roone Arledge, godfather of ABC Sports and Monday Night Football, devised the 2-minute warning strictly as a means of inserting more commercials into a game broadcast.
It has nothing to do with scoreboards, visible or invisible clocks, game strategy, tired players etc etc.
It was and is a cash grab.
And, frankly, it's stupid. It's a fourth timeout. Teams should get the three they are allotted and no more especially when they are in clutch end-of-half or end-of-game situations.
-- Chris in Cross Lanes writes:
I enjoy your column. Here's a question that your more seasoned readers might be able to tackle. I will be 59 years old later this year. Been an attorney for 33 years which is like being a fistfight every day.
On Jan 1, I told my friends and family I was retiring on Dec. 31.
Now that it has passed Labor Day, I find myself wondering what I am going to do with all that free time. What have others in my boat done? How do you keep active - mentally and physically?
I have put the time in, have taken care of my family first and am now ready to do something for me but with the amount of time this job has demanded, I do not have a lot of hobbies.
Anyway, just wondering what other folks did in similar circumstances.
My wife and I retired on the same day in 2018. Like you we really had no hobbies so the first major thing we did was sell our home in Tennessee and moved to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Best decision because it allowed us to be outside and more active year round. Bike, walk, spend time at the beach, travel, read, and enjoy life. Good luck!
I got mine on Wednesday so I'd be ready for league night.
BUY THE NEW THURSDAY NIGHT MOWING LEAGUE HAT
By the way, it actually rained last night. It wasn't a ton, but it was rain from the sky, which hasn't happened in like a month. As for the bad news for my lawn, it's not supposed to rain over the next 10 days -- at least.
The Weather Channel isn't showing rain through mid-September.
The Pure Michigan commercials rarely miss. This is yet another great one.
-- Bo T. in AZ writes:
A vegan, a Navy SEAL, and a CrossFit guy walk into a gay bar. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
You never have to wonder who's a vegan, a SEAL, or who does CrossFit..they will tell you within 5 seconds.
Go be good at working out dude and STFU. We've got lawns to mow (well I don't anymore) and pools to maintain. Go Broncos!
-- LA Don writes:
I was a member of the Crossfit community for years. I swore by it. I thought it was the greatest thing ever... until I got my first injury. I had good coaches and followed very good technique. I was actually used a lot to show examples of the workouts in the box I belonged to, but then came the second injury, then the third. I am in my late 40's and after a major back surgery, three knee surgeries and two shoulder surgeries, my doctor (who iwas the a team doctor for the LA Rams, the Lakers, USC and other major sporting teams) flat out told me "You cannot do this CrossFit anymore. Stop it. You are killing your body"...
So, I went and did more research, even though I knew for myself with first hand experience my body was hurting, I wanted to see what was going on with others. What a found was shocking... It was common for people to be out for weeks and months at a time in CrossFit, as injuries are common... but I had no idea what I was doing to my body until I talked to other doctors and did some serous research.
I am now not far away from total knee replacement and my back is toast 24/7. AGAIN, I had made sure my technique was on point. Having bad form can absolutely destroy your body doing CrossFit... but it also destroys your body over time, no matter how good your form is. Bottomline.
The ortho doctor that did my most recent surgery said to me "You have no idea how many guys I get in here that do CrossFit, it's astounding. It is probably the worst thing you can do to yourself. Please stop".
I just encourage everyone to dig really deep in the research on CrossFit.
-- Brent P. reacts to Todd Z.'s email:
Another great read today. I like the minor ball busting of Todd. It lets everyone know who is in charge. It really is interesting what topics stick and what doesn't. I never would have thought cross-country would have been so popular.
-- Jim T. in San Diego checks in:
Our VP of sales - who is a few years older than me, so 65, 66 - is completely into CrossFit now. He competes in his age group at regional events, and is usually a medal contender. Great guy, in phenomenal shape. But when he comes in to the office and wants to show us his CrossFit videos, suddenly everyone has a call to take.
Look, if I had the time to be a gym rat, it looks like it would be a lot of fun. But as a spectator sport? It's like a cross between gymnastics and weight-lifting - and let's be honest: If it's not the Olympics, nobody watches gymnastics or weight-lifting.
I also note that in the videos of our VP's competitions, I don't see any bleachers set up for spectators! It's just competitors cheering each other on, and maybe a few family members / coaches. You probably have more of a crowd at your kids' 14U cross-country meets.
But look - if you ever get int trouble with the brass because ScreenCaps traffic is too high, start running CrossFit content ...
-- Lee D. chimes in:
I like to think I'm at least sort of in touch with current topics and trends. Seems like half the day I'm on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram researching stories. Am well aware of the pickleball craze (?). Know about E-Sports.
Have never heard about "Crossfit" as a sport. Heard of workout trends known as "crossfit," but not a sport.
Frankly someone whining about no coverage of this "sport" as football season is underway and baseball is steamrolling to the playoffs just screams of someone wanting attention.
That is it for this first day of the NFL season. We made it. Good luck to all of you who plan to gamble a fortune this season. May your parlays get to the finish line.
Yes, MY Reds are done. The funeral is this weekend against the Mets.
🗞️ Sign Up for the Screencaps Newsletter:
Make sure you're opening the newsletter or don't sign up. You'll hurt the open rate.
👉 Subscribe here