STATUS OF THE NAMESAKE
Pat Mannelly, the namesake for this column, is attempting to recover from January hip surgery. Special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis commented on the organization’s approach to Mannelly in this post from ESPN Chicago:
“I’ve been in contact with Pat and there is no pressure one way or the other,” DeCamillis said. “We just have to let it play out. He’s had a great career, and I hope he continues his great career, but we just need to let it play out and see how it goes.
“I don’t [have a sense which way he’s leaning]. I just hope it’s the best situation for him. That’s really what I hope because he’s such a great person and such a great guy. Winning the Ed Block Courage Award is a big deal. Couldn’t be a better guy to win it, I can tell you that.”
Here are some facts about the world when Mannelly joined the Bears:
- The reigning Best Picture winner? Titanic.
- Seinfeld was the top rated television show in the country.
- Dave Wannstedt was still coaching the Chicago Bears.
- Barack Obama had yet to serve his first two-year term in the Illinois State Senate.
- Brian Urlacher was a teenager.
Pat Mannelly is a Chicago Bears institution and deserves a proper, year-long sendoff. Here’s hoping he returns for a final season.
PUNKY QB ON LEGAL WAR PATH AGAIN
Former Bears quarterback Jim McMahon is leading about 500 other ex-NFL players in a new legal battle against the NFL. From an article in the Salt Lake Tribune:
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages on behalf of more than 500 ex-athletes, charges the NFL with chasing profits over protecting its players’ health.
To speed injured athletes’ return to the field, team doctors and trainers administered drugs illegally, without obtaining prescriptions or warning of the possible side effects, the plaintiffs contend.
Some football players said they were never told they had broken bones and were instead fed pills to mask the pain. One said that instead of surgery, he was given anti-inflammatory drugs and excused from practices so he could play in games. Others said that after years of free pills from the NFL, they retired addicted to the painkillers.
One look at McMahon’s Twitter timeline will give you an indication of how fans are reacting to this new suit. McMahon responded on the TwatMachine:
To all the haters out there what the f—k do u now what we went thru !!! U only no what u saw on a Sunday & what the media wanted u 2 !
Two questions. (1) If ex-players begin suing the league for EVERYTHING that’s bothered them post-career, will this ultimately dilute the impact of the concussion litigation; in my opinion, the only important litigation alive? (2) Would Richard Dent have entered this lawsuit if he were not yet inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame?
COLT LYERLA IS A PACKER & IT FITS
Because the guy actually Tweeted this.
The parents of the kids that supposedly died in the sandy hook situation are liars.
— ..::⚡C⚡::.. (@ThaRealCL) March 21, 2013
Isn’t there a point in life where you just don’t want to root for a guy? Isn’t there a level of grotesquerie that leaves a fan thinking, “You know, I am not going to clap for this scumbag?” These were gruesomely murdered children. Families ruined. A community completely destroyed. At some point doesn’t the NFL just say, “No, touchdowns are not more important than decent humanity”? I guess not.
