The Goodell, the Bad and the Ugly of Rice Case

September 10, 2014 @ admin → No Comments

Midweek musings: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell went on camera for a CBS News interview Tuesday during which he said no one in the NFL saw the video of Ray Rice knocking out his future wife with his fist in an elevator before the video became public Monday. Let’s assume for a moment that Goodell was being completely forthright and not tap-dancing his way around the truth. Then he and/or others should be fired. Let’s assume for a moment that Goodell was not being completely forthright and was tap-dancing his way around the truth. Then he and/or others should be fired. Funny (not really funny) how either way Goodell and/or others should go. Far, far away. Just as Ravens running back Rice has been banished — indefinitely — from the league.

Video below of Mercedes Perez.

* The basic question remains: Why did Rice merit a two-game suspension before the video surfaced and a far greater one after it surfaced? The crime is the crime. Once more time: Did Goodell think Janay Rice knocked herself out?

* Another basic question arises: Does the NFL now feel compelled to have video evidence of domestic violence before it takes serious action against a player? If so, that’s the wrong lesson for the league to take away from the Rice case.

* If the NFL truly cared about domestic violence, it would have done something about dealing with it long before the Rice incident.

* With their 9-2 loss to the Blue Jays in Toronto, the Chicago Cubs have fallen to 64-81. Meaning they can finish at .500 for the season by winning their final 17 games. OK, so that’s not going to happen. How about they can avoid 90 losses by going 9-8. Hmmm. Possible but unlikely.

* With their 11-2 loss to the visiting Oakland Athletics, the White Sox have fallen to 64-80. Meaning they can reach .500 by going 17-1. OK, so that’s not going to happen either. How about they can avoid last place in the American League Central by going 8-10 while the Minnesota Twins go 9-9.

* Speaking of the Sox, ex-Sox of the night is Mark Buehrle (with bonus points for being the winning pitcher against the Cubs). Buehrle (12-9) gave up two runs in seven innings in ending his six-start winless streak.

* Speaking of the Cubs, ex-Cub of the night is Josh Donaldson (with bonus points for having four runs batted in and a career-high five hits against the White Sox. The Cubs’ 2007 first-round draft pick was traded in 2008 as part of the Rich Harden deal, so it’s not as if they traded away an all-star third baseman. He didn’t become that till this season.

With a 97-68 loss to the Phoenix Mercury in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, the Chicago Sky returns home trailing 2-0 in the best-of-five series with Game 3 Friday. At the rate the Sky is going (it lost Game 1 83-62), a Game 3 loss in single digits would be something of an accomplishment. OK, would you settle for losing by less than 20 perhaps? Elena Delle Donne, who had 22 points in 28 minutes for the Sky, still is bothered by a bad back and said she won’t be 100 percent for the rest of the series. Unless she — or someone else — can carry the team on her back in Game 3, the series won’t last much longer. And Delle Donne’s rest will begin shortly.

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